30 The Peace

The city was calmed by the morning as the Westerosi took control of the city. Of course, Elric gained control of the Arsenal and the mouth of the Tian with haste. They were important points of the city and needed to be held in our control.

The matter with the faceless men still troubled me and left me suspicious of everyone. I was looking at people's status screens continuously. However, I planned to put an end to this so the first thing I did was order my men to move towards the centre islands and secure the islands.

Like I had expected, there was no resistance as the priests of the various temples opened their doors to us and surrounded themselves to our authority peacefully. However, the island which housed the House of White and Black was barred and there was no sight of any people nearby.

I sent men forward to open the doors but the door didn't budge even if they struck it with their axes so I sent one of the giants. He threw a kick and the door didn't budge so he retreated and ran towards the door. The result was a broken door and a smiling giant.

I sent in ten of the wolfsguards to secure the temple but after a few minutes, they returned and told me that the door leading to the lower levels were sealed and the stairs were destroyed.

The temple itself was small but from what I knew, it was going deep into the underground. Most probably, they were hiding in there and were planning to kill us one by one when we descended as the underground was full of darkness and their expertise was in hiding and assassinating.

However, after learning about this, I was not going to send my men deep into the temple. A plan was already forming in my mind and songs were going to be written about it.

I called for a dozen giants from the main island and ordered them to open a waterway inside the temple. They dig into the sand, rock and the temple itself. My men watched them in wonder at first but, later, when they realized what I was planning to do, they began whispering about me becoming the second coming of Tywin Lannister.

Honestly, this was the safest way for me to get rid of these bastards as there was no escaping from those underground tunnels except for leaving from the entrance from the temple.

The water slowly filled into the underground tunnels. There was no movement or sound at first but after a few hours, a man jumped out of the entrance and tried to attack one of my men but his body was riddled with bolts instantly.

After him, came other faceless men and they also fell one by one. Finally, after eight hours of waiting, the waters filled the tunnels and it brimmed over the doors. I left my men to deal with the aftermath of this massacre and went back to the Sealord's Palace.

It took a few days for the city to calm and during that time, many things changed for Braavosi. On the first lights of the third day, I got fifty giants on ships and sent them to the north of the city. And by the noon of the fourth day, a huge wave came onto the city because the symbol of Braavos, the Titan, was dead.

It fell to the waters with his broken sword still high in the air. Only his broken sword remained above the water and the rest were devoured by the stillness of the strait. The death of the Titan created a great disturbance in the streets of Braavos. There was even an uprising close to the Purple Harbour but it was quickly quelled.

On the fifth morning, I called for the important nobles of Braavos to be brought to the Sealord's Palace and also called for the representatives from the Iron Bank.

The city was old and was considered a place of freedom. I wasn't going to waste the resources of the North for this city but having control over the trade, military force and the ruler of the city was my best option.

Forcing the Braavosi to accept my rule was not something that could be done and even if I did so by brute force, a rising was bound to happen at a later date and I didn't want to leave such troublesome matters to my descendants.

Before the captured nobles and the representatives of the Iron Bank came to the Sealord's Palace, I opened my status screen and redistributed my attribute points slightly. Diplomacy was going to be a big part of this peace negotiations and I wasn't going to miss my chances to use my cheat.

[Host: Eddard Stark

Diplomacy: 62 (+35)

Martial: 20 (-20)

Stewardship: 19 (-15)

Intrigue: 24

Learning: 32

Fertility: %50

Remaining Attribute Points: 0

Remaining Trait Points: 6]

Despite raising my diplomacy attribute points to the extremes of this world, I left my other attribute points rather high as I was afraid of lowering them to zero would affect my mindset.

[You have reached the annual limit for changing your attribute points! Please wait until next year!]

Just as I closed my attribute points, another screen popped out with a warning about reaching the limit of changing attribute points. What the fuck?! Can't you say this earlier? Fuck... the war was still continuing as the city of Myr was standing strong.

Just as I was complaining to myself, the doors of the hall opened and the lords, Braavosi nobles and the representative of the Iron Bank came in. A feast was prepared for them as I was hoping they would be more inclined to be supportive of my demands.

We broke our fast in silence after I greeted them. Braavosi nobles stayed silent through the breakfast but the lords and the representative of the Iron Bank were chatting continuously. Apparently, one of the representatives of the Iron Bank was an old slave who was kidnapped by the pirates from the Cape Wrath during the Robert's Rebellion.

