High Tide, Chapter 37: Homeward Bound (Patreon)

Viserra

First Moon, 100 AC

They had left Driftmark to conquer Tyrosh in the eighth moon of the ninetieth year since Aegon’s Conquest. It was the first moon of the hundredth year now. Nine years and five months that she had spent away from her true home. Nine years and five months since she had last seen that wondrous isle.

Those years had changed Viserra greatly. She was not the foolish and reckless young girl that had conquered a city anymore. The passing of time and her experiences had wizened her, aged her, even if Corlys insisted she looked even more beautiful now at thirty-one then she had when they had met. That flatterer.

“Mother, what are you doing? The sun’s not even properly risen yet.” Jace asked her as he walked up to stand beside her on the aftcastle of the ship.

Her sweet boy. Viserra loved all her children dearly, but Jace and Luke were her eldest, her and Corlys’ heirs. Everything had really started when they were born. She had fought so hard for their future, sacrificed so much for them both.

She looked at her darling eldest son, soon to be eleven years old. Growing up so fast but still her little boy for a little longer. Luke and him looked more like Corlys every day, but their eyes were hers. The same shape, the same shade of deep purple. When Viserra looked at her eldest son, she thought that all she had suffered and sacrificed in Tyrosh was worth it once again, if it meant that this child of hers could live the most fruitful life he could.

“Nothing in particular Jace,” she answered her son. “I woke up a little early is all. Thought I would start the day rather than try to fall asleep again only to be woken up any way.”

Jace nodded in understanding before he walked up to stand beside her, placing his hands on the railing. “Is it much longer until we reach Driftmark?”

“Not at all. The captain told me we’ll be reaching it in just a few hours.”

“I wonder what it’s like. I barely remember it.”

“That’s understandable. You were very young when you left Driftmark. Laena and Daeron haven’t ever been there at all,” Viserra mused.

In her mind, she still saw the image of Spicetown, its wares and spices and haggling merchants beside a full harbor, with High Tide rising sheer from the cliffs in the distance. None of her children had that image in their minds. Driftmark was not their home, Tyrosh was. Still she hoped that they might find a home in Driftmark as well, as she had all those years ago.

It was halfway to noon when Driftmark was sighted. By now Viserra’s husband and their three younger children had all woken and broken their fast as well. They had gathered on the forecastle to watch as the fleet sailed into the harbor of Spicetown.

Above them, Viserra espied their dragons soaring effortlessly through the sky. Dreamfyre, matriarch and largest of them, roared triumphantly as she sped toward a familiar castle in the distance. The Blue Queen had returned to Driftmark, and her offspring accompanied her. Tessarion and Morghul, both a quarter the size of their mother in scant eleven years, an incredible growth rate. Their younger siblings Shrykos and Terrax were not much further behind, being both around a fifth the size of Dreamfyre.

While the five dragons flew over Spicetown in mere moments, their riders were left to get there a more conventional way. Corlys had decided that after so many years away from Spicetown, it would be best for the people to see them returning rather than flying into High Tide immediately. It made it easier as well, Viserra absolutely hated mounting her dragon at sea, and she knew Dreamfyre hated it too.

As the Sea Snake and her escort fleet carrying all their retinue and triumphant returning Driftmark servants and soldiers entered into the harbor of Spicetown, Viserra felt… disappointed.

“This harbor was a lot busier the last time we saw it,” she told Corlys.

He nodded, looking around with a dazed and saddened look on his face. “The trade has left Spicetown.”

As their ship moored and the gangplank lowered, the sailors moved to tie the ropes and anchor the Sea Snake to the dock before the Tide Guard rushed down the gangplank onto the pier and secured it.

Viserra and her family followed shortly after. As her children looked around in curiosity and wonder, she whispered to Corlys, gesturing to the Tide Guard surrounding them and holding their shields aloft, ready to cover their lieges at any moment. “A bit excessive isn’t it? This is Driftmark. Who would hurt us here?”

“It is precisely because it is Driftmark that we cannot let down our guard. Our enemies will know Driftmark is where we feel most secure, and we cannot say for sure how the people will react to our return after almost ten years. Driftmark has suffered a great deal in the past decade.”

The Tide Guard escorted them to their horses where they met Aurane and Alys and their sons, who had disembarked from their own ship already. They greeted them before they mounted their horses, with the Tide Guard mounting their own to ride alongside them. Viserra took her son Daeron to ride in her saddle with her, while Corlys took Laena. Their youngest two children might ride dragons, under her strict supervision, but their horse riding skills were lacking. Their eldest two brothers mounted their horses with the Tide Guard’s help however.

