Hello there,
If you enjoy my stories you can read advanced chapters in my patreon page: patreon.com/Samael61
Her Eternal Excellency, a Genshin Impact and ASOIAF crossover, Raiden Ei Reborn as Argella Durrandon, is 15 chapters ahead
DCU:Blacklist, a Raymond Reddington inspired OC SI using his knowledge for his own advantage, as well as the rest of the world, is 15 chapters ahead,
Geek's Guide to Thriving in a Low End Fantasy World, a Robert Baratheon OC SI in an AU, is 15 chapters ahead,
Commander Shepard, The Greatest to Ever Live, a Mass Effect story where Shepard is greater than ever, is 15 chapters ahead,
Loki: The God of Magic , an OC-SI into Loki who is not aware of the MCU, is 4 chapters ahead,
You can also check my original story, Arrival, in Webnovel. It is in the sci-fi/action/romance genres, with a genius protagonist. Comments would be much appreciated.
By supporting me, you can read advanced and special chapters, as well as vote on how you want the fanfiction to proceed.
Note: Apple store payments will be refunded, because of the company's 75 day hold policy.
—
Storm Kingdom
Weeping Tower
10 BAC
For the tenth time today, a lord - or rather their wives and castellans, as the lords themselves were marching to war- came with a petition to have an Iron Works built in their territory, offering various gifts, capitulations and reminding her of the shared history between their respective houses.
Ei needed to do something before there was discontent, and she had an excellent idea.
If they wanted Iron Works or other industrial machines she was planning to build, such as the Power Looms, then they would need to build the necessary infrastructure, such as roads and ports and see to their maintenance.
It would have to wait until the war between Storm Kingdom and Reach was over, and she was going to ensure it was finished quickly, but at least her workload would be lessened.
That is why she gathered all the petitioners in the Weeping Tower's Great Hall.
"I am aware you all want to have Iron Works in your territory, however too much of it would mean the prices of iron and steel bars would drop too much. That does not mean there won't be improvements to your lands. Other machines, such as Power Looms capable of creating great amounts of fabric, will be built along with Iron Works to increase our production in different fields. To earn the right to have one in your territory, first you will create a detailed report on what resources your land has, such as iron, copper and other mines, or wool and cotton. In addition, you will be responsible for building and maintaining roads and ports up to the standards I will decide later. You will receive tax breaks to make the construction efforts progress faster" Ei explained her plans for the future, prompting the gathered nobles into discussions amongst each other.
"Princess, what about lands without either of them?" Some lords earned most of their income from meager farming, barely enough for the Kingdom, sometimes not even reaching that.
"Other arrangements will be made depending on the land" Those lands, besides the farmers, could be made into manufacturing centers for luxury goods.
"Does his Grace agree with your plans, Princess?" A man with a limp, wearing the sigil of House Connington asked, as her promises wouldn't be reality without the King's permission.
"I will convince him, you do not have to worry" Her father might be considered a mindless brute by some, but they would be wrong as Argilac understood the value of her creations.
"Princess, what happens if we can't build your roads or ports?" War, raids, and the current situation of the Kingdom meant some lords may not have enough coin to finish those requirements in a meaningful period.
"The Crown will build the roads and ports, but your lands will be taxed after relevant improvements to your economy have been completed to cover the costs" Just enough to cover the costs so the economy in those regions could continue to grow.
"How will we be taxed, Princess?" Lady Lillian Estermont, a woman with greying hair and cold blue eyes asked, representing her husband who was with King Argilac.
"A certain percentage of your income from the new venture will be taxed in addition to your usual taxes" Ei replied, having already drafted a rough plan for taxation in case the Crown had to shoulder the cost.
More questions on tax issues were asked and answered, and after all the representatives left the room satisfied, Ei switched places with Kage to go and assist her father's host.
—
Reverberations of the Iron Works weren't contained within the Storm Kingdom. The idea that a construct could churn out iron and steel far faster and cheaper than any master blacksmith could ever hope, had drawn the interest of many.
In the Kingdom of the Rock, Lannisport was a center of production for iron and steel and that another Kingdom could threaten it wasn't welcome. Traders were sent to gather information and see how the Iron Works smithed all that steel and iron and see if Lannisport could build one of their own.
Princess Meria Martell of Dorne began to consider a different approach to Argella Durrandon, realizing Argilac's heir, more likely than not, wouldn't end up like her ancestors. There were other ways to dispose of her, but they wouldn't be easy. For now, she considered a raid in the Marches while Argilac was busy fighting King Garse.
Harren the Black, King of the Isles and Rivers wanted Argella Durrandon either dead, or somehow wed to his son to take the Storm Kingdom for himself, but he was at war with the neighbouring kingdoms and couldn't conquer it through a war, for now.
King Garse of Reach thought to demand Argella Durrandon's hand to his grandson to force the Storm Kingdom under his rule, once he defeated Argilac the Arrogant of course, unaware of the divine retribution heading his way.
North, detached and not interested in the affairs of the southerners, did not care about the events, as they were too busy dealing with the Ironborn threat and Vale.
Vale of Arryn, with Queen Sharra Arryn as regent to her son, was busy with internal strife as well as the Northern heathens, so Argella Durrandon wasn't even on their mind.
