章 48: Ja8
Three years had brought significant changes to the Arctic, a thought that lingered in the minds of most of the population who were here at that time, Arya was one of those people. When she caught sight of the kingdom from a distance with its city under construction and a great weirwood more beautiful and larger than any she had seen before, displaying its red leaves, strengthened trunk, and practically covering half of the city with its 70-meter shadow, she could hardly believe what she was seeing.
Looking beyond the city, things did not stop enchanting her; she saw a large field used for the kingdom's cultivation, with a vast space with all kinds of things planted and ready to be harvested while people looked like ants working in these fields, there were colors there she had never seen in a fruit or vegetable from afar.
Then there were the great forests where Jon said she was within the kingdom for a reason, housing thousands of animals like the giant wolves, common wolves, bears, and shadow cats, each with its territory with some prey animals breeding in them for the residents to have food.
As they approached the city with their group while people were coming out to greet them, it seemed like a big party, and a man in armor on a horse appeared in front of Jon, wearing armor like in Sansa's stories, Arya knew this was Ducken, one of Jon's first friends he brought from the northern realm below the wall.
After they talked for a bit, Jon instructed the people who came up to him to relocate all the new population and get them acquainted with the kingdom. They began to conduct, and many more people came to greet Jon, they seemed quite happy at that moment.
"I never imagined such a place could exist..." Arya heard Ygritte speaking beside her.
"Let me introduce my sisters later, they will be shocked I came on this trip hidden, I hope they weren't too worried about my disappearance." Wind spoke on the other side excitedly.
"By the gods, look at the little men! I was getting used to seeing 500 of them, but here there are thousands!!" Tormund shouted, pointing to the dwarfs, there were a bunch of them laughing and shouting in the distance, at least about 5,000 of them, it was a scene that even Arya was quite stunned by.
"The boy really knows how to surprise..." Old Nan commented in the cart next to her grandson.
"Hodor...."
"He built a great kingdom, in a place where no one else could, this boy is truly blessed by the gods..." Maester Aemon commented while stroking Eragon in his lap, looking admiringly at the kingdom.
Now closer to the city, behind the crowd that came to greet them, Arya noticed the houses under construction of a very different type than she knew, to start with is that the "common people" of the Arctic had houses made of stones, something that only nobles and very rich people could have in the kingdom to the south of the wall, with large houses and their castles. Moreover, the constructions were so beautiful that they would make anyone envious, and she knew this was a talent of the dwarves.
Jon had mentioned that in the beginning, the houses were made of wood when they were a settlement, but with a discovery, he developed a greyish adhesive land, called cement, much more reinforced than they used in Westeros to create their castles, making everyone in the Arctic have their mini castles.
Jon did not limit himself to this, as much as the Arctic was a green land in the midst of ice, some days were too cold, even at the volcano, and in winter this would only worsen. So, together with the dwarves, they created a metal line that would run from a volcano in the region and go to all the houses without affecting the rivers that ran through the city, providing constructions of hot springs in some places and heating all the houses.
After Jon had made his preparations, he called Arya to accompany him in private along with Maester Aemon, since both would be living with him in the great weirwood. Arya was finally entering as an Arctican citizen into the kingdom.
Three years had passed since that day, and Arya still had many things in her memory. She looked down at the streets of the Arctic below her after the sacred grove where the children of the forest lived. Those spacious streets were always crowded with giants, dwarfs, humans, children of the forest, and animals freely circulating the place coexisting in harmony. Her brother was truly a king whom everyone recognized as the founder of this magical place.
The food here was much better than anything she had eaten in Winterfell, always with a variety of recipes and foods that Jon created with his magical powers, which she still struggled to understand. The people here had a habit of smoking these cigars and drinking these beverages called vodka, whiskey, beer, mead, and a wine that was said to be very good as well. Jon had never let Arya try them when there were big parties in the kingdom's main square during these years. But Arya had fun anyway; she had the harvest festival in Winterfell and Wintertown, but it was just a shadow of what the Arctic would do while thousands of people gathered to drink and sing all night with some entertaining attractions, like a theater and singers putting on a show.
Arya did not hesitate to say that Winterfell seemed like a basement compared to this place. Arya's mother always said that Jon was a threat to take Winterfell from Robb, and he planned to do such a thing, but this place was worth at least 100 Winterfells in the girl's opinion.
It wasn't just the people, the culture in development with its artisans and teachers. Jon had all his vaults filled with gold, but gold had no value here; no one cared about it. Jon was storing gold taken from the mines of miners and putting it into forms to be identified as dragons for use in the future of his plans. People looked at Arya as if she were stupid when she said that Jon let her jump and swim in piles and piles of gold in his largest vault.
One thing that Arya had known since her first day in the kingdom and was introduced to her when they arrived at Jon's house was meeting Seryna. Initially, when Jon said he would introduce her to the giant he had known for years, Arya thought she would meet a woman 3 meters tall, but reality was quite deceptive.
