Autumn brought the promise of a rich harvest to the eastern Storm Cape Mountains. After more than a year of war, the people of Arabel could finally return home and work their fields, hoping for a plentiful crop.
Layers of red leaves glowed in the light, and golden waves of wheat ripened across the land. Princess Regent Alusair and Lady Laeral had jointly announced that all taxes on Arabel's commoners would be waived. At last, its people could look forward to a good year.
Dressed in a robe, Aaron concealed his face beneath his hood. Like an uninvolved traveler, he slowly surveyed the region's recovery after the war.
The results were rather encouraging. Although Lady Laeral had awarded much of the land to soldiers who had distinguished themselves in battle, those new landholders were now putting their efforts into maintaining order and rebuilding. Prosperity followed, and people worked hard in the hope of having enough to eat in the years ahead.
It also made Aaron consider how he should govern his own territory.
Unlike the Bane Godspawn, Aaron was not particularly interested in governing. To him, a fief's greatest purpose was to advance along the Chaos technology tree, not to build some utopia.
As a chosen champion of the Chaos Gods, attempting to establish a utopia would be a downright hellish joke.
Besides, whether in his previous life, the 40K universe, or the Realms, most attempts to build utopias had ended in failure. In the materials Elminster had given him, the sage had mentioned his experiences in Myth Drannor. The Great Sage of Shadowdale had once said that although most members of those Sun Elf families were upright and kind, with general standards and education several levels above humanity's, they still inevitably became embroiled in political strife, fighting one another