37. Resolvendo com as Próprias Mãos

POV EDDARD STARK

"That vassal of yours is abused, Ned. He needs to be taught a lesson, or his future could be pretty bleak." says Jon to his pupil.

"I'm sorry Jon, but at no point was he wrong. And before you get me wrong, I'm talking about how the crown and the south treats the north." I answer, I was tired of it.

"Ned, I know that many times, our actions are not the best for the North, but we need to think of a whole, and many times, it ends up being the North's fault. I understand your frustration, but that's the way it is." tries to argue Jon.

It was in that moment that I realised. Here, they never cared about the North, or the people who live there. They're only after their winnings, and even if I'm a friend and apprentice to one of them, it doesn't matter.

Making a decision, I rise from the chair.

"Ned, what is it?" Robert asks, seeing my expression.

I just stare, every one of them. Robert seems to be the only one who really cares here. I can only apologize to my good friend later.

Standing with my back to these vipers, I draw the attention of the vassal houses present.

"I, Eddard Stark, in good conscience hereby assert that this war does not belong in the North, or at least, not on the side of the Southerners. To any house in the North that wants to remain, I will do nothing to harm them, but to those who are with me, it's time to leave."

Without looking back, I leave, closely followed by the vassal houses that followed me south. I hope I can reach Gawen before he sails away.

Walking a little, I see him sitting, as if waiting for something. He stares at me, and a stinky hit-and-run smile is plastered across his face.

"I knew you would, Lord Stark." he says, grinning from ear to ear. "So what are the orders of the King in the North?" he says, even more cheerfully.

I felt a headache coming on, mostly because even if they didn't say anything, by the look the lords and soldiers of the Northern houses gave me, I knew things had escalated too high.

"House Stark will leave it up to the houses present to make the decision as to what will be done regarding House Greyjoy. I will not interfere or offer input." It was the only way the weight of the next actions wouldn't weigh so heavily on me.

"House Glover votes to eliminate House Greyjoy." he answers directly.

"House Cerwyn goes with House Glover." says Lord Cerwyn.

"House Mormont follows Lord Glover."

"House Flint follows Lord Glover."

"Houses Dustin and Ryswell follow House Glover."

And as I listened, another and another and another, even the houses least affected by the Greyjoys, were following the Glover house. The only exception were the Boltons, who were not present here.

Realizing everyone was looking at me, waiting for my decision, I take a deep breath and let out a long sigh.

"Let's go aboard, eliminate the house that causes us problems and leave for the North." I say finally. It might seem that I was not happy with that decision, but seeing my people united in this way, I knew that the decision was the only one to be made.

Quickly and accurately, we boarded the lords on the left arm, as no one had Galbart's permission to be on his boat while the soldiers boarded the carracks.

Only later did I understand what Gawen was doing. He used his right arm as insurance to send the carracks north, and once they were at a safe distance, he would do what he called bombing the troubles.

----

POV MC

I think now, I have prevented the most troublesome events from occurring. If Ned doesn't go further south to be Hand of the King, then the girls are no longer in danger. Of course, I'll also give you an idea or two regarding the Maesters, whether to abandon the North or remain faithful.

Although only the first option is the right one.

Once the carracks with the soldiers were safely heading north, I positioned the two galleons with their sides facing Pyke.

The anticipation in the eyes of each Lord beside me was fun to see. It was night, and as much as they are men of the sea, they still need to rest.

"Today is the day the Kraken will meet the weight of his deeds. Do any of the gentlemen present have anything to say other than Goodbye?" I ask, to the lively lords of the North.

"Just let them go, I want to go home and see my kids." says the wise Lord Flint, who has just had twins, just before war breaks out.

Getting no more words from anyone, I give the signal to Chull, who squeals a lot more excitedly than I'd imagined.

"FIRE IN THE OCTOPUS".

Then, the volley begins. Deafening crashes, smoke and the sound of iron against stone in the distance. Screams, more crashes, more screams. There were just over 1 minute of shots, both galleons making a racket in the night.

Then what I really expected to see happened. The large stone buildings, whether the castle or the mountain itself, could not stand it any longer and gave in, collapsing like a building that had lost its structure.

We quickly maneuvered away from the big waves that would form with the rock avalanche that would reach the sea. The cries of despair, whether men or women, were mixed with the sound of rolling stones, and those falling straight into the sea.

A cacophony of sound, indicating that things were happening, as a cloud of dust and dirt covered the island, blocking anyone's view.

Probably Robert was now wondering what the hell all the noise was about, but it would take a while for him to know what it was. I kick two to three days.

When the dust settled and Pyke was no more, I made a sign, the most expected sign for everyone there, the one that brought a smile to everyone's face.

"Let's go home." I say, as the crew and lords present celebrate Greyjoy's downfall.

----

POV JAYME LANNISTER

It's my night off, but right now I need to listen to my dad. Why can't he respect my decision? Why does he need to see everything, everyone as an affront to him? These were my thoughts as he led me to his tent.

"Lord Lannister?" I ask when I reach the entrance to the tent.

"In between." he answers simply, and I do.

Inside, the man I always believed to be an example, but now I only see him looking at his navel, in search of fame and glory, looked at me a little worried.

It was rare to see that expression on his face.

"Let's talk from Father to Son." he says, as he indicates the chair in front of him. Between us his desk, full of documents, letters, schemes and agreements. "Explain to me, the words spoken by that boy from the North."

He looked really worried. I know that the thing he preys on the most, is the honor of his actions. They need to be decisive, and actually show what they stand for. If he did something that tarnished an action of mine it would be a mistake he might not even forgive himself later.

"It's nothing, my father. The past is the past, and there's no point in brooding over it." I try to put that problem out of your mind.

"No, I want to know. Give that explanation to your father." he looked really determined, so I can only say.

"When I killed the king, it was because he had given the order to light the living fire hidden in the sewers of the city. By killing him, and the alchemist, I saved thousands of people, including us. So you enter the city, and do a loot, with the excuse that they were from Targaryen men."

I see his expression sour. He really stepped on my action. One that would mark me as a savior, but his attitude towards the little people, reverted that action to that of just a traitor.

"I ask..." but his voice was drowned out by a rumbling sound.

*BOOM* which was followed by another, and another, until it was a deafening mess.

"What is happening?" I yell, so he could hear me.

"It comes from the sea." he yells back. "It seems to come from the Iron Islands." he points, and small lights can be seen, far in the distance.

The only thing I could think of was, how could the sound get so loud in here?