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Chapter 27 - Princess' Progress
🕑 Added 2025-07-13 15:46:10 +0000 UTCStorm Kingdom
Blackhaven
8 BAC
The first power loom of Blackhaven was assembled, and before the gazes of the spectators, it had woven a wool fabric at a pace far surpassing what the human hands could do.
Lord Darren Dondarrion was ecstatic at the sight, already planning to invest the coin he would earn from the fabric sale into more looms and sheep flocks, as well as other enterprises Ei had suggested, such as training more carpenters, seamstresses, and other artisans, along with fruit farms and alcohol production.
He was pleased at the initiative the lord of Blackhaven had taken to further enrich his lands rather than spend the coin on frivolous displays of wealth. Her next step was to visit the lands of houses Mertyns, Rogers, Wylde, and Estermont to assist with their glass production facilities, as well as to see what other improvements could be made to their lands.
Diversity was important, for a single source of income did not ensure the security of the land, nor the kingdom as a whole.
She had done much the same in other lands she had visited in her progress and would continue to do it.
—
Grain’s Port
Two weeks later she and her retinue had left Blackhaven for Stonehelm, and from there she would head to the Crow’s Nest of House Morrigen.
While on the lands of House Swann, she made sure to visit Grain’s Port for an inspection.
People of the growing port had gathered on the road upon hearing of her arrival and were throwing flowers at her carriage.
“Long live the Princess!” Screams of adoration rose from the crowd as the knights tried to maintain order to avoid any accidents. Ei unlocked the hatch to pull down the small window in the carriage and waved her hand at the people.
Lord Calum Swann pulled his horse next to the carriage. “They adore you, Princess.”
Ei gave the Lord of Stonehelm a dry look. “Truly? I couldn’t tell.” As well as an equally dry response. Calum Swann laughed it off, not offended in the slightest by the princess; in fact, he found her candid attitude to be quite refreshing.
She left the carriage before Lord Swann could offer to escort her, and surrounded by knights, Ei began to wander the port. There wasn’t much to see other than the usual sights, such as the markets, stalls, and ships, except for one thing.
“Come, come! See this magical creature yourself, all for a penny!” A plump man with a cane standing before a cage covered with a cloth called out, hitting his cane on the ground to draw more attention.
Usually Ei wouldn’t be interested in whatever faux creature the man claimed to have, but her senses convinced her otherwise. Whatever it was inside the cage, it had electro elemental energy, a slime most likely.
Handing a handful of silvers to the flustered man, Ei ordered him to open the curtain. Bowing at every step, the man hastily pulled the cloth down, revealing a small electro slime, which looked like it was going to slam onto the bars but stopped when it saw Ei, shaking like jello.
Ei turned her attention to the owner of the stall. “Where did you find it?”
“In the Stepstones, Princess, months after that storm killed everything on the islands.” Pirate presence on the islands was wiped out, along with everything else down to the plants. A baleful, constant storm had also gripped the islands, and going anywhere near it was a death sentence.
Arlos barely made it out of the island after the ship he was on was beached, though he had managed to take the little monster as a trophy and made good coin out of it.
Ah, so it was formed as a result of the elemental energy she released on the chain of islands. Not unexpected when she thought about it now.
Ei considered buying the slime, but it was harmless enough in that cage, and without a source of electricity, it would dispel by itself soon enough.
“Fascinating.” She turned and left the man to count his fortune, while Lord Calum watched her warily, because if the princess had nothing to do with that storm, then he was a Dornish snake. “I have never seen anything like that before.” He commented to gauge her reaction.
Ei turned her head to the lord, her face not betraying her thoughts. “I wager many have not.”
A non-answer.
Calum hated those, but the Princess was here to inspect his port and offer advice on how to grow it further, and hopefully invest coin as she had been doing, so the Lord of Stonehelm wasn’t going to ruin anything by being too curious.
—
The port was in an excellent position to export the goods produced in the Marches, so Ei had made a list of her suggestions, starting with increasing the size of the docks to accommodate more ships and widening the roads connected to the Marches, as well as starting a small shipyard that would eventually increase in size and scope.
Stonehelm did not have any shipwrights, so Ei would talk to Lords Tarth and Estermont to send some of their own in return for favorable prices for anything exported out of Stonehelm.
—
Crow’s Nest
Her next destination was the land of House Morrigen to see how the ink and paper production was coming along. By her estimation, these workshops should have started their operations around the time she was in Grain’s Port.
Of course that was without any setbacks, which had happened in the form of a fire that burned down the ink shop, and the construction had to start from the very beginning.
The paper press was fine, as there was a good distance between the buildings, and the fire was extinguished before it could reach there.
