Artys Arryn POV
"Master, the map of the known world. It was made by your great-great-grandfather," Soryn said, placing his hand on it.
It wasn't carved into a table like the one at Dragonstone. Instead, it was a massive sheet of animal skin, stitched together with care, bearing a properly detailed map stretching from Asshai to the Free Cities, even the Seven Kingdoms, with all cities and castles clearly marked.
"I wasn't expecting it to be this detailed," I said, pointing at the map as I looked at Soryn. It's a masterpiece.
"Your great-great-grandfather wanted to expand trade networks across the known world. He was among the key partners of the Rogare Bank, but he died mysteriously along with rest of his friends. After his death, the family faced its decline until your grandfather stepped in. He stabilized the business, but he could not take the family back to its former glory," Soryn said.
The Rogare Bank… wasn't that the famous Lyseni bank that once rivaled the Iron Bank? Some stories say they even briefly surpassed it, until its members began dying mysteriously.
I never thought I would have any connection to them.
"The Iron Bank used Faceless Men to have their competition killed," I said with a smirk, looking at Soryn.
He immediately lowered his gaze. I could see his hands trembling at the name. It seemed he had some history with them.
What is he afraid of? We are the only ones in this room, besides the Unsullied and Ser Jasper.
"Master, I was born and raised in Braavos. The Faceless Men are not something we could handle. The Iron Bank is equally dangerous." Soryn said, his voice trembling.
Damn. The terror of the Faceless Men. Pity. I am immune to assassination. That was a smart move.
I used it because of those fucking nameless bastard would come to offer me to their worthless god once I become a threat to Iron Bank.
"So we have the Lannisters in Westeros and the Iron Bank in Essos to worry about" I said, my gaze drifting toward Braavos on the map,
Fucking bankers. No matter the world, they are always a pain in the ass.
Braavos, the land of freed slaves from Valyria. In the city, there was the mark of the Iron Bank. A worthy opponent for a formal hedge fund manager like me.
"Ser Jasper, I want to know the details. The number of men at arms, knights, and levies House Arryn can raise," I said, glancing at him as he stood near the table, clearly engrossed in the map.
"Forgive me, my lord, but I am not sure about the exact numbers," Ser Jasper said.
Yes, I forgot. He was a household knight of House Arryn. If I needed precise numbers, I would have to talk to the Steward of the Vale, Nestor Royce.
"You can guess. I don't need you to be precise. Just estimate how many knights, men at arms, and levies House Arryn could raise," I said in a calm voice.
"I think about four to six thousand maybe, knights could be around three to four hundred." Ser Jasper said in a doubtful tone.
Roughly five thousand. Not enough, especially when most of them are levies. I will confirm it with Yohn then.
"My lord, the knights of the Vale are among the best in the realm. We have the mountains as natural defense," Ser Jasper assured me.
Yes, the Vale is excellent for defense. But I am not here to defend. I will need armies to march, enough to bring the Seven Kingdoms to their knees.
Not just the Seven Kingdoms, but the known world.
"Ser Jasper, go to Lord Royce and tell him I request his presence," I said, wanting some privacy.
"Yes, my lord," Ser Jasper replied and walked out slowly, passing the Unsullied who stood at the sides as guards.
"Soryn, send most of your loyal men and get the money we have in Iron Bank vaults out as soon as possible. If iron bank were to asks why, tell them I want to spend it on luxury goods for the Eyrie," I said.
Soryn looked disappointed at the way I phrased it.
For fuck's sake, I have shown him enough intelligence in the short time we have known each other.
"No. I am not spending it on luxury. We will invest the money in Arryn lands first. Build proper roads, connect lands to ports. The money will be used to build wineries and distilleries, paper mills, and training craftsmen blacksmiths and shipwrights. All of them need to be paid properly. we will use money for this," I said, looking at Soryn.
His face went from disappointment to excitement.
It's time to industrialize the Vale. Pity I have limits due to that piece of shit putting restrictions on me.
Otherwise, I could have steam engines already. Looks like I have to follow the rules of this world.
"My lord, that is a wonderful idea, but these things are difficult to make. the techniques to make high quality products are still tightly controlled, like glassmaking of Myr is best but no one knows how they do it.." Soryn pointed out, indicating the city of Myr on the map.
"Oh, don't worry about that. Have faith in me, I have made arrangements" I said with a smile.
"But master, that is a large sum. The Iron Bank would take notice. Using the excuse of buying the luxury goods is not enough," Soryn raised his concern, his eyes drifting sharply back to Braavos on the map.
"Then tell them the truth. Say I want to spend it on better equipment for our men, repair and expand the roads of the Vale, and make a few merchant investments," I said, making my way to the table where the Dornish red wine stood, Yohn Royce's favorite, I guessed.
I needed to butter that old fool a little. after all He is a crucial pawn in my plans.
The Vale lords wouldn't simply allow an eight year old to make dramatic changes, and I needed access to the contents of the letter my father had sealed, not with his personal seal, but with the seal of House Arryn itself. That alone meant it was directly related to me.
With that, the door opened and an Unsullied stepped inside. Behind him stood Yohn Royce, with Ser Jasper on his right and those two dipshits on his left.
I swear to the gods, I was only tolerating them because it was good to appear as a savior in the eyes of the smallfolk. Those two would remind them that I care about the low borns.
Of course, that was a lie. I only care about myself.
"My lord, Lord Royce seeks an audience," the Unsullied announced, asking for my permission to let him in.
It was strange. Normally, an eight year old, even the heir to one of the great houses, would not have this kind of authority. But I guess it is one of the benefits of having an old man who looks like he is one step in the grave.