“Sure you two can ride?” She asked them.

Luke nodded. “We rode horses back in Tyrosh all the time. Why would this be any different?”

Viserra shook her head. “Those were your own horses, ones that you were familiar with. Horses might not be dragons, but an inexperienced rider like you most definitely are, may have trouble riding an entirely new horse with an unfamiliar personality and mannerisms. If you don’t feel comfortable, Ser Jaremy and his sworn brothers would gladly take you in their saddles.”

At her words, Luke glanced down at his horse, and then over to the grinning Ser Jaremy.

“Oh come on Luke. Don’t tell me you’re scared? You ride a dragon. What’s a horse to you?” Jace demanded.

“I’ll race you to the castle!” Luke countered.

“Confident are we?” Jace asked.

“There will be no racing, of any sort,” Viserra interjected. “You will have plenty of time to race each other on either your horses or your dragons another time. Today we are riding through Spicetown, poised, elegant, and dignified. Jace, Luke, these people have not seen either of you in almost nine years. They cheered when you were born, and they suffered for your sake. Show them that you are the heirs of House Velaryon, and you carry yourself with the dignity befitting that. It will reassure them that their sacrifices were not in vain.”

At her words, Jace and Luke straightened in their saddles and nodded, as did Daeron in her saddle in front of her. All three of them were dressed in fine dark blue doublets with silver trims, and their sister Laena was in a riding habit. The silver seahorse of their house was proudly embroidered on all of their clothes, though lately Viserra had begun wondering if sea dragon might be a better description of that sigil. She had seen what it used to look like, and it seemed to look less like a sea horse with every generation that passed since House Velaryon first intermarried with the Targaryens.

With their company mounted, Corlys gave the order and they began riding through the streets of Spicetown. As they rode, Viserra kept her watchful eyes on the city around them, her mind conjuring images of the past that she struggled to reconcile with the present.

As befitting the jewel of Driftmark, the city’s decline could not be seen in its infrastructure. The subsidies they had been sending from Tyrosh had been more than enough to maintain Spicetown so it was materially much as she had last seen it.

No, something far more important was missing. People. The life and bustling vibrancy of Spicetown was lost. She had seen the census reports Irina had sent them in Tyrosh before they’d left. Of an estimated one hundred and fifty thousand people that had lived on the isle ten years ago, about seventy-five thousand had sought out greener pastures in Tyrosh and its hinterlands.

Corlys had been worried about how the people of Driftmark would greet them, but Viserra was beginning to fear that there were none. Spicetown was perfectly maintained, but its shops were empty, its homes unlived in, and its streets untrodden. A ghost city. An eerie painful sight that was so unlike her memories.

Suddenly Corlys held up his hand, and the company came to a stop. Viserra saw traces of life ahead. She wouldn’t call the market bustling, not when she had seen both Spicetown and Tyrosh at their prime, but it was full and busy at the very least.

As they trotted through the market, careful to not disturb the shops’ wares, Viserra could feel the stares of the people of Driftmark on them. An awkward silence passed before the Driftmarkers began bowing.

“As you were. We are only passing through. No need to tend to us,” Corlys ordered.

“Lord Corlys and Princess Viserra have returned to Driftmark!” One shopkeeper shouted.

A great cheer erupted, but it was cut through by bitterness. The people were glad to see them home, but their joy was tainted by the bitterness of their suffering.

Viserra spoke up then. “It saddens my heart, to see Driftmark so denuded of its people, even if I know that they are not lost to us, and have merely sought out better opportunities in Tyrosh. With our return, we hope to see Driftmark restored to its glory!”

“I beg your pardon for speaking Princess, but how do you intend to do this?” One of the women at the market said aloud. The crowd nodded at her words.

Corlys spoke then. “Our great island has suffered much before. Forty years ago, the Shivers devastated Driftmark. A quarter of our folk died, and trade came to a standstill. But we prevailed! We rose up once again, just like the ebbing of the tides! House Velaryon has risen again, and the time has come that we return the favor to our true homeland! We are House Velaryon of Driftmark!”

“The Old, the True, the Brave!” The same shopkeeper who had announced their presence earlier shouted proudly and the crowd chorused his words.

“As you were,” Corlys repeated as they began trotting faster. Soon they had passed the market entirely and were well on their way to High Tide.

