Far North
Harry's POV
Harry stared into the clearing at all of his latest conquests. Five. He had already taken control of five White Dragons in the first three months that he had been here. He had been right about them having a higher level of intelligence than normal dragons.
After he had taken the first one's mind and gotten it to follow him, the others stayed away from him and would actively try to avoid him as much as possible. The next one took him two weeks to hunt down since it was constantly on the move. Unfortunately, in a full out flight, the White Dragons were faster than him so if he couldn't get the jump on it then it would fly off before he got a chance to do anything.
He, of course, used trackers but apparition didn't help that much since they spent most their time in the air except to rest and eat and he needed to do both those things as well which made it difficult to catch up.
It didn't help that they could apparently also sense magic to some extent which Harry should have guessed since he already knew they could suppress their presence to an extent. He hadn't confirmed it yet but he also believed that they possibly had some form of camouflage ability that they utilized with the magic in their body.
As annoying as it would, it was also extremely fascinating. He had not studied White Dragons in any real depth until now and they were definitely fascinating. He was pretty sure that it was almost impossible for them to ever give birth to a Golden Dragon because they actually used much of the magic that they absorbed. It also explained why there were originally so few of them. They couldn't give birth to litters of dragons and could only birth one or two at a time because they did not have enough magic to birth anymore.
Eventually, though he finally caught up with the dragon and snuck up on it while it was sleeping. The battle had been quicker than the first one he had gone through but just as intense. Casting magic beyond strengthening his fire was annoyingly difficult in his dragon form so battle usually required actual force and skillful maneuvering.
The third dragon had been the most ferocious and had also been the biggest white dragon he, so far, had faced. It wasn't much bigger than others of its subspecies but he was stronger and just as fast. Harry also suspected that it might have been younger than the first two that he had conquered. Despite its physical strength, its mental strength was not as strong as the first two.
The fourth and fifth were actually the easiest as they had actually already fought each other when Harry swooped in while they were both weakened. They had been smart enough to set aside their dispute to try and tag team him but it hadn't mattered with how weak they were. Harry was sure though that if they had both been at full strength, he would have had some actual trouble.
Now, he had led them all here, to this massive clearing. Harry had decided that this would be the place where he would build his first settlement that would be the start of his kingdom.
His first and strongest enemy was the cold. The biggest issue with barely any people living out in the Far North, compared to other kingdoms, was how cold it was. No one except the hardiest of people wished to risk freezing or starving to death just to come and live out in a barren wasteland. Now, making the entire Far North warmer was a task greater than even his ability but making this clearing where he would settle, warm enough to live would be doable.
The first task would be setting up a perimeter to keep the heat in and stop it from escaping. While his dragons lazed, Harry walked around the entire perimeter of the clearing setting up a large ward. It was actually a simple charm for insulation that he was expanding into a full ward around the area. It took him several hours to slowly circle the clearing while mentally casting the spell. When he finished he touched his magic to the ward to test its strength and made sure it would not collapse if some pesky sorcerer/sorceress tried to mess with it. He would put up protection wards a little later into his planning.
One of the next biggest problems in the Far North was the lack of food. There was plenty of game but not enough to support a real population of humans. Especially not a settled population.
There were two ways to fix this problem. He needed to make more crops and he needed to make sure there was more game available. Harry knew better than any human in the world how dangerous it was to mess with ecosystems. So, he would have to carefully and proportionally scale the ecosystem without actually making it bigger. Trees and plants would need to make more produce for small animals and herbivores who ate them. This would help their population rise which would, in turn, help the omnivore and carnivore populations rise as well. Of course, it wasn't that simple, he would have to use magic for plants to grow stronger as…encourage the animals to fornicate more but it was possible.
Harry got started by finding a large stone and going to work on transfiguring it, he thought extremely hard about the shape and size of what he wanted and quickly started to sweat just from the sheer amount of concentration he had to put into the transfiguration. After nearly ten minutes, he opened his eyes.
