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On with the story. This is the last chapter of the first part of this story. Next chapter things will start to heat up a little. J
Chapter 3 – Age 20
III
The day his son was born was a bright one. No clouds covered the sun and the birds sang in the Godswood.
Thankfully, his frequent trips to the Godswoods to pray for an easy birth had payed fruit. His son came out screaming his lungs out only four hours after Dara's waters first broke.
Not that they hadn't been four painful and harrying hours. Heddara's screams had put to test his patience and he had almost gone inside their rooms more than once, no matter what the social norms stated about men in the birthing chamber.
Holding him now, he couldn't take his eyes off of him. He was leaning onto the headboard of their bed, with Dara tiredly looking over his arms at their child. Both of them were smiling like idiots, admiring the life they had created.
"He is beautiful." Heddara said softly, raising a finger to gently brush over the small cheekbones.
Rohar smiled at her and reach down to press a kiss to her brow. "That he is." He said just as softly, not wanting to wake the babe.
"So what name do you think would suit him best?" He asked. "I guess we can leave out Sansa or Serena."
Dara chuckled. "That would be for the best, yes." She hummed softly, when the boy fidgeted in his arms.
"I quite liked Rodrick." She said. "Maege and her little girls will get a kick out of it."
He brushed the fine baby hairs from his son's forehead and kissed him. "You hear that, Rodrick? Welcome to the North."
Rohar sat himself on his seat in his solar, gesturing for his guests to do the same.
"What news do you have for me, Maester, secretary.?" He asked, looking between the two men.
Predicting the need for rest after giving birth, Heddara had proclaimed Rohar regent for a period of one week after the event, during the last council meeting. It was understood that Rohar's role would be more focused on attending guests and receiving reports, and that all major decisions would be either postponed, or taken to Heddara's chamber in private.
"The road plan is advancing at a very good pace. Most of the roads given priority in the plan Queen Heddara approved have either been completed or are almost finished." Mika Karstark, Lord Karstarks cousin and his appointed secretary to court said, putting the map of the North with the roads drawn over, that he remembered seeing before. Heddara had chosen nine roads she considered to be the most important, which were painted in red, and seven other branches of road she had considered less urgent, painted in blue.
"Well, I would certainly not call them finished. Not with the weather in the North they aren't." The man sitting beside Maester Luwin said gruffly.
Jonah Snow, Maester Luwin's acquaintance from the citadel, was a very interesting individual. A very direct and no-nonsense person, he seemed at home with numbers and calculations, but had engineering strokes of brilliance. Born the bastard son of the former Lord Flint from Widow's Watch, he had the fortune of being born after said Lord was already widowed, which allowed his father to feel perfectly comfortable in bringing him into his own home after his mother's passing. He had been raised alongside his siblings, forming familial bonds with his blood family. Later, after his father had died, his brother had seen his interest in building things and had offered to send him to learn at the citadel.
Boldened by the learning environment the Maesters fostered on their fortress, Jonah had earned several chains, from architecture to economics and ship building. When Luwin had contacted him, the man had been ready to leave for the Riverlands, where Lord Tully had been hiring people to help rebuild several holdfasts damaged during the war.
The call of the North, had been too tempting, especially with the opportunity of going back to his own land and working directly for the Queen.
"The trees and other vegetation have been cut. The local smallfolk were all too willing to do that job since the Queen was paying good coin for it and allowed the wood to be sold to the workers at very good prices. Never seen anyone work that fast." Jonah said, crossing his arms over his chest. "But that is not enough to make a road. For horses it might be good enough, but as soon as any serious rain falls, you will have a muddy disgrace in front of you and any cart that tries to face it will just be sucked into the ground. Not to mention the overgrowth that you will face every few months, which means recutting any saplings that might appear in less used stretches."
Rohar frowned. He understood what the man was saying, but unfortunately that was the truth of most roads across all of Westeros. They were only as good as the local weather and ground.
"Then what do you consider a proper road? What else needs to be done?" He asked.
"I can see your confusion, my Lord. For Westeros standards, those roads would only need some ditches on the sides for the water could flow into, and that would be that, but I believe our Queen wishes for roads better than that." He rubbed his beard, considering. "In oldtown, the streets near the citadel are paved in the red stone of the Dornish mountains. That is what I believe would be the way to go. The only question is what should be used to pave the roads. There is no red stone in the North, and it's not a good stone for our weather anyway. It is said that all the streets of Bravos are paved in a dark stone. Unfortunately, I have never been there, so the type of stone is unknown to me."
