In recent years, the manufacturing industry in the Stormlands has developed rapidly, gradually establishing three fixed trade routes.
The first route runs from Oldtown to Highgarden, following the Mander river to Cider Hall, Longtable, and Grassy vale, connecting to the three cities of Felwood Castle, Bronzegate, and Harvest Hall, and ultimately reaches Storm's End.
The second route is the maritime trade of Dorne, linking Yronwood, Tor, Ghost Hill and Sunspear to Greenstone Castle, Rain House, and finally Storm's End.
The third route is the former Rose Road, though its land transport can't compare to the sea routes, so it is primarily used for carrying people, precious metals, or heavy items. With armored knights, it is considered safer than sea transport.
Due to the massive transport of agricultural products, minerals, and manufactured goods along these routes, the surrounding towns have become relatively wealthy. Even the noble lands along the way, despite not having specialties of their own, have earned considerable income from merchant caravans stopping by.
As industry and agriculture grew in the southern part of the continent, the central and northern regions were also affected. The realm has advanced significantly, with annual crop yields increasing, and the common folk are now able to eat their fill and still have surplus.
However, this new wealthy class lacks the foundation and education of the old nobility, leading to some issues.
\---
Near New Barrel City, by the Mander River, a group of fully armored knights, each flying their respective banners, had formed a circle. Nearby, soldiers were cleaning up the bodies of the dead enemies.
Among the flags were the green-and-gold rose banner of House Tyrell of Highgarden, the gold-and-red apple banner of House Fossoway of Cider Hall, and the gold-and-green apple banner of House Fossowayf of New Barrel.
On the riverbank, a burly man named Thoros and a girl around ten years old stood on either side of a richly dressed man, pinning him to the stone. The girl, with gray eyes and black hair, had two long swords strapped to her back.
"In the name of Robert Baratheon, King of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men, Protector of the Seven Kingdoms, I, Wright Baratheon, Archmage of the Realm, Ser of Hornwood, hereby sentence you to death for the crime of fraud," Wright declared.
He then raised his icy crystal sword and severed the man's head with one clean strike.
"How many is this, Your Grace?" a middle-aged woman, likely a member of the party, approached.
"Malora, this is the third one he as executed this year. I also helped dispatch a few of his attendants," the little girl behind Wright replied.
Wright twirled his crystal sword in the air before plunging it into the riverbank's muddy ground. The surrounding dirt quickly began to crystallize into white ice.
At that moment, Garlan Tyrell and the guards of Highgarden brought another man over. The guards kicked the decapitated body aside and pressed the new prisoner to the stone. The man screamed:
"Lord Garlan, Archmage, I'm innocent! This scoundrel has swindled all my money, and he even slept with my wife! I'm innocent, Lord! Please, you have to believe me!"
"But you then helped him swindle others and assisted him in escaping!" Garlan Tyrell said, offering no further words. In the name of his father, Lord Mace Tyrell of Highgarden, he sentenced the knight to death, and with one clean stroke, the man's head rolled off.
"Damned... these swindlers are becoming more and more common," Wright muttered.
Since Wright's magical feats in the Iron Islands three years ago, and after being named the Kingdom's Archmage, he had spent his first year writing magical textbooks and building the school. He also had Malora Hightower and Thoros with him, guiding magic. Though their talent was average and their ages were too advanced to achieve great feats in magic, they had no problem teaching at the school in ordinary roles. Malora was now the librarian.
By the second year, after the school was built, Wright wrote to House Dayne in Dorne and summoned Ashara Dayne to King's Landing, officially taking her as his magical apprentice. She became Wright's first true apprentice, aside from Renly, and was always by his side to learn.
Archmaester Marwyn of the Citadel, who had been researching magic, was on good terms with Wright. He introduced Wright to Qyburn, a man exiled from the Citadel who had wandered around. Wright knew that Qyburn had turned the Mountain into an undead, and he had been struggling to find him. Upon meeting, Wright realized Qyburn had a talent for summoning magic. Wright began teaching him proper summoning spells, and Qyburn worked in the school's logistics.
In the past few years, Wright hadn't been very active on the continent. Renly prefer to maintain a wealthy image, rather than showing his magic. As a result, some people began pretending to be Mages, roaming around swindling others — exorcising demons, curing diseases, and even helping with marital issues.
The man Wright had just sentenced to death was one such fraud. He had been operating near Highgarden, scamming several nobles, five landed knights, and over twenty senior craftsmen. He had even slept with the wives of nine of them. Wright had come specifically to expose his swindle, and, with the help of the cheated lords, they had tracked him down and captured him here.
Wright was now fifteen years old and as tall as an adult. Due to business ties, he had become very close with House Tyrell. Garlan, no longer a fat man, had slimmed down.
As they walked and discussed the incident, Wright was clearly angry, while Garlan joked.
"Not many promising apprentices have been found, but these swindlers just keep popping up. Damn it."
A guard ran over, bowed, and asked:
"Grand. Mage, may we try the ice sword?" He glanced at the ice sword stuck into the riverbank, and the group of guards eagerly gathered around.
"Put on gauntlets and don't handle it directly. It'll melt in about an hour," Wright replied.
"Thank you, Master." With Wright's permission, the guards began pulling the ice sword from the ground, playing with it, but within a few seconds, ice began to form on their gauntlets, forcing them to swap out. They couldn't help but marvel at the magic.
Garlan Tyrell remembered something.
"I heard there's a Mage from Dorne who arrived a few days ago. He should be at Highgarden now, but there's been no movement. Do you want to investigate?"
"I got the news too. You finish counting the swindler's belongings and give them to the victims. Anything we can recover, we will. These swindlers will be killed one by one, and I'll leave immediately," Wright said, his anger clear.
The reason for his anger wasn't the swindlers themselves, but someone pulling the strings behind the scenes.
\---
Highgarden was divided by walls into several layers. The outermost layer was large, with many houses and shops. Wright didn't stay inside the Tyrell family's inner city but chose to stay in a tavern to facilitate his investigation.
There were many Dornish merchants in the city, and the Mage was mysterious with no signs of external contact, leaving Wright with no leads.
That night, Wright lay in the tavern bed, half asleep, thinking about things. Suddenly, he felt weak, and his strength was rapidly draining away.
He immediately woke up: Poisoned! Is it for money, or is it to kill me?
He quickly cast a healing spell on himself. Yellow magic scattered over his body, but it had no effect. He focused and realized that his life force hadn't been depleted; in fact, it was slowly rising above its normal limit! However, his stamina continued to diminish.
Now, lying in bed, Wright couldn't move. His vision blurred, and his internal magic couldn't be activated. He was about to call for help when the tavern room door opened, and two people entered.
"Has the poison taken effect?"
"It should be. He's a Mage, so I doubled the dosage of the elephant's poison."
The voices were from two women? Women wouldn't be as ruthless as men, so there might be something to talk about. But before he could do or say something, everything turned black.
---
After waking up, he could tell by his biological clock that not much time have passed - Only a few minutes -, but it didn't matter, because in front of him Two nake woman where in front of him. Two woman he know.
The appearance of the two women was not the only change. He now found himself naked and tied to the bed.
"Nymeria... Tyene..."
---
The next morning, Wright woke up naturally. As soon as he tried to move, his whole body ached. Looking up, he saw a few oranges on the nightstand.