Artys was not certain when he found it. His mother had given him leave to go play off near the pond that was a short distance away from their holdfast. He had been soaking in the pond, relaxed, when he heard his falcon, Orys, squall. Wondering what Orys was doing, he got out, drying off with a cloth and getting back into his smallclothes. He grabbed his breeches and shirt and got them on while he jogged, almost tripping. He found Orys, not with a mouse or perhaps weasel in his beak but a small crystal. Artys looked at the thing and picked up the crystal.

Suddenly, he felt his palm burn heavily, so bad he screamed, but it was over an instant later. The crystal had disappeared and in its place was a panel, smooth as glass. He looked at his palm and the crystal was gone, but he looked at the pane a moment later to find it blinking, with a smaller box saying, Press Accept to start. Under that was an accept pane. "By the Seven, is this the work of some foul god?" He asked himself, before pressing accept, despite himself.

Moments later, his master-at-arms, Ser Lyn Erranford sprinted up with two guards behind him. "Artys, are you alright?" One of the guards cried, looking around for his assailant. "It was... nothing. Orys just pecked me too hard, that's all." The guard looked at him suspiciously and beckoned for him to follow. Orys perched himself on Artys' shoulder, letting out a squall while Artys thought hard. What in the name of the Father was that? His thoughts were broken by the small portcullis of their holdfast opening and his mother exiting.

She was getting older, but he could tell he got his good looks from her. She had clearly been a beautiful youth, which made it all the stranger his father had left her. She looked on with relief. "Why did you scream? You had me worried to the seven heavens themselves." Artys bowed his head, cowed. "Orys pecked me too hard while we were playing. I'm sorry mother." She looked at him with an interested glance but beckoned for him to follow.

"The mountain clans attacked one of the villages again. We need to send some guards to assist the villagers to the south, lest they lose faith in us." His mother turned to the castellan and shook her head. "No. We need to get assistance from one of the higher lords, this infestation is getting out of hand." Artys nodded his head at that slightly. They continued arguing about that subject for a time, most of which Artys stopped listening to. After a time, he opened his mouth. "It's getting late, mother. I believe I will retire for the night." She looked up and nodded assent.

He was toying with the thought of that strange crystal he found. He thought about what it might do, when suddenly a pane popped up. He looked in surprise and almost fell from his cot then.

Artys Arryn

Son of Elbert Arryn and Shaera the Fair

Age: 14

Artys Stone is the son of Elbert Arryn and Shaera the Fair, the daughter of a small house. Artys was conceived shortly before Elbert left with Brandon Stark to head south, when he was sent up to deal with mountain clansmen to earn his spurs. Elbert married Shaera hastily before leaving. Artys is a fair-tempered lad who owns a pet falcon, Orys, named after the first Baratheon. He believes himself to be the son of a minor family of nobles.

Level Four

Exp: 400/600

Attributes:

Intelligence: 12

Strength: 9

Charisma: 10

Luck: 14

Wisdom: 6

Perception: 8

Perks:

As High as Honor: Honor increases by 2x and decreases by 2x for any action where Honor is gained or lost.

Fair: Boost to reputation to all maidens and certain men., +2 charisma

Good swordsman: Swordsmanship skill increases 1.5x when training, +5% increase to damage when wielding a sword.

The shock caused him to choke on his breath and he felt faint. He was the son of Elbert Arryn? He was an Arryn? Questions raced through his mind, and he pressed one of the other tabs. It popped open but made no sound. Contained within was a small map, accurately drawn as if by one of those Essosi mapmakers he had seen peddling their wares, back when he had visited Gulltown with his mother. It showed all the plaed he had visited in the nearby area, some areas more highlighted and some less. Flipping to another part of this maps section, he saw the vale - or the outline of it. Much of it was dark and not seeable. A few paths around the area of the vale were explored but grey. Obviously this means that areas i've visited more are more clear.

He began to flip through the tabs, pausing at one of the tabs. It flashed brightly, saying, You can unlock two perks and assign thirty skill points. He paused and looked at the perks. Defender of the Vale: 20% increase to damage when battling the Mountain Clans of the vale.

Scrounger: Much more likely to get money from quests.

Swordsmanship Counts!: Every time you attack your enemy and get a critical you get thirty percent more experience for the strike - but only when using a sword.

Artys considered himself good with numbers, by any means, but this was getting more and more confusing by the second. He barely understood the perks for now, so he flipped to the skills to figure out more about them.

Skills:

Swordsmanship: Level 4. 45% to next level.

Survival: Level 2. 26%

Companion caretaking: Level 3. 2%

Archery: Level 2. 0%

He sighed again, growing even more frustrated now. He had absolutely no clue what the hell he was supposed to do with that. He flipped to the next tab.

Quests:

(Only Available Tomorrow)

Feed your Falcon: +50 xp

Hard Training: +80 xp +10% Swordsmanship skill (Train with the master of arms)

Harder Hunting: +100 xp +Shadowcat Cloak +20% Survival skill (Hunt the shadowcat that has been prowling around the woods nearby.)

(Available Tonight)

The Shining Pool: +? (Go to the pool when the moon is highest in the sky for a reward.)

Artys accepted the one quest available to him.

Later that night he awoke at Dusk and pulled on his breeches, then his leather boots, then he shoved on a shirt. Artys looked out his first floor window and hopped out. Landing brusquely, he crouched down and began to move quietly through the woods. Skill unlocked: Stealth. He gasped at the notification but then clamped his mouth shut and kept moving. Artys spotted the pool and moved on. He looked at the moon and waited for ten or so minutes.

The moon reached its zenith and shown down on the pool directly. The pool went from murky and dark to clear and bright enough to see a good bit. He paused and searched around and then saw a glint. Reaching down into the pool and picking up the glint - and kicking up some dirt - looking at what he picked up. It was a necklace with a leather band, a gold crown and a white crystal imbedded in the gold crown. He unclasped the end and put it around his neck, clasping it again. Suddenly a notification popped up. +1 to wisdom from the low magic item equipped! He saw a glint of eyes in the wood, but they disappeared. Artys stepped back momentarily, collected himself, and went back to his room. Hopping in through the window, he took off his boots, hie breeches and his shirt and crawled back into bed, falling asleep.

Artys woke up and rolled over. What a strange dream. I can't believe my brain thought that up. He heard a bing and opened his eyes more, wiping away the blurriness with the back of his hand. Usually you don't hear the servant bells at this time of day… He groaned, and pulled himself out of bed. He looked at his hand and his heart skipped a beat when he saw the panel he had seen in his dream. Impossible.

Artys dressed hurriedly, barely looking as he shoved on his breeches, pulled on his socks and then his boots, then pulled a shirt over his head. He checked the panel again. The quest tab was flashing.

New Quest!

Save the Village from the Mountain Clans. +500 xp, +10 Swordsmanship skill, +?

Oh dear.