Invented till now:
unicorn, cashmere goats, nylon, avocodos, dragon eggs, good steel, hot air baloons, coffee, weaving machines, steam power, fountain pen.
In progress:
Sansa's surgical tools, pencilin, glass, stainless steel, bycicles.
Sansa stood back and examined the machine before her. It's supposed to be bike, but the wheel size is wrong, gears did not seem to be working properly. The tires are made of softwood folded with weirwood sap, a poor replacement for rubber. They are still experimenting with resins and wood chips, there have been some strange concoctions that came out of these experiments. For one, they found a tree who's fruits and bark combined resins of ironwood made a mixture as hard as iron if not harder. A hard plastic that does not melt, when burned, it could melt stone and more.
She has commissioned for the recipe to be noted down, sworn all the creators to secrecy at sword point, started their industrial production in a far away keep in wolfs wood. If any thing, all the cloak and dagger business seemed to excite the men far more than normal signing of non-disclosure. She guessed it made them feel like they are part of some very very important business to be threatened so. Either way, she sent them away with an alchemist guild's reject and one of the crafts men with instructions to make a stand up furnace.
Robb and Jon both wrote back to her detailing their adventures. Sansa dearly hoped King would knight Jon so he can come back. How ever, it is not Jon, but Robb that concerned her now. If the news she got is right, he had taken Samwell Tarly as squire. He is a guest at Highgarden right now, even with out him saying so, she could see by his letters he is smitten with Margery Tyrell. She could only guess it will end up in flames, for she remembered this name from stupid sansa's diary. That girl was a born gold digger, gold diggers of this generation are far more unwavering.
She could only hope her sweet brother will recover from his heart break when it came. She had to break it up before he could get in any more deep, which is what he is going to do if he stays for more time at highgarden as he plans to. So, she has written to Robb that he is to go to summer islands or islands of nath by ship, to get a breed of cows and as many varied fruit and vegetable trees as possible. She is not opposed to him bringing any other interesting things from summer islands either.
Along with the letter, she had sent him a trial scuba diving suit, along with glass goggles, snorkeling gear, with clear instructions and enough scares to make sure he takes her instructions seriously. She wrote to him about insects, hygiene directions and twenty threats about what happens when he drinks water with out boiling first. She dearly hoped he took her directions seriously. What she did not expect to happen is Paxter Redwyne providing her brother with a ten ship escort, Loras Tyrell accompanying her brother along with a posse of Reach second and third sons.
In retrospect, she should have expected it. Robb is charming. Her brother in future had been a senator at twenty six, minister at thirty. Robb of this world is no different, almost making Sansa wonder if her family is a different type of living fossils with their unchanging looks and behavior. He had a way of telling stories of his adventures neither downplaying nor exaggerating, still making every one long for them. He had no doubt charmed the wits off literally every Reach man he met. She could not imagine Loras Tyrell not being attracted to some one as good looking as her brother, rest must have followed trying to win glory or for the sheer adventure with less risk.
How ever, it is not Robb that worried her. She is sure what ever adventures Robb may have on sea, he will return back safe and sound. Summer islands are exotic and best of all, peaceful. It is Jon that worried her more. When Jon had written her complaining about the godswoods, she wrote back saying just to ask king for some land in the city so he can plant a public godswood. In retrospect, she should have known better. Religion is a delicate thing,even more so in medieval period. South is more for seven, as such, it was obvious that the request to plant a godswood will be seen as a political move regardless of innocent notions behind it. It all escalated in to almost political and religious disaster.
Jon waited in the court along with all the small folk and nobles making their requests for the king. The king is too drunk, so Jon is free to do what he wants till the king wakes up. To day, Jon Arryn is holding court, along with queen as he did most of the times. The queen looked bored and mildly irritated as she looked at all the smal folk in the court. Their eyes met before Jon could avert his eyes. Her eyes darkened with the anger seeing him in the court. There was a rumor in the court going around if they haven't seen and heard king fucking his his whores as he is wont to do, they might assume that king swung other way with how much lee way he gives Jon. It is part true, but Jon would never abuse king's trust.
The queen smiled maliciously at him, motioned the squire to present him next, making all the nobles and small folk in front of him glare at him. Jon wondered for the first time if he shouldn't have taken Sansa's suggestion of asking kings patronage in court. It's not as if Sansa is always right, just most of the times. Even so, she is his patron now, he is her sworn sword first regardless of him being a squire to king. So, he would have to take her suggestion, but there could have been a better time to do so.
"What business do you have with the crown to day, Jon Stark?" Jon Arryn asked him from the throne. He hid his surprise quite well at seeing Jon in court.
"Lord hand, I come before court to day to request a piece of land in the city to grow a godswood." Jon said firmly.
"Wasn't there a godswood in Redkeep?" Jon Arryn asked him back.
"Aye. How ever it is not accessible to every man in the city, there are other northern folk in the city." Jon answered back dutifully.
