Chapter 10: Tristifer II & Back in the North
Created: 1.5.21 - 1.6.21, edited: 3.8.22 & 5.10.22
Circa 293 AC
Tristifer Greenhands II
"Lieutenant?" came the timid question from my young squire, Kace, a boy of ten who grew up as the sixth son of a drunk pig farmer in a poor village outside Lys, and reminded me much too much of my former self to have not taken a liking to the fiery lad.
"What's on your mind Kace?" I asked the young olive skinned boy with dark brown hair and eyes, as we watched the coming horizon for signs of land knowing we were close to our destination.
"Will I be welcome in the north?" came his small question, and it was one I heard often among the large number of new soldiers and camp helpers that made up this second run of the Legion from Lys to Oldcastle, and knew I would have to say something to everyone, dreading that Donnel wasn't here to do this shite, I talked better with my sword.
"Yes Kace, you are a member of Locke's Legion, and therefore a member of the North," I answered with a smile to the young boy who I had only had as my squire now for several weeks and was just getting to the point where he knew all his duties and responsibilities, and was ready for some training of his own soon, but first I needed to address the others.
"Everyone," I called from the deck of the Northern Locke II, a remodeled fancier version of the first ship Donnel purchased, this one made entirely by the Dontaryon-Locke Shipbuilding Company for the Locke Family. "I know many of you are nervous or scared of the unknown and settling in the North, but let me assure all of you, that the Legion will alwaystake care of their own, and as members of Locke's Legion, you are already members of a Northern House and welcome in its lands."
"Have you ever been to Oldcastle?" came the called question from one of the younger and newer soldiers in the brigade.
"I have, we spent a few months there just over three years ago," I answered easily with a fond smile as I thought back to those early days of following Donnel, and how much had changed and yet still stayed the same. "We had just finished fighting in the Greyjoy Rebellion, and spent over a year on the march fighting for only two months of the time, and we finally reached Oldcastle after spending two months in White Harbor, it was really unique. Captain Locke hasn't spent much time there, he left when he was eight to go and squire in White Harbor, and from there to war at ten and seven, a year later we all stayed there for three months before coming to Essos three years ago."
"Were you and Captain Locke incredible fighters during the Greyjoy Rebellion?" asked Kace excitedly, causing me to laugh loudly.
"Gods no! We were pathetic …and I'm being generous," came my chuckling reply, causing many around us to look on in shock, having only known us the last year at most, long after our skills had been learned, and only the elite would now challenge us.
"Donnel was smaller than you when I first met him," I laughed a bit later, motioning to one of the closest soldiers, "and he was a worse sword fighter too!"
"That's impossible," came the shocked reply from several of those listening.
"I'm telling the truth," I laughed lightly, at all their disbelieving faces, "both of us were worse than every one of you are right now, only four short years ago. You want to get better, and become a legendary sword fighter? Get strong enough to take me on single handedly? Or Captain Locke? Well, work every day till you can't stand it, your every muscle aches and your hands and feet bleed …and then do it again, pushing even harder, faster, stronger the next day until you can't move …and then do it again …and again …until you're satisfied."
"When do you get satisfied?" asked one of the soldiers.
"I'll tell you when I get there," I laughed at their faces, and getting several of the smarter soldiers to laugh and nod along, as they understood the lesson, just as a horn blew in the distance, followed by another, and another.
"The lead boats have spotted land!" came the excited shout of the lookout, and getting the excitement level on the deck of the boats they could all see, ramped up quickly.
It was still a few hours later when their boat was finally docking into the beautiful and large docks that were protected in the natural cove that made up Oldcastle, and I had to hold in my whistle of appreciation, as the once small town now resembled many of the nicer Essosi Harbor cities. The size and activity were both greater than I expected or remembered, and even the people seemed to be a nice mix of the traditional northerners and those that came from various places throughout the world, giving the city a very lively feeling with many familiar faces.
"Tristifer!" came the happy shout of Sydel Graymander, one of his favorite fellow lieutenants, as the stout young man of 22 stood on the dock with a large smile on his tired looking face, and the start of an impressive Northern beard.
"Sydel, my good man," I greeted happily, glad to see another old friend and friendly face upon arrival, "how the fuck are you?"
"Exhausted," he replied flatly, but with a growing smile, "and damn glad you are here …come, let me take you and pay our respects to the Locke's first, then we've got a bit of a tour planned to show you what we've begun. You two, make sure Lieutenant Greenhands' things get unloaded into his room in the Main Keep and get his squire set up next to him, then have our tailors put some outfits for them to wear to meals, we will be back in time for supper …come on Tris, lots to do."
"Oh fuck," I groaned watching Sydel take command of two nearby household guards and getting them to direct my squire and things up to the keep, while I followed my tired looking friend up the main docks and back into the merchant square through which we made our way towards Oldcastle, just realizing how much work was in store for me over the next few months until Donnel arrived.
