Author Notes:
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Chapter-11: Mountain Clans
It was two months before anything of interest happened in Runestone after his visit to Pentos. The rider that he had sent with a letter to his father had arrived through White Harbor with the shipment and retinue of six other Bolton men that he had asked him to send. He needed more men who were loyal to him as two of his men were with Liam. Most of them were teenagers, much easier to impress and influence than already grown ones.
So for the next month he oversaw the training of his men who were led by a bastard of his father's bannermen. The lad, Brandon, had some talent with the blade so Domeric took his training more seriously and started concocting plans to get him knighted as soon as possible. He was in need of a trusted knight that can also work as a commander. Sell-swords are all well and good but he needed a man who could watch his back in a serious fight.
It all changed when Billy came to him and told him that he had successfully arranged a meeting between him and the mountain clans. It was not an easy thing and he had to remind them that Domeric and Lord Royce were both descendants of the Red Kings and Bronze Kings of old respectively. He was happy and a bit apprehensive too and was preparing for the meeting along with Lord Royce.
The meeting would be taking place in the mountains surrounding Ironoaks and Redfort. So it came as no surprise to Domeric that Lady Anya Waynwood and Lord Horton Redfort had decided to join their party. The party expanded from previous twenty men to a small entourage of near hundred men. He was not exactly happy with it but was prepared for something just like that.
As soon as they reached the place, a tent was erected near the area for their temporary council who were going to discuss the upcoming meeting.
Lord Royce gave the reins of his horse to one of his men and turned to face both Domeric and Andar.
"Come Andar, Domeric, we have yet to explain our plan to others which won't be an easy task." Domeric and Andar followed after Lord Royce in the tent.
As soon as he entered he started observing the people present in the place. Some looked like they wanted to be anywhere but there while others were at least a bit curious.
Lord Royce took his seat at the head as he had called for the meeting and begun making introductions, through which Domeric started putting names to the faces for future references. There were many people including Lady Waynwood, her heir and eldest son Ser Morton Waynwood and lastly her grandson Roland. He was then introduced to Lord Redfort, his eldest son and heir Jasper who was around his own age. There were also some knights that came with the various parties.
"Now that we all are here we can discuss the idea in more detail. Since Domeric was the one who came up with it I think that he should open up the talks." Lord Royce declared. Now that the attention was on him, he acted like he was a bit nervous but was bravely trying to not let it show.
"I know what you all are thinking, my lords and my lady. You are thinking that there have been many talks before so how will it be different than any previous one." Domeric announced to them and found many of them nodding their heads though if they found it a bit annoying to deal with a kid they did not show it.
"In all the past peace talks the Vale lords asked them to leave the land which they claim as their birthright. Hence, the situation never reached any conclusion. I do not want to repeat the same mistakes. Instead of asking them to leave the land we will ask them to peacefully co-exist with us." Domeric proposed to them and immediately many voices rose in outrage but he noticed that Lady Waynwood was silent during the exchange.
Before the tent descended into complete chaos Lord Royce' voice cut through, "Silence, I will hear him out."
"Thank you my lord, as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted." Here he threw a glare to people present in the tent and many of them looked a bit ashamed while others just scoffed, "We could allow them to live in the mountains if they form an alliance with Houses Royce, Waynwood and Redford."
"Why only our houses, why not with House Arryn? They are the great house of the Vale and it will reflect poorly upon us if we did not take their status in account." Lady Waynwood asked smoothly.
"I agree with you my lady. It would have been ideal if they were willing to accept the Arryn domain. However we both know that the Vale mountain clans see House Arryn as their main enemy and invaders. They would never peacefully and willingly subject themselves to reign of an Arryn." Domeric stated calmly, slowly building more confidence and passion in his stance.
"Do you think that they will be open to this insane idea of your boy? Do you think that they will just come under our banners?" Lord Redfort taunted.
Domeric's eyes flashed dangerously as soon as Redfort called him "boy". Lord Redfort certainly took note of it and looked unnerved though the rest remained blissfully oblivious to it.
"They will never join you, experience should have taught you as much by now. However, if you bow in respect to them, do you really think that they won't bow back in return?" Domeric asked rhetorically.
