[Chapter Size: 3400 Words.]
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Thrid Person POV
Essos, 296 AC.
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Jon decided to head straight to the Sealord's house while he ordered some of his ships to be steered to the closest point to the mansion by sea, since the city was entirely surrounded by waters.
"It was quick." Jon met his wife and Arya as soon as he left the meeting room, quickly informing them that the meeting had ended as they finally exited the building and headed north.
The Iron Bank was in the north of the city, but not at the highest point, since this place belonged to the Sealord's own palace, which was beside the Iron Bank, so they saw it as soon as they stepped out of the bank's doors and headed there.
There was a huge tower when the sea became visible to him on the east side of the city. Jon saw Arya looking intently at it.
"Do you know what that is?" Jon asked with a smile.
"Yes... They're the city's defense towers, as there are also walls to protect the city, with its only entrance being under the titan, these towers are high to combat potential enemies and are scattered throughout the city to take advantage of their height and protection while their archers are spread out," Arya spoke quickly while Jon nodded.
"Exactly..." Jon replied, pleased that his sister had remembered that. "And in a fight, what's the best way to beat this city?" Jon wanted to know what she thought about it.
"It's simple, we knock down the titan by blowing up its legs and destroy everything else!" Arya said, sticking her tongue out at Jon.
"Well... I think you are too accustomed to wildfire..." Jon murmured as Ygritte laughed beside them.
At that moment, the Sealord was in front, and only his guards were there, so he didn't hear their conversation. "Jon, there's the black and white house in this city... do you think they would accept me to be an assassin?" She asked playfully.
"I don't know... maybe, but you would have to swap that sword for daggers," Jon shrugged.
"No! I'm not giving up this sword," Arya responded immediately.
"You would have to live in Braavos and I heard you'd have to renounce all your family and name," Ygritte also spoke while Arya's face grew increasingly displeased.
"Forget it..." She pouted in the end before turning back to Jon with curious eyes. "How would you deal with an assassin in Jon?" Arya asked.
"These assassins are very good, your chance of success is very good with your skills and planning... so I can use my animals to identify them, besides that, I believe they are deadly to almost all people in this world," Jon thought a bit and responded sincerely, they could mimic the appearance and voice, his advantage was that the animals could alert him, after all, their instincts are much stronger than the disguise of these faceless assassins.
They continued talking as they finally entered the mansion with a large courtyard. "Welcome to my humble palace, come, I want to introduce my wife and children," he said as they approached the family.
After the introductions, they were escorted to a high-standard place near the main rooms. "You can make yourselves at home in the palace, I'll leave a man in charge to guide you through the place, I would just like to invite you to a banquet honoring your arrival in this kingdom, King of Arctica," he spoke while Jon nodded. Essos seemed much more welcoming than Westeros, the nobles here weren't as proud at least, or that might have changed after the chaos he created on the other continent.
In the end, Jon was in his room since it was already mid-afternoon and the banquet would be earlier, so he left his men to handle everything, after all, 3 ships had come to the port next to the Sealord's palace, which, as usual, Jon distributed his products to the party guests, where he passed to make everyone better acquainted, it was a way to promote them.
Jon also took care of his security, while keeping some snakes hidden among some boxes to enter holes looking for secret entrances behind any spy as usual, but found nothing here, it seemed that the Sealord tried his best not to offend him.
Anyway, he spent some time with Ygritte, while his wife continued to gaze at the beauty of Braavos from the high point where they were, having the view of the entire city from their balcony, with many giant structures standing out, especially those isolated in the middle of the water.
Everything seemed normal until his guard knocked on the door. "What is it?" Jon asked while reading a book and drinking some Arctican wine.
"My king... There is a man here on behalf of the Sealord informing that there is a noble from the north wanting to speak with you," he heard the voice of one of his guards as he raised an eyebrow.
"Noble from the north..." Jon murmured and went to the door, opening it to see the Braavosi man in front of his guards.
