Version 2.0
As the dust settles on the battlefield, the Winter soldiers move swiftly to round up the prisoners of war. Among them is the defeated Alden, shouting profanity and insults as he is marched away, whilst his son stands tall and silent.
The Locke King, though defeated, shows his worth as a commander, rallying his men in his retreat and putting a stop to the charge of Brandon's forces. With some organisation back in a part of his force he organised his line back into place. Brandon saw what the Locke King was doing and gathered his men as well. A brief standoff happens before the kings meet in the middle to discuss a truce and agreement as the late day and chance of success for the Locke King were low.
With the chaos of battle subsided, their meeting is quick with the Locke King trading some foods and tradable goods for the few men that Brandon had managed to capture. A quick and simple deal for Brandon as he has his prise of the Amber King.
With the Locke King's affairs settled Brandon turns his attention to the defeated Amber King. Accompanied by his king's guard, he meets with the fallen ruler to discuss the terms of his complete defeat.
"Fuck you," Alden says as Brandon walks into the tent. "This means nothing," he continues, while Alex remains seated in silence, his eyes betraying the disgust he feels toward his father's words.
"You are completely defeated, Alden. Nothing you say will change that; accept your defeat with grace," Brandon says.
"Fuck off," Alden retorts, spitting on the ground before Brandon.
Brandon sighs "I would expect nothing else of you, Alden. I have you captured, along with all of your Kings guard. You have no place here to bargain. With my victory in battle, I will be taking your lands. Your house will be vassalized by my own, I revoke your title of King and instead grant you the title of Jarl to rule over the lands that I grant to you," Brandon commands.
"I would rather die than live under you, upstart," Alden says, kneeling in the dirt before Brandon.
"I was not talking to you, Alden," Brandon says, turning to Alex. "Your house might be low now, Alex Amber, but there is no reason that it cannot rise again into greatness through battle and competency."
Fury blurs in Alden's eyes as he turns to his son. "You are a snivelling coward, you have no honour or decency, you are no warrior, you are nothing like me. How dare you try and upstart me, I am your father, and you will listen to me."
Throughout this exchange, Alex remains quiet, his emotions shifting with the words of his king. He sits in contemplation, observing the two kings before him. Finally, he speaks.
"Yes, my King," he says at last.
"Good, know your—" Alden begins, but Alex interrupts him by getting up and kneeling before Brandon, a weight seemingly lifting from his shoulders as he looks towards Brandon with a slight smile on his lips.
"On the honour and grave of house Amber, I swear my allegiance and loyalty to you of House Stark now and forever." He spoke.
"As King of the Kingdom of Winter, I grant you Jarl. Now rise, Jarl Alex," Brandon says as Alex's men look on proudly at their new leader. "I know you will do well, Jarl Alex and your house will prosper under you."
After the meeting, Brandon leaves to tend to the army while Edric stays behind to inform Alex of his new obligations to the crown, including providing troops during wars and paying taxes from his holdings. Then finally the army marches home, their loot from battle in tow, and the men are happy with their gains of bronze, food, and even some of the raw materials from the enemy provision train. Meanwhile, Alex returns home to put in order his house and to lock up his father in house arrest.
They pass through the newly acquired lands that were once under the rule of the Amber King and have taken a little bit more of the lands to secure house Starks's total land mass. The landscape gradually transforms, with rolling hills and verdant valleys stretching out before them. Villages dot the countryside, their thatched roofs and sturdy walls evidence of the resilience of the people who call this land their home.
Brandon makes a point to chat with the new village chiefs, many of whom greet him with warmth and gratitude. They sneakily enquired about their new taxes and what the future rule under Brandon would be like, hopeful of what people tell of Brandon being fair and kind to his people. Brandon listened attentively to their concerns and promised that he would help with the main one being taxes which Brandon was happy to say was much lower than the Amber Kings taxes.
/
As days pass, the integration of the newly acquired lands into the Winter Kingdom progresses steadily. Messengers traverse the countryside, delivering missives outlining the taxes and obligations imposed upon the new territories, ensuring they adhere to the laws of the realm.
Meanwhile, with increased sightings of monsters and raiders plaguing all kingdoms alike Brandon continued to make sure villagers were taught to defend themselves against these threats. Men, often fresh from the battlefield, would train the villages by conducting training sessions imparting the knowledge they gained often from the King's guard or Edric and Lyanna's teachings, from young kids to men and women, they were all trained.
Next was news of skirmishes between the two children of the forest groves, where groups of wood dancers would battle one another with groups of trees. Though no major battles had yet been fought, Brandon knew it was just a matter of time.
In the mountains, however, silence reigns. No news emerges from the mountain clans, with the last bit of news being another wiping out of mountain clans as the bloody conflict continues.
But it is the news from the Red King's lands that sends a shiver down Brandon's spine. After his humiliating defeat from his previous war, it was clear the Red King wanted revenge, and how better than the one who orchestrated the entire reason for his loss. For in the dead of night, the Red King lead a small part of his force straight into the Widower King's castle at the dead of night.
The exact details are a bit odd, to say the least with the core details being the entire Widow household was killed to the last child and the most exaggerated details being the entire family was skinned alive, which is unlikely to be true Brandon thought, though his sigel is a skinned man.
With the Widower King taken out, the Red King proclaims himself as ruler of their lands grating some lands to himself and others to a vassal of his choosing. Importantly to Brandon, he declared himself the first to completely defeat another king in battle and war, his announcement timed to coincide with Brandon's triumph over the Amber King.
Feeling the mounting pressure from the escalating power of the Red Kingdom and the Winter Kingdom, the Ryder King presses to expand his own influence and power base. Despite his previous conquests of lands to the west, the Ryder King seeks to strengthen his position further by turning his sights towards the territories of the Fisker Kings.
With his armies mobilized and his banners unfurled, the Ryder King set forth on a campaign of conquest, his eyes set on claiming new lands and consolidating his power in the region. Riding at the head of his forces, he marches towards the domain of the Fisker Kings, intent on securing victory and expanding his realm.
However, the Ryder King also sets his sites on other parts of the North. With the news of the Winter coins gaining prominence and influence throughout the realm, the Ryder King takes note of their success and decides to emulate the idea, seeking to assert his authority and legitimacy in the economic landscape of the North. He orders the minting of his coins, crafted from precious metals of silver and copper, and proudly bearing the insignia of his house—the emblem of the galloping horse.
Dubbed "Ryder Coins," with newly minted currencies he tried to best to circulate his coins in his kingdom, going about it in the same way Brandon had using them to buy up goods and products.
Not to be outdone, the Red King follows suit, seeing the success of the Winter coins and the Ryder Coins as a challenge to his authority. He orders the minting of his coins, crafted from gleaming copper and silver adorned with the fierce insignia of his house—the emblem of a skinned man.
These "Red Coins" soon join their counterparts in circulation, as the Red King seeks to assert his dominance and ensure his place at the forefront of the economic front of the North.
These two kings minted many copper coins but struggled more with silver coins due to the only currently discovered mine being in Umbar lands and Brandon already has major stakes and claims in it leaving only the scraps behind for the other two Kings. Brandon's early starts on coins and having more access to silver for higher purity of coins allowed the Winter coins to be the most popular in the North.