Ice and Fire: Reign of the Dragon.

Chapter 193: Ringol's Expedition (XV) Commander of the Lake of the God's Eye

Commander of the Divine Eye Lake?
Although the knights participating in the tournament were confused about this position, they did not care about it. What they cared about was the land, title, and bounty of Harrenhal. As for the position of the so-called Commander of God's Eye Lake, they did not care.

But the faces of Ringol and the lords around Viserys changed. The knights did not know what this position meant, but the lords knew. To be more precise, the lords of the "Silver Dragon Party" knew very well what the "Commander of the God's Eye Lake" meant.

Ringol also whispered to his two companions what this position meant. In today's Westeros, there is only one king, that is the King of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men on the Iron Throne, the Ruler of the Seven Kingdoms, and the Protector of the Realm. This title actually covers the king's ruling scope and functions, especially the last one, Protector of the Realm, which represents the most important part of the king's royal power - military power.

When Aegon just ascended the throne, this title belonged to Daemon. After Daemon's death, this title belonged to Dragonzel. Having this title means that Daemon and Dragonzel can exercise royal power in military affairs, that is, when they hold the position of "Protector of the Realm", they can mobilize the armies of all the lords of Westeros.

After Aegon conquered Westeros, the original royal families of various countries retained their ruling rights over their original kingdoms after they bowed their knees. For example, the Stark family, who was once the King of the North, continued to rule the North with the de jure position of "Warden of the North" after Torrhen Stark surrendered his crown. The Arryn family was the "Warden of the East" and "Warder of the Valley", and the Lannister family was the "Warden of the West". The three families who became the feudal lords of their respective regions after the conquest war had some changes. Among them, the Baratheon family, which inherited the Durrandon family, did not change much. Their de jure title for ruling the Stormlands was "Warden of the Stormlands". After being granted the title of Highgarden, the Tyrell family was named "Governor of the Reach", and the Tully family was named "Governor of the Trident". These two governors also symbolized the de jure right granted to these two families by the Iron Throne to rule the corresponding regions.

The same is true for the Marchers of the Vareses family and the Governor of the Turbulent River of the Dayne family. Before the three brothers Longzier came to Westeros, most of the Dorne Marches were controlled by the Stormlands and the Reach, but the title of "March Guardian" symbolizing the ruling power of the Marches was inherited by the royal gardener family of the Reach Kingdom and their successors, the Tyrell family. As a result, this title could not be realized in substance for a long time, and could only be used as an excuse for friction between the Stormlands and the Reach.

There are some very important positions below them, such as the hereditary guardian of the Stone Road of the two now destroyed families, the Yronwood family, when Dorne was still an independent kingdom. This means that the Yronwood family has the duty to defend the Stone Road with arms. When the enemies of the Stormlands invade from the Stone Road, the Yronwood family must organize an army to resist, and they also have the power to mobilize the armies of nearby princes, such as the Weir family, which has also disappeared under the dragon flame. The same is true for the Fowler family, who are the hereditary guardians of the Prince's Pass. Unfortunately, when Longzel led his army south to attack the Weir family, the Yronwood family chose not to fulfill their responsibilities because of greed and short-sightedness, but actively prepared to establish themselves as kings.

So Dorne lost everything.

The word "Commander" is the most obvious in these positions, which is the "Commander of the Marches" of the Cullens. The scholars of the Citadel believe that this position represents that in the distant past, the Cullens may have ruled the territory as the king of the Marches, or they may have been important vassals of the Durrandon family in managing the Marches. In short, the Cullens who hold this position are indeed a powerful family in the Marches, and they have indeed organized armies many times in history to resist the Gardener King of the Riverlands and the Dornish army heading north from the Prince's Pass.

The "Commander of God's Eye Lake" is a position similar to the "Commander of the Borderlands". If this position was set up when the Fair Folk, Mudd and Teague families ruled the entire Riverlands as kings, then the significance of this position would be very important. Referring to the location of God's Eye Lake, this position would be responsible for defending against the Stormlanders crossing the Blackwater River, the Valley cavalry rushing from the Bloody Gate, and controlling the east-west communication in the Riverlands through the special location of God's Eye Lake in the center of the Riverlands.

Here we have to introduce the situation of the Riverlands in detail. The Trident River flows through this fertile land, leaving not only fertile plains, but also a land of four wars that is like a virgin taking off her clothes. For a long period of time in history, the Riverlands have always been in a state of fragmentation. There are kingdoms of all sizes here, and they all call themselves "Kings of Rivers and Hills". The Mooton family of Maidenfount, the Blackwood family of Raventree, and the Bracken family of Stonehedge have all enjoyed the crown. But the only one who can really be called this title is Tristan Mudd IV, the "Hammer of Justice". Shortly after his death, the Mudd Dynasty fell, and the Andal kings ruled this land.

