[Chapter Size: 5500 Words.]
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Third Person POV
Seagard, 300 AC.
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At the same moment that Jason Mallister knelt before the king, Jon asked for his son to be brought and for a group of troops to enter the city, where they would have things to discuss.
The arrival of Arctic surprised the people and the guards, with looks full of curiosity and suspicion, watching all those armed men passing through the main streets and heading to the fortress.
There they found Lady Mallister waiting for them, Jason walked beside his son Patrek, while they briefly talked. He certainly cared about Patrek and was happy to have him back.
He had not mentioned him because he thought he was dead from what he heard when the rumors of Stannis Baratheon's death arrived, and everyone thought that most of his men were dead, although in reality, he lost about 30% of the army in front of Hardhome when the ships were burned.
Jason's wife ran when she saw Patrek entering with his father through the gate. They embraced and Jason introduced Lady Mallister, before offering bread and salt.
"I do not see your maester anywhere, Lord Mallister." Said Jon with curiosity.
"He is in the dungeons, your majesty. Since you informed and proved that he had been passing information from House Mallister since my father's time, I had no other choice and I am waiting for a response from the Citadel if they do not wish to see their maester hanged." He said, while Jon nodded.
"We will deal with the problem of the maester order in the near future." Jon said.
For Jon, the best system was to have a relative study in Arctic the arts of the mind for years and return to be a counselor in their houses. After all, each house could have their own blood as an assistant, without the oath to commit to an 'hidden' order above blood... This would greatly reduce the chances of betrayal and manipulated and calculated counsel.
Jon said he would give Jason time to talk to his son, while Jon wanted to get to know the city and the fortress, Lord Mallister assigned the master-at-arms for this, while Jon accompanied him with Arya Stark and his guard.
He walked and observed the structure of the fortress as if someone were studying the architecture and engineering of the place, above the cliff they were invincible until that era, but times are different, if they became enemies of Arctic in a way that the kingdom wanted to destroy them, they could bring that entire fortress to the ground. Perhaps out of fear of this, Lord Mallister simply knelt without thinking twice.
In any case, he then proceeded to the city after that. Where he continued with the people gathering to see them once more. They looked at them, especially at Jon, as if they were studying and trying to understand them.
Not even during his journey across this continent years ago, Jon had time to get to know the people of Westeros who sustained the entire system — he only passed between kingdoms and went straight to negotiate with the great nobles at that time.
Now he was seeing refugees from the war. There were looks of suspicion and fear from part of the population toward the Arcticans, while other expressions began to emerge, another part of them showed hope and even admiration.
Armored knights always inspired positive feelings in the common people. Seeing the Arctican soldiers and the royal knights wearing their armor, brighter than any they had ever seen, always maintaining a heroic posture before the king, was a comforting sight for those people who had suffered from the wars spread throughout the Riverlands in the past year and who found in Seagard a refuge, while at the same time fleeing from the ironborn.
If Jon had been there before the war, it is very likely that they would be calling him a demon and sorcerer of the north with all the news they had heard about him.
War brings new opportunities...
They witnessed the ironborn fleeing in fear after being struck down on the beach and the others running into the forests and roads in all directions, even though the Arcticans did not pursue them, they were driven out of the city gates after having conquered it once and committing all kinds of atrocities against them.
Many lost relatives and acquaintances to the ironborn, taken by the ships and with no further news of them. They did not yet know, but some ships less fast than the Arcticans were coming to Seagard, they just had not managed to arrive yet because they were ships taken from Pyke. The Arcticans had gathered all those who said they were from Seagard, wanting to return to their land and families. This would be announced later after a conversation with Jason Mallister.
Even without that yet, for the common people, the act of Lord Mallister kneeling peacefully favored Jon's cause even more.
He was a new king, a new cause. Nothing more than a Targaryen prince using a different name, but extremely inspiring. And even though everyone already knew that he followed different gods, it did not seem to affect the people — on the contrary, it even seemed to make some, when looking at the Arcticans, seek the old gods for the first time, instead of the Seven.
