Building an Empire in Game of Thrones (REWORKED VERSION)

1 year later

291 AC

Surveying the Isle of tears, Dáin II Ironfoot and his legion of Dwarves, had just arrived in the region to claim it for the Imperial Union. Near the shore of the isle, about 40 Imperial ships were standing by, waiting for the builders to finish setting up a makeshift dock so that the ships could offload their supplies onto shore.

Meanwhile, a separate force was sent on the mainland to the South of the Isle. Their mission was to establish a base there, which would be a supply point for further expanding onto the continent of Sothoryos.

Overlooking the construction, Dáin was deep in thought. These lands were unfamiliar, yet the presence of his legion's dwarves and the reassuring vessels of their fleet anchored offshore lent a sense of familiarity, like the foothills of Erebor.

Using their advanced engineering tools, the builders which were a combination of Dothraki, freeman, and Dwarves were steadily making progress, erecting towering structures with sturdy foundations. Once they get more supplies and more people sent from the mainland, the isle would be transformed into a fortress.

While this was happening, Beorn was leading the separate force in the south. His target was a stretch of land that had easy access to open ocean and was ideal for commercial docks.

As one of the patrols were securing the perimeter around their camp, they encountered a tribe of native people who seemed quite hostile. Their initial contact resulted in a small skirmish happening leaving several of the tribesman dead as the patrol group managed to make it back.

Beorn, upon hearing this, decided to deploy more scouts to gain a deeper understanding of this tribe's strength and tactics. Not only were they in an unknown land with unknown people, but they also didn't know what type of abilities the natives had.

This didn't deter Beorn from continuing their mission; they were well-prepared for conflict. Not only did they come armed to the teeth with superior weapons, but they also had experienced warriors and witches within their ranks who had fought in many battles back on their homeland.

Dáin, upon receiving word of the skirmish from a raven, immediately sent more soldiers and 2 witches to support Beorn just in case the natives had any surprising abilities or could also use magic.

The tribesman, recovering and infuriated by the death of their fellow tribe members, planned retaliatory attacks against the invaders. Assembled within the center of their village, the tribesmen painted symbols of war across their bodies, invoking their ancestral spirits for strength and guidance.

The total number of people in this tribe was about 1200. 700 of the tribesmen were warriors who protected the city from other tribes, hunted for food, and patrolled the surrounding region. The rest comprised of women, children, and elders. Survival was brutal, the way it had been for generations in this unforgiving environment. But now they had another threat to deal with, the invaders, who didn't look like any tribesmen they had encountered before.

Some people started to call them armored half-men due to the armor the dwarves wore. While an insult for sure as calling a dwarf a half-man was akin to a grave offence, the dwarves themselves cared less for pleasantries and more for their mission, conquering lands and building fortresses in the name of the Imperial Union.

The next morning, the tribesmen launched their attack on the coastal fortress which was still under construction. However, Beorn was prepared for such an attack and had already set up makeshift defenses around the construction site.

Using the trees to mask their approach, the tribesmen managed to get close before they engaged a patrol of 4 Dwarves, killing 3 of them while the last one managed to run back to the Fortress to warn them of the attack.

Behind the makeshift wooden walls, the Elven archers had seen one of the dwarves running frantically towards the entrance.

A horn sounded, echoing across the makeshift fortress. Beorn stepped out of his tent, his eyes scanning the tree line. Based off yesterday's events, he knew this had to be the tribesmen that his patrol had encountered.

"Archers to the walls!" Beorn shouted, his voice sounding across the fortress. "Warriors, to your positions! Witches, prepare your spells!"

The dwarves, elves, and witches within the camp scrambled into action. The Elven archers climbed swiftly onto elevated platforms, preparing their arrows. Dwarven warriors formed tight shield walls near the main gate. Among them, the witches began chanting in low tones.

The tribesmen's war cries erupted from the tree line as they charged forward, a tide of painted bodies armed with crude weapons. They moved with a ferocity born of desperation and vengeance; their determination evident in every step they took.

