Fire and Blood

Part II - Peace is a Truce

Blackwater Bay shone like a gem when the sun was high in the skies. The roar of dragons, once a sound of terror, had become a norm for the rich and poor of the capital. Ghizhar, young man of ten and five namedays, woke to the sight of the Westerosi Capital. His family of Meereenese origins had moved to the great city five years ago. They were but immigrants from a foreign land who did not speak the savage tongue of this new land. Yet despite the foreign nature of the land, he found many of the East residing here. People from Astapor, Yunkai, the Free Cities even as far from Qarth made their new homes in the Dragon's lair. Even a section of the district he lived in was dedicated to the Eastern newcomers.

The renowned Unsullied and guards with cloaks of gold patrolled the streets day and night. In the distance he saw the castle that overlooked his new home. The people of this land called it the Red Keep. Newcomers from the East called it Mhysa's Home.

He has distant memories when he was younger seeing his parents as slaves struggling day and night. They had hid him and siblings away. Preventing them from becoming prey to the slave system. The state of fear and terror changed when the Silver Queen freed them all. When she freed them, the newly freed peoples of the East called her Mhysa. The Mother of Dragons and mother of them all.

When she sailed to the Sunset Kingdoms, she established a new reign. Ghizhar and his family followed soon and established shop as bakers and potters in the Capital. Tens of thousands would flock west. The freed children came to Mhysa's city and established themselves as freedmen with free occupations. No chains bound them anymore but the love of their Liberator brought them here.

The Great War in the Sunset Kingdoms ended. The past five years have been bountiful. Ghizhar when playing with other children heard the tales of the Lions and Stags who had ruled before. The tales of extreme poverty, religious tensions and starving peoples reminded him of the East before the coming of Mhysa. Now food and wealth flowed freely in the city. Flee Bottom, a place once known for extreme poverty and moral degradation, is now gone. In its place is the People's Quarters. A mix of housing and merchant markets and fairs for the smallfolk to live and make ends meat. Crime was punished severely. Rapists were executed, thievery was punished with lost hand. Yet there were tales of mercy for the poor who stole to live. They were moved to another part of the city and given a new chance to life.

For Ghizhar, his life in the Sunset Kingdoms have never been better. His parents were happy. His siblings were getting a form of education at nearby centers, rare as they were, helped in teaching children ways of the world. Ghizhar himself had aspirations of joining the Unsullied. The troop corps no longer had mandatory castrations. Men of all backgrounds flocked and were filtered through rigorous trainings. Only the strongest were chosen. Some call the Unsullied as the Queen's Spears. A monicker that added fame to the reputable soldier unit.

He heard his name being called. He smiled, it was the other boys his age. They were going to watch Mummers from Braavos. He heard that one of the girls he fancied would be there too. Today is a good day indeed.

Life has never been so good

X

Every time she wakes to the sight of the banners that hangs the walls of her new home, she weeps. A reminder of the monster she was forcefully married to. Sansa Stark, or as official letters styles her, Sansa Bolton rose to the sight of a sunny sky in the cold North. She remembers the insult done to her when she was given the Dreadfort and Bolton name. Everyday she waits and patiently builds. Today shall be another day of waiting. On one hand she had to thank the Dragon whore for giving her the Dreadfort. It solidified Sansa as a Peer of the North. The lands of the Dreadfort are abundant in green open fields with bountiful cattle and unexplored mines.

She had spent the five years in building her base. Every moon, reports would provide a green balance on her treasuries and granaries. Her new outlying port to the east of the Dreadfort made significant revenues for her. Exporting fine leather and iron ore sped up her ability to develop her new lands. Strict quotas were in place. Everyone was employed or used to maximize efficiency. The smallfolk and local lords might not love her, but she had their respect and admiration. The development of the Bolton lands outpaced overall development in the Manderly lands. They had a developed port but was complacent. Sansa Stark smiled as she looked into the distance. Portly fools. She remember their attempts to woo the dragon whore. She remembers each and every northern lord and bannermen who wooed the dragon bitch. She will have her revenge, soon her hard labors shall bare fruits. She turned to leave her room, she had court to attend.

An outsider who visited the Dreadfort and attended court would think this was the court of a Queen. A hall brightly lit decorated with tapestries or direwolves defeating lions, ice monsters and even dragons. The Lord - in this case the Lady's seat - made in a manner that resembled a throne. A direwolf head graced where the head would lean back on. Its handles fashioned with silversteel direwolf in a graceful waiting stance. The splendor was not meant for decorative purposes. It was a show of power. When the Lady entered, the lords and smallfolk present submitted themselves in a position of utmost inferiority. Prostrating themselves with head placed upon the cold stone floor, eyes never looking up unless recognised and addressed. Lining the hall were her personal guards. Armed in heavy armor with the Stark crest fashioning their chest plates.

As an unwed lady ruling her own house, many had pressured her to wed. Coincidentally those who pressured her were no longer in the land of the living to say anything anymore. She gave her cold smile as she held court. As a Maester passed her a scroll bearing the sigil of a falcon, her lips curled into a more genuine smile after such a long time. Good times ahead.

Adorned upon Sansa's auburn head was a circlet or direwolf heads meeting at the crowned front. She called it a mere decorative ware but all knows it compensates for the crown she so desires.

Sansa Stark might not rule the North. However in her own lands, she is supreme.

Now I wait.