What appeared to her was a girl of 1.6 meters, she had dark hair, bright blue eyes with a quite fierce expression, but in front of Jon, she seemed like a girl in love, looking at him with anticipation. Arya saw the most beautiful girl she had ever seen, even much more beautiful than her sister, Sansa. However, the girl jumped on Jon, hugging him as if he were something precious, and Arya, for the first time, saw Jon in a moment of weakness as he practically begged the girl to stop crushing him.
In these 3 years, they finally got married, but Jon didn't just marry her, Ygritte became his wife too. Arya found herself calling the girls stupid over the last few years as they ran after Jon. Many women and single girls did this in the kingdom, but Jon had more contact with Seryna, whom no one could stop her force when she wanted to get to Jon, and Ygritte, who was quite agile to get past guards, and before Jon could react, she was already by his side, though he always knew with his Warg eyes, he always pretended to be a bit surprised. Arya knew that Jon liked the girl too.
"Stupid..." This was the word Arya defined the girls' pursuit during this time while seeing such situations recurrently.
On her first day here, 3 years ago, Arya still remembers how they visited a distant relative of Aemon Targaryen. It was a surprise to see a man bonded to the roots of the world's largest tree, but Arya was already accepting that she had a very limited view of the world.
After Jon had made his preparations, he summoned Arya to join him privately along with Maester Aemon, as both would be living with him in the great weirwood. Arya was finally entering as an Arctican citizen into the kingdom.
Three years had passed since that day, and Arya still had many memories. She looked down at the streets of the Arctic below her after the sacred grove where the children of the forest lived. Those spacious streets were always crowded with giants, dwarfs, humans, children of the forest, and animals freely moving about the place, coexisting in harmony. Her brother was truly a king whom everyone recognized as the founder of this magical place.
The food here was much better than anything she had eaten in Winterfell, always featuring a variety of recipes and foods that Jon created with his magical powers, which she still struggled to understand. The people here were accustomed to smoking these cigars and drinking beverages called vodka, whiskey, beer, mead, and a wine that was said to be very good as well. Jon had never let Arya try them when there were big parties in the kingdom's main square during these years. But Arya enjoyed herself nonetheless; she had experienced the harvest festival in Winterfell and Wintertown, but it was merely a shadow of what the Arctic would do as thousands of people gathered to drink and sing all night with entertaining attractions like theater and singers putting on a show.
Arya did not hesitate to say that Winterfell seemed like a basement compared to this place. Arya's mother always said that Jon was a threat to take Winterfell from Robb, and he planned to do such a thing, but this place was worth at least 100 Winterfells in the girl's opinion.
It wasn't just the people and the developing culture with its artisans and teachers. Jon had all his vaults filled with gold, but gold had no value here; no one cared about it. Jon was storing gold taken from miners and shaping it into forms to be identified as dragons for use in the future of his plans. People looked at Arya as if she were foolish when she said that Jon let her jump and swim in piles and piles of gold in his largest vault.
One thing that Arya had known since her first day in the kingdom and was introduced to her when they arrived at Jon's house was meeting Seryna. Initially, when Jon said he would introduce her to the giant he had known for years, Arya thought she would meet a woman 3 meters tall, but reality was quite deceptive.
What appeared to her was a girl of 1.6 meters, with dark hair, bright blue eyes with a quite fierce expression, but in front of Jon, she seemed like a girl in love, looking at him with anticipation. Arya saw the most beautiful girl she had ever seen, even much more beautiful than her sister, Sansa. However, the girl jumped on Jon, hugging him as if he were something precious, and Arya, for the first time, saw Jon in a moment of weakness as he practically begged the girl to stop crushing him.
In these 3 years, they finally got married, but Jon didn't just marry her, Ygritte became his wife too. Arya found herself calling the girls stupid over the last few years as they ran after Jon. Many women and single girls did this in the kingdom, but Jon had more contact with Seryna, whom no one could stop her force when she wanted to get to Jon, and Ygritte, who was quite agile to get past guards, and before Jon could react, she was already by his side, though he always knew with his Warg eyes, he always pretended to be a bit surprised. Arya knew that Jon liked the girl too.
"Stupid..." This was the word Arya defined the girls' pursuit during this time while seeing such situations recurrently.
On her first day here, 3 years ago, Arya still remembers how they visited a distant relative of Aemon Targaryen. It was a surprise to see a man bonded to the roots of the world's largest tree, but Arya was already accepting that she had a very limited view of the world.
Arya reflected on her time in this kingdom. She loved her family in Winterfell and missed them, but the Arctic was a magical place for the girl, and having her brother by her side gave her the warmth of family she needed. Her achievements in the Arctic were noteworthy; she trained as a Warg with her brother. Over these 3 years, she bonded with 12 giant wolves that Jon gifted some while she ended up bonding with them during her escapades to Wolfkingdom, the forest where the giant wolves stayed.