It was also surprising that Jon stopped even under guard, calling people while walking through the city and talking with the common folk themselves.
Not because he wanted to appear kind and wanted to stage virtue, but because he wanted to hear them, understand them.
He wanted to understand who they were, just as he began trying to understand the people beyond the Wall since his ninth nameday, when he had not even found the lands that would be his kingdom, while he was only a tribe conquering others, he spoke with his own men and at that time, even being a child, they saw him as a messenger of the old gods and opened up easily.
Jon might not have the same mystical aura, but he was an adult and experienced man, he knew very well how to deal with people and easily made them open up to him, even with looks of caution and suspicion.
For Jon, it was necessary to know those he would govern. Even though he would continue ruling them from the far north, now everyone there was his responsibility. They were an extension of his rule, his people.
At the same time that Jon was dealing with the people of the city, Lord Mallister asked for him to meet with him in the solar after Patrek took a bath and got dressed with the help of the servants.
Patrek had been a prisoner along with all the remaining men of Stannis Baratheon. They were kept imprisoned outside the city of Arctic, while they were identified one by one for the king.
In the prison in Arctic itself, he also met other lords who had been imprisoned for years. One who stood out was the brother of Lord Hightower, captured in the sack of Oldtown.
Then one day, he was summoned by the king and entered the city of Arctic for the first time, going to the castle, where he begged for mercy on his knees. Afraid of dying.
Jon had no intention of executing him. He only offered an opportunity, knowing the political value Patrek would have.
'You will take Seagard and kneel before me, if your father refuses to do so.' Jon had said this seated on the throne with cold eyes.
Even so, Patrek surprised the king by pleading for his father's life. 'Please, do not kill him. I am sure my father will have the sense not to fight against you. But if he does come to fight, Your Majesty, please do not kill him. I do not want to rule my house over my father's corpse.'
'Your loyalty to your family is quite formidable, Lord Mallister. I am surprised that you are willing to beg for them... but I would not be so cruel either. I was already thinking of sentencing your father to the Wall if we have to force the gates of Seagard.' Jon said at the time.
Patrek could only be grateful for being heard in that place. 'That is perfect', he said, relieved that he would not have to assume the rule of Seagard in that way.
Then he came on one of the ships as a guest. Although he did not participate in any battle or even being on the main ship, he was not the only lord among the ships that came under an agreement with the king. Jon had spoken with each of them after they were captured and made proposals.
Now he was there, entering his father's solar after another brief conversation with his mother, relieved to have him alive and at home. And thanking Jon Arctic who gave them time so that he and his father could meet and discuss everything that their current situation represented for House Mallister.
"You have been through quite a lot...", his father murmured, analyzing him.
"Father... I cannot say that I haven't...", Jason gave a sad smile.
"But now you are with us and I need to understand more about the future of our house, even though I have already knelt." He paused.
"Tell me... what did he say about Pyke? Did it really happen?", he asked carefully.
Patrek let out a humorless laugh. "Father, after everything I have seen, I think what happened to Pyke is the least of our problems. You knelt immediately after hearing about it out of fear that this place would be buried in the sea as well, right?", Patrek asked.
Jason nodded, he did not lie. Fear had overtaken him at that moment. "Of course. I do not like this, but I do not want to see Seagard at the bottom of the sea. What would my ancestors think of this in the afterlife, I would be condemning them to the seven hells.
He sighed. "Even though I swore against the Freys... now I have knelt before another king. That means I do not have much time either... My honor is questioned, and it will be better for the house that I let you take over as your duty, and I give myself to the Wall."
He said this, surprising his son.
"At least you will rule in my place and take care of your mother. I hope you are ready for that...", Jason added.
Patrek remained silent for a while. "I can understand that, father...", he finally replied, although he seemed quite sad.
Jon himself had said that, when he left Pyke, he would begin dealing with the lords. And he had already foreseen this in a conversation before coming to the continent again, even if his father knelt, the honor of House Mallister would still be stained. The Night's Watch would be the best path for Jason.
