章節 29: Situations In The North & South
-Asgard Winterfell. 283 AC-
-Meeting Room of the Northern Government-
Hariric was sitting in the government council room of the kingdom of Asgard. It had been three years since they officially separated from the seven kingdoms. It had been three years since the kingdom of Asgard had taken shape. And since then he had not regretted his decision. His greatest interest was his people not having to worry about the so-called power game that those imbeciles had in the south.
The separation had been clean. Although of course when you have hostages the guardian of the south, the brother of the guard of the west and several nobles of the lands of the rivers, the lands of the storms, Dorne and the valley all agreed to let them be. Although Hariric knew that the only reason they let them go is because they wanted to lick the wounds of what was essentially the greatest defeat in the history of the southern kingdoms.
Since I completely flattened the military force, there had also been talk of magic throughout the kingdom. Not only in Asgard but also in the south. The reactions had been different depending on where you look at it. Frankly he would have ignored him but he was very worried about what the intentions of those in power could be if they had an opportunity to do anything if he was sincere.
In the North, the fact that their king had magic was seen as a sign that the ancient gods were very much in agreement with their decisions. He had had to hit the ground hard when a group of imbeciles tried to train themselves to worship the ancient gods as if they were a physical manifestation. They had been a real pain because they wanted to make their opinion valuable as was the faith of the seven in the south.
Hariric had not consented to it in the least explaining that in the south a rotten branch was tolerated and look how bad they were. I would not tolerate the demonstration of a church with power in the North. Asgard would survive without the need for religious faith or something like that. As is natural, they took it badly and tried to eliminate it. They tried to move people against them. It didn't go well.
It was after capturing the ringleaders that he discovered who they really were. They were a group of children from families of ancient men who thought they could exploit the rise of magic as a way to make a name and power. Hariric made sure that everyone knew the truth and what is more important he sacrificed them to the ancient gods so that it was known that they really did not have the power they were talking about.
With the idiots arrested in his tracks, he knew that things would now be more or less calm at least. Or at least that's what I thought. The fact is that although he had hit the shit of what religious power was, the time had come to confront political power. Needless to say, the different gentlemen wanted to know if their children could be able to do magic and in that case they demanded that he teach them what he knew.
I spend the first few days laughing at the pure audacity of those people, really? Demand from him? They just expected him to tell his skills and that they had the advantage or whatever? Hariric had to make a great but a monstrous effort not to laugh at them for what was essentially in the minds of all of them. How could they even think that he would give them the slightest opportunity? What a shitty joke.
I ordered to call each gentleman and after explaining to them that they had no authority over him I explained to them that they would be lucky to leave with their heads on their shoulders the next time they even thought of demanding something from him. They tried to threaten him. Tell him that they had armies to bend him. Then Harry only told them that they could test their strength but that if he had to do it he would kill them and take away any possibility that his children who were his friends would inherit shit.
The gentlemen were smart enough to accept things but in these three years he had been trying to get each of his commanders to leave the army to take charge of the positions they had to occupy. The possibility of a threat by actions of their own parents for pressuring a wolf was all they needed to know how badly they had stepped on with their so-called lawsuits.
But he wasn't heartless. He said he would be testing the children of each of his commanders to see if they were able to use magic. As is natural, some gentlemen complained especially Lord Karstark because he said that since they were family he should give importance to them. Hariric only made fun of the man before informing him that he had no intention of being a person who gave a shit about anyone who stood idly by when things happened.
After that he went to another point incredibly annoying in the way people wanted the territories of the traitors. The good news is that at the moment he told those who were going, the territories more or less fell silent. At least it was for a while that they kept quiet until they looked for an excuse to complain about it just because they thought they had the right in some way to complain or any other shit like that which was annoying.
Harry got tired of having to explain that his reasons for not dividing the territories among themselves is because each fucking gentleman had a good extension of territory to play with and give them more would have been stupid. The lords of the north had their territories in which they had to invest and look for ways to make new profits. It goes without saying that although there was a setback, the demand was still there.
Honestly, the nobles were a pain in the ass on the best of days. And as if that wasn't enough, they thought they could send more or less demanding letters. It's because they thought that no one would dare to mess with them or that their actions would have no consequences. He made fun of them thinking that way but decided to leave him. The more exucsas they give him, the less he would have to make an effort to see them eliminated from power
Anyway, things were like that. He had formed the governing body. The governing body was divided into several divisions formed and designed to operate a just government that was clearly well interested in progress. All the ministers should have achieved something impressive: studies. As I make it clear, each gentleman had to be competent in a matter so there would be no thought of helping a nobleman or whatever.
At that time there were several ministries: Defence, foreign, interior, economic, medical, education and administration. He had selected for each position people he could count on who could do the job more than anything to make sure that everyone was loyal. I don't help that I use magical contracts to avoid betrayals not only in them but in the ministries. There would be no corruption in his government in any way.
