CHAPTER - 3
Rickard Stark can be described as an imposing man. He is six and a half feet tall man with muscles, without an ounce of fat. Many people believe that the sigil of House Stark the dire wolf symbolizes this man. He was one of the few current men who could wield "Ice" the ancestral blade of House Stark easily with one hand without a problem which says a lot about his monstrous strength. He is an efficient and competent ruler with a sharp mind and not a brainless idiot who would rush forward to seek glory for himself and his house. Even though he was born in the North, he could easily play the game if he wanted.
Many said that Rickard was born in the wrong house. With a mind so sharp, he should be borne in the South of the Neck. Rickard would always thank the Old Gods for being born to the Starks. If there is one thing he learned about the South, although the people in the South are intelligent, they were greedy and would do anything to increase the influence of their House. They were followers of 'the Faith of the Seven' and were against the 'Old Gods' and the Northerners were avid followers of the Old Gods. They were not honest and Rickard would not be able to garner the same amount of respect he got in the North. There was a reason why the Boltons had not dared to challenge the Starks. His words were law. Those who dared to question him were dealt with accordingly. There is an old saying that 'the North never forgets and the Starks never showed mercy to their enemies.
He had three beliefs. The first was he ruled over the largest kingdom in Westeros which was home to the toughest people. No vassal lords will respect a weak-willed liege lord who can be easily manipulated. They will try to manipulate their liege which may lead to a civil war. Therefore he despised the southern ideology of playing with their prey and followed the ideology of being blunt and hitting hard and hitting fast. It is a little-known fact that he made an example of unruly vassals who thought they could insult the Starks and get away. His examples were so cold that he earned the nickname 'the ambitious wolf '. It made his later reign quite peaceful.
Next to Rickard, was his wife Lyarra. Lyarra Stark was often considered the feminine version of Rickard Stark. She was a beautiful woman with Black Hair, white ivory-like skin, and grey eyes like her Stark ancestors. She was often called the 'winter rose' and it was an open secret that many of the southern nobles wanted to claim her as their wife but finally Rickard had claimed her as his own. Many people claimed she was wild and had wolfsblood in her, Some people said that she should behave like a noble lady of the south. When she or her husband would raise their eyebrows at the speaker and they would tremble with fear making it clear it was not South and they co-ruled the North.
Lyarra Stark looked both like a Southern and Northern woman. She was dressed in an elegant dark blue gown that would surprise many as Northerners are often considered savage. Little did people know that her clothing came from the many times she had played tricks on foolish southern nobles who thought pretty clothes meant gold. However, on top of it, she wore a fur coat that provided her with warmth. As a powerful woman, she was very much respected in the North. She represented the feminine power and served as an advisor to the Warden of the North apart from being his wife. She was much more smart and cunning than she showed people other than her husband. It is always good to be underestimated in politics and war.
Comparing Lyarra Stark to southern women was insulting. She was raised as an intelligent northern woman by her father. Many lords in the North were indeed similar to their southern counterparts seeing a woman as a tool to further their house in the great game but Lyarra's father saw the girl's intelligence as a good thing and forced the castle maester with death threats to educate her. Her father believed that men and women are equal both in a battle of swords and words which she took by heart and forced upon her children.
Lyarra's upbringing was exceptional as she had an exceptional mind. Between her and her husband, they ruled the North and kept their vassals in check making it difficult for the Boltons to sow seeds of discords. Lyarra wanted to eliminate the Boltons but they were cunning and slippery enough to catch. She like the Starks before her followed the law of the strongest and believed the strongest house should rule the kingdom and worked hard to make sure of Stark's dominance in the North and the eventual survival of her family.
She looked at her husband and smiled. Rickard was a man every intelligent woman wanted as her husband. He is intelligent and had both brain and muscles to maintain his dominance as the man leading the North. He ruled with a mixture of fear and loyalty. He would use his head to know how and when to hit the dissidents. While it is believed that house stark is honorable and does not maintain Spy Network, it is not true and the Starks have a joint Spy Network with House Reed and the crannogmen from the Necks. She like her husband had her thoughts around their eldest son and waiting for him in the Lord's Solar.
