Geek's Guide to Thriving in a Low End Fantasy World ( Robert Baratheon OC SI AU)

[Samael61]

Robert Baratheon, through a deal made between King Aerys and his leal cousin and Lord of Stormlands Steffon Baratheon, is exiled to the Free Cities for 5 years at the age of 18 for almost managing to attack Crown Prince Rhaegar Targaryen for the broken betrothal between himself and Lyanna Stark.

Rhaegar Targaryen, fixated on the Prince-That-Was-Promised, convinces his father to marry Lyanna Stark, rather than wait for his eldest sister Shaena to come of age.

Negotiations between Lord Rickard Stark, Lord Steffon Baratheon and King Aerys Targaryen saw the betrothal between Robert Baratheon and Lyanna Stark broken, with the promise of a royal marriage for Robert, which is rescinded after his attempt to assault the Crown Prince.

A year after Robert Baratheon's exile to the Free Cities, news unbelievable reach the Seven Kingdoms.

A Dragon Rider, by the name of Eredin Bracc Glass appears in the Free Cities, selling his services for gold.

Four years after the appearance of the Dragon Rider, and many failed attempts to bring him to the Seven Kingdoms, Robert Baratheon returns, just in time - unbeknownst to him- for the celebration of his younger brother being declared the heir over him.

 

[Samael61]

Hello there,

If you enjoy my stories you can read advanced chapters in my patreon

Geek's Guide to Thriving in a Low End Fantasy World is four chapters ahead there.

You can also check out my other stories in my page.

Her Eternal Excellency, ( Raiden Ei reborn as Argella Durrandon) a Genshin Impact and ASOIAF crossover, which is also four chapters ahead.

Commander Shepard, The Greatest to Ever Live, which is three chapters ahead.

Also I will create a poll on what to write next, so don't forget to join my page.

Thank you in advance.

---

Winds of Glory
Merchant Ship Heading to Braavos
Narrow Sea
Robert Baratheon's Cabin

Matt lurched out of his bed, breathing heavily, and immediately patted his chest, checking himself for any wounds.

When his hands were unbloodied, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Just a stupid dream" he thought, as he made to take of the covers and rise, only to see a worn looking blanket instead of his Star Wars one. He looked around, taking his surroundings. He was in a wooden room, with no sign of any of his belongings.

"What the hell is going on" he jumped out of the bed before slapping his mouth with his hand after hearing his voice, which came out more forceful then he intended.

Turns out, it was because his arms were large and muscled, which he sure he didn't have before.

Matt began to hyperventilate. What the hell was going on? Was someone kidnapping him? But then why did his arms look like that?! And where the hell was he?!

His eyes darting around, he searched for a mirror or a shiny surface so he could take a look at himself. There wasn't anything he could use in the room, but he saw a bag at the corner. He darted to the old, dirt looking, primitive sack, something you would only see in a medieval fair or a video game, and untied the knot, searching for anything that could help him. He kept rummaging around the sack, which was filled with armor of all things and took out the breast plate- which was shiny enough for his needs- and choked on his spit.

This was not his face.

This wasn't any face he knew of.

Black hair, blue eyes, a shaven, handsome face.

He dropped the breast plate, and rubbed his eyes. "Perhaps this is a dream?" he began to mutter. Did that mean he was dying in the hospital? Or was he alread dead and this some sort of purgatory?

His muttering was cut short, when someone knocked on the door, freaking him out. He backed off to the wall, only the step on the breast plate he dropped and fall.

"Ser Robert, may I come in?" queried a voice, with an accent he was sure he never heard before.

Robert who? he thought, unsure who the man was calling.

Wait, could that be name of the owner of this body?

He called out " You can come in", to test if this body's name was Robert.

A short, middle aged man entered, his hair just beginning to grey, and gave a shallow bow with his head.

"We will be making landfall soon Ser, you best get ready. Also, here" he handed out a letter to him " Captain told me to give it to you" finishing his piece he left.

Matt blinked, looking at the letter in his hand. The envelope was yellowish, with a red wax seal. He looked closer, noticing the stag that was the seal and opened the envelope.

He took the letter and turned it around. The paper was the same kind with the envelope. Seeing nothing else to do he began to read.

---

To my son,

Robert you utter fool!. I knew I shouldn't have sent you back to Eyrie when you returned for your ten and fourth nameday. You learned nothing from Lord Arryn about controlling your impulses and attempted to attack the Crown Prince, YOUR OWN COUSIN, over a damn girl, one that I only betrothed you to because of Lord Arryn's insistince.

You are lucky that King Aerys and I are good friends and family, or your head would have rolled because of your own stupidity. Learn to actually control yourselves in the next five years, or Gods help me I am going to send you to the wall.

I don't wish to hear a single rumour about you messing something up coming to me, or there will be consequences.

Also I will be sending you gold through traders, enough for you to get by.

Your Father
Steffon Baratheon, Lord Paramount of Stormlands

This Steffon Baratheon was really angry, he thought as he touched the ink blot on the paper.

"Wait a minute" he though, Steffon Baratheon, as in the father of Robert Baratheon, the whoremongering drunken King of the Seven Kingdoms?

Who this body just happened to share the same name with, and the looks now that he thought about it, before something clicked.

"Fuck" was the only thing that came out Matt's mouth as he realized just what kind of shitheap he was in.

---

Free City of Braavos
Docks

Matt walked out of the ship, dressed in the medieval clothes the original Robert had, with his armor in a sack and his hammer hanging off his back, a pouch full of gold coins he hanged around his neck with a thin rope he fuond, moved in a daze.

God, he was stuck in a freaking fictional planet, with ice zombies, dragons and a myriad of other horrible things that could kill him, exiled to a city he knew nothing about, with a pouch of gold that would last him for who knows how long.

At least he knew how to read and speak the language, otherwise he truly would have been fucked.

What the hell did he do to deserve this, he wondered. Sure, maybe he spent more time with comics, movies and games than with people, but he was good at his job, didn't do anything bad to someone who didn't deserve it and always tried to be a nice person.

He was so furious and so deep in these thoughts, he did not react as he walked to a man.

"Watch where ye're goin!" a shout brought him out of his daze and Matt turned to the source, seeing a man who got up off the ground and was going to get up in his face, before he saw Matt's size - along with his furious look- and thought twice, backing off.

Thinking against walking anymore, he looked around and saw the sign of a tavern, or what he hoped was a tavern, whats with the mug and all.

Walking inside the half full place, he spied an empty table and sat down as the tavern maid came up to him. He was pretty sure they didn't have whisky, so he just ordered a mug of ale and chicken.

He usually didn't like drinking but in the medieval age, it was a good way of preventing death by disease, seeing as the concept of public health was nonexistent.

That and he needed something to drown himself in.

His food came and he dug in, he didn't have an appetite, but didn't know what else to do.

First thought that came into mind about what to do was to go and hide in a hole for 5 years, hopefully avoiding anything that could kill him.

But what was he going to do after he returned to the Seven Kingdoms? Apologize to the Targaryen's and beg for forgiveness? For some reason, he detested that thought.

Don't go back and hide in the said hole for the rest of his life? He didn't have anything to do while hiding, no movies, no comics, no games, no TV, no modern music. He would go mad in a day.

Maybe go back but stay away from the Royal Family and anyone else that had anything to do with them? That though too went out the window when he remembered the part about Rhaegar Targaryen being his cousin, and he was now the heir of a Lord Paramount, which meant this was not feasible.

"If only I had dragons" he thought. After all, barring the usage of magic - which was almost nonexistent in the Seven Kingdoms- and the plot armor of Dorne, the only thing that could kill a dragon with ease was the Night King.

Which he hoped he wouldn't have to face at all.

But it's not like he knew how the Targaryen's and the Dragon Lords of Valyria created dragons.

A thought came to Matt's mind, his mouth open, his fork paused in mid air.

He might not know how to create dragons, but he knew how to hatch them thanks to Daenerys Targaryen.

Most importantly though, he knew where to find dragon eggs.

Matt resumed his early lunch, thinking of how to get those eggs. He would have to find out if he still had Robert's muscle memory, because he sure as hell didn't have his mentality when it came to fighting, and he wasn't sure if he simply wouldn't just freeze from fear and die like an idiot.

---

Free City of Bravoos
Outskirts

Turns out he did have Robert's muscle memory, and strangely, the more he hit the tree with his hammer, less stressfull he felt, as if enjoying it.

But this still didn't mean he wouldn't freeze in the middle of a fight because of fear. He had no intention of getting to a fight to test it out.

Unless, he fought something else than a human, like say, a boar. Just like the og Robert liked to do.

Smiling he took out his armor and began to put it on. He wasn't going to go out like a certain someone.

Which took him a bit of time, muscle memory helping but it turns out a full plate armor wasn't easy to wear by one's self.

---

Matt dodged to the side, his mind focused on the boar as it missed and thrust the tree branch he fashioned to a spear, driving it into the boar's chest, killing it.

"Hah!!" exclaimed Matt, as the boar kept twitching, last impulses firing before it ceased.

He did it! He managed to kill the boar and avoided being gutted by it all without freezing. Which made him thoughtful again.

Did that mean he had Robert's warrior mind? He had his memories, sure, but he didn't feel his hatred nor his fury towards the Targaryens.

But he didn't like them either, though he wasn't sure if it was because of Robert's feelings affecting him to a degree, or because Westeros was a terrible place, even by the extremely low standards of Earth's medieval age.

He didn't know, and he didn't care.

Right now, the only way for him to survive without being a laughingstock of the Seven Kingdoms was to get his own dragons.

He went back to the city, searching for a way to get to Pentos and find Illyrio Mopatis.

And steal his dragon eggs because he didn't think Illyro would just hand them over like that.

If he died while attempting this? Well, better than dying to ice zombies and turned into a freaking undead.

---

Matt calls himself Eredin Breacc Glass, because he is a gamer at heart, and Eredins armor design is really cool. And he is going to need an alias untill his exile ends.

You will see a lot more references to games and other fictional universes, because he is a geek, and he has the chance to use them as he wants without being weird.

 

[Samael61]

Hello there,

If you enjoy my stories you can read advanced chapters in my patreon

Geek's Guide to Thriving in a Low End Fantasy World is four chapters ahead there.

You can also check out my other stories in my page.

Her Eternal Excellency, ( Raiden Ei reborn as Argella Durrandon) a Genshin Impact and ASOIAF crossover, which is also four chapters ahead.

Commander Shepard, The Greatest to Ever Live, which is three chapters ahead.

Also I will create a poll on what to write next, so don't forget to join my page.

Thank you in advance.

---

Free City of Pentos
Manor of Illyrio Mopatis

Matt has been observing the place for a week, trying to devise a plan to get into the manor unnoticed and somehow find and steall the dragon eggs. He noted the patterns in the rotation of the guards, there was a small gap when the guards changed, just giving him enough time to climb over the wall and sneak into the manor, by prying open a window.

Thankfully, Robert was really strong, and he was reasonably sure he could pry open a window.

The problem was the location of the eggs. He was sure a man like Illyrio Mopatis just wouldn't display the eggs like a trophy, so he must be hiding it, probably in the basement of the manor.

He had no way of acquiring that information, so he was going to have to search the place, probably without getting caught or having to kill someone.

Come night, he would begin his attempt.

This would either be the beginning of Robert the Dragon Lord or Robert the Corpse.

---

Free City of Pentos
Manor of Illyrio Mopatis
Night Time

Matt watched, hiding in the bushes, as the guards rotated, giving him the oppurtunity he needed. He rushed to the wall, launching the toothed hook he bought, and rushed to climb.

He climbed to the top and using the rope again, he landed gently to not make any noise, and immediately sprinted to the nearest window, checking around.

So far so good.

He jammed the thin metal plate he had at the base of the window, trying to pry it open.

"Seems it's not that easy" he thought as he failed to pry open the window.

His eyes widened when he heard the footsteps, which got louder as they came closer.

"Damnit" he muttered as he desperately tried to open the window. His relief was palpable as he heard a click, quickly lifting the window and sneaking in, just in time as the guards passed his location.

"That was too close" he thought, as a he sighed in relief. Maybe he should have practiced with some other windows before.

He took in his surroundings, which as expected of a man of Illyrio's standing was lavish and luxurios, walls filled with paintings and other art pieces he was sure were worth a fortune, golden busts of him and other expensive looking decorations.

Which were worthless compared to the dragon eggs, in his opinion. He trodded carefully, searching for the way to the basement, checking doors one by one.

Some were the quarters of the servants, others guest rooms. He walked out of the rooms and moved into the courtyard, and found the door he was looking for.

Hopefully.

There weren't anyone around so he moved, getting closer to his target with everystep.

Hopefully, again.

He stopped when he saw the lock on the door, which he was sure he did not have the tools or the knowledge to just pick. Retreating, he hid in the shadows again, trying to think of where he could find the key. The only person that could have the key to the basement of Illyrio Mopatis' manor, would be Illyrio himself, he thought.

And he had no idea where to find his room.

He went back inside, not willing to stand in the open for too long.

Which backfired when he came face to face with a servant, whose eyes widened in panick and almost screamed.

Just as panicked, he did the first thing that came to the mind and clamped his hand over her mout and wrapped his arm around her neck.

"Don't shout or I'll kill you!" he threatened, not sure if he could follow with the threat.

The servant, in fear stopped squirming, tears welling in her eyes.

He pulled her along till he found a storage room and entered inside.

He was thinking of what to do with her when he had an idea. He could question her to learn where the key to the basement was, or failing at that she could point him towards Illyrio's room.

"Listen well" he whispered " I'll ask questions, and you will answer, if you do I won't harm you. Nod if you understand"

She nodded frantically, "Does Illyrio have the key to basement?" a nod was his answer.

"I'm removing my hand, don't shout" he threatened as he put the knife he had to her neck, the action making him queasy, but he knew he had to.

"Where is his room?"

"U-upstairs, t-the big door at the e-end" she hiccuped "Please don't hu-urt me, I have children, please" begged the maid.

"You do as you are told and I won't harm you, now are there any guards there and if so how many?"

"T-two guards"

He was not going to take on two guards head on.

"I'm going to tie you up, someone will find you by the morning, if anyone asks just tell them I tied you up to not be discovered, don't tell them about me interrogating you or you will get in trouble"

Tying her up, he moved upstairs and observed the guards from around the corner.

Two sleepy looking guards, obviously tired, but still awake.

How did this part go in stealth games again? Lure the guards, knock them out, get in.

He moved back and made some noise, which alerted the guards, as he heard one of them mutter and move towards him.

He waited as the guard came closer, and he felt .... strange. He wasn't afraid, rather, he felt strangely focused, as if he was on a hunt.

The guard turned around the corner, investigating the source of the sound, and Robert struck, hitting his neck hard enough to knock him out and catch him before he fell and made more noise.

"You alright there?" whispered the other guard, as he too came closer, making his job easier. Robert waited right around the corner, and just as the guard was turning the corner, he moved fast and socked him right at the jaw, knocking him out with one hit. Dragging him next to the other guard and making sure they were as concealed as they can be he entered the room.

Thankfully, the door didn't creak like a cliche movie scene.

He watched as the cheesemonger slept, with who he assumed was his wife.

Seeing they were sound asleep, he searched the drawers and they were empty, but to his surprise he found a small statue of Valyrian Steel, which he took because fuck it, he would need every piece of it he could find because of the damn zombies.

He looked under the bed, which while there were boxes, he didn't think he would go to the trouble of hiding it there.

Where would someone hide a valuable key?

Turning to the bed, he looked at the sleeping couple, which did make him feel like a creep, but forged on.

Gently putting his hand under Illyrio's pillow, he searched for the key. His hand touched something he was pretty sure the key, but Illyrio was sleeping right on top of it and he did not want to risk waking him up.

Perhaps he could turn him over closer to his wife?

Deciding to gamble, he gently took the womans hand and put it over Illyrio, hoping he would instinctively turn over to her and he could pick up the key.

Luck would have it, he did turn, and he made for the key once more, and gently pulled key.

His luck ended there, as Illyrio grumbled in his sleep and Matt froze, key still half under the pillow.

His trepedition turned to fear as the cheesemonger rose.

Matt pulled the key and laid perfectly still on the ground, as Illyrio turned and looked back with sleepy eyes, but didn't see anything.

He went back to sleep when he saw his wife's hand over him, happy even as he was sleep addled.

Matt waited for what felt like hours, but in reality only a few minutes, not even daring to breathe too fast and once he was sure Illyrio was asleep, stealthily made his way to the courtyard.

Only to see two guards conversing, right in front of the basement door.

Wonderful.

He took a pebble from beneath shrubbery and throw it back, and the guards turned back to investigate.

Lightning fast he reached the door and unlocked it before slipping inside and locking the door behind him. Thankfully there were lit torches, so he didn't have to worry about walking in the darkness.

As he took a torch and walked down, he was impressed by what he saw. Statues of gold and marble, boxes filled with gems and what not, finely crafted weapons of all kinds, expensieve looking silks and other fabrics.

It was just what he imagined the basement of a rich medieval merchant would look like.

Taking his eyes off the impresive amount of wealth, he searched the basement for the eggs.

His search came up empty, which confused him. He wouldn't just hide the dragon eggs in plain sight, right?

Thinking back to his games, he began to tap the walls, which took him quite a while but he did find a wall that made a hollow noise.

Which just happened to be between two torches. He hoped the eggs were there as he pulled the right torch, and the wall rumbled open.

Well, well, well, he said to himself. It wasn't just eggs, but ancient scrolls that he did not know the language of, another piece of Valyrian Steel, which he quickly pocketed and the target of his search.

Three dragon eggs, that in the original timeline would go to Daenerys Stormborn Targaryen as a wedding gift.

Stifling the desire to laugh like a madman, he took the box, closed the door by pushing the torch back and quickly walked to the exit.

Which had more guards at the entrance right now.

"Fucking wonderfull" he thought.

He couldn't find any way of getting past through them, so he opted to wait.

Matt almost fell asleep by the time guards opted to leave. He only moved out when he couldn't hear them anymore and went back to where he entered the manor, quickly throwing the toothed hook and climbing out, the egg crate secured on his back.

He repelled down the other side and took of just in time, as he heard a distant shout of "Intruder".

Running like his life was on the line , which it was, he took to the side streets, moving randomly to throw off any potential pursuer and made it to the inn he was staying at. Taking the eggs out and hiding them inside the big pouches he acquired before, he put them under his cloak and knocked on the door.

Giving the man a gold coin before he could say anything, who simply moved aside and let him in, he went to his room and after putting the eggs beneath bed, and locking his door and securing with his hammer, and lay down, only falling asleep when the adrenaline finally left his system.

---

After hiding out in the tavern for a couple of days, he found a caravan heading back to Braavos, and took up work as a guard. He had already decided where to hatch and hide the dragons while they grew up, so it was simply a matter of making it back to Braavos.

On the road back to Braavos, just as he was going to relax a bit, he heard a screech. Thinking it was a bird or something, he ignored it but still had a bad feeling.

"Dothraki!" shouted one of the caravan masters, as twenty or so riders galloped towards them. He was surprised at this, because as far as he knew, Pentos had good relations with the Dothraki Lords, and they had no need to raid the caravans.

The guards organised, putting themselves between the caravan and the Dothraki and Robert did the same. Thankfully he was in his armor, and the Dothraki weapons weren't good enough to breach his armor.

He was nervous, the guards were only half the number of the small raiding party.

Suddenly his nervousness was gone, replaced with a roar of challenge in his head, as the guards galloped forward, unwilling to just take the charge.

Matt's new horse, which he had spent quite a bit of gold to acquire and named Shadowfax because no one could stop him from doing so, galloped forward, as something took over him.

Robert yelled " Come you horsefuckers!" at the head of the guards, and when they were close enough, hit the unarmored Dothraki, using the length of his hammer to his advantage, so hard his chest caved in and he was launched back, unhorsing the rider behind him.

Turning around, he watched as the Dothraki did the same and they were at each other again.

Robert ducked, as the swing of a Dothraki missed his neck and the Dothraki fell of his horse as Robert held out his hammer to the side.

Blocking the bronze kopesh with his steel vambrace, which slid of and hit his pauldron, he answered with the hooked side of his hammer, ramming it to the riders head, killing him.

He surveyed the engagement around him and saw one of the guards defending himself against two Dothraki and rushed to help, killing one with a strike to the head, which distracted the other and allowed the guard to stab him on the neck.

"BEHİND YOU!" the guard he just saved shouted and Robert turned back, seeing three Dothraki riding towards him with screeches.

Robert picked up the Dothraki killed by the guard, who still somehow was on his horse, and threw him at the Dothraki, his strength and fury ensuring the thrown corpse took out two of the riders, he galloped towards the last rider.

Because of the short distance he did not have the time to gear up for a good hit, so he did something he probably shouldn't have.

He jumped of his horse, right at the incoming rider, who couldn't react to the unexpected move in time and went down.

They hit the ground and Robert pulled his knife and stabbed at the Dothrakis neck, but the wild man managed to block his arms in time.

As they struggled, Robert roared, dropped the knife, held and pulled the Dothraki's arms back and headbutted him, his helmet leaving the man dazed, before he began to rain a flurry of blows on his face.

Each hit shook the rider, each hit brought him one step closer to death, before Robert began to squeeze his neck. The Dothraki struggled feebly, but he couldn't do anything as Robert choked the life out of him. His attempts ceased when he went still, his throat having been crushed as tears of blood dropped from his eyes.

---

Rising with a smile splitting his face, he watched as the Dothraki retreated, their raid a failure.

This is what he lived for he thought, before the battle lust was replaced with revulsion and he emptied out his stomach on the Dothraki.

 

[Samael61]

Hello there,

If you enjoy my stories you can read advanced chapters in my patreon

Geek's Guide to Thriving in a Low End Fantasy World is four chapters ahead there.

You can also check out my other stories in my page.

Her Eternal Excellency, ( Raiden Ei reborn as Argella Durrandon) a Genshin Impact and ASOIAF crossover, which is also four chapters ahead.

Commander Shepard, The Greatest to Ever Live, which is three chapters ahead.

Also I will create a poll on what to write next, so don't forget to join my page.

Thank you in advance.

---

Braavos

A Cave



Turns out, Dothraki horses - and horses in general- were worth a good amount of gold, as he managed to sell the 5 horses that was his part of the loot, while giving up the other three to be given to the families of the dead guards, for hundred gold dragons.



He also took one of the riders he knocked out as a prisoner, claiming he wanted to interrogate him. The members of the caravan looked at him weirdly, but he managed to drag the rider along long enough.



After returning to Braavos, with no other distraction on the way, he found a cave, big enough, secluded, away from the city far enough he did not have to worry about someone finding him by accident but close enough to go there by horse without leaving the dragons unattended for too long and most importantly, considered cursed by the population so they avoided it.



Which made it the perfect place for him to hide while the dragons grew up enough to ride, seeing as he did not have an army to protect himself and the dragons, and he would have a giant target on his back as soon as the dragons were revealed.



So he was going to hide here, for a year most likely, while hunting to feed the dragons and himself, and only buy the essentials with the money he had.



Including something to drive away the bugs that lived in the cave, because he did not want to die to a venomous bug of all things.



After making sure the cave was secure, and putting his supplies in a dry place, he went and lit a bonfire, finally ready to begin.



What he was about to do did not sit right with him, not at all. But the alternative was worse so he was going to do it.



Looking at the wild man, who glared at him with loathing, he went and took out his flask, filled with Milk of the Poppy and tried to make the man drink.



When the man kept resisting, he lost his patience and punched him till he was out, then simply showed flask in his mouth, forcing him to drink.



If he was going to kill a man by burning him alive, he might as well make it as painless as possible.



Fanning the flames, he waited for a while, letting the drug take effect. Finally, he couldn't take it anymore, the wait making him feel worse and worse, so he dragged the man to the raging bonfire and threw the man.



The action made him almost empty the contents of his stomach but he forced himself to turn away. Taking the eggs, he tossed them to the fire as well, blocking his nose and mouth with his arm so he wouldn't have to smell the burning flesh.



He kept waiting, all the while feeling regret over the death of the Wildling, but he did not know whether the eggs required a human or any live creature to hatch, and he did not want to try to find out.



If it turned out they need a human sacrifice to hatch, then it would be hard for him to find a human he was willing to burn alive in Braavos.



He was brought out of his musings when with a sound akin to a small caliber gun going off, the eggs hatched and three dragons flew out of the fire, looking around and finally setting their eyes on him.



One blue, one red and one golden dragons watched him, while he stood there with his mouth open. Quickly coming to his senses he scooped the dragons up to his arms, shouting in joy.



"Suck it world!! I haaaaaaaaave dragons baby!" echoed out his sound as he kept jumping around the cave while the dragons squaked in confusion.



They were going to need cool names.



Finishing his celebrations he gave the dragons a whole leg of ham and proceeded to put out the fire and clean out the burned remains of the Dothraki, burying it to avoid predators.



When he finally went back to the cave, he saw the dragons sleeping, curled around eachother, next to a bone, only thing remaning of the ham. He sat and watched the dragons in wonder.



HE HAD DRAGONS!!! he squealled internally like a little girl, his joy enough to make him forget how he hatched the dragons.



Now, all he had to do was to name them.



Should he choose something Valyrian? No, he might have the blood, but he didn't see himself as one.



Something like Stormterror or Goldfury? Too edgy he thought.



A memory came to his mind, of a card game he played long ago. He remembered the wins and losses as he dueled with other players, each pack he bought with his allowance opened with unmatched exhiliration.



Of gods and monster battling it out.



Yu-Gi-Oh.



And what do you know, the color of the dragons happened to fit the color scheme of the three of the strongest cards. One of them wasn't a dragon, but whatever. Who besides him was going to know?



He made up his mind about the names, already thinking of how to train the dragons.



So he spent a year in the cave, only going out when necessary, to hunt, to wash and to buy essentials from the city, things he couldn't acquire from mother nature. He sold the pelts of the animals he hunted, earning him a bit of coin, which when used sparingly with his already existing funds, was enough for him.



He also had a saddle crafted for him when the time to ride the dragons came. He had ample time, so he designed one himself, with each part commissioned to different craftsmen to avoid anyone asking questions about why he would need such a big saddle.



He did a bit of market research too, searching for ways to earn enough gold to last him for a life time, should he need it. One idea that came to him was horse trade.



They were used both in military and civilian life, so there was no shortage of demands for horses. While he didn't have the capital to start a horse business, he knew where to get large amounts.



The Dothraki.



They were basically discount Mongolians and more horses a Dothraki Khal had, stronger they were. The idea was simple, kill the Dothraki horde with dragonfire, and take and sell their horses.



Execution of it, he thought, was going to be more complex. He needed workers to gather and herd the horses after he dealth with the Dothraki, who also would have to loot their bodies for any valuables.



He also needed to find someone rich and willing enough to buy thousands of horses at a time. He wagered the Sea Lord of Braavos would be interested, after all, if he had all these horses, he could have monopoly on one of the biggest markets in the whole world. But he would have to negotiate with the man, so nothing was set in stone yet.



He also had another idea.



The Free Cities were constantly theratened by vast Dothraki hordes, and paid them tribue, whether in slaves or in gold to stave off any raid.



Appealing to their pride and offering his services to Pentos and other cities to clean out the Dothraki, while simultaneously looting them and selling their horses to Braavos for gold?



If this worked he could amass a fortune in a couple of years.



However, for now his daily life was more simple than that.



He worked out in the cave as best as he could to keep in shape and avoid losing muscles, put primitive traps around the cave and the surrounding area to create an early warning system after an unfortunate event, just to make sure no one would stumble on him by accident again.



As for the dragons, they grew up well, though they were disgruntled - evident by their huffs and hacking at him- because he did not allow them to fly at daytime to avoid detection. They could only fly at night, bar the full moon.



Their training was both easy and difficult. They were intelligent, incredibly so but they were also willful and could be stubborn. He trained them like he one would train a dog or a cat, with rewards, which he meant he would let them hunt in the forest since they seemed to like it.



Obelisk, the blue one, was headstrong, and could be really aggressive, was the leader. He was also a bit larger than his brothers



Slifer, the red colored dragon, was like the calm before the storm, docile and relaxed one second, vicious and deadly the next.



Ra, his golden dragon, was playfull, liked to hunt more than his brothers, and was the smallest as well as the fastest of the three.



Now, while he did pick some Valyrian whenever he visited Braavos, but he did not know it well enough, or had the desire to, teach them to respond to Valyrian commands. Instead, he used a language only he knew at this world.



Latin.



He learned a good amount to impress that one girl in the university, but nothing came out of it. Now, he taught Obelisk, Ra and Slifer, who he named after the Egyptian God Cards, to respond to Latin commands, to ensure the Targaryen's couldn't use Valyrian to tame them.



That thought strangely pleased him.



Which brought him to the biggest problem he faced.



Robert Baratheon, the original owner of this body.



Or at least, what remained of him. His desires and emotions were still somewhere inside him, and they certainly didn't make life easy for him. His thirst for alcohol, his hatred for the Targaryen's and his desire to take revenge on them reared their ugly heads at the most unfortunate of times.



He resisted however, he did not know when he would have to dive into his savings, and he wasn't going to spend any coin on expensive wines.



He only bought enough to ensure he would have clean drinking water, by mixing it with the water he gathered from the river.



As for the Targaryen's, long as they didn't step on his toes he would stay away from them, if he ever returned that is.



He could always go and retire to the Summer Isles.



A tropical paradise, whose population worshipped a Goddess of Love and were pretty open about their desires? It was like Rubicun III from Star Trek TNG.



There were worse places to retire to.

---

Matts Cave

1 Year and 4 Months Later



The day had come. He was giddy like a child on Christmas Eve.



The only difference being instead of getting a gift like the newest iPhone or getting a cutting edge laptop, HE WAS GOING TO RIDE A FREAKING DRAGON!!!



First, he took a bath, shaved his beard and mustache, had a good breakfast and took out his armor and hammer,



He assembled the saddle, and managed to put it on Obelisk after bribing him with food. Stubborn lizard.



It was not something designed by a master, but it would do for now.



Donning his armor, he got on Obelisk, who despite his earlier playing hard to get, seemed to be excited about getting to fly on daytime, while Ra and Slifer looked restless.



Holding the reins, he took a deep breath, "Volare!" shouted in Latin. Obelisk beat it's powerfull wings, taking to the sky immediately, followed by it's brothers.



Matt held the reins in a death grip, his eyes shut, one side scared of falling, the other felt nothing but exhiliration. As Obelisk stopped it's climb and started to fly lazily, gliding in the air, he finally decided to open his eyes.



The sight was breathtaking. Forests strecthed out for miles, and they were high enough he could see the Narrow Sea.



"YEEEEEESSS!" he screamed, barely stopping himself from throwing his hands in the air in celebration. "SUCK IT WORLD, I AM RIDING A FUCKING DRAGON" His shouting was replaced with the pure and utter joy of his laughter, while his dragons roared out in response to his glee.



HIS DRAGONS!



He stopped laughing like a madman eventually, though he was still smiling from ear to ear. Testing out some of the other commands he taught them, like, "Ignis" while pointing at a lake to avoid starting a fire, the trio dived, and bathed the river in flames, vast amounts of steam quickly rising from the surface.



Flying around till nighttime, and savoring every moment of it, they landed on the empty patch near the cave with " Portum".



Soon as he was off the dragon, he went and hugged his face, " You wonderful, wonderful creatures. I love you three so fucking much" while Ra and Slifer came to offer their heads for hugs too.



The only way this moment could be cooler if he had some epic background music to go with it.



It was good to be him.

 

[Samael61]

Hello there,

If you enjoy my stories you can read advanced chapters in my patreon

Geek's Guide to Thriving in a Low End Fantasy World is four chapters ahead there.

You can also check out my other stories in my page.

Her Eternal Excellency, ( Raiden Ei reborn as Argella Durrandon) a Genshin Impact and ASOIAF crossover, which is also four chapters ahead.

Commander Shepard, The Greatest to Ever Live, which is three chapters ahead.

Also I will create a poll on what to write next, so don't forget to join my page.

Thank you in advance.

---

Braavos

Matt's journey to getting rich started by flying over Braavos, his figure hidden by a metal skull shaped mask, - on the claims that he had a horrific scar on his face- and a cloak to avoid being recognized, getting the undivided attention of it's inhabitants and most importantly, the Sea Lord.

He introduced himself as Eredin Breacc Glass and after the pleasantries were exchanged, he negotiated with the Sea Lord, able to convince him to buy horses from him, through appealing to the merchant nature of the man, as well as the power controlling one of the backbones of the society would give him.

The deal was simple, he would get the horses, no questions asked by the Sea Lord, and he would buy them all. To this end he was given people to work with, workers who would herd the horses to Braavos, and men that would see to looting the Dothraki. He would keep the loot, and the wages of the workers would be paid by the Sea Lord, in return he would sell the horses below the market price.

The deal was shook, the plans were made, and then Matt made his way to the other cities, convincing their respective rulers that it would be more profitable for him to destroy the Dothraki once and for all and get paid for it, then keep paying them ransom forever. He asked that the deals be kept secret from the populace. His reasoning was he couldn't be everywhere at once, and if the Dothraki heard it, they may just raid the cities as revenge.

His real purpose though, was far more selfish. He simply wanted to get paid by as many of the cities as possible, all for doing the same work. After all there was no need to pay for a job, when others were going to do it anyway.

After two years, multiple Dothraki hordes burnt to ash, generous rewards from each city paid for it, horses sold, whatever gold and other valuable belongings they had - except for the Valyrian Steel accessories he had kept for himself, a ring there, a bracelet here- exchanged for gold dragons, and deposited to his account in the Iron Bank, discretely of course, he had three million golds in his account, though he had spent a bit, getting himself a mastercrafted armor. He was stuck between the designes, one of Sauron's armor, and one of Eredin's armor from the Witcher 3. He finally decided on Eredin's armor, seeing as he was using the Elf's name anyway.

He also spend a rather impressive amount, buying whatever Valyrian Steel objects he could find, which wasn't much because almost no one was willing to sell.

---

Of course, it wasn't all rain and sunshine for him.

Having dragons, beasts capable of burning entires armies on their own, came with it's fair share of problems. Everyone he met who had unmarried relatives tried to offer them as a wife to him, sometimes offering him more multiple wives, to tie him and his power to their families.

And the assassination attempts, which he had expected.

He avoided most of them by never staying in the cities, always sleeping in some secluded place, but there were some close calls.

Especially from the Faceless Men.

While their attempts were good, having dragons with him saw their attempts end in failure. Though, he had a close call, with the Golden Company of all things.

He was able to explore Braavos, as no one knew his face, he could simply throw a cloak over himself and go enjoy what Braavos had to offer. He made sure to stay away from drinking, no need to blurt out who he was in a drunken state, and pleasure houses, leaving nothing to Lady Luck.

A serjeant - thanks Martin, for your terrible sense in naming- belonging to the Golden Company, somehow had discovered his identity, though he did not have the oppurtunity to question the man on how.

They had drawn him to a trap when a little girl run up to him, asking him for help and running off.

"Such a cliche move" he had thought as he followed the girl with his horse, wondering who was targeting him. Seeing two dozen men belonging to the Golden Company, he regretted that choice.

Rather than stay and fight, he galloped his horse through the men barring his way and ran, the sellswords on his tail. He had drawn them outside of the city, to the place his dragons were staying, all the while taunting them to ensure they would keep pursuing him.

Soon as he was close enough, he whistled, a sharp sound which was answered by the roar of the dragons, which was when the sellswords realized what he was doing.

They tried to run, but he barbecued them all.

Knowing it wouldn't end there, he went to the headquarters of the Golden Company. He burned the archers they had, as well as half their Elephants, and threatened to end the legend of the Golden Company if they did not comply.

After questioning the commander- he had learned the serjeant that came after him was hired by some rich merchand from Braavos for protection, and they did not know anything about his plan to target him.

The merchant did confirm their story when he questioned him and he was inclined to believe him, if only because they would have sent more men had they known his identity.

He also questioned them on the whereabouts of Blackfyre, the Valyrian Steel sword of House Targaryen, lost after the death of Bittersteel. They did not know and the only information they had was it was somewhere in Pentos.

Which most likely meant Illyrio Mopatis, and he lost the chance of taking it, without even knowing.

But he wasn't going to give up so easily, he was going to have his magical sword, or the closest thing to it, and no one was going to stop him.

As such he decided to employ the Golden Company for this endeavor, free of charge of course, as a way of making up for the actions of their serjeant.
He told them about Illyrio Mopatis, and how he most likely was the sword's current owner, and instructed them to bring it to him and their slight would be forgiven.

He did not care how they did it, long as they did.

One other thing he did was sending the slaves he rescued from the Dothraki and sending them to Braavos, with some coin to ensure they could rebuild their lives.

While most were ordinary folk, amongs them there were some craftsmen, blacksmiths mostly, and a rare glassmaker or two.

---

Three and a bit over a half years into his exile, something extremely interesting happened.

He received a letter, not from Robert's family, because they did not how to send him one, nor his identity, nor from someone from the Free Cities.

It was from Aerys Targaryen, the King of the Seven Kingdoms and a lot more titles he did not bother to read. In essence, it was Aerys kissing up to the Dragon Lord Eredin Breacc Glass, offering him land, a keep, a princehood, his eldest daughter Shaena as a wife and a position in his court.

"If only he knew" he had wondered, "what would be his reaction?"

The thought kept amusing him whenever he remembered the letter.

His only answer to the Kingsguard that delivered the letter- Ser Arthur Dayne, the Sword of the Morning and Ser Barristan the Bold, who in his opinion was the best of the White Cloaks- was that he did not plan to leave the Free Cities for another year and a half, and would only visit the Seven Kingdoms then.

They had left in peace, though he could feel the remnants of Robert hoping they would start a fight for some ungodly reason, just so he could rearrange Rhaegar's bff's face.

Another year and a half spent in the Free Cities saw his fortune grow more, as the supply of horses were cut really low, he simply shifted his attention to other markets, mainly spice and arms.

Blackpepper, being a really important trade item in the medieval age of Earth, was much the same here, so there was always coin to be made from it, especially as no one in their right mind would think of attacking ships protected by a dragon rider.

