Fighting against the pirates II

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-Eddark Stark Pov tenth moon 288 AC

Lord Lannister, on the other hand, has been unusually active. While Robert retreats into his sorrow, Lannister seems to be planning something significant. Every day, more lords gather in his tent, and the questions in the camp are no longer about Lothar or the Prussians, but about what Lannister is plotting. It appears he's organizing the southern lords into a league, an alliance to counter the Prussian presence and finally respond collectively to their manipulations.

The Prussians have dominated for a long time, not only through military strength but also through their vast economic power. With control over grain, gold, and the trade of artisanal goods, they've dictated the terms of nearly all the lords' contracts. And they've done so cleverly, negotiating with each lord separately, offering prices tailored to each lord's needs, while always leveraging bulk purchases to drive down prices. In the south, it seems they've finally had enough of that tactic. The Prussians have been buying cheap, squeezing the lords.

In the north, we've had better fortune; they've always offered us fair prices. But I can understand why the southern lords are losing patience. If Lannister succeeds in forming this league, it could be the first step toward the Prussians finally facing the economic resistance they haven't encountered until now. But I don't know how long that resistance can last if winter keeps advancing.

The hatred toward the Prussians in the south was palpable, deeply contrasting with how we viewed them in the north. Here, the Prussians were considered noble and respectful, people of their word. But in the south, their reputation was one of infamy. They were spoken of as swindlers, thieves, and murderers, arrogant and, worst of all, enemies of the Faith of the Seven. This last point was particularly grave after the purge in one of their cities, where they burned traitors at the stake and massacred several noble families who conspired against them. That event marked a turning point in the relationship between the Prussians and the southern lords.

In fact, only a few nobles in the south still maintained good terms with them, and that was solely due to marital ties binding them to Prussian houses. But for most, the Prussians were enemies both politically and spiritually. The Faith of the Seven, dominant in the south, would never forgive the Prussian burnings, and this resentment only grew as their economic influence strangled local lords. The situation in the south was tense, and I wouldn't be surprised to see violence erupt at any moment.

The Prussian military dominance was undeniable. Their culture, which idealized military service above almost all else, had created a system placing soldiers in a privileged position, just below the nobles. Merchants and artisans, though important, were far below in that hierarchy. With such a structure, it was no surprise that they could mobilize so many men in such a short time.

What truly impressed—and frightened—many was their ability to field a professional army that rivaled in numbers the peasant levies that the southern lords could muster in times of need. While in the south, most soldiers were untrained men from the fields, the Prussians had a professional army ready to fight at any moment.

This made one thing clear—something many in the south didn't want to admit: if there were to be another war between the Prussians and the Seven Kingdoms, the Prussians would not fall as easily as some believed. Their discipline, organization, and capacity to mobilize large numbers of professional soldiers gave them a significant advantage.

For that reason, I decided not to join the war, as the religious conflict was between the Faith of the Seven and the Prussians, not the Northerners.

Although Jon was disappointed with me for my decision to stay out of it, he ultimately understood. He was also filled with regret over how things had unfolded. He had placed his trust in a High Septon who promised him thousands of zealots to fight against the Prussians, but that never happened. Instead of the promised support, the zealots of the Faith of the Seven created more chaos than order, plunging the realm into an even more precarious state.

The worst of it is that this fanatical uprising has placed the most powerful and wealthy lord of the Seven Kingdoms against the Crown, when he was once its most loyal defender. What began as a quest for support has turned into a dangerous fracture. No one knows what will happen next. With relations between the Crown and the Prussians in such poor standing, the rumor of the Targaryen return only adds fuel to the fire.

Though the Prussians have shown strong opposition to the Targaryens, mainly due to their aversion to incest, we can't be sure how they would react if the conflict escalates. They have used extensive propaganda against dragons, erecting statues and pictographs celebrating the death of these creatures, but in times of crisis, even the firmest principles can be sacrificed for political convenience.

After so much waiting, we finally saw the royal fleet arrive, though it was not the same as before. Stannis had encountered Karl von Rugen at sea, and though it was only a minor defeat, many of his ships were damaged. The repairs were minimal, only enough to keep them afloat. All the focus of the port was on the production of new galleys, so they couldn't spare time fixing what was no longer essential.

What caught my attention was the composition of the forces that arrived. There weren't as many peasant levies as there used to be. The great lords had chosen to disband most of those levies to send them back to the fields, hoping to gather what little they could before the snow began to fall. Every day grew grayer and colder, the cloudy skies a reminder that winter was at our doorstep. The warm summer the south had enjoyed was fading quickly, and in its place, only the cold remained.

There was a palpable urgency in the air. The lords, hungry for vengeance or seeking to reclaim supplies plundered by the Ironborn pirates during their prolonged raids, could hardly wait to set sail toward their lands. During all that time, as the religious war between the Prussians and the Faith of the Seven consumed the south, the pirates had taken the opportunity to plunder and accumulate wealth—something the southern lords were not willing to overlook.

