[Chapter Size: 3400 Words.]
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Pessoa Thrid POV
Westeros, 295 AC.
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It was the beginning of the afternoon when Tyrion was drinking at a window overlooking the harbor of Lannisport. The place seemed ordinary, with ships coming and going, and goods entering and leaving the port. He sipped his wine and continued reading his book.
His uncle Kevan had spoken to them in the past few days about the situation occurring in the Reach, about his brother, which had left him quite shocked—Jaime, one of the last people he would imagine being kidnapped as a hostage, was now being held in custody by a group that had drawn attention from all the kingdoms in the recent moons from the north.
He had always been interested in Jon Artica since he heard of him more than 7 or 8 years ago. He was quite skeptical of what he heard, about a boy of 8 namedays killing a group of bandits with a bunch of farmers, but the stories didn't stop there, because he did a few more surreal things that year before disappearing into the north of the Wall.
"I heard how he came with an army of giants and even small men like him, but saying they are not that size due to some birth disease, but because they are a different race from humans, and many would scoff at that if it weren't that, their numbers exceed the thousands."
"Three different races... men... dwarves... and giants..." Tyrion murmured, still recalling how this had been his obsession over the years, researching everything about them, almost like he did with dragons to the point of asking for one for his birthday when he was a child. He tried to find out everything about giants and dwarves, even seeking books from the Citadel for gold, but the information was quite limited.
There were some details about the giants, like how they lived with the First Men before disappearing in the north after thousands of years following the construction of the Wall. As for the dwarves, there were no records of them; it was as if they appeared out of nowhere. This intrigued Tyrion, who sought anything about them and found nothing, not even the maester of Casterly Rock or the information he requested from the Citadel had any answers or mention of the race.
'If Jon can make a new race, come out of nowhere, could he not bring forth the children of the forest or even dragons?' That was the joke Tyrion had at the time, laughing at it without imagining how right he might be with that question.
But Jon Snow was what intrigued Tyrion the most. A bastard who left the comfort of Winterfell to adventure in the world, and in the end, returns as a king after traveling to lands beyond what any sensible person in the Seven Kingdoms would have.
If it weren't for the trouble of that accusation of stealing his sister, Jon Artica might have been celebrated as a man who exceeded all expectations of his life and a hero among the common people. Tyrion had to admit he admired that Jon Snow and looked forward to seeing him as soon as Kevan spoke of the meeting with his father.
Every day he was coming here, on a balcony, looking out to sea, waiting for the fleet of ships from the north to approach Lannisport. He was worried about his brother, of course, since he was the only one with such a strong blood tie who didn't treat him like a monster, unlike his father and sister.
His thoughts were interrupted when he noticed ships coming to Lannisport, more than usual... "How strange... I swore this ship was in Lannisport this morning..." He murmured, looking at the flag he swore he had seen before. "That... are they fleeing back to the port?!" He finally realized.
And it didn't take long for other ships to emerge from behind those merchant vessels, following them. There were 10 ships, and their flag quickly stood out as the symbol of Artica was emblazoned on the sails.
Tyrion looked for a moment before jumping from his chair, dropping his book and wine. He ran through the corridors of the small castle where Kevan and his family lived, managing Lannisport for his family. He did this as fast as his small legs allowed, while the servants looked curiously at the urgency of Lord Tyrion Lannister.
He quickly reached his uncle's solar, where he should have been organizing his things. He found the door open and immediately entered, seeing his uncle Kevan speaking with a Lannister knight.
"Kevan!" Tyrion called out quickly.
Kevan shifted his gaze from the guard to look downward. "If you're talking about the ships coming to Lannisport, this knight has just informed me," Kevan commented to Tyrion. "You may leave us now," he requested of the knight, who exited the room, leaving only the nephew and uncle.
"It seems they have finally arrived. Your brother will be here soon..." Kevan said.
"Do you think they harmed Jaime?" Tyrion asked, with the doubt still planted in his head, wondering if they could have done something to his brother during his captivity.
