King's Landing, Red Keep 140 AC
King Aegon III Pov
He was rarely happy, he knew it and everyone else around him knew it, he knew what they called him behind his back Aegon the Unlucky, Aegon the Unhappy, the Broken King. After what he saw in the Dance of Dragons, being forced to watch as his mother was eaten alive by a dragon, seeing all his siblings die one by one. Is it any wonder he found little joy in the world?
However, these last few years he found another reason to be unhappy, the continuing whining of a number of Lords and the faith of seven. It all started several years ago when the North ordered a huge shipment of food, his regency council along with nearly every other major House South of the Neck decided it was the perfect opportunity to send in spies while all those merchants and delivery men wandered around the North. However, the majority of them were caught at White Harbour or Moat Cailin and those that made it past those two points either had to quickly leave before they were caught or were caught at a later point without time to give any of their master's important information. All they knew was that the North was embarking on major construction projects all over it. From stone roads and bridges, like his ancestors the Valyrian's made in Essos, to upgrading every single castle and holdfast.
It was only later as a flood of products left the North that the true depth of what they were doing in the North could be seen. Alcohol he had never heard of before, glass and a booming smithing industry that produced goods equal or better than most of the Seven Kingdoms but at a much cheaper price. Gold, silver and all sort of gems were also coming from the North increasing it's wealth dramatically.
However, it was the canal projects that shocked him and the rest of the world. They had created canals between every major river connecting the entirety of the North from one side to the other. The Last River was now connected to the Long Lake, which was already connected to the White Knife. The Weeping River was now also connected to the White Knife across the Lonely Hills. The Broken Branch was now also connected to the White Knife and the Weeping River. The White Knife was now connected to the Lake beside Torrhen's Square, that lake was in turn connected to the River at Barrowtown and the Lakes to the West of it.
This along with the roads decreased travel time immensely in the largest of the Seven Kingdoms, it also increased trade by a huge amount, no longer would traders have to go around Dorne to get to Oldtown or Lannisport or vice versa now they could take the North's new canal system at a much quicker and cheaper route than passing all of Westeros and worry about the pirates in the Stepstones. Plus, the North was now an exporter of many goods, so merchants now travelled not simply to pass through the North but also to buy and sell there, making it a trading hub.
Then there was the unbelievable abundance in food in the North, this stopped the North from needing to buy food from elsewhere such as the Reach and saved what he estimated between a million to two million dragons every season cycle in the North. The Northern Lords were now spending that money in the North, improving it.
This caused chaos South of the Neck, the Westerland's were complaining that they were the only true producer of precious metals in Westeros and the North should not be allowed to export it. The Reach was complaining about being unable to sell their excess crops and demanded that the North should be forced to buy what they previously bought. Dorne despite not being part of the Iron Throne sent a raven suggesting that he should force the North to increase the tax's on their canal system to encourage people to sail around Dorne again as all of Northern Essos and Westeros now used the canals leaving only the southern parts going around Dorne. The only Kingdoms not complaining were the Crownland's, Stormlands, Riverland's and Vale. The Crownland's and Stormlands because these new developments didn't really affect their trade routes and wealth. While the Vale actually benefitted as they became part of the trade route North, increasing the wealth of the Vale. The Riverland's which was making less money in crop selling was more than adequately compensated with the trade going through their lands. The North was also investing in the Riverland's, what the finished outcome would be he had no idea. The only Kingdom that was as unknown factor was the Iron Islands, but they rarely get involved in the affairs of "Greenlanders" let alone their politics.
His answer to all these complaints and suggestions was "no". The reason being he had no precedent, legal, moral or religious reason to do anything to the North. The North was still paying its tax's, still informing him of important events that affect the realm such as House Bolton being deposed, and House Cassel elevated to take its place (the other Bolton's who didn't take the Black fled to Essos where fewer knew of the name Bolton and their family hobby). They weren't attacking followers of the Seven, not that there was any left in the North. They weren't plotting anything against the realm or his family as far as he was aware. Although he had a lack of information regarding the North thanks to lack of spies, however, he knew the Northern people valued honor and as long as they gave their oath to his family, they wouldn't betray it, unless given a very good reason to do so, a righteous and honorable reason rather than just wanting to be Kings of Winter again.
