Emesa Hundred/1st Edition/12
advantage of maintaining the fine hunting that Meketa Alshain and Meketa Halan appreciate.
The manor’s bonded weaponcrafter, Treik, has enormous potential but this means Aron may lose him to a wealthier lord. That would satisfy Alshain who is concerned that such a junior Telmen feels it is proper to maintain such a talented craftsman. He cannot risk humbling Aron publicly by demanding that the crafter move on, or entice Treik away at the next Festival of the Pillars. He is wondering how he could have the man killed without any risk of being implicated.
Telmen Aron doesn’t believe he will be lord of Medava for long. He has already put off costly improvements and in a few more years the manor house and barn will need expensive repairs. The Lady Querene should advise him of this but is distracted.
Scutal Manor[edit | edit source]
Telmen Breen Tharo has held the manor for 20 years, but at 63 will never progress further. Like most of the older officers he struggles to see past Akarata Horab’s vision of taking Kustan for the faith. A broken leg kept him at home during the 718 expedition, something that grates on this vinegary old warrior. He is certain that if he and those old friends who have already ‘passed to Balgashang’ had been there things would have been very different. When he visits his old commander, Bron Zarnist, at Bedenes they shake their heads and agree that the order is not what it was. When they were in their prime they took what they wanted and had the will to keep it. He also complains to Meketa Bron about Alshain Risalsin who is ‘not a patch on old Sedriz’, who led the Penor chapter before him. Bron tells him that Meketa Alshain may seem a brash youngster but says many of the right things in private.
Telmen Breen runs an ascetic household and his squire Laen is being well trained to be an obedient tool of his god. That involves regular thrashings to ensure he understands the order’s rule. The Chapter’s priest, Dunin, approves of this severe regime and also chastises young Laen to ensure the boy understands the love of Mamaka. Laen is gradually losing what youthful personality he had as he is shaped by Mamekan rite and rule into an unfeeling, and therefore effective, Warrior.
Breen believes a skilfully run fief honours Mamaka and the manor is blessed with a knowledgeable reeve, and talented herder and woodward. Despite his strict adherence to the Mamekan rule Breen has developed more respect for the crafts of these farmers than any other fief holder. As a result his is the most successful ‘forest manor’. He also ensures the woods are laid with man-traps and pits; he considers hunting a soft alternative to martial drills with sword, spear and shield. He is convinced the traps keep the Kuborra away from his lands. To Breen all this is simply fulfilling his obligations and preparing his place among the Forges of the Mameka where he intends to serve for eternity.
His niece, Rorese keeps house for him. Once pretty she has grown into a bitter old maid fixated on the lost bloom of her youth.
Breen’s man-at-arms, Lura, enjoys the power he is granted over the peasantry. He casually misuses the local women, and most have suffered from his attentions since his arrival a year ago. He went too far over the winter and a woman died. The reeve complained to Breen who privately reprimanded Lura and threatened to send him back to Penor for punishment. However he will not take the part of the peasantry against a Laumak in public. His stubbornness may cost him the loyalty and commitment he needs to keep the fief productive. The peasants are already noticeably surlier, but the old man hasn’t noticed.
Torkat Chapterhouse[edit | edit source]
Meketa Bradas Sekal has led the Chapter since 718. He drives himself and his peasants hard, and pays more than is required to the Order. He also supports his mother and brother who share the manor house. He feels obliged to continue the work, begun under his predecessor, to improve the wooden structure but the mason and his work are expensive. A recent traveller claimed expertise in mining and offered to look for stone in the forest; there are rumours of an out-cropping of sound building stone to the northeast.
He is the only Meketa who has to support a Chapterhouse with only one manor and though a brave and talented warrior he does not enjoy managing the fief. His mother acts as his steward but she treats the locals with disdain; making the struggle to become economic harder.
Bradas has had to borrow from a fellow Meketa, Alshain Risalsin, to meet his obligations. Meketa Alshain makes Bradas welcome at Penor and it was there, after being plied with some strong wine, that he admitted another reason for his penury. He secretly takes money from the manor’s privy purse to pay for an illegitimate daughter and her mother in Golotha. The order may have spawned numerous bastards across the hundred and beyond but Bradas takes his vows seriously. He could not bear to have his indiscretion revealed but equally could not ignore the child he fathered. Alshain was full of concern and offered to have the money paid through the man who looks after his affairs. Since then Gerd of Hawen has ensured the mother and child are well cared for. Alshain has even had them moved to a better house within the city, though Bradas doesn’t know that. Alshain wants to know where they are if he ever had need of them.
Bradas lost a talented weaponcrafter last year. Despite his claim to have dismissed the craftsman everyone in the Order knows he left for higher rewards under Meketa Tolmey Wolkene of Hask. Bradas’ humiliation is tempered by the relief at the reduction in expense
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