Despite working late into the night and all through the morning, I still wasn’t able to accomplish everything I had planned before the grand reveal.
At first, I thought that because the Sculptor was sort of a combination of CAD and a 3D printer, implementing everything I had in mind would take no more than a couple of hours. But the lack of perspective-view controls, poor lighting, and the slight “melting” of complex shapes after even the smallest distraction made creating many of the details and prototypes rather challenging.
Though, I have to admit, some of the delays were my new best friend's fault...
When, late in the evening, I asked guard to take me to a proper restroom, I didn’t expect any revelations. But when I walked in, I saw something truly magnificent: a rather large copper tub next to two thick closed barrels with ladles. One barrel was filled with room-temperature water, and the second had leading from the first floor a copper pipe that heated water to a hot temperature!
Therefore, I ended up investigating and using this medieval engineering marvel a little longer than I should have. And not only because of time.
Though it was precisely the kind of relaxation that sparked best ideas in me, at that time I already had an overwhelming number of them. So, the additional influx of ideas and related tasks meant I didn’t get to sleep until about 3 a.m. After that, thanks to the maid, I got only 5 hours of sleep and after breakfast spent another three hours tweaking things. Alas, with each new hour, slashing increasingly more unfinished prototypes like in case of composite bow, or with standstill situation with spinning jenny’s wooden frame and wheel.
By midday, after checking the contents of all eight wooden trays once more, I tugged the cord by the door and told a guard to inform Lord Stark that I was ready to show him what I promised to Maester Luwin, but I would need a map of the North.
Half an hour later, the door opened, and carefully scanning the room entered a procession from: Jory Cassel, judging by the sideburns Rodrik Cassel, Benjen with a long leather tube in hand, Ned, and Maester Luwin. Except for the latter, all wearing just leather armor instead of steel.
“Lord Stark. Benjen Stark, Maester Luwin, Jory Cassel, and I assume Rodrik Cassel?”
“Just show us what you wanted to show... ’Max the Maker’,” Rodrik Cassel sneered.
“Is this necessary?” I asked Ned.
“How do you speak to your lord, whelp?” Rodrik Cassel barked, taking a threatening half step forward.
“And how do you speak to me?” I asked, rising slightly into the air to emphasize my point.
“Easy, Max, uncle, we aren’t enemies,” said Jory Cassel, stepping slightly between us. Still... uncle has a point, Max, you should be a bit more respectful as a guest,” added obvious good cop and second proxy meant to test my boundaries and provide plausible deniability for Ned.
“Just so you know, I’m aware of what you’re doing and why. But such performance is really unnecessary. Just sit at the table, leave the center empty and I will show everything I have. Benjen, please unfold the map,” I said and waited.
Benjen glanced at Ned, and after a small Ned's nod, began unrolling the map. Soon, the others took their seats on both sides of the table.
Once the map was in the center of the table, I stepped forward and began inspecting it. Realizing this would take some time, I moved to the first tray, took two long pieces of dark pinkish glass, and placed them on either side of the map.
“I need a little time to study the map. Before that here’s one of the most important items I can offer. Glass made from dragonglass. It’s important for two reasons.
First, dragonglass... let’s say it’s an effective weapon against ’some magic threats.’ But not against ’results’ of their magic. The only similar cheap solution besides Valyrian steel and dragonfire,” I said cryptically.
“The second is, of course, glass for greenhouses. Plates like these. Slightly worse at letting light through and more fragile than glass, but thanks to the ribs in the center, I can make panels roughly 1 by 2 meters (remark: it’s AU universe, so meters it is) every... 10 seconds.”
I got them just with that’, I thought analyzing their surprised faces. ’Also, I’m not sure how Benjen used Sculptor, but it’s obvious he wasn’t very creative with it.’
Then I continued: “Therefore, I advise as soon as possible sending a letter to Dragonstone, with wording like this: ‘House Stark wishes to renovate Winterfell. Free Cities artisans have offered to use dragonglass mosaics for this, due to their heat insulation properties. Winterfell is therefore ready to buy as much dragonglass as Dragonstone can quickly deliver.’”
“Delivery will take many weeks,” Ned said, looking toward Luwin.
“Two and a half, my lord,” Luwin answered.
“Then, if I’m not in Winterfell by the time of their arrival, Winterfell will just receive a large quantity of anti-magic material. ‘Just in case,’” I said, before returning to study the map. Initially, I had big plans for dragonglass, but unfortunately, the material turned out to be so brittle that almost all of those plans became unfeasible. The only exception was the Mesoamerican-style obsidian swords, but even then, the risk of the blade shattering after whatever hard impact was too high for any practical usage.
“Luwin, do you have anything to say about this?” Benjen asked.
