Chapter 144 - Preparations for the Journey to Essos.

[Chapter Size: 3300 Words.]

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Thrid Person POV

Westeros, 296 AC.

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"Any news from the south?" Jon asked while surrounded by council members.

"We haven't heard anything yet and the patrol hasn't made any moves..." Brynden said.

"Alright... if they attack, I'll leave someone to deal with them alone," Jon warned, but continued. "But I'm also worried about the movements of the real enemies to the north. We are just dealing with men in the south, but to the north, our true enemy remains silent. We haven't seen any suspicious activity from them on a large scale yet, but I know they are still waiting to make some move. But I'm sure I can still make my trip to Essos. However, I need some direct contact, to understand the situation from here. There's a large group coming from the north, right?" Jon asked.

"Yes..." Brynden spoke and Jon nodded.

"It's very likely to take years to reach this part with their army..." Jon commented after all it was a lot of people to move, he himself wandered almost a year with a much smaller group than this one, through the region before finding the place where he would build Artica.

"About our trip... I'm leaving with some ministers." Jon spoke again while the topic now was about the trip to Essos.

"Should I go to Dorne, my king?" Darius asked and Jon nodded.

"Yes, I want you to see our situation with the Dornish and also I want you to do something important, I need you to deliver a message to someone important and even take her out of Dorne if she agrees. I won't let her be a political piece of her uncle, not anymore." Jon spoke with a serious tone, as his minister spoke.

"You will continue handling the projectiles of the kingdom, Meistre Aemon will be responsible for managing the educators for all the Articans, I'm sure we can at least, alphabetize them in the common tongue in 2 or 3 years... after that they will learn new languages, the children will be even faster." Jon spoke and continued looking at the daughter of the forest.

"Of course, my king." Aemon responded with a small smile.

"About my project, I've worked all week to create a tree that meets the need to create a luminous crystal that charges through solar energy via photosynthesis, for that I had to create a plant organism in it and it needs exposure to the sun, but it will take a year to start producing the crystals, if nothing goes wrong as well. I'll leave the rest with you Seraphine, I want you to take care of the project." Jon advised.

The daughter of the forest nodded.

"Kiera, continue organizing the new district judges, I want everyone to be judged honestly within the ethical framework we set up."

"I will take care of all that!" The woman said firmly.

"I also want you to recruit wargs, we have some crimes that I myself have to investigate when we can't find a culprit and I unravel them through the memories of the animals, my source of surveillance... but I couldn't do this forever, that's why I want you to start recruiting people who are capable of tracking down the criminals and solving the crimes." Jon spoke, after all he had been doing some of those jobs last week, it was very rare, but he wouldn't leave the people without justice and ended up catching the criminals, many of whom are working together with the prisoners from the south or even with their heads beheaded.

Artica should be just with those who are part of it, as for the enemies... they will soon feel a terror as soon as they think they survived in the lands beyond the wall.

"How many ships do you intend to take, my king?" Thor asked.

"All 500 ships, I'm sure you will build a few more to continue the trade with the south and to start trade with Essos, as we make contracts with the continent." Jon said.

"Do you think the continent will welcome us after what happened in Westeros?" Darius asked cautiously, and Jon was not annoyed by his question, after all it was something rational and to debate.

"They might not accept us." Jon admitted, "But let's see what they have to say, it doesn't hurt to try besides, we have business with products much superior to the market at an affordable price, not to mention that we have the monopoly of ice and Dorne is the only kingdom that can enjoy this trade until further notice." Jon spoke.

"But I want Gavron to accompany me to Braavos." Jon went back to speaking while everyone looked at him, especially Gavron curiously.

"How may I assist you, my king?" He asked, and Jon just cracked a smile.

"You are my Master of Coin... about what we discussed two weeks ago regarding my plan... I'm going to do it..." Jon declared with a smile.

"My king... you're going to buy..." The minister was stunned by this.

"Yes... I'm going to buy the Iron Bank..." He declared, leaving everyone there stunned.

"Are you really going to do this, my king?" Brynden said, surprised, having never heard anyone make such a statement.

"Yes... I'll start by becoming the main shareholder depositing currency, it will be advantageous for them, after all our bank is almost being created and we will start to inject money to circulate in Artica, today we have a lot of work, but everyone benefits, I want the currency to circulate and be the reward for everything that the Articans work for, this will make people with innovative ideas emerge, and the market will do its own work." Jon declared, after all, he believed in a free market, where the tax of Artica would only be collected to handle its basic institutions, such as state, security, health, and education, after all even the people who make it up need to receive money for their work.

"Couldn't this end up having some problems, my king...?" Darius asked again cautiously.

"That's why we will maintain rules that no one, not even the ministers and king, will be above, are fundamental laws, this will prevent someone from being immoral in any position they hold in Artica, with judges to judge any important case, no matter who, after all, I do not want one day some mad tyrant to assume my position as king." Jon spoke with a firm tone, he did not want to see his kingdom that he himself founded, being destroyed as happened with many of the kings of the south.