In front of him, where there was once a stone, now sat what looked like a large, perfectly spherical container. At a close look, the container looked to be made out of a mixed color of copper and bronze. Running his hands along it, Harry couldn't feel a single imperfection in the surface. Despite its metallic sheen, the object itself wasn't made out of metal. It was similar to obsidian in properties and strength more than anything else. He had never made a name for the material and decided not to now either.
The purpose of his new creation was to act as a body, in a sense, for a complex matrix of runic arrays that he would wrap over the surface. The material was impressively strong but even more impressive was its ability to conduct magic. It was the second strongest conductor Harry had ever seen, right next to Mithril.
He pressed his hand to the surface and it sunk in as if it were made of a liquid rather than the solid it actually was. Almost immediately the sphere started glowing a teal blue, attracting the temporary attention of his dragons who were still lazing.
Harry watched carefully as tiny glowing symbols started to slowly etch onto the surface of the sphere, glowing the same teal as the current aura surrounding the sphere. The runes were in several different languages and none from this world. Harry didn't ever want this to fall into the hands of his enemies but if it did, they wouldn't be able to understand it, activate it, or manipulate it.
The actual process was both long and tedious and even had a chance of not working. He had technically never attempted this before and had only ever researched the concept on his free time. He was confident it would work though as his math was usually correct.
After several more hours, the etchings were done and the sphere stopped glowing. Harry stood back and looked at the finished product. It was something else he had not yet named but its function was the complete manipulation of biomes to a microscopic level. If he wanted. He could turn half of the Far North into a desert with this device. It affected not only the floor but the air and even the atmosphere within a certain distance. Something that could end up being truly dangerous in enemy hands. Perhaps he should leave traps on it for anyone who attempted to use it? Yes, better to be safe than sorry.
A few more moments and the sphere was complete, now all he need was to name it.
"Hmm. Gaia's Sphere? No too long. Ball of Creation? That just sounds lame….Ra's eye? Hmmm. Not bad. Better than anything else I've thought of. Alright, its settled. I will call you Ra's eye until I can think of something better." Harry said. The sphere gave what looked like a pulse in response. Harry smiled at the action.
"Good. With that settled, I now need to start on the exoskeleton of the settlement…" Harry looked down at the sun the just dipped below the tips of the trees.
"Perhaps tomorrow." Harry thought to himself. He moved closer to his dragons who seemed to already be on their way to sleep. He pulled his shrunken trunk from his neck and retrieved his traveling tent. He entered it a breathed a sigh of relief. Truth be told, Ra's Eye was both magically and mentally taxing to make.
Harry moved to his bed and immediately laid on it with relief at feeling its softness. Almost as soon as his eyes closed, he was in the land of dreams.
Harry didn't dream often. Most of his experience in dreams were from his childhood and almost all of them were nightmares. This was why he was pleasantly surprised by the current dream he was having. He was back in Potter Manor in the living room. He hardly recognized it as he hadn't thought of the place in years. There was a lit fire in the fireplace casting the room in a warm orange light. However, the thing that most gained his attention was the presence of another person curled up on his side.
Harry could immediately tell who it was, He had memorized every feature from the time together after all. It was Ciri, his Ciri, not the little girl who he had been protecting from the shadows but the one who he had saved all those years ago. She seemed to sense his gaze and she looked up at him. Her green eyes met his and she smiled softly. Harry returned it as he looked into her eyes. He felt a tingle go up his spine while looking at her.
Eventually, she stopped staring and returned to nuzzling her head into his chest. Harry wrapped his arm around her shoulder and brought her close. He sighed in content. This was the reason he had done so much for so long. The peace, the contentment, it felt like it penetrated his very soul like the most powerful drug. It was a feeling he had never been able to replicate for more than a century now yet even her presence in his dreams could accomplish it.
