A/N : Hello and welcome to the very first chapter of Forged in Ice! It's been a long fantasy of mine to tackle the world of ASOIAF and now the first chapter is done! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed making it.

Chapter 1

Cedric Amberforge

"They grew up so fast, don't they Ed?" said Thalia Amberforge beside him. He had known and grown close with her these last seventeen years as his wife. She gripped his arms lovingly. Her sea blue eyes watched over below. She was of course looking at the four children that were playing in the courtyard. The boys were practicing their swordplay and the girls were practicing archery. Somehow that made Ed a proud father.

Their marriage was a happy one and it produced four children, two boys and two girls. The night that Ed bedded his wife for the first time was also the night his wife conceived their first child. The firstborn was surprisingly a daughter much to everyone's dismay, especially Ed's father. It is a common held belief that a firstborn daughter brings bad luck to the family. Ed dismissed those claims as nothing more than a false superstition.

Ed had named his first daughter, Edelyn. The name was derived from the beautiful Edelweiss flower, Ed's first love. Its white pure snow petals were almost native to Amberhill. Ed and Thalia's second and third children were twins. They both have their mother's green eyes and their father's coal black hair. Their names were Ash and Hazel. This time it was Thalia's choice. She'd named them after the trees of the forest where she used to play in her childhood. The last child was a daughter, whom they'd named Andrea together. She was named after Cedric's grandmother.

Seventeen years he had not grown tired of the love that she'd given him. It was an acquired taste that he had grown fond over the years. It was originally an arranged marriage, courtesy of his father. An uneasy diplomatic resolution to territorial dispute with House Mountainhole over a portion of Amberhill, their chief source of red iron for smithing.

Thalia gripped his arms a bit harder. "You should be worried about them playing in this dastardly weather." Ed held his wife's arm in reply. It was cold. He knew the weather was to blame. Winter is Coming or so they say in Winterfell.

It's always winter here in his home Ambervale, the high seat of House Amberforge in the foot of Amberhill. His house was technically a vassal of the North, but the precarious location of the demense still lead to heated arguments. Ambervale was located in a lone island, off the coast of The Fingers. Though it is not big, it is the only place in the whole Westeros where amber iron is bountiful. The reddish metal is soft enough to malleate but when it is cooled, it is as hard and sharp as Valyrian Steel. The occasional mist coming down from Amberhill didn't help. Ed held his head up and breaths in the cold air. It felt refreshing.

Ed turned to his wife and assured her. "The children will be fine. Besides, they need to be strong in cold. Winter is Coming." The warning sounded eerily true. He felt the wind picked up. It gave him shivers. The wind seems dead and unnatural. Something is wrong up north. He can't explain it, but he can feel it.

"Lord Amberforge!" A deep voice suddenly called out from behind him. Heavy and brisk footsteps soon follows. "You are needed in the hall right away." Ed recognized it as Ser Lanyard Gossling, his castellan and the young son of Baine Gossling. He was a short man in stature with black hair and a bush of beard, but behind all that lies a shrewd mind of a capable steward and a sweet tongue of a diplomat. Their family have been a long line of castellan to the house of Amberforge since the founding of the house.

"There's a raven milord." His voice lowered as if hiding something. "Maester Woods have summoned the small council. We need you there." Thalia frowned beside Ed. He knew that she hated that he had to be dragged into a meeting with the council. More than one occasion that Thalia had complained that Cedric grew distant with his family because of it. More than one occasion that Cedric replied with the same answer that it is his duty as the head of the house.

"Who is it from, Lanyard?" Ed asked curiously. "And please don't tell me it's from Lord Manderly. I had enough of his proposal to last a lifetime." Cedric however had a feeling it was not Lord Manderly. It would not be that important for the council to convene."

"Not him milord," Lanyard answered. "It's from King Aerys." That name certainly caught Ed off guard. The last time the king had sent a letter was a long time ago. They said he locked himself up in the Red Keep because of the incident in Duskendale and hasn't come out since.

