It took more than two days to ride from Highgarden to Oldtown, and many travelers chose to push a little further each day, reaching their destination in two days. But William, who cherished his warhorse, had been a squire for years and was quite skilled at horsemanship. He carefully controlled the pace of his horse, ensuring the animal had enough rest. Though they arrived near Oldtown the previous evening, he chose not to rush into the city. Instead, he found a small village to rest overnight and resumed his journey the next morning.
As he rounded a bend in the mountains, a tall tower appeared in the distance, reaching for the sky. The flames atop it burned brightly, casting light like a second sunrise.
That was the Spire, the tallest structure in the Seven Kingdoms, a lighthouse that guided travelers through the mists.
Upon seeing its towering outline, William felt a sense of homecoming. Strictly speaking, he had only spent a few months in Harrenhal, but he had lived in Oldtown for six years. Compared to the cold, oppressive aura of Harrenhal, he preferred this ancient city, fragrant with the scent of blooming flowers.
As the light from the Spire was overtaken by the sun, William saw the city walls of Oldtown and the countless sails on the Honeywine River. Ships were constantly moving back and forth, transporting goods into the city and shipping wares from as far as Essos and beyond. Large-scale trade relied heavily on water transport, while local merchants and residents arrived by cart, making the city gates bustling with activity. William wove through the crowd, making his way forward.
Oldtown was a maze of narrow winding streets, crowded markets, narrow alleys, and densely packed stone houses. Even longtime residents occasionally got lost in its tangle of passageways. Once inside the city, William let his horse roam freely, enjoying the view of the endless shops and bustling crowds, savoring the quiet amidst the city's vibrancy.
He followed the streets along the Honeywine River to the large stone bridge closest to the Spire, then turned onto a narrow cobblestone path leading to a quieter residential area. The streets here were less crowded, and the shops were replaced with houses. As the noise of the city faded, William soon reached a small house, its front yard neatly tended with trimmed flowers and green trees that partially hid a three-story stone building. This was William's home in Oldtown.
He never knew exactly when or how his father, Walter, and his sister, Minisha, had passed away, but William had arranged for them to visit Oldtown from time to time. The year after arriving in the city, he had invited his family to visit, pretending to miss his mother and sister. They rented this house, and after winning two championships at the first tournament he participated in, plus his "careless" collection of ransom from defeated opponents, William earned over 20,000 silver stags. When he asked Walter to help buy the house, Walter, thrilled by William's victories, generously gave him 30,000 silver stags. Ultimately, William spent 50,000 silver stags (roughly around 14 million in modern currency, though the exchange rate fluctuated) to purchase the house.
For the past few years, his family had stayed here whenever they visited Oldtown, and William frequently came to study magic. While, technically, as a squire to Gals Hightower, he was supposed to stay at the Hightower residence, he had worked hard in his training (for "restoration" purposes), which pleased Gals greatly. His thirst for knowledge also led him to attend classes at the city's learning halls. As the heir to a noble family, Gals couldn't object to his frequent late nights out. In the end, Gals turned a blind eye to William's behavior.
When William arrived at the house, a servant quickly opened the door. "Welcome back, my lord!"
William nodded at him. "Hello, Ragno." Ragno, in his early thirties, along with his wife, had come from one of the free cities across the narrow sea and had worked for the family ever since they rented the house.
Dismounting and handing the reins to Ragno, William walked toward the house. He was surprised to see two figures in beaded robes, their pale skin and blue lips standing out. They were both thin, with hollow cheeks and eerie smiles. It was Glop Vati Dyth and Moken Rota—William's occult advisors and assistants. If nothing had changed, they should still be in Harrenhal, working on William's industrial reform plan.
With House Hoare losing much of its land, its military forces had also shrunk, but William needed to gain enough military credit during the War of the Five Kings. A smaller army was a problem. The typical solution in Westeros would be to either expand territory or engage in trade, but both options had their own risks. The first thing William thought of was forging Valyrian steel.
He believed the main issue with forging Valyrian steel was the lack of a method for imbuing magic into the material. After testing with the Valyrian steel from Maester Marwyn, he was confident he could imbue it with magic. William thought that as long as he had the right method, he could forge Valyrian steel. Even with the learning halls' materials and the help of the two male witches, all their attempts had failed. They only managed to create strange, unusable substances. William was frustrated, but the witches were elated—they had created something imbued with magic, which was a significant achievement for them.
This made William suspect that they might have realized he had magic after all.
With magic experiments failing, William naturally turned his attention to industry. Harrenhal had five giant castles, but the Hoare family only used two of them, leaving the other three abandoned. He figured they could be repurposed for factories. So he began preparing, researching industrial techniques at the learning halls, discussing with scholars, and coming up with a plan for a steam-powered workshop. He even convinced Dr. Moras, an expert in mechanics, to help solve production problems. However, since Harrenhal was located on the northern shores of the God's Eye Lake, there was no natural water source to power the machines. This led him to study steam engines.
He discovered that the learning halls had previously studied steam engines but abandoned the idea due to sealing problems. After creating a rubber-like substance while working on the Valyrian steel experiments, he tested it and found it solved the sealing issue. This success renewed his confidence in the steam engine project. However, when Dr. Moras heard that magical items had been used in the project, he stopped taking an interest in the steam engine. Fortunately, Glop and Moken eagerly volunteered to improve the steam engine, and though William had initially doubted their ability to combine magic and science, their work was promising. This proved that magic and technology could indeed complement each other.
A couple of years ago, funds were tight, and the project remained on paper. But after winning a large sum from the tournament last year, William could finally make the project a reality. Fortunately, the groundwork had been laid. Earl Walter was enthusiastic in his support, and providing a tower was a form of waste reclamation. But putting manpower behind the project was a real show of support. Dr. Moras and the witches personally came to Harrenhal to help with the machines' installation. William had heard through letters that things were progressing smoothly: the water pools were built on the western tower, the lower levels were converted into textile and forge workshops using water-powered machinery, and the steam engine had been installed.
Putting aside his confusion, William approached the witches. "Glop, Moken, it's good to see you both."
"Greetings, my lord," they replied, bowing respectfully. Glop had long known William's true identity, but still, he insisted on addressing him as "my lord."
Their Westerosi was never great, so William always spoke with them in Valyrian, a language he had grown more fluent in. After exchanging pleasantries, they entered the living room and sat down. William asked, "Did something go wrong with our plan, Glop?"
"No, my lord. At least when we left, everything was proceeding as planned. The steam engine continuously pumps water to the western tower's pool, the textile workshop is producing good-quality cloth, and the forge is using water hammers to crush ores and press armor." Glop sounded proud. While Dr. Moras always emphasized that it was a mechanical engineering achievement, it was clear that magic played a crucial role.
William relaxed, though his tone was still curious, "Then why did you suddenly come back to Oldtown?"
Glop leaned closer to William and whispered, "My lord, we found something in the secret room of a forsaken tower in Harrenhal." He pulled a beautifully crafted vanity box from his sleeve and opened it. A surge of magic burst out, cold and sharp as ice.
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