Vale, Battle of the Fingers, Coldwater City
Coldwater City is the fief of the Kowart Family, a family in the Vale. Coldwater City is located between the index and middle fingers of the Fingers. It's worth mentioning that the Kowart Family is a minor noble house in the Vale, sworn to the Royce Family of Runestone City.
The Royce Family of Runestone City are the primary vassals of the Arryn Family. Their seat is in Runestone City, and their sigil is a pile of pebbles between two rows of runes on an orange field. Their house words are "We Remember."
In the previous life's television series, Lord Yohn Royce, the head of the Royce Family, was forced to obey Littlefinger after he gained control of Robin Arryn.
In the "Battle of the Bastards," Lord Yohn Royce led the Vale knights to break through the army of Ramsay Bolton, also known as "the Bastard," saving Aegon Targaryen (Jon Snow), who was about to be completely defeated.
Marco always suspected that Lord Yohn Royce was involved in Littlefinger's decision to travel all the way to Winterfell. In the end, during Littlefinger's trial, Lord Yohn Royce must have reached some agreement with Sansa Stark.
Otherwise, given Littlefinger's caution, he wouldn't have come to Winterfell without a backup plan. Although his feelings for Sansa were a factor, he wasn't a fool. He had caused her so much suffering that he wouldn't have failed to prepare an escape route for himself.
However, in the end, none of the Vale nobles were willing to help Littlefinger, which was undoubtedly due to Lord Yohn Royce's influence.
When he was in Seagull Town, Marco had already witnessed the methods of "Bronze Yohn," so "Littlefinger" Petyr Baelish and Lord Yohn Royce were always Marco's primary targets after his advance into the Vale.
At this moment, a powerful fleet had gathered at the mouth of the Coldwater River. Marco, after the Battle of the Fingers, had destroyed most of the Vale's combined fleet, with only a few ships escaping to Nine Stars City.
After Marco seized Witch Island and Your Head Island, he reorganized his fleet and marched towards Coldwater City with great fanfare, accompanied by his advanced system soldiers.
Coldwater City was located near the mouth of the Coldwater River, which was the northernmost river in the Vale, originating in the Moon Mountains.
Marco was eyeing Coldwater City's proximity to White Harbor and its special geographical location in the north of the Vale. He would use it as a bridgehead to gradually begin to encroach upon the Vale's territory.
Viscount Royce Kowart was looking at the army and fleet outside the city with some trepidation. His Coldwater City had also participated in the Battle of the Fingers, but the five warships his family had painstakingly accumulated were all destroyed at Witch Island.
Viscount Royce Kowart looked at his family's maester and monk with some helplessness and said:
"Maester John, Brother Duncan, what should I do now? Our family's knights are brave, but the enemy has dragons and magic."
Maester John and Brother Duncan exchanged glances, and they saw a hint of fear in each other's eyes. The Valyrian Empire was different from Aegon the Conqueror; it was in the process of establishing a new system and nation.
Therefore, Marco's reputation was quite poor in the church's propaganda, which made the two of them uncertain about Marco's actions. Although they belonged to different factions, they were essentially still part of this castle.
Although they were very resistant to the rule of the Valyrian Empire, in the face of power and military might, they could only be responsible for their own lives first.
"Viscount! The enemy is too strong, we have no way to resist. Surrender!"
Maester John said somewhat helplessly. Brother Duncan also sighed and nodded. From a certain point of view, the Seven Gods were also foreign deities. The old gods had always been the mainstream faith on the continent of Westeros.
"It seems that the Dragon King has chosen the old gods. May the Seven Gods above protect their believers from this disaster, Father..."
Brother Duncan thought silently in his heart, and at the same time, he unconsciously prayed for his faith and gods.
About three hours later, Marco, who had accepted the surrender, rode a dragon down from the sky. Brynden and Aegon were riding dragons, keeping watch in the sky. Although the enemy had surrendered, this was not their own territory after all, and necessary precautions were still needed.
If Viscount Royce Kowart decided to pull a "Red Wedding" on Marco, just like the Frey Family, Marco wouldn't know who to cry to.
The Fingers are a complex region, and lacking any significant resources, the noble houses there are generally quite weak.
Marco slowly walked toward Royce Kowart, who was already on one knee. Viscount Royce Kowart looked to be about 35 years old. His wife, Pia Royce, was a distant relative of the Royce Family.
They had one son, Robert Kowart, who was only three years old. Upon seeing Marco approach, everyone from Coldwater City knelt.
