Hi, Everyone, I'm back yet again, and allow me to introduce this small series of One-shots I plan on making, welcome to "Adventures of the Sage"
Hope you find it enjoyable at least :)
as usual, if anyone has any advice or suggestions, feel free to let me know.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything at all.
In the throne room of king's landing, Joffrey Baratheon, clad in his golden robes and red cape, smiling sadistically as he stood with his crossbow aimed at the helpless, whimpering and sobbing Sansa Stark, who was kneeling on both knees, begging the child king:
"Your Grace, whatever my traitor brother has done, I had no part in that, I beg you pleas-"
, yet her words were cut by the Baratheon's cold but slightly amused voice:
"Sir Lancel, Tell her of this outrage."
, the man in question bowed his head and spoke:
"Using some vile sorcery, your brother came upon Stanford Lannister with an of wolves, Thousands of good men were butchered, after the slaughter, the Northmen feasted on the flesh of the slain."
, whispers echoed throughout the hall, nobles cursing the Northmen and their king, believing the obvious lie or simply expressing their own contempt and disdain for them.
Sansa sobbed even more, tears streaming down her cheeks as she suffered such humiliation, but then the king said:
"Killing you would~ send your brother a message..."
, the young Stark girl felt her blood run cold, terror gripping her heart and her body losing strength, her face paled and she started shaking uncontrollably, her life flashing before her eyes as Joffery's fingers came closer and closer to squeezing the trigger of the crossbow, unbeknownst to both of them,
yet he never did, he lowered his weapon and sighed as he continued:
"..but my mother insisted on keeping you alive, stand."
, he walked back to his throne of swords and sat lazily, gazing at Sansa who shakily got to her feet, her face red and stained by her tears.
But Joffery couldn't care less about such things, he smirked, saying:
"So, we'll have to send him a message some other way, Meryn."
, the Kingsguard nodded and approached the girl, fear returning to her face with a vengeance, unsure of what is about to happen to her.
Just as Sir Meryn got within arms reach, Joffery's voice echoed again:
"Leave her face."
, the guard turned to his king, as did Sansa before he went on:
"I like her pretty."
, the punch came without warning, incredible pain followed after it, Sansa could have sworn she would have almost begun vomiting right then and there, but with sheer willpower fueled by fear of the results of said action, she didn't do so.
It was when the flat of the blade his her leg that pain once again forced her to whimper and forced her to her knees yet again, Joffery stood once again and said:
"you know, my lady is overdressed..unburden her."
, shamelessly the so-called knight ripped the young girl's dress and exposed her back for all to see, but the sadistic kid wasn't done yet:
"if we want Robb Stark to hear us, then we have to speak LOUDER!"
, the Stark broke into hysterical cries as she saw the flat of the knight's blade heading straight for her in full force, but it was at that moment when an unknown voice rang clear as day throughout the throne room:
"I believe that's quite enough."
, the voice was majestic and deep, its defiance of the order of the king caused the audience to widen their eyes in shock, while the king himself was livid, if glares could kill, then his glare could've killed the whole of Westeros, and he soon found the one who spoke:
it was a man who dressed in a black trench coat and pinstripe trousers, with a red scarf and a hooded, gray and white flower-print mantel and a dark hat on , the clothing was naturally very mysterious and strange for everyone in the Throne room,but the man's hair and eyes also made him stand out, he had red-violet neck-length hair and amber eyes, he appeared to be in his early 30-ties at most, he walked in a very carefree way, uncaring for the fury of Joffery.
he was also accompanied by two figures in black overcoats, their faces were masked by their hoods, their stature and size being the only discernable difference, as one of them was somewhat taller and larger than the other.
The man approached Sansa, once in front of the child, he beckoned one of his escorts:
"Shirou, if you may, cover this young flower."
, the slightly taller of the 2 men in black took off his hood, revealing a man in his mid-thirties, with exotic red hair and golden eyes.
he walked towards Sansa, removed his overcoat and covered her with it, showcasing the black armor he had underneath, which wrapped tightly around his body, showing his extremely well-developed muscles, his simple longsword hung in his waist.
