Sigh... well we are going to have to very carefully handle Mace Tyrell. Try and find something to give him a win on. I guess it was too much to hope that we could not have Freys everywhere.
I have an Idea, but you might not like what I'm about to offer.
It involves some murder... and some ego boosting in the Stepstones. Along with possibly making Mace the Ace, or another member of the Tyrell family a high-ranking member of court.
Whew... that's much better. Now we have a net income of over 300,000 Dragons, so we can afford to spend some money on things like Brown Bile. On the one hand, it'd be very very nice if we could renegotiate the Tyrell debt... on the other hand maybe it's worth letting the Tyrell's win that one? It'd be nice if there was some way to make it so that our actions on that debt can be leveraged to improve the relationship with the Tyrells.
Alright...
But I think it would be better to start repairing our city instead of trying to renegotiate the debts with Mace the Ace.
Unless we lower the debt and increase the interest rates as a counter.
I'll take the DC decrease and be grateful for it. Try again I guess.
Well, I will, but I will also try something more adventurous.
I really want to have a royal Progress. Make us look like a Wise king then a Mad one.
Ugh... that makes the DC 95 I think. Probably not going to try this again right away.
I think we're going to need some spynetworks.
Well, Lysa probably hates for taking her son away, so I wouldn't doubt Littlefinger has her help, but I suspect he's hiding elsewhere. Too many in the Vale know what he looks like.
I'm guessing in the Free cities.
This will be interesting.
Dragon Lore? Viserys is the Prince that is promised?
Another fucking Prophecy?!
Hmmm... It might make sense to send a portion (a seventh?) of the Gold Cloaks to serve at the Wall for... say a year?
Eh... that kinda defeats the purpose of the Nights Watch. They serve the Wall for life... and having a rotating guard serving for a few tours of duty would make the Watch even weaker, as people won't want to serve for life.
It would however be great for a basis of a Royal Army, with an annual tour of duty, like America does in its bases all over the world.
Only instead of foreign nations, the Wall is technically an autonomous zone that is protecting the Nation from outsiders.
it'd be a way to get some more men on the walls, establish that the King will send his forces to help defend the wall, and most importantly give us some more direct insight into what exactly the Night's Watch needs in men, materials, and the status of their castles. (How big are the Gold Cloaks? I can't find that information.)
Last I checked (and I can't source the page number) but in Game of Thrones, Robert and later Joffery double the size of the city watch for his tournament, and the war of Five Kings using mercenaries and lowering recruitment standards...
and that number was significant at like 10,000 I think?
I can't remember, there was never an exact number and it was only ever given a vague number by Tyrion, Bronn and Cersai.
It would also give Aegon a chance to meet Aemon, which would be nice - and maybe we can swing getting Jon Snow to tag along too? Aemon would like that.
If Aegon asked ned to bring Jon, then maybe he could...
But Remember, Aegon is the head other city Watch, not an underling, he has to be in the city until he has a reputation or under our orders.
Maybe another thing we could do is arrange for men to serve a sort of apprenticeship at the wall?
That wouldn't work either.
They want people to stay life, as it is a duty of sacred honor, and of duty to the realm.
For things like blacksmithing, stoneworking, account keeping, heck everything the Stewards do, those are valuable skills. Something like ten years service, and afterwards the crown provides them with a gift of gold to help them establish their own shop?
Most of the Gift give their harvest to the Watch, so they do not have to expend resources and manpower to farming the land, and instead make sure their fortifications are up to snuff, along with their men being well drilled and trained.
Of course we wouldn't attract anyone from established families, but we'd get a bunch of orphans, and others that have ambition but no resources. Probably aim for 12 to 16 year olds. And it'd provide the builders with more manpower, while also providing the realm with more skilled workers. Some of the more physically promising ones could even "apprentice" to the Rangers, gaining skill in fighting, tracking, and woodsmanship - which ought to get them a place in a household guard.
If we're sending boys to the wall, we're not getting them back, unless they volunteer and chose not to swear the oath.
Because then we have to pay for them to come back and recruit them.
But the idea has merit, I will give you that.
Dany is our... Princess after all! (I could have used the Queen joke if we married her.)
Good work Jaime, now back to your day job of cleaning up the shit.
Jaime is the MVP, change my mind!
"Let other's wage war, you happy Austria, marry!"
Umm... I don't think the Frey's are inbred enough to be the Hapsburgs... that's more our stick.
Since in canon Jaime says he wanted to be Arthur Dayne, but somehow got twisted up and became the Smiling Knight instead, I think this is actually a sign of how much better this life is for Jaime than canon.
And worse...
Being a man of honor and duty is hard. That he also regrets a few actions that he made and is depressed makes him all the more human.
And better for his own actions.
