Dragonlord (HP × ASOIAF)

Harry had spent a better portion of his time in Avalon looking over the reports, mainly about the construction of roads, the earnings from the glass and ice trade, the expansion of settlements in Avalon because of more people into Sea Dragon Point, the fluctuating timber trade and most importantly the progress of the bank he was building from scratch. Maester Marwyn was a reliable administrator, as was Celos Poole, but he wanted to review some of the major happenings while he was away.

The ambitious expansion of Avalon's harbour and the subsequent construction of ports along the three islands of Blazewater Bay and Blacktyde posed significant challenges. The project required a substantial workforce and a vast amount of materials. While there was no shortage of workers, extracting raw materials, particularly timber and stone, proved to be a major hurdle. The rapid development in the North had created a void in the availability of these resources. The expansion of the Kingsroad north of the Neck, the reconstruction of Moat Cailin, the renovations in Winterfell, the construction of castles in the Gift, and the roads branching out across the Gift all required quality timber, stone, and other materials. 

Nonetheless, Harry raised an eyebrow when he saw the request for the number of new quarries to be opened from the stonemason guild.

"Seven more quarries?" Harry asked delicately, "Is that really necessary?"

"We have more workers, my lord. But having them all work on the same quarries has not increased the yield. It'll be prudent to send our workforce to new quarries." Celos Poole said.

"Hmm. Before any new quarries are opened, ensure that permission is obtained from the chieftains of the Mountain clans. We must be respectful of their sacred grounds."

"It'll be done, my lord. Might I suggest we invite the chieftains and have them informed rather than send messengers?" 

Harry gave it some thought before giving his consent. After all, the clansmen were not his bannermen. He had a better relationship with them owing to the Stark name and the aid he provided them on his last visit.

"I suppose that is for the best. I suppose we ought to have a talk with the clansmen about those silver mines we found while mining for stones." Harry mused aloud.

"Aye, my lord." Celos nodded. 

"The clansmen consider metal to be the gift from the Old Gods. They revere it." Jojen suddenly said, making Harry's eyebrows climb upon hearing the unusually silent squire speak.

"The lad is not wrong, my lord. We'll need all eighteen chieftains to agree to mine the silver." Celos said, nodding at the young Reed, who squirmed in his seat at the attention he garnered.

Harry stared at the young Reed, who served as his squire and page. The boy was a bright fellow with a good handle on his numbers and letters despite celebrating only his eleventh namesday. The Reed heir was also a budding greenseer, and he had been trying to enhance the boy's power with some Occlumency training. The immense psionic powers lying dormant in Jojen's blood were taking a toll on his health. It was still a work in progress.

"I'll have a word with them. We shall, of course, cause no harm to any sacred grounds of the Old Gods." Harry said after a minute of pondering. "What is the status of the roads we were constructing to the Stoney Shore?"

"They have completed, but I remind you, my lord, they're not paved like the Wolfswood road." Celos said cautiously.

"I remember. But if we gain permission from the chieftains, we can start paving the roads for easier transport." Harry suggested.

He had so far put off exploring more silver and gold in the mountains and river banks because it was labour-intensive work, and there was no immediate need for such precious metals. After all, there were other priorities to consider at the time of their discovery. The clansmen living near the hills of Stoney Shore had enjoyed relative freedom in what they did with their lands. House Fisher had historically not pressed any authority over the hills. Since Avalon had risen at Sea Dragon Point, the clansmen were inclined to show deference to him. While they had not sworn any oaths, they presented themselves each year with gifts from their mountains. They had even given him their warriors for Avalon's protection.

In return, Harry was all too happy to ensure the clansmen had access to Avalon's riches and safe heaven when storms struck. The landslides that happened in the mountains were also a threat to their livelihood. Therefore, he built a permanent shelter for them northeast of his castle and promised to buy their wares, which included fine fur, boiled leather, honey, and bronze utensils. In fact, most of his household guards came from the clansmen of the Stoney Shore and the Northern Mountains, as did the greatest supply of cordage for his ship's rigging. The clansmen were also good hunters and gatherers of natural herbs to make medicines. They were some of the best local healers, and their services were coveted during times of war.

