The White Harbor Report

[M] This took a while to write sorry to not have it available when I passed it out IC.

Forward

I Admiral Sandor Frey, of the First Frey Fleet of San Freycisco attest that everything here within is the truth as I can best provide. The herein statements are backed by evidence and testimony where noted.

The Political Layout of 315

The City of San Freycisco was founded in a joint effort between the Vale and Riverlands. As the outcome of the last Royal trial, seceded lands along the Bite to the Riverlands, the Vale in an effort to secure their borders more offered to aid us in building our port well within our defined borders. Between a few encouraged settlers and help from the Great Sept we managed to get enough people to live in the town. Trade routes were forged between Essos and San Freycisco as well as other coastal holds. My uncle hoped by expanding our area of control we could benefit all our vassals with increased trade.

I was sent to train our new commanders and sailors in Hammerhorn in another effort of cooperation, this time among longtime enemies the Ironborn and Riverlands. The training I received was second to none in terms of naval command and navigation, and I learned how the Ironborn keep their own in line. It was a young age I was sent but I believe seeing how the reapers and rapers and raiders that made up the old way were formed into a civilized and powerful modern navy proves that the laws of the sea can tame any men.

During the final months of 314 San Freycisco received a message from the trading guild of Essos that many other Coastal cities received. Concerned with our family's investment in the Bite settlement being in jeopardy my Lord Uncle Stevron began calling for meetings from similarly afflicted claims. White Harbor, the Fingers, and we were hopeful to meet Gulltown too. Combining our buying power to better negotiate with Essos and perhaps leverage our trading power against those who do us damage economically.

House Frey sent myself to meet with House Manderly, and Lady Erena at first seemed open to the idea, and including Lord Grafton planning a meeting in the future.

The Attacks on House Frey

I was summoned to the meeting in White Harbor and attended via my dromond, The Lord of the Crossing the ship had over one hundred and twenty hands on board, all sailors all unarmed waving flags of diplomacy.

Upon entering the Merman's Palace to meet with Erena she took me into custody, and performed grotesque violations of my person in an effort to humiliate me. She ordered my crew murdered and my ship sunk, and it was clear she had intended to murder me right alongside my men. I told her the foolishness of her decisions when she visited me in the cells, and I think with my threats she began to understand the danger her actions wrought.

During the next week or two I am unsure what happened, though I was told I have you and the other councilors to thank for demanding my release. Lady Erena stuck me on a dromond with a crew of her own men and set me free. This was the first time I was aware my men were not taken prisoner, and was told offhandedly that they were killed trying to escape.

Your grace, my ship had no arms on board, and while being a dromond capable of ramming it could never have outrun the fleet of White Harbor. My sailors were trained alongside me, they know the limitations of their ships and never would have risked war with such actions. Now they lie at the bottom of White Harbor, no proper graves or burials for them or their families.

I tried demanding an audience with Lady Manderly again and was instead bound and tied and delivered to San Freycisco like a common criminal.

The Rivers Converge

It was then I found that upon my arrival my family had assembled their army in order to sail to my aid, and curiously enough my cousin Sarra. For it was not until after I returned that I learned of the vile Skagosi's hand in all of this, by your very word. In an effort to aid my cousin, Robert and Aenys led a team to sneak attack and rescue Sarra, however by the time they arrived it was too late, they had failed to secure her and Ser Aenys died in a valiant effort to save her.

I led the bulk of our forces to the enemy I knew about, in White Harbor. We sailed with the majority of the Riverfleets based in Maidenpool and Saltpans along with my Frey fleet. I had planned to put the city to siege until Lady Erena surrendered herself to me so I could hang her for treason. I found however that Lady Erena had heeded lord Stark's call and left her city, what I also found was that she ordered her army and navy to flee.

When I entered the city peacefully I searched for traces of the missing forces and where they may have gone. I found that the taxes of the people of White Harbor, in addition to their only line of defense was robbed of them. A lord or army taking taxes from the land and failing to protect that land is nothing short of robbery of the people themselves. Further, with the recent developments in Essos abandoning one of the Seven Kingdoms only cities and greatest defensive points along the Narrow Sea perplexed us greatly. If we had not arrived en force, White Harbor could have been attacked by any forces including any unaffiliated pirates or foreign powers.

The people of White Harbor despite what the North may tell you were none too pleased with being left without defenses. One such individual, the Harbormaster of the city in fact pointed us in the direction of the fleet, knowing that most went to Oldcastle. He is accompanied by my men should you require his testimony to verify any of this.

It was at this time that I met with the King himself, who had ridden from Winterfell to White Harbor to treat with us. He told us our mission continued in Skagos, where Lord Stark had informed him the Magnar's last men were held out. However I pleaded with the King to find the missing fleet first, as it could strike us during our operations. It was here I also agreed to have a regent appointed by Lord Stark, Harlem Dustin hold office in the city and retake control.

