MERCHANT ADVENTURER

Name Change

It was not uncommon among the nobility to not know the name or identity of each individual commoner. Commoners were outside the sphere of influence for the nobility. In other words, it didn't do the nobility much good to know or even consort with commoners.

Nobles kept to their own class. Those who were on the higher spectrum of the nobility would even be allowed to grace the presence of royalty. Those who were unfortunate, would cavort with the richest among the commoners. These people usually tended to be the rich merchants. And there were few exceptions of noblemen marrying a rich merchant's daughter to add to his seraglio. In this kingdom, it was common practice for a wealthy man to have more than one wife. The law set both by religion and by the king was that a man must treat all his wives and children the same. A man who failed to do so, would lose his standing in society and be branded an exile. Most exiles end up in the outskirt of the kingdom, where a large desert existed.

For this reason, most men didn't want to marry more than one wife. Only the wealthy could afford to comply with this law, and so it was much more common to see wealthy people with more than one wife. As for the less wealthy nobles, they would only have one wife.

If a wealthy man should lose his wealth and be reduced to poverty, his wives could choose to divorce him with a no-fault separation on her part. As a man, the husband is expected to provide for his wife. If his mistake reduced his family to dire financial straits, then he must bear all responsibility for it.

Therefore, it was quite a shock to me when Mattias asked me for my name.

"My lord, I am Casper."

"I see," he replied. "Tell me Casper, what trade are you involved in?"

"To answer my lord, I had once been indentured in a merchant's family, thus I seek to enter this trade as well."

"The mercantile trade is one of high profits, but large risk. Are you fully aware of this?"

"I am," I answered. I was grateful that Mattias was thoughtful enough to warn me of the pitfalls in the mercantile trade.

"Then, I suppose I will have to be candid and tell you, your name won't help you."

"My lord?" I was confused.

Mattias went on to explain. "In the mercantile trade, appearances are what matters most. When hearing a name like Casper, how do you think others will think of you?"

"Casper sounds like a peasant's name."

"Precisely," Mattias continued. "How about we change your name a little to make it sound more appealing?"

"Thank you, my lord," I quickly said, excited by his suggestion.

"What do you think of Caspian?"

"I like it," I replied almost too quickly. This made Mattias chuckle.

Embarrassed, I turned to look at Raine. What do you think of Caspian?" However, to my dismay, Raine had tired himself from crying earlier and was sound asleep. I gently wiped the crust from dried tears off his face.