Jon knew even before Jon Arryn responded that he is going to postpone the request so he can contemplate it in private. That is fine by him, it is the best he could hope in this situation. How ever, The queen interrupted before Lord hand can speak.
"I know of a perfect place for your treegods, bastard. It is north of fleabottom." the queen said.
A silence descended in the court. The high septon giggled, while Jon Arryn looked horrified. The land north of fleabottom is pisswater, thorough which all the sewage of the city flows in to blackwater rush. Jon's anger boiled over. Jon answered before he could control him self.
"I accept the offer and Thank you for it, your grace. I hope you know it is not me, a lowly squire you insult to day but the old gods them selves. They are not quite as softhearted as the seven. They are as old as time, as relentless as winter. It is the gods them selves that will answer you. Lord hand, if it is alright by you, I will take my leave now." he bowed and stormed out of the court before any body can say any thing to him.
It is only after he left the court to King's chamber did he realize how bold he had been with his words. He shrugged it off, took water and wine to kings chamber along with his breakfast. King Robert started his day with wine, ended his day with wine. The whispers already followed him as he walked to kings chamber. News always traveled fast in kingslanding, he is sure queen is plotting her revenge on him by now.
For all his faults, king Robert is ridiculously fast on reading a situation, even more so when cutting to the heart of it. As soon as he woke up and seen first of his servants give a look to Jon, he asked what happened. Jon did not hide any thing from the king as he told him of what happened in the court to day. King's rage was some thing to behold.
"That stupid woman. Sleight to your gods is wrong, little Ned. What do you want to be done about it?" King Robert asked him.
"I already accepted the land, your grace. All I ask is to let the godswood to be treated with respect it deserves once I plant it." Jon answered.
"Some help getting weirwood saplings here won't hurt either." he added as a later thought.
The king nodded his head.
"Very well then. I will give you an escort of fifty men to get your trees here, name you protector of kingslanding godswood. You are free to act as you see fit against threats to your gods, with in it's perimeter." King answered.
Jon is relieved and impressed at the same time. He had been quite disappointed when he has looked at the king first, but as he served the king, he saw what his father might have seen in the king in very few rare moments. This is one of them. He nodded in answer, left that evening it self before the queen will spoil his plans. If he had to hear the knights speak of it, the kingslanding is divided on what queen has done. For while they may scorn the old gods as heathen gods, insulting any gods is never taken lightly, whether you believe in them or not. The king and queen seemed to have fought over this matter as well. Jon has lost count of number of times king and queen fought because of him by now.
When they reached the isle of faces, all the knights refused to enter the lake with the boat. So, he and two peasant boys who rowed the boat to the island. When he has gotten to the island, he could see why the knights are scared of the place. The tree faces are every where, on every tree. Where ever you turn, you look in to eyes of one of those faces, each different, each looking at you with unblinking stare. It is as if gods are taking measure of each and every of his movements. Surprisingly, Jon just felt peaceful and protected in here regardless of all stares.
The peasant boys both made a tent and fire on the shore. Jon went to center of the island, spoke to the old gods as his father always did. He told them of his purpose, he told them of the sleight queen has given. He asked them to judge it the way they intended to, his purpose of taking weirwood saplings with him. While the peasant boys slept on the shore, Jon slept in middle of island. When he woke next morning, there were nine weirwood saplings next to him. He was only slightly disappointed he missed seeing green men, but thanked the gods any way.
The journey back was with out any notable incidents, but Jon could feel and see the knights are wary of the weirwood saplings after hearing how he came by them. Regardless of all their misgivings, he walked to the pisswater the same day, planted all the nine weirwoods with a heart tree in the center. It would have been great if it all ended with that.
The weirwoods grew extremely fast. On the day he planted them, they were no more than saplings, coming up to his waist. The next day, they were as tall as a fully grown man, third, as tall as a small hut, by the end of week, as big as a young oak tree. The whispers grew along with the abnormal growth of weirwoods. Once or twice, he heard servants whisper queen has been cursed by old gods. By the time Jon went to visit them after a month, the trees are almost as big as the ones in winterfell godswood.
Old gods curses or not, the trees have grown quite tall, the place has become surprisingly free of stench. Each tree had a small pool growing by it. It seemed some of the kingslanding orphans have taken to living in godswood, for it seemed to be the cleanest place available to them after the tunnels. It didn't seem to hurt that all the grown ups are a bit scared of entering the place, for there was a rumor going around that old gods kill all sinners when they enter the godswood.
When he wrote back to sansa with all the outlandish rumors, fast growth of weirwoods that even he him self found weird, she wrote back saying human waste is the best manure there is. She wrote some thing about dominant species and an ideal habitat, gist of it is, the land is fertile, it is weirwood growth season. She told to not to put too much stock in rumors, if any one blames him of any honky ponky business, just tell him what she told her. Thus, Jon put all his worries to rest, decided that Sansa is always right, he is happy with a godswood with heart trees.
Well – I wanted to write about a gigantic carnivorus weirwood island like the one in life of pi, but decided to scale it back. We will get there some time or other.
Hmm.. what should I do next?
