Wessex, Iron Kingdom
April, 870 AD
Ragnar Ulfsson rode his horse down the dirt road into the center of a large town in Wessex.
Inside the wall, there were exactly three hundred stone houses and two hundred wooden houses. The total population of this town was four thousand people.
He had traveled from City Titan to Wessex today for a reason. He was conducting a grand tour of the southern territories, and today he was hosting a massive tournament in this town.
The prize for winning the tournament was one thousand silver coins and a guaranteed position as a military officer in the Iron Kingdom's army.
Ragnar wanted to see the local knights, but more importantly, he was looking for a rare type of noble.
He wanted to find educated, open-minded aristocrats who understood mathematics, logistics, and supply chains.
Riding a brown horse to Ragnar's right was Louis the Stammerer. Riding a black horse to Ragnar's left was his new bodyguard, Hakon. Hakon was a giant man.