"Let him in," I commanded.
I kept the four Unsullied who could speak the Common Tongue close to me, while the rest, whom Soryn had brought, only understood High Valyrian, which I knew about as much as a whore knows about purity.
The rest of the men entered.
"Come, have a seat at the table," I said while looking at their faces, especially Yohn, who seemed shocked by the details of the map.
"Serve Lord Royce some wine, and you two go outside and play. We have some important stuff to talk about," I said, looking at the two boys and pointing at the door.
"Ser Robert, would you be kind enough to take them away? Or even better, start their training. These two must learn how to wield a sword. If they don't want to, they can clean the docks or help in the kitchen and learn to do chores like girls," I said to Ser Robert.
"I am not a girl," Noll said quickly, basic boy instinct, feeling shame at being compared to women.
"Well then, go and learn some skills," I said, and moved my attention to Yohn Royce, who had taken a seat at the table and was being served wine by the servants.
"What can I do for you, my lord?" Yohn asked, with a confused expression.
As if you already don't know what I want.
"Lord Royce, I wanted to know a few things about the Vale in detail," I declared, my face serious.
"Of course, go ahead. You could ask me anything. After all, you would one day be Lord Paramount of the Vale. It would be your duty to govern the Vale," Yohn said with a kind smile.
Lord Paramount of the Vale is good, but you know what's even better? King of the Seven Kingdoms and beyond.
"Well, that's true. Let's start. Could you tell me how many men the Vale can raise? How many knights, how many men at arms? Which house could raise how many men? What is the quality of equipment? How much revenue do we make every year, and what is the condition of the roads?" I threw a pile of questions at him.
"That's a lot of questions, my lord," Yohn said with a smile, clearly surprised by the number and the details.
Of course there are a lot of questions. I need to know the details of the Vale before I start developing it, not to mention I still have to check the map that was a gift from that celestial being, which shows the locations of various resources in the Vale. I haven't got time to see that.
"It would be better if I explained it with the map," Yohn said as he got up and walked to the edge of the table, where the Vale was within arm's reach. I too got up and went right next to him.
"The Vale could raise in the range of forty five thousand men, my lord, but that would take months to gather. That is the full might of the Vale. If we were to call banners now, it would be twenty five thousand men who could gather within two weeks' time. We should have about seven thousand knights, my lord. Don't look at the numbers alone. We are only behind the Reach and the Westerlands. The knights of the Vale are among the best in the realm."
Knights of the Vale. I think we would need new orders of knights. Still, seven thousand knights are better than an army of peasants.
"What about each house individually? How many could they raise?" I asked Lord Royce.
"House Arryn could raise around five thousand men, followed by my house with about four thousand. The same goes for House Corbray, Redfort, and Grafton, while the other major houses could raise around three thousand men. The minor ones range from a few hundred to a thousand," Yohn said, explaining the military strength of each house while pointing at their castles and markets on the map.
"But those numbers aren't accurate, right? I mean, it's just a guess that's been going on for a long time. No proper count was ever done, am I right?" I asked him.
"Yes, my lord. These numbers only give a rough idea. It's the same for the rest of the kingdoms, but usually the numbers fall within this range," Yohn said, his eyes fixed on the map, impressed by its details.
The numbers are good, considering the fact the Vale is not open to attack. Someone could guard the Vale with just a few thousand men. The mountains are a natural barrier, which no other kingdom has.
But a lot of work would need to be done, especially with those hill tribes. Taming them would bring thousands more under my command.
"What about revenue? How much do we make?" I asked.
"I could only guess about the wealth of House Arryn. My brother Nestor, who is currently serving as High Steward of the Vale, overseeing it in your father's name, would have the account books. But I must say, your interest in ruling the Vale is quite unusual. Kids of your age mostly play. I'm not saying it's bad. Learning these things young is good," Yohn Royce said, impressed by my interest.
I wonder how he will react when he finds out what the rest of my plans are. I believe the fact that I have the blood of dragons in me would probably give him a heart attack.
"I mean, I must show interest. After all, as you said earlier, I would one day rule the Vale," I responded to his praise with a smile.
"I would say House Arryn, from all its revenue sources, makes about seven hundred thousand a year. It could be more or less, but not by a wide margin," Yohn said, guessing the number. "But a huge part of the revenue goes into expenses of keeping the castles and paying the servants for their service. House Arryn makes a lot from taxes all over the Vale, especially from Gulltown trade, and the valleys of the Vale are fertile. We have a decent harvest. We need to buy very few supplies from the Riverlands and the Reach."
I agree. Seven hundred thousand in revenue may sound nice, but when you take out the cost of maintaining castles, salaries, and other expenses, very little of the previous amount is left. The Vale might be fertile, but it is not the Reach, and Gulltown is not Oldtown or Lannisport.
I would still say it must be better than King's Landing at least. That city is a piece of shit. Though King's Landing would still be richer than Gulltown.
"Lord Royce, I wonder what my father wrote in that letter he gave you with the seal of House Arryn," I asked him.
"Forgive me, young lord. Your father instructed me that the letter must only be opened in the presence of the other Vale lords. Even I don't know what's in it," Yohn said with a gentle old man smile, which gave me creeps.
"And when are the Vale lords gathering?" I asked him.
"When we reach Gulltown, House Grafton will send ravens to the rest of the Vale lords to gather at the Eyrie for a celebration. Your father wants to use this to introduce you to them," Yohn Royce said.
So a welcome party. What are we going to do, fuck sheep?
But it's a good idea. I could see which lords are idiots and which are not.
POV ends