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Chapter 6 Part 1
=Sith=
290 AC
Astapor
After breakfast, Viserys left Dany under Ser Lonmouth's supervision, with both of them guarded by Unsullied. His sister was in for her morning exercise and dagger training routine. Old Theo would provide scholars as teachers for everything a Princess needed to know about the world in general and ruling in particular. The knight would also be invaluable in teaching Dany about Westeros – something he could easily do while healing. In the afternoon or early evening, Viserys would be back to continue training his sister on how to best utilize the Force.
Until then, the Prince had a full schedule.
"Your Grace," Jordeein of Naath emerged from the shadows. "I have a list of you with possible handmaidens for the Princes. A few are former slaves who had the requested training. Others are noble girls from families that pledged to support your cause. If I may be so bold as to recommend the young cousins of Good Master Azmes zo Lizha, My former master was contemplating arranging a marriage between one of his sons. It was no secret that if anything happened to young Azmes, such a marriage would have allowed the usurpation of the Lizha family assets. The young man in question will likely marry one of his cousins, perhaps both of them. Taking them as companions for your sister would ensure the loyalty of House Azmes by taking hostages, showing them honor and protection," The Majordomo suggested.
"You are being accommodating," Viserys noted.
"I did love my job, Your Grace, make no mistake about it. However, I was still a slave and had no real control over my future. Old Grazdan was a decent Master as far as these things went, but still…" he made a so-so gesture. "We who serve you are free men and women now, and so far, you've been treating us better than anyone else in your position would, no matter if we are free or slaves. We have a great thing going and want to see it continue. That means supporting you as well as we can, Your Grace…. Which brings me to another matter. How do you wish to be addressed now that you control Astapor? Are you still a Prince? A King? Something else?"
Viserys could read between the lines. His staff was eager to please and would do their damn best as long as he kept treating them well, which was the point of the exercise.
"That's still to be decided. You'll be among the first to know when I take official title as the ruler of Astapor. Contact Azmes and graciously offer a place for his cousins in my court as my sister's companions. Have the best qualified prospective handmaidens ready to talk with me tonight when I return. I'll vet them before choosing among them."
"I will see it done, Your Grace. We are removing the harpy decorations like you ordered last night. I am afraid we don't have dragon ones, tapestries, or banners to replace them with," Jordeein pointed out. He felt a bit apprehensive at admitting this small failure and curious to see how his new employer would react.
"Contact the necessary craftsmen to design appropriate decorations and banners. Are you familiar with the crest of my family?" Viserys inquired.
"A three-headed dragon. Red on black," Jordeein immediately answered. "I made sure to check last night. We have an extensive book collection on Valyrian heraldry in the library."
"Then you know what I want on the banners and as a crest on a new wardrobe for my sister and me," Viserys concluded aloud.
"I will have the best seamstresses in the city waiting for you tonight as well. Do I have permission to have your sister measured for new clothes before that?"
"See to it."
=Sith=
Viserys' first meeting was with many Unsullied officers at their training grounds. After that, he would spend most of the day with the people Old Theo was busy gathering.
Two dozen Unsullied waited for him – the commanders of each 'Legion.' Nominally, such a formation had around 1100 between the regular soldiers and the commander of the smaller units. A Spear had 10 soldiers and one commander. A Century had 10 spears with their 10 respective commanders and its own Unsullied officer for 111 soldiers if they were fully staffed.
Viserys hid a wince when the Unsullied commanders introduced themselves. They've chosen their names since he liberated them, proving that some people shouldn't be allowed to even name a pet rock, much less another person.
The Prince had to work with exalted figures like Bronze Harpy, Rusty Nail, Dry Fish, Black Bird, and Drowned Gull. The bloody bastards appeared to be damn proud of their chosen names too. At least they had valuable things to report.
Between death, sickness, and wounds from taking the city, Viserys had 4511 Unsullied available as of that morning. Given luck and proper medical attention, most of the five hundred casualties might recover.
Nearly 9000 boys and young adults were undergoing training to become Unsullied, and that was the first sticking point.
"You are free men. I am yet to hear if you have other plans but to serve me as soldiers," Viserys noted.
"We are Unsullied," Rusty Nail declared proudly. "We are soldiers and won't be bought or sold again. We won't be mercenaries.! We still have our pride!"
"You set us free and promised us a future. We are eager to see you deliver on your promise," Black Bird added.
The other commanders voiced their agreements as well.