"Walys is not happy with Hadrian. I have seen him murmur about and look at our son in disdain more than one time. He is also annoyed by Hadrian's mere presence. I fear if he can't mold our son in certain ways he may try to harm him if he gets any chance." said Lyarra. She did not trust the citadel-appointed maester. She believed that the maester was a southerner who hated Northerners and would never see them as their equals. She and her husband felt that they should appoint some Northern second sons with no hope of inheritance as maester in the North. But in the citadel, Northerners are not allowed to progress as much as the southerners and thus they are only sent to small and unimportant keeps thus preventing the North from progressing.
"Unfortunately we need Walys. As a maester, his knowledge is important for the progress of the North. We both know that the maesters are the backbone of each castle. They keep the castle running and educate the heir and advise the Lord of the keep. We are too busy with our lordly duties to properly educate our children in a certain discipline." said Rickard. It is worrying, entrusting the entire education of the next generation of lords to the hand of a stranger which is meaningless as well as stupid. Walys gives reasons to bang his head on a wall. He hated when people think it is perfectly okay to put children under such heavy burden, even if the child is a son of the lord. Walys is making the point that these burdens are necessary for the child which is bad in Rickard's mind.
" Honestly I distrust Walys for more reasons than he is only a Southern maester. He belongs from the Reach. You know better than anyone the contempt the Reach lords have for the Northerners. I think they are the ones who mainly call us beast, savage, and barbarians if you think about that." said Lyarra. It is the maesters who call the Northerners savage or uncultured barbarians and they teach the next generation of lords to continue the insults. Lyarra thought that trusting the southerners with the education of Northern children is bad as there is centuries of bad blood between North and South due to religion. The southerners have an air of superiority and smugness around Northerners, but for what reason? Because they were richer compared to the North. Some minor houses were richer than the Starks. If it were up to her, she would thrust a spear through their hearts for thinking they could treat the North like that.
"It is a problem I will not deny, and I feel uncomfortable working with Walys as a maester. He keeps on insisting that I should marry my children south to reduce the tension between the North and the South. He thinks marriage can solve all the problems. I don't understand where he gets the idea. I will talk to the Reeds to launch more surveillance towards the group of maesters in the North and the Citadel. I am completely wary of the actions I may have to take and I wouldn't be surprised if there are a group of maester who are plotting about us." said Rickard. Rickard is already wary of the fact that Reach is using the maesters as a spy, a spy placed at the heart of the keep that can report almost anything and if required can even assassinate the members of the household. Sooner than later he may have to eliminate accidents to send a strong and direct message to the South.
"For the moment we may have to swallow the maester, my dear wife. Whether we like it or not, the maesters are the most prominent and powerful group of people all over Westeros and are present in every fucking castle reading over our correspondence and going through the library and account book. We have no choice but to accept them for what they are and how they operate. They are the lesser of the two evils. If Walys doesn't understand something, I will make him understand it not to fuck with the Starks." said Rickard. I honestly feel that he may try something on Hadrian. He still remembers the most valuable lesson learned during his younger years to never turn your back on anyone, not even your allies. By blindly trusting someone, you are turning your back on them and the maesters have many fucking resources.
"I fear that he may try to harm our son. Our son is proving to be a true gift of the old gods. By the gods, you have to look at it. Look how powerful he has grown. I think Walys may think our son may be some type of threat to the South and his Citadel and may try to harm him." said Lyarra. It was a reasonable concern that our child may come to harm. As a parent, they may have more children, but if someone is deliberately sabotaging the growth of one of her cubs, it will be really bad.
"Honestly I don't see Walys doing such a thing, I doubt the man is dumb enough to take such an action in the heart of the North, But we should be cautious too. that a man desperate for something could try something dumb and I would make sure such things cannot happen," said Rickard. He wasn't an idiot and knew that a person needed results and became desperate, he would do everything in his power to get the result he needed so badly. That is how most people fit into this category.
