If Wright were younger, he might have tried to reason with these northerners, presenting facts, or even taken up a sword to show them what was what.
"Lord Jon, you and your son sit down first. Let's continue discussing the matters on the note."
Wright had managed the Tyroshi lands for many years, a region known for its diversity in culture and religion. The seas were infested with pirates, the land with bandits, and even the rivers had their fair share of boat interceptors. He had dealt with all sorts of troublemakers. Considering the situation at hand, Wright only waved to the guards at the door, signaling them to send for Eddard.
Suppressing dissatisfaction would only make things worse. If the northern lords were upset, it was Eddard's responsibility to ease the tension, not Wright's. As long as the Jon family did not disrupt the overall situation, Wright would not interfere.
Shrewd as ever, Lord Roose Bolton caught the subtle change in Wright's tone. Previously, Wright had addressed them as "Greatjon" and "Smalljon," but now he simply referred to him as "Lord Jon", and had not even mentioned his son's name.
Roose Bolton chuckled inwardly. Most of the northern populace had taken refuge in Wright's lands, and the wealthy lords of Tyrosh were eager to flatter him. After today, House Umber would never have the chance to cooperate with Wright again. From now on, if they wanted Tyroshi goods, they would have to buy them at inflated prices from Roose himself.
Seeing that Wright did not become angry but instead shifted the topic back to military matters, the other lords hesitated to speak in support. Greatjon, resigned, slapped his leather armor and sat down with a gaze lost in the distance.
Wright ignored him and turned to the northern lords, speaking calmly: "I've simplified these matters as much as possible, but it is vital that every soldier under your command understands them."
While they were discussing, Eddard and Robb entered the room.
"Eddard, we were just talking about the things we discussed earlier. Please find some craftsmen and get more copies printed as soon as possible," Wright said, standing up and gathering his things, preparing to leave.
"The Others have taken our land, and it is we, the northerners, who are fighting them. Yet, Eddard is being deceived by the southerners and running off to defend Moat Cailin. Ha!" Many northern nobles were dissatisfied, and old Lord Rickard was one of them. He muttered quietly to those beside him.
With his sharp ears, Wright heard the remark and turned toward Lord Rickard, standing by the door: "To be honest, I truly care about your lives! If you continue to fight the Others with your previous strategies, not only will we southerners have to provide food and clothing while you're alive, but we'll also have to fight with your corpses after you die! When the Others march south, no living soul will escape!"
Wright scanned the room, eyeing Eddard and the northern lords: "We southerners are not just talking about it. Long before the Others attacked the Wall, I and Renly had been preparing for more than ten years. The Riverlands, the Vale, the Reach, Dorne, and Tyrosh—troops will be sent to Moat Cailin to defend. Even the lands of Volantis will send aid!"
"What is happening?" Eddard asked, noticing Wright's tone and not fully understanding.
Roose Bolton stood up to smooth things over: "It's nothing, nothing at all. We're just having a heated discussion. Lord Wright, please, go ahead with your business. I'll explain things to Eddard."
---
Wright had originally expected that his journey north would take a month and a half, but after the Others breached the Wall, both he and Odahviing had to stay behind to stabilize the troops, unable to leave.
Half of the ravens in Winterfell's Rookery had been requisitioned by Wright, continuously sending messages to Tyrosh and King's Landing. By the time the last raven flew off, Winterfell had closed its gates, and both people and livestock lined up in long queues, migrating south.
In the northern part of Neck, the land was swampy and treacherous. Anyone wishing to travel north or south by land had to avoid the waist-deep marshes or face the alligators. The only passable route was the King's Road, constructed with piles of sand and stone, with Moat Cailin standing as an ancient castle on this crucial road.
This location was the narrowest point of the continent, where the ancestors had established a rudimentary fort over ten thousand years ago. Four thousand years ago, House Stark built a massive stronghold using basalt to fend off the invaders, allowing many of the early settlers to continue living in the North to this day.
After the Conqueror Aegon unified the continent, any northerners who continued to garrison the castle were viewed as rebels. Moat Cailin, which had lost its military importance, was gradually abandoned, only to be reclaimed and repaired by Robb.
The ancient Moat Cailin had twenty towers, but before the war with the Others, seventeen of them had rotted and collapsed. Only the three towers guarding the King's Road remained, manned by the Reed family who collected tolls from travelers.
