Skagos, The North, 6th Moon of 277 AC
Ragnar Dovahkiin was walking around his town; he wore a heavy fur stuffed blue tunic, a red cloak with white bear fur on the shoulders, red boots, and white trousers; the winter clothing made him look way bigger than he was. The town was big and populous; Ragnar believed more than 50 thousand people lived in the town; it was already bigger than White Harbor, the former biggest city in The North. It's been six moons since Ragnar returned from The Westerlands. Ragnar didn't even need to forger a sword to Tywin as he already had multiple stored. Once the Lannister's ships arrived, bringing the cattle, he had just handed the sword to Gerion Lannister, House's Lannister fleet Captain.
One of the things Ragnar had done in these six moons was beginning to build Glass manufacturing warehouses; the glass industry was slowly but surely, coming round; by Ragnar's estimates, Skagos would be able to provide each House of the North with glass in less than a year. He had already built ten glasshouses just in his town.
Another thing Ragnar did was begin to train the men in armed combat; the training was before the sunrise and was optional; all men in Skagos wanted to learn from the strongest and most skilled man in the world; Ragnar, unfortunately, couldn't train all 35000 men, so he decided to use a rotation system, he would teach 2000 man 2 hours a day during two moons and then change the groups, it worked just fine till now.
Another thing Ragnar did was introduce the Thu'um to a select group of fighters, 50 of his best men; he passed on to them his understanding on FUS( force); that didn't make them able to shout, for to shout, one must understand the meaning of the word, but it certainly cut in more than half the amount of time it would take for them to learn the shout. By Ragnar's estimates, the 50 men would be able to shout at least a FUS ROH by the beginning of the rebellion.
Ragnar also began to set the builders into different projects as, for now, the need for housing has passed. Now Ragnar needed better roads for the merchants and the smallfolk, and as such, a third of the builders worked on making roads connecting all towns, which was hard work, but the Skagossi feared no honest work.
A third of the builders worked to increase the port of Kingshouse town ( Lord Magnar's former town). Kingshouse town has lost some of its original inhabitants to Ragna's town, but due to the port in the town, the number of people who lived there actually increased; there were more than 20,000 people, most of which were the sailors, whalers, and their families.
The remaining 1/3 of his builders were working on rebuilding Castle Volkihar; Ragnar wanted to build something as grand as Storms-end and Winterfell, and to do that, he would need the most fantastic builder Westeros has ever seen. Bran, The Builder himself.
Ragnar used the Call of Valor shout to summon Brandom, and it surprisingly worked; he was confused at first; but with a little bit of bullshit and "Speech 100," Ragnar convinced Bran to design and develop a plan of construction for a massive castle, it would take three years to get it all done, Bran was really a legend. The plans he drew were easy to understand and simple to follow.
Ragnar took the plans to the chief builder, and the man almost asked Ragna's hand in marriage; the man said he had never seen such artwork in his life. Ragnar just smiled and laughed awkwardly, and told the man he trusted him with that project.
As Ragnar walked through his town, Davos beside him, reporting the construction/expansion of the port, the smallfolk would greet him or bow their heads in respect. Ragnar would answer their greetings and bows with slight head-bows and greetings of his own. He liked to walk the town and see how people lived their daily lives; the town markets were full of people and products. Ragnar had craved some heat runes on some stones around the city to make the climate a little less harsh; it had worked so far. The climate, although cold, wasn't freezing anymore.
" So to conclude, the port extension will be done by the end of 278 AC with enough docks for all ships and more.
The sailors say it's time to stop hunting blue whales and begin to hunt leviathans; according to them, it's mating season for the blue whales. They ask for permission." Davos said
" Good. Tell the builders I'm satisfied with their work, and their families will be rewarded in the future." Ragnar said as he smiled.
" About the sailors, give them a gold coin for their good thinking. It had completely slipped my mind. Sustainability, do you know this word?" Ragnar asked
"No, milord," answered Davos.
" It basically means to use your resources with intelligence and efficiency. It means we should let nature recover the things we take from it. This warning they gave might have saved the whole whaling industry in this part of the shivering sea. Luckily for us, the Ibbanese do the same thing," said Ragnar.
" It's a wise policy milord," replied Davos
" Indeed it is. I plan on..." Ranger stopped talking and looked in the shivering sea direction; his smile grew significantly, and he said.
" My old friend has returned, and with a companion, it seems..." Ragnar said
" What? Who has..." Davos didn't get to finish as two dragons' roars were heard, and from the mountains, Midstinul and a new white dragon appeared. The white dragon was slightly bigger than Midstinul, but from the way they flew, it was clear to all who was the one in charge. They both landed a few feets from the town; Ragnar and Davos walked toward them. Once he Ragnar, Midstinul bowed his head, and the white dragon mimicked him.
