The reach, stable and peaceful

There will be no extra chapters during this week only the four mandatory ones

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-Pov of Jon arryn seventh moon 286 AC

Highgarden is no longer what it used to be; its three walls had been torn down to make room for renovations, more buildings to accommodate thousands, if necessary, and also rooms for an army of servants. I have tried to visit most parts of the castle, but still, I have not managed to observe much.

Since we arrived, Robert was treated... like a king... or something even better. They had everything prepared for our arrival, which contrasted greatly, as we saw Lord Hohenzollern while he dressed plainly; they had prepared very ornate silk clothes for us, with beds made of horsehair and cotton, and it truly was a delight to sleep there after sleeping on Prussian army cots. It was a great reward for my back.

One could order food at any time of the day and it would be delivered in minutes, coming out of the oven with no problems, in addition to access to Lord Hohenzollern's wine and liquor cellars. Besides, there were servants ready at any time to do everything, and Lord Hohenzollern was prudent enough not to put women near the king. Even the queen is content with almost thirty maids in her room to help her with everything, and with all the good treatment we have been receiving, it was obvious that continuing our royal journey throughout The Reach had ended.

Robert did not want to continue the journey and wanted to continue enjoying the true luxury of having gold, since the concept he had before, of living luxuriously, was totally destroyed by Lord Hohenzollern. What surprised me and Varys was the level of self-discipline that the young lord must have to have access to all this and still decide to live modestly. I even doubt that I can go back to sleep in my bed now...

'Should I ask Lord Hohenzollern if I can buy the mattress?'

We had been the first to arrive and there were still several days before more nobles from outside The Reach arrived at this place, and at least I wanted to review the infrastructure of the largest Prussian cities.

So I got up quite early, resisting the temptation of the bed to continue lying down, and followed by my knights, I went to wake up Robert, who must have had a slight hangover after drinking so much last night.

But when I arrived at his room, I found it empty... There was no one in his room nor were there servants or knights nearby to ask.

For several minutes we walked through the labyrinthine corridors of the buildings of Highgarden looking for Robert, but wherever we looked, he was not there. We checked the kitchens, the dining room, the living room, the armory, the training grounds, the places where Robert would normally be moving, but still we did not find him, until I noticed in one of the tall towers knights of the Royal Guard watching a door.

''Is the king inside?'' I asked the two royal guards guarding the door.

''Yes, Lord Hand, King Robert is inside Lord Hohenzollern's ice house enjoying the weather,'' one of the knights replied.

''Weather?... Let me in,'' I said to the knights, who opened the door and I was hit by quite cold air.

The cold hit reminded me of my home for a few seconds, when I again looked for Robert... After seeing that in this building there were huge blocks of ice everywhere, which cooled the place quite a bit.

I looked for Robert, and after moving around the large room, I found that Robert was lying on a block of ice with a wineskin with some liquid that Robert was drinking.

''Hello, John, is it daytime already?'' Robert asked as he stretched his body and took a long sip of the liquid.

''It's quite early, the sun hasn't risen yet... And you're still drinking, Robert... contain yourself a little, you can't look like a drunkard in front of the Prussian nobles,'' I said looking at Robert, who seemed very relaxed.

''This? No... no, John, this is not liquor or wine... One of Wilhelm's doctors gave it to me, this thing is wonderful, it helps a lot with the hangover... What did it have?... Oh yes... salt, sugar, water and... potassium and they flavored it with some fruits... he explained to me that the reason we have hangovers is mainly because of these... dehydrated... something like that... So if I drink this before and after, it helps a lot... Look, I'm fine for the amount I drank last night,'' said Robert, getting up quickly and handing me the wineskin.

I smelled the liquid and it had no smell of alcohol, so Robert truly was not drinking.

''Besides, it's very nice here... Wilhelm has all this ice for the guests' drinks and their ice creams, so I used it to escape the heat a bit and fell asleep for a while... so I can continue my nap or do you have plans?'' said Robert after giving a long yawn.

''I wanted to visit the Prussian cities nearby to see how the inhabitants of the area live and see how the remaining Septons here have managed to tell their opinion on the changes,'' I said looking at Robert, who was cleaning his clothes from the pieces of ice he had on them.

''So early, John, we should go later... We should have breakfast first, the cooks have that cheese bread today... the balls of dough with fried cheese, a delight accompanied with cured ham and a cup of tea,' said Robert following me after I headed to the exit of the ice house.

''You can order it whenever you want, no request has been denied to you,' I said without turning around as I felt the temperature difference upon leaving.

''Fine... let's go,'' said Robert, taking the wineskin of his hangover liquid from me.

We prepared the horses for the journey and in the short time that we gathered our equipment, the cooks brought Robert a small steaming basket; apparently, the cooks worked quickly to fulfill Robert's whim.

We left the Highgarden complex and rode to the city that was closest to our position and at the same time one of the largest Prussian cities, which had been built by them.

The city was walled with a long wall that must have been about twelve meters high and several buildings rose even higher than those twelve meters.

Upon reaching the gate, the guards initiated their investigation procedure, where I had to hand over the documents that had been given to me upon entering The Reach, and subsequently, they let us enter through the city gates.

The sound of bells coming from a large tower with marks caught the attention of our entire entourage. For a minute, the sound of the bells spread throughout the city.

We continued our path to the city center, and we saw how almost all the inhabitants began to mass exit their homes, and we heard voices coming from wooden watchtowers.

