Chapter 100 - Negotiations with Free Folk (VII)
"Dialogue really does work miracles when it comes to diplomacy, but the truth of the world is measured by who is stronger. The weak will never have the equal status to negotiate with the strong." - Aenar I Targaryen, God-Emperor of Planetos.
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"Your Grace is asking us to kneel, but what's in it for us?" Mance ignored the whole situation with Tormund and Leda; his eyes were fixed on the prince's purple eyes.
"The People of the North won't take us in. We'll be treated worse than slaves. No, they won't even consider us human. We're just thinking beasts to the rest of Westeros."
What Mance said made many look at their king with respect. Although the threat of the Night King was one of the reasons for everyone to accept Mance, a former Raven, as king, but Mance himself was the main reason. The man became one of them and even married and had children.
"I will give you Sea Dragon Point and Stony Shore, I will leave them as your fiefdoms and for all the Free Folk." Aenar spoke after a brief silence. "Not only that. If you kneel before me, I'll give you enough food to last six months and I'll help you build your towns and villages. For the next ten years, the food you buy from Reach will be half price, until you can finally grow crops with the help of the Glass Gardens."
Aenar's words surprised all the members of the Free Folk. How could they know how many people they had? There were hundreds of thousands of mouths feeding all the time. At this very moment, of these hundred thousand men and women, around ten people were starving to death every day.
Now, knowing that they could have a place and food moved the hearts of many of the Free Folk.
"Yes, although at first there was mistrust and hostility on the part of northerners like yourselves, they are a straightforward people and respect the strong." Aenar continued. "You just have to show that you're not man-eating monsters and you'll gradually be accepted over the coming decades and hundreds of years."
"But all of this has to start with you taking the first steps to make something like this happen." Aenar finished, looking directly into Mance's eyes.
Looking into the young prince's sincere eyes, Mance breathed a sigh of relief. Aenar's terms were ten times more generous than he had expected. Honestly, he had only expected permission to cross the Wall and submit, while his people gradually spread north.