" Dream yol Lok, Dovahkiin thuri, I have accomplished my mission; I have brought an Ice Dragon from the shivering sea. It took me long to track her, but once I found her, it was easy to subjugate her to my thu'um," Midstinul
" Dream yol Lok, Midstinul, you have done amazing work, as always. Is she capable of speech? Or just a mindless beast?" Ragnar asked as he looked at the giant white dragon.
"Niid Dovahkiin, No for both options. She is incapable of speech, but she's not a mindless beast; she is semi-sentient. She has no deep intelligence but has emotions and can act on them. It isn't easy to explain." Midstinul replied.
" There are two D-dragons now? How? I thought all Valyrian dragons had died." Davos said, as Ragnar and Midstinul talked in Dovahzul, he hadn't understood the conversation.
" They probably are; this is not a Valyrian dragon; this is an Ice Dragon," Ragnar replied
" But aren't Ice dragons made of Ice? It looks pretty fleshy for me!" Davos replied.
"Niid Joor, mortal… This misconception happens because the Iiz Dovah hunts fish, she must dive into the water, and with the cold weather of the shivering sea, this water freezes, giving the "made of ice" appearance. They are made of flesh and magic, like me." Midstinul said in the common tongue, which scared the living shit out of Davos.
" You can speak common. Incredible." Davos managed to say.
" Geh, Indeed I can," Replied midstinul
The arrival of the dragons brought a considerable commotion. All people of Skagos knew of Midstinul, and some even had been judged by the dragon when Ragnar instructed him to hold court in his absence.
" Fear not, people, this White Dragon is friendly, a new protector of Skagos. It will help us should times of war arrive." Ragnar simply said, and the people nodded dumbfounded.
At that moment, Ragnar could see a white raven and a black raven arrive at Castle Volkihar, a few minutes later, the maester got out of the castle and came walking toward Ragnar and the dragons; once he saw the dragons, he hesitated but seeing that Davos was there and unhurt he proceeded his walk.
" My lord, I bring bad news." He said
"Why is it always bad news? Why must you fail me so often, world?" Ragnar said humorously " Tell me what happened then."
" Well. The autumn is over; we are now in winter. But that's not the worse…" The maester replied.
"I doubt that…." Ragnar said calmly
" The king has been captured and made hostage in Duskendale. Lord Tywin, the hand, has asked for your assistance; he said your presence would intimidate Lord Darklyn and his man."
" How come? I had barely been to the south. I actually never been to the crownlands," Ragnar said in disbelief and anger
" According to Lord Tywin, after the Tournament in Honor of Prince Viserys, you have become quite the legend in the south. They say that with your skill and your Valyrian armor, you could defeat armies by yourself." The maester said
"Oh, I see. Davos, please tell the sailors to get 100 of my battleships ready; we sail south tomorrow. It's time for the south to know about our fleet."
" You would take 4.000 men to Duskendale? To save the king?" Asked The Maester.
" Not just to save the king, but to show the south my fleet. The largest fleet in the North." Replied Ragnar.
" Please inform Lord Stark of this. He must know about the reveal of the fleet to the south. Anything else?" Asked Ragnar.
"Yes, my lord, two more things. Lord Stark will hold a lords meeting by the end of the year to discuss the winter and how each house has prepared for it. Lord Stark has requested your presence, as well as Lords Stane and Crowl's." said the maester.
" All right. That's ok. Tell Lord Stark I will attend. What about the second thing?" Asked Ragnar
"The heirs of House Crowl and Stane will arrive in the 2nd and 6th moon of next year, respectively, to begin their fostering under you as they are too young to begin before that and the Lords are too eager to have them learn swordsmanship from you to wait the turning of the year." Said the maester.
"That's good. They will learn how to be good lords and warriors under my leadership." Ragnar said, and the master bowed his head before leaving.
"I will go and save that buffoon of a king, old friend. Your assistance is not required, but I ask you to protect my Island once more." Ragnar said as he turned to Midstinul.
" Dovahkiin thuri, your wish is my command! No enemy shall land on your shores, and no spy will learn of your secrets." Midstinul said and Ragnar smiled
" Good, and please ensure that your… friend don't hurt anyone. " Ragnar said as he began to walk toward Castle Volkihar.
" Geh, Thuri" Midstinul said before he and the ice dragon took off.
The Narrow Sea, Westeros, 6th moon of 277 AC
The arrival of winter made the narrow sea a lot colder than it should've been; although not as cold as the Shivering Sea, it was still cold. For Ragnar and his crew, it was just a cool breeze; the men, although foreign, adapted surprisingly fast to the Northern climate. The men in the ships were trying their best to impress Ragnar; he gave them their freedom back, he fed them, he gave them and their families home and dignity, and they wanted to show he wasn't wrong in doing all that. So when Davos told them they were going south to fight with their lord, no man complained; they all took their swords and axes and prepared the ships.
