Alexios slid a thumb beneath the seal and opened the wax with a soft snap.
The letter inside was neat, formal, and carried the crest of a familiar fringe county.
Eric Winterwood.
He rolled the name in his mind.
Winterwood… yes.
A border county in Greenvale. They were newcomers by Alexios' old aristocrat standards, because the previous owners of the county were brutalized when the Beastman Confederation, which bordered, conducted an invasion and ran over the county before Alastair Greenvale could respond.
Nonetheless, while not even close to the strongest county, the Winterwoods were a consistent military value, holding respectable strength for a land bordering the immensely aggressive and prideful beasts.
Of course, Alexios knew the family name.
He knew all the names.
Counts. Viscounts. Barons.
