Volume One: The Knight of the Forest Chapter 31: The Collective Wedding

The enclosing house was constructed with stone foundations and rammed earth. The base was built by stacking stones, upon which a twenty-seven-foot-high and six-foot-thick rammed earth wall was raised. To protect against rain erosion, the lower six feet above the ground were clad in brick. The carpenters had already sawn many planks, which sped up the rammed earth process considerably. According to Riano’s prediction, before the stronghold atop Stormpeak was completed, the first enclosing house would certainly be ready for habitation.

In this era, brick had become a fairly common building material, but due to limitations in firing technology, the yield of acceptable bricks was low. Thus, most lords still preferred to build their castles with stone, which was sturdier and more durable. To accelerate the construction of the enclosing house and the castle, Berion had to use brick as the main building material. Fortunately, in his previous life, Berion had worked at a brick kiln during his youth and was quite familiar with brick firing.

To increase efficiency, Berion decided to implement a twenty-four-chamber ring kiln. This type of kiln features a circular tunnel structure divided along its length into preheating, firing, and cooling zones. During firing, green bricks are placed at a fixed location, and fuel is added sequentially at points throughout the tunnel, so the flame moves in a continuous ring, passing the bricks through the three stages to produce the finished product.

Typically, eight doors are used for preheating, eight for firing, and the remaining eight for unloading. The sequence of zones remains unchanged, but always advances in the same direction. Specifically, the front end of the brick stack is continuously loaded, while the rear is continuously unloaded, with coal being fed from the top into the firing zone.

Cold air enters through the open doors at the unloading end, passes through the cooling and insulation zones, becoming hot air. Some is drawn off to heat artificial drying rooms, while the rest enters the firing zone for combustion. The smoke generated transfers its heat to the bricks in the preheating and drying zones, then exits via flue holes and channels, passes through open dampers into the main flue, and is finally expelled by the chimney.

The chimney provides the motive force for the flow of smoke and the continuous advance of the kiln’s flame. Since the evaporation of residual water from the bricks and the heating process must proceed slowly, and to maximize utilization of the heat in the smoke, several conical dampers are opened in the preheating zone to release smoke at multiple points.

The speed at which the kiln’s “flame” advances is called the “fire travel speed.” Typically, the fire travels twenty to forty-five paces per day, or faster. The speed for firing tiles is lower than for bricks, usually less than thirty paces per day. Each time the flame moves forward by one chamber, the conical damper at the start of the preheating zone is raised and the paper barrier is burned away, while the damper closest to the firing zone is dropped and tightly closed.

Thus, each zone advances by one chamber. The front is constantly loaded, the rear constantly unloaded, and the firing process in the ring kiln proceeds continuously in this manner. In Berion’s memory, small brickworks in his past life could produce about thirty thousand standard bricks per day in a small twenty-four-chamber ring kiln. With such high productivity, combined with stone, it was more than enough to meet the construction needs of Norlandburg.

As for adhesives, Berion unveiled his trump card: cement. He had discovered marlstone by the River Karl, and the earliest cement was made by simply firing marlstone without any special preparation, producing what was known in his previous world as natural cement. It possessed excellent water hardening and rapid setting properties, making it ideal for construction.

Berion used leftover stones from the ring kiln construction to build a cement kiln. This kiln could fire not only natural cement but also the famed Portland cement of his previous world, produced by mixing limestone and clay in a three-to-one ratio and firing it. Portland cement boasts superb performance and is a revolutionary material in architectural history. Not only can limestone and clay be used, but also coal slag, iron ore slag, and other readily available materials. Compared to the need for quarrying marlstone, Portland cement’s ingredients are easier to obtain and less costly.

After Riano had built a low wall with cement, he confidently assured Berion that, with the ring kiln and cement, he was certain he could finish the castle’s outer walls and the first enclosing house before Berion returned from campaign, and the enclosing house would be ready for occupancy.

As the weather grew warmer, more and more refugees returned home, and the number seeking work at Norlandburg increased. The refugee camp had already expanded to two sites, and a third was under construction. According to Mark’s statistics, Norlandburg now housed over twenty-six hundred refugees, and this number continued to grow.

