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Lucian watched as Remon took out some golden coins and held them within the palm of his hand to show the squire. Never before had Lucian had the chance to witness such precious pieces of coinage within his life and he could not force himself to look away from such large amount of currency by will alone.
“You are in luck, Lucian, for I have had to explain this to men within the Empire once before. If you cannot understand it then there is no hope for you.” The Old Knight said as he held within his hand five coins, “There is no true ‘value’ that honor has. Honor is honor, but I would be lying if it did not result in something tangible. Within my hands are five coins, we will regard this as how much honor you have.”
“So… five coins of honor?”
“Yes.” The Knight nodded as he rested his hand upon his knee, “If this amount of honor was possessed by a Knight of the Realm, it would be respectable for them to be awarded a County to control. To hold a County means you are Lord over several Barons and those Barons control the villages that surround their castles. You will also likely hold a Chapel dedicated to the Lady herself if you are pious enough.”
His hand became animated and suddenly a single coin was seen clasped between his thumb and index finger, “This coin is represented by his title as Victor of the Sunset Tournament. As you can see, such a victory has granted him a fifth of his total honor. We can say these other coins can be from his time in war, another is his faithful spouse, and the rest being a cumulation of his achievements.”
“And then, that Knight’s victory is called into question.” Remon took the coin for a moment. A stumble of realization striking him as suddenly as it disappeared. Slowly after that he took the coin and placed it next to him before showing Lucian the hand, “As you can see, he has lost Honor.”
“Then… what happens when he fights the man in a duel for his honor?” Lucian asked with a hint of anticipation.
“It depends, in truth.” Count Remon said as he reached over and grabbed a new coin from the pouch, “Let us say that he too was a Count, but lacked prowess on the Tournament field. Then simply defeating him does not regain your honor. If it was a fight to the death it might, but that might not be enough. A feud though, between two equals, would be enough for you to not only regain your honor but even earn some through martial prowess.”