As they passed through the city, Corlys took the effort to greet the people wherever they could be found in large numbers along their path. They introduced their children, spoke to the people, and heard their worries and pleas. As a result, by the time they left Spicetown, midday had passed and Viserra could tell that their children grew hungry.

A simple inquiry confirmed her suspicions and Corlys doubled the pace of their company. High Tide loomed in the distance and Viserra felt her heart skip for joy as they approached the castle. The pale fortress rose sheer from the cliffs of the tidal islet it rested on. Its silver-crowned towers glimmered in the afternoon sun.

It was high tide, the sea had risen and the shallow waters had engulfed the white sandy beach plains between Driftmark and High Tide. The water was crystal clear and Viserra’s children were staring in awe at the water and the castle rising high in the distance, appearing to rise from the waves itself, just as they had described it to them.

Their company rode along the narrow causeway to the castle, once they passed the causeway, they ascended the hilly road along the cliffs and came to the gatehouse of High Tide. She had passed this gatehouse many times years ago, and now she had returned to it. As they approached the gatehouse, the portcullis raised and the gates swung open.

They rode through High Tide until they reached the courtyard before its main keep. A few familiar faces were waiting for them on the steps. Viserra dismounted her horse and took Daeron down, letting him run free with his siblings as they moved toward the entrance to the keep.

Irina was waiting for them there. Traces of grey hair lined her honey blonde hair and there were some wrinkles on her face. The years and grief had aged her goodsister, but she remained beautiful nonetheless. Her children stood beside her, Vaemond and Vaella, both so impossibly tall and mature Viserra hardly believed her eyes seeing them. Vaemond in particular made her feel like she was looking at Rhaekar again.

It was not just those three however. Viserra recognized a familiar silver-gold haired man with purple eyes standing there as well. Corlys’ other uncle, Jorgen Velaryon, who never married from what she recalled. Lord and Lady Wendwater were present as well, with their children. If she remembered correctly, Lady Aella Wendwater née Velaryon, was Corlys’ cousin, and the sister of Lucerys whom they had rescued in Velos. He had followed them home to Driftmark to see his home island and his sister once more before he returned to his posting in the east.

Last of all was her daughter’s namesake, Corlys’ aunt, Laena Velaryon. The matron of Breezehome Orphanage was not a rare sight in High Tide but neither was she a common one. It seemed she had decided to make the trip today to welcome them home.

As they arrived, Irina stepped down and embraced them, she hugged them each in turn, starting with Corlys and Viserra, and then moving to Aurane and Alys before she started cooing over their children. Irina hadn’t seen Jace and Luke since they were toddlers, and she’d never even met Laena and Daeron, or any of Aurane and Alys’ four sons. To the side, Aella and her husband greeted them before Aella embraced her elder brother Lucerys dearly and started berating him for letting her think he was dead for so many years.

“Aunt Viserra,” Vaella said before she embraced her. Seven, she was so tall now, neither Irina or Rhaekar had been short and Vaella had clearly inherited their height. Viserra was by no means short herself, she was taller than all her sisters save Alyssa, but Vaella was taller than her even still.

Beside her, Vaemond embraced Corlys. She knew Corlys had written Vaemond for years, feeling obliged to look after him after Rhaekar had died. The years had dulled the pain of that loss for Vaemond, and he had followed in Rhaekar’s footsteps, becoming an excellent steward and helping Irina and Jorgen govern Driftmark.

They had a late lunch with their kin, with all of them catching up and trading stories, repairing bonds left stagnant by time and distance. There was also a rather amusing interaction between her daughter and her namesake.

“You can’t be Laena Velaryon! I’m Laena Velaryon!” Her daughter had said, with all the certainty and energy of a little princess. Seven Corlys was spoiling her, she had him wrapped around her little finger. It was innocent and endearing for now, but Viserra knew where that could lead if it went too far.

“Laena, don’t be rude,” She chided her daughter.

Laena the elder laughed. “Ah this is entertaining. Now little princess, I was Laena Velaryon first. If anything you are the impostor,” she teased.

Her daughter gasped and turned to her worried. “She’s only teasing your dear. It’s alright. People can share names you know? You were named for Aunt Laena here, and my friend Laena Celtigar.”

“Why’s there so many Laenas? I want to be the only one,” she pouted adorably. She was all of eight and she still looked and acted so cute. It would be bittersweet indeed for Viserra when Laena grew up.