The influx of laborers meant faster land reclamation and construction, but also greater consumption of food and money—especially food. Moreover, the larger the refugee population, the higher the risk of unrest at Norlandburg. In response, Berion instructed Mark to slow the recruitment of refugees from daily efforts to only one day per week, focusing on families with able-bodied adults. His reasoning was that refugees fleeing as family units tended to be more stable and less prone to trouble.

Additionally, Berion had Grove send a letter to Dulin, commander of the Free Legion, requesting two more infantry companies to help oversee the refugees and maintain order. These companies had already been stationed at Norlandburg for a week, and their presence had greatly eased the burden on the castle’s regular army and militia. The three mercenary infantry companies, not counting free board and lodging, cost over fifteen hundred denars in monthly wages. Berion’s contract with them was for two months, lasting until his return from battle.

For three thousand denars, Berion could manage the refugees and ensure his home would not be left defenseless while he led his troops abroad. He considered this a worthwhile bargain. Though he now possessed nearly three hundred thousand denars, unspent money was dead money, holding no value. By investing a small portion in land reclamation and construction, he could dramatically improve Norlandburg’s impoverished state, thus realizing the true value of his wealth.

Time passed swiftly, and before long, May arrived. Viscount Mery from Amandine City had already sent messengers twice to urge Berion to bring his troops to Amandine, so he could join forces with Sir Pippin and the county soldiers to retake Maple Manor. Berion understood he could not let the county governor summon him a third time, lest he sour their relationship even if he proved victorious in battle.

Thus, Berion instructed Eomer and Bess to assemble their forces, preparing to depart in a week. This time, Berion would lead Norlandburg’s First Regular Company and a group of skilled archers among the militia, totaling thirty soldiers. Before marching out, Berion had already dispatched Barlinn to scout Maple Manor and gather intelligence, for knowledge of both friend and foe is the key to victory.

Prior to the campaign, Berion gave his soldiers two days of leave. After three months of rigorous training, their nerves were taut, and with a major battle looming, he wanted them to relax and enjoy themselves. While the soldiers were on leave, Riano oversaw the castle and village construction, and Mark led the land reclamation teams. For once, as Norlandburg bustled with activity, its lord, Sir Berion, found himself with nothing pressing to do. Yet he was not idle; before departing, he planned a significant event for his domain.

Norlandburg was heavily skewed, with twice as many adult men as women. Discounting those already married, only about sixty women were of marriageable age, most of them serfs whose weddings depended solely on Berion’s approval. There were few families in Norlandburg; most residents were unattached youths. Long-term collective living, coupled with labor and combat, had left them spirited but rootless—without families, they felt no sense of belonging and did not regard Norlandburg as their homeland.

Accordingly, Berion instructed Mark, Eomer, Bess, Barret, and other civil and military leaders to encourage their subordinates to interact with the young female serfs and promote marriage. He promised that anyone who distinguished himself in battle could redeem his wife’s freedom and, in the future, buy farmland and a house.

Over three or four months, Mark had received thirty marriage applications. When he informed Berion, the lord was delighted and decided to hold a mass wedding during the soldiers’ leave before departing on campaign. This would add thirty new families to Norlandburg and lay the groundwork for future population growth.

For the occasion, Berion ordered the demolition of two long barracks in Norlandburg to build thirty standard small wooden cottages. After all, newlyweds needed a proper place to live—they could not remain in dormitories. These cottages, similar to those provided to craftsmen among the refugees outside the castle, consisted of two rooms each. They were furnished with beds, stools, a wardrobe, and a table, and were supplied with bedding, mostly made by the brides themselves.

On the second day of the soldiers’ leave, the mass wedding was held. At dawn, everyone in Norlandburg was up. Except for the cooks, all the men gathered on the eastern grounds, where they donned new clothes, shaved, and groomed themselves with their comrades’ help. Among playful banter and bursts of laughter, the thirty grooms prepared for their big day.