One curious party was House Targaryen, who had vested interest in knowing what was happening in the Seven Kingdoms. He had fought with Argilac against Pentos on the side of Braavos as a young lad of fourteen, and had a measure of the Storm King. He had spoken of his daughter with fondness, regaling them with how she had learned her letters in days and of her intellect.
Aegon did not care much then, but had let the man speak to pass the time. Perhaps keeping an eye on the Storm Princess would be prudent.
—
Kingdom of the Reach
Lands of House Peake of Starpike
Ei, from high up in the sky, watched as the Reach host marched with King Garse at the head.
With thirty thousand men by her count, they outnumbered the Storm Kingdom's host by two to one, and they were better armed as well, not to mention the amount of knights they had brought.
The Kingdom of Reach, where knighthood was revered and held in high esteem more than any other kingdom, meant they had four times as many knights in their host then her father did.
Armored with plate and chainmail, carrying lances and and castle forged steel swords, holding vivid coloured banners and the favours of their loved ones, they were an impressive and organized fighting force, at least as much as it was possible without a united army.
Destroying them would be so easy, a couple flicks of Engulfing Lightning, or a rather volatile storm and the host would be ashes in the wind, but for the same reasons she did not act before, Ei did not draw her Naginata.
—
The Reach Host
Garse was hopeful about this campaign. The Storm Kingdom had been in a downfall for generations, and while Argilac had slowed it down, the Storm King couldn't turn it around. This was a golden opportunity to take the fertile Summerfield from the Durrandons and perhaps more.
If only it wasn't for the damn snow slowing them down. Not only was winter late by two years, if the rumours were to be believed it only lasted for three months, and he was starting to believe it because his scouts told there wasn't a single drop of snow in the Storm Kingdom as far as they could see, including Summerfield, which made it an even more desirable target.
The air was one of merriment and joy, before thunder split the sky and rain poured. The horses were startled, and some riders even fell off, and the thirty thousand strong army stopped its march.
King Garse looked up, shielding his eyes from the rain, but what he saw made no sense to him. Storm clouds had gathered over his host, leaving the rest of the sky untouched. Purple lightning crackled like a whip, and Garse Gardener knew this was not natural.
"Move forward, out of the storm now!" Garse shouted, spurning his army to action. He didn't know what sorcery this was, but he would be damned if he turned back now.
The host increased their speed, disturbed by the storm. Riders galloped, men at arms and levies ran, but soon enough they realized something.
"By the Seven, the storm is following us!" A knight shouted, having slowed down when his horse was beginning to tire.
Shouts of "sorcery" and "the gods are punishing us" rose from the host, and King Garse realized if something wasn't done he would lose control.
"We are the noble men of Reach, faithful to the Seven-Who-Are-One, and we will not let this sorcery of the Storm King beat us! We will not let them say the armies of Reach run away from a storm!" His speech boosted morale, stopping his men from panicking further, or gods forbid, deserting.
King Garse ordered them to set up camp, and they would march tomorrow with preparation. While tents were erected, he ordered his men to find whatever they could to cover themselves from the rain, whether it was pelts, furs, leather or wooden boards if they had to, just to keep themselves away from the rain.
His speech might have raised morale, but snow combined with the constant rain made the men miserable, leaving King Garse with no choice but to order a feast's worth of foodstuff to be distributed, keeping his host content for now.
The next day, King Garse decided to split his host in half, one side led by him the other by his son, Prince Mern, thinking at least one side would be safe from the storm. To their astonishment, and ever growing fear, another storm appeared over the second host. Disgruntled voices speaking of deserting the host or beseeching their King to abandon this campaign and return home began to plague the host, further disheartening them.
A prayer was led the third day. The Reach host knelt on whatever dry ground they found or made, and King Garse led the prayer due to the lack of a Septon, after lighting the candles.
"To the great Father, I pray that we may bring the foul sorcerer responsible for this storm to justice,
Warrior, I beseech thee to dispel this foul storm and give us the resolve to move forward, and the strength to achieve victory
To the Smith, keep our swords sharp and our shields unbroken"
Garse finished his prayer, unaware Ei was watching them.
The Electro Archon looked up, wondering if the sky would split open and the Seven-Who-Are-One would come down from their heaven and fight her to save their worshippers.
Nothing of the sort happened. No divine interference to stop her, no Warrior to fight her.
Perhaps they did not wish to intervene, deciding to punish Reach for their aggression.
She did not know.
The Reach host stayed still, waiting for divine favour. When it did not come, a voice broke the stillness, decrying the gods had abandoned them because they did not support this war.
Their prayers were lost to the winds.
—
Fourth day came, and the only thing keeping the army in one piece was the food and the sightings of the enemy host.The scouts had reported they outnumbered the enemy two to one, but now that they were in sight, the Reach had four to one superiority. Knowing they had the numbers raised their spirits, even with the storm.
The Reach wanted to use their superiority to encircle and destroy Argilac and his army. They would push deeper into the Storm Kingdom, leaving garrisons to keep the castles sieged and stop any attempts to harass them. King Garse would use the territories they took to force Argella Durrandon to surrender.
On the morning of the fifth day, the two armies came face to face.