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Chapter 260: Seizing the Disputed Lands
🕑 Added 2025-04-10 11:00:19 +0000 UTC"You were sent by Tregar Ormollen?" Lynd studied the woman before him. From what she had just said, he already knew—she had left Jorah Mormont and become Tregar Ormollen's mistress.
"Yes, Lord Lynd," Lynesse replied calmly, taking out the allegiance agreement that the Lysene nobles had entrusted to her. "This is the agreement signed by Lys’s Magisters and Merchant Princes. They acknowledge your rule over Lys and the Disputed Lands."
Lynd didn’t even glance at the document. Instead, he asked an entirely unrelated question. "Where is Jorah Mormont?"
A flicker of sadness crossed Lynesse’s face. "He left me. He went to Pentos alone."
"He left you?" Lynd seemed more intrigued by Jorah and Lynesse’s affairs than the agreement itself. "Wasn't it you who abandoned him?"
"Me? Abandon him?" Lynesse scoffed. "I never intended to abandon him. If I had, I wouldn’t have come to Lys with him in the first place. I could have simply returned to Oldtown and lived just as well. In fact, I suggested that we take refuge in Oldtown—after all, no matter how loud the wolves may howl, their voices can’t reach that far. But his pride wouldn’t allow him to live as a guest on my father’s lands. He insisted on coming to Lys to make his own way, believing he could rise again. But he couldn’t even manage to be a decent mercenary. Later, when he couldn't even afford to survive—kicked out of an inn, unable to put food on the table—his only solution was drinking. I was the one who kept us afloat, yet he resented me for it. He cursed me, blaming me for his downfall."
Lynd’s voice remained steady. "And your solution was to become Tregar Ormollen’s mistress?"
"Lord Lynd, do you look down on me as well?" Lynesse lifted her chin, trying to appear proud. "I don’t know how to weave or forge. I don’t have much education, so I couldn’t become a tutor for Lysene noble children. I wasn’t about to lower myself to a brothel, washing clothes for prostitutes. My only asset was my beauty. I wanted to live—and live well. My husband couldn’t provide that for me, so I had to do it myself. Was that wrong?"
Lynd didn’t comment. Instead, he asked, "I met Jorah Mormont in Bello Town and lent him two thousand gold dragons. Even if you were extravagant, you shouldn’t have spent it all so quickly."
Lynesse’s lips curled in disdain. "Didn’t I just tell you? He couldn’t even cut it as a mercenary." There was open contempt in her expression. "He was attacked on his way back, and all the money was stolen. I sold all my jewelry, hired the best apothecary in Lys to save him from death, and became another man’s mistress just to secure the funds to help him recover. And what did he do? He’s just a weak, spineless man."
She didn’t bother to continue. Her disgust toward Jorah was already evident.
Lynd didn’t attempt to judge who was right or wrong. Neither of them was trustworthy. Lynesse was certainly not as innocent as she claimed—her reckless spending had undoubtedly played a role in their misfortunes. And Jorah? He was not as submissive as he might have appeared. If he truly followed Lynesse’s wishes, they would have settled in Oldtown, where even a Stark-issued execution order wouldn’t have reached him. He could have lived comfortably—far better than he did in Lys.
With his curiosity satisfied, Lynd returned to the matter at hand. He accepted Lys’s allegiance, wrote several orders for Tregar and the others to carry out, and handed them to Lynesse.
As she prepared to leave, Lynd asked, "Once this is all over, I can arrange for you to return to Oldtown. Or, if you prefer, you could settle in Summerhall or Highgarden. I imagine Lady Alerie and Malora would be pleased to—"
Before he could finish, Lynesse shook her head. "No need. I’m happy where I am. Tregar treats me well. He buys me whatever I want. I’m satisfied with my life."
With that, she boarded the waiting dinghy and swiftly returned to the Lysene ship she had arrived on.
...
"I never expected Lady Lynesse to become someone else's mistress," Jon remarked, shaking his head. "I imagine her old suitors back in Oldtown would be devastated."
