章 147: A Debt to Repay (Part I)
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Hello, Dear Readers. I know about the Webnovel update, many of you have asked me if I have published my FF on other sites. At the moment no... And unfortunately I don't have the material time at the moment to do so. I do not intend to publish the FF on other sites until I have corrected (at least partially) some story changes, grammatical and translation errors. I am currently still correcting, but with work and other commitments I can barely manage to post 2 chapters a week.
I would like to remind everyone that this FF on this page is still a Work in Progress Draft. I will do what I can to make it easy for you all to read, but for now I will only continue to post on Web Novel.
Thank you all for your support. And happy reading!
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POV: The Old Man of Oldtown
Front row of spectators.
A few seconds after the surrender...
Warden Tycho's eyes were filled with disappointment and fury. The fate of Sealord's second son-in-law was carved into the white marble walls of the Iron Bank...
If the Braavosian psychopath was as clever as his spies claimed, he would have taken his own life painlessly by the first sunrise.
From what Leyton could tell, The Watcher and Nestoris had bet heavily on the outcome of the confrontation.
'What an idiot... And you dare to keep calling yourselves 'the best investors in the world'? Only a fool would bet against The Watcher.' It wouldn't have taken long to find out 'what' was up for grabs... Oldtown and Braavos had maintained an excellent exchange of information regarding The Guardian of Love and the Fourth Organisation for decades.
Keeping The Watcher and the Pentos Witch in line was a priority for the past twenty years.
The bond between Chai Dug and Zick was both necessary and dangerous.
The delicate balance between the forces of the world had already cracked with the tilting of House Tallhart, and now, in the eyes of Oldtown, that fragile glass had been irreparably broken from the moment the Chief Sorcerer stepped into the North...
All the work of hundreds of years of maesters regarding the secrecy of magic had been thrown into the flames instantly. At this point, yet another Great Purge was inevitable...
Leyton had come here primarily to figure out 'how' House Tallhart... or rather... 'Bloody Snow' thought he could avoid the storm that would inexorably hit Torrhen's Square and all the foolish First Men who would decide to share the same fate by siding with them.
The most reasonable first response was The Watcher and the Chief Sorcerer. But if this was indeed the shield on which Duncan Tallhart relied, the boy would have to contend with a hard truth called 'Compromise'.
It was a fragile alliance full of pitfalls... but Leyton and President Ultherro would manage to come together.
The Braavos-Oldtown coalition would be formed...
It would be a hard-fought and costly victory, to be sure, but a victory nonetheless. The bloody and destructive New World War would not end until Torrhen's Square and all its supporters were wiped from the face of this world.
Braavos would keep the Confederacy at bay in the East, and Oldtown would eradicate all impurities in the North.
But now... here comes an extremely dangerous variable named [Damascus Steel].
What was it? Was it really a magical metal with properties similar to Valyrian Steel?
Was this the secret of the so-called 'Silk Road'?
Had Torrhen's Square and Barrowton teamed up to secretly create a safe place to synthesise a new type of steel?
How? What? Who and for whom?... these and dozens of other questions clouded the rationality of the Lord Protector of the Andal High Council... and, undoubtedly, the Titan representative was plagued by similar uncertainties.
Much to Oldtown's chagrin, there seemed to be no leaks in the stability of the North...
The New Player called 'The Frosty Spice Queen' seemed a possible good foothold to weaken the Stark-Tallhart alliance, but that foothold was now increasingly becoming a vain hope...
The Tallharts were following the same path as the Hightowers. They were not interested in the Northern throne, nor did they want the First Men to lose the Ancient Power concealed in the Dynasty of the Kings of Winter.
Torrhen's Square cared not for trunk, branches or leaves but for expanding and fortifying the roots beneath them. They skilfully exploited the proper rules of the Great Game.
And those damnable roots to be uprooted were increasingly uniting and fortifying the land of the First Men, at speed more alarming than the historic limelight of 'The Watcher and the Nine Demons'.
The threat of the Red Kings was buried along with Roose Bolton, and now, House Mormont had a grip on Barrowton and, consequently, a solid connection to the Rills and Dreadfort.