Rohar drummed his fingers on the tables, as he analyzed the map. "If we don't know what to use to pave the roads, then it will have to wait. For now, do as best as you can without it. Have the workers dig those ditches." The man nodded, looking resigned. "Lord Manderly's last emissaries to Essos have just arrived back and we can expect him to come to Winterfell personally to give his report. We will try to find out what the Bravosi use to pave their streets. In the meantime, start considering the other roads." He pointed to two branches in red. "We now have a road that connects White Harbor to the North Road, and both Hornwood and the Dreadfort have roads that go in the direction of Winterfell, meeting at the white knife, correct?"
Wanting to abandon most southern names and conventions, the people had quickly started calling the Kingsroad the North road, and the name had caught fast enough that Heddara had decided to use it herself.
Karstark nodded. "Yes. The river there is very calm, so we built a barge for the crossing that can be pulled by ropes that have been secured at each side of the river. A few horses or mules can easily do the job. Not as fast as crossing a bridge, but it was much cheaper and faster to build." He slapped Jonah on the back. "Directly from this brilliant mind.
Jonah huffed, clearly uncomfortable with the praise. "The barge will be good enough for now. The Queen can charge a toll, and latter build a bridge there with the profits."
"Good." Rohar said satisfied. "Then for the second phase let's start with the roads from White Harbor to Hornwood, and from Hornwood to the Dreadfort." He said, tapping the blue lines on the map. "I will discuss this with the Queen this afternoon and we will see what she says."
"Very well my Lord" The secretary said, taking note of it.
"Lady Tallhart" He said, turning to the woman who had been silently observing the conversation and taking notes. "Please have an estimation of costs for these roads ready for my conversation with the Queen."
Lady Tallhart nodded. "Very well my Lord. I will consider the costs of the other roads and its size."
"Now" Rohar said, trying to steer the discussion into another subject. "How goes the moat?"
Jonah, Luwin and Mika Karstark all smiled.
"I never thought I would see the Moat rebuilt in my life!" Jonah said with a laugh. "Or that I would get the honor of engineering it myself! Ah!" He said, suddenly excited. "The building is going very well. You see, here are the plans, you see we decided to..."
"Welcome to the North, Prince Oberyn, Prince Lewyn, Ser Arthur." Heddara greeted from her throne in the great hall.
Her disdain for the gaudy southern throne had made sure her own was not only a more elegant chair, but also a perfectly comfortable one. It stood on the dais, with two smaller seats on each side, one for Rohar and the other for Benjen.
"Queen Heddara" the younger Prince greeted, sending her a charming smirk. "I must say you look the vision of beauty. Motherhood must suit you."
She smiled politely. The man certainly didn't keep his comments to himself. The rumors about him were very accurate.
On each side of him, the former Kingsguard members bowed respectfully until she gave them leave to rise.
"Thank you for the kind words, Prince Oberyn. I trust you had a pleasant and swift travel?" The Dornish contingent had made its way to Winterfell from White Harbor faster than she expected.
"Hah, yes." Prince Oberyn said, his smile growing bigger. "The new road from White Harbor to the Kings... excuse me, the North road, made the travel much faster. And my travel companions were very good Company, I must admit."
He nodded towards Lord Manderly and his men.
"My Queen, Consort." The Lord of White Harbor bowed down as he came forward.
"Lord Manderly, you may rise." She said, smiling at the man. "I thank you for escorting our esteemed guests into our halls."
"It was an honor, my Queen."
Heddara nodded, before gesturing for two of her higher ranked servants to come forward. "We have prepared rooms for your parties, Prince Oberyn, Lord Manderly. I am sure you are all quite in need of resting and washing away the dirt of the road. Please accept our offer of bread and salt, before we show you to your accommodations."
The servants came forward with platers of the traditional offering.
"I hope you will be in the mood for festivities. A believe a feast in your honor is being prepared as we speak."
Sitting at the Queen's table in the great hall of Winterfell, Oberyn couldn't help but be impressed with the sights.
Oh, he could certainly see what made the people bellow the Neck call the Northerners savages. They spoke loudly and dressed with practicality in mind. The Queen herself – siting to his right – was now wearing a delightful blue dress – if slightly too modest for his tastes – that although artfully decorated and of good quality, would have been disdained in any southern court for its lack of... majestic factor? Not to mention that the dress itself was cleverly designed to allow for freedom of movement, the beautiful dagger decorating her waist as sharp as any other. Even when she had greeted him that afternoon she had been dressed in training leathers, a sword by her side. That would have been scandalous enough to make Septas faint.