“Now Laena, you’re not the only one who has to share their name,” Luke said.

“That’s different,” she insisted.

Luke shook his head unimpressed. “No it’s not,” he said before he turned back to his conversation with the other boys. All eight of them had gathered; Vaemond sat at the head of a table with Jace, Luke, Daeron, Malentine, Rhaekar, Rhogar, and Monford. Seven only knew what they were getting up to.

Vaemond was twenty-two this year, twice the age of the next eldest in the group, Jace and Luke, and yet it seemed despite the age gap, he came to life in the company of younger male cousins, all of whom seemed to admire him. They listened to his stories with bated breath.

Distracted from her protesting that someone else had her name, her daughter was soon led away by Vaella to the boys’ table where the cousins started playing some game, leaving the adults to catch up on their own. It was a good time, full of jokes and laughter.

This was what she had missed in Tyrosh. They had had family there yes, and after the city had settled it had been pleasant enough, but it just hadn’t felt like home. Viserra thought it might never be home to her, not like Driftmark and High Tide was.

___________________________________________

They had spent the rest of that first day simply spending time with family. Corlys and Viserra had showed their children around High Tide, even as they relished the feeling of having returned to their true seat and home themselves. In the evening they had taken their four children to play in the water on the beaches near High Tide, and nearly the entire family had come along for the trip.

It had been a day of rest, of peace and luxury and Viserra had enjoyed it. It had not lasted however. By the next day, Viserra and the other adults were back to work, though Vaemond and Vaella had been given leave from their duties to continue spending time with their cousins.

Viserra sat in the solar and looked around with a wistful feeling. It was almost like looking back in time. Out of respect to them, neither Jorgen or Irina had used this solar, and had only ordered it dusted in the nine years they had been gone.

The solar was more than large enough to host a small meeting and Corlys had called for one. Aurane, Alys, and Lucerys took their seats, while Jorgen and Irina came with several sheets of paper and parchment.

“Thank you all for coming. Uncle Jorgen, Irina, you have my utmost thanks for keeping Driftmark in order these past nine years. We could not have done this without you.”

Jorgen nodded. “It was no matter nephew. I only wish that we could have preserved Driftmark better.”

“That’s part of what I would like to discuss today actually,” Corlys said as he unfurled a newly made map he had commissioned in Tyrosh and hung it from the board. It was an exquisite map of the Known World, that rather expensively colored in the various states and polities on the continents. Chief of which, was the Velaryon State in dark blue.

“These are our domains as they stand. In the Crownlands of Westeros, we have Driftmark, Massey’s Hook, and Wendwater. In the Stepstones, we have Bloodstone. All of the aforementioned are technically sworn to the Iron Throne. As an independent state, we also have the Archonate of Tyrosh which controls Tyrosh, Pryr, the Tyroshi Heel, and the cities of Velos and Viserria in the east near Slaver’s Bay with the surrounding islands. Together they are informally known as the Velaryon State.

“Uncle Jorgen, Irina, you are both aware I’m sure, of what the rest of us did in Slaver’s Bay to acquire these territories. I’m pleased to announce that as a direct result of our campaign in Slaver’s Bay, we have officially regained, if not surpassed the wealth that we had before we conquered Tyrosh.”

The others cheered and applauded; Viserra smiled. The campaign in Slaver’s Bay had been enormously lucrative for their house indeed, all the ill-begotten treasures of the slavers had been theirs for the taking, once some of it had gone to their soldiers as their rightful spoils of course. They had seized many exquisite treasures of gold, silver, precious gems and other valuable goods like silks and spices, and tapestries. The most extraordinary prize of all however had been the truly priceless collection of Valyrian steel daggers and jewelry that they had gathered from the sack of the four cities.

Corlys continued his speech with a pleased smile on his own face. “Granted, much of that new wealth is tied up developing and rebuilding Velos and Viserria, and settling and feeding the freed slaves that have joined us on both island groups. That being said the reopening of the trade routes to the Jade Sea are certain to bring massive profits into our coffers once again, and I expect that we will be seeing the fruits of this by the end of this year.

“In a few months, Lucerys will board his ship for Velos and take up overall command of our eastern theatre. For the next ten years, Lucerys will oversee all Velaryon operations east of the Doom, including the rebuilding of Velos and Viserria, the settling of Ghaen and the Isle of Cedars, and our trade routes to the Jade Sea.

