19 The Strom River (2/2)
”Where is the Ritter Duchy?” Asked Ethan.
”You're looking at it. Just across that river.” Said Friedrich pointing west across the river
”The Ritter Duchy is a very long and narrow piece of territory that runs from north to south along the west side of the Strom River. Like the river, the duchy extends from the kingdom's northern border to the southern coastline. It contains about 70,000 square kilometers of fertile farmland, and has a population of about 800,000 people. Although it is technically only about ten percent of the total land in the kingdom, it contains about twenty percent of the arable farmland in Vorbei, because the land in the Ancient Forest is not arable for the most part, and takes up half the landmass in the kingdom. The duke doesn't manage the whole thing of course. He has many lower ranked nobles beneath him who have pieces of land that they manage within the Ritter Duchy, and they pay taxes to him.” Said Hans.
”I had no idea that her dad is that powerful. So we are going to go through Mia's family's land?” Said Ethan.
”Not only are we going through her family's land, we're going to stop for tonight at the Von Ritter Castle.” Said Hans
”I can't wait 'till you see it, Ethan, the Von Ritter castle is amazing. It is almost as big as the king's Royal palace, and just as ornately decorated. All of the windows are made of stained glass, and the walls are lined with mirrors, glass mirrors with gold trim! The feasts that are served are made of all kinds of exotic foods that are brought in, and served on porcelain plates. The beds have silk sheets, and each bed gets its own room. There are servants on every floor. They say that the Von Ritter family is nearly as wealthy as the Royal Family.” Said Friedrich.
”If the Von Ritters and the Vorbei Royal Family are both so powerful, why are they so friendly with each other. I would normally expect two powerful families like that to be having a power struggle with each other or something.” Said Ethan.
”Apparently, the two families used to be in a power struggle a few generations ago that almost led to a civil war. Then a few of the Von Ritters intermarried with a few of the members of the Vorbei Royal Family, and that calmed things down.” Said Friedrich.
”Since then, the two families have really gotten along, doing things for mutual benefit. The Von Ritters help the Royal Family in subduing the other nobles in such a way that it doesn't get the king directly involved, and the Royal Family basically give the Von Ritters free reign within their own land. Provided that neither family does anything to the detriment of the other, the mutually beneficial relationship continues. That is why the Von Ritters are such prominent members of the Royalist Faction.”Said Hans.
Just then, the ferry made it to the east bank of the river, and the knights plus Ethan and Johan went on board.