"I know it's not even close to the RedKeep," he said as they walked. They reached the stretch of land between the broken towers. To the naked eye, he could only guess that one or two football fields would fit between the towers.
Jaehaerys understood why Qyburn had asked for them to be torn down. They were bent, thanks to his ancestor. And they looked unstable. Although Jaehaerys thought it was unlikely that they would be able to expand the walls much with the material they were going to extract. They would only be useful for repairing the walls.
Jaehaerys looked at the walls connecting them. He thought he could use the foundations. They would allow him to build without worrying about having to dig new ones. But, damn Harren... The towers formed a pentagon, but each side was a different length.
"It's huge. The walls are enormous," she said.
"In case of a siege, they will protect us from our enemies. Unless they have Balerion, we will be safe here inside. What do you think about expanding the walls?" he asked, wanting to consider her opinion.
"In a siege, more land inside the walls means more people can get in, right? You'll be able to protect more smallfolk," said the princess, looking at a structure in the distance.
"Should I order them to build it then?" he asked. He had similar thoughts; the land inside the walls was fertile, and if he could farm it, he could maintain the castle indefinitely. However, he couldn't feed too many of the commoners.
"What else will you do with the remaining stone?" she asked in return.
"First, I need to calculate how much will be needed to repair the walls," he said.
"They don't look that damaged. I mean, even dragon fire had trouble melting them," the princess said uncertainly, pressing her lips together as she led her husband toward the structure that had caught her attention.
"They don't look so damaged because they're huge," he said. "That must be the bear pit," he said.
Daenerys looked at the structure. It was a hole ten yards wide and five deep. The walls were covered with stone, and there were several levels of benches on the surface.
"It could be good for holding water," she said. "Water from the Lake of the Gods could be brought here to be stored; it could even collect rainwater."
"You're starting to think a lot. How do we keep the earth from swallowing it up?"
"Replace the soil with stone and use clay to seal it," was the first thing that came to her mind.
"We could do that," said the prince. It could hold a good amount of water, though perhaps not enough for a long siege.
Daenerys blushed a little. It was just a random comment. Ever since he had told her about a system of pipes to carry water everywhere, she had wanted to do something herself.
She didn't understand it yet, but she would study to be useful. She wouldn't be having children for a few years so that she would have plenty of time for that.
It was a small thing; the moat could hold about eighty thousand gallons—enough for a month, considering only its use in the castle.
"That's not much water," said the prince.
"Oh," she looked a little disappointed.
"There must be wells to draw water from. I'll have them tell you where they are. There must be other underground storage rooms in the castle. Harren the Black considered using his castle for prolonged sieges. I'm sure water was one of his concerns." He looked at her, and she was disappointed.
"I see."
"But perhaps he didn't consider the common people," he continued. "Creating water reservoirs for them could be a personal project for you, perhaps?"
"I will," she said quickly. "I'll consult you before I do anything," she added quickly.
It was a need to prove herself; she hated to admit it, but she felt that Jaehaerys had given her more than she could give him in return. At their wedding, she had given him a cape, and he had given her an entire library. That wasn't fair.
Jaehaerys nodded. Keeping his wife happy was the best thing he could do. And if she was helpful in the meantime, even better.
Water, crops, and some fuel to keep the fires burning. That would be the basics during a siege. Not counting the soldiers.
"Let's keep walking."
"You'll use pipes when you design the castle, right?" asked the princess. "I can help you do it."
"You know about pipes, princess?"
"I'll learn."
"When I modify the plans, I'll need your help," the princess nodded.
"We'll need copper. Can you order them to search for mines?" asked Dany.
"Of course," It was unlikely, but not impossible to find mines in his land. He felt his wife take his arm as they walked.
They finished their walk in the Godswood. Daenerys refused to go in, as the sun was already setting, and she didn't want to take any risk. In the end, they returned.
"It's not appropriate, Jae," said the silver-haired woman, being carried like the princess she was by her husband.
She had tried not to complain, but her husband noticed her tiredness.
"I'm the lord of the castle. Who's going to scold me?" He earned a charming laugh from his wife.
"The lady of the castle," she replied with a smile. "Where will we stay during the construction?"