"Yeah," laughed Sydel as we finally made our way through the Merchant Square and were now on quieter paths, as he understood my cursing, "there's more work than we have time in the day for. We've currently got the Legion just to the west of Oldcastle in a makeshift tent camp being run by Alston and I, but now that you are here, I was hoping to split the Legion, leaving a few where they are to welcome others and get those arriving setup while providing a little more protection for Oldcastle itself. The rest of the Legion I was hoping to take west along the coast, and find us a nice defensible coastal position to establish a small town near the border between Manderly and Locke lands. I remember Donnel showing some of the proposed sites when we were here years ago, but I'm not sure I'll remember them all."
"A small town?" I asked with raised eyebrows before looking back at the hundreds of boats unloading thousands of Legion members into a busy port of an overfilled city, and shook my head, "we need another city the size of Oldcastle, if not two or three for all the people Donnel is bringing in."
"Okay, so we set up the Legion like we were outside of Lys, temporary but well built and somewhat fortified, while we bring in builders and planners to break ground on a new Northern city that we guard until its built," continued Sydel with a wide grin at my suggestion, realizing the necessity due to the shear size of our people.
Oldcastle had originally been less than ten thousand people before they came here three years ago, and with the original influx of people Donnel liberated from Pentos and the few from Braavos, they had more than doubled that original population and the city grew up as well. Now they were planning to bring at least 70,000 more people into an already overcrowded city of almost 30,000, and they knew Oldcastle alone wasn't big enough to fit them all. Deciding that this level of growth and ambition was exactly the kind of thing Donnel would love, the two most senior members of the Legion decided to bring up their new project with Lord Onython, the first Heir and Donnel's father.
That discussion was quick as Lord Onython too was extremely busy running several successful businesses that Donnel set up before he left, and they barely had ten minutes to get a brief update on the glass makers, bottlers, alcohol production, farming, paper-making and printing, Ship building, and countless others that existed before his ambitious son turned his hometown on its head. He was all for our plans to start another city at the western border between the Lockes and Manderlys as long as he didn't have to run it, and promised us his help if we needed it, but pretty much left it up to us and Donnel to implement our plan and get started.
The next month was the absolute busiest of my life, as I spent most of the time at the site of our new city, making the temporary fortifications that would help house the Legion as we lived nearby and helped build up the first new city in the North in decades. Sydel was all for calling it West Locke, after we developed plans to build a replica city between the Lockes and Manderleys of Ramsgate to the east, but I simply called it Locke Point. We found a nice elevated area for a city to be built, protected from the harshest of the Bite waters by a small land point that created an almost natural protected harbor, which we decided to use as the focal point for the new city.
The point was a perfect location for one of Donnel's large lighthouses, just like the one he commissioned and designed for Oldcastle that lit up their harbor and created a perfect landmark for shipping navigation, and also provided some defenses. As the settlement was along the eastern bank of the Bite as it neared the White Knife River to the north and the large port of White Harbor, it would be well placed to help defend the largest "current" Northern city, and also help them spread out into the Locke lands. The lighthouse would also be another marker on the way to White Harbor, to help in shipping navigation that couldn't be underestimated in the rough waters of the Bite.
When we were nearing the six week mark, and the third wave of the Legion was due to arrive, we had just finally gotten most of the second wave of the Legion into the new site, leaving space at the camp outside the walls of Oldcastle to be filled. With the Legion at least moved and set up at the new settlement, I was able to get back into my usual role of military leader, and quickly had to make sure our soldiers weren't getting too soft. Unfortunately, I was only able to participate in the morning workouts, as my many duties until Donnel and the others' arrived took up too much of my time for anything else, but even that little bit of training every day gave me the chance I needed to let loose.
I had noticed a few years ago, just after we reached Tyrosh and joined with the Company of the Rose, that I had continued to put on height and weight even as I was reaching twenty at the time and was among the tallest of our group. Since then, I had continued to grow both taller and larger and now stood half a head taller than almost everyone in the Legion at close to seven feet, and my muscular arms now were as wide as my waist was at the age of one and seven when I finally left home. I wasn't complaining, as I saw my greater strength and height as badges of honor and achievement, due to my hard work and dedication, I became an actual fighter of some skill after training every day with a possessed Donnel.
Granted, I probably wouldn't be besting Ser Barristan Selmy anytime soon, but I felt confident that I could at least take on most of the Kingsguard and was still getting better all the time. I was still only somewhat anticipating my next rematch with Donnel though, as he was pretty much the only person who consistently still beat me one on one, and was a great measuring stick to test myself. Axel, who led the fourth Brigade was the only other single person in the Legion who would even fight me as a challenge anymore, and we were both now so busy getting soldiers trained, and getting a city dug out and marked that our battles were fewer of late.
"Hey Tris?" called Sydel happily, coming to the ring and calling a stop to my training and making me groan in annoyance, that it was interrupted so soon, and getting Sydel to grin even wider knowing he was pissing me off. "You about ready? We've got to get a move on if we want to get to the docks in time for the arrival of the third wave."