The unions of Domeric Bolton & Sansa Stark and Duncan Tallhart & Dacey Mormont would decree an inextricably united North.
The Steel of Valyria was as invaluable and influential a resource as the Mana Stones... If it was confirmed that the North was capable of recreating such a formula, the tables would be turned.
An alliance of First Men, Magicians and followers of The Watcher with unlimited resources of magical steel could have been a catastrophe... The greedy and cautious Iron Bank would have washed its hands of the matter and opted for profitable and peaceful neutrality.
The High Tower could not stand up to such a coalition... certainly not without selling off the last remaining crumb of the soul to the darkest and most terrifying creatures in the World...
No... asking the mother of Malora for further help would have to be the last grain of sand to be scraped from the depths of the abyss. Having touched that point, it would be impossible to turn back, and at that point, the entire Known World would stand united in a united front to eradicate all traces of the Ancient Hightower House.
Few Ex-Prescesses to Lord Protector of the Andal High Council had had the good fortune/luck to actually know the 'Great Mother'.
The most dangerous Song for the legacy of House Hightower was not the 'Legend of Podrick Lann'... and Leyton would have used any means and committed the most heinous and unconscionable crimes to do whatever was necessary to ensure that 'That Song' was never sung to the ears of the World.
With the benefit of hindsight and a chance to change the past, the wise Old Man of Oldtown would indeed have opened the throat of his mad ancestor and sealed the gates of the city with every ounce of Valyrian Steel at his disposal, choosing to oppose the Andals in a mortal battle to the last man, instead of welcoming them with open arms by secretly selling out the soul of his Dynasty to the seductive Devil behind...
But there was no use crying over spilt milk, let alone indulging in illusory fantasies.
The head leader of House Hightower could only choose the best paths left for his legacy and continue along them, taking care with every step and not looking back...
Malora could only reveal three pieces of information from her visit to the island:
-The disturbing amount of tribute and mana stones demanded by the Devil.
-The identity of the new, very young Heir of the Guardian of Love.
And the most shocking of the three:
-The shift from 23rd to 1st in the rankings of 'Bloody Snow' on the black agenda of the Andal High Council...
Leyton was torn in indecision as to whether or not he really wanted to find out 'why' that 12-year-old Norse was considered by the High Priestess to be a more significant threat than the Guardian of Magic. The sorcerer who had always been considered, after Valgudryel's disappearance, as: {The most fearsome individual in the Known World}.
The second-brightest mind in Oldtown squeezed his brain to the max to come up with the best possible choices with the bit of specific information available.
[Forging an alliance with House Tallhart and squeezing all the benefits of the North as much as possible until the 'natural' demise of The Watcher] was the most viable, profitable and least risky path he could devise in those few minutes after the shocking revelations.
Attendants in the service of House Mormont dragged the traumatised and injured Gelledo away to the healer's pavilion in Barrowton. King Robert Baratheon approached the Trial By Combat winner and loudly promulgated in front of the entire nobility:
"Duncan Tallhart."
"Your Majesty." the boy knelt a moment after the call.
"Arise, Hero of the North... You have shown honour and valour by risking your life in this test entrusted to you by the Crown.
You have managed to prevail in this dispute by settling possible grudges and conflicts between Braavos and the North! I would not deserve to sit upon the Iron Throne and bear the onerous burden of the Crown if, here and now, I, Robert, First of my name, of House Baratheon, King of the Andals, the Rhoynar and the First Men, Protector of the Realm and Lord of the Seven Kingdoms did not reward your courage." Silence descended over the entire arena.
All the witnesses seemed eager to hear the King's following words, including the Lord of Oldtown.
Leyton sensed in his bones that something tremendously ominous was about to happen...
Until now, that boy had managed to squeeze every last drop of benefit out of every adversity against him...
Duncan Tallhart left nothing to chance. Even this event, clearly provoked by the Iron Bank, seemed to Leyton foretold and well prepared for the necessary countermeasures.