Marco and his wives approached Royce Kowart. Seeing their trembling forms, he couldn't help but find it amusing. He then adopted a serious tone:
"Rise, Viscount Royce Kowart of Coldwater City! I accept your surrender. From today on, Coldwater City will remain yours. I will send craftsmen to rebuild and expand your castle and docks. It will serve as a military port and a distribution center for my supplies.
I don't require anything from you. You only need to manage your castle well. From today on, your family's soldiers will be demoted to city guard soldiers. You will lose your duty of protecting your own lands, as the soldiers of my Valyrian Empire will protect you from now on. The details will be explained to you by the saints and temple warriors of our Pantheon."
Coldwater City was an old-style castle, consisting of an outer wall and a large main keep. The outer wall housed the soldiers and servants, while the main keep was where the family members resided. The basement level contained warehouses and a prison.
The first floor was their family's hall, the second floor contained bedrooms and offices, the third floor had a small chapel and guest rooms, and the top floor's tower housed the maester's room and the ravenry.
This traditional, old-style castle was a relic of the First Men's era, a distinct architectural style compared to the more common multi-layered fortresses on the continent. Its defensive capabilities were both its strength and its weakness.
Lacking residential and commercial districts, this type of castle had no real prospects for development. This was also why Marco wanted to expand Coldwater City. Fortunately, there was a modest "Sturgeon Wharf."
It was the support from this wharf that prevented the Kowart Family from falling into the dire situation of being unable to even maintain their castle. Every month, some fur traders and fish merchants came here to trade, which allowed the Kowart Family to collect some taxes.
Looking at the barely-maintained castle, Marco shook his head, feeling somewhat helpless. He then asked Viscount Royce Kowart:
"Has your family always maintained its livelihood and the construction of its territory in this way?"
"Excuse me, Your Majesty, are you addressing me?"
Royce Kowart, feeling his wife tugging at his sleeve, asked Marco with surprise.
"Your Majesty, our territory doesn't have many special products to begin with, and our people barely manage to survive. Although there's an iron mine in the mountains to the west, it's difficult to extract and transport the ore. We've been trying to find ways to improve the situation," Maester John explained to Marco, handing him a simplified map. Marco took the map and examined the basic layout of Coldwater City.
The area around Coldwater City slopes from west to east. Most of the grain harvest comes from the fields in the east. The ten years of King Robert's reign have been a long summer, which has multiplied Coldwater City's grain harvest several times over.
Unfortunately, even with a good harvest, the low income of Coldwater City hasn't changed. This year is already considered a good one, as they still have some ability to defend themselves against bandits and pirates.
Furthermore, under the development of Viscount Royce Kowart and his father, they have established a small fleet and an army of about 200 men.
In a world like this, territories without resources and land have little prospect for development. Many lords in Westeros aren't unwilling to change the situation in their territories; it's just that without funding and population support, any reform plan seems a bit powerless.
Afterward, Marco said to the people of Coldwater City:
"Since you can't, let the Valyrian Empire do it! As the first Vale city to pledge allegiance to me, I will naturally not let it remain in decline."
After a simple tour of Coldwater City, Marco left and went to the encampment outside. The Coldwater River's current slowed significantly as it neared the sea.
Because the river channel was quite wide, the Kowart Family hadn't built a large bridge. They mainly relied on sea transport for trade with other parts of the peninsula. Both banks of the river were home to many residents who also conducted trade through sea transport.
Back at the main camp, Marco began to use the simple map he'd obtained in Coldwater City to plan future construction and related actions.
Upstream on the Coldwater River was another family, the Tollett Family of Grey Glen. The Tollett Family was a minor noble family in the Vale. Like the Kowart Family, they served the Royce Family of Runestone City.
A few days ago, Grey Glen had been captured by the Clan Alliance from the Moon Mountains, led by Marco's "Direwolves" members.
These high mountain clan tribes in the Moon Mountains had once participated in the "War of the Five Kings." The Painted Dogs Tribe, the Burning Men Tribe, the Moonmen Tribe, and the Stone Crow Tribe had joined the Westerlands army with Tyrion Lannister, eventually following him to King's Landing.
After Tyrion fled to the Eastern Continent, these tribes were expelled by Cersei Baratheon. These clan warriors looted and pillaged along the way, seizing a large number of people and supplies before escaping into the Moon Mountains.
