The Northmen of Krieg
Z.J Unruh
Ch.1
The Founding of Krieg
The North: 677 Before Conquest
The Boltons rebelled against the Kings of Winter for the second time in living memory. Ronson Bolton offended that his father bent the knee to the Stark King, murdered him in his sleep disguising it as a heart attack in 678 BC. He moved quickly to secretly restore the practice of flaying and just a year later launched the second Bolton rebellion in the same decade. It did not go as Ronson had envisioned. The moment the other northern lords discovered he was practicing flaying once again they all marched towards the Dreadfort with all haste. The pace only increased when it got out that Ronson raped and flayed a daughter of the newly formed house Karstark.
The battle is swift and brutal, anyone with Bolton colours is slaughtered without hesitation or mercy. The siege of the Dreadfort itself lasts two moons and is broken when one of the minor lords under Bolton opened the gates for the Stark host after Ronson flayed his father for his own amusement. Ronson is given the blood eagle, any remaining Bolton male over the age of four and ten is put to the sword. Any male under four and ten is sent to the wall, ending the Bolton line.
After the executions and banishments were completed King Eddard V summoned the minor lord who had opened the gate to his command tent. The minor lord walked with dignity to the tent fully expecting to be short a head by sundown. He couldn't have been more wrong to his surprise.
"What is your name my lord?" King Eddard ground out. His voice like the grinding of smooth stone.
"Lord Frederick Krieg your grace." He said in an even tone that barely disguised his fear of what his King was going to say next.
"Kreig? You were one of Boltons best commanders in the first rebellion a few years ago were you not?" King Eddard said with a raised eyebrow, his curiosity piqued.
"Y-yes your grace, I was." Lord Kreig stuttered out now fully expecting to be dragged out and executed as he was the driving force behind the host that got King Eddard's youngest son killed in the first rebellion.
"Calm yourself Lord Krieg I do not hold your actions from the first rebellion against you. You were following your lords orders; I cannot fault you for that." King Eddards words had an immediate calming effect on Lord Kreig. "In fact it's that combined with you opening the gates for me that I have a proposition for you." Lord Krieg's eyebrow now raised in curiosity.
"What kind of proposition, your Grace?" Lord Kreig asked slowly, still unsure of exactly where this conversation was going.
"With the Bolton line exterminated I need a replacement to hold the Dreadfort. If you swear your houses undying fealty to the Kings of Winter I will grant you lordship of the Dreadfort and everything that entails." King Eddard laid out his proposition plainly. Lord Krieg was stunned into silence for a few seconds.
"Y-Your Grace… I-I am not worthy of such a promotion. Especially after what I did to you personally in the first rebellion." Lord Kreig stuttered out, but King Eddard wouldn't have it.
"I already explained why that's not the problem. You're the best candidate that I can find that has both ties to the area and is unlikely to cause further problems. So I ask you Lord Krieg, will you serve your King?" King Eddard asked. After a short time of Lord Krieg gave his answer and his vow.
"I will serve you your Grace, but I ask for a few changes to be made to the running of the Dreadfort." Lord Krieg asked while bending the knee.
"They're soon to be your lands Lord Krieg you may do as you see fit so long as it doesn't break current laws of defile the gods. Name them." King Eddard replied.
"First the name Bolton is to be relegated to the history books never to be taken again. Second, I wish to rename the Dreadfort to castle Kreig. Third, my house symbol shall be the top half a human skull on a field of black. With my houses words being 'In life shame' written above the skull and 'In death atonement' written beneath the skull." Lord Krieg spelled out his desires to his King.
"All acceptable, I find your house words a bit odd but considering the circumstances I will overlook it, anything else?" King Eddard asked.
"I wish to turn my house into a standing army for you your Grace. In repentance for this lands sins towards your house they will now be your eternal sword. There will be no civilians in Castle Krieg, only soldiers. Ready to serve your will, ready to fight and die, death shall be our duty unto you your Grace." Lord Krieg said while bowing deeply to his king. Kind Eddard smiles.
