Chapter 2: Rational Loyalty
While the brutish King Robert kept Queen Cersei under his thumb, Glyn Crabbe had to find a ladder for his own advancement.
If he were to seek an audience directly, the arrogant Cersei Lannister would most likely look down upon House Crabbe, who were called "half-wildlings."
Sending a raven was merely a prelude; the key was to seize the opportunity to display his capabilities and strength.
...
The lands of Crackclaw Point were mostly barren and infertile, mainly composed of swamps, forests, and valleys.
On Crackclaw Point, every dark valley had its own lord, and their lords and subjects trusted no outsiders.
Most inhabitants of Crackclaw Point were descendants of the First Men. When the Andals attempted to conquer Crackclaw Point, they were met with resistance everywhere.
When the residents of Crackclaw Point were not fighting external enemies, they would slaughter each other. House feuds ran as dark and deep as the mountain swamps.
Occasionally, a hero would bring temporary peace to Crackclaw Point, such as the legendary Clarence Crabbe of House Crabbe. But once he died, everything reverted to its former state.
During the War of Conquest, Aegon the Conqueror sent Visenya Targaryen to Crackclaw Point to demand their submission, making them direct vassals of the crown. Since then, Crackclaw Point had always been loyal to House Targaryen.
...
Glyn Crabbe handed the written letter to Steward Herschel.
After a moment of silence, Glyn Crabbe ran his slender fingers through his inky-black, medium-length, slightly curly hair.
About a hundred miles east and slightly north of The Whispers, there was a large tract of land suitable for cultivation, at least compared to the rest of Crackclaw Point.
This land had once fallen under the sphere of influence of House Crabbe's ancestral seat—the castle known as The Whispers. According to Steward Herschel, House Crabbe had once supplied a thousand elite household troops from that land, maintaining their absolute rule over the surrounding region.
After Robert's Rebellion, under both internal and external pressure, Glyn Crabbe's mother took the remaining retainers and migrated to a relatively safe military fortress, which she renamed The Whispers.
More than a decade later, the ancestral castle, The Whispers, was already in ruins, and House Crabbe had long since lost its rule over that land.
...
"Surana, it must have been difficult for my mother back then."
"My young lord, recalling it even now fills me with trepidation. In the beginning, my lady had to sleep with two swords under her pillow; the longsword was for the Mountain Clansmen who might arrive at any moment, and the shortsword was for herself."
Glyn Crabbe chuckled softly. "She was indeed formidable."
Surana, who was accustomed to maintaining a stern expression, also showed a hint of a smile. "My lady departed in peace, my lord. You are her greatest pride."
After a short conversation with the household steward, Surana, Glyn Crabbe pondered her last few veiled words after she departed.
The harvest season was approaching, and the neighboring lords of the Mountain Clansmen had tacitly set their sights on House Crabbe, which had just lost its lady.
Everyone was poor, but by comparison, the farms of House Crabbe had always been an object of envy.
The opportunity was perfect.
At this moment, the lord of the Crabbe lands was just a young boy who had long been sheltered under his mother's wing. The Mountain Clansmen had united for a rare occasion. If they weren't going to rob him, who else was there? The advantage was theirs!
Surana was not worried about a war in the Crabbe lands.
House Crabbe had two hereditary household knights: Ser Per Pily and Ser Marwyn Beck.
Their families had been cultivated by House Crabbe for hundreds of years, making them the most reliable retainers in this world.
In the perilous environment of Crackclaw Point, House Crabbe had over two hundred standing soldiers, each a seasoned veteran.
Twenty of them wore full plate armor. Against the unarmored Mountain Clansmen, one of them could stand against ten.
Surana had accompanied Glyn's mother on many campaigns; she was agile, and it was rumored that she had few rivals with a shortsword.
What Surana truly worried about was Glyn's youthful impetuosity. Leading troops alone for the first time, he might get carried away by a rush of blood, charge to the front, and inadvertently be killed.
House Crabbe had only one heir left. If something were to happen to Glyn, everything protected under the Crabbe banner would collapse in a short time, and House Crabbe itself would become history.
Glyn actually wanted to tell Surana directly, "I'm very cautious; I won't be reckless."
But for the sake of a lord's dignity, he had to display courage at all times, so he could not say such things.
Since his transmigration and the completion of his integration with the original body, every time Glyn awoke from sleep, he could feel his physical attributes clearly improving in all aspects.