"Never! I would never show even an ounce of respect for those savages," shouted one of the Waynwood knights and many other cried in agreement like a herd of sheep following after one another.
"So you would have your home raided and burnt but would not form a treaty with people to prevent this pointless and unending violence. If you have nothing constructive to add besides your biased and arrogant opinion then you should leave the talks to your elders." Domeric snapped back to the knight which effectively silenced the ones with a lot of hot air but little facts.
"My lords, the Old Ways force them to be courteous to their guests under the terms of parlay. They will have to conduct proper guest rites whether they like it or not. I only ask you to maintain the expected decorum while being in their region."
"This situation must not be taken lightly. These clans pose a massive internal security problem for Vale." Domeric once again said calmly.
"How so," Roland Waynwood asked with a bit of confusion showing on his face.
"Well, let us suppose for the sake of argument that Vale is in a war with one or more of the seven kingdoms." They were taken by surprise by the blunt sentence but Domeric continued regardless.
"Your enemy will find opening in your defenses by supplying the clans with better steel weapons and other useful resources. You cannot efficiently fight war at so many fronts at the same time." Domeric explained to him and saw the looks of realization that came upon their faces.
"Though not all will employ this strategy but you could expect both Reach and Westerlands to do so as they have no shortage of gold and the castle forged steel." It was a subtle jab but the tightening of the faces told him that he had hit home with the matter. Lord Royce though was smiling in approval. 'Seems like he caught my manipulation, sweet man Yohn Royce,' he thought.
"On top of that what I and Lord Royce were able to find was that there are at least two thousand clansmen out there in the mountains. You can expect close to twelve hundred of them capable of fighting." As soon as he announced the people in the tent became extremely uneasy.
There had never been any official numbers recorded but it was estimated that they were just close to a thousand. So, this news suitably unbalanced the lords gathered in the pavilion.
At last Lady Waynwood asked, "What do you have in mind then?"
"I am the heir to House Bolton and am still considered to be descended of the First Men among the Vale clansmen so they will be more likely to listen to me than to you and it certainly helps that I follow the old ways and believe in the Old Gods." He spoke up before another argument could be started.
Though they were nervous and unsure about the decision they gave their consent to it. Just as he was going to say something a large horn sounded and a guard walked in.
He bowed and said, "My Lord Royce, the clansmen have arrived."
Lord Royce did not say anything but rose to his feet quickly while the others followed his example. Lord Royce was the first to be out of the tent closely followed by Domeric and Ser Andar.
Their party followed the path going through the pass and as soon as they turned the corner they could see the various tribes that came for the parley. There were more or less some two hundred clansmen. They indicated towards the cave where the meeting was going to take place.
Domeric was the first to enter the cave. He showed a remarkable amount of trust in the mountain clans, impressing some of them. He was quite happy that Billy has made arrangements to his specification.
There was a large regtangular table in the middle with chairs on either side of it. He took the seat at head of the table while Lord Royce sat to his right and Lord Redfort to his left, Lady Waynwood to his left and Andar to Lord Royce's right. Soon the head of the tribes joined them and Billy as well, who was there as a mediator and was going to conduct the introductions.
There was Shagga from Stone Arrows, Timmet from Burned Men, Chella from Black Ears, Ulf from Moon Brothers and Bael from Painted Dogs were the main leaders for hill tribes. There were also other tribe leaders from milk snakes, sons of the mist, redsmiths, howlers and sons of the trees along with some minor clanheads.
"Why have ya called us for little man?" Chella asked Domeric in both a condensing and a curious tone.
"I want to discuss the possibility of forming an alliance with the mountain clans." He proposed without preamble. Billy had already informed them about it so there was no need to sugarcoat it.
"You want us to be like ya, to bend the knee to the Andal scums!" Timmet immediately shouted out and many of the other clansmen made voices of agreement. Domeric was surprised but only just for a moment.
He was not expecting an easy task but he was not expecting this level of hostility either. It seems that he had underestimated the difficulty level of the job.
"Do you have pea for brains you shit stain! Who said anything about taking the knee!? I was talking about a pact not fealty you blockhead." He snapped back loudly at him and stunning them for the moment and once again putting himself in the commanding position.
He had learned way back that the best way to deal with less customary elements of the society was to speak with them in their own language. In these kinds of meetings, reasons and facts are usually abandoned in favor of shouting and accusations.