And seeing as the Free Cities were always up in an arms race against each other, he did not lack buyers. War was good for business after all, though not for the values of a modern day person.

---

More so, he had couple more armors and weapons forged for himself, giving crude drawings he had to artists, having them redrawnto his specifics, each designed after different cultures of Earth, and other fictional universes, ranging from Samurai armor and a Katana, Bearded Axes, Scimitars, Spartan Shield and Spear and a Xiphos, to the armor and mace of Sauron , to the Stag Armor from the Guild Wars, - he could feel Robert's satisfaction at that- he had quite the personal armory.

Though, he was best with the hammer - curtesy of Robert- and sword, after he spent countless hours training, hiring the best tutors he could find.

Being rich was nice.

Finally, he also decided to learn magic, or ways of protecting himself from magic, and spent rather exorbitant fees on that.

He did not want to end up like the show Renly did, or burn his own daughter like show Stannis did. His success in this field was mixed, he did find some rituals supposed to protect him from evil intent, but he couldn't be sure of their effectiveness.

But, one of the sorcerers he consulted claimed the magic of his dragons, long as they were alive and bonded to him, would shield him to some degree from " the influences of the evil".

He couldn't question the man as he seemed to crash from whatever high he was in.

All in all, after deducting his spending, he had about four million golds, a massive fortune, seeing as if he remembered correctly, was how much the Targaryen treasury had after the rebellion.

---

Braavos
End of Robert Baratheon's Exile

Matt was getting ready to leave, his helmet removed in front of people for the first time in the last three and a half year. He had loaded up his most valuable belongings to ships and had them sail to Storm's End, while other things, such as the two Valyrian swords he had acquired and named after two of his favourite fictional swords, Stormbringer from Michael Moorcock's Elric and Nightblood from the Warbreaker series.

Sure, they didn't have any magical abilities, but at leastRobert was pleased about the names, especially the Stormbringer, owing to it's previous name before he had it re-forged. It felt good to have one over the Targaryens, especially as they were unaware of it.

His musings were cut short "Imagine my surprise at hearing that the Dragonlord himself had finally removed his helmet and it appears there is no horrific wound on him" came the voice of a man he got to know well over the last years.

He turned to the Sea Lord of Braavos, and offered a smile " Well, I just wanted to do a big reveal when I returned home, and didn't want to spoil the surprise"

"As you say, Lord Eredin, or should I say Lord Robert?" asked Ferrego Antaryon with his ever present smile.

"Robert is fine Lord Ferrego"

"You know, when I first heard a heir to a great house was in my city, I tried to learn more about you for possible business oppurtunities, but what I learnd wasn't flattering at all, so I never approached you. Knowing you as you are right now, either my information was faulty, or you went from a foolish and arrogant child to one of the most dangerous and rich man in the known world, all in the span of half a decade."

"Ouch" he exclaimed, putting his hand over his chest " that was hurtful my friend"

"That does not answer my question, my friend"

His smile waned and he looked away, watching the horizon.

"Before, I simply did not bother to use my head, nor did I care about being the best I knew I could be" turning to Lord Ferrego with a dead serious look, which he reciprotaed " Now, I care very much about it"

Their showdown was interrupted, when "Hah!" exclaimed Lord Ferrego, a rare thing for a composed person like him and held out his arm" Go well my friend, and may your coffers always be full, and may the waters bring you profit"

Taking the offered appendage with a grin " May we meet again, for even more profitable ventures", put on his helmet and took of.

His destination?

His possible future home.

 

[Samael61]

Hello there,

If you enjoy my stories you can read advanced chapters in my patreon

Geek's Guide to Thriving in a Low End Fantasy World is four chapters ahead there.

You can also check out my other stories in my page.

Her Eternal Excellency, ( Raiden Ei reborn as Argella Durrandon) a Genshin Impact and ASOIAF crossover, which is also four chapters ahead.

Commander Shepard, The Greatest to Ever Live, which is three chapters ahead.

Also I will create a poll on what to write next, so don't forget to join my page.

Thank you in advance.

---

Storm's End
Stormlands
Seven Kingdoms
Night Time

By the time he reached his soon-to-be home, it was night time and there was no moonlight, which made him basically invisible. He considered his options, whether to simply land on the courtyard and do a big reveal, or something that, in his opinion, was more fun.

Choosing the latter, he directed his dragons to the Durran's Point, where, in another life a certain smuggler would bring in much needed supplies to the besieged castle through the cave.

If a man with a ship could get through a blockade and navigate the dangerous waters, his dragons, with their night vision and agility could do the same much easier.

Landing inside the cave, kicking up dust and gravel, his dragons sniffed the air, searching for any dangers. They relaxed after finding none and he jumped off Obelisk's back with a thud. Changing out of his armor into overall blacks with a cloak for stealth, he picked up his bag and moved through the cave, avoiding the murderholes, getting through the bars and portcullis' - thanks to Bobby B's memories- he made his way to the final gate, which should have had two guards there at all times.

Using the trick his father taught him all those years ago, he opened the gate and continued. The reason for the lack of guards became evident as his eyes widened from the cover of the shadows.

They had guests.

A lot of guests.

Dragons, wolfs, lions, trouts, falcons and even the roses filled the courtyard.

What the hell was going on? A tourney perhaps? But for what?

He wasn't going to find an answer standing around, so he decided to move to his old room, discretely of course.

Stalking the halls, avoiding the guards and servants he made his way to his room. It was locked, so he used the skills he had acquired after the problems he faced in Illyrio's manor and picked the lock. The room was pristine, left just as he remembered from Robert's memories. Locking the door back, he laid on the bed, for the first time in so long, without having to wory about someone slitting his throat in his sleep.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Next Morning (Only Robert will be used from now on)

Robert woke up, well rested, stretching on the bed. Ahhh, how nice it was to finally sleep in peace.

It was noon and he had slept for longer than he intended in the comfort of a bed. He was famished and made his way to the kitchens after making sure the coast was clear. Dressed in plain clothes, he mingled among the flurry of servants and workers moving around, rather than trying to evade them as it was basically impossible.

He kept his head down, walked with a purpose and no one bothered to stop him, as they were too busy. He picked up bits and pieces as he walked, about how today had to be perfect.

For what, they didn't spoke of.

Reaching the kitchen, all the skills he acquired in the Free Cities proved their use once again while he snatched some bread, cheese, meat cutlets, olives - thank god- and a jug of water, all unnoticed.

"Brotherhood of Assassins got nothing on me" he thought as he made it safely back to his room. Washing his face and having his brunch, he simply opted to wait untill the feast began. He did some reading, drew some more armor and weapons and just spent time well into the afternoon. He stopped when the people occupying the courtyard, nobles and their attendants mostly, began to return inside.

Changing to what he called his offical clothes, he admired how cool he simply looked. He was dressed in a simple but elegant black trouser, black tunic with golden buttons and a golden embroidery on the chest area, a black scarf held by a really bright sapphire broch, and a black cape with golden edges and epaluettes, fastened on his shoulders with straps.*

He listened for noises at the corridor, finding no one he walked to the great hall.

This was going to be so much fun.

He listened from the stairs as things got quite down below. Which meant the guests were in.

Perfect.

Cracking his fingers, he took a deep breath and made his way down with a smile that would make any maiden blush.

Two guards were at the door of the hall, one of them holding out his hand to stop him with a commanding voice "Halt, who are .... you" which turned to a squeak at the last syllable as he noticed who he was.

His smile grew "Hello boys, everyone in yet?"

The guards looked at each other, what in the seven hells were they supposed to do?

"Well?" he asked at the floundering guards.

One of them finally found his voice and answered " A-ah, yes Lord Robert, everyone's in"

"Perfect now move aside" he said stretching his leg. Guards looked at each other and did as they were told.

Making sure he was ready, Robert kicked the door open, instantly attracted everyone's attention. Swaggering in to the Great Hall " Hello dear family and guests! Sorry for being late, you see no one told me we were having a celebration" his voice heard loud and clear by the gobsmacked occupants of the hall.

Oh, this was going to be fucking glorious.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

His entrance, which was friggin cool by the way, was met with disbelief from his family, surprise from the Targaryens, and confusion from the rest of the guests.

Turning to one of the servants " Fetch me a chair would you?" he asked, the man immediately rushing to find one. He walked to where his family was seated, observing the room in the meanwhile. There were a lot of Targaryens then there were in the cannon, the dead children of Aerys and Rhaella were here, all seated at the head of the the table with the King and the Queen.

Lannisters were there, Starks, Arryns, Tullys and even the Tyrells for some reason, as well as the stormlords.

"Steffon what is the meaning of this!? What is he doing here?" blurted Aerys.

"I do not know Your Grace" answered his father, as baffled as the King.

"Last I checked this was still my home, or am I not welcome here father?" with a grin, enjoying the situation.

"Of course you are welcome" said his mother (or Robert's mother? he didn't know anymore, so he just went along with it) who got up from her seat to hug her eldest son " Welcome home my son" followed by his grandmother (who wasn't mentioned a lot in the show or the books, but from the memories he saw how much Robert really loved his grandmother ), while his father was trying to explain the situation to the King and failing.

As for his little brother Stannis the Mannis, he was frozen in his seat.

Giving his mother and grandmother a gentle bear hug, " Ahh, it is lovely to see you two again. You two look radiant like the sun itself" he flattered them, feeling Robert's joy and happiness.

"Don't think for one second flattery means you're off the hook my boy" said his grandmother, Rhaelle Targaryen Baratheon with a wry grin.

"Oh well, nothing I can do about it" he quipped back.

The servant brough his chair and he sat between his mother and grandmother, and decided to put his father out of his misery.

"Calm down father, I thought I would surprise you so I snuck through the cave last night and was hiding in my room." he explained. His father turned to him about to say something when Aerys beat him to it " Did you forget you were exiled boy?"

"Which ended yesterday actually" he smirked.

"So what are we celebrating?" Robert asked while snatching a goblet from the table. The hall became deadly silent at this, while the faces of his family fell.

It was Tywin Lannister of all people who responded " We are celebrating your brother's ascension as heir and his marriage to Lady Lysa Tully, as well as the announcement of the royal marriages"

Robert froze, the cup raised midway for a sip, as he processed what he just heard. The original's fury was apoplectic, almost drowning him in it, but he resisted it.

He didn't really care about the whole heir thing, he could always retire to the Summer Isles after all, but he wanted to soothe the original and an idea came to him as he watched the Tullys, who just happened to have Petyr Baelish, or Littlefinger as he was so affectionately called.

The same man who caused so much trouble in the original plot, leading to thousands of death all the way from Robert's Rebellion to the War of the Five Kings.

Also the man who Lysa Tully rode like a horse while he was drunk after being rejected by her sister Catelyn Tully, and got pregnant, who was then aborted when Hoster Tully gave her moon tea.

A devious grin appeared on his face and he quickly forced it into more solemn look and turned to Lysa Tully and raised his cup.
"Congratulations my Lady, truly you will find no man more dutifull and responsible than my brother. I also would like to offer my condolences to you"

If Stannis wasn't confounded by the unexpected praise from Robert, he was when Robert offered his condolences and asked "What for?" finally talking to his brother.

Robert tilted his head, acting confused " Why, for the child she had to abort of course. Truly a tragic tale, the man she loved in love with her sister, so she went and gave her maidenhead to him while he was drunk and got pregnant but had to abort the baby"

The rest of the hall gasped at the accusation, already whispering amongst themselves about the scandal.

At their disbelieving looks he simply responded with " Oh dear, did Lord Tully not tell you his daughter wasn't a maiden anymore?" with an innocent look on his face, as if he truly did not know the truth.

Look" he pointed at Baelish " she also brought the would-be-father. Tell me Littlefinger, are you here to rob us like you were doing to Gulltown?" which incensed the Arryns, being the rulers of Vale.

The whispers increased at this, some hands pointing to the Royal Family who supported the match, wondering if they knew.

Petyr did not react physically to this only responding with " I do not know what you mean My Lord, I did no such thing", with his annoying smile, as if he truly did not.

In another life he could have been a good mummer.

"Ohhh, you know, the brothels, falsifying the books, generating alternate revenue streams, smuggling, all those things, are you here to do the same?" he asked keeping up the act.

Robert turned back to Lysa, whose face was teary at the reminder and hammered the final nail " Hopefully the abortion did not leave you unfertile My Lady, I heard it tends to be common if the baby was far along enough."

Lysa Tully burst into tears and ran out of the hall, confirming his words.

His father turned to Hoster Tully, who looked like a fish out of water at having his secrets out, a thundering look on his face, barely stopping himself from shouting but glaring holes into the Lord Paramount of the Riverlands " Lord Tully, the betrothal is broken as far as I am concerned and you will pay for your duplicity." he grinded out.

Hoster, along with his brother and son quickly left the Hall, while Catelyn looked ashamed.

Opps.

The Starks and the Royal Family were glaring at him so he decided to take advantage and fan the flames further " Why do you glare at me so? It's not like I did anything bad, unless" he acted as if he realised something and added " unless you already knew and are just displeased at me for having disclosed it"

"Absolutely not, we would never be a part of something like this!" vehemently denied the King, clearly offended.

Rickard Stark's answer was more calm " You insinuate this simply to insult us for the events of five years ago"

"That is not a now and I am not the one offended by these accusations Lord Stark. Also your house is no stranger to marrying disgraced woman, after all dear Ned here is raising the bastard daughter of his brother and the woman he loved as his own."

Ashara Dayne, who in the ogt slept with Brandon Stark - couldn't be Ned because he was too honorable to bed a maiden before marriage - at the Tourney of Harrenhall and got pregnant (with the glares she gave Brandon Stark, he wagered she did much the same in this timeline) had thrown herself off a tower after hearing the news of her brother's death, coupled with the miscarriage, was alive and well, and looked like a deer caught in the headlights, losing control and blurting out " How did you" before stopping herself.

Bingo.

The original was pleased at seeing his foster brother, the man who pulled a sword on him five years ago, squirm in his seat.

"You bastard!" howled Brandon Stark, rising from his seat, ready to confront him.

"Sit down you mangy mutt, you're a guest here, you can't do anything to me without staining the honor of your house further" Robert drawled, waving his hand in a dismissing gesture.

Brandon looked like he was about to jump over the table and rush at him, before his father's glare stopped him cold.

"That's a good boy" praised him Robert as if he was a dog, throwing a whole leg of lamb at the Stark heir saying " Here, catch!" before he could stop himself, to the horror of his own family.

The Stark heir completely lost it, ignored his father and actually jumped over the table, running at him full speed with a savage cry. People rose to stop him, but Robert wasn't phased at all. He simply picked up a heavy, circular tray from the table, stretched his hole arm back and threw it like a frisbee, cutting through the air and nailing him right on the forehead.

Coupled with Brandon's speed and Robert's strength he went down like an sack of potatoes, bleeding from the forehead.

The whole room descended into a pandemonium, the Starks and their retinue shouting at the Baratheons, his family returning it in kind, the other guests openly gossiping and judging while the King tried to calm everyone down and failed.

He simply leaned back and watched the chaos untill "Cease this in the name of your King!!!" shouted Gerald Hightower, the White Bull, and the Lord Commander of the White Cloaks, cutting through the cacophony, silencing the room.

Buzz killer.

"All of you sit down and stop acting like rowdy children!" ordered Aerys slamming his fist on the table, and no matter how much they wanted to continue they couldn't ignore their King so they settled down.

He kept eyeing the room, daring anyone to so much as make a peep, before his eyes landed on him " You found this funny boy!?" he thundered.

His families pleading eyes told him to say no.

The troublemaker inside him wanted him to say yes.

His answer was obvious, as his grin grew even more, threatening to split his lips and answered a simple "Yes"

Aerys sneered at him " Exile will be the last of your worries boy" he threatened as he and the rest of the Royal Family got up to leave.

His father, with a grim expression and tired voice simply asked him " Robert, what have you done?"

Bummer, he didn't even get to the part about Rhaegar wanting Lyanna for the prophecy and ruining their relationship, or Jaime and Cersei's incestous relationship.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Great Hall quickly dissipated, everyone either returning to their quarters or quickly getting ready to leave. Brandon Stark was taken to the Maester to ensure there was no damage to his head, so the Starks were going to be around for a while.

His family quickly retreated to the Lord's Solar, besides his father who left to mollify the Royal Family.

Their disappointed eyes already told him what they were going to say.

His mother, rubbing her forehead " I had hoped you would have grown in your time away, but nooo, you simply came and caused even more trouble for yourself"

"Calm down mother, it will be fine, father made Stannis - who stiffened at this- the heir so I am going to leave, father can just say he banished me or something." he explained, unconcerned about the whole thing.

"You think that will be enough Robert? They will want your head, or send you to the wall at the least" added in his grandmother. " The Starks are allied with the Tullies and Royal Family , who you also angered, and two of the princes are set to marry Tywin's and Mace's daughters, which would make five of the seven kingdoms allies. Tell me, my boy, what will you do when, not if, they come after you?"

Robert grinned.

"Dear grandmother, the answer to that lies in the caves beneath us, and believe me they are really terrifiying answers. So terrifying in fact, they won't even think of coming after me"

His father bursted in at that moment, looking livid, and slammed him to the wall he was leaning on.

"You fool! I have spent the last five years trying to save your life and stop you from being sent to the wall, and you go and piss on that in an instant, WHAT IN THE SEVEN HELLS IS WRONG WITH YOU!! Challenging the Tully's were one thing, but doing the same to the Royal Family and the Starks?! Did you leave your wits in the Free Cities?!! Answer me!!"

He did not, which only enraged his father further.

With a yell of rage, Steffon Baratheon pushed him back, snatching a goblet from the table and drinking it in one go.

"I talked with the King, you will be given a sham trial tomorrow. You will apologise for your actions, including attacking Brandon Stark, agree to forsake your position as the heir and go to Vale with the Arryns. Lord Jon has agreed to appoint you as the Knight of the Gate."

"This" he turned turned to him, still furious" is your only chance, or they are going to send you to the wall, and I cannot keep you alive if you are at the other end of the seven kingdoms, surrounded by the bannerman of the Starks."

"Don't worry too much father, come tomorrow, they are going to swallow their words and apologize to me instead" replied Robert with a cocksure grin.

Steffon Baratheon groaned in pain.

Where had he gone wrong?!

 

[Samael61]

Hello there,

If you enjoy my stories you can read advanced chapters in my patreon

Geek's Guide to Thriving in a Low End Fantasy World is four chapters ahead there.

You can also check out my other stories in my page.

Her Eternal Excellency, ( Raiden Ei reborn as Argella Durrandon) a Genshin Impact and ASOIAF crossover, which is also four chapters ahead.

Commander Shepard, The Greatest to Ever Live, which is three chapters ahead.

Also I will create a poll on what to write next, so don't forget to join my page.

Thank you in advance.

---

Storm's End

Robert's Quarters



Robert woke with a yawn, stretching his arms. He got up and looked outside, the sun was shining brightly, birds were chirping in a choir, and he had a trial to get to.



Wonderful.



He stayed up late with his parents, talking about (meaning they interrogated him) where he was, why didn't he send letter regularly, what was he doing etc.



He didn't even get the chance to tell them about the dragons. All the more fun for him.



Dressing up in a simple tunic and trousers rather than his extravagant outfit, he went down to breakfast, or breaking the fast as they called it.



Whatever.



On the way to the hall a voice, of the one that the og called a brother, stopped him.



"Are you happy now that you have shamed me and my wife in front of the Seven Kingdoms? " asked the cold voice of the Silent Wolf, solemn Ned Stark.



Robert turned to him with deliberately slow moves " Ned, how nice to see you! I am sorry we could not talk yesterday, I was too busy. So how are you?" he replied, grinning, as if he didn't ruin his reputation yesterday.



Eddard Stark narrowed his eyes " Do you feel satisfied now that you have your vengeance?" ignoring Robert's small talk.



"Vengeance?! Oh, Ned, I am really hurt. I did not do it for vengeance, I simply wanted the world to recognize the" he stopped there, searching for the correct word " injustice you have been dealt with. I mean, marrying the woman you loved who got pregnant from your brother? You have my condolences Ned, truly you deserved better." with a shit-eating grin, his every word insincere as it can be.



Eddard Stark closed his eyes and took a deep breath, " Ashara made a mistake, one she regretted immensely and you had no right to expose it like that."



"Well, next time you're forced to something humliating to cover up for your brother, I'll be sure to keep my mouth shut" he turned around, heading to hall.



"Everything that will happen to you today, you only have yourself to blame" was the last comment of Ned Stark.



His grin getting even bigger, "On the contrary Ned, I only have myself to congratulate for everything that will happen today" barely stopping himself from bursting in laughter.



Entering the hall, he saw his father talking animatedly with the King - who glared at him when he entered and he winked in return- and Tullys, who for some reason were still here. His mother and grandmother were with the Queen and Princess Shaena, while Stannis was busy glaring holes into the Tullys.



He choose a balanced breakfast of cheese, meat, eggs, bread, and veggies, diving into it with gusto. His body required a lot of calories and protein to maintain it's shape after all.



Not wanting to deal with the Targaryens before he even had his breakfast, he went and sat with the Arryns.



"Jon, Elbert. Good morn to you both!" he greeted them, jubilant at seeing his foster father and brother, who got up from their seats to greet him. Putting his plate on the table, he hugged the both before they could utter a sound, ragdolling them around a bit.



They gave him strained smiles, " Awww, it's like you both aren't happy to see me" he commented.



"We are happy to see you my boy, we, however, are not happy about the trouble you landed yourself into" explained Jon Arryn,Lord of the Eyrie Defender of the Vale and Warden of the East.



"Pftt, it is fine, you don't have to worry about that." he waved away their concerns, turning to the Lady seated next Elbert. " And the stunning Lady here is?"



"My wife, Lady Carolei of House Waynwood."



Lady Carolei was beautiful, with brown locks, warm eyes and smile and a round face, dressed in the colors of House Arryn and Waynwood.



"A pleasure my Lady, surely Elbert here is lucky to have wed a beautiful maiden like yourself" while giving a shallow bow.



"Oh my, thank you my good Lord. I, too, am lucky to have a honorable person like your foster brother as a husband" she replied, returning his curtesy.



"Aww, now I feel bad that I missed your wedding" said Robert while taking his seat.



"Perhaps you shouldn't have gotten yourself exiled?" asked Elbert with an innocent tone.



"You know what, I'll make it up to you. How about a Valyrian Steel sword as a belated wedding gift?" he offered. They blinked owlishly at that.



"If you have a Valyrian Sword, should you not give it to your father, so your house can have an ancestral sword?" queried Jon.



"Well, I'm not the heir anymore, so I see no reason to do that, though I only keep them for show, I might just give one to father and one to you, what do you say?"



"Oh my, Elbert had mentioned you enjoyed japing" added in Lady Carolei, smiling.



"I'm not japing my lady, at least, not this time" he responded, returning her smile.



"Really? And where are your swords exactly?" asked his foster brother.



"In the cave beneath the Storm's End. I left them there with my dragons" explained Robert.



"With your dragons? Why, Robert, next you will claim you met a grumpkin" was Elbert's sarcastic reply.



"Oh please, I don't need magical wish granting creatures. My greatness is enough" proudly replied Robert, puffing his chest.



"And when can we expect to see your dragons Robert?" asked Jon, joining the banter.



"Well, I didn't feed them yesterday, so those grumpy lizards will come out soon enough for food." he winked.



Ahh, how wonderful it felt to have people underestimate him.



They were interrupted when the Kingsguard announced they would begin his trial and the servants began to vacant the room, clearing the tables in the meanwhile.



Soon enough, only the Royal Family, as well as the Great Houses remained.

Of the Royal Family, Aerys, Rhaella and Rhaegar were seated in the middle, while the rest were at the sidelines, watching. Houses Baratheon, Lannister and Stark were on the left of the Royal Family, while Tully, Arryn and Tyrell sat at the right. Only the Lords, their wives and heirs were allowed to sit, the rest standing on the sidelines with the remaining royalty.



He was on the middle of the hall, watching them, unbothered in the slightest, a cocky smirk adorning his face.



"Robert Baratheon, son of Steffon and Cassana Baratheon, you have shamed your House with your actions regarding the Crown Prince as well as your humiliation of the Houses Tully and Stark. What say you?" began the trial with the King's arraignment of his supposed crimes.



"Not guilty, I also fail to see what me trying to rearrange Rhaegar's face has to with anything, as I was already punished for it." he responded, without addressing the King with the necessary titles.



His father slumped on his chair.



"Just because you were punished, does not mean the stain of your action was removed. There is also the matter of you humiliating the guests of your house and assaulting the heir of another great house." butted in Tywin Lannister.



"Well, if the truth humiliated them, that is their fault, not mine. Also why should I be punished for exposing the duplicity of House Tully. It almost sounds like you wanted my dear brother to wed a woman as foolish as her." He pushed back, actually feeling bad for Stannis, one of the more decent man in the books and show, except the part about burning his daughter alive.



Hoster Tully was about to say something before Jon Arryn interrupted "My boy, we are not displeased about you exposing them, rather, it was how you did it presents a problem. You should have told the truth in a more private setting instead of doing it in the open. Things like that are kept secret for a reason, to avoid open confrontation and solve our problems more amicably." explained Jon in his teaching voice as Robert called it.



"I accept no guilt on that matter. Far as I am concerned I did the right thing" he dismissed them.



"Very well, the matter of Lysa Tully concerned your family, but the secret of the Stark's, you simply exposed it to hurt them because Lyanna Stark did not love you back" continued the King, changing the subject.



At this, Robert looked at Lyanna Stark, who was sitting next to Rhaegar in lieu of being the future queen of the Seven Kingdoms, ignoring her glare.



He snorted " I love her no more than Rhaegar loves her. I simply wanted to be good brothers with Ned Stark, nothing else."



"My betrothed loves me, unlike you, you brute!" snapped Lyanna Stark.



He rolled his eyes " Oh dear, is that what you think? Hedoes not love you, he simply believes you will give him a magical baby, The Prince-That-Was-Promised, who will bring the dragons back. Of course, he is wrong about that, as the one that would bring the dragons back won't be any child of his."

"You know who the Prince That Was Promised is?! Tell me!" demanded Rhaegar, speaking for the first time.



"Why would I tell you that?" asked Robert tilting his head.



"Enough! This is no place to talk about prophecies." declared the King, threwing a look at his son, who sat down in response.



Lyanna Stark seemed less certain about Rhaegar now, if the look she gave was any indication.



Hah.



"As for the Stark's, well, Ned was always like another brother to me, and I just couldn't bear to witness the injustice he felt, so I revealed the truth for everyone to see it" he explained with dramatics, acting as if he was really hurt.



Mace Tyrell, the not-so-fat yet rose joined the fray, trying to kiss up to the Targaryens by pushing him.



"And your attack on Brandon Stark, Lord Robert? True, he might have attempted to attack you, but he could have been stopped. You attack could have damaged his head, or seven forbid, kill him."



"I am insulted Lord Tyrell that you think so little of my capabilities as a warrior. Believe me the only reason he is alive, is because I did not deem him important enough to kill, and I wasn't going to be the one to break the guest rights by killing a guest" he pointed out.



"I am curious about one thing Lord Robert, how did you came to know of these events, you were gone for five years after all" opened her mouth Queen Rhaella, changing the direction of the conversation. "Were you spying on us?" she continued with an accusing tone.



Robert hmmed, "Well, no, not unless you can count the Dragon Dreams as spying on you" he explained.



Aerys bursted into laughter, joined by some of the other occupants of the wall. " You had Dragon Dreams? Are you sure you weren't simply drunk out of your mind?"



"We'll see who has the last laugh" thought Robert, annoyed at king.



"No, it was simply the side effect of hatching dragons and bringing magic back to the world. It simply affected me for a time, granting me Dragon Dreams" he explained.



Aerys's laugh intensified, as more joined him, while his father simply buried his head in his hands " You hatched dragons?! Perhaps we should make you the court jester rather than sending you to Vale to guard a gate"



"Wow, what an intelligent insult from an inbred discount elf. I am truly surprised." Responded Robert with his own insult,



The laughter instantly died, his father looked at him with dread.



Before the King could do anything a soldier burst into the hall.



"Y-your Grace d-d-dragons. T-there are d-d-dragons in the s-sky" stuttered the man in fear. The Arryns and his family besides his father turned to him with wide eyes, suddenly realising was happening, though he just made a shushing gesture.



With a cry of "What!!?" Aerys rushed out of the hall, followed by everyone else the trial and insult were suddenly forgotten



As everyone left the hall, he simply turned around began to walk leisurely to outside. After all, his dragons wouldn't land without him giving them a signal first.



Courtyard



The whole castle was gathered on the courtyard, with many at the walls, watching the dragons as they flew overhead in a circle, talking and pointing at them.



The Royal Family called them out in Valyrian to no effect, though they kept trying. It was a good thing he taught them Latin instead.



He ordered the soldiers to open the gates and walked out, as there was no place for the dragons to land.



Putting his fingers in his mouth, he whistled sharply, and the dragons responded with roars, suddenly diving towards him. He heard people at the walls cry out in shock.



His dragons landed with thuds, Obelisk at the front with Ra and Slifer at the back and approached him, huffing and grumbling.



"Oh calm down you big lugs, we'll go hunting in a minute, you can eat all you want then" he scolded them. Giving one last huff, Obelisk tried to lick him and he slapped his snout with a "Don't even think about it mister, you know that doesn't wash out"



Hiccup was right about dragon saliva it seemed.



Rolling his eyes Obelisk simply brought it's head forward, while his brothers did the same, demanding scratches.



No matter how big they got, they still wanted scratches from him.



Big, scaly cats.



He looked back at the walls, seeing the Royal Family looking at him with dread and disbelief, same as the Starks and Tullys.



Tywin Lannister had a grim look on his face, suddenly aware how much the power shifted in Robert's direction, while Mace tried to cover in, cursing himself for opening his mouth at the trial.



Elbert had his mouth open, while Jon looked like he was going to have a heart attack.



And finally, his family.



His father, suddenly realising why his son wasn't scared about the trial and his actions, took a deep breath, before slapping his forehead, remembering how he had been forced to remove him from the line of succession.



His mother was shocked like most everyone else, while his grandmother began to laugh, which went ignored by the stunned mass.



Stannis was frozen in his spot.



Renly looked at him and the dragons with wonder.



Mounting Obelisk, he took off, and landed in the courtyard, people moving aside, while Ra and Slifer lazily circled overhead.



He turned to the Targaryens and finally lost it.



He laughed for what felt like minutes, pointing at them with his finger.



"Five years of hiding my face, five years of avoiding people, and it was all worth seeing this look on your faces. If only I had a camera to immortalize this moment, I could die content." he spoke between bouts of laughter.



Obelisk huffed again, getting impatient. " Allright, allright, calm down" he ordered to his dragon and turned to Targaryens again. "Well, have fun suffering while I take my dragons for a hunt, because I definitely will enjoy it"



He took of with a "Vola!" laughing all the while, leaving behind the mentally and spiritually defeated Targaryens.



He did have the last laugh after all.

 

[Samael61]

Hello there,

If you enjoy my stories you can read advanced chapters in my patreon

Geek's Guide to Thriving in a Low End Fantasy World is four chapters ahead there.

You can also check out my other stories in my page.

Her Eternal Excellency, ( Raiden Ei reborn as Argella Durrandon) a Genshin Impact and ASOIAF crossover, which is also four chapters ahead.

Commander Shepard, The Greatest to Ever Live, which is three chapters ahead.

Also I will create a poll on what to write next, so don't forget to join my page.

Thank you in advance.

---

Storm's End

It took a while for the shock to start wearing off. Some of the gathered people, nobles and the royalty mostly, made their way inside, their thoughts in turmoil.

House Targaryen was the worst ones affected by the revelation. Dragons, the very creatures that made Old Valyria the strongest empire in the whole known world, that allowed Aegon the Conqueror and his sister-wives to forge seven petty kingdoms into a single united kigdom.

The symbol of the power of the house Targaryen was now in the hands of Robert Baratheon. The man they exiled five years ago, for attacking the crown prince over a broken betrothal.

Naturally, the state of the members of the Royal Family reflected the situation pretty well.

They all looked shaken to their cores, Aerys more than the others. He kept muttering "How?!" to himself, over and over again, ignoring everyone around him.

Crown Prince Rhaegar was shook too, however, for an entirely different reason. It was his child with Lyanna who was supposed to bring the dragons back so how did his cousin do it? What was it that he knew about the prophecy? Was he lying when he said he was wrong about his child being the prophesized saviour or could it be the truth?

Queen Rhaelle's mind was racing. What could they do to stop Robert Baratheon should he decide to make a claim for the throne? He had dragons, and while the Lord's might be loyal to them, it would quickly change when they faced the dargonfire, as their ancestors had during the conquest.

The rest of the Royal Family was no better, except Viserys who wasn't old enough to grasp the direness of the situation yet.

---

Tywin Lannister was analyzing the situation, trying to find a way to use it for the betterment of his House, coming up short of a solution.

He was aware his heir and son Jaime did not wish to rule but to gallivant around with his sword and had his daughter Cersei not been betrothed to Prince Daeron, he would offer Robert Baratheon her hand and lordship over the Rock, on the condition he took the Lannister name.

Alas it was not possible, and he did not have any other daughter to offer.

Jaime didn't really think much besides wondering how that idiot managed to hatch dragon eggs when the Targaryens couldn't do it for well over a century and a half.

Cersei was worried, however. If the Baratheon brute clashed with the Royal Family, her chances of becoming Queen once Rhaegar was dealth with would turn to ashes.

---

Hoster Tully, Lord of Riverrun and Lord Paramount of the Trident was beating himself for not educating his youngest daughter better. Had he, they would have been tied to the family of the man who brought back the dragons.

Now? Now they were in hot waters with the Baratheons after what he tried to do came out, and they couldn't do anything about.

Brynden "Blackfish" Tully, on the other hand had planned to teach the Baratheon boy a lesson, but that went out the window when he took off on a dragon.

Lysa was just sobbing quietly in a corner and Edmure did not know what to do.

---

Jon Arryn was, while bewildered at the turn of events, was quite happy for his foster son. He had worried about what would happen to him, berating himself for not taking a stricter hand in his education during his fostering at the Vale. But it seemed his worries were for nothing, as it would be a monument to foolishness if anyone, even the Royalty, tried anything to bring harm to him.

His manners and conduct as a noble still needed work though, as he had gained the animosity of half the seven kingdoms.

Elbert too felt the same as his uncle, happy for his foster brother, only hoping he wouldn't use the dragons for selfish reasons as the Targaryens once did, and bring himself to ruin.

"Are you pleased with yourself Mace?" came the sharp voice of Olenna Tyrell the affectionately named " Queen of Thorns" as her idiot of a son stepped on the toe of the Dragonlord, albeit unknowingly, just to kiss up to the King Aerys.

"Mother, I... How could I have known?" he asked, dejected and a bit scared. The Baratheon fury was well known throughout the Seven Kingdoms, as it wasn't that long ago Lyonel Baratheon rose in rebellion for the insult dealt to his daughter by the then Crown Prince Duncan Targaryen.

"Yes, you couldn't have. That did not mean you should have confronted him so openly, not the least in his own home" she cided her son. Truly, he got his wits from his father, and not a shred from her.

"If only I had one more daughter" she lamented. Her youngest daughter was just betrothed to Prince Aegon, and her eldest Mina was already wed. She had gotten the royal marriage that was denied to her through her daughter, but at what cost.

Mace Tyrell just wimpered.

Rickard Stark was in deep thought. The dragons were back, not at the hands of the Royal Family but the Lord who they had a broken betrothal with.

The Lord who was angry enough about the whole affair to attempt to assault the Crown Prince in front of the whole realm. If only he had another daughter to offer to the Baratheons.

He turned to his eldest and heir, Brandon, who was nursing a goblet, his head bandaged from the wound inflicted by the aforementioned Lord who his heir attempted to assault even though he was provoked.

He was well aware of the faults of his eldest - his whoremongering, his drinking and his distaste for ruling- and always hoped he would grow out of them, especially with a beautifull wife like Catelyn Tully.

He shook his head, if only he had more of his second son's mannerisms.

Speaking of Ned, he was whispering with his wife, who looked dejected at having their secret out before the whole realm. If only he wasn't in trouble with his foster brother, he could have been a buffer between them.

Last but not least, his daughter, the woman who the Crown Prince and the Baratheon Heir almost fought for. He loved his daughter, but he was aware of her shortcomings. She did not like doing the duties that were expected of her, marrying, bearing children, running a household, but loved the priviliges it gave her- the horse riding, bow and sword lessons, even the joust training she did in secret, or at least thought she was.

She was beautiful, just like his wife but he was aware there were more beautiful Ladies out there. Their house wasn't the richest nor could they call a lot of men to arms. So a marriage with her gave the grooms side less than what a marriage to the Lannisters or Tyrells would.

That was the reason he had accepted the offer of the Baratheons in the first place, knowing she would have a better life in there than in the North, and only broke it when he and Lord Steffon negotiated following the Prince Rhaegar's crowning of her as his Lady of Love and Beauty and their declaration of love at first sight.

His actions during the sham trial they conducted to ensure a peacefull outcome to the whole situation casted doubts on that. Did the Prince really loved his daughter, or was it because he believed in some sort of prophecy that included her?

His only hope for the future was that they wouldn't come to regret what happened.

---

"Mother, please..." pleaded Steffon Baratheon at his mother to stop laughing.
"Let me have my fun Steffon, I haven't laughed like this in decades" she scoffed at her son.

"What do we do now?" asked Cassana, looking at her good mother for guidance. " We agreed to make Stannis the heir so the royal family wouldn't target him, but now that he has dragons they can't do so anyway, and we can't just disinherit Stannis right after declaring him the heir."

This whole situation was giving her a headache. Nothing was ever so easy when it came to her eldest.

"He promised me once when he was child about how he would hatch dragons and take me to the skies. I did not take him seriosly then, but it appears I have been grievously mistaken, and I have never been gladder for it"

Said Rhaelle, then just kept laughing. She had no love lost for her birth family - save for Rhaella, who she just pitied for being forced to marry Aerys- after they gave her as a consollation prize to clean up the mess Duncan had created. She had came to love her husband Ormund but did not mean she forgave them.