But the lively atmosphere, and the lack of tension and political intrigue certainly made up for it. He could feel himself relax in the friendly environment.
He looked over at the Queen and her consort once again. They made a striking couple, certainly. Heddara Stark was a lucky woman, to get herself such a handsome man.
Suddenly finding himself staring the Prince Consort in the eyes, Oberyn felt a smirk growing in his face.
"Well, Consort, I must say that no one warned me of your magnificent looks. Have you ever explored the pleasure of your own gender?" The man in question appeared to have chocked on air. On his other side he could hear his uncle sighing in exasperation. "I would be delighted to show you such things." He smiled charmingly.
Beside him the Queen snorted, before giving him a smirk. "My Prince, if you are in such trouble, might I suggest the use of your hand in private? Going after a married man shows a very worrying lack of self-control for a man of your age, after all"
Oberyn was momentarily startled, before letting out a bark of laughter.
It seemed he would get along well with this Stark.
"I must personally thank you, for the gift you sent with my uncle south." Prince Oberyn said, before raising his goblet in a toast. His smirk showed how much he had enjoyed receiving the head of his sister's murderer.
Heddara smirked. "I had no use for it. I'm glad you found some"
Oberyn let out a bark of laughter. "I had it embalmed and mounted on a pike. I use it for target practice." He sneered, probably remembering his last 'practice' session.
Heddara snorted. Some men's propensity for gruesome pastimes didn't faze her anymore. Not when her own husband had a torture knifes collection.
"On a more pleasant matter, my Queen, I must say that for someone that has given birth just one moon ago, your figure is marvelous." He said, winking at her and making Rohar, sitting to her right, shake his head in exasperation.
Heddara smiled. "I'm not one to sit around all day, Prince Oberyn. A ruler must always be ready to lead his or her troops."
He nodded, his face turning serious at the mention of war.
The truth of the matter was that Heddara didn't trust Robert Baratheon's finicky moods. For now, he had held on to the treaty he had signed. But during that time his new Kingdom had been rebuilding itself and smoothing over the frictions between the Targaryen loyalists and the rebels.
So, she had made sure to keep up with her practices for as long as possible during her pregnancy – even if it was only against training posts as no one wanted to risk hitting her in her condition – and to get back into fighting shape as soon as master Luwin had said it was safe to do so. She still lacked some muscle mass to be completely back into her form, but it wouldn't take her to long to get there.
Hopefully, her visitors would help her Keep Baratheon out of her borders.
"Tell me, Prince Oberyn, what has brought you to my Kingdom, beyond the wish to thank me in person."
"Ah, right to the point I see." The man smirked, bringing his hand up to support his chin. "Dorne is interested in pursuing an alliance with the North. We are already such good friends!"
His air of arrogance and laziness might fool others into believing he was uncultured in the arts of negotiation, but she had never been one to fall for such notions.
Oh, no. Oberyn Martel wore his arrogance as a mask and a weapon to irritate his enemies. She had no doubt he had annoyed many opponents into emptying purses.
"The North has many resources necessary to survive a winter. Most important of them all, your wood."
Heddara saw Prince Lewin grimace at his nephew's words.
"If this last winter has thought the Dornish something, it is that one can never have too much wood."
Heddara smiled in comprehension.
The last winter had not been incredibly long in historical matters, but it had lasted three years more than the Maesters had predicted. The North understood Winter like no other, so the Kingdom had been ready for it, but all those Southerners that faithfully believed in all those mathematical predictions had found themselves having to ration their supplies with more caution than normal.
Dorne had been especially affected due to the fact that it held virtually no forests. Due to its geographical location, it had plenty of orchards that guaranteed fruits even during winter, but no trees that could be cut for wood. They had ended up importing wood from the North itself, at very advantageous prices to Heddara's late father.
"Yes, I can see why you would think so." She said, nodding. "And what would Dorne offer the North in return?"
The youngest Prince gave her an easy smirk. "If Dorne has a need of wood, the North has a need of fruits. We can complement each other in this venture."
Heddara narrowed her eyes, considering, before she gave him a smirk of her own.
"I believe we can come to an agreement, Prince Oberyn, Prince Lewyn. There are some other things that can be of use to each of us in the others Realm. The North can provide Dorne with more than wood: resins, oil and iron are just some of the things we are currently working on." She smiled. "And we are also interested in other products from Dorne."
Rohar knew that Heddara wasn't simply interested in a trade agreement for fruits and other types of food. That would be a short-term coup, but in the long term, it would keep them dependent of another Kingdom, and they had both agreed that that was not a good thing.
No. What Heddara truly wanted out of Done was another thing entirely.