And today was a meeting because there were important points that had to be discussed. It wasn't something he liked but there was a meeting every three months unless a catastrophic event or something like that then required a meeting ahead of time. Fortunately, so far there had been no reason for such a meeting at the moment, which was good.
"Well, I call this meeting of the Asgard governing council. We will start with the most important and what has been in the last three years in the plane of interest of Asgard. How is the situation going with the issues in braavos foreign chief?''. The exterior chief was an important man who had more than passed the expected tests for a person who would look for a job like this.
''The situation is...tense. Due to what was the support of that banker against the Stark house by providing the funds to the Bolton house to initiate a coup against us which led to the kidnapping of Lady Lyanna Stark, the situation has had to be handled with care, my lord.'' The head of foreign affairs had had to make many things clear to Braavos in the last three years.
"Did the iron bank as well as the sealord really think that I would agree to have the same businesses that I had with braavos after they were responsible for the kidnapping of my sister? What kind of idiots did they think I would even tolerate such a thing?''. Having to break the agreements with Braavos had demanded the construction of a larger eastern commercial fleet but it didn't matter in his opinion since it went well.
"Apparently it was the opinion of the majority of the bank that you would be defeated and therefore the assets could be used. In fact, thanks to our information search network, they had planned to blackmail both Prince and Lord Bolton in exchange for more profits.'' The foreign minister mocked the most backward mentality of the gentlemen of the iron bank.
"So I don't see why we should do all the things of even thinking about shit. In fact... I think we should teach a friendly lesson of not fucking with Asgard again. Foreign Minister's options''. Oh yes, did they think they could conspire with their enemies and think they could get away with their shit? Well, then he would make sure that they paid with blood for their actions.
"The most viable and effective option would be to attack the businesses of the iron bank. Right now we have one foot in their territory in the form of the Olympus business company with which they have no way to compete. We are talking about expanding it to assimilate all the companies of what are inns.'' The Olympus generated considerable wealth for everyone in Asgard and was in every free city which was very beneficial for them to expand their power and influence.
''I suppose it's a more than viable option. How much would it really cost us to expand Olympus in the middle of Braavos territory? Any advantage we can take advantage of will be used to our advantage to harm them''. Harry laughed funny thinking about how the group of idiots could be having a potentially bad time.
"Before moving forward, my lord, I would like to comment that we would have to make the buildings resistant to any possible plan of physical attack. Although it is a low possibility, they may try to set them on fire if they see that hiring thugs to cause damage does not work''. It was a very sure possibility that they would try. Not now but when they thought they could get away with it they could try anything.
''I'll take care of it personally. They are very valuable assets for all of us. It would be simply stupid of me to let them be without more so that they are destroyed by people who believe for some reason that they can get away with it''. Yes. He would have to place runes to protect what is his land in possession.
"I would also like to say to your majesty that that would only be the tip of the iceberg. Locating every business they have and seeing it attacked would be very unintelligent. Instead, I would like to suggest that we buy their contracts and use our ships instead of those of the iron bank to make the business then owe us.'' The foreign minister finished giving his advice with a look full of poison.
"It's not a bad plan. OK. Start. Ask our wolves of war to start gathering information. If a business does not join us, mark it as a threat and attack it. Only when the bank understands that it's better not to fuck Asgard will I be satisfied with things''. People didn't attack someone strong.
The foreign minister agreed. The sealord had the damn face of thinking that they would not dare to attack them. The bank put all the excuses to defend itself against them. His majesty wanted to make them suffer and he agreed with it. In addition, if they made things clear with this, I was sure that then they would not even think about something like that again.
''With the foreign affairs concluded Shelia I would like a report on interior affairs What is the current situation of Asgard? Where can we see more defects that need to be polished?''. As a former head of his intelligence division, it was logical that he appointed Shelia Rogare the head of the Ministry of the Interior as well as the lady of the ancient lands of the Ryswell house.
"There are several points and centres of discontent throughout the kingdom, my lord. Although we managed to crush the uprising of ancient faith made flesh, there are still those who try to keep the movement alive and use it as a way to expand their power''. The only religion that had something good and a bunch of idiots intended to end it just because they wanted a little power in their hands.
By the ancient gods. And I thought that should have been settled in a damned way. What have your men managed to learn about it, Shelia? If there is still such a movement we have to stop them. Especially if they try to promote your opinion and the idea that salon tricks are an excellent way to talk about the power of the gods''. The idea that there is a cult of religious taking advantage of the uneducated bothered him.
"They are mostly trying to win over small people with the manifestation of achievements as everything you have achieved is a manifestation of the gods through you and that therefore only those true devotees will be in contact with the ancient gods my lord. They show up and leave. They don't stay still''. She growled because those people were a real headache.