And to know that her grandchild brought back the dragons where her father king Aegon V Targaryen and her brother Duncan Targaryen, along with many others died while trying, almost extinguishing the House Targaryen? She was saddened at their deaths, but she also saw how this was what they deserved for chasing a prophecy for so long.

Stannis was thoughtfull. The usually dutifull and uncompromising man had learned much from his father in the last five years, including how to see other perspectives and how to be flexible.

If his brother wanted the seat of Storm's End he would no doubt find supporters all over the Seven Kingdoms. However, he claimed he was going to leave, which made him think. Should he let his brother just go like that and be the Lord of Storm's End when the time came or do what was possibly the best for the whole of Stormlands.

What was his duty here? To do as his father bid or take the best course of action for the land he was born in?

Renly was just overly excited at seeing the dragons and just kept pestering his father for when was Robert going to return and would he let him ride the dragons.

---

The Stormlords on the other hand were celebrating. They did not like Stannis much due to his unbending nature and unshakable adherence to the laws and rules, and now the real heir in their eyes had returned.

And what a glorious return it was.

Already they were making plans of offering their daughters, sisters and other unmarried relatives to Robert Baratheon, some smaller houses going as far as to plan how to sneak them into his room, seeing as their chances were low.

The only ones who weren't celebrating weren't celebrating were Richard Lonmouth and Jon Connington, loyal friend of the Crown Prince.

But who cares about them?

---

Storm's End
Evening

His dragons fed, Robert returned to the castle, landing on the now mostly empty courtyard. He took his swords Stormbringer and Nightblood and offloaded the rest of his baggage carried by the dragons. They weren't much really, just clothes, medicine, bow and arrow, and his King of the Wild Hunt armor and his ever trusty hammer.

Instructing the servants to carry them to his room, he sent his dragons back to the caves to rest and decided to go and do the same himself. He didn't even get close to the door before people came pouring out, all watching him silently.

Now that he thought about it, he really missed songs from Earth and decided to sing one as he walked inside, albeit a bit changed to fit the current situation.

" I've paid my dues
Time after time
I've done my sentence
But committed no crime"

he began to the confusion of the watchers, not understanding why he suddenly started to sing

"And bad mistakes
I've made a few"

he gestured at the Starks with his hands

"I've had my share of sand
Kicked in my face
But I've come through

And I mean to go on and on and on and on

I am the champion, my friends
And I'll keep on fighting till the end
I am the champion
I am the champion
No time for losers"

while pointing at the Targaryens this time

"'Cause I am the champion of the World"

he raised his fists in the air, dragging the last syllable as he entered the keep and began to laugh again while the Starks and Targaryens looked at him with impotent fury, the rest of the guests were bewildered.

Perhaps he should create a band and teach them the songs to sing whenever he wanted? A thought for the future.

Right now he was having too much fun to bother.

 

[Samael61]

Hello there,

If you enjoy my stories you can read advanced chapters in my patreon

Geek's Guide to Thriving in a Low End Fantasy World is four chapters ahead there.

You can also check out my other stories in my page.

Her Eternal Excellency, ( Raiden Ei reborn as Argella Durrandon) a Genshin Impact and ASOIAF crossover, which is also four chapters ahead.

Commander Shepard, The Greatest to Ever Live, which is three chapters ahead.

Also I will create a poll on what to write next, so don't forget to join my page.

Thank you in advance.

---

Storm's End

Robert was inspecting the guards, who were lined up infront of him. Why was he inspecting guards one might ask. To ensure the security of his home? Partially.

He was actually looking for a body double for himself for one very simple reason yet vital reason. His personal security.

He was fully aware that taunting the Royal Family was counterintuitive to his health, but it was too fun not to. Of course, he was always going to be in danger long as he didn't have a kingdom behind him.

Though this time he was more worried about the security of his cock. You see, in the House of the Dragon, Otto Hightower sent his daughter to the King Viserys' room, not to seduce him and have sex with - but he didn't think Otto would be against it- but to seduce the grieving King in a more emotional capacity to place his blood on the throne.

And there were many lords with unmarried relatives, be it daughters, sisters cousins or nieces, who wouldn't hesitate to do the same, perhaps even try to get one pregnant with his child if they were calloused enough.

So he needed protection from that.

"What is your name guard?" he asked to a candidate. He was tall, not as much as him and the features did not match but he doubted someone could tell the difference in the dark of the night in his own room.

"Davon mi'lord" replied the guard, standing at attention.

"Hmmm, with a shave and dressing up he might just be a good enough body double" he thought.

"Tell me Davon, do you have family?" he queried, trying to find an angle to work with.

" Just me mother mi'lord" answered the guard.

"No wife?"

"Dun't have the coin for mi'lord" with frustration creeping in to his voice.

"Really? It is a terrible thing to hear. Tell me Davon, how would you like to earn that coin and more?" he dangled the bait.

Davon's eyes shined and he took it, " I would like it very much mi'lord"

"It will be dangerous work, I won't lie, you won't die but you might just anger some nobles if what you did ever gets revealed"

Davon looked less sure but "I'll take it mi'lord"

"Wonderful" Robert clapped his hands.

"First of all, take this coin, get shaved and take a bath. Then wear these clothes and come find me, I'll tell your captain that you're running an errand for me" he handed out a pouch and a chest with clothes.

Davon bowed his head and took off.

Robert just wanted to laugh like a cartoonish villain.

---

Great Hall

The royals and nobles had gathered for breakfast again. Amongst most, the mood was somber, events of yesterday fresh on their minds.

Others were giddy about the same events, seeing a one in a lifetime oppurtunity for their houses.

All eyes turned to the door as the root cause of their mood came in.

"Brother!!" rushed Renly Baratheon out of his seat next to his mother before anyone could stop him and latched to his brother's leg.

"Morning to you too kiddo" said Robert as he hefted his little brother. He did not have brothers before, and always thought the original was stupid for treating them as he did.

Said original grumbled in the depths of his soul.

"Can you take me dragon riding?!" he asked, excited like a puppy.

"Sure kiddo, sure. Let's eat first though, okay? I'm hungry." Robert replied as he put his little brother back on his seat. Giving his mother and grandmother a kiss on the cheek and a simple " Good morning" to his father, he went and sat to the empty chair next to Stannis.

"Morning little bro" he greeted Stannis, who looked confused at being called "bro" but replied " Good morning to you as well brother"

Breakfast was surprisingly a quiet affair, h though he did not miss his grandmother's amused looks.

Good to see he wasn't the only one to enjoy the whole thing.

It felt nice, having breakfast while chatting with his family.

Soon enough, Renly was badgering him about the dragons again " Okay, okay. Let's go you little hellion" he responded and lifted his little brother off his chair " Rest of you feel free to join for a ride."

"Robert, be careful with your brother" warned his father.

"Ehh, it will be fine pops, I've been doing this for years" he waved away the concerns.

Courtyard

The trio of dragons landed on the courtyard, coming up to their father. Robert gave them pats and mounted Obelisk with Renly, who was jumping up and down in amazement.

"Okay kiddo, you have to hold on tight to me alright? And don't try to get up or you might fall" he instructed his little brother, using a rope to secure him on the saddle.

Holding a handle with one hand and Renly with the other they flew.

---

Cersei Lannister watched as Robert Baratheon took his little brother on a flight.

She would never understood how he of all people brought dragons back to the world. But it gave her an idea, an oppurtunity to become the very thing she desired to be in this world.

The Queen of the Seven Kingdoms.

The way she sees it, a conflict between the dragonlord and the Targaryens are inevitable. He had dragons, and unless he married a Targaryen, the Royal Family would never just accept that fact.

And she did not think he would marry Princess Shaena, not after everything he did to taunt the Targaryens.

Which gave her an oppurtunity. If she could somehow break the betrothal between her and Prince Daegon and marry Robert Baratheon, she would be the Queen at the end of that conflict, with her beloved brother at her side.

Of course, her father would never agree to her plan, as the King had decreed she was to wed Prince Daegon as soon as they returned to the capital.

She would not let this oppurtunity slip from her fingers.

Renly laughed in delight while wind rushed to his face. Robert just smiled at this.

This was nice.

Deciding to give the others a chance too, he guided Obelisk towards the courtyard, to the disappointment of Renly.

"Don't be like that kiddo, let others have turn too" he ruffled the kid's hair.

Gently sliding off the dragon's back, he put Renly on his feet, who then rushed to his mother, gibberishing excitedly about the ride.

"Stannis come on" he called out. Stannis looked unsure " I have errands to run" he simply said.

What a lame excuse.

"I am sure father can let you off for a little while" he responded.

"I am sure he will Stannis, now go and enjoy yourself while I wear something more fitting for dragonback " chided his grandmother, pushing Stannis forward.

Steeling his nerves, Stannis walked forward and took his brother's hand, pulling himself up.

Holding tightly to Robert's shoulders, they took off.

Obelisk kept climbing higher, and Stannis had to admit, the view was breathtaking. Flying amongst the clouds felt ... liberating to Stannis.

Robert glanced back, seeing the stern Stannis smiling. Well, perhaps not so stern, he hadn't watched his parents drown right infront of his eyes after all.
He decided not to comment on it and simply guided Obelisk.

Unlike the ride with Renly where he kept letting shrieks of joy, the ride with Stannis was quiet. He simply let the man enjoy the ride, seeing no need to start a conversation.

---

His grandmother had dressed in a riding attire, which would be unusual for a female other than a dragonrider, and was waiting for them. Stannis dismounted, still smiling, and escorted Rhaelle to Obelisk, helping her get on the dragon with Robert.

"Ready grandma?" asked Robert, latching the hooks on her.

"I was born ready for this my boy" she replied confidently.

Taking off for the third time, his grandmother let out an un-ladylike laugh.

She was the first person born to house Targaryen to fly on a dragon for the first time since the Dance of the Dragons.

Hah!

If only her father and siblings could see her now. The only Targaryen to bear her duties amongst her siblings, not seeking to bring back the dragons or breaking a betrothal for love.

Who had found love with her husband Ormund, and now was on a dragon.

The irony of it.

All because of her grandson.

"You have changed much" she commented. Perhaps too much.

Robert had prepared for this moment, when someone would inevitabely comment on the changes he had undergone.

"I simply decided to stop fooling around grandmother, nothing more"

Rhaelle hummed.

---

"Tell me how did you discover the way to hatch the eggs? More importantly where and how did you find the eggs?"

"Keep it a secret?" at her nod he continued "The way to hatch the dragon eggs is hidden in plain sight. It's Fire and Blood. All you need to do is to burn a creature and throw the eggs into the fire"

"So the words of House Targaryen is also the secret to hatch the dragons" Rhaelle wondered to herself.

Then began to laugh.
This truly was amusing. All this time it was hidden in plain sight but none had figured it out.

Eventually controlling herself " Then where did you find the eggs?"

Robert hoped this would work. He didn't want to lie to her, but this was for the best.

"Frankly, it was by accident. I found out this man in Pentos, Illyrio Mopatis, had objects related to Targaryens. I was hoping to find Blackfyre but stumbled upon the eggs instead."

"Why would this man have dragon eggs or Blackfyre?" she questioned him. If he wanted to sell them, he would have revealed himself by now. Perhaps he was just a collector of sorts?

"I think he loved the Valyrians a bit too much, I mean even his wife had the look of one. Perhaps he was hoping to hatch the dragons" he lied again.

"What of Blackfyre? Did you find it?"

Robert reached down and pulled one of the swords out of it's sheat, where they were tied to Obelisk's neck, and held it out. Rhaelle took the Valyrian Steel blade, marveling at it. She had not seen one this close before, much less hold it.

It was a bastard sword, with a length of hand and a half, of legendary Valyrian Steel, with a black leather grip, and a pommel with intricate golden engravings.

"Stormbringer? Not the most creative of the names" she sounded amused.

Anyone else, he would have been insulted, but since it was her he decided to ignore the comment. "And Blackfyre was? Stormbringer is a much better name for it" he replied proudly.

Rhaelle blinked, looking at the sword and then at her grandson and back at the sword.

"Robert, are you telling me you renamed the ancestral sword of the Targaryens?" with an exaspareted tone.

If the Royal Family, or rather Aerys learned this he might finally lose it.

"Not exactly, I had it reforged then renamed, you know, as a sign of it having a new owner" he replied with a wink.

Shaking her head with an amused smile " Of course you did" she whispered to herself.

Robert took the sword back and sheated it again, while Rhaelle noticed the other sword.

"What about the other sword?" she asked, if it was kept with the newly named Stormbringer, it must be important.

Robert unsheated Nightblood and held it out to his grandmother.

It was a great sword, reminiscent of the Ice, with a longer hilt and the same engravings, though this time in red.

Only reason Rhaelle didn't drop the sword was because it was Valyrian Steel.

"Two Valyrian swords Robert? What is next, Valyrian Steel plate armour?" she sounded impressed.

"Maybe in the future" he replied with a cheeky grin.

Rhaelle gave it back, much less she starts laughing again and drops it.

"Where did you find that one?"

"I found or bought Valyrian Steel pieces here and there. Accessories, hand held statues that kind of thing. When I had enough I went and had them reforged into a sword."

"Is that why you were attacking the Dothraki?" Everyone had heard the dragon lord destroying the Dothraki Hordes, though not many cared enough to ask why.

"Not really, I did that for gold, after all feeding three dragons is not easy, and neither is having Valyrian Steel reforged."

"So the rumours about Pentos paying you to destroy the Dothraki is true?"

"Partially" he replied, remembering the good old days.

"Whatever do you mean?"

"Well, Pentos was paying me to destroy the Dothraki, though so were the other cities threatened by them. Of course, they were pissed when they found out they were all paying me, even though I was already being paid to wipe out the Dothraki and they didn't need to."

Multiple paydays for doing the same job? Count him in.

She snorted at first, trying to contain her laughter, before deciding to seven hells with it and began to cackle.

"Of course, they were even more angry when they found out I was going to destroy them anyway to sell their horses to Braavos." he chuckled at the memory.

Rhaelle was howling now, and it took her a good while to calm down.

"How much did you earn then?" she asked between sniggers.

"About four million after my expenses" he replied nonchalantly, as if the amount wasn't anything important.

His grandmother abruptly stopped laughing when she heard the amount, making sure she didn't mishear.

"In gold?" she asked tentatively. If so that was a massive fortune, the likes of only possessed by the Royal Family or the Lannisters with their gold mines and Tyrells with being the bread basket of the realm.

Even then she didn't think they could simply gather that much gold in five years.

"What else would it be in, copper?" he asked as if insulted.

---

Their ride took a lot longer than the others, as the pair talked about a variety of things. He talked about his adventures in the Free Cities as well as his trading ventures while she talked about why his father decided to pass him over for Stannis.

Appearantly, while Aerys wasn't the bat-shit insane person he was in the canon, did not mean he was sane. He had made comments (read threats), about how terrible it would be for him (his health) and his family (anyone but Steffon and Rhaelle) if he were to become the Lord Paramount of Stormlands one day.

His father chose to not risk his eldest son's life when it came to Aerys.

Naturally, the King was going to be dragon food for those comments. Along with his family if they got in his way.

Soon it was time for lunch so Robert steered his dragons back to the courtyard. He dismounted first and helped his grandmother off, who thanked him with a pinch on his cheek, then rushed off to change.

Robert ,on the other hand, just stayed with his dragons for a bit, giving them scratches and pats again, when his eyes caught the glare of King Aerys.

He rose an eyebrow at the man, who glared with even more anger. Aerys was taken back though, when his dragons turned their attention to him and snarled, taking a couple of steps towards the Targaryen.

"Stop" he muttered in Latin and his dragons obeyed. Sending them out to fly again, he didn't even glance at the King as he moved to the hall for lunch.

After the lunch he had also offered his mother and father a ride but they were too busy for it. Instead he went to the training area to find a sparring partner, taking his swords with him.

He had found Elbert there, sparring with Brandon Stark, while Jon and Rickard Stark were conversing at the sidelines.

Rhaegar was also there with Arthur Dayne and Jon Connington, watching the spars.

Surprisingly enough Stannis was also there, probably to keep the Prince company. He approached his brother, not wanting to interact with the others.

"Stannis come on, let's see what you can do" he challenged. Stannis looked like he was going to refuse but sighed "Very well brother" drawing his sword and taking a stance.

His brother's eyes widened when he pulled out Nightblood, twirling it in his hands.

"Valyrian Steel sword?!"

His exclamation caught the attention of the others and they turned to him.

"Don't get distracted in the middle of a fight Stannis" he warned and attacked.

Stannis raised his sword just in time to block his attack and pushed him off and tried to get close to negate the advantage of range Nightblood gave Robert.

Their spar continued like this for a while, Stannis trying to close the distance and Robert keeping him at bay.

Stannis overcomitted himself, his next swing carrying too much power and Robert deflected it to the side, causing Stannis to stumble and fall down as he pushed him with a kick.

Stannis turned around, ready to raise his blade, only to find Nightblood at his neck.

"I yield" gave up Stannis, seeing as he was beaten. Robert held out his hand and pulled Stannis off the ground.

Giving a booming laugh " Well done brother, you have improved much. Though don't overcommit to a swing like that unless you're absolutely sure" he patted him on the shoulder.

Stannis took the praise "Thank you brother"

Remembering all the shit the canon Robert put Stannis through, he unsheated Stormbringer and held it out to Stannis " Here, I am sure Stormbringer will serve you well"

Stannis' eyes widened and he took the sword " You are giving this to me?" A Valyrian Sword was a sign of prestige and power, even the Lannister's with all their gold and riches couldn't find anyone willing to sell their sword.

"Obviously"

"Why, I mean" he began but Robert cut him off.

"Stannis, you're my brother, you need a better sword and I already have one" he pointed at the Nightblood.

"Also If I wanted another Valyrian sword I would just discover how to make Valyrian Steel from scratch, not a problem for me really" with a dismissive wave.

Stannis looked doubtful.

"Thank you brother, I'll use it well" he said gratefully, taking the sheath Robert held out, tying it to his belt.

Throwing his arm around Stannis " Let's talk while we walk" he said, dragging him along. "Tell me, any ladies catch your eye, now that the whole thing with the Tullys fell off?"

Stannis sighed, somethings stay the same.

Robert spent rest of his day with Stannis, grilling him about the Ladies, not that he said anything other than "I shall marry whom father decides" and other brotherly talk.

When Stannis was called away for something, he went to find the guard, Davon.

The man had cleaned up nicely and shaved, his hair much closer in length to his. " Allright Davon, here is your new job. You see, I need a body double to sleep in my bed while I sleep elsewhere for security"

Davon looked unsure but he didn't want to mention it was the security of his chastity he was worried about.

"You will be paid about 100 gold dragons each moon's turn for your services."

The guards eyes widened, that was a lot of coin. He could get married and buy himself a nice home and retire early!

"Now, I can understand your worries, but this is Storm's End you won't have to worry about assassins. But, in the rare event that something happens to you I promise your mother will live rest of her life in comfort and won't have to worry about anything ever again." he could at least promise this much.

Davon just nodded, still thinking about all the things he could do with the gold.

Night came and Robert made himself comfortable in an empty guest room after sending Davon to sleep in his bed. He was lucky really, that there still was an empty room considering all the guests. Soon enough he was sleeping, dreaming of flying.
Next Morning

The inhabitants of the legendary castle awoke to the sound of a woman screaming out her lungs, and everyone who heard it picked up a weapon and rushed to the source of the scream.

 

[Samael61]

Hello there,

If you enjoy my stories you can read advanced chapters in my patreon

Geek's Guide to Thriving in a Low End Fantasy World is four chapters ahead there.

You can also check out my other stories in my page.

Her Eternal Excellency, ( Raiden Ei reborn as Argella Durrandon) a Genshin Impact and ASOIAF crossover, which is also four chapters ahead.

Commander Shepard, The Greatest to Ever Live, which is three chapters ahead.

Also I will create a poll on what to write next, so don't forget to join my page.

Thank you in advance.

---

Storm's End
Robert's Quarters

Cersei Lannister woke up with a stretch and winced, the Baratheon brute wasn't gentle last night and she was sore, but she had succeeded. Now, she could push push for a marriage with him and be that closer to her goal. She turned to wake him up but screamed and fell out of the bed when she saw that the person in the bed wasn't Robert Baratheon.

Davon woke up at her screams and looked around the room with bleary eyes that widened when they landed on her. He remembered sleeping with a woman last night but he did not know it was the daughet of Tywin Lannister of all people. He was sooo dead.

Cersei, while still screeching like a harpy, began to attack Davon, clawing at his face and pulling his hair, who was too stunned to do anything.

Lord Steffon Baratheon barreled into the room, sword raised, followed by guards, Kingsguard with members of the Royal Family trailing behind who gasped at the sight.

"What in the name of..." began to shout Steffon Baratheon, only to stammer as he saw the barely covered Cersei Lannister wailing on the guard.

Acting quickly he wretched Cersei away from the guard, "Enough!" he roared out, silencing Cersei and bringing Davon to his senses.

"You, explain!" he ordered to the guard. "What are you doing in my son's room and what happened here!?"

"M-milord, Lord Robert paid me to a-a-act as his double w-w-while he slept elsewhere, a-and Lady Cersei came in last night, I thought she was someone else!" he replied in panic, stuttering.

Tywin Lannister, with his son Jaime Lannister arrived next and their eyes widened. " What is the meaning of this!" he didn't raise his voice but the tone alone meant death.

"F-father I.." Cersei tried to defend herself, not knowing what to say. She couldn't claim he forced her since this was Robert Baratheon's room, and she didn't look like she was forced.

"What's with the noise, I was having a nice dream" sauntered in Robert, rubbing his eyes. Damn it, he didn't even get to wash his face before the commotion woke him up.

He blinked couple of times upon seeing the room " Wow, I expected someone to try something like this but I did not expect it to be Cersei Lannister of all the ladies"

Then again she got off on power so maybe he shouldn't be so surprised.

"You knew about this!?" hissed Tywin Lannister, the mocking eyes stoking his anger further.

"I thought someone might try this, but I didn't expect it to be your daughter" answered Robert with a " what can you do" expression.

"I want that guard's head!" demanded the Old Lion, trying to save face.

"Why? He did his job, which was to protect my chastity. It's not his fault your daughter decided to try to get into my pants and fail miserably" he replied standing in front of the guard.

He wasn't gonna let the man die for something that wasn't his fault.

Rhaegar Targaren was just watching but decided to intervene "Even so, he should have told the Lady he wasn't you"

"He was drunk" excused Robert.

"A lady's honor has been sullied and someone has to pay for it" Rhaegar rebukked.

"The Lady in quesion sullied herself, if there is a crime here, then it's solely her's" he took a step forward in a challenging manner.

"Enough! Lady Cersei might be guilty, but that does not mean the guard is not! Being drunk is no excuse, he should have stopped her. Both will be punished" declared King Aerys.

Davon's eyes widened, he knew what that meant. He was going to die!

Thinking about it, this might be a good oppurtunity to get rid of someone that should have been drowned at birth. "Davon calls for a Trial by Combat" said Robert.

"I do?" asked Davon at the unexpected declaration.

"Yes, you do" Robert turned to him with a final tone in his voice.

"I call for a Trial by Combat" parroted the guard

"Very well, Ser Gregor Clegane will fight for us. However, as he is in the Westerlands the Trial by Combat will have to be postponed untill he arrives." declared Tywin Lannister.

"Guard, will you fight for yourself?" asked Lord Steffon.

"Nope" interrupted Robert " I am going to be his champion"

Aerys' eyes widened, while his father looked like he wanted to throttle him.

"You would risk your life to save a mere guard?" questioned Rhaegar.

"I would fight to prevent an injustice, and far as I see my life isn't in danger." he waved him off.

"Then there is nothing else to talk" said Tywin as he dragged his daughter out of the room. The reputation of House Lannister, which he had to build up from the ground after his father's actions had been ruined by his own daughter, who thought herself too smart for her own good!

Everyone else left after that but Aerys followed Tywin, seeing an oppurtunity.

"Best if you are not seen around for a while" Robert said to his double.

"Thank you milord, anyone else would have left me to die" he said, knowing his life wasn't worth the life of a noble.

"Ehh, it's fine, I got you into this mess, I'll get you out of it" that and he was going to kill the Mountain, for all that he did in the show, and for all the things he would no doubt do in the future.

He was also going to cheat so he wasn't really worried.

"Anyway, I'll get you your pay later, just hide out somewhere untill this whole thing ends"

"Yes milord" he replied gratefully.

Lord's Solar

"You fool!" screamed his father to his face, and he wiped the spit that landed on his cheek.

"Okay, first of all, I am right in front of you, there is no need to shout. Second, no need to be worried, this will be a piece of cake for me." he said with confidence.

"You do realize you can not use your dragons in the duel don't you?" asked his mother rhetorically, obviously fishing for information.

"Calm down mother, I have a plan"

"Care to share that plan with us?" asked his grandmother, raising her brow in a questioning manner.

"Nope, it will be a surprise" he answered with a cheeky grin.

"I have heard tales of what the Mountain is capable of. Your plan better work" hissed his father.

"Even if my plan, for some inexplicable reason did not work, I can still defeat him in a duel"

His father groaned and sat down, rubbing his forehead " Why did you even agree to fight for the guard? At worst we would have sent him to the wall"

"The guard saved me from having to deal with Cersei Lannister father, it is the least I can do for him"

Bullet dodged there.

"What that girl was thinking is beyond me, she has to be naive to think she could actually force you to marry her" his grandmother scoffed.

"But you have to admit the look on Tywin Lannister's face at seeing his daughter in bed with a guard was unforgottable" he grinned at her, which she returned.

"Seeing the proud Tywin Lannister brought to heel by his own daughter? Hah, no one is ever going to let him forget that, just as he never let people forget about the Tarbeck and Reynes"

Huh, if he didn't know better he'd say he got it from his grandmother.

"Believe me, if people knew the rest of what I knew? House Lannister would be the laughing stock of the whole realm"

"And what is it that you know brother?" asked Stannis, deigning to finally speak.

"You sure you want to know Stannis?"

"I do" piped in his grandma.

"I don't" warned his father. "Tywin is my friend and I'll not have his secrets paraded around"

"Well, it's not his secret, hells, the man doesn't even know it" he replied.

"Now I definitely want to know" grinned Rhaelle.

"Mother please" begged Steffon. He had a feeling this was not going to end well.

"Since father looks like he is going to have a nervous breakdown I will refrain from telling anyone" though he winked at his grandmother.

"What I'm more curious about is how you hatched the eggs, I wanted to ask you before but we were too busy trying to convince the King we were not preparing a rebellion" wondered his mother. Truly, the last few days was jarring, the Stormlords on one side, the Royalty and the Great Lords on the other.

"Well, I would love to tell you but I don't wish to make father lie to the King, as he would no doubt ask about it." he dodged the question.

"I only wish you were this considerate before" said his father, not bothered by his refusal. " And I wish to say, regardless of what happened before, I am proud of you and I thank you for bringing a Valyrian Steel sword to our house." he added gratefully.It was a good day for their house.

"Would he be proud if he knew it used to be Blackfyre?" he wondered to himself.

Probably not.

Whatever.

"Steffon, have you talked to the king about the Summerhall?" his mother changed the subject.

"I have, he finally agreed that we "contributed" enough to it's rebuilding" scoffed Steffon.

"They are rebuilding it?" asked Robert. That was news to him.

"Yes, it was to be the seat of Prince Daeron and Lady Cersei and we had to contribute as a punishment." said his father with a pointed look at him.

Now he felt bad, Stormlands were never that rich and this on top?

"How much?" he asked. The least he could do was to cover it up.

"Three hundred thousand in total" responded Stannis. They had already exiled Robert and broken the proposed betrothal between him and Princess Shaena. Levying them 300,000 gold as punishment was just ridiculous but their protests fell on deaf ears.

"That's fine, I'll cover it soon as my ships are here" and then he groaned. He still hadn't decided on what to do after this. Building his own empire was one idea but he never seriously considered marrying and that was necessary for the continuation of the said empire. If he still was the heir he could dump that particular duty on Stannis and be done with it, but making his hypothetical nephew his heir to an empire he build wouldn't be accepted.

Taking over the seven kingdoms is another idea but he didn't want to deal with their bullshit to be honest. The amount of things he would have to fix would mean too much work that he wouldn't enjoy and he wasn't sure if he wanted to take that kind of responsibility.

"Right, I heard the Dragon Lord was destroying the Dothraki in return for payment, but how much gold did you earn?" asked Lord of Storm's End. His son never had a great interest in "copper counting" as he called it, spending gold but rarely caring where it came from.

"Well, five million in total but I spent around a million and another million is on my ships, making their way here and three million more in the Iron Bank"

"You earned that much gold for destroying the Dothraki?!" the disbelief in his tone was understandable.

"No, I also sold the Dothraki horses to Braavos after looting anything valuable the horde had, got into spice and weapons trade, and sold all the mansions and other buildings given to the Dothraki by the Free Cities" Robert explained.

"I only wish you had shown this much promise in matters related to ruling before" his mother gave him a pointed look but she was still impressed that he was able to amass a fortune like that.

There was a knock on the door followed by the voice of Ser Arthur Dayne " Lord Baratheon, Prince Rhaegar would like to talk to you and Lord Robert"

All eyes turned to Robert, who rose to leave "Well I have things to do"

"May I ask what things my lord?" asked the Kingsguard with a stoic tone, blocking the exit.

"Dragon rider things Ser Dayne, nothing you or the Prince would know anything about" winking at Arthur who narrowed his eyes. The Whitecloak was already displeased with Robert's disrespect of the Royal Family and now he was refusing to obey the order of the Crown Prince. He had considered it, just killing him, damn the Guest Rights, even if it meant giving his own life in the progress just to destroy this threat to the Royal Family.

Robert leaned forward and whispered " You make your intentions too obvious" smirking as he pushed past him.

He didn't go far before coming across Rhaegar, who had Gerald Hightower and Jon Connington following behind "Cousin, did Ser Dayne not relay my wishes to speak to you and your lord father?"

"He did, unfortunately for you I have a prior engagement" he blew him off, trying to get past him but Hightower blocked him.

"What could be more important than the order of the Crown Prince?" asked the Lord Commander.

Did these guys share a single brain cell or something?

"I already told Ser Dayne so go ask him" he tried to push past him, but unlike Dayne he did not yield. Robert took a deep breath to calm his nerves.

He wasn't going to kill a Kingsguard here.

Nope.

Before he could warn the Kingsguard into moving Rhaegar intervened "I wished to speak to you regarding the prophecy, cousin"

Facing the prince "You know nothing that I already don't, there is no reason for me to listen to you" but stopped in his steps " Not even if it concerns Bloodraven?"

Robert narrowed his eyes. "Do tell that bastard to stop sending his ravens to watch over me or he will face a fate worse than death" he seethed. It was annoying having his every move be shadowed by those blasted birds.

It's like he had a personal FBI agent watching him 7/24.

"He claims things are not as they were supposed to be, that something changed future" continued Rhaegar " Do you know who could it be?"

"I know what changed, but not the one responsible for it" he answered honestly.

"I see" Rhaegar sounded disappointed " What of the prophecy then? What do you know about it?"

"What do I gain from telling you?" Robert answered with a question.

Rhaegar could not think of anything to offer him "There must be something you want for that knowledge"

"You know what, I am feeling generous. I'll tell you everything, including the name of the one that would bring back the dragons had I already did not, if you can just convince the King to acknowledge me as the new owner of Blackfyre and Darksister"

"You want our swords?!" Rhaegar's eyes widened. Valyrian Steel swords were a sign of prestige, of power. No housee would ever give their swords away for any reason, for it would be humiliating to them.

"Swords that you lost and stopped searching for long ago" he replied, reminding him his house's failure in keeping their swords secure.

"Your father says they are mine, I'll tell you more about the prophecy than even Aegon the Conqueror knew" he patted Rhaegar on the shoulder and left them there.

---

Five Days Later
Shipbreaker Bay

Shipbreaker Bay, a natural defence protecting the Storm's End and in the original timeline would be where his parents died in a shipwreck. But now, it was just the place the ships he had sent from Braavos were docking, ready to offload their cargo.

Which consisted of a million gold dragons, his weapons and armor sets, silks, spices, gems and other luxurious items.

Robert had entered the cargo hold to pick up his Claymore, his special plan to make a show out of killing Gregor Clegane. He had two of it constructed but had already used one against a Dothraki Khal who had challenged him to a duel. It was too bad there were no witnesses besides his translator, as the Khal's unarmored head exploded with a swingle swing.

He also had his flight suit, an idea taken from Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third. He had some slavers test it for him, throwing them off Obelisk with the suit on them, trying to see if they succeded. It had taken a lot of tests, but there were no lack of slavers and other undesirables in the Free Cities.

And it was kind of fun throwing slavers off a dragon.

He had Claymore moved to his room in the cushioned large chest it came in while taking the suit himself.

---

People watched as Robert Baratheon, dressed in a weird looking armor with straps and ropes, was getting ready to mount his blue dragon again. He stood there with his eyes closed and took a deep breath before shouting "LET'S FUCKING GOOOOOO!" and climbed on the dragon, who shot off. They watched as it climbed more and more before leveling off and to their absolute bafflement and shock, he had jumped off Obelisk, with Ra following him right behind.

Instead of screaming as it was expected, he was laughing as if he was not in danger.

 

[Samael61]

Hello there,

If you enjoy my stories you can read advanced chapters in my patreon

Geek's Guide to Thriving in a Low End Fantasy World is four chapters ahead there.

You can also check out my other stories in my page.

Her Eternal Excellency, ( Raiden Ei reborn as Argella Durrandon) a Genshin Impact and ASOIAF crossover, which is also four chapters ahead.

Commander Shepard, The Greatest to Ever Live, which is three chapters ahead.

Also I will create a poll on what to write next, so don't forget to join my page.

Thank you in advance.

---

Extreme violence at this chapter.



Storm's End



Robert could hear the wind rushing as he jumped off Obelisk in a freefall, Ra following him in case of something unforeseen. Laughter bubbled out of him, as he fell faster and faster. This was going to be so much fun!



He pulled the straps he was holding, deploying the wingsuit. The increased air resistance immediately slowed him down, his stomach droping in the process and he began to glide.



"Hah.. hahah ... HAHAHHAHAHAHAH" he began to laugh in thrill. It was one thing to jump off a cliff or a plane to do this, it was another thing to do it jumping off a dragon.



He whistled, signaling his dragons to join him.



To the people watching them from below, they cut a scene that would be remembered for ages to come.



A human, flying alongside dragons, rather than riding one.



They all watched as he jumped off his dragon for some ungodly reason.



Some hoped he would hit the ground and die, others were worried out of their minds, the rest simply watched.



It boggledd their minds, seeing him go from falling to his death to flying on his own. The King gritted his teeth and turned to head inside in a flurry, followed by his family.



Steffon Baratheon took a deep breath and sighed in relief. His son's antics were going to be the death of him.



The rest of the Baratheons watched, Renly jumping up and down in delight, Stannis and Cassana watching with bated breaths and Rhaelle was busy holding her laughter.



Robert went over the Storm's End, the Shipbreaker Bay, the Durran's Point and returned back to the castle, losing altitude and needing to land too soon for his liking. Deciding to be a daredevil he dived towards the Drum Tower, circling around it to the gasps of the audience, before gliding over them and landing in roll.



People surrounded him immediately, mostly Stormlanders and the Valemen present, looking at him in awe before Elbert Arryn shouted " To the Winged Knight of Stormlands!"



He was raised on shoulders to the chant.



The Stormlanders loved celebrating, and the Winged Knight of Stormlands was a good idea for celebration to many.



Wine flowed, though he made sure to drink in moderation, songs played, he made sure to join that, singing songs from Earth to the cheers and toasts raised to his honor.



Overall it was a good celebration, besides having to dodge some overeager hands from fawning ladies.



Seriously, how did the original ever liked this?



He was going out to get some fresh air, before Rhaegar, followed by his retunie came up to him.



"Cousin, your spectacle was quite impressive" he said, stopping midway to search for the correct word.



"What can I say, it's just a part of my greatness" Robert bragged, more to annoy them than anything else.



Rhaegar gave a strained smile " The King agrees to your request, if you can find the swords before us" he explained.



It was hard, convincing his father. He had raged, threatening to do everything from having Robert assassinated to setting him on fire with Wildfire, but he had managed to get him to see reason.



Robert nodded to this. He was halfway there anyway, finding Darksister wouldn't be a problem.



"Very well, they are waiting for us in your father's solar" Rhaegar turned back and he followed.



It wasn't just Aerys and his father waiting inside the solar, but most of the Royal family along with Ser Whent, Dayne and Hightower, his own family the and the Starks except Ashara.



"Wasn't expecting an audience like this but whatever" Robert commented, winking at the Stark heir who was busy glaring at him.



He sat down next to his father, not greeting the silently fuming King as he should have and put his legs on the table "Before I tell you everything I want you to say it in front of all these people"



Aerys looked as if he was going to say something else but gritted his teeth " If you can find Blackfyre and Darksister before us they are yours to keep" to the astonishment of everyone as they turned their heads at the King. What was so important about this prophecy that they would give away the swords that were sigils of the House Targaryen's royal lineage?



Steffon attempted to intervene, but Robert acted before he could "Thank you" giving his father a pointed look.



"Now tell me about the prophecy" ordered Aerys, getting impatient.



"Aegon the Conqueror had a dream about an impending darkness that will threaten Westeros, and that a king or queen would take the Iron Throne and defeat the evil to save the world. As it happens there is also another prophecy written down in ancient Assai books from over five thousand years ago claiming that Azor Ahai shall be born again amidst smoke and salt, to wake dragons out of stone. This will occur after a long summer when an evil, cold darkness descends upon the world and the red star bleeds. It is said that wielding Lightbringer once again, Azor Ahai will stand against the Others, and deliver the world from darkness" he explained in a single breath.



"More so the woods witch Jenny of Oldstones brought to the court that claimed the child of the prophecy would be born to Aerys and Rhaella's line was correct" he put down his legs and leaned forwards, to the anxious Targaryens.



"But contrary to what you think Rhaegar, the prince that was promised is not going to be your son with Lyanna" to the confused Prince.