The first volley of arrows rained down from the walls, striking their intended target. Several tribesmen fell, but their numbers were vast compared to the 400 men Beorn had under him. When they reached the wooden barricades, they hurled themselves against it, hacking at the defenses with axes and spears.

After a short while, the tribesmen had breached a section of the barricade and started to pour through. The dwarves met them head-on stopping them from spreading into the camp, their shields absorbing the initial impact. The Dwarves at the front stabbed, with some using short swords or axes.

Dozens of the tribesmen were killed within seconds with many more falling as the witches unleashed their spells. Fire and lightning had rained down upon the attacking force, causing the tribesmen to become scared at. But their leaders shouted for them to keep fighting, shouting things like, 'For the ancestors' or 'For the fallen'.

But their efforts were not enough. The witches summoned some golems which they used to break the frontlines of the tribesmen and sent them running in the opposite direction. As they ran back to the safety of the tree line, the elven archers rained down another volley of arrows.

Dozens more died as they retreated, leaving a trail of dead bodies leading towards the tree line. Beorn watched as the tribesmen retreated into the forest. He felt a sense of relief wash over him, relieved that the enemy was a bunch of primitives and not a properly trained army.

With the battle over, he began to create a new perimeter around the camp while having the witches keep an eye on the enemy. He wanted to know where they were at all times, and if they were going to attack again.

He also sent word back to Dáin about the attack and their victory. In total they had only lost 4 men, compared to the dozens that the enemy suffered.

Receiving the message from Beorn, Dáin had sent a raven to Heaven's Reach requesting additional forces to be sent due to hostile natives.

-Heaven's Reach-

Parrying one of the attacks from Eonwe, Maximus feinted an attack from the left which would fool a normal swordsman but not Eonwe. He quickly stepped back to avoid the false strike and then countered with a swift and powerful vertical swing. Anticipating the counterattack, Maximus parried Eonwe's sword once more, sending out the sound of two magic enhanced swords clashing throughout the courtyard.

Eonwe had a smile on his face as Maximus's progress was going well. Compared to when he first started, Eonwe saw a significant improvement in his magic abilities and his skills with his sword. And under Eonwe's suggestion, Maximus also learned to use a secondary weapon of his choosing which turned out to be a spear.

In the midst of their training session, a raven arrived and landed on the small little raven house which was built for the ravens. It was small shack which offered the ravens a place to rest and eat as they travelled across the empire.

Pausing their training, a servant had taken the message tied around its leg and brought it to Maximus. Grabbing the piece of paper and opening it, Maximus saw that it was from Dáin.

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'Natives attacked one of our fortresses being built on the coast. But we held them off and they suffered heavy losses. They have several hundred people in this tribe, but considering this is a new land, we can expect several more tribes some of which may be larger than this one.'

Maximus knew very well that these tribesmen were simply defending their own lands, reacting out of fear and anger at unknown invaders. But if he cared about things such as this, then he would have never sent Dáin to establish a fortress on the Continent.

He handed the message back to the servant, "Approve his request and send a raven to Elyria, sending 4,000 more soldiers to Sothoryos." Maximus ordered.

The servant bowed and left to carry out their orders. They would write up the message and then bring it back to him for the final signature. Writing was one of the most widely taught things in the empire, even if most people didn't need to write every day, it was still good to have that skill and knowledge.

As the servant left, Eonwe had ended their training for the day. Maximus walked to the baths to wash up followed by a group of maids. Living in luxury was something he came from in his previous life and now it was something he could not imagine being without.

While there was definitely a luxury difference, there was nothing that he couldn't attain in this world.

As the maids washed his body, he looked at the prompt for his magic proficiency which has reached 46%. He had 5 years left to reach 100% and complete the trials giving him 2 years to prepare for the invasion. 3 of these 5 years would be spent reaching 100% while the other 2 would be spent completing the 4 trials to ascend to a demi-god to stand a chance at beating the god R'hollor.