WILOW-Ch.367: The Value of a Good Image
Near the Golden Tooth
POV of Domeric Bolton
Now that they had taken the Golden Tooth, it was only a matter of time until the nearby castles found out that the Tooth had been taken and would then inform the Lannisters about this.
This meant that time was of the essence.
Which was why once Domeric put all the castle servants inside the prison cells, put Lady Lefford inside her room, and garrisoned the castle with 300 infantry and 300 crossbowmen, he and the remaining 8,000 men left for Casterly Rock the very next day.
"You sure leaving the old man in charge of the castle was the right thing to do?" Bronn asked as they travelled through an unknown path in the forest once again.
He gave a sideways glance to General Bronn. "For all his faults, Ser Barristan Selmy is a man of his word." He said, "So if he said that he would hold the Golden Tooth till his last breath, then that's what he'll do."
Bronn shrugged. "We could have used those men."
"600 more or less men won't make much difference to us." He said, "But by holding the Tooth, we'll deny the Lannisters any chance of entering the Westerlands."
"He could still come from Deep Den." Bronn pointed out.
"Yes. But he would have to go 500 kilometers further south to do that. And that would give the Northerners and the Vale men enough time to reach King's Landing and put the city under siege." He said, "Not that we need to care about that. Right now, we only need to focus on destroying the gathering army."
"And taking Casterly Rock," Bronn said and chuckled to himself. "I am not even surprised you would go after the Rock."
He chuckled with the man.
"The bards made a song for you. For your victory against the Lannisters." Bronn said, "Slaughter of the Greenfield. Even the battle is named after the song."
"I've heard of it." He said, "Terribly boring. The bard called me the 'Hungry Beast', can you believe it?"
"Easily." Bronn said, chuckling at Domeric's betrayed look, "Theon Stark was called the Hungry Wolf because of the constant wars against the Andals."
"You know the history." He quipped.
"Because you forced me to learn it." Bronn said, "Like Theon Stark, you yourself have sent men to the land beyond the Wall a good few times. And now you're here. Fighting battles after battles when the Northern host has not even begun their skirmish with the Lannisters. Even the Baratheons have yet to take part in any battles."
"Stannis took Storm's End." He said.
"By assassinating the Castellan," Bronn said.
He opened his mouth for a retort, but none came to his mind. 'Huh…'
"Okay. I think I can see why they call me the Hungry Beast now." He said, and they both started chuckling.
"Think they wanted to call you Hungry Wolf, but you're not a Stark, and hungry Weirwood would sound terribly unimpressive, so they called you a Beast instead."
He shrugged.
He had gained too many names in his past life and more than a few in this life as well.
At this point, he was beyond caring about the monikers that people gave him.
"But I also read the latest edition of the newspaper. It seems to be written especially in response to this moniker given to you. It keeps referring to you as the Chosen One and the Blessed One." Bronn said.
"I may not care too much about the monikers others give me, but I need to prepare for the time when I will assert my claim to the Empire." He said.
"So, you want to improve your image in people's eyes? I don't think you need an image when you have real power," said Bronn, disdainfully, about the perception Domeric was trying to create with the newspaper.
"If I want to build an empire, I can't do it without the support of the people. Or rather, if I do, it won't be an empire built on solid foundations. Power may speak on the battlefield, but behind the scenes, politics always plays a role, Bronn." He explained.
"Politics... I hate it. But no matter how many names you give yourself with your newspaper, you can't stop your enemies from giving you bad monikers." Bronn said.
"Yes, that's true. But that works to my advantage," he said.
"How?"
"In that case, my enemies will call me by terrible and vile monikers, while my allies and supporters will address me with honorable and respectful monikers, right?" he asked.
"Yes, isn't that obvious?" Bronn said.
"So, what do you think those who are not yet my enemies or allies, those who have remained neutral toward me, will think?" he asked again.
"I don't know. They can probably address you either way." Bronn said.
"Yes. But I'm talking about what they'll think. Inevitably, they'll think I'm kind and generous to my allies, but ruthless and terrifying to my enemies. In that case, if they had to choose a side, who do you think they would choose?" he asked.
"Do you think it's that easy?" Bronn asked him back.
"Let's imagine that there are three different armies, one of which you command, engaged in an open field battle..."
"Where did this come from now?" Bronn asked, surprised.
"Just an example. You've lost a battle, you've lost your weapon, and you're on your knees. Two other generals offer you the option of surrendering, promising you and your surrendered soldiers good treatment in return. Which general would you choose?" he asked.
"How would I know? I don't even know who they are..." Bronn said.
"Right? Then let one of the generals be Ser Barristan Selmy, and the other be Mountain. Now?" he asked with a sarcastic smile.
"Of course I'd choose Ser Barristan," Bronn said, spitting on the ground before continuing, "I'd rather take my own life than fall into the Mountain's hands."
"So, the answer is actually that simple. When we feel truly threatened, we choose the option we feel safe with. That's human nature. Don't look down on honorable people like Ser Barristan. The reputations these people have earned through years of honesty and chivalry are far more valuable than most things." He explained.
"Then why don't you praise yourself more in your newspaper? You've had so many successes. You could tell them as heroic tales. Your newspaper is even better at spreading tales than bards." Bronn asked.
"Because it's not the right time. Right now, I have a secret objective. But when I get my hands on Casterly Rock, then you'll begin to see the true power of the newspaper. And when I lay down my claim to the Empire, the newspaper will operate at full strength." He said.
"If you care so much about your image, you should get a song written about yourself," Bronn said sarcastically.
"You know what? This is an excellent idea..."
Bronn. "..."
Once this war was over, he would have to pay a good bard to write a few decent songs for him.
Perhaps he could even inspire them with some future musical genres.
No. Cross that out. The best thing would be to establish an Imperial Orchestra and Musical School and train his own musicians and bards.
This way, he could teach them new musical instruments and train them in various song genres.
A few of the white orbs waiting inside his tattoo were related to musical instruments and the art of music.
With that knowledge, he could easily establish the world's most advanced music schools and orchestras.
Now he really wanted this war to end quickly and the White Walkers to be destroyed as soon as possible.
What gave him his real pleasure was developing his land and people and inventing new things.
He would establish the most advanced Empire in the world and bring it to a level even greater than his old civilization.
This was Domeric's true and desired goal.
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Next Chapters' Name:
Ch.368: Another Day in King's Landing
Ch.369: Baratheon Brothers
Ch.370: We'll Sue for Peace