" My Lord. We should be arriving in the crownlands in about a fortnight. We have enough supplies to sigil Duskendale for almost a year without having to resupply." said a man to Ragnar.
" Good. Captain Arne, is it? Tell the man I'm impressed with the professionalism and efficiency of my fleet; that's mainly on you and the other captains. Once we get to Duskendale, the whole realm will see and marvel at a small part of our fleet; they will see our men are not uncoordinated like the Ironborn and not soft like those flowers of House Redwine." Ragnar replied, and he could see the glint in the man's eyes.
" Aye, my lord. I'll tell the men about your praises and what is expected of them in Duskendale." Captain Arne said, and Ragnar just nodded. The man, although not northern, had a northern accent due to having learned the language through Ragnar's "magic." These men abandoned their own culture to embrace the north's culture; they worshipped the old gods, styled their hairs and beards like the skagossi, and most of them married a skagossi woman. And with the woman was the same thing; they worshipped the old gods, they styled their hairs like the skagossi woman, and most married Skagossi men.
Their integration into Skagos was a success, and due to the foreign's respect and devotion to their culture, the Skagossi simply loved them. The only way to buy your way into a proud person's heart is to make them even prouder of what they are, and that's how the former slaves made their way into Skagos society.
" Davos, do you know why I'm going to Duskendale? Do you know why I'll save the King" Ragnar asked
" Because you are loyal to the crown?" Davos replied, unsure of what to think.
" No, my loyalty lies with House Stark as I gave THEM my oath, and I am a man of my word. The Starks are worthy; Rickard Stark remembers me of the only man I respected and followed in my land, Balgrulf, The Greater. I'll save the king so that I can get a charter for my town to make it a city officially. I will call it Winterhold, for it will be where my successors and I will hold the winter from breaking the North." Ragnar replied calmly
" So… if should lord Stark rebel against the Iron Throne and declare himself the King in the North, would you set your Dragons against the south?" asked Davos
" If needed be, then yes, not against their cities or towns, but their armies would never cross the neck, should they attack the north, no man would return alive to their homes. I don't like people who break my peace for greedy reasons. The same thing could be said about the faith of the seven. No Septon will be allowed to spread their dreadful religion on my lands." Ragnar replied.
"I guess I understand your reasoning, milord. I admire your honor and the responsibility you have to your people and your oaths." Davos said
" A man whose word is trusted is a man with good allies and few enemies." Replied Ragnar.
As foretold, Ragnar and his fleet arrived in Duskendale in a fortnight. The blackwater bay was full of ships blockading the port of Duskendale; a large army could be seen sieging the town, and banners of Targaryen, Lannister, and Arryn could be seen all around. Once the Lords saw House Dovahkiin's sigil on the ships, they were surprised to see that the north had a fleet, a large one at that; the Redwynes themselves brought 150 Warships, 50 more than House Dovahkiin, and the Redwyne had the second-largest fleet in Westeros. The North having a large fleet was a serious prospect; the only way one could attack the north was through the water as no south invasion would be able to cross the neck; they had never been able to and probably would never be able to.
Ragnar's ship was given passage by the Royal and Redwyne fleet as instructed by Lord Tywin. Once he got out of the ship, the lords who hadn't seen him in the tournament in Lannisport were all waiting to greet him, every single one of them wanted to see the greatest warrior in Westeros, the only man capable of forging Valyrian steel.
Ragnar wore his Valyrian Steel armor and had Wuuthrad strapped on his back. Many of the lords who wanted to talk to him were intimidated by the vision of a 7'2 tall man wearing unbreakable armor and gave up the idea. The ones who welcomed Ragnar to the camp were Ser Arthur Dayne and The Prince Rhaegar Targaryen. This made many lords wonder what kind of relationship the prince held with Lord Dovahkiin.
" Greetings, Lord Dovahkiin. I find it unfortunate that we must meet under such circumstances. While in Lannisport, I had hoped our next meeting would be on better terms," Said Rhaegar, his voice tired and his eyes black from the lack of sleep.
" Greetings, Prince Rhaegar, I also had hoped for the same, but unfortunately, the reality is often disappointing. Let's get in. I want to know what is Lord Tywin's plan and what would be my part in that." Ragnar said, and Rhaegar nodded. They walked into the Lannister tent; the only person inside was Tywin Lannister himself; he was reading a parchment and had a surprisingly sour face.
" Lord Tywin, Lord Dovahkiin has arrived. I think it is time for us to summon the Lords and explain our plan to them." Rhaegar said; his voice was firm, and so were his eyes.