"Suitors?" Lynd smirked. "Did that include you? Does Lady Victaria know about this?"
Jon quickly waved his hands in protest. "My lord, that’s not a joke I’d dare make."
Lynd chuckled and turned back toward the captain’s quarters, Jon following close behind.
A signed allegiance agreement, bearing the seals of all the Magisters and Merchant Princes of Lys, had been quietly sent to Lynd, while the Volantene occupation forces in Lys remained completely unaware.
As the warships of the Three Sea Kraken Alliance advanced toward Lys, they were spotted by Volantis’s patrol fleet. The Volantene navy quickly mobilized to intercept, taking nearly seventy percent of the occupation forces with them.
To the Volantene army, Lynd posed a far greater threat than the Lysene elite who had already surrendered. Their entire focus was on Lynd’s fleet, and they even began constructing fortifications at the docks to prevent his ships from landing.
But as they waited for news from their naval fleet, the very Lysene nobles they had dismissed as powerless led their warriors and servants in a sudden assault on the docks. Catching the occupation forces completely off guard, they swiftly overwhelmed them and drove them out of the harbor.
Then, taking control of every ship, they sailed them to block the harbor entrance, ensuring that if the Volantene fleet returned in defeat, they would have nowhere to land.
However, the defeat of the Volantene fleet that many had anticipated never came to pass. Before the fleet could even reach Lynd’s forces, it was ambushed. The Kraken Cannibals struck swiftly, consuming and burning several of the fleet's command flagships. Without exception, everyone aboard perished in the flames. With its leadership wiped out, the entire Volantene fleet was thrown into disarray. Surrounded by the ships of the Three Sea Kraken Alliance, they had no choice but to surrender.
When Lynd’s fleet, now escorting the captured Volantene ships, arrived in the waters near the Lys docks, the Volantene general still engaged in the assault on the docks realized the inevitable. With no other option, he surrendered—not to Lys, but to Lynd and Summerhall.
News of Lys’s fall spread rapidly. Merchant ships, permitted to leave after the battle, carried word back to Volantis.
The revelation sent shockwaves through the city. Both the Tiger Party and the Elephant Party were furious. Many called for immediate retaliation, proposing to send an army up the Rhoyne to strike at Ny Sar and capture Nymeria. They reasoned that it would serve as both punishment for Lynd and as leverage for negotiations.
But the idea was swiftly dismissed. Nymeria commanded over 20,000 battle-ready troops. Even attempting an attack would be reckless; if anything, Volantis needed to worry about her forces joining with Lynd’s in a coordinated assault against them.
Though nearly a thousand years had passed, Volantis had not forgotten the horrors of the Rhoynar siege. And this time, there were no dragons to come to their rescue.
After careful deliberation, Volantis decided to pursue diplomacy. A confrontation with Lynd could prove disastrous, so they would attempt to resolve the crisis through negotiation.
...
"Lord Lynd, you have gone too far this time!"
Alios Qhaedar, a leading Triarch of the Tiger Party and a known ally of Summerhall, had been chosen as the chief negotiator. Upon receiving his orders, he hurried to Lys, where he found Lynd in the Magister’s Office, calmly attending to administrative matters.
Lynd did not respond to Alios’s indignation. Instead, he spoke in a measured tone. "I have received reports that Volantis has blocked the Rhoyne, shut down the Miracle Merchant Guild’s branch, arrested my men, and seized shipments bound for Ny Sar. Tell me, Lord Alios, is this true?"
Alios’s face stiffened. For a moment, he was at a loss for words.
Volantis had spent a great deal of time preparing for the conquest of Lys. The Tiger Party had even made significant concessions to the Elephant Party to gain their support. But now, after less than two weeks of occupation, Lys had slipped from their grasp. That loss was not something they could easily accept.
Some within the Tiger Party had acted rashly. Without waiting for the Triarchs to make a decision, they had taken direct action against the Miracle Merchant Guild and Ny Sar, believing it would pressure Lynd into relinquishing Lys. By the time the Triarchs were aware of the situation, it was too late—and worse, they couldn’t openly condemn these actions without undermining their own authority.