The man completely ignored the gossips of the people around him, as well as the wrathful glare the king sent his way, and he sighed as he once again stood behind the man in purple, and said:
"You always like to get into these sorts of problems, don't you...Ardyn?"
, the man named Ardyn quickly rose his hands in protest, yet his playful smirk all but proved the "sincerity" of his denial, he said:
"Why I don't even know what you're talking about, Dear Shirou, I am but a simple man who likes to help those in need, just like you are."
, the second man snorted as he said:
"like hell you are, you just like to cause us headaches whenever you can for your amusement, a situation that helps others, especially those suffering from injustice, just so happens to be your preference."
, Ardyn deadpanned at his second companion before he said:
"oh dear, have I truly become that transparent."
, the two glared at him with an intensity that made most of the others in the throne room step back in instinctive fear, Glegane's own instincts made him grip his sword and be ready for anything, but then Shirou spoke:
"yes, yes you did, it's become redundant and boring beyond belief at this point, even Teacher Basileus said so, and that in itself is an achievement I never thought possible."
, the other hooded figure nodded his head, showing his clear agreement.
The 3 didn't even notice, or perhaps just didn't care, about the increasingly fuming Joffery, who had just reached his limit, not that it was that high, to begin with, but the final straw was the reply of Ardyn:
"I guess you're right, so as compensation, when we're on the way back to Avalon, I'll be sure to show you some of the more interesting sights I found, this kingdom is a rather depressing and weak one that's hardly worth a look, I thought the childish boy for king could be something more but it appears I was horribly mistaken."
"HOW DARE YOU, FILTHY BASTARDS"
, the shout came without warning, causing all in the room to step back in surprise, all but the 3 responsible for the anger of the king, Ardyn only playfully tilted his head and put his hand on his ear, and then he turned to the boy.
The latter breathing heavily, his face red in anger, the veins of his neck clearly showing his absolute fury, he continued:
"FIRST, YOU ENTER MY THRONE ROOM AND DISRUPT MY PUNISHMENT, THEN YOU HELP THE TRAITOR'S SISTER, AND YOU HAVE THE GALL TO INSULT ME AND MY RULE, CONSIDER IT YOUR LAST INSULT, I SHALL MAKE YOU WISH FOR DEATH BY THE TIME I'M DONE WITH YOU."
, he gestured to Meryn and the guards, who drew their swords and encircled the trio, he smiled sadistically:
"by the time I'm finished with you, I shall order my guards to parade with your mangled corpses, then I'll order a search for your relatives and friends and have them killed in the worst ways imaginable, they shall suffer every torture and humiliation I could think off and then some, GUARDS."
, Shirou's expression changed almost instantly, his eyes showed a grim look and his hand gripped his sword, his companion also gripping something under his overcoat, most likely his own weapon of choice, but Ardyn's smirk remained all the same:
"Temper, Temper, such a bad trait for a potential king, but you got one thing wrong, boy, none in this room has what it takes to kill us."
, the man's statement was met with great laughter from everyone in the room, Joffery himself laughed the loudest among them, his voice filled with contempt:
"you must be out of your mind, you are severely outnumbered and in MY keep, your chances of survival are none what so ever, you can only die."
, Ardyn smiled back at the idiotic boy, he put his hand on his hat, tilting it slightly so as to cover his eyes, even as the guards closed in:
"Well, let the games...
...begin."
, the trio tensed up and the guards felt chills down their spines, some of the lesser trained ones let go of their weapons, while others retreated a bit, but before anyone could act, another voice came from the entrance:
"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS!"
, everyone turned to the newcomer, only to see Tyrion Lannister, the temporary hand of the king, accompanied by the sellsword, Bronn, enter the Throne room.
Tyrion analyzed the situation he found himself in before his eyes widened seeing the trio, he glared at the guards:
"By my authority as the hand of the king, I command you to lower your weapons and fall back, NOW."
