章 28: Winterfell
Winterfell, The North, 12th moon of 277 AC
Winterfell was getting ready to receive all the Northern lords; the servants prepared more food and mead; due to a shipment from Skagos, the food storage of Winterfell wouldn't take a blow from this; the Skagossi high lord even sent food for Wintertown and the small villages on the Wolfwood.
Lord Stark was having a very informative conversation with his children, Brandon and Lyanna; mainly.
"Brandon, this meeting will be important; it will decide how much we will spend on food this winter. The Skagossi houses will be attending this year, meaning Lord Dovahkiin will be here. No, I will not foster you with him. You will not ask him to teach you the sword arts. Do I make myself clear?" Rickard Stark said calmly
" This is not just for Brandon, but for Lyanna and Benjen as well" Rickard completed.
" Yes, father." Replied Benjen.
" Brandon, Lyanna?" Rickard asked as he looked at them
" Yes, father," they answered at the same time.
" You are almost of age, Brandon; you need to become more responsible. Your time to rule the north is coming. It would help if you learned how to talk to the lords and be keen in judgment." Rickard said to Brandon, his voice softer than it had ever been.
" Don't worry, father, I'll behave myself and prove I'm ready," Brandon said; his voice was rushed, as was his heart.
" Why can't we ask Lord Dovahkiin to teach us swordsmanship? He is the greatest swordsman alive. It would be good if he could teach us." asked little Lyanna
" It's not time for that; winter is here; he will be too worried about his lands; we don't know how Skagos fares these days. I assume they have more than enough food for themselves as they keep trading with Lords Karstark and Umber. They say he sells crops more than half the amount the south does, and sells whale meat and oil for a meager amount compared to House Redwyne or the Ibbanese. I know he has a fleet with as many battleships as the Redwynes have warships." Rickard said; his face was neutral, but it held a silent dignity.
" But father, didn't we forbid the sea to the Skagossi? They are breaking the law!! This can't keep going like that," Said Brandon wildly
" No. we forbade the sea to House Magnar, Stane, and Crowl. The fleet belongs to none of them. And as such, the law wasn't broken." Rickard lectured his wild son. " How can you be ready to rule if you were about to offend the strongest of our bannermen? The North right now can form an army of at least 47.000 if given enough time. Out of these 47.000, 12.000 are Skagossi. As reported by Lord Dovahkiin. Skagos can raise an army of 2 thousand men, and their fleet has 10.000 men. And they can raise their army WAY faster than the rest of the North. If the North goes to war, Skagos will be our first sword and shield till the rest of the North can gather their levies." Rickard said, and Brandon went silent
" If Skagos is so powerful, then why didn't they fight in the previous wars?" Asked Brandon.
" They had no army before I allowed Lord Dovahkiin to pacify and conquer the Island. According to his maester, the population of Skagos almost tripled. Lord Dovahkiin went to essos and came back with people rescued from slavery. All loyal to the north. He made them convert to the Old Gods faith, and they took into all our laws and customs and are now people of the North. All that in 3 years of his rule." Rickard said
" That is impressive. He's a good lord. But too powerful… aren't you afraid he will break his oaths?" Brandon said
" No, once you talk to him, you will see; you will feel he is a man of his word," Rickard said, and Brandon just nodded.
The first lord to arrive was House Glover, followed by House Cerwyn, Mollen, Poole, and Cassel. House Dovahkiin, Stane, and Crowl arrived two days after House Cassel. Lord Dovahkiin rode on his Bear while the rest of the Skagossi Lords and their household rode on their Unicorns. The last lord to arrive was Lord Umber, one day after the Skagossi Houses.
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Ragnar's "pov"
The Lords of the North were loud and fun to be around, at least most of them, the current lord of house Bolton, the young yet creepy Roose Bolton wasn't fun at all. Skagos was receiving many refugees from the Boltonlands; they all claimed to be afraid of House Bolton's new lord. Even someone had his tongue ripped from his mouth for some reason. Ragnar took the man to one of his schools and was waiting for him to learn enough to describe what had happened to him. He just wanted a reason to chop his head; betrayers had no place in The North.
In the Winterfell's stables, Ragnar talked to a young Hodor about the horses and how they were taking on the Winter. Ragnar could surprisingly understand the half-giant, who claimed that the Winterfell horses were strong. As he fed his bear, Ragnar heard a noise coming from behind the stables; he looked at Hodor, who just looked back at him and said nothing. Ragnar silently walked around the stables only to find a young Lyanna and Benjen Stark. The young Starks hadn't heard the large Nord sneak on them and were worried about being caught by their father, so they almost had a heart attack when Ragnar loudly said
"Hiding from someone?"
" By the old gods and new!! Don't do that! Gods… you almost made my heart fail." said little Lyanna.
