Chapter Thirteen
The captains of the Pearl, the Dutchman, and the Revenge were called to Winterfell, the three flagships of the North, each had a specific job and followed the orders of the Lord of House Stark, they were not allowed to follow the orders of any Lord unless Harry Stark gave the order, no doubt loyalty at its best, Harry gave them everything, ships that have no comparison, with that when the time comes they will become masters of the seas. In the north they were known as Poseidon's Trident, each one a fundamental part of the northern naval force, which as time went by was growing, none of the captains that could appear could compare with them, three of the first five ships built, for the Glovers who were in charge of the construction of the ships, they were their precious sons, the first of many that they made, the most difficult to build as they were the first. That is why they were so fond of these ships, the Glovers builders were able to use all their building skills to make these ships. Hence the nickname for these three men.
Jack Sparrow the youngest of them all, is a young man with dark brown eyes and long dark brown hair, with a small goatee beard that collects in two braids, wearing several accessories hanging from his hair, giving it a more rebellious touch, unlike his two companions, and along with these accessories a coin with the symbol of the Stark house, clothing the only thing that changed was the color, being the captain of the Revenge, his clothes had to be following the color of the ship which was blood-colored.
So all three wore a long coat with silver buttons, a shirt of the same color, black boots which was the only thing different from the rest, and a hat that appeared to be worn with real bass feathers. The three were dressed like brothers, just like the trident that Poseidon possessed, the three prongs were the same, the difference was that these three were different.
Jack, although young and of average size, was very good at sword fighting, although it may not seem so, he was an extremely intelligent person, skillful and quick, which increased when he felt danger. He was so skilled that he could fight both Barbossa and Jones at the same time, especially because of his pleasing ability to talk to his opponent to distract him, especially because when he speaks he seems to say incoherent things that only made his opponent angry.
Hector Barbossa, the captain of the black pearl, the first of the three to join the north and be part of the naval force, the first to take Harry's loyalty test without a problem, the most astute of the three, you always had to be alert to what he would do, and one thing, in particular, he was the only one who was not affected by Jack's nonsense in a fight. Rather every time the young captain spoke, he wanted to take his guts out more and more, so it was like adding fuel to the fire, an excellent captain who behaved like a tyrant, on his ship, but cared about his crew. That they were used to Barbossa's toughness, and he was also the master of Harry's foster sister, needless to say, he did an excellent job. He was very skilled at sea, and did his job best, as he tried to leave the ships he destroyed as sound as possible so that the Glovers' builders would have more working parts, although there was a certain rivalry, which could result in Barbossa leaving virtually no usable parts for later use.
And finally, David Jones, the most ruthless of the three, the most destructive of the three, his great hatred of the Greyjoys caused this, when he arrived in the north, he was found by Harry and he was the one who reached out to him, gave him a roof and a purpose, gave him the captaincy of the Flying Dutchman, only asked him to wait as his revenge would come, so he gave his complete loyalty to Harry, and followed orders, waiting for the right time, to take his revenge.
Many thought that of the three, David Jones was the strongest, something that had yet to be defined as there was always something to interfere with their fights. They were forbidden to fight at sea, they could only fight at Winterfell under Harry's watchful eye, which they agreed to, as they listened to his orders, and respected the other lords, but would not follow orders from them. So when they touched port, the lords of the ports had better have a letter from Harry, so that they would do something. David was the most faithful to that, he respected everybody, and he was someone extremely polite, but only one person was going to be able to give him orders in this place, and that was the wolf-looking boy in front of them.
Harry might be young, but he was a bloody monster in the good sense of the word, the boy planned everything in detail, and he could explain a battle strategy or a trap, that you would understand the first time. He left no stone unturned, which the enemy could use to their advantage, and if he left anything out, it was because it was a trap, an example was the Boltons, he would leave them alive so that the king's council would try to take information from them, not knowing that the Bolton ravens were fully guarded, just like any raven that flew in the north, the northern eagles would hunt them, as they were trained for that. Hunting any raven that was not entered by Maester Marwyn, of course with a good use of magic, from the master who was turning on such use with enormous ease. That made Harry dangerous, in a way, for his enemies to fall into the trap, without them knowing that they were going to their doom, all the letters going out of the king's landing that went to the Boltons, came first to Winterfell, and all the letters going out of house Bolton to the king's landing, went through Winterfell again to be altered, without them knowing it.
