A Bit of Kingdom Building II

(Erlend POV, Firmridge)

Sitting in his solar, Erlend looked over the reports of projects he'd undertaken and other changes that had been implemented within the Riverlands.

These changes had put his core Kingdom at the forefront of Westeros. Even when you ignore the immense wealth House Mudd had built up, lost, and built up again over its history, the income generated these past few years easily made it the third richest kingdom behind only the Westerlands and the Reach.

It wasn't poor by any means before his ascension, but its internal divisions made it extremely difficult to maintain a solid position over the other kingdoms.

When you add the wealth of House Mudd into the mix, than that immediately pushes them into the second spot. Why not the first?

Well… The Lannisters have been mining their gold mines for a minimum of 4000 - 5000 years. He finds it absolutely impossible that they managed to spend all that gold by the time of canon events. Erlend refused to believe that a House known for its cunning and wit hadn't made contingencies for the fact that their mines might eventually run dry, especially after seeing what happened to some of their vassals who had to deal with such issues.

There was also the fact that they wouldn't allow the Westerosi economy to be flooded with gold which could bring down the value of their primary source of wealth. Finally, there was also the almost guaranteed possibility that they had more than a few vaults within Casterly Rock filled to the brim with gold and treasure.

(A/N: Think the golden caches Stark wank fics love to give to their wolves, but multiply it.)

He could probably check for himself if he wanted to, but it wasn't something he cared much for, considering how busy the Lannisters had been doing their best to stablise their position. Tywin had a lot of enemies, even among his bannermen, and considering how long-lasting feuds between Houses tended to be, well it didn't paint a pretty picture.

If it wasn't for Kevan's survival and Tywin's siblings remaining united in their support of Tyrion, the Westerlands would also be wracked by civil war as the minor Lannister branches vied for power, this was further prevented by his backing of the young dwarf and the confirmation of his position as Lord Paramount.

Since he had been a child, Erlend had sought out as much knowledge as possible. Knowing the trajectory of this world was one thing, but learning about its culture and history was eye-opening, to say the least. Planetos while smaller than Earth, was rich with its own wonders and accounts of what had been and what could be. Its major continents both mirrored his old World, yet still had a unique twist to them that made them stand out on their own.

This was no longer a world that could only be explored through the pages of the book. It was one he was living and breathing in and one he intended to leave a lasting impact on.

Alongside the reports was information collected on all the Great Lords and the actions they've undertaken.

When he was declared King in the Great Council, he took advantage of the fact that most of the major movers and shakers in Westeros were in place for his influence.

Stannis was one such person he discreetly brought into his sphere of influence, the man cared for his family above all else, even duty. He was the only 'King' in the war of the five kings who cared about governing the realm.

When warnings of the Wildlings and the Others came south, only Stannis responded. Having sailed his entire army to prevent the destruction of the Night's Watch.

As for the burning of Shireen. That was an absolute load of bullshit that the showrunners decided to pull out of their ass. The man who sought the best healers he could find to save her life when she first contracted with the greyscale and who gave explicit orders that should he fall, his men should fight on in her name, and stop at nothing to make her Queen.

Not because he couldn't let go of his 'ambition' even in death but because as one of the few legitimate heirs to the throne, anyone else who sat on that wretched chair would seek to get rid of her, to solidify their hold. It was for all instances and purposes one of the most surefire ways to guarantee she had a chance at surviving.

There was also the fact that he was one most skilled tactician in Westeros.

It was for this reason Erlend, immediately put his aura and magic to bring the man into his sphere. Unlike the Tyrells, he was assured of Stannis's loyalty as long as he didn't do anything to harm his family.

Hells, the man agreed to retake the Durrandon name, just to ensure his son didn't get dragged into a potential civil war. That was someone he could respect and rely on.

Benjen was another, he carried great remorse and self-hatred for his part in Lyanna's folly that's true. Yet, he still cared about her despite the consequences of her actions, including little Saera.

He was also a Stark, enough said.

These two lords had been the primary ones Erlend knew he'd be able to trust. The others not so much. Tyrion needed him to remain secure in his position, the same with the Mace, where Doran was a snake ready to strike at any moment.

The good news was that Elia and Oberyn kept him at bay, though it was unlikely Erlend would ever trust the gout-ridden prince.

