96

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298 AC

Summer Isles - Ebonhead

Nata

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The four women introduced themselves and asked to talk to me in a less public location so I brought them to an isolated garden inside of Ebonhead. Colorful flowers and birds are all around with footpaths cut through the plants all leading to the middle where a stone temple is located. The temple is missing a roof so it just has stone pillars jutting up into the air holding nothing.

People celebrate all kinds of events here but right now it is empty except for the four of them and the four of us.

"Alright, no one should be able to hear us around here so what did you want to talk about." They seem to know me and were interested only in talking once I said my name.

"We are looking for a specific Nata, she was in Braavos for a while." I nod as I am starting to understand who these people might be with.

"So you are looking for me for what reason?" I smile slightly, I am almost certain they are 'with' Eragon but maybe he was somewhere else. He couldn't possibly be all over Ebonhead so maybe he split up with these women and told them what I looked like.

"We are looking for you on behalf of someone else, but he is not around at the moment." I am here with three of my friends and not anyone 'important' from my group. The three women with me are talented fighters but not decision-makers for anyone else but themselves, so they are choosing to just observe.

"Would this 'someone' happen to be a man with silver hair?" Other than their eyes widening a little there was no visible reaction from the four of them.

"That's right, I suppose you already know why he is looking for you?" The one leaning her weight on her spear asks and I nod in response.

"I do know, but I don't know how the people I am working with will react to someone else coming along at the moment. We were planning on moving pretty soon, so adding in an 'outside' force would have most people nervous." The Summer Isles woman nods and seems ready to speak so I look toward her.

"They have around two thousand people on the island of Xon and thirty-five to fifty ships. I am not sure how many people you have but I am sure that help wouldn't be turned away, so maybe you could talk to the people you are 'working with' and see how they will react." These numbers are close, and obviously, we wouldn't be against help but the people with me will doubt their motive.

When we first saw the visions and I wondered why Eragon ever even came down here we talked about it and ended up with a few conclusions. I am obviously aware of 'who' he is as a prince of House Targaryen and everyone has heard of them no matter where they are from. The only reason he would be there would be because of a 'need' or a 'want'. What he could want or need from the Summer Isles was a mystery to both of us.

But his vision of ritual combat clued me in, I want to take back my father's lands. The very lands where Xanda Qo was born and eventually united all of the Summer Isles from. So I figured his vision of ritual combat had to do with my desire to take my father's lands back and eventually push for more.

Long story short and many discussions later we came up with a plan, what went wrong with Xanda Qo was it all fell apart the moment she died. Everyone who has ever united any amount of the Summer Isles always loses what they gained the moment they die, they don't pass anything down. It's part of how the culture works in the Summer Isles and the ritual combat is the deciding factor.

I don't intend to repeat the mistakes of the people before me, I will unite the Summer Isles and they will stay united. Pirate raids will be a thing of the past and the Summer Isles will be a place people respect. Other places see the Summer Isles for commodities they like but other than that it's just another island to them.

I want to establish something that will last a thousand years or longer, I want the place I was born and love to be respected and not seen as a resource for others to do as they want. I want to complete my father's dream of bringing the Summer Isles together and so I agreed with Eragons plan.

Taking out the pirates and using the goodwill and support gathered I will challenge landowners until I can challenge Summer prince Xenioa. Once I have Ebonhead taking the rest of Jhala won't be hard but a matter of time. From there it will be challenging the other major Summer princes until I am the only Summer princess of the Summer Isles.

But a Princess won't pass down her title to her kids, it didn't work with the others who managed to accomplish what I want to accomplish. So I need to be a Queen instead, and no one has named themselves a Queen of the Summer Isles before. I could probably succeed in just doing so if I managed to succeed in uniting the Isles and not even involve anyone else. But it would be unsteady and likely to collapse the moment one of my descendants was weak and lost a fight.

So that's where Eragon gets involved, a King.