Luwin thoughtfully scratched his chin and said, “Glass candles can attest to some magical properties of dragonglass, but that’s all I know about such a connection. Aside from the information that weapons made from dragonglass are often found in the barrows of the Children of the Forest, Giants, and Brindled Men. All created during more magical times than now.”
“Is there any dragonglass anywhere else besides Dragonstone, Maester?” Ned asked.
“Aye, my lord. It can be found on Skagos, Braavos, Lys, Tyrosh, and near the Vale mountain clans. While it will be easier to obtain it in small quantities from Skagos, fast and large supplies can only feasibly come from Dragonstone, and perhaps Braavos.”
I temporarily ignored the rest of their conversation, focusing instead on confirming some half-forgotten information about the North.
“Later I’ll show you many interesting items,” I finally said, gesturing at the trays. “But, from the start, it’s better to treat them as components of something bigger. Of course, by themselves they can also be useful. But much more when united together. Hence, it’s the latter I want to talk about first,” I said, drawing their attention to me.
“About something that can quickly turn the Kingdom of the North into the strongest kingdom in Westeros in terms of economic, military, and political power.
The foundation of this plan is based on two mechanisms.
The first is something you’re probably familiar with,” I said, taking a windmill model from the tray along with a few small rings and sticks, and placing them around it. “Windmills. I can create them myself, with perfectly smooth granite shafts and wooden bushings. These could, among other things, be used in wheel pairs for carts and carriages.”
“The second mechanism is this.” I pushed the map to the wall and placed a stone model of a classic piston-valve steam engine.
“This mechanism works similarly to a windmill or watermill, but instead of wind or water, it works on the power of steam.
The same power that shakes the lid of a pot when water boils.
Why use steam instead of wind? Because wind is unreliable. Steam, on the other hand, depends only on the amount of firewood, charcoal, and coal.
This mechanism is quite simple. Watch.” I spun the wheel and demonstrated how the internal piston head moved inside the casing.
“First, the steam enters through this small hole. And, like wind, pushes the first plug forward. Until it reaches its farthest position, like this. Where steam escapes through the second hole,” I said, moving the piston head to the extreme position.
“In this extreme position, connected to the first plug, the second plug does this,” I added, slowly turning the wheel back and forth.
“... it turns the outlet into the inlet, and the inlet into the outlet,” Luwin responded in awe.
“Exactly. At the extreme position of the lower partition, the upper curved plug, or rather a key, switches the purpose of the holes. As a result, the steam starts pushing the first plug back. When it reaches a similar extreme position, the direction changes again.
Each cycle makes the wheel spin faster and faster, allowing us to extract more power from the wheel’s rotation,” I explained, omitting the details about the need for a speed limiter, exhaust systems, metal bearings, and sealant for this design to function properly.
“The power generated by these two mechanisms, the steammill and windmill, can be transferred to mechanisms like these,” I said, pushing the map aside and placing a tray with simple models of a tablesaw, lathe, and drill machine connected to a single transmission shaft with a basic spur gear.
“These mechanisms can rotate metal blades that can cut, drill, carve, and sand wood faster than the best craftsmen by handwork,” I said, turning the shaft and demonstrating the movement of the models.
“Wait, wait.” Benjen couldn’t hold back. “Wood is everywhere. The North can’t sell more wood, not because we can’t produce more, but because it’s already too cheap with too expensive shipping. More wood for sale would make its sale even less profitable, not more.”
“I’ll explain this soon. For now what’s important is the main idea.
That wind and steam can provide power for mechanisms like a watermill grinding stone.
Which, in turn, can accelerate tree cutting and wood processing. Which gives even more steam, mechanisms, and firewood.
Or, if simpler: more firewood - more steam for mechanisms creating firewood.
Does that make sense in general?”
“And increase the power of the kingdom...” Luwin said thoughtfully.
“Do you understand this, Luwin?” Ned Stark asked.
Luwin nodded. “If Jory hadn’t come to me for explanations yesterday, I’d still be confused, but now, yes.
It’s somewhat similar to grain and peasants.
The more grain - the more peasants, and the greater the grain yield.
With steammills, it’s the same, but with firewood and wooden mechanisms.”
“Exactly. Right now, the North only has two sources of physical power: smallfolk and draft animals. I’m suggesting we add a third. Through the power of wind, steam, wood, charcoal, and coal.”
“And who will control this power?” asked Ned.
“Not me. I’m just one person. And this ‘power’ isn’t that different from the power of horses used with saddles. My goal is just to distribute the first saddles and explain how to use them. After that, it won’t be me in the saddles; it will be your subjects,” I tried to explain.
Benjen asked again: “So, why is this necessary? Yet it’s just power for the sake of more power.”
"To begin with, for this," I said, pointing to a section of Wolfswood on the map, where begun flowed under Winterfell part of the White Knife River.
“Imagine the mechanisms I mentioned, used by thousands of your subjects, extracting and processing wood here. Creating this…” I said, placing a tray with a chaotic assortment of wooden parts on the table.
