As he dressed, Cadmus looked at the bed and saw Daenerys sleeping peacefully. She looked like an angel curled up under the sheets with the sun bathing her body. There was a blush on her cheeks and a comfortable look on her face.
Cadmus laughed and left the room; he began to place even more magical defenses, especially illusion spells in certain parts of the castle. Even if someone left the magical labyrinth, there would be another and another, creating the necessary time for him to return and solve the problems.
The second thing was to reinforce the castle walls, especially the walls of the four and pillars. The fight with Stregobor showed how destructive mages could be; he didn't want the castle to be destroyed during any fight.
The third thing was that now the castle was full of magical traps that activated upon sensing a magical presence different from his and Daenerys's.
The Court Mage spent a long time making the magical defenses, finishing only at noon, near lunch. When he returned to the room, he saw Daenerys sitting in front of a mirror while combing her hair. She was naked and looked at herself in the mirror with a concentrated gaze.
Approaching from behind, he was somewhat satisfied to see the old marks on her body. Just as Daenerys liked to mark him, telling the world he was hers, he also liked to mark Daenerys.
"Cadmus, I'm going to invite the ladies of the Riverlands for a tea party. You can go without worrying about me getting bored." Looking at her husband's reflection in the mirror, Daenerys said with a relaxed and comfortable tone. This was something she had already planned since she got married and, knowing her brother's plans to give all of Riverlands to Cadmus, she had to help with this enormous project.
Although these women do not possess power, they possess something more special: the ability to whisper in their husbands' ears and influence their decisions. It was the most basic ability of women in the world, at the same time, one of the most powerful.
She planned to help Cadmus in this way; after all, even if Rhaegar made House Peverell Lord Paramount of the Trident, some noble houses would be against the decision.
You might imagine that no one would be crazy enough to argue with Cadmus, but people were truly crazy and some didn't even fear death. Even with dragons and at the height of power, House Targaryen found it difficult to control the nobles.
Even House Tully, during the Dance of the Dragons, was quite arrogant, much less the nobles of the Riverlands. So, Daenerys planned to use these women to improve Cadmus's acceptance by his future vassals.
"Thank you for your hard work." Hugging the girl from behind, Cadmus gave her a strong kiss on the cheek and spoke with a genuinely happy tone. "I have the best wife in the world."
Daenerys wanting to help him was better than any other gift; it showed that the girl didn't just want to be a beautiful vase, she really wanted to help him.
Hearing his compliments, Daenerys smiled contentedly and looked at her husband through the mirror. Seeing his handsome face, she said softly: "Don't get too involved in the war, let mortals fight mortals."
In her eyes, Cadmus shouldn't personally get involved in the war; let humans kill each other. Cadmus's intervention would only make things worse, because, without hope, people usually go crazy.
Cadmus certainly knew Daenerys's concerns and didn't find the advice bad; he had no pleasure in killing mere mortals without a drop of magic. Apart from Mages and some Sacred Relics of the Gods' Apostles, he really wouldn't have a good fight getting involved with ordinary humans.
Fortunately, the Night King and his Army of the Dead were coming and he would have a much more satisfying war.
"I'm going, remember to eat well and try to train your magical control." Giving a soft kiss on Daenerys's sweet lips, Cadmus said gently: he really had to go to the Trident; if Rhaegar died because of some sacred relic, he would have some problems.
Especially with Aegon being crown prince, he felt that the boy would probably get a little arrogant when he became king.
"Have a good trip." Also kissing Cadmus's lips, Daenerys said with a touch of reluctance. As a newlywed, she wanted to spend every moment with Cadmus; being away from him was quite agonizing for her.
"Don't be sad; when we return, I'll let you ask for anything in bed." Looking into those beautiful purple eyes, Cadmus spoke with a smile. He knew more than anyone that Daenerys had some quite exotic fetishes.
The Lady of Harrenhal's cheeks couldn't help but blush at her husband's words; she discreetly looked at her husband and nodded.
Seeing this, Cadmus gave another kiss on Daenerys's lips and apparated. He felt that if he stayed longer, he would probably go back to bed with Daenerys.
—
The Trident is an important river in the Riverlands of the Seven Kingdoms. Formed by numerous smaller tributaries, it is one of the largest rivers on the continent of Westeros. It is a confluence of three main arms: the Red Fork, the Green Fork, and the Blue Fork.
Because of the shape of the junction of the three rivers, it was called the Trident. It was also the scene of countless wars on the continent of Westeros. The terrain was flat and there were no hills for an ambush or any other strategy.
It was the meat grinder of Planetos.