Even House Fisher had mostly seen him with deference even though they were an old family and kings in the past. But that was mostly because he had helped them improve their earnings by buying gin from their lands and expelling all Ironborn and pirates from the shores for good. The last time he met with Lord Fisher, the man was positively beaming about fishing becoming so profitable now that the shores were safe. He was also in talks with House Fisher to establish several lighthouses along the coasts to guide ships sailing from afar.

With the Blazewater Bay islands under his control, it was imperative to ensure the shores were properly noticeable so that ships could sail unimpeded during rainy nights and when the fog set in.

"We'll have another discussion on the scope of the mines later tonight. For now, tell me more about our planned expansion of Glassglow Street, Ice Street and Smith's Street." Harry said, setting aside all the other reports in favour of listening to this particular frontier.

He leaned forward in interest as his castellan explained the inroads the bank had been making by giving loans to glass workers, ice merchants, and smiths to set up shops or even their houses. It was a planned expansion of a budding city, and Harry was keen to see Avalon expand into a city. Metal work, glass trade, and ice trade were some of the lucrative businesses in Avalon. Therefore, he wanted three industrial districts built to urbanise and increase his domain's productivity. It was also a testing field to see whether building a city would be sustainable in the long run or if he should just leave the city to build around his castle organically.

So far, his attempts to urbanise the harbour have been touching some level of success. The sailors and the officer corps of his budding fleet had been encouraged to house their families around the harbour. It was his tentative attempt to make a military district, and so far, it was going better than he had thought. The last reports showed more and more sailors, fleet officers, shipbuilders, and captains taking up residence in the substantial land grants he had reserved for them.

After all, it was much easier to raise a new generation of sailors amongst a community of navy families. In the coming years, the fleet would become the backbone of the North, and he already had a new target once the canal was finished to test the full might of his fleet.

But first, there was more inspection to be done, and he needed to be elsewhere to see the progress with his own eyes.

Harry spent an entire day in Avalon, mostly inspecting the bank's progress and hearing petitions. He also visited some of the settlements and the Godsgrove knights to discuss the expansion of settlements and take opinions about conserving the groves within the settlements. There were some complaints from the fisherfolk that some of their villages were not getting access to the promised amount of ice from the merchants. It was not an unforeseen issue as merchants were naturally inclined to sell their ice outside the North, which had a more lucrative price. In the end, greed always triumphed one way or the other.

Harry had to make alternate arrangements on the spot. The solution was to cut out the merchants from doing business with fisherfolk and take up that business with Avalon. He had tried to avoid this because it was a slippery slope. He disliked interfering in trade matters so directly. But keeping the fisherfolk happy was necessary because they supplied most of the sailors in his fleet. Looking after such a loyal populace was a necessity and his duty. These people had kept these shores safe for centuries without asking anything in return and with little to no help.

He was certainly not looking forward to expanding the scope of his work by becoming a supplier of ice. But somehow, that was exactly what he'd inevitably become. For a brief moment, he entertained the notion of taking the merchants to task and having them forced to do his bidding, but he abandoned that thought.

'If I were in their position, I'd also look to maximise profit.' Harry thought with a frown.

Shrugging his shoulders, he let the merchants to their own vices. He wanted that cutthroat attitude primed for all his merchants engaged in trade with the outside world. He'd have to step in and take care of this on his own. Unfortunately, it meant expanding his own workforce to ensure a separate supply of ice was given to the fishing villages for their needs. After all, he had given them his word that their livelihoods would be protected and improved under his rule.

So, upon his return to the castle, he abandoned the plans to visit the three new islands of Blazewater Bay in favour of transporting ice to the ice houses in the villages. Because of access to cheap ice, the fisherfolk of Sea Dragon Point could sell their hauls to Avalon and beyond without their produce spoiling.

At the end of the day, Harry not only managed to make alternate arrangements to keep a steady supply of ice for the fishing villages but also watched over Alaenera's training. His Tyroshi paramour was undoubtedly a gifted student in magic with a natural inclination towards transfiguration of all things. However, being a Valkyrie required so much more than skill in magic.

So, Harry was not surprised to see Anya and Kyla take Alaenera to the task in a training field. Only time would tell whether Alaenera has any martial proclivity.

*****

"So, this is the former stronghold of pirates and slavers." Jon commented, looking down from the Liberator at the island below.

"One of the three islands, yes." Harry nodded.