"But the song of ice and fire" he began " The fire represents a Targaryen true, but not your son, and ice doesn't refer to a Stark"



"Then who do they refer to !?" spat out Aerys, getting impatient.



"The ice refers to the Night King and the White Walkers" he answered, getting doubtfull looks.



"Are you saying that the White Walkers are real?" asked Aerys, doubt creeping to his voice.



"Yes, they are very real" replied Robert



"Do you seriously expect us to believe that? They are mere stories" Rickard Stark joined the fray. To him, Robert's claims were ridiculous, most likely told to mock them as he was quite fond of doing.



"Honestly? I don't care whether you believe me or not. It's not like Stormlands will bear the brunt of the attack." he shrugged. He wasn't the original Robert, he didn't care about the North.



"Do you have any proof of this?" Rhaegar asked, curious rather than sceptical.



It wasn't surprising, what's with his obsession over the prophecy.



"Two things actually. First, there is a man named Craster living beyond the wall, a rather disgusting fellow that marries his own daughters who give him more daughters who he then marries. The boy's however, he leaves them in the woods and they are taken by the White Walkers, if you can catch him abandoning a child, you can see one for yourselves. The other, there is a bundle made from a Night's Watch cloak containing dragonglass weapons, buried beneath the Fist of the First Men along with a cracked horn that may be the Horn of Winter. Now, unless the Night's Watch, at some point in time, was so lacking in resources they decided to use dragonglass weapons against the Wildlings, they had another purpose, and it just so happens they are effective against the Others and their Wights. " he gave out the easiest leads they could follow to confirm his words.



The Starks and Targaryens looked at each other, while Rhaegar was lost in his thoughts.



"What is this Horn of Winter?" asked Aerys, not familiar with the stories of the North.



"It is a horn that wildlings believe can bring down the wall. Is there no way to be sure?" Lord Stark was beginning to take him seriously it appeared.



"You can blow the horn I suppose, though whether that can bring down the wall or do something else I can't say. Your grandson never bothered to try" he replied.



"My grandson?" Rickard and rest of the Stark's leaned forward at this.



"Yes, your daughter's son with Rhaegar" which snapped the said Targaryen out of his thoughts.



"Our son?" Rhaegar and Lyanna's eyes met with conflicting gaze. They had fought over their impending marriage. Lyanna was furious, thinking his claims of loving her were lies, while Rhaegar tried to assauge her concerns.



"While I would love to hear more about this, I believe we are sidetracked. You have yet to reveal who the fire represents" talked Queen Rhaelle for the first time. She had listened patiently so far, but wanted to know who the one to bring back the dragons would be. After all, her parents had wed her to Aerys for that reason.



Robert looked around the room, all eyes on him. "Well, I would just like to say that since I hatched the dragons your daughter would have, there is no guarantee she can still bring dragons back to your house, not unless she finds dragon eggs"



Good luck with that, he already stole the three Illyrio had, while managing to retrieve two more, one from another merchant who had sold the egg to him for a hefty sum, and another from following leads on Cannibal, having found the wild dragon's corpse along with another dragon,a female protecting her nest, and retrieved the sole remaining egg from the she-dragons nest.



He hoped at least one woud be female, otherwise there would be no more dragons after them.



Not unless he searched for more eggs in the Shadow Lands and beyond.



"My daughter?" all eyes turned to Shaena who turned to him in questioning manner.



Letting the misunderstanding go on would be fun but he wanted to go and rest " Not that one"



They all turned to him now, the Queen's eyebrow rising "I don't have any other daughter Lord Robert"



"You will, in a couple of months" indicating her pregnant stomach.



"Another daughter?" Aerys asked him, looking at his wife's stomach.



"Yes, Daenerys Stormborn Targaryen, born during a rather impressive storm, also called the Breaker of Chains, Mother of Dragons and other titles I can't be bothered to remember. The child of prophecy, the prince that was promised or Azor Ahai that would hatch dragons from stone or at least she would, had I not already done so" he finally revealed the name they were seeking.



"My daughter... mother of dragons?" Aerys looked at his unborn daughter with wonder, lost in his own thoughts.



"So my son with Lyanna is not the prince that was promised?" Rhaegar asked him, earning a glare from the said woman, and before he could answer "Is that the reason you wanted to marry me!? So I can give you a prophesized child?!" screeched Lyanna, beyond furious.



Brandon came into the defence of his sister, losing control again "You fucking cunt!"



"Why are you surprised?" Robert's voice, full of mirth, cut through before they started something.



"Robert" hissed his father, warning him to stay out.



"What? I am just asking" Robert raised his hands in a placating gesture.



"Lyanna, let us discuss this elsewhere and cousin, I would appreciate it if you can refrain from involving yourself in our matters" Rhaegar said placatingly, his face not betraying any emotion.



Robert shook his head " Do you have anything else to ask?"



"Yes, how did you figure out how to hatch the eggs?" Queen Rhaelle asked the question that was eating them away.



Everyone was curious about how he managed it, yet none had any idea.



"I thought about it and it was easy to figure out. I mean, it was so simple I am still baffled by how your house did not succeed yet"



"You, who only cared about wine and hunting and shirked from your duties, and were foolish enough to attack my brother, the crown price of the Seven Kingdoms, right in front of all those guards, just thought about it and figured it out?" Prince Daeron asked incredulously. He did not believe his claim for one second.



Robert snorted " I only cared about wine and hunting because nothing else interested me, and attacking Rhaegar? Honestly, the only reason I was stopped is because of Eddard"



Internally however, he was grimacing.



Thanks og for making a fool out of yourself.



"Not because of the Kingsguard, which include some of the best swordsman in all of Seven Kingdoms?" Daeron pressed on, to the immediate pleasure of his father and older brother.



"Far as I see only Ser Barristan has a chance of stopping me, I am not worried about the rest" he looked at the Kingsguard standing around the room, who gave him frosty looks.



Seeing as the three in the room died to Ned and his six companions, while Barristan Selmy killed dozens of Robert's friends in the Battle of the Trident?



He could take them, not all three at once of course, but one by one.



After all, Robert's strength and acumen for battle tempered by his control and creativity made for a deadly combo.



Failed at that though, he could always feed them to his dragon.



"And what makes Barristan Selmy so better than them?" Daeron wasn't going to give up so easily.



If it was another life, they might have become friends.



"In my dreams I saw Dayne, Whent and Hightower taken out by seven people, while Ser Barristan slew a dozen by himself while getting wounded by an arrow, spear and a sword and survive" he actually liked Ser Barristan, and always though his talents were wasted under the ineffective rulers of Westeros.



Too bad the context did not exist here, or he would be calling him Ser Barristan the Badass.



"If we could get back to the matter of dragons" Queen Rhaella urged them, joined by Aerys "Yes, enough with your bickering"



"As I said it was easy to figure out and well, either every single Targaryen born in the last century and a half were all too stupid to figure it out, including you lot, or I am a genius. Take your pick" Robert crossed his arms, daring them to admit to being idiots.



"Or maybe, you were just fortunate" Rhaegar did not take the bait.



"Then it is obvious, the Seven favors me and not you" he rebuked. Religion in this world was not a road he was too interested in, but if it helped him so be it.



Rhaegar's smile did not reach his eyes " If the Others and the Night King truly exist, should we not cooperate cousin?"



Robert tilted his head at the change of subject "I am open to suggestions"



He may dislike them but that did not mean he was against working with them for survival.



Aerys Targaryen, both as the King and as the head of House Targaryen " If you wed Shaena your first daughter with her will be promised to Rhaegar's heir"



Shaena's eyes widened ever so slightly and her gaze turned to her father sharply.



Either they didn't tell her for some reason about this and the King just decided on it and all things considered this was probably the best offer they could make.



"I am against incest, even if it's between second cousins"



Even beyond the genetic problems this presented, he found the very idea abhorrent, contrary to them.



He maybe in a different era and world, but that did not mean he was going to indulge in their practices.



"Then your first born daughter with whomever you wed as the Queen to my eventual grandson" Aerys counter offered.



"I am not really interested in marrying" he shrugged.



"Why not?" his father looked confused, mirrored by his mother.



"Having children is a big responsibility, and if not done right they ended up either idiots or worse, and I would rather spending my time adventuring out there than fathering children because people expect me to" he explained his reasons.



"What of your dragons? Who will have them when you die?" Rhaegar did not mince words for once, choosing to speak plainly rather than using the flowery and implication filled language nobles prefer.



"I have some ideas on that" Robert said, he would either leave them to any children Stannis has, or outlive his dragons.



Somehow.



"Then perhaps either Jaehaerys or Viserys can squire for you" That was a rather good offer actually, however " That soudns too much like raising a child.



No thank you.



"What do you want then? Surely there must be something you desire, some way for us to work together?"



Anything to get dragons huh Rhaegar?



"I'll let you know if I ever think of something"



They fell silent after that. Seems they won't be doing anything to cooperate for now.



"Any other questions?" he looked at the Targaryens, who all looked at each other "Yes, can I get a dragon?" his grandmother jumped in.



He ignored the cries of "What?!" and rose from his chair "Well, what are you waiting for grandma? Get dressed and let's go get you a dragon" to the dismay of the Targaryens and Starks.



Rhaelle looked delighted and left to get dressed, returning Aerys' glare with a grin.



Robert quickly followed before someone stopped him to whine.



His rest would have to wait.

---

Courtyard



He checked the saddle, as well as the cushioned bag on Obelisk's back, containing one of the two remaining eggs he had. It was a smooth obsidian egg the size of a rugby ball.



The other egg was on Slifer, after all you know what they say "don't keep all your eggs in one basket"



Or on one dragon in this case.



He was glad his grandmother wanted a dragon, he couldn't think of anyone better to give one to.



The said woman came out of the keep, followed by his father, the two talking rather animatedly. His grandmother turned around and looked at his father in the eyes, craning her neck to look at the taller man who took a step back. She said something to him he couldn't hear but his father sighed and turned back, his shoulders ever so slightly dropping.



The victorious woman turned around and soon enough she was talking to him " I was thinking about Ra, I rather liked him"



"No" he curtly replied.



" Since you ride Obelisk yourself then Slifer?" she reasoned.



"No" he said again and before she could say anything " We " he took out the obsidian egg and held it out " are going to hatch you a brand new one"



Had anyone seen their matching grins, they would feel a shiver down their spine.

---

Storm's End

Lannister Quarters



Tywin Lannister felt..



Angry.



As in, another Rains of Castemere could be written kind of angry.



But he couldn't kill the one of the causes of his current emotions, as it was his own daughter.



And he couldn't kill the other because he had dragons.



At least, that was the case, before he decided to fight for the life of a mere guard.



Gregor Clegane, the Mountain that Rides would be the end of him, and he would make sure it was a gruesome one.



No matter what.



There was a knock on the door "Yes?"



"Lord Hand, the King wishes to speak to you" called out Ser Dayne.



They had already talked about the broken betrothal between Cersei and Daeron and the large dowry they had agreed upon would be given as restitution to House Targaryen.



Tywin straightened himself and opened the door "Let us go then" and began to follow the Sword of the Morning.

---

Targaryen Quarters



Aerys was in deep thought, concerning his aunt Rhaelle and her grandson Robert.



He and his aunt had never liked eachother and it wasn't a secret. Their every interaction, she had mocked him and it was only because they were family and because she was Steffon's mother that he did not have her impudent tongue removed.



And now, Robert Baratheon, her grandson who he also detested, was not only a dragon rider, but was also going to give her a dragon.



The broken alliance with House Lannister would have to be remade.



"Your Grace, Lord Hand is here" approached one of his Kingsguard and he replied absent mindedly " Let him in"



"Sit" he ordered before Tywin could say anything. The Hand of the King sat down on the empty chair " The betrothal broken because of your daughter will be remade. Shaena will marry your son Jaime and Tyrion will be fostered at court" he decreed.



"Your Grace about my youngest...." Tywin began to object but the King dismissed him with a wave of his hand " Rhaella has been bothering me about it, now she can shut up and I won't hear anymore of it"



"Yes Your Grace" Tywin replied, seeing no need to push the issue further.



"That knight of yours, The Mountain That Rides, can he kill him?" If Robert Baratheon died to him that would solve many issues at once.



"Not even Robert Baratheon will be able to match his strength" Tywin was confident, after all just his size was enough to inspire fear in the hearts of most men.



"Hmmm, we shall see"



Now, all they could do was to wait.

---

Stormlands

Skies of Storm's End



"So, do you know where we can find bandits or other unlawfuls to burn?" he asked his grandma, having no idea where to find one himself.



"There is a small bandit camp somewhere in Felwood close to the Kings Road, they attack peddlers and merchants heading to King's Landing. Lord Fel is seeking them out but they are a small group and easily avoid them in the forest" Given time Lord Fel would eventually find them, but with the dragons on their tail, they would be dead soon.



"That man you spoke of, Illyrio, how did he manage to find five dragon eggs?" She was curious as to how a merchant from all the way out in the Free Cities had managed it, when her family couldn't find any after Summerhall.



"He only had three eggs, I found the other two elsewhere, and supposedly he got them from Asshai"



"You have two eggs? Any other secrets you care to share with your grandmother?" she pinched his cheek in fondness.



"I will tell you if anything comes to mind" he had secrets, just not ones he could share with her, or anyone for that matter.



"I was following leads on Cannibal. Turns out he went towards Valyria after the dance and was last seen flying off North-East of it. I found him and the corpse of another dragon on a small island unaffected by the Doom and there was one egg remaining in the nest. The other, I bought off a merchant who agreed to sell it to me after I did him some favours" Truly, the man had bargained hard but it was worth it.



His grandma hummed, not saying anything. They flew in silence for a while "Why didn't you tell me then?" she broke the silence.



"I wanted to gift you one for your name day but you asked for a dragon and I thought now was as good as any" he would have to find a new birthday gift now.



"Believe me my boy, the best gift you can give me was to come back unharmed. I don't think I can handle the loss of another family member" she remembered her husband, Ormund and how his loss, coupled with the death of her father and siblings, no matter how estranged they may be, broke her heart.



"Wow, you're going to make me cry at this rate. Though does that mean you don't want a dragon?" he teased to lighten the mood.



"Hah! No, I still want my dragon" she barked a laugh.



"You know, I am curious about something. You don't seem to like Aerys, any special reason for that?" he was curious about it, and they still had time.



"It was his parents Jaehaerys and Shaera. Rhaella never wanted to marry Aerys and I wasn't silent about my opposition to their betrothal. They never liked me because I got in the way of their destiny appearently and made sure Aerys felt the same too" she grumbled.



"Talking of destiny, I am glad you are not hung up on that girl anymore" She never approved of his betrothal to that girl, thinking they would have a miserable marriage.



"As I said, I just wanted to be good brothers with Eddard, nothing else. I mean, the dowry was nothing great, she isn't that beautifull compared to some others and and an alliance with the Starks would be problematic, seeing as we are at the opposite ends of the continent" which were all reasonable arguements.



The rest of the trip was spent in silence, and it was well into the afternoon when they were above Felwood, searching for the bandit camp. They surveyed the areas close to the Kings Road.



"There!" Rhaella shouted, pointing towards an opening. A dozen men at least were gathered, surrounded by wooden walls providing a rudimentary defence, laughing and drinking. There were also corpses at the outside of their little base, dumped in a hole waiting to be buried.



They heard her and looked up only to freeze in fear as they saw three dragons. Robert landed Obelisk right on the entrance to the make-shift camp, while Ra and Slifer landed at the back of the bandits.



"Hello there" he greeted, as if he wasn't here to kill them.



The bandits huddled together, each one trying to use the other as a shield, becoming one big target.



"You're supposed to say General Kenobi" The lack of anyone to banter with like this was terrible for his soul.



The bandits looked confused now, in addition to being terrified. "Anyway, don't you lot know being bandits is bad for your health? You may come down with a sudden case of death" he mocked the scared men. It was one thing to be Robin Hood, it was another to kill all those people.



The bandits began to stammer, to beg for their lives. Robert however just reached his bag and took out the egg.



"Catch!" he threw the egg at the bandit at the front, who caught it out of instinct, looking at the thing he was holding now.



"Ignis!" he ordered and the dragons let loose. Three streams of fire hot enough to turn bone to ash hit the bandits. Within mere seconds, their cries were silenced and not long after there was a POP! as the egg hatched.



A dragon of obsidian colour just like the egg leaped out of the fire. Robert leaned forward to observe it clearly.



It was bigger than his trio when they hatched, at least twice as big while the eggs were the same size.



If his dragons were the size of cats, then this one was like a young bobcat.



Did that mean more sacrifices meant a bigger and stronger dragon?



While he was busy musing, his grandmother dismounted, sliding off the dragon without even waiting for his help and rushed to the newly hatched dragon.



The dragon watched her with bleary eyes, cocking its head and chirping in curiosity. She held out her hand and the dragon sniffed it, eventually rubbing its head on her palm.



Giddy like a maiden, she went to scoop the dragon who squawked in surprise, before settling in her arms and nuzzling her neck.



They just stood like that for a while, him on the dragon, his grandmother on the ground, just marveling at her dragon. After several minutes she finally let the lizard puppy down "You will need a name"



She began to mull it over. There were so many names she could choose, she was unsure which one to pick.



"Any suggestions?" she turned to him since he was the dragon expert.



"How about Ancalagon?" He would suggest Smaug but the colour did not fit.



"Any significance behind that name?"



"Well, a book from the Shadow Lands spoke of a dragon called Ancalagon the Black, enormous as a mountain and capable of blotting out the sun when it flew" Damn it, if they made a movie of that he would never get to see it.



"I don't think he will grow that big" she dryly replied.



"But the name itself sounds great to the ear, and well it is black" basically saying the name was cool in medieval terms and reminding himself to check it's gender.



He landed with a thud and took out a handfull of beef jerky out of the saddlebag and handed them to his grandmother. She held out one to the dragon and after sniffing snapped it out her hand and swallowed it whole, asking for more.



He lifted the distracted dragon and ...



It was a male.



His dragons approached him, sniffing the hatchling who looked at them with wide and curious eyes.



Obelisk huffed in approval, blasting them with warm air. No sibling fight there at least. He put the yet-to-be-named dragon down and he went back to Rhaelle to be fed more.



"I was actually thinking of Ormund" she replied solemnly. She could not think of a better way for her husband's name to live than naming a dragon after him.



"If everytime you look at him you will remember the good times you had with him, sure. However, if all it will remind you is how he died and fill you with sorrow, then don't" blunt as he was, did not mean he was unfeeling. Robert might not have had any memories of his grandfather, nor did he know much about him from the books, he too had faced losses and understood her pain to a degree.



Rhaelle contemplated this for a while, eventually nodding " Ormund it is"



Before they left, Robert went to ditch dug by the bandits and did the only thing he could to help the deceased, burning the corpses rather than letting them be picked apart by scavengers and left to rot.



They left soon after, the hatchling safely secured on a saddlebag, sleeping contently.



Storm's End



It was well into the night when they returned, landing on the courtyard, greeted by the family.



"Goodness, another one?" his mother was the first to see the hatchling and the rest gathered around " Yes, meet Ormund my dear" his grandmother said, carrying the sleeping dragon.



"You had more eggs?" Steffon turned to him, crossing his arms.

"Yes"



"How many?"

"Between one and ten" No straight answer there.



"I am your father"



Ignoring the unsaid are you not going to tell me " Are we enacting the part where Vader tells Luke the truth?"



When you don't want to talk about something, just confuse them untill they give up.



"What?" his father was undestandably confused. "Who are you talking about?"



"No one you would know" his father just shook his head and went back to the dragon, too tired to deal with his antics.



He had the dragons fed first, then ate something himself and went to sleep.



The next two weeks went in relative peace. His grandmother spent a lot of time with her dragon, the flying lizard following her around like a puppy, curious about everything. Of course, she had great time watching Aerys fume.



Rhaegar and other Targaryens as well as Starks came up every now and then asking him questions about the Others and the prophecy.



Interesting news though, appearently Oldtown, seat of Hightowers as well as the home to Citadel was going to open a medical school, as a branch of the Citadel, teaching revolutionary treatments and researching new medicine for diseases of all kinds.



Now, he was pretty sure that didn't happen in the books, and if the pace of their research is anything to go by, there was someone there, who knew more about medicine than anyone else.



He needed to research that.



Fast.



However, he had more pressing matters. The ship carrying Gregor Clegane was sighted. Meaning his duel would be tomorrow or the day after that at most.



It wasn't long before the ship stopped midway and men began to load into the boats to row rest of the way.



And none of the actors in the show did him justice. The bastard was eight feet tall, and looked strong enough to crush a man's head with his bare hands.



Good thing he was going to cheat, fighting him in a honest duel would be a bitch.



He surveyed the rest of the men that came from the ship, and what do you know, there was a man, with the sigil of a manticore.



Since he was with Clegane, that meant Amory Loch. The bastard that killed Rhaenys in the books with half a hundred thrusts.



The though boiled his blood " You know I don't think this will be very fair fight" he commented to Tywin Lannister, the man looking at him with ice cold eyes.



"Scared?" the whole procession stopped to watch them.

"Scared that this will be a boring fight? Yes. I think Amory Loch should fight with him, to make it a bit more fair for the big ugly over there" His mother looked like she was going to faint and his father looked like a tomato.



Seeing an oppurtunity Tywin agreed " Very well, if that is what you wish for"



"Great" he turned back.



He needed to get Claymore ready.



Two Days Later



His family had raged at him, asking if he was suicidal, trying to talk him out of fighting the both at least.



He refused though, assuring them he would be fine.



And finally it was the day of the duel. They had gathered outside Storm's End so everyone who wanted to watch the fight could.



He had made sure Claymore was in working condition. He had one shot left with it after all, it wouldn't do to waste it because of a mechanical issue.



He was walking to the gate , only to Jaime Lannister was on his way, leaning on the wall with an apple in his hand.



"Fighting against Gregor Clegane was a bad idea to start with, but to fight against him and Amory Loch, all by yourself? You have outdone yourself my lord" he said mockingly with that arrogant Lannister smile on his face.



He approached the younger man and leaned in " Are you angry that your sister tried to fuck me and not you?" he whispered.



Jaime's smile was lost quick "I don't know what you are talking about" taking a more hostile stance.



"Sure you don't" he turned around to leave before turning back to him again " You know, I heard the King lusted after your mother, Lady Joanna, and since you and your sister fuck like Targaryens do, could he be your real father?"



Boy, was he furious at this. "You dare!?" he seethed, almost unsheathing his sword before Robert surged forward and clamped his hand on the pommel of the sword, squeezing Jaime's hand in a vice tight grip.

"Carefull kiddo, someone might think you are trying to kill me" he continued to squeeze harder, and Jaime finally relented, backing off "Gregor Clegane will make your death a painful one"



"Keep dreaming sister fucker" he finally left the Lannister heir to his own dread at having their secret known.



Robert Baratheon walked through the mass around the makeshift arena, wearing his Wild Hunt armor, carrying a hammer on his shoulder with one side was disproportionately large and a lot of sharp spikes at the end.



He walked slowly, looking like the Spectre of Death, his skull mask involuntarily sending a chill down the spines. Robert finally entered the arena. Clegane was at the front, while Loch stood at the back.



The larger man growled at him, obviously angry at him for saying a fight against him would be too easy.



"We gather here to witness a Trial by Combat, to see who the Gods decide as the guilty. Fighting for Davon of Stormlands, Lord Robert Baratheon.



Applause for him was great as expected, shouts of "Kill the Bastards!" "For the Stormlands!" "Long Live Robert the Dragonlord!" were the loudest and he basked in it.



"Fighting in the name of Lord Tywin Lannister, Ser Gregor Clegane and Ser Amory Loch" called out Maester Cressen as the neutral party.



Applause for them did not go beyond a few claps.



His father came forward, as the Lord of the Stormlands " Fight!"



Gregor Clegane rushed at him while Amory Loch circled around. He met the larger man's charge, swinging his hammer downward at his head. The man blocked the hit, his strength enough the stop the momentum of the hammer before "BANG!!"



The hammer exploded to pieces, the sharp spikes at the end launched at the Mountain's face faster than eye can see, the sound and the concussion disorienting and sending the man sprawling.



He began to scream.



The shrapnel that got through the openings in his helmet, the only reason he wasn't dead, blinding him as well as mutiliating his face.



The sound effected him too and he shook his head "I should have controlled my strength better. Now my hammer is ruined" he lamented to the cow.



He looked at his ruined hammer, ignoring the screams of the man on the ground and threw it away.



Claymore had done it's job well once again.



But he needed a weapon now.



He went to pick the Mountain's sword, but it was warped and useless because of the explosion.



Time to be creative then.



He turned back at Amory Loch, who looked a lot less sure now that the mountain was out and walked slowly towards him, like a predator stalking a prey.



"Fight you witless fool!" ordered Tywin Lannister.



Seems Loch was more afraid of Tywin then him. A mistake he was going to fix now. He caught the sword with his hand, and wrenched it out of his hand before striking Loch's throat with his other hand.



Instinctively Loch's hands went to his throat as he gagged. Taking the oppurtunity he kicked the side of his knee, making him kneel with a cry and kneed his chin, snapping his head back and knocking him down. Pain blossoming on his face, he tried to crawl away.



Robert took hold of his ankle and began to drag him towards Clegane, his struggles and cries futile.



"I hate those two" he said with an emphasis on hate. "They are both horrible human beings"



He released Lorch, who tried to get up and run and kicked him in the face, and then stomped on his head.



"This bastard threw the last living Tarbeck, a three year old boy, down a well" he stomped on his elbows, breaking them to stop him from trying to escape, leaving him to scream in agony.



"Not only that, I had to watch in my dreams as he stabbed a defenseless girl of three over and over again"



He kicked him on the head again for good measure.



Leaving the rat to his misery, he turned to Clegane.



"This big bastard though, is arguably worse than Lorch. He killed his own father and sister" Sandor may have just suspected him, but knowing what kind of a bastard he is, he most likely did it" and beyond the atrocities he commited, I had to watch as he raped a woman, after killing her newborn son, then kill her"



He was lying of course, but not like he could say the truth about the books.


The said man was still on the ground, a puddle of blood around him. He kicked his mutiliated face, sending a fresh wave of agony coursing through him.



"You know what else? Our Prince went and knighted this monster, all because his master Tywin Lannister requested" he pointed at the mentioned men, who became increasingly uncomfortable at the judgemental looks they received.



Or in Tywins case, he became angrier, daring anyone to make eye contact with him.



He took hold of Lorch's ankles again, lifted the bastard and slammed him on Clegane as an improvised hammer.



Over and over again, untill his arms were burning.



Unsurprisingly, Clegane was still alive, though Lorch had died during his time as a hammer.



He tossed the dead man aside, and took hold of the wheezing and almost dead Clegane's neck, and through strength that even he didn't think he had, lifted him up with both hands, bringing him to his height.



He squeezed while all the Mountain could do was to gargle, too beaten to resist. He squeezed harder and harder till the Mountain That Rides died with a broken neck.



Robert released the corpse, having had enough.



Cheers began to rise from the crowd in his name and he removed helmeth raising his hand, screaming in victory.



Today was a productive day.

 

[Samael61]

Hello there,

If you enjoy my stories you can read advanced chapters in my patreon

Geek's Guide to Thriving in a Low End Fantasy World is four chapters ahead there.

You can also check out my other stories in my page.

Her Eternal Excellency, ( Raiden Ei reborn as Argella Durrandon) a Genshin Impact and ASOIAF crossover, which is also four chapters ahead.

Commander Shepard, The Greatest to Ever Live, which is three chapters ahead.

Also I will create a poll on what to write next, so don't forget to join my page.

Thank you in advance.

---

Storm's End

Lord's Solar

After the Duel



"How did you do it?" Steffon Baratheon crossed his arms, his gaze pinned on his eldest son.



"Well, when you are as strong as me, anything is possible" Robert shrugged off his fathers question.



Naturally, his father didn't accept his answer "What you did to Clegane can not be explained by strength alone"



"Does it really matter? I won, they are dead, and what's more Tywin's furious" Really, the look on the Lion's face was priceless.



His grandmother stopped stroking the dragon on her lap "We are merely curious, no one cares about what happened to those two monsters"



Robert sighed "There is this explosive black powder in Yi-Ti. When you light it on fire or squeeze it tight enough it explodes and launches everything surrounding it really fast. I just filled a hollow hammer head with it and stuck spikes on the front. When I hit Clegane I used the in-built mechanism to lit the powder"



He was lucky that day, finding a merchant selling a small keg of gunpowder, apparently having bought it off from a smuggler. He had two Claymores made with it, though he used the first one on a Dothraki Khal.



The result was more impressive than what happened to the Mountain, as the man's head and upper chest became a bloody smear with a single hit.



His father just reached to the drawer and pulled out a thick stack of letters, tied with a rope and threw them at him.



"What is this?" Robert pulled out a letter and began to inspect it. The seal on the letter was that of House Florent?



They weren't offering Selyse Florent as a bride were they?



His father's grin was almost malicious "Marriage offers" and he pulled out two more stacks of letters.



He pulled the top one from one of the stacks " This is from the Hightowers, they are offering to foster Renly, allow Stormlanders to be the one of the first ones to learn in their new medical branch as they call it and building trade routes with us"



"I am against fostering but sending Renly to learn medicine should he be interested when he

is old enough is a good idea. As for trade, well, who would say no to more wealth?"



"Will you consider any of the marriage offers?" his mother asked with a hopeful tone.



"No" he said, after all he wasn't going to marry just because they wanted grandchildren.



"Great, then have fun writing the refusal letters to all these Lords. Also, Maester Cressen can't assist you as he is busy with other things" Without even explaining what he was so busy with, his father fled out of the room, followed by the rest.



Robert pinched the bridge of his nose, annoyed. He got up, took the letters as well as ink and parchment and left.



He wasn't going to write a bunch of letters stuck inside a room, and it just so happened he knew a place.



Top of the Drum Tower



Robert sat on the seat he took from the rookery and began to write the letters, the wind gently caressing his face while watching the narrow sea, making him feel at peace.



He had barely finished half before voices came from the rookery. Thinking it might be Cressen he ignored it and kept writing, but stopped when he heard Arthur Dayne's voice.



"My Prince should we not have this conversation in a more secure place like your quarters?"



Rhaegar shook his head "One of the servants kept following me. I think Robert is keeping an eye on us. We should be safe here"



Robert frowned, "No I'm not" he thought, but if it wasn't him, then who was having Rhaegar followed?



"Then what should we do my Prince?"



"He will have to be disposed of but in a way that will not bring the fury of House Baratheon on us, otherwise the consequences will be dire" Rhaegar's tone was grim, knowing the whole situation wasn't in their favor.



"I will do it my Prince, I will kill him" Arthur was ready to sacrifice his life for his friend and prince.



"No, everyone will think it was my father or me who ordered it"



Arthur was resolute "I will claim I did it by myself because your father was too weak to do anything about it. If I insult him so publicly and earn his ire, they will think I acted alone"



"If you do this then" Arthur nodded before Rhaegar could finish his sentence.



Rhaegar closed his eyes and nodded, clasping Arthur's shoulder " I won't let your sacrifice be for nothing my friend"



Robert narrowed his eyes, almost getting up to go and throw them off the rookery but stopped himself.



He had a better idea.



Robert was walking to his room with quick steps, annoyed at Rhaegar.



The inbred moron thought his boyfriend could kill him? He was so going to get it.



He stopped, almost bumping into Stannis in his distracted state.



"Brother, are you well?" Stannis looked concerned.



"Yes, yes, I am fine, just distracted. What were you saying?" said Robert, noticing the maid behind Stannis bowing her head.



"She saw Jon Connington enter your room, thinks he might have stolen something" Stannis was gritting his teeth, tell tale sign he was furious.



Robert opened the door and immediately went to the drawer where he kept his decoy diary, only to find out it was gone.



"Did he take something?" Stannis was ready to go and bring the Lord of Griffin's Roost to justice, preferably by taking a hand or something for daring to steal from the family of his liege lord.



"Yeah, he took the decoy diary" Robert couldn't help but laugh. He loved it when things went his way.



"Decoy diary?" Stannis was understandably confused. Why would someone have a decoy diary?



"It has false information on how to hatch dragons. I just hope Connington gives it to Rhaegar" Robert turned to the maid " What's your name again?"



"Melisa, my lord" she bowed her head. Her eyes went wide when Robert reached to his pocket, pulling out a handful of gold dragons and handing them to her.



"You didn't see anything about Connington, understood? In fact, you weren't even here" she nodded mutely, clutching the gold dragons.



Robert ushered them out of the room, changing clothes.



He needed an audience with the King, and he wanted to look his best.

---

Next Day

Courtyard



Arthur listened, hidden in the corner as the King and Robert Baratheon conversed. He couldn't hear what they were talking about from where he was hiding, but decided to move as he heard a single set of footsteps moving away. He peaked, watching as Robert Baratheon, in his armor, was moving to Courtyard, though he looked strange?



He shook his head, he needed to do this before Robert was too close to the dragons and he lost his chance forever, as the dragonrider was going to leave tomorrow.



Arthur unsheathed Dawn, stalking his target and just as the unaware man walked into the courtyard, he ran.



Robert turned back clumsily, alarmed by the shouts but before he could say or do anything Arthur Dayne, Sword of the Morning swung his sword right at his neck, decapitating the Father of the Dragons.



Screams and shouts permeated the whole courtyard, the guards rushed, slamming him to the ground but Arthur offered no resistance. He did what he had set out to do, what happened to him from now on did not matter.



The dragons watched the whole scene, before huddling together and laying down, ignoring the screaming humans.



The most heart wrenching part was watching Lady Cassana, frozen in shock as her son's head rolled away. She took a step towards the head, shaking as she knelt to touch it.



"What is the meaning of this?!" Steffon Baratheon ran to the courtyard upon hearing the screams and shouts, stopping in shock at seeing the severed helmet of his son, leaking blood.



"You bastard!" he thundered over to the knight held down by the guards, his hands finding their way to the Kingsguard's neck and lifted him up, squeezing the life out of him.



"Who told you to do this?!" Steffon roared at the gasping knight.



"Why is everyone screaming?"



Everyone who heard the familiar voice turned to the speaker, watching as Robert Baratheon, the one they all thought dead, sauntered into the courtyard, alive and well.



Arthur was taken back, his eyes wide.



If he was alive then who did he kill?!! He began to struggle, trying to break free but Lord Steffon threw him back to the guards, who proceeded to slam him down again.



Steffon Baratheon took hold of his son's shoulders, inspecting him, making sure he was fine.



"Thank gods for your doubles" he breathed a sigh of relief.



Robert blinked "Oh, he wasn't my double" he shook his head.



"Then who was he?" His father was worried now, wondering what his son did, but before he could get an answer "What is this commotion?" came in Rhaegar, followed by some of his usual lackeys.



Seeing the scene- Arthur Dayne held down by guards, a decapitated armored body and a head covered by a helmet on the ground and the said owner of the armor standing there on the side- Rhaegar was quick to understood they were tricked by Robert, who likely had his body double wear the armor.



Robert shook his head in disappointment "I can not believe you would do something like this Dayne, truly, where did the honour of the Sword of the Morning go? Did your oaths mean nothing to you?"



"My Lord, I want to assure you we had nothing to do with this and we will ensure there is justice for your man" Rhaegar sold Arthur out, as they had agreed upon.



Robert furrowed his brow " Justice for my man? You should seek justice for your House, not my body double"



"What do you mean?" Rhaegar was suspicious at Robert's lack of care.



"That was King Aerys in the armor, not my double" Robert looked down, appearing sad "You have my condolences" he looked meaningfully at Rhaegar, his eyes telling a different story.



The crowd went deadly silent, and someone fainted with a thud.

---

Targaryen Quarters

1 Week Later



In an age where things like media, TV and internet did not exist, rumours were a good way to manipulate public opinion.



And rumours that Rhaegar ordered Arthur to kill his own father so he could take the throne spread like wildfire at the Storm's End and beyond, as traders and peddlers came and went.



Rumours that Robert had started.



It didn't help that Dayne couldn't tell the truth and had to lie about targeting Aerys "because he was weak and was going ot bring House Targaryen to ruin"



As a result, people both noble and commoner were wary of the soon to be crowned King Rhaegar, who had holed up in his room.



Gerald Hightower and Oswell Whent were standing guard at the door, protecting their new King from any threats as Robert approached.



"Do tell Rhaegar I need to speak to him" while smiling at the frosty white cloaks.



"King Rhaegar doesn't wish to be disturbed" Hightower emphasised the King, as if trying to remind him.



"I just heard the ghastliest of rumours concerning the death of King Aerys, and thought I should offer my support to my dear cousin"



Not mentioning who started those rumours of course.



"As I said my lord.."



"Just tell him, would you? I'll go if he is not interested" Robert cut off the Kingsguard.



Hightower just sighed and knocked on the door and after a short conversation opened the door.



"You may enter, long as you are unarmed" Robert's brow rose and he couldn't help but take a jab at the Whitecloaks "Considering the Kingsguard killed more kings than I have, I'd say you should be the unarmed ones"



Boy did they not like that.



He entered the room and noticed the new King glaring at him.



It would be more impressive if he wasn't so haggard looking, with those eyebags and disheveled hair.



Robert closed the door behind him, leaning on it and crossing his arms as he watched Rhaegar.



"Of all the things you could have done for revenge, you chose to make my best friend kill my father" Rhaegar spat out, losing the calm and collected appearance he kept up so far.



"Revenge? For what? If you mean those other rumours about you ordering Dayne to kill me, then we both know you wouldn't do something like that because I would see it coming in my dreams. Then I would kill you and depose your family, and you aren't stupid enough to take a risk like that" Robert's glee was daring Rhaegar to come out and say otherwise.



"Why are you here?" Rhaegar wanted to say something, but thought better of it, instead choosing to ask Robert's reason for coming.



"The rumours about you being mad and ordering Dayne to kill your father are spiralling out of control and I just wanted to say I don't believe them for one second"



"Thank you for your support my Lord"



Sarcasm was strong with this one.



"Actually, I could be persuaded to make my voice heard to the masses, and clear up those rumours, for a price of course" Robert's inner capitalist was happy at the opportunity to rip off the royal family.



"And what would that price be?" Rhaegar was naturally suspicious, waiting for the hammer to drop.



