Galen
Almost four weeks of jumps through space. From one system to another. Galen had looked at the Star Charts and saw that they had taken a more direct route to the Hornbreaker System and the Worthgard System. They had pass by both the Wayward System along the border with the Kingdom of the Wanes but inside the Kingdom of Highpass, and the Ironspring System itself.
The two systems lay almost a hundred light years apart from one another, and so it was not as though they had come close to either of them as they made their way to the Hornbreaker System.
If Galen thought New Holm was small and unimportant, Hornbreaker was even less so. The system appeared busier than New Holm at a glance, there was even a small string of shipyards in orbit of the world of Hornbreaker. A small space station and mining station, even a habitable Asteroid, but the population of the system was much smaller, and the wealth of it also smaller.
The System had been settled little more than three hundred years in the past, before the formation of the Kingdom of Highpass was formed. Those who fled King Rowan ‘The Black’ Dawn as he conquered the western half of what would become Highpass found the system outside the reach of that king and make their homes their. His son Hakon would later go on to become the first king of a united Kingdom of Highpass.
“The Hornbreaker Sector along with the Fynn Sector may be poor and likely populated, and stick to their own but when required they are more often than not to support Clan Worth than support Clan Dawn,” High Command Vanir said.
“East versus west,” Galen mumbled softly.
“The Highgard Sector has long been a battleground, which is likely to go either way, but Clan Dawn controls the rich worlds of the Westmark and Eastmark Sectors in the west of Highpass, so in a way yes,” the Lord General replied.
The System-lord of Hornbreaker, Lord Nord prepared a large feast for the Lord General in his modest hall with minor lords from all over the System to welcome the ‘Lord Serpent’s’ return to Highpass along with Galen.
System-lord Nord spoke highly of Galen’s father, about the death of King Rodger Ash Dawn who had been forcing his lords to abandon the Furse ways in favor of the Fabian Faith. He spit when he mentioned the Ash Dawns, and said that they should have all been banished from the realm, but at least there were still some good and loyal people to the ways of their ancestors, and they were strong enough to fight back against those who would force them to change.
Galen watched as several wild animals were roasted over an open fire in the modest hall. He had never seen beast such as those, but the smell from the flames searing their flesh made Galen’s mouth water long before he tasted them
The Lord was pleased with his modest feast, pleased mostly by the Lord General and her retinues pleasure in the meal.
“We are not a rich folk, but what we do have, we enjoy, and we share. Life is short, and life is hard, but there are joys in life we should all enjoy,” Lord Nord told them as he bite into the tender flesh of the beast which had been cut onto his plate.