However, Stannis's hundred war galleys, though powerful, were not enough to transport everyone. Even with the commercial ships seized on their way to Lannisport, there simply wasn't space for the seventy thousand men-at-arms gathered by the great lords. And that was without counting the Dornish, who had decided to remain in their lands, as usual, staying out of the conflicts that plagued the rest of the realm.

The arguments between the lords were constant. Each wanted to be the first to embark, not just for vengeance, but for the prestige of being the first to confront the Ironborn. Tensions increased daily, and every conversation seemed to turn into a struggle to determine who would sail on the first ship. The sense of competition among the lords was becoming as dangerous as the threat posed by the pirates themselves.

The first group, comprising around twenty thousand men, was led by some of the most prominent lords of the Seven Kingdoms: Arryn, Lannister, Tully, and Baratheon, along with my own forces from the North. The small northern fleet, which we managed to mobilize by combining the Manderly ships with the Prussian company, was transported through the Neck's canal. It was a considerable effort but essential to ensure our presence in the first wave of the expedition.

The weather was far from ideal, as expected when sailing near the Iron Islands. Storms and sudden changes in the climate were common in those waters, but we were fortunate. Most of the journey passed with relative calm, though the sky remained covered with heavy clouds and persistent light rains. Despite the tranquility of the sea, the atmosphere was thick with tension, especially during conversations with Stannis.

Many lords were eager to know what had truly happened in the naval battle between the royal fleet and Karl von Rugen, one of the Prussian admirals. Stannis, as always, spoke with his usual seriousness, but his response did not fully ease their concerns. We knew the confrontation had been difficult, and though the royal fleet had not been destroyed, it had suffered more than many had expected.

During our journey to the Iron Islands, we noticed a thick column of smoke on the horizon. As we drew closer, we witnessed a scene that few would ever forget. Three Prussian war galleys, much larger than any ship in the royal fleet, were engaging several Ironborn vessels. The exchange of fire was fierce. Prussian crossbowmen shot with precision, while the Ironborn archers frantically attempted to escape.

We prepared to assist the Prussians in the fight, but what happened next was something none of us anticipated. One of the Prussian galleys, in a calculated maneuver, began to unleash fire from its bow, completely engulfing three Ironborn ships. In seconds, the enemy ships were consumed by flames, and the pirates, trapped in that hellish blaze, threw themselves into the water, desperately trying to escape. But even in the water, they weren't safe. The fire continued to burn on the surface, devouring those who had jumped.

The remaining Ironborn ships, upon witnessing the fate of their comrades, began to flee as quickly as they could. But the Prussian galleys, with their tireless rowers and the wind in their favor, continued the pursuit, determined not to let any enemy escape.

One of the Prussian galleys, having fallen behind in the chase, initiated a brutal and ruthless operation. They lowered small boats into the water, and the Prussians began to pursue the swimming Ironborn, those who had managed to escape the fiery wreckage of their ships. With deadly precision, the Prussians used spears to impale the pirates in the water, forcing them down as they desperately struggled to reach the surface, despite being wounded or pierced by the spears.

As we watched the massacre unfold on the water, one of the nobles turned to Stannis, with a mix of awe and horror in his voice.

"By the gods, I've never seen anything like that… galleys that launch fire from the front, through those large metal tubes. It must have been a nightmare to fight against that, Lord Stannis," he remarked, staring at the Prussian galleys, which moved through the still-blazing waters as the burning remains floated around them.

Stannis, his gaze fixed on one of the Prussian galleys as it slowly pulled away, replied coldly. "I wouldn't know. I never faced them up close. Karl von Rugen only had his massive galleons at his disposal, launching orbs filled with burning liquid. Our defeat would have been far greater if he had possessed those galleys." Stannis's eyes remained on the Prussian ship in the distance, his expression one of quiet recognition of the threat.

"Then the defeat of the royal fleet would have been even more devastating than it was," Jon remarked, approaching us after hearing Stannis's words. His eyes locked onto the Prussian galleys moving through the smoldering wreckage of the enemy ships. The scene was one of utter desolation: bodies and charred wood floated on the surface, and smoke darkened the horizon like an ominous warning.

Stannis nodded, his face serious and calculating. "Likely," he said, his voice low but tense. "These Prussian galleys are capable of turning any ship into a floating torch, incinerating every crewman without needing to engage in direct combat. The galleons we faced could only launch fire orbs after careful, slow maneuvers. But this…," he gestured to one of the Prussian galleys that was still spewing fire from its bow, "this is a different weapon. The Prussians have achieved a level of destruction we hadn't anticipated."

Jon looked at him closely, his brow furrowed. "And these ships? Are they a new Prussian production? Something they prepared in silence?" he asked, his voice laced with concern.

Stannis kept his gaze on the sea. "That's what I fear. Karl von Rugen didn't have these galleys when we fought, so they've either been recently produced, or they were kept in reserve, waiting for the right moment to be unleashed. They've shown us a power we certainly hadn't accounted for."

A murmur of unease rippled through the men around us, their eyes fixed on the galleys fading into the distance. No one spoke openly, but the sense of vulnerability was palpable. If the Prussians decided to deploy those galleys against us, it would be a living hell upon the water.

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I remind you to leave your ideas or what you would like to see.

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