The only thing he could do would be to increase tax's on the North, there were lots of precedents of King's doing that, but they needed a reason for this increase, often war as everyone knew how expensive it was but once the crisis was past the tax rate returned to normal and that would only increase the royal family's wealth, his wealth, so that wouldn't be a solution to the whining Lords that were losing their wealth.
Plus, the North was given greater level of independence than the other Kingdoms thanks to the fact they negotiated their way under his family's dominion than broken on the field of battle and forced to bow. If he stuck his nose too much in Northern affairs, he would break the agreement and they could legally declare their independence from the Iron Throne and that was a fight he knew he couldn't win. The North lacked the forces to fight an offensive war against most of the other Kingdoms combined but they could fight a defensive war indefinitely like Dorne during Aegon's conquest. All it would do would be to waste lives and money that didn't need to be wasted in the first place as long as he stuck to the agreement.
The reason why the faith and the High Septon were complaining was because of the sudden rise in the followers of the Old Gods all over Westeros. That started when the Northern Houses that worshipped the Seven converted to the Old Gods, House Manderly and Whitehill being two of the more prominent ones. Then many other Houses south of the Neck either reaffirmed their belief in the Old Gods or converted to it. Such as House Blackwood, Redfort, Royce, Tarly, both House Dayne's, Coldwater, Tollet, Shett, Upcliff, Hunter, Banefort, Westerling, Greenfield, Crakehall, Farman, Fowler, Blackmont, Yronwood, Manwoody, Oakheart, Redwyne, both Houses Fossaway, Rowan, Florent, Bulwer, Crane, Beesbury, Ball, Peake, Hightower, Tarth, Buckler, Errol, Fell, Selmy, Carron, Swann, Connington, both House Brune's, Massey, Mallister, Bracken, Tully, Mooton, Darry, and countless numbers of lesser Houses.
In short nearly all the Lords with more First Men blood than Andal blood has returned to their ancestors' religion. Even the smallfolk of many places whose Lords have not converted are now following the Old Gods. While those with more Andal blood now seemed unsure, as if something made them doubt the Seven and believe in the Old Gods and many families had at least one member who had converted.
I sighed, I had no idea where this sudden religious fervor came from, I had little of Andal or First Men blood in me, but I couldn't deny one thing, weirwood trees and heart trees were appearing everywhere. Even here in the Red Keep Garden, one day there was nothing, the next day a twelve-foot heart tree appeared out of nowhere. The same was happening all over Westeros.
The unusual thing about the trees was that you couldn't cut them down or burn them like the Andal's did centuries ago. Axes shattered and fire did nothing and their roots went too deep to dig out. Many Septon's tried and many failed but it was what happened to the people who tried to destroy the trees that made a shiver go up his spine. It seemed to depend on the person on what punishment they received. Those who ordered and followed the order of destroying the weirwood's got up the next day refusing, seemingly having a dream that they refused to share. While the complete opposite end was people dying in their sleep. The ones that died were to put it bluntly scum, Septon's and "pious" Lords and their "holy followers" upon investigation were found to be abusing their powers, their people and had no honor. Bandits, thieves, oath breakers and rapists pretending to be noble people, while the people that they ordered to cut down the trees helped them commit many of their vile acts. Then the punishment would range in-between those two extremes depending on the person. This "divine punishment" led to many more people converting to the Old Gods especially the people who were abused, who were thankful to be free from those tyrants. While the exposing of all this corruption and dark deeds done by the Septon's destroyed a great deal of the Faith's credibility, influence and moral power and pushed more people towards the Old Gods.