"Yes, your grace, I shall summon the lords," Tywin said to Rhaegar, then he turned to Ragnar and said, " Lord Dovahkiin, it's good that honored the call; your presence here will be essential if my plans work," Tywin said as he walked out of the tent to talk to a servant, who immediately ran away as soon as Tywin finished talking to him.
A few minutes later, a bunch of Lords entered the tent, the most important ones being Jon Arryn, Paxter Redwyne, Mace Tyrell, and Layton Hightower. They waited for Tywin or Rhaegar to speak about their plan.
The plan was as simple as they come; Ragnar was supposed to sneak inside Duskendale, make the king wear his armor, and smuggle him out of the town as swiftly as possible as no man would cross his way fearing the anger of the greatest swordsman of Westeros. Ragnar realized Tywin wanted the king dead and would use him as a scapegoat as this mission was almost impossible for normal people. The thing intrigued Ragnar the most was that no lord seemed to disagree with Tywin, they said they wouldn't want to cross him on the battlefield and his frame alone would make the completely unprepared men of Duskendale run for their lives, Ragnar would only need to kill three or four men and the other would run. They didn't see to be laying, it was then Ragnar understood why Tywin Lannister wanted to keep the mountain alive so much. Fear was a powerful weapon In Westeros.
With that on his mind, Ragnar offered a second approach,
To do so, Ragnar asked for a convicted rapist to be brought to him. Once they did so, Ragnar brought the man to the gates of Duskendale.
" Denys Darklyn, come out and look at me, face me as your ancestors would in a time like this," Ragnar said, and a few minutes later, Denys Darklyn and his wife appeared on the walls of Duskendale.
" Hah, they called the greatest warrior on the realm to kill me? I told Tywin that if something happened to my wife or me, I would kill the king. You are useless here, Barbarian; get back to your wasteland of an Island and die in the cold. And it's Lord Darklyn for you." He said; his voice sounded shallow as if he was reading a script of sorts; his face was worried. His wife, on the other hand, had a devious smile on her face; her eyes shone with malice.
" You are a Lord no more. There's no outcome in this situation that you come out as the winner. If Lord Tywin agrees with your demands and you free the king, the moment he is out, he will overrule Tywin and kill you all. If you Kill the King, you lose your hostage, and then we're going storm into the city and kill you all. You will die anyways, but your family doesn't need to die with you; your young son doesn't need to die. If you surrender right now, I promise no child of yours will die… if you don't surrender, I will have even worse news for you. If you don't surrender, the one who will pass your sentence will be me." Ragnar said as he smirked and pointed at the criminal by his side. " You see this man, he is a convicted rapist, and I will use him to demonstrate what will happen to you, your children, and your soldiers. This punishment will be the new punishment for rapists in Skagos; it's called The Blood Eagle. I recommend you all to observe. You as well, soldiers, for this will be your punishment should you stand behind this man who is no longer your lord." Ragnar shouted as he proceeded to apply the Blood Eagle on the criminal masterfully. Ragnar did it so carefully that it would take the criminal 2 hours to die, and before that, the men of Duskendale gave up on their former lord and surrendered the city. Ragnar himself went to the dungeons to free the king.
The Lords of the realm couldn't understand what had just happened; Lord Dovahkiin made the town of Duskendale submit without killing anyone but the criminal he used as an example. Tywin Lannister himself was speechless; what Lord Dovahkiin did was something never seen before; the grotesque thing he did to that man was brutally efficient. Tywin vowed to ask Ragnar the specifics of the punishment; he would reserve it to the worse of his enemies should they dare go against him.
The King was bathed and dressed; he would pass his sentence to Denys Darklyn personally. He would also concede a boon to Lord Dovahkiin.
" Please, my King, have mercy on me. I-I didn't mean to do that; I was desperate; my city suffered this winter. Please mercy.." Denys Darklyn pleaded as he was tied to a pyre.
" Burn him!" The king said, his voice as cold as the water of the shivering sea.
Every Darklyn but a boy, who was too young to be involved in all this, was burned alive by the king. The king asked Ragnar to perform the blood Eagle on former Lady Darklyn, who was the one who humiliated the king the most; he then burned her agonizing body.
"Lord Dovahkiin, you have freed me from these captors on the first day of your arrival; you instigated fear in their hearts as only a fellow dragon could." the king said, "I'll grant you a boon, ask me anything, and I shall be yours."
" My King, the only thing I wish of for a charter for my town. It's already the biggest town in the North, and it's hard to keep order without a charter." Ragnar said, and the King nodded
" It shall be done then. I will take care of that as soon as I get to Kingslanding." Aerys said, and Ragnar nodded.
" Please tell your maester to record the specifics of your city, such as the population and its name." Said Maester Pycelle, who had come to attend to the king's wounds.
"I'll think about it, maester." Ragnar said calmly.