"This is how betrayal works best, and my dear you know better than anyone this is how things work. You are not trying to make it look normal but try to avoid it altogether. I worry that Walys make try to do anything to harm our son and it is a healthy fear" said Lyarra. She knew men like Walys cannot be trusted as even though he swore to serve Winterfell, he was just trying to forward his and Reach's southern propaganda. She was trying to instill a healthy fear of him in her husband's heart. She saw Rickard sigh and knew that her husband had a lot in his mind and was thinking about her words.
"I would like to say I don't see it, but when you start to think about it I am afraid I have to say it is a yes or yes. There is no better way to say about it anyway, not good. It is not nice in the slightest. But we need a maester in the keep and the town. We can't afford an Essosi healer anyway." said Rickard. In the end, they needed a qualified healer more than anything the maester did. But he also knew that the maester would not hesitate to harm his family if it is required and he would be careful around him.
"I guess, I hate we have so many needs from the maester. It is more than just hatred of the Targaryens. They just took our ability to be ourselves. They took our ability to run the North as we wanted. Frankly, it is a hassle to follow the dragons" said Lyarra. It was a nuisance to follow the dragons, but now it was their only way. There was nothing that could be done about it. However, she promised herself, that if ever an opportunity arises, she would strike back at the dragons with all her might.
"The North Remembers and the time for Dragons will come. With the way they rule and everything about their ways, I honestly feel disappointed by the dragons. They lost their sigil and power due to inbreeding, madness, and fighting for the piece of scrap the Iron throne. The time will come when the North will have its revenge. And I am quite sure it will be sooner rather than later." said Rickard. He was not a firm believer in old gods. He expected results but respected the laws of the Old Gods laid by the Children. He was a smarter person who saw faith as a means to achieve the result.
"And I feel that time will come soon. I will look forward to the end of the dragons due to the way they rule. The longer the rule, the more complicated things become. The North should not pay for the South's mistake." said Lyarra. There is a reason that the North hated the Targaryens, and it is because for every conflict in the South since Aegon's Conquest the North fought for the Targaryens. They showed their strength and are rewarded with empty promises and nothing monetary to replenish the Northern blood. They never received anything. Since the conquest, due to the restrictions placed on the starks, the Boltons are gaining allies and she fears a Stark-Bolton civil war will happen, maybe not on her husband's watch but maybe on Hadrian's.
"But I have something else in mind. Why would Hadrian ask for a meeting between us? Shouldn't he be playing in the yard or reading in the library? What does he have in mind? Knowing him he would have many things to tell us" said a grinning Rickard. He couldn't be more proud of his son. He got a feeling that his son would take House Stark to greatness. He was still five years old but had shown intelligence that made the maester jealous. It was a reason why he felt that the maester may try to eliminate his son so that the North may not rise any further.
"Our son has proven to be an intelligent and capable person. A person who has both brawn and brains. I sincerely feel that our son is thinking about some personal things or has some plan in his childish mind anyway." said Lyarra fondly. She knew her son was unique and an intelligent child but also a good child who whenever he could did favors for people. She was surprised that Hadrian was not acting like a spoilt or arrogant child, as children of Lord Paramount act throughout Westeros.
"You know, as a mother, it worries me even more. Our son possibly has a strange mind. Possibly we could think about it as a rebirth of Brandon the Builder. This could spell trouble for the North as our son will be the cause of headaches for the South." said a grinning Lyarra. She had always heard how proud the sons of Southerners were. How they considered them above the Northerners. They would learn the hard way things are more terrifying than they see or imagined and how unmatched were they when facing her son. That will amuse her a lot in old age.
"It should be obvious, you find that anything that fucks southerners as amusing. You will be the foremost supporter of Hadrian when he starts causing problems for the South. the North will have different rulers when he rules, and I hope the stress does not eat him alive. An unpleasant thing for the North is the belief that if something works properly why change it and it is how the Northerners are, close-minded people who would resist the change. Even if it is said, that the changes are to make a fool of the North, they will probably say it is a problem for them and why should we participate in it." said Rickard grimly.