"Keep smiling, Sy," I growled back, before angrily putting away my equipment, dunking my head in the nearby barrel of water and then dragging my hands through my messy dark brown hair trying to keep it out of my face and wipe off the sweat. "Just wait until Donnel is back and asks for us all to spar, then I'll be the one smiling."
"Ugh, don't remind me," he groaned in annoyance, "I still have bruises from the last melee he had us fight in before I left with the first wave."
"Haha," I laughed easily, "just be glad you aren't his daily sparring partner, yeah?"
"Fuck, I don't know how you keep up with him?" he groaned, as I fastened my belt and sword and took my horse from Kace, with a thankful nod to the helpful youngster before turning back towards Sydel with a grin.
"Who says I keep up with him?" I laughed good naturedly, knowing it was pretty accurate, "you know how good he's gotten? You think you have bruises that haven't healed? Check this shit out.""
"Oh fuck," breathed Sydel as instead of getting on my horse, I handing the reins back to Kace and unlatched my breastplate and removed the shirt I wore under it to show him my practically black and green right shoulder, and the ugly even bigger bruise of a black purplish green color that covered the left side of my ribs from front to back, still two months afterwards.
"If he ever asks you to fight 'no holes barred' you fucking run," I replied with a serious look, knowing I didn't want a repeat of that beatdown anytime soon, and still had the marks to show for it, "he's a demon when he wants to be."
"Fuck man, that looks painful from here," commiserated Sydel with a slow shake of his head, before I put back on my shirt, had Kace help me re-attach my breastplate and hand me back the reins to my horse.
"It's just a dull ache, now," I complained with a self-deprecating grin, as we took off on our horses, pushing them a bit to ensure we beat the docking boats, both of us looking forward to more help, "and hopefully its completely healed up by the time Donnel gets here and wants to go another round."
"Why do you push so hard to try and keep up with him?" asked Sydel as we left the site, and made our way towards Oldcastle, looking at me curiously as he like all of our friends had trained to get better, but none of them trained like Donnel and I.
"He needs someone to stay with him, and keep pushing him," I answered with a grin, knowing Donnel was working harder to stay better than me, and knowing he needed to be pushed to really become great.
"Better you than me," he answered with a shake of his head, that had me laughing for minutes as we continued our journey.
"Well, I brought the veterans," spoke Sydel an hour into our ride, as we had slowed for a bit of a breather for us and our horses, "you brought the rookies. Probably Glovis with as much of the camp as Donnel could spare?"
"Yeah, he won't leave himself in Lys too vulnerable?" I added with a nod, "Donnel will keep most of the fighters back for the final wave, so I expect most of the rest of the camp and as much of the fortifications as they could fit."
"Good, we could use the old fortifications," sighed Sydel tiredly after a long drink from his wineskin, "and if that means all the rest of the mobile industries are coming too, then we will be in very good stead indeed."
"Alston still complaining about his lack of resources at the new settlement?" I joked, knowing Alston was up to his eyeballs in work organizing the building, designs, and placement of an entire city with only a few truly skilled workers training thousands of Legionnaires as fast as they could. On city planning, dock building and design, building construction, furniture and several other masonry and carpentry skills that they were in so desperate of need that they were excited to welcome another 20,000 people who might be capable of filling most of those jobs, and providing several more.
"Of course," scoffed Sydel with a shake of his head, "he complains in his sleep."
"He gets to sleep?" I joked, knowing it was the biggest running joke among the leaders of the Legion, that you weren't going to get much sleep as a Legionnaire, and we meant it, though I wonder how much of that was fueled by both mine and Donnel's lack of need for sleep and drive to push the rest of them.
"Yeah," chuckled Sydel amusedly, "that blessed half second at night when you blink a little too long."
"So he gets more sleep than me?" I added, while laughing along, as Sydel almost fell off his horse, though it did make me wonder about how little I really did sleep and wondered if I wasn't the only one of our group that fought sleep.
It wasn't long after that we reached the docks at Oldcastle, just as the Northern Locke II was pulling up and were happy to see the Legion already present and unloading the first few of the docking boats. Sydel was correct, in that Glovis came with Juden's 3rd Brigade leading a large group of mostly non-combatants and camp helpers, along with most of the remaining two-thirds of the fortified structures and mobile industries they developed in Essos. A letter to Tristifer, Sydel, and Alston and several trunks for both the Legion and the Lockes that were left in their care that contained quite a bit of the wealth they still had in Lys, that would be used to help continue the growth here and prepare the way for the fourth and last wave to arrive along with Donnel in about six weeks.
—-Locke's Legion-—-
Donnel POV
The almost three weeks at sea was beyond boring, as all the ships were pretty full in order to not leave anything behind, and made for cramped quarters and conditions that left little time to train. Instead, I spent most of the time when I wasn't busy enjoying the company of Neko, reading through the journals and books we recovered from the Wandering Horses sellsword company, finding that they spent a good deal of time near old Valyrian settlements before making their way west where we met up with them. He didn't mention exactly where he found the Valyrian Steel swords, but talked about finding treasure in many old ruins that he was hoping would buy him a city or town of his own to rule over.