"Hahahaha, well, sorry, but you were spying on me; I only thought it fair to scare you a little." Replied Ragnar.
" So midget, what do you want? Do you want to see the bear? I don't recommend it; it is rather dull." Ragnar said quietly.
"We… we'll we just wanted to see you, they say you are a legend. That you are the greatest swordsman in Westeros and possibly the world…" little Lyanna said.
" Well… you see. I-" Ragnar didn't get to finish his phrase as he was interrupted by Davos.
" Milord, Lord Stark is summoning all lords to the Great Keep. There's still time if you want to get changed." Davos said; he wore dark brown fur stuffed clothes and a brown fur cloak. He looked more of a lord than some of the minor lords attending.
" Aye, I will get changed. Wait for me at the Great Keeps entrance." Ragnar said to Davos and then turned to Lyanna and Benjen, "You should also go, children; your father might be looking for you." He said; Lyanna and Benjen nodded and ran away, and Ragnar smiled fondly.
Ragnar went to get changed; he now wore a red stuffed doublet with golden runes on its sleeves and hem and the Dovahkiin's dragon on the chest, black trousers, and a black fur cloak. He met with Davos and got into the Winterfell's Great Keep. The Great Keep like all of Winterfell, wasn't cold. It had torches illuminating the tables, and some food and mead were served. Ragnar and Davos sat on the 5th table on the right, right beside Lord Jeor Mormont and Lord Glover.
The "meeting" was smooth, Ragnar asked to be the last to report just so he could see what he would do to help the lords of the north. Few lords were totally ready for this winter. House Stark would have to help many of them with either food or lumber. Most lords had cattle as the primary food source during winter; The coastal Houses had seafood such as the Manderlys, the Karstarks, and Glover, but unfortunately, their shores weren't as rich as Skagos'. Ragnar could help them all with little to no blow on his food Storage.
" And finally, Skagos. First of all, I would like to welcome Skagos back to the North officially. As you all know, three years ago, Lord Dovahkiin, with my permission, went on a mission to conquer and pacify Skagos and bring it back to The North. This venture has already been proven a success; Skagos now supplies most of the eastern part of the north, from Last Hearth to Widow's Watch, with Whale meat and oil and, recently, with crops. So I propose a toast, To House Dovahkiin and to The North," Rickard Stark said as he raised his mug.
" TO HOUSE DOVAHKIIN AND TO THE NORTH" they all shouted and drank
" Now. With that said, How is your house's storage for this winter, Lord Dovahkiin?" Rickard said
" Skagos is ready to face a 10-year-long winter… not counting the winter harvest. Whale meat is a steady supply of food even in winter, as is fishing and livestock. My house will also trade with all houses that need during winter. We will also loan the supplies to the houses in need as long as they accept to pay us back next summer." Ragnar said calmly; many lords couldn't believe what they were hearing,
" How is it possible? How did you get your house ready for a 10-year-long winter? You only had three years to do so." Rickard asked
" There are many reasons for that, The Whaling industry being the most important. You see, I created a method of making glass with more quality and way cheaper than Myrish glass. That is also how I got the whaling ships from Ibben. I sold them this method in exchange for 400 whalers ships. I opened several glass warehouses in Skagos; as of now, Skagos has 50 glasshouses. These glasshouses will provide crops for Skagos even in winter. Another thing I did was a deal with Lord Lannister; I forged him a Valyrian Steel Sword in exchange for a large number of cattle, cows, sheep, and others. There are other things, but I don't think they are important enough to share with you." Ragnar replied.
" Incredible! How cheap is this glass you talk about? How much would it be to get a glasshouse built in Karshold" said lord Karstark
"Cheap, less than 200000 gold coins to get one glasshouse for each House of the North. But you don't have to worry about that; House Dovahkiin will build one glasshouse for each of you for free. Consider it a gift from my House to you all." Replied Ragnar
"Aye," they all replied enthusiastically
" Will you sell this glass at this price? To everyone?" Asked Rickard after a few minutes of musing
" No, The glass will be sold way more expensive to the south. Just like the reach sells its crops trice the price in the winter. The glass will be cheap for the northerners and the Northerners only! The south will make us rich." Ragnar replied.
"AYE," the Lords shouted.
" My Lords, I feel my decision of bringing Skagos back to the North and give it to Lord Dovahkiin was one of the most extraordinary things I ever did! TO HOUSE DOVAHKIIN!" Rickard shouted; his face showed how happy he was to finally see a way to end the North's dependence on the south, and this little action of his shower Ragnar one more time that he hadn't bent the knee to an unworthy leader. Rickard Stark was a great man.
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A/N: That's it for today guys!! See y'all tomorrow! Thank you!!
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