"Well if the maesters think they can get out of the situation perfectly, they are fools. They need to learn there is always someone above them in the food chain who is far more dangerous. Hadrian won't let them run the North from the shadows. He would give them the option of being with me or against me. You should know by now" said Lyarra with fury in her eyes. She had complete faith in her son. It wasn't just a mother's intuition. It was a mother's confidence that her son would lead the North to glory. When Hadrian decided on something, nothing stops him from doing it and Old God has mercy on the soul who tries to get in their way.
"I guess we know about it. Our son takes after the Old Stark. I the Lords say he is alone, he would give them two options, either they can obey him completely or they can be thrown to the wolves for food. He is our son and we know better than anyone about our son's actions." said Rickard jovially. He knew what he was talking about. He is a proud man and it was impossible to move him from the personal plan. Nobody could tell him how to act anyway. He felt it in his bones, that something would happen that will bring changes whether good or bad, it needs to be seen.
Whatever Lyarra was about to say was interrupted by Wallys entering. A person is easy to read by his eyes. She narrowed her eye glaring at the man. She knew if any important plans were made, the maester would send a raven to the citadel to inform them and if possible somehow derail the plan. It was also easy to tell that Wallys was not happy with the meeting between the Stark family and he was stupid if he thinks his performance is going unnoticed.
"Maester Wallys I hope there is a reason why you came here. We are waiting for our son" said Rickard flatly. From the beginning, he noticed the antagonistic relationship between the maester and his son. Every time Walys said a single thing that can be considered a mockery of the North, Hadrian would put him in his place. For a five-year-old, it was a surprising thing to do but Lord and Lady Stark knew their son had no problem putting people in their places. They even saw once when a soldier was bothering a village girl and Hadrian had put him in place. The man has not misbehaved since then.
"Well, young Hadrian said he wanted me here. According to him, he had a compelling reason for us to be here." said the Maester. He hated the North but could not go against the orders of the citadel. He had to bring the North closer to the South and hopefully force the Northern heir to marry a manipulatable Southern woman so the South could lead a metallurgical and mining expedition to the North. It is assumed by the citadel that the North had more than 60 percent of the natural metallurgical resources and had been untapped while the west is mining for close to six thousand years and within the next two to three decades the resources of the West will be at an all-time low.
"Has my son decided to see you? I remember the last time Hadrian gave you the floor, it was because you were a Southern fool who was rejecting the stories of the old as it was terrifying to know there could be a force more mighty than the knights of the Seven from the South," said Rickard referring to the white walkers. Every time the maester has scoffed at the stories of the North, his son has easily cut him down by asking have you been there? Of course not, so shut up fool. His son is a believer in history and the past teaches us the best and messing up with it is for complete idiots. Needless to say, Wallys has no respect in his son's eyes.
"Yes I suppose young Hadrian was really upset, but he still respects me and my wisdom. I am an important man in the castle so he wanted me here so he could have a true and advanced conversation here of whatever is eating out his mind" said Wallys. Wallys himself could not believe the shit he was sprouting. Hadrian had humiliated him numerous times by calling him old fossil or brainless old fool unable to recognize the truth even if it was punched to his face. According to the boy, the past teaches us what had come before and why it is important and what you can expect in the future. Better be ready or whatever his words were, silly boy.
"The truth is my son is an understandably advance boy for his age and according to him you are an important part of the castle," said Rickard frowning. Either way, Hadrian was manipulating Wallys or making a fool out of him. Not that he could forgive him, Hadrian doesn't forget and can hold grudges for a long time. The proof is an insult made by a Northern Noblemen and lets us say some unpleasant things happened to him and his family.
"It shows wisdom, Most people, when they have fallout, are unable to comprehend what they have done or what the others have done. However your son is smart and knows however much he dislikes me, he still needs me. It says a lot about him and his character " said Wallys smugly. It shows that the boy is aware of the dire need of the maester which is a good thing in his book. However, he also knows that he is walking on thin ice and with one word from the boy, he would be treated like a plague and would be banished from the castle. He needs to make himself useful and he is running short of ideas.