The High Septon and the Most Devout demanded for him to do something as the "Protector of the Faith" but honestly what could he do? He wouldn't and couldn't force people to convert by the sword, that would create a rebellion that would have made the Faith Militant uprising during the reign of Maegor the Cruel look small in comparison. And unlike his predecessor he didn't have the power to make them bow, the Dragons they had now were small, stunted and deformed incapable of doing anything on a battlefield. The Realm was also still healing from the Dance of Dragons, he wouldn't cause a war for the sake of those fat two-faced Septon's, a war that he would most likely not win, perhaps not lose but he diffidently wouldn't win.
He remembered one incident where several Septon's and minor Lords and Knights gathered a small force and on twenty row boats sailed to the Isle of Faces, then before the people who were watching them eyes their boats sank and they drowned. The boats were carefully checked before and after the incident, well the boats that were recovered and they found no reason for the sinking. No holes or anything. The boats recovered were tested and spent half a day in the water and several trips to and from the Isle of Faces were done and nothing happened. Another "divine" intervention and even he would have to admit there was something odd happening in the Seven Kingdoms. While he didn't have any proof, he would be willing to bet this had something to do with the North and their sudden rise.
Another incident happened after the Hightower's converted, after all the High Septon and the Most Devout reside in Oldtown in the Starry Sept. Three members of the Most Devout tried to raise a riot against the Hightower's and probably raise the Faith Militant again they failed and were dragged to the Hightower's, they loudly proclaimed that the Hightower's were heretics, and they were following the will of the Seven. Lord Hightower simply smiled and proclaimed they may choose any weapon in the city, with the exception of their Valyrian Steel sword Vigilance and attempt to strike him down. If they failed than it was his turn to strike them down and if they were really favored by the Seven, he would fail, and they would succeed. They chose three swords and attempted to strike Hightower down, the swords broke mid-swing and then true to his word he struck them down. The Faith found their followers and influence in Oldtown greatly reduced from the incident.
He was also getting odd reports from both Westeros and Essos. In the Northern seas in both the Sunset Sea and the Shivering Sea he has heard reports of myths coming to life. Merling's, Sea Dragons, Krakens and other myths were now appearing, and slowly more were appearing South. Across Westeros there was an increased number of sighting of the Children of the Forest more than ten times more. While in Essos the Dothraki were saying that the Ifequevron Essos's Children of the Forest had returned and are beginning to rebuild their Kingdom and that Vaes Leisi was now inhabited by them again. There have been more sightings of legendary beast that were slowly going extinct but now seems as if their numbers were increasing. Basilisks, manticores, griffins, harpies, sphinxes and many other beasts. He had also heard rumors that the Stark's now had Direwolves, the first Direwolves to be seen south of the Wall in many years. In Qarth it is said that the warlocks of the House of the Undying had regained their powers.
But the biggest and oddest report of all came from the Citadel five years ago when they informed the Lords of Westeros that the Glass Candles could be lit, and magic had returned. Over the last five years the candles had not diminished but increased in brightness informing the world that magic was growing stronger. There were whispers saying that this was a sign that a new Age of Heroes or perhaps a New Dawn Age had begun.
Speaking of Maester's their counterparts North of the Neck had cut ties to them and created a new Citadel in the Old Keep in Winterfell where they were apparently prospering and training a new generation of learned people. He had no idea why this split had occurred, and it was clear that the Maester's South of the Neck were baffled by this move as well. The Maester's that were sent North were usually the least ambitious of the bunch and followed the Order's oath to the letter, so why create their own Order?
If he could trace all these events, then he would trace them to that shift (he shivered a little) in the world. He along with most of the world had no clear idea what happened but clearly felt it happen, many of the worlds' "Mystics" stated that it was something awakening that caused the shift. If so, then what awoke, the Old Gods? It would certainly seem so, seeing how their most loyal followers were now prospering and all these things such as weirwood trees and Children of the Forest were now popping up everywhere.
He sighed again, there was no point in worrying about it now, he had work to do and left to go to the Throne Room, to sit upon the most uncomfortable chair in the world The Iron Throne.