- "I called you because I have something to give you" - Harry looked at his three captains, who could already imagine what their gift was going to be, as they were looking at the different colored cases, were on their table, each one with a sword inside - "You can open them" - The three opened the box where their sword was, a completely different sword to the one they saw so far, but among the three it was the same, only the rubies that were placed on the hilt protector were different - "The three triton swords.... made of Valyrian steel and bathed in magic... you will be masters of the seas."
Any man would think that Harry was crazy to give this kind of power to these three people, who would be sure that they would remain loyal, having those swords, but Harry knew how to use legilimency, it is a type of magic that is used to explore the mind and feelings of someone, against their will. As well as able to hear the thoughts of the people that were around him, like talking to them, although it was not very used by Harry as he did not master it to perfection, he did not need to do it yet, it was not a world where wizards lived, so using it in this way was not going to be dangerous and although he still did not use it to perfection it was a way to take advantage in any field, as he could enter the mind of the other person to see everything he planned and if he wanted to modify it, Harry estimated that in another year he would be able to be a master in legilimency and then in occlumency, this branch not only consisted of closing your mind against the opposite branch which was legilimency, but also served for the order of your thoughts, every idea ordered, it also helped the maturation of the person and the rapid learning, and may be much more as he did not know how long it could take to learn.
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King's Landing.
The Master of Coin was happy with what was going on around him, when the gold that was borrowed from the Lannisters and Starks arrived in the city, the queen did nothing but buy a huge amount of first-class wine. 500 barrels of wine were brought from Highgarden, a total expenditure of two million gold dragons, which in due course was seized upon by Petyr who altered the accounts a little, and took off a small amount of five thousand gold dragons. A tiny amount compared to the amount of gold Cersei spent, and then there was King Robert's expenses, he practically never left the brothels, fucking every prostitute he wanted to calm his desire, never mind that he could calm his desire with Cersei herself, since in Petyr's mind, there was not much difference between a prostitute and the current queen. But it was certainly going to serve him well, for he had bought two brothels, with the amount of gold he had taken from the crown, now all the gold Robert spent on prostitutes was going to be a profit for him, something that was certainly good from his point of view.
But as happy as he was, there was something that bothered him, during these six months he tried to find out if he could lay his hands on the brothels of the north, the brothels not only served for pleasure but also as a source of information, the prostitutes were good at taking information or listening, after all, who would expect a prostitute to be an informant. But it was impossible for him, even his men could not reach the north, as they were not allowed in, and if they tried to enter through anywhere other than Moat Cailin, you never came back, so he used the Boltons as a source of information, he sent a letter asking to know what the brothels in the north were like, as he wished to buy some. What the house reported did not please him at all, the brothels were taken by the Lord of House Stark, the owners were killed and such places were put under the care of the lords of the lands, the women who wished to continue giving pleasure were within their rights, and those who did not wish to continue giving some sort of massage therapy as it relaxed the muscles and could understand any type of client, giving the lords a lot of profit.
- "Lord Hand" - Petyr entered the office where Jon was sitting, he was not naive, but he was not very clever person to realize that he was benefiting from the debt of the crown - "You have to try to convince the queen that her excessive spending of wine is not a good thing" - A clever person knew how to hide his facet and that was Petyr, giving him words that Jon obviously already knew because he realized how much the crown was spending - "Or take action and call her father so he can control her."
- "If Tywin Lannister knows I cannot control his daughter, he will do nothing unless I give him a seat on the council" - That was not good in Jon's mind, with Tywin on the council, it was not going to be long before he was displaced as the golden lion's wit and cunning, was far greater than his even if he did not like to admit it.