“I quite honestly expect the region to develop very fast. We have a large and multi-skilled population of settlers in the form of the freed slaves, and immensely strategic positioning. Viserria can control the eastern trade routes while Velos controls the outlet of Slaver’s Bay. Working together they can interdict and control all trade in the region, prevent any seaborne slave trading, and make great profits.

“In the long term I have some ideas on the potential of expanding our colonies and influence in the region to the Basilisk Isles or Moraq and the Cinnamon Straits, but let’s not get too ahead of ourselves. We can leave that discussion for the future. For now, Velos and Viserria’s developmental plan are set and there is nothing we need to worry about in that area anymore. Well except for you Lucerys.” They all chuckled. “The east has been settled, and the spice flows once more.”

What Corlys hadn’t mentioned was that he intended to split off Viserria from answering to Velos if both were developed and rebuilt enough after those ten years. For now, both regions were severely underdeveloped and needed joint coordination of their resources and defenses, and so Lucerys had been entrusted with both, with Aethan Velaryon in Viserria answering to Lucerys not Corlys directly.

Long term however, while they trusted Lucerys, Corlys and Viserra had agreed that was too much power and resources to be placed in one man’s hands. Once both regions were rebuilt and developed enough, their governance and defense would be split and both would answer to Tyrosh and Corlys separately of the other.

To smooth over any potential problems that might arise from this with Lucerys, Corlys intended to eventually grant him a peerage in the Isle of Cedars. It was a new system of nobility that Corlys had devised, inspired by the Free Cities themselves in fact.

Unlike in Westeros, which operated on a feudal system, nobility was rather different in the Free Cities. Nobles were still often styled as lords, though not always, but they had estates and businesses instead of fiefs. They owned large amounts of private land but they did not rule said private land as a fief, only the central government did. This was how Volantis, Braavos, and many other Free Cities in Essos governed such large expanses of land without feudalism. The freehold system of Old Valyria.

Of course, House Velaryon was not a freehold. Corlys was the undisputable Lord of the Tides and Archon of Tyrosh and they were certainly not going to share that power. That didn’t mean they couldn’t delegate however. Tyrosh’s nobles and elites had all been purged for their actions against the Velaryons, but the time was growing ripe that a new class had to be built to ease their rule and reward their followers without compromising their own power. That’s where Corlys’ peerage system came in.

Unlike Westeros with its feudal hierarchy, the peerage of Tyrosh was so named because every member would be legally equal and all of them would be styled equally as lords or ladies. They would receive no fiefs, nor have any of the feudal rights Westerosi lords might have. They could however be granted an expanse of land or a company as an estate, and they would be entitled to certain legal and political privileges such as the right to audience with the Archon and to be tried only by his court. They would also naturally be the first choice for positions in the Velaryon administration and military.

Corlys intended to formalize the laws forbidding private armies above a certain size, private warfare, and private fortifications above a certain strength within the Tyroshi domains, before he formally established the peerage system as well. Further preventing the possible feudalization of their Essosi domains. He called it an enlightened absolutist state, and while Viserra didn’t yet fully grasp what he meant by that, she very much enjoyed the concept.

She would admit it was a rather clever way to delegate lands and responsibilities and reward their loyalists without dividing up the power and territories of their house. Corlys had every intention of passing their domain in its entirety to Jace, but with the peerage system, Luke, Daeron, Vaemond, and Aurane and his sons might all receive titles, incomes, and estates of their own without compromising the cohesion and unity of the Tyroshi state in the way feudal fiefs might.

There were several other candidates Corlys had in mind for peerage both inside and outside their house and he intended it to be a furthering of the Velaryon tradition of every member having a paid position and responsibility, thus having their own way to make an income and livelihood without relying on and sapping the main branch’s funds, while also contributing to the incomes and prosperity of the house as a whole.

“Moving on from the east,” Corlys continued, “Tyrosh is by far the most profitable of our territories as of yet. It’s not even yet fully recovered or rebuilt from the Morghon Riots and it’s already making so much money. I would honestly not be surprised if it became the rival of Braavos and Volantis in size, wealth, and prosperity within the next twenty to thirty years. Who knows, perhaps Tyrosh might grow to even cover the entire island it rests on one day.

“The city and its hinterlands in the Heel are producing incredible amounts of goods and services, which are enriching us and the Tyroshi, and driving the economy’s growth and our profits ever higher. Uncle Victor has been left as Lord Mayor of Tyrosh to oversee its day to day running and Viserra and I intend on visiting it at least once a year going forward. Dragons will allow us to travel fast if need be. The city’s importance to our house cannot be understated. The success of Tyrosh is the sole cause of our change in fortunes, we cannot allow it to decline or falter.