"If that is your wish, then it shall be granted. I will send for a castellan and write to the Citadel for a new maester. The previous one was killed for the crimes he committed alongside house Bolton. I shall give you a grant of 10,000 gold coins and halved taxes for the next 10 years to build me this standing army." King Eddard declared.
"Your generosity is as vast as your forgiveness your Grace. I shall give you that and more." Lord Krieg declared.
The next time King Eddard V visited the now renamed Castle Krieg and the lands that surrounded it didn't take long to see the changes Lord Krieg had promised. The first clue was about ten miles out from Castle Krieg when they came across a group of nine identically dressed soldiers in brown leather armor mimicking a knights armour just in leather instead of steel, carrying large round blackened bronze shields with the skull of Krieg engraved and painted into it. They carried an eight-foot spear in their other hand and had a short sword on their hips King Eddard recognized as a xiphos popular in Essos. The ten guards snapped to crisp attention as soon as the king was within speaking distance.
"Who are you and what is your business?" One of King Eddard's personal guards spoke towards the group of men while putting his hand on the hilt of his sword. The lead man of the ten men stepped forward and bent the knee towards King Eddard bowing his head and touching his spear tip to the ground before him.
"I am Kriegsman Commander Jarros your Grace, I was sent by Lord Krieg along with these men to escort you." He informed the kings party. The kings party look at each other in confusion. Before any could answer King Eddard smiled and spoke in return.
"Very well Kriegsman, lead the way." King Eddard spoke in a neutral tone. The Kriegsmen performed a crisp about face turning around and then flanking the regular Stark guards formation with Commander Jarros at the head and the other eight on either side of the formation four to a side. As they marched onward to Castle Krieg more hints started to show themselves, first the Kriegsmen sent to escort the kings party marched in perfect timing with one another. Even though most of them could only judge by hearing what the cadence of the others were. The second was when they passed the farms, the workers with speaking distance and sometimes even up to 100 meters from the road they were on stopped what they were doing put their tools either on the ground or by their side and saluted the king as he passed. This conjured some whispers among the kings personal guard and the handful of lords brought along.
"Commander, why do the farmers salute the king like that?" One of Eddard's Kingsguard asked.
"Left side! Fall back!" Was Commander Jarros' initial response as he shifted form his position at the lead to the left side. To make room for him the four Kriegsmen on that side slowed their march slightly to open a space. The whole movement of men was like water running in a flat creek, smooth and precise. Commander Jarros now right beside the King and the Kingsguard who asked replied. "It's because they all feel they betrayed the king ser, whether they picked up a sword or not five years ago is irrelevant. Everyone in the lands surrounding Castle Krieg feels they owe a debt to the Kings of Winter they must repay, especially the soldiers. Unfortunately most of the farmers can only sing a scythe so they show their loyalty in the simplest way they could find. Hopefully future generations won't have that problem, if Lord Krieg's plan works as he wants it to."
"What is that plan Commander?" King Eddard asked, now quite intrigued by the developments of the past half decade.
"That is something that Lord Krieg wishes to tell you in private your Grace." Commander Jarros answered cryptically. "Restore! Form!" Commander Jarros ordered and the Kriegsmen behind him sped up slightly to fill the space he was occupying while he moved back to the front of the group. Less than an hour later they arrive at the walls of Castle Krieg.
"Kriegsman! Seven one three alpha victor!" The man atop the gate shouted down in challenge.
"Gatesman! Kilo victor six seven six! Returning escorting the king and his party!" Commander Jarros yelled back.
"Total nine Kriegsmen and ten guests, affirm?!" The gates man asked.