"King of Arctica!" He murmured as he almost bowed.
"Speak, man, who is the noble," Jon demanded.
"Lord Manderly. He has come to our gates asking for an audience with you and your sister," he said.
"So he came all the way here..." Jon murmured, already spotting him at the port.
"Is there a room where we can meet?" Jon asked the man as he nodded.
"Yes... I can arrange a private room on the first floor of the palace," he said.
"Call Arya, I will be out shortly," Jon instructed as he went back into the room to put away his things.
In a moment, he emerged in an unassuming outfit, but it was in his armor that he had disembarked from the ship before the first negotiation, accompanied by Ygritte and meeting Arya outside in a black dress, still with her sword at her waist.
"Let's see what he wants," Jon said as they went to the first floor and proceeded to a room that the palace man had arranged for them, and Jon confirmed that there were no uninvited ears while they settled on a sofa with their guards behind them, waiting for the Braavosi to call Manderly in question.
Wylis Manderly was at the entrance when he was finally called in, when he was at the port and tried to speak with Ned's son, he had no chance with the men of Braavos stopping him, so he could only see them from afar, he was lucky those giants weren't beside the group, otherwise he wouldn't see any of them, while he saw the King of Arctica along with the Sealord entering the city on horseback while their guards surrounded them.
It was still strange for him watching the group advancing further into the city, realizing that Ned's son had indeed established such a powerful kingdom that when he first heard of it in Winterfell he didn't quite believe it and even mocked Ned internally, despite the respect for the Stark, that a boy had made a kingdom in the north... But now what he could see... was shocking that an entire fleet of 500 ships with at least 20,000 Arcticans, much larger than those 150 ships that wreaked havoc in the south, and these 500, were outside of Braavos, keeping away all ships coming to the city and others fleeing, believing that it could be an attack.
His belief that Jon Arctica had abducted his sister died when he heard the rumors that came from the south and the songs about the wolf of the north as they exhaled the ballads speaking of Arya Stark highlighting her bravery, beauty, and intelligence in her encounters in the south, she was very well trained and seemed to be a better lady than his sister if the rumors were true.
Now he was going to meet with him finally as he entered the palace where he ended up coming several times when he could have a meeting with the Sealord about business and matters of white, after all, he was an important client for Braavos, being the richest house in the north and the only one with such a powerful port.
His goal was very simple there, to take Arya Stark back to the North as Ned always wanted. So he hoped to have a good friendly conversation and leave with the girl from there.
As soon as he entered the room, he faced Jon Arctica sitting in the middle with two women and several guards; it was easy to recognize him by his green eyes, and he was no longer the boy he had met in Winterfell. He had grown tall, much more than his age would suggest, with a distinctly crafted demeanor of a warrior who, according to rumors, had defeated anyone who dared to challenge him on his journey to the south, humiliating each of his opponents, whether it was the Red Viper of Dorne, the Kingslayer, the Mountain, Barristan Selmy, and even the king himself, defeated one by one by this boy.
Wylis would have laughed if someone said a 16-year-old boy could defeat all these adversaries, who were famous throughout the seven kingdoms, in just one year, becoming the best sword to have passed through Westeros since the fall of the Targaryens, after all, there was Arthur Dayne, whom many said could surpass Jon Arctica if he were alive.
Beside him was a very beautiful woman with almost flame-like red hair, she must be a second wife, the brunette he heard was traveling with him was not present, and on his other side was Ned's daughter who made Wylis wonder if she really was the daughter of his lord; the girl would be extremely beautiful when she became a woman, and that would not take many years to happen.
The three stared at him as he didn't know quite what to say while only four Manderly guards accompanied him, compared to the warriors with shining metal, he felt a bit embarrassed by his men merely wearing leather. "King of Arctica..." He commented, finally breaking the silence thinking that this was the best way to deal with them, after all, he did not want to also feel the fury of those 500 ships attacking White Harbor and devastating the city after what he heard about how he acted in the south.
