(Lady Dacey Mormont, Heiress of Bear Island POV)
--------------------------------
Bear Island was graced with a rare honour. The future Lord of Winterfell and several of her fellow future Lords of the North were arriving upon Bear Island.
Lord Eddard had sent a Raven saying his son, Lord Osric had told him about something called a Lyrium Wellspring being present on Bear Island and gave rough details on where to find it. What they'd found had killed two Guardsmen.
With luck Lord Osric would be able to tell her mother more about the Lyrium Wellspring, whatever it truly was. But her Mother had given her another task ensnare Lorrd Osric or Lord Robb. Their Cousins actions had cost them much in the way of their House's influence and Respect.
A marriage to House Stark would do much to repair that damage. But she also knew that it could hurt them. It wasn't even a generation after Jorah's betrayal of everything it meant to be Northern and a member of House Mormont. The perception of so easily escaping punishment after a generation could be a damaging image. Particularly as rather than accept his punishment or join Uncle Jeor at the Wall, Jorah had fled to Essos with his shrew of a wife.
That lack of a definitive punishment was costly.
But all these doubts were pushed aside as the Ship bearing the banner of the Direwolf of House Stark entered the small Harbour of Bear Island.
Releasing a deep breath, she straightened her back, and relaxed her body. Oh how she'd like nothing more than to be able to be wearing her chainmail right now.
But Mother had insisted on her wearing this damned dress.
--------------------------------
(POV Shift: Lord Osric Stark)
--------------------------------
As soon he stepped off the dock and onto the dirt, Osric pulled on of his gloves off and felt the dirt between his fingers.
''Its here.'' He announced to his companions. The Cortosis and Doonium acquired from the Rills and Barrowlands respectively was the first and second parts. The Lyrium acquired here would be a third part of his materials
As would the other two materials here on Bear Island. It was going to be amusing, watching how things will change for Bear Island. House Mormont was poor, but what they'd gain in a few short years would make them rich. The fact that Lyrium was not the only crucial element to be found on Bear Island would be useful.
Maybe marrying off Bran to Lynna Mormont to secure it. Either way, the Mormonts had three keys.
A little ways ahead of him was a woman who had long black hair, and despite being Lanky, she had a distinctively large pair of Breasts. Normally he would not pay attention to that last bit, but for whatever reason the dress she was wearing made them seem quite large. Like Ck3 Carnalitas tits_big_good_large_2.
Okay maybe that was a slight exaggeration.
But his point still stood.
Must be Tormund's genes if the fan theory was true.
Tormund Giantsbane said he fucked a she-bear. Dacey's mother was nicknamed the She-Bear. Neither Dacey nor her sisters had a named father, but they weren't Bastards. All bore the Mormont name. Granted none were ginger, but not every gene was dominant in reproduction.
''Lord Osric, on behalf of my mother, Lady Maege Mormont, I Dacey Mormont, Heiress of Bear Island welcome you and your companions.'' The now named Mormont - even if it was pretty obvious before she introduced herself - inclined her head to him.
''Well Met, Lady Dacey. I assume your mother followed my father's instructions not to touch the Lyrium?'' He asked.
''No fear of that. After it killed two Guardsmen we weren't going to touch it anyway. What exactly is it?'' Asks Dacey.
''I'll explain more about it when I see the Wellspring, just know Lyrium is not the only reason I'm here. There are two other materials that can only be found on Bear Island that are absolutely critical to the North's future. In a few short years, Bear Island will be as rich, if not richer than House Manderly.'' Says Osric.
--------------------------------
After greeting Lady Maege and the rest of House Mormont. Osric was led directly to the Lyrium Wellspring.
A sea of Blue Lyrium, Lyrium veins through the walls, and essentially a Lyrium river.
''And so it begins. My friends, House Mormont, When the Dawn Age began, the Old Gods walked our lands, and When some of them fell in the Long Night at the hands of an evil of their childrens making, Lyrium soaked through the Earth. Lyrium is the Lifeblood of the Old Gods and because of that, it can be used in a variety of ways. I've crafted the necessary equipment to mine it myself. House Mormont is to mine it and personally ensure it's transport to Winterfell where I'll smith it into weapon's or as part of project Basilica. In a few short years, House Mormont will become one of the richest in the North.'' Osric said as he filled a canister with liquid Lyrium before capping it off and sealing it.
