today I will be on standby to answer questions as I will be writing the next chapters today.
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If there are spelling mistakes, please let me know.
Leave a comment; support is always appreciated.
I remind you to leave your ideas or what you would like to see.
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-third person pov seventh moon 286 AC
The Finn had completed his missions, securing favorable terms for his king. He intended to return to the Prussian capital as soon as possible to finally catch up on what had happened during his absence in the north and his brief trip south to negotiate with the Dornish.
Aleksanteri traveled day and night, nearly exhausting the poor horses provided at the messenger posts in The Reach, to return as quickly as possible. In just three days, he had covered hundreds of kilometers, sleeping only the last night to be in condition to give orders if necessary.
Passing through Highgarden, Aleksanteri noticed that a new city had been built and that the other cities had grown considerably. But what was truly remarkable was the large number of tents around the city, near Highgarden Castle, as well as the many towers that soared many meters high.
Aleksanteri didn't spend much time observing everything and decided to continue his journey, knowing that after catching up on information, he would have all the time in the world to see the changes with his own eyes.
Ignoring Highgarden, the Finn arrived near the bridge that connected the Prussian fortress with the other side of the Mander, where from afar, he could see the enormous line of merchants, peasants, and nobles waiting to schedule a meeting with the king in Prussia, and if lucky, obtain an immediate audience with the richest man in the Seven Kingdoms.
The Finn just took a glance and dismounted his horse to walk towards the guarded bridge.
Everyone waiting their turn frowned at him.
Aleksanteri didn't care about the stares of strangers and continued towards the bridge guards when one of the beggars asking for alms stood up and began walking beside him.
A knight of the Teutonic Order, wearing the Hohenzollern heraldry on his cloak, indicating that he was one of the personal guards of the King of the Prussians, pointed at Aleksanteri's companion.
Aleksanteri simply signaled with his hand to step aside, and the knight nodded, indicating the entrance to the fortress to the astonished eyes of all those who had been waiting for hours for a response.
"Report," Aleksanteri said to his subordinate.
"There is much news to report... anything specific?" the Finn asked while adjusting his tattered clothes from his disguise.
"We have many problems... we are being overwhelmed... we have spies everywhere," the Finn responded to Aleksanteri.
"When I left, everything was running perfectly. What happened that we now have spies? Do we at least have them identified?" Aleksanteri asked while walking towards his king's quarters.
"No... we have quite a bit of information, but there are too many... Besides, Aleksanteri, the king has been absent the past few days, you won't find him there," the spy told Aleksanteri.
"Explain," Aleksanteri said, a bit intrigued.
"The king finishes his work and quickly goes to another part of the castle, guarded by his personal guards, not by regular knights of the Teutonic Order. They allow no one to enter, only a small group who have been seen entering but never leaving. We don't even know what's there, it seems he used his knights to build whatever is in that area," the spy told Aleksanteri.
"The king keeping secrets from us? This will be interesting... I assume the king is aware of everything you're going to tell me, so save your breath and go inform everyone that I have returned and that I want all available officers organized for tonight," Aleksanteri said, heading to the area where the King of the Prussians was supposedly located while the spy ran off to obey his new orders.
Aleksanteri walked towards the fortified area, noting that it was guarded by dozens of the personal Teutonic guard, who stopped him.
"Aleksanteri, so you've returned... I assume you already know about the problems... Go with your men and start organizing the fight against the spies, it is said there are thousands, and they have your people running back and forth," the guard said, crossing his halberd with his companion.
"Yes... that's exactly why I'm here. I need to speak with the king immediately," Aleksanteri said, placing one of his hands on his waist.
"You'll have to wait, Finn. The king wishes not to be disturbed. You'll have to wait until he finishes his duties down there," said the other guard.
"Down? Interesting... Not in the rooms of the area, and supposedly there are no cellars or storerooms here... Well, but wouldn't there be an exception for the king's close friend? I've returned from a long journey and wish to speak with my friend," said the Finn, looking at the guard who had given some information while his companion also stared intently.
The guards looked at each other for a while.
"We'd just waste time going to ask," said one of the guards.
"The king trusts him, remember what he went to do on his behalf," said the other guard, using his keys to open the door.
"Aleksanteri... first of all, what you see here stays here... If I find out you told anyone, pray that the poison you carry on your neck works, because I will tear you apart," said the other guard with a severe tone.
"Sure, sure, save your breath for someone you can scare with a half-baked threat," said Aleksanteri without much concern.
As the guards let him through, the Finn entered the heavily guarded area.