"Lord Wylis Manderly," Jon replied calmly without standing up while the three remained silent. "Would you like to sit?" Jon cracked a small smile, pointing to the empty Braavosi sofa in front of him.
"Ah yes, of course..." Wylis, still a bit stiff, nodded, sitting down before turning back to Jon.
"I hear that your kingdom beyond the Wall has grown much..." He said, trying to start the conversation.
"Are you speaking from a military standpoint? Or my trade and wealth, or is it my growth in so few years?" Jon asked with an amused smile, he couldn't deny it was good to see a noble looking at him with so much caution.
"I... would say all three at the same time, King of Arctica... when I saw you at Winterfell, I never thought we would be here discussing something like this and how powerful you are..." He admitted.
"Many things happen... Lord Manderly, the future is always uncertain and anything can happen, but even so, I always make sure to look after my people, with a prosperous future for Arctica," Jon replied with a smile.
"I understand... wise are your words. Your story..." Manderly didn't know how to finish.
"I don't know how they will tell my story in the future, Lord Manderly," Jon interrupted him, before continuing. "But I certainly will be satisfied if they talk about how a boy of 8 namedays who cleaned the stables with horse dung in Winterfell, became a king who leads tens of thousands of men, dwarfs, and giants... I will be very satisfied," Jon spoke.
"I think you are right..." Manderly said.
"Let's stop talking about this, now tell me, Lord Manderly. And what would you like to discuss with the most hated man in the north?" I said, making the man frown a bit.
"I don't think you are the most hated, King of Arctica... people just raised a misconception about you... and as you can see, your sister is fine... but still, you are loved by many with your stories of how you helped the north when you were just a child," he spoke.
"Jon never captured me... do you hear?!" Arya decided to speak this time with an accusatory tone to the man, while he nodded.
"I know that, as I said before... it was a misconception on the part of some..." He spoke carefully before looking at Arya. "And I'm here to deliver a message from your father, Lady Arya..." He said as Arya quickly softened her anger.
Arya looked towards Jon, who shrugged in response. "You can talk to him freely, Arya." He said while she looked at Manderly with suspicion.
"Speak," she demanded, as the man couldn't help but notice her sword in her hand while she was unable to rest it on the sofa. He quickly recognized it as the legendary sword by the pommel shaped like an egg and dragon wings for the guard.
He tried to ignore the shock of seeing Dark Sister in Arya's hands before turning back to the girl. "Your father wants to see you again, he asked me to tell you that he and your family want you back, that he wishes to see you at home after all these years," he spoke with a cautious tone.
This seemed to stir something in Arya as she shook her head at the end. "I will return, but not now. And tell my father, if I return and hear someone say that Jon kidnapped me years ago, I will cut off the head of anyone who utters those words!" She exclaimed, while Jon looked at her with disapproval, thinking that was quite extreme.
Arya missed her father and the others, but she still wanted to be with Jon. "But your family…" Lord Manderly tried to argue.
"After this trip, Arya will return to Winterfell," Jon stated.
"Tell my father that in a year, I will be back, after all, we are heading East, it will be a long journey," Arya said quickly with a smile.
"I understand…" Wylis had no leverage here, so he simply nodded, unable to argue further.
"About Winterfell, how is House Stark?" Jon asked, no longer calling him father, wanting to know what had happened since he visited Winterfell with Eragon.
Despite the discomfort, Lord Manderly turned back to Jon. "Things haven't changed much over the years, but there was an incident more than a moon ago, where a mysterious storm circled the castle and covered the castle in snow, and a sound that some say was a monster attacking the Starks, others talk of thunder, but most believe it was the Old Gods speaking. Rumors are circulating in the North that the Starks had angered the gods or something like that," he said, while Arya and even Serena looked at Jon with wide eyes at that moment after hearing that, wondering what Jon had done.