"On the first floors of one of the Towers of Dread. I ordered a small temporary mansion to be built; it will be ready within a moon." He could afford to order the workers to give priority to his home.
"Don't apologize," she said, sleepily. "I can see you'll build something wonderful here. I'm happy to be a part of it."
"Oh, your water systems will undoubtedly be the heart of Harrenhal," he said with feigned pomposity.
"I don't like Harrenhal."
"Is it that unpleasant?"
"No, not the fortress, although I would love a color other than black. I mean the name. Harren the Black was an idiot who had his family killed. Let's change the name," she said, hiding a small yawn with his hand.
"Have you thought of one?"
"No, not yet. But I'll find one. The Silver Castle, doesn't that sound beautiful?" She smiled against his chest. Jaehaerys always smelled good. She envied him for that. On the way to Harrenhal and during the walk, she hadn't seen him sweat. She felt dirty from her sweat.
"The Silver Castle," he hummed the name. "It doesn't have anything silver on it," he said as he looked at the black walls.
"It has me," she said, wrapping her arms around his neck.
"That's enough," Jaehaerys considered it seriously. "It doesn't seem very imposing."
"I was joking," she said, smiling before kissing him.
"ArgentStone," he said, alluding to DragonStone. In this world, Argentum didn't mean silver, as Latin didn't exist on Planetos. "Argentum means silver in a forgotten dialect," he said when he looked at the princess's confused face.
"The castle can be ArgentKeep," Daenerys continued, liking it. "What dialect is that? I've never heard it before."
"Latin," he said. "I found it in a book brought from Essos," he lied. He couldn't tell her it came from his old world.
"We can decide later, but I like it," she said.
They both retired to their quarters. Daenerys fell asleep after a short bath, too tired for any nighttime activities.
Jaehaerys began with the logistics of construction. The castle he planned to build was tall and majestic; he didn't want to create something merely beautiful, but something imposing. He wanted the nobles to want to travel to see it.
Using brick was faster, yes, but it was also weaker. It wouldn't support the weight of the entire structure without steel beams or other supports, which he didn't have access to at the moment.
He had around 5,500 workers, including those who were already there. More workers did not mean that they would be able to finish everything in a day; even if he had a million, not all of them could work simultaneously.
He began with a general plan of the castle: seven towers, a mystical number in this world. The structure would consist of five towers on the outside, forming a pentagon with rounded sides. He would have to create foundations for the new towers. That's if he wanted symmetry. He still had to calculate the thickness of each one, but it would certainly not be small. Jaehaerys decided to use black stone for the first floors of the castle. He would use brick, which is lighter, for the higher parts.
The outer towers could be made of brick, with the smallest ones only about 250 feet high. The tallest would be around six hundred feet. He wanted them to grow in size evenly, creating a kind of slope between the walls that connected them. The tower behind the castle's principal gate would be the highest, standing at 600 feet. The two on one side would be smaller, at 400 feet, and the two between the gate will be the smallest.
In the center, the two towers would reach around five hundred feet in height, both of the same height. As the others, they would start with stone walls on the lower levels, tapering as they rose, until the stone was replaced with red brick. Walls would join the most prominent tower and the two central towers, and in that space would be the Great Hall.
He wondered how big to make the castle. He made an initial sketch that would have a total area of nine acres. It was an absurd figure.
He would leave the rest of the design and layout of the areas to Qyburn. He would then review it again to ensure it would not collapse under its weight.
He then proceeded to distribute the men, as not all of them would be useful for construction. He would have them start making bricks. Others would have to lay the foundations, as such a tall castle would need deep foundations.
He also needed to take advantage of the fact that the GodsEye connected to the Blackwater River, which would allow him to reach Blackwater Bay.
A large ship could not travel on the river. So he thought of smaller boats to carry goods to King's Landing. They could be Drakkars, but he needed to know the depth of the river and how it changed at different times of the year. If he couldn't use Drakkars, he could design smaller boats.
His head felt a little dizzy from sleep. He hadn't had a drop of alcohol all day, and yet his head didn't hurt that much.
He looked at his wife lying in the bed they shared. He had never wanted to sleep so badly.
"I'll continue tomorrow," he said, putting away his pen, notes, and plans.