Charter For The Lease of the Freehold of "Autumn's Frontier"
This agreement, a contract, sets forth the terms as a binding agreement between the lessee, The Company™, as represented by Mr. Frederick J. Kovacs, and the landowner, the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros, as represented by His Excellency Lord Eddard of House Stark, Lord of Winterfell and Warden Of The North to His Grace King Robert of House Baratheon, First of His Name, King of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms and Protector of the Realm.
The following terms are hereby set forth:
1. This charter permits the lessee exclusive use of the land plot designated "Autumn's Frontier" from the date of signing until the date of termination.
2. The attached description and map outlines the territory in question. The total acreage of the Freehold of Autumn's Frontier is 145,790 acres, or 590 square kilometers, or 227.8 square miles. As the land lies within the recognized jurisdiction of the sovereign territory known as "the Kingdom of the North", hence, all payments for the use of this land will be made to the regional government at Winterfell, who administers this region on behalf of the Crown of the Seven Kingdoms.
3. The land will be leased for a period of 50 days, beginning at the date of signing (October 07, 2154 C.E. / April 26, 298 A.C.), at the end of which the contract and terms will be renegotiated and a new contract drawn up.
4. The agreed-upon price of the lease for the period of 50 days has been established at 800 Westerosi Gold Dragons (hereafter WGD) per day, or 40,000 WGD in total, or the equivalent value of gold, to be delivered in solid ingots. The leaser agrees to pay upfront the amount of 10,000 WGDs (or equivalent), and to pay the remainder before the end of the 50-day lease.
5. This contract may only be terminated at any point before the end of 50 days if it is overridden by the express order of a figure higher in authority in the respective organizations to which the signatories to this contract belong.
5.A. As of the date of signing, these figures are identified to be, respectively: Mr. Jonathan P. Teller, Level-5 Managing Director of Epsilon Eridani Affairs, The Company™, and His Grace King Robert of House Baratheon, First of His Name, King of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms and Protector of the Realm.
6. If either of the original signatories to this contract is in any way incapacitated or removed from office before the termination date, the contract will nonetheless continue to be upheld by said signatory's successor-in-office.
7. The expenses of all improvements to the land will be borne by the leaser. Leaser agrees to negotiate with landowner before commencing any further land improvements.
8. During the duration of the period of tenure, the landowner reserves the right to enter these lands for purposes of inspection of the land. However, the landowner also agrees to inform the lessee beforehand when such inspections will take place.
9. The lessee agrees to respect Westerosi laws and customs, and act accordingly, for the duration of the lease period.
10. This lease expires exactly 50 days from the date of signing; by which time, a new contract will have been negotiated.
11. Lessee has agreed not to knowingly employ any criminals or fugitives from the law, and that if any criminals or fugitives from the law are found seeking refuge within the boundaries of the land, that these persons will be swiftly handed over to the proper authorities for dispensation of the King's justice.
This contract is hereby signed:
Landowner:
Lord Eddard of House Stark, Lord of Winterfell, Warden Of The North to His Grace, King Robert of House Baratheon, First of His Name, King of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms and Protector of the Realm.
Lessee:
Frederick J. Kovacs, Colony Director, Colony of Autumn's Frontier, The Company™.
Witnesses:
Lord Robb Stark, Heir of Winterfell, Firstborn of Lord Eddard Stark
Daniel Zimmerman, Assistant Director, Colony of Autumn's Frontier, The Company™.
"If we are agreed on the terms then," began Lord Frederick, "we shall proceed to signing."
"Very well then," agreed Ned. At his instruction, a vial of hot wax that had been heated on one of the trading company's flameless stoves was retrieved and poured out over the dotted line. Ned strode up and pressed his signet ring bearing the wolf sigil of House Stark into this dollop of wax. The foreigners carried no signet rings of their own, however, but instead resorted to sign their names on the parchment using a small, clean-looking silver stylus that left clean marks and no ink blotches whatsoever the way a feather quill might.
"Montblanc pens," said Lord Frederick proudly, "finest writing instruments in our world. Here, please keep this as a token of our friendship. I think you might find this useful in your future."
That night, the Lord of Winterfell and his men slept once again in the guesthouse, and although it was surprisingly clean and comfortable (perhaps more so than even Winterfell itself), Ned nonetheless found it difficult to sleep as he pondered over all he had seen over the last two days. And so he reached over and turned on his flameless lantern (what wonderful things these devices were: just a push of a button and there was light – clean, white, with no smoke or heat. Ned wondered if perhaps he could purchase some of these for Winterfell). Ned sat up in bed and reviewed some of the gifts that the trading company had given him, that were kept on the bedside desk. One of them in particular caught his attention.
It was a book – a rather voluminous tome, that had been given to him by Ser Hawthorne. The book was full of maps and beautiful illustrations, some disturbingly life-like. These pictures shown, among other things, various men-at-arms in colorful uniforms, brandishing more of those "firearms" (though Ned understood these to be older and more primitive than the ones borne by Ser Hawthorne's bannermen), as well as of enormous wooden ships, larger than any dromond in the Royal Fleet, carrying hundreds upon hundreds of these firearms (though, again, Ned had been told that these ships were old, and that the kingdoms of the world these foreigners had come from were now made of metal and could fly).
There were also pictures that shown entire countrysides lain waste by these roving armies; and of a king whose ambition, brilliance, and ruthlessness contrasted heavily with his unassuming stature. One picture even shown a man who, Ned noted, looked remarkably similar to himself, though Ned was disappointed to read in the caption that the figure was merely an actor in a mummer's performance that recreated the events of this war for the amusement of paying audiences rather than an actual warrior.
In Westeros, such a rare book with such vivid illustrations and such clean handwriting that put the finest scribe to shame would have easily have fetched several times its weight in gold in the markets of Oldtown or King's Landing. But Ned knew that the true value of this book lay not in coin, but in the knowledge and insights he would gain of these peoples, and more importantly, of the potential of their "fire-arms". He would make sure to thank Ser Hawthorne when he had finished with it. The cover of this tome read:
HISTORY OF THE NAPOLEONIC WARS – 300th Anniversary of Waterloo Edition
By Prof. Dennis Showalter
Random House: 2015 (200th anniversary edition). Reprint: 2115.