"What kind of pact are you talking about little Bolton." Shagga inquired.
"Why, a simple one of course. I do not want to make it any more complex than you do. All the gathered lords feel that we should just operate out of each other's way for now."
"You do not attack any of the men of these houses and we will leave you alone. Additionally, come winter if you need anything we can supply, you will have it. In return if Vale is under attack from any outside forces you will have to come to their aid. You won't have to bend the knee but according to the pact you will swear an oath to come to the aid." Domeric proposed to them in a firm and strong voice. He did not want to use magic but if it came to it he will do it in a heartbeat.
He let them mull over it for a moment before delivering his ace. "To sweeten the deal I have a gift for you that you will like very much so." He indicated towards the servants who came in with pots covered with clothes. There were some twenty pots and he hoped that they will be well received.
"Go on then, you can unveil the pots." He urged them on as soon as the pots were placed on the table. Shagga was the first to reach out and uncover the pots. There were gasps heard from all around in the cave. The weirwood saplings that were present in the pots held a lot of spiritual importance to clansmen.
The clansmen were in awe of the weirwood as it was something that had been denied to them for long. Some of them were reverently touching the plants as though still unable to comprehend what they were seeing.
The lords of the Vale were an entirely different matter in this case though. They did not look happy with the gift but did not look like to protest either as they had seen the effect that weirwood plants were having on the opposing leaders. This was the real maker that Domeric had planned all along and they understood as much.
It took some time and discussion between the hill tribes before they finally consented with the pact and swore to ally themselves with House Royce, Redford and Waynwood for now. They did not swear to the name Arryn which was expected from them. However, they will be loosely tied to House Arryn through the other houses and that will keep the Lord Hand satisfied for some time.
As the other parties left, Lord Royce and his party were the only ones that remained. The others were under the assumption that they were waiting for Billy to join them but Domeric was going to have his own private meeting.
They once again entered the cave, this time only the head of the major clans and Billy were present besides him and Lord Royce.
"Now, you must be thinking why I called you back for a private meeting." Domeric said and saw them nodding their head in agreement though they were grumbling about it.
"Before we proceed, I would like to know what the hill tribes know about magic." He bluntly asked once again. Billy had once told him that it is better to be blunt with them rather than trying to trap in some fancy words.
They were never fans of big words and immediately distrusted anyone trying to be polite and charming. It took a bit convincing (screaming and threatening) before they gave him any answers.
They eventually told him everything that they knew and remembered about magic. They confirmed that the First Men believed in magic but gradually the number of people trained in the arts began dwindling down.
The children of the forests were the lead practitioner with most of the major noble houses involved in it. In fact it was the very reason they became noble houses because they had magic which they used in fighting the Great Other and his forces.
The noble houses were nothing more than small clans that were ruled by a strong greenseer, skinchanger or even by the Westeroi equivalent of wizards. Slowly it was observed that powerful wizards gave birth to other powerful magical children giving rise to the notion of bloodlines. These leaders soon became hereditary and the clans continued to grow.
Before long these clans began merging with other clans, ruling over them and in some instances outright annihilating them. This all happened after the pact was formed on the Isle of Faces. In few centuries these houses declared their own kings and the fight over resources and lands began in earnest.
While the children of the forest tried to keep peace in the lands with various groups of human, it was largely considered an unattainable notion. However, the fighting began to dwindle down with the rise of many great houses like Stark, Bolton, Umber, Blackwood, Royce, Casterly, Durrandon, Gardener, etc.
Now, the wars were fought on even larger scale but also at larger intervals. The ruling elites of the region continued to conquer more and more and soon only a handful kings remained. It continued like that till the Andals finally arrived.
By the time it happened, the political and military power had gained the prevalence over the more mystical arts. Few noble houses even acknowledged that their ancestors had once wielded the power beyond logical comprehension after becoming part of the new culture. The arrival of the Faith ensured that any remaining influence of the children was completely wiped out south of the neck as they further retreated to the North.
The information that the clansmen provided was not even quarter of what was described above. It was only with the help of accounts from family libraries of House Royce and Bolton and the various scrolls that he had acquired that he was able to make any sense of the bigger picture.
