Chapter 135: Chapter 135 - Artican Trade in Westeros 62 (Return to Artica 03).
[Chapter Size: 3800 Words.]
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Thrid Person POV
Westeros, 295 AC.
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A raven arrived at Redkeep just now as Varys picked it up and read the letter with quite surprised eyes, quickly noticing another raven landing, and soon after, grabbing the second letter and becoming even more shocked by its contents.
His first move was to leave the room, finding a Kingsguard as quickly as possible while a council was convened due to the information from Varys.
A moment later, all the councillors except for the three members of House Baratheon were present; Renly, who was still assessing and resolving the damages caused by the articano in the Reach, Stannis, who was at Dragonstone organizing the troops and ships, and Robert in his room, drunk.
"Come on, Varys, tell us why this summons. Any news from the..." Jon Arryn spoke, while the king was absent.
"I have two pieces of news, the first from Dorne, Prince Doran tried to meet with Jon Artica," Varys began.
"Those traitors... they're planning something!!" the Queen immediately exclaimed.
"Calm yourself, Cersei, we cannot accuse any great noble so outright without proof," Jon spoke and looked to Varys to continue.
The eunuch sighed and continued, "Jon Artica refused, it seems, but not just that, the Maester of House Martell was murdered by a man they suspect to be a Faceless Man," he said.
"This is absurd, is that savage trying to kill all the Maesters in Westeros?!" Pycelle complained, a bit scared.
He wasn't the only one, after all, Cersei and Littlefinger frowned; they could be next after Jon's promise in his letter.
"Why did he do this?" Jon asked with a dark expression; he had no empathy for Jon Artica, in fact, he saw him as another mad king who must be killed, but this one was even worse because, in addition to his cruelty, he had power and strategy, while he knew very well what to think.
"Well... the Maester might have tried to poison Jon Artica's wife while in Dorne, or even pass information to the Citadel and to pirates, as the fleet that went north before Jon arrived on the west side of the continent, was attacked," Varys commented.
"We are really in a bad situation..." the Lord Commander decided to comment on the issues... "First Oldtown, then what he did in the Sea of Lannisport, the last thing we know is that he destroyed an entire fleet of the Redwynes... a terrible loss for the Reach and for all of Westeros with that..." Barristan was also quite worried, he did not know Jon, but what he did was unimaginable, even in the history of Westeros.
"They are heading north now aren't they?! Where are they?" Jon asked.
Varys nodded before picking up the second letter he received. "They are in Bloodstone," he announced.
"How did he get there so quickly...?!" Littlefinger said with a very worried tone.
"Not only how they arrived, but they have taken over an entire pirate city and are using the place to arm themselves to fight against the fleet coming led by Prince Stannis," he said.
"Read the letter," Jon requested and Varys nodded.
"To the Eunuch who thinks he knows everything..." Varys began, as everyone raised an eyebrow. "Since this information will reach you one way or another, I might as well deliver it myself, we are here in Bloodstone, I've just conquered the city to which your Master of Coin sent a letter offering a large amount of gold for ships to attack us. But I decided to act first, after all, we may have destroyed 200 ships in the west... so we are preparing to destroy another fleet of Westeros... When I am in this war, I will hunt both Littlefinger and Cersei, so I hope you can survive my attacks in the dark. After all, I'm just giving you back what you tried to do to me and my people," Varys read, leaving the room completely silent.
"Can Ned's son be so dishonorable as to threaten to attack with assassins?!" Jon Arryn exclaimed dissatisfied.
"He can't threaten me!! I am the queen!!" Cersei immediately exclaimed, while her eyes were filled with considerable fear, she could not help but feel it with everything she had heard.
"..." Littlefinger also shared the queen's fear... He never imagined his life would be in so much danger, and hearing that Jon Artica might have a Faceless Man assassin, was quite dangerous indeed.
"Honorable or not, with the money he has... he could very well do it..." Varys gave his opinion. "And he can control animals as we have seen, you saw what he did with Ser Gregor Clegane, no one ever imagined he would do that to a man like that," he said.
"He's certainly scaring all the soldiers of Westeros with these stories..." Barristan Selmy shared his opinion, everyone was uneasy with each story about Jon Artica and his story was spreading through Westeros like fire.
"This is terrible..." Jon Arryn was increasingly gloomy. "Tell me, Varys, what do the common people say about Jon Artica?"