The other books he had on him were very old and practically crumbling, and had been in a language I barely understood but were at least readable, and I was planning to bring them to Oldcastle and let Maester Javven have a chance at them. I still had the two Valyrian Steel Greatswords in my trunk, along with the 13 Valyrian Steel daggers and 1 arakh I was planning to give to my officers, and enough other Valyrian Steel items to create at least three more swords if I could find someone who could reforge and work with the expensive metal. I also spent a good bit of my time writing out my own pair of journals, one completely private that had my thoughts, ideas, and plans to combat what I remembered from the Game of Thrones storylines, and the other one of my travels starting with the Greyjoy Rebellion, and all the way until I returned from Essos, something to pass down to my Family about my adventures and the forming of the Legion.
It felt good to get things down on paper, and going over what I remembered from my previous life, helped me remember even more from the TV show and my own mechanical engineering degree that would hopefully serve me well in the future. By the time we were finally entering the Bite, it was much more noticeable that we were approaching the North, as the winds became much colder than those from the southern part of Essos had ever experienced. Luckily, the other waves had experienced the same problem, and the ships had come prepared with a large stock of blankets and warmer clothing that soon had just about everyone wrapped in them to fight off the growing cold.
For me, the cold wasn't nearly as bad, though I did put on some of my more Northern made clothes and layered well enough that I didn't need a blanket, though it took me a day until I felt more used to it again. Passing the Three Step Sisters, I was beyond excited to finally be getting home, and eager to see my family and continue the good work we had begun in Oldcastle and with my Legion. I was curious though about my long term plans for the Legion, as with that many people, it was really going to put too large a burden on Oldcastle. Even though I knew we would be creating some new settlements within our lands, I thought that maybe I should take some of my ideas and money to the Starks, and see if I couldn't buy some more land or even a holdfast of my own to house the Legion.
With all the treasure we had gained from the Myrish Conflict, eliminating the Wandering Horses sellsword company, on top of the money we made selling surplus goods throughout Essos, and getting our cut of the other sellsword companies near Lys, I had returned with more than ten times the amount that I left with. I still needed to repay the loan to the Iron Bank, though my father said he had already made a few payments in that regard to keep them happy and our credit line open. I was feeling pretty good overall on how much I had already changed and strengthened both our position and the North in general, and just hoped it was a good enough start for the things to come.
Once Oldcastle finally came into sight from the ships, many people clamored to get a good view of their new home, and I watched in somewhat shock as the much larger and nicer port came closer, and realized that the small port town of my birth had really grown into a large and prosperous port city in its own right. The expanded port was impressive, with hundreds of boat docks of various sizes, all protected by new large man-made piers that created a bay of sorts, and housed the pair of lighthouses and a few defensive scorpions that had a further reach into the sea. The protections seemed legitimate, and it made me very happy that my Family was able to accomplish this expansion with very little input from me, and glad to finally be home.
"Welcome home milord," spoke the captain as he came up next to me, and I had to groan at the realization that I was back to being a lord, even if I wasn't yet The Lord of Oldcastle, and already missed being called Captain Locke.
"Thanks Captain Derik," I responded with a grateful nod of my head to the man, having served us well for the last several years as we grew our fleet into what it was today, "it's good to be home."
"I am taking our ship to the primary dock," he continued and pointed off to one side away from some of the hustle and bustle of the port and the many docks, and I got my first glimpse at the large dock that would be used for Family and visiting dignitaries, impressed again at my father's forethought, and even recognizing several of those there waiting on us.
"Glad to have you back, boss," yelled Tristifer loudly, as the ship came up to the dock and the crew quickly started tying it off so we could finally get off.
"It's good to be back," I answered with a smile, seeing my friends and officers all gathered on shore to welcome me, before turning back to my young squires and reminding them of the importance of getting my trunk and bringing it up to me on shore, as I would need to take it directly to the castle and secure it.
We all shared a round of greetings and manly hugs, as it had been months since seeing some of them after practically living together every day for the last almost four years. I waited for my trunk to get loaded on a wagon with several others from my party, and we all started making our way up the road towards the main keep of Oldcastle, marveling at the busy atmosphere and hugely increased population. It looked almost like many of the port cities in Essos, with the range of ethnicities, vibrant and varied colors, and things on offer that had not been seen in the North until my arrival.
I took it all in as we slowly made our way up to my Family and the main keep, suitably impressed with the amount of activity and open air feel of our expanded Market Square, and was glad the city had grown to support everyone. I got many nods and greetings from those we passed, recognizing several of them from those we rescued in Pentos or those who had always been here. When we finally reached the main keep of Oldcastle, most of my family was standing out front waiting to greet me, all looking suitably older than when I left, but overall healthy and happy.