"We have a son who makes us proud. He is smart, and to top it off he is pretty sensible too. I still remember Lord Bolton's trip a year ago. My son controlled himself and did not jump on Reese Bolton's son Roose when he insulted him. It is very silly of a child but you expect it when the families are eternal rivals for millennials" said Lyarra after some deep thought. Roose Bolton messed with Hadrian a year ago during the annual gathering of the Lords and did not recognize him as a member of House Stark. Hadrian made it clear that Roose Bolton was never received well because he was a brainless idiot to think he can go to someone else castle and treat its people as if they were dirt.
"It was lucky that the situation was quickly controlled and things did not escalate much. I know many people feared that the verbal spat between heir Stark and heir Bolton would lead to another civil war. It pleases me to know that young Hadrian knows to control himself," said Wallys. Hadrian was indeed like a Southern Lad, it was the point he would give to the brat. He was much smarter than people give him credit for. However, it was not much in his long plan as he knew House Bolton was much more dangerous compared to its Paramount House (if he knew the errors in his word, he would quickly take his words back)
"It was more than luck, it made me understand that there are some of my vassals who do not understand their position in the North and think that since they are lords, they can abuse their power on the smallfolk like they have me doing for centuries. The Lords require a clear demonstration of the likely consequences that may happen in the future," said Rickard coldly. It seems like Rickard will get involved in the future and likely deal with the rebellious Lords. The maester seems to be frowning, not liking the decision that Lord Paramount is getting involved in petty fights. It seems like some conspiracy to undermine the Starks is being fanned by the maesters or Lords of the South.
"I don't think it will look good for the North my Lord, Every Lord likes to govern their lands in their way, if you interfere in their business, that may lead to some resentment amongst them," said Wallys quickly. He did not want the Red Alliance to be known and wanted the Starks to think they were the absolute power in the North. If the presence of the Red Alliance is made public, then it may lead to a civil war. The Starks and allies have more troops and will act quickly to prevent an internal power struggle, and if they win they will eradicate the Boltons and members of the Red Alliance thereby quickly eliminating the Boltons. Thus the South and the Citadel could not use Boltons to mislead the Starks.
"But I fear the safety of smallfolk in the lands. Although I will not deny that we enjoy the power that comes from being Lords, it must be understood that the smallfolk are in large numbers, they are also part of the men-in-arms of the lord. If we don't do what is necessary for them as well as hear their plea, there a time may come when they will turn on the Lords. Even if they are untrained, over time numbers win over quality." said Rickard after some deep thinking. In the mind of Starks, the best way to survive is to take care of the smallfolk and keep them happy while making it clear who governs their lands.
Wallys was about to say something when the doors to the solar opened and Hadrian entered. Hadrian was an anomaly to him. He was a five-year-old boy but physically looked nearly ten with a sharp mind and an equally sharp tongue. He could verbally humiliate anyone and would do it when someone earned his ire. If a person offended him, he would humiliate him publically not caring if he is a smallfolk, soldier, heir, or minor lord, he also did not sugar coat his words. Roose Bolton learned it the hard way. He was humiliated by Hadrian, calling it a vicious child with zero problem hurting small folks and they should pray to the Old Gods as the future of House Bolton is in jeopardy. Needless to say, Roose learned not to piss the future Lord Stark.
"Mother, father, and maester Wallys, I appreciate that you all took some time from your busy schedule to be here on my request. Mother, father the truth is I need your help in a future endeavor of mine. I would like to go to Oldtown in Reach in need of knowledge from the Citadel" spoke Hadrian calmly earning a wide-eye look from the other occupants in the room. Wallys seemed dazed as he could not believe what the boy was saying. Hadrian read the mind of the maester 'The snot nose brat wanted to be a maester. When he would finish his studies and take vows, the citadel will assign him to the poorest house of reach and would never allow him in the North. It will be a severe blow to the reputation of House Stark as they will lose a lot of prestige and finally the Citadel can force the North to convert to Faith of the Seven by saying that Seven was not pleased with house Stark for not worshipping them and took their heir. That will force them to convert, and the Starks will lose the Overlordship of North to the Boltons. In this chaos,Wallys' name will be forever remembered as the man who played a key role in bringing the North to the Faith by showing Hadrian the wonders of being a maester.' Hadrian was amazed by the amount of nonsense thought he found in the mind of the maester. He treasured his unique ability which gave him an upper hand against his foes.