"Affirm!" Commander Jarros yelled back. Two seconds later the gates slide open. Running on tracks embedded into the ground and surrounded by stonework for reinforcement. The kings party confused by the bizarre interaction mutter among themselves. The king however remained silent as he was informed of this by a letter sent via courier. The party rides to the gate of the central keep, everyone from the lowliest peasant to some minor lords either bowed or gave a crisp salute as the king passed. Once at the gate a whole platoon of fifty soldiers snaps to attention. The sound of clacking boots and spear butts impacting the ground echo throughout the courtyard. Lord Krieg himself waits at the main keeps doors with his hands behind his back standing tall and proud. Wearing black trousers and a black overcoat with silver-coloured epaulettes and buttons, holding a peaked cap under his left armpit. It was an odd sight for the kings party but once again King Eddard was unphased.
"Your Grace, Castle Krieg is yours. I offer you bread and salt for guest rights." Lord Krieg bent the knee and bowed.
"Rise Lord Krieg." King Eddard takes the bread and salt initiating guest rights between them. "You have made good progress I see." King Eddard remarks looking at the assembled group of soldiers that welcomed him and his party.
"I'm glad you think so your Grace, I'm only slightly behind what I wanted the progress to be at this point." Lord Krieg responded please that King Eddard was happy with his progress even if he wasn't.
"I'm very impressed with what I've seen so far my lord. I've never seen a military with uniforms armour and discipline so precise. I might just have to start taking notes." King Eddard joked. His men at first bristled at the implied accusation of not being disciplined, but after no more than a second of thought they relented as even they had to admit that the discipline of Castle Krieg's garrison was miles ahead of anything they had.
"I'll save you some time and send you a copy myself your Grace. My Castellan can show your men their quarters, I believe we have much to discuss in private." Lord Krieg responded with a friendly smile.
"That we do. Brandon, get the men settled in. I have a long chat to have with Lord Krieg." King Eddard ordered.
"Yes your Grace." Brandon, his Kingsguard's Lord commander acknowledged and issued orders to his men. Meanwhile Lord Krieg and King Eddard walk to the formers solar.
"Now that we have no ears eavesdropping, give me the footnotes version of your progress." King Eddard asked as they continued to walk.
"We have four platoons of fifty men each fully trained with sixteen in progress that should be ready to go within five years, totaling two full battalions. I have all farmers and miners working as much as the daylight will allow and sometimes even past that were using lamps and torches are safe and practical. Because of that we have food storage that can feed the entirety of the lands Castle Krieg sits on for a solid four years, six or more if we ration." Lord Krieg summarized.
"Not bad, can this food be distributed quickly if necessary? Also, I heard Commander Jarros speaking of a secret project you wanted to tell me about?" The King asked curiously.
"Ah yes, that. Firstly yes, we can get the food to just about anywhere in the north within a fortnight depending on distance. To summarize the project, I basically asked for a bunch of women to volunteer to give birth to the next generation of Kriegsmen." This answer caught King Eddard by surprise.
"Give birth to the next generation? Explain?" King Eddard asked.
"When I first took Castle Krieg five years ago I got visions in my dreams. I'm not sure whether it's the Old Gods or something else, but everything you've seen so far has come to me in these dreams. One of these dreams was to collect group of women who would volunteer to birth and raise the next generation of Kriegsmen. These boys would be trained essentially from the time they can walk and talk properly to fight, indoctrinated to be eternally loyal to Krieg and to you your Grace. Expanding on that when these children grow up we will pick the strongest and smartest to breed the next generation, pairing them up with the strongest healthiest women to get the strongest possible offspring." Lord Krieg explained.
Eddard was shocked, it was ingenious, but he knew some of his lords might not like it all that much. "So, all these women actually volunteered right? Some of my lords might take issue with this as it might look like slavery from a certain point of view."
"Yes, they are your grace. Once I promised them a warm roof over their heads, good plentiful food and clean water I had volunteers lining up around the castle. All I demanded in exchange was their loyalty, their secrecy, and for them to produce the strongest children they can for the next generation of Kriegers." Lord Krieg replied smoothly.
After a few second of internal debate King Eddard smiled. "Very good my lord. Show me the details."
