Though I am called a man of honor, if I am honest with myself, I know that is not true. Over my long life I have made many mistakes. Take the situation with the Royces. What I did to Elena Royce could have brought rebellion to the Vale. Yet, by so miracle of the Seven, it all worked out.
The truth is that Rowena did fall ill with a cold, but a mild one. It would not have been enough to kill my wife. I never believed otherwise. Which ant soone had killed her.
The person most often responsible for a murder is the one who stands to gain the most from it. For every day after Rowena's death I searched furiously for the culprit, and before long the likely suspect made contact with himself. It was Robar Royce. After he told about Elena and Axel, I beca certain he was responsible for Rowena's death. I wanted to hang him. But one circumstance stood in the way: Axel. My son. I had always hoped to pass my legacy to a son of my own blood, but over the years that hope had slowly died. And then the Royces offered the chance to see it fulfilled. In the desire for vengeance over my wife struggled against the hope for an heir. Hope won. And so Robar was not hanged. Everything was for the sake of Axel's strong and stable rule.
...
Before traveling to Dorne there was a kingdom to stabilize. Lord Tywin, Lord Hoster, and I set ourselves to that task. In keeping with our agreent, Lord Tywin was already providing n, materials, and gold. The Riverlands had been stripped bare, and the Vale could only deliver adequate resources by sea, but the Targaryen fleet was in the way.
Together we purged the City Watch of the most devoted Targaryen loyalists, though after the storming of the city there was very little of the Watch left to speak of. With chaos reigning, criminals of every stripe had decided to try their luck. Soldiers from all the kingdoms were temporarily folded into the Watch, and Ser Brynden was nad Commander of the Gold Cloaks. He did outstanding work suppressing cri throughout the city. I would have liked to keep him in the post, but he declined. Before the wedding to Lysa I had arranged with Hoster that Brynden would beco commander of the garrison at the Bloody Gate, to prevent the mountain clans from raiding the Riverlands.
Then ca the planning, the rewarding of those who had distinguished themselves, and the sanctions against the defeated. Seven days it took, given how many people had taken part in the war. So were knighted, so received horses or armor, so knightly houses were raised to noble rank, and others received or lost villages, castles, and lands.
The Northerners were a problem. Robert, because of his quarrel with Ned, had seen to it that the North received few rewards or privileges. That could reasonably be taken as an insult. The North was one of the pillars on which the rebellion rested, and such obvious contempt would drive them away from Robert. The Vale and the Stormlands had been treated generously.
In those sa days I reestablished contact with the Eyrie. The first piece of news set my blood boiling: soone had tried to abduct Axel. When that failed they had tried to kill him, but were killed themselves. Before they died, however, they managed to poison him, and his almost-blind eye was lost entirely. He had pulled through. The maester assured that his life was not in danger. Who had tried to take Axel, and why? The question grew more complicated once the report of his "activities" arrived. It could have been Targaryen loyalists, disaffected vassals, or... or the Tullys. I found to my discomfort that Hoster Tully could easily have arranged it, to put his own blood in the seat of the Vale. It did not matter. My son was alive. That was what counted.
I had left him as the nominal Lord of the Vale, but it seed he had taken the charge rather too literally. Creighton had been master-at-arms at the Eyrie for fifteen years, and he was simultaneously thrilled by Axel's ideas and appalled by the bluntness with which they were carried out.
The sche for drawing out the mountain raiders was excellent, and well executed, but why terrorize the population and hang every suspected collaborator? One could have quietly seized a potential traitor, questioned him, and only then dealt with him. But marching people straight to the gallows... I could understand it: traitors are not loved. Yet it did nothing for the calm of the smallfolk, or for stability in general. Though in that matter I had more complaints for his councillors than for Axel. They were supposed to guide him and explain how to govern the Vale and keep him from questionable decisions. Instead they endorsed the hangings.
Then there was the matter of resource redistribution. Axel's lords cursed him for it, though the sa thing could have been done with a good deal more diplomacy. Handled that way, he might have won their loyalty and affection. As it was, only the combined strength of the Arryns, Royces, and Redforts kept his proud lords from telling him where to go. Though it could be corrected. His age could be made to account for much of it. So apologies to certain vassals would have to co later.
When I reached the part about the lords who had risen against us, a short laugh escaped before I could stop it, and then the realization settled in: Axel was a clever boy, but hard and undiplomatic. When I returned from Dorne I would have to see to his education properly. He had read plenty of the right books, but he could not yet apply what he had learned. There was also the matter of what to do with the rebels. They had been sitting in the sky cells for nearly half a year, which was doing nothing to endear them to House Arryn. The safest course was to send them to the Night's Watch.
I must not forget to send a raven to the Citadel. There were a few questions about Dorne I needed answered.
...
On the voyage to Dorne I tried to work out the shape of the conversation with the Martells. The whole situation sat badly with . In all likelihood they had Princess Rhaenys, but she could not be considered an heir to the Iron Throne while Viserys lived. No one but Dorne would march for a small princess. Prince Doran Martell, according to the Spider's reports, had been gathering his vassals but not an army. That gave so hope for a successful conclusion to the talks. Concessions would have to be made, since Dorne could not be held by the sword. Only agreents would hold it.
I was bringing the remains of Princess Elia, Prince Aegon with , hoping to take so edge off the anger of Dorne. It would have been simpler to hand them Clegane and Lorch, but that would have ant open confrontation with the Lannisters. The Lannisters were our primary allies in rebuilding peace across the Seven Kingdoms, and starting a quarrel with them for the sake of Dorne, which would never be our friend regardless, was not worth the cost. The one consolation was that Dorne had lost its entire army at the Trident and would not be in a position to make demands. Nor would we.
Dorne left no great impression on . Everything was as I had imagined: sand in all directions, scrubland here and there, and a rciless sun overhead. I understood now why no one had ever managed to conquer it. An army would perish before it ever ca to blows.
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