Lord Morrigen was apologetic, having offered to cover the new expenses from his own coffers, though Ei instead told him to dig wells near the workshops and fill them with rainwater to be used in case of emergencies and to send orders to the rest of the lords of the realm to do the same.
It wouldn’t do for all their efforts to be undone because they were not prepared for fire.
The remaining workshops were not affected, so they were on track. Uncut jewels were bought with an initial investment by her and would be paid back slowly over a long period of time as they were turned into proper jewels and sold. Ei did not personally need coin and preferred to use what she earned for the betterment of her people, except when she was working on something and needed to buy raw materials.
Crow’s Nest was an apt name for the castle, as it had high towers with battlements that resembled a nest, most likely as a defensive measure against any potential siege.
Ei only spent a handful of days in the castle. Lord and Lady Morrigen were extremely hospitable, having brought bards and mummers for her and a wide array of desserts.
She especially enjoyed pancakes that were prepared, much to her hosts’ delight.
—
Cape Wrath
Mistwood
Her next destination was the lands of House Mertyns. Mistwood had large, grey walls protecting it, and her welcome was calm compared to others, a refreshing change from the usual fanfare.
Lady Mertyns had passed away some years ago from an illness, so it was Lord Caden’s eldest unwed daughter, Lady Lyra Mertyns, who was responsible for the household.
The Lord of Mistwood was a calm and collected person and an avid lover of books, a rarity among the nobility of the Storm Kingdom. After two days of resting and conferring with Caden Mertyns on the state of his lands, as well as on what subjects they read, Ei had left for the town that would house the workshops.
—
The small town that was under construction near the shore where the glassblowers would work had received the interest of other lords, and already several buildings were ready for use, including two inns, a dozen houses, and a single glass blowing workshop where the man she had taught would practice his craft and train his own students.
Her carriage also had been surrounded by people again, grateful to see their princess.
The first sale of Glasstown’s glass product, as it was called by the residents, was to Ei. She bought a series of glass cups and a large mirror to infuse coin into the town’s economy, in addition to visiting several stalls.
Her shopping so far, from Grain’s Port to Crow’s Nest and Glasstown, had necessitated a wagon to carry all the load to Weeping Town to be shipped to Storm’s End.
One issue she had with Glasstown was the roads. Whoever had paved them must have rushed, because the carriage had shaken more than usual, and Ei left it halfway to walk.
She had requested Lord Mertyns to have the roads fixed.
The town’s planning had been done well to promote organized growth rather than the usual haphazard towns built with no thought for the future in mind.
—
Amberly
The seat of House Rogers was named after the large deposits of valuable amber found around the forests surrounding the castle, from which they earned a small fortune each year.
Lord Eamon Rogers was as eccentric as his house’ coat of arms, which was nine silver unicorns around a silver maze on black. Ei didn’t have a problem with the lord’s personality, and traversing the maze was a pleasant experience.
She had also visited the amber deposits, with Lord Eamon gifting her several valuable pieces. She could use them as ornaments on her clothes or turn them into jewelry to be gifted, depending on her mood.
The glass workshop had been completed ahead of her projection, as Lord Rogers had poured a good amount of silver into it, all due to the amber trade.
She had also received a letter from her father, who had sent it via a raven just in time for it to reach Amberly before Ei left. Her stepmother, Selena, was pregnant, and a celebration would be held in honor of that when she finished her progress and returned.
Her father’s happiness could be felt through the letter, though whether it was at having a possible heir or another child was yet to be seen.
The news had the occupants of the castle already celebrating, hoping for a prince who would secure the Durrandon line. Ei would have been offended, but she didn’t care, so she had simply shrugged at their words.
Having a sibling, on the other hand, even if he or she would be a mortal, and Ei, an immortal god, had made the Electro Archon restless. Her thoughts were conflicting; on one hand, knowing the child would grow old in the blink of an eye for her, yet having more family members sounded nice.
In her experience, sharing blood did not make family when the individuals had no bonds between them.
For now, Ei would just wait.
—
Riverlands
Harrenhal
Harren “The Black” Hoare, King of the Isles and Rivers, frowned as the spy they sent as a trader reported back on the goings of the Storm Kingdom. With their Iron Works and new sources of coin, he had no doubt old Argilac was making preparations to take back the Riverlands.
At his own peril, of course.
He had another idea in mind for the Storm Kingdom. Argella Durrandon was the source of the Storm Kingdom’s newfound wealth, and removing her from the table would put a damper on Argilac’s ambitions.
However, her current whereabouts were unknown, as she was apparently on a trip, and only a select few knew where she would be.
Dismissing the spy, he focused on the map before him, plotting. If he could not kidnap Argella Durrandon, then he would weaken the Storm Kingdom through other means.
Turning to his eldest son, Harwyn, he ordered him to prepare a small number of ships consisting of the best captains and crews they had.