Petyr didn't say a word, he knew some people were better not to get in their way, currently, there were four such people, Tywin Lannister was a ruthless person who would not hesitate to show you that he had the power to crush you whenever he wished, Olenna Tyrell a ruthless politician who hid her ambition in the guise of an old woman, who could brainwash you with pretty words without you even realizing it, Oberyn Martell, he wouldn't hesitate to kill you, he was a good politician and military strategist, but with a small dose of poison it was enough to eliminate you, and finally the rising power, Harry Stark, nobody knew what the fuck was going on in the north, but everybody knows that the main responsible for all of Westeros being worried was because that damned kid was the total leader of the north, that was the only thing they knew.
So, for now, Petyr didn't want to mess with those people even though he certainly hated them, especially the last of those four people, because a northerner was responsible for taking away what he wanted most, and he had plans to get it back, first, he was going to take the valley, at any moment Jon Arryn could die, and he was going to keep his wife, then she was going to die the same way.
When he becomes lord of the valley, he was going to ask for the hand of Elia Martell, who was currently in the north, with that he was going to foster an alliance with the North and Dorne, where he was going to be able to control them, little by little he was going to eliminate the people who got in his way, until he got his prize. He was going to have Catelyn, no longer as a wife, but as something to satisfy his desires, he was going to leave Eddard Stark to witness how time and time again he raped Catelyn, it was a twisted desire he had, the perfect revenge for the person who took from him what he thought belonged to him, and the woman who turned her back on him, they were going to pay, and no one would be able to do anything about it because he was going to be king of the seven kingdoms when his revenge was complete, his plans were meticulously calculated, and suspicion would never go to him, because for now, he was just the crown's currency advisor trying to do his best job and nothing more than that. His only enemy at the moment was the Master of Whispers, the only one who could thwart his plans at the moment, and for now, it was not a good idea to eliminate him.
- "I apologize for raising my voice, but you have to understand me, I did everything to stop Robert from going to brothels" - Jon tried everything, but Robert's only thought was to unburden himself for the loss of his beloved Lyanna, it made him laugh because he also knew it wasn't love, it was only obsession because Lyanna Stark was the only one who rejected him, and the one who opposed to marrying him, that drove Robert crazy. -"At these moments I think, why didn't I support Ned to be king, he was always more polite, a true knight who wouldn't go to a whorehouse... sometimes our mistakes cost us dearly."
Great Citadel.
The Maesters were a powerful organization, they were in charge of teaching the sons of lords, they knew all of Westeros, as well as the power to change things in Westeros.
They knew the secrets of everything, even things that it was better that no one ever knew, like they were the first to try to plot against the Targaryen, a house of monsters in their mind, people who could tame and ride a dragon, that wasn't because they bred them or anything like that, no, dragons were magical creatures that felt magic, that's why they felt comfortable with the Targaryens, and they knew how to take advantage of that as much as possible, make the dragons follow orders, make them not attack people they didn't want to, all because of magic.
Then there were the Starks, a house that stood up to the white walkers, and yes they knew they were still there because that's why the wall was made. After all, the Starks couldn't defeat them, but they made sure that all the people believed that it was just a story and nothing more. The walkers couldn't cross the wall, so no one was going to be able to see any of them, so they were just stories. But the magic was dormant in the Starks that's why they put so much pressure on the other houses, not to let the north become strong, but something was happening, the Maesters of the houses were killed and sent to the citadel, they didn't know what to do, or how to complain as their letters were not answered, the messengers sent to the king's landing never came back.
They were being hunted, and paranoia in the citadel was rife, for it meant many things, there were many prophecies that they knew of that they would not allow to come to light, for the things they could bring about, but there was one prophecy that they feared most of all. Which began with the coming of death, they didn't understand how it was going to come, with natural catastrophes, but what was clear, was that when it came the citadel was going to fall, so they got the idea that it wasn't going to be a natural catastrophe, but a storm and they misinterpreted the prophecy, the silent death would take everything in its path, you grabbed that little piece of the prophecy and you could try to decipher it. And what they found was not beautiful as it all pointed north, the winter was silent, and with it came death, a death that was the same as being burned or drowning, as you felt your body feel the cold, and there is no way you can warm yourself with the warmth that another person's body could provide. They had to find a way to stop this, the citadel could not fall, they were the knowledge of Westeros, the past, present and future of the world, they had to be able to stop this, but the question was how to do it if you had no idea where to start.
