20 Spreading Territory

With the death of Craghas Drahar, Arthur took the stepstones as his territory. Lord Corlys as a bootlicker wanted to set a good relation with Arthur. As a result, he was the second one to gracefully accept his lordship in the island. The first one was Daemon obviously. Daemon liked the way Arthur ended Craghas. So, Daemon as the hand of the king gave his support to Arthur. After just three day, Arthur set a meeting with some lords of the army.

" From now on, the Stepstones will be under my territory. Any pirates who come here to plunder your ships will be dealt with by my army. As for the Triarchy, they shall also be handled. Now here comes the agreement of tolls."- Arthur loudly stated to all the nobles present in the island. At first, all the lords were happy because Arthur was just and had much charisma in leading. But hearing about the last part, their face were grim. They didn't want to pay the high tolls that Craghas forced into them. That is why they decided to side with Arthur and Corlys. They all looked at Corlys wishing that he would say something. But Corlys had a calm look on his mind because he knew that sooner or later this would come out.

"How much are you gonna impose, Lord Arthur?"- Lord Corlys asked with calm look.

Arthur didn't want to create a bad relation with Corlys because he knew that he needed allies. He needed more allies now because the Triarchy would soon create problems.

" This land is too barren. I heard that Craghas Drahar imposed 35-40% tolls in the total pricing. I would only take 20% from all the other lords of westeros. As for the great support of your army, you would only pay 15% tolls of total pricing. As for the essos, I will take 30-35% tolls from Myr, Lys and Tyrosh while the other free cities will pay 25% tolls of total price. How is that?"- Arthur calmly stated which brought a smile in Corlys's face.

Although he didn't like to pay the tolls but it was at most within his range. He was pleased that Arthur made him give less toll than the others. He was happy because his contribution was worth it. He also didn't want to ruin his relation with Arthur just for 15% tolls. He wanted to strengthen his friendship more.

" It's perfect, Lord Arthur. If you do not mind, I wanted to say a concerning matter to you later."- Lord Corlys grinned at Arthur who understood his meaning. Corlys wanted to betroth his daughter Laena to Arthur and wanted more discount as well as bonding between two Valyrian families. Although Arthur didn't say much but he was laughing in his mind. He knew that Laenor liked men and would have no children. He knew that there would be 2 Velaryon bastard who proclaimed Laenor as their father but it was a lie. Most likely, they were the bastards of Corlys. So, if Arthur married Laena, his children might inherit Driftmark someday. Thus, Arthur was delighted in his mind while keeping a poker face.

The other lords had a grim face but as Corlys agreed to Arthur's proposal, they could no longer refuse. They were also slightly happy as they didn't have to pay that high amount that they used to pay just for passing.

"As for the Triarchy, I am thinking to raid some parts of Tyrosh and make it vulnerable. The Triarchy members are too greedy. If one city falls, the other will claim it. Most probably, Myr will try to claim it. It will reduce our efforts."- Arthur told all of them which made them nodding.

Lord Corlys was amused at his talk but quickly asked," What about the Dorne? They will also participate in the efforts of Triarchy."

Arthur knew that Dorne would also likely participate against him. So, he decided to show them a little bit of goodwill.

"I will send a letter to Lord Qoren Martell and inform him about some things. He is little and has some advisors around him. I hope that he will not go against us. Otherwise we shall have to burn their fields and make their people starve which in return would force him to accept our terms."

[A/N: I don't know when Qoren became the ruler of Dorne. So decided to do this.]

Hearing his answer, most lords wanted to ask what Arthur was planning with the Dorne but they had no balls to ask him. As he is the Lord of the Stepstones now, they couldn't interfere in his decision. Moreover, he had King Viserys and Daemon backing him.

Daemon saw all this calmly. He knew that Arthur will take care of the Stepstones wisely while dealing a damage to the Triarchy. Daemon wanted fights more than anything. So he decided that he would join Arthur when he burns Tyrosh.

Arthur already decided that Dorne would pay 15% tolls just like House Velaryon. He would also swear an oath by his house and family that Dorne will be from any future conflicts and fights as long as they don't support Triarchy. He would also support Dorne if any problems among them arises. Although he knew that the chances of Dorne accepting is quite low its better to atleast try. Otherwise only starvation and force awaits them.

So he wrote a letter to them stating his policy and promise. Now, Arthur wanted this war to end more than anything. But sadly he knew that the Triarchy must end. Arthur already sent Rhaenyra back to Dragonstone with Syrax. It was because he feared that assassins will be sent by the Triarchy to harm his closest person. Although Rhaenyra as a brat wanted to stay Arthur just told her to prepare for the wedding. 8 months have already passed since they agreed to marry. This war would take atleast 1 year to finish. Arthur wanted to create a good environment in Dorne as well as Lys and Tyrosh. Myr was hopeless. Their people were too greedy. Arthur needed to burn many just for a safe ruling. That is the only reason it would take at least that much time.

With such a heavy mind, he went to sleep.

[A/N: My health hasn't recovered yet. But decided to give one chapter. So, there might be some errors in grammars. Try to ignore it.]