"I highly doubt it. He will be fine, and soon, we will be sure of that. Now I will send a letter to your father, asking him to come immediately to Lannisport," Kevan spoke.
"And in the meantime, go to the port and wait for me. Also, organize everything that Jon Artica requested in the letter we discussed over the last few days to exchange for your brother," Kevan instructed, and Tyrion nodded and quickly left the place, assembling a group with a master-at-arms and heading to the port with 30 Lannister men. As more Lannister soldiers gathered at the port, his father had already prepared a large group of soldiers for the negotiation with the Articans.
The merchant ships that had been at the forefront quickly moved to the edges of the port while the others in the middle began to leave, not wanting to be near the Arcanian flags, with men shouting and running throughout the port. Tyrion saw this, wondering if the Articans were so dangerous that the ships were fleeing in such a manner.
They probably saw the fleet at sea and ran to take shelter in the port again, fearing being attacked on the high seas. Not that Tyrion could blame them. After all, no merchant would dare face so many ships, especially with stories of them ending up pirates in the east.
Nonetheless, he stood waiting for the ship to approach while the crowd in Lannisport began to gather at the port to watch or even flee to shelter from any conflict that might occur.
The first ships began to anchor in the middle of the port while Tyrion saw for the first time the giants he had heard so much about.
"By the gods..."
"They are real..."
"How can anyone make armor for those things?!"
While Tyrion was staring with his mouth open, the Lannister men behind them expressed their disbelief and fear, a common reaction when someone saw the giants. They were doing maintenance on the ship, stowing the sails and even throwing a heavy anchor the size of a man into the sea to ensure the ship would not leave the port.
It was a moment later that a well-dressed man, surrounded by other men in eldenmetal armor, emerged with a group of soldiers from a gangway placed between the ship and the port. Tyrion stood in front of the Lannister soldiers, maintaining a dignified posture for the meeting while representing House Lannister. The man came out with other soldiers, but it was limited to just that. It seemed only a preliminary negotiation, as the Artican king was not among them from what Tyrion could tell.
"You must be Tyrion Lannister, son of Tywin, who is head of House Lannister," the man said as he approached. Tyrion was slightly surprised to be recognized. Not that it was very difficult, after all, he was the only dwarf of House Lannister, and the man must have done some research before coming here, but still, somewhat honored by that.
"Yes, that's me," replied Tyrion, clearing his throat to begin. "I am Tyrion Lannister, it's a pleasure to meet you, but I do not have the same privilege of knowing you, Sir...?" he said and asked with a curious tone.
The man shook his head. "I am no Sir, Lord Tyrion... I am just a minister from Artica in service to my king, and we do not have knights in Artica. You may call me Darius, I am a minister of foreign relations with other kingdoms, and these are some of the 50 royal guards in service to the Artican king," he introduced himself along with his men.
Tyrion raised an eyebrow at the number of royal guards, which was quite significant compared to Westeros. "Well, anyway, I hope my brother is well," said Tyrion with a cautious look.
The man nodded. "Yes, you can be sure that your brother, Jaime Lannister, is fine. Although he got a bit roughed up during training on the ship, for men his size, you can rest assured that he is healthy," the man said.
Tyrion, despite finding the idea of his brother being beaten by dwarves absurd, believed the man and breathed a sigh of relief. "Anyway, I believe you are here to negotiate before Jon Artica comes, correct?" he spoke.
"Exactly, Lord Tyrion. My king will come here as soon as everything is in order. The only demand we have is for all the metals we requested, and we also want to buy others," the man spoke.
Tyrion nodded. "Alright. We will provide bread and salt to show our commitment to the negotiation. We have already prepared everything that was requested in the letter to my father," he said.
"Very well then." The man responded and stared at Tyrion calmly.
Soon, a silence took over the place while Tyrion and his men looked at the Articans, who also remained silent.
"..." Lannisters.
"..." Articans.
