Game of Thrones: StormBorn

292AC

The trip began well enough, with a graceful departure from Dragonstone proper. The Sword contrary to its name, was more like a battleax, slow to start and stop, but it could get up to a speed just as fast as the other gallons when it got moving, and the crew was trained well enough, called up from some of the better cutter crews and trained on the other galleons. She was a bit less responsive than they were used to, but by the time they reached Driftmark they were shaping up.

'A ship like this… why it makes a man smile.' It was funny, the prince of Dragonstone had called him up years ago, and he had believed it a joke on Lord Stannis part, but he had answered since the pay was good. He soon found out that Lord Stannis didn't joke, and while his son did the plan of building a "Merchant Navy" was deadly serious. He had known since the first cutter had hit the water that it was, and now he was sailing the flagship of the fleet.

Well, only a small fleet as of yet, but the great skeletons that decorated Dragonstone's Bay half-constructed were more than enough to convince him of its future scale. It would be the mightiest fleet in the world, and with the frightening cannons below his feet, it might already be.

Aye, the future looked bright, to him at least, though it seemed that his brother had yet to adapt his port to the new scale of vessels. They had needed to go to dock with rowboats, though it had been good to see the old bastard (hah) again. He suspected the lack of facilities might become a running theme as this little pleasure cruise continued.

'Little lords maiden voyage is off voyaging for maidens.' He snorted into his wine.

They had spent seven days now ferrying the prince about, back and forth between the various vassals his father held on the bay. He was negotiating something with them, Aurane was sure, but that was none of his business.

Well, at least not yet, if the man built more shipyards it might still become his business. Though perhaps the boy was trying to sell his brother the new ships. The Velaryon fleet was no Redwyne navy, but it was still a good number of sailors.

Now though they were heading south for Tarth, though they were making a wide loop to avoid Shipbreaker Bay for the most part. Arthur's boats handled open sea better than Cogs did it was common knowledge.

So here he sat, across from the boy that seemed to hold all the knowledge in the world, half afraid to ask him anything lest he offend the prince.

Still, his curiosity eventually got the better of him.

"So… ye say these cannons of yours can outrange catapults?"

The boy looked up from his salted pork and nodded, smiling. That was good.

"Oh yes, by quite a bit actually, and the new ones I'm working on at Dragonstone will beat that considerably."

"That seems like an awful lot of power for something so small."

"That's why they have a chance of exploding, albeit far less so with these new ones." Aurane swallowed at that. The idea of having bombs go off from beneath his feet was not a happy one. The prince noticed the look on his face though. "Oh, don't be that way Aurane, the men are trained well, and a misfire won't sink the whole ship unless it lights the powder stores. Think of it like transporting lamp-oil."

"That is not exactly reassuring."

"Oh stuff it, you're on the safest ship on the planet at the moment, and far less likely to sink than you were on your damn Cogs."

He stared at the boy for a moment before sighing and nodding his head. That did make sense at least, he would just ignore the stupid things, at least until it came time to use them.

"Good, good, that's the face I want to see…" the boy pressed his hand against his chin in thought. "I should get you a parrot."

"A parrot?" he had heard of the birds in the summer isles, brightly colored, and they could speak like men.

"Yeah, it's just sort of the look you have to you… ah, my apologies. I don't mean to criticize your dress."

Aurane rolled his eyes. It was eccentric he knew, and harshly contrasted the uniforms of the men under him. But it was his, and he had even had it stipulated in his contract that he could keep wearing it.

"None took."

"Still, I do think you would look good with a parrot on your shoulder."

The prince was indeed a strange boy.