"Just a show of your appreciation for my actions. Two million gold dragons should be enough, I think" said Robert, talking as if he wasn't asking for half of the Targaryen treasury.



"Get out" hissed Rhaegar,



"Oh well, though I should say my price will go up next time" Robert shrugged and left.



He would win either way.



While tormenting the Royal Family was fun, they were keeping their guards up after the death of Aerys, so he busied himself with future plans.



He was going to build a trade empire.



Consumer goods, weapons and armor, luxury items, livestock, horses, ships and everything else worth money.



However, he needed a sailor with the knowledge of where to get those goods for the best prices.



And he knew just the man for it.



One Week Later



It was finally the time for the guests to leave, though they, including Robert and his family, were going to King's Landing to attend King Aerys' funeral and Rhaegar's crowning ceremony.



The only reason he was going there was for business.



Rhaegar did not come to him for help, but he might just change his mind when faced with the rumours in the King's Landing.



The journey was boring for him, he had to match the speed of the people on the ground, which meant a lot of circling around.



At least he had time to make the business plan for his trade empire.



He had divided the plan into three phases.



First phase was to build the headquarters, and for that he was going to buy a sizable piece of land northeast of Bronzegate, building a port there, along with the infrastructure necessary for shipbuilding, as the storms the land is known for don't hit that area much, if at all.



Second phase was to recruit people with the necessary knowledge and experience in sailing, trade and information gathering, while training and equipping those with potential, all the while working with shipwrights to design and build larger and faster ships with more cargo capacity.



Who knew all those books and documentaries would be useful one day?



This phase also included recruiting artisans of all kinds, mostly the ones he saved from the slavers and dothraki to see if they would be interested, as well as people like Tobho Mott, who left the Free Cities for one reason or another. He would rebuild their workshops, using his knowledge to improve their efficiency and output.



Third was to forge necessary deals with the rulers of the places he intended to trade with, from the Lords of Westeros to the Sea Lord of Braavos and the rest of the Free Cities.



It wasn't going to be easy, but retirement sounded boring when there was adventure to be had.



Now if only the slowpokes below could move faster.

 

[Samael61]

Hello there,

If you enjoy my stories you can read advanced chapters in my patreon

Geek's Guide to Thriving in a Low End Fantasy World is four chapters ahead there.

You can also check out my other stories in my page.

Her Eternal Excellency, ( Raiden Ei reborn as Argella Durrandon) a Genshin Impact and ASOIAF crossover, which is also four chapters ahead.

Commander Shepard, The Greatest to Ever Live, which is three chapters ahead.

Also I will create a poll on what to write next, so don't forget to join my page.

Thank you in advance.

---

King's Landing
Market Area

High quality cutlass, wooden toys, good quality wine, silver and gold jewelry and two whole mutton legs.

Robert figured these would make good "I am sorry" gifts for visiting Davos in his home without prior notice.

Finding the man's home was troublesome, as people weren't willing to snitch him to a noble, worried the man might have been in trouble with him, but gold and charisma made them talk eventually.

Finishing his shopping, he made his way to the Flea Bottom, hiding his gifts in an old looking sack to not draw attention. He found the house easily, as it was better looking than most houses in this ward.

Knocking on the door three times, he waited for his first recruit to come - he had checked, Davos was in the city.

Bolts were unlocked and a man of brown hair and eyes with an unassuming face opened the door.

"Davos! Just the man I wanted to see" Robert greeted the man before he could even open his mouth.

"Good morn Ser, have we met before?" Davos was naturally wary of a man he never met before appearing on his doorstep, asking for him.

"No, but we are about to, Robert Baratheon, a pleasure to meet you" Robert held out his hand, his charming smile on full power.

Which did nothing to calm Davos, whose face went ashen white at hearing the name of the Dragonlord.

"M-my Lord, have I done anything to displease you?" Davos couldn't think of anything he had done to earn the ire of the man, but then again why would he be here ?

"Oh, no, nothing of that sort. I am just here to offer you a job, and I'll be gone like the wind if you aren't interested" Robert waved away the smuggler's concerns, trying to ease the man.

"So, are you going to invite me in or are we going to talk out in the open like this?"

"Welcome to my humble abode, my lord" Davos just swallowed and invited him in, not knowing what to do.

Robert clapped the man gently on the shoulder and moved in. The place was cozy, giving a very homey feeling.
It was a nice change from all the splendor and shine of the noble life. He moved to the living room, watching as two boys were playing with toys. Davos ushered them away, sending them to their room.

Robert sat on a chair, putting his sack down while Davos went to the kitchen to his wife, informing her a guest had arrived.

Davos came and sat down, tentatively asking "You said you had a job offer for me, my lord?"

"Yes, but before that, I brought some gifts as an apology for coming in without letting you know beforehand"

"My lord you didn't have to" Davos was hesitant to accept any gifts, especially from a noble, knowing they just didn't hand out gifts without expecting something in return.

"I understand why you don't want to accept my gifts, but I am not giving them to put you in a bad position, and if you truly don't want to I won't insist" Davos was a humble but proud man and Robert didn't want to push him into accepting anything because of fear.

The smuggler considered it, before acquiescing, taking the sack to the kitchen, before coming back and sitting down again.

"So, let's get to business. I intend to build a trade empire that will encompass the Seven Kingdoms, Free Cities, Yi-Ti and beyond. We will trade everything from food to luxury items, weapons and armor to livestock and horses. I also intend to build larger and faster ships, capable of carrying more cargo to increase our profit. What I want to hire you for is to be the Captain of my trading fleets"

Davos' eyes widened, an offer like that would be the opportunity of a lifetime.

"What would my duties be, my lord?"

"You will have several tasks, but you will be paid according to that. First is to recruit any other smuggler that you can trust to join me when the time comes. When we start trading, you will be responsible for leading the fleets, as well as doing market research, basically knowing what could be sold for most at where and when" Robert explained at Davos' confused look at the term market research.

"You will be knighted, of course, and be granted lands of your own, as well as get a cut of the profits as your payment. I will ensure you as the Captain of my First Fleet have the most profitable trading lanes"

Davos was ready to accept the offer, knowing it would ensure a bright future for his family but something gnawed at him.

"My lord, your offer is most generous and I would have to be a fool to not accept it but why me?"

"Have you heard the rumours about my dragon dreams?" Robert asked tentatively. People tended to care more about the dragons than the non-existent dreams.

"I heard bits and pieces my lord" While Davos made sure to not cross the Dragonlord, he still kept his ears open about anything concerning their actions.

"Well, in my dreams you saved my brothers from starving while they were under siege at Storm's End, sneaking past a blockade. I also saw you serve my brother Stannis as a loyal, capable and most importantly, as a good person. That is why I wish to recruit you" Davos was one of the nicest people in the Asoiaf universe, and since Stannis got the Storm's End, he might as well recruit him.

"You… saw me in your dreams?" Davos was surprised at appearing in the dreams of the Father of the Dragons.

Robert scrunched his face at this " It sounds weird when you say it like that but yes"

They talked well into the night, Davos asking about the details, such as where would they be based on, how would they get the ships, how much would the sailors be paid, and most importantly, how much money Robert would invest into this venture.

Three million gold with the possibility of more certainly left Davos speechless.

Robert had his own questions too, such as how many smugglers he could recruit, what could they sell for the best profit when the time came, and where to find the best materials to build a city.

It was well into midnight when Robert left the humble abode of Ser Davos.

---

Next Day
Red Keep
Baratheon Quarters
Robert's Room

Robert just finished wearing his trousers and was about to put a shirt on, when the sole window of his room rattled. He watched, leaning on the wall and crossing his arms as someone was trying to pry open the window.

He was impressed, the room was two stories high and whoever it was risked it in daylight no less.

The would-be assassin finally opened the window and parted the curtains, his eyes widening when he saw Robert watching him. His hand went to his belt to unsheath a knife, but by the time he pulled it and got up it was too late.

---

Lady Lyanna Stark, soon to be the Queen of the Seven Kingdoms, along with Queen Mother Rhaelle were walking to the throne room with a plethora of ladies from all over the Kingdoms following.

It was suffocating.

Though their attention was directed up when they heard glass break, followed by a man falling right in front of them, groaning in pain.

"And his name is Robert Baratheon!!!"

And it was none but the man himself shouting, as he jumped out of a two stories high window, half naked, slamming his elbow down right into the chest of the assassin groaning on the ground.

There was a sickening crunch, and the man went still with a wet hack, his mask stained.

Robert then just got up as if nothing had happened and dusted himself, only noticing the gathered flock of ladies.

"Yo, what's up?" He acknowledged them with a nod, turning around to leave.

They were too bewildered to say anything.

The screams at seeing a dead man bleeding right in front of them brought them to their senses rather quickly.

---

Robert was disappointed. Really, couldn't they at least send a professional? That would have been more fun than this second rate poser.

He shook his head, spotting a guard and telling them about the dead body he had left back.

Someone needed to clean that and he wasn't going to do it.

After a short walk he was back in his room, putting on his best outfit.

Today was going to be a busy day, and he needed to make an impression.

As if three dragons flying over the city weren't enough.

He left to find his family at the Great Hall, drawing more than one look from several unmarried ladies, as well as some married ones.

Six and a half feet handsome man muscled like a maiden's fantasy, dressed in a black and gold uniform did cut a rather striking figure after all.

"You dressed up rather nicely" commented his mother, as he drew eyes from all over the Great Hall.

"I got business today, and first impressions matter" Robert sat down on the empty chair between Stannis and his mother.

"What business is it now?" His father was wary, feeling a headache coming.

"Just some negotiations with the merchants in the city, nothing to give you a heart attack I promise" Robert cheekily responded.

"What are you buying?" Considering how much gold he had, Rhaella knew it would shake the price of whatever he was buying.

"Building materials mostly"

"For what?" Stannis asked, curious.

"For Robert's Trade Empire, name pending" Robert looked proud of himself.

"For what!?" Stannis asked again, disbelieving, mirrored by the rest.

"We can talk about the details later if you are so interested, but I am already behind my schedule because of that idiot and need to go now" Robert inhaled whatever was left of his breakfast, and bolted.

Time is money after all.

Robert, along with Ser Davos, spent a week visiting merchants all over the city, securing business deals for his up and coming trade empire.

First, he secured building materials, such as stones, timbers, mortar and everything else needed to build homes, warehouses and working places such as sawmills and forges, for the initial settlement where the workers would stay.

With his natural charisma and charm the deals he made were very favourable.

Second part was finding the said settlers, and Robert wasn't idle.

He recruited artisans and craftsmen down on their luck, were in debt or just wanted a new start. He also sent letters to Braavos, seeing if any of the people he saved over the fiver years were interested in joining.

He made an offer to Tobho Mott, who had arrived in the city a couple years ago, the chance to work with his dragons to see if he could discover the secrets of making Valyrian Steel, as well as giving him some clues on how to make swords with patterns similar to the vaunted steel.

But the man only agreed to join if his tips worked and he could actually turn his city to the capital of a "Trade Empire" as he called it.

Robert counted it a success, even if he couldn't figure how to make Valyrian Steel, he would still be a valuable blacksmith, capable of working with existing Valyrian Steel swords.

Educated people were necessary to build a functional settlement that would evolve into a city over time, so he recruited some old captains who left their sailing days behind unwillingly. While they couldn't work in construction or other menial jobs, they knew how to read and write, as well as keep ledgers and manage supplies, so Robert made a list, putting each person to either logistics, management or finance areas.

Another recruitment pool was noble sons who stood to inherit nothing. Usually they would go and find their own ways in life, either as mercenaries in the Free Cities, Maesters ,join another household as Knights and in rare cases go to the Wall. A lot of them were going to be in King's Landing soon enough.

He also used quite a bit of silver stags to further spread the rumors about Rhaegar.

Even if he didn't get to extort the King for millions of gold dragons, he could still use this opportunity to get a city charter.

Robert was going to build his city anyway, he just didn't want to declare war on Targaryens to do so, unless it was inevitable.

Which brought him to the most important part of the deal, getting the necessary land.

The area he wanted to buy belonged to House Steadmon, who weren't mentioned that much in the books or the show, but memories of the original showed that Lord Alesander Staedmon got along well with Robert, and a man called "Pennylover" should be open to a deal.

Which is why he was finally returning to the Red Keep after a week, as the Lord was going to be there for some other business.

---

Red Keep
The Day Before King Aerys' Funeral

"An assassin, Robert?! When were you going to tell us?!!" his father's face was red, and he looked a second away from going and killing someone.

"It's fine really, the idiot didn't even know what he was doing" Robert shrugged, tired and just wanting to rest.

"You should be more worried about how he jumped out of a two stories high window" His mother's glare was scarier than his father's, Robert thought.

Robert gathered them both in a hug "Thanks for worrying but believe me it is going to take a lot more than an idiot or jumping out of a window to kill me"

They just sighed reluctantly, giving up.

Instead they asked about his "Trade Empire" and he was all too happy to explain.

It was well into the afternoon his parents and grandmother stopped grilling him and he left to find Lord Staedmon.

"Pennylover" was an apt description for the man, as he understood the value of what Robert was building, and wanted to be an even greater part of it.

He proposed to give the land for free if Robert married his daughter, which he refused of course. When Lord Staedmon got insistent, Robert told him " I'll give you half a million gold dragons for the land, which is a lot more than what it is worth. You can refuse it because you want one of the things I am not willing to agree to and I can just go and find somewhere else to build my city"

He finally gave up on the marriage and they negotiated further.

Lord Staedmon also wanted the merchants and peddlers in his lands to be exempt from any tolls and have lower tariffs than the usual. Robert agreed to the exemption of tolls and lower tariffs but only offered three hundred thousand gold dragons in return for the land, which the Lord begrudgingly accepted.

Which was good and well, as Ser Barristan of all the Kingsguard came to inform him that Rhaegar wanted to talk, and off they went.

Red Keep
Small Council Chambers

Ser Barristan opened the door and Robert stepped in, his eyes landing on Rhaegar.

Surrounded by Ser Hightower and Ser Whent, the Targaryen King looked haggard, the stress of the rumours and his impending marriage as well as crowning had tired the man.

Wussy.

The only other occupant of the room was Connington, who was glaring daggers at him the moment he stepped in.

Robert sat down on the opposite side of Rhaegar, while Barristan went to stand behind his King with his brothers in arms.

"So what did you want to talk about again?" Robert clasped his fingers together on the table, smiling.

"Regarding your offer about helping me dispel the rumours" Rhaegar's voice was as cold as Eyrie in the middle of winter.

"Dreadful business, that. I thought Varys would have been able to deal with them by now" Robert had no doubt someone with his capabilities could deal with the rumours rather easily.

"My Lord of Whispers have proven incapable of doing so" Rhaegar admitted, his frosty face not giving away anything.

Robert was confused but didn't show it. Varys, incapable of dealing with rumours, even if they were as widespread as they were?

Improbable.

Unless….

It was on purpose, Robert realized. The man, whether a Blackfyre or a Brightflame, probably let the rumours spread to damage the image of the royal family.

He must believe his position is secure enough to afford failing Rhaegar now.

Robert thought about getting the man a gift.

"Well, as I said I could deal with them but my price has gone up rather substantially"

Something that might have been irritation crossed Rhaegar's face, but it was only for a moment.

"What do you want?"

"Just three million golds and a city charter will do" Robert leaned back.

"That is ridiculous!" Connigton finally decided to open his blasted mouth.

"Not your money Connington"

"Maybe so, but I am a loyal subject of His Grace and I won't let you extort him like that" Connington rushed to the defence of his BFF.

"Connington! How dare you imply the King can be extorted! Do you take him for a fool?" Robert mock gasped indignantly and Connington was taken back.

"What!? Of course not!" the Griffin immediately denied it.

"Then why are you butting in huh? Do you think you know better than him?" Robert pressed Connington further, looking even more indignant in defence of Rhaegar, turning the tables on him.

It was so fun.

"Enough!" The idiot tried to refute again before Rhaegar cut them off.

Connington sat down like a scolded child, glowering.

"You will have your city charter but three million golds is too much, I will offer you one million instead"

Rhaegar was willing to negotiate at least, and Robert knew he could get what he wanted.

"Make it two and a half and I'll do you the favor of giving your father the funeral of a Valyrian"

"Still not enough"

"Allright, I will also save Dayne from execution"

Rhaegar stilled at this. He couldn't do anything to save Arthur without rumours becoming worse, and had to resign himself to ordering the execution of his dear friend.

"How?" he asked tentatively, trying not to sound hopeful, lest Robert takes advantage of it.

"Leave the how to me, do we have a deal or not?"

"Very well, but if you fail, you won't get anything more than a million golds"

They shook hands and Robert left.

He barely made it to his quarters, only for a man with the sigil of the Hightowers to stop before him, greeting him with a bow.

"Greetings Lord Baratheon, I bring a message from Lord and Lady Hightower. They wish to speak to you at your earliest convenience"

Robert was …

Intrigued.

The new medical branch the Hightowers were opening had piqued his interest, but he didn't have the opportunity to go and visit it yet.

"Very well, let's go"

Robert trailed after the man.

Hightower Quarters

As big as the Red Keep was, it wasn't big enough to house every noble house in the Seven Kingdoms, so only the most important ones had their own quarters, with the Hightowers being one.

The messenger knocked on the door, informing the Lord and Lady Hightower he was here, and opened the door, letting Robert in.

There sat Baelor Hightower, the Lord of Oldtown -and while his father Leyton was alive and well, he was more interested in pursuing magic so had left the responsibilities of ruling to his son- dark brown hair and light brown eyes.

Next to him was his wife Elia Hightower nee Martell, who in another life would have been married to Rhaegar by now, with olive skin, curly dark hair and dark eyes.

Really, she was more beautiful than Lyanna, and Rhaegar would have to be an idiot to abandon her.

Of course they weren't the only ones, three ladies, Baelor's sisters, and a Dornish man that looked identical to Elia Hightower, with a woman at his side.

Oberyn Martell and his paramour.

Everyone but Pedro - he was going to call Oberyn that from now on- got up to greet him.

"Welcome Lord Robert! It is my pleasure to finally meet you!" Brightsmile indeed, and Robert couldn't help but return the Lord's enthusiasm.

"Well met Lord Baelor. The pleasure is all mine" He shook the offered hand.

"My wife, Princess Elia" Lord Hightower began to introduce his family,

"My sisters Alysanne, Leyla and Lynesse" and as Brightsmile introduced his sister, they preened at him.

Robert just offered polite smiles to each one.

"And my good brother Oberyn and his paramour" The Red Viper of Dorne just nodded at him.

"Come now Oberyn, don't be shy like Pedro and greet our guest" Elia chided her brother.

Robert turned to Elia, who had a knowing look in her eyes.

 

[Samael61]

Hello there,

If you enjoy my stories you can read advanced chapters in my patreon

Geek's Guide to Thriving in a Low End Fantasy World is four chapters ahead there.

You can also check out my other stories in my page.

Her Eternal Excellency, ( Raiden Ei reborn as Argella Durrandon) a Genshin Impact and ASOIAF crossover, which is also four chapters ahead.

Commander Shepard, The Greatest to Ever Live, which is three chapters ahead.

Also I will create a poll on what to write next, so don't forget to join my page.

Thank you in advance.

---

"Pedro, my love?" Baelor was curious about the man his good brother was compared to.



After all, he was a very …. unique individual.



"A mummer who looks exactly like your good brother, though can't say their personalities match from what I've heard of him" Seeing as Elia came out, Robert chose to tell the truth.



"You know him too? How is it possible that there is a person that could pass off as my twin and only two people seem to know him?" Oberyn thought it was a joke when Elia talked of this Pedro, but Robert Baratheon of all people knew him too?



Oberyn definitely wanted to meet him now.



Things he could do with a doppelganger, especially in the bed.



"Too bad he is worlds away" Robert almost snorted at Elia's pun.



Oberyn just shook his head in resignation.



"Anyway, enough of the mummer. You wanted to speak to me Lord Baelor?" Robert had already refused his offer to marry one of the sisters, and the rest of his offers would have to go to his father.



"It was my wife actually" Baelor gestured to his wife.



"I am sure you understand the value of the new Medical Schools we are opening" Elia went straight to the subject.



"I do" After all, if she could improve the medicinal knowledge and practices of this world to a fraction of Earth, it would be a massive improvement in the field of health.



"If we can come to an agreement, we would be willing to open another school to a location of your choosing, after the schools in Oldtown and Sunspear are completed" Elia had figured a person from Earth just like her would be interested in a Medical School in his territory, knowing how lacking- to say the least- it was in this world.

A medical school with the knowledge of 21st century Earth on his soon to be built city?



Robert wondered what the catch was.



"Well, your offer is certainly exciting but what do you want in return? I already made it clear I had no wish to marry any of your good sisters, no offense" The father of the dragons leaned forward, focused on Princess Elia.



What was her name before coming to this world, he wondered.



"Why, if I may ask? My sisters are highly educated and you would be hard pressed to find a better match than them" Baelor had wondered why, ever since reading Robert's letter.



"Marriage and children are a heavy responsibility, and would mean I would no longer be able to go out and have fun as I wish. So unless I am really in love, I'll stay unwed. " Robert explained, hoping they would just drop it.



"Yet you were ready to beat King Rhaegar at Harrenhal, all because of a girl" Pedro, it seems, wasn't going to.



"I wanted to marry her to be brothers with Eddard Stark, nothing else" Robert blankly stared at the grinning snake.



"Marriage aside, what are your plans for the future since you gave up on Storm's End?" Elia gave her brother a look to stop him, since she didn't want the talks to derail.



"I am going to build a trade empire, from Seven Kingdoms all the way to Yi-Ti" Robert pondered, finally deciding to tell them, not like it was going to be a secret for a long time.



"That is a lofty goal" Baelor commented after a while, choosing his words carefully.



"Well, I have the gold, I am familiar with the markets of the Free Cities and I know who to recruit to make it work"



Thankfully, the rest of the conversation was more about the details of his plans and less about marriage.



As it was getting late, they agreed to meet tomorrow to talk about the details, and Robert left for his quarters again, but he had told Lord Baelor to not let Lynesse marry Jorah Mormont, saying it was for her own good.



---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Baratheon Quarters



He watched as Stannis paced in front of his room.



"Stannis, what is so urgent at this time of the night? Did something happen?" Robert called out, worried.



Stannis looked nervous, clenching and unclenching his fists, which only worried Robert more.



"I … wanted to talk to you about something" He muttered with an unusually quiet voice.



"This late? Must be important then, let's go in and talk" Robert dragged his brother in, lighting up candles, and opening the curtains- they had fixed the window thankfully- to let moonlight in.



Stannis sat on the bed, looking at his feet.



"So, what happened?" Robert prodded, running up scenarios in his mind. Was it something about his family or because of the whole thing with the future Lordship of the Storm's End?



Fortunately, the real matter was less worrisome and more interesting to hear.



"There is a lady I wish to speak to but I am not sure how to" Stannis muttered, finally letting it out.



Robert's face lit up, and he barely stopped himself from giving him a bear hug and letting the whole keep know about it, knowing Stannis would be more reluctant to speak.



"Who is the lucky lady?" Robert sat down next to Stannis, choosing to take the gentler route.



"Delena Florent" Robert stilled at this.



He was familiar with the name, as the original Robert had gotten her with a bastard, at the wedding of his own brother to her cousin Selyse no less.



"You know her?" Stannis noticed the look on Robert's face, mind wandering. His older brother knew a lot, so what was it about the name that gave him a pause?



"I saw you married to her cousin, Selyse, in my dreams" Since he couldn't tell his little brother about how the original Robert slept with his crush in another life, he decided to throw Selyse under the proverbial bus.



"Her? Why would father make me marry her?" Stannis grimaced. He had seen the older cousin, and while he wouldn't judge someone based on looks and do his duty, it didn't mean he liked the idea of wedding her.



"Don't worry, it wasn't father, and I won't let it happen, promise" Robert reassured Stannis and decided to change the subject.



"So, how did it happen?" It was important to make Stannis voice out his emotions, since he had a hard time with it.



"My chest felt… weird when I saw her smile" Stannis put his hand on his chest, remembering the moment. Embarrassingly, it took him a while to understand what he was feeling.



"Ahh, love at first sight"



"Is it bad?" Stannis didn't know what kind of a woman he would wed, but he always wanted the kind of relationship his parents had.



"Depends. If you marry a woman just because she was beautiful on the outside, you might end up disappointed if she turns out to be ugly on the inside, like Cersei Lannister" Robert didn't voice out the last part.



He didn't want to spoil the mood.



"Which means, you have to go and learn about her. Such as, what flower does she like, what is her favourite colour or dish? How does she treat commoners and servants? Does she like animals? What does she do in her free time? Just looks isn't enough for a happy marriage"



Stannis looked thoughtful, "She likes birds" he muttered, having stuck around a bit to listen while a gaggle of ladies, including Delena, were conversing.



"See, you already know something about her, and since you are great with birds you can start the conversation with that, and from there try to learn more about her"



"What about father? He doesn't like Reachers, how will I convince him?"



"Leave him to me little bro, just worry about your date tomorrow" Stannis nodded and Robert patted him on the shoulder.



Robert gave Stannis further advice on what to do tomorrow at his date, and after his brother left, took his own luggage and went to find somewhere else to sleep.



No need to deal with another idiot who thought it was a good idea to sneak into his room in daylight.



---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Next Day



As Stannis had said, his father wasn't willing to agree to the match no matter how hard Robert tried, so he used his secret weapon.



Robert went to his grandmother, who went all dragon on Steffon - along with Ormund the dragon, who was puffing smoke at the man in agitation, mimicking his favourite two legs - after hearing how Stannis had a lady he liked and how Steffon refused it all because she was from Reach.



Lord of Storm's End didn't stand a chance.



Which was why they were on their way to visit Lord Alester Florent to inform him of Stannis' interest in courting his niece Delena. Alester Florent's eyes lit up when Steffon Baratheon made the offer and couldn't accept it any faster, knowing he had struck gold, and they headed to the Great Hall, where most of the ladies were gathered to socialise.



Robert had given Stannis a light makeover, styling his beard and hair, and had him wear the finest clothes he had, and a bouquet of flowers to give to the lady.



So here he was, chaperoning them, along with Princess Elia - who had seen the opportunity and offered to chaperone for Lady Delena, a look from her convincing Lord Florent.



As the lovebirds were chatting up on a corner, Robert turned to Elia.



"You told your brother about Pedro Pascal?"



"Yes, well, I always thought he was hot, and teasing Oberyn was really funny." Robert was amused at the thought of someone teasing Oberyn Martell.



"How long have you been here?



"I was reborn here, I think, sooo, a life time really"



Robert was confused at this "You think?"



"I was born premature, so the first several years of my life were hard, I was constantly sick and bedridden, as well as depressed, and don't remember much of it. When I was healthy enough, I was already six years old" Most were worried - or hoped in the case of House Martell's enemies- she would die, but eventually, Elia persevered.



"Yes, you seem rather healthy, compared to how you were described in the books"



"I was an obstetrician and had a brother who was a pediatrician. We regularly studied each other's fields and I knew how to take care of a premature born child. While I'll always be more frail of health compared to normal people, I am still healthy enough to live a good life if I am careful"



At the beginning, even the lightest of exercises left her out of breath, but she had pushed through.



"Family of doctors huh? Must be nice" Robert didn't have a family before coming to this world, but now that he did, he understood the value of it.



"How did you die?" Elia asked bluntly, seeing no need to tip toe around the topic, as they were both familiar with it.



"Car accident. I turned the corner and bam! Next thing I know I was on a ship heading to Braavos, how about you?"



"They brought in a pregnant woman. She was abused and when we called the police the man flipped. He took a gun from one of the cops and well, here I am"



Robert looked up to the sky, thinking, before turning to the Dornish Princess.



"When did you die?"



Elia was twenty seven or twenty eight when she died at 283 AC in the books, and thirty now since the year was 286 AC. It was 2019 when Matt died and has been five years since then, and George R.R. Martin published the first book of Game of Thrones in 1996. Which meant, she should have died somewhere around 1995 or 96, which meant she shouldn't know who Pedro Pascal was, or that he played Oberyn Martell in the show.



"I think it was 2019 before the end of the eight season, though I don't really remember much about those details anymore" Elia looked at Robert, noticing his troubled look, "What is the matter?"



"I died in 2019, somewhere around the beginning of October"



"Huh, so we died months apart but I was reborn as Elia in 256 AC while you found yourself as Robert just five years ago? How is that possible?"Elia was confused to say the least.



"Maybe time moves faster here? Or maybe…" Robert stopped, thoughtful, before asking "Who won the 2016 USA elections?"



"I don't remember her name but she was the first female president of the USA, so it was a big deal" Elia had been living in Westeros for three decades by now, most details of her old life, save for the most important parts, began to elude her these days.



"Lisa Tildman?"



"I don't really remember much about my previous life these days, so I can't say" Elia shook her head, not wanting to say anything she was unsure of.



"Well, she did run for the president but it was her opponent, a man, that won the elections" Robert said, remembering the day.



Now, Elia looked troubled too.



"So not only did we come to this world at different times, even though we died months apart, but we are also from different Earths? This makes no sense"



"Princess, we are in a world where people ride dragons and there are ice zombies up in the north, not to mention all the other f-ed up places. I don't think we should be that surprised about being from different Earths"



"I suppose so" Elia sighed, her hand combing through her hair.



"You know, I am surprised this world didn't have a medical revolution, what's with a 21st century doctor here" Robert was curious, knowing how high the mortality rates were, especially amongst children.



"Even in Dorne people were hesitant to accept the medical aid of a young woman that didn't study at the Citadel nor had any other training in healing, even if she was their Princess" Elia snorted, agitated at remembering all those times she was stonewalled, losing valuable time and most importantly, lives. She couldn't even treat Doran for his gout and although it wasn't her field, she knew she could have done a better job than all the healers and Maesters they brought.



"Huh, maybe you can actually do that now with your Medical School"



"Hopefully"



"Any chance you don't remember the secret to hatching dragons?" Robert asked the question that was gnaving at him, hoping it was one of the details escaping her.



"Fire and blood" Elia told him with a blank stare.



Robert sighed. Guess it was too hopeful.



"Are you going to tell the Targaryens or anyone else?"



"After all the trouble I went into making sure I wouldn't marry Rhaegar? Heck no. As for telling someone else, I don't want to start a needless conflict, seeing as you can just kill whoever hatches a dragon if you care about keeping them all to yourself that much. Simply put, I won't step on your toe if you don't step on mine"



"I can agree to that."



They stayed silent for a while, watching Stannis and Delena. His brother was happy, smiling like Robert never saw him do before.



"What trouble did you get into so you wouldn't marry Rhaegar?" Robert was curious. After all, if she disliked the Targaryens as much as he did, they would get along just fine.



"While she was pregnant with Shaena I convinced my mother to send letters to Queen Rhaella, offering her "advice" for a healthy pregnancy. Meal plans, whatever natural supplements I could think of, regular walks, things to stay free from stress, exercises and so on, claiming it was from a rare tome from the Free Cities, and the only reason Elia lived. I also might have sent an anonymous letter to Aerys, telling how Maester Pycelle was working for Tywin Lannister. What do you know, all the children that died in the crib or were stillborn are alive now." Elia remembered those days, barely seven years old and already dreading the thought of marrying Rhaegar, remembering how the original Elia died.



She figured if Aerys had a living daughter, he would wed her to Rhaegar, saving Elia the trouble.



Even though it wasn't how she expected it to go, it still worked.



"Huh" was all Robert said. So the reason things were so different compared to cannon was because of her.



Wings of a butterfly indeed.



"You were what? Seven? How did you convince your mother?"



"You aren't the only one to lie about dreams"



"Does anyone else know?"



"No, I didn't want Aerys to hear about it" Elia shook her head. Her mother, realising the dangers of the dreams had agreed to keep them a secret, especially after learning what Rhaegar's actions would lead to.



"Well, I wish you good luck with your Medical School"



"And I wish you the same with your trade empire"



It was time to go, but they agreed to keep in contact, knowing cooperation would be in their best interest.



---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Stannis was disappointed by how fast time flew while spending time with Lady Delena, but at least they had agreed to a picnic tomorrow.



With his brother's advice, he was able to keep the conversation flowing, learning much about the lady.



He spent the rest of the day with a smile.



---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Robert was getting ready to leave the Red Keep again, as he still had business to do, but had met a curious guest.



He was short with blond hair, had a face only a mother could love, and disproportionate body parts.



Either someone had a really ugly child or he was Tyrion Lannister, the dwarf of Casterly Rock.



"Greetings, my lord" he bowed in greeting, getting one in return from Robert.



"What a pleasant surprise. Tyrion Lannister himself. I am surprised your father brought you to the King's Landing"



"Well, it was more so my uncle Kevan's doing" Tyrion said, knowing well his father would keep him locked in Casterly Rock forever if he could.



"Hmmmm. What do I owe the pleasure?" Meeting the man that offed Tywin Lannister of all people, in the privy with a crossbow no less, was a pleasure indeed.



"I heard you had areal talent for finding Valyrian Steel, and I was hoping to procure one"



"To replace the lost sword of your family?" Robert tilted his head in question.



"Yes"



"With the hopes that your father's attitude toward you would change?"



"Perhaps you have one after all, if you already know why I seek it"



Witty indeed.



"I don't have one I can spare but I can offer you a ride on a dragon. You were quite heartbroken when you learned they were all dead weren't you?"



If Tyrion was disturbed at that he knew something like that, he didn't care, his eyes shining at the offer.



"I would like that very much"



"Come along then"



---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Red Keep

Courtyard



Robert whistled, loud and sharp, bringing the courtyard to a stand.



"Carry on" he said, dismissing the people watching him with the shake of a hand.



Though, it wasn't long before a shadow passed over the courtyard, followed by two more.



People below scurried off as the dragons landed in the middle of the courtyard, and walked up to him.



Roberts scratched their snouts, turning to watch his little guest.



His eyes were fixated on the dragons, his mouth open in reverence.



Robert promptly picked up the little guy and they were off.



---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Tyrion was shouting in delight, perhaps for the first time in his life, knowing what a terrible family he had.



"Thank you my lord, I might not have gotten a Valyrian Steel sword but this is just as , if not more, valuable to me" He thanked Robert after a while, his voice sincere and soft.



"I can get you a Valyrian Steel sword, not soon unfortunately, but that isn't going to change anything in regards to your father"



Robert felt a bit bad about what he was going to do, but with how intelligent Tyrion Lannister was?



It would be a crime to not recruit him.



"How so? He has been searching a Valyrian Steel sword for a long time, If I can find one when he couldn't he will have to stop his treatment of me, to not be seen as ungrateful if nothing else"



Tyrion was still young and he still sought the love of his family.



"No, he won't. You see it's not that your father hates you because you are a dwarf, as much as he hates you for either not being his son and he can't admit it or being his son and " a curse from the gods for his arrogance" as some people claim. You can get him an entire armory of Valyrian Steel and he would still find a fault with you for it"



"What do you mean not being his son?" Tyrion was understandably confused. Far as everyone knew, Tywin hated him for being a disfigured dwarf, a stain on the perfect legacy of Tywin Lannister, as well as killing his beloved wife.



"Well, King Aerys had a thing for your mother. In fact, he did harm Queen Rhaella several times for not being Joanna. Now, you are either Aerys' son, in which case he raped your mother but Tywin can't admit it or you are his son and there was something wrong with him or your mother, which lead to you being born a dwarf, which he can't admit either"



"That is…" Tyrion was speechless, he had known Aerys had lusted after his mother, but he had never considered the idea he was his son.



"But then, why didn't he kill me? He is not the type to raise someone's bastard as his own" Considering the man had no problem ordering the deaths of children, he was right.



"He will, soon as he gets a good opportunity. You will find yourself on the headman's block, whether you are guilty or not"



He almost did in the canon timeline after all.



"Am I his son or am I a bastard, born of rape?" Tyrion didn't know which answer was the worst. Knowing his father hated him for wrongfully thinking he was a bastard, or actually being one?



"Don't worry, with your intelligence you are no way in hell Aerys' son. If anything, Jaime and Cersei are more likely to be bastards than you"



"What?!" Tyrion turned back to him so fast Robert worried he might hurt his neck.



"Well, to be honest, I haven't seen anything in my dreams about Aerys and your mother, but seeing as Cersei and Jaime were fucking regularly behind everyones' backs, I wouldn't be surprised if they were half Targaryens"



Tyrion's eyes widened. Jaime and Cersei, fucking life Targaryen's do?!



"That, that can't be right. Cersei is twisted, yes, but Jaime, at least he wouldn't agree to it, right?" He stumbled through his speech, unwilling to believe.



Jaime was one of the few people in his life who treated him as family, imagining him doing something like that was impossible to Tyrion.



"Jaime, for all his genius with a sword, is too easy to manipulate, and your sister takes advantage of it" Robert figured if he could destroy whatever respect and love the dwarf had for his older brother, it would make it that much easier for him to question his loyalties.



"I always knew Cersei wasn't normal, but this?" Tyrion was lost for words. What could one say in this situation?

"Believe me she is worse than you think she is. In fact there was a girl, a childhood friend of hers, Melara Hetherspoon was her name, I think. Sound familiar?"



"Yes?" Tyrion was hesitant, Melara Hetherspoon's disappearance at the Tourney of Lannisport was well known.



"You see, during the Tourney of Lannisport Cersei and Melara went to visit the tent of a wood's witch, Maggy the frog or someone like that, at night. Melara asked the witch if she would marry Jaime, and the witch told her that she would die that night. Do you know what happened?" Robert asked, much to Tyrion's dread.



"I have a faint idea"



"Cersei pushed her into a well for "having ideas above her station" and wanting to marry the one and only love of Cersei's life"



"Jaime"



"Jaime" confirmed Robert.



"Good thing she is heading to the Silent Sisters" Tyrion rubbed his eyes, feeling a headache building.



"She is?" Robert grinned, delighted at the news. Greatest bitch the Westeros had ever seen was out of the game!



"Yes, after the whole affair with your double no one wished to marry her and father decided Silent Sisters were the best choice to be rid of her. I believe Lord Tully also did the same regarding his younger daughter" Two woman belonging to two great houses being sent to Silent Sisters for losing their maidenhead before wedding, while getting pregnant in Lysa Tully's case and having slept with a commor while betrothed to a Prince in Cersei's case had seen everyone refuse their hand.



