17 Pirates problems

Kingslanding; Crownlands; fifith moon of 98 AC

Roderick Blackwood PoV

King Jaehaerys' purple eyes stared at him from across the beautifully built table after chastising the Grandmaester. The Old King's long white beard showed his advanced age, as did some marks on his face; those marks did nothing to hide the intelligence behind the King's eyes, to Roderick, it actually just accentuated the King's age-built wisdom.

" Ser Blackwood, tell us more about the customs of the first men and the dogmas of the Old Faith," King Jaehaerys demanded; his black clothes almost made him look aethereal, with his beard deeply contrasting with it.

" Certainly, your grace. The First thing one must know about the First Men, especially the northern First Men, is that they tend to treat anything Andal with contempt. The Andal Wars made it so, for just as the saying goes, the northerners have good memories." Roderick began calmly and slowly. " Stories of Theon The Hungry Wolf and Domeric Bolton The Andalskinner are told with reverence to the children by their mothers."

" Theon The Heretic? Isn't his story too bloody and dishonorable to tell to children?" Ser Ryam Redwyne asked the legendary knight, his nose wrinkled with distaste.

" Some people remain the hero of their own story even when they become the fiend in someone else's, " King Jaehaerys offered with a slight smile on his face; his face aged ten years in a second, but as soon as it did, it came back. " it's all a matter of perspective" The King concluded as motioned for Roderick to continue.

" The northern First Men are extremely zealous of their faith; they will and have gone to war for it more times than I can count. An oath taken in front of a heart tree, especially a public one, is almost as sacred as the Gods themselves, and it is extremely rare to see an oath like that being broken." Roderick said

" Torrhen Stark knelt and swore his oath before a heart tree in the Isle of Faces; how convenient that now that the North amasses power, such a widely known event will shield them from the Crown's scrutiny, " Grandmaester Allar commented sarcastically.

" You are trying too hard, Grandmaester. I wonder how long it would take for someone to inform Lord Stark of your endeavors to make the Crown enter into conflict with The North... Do you remember the last time the Wolves hunted?" Roderick said in a rare display of hostility

" I am The Grandmaester of the Citadel and-" Grandmaester Allar began, but before he could finish, Roderick cut him.

" I thought you were a goat... or was it a rat? Did you know Ravenhall Tree sells sand to House Dovahkiin? Our relationship is so amicable that my brother invited Lord Ragnar to his next nameday celebration," Roderick commented casually, and he almost could not hide his gleefulness when the Grandmaester's face ashed like a ghost's

" Oh, you are good." Prince Baelon commented with fake surprise.

" Let us not stray, my Lords," King Jaehaerys commanded; his amusement was almost palpable.

" Yes, your grace." Roderick bowed as he spoke, " The northerners are also extremely fixated with justice, both when delivering it or demanding it. In cases of death penalty, they believe that the man who passes the sentence must swing the sword; they are incredibly prickly with that point; it is a teaching usually passed from father to son, and the concept of a justiciar in the northern court is quite laughable," Roderick concluded.

For two more hours, Roderick spoke of the First Men's customs and what following the Old Gods entailed. The King was a quiet listener and, most often than not, seemed sad that some northern traditions were not part of the South's

Kingshouse Port; Skagos; The North; sixth moon of 98 AC

Ragnar Dovahkiin PoV

The salty wind of Kingshouse Port hit Ragnar's face as he and Dacey observed the goings of his port town. The Warden of the Shivering Sea's black hair, held in a traditional single long braid going from the root of his hair to his lower back, danced as the wind hit it; his black clothes and dark grey cloak made a show of protecting the Lord of Skagos from the cold morning. The Lady of Skagos had her hair braided similarly to her husband's; her winter dress was deep midnight blue, with gray linings and the Dovahkiin silver dragon boarded on its shoulders and wrists.

High in the sky, Midstinul flew gracefully over the town as if warning those with less benign intentions of the folly of acting on said intentions. On the ground, the citizens were already working hard, loading and unloading goods from the hundreds of ships docked in the large bay, transporting goods from the industries to where they should go, bringing minerals from inland to the blacksmiths, and many other activities.

The shipbuilders were working hard as ever, with half their crew building another gigantic galleon with space for hundreds of magical cannons and the other half working on building traditional warships and cogs for the evergrowing Dovahkiin fleet.

As Ragnar observed the ships docking in Skagos, a guard escorting what Ragnar assumed to be a captain from one of his ships approached

" M'lord, m'lady!" The guard saluted

" Gelon," Ragnar saluted the guard back, which seemed to be surprised for a moment before he nodded and returned to his duties; then he turned to the sailor and nodded.