"Have you named it yet?" Jon asked.

"Not yet. This one is the smallest of the three and the hardest to access from the sea."

"Why?" Jon asked with a frown.

"It's surrounded by too many coral reefs. For now, we don't have much presence on this island."

"Corals? You could call it the Coral Island." Jon suggested.

"The pirates called it the Lockhold. They kept their treasures hidden on the island." Harry shrugged his shoulders. 

"Treasure? Have you found treasure on the island?" Jon asked excitedly.

"Some but not all," Harry admitted. "There are many rumours surrounding the caves on the island, which remain unexplored."

"What about the other two?" Jon asked, looking down on the island as if hoping to see some of the treasure caves from the Liberator.

"The other two islands are larger in size and useful for us to project our fleet's strength in Blazewater Bay and Saltspear."

"I have seen your plans for the expansion of the fleet. There are a lot of ports and a lot of ships in those plans. Are you sure you need these many ships and ports? Even the richest kingdoms like the Reach and the Westerlands don't have this many ports." Jon pointed out.

"The North is larger than any of the southern kingdoms. If we are to protect our shores and dominate the seas, we need these ports and a larger fleet." Harry stared into the vast sea ahead. "Besides, do not forget the enemy from beyond the Wall. When our attention is turned to the Walkers, I don't want to give anyone ideas about stabbing us in the back."

"Speaking of which, what is happening beyond the Wall? Do you have any idea? Are they closing in?" Jon asked a tad fearfully.

"I do not know." Harry admitted.

He had spent a lot of conscious effort not to poke into the dark power stirring beyond the Wall, especially after he had used the Ressurection Stone. He had enough experience with dark spirits to know that it was a bad idea to constantly chase after it and keep tabs on it, even if it's from afar. It was one of the reasons why he hadn't even asked Archmaester Marwyn to do the spying in his stead using Valyrian glass candles. The spirit, gods or whatever they called themselves, thrived on the emotional turmoil of the collective mindscape of humanity. By obsessing over such entities, he'd inevitably open doors for such entities to enter his mindscape. Harry gathered that it was all too easy for a spirit like Balor, the last Fomorian spirit, to worm its way into his mind, especially with this connection to the Hallows. 

"It doesn't matter anyway. We'll be ready when the time comes." Harry shook himself out of such morbid thoughts and patted Jon's shoulder.

"You should bring Robb to these visits instead of me. He should be the one to know more about this stuff anyway." Jon said.

"Oh, he knows. It was his idea that I bring you here to make sure you know about all of our positions and strongholds in the Sunset Sea." Harry said with a grin.

"Really! Why?" Jon looked taken aback.

"Because the future lord of Moat Cailin, the shield of the Sunset Canal, needs to know what he is guarding if he is to diligently execute his duties afforded to his position."

"Wait… what?" Jon asked incredulously.

"Don't tell me you thought we were rebuilding Moath Cailin to leave it unattended. It's yours when it's finished, Jon Stark, lord of Moat Cailin." Harry said almost casually, enjoying the slacked jaw expression on Jon's face.

*****

"Magnar, the up-jumped pretender is here." Njonm said hurriedly.

Styr, the Magnar of Thenn, looked up from the fire he had running. He stared at the man delivering the message with a critical eye. The messenger boy had brown hair, wore grey wool, and carried a lone spear.

"Is he alone?" Styr grunted as he inspected the fish he was smoking over the fire.

Seeing that the flesh was not adequately cooked, he held the fish corked to a stick close to the fire again.

"No Magnar. There are five spearwives with him."

Styr scoffed while those sitting around the fire sharing its warmth chuckled. They called the upstart who was trying to unite the different clans of the Free Folk many names, casting aspersions on the character of a man who used women in battle. Unlike their rowdy brethren, the Thenn never sent their woman to fight other men.

"Jarl, you told me that Mance and those spearwives of his were a day away. Why do I hear they are in my camp?" Styr glared at his second in command.

"I'll have a word with our warg Magnar. The old man has been counting clouds and seems to have lost his mind." Jarl said, rubbing the back of his head with a pinched look.

Styr shook his head at that. Unfortunately, they lost some of their best wargs when the Others attacked their lands. Without the wargs, their ability to read the lands was becoming difficult. It was one of the reasons why the Thenn were wandering from place to place to keep away from the Walkers and their enemy clans.