After Robb took charge, some of the funds allocated by the Crown, combined with a loan from Tyrosh's banks, allowed the full restoration of the towers. The castle walls, once as tall as Winterfell's, were reinforced and raised. To accommodate the large number of troops and store supplies, a second outer wall was built around the castle.
Outside the castle, to the left and right, were walls resembling the Wall, with a large military camp every kilometer, extending all the way to the eastern and western coastlines of the continent.
This large-scale project, rushed due to time constraints, was structurally flawed due to limited finances. While the outer surface was stone, the interior was made of a mixture of sand, stone, and water. In the harsh winter, the "Wall" was sturdy and reliable, but come summer, it would collapse as the internal ice melted.
A red and a black dragon landed south of the castle, greeted by a group of knights bearing the crocodile banner. The leader at the front was Jojen Reed.
The smaller black dragon could land closer, and Sauron and Jojen jumped off its back, laughing and chatting while munching on dried meat Jojen had given them.
After landing, Odahviing stretched out one of his wings, and Wright helped Kana walk slowly down along the massive wing.
"You've got smoke everywhere; I could smell it from the sky. What kind of meat smells so good?"
"Lizard lion meat! This is a rare delicacy, come, come, everyone try it." Having completed his mission, Jojen, now without pressure, returned to his cheerful childhood nature, constantly pulling dried meat from the pouch hanging on his saddle and handing it to Wright and Kana.
After the long ride, Wright needed to stretch his muscles, so they slowly made their way to the castle, with the knights also dismounting and following behind, pulling their reins and walking at a leisurely pace.
"Lizard lion?" Kana had never heard of it, not daring to put the fragrant dried meat in her mouth.
Wright chewed it happily, eating one piece after another. "Lizard lion is the name in the ancient language. Down south, they call it an alligator."
"Oh, it's an alligator." Kana had read about them as a child, and later when she was in Volantis opening a bank branch, local nobles had invited her to their private zoos, where she had seen these creatures. She hadn't expected they could be eaten, but after taking a small bite, she found it tasted quite good.
The outer city walls of Moat Cailin were all made of stone, with gates made of iron-wrapped wood, and magical symbols carved by mages. This was one of the few genuine structures in this large project.
Once inside the inner city, Wright no longer saw the vast snowfields. The snow had been cleared and used to build the walls, leaving the frozen land smooth and encircling the entire Moat Cailin Castle.
"Why are you leveling so much land? The commoners will continue south, and the northern soldiers won't even fill this place," Kana asked, as she had not attended the military meetings and didn't know about reinforcements from the south.
Jojen pointed to the upper parts of the castle. "Not long from now, tents will fill both inside and outside the castle, and flags will be planted everywhere."
Along the muddy road, Wright saw smoke rising on both sides. All sizes of alligators were strung on wooden racks, with soldiers rubbing salt on the cut meat, and piles of alligator skins were stacked in one place. Luckily, there were no flies in this season.
Wright was curious. "Where did you find so many alligators?"
Magicians capable of hunting weren't interested in the ugly alligators, and ordinary hunters would engage in fierce battles when encountering them. Only a few excellent hunters dared to hunt alligators, and this skill wasn't widely taught.
Jojen smiled. "We dare not touch the food stocks in the warehouse. We're building the wall along the swamp. The original moat was filled, and the lizard lions hibernate in their caves during winter. We use long spears, stab them into the ground, and if the spearhead comes out with blood, we dig down. We've actually managed to catch quite a few."
"You better not hunt them to extinction! In the summer, wild boars will flood the land, and their damage is far worse than that of alligators," Wright said, grabbing another piece of dried meat from Jojen.
"Don't worry, our family's crest is an alligator, and we know these creatures love to eat wild boars." Jojen's face turned pale. He had previously ordered his family's knights to take soldiers and hunt alligators, thinking they could live on alligator meat for a few years. After hearing Wright, he realized that without alligators, wild boars would increase, and they would soon destroy all their crops and livestock.
Inside the castle, Jojen arranged accommodations for Wright, and Wright told Kana to rest while he took Sauron to continue exploring.
"I've already written to Baemon at Winterfell. He should be riding over to take you back to Tyrosh tomorrow."
In the bedroom, Kana grabbed Wright's hand to stop him from leaving. "Do you need me to do anything while I'm here?"
Kana held Wright tightly, feeling her body slowly move within his arms. Wright quickly steadied his mind. "I almost forgot to tell you, pass the message to your subordinates everywhere. The Tyrosh bank's loan limit for each Lord's territory is no more than 500,000 gold dragons."
