"But I carry the bloodline of 'Storm King' Durran Durrandon," Stannis said coldly.
Durran "God's Grief" and Brandon the "Builder" were legendary heroes of the same era.
They were not of the same age, separated by more than a thousand years, but both were extraordinary beings. Durran was most likely a demigod and lived for over a thousand years.
In his later years, Durran had dealings with Brandon in his youth.
Durran abducted Elenei, the daughter of the Sea God and the Storm God, a mermaid.
The gods were enraged, destroying his city and annihilating his people. The entire Stormlands kingdom wailed amid the storms, yet the gods could not kill Durran.
Durran even dared to declare war on the two gods.
Brandon helped him, at least by building Storm's End to withstand the waves and storms.
After the first Long Night, Brandon founded the Stark lineage of Winterfell, while Durran established the Durrandon line at Storm's End. These legacies endured until three hundred years ago, when Aegon the Conqueror landed in Westeros.
Stannis's ancestor, Orys Baratheon, killed the last Durrandon and married his only daughter.
In a sense, Stannis and his daughter Shireen could still be considered of divine descent. They carried Elenei's blood, and Elenei was the daughter of the Storm God and the Sea God.
"Many noble families with thousands of years of history still lost their lands and castles. No one cared about their fate because they were insignificant.
But the Dragon Queen is different. She has the power to claim her inheritance. In fact, if she wished, the Iron Throne could also be hers," Davos sighed.
Stannis closed his eyes and remained silent for a moment before saying, "I only want the Crownlands within two hundred kilometers of King's Landing. The rest can go to her. I will also compensate her with one-sixth of the Riverlands.
The remaining Riverlands can be split equally between the Tullys and Sansa. Even after giving up one-sixth and dividing the rest, their share is still larger than the Crownlands. What more could they want?"
"That may be true, but…" Davos hesitated. "Your Grace, the initiative is not in our hands.
Tyrion has clearly refused to split the Riverlands. He wants a complete duchy.
We haven't even taken King's Landing yet, let alone unified the Seven Kingdoms.
To be blunt, you are not yet in a position to demand submission from Lady Sansa and Tyrion.
They offer loyalty in exchange for a ducal domain, which you find hard to accept. But for them, is it really the best option?
At worst, they can take their grain to Dragonstone, remain on the sidelines, and wait for the chance to slay the Night King.
Can you refuse Lady Sansa's arrangement for her vassals to resist the Others? Or how would you stop her sister from seizing the credit of killing the Night King again?"
Stannis's face darkened, and he said nothing.
Davos sighed and continued, "To put it plainly, the Dragon Queen is too powerful. She has dragons, the favor of the Holy Mother, and magical strength to resist the Cold God. She sets the rules of the game, and we are merely players.
Her rule is simple and fair: whoever ends the Long Night becomes king. That is why it is widely accepted across the Seven Kingdoms.
Even if you take King's Landing and sit on the Iron Throne, it only allows you to better consolidate power and compete to become the top figure on the 'Long Night Hero Rankings.'
But House Stark has King in the North Jon, the Three-Eyed Raven Bran, and the formidable assassin Arya. Lady Sansa has both the ability and the opportunity to fulfill the condition of 'ending the Long Night to become ruler' ahead of others.
We fear her because forcing her submission would remove our greatest competitor. The price of a duchy is not excessive."
Stannis paced back and forth by the fireplace with a grim expression.
Davos stood to the side, watching him.
The king had grown thinner than before. His cheeks had once been gaunt, but his body and limbs were strong and powerful, rivaling any knight. Now, Davos could see the bulging dark veins on his hands, almost black, and the armor he had worn for decades now seemed loose.
More frightening than his emaciation was his mental state. His sunken eye sockets seemed deep enough to hold an egg, and the dark circles around his eyes were as black as smoked meat hung at a chimney for half a year.
Davos knew that since his resurrection, his king could hardly sleep. Or perhaps he no longer needed sleep, and he barely ate either.
Davos often wondered where the energy for the king's daily activities came from without sleep or food.
"Do you know why I refuse to give the Vale to Sansa, even though it is not my fief?" Stannis suddenly stopped and turned to ask.
Davos was taken aback before replying, "For balance. If the Vale belongs to Sansa Stark and the Riverlands remain with the Tullys, then the alliance of the Riverlands, the North, and the Vale would re-form, posing a serious threat to royal authority."
This was not the first time they had discussed the issue, and the Hand of the King spoke fluently.
"Exactly. I have not forgotten how the Targaryens lost during the Rebellion," Stannis nodded.