He stayed like that in his dream, wrapped around her and her him. He blinked as he stared down at her and suddenly it was over. He was no longer staring down at her short ashen hair but at a faded tan cloth, the top of his tent to be precise. The feelings of peace and contentment were gone like a whisper in the wind. Harry growled and shot of his bed. He threw a punch at the nearest wall in frustration and watched a wave of fire shoot out his fist and burn an entire wall of his tent to a crisp.
He growled again, this time of annoyance rather than frustration.
"Goddamnit." He whispered to himself. Out of the new hole in his tent, he could see his companions looking at him in confusion before going back to whatever prey that had managed to catch that particular morning.
Harry made work to repair his tent before eating some quick breakfast. After that, he bathed himself before packing the tent away and looking out into the empty clearing once more. The first thing he wanted to do would be to make a tower. It would serve the purpose of housing him and hosting any visitors he wished. It would also house Ra's Eye. It would be hidden in the tip with a conducting pillar going straight down the tower and double as a support beam. He would change the appearance of it to make it look less suspicious even to other sorcerers.
The tower would also double as a symbol to his people, another thing that would assert his right to rule. That is why he would make it almost entirely of metal. Something never seen or done before at this time. It would not look buildings from his homeworld. He had a sleeker idea in mind. It would like a thin, smooth pyramid that when 1000 feet into the air.
Unfortunately, he had no idea how to make such a complex structure in a way that would be structurally sound. He might be able to do so with magic but he wouldn't even know where to start. Making the materials should not be a problem though. He could quite easily make several forges and have them constantly pumping out metals with ease. He already knew where several iron veins were located as well as some silver and even gold. He could use some miners and other craftsmen. Making all that metal into something usable would take time, effort, and ass loads of magic.
With a sigh, Harry looked at his dragons and ordered them to stay put. He doubted any would be able to disobey his command but just in case, he had trackers on all of them. With that, he apparated away further south towards actual kingdoms. It wasn't long before he was on the Dragon Mountains peak and looking down at the northern realms. There were tons of places he could start but the first one would the small settlement of Duskband.
Duskband wasn't a real settlement, to be honest. The 200 people who lived there were those who had nowhere else to go and used the Far North as a means of income either through mining or carpentry, etc. The little shacks they called houses barely kept them protected from the elements and looked like they might fall over any second. They were currently on this side of the mountains because it was the middle of winter making it harder to live in the Far North, though they wouldn't be able to stay too long otherwise bandits would find and rob them or nobles would and try to tax them.
They would be the perfect group to introduce first to his new little haven. They were already familiar with parts of the Far North and they would be more willing to start a new more prosperous life due to the fact that they were constantly having to deal with unwanted hardship. Bandits and asshole Nobles constantly trying to rob and take advantage of them.
Harry apparated near the camp and walked into it. People seemed to be busy working hard with crops and taking care of the animals, they had. He saw he was getting strange looks from the people but they didn't approach him or say anything, they just kept their eye on him. Eventually, a tall man approached him.
"Welcome traveler. I have not seen you in these parts before. What brings you here?" He asked kindly. Harry looked up at the surprisingly tall and beefy man. He had a thick red beard and bright brown eyes. Harry estimated him to be at the start of his 40's. As soon as the man talked to him, the entire settlement seemed to focus in on them, it was clear they were still pretending to not pay attention but there subtly was practically non-existent.
"Greeting's, I am Hadrian Black. I wish to talk with the leader of this settlement if possible." Harry said politely. It was very important that he not make anything sound like a demand as these people would see it as him taking advantage of them. The red-bearded man eyed him for a moment before leading him over to a tent that appeared slightly bigger than the rest. Entering it showed it to be only slightly warmer than outside and mostly empty save for; a bed, some chairs, a small table, and a small chest where he likely stored his things.
"So, what brings you to me little lordling?" The man asked as he eyed him. Harry's lips twitched upwards at the man's attempt to anger him.
"I wanted to give you an offer, well perhaps more of a deal that would be mutually beneficial to both of us. If you were interested." Harry said not rising to the man's bait and continuing on politely. The man frowned and looked on suspiciously at him. Harry didn't let it bother him, he just continued to look into the man's eyes.