"It was not my decision," Alios said, offering what little defense he could.
"I know," Lynd replied evenly. "But have you considered the consequences? Does Volantis intend to go to war with me?"
The weight of the question hung heavy in the room. Alios felt the pressure emanating from Lynd, but he forced himself to hold firm. Drawing a deep breath, he countered, "It is you who seeks war with Volantis—and with the Free Cities."
Lynd let out a small chuckle. Reaching into a nearby box, he retrieved three documents and placed them on the table. "I occupied Lys, Tyrosh, and Myr with the formal approval of their respective councils. Their ruling bodies officially transferred sovereignty to me through proper legal channels.”
"And Volantis? When you seized Lys, did you seek permission from its rulers? Did you possess any legal claim to govern? No. You have nothing. So tell me, on what grounds do you accuse me of starting a war with Volantis?"
Alios stared at the documents before him—the official decrees from three Free Cities acknowledging Lynd’s authority. The urge to tear them apart surged within him, but he dared not act on it. If he made any sudden move, the Holy Sisters of Salvation and the Silent Men standing nearby would strike him down before he could lift a hand.
He had already witnessed their strength firsthand when Nymeria passed through Volantis not long ago. The memory of their power still haunted him.
"Another thing—you’ve either made an unintentional mistake or a deliberate one. Volantis is Volantis, and the Free Cities are the Free Cities. They are not the same," Lynd continued. "Do you really think the Free Cities will stand up for Volantis? They won’t. Never mind Qohor and Norvos—Braavos would be more than happy to see Volantis, with its slave trade, burn to the ground. The only possible ally you have is Pentos, but would they dare send troops now? If they do, that gives me a perfect excuse to attack Pentos. And the Magisters there would never be foolish enough to hand me that opportunity."
Alios didn’t like what he was hearing, but he knew that Lynd was right. The Free Cities and Volantis had a long history of animosity, and even Pentos, the most likely to intervene, would rather watch Volantis struggle than lend a helping hand.
"They won’t stand by and let a Westerosi take the Disputed Lands," Alios said gravely.
"True, they don’t want me to rule the Disputed Lands. But what can they do about it?" Lynd sighed. "You and I have a decent rapport, so I won’t lie to you. I will not give up the Disputed Lands, and Volantis does not have the strength to take them from me. So instead of wasting time arguing over things neither of us can change, why don’t we talk about something more practical?"
Alios narrowed his eyes. "And what exactly do you mean by ‘practical’?"
"For example, the gem mines in the Disputed Lands," Lynd said steadily.
Alios’s breath hitched slightly. "You're willing to give up the mining rights?"
Lynd nodded. "Not just the gem mines—other mineral deposits as well. I’m willing to allow the Free Cities to mine them, but only under my conditions."
"Your conditions?" Alios asked, frowning.
Lynd, well-prepared, pulled out a written agreement and placed it in front of Alios.
Alios took the document and skimmed through it quickly before shaking his head. "These terms are far too harsh. There’s no way we can agree to this."
"No, they aren’t harsh at all." Lynd shook his head. "My people have done the calculations. Even under the terms I’m proposing, you will still turn a profit—just not as much as you might have hoped. But you’ll have a stable income every year, without the need to station personnel to oversee the mines, meaning you save on wages and commissions. In the end, every coin that reaches your pockets will be real, tangible gold."
Alios remained silent for a long moment, then picked up the document again. This time, he read it with far more care, going over key sections twice.
Finally, he spoke in a measured tone. "I will take this agreement back to them, but I cannot guarantee they will accept it."
Lynd nodded. "As a gesture of good faith, I’ll allow you to return with the Volantene fleet. Of course, some flagships were lost, along with a number of men—I trust you won’t take that personally."
A faint smile crossed Alios’s face. Though he had failed to reclaim Lys, bringing the fleet back intact was a significant success. It would certainly bolster his standing in Volantis.