''Putting a group of wolves almost seems like an exaggeration but apparently it's not like that. We have to find out who they are and what is more important, where did they get the damn ideas and support for such a way of thinking?''. If there was one thing that Hariric would not let spread through his country, even if they paid him a mountain of gold, it would be uncontrolled religion.
"With all due respect, your majesty. I think that placing a group of wolves could be the best action we have at hand for this. Whoever these defenders of the ancient gods are, they can try to gain more and more power until they are a real movement and they would become an even greater pain''. Shelia had thought and had faith that once the Boltons were treated, the annoying plagues within their territory would have ended.
''If your opinion is that we should put people more serious in this then it will be done. What can you tell me about them? Is there any information about them that can be used to track them in some way?''. Harry could easily start looking for them. It would be the best.
''The little that is known is that they reach the smallest population places. They appear. They say nice words. They make derogatory comments about some things and then leave quickly before they can be registered by the rangers. They make some unique exhibitions and period''. Shelia only knew that the rangers wanted to get their hands on those idiots because of the amount of shit they did in their lives.
''...At least one of them will have to be captured. Once we catch one of them we should be able to know more. Unless they obviously have a way to control information or that they are able to prevent someone from getting their hands on them.'' This looked like a magician.
''I will put some of the members of what are the wolves of war to be able to follow their trail and that way know where they are going. How they move and much more. You have my word that we will not fail you, my lord.'' Shelia was determined to fulfil the mission. Not only because it was their job but because these men and women were a threat to the peace they had created.
Hariric was thinking intensely about what this situation was. It didn't matter what it looked like. What mattered most was that the Stark house was able to solve this. He knew that some could just think that it was a simple matter but he didn't believe it. Religion would always be in his opinion one of the greatest weapons used by the world to extend its power and influence to do its will and manipulate the most uneducated minds.
"Mr., if possible, I would like to move on to the country's financial reports. I think this is a very important point because there could be potential ideas that could be of interest for expansion.'' The finance minister was none other than his former banker. It was logical. Who better to manage money than a person who controlled it as a trade?
''Of course. Sorry, I was thinking about the disaster that is these people who can't stop thinking that only for some divine reason or whatever they should make life difficult for all of us. Please start with your report''. Hariric sighs. I should get out of what it was like to think about something too in depth. He knew the problem was only a matter of finding him and hunting him with all possible skill.
"Of course, the first thing I want to report is that our sales reports abroad are maintained although the problems of the war still exist. Not to mention the rupture of the alliance with the Dorniens. On the front of Westeros we have seen monetary losses although a recovery is expected, my lord.'' The fact is that war is bad. People had to spend money on other things.
"The truth is that I expected it. The economic situation in the north is still strong, that's good. The defeated paid the price for even thinking that they could put a hand on Asgard and that in case it makes me happy. Is there any fact that you think can be valuable to know about it?''. The fact is that if they couldn't buy it's bad. But if they could buy even in small quantities it was something that would go well.
"As things are right now, the situation, my lord, is that it will take some time. Let's give it another three years before all the lands can be able to buy. Although of course we will still have to deal with that useless king annoyance''. Yes. Robert Baratheon did not have the best opinions of any of the ministers. But seeing the ease with which the man spent was already bad enough in the minister's mind.
''Has the king done anything that could be bad enough? I have more than understood that he spends adequate money in this regard and that he spends excessively''. Harry couldn't fully understand. If Robert Baratheon wanted to bankrupt his kingdom, it wasn't his fucking problem.
"I'm afraid, my lord, that things could be worse than you imagine. Much, much worse. The fact is that King Robert's spending level is unprecedented. I give him another two years before he takes the kingdom to what is an absolute bankruptcy''. King Robert was a waste of money.
"There's nothing I can do about it unless it's getting into that man's head and telling him that he can't do that. If I had been capable of such a thing I would have already done that action just to prevent her from marrying my sister so I don't see a viable solution. Is there anything that has been tried about it?''. This was so fucking annoying.
"I have spoken with the ministries of foreign affairs as well as with the head of the intelligence and analysis division, my lord. There's nothing. I estimate that in three years we will have lost our client unless we find a way to prevent him from continuing to lead his government down this bad path.'' He gave the bad news to his lord. But his lord only seemed to be thinking of it as a half-hearted problem.
"I have a question, is there a possibility that the king will ask third parties to pay for him in exchange for what it is essentially to have the debt with those governments or nobles? If so, we could see that there are no such losses in our businesses''. Of course, who would be the idiot who would think of all the things that it was a good fucking idea to get right into such a shitty storm?
''...It's a possibility. The truth is that the king seems to care little more than his vices his majesty so it is possible that if someone comes and offers him possibly accept it my lord. You have to be ridiculously stupid to think that such an idea could work.'' In the mind of the minister of financial affairs did not enter the head that a person would come out stupid enough to think in such a way.