…

Despite being sure of his position presently, Erlend wanted the Riverlands to be powerful enough to take on the rest of the seven kingdoms with ease. While he already had something in the works that could guarantee the loyalty of the Great Houses, it wasn't foolproof.

There will come a time when magic could prove ineffective, and the Banners would have to do the job instead.

Hand in hand with the army was the navel situation, which was coming along fairly well. The Royal fleet would remain stationed on Dragonstone and regularly patrolled the narrow sea and the Twilight Isles. The fleet that he had from before the conquest and the acquiring of the Royal one had been moved to a hidden cove within the Cape of Eagles, in preparation for the Ironborn attack on Seagard.

Braavos or more precisely the Sealord had complained about the loss of the Banners and the added protection his fleet used to provide for trade. Something he had not time for, telling the fool that he had his own damn fleet and gold that could be put to use.

The Royal fleet was charged with protecting Westerosi ships and securing his portion of the narrow sea from pirates. The Braavosi would have to deal with the rest on their own.

The messenger hadn't taken it well, unfortunately for said messenger, Erlend had no time for grasping fool and had him thrown out of Firmridge.

He was fully aware of the plot Aerys and those paranoid fuckers within Braavos had been cooking up. Fortunately for them, he still had to secure Westeros before he could make a move to pay them back for their plot.

For now, he'd make do with the fact that they were bleeding gold.

…

Looking up from his reports he saw a familiar gaunt face, "Your Majesty." Its owner bowed.

Showing no surprise at his, Erlend asked, "Ellar?"

"These are reports sent by the wardens stationed beyond the Wall." the man said as he placed the documents on his desk.

"Have they found what I asked for?" Erlend asked.

"Not at the moment, every time they get close to the cave, they find themselves disoriented and moving away from it," he responded with a frown.

Annoyance flashed in Erlend's eyes 'Of course the little tree demons have fucking redirection charms…'. Pinching the bridges of his nose, "Change their objective to observing the wildlings, I'll deal with the cave myself" Erlend made clear.

"As you wish, your Majesty," Ellar replied.

"Anything else?"

"Lord Durrandon has expressed worries of movement by the three daughters, he's worried they might try for a second Triarchy."

Erlend seemed non-pulsed by this information, though he understood Stannis's worries, the last time the Triarchy was allowed to exist it, captured a lot of the Stormlands nobility including a member of his wife's House, and sold them off as slaves to pillow houses.

While the rogue prince and the sea snake had put a stop to its shenanigans. Daemon had failed to bring it down, it would be the three daughters themselves with their internal struggles that saw it brought down.

"Have the royal fleet increase patrols and alert for anything they might try. They'll first have to take the stepstones before they can make a move against Westeros."

The spymaster nodded at his words. "Volantis has been suspiciously quiet as of late."

"They're plotting. As they always do." Those fuckers couldn't get over the defeats at his hand. They also loathed his House for its part in preventing their own attempt at a Valyria. Hell, they probably saw it as an insult that he managed to bring Dragons back to the world when their pureborn couldn't do so.

A ridiculous idea, when you considered the fact that they had barely a drop of Dragonriders in their veins. What with them being descendants of soldiers and colonial lords…

"Is that all?"

"Indeed, Your Majesty."

"You can take your leave then." Keeping his face straight, the spymaster bowed once again before leaving the Solar.

Rolling his eyes, Erlend contemplated his next move. He knew that the daughters were likely to take advantage of the fact that he would be busy with the Greyjoys to prevent them from forming their renewed triarchy.

Initially, he would've just had the key players killed, allowing the whole thing to collapse on itself. Instead, he decided to let them, mostly because it would distract Braavos and those idiots hiding behind the scenes while he dealt with issues in Westeros.

Powerful as he may be, Erlend found it more amusing to face some 'challenges', it made beating them all the sweeter when they were so sure of their position.

It would also give his vassals more of a reason to look towards him for solutions, making them more reliant on him.

Was it classic villain behavior, quite definitely. Not like he cared though, there was only one enemy that mattered in the end.

=======

[Note:]

So Erlend knows his enemies are making moves, but he's letting them get away with it because it benefits him in the end and gives him something to amuse himself with. It creates a certain contrast to everything he's done so far, he's obsessed with ensuring the security of his dynasty, but at the same time, he doesn't want it to be too easy. Think of it as having console commands, but deciding not to use them until you're actually in trouble, like that one million Mongol horde that comes out nowhere just as you finish uniting the rus…