Alexander looked at Gareth with a blankly dumbfounded expression, and then started cracking up. “Good one they all started out like Bairan, I’ll have to… oh.” He started very amused before rolling his eyes upwards, realizing Gareth was not making a joke. Still grinningly amused he continued “Not really, some family lines brake and their inherited to other noble families or even a commoner; other times a man of wealth just buys so much land that they can carve out their own kingdom without a drop of bloodshed, or it is gained through conquest. There really is no set way of acquiring one’s lands at the beginning of things, and Bairan gained his through a just reward” Alexander stated chirpingly and informatively “He is the exception, and by no means the rule. Also, note that his existence is a seen as a threat to all the incompetent nobles who can’t hold onto their own lands by themselves, and through them, a threat to the nobles who hold sway over the incompetent ones. To you he might be a bringer of prosperity and hop, of what you may become, but for an established noble who has amassed numerous pawns, he is a harbinger of chaos who was not in their plans, an interloper, who threatens everything they worked so hard for and for so long. I don't think he is not honestly welcomed by large, but only a fool would openly oppose him. And his shacking of the foundations will make things easier for me once it is my turn to amass pawns, instead of working through decays worth of plans I will only have to work though several years worth.” Alexander started rambling again before he thought of his own question.
“So, Gareth, how old are you any ways? Fourteen? Maybe fifteen?” he asked, he was starting to wonder what Gareth was there for, he originally figured messenger, haled, runner, possibly stable boy do to being armed with a militarized pitch work, but the shield and armor seemed woefully out of place for such roles, and he figured asking the youth his age would be less rude then some of the alternatives he was thinking of, and inspirit of that gave his age as well, but again strung his wards together as to not give Gareth a chance to speak before he said his pace “I’m Seventeen, by the way.” He finished smugly while riding his high horse, the animal was transport and humor rolled into one, and he never grew bored of either.