"There's also another letter milord," Lanyard continued.

"Who is it from?"

Lanyard paused, then he looked at Thalia and back at Cedric. "It's best if I explain it on the table milord. It's a delicate matter."

"Then Maester Woods is wise to call for us," Cedric answered finally. "If the message is of great importance then we must convene. I'll join you shortly Lanyard."

He turned to his wife and held her hand. "Watch the children for me, Thal." He took a one last glance to the children playing below. He remembered the times he enjoyed life like them, without remorse and burden, but that was a long time ago.

"Do you have to go Ed?" Thalia asked.

"Yes, it is my duty Thal, as always," Ed answered with a weigh.

Thalia sighed as her blue eyes drifted to the courtyard again. Cedrick knew being a wife of the head of a house is hard. They used to spend more time together and more importantly with the children. That all changed when his father and brother died in a hunting accident five years ago. He was then immediately named as Lord of Ambervale and Head of House Amberforge. Time was not a privilege that he can indulge on a whim again. There are times where he regretted not been able to see their children grow up or spend an evening with his wife.

Cedric gave a small smile of assurance and kissed his wife's forehead. "I'll be back soon." He turned away and walked down from the stone tower. Lanyard was already waiting below.

"Maester Woods and Ser Eryk have assembled at the hall," he said as they walked to the castle. "They're already intent on murdering each other."

Cedric sighed quietly. His Maester and Master-at-Arms have always position themselves the opposites of each other. It is not rare that Ed had to intervene and produce a solution that they both agreed to. It was because of this that Ed rarely enjoyed a council meeting. "Then we have to make sure that it doesn't happen, Lanyard." The castellan nodded.

The old and cold castle of Ambervale stood bulwark against the Amberhill behind it. The castle's size is modest if seen from the outside, but its real size was much bigger. A big portion of the castle was dug out of Amberhill. That part of the castle was barely touched by sunlight and used only for storage and the family crypt. The castle's main door was made out of solid red iron with bars of wood locked together in place.

They went past the door and into the inner hall of the castle. The air was much warmer and musty from the courtyard. Thick smell of burned black oak from the fireplace lingered in the air. The smell often recalled Cedric's past memories of his home when he was away.

Moonlight shone from the main window onto a table with two figures sitting on each side. Cedric recognized them as Maester Gill Woods and Ser Eryk Durane. Lanyard's assumption was not far from the truth. Cedric had heard arguing from the outside before things fell silent when he entered. Cedric took his seat and Lanyard opposite of him. Cedric always felt the iron chair didn't suit him and for good reasons too. The iron is cold and judgemental to them who seats on it. Hundreds of generation laid the heavy burden on his shoulder.

A two parchment of paper were laid in the middle of the moonlit table. Cedric grabbed it and read it while others sat there waiting for his reaction.

The letter was hastily scrawled in black ink. Three words adorn it :

Rally the bannerman.

"Where did it come from, Maester?" Cedric asked curiously, although he had a vague sense of who did it.

"The raven came from the Vale milord. It came this morning, flying against the valley wind."

"The Vale?" Suddenly a thought of a person passed in Cedric's mind, the scion of The Eyrie's six tower and the Vale beneath. "Jon Arryn?"

"No. It is from Eddard Stark," Ser Eryk answered. "The letter was signed in his name. We must act quickly. The letter demands that we must call forward the bannerman of the North. After what happened to his father and brother, I can't really blame him."

He put the letter down and grabbed the other one. It is a much more elegant paper. The faint outline of three-headed sigil of House Daenerys adorn the back of the paper. Without even thinking twice, Cedric knew the paper had to came from King's Landing, maybe from the Red Keep itself. An air of influence hung low upon the paper.