''You underestimate the level of ambition in the south. I guarantee it. For putting a hand in the affairs of their own king and having the opportunity to control the policy that is done in the six kingdoms there is no doubt that they will do anything to get away with it.'' Yes. He could perfectly see Tywin Lannister even putting the wealth of his house at stake for the power of his house in the court and much more.
''So I guess we wouldn't see a problem on that front. Our greatest current concern is also the expenses of maintaining two fleets to ensure that no one tries to put obstacles in our way as well as two complete fleets of trade, my lord.'' That was all he had to say.
I guess it's good then that we get rid of the problem. The fleets are maintained. It's better to have matters under control. I wouldn't be surprised if we have pirates hired by the cities themselves with the intention of putting a hand on our resources''. I wouldn't miss him. I would have to make the boats with more firepower. It is true that the galleons had a lot of firepower but it was better not to risk it.
The finance minister agreed. The senseless loss that the fleets would be would hit them. Certainly the galleons were well armed with several tension guns that were able to shoot further than the most powerful of the ballistas. The projectiles were Valyrian fire bombs which guaranteed the destruction of their targets with little or no effort that was a good thing.
"Sir, I have information that I think can be important. It is about the possible expansions and military campaigns assigned for what is the movement against the remaining Stepstones without counting on the island taken by the Martells. The Minister of Defence was a woman. She was very enthusiastic about what the possibilities of military expansion were.
"That's something that would obviously be of interest to me. What can you tell me about the advanced campaign plans so that our kingdom has to face all things? Any threat is better to be registered as soon as possible''. The idea of being able to start a military campaign would be good. Although he knew that Asgard as a whole could be quite large and they were far from populating twenty percent, there were advantages in expanding.
''Yes, your majesty. As is natural when I find out about your plans for a military campaign to annex what the islands are, I thought, what a great plan, right? However, every great plan always has its disadvantages. To know that any plan we made would have to be done quickly. And efficient''. Any plan they made would have to be quick and quiet.
''Yes. That is the biggest difficulty we would have when starting any kind of conquest plan. No matter how well thought out our plans are, they would encounter the problem that we would have to face a situation of little help because they are far away.'' It was the same thing that happened in the past in the conquest of the Americas. They were far away so control would be difficult. Well, unless you include magic.
''Indeed my lord but I thought What would happen if we go one by one on the islands and dedicate ourselves to the fortification of the islands. We start with a less visited or seen island and move on from there. With that done we would have the battle plan assured his majesty''. She laughed at a plan that, although it would take time, seemed more effective.
"An island-to-island invasion? It's not a bad plan. Actually... you just gave me an idea. I think it's time for us to start the expansion of magical skills development.'' Hariric smiled. Yes. This seemed to be quite good and at the same time gave him the excuse to try his new invention. What would the other kingdoms look like once they realised this new advantage on his part?
"Have we had an advance that is applicable for military use, sir? That is to say, I do not want to doubt your word but so far all the magical applications have been oriented to cities and the use of elements to produce resources. I never thought we had military advantages of any kind.'' The minister didn't know what to think of this. What could this new advance be?
"That's because I thought in an idiotic way that I had to keep the magic more or less off the battlefield. Not for nothing but because the magicians on the battlefield are something that we don't need right now... at least not for now. No. This new magical invention of mine will be very useful.'' With a gesture, several sheets of paper flew and put themselves on each of the men.
Each minister looked carefully at the leaves until their eyes came out of the basins. For what reason? Because what his master had created was basically a way of connecting two points separated by a great distance. What they didn't know is that this was already done in their world and he just had to rediscover it. It took him three years to make it viable what it is to say something.
"As you can see right now, what better way to use this as a tool that allows us to expand quickly in the Stepstones and later in the disputed lands, eh?". Hariric saw the look of surprise on everyone's face. I couldn't exactly blame them. Except for Shelia, none of them knew about the power of magic. In short, the only limitation was imagination.
"'My lord...how can I say this. Well, let's go with the simple. This single magical invention would mean a total change in wars. If we had this in strategic positions throughout our territory we would be able to keep our territories under control even those that are technically far from our control''. The Defence minister was stunned. What could she say besides how terrifying this was?
"That's more or less the idea. As well as being able to extend and increase the population centres throughout the North without the need to overpopuse the cities. With this done, we should be able to connect many centres and places as large land locations for agriculture.'' It was a plan he came up with. But in the military sense it could be said that it would have more effects.
"And militarily... if we can put a door big enough we would be able to go anywhere that is under our protection. And what is more important to maintain contact with those parts would be possible without the limitations of distance''. Yes. She was delighted. The only idea... the empire of Asgard could grow without problems and what is more important no one could tell them shit.
"It was just an idea I had and it occurred to me. The truth is that almost all my magical knowledge is more or less something that occurred to me. Ideas that appear in my head and make me think of things with potential''. From Harry's point of view, they were ideas that appeared without further ado and that helped him in many ways.
