DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN GAME OF THRONES OR ANY ASSOCIATED CHARACTERS
I had to bend some characters' ages to fit my plan for this story, so please put your pitchforks away. I'm genuinely enjoying writing this story so far! Enjoy the latest chapter!
P.S. To anyone that has already been reading this, I edited all previous chapters. Austin is now thirteen instead of eleven. Edric is still eight, though.
Chapter 4
Austin's first thought was of how massive the castle of Winterfell was. Starfall is an impressive castle, but Winterfell put it to shame. The ancient seat of the Kings of Winter, the massive stone walls and high towers were said to be imbued with magic. The only castle Austin had been to that was this big was Harrenhal, but that was just a pile of melted stone. Winterfell stood proud in all its glory.
The surrounding countryside was devoid of trees for several miles, offering a great sightline from Winterfell, preventing a surprise attack like the one that occurred at Starfall. The village that sat at the base of the walls of the massive castle was Wintertown. The small town was clearly alive with activity, and some had even gathered to welcome their Lord Stark back home. What the common folk did not expect was two little lords to be returning with him.
As Edric and Austin trotted along behind Lord Stark, the imposing castle grew even larger if that was possible. By the time they reached the gates and came into the courtyard, Austin was convinced that it had been built by giants.
Dismounting his horse, Austin was surprised to see such a large welcoming party. There was a thin redhead, carrying a toddler in her arms while an old woman held another. Lady Catelyn! Austin realized.
He gave a small bow. "Lady Catelyn, on behalf of both myself and my cousin Edric, we would like to thank you for so graciously welcoming us into your home."
The Lady of Winterfell curtsied in return and gave a warm smile. "It is our pleasure, my lords. Now come, you must be cold. I still haven't gotten used to the North myself. I can't even imagine what this must feel like after growing up in Dorne."
Austin chuckled. "It has been rather trying, my Lady," he said, gesturing to the layers of fur covering his body. Lord Eddard had supplied them just before they reached Moat Cailin.
Austin steered young Edric along, following the Stark matriarch into the main hall, where several platters of food were being set on the long, wooden table. Austin eagerly sat down and dug into the hot food, allowing it to seep into his bones and remove the cld that had been present for the past few weeks.
He was concentrating on savoring the delicious meat when he was brought out of his thoughts by the noise of the toddler. "Papa!" it squealed.
Austin attempted to bite back his laughter. "And who might this be?" he asked.
Lady Catelyn smiled. "This is my son Robb. My firstborn. Hopefully more will follow," she said, laying a hand on her belly.
Austin nodded. "I pray for happy, healthy children, my Lady."
"As do I," she replied.
Austin spent the rest of the meal in silence, grateful for the Stark hospitality before excusing himself from the hall. He made his way back out into the courtyard, where he spotted Lord Stark in deep conversation with Ser Rodrik.
As Austin approached, he could make out small snippets of their speech.
"I can't ride down and besiege the castle myself, he's a Dornish vassal, it would be an act of war…"
"My Lord, the King might could help the situation."
"Not likely, Dorne is only apart of the Seven Kingdoms in name. It is truly its own country…"
All conversation ceased as the two became aware of Austin's presence. "What is it, Austin?"
"I was wondering if I might trouble Ser Rodrik for some training," the young Dayne hinted.
Lord Eddard smirked before turning back to Ser Rodrik and jerking his head. The veteran warrior nodded. Lord Stark gave Austin a pat on the shoulder before taking himself into the hall.
"Now!" Austin's head snapped back to Ser Rodrik, who was now holding two sparring swords. "Defend yourself!"
The Northern knight tossed the blunt sword towards Austin, who attempted to catch it, but it bounced off of his knuckles and buried itself in the mud. Ser Rodrik sighed.
"Tomorrow, you will catch it."
Austin slowly opened his eyes to study his surroundings. He'd woken up in a massive feather bed with several pounds of fur put on top for warmth. Austin removed himself out from under them and sat up. Rubbing his eyes, he guessed it must be mid morning, judging from the sounds coming from the courtyard below the open window.
Slowly, the son of Arthur Dayne rose to dress for the day. Sometime in the night, a change of clothes had been brought to him, and laid across the foot of the bed. Austin changed into the northern clothes, feeling strangely at home in them, as if he were meant to wear them. It was a simple, thick leather tunic under a cloak with ur on the shoulders, accompanied by leather boots and gloves.
So I'm an honorary Stark…, Austin joked to himself.
Stepping out of the massive room, he made his was alone the stone corridors, descending the winding flights of stairs before exiting into the courtyard. His muscles were still sore from his sparring session with Ser Rodrik.
