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Greywater Watch
🕑 Added 2023-02-01 22:12:29 +0000 UTCGreywater Watch
‘Moat Cailin is a ruin.’
Intellectually Harry already knew this. He had read all the books he could find that pertains to the North and had devoted a great deal of time learning about the strongholds and castles in particular. He knew that Moat Cailin had seen better days, that it was allowed to fall into ruin. Still knowing something and seeing it for yourself is different. The Moat served as the shield of the North against the South for millennia. It threw back invasion after invasion. With it the North could stand against armies made up of everything the South could throw at them.
Seeing the crumbling stone and three remaining towers for himself, only served to make him sombre. It only served to remind him of how much the Norths power had dwindled over the centuries. House Stark had ruled the North since men first started to come together in greater numbers, since they started to move away from the rule of clans and first started forming Kingdoms. His ancestors had built something truly extraordinary, conquered and kept the largest kingdom in Westeros. Fought off all outside invasions, put down all internal rebellions. They had forged a dynasty that was possibly the oldest in the world. A dynasty that was older and greater than any dynasty that existed in his old life. House Starks name had become synonymous with the North.
They had ruled for so long, kept the peace for so long that most Northerners couldn’t even imagine being ruled by someone else. Sure, there were still disagreements with bannermen. There were still rebellions to put down every few centuries. But compared to the southern kingdoms the North was united. The only major problems they had with bannermen were from the Boltons and from Skagos.
What do they have to show for ruling such a large kingdom for so long? One of the weakest Kingdoms in Westeros. Sure, they have probably the strongest fighters on the continent but they lack the numbers to make their military a true power. They have the most land but they lack the people to truly take advantage of it. They have less gold than all the other kingdoms and what gold they do have goes into feeding their people during winter with hardly anything going towards investing for the future or maintaining what they have. It is no wonder that what was once a magnificent fortress has been eroded into ruin.
House Stark lacks the power to truly have a hold on Skagos. Yes, they have conquered them before and could do so again easily enough. There’s no way to could enforce House Starks hold on them after leaving though. There’s no way to really extend his will there. House Stark has dominion over them in basically name only. He would have to work to fix this. He would have to expand their navel power, their army and administration.
He has already started on the navel power. Their administration needs a lot of thought though. It would be something important for future generations. He can’t change it carelessly. He has to carefully think through how he builds it. There’s also only so much he can change as it is. He lacks the power to truly change any laws. That power lies with the King. So for now Hadrian has no choice but to forget about any large changes and the ones he does make has to be done with a certain amount of subtlety.
The military power is the most difficult however. The best thing would be to train an army from the ground up and have only one army for the entire North. An army that only answers to House Stark. The problem is his bannermen. He has a feeling some might have a problem with this. He has no doubt he could convince many of them. Many of them have kept faith with House Stark since they swore fealty to them. If he words it in the right way and gives a just cause for changing the military, many of them would probably grumble but would accept his decision. The problem lies with the Houses who would use it as an opportunity to either cause chaos or to sow discord among his bannermen and his house. The biggest problem lies, once again, with House Bolton.
Harry massaged his temples while thinking about that particular headache as he passed through the Northern Gate into the stronghold itself.
House Bolton have lead almost all the rebellions there have been against his house in the history of the North. Hadrian has no doubt that they would probably be the leaders of rebellions again. Maybe not in his lifetime, but eventually they would. Why his ancestors never seemed to end their threat and were content to have one of their more powerful Lords constantly ready to betray them, he will never understand.
Harry still remembers the look in Lord Boltons eyes from when he met him for the Harvest Feast in Winterfell. Looking into his eyes told him all he needed to know about the man. There was not a shred of warmth to be found there. They were as cold as the most frigid winters. Even when he looked at his son there was not a spark of emotion. Harry knows those eyes. They are the eyes of a psychopath.
Unfortunately dealing with house Bolton isn’t so simple. Harry would like nothing more than to get rid of Roose Bolton. The problem is Domeric. Harry cares for his cousin, he really does. He might not be as close to him as he is with his Stark cousins, only seeing Domeric once or twice a year when their grandfather brought him to Winterfell to visit, but he still considers him family. So even if he does get rid of Roose Bolton, House Bolton will probably still be a problem for his descendants.
Sometimes Harry curses his grandfather. He loves him, as he is family, but he knows he can never truly trust him. Rodrick Ryswell is ambitious, he cares about House Ryswell above all else. That in itself is not a bad trait to have, as Harry cares about House Stark above all else. The difference is that Rodrick doesn’t seem to care about his family’s happiness as much as he does about advancing his ambitions, as can be seen by the fact he married his daughter Bethany, to Roose Bolton of all people. That’s not something he can agree with, his families safety and happiness is his primary concern. So while Harry can respect his ambitions he cannot help but be wary of the man, after all he must have known what he was doing marrying his daughter into House Bolton when he already had one married to House Stark.