''Your majesty with this addition more and more people will want to discover magic has even been discovered a method so that we can discover possible magic? If that were possible, we could recruit more people and pass on at least some of their knowledge.'' The one who spoke now was the minister of education who was naturally excited.
"I have ideas. But they are just that. Ideas How can I be sure that they will work? I would need to connect it to my main connection with the law lines and from there it should be possible for us to connect to the whole world and know the magical potentials that there are on the continent''. Harry laughed. As if I was going to tell them that I already had it operational. I wanted to make it see that everything was developing slowly.
''If that works, my lord, we can see so much potential. We still have to understand where the magic comes from but at the University of Isengard we refuse to follow the methods of those barbarians of the citadel. Open children who seem to show magic''. The minister of education learned about the methods used in the citadel to study magic and there was nothing he wanted more than to kill them for it
If we could come to understand the magic we would be one step away from understanding ourselves more. We are lucky that here magic is not despised in the same way that it is despised in the south. Those damned worshippers of the seven would kill any child with signs of damn magic''. The damned lords of the seven would see the magicians as threats to their so-called faith.
"My lord, allow me to be the first to tell you that in that case we would have to prepare ourselves. What happens if the children are from the south? The teachers or the faith of the seven would kill them for being called abominations against what they think is order''. The minister shuddered. The mere idea of imagining children sacrificed as animals by those people.
"Once my artefact works, I will make sure that there are rapid response teams throughout the south. It will take a while but I think a group of travelling comedians would be a guarantee that things work well enough to make agents move who will keep the children safe.'' And I knew exactly how to make it work.
''That, my lord, is an idea that I can see working. Would you like a list of our best actors, actresses and instrumental workers? That could be good as long as people don't know in any way that they will be moving all over the south.'' Yes. I could see the idea of his master working. Thanks to the communication mirrors (another invention of his master) it would be possible to communicate from one part to another.
"It's the thing that most comes to mind that can work. It's the least we can do for those children just to make sure they don't end up being used in an unpleasant way by all those monsters. Which leads me to ask a question: How is that experiment that we launched going?''. Harry smiled in anticipation while the man also got more than excited about what the good news was.
"We got to work on it immediately, my lord. And things are going well. Now we can talk about having the first group of Wyvern riders. He was right in saying that if young people were obtained and a warg with a friendly and young disposition joined them, it would possibly become a symbiotic relationship.'' He could still remember when his lord brought him the idea.
''It's good. Counting as explorers and attackers from the heights would be good. I can't expect them to become a new armed force. It will take years before that happens but I'm calm. Strong connections are always a good thing.'' Hariric nodded satisfied that his experiment had been more successful than he really expected. What was he supposed to say besides how happy he was that he didn't explode in the face?
The minister nodded in agreement. Not everything had to be for weapons. This would allow them to understand and understand a race that in a nutshell would be impossible if something they came to understand in some senses. The Wyvern were like dragons and only an idiot would think they could dominate them. They only listened to their fellow humans which was pretty good in itself since the Wyverns were incredible subjects of research.
"This is all for the day. We will meet in the coming months. Head of Foreign Affairs next time I want a progress report on what is happening in the external regions. We have to know about the situation in the southern kingdoms yes or yes''. Information was a power that was better to always have on your side.
''Minister of Internal Affairs. I know I can't ask for big demands. But if possible, put some wolves to the observation of certain villages. If possible, make see that the observation is as discreet as possible. If this works, we will know how our enemy is actually watching our movements.'' I had some ideas about it but if it was possible I wanted to check it out.
''Minister of Economy. I know we are fine and the profits we are in are good but I would like you to develop a savings system. I don't want Asgard to waste the gold. I want it well stored and well produced. If something is being misrepresented or wasted meaninglessly, I want to know at the time of now''. Money was the blood of a country while people were muscles, bones and organs.
"Minister of Defence. Study each of the commanders of the south. I have the feeling that despite the crushing defeat of three years ago it is possible that they are plotting against us once again. I refuse to leave a single chance. I want their profiles learned and then taught in the officers' academy''. Despite the fact that it was three years ago that they defeated their enemies in the south, they knew their enemies. They wouldn't abandon this without a fight.
Each of the ministers nodded according to their lord's plans. What else were they supposed to do? His plans were not exactly bad and in fact they were well-designed ideas. Besides, this was just a plan for a random yes. They were sure that their lord would have new ideas designed for the advancement of his kingdom and achieve new goals to fulfil. At least that's what they thought.
Hariric saw his ministers leave while he was thinking things very carefully. But what worried him most right now was this religious group. Why? Why were they doing all this? It was quite obvious that they were interested in making your life difficult. Or at least try to move things in the kingdom so you can cause chaos and damage in the kingdom which was a problem.