This deserved a celebretion far as Robert was concerned.



"But, you have no reason to believe me of course" Robert said, forcing his grin down as he prepared for the most critical part.



"You said all those things, and now you are telling me I don't have to believe you? I am confused, my lord" Tyrion truly was. If Robert told the truth, why would he do something to contradict himself now?



"We just met and you are intelligent enough to not just take my word for it. So, I shall prove myself"



"How?"



So Robert told him about the events around his would-be first wife, Tysha. He spoke of how they had fallen in love, only for Tywin Lannister to ruin it by having his man rape her, following lastly by Tyrion and made him pay her a gold dragon. Not only that, but he also instructed Jaime to tell him she was a maiden whore they hired to make Tyrion a man, and the bandits were a ploy by them as well.



"Now, with how much the things have changed, maybe you won't meet her at all, but if you do, well, I am building a city, and your mind would be a great addition to it" Robert finished.



Considering how much Tyrion got fucked over in the show and the books, he would be happy if he could help the dwarf a bit.



The little man was too angry to converse, so Robert left him be for the rest of the ride.



---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Two Days Later

Red Keep

Great Hall

Trial of Arthur Dayne



King ( soon to be anyway) Rhaegar sat on his throne, dressed in the finest silken apparel he had, with the crown of Aegon the Conqueror on his head, watching his friend be brought before him, forced to his knees.



Owing to the chaos caused by the death of his father, the trial was postponed.



But eventually Arthur Dayne would have to be judged, - if the whole thing could even be called judging- and executed.



"Arthur Dayne, you have betrayed your oaths, and have slain the king you were sworn to protect and serve. For that, your punishment will be death. Any last words?" Rhaegar kept his cool as he handed the execution order of his friend, his throat dry in anticipation, his eyes falling to Robert.



"I have nothing to say" the former Kingsguard just bowed his head, accepting his fate.



"Then, in the name of …." began Rhaegar, before Robert cut him off.



"Your Grace, If I may interject?"



"What is it, my lord?" Rhaegar swallowed.



Finally.



"I believe killing Arthur Dayne is a bad idea"



"Why is that Lord Robert? He killed his king, his punishment is evident" Tywin didn't know what Robert was planning but he wasn't going to let him carry it out.



Sounds of agreement rose from the crowd, wondering what Robert was doing.



"But is it a punishment when you are giving him what he wants?" Robert walked next to Arthur Dayne, turning to the crowd.



Showmanship was important to catch the hearts and minds of an audience after all.



"How exactly sparing his life will be a punishment?" Came the voice of Rickard Stark, as he walked next to the Hand of the King.



"Death is quick my lords, and well, why should he get off so easily? Should he not pay for his crime? How will he do that if he is dead?"



"It is for the Seven-who-are-one to punish him my lord, and for us to set the appointment"



It wouldn't sound so weird if someone other than Tywin Lannister said it.



"Good point, but is it not suspicious that Arthur Dayne accepted his fate so easily? What man would be so eager to die, but one who seeks freedom?"



"Freedom?" A normal person would have sounded incredulous, but not Tywin Lannister.



"Yes, isn't it obvious that he didn't want to serve King Aerys any longer and sought a way out? After all, what other reason would he have but to be free to kill King Aerys?"



"Enough with this. Just kill me and be done with it" Arthur called out, playing along as Robert instructed him to yesterday at the black cells.



"See? He just wants to die, why give it to him? Why not deny him his wish?"



Murmurs of agreement in favor of Robert's argument rose.



"I am sure he will regret seeking death so eagerly while in the seven hells, unless he is a fool"



Ah, Tywin, making things hard for everyone since he became the Lord of Casterly Rock.



"Well, he never striked me as a bright fellow after all, but why give him what he wants? I mean we all know if King Aerys was alive, he would have him tortured before death. Why should we grant this traitor's wish and give him the easy way out?" Robert's voice rose, he turned to the crowd.



"Should he not suffer for the rest of his life at the Wall, amongst thieves and rapists, and rue the each day he lived?! I ask you, should he not suffer in this world, as he will no doubt suffer in the afterlife?!"



Robert knew his argument was weak, and he would have a hard time affecting the crowd.



But he also knew public opinion was like a snowy mountain peak and all he needed was a noise loud enough to set an avalanche.



That is why he paid some of the Knights currently in the room to start cheering for Arthur to be sent to the wall when the time came.



Screams of "Let him rot at the Wall!" " No mercy to the traitor!" and even a "Let the bastard freeze his balls off at the North!" rose from the crowd.



Slowly, more and more people joined, more swayed by the shouts of the growing crowd and to not be left out than any desire to actually send Arthur Dayne to the wall.



The said man had conflicted feelings. On one hand, he might be sent to the wall where he could serve the realm for the rest of his life, on the other hand hundreds of people were screaming profanities at him.



"Enough" Rhaegar shouted, but his voice wasn't enough to silence the room, which led to the Kingsguard banging their swords to silence the crowd.



"What say you, my lords? Should we execute him, or send him to the wall?" Rhaegar turned to the Great Lords. While their opinion wasn't necessary and he could just send Arthur to the wall citing Robert's arguments, his cousin had impressed on him the need for the realm to see it was a unified answer taken for the good of the realm and not because of his personal feelings.



"I say the Wall, your Grace" Rickard Stark came forward. He didn't want to see Arthur Dayne, the brother of his good daughter, die and cast his vote for the wall.



A look from Robert and Jon Arryn voted for the Wall, followed by his own father and Oberyn Martell, representing his brother, who couldn't come due to health issues.



The rest of the lords voted for the Wall as well, seeing as he was already set to go



Arthur's eyes met Rhaegar's, who gave an almost imperceptible nod and bowed his head again.



So be it.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Next Day

Great Sept of Baelor



Arthur Dayne was sent off to the Wall with the first light of the day and people made their way to the Great Sept of Baelor to attend King Aerys' funeral.



After the High Septon preached the sermon about how great the King was, and some other things Robert didn't bother to listen, Aerys was cremated by his dragons, and the remains were taken to be interred within the Great Sept.



Which meant Rhaegar's Crowning Ceremony was next, and he was one step away from payday.

Robert had spent much of the days leading up to Rhaegar's crowning finishing up his business in King's Landing.



Deals were finished and people were awaiting word from him to set sail for their new home.



So, there Robert sat amongst the nobility in the Great Sept of Baelor once more, this time for the rise of a new King.



The crowds were muted somewhat as the ceremony began, still under the influence of the rumours he spread.



He slept through much of it, having plugged his ears and positioned guards around himself and his family, because sleeping in a place like this without protection was just asking to be assassinated.



He only woke up when his father elbowed him, as the King was about to be crowned.



Show time.



As people began to kneel for their King, he walked up to the platform, completely ignoring the glares directed at him.



"Watch and learn how it's done, you noob" he whispered to Rhaegar, indicating to him to let the kneeling people rise.



As they slowly rose, there were cheers, again muted, before Robert held Rhaegar by the shoulder, pulling him close as one might do to family.



"Good people of the Seven Kingdoms!" Robert began, his voice loud and clear, easily reaching outside due to the acoustics of the Great Sept, and slowly raised his hand, gripping it into a fist.



"Our King has been beset with filthy lies, spread by those jealous of House Targaryen's success! They call him, our good and wise King, who spent his time with charities and acts of goodness, all for the people of the Seven Kingdoms, a kinslayer! Him, who has a soul most noble and kind! Him, who has a heart most benevolent!"



Robert wanted to continue praising Rhaegar here, but his lies were already stretching the limit of how much bullshit he could say at a time.



"They talk behind his back to disgrace him, accusing him of the foulest sin, all because they are cowards who know that our King is just and will punish them for their crimes!" He stopped there watching the reaction of the crowd, who looked anxious.



Who was he talking about?



"But it is not just him they wish to hurt! No, they wish to hurt you good people of the Seven Kingdoms, all for their own benefit! They want to stray you from the peace created by House Targaryen and drag the realm into chaos! But our good King will not let them! Long live King Rhaegar!"



Creating a bogus enemy for the public to focus and direct all their problems was a favourite pastime of the 21st century politicians, and it was especially useful in an age where information traveled so slowly and unreliably, and people were more impressionable.



"May the seven curse them for their slander and strike them down for treachery! Long live King Rhaegar!"



By now, people were cheering, either in favour of Rhaegar, or cursing an enemy that didn't exist.



As for Rhaegar, his eye was twitching in barely suppressed anger.



---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Red Keep

Two Weeks Later

Small Council Chambers



Celebrations for the crowning of the King lasted for two whole weeks. Feast after feast were thrown in the Red Keep while foodstuffs were distributed to the smallfolk.



Which meant Robert's payment was delayed.



"Your Grace handing that amount of gold to Lord Rober, especially after the celebrations, will hurt the treasury severely" Lord Manderly , the Master of Coin, said. The man had been the latest lord to be raised to the position as a desire of late King Aerys to reduce the Lannister influence in the court, following several different lords he had been unsatisfied with.



Lord Manderly was suggested as a way to increase the presence of North in King's Landing following Lyanna Stark's betrothal to then Prince Rhaegar, and had done an admirable job.



"I can assure you Lord Wyman, I don't like the idea of handing that much gold to anyone, least of all Robert Baratheon, any more than you do, but we made a deal, and I am in no position to renege on it" Rhaegar confessed, unwilling to face the wrath of the dragons.



"Perhaps we can strike a deal to send the gold to him in installments?" Master of Coin said in hopes of stopping the situation from deteriorating. Ongoing efforts of rebuilding Summerhall had already affected the coffers of the crown, combined with the gold spent during the celebrations - an unfortunate necessity, lest people start talking- meant giving two and a half million gold dragons would leave the treasury nearly empty.



"Knowing him, he would charge us a ridiculous interest rate" Rhaegar spat, displeased with how wealth savvy his cousin had become.



"Even then, in the long run it would be better than simply giving that much gold at once" With the taxes to be collected they could afford to pay a reasonable rate of interest. "Though we might have to cut down on spending" Lord of White Harber thought.



Rhaegar sighed, sitting on his chair, hands covering his face, thinking. He took a deep breath, finally having made a decision " Negotiate with him as you see fit Lord Wyman, I trust your capabilities"



"Yes your Grace" The Master of Coin said, his fat frame bowing before he left the room to find the man in question.



The guards outside opened the door before Lord Wyman could do so, and he came face to face with Prince Daeron.



"My Prince" he bowed to the future ruler of Summerhall.



"Lord Manderly, did you speak to my brother about the matter with Robert Baratheon?" Daeron was fuming ever since his brother striked that deal with the rogue Baratheon but his advice fell on deaf ears. He was hoping the King would listen to the man responsible for handling the finances of the Crown.



"I have, my Prince. His Grace will go through with the payment, but he has given me leave to negotiate in the hopes of paying it in settlements"



"Very well. I shall accompany you" Daeron said.



He would have to employ other means to stop this it seems.



---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Varys watched from the small hole in the wall as Prince Daeron went with the Master of Coin to confront Robert Baratheon.



He had hoped Robert and Rhaegar would clash, that the rumours started by the former would bring the latter to the edge, he had even helped the rumours spread for that purpose. Yet the Father of Dragons decided to give a rousing speech about how great Rhaegar was, destroying the very rumours he had started in the first place, all for gold.



Now, perhaps Prince Daeron in his stubborness would do something rash.

 

[Samael61]

Hello there,

If you enjoy my stories you can read advanced chapters in my patreon

Geek's Guide to Thriving in a Low End Fantasy World is four chapters ahead there.

You can also check out my other stories in my page.

Her Eternal Excellency, ( Raiden Ei reborn as Argella Durrandon) a Genshin Impact and ASOIAF crossover, which is also four chapters ahead.

Commander Shepard, The Greatest to Ever Live, which is three chapters ahead.

Also I will create a poll on what to write next, so don't forget to join my page.

Thank you in advance.

---

King's Landing

Red Keep

"I challenge you to a duel then!" Prince Daeron slammed his fist on the table Robert Baratheon was putting his legs on, sneering at the larger man who didn't seem impressed at all.

Lord Wyman wondered how things had come to this point. He and Lord Robert negotiated, the man agreeing to have the money in installments of five hundred thousand gold, every six months. However, he had demanded another five hundred thousand, citing the loss of interest he would face by withdrawing gold from the Iron Bank.

They were negotiating on the interest he wanted when Prince Daeron interjected, saying they shouldn't be paying him anything at all, accusing him of starting the rumours in the first place. Robert Baratheon responded by calling Prince Daeron "a sore loser because his betrothed preferred a real man rather than a girly Prince"

Things deteriorated quickly after that, each man throwing insults back at the other.

"No" Robert said, crossing his arms. He had nothing to gain from dueling the idiot before him, save perhaps the joy he would get from it.

"Then you won't get a single coin!" Prince Daeron shouted, as if he had any say in the matter.

Really, inbreeding was strong with this one.

"The coin is for the King to give not you, and if you think I won't be able to get what is mine, then by all means, don't keep to the agreement" Robert put his feet down, leaning across the table to glare at the Prince.

Really, he would just rob the treasury if they didn't give him his money.

Kingsguard in the room, Barristan and Jonothor, sent to make sure Prince Daeron didn't do anything, tensed as the Prince and Robert Baratheon looked a hair's breadth away from a fight.

"My Prince, King Rhaegar's orders were quite clear" Ser Barristan reminded the Prince, hoping to dissuade the man from pushing it any further.

"Not unless this coward agrees to a duel" Daeron wasn't going to let Robert Baratheon get away with humiliating his family any longer.

"Go and try to goad a child into a fight, maybe you can succeed then" Robert dismissed the Prince, sitting back down. If the Targaryen thought he could taunt him so easily, he had another thing coming.

"Lord Wyman, I won't be negotiating on the interest due to his actions as such I want five hundred thousand gold dragons every year for six years totaling to three million gold with the first installment paid by the end of this month" Robert was honest in negotiating the amount, but the Princeling soured his mood.

"Very well Lord Robert. Where should we send the gold?" Lord Wyman said, giving up, knowing well Prince Daeron's threats were a legitimate reason to cease negotiating.

"Send it to Storm's End for now, I'll take it from there" As it would be a while before he could build a place to store his gold and sending it to Braavos and then bringing it back for payments would be a loss of time and gold, especially with the fees.

Lord Wyman nodded, and Robert offered his hand to seal the deal.

He left the fuming Prince in the room, snickering as he walked past.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I should go and find Davos to give him the good news" Robert thought, heading to leave the Red Keep. He saw a commotion near the gate, as the guards were stopping someone from entering.

Upon closer inspection, the man stalled at the gate turned out to be Ser Davos. He increased his pace, and grasped the shoulders of the two guards rather forcefully, scaring the men.

"Now, now. That is no way to treat a man working for me, unless you have a death wish. Well, do you?" Robert asked the man, his innocent smile sending shivers down their spine.

"We are sorry my lord, we didn't know he was your man" One of the guards nervously apologised.

"It's all good, long as it doesn't happen again. Come on Ser Davos, I was going to find you anyway" He released the guards, gesturing to the man to follow him.

"Yes my lord" Davos complied, slipping through between the guards and speed walking next to Robert.

"So what happened?" Robert asked, knowing the man wouldn't come to him unless it was important.

"My lord, I have spoken with some of the smugglers I know and relayed your offer, at least to those who won't sail away with the cargo or with the profits. They think your offer is too good to be true and are reluctant to join."

"No matter, we have old captains joining us, we can use their experience to train sailors and then put them in a fleet headed by an experienced captain." Smugglers were a long shot anyway, but a man or two like Davos would have been excellent additions to his fleets.

"Understood my lord. On better news, I have arranged the shipments of the materials you bought. The captains should start arriving in six months from now on at the settlement. Have you thought of a name yet?" Davos asked, as the city had yet to be named.

Robert had thought long on this matter, not because he didn't have any idea, but because there were too many options.

From the myths of Earth to fictional universes like Lord of the Rings to Marvel and DC, Harry Potter to Star Wars, there were too many names he could choose.

"I have. It will be named Asgard, after the golden realm of the gods in a dead religion" Robert didn't want to go into detail about how it was from another world, so just chose to say the relevant part.

"A fine name my lord" Davos said, liking the way it rolled on the tongue.

"Ah, before I forget. You would be happy to know our capital has doubled as King Rhaegar has seen fit to give me three million gold dragons as a show of his appreciation for my actions" Robert said, as if he had not extorted the King.

"That is great news my lord. With that amount the city could be built in no time" Davos said, impressed. One did not get that much gold as a gift for their actions everyday.

"I know right. Now, I need to go and do a survey of the land and draw plans for a city. In the meantime you will continue as we planned and I will send a messenger for you when it is time to start the construction" Robert had read about the land beforehand but didn't have the chance to see it yet.

From the records, the territory was a forest and relatively flat compared to the mountainous areas of the Stormlands with a coastline perfect for a port city.

As soon as he was done with the plans, Davos would bring in the necessary manpower to build a temporary settlement and they would start to clean out the area after that.

Then the true construction would start, with sawmills and loggers to cut down the forest and use the trees as building materials.

Of course, Robert wasn't going to cut down the entire forest, instead he was going to design a city in harmony with nature, as much as he could anyway.

"Yes my lord. Is there anything else?" Davos asked, ready to get back to work.

There was much to do after all.

"No there isn't, you can go." Robert dismissed his faithful minion.

The smuggler turned knight left with a bow and Robert went to say goodbye to family and friends.

By noon he was off, heading to build his Asgard.

It was night when Robert arrived at the now named land of, - since he chose Asgard as the name of the city, he might as well continue with it- ready to plant the seed of his ambitions.

Tomorrow of course.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For the next month Robert drew the plans for the city, separated to industrial, market, housing and recreational districts, with the administrative center in the middle, which would include his keep, Valhalla, and the most important part of his city in his opinion, a R&D department.

The reason he needed an R&D department was simple. He had the knowledge, but that knowledge had been the culmination of centuries of research and experimentation, as such he didn't know everything, just like no other person could.

For example, while he knew you needed saltpeter, charcoal and sulfur to make gunpowder, he didn't know in which percentages to mix them to obtain the best possible product or that you need to mix two alternating types of steel to get the swirly pattern on Damascus steel, but not the finer details.

Another reason was to create a place of learning that will innovate and create long after he is gone, advancing the scientific knowledge and technology level of this world, seeing as it has been stagnating for eight thousand years.

While designing Asgard he had taken the lay of the land into consideration, making sure the housing district had access to the water sources first and the industrial district had it last.

And the sewage system of course, as he did not want his city to stink like King's Landing did.

Now, all he had to do was to send a message to Davos.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Robert watched as Davos' ship, Black Betha, was being chased.

By a pirate ship.

Which should be impossible due to the relatively short distance between Stormlands and Crownlands, meaning any pirate who had the moronic idea of attacking a ship on this side of Westeros would quickly find themselves at the gallows.

He would find out the how they managed it later, now he just needed to deal with them.

Upon seeing three adult dragons flying towards them,the pirate ship - Ironborn apparently- panicked. Arrows and bolts did nothing and against their captains' orders, some of them jumped as the dragons dived, not wanting to die a fiery death.

Pulling up at the last second, Robert decided against burning the ship.

It could be used for other purposes.

Instead, he took his hammer and hovered over the ship and leaped, targeting the largest pirate on the deck.

The said pirate turned to run but was too late as Robert brought his hammer right on his skull, crushing it like a rotten watermelon and carving the man into half through sheer brute force.

Robert raised his blood covered head, watching the terrified pirates. Rushing forward like a bull, he smashed the head of another pirate to a bloody mess before they could react.

Another raider tried to pull his sword to attack, but Robert smashed his knee, eliciting a deafening scream, before the Father of the Dragons smashed his face in and silenced him.

Smashing a sword attempting to strike him aside, Robert took a couple steps back as the rest of the pirates thought it would be better to rush him all together.

Robert whistled and then held on for dear life as Obelisk answered, perching on the side of the ship, which naturally began to tip the ship over.

Pirates, terrified and unprepared, began to slide, trying to find anything to hold onto with some barely hanging on the rails.

"Volā!" ordered Robert and the blue dragon immediately took off with a gust of wind while the ship righted itself, tilting like a bobo doll before stabilising.

Robert didn't wait for the ship to stop before targeting the pirates hanging on the side of the ship, playing whack-a-mole with the raiders.

He watched as the last pirate decided being on the ship was a bad idea and turned to jump before Robert catched him by the face, slamming his head on the deck a couple of times.

He needed someone to interrogate after all.

 

[Samael61]

Hello there,

If you enjoy my stories you can read advanced chapters in my patreon

Geek's Guide to Thriving in a Low End Fantasy World is four chapters ahead there.

You can also check out my other stories in my page.

Her Eternal Excellency, ( Raiden Ei reborn as Argella Durrandon) a Genshin Impact and ASOIAF crossover, which is also four chapters ahead.

Commander Shepard, The Greatest to Ever Live, which is three chapters ahead.

Also I will create a poll on what to write next, so don't forget to join my page.

Thank you in advance.

---

Coast of Asgard

Ironborn Ship

"So, tell me. How did you manage to get this far without the royal navy noticing?" Robert asked the squid tied up before him, while Davos' men were securing the ship.

"They did notice him and his ship, my lord, they just didn't do anything" Davos commented from behind, checking the railings to see what parts would need repair.

"What do you mean?" Robert turned back, puzzled.

"Three Velaryon ships saw him as they were heading towards us, but something happened and they turned back"

"Heh" chuckled the pirate, suddenly deciding to make a noise.

"So you aren't mute then. Bribing three ships just to target Black Betha would be foolish. If you were targeting other ships then you would be chased away as soon as the Velaryons heard about it and you wouldn't get your coins worth. Tell me why did those ships turn back?" Robert did not even want to mention the fact that anyone with a navy detested the Ironborn and wouldn't take a bribe like that.

The pirate decided to shut his mouth, once more refusing to speak.

Robert sighed in frustration.

"You know if you don't give me what I want you will die, right? But if you cooperate I'll just send you to the Wall, rather than turning you to fertilizer" Robert looked the pirate directly in the eyes.

"Fertilizer?" Naturally the stupid squid focused on the wrong part.

"Yes, fertilizer, when I feed you to my dragon and he shits you out" The pirate's eyes widened, gulping, evidently understanding the implication.

"The King gave the Ironborn permission to hunt and raid your ships" The buccaneer finally spoke, deciding that the Wall was better than being eaten by a dragon.

"Really? And how exactly do you know that since I doubt they would go and just tell it to everyone?"

While the Velaryon ships turning back rather than engage the Ironborn made sense if this was true, the Ironborn would have to be really stupid to just inform everyone of it.

"My brother sails with Lord Victarion, I heard it from him" The pirate confessed.

Robert groaned, rubbing his forehead.

Did that inbred moron really think this was a good idea? The Ironborn couldn't be trusted not to raid a ship and then claim they thought it was one of his ships.

"Why did that moron even trust you? I would sooner trust a venomous snake not to bite me than you lot with anything" Robert questioned the man, wondering just what made Rhaegar think it was a good idea to employ the squids in this fashion.

"That's all I know, he didn't tell me anything else"

Useless idiot.

"Have this man secured well, he will head to the Wall as soon as possible" Robert ordered, getting up while the pirate was taken away.

"So what do you think? We already have a ship for the trade fleets" Robert commented while Davos kept inspecting the ship.

"Yes my lord, but if we or the captains who work with us run afoul of the Ironborn we won't be able to build anything" Davos was sweating the entire time the Ironborn chased them and he knew they were lucky to outrun those bastards.

Everyone knew the stories of what Ironborn did to the crew after a raid.

"We will see if they are brave enough to repeat this when they see a dragon escorting the ships" Robert grinned.

Maybe they would be generous enough to donate their ships to his cause.

With a bit of convincing of course.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Davos inspected the ship and gave him the good news. It only needed some surface repairs and would be good to sail.

The oarsmen were another problem though. They had stayed below the deck during the fight, not willing to face the dragons, and surrendered upon realizing they were outnumbered.

Which meant more Ironborn for the Wall.

Maybe he would do the world a favor one day and send all of them there to freeze their bits off.

Next order of business was the Ironborn that jumped out of the ship. If they managed to swim to the land he would have to deal with hunting them down in the forest, meaning they would have to be killed while they were in the water.

Which did not take long with a dragon.

Davos had already put a skeleton crew on the Ironborn ship to sail it closer to the coast, while Black Betha was busy offloading its cargo and workers, who immediately went to set up tents and fires to cook.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fed and rested after a week in the ship, the work began in earnest. Robert helped too, taking an axe to chop down the trees to make a clearing.

They stopped before the sun went down, having taken down two dozen trees and went to dinner.

The next two days were spent like that, before it was time for Davos to depart with the newly named Prize, heading back to King's Landing to bring more workers and provisions, repair the ship and hire sailors, as well as find someone from the North willing to take the Ironborn prisoners heading to the Wall.

Robert would be escorting the ships to ensure Ironborn did not try anything again.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

King's Landing

One Week Later

The ships, whether royal navy or merchant in origin, were surprised to see an Ironborn ship here, especially with the dragons escorting it.

While surprised, they weren't worried, after all, not even the Ironborn would be stupid enough to attack here, not with one ship anyway.

"AHOY THERE!" The captain of the royal navy ship called out to Black Betha. Davos steered the ship closer to avoid having to shout so loudly.

"Yes captain, how may I help you?" Davos leaned on the railings, locking eyes with the captain.

The gray haired man narrowed his eyes, slowly drawing his sword " I know you, you are that smuggler, Davos. And you came up to me all on your own"

"I am no smuggler Captain. I am a loyal knight serving Lord Robert Baratheon" The name made the captain hesitate, and as if Robert heard him the dragons passed over the ships.

"The Ironborn ship, why is it here then?" The captain slowly sheathed his sword, watching the dragons warily.

"It has been seized by Lord Robert"

"Have its sails changed, it makes people nervous" The captain told Davos before ordering his men to dock the ship.

"We will do that good captain" Davos replied, heading back to the helm, steering the ship to the closest empty dock.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

While Davos was busy with the ships and the supplies, Robert flew back to Asgard, taking the same route back to check for any more Ironborn activity.

Landing back at the construction site, he went to check on their progress. The foreman he had left in charge was doing good work, as there was a noticeable clearing in the forest now.

Next group of workers Davos was bringing would be carpenters and builders, ready to use the trees they felled to make log cabins, and while Robert enjoyed camping, it would be nice to sleep in an actual bed again.

Davos returned with two ships full of workers, tools and provisions and most importantly, with no pirates chasing him this time.

Yay.

Interesting thing though was Davos' wife, Marya, as well as his two sons Dale and Allard were with him, coming down the ramp.

Robert was sure Davos wouldn't bring his wife and children from their relatively cozy home to a city not yet built without a good reason.

"My lord" the man bowed his head, looking quite unsure.

"Davos, what happened?" Robert asked the smuggler turned knight, though he already had an idea.

"There were men watching my house my lord, they didn't do anything but I was worried and brought my family here" Davos explained, knowing just how dangerous the Flea Bottom could be.

"You did good, but this is no place for children. Perhaps we should send them to Storm's End with your wife, where they can be safe and your boys can learn their letters from Maester Cressen" Robert offered an alternative.

If they had lodges built he would have already accepted them in, but the idea of children in a construction zone was begging for a disaster.

"Thank you my lord" Davos said, once again taken back by Robert's generosity.

"And Marya I apologise for this, it appears we got you and the children mixed up in our business"

"Think nothing of it my lord, I know the dangers that came with my husband being a smuggler, this is nothing" Marya said, gently grasping her husband's hand.

Robert smiled at this. In his opinion, these small moments were what separated a good wife from a bad one.

"All right then, let's find you and the children a place to stay while Davos and I talk business. You can head to Storm's End soon as the ships are free" Robert turned around, the family following.

"I also have some other bad news my lord. Some of the merchants are demanding higher prices for their goods or they won't sell. From what I heard someone has scared them from doing business with you."

Davos spoke to the merchants about it, but while some had confessed they had been warned, none of them gave any names.

"It's either Rhaegar or Daeron being a nuisance or Tywin Lannister getting revenge. Either way I know just what to do" Robert narrowed his eyes.

They weren't going to like his response at all.

"Anything else, Davos?"

"No my lord" replied the man, puzzled at his claim. Had King Rhaegar not given him a mountain of gold as a reward?

"Good"

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ships were emptied of cargo and were already sailing to Storm's End and then King's Landing.

Robert had written a series of letters, one to his father and family, one to the Targaryens and another one to Tywin Lannister, the Hand of the King.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Storm's End

Lord's Solar

"Come in" ordered Steffon Baratheon without lifting his eyes from the ledgers on his desk.

"Father, there are ships heading here but their sails have no marking" Stannis reported as he entered, closing the door behind him.

"Hmm, ready the men, we will meet them and see what they want" Steffon got up, wondering who they were.

While ships that needed immediate repairs or were going to sink docked near the Storm's End for help it was rare as they did not want to risk the Shipbreaker Bay.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A hundred men waited near the shore as the small ship approached while the larger one hung back.

Lord Steffon did not want to take any chance in case they had ill intentions.

Soon the ship was close enough for him to see its captain, a man with brown hair and eyes with the wear and tear of the sea evident on his face.

"Lord Steffon, I am Ser Davos and I bring letters from Lord Robert, may I land to present them?" the man said, waving a letter.

"Why did he send letters instead of coming himself?" Steffon wondered what his son was thinking.

He literally could be here on dragon back before noon if he left in the morning.

"He is busy with the city, my lord and I was heading to King's Landing, he apologizes for it" Davos explained the situation.

"You may land then Ser Davos" The Lord of Storm's End ordered the men he brought to stand down, while the ship laid down a gangplank for Davos to disembark.

Bowing before the Lord Paramount, Davos handed him the letter.

Curious as to its contents, Steffon opened it instead of waiting until he was on his solar with his family.

"Hey Dad.

I know we are closeby and I could be there really quick with the dragons, but planning and building a city is time consuming, though don't worry, I'll be back soon enough to gray your hair more.

Moving onto business, I need your help with a matter. Someone in King's Landing was targeting his family and in the interest of not wrecking the city while hunting down the ones responsible, I thought his wife and children could reside in Storm's End until Asgard can afford to house families.

Yes by the way, I named the city Asgard, I'll tell you all about it later if you are curious.

Also, if you could give Davos about a hundred thousand gold from my coffers and send him on his way to King's Landing that would be much appreciated.

Now that business is done, how are you doing?

And most importantly, have you stopped grumbling about Stannis wanting to marry a Reacher?

If not then please ignore this part.

I am sure at least mother and grandmother are pleased about seeing Stannis wed.

Speaking of mom and grandma, how are you two doing? Set up a date to marry my little brother yet ?

As for Renly, you are still too young to get a dragon, but I am sending you two friends, Dale and Allard, Davos' sons.

They are good kids and perhaps you won't be so spoiled with two humble friends like them around.

That's all from me, I'll see you guys soon.

Love you all.

P.S: Speaking of friends, can you guys make sure Dale and Allard learn from Maester Cressen? I promised their father as much and who knows how long it will be until I get a Maester here.

Steffon just groaned at his son's antics.

"Well then, bring your family in, Ser Davos" Steffon wasn't going to deny his eldest's request, and perhaps he would be right about Renly having friends.

"Many thanks, my lord" Davos gave a quick bow, hurriedly turning back to get his family. This felt like a load off his shoulders.

 

[Samael61]

Hello there,

If you enjoy my stories you can read advanced chapters in my patreon

Geek's Guide to Thriving in a Low End Fantasy World is four chapters ahead there.

You can also check out my other stories in my page.

Her Eternal Excellency, ( Raiden Ei reborn as Argella Durrandon) a Genshin Impact and ASOIAF crossover, which is also four chapters ahead.

Commander Shepard, The Greatest to Ever Live, which is three chapters ahead.

Also I will create a poll on what to write next, so don't forget to join my page.

Thank you in advance.

---

King's Landing

Red Keep

"I already told you, these letters are from Lord Robert Baratheon himself. He wished them to be delivered to the King and the Hand" Davos said for what felt like the thousandth time to the guard, who seemed unconcerned.

"And I told you to get lost. If Robert Baratheon wanted to send letters he should have sent them by raven, not some no-name knight." The guard said, dismissing Davos.

"Fine. I just hope you can say the same to him when he lands here on a dragon" Davos sighed, turning back.

He was sure Lord Robert would understand.

If only the same guards were here today.

Just as he turned back to join his men, he noticed the King's Guard, followed by men-at-arms approach the gate.

Davos and his men stepped back to not stand in their way.

"Who are they?" Eddard Stark asked the guards upon noticing Davos and his entourage.

"Says they brought letters from Lord Robert to the King and the Hand, my lord" the guard reported, standing straight now that the brother of the future Queen of the Seven Kingdoms was here.

"I am Eddard Stark, I can take your letters to the King and the Hand" Ned walked up to Davos. Usually he would not want anything to do with Robert after all he did, but he understood that official business was not something to ignore.

"Thank you Lord Eddard" Davos handed the letters.

Lord Robert had instructed him to get them to anyone who could deliver it to the King and the Hand, saying if they did not for some reason it was the recipient's problem.

"To Lord Tywin Lannister, Lord of Casterly Rock and Hand of the King

Lord Tywin, it appears someone in the city is attempting to block me from doing business with the merchants.

I am sure you wouldn't want me to come there personally and cause any damages trying to find out the one responsible for it.

As the person with the highest influence on the city next to the King, it would be in both of our interests if this was solved without dragonfire.

Have a pleasant day.

Robert Baratheon, Lord of Asgard.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To King Rhaegar,

Sorry but not sorry for not writing all your titles, cousin.

Jokes aside, someone in the city is messing with my business there, scaring the merchants.

Now, I am not blaming you, but your brother Daeron was particularly against me the last time I was here and might have decided to take things into his own hands.

I am sure you don't want your capital terrorized by dragons but if someone takes an axe to my business, they will end up like the Hoares.

Have a nice day.

Robert Baratheon, Lord of Asgard.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Stormlands

Asgard

The second wave of settlers and workers Davos brought had already begun to build the lodges he designed. They were basically longhouses with bunk beds, able to house ten workers with ease.

He could have increased the size and number of bunk beds but he did not want to cram people working for him into houses more similar to a barn.

Maybe it cost a bit more, but he too worked for jobs where the employer did not care about the workers beyond having them fill their times.

They were also building communal mess halls and public bathrooms and showers.

Robert didn't know much about construction materials and what not, but there was one thing he knew.

In some parts of Earth, people torched one side of the timber they were using, to increase its outdoor lifespan to up to eighty years, as well as make it harder for the wood to burn and protect it from insects.

It was times like these when tidbits of information he had became useful.

Workers did as they were told of course, even if they found it strange.

Davos was back after two weeks, taking longer this time due to the issues he faced with merchants.

He had good news though, as the merchants were suddenly back on the track.

The threat of dragonfire did bring the Seven Kingdoms to their knees after all.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

287 AC

In one year alone Asgard came far.

Buildings, whether homes or shops sprung up all over, in accordance with his city planning of course.

Robert wasn't going to allow his city to turn into a dump like King's Landing.

They also built a port with docks to receive ships and make it easier to unload cargo, and began to build a shipyard.

Designing ships was not something he knew much about, but thankfully there were seasoned and experienced captains to help with that regard, provided he could get shipwrights.

His keep, which would be named Valhalla to keep tradition with whole Norse mythology, was being worked on too, as the workers were digging a foundation.

He did not want something outlandish straight from a fairy tale, both for monetary and personal reasons.

Which is why it looked like a medieval parody of the Pentagon.

One issue though, was the sewage system.

It was expensive, which made him understand why the Targaryens did not overhaul the whole thing, especially with the population of the King's landing.

But Asgard only had a population in the thousands for now, which meant building a sewage system was much easier.

Still expensive though, especially with Robert refusing to use lead and build a subpar system that would crumble in a couple of decades.

He wanted something that would last longer and not stink his city.

Good thing he had all that gold.

"My lord, there is a family outside requesting entry" A guard came in after knocking, standing at attention.

"So? It's not like I check every family that enters the city"

"They had horses my lord, and claim you invited them personally" The guard explained.

Robert hummed. While a family having horses was not common, the guards knew not to disturb him unless they thought it was important.

He might as well go and see himself and take some fresh air in the meantime.

They did not build walls yet, as the city was still expanding so the guards were stationed on the edge city limits.

Robert walked to the city limits to see who had his guardsmen worried like that.

A man, as tall as him, riding on a horse, his face covered with a hood, and a woman with what appeared to be her child riding on another horse, also covered with a hood.

Which under normal circumstances wouldn't be something to worry about.

Except the child was no child.

"Tyrion! What a pleasant surprise to see you here" Robert exclaimed , and it truly was.

The dwarf removed his cowl, greeting Robert with a haggard and tired face.

"My lord, I hope your offer is still valid?"

"Oh it is, come on in then, we should talk inside and get you somewhere to sit, though who is your friend here?" Robert gestured to the man.

"This is" began Tyrion as the man removed his hood.

"Sandor Clegane" Robert finished for him, instantly recognizing the man from the hideous burn on his face.

"Yes, he was essential in helping us escape from my father" The dwarf of Casterly Rock said, his eyes dropping because of fatigue.

"Let's get you all inside to rest. You can tell me about it later" Robert offered, seeing how tired they were.

The group from the Westerlands fell asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillows, they did not even take time to eat or drink.

Tyrion and Tysha were led to one room while Sandor was shown another.

With how bad they looked, they must have been on the run for a while.

Sandor was an unexpected but welcome surprise, and although he was seventeen right now, a warrior with his size, strength and skill would be a good addition to Asgard.

It was back to business for now.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Asgard

Next Day

Tyrion and Tysha, joined by Sandor, sat down to break their fast with porridge, cheese and bread.

Considering they were on the road for a while and had to camp out and eat whatever they found, this was like a feast to them.

When they were done, a servant took them to Robert's study, serving them wine while they were seated.

"So, I feel like you have quite a story to tell me" Robert put down the papers in his hands, watching the dwarf.

