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The Principality of Dorne
Sunspear
"Princess, what do we do?" Someone asked in the gathered court, but Meria did not even look for who it was, gazing at the shimmering, see-through purple dome that had trapped them like rats in a cage.
"I haven't a clue." She muttered.
Walter Wyl, the young son of Walter Wyl who had just come of age, chuckled in a way that sounded broken. "Suppose that's why she left without killing us that day. She is punishing us."
His father had not taken the young man to war, as his castellan had recently died, and there was no time to replace him, which was the only reason he survived; otherwise, the main branch of House Wyl might have been erased.
There was nothing to do now, except survive. "Do we have enough grain and livestock?" Princess Meria asked.
"Aye, but without trade, we will have to ration it to ensure there is no famine." Even that wouldn't be enough, but they had no other choice.
Even the sea was forbidden to them now, and as a house that earned much from trade, Lady Sareen of House Yronwood knew they were in dire straits.
"And the river Vaith?" The Storm Queen had redirected the river after destroying Hellholt and House Uller, which would severely cut down on their water source.
Lady Rhinae Vaith, who had lost her husband and every single male member of her family, pointed at the map. "The water that flows has been cut down, not enough to condemn us to thirst, but we will have to be careful with how we use water as well."
She had one daughter, not yet of age, leaving her house in a dangerously weak position.
"Can't we dig canals to fix it?"
Rhinae shook her head. "The land itself is cursed; we tried, but lightning kept striking us, and staying near it for long makes men sick."
"We won't starve nor be thirsty as long as we are careful, but we are stuck in our lands with no trade. How long before smallfolk are penniless and can't feed themselves and their families?" Lady Ysoldeh Toland's words summarized the entire mess they were in.
"Have we done no damage to that accursed dome?"
"None."
Meria just felt drained.
—
The Reach Prefect
Highgarden
Ei smiled, bringing her glass forward, the clinking sealing the end of the war and the start of their private celebration.
"Feels good to be drinking together again." Saiguu cheered, enjoying the moment.
"Indeed." There was a round of agreement from the four of them. Seeing the fifth member of their group still swirling her wine, the kitsune nudged her.
"Kage, why aren't you drinking?"
"I never had before." Because she had no reason to drink before.
The kitsune pinched the puppet's cheeks. "No time like the present to try."
Slapping the offending hand away, she agreed. "Very well." Taking a small sip, Kage tasted the wine and found that it was actually good.
"It's…sweet."
"I built your sensory modules based on mine. It's not rice wine, but it is good enough." She liked sweets, no matter the form, with dango at the forefront, but the wine was good too.
Saiguu slapped her forehead. "Can't believe I almost forgot." She scrambled to her feet, searching for something in the bag Chiyo had carried.
"What?" Chiyo panicked, thinking that the crafty fox had hidden something weird in their luggage.
She sat down, seeing that it was just a pouch. Opening it, she revealed glimmering, glorious rice.
"Is that rice?" The shine was not natural, unless this was a different kind of rice.
"I bought it from a merchant that was heading to Trader Town from Yi-Ti. I didn't know if I could find it anywhere and thought it might be a good idea to keep some with me for raising crops." It wouldn't hold for the duration of the travel, so Saiguu had put an enchantment to keep the rice from spoiling.
Chiyo grinned, taking the shot. "Would you look at that? You finally did something useful."
Saiguu grinned.
Amateur.
"I am sorry, did you just say you don't want any rice when I find a place to grow these?" She shook the bag, and Chiyo leaped, trying to get the pouch, while Saiguu grinned and kept it away.
"No, I want some too. Gimme." Chiyo whined, all in playfulness.
Ei and Sasayuri laughed lightly, enjoying the moment, and even Kage cracked a smile.
—
"Have soldiers stationed on the Dornish border if they decide to surrender." It was another day of holding court and ruling the kingdom, and Ei thought that Dorne's resolve would have been weakened enough for them to consider giving up.
"As you command, Your Excellency." The knight of House Swann bowed, leaving to carry out her orders.
Saiguu leaned from her seat next to Ei's. "Do you think they will surrender?"
"Maybe, maybe not, but there definitely will be uprisings." The smallfolk of Dorne, for all their support to the nobles, would need someone to blame.
Since Ei was far away and unavailable, that honor would belong to the Dornish nobles.
"Oh well, onto more important matters. I think Trident would make an excellent field to grow rice." Rich soil and more than enough water—once developed, the Storm Kingdom would have a great supply of rice.