They had to eliminate the Starks mainly, they were the source of power in the North, and by the way, they were going to eliminate any line that could use magic, they already finished with the Targaryen in Westeros, now it was the turn of the Starks, but what could be the easiest job at the time, now it was impossible, they could not attack the Starks directly, but they could put the future lords against the North. They could easily modify the plans they had with the heirs of the noble houses, make them think that the best thing was to eliminate the Starks to have complete control of the resources that could give you that kingdom, with that they were going to get rid of an enemy, and at last it was going to end with any trace of magic. As well as the library that possessed the house Stark, they knew of its existence but was hidden from the rest of the world, so that no one knows the secrets that the Starks of Winterfell possessed, Brandon the builder was the one who created that library, and the citadel wanted that library, with that they would have all the knowledge of the world, they would be prepared for everything, and no one would doubt that the Maesterres were paramount throughout Westeros to be the source of knowledge.
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The Dominion (High Garden)
Ambition is a powerful energy. It is to want, to grow, to have, to expand, to explore, to advance, to discover, and to achieve. To try to contain ambition is to want to fight against yourself, everyone has ambitions, some people achieved them and others did not, but still, the ambition is there latent and people who managed to achieve that goal, wanted more, because you never stop wanting more, why settle for what you got if you can go further. And when you achieve your goals, you feel that feeling that very few can explain in words, a feeling that makes you proud of yourself, capable, valuable, and powerful, which was the most important thing in this world. A person's ambition is necessary because without it we regress, we slacken, and settle for a grey life. It is like the strings of a violin. You have to tighten them daily so that the instrument is in tune and produces the right melody. Your ambition is that tension, the same tension that allows you to move forward and not pull back.
And ambition is the best word for Margaery Tyrell, a person who doesn't show her ambitions at first glance, but who has many and almost the same ambitions as many nobles, who don't know how to carry out their plans, but she was determined, she was going to get what she wanted, and she wasn't going to stop.
She was entering extremely dangerous territory, for she was using her father to get information about her betrothed while sharing a letter with Harry Stark, the person she wished to hold in her hand and wished to control, and the best part of it was that she was discovered, not by her father, but by Harry himself.
In the letter she was reading, he asked her politely to stop sending her spies, for it would do no good, they would not get into the North, and if they did get in they would not last long.
Margaery's smile was wide, for it meant that in High Garden, there was a spy, past her grandmother's defenses she was hunting all the spies of all the kingdoms, and she had very good people looking for and eliminating those spies, and here in the high garden there was a person or several, she did not know, but as Harry found out she was responsible for those spies trying to get into the north, only because someone was passing information to her. She bit her lip at how terrifying her future husband was, she needed to know more, she wanted to know all about the individual called Harry Stark.
- "You're smiling more than usual" - Loras Tyrell, one of Margaery's three brothers made an appearance, as always with a smile trying to annoy his sister, who lately, was only answering her fiancé's letters and looking for something about the Starks - "I see that your beloved fiancé has you mad... perhaps the most beautiful flower in a high garden will fall before a wolf."
- "Can't I fall in love, my dear brother? The difference is that I like a wolf, you like a stag" - It was no secret to Margaery that her brother had a clandestine relationship with the king's younger brother, Renly Baratheon, a secret relationship because if anyone found out about it, it would create a riot, that two future lords would have strange tastes - "but how is your relationship with Renly going... I was always curious as to how you do it."
It was strange to see a relationship between two people of the same sex, but Margaery loved her brother so much that she would never tell anyone else, as it could do great harm to the whole family before she was engaged to Harry Stark, she was thinking of marrying Renly Baratheon for the sole purpose of allowing her brother to be with his beloved, It was to be a fake marriage, where the true sexuality of the two was hidden, obviously, they would have to have children, of which they could use any man and then eliminate him, although that plan was a thing of the past, she was no longer going to be able to help her brother in that, and more so now that she had other thoughts.
