Snake in Wolf's Clothing

Chapter 5

~.~

285 AC, Winterfell.

I returned to Winterfell and was pleasantly surprised that the improvements I had ordered were already implemented and the farmlands expanded. I had to deal with another problem that would quit possibly affect all my plans.

The North was almost half the size of Westeros. Almost 80% of the available lands were abandoned with no population to sustain it. With a population of a measly 50,000 in a huge land, it wasn't surprising. I had to draw people into the North somehow. My answer to that was a new huge building built right next to Winterfell that would, in the future, be connected to my new Citadel. The Research Facility was built with my new 'invention' concrete, coupled with beams made of Damascus steel that I taught to the smiths. The whole facility was built in no time. A library rivaling the size of the citadel was placed inside. I 'invited' learned people who couldn't forge their chains, bound them using secrecy spells coupled with specific knowledge implanted in their minds and their loyalty was absolute. However, that was all for show. I couldn't very well introduce 50 inventions in a month and pass it off as intelligence. So with my concrete made, research facility finished, a census that was completely inaccurate and proper mapping used by ward stones placed all around the North, We began the North's (read; Lord Brandon's) revolution.

The wards provided us with accurate information and an interactive map of the entirety of the North. Exactly 60,000 able-bodied persons lived in the North. While I was in fact the highest authority in the North, I couldn't just introduce outlandish techniques and order them all to implement them with the threat of Winter. So in a fit of intelligence, and the not so subtle reminder of my first follower, I apparated back to Winterfell, charmed the farmlands with ridiculously basic Herbology spells, mainly spells that softened the brittle soil of the North. I sent a raven to uncle Benjen with specific instructions; the smiths were to make steel plows with blueprints I provided, pipes made of clay were to be installed to help draining the fields around Winterfell, the land would be divided into 3 fields; 2 fields were sown with crops using seed drills, also provided in blue prints, while the last one had turnips grown.

By the time I had returned, they had already harvested land and lo and behold, by the new techniques Lord Stark implemented, we had almost 3 times the output compared to the old ways. Farmers were praising me and I began preparing for the harvest feast.

It took almost 2 months for all the Lords to arrive, I used those two months, generally looking for unclaimed cattle all around westeros and slowly trickling it into the North, domesticating them and housing them in proper houses.

The feast was not just any feast; it was also time for the lords to renew their vows of fealty to me.

After taking their oaths of fealty which really was a formality, I asked them to settle down because I had some news to announce.

"Most of you know that I have spent the last year forging chains in the Citadel," I intoned coldly.

"And that is relevant to the harvest feast in what way exactly my lord?" whispered Roose Bolton.

I still have not decided what Bolton's fate was going to be. The Boltons have been rebelling against Stark Lords since the building of the Wall. On the other hand, Roose greatly reminded me of Lucius and could prove to be a valuable asset, a thought for another time.

"By implementing new methods and techniques, we have managed to increase the production rate of Wintertown almost three-fold," I continued "Should each Lord implement those methods to his lands, the North would become entirely self-sufficient and we wouldn't have to rely on those fucken southerners ."