Shaking his head clear of his morose thoughts and vowing to start making plans to separate Domeric from his father in the future, Harry examines the courtyard of the moat with a sigh.
The courtyard is probably in even worse condition than the towers. There were holes in the ground all over the place, what few places that still seemed to be smooth weren’t level and there are all sorts plants shooting up out of every crevice. The worst was the wooden keep, which had been rotted away and is missing completely.
Harry shook his head, there is going to be a lot of work needed for this place.
Before he can delve into thoughts and ideas on how to start fixing the fortress he is spoken to by Ser Rodrick, who is leading the two hundred guard escort he has taken with him on his journey. “My Lord, where would you like to stay while we are here?”
Casting a glance around what he can see of the fortress Harry finds it isn’t a difficult question to answer. “We will take the Gatehouse Tower. Don’t let anyone enter the Drunkards Tower, I don’t trust it not to fall on our heads. Also send eight men with horses to scout for any trouble. Two men must go North, two to the Northeast, two to the Northwest and two must ride along the Fever River to the West. Hopefully that should give us enough warning if anything happens.”
Looking to the knight to make sure he understands, Harry only continued speaking once he received a firm nod. “Excellent. I am going to retire for the night Ser. Please have my supper brought to the solar on the top floor of the tower.”
Ser Rodrick gave his assent. “Aye my Lord. When will Lord Reed be arriving?”
He climbed off of his horse and removed his riding gloves while answering. “He said he would arrive within a few days of us. Not sure exactly when. Hopefully we won’t have to wait too long for him.”
Sir Rodrick just grunted. “Aye.”
After that Hadrian started walking into the Gatehouse tower followed by three guards that Ser Rodrick assigned to him for the moment. While the knight started barking orders to the rest of the men.
Line Break----------------------------------
Howland Reed arrived the next day. According to the guards he seemed to have just appearend in front of the gate at the Southern end of the fortress as if he was a ghost.
Harry isn’t sure whether Howland is just that naturally sneaky, the guards weren’t as aware of their surroundings as he hoped they would be or if Howland Reed used magic of some form to cover his approach. As far as he is concerned any of the three could be a possibility. Crannogmen are naturally sneaky due to traversing the marshes and swamps where they live while staying hidden to hunt or avoid predators. Hs guards aren’t at the level of competence Harry would like yet, while they are all individually skilled, many of them lack discipline that Harry would expect from professional soldiers. As far as magic goes, Harry knows very little of what it can accomplish beyond warging and some old legends that may or may not be real examples of magic.
Upon meeting the lord, Harry still can’t find an answer. Howland Reed is a small man, so small some might mistake the lord as a child upon first glance. He only stands a bit over a head taller than Harry himself. Were it just that then he wouldn’t feel there was anything special about the man but his height. But the first time he came face to face with the Crannogmen he knew he didn’t waste his time on this journey. Harry could feel the subtle aura of magic around the man.
It was weak. Incredibly so. In his last life, Howland Reed would be classed as a squib, able to perform the most basic of magic, like potions, but little else. In this life however, he is the only person Harry has met who he can say without a doubt has magic and practices it. While his power in magic is much less than his uncles or even his young cousins, it is much more refined. While his uncles have stronger magic than the Crannoglord, probably due to their bloodline, it means little as they have received no instruction.
Hadrian was just happy that he didn’t waste his time coming down to the Neck. He was so happy in fact that he accepted Lord Reeds offer of leaving for Greywater Watch immediately.
Now during his third day of traversing through the neck Harry can’t help but think he may have miscalculated. He was only able to bring Ser Rodrick with him and had to leave the rest of the guards at Moat Cailin due to the fact that The Neck is dangerous to traverse and Lord Reed isn’t able to watch more than a few people at a time. They had to leave their horses behind and were forced to walk on foot with only the supplies they could carry on them. The march through the neck was slow so far, with them taking winding trails that twisted and turned in all directions while fighting off mosquitos and other insects the whole time. They were forced to sleep in trees a few times to avoid the lizard lions and on top of that it rained the day before. It can be safe to say that he was having a miserable time.
Harry pushed through though. If he can learn even a little bit about how magic works then the journey would have been well worth it.
Harry stepped over a small puddle in the middle of the path while grumbling under his breath. He doesn’t think he was being quiet enough however, based on how Lord Reed looked at him with a frankly infuriating smirk on his face. “The worst part of the journey is over my lord.”