“What’s this?” Rodrik Cassel asked incredulously, as if I was presenting him trash as gold.
“Just 20 types of simple wooden parts. Then, through a small port, these parts are shipped on boats here, to the Cerwyn Castle.
There, the smallfolk will take these parts and attach them together with simple scaffolding and ropes.
Then I come, and…” I took the tray covered with fabric, placed it on the map, and lifted the fabric.
“Ships…” said Ned with awe.
“... and combine the parts into a single whole. Without nails or glue. Creating the most expensive goods that can be made from wood. Ships.”
”Which then sail up the White Knife, from Wolfswood to White Harbor and the Free Cities,” Luwin quickly guessed, also clearly awed.
“Exactly. Many hundreds of ships in the first year alone. Each equipped with rapidly reloadable ballistae.”
“But… where will the North get crews for hundreds of ships?” asked Ned.
”How many millions of souls does the North have, Maester Luwin?” I asked.
“Tentatively three and a half.”
‘Damn, I really should’ve gone to a 3-4 times more populated Reach,’ I thought.
“Would it really be so difficult to find clever people from such number? People who, under the command of experienced sailors as captains, will begin to sail along the coastlines?
Besides, the ship I showed you is primarily for sale. For the North, I can create larger sea vessels that will require slightly more sailors, but mainly for less complex tasks.”
“And where are you going to get canvas for hundreds of ships? Are you going to make it out of wood and stone too?” Rodrik Cassel asked sarcastically.
“Actually, yes. One of my magics can extract everything from trees, except the fibers, which when twisted can create ropes and cables,” I said and placed on the table the result of my first related experiments with both ’Wood: Extraction’ and ’Sculptor’ - flexible wood fiber. “I can also create thousands of stone mechanisms that will allow the smallfolk to make ropes and cables from almost any plant stems,“ I added.
“If this plan is implemented, Winterfell will make huge profits from selling ships, high-quality planks, and eventually charcoal, which can then be spent on buying iron and transporting it by ship to... What?” I asked after hearing Rodrik Cassel’s grunt and seeing Jory’s smile and even Ned’s amused look.
“No one can just buy iron in large quantities. Not even in the Free Cities. That would drive up the prices and be seen as preparation for war,” Luwin said.
Which soon confirmed Ned. “Aye, contracts for iron are often made for years, even decades, and mostly between allied lords.”
“Are there no mountains in the North where iron or coal can be mined?”
I asked, slightly irritated because the Bessemer process and the mechanisms and logistics related to it — actually the reason why I studied the map for so long — were the biggest selling points of my plans. No iron ore - no ANY quality machinery, and therefore no envisioned by me steampunkization.
“Aye, there’s some iron near Dreadfort, but very little and from poor mines. Coal is only mined on the Iron Islands, in the Eyrie, and in the Lanisport mines. But it’s got King’s and Stranger’s prices,” Luwin said.
“Is that because of the dust?” I clarified.
“Aye.”
“Alright, let’s put aside iron and its processing with mechanisms near Winterfell today. Maybe even until we have talks with the King in a month,” I conceded, realizing that continuing on this topic would only bog everything else down.
“On the windward side of Winterfell, right here...” I said, pointing to the northeast ridge of hills to the north of Winterfell, “...we could set up a hundred windmills. Including ones that use this.” I took a large radial bearing from one of the trays and handed it to Luwin. “These are two granite rings, inside which there should be pure charcoal that’s been dried for a very long time on a skillet, turning it into completely black ash. This will make the movement of the rings against each other very smooth and protected from wear, like oil, but much cheaper and without drying out.
Also, here...” I pointed to the mostly empty south side, “we could set up large steammills powered by steam from three sources:
Hot springs.
Wood, which I can dry almost instantly.
And charcoal. I can almost immediately extract moisture and resins from wood, so producing charcoal near Winterfell will be much easier, faster, and cheaper than anywhere else.
In total, the west, east, and south sides of Winterfell could have enormous quantities of wind and steam power. What do you think, why?”
“There’s nothing near Winterfell but wood, furs, and berries,” Ned said, not understanding where I was going.
“Nothing is more expensive than ships,” Jory answered thoughtfully, to which Ned and Benjen nodded.
“Right now, no. But it could be,” I said, giving them more time to think.
“This is lure!” Luwin suddenly shouted, his eyes wide. “You want to bring craftsmen from anywhere by selling them cheap power!”
Instead of a quick answer, I simply smiled with satisfaction. 'And hot baths, Luwin, and hot baths.’
Map of the North without Neck:
Image sources: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESfSG2OlQYQ ; https://waternormalmap.github.io/new-zrjkgg-a-realm-of-ice-and-fire-exploring-the-map-of-westeros-gimbyz-pics/