"Jon Artica, the Bastard of Winterfell who became a king, King Beyond the Wall, King of the Giants, these were the nicknames he received and the stories began to emerge, a swordsman they said was the fastest in the world, defeating royal guards easily while playing with them, tamed a city in a few hours, kidnapped great nobles and plundered, made Tywin himself a fool and even tortured his best hound, unbeatable at sea, like a Kraken, destroying entire fleets without leaving anyone alive, more cruel than the mad king, as powerful as the king and all the armies of Westeros together, they say he will dominate the seven kingdoms like Aegon did almost 300 years ago," he said.
"This is absurd!! We should have killed him when Eddard Stark brought him as a baby to the Red Keep!!" Cersei exclaimed angrily and fearfully. "He will face my father's wrath!" she said at the end.
"No point lamenting the past..." Baelish spoke in a more rational tone. "Now we should be preparing for an attack from him," he said.
"We should lock down the castle and eliminate any animals..." Pycelle said and everyone agreed, they continued the meeting while talking a bit more, before ending it and they quickly went to do their things to get out of this crisis.
"What are you looking at... are you in Kingsland again?" the voice of Seryna asked Jon by his bedside.
"Yes... enjoying the fear they are feeling at this moment, which I don't understand, after all, I'm just returning everything they threw at me in kind," Jon mocked.
"How are they reacting to your threats?" she asked.
"Well... Varys is hiding in the secret passages of the fortress, Jon Arryn is sending letters everywhere asking for help, Pycelle doesn't know what to do, after all, there is no longer a citadel where he needs to report on the events, Barristan is at the king's door, while the queen is inside it after expelling the prostitutes... after she wrote a letter to her father begging for help. She now seems to be wanting to seduce him, something strange for someone who despises him... but she wants him to go fight, even calling him a coward while his men fight and he stands still, she clearly wants to see him dead... perhaps for her bastard to take the throne... but the funniest thing is Baelish, he is fleeing the city, he is scared and I like that," Jon laughed seeing the latter being very afraid, after all he had a malicious smile when he was at an advantage, but when he saw himself being cornered, his mask fell to that of a frightened rat.
"Anyway... let's go outside, it's already mid-morning," she suggested and Jon nodded, he left the cabin, facing the now pacified pirate city with giants walking through it, while there were many dead on the ground thinking they could fight them, which ended in another massacre.
While one part of the fleet took care of the city, another part was next to the city, starting mass production of wildfire with materials Jon had and a substance he created through nature to produce the formula, there were pyromancers and artican alchemists among them, as they continued producing and filling the stocks.
"Two more days, we'll be ready to set sail again," Jon said unhurriedly, the ships of Westeros would take time to reach here if they came to attack, and even so, if the king wanted to participate, a meeting between him and Jon would be interesting.
This continued while they finally managed to complete a large quantity and began leaving the ships after destroying the plantations Jon created outside the city.
The ships soon began to leave the port, heading northward to sea. "Let's go men, some men from Westeros are ahead to challenge us, let's prepare to see why Artica should not be challenged!" Jon exclaimed as everyone nodded with a war cry.
"Did you manage to call Serume to help you?" Arya asked, but Jon shook his head.
"My connection is cut off with anything beyond the Wall, it makes me lose connection just as it does with the south, I can't spy on them as I am doing at this moment," Jon spoke. It was strange, but there was nothing to do about it; perhaps he would destroy it in the future, he didn't know yet, but anyway, he would leave that for the future and focus on now, as this would be the last challenge before he finally returned to his lands.
At this moment, Robert Baratheon was on a boat. By his side, his squire, Lancel Lannister, trembled with fear as they were going to a naval war against Artica with the northern fleet approaching those waters.
"Let's go men!! We need to show that whelp from the north what happens to those who challenge me!" he exclaimed, while he barely managed to don armor, but seemed confident.
Robert had decided to go to war against Artica at sea, after being mocked by Cersei after they slept together, who said she no longer felt any lust for him, after all, he was no longer the king he used to be.
This enraged him, and he sent his wife away calling her an ungrateful whore, but that left him so furious that he immediately asked for his hammer and declared he would go to war.
Jon Arryn tried to stop the king in every possible way when he heard of the madness, but Robert was determined to go into battle and simply refused all appeals and advanced to one of the ships.
Cersei saw this with a satisfied look, Robert could die in this war and her son would assume Westeros with her as his regent until he came of age. Her gaze went to a sound she heard above and saw a bird, which immediately reminded her of the danger she was running and she ran inside again.
Robert did not board a ship in the Blackwater alone, after all, Barristan Selmy also went with him. He would have taken more Kingsguard, but the queen hysterically begged that the other four Kingsguard stay to protect her and her children, since she had been threatened by Jon Artica.