The first thing he saw were several greenhouses where a considerable group of workers were conducting experiments with plants, mainly grafts and plantings in optimal conditions to select the best for the next harvests.
This did not catch Aleksanteri's attention, as he knew these experiments were conducted outside the walls. What did catch his attention were the new ways the engineers had devised to process steel. In one of the buildings, there was a complete large furnace made of steel, processing enormous amounts of steel, with large steel beams stored, and when asked, the workers confirmed they had all been produced that same day.
After observing all the important things, Aleksanteri quickly set his eyes on a group of guards guarding a passage to the lower levels.
Again, he was recognized by the guards and was let through without any questions, simply letting him pass.
In the lower level, it was lit by torches, but what caught the Finn's attention was a piece of glass that shone brightly, sparking his curiosity. He tapped it several times with his finger to try to decipher how the enigmatic object shone.
Aleksanteri followed the small cable it was connected to, finding several workers shoveling coal into a furnace that heated water, and the steam turned a turbine.
Aleksanteri pondered for a few minutes, but not having the slightest idea what it was all about, he preferred to continue his path, knowing the owner of that place would be more than willing to explain everything to him.
On the next two floors, he found several workers constructing and inspecting various furnaces and boilers, as well as the barracks for all the workers who had been employed, as no one had left since they accepted to work in this facility.
On the fourth floor, Aleksanteri encountered several cells, all empty, and finally, on the fifth floor, he came across a room where several doctors were working under the watchful eyes of multiple guards.
The Finn's eyes focused on a young Prussian with blond hair and blue eyes who had a rather frustrated expression. It didn't take long for the young Prussian monarch to notice his visitor.
"Aleksanteri, my good friend, you have returned much sooner than I expected. I hope everything went well in the negotiations," said the Prussian king, adjusting his hair.
"I wasn't going to waste time resting along the way. Well, about my negotiations with the Dornish, everything went 'well.' That idiot Doran Martell couldn't negotiate; he had to wait for his sister's permission for everything... How pathetic! But if at any point you switch sides, the Targaryens will welcome you with open arms," Aleksanteri said mockingly.
"It's good to have many options available... What did you see in the north?" asked the young Prussian.
"Everything... giants... wargs... the dead rising..." Aleksanteri tried to say.
"Were you able to bring me...?" the Prussian interrupted only to be interrupted himself.
"No... when I cut them with my steel, those things stopped moving, and the rest were turned to dust by the brutes who accompanied me... literally smashed them to the last bone," the Finn responded.
"What a pity. I would have liked to study them," said the Prussian.
"You know how to kill them Valyrian steel works just like obsidian. That's all that matters. By the way, what is this place, and since when do you keep secrets from us?" asked the Finn, removing his helmet and mask.
"I wanted to implement an idea that occurred to me to bless certain people, hence the secrecy. The facilities were built to have everything needed close by... but it hasn't been possible. I need certain minerals that are rarer than a virgin in a brothel. I have only been able to get some from foreign merchants who sell them as health objects or magic stones... So now we are working on vaccines, only... the damn voltaic piles failed... again," said the Prussian when suddenly the room's light went out, leaving everything in total darkness.
"He, he, he... well... Now that you have time, what happened? Why are there so many spies?" asked the Finn.
"All because of the mess of my marriage and the tournaments. Because of the prizes, people are arriving from various parts of Westeros and Essos, too many, which has put a lot of pressure on customs and the police, who couldn't detect if they were spies or not... Also, it seems Varys pulled out hundreds of spies he was training somewhere and brought them as Robert's servants, making it difficult to eliminate them," said the Prussian king, looking at the ceiling.
"You seem very calm at the possibility of something being stolen from you," said the Finn.
"We don't know where they are, but I know they seek to reinforce security in vital places like the forges, shipyards, and distilleries. However, they could obtain something if they manage to listen to or kidnap workers. Now that you've arrived, you could reorganize everything for the current circumstances," said the Prussian with a smile as the room's light returned.
"Yes, I've already given the order for all available officers to come. Anything else I should know about the spies?" said Aleksanteri.
"Yes... there are also new missions once all this is over. Dorne is quiet, or rather, the same as always. The Stormlands are in frequent contact with the Faith of the Seven, angry about the servant escapes, as recently many have escaped from there. The Riverlands are the same, many servants escaping. The Arryns are expanding their farms where the clans used to live. In the North, there was a massacre against company members courtesy of the Boltons forty guards dead, including two Prussians and a Finn. When you have time, we'll pay a visit to the Boltons."