"Let's hear it then." The big man said back to him.
"I will not beat around the bush. I am attempting to start a new kingdom. A kingdom of equality where everyone will be given rights and treated fairly. I can do a fair bit of starting it up myself but a kingdom is nothing without citizens. I offer you protection and a home for free. I can make your crops plentiful and your animals grow strong. All I ask in return is that you join my kingdom." Harry said. The man looked at him for a moment.
"Are you sick in the head boy?"
"No, and I am not a boy, I am older than you are. I'm a sorcerer." Harry explained. Immediately on the admission of that, the man's eye became guarded.
"A sorcerer? A sorcerer is trying to start his own kingdom now?" The man asked as if the very idea insulted him.
"I am. The nobles and kings of this realm don't seem to be doing the best job of it so I will try my hand at it myself. Every kingdom that I have been too has some flaw with it that will eventually be its downfall. I want a kingdom of peace. A kingdom where people can come and not deal with prejudice and wonder if that day will be there last. Where they have to wonder if the kings and nobles will turn on them for profit. I don't care about all that. I don't care what race or species my people are. All I want is unity." Harry said letting the passion he felt slip into his voice to help convince the man of his honesty. He didn't mention the building an army part, that would come later.
"And how exactly do you plan to take this territory from the nobles who already own it?" The man asked incredulously.
"I don't, my kingdom is in the Far North. I have already established buildings for settlements, areas for crops and animals, and walls for protection. I have also made sure the settlement will stay warm no matter what season it is. So, what say you to this offer?" Harry asked. He already knew what the man would say even before he said it.
"I'll have to think on this and talk with the others about it." The man said after a moment. Harry nodded.
"I shall be back in two weeks' time; do you think that's enough to think about what I have offered?" Harry asked him. The man nodded.
"One more thing, do you have a name I can call you?"
"Grogik"
"Hm. You from Skellige?" Harry asked.
"Aye. Was sailing down the coast when a storm hit us. Woke up a week later here in this settlement with the most beautiful woman I have ever seen tending to my wounds." Grogik said with a huge smirk. Harry chuckled a little.
"Is it safe to assume she is now your wife?"
"Indeed, she is! Best thing that's ever happened to me." Grogik said while standing up.
"Congratulations then. I suppose I shall see you in two weeks." Harry said as he apparated away from the mobile camping grounds probably scaring the crap out of Grogik.
1 Week Later
Harry was watching with amusement as huntress was shooting arrows into the side of his dragon to absolutely no avail. He had already warned the dragon not to do actual harm to the woman mentally but from the annoyed expression on said dragon's face, it might not be too much longer before it succumbed to its base desires and ate her. Knowing this, Harry stepped near the woman.
"You know, you're not actually damaging him, you're just making him more annoyed with you." Harry pointed out causing the woman hiding behind the tree to jump in fright before turning and glaring at him.
"Be quiet and get down before it attacks you, you idiot." She hissed at him. Harry looked the woman over. She looked very fit and although she was covered head to toe in furs to protect herself from the cold, Harry could tell she had quite a bit of muscle on her. She had dirty blonde/ brown hair to frame her rather sharp face. He gave her a raised eyebrow.
"Unlikely." Harry said as he looked at the dragon who was glaring in their direction, "Go back home. Eat some food and cool off a bit."
The dragon let out a low rumble from his chest before raising his wings and pushing up off the ground and into the air before flying back into the direction of Harry's settlement. He watched the woman look at the dragon flying away with a look of awe before turning back to him and looking at him with suspicion.
"How did you do that? You some kind of sorcerer?" she asked accusingly. Harry just stared back in amusement.
"I am indeed. And you are?" Harry asked politely
"Merri." She responded back while still looking at him suspiciously, "Never heard of a sorcerer that could control dragons." She said. Harry started walking and Merri followed keeping pace to his left.
