Fosterage VI

- 280 AC -

- Bear Island -

(3rd Person POV)

Time passed and the year 280 After the Conquest arrived. Bear Island had seen some remarkable changes in those times. From the rather primitive and simple island, plagued by constant pillaging from the Wildlings to the North and the Ironborn to the South, it was now a rather prosperous island. The men and women of Bear Island had learned what it means to have some comfort. The Northerners were used to the cold, but having warmth was not something they were against. On the contrary, warmth allowed them to prosper and actually raise their survival rate. Newborns and children didn't freeze to death anymore and the food was also helping. 

The terribly primitive ships Leman cringed when he presented to Jeor, had been transformed and improved. Fishing and whaling became much easier with the better boats Leman had built and it allowed the people of Bear Island to eat more and still have something left over to sell. Their economy rose slightly but at least it rose. The idea of Leman about fishing was not an immediate success, but there were those who were interested to see how the Bear Islanders could transport fish and meat without it going bad and rotting like that. 

[I know that they might know, but just go with it, please]

The Northern Houses of Wull, Norrey, Harclay, Knott and Burley were very interested in the fish and whale meat sold by the Mormonts. The Nights Watch was also interested, but their funds were rather limited. House Stark wasn't that interested at first, but since Rickard kept a close watch over the progress of his son, he came to know about it soon and was willing to buy the fish and whale meat. There were some tensions with House Manderly since they were the merchant House of the North and they didn't like it if someone entered the same business. But as members of the North, their camaraderie managed to win out in the end and they found a middle ground. 

Whale meat was not something that House Manderly could provide very often anyway and that made it a very pricey good. But House Mormonts could provide a more or less steady supply of whale meat, so that became their main export good. 

Apart from selling fish and whale meat, Bear Island also became known as a ship-building House, that could provide good ships for the right price. But, they only sold to the North. It was an important detail, that would surely make the South nervous in the future, but for now, it was only fishing ships and merchant ships. To make sure that they didn't cut everything down, Leman has a strict plan for when and how many trees can be felled and how many must be replanted. At first, this was not really accepted, as there were more than enough trees, but over time it was accepted by the residents. 

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Leman had grown yet again, reaching 6 feet in height. It was unknown when he would stop growing, but he guessed it was not any time soon. He just hoped that he could at least have sex when he was fully grown, otherwise, he would have to live a celibate life and that wasn't something he wanted really. He didn't feel the need to have intercourse or 'release some steam' like other normal men, but he would still like to do it at some point. 

He had stopped 'practising' any form of combat with the other Bears, for the simple reason, that no one wanted to anymore. He was just too strong at this point. Even while 'holding back', he folded them like a piece of cloth. He spent a lot of time in the woods, building a nice house for himself. 

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It wasn't anything large, but he could fit inside nicely. At least for the moment. He would probably have to remake it when he grows larger. He felt like Ferrus Manus or Rogal Dorn with how much he built new things or 'fortified' stuff. He had to make sure not to go overboard and make the improvements as minor as possible so that they could be implemented without being noticed. 

The greatest improvement he made was to create their whale fishing vessel 'Whale's Bane'. 

[Picture]

This was the largest fishing boat they had at the moment and it was also the only one that was this large. The reason, Leman created this one, was because he wanted to add something special to it. Whaling was a dangerous job if he wasn't present. So to make things easier and give the Mormonts an easier time, when he eventually left, he created a weapon, the harpoon gun. Naturally, he couldn't outright create that, so he did the next best thing. 

He combined a ballista with a harpoon and the result was a harpoon gun. 

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He didn't have to fear the weapon getting into the wrong hands, because he never created plans on how to create it. No one could ask for the secret or steal it because it existed only in his head. Reverse-engineering would also prove difficult if not impossible, since he hid all the things that allowed them to pick it apart. If the harpoon gun/ ballista broke, he would have to fix it personally. 

The idea was simple. He added a thick and powerful rope to the harpoon and when they hit the whale with it, he would struggle against it and try to pull away. But the rope was connected to the large whaling boat and would stop the whale from diving deep. The other much smaller fishing boats and whaling boats would then come and use their own harpoons to finally kill the whale. It was not a nice thing to do, from a modern viewpoint, but that was the harsh reality of the world. 

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A few interesting things happened in this year of 280 AC. Firstly, Maege gave birth to another daughter again. Lyra Mormont was born. The third daughter of House Mormont. It was becoming a joke at this point. Other women in Westeros would cry tears if their third successful birth resulted in a girl yet again. Queen Aemma Targaryen had miscarriages and deaths of babes and they were screaming for a boy. And here was Maege Mormont. She had three successful births, each time it was a girl and she was glowing with pride and love. Maege was a bear though, so she didn't care if it was a boy or a girl. She loved her bear cubs either way. 