Taking a sip from his cup, Tyrion began his tale.

Just as Robert said he and Jaime met Tysha while returning to Casterly Rock from Lannisport after taking a ship from King's Landing.

Seeing her harassed by bandits, Jaime saved her while Tyrion kept her out of the way.

Realizing what Robert told was happening, Tyrion tried to keep away from Tysha but her humble and honest demeanor won him over and they spent the night together.

Deciding to be a responsible person, Tyrion wed her before a drunk septon, who upon realizing just what kind of a problem he landed himself in once sober, immediately sent a letter to King's Landing to inform Tywin Lannister.

Tyrion treated her like she was a new servant he hired to avoid suspicion but once Tywin's letter came ordering his brother to keep both of them locked up while he returned to personally administer their punishment, the dwarf had enough and decided to run for it with his wife.

Filling their pouches with as much gold as they could and taking enough provisions, Tyrion set his father's study on fire after sneaking out of the room they were held in, and while everyone was distracted made their way out of the keep through the sewers.

Their escape didn't go unnoticed however and they had guards searching everywhere for them before they could get away far enough.

Setting an even bigger fire at the barn after taking a horse, the couple galloped on horseback towards the Reach border, intending to cross it and then make their way to Asgard.

The two barely made it to Greenfield when they met Sandor, who recognized the dwarf, and questioned them as to what they were doing here.

They thought they were caught, but once Sandor made his dislike of Tywin Lannister known, Tyrion offered to hire him as a guard while they headed to Asgard.

To his surprise though, the scarred man was heading there as well, to serve the man that killed his monster of a brother.

Tyrion instead offered him an audience with Lord Robert, mentioning how he was invited to Asgard by him.

Even though Sandor didn't trust the dwarf, he still took the offer, though he did threaten to kill them rather gruesomely if Tyrion didn't keep his end of the bargain.

With Sandor's help, they made it to Reach while avoiding any Lannister or other forces searching for them.

Their troubles didn't end once they went through the border however. Lannister men, disguised as wandering knights, were sent through Reach to find and bring them back, as Tywin Lannister would never let what he perceived to be an insult go unpunished, even if it was from his own son.

Camping in the wilderness, riding through day and night with barely a rest until they reached Stormlands took their toll on the two, while Sandor was in a much better condition, already used to harshness.

Just as they thought they were in the clear, a storm caught them by surprise, and they had to take shelter in a cave for three whole days, waiting for the storm to pass, with nary a thing to eat.

But in the end, they made it to Asgard.

"Well, as I said before, you are welcome to join Asgard and I am sure I can find good work for you" Robert reiterated his offer, earning a nod and a thank you from the dwarf.

He turned to Sandor, who was watching him with a sharp look.

"You killed Gregor, my rapist, murderous monster of a brother. While I am no knight, I will serve you as a warrior if you will accept my sword" the young man said, laying his word on the ground.

Robert watched the younger Clegane, leaning back. He could use a personal guard, not that he needed it but better to have one in case things went sideways.

Or he could guard Davos, who needed it more than him, with his constant travels.

"I have to admit, I was actually looking for someone who knew how to actually fight, and you are just what I was seeking. If you are up for it, I can make you my personal guard, though you will probably be protecting Davos and other people important to Asgard more than me" Robert made the offer, knowing how strong and fierce Sandor was.

The man accepted quietly, and Robert turned back to Tyrion.

"Now, you and your wife are going to rest and recuperate to full strength and then the work will begin. In the meantime we should celebrate this occasion" Robert said, ordering the servant to bring the bottle of Harbor Gold he had in reserve.

Say what you will about the original, but he knew good wine.

 

[Samael61]

Hello there,

If you enjoy my stories you can read advanced chapters in my patreon

Geek's Guide to Thriving in a Low End Fantasy World is four chapters ahead there.

You can also check out my other stories in my page.

Her Eternal Excellency, ( Raiden Ei reborn as Argella Durrandon) a Genshin Impact and ASOIAF crossover, which is also four chapters ahead.

Commander Shepard, The Greatest to Ever Live, which is three chapters ahead.

Also I will create a poll on what to write next, so don't forget to join my page.

Thank you in advance.

---

Stormlands

Asgard

287 AC



Robert, unlike his canon counterpart, did a lot of administrative work, even if he found it boring.



He delegated work where he could, but there were parts where he just didn't have someone capable that he trusted to handle.

Until now.



Tyrion's official title was "Director of Finances" responsible for overseeing the payments, salaries, tolls and overall keeping track of where the money went and if businesses were paying their taxes, no matter how small.



It took a large load from his shoulders, allowing Robert to focus more on personally handling the construction of the city.



On other good news, some of the artisans he had saved while exiled in Essos had agreed to settle in Asgard, provided Robert agrees to cover the costs.



Expensive, but worth it in the long run. After all, if Asgard produced glass, carpets, lace, steel weapons and tools on par with the Free Cities, he could sell them all over the Seven Kingdoms.



One specific market he was interested in was silk. People of Westeros did not know how the soft and smooth fabric was produced and paid great amounts of gold for it. Robert, or rather the Matt part of him, had watched documentaries on how silk was produced and knew what to do.



Silkworms should exist in the wild seeing as there was no industry for them to be domesticated in Westeros, he would just have to find them.

Asgardian silk had a nice ring to it.



He would have to plant some mulberry trees first though.



A ship had arrived at the docks, all the way from Braavos and its captain requested to speak to him.



Robert allowed it and the captain was let in. Dressed in armor with purple and grey markings, and clean shaven face the captain bowed, before presenting him a letter.



"Greetings Lord Robert, I bring you news and gifts from Ferrego Antaryon, Sea Lord of Braavos"



Robert took the letter with a nod and unfurled the parchment.



"To my friend, Lord Robert Baratheon of Asgard, The Father of the Dragons,



My friend, I write to you with great excitement at hearing your future plans to build yourself a city and wish you the best of luck in your endeavor. As we were great trade partners during your tenure in Braavos, I hope we will continue to be for great many years to come.



I have heard of your desire to employ shipwrights and to that end I sent you a dozen talented shipwrights and their apprentices to settle in your lands if you will have them.



If you find the opportunity, do visit Braavos so we may talk of business.



I know you to be a man who understands the value of trade, and one who never lets his good friends down.



Once again, I wish you the best in your work and await your answer.



Ferrego Antaryon, The Sea Lord of Braavos.



Robert almost snorted. The crafty man had sent him shipwrights as a gift and invited him for business.



Meaning he was going to ask for a preferential trade between Asgard and Braavos, while reminding him of the shipwrights, and it was smart, as no one would just let a strategic resource like shipwrights escape from their grasp.



"Thank you for the letter captain. You and your crew are welcome to rest in one of our lodges while I write a response to the Sea Lord, and you can bring the shipwrights here"



The captain left with a thank you, leaving Robert to his thoughts.



"Sandor" Robert called out to his guard and the man opened the door immediately.



"Go find Davos and tell him we are going to have shipwrights coming now and to find them a place to stay"



"Understood," Sandor nodded and left.



At least that was one thing he didn't have to deal with.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



His next visitor didn't have any ulterior moves at least.



His grandmother, dressed in riding leathers atop her black dragon named after the grandfather he never met, had landed on the square, causing a commotion.



"Grandmother! You are a sight for sore eyes" Robert greeted the silver haired and purpled eyed woman, giving her a gentle hug.



"You should have visited then Robert, it's not like we are too far away" she chided him, pinching his cheek and checking if he was well.



"I know, I know, but building a city is no easy work, I barely have time to scratch my head" Robert made an excuse, knowing he could have entrusted others with this work, but simply put, he was too excited to leave unless it was a matter of life and death.



"Come, let me show you around" Robert offered his arm and his grandmother took it.



Robert gave her a small tour, showing what was already built, and what else was going to be. The layout of the city, allowing for wide streets and buildings with spaces between, as well as how in touch with the nature the city was, had impressed her.



"I must say, these roads look good. You must have excellent workers" She commented, noticing how the road looked as if it was one solid piece.



"That was me actually"



"Why, Robert, did you already get bored of ruling and decided to be a road worker?" His grandmother teased, though she was curious what he meant.



"Not really. I just had a thought about how easy everything would be if I knew how the Valyrians constructed places like Dragonstone with magic. One thing led to another and it gave me an idea. You see, the men flattened the soil and laid down rocks and I used dragons to melt them. This way, I both cut down on costs and improved the durability of the roads" Robert explained, gesturing to the road stretching all the way to the port.



His grandmother gave out an unladylike snigger before it turned to a full blown laughter.



"Only you would imagine to use the dragons for something so menial" She said after getting her laughter under control.



"Better than them just laying around all day" Robert shrugged.



"My lord" came in from behind as Davos approached.



"Ah Davos. Grandmother, I don't know if you saw him when he visited Storm's End but this is Davos, my right hand man when it comes to sailing and trade" He introduced the man, who bowed to her in greeting.



"We have met, my lord. Welcome to Asgard, Princess Rhaelle" Davos had met the woman when he left his family at Storm's End and from the short interaction they had could see why his lord spoke so highly of her.



"Thank you, Ser Davos"



"Is there something you want to report, Davos?" Robert asked, grimacing at the timing



"Yes my lord, but it can wait"



"Oh no, do continue your business Robert, I am curious as to how you rule" Rhaelle insisted.



Educating Robert to be a future Lord Paramount had been an arduous affair, and at times she had been worried about his future. But here he was now, building his own city and she wanted to see how.



"Join us then Davos" Robert said, continuing to walk.



"Yes my lord. The shipwrights want to know if we have a design ready to build, and they also made a list of the materials and tools they need. I have sent the list to Lord Tyrion, but planks alone will cost a fortune to buy if you truly want to build that many ships, not to mention everything else" Davos reported.



His lord wanted to build the biggest trade fleet in the world but ships were expensive.



They had a forest but not the man and workforce to make enough timber for ships at the rate he wanted.



"We will only trade with Braavos and the rest of the Seven Kingdoms for now and increase our trade routes as gold flows into our coffers. As for wood, we will increase our production and buy from the North if necessary. They have the trees to spare and I am sure they would appreciate the gold" The Starks, and the North in general due to how loyal they were to their Lords of Winterfell, may not like him but everybody liked gold and they were no exception.



That and he didn't want to cut down his own forests.



"Shipping wood from North to here wouldn't be easy my lord" Davos informed, knowing even just loading the wood could take days.



"Don't worry, I will talk with the shipwrights into designing larger ships to carry more wood at once, for now see about recruiting more workers to cut down trees and make timber for the ships, and make sure to consult the shipwrights about it"



"Yes my lord" said Davos, and left, having finished his report.



"I was worried all those lessons entered one ear left through the other, but look at you now, truly a lord deserving his title" Rhaelle commented, amusement and pride shining in her eyes.



"With a teacher like you, how could I fail? Now, it is almost time for lunch, would you like to join me?" Robert offered, actually happy to have lunch with a member of his family.



" Good idea, I am rather famished actually"



Lunch was a peaceful affair as they sat on the balcony of the inn Robert had taken for himself. It was mostly food with longer shelf life but his grandmother wasn't the type to complain about something like that.



She spoke of home, of family. His father was the same as ever, ruling, grumbling, laughing and his mother, the anchor to keep him down.



Stannis was more talkative now, a rather nice side effect of his betrothed. They kept in contact via raven, and apparently his little brother kept asking for help from his father on what to write.



Good for him.



Renly was calmer now with the good influence of Davos' sons, and only demanded a dragon once a week instead of everyday.



"Tyrell's have offered to foster Renly" his grandmother said, swallowing her bite.



"Tell father it is a bad idea" Robert stopped, the slice of bread and cheese halfway to his mouth.



"He is considering it, against my advice, saying if we are building ties with the Florents we might as well do the same with the Tyrells" They had a fight over it and it was half the reason she had decided to fly over here.



"Okay, let's change our approach then. Tell father if he does that I'll burn Highgarden to the ground with the Tyrells in it" Robert said with a dead serious tone, earning a look from Rhaelle.



"Would you really?" She asked, trying to ascertain whether he was jesting or not.



"Their sigil should have been a vulture because they are bunch of opportunistic bastards, grandmother, so yes, I will do it"



"Saw something, have you?" She asked rhetorically, continuing to eat.



"Yes" Robert said simply, not explaining what he saw.



Considering how Renly became a toy in the hands of the Tyrells, he would not hesitate to commit first degree murder to prevent it.



"Hmm, perhaps your father will listen to you" Rhaelle commented, closing the matter.



"Onto more cheery subjects. Have you thought of who to marry? You are five and twenty already, most lords your age tend to have more than one child"



With Stannis already betrothed, Rhaelle wanted to see her eldest grandson to marry and be happy too.



"Unless I meet someone exceptional, I am not marrying." Robert shrugged in response.



"Exceptional? Like who?" Rhaelle asked, wiping her hands on a handkerchief.



Robert stopped. Frankly he didn't have any idea what he meant by exceptional either. It was just a way for him to blow off people without bothering to explain what he meant.



"I guess I am searching for someone as great as me" Robert said, sounding narcissistic even to his own ears.



Then again a female version of himself would be a sight to behold, he was sure.



"Oh dear, you are going to end up all alone then"



They continued to banter well into the evening.

 

[Samael61]

Hello there,

If you enjoy my stories you can read advanced chapters in my patreon

Geek's Guide to Thriving in a Low End Fantasy World is four chapters ahead there.

You can also check out my other stories in my page.

Her Eternal Excellency, ( Raiden Ei reborn as Argella Durrandon) a Genshin Impact and ASOIAF crossover, which is also four chapters ahead.

Commander Shepard, The Greatest to Ever Live, which is three chapters ahead.

Also I will create a poll on what to write next, so don't forget to join my page.

Thank you in advance.

---

Stormlands

Asgard

Robert's Temporary Headquarters

"I am curious about something, my lord" Tyrion asked while reading over some documents.

"Go ahead" he responded, reading documents just like the Director of Finances was doing.

"You have the power, you come from the lines of Kings, have you ever considered just taking the Seven Kingdoms for yourself?" The young director put down his quill, watching his lord's reaction.

His question earned him raised eyebrows from Princess Rhaelle and Ser Davos, who were also busy in the room.

Robert put down the papers and turned to the dwarf, regarding him.

"If having power meant I could do whatever I wanted, then I would be no different from the likes of Aerys or Tywin and I don't really feel like dealing with the problems of seven different kingdoms" he responded after a minute of silence.

"Most people would consider them, or at least Tywin, as great people" Tyrion said, refusing to address Tywin as father after everything.

"If most people consider someone who orders the death of innocents and children as great, then there is something wrong with them, not me"

"If only everyone thought like you, this world would be a better place" Rhaelle shook her head, sighing.

She had lived long enough to see just how right the young Lannister was.

"Asgard will not be just a trade empire, but a place where law and rules matter and people will not be able to run amok as they wished" Robert declared.

"Lofty goal, my lord, even more so than a trade empire" Davos commented, wondering if he could actually do it.

"It won't be easy, and none of us may live long enough to see it, but not trying at all would be worse than simply failing" Robert sounded resolute in this, knowing change, especially in a society that rarely faced it in 8,000 thousand years, would take time.

"How will you do it then, when even the rules and laws of gods could not?" Rhaelle asked, curious about how her grandson would change the very nature of humans?

"Through education to bring people together and make them understand we are stronger when we stand together as brothers, not when we stab each other in the back for selfish gains" Modern education systems of Earth had varying degrees of success, depending on several factors, but if Asgard could gain the wealth Robert envisioned, it would solve one of the biggest hurdles in the face of education.

Lack of financing.

There were other factors as well, but solving the problem of money would make solving the others much easier.

"I hope you can succeed Robert" Rhaelle said with sincerity, knowing if anyone can it would be him.

"Onto less serious matters then" Tyrion said, changing the subject to ships.

Ships of Westeros used oars when the wind blew in the opposite direction. This took space, meant more men for the crew, which led to an increase in costs and was slow and while Swan Ships of the Summer Isles were known to sail without oars, they also became helpless when the winds died.

Robert's solution to this was the pre-industrial ships of Earth, which rather than have oars, used friction and angled sails to zig-zag towards the wind even when it was blowing against them, as well as special rigging to catch even the slightest breeze to sail the ship.

Which he was going to describe to the shipwrights as best as he can and let them handle the rest.

As they were technically experimental ships, Robert was going to start small and go big when they succeeded.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The shipwrights were reluctant to stray from their proven practices but Robert was insistent, as well as charming.

Their job for now was to start designing the ships, using Robert's descriptions and their knowledge to create a ship that could sail long ranges without oars.

But for now, they would have to do with the traditional ships.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

While Asgard was small, that did not mean there wasn't any trouble requiring Robert's attention, so here he was, holding court in the lodge he took for himself, listening to two families petition over one family's cow eating the other's crops.

How fun.

His verdict was they would build a fence and the one with the cow would cover half plus the price of the crop while the other family would cover the rest.

Next was a man accusing a peddler for scamming him, saying the tonic he bought for a sore throat gave him the runs.

The gurgling of his belly and the smell of the tonic made the decision fast.

Robert had banned the sales of tonics, elixirs and other remedies without having a permit from him, and ordered the man's coin to be returned.

He would have to get a Maester or two to see who sold something actually useful and who did not.

Then he had to deal with several livestock farmers and the grazing rights, each one requesting they be given the rights.

Robert created a timetable for each of them to graze their animals at certain times, with penalties if they broke it.

"There is a woman outside who wishes to speak to you, though she hasn't given her name. She claims to have important news for you" Tyrion said, checking the list he had.

"Any description of this woman?" Robert asked.

"One with red hair and eyes my lord" Tyrion said, which made Robert think.

That sounded familiar but he couldn't remember exactly.

Ladies couldn't resist him and it was not like he could remember them all.

She was let inside and Robert's face dropped at seeing who it was.

Red hair, red eyes, pale skin, way taller than the average woman, she was a beauty to behold.

"Greetings, Azor Ahai. I am" she began and Robert rose with a vengeance.

"Melisandre of Asshai, I know who you are" Robert seethed, which took the Red Woman back.

"Get the hell out of my city, and never set foot here again, no matter the reason" Robert's voice was cold enough to freeze the very flames she commanded.

Robert's hatred earned curious glances from around the room, while Sandor went to throw her out.

Stumped at Robert's flat out refusal and clear hatred of her, the Red Woman left without saying anything.

"That sounded personal" His grandmother commented, wondering what just happened.

"You don't want to know, or you might just go and kill her yourself" Robert said, indicating for a wine, a rare indulgence these days.

"Tyrion, Davos, new decree. Red Priests are banned from entering Asgard, and anyone who gives them passage knowingly will face a fine of one hundred gold dragons" Robert ordered, taking a sip from the wine to cool his nerves.

Killing Renly at Stanis' behalf, and then burning poor Shireen?

The only reason he did not kill her then and there was because she technically did not do these things.

"Yes my lord" both said at the same time.

"Next" he ordered and Sandor opened the door, letting the next petitioner in.

It was about two men fighting over a woman.

Robert held up his sigh, not wanting to look as if he did not care.

—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Petitioners were done and Robert found himself doing something fun now. He and his grandmother had gone to tend to their dragons. Robert commented on how big Ormund was getting, as the black dragon was growing way faster than Obelisk, Ra and Slifer.

She said soon enough Ormund would be bigger and it led to back and forth about what made a dragon better, size, speed, agility, or intelligence, and here they were, testing which dragon was faster, Ra, the fastest amongst his trio or Ormund.

They would race from the city to a hill about 20 miles away and return back with the first dragon back as the winner.

Davos was the referee, standing in front of the spectators, ready to start the race while Robert checked his flight suit and Rhaelle her riding leathers.

News had gone out quickly, and there was a crowd now, ready to watch who would win.

Davos took a piece of cloth and held it high.

"You may start when the cloth hits the ground" he said and threw it up.

Both riders locked eyes on the fabric, waiting.

"Volā!" and "Sōvēs!" they shouted as the cloth hit the ground, both dragons responding to the languages they were taught.

With flaps of their mighty wings, both dragons took off, racing towards the hill at full speed.

"Get ready to lose, grandma" Robert shouted over the sound of the wind rushing his face.

"Hah, the folly of youth" she shouted back, trailing slightly behind him.

"Aderī!" Rhaelle shouted, urging her mount forward and the black dragon began to gain on the golden one.

The riders locked eyes as Ormund almost gained on Ra.

"Now!" ordered Robert, and this time Ra sped up and began to widen the distance.

Rhaelle scoffed and Ormund growled in defiance, pushing himself as fast as he could to gain on his opponent.

"Halfway there grandma!" Robert said and Ra was the first one to reach the hill and began to turn back.

"I'll see you at the finish Robert!" his grandma said, turning back before she reached the hill.

So that's how it was going to be.

Two can play that game, grandma.

Ra rose, heading above the clouds and disappearing from Rhaelle's sight.

She narrowed her eyes, knowing Robert was definitely up to something crazy.

After a while, Ra descended, somehow pulling in front of her, racing full speed towards the city, Rhaelle and Ormund right behind him.

"Too late grandma!" Rhaelle turned right, seeing Robert flying with that flight suit of his.

Her shock was gone quickly as she turned back to the race, Ormund pushing with all his strength.

Rhaelle and Ormund landed a second after Ra did, almost slamming to the ground with how fast they were.

Couple minutes later, Robert landed on the square too, the crowd cheering at seeing the Winged Knight of Stormlands.

Robert took his helmet off, basking in the adoration of the crowd.

"Thank you, thank you, I know I am great, thank you so much" he waved to the still cheering mass.

"You know grandma I'll admit, I didn't expect you to play dirty like that" Robert admitted, leaning on Ra.

"Well, it didn't work on you now, did it?" she crossed her arms, smiling in exhilaration, her heart still racing.

"Of course not, but anyone else and you might have just won" Robert conceded, grinning.

It has been sometime since he had fun like this.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

All too soon though, it was time for Rhaelle to go back to Storm's End.

Grandson and grandmother were hugging, saying their goodbyes but Robert also had a request.

"Can you see if you can convince the Florents to send me some grown mulberry trees?" he requested, as getting a message from Storm's End to Brightwater Keep would be much easier.

"At this rate, they would give you their whole orchard if you asked. Why do you need them though?" She asked, knowing her grandson preferred grapes.

"If it works, it will be a nice little surprise, if not then I'll just have some fruit trees" Robert said, not giving anything away.

"Hmm, you can keep your secrets, I suppose, but I'll see what I can do" she agreed as Robert helped her mount her dragon.

"Take care of yourself, and do visit sometimes" she ordered as Ormund took off, waving goodbye to her grandson.

"As you wish Princess" Robert teased, waving back.

He watched until the dragon turned to a mere dot in the sky and went back to his inn.

His workload had decreased with his grandmother's help, but there was still much to do.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Two weeks after his grandmother had left, the shipwrights came with a rough drawing of a schooner with three masts, just as Robert had described. He had them start the work immediately to build a trial ship to see what worked, what didn't and what needed adjustments.

Robert liked it now that the things were underway, but he still had to secure large amounts of wood.

Perhaps it was time for a visit to Lord Manderly.

 

[Samael61]

https://www.patreon.com/posts/fourth-story-126044960 poll on the next story is open, feel free to vote

 

[Samael61]

Chapter 23 Stepstones, the first chapter of the Valyria Arc is out now, you can check it out in my patreon page for free.

 

[faruqi]

Not gonna sugar coat it, this isn't anywhere near the quality of something you would pay to read.

 

[Samael61]

Hello there,

If you enjoy my stories you can read advanced chapters in my patreon page

Commander Shepard, The Greatest to Ever Live, a Mass Effect story where Shepard is greater than ever,

Geek's Guide to Thriving in a Low End Fantasy World a Robert Baratheon OC SI in an AU,

Her Eternal Excellency, a Genshin Impact and ASOIAF crossover, Raiden Ei Reborn as Argella Durrandon,

and DCU:Blacklist, a Raymond Reddington inspired OC SI using his knowledge for his own advantage, as well as the rest of the world.

All stories are four chapter ahead.

Thank you in advance.

---

King's Landing

Robert could have gone to other places to get the necessary timber but the thing was he didn't want to deforest Stormlands, mostly Asgard, and with the lands lacking infrastructure, mainly a large enough port or roads, and the workforce, getting that much wood would be more trouble than it was worth.

So until he could see to the development of the Stormlands and Asgard, he was going to have to buy them.

North, as the largest and the most underdeveloped of the kingdoms, had untouched forests larger than some of the kingdoms and White Harbour already had a fleet and the necessary workforce to build more from scratch.

It cost around five thousand gold dragons and took one to two thousand trees to build a galley, but Robert wanted bigger and faster ships which meant higher costs and the vast amount of forests in the North meant it was the prime place to buy cheap high quality timber.

His other options were Lannisport, Redwynes, or the King's Landing but this was a long term contract he did not want to give to any of them, especially after the whole debacle with the merchants.

So here he was, at the Red Keep.

Usually, when one wanted to visit the royal resident of the Targaryens , there would be steps to follow. Send a letter first to inform the royals of your reason for visiting, wait for an audience with the King and then see to your personal business.

Robert had a special pass in the form of three fire breathing flying lizards capable of burning the said keep to the ground, so he was an exception and could head straight to speak with Lord Manderly.

Wyman, as far as he bothered to remember the Lord-Too-Fat-to-Sit-a-Horse, was a shrewd, calculating and intelligent man with a vengeance streak a mile long, if the theories about him killing three Freys and having them baked into a pie was true.

But he was lord of the only trade port in the North and good enough to be made the Master of Coin so they should have no problem making a deal.

They didn't, but by no means was it easy.

Under all that fat was a calculating but fair businessman who would do pretty good in the 21st century Earth as a high level executive.

For now the timber would be delivered by the fleet of White Harbour and it would be more expensive, but as soon as Robert had his large cargo ships the costs would go down even further.

Both sides had left that day satisfied with the deal.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It wasn't all smooth sailing of course. He had been hoping to leave the Red Keep without bumping into anyone, but came across the Starks of all people.

"I read your letter" Lyanna Stark opened her mouth just as he was about to pass them by.

"What letter? I didn't send you anything" Robert replied after a moment of cursing in his head.

"The one you sent to the King" She clarified, almost causing a misunderstanding amongst her retinue.

"That sounds like his problem, not mine" He said, about to push past her guards.

"You threatened him. I want to know what exactly were you going to do" She demanded as if she had any power over him.

Robert sighed, about to tell her to fuck off, but had a better idea.

"Did the little girl get scared when the grown ups were fighting? "He said with a mock childish tone, crouching down a bit and coming down to her eyesight.

The future Queen of the Seven Kingdoms' nose flared in anger, she gritted her teeth to not lose control.

"Remember who you are talking to my lord" The sole Kingsguard escorting her warned, though Robert couldn't put a name to the face.

"I was just going to walk past without saying anything but she had to open her mouth. Now, get out of my way, so we don't have to see each other anymore" Robert said, shooing them away.

"No, not that easy. I want to know what you meant by that letter. Were you going to kill us if he didn't bow down to your demands?" She kept running her mouth off.

"And why would I want to kill you, when you are already dead?" Robert asked with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

Lyanna was taken back by Robert's comment, confusion etched on her face.

"What are you talking about?"

"Simple really. Lyanna Stark, who spent more time riding horses, practicing sword and jousting as a mystery knight, is dead. Becoming the Queen, you will have to spend your time making connections and engaging in politics when you are not having children, and if you try to go back to your old ways, the court will eat you alive. So let me ask you again, why would I wish to kill you, when you are walking to your death with a smile on your face anyway?" Robert said, stunning the whole retinue, including the dear old Ned.

He pushed past the frozen guards and left.

Really, she just had to open her mouth.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

He was leaving the Red Keep when his ears caught something interesting. Rhaegar, his younger brother Aegon and Jaime Lannister were getting married in two months in a single ceremony at King's Landing.

Rhaegar and Lyanna would tie the North and the Riverlands via Brandon and Catelyn to the crown, while Aegon's marriage to Janna Tyrell would bring the Reach into fold and Tywin Lannister would finally have his dream of marrying into the Royal Family partially fulfilled with Jaime and Shaena.

The weddings would have happened by now, but Queen Rhaella was severely weakened with the birth of her daughter Daenerys, born in King's Landing amidst a storm last year.

She actually should have been born at 284 AC but with all the children Rhaella and Aerys had she was late, so to speak.

His claims about her being the one to bring the dragons back if he had not done so already made some of the common sense lacking lords try to offer a betrothal to the newborn.

Rhaegar, in his infinite wisdom, decided to marry his sister to the son he will eventually have with Lyanna.

Which didn't concern him at all, as he wasn't going to be there anyway.

If they didn't try anything, neither would Robert.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"What a pleasant day, is it not, my lord?" a man, with a cowl hiding his face, sat on Robert's table at the inn.

You couldn't tell who he was with how much of his face was covered, but you could tell with the smell.

"Varys" he simply said after swallowing his food, wondering what the Spider wanted that brought him here.

"Imagine my shock at learning who the man that stole the dragon eggs of my good friend Illyrio and then threatened him for Blackfyre was" The Master of Whispers raised his cowl a bit, revealing his face to Robert, with a grandfatherly smile hiding his true nature.

People might call Dornish snakes, but in his opinion none could match to the bald eunuch in front of him.

"Good friend? I thought you two were family, good-brothers in fact. I mean his wife was definitely Valyrian, and with what I have seen of you, I assumed she was your sister" Robert came clean, wiping the smile from his face.

"So tell me, are you two Blackfyres or Brightflames? That part wasn't really clear in my dreams" He raised the stakes even higher, watching the eunuch but he didn't react at all.

"Quite the powerful thing, dragon dreams. They saved House Targaryen from the doom which led to Aegon eventually conquering the Seven Kingdoms, and now they seem to have made you all knowing" The Spider said, no doubt everything he said regarding his dreams had made it to his ears.

"So what brings you here?" Robert asked, not commenting on the whole dragon dreams thing.

"I wanted to ask you a question. You and the Targaryens harbor no good feelings towards each other, and I was wondering why you simply did not destroy them?" Varys wondered, knowing he was the greater threat to his plans.

"You know, you are the second person to ask me that. As for why, beyond my personal views on power and how it should be used, I simply have no desire to rule the Seven Kingdoms and solve the problems they present. I mean, if someone repeated what Tywin did to the Tarbecks and Reynes in the lands I rule, they would face the same fate as their victims" Robert shrugged, though he couldn't help but be curious about what the Spider was playing at.

"How righteous and just of you my lord" Varys sounded amused, but didn't dare mock him.

"In a land where the rules of the jungle apply, progress would be non-existent because of the constant fighting and lack of appreciation for scholarly matters due to what people perceive as their lack of application in warfare. That is why Oldtown is bigger and better than King's Landing, even though it doesn't have the population and is not the capital. But Asgard? It will be even greater and when I am long dead and gone, the city I built will tame this world and then the stars. By then the Seven Kingdoms and the rest of this world will be on their knees, begging to be a part of my legacy. Do you know what will make Asgard the greatest to ever exist, Varys?" Robert asked, taking a deep breath.

"I assume you are about to tell me, my lord?" The eunuch was subdued now, listening to Robert's greater plan.

"Law, rules and justice and the desire to be better, to push ever forward. That is why I don't care about conquering the Seven Kingdoms, because I play the longest game anyone ever has, and when it's finished, everything you ever do will be a mere footnote in history" Robert took another bite of the chicken, watching.

"Curious, why explain your plan to me and risk something happening?"

"Easy, because I don't care about your schemes or who rules the Seven Kingdoms, whether it be a Targaryen, a Blackfyre, or a wilding, as long as they don't cross me or my family"

"Message well received my lord" Varys said after contemplating it qiuckly.

Robert got up and left after paying for the lunch.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After his unexpected meeting with the spy master, Robert called Obelisk down with a whistle and left.

He had much to do.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Asgard

First thing Robert did after returning home was to inform the shipwrights they would get their timber.

Next was a meeting with Davos to tell him they were going to pick up the artisans from Braavos while he had a meeting with the Sea Lord. The journey would be longer than what he has been going on for a while so he gave them ample time to prepare for it.

The city was left to Tyrion to manage in their absence with Sandor in charge of security and he sent a letter to his grandmother to act as a deterrent. He didn't want to call her back so soon after her visit but with him gone for a while, who knows what could happen?

The Black Betha and the Prize wouldn't be enough to transport all those people and their luggage, so they were going to hire ships in Braavos while Robert collected the interest his account had accumulated.

Davos had also opened the matter about bringing his wife and children to Asgard, and Robert had been open to the idea but they would have to get a Maester first and that would have to wait until they returned.

Of course, sailing wasn't going to be easy because compasses did not exist here, and he had no idea how to make one. On Earth, the compass was first invented by a Chinese Dynasty but it was used as a tool for fortune telling at first, so perhaps they had a compass analogue in Yi-Ti?

He would have to get some scholars ASAP, and have them start finding ways to bring his knowledge to practice.

It was like having a mountain of gold dragons, but no way to use it.

He should actually start writing down what he remembers before forgetting things like Elia.

Dropping down another crate on the ship, Robert wiped the sweat off his brow with the back of his hand. He stopped for a while, watching the horizon, suddenly feeling the weight of his plans for the future and just how heavy it was.

But the journey of a thousand miles begins with one step, and he already took it.

He would finish it one way or another.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The ships set sail the next under the shadow of three dragons, taking another step on Asgard's journey to the top of the world.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Note: No idea how much a ship costs goldwise so I tried to numbers that sounded logical to me. I also confused Davos' ship with something else so I fixed it to Black Betha.

 

[Samael61]

Hello there,

If you enjoy my stories you can read advanced chapters in my patreon page

Commander Shepard, The Greatest to Ever Live, a Mass Effect story where Shepard is greater than ever,

Geek's Guide to Thriving in a Low End Fantasy World a Robert Baratheon OC SI in an AU,

Her Eternal Excellency, a Genshin Impact and ASOIAF crossover, Raiden Ei Reborn as Argella Durrandon,

and DCU:Blacklist, a Raymond Reddington inspired OC SI using his knowledge for his own advantage, as well as the rest of the world

All stories are five chapters ahead.

Thank you in advance.

---

Narrow Sea

Evening

A week into their journey, the ships had set anchor as the sun was setting down and the cloudy nights made sailing a risk. Robert had landed on Black Betha to rest, while the dragons went fishing thanks to their night vision.

Robert was below the deck, eating whatever preserved food they had when he heard shouting above.

Davos went to check out but came down quickly.

"Pirates my lord, five ships approaching off the Starboard Bow" He said, nonplussed.

He had a dragon rider on the ship, the pirates were going to regret coming anywhere Black Betha and Prize so he had nothing to worry about.

Robert sighed in irritation, and went up to call the dragons back. They were going to pay for interrupting his dinner.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Raiding became harder the less light there was but tended to be rewarding when you catch ships that set anchors to wait the night, giving them less time to get ready and escape.

That's why Captain Jala and his crew were excited at seeing not one but two ships waiting out there. Perhaps they were overconfident due to being in the middle of the Narrow Sea, but no Captain worth his salt would ever let his guard down in here like that.

He watched from his far seeing eye, seeing their target ship's Captain do the same. They weren't attempting to escape, even after seeing them approach. He narrowed his eyes, searching around the ships to see if they had reinforcements. Seeing nothing he turned to his crew, who cheered at his nod.

They would eat well tonight.

At least until someone shouted "Dragons!"

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Captain Jabal ordered the ships to turn around with dread in his voice. Of all the ships in the sea, he had to come across the one protected by the Father of the Dragons.

He knew deep down, however, they had no chance of escaping, but what else could they do, surrender and hope for mercy?

They were caught before ships were even halfway to turning back.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Robert circled around the ships, his dragons surrounding the pirates and halting them from escaping.

As soon as they saw the dragons the pirates attempted to turn around and leave but they couldn't outsail a dragon.

"Do any of you know Westerosi?" he asked, as Free Cities spoke dialects of Valyrian.

He should get to learn the damn language sometimes, especially with plans to establish trade routes with them.

One of the pirates, a man with tanned skin, a couple of missing teeth, messy hair and beard, and dirty clothes, raised his hands slowly.

"Good, tell your captain he disturbed my dinner and ask him how he intends to make amends" Robert told the pirate and he turned to his captain, translating and after a small conversation turned back to Robert.

"W-we have loot and s-slaves. C-captain says you can have whatever you want if you s-spare us" the translating pirate said, stuttering every now and then.

Robert narrowed his eyes.

Slaves huh?

He would kill them all now if it wasn't that the slaves would die too.

"Does your captain think my time is so cheap? If he wants me to spare your lives, I'll need more" Robert demanded, like a thug harassing people for money, though he wasn't a thug and the people in question were pirates.

"H-he'll give you whatever you want, please just spare us" was the answer after another short conversation between the crewman and the captain.

"Whatever I want? That's awfully generous of him. In that case I'll take four of your ships, and leave you with one to sail away" Robert clapped his hands, quite happy with their offer.

This ignited a heated argument in the ship, but Robert cut it off before it got out of control.

"What is the matter? Has your captain changed his mind?"

"N-no, its just we can't all fit and sail on that ship"

"Well, you either take your chances with the ship, or with me" Robert patted Obelisk on the head and the dragon growled at the crew, who collectively took a couple of steps back.

Robert watched the crew slowly descend into chaos, shouting over who would board the ship and who would not, but of course no one wanted to be left behind. Tensions kept rising, shouts and pushes were getting more frequent before someone had enough and ran the captain through with his sword and threw the body overboard.

The sole mutineer shouted something and the crew cheered.

"We'll take the ship"

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Slowly and painstakingly, the pirates emptied four of the ships, leaving behind their loot and the slaves, with only whatever food they had in the small and beat up ship remaining.

They reminded him of those overcrowded trains from India.

He was letting them go so they could carry a message.

Robert Baratheon's ships were off limits.

That is if they didn't kill each other fighting over what food they had.

Either way, good riddance.

"Thank you for your contributions to the Asgard Trading Company!" he couldn't help but shout as they set sail even though only one of them would understand.

Loot wise, there was almost nothing, meaning they probably didn't find much in their last raid, as they still had the slaves.

Which were a problem. Not them exactly, but their conditions. Composed of a dozen men and women in total along with a child, they were tired, and starved.

