The sea breeze of Claw Isle carried a bone-chilling cold, slapping against the cliff walls of Hollow Hill Keep with a wailing sound.
Inside the council chamber of this ancient castle, which House Brune had guarded for generations, the hearth fire burned brightly, yet the atmosphere was more stagnant and oppressive than the howling wind outside.
Around the long table, all the registered nobles of Claw Isle were gathered—House Crabb of Whispers, House Brune of Hollow Hill Keep, as well as the Boggs, Hardys, Pynes, and others, all sitting together.
The firewood in the fireplace crackled, and the dancing flames reflected on solemn and silent faces; no one was the first to speak.
The root of this hesitation and fear was singular: after Aegon Targaryen took King's Landing, his first decree targeting the nobility was to publicly announce the abolition of the hereditary privileges of the old aristocracy.
"Stop the silence," finally, the patriarch of House Brune, a middle-aged man with gaunt cheeks and sharp eyes, was the first to break the suffocating quiet.
His brows were knit together, his fingers unconsciously tapping the oak table, his voice filled with uncontrollable anxiety:
"Prince Aegon's new policy has been proclaimed to the world. The private armies, summary justice, and autonomy over hereditary fiefs of the old nobility are all to be reclaimed by the crown. It's there in black and white, plain as day. How should we, the clans of Crabs Claw, conduct ourselves?"
He scanned every face at the table, his tone becoming more direct, almost with a self-destructive sharpness: "For generations, what have we relied on to gain a foothold in this harsh land?"
"Wasn't it those noble privileges? Being able to raise armies, collect taxes, and manage our own territories according to our own rules! Now, as soon as he arrives, he wants to abolish all of it! Who wouldn't be panicked?"
"If we submit rashly, I fear we won't even be able to keep our remaining lands and titles, and we'll be reduced to commoners! That is the reason everyone is sitting here and not daring to say a word!"
These words were like a stone thrown into stagnant water, instantly creating ripples.
A short, stout man with a thick beard from House Boggs immediately nodded heavily, the anxiety on his face nearly overflowing:
"Lord Brune is absolutely right! This isn't reform by Aegon; this is tearing out the roots of us nobles! Yes, those minor lords in The Reach and the Stormlands haven't been dragged out to be beheaded yet, but look closely—their powers were stripped long ago!"
"Private armies taken, the right to enfeoff gone, even how much tax to collect on their own land now depends on the mood of King's Landing!"
He became more agitated as he spoke, his fist slamming onto the table: "We in Crabs Claw are too close to King's Landing! Dragonstone is right across the sea! If we bow and submit, we'll be meat on the chopping block, at his mercy. The power passed down for generations will vanish in an instant! But if we don't submit..."
His voice lowered, tinged with fear: "With his current military strength and that damned dragon, flattening our dilapidated castles would be a matter of a single day! We can't move forward or back; that's the hardest part!"
Lord Hardy and Lord Pyne looked at each other, both seeing the same misery on the other's face.
Hardy was a white-haired elder; he sighed, his voice raspy: "What Boggs said is the heart of the problem for all of us."
"Aegon is determined to abolish the rules of the old nobility. How can we remote small clans compete? Dragons? Or our few hundred Soldiers who can't even scrape together decent armor? But to give up... to lose the rights passed down by our ancestors just like that, who could be content with it?"
Lord Pyne chimed in, a gloomy-faced middle-aged man: "What if we aren't content? Which of the great lords everywhere isn't waiting and watching? What moves have the Starks, Arryns, or Lannisters made? The Tyrells sent a daughter to King's Landing, supposedly for an audience, but who knows if she's a hostage?"
"Even they are hesitating. What can we small fry do besides wait and see? Let's see which way the wind blows."
The council chamber fell into silence again, with only the crackling of the fire and the wailing of the sea breeze against the high windows. Despair, resentment, and fear, like thick ink, soaked into everyone's hearts.
Only the person sitting at the end of the long table had an expression completely different from the others.
It was a youth of sixteen or seventeen, his frame still appearing slight, wearing a simple dark old coat, his short golden hair shimmering under the firelight.
He was the current lord of House Crabb of Whispers.
Among the room full of gloomy and hesitant patriarchs, he was the only one sitting upright, his eyes clear and determined.
He listened quietly to the fearful and complaining words of the lords, but on his youthful face, his brows were slightly furrowed.