“We have paid little attention to neighboring Bloodstone the past few years, but if what Otto Hightower and the other lords in the Stepstones have found is any indication, Bloodstone could potentially have many valuable resources to us. I have sent prospecting teams from Tyrosh to investigate if the island has any gems or other mineral resources we can mine and of course this guano fertilizer Hightower and the others are mining in droves will greatly increase yields in our mainland estates in the Heel of Essos.

“Long term I hope to develop Bloodstone as an extension of Tyrosh. We can expand its port and fort to help oversee this and I am sure the island’s development will help contribute valuable resources to Tyrosh.”

Jorgen raised his hands. “One problem with that Corlys. There are certain limits to what we can do on Bloodstone no? The island is still sworn to the Iron Throne, and technically it is under Otto Hightower’s jurisdiction as Governor of the Stepstones.”

“Indeed. Still I believe the Stepstones Crisis we had a few years ago proves what Otto Hightower or the Iron Throne’s control over Bloodstone amounts to in practice. Functionally nothing. It’s too close to Tyrosh to not use and it will effectively allow us to surround Hightower in the Stepstones.”

“That’s precisely the problem. Hightower knows this, as do the Targaryens. They’ve been content to let the matter lie since the Crisis because we didn’t really do anything with Bloodstone, but if we start building it up, making it important economically, and militarize it with a fleet, do you think they’ll still do nothing?” Jorgen asked.

Corlys was thoughtful. “They didn’t do anything last time.”

“They might now. The Princess of Dragonstone is also the Lady Paramount of the Stormlands and the Lady of Veil now. The Targaryens are closer and more attentive to the Stepstones than they have ever been and there is no way that they haven’t been paying attention to Tyrosh’s incredible recovery, or your campaign in Slaver’s Bay,” Jorgen pointed out.

“We know for a fact they are,” Viserra said. “I have been in communication with several of my family members. Those I have spoken to are neutral at worst and supportive at best of our house’s decisions and fortunes the past few years.”

Jorgen frowned. “May I ask who you have been writing to, Princess?”

Viserra nodded. “Of course. It’s primarily been my mother, the Queen, and my eldest two brothers and sister. Aemon, Baelon, and Alyssa.”

He stroked his chin. “That could be promising. The Queen’s opposition to the King is well known in the Seven Kingdoms by now. Their quarrel has almost lasted ten years with scant few moments of thaw only for their grandchildren and Princess Gael’s weddings. Not to mention Prince Aemon is the Hand of the King now and Prince Baelon still sits as advisor on the Small Council, some say as his brother’s deputy. They have been responsible for loosening the sanctions on our allies and across Westeros I have heard.”

“And yet those sanctions still stand,” Irina interjected. “Even if they have been loosened elsewhere, they are tighter and firmer than ever before on Driftmark. It’s like the King wants to squeeze us to death as much as he can. Corlys I know you want to restore Driftmark, but I just can’t see how that can be done right now.

“You saw the harbor when you came into Spicetown didn’t you? It’s empty. There are no more spices in Spicetown. The trade has dried up due to these sanctions. The success of Tyrosh did not help. You moved so many of our institutions to Tyrosh and so many of our companies and businesses followed, and with them went our people. Driftmark’s population has been halved and we have no hope of restarting our manufacturing or innovation. Everything Driftmark can make or create, Tyrosh can do better, free and away from the influence of the Iron Throne and sitting astride the greatest and most important trade route in the world. Driftmark simply can’t compete. Our house is prospering but Driftmark is dying.”

Viserra refused to accept that. “There has to be something we can do.”

Irina shook her head. “The only thing Driftmark has right now is its location. We still sit astride the Gullet, and we still have the infrastructure needed to trade at a capacity higher than we currently do. If the sanctions are removed, we can use Driftmark as a gateway into the Westerosi markets once again, use it as a waystation to trade goods from Tyrosh and Essos. In time, some of the businesses and companies that moved to Tyrosh may come back here, but they will no longer be headquartered here as they once were, they’d be branches of their true headquarters in Tyrosh now.

“Driftmark’s former glory can never be fully restored to be frank, but we could give it a new chance to prosper, even if it would always play second fiddle to Tyrosh in our domain. But the sanctions have to be removed for Driftmark to have any chance of recovery. We have no trade, at least previously before Tyrosh was stabilized, we traded with Tyrosh, but now we don’t even have that. Driftmark has nothing to offer Tyrosh anymore now that everything we did offer just moved to Tyrosh instead.”