That was why Patrek was not very surprised by that or tried to stop it, he just sighed. "In any case, you said that Pyke is the least of our problems. Tell me exactly what happened."
He asked, since he would have a meeting within an hour with Jon Arctic to deal with the king's next plans.
"Let's talk about Pyke first." Patrek said. "I was on one of the ships, watching the fleet advance through the Iron Islands. I was not one of the combatants, obviously, but I was allowed to see."
"Father... I saw him dominating each of the islands with ease. I saw him control krakens as they devoured and destroyed the ironborn ships in the middle of the sea, saw him control all the ravens, making all that could warn about what was happening in the Iron Islands simply go straight to the Arctican king, nullifying all communication of the islands."
"I was not on the main ship... but they tied Asha Greyjoy to the mast, crucified, while they forced her to watch her entire home being destroyed." Patrek added.
Jason could not help but frown upon hearing that. What kind of cruelty was that? But who was he to judge?
"I saw their weapons. I saw how they destroyed the entire support base of Pyke, which shone blinding even the sun and thundered like the worst storm, while the fortress simply fell, like a rock sliding into the sea, the fleet even managed to handle the wave created, while the harbor was devastated. Those who were in the fortress and survived, the krakens controlled by the king, did the rest of the work. The only one left alive was Balon Greyjoy himself, whom the king placed on the main ship. I was not there, obviously, but he managed to keep him alive until his execution. Father, he had Balon Greyjoy eaten by a kraken in front of the entire island!"
Jason listened to his son and turned pale. The king was far more cruel than he could imagine, although it was clear that this kind of cruelty was reserved only for his enemies.
"Returning to the destroyed Pyke, they invaded the harbor without difficulty. They simply used the same artillery that destroyed the fortress's support to destroy the gates, while using war machines that could launch arrows and harpoons at men who thought they had the advantage for being on higher ground."
"In the end, they were massacred. The gate was destroyed, the army marched, and they did this without losing a single man. There were some wounded, but they were few because their armor and defensive formation is something that is above all the training done south of the Wall. They are unbeatable with those giants, carrying shields and they mercilessly slaughtered all the ironborn. They left none alive."
Patrek said all this while his father grew increasingly disturbed.
"And you say that this is not our greatest concern?" Jason did not expect to hear even more from his son. That already seemed too much.
"Father... you do not understand. Jon Arctic, he... he... he is playing at war with the Seven Kingdoms." He spoke with hesitation, but that was exactly what he thought.
"What do you mean by that?", Jason asked, incredulous at that statement.
"After what I saw in that kingdom beyond the Wall, this was not absurd at all."
Jason remained silent for a moment, waiting for his son to continue.
"I am saying, father, that Jon Arctic could conquer the Seven Kingdoms in just one day."
"And how would he do that?", Jason mocked, even after everything he had heard, his son was exaggerating.
"Father, believe me when I say this... after all, he has nearly thirty dragons that can fly through the skies and burn the kingdoms without anyone being able to stop them."
For a moment, Patrek remained silent, just staring at his father, who looked at him without initial reaction, as if he were processing those words.
Jason then showed the first sign, frowning, his expression slowly changing into a look filled with terror.
"You must be joking...", he said.
"Did you not hear the rumors in the North about the white dragon, large enough to cover part of Winterfell?"
"Yes, that..." Jason tried to speak, but was interrupted.
"I am telling you, father... when we sailed with Stannis Baratheon beyond the Wall, we were surprised when three dragons came through the sky. And Jon Arctic was not the only rider. And he was not riding that white dragon, but rather a red dragon and neither of the other two were that white dragon seen in Winterfell."
"You had to see it... he simply jumped off the dragon, which was flying very close to the mast. Father, the mast is what? Fifteen meters tall. He jumped and drove his feet into the ground as if it were nothing, and simply began to fight and kill men on that ship alone!"
"Meanwhile, Stannis and all the men around him surrounded him, but he simply kept cutting down knights and trained and respected soldiers, without any fear, and he could use magic at will to kill men."
Jason grimaced upon hearing that, but did not even have time to comment.