, the guards hesitated for a moment, before obeying the order, well most of them did, Sir Meryn kept his sword leveled at Ardyn and his companions, but surprisingly, Tyrion didn't reprimand him, choosing to ignore him instead.
He advanced towards the trio, before extending his hand to Ardyn with a genuine smile of happiness on his face:
"I certainly didn't expect to see visitors from Avalon here of all places, and the chancellor no less, if it isn't the troublemaker Ardyn, it's been quite a while, my friend, how have you been?"
, the man in question shook the Lannister's hand:
"we're only here as passers-by, as for me, I've been good, the journeys I had in Westeros the last couple of months had been quite thrilling."
, Shirou and the other companion groaned in agitation at Ardyn's remark, but Tyrion didn't seem to mind, instead, he gestured towards Ardyn's companions, the latter quickly pointed towards Shirou:
"this is Shirou, one of Teacher Basileus's newest students, this is the first time for him outside of his...homeland, as for this one.."
, he pointed towards the other cloaked figure, before continuing:
"his name is Sieg, he came with me to explore the world, you can take off your hood, Sieg."
, the young man took off his hood, revealing healthy a pale complexion, brown hair, and red eyes, he bowed his head slightly towards Tyrion before returning to his earlier silence, the latter merely glanced back to Ardyn who shrugged nonchalantly.
Tyrion noticed Sansa still on her knees, a frown made its way on his face in no time, and he openly glared at the king:
"Someone care to explain why the future queen is on her knees?"
, Ardyn smirked as he looked at the boy king:
"oh you're going to love this one,Tyrion, your dear king here has decided to supposedly punish his own wife because of the defeat his forces suffered at the hands of her brother, Robb Stark, choosing to let his dog over there beat a helpless girl and dishonor her in front of all onlookers."
, Tyrion's frown only deepened as Ardyn explained continued, before exploding in anger:
" incompetence! madness! stupidity! you punish her for battles she didn't fight in, you halfwit."
, if possible, the king's face got even redder and his neck looked like an ugly web of veins as his chest heaved in angry breaths:
"the king can do as he likes!"
, Ardyn shook his head and Tyrion advanced towards Joffery:
"the mad king did as he liked, did your uncle Jaime tell you what happened to him?"
, Meryn suddenly pointed his sword at Tyrion:
"No one threatens the king in the presence of the Kingsguard."
, Bronn gripped his sword and his body became tense, ready to spring into action at any given sign of violence, the same could be said for Shirou and Sieg, though they remained more subtle in their readiness.
The Lannister, however, didn't even bother to turn to the knight, but responded regardless:
"I am not threatening the king, Ser, I am educating my nephew, Bronn, the next time Ser Meryn speaks, Kill him."
, Meryn backed up slightly and focused on the mercenary, noticing that his grip on his sword tightened and he shrugged, Ardyn snickered at the guard:
"THAT was a threat, see the difference?"
, the knight was about to retort but seeing the 2 escorts daring him to say something, he opted to back off, the dwarf came towards Sansa, and extended his hand towards her, she was still shaken, but she took his hand and stood up, the king shot up from his throne, but could only look as Tyrion walked her out of the hall, accompanied by Ardyn, Shirou and Sieg.
(The gates of King's Landing)
Tyrion watched as Ardyn and his companions left on their horses, before walking back to town, Bronn right behind him, as the two walked in the markets, the mercenary spoke:
"so, care to tell me about those 3, I haven't even heard of any of them before, yet they were nonchalant about a two dozen men surrounding them, I know I won't."
, Tyrion glanced at some merchandises:
"well, they were people from the kingdom of Avalon, in Essos, it was founded a few years after the start of the mad king's reign, at first it was just a small community of unnaturaly talented craftsmen and incredibly strong fighters, it slowly grew in popularity as it clashed with the slavers, bandits, mercenaries and barbarians, coming out victorious in every battle it fought since it appeared, their endeavors had managed to free a very big amount of slaves and attract poor folks, which made up the biggest part of their society at first, their generals, seven in total, are geniuses in warfare and tactics, and their king, Arthur Pendragon, is a man of astonishing Charisma and skill, Ardyn is the kingdom's Chancellor, the equivalent to the Hand of the king in Westeros, although I haven't seen him fight at all, I'm almost sure that his fighting prowess is in no way inferior to any of the monstrous Generals or the king himself, and then there is the "Sage of Avalon", Basileus, rumors say that he is a man of unmatchable Wisdom, some would call it divine even, foresight that spans ages beyond our own and a natural charisma to become close to pretty much anyone, they say his ever-watchful gaze watches over the entirety of Avalon, the people idolize and revere him to a degree comparable to the king himself."