“The Hook,” Corlys said suddenly. They all turned to him and he elaborated. “Massey’s Hook might not have tea anymore but to be honest it was always crap for growing tea anyway. What Massey’s Hook does have however is a lot of timber, furs, bog iron, wool, and other resources from its forests and hills. Wendwater nearby is still sworn to us and its part of the Kingswood will give even more timber and wood too. The Hook has always furnished the Velaryon Fleet with naval supplies and with our expansions into the east, we need those more than ever.

“Driftmark still has Hull does it not? The Arsenal is still there? We can make ships. We can process and refine the raw resources from the Hook here on Driftmark before exporting it to Tyrosh in large amounts. Furniture, wool, ships, naval supplies, and whatever else the Hook can produce the raw resources for. Driftmark has the infrastructure still required to do all of this, and at least some of the talent.”

“Why can’t Tyrosh simply trade with Massey’s Hook directly?” Aurane asked.

“We can’t very well lug logs halfway across the Narrow Sea can we? The Hook also just doesn’t have the infrastructure required for international trade. We designed it that way remember? The Hook was Driftmark’s hinterlands and it supplied everything to Driftmark which would refine and trade it in turn. That system still exists even if it’s died down in recent years.

“With subsidies from Tyrosh, we can revive that industry and give Driftmark a new fighting chance, while I would also naturally use my authority over both Tyrosh and the Hook, to ensure they don’t trade with each other directly. Not that hard either because like I said, the Hook does not have the infrastructure required to trade with Tyrosh directly in any large amounts.”

Lucerys spoke up then. “We can have a feast celebrating our triumphs in Tyrosh and Slaver’s Bay and our return to Driftmark, and we invite our vassals. Aella and her husband are already here, and Bar Emmon and Sunglass will come as well. We can coordinate with them.”

“An excellent idea Lucerys,” Corlys praised before he began elaborating on his ideas for said celebratory feast and the details of his plan in Massey’s Hook.

The rest of them looked at each other briefly knowingly but followed Corlys’ lead. What was known by all of them present save for Lucerys and intentionally left unsaid, was that House Velaryon had long since lost all confidence in its vassals in mainland Westeros. Irina and Jorgen had reported their suspicions to them years ago that Bar Emmon, Sunglass, and Wendwater were falling under Targaryen influence, and the Conches had confirmed it. Unfortunately, they hadn’t really been in the position to stop that at the time with other things occupying their attention in Tyrosh.

As Driftmark declined, their vassals in Westeros had grown nervous seeing the sanctions they were hit with. It likely did not help that in their eyes, the Velaryons had gone rogue, conquered a foreign land against the King’s will and created a heretical cult. They later realized that Wendwater, Bar Emmon, and Sunglass must have been bought off by Jaehaerys to subtly undermine Driftmark. None of them were ever sanctioned by him, even as Grafton, Celtigar, and Tarth were pummeled into the dirt by his sanctions.

They were quite clever about it as well. It didn’t happen all at once, and it wasn’t obvious at first. It was the little, subtle things that slowly added up over the years. ‘Oh apologies for that missed shipment.’ ‘Forgive us for our mistake with the shipments,’ and so on. All the while their trade with King’s Landing increased even as their trade with Driftmark decreased.

It was not dissimilar to what they had done with the Graftons and Tarths against the Arryns and Baratheons to be completely honest, but nobody ever wanted it done to them in turn. What made it worse though was that the Velaryons had intermarried with their vassal houses to bind them to Driftmark. They were supposed to be kin, Lucerys’ own sister was the Lady of Wendwater, hence why they were reluctant to speak openly about it in his presence. It just went to show that blood wasn’t everything, and Viserra had a lot of experience with that herself.

Perhaps some of the reasons for the betrayal went back to history, Viserra mused. Bar Emmon, Sunglass, and Wendwater had never wanted to swear to House Velaryon, it was the Targaryens they had wished to swear fealty to and perhaps that would have been what happened, had Aegon the Conqueror not wished to make amends for the death of his uncle, the first Lord Daemon, to his cousin Aethan.