Not as if it was intended... no, the Guardian of Love's response to the Braavosi's harassing action undeniably communicated irritation and annoyance.
It was as if an attack was not intended, but all the castle's defences were alert and well prepared for it...
"Priest Welk Green Oak!" Robert.
"Yes, Your Grace," replied the Green Man, bowing.
"I need the wisdom and advice of your Old Gods." Robert accompanied the request with a hand gesture to speak privately.
"I am at your service, King Robert." The Beauty Keeper's servant approached the King, and they began to argue...
'What on earth is he up to?' While adept at rapid chanting and concealing minor magics, the Grand Sorcerer of Oldtown could not use spy spells in the presence of Chai Dug and The Watcher...
Perhaps Leyton could hope to glean some information by peering into Old Zick's gaze. And the man paled when he noticed an expression of surprise and wonder on The Watcher's face.
'Nothing good for the Believers of the Seven Gods is about to come...' Thought the Defender of the Starry Sept a moment before the King promulgated:
'Protector of the North! The Old Gods need your testimony and your ancestral sword!
As for you, Duncan of House Tallhart, I command you to follow us."
"At your command, your majesty." Bloody Snow prepared to follow the duo with Lord Stark and dozens of curious and not expressly requested nobles behind them as a retinue...
They were heading in the opposite direction of Barrowton, where a few hundred feet away was a Heart-Tree for the people of the Barrowlands...
'No... It can't be!' A catastrophic hypothesis struck Leyton's mind.
"Lynesse!" The father stopped his daughter before she followed her brothers to the procession.
"Yes, father?" His sweet, beautiful daughter replied in her usual guileless tone.
Leyton whispered in her ear:
"Do whatever it takes to seduce and bewitch Duncan Tallhart."
"But, father... He has just publicly fought for-" Leyton stopped her before she named the Mormont heir.
"Never mind. Be 'bolder' and use all your arts to do the best you can.
Try to talk to him, admire him as he trains, hand him tokens of love impregnated with your scent, or 'casually' stumble into his private tent at night if you must...
Should you even manage to wring a teenage crush out of him, I will increase tenfold your allowance perpetually, and you will have all the ships, carriages, horses, ladies-in-waiting and personal escorts you need for whatever voyage or delightful adventure your heart desires for the next five years." Lynesse visibly widened her eyes with obvious shock on her face.
Leyton Hightower guaranteed a minimum daily allowance to all his heirs of age to a gold dragon.
Lynesse was undoubtedly the most 'fastidious' in leisure and pageantry and the least thrifty of all his sons and daughters...
Leyton was forced to increase Lynesse's minimum allowance to five dragoons, giving her full autonomy over her personal needs. This was the most economical manoeuvre for the sake of House Hightower's finances...
From the age of twelve until she came of age, Lynesse's endless demands, which, with elegant gentleness and subtle cunning, she almost always succeeded in obtaining, drained the Hightower's coffers of nearly 40,000 gold dragoons... a fortune mostly spent on clothes, balls, jewellery and minstrelsy.
Currently, his daughter still owed her half-brothers and half-sisters more than 3,000 gold dragons in loans... And the year before, during a visit to Highgarden, with only a few laughs and a genuine smile at that idiot Mace Tyrell's jokes, Lynesse managed to legitimately snatch 5,000 gold coins from her rich and foolish brother-in-law's pockets, squandering them in less than four moons...
Certainly, her daughter was an excellent weapon to undermine the financial foundations of any minor noble in Westeros. Whoever had the misfortune of falling in love and marrying the most beautiful maiden in the Highest Tower... But that was not the main reason why Leyton wanted his daughter to marry Bloody Snow.
Torrhen's Square could easily afford dozens of Lynesses in its current state.
"I... I promise to try everything I can for the sake of my household and family, Father." Lynesse replied suavely with slight embarrassment.
"Well done, my dear. I am proud of you." A 'however' was about to come.
"However... Father, what if I don't make it? What if Duncan Tallhart's heart has already been taken? How could I succeed? I... I do not wish to disappoint you, Lord Father." Lynesse.
