36 Justice for a por man.

Winterhold, Skagos, 8th moon of 278AC

Winterhold was much calmer after the wedding; the prince and the Lords left the island two days after the wedding feast. Ragnar and Dacey saw every single one of them out; the lords of the western part of The North were happy as many of them bought grains for the rest of the winter; Ragnar charged the minimum amount possible, only enough to pay for the farmers' works and the logistics, the grains were almost 600% cheaper than the grains bought from the Reach and Riverlands, which made the lords of The North realize how much they were being taken advantage of. Ragnar began to formulate a plan to give each one of the 15 "great" houses of the north a new form of industry.

Ragnar was walking down the Redwater's riverside with Dacey by his side. Dacey, as the new Lady Dovahkiin, had the duty of listening to the Daily reports of the Island, usually given by Davos; unfortunately, the same was unavailable as he was inspecting Kingshousetown port; the report of the day was being provided by Maester, who looked extremely nervous for some reason.

" The tax reform you applied is proving to be really effective, the smallfolk are happy as they now only pay tax over their income, and the merchants are happy as they only pay 15% of their profit and not a 20% tax over everything. This brought a great influx of merchants, and the trade had a big boom. The amount of gold you will receive from taxes will be 8% more than the amount you got last year… that not counting the new residents from the Boltonlands." The Maester said.

"Good, it's a little less than I expected, but I guess that's because this is the first year since the reforms were made; next year, the growth will be up to 15%. You may proceed with the report," Ragnar said.

" Kingshouse town is getting a large number of Myrish immigrants, that usually would not be a problem, but those immigrants worship the Red God. This is making all residents a little apprehensive about them." The Maester continued

" R'hllor has no power here; only the Old Gods do. They will soon understand that, and they will abandon their Red God. Also, let the steward know that no Red Priest is allowed on my Island. What kind of jobs are the Myrish taking?" Ragnar asked

" They mainly work in the mines; a few are educated enough to help your schools. A select few are working with the shipwrights. None of them tried to work in the glass factory." The maester replied

" Any spies?" Dacey asked seriously, her blue eyes looking tempestuous yet calm; her face had a bright to it; she had her hair braided, something Ragnar thought attractive on her.

" No, my lady. The "Enemy wardstone" set by Lord Dovahkiin let master Davos and a few captains of the Dragonguard know about them. Last moon, we caught 20 spies, seven from the Westerlands, five from the new master of whispers, three from the reach, and five from Dorne." The maester replied.

" Good. Ragnar, my uncle Jeor, asked if we could sell a few Whaler ships to Bear Island; hunting the grey whales of the sunset sea could be a great source of food and income for my homeland." Dacey asked; Ragnar noticed she didn't look nervous or apprehensive she had a hopeful expression and actually looked happy as if she knew Ragnar wouldn't refuse her, her nose was slightly red from the cold, and her raven hair had a few snowflakes on it, which made her look rather cute in Ragnar's eyes.

" When you have time, talk to Davos, ask him about the value of a whaler ship, ask him about the time and cost to build one and how many men it takes to operate one. Take all that into consideration, and if you think it is doable to sell one of those to your uncle, you can do it. You don't need to ask me permission to do anything; the only thing I want is to know about your plans, and if I have anything to say, be it negative or positive, I will let you know." Ragnar said, his eyes showing that he wasn't lying. His black hair, just like Dacey's, looked darker with the snow. His black clothes, which seemed to be Ragnar's favorite color after a specific tone of pink usually found in a wonderful place in Dacey's body, were covered by a red cloak, which had a few snowflakes on it. He looked handsome as he stood tall and proud.

"Thank you, husband! I'll do as you say. My uncle will understand if we are unable to sell him a few ships, he would be disappointed, but he would understand." Dacey said, and Ragnar smiled at her.

" You may proceed, Maester," Ragnar said, and the maester nodded

" The road work in Skane began; it will take longer than usual as the workers don't want to sleep on the Island. The same could be said about the builders working on building houses. The Skagossi of pure Skagossi decent don't want to work there as they feel ashamed of their ancestor's deeds." The maester said with some uneasiness in his voice.

