Castle building nobles are beginning to provide a steady income of gold into the world. Clever factions will provide services to these nobles in exchange for gold. This new economy should provide a much more stable world for us all. However, my friend, let us not get carried away by this talk of wealth. Your initial concern is how to get started on the right foot.
New nobles begin in a safe haven city.
You are perfectly safe there as no one can attack you within the safe haven. Which means it will be almost impossible for you to recruit more peasants, make money doing common tasks like pot making, or generally advance your position. You begin with one noble and eight peasants. If your one noble does all your studying, you will have a very learned, very vulnerable noble. It is better to use your noble points to recruit two or three additional nobles to aid in your task.