Chapter 8: Rise a Knight!

It felt cold, far too cold for his liking but there was no other option but to bear the cold. He was not so keen to move this early in the morning but Ser Addison was the one to lead their company. So the Kingsguard Knight's word was law and even a prince was bound to follow that order.

Thus Rhaegar found himself on the road well before first light. This has been the norm in the following week after he started his journey from the fishing village. While the cold was not as intense as a wintery night he felt the intensity of cold was rising day by day. Perhaps winter was nearby lurking in wait before unleashing its wrath to cull the populace of Westeros.

For a large continent, Westeros is hardly populated and population disparity is huge between the various regions of the continent. The Reach was unsurprisingly the most populated region followed by Westerlands, the Vale, the Riverlands, the Crownlands, the Stormlands, the North and the Iron Islands.

But this was soon going to change. The Riverlands was as fertile as the Reach but with constant warfare, the region was always destabilized. That would change with the Targaryen rule and decades of peace and minimal self-governance was bound to make Riverlands prosper. The same could be said for the Crownlands.

He had designs on a piece of land in Riverlands. Not just because he wanted some land to his name but he saw the piece of land as a way to curb any future Targaryen conquest of Dorne. He wanted Crownlands to be a giant trading hub but at the same time, he wanted to marginalize Dorne. Dorne's greatest asset is its trade with Lys, Volantis, Summer Islands and other eastern provinces of Essos.

Dorne's geographical position allowed this trade to flourish and he hoped to subvert this advantage from the desert principality. A canal connecting the Blue Fork to the Ironman's Bay should attract more trade. More ships would prefer the route instead of going around Dorne to reach Oldtown and Lannisport. Theoretically, this canal should increase trade in Crownlands, Riverlands, Vale, Westerlands and the Reach. The one who owns the canal will get incredibly rich and become one of the most powerful lords. He hoped to be the owner of that canal and he hoped to build a city near that canal.

This was his dream project but there were a lot of hurdles before he could even start this massive undertaking. He had to first ensure King's Landing was properly built to start this project. Then there was the funds and manpower to think of. The canal itself was going to cost a fortune and building a new city was going to be another headache. All of this requires manpower which the Riverlands lacked at the moment. If workers could be called in from other kingdoms then it may be possible.

This was the reason why he was very keen on surveying the lands of every kingdom sworn to the Iron Throne. The present taxes paid to the Iron Throne was a pittance compared to the annual revenue of some of the major lords of the realm. The Riverlands and Crownlands need time to regain their economy as the war of conquest and other wars fought on these lands were costly.

This is why Rhaegar was keen on raising taxes on major cities and some of the more affluent lords of the Reach and Westerlands. The crown needed funds to connect all the lands it controls. The best way to do that is to build better transportation. While he was no fan of Jaehaerys Targaryen but the guy had the right idea to build roads. Economically connecting the kingdoms was the way forward in keeping the peace and it is good for the prosperity of the masses.

When the Crown sponsored works would commence it would require enormous spending. But he had a plan to cycle the capital back into the coffers and that was by promoting local businesses and establishing a smooth system of taxation.

Again this circle back to increasing taxes on highly affluent lords. In the Reach alone there were too many affluent lords not to mention the political yoke they hold over the Iron Throne was a danger in his eyes. The Reach was the cultural capital of Westeros for a long time, there was no doubt about that. House Hightower alone had influence over the two most influential organizations of Westeros. The taxes were the first step in diminishing the power of the Reach. He had plans, dangerous plans but that would require time, influence and a lot of work.

"You are hard at thought my prince. What bothers you so?" asked Baelium who had carefully managed to flank Rhaegar.

"Ah, just thinking about all the work that remains to be done." He said shaking himself out of thoughts

"I believe those maesters and tax collectors with the King would do a fine job. There is no need for you to worry about everything my prince." said Baelium

"Oh, I am not worried." which was a blatant lie as he didn't trust any of the Grey Rats that hung around his father. "I think there is much to learn by observing the maesters and tax collectors at work."

"What is there to know? They just go around village after village and collect taxes." said Baelium as if that was obvious.

"Yes, but how? Are all the villages taxed equally? Is it based on the acres of farmlands? Or is it based on yearly produce? Or is it based on just coin made by the lord of the land?" he fired off question after question only to receive an incredulous stare from Ser Baelium.

"To my knowledge, the lords collect the taxes and the king tax the lords." said Baelium

"Not exactly true Ser Brune." Ser Addison pitched in and Rhaegar just wondered how the Kingsguard knight sneaks into his conversations.

"What do you mean?" asked Baelium with a frown.

"While what you say is true to some extent. But I believe the King intends to overhaul this system."

"Truly! Won't the lords protest? After all, no lords would prefer the Crown interfere in their lands." Baelium pointed out.

"The Crownlands will be the first to be affected by this reform. The other kingdoms not so much." said Ser Addison with a shrug.