"While Jon Arctic fought like some kind of god in human form, the two dragons joined that red dragon and began to burn the ships, spewing fire at us. I found out later who they were, and we were all surprised. The other riders were two of the king's wives, whom no one — or at least only a small select group — seemed to know existed." He made a pause.
"Daenerys Targaryen, daughter of the Mad King... and Rhaenys Targaryen, also daughter of the prince, and half-sister of the king of Arctic."
Jason frowned even more. "They ride dragons... and are married to the king? Wait... Rhaenys should be dead..." He murmured, still processing everything.
"From the rumors I heard from the people I spoke to, she was saved and raised in secret."
That made Jason's eyes widen. "Of course... the bastard daughter of Doran Martell... The king invaded Sunspear alone, in the dead of night, took down several guards just to get her. Everyone thought he was a monster for that, and she was pregnant by him since their last encounter when the Arctican ships first stopped in Dorne... and there were also those rumors, but I never paid much attention."
"There were other rumors, that a girl with platinum hair was being protected by the Arcticans in Myr, but the master of whispers said that she was no one important, just a woman from Lys that the king had taken a liking to." He pondered, remembering well the rumors that the lords heard about Arctic while they traveled and opened trade posts.
"So they ride dragons as well... but you spoke of nearly thirty. Not even during the Dance did House Targaryen have that. But you say he has 30 dragons in what, 10 years...?"
"28 and you should not be surprised after everything he has done over the years. He took eggs from the Citadel and in Valyria, he knows how to hatch them, or at least he should, since everyone told me that the eggs only hatch when one of his children is born."
Jason seemed to think about it, as a Lord of Westeros, his mind was still very limited. But he sighed and simply accepted it. "How many descendants does the king have? I did not ask him. Since we did not talk much."
"9 princes, all 6 wives have children."
"6 wives...?"
"You should not be surprised, one of them is a princess of Yi-Ti, two Targaryen princesses, a Wildling princess and the first two queens who have been with the king since the beginning of the kingdom."
"Anyway, let me tell you about that place. When we arrived there, by the giant artificial river, I saw a kind of city that I never imagined seeing in my life, although we did not enter it, we could see it from afar while we were placed under supervision in the prison outside the city."
"Their kingdom... is something that should not exist beyond the Wall, father. Perhaps it should not even exist in this world. Seagard almost looks like a slum compared to that city."
"A rather bold statement, son?"
"I am telling the truth, I do not pray to the trees of the old gods... but what I found there was far beyond anything. Because what we saw was a tree as large as the Wall, father... in the middle of the city, covering even a castle of the king."
"And you can imagine our surprise when dragons began to fly over the ships. First came one... then two... there were many dragons."
"They were not very large, not larger than those that attacked the fleet, but there were two among them that we saw the next day. One black, which our older cellmates said was the dragon known as Cannibal and had survived for centuries hidden, which the king had tamed shortly before the war against the dead. And there was also the white dragon, which had been in the kingdom since the beginning. Unlike the others, its anatomy was somewhat more flexible, and they say it is an even more magical creature as well. After all, the king used the white one to defeat the black dragon in a story that would make even the tales of the Age of Heroes seem dull!"
"As I said, he possesses around twenty-eight dragons. Although he does not command them all, I know that he can control more than a dozen at the same time, just as he controls animals... thousands of direwolves, ravens, shadowcats... Jon Arctic is far beyond comprehension. I could even bet that he is listening to our conversation right now."
"The ravens he sent before were no mere coincidence. He himself controls the animals to roam throughout all of Westeros." Patrek continued speaking, while Jason could not help but grow increasingly uneasy.
'What kind of son did Rhaegar Targaryen produce?! Who without any help, went from a bastard to a... legend?'
Certainly, with a dozen dragons — or even more — he would have all of Westeros kneeling before him. But it seemed that he did not want that. He wanted to deal with problems one by one, on his own. He did not want to simply terrorize his enemies from the start.
It was strange. It showed a more controlled side, as if he knew exactly the path to follow and how to use his strength without being excessive, even if he was quite cruel at times.
Jason Mallister no longer knew what to think about it.