"In that case, we first need to discuss the Unsullied in training. They are all free as well," everyone agreed on that point. "That means your old training is no longer feasible. We don't kill free people, my people, because they might not cut it as Unsullied. We will need many other military formations to back you up, and there is no end of work to be done here in Astapor and beyond in the future."
Viserys sensed no reservation among the Unsullied. It might have been different if he implied that he would force them to accept substandard recruits. Instead, he merely told them those who failed the training wouldn't be killed.
"We'll revise the other details on your training later," Viserys continued. "One of your primary jobs in the short term will be training cadres for professional soldiers and rebuilding city guards and militia to defend Astapor and any cities we take in the future. You will be the tip of my spear, best suited for direct combat. Other, less capable formations will hold ground and keep the peace when we have them up and running."
There was no mistaking the commanders' relief at that suggestion.
"I need you to talk with your subordinates and find out who is eager to act as trainers and who has an aptitude for it. Talk with the people who trained you who are still alive. We will start with simple physical conditioning, spear, and shield work for all able-bodied men and women. A few hours of work each day, divided into two blocks in the morning and the evening. This will continue until everyone has basic proficiency and can be relied on to fight from stationary positions like walls and other fortified areas. By the time that's done, we should have plans in place to properly train the City Guard and professional units that will support you in the field."
The Prince waited a few moments to see if there would be questions. He wasn't sure if it was due to lack of initiative or because there were no questions they could think of that the Unsullied remained silent.
"Give me your thoughts on what you head. I want to hear your ideas and suggestions on the matter," Viserys added. "We also must discuss your pay, living conditions, and retirement prospects for anyone crippled in battle or too old to be an effective soldier."
=Sith=
Chapter 6 Part 2
=Sith=
290 AC
Astapor
After meeting the Unsullied commanders, Viserys had to take a few minutes to calm himself because he was ready to commit mass murder and unspeakable atrocities for just a tiny staff who knew what they were doing. He wasn't sure if it was intentional or merely something the Good Masters never thought about. However, the Unsullied training had glaring holes that would cripple any professional military. Viserys had to remind himself of the kind of day and age he existed in. He knew only two professional military forces existed, well, three when counting the Braavosi navy.
The Unsullied, weren't it. A few hours spent with their highest-ranked commanders made that painfully clear. Given the right equipment, they might be the best heavy infantry in the world. Their discipline was indeed without parallel, and they would obey any order without thinking, which was a double-edged sword, but that was all they had going for them.
Outside of guard duties and the more or less static defense of cities, the Unsullied needed commanders who knew how to plan all the intricacies of campaigns and support to cover logistics deficiencies, engineering needs, cavalry, and more.
How could it be any other way when the people who made and trained them were not professional soldiers and had not fought a real war in ages?
Once again, Viserys had to re-evaluate his plans. He needed a military academy up and running sooner rather than later, and it wouldn't be just logistics they'll be heavily focusing on. Ser Lonmouth might be of use in that regard. Viserys had to speak with the man about it, then see if any of the other pit fighters were veterans with the relevant experience before they ended as gladiators.
The few thousand visitors still held in the city might also include veterans who could be useful. Viserys had yet to have them quizzed so he could offer them jobs before allowing whoever wanted to leave permission to go.
=Sith=
Viserys found Old Theo in the training halls for scribes, scholars, and other learned slaves. Astapor might not have a military or naval academy yet, but it had the next best thing to a university dedicated to training learned slaves as administrators and teachers of all stripes. That was an invaluable find, and Viserys was going to nurture it and throw a lot of money at it.
"This is an unexpected and delightful surprise!" Viserys declared after a brief tour.
They gathered in this place because one of Old Theo's jobs was as a teacher here, focusing on accounting. He was familiar with the staff, many of the slaves who were undergoing training, and virtually all of those who graduated over the past few years and were still in Astapor. That, in part, explained his connections.
Of course, there was a little snag – the owner of the place, who incidentally financed it, was a minor slaver. The Unsullied killed him very dead while liberating all slaves under Viserys' orders. The administrators who weren't slaves were from Good Master families, and most of them weren't fans of the new regime.
"This academy is now government-owned, which means it's mine," Viserys decided. "I'll be providing finances and everything else you need. Old Theo here will give me staff recommendations, expanded courses, and anything else that would make this place a more effective teaching institution. In the long run, I will need all my people to be literate, so I will need plans to see it done."