The North, Winterfell
Winterfell had changed over the five years anyone could see that not just physically but, in its atmosphere, as well. Physically Winterfell was in pristine condition, the Old Keep and Bailey was renovated and was now the school of the North. Not just for science, sums or writing but magic (and Ki) as well, training children as a new generation of learned people, warriors and magic users. The beginning of the two new moats and the third wall was being constructed, while Wintertown had gone through a few changes. It was usually empty during the spring, summer and autumn but it actually had a number of people. The buildings were no longer wood, but stone and the town was clearly bigger.
But it was the atmosphere that one could argue that changed the most, previously Winterfell was quiet, dour and while you wouldn't say it felt hopeless you couldn't exactly say you felt a future there. But now it was filled with life, you could hear people bustling and talking, while children laughing and playing.
It was to this sight that Cregan stood on a balcony in the Great Keep and looked at his home. He couldn't help but feel proud in what the North had become. The sound of all the children was extremely pleasant to his ears, soon the "emptiest" of the Seven Kingdoms as the North was sometimes referred to would no longer be so empty. The North's population was increasing for several reasons. First is immigration, once several of the projects were proposed it wasn't lack of funds that made people object but lack of manpower. This was corrected by two ways, one the return of all those who went south during the last winter, secondly slaves or rather former slaves. Ranma suggested an idea that none had thought of before, one of the ways civilizations in the past freed slaves was to buy them and then free them, thereby taking them and their descendants out of the circulation of slavery. They could go to Essos buy slaves, free them and then offer then a new home and paid jobs in the North a future for themselves and their children. All of them accepted many of them with tears in their eyes and it must be said they worked hard and were extremely loyal to the North for freeing them and giving them a future. They also embraced the culture of the North all of them converting to the Old Gods, after all a religion that says cut off the head of any slaver stupid enough to enter into the North was very appealing to the former slaves. Then there was the population boom as Ranma referred to it. With the sudden increase in wealth, food, safety and standard of living it seemed as if everyone was having children. It was estimated that the North's population would perhaps double in the next hundred years and luckily, they had the food to supply it.
The food supply was the real miracle, their crop yield thanks to the new crops and magic had increased seven times ensuring that the North would have enough food for a three-year winter with just one year of crops. With the population increase one would think he would be worried about having enough food in the future but because of the size of the North only a small fraction of the land was farmed. Ironically enough with more people they are now able to farm more land and produce more food thanks to having more people.
He moved from the balcony and began to move Winterfell's halls. It wasn't just the Humans who were prospering but the Children of the Forest as well. Their numbers had increased dramatically and although it would take a while for their children to grow into adulthood, they had already doubled their current population and showed no sign of slowing down. Children to them were more precious than all the gold in the world because they have them so rarely. So, the thought of having them combined with the need to ensure that their species doesn't go extinct has led all of the females getting pregnant as much as possible. They at this point all had three children at minimum and some more, in the last five years. He had already given them land in the Wolfswood and what they called a settlement formed in it. It wasn't just the Children in the North but also on the Isle of Faces, the Northern forests of Essos and several other places. Ranma had visited them all and provided them with the potion and recipe. At this point any one of the Children would be willing to sacrifice their lives for Ranma for what she did. She gave them hope.
He smiled, they and Ranma had begun to work to spread the Weirwood tree all over Westeros, that was the easy part, the question than became how to ensure the Faith wouldn't destroy them like last time. It was near impossible to uproot a weirwood as their roots went very deep, so they didn't really have to worry about that. That left cutting and burning. Ranma with the Childrens help infused weirwood saplings with a spell called the Iron Cloth technique that made a simple cloth as hard as iron. He was shocked when she used a piece of paper to cut through wood before his eyes. But a weirwood tree was much stronger and tougher than mere paper or cloth, combined with the Iron Cloth technique, another spell she learned from an enemy, someone call Ryoga though she prefers to call him Pig Boy or P-Chan. It would now take a Valyrian Steel weapon to harm the trees and anyone stupid enough to ask a Lord to use such a rare, priceless heirloom as a common axe would probably find themselves cut in half. Iron was also not very flammable and, in a battle, Ranma found out that anything infused with the technique was just as flammable as Iron. The Septon's would have to put the weirwoods in a furnace or get a dragon to begin to set them on fire.