With the Harbormasters lead I led the Riverfleet by sea, and had the former Hand Lord Brandon Whent lead a cavalry by land to Oldcastle. House Locke, a vassal of House Manderly, must have thought itself doing the lords work by protecting their fleet. However it is clear that the fleet was completely abandoning it's home and duty.

When I arrived at Oldcastle it was plain to see the Harbormaster was right. It had been several months not only since White Harbor was peacefully taken, but that the King had already stopped and gave his decisions on the actions taken. When we demanded their surrender and return to White Harbor they refused until orders came directly from the Kings hand, yet the city of White Harbor itself was surrendered without so much as an argument. I was advised by many captains that this was a delaying tactic for a battle in which the fleet may try to escape, including the former Hand Brandon Whent.

Thankfully word from the Crown prevailed and the fleet surrendered, none of the sailors who surrendered, well over one thousand men, were harmed. However their captains and commanders were executed for their desertion of their post at White Harbor. Any captain worth their command and salt would not abandon as many innocent families as they chose to do.

We returned after our discovery at Oldcastle with the White Harbor fleet to plan our next move. With the death of Lord Brandon and the discovery that House Locke was housing an army that seemed poised to sneak attack us, our forces took retribution on the port of White Harbor rather than it's citizens. While I did not order this, I stand by it's actions fully, with a dangerous army so close to the city and without knowledge of what the rest of the North was doing the port was destroyed.

It was also the time I chose, personally to execute the men I ordered the deaths for. You will find attached the names and death warrants for all one hundred and fifty five prisoners I had executed. Jojen Snow and the one hundred who had remained in the city were charged with treason and lying to a royal investigator along with conspiracy to disturb the Royal peace, as we found the army they all swore was disbanded within a fortnights march of our positions. As for the commanders and captains of the fleet, as I already stated they were executed for desertion and piracy.

Further, our fears were only expounded when we returned to find Lord Regent Dustin, had abandoned the city. Despite leaving his brother, we found no reason for his fleeing, and it added to the list of concerns beside the army sitting near our forces. To ensure our forces were safe I allowed the port to be destroyed and confiscated the fleet.

Aftermath

We then received our demands from the Crown, including an immediate withdraw from White Harbor. A large portion of the forces, left to finish the job we started in Skagos, as I oversaw the remaining forces withdrawal to San Freycisco. In order to expedite these orders I utilized the unpaid fleet and hired the men onboard to ferry my forces to San Freycisco while I awaited the return of Lord Regent Dustin.

I could not leave the city abandoned a second time without someone properly defending it, and at this point I was unsure where Lord Dustin was. He sent messengers, but for some reason he would not disclose, refused to return to the city. So for weeks I sat waiting, receiving letters from Lord Stark demanding I leave, but no person who would be willing to take my position.

It was not until Lord Umber arrived that any Northman seemed to come to meet with any progress in mind. I had him sign control of the city over to himself officially, suspending our occupation and allowing the North to recoup it's losses. I would like to note that among the Northmen I had met, it would seem Lord Umber was one of, if not the only man I met who seemed intent on forging a peace or moving past these events.

Upon my cousin and the Riverfleet arriving in Skagos, they found that every single man who was allegedly still in arms had abandoned the island of Skagos. It would seem that again the Riverlanders justice was robbed of us, we found Skagos and the Skagosi smallfolk abandoned by their lord and soldiers too. Instead all we found was a Maester who sat prisoner, left behind by the men of Skagos, a single longship, a Northman who was left prisoner, some Ryswell, and the mutilated corpse of my cousin Sarra.

As the army of Lady Manderly has never disbanded, and considering no formal peace was struck during negotiations with the North, House Frey is forced to consider hostilities still open. As such I had intended to meet with Lord Stark or whoever ended up in charge of White Harbor to plan a proper campaign against the remaining aggressors still in his lands, while coming to a deal where White Harbor had their fleet returned.

Organizing this meeting never came about because by the time I returned to San Freycisco, my family informed me I was demanded to the council. I departed immediately upon finishing this report and sent copies to my family as well as the Citadel for posterity.

Afterword

I Sandor of House Frey stand by the actions me and my forces took fully. As we truly believed we were under a declaration of war, and evidence we have found only confirmed that theory we believe the actions we took held their merit. No smallfolk of White Harbor were killed, unlike those of House Frey's lands. No cityfolk were pillaged unlike the Lands of House Whent. The fact remains, one of the most important defensive points of the Kingdoms was taken with zero loss of life, and the executions that took place after were hardly more than the amount of men Erena Manderly and her men murdered aboard The Lord of the Crossing

If my actions end with me being punished, I face my fate knowing that I commanded my men to the best of my abilities, and would die or kill for each and every one of them a million more times.

-Admiral Sandor Frey

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Also contained within; 155 Death Warrants for the prisoners executed.

Signed and written testimony from the Harbormaster.

Witnessed by Robert Frey.