"I see... and with the Iron Bank... Will you assume the economy of Essos, my king?" Gavron asked curiously.

"Yes... I can't take the money from Essos, but I'm sure there are many products that we can trade there and labor, it will be an economy that will benefit all of us, and I will have the security of the Iron Bank not trying to profit from me, while I have the most power of it." Jon said as the others nodded.

"Anyway, I will prepare, I will leave here in two weeks. So I want everyone to work on their own projects and everything to be ready by the time I return from Yi-Ti." Jon said, thinking about his trip to the eastern country.

"Brynden." Jon called him as they left. "Can you lend me some of your power... I need to see some things in the green sight." Jon asked and Brynden nodded, and they headed to the great Weirwood, while Jon entered the green sight with Brynden after a year without doing so.

"What do you want to see...?" Brynden asked.

"There's a dragon in Skagos... I want to know which one." Jon said making Brynden raise an eyebrow.

"A dragon?" He asked, not knowing about it.

"Yes... I felt it and it even spoke to me through the mind... its eyes were bright green and even evil with flames also having the same coloration as wildfire... I researched and I believe it to be Cannibal, who fled during the Dance of the Dragons... at this moment, he is larger than Balerion the Black Dread... from Aegon." Jon said, after all that dragon was immense now.

"That is quite unexpected... I had never looked at this dragon..." Brynden really had never researched where this dragon was and did not expect it to be so close to the wall the entire time, let alone alive.

"Alright... let's see this dragon..." Brynden said as they followed leaning on the roots of the Grand Weirwood. Brynden quickly used his powers to connect with the past while Jon and he transformed their eyes into white globes.

Everything darkened as they woke up in the middle of the Dance of the Dragons, this event had already been seen by both, so they ignored the war happening in Westeros between the greens and the blacks, while they focused on staying in Dragonstone.

"Now we have to know when he left his nest." Jon commented as Brynden began to mess with time while they watched several dragons coming and going on the island, but none being Cannibal.

Then finally a dragon that was not at all small, being larger than all except for Vhagar, came out of its lair spewing green flames all over the path as it flew out of the island, with people screaming at it, but it didn't care as it headed north.

"It seems this is the moment... we'll head to Skagos and wait for him there," Brynden said, and the scene shifted again as Jon and he found themselves on the northern island, with snow covering all the forests as they waited on a mountain.

It didn't take long for the giant bird to appear in the sky, as it began to fly over the mountains near them. Jon wondered if anyone had seen the dragon, but it was likely not, at that time, Gregan Stark had managed to gather all the forces of the island to fight with him for the blacks in the south, while the island was much emptier.

The dragon seemed to be looking at the mountains and investigating the dormant volcanoes on it, as it started to flap its wings at one point and descended into a cave where it entered after hitting the rocks several times to enlarge the entrance and remained there until the end of the Dance of the Dragons in the south.

Over the years, it only came out to hunt, but it had a lifestyle that summed up in going out to eat enough and hibernate, something Jon did not know dragons did.

Cannibal went out to hunt large fish and even whales in the trembling sea, while over the centuries, Skagos knew of its presence, almost declaring it as a god, or, as they were drawing on their walls for the tribes there, as the lord of the mountain, even delivering some offerings in search of blessing and protection.

The vision ended there as the dragon remained on the mountain to this day. Brynden returned to his normal state and looked at Jon curiously... "What do you plan to do with him, my king?" He asked.

"After the trip to Essos, I intend to try to tame him," Jon declared.

"Do you think you can manage that, he is probably the most powerful dragon Westeros has ever seen," Brynden spoke with a concerned tone.

"Eragon is growing fast... when I return, he will be prepared and wearing armor, then I will face him, if you think I can be defeated, I have confidence to the contrary," Jon said firmly, and Brynden just nodded.

"Now I must go, I need to speak with Aemon and Archmaester Marwyn," Jon bid farewell and left the Grand Weirwood and went to the university where he found both in a hidden room with important books.

"Here is everything we discovered this week, my king..." Archmaester Marwyn commented handing the paper to Jon, as he read.

"So, the Maesters knew of the relationship between my mother and the prince and manipulated the ravens to put as many people as possible in favor of Robert's rebellion," Jon commented with anger. "Even that maester before Luwin... that bastard had received the message, but he did not deliver it to my maternal grandfather," Jon spoke angrily.

"Not just that, my boy..." Aemon spoke with a sad tone. "They poisoned Rhaella and her babies, making her lose the babies, while making the king crazier and more paranoid with other poisons," he spoke with a sad tone.

They analyzed all the books that Jon had stolen, there were many secret things they researched, like wargs, theories, and magical arts, despite hating magic, but Jon was more interested in how they tried to manipulate the entire continent, they had the ears of all the lords of Westeros, they could pass any wrong information or convince their lords of the path they wanted the city to take.

"I'm sure everyone in Westeros would be shocked with this information, even Tywin did not come out unscathed while his wife was poisoned in the last pregnancy," Marwyn said.