Only thanks to the merchant ship from Braavos, he was able to escape from the clutches of the slavers. Later, he was recruited by the Iron Bank and slowly but surely climbed the ranks of the bank and came to this position through his hard work.

The Iron Bank made a good decision here by choosing someone with Westerosi origins. However, I was able to discern the shrewd looks of that representative and I wasn't planning to soften because of that.

After everyone finished their meal, I waved my hand and the servants cleaned the table. I observed everyone at the table. Braavosi nobles and representatives of the Iron Bank were on my left while the Westerosi nobles were on my right. And they were waiting for me to start so I gave them what they wanted. I looked at the wolfsguard beside me who was holding a serving dish with a lid.

The wolfsguard nodded his head and came to our table. He put the dish onto the table and opened its lid. Shocked faces of the Braavosi people greeted me and the lords. They were looking at the thing that was revealed with horror in their eyes.

"What is the meaning of this?!" One of the nobles rose to his feet and yelled, "Was the faceless men part of your invasion?!"

I snorted and looked at him menacingly, "Lord Prestayn, you probably haven't left your house since our 'liberation', right?"

A shade of red took over the man's face as I continued, "Let me tell you what greeted us when we first came to this hall… a faceless man wearing the face of your beloved Sealord."

Protesting voices were raised amongst the Braavosi noblemen but I noticed a different reaction from the representatives of the Iron Bank so I posed a question to them, "Does the Iron Bank have anything to say about this matter?"

"We had our own reservations about this matter but it was never proven and trying to inquire about it would have affected our business…" One of the representatives spoke with a slow and low voice.

"Wait a minute, you mean the Sealord was killed by the House of White and Black?" One of the Braavosi nobles' eyes grew wide and the Iron Bank representative nodded his head heavily.

"So should I consider that you did not have any notion about the faceless man that came in disguise as an emissary?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

They shook their heads vehemently and I tried to see whether they were lying or not but there was no trace of falsehood.

"My lords, family is the most important thing for us," I turned to Braavosi lords and spoke with a grave tone, "Every one of us would sacrifice thousands of people just to save a member of our family."

"You want me to trust you to rule this city but the North is my family... tell me, how can I trust people like you who don't even know what happens in their city?" I heard approving sounds coming from my vassals. On the other hand, the Braavosi were preparing themselves to argue and I stopped them just in time and continued my speech, "However, I understand the culture of Braavosi and the hunger of freedom you suffer from. Know this, this is not a conquest but a liberation!"

"Here are our demands," I began listing our demand, "The next Sealord of Braavos will be chosen from the Braavosi people but he will be chosen by us, the North for what the previous Sealord have done to us. The First Sword will be chosen by Lord Renly, as the representative and the brother of King Robert Baratheon. The North, The Vale, The Stormlands and The Riverlands will be exempted from any fees and taxes in trade matters. Braavos will pay 9 million gold coins, in the currency of Westeros, to the North and a million gold coins to the allied lords. The finer details of the war reparations will be decided with the Iron Bank at a later date,"

I saw a smile rising on Lord Renly's face as I was giving him the honour of naming the First Sword but, honestly, it was going to be a just honorary position because the real power was in the hands of the Sealord.

"Braavosi warships and army will aid us in our current struggle against Myr. And lastly, all nobles will give us a hostage to be raised from the direct line of their family, if there is not a suitable member from the direct line, then it will be from the secondary branches."

There were at most five or so noble families in the city so I wasn't worried about the other kingdoms exploiting them because I was going to take the next "chosen" Sealord's son as the hostage.

"Outrageous!"

"Nonsense!"

"Poppycock!!"

Braavosi nobles raised their voices and protested my decision. The custom of taking children hostage was nonexistent in Essos but I was not going to yield to them in this matter so I slammed my fist onto the table.

"I could have killed all of you, wiped out your families, killed all who resisted and taken the city in the Seven Kingdom's name…" Coming here, I softened my voice, "but I did not… What I did was respecting your culture and your customs. Now, I expect you to do the same."

A silence fell to the hall as I looked at them with a stern face...

******

AN: I know there are other entrances to the House of White And Black but in this AU, the only entrance is the gates of the temple.