Tyrion frowned at this and decided to break the silence. "Shouldn't you inform your king and send a ship or a raven?" Tyrion asked curiously, but the man just smiled.
"That won't be necessary, Lord Tyrion. My king is already on his way here, at this moment," he said mysteriously, as Tyrion raised an eyebrow.
Out at sea, Jon was walking to board the ship where Jaime was. He left the main ship, keeping his wife on it so she wouldn't face any unnecessary danger, with his wolf taking care of her, while Arya would accompany Jon to Lannisport just for the negotiation. The ship sped alone towards the port with two more following the king.
"Do you miss home, Jaime Lannister?" asked the man at the prow of the ship.
Jaime looked at him cautiously; Jaime had been quiet in recent days. He had heard about the attack in Oldtown by the Artican men, where more than 90 ships left laden with loot. From what he could understand, they probably devastated the entire city and he feared they would do the same to Lannisport.
Jon sighed seeing Jaime's worry. "You don't need to worry. I have nothing against Lannisport, unless they did something that would greatly annoy me. Then, yes, we would have a problem. But don't worry, the city is not in panic. Your brother is waiting at the port with your uncle joining him at this moment, and a letter is being sent to your father at Casterly Rock," Jon spoke calmly.
This left Jaime more worried than calm. After all, how did Jon know everything that was happening on the other side of the horizon? Jaime was somewhat afraid of Jon and believed that he truly knew his secrets after seeing him control animals; he was a true master of whispers and much more dangerous than Varys could be.
"You know, Ser Jaime," Jon continued, "I intercepted all the ravens with news from Oldtown to the western kingdom. So, you don't need to worry about entering a war unless your father really wants one against me. And I wrote a letter to your king, but I also didn't speak about your children in King's Landing. I am someone who would not like to see children dying guiltlessly. So, I will preserve your children. However, this does not change the fact that your sister, who tried to act against my wife and even had that Kingsguard, Boros, provoke me in Highgarden—which didn't end well for him, and I suggest he retire after that. About your sister, I won't lie, if I ever go to King's Landing, you can be sure that I intend to avenge her. I have nothing against you and your children, but do nothing that forces me to act against you. Do we understand each other?" Jon spoke calmly, but with a serious and threatening look, almost as if Jaime was talking to his father for a moment, who nodded although he would protect the woman he loves with nails and teeth, even if it meant dying for this Artican.
But Jaime could not deny the fear he had of Jon and wanted to be as far away from that person and his group as possible.
Thus, Jon's ship, along with the other 10 in Lannisport, were among the few ships that still had empty storages since most of the fleet was filled with animals and books in their holds, with their men taking care of them for the journey.
Lannisport appeared shortly after, as they continued sailing at high speed with the open sea, heading for the port. He even had a view of the two groups at the port, while the Lannisters had at least about 2,000 men preparing for any fight, whereas only a few Articans were there facing them.
Jon's ship finally stopped at the port. He proceeded alone off the ship with some guards, keeping Jaime and Arya on the ship before completing the non-aggression ritual of the Seven Kingdoms.
They joined their men while looking at the two representatives of House Lannister. "So you must be Tyrion Lannister and Kevan Lannister," Jon spoke, scrutinizing both Tyrion and Kevan.
Tyrion seemed a bit nervous, while Kevan had a tougher look, despite a glint of uncertainty in his eyes, but maintaining a serious face as if he had control of the situation.
"Are you the Artican king?" Kevan asked, scrutinizing Jon.
Jon cracked a smile. "Yes, that's me. I've come to negotiate the son of Tywin Lannister, who is your relative, a Kingsguard who tried to attack us, or rather, kidnap me. But as you can see, it didn't quite work out for him," Jon said, as if it were a joke. The Artican men maintained a humorous expression, but the soldiers from Lannisport did not seem too pleased with that comment.
Tyrion thought to act before the atmosphere could heat up. "King Artican, we have bread and salt for you, so that we can negotiate the well-being of my brother," he said.