"The capital is full of snakes conspiring against them and us, and in the Lannister domains, there's a small scandal it seems Lord Tywin had his son's wife raped because she was a commoner," said the Prussian monarch.
Aleksanteri looked displeased upon hearing the last two pieces of news.
"We'll send a 'friendly' delegation to the Boltons where you will have the freedom to spend on it," said the Prussian monarch.
"And Lannister? Are you going to do anything about him?" asked the Finn, very interested.
"Well, he'll just get a slap on the wrist and be told 'don't do it again.' But the spies who discovered this, while escaping, managed to bring many of the men Tywin wants dead... If Tywin falls into a trap, we could have the lion's head. If we place these men in exposed places and they are murdered, and we manage to make them believe it was Tywin who sent them, we could judge him under our laws. Tywin will end up in the mines with his head cut off or on the Wall," said the Prussian monarch with a smile.
"Good plan... but the reaction of the Westerosi will be terrible... you'll unite them against you out of fear... If the powerful Tywin is executed for something they consider minor, even Arryn won't be able to protect you. And if I recall correctly, time is on our side; starting a war when we should be waiting for the Westerosi to bleed each other dry," said Aleksanteri.
"I'm clear on that... What I'll do is simply to repay Tywin for the insult he gave me a few years ago. I rarely forget, but I never forgive. When we have Tywin with his men captured and confessed, I'll make him humiliate himself before me in private with the threat that his dynasty will end by my hand. And if he manages to resist or his pride is stronger, we'll simply deescalate and give Lord Arryn jurisdiction to resolve it... it's a win-win," said the Prussian monarch with a big smile.
"He, he, he, I will enjoy watching this... Well, I'll leave you to whatever you're doing... I'm going to deal with the spy issue," said Aleksanteri, putting on his mask and helmet.
"Yes, go do that... I must continue with these penicillin cultures to kill bacteria and make the vaccines," said the Prussian, returning to what he was doing.
Finally, the Finn left the facility, ready to eliminate the thousands of spies who had infiltrated, where they would take their last breath.
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Give me your power stones
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Leave a comment; support is always appreciated.
----------------------
I remind you to leave your ideas or what you would like to see.
----------------------
Have some idea about my story? Comment it and let me know.
Have some idea about my story? Comment it and let me know.
Have some idea about my story? Comment it and let me know.
-------------------------
If there are spelling mistakes, please let me know.
Leave a comment; support is always appreciated.
I remind you to leave your ideas or what you would like to see.
-------------------------------
Today I will be on standby to answer questions as I will be writing the next chapters today.
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-Pov of Mervyn seventh moon 286 AC
Walking through the city, I looked around at the many buildings rising from left to right in the newly constructed city.
'Everything is so different here… but it makes sense. All the resources of our blessed king have been managed close to the seat of his power.'
The sound of a powerful bell drew my attention to the most prestigious building in the city, a large cathedral that towered over the city.
'Wow… that is a place where God can truly be honored.'
"Mervyn, stop wasting time and go prepare your things. Soon we'll have to head out to the streets to help with public order," my commanding officer called out to me, looking quite stressed.
"Jawohl, Herr Kommandant," I said, turning and saluting immediately.
"Great, take your men to the buildings at the gates. That's where we'll be quartered while we're here… You have the morning off as a rest day because soon we'll be working every day," said my commander, adjusting his war medals and heading towards where the mayor of the city should be.
I turned and went to my friends who were unloading their luggage from the carts and gave them the orders from our commander.
Our new home was one of these enormous buildings that were as tall as one of the towers of Harrenhal. We quickly distributed rooms with the other captains and organized how the cleaning would be done, since to our surprise this building had all the bathrooms connected to the city's latrines.
"Hauptmann, so what are we supposed to do in the city, spies again?" one of my subordinates asked, recalling what we had done over the past weeks.
The few weeks we had been serving as Prussian soldiers, we had to support the frumentarii, although no one calls them that anymore, now just by where they come from. The Finns investigated and found their targets, and we were the muscle that broke down doors and fought hand-to-hand in the spies' hideouts.
The spies we had fought were from Qohor. It seemed the city's blacksmiths were incredibly furious and envious because they had lost the title of the best blacksmiths, and that led them to hire a large group of spies from Essos who had been slowly populating Ashford with the desire to seize the secrets of the Prussian forges. But we managed to stop them with minimal casualties: only two forge workers died while we killed and captured more than seventy spies, who were quickly tortured to discover their employer.
"A bit of everything… you know, beating up drunks and crazies like the septons, watching out for spies, so remember what the Finns taught us, and making sure nobles from other territories don't try to get smart with the free people living under our king's protection… long may he reign," I said to the sergeant who had taken out one of the city maps.
