Chapter 11: Settling down

Year 32 BD 10 months

After a long voyage from Valyria to Nortos the Vaelyreos fleet finally made it without any issues. Now the all the ships were anchored at the bay and people were starting to off board the ship and head to the mainland first the soldiers exited the ship and made it dry land to scout the area to get a general idea of the land and after they scouted the land and informed the other that the area was clear, only then the other made there way of the ship and to the land..

The first order of business was to make camp so that people could settle down on the land. All the soldiers, new settlers and former slaves being to start setting up camp for the night. They started constructing animal pens and makeshift stables for the cattle and horses and then continued with the tents. It took a long time to finish all the tents and gather firewood for the camp but managed to do it before the sun.

Once camp was set the cooks and servants began to prepare for supper and food was being cooked for the whole. During that time Aegor held a meeting with all the architates, Sorcerers, commanders, ship captions and merchants with regards to the work plan for starting the construction of the port city and towns. So the first order of business was to set up homes for the inhabitants, farms for the food and livestock and finally a working harbor for ships and fishing adding another food source.

After deciding on what are the high priority tasks, the next step was land allocation and zoning for commercial, residential and agricultural areas and setting up the sewage systems needed before the city is built. Aegor made sure to take out all the blueprints of all the major port cities in Valyria. He presented to the architates and constructions supervisor the blueprints of Tengro, Roys, Kypra and Malmos and had asked them on their opinions on which blueprint design will be suitable for the are and can be well defended, have place for farming, can encourage more trade and has a good sewage system. After so much discussion back and forth the architates and constructions recommended the Roys designs and offered to include the other great features of each of the cities like Tengro defenses, Kypra sewage systems and Malmos commercial layout.

After the main discussion regarding the construction of the city harbor was done the other tasks like setting up the farms and beginning fishing. The current total population this settlement was around 70 thousand around 18 thousand were soldiers and the remain are 52 thousand are labors, farmers, fishermen, carpenters, smiths, shipwrights, former slaves of Valyrian heritage and few thousand mining slaves for construction, settlers etc all the people need to set up a functioning town before leaving Valyria Aegor made sure that there was enough food supplies to feed the current settlers for 7 months but he also made sure to pack ratios for a year in his inventory so that no famines take place no one starves.

After the meeting was over they all made their way to have supper and call it day. The next day Aegor gathers all the inhabitants and addresses them. " Greeting everyone I would like to take this moment to thank you all for taking up my offer to join and establish this new settlement in the continent of Nortos. I know most of you who have joined me were former slaves and common folk who wish to leave Valyria and be free and start a new life. So let it be know that no one is a slave in this land all are freemen. So I implore you all to work hard so that we can develop this land and make it a place where all can prosper for us and for those who come after us ." After delivering his short and simple speech all the settlers clapped and cheered and were energized to work.

So as per their skill set all the new settlers began working. All the farmers and farm hands were working on the field to plant new crops suited to the area and tending to the cattle and horse. All the laborers related to construction began working on the harbor so that fishing and trading could begin as soon as possible and all merchants were exploring the area so that they could find something that they could sell to other ports which could increase the coffers of the new settlement. The same could be said with all the other residents doing what they can to make sure that this area can be a prosperous settlement.

Within a month the harbor was up and running with huge halls of fish and the crops in the field had started to grow. During that time Aegor took some time to continue setting up the barrier pillars and starting setting up some security measures like to detect if any faceless men or any shady organization like the maesters decided to pay his little settlement a visit. He knew that with great power and might comes a lot of enemies, in his old world there were a lot of theories about how Valyria met its end some say the instability of the Volcanoes due to mining, magical experiments gone wrong, some say its the maester or the faceless men and other say the Children of the Forest in a last ditch efforts to kill the walkers and ensure that all magic along with them goes extinct with them or the mystery people who first tough the Valyrian on how to ride dragons. Whatever or whoever caused the doom, it was better to be safe than dead.