"Son, you are saying that you wanted to become a maester?" said Lyarra. She didn't know what to think about her son. What did her son have on his mind? No normal child will say he wanted to become a maester. But she knew her son was very smart, perhaps smarter than her or his father, and wouldn't want to be locked in a dreary tower or will agree with the motives of the Citadel toward the North. It was clear that her son had more in mind and knowledge buried deep in Citadel was one of the first steps. What was her son up to? it is the question everyone should ask her son.
"No way, Sorry you assumed that I wanted to become a maester, but I refuse to waste my life bogged down in what it's like to be in the Citadel while being kept there for some ridiculous point. I will be taking classes in six courses at the Citadel. It's mostly curiosity and knowledge that will be useful" said Hadrian calmly without feeling anything wrong with what he had in his mind. Of course, he could feel the anger radiating from the maester for mocking and dismissing the Citadel. No one could blame him, since in his particular opinion Citadel was a place of mockery. Even the Alchemist Guild from Kings Landing had more reputation than maesters.
"Sorry young Lord, but the maester will not share the hard-earned knowledge with you, you can only learn what I am willing to teach you anyways," said Wallys dismissing Hadrian's request. Wallys looked arrogantly at the brat feeling like he had the situation in complete control. But having him in the Citadel will be the best for the south. They should be taught that the North should be subservient to the South, thus neutralizing him early. It will force Lord Stark to look for a new heir, who can be easily molded to Faith of the Seven. He recognized the look the boy was giving him, it was the same look he gave the Bolton heir before the verbal lash hit him. He shivered for what the boy had in his mind.
"Excuse me for saying this, but are you saying that the Citadel undervalues House Stark? Because as far as I can tell you are a master in only four fields ravens, history, medicine, and astrology. I find it hard to believe that the Citadel sent a man who is so incompetent and undereducated to a great house" said Hadrian while smiling. He saw the look of fear in the maester. He had him where he wanted. The maester was not an expert in many fields, only in a few that were easy to pass as a maester like raven and medicine, neither more nor less. These fields were a must for being sent to keeps. The subjects were simple and most sought after.
"Of course not, the Citadel is always fair to House Stark and the order will not send any unsuitable maesters to one of the seven Great House, right maester Wallys? He has sent a master of history. So tell me Wallys, with the history lessons you are constantly reminding me of the number of times the South insulted us and hit us to the maximum, or squeezed our vaults dry? It is a possibility that if you stop to think about it, maybe you want to prevent me from forgetting the atrocities the South has committed against the North, right? said Hadrian blandly. Hadrian enjoyed the current look on the face of the maester. He was close to pissing himself now, He wanted to create a situation where it looks like the South needed the North to survive and not the other way, but for it to work he needed knowledge and time.
"No my Lord, it was never my intention to do such a thing, young Lord. 'History is a good teacher ' You have said yourself many times. In your own words 'Those who don't learn history are doomed to repeat it in the worst of the ways' so I am trying my best to remind you of the times the South took advantage of the North." said Wallys. It seems like he was betraying his oath to Citadel, but one must do anything to survive. He can't sell Southern history to the boy. Hadrian has access to the ancient Stark diaries of previous Stark Lords and saw the way the Starks looked at the situation. Wallys tried to find the diaries and other books about old Starks, but It is kept somewhere unknown to the order of the maester so they could not forge or destroy them.
"Of course, But you see as the future Lord of the North, I have several unique needs. Needs that force me to spend some years in the Citadel. I need to do my job, so will you be kind enough to write a note to your colleagues and superiors stating that due to your failure as an incompetent maester, I Hadrian Stark, heir to the North will have to attend a few fields in the Citadel. Will I be forced to write the letter since you feel yourself above Heir Stark?" said Hadrian sarcastically. He looked amused at his prey. The little flower was something Hadrian liked to call the maester was trembling in fear as he knew that Hadrian caught his nasty scheme and turned it against the Order.
