Chapter 48 - 47 - Ambitions, Armies, and Pride (1)
While Maekar and Mara prepared for war in Dorne, as news of the Great Council spread, the realm moved quickly. Conspiracies, lies, and truths began to turmoil the kingdom.
The chance for a few ambitious souls to achieve great deeds had just arrived. In this world, there was no shortage of players for the Game of Thrones.
The Riverlands, Raventree Hall – Seat of House Blackwood.
The Lord of Raventree Hall and Head of House Blackwood, Roderick Blackwood, looked at the letters in his hands with a hard, steady gaze. The letter explained what Maekar was doing and that he had gained Harrenhal.
In the past, his nephew had no chance of sitting on the Iron Throne, but now things were different. The Great Council would take place in the coming months and would be an event never before seen on this continent.
Recalling that his nephew had created mandatory training laws that nearly doubled the army in about seven years, Roderick rose from his chair. He looked out the window and made a decision in an instant.
If he didn’t fight for Maekar’s well-being, who would?
Roderick sat back down and began writing a letter to the Lord of Castle Darry and Head of House Darry, Darnold Darry.
There were four powerful noble houses in the Riverlands: the Blackwoods, the Brackens, the Freys, and the Darrys.
Roderick certainly wouldn’t ally with House Bracken, the enemies of House Blackwood, and much less with the despicable Freys. So, only House Darry remained.
Darnold and Roderick had become friends with Maekar’s help in the past, when they allied solely through an agreement between the two noble houses.
It was precisely because of Roderick, the Lord of Raventree Hall, and Darnold Darry, Lord of Castle Darry, that Maekar had managed to win over half of the minor noble houses of the Riverlands.
He had two of the four strongest lords of the Riverlands by his side, and along with a great deal of time and travel, he had familiarized himself with the lesser noble houses.
All Maekar had to do was create a network of interests among the nobles and bring them all together, thus forming the strongest power in the Riverlands.
Suddenly, as Roderick was thinking, a young man abruptly opened the door and spoke loudly. "Father, countless nobles are rushing to Harrenhal; let’s go!"
It was the son of Roderick and his wife, Alya: Benedict Blackwood. Like his father, Benedict had hair as black as a raven’s feathers and a pair of dark brown eyes, almost as black as his father’s. He was about nineteen years old and already married.
"No rush. Gather the entire army and march toward Castle Darry. We will march with our combined armies to Harrenhal," Roderick said in a calm tone. He looked at his son with a piercing gaze.
"From this moment on, we are at war."
"We will fight to put Maekar on the Iron Throne."
The smile on Benedict’s face vanished; he wore a solemn expression and nodded. He did not try to dissuade his father. If Maekar became king, House Blackwood’s dream of becoming Lord Paramount of the Trident would no longer be just a dream.
It was a gamble, a gamble that the young and ambitious Benedict felt was worth taking.
"Yes, Father!" Benedict said with a look full of ambition and excitement.
He had personally seen what the laws created by Maekar had done to make House Blackwood’s army stronger in seven years.
The mandatory training laws practically made all men fit to fight, soldiers who knew how to handle swords. Along with free trade laws and unifying taxes into a single tax, the economy had been boosted.
Of course, the latter two laws were well-received, but the first law of mandatory training was unpopular and even nearly caused a revolt.
Fortunately, when Lord Roderick opted for a tax exemption for each month of mandatory training, the revolt dissipated as if it had never existed.
If you train every day for a month, you get a tax exemption for a month. This changed the entire atmosphere of the Blackwood Fief. Almost all men became warmongers, and a warrior culture began to form.
Benedict learned many things seeing that just three laws changed the House Blackwood fief so much. It made him realize that the people were the true wealth of a noble house, not its land or its money. As long as the people believe in their feudal lord, they can become killing machines for any purpose.
"Father, will the Children of Blood also be mobilized?" Benedict asked with a calm, malicious look. While Maekar was away, he was the supreme commander of the Children of Blood. He had participated in the creation of this organization himself.
He and Maekar had gone from village to village. Every orphan found, whether girl or boy, was absorbed into the Spy Organization. He himself saw Maekar teaching these young people to read and write, as well as simple math. He also trained them as spies.
After the first batch of students graduated in the first two years, Maekar stopped teaching and let the trained spies themselves teach the next generation.
Although Benedict still felt a pang in his pockets from the amount of money spent to train about sixty spies, he felt it was worth it when, after four full years, the Children of Blood finally began to show results.
Report after report began to appear on his desk, all filled with secrets among the lords of the Riverlands. This made him realize for the first time how important it was to know his enemies’ plans even before the enemy knew the information had been leaked.
It would open up so many opportunities for ambushes that it was truly incredible.
Roderick thought and spoke in a calm tone. "Yes, let’s clear Harrenhal of Strong influence and any rats placed by King Jaehaerys."
"Let’s get the castle ready for the arrival of our future king," Benedict said with an excited smile.
Roderick did not undermine his son’s confidence. If he didn’t have the confidence to do something, it was better not to do it.
A few days later, an army of nine thousand men would also leave Castle Darry and advance toward House Blackwood, where they would join an army of forty-four thousand men.
"Darnold!" Roderick, wearing black armor with the House Blackwood crest on his chest, greeted his friend with a smile.
"You’ve hidden many things, my dear friend," Darnold commented, seeing the massive army. This army was larger than the army of Dorne! And they weren’t peasants using hoes and sickles but true spears.
However, this also showed how arid Dorne was. The Riverlands, despite being the stage for many wars, had fertile lands and a much larger population.
If Darnold wanted, he could also have gathered an army of over twenty thousand peasants, but he didn’t for obvious reasons. Despite being used as cannon fodder, an army of twenty thousand peasants would not be as good as an army of five thousand soldiers.
"Well, we’ve prospered a bit this decade," Roderick said with a smile.
Hearing Roderick’s words, Darnold’s lips twisted, nearly cursing the shamelessness of the Lord of Raventree Hall. Prospered a bit this decade? Why not say that House Blackwood was at its peak in hundreds of years?
However, Darnold changed the subject and asked in a calm tone, "Are we going to face the Rogue Prince’s army and the Sea Snake’s army?"
"They are but a small army; the problem is Boremund Baratheon. As for Corlys, if he dares to bring his soldiers to land, I will show him that a land battle is different from a naval battle," Roderick replied calmly.
"You say Daemon is a minor problem, but what about Caraxes?" Darnold asked with a worried tone. "Daemon hates Maekar, especially for gaining a scar and losing an arm. He might attack us with Caraxes."
"Don’t worry, Princess Gael will come to Harrenhal with her dragon, Dreamfyre," Roderick replied with a smile. He was very pleased with Maekar’s future wife.
"Besides, Maekar will return before the Great Council."
Darnold sighed in relief and wore a solemn look. "We must reach Harrenhal as quickly as possible."
Roderick agreed, and the massive army marched with banners fluttering in the wind.
Benedict, along with Darnold’s son, David, followed behind their fathers and advanced together.
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Note: I just finished reading the second book in the Eragon series. I want to strangle the author! Why is he so afraid to start a relationship between the two main characters?
Arya is crazy, too, a hundred years isn’t even that big of a difference for long-lived species. Especially for Eragon, who’s going to live much longer than a human.
I have a question: before this book series ends, Eragon and Arya will have half-elven babies, right?
Read the advanced Chapters on my Patreon!
/GOTSW
Read my other books:
House of The Dragon: The Pale Prince
Game Of Thrones: The God-Emperor of Planetos
Percy Jackson: Godwyn the Golden.
Game Of Thrones: The King’s Court Wizard