Galen
System-lord Osgar Ash Dawn was just another in a long line of lords of the powerful Ash Dawn clan decesended from Hakon ‘Fairhair’ Ash Dawn, the first king of Highpass. Galen couldn’t recall how many System-lords in Highpass belonged to that clan, and even less when he he thought of Highlords, great lords, and others.
The System-lord of Mooncrest was a generous host Galen had to admit. There was no hostility he could detect, but that wasn’t surprising. The System-lord had supported the alliance against King Rodger, and although the system had been granted to King Raegan of the Kingdom of Wanes after his death. King Raegan had granted the Highgard Sector to Galen’s aunt Meredith Worth, who ruled Highpass with her brother, and Galen’s father.
The Kingdom of Highpass was split between the two great powers of Furse Space, although everyone knew that it’s loyalty were more closely linked to the Kingdom of Fist, than to the Kingdom of the Wanes. It none the less was a kingdom split in two, under the appearance of remaining a single unit.
Galen had slowly been realizing that that appearance was all it was. The lords of Highpass were almost as divided as the many systems of kingdoms of Bothina in the East March of Furse Space. System-lords were king’s in all but name, banded together with little more than the common goal of not being outright absorbed into one of the bigger star nations, and a pretense was better than that it seemed.
Mooncrest was not like Minbar, the last great system of the Worthgard Sector that Galen, and the rest of the fleet had traveled from on their journey throughout Highpass. Mooncrest with it’s more than three and half billion people spread throughout the system, was more than twice as populous as Minbar. The Ring world of alone Farnworth which surrounded the world had more than twice the population with more than two and half billion people calling the massive man made structure home.
Clan Ash Dawn might have gained their greedy hands on the system of Mooncrest, but Clan Bull still ruled as highlords throughout the system. The Highlords of the asteroid Heathfield’s Stop, the Mining Station Bolton, and the ancient space structure of Turku were all descesanted from the former System-lords of Mooncrest, back to the cousin, and ally of Hakon Fairhair who had granted Arden the system.
Galen enjoyed his time on Mooncrest though. It was some of the few downtime he got while the starships were in transit from one system to another as he preformed his duties for the Imperial Lord General, and his own father. Even know his free time was limited, and the feasting and drinking were part of his own duties. His father told him it was important to meet the people of the worlds they visited. To present himself to the lords, and listen to them. One day he would take over for his father, but for now he was an outsider, and he had to prove himself to the lords and people he would one day command.
