Shazin Hennard

## Story

Knight Hennard had inherited his father's title of a baron and, Cherry Blossom Ridge was part of the dominion of the Shazin Family.

The Second Prince's regiment of 2500 soldiers and another 3000 soldiers from the private armies of some nobles were about to raid the still-intact Evanson Town, their forces were assaulted by the former soldiers of the Northland Army that emerged from Cherry Blossom Ridge nearby, causing the Second Prince's forces to incur heavy casualties with more than 2000 soldiers dead.

Enraged beyond belief, the Second Prince mobilized his soldiers right away only to be faced with no less than 10000 soldiers that formerly belonged to the Northland Army with each of them mounted and equipped with a suit of metal armor. They were even led by two Gold ranked knights, one of them being Knight Hennard, the duke's former family knight, who referred to himself as Baron Shazin, and the other being Gold ranked knight Tabik. Being among the former five Gold ranked knights of the duke, they knew the Second Prince rather well. In fact, they could even be said to be old acquaintances.

Seeing his own disorganized men and the towering killing intent of Hennard's soldiers, the Second Prince understood that a battle would not go down well for him. So, he rode out from his troops and decided to talk. It was then when he found that Knight Hennard had inherited his father's title of a baron and, Cherry Blossom Ridge was part of the dominion of the Shazin Family. Tabik had also become the family knight of Hennard.

Thus, the Second Prince could only apologize towards Hennard for the fact that his men had trespassed upon the territory of the Shazin Family and told him that because of the condition of the duke, he had already taken over the management of his dominion in his place and even extended an invitation to Knight Hennard to join him.

Knight Hennard, the current Baron Shazin, also gave the Second Prince face and accepted his apology, saying that he was not mistaken as he was unaware of the situation. However, he said that he couldn't accept the Second Prince's invitation without the personal order of the duke and said that the duke has done him a huge boon by giving him control of the Northland Army in a time of crisis like that. Not only did he allow Hennard to inherit the title of his father, the duke also allowed Tabik to become his family knight and Hennard said that he was infinitely thankful for that. That's why Hennard said that if the duke personally willed him to serve the Second Prince, he would do so without another word and would even be willing to die for the Second Prince.

Having had to endure his anger from listening to Hennard's excuse to not join him, the Second Prince returned to Gildusk City with the rest of his soldiers. The only benefit he got out of that trip was when he asked Knight Hennard curiously about the metal armor worn by his men. The knight then told him that he had traded them with the Norton Family.

Baron Shazin wanted the land around Sanderson Hills in Delamock. The location was the border of Winston and wasn't like the rest of Delamock, rife with ripe farmlands. It was rather odd for the baron to want such a place as his territory. Baron Shazin was a man brought up in a military family. He didn’t really understand what it meant to manage a dominion. He was the one with the tightest finances among all four houses. He frequently needed their aid. There were two silver mines and one copper mine in Sanderson Hills. It would help alleviate his financial situation. It wa far better than selling crops, which was why he desires the area. The second highness intended to use those mines to fill the national treasury. However, Kenmays explained to him that Sanderson Hills was under the control of Duke Madras and there are seven citadels there manned by a 40-thousand-man garrison. If he agreed to the baron's request, he would attack and conquer the area regardless of the cost. His Highness could then levy a ten percent tax on the mines' earnings. That was far better than sending his own elite troops to the grinder that was the seven citadels. So, the second highness agreed to Baron Shazin’s demand. Apart from giving him that area, he would also make him a count.

Back when the Duke of the Northlands, Loggins, sent Knight Chevany to attack the Norton dominion, Baron Shazin, or Hennard, as he was known back then, was one of the commanders of the duke's forces. Even though Josk did not personally fight against the baron, he got to know him during the time the baron was held captive. The two had developed a strong friendship in the time since then and spoke informally in private settings.