A few days at sea, they finally encountered the fleet in front of Dragonstone, while Stannis Baratheon awaited the arrival of his brother.
"Your Majesty," Stannis knelt as he approached his brother.
"Enough of this, Stannis. Let's just head to sea and I'll be in command. We have to destroy that Artican fleet and show Ned's son what happens to those who do as they please on my lands. I want to leave now, because I don't want to be in front of Dragonstone; it reminds me of those damn dragons," Robert spoke at the end, while Stannis only nodded and they headed to sea with 300 ships gathered with Velaryon and other houses that joined them.
"My king, can we really defeat them? I saw that they destroyed 200 ships without losing a single one in the west. Can we face them?" Kevin Lannister's son, Lancel Lannister, murmured fearfully.
"Don't be a coward, damn Lannister. Let's show them what we can do too!" Robert spoke to the squire, despising him as he did with all the Lannisters.
Robert looked forward with interest in the battle that would soon follow, and the days continued until they encountered the enemy with Robert Baratheon's confident look, finally giving way, filled by a shocked expression.
He barely had time to process everything that was happening at this moment as men shouted in despair beside him. Explosions erupted from all sides as green flames rose to the sky, they were in the midst of the confrontation at sea losing more and more ships, which until then, they believed to be an easy battle to win.
They saw something unbelievable, while giants on those ships continued launching those things at such a distance that they could not counterattack, only watch their ships being blown up by wildfire.
"We can't stay here," Stannis exclaimed to Robert. He wasn't even wearing armor, just trying to carry his hammer, dragging it while his belly showed using a coat of iron with leather, there were only a few plates on the shoulders and arms, which was quite pitiful for a king.
Lancel Lannister was trembling beside him, and Barristan Selmy was quite dazed. "Let's turn around, Your Majesty, before they can catch us," the commander of the Kingsguard pleaded for his king to retreat, as they would be completely destroyed otherwise.
"They're surrounding us," Lancel Lannister exclaimed, pointing as part of the Artican fleet began to flank them from the west so they couldn't escape easily.
The ships that approached them to counterattack were struck and exploded. Finally, the attacks stopped.
"Do they have no more stock?!" Robert murmured.
"It seems so..." Stannis spoke but still with a grim demeanor, they had lost half the fleet in such a short time.
"They're advancing!" Barristan commented, as enemy ships began slicing through the sea in flames to reach them.
"Archers!!! Prepare to launch fire arrows, burn those damned ships!!!" Stannis exclaimed as the surviving ships began to organize.
They prepared arrows and launched them at the enemies, but then another explosion emerged from the ships with spinning wheels and steel cables destroying the arrows and advancing towards the enemy, as the ships were cut and destroyed when caught by those strange things.
"What the hell is that?!" Robert could hardly believe it, as the ships destroyed their attack and came closer.
All around was a hell of men screaming while dying to their sides, with them trying to attack again and more of those things flying in the air with almost no fire arrow reaching the ships.
The Articans finally began to board the ships and despite them destroying 150 enemy ships, it did not stop them from continuing to attack, as they launched more giant harpoons destroying the wood of the ships.
The ships of Westeros were completely demoralized with the overwhelming pressure being a considerable part of them dead at that moment. Their king seemed not to know what to do, while Barristan Selmy continued beside him to protect him with his life.
The ships of Artica finally crashed against those of Westeros, with giants coming out, at least 2, 3, or 4 from each of the ships.
"By the gods, look at those monsters!" Robb exclaimed, looking at the creature for the first time as it easily reaped the life of a man on nearby ships.
"A ship is approaching!!" Stannis exclaimed before they felt the impact hitting them.
A person landed inside the ship as he stood up and looked at everyone on deck with interest. "Ned...?" was Robert's first thought when he noticed Jon, murmuring aloud. He looked very much like his foster brother.
"So you are the king of Westeros," Jon declared with disdain, as Robert looked stunned and even Stannis seemed to share his demeanor, Lannister appeared to be trembling like a soulless being, seeing Jon looking so confident in front of them.
But no one noticed Barristan, shocked, seeming to wonder if he was dreaming at that moment. "Rhaegar..." the man murmured while only Jon was able to hear that, raising an eyebrow at those words.
But he soon put aside that thought and drew his blades. Barristan, finally coming back to the danger, immediately shouted: "Protect the king!" He exclaimed as all the soldiers there drew their blades to stand between King Jon Artica and King Robert Baratheon.