Glass.
Fragile, coveted and expensive sheets of glass.
The price of glass didn't come from the fact that it was terribly difficult to make. Glass itself was pretty easy to create. Rohar had read on it with his wife when they were looking for information and, by giving precise instructions to the best blacksmith in Winterfell they had managed to make glass themselves.
Only problem was, it was a foggy, dirty glass. Good enough for a peasant's window, but not for the use they wanted to give it.
According to the information Lord Manderly had uncovered on his several voyages in Essos during the last year, Myrish glass was considered the best in the world not only due to the secret techniques of its forging, but also due to the Sands of Myr, the whitest sands in the known world. The rulers of the city kept a close eye on their sand, refusing to trade it and severely punishing anyone attempting to collect it.
In comparison, the North had virtually no sandy beaches. Most of the coast was filled with rocky cliffs and beaches made out of small pebbles. The few existing beaches were filled with dark sand made out of rather big grains.
Dorne was another story altogether. Rohar remembered his time in Starfall perfectly. Long beaches filled with white sand could be seen all the way along the coast. Sand was something that the Dornish had in abundance.
If they could entice a lesser Myrish glass maker into accepting a new employer, they could have a new – and much cheaper – glass house in every holdfast by this time next year. Even without the Myrish man they might be able to create good enough glass on their own.
They just needed the sand.
"That sounds very interesting my Queen" Prince Oberyn drawled with a frown, clearly disliking the idea. "However, while I am here in the pursuit of a friendship and an alliance, there is no advantage to Dorne in this proposal."
Unfortunately, the man was right.
Fortunately, Heddara was prepared.
"That is true" His wife said with a nod. "If we raise the number of glasshouses the need for food will decrease, even though it will likely never be possible for the North to completely become independent in food production."
Heddara joined her hands and leaned her chin against them. "In trade of sand to help the North combat its need of food, we will help Dorne in its need for wood, by providing trees that can sustain the harshness of sand, so that your country can raise its own supply."
The faces of the Dornish party easily betrayed their interest and curiosity in the matter.
"How so?" Prince Lewyn asked, eyes narrowing.
"To the east of us lies House Glover's seat, Deepwood Motte. It is one of the only places in the North where you can find sand, although I am quite certain you wouldn't call it sand at all." She gave the man in front of her a smirk when he rolled his eyes. "It is, however, thin enough to be carried by the wind. And that area has enough of it for the sand to be carried for leagues, tainting the soil and killing farming and grazing land."
Prince Lewyn leaned forward, interested in the explanation. The man probably recognized the situation as one he had witnessed many times.
"Many centuries ago lived King Edwyn Stark, who did many things in his reign, but the most important, the one that made him become known as 'The spring King', was his order to plant Pinus trees all along that coastal area. House Glover protested that if they planted trees, they would lose even more farmland, but King Edwyn insisted. Thousands of saplings were planted and taken care of by house Glover. It took only five years to see results. The trees blocked the sand from spreading with the wind and were sturdy enough to resist the poor soil and scarcity of water. In the end house Glover was able to regain their farming and grazing lands, but decided that their true profit would come from the trees they had been so reluctant to plant. They are now one of the North's greatest providers of firewood and resin."
Prince Oberyn scrutinized Heddara trough narrowed eyes.
"And you believe those trees will survive the Dornish weather?" He asked, unconvinced.
Heddara smiled benignly. "There is no reason why they shouldn't, if the places are chosen carefully. The trees need less water, but they still do require it. Dorne will probably never become independent in its wood production, but it will at least have some." She explained. "Lord Manderly tells me that he has seen such trees in Pentos, were they grow them for their seeds. A very expensive delicacy, apparently."
Prince Oberyn rubbed his chin. "Let us speak more on this issue. How exactly would one go about..."
The details of the trade agreement had just been hammered out when the Martel Prince came up with a subject no Northerner wish to discuss with someone from bellow the Neck.
"What plans do you have for the young Prince?"
Heddara had to restrain herself from outwardly reacting. As it was, her hands had shaken, and she was glad that they were hidden by the table.
She schooled her face into a frown. "Who are you talking about, Prince Oberyn? Your brother has a daughter and Baratheon's child hasn't been born yet"
The younger Martel smirked. "We both know whom I speak of." He said, turning his eyes to his uncle, and then to Arthur Dayne, who was leaning against the wall in his position as a Martel guard.
"I have no care at all for Prince Viserys if that is what you mean. What he does with is life is completely indifferent to me as long as he doesn't attempt to raise arms against my Kingdom."