"Let him come. I'll hear what the man has to say." Styr said eventually.

"But father…" Sigorn started but fell silent when Styr glared at his son.

He waited patiently by the fire until Mance Rayder arrived. Styr gave the man a look and saw the former crow was in good shape. The man was tall with brown hair and clear brown eyes. All the black of the black brothers were gone, and instead, the man chose to wear proper wool and fur as befitting his blood.

"You look more like one of us now, Mance." Styr grunted.

"Do I now? Since when did the Magnar of Thenn start to worry about how I dress." Mance joked.

"Since I started hearing rumours that you are gathering men and women to your side from different clans. I needed to know there is no crow left in you."

"Hmm. I respect you, Styr. Your people are great warriors and honour your word till your last breath. So, I won't waste your time. You know what's out there; no clan or tribe can face this threat alone. We need to unite to face the Walkers." Mance appealed.

"Unite under you." Styr said with a pointed look, "What makes you think you can do any better against the Walkers than anybody else?"

"I have no such notions that I can best the Walkers. Their power is beyond mine or anyone else's understanding. But if we unite, we can breach the Wall and seek refuge behind it away from the Walkers."

Styr eyed the man for a moment before he broke out into loud laughter. He shook his head as he took a bite from the fish. He savoured the taste of cooked flesh on his tongue while his eyes shined with mirth as he stared at Mance Rayder.

"You mean to become the King-Beyond-the-Wall and assault the Night's Watch." Styr said with a shake of his head. "Bold of you, Mance. I'll give you that. But there is one problem, though. Many have tried in the past, and all of them failed soundly." 

"It'll not be the same this time." Mance said confidently.

"Oh? What makes you say that Mance?" Styr asked, indulging the man.

"I have earned the loyalty of the Giants. They've pledged their clubs to my cause." Mance said confidently, making Styr stare at the man with wide eyes.

The whisperings started in earnest amongst his clan, making Styr frown.

"That's a bold claim to make Mance. The Giants have not given their allegiance to anyone for centuries. So, you'll not think less of me for doubting your word." Styr said, directing a hard look at the man.

"I don't expect you to take my word so easily. You can find the truth of my claim with your own eyes. You can come with us to our camp and see for yourself." Mance proclaimed boldly. "In fact, all Thenn are welcome."

Styr eyed Mance drearily as his people whispered amongst themselves about Giants and whatnot. He couldn't really fault his people for their loose tongue. If the Giants had joined in common cause with Mance Rayder, seeking the man's protection would have been only natural. The Others had hunted the Thenns, and they were forced to leave their ancestral lands for safety. It made sense to seek the protection offered by the Giants in their war against the Others.

But then again, Mance was not seeking a war against the Others. The man wanted to cross the Wall somehow. Under normal circumstances, Styr wouldn't have entertained Mance Rayder this much, but these were not normal circumstances.

"You have a sharp tongue and a way with the words Mance. But are you still a crow, or are you one of the Free Folk?" Styr asked as he climbed to his feet, forcing all conversating to an abrupt halt.

"I'll be only too happy to show you." Mance said calmly as Styr stared into the man's brown eyes.

"We fight Mance Rayder. If you win, you'll have earned our trust, and we'll see for ourselves whether your claims about the Giants are true." Styr offered.

"That sounds splendid to me." Mance grinned and nodded his head.

Styr smirked as his blood sang at the prospect of combat with a worthy foe. He had fought Mance Rayder once in the field of battle. He had lost then, but now he was sure he could clinch a victory.

"The last time we battled, it was for a herd of sheep. I hope you haven't forgotten that Styr." Mance said, standing ready with a sword in hand as the Thenn made room for the fight to begin.

"The last time you were lucky, as I was injured by an arrow. This time, you won't have that luck." Styr growled, brandishing his weirwood spear with one of its ends covered in heavy bronze.

"We'll see about that." Mance growled.

With a yell, the two warriors rushed at each other for the second time with the fate of the Thenn and the Free Folk at stake.

AN:

To read ahead of the update schedule; pat(r) eon. C (O) M/Dragonspectre.

For artwork related to the fic:

https://discord.gg/Nw2JH25fJf