Many of the gathered learned men perked up at that, while others were less than thrilled at the prospect of teaching rabble, as one of them muttered just loud enough to be heard.
More importantly, Theo had gathered both city officials overseeing Astapor's administration and the key liberated slaves who did most of the actual work for them. They gave Viserys a comprehensive explanation of what passed for the city's government and how it worked. Essential functions were intact and could resume after some tweaks to account for the fact that there were no more slaves. However, everything needed to be overhauled to account for the positions held by former slaves needing filling, the people who retained them, payment, homes, etc.…
Throwing a lot of money at the problem could solve some of the issues and boost the economy, possibly keeping it from crashing and burning. Viserys was likely to recoup a lot of said money in the form of taxes, which was another headache – Astapor needed tax reform, now. A significant source of income for the government offices came directly from the Good Masters. It was a cut from the tax they got from the slave trade in the city. No matter who sold or bought slaves, the Good Master took a ten percent cut on every transaction, even those between themselves. There was a large group of accountants and scribes dedicated to that alone, who were in need of new jobs now that slavery was illegal…. The next thorny problem was that Viserys had to oversee an overhaul of most local laws, including formally ending slavery. If he wanted to trade with the other slaver cities, he needed exemptions for their ships and to visit dignitaries.
"We have an incredible amount of work to do and little time to get it done right," Viserys concluded.
On that point, no one could disagree.
"I will need essential laws drawn up for perusal, which will form a framework and foundation for a new legal system. Standard things – murder, thievery, and rape are illegal, with appropriate punishments depending on the circumstances. We need to review the laws governing owning property in Astapor and either remove anything about owning people or rewrite them from the ground up. Slavery is illegal and will remain so," Viserys grimaced. "We might need carefully worded exemptions for visiting merchants and dignitaries. While they can't buy or sell people, much less enslave my people, any slaves that accompany them will be a thorny issue. We will need trade links, or it will be a never-ending war for years to come. A war we are not ready for..." Viserys voiced his thoughts.
"With slavery no longer an option as punishment, we will need more laws governing what punishments are expected for various transgressions. Selling people due to debt is no longer a thing, is it?" Old Theo reminded Viserys.
"That too. I will need a group of scholars and legal experts to review key laws so we can discuss them as soon as possible. Right now, we are improvising. Soon enough, that won't be enough. By the time we begin training new city watch in earnest, I will need all laws relevant to keeping peace and order overhauled, with many copies ready for use," Viserys stated.
"Just transcribing any new laws you approve will be a monumental task, Your Grace," Old Theo pointed out.
"About that, I have an idea that came into being shortly before the Doom and was lost with it," Viserys lied. "It is called a printing press, a simple and ingenious concept. You are all familiar with seals for documents," he waited to see if anyone might connect the dots. When that didn't happen, Viserys continued with his explanation. "The idea came from the vineyard owner who was checking up on his wine presses after having his slaves write many virtually identical invitations for a feast, then sign them. What happens when you have a bunch of metal letters to form into words and sentences, a whole page, put into a frame to hold them together? Add ink, press on parchment, and you have printed yourself a document, a letter, or a sheet from a book…" Viserys trailed off, hoping that his explanation was disjointed as if he spoke about an idea he had read about or vaguely remembered but was accurate enough to get the point across.
Printing books would be useful in the long run. Textbooks in particular. However, that wasn't what he needed right now. Identical government forms for all kinds of needs. Printed laws. A basic newspaper for propaganda would be useful, especially when all his people learned their letters.
"That will put us out of work!" A scribe exclaimed. He was both terribly offended and terrified at the prospect.
"Nonsense, if I understand this right, it is only useful to make a large amount of identical pages. Most things we scribe each day, every day, won't be affected; they aren't identical. If we have this press thing and it works, we don't have to spend so much time doing boring things, and we can focus on more important and interesting work! There are only so many times you can transcribe the same damned book or invitation to a feast before you want to burn it and all its copies!" Another scribe gleefully countered.
Viserys' idea functionally ended the meeting because, from then on, everyone was too busy arguing whether they should even consider using a printing press or whether it was an existential threat to the livelihood of all scribes. Others were more interested in how to make the idea work and its implications rather than how it might affect the lives of mere scribes.
"Books might become cheap and far more affordable!" One of the scholars exclaimed. That was precisely what the scribes feared and wanted to avoid. In contrast, everyone considered the possibility a great benefit that by itself justified turning the idea into reality.