"... Should the feat prove impossible, and you have fulfilled your duty with 'sincerity' and 'commitment', you will still be granted a triple indemnity in perpetuity. And you will have a second chance on the same terms with Ser Helman's second son, Benfred Tallhart." So proposed Leyton, obtaining a sincere "Thank you, beloved father. I will not disappoint you; you will see."
Lynesse kissed Leyton's cheek and fled towards the goal coveted by all curious onlookers.
No... If that madman Robert was really going to perform 'that ceremony', erased with difficulty from the memory of the First Men and Westeros since before the advent of the Rhoynar, then Oldtown would have to intervene by any 'indirect' means to exploit, and at the same time, sabotage the North.
It also had to be understood whether or not the relationship between Torrhen's Square and Casterly Rock was as solid as his spies said it was...
There was no doubt about the excellent friendly and commercial relations between Leobald Tallhart and Gerion Lannister... Knowing the Old Lion's temperament and cunning, Leyton assumed it was more plausible that the West would benefit from consolidating a solid link with the North. Still, the Queen was a considerable unknown to such a union...
According to Pycelle, Cersei Lannister's nature and personality were promising to be used as a viable medium for Chaos. And Lord Tywin's daughter's hatred for Bloody Snow was a certainty as solid as sunrise and sunset.
Bloody Snow knew the potential behind the four remaining royal families. Torrhen's Square wanted to put one foot in all the stirrups, so he could avoid potential unnecessary conflicts over succession to the throne... A wise move.
Sooner or later, Martell and Lannister will take the field for the iron seat. Neutrality and much-needed trade with both warring factions would be the keys to undisturbed growth of the North in the coming summer and autumn...
The Citadel's best astrologers and weathermen predicted a summer at least three years longer, if not four... No army of Westeros, not even the elite militia of Oldtown, would ever attempt an invasion into the arid and fiery lands of Dorne in the middle of Summer, and never in the history of Westeros had the northern army descended so far south for war.
Aegon had at least three years of peace of mind...
If the era of the Green Knights was indeed about to return, Oldtown had to spur the Creed and the West to sour relations with the North. They were the best tools to tar the First Men in petty conflicts and disagreements and thus allow House Hightower to absorb the fruits of the North undisturbed.
With a bit of luck, the fragile Guardian of Love would fade away in his sleep within the next four years. However... the most annoying thorn in his side still remained Carcosa.
Bloody Snow would certainly squeeze the precious friendship between his master and the Chief Sorcerer to the best of his ability. Torrhen's Square absolutely had to get its hands on the arts of the East and thus rekindle the Seven Points of Magic.
The High Tower still needed the Titan's help...
'Braavos would not take sides in open war without first stocking up on all possible new magical weapons on the market... But perhaps Ultherro would accept momentary mutual cooperation to slow the North's growth.' Ponder Leyton carefully.
'If the Iron Bank hindered trade and commerce between First Men and Magicians, the High Tower could focus its attention on the other half of the continent of Westeros...' reasoned the Oldman one step at a time, giving free rein to all the logic and creativity he possessed.
In those years, with a pinch of patience, small opportunities cultivated, and the correct suggestions, it would have been possible to set the Lion against the Wolf.
When Robert Baratheon died, the Starks would probably have declared independence or, if cornered, chosen to side with the Targaryens.
'Yes... this is the best move. Make all the envious Houses like West, East, Trident, of the Crown, and The Reach constantly harass the North during the summer. At the same time, Oldtown establishes good and profitable relations with Torrhen's Square, Barrowton, and Winterfell.
The weapon to be harnessed is the Creed of the Seven, but it cannot be the Starry Sept who moves acts of violence against the Old Gods' devotees.' The Old Man of Oldtown now knew what had to be done for the good of his dynasty.
The Andal High Council was to pull several strings in the Great Temple of Baelor and to treat the so-called High Sparrow with more sincerity and flexible open-mindedness.
The next new revolutionary High Septon was to start a 'Holy Cold War' before the 'True Great War'...
End Part I
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