The ancestor of the Tully family, the first Edmure Tully, was once a vassal of King Tristefan IV. After the fall of the Mudd Dynasty, Edmure bowed the knee to the Andal conqueror Armistead Vanth, who rewarded Edmure Tully with the territory where Riverrun is now located. Soon, Riverrun's strategic location in the west of the river made the Tully family one of the most important families in the riverlands.

Every king of rivers and hills needs Riverrun of House Tully as an outpost and fortress to defend against invasions from the westerlies. After all, the Golden Tooth, a natural fortress leading to the mountains in the westerlies, is in the hands of House Lannister. When the lion comes out of the mountains, only the trout protected by the river can stop the lion's claws.

After the Teague dynasty was destroyed in the bloody War of Six Kings, the Storm King still valued the Tully family. The patriarch of the Tully family held many important positions during the three centuries of the Durrandon dynasty and continued to serve as an important military force in defending the West.

Maesters speculated that the hereditary position of the Tully family at that time might have been "Commander of Riverrun" or "Commander of the Red Fork".

Perhaps because of this, during the period when the Durranden dynasty ruled the Riverlands, the name of the Tully family was not among the riverland lords who raised the banner of rebellion.

Of course, the Storm King did not completely trust the Tully family. According to the scholars' speculation, the Frey family was most likely a nail assigned by the Storm King to the river crossing. On the one hand, it was to resist the invasion of the North, and on the other hand, it was to monitor the princes in the west riverland, especially Blackwood, Bracken, and Tully.

This may be the fundamental reason why the Frey family is unpopular.

After the invasion of the Ironmen, the House of Hall unified the Riverlands and the Iron Islands by bloody means and established the Kingdom of the River Islands. The Tully family insisted on resisting the invasion together with the House of Blackwood, but was ambushed by the Brackens and eventually defeated. However, during the period when the House of Hall ruled the Riverlands, the Tully family did not suffer much damage because of the strategic location of Riverrun.

Harren the Black noticed the alienation of the lords of the riverlands, especially the lords of the western riverlands. Most of them had worn crowns and had long resisted the invasion of the westerlies. Their military strength was also considerable. In order to check and balance the lords of the western riverlands and weaken the lords of the riverlands and satisfy his own desires, Harren Hall built Harrenhal on the shore of God's Eye Lake.

"So, Rhaegon, Ellarion, do you know the reason for the location of Harrenhal?" Ringol frowned and said, "Harrenhal is not only the center of the Riverlands, but also the hub of the East and West Riverlands. It is necessary to set up a commander of the God's Eye Lake appointed by the royal family here." Now is not the time for the Seven Kingdoms to fight each other, and setting up a military position here is definitely not to resist the invasion of the Stormlands, the Crownlands or the Vale.

Then there is only one reason.

The position was intended to dilute the power of the Governor of Trident.

Through this position, King's Landing can control the Riverlands lords under Harrenhal's influence.
"What exactly does Viserys want to do?" Ringol didn't understand why Viserys set up this position.

Does he want to push the princes of Hejian to the opposite side of himself?

Did he really think that the royal family could influence the princes of the Hejian area through a new noble family with no foundation?
Ringol could clearly see that the faces of Duke Kermit, Marquis Frey and Count Benjiko had turned bad.

And the Earl of Bracken.

Very rare, Blackwood and Bracken are in blackface together.

This is not funny.

Lingol eventually came to understand his father's concerns in other areas.

"Then we" Lei Geng said in a low voice.

"We'll take it one step at a time." Lingol's expression gradually calmed down. He said coldly, "These things are not ours to worry about yet."

The martial arts competition began soon.

In fact, without any famous knights or prominent figures participating, the match was a foregone conclusion. Even Albin was knocked down after he defeated a king's knight. Kane even defeated several knights in a row before he was defeated.

Not to mention Ringol and the others, it was a one-sided battle. However, Ringol and the other three were very cautious. They left the venue after winning a round and chose to watch the entire tournament. After all, Viserys was too familiar with Ringol and the others, and they were also worried about being recognized.

Lingol felt ashamed and was also worried that exposing his identity would interfere with his "watching the show", so he chose to watch from the sidelines.

Sir Lucas was indeed very brave. He defeated seventeen knights in a row, including Sir Oscar Tully, the brother of Duke Kermit, before finally riding around the arena, looking for a challenge.

Viserys looked at the scene in front of him with satisfaction. At this moment, Igarath, who had been lying beside him with some confusion, suddenly touched Viserys as if he had discovered something.

"What's wrong? Igaras?"

(End of this chapter)