Some would have dismissed the others, wargs and dream-seers as myths but he knew more about myths and certainties than any man in this era. He knew that even legends possess a silver of truth in them, which is also why he accepted their information. They were hence once again suitably pleased and shocked by the faith that Domeric showed in them.
Furthermore they admitted that they had some wood witches and greenseers in their midst before the Targaryen dragons died who used to guide them in their raids and skirmishes. After that, the gift of magic became sparse among them. It was a matter of great shame for someone of First Men's blood to lose their connection to magic.
"Magic is returning that much I am sure of." He asserted.
"How can you be so sure, have you any proof." Bael was the one to pitch the question though he did not deny the claim. Domeric observed that the clan leaders were more relaxed and ready to listen in this private meeting than the previous one.
'This is it. This is going to be the break it or make it moment of this whole meeting.' He was still not completely sure that showing them some of his brand of magic will endear him to them or not, or even if it was wise to do so. More and more people were getting to know about his magic and the constant battle between need for secrecy and need for allies was mentally straining him.
Domeric finally plucked some courage and decided to do something that will be related closer to the old wargs than the real deal. In that regard he called for a messenger raven in the tent.
He looked in the eyes of the bird and suddenly slouched in his seat. The people present were further shocked when the raven flew through the air and gave them a mocking bow while unfurling its wings.
While everyone thought that it was warging, only Domeric had any idea about the complexity of the task that he had just completed. He had used a very advanced form of legilimency to take control of the bird. It was like an overpowered imperious or compulsion charm, forcing the bird to do his bidding.
Soon their looks of shocked disbelief changed to that of awe and a bit of unease which was not entirely unexpected. It changed a lot of things for them, magic was an important part of their society in the past and seeing the proof of its continued existence had thoroughly rattled them. They finally calmed down some time later and this time Timmet was the first one to break the silence.
"So, what do you truly want from us Lord Bolton?" He asked him rather formally which managed to surprise the wizard.
"I want you all to swear an oath to not divulge this information to anyone as there are many within the realm who would want to use me for my abilities. I will sooner die before giving them the satisfaction of having control over me."
"On the other hand, the Faith will become a thorn in my side if they gained this knowledge and will try to get involved in any business regarding me." Domeric told them firmly and they decided to honor the request without creating much fuss.
"The earlier question though, still remains. Why tell us?" One of the leaders once again demanded.
"I was getting to it. I know that even after the treaty your people will be discriminated and won't find any acceptance in Vale. The North however is a different matter. There are other clans like yours in the mountains of North. They do not venture much but are still well respected and widely accepted as peers." Domeric explained.
"I want the clans from Vale to join me and settle down in the Bolton lands. You and I both know that the fight here is lost and you will be forced to perish one day if you continue down the path you are going. The fight against Andals is by no means has ended, however you must leave these mountains for now." He implored and was surprised that instead of hearing screaming and obscenities, he was greeted with a thoughtful silence.
"The cause is lost here my friends, you should think about defending the North where the old ways are still followed instead fighting a losing battle. You could make alliances there and could even help your friends here who want to remain in these mountains, in establishing themselves better as I am sure not everyone will be willing to leave."
"I will try my hardest to bring the Old Gods and weirwood back in Vale but some of you must travel to Lonely Hills where you will be welcomed in Bolton or even in Umber lands if you choose so. I will even convince Lord Stark personally if I have to but I promise to you that you will have a place in the North." He promised them and they seemed to be seriously considering it.
"We will begin the preparations Heir Bolton but it will take at least a year or so before we can move towards North and another two months even by the sea to reach the place." Shagga answered at long last.
"Very well, it will also give me some time to smooth things over with both Lord Stark and my own father." He responded back.
Domeric rose from my seat grinned towards them and held out his hand for a shake. Shagga snorted before responding in kind with others following his example.
They soon took their leave but not before he gave Shagga one of his communication mirrors. It took them four days before they finally reached Runestone. During the entire journey he was thinking on how to proceed further. He truly did not know what to do next which for him was something akin to a novelty.
'Perhaps a visit to Braavos to check on Markov or maybe a visit to King's Landing will be most prudent. Ah well I am not worried something will come up, it always does.' Life was nothing if not interesting for Harry Potter or…Domeric Bolton.
To be continued...
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