Before he could question what the Crannogman meant, Lord Reed pulled on a rope that was tied to a tree next to one of the many rivers he had seen. Harry could see the rope pull taught before he noticed a small wooden boat making its way slowly towards them.
Next to him Ser Rodrick released a small breath and a muttered. “ Thank the Old Gods.” Harry couldn’t help but agree.
With a deft movement of his hand Lord Reed untied the rope from the tree and gestured for them to get on. Harry wasted no time in hopping onto the back of the boat and sitting down with a tired groan. The boat wobbled slightly when Ser Rodrick stepped onto it, but otherwise it remained remarkably stable for what he would expect of a boat this size.
Lord Reed hopped onto the boat with a single agile step that didn’t seem to disturb the balance of the boat at all before speaking to them. “I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to keep your hands inside the boat, unless you want a lizard lion to take it. “
Harry was happy to comply. At this stage he was just happy to be off of his feet. Three days of trekking through the marsh would probably tire most adults, for his childish body it was almost torturous.
He took the opportunity to close his eyes and get some rest. He found himself drifting off almost immediately.
“-Stark. Lord Stark.” He was woken by Ser Rodrick shaking his shoulder while calling for him.
“Mmph.” Was his articulate reply while he sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He then stretched his hands above his head while releasing a small groan at how stiff his back was. Sleeping curled up on his pack on a small boat was the definition of uncomfortable.
After he was good and awake he spoke again. “What is it Ser?”
Ser Rodrick answered in a voice filled with amusement. “Lord Reed says we are nearing Greywater Watch my Lord.”
Lord Reed didn’t look back from the front of the boat where he was paddling with a small oar. “You should be able to see it from just around this bend my lord.”
Now more wide awake because they are finally reaching their destination Harry looked at the bend that Lord Reed had described eagerly. He needn’t have reacted so quickly as while the bend wasn’t very large in itself, the boat was moving at a slow pace and he had to wait for a minute or two looking at the greenery around him.
After they had taken the bend however, he couldn’t help but release a small gasp at the sight in front of him. There was a small lake, surrounded by trees on every side with flowers of every colour blooming on them rising high up into the air. The water was tranquil, the only thing disturbing it was their boat and the boats of a few other Crannogmen who were paddling towards the centre of the lake, from various other streams and rivers on all sides. In the centre of the water rested giant structure that Greywater Watch was found. Just like the legends and myths said, the castle rested on the water held into its position by some means that he wasn’t able to glean.
The castle wasn’t the largest he had ever seen. In fact, compared to Winterfell it was small. The castle only took up a portion of the floating structure however. Surrounding the large wooden keep in the middle were hundreds of smaller homes that he could see people entering and exiting. Now that he got a chance to have a closer look he could see there were even more ramshackle homes all around the lake, that looked like they were designed to be able to be taken down and moved in a moment’s notice while simultaneously blending into the trees surrounding them. All in all, it was a very impressive picture. Harry was sure that some magic had to be involved in keeping the structure floating, he doesn’t think wood would be enough to keep a structure that large above the water and even if it is, it would require the wood to constantly be replaced due to rot. As they got closer he looked out for any signs of rot on any of the wood. He just got more excited when he couldn’t find any. As Harry stepped off of the boat onto the small dock next to the wooden keep of Greywater Watch the sun began to set. In front of his eyes, thousands of lightning bugs began to appear, it was still too light out to appreciate the sight in all its majesty, so he promised himself he would return later to watch them.
Lord Reeds amused voice knocked him out of his wide eyed wonder. “Not what someone thinks of when they picture a floating castle in the middle of a marsh is it?”
Harry looked back at the lord with a smile. “ No, it most certainly is not.”
After a few moments Lord Reed gestured for us to follow his lead up to the gates of the of the keep itself. “Come, I’m sure you are hungry after the journey. “
Feeling his stomach growl Harry rushed to follow with Ser Rodrick on his heels.
Line Break-------
Harry was sitting in the main hall of Greywater Watch with Lord Reed, his wife Jyana abd her infant baby jojen as well as his young daughter Meera. He had ordered Ser Rodrick to rest for the evening, trusting in Lord Reed’s guards. The knight was taking his dinner in his room and was getting some well-deserved rest after our journey. The hall wasn’t very big. It was probably a similar size to his chambers at Winterfell. It was nice though, it had a much warmer and more informal feel to the dinner than eating in the Great Hall at Winterfell. Even the food was good, a smoked trout that was caught earlier that day and was therefore incredibly fresh. Harry didn’t release before now how much he missed the taste of fresh fish. They rarely got fish at Winterfell and when they did it didn’t taste too great due to being on the road for weeks before it got to them. This convinced him that he would have to find a way to get fresh fish to Winterfell faster.