"Captain Dagfin. The cold waters have not killed you, I hope?" Ragnar asked as he looked at the man; Dagfin was of Ibennese descent and looked every bit the part, with a long beard, long arms, and short legs.

" Nay, m'lord; it fails every time it tries," Dagfin answered humorously, his yellow teeth showing as he offered a gruff smile.

" I would imagine so... that enchanted winter coat your son made for you is extremely practical." Ragnar commented, " He's trying to specialize in fire-based enchantments, right?" Ragnar asked as she entered the conversation.

" Oh, so you are one of the Driftmark route captains? How are the waters?" Dacey asked

"Aye, m'lady. The waters are unusually full of pirates..." Dagfin answered with a slight frown on his face, which quickly disappeared when he looked at Ragnar " But aye, m'lord, my boy Ragg will be a great mage; he cannot wait to be allowed to do magic outside of the college." Dagfin said with a proud expression; the pride he felt for his son was almost palpable, something Ragnar himself could relate to as all three of his children were exceptional

" Pirates you said?" Ragnar asked after a second, which made the frown return to the captain's face

"Aye, m'lord." Dagfin began, " these fucking reavers are gettin' smarter, m'lord; that or they are a new kind of pirate." Dagfin concluded with a pensive face.

" Is that so? Are they causing too many problems?" Dacey asked, and Ragnar nodded.

" They die all the same, these fucking cunts..." Dagfin answered

" So what is the problem then?" Ragnar asked calmly

" Well, m'lord... that's why I'm here; wI don't think it's a problem; my boy told me to tell ya about what I saw, but..." Dagfin began trailing off but quickly got himself back, " M'lord, these pirates were not targeting the cogs, whalers, or merchant ships... they were targeting the warships." Dagfin concluded, his eyes showing uncertainty and determination

" Well... what can I say except good riddance?? I imagine they are failing spectacularly," Ragnar asked with a small smile on his face.

" They are m'lord. But they ain't targeting the warships for battle alone. I think they are trying to steal a warship for themselves," Dagfin answered apprehensively.

" Huum... are those pirates better equipped? Do they seem more... strategically coordinated than usual? I mean, do they engage from different fronts in different ways?" Ragnar asked as he brought a hand to his chin in a reflective manner

" I ain't sure, m'lord. They had better steel, that's for sure, but I ain't remember no strategy from them." Dagfin answered

" Are they Westerosi?" Dacey asked after a moment

" Aye... most of 'em were. They spoke in common," Dagfin answered

" Next time, try to capture one of them. I'll send Lord Seasworth with you next time you sail for Driftmark," Ragnar answered

"Aye, m'lord," Dagfin said as he bowed before returning to the docks.

" What do you think, my love?" Dacey asked after a few minutes; her beautiful blue eyes were stormy, her hatred for anything pirate fueling her rage like wood on the fire.

" I am not sure. This might be nothing but the pirates getting smarter... or it could be someone trying to get their hands on my magic cannons." Ragnar answered lightheartedly, grabbing his wife by the hips and kissing her forehead, " I doubt pirates that know the power of our fleet would risk certain death like that... they could be new pirates." Ragnar mused out loud

" Could they be pirates from the Triarchy?" Dacey asked as she buried her head in Ragnar's chest

" I doubt it very much... They will not dare anything while King Jaehaerys lives... I don't know much about the period before the dance, but I know it would be folly for anyone on the stepstones to attract Jaeharys wroth. The Old King would no doubt call his banners, and people would come from Last Heart to Old Town." Ragnar said as he caressed his wife's hair

" Aye... but if not the Triarchy, then who?" Dacey asked

" I'll talk to Oak and Leaf; their Greenseeing and warging skills are as helpful as they come; perhaps they can shed some light on this matter," Ragnar began, " but not now. Lord Stark left Karhold a day ago... he and the other Lords should arrive here at any moment." Ragnar concluded

" Aye. Then we sail to Kingslanding again, this time with our children. The Hightowers will be there..." Dacey commented uncertainly

" They will; they should be extremely unhappy with us for the maesters issue... I hope they try something; it would be good to have someone volunteering for my research," Ragnar said cheerfully

" What research?" Dacey asked confused

" How much pressure does it take to break a man's chest cage... and how much pain can a person feel before dying... taking under consideration said person would be kept awakened during the procedures through magical means," Ragnar said still cheerfully, " I think Otto Hightower would be a great specimen to help me." Ragnar mockingly suggested.

" Aye..." Dacey said with a blank face.

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A/N: There's Ragnar and Dacey again… The Northern lord will be present at the Tournament… what ripples would it cause if any at all?

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