26 The Defiance of Duskendale pt 1

Skagos, The North, 6th Moon of 277 AC

Ragnar Dovahkiin was walking around his town; he wore a heavy fur stuffed blue tunic, a red cloak with white bear fur on the shoulders, red boots, and white trousers; the winter clothing made him look way bigger than he was. The town was big and populous; Ragnar believed more than 50 thousand people lived in the town; it was already bigger than White Harbor, the former biggest city in The North. It's been six moons since Ragnar returned from The Westerlands. Ragnar didn't even need to forger a sword to Tywin as he already had multiple stored. Once the Lannister's ships arrived, bringing the cattle, he had just handed the sword to Gerion Lannister, House's Lannister fleet Captain.

One of the things Ragnar had done in these six moons was beginning to build Glass manufacturing warehouses; the glass industry was slowly but surely, coming round; by Ragnar's estimates, Skagos would be able to provide each House of the North with glass in less than a year. He had already built ten glasshouses just in his town.

Another thing Ragnar did was begin to train the men in armed combat; the training was before the sunrise and was optional; all men in Skagos wanted to learn from the strongest and most skilled man in the world; Ragnar, unfortunately, couldn't train all 35000 men, so he decided to use a rotation system, he would teach 2000 man 2 hours a day during two moons and then change the groups, it worked just fine till now.

Another thing Ragnar did was introduce the Thu'um to a select group of fighters, 50 of his best men; he passed on to them his understanding on FUS( force); that didn't make them able to shout, for to shout, one must understand the meaning of the word, but it certainly cut in more than half the amount of time it would take for them to learn the shout. By Ragnar's estimates, the 50 men would be able to shout at least a FUS ROH by the beginning of the rebellion.

Ragnar also began to set the builders into different projects as, for now, the need for housing has passed. Now Ragnar needed better roads for the merchants and the smallfolk, and as such, a third of the builders worked on making roads connecting all towns, which was hard work, but the Skagossi feared no honest work.

A third of the builders worked to increase the port of Kingshouse town ( Lord Magnar's former town). Kingshouse town has lost some of its original inhabitants to Ragna's town, but due to the port in the town, the number of people who lived there actually increased; there were more than 20,000 people, most of which were the sailors, whalers, and their families.

The remaining 1/3 of his builders were working on rebuilding Castle Volkihar; Ragnar wanted to build something as grand as Storms-end and Winterfell, and to do that, he would need the most fantastic builder Westeros has ever seen. Bran, The Builder himself.

Ragnar used the Call of Valor shout to summon Brandom, and it surprisingly worked; he was confused at first; but with a little bit of bullshit and "Speech 100," Ragnar convinced Bran to design and develop a plan of construction for a massive castle, it would take three years to get it all done, Bran was really a legend. The plans he drew were easy to understand and simple to follow.

Ragnar took the plans to the chief builder, and the man almost asked Ragna's hand in marriage; the man said he had never seen such artwork in his life. Ragnar just smiled and laughed awkwardly, and told the man he trusted him with that project.

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As Ragnar walked through his town, Davos beside him, reporting the construction/expansion of the port, the smallfolk would greet him or bow their heads in respect. Ragnar would answer their greetings and bows with slight head-bows and greetings of his own. He liked to walk the town and see how people lived their daily lives; the town markets were full of people and products. Ragnar had craved some heat runes on some stones around the city to make the climate a little less harsh; it had worked so far. The climate, although cold, wasn't freezing anymore.

" So to conclude, the port extension will be done by the end of 278 AC with enough docks for all ships and more.

The sailors say it's time to stop hunting blue whales and begin to hunt leviathans; according to them, it's mating season for the blue whales. They ask for permission." Davos said

" Good. Tell the builders I'm satisfied with their work, and their families will be rewarded in the future." Ragnar said as he smiled.

" About the sailors, give them a gold coin for their good thinking. It had completely slipped my mind. Sustainability, do you know this word?" Ragnar asked

"No, milord," answered Davos.

" It basically means to use your resources with intelligence and efficiency. It means we should let nature recover the things we take from it. This warning they gave might have saved the whole whaling industry in this part of the shivering sea. Luckily for us, the Ibbanese do the same thing," said Ragnar.

" It's a wise policy milord," replied Davos

" Indeed it is. I plan on..." Ranger stopped talking and looked in the shivering sea direction; his smile grew significantly, and he said.

" My old friend has returned, and with a companion, it seems..." Ragnar said

" What? Who has..." Davos didn't get to finish as two dragons' roars were heard, and from the mountains, Midstinul and a new white dragon appeared. The white dragon was slightly bigger than Midstinul, but from the way they flew, it was clear to all who was the one in charge. They both landed a few feets from the town; Ragnar and Davos walked toward them. Once he Ragnar, Midstinul bowed his head, and the white dragon mimicked him.

