There was a round table in the Archon of Tyrosh's manor, where almost all the high-ranking members of the Alliance of the Twin Cities were gathered.
The table was laden with various fruits: from The Reach, from Tyrosh, and from Myr.
Gendry, Qyburn, The Handsome Man, Arrow Maker, Longspear, Steel Fist, Grey Wolf, Jorah, Harris of the Narrow Sea Fleet, Moros of the Myr Fleet, and others, had all assembled there.
Tyrosh and Myr had been pacified, and stability was paramount, along with comforting the populace and establishing systems. Gendry had no plans for large-scale expansion. Whether it was Lys or Across the Narrow Sea, once the fleet attacked, the entire situation would be thoroughly disrupted.
"Try these!" Gendry said to everyone. "The fruits from the fields of The Reach are delicious: melons, peaches, and fire plums."
"Thanks to the long summer, which has brought us so many fruits," The Handsome Man said. "Since leaving the North, the Wolf Pack has almost forgotten the scent of winter."
"You will still feel winter," Qyburn mused. "This long summer began in 289 AC and has not yet ended; it might be the longest in memory. Many say this summer represents an eternal summer, with no more Long Winter. But according to the knowledge I once acquired, a long summer and a Long Winter are symmetrical. I hope I am wrong, so Westeros will not have to face the harshest winter."
"Even if there is a Long Winter, the impact on Essos might be minimal!" added Moros, the Myr man.
Westeros is most severely affected by the climate because its northern tip extends deep into the Land of Always Winter, with no end in sight. The northernmost coast of the eastern continent of Essos, however, is only at the same latitude as the Neck, so it is less affected by seasonal changes.
"commander, that used to be the case, but a Long Winter lasting more than ten years would also affect Essos." Though summer continued, the approach of the Long Winter also needed attention.
"Regardless, storing grain and supplies is the best way to prepare for the future."
"You will oversee this, treasurer."
"Yes, Commander-in-Chief," The Handsome Man replied.
The most terrifying thing was the Long Night, but people were still engrossed in the game of thrones, with no time to heed the signs of the Long Winter and the Long Night. The Others had awakened, but the Night's Watch was as sparse as a flickering candle in the wind.
"The tide of events is rolling in, and what I need is to guide it and find my place in this new era," Gendry thought. grain, soldiers, generals—this was the answer to solving the entire problem. For the terrifying Long Night, yet unseen, Gendry had to prepare everything.
There were three major trends in the current era: the first was the magic tide. The Long Night was slowly approaching, and this was unavoidable. The Others were awakening. If the magic dragons were to revive in the future, the shadow of magic would become even greater.
The second was the power struggle in Westeros, caused by the unstable foundation of the Baratheon Dynasty. King Robert did not have a dragon-like trump card, and such a loose power alliance was inherently difficult to maintain.
The third was the slave liberation movement, a difficult and arduous path, but also a great one.
"Commander-in-Chief, I will now brief everyone on the recent situation," Maester Qyburn said, rising. "First, Pentos and Braavos. Pentos is relatively weak, and Braavos seems to have always remained aloof, probably due to the old Sealord's poor health. My spies will continue to monitor them."
Gendry had anticipated Braavos's stance. In this tumultuous era, Braavos indeed seemed to be idle. Perhaps it was because the old Sealord was dying, or perhaps Braavos was quietly making a fortune, as the chaos in other Free Cities best suited their interests.
"Then there are our restless neighbors. The Lyseni, though restless, are a single city-state, not worth mentioning."
"The sailors of Lys are decent, but they don't have much land army. They can't fight wars with pleasure gardens and those boys and girls. The Lyseni can only rely on Mercenaries, but mere Mercenaries wouldn't dare to cause us trouble," Moros said confidently.
"The Lyseni have no guts; they have sent a good deal of gold to Volantis," Qyburn informed everyone.
Everyone was most wary of Volantis. Although Volantis had declined, its population was still not to be underestimated; it was once the foremost of the Free Cities. Furthermore, the slave situation in Volantis was even worse, with a slave-to-citizen ratio of five to one. In such circumstances, Volantis would view Gendry's formation of the Alliance of the Twin Cities and liberation of slaves as a major threat.
"In Volantis, the Elephant Party still holds the majority among the Magistrates. Currently, the Magistrates are Malakho Maegyr of the Tiger Party, Nesisso Vhassar of the Elephant Party, and Triarch Malaquo of the Elephant Party."
"Malakho, as the Magistrate of the Tiger Party, has always advocated attacking us," The Handsome Man analyzed. "What about the other two?"
"Nesisso's vast wealth was earned through the slave trade, and although he is of the Elephant Party, he would also advocate attacking us. The only clear-headed one is Triarch Malaquo; he does not approve of war against us, but if Triarch Malaquo fails to win reelection, next year, the Magistrates of Volantis will unify their opinion to attack us."
"Volantis's strength is considerable; they are a formidable enemy," Jorah said. Jorah had traveled throughout Essos and was quite knowledgeable. "Volantis has the standing army of the Tiger Cloaks and the Great Fleet of Volantis. Although Volantis has weakened, its population base remains."
"My Lords, I hear Volantis is one of the cities with the most slaves. The Tiger Cloaks are slave soldiers, marked with green stripes tattooed on their cheeks. And the Great Fleet of Volantis also has many slave sailors. If we grant freedom to these slaves, the Volantenes will soon understand cruelty," Grey Wolf suggested.
"War between us and Volantis is inevitable, but for now, we must stabilize Volantis," Gendry said. He had confidence in his army, but a hasty war would consume too much civilian strength. A period of recuperation was needed before they could engage in a better war.
"We will fabricate false war reports, perhaps Dothraki attacking Volantis's vassal towns or us, or our fleet landing in Westeros. In short, we must create these mixed true and false messages to delay Volantis's actions." Qyburn had his own mindset for dealing with Volantis, and another idea was bribery.
Currently, to incite the Volantenes to send troops, Tyrosh and Lys had both provided gold. Perhaps they could also use spies to better interfere with Volantis's situation.
"And the Dothraki. We must prepare enough outposts to anticipate the sudden appearance of the horse people," said the commander of the Spear Company.
Khal Jhezkahn's fall near Myr might keep these Khals quiet for a while, but the Khals could still provoke new conflicts.
Next were the most significant and honorable appointments, involving troop movements.
"The Wolf Pack Legion will be commanded by Longspear and Steel Fist, primarily consisting of heavy cavalry and heavy infantry."
"The Free Legion will be commanded by Grey Wolf, assisted by the commander of the Spear Company, primarily consisting of light infantry and supplemented by light cavalry."
"The Second Sons Legion will be commanded by Brown Ben, assisted by Ser Jorah, responsible for coordinating the Mercenaries, second sons, landless nobles, and adventurers newly joining us."
"The Narrow Sea Fleet will be commanded by Harris, responsible for the Narrow Sea and the Stepstones."
"The Wolf Pack Fleet will be commanded by Moros, responsible for the seas of Tyrosh and Myr."
----------------------------------
I've already uploaded over 40 new chapters on Patreon!
If you're enjoying the story and want to read ahead, feel free to check it out.
Your support truly means a lot to me!
👉 patreon.com/Kazenova223
Thank you so much for being here!
And if you're having fun with the story, don't forget to drop a Power Stone for me!