It was three days later that King Eddard left Castle Krieg with a cart full of new weapons for his own men. Crucible steel Lord Krieg called it. Many times stronger and sharper than normal steel. Along with the procedure to make said steel Lord Krieg received in return 30,000 more gold pieces and what amounted to a blank check to do whatever he saw fit to complete his plans. The only thing King Eddard had issue with was Lord Krieg's plan to make his position an elected one like the nights watch. A few hours of hammering out the details on who was eligible to vote and be elected sorted the problem out.
The North: 652BC
Twenty-five years later the Ironborn decided to raid the shores west of Barrowtown. The current king Brandon XXI secretly ordered the men of Krieg to go and crush them by any means necessary. The first real test of the Kriegers was about to unfold. Lord Frederick Krieg now in his sixties ordered his probable successor now General Jarros to lead his men to complete this mission. Four battalions totalling just over 2,000 men stood just outside Castle Krieg's gates. They are a mix of the original Kriegsmen and the first generation of the born and bred. All stood ready to fight in their identical sets of premium armour.
"KRIEGERS!" General Jarros shouted out to the four battalions before him. All the men snap to attention the sound of boots clacking together and slamming of spears onto the ground multiplied by thousands echoes off the castle walls. "What is your duty?" General Jarros asked in a loud but even voice.
"To serve the king of the North whose name is Stark!" The 2,000 men replied in perfect harmony.
"What is King Starks will?" General Jarros asked.
"That we fight and die!" The army replied.
"What is death?" General Jarros asks.
"It is our duty!" The army replied.
"What is your duty?" General Jarros asks a little louder this time.
"To serve the king of the North whose name is Stark!" The army replied in the same monotone as before.
"What is King starks will?" General Jarros asks again while giving the signal to begin marching.
"That we fight and die!" The army replied as they began marching mid sentence.
"What is death?!" General Jarros shouted to the army over the sound of 2,000 pairs of boots marching in perfect cadence.
"It is our duty!" The army replied getting up to full marching speed.
The history books would show that the battle of Barrowtown in 652BC was on of the most one-sided affairs Westeros had ever seen. Even when outnumbered three to one the Kriegers not only held Barrowtown after getting there with only 8 days marching, but they also started beating back and encircling the Ironborn invaders. The short but brutal war culminated when to the Ironborn's horror when they got back to the beach with what little loot they managed to collect they found 200 Kriegsmen in a phalanx formation between them and their boats. The Ironborn were slaughtered. All the while the Kriegers Chant as it came to be known as, haunted the few dozen survivors King Brandon had instructed to let live. Only one lootless boat returned to Pyke with only forty of the initial 6,000 men still alive.
The current king of the Iron Islands Perron Greyjoy furiously sent a letter to Winterfell declaring war. King Brandon replied with a simple letter stating, "If I see one Ironborn in the kingdom of The North, I will drown Pyke in Kriegers until there's no one left to kill." The response letter was from King Theon Greyjoy. It explained that as soon as the letter was read five of the forty survivors promptly murdered King Perron and then killed themselves. After interrogating the remaining thirty odd survivors they decided that war with The North wasn't worth it and retracted the late King Perron's statement with 1,000 gold coins sent to Winterfell with the letter as an apology.
That one interaction set the tone for how the Kriegsmen operated. The rest of the continent and beyond was put on notice that The North was a place where you went to die if you showed up uninvited. For the next 900 years the Kriegers were only truly deployed in force eleven times, and only one did multiple legions sally out. Most of the time the Kriegers were sent in rotation to support The Wall to keep the wildings out and man the castles the Nights Watch could not. The Kriegsman's reputation were more mythologized than accurately recorded, for most of their achievements were too outlandish to be believed. It took groups of arch maesters witnessing how they operated and the literal small mountains of corpses they created for the accomplishments of the Kriegers to even start to be believed. One such unbeliever happened to be named Aegon Targaryen or as history would call him Aegon the Conqueror.