"Yes, I will immediately write the letter to the Citadel. If you can tell me the subjects in which you need to be educated I will write about it in the letter. I still feel we can come to a compromise. It does not look good for House Stark to send their Heir so far into the South at the heart of the faith. Think about Lord and Lady Stark how will they feel that their heir left them for the Citadel..." said Wallys earning himself a cold stare from the remaining three Starks. How can a child be so scary? Those green-gray eyes were giving him nightmares. It was terrifying. He didn't see much more and trembled a lot. He knew that he lost a lot of faith with the Citadel and with the Starks. He was between rock and a hard place. He didn't want to be relocated to some minor keep and lose his respect in the Citadel for not doing his job. He also didn't want house Stark to make his life miserable.
"Well, I will be studying Economics, Art of War, Politics, Medicine, Blacksmithing, Animal Husbandry, and Magic. See, seven as the points of 'faith of Seven' and let it be said I am not a nice person. Now go, I have to talk to my parent about my travels. There are whispers about a new war on the horizon anyway" said Hadrian. Before the maester could leave, he read his mind. The maester will not be spilling any beans about his opinion about the Citadel. The maesters were a funny group thinking they had all the cards.
Rickard eyed his son carefully. His son knew bothering the Order of Maester without any reason could be problematic for the North since the maester controlled the education of future lords and advised the current Lords. His son was a true stark, he had the behavior of Winter kings and didn't take shit from anyone. When Hadrian was pissing the maester, he must have known that the maester would not take it well. By a glance at his wife, he could tell that she felt the same way he did. They were not sure of the maester's plan, but it was not good for the North.
"Son, you should know that there is a possibility that Wallys will inform the Conclave about your views and behavior and the maesters will somehow try to sabotage your education. You sure you want to go there?" said Rickard while critically looking at his son. It might be strange but he trusted his son a lot, and he knew Hadrian didn't take action without a reason. He was interested in the plans his son had for the Starks and the North, so he can help his son by removing the blockades as quickly as possible and at the same time piss the South. Call him petty but the Starks had a long memory. Hadrian looked too calm if he was to be blunt, and it was not good for anyone.
"Studying in the Citadel is my second objective, it is my cover. Else it will raise suspicions that why a five-year northern lord was in Oldtown. I wanted to go to Oldtown because it is one of the main ports in Westeros and the South. I would have liked to go to Kingslanding, but the place smells like a sewer that even death shuns the place and I want to be far away from the Targaryens for now. Going to Sunspear at all cost due to the heat and the Martells. Although I have to face the looks of pure arrogance from the bastards of Reach, some things are for the Greater Good of the North. The port will give the perfect opening for the North to start its new era." said Hadrian passionately.
"And you have a reason to go to a big port city only? Do you have to go to Oldtown? Although it will be difficult to get something as prices are high. Oldtown sells our woods but we do not supply very large quantity to Oldtown." said Lyarra. She carefully looked at her son, he was wise and intelligent, but there was something she could not yet place. Like he was a very old and wise man by the way he talked. He wanted to make moves and gather information. Since ports have people from many places and of mixed ethnicity, it was easy to gather information from men with loose lips. It was clear that her son has plans and she would like to have some insights into them before the unique shitstorm hit them.
"Very true mother, I know trade is a key part of the income of nearly all regions of Westeros except Westerlands as they have lots of mines including goldmines," said Hadrian. Currently the opinion of the Paramounts of Westerland, Lannisters is at an all-time low but it will change quickly. Tytos Lannister is a worthless idiot, but his son Tywin is a cunning and ruthless man. Tytos was an inept man and he was obsessed with everyone's opinion of him. In Hadrian's mind, people like Tytos were the worst kind of people because you cannot please everyone even if you try with all your might but he couldn't say it out loud about the Lord Lannister, however, he hopes that Tywin is not Tytos in making.
"So you want to go to the port city to get an idea of the wares that attract the attention of the public, right? For what idea? to raise revenue of the North? I see it is difficult. Things in the North are difficult, it will not be easy to handle the climate and the weather. Also, the North is larger than the six kingdoms combined, our roads are not good, and the gold required for repairing them is huge. Whatever gold we make by trading we use it to buy foods for the winter from Riverlands or Reach. It will be very difficult to raise revenue for the North," said Rickard sadly. What is Hadrian up to, Rickard thought about the geography of the North, but nothing came to mind. By the looks on his face, whatever he is thinking will cause a lot of chaos and will be bad for many people. But if these things are advantageous for the Starks, maybe it is worth the effort Hadrian is putting in. He doubted Hadrian's plan, as the soil is hard and the climate is cold in the North in a nutshell, so agriculture is out of option.