"Where did you learn this Ser?" Rhaegar asked as he frowned at the Kingsguard Knight.

"I am surprised you have not been informed, my prince. I assumed you were told." said Ser Addison now looking quite troubled as the knight realised that he spilt a secret of his King.

"This is the first that I am hearing of this. I just assumed father intended to survey the lands and raise taxes of affluent lords." said Rhaegar and then went silent as he quietly pondered the issue.

On one hand, it was stupid of him to not learn the current method of taxing. While he knew the lords were the ones that collected the taxes from their land holdings he had assumed that the crown had established a certain percentage of taxes to each region. He knew the Crownlands paid taxes according to the size of land held by the lords. He just assumed this was the case for every other region.

This was one more shortcoming that he saw in his kingly father. The inability to properly communicate Aegon's intentions was famous in the court. The only person that his father interacted openly was with Orys Baratheon who is sadly holed up in Storm's End after the Dornish War.

He berated himself for not looking deeper into the matter. He should have had a word with his aunt Visenya before this trip. The only reason that he did not do so was because of the awkwardness to face the Queen. Not to mention he always felt intimidated in her presence.

A drop of water fell on his forehead jolting him out of his thoughts. He looked to the sky and to his disappointment it was beginning to rain. Already they were delayed because of repeated rains in their journey. It seems like they were not going to catch a break.

Due to bad weather and muddy roads they were further delayed two days to reach their destination. But when they did reach Stonebridge a large crowd had gathered to welcome them into the castle.

For Rhaegar this was not a new occurrence. Along the way to Stonebridge, many villages had welcomed them to stay. He found no reason to decline the offer as the weather was hardly perfect for travel. Apparently, he was getting some fame for slaying the Black Septon from the Smallfolk. He approved that as this was the reason he went on that suicide mission. He was never going to pull a stunt like that again as he had stared death in the face at that moment and only luck saved him from the grip of death.

His attention shifted to the guards of House Caswell arrayed on either side of the road holding the banner of a yellow centaur. The guards were doing a good job of keeping the Smallfolk in order and giving his retinue a clear path to the castle. Nonetheless, he could hear some chanting being picked up from the Smallfolk but he could not pinpoint exactly what that was as he was forced to speed along with his entourage.

Ser Baelium and Ser Addison flanked him and they were quickly announced to enter the court held by his father. Rhaegar was a little nervous and annoyed that Aegon was holding a court promptly. When the herald called his name he walked in, head held high despite the weariness of his travel.

Rhaegar walked into a hall of the main keep of the castle and he found his father Aegon sitting at a table on the far end. He walked forward and at some point, he noticed that Ser Addison and Baelium fell back a few paces behind.

"Your grace."

Rhaegar knelt and bowed his head showing deference to his father and king. He was aware that the hall was filled with lords, knights and other important people.

"Rise my son. Tales of your battle against the bandits that plagued the Mander have reached our ears. You have performed admirably befitting the title of a royal prince." proclaimed Aegon in a powerful voice and Rhaegar could see how pleased Aegon was right now.

"I did my duty and I had help from Ser Addison, Ser Baelium and many other fine knights."

"Yes, you did. Yet you slew the bandit leader in single combat and brought an end to the reign of terror of this outlaw." said Aegon with pride evident in his voice before turning to address Ser Corlys Velaryon. "A fine deed won't you say Ser Corlys?"

"Yes your grace. A deed worthy of knighthood even if the prince is young." said Ser Corlys to Rhaegar's surprise. He was not the only one that was surprised by this proclamation as the people in the hall began to murmur excitedly at the events unfolding before their eyes.

"Then you may do the honours Ser."

Rhaegar looked up to meet the blue eyes of Ser Corlys that gave nothing away of his personal opinions on the matter. After all, it was unheard of to knight someone so young and Ser Corlys was a well-renowned knight.

Rhaegar felt the weight of the blade on his shoulder and the oath of a knight was recited. He never imagined that he would be knighted this early. A tourney, he expected but becoming a knight, that was something he thought was in the future.

So when the rites of knighthood were finished he rose to the applause of many in the hall. He was congratulated by many and was led to the high table to sit with his father. Then the bards began to sing their songs.

Hearing the songs Rhaegar realized that his father was well prepared. On one hand, he applauded the candid political move from his father yet a part of him felt like he didn't deserve the title. But that negative thought was carefully pushed down and he engaged in small talk with Robert Caswell the heir of Stonebridge while keeping an ear out on the bards.

With the darkest of mind

and blackest of hearts

lived a beast, in the skin of a man.

Red he drank, blood or wine

red he reaped, heads or limbs

with a heart as black as night.

For the Stranger, he lived

For the Stranger, he sinned

Until a Dragon roared 'No more!'

Stars stood witness

And so did the Mander

as the silver dragon slew the beast.

On, the dragon went

To kneel before the King

Only to rise a knight, as Dragonknight!