However, I had the feeling that whoever was doing this was magical. A person who was able to hide and move his pieces as if they were a simple tool in the shadows. It didn't matter what it looked like, it was quite obvious that they were a tool just to be a way to fuck him up. Things certainly got complicated just by this.
Sighing wouldn't help anything. He had his suspicions of why they were doing just this. Knowing his potential enemy he was trying to move small people to become superstitious. So when the time comes he will try to make a move against him and his family. He knew that despite all the help made by him, people would always turn against a person if they had the opportunity.
That's not counting the opportunists. This explained more why those so-called nobles were in this. I had thought I caught the leaders but it was false. No. He had caught a cell. Possibly the one behind all this wanted to make it look like a movement that was impossible to stop. Why the hell did all these things have to happen when he had finally achieved some of his goals?
Lands of the Crown. King´s Landing-
-Red Fort. Small council room-
Jon Arryn felt a powerful pain. This pain was due to what was the situation of the six kingdoms. Yes. Six. There was no longer a seventh kingdom. The North or as they were now called from the kingdom of Asgard was now independent and they did not account to the kingdom as a whole. That was bad for several reasons.
The first bad thing about all this is that he had had that glorious vision of pulling the strings to make the North support the faith of the seven. Why should they keep the faith in that stupid piece of wood when what they should be doing is serving the true faith? Frankly, they were stupid and ignorant.
But the most massive blow was not in the loss of his goal. No. His blow is that the North had taken everything with it: its taxes, its inventions, everything. Basically the possibilities of the south to replicate their advanced knowledge were meeting a wall and without the taxes of the North the situation was more than bad.
It didn't help that Robert demanded that they give him top quality alcohol and you wouldn't imagine all that liquor came out mostly from the north so basically they were paying the North for their products. Not to mention spices, silk and many other things. They had to give money to the North. The nobles of the entire south were forced of all things.
In his mind he tried to find ways. For a while he thought about making war on the North. Could they overcome the full power of the seven kingdoms? He doubted it. But then the damn hariric Stark came out with that he had magic and was able to kill a being of magic by himself. People were afraid of him and the fighters would no longer go without fear.
The real fleet was torn to pieces so they couldn't expect to compete with their military power. The Redwyne fleet was also torn to pieces. And the Arryn fleet was barely a shadow. The only one that lasted was the Lannister fleet and he doubted that they could compete militarily against the naval military power. The only hope was possibly to have superior combat forces.
But as if that wasn't bad enough, they had rebuilt the moat or what the Twin Wolves were now called. Their strategic position made it impossible for a conventional army to be able to put its hands on the North and in the time they tried to conquer it the North will come with all its legions and gods know the damage they could have suffered in the process.
And as if that wasn't bad enough, it seemed that the North has a group of highly trained military experts in sabotage tactics, murder, infiltration and much more. They would call him something wrong and he would even like to recriminate that to the North but Hariric Stark would only shrug his shoulders thinking that he was just a bad loser complaining about not having the advantage.
God hated this. They had entered into plans. A plan of more than twenty years. Thought with the idea of taking out the targaryen. Why? Because they were foreigners. They arrived at the continent and conquered it. No gentleman accepts it. But the Arryns absolutely despised it. Even when the Targaryen abandoned their dragon gods. Even when they lost their monstrous dragons. They should never have let them be.
That's how his plan arrived. A civil war. A war that would see the Targaryen expelled. Aegon the fifth proved to be very helpful. Because of his actions trying to help the little ones, he had enraged the nobles. It is true that an intelligent nobleman would treat his people well but most saw them as little more than garbage. But Aegon confronted all the lords of the kingdom.
And then Aerys arrived. Oh yes. Aerys and his madness. I didn't know how it happened even though I had theories. Madness doesn't escalate the way it does. No. Someone else was behind Aerys, could it be the dark fires? Yes. It was a possibility. I wouldn't let those idiots try to get rid of the idiot king. But even in spite of this, it was also of good help as treatment to the gentleman of the West.
Then he took advantage of Aerys, what if he was wrong? One word here and he had the second son of the Stark house to be turned into his puppet in the wild kingdom. A word to help his situation and Robert was engaged to that wild bitch. Yes. Everything was going the right way... until that damn brother of his got angry and mercilessly devastated the kingdoms that opposed him.
The years had passed. Three years since the war and the consequences were still felt. Dorne had certainly recovered his nobles but it was as a simple compensation and because Hariric declared that in exchange he considered the alliance with Dorne erased. That had destroyed the political presence of Prince Doran, one of the most dangerous minds of the seven kingdoms.
Then I caught Tywin Lannister's brother yes... but I massacred every gentleman who was with them. His army of thirty thousand men passed by the sword. There was no mercy in the hands of his pupil. He only took Tywin's brother because he could be useful in some way. But it was nothing more than a tool to be discarded later.