"I see, we got the north zone, like controlling the whole field up to Highgarden," said the sergeant, pointing to our work area.
"Yes, but that's a problem for two days from now. We have a day to get to know the city," I said, stretching a bit.
"Then which tavern are we going to?" said another one of my sergeants, and they all looked at me with that stupid smile.
"Ahh… ha, ha, ha, you bastards, this is the last round I'm paying for. Just because I got a lot of gold as a reward for capturing spies doesn't mean you can expect me to pay for everything. You also got your damn share, leeches," I said with a smile as we all laughed.
After that conversation, we went to the local taverns where we could enjoy the refined liquors of the area, since in Hornhill they were rare. I understand there is a lot of local consumption or merchants buy it all before it can be distributed to other territories. The only problem is that my damn friends drank like they were condemned to death just because I was paying.
It was good to relax since the first day of service turned very ugly.
With a group of thirty of my men and axes in hand, a Finn gave the order, and we smashed the door, quickly forming lines and entering the building in a closed formation.
As we moved, out of nowhere a bastard came out with a mace and tried to hit the first one in, striking hard on my subordinate's shield, who managed to react in time but still fell to the ground.
I, who was third in line, had a spear in my hand, which I quickly used to impale his right arm before he tried another blow, giving the one in front of me time to pin him against the wall.
"Tie him up quickly, take him out of the building… can you continue?" I gave orders and then attended to my subordinate, who nodded and quickly got up.
We began to have small battles in each room with small groups, showing that the experience gained in Ashford was paying off, as we were very coordinated even in the quite confined space.
We checked the other floors of the house where the rats were hiding, but there was no one else. When we came out of the house, we found the rest of my soldiers and officers who had surrounded the house by all possible escape routes, and we had captured these spies. Now it was just the torturer's job.
"Excellent work… return to your routine patrols, we'll call you if we need men with experience in raids," said the Finnish officer, pointing to the prisoners to take them away.
"Everyone okay? Nobody missing fingers or any body parts?... No, good, because we have to keep patrolling," I asked and then gave orders after hearing some laughter.
We divided into groups, giving autonomy to my sergeants to subdivide their groups while I would monitor the northern area outside the walls with a group of my men on horseback.
But it didn't take long for us to encounter more problems. A group of mercenaries was causing trouble. Luckily, the chief of police had been very kind in giving me several batons for these events.
We quickly surrounded the tavern where there was a fight.
"Well… well… well, what do we have here?" I said, tapping the baton on my gauntlet, drawing everyone's attention with the sound.
The fight between the mercenaries stopped immediately upon seeing themselves surrounded. To my surprise, the innkeeper was fighting two mercenaries at the same time in his workspace.
"Orders?" the sergeant asked.
"Let me talk," I responded to the sergeant.
"Alright, scum of society… swords, daggers, or anything that can kill someone, on the ground NOW," I said, raising my voice.
Some obeyed immediately, others remained expectant.
When I gave the signal for a group to enter, the remaining mercenaries dropped their weapons on the floor, and we quickly took them prisoner.
The innkeeper approached me while cleaning his sword of blood.
"What happened?" I asked.
"That group there tried to threaten me into not charging them. I broke that one's nose with a headbutt, and the one on the floor holding his guts, I slashed his stomach. The other group of mercenaries actually helped me, which is why they surrendered as soon as they saw you," said the innkeeper, quite calmly.
"I see, take these to the dungeon… excuse me, but how did you obtain the sword? Only Prussians citizens are authorized to carry weapons, except those permitted by the king," I ordered and asked the innkeeper.
The innkeeper did not respond, he simply showed me a medal with the Iron Cross, an unmistakable symbol that he was a Prussian veteran and .
I immediately saluted him, and he returned the gesture.
"Great skill with the sword, I must say, to take down two and keep two others occupied," I said, praising the veteran soldier's ability.
"Surviving Roon's training and years on the battlefield. I won't let myself be killed without taking several with me, especially with these. These mercenaries are very green and very stupid," the innkeeper replied.
"You showed honor… something rare in your field. Make sure it is documented and reported," I addressed the mercenaries who helped the innkeeper and then gave orders to the sergeant.
"I wish you a good day, honorable man. You all help this good man put order in his establishment," I said goodbye to the innkeeper and gave orders to the rest of my men as I began to move outside the walls.
But before we got far, we encountered pickpockets stealing near the market. This was quite difficult since we were in plate armor and it wasn't easy to chase those vermin. We had to split up and try to corner them in the streets, which we managed to do, and we were able to return the valuables.