"Never take anything for granted father and have faith in yourself because if you don't, you are lost. Anyways, despite this, you may know that with little luck anyone is capable of doing many unique things. Give me a chance, and I will have the best North to rule. I just need to see the world, see what the world wants and understand what they hope to win anyways," said Hadrian with a fire in his eyes. Hadrian understands right now he could make gold by selling drinks and alcohol. But for that, he needs to sell it to both high and low-born. He also knew that the people will drink alcohol during war and peace. So he needs to make high-grade ones for the noble and cheap and affordable ones for low borne. There is something else the people wanted, he just needs to find it out.
"Your confidence that you can do anything is not the problem. Hadrian as your parent we will support you throughout the endeavor. But you must also understand that things are not looking good for the North. Unless we have mountains of gold or we produce something extremely valuable like Valyrian Steel, things are not good. I just know son, it is the way of living," said Lyarra sadly. She like her husband had faith in her son, but she also knew that only her faith will not do anything. They needed gold and resources, but sadly they did not have them. So naturally, she looked at her son carefully, What does he have in mind? It is a short or long goal where the questions float in her mind.
"Mother, if we need to raise our position and want the people to respect us, we need to exploit the North. But we also need to know a harsh reality, What do others want? Some would say it is a new food, drinks, clothes, gold, or weapons, I don't know, anything. You have to investigate, you have to exploit to make profits. You don't win anything if you don't do what it takes to win, at least not in my mind," said Hadrian. Things are simple in his mind. In business, you always need to find what a large group wants and produce it better, prettier, and cheaper. It's simple, So Hadrian was thinking about how to get things moving in the right direction.
"Well, when you put it that way, There is truth in your words. But forgive me, your mother and I are curious about your plans for the North. Curiosity nothing more so that you know my son." said Rickard. Hadrian's words were very true. He needed to know more about his son's plan, so he could help him.
"Father, there is a basic rule of business. You know that the Tully's are the ones who need us in the North to make their gold. Indeed, they sell their supplies to the Vale and Stormsland, but two-thirds of the annual income comes from us and in short from the Northerners. If we somehow eliminate the food problem of the North, we save a lot of gold. The best way to earn a profit is to eliminate the need for buying food in such a way that the king and the South cannot interfere. This will cause the Tullys to either look for a new buyer or reduce the prices of the food before the food gets rotten. When the prices are cheap, then you can buy some food so that they cannot complain to the king," said Hadrian blandly.
"I guess I have to say at that point he has us. A considerable income from the South comes from exploiting us. If we could exploit Riverrun for once, I am on board. But you are forgetting something son, To do that, you have to produce a lot of food and it is not possible in a cold and hard land like the ones we have," said Lyarra sadly. It wasn't that she lacked faith in her son. She didn't want to crush her son's well-thought plan but without the food from the South, they cannot survive. Even with hunting, after some time there will be no animals left to hunt. Since the ground was hard and due to snow and cold, normal plants will not grow on the land. But by the look on her son's face, he had some solution to these problems.
"I am perfectly aware of it. But the South produces weak food for our climate. So the crops from the North cannot survive in our cold climate. But if we can find some crops that can grow in a cold climate, we could grow them in three strategic locations that are the Umber lands, the Dustin lands, and the Crofter's village, it will reduce our dependency on the Tullys and we will save some gold by not paying the damn toll to the Freys. These are the main positions that I have figured out," said Hadrian. Hadrian had something in his mind, but it wouldn't be easy. He had the plan to use the climate change and soil enrichment ritual to further make the soil soft, brittle, and more fertile. It will cause the growth to increase by two to three times.
Both parents looked at their son for a moment, before they sighed knowing God know what their son had in mind. Little did they know how right they were with that thought.