Then several of the male Children would sneak around Westeros and plant the seeds and use their magic to make them grow in the night. They would then carve faces into many of them turning them into heart trees. He smirked more than one Lord and Septon nearly had a heart attack when they woke up in the morning to discover the trees in their gardens, settlements or near them. Oh, how he wished he could have seen some of their faces.
Then there were the divine punishments on those who attempt to harm the trees. The Old Gods through Ranma would place a curse or more like a defense mechanism on the saplings so not only were they near invincible but had the ability to strike back. He knew that the Faith of Seven and its Septon's were corrupt, but it wasn't till the curses started to take affect and they were investigated did he realize how corrupt they actually were. Nearly every crime under the sun was done by at least one Septon. It made him glad his family never converted to the Faith of Seven and their influence in the North was minimal for a long time, now it was gone.
However, the sudden conversion by so many people wouldn't ordinarily be possible, even with the Old Gods able to influence the world again however there was Ranma and the oath the world swore to her. The oath the world swore to her as High Queen of the Living wasn't an ordinary oath, it was bound by magic and it was sworn that they and all their descendants would serve her forever as long as she held the title High Queen of the Living. It was well known she hated the title and wanted to get rid of it and once the Long Night ended, they fully expected her to do just that, and she intended to do it. However, she never had a chance, she was still High Queen of the Living even if all had forgotten her. All she had to do to make the world bow was just say "I Ranma High Queen of the Living command you to fulfill your Oath" and then entirety of the world would bow to her. However, she didn't want to rob people of their free will and she would rather take power through a more honorable course an earned throne. Whether that be given the crown like the Children of the Forest or take it by right of conquest like Aegon. She would rather declare war on a nation, demolish its army, walk up to whatever fortress the King, Lord, Emperor etc is in. Kick down the door, destroy the forces defending him, go up to the throne, throw them off and sit in it. She admitted she had an unfair advantage and would most likely win, but it was certainly more honorable and gave the ruler a fighting chance than to use the oath to force him to give her the throne.
But the oath gave her a connection to all those affected by it, which was everyone in the world. She used a very subtle, rare branch of magic that only the God's use to give visions to their followers and chosen, dream magic. With the Old Gods providing the visions and her as the medium they showed the past. They showed the various events during the Dawn Age, Age of Heroes and the Long Night, they showed them their ancestors and their deeds. These visions combined with the return of magic and weirwood trees returning, glimpses of the Children of the Forest convinced most of them that the Old Gods were real and active again. Then it's the matter of deciding to remain with the unactive statue Gods of the Faith of Seven or the active Gods that you could see in the Weirwood trees, many chose to become followers of the Old Gods.
He exited into the courtyard where he was joined by his Direwolf Frostfyre, a very large beast but a very loyal one. The Children had brought the Direwolves and given them to the Stark's as a gift and he must admit he was surprised but quickly got used to it. There was something "natural" if he would use a word to describe it about having a Direwolf. He could see in the courtyard men drilling, they were being trained in a mix of the Ghiscari Lockstep Legions the greatest infantry force in recorded history and two other empires that history no longer records and were long gone by the time of Ranma's birth, but their knowledge wasn't. The Roman Empire and the Chinese Empire. While his horsemen were being trained in the way of a Dothraki culture of the past, The Mongols especially their ability to not need reins allowing full use of the two hands of a rider. A great advantage especially for horse archery which he admitted was very deadly, after hearing what Dothraki horse archers could do and with reins, without them? Well, he would rather not be the enemy. It would be many years before his and the rest of the Northern Lords men would be fully trained but once they were, they would probably have the single greatest force in Westeros. They also introduced what was referred to as the militia system, instead of levies just given weapons and told to fight, they would be trained part time and while not given equipment equal to their Knights and Men at Arms, it was still better than virtually every other House south of the Neck with the exception of the Tarly's.
