The End and a New Beginning
Copyright© 2025 by REP
Chapter 1
I was a Farmer and a Soldier for the first twenty-five years of my life. I started life as Victor (Vic) Bauer, the son of a simple farmer. My father was Phillip (Phil) Bauer and my mother was Julia Bauer.
When I was a boy, my dad and mom told me the story of their
engagement, wedding, and of having to flee the Kingdom of Acuff. They told me about settling in the Kingdom of Vroman near the village of Vatmia, which is in the Earldom of Nolan. How they came to be in the Kingdom of Vroman is a good starting point for this story.
April 8, 984
Note: Vic’s future father, Phillip Bauer, has the narrative...
It was spring and the end of our workday. Today, my dad, Ray Bauer, and I, Phillip Bauer, finished sowing our crop. We returned to our home earlier in the day than usual. We did our evening tasks earlier than normal, so we could have a family meeting after our evening meal (i.e. supper).
My fiancée, Julia Wall, was visiting and she helped my mom, Pauline Julia Bauer, prepare our supper. Julia and I volunteered to clean up the kitchen, so we could talk privately. We were both nervous about the conversation we were about to have with my parents. We had discussed leasing a farm from the Earl’s Seneschal a week ago, but had not done so. Our problem was with finding a suitable farm. Julia and I had come to a decision a few days ago.
My mother and father were waiting for us in the family room. As we joined them, the mood was somber, which matched the subject we were going to discuss. Julia and I had made a decision, and it was time to discuss that decision with my parents.
I started the conversation by saying, “Dad, Julia and I talked about what we should do after we marry. We agree with you and mom about the problems we will face if we stay here in the Earldom of Silward. We have visited the farms in Silward that are available for lease. Unfortunately, the only land available for lease is not suitable for farming.
“Earl Grell punished the last farmer who asked permission to leave Silward and relocate to another Earldom. Therefore, we know that he will not give us permission to relocate to a neighboring Earldom that has unleased land suitable for farming. If we leave without permission and remain in the Kingdom, the Earl will have us returned to his Earldom and punished. We have no choice but to leave the Kingdom of Acuff.
“According to rumor, the neighboring Kingdom of Vroman has better living conditions for peasants. We will take up residence on a farm near one of its villages. If we can, we will send you a message to let you know where we settle. Unfortunately ... once we leave, we will never be able to return, not even for a visit.
“Our wedding is four days from now. We have talked with our friends and neighbors about us taking the rest of this month and part of next month as a long honeymoon. We started the rumor that we were going to visit Julia’s relatives who live seven travel days to the west of us. No one will be expecting us to return until after our honeymoon ends. Our friends and neighbors will not talk about us leaving Silward on our honeymoon without the Earl’s permission, because they know what the Earl would do to us.
“Once we are married, we will actually travel to the eastern border of the Kingdom of Acuff and cross the border into the Kingdom of Vroman. The Kingdoms of Acuff and Vroman do not get along with each other. Therefore, once we are in Vroman, the Earl will not be able to find us and bring us back to Silward.
“Julia’s guardian overheard us talking about leaving the Kingdom.; t Therefore, he knows of our plans for our honeymoon. He told us that he will give us a small handcart for a wedding present. Actually, he has already given it to us and we have been packing our belonging and food into it, in preparation of leaving on our honeymoon. We plan to leave a couple of days after the wedding.”
My mom said, “Phillip, it was several weeks ago that we first talked with you about your plans for after you wed. Your father and I know what farmland is like in this area. We have been expecting that you would decide to leave the Kingdom sometime after the wedding. We weren’t expecting that you would leave immediately.”
My dad said, “Phil, the plan you and Julia have made is good,; although it will sadden your mother and me knowing that you won’t return from your honeymoon. Your brothers and sisters will also be disappointed that they won’t get to say goodbye.
“King Riggs inherited the Kingdom on the death of his father twelve years ago. His father was a good King and he treated us peasants in an acceptable manner. We had a good life living here when his father was King.
“However, the way King Riggs allows Duke Mackey and Earl Grell to manage their Duchy and Earldom is inexcusable in my opinion. The three of them seem to go out of their way to make life difficult for us peasants. If the rumors are true, all of the Duchies and Earldoms in this Kingdom have problems similar to those we have. If your mother and I were ten years younger, we would go with you. Unfortunately, it would be difficult for a large group of peasants to successfully slip out of the Kingdom.
“As you travel east, learn the names of the main, local villages and. discuss the villages that are at least twenty miles from where you are with the people you meet. Then the next time you meet people, tell them that you are going to visit distant relatives who live in a village that is in one of those Earldoms. Tell them you are not familiar with the area and ask for directions to that village. Don’t tell them that you are from Silward.; y You know the Earldoms that are next to our Earldom and the names of their Earls. Tell people you come from one of those Earldoms.
“Earl Grell does not pay attention to the doings of his peasants, Phil. Your departure may never come to his attention. If he does learn of your leaving, which is likely to be more than a month after your departure, he will hopefully do nothing about your leaving. If he sends someone to ask about you, we will say you are honeymooning at Julia’s relatives, who live west of here. If asked about why you did not return, we will just say we don’t know what happened to you.”
April 12, 984
Our wedding ceremony was small. My family, Julia’s family, and our close friends attended the ceremony. My parents hosted a small reception for the ceremony’s attendees and the Priest after the ceremony.
April 14, 984
Julia and I left our village early in the morning pulling our handcart behind us.; i It was a tearful goodbye.
The path to the eastern border of the Kingdom of Acuff was just a footpath that meandered between villages. Wagons traveled the paths between the Kingdom’s villages causing ruts in the dirt paths. The width of the wagon’s wheels was wider than the width of our cart’s wheels. That made it difficult for Julia and me to pull the cart along the path, which slowed our rate of travel.
