148- And so it all begins.

~~~Third Person, Tenth Moon, 277 AC~~~

~~~Winterfell, The North~~~

"Moat Cailin has been of the North and for the North for millennia, I will not see Southern people and outsiders take over a place so important to the North itself, and neither should you be, Rickard!" Karlon Karstark was the first to raise his voice, Karlon, lord of Karhold and father of Rickard Karstark, vehemently opposed to the idea of Moat Cailin falling into unknown hands.

Rickard, on the other hand, looked harshly at Lord Karstark, which caused Karlon to recognize that he had not acted most correctly, so he adjusted his tone of voice and spoke again, but now calmer; "You more than anyone know the importance of Moat Cailin, it is not just a fortress, it is the Fortress that has kept the North safe for millennia, to dispatch it in this way, would be nothing but an offense to all that this has meant to those generations that have lived safely behind the walls of Moat Cailin."

"Yes!"

"That's right, that's right!"

It was clear that Karlon's words gained recognition from the lords present, who did not hesitate to agree with what Karlon said. Rickard glanced briefly at the lords who supported Karlon's notion, among them were Lord Bolton, Lord Ryswell, and Lord Umber, which caused him to pucker his lips.

"I know very well how important Moat Cailin is to the North, but not for a moment do I want you to think that the life of one of my sons is beneath a fortress, were it not for the help given by King Jaesyrian, my son would be dead, and I swear to you, I would have given even Winterfell just to see him safe, so don't you dare put my decision on trial."

Those words set off a chain reaction that caused the lords who had previously been in denial at the thought of ceding Moat Cailin to calm down as they listened to a father put his children first. Gabriela, who had remained silent, decided it was the perfect time to speak.

"My king has offered thirty thousand gold coins as a token of good faith before House Stark, in addition to the help my king offered Lord Stark by gifting one of his potions to Brandon, the future lord of the North, my king is just and kind, and that is why he is willing to go up to fifty thousand gold coins, all as long as Moat Cailin, which already belongs to him, is his serenely and calmly."

"But fear not, my king does not want to leave you cut off from the rest of Westeros, so the passage through Moat Cailin to the south, will remain open to the Northerners, Moat Cailin could become the second city of the North, one that promotes the trade, wealth and control that make Xandar the Great such as it is, and that is why, I speak to you of another proposal."

While the Northern lords had been silent, it was clear that they were less than pleased, even after Gabriela explained what would happen with Moat Cailin and how this would benefit the North. At this point, only Rickard's presence kept 'order' in the Great Hall.

"Ships from the free cities of Essos located on the shores of the Narrow Sea, who wish to reach Westerland or the Reach, must pass through the Straits of Dorne, traveling the Stone Steps and exposing themselves to pirates, but my king, in his infinite wisdom, has devised a plan of action, which will not only bring benefits to the overall trade of the Seven Kingdoms but will bring a level of wealth at the expense of this trade from which the North will benefit greatly, since my king's idea, is to create a channel through the Neck."

This captivated the Northerners, while it was true that they did not like to get involved in Southern political issues, that did not mean they did not see the favor of such a canal for the North, especially the Reeds, who had their lands in most of the Neck.

"Who will pay for that? We are not fools to know that a construction of such magnitude will cost much gold, and the North does not have a friendly climate for men to work outdoors," Lord Bolton, one of the more enigmatic lords in the room and who had been reluctant at first with the idea of Moat Cailin's surrender, was more receptive now, whatever the reason for his change, he kept it to himself.

"Xandar, of course," Gabriela replied as if it were obvious, "while this conversation is to be had with the lords whose lands are the ones that will be used to create the Canal, it does not hurt to say a few things, the first thing, is that Xandar will take care of all the construction costs that the Canal will need, as well as the construction of the two bastions on both hemispheres of the Canal, both east and west."

"Following the agreement my king made with Lord Stark, the rights to the Canal will be under Xandarian control for a hundred years, this will represent aspects of its own that will have to be talked out to the extreme with the lords involved, such as lucrative payments for the purchase of the areas where the Canal will take place, but which will be beneficial to all as a whole."

Rickard took advantage of the moment of silence between everyone to steer the course of the conversation to what he wanted; "I know that Moat Cailin has belonged to the North for millennia, but you forget something, and that is that Moat Cailin belongs to the Starks, and I, as lord of Winterfell, have full right to decide what to do with it, and thanks to my choice, my son is still alive, so there will be no more talks about this".

The strong statements did nothing but fuel the silent anger of some lords, those who were not happy with how Rickard was handling things, in his interest in the south, and how that almost got the next lord of the North killed, still, the loyalty the vast majority had to him, (Lord Bolton aside) made them keep their comments to themselves, to the point of sitting around sipping their drinks.

Many were not happy with Rickard's interest in the South, and the ambitions he had, so much so, even to the point of marrying his firstborn to a Southern lady, instead of someone from the North, something that created several discontents among some Northern lords, among them, Lord Ryswell, who had hoped to engage his daughter Barbery to Brandon, especially after the secret that she had given her virginity to the young lord came to light.

But already the matter of the engagement was done, there was nothing that could be done that would come to change things, and it was a relief that the situation did not come to something more with the news of the Xandarian intervention in the North, that while they had been well received in the North due to the strong trade they brought to hard kingdom, that did not mean they were happy to see them meddling in the affairs of the North.

"As for the matter of the Canal, that is something I will discuss exclusively with House Flint, House Reed, House Manderly, and House Dustin, as these are the ones who will be mostly affected in some way by the Canal, and once something concrete is arrived at, it will be revealed to all the Northern lords, until then, I will not answer anything about the matter," Rickard called the Moat Cailin matter to a close, exasperated at being admonished for something he claimed was of interest only to him.

This was enough for the murmuring to stop, or at least not be heard as clearly as before, but that didn't mean they weren't present, waiting for the right moment to stand out again. "If that's all, then let's start with the reports of the progress in their lands..."

"Sprak!"

Rickard had not finished speaking when the oak doors of the Great Hall suddenly swung open, bringing a wave of discontent from several lords who did not take kindly to the interruption. "My Lord, news from Bear Island!" Maester Walys did not mind speaking his words loudly, going so far as to shout, for him, it was more important to get the urgent news across that the ravens had brought.

"My Lord, Bear Island has been attacked by the Greyjoy, the extent of the damage is unknown, but much of the island has been affected because of this, young Jorah has been wounded, and is bedridden," the maester's ominous words, which caused Rickard to sigh.

"What of Bear Island?" Jeor Mormont, the lord of Bear Island rose from his seat and asked in a curt but concerned tone. Rickard looked at him intently, then at the other lords in the Great Hall, "My lords, call the banners, the Greyjoys have just attacked the North, and a sea war may be coming to our shores."