He is not a King now, he is a prince at best but everyone knows who the Targaryens are and if we united the Summer Isles and married it would be a 'Targaryen' kingdom. That's a whole lot different than a kingdom of 'Nata' because everyone knows names have power. Maybe the name won't mean much to the people of Summer Isles but if the Summer Isles were united by 'me' and I married 'him' then it would slowly be working toward my goal.

After establishing the goal and making the Summer Isles united and establishing it as a kingdom the work to ensure it stays that way will have to begin. As long as I am alive and beat any people who have a problem with it then it will remain that way. Over time people will get used to the idea and no longer oppose it, it will just take time and likely will be challenged upon my death and maybe even the eventual death of my kids.

But after multiple generations, most people will get used to it and the people who are against it will be too much of a minority to get support. To keep it that way we would need to ensure we had powerful allies and support both in the Summer Isles and out of the Summer Isles. We need to set up a similar system of ruling to Westeros where we have lower people on the totem so to speak. Then when people want more they can challenge the lower heads instead of only being able to challenge the top head.

A perfect alliance is also available in the form of Eragons own brother, Viserys who will sit on the Iron throne and be a king of the seven kingdoms of Westeros. In this way we will have a blood relation alliance with a powerful person and should something happen we or our descendants could ask for help if it's needed. Targaryens love to marry each other as well so we could have marriage alliances as well to ensure the alliance stays strong.

In an ideal scenario, we will unite the Summer Isles and name it a Targaryen Kingdom of its own. Eragon was confused about why I was willing to agree to such a thing when we originally discussed it but it only makes sense in my mind. People know the Targaryen name and it will make the whole kingdom thing a lot more acceptable than just naming it something else and founding something entirely 'new'.

Targaryens as of late are looked at negatively because of Eragons father but the kingdom will be getting founded by a native to the Summer Isles. I am using the Targaryen name for long-term stability and the short-term problems will have to be dealt with in the short term. Such as challenges against Eragon or the founding of the kingdom at all.

But that will only speed up my plans in the long run, the people who are against me will rise and show themselves so I can defeat the soundly and send them off in exile or they fall in the ritual combat. Either way, as long as I win every fight everything will work out and that is just what I will do, worst case I lose I will be dead and it will suddenly no longer be a problem of mine.

"I will talk to the people with me, but I want to talk to Eragon in person. We will have to still move soon, that much I know my allies will not negotiate on and won't wait for more than a moon before attacking." The Summer Island woman nods and has a small smile.

"That works for us, we are staying in the Martell ships at the red feather dock and you can come and find us there. Do you know how long it will take for you to get in contact and return so we don't wait around for nothing?" I nod, it won't even take me a full day to get there and back but I will meet them tomorrow afternoon so I have some more time to think.

"Tomorrow afternoon I will meet you at the Red feather dock." Seeing them nod I turn around and wave to my companions and we set off down one of the many footpaths as my thoughts spin.

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298 AC

Summer Isles - Ebonhead

Sarella Sand

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"She seems like a leader type, I can kind of envision it myself." Tyene squints as she watches Nata leave and I nod along.

She does give off a leader-type feeling, she seems very confident but not in an overly proud kind of way. I look forward to seeing more of her character in the future and seeing how this will all work out.

"Well that saved us having to hunt her down, now we just wait at the ship until she arrives and then we convince her to sail back with us. Though I am not entirely sure she will like such a thing, she seems cautious but it also seems like she expecting us in a certain way." Obara comments and my brows scrunch in thought.

"She did seem to expect us, she either has a lot of confidence in Eragon eventually showing up or she knew we were already here. I am not sure which it is but both are a bit concerning if I am honest." I speak my thoughts, either she trusts Eragon and knew he would manage to convince my uncle to give him help or she already knew we had arrived in the Summer Isles.

"Come one, I bought this new rum that they drink at funerals here in the Isles and I heard it gets you super drunk. I got enough for all of us to have five cups and I want to see who can manage to drink all of there's without getting fucked up." Tyene speaks up and snaps me from my thoughts and I look at a clay jar she has in her hands.

"Sure, let's head back and get fucked up." I snort as she leads the way down the footpath we arrived here from. I take one last look at the carvings in the stone of different kinds of celebrations and dances and smile.