Watching the sibling talk intently was Olenna Tyrell, she loved all her grandchildren, no matter their faults, she knew how to expect it from her grandson's tendency, but she was going to protect them, all of them, no matter what, she was going to protect them until her days were over in this world, she was going to do what she could to keep them safe, but for that, she had to eliminate her enemies, and the best way was currently one she never thought of, ally herself with the north.
- "My granddaughter will be safe?" - Olenna asked her two guards, she was no fool, the guards that always followed her had a different behavior to these, they indeed had the same face, and the same physique, but not the same attitude, she slyly made her investigations - "You do an excellent job, but I know my escorts, I chose them myself... who are you?"
- "We are nobody" - Answered one of the guards, who never stopped looking at the old woman, who only walked and nodded, understanding perfectly the answer given by her escort, the boy took the services of the faceless men - "But you and all your family will be safe... we watch over your safety."
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Dreadfort (Winterfell)
Knowing that you were cornered, provoked several things in a person, fear, nerves just to name a few of the things they could feel, their plans to make the other houses take their side against the Starks were null, the only house that would continue to support their plans was their vassal house the Whitehills, because although Ludd was no longer there, his sons were ambitious, each one wanted something that with the Starks at the head of the North they were not going to be able to get. If only they had more people in the North, to be able to make internal imbalance, it would be perfect, but between two houses they could not, the power of the Starks was very great and much more now that suddenly all the houses began to make money, the North now had four naval ports, and many more things, all this was reported to the various southerners who asked for information about the north, every boundary of the north was well guarded, it was impossible for anyone to get in and the brat not know about it, let alone get out, he wasn't going to get out because the one who controlled Moat Cailin was Eddard Stark, someone who was loyal to his stupid nephew, how he wanted that boy's head, he was a pain in the ass, House Bolton was no longer the most powerful, rather it was the last, as they didn't have the amount of gold that the others made, how the fuck did they make him not realize that.
That was a question he asked himself, how did they make him never realize that the houses started mining work, started various businesses with Essos, the ports were raised and the ships that were built were monstrous as a step so that he did not realize, because, from the first moment, he was going to stop any plan, as he wished everyone hated the Starks so that House Bolton would assume the power of the North, which should always belong to the house of the red kings. But it was impossible, he could not do it now, the more he thought about how to gain power, the more he was locked up, Dreadfort was locked up, it was not noticed or no one in his castle noticed, but he felt watched, day and night as if a predator was prowling around his castle.
Little by little Roose Bolton was becoming paranoid, an extremely dangerous state of mind for the person who suffers from it, as you slowly sink, unable to think exactly how you were going to get out, thinking things that would only lead to your doom, and the worst thing for the Lord of House Bolton was that his servants were going to help his greatest enemy to eliminate him.
- "Excuse me my lord" - The Bolton messenger entered the office of Roose who hid his face of fear since he did not feel when that person entered, his face returned to that bloodthirsty look of which his servants were afraid - "Pardon me for interrupting my lord, I was touching the door for a long time... I have a message of utmost importance."
- "Leave it, and get out of here, I hope you never interrupt my thoughts again, or you will know your fate"
The messenger bowed, and withdrew, leaving Roose alone again, who looked at the letter, it was from King's Landing, the Greyjoys were trying to make attacks to the north, but none of those attacks were successful because there was something that destroys them, for that reason he needed the help of someone who can tell him the safe stretches to attack.
Outside Lord Bolton's chambers, the messenger who delivered the letter was smiling, Lord Bolton was falling into the trap that Harry Stark was making for him when the Greyjoys have the balls he lacks to start the war, he may well have the motive to eliminate the Boltons, and not even the King's Hand or the king himself would be able to do anything about it, because Harry Stark had points in his favor to get out of any judgment he was sure would be made against him for eliminating a house as old as House Bolton, though of course that would happen the moment the Greyjoys attacked. Because Harry was playing a foul game with the Greyjoys, which they were not realizing, he was slowly leaking information without them realizing it. That was the level of control the Lord of House Stark had, the silent wolf, as the Lords now called him for the way he worked. A wolf who makes everyone play his game, and when the time comes, they can no longer escape his fangs.