We weren't much on ceremony, and I was quickly pulled into a hug by my mother as she immediately started fussing over my longer hair, beard, and much stronger appearance. I took it all in stride, as I greeted my father with a hug as well, and then my two much younger brothers Dobett and Ondry, who were eight and six. My sisters are both gone now, Sybelle with her husband in Deepwood Motte and Haylia with her intended at Widow's Watch, and I made a promise to go and visit them both when I made my planned trip to Winterfell.
Bread and salt was offered to all, and we entered the main keep to get ready for the welcome home feast they had planned, and I went to visit with my Grandfather, Father, and Maester Javven, bringing my trunk along with me. Seeing my Grandfather even sicker and weaker than before was a tough pill to swallow, and it looked like the end was very close for the now almost 80 year old man, who I hugged and let look over me for several moments before he nodded in approval. Maester Javven also greeted me happily, excited to fill me in on everything that had been happening in my absence, but first I needed to show them some of our newest treasures.
"I do want to sit down and discuss everything that has happened here, and plans for moving forward, but first I have a surprise," I spoke to the three older men that I trusted and respected more than most outside of my Legion, and went to my trunk and opened it.
"Maester ...I have three old books found in the ruins of Old Valyria, I couldn't tell you anything about them, other than they are old and in a language I am completely unfamiliar with," I continued pulling out the three books and carefully handing them over to the wide eyed man.
"Incredible," he whispered in awe, looking at the condition, age, and language shown with something akin to amazement.
"Grandfather ...Father," I continued getting both of their attention, as they too were looking at the ancient books in wonder, "I got an even better treat for you."
The dropping of said ancient books was a dead giveaway that even Maester Javven was stunned speechless, as I pulled out one of the beautiful Valyrian Steel Greatswords and removed it from the scabbard as I watched them all staring at the rippling pattern in absolute shock. Chuckling a little, and reminding them all to breathe, had the three of them staring between myself and the priceless sword in stunned silence, completely unable to believe what they were seeing. I started telling them a bit of the Wandering Horses sellsword company that found all these treasures, but was defeated by me before they probably even knew what a priceless treasure they had, and had an even greater laugh when I pulled out and displayed the second Valyrian Steel Greatsword to their completely stunned faces.
"I was planning to turn this first one into the Locke Family Greatsword," I continued into the still stunned silence, wondering if I broke them completely, "though I don't think we'll be using it for anything other than ceremonies, as I found a non-ornamental bastard sword that suits me much better personally."
With that announcement, I pulled my own Valyrian Steel Bastard Sword out of its scabbard so they could view it for a moment, before putting it back on my hip with a large grin on my face. It took them all several more moments of silence before they started asking questions about the swords, and what my plans were for the second one, as it was a priceless object of incredible beauty. I mentioned possibly trying to sell it to House Lannister, as I thought they would give the best price, and then use the money to continue building up our city or even expanding our area of control in the North depending on the success of my meeting with Lord Eddard Stark.
That discussion continued until my mother came to get us all for the welcome home celebratory feast, and we packed the swords back up along with the 24,000 gold dragons I still had in my trunk, and went to celebrate my homecoming. I found both my Grandfather and Father stealing constant glances at me throughout the celebration as I interacted with my friends and officers, a different and even more outgoing person than before I left. Being in charge of so many people, had served me very well to assume the role I was born for, and during my time in Essos I came out of my shell so to speak in their eyes and grew into a commanding presence that led others with respect.
The feast went well, and many stayed up partying late into the night, though I retired early after the long three weeks of boat travel and wanting to get settled in my seldom used room, and was up early the next day ready to get back to work. After breaking my fast, I made my way down to the training yard, and ran through some of my usual morning exercises and started my usual training that I had taken up since going to dual swords. Gray Lonthor, our Master at Arms soon found me sparing against Tristifer, Juden, and Sydel simultaneously, and holding my own rather well after all the time I had put into improving my skills, and neither Juden or Sydel were quite in the same league as Tristifer and I.
He even asked to test me himself, and soon found that almost four solid years of sword fighting and training had left me well equipped to keep up and even dominate him at times, and he soon bowed out asking for a break. I shrugged and went back to sparring with my other officers, giving them each a turn against me, pushing myself, and also making sure they too were all improving and pushing themselves to get better. By the time I quit for the morning at least, the sun was up and shining, and I needed to go have another Family meeting to get the next steps sorted out.
The meeting lasted through lunch and into the later part of the day, where they filled me in on everything that had happened since I left Oldcastle, primarily focusing on the upgrades to our port and harbor, the new glass making industry, the paper factory, and the farming Hillside holdfast that had slowly begun alcohol production. They talked about how helpful the 10,000 plus people I sent from Pentos were in almost doubling our initial population, including the Dontaryon Family that had amazingly started the Locke-Dontaryon Shipbuilding Company the moment they arrived. They had even taken several dozen apprentices with no questions asked, and they were teaching while simultaneously putting out quality ships and increasing our fleet at an amazing rate with the wood we cut from the Hillside holdfast.