In any case, they gathered an hour after Jon began to visit the city.
Jason invited everyone to gather in one of the main halls within the fortress of Seagard, while he listened to everything Jason Mallister had to say.
Somehow, they spoke about the mysteries of the war. Robb Stark had managed to discover the betrayal of the Boltons a little earlier at the Twins. Their intention was to bring them inside the Twins and imprison them during the wedding, breaking the sacred rites of guests.
Everyone knew that the Seven, and the Old Gods would repudiate such a vile act.
When Robb immediately raised his troops against the Boltons, who were also in the same camp, Roose Bolton was called into a trap created by Robb, he found out and a bloody scene began between the two forces. With the loss of the Karstarks in Robb's army, they were quite weakened, and the Boltons were still, alone, a large part — at least 30% of the army.
Even so, even at a disadvantage and losing troops, Roose Bolton managed to escape, but returned with an even larger army two weeks later, while Robb was planning to deal with the Freys. Without him knowing, there were also at least 10,000 Lannister men who were secretly sent by Tywin Lannister to the north of the Crownlands to surprise the northerners, with Roose Bolton himself covering for them without Robb knowing.
Then the Lannisters crossed the Twins.
When the Freys and the Lannisters arrived on that side of the Riverlands, along with the remaining Bolton troops, the North had no way to withstand it, even though there are indications that strangely, Robb seemed to begin to know everything before the disaster. He could have fled, but sent his mother, uncle and the Blackfish to Riverrun.
The Blackfish was the only one to arrive there. When the enemy forces arrived, with Robb deciding to fight to the end, even though he would lose, chaos took over everything, and no one knew exactly what happened in the end.
Jason Mallister was captured before seeing the end of the battle and forced to swear loyalty to the new lord of the Riverlands, the Freys, when he woke up and everything was already over.
Roose Bolton returned to the North, also as the new lord of the North, with several important hostages.
The Lannisters also kept some hostages and joined the Freys to lay siege to Riverrun.
No one knew what happened to Robb. His body was never found, but rumors said that he was captured, but badly wounded, and the Lannisters were trying to keep him alive, as he could be an important hostage.
Jason Mallister managed to get help from the Freys and was able to retake the city from the ironborn at that time, along with the troops that were inside the Mallister fortress. With the ironborn having trouble holding the city while being attacked from both sides, since the Mallister fortress is located within the city, surrounded by another wall.
Jon listened to everything Jason said. He had already found many animals in the region and, through his mental power, began to read their memories. He saw the scenes that the animals had witnessed through their eyes. He saw how Robb Stark explained the situation to everyone after they managed to drive out the Boltons, before being silently surprised by the Freys and Lannisters. He saw him using the power that Arya Stark trained him in at Winterfell, but he still failed, although it was by choice, he chose to fight alongside his men even knowing he would die without hesitation.
In the end, Robb fell along with the North.
While they heard all of that, Jon felt Arya tightening his wrist, distressed for her brother as she listened, many saw it, but no one said anything.
Jon also had some disturbing information about Lady Stark. He had witnessed, through the animals' memories, her being captured along with Edmure while trying to flee.
The Freys seemed to hate her, because even being someone valuable, she was killed and her body was taken to the Twins, where they played with her corpse. They even desecrated her body before throwing it into the river, with her throat cut.
Even Jon, of all the people he knew in the world, being her the one he had the most incurable hatred for, he did not like what they did to her body.
He did not tell this to Arya and would not tell. Even though she also did not have a good relationship with her mother, she would still feel disturbed knowing what really happened and how they desecrated her body after death.
And what came next was even stranger. Well, what else could he expect from that god?
And in a way, he even found it comical what he saw Lady Stark become, as soon as a priest of the red god found her body floating in the river for a few days.
Certainly, even though Jon did not like what they did to her, she had become something he would like to encounter and mock when he saw her.
Well, he also intended to enter the Riverlands soon, since he had no intention of advancing with the army at that moment, but he would meet them in the western lands. He wanted to attack the coast with force in the west, but he also intended to check the situation for himself in the coming weeks.