Jon did not care about that now, he just sighed. "Let's just keep this information and maybe use it in the future, but now is not interesting, as for the knowledge of the citadel... we don't need it, since it's inferior to that of Artica," Jon said.

"Yes, my king, it seems that my colleagues have always been quite anxious whether in this generation or before. I am quite shocked," Marwyn murmured.

"Now I'm heading back to the castle, so organize things," Jon spoke as he left the university and went to the king's castle to spend his time with his wives and talk about the trip.

Meanwhile, a man was striking against the rocks using a pickaxe, he was tired as he sweated all over his body, in a state he had never reached before in his life until a few moons ago, as he hit to break the rocks, he wondered how his life had ended up so far from his family being a prisoner beyond the wall.

"What am I seeing? A southerner working, 2 southerners working, 3 southerners working...!" And to help, he began to hear a song behind him in a not-so-tuned tone as a deep voice sang. This was a dwarf overseeing the prisoners, whether it was him or the hundreds captured from the Redwyne fleet.

"What am I singing, Pop?" Another dwarf approached with his mount, looking curiously at his friend.

"Nothing much, just counting how many southern workers we have here," he said.

"You sing very badly and your music doesn't match. So learn," this year the dwarf spoke with a smile in his eyes.

"One kneeling southerner working, 2 kneeling southerners working, 3 kneeling southerners working..." He began to sing.

"Mine sounds better, Mac!" Pop complained.

"So how about we sing together?" Mac suggested, and Pop nodded.

"What am I seeing?! A southerner working, 2 southerners working, 3 southerners working." Both began to sing together.

"Can you shut up?" Suddenly, the former Lord Hightower shouted, making the dwarves surprised as they looked at him.

"Did he curse us, Mac?" One asked.

"I believe so, Pop... what shall we do?"

Lord Hightower's brother was getting increasingly irritated, not only had his life been reduced from feasts to something so humiliating, but he also had to endure this mockery from the common folk of these lands. This is torture! Someone like him should not be going through such a situation. He thought, frustrated.

"Can you stop singing and shut your damn mouths, you damned dwarves!" He shouted, while the other men at his side looked on cautiously, wondering what would happen to him.

"Looks like the southerner is upset... what can we do with him, Pop?" Mac asked.

"Let's make him run naked across the wall!" Pop suggested.

"That sounds very good!! Let's see if he won't appreciate our songs after that!" Mac said confidently.

"But first let's sing! I am seeing a southerner working, 2 southerners working, 3 southerners working." They went back to singing again to annoy him even more.

"Shut your damn mouths!" The man exclaimed with all his strength, driven mad by his situation, and, regardless of being punished for it, he just wanted to lash out at someone and curse his damn fate.

"HAHHAHAHA!" The dwarves were enjoying themselves and laughing at the man's suffering.

"Any problems?" Suddenly, heavy footsteps began to come, with a giant approaching in armor and shield and spear.

All the prisoners froze as he approached, while the dwarves had a smile. "We have one of them offended by our glorious music, we don't know what to do with him, he even was offending Artica," a dwarf said with a sinister smile.

"I see... you will be punished," the giant announced as he approached him, while the man looked terrified at that.

"Wait!! Don't take me to that place again!" The man now remembered that the punishments here were harsh and he was about to be taken to one of them.

The man spoke trying to convince them not to do it, but it was too late, as he was taken to an isolated cell without food, he could only watch as he was led by the hand of the giant, to the city, while the common people lived there, he was being treated like a dog.

If he had known this would happen, he would never have obeyed his brother's orders and would have helped the Articans to kill their own maesters and septons, but it was too late and he could only curse his life as he was led away.

Meanwhile, in the castle, Jon was having a conversation alone with his wives in the garden inside the castle, while holding his two children and gently rocking them to keep them calm in their father's arms.

He looked at his wives seated and decided to break the silence after a small talk about the next trip he would make to Essos. "So, you've decided to stay, that's good, I'd prefer you stayed even this time and you will come with me..." Jon said to Seryna and Ygritte.

"Yes... someone has to stay and look after the children..." Seryna spoke.

"And someone has to take care of you..." Ygritte said as Jon smiled.

Seryna was pregnant again, a fact discovered two weeks ago, so as the journey will be longer, she will stay in Artica taking care of little Jon and Lyanna, since she could breastfeed them, while Ygritte, who was not pregnant, would come with him.

"Alright... I think we can do it this way, it's a pity that I couldn't be together in his first year, but it is at this moment that we need to strengthen Artica... for their future and for this nation to be prosperous, I will cross the sea and they will have an ideal Artica," Jon said kissing both babies.

The women nodded as Jon turned back to look at the city. "So it's decided, let's start preparing to travel to Essos," Jon declared.

Raccoon here:

The next chapter begins the trade journey to Essos, don't worry, there are not so many characters to work with, so it will be faster than the one in Westeros.

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🦝 Raccoon here: 🦝

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