Saiguu actually had more knowledge in farming than Ei, and Trident would need to be developed anyway. "You would know better than me."
"Buuut, the floods need to be controlled, which I will have to leave in your capable hands." The landscaping, whether it was for construction or a side effect of annihilating her enemies, was Ei's field of specialty.
"How can I refuse when you ask so nicely?"
Saiguu grinned. "Nicely? Please, I am just bribing you with dango."
—
"Your Excellency, Lord Mallister requests an audience."
"Allow him in."
"Your Excellency."
After the pleasantries were out of the way, Lord Emrick spoke about the merchant ships seeking passage through the canal in his lands, and since it was Ei's Thunder Dragon who had dug it, the Lord of Seagard thought it would be fitting, and uncontestable, if she were to decide the tolls.
It was a good idea, as the canal would generate a steady source of income while facilitating trade.
The toll would change depending on the amount of cargo and the value of the goods the ship was carrying, with official amounts to be sent to the newly established canal customs in Seagard.
Which brought Ei to the matter of coin; since the Seven Kingdoms all used different currencies, minting her own coins was necessary for ease of trade. The copper penny was the lowest, with sixty copper pennies equal to a silver stag, which in turn would have a fifteen-to-one conversion rate with a gold Miko.
She had chosen to name it after her friend, and Saiguu had found it cute.
Another issue was the matter of measurement units. Westeros did not have a centralized unit system, with differences in each kingdom for what counted as a stone.
Implementing the new system started with sending several molds and pure iron weights as a reference point so new weights for the balance scales could be cast without any deviance. For volume, a one-liter bucket, a half-liter bucket, and a hundred-milliliter cup were sent with the weights.
Steel beams, a meter long with each centimeter notched for length, were the final orders she had sent for Weeping Town.
Another Iron Works was necessary.
—
Lords Grandison, Fell, Buckler, Errol, Steadmon, and Trant did not have the chance to receive boons for their territory due to the sudden war. For Broad Arch of Steadmon, the third Iron Works of the Storm Kingdom would be built for the ease of transport with their new port.
For Felwood, a new town near the keep for the power looms, an alcohol brewery, and dye shops for Lord Grandison; brickworks at Bronzegate in addition to the iron mine; tool shops for House Trant; waterwheel-powered fulling mills for House Errol; and more.
—
Her next step was to visit Trident for the rice fields, a rather selfish desire, but one that would improve the lives of her subjects as well.
It was a plan that required coin, and fortunately for them, the ransom taken from Harrenhal stood ready to be useful.
Levees and embankments along the Trident were necessary to prevent uncontrolled, destructive floods and direct the water to planned areas to build stable farmland.
The Red Fork, the south of Fairmarket, and the north and south of Riverrun were the necessary locations for the levees and embankments, allowing them to create floodplains between Seagard and Saltpans.
The work began with Fairmarket, which would then be moved to the Red Fork and finally, Riverrun.
There was no news from Dorne yet, except for their futile attempts to break the barrier.
They had a long road ahead, not just for Riverlands, but for the kingdom as a whole.
—
2 YA
Storm's End
Months had passed, and Ei, with her friends in tow, finally returned to Storm's End. The work in the Trident was progressing, as was the work across the kingdom, giving her time to return to the seat of House Durrandon.
"Ready to meet your little brother?" Saiguu nudged Ei as the five of them approached the gates, where Argilac and Selena were waiting with a retinue.
"It is not like I can ignore him, Saiguu."
Argilac grasped her on the shoulders; his face, once marred with wrinkles of worry, was now full of smiles. "Daughter, welcome back."
"Father, Selena. How have you two been?" Busy, apparently, from the sight of Selena's baby bump.
"Never been better."
"Your brother, Prince Argall." Selena held out the baby for Ei. Taking the giggling baby to her arms, Ei saw just how much he looked like Argilac, with the same blue eyes and black hair, with the softness of a baby.
"Hello, little one." She rocked the baby gently, who squealed in delight and pulled her hair.
The purple color of it must have drawn his interest, and he was rather insistent in trying to rip it off. Amused, Ei bopped the child on his nose and pried his hand away.
He was cute.
Saiguu, in a moment of curiosity, approached the baby, leaning down too close, which proved to be a mistake, because this time, the baby found her ear interesting.