Sometimes a path would split into two paths, so we had to guess which path would get us to the border quicker; w We usually picked the path that appeared to head eastward. After traveling four or five miles on the path, it would sometimes turn to the north or south. Traveling those portions of the path did not move us closer to the border.
Before we left, Julia and I estimated the distance to the border was sixty miles, however that was the straight-line distance. Our journey was a good bit further than sixty miles, for as we had to follow the paths. That meant we had to go around mountains, through forested areas, and cross streams. When we crossed a stream, we had to find either a ford for shallow streams or a bridge to cross the deeper streams. Julia and I believed we walked close to a hundred and fifty miles to get to the border. If we were lucky, we walked fifteen miles a day. We had no idea how far we would have to walk once we crossed the border.
Unfortunately, we would not be returning home in the near future, and perhaps never. Perhaps things would be different once the Duke and Earl were dead. Perhaps our families could visit us or we could visit them.
April 24, 984
Julia and I think we may have crossed the border of Acuff into the Kingdom of Vroman today. We felt that we could relax now for we were beyond the reach of Earl Grell, but we will continue as fast as we can go until we are certain we are no longer in Acuff.
We continued walking eastward pulling our cart. The terrain and paths were similar.; t Therefore, our rate of travel was the same. However, the villages were more numerous, which meant the area was prosperous. We stopped at each village we came to and asked about available farms and what life was like under the rule of the local Earl. Eventually, we entered the Earldom of Nolan and we really liked what we were told in the village of Vatmia.
May 9, 984
We decided to settle just outside of the village of Vatmia. The village elder explained there were several tenant farms vacant. We visited the farms and decided on a farm that would be a good place for us to live. The soil was rich and the farm had a large farmhouse with several bedrooms. The elder informed us that we would have to apply to lease the farm at the Earl’s castle. The elder explained the agreement we would have to sign in order to occupy the farm.
We traveled to Earl Sean Nolan’s castle to apply for permission to take over the tenant farm near Vatmia as tenant farmers. We spoke with Earl Nolan’s Seneschal and reached an agreement.
When we harvested our crops, we would sell our crops to the Earl and pay a tax on our earnings, which was currently thirty percent. At that time, we would also pay our annual rent on the farm. We were expecting this type of arrangement for it was a common agreement between a tenant farmer and his Earl.
While talking with the Earl’s Seneschal, we talked about being newlyweds and about us just getting started in life as a couple. We asked if it was possible to get a loan until we harvested our first crop. The Seneschal agreed and a loan was included as part of the lease agreement with reasonable repayment terms.
The Seneschal was experienced with newlyweds, and he knew we would have to add to the loan during the first few years of our tenancy. We would need food, clothing, seed, farming equipment and many other things necessary for our survival during the coming years. We hadn’t thought of that when we applied for the loan, ; but the village elder and the Earl’s Seneschal took care of us.
All the Seneschal said was, if we needed anything, just tell the village elder what we needed. The village elder would know about the loan and what to do about what we needed. We later learned that the village elder would inform the Seneschal of what we needed. If our needs were reasonable, the Seneschal would provide us with what we needed and have the Earl’s Accounting Staff add the cost of what we received to our loan. The loan would accrue two percent interest on any unpaid balance. The loan’s repayment terms spread our payments across several years until the loan balance, to include the cost of anything we needed in the interim, was repaid to the Earl.
When we left the Earl’s castle, we returned to the farm and moved our belongings into the farmhouse. We finally had a home of our own. At the time, we didn’t understand everything that was happening in the village and castle. All we were certain about was we were to discuss the seed, equipment, food, and other things that we needed with the elder of Vatmia. The elder and Seneschal would obtain what we needed and work with us until we were financially secure. Over the next year, we learned the details of the how the loan worked.
When we harvested our first crop, we sold it to Earl Nolan. Thirty percent of the proceeds were withheld from selling the crop to pay our taxes and we paid the first years rent on the farm. A portion of the proceeds was paid against our loan balance. The remainder of the proceeds was our profit for the year.
We worked the farm for three seasons and conserved as much of the proceeds we received as possible. That resulted in us paying off the loan in three years. After that, our portion of the proceeds on selling what we harvested increased. We could now afford to have our first child.
May 13, 988
Note: Vic is now the narrator.
My mother gave birth to me and they named me Victor Bauer. If I recall what I was told of my lineage, the Victor I was named after was my mom’s grandfather. Mother told me that according to the midwife, my delivery was an average level of difficulty for my mother. According to my mother, it was a major effort for her.
I think I was about 5-years-old when my mother assigned two tasks to me: feed the chickens and sweep the floors of the farmhouse. My mother reminded me to do my chores and supervised me as I did them to ensure I did them properly. When I was 9-years-old, when my father assigned me to feed and water our plow horse and milk the cow. By the time I was 12-years-old, I was working in the field with my father. I think I was more of a hindrance than a help when I first started trying to help him.
As time passed, I matured and our family grew. During my first twelve years of life, I gained a brother and then two sisters. I was not positive, but I thought my mom was pregnant again.
Sundays were the Lord’s days, so Dad had me hook our new plow horse to the farm wagon and we went to church in Vatmia. The local Catholic Priest’s services were typically over two hours long. He had a lot to say, and it seemed to me that he repeated himself almost every Sunday.; I was bored by the service.
When the services were finished, the families of the village and those of the nearby farms gathered to share a potluck mid-day meal. These mid-day meals were typically held in the early afternoon. Of course, we younger kids were able to play together and form friendships. As we aged, we stopped playing childish games for we started to mature and act like adults.
June 4, 1003
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