" That was to be expected... I will talk to them. Their ancestors were the ones that destroyed the place, but they will be the ones to rebuild it. You seem rather uneasy, man. What is the problem? Did something happen?" Ragnar asked; his face had a slight frown on it.

"Hum... Well. The Citadel sent a Raven informing me that they will be calling me back and will assign a new maester to be on your service. They say my links are not enough to make me a maester of a Great House such as House Dovahkiin. My lack of report on how you forge Valyrian Steel is also a reason... Although they would never admit it to you, my lord." The maester said he looked offended and sad.

" That's troublesome... The Citadel will most likely send a spy to replace you. They probably want to have the secret to Skyforge steel. They will fail, as will anyone who tries to take this secret from me. Write a letter to the Citadel demanding Archmaester Marwyn or Maester Qyburn either one is acceptable. Other than those two, any maester will be denied here." Ragnar calmly said, " Your order is trying to fight against the world's will. They shall lose. Magic is reborn." He continued; his eyes were distant as if they were looking into magic itself. The maester looked confused, which was natural; he was just an unlucky person who was sent to this once forsaken land; he wasn't important enough to learn about the maester's conspiracy.

" My lord… you cannot demand a specific maester; only the conclave decides who goes where." The maester said, and Ragnar smiled; his eyes showed an unhealthy amount of amusement.

" They will send who I ask… they really want to know about the Skyforge Steel forging method. They'll want to know if magic is involved and if so, they will want to find a way to dispose of my family and me." Ragnar replied, his eyes losing the amusement they previously had; the wind blew against his face making his hair move with it.

" Anything else?" Ragnar asked

" Aye. The Sisterman attacked a whaler ship of ours, the battle-ships were able to stop them, but we lost one of them. The sailors are asking for retaliation. Master Davos compensated the whalemen's families." The Maester said, and Ragnar nodded.

" Send a raven to Jon Arryn, ask him to take care of his vassals; I will even help if he needs but should one more man lose his life due to his neglect, I will declare war on The Three Sisters. Do be polite; he is a war veteran and hero, after all. Anyways tell the sailors to up the intensity of their battle training." Ragnar said.

"If you go to war, I will go with you, husband. You called me a shield-maiden, and now I'm yours shield-maiden," Dacey said, and Ragnar chuckled, which made Dacey get a little mad, and Ragnar wisely chose to explain himself.

" Don't be mad at me, wife. I didn't mean to discourage or mock you. I just find it amusing, not for the reason you might be thinking." Ragnar said, and Dacey slowly and reluctantly nodded.

" Is that all, Maester?" Ragnar asked after a few seconds of silence

" Aye… I fear that the last thing I have to say is the worse one. The man who had his tongue ripped apart in the Boltonlands finally learned how to write. He said that Lord Bolton took his tongue. He claimed that Lord Bolton killed his good-brother and raped his sister beneath her husband's corpse, he saw all happening, and once Lord Bolton learned about his presence, he took the man's tongue." The Maester said, and Ragnar went stiff; he looked at Dacey, who nodded and said.

" Call the banners and prepare my army. Send a Raven to Lord Stark. Once we get his answer, we march on the Dreadfort. Tell the poor man that he will have his justice. Lord Bolton will not see the end of this year alive." Ragnar said, his voice was deep and seemed to hold an exponential amount of hate. Seeing her husband mad was something new to Dacey, but he looked really good when angry. She bit her lips, and Ragnar saw that, he slapped her on the butt, which made her whelp a little.

" Go get your gears ready, Shield-maiden. We march as soon as Lord Stark sends his positive reply. It's time for The Realm to know a fraction of Skagos power." Ragnar said, and Dacey nodded and said

" Aye, Lord Husband. But I'll need your help with something… you see… my shield needs some repairs… I think you are the only person who can help me out," She whispered in Ragnar's ears, and he grinned like a wolf.

" Go, Maester, I and my wife have a few… things to settle. There are some shields and spears to be repaired. We meet again when Lord Stark's answer arrives." Ragnar said as he began to walk back to Frostfall's holdfast, which was one of the few parts of the building ready to be used.

——————————————————————————

A/N: Here's today chapter! Ragnar will blast Dreadfort apart… literally but first, he will defeat the Boltons on strategy alone.

Any suggestions?

Thanks for the support!

Don't forget to review