Kana asked, "500,000 gold dragons? If a Lord issues the highest-level conscription order, the expenses are far beyond that. Some of it they will cover themselves, and the royal family will give rewards after the war to compensate. Who will they ask for the rest?"
Wright answered, "Renly! This war has failed. The dead are dead, and those who could escape to the east continent have. If we win, Renly will use this opportunity to control part of the debt in every kingdom."
"Making a fortune off the dead?" Kana smiled, looking at Wright, lightly bumping her forehead against his chest. "This doesn't seem like Renly's style. He'd never come up with such an idea!"
Wright realized Kana wasn't letting go of him, so he abandoned his plan to leave. "House Baratheon wants to completely control Westeros, and they have to gradually take control of the finances of other regions. They didn't have a chance before, but now, with so much money and brainpower spent by Stannis, Renly, and me, there has to be a return!"
"So, you won't let me lend out more?"
"My focus will be on the east continent in the future. Now, four territories have already been integrated. The next place is Pentos. If it weren't for the White Walkers coming south, I'd probably already be living somewhere in Pentos by now."
Kana and Wright continued discussing how to manage the matters of the High Lord in the Seven Kingdoms, but their hands didn't stop. Their clothes were quickly discarded.
---
Gold is a symbol of nobility everywhere, and the golden-scaled dragon, Judvukah, was naturally beloved by the common people.
When the smaller dragons grew up, Odahviing would always keep them at a distance, not letting them get too close. Judvukah, after being pushed away by Odahviing's tail on several attempts to get near, finally gave up and went to hang out with the black dragon.
Dragons rarely came to the North, so a group of soldiers from House Reed and a large number of craftsmen formed a large circle to watch the dragon.
"I'll bet a silver stag that you won't dare go!" Mera Reed, Jojen's sister, stood surrounded by a large group of family knights clad in armor. She held a small dagger in her hand, gesturing wildly as she made a bet with an ugly man.
"I dare!" The man was ugly but wore the long robe of a noblewoman. He was one of Mera's suitors, named Wright Frey.
A butcher led a large live pig to the scene. The pig weighed over a hundred pounds, heavier than the frail Wright.
Frey wrapped the rope tightly around his arm, trembling as he pulled the blindfolded pig toward the golden dragon.
"Noble golden dragon, please accept the food I have offered you!" The golden dragon, with its back to him, was eating. Wright Frey gathered his courage and shouted to the dragon.
Judvukah, who understood dragon language and could recognize a few words like "food" in the common tongue, turned around. The massive dragon, towering at two stories high, swung its tail, which was thicker than the stone pillars of the castle. Frey felt certain that if the tail struck him, he would be torn in half.
The golden dragon lowered its head, sniffing the scent of Wright Frey and the pig. The pig had already fainted from fear, its limbs stiffly extended as it lay on the ground. The sulfur-scented breath sprayed over Frey, and two rows of long, sword-like fangs were pressed close to his face.
At that moment, Mera turned her head and signaled to Baemon, who was standing next to Sauron in the distance.
Roar~~ The dragon suddenly let out an angry roar at him.
Frey fainted from fear, and the pig, scared into life, jumped up and began running frantically through the crowd, dragging Frey behind it.
"He dares to share the same name as father," Baemon said quietly.
Baemon had a few strands of platinum blonde hair mixed into his black locks. His appearance resembled Wright Frey somewhat, but the rest of him was much more like his mother, Kana. His build was also inherited from House Baratheon, not particularly strong but tall. Many people considered Baemon to be the type of handsome man you'd find among wandering poets.
"It's a Frey tradition," Sauron added dismissively. "Too many children, and their parents didn't have much education. Whoever has the greatest fame on the continent, they just follow their lead and take their name."
The two of them sat on a wooden fence, their feet dangling, arms crossed over their chests, striking the same pose Wright often did.
Baemon was three years younger than Sauron. His older brother, Darkseid, had gone to Sunspear, so Baemon had no choice but to follow Sauron around. This time, with Sauron heading north and not returning for a long time, Baemon received a letter from his father and assumed it was about coming to see the tournament.
Wright had only instructed Baemon to take Kana back to Tyrosh, while Sauron stayed with him. Wright knew his second son's personality—if he were allowed to go back, he would most certainly take a detour and head north to find his mother, Tyene.