"Your Grace, forgive me for speaking plainly. One should worry about a king's problems after becoming king. You are not yet king."
After saying this, Davos looked at him expectantly, hoping for anger, for clenched teeth, for some release of pent-up fury.
Once again, he was disappointed.
The king's gaze only grew darker and more somber, making him uneasy.
So he quickly added the suggestion Tyrion had given before leaving. "Your Grace, Tyrion wants to preserve the status of House Lannister.
As long as you refrain from attacking the Westerlands before the Long Night ends, and after taking King's Landing and capturing Cersei, hand her over to him intact, he can persuade Sansa to make concessions."
"What kind of concessions?" Stannis asked.
"He can persuade Sansa to give up the Vale and the Reach. But you must pay five million gold dragons for the one hundred thousand tons of grain."
"Five million…" Stannis considered it. "That price is not too high during the Long Night. It can be agreed.
But can he decide on Sansa's behalf?
All I need is Sansa's submission. Tyrion himself does not concern me."
For a moment, Davos's expression became rather strange.
"He said Sansa is now his lover. With his handsome face and twelve techniques of seduction, he guarantees she will obey him," Davos said awkwardly, blushing and lowering his head as he spoke haltingly.
"Shameless!" Stannis cursed.
"Indeed shameless, but he truly is very handsome now. Walking down the street, he can make crowds of young girls blush and scream. He should be able to… persuade Lady Sansa," Davos said, coughing lightly.
"I recall there being only seven such techniques," Stannis said, puzzled.
"Your Grace, you—" Davos suddenly looked up at his king in shock.
Stannis remained calm. "When I served as Robert's Master of Laws, I once reformed the brothels in King's Landing."
Davos remembered. That had indeed happened.
"These techniques were invented by Valyrian nobles. There were originally more than seven, but only seven were passed down in Yunkai. Tyrion saw an original manuscript in the Dragon Queen's private library," the Hand said awkwardly.
"I didn't expect her to be that kind of person," Stannis murmured.
Davos was surprised to see shock reappear on the king's face.
He hesitated, wondering whether to remind him that the Dragon Queen was known as "Saint Daenerys." Such a woman could not possibly be what he imagined.
In the end, wanting the king to remain shocked a little longer, he silently apologized to the Dragon Queen.
Well, it didn't matter. The king already knew the Holy Mother was false, so Saint Daenerys was likely no different.
After a while, Stannis regained his indifferent expression and said, "I cannot produce five million gold dragons now. Perhaps you should make a trip to Braavos?"
"Your Grace, Tyrion does not require immediate payment. He wants you to use Storm's End as collateral. And only after the Long Night ends can a direct Baratheon heir redeem it for five hundred gold dragons," Davos said hesitantly.
He thought again of Princess Shireen. She was dead. His king had no heir. If anything happened during the Long Night, then Storm's End…
Stannis paused, then suddenly understood. "So that is his true aim. Storm's End of House Baratheon. He believes I will not survive the Long Night."
"If I die… I… Shireen…" His pupils dilated as if he were about to faint. His face twisted grotesquely, his throat rattling, yet no words came out.
With a thud, his body seemed to lose all strength. He collapsed to his knees, vomiting white and red substances in great heaves.
A sour, rotten stench filled the room.
"Your Grace!" Davos quickly knelt and tried to help him up.
"Shireen… Shireen… what have I done!" Stannis let out a soul-wrenching wail of agony.
"Your Grace…" Davos froze, his hand on the king's shoulder.
He too was dragged back to a deeply buried, terrifying memory.
Tears blurred his vision, streaming down his face.
"Your Grace!" He embraced the trembling, pitiful man, his heart filled with grief.
The moment did not last long.
Stannis's heart was like a bathtub with the plug pulled out. Under normal circumstances, no matter how much emotion was poured in, it would drain away immediately. But the feelings triggered by the memory of "Shireen" were like an entire lake being dumped into it at once. It could not drain instantly, but it would eventually empty.
Stannis gradually stood up, wiped the filth from his mouth, and said coldly, "Agree to his terms."
"What?" Davos, a normal man without such emptiness in his heart, was still immersed in sorrow over Princess Shireen and King Stannis's tragic fate and was momentarily stunned.
"Tyrion thinks House Baratheon has no one left? Hmph. At least I am certain that Mya Stone of the Vale is Robert's first true child.
I also know Robert once intended to follow Aegon the Unworthy's example, to bring that maid's daughter to the Red Keep and acknowledge her as a Baratheon.
Cersei stopped him. He was furious and beat her black and blue while drunk.
Now, I will fulfill Robert's wish."
(End of Chapter)
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