The Painted Dogs Tribe from the north was the main force in this battle. Marco's Griffins made the Painted Dogs believe this was the beginning of their redemption, and they also recruited some members of the Burning Men Tribe to prepare to join the Valyrian Empire.
Just as Marco was about to call Brynden and the others down, the dragons soaring in the sky issued a series of warnings. Immediately after, the bells of Coldwater City began to ring.
At this moment, a soldier of the Dragon Guard suddenly ran in and reported to Marco:
"Your Majesty! A force of more than 4,000 people has suddenly arrived from the west. Strangely enough, they are flying the banner of our Valyrian Empire."
Marco smiled at this and said:
"These are the mountain clan warriors that the Direwolves have recruited in the Moon Mountains in the north. They are descendants of the First Men; there's nothing strange about it. Go and invite the queens, we will go and see these fellows together!"
Meanwhile, Dagon, the leader of the Painted Dogs Tribe, and Kapo "Ninefingers" from the Burning Men Tribe, were looking at the dragons soaring in the sky with surprise.
Dagon looked at "Green Dream," which was still flying, and murmured:
"So alike, they really are so alike. Just as the elders said, the great witch's dragons; our tribe will surely be reborn."
Then, Dagon turned his gaze to Ninefingers Kapo beside him, finding that he was also looking at the giant dragon in the sky with excitement. He then turned his gaze to the two young people in the team who were standing beside them.
"Your esteemed messenger, is that the Emperor's dragon? Can we really gain the Empire's recognition? They won't suppress us like those Rainbow Demons, will they?"
Ninefingers Kapo, who was standing beside him, also came back to his senses, looking over here with some excitement. He had originally just wanted to follow Dagon to make some money, but later, he slowly discovered that Dagon seemed to be plotting to join a powerful force, so he followed along.
Since the Burning Men Tribe's leader had been expelled from King's Landing, he returned to the Moon Mountains and began to expand his forces on a large scale. Soon, the scattered tribes of the masters were integrated by him.
Ninefingers Kapo and several small chieftains were used to their previous lives and did not want to be ruled, so they decided to escape to the north together. They did not expect to meet Dagon here, who was preparing to surrender.
After learning that Dagon was going to attack Grey Glen, these stragglers of the Burning Men Tribe joined in without thinking. They also learned that a powerful king wanted to attack the Vale.
After Marco arrived in front of these clan warriors, the dragons in the sky also landed. The largest crystal dragon landed behind Marco. After bowing its head, it roared at the crowd opposite.
The people of the high mountain clan tribes were all startled after seeing the dragon. They only knelt down belatedly after the two members of the Direwolves knelt. Looking at a large swathe of clan warriors kneeling down.
Marco seemed to be back on the Isle of Skagos again. Although the people of these clan tribes were savage and crude, they didn't have the bad habits of the descendants of the Andals.
The clan warriors mostly believed in the supremacy of strength. Once they were convinced of something, they wouldn't change. Therefore, Marco had always found them easy to work with.
"All of you, rise! Since you have raised the banner of the Valyrian Empire, you are now the people of Marco Belerris. I will protect you until the day the stars fall."
After Marco finished speaking, he ordered everyone to stand up. After arranging a place for the people of the Highland Clans to stay, Marco also sent people to deliver food to them.
Afterward, the dragons flew to the mountains behind Coldwater City to rest, while Marco summoned the leaders of the Highland Clans.
Dagon, the leader of the Painted Dogs Tribe, was also a strong man. He relied on his own strength and wisdom to integrate the Painted Dogs Tribe throughout the northern mountains. At the same time, he also changed the old customs of looting and taught his people to herd livestock.
Dagon's mother was a runaway nun. Because she couldn't bear the torment of the nuns in the monastery, she fled into the Moon Mountains, intending to end her life, but was saved by Dagon's father.
Therefore, he received a certain amount of cultural education from a young age, and his thoughts and insights were different from ordinary people. After he reached adulthood, he accomplished many things that the chiefs of the Painted Dogs Tribe could not.
When conquering the last small tribe of the Painted Dogs, an elder preached to him, saying that a king, an incarnation of a fire dragon, would appear in the north, and that the Painted Dogs would grow stronger under his leadership.
It wasn't until today, seeing Marco's giant dragon and the mountains of food and weapons, that Dagon understood what a king truly was.
When he was a child, Dagon's mother had told him the history of the Seven Kingdoms. He had always thought that a king was, at most, the chieftain of a large tribe, with perhaps ten thousand warriors at most.
But it wasn't until today, witnessing Marco's dragon and the densely packed...
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