Red letters adorn it and form a message which says :

To Lord Cedric Amberforge,

Lord of Ambervale

Lord Cedric, I am writing to you on behalf of King Aerys II concerning a certain, shall we say, unrest in the West. A band of theives and traitors had declared an open, but futile, rebellion against the Iron Throne. As you may have known, it is headed by Robert Baratheon and backed by Lord Jon Arryn and Eddard Stark. The House Baratheon and Stark had been declared traitors by the Iron Throne, effectively opening a position for the Warden of the North. It is in the best interest of the crown that the open position will be handed to your house if, in return, you swear undying fealty to the Crown and provide us with weaponry. The offer is exclusive to your house till midnight the third day. I trust your judgement will not be impaired with blind loyalty to Eddard Stark.

From,

Lord Owen Merryweather

Hand to King Aerys II

Cedric knew the gravity of the situation. One wrong step would send his family down into obscurity, exile, or worst, death. He must also be decisive and cunning in dealing with state matter, as he had learnt from his grandfather. "We must act quickly, but cautiously now. First, we must know if it really is the Young Lord Stark who had sent the first letter. It could be a trick from one of our rivals. We cannot risk war in this state as we are not ready. The forges are cold and the mines are asleep in the winter."

The main door blew open and a voice suddenly broke the silence. "Which means that we need to call our blacksmiths and our miners back to work." Everyone on the table turned to look who it was. Thalia Amberforge strode through the empty hall with dignity to the table. She took a seat and sat on the far side. Thalia was welcome to take part, although she rarely comes willingly. This was an unexpected change of circumstances as she usually prefers to be with the children. Sometimes even Cedric felt that all this time, his wife was still a mystery to him.

"Lady Thalia, we didn't expect you to be here," Maester Gill greeted with surprise. The others followed in the same fashion. "If we knew you were coming, we would have made the place more...suitable."

"Very kind of you Master, but I also didn't expect to join you all in this meeting," she admitted. She reached into her pocket and produced a letter. "A raven came from the Eyrie addressed to me. My brother, the castellan there, sent me a letter. It said that Robert Baratheon had declared a rebellion against the Iron Throne." She paused before continuing as if not believing her own tongue, "Eddard Stark has swore fealty to Robert Baratheon. As with Lord Jon Arryn. Both of them promised to support Robert in this rebellion."

"This rebellion might not be just an 'unrest' as Lord Owen might put it." Ser Eryk realized. "They have the might of the North, Vale, and Storm's End in their back and are not to be taken lightly."

"How about the other great houses? The Lannisters, The Tyrells, The Martells, and The Greyjoy?" Cedric asked.

"We have not heard any proclamation from them, though I suspect the Lannisters and Tyrells will back the Iron Throne," Maester Woods said. "Those two conniving houses have always had an eye for the throne. They will take every chance to wed one of their own to the crown. Even Tywin Lannister himself is preparing his daughter to court Prince Rhaegar. As for the Martells and the Greyjoy, that I cannot say nor guess. The Martells are passionate ones, like their wine, and so, they are hard to forget some things. However, Princess Elia might tip the balance in the Targaryens favour. The Greyjoys were always eyeing for a land in the North. It would be only logical for the Greyjoys to join the Iron Throne. But then again, they are proud people."

There was, another silence at the table. In their stillness, everyone was beginning to realize that they were facing an imminent crisis and Cedric was torn at what to do. On one side, he must protect his family. He had wished to spare his children from the horrors of war. However, on the other hand, he must honor the Stark's call. A call to arms is an old call to which all loyal bannerman must heed. Those who do not heed will surely find their heads hang high above Winterfell's gate. Cedric still values his head on top of his shoulders

"Both of the letters confirm each other sire. Eddard Stark has chosen where he would stand. We must choose what we must do tonight. The wisest path is to follow Lord Stark and support the rebellion. Call our levy and warm the furnace with iron and fire. The trumpet of war has been sounded," Eryk reasoned.