Indeed, starting a family was a joyous affair. Meanwhile, the brides assembled on the western grounds outside the castle, under ten tents, accompanied by Norlandburg’s women. There they changed and applied makeup, with soft conversations and bashful giggles drifting from the tents. Outside, tables were laden with freshly picked, dew-kissed flowers—spring’s beautiful blossoms, vibrant and full of the promise of growth, much like the thirty new families about to be born in Norlandburg.

Once the grooms were ready, Mark led them on horseback around from the north gate to the brides’ tents. Although most rode mules rather than horses, any mount was better than none. Upon arrival, their friends joined in shouting for the brides to come out. After a while, perhaps unable to resist the boisterous calls, the young women emerged.

Thirty brides, dressed in white gowns and adorned with lovely floral wreaths, stepped out accompanied by their companions. They lined up on the flower-strewn grounds. The grooms, pulled from their mounts by their friends, were handed bouquets prepared in advance, and approached their brides. Amid applause and cheers, each groom presented his flowers and embraced his beloved.

After the bridal pick-up ceremony, the grooms lifted their brides onto their mounts and led them south around to Norlandburg’s main gate, entering the castle. Berion, along with a priest and two assistants from Amandine City, awaited them. Norlandburg had no church yet, so Berion spent fifty denars to invite a priest and his assistants from the county church to officiate as witnesses of the Fire God. Though Berion was not superstitious, his era was one of universal faith, and for the sake of effective rule, he had to cooperate with religious authorities to secure his people’s loyalty.

After the grooms dismounted and the others sat at the tables prepared for the occasion, the thirty couples, hand in hand, entered. They passed through a corridor of flowers, standing in a row on the wooden dais before the priest amid a shower of petals and the applause of their friends.

The priest, standing atop the dais, began his address. “It is a great honor to come to Norlandburg and witness the marriage of thirty couples. Marriage and procreation are the sacred missions bestowed upon us mortals by the Fire God. The veil draped over this holy dais is an eternal romance, the blooming flowers a wish for lasting happiness. I propose we offer the warmest applause to bless these thirty couples.”

At the priest’s suggestion, thunderous applause swept the crowd. “Now our flower children will bring the rings to the couples.” As he finished speaking, thirty children under ten, adorned with floral crowns and carrying baskets, approached each couple and presented their rings before withdrawing.

As in Berion’s memories from his previous life, rings were an essential element of weddings in this era. But buying custom rings for each person was costly and troublesome. Berion simply had Hama melt down a bronze knight statue they had seized in Waterbend Town, casting sixty wedding rings—wide for men, slender for women, all in standard sizes. Since they would not be worn every day, this would suffice.

With rings in hand, the priest instructed the couples to hold their rings in their right hands over their hearts, preparing to swear their vows.

“From this moment forth, you shall face each other as husband and wife. Today, before Lord Berion Tuck and your friends gathered here, please swear your eternal, unchanging vows.”

“xxxxxx (names of the thirty grooms), do you take this beautiful, kind lady before you as your lawful wife, to stand by her side in poverty or wealth, health or sickness, never leaving her, never forsaking her, for life? Do you?”

The priest finished, and the thirty grooms shouted in unison, “I do!” Perhaps, overwhelmed by excitement, their voices were so loud that they startled the brides, who wondered if their husbands had gone mad.

“Now, xxxxxx (names of the thirty brides), do you take this handsome, upright man before you as your lawful husband, to stand by his side in poverty or wealth, health or sickness, never leaving him, never forsaking him, for life? Do you?” the priest turned to ask the brides.

“I do!” The brides’ reply, in unison, was much gentler.

“Very well, in the name of the Fire God’s servant, I declare you officially husband and wife. You may now exchange your rings.” At the priest’s words, the thirty couples eagerly exchanged their rings.

“Excellent, young men, you may kiss your beautiful brides! May the great Fire God bless you!” The priest also offered his blessing.

Amid cheers, the thirty couples embraced and kissed. Berion, swept up by the jubilant atmosphere, applauded them enthusiastically. The couples were then ushered to their chambers. After the ceremony ended, all of Norlandburg—except those unable to leave their posts—along with the three Free Legion company captains and the visiting priest and his assistants, raised their glasses to toast the newlyweds and enjoyed a sumptuous feast together.