We then got into the more immediate changes from the over 75,000 people I returned from Essos with, that had started arriving over four months ago, and which had surprised the hell out of them with the large numbers triple the size of the already expanded Oldcastle. Since they had been used to living in camps, they had them go towards the northern border with White Harbor, and the small area I marked as wanting a holdfast established to more clearly mark the boundary. They had decided to build a heavily fortified army camp in that location, as there was a very strategically placed natural peninsula that jutted out into the White Knife Bay that would act as a great lookout for those approaching White Harbor.
I was really pleased with those plans, and the initiative Sydel, Alston, and Tristifer showed in establishing a more fortified camp, rather than the standard we had used in Essos, but also had a few ideas of my own. I talked about wanting to also add a large settlement to the east between us and Ramsgate, possibly along the coast, and better explore the hills and woodlands that stretched further northeast for another farming settlement. We currently had the people to populate several large towns or settlements, and with the manpower of the Legion, had the means to get a lot accomplished very quickly and shouldn't sit back and wait.
We made plans for me to go on a little trip, first to visit Ramsgate and the Manderly branch family that controlled it, in order to get a feel for them, and scout out the lands that separated us. To see how much they truly controlled or could afford to, in case we wanted to expand in that direction or found anything of value in the land between us. I would then visit my sister Haylia at Widow's Point, and the Flint Family to get the full measure of them as well, before stopping off at Hornwood to check on my mother's Family.
Then I would continue on to Winterfell for my planned meeting with Lord Stark, and could then head for Deepwood Motte to see Sybelle and the Glover Family before making my way back home. I was also expecting to start trading with each of the Families I encountered, and would need to travel with several of our newer products and inventions to either sell or demonstrate them as I went. The mobile siege engines and forges probably weren't as appealing to most inside a castle with their own forges and fortified protections, but the looms, windmills, paddlewheels, seed drills and food lockers would only help others, and the glass greenhouses, paper, ink, soaps, and liquors would all be highly desirable if people gave them a chance.
I told them I was inviting Rickard, Alston, Sydel, Juden, and Tristifer to the second Family meeting the following day as the leaders of my camp and army, and after finally excusing myself for supper, went to find my friends and lieutenants so they could fill me in on everything they had accomplished since we split. It turned out to be exactly as my father said, and Alston had started the groundbreaking on a large fort to the northwest along the coast, on a perfectly placed peninsula that would give plenty of protection down the road once everything was complete. I told them my plans for more settlements to be built by our Legion, and then populated by those looking to settle down and have more permanent roots, and that just the top five were coming to my Family meeting the following day to continue going over the details of all these projects.
We also talked briefly about my planned trip through the North, checking out many of our neighbors and other important families, including the two my sisters were marrying into, and our Liege Lord's as well. After explaining what all I was hoping to bring along, we agreed on one infantry brigade to accompany me, though we were going to have to do some rearranging of our forces to allow the newest brigades to have some veteran leadership that was ready for a promotion or larger leadership roles. It would also allow us to bring several of our mobile units, and keep myself and others safe and protected from any bandits we might encounter, though those were much rarer in the North.
Hopefully the trip would also give us a chance to recruit a little more from within the North, finding some of those veterans of the Greyjoy Rebellion looking for better work or prospects, and maybe help strengthen some of the ties we had with the other noble families. I had to agree though to hold off on leaving for at least a month or two, in order to get things accomplished closer to home, and make sure that everything was ready for the next stage of our development and plans for the future of Oldcastle. Plus I needed to ensure we had the necessary products I would be showcasing, and the equipment needed to properly survey parts of the land we traveled, as well as going through with the various brigades' reorganization.
The first thing was going to be increasing the size of each brigade now to 1,000 troops, doubling them from the previous 500 in order to not spread my best commanders out too thin, and fill in the gaps of each unit to ensure they had a good blend of veteran and newbie soldiers working together. It was here that Sydel actually asked if he could have a chance to run one of the proposed new settlements, hoping to set up more permanent roots himself, test his ability to lead, and that he was somewhat tired of the constant marching. I asked the others, and many of them agreed, that they too would like a more permanent command post, and we started figuring out who would work best with who, and how to divide up the proposed settlements.
Several of my lieutenants however, were happy to keep marching and wanted to stay close to wherever I was, thinking they would get the most action, and that group included Tristifer, Axel Whiteye, Lotho, Sondry, and Sers Gerold Jast and Royce Wellington. With a commander from each of my four different types of units, and double in the Infantry and Cavalry, we decided that 6,000 soldiers was a good solid number for each of our proposed settlements to start with. Sydel asked for his cousins Juden and Rickard to be part of his crew, but otherwise was happy to work with any of the others, with Rickard helping with the day to day administration while he and Juden controlled the two Infantry units.