Maybe the Wendwaters, Bar Emmons, and Sunglasses were only doing what was logical to secure the interests of their own houses, but Viserra just didn’t care. They were Velaryon vassals and had been disloyal to them. While they might not be able to punish them too overtly due to the likelihood of Targaryen interference, they could make their displeasure known in many other ways. She happily agreed to Corlys and the oblivious Lucerys’ plans to hold a feast with their vassals. She’d be sure to have Dreamfyre greet them in the courtyard when they arrived.

It was quite fortunate that they controlled the majority of Massey’s Hook, greatly reducing the issues that might be caused by their three strongest vassals going over to the Targaryens. Stonedance had once ruled the Hook as a petty kingdom after all and their domains were vast. Though they had many petty lords or landed knights sworn to them within Stonedance’s lands, none of them had felt quite brave enough to defy them and fall in with the Targaryens like Sunglass, Bar Emmon, and Wendwater had.

Eventually the meeting adjourned, Aurane, Alys, Jorgen, and Lucerys all left, but Corlys called out to Irina before she followed them out. “Irina, stay back a little longer please. Viserra and I have something to discuss with you.”

She obeyed and took a seat in front of the desk. If Viserra remembered right, that was the same seat Rhaekar would always use when he spoke with Corlys in this solar all those years ago.

“How does Vaella feel about her betrothal? Is she ready to marry?” Viserra asked. She remembered having both dread and excitement for her own impending nuptials.

“Well I told her about it when we were negotiating with the Starks. She didn’t seem at all opposed to it, but she didn’t sound particularly excited either.”

“There are benefits and disadvantages both I suppose,” Corlys mused. “On one hand, the Starks are a Great House with a storied history of kings and legends. They rule a third of the Iron Throne’s realm and are prestigious, powerful, and increasingly wealthy. Yet they are also remote and far from home, and with a culture that is quite different to ours.”

“I do think these thoughts are what are running through her head,” Irina agreed. “She’s just uncertain and worried about the change. She doesn’t want to leave home.”

“We all have to leave the nest one day,” Corlys said and Viserra scowled at the thought of her own children leaving the nest one day. She shook that thought away. There was still time.

“But I’m not at all unsympathetic to her worries. Could you tell her that Viserra and I would like to speak with her? Perhaps we might assuage her worries about it?” Corlys asked.

“I’m asking because Vaella is already eight and ten. Now that we have returned to Westeros, it is quite likely that Lord Stark will ask that we honor the betrothal. I am of a mind to send him a raven first in fact. Most probably, Vaella’s wedding would be before the year is out. We could take a trip up north for her wedding and see her off.”

“She’d like that.” Irina smiled. “I will tell her, thank you Corlys.”

“No problem Irina. Please do close the door on your way out,” Corlys told her.

As Irina left, Maester Desmond entered the room and Viserra smiled to see him. She liked Desmond, he had delivered all four of her children. His services to House Velaryon went back decades. Corlys had told her that he had played a key role in helping to found the original University of Driftmark. He was loyal and innovative, and went wherever they ordered him to. He had followed them to Tyrosh and back. He was one of a kind, quite literally. Desmond was perhaps the last Citadel trained Maester in the service of House Velaryon, all their other ‘maesters’ had only the title and had studied at the University instead.

“Your Excellency, Princess,” Desmond greeted before he handed them a stack of letters.

All of them were from various houses across Westeros, welcoming them back home and offering or suggesting so and so. She espied a letter from the Celtigars among them and noted to herself that she would definitely have to arrange a meeting with her friend Laena and introduce their children to each other sometime soon. Desmond however had placed by far the most important letter on top, one sealed by the three-headed dragon of House Targaryen.

“Thank you Desmond, you may go now,” Viserra said, dismissing him. Desmond bowed and left the room obediently.

Viserra reached for the letter and broke the seal before reading the contents and passing it to Corlys.

He looked to her. “Are we going?”

She nodded. “Obviously. We can’t let this opportunity slip us by.”

It was time for a little family reunion it seemed. Her mother Alysanne had invited them and their children for dinner on Dragonstone the following night and had confided that Baelon and Alyssa would be in attendance. Viserra was quite happy to hear that, and looked forward to seeing her mother and older siblings again. She was left feeling a bit cautious and apprehensive about who else her mother had said would be in attendance however; Rhaenys, Viserys, and their two children, Aegon and Rhaenyra.

Their return to Westeros had not gone unnoticed. Things were already beginning to move. The game was afoot.

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Author’s Note: I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Stay tuned for the impromptu family reunion with the Targaryens (some of them at least) next chapter!