Once the harbor was done now was time to start working on the city and a keep for him to stay in. So work to build the keep started and people were working on it. The time taken for construction was reduced by a lot thanks to the inventory ring. All the stone and material used to construct the keep could be easily brought from one place to another with little to no effort at all. But the time taken to dig the ground to lay the foundation, construct the structure and other things was still the same but it still saved a lot of time and effort in moving stuff. There were some workplace injuries here and there but nothing Aegor couldn't handle with his healing magic. Aegor was staying in the temporary fort made of wood till the new keep was finished. While construction was going on in the new keep, Aegor made sure to use his knowledge in construction to set up indoor plumbing for his keep so that no one has to draw water and bring it to him when he is doing his business or taking a shower. He first ensured that a huge water tank was built on top of the keep and pipes with taps and valves were set up for the kitchen and the bathrooms attached to each chamber. He also ensured that all the waste water would all drain in the city's sewage system.

Since the keep was located on top of the hill which was further inland, Aegor connected a pipeline from the deeper end of the sea to the keep and with the help of artifact creation made a water filter pump which will draw water from the sea and send it to the keep and filter the water. There are 3 pipes, one connected to the tank and the other 2 are positioned near 2 stone containers one for all the impurities like organic matter and minerals which make water hard and one for salt, the bi products of filtering sea water.

Aegor was planning to use this method to create public toilets, bath houses and drink water taps so that clean water and sanitation is available to all in the city and so that no smells like they rolled in shit.

Work around the city was going on as usual, people were doing their jobs but was once in a will some issues between the family soldiers and the freed slave solider mostly because of the existing prejudices of slaves, one thing is clear it will take a long time to change the mind set of people. These men were ready to fight and were full of seed so the fight will begin in a year or 2 . Aegor made sure to let his family soldiers know that they do not start trouble among ranks or they would face harsh punishment for insubordination. He used his dragons to drive the point and all of them understood he did the same with the slave soliders as well. Fear alone could not keep them at bay so he all ensured that some former pleasure slaves were brought so that the men could have some entertainment. He made sure to free them and offer them security so that no one would ill treat if they did they would be dragon food.

He made sure to give his soldiers and people wages so that people start to function with money and that they start being free people. It may not change mindsets but maybe by the time his whole family settles in Nortos he could change his people's minds could change but then again he would have to make sure that his vision continues even after his death. But for now he needs to make sure that his hold on this land is strong and that he would be able to establish his dynasty.

Year 30 BD 5 months

Finally the keep was finished in a year and 7 months. It was a grand structure which had both aesthetic beauty and functionality. The keep served both as a residence as well as a fortress with a strong wall, good interior and 3 gates which served as extra protection. The first get serves as the entrance and check post once we enter it we have to go through a curved road towards the left with walls on both which leads to the second gate and gate house and which to another curved road towards the right leading towards with walls on both which leads to the 3rd gate and gate house which leads to the courtyard of the keep . The reason for this is to ensure that the invading force's numbers are cut down and making it harder and harder to reach the keep with archers on both sides of the road harassing the invading force on both sides of the walls. The area of the keep is large enough to include a trading yard big enough to train 15000 soldiers at a time, Stables, stuarts keep for all the servants, Barrack for the soldiers, stables for 10000 horses, warehouses for food and wood, animal pens and other essential buildings like blacksmith shop, taverns, gardens, library, healers house and finally a place to land 3 full grown large variety dragons. The whole could house at least 600 thousand inhabitants during siege and enough stores to feed the castle at full capacity for at least 3 years.

The central keep has a great hall for feasts and court. It also has 2 big kitchens one for the residential family and the other for the Palace staff, guards, gardeners, stable hands, stewards, heralds and other essential personnel. The other rooms are all the bed chambers, bath chambers, halls, library, store room, treasury, dining halls, armory and lords study.

The castle is at least 2 times bigger than Harrenhal in size and Diameter. And will serve as one of the estates run by the royal family. After the construction of the keep was settled Aegor began to settle in the new keep with the help of his inventory ring he was able to unload his furniture and stuff in the keep, which made the work of the Keep staff much easier.

After the construction and settling tasks were done Aegor began to hold court in the new keep; he had gone through all the issues of the like any other lord. Hear pleas, settling disputes, going through the annual yield, ensuring food is plentiful and trade could be established. And after a day in court he had spent the remaining part of the day checking the progress of constructions in the settlement ensuring people had homes to live in and making sure the place developed into a proper city.

Now it has been almost 3 years since he last saw his family and friend Rickon Stark who had left his side and returned to the North. "It has been 3 years since I last saw my brother and sister. Maybe it is time to visit them. Wonder how Rickon is doing since he left for winterfell wonder how he is doing. I wonder if he is ready to join us." Aegor thought while he was looking out the window in his study.