And the lands of the rivers. They basically destroyed them. The men who faced them died. The nobles died. Three houses had been completely exterminated. This was something that, although it didn't bother Hoster so much, it did bother him. Because now all the houses of the six kingdoms looked with fear at Hariric Stark. With real fear.
The Dominion's tactics didn't come out either, most of the competent commanders of the Dominion got stuck with only mace Tyrell going with some incredibly idiotic captains, the result? Very simple and it is that the dead southern army. The dead nobles except for Mace. And then used as a bargaining chip. Things got really bad.
I hated this. Fuck how I hated it. The plan didn't go as it should. But he calmed down. Oh yes. I was calm. Let them be free for a while. When the six kingdoms had recovered, they would begin their campaign against the North. They thought they could escape the wrath of the six kingdoms but they couldn't because behind them they had the wrath of the gods themselves.
"Lord Hand, the council has met as you requested. They're waiting for him right now.'' Being Hugh warned his master who nodded to him. Being Hugh didn't waste any more time and left showing the king's council that had been formed.
To begin with, there was Varys the spider. Varys was a man of Lys. Bald. And a eunuch. He was considered a man technically incapable of doing harm. But if there was something for which he was recognised even before anything else, it was because of his ability to obtain information. No one could prove it but it had one of the most extensive information networks.
The next man was an old man. It was Pycelle. Pycelle was a man from the Western lands. And as a young man he was considered a great scholar, proof of this were the different chains that had all been demonstrating their studies. But what is more important is that from a young age he was supported by the Lannister family which meant that he was a Lannister man from start to finish.
Another man to highlight is for his hard countenance and lack of compassionate look. His name was Stannis and he was Robert's younger brother. Unlike Robert Stannis, he had a serious and even brutal personality. He was the lord of the ships of the seven kingdoms and considered a high-quality naval strategist. However, he was resentful with his brother for certain decisions made by Robert.
The next man to be mentioned was one who unfortunately had to take yes or yes. His name was Tygettannister. The man had changed a lot of his stay with the Starks becoming much calmer and being something much more in control of himself. He was the master of laws and had taken control of the golden capes. Saying that he was in control was like seeing the deadly squeeze of a master swordsman on his sword.
The last man to be there was his strongest ally: petyr Baelish. Petyr was a man not a physical demonstration at least. It was not what you would expect from people but if there was a reality it is that it was a genius economist proof of this was the administration more than the example that he did in the valley. Unfortunately, no matter what I did, things were that the situation of the crown was not good.
"Chen men. Thank you all for coming. We have many things to discuss. The first one I want to know is Lord Pycelle. I want to know how close we are to replicating the different secrets of the North''. The secrets of the north were a nuisance. How had that kingdom of uneducated been able to create glass? Or make plants that can't live there live? They should have known for the good of their economy.
"Not very well, my lord, hand. I've talked to all my acquaintances. A special working group has been put in. Discover the glass. Make silk possible. Make the spices can be produced. Your medications. All that is something we would like to put our hands on to help balance the kingdoms''. Pycelle growled. I really growl. If there was something I hated more than anything, it was being surpassed.
"I'm surprised. It was Lord Stark himself who made all these discoveries. As well as knowing how to distil all the different drinks or what foods could grow in the North. And yet the citadel has some of the most advanced minds and yet despite this they are not able to advance''. Petyr couldn't help but make fun of the master. Why? Because I found the situation annoying.
"We have done everything we could. But Myr's masters have always kept their secret of glass production hidden and now that damn Stark not only managed to discover it. But it makes a much better and superior glass''. It wasn't a joke. They had to buy glass from the Starks since Myr's glass was four times more expensive. And the fact is that they didn't like it.
''King Aerys gave them time to investigate the north. And we have placed enough funds in these three years to help in the investigation. And despite that, there has been no significant progress. I think maybe there should be cleaning in the citadel''. Stannis growled. The mere idea that they were spending large amounts of money just because the citadel promised progress was stupid.
"You may have used your magic to be able to achieve such progress. In the past, dragon lords were able to chain dragons, the most powerful beings in the world. What prevents a Northern lord with magic from discovering things like that, eh?''. For him, that was the excuse. Magic (it's not that being on the wrong track) and he firmly believed that it was only magic that gave him an advantage.
''Please. Just using magic as an excuse is stupid as well as an exaggeration. Okay, you don't want to admit that the teachers are not so smart. Because since they founded their university, how many levels is their nation advancing, eh? That printing press is a monstrous invention.'' Petyr couldn't help but release the offensive comment to sink the damn old man even more if possible.
"But what if what our esteemed grand master says is true? My birds don't reach the bottom in the North because they are easily detected. But if they have said many things from the north and I begin to think that hariric Stark uses magic for it''. Varys decided to offer his opinion whether it was loved or not by the people in the room who gave him a look.