Oberyn narrowed his eyes. "Let us do away with these false platitudes, they bore me. I know who your bastard nephew's mother really is. I must admit that while the mere mention of the woman irks me for all the trouble she caused, I have no wish to hurt a defenseless babe. So, what do you intend to do with him? Will you gift him a Kingdom on his coming of age?"
Heddara glared at the two former Kingsguard in irritation, realizing that it made no sense to try to avoid the subject.
"If this is how you keep your vows, I must ask myself how the mad King survived for so long." She spited out, furious with the two men.
Before she had left the Tower of Joy, she had made them all swear on their lives, their white cloaks and anything else she could think of that they wouldn't reveal Jon's true parentage to anyone, not even other Targaryens.
Lewyn bowed his head, and she could see the shame in his countenance.
"It was me my Queen." He said, his head still bent. "Only my two nephews know of this and they would never tell the usurper. I believed it necessary in order to prepare for the Prince's future."
Heddara sighed, her patience running out.
"Ser Arthur, come closer. I can see it in your eyes that you agree with your sworn brother. Let me once again make things very clear. To everyone." She looked Prince Oberyn in the eyes, before facing the other two men in the same way. "The North is independent, and if I have any say in it, it will continue being so forevermore. I did not face a bloody war to end the occupation of my homeland by a mad dynasty just to then subjugate my people to a gaudy throne and corrupt faith two decades later. Even if it would be to mine own nephew."
Beside her, Rohar added. "The North knows no King but the King in the North whose name is Stark."
She nodded in agreement. Before adding, making sure to look at each man in the eye.
"The North will not raise its banners for the Iron Throne. For no one." The men in front of her finally nodded, disappointed expressions on the faces of the former Kingsguard, and a contemplating one on Oberyn's. She leaned against her chair, now that she felt that her point had been understood. "I will eventually tell my nephew about his origins. What he does with that knowledge will be up to him."
She looked at the three men in front of her once more, before adding one last statement.
"Instead of considering alternatives to Baratheon, maybe you should be considering strategies that will lead you towards your own independence."
"Thank you for your report, Lord Manderly, Lord Ryswell. It was very insightful." She praised her Magnar of the Sea and the secretary to the court of Lord Dustin.
The people of the North had taken to using the old tongue word for Lord as an easier title for the Masters of the Orders. It had easily caught on and even the Lords were using it now.
"I'm certain Lord Dustin would have given you the report himself as Magnar of trade, but he rushed to his seat to great his first child." Yon Ryswell excused his good brother.
Heddara smiled. "That is no trouble at all. I gave him leave to do so myself." She said with a nod. "I will consider our next steps and call for you tomorrow."
The two men left, and Heddara turned to the maps on the walls of her solar.
The voyages to Essos had born fruit. Quite literally.
There were quite a few trade opportunities in Bravos, Lorath and the Port of Ibben. Some fruit trees in Ibben could withstand colder climates, and while they would probably never give fruit during a Northern winter, they would do so in the summer, when the climate in the North was still too cold for most species of fruit trees in Westeros.
Wood, Iron and Oil. If the reports on the people of the free cities were accurate, she could get Northern woman to make exotic and fashionable clothes based on furs and have the Bravosi elite fighting for it.
There were so many other things they could do. They could make wooden furniture and decorating pieces. They could start making paper.
And they could make more of the new and improved oil lamps that Master Luwyn had helped to create.
Yes. That was the right approach. She would order for more oil lamps to be made in the next two moons and then she would send Lord Dustin and Benjen to Bravos, Lorath and Port of Ibben for more trade talks. Essos was poor on oil seeps and on plants that produced vegetable oil, so they would have to either use smelly fish oil or buy Northern oil.
And which one those the rich, affected Bravosi would rather have?
Of course, the more expensive, better quality Northern oil.
While her brother was away, she would focus on other issues closer to home. Winter Town needed an overhaul of the old building and sewer system, with more people flocking to it as the capital of the Kingdom. Roads needed paving, now that they had more ideas for it with the new report.
And her people skills at arms needed to be upped. She needed Baratheon to fear to invade them. She would discuss it with Rohar, but maybe some archery contests around the country? Mandatory training might not go over too well when people were busy planting their harvests.
Some people seemed to have forgotten that Heddara used her right of conquest of Kings Landing to temporarily abolish the Kingsguard. Quite a few knights took the chance to get out of those obligations to the monarchy. When the Princess of Winter ended, of those alive, only the fates of Jaime Lannister and Ser Barristan are unknowns. What did they choose to do...? You will have to wait and see!