Likewise, Geremy and Alston Rivers wanted to stay together with Alston helping with the day to day running of their 'camp,' while Cale and Cletis Burke wanted to stay together as well. We would need to spread out the other lieutenants to ensure that every 'camp' had an able administrator, as well as two Infantry units, two Cavalry units, one Pikemen unit, and one Archer unit to give them a good base to start with but were pleased to have started the process. I still wasn't sure who would run which 'camp' as I was still unsure what was going to come of my visits to Ramsgate to check on their situation, and meeting with Lord Stark himself, as I had several plans and ideas that would require his consent, and really change the landscape or direction of our new settlements.
The second Family meeting with the inclusion of Rickard and Alston especially as my most capable camp administrators went quite well, and my father was quite pleased with our ideas to settle parts of the Legion at each of the proposed new settlement sites. They were all quite impressed with my friends, as they had a great understanding of administration and leadership, and I could tell they would get along really well with my father in one of his own favored roles. After that meeting, I told them I was traveling to Hillside holdfast for a check in, and to ensure the fermenting and distilling processes went smoothly, while bringing the few distillers I had trained in Essos to accompany me and hopefully help run and expand the new Locke Distillery.
I would also check in with the Locke Glass Makers, to ensure they knew to start on my order for my travels throughout the North, and would even check out the current Legion camp near our newest proposed settlement. Luckily, with all our mobile industries from the Legion, it shouldn't be too hard to get the distilleries moved to Hillside holdfast and set up and working, and I already had the brewers. But that meant I had to wait and make that stop after swinging by the Legion camp and ensuring everything was ready for a small community to move up there and work the distilleries, create and grow the bottling factory, and farm the land.
Walking into the Legion Camp, there was a celebratory atmosphere that could be felt from everyone, all seemingly excited for the next part of their lives and for most of them it meant putting down some roots. The overall setup was similar to how it was for the Lys fort, spread out over several square miles with fortifications on the outside, then came the soldiers tents, the civilian tents, the officers tents mixed in with the mobile industries and trade wagons, and finally the central open area that everyone seemed to gravitate towards. I had to wait quite a while for the cheering to go down when I arrived, and it made me really proud to know that I helped and protected all these people, and brought them somewhere they had a chance to make a better life for themselves.
"Quiet down everyone," I yelled, as slowly the cheering was reduced and it quickly quieted even further after my announcement, "I first want to thank you all for the trust you placed in me, and also welcome you all to my home."
I had to pause again as several shouts and cheers began, most simply chanting 'Locke' or making some kind of noise that was quickly deafening. I eventually raised my arms silently asking for everyone to quiet down, so I could continue knowing I had no chance of talking over this many people. Thankfully, someone grabbed and gave three quick beats of one of our large war drums and instantly everyone was silent.
"Thank you Alston," I replied, spotting the man putting down the large mallet, and then turned back to everyone and continued, "There is still a lot to be done ...and new opportunities are available to you all ...so, with that in mind ...I wanted to tell you all of some options you will all have going forward."
"We plan to build several settlements," I continued after a pause to gather my thoughts, "and we will need people to work them ...builders and laborers for new more permanent structures ...people to fill all the roles and jobs that make our Legion so strong in each of these new places ...new farming communities ...military forts and outposts ...and yes, we will still keep a reduced camp for travel and military purposes throughout mostly the North for now ...and I want the bonds we've shared to remain ...and the care and love we all have for our fellow man and woman to continue in all of these places, and throughout our new home."
The speech worked wonders apparently, as shortly after it, I had all the soldiers start asking the camp helpers what they wanted to do, whether it was becoming farmers, settling down, or continuing to travel. I also encouraged them all to find their friends and stick together, this wasn't meant to break up the whole camp, just expand its boundaries and grow together. I knew we would have to make some tough calls on splitting things up somewhat evenly, but wasn't too worried yet, as I felt we had a lot of everything, and would be able to split every force and industry into four separate camps or cities and still function at the highest level.
I then started gathering groups that wanted to stay together and started placing them under either myself as the head of the traveling camp, under Sydel's fort settlement, under Geremy's fort settlement, or under Cale's fort settlement making sure both Rickard and Alston were recording what industries and amounts were going where. I then had them promote their two most capable apprentices to follow them around and learn everything they could, as they would become the primary administrators or helpers of the final two camps. It took most of the day for people to get together and make the decisions on their future, and what they were looking for, and I was quite pleased that most wanted to settle more permanently into one of the various settlements.
I also found a rather large group that just wanted a simple quiet life in the country to farm the land or raise animals, and would rather not be in a bigger settlement, and got them all together to make some decisions. I brought out a map and showed them the three general locations of the planned settlements, and also the small Hillside holdfast that was currently the home of our Locke Distilleries, and focused more on the large amounts of land between them all for them to settle. I asked them to split into four groups and each group picked one of the settlements to be closest to, as their farming would be going to support those places, and likewise, those settlements would be responsible for their protection.