However, Jon did not neglect Arya's education. He had her learn embroidery, which would leave Sansa and even Septa Mordane looking mediocre. Arya finally enjoyed the practice while doing it with Ygritte and Seryna. There was no Sept nagging her, nor her sister and her friends calling her "horse face." She realized it was more about the people around her that made her dislike the practice than the art itself.
Arya didn't just learn embroidery. Jon gave her private lessons along with the other girls. By the end of the 3 years, Arya had learned the royal etiquette of a princess, mastered languages beyond the common tongue, such as High Valyrian, the Old Tongue, the Yi-Ti language, and even Dothraki. Beyond communication, Arya also mastered MATHEMATICS, ARITHMETIC, ECONOMICS, GEOGRAPHY, HISTORY, NAVIGATION, ASTROLOGY, AGRICULTURE, ALCHEMY, and ANATOMY with MEDICINE, to learn the healing arts when needed.
She didn't limit herself to the academic field. To her satisfaction, Jon had her learn to fight with daggers, swords, and shields. She learned to wield a bow with skill through practice, and Jon made her command a small squadron to sharpen her leadership skills while the Arctican army conducted field simulations. It was odd to have a child shouting commands to a group of 50 men, but she got the hang of it as the moons passed.
Over the years, she had her friend Wind, with whom she always went out in the city to cause mischief. Now with namedays passed, she tried to drink alcohol for the first time and compete against a dwarf in a drinking contest, but lost miserably. It was her first time drinking alcohol, and she spent the rest of the day sick, vomiting. Jon was angry with her when Arya went to the tavern secretly to drink. However, she ended up becoming an apprentice to the dwarf who won the alcohol contest to learn his forging skills. Arya began trying to become a smith since then.
In addition to all these changes, Jon had her take a kind of daily potion since she arrived in the kingdom. This changed her a lot over the years, not only did she become healthier, immune to diseases that were only tales to her, and stronger like an adult, something Jon had done before her, she became more beautiful. Her skin glowed, her hair shined, her grey eyes became more striking, and her face took on a new shape as she entered the final stage of childhood. She even acknowledged she was more beautiful than Sansa, someone who, along with her foolish friends, used to mock her appearance with derisive nicknames.
Many said she would be one of the most beautiful women in the world in the future, but Arya had slightly different thoughts. First, she wanted to have scars to stand out as a fierce warrior. There were many spearwives who entered the Arctic after many battles, and Arya had gained many idols. She wanted to have their scars. However, the funniest thing was, of all the women, Seryna was the strongest in the Arctic. She might have been 1.6 meters tall, but she continued to have the strength of a giant, defeating all the large men with just punches. Besides her giant genetics, Jon provided her with daily potions even before Arya's arrival in the kingdom.
Ygritte took the potions with Arya, Jon always kept her close, and it was no surprise that they got married after a few years. Ygritte grew in beauty and strength as well, like a true Arctican.
Arya reflected on her journey in this place over so many years and concluded that she loved the Arctic. Within the city, there was one place she frequented beyond the classes that Jon made me attend every day; it was the arena in the middle of the city, a closed place that Jon built for thousands of people to watch performances and fights. All the kingdom's citizens attended the place every day to see who were the strongest in the kingdom or to prove their worth.
Jon, unsurprisingly, the king was the greatest warrior even among the giants now with his 15 namedays, having gained an explosive strength that only lost to Seryna in terms of force, but he beat her in a weapon battle. In this place, there were no fatalities; it was always fun when going to the arena to watch, there were competitions every day, the dwarfs designed the place to fit 100,000 people inside, and there were events on some days of the year that the entire population would attend, so there were always the excited shouts with thousands of people, an experience Arya never thought she would live in her life.
Besides the marriage of Seryna and Ygritte with Jon, which happened a few fights ago, Seryna was pregnant with Jon's first child. Another novelty was the real size of Eragon after 3 years, Arya now encountered an Eragon the size of a house flying over the skies of the Arctic. The dwarfs did not like the dragon, saying he was a fire-breathing monster and always asked Jon to take care of that "flying creature".
Now the Arctic would enter a new stage of its development, Jon, after 3 years teaching the first batch of teachers, started the education of the common people, where each teacher took a class of new future teachers in the most recent building constructed that Jon called the university, his brother said he still had to set up the great library that the dwarfs started construction next to the University, but still, the Arctic had a scarcity of books and Jon planned to make the biggest library in the world there.
Arya knew he planned to change that soon, as the ships in the harbor were now in the hundreds built and Jon had declared that he would start his maritime journeys all over the world, Arya would accompany him and this made her even more excited to know the world and learn about travels and trades, as Jon said she would.
Jon Arctic: 15 Namedays
Serena Arctic: 21 Namedays
Ygritte Arctic: 16 Namedays
Arya Stark: 11 Namedays
週次パワーステータス
-- 推薦
ランキング 
-- 推薦
チケット