Unlike the Master-at-Arms in Starfall, Ser Rodrik was not lenient. He did not care whether you were highborn or a commoner from Fleabottom, he was going to train you. Austin was grateful for this, however, as it would be the only way to develop his sword skills effectively. The Starks were regarded as fine warriors, and Austin could see why.
Out of the corner of Austin's eye, he saw a young warrior tie a brown corded bag to his horse's saddle before mounting up. "Bronn!" Austin called.
The sellsword's head turned to see the approaching Dayne. "Well, you were right, fancy lad. Lord Stark paid me, so now I'm off to the next job."
"Just like that?" Austin asked, bewildered.
Bronn nodded. "Aye, just like that. I'm a sellsword, kid. I sell my sword, I don't loan it out to everyone that needs help."
Austin nodded. Truth be told, he rather enjoyed the sellsword's humorous, carefree demeanor. Oddly enough, he was going to miss him.
"See ya 'round, kid," Bronn said before clicking his heels and trotting out the gate, never looking back.
Austin nodded, to himself now, more than Bronn. "Aye, you'll see me again. I'm sure of it."
289 AC
Four Years Later
It was a normal day like any other for the seventeen year old Austin Dayne. Wake up, dress in heavy clothes to combat the summer snows, eat breakfast, train in the yard. He was currently on the last activity, sparring sword in hand, staring down his opponent, the twenty year old Jory Cassel. The nephew of Ser Rodrik, Jory had recently been admitted into Lord Stark's personal guard, under the current captain, Ser Torrhen Snow.
Austin dashed forward once again, ignoring the screaming exhaustion from his limbs. He brought his blade in a wide sweep at Jory's feet before reversing the momentum to aim at the young Cassel's neck. Jory brought his blade up just in time for the clang of metal to ring out across the courtyard. Austin did not hide that he was impressed with the young guard's speed. Not many of Lord Stark's guards could hope to last as long as Jory had. It seems that some of the skill of Ser Arthur Dayne had passed down to his only son.
At six and a half feet tall, Austin towered over the smaller Jory, who stood just under six feet. That was working in Austin's favor, as he had both the reach advantage, as well as the strength advantage. Not to mention that he was simply more skilled than Jory. Despite the gap in skill, the two of them had grown to be steadfast friends during the Dayne's stay at Winterfell. Austin sparred with Jory more than any other man in the castle. There was only one person that Austin enjoyed sparring with more than Jory, and that was Lord Stark himself. The veteran Lord always challenged Austin to his limits, as the young Dayne, despite all of his natural skill and talent, was still fairly inexperienced.
Austin let his blade down, plunging the point into the ground before sitting on one of the benches to rest. He wiped the sheen of cold sweat off of his forehead with his sleeve as Jory sat down next to him.
"Well fought," Austin acknowledged.
Jory chuckled. "You getting old? You seemed a bit slower today."
Austin shook his head. "I don't know what it is, but I feel distracted today. In the back of my mind, there's a sense of impending danger, though it could just be my dreams."
As if on queue, as soon as Austin had finished his sentence, a guardsman rode into the castle. The northman didn't even wait for his horse to come to a complete stop before he vaulted off of it and rushed into the main hall of Winterfell.
Jory looked Austin dead in the eye. "I don't think it was your dreams."
Austin agreed, and the two young warriors quickly rose to follow the man into the hall. Ser Rodrik was already present, along with Lord Stark, Lady Catelyn, and Maester Luwin. It seemed that Lord Stark was in the middle of trying to calm down the ranting guardsman.
"Slow down, gather yourself," the Lord of Winterfell said with a raised hand. He waited for a few seconds as the man took a few deep breaths before continuing. "Now, say again."
"My Lord, the Greyjoys have risen up against the crown. They've burnt the Lannister fleet at Lannisport, and have besieged Seagard, though Lord Mallister is confident he can repel the ironborn."
Lord Stark nodded along, his signature look of grave seriousness always present on his face. "What else?"
"My Lord, King Robert is calling all of his banners to crush the rebellion once and for all."
"No, for the last time, no," Lord Stark declared. "I refuse to allow you to participate in this war."
Austin wasn't taking no for an answer. "Lord Stark, I mean no offense, but I am a Lord in my own right. I do not need your permission to do anything. Granted, I am a guest in your home, but I am not your son."
Eddard was silenced for a few moments. "Very well. You may accompany me as a member of my household guard. Meaning you will not stray from my side during the battles to follow."
Austin did not attempt to hide his