When he heard everyone hesitating out of fear of losing their rights, even intending to wait and see indefinitely, he finally couldn't help but stand up abruptly.
The legs of the oak chair scraped against the stone floor, making a harsh sound that drew everyone's gaze.
"Uncles," William Crab's voice still had the characteristic clarity of a youth, but his tone was exceptionally firm, ringing clearly in the dull council chamber, "you have all misunderstood His Majesty Aegon's new policy!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the whole room was shocked.
Lord Brune narrowed his eyes, Boggs showed a dismissive expression, and Hardy and Pyne looked at this young and spirited neighbor in surprise.
William took a small step forward, his gaze sweeping over everyone without flinching: "What His Majesty wants to abolish are the bad habits under the old system where nobles carved out their own territories, fought private wars incessantly, and misgoverned to the detriment of the people! He doesn't want to completely strip us of our noble status, our ancestral lands, and our titles!"
He paused and took a slightly rough roll of parchment from his robe; it was news he had spent a lot of effort to obtain through various channels.
"I have already sent people to investigate carefully. House Caron of the Stormlands submitted shortly after the Prince landed. How are they now? Their hereditary titles remain, their family castle and private lands remain, and the tenants on their land still pay them rent and taxes and receive their protection."
"What they surrendered was only the right to arbitrarily conscript private Soldiers, to impose summary justice on their subjects, and to freely enfeoff minor nobles! In exchange, they received formal recognition and protection from the crown. Their territory is more stable than ever, and they no longer have to worry day and night about the covetousness of neighbors or the oppression of other great lords!"
He waved the parchment in his hand, his eyes burning: "The Prince is abolishing the chaotic powers that led to the Seven Kingdoms' constant wars, not the nobility itself! The Seven Kingdoms need unified laws; they need an end to the endless internal strife!"
"The more we hesitate and wait, the more we cling to the past and hold onto those privileges that cause war, the more His Majesty will feel we harbor rebellious intent and are stubborn! At that time," he emphasized his tone, "is when we might truly be stripped of everything!"
"Absurd!" Lord Brune barked, slamming the table as he stood up, "Crabbe boy! How old are you? What do you know of political balance? Aegon clearly intends to seize the power of the nobility, and you dare to offer yourself up? Are you so certain he won't kill the donkey after it's finished the work on the mill? Though Whispers is small, it is the ancestral foundation of your House Crabb! Aren't you afraid he'll directly seize your castle, abolish your title, and kick you out like a stray dog?"
The other lords also shook their heads, clearly thinking the youth was too naive and impulsive.
The young lord of Crabbe took a deep breath, his chest heaving.
He thought of the faded pennant in his father's study and the family stories his mother told. He looked at these lords whose eyes were blinded by fear, and his gaze became resolute.
"My grandfather died at the Trident, fighting for the Targaryens," his voice was not loud, but every word was clear. "My father died at the Ruby Ford, fighting for Prince Rhaegar. House Crabb has been loyal servants of the Targaryens for generations; loyal blood flows in our veins!"
He straightened his slight back like a young tree growing stubbornly in the cold wind: "I believe Prince Aegon is of the true dragon bloodline, the legitimate ruler of the Seven Kingdoms. I believe what he wants to establish is a new and better order, not to drive all nobles to extinction."
"This trust comes from my family's bloodline, and also from my judgment of the Prince's new policy!"
He no longer looked at the faces of the others, which were filled with shock, mockery, or worry, and turned to stride toward the chamber door.
"Today, I shall go to King's Landing to swear fealty to the Prince! House Crabb will be the first to stand under the banner of the true dragon!"
"Crabbe boy! Come back!" Lord Brune roared.
"Boy, don't be impulsive!" Lord Hardy tried to dissuade him.
But the figure of the young lord had already disappeared at the door, with only his resolute words pouring into the hall along with the sea breeze: "Even if it's a gamble, I bet the Prince distinguishes right from wrong and will not fail the loyal!"
The sound of horse hooves soon echoed outside Hollow Hill Keep, quickly fading away, heading southwest, toward King's Landing.
In the council chamber, only a group of lords with complex expressions and no words remained, along with the heavy chill that the fire was powerless to dispel.
Ãdvåñçé çhàptêr àvàilàble óñ pàtreøn luffy1898