Everything was going great. The new crops and animals were flourishing in the North and while the grain sources were comparatively less, but they were still available. Many of the Lords used their newfound wealth, that came from saving on food imports and start of selling their goods South, to have the Earth Singers perform the fertility ritual on their lands. Sam used that wealth on behalf of the Earth Singers to buy huge quantities of Dragonglass. The Earth Singers than showed him their uncanny ability to mold stone, wood or anything related to land and nature into desired shapes. Sam suggested them to carve statues and toys of stone and wood, and to carve Dragonglass for jewellery pieces, as it will generate more wealth that can be used to buy more Dragonglass.
After some time, they agreed to do so in their free time but on the condition that they will only do so out of their own will and will carve whatever they like and should not be forced to do a particular task. This became a fruitful market for the North, as our Dragonglass jewellery and stone and woodwork soon became famous as far as different cities of Essos as the work was so smooth that no one can match it. When their population rises, Sam will have them help in quarries and diamond cutting as well.
Sam also used the time to learn, everything about magic, rune and whatever else they could help him with. He also started a pet project of his to start writing Westeros history without bias through the Green Sight. For this he took the help of Earth Singers as Sam is likely to add some of his bias if he wrote it. Sam also talked with Earth Singers about the sphere he found beneath the Nagga's bones. They told him it is the crystalised magic of the Nagga and that it was a crude and wasteful way for the Grey King to use it to warm his hall. They told him that he could use it to sacrifice in a ritual to gain boons related to Sea Dragon. Sam agreed to do the ritual. It gave him many boons like enhanced physiology, enhanced water magic and such. It also gave him increased libido and seems to excrete some kind of pheromone as found out in his trip to the brothel, as many whor*s there set aside their customer just for a round with him.
He also honed his skills, martial and otherwise. Has completed his blacksmith course and has been deemed a journeyman and need to make his own path to become a master. It truly didn't matter to him as he just wanted a reason to show behind his knowledge. After gaining the title he set out to build a forge where most of the menial repetitive work, like hammering, could be shifted to the windmill, not water wheel because he didn't want the high carbon in the area from blacksmithing to pollute water sources. He also provided the idea of better fuels like charcoal. The resulting steel that was produced was much better than the normal steel that was used in Westeros and was named Winter Steel and was exported as arms and armour at very high prices. The supply was meaningfully kept low, and it became a show of wealth to have your men-at-arms armed in it.
What the South didn't know was Sam discovered even better steel made from adding finely powdered Dragonglass to the steel. It will probably not stand against the Others, but it far better than anything that is available in South. According to Leaf, the high magic containing ability of Dragonglass helps in the process. So, by the time the war starts in South, North will be armed and armored in the best steel of the world. And war will break out, as we cannot focus on the war in the North unless the South burns or face the risk of two front war.
But it seems everything cannot go as planned, soon news came from none other than Maege Mormont that she has found her cousin and Lord Jorah Mormont, embezzling funds to build the military port and selling poachers to slavers to satisfy his wife's lavish demands. At that, Sam cannot just keep control of himself, he knew that he sold the poachers as slaves but he thought with so much gold coming in he will not do this. It made him think, what does these Hightower give to their daughters as pocket money, the ice trade brings thousands of gold coin to Mormonts every voyage. If Lynese demands cannot be satisfied by that than just how lavish a lifestyle did the Hightower live.
Sam himself went to Bear Island to execute him as is the law for those who dirties their hands in slavery, but he had already fled from them with the help of the same slavers. Sam had the Northern Navy crack down on these slavers, he never thought they will do their business so far away from their market, as every ship is thoroughly checked at both ends of Great Canal, for slaver ships and any slave they bring from their land that is already bought is set free as soon as they set foot on Northern soil. Many of the master's fear bringing their slaves out of their ships for this very purpose. They didn't do it for slaves on the ship because they may never know which ship and its slaves is owned by Prince of Pentos or Archon of Tyrosh or some other important person and why call an unnecessary war.
But now all the slaving operation in our waters were stopped, any slaving vessel was captured and all the slavers on it were either killed or sacrificed to the weirwood. Sam also sent a secret message to Company of the Rose and Wolfpack in Essos to take part in whatever conflict occurs between the 3 daughters against Lys and to capture Lys and make it their own territory just like they made Andalos, whose Braavosi part was bought from Braavos as their payment for the many Braavos-Pentos's war and the pentoshi part was taken after they defeated them. The land is now called Rose Lands, a small piece of land, and has a high following (almost 99%) of Old Gods, due to release of slaves who converted to the religion of their saviours and has a highly military culture where almost every man, that do not own the fields or is rich, works in these two companies. They also have a small navy of their own and a combined strength of 20,000 counting both army and navy.