What do you mean? What has this so-called king of the north done besides getting better drinks and glass? I can conceive a little about plants but the most knowledgable civilisation of magic was the Valyria and they used fire and blood''. For the first time in the whole meeting Tygett spoke. Obviously intrigued by whatever it was that could apply the magic.
"Lord Lannister. Magic is an unknown element. How much do we know about it? What is your potential? What are its uses? Nothing. We don't know anything about her. Not even the esteemed order of the masters knows anything. But what if it was the explanation for the revolutionary advance of the north? Because when you eliminate everything, only that remains: the unknown''. Varys smiled as he did, which only made people more nervous.
"If that is true, it would mean that the North has been able to get its hands on people with magic. If so, how is it possible? How do you find magic? Where do magicians and practitioners of such arts come from? That's the question we should all ask ourselves.'' Jon was nervous, could the North really be gathering people with magic to be able to take advantage of it?
"Well, Lord Hand, let me say it. The winter king makes all northern cities have access to large water sources. It makes something called hot water without the need for fire. It makes there be cleanliness in their cities. And of course there are more advances to point out. How else with a group of magicians could I be capable of such things?''. Varyys could practically see the gears working in the mind of the king's hand.
''If really hariric Stark has somehow gathered an army of magicians we must answer. Varys you will have to put your informants at risk but we must find out about them. We cannot tolerate the presence of threats against our great kingdom.'' Not to say to prevent the north from strengthening even more if possible.
''That will be very difficult my lord hand. I would practically have to infiltrate his government business. There are still those who hate Hariric Stark or rather are jealous of his grace. But getting them to work together with us will be very difficult''. From the latest reports, the Karstark house was jealous of the advances of its cousins and wanted to get a slice. I could blow it up.
''One moment my lord hand. Before thinking about that, we should consider our actions. Suppose we go ahead with this. That we basically try to get into the affairs of the north. And therefore we start an internal fight. What happens if they discover us?''. Now Tygett was speaking like the military commander he was. You don't start a fight but you can win it.
''Go where there is a lion that seems to be afraid. What's wrong Lord Lannister? And here I thought you would be eager to return the favour to Mr. Ned Stark for the fact that he defeated you in battle''. Petyr smiled condescendingly at the master of the Llanister house. His position made it impossible for him to take the golden layers. Their attempts to extend in them were impossible because Tygett seemed to smell them and killed them by making it clear who they should be loyal to.
''What I am is cautious. He got angry once to the North and as a result the kingdoms bled. Not one or two but all and every one. They have made it clear that for them conventional war is a big no. They will fight and kill mercilessly and efficiently attack all those who even think they can face them''. The very idea of facing the Starks is one that he didn't feel like very much.
''And why should we fight fairly with them? They made it clear in that war in which you were defeated, or didn't they use men who were experts in murder and sabotage to mutilate the kingdom of domination, eh?''. Petyr only shrugged his shoulders although the possibility of getting rid of a threat like hariric Stark is not to take away his sleep.
"You're talking big for someone who is not exactly involved in military affairs. You don't know anything about that man. You don't know what he's capable of. If we send a murderer and he fails, what do you think the consequence will be? Any killer we send could be broken because we don't know the ways they have to get information''. And that was very scary.
"I have to agree with Tyguett. The mere idea of launching an attack like this we could only afford it if the attack has a hundred percent chance of success. If the attack fails, what prevents you from launching the same attack on all our families to cause chaos and then launch an advanced one, eh?''. Stannis mocked the coin man. He didn't trust him.
''And that without telling anything else. We are talking about starting a fight that we don't even know if we can win. What happens if as a result of an attack he decides to kill every last lineage of the south? You don't know Stark. You don't know about him and in any case you're underestimating him a lot''. Tyguett would not risk his family just for the possibility of coming out victorious in some way that had little chance.
"That's enough. Such a thing will not be attempted. What Stannis and Tyguett say is true. Any attack on the life of hariric Stark could come back against us and seeing that because of his sister he was responsible for what he did if we attack him or his direct family and fail What will be the consequences?''. Not to say that the kingdoms were not ready for that. Not yet.
" Although the idea that there are these magical users and Hariric Stark is gathering them under his flag worries me, I have to agree with Mr. Hand. Tempting him to attack us is the most stupid thing. You have to be patient and when an accurate opportunity arises, really strike.'' It was better not to attack. It was better to be smart and wait for the right moment to begin what would be the usurpation of the north.
"Well, that's decided. Let's stop arguing about these issues and move on to other things... like preventing this kingdom from going to ruin in some way.'' Jon sigh How was he supposed to prepare the kingdoms for the future acquisition of the north if they were in the red? Money was needed for the war. Money that they had less and less.
Although Jon's words were clear, not all the gentlemen agreed. They had to worry about hariric Stark. And they had to move forward to prevent me from using magic as a weapon.
Before it was too late for them.
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