With that part taken care of, and each group of almost a hundred farmers and their families, set on one of the four locations, I moved on to the camp distillers, and the pair of mobile rum and ale distilleries we built. I was able to convince the large majority of them to settle at Hillside holdfast and grow the new Locke Distillery Company, and that I was hoping to add another drink to their mix now that we had access to potatoes that could be farmed there. The smaller group was going to continue to travel with me and the mobile camp, as I found the ability to make and have alcohol for a large group of soldiers was a must in order to keep morale up, and would be a good way to get our drinks into the other Houses of the North during my visits.
It took an extra day to divide everyone up and get that first group of farmers and the distillers, who were escorted by me and a small party of guards carrying their equipment and supplies to the Hillside holdfast, and their new location for the Locke Distillery and farms. The holdfast had been completely renovated and even expanded, and the lands around it for several miles in every direction had been cleared, plowed, and were now large potato, wheat, barley, and sugar cane farms that would help us with our alcohol production. By the time I returned back to Oldcastle, almost five days had passed, but a whole lot had gotten accomplished as I cracked the secret for concrete, and everyone was now preparing for the eventual division of the Legion into smaller settlements, and my upcoming trip.
That month saw the forming of four separate groups within the Legion, as all industries got divided and settled into one of the three permanent settlements, or the traveling camp. It also corresponded with a lot of work laying the foundation for a large keep and city in the location northwest of Oldcastle where the Legion had started to build, as I had plans to turn that into a large port city that rivaled the current size of Oldcastle, if not a little bigger. A good bit of my time was also spent with my younger brothers showing them the beginning of sword training and just getting to know them a bit, and my grandfather, sitting with him and asking him stories he remembered from the past, but most often telling him my plans for the future as he liked those stories the best.
When the day finally came for the departure of my Northern trip, Oldcastle was a swirling buzz of activity, as wagons were loaded with countless goods from glass to weapons, clothes to tapestries, alcohol to seed drills, and more mobile industries and siege engines it looked like we were going off to war. With the inclusion now of the 1,000 newly reassigned troops of the 1st Infantry brigade to lead and protect us, it probably looked even more like an army on the march. When you added in the 15,000 people from the Legion camp that were coming with us to find the location of the coastal settlement we were planning between Oldcastle and Ramsgate, and most Northern houses who saw us coming would probably be shitting bricks.
I had also spent time during that month after returning from Hillside holdfast, now simply named the Locke Distillery, putting in plans to create a wider road between the new growing industry and Oldcastle itself to ease the burden of travel with another of my newer inventions, concrete. I had finally cracked the formula, and could now produce cement mix, and now my road thoughts were taken to a completely new level. I had so many thoughts and plans now open to me, but first realized that I would need to mobilize the industry as well to create road construction work crews if I really wanted to make something of it.
I had time to meet with the Dontaryon Family of shipbuilders, and congratulate them on their amazing work, promising to spend more time with them upon my return to see if we could figure out some new ship designs to try. They were very happy in Oldcastle, were one of the wealthier families with a large estate, and more comforts and power than they ever had before, and thanked me countless times for the opportunity I provided them. I smiled and thanked them in return, gladly praising their work and help in growing the Locke Dontaryon Shipbuilding Company into one of the best, even if they were lesser known as of now.
I gave final hugs to my family before mounting my horse, and giving a nod to Tristifer that it was time to move out, Sydel, Juden, and Rickard all coming as well with their two Infantry brigades until we reached the new settlement site where they were to be put in charge of the new camp. Axel, Lotho, Sondry, Ser Jast, and Ser Wellington from my future traveling camp along with some of the other officers and their brigades were all staying in or near Oldcastle to start training the larger guard force we had just raised from those looking to stay in Oldcastle, a guard that was being increased from 200 to 2,000. They would also be responsible for checking on the two settlement sites in my absence and ensuring they had all the materials and people they needed to continue building the more permanent structures and forts, while continuing with the training of our newest recruits.
Since my traveling host was going to continue as a war camp, even if we weren't fighting anybody at present, it was decided that I would take the newest recruits, and leave the more veteran ones first pick of the new settlements that were being built. So they would start the hard training of my forces, and build up our army camp outside of Oldcastle to be a more permanent camp like we had outside of Lys in case of any trouble. My grandfather was very pleased with my forces, constantly telling me how proud he was of my strategic military mind, and was happy that our defensive capabilities had increased so much with the Legion's arrival as we were slowly starting to draw more attention to Oldcastle.
It was hard to believe that Oldcastle had grown as much as it had in the last almost four years, and how much more the region around us was going to be built up over the next few years. I was very pleased with all the progress in pretty much all areas, but mostly that my Family seemed to be handling the additional challenges so well, and had been so accepting of them all. I gave a final look back at the large and growing city that the port of Oldcastle had become, seeing a portion of my army camp on a far hill within easy range to defend the keep and city, and could only smile at how much it may change in the months to come while I was traveling through the North.