Chapter 225: The Sword without a Handle

"Sam, think about my proposal again," Prince Doran persisted even though he had been rejected before leaving.

Samwell looked at the annoying Prince of Dorne, smiled, and said, "How about we start with some simple cooperation and build trust first."

Prince Doran replied with interest, "What kind of cooperation?"

"Tariffs," Samwell said, "In order to strengthen commercial exchanges between the Reach and Dorne, I propose that all tariffs between the two countries be waived."

Prince Doran said with a playful tone, "Can you represent the Reach and make such a decision?"

Samwell smiled mysteriously, "This is what I need to worry about. How about it? Your Highness Doran, this kind of small cooperation can strengthen the basis of mutual trust between the two parties. Are you willing to give it a try?"

Prince Doran stared into Samwell's eyes for a while and then said, "Full exemption of tariffs is a bit excessive. Let's cut it in half."

"Half?" Samwell reluctantly agreed, "Yes, but the tax rate must not be increased any further."

"Yes," Prince Doran said with a smile, "I will send an envoy to Highgarden to sign a contract. I hope this can be the beginning of reconciliation between Reach and Dorne."

"May the friendship between Reach and Dorne last forever."

"Friendship lasts forever."

Prince Doran lowered the curtain and the carriage drove slowly out of Starfall City.

Samwell did not stay in Starfall City any longer.

He took Margaery with him that afternoon and left by boat under Natalie's reluctant eyes.

Also taken away as the companions were three knights and a thousand soldiers recruited from Starfall City.

In fact, the war potential of the Dayne family, even if it was severely damaged by previous failures, is far more than this.

However, Samwell does not want to empty the defense power of Starfall City.

After all, he still needs the Dayne family as the eastern barrier of Eagle Island as it can prevent some hot-headed Dornish people from sneaking into his lair.

After leaving Starfall City, he did not return to Highgarden immediately but went to Eagle Island first.

The return of the lord was naturally warmly welcomed.

Especially after everyone knew that their lord was officially engaged to Lady Margaery Tyrell, their enthusiasm became even higher.

Samwell took Margaery on a tour of the territory and made a gesture of being close to the people before returning to the castle and convening a meeting with his retainers.

This time Cheman ended his expedition and returned to his territory. After meeting Samwell, he was honest and didn't dare to act like a monster.

He just exuded an awe-inspiring aura that could not be concealed. It seemed that he had been killing a lot of people outside during this period.

Samwell didn't bother to reprimand him anymore. After all, this man had indeed made a great contribution to the development and growth of Eagle Island. Most of the territory's population was obtained by Cheman through his continuous annexation of the savage tribes in the Crimson Mountains.

According to the calculations of Steward Gavin, the total population of the territory is now close to the one hundred thousand mark. A territory of this size is not too small even in the wealthy Reach.

The valley of Eagle Island can no longer accommodate so many people, so they can only disperse outside the valley and surrounding villages and towns.

The previously abandoned position of village chief had to be reactivated to manage the increasingly prosperous village.

In addition, Samwell also made a decision to ennoble his steward Gavin as a baron and gave him the most prosperous Blueskin Town among the outlying villages as a fief.

Blueskin Town was the original gathering place of the Blueskin tribe. Due to the existence of silver mines, it has now formed a sizable town around silver mining, refining, casting, and other industries. Samwell was giving this town to Gavin as a reward for his diligent work in helping him manage his territory.

Of course, the silver mine in the town was not included in the scope of the reward. After all, it is an important source of wealth for Eagle Island. Samwell cannot just give it to Gavin.

When Gavin asked the lord to give him a surname, Samwell thought about it and said, "I recruited you as a squire on the banks of the Mander River. You can take Mander as your surname."

"Yes!" Gavin was excited and shouted, "I, Gavin Mander, offer my unparalleled loyalty to the great Viscount Samwell Caesar. May the Seven Gods bear witness to me. From generation to generation, the Mander family will serve the Caesar family as the highest Glory!"

Samwell withdrew his sword and helped Gavin up: "You will continue to serve as the Steward of Eagle Island. As for your own territory, send an acting mayor and the castle design to Vido. Someone will help you build one."

"Yes, my lord."

After the retainers' meeting, Samwell summoned Melisandre alone.

Don't know if it's an illusion, but the red-robed witch seems to be younger than the last time they met.