"I am not most sorcerers. I am quite a bit more powerful not to brag. And what about yourself? It's rare to see a half-elf this far North." Harry said. Merri snorted in return.
"You must be new around here then. Plenty of half-elves and other outcasts live up here." She responded back. Harry's eyes scrunched up in thought. He had not encountered that many half-elves or other outcasts here in the Far North yet but it wasn't like he had looked for them or anything.
"I had not noticed any settled populations within the Far North," Harry admitted.
"Were mostly settled in the Dragon Mountains and venture down into the Far North for hunting," Merri explained. Harry nodded. He had never spent much time in the mountains themselves though he supposed there were spaces in certain parts that were big enough for settlements.
"Fascinating," Harry said as they stepped into his clearing and approached his own settlement. A few moments of silence and he looked back to see Merri frozen in shock looking at his partial created city.
"What is this place?" she asked quietly.
"It's a new city I am making for all to be able to live in and enjoy. By now you should have also noticed the temperature rise as well. That's to make it more comfortable to live here. The walls at the moment are made of stone as they were easy enough to conjure. The homes, building, and towers are made from a multitude of different material. Do you like it?" Harry said.
"It's magnificent. It must be bigger than Novigrad." She said as she rejoined him and got closer to the city.
"In size, yes, it is. However, it currently can only house about ¾ of the number of people as Novigrad. The houses I have made standard are bigger to help promote a higher standard of living." Harry said to her as they walked through the partially complete city.
"Who do you plan on having live here?" she asked as she looked at the homes. Harry wasn't sure but he thought he heard some longing in her voice as she looked around. Harry shrugged.
"Any who wants to. The kingdom I wish to make is for everyone who wishes to live in peace with each other." Harry said. That was not strictly true. He did want to make a kingdom where everyone was equal and none looked down on each other but he also wanted a kingdom so he could raise an army to deal with all threats against Ciri. Whether that be The Wild Hunt, sorcerers, or her own damn father. All enemies would be crushed before him.
"Anyone? Would you just let anyone live in this place you created and put all this work into by yourself? What's the catch?" Merri asked.
"The conditions are you follow the law and contribute to society in some way or another. You will also pay taxes from your job but based on a percentage rather than a set fee. This is to lighten the load of those who are too poor to give much. The laws are very concise and clear for most situations to not only keep the peace but also to keep the society running and fair to everyone. There are several law books that will be available for perusal for any who wish to look into it." Harry explained. His society was a mix of both a democracy and a monarchy to try and balance out the two government systems problems.
"What would you do for food?" she asked.
"Simple, the grounds near the city are more fertile than any other in the Far North and probably most in the Northern Kingdoms as well. There is also an abundance of animals that have made their way closer to the city that can be hunted for food now that the area is more fertile. I am working on getting cattle as well as chicken and sheep for food, leather, and wool. I have all resources necessary here to start a full-on kingdom.
"How did you get the land so fertile?"
"Magic," Harry said back dryly. Merri just glared at him but Harry just stayed silent and continued to not elaborate. Ra's eye would need to be kept a secret after all.
"Alright, so you're apparently trying to make some time of paradise then, what's in it for you? Nobody would do all this just to help others." Merri.
"Sure, someone would. It only takes someone with the means and ability to finally get tired of the current status quo and wish for change. Anger and annoyance can be very strong motivators you know." Harry pointed out. He purposefully did not mention whether or not that was why he was doing this, he just gave her another explanation on why someone might do what he was doing. If she assumed that was why he was doing it then that was her fault.
Harry thought about the current opportunity presented before him. Merri was probably a member one of the settlements in the Dragon Mountains. If he could place the thought in her head that living here would be better she might go back and convince others of the same thing in those settlements. At this point, Harry just needed to get the ball rolling. He already knew that his kingdom had the potential and founding ideals to be superior to almost all that currently existed in this world. As he was from a similar world but heavily more advanced in almost all ways allowed him to know the issues that were caused by governments of the past as well as some in the future.