" Dream yol Lok, Dovahkiin thuri, I have accomplished my mission; I have brought an Ice Dragon from the shivering sea. It took me long to track her, but once I found her, it was easy to subjugate her to my thu'um," Midstinul

" Dream yol Lok, Midstinul, you have done amazing work, as always. Is she capable of speech? Or just a mindless beast?" Ragnar asked as he looked at the giant white dragon.

"Niid Dovahkiin, No for both options. She is incapable of speech, but she's not a mindless beast; she is semi-sentient. She has no deep intelligence but has emotions and can act on them. It isn't easy to explain." Midstinul replied.

" There are two D-dragons now? How? I thought all Valyrian dragons had died." Davos said, as Ragnar and Midstinul talked in Dovahzul, he hadn't understood the conversation.

" They probably are; this is not a Valyrian dragon; this is an Ice Dragon," Ragnar replied

" But aren't Ice dragons made of Ice? It looks pretty fleshy for me!" Davos replied.

"Niid Joor, mortal… This misconception happens because the Iiz Dovah hunts fish, she must dive into the water, and with the cold weather of the shivering sea, this water freezes, giving the "made of ice" appearance. They are made of flesh and magic, like me." Midstinul said in the common tongue, which scared the living shit out of Davos.

" You can speak common. Incredible." Davos managed to say.

" Geh, Indeed I can," Replied midstinul

The arrival of the dragons brought a considerable commotion. All people of Skagos knew of Midstinul, and some even had been judged by the dragon when Ragnar instructed him to hold court in his absence.

" Fear not, people, this White Dragon is friendly, a new protector of Skagos. It will help us should times of war arrive." Ragnar simply said, and the people nodded dumbfounded.

At that moment, Ragnar could see a white raven and a black raven arrive at Castle Volkihar, a few minutes later, the maester got out of the castle and came walking toward Ragnar and the dragons; once he saw the dragons, he hesitated but seeing that Davos was there and unhurt he proceeded his walk.

" My lord, I bring bad news." He said

"Why is it always bad news? Why must you fail me so often, world?" Ragnar said humorously " Tell me what happened then."

" Well. The autumn is over; we are now in winter. But that's not the worse…" The maester replied.

"I doubt that…." Ragnar said calmly

" The king has been captured and made hostage in Duskendale. Lord Tywin, the hand, has asked for your assistance; he said your presence would intimidate Lord Darklyn and his man."

" How come? I had barely been to the south. I actually never been to the crownlands," Ragnar said in disbelief and anger

" According to Lord Tywin, after the Tournament in Honor of Prince Viserys, you have become quite the legend in the south. They say that with your skill and your Valyrian armor, you could defeat armies by yourself." The maester said

"Oh, I see. Davos, please tell the sailors to get 100 of my battleships ready; we sail south tomorrow. It's time for the south to know about our fleet."

" You would take 4.000 men to Duskendale? To save the king?" Asked The Maester.

" Not just to save the king, but to show the south my fleet. The largest fleet in the North." Replied Ragnar.

" Please inform Lord Stark of this. He must know about the reveal of the fleet to the south. Anything else?" Asked Ragnar.

"Yes, my lord, two more things. Lord Stark will hold a lords meeting by the end of the year to discuss the winter and how each house has prepared for it. Lord Stark has requested your presence, as well as Lords Stane and Crowl's." said the maester.

" All right. That's ok. Tell Lord Stark I will attend. What about the second thing?" Asked Ragnar

"The heirs of House Crowl and Stane will arrive in the 2nd and 6th moon of next year, respectively, to begin their fostering under you as they are too young to begin before that and the Lords are too eager to have them learn swordsmanship from you to wait the turning of the year." Said the maester.

"That's good. They will learn how to be good lords and warriors under my leadership." Ragnar said, and the master bowed his head before leaving.

"I will go and save that buffoon of a king, old friend. Your assistance is not required, but I ask you to protect my Island once more." Ragnar said as he turned to Midstinul.

" Dovahkiin thuri, your wish is my command! No enemy shall land on your shores, and no spy will learn of your secrets." Midstinul said and Ragnar smiled

" Good, and please ensure that your… friend don't hurt anyone. " Ragnar said as he began to walk toward Castle Volkihar.

" Geh, Thuri" Midstinul said before he and the ice dragon took off.

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A/N: So I've got a pool for you, this one I will respect your wishes hahahaha

Who should Ragnar bound the Ice Dragon's eggs to

1- Ned Stark

2- Jon Snow

3- Dacey Mormont (future Dovahkiin)

4- Davos ( Future Lord of Skane)

5- Other (who)

Thank you for your support 🙏