"You little…" Saiguu pulled her ear away. It did not hurt, but one did not just grab Kitsune Saiguu's ear like that.
Argall just squealed more, enjoying the goddess' reaction.
—
By the next day, a feast was prepared, along with a tourney, to celebrate the end of the war and Argall's birth at once. Lords across the kingdom had made their way to Storm's End to join the festivities.
Ei, though, had more pressing matters, such as Argall. Her little brother was clingy, constantly trying to play with her hair, making Saiguu and Chiyo his targets when she wasn't around.
She found the baby likeable, not minding his interest.
Sasayuri, Chiyo, and Saiguu had quickly made themselves at home, decorating their rooms and settling in nicely.
Life had slowly turned peaceful, and Ei couldn't be more glad for it.
—
Essos
In Essos, the Targaryens had besieged Pentos after conquering Norvos but were stuck in a stalemate.
During the parley, the Pentoshi nobles had made their demands clear: if they were to bend the knee, then slavery would stay as it was a vital part of their way of life. The Targaryens offered to let Pentos keep their current slaves, but no others would ever be taken.
Refusing to budge, the Pentoshi nobles had left the talks.
The nobles, knowing that they could not stop the dragons, had chosen to use slaves as shields, chaining them to the rooftops of their manses and on top of the walls.
The Targaryens, declaring an end to the slavery, could not easily commit slaughter without being seen as two-faced conquerors who were so easy to yield when faced with hardship.
Which meant this battle would have to be fought by men.
Orys Baratheon, the champion of the newly proclaimed High Archon Aegon Targaryen's champion, had instructed his host to construct siege machines, but it would take several weeks.
Sabotages had further slowed the machines down.
At night, the assassins were a constant worry in the Targaryen camp, and more than one had been caught trying to reach the dragonlords.
The walls had taken time to crack under the constant arrow rains of the Pentoshi, but eventually, their stocks had run out. Without dragons to assist, breaching the walls had been a bloody affair.
The fight inside the city was no less horrible, and the Targaryens had suffered heavy losses in their victory.
Until the host could be replenished, they had to put a stop to their conquest.
The Pentoshi nobles who had been captured were beheaded in public as punishment for resisting House Targaryen, but their families, wives, daughters, and children were pardoned as a sign of mercy.
Of course, House Targaryen had also done nothing when the enraged former slaves had struck back against their oppressors, killing the pardoned families.
The fall of Pentos had shown that the dragonlords were persistent in their attempt to carve a new empire in Essos.
The wealth of the suddenly extinct nobles was seized on the orders of High Archon Aegon I Targaryen to be used to hire new men for the host.
Myr, Tyrosh, and Lys, knowing they were next in line, started a massive buildupof scorpions, so much so that the carpenters and blacksmiths were swamped with orders, driving the prices of several other goods up.
Every single suitable rooftop in their respective cities was to be filled with scorpions.
Food was another worry, and with their trade routes on land cut off, ships had to sail constantly. Fortunately, Westeros was experiencing a growth in harvests and was all too glad to sell to the Free Cities, especially the Storm Kingdom.
There were rumors that the three daughters were trying to entice the God-Queen of the Storm Kingdom to defend them against the Targaryens, but either they were unfounded or were flat out refused since nothing came from it.
Escaping the flames of the dragons, artisans, crafters, and merchants sought a new place, eventually settling in the lands of Queen Argella, carrying their arts to Westeros.
The cities were preparing for war, which disturbed their trade further, and their coffers were slowly draining, and they had tried to take loans from the Iron Bank of Braavos.
Knowing it was unlikely to be paid back if the dragonlords took the cities, the Iron Bank did not approve of any loan to Myr, Tyrosh, or Lys.
Instead, they turned their attention to the growing opportunities in the Storm Kingdom, having found mixed success since Argella Durrandon was not interested in taking loans.
—
In the next chapter:
Maester Larry, who acted as more than just a maester these days, brought out a letter, holding it in both hands while bowing his head. "Your Excellency, our men at the border have sent a letter."
Ei took the letter, quickly reading through, and chuckled. "What is it?" Saiguu thought it might be finally time for Dorne to surrender.
"The Dornish wish to parley." She handed the letter to the kitsune.
Chiyo shook her head. "It only took them this long."
"Send a letter back; tell them I will be there in two months."
"Making them wait, huh? Good." The kitsune goddess grinned. The Dorne waited for two years; they could afford to wait a couple months more.
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