"Come girls. Say hello to our newest cub," Maege says as she sees Dacey and Alysanne look through the door gap.

Dacey, Maege's firstborn, was now 10 name days old. She was the oldest and the elder sister of not one but now two siblings. With slow steps, the two girls approached their mother's bed. Alysanne was 5 name days this year and she was a very curious child. 

"Can I hold her?" she asks, her eyes shining eagerly. 

"No! You're not strong enough, Aly." Dacey says making Alysanne pout. 

"Then what about you, Dacey? Do you want to hold Lyra?" Maege asks gently. 

She sees the fear in Dacey's eyes. The doubt about letting her newest sister fall and whether she would be good enough and-

"Calm down, Dacey. You are a good sister and more than strong enough to hold her. I trust you," Maege says. 

She hands the infant Lyra to Dacey and places her in her arms gently. Dacey looks at her youngest sibling with love and sees the cute smile. She understands the responsibility that this babe represents. Her young mind tells her that she will have to be two times as strong to defend both her sisters as she is now. She makes a mental note to ask her big brother Leman about it. He will know how to grow stronger. 

Maege can see the conviction in her daughter's eyes to train more and grow stronger. She smiles at that. The family has grown a bit larger again and House Mormont is prospering. Now, only Jorah will need a wife to call his own and for her to give him children. But where would they find someone like that? Bear Island is not a place where the young maidens like to visit. 

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In the rest of Westeros, things had turned worse yet again. And it was Aerys II Targaryen who many would claim was the reason for that.

Aerys II Targaryen ... he had declared upon his coronation that it was his wish to be the greatest king in the history of the Seven Kingdoms. Some of his friends encouraged this by suggesting that one day he would be known as Aerys the Wise or Aerys the Great.

During the early years of his reign, Aerys took an active part in his rule. He was ambitious during this time, and boasted about many grand plans, although he lost interest in them quickly as well.

His plans, none of which would ever be carried out, included invading the Stepstones and adding them to his kingdom, building a new Wall hundreds of miles north of the current one to extend his kingdom to the north after a visit from Lord Rickard Stark in 264 AC, building a city of white marble on the south bank of the Blackwater Rush after complaining of the smell of King's Landing in 265 AC, building a war fleet to "bring the Titan to its knees" after a dispute with the Iron Bank of Braavos in 267 AC, and building an underwater canal from the rainwood to make the deserts of Dorne bloom after visiting the southern region in 270 AC. 

It was hard to say when things truly began to turn for the worst, but the year 277 AC was probably the main reason. The Defiance of Duskendale happened. But what happened really? And why did it lead to the King becoming more paranoid and crazy?

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Lord Denys Darklyn of Duskendale desired to win a charter for Duskendale, which would give him more autonomy from the crown, and so he made his proposal to the crown in 277 AC. Why did he want that? Money of course. It was always about money and power in Westeros. 

Lord Tywin Lannister refused the proposal, but Denys would not give up so easily. Having noticed the deteriorated relationship between Aerys and Tywin, Denys decided to withhold his payments to the crown and instead invited the king to Duskendale to hear his petition for a new charter. He was clever. He knew that Tywin would be against it and that the King would do it, to spite Tywin who was his Lord Hand at that point. 

While Aerys had intended to decline the invitation, the king changed his mind when Tywin advised him to refuse in the strongest possible terms. Eager to demonstrate his ability to handle the situation without the help of his Hand, Aerys decided to settle the issue personally and bring the defiant Lord Darklyn to heel.

Informing Grand Maester Pycelle and the small council of his decision, Aerys travelled to Duskendale, against Lord Tywin's advice, taking a small force led by Ser Gwayne Gaunt of the Kingsguard. The invitation proved to be a trap, however, and Aerys walked right into it. The King was captured. 

A scandal. For 6 entire months, the King was held prisoner until Ser Barristan Selmy of the Kingsguard managed to save him. What followed was a tragedy. The Defiance of Duskendale was a problem for both the realm as well as House Targaryen. For the realm, it was the start of a time with a King who was turning mad more and more. For House Targaryen, it was a massive show of weakness. A weakness, that the realm would not forget. This weakness wasn't new. Ever since the disappearance of dragons, House Targaryen was in decline, but this ... the fact that the King himself could be captured and taken as a hostage, was a new low and terrible for them. 

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In this year, 280 AC the King started to burn more and more 'criminals' and life in King's Landing was getting more and more dangerous. But a sign of respite travelled through the realm. A Tourney was announced. A Tourney that promised to become the greatest one ever in the history of Westeros. The prize money was astronomically high and it was certain that many Lords and Ladies were going to travel to Harrenhal to attend or simply to watch and form new bonds. 

It would be interesting to see, what would happen this time around. There was a Primarch who was going to attend. It would promise to be interesting, that was certain. 

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A little gift for having to wait for so long. I hope you like it.