"A new day of work begins in the name of our lord!"

"Go to work, may the lord be with you as you work today!"

"Work begins, may the lord save all workers from harm!"

The men on the watchtowers used something that amplified the sound of their voice, and it could be heard in much of the city as the workers prepared for their jobs.

Suddenly, we saw how the city came to life. The smell of baked bread began to fill the air, and the sounds of conversations could be heard everywhere. The sound of hammers hitting metal resonated, and we saw how huge lines began to form in some businesses.

Where lines were forming were businesses that had the Prussian iron cross on their signs, indicating that the owners were Prussians. We saw several businesses with that cross where people crowded, as apparently Prussian craftsmanship was much better than what could be obtained elsewhere.

I walked through several streets and saw that on one of them many young people were gathering, waiting to enter a building. Some quick questions to the multiple guards who watched the streets, and I learned that Lord Hohenzollern is educating his population. For what, I do not know, but it reminded me of when I was being educated for my position as Lord of The Vale. Educating the population is dangerous and would make them covet more than they should, or so my maester said.

I noticed that many people already knew how to read, as there were many posters on the walls with news that the Prussians posted in important areas. In addition, several walls had images with what seemed to be inspiring messages from the Prussians about Prussian virtues.

All the streets looked busy but peaceful, there were no signs of public unrest, and crime seemed almost nonexistent.

We checked the city's markets, and the presence of foreign merchants was notable. But there was something that was obvious: those merchants only sold items that were not produced in the city or raw materials. Apparently, there was a pride in consuming everything that was locally produced, or so the Essos merchants in the city told me.

During my journey, Robert got lost in a tavern, where in the short time he was missing he had become a wrist-wrestling champion among the early tavern-goers. He was next to a gym, as every person he defeated bought him a jug of beer.

Luckily, Robert didn't get drunk, as it was a mild beer. Also, Robert now always had that Prussian recipe nearby to avoid the hangover.

We continued our investigation until we found a building that had Lord Hohenzollern's heraldry and many people who were coming out carrying sacks on their backs all the time.

The entrance was guarded by police and knights who gave us no trouble to enter, and we found that inside the store there was everything anyone could need to live life: clothes, salt, shoes, fabric... and flour at a price that seemed like a joke.

I felt my stomach compress when I saw the price of the flour in this store... If this price were to reach the Seven Kingdoms, it would mean the total collapse of the kingdom's agricultural economy.

"What's wrong, John? Did you go pale all of a sudden?" Robert said, somewhat concerned.

I pointed to the number indicating the value of a large sack of flour.

"What's that? Is it too expensive?" Robert asked, looking at the price.

"What?... Robert, the price is incredibly low... We have talked to Lord Hohenzollern about this and the damage that can occur, but still the price is very low," I said nervously.

"Don't worry... Lord Hand... That's the price given to the city's inhabitants... They must prove that they live here or they will have to pay it at the official selling price used to subsidize this low price... in order to keep people happy... Peasants without hunger don't cause trouble," said one of the knights who was here.

I gave a loud sigh upon hearing that news, and after finishing checking the products, we continued to review more local industries, such as the pure alcohol business, the perfumeries that are so famous in King's Landing, and the jewelers that all belonged to Lord Hohenzollern and made crafts of impressive quality.

After a long day of moving around the city, it became clear to me that The Reach was stable... as promised... The inhabitants adore their lord.

The bells rang again now that it was getting dark.

"Today's work is done! Thank the lord, enjoy your free time!" the words were heard again from the watchtowers.

And life after work seemed to be starting, as people were gathering in social gathering places, such as the baths, taverns, and square where a theater play was in preparation.

We left the city to return, and I noticed a poorly constructed building on the outskirts of the city that was lit up.

As I approached, it was a sept, where it had its septon and several of its followers who were praying to the Seven.

I approached with our group to see that the septon who was giving a talk about the virtues of the Seven was a young man who wore rather dirty clothes and ragged shoes.

When he finished what he was saying, he approached me.

"How can I help you... noble guest...?" said the young septon with humility.

"I wanted to ask questions about this place," I said looking at the septon.

"I can say little, I have only been protecting the faithful for three months... The previous septon was crucified for trying to coordinate a rebellion with several others of my brothers," said the septon maintaining a serene face.

"So... how terrible is the persecution of you by the Prussians?" I said looking at the septon.

"The truth... If you do not incite rebellion or attack their religion, the Prussians leave you alone... There is discrimination for our faith... But if you compare it to how we lived before, in the same way the faithful have received help from the pagan lord... And we received his help personally not long ago, his priest knights gave us chests with silver coins to help us. The faithful do not receive much help, although there are well-paid jobs; we have many cases of a mother with five widowed children or vice versa. We can't do much, but with that help we were able to help those in need... You just have to maintain a moderate discourse and they leave you alone," said the septon with his serene voice.

"Thank you for your honest insight... I hope this helps you continue your work," I said handing over some gold and silver coins.

"May the Seven bless you... If you'll excuse me, I must continue with my duties," said the sept after receiving the coins and approaching his flock.

We returned to the castle, as Robert wanted to receive Lord Hohenzollern's hospitality.

'In the end, those complaints in the capital of a horrible repression were lies... How much are these septons going to lie to me?'

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Give me your power stones

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Leave a comment; support is always appreciated.

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I remind you to leave your ideas or what you would like to see.

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