But behind Jon, new men jumped from the ship while dwarves carrying giant hammers, bigger than what King Robert had, began to strike at the men, sending them flying with the force they put into the attacks.
As the Artican men began to easily cut through the defenses and enter the ship, clearing the way for Jon, the Artican king prepared his two blades approaching, while Barristan, despite still looking dazed at Jon as if he had seen someone from his past, went head-on to face Jon, after all, he had to protect the king.
Their first move made the two blades clash, and this initiated a fierce fight as Jon and Barristan began to duel amid that chaos.
As the Articans began to massacre Robert's men, Robert hoped that anyone would come forward to fight him, but no one advanced, as it seemed that Jon had issued an order for no one to touch him, and he just exclaimed: "Why won't you come fight me? Show what you're capable of, people beyond the Wall!" He shouted.
The fight with Jon continued as he began to move with more speed in his combat against the man, fighting with a Valyrian steel sword and another of Eldenmetal, clashing and striking against the single blade the knight used. The man was truly skilled and Jon had to admit that his reputation was well-deserved as the greatest in Westeros.
But Barristan finally yielded, looking dazed as his blade fell to the ground before receiving a punch from Jon and falling unconscious with the blow to the head.
Stannis Baratheon ended up in a fight against a dwarf while striking with the enemy's hammer, but he too was a brilliant and experienced commander. "Seems I've found a skilled big man here!" the dwarf exclaimed while trying to win with the advantage of strength.
"These bastards..." Robert murmured, already seeing that his ship was being dominated like many others around him. He looked ahead noticing Jon walking after defeating Barristan and Robert stared at him too.
Kevin's son, who was still trembling until he couldn't stand it anymore, dropped the sword and ran away screaming, with Jon raising an eyebrow at this. "Damn cowardly Lannister," Robert murmured and turned back to Jon. "So you're Ned's son? You really have his face, though your eyes are quite strange," he commented.
"And you are the man my father used to praise when I lived in Winterfell as a child..." Jon commented. "Let's see if you are all that my father used to talk about..." Jon said with a rather disappointed look at the fat man.
"Do you really have the guts for this, boy? Come on then, I'll show you how my hammer crushes my enemies!" he said as he advanced, his hammer finally lifting from the ground and swinging towards Jon in a vertical attack.
But he was so slow that Jon made no effort to dodge, and as he jumped to the side, watching the hammer crash into the wood of the deck. Before Robert could turn around, he immediately felt a punch in the stomach, causing him to fall backward, dropping the hammer.
"You really are nothing like what I've heard, king of Westeros," Jon commented, disappointed that this man, who one day had issued an order for him to come to King's Landing many years ago and even asked him to create armor. Although this fat man was not as scheming as the other fools of that council, he was still an idiot.
"You damn, just because you're Ned's son doesn't mean I'll go easy on you," he said as he got up. "You attacked my city, you destroyed my soldiers, and even threatened my wife. I'm going to beat you up, kid," he said, finishing getting up, until he finally stood up and looked at Jon.
Although still a bit breathless from the punch, he advanced and Jon seeing this, dropped his blades and advanced against the man too, and before Robert could get close enough to embrace him as he intended, using the size of his body against Jon. Jon held him while being pushed slightly back, but soon Robert not only felt himself unable to advance further but also felt his own body being lifted by Jon, someone much smaller than him in terms of body, and Robert felt his world spin as he was thrown to the ground.
"Trust me, you fool, if you knew what I know about your queen, you'd be thanking me for this. I'm not going to kill you, don't worry, since you are important to my father," he said. And before Robert could try to do anything, he received a punch from Jon, feeling his world spin even more.
"But that doesn't mean I won't beat you up," Jon spoke again as he delivered another punch, and then another, and another, and another, until Robert could no longer reason as he received more blows, feeling his nose breaking along with parts of his face and blood spurting from him, obscuring his entire vision.
Jon only stopped after seeing Stannis defeated by his opponent. "OOOOOWWWW, looks like the fool has finally fallen," the dwarf exclaimed, laughing.
Jon saw that most of the surviving ships were already retreating in fear, and the others were being massacred. He sighed before shouting with magic, "Let's return to the ships!! We'll continue north, there's nothing more for us here," he said at the end, before starting to board the ships and regroup the fleet before returning to the Artica route without any more trouble at sea.
Jon left that ship with a squire hidden inside the cabin, trembling with fear, a beaten king with an unrecognizable and swollen face, the king's brother fallen on the ground with the main royal guard also fallen on the deck, after losing the fight.
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