"And do you want the wrath of Targaryens to step at our front door, Ser Eryk? We are playing a game that is dangerous to lose and much more dangerous to win. We need strong and landed allies," Maester Woods countered calmly.

Ser Eryk gave the Maester a scowl. His face was hot, red, and flowing with resentment. "Then what do you suggest Woods? We ally with the Targaryens and give in to their demands? The recent thing I checked, it was Stark's banner that stood beside ours in the great hall, not the Targaryens. It is Stark's honor that kept us independent all this years, not them. We owe those oppressors nothing!"

Thalia grabbed her husband's hand and gave him a slight nod. Cedric knew what that meant. He hit his fist onto the table once more. "Enough is enough! I will not see my advisors bickering while the problem is still there!" Both of the advisors lowered their head and shut their lips.

"If I may boldly say milord," Lanyard said. "I agree we must play this game smartly if we were to have a chance in survival. That's why we must join with the Targaryens."

Ser Eryk flared again. "Not you too Lanyard! Of all the-"

"Let me finish." Lanyard shot Eryk a look. He continued with a sly smile, "We will join the Targaryens, but who's to say that along the way, our shipments of weapon were 'attacked by pirates' and somehow they got to… say White Harbour and was used by the Rebellion? Surely not even the Targaryens can foresee through that ploy."

Lanyard paused to take a breath. "It is a win-win solution to an impossible problem. We will get the protection of the Iron Throne, our weapons will still support the Starks. If the Iron Throne wins, we will still keep the Warden of the North title. If the rebellion wins, I'm sure that we can arrange the appropriate rewards."

Lanyard's face told Cedric that he was very pleased with himself. Cedric himself was pleased with Lanyard's answer. He was becoming the kind of Castellan that House Amberforge needed at the moment. A person who was smart to play a game of chess with the Lion, Dragon and Wolf , but also loyal to the house.

Cedric couldn't help but smile also. A perfect solution to the problem. "We will ring the tower bell tomorrow morning. The miners and smiths will have to work again. As of tonight, we are allied with the Iron Throne and the Targaryens." Cedric hoped that he made the right decision. "Maester Woods, send two ravens. One to the Iron Throne and one to Lord Eddard Stark. Tell Stark what's our plan to handle this."

One by one, each of the advisor leaves the room, leaving Cedric alone with Thalia. Thalia's hand was still holding Cedric's. She sighed and snuggled close to her husband. Her eyes drifted to the burning embers on the hearth. They both didn't want to move anywhere and just enjoy the little time together. Cedric closed his eyes and focused his mind on the crackle of fire and his touch on his wife's nimble hand.

"It's been a while since we'd done this, Ed. I miss those times where you are fully mine. Nowadays you are often away with the House business," she chuckled as she looked deep into her husband's eye. "Promise me you won't leave me, Ed." Her eyes were almost pleading. Cedric frowned because he knew the answer was not an easy one.

Thalia chuckled again, "And I'm being selfish right now. I know it's been hard for you too. Sorry. Just...just remember that you still have a family here"

Cedric sighed heavily. Though there were little that he'd regretted, leaving his wife more often than he should, had left Cedric speechless for a moment. "If it's any consolation, I will probably kill myself first before I start whoring around. That much I can promise you, Thal." He managed to give a weak, dry smile and kissed his wife on the forehead. She smelled lavender and lilies, the scent he had grown to love along the years.

There was a long silence as the last bits of wood gave to the ember and turned to ash. The coldness of winter seeped back to the room. "We should get back to our room Ed. I don't want us to die freezing today," Thalia suggested. She mumbled, almost a whisper, but Cedric heard it clear as a day, "By the Gods I hope we're doing the right thing for this house."

Cedric wondered that also, but one thing he knew for sure was that he's playing a dangerous game. The one where even the victors are afraid of winning.

Postscript : As always, thanks for reading and sorry if there's any grammatical mistakes (I'm looking at you grammar nazis out there!). Critique and suggestions are always welcome!