He handed it to Lady Maege.
''Lyrium is the one mineral that is the perfect metallurgical bonding agent. It forms a perfect bond with each material element of an alloy. Together with the Dimeritium and Depleted Promethium beneath the ground, these three are crucial materials for the battles to come.'' Says Osric.
''This is the Blood Of The Old God's?'' Asks Lady Maege.
''Well, it is and isn't. When the Old God's fell, their divine blood soaked through the ground, saturating the roots of nearby Weirwoods. From the Dawn Age to now, the blood bonded to the Weirwoods and the latent magic inside the Heart Trees. It's truly ironic in a way, the Most Devout would claim it as a Gift from their smith, because Lyrium is a perfect Catalyst pr bonding agent. But Lyrium is so much more, if a greenseer were to drink this in a refined start, then their green dreams would be infinitely clearer to interpret.'' Says Osric.
''And the greenseers are gone.'' Dacey laments.
''Not all of them.'' Many a head snapped towards him.
''My lord?''
''Lord Howland Reed's son and heir has the sight, or the Dreams at least. Former Night's Watch Lord-Commander Brynden Rivers is still alive Beyond-The-Wall, he's currently protected by the Last of the Children Of The Forest. And my my younger brother Bran has the sight. As for my siblings and I, we're also Wargs. Well, Robb, Bran, and Jon are, I'm not certain about the rest of us.'' Says Osric calmly. ''Now then let's get on with this.'' He pointedly ignored his twin brother's looks.
Robb would be having words with him later no doubt. Father and mother too eventually. But that was to be later, for now he needed to oversee the mining of Dimeritium and Depleted Promethium, as providing House Mormont with instructions on how to safely mine Lyrium from the Lyrium veins as well as the Wellspring.
--------------------------------
(POV Shift: Lady Maege Mormont, Lady of Bear Island)
--------------------------------
It was sobering and inspiring to hear that the so called Lyrium was the blood of the Old Gods. To think, such a thing was beneath Bear Island.
If only it had been found in Jeor's time as Lord. Maybe Jorah wouldn't have been so quick to become a slaver.
Nevertheles, it was an opportunity.
Together with this Dimeritium and Depleted Promethium, Lord Osric promised in a few short years, House Mormont would prosper and gain wealth comparable to House Manderly.
It remained to be seen if that would be the case. But House Stark had always kept their word.
--------------------------------
Join my Discord via this invite link:
--------------------------------
Thanks to Mitchell Howard, David Martinez, ROGUE505 Saver, Mathew T Linderman, Luck George, Kyle Diano, Julien, Morgan Sinn, Tom A, Nicholas Berenguer, Arimar26, Robin Kristiansen, Dragon emperor87, Vlone_Icy, Daniel Setchell, James Fleming, Zero 12995, Spencer Davidson, Rowdy_Rich, James Lloyd, reikon aijin, Beastmode2003, and Birhaledin for their support on P-atreon.
And also a big thanks to Cody, Luci Alarra, TJ Cruz, Kunta, Availon90, Gavin Barclay, Dragonslayer29, Jacarya Robinson, Nathan Just, Francisco J Guzman, Axlii, Reece Hutton, Ken Harris, Zeldris Wrath, Duy, lonelynib _, Austin, D3EATH707, Cutler1812, Aleksander_402, Lewis Wilson, Profound Magician, Arzard, HxC 740 VxD, Attila Kovács, Ruby Uzumaki, Mudit Chadha, Maciek, Joao Goncalves, Dwhateverprof, Jibreel Kamal, Luis, Luis, Zeca, Bent, Jason, Solus 1994, Evil King, Manuel, Benoit Valtin, Craig Butler, Joseph Brann, Cristobal Ahumada, Nathaniel Lessord, GGbeejee, Trey-Way, FisherKing711, Calvin Ellis, adrian szydlowski, and Robert Hernandez for their past support on Patreon.
The next Chapter is currently available on my relaunched and rebuilt P-atreon, to access simply search the following link, but without the dash between the P and A, Two tiers with the same benefits but different contexts. The chapters on P-atreon will be published when the chapters following them are done and dusted and ready to publish over here on this site.
p-atreon.com/TheRagFromTheCragCorner24