He headed to the Old Keep or rather the new House of Knowledge. He remembered when it was formed, one of the ideas Ranma came up with was being a teacher again. Teaching the lost arts of magic, after all she spent thousands of years before the Long Night teaching her powers to many that appeared at her door, with Durran Godsgrief being one of the more famous examples. Then Kennet had an idea, they knew that with all these advancements occurring in the North would attract the attention of the Maester's especially with the return of magic, they may realize the link. The Conclave would probably send men loyal to them rather than the Oath of the Maester's to spy on the North, once positions for Maester's appeared with the death of the old ones. And once they realize that magic was being used and taught in the North, they would do everything in their power to stop it. So, they should create their own version of the Citadel, they had enough knowledge, artifacts and texts not just in Winterfell but the entire North to do just that. So, it was decided to set up a school, the only unknown variable was the other Northern Maester's but like Kennet they were outraged what their Order had done, and their Oath was to preserve all knowledge, if that required to break from the South then so be it. The reason why it was a success was because of the apprentice system that many of the North's Maester's followed. Being so far away from Oldtown it would take months or perhaps years depending on how bad a winter was to get to the keep they were assigned to once their predecessor died. Months and years that the keep in question didn't want to wait as it could be potentially very damaging, so many Maester's trained people to fulfill some of their duties especially ravenry. This allowed either the Maester or their apprentice to come to Winterfell to become teachers in the new House of Knowledge.
Most of the students learning magic were children mainly because it's easier to teach them, since most magic requires a certain flexibility of the mind that most adults lack, unless their mindset by chance fits into learning magic or born with the ability. He himself was actually a Warg, a trait that came from Garth Greenhands side of the family rather than Ranma's. It would take a few generations but eventually they hope to replicate the Maester's at having one magic user in every keep while having a large amount in the House of Knowledge similar to the Maester's being in every keep plus a few hundred of them at the Citadel. Luckily, they didn't intend, or at least as the moment to do it across all of Westeros just the North which was why it would be achievable in a few generations instead of several hundred years.
He smiled, Ranma despite her words to the contrary liked children and he could tell. She was especially close to his children Rickon (12), Sarra (7), Alys (6), Raya (5), Mariah (4). She was a very indulgent grandmother, even if it she threatened anyone who called her that, but they all knew it was true and the threat had little teeth to it.
He found her teaching a group of students outside and he soon found out why.
"I'm not going to teach a spell today but to teach you that flashy and powerful isn't all that matters in magic. Just like having a big sword and fancy armor doesn't immediately make one a skilled knight, being a magic user requires some brains, skill, knowledge and efficiency. Magic like swinging a sword costs magic stamina, you have to pace yourself, you can't throw spells everywhere or immediately go for the biggest spell in your arsenal. One of the major ways to do this is thinking outside the box" Ranma explained.
"Everyone here knows the wind spell, a low-level spell that lasts only a few seconds, that creates a gust of wind in the direction you point it. Despite being one of the weakest spells, that uses only a small amount of magic it can have an impact greater than it appears. Can anyone think of a way to use this spell to defeat an enemy?" Ranma asked.
The students began to think and mutter to themselves and even he was stumped on how a gust of wind could help defeat an enemy.
"Times up, has anyone thought of a way?" Ranma declared.
A lot of shaking their heads side to side showed the answer was a very big no.
"One of the most obvious ways to kill an enemy with the spell is if they are standing on a cliff, wall, river or something else with a drop, with the spell you could push them off either killing them or injuring them from the fall. Or if there is a fire you can push it in the opposite direction either at the enemy or protecting yourself. But there are non-lethal ways to defeat or help defeat the enemy using this spell. If the enemy fires a barrage of arrows at you, you can at minimum knock them aside, at best knock them back to the enemy. You could stop or at least slow down the momentum of charges with a sudden gust of wind. You could break or weaken formations by causing them to fall over or lose balance from a gust of wind. That not only works on formations but individual opponents as well making them much easier to defeat. If there is lots of sand, dust, pebbles or other light small stuff the wind could be used to throw this stuff at the enemy potentially blinding them for a few seconds which you can take advantage of" Ranma explained people's faces with awe or understanding as they realized what that "low-level" spell was capable of.