They were lucky the pirates crossed him before they managed to sell them off.

Scared as they were, they let Robert approach after he landed on the ship. They were tied with ropes and he made quick work of them with his knife.

Davos approached with Black Betha and Prize, boarding the ship, though he stopped upon seeing the slaves.

Without even asking for orders, he had food brought over to the starving people, and had them checked for any wounds. They were mostly fine, other than bruises of varying colours.

Women weren't touched thankfully, as damaged merchandise wouldn't sell well at the market.

None of them spoke Westerosi Common nor did Davos had anyone who knew Valyrian, so communication was mostly through gestures.

"Will we leave them at Braavos, my lord?" Davos asked, coming to stand behind him.

"We'll see if they have a place to go, if not we'll see if they are interested in settling in Asgard" Robert said, and while trying to help everyone would not be possible, he would help those he can.

"Yes, my lord"

"So, four more ships" Robert gestured to the other pirate vessels.

"Yes, at this rate we won't have to build any ships my lord" Davos sounded amused. While the Pirate ships were more beat up than the Prize when it was seized, it would still be cheaper than building one from scratch.

"They are bound to understand that targeting my ships won't end well for them. I don't think we'll be lucky like this again" He muttered, after all even if the entirety of the pirate existence were idiots, they would still understand poking a dragon with stick was a terrible idea.

"If we take all four, sailing to Braavos might take even longer because of the barebones crews, depending on the winds"

"We can afford to be a bit late" Robert waved away his concerns, after all acquiring four ships would be well worth it, especially if they didn't have to hire any from Braavos.

"As you say. There is one more thing my lord. Are you going to use the words and sigil of your house or make new ones? At the least, we need to paint the sails with something so people know who protects those ships" Davos asked, after all even if the news spread, pirates couldn't be expected to know who they were simply from the ships.

"I'll get back to you on that" Robert said, he honestly hadn't thought much about it. Using house Baratheon's words could be done, seeing as Storm's End didn't have a fleet but he wanted something that represented Asgard's spirit.

Perhaps a Yggdrasil tree with words about progress and knowledge?

He would think about it later back at Asgard.

Now that they had six ships, he would see about finding a less crowded place to sleep.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Braavos

Sailing to Braavos did indeed take longer just as Davos had warned, so much so Robert almost decided to fly ahead. They had nowhere near enough crew to effectively sail the ships, even with the former slaves helping wherever they could.

But finally they saw the Titan of Braavos in the distance two weeks after they sailed out and the crews cheered.

Standing 400 feet tall, it gleamed in the sunlight as if a warrior from the heavens sent to protect the city.

Robert flew ahead to meet Ferrego Antaryon to avoid any misunderstandings due to the pirate ships.

He was circling over the Sea Lord's Palace, waiting for the man to come out and invite him down.

Never let it be said Robert wasn't courteous to the people that he got along with. Naturally the Targaryens weren't on that list.

Most Braavosi considered Westerosi to be barbarians, but he was good friends with the Sea Lord - at least as far as that mattered when it came to the nobility- and none would dare say something like that to the face of the Father of the Dragons.

The man, young and far away from being the sickly and frail man he was mentioned in the books, had come out to greet him with his protector, Qarro Valentin the First Sword of Braavos and a ceremony of Water Dancers.

Draped in purples and blues, with brown skin, and a clean shaved round face from perhaps one too many deserts, Ferrego was a perfect example of a wealthy Braavosi.

Obelisk, Ra and Slifer landed as gently as they could and Robert dismounted, approached the man in question and removed his helmet greeting the smiling ruler of Braavos the same way.

"My friend! Welcome to Braavos once more." The Sea Lord greeted, with pearly white teeth that could blind someone, and held out his arm.

"Much appreciated my friend, though before we go in, I made some ship acquisitions on the way here and they bear pirate flags. Could you ensure they are not sunk?" Robert took the offered arm, gesturing towards the port.

"Ship acquisition? I believe you have a story to tell me" Ferrego turned to one of the Water Dancers and muttered something in Braavosi and the man left with a salute and then gestured Robert inside.

"Weirdest of things. Five pirate ships just sailed towards us and decided to donate four of their ships to me"

"Really? Perhaps your dragons had something to do with it?" The Sea Lord gave him an amused smile.

"Maybe, or it was just because of my charming demeanor. At any rate, they had slaves we freed and I was wondering if they had anywhere to go here? If not I'll offer them a place back at Asgard" Robert asked, after all Braavos was created by slaves who fled from the Freehold and as they detested slavery, they also helped escaped slaves whenever they could.

"Of course, we are always happy to help those who escaped from the wretched grasp of slavery"

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

They were seated on the Sea Lord's study after Robert was given a room to change into something comfier.

"I heard about that dreadful business with Storm's End" Ferrego commented as a servant poured wine into two clear glasses, watching for Robert's reaction.

"It was their way of protecting me from Aerys, I am sure you have heard about him" Robert shrugged, while a part of him was angry, the other part had seen an opportunity.

"Most would be displeased about losing their legacy"

"Most people wouldn't see an opportunity as I do. Storm's End represents the past, Asgard will be the future"

A moment of silence took place as the Sea Lord contemplated, as if he wanted to gaze into Robert's soul to see how serious he was.

"Well then, let us raise our glasses to the future and talk business, shall we?" Ferrego held out his glass and Robert obliged.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Davos approached the port with the ships, exhaustion clear on his face. The last weeks had been hard, with unfavourable winds and having to sail six ships with the crew of two. But at the least they were promised triple pay for this month and the loot from the ships, even though it wasn't much, making it worth their sweat.

He had a lot to do now, even more than what they had planned before sailing. New sails, new crews , at least temporary ones until they can find ones that spoke Westerosi Common, and repairs for the new ships.

After he slept of course, he was no use looking like a corpse.

 

[Samael61]

Hello there,

If you enjoy my stories you can read advanced chapters in my patreon page

Commander Shepard, The Greatest to Ever Live, a Mass Effect story where Shepard is greater than ever,

Geek's Guide to Thriving in a Low End Fantasy World a Robert Baratheon OC SI in an AU,

Her Eternal Excellency, a Genshin Impact and ASOIAF crossover, Raiden Ei Reborn as Argella Durrandon,

and DCU:Blacklist, a Raymond Reddington inspired OC SI using his knowledge for his own advantage, as well as the rest of the world

All stories are five chapters ahead.

Thank you in advance.

---

Braavos

Sea Lord's Palace

The Sea Lord was a master of negotiation, as one who was elected to this position had to be, and just like all their previous negotiations this one was hard and tiring.

Not to mention the shipwrights he had sent over.

But they did reach a deal after two very tiring weeks.

Both Braavos and Asgard would waive any tolls and fees for the ships and traders of the other, and lower the tariffs significantly enough, with the option to fully remove them when Asgard grew big enough to handle more trade.

They also agreed on cooperation against piracy and slavery to ensure the safety of the Narrow Sea for both sides' benefit.

Ferrego also insisted on the involvement of the Iron Bank -probably requested by the bankers, knowing they were friends, as Robert refused to have much to do with them beyond the interest they gave to his gold- both in investing in Asgard as well as offers of lower interest rates for any loan he might take, but Robert only agreed to allow small amounts of investment, knowing even as wealthy as he was, he couldn't match the Iron Banks financial strength and any investment they make would give the bankers influence in Asgard. He agreed to the loans, but would try not to take any, unless it became absolutely necessary.

Free lodging for up to a week would be provided for the traders to support the flow of commerce, and they also agreed any long term trade deals would be discussed with each other first as a courtesy, and only then with others if a deal could not be reached. This would be implemented later when Asgard started to export in greater amounts.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Braavos

Docks

So here he was, taking a stroll around the city with a translator and Davos who had had the ships repaired and refurbished, and filled their holds with trade items of value, such as pearls, gems, and accessories, as well as weapons, spice, dyes and silk. Not to mention the four hundred thousand gold interest he had collected from the Iron Bank.

Being a smuggler, he knew the most profitable items of trade, as well as their prices and where to sell them.

He also visited the artisans, especially the glassmakers, and their luggage would be loaded when the Asgard contingency was ready to return home.

They were talking about gaining access to other ports in Westeros, and with Robert antagonizing the wealthiest of the kingdoms, they had to come up with a clever solution.

As they reached the market area, Robert couldn't help but notice how alive it was. Merchants everywhere, peddling their wares, from basic necessities to luxury items, and everything else one could imagine.

He decided to explore the market, see if anything caught his eye. Food section was something even the Reach would be envious of. Exotic fruits, gleaming vegetables, various kinds of bread, dried meats, cheese and a lot more. He bought a little bit of everything to taste, and was about to move to the part that contained arms sellers before his eyes fell on something.

Yellow-green, elongated pods on the ground next to a merchant selling exotic fruits. He approached the merchant, inspecting them closer.

Cocoa pods.

They were cocoa pods of all things, put on a rag as if they were not worthy of standing next to the fruits.

"How much for them?" Robert pointed to the pods, turning to his translator.

The young man and the vendor had a brief conversation before he translated back.

"He says they are too bitter to eat, but are good for health if you can stomach them. It's one iron coin for all"

Right, claim something is good for health when you don't have any other way of selling it.

There were easily twenty or so of those pods and Robert saw no issue with that. When he was done with them they would be worth a lot more than an iron coin.

Robert handed the coin and took the pods along with the rag, until he found something for them.

"Let's go Davos, I'll return to the palace after dropping these off"

"Yes my lord" Davos wondered why his lord wanted to buy them, but then again he didn't seem to do things without a good reason.

Nonetheless the trio made their way to Black Betha but the translator stayed out when Robert and Davos boarded the ship.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"What are we to do with these, my lord, medicine?" Davos asked, after all lord Robert was as healthy as a horse, as far as he knew.

"Hah, no. That merchant didn't know what he was selling. We are going into chocolate business with these"

Who knew making his own chocolate would come in handy like this one day?

"Chocolate, my lord? What is that?" Davos said, the word sounding foreign to his tongue.

"Just one of the best things mankind has ever created, and believe me, we are going to make enough coin with that to put most businesses to shame" Robert sounded so sure of it, Davos already wondered what this chocolate tasted like.

"Now we just need sugar, we did buy some right?"

"Yes, my lord"

"Excellent" Robert stopped, remembering something.

"Damn it, I was so excited I forgot to ask where he bought them, find that out, will you?"

Davos just nodded.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Another thing Braavos was really famous for, was its courtesans. Robert had no interest in them but they did have interest in the Father of the Dragons, if the barges berthed around them and the really beautiful ladies making eyes at Robert was anything to go by.

The crew, though, was very interested, acting like lovesick maidens, but Davos knew how to run his ship so they didn't do anything but oggle.

He was out in the port, and saw a small crowd gathering to watch one of the barges. Robert just shook his head and went to see if he could find some lodestones. He may not know how to make a compass out of it, but maybe he could find someone that could.

The crowd had turned into an agitated beehive, two men shouting at each other before they pulled out swords and the crowd parted, giving the duelists a small venue to fight.

The Braavos Water Dance was a fighting style that focused on speed, balance and grace, similar to fencing.

It was interesting to watch but Robert wondered why they were fighting in the first place.

"They are fighting over Nightingale" his translator supplied, probably having noticed the confusion on his face.

"Nightingale?" Both sides of him had chased women, though Robert was more successful on that front, Matt had never gone as far as to fight for someone not interested in him.

The translator simply pointed out to one of the barges where a beautiful woman of light brown skin, full lips, dark wavy hair, sapphire blue eyes and a heart shaped face, dressed in dark purple silken attire that left nothing to imagination was standing on the deck, watching the fight, pleased.

She blew him a kiss upon noticing him looking, though Robert just turned to the fight, ignoring her, more interested in the fight.

The two men had similar builds, lean and agile, the Water Dance preferred accurate strikes to target the weak points in the body.

He could see why it was called a dance, but was over all too soon. One of the duelists, the one with longer hair kept going for the other man's face and when he overextended himself, stabbed him in the throat, leaving the man on the ground to gurgle and choke on his own blood.

Seeing no need to drag his opponent's death, the victorious duelist stabbed him in the heart, putting an end to his suffering.

The man then turned around to face the crowd, Robert didn't understand the language but could guess he was asking for challengers from his demeanor and they way he brandished his sword.

When none came forward, - though Robert considered doing it just to annoy the attention seeker- the man got on one knee, holding out his hand towards the most famous courtesan of Braavos.

The woman smiled, amused by the men fighting over her and threw a rose at the man, drawing out a cheer from the crowd.

Corny.

"Come on Davos, we are burning daylight for no reason"

Davos followed with an affirmative mutter, but lady luck was not on Robert's side today.

The duelist's voice rose and the audience slowly turned, stopping him in his tracks. He looked back to see the crowd had parted and the duelist was pointing his sword at Robert, making a "come" sign with it.

Robert pointed at himself to ask if he actually meant him and the man nodded.

"What's his problem?" He turned to the interpreter, not understanding.

"He claims you insulted Nightingale and challenges you to a duel" He pointed at the courtesan again, who was smiling with a devious grin.

"He has no idea who I am, does he?" Robert smiled, feeling giddy all of a sudden.

Robert approached the challenger when he shook his head.

"Tell him I'll fight bare handed" Robert muttered, stretching to get ready.

"He says" Robert stopped him with a hand " I get it"

The Water Dancer probably said something along the lines of " your funeral" from the way he was posturing and the cocky grin on his face.

Robert walked into the manmade ring, his eyes locked on the brown orbs of his opponent. He raised his fists in a defensive gesture, and waited. The Water Dancer was watching him for an opening, and initiated the fight with a feint stab. Robert didn't react, still waiting. The Water Dancer tried a couple more feints to no avail.

He tensed, coiled like a cobra ready to strike, and stabbed at Robert's chest with the grace and swiftness of a jaguar. Robert, with a quickness that belied his size, dodged and his opponent overextended himself, falling into the same fatal mistake the dead duelist did.

Robert's arm coiled around the sword arm of the Water Dancer like a snake and slammed his palm right into the man's throat, causing him to choke.

Next, Robert kicked him in the knee and when he was on the ground slammed the Braavosi duelist's arm to his knee with such force that the arm broke and the bone stuck out. The crowd gasped at the brutality of it, with some emptying their stomachs and the Water Dancer let out a wail of agony.

It didn't last long before Robert jammed the bone straight into the man's throat and killed him.

The onslaught happened fast enough for the crowd to take a couple of seconds to register the death of the Water Dancer.

Robert let the corpse drop and dusted his hands, throwing a look at the instigator of it, who did seem disturbed by the violent kill.

"Anyone else?" Robert challenged, but the crowd dispersed, understanding what he meant, while some of them dragged the body away.

"That was…" Davos searched for the right word before Robert stepped in.

"Brutal?"

"But well done, my lord"

"Yeah, let's see if any of these idiots ever challenge me again"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Turns out that duelist he killed was kind of a big deal in Braavos, enough that people began to challenge him, either to test themselves against the man that killed one of the foremost Water Dancers of Braavos so quickly and efficiently, or to avenge him.

At any rate, Robert had enough and decided that to challenge him they would have to pay a hundred gold dragons or equivalent as a fee, which cut the number of challengers sharply. But he still did make close to a thousand gold dragons, and made sure to not kill anyone else.

No need to gain infamy in the city.

Robert didn't really care about the duels that much due to something else.

The cocoa pods.

Turns out they were from the Summer Isles, used as medicine and somehow made their way here. They weren't known much outside of the isles due to the bitter taste as people didn't know how to process them.

He would visit Summer Isles with a fleet to buy as much coca as he could after getting grinders and ovens specifically for chocolate making and he would have to get regular sugar shipments to Asgard. Reach was closer but since they were in the Targaryen camp making a deal might not be easy but shipping sugar from Braavos would increase the price of chocolate. He would make his choice based on Highgarden's - Olenna Tyrel's in actual- answer.

Workers would also be needed, but perhaps Tyrion's wife would be interested? In fact, he could employ widows and women that are looking for a new life other than selling their bodies, killing two birds with one stone.

 

[Samael61]

Hello there,

If you enjoy my stories you can read advanced chapters in my patreon page

Commander Shepard, The Greatest to Ever Live, a Mass Effect story where Shepard is greater than ever,

Geek's Guide to Thriving in a Low End Fantasy World a Robert Baratheon OC SI in an AU,

Her Eternal Excellency, a Genshin Impact and ASOIAF crossover, Raiden Ei Reborn as Argella Durrandon,

and DCU:Blacklist, a Raymond Reddington inspired OC SI using his knowledge for his own advantage, as well as the rest of the world

All stories are five chapters ahead.

Thank you in advance.

---

Braavos

Docks

"Do visit again my friend, I am sure we both can stand to profit from further cooperation" Ferrego shook Robert's hand as the dragonrider was getting ready to leave, having concluded their talks.

"I'll be sure to, but you know how busy our jobs are. Stay well" Robert gave his good wishes and mounted Obelisk, the ships already were sailing.

They would head to King's Landing first to sell their wares and then make it to Asgard to receive the first shipment of wood from White Harbour.

Work on the prototype for the newly dubbed Merchant Class ships had already begun a month ago and would take around three months by the estimates.

By this time next year they hopefully would start constructing about a hundred ships per year with the amount of gold and time he was going to invest in it. It was a stretch, but he was going to build bigger shipyards than ever seen in this world and basically build a school to train more shipwrights.

Expensive, but invaluable in the long run.

The winds were favourable to the ships in their voyage back to Westeros.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

King's Landing

Red Keep

"She confronted Robert and none of you thought to do something about it?" King Rhaegar Targaryen questioned the Small Council and the King's Guard he had left behind, as well as his family.

He had left for Summerhall shortly after Robert's letter arrived, to see if any new insights could be gained from the diary, as the vagueness of the writings has been driving him up the walls and he wanted to clear his mind to not cause any problems during the triple wedding they would be having.

He did not find anything new, but the journey had cleared his mind, but now he had to deal with his wife's impulsiveness.

They were all silent, avoiding eye contact with him, besides his brothers.

"We did counsel her to not do it, but your wife isn't one to back down when she sets her mind on something" Aegon tried to placate his elder brother. They had truly tried, but she-wolf wasn't exactly the compliment most people thought it was.

"Everyone but my wife out, now" He ordered, looking at his wife who held a defiant look in her eyes.

They were quick to leave to avoid their King's ire.

"What were you thinking, Lyanna? Better yet, were you even thinking?" Rhaegar scolded his wife, and for all that she had been educated by his mother, the future Queen of the Seven Kingdoms still acted like a child sometimes.

"He threatened you and you did nothing" She retorted back, icy cold to his scorching fire.

"I did nothing because he has three dragons, Lyanna, in case you forget. He can just burn down the Red Keep and we would be powerless to stop it. So yes, we will do our best to avoid any confrontation with him, until we are in a situation to deal with his dragons" The irony of what he just said wasn't lost on Rhaegar.

They, the House of the Dragon, were preparing defenses against the dragons.

Their ancestors must be rolling in their graves.

"You don't have to like it, my love, but you have to accept it" Rhaegar tried to make her understand with a gentle tone, as she would get more confrontational if they continued to bicker.

"Promise me you won't do something like this again" He knew how effective his melancholic smile was on her and didn't hesitate to use it.

"I.." Lyanna hesitated, not knowing if she could keep it.

"Please?"

"Fine. I won't confront him again" She caved in, incapable of resisting him.

"Thank you, my dear"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Docks

A Week Later

Davos had already begun to offload the wares and receive payments. His smuggling contacts, merchants mostly, were lining up to buy silk, spices and accessories, while Knights from all over the Seven Kingdoms who were visiting the city were interested in armour and weapons.

It felt good to actually trade without having to look over his shoulder everytime to watch out for the Gold Cloaks.

Lord Robert had already returned to Asgard and they would join him as soon as they sold the goods and loaded up with construction material. He also arranged for passages of the crews they temporarily hired at Braavos in addition to their pay as it was discussed, and was looking to hire new crews to man the four other ships.

Luckily, in a city of half a million people finding crews out of work was easy, ensuring they were good sailors, less so, but not impossible.

He would never imagine himself in a position like this, where crates of gold and silver poured into the ships under his command, with him earning one tenth of the coin brought by the wares shipped by Black Betha.

A single trade voyage and he had more gold than he earned in a year as a smuggler. Not to mention Black Betha was repaired free of charge at the docks of Asgard, reducing the amount he had to spend.

But perhaps the most important part was that his wife and children wouldn't have to worry about him falling afoul of the law and end up in a cell, or worse.

Fortune had come knocking on his door and Davos never felt more grateful for it.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Asgard

"My lord" Tyrion greeted him as he landed on the solid ground after a while, stretching his leg to get the blood circulation going.

They never mentioned in the books how numb your legs could become while riding a dragon.

"Tyrion, how are you doing?" Robert could see the bags under his mismatched eyes.

"Well enough my lord. You'll be happy to know there was nothing out of the ordinary to report"

"Where is my grandmother?"

"She left for Storm's End yesterday, my lord, to assist in preparations for the marriages of King Rhaegar, Prince Aegon and Princess Shaena" Robert raised an eyebrow at this.

His grandmother going to King's Landing to attend their wedding?

Weird.

"Ah well. How is Tysha, still bored?"

"Yes my lord, but she makes do. I have been teaching her how to read and she has been taken with it" Tyrion was happy to have a wife who shared his passion for reading, even if she was still learning.

"You know I just happen to have a new business idea and require a trustworthy person"

"Perhaps we should discuss it inside then?"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Inside his temporary house and workplace, Robert finally sat down and put his feet up. He had changed out of his armor, cleaned himself up and finally could relax.

After finishing his business of course.

"So what groundbreaking business idea do you have, my lord?" Tyrion asked, putting the report papers he had.

Robert held out the sack he had brought and pulled out a cocoa pod.

"This is a cocoa pod. Eaten by itself, it is bitter, but if it is processed correctly and mixed with sugar and milk you have a sweet unlike any this world has ever seen. One that we can sell to the nobility at exorbitant prices, claiming it is very expensive and hard to produce"

"Is it, my lord?" Tyrion asked, wondering if he was actually going to scam the highborn?

"Maybe the sugar part, but the rest? Not at all, hence the need for a trustworthy person to oversee it"

"And since Tysha is usually bored at home and we are both grateful to you, you want her to take part in it to help you rob the wealthy?" The Dwarf of Asgard asked with a tone one might consider as offended.

"Exactly"

"When do we begin?"

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tysha was quick to agree, especially since the offer came from Robert, and they began to plan.

A warehouse had been cleaned after a second floor was built to let the cocoa beans ferment in a clean and dry area and to avoid rodents. Manual grinders had been brought to the first floor along with large ovens outside to roast the beans.

Robert, as the only one with the knowledge of how to make chocolate, basically trained Tysha in it. She was quick witted and did not take long to get the hang of it, though practice would have to wait until the beans fermented for a week and Davos came with the sugar.

That week was tough for Robert. He didn't really think of chocolate before finding the cocoa pods, but now that he had after not eating any for more than six years, he was craving it.

Smell of fermented cocoa beans was strong to say the least, enough to give Tysha doubts in whether it would work. They had roasted them in the ovens after that and separated the shells.

Grinding it up with some vegetable oil and sugar, they let them harden in the basement in steel molds.

So here they were, as Tysha carefully peeled off the chocolate from the mold. They had buttered it so it wouldn't stick and now was the moment of truth.

She cut the bar into five pieces, and served it on a platter.

They all examined the brown pieces for a while, before Robert took a piece and popped it into his mouth, slowly chewing and enjoying the taste.

Seeing how he had closed his eyes to fully immerse himself, the others hesitantly took their pieces too.

They all had their own way of expressing their emotions, but Robert could confidently say they enjoyed it.

"I had my doubts, especially with how it smelled after fermenting, but I'll admit we can gouge the nobility with this" Tyrion admitted.

Nobles gouging each other for coin was nothing new, gods knew Reach did it when winter was approaching if they were left unchecked and Tyrion was sure they could succeed.

"And we are going to. We just need to promote it as a sign of wealth and prestige, and they would line up with their coffers open just to earn the right to boast" Robert already had an idea how to do that.

"We need a place where the nobles will gather and make chocolate known to as many of them as possible" Davos offered, a bit disappointed they didn't have more. He was sure Marya and the children would love it.

"And it just so happens the Targaryens are getting married and most of the realm will be there" Sandor joined in, grinning. He might not have the interest in business as they did, but he still could see the oppurtunity.

"Exactly. Now Tyrion, Tysha, find workers, make sure they won't talk about this business and start making chocolate. The ceremony is in a week, and we need to hurry" They already had some made, but more would be needed to send to the wedding.

Targaryens were proving to be useful to Robert, again.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After the chocolate bars were ready Robert had taken it upon himself to go and deliver them to his friends and family in King's Landing. By friends, he meant the Stormlords and Arryn's as other bridges were burnt.

Dressed in his black and gold outfit, he landed on the courtyard at the noon of the wedding day, as the feast was going full speed.

Robert headed inside, greeting the lords he was familiar with on the way, and stood before the door to the Great Hall. The guards, upon seeing him unarmed and carrying gifts, let him in.

"Lord Robert Baratheon, Lord of Asgard" The court herald called out loudly upon seeing him.

Cheers and merriment slowly died as people expected a commotion. Robert was going to have to disappoint them this time, but what can you do?

"Get the hell out here if you are going to cause trouble" His least favourite Targaryen, Daeron, rose from his chair, with fire in his eyes.

"Trouble? I am hurt, cousin. Here I went into the trouble of inventing a new dessert as a gift to the couples, but you are accusing me of foul play" Robert gently shook one of the chocolate boxes he was holding to emphasize his point.

"How generous of you my lord, but we already had dessert" Rhaegar said, a half eaten apple pie in front of him.

"Really? Well then, I'll just pass these along and be on my way before you even know it" Robert smiled cheerfully, heading to where his family was seated.

"Here grandmother, I believe you will like this" He passed a box to her and to each member of his remaining family, hugging and making small talk all the while.

"We can talk later, I still need to pass the remaining boxes" This time he headed to where the Arryn's, including Denys and his family, were to spread his gift.

"You brute, you couldn't even send a letter to me?" Denys, Darling of the Vale, said, getting up to hug him. Light brown hair, brown eyes, a square face and a fair complexion did make him rather handsome to ladies everywhere.

"Why didn't you come yourself? Not like you are busy" He rebuked, gathering him in a bone crushing hug.

"So you decided to be a chef now?" He asked as Robert let him go.

"I am a man of many talents, Denys" He joked, before hugging Jon and Elbert and giving the future Lady Arryn a kiss on the knuckles.

"Anyway, I don't want to hold up the wedding too much. Drop by Asgard if you want to talk" He patted the old man and the man he saw as another brother on the back.

A couple more boxes were passed to the Stormlords, before he spotted Elia and Baelor and approached them, offering greetings and giving out more chocolate.

Elia opened the box immediately, curious as to what he made, before her eyes widened and she shouted.

"You made chocolate?!" She had a sweet tooth before, and the simple desserts of Westeros did not exactly cut it for her.

"Yep"

Elia took a huge bite from the bar with a clear snap, and began to chew, and before they knew it was gone, and she had her eyes on her husband's box.

"Are you going to eat that?" She asked, looking as if it was the last drop of water in the world.

Baelor, taken back by his usually calm and collected wife's actions, opened the box and slowly took a bite. His mouth was overwhelmed with the taste at first, but he got used to the taste very quickly and nodded.

"I must say this is good. Rich sweet and smooth, it melts in my mouth"

Elia and Baelor's reactions spurred the rest of them into action and they slowly bit into the sweet bar. Their reactions were more or less the same.

He passed the remaining couple of boxes to the wealthiest of houses, including the Tyrells and headed to the exit.

"Anyway, I'll be going now to not disrupt the wedding any longer, but remember my lords and ladies. You were some of the first people in this whole world to taste such an exquisite and expensive delicacy. If you want to buy, please send your requests to Asgard. A box of it, due to how rare the ingredients are, costs a hundred gold dragons. Oh, and I wish the couples here a good and happy marriage" Robert left, shutting the doors and leaving without explaining himself further.

"Baelor, we are buying at least ten boxes of this every month" Elia turned to her husband, challenging him to say no.

"Yes, my darling" Bealor knew that the key to a happy life was a happy wife.

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The last part was a bit fast but we will be seeing those mentioned above soon.

 

[Kaiserfrost]

Truly Bealor is the wisest man in the world.

 

[Samael61]

Hello there,

If you enjoy my stories you can read advanced chapters in my patreon page

Commander Shepard, The Greatest to Ever Live, a Mass Effect story where Shepard is greater than ever,

Geek's Guide to Thriving in a Low End Fantasy World a Robert Baratheon OC SI in an AU,

Her Eternal Excellency, a Genshin Impact and ASOIAF crossover, Raiden Ei Reborn as Argella Durrandon,

and DCU:Blacklist, a Raymond Reddington inspired OC SI using his knowledge for his own advantage, as well as the rest of the world

All stories are five chapters ahead.

Thank you in advance.

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Stormlands

Asgard

Two Months Later

As Robert expected, the chocolate business was slow, with only the Hightowers via Elia willing to buy, both for themselves and to send as gifts.

But he wasn't selling food, he was selling prestige and a sign of wealth. It would just need some more time to work.

He was occupied with something else now, as the shipwrights were testing the Pioneer, prototype of Asgard's first Merchant Class schooner. Two hundred feet long, with three masts, two decks and more sails on it than any other ship the sailors had seen, it was a monster of a ship, and could carry more cargo than they knew what to do with and it still was a work in progress, as at full size ships of that class would be around three hundred feet.

When it was ready they would be sailing to the Summer Isles for a trade run. It would take much longer than their journey to Braavos was, but Robert wanted to test the ship, both its speed, and how it fared on open seas. Davos would be captaining the ship, leaving Black Betha behind as they needed its experienced crew.

There were larger ships on Westeros, but none were made for trade. The Pioneer would carry the cargo of several cogs plus with a fraction of the crew which would equal to profit in his eyes.

Building costs were a problem, as a 130 ft. galley took five thousand gold dragons, but as a ship got larger and more complex, the gold it took to build one grew exponentially. The Pioneer had cost fifteen thousand gold with not even twice the size but the shipwrights assured him it would go down once they completed the drawings and the ship took its final shape.

Nonetheless, it was worth it in his eyes.

Another issue was the Stepstones, where the pirate activity was plenty, while Myr and Lys continued to fight for control over the islands. He was going on a punitive campaign there, to burn every single pirate ship he came across and ensure Myr and Lys knew to keep out of his way.

Could he, he would destroy the islands, but he did not have the capability and would have to be satisfied with eradicating the pirates.

He had called a meeting with Davos, Tyrion and Sandor to discuss the way forward now.

"My lord, perhaps you could consider delaying it? Construction is picking up and I am having a hard time with it due to lack of learned men. The ones you hired are all busy with their jobs and taking one away disrupts work elsewhere" Tyrion complained. With Robert here the work was more than manageable but left alone it was taxing on the young man.

"Hmm, when will the Maester arrive from the Citadel? He can help you and I can be on my way to purge the Stepstones"

"That would be extremely welcome, my lord, and he should be here soon" Tyrion had sent the letter himself in Robert's name, and the Citadel, especially with their lord's good relations with the Hightowers was quick to respond.

"Alright, Sandor, how are we doing with the guards?"

They had tasked the man with training the guards, as he was just sitting around with nothing to do.

"Fucking bastards thought they would just stand around with swords in hand. Some already quit because it was too hard, but I'll make the remaining ones into proper guards" Sandor grinned. He didn't like the idea at first, but the more he did the more fun it became.

"Excellent, I don't want a bunch of idiots guarding my city. Davos, what do you think of the ship?"

"My lord, just that it can move with so little wind would be a good reason to have a fleet of them, and their speed is truly impressive as well. A hundred of them and Asgard's fleet can carry more cargo than any other fleet" Davos complimented. Black Betha had and always would have a special place in his heart, but those cargo ships were something else.

"Good, what about the cranes on the docks? I don't think the workers will relish the thought of carrying the timber by hand" Robert asked the young captain.

"They are coming along well, but the work at the shipyards slowed down due to pulling out workers from there" Davos reported. He figured as they still had time before they were ready to start producing ships and the work there could be slowed for now.

"Well then, before I forget, you can go and bring your wife and children over as soon as your mansion is finished" Robert said, as he had gifted the man a mansion, built out of his own pockets, remembering him having seven children by the time of the Battle of the Blackwater.

"Yes my lord, thank you" The mansion was a gift unlike any other the Lord of Asgard had given, but Davos now knew that the man didn't have any ulterior motives when he gave gifts.

"Tyrion, you and Tysha will get one too, just remember what we talked about" Robert wasn't the type to poke his nose into other people's private lives, but Tysha wasn't fully grown physically and having a child could be dangerous. Better to wait a couple of years, than to take an unnecessary risk.

"Yes my lord" Tyrion nodded. He didn't feel ready to be a father anyway, especially with how much time his position demanded, and didn't see any problems with the older man's advice.

Besides the awkwardness of it.

"I am curious about something. Even at the height of their power, the Targaryens couldn't solve the issue of the Stepstones. How will you do it?" Tyrion was an avid reader, and the Dance of the Dragons as well as the events leading to it were a favourite.

"They failed because Viserys didn't have a spine. I'll burn down Lys, Myr and Tyrosh if they don't back off, and hunt down the pirates to the last ship" Robert declared,

"No middle ground with you, is there, my lord? Either peace or total annihilation for your enemies" Tyrion could see it in Robert's eyes. He might seek peace but wouldn't hesitate to destroy them.

"There are people and matters you don't compromise with, Tyrion. Slavers and security are two of them"

"Well, let's hope they back off then, I rather like Myrish glass" the dwarf commented absent mindedly.

"And if they don't, perhaps it will be called Asgardian glass, speaking of, did that glassmaker start working?" Robert half joked, turning to Davos.

"He has, my lord. It is slow as he is also teaching his apprentices, but with the language difference it makes things harder"

"Hire a translator for him, maybe even as an apprentice" He ordered. Glass, which was a common everyday item back on Earth, was a luxury here and was great for trading.

"Yes my lord"

"So, Sandor will continue with the guards, Davos will test out the ship, and Tyrion and I will continue the administrative work until the Maester arrives. After that I'll clear out the Stepstones, and we will be heading to Summer Isles. Any questions?" Robert summarized their plan.

The occupants of the room shook their heads and the meeting was over.

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A week passed by and the Maester finally arrived via ship. A rookery had to be set up with ravens trained for carrying messages, so it took him longer to arrive than expected.

Maester Olivar was a man in his thirties brown of hair and eyes with chains in architecture, ravenry, Essos studies and sums and numbers.

Robert was sure he was handpicked specifically for Asgard.

He wasn't the only one though, as another man younger than the Maester came with him, bearing a letter from Elia Martell.

"To Robert Baratheon, Lord of Asgard

I'll admit I wasn't expecting chocolate of all things, I mean I forgot what it even tasted like over two decades yet it brought back memories long gone.

Onto business, the man is Korryn Redwyne, who chose and was allowed to join the Medical School as our relations with the Arbor are very good. He was an exemplary student and one of the best doctors I taught. I am sure he will be an excellent addition to Asgard.

Now, knowing your trade empire idea, I was wondering if you could pass copies of any medical books and texts you come across to me,as there are diseases in this world I am not familiar with.

On the medicine front I am doing my best, but my pharmaceutical knowledge isn't what it used to be so if you could send me samples or recipes of any medicine you actually see working, I can provide you with the qualified workers for joint production.

Lastly, when will you be making more chocolate?

Let me know if you succeed in any of these fronts.

I wish you the best.

Lady Elia Hightower of Houses Hightower and Martel"

"So Lady Elia sent me a doctor? How fortunate" Robert truly meant it, as in this age and time people died of things easily treatable back on Earth, and having a doctor could truly make a difference.

"Yes my lord, Korryn Redwyne, at your service" Pale from studying indoors who knows how many hours a day, pale blond hair and blue eyes, the young man bowed his head, and Robert nodded.

"Well, it is a surprise but a welcome one to be sure. We will set you up with temporary housing for now until Valhalla is completed, which will take some time. In the meantime, I am sure you two could use some rest. Maester Olivar, Doctor Korryn, welcome to Asgard" Robert patted both men on the shoulders guiding them to empty rooms.

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Medical supplies including rubbing alcohol to disinfect any cuts , camping equipment, and preserved food were strapped on the dragons while Robert got ready to clean out the Stepstones.

With overwhelming violence.

"You all know your responsibilities, I won't keep you any longer. If you need anything that requires a dragon send a letter to my grandmother" Robert took off, heading to the Stepstones.

He would burn down ships and any pirates he caught on the islands. Any stranglers would not possess a threat to the ships, as long as they didn't make landfall for supplies which won't be a problem with his cargo vessels.

Next would be Lys, Tyrosh and Myr. He would send messages to them through their ships, declaring the Stepstones a free trade zone and no tolls would be collected from any trade vessel passing through. Anyone who broke the deal would not have a fleet when he was done with them.

Regular campaigns to ensure the islands remained secure would be necessary but he could spare the time.

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Stepstones

Several days later, Robert finally saw the chain of islands in the distance. For three days, any ships bearing pirate flags were burnt down without mercy, any party on the land faced the same fate as well.

Tyrosh was absent but Myr and Lys had plenty of ships in the area. They did not take his warnings seriously, as history had shown that even the Dragonriders could not hold the islands.

Robert spared only one ship from each fleet, to act as a messenger.

Stepstones were not theirs, and any attempt to come back would end with the cities facing the fate of their ships.

Robert had landed on one of the islands and set up camp to rest. He had hunted some game both for him and his dragons, and leaned back on Obelisk as the blue dragon rested after eating his fill, with the other two dragons near, creating a circle with Robert inside.

He laid down on his makeshift bed, and was in the state between sleep and awake when the dragons began to growl. Robert's eyes were wide open, thinking it must be a strangler approaching.

"Come to me" he heard a whisper, so low he wasn't even sure it wasn't just the wind playing games on his ears, but the second one was even stronger, agitating the dragons even more. They stood in front of him, as if seeking to guard Robert from whatever it was, growling towards the sea.

Towards Valyria.

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