"And was it who drove you to this point then?" Merri asked.
"A man who thinks it's his right and destiny to rule the world," Harry said darkly.
"Hmm. Careful in your conquest to best him that you don't become him." Merri warned. Harry looked at her and smiled.
"I will take your advice to heart," Harry told her. At that moment, a roar was heard close by. Merri tensed and whipped her bow out and had an arrow drawn in a blink of an eye. Her head tilted back and she was scanning the sky.
"Calm down, they are nothing to be concerned about. Here, come with me." Harry said as he walked away from the center of the city and towards the dragon area. Merri followed but seemed much tenser and cautious than before. It wasn't long before they approached what looked like moving snow pile. They got closer before it got clear to be the White Dragons Harry was currently using as guards.
"Oh, my gods…" Merri said as she gazed at them.
"No need to be afraid as you can see. They just start to roughhouse when they get bored." Harry explained. Merri just gazed at the dragons.
"How…"
"I told you I was the best did I not? It was your choice not to believe me." Harry said.
"And you just keep them like pets?" She asked incredulously.
"No, they roam around a lot and hunt for themselves. They act more as guards for my city as I do not have any settlers or any army myself. Not that I expect to be attacked soon but better safe than sorry." Harry explained.
"How did you even find all of them?"
"It was easy enough once I learned how to track them down. They're not as rare as people think they are, just much better at hiding than their dragon brethren in the south." Harry explained. Merri said nothing as she looked on at the dragons who seemed to be ignoring them despite their close proximity. There was silence between them before Merri burst into loud laughter. Harry was startled by the sudden response and so were the dragons as they were all now staring at the woman who had possibly gone in insane.
Merri had fallen to the ground she was laughing so hard. Harry just continued to watch her with growing concern. After several minutes she finally managed to stop and Harry watched her climb back to her feet and stare at him with continued mirth shining in her eyes. Harry squinted at her.
"You're a weird one, aren't you?" Harry asked rhetorically. She just grinned in response.
"I should be saying that to you. You have built an entire city up here that looks to be some weird paradise hidden in the harsh north like a diamond among coal. Not only that but you have damned dragons as guard dogs for this city you have made in the middle of nowhere. To top it off you don't care who joins in this new paradise you call a city you just want people to have a place of peace. Do you not see how this is funny? This is one of those things that is too good to be true and yet it is!" Merri said as she started to laugh again though managed to keep herself upright this time.
Harry looked at her as he thought over what she said. Was he wrong to make a kingdom under such false pretenses? It's not like he wasn't going to do his best to make a paradise kingdom for all his citizens regardless of their race but he did so in hopes of getting something in return. Perhaps he should look at in a different. What if he made the kingdom but the army chose not to follow his orders and fight the battles he wanted them to fight? What if they decried his actions and turned on him, would he regret creating an entire kingdom where everyone was to be accepted as equals? No, even if it didn't work out the way it hoped he would still feel pride in accomplishing something that no else had been able to accomplish.
Well, maybe not exactly true, Zerrikania was pretty liberal and accepting but it wasn't perfect and had problems of its own, mainly the dirty and underhanded politics that took place between its lords and ladies.
Despite all that he still had to try. If nothing else, Ciri was his friend and he would do everything in his power to help a friend in need. He would do it even if it meant getting his hands dirty a little.
He stopped thinking about his moral dilemma and focused back in on Merri who was just looking at the dragons in wonder still.
"Feel free to enjoy the Dragon Pit as long as you like just don't antagonize the dragons or they might try and eat you. If you need me just listen for loud noises in the city and you should be able to find me. It is getting late as well so feel free to stay the night if you would like or move in, I don't care. Only the houses in the center of the city have any sort of furnishing in them at the moment so you may choose any of them to live in." Harry told her as he started to walk away and get to work in his city. Roads had to be created with stone and houses needed to be furnished. He also had to start splitting the city into separate districts.
'Ugh, I have so much more work.'