"What the hell is happening in this city? We haven't been on duty for three hours, and we've had problem after problem," complained the sergeant accompanying me.
"The tournament has attracted everyone: knights, merchants, but also the scum of society, thieves, and smugglers. As long as this situation lasts, we will be doing this for quite some time," I said as I mounted my horse and we began to ride north.
Our patrol of the roads was much quieter. The only problem was that we found a merchant with one of his wheels broken, and we helped him change it so he could continue with his work.
"Hauptmann, to the east I see men with swords apparently attacking a caravan,'" said one of my men with his spyglass.
"Damn, these bandits are bold. We are in the heart of Prussian power and they decide to attack here,'" I said very surprised, but quickly took my crossbow from my saddlebags and reloaded it. Everyone imitated me, and we began to gallop.
"Banners! ... Banners?" said the soldier leading the group, almost as surprised as everyone else.
We stopped our steeds at the recommended distance, when one can distinguish the enemy's eyes ensuring a lethal bolt, and we all raised our crossbows.
"What does this mean?" I asked in a dry tone to the heavily armed men but far from plate armor, who were tying up all the members of the caravan and putting them in cages.
"Recovering something that is mine," someone in full armor responded.
"Serfs?" I said while pointing my crossbow at him.
"Yes, these wretches were granted to me along with their village as a reward for my loyal service, but it seems they forgot they are my property, so I chased them all the way here," replied the knight.
"Prove your claim. How do I know they are not free people protected by the king in Prussia?" I replied without much interest.
"Mervyn… it's clear they are not from here… Look at their clothes, they are not wearing anything one would normally buy in one of the king's shops… just rags, they are serfs," one of my friends whispered to me.
"As much as he is right, we will not allow him to do whatever he wants in our king's territories," I replied without taking my eyes off the knight.
"I don't have to prove anything to you, they are mine,'" the knight responded.
"Of course you do, because otherwise you would be kidnapping inhabitants under my protection and that will end badly. Your complaint must be made at the border posts to receive your compensation or conduct an investigation about your peasants," I pointed out to the knight what he should do.
"I don't want your lord's filthy gold, I want my property that is here…" the knight tried to speak.
"Listen well, filthy barbarian. It wasn't a suggestion, IT WAS AN ORDER, and you will obey it or there will be bloodshed here. I assure you that when this is over, I will have you hanging from the nearest tree as an example to all your degenerate peers who think they can do whatever they want here in the king in Prussia lands ," I said, already tired of giving the false knight opportunities while drawing my sword and having the crossbow ready to start the fight with an advantage.
The false knight cursed and spat on the ground before leaving with his tail between his legs, and immediately all those serfs began to thank us like crazy.
"Well, we're done here. Tie them up and have them sent to the border," I told my men after waiting for the group of degenerates to move away a bit.
"Do we have to, Mervyn? Look at them… they are emaciated, only God knows how much they had to escape from that wretch," said one of my friends.
"Yes, they are the property of that noble, and we will not cause problems for our king," I said without thinking much.
"Please, Mervyn… I know you grew up in a house of men-at-arms and never lacked food on the table, but if they decided to escape, it is out of sheer desperation. The price of grain is very low, and they depend on it, and surely that bastard will punish them harshly," my friend told me, grabbing my forearm.
"Ugh… fine… fine, we'll take them to the honorable Teutons and they will decide their fate, but I can't do more than that," I said, dismounting my horse, taking off the gauntlet from my skillful hand, and drawing my dagger.
"Where are you from?" I asked as I began to cut the tight ropes.
"From the crown lands… sir," responded a man with large dark circles.
"A long journey… you could have stopped in dozens of cities," I said as I stopped cutting the ropes.
"Almost all cities are across the river… you have to pay a toll to use the bridges, unless we prove we live here… and our destination was always here. Many joined us and we didn't have to pay the toll at the bridge over there… we heard from some merchants that a new city had been erected that would house hundreds of thousands of inhabitants, guaranteed work and a solid roof over our heads. It was worth the risk rather than breaking our backs working almost all day for our lord to take almost everything," the man said, looking towards the city.
I nodded and we began to cut the ropes and helped them down from where they were caged.
'Wow, what soft hands that woman has.'
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Give me your power stones
------------------------
Leave a comment; support is always appreciated.
----------------------
I remind you to leave your ideas or what you would like to see.
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Have some idea about my story? Comment it and let me know.
Have some idea about my story? Comment it and let me know.
Have some idea about my story? Comment it and let me know.
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