Jon nodded, approaching the tray that the master accompanying Kevan offered, after taking a few steps, the man had no idea that the citadel was in a precarious situation at this moment. Jon completed the non-aggression ritual of Westeros and looked to his man. "Call Arya. Let's negotiate," Jon said, and Kevan looked at Tyrion for a moment.
"Can we see my brother? And I would like to wait for my father to come here," Tyrion asked.
"You can see your brother, bring the prisoner." Jon nodded and asked his man as well, while turning back to Tyrion. "But as for waiting for your father, that's out of the question. I plan to leave today. I hope you have fulfilled your agreement ready to load my ships," Jon said.
Kevan, though seeming dissatisfied, nodded in the end. "Yes, we have prepared everything you asked for and if you want to leave today, we have arranged everything."
At that moment, another group of Artican guards arrived while Jaime appeared among them, without handcuffs or anything that indicated he was a prisoner. He looked very well, while Arya also accompanied him.
"It's been a while, Tyrion," Jaime said as he arrived, sounding more like a fun joke than a rescue situation.
"You look very well, brother, or even better. Maybe being a hostage is doing you good," Tyrion joked while Jon raised an eyebrow at that, but soon sighed and looked at Kevan. Kevan quickly understood his gaze and called them to a tent there at the port, while it was being set up.
"Let's go, sister," Jon said, and Arya accompanied him as they sat on each side of a table set for them with the finest wine Lannisport could offer.
"Well, gentlemen, besides the steel we asked for, we want to buy more, but I need pieces to be placed by the end of the day. Are you open to negotiations?" Jon suddenly asked.
Kevan looked at Tyrion, who nodded in the end. "We have some things... although it's a surprise what you asked to buy more," Kevan said.
"Well, that's great," Jon looked at Arya. "You will negotiate," he said, since Arya was learning about business on these trips... it was time to truly practice. Tyrion, Kevan, and even Jaime were surprised by this on the other side.
Arya nodded and looked confidently at the group as a small discussion began. Arya, trying to come across as a shrewd trader, started discussing the prices of some Lannister storages that still held steel and metal, as the Articans might ask for more and Tywin was willing to give more for his son. Jon, knowing this, decided to buy rather than being stingy after stating his price for Jaime Lannister's release.
As they negotiated, Tyrion didn't know what to say, nor did Kevan, as both of them talked and discussed prices with an 11-year-old girl. Just as they were about to close the deal and Arya thought she had secured a good price, Jon suddenly spoke up beside her, not in the common tongue, but in Yi-Ti. Arya looked at him in surprise, while the Lannister lords understood nothing. Arya asked something, and Jon replied in the same language from the east of Essos, starting a small argument between them.
Tyrion was quite stunned as he looked at his uncle, shaking his head. He wondered if the master understood what was being discussed, but the master simply shook his head negatively; Jon hadn't chosen Valyrian because they might know something about it, so he chose a rarer language. After about twenty seconds of discussion, Arya nodded to Jon and returned to Tyrion, as they discussed the final prices again until reaching an agreement.
Jon had seen that the girl was buying at a market disadvantage, so he assisted her as she was about to close. This was a small test for Arya, a proof of everything she had learned in the negotiations she had accompanied with Jon.
After they finally settled the price, and Kevan ordered his men to start filling the holds with more iron and steel than agreed upon. Jon nodded in satisfaction as he asked to bring the gold, and now watched his ships being filled with the items he requested.
As they waited, a Lannister guard ran out of the crowd and approached Kevan, handing him a message. Jon already knew what it was. Kevan listened and turned to him. "King Artican, my brother has just arrived in the city. He would like to meet with you before you depart and is coming to the sea."
"Very well, Lord Kevan. I would like to meet Lord Tywin Lannister as well," Jon spoke openly, as everyone awaited the meeting, with the ships still taking a few more hours to be filled as Lannister men placed the goods at the port, while the Articans loaded them onto the ships.
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