He did not want to use only animals to check the chaos they had left in the Riverlands. He wanted to see it with his own eyes. But that would have to wait, he had to deal with the Freys at least.
"Is Your Majesty going to place the army in the Riverlands?", Jason asked.
"No. I brought half of my ships because we only need to deal with the Twins and the Freys, but I also came to bring resources to Seagard. They will be left in the city. At least you will be able to maintain it for another six months with the supplies. And also to be able to shelter even more refugees who are fleeing the areas destroyed by the war, understood."
"Yes, Your Majesty. So you are going to attack through the continent?", Jason Mallister murmured, trying to understand the king's plans.
"No. The Riverlands have already been devastated enough. It will not help at all to destroy it completely with a new battle against the Lannisters there."
"I have my own plans, Lord Mallister. After all, I want to force them to divide the army in King's Landing and march to the Reach, where I believe we will have our battle, while another army will surprise them coming from the North."
Jon seemed more to be debating with himself while analyzing the map spread over the table.
"Well, I will leave Seagard with you. I want you to keep the banner of Arctic together with the standard of your house. Now you are under the protection of Arctic." He made a pause, looking at the map again.
"And we will go to the Twins." He announced.
"What will happen to the Freys, Your Majesty?", Patrek asked, even already knowing, because Jon's disdain for them was quite obvious.
"Well... we are going to take a shipment of wildfire to the river. You already understand very well what is going to happen." Jon said without any trace of hesitation.
Jason and his son seemed quite stunned. It seemed that Seagard had been spared from being destroyed by Jon Arctic, but that did not mean that other lords would have the same fate as Pyke.
"You may think I am being cruel, but the ironborn have brought only destruction wherever they have gone. Someone had to put an end to it once and for all." He began. "Keeping them alive is a miscalculation, because they will always return to destroy. Balon's first rebellion already proved that... and all the tens of thousands of people who suffered at their hands in the last year also paid for the ironborn being spared."
"The only answer to this kind of people is extermination." He said, and no one on Seagard's side said anything. Not even the king's own men.
"The Freys were planning to break guest right together with the Boltons and the Lannisters. I have proof of that with me. The lords of the realm may even see me worse than my grandfather, the Mad King... but still, I will not have families that act like that under my rule. I intend to purify all the kingdoms of people who do not respect the gods, even if they are the Seven." He spoke in a serious tone, and no one seemed to want to question him. Even though Jon knew that the Seven do not exist.
Jason knew that many lords of Westeros would see that as cruel and barbaric, but who would question that power? Even so, that could be used as a political weapon against Jon Arctic, associating him with his grandfather.
But he also had many positive points.
In the end, only silence remained.
And letting the king act with his own morality, choosing who should be spared or destroyed.
At least House Mallister had not become a target.
"Well, let's prepare the troops. We do not have much time to waste. I want, in at most two days, to reach the Twins with at least five thousand men." Said Jon, ending the meeting.
"Lord Mallister, we need to make some announcements to the people of the city. There are ships with at least 4,000 people who were taken by the ironborn from the region and the city. I also want to announce what happened in Pyke." He said.
He was certainly wanting to make a quick announcement, since he did not intend to spend more time there. He would leave the city being maintained by House Mallister, while dealing with the refugees from the Riverlands.
He needed to deal with the Twins and make the army move west, while Tywin Lannister should already be trying to organize everything he could to begin marching against the Arcticans on the other side of the continent.
Jon already had his calculations. He would be able to advance with a small group through the Riverlands, meeting his army in the west, while they should begin attacking as they advanced south until invading the Reach, where the battlefield would likely occur against the forces that Tywin could gather, Jon hoped that Tywin would be there, after all it would be a shame in the end for Ducken to have to deal with him and not Jon.
But thinking about it, Jon's own presence was something Tywin should consider, with a smaller force. So there would be a chance of him coming after everything.
'Tywin Lannister, I can hardly wait to meet him once again after our last encounter in Lannisport...' Jon thought as he left the fortress of House Mallister and went toward the city.
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