"Not only land war but naval war as well, a sudden gust of wind can increase or decrease the speed of a ship, especially if it hits the sails whether that be ally or enemy ships. It can be used to knock the enemy ships into each other" Ranma continued.
"You see with this spell you can weaken or cripple armies and navies. It isn't just the power of the spell, what it can do, such as killing a person in a direct manner but the creativity that one can come up with helps win the fight as well. Class dismissed" Ranma finished.
The students began to leave all of them discussing the implications of what they had just learned and what they were taught. It was something that many commanders across ages had to learn, bigger is not always better and efficiency and thinking was usually better than flashy and a headfirst charge.
She turned and waved to him and began to move towards him, "That was an interesting lesson you gave" he said.
"Everyone should use their brains in a fight it helps them live longer and sometimes something that looks like it would need a lot of effort and a complicated solution is actually very simple" she replied looking at the backs on the leaving children with a fond expression on her face.
"But I presume that you didn't come to talk to me about the lessons" she said turning to him, her face a bit more serious but still not very.
"No, but it is good news, Skagos has bent the knee without much resistance, and we are beginning the process of integrating it into the North" Cregan said. They had sent three thousand men to Skagos as while they were officially part of the North and owed their allegiance to him, they were in reality independent. They didn't pay tax's, send their troops and Lords to join the Northern armies when they are mustered or even sent a raven declaring their loyalty when a new Lord Paramount of the North rose. They also sent raids, attacking the rest of the North, small scale, easily ignored but still a declaration of war against the Stark's authority by attacking its vassals. Generations of Stark's ignored it as it would cost more to take and hold the Island but now, they had the resources to spare.
It was also the first action of the new Northern Fleet, it wasn't completed yet, but enough ships had been finished to transport the force to Skagos. The ships were a new design or rather an old one according to Ranma, designed about five hundred years before she was born. It shouldn't have been a surprised since she said that she mastered nearly every craft in the world that she was also a shipwright. The smallest of the new vessels was called a Sloop, a single mast ship that was extremely fast. The medium ship was a Galleon, which was still larger than most ships and the largest ships in the world and pride of their new fleet a Ship of the Line. They were armed with ballista and fixed crossbows that could be set alight. They had copper bottoms, increasing their speed greatly and an iron ram in the front so they ram and sink ships. But probably their most dangerous feature was that they were made of Ironwood. House Forrester is providing the Ironwood, but the Children of the Forest are replacing what was cut down allowing them to make a fleet as large as they want without risking the destruction of their Ironwood forest.
"You said "Without much resistance" meaning there was some?" Ranma asked petting Frostfyre who was acting like a puppy to the petting.
"Yes, there was an "unofficial" attack on our forces without the Lords of Skagos "knowledge" but easily repulsed with no losses on our side, the fight seemed to leave the population when they saw how badly the force was mauled in exchange for no losses on our side" he replied.
It was sad really, but unfortunately many only understood power and sometimes only the display of such power could stop future violence.
"A new port is being constructed, to ensure that the connection between the Island and the mainland remains open and the Lords of Skagos are coming here to personally to swear their oaths" he continued.
"And the fact that they get to see the obvious power, wealth and prosperity of the North and House Stark. And they hear that all these developments is because of House Stark's generosity and they see the school we have, they maybe will send their children here binding them closer to the mainland has nothing to do with it and hope we invest in them as well?" Ranma asked dryly.
Cregan smiled in response, that being the only answer she needed.
"Well hopefully that will be enough to stop any more violence" she said.
"Indeed, but soon, we will have a bigger project in play, but we need the King's permission to do it, luckily we have a plan to get that permission and deal with the Maester's at the same time" he said.
"Yes, a much bigger and violent project but unfortunately it is necessary" Ranma said looking North.