Manderly continued. "But Lord Stark has changed, so they say. It's said he was in the middle of the courtyard when the gods roared.... It seemed like he heard their demands. Since then, he barely speaks with his wife or even spends time with his family, while he locks himself in his solar every day since the incident. Nobody knows exactly what Lord Stark is thinking, but many say that the Old Gods spoke directly to him," he finished...
Jon sighed upon hearing this. "I see…" He said, as he was responsible for all this mess. "Anyway, tell Lord Stark that we will talk again one day." He said vaguely as Manderly looked confused at him. "Just say that and he will understand," Jon clarified, since he did not plan to go to Winterfell with Arya.
Despite doubts about this, Wylis just nodded, planning to pass these mysterious words to his lord. The man didn't know what else to say, after all, he couldn't demand anything here and as Arya did not plan to return to Winterfell. Manderly couldn't deny he wanted to know exactly what Jon was negotiating here with 500 ships, after all, the city still received him and he was here being a special guest of the Sealord.
"King of Arctica... may I ask something..." He asked suddenly with caution.
Jon seemed to read his mind at that moment. "If you're wondering what I plan to do with the North... you don't need to worry about your people becoming my enemies, as long as you don't harm my people, I am not your enemy," Jon responded while the man from White Harbor seemed to sigh in relief with that, but Jon hadn't finished thinking about another thing.
"Tell me, Lord Manderly, how have you been handling the food stocks in the North? We know we've had the longest summer of the last generations and the winter always lasts as long as the summer before it. Have you been storing a lot of food to face it?" Jon asked, while Wylis thought for a moment.
Despite being surprised by the question, Wylis answered honestly, "We have some stock, but we haven't started buying in bulk," he replied. They hadn't yet made powerful deals with the south.
"I see. I doubt the North really buys Arctican food, but that might change with third-party purchases, since one of my deals with this city is a new food supply, I guarantee the price you'll pay with the fixed margin I require to sell to the end customer is much better than what you buy from the Riverlands and the Reach," Jon said.
After all, if he sold to Braavos while they could profit, they would resell to the kingdom of the North, pulling an even lower price or causing the southern kingdoms to lose their sales, leading to their entire harvest spoiling or even having to lower prices, which was also a significant difference from what they usually earn. After all, they place quite abusive prices since the North had no choice but to buy from them.
"You plan to sell food to Braavos?" Wylis was surprised by this.
"Exactly, we are still negotiating in the coming days," Jon said, introducing a cheap alternative for food in the market, he didn't do this in Westeros because it could complicate buying his horses in the Reach.
Not just a cheaper alternative, but also a greater variety than what they usually consumed. After all, in Arctica they can have very variable agriculture and even in winter they can still produce more food, with almost all the grains, fruits, vegetables, and legumes in the world.
"If that's true, King of Arctica... I see no reason why we wouldn't buy from Braavos. Although I'd prefer to buy from you, since you are the direct supplier, I can't guarantee this from the other houses," Manderly spoke and recognized how the other houses did not view Jon, especially since Jon had gone to war with the crown and other important houses of Westeros.
"Your crown will not be able to say that you are strengthening the enemies with this and tell you about a price that is one-tenth of what you usually buy from the Riverlands and the Reach," Jon said while Lord Manderly's eyes widened at this. The King of Arctica had already looked at the market to see how it operated before this proposal; it was easy to pick up on that in those conversations he had at the banquets in Highgarden, which is why he was always talking to the nobles.
After that, Lord Wylis Manderly asked no more questions, as there was nothing more to say. "I shall go then, Jon Arctica, to convey your words and Arya's that she will visit them in a year at Winterfell," he said, "I am sure Lord Stark will indeed be happy and grateful to hear this." He spoke at the end.
Jon nodded as they watched Lord Manderly walk away before starting to rise and return to his women. "Well, that's finally over, now let's get ready, for we have a banquet tonight," he announced as the women nodded and they headed to their room to get ready.
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