, the sellsword snorted in disdain:
"sounds like the same bullsh** every kingdom spouts about their king endlessly, the same claim of a prosperous land straight from a fairy tale, a paradise unlike any other, filled with sunshine and daisies."
, Tyrion shook his head in disappointment at the products available, before he moved towards the castle:
"I believed the same thing until I visited the kingdom personally, or more like forced to by my own father in hopes of having me killed, and for the 1st time in my life, I saw the kingdom of Avalon with my own eyes:
the countryside was vibrant for a place in Essos, and the people we saw in our journey looked either satisfied or genuinely happy wherever we went, but a few who looked dissatisfied as they worked, when asked they would praise their king and generals with great admiration, at first I believed that it came from the gratitude most slaves had for their liberators, or being thankful for the new life Avalon gave most of them, so I only paid little attention to their opinions, but then when we just exited the first town we found, we met them:
three figures on horseback, heading straight for us before stopping in front of us, they were wearing armor I have not seen before, but it looked heavy and efficient, their weapons also looked special: one of them carried a very long blood red spear and wearing blue attire with actual blue hair and red eyes, I later found out he was named Cu Chullain, one of the generals of Avalon, when I snooped around I found out the man had fought an army of a thousand sellswords single-handedly and came out victorious, I was told that no one besides the other high ranked officials of Avalon could bring him to fight seriously, and the same went for many of the kingdom's court and army commanders, but you want to know something funny: he is actually nicknamed "the Hound of the Red Plains" by the hostiles around Avalon, because of the seas of blood he leaves on the battlefields, too bad our own hound doesn't have nearly as much skill with a weapon or the looks,
as for the second one that came with him, he was named Gawain, the so-called "knight of the Sun", his skill with the sword is legendary in Avalon, second only to the king, it is rumored that he actually grows in power as the sun rises, reaching its peak at noon, he remains uncontested like most commanders in the battlefield, and he most certainly a knight of honor and virtue that very few can hope to have in Westeros, his sword was also as beautiful as it was deadly, even when it was sparsely decorated,
then came the final one, a monstrous berserker if I do say so myself, was named Beowulf, the "Slayer of beasts", they call him, his very presence brought me more fear than any army ever could, it felt like my blood was slowly freezing and an invisible hand was closing in on my throat, his weapons felt like the touch of death itself, when he smiled my escorts had all but turned their pants into nothing but brown, wet and stinking rags, people claim that he fought 2 fully-grown bears barehanded and he won in less than a minute, and a part of me believed that after our encounter, to be able to command such people would make King Arthur extremely terrifying to me, and Basileus would be even more so, I still wonder to this day how they managed to know I was coming and track me down so easily, but one thing's for sure, I'm not going there again under normal circumstances."
, Bronn listened to the explanation and nodded:
"as I said, sounds like nothing but stupid myths and fairy tales to me, I'll believe it when I see it, but IF it is possible, then I wouldn't want to face any of those freaks, luckily for us, they're far, far away from here."
, the dwarf nodded absent-mindedly and kept walking towards the castle, planning to drink some wine to help clear his head.
Author's note: well, I guess this is the 1st of many worlds Basileus changed in his travels, unfortunately, I won't be making any of these into stories but if anyone wants to, feel free to do so, go wild.
also since exams and what-not are in the way, the worst-case scenario would be that I won't be able to update until the middle of June, so I apologize in advance to all those who favorited and followed "Fate of the Unknown" and I thank you all so much.
please tell me if I made any mistakes.
Have a nice day!