Glyn's sword was already hungry for a fight.
With his mature mind, Glyn constantly told himself, "This is merely one of the ten great illusions produced by physical enhancement."
You're a lord. You have soldiers. Hold steady. Don't be reckless!
...
House Crabbe, aside from a female cousin three years his senior who had been married for four years, was left with him as the sole heir. This was very dangerous for a noble house with a long heritage.
The Crabbe lands were not a peaceful place. The lord had to frequently lead his subordinates in battles, both large and small.
Lady Crabbe was gone. As the Lord of Crackclaw Point, Glyn Crabbe's future life would be like that of his ancestors—fight, fight, and fight again.
Being a lord on Crackclaw Point was a high-risk profession.
What would happen if the last of House Crabbe met with an accident?
Anyone with the slightest bit of sense would feel a sense of crisis, and the people's hearts would waver.
The title of House Crabbe was a hereditary lordship.
Corresponding to House Crabbe's awkward position in the kingdom, Glyn's marriage was indeed a problem; he could not marry too high, nor too low.
Normally, at fifteen, Glyn should at least have a fiancée.
Surana understood that a lord's marriage was not a simple matter of love. The causes and consequences of Robert's Rebellion served as a constant warning to the nobility not to let love cloud their judgment.
Therefore, Surana felt that even having a bastard would be acceptable; Glyn needed to produce an heir, regardless of noble traditions and laws.
It was not a curse on Glyn, but a way to secure the loyalty of his subjects.
Only with an heir would the lord's position be considered truly secure.
Surana had a son and a daughter. Her eldest son, sixteen, was already married and currently studying under Steward Herschel.
Her young daughter, Kalaina, was thirteen. Her first moon blood had come a month ago.
She was healthy, with outstanding looks, and most importantly, reliable.
Surana had watched Glyn grow up and knew he was not a harsh or ungrateful person.
Although bearing a bastard was not glorious, it would be a meritorious deed for the Crabbe lands at this time.
Unable to inherit the Crabbe name, the child could only use the bastard surname "Waters," but would still carry Crabbe blood.
At this moment, bearing a child with Crabbe blood would, at the very least, secure her a farmstead and a lifetime free from want.
She would live better than most women, a lifetime of sufficiency.
Everyone would benefit.
...
As they say, when in Rome, do as the Romans do. Glyn was fortunate to have integrated the memories of the original body.
With these integrated memories, Glyn's usual words and deeds would not seem too out of place, allowing for gradual, natural change.
As a former loyal vassal of the dragonlords, he could not leave behind too obvious a handle for others to grasp.
Under the Faith of the Seven, being too unconventional could easily get one labeled a heretic. The followers of the Seven were everywhere on the continent of Westeros.
Thirteen years old... Glyn leaned back in his chair, looked up, and stared at the ceiling for a long while.
The conflict with his own moral code was too great. He would reconsider it later.
...
After a few days of quiet accounting, Glyn's direct subjects totaled just over two thousand. Their main livelihood was hunting, supplemented by farming.
About a thousand were gathered near The Whispers, while the rest were distributed among ten villages of varying sizes.
Among them was a village south of The Whispers, by the sea, with a population of over two hundred who made their living by fishing.
It was called Fishing Village—a poor name that needed changing.
At the very least, "Village" should be changed to "Port."
After this busy period, he would have to go there himself, conduct an on-site inspection, and then make a plan.
The lord was very poor and needed many gold dragons.
...
The household knight, Ser Marwyn Beck, who had departed three days ago, was now inspecting and cataloging all the blacksmiths, carpenters, and other artisans within the territory according to Glyn's orders.
Steward Herschel had already begun arranging for people to tidy up the empty rooms.
He was to gather all the power within the territory, centralize production, coordinate the division of labor, and cultivate skilled workers in preparation for establishing a cold weapons manufactory.
The Crabbe lands had many excellent fir forests. If he could train all his people into longbowmen as soon as possible, the advantage would be his.
Elite longbowmen required not only archery skills but also strong discipline. Glyn understood that all of this would take time to build.
Glyn's first priority was to mobilize his forces to the greatest extent possible given his domain's current strength, gather all his power to raise an army, and first pacify the nearby Mountain Clansmen. This would bring a relatively stable environment for his territory's development.
Most importantly, he was just too poor. Glyn planned to temporarily change the house motto to "Conquest triumphs over toil."
He would change it back once he had money.
(end of chapter)