Even the company was pleasant. He missed his family but he had to admit to himself that he liked the Reeds. Howland was a typically quiet man, he seemed perfectly content to sit in silence just watching the world around him, but when he spoke he demanded Harrys full attention. Generally because he had something important to say. He reminded Harry of his uncle Ned. He can see why Ned refers to Howland as a friend. Jyana was a warm woman. That’s the best way Harry could describe her. She seemed to always have a true smile on her face and she practically radiated kindness. She seemed to live for her children, her eyes held this spark every time she looked at one of them.
Meera was also a delight. The young girl was a very curious child, unafraid to ask questions. “What is Winterfell like? Father says its ten times the size of Greywater Watch but that can’t be right. No castle can be that big. Ooh, or is it true that the Starks ride Direwolves? Shelley, the old lady who runs the fishery says they are bigger than horses and that the Starks have whole packs of them. Ooh or is it true that-“
“Meera.”Her mother chastised. “ Why don’t you give lord Stark time to answer your questions?”
Harry couldn’t help but laugh. “It’s all right my lady. I think it’s cute. To answer your questions Meera, Winterfell is indeed a massive castle. I don’t know how much larger it is than Greywater Watch but ten times seems like a good number. Unfortunately we don’t have Direwolves but maybe we will have them one day…”He trailed off wistfully. Yes, he definitely has to make a plan to get Direwolves. He is a warg, so he should be able to train them.
“How are you liking Greywater Watch my lord?” Jyanna brought me out of my musings with a soft smile.
Hadrian couldn’t help but smile back at the woman. “It is a lovely castle my lady. Unlike anything I have seen before.”
She laughed softly. “I’m glad you like it my lord. I’m happy our home impresses you so.”
He laughed. “That it does. I will admit I was expecting it to look more run down and aged like Moat Cailin. I will admit this is a pleasant surprise. It has a feel to it, like it’s almost magical.”
She smiled slyly. “There are many secrets hidden in the swamps of the neck. Greywater Watch is just one of them. Isn’t that right Howland?”
The man looked up from his food long enough to give an answer. “Aye, my people have lived here for thousands of years and the swamps are still teaching us lessons. I have no doubt my children will learn lessons from it that I myself am unable to teach.”
He could feel his curiosity rise at their implications but decided it to let it rest for now and continued to enjoy his meal. After the meal was finished Lady Reed ushered the children to bed and left me alone to speak with Lord Reed.
The man stared at the flames on the lantern in the middle of the table for a few moments in silence before speaking. “You know I think this is the first time a Stark has been to Greywater Watch in thousands of years. It might be the first time since House Reed first swore fealty to the Starks. Why did you decide to come my lord?”
Harry answered smoothly. “A great failure on their part, my lord. How can I ever hope to rule a people that I know nothing about?”
He looked up from the lantern into Harrys eyes. ”A good answer, aye. But a half-truth nonetheless. ”
Harry stared at the man impassively while inwardly he was impressed. It seems he underestimated Howland Reed. He was hoping to stumble upon magic while he was here and then ask for lessons afterwards. It seemed he now had little choice but to confess to hisreasons beforehand. “To learn magic.”
He sat back. “Before I can give you an answer to the question of magic, I have one of my own. What is your ambition my lord. What is it you fight for?”
I thought of the question. It was a surprisingly difficult one; I wanted to think my answer through. I found the answer came more easily than I expected it to. “For my family and for my heritage.”
He scrunched up his eyebrows. “Your heritage.”
Harry shrugged his shoulders and emphasised. “OUR heritage. Weirwood trees are becoming more and more rare as the centuries pass by. The North gets less and less powerful. Magic becomes weaker and weaker. I seek to protect what is left. To fight for it. It is our birth right. The Old Gods are the gods of our ancestors. I am the Stark of Winterfell. The North has long been the home of the Old Gods. I MUST fight for them! For what is left of our culture before we are stamped out!”
Lord Reed had an approving glint in his eyes. “Magic has long been weak in the world. Much and more of it has been lost.” He straightened up. “We still have a few tricks however. In the morning I will teach you what I can.”
Harry felt a smile come onto his face. “Thank you Lord Reed.”
He bowed his head. “It is an honour my lord. Now if you do not mind I would like to get some rest for tomorrow.”
Waving him away with a nod he stood to head to his chambers.
Harry paused in his steps to ask about something that was bugging him. “You didn’t seem shocked when I stated my intentions to learn magic, why is that my lord?”
He just smiled. “I might not be the most powerful when it comes to magic, but I can sense it just fine. All Starks are powerful my lord. But you? You blaze like a hundred Weirwoods.”
Before Harry could ask him to clarify what he meant, he was already marching out the room.
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Next Chapter : Thursday 9 February.