Sam also started holding a separate court after the one in which justice is dispensed, in this he allows anyone with idea for the development of North or any business to approach him and if he likes the idea then he will invest in it or support them in whatever way possible. Many people came to him, some from the various guilds that formed in the North, some individuals who discovered something, few frauds, every kind of people. One day a man approached them and introduced himself as Robert.
"My Lord, my family has been household guards for your house for many generations and following the tradition I also became one during the time of your grandfather, I fought in the rebellion that overthrew the Targaryens. During the battle at the Ruby Ford, I came close to losing my life when I got disarmed and survived only through my wit and luck. After that I bought a small field from the loot, that my son manages and since that day I have invested all my time in developing a fighting technique that can work seamlessly with different weapons and unarmed. I have finally completed my goal and wanted to show it to you to gain your approval."
"You fought in the rebellion on my behalf, for that you have my thanks. And if you have achieved what you say, then you will have the good wishes of all the soldiers of the North. Let's go to the yard and show it to me." Sam said.
There he was tested in the yard, armed with different weapons, mostly sword, spear, stick and knife and unarmed against different opponent. Ser Rodrik, Martyn and Jory Cassel, Rodrick Stark and Sam himself evaluated him, and all were impressed by him. According to Sam the technique was still rough compared to the techniques of the Earth, but everything starts somewhere. Sam asked him to start training the Winter Wolves and his Household Guard in it. He also called many of the retired Winter Wolves to expand on this technique, like making one with baton for Grey Cloaks, the city guard of winter town (town in name only, it is a city), one with axe, greatsword and mace. It will be a long road before it is completely developed to suit the demands of the North, but the first step has been taken.
Sam also found a women warrior from Essos who was skilled in many weapons and battle styles like Braavosi Water Dance and has merged it with other styles and integrated it with many weapons. She was called to train the girls, Rhaenys, Diana, Sansa, Lysara, Arya and Lyara, over which Catelyn raised a fuss but was ignored. When she learned about this new fighting style, she wanted to learn it. After Sam's approval on the condition that she will not teach the technique to anyone, she learned it. Later she approached Sam and told him that the technique is too dependent on strength and is not fit for women. Sam offered her a lot of gold, lands whatever she wanted if she could help them. She agreed on the condition to have her name in the history books without any bias, to which Sam gave his words.
Sam also made use of the permission taken to spread his borders North and made Mors Crowfood Umber the incharge of it. A fort was started to be rebuilt where the Fist of First Men once stood. A thousand men has been sent to guard the place till the construction work is going on. They have already built basic temporary fortification that are used around army encampments, and the fort construction has begun. Fortunately, or unfortunately they didn't find any wights in the snows around it, but it was to be expected to some extent, the Others started moving freely only in the late years of the long summer and it is only its start.
Once the fort has been finished, the Crowfood will go on to supress and integrate the many tribes of Free Folk starting from Haunted Forest. The Ice River clans on the Frozen Shore will be completely eliminated for their practice of cannibalism and so will any other tribe to do so. The other tribe will be integrated either by incentive or power. There are many things that can be used as trading goods from beyond the wall, even if the mines don't become completely functional by then, like ironwood and other timber, animal pelt and leather, wool, exotic flowers and such things. There is enough land in North that when the time comes, all the Free Folk can settle in it, Sam just hopes that the fight for the Dawn will not last long as they may not lose the war due to numbers but due to hunger, they will surely lose.
Talking about the war, Sam found it is not so simple as he thought. The show didn't do justice to the Others. Not only are Others much stronger, faster and may also have better reflexes then humans, but according to the old text that he has found in another secret room that details about the Long Night, it sounds more like a zombie apocalypse. The Others like to experiment when they have time merging different animals and humans or giving them additional properties like tough hide, more speed and what not. And while killing the Other that created it will kill it as well, it is not an easy task. From the records some of the beast they created have only their eyes as the weak spot. As for their ice spiders, they were normal just very big in size that the Others could somehow control as they are the only beings in their army that is alive.
Sam also found the old weapon of Starks that was used during the fight of Long Night. Its name is the Fist of Winter or Fist for short. An axe forged from star steel, a different star than the one of the Dayne that landed in the North, with a blade on one side and weight on the other with a spike at its head. Its handle was a weirwood and it has runes of First Men and Earth Singers on it and the blade (Imagine Stormbreaker of Thor from Marvel with a spike and a white handle). He also found the sword of Brandon the Bloody Blade there, it was a Great Sword, and its name was ironically the Bloody Blade, and it is a brother to the Dawn of the Dayne's made from the same star. From what the Earth Singers told me the Ice was made to resemble this blade. It was a dark red blade, almost the colour of blood, due to the different quenching methods used.
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Author's Note
From the next chapter, the r18 scenes will be starting. I will mark the chapters as r18, so those who don't want to read them skip them, but don't post hateful comments. Otherwise, I will have to block you from my account. As I said in a previous chapter, I am not paid for writing in anyway and will not tolerate this.
Thank you