At that moment, the Trident was divided into two areas: one area with the sigil of House Baratheon and the other with the sigil of House Targaryen and Tyrell.
The number of soldiers was quite high. The armies of House Targaryen and Tyrell totaled one hundred and ten thousand men and spears. It was originally one hundred thirty thousand men, but twenty thousand men were with Prince Viserys in the Siege of Riverrun.
On the other hand, House Baratheon's army was about forty thousand men, plus the eighteen thousand men of the Golden Company, totaling fifty-eight thousand men.
Honestly, the discrepancy was enormous; House Baratheon was at a complete disadvantage against the enemy, with more than double the enemies.
At that moment, Robert, wearing his imposing armor and holding his warhammer, looked at the map before him with a calm expression.
"My foster father hasn't arrived." Robert spoke, pointing to the horses above the map, representing the forces of the Vale of Arryn. Then he pointed to Moat Cailin and spoke with a calm tone. "He's probably wary of the Northern Army, he fears that if he comes to the Trident, he will be attacked from the flank."
"That's a big problem, my lord." Selwyn Tarth, Brienne's father, spoke with a very calm and serene tone. "If we don't receive help from the Vale Cavalry, we will be slowly consumed by the Targaryen and Tully Army."
The lord of Evenfall Hall, the Evening Star, continued speaking with a calm tone. "We don't have enough men, we don't have enough food, and we don't have enough iron."
Robert didn't show much surprise at the words of the Lord of Evenfall Hall; the lord was right. They didn't have enough men, they didn't have the food that House Tyrell had, they didn't have the steel to repair swords, spears, and other things that were necessary for a prolonged war.
"With Lord Eddard at Moat Cailin, Lord Jon will have difficulty leaving the Vale safely." Selwyn showed a solemn expression.
The mention of the man he considered a brother made Robert's eyebrows furrow into an unpleasant expression. After the war ended and Lyanna officially married Rhaegar, Eddard practically withdrew from Southern affairs and also almost cut contact with him.
Robert could understand the reason that led Eddard to make such choices. On one side was her, on the other was the man he considered a brother. Instead of choosing a side, Eddard preferred to avoid contact with both sides.
However, in this war, Eddard was dissuaded by Cadmus and Rhaegar, leading the North to side with the Crown. Which tilted the balance of the war towards House Targaryen. With the North above him, whether Robert or Jon Arryn, they dared not show any weakness and were always cautious of an attack from the powerful Northerners.
Although the North is known for being barbaric, no one underestimated the power of the Northern army. They were men and women who survived the extreme climate of the North; no one was weak, even commoners had a decent level of power.
So, whether Robert or Jon, both were extremely cautious of the Stark Army guarding Moat Cailin.
Suddenly, a soldier appeared in the tent and handed a letter to Robert. The soldier's expression was quite tense and he spoke with an agitated tone: "My lord, urgent letter from our informants in the Riverlands!"
Robert wasted no time and opened the letter. He looked at the contents of the letter and the Lord of Storm's End's face darkened.
"Riverrun has fallen, Edmure Tully killed Hoster and Brynden Tully, taking the castle for himself, but, when he surrendered to Prince Viserys, he was imprisoned and his fate is unknown." Every word from Robert made the men around him fall silent.
House Tully had completely fallen. The war hadn't even officially begun and a Great Noble House had fallen. Not only that, it fell humiliatingly.
"Fortunately, Prince Viserys will not move his twenty thousand men; they will occupy Riverrun to block the passage of the Lannister Army." Selwyn said with a solemn tone. Although it was not the best option, it was better than facing another twenty thousand fully armed men.
Turning to look at the woman in red, Robert asked with a cold tone. "Can you kill Rhaegar?"
"If you grant me the honor of spilling your seed into my womb, I can create a weapon capable of killing the king." Melisandre had her hands on her belly and said with a respectful tone.
Everyone looked at Melisandre with fear; some even stepped back a few paces.
Selwyn looked at the Red Priestess with a grim expression, then looked at Robert with a solemn gaze. However, before they could advise Robert not to go down that path, he saw his Liege Lord nod and leave the tent with the Red Witch.
Renly, Robert's brother, looked at the scene with a slightly interested gaze; he felt that his chance to become the youngest Lord Baratheon.
—
Note: I just got the news that my cousin died. His wife simply locked him inside his house and set it on fire while he was still inside.
He suffered burns over 100% of his body and died in the hospital helicopter while it was still in the air.
All because of drugs. Honestly, I don't even know what to say. I know it's none of your business, I just wanted to vent a little.
(Rest in peace, Vitor.)
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