Her fiery red eyes seemed to be able to see into people's hearts, making it impossible to hide all thoughts .

Samwell avoided her sight and asked, "How many followers of the Lord of Light are there in the territory now?"

"About three to four thousand people."

"So many?" Samwell was slightly surprised. Although the Lord of Light has many believers in the continent of Essos, he has no basis of belief in the continent of Westeros.

This woman has attracted so many believers in less than two months after arriving on Eagle Island.

"This is the power of the true God," Melisandre said piously. "The long winter is coming, and your subjects have already felt the cold. They will spontaneously gather around the fire, pray for warmth, pray for light, pray for salvation."

Samwell smiled, without saying much, and asked instead: "Do you remember my brother Dickon Tarly? You performed the resurrection spell for him in Skyreach City that day, but it didn't work. However, he did came back to life later."

Melisandre seemed not surprised when she heard this and said: "As long as we serve sincerely, the Lord of Light will definitely answer our prayers."

But there are some problems with Dickon's memory. Samwell thought and looked at Melisandre's flaming eyes again, "He lost a lot of memories and added some memories that shouldn't belong to him. Do you know what's going on?"

"No matter what happened to him, any changes are arranged by the true God."

Samwell was obviously not satisfied with this answer. He asked again : "Answer me directly, Lady Melisandre, is this a side effect of the resurrection spell, or is it the Lord of Light? If it is His arrangement, what is its purpose?"

"Mortals cannot guess the true God's intention." Melisandre pointed to the flame jumping in the fireplace in front of her. "Just like there are more than one shadows of the flame, they jump and change, never still."

Samwell stared into the witch's eyes, his expression dark.

Melisandre approached slowly and said softly but firmly:

"I'm not prevaricating you, Lord Caesar. Witchcraft is like a handleless sword. If you want to master it, you must be prepared to bleed. And even if a mortal holds this sword, with the fragile strength of flesh and blood, they can't really grasp it physically."

"Among all the witchcraft I have learned, resurrection is the most dangerous and sharpest sword without a handle. Every time I hold it, I can only pray for the guidance of the true God, and never dare to wave it rashly."

Samwell frowned even more tightly.

Seeing this, Melisandre persuaded him:

"Lord Caesar, why do you have to worry about this? Your brother has been blessed by the King of Light, and his path has been arranged by the true God. This is a supreme honor."

"Dickon is my brother," Samwell said in a firm tone, "Not a tool of the Lord of Light."

"We are all tools of the true God," Melisandre said piously.

"I am not a tool of anyone or any god!" Samwell said every word, "Neither is my brother."

Melisandre looked at the man quietly, her face as calm as the windless sea:

"Mortals cannot resist the will of the true god. Instead of struggling in vain, it is better to accept the arrangement."

"Lady Melisandre, are you willing to become the tool of the true god?"

"I am at the moment."

"No. You still have independent consciousness, and you have feelings... well, I believe you still have them. But if one day, you lose these two things, what's the difference between you and a walking zombie."

"Mortals' independent consciousness always leads to ignorance, as for feelings..." Melisandre's fiery red eyes showed no fluctuation, "That is the burden and weakness of mortals."

"But it is also the source of happiness." Samwell stared at the red-robed witch in front of him, "Lady Melisandre, have you never loved anyone?"

Melisandre fell into rare silence.

"Meryl..." Another distant call came to her ears, conveying reluctance and pain across the burning fire and rushing ashes.

"Melisandre !" A sonorous voice interrupted everything.

She finally came back to her senses, her fiery red lips moved, but finally didn't speak.

Seeing that he couldn't get an answer from the witch, Samwell said no more and turned to leave.

After leaving , Samwell found Baron Gavin and asked, "How many soldiers are there in the territory now?"

"Fifteen hundred people," Gavin blurted out, and then added, "Another five hundred people are already there. The training is completed, but the weapons and equipment are missing..."

"Don't worry about the weapons and equipment," Samwell said confidently , "Then gather 1,800 people, and I will take them early tomorrow morning to Highgarden."

"Yes, my lord," Gavin nodded in agreement,

"Who are we preparing to fight?"

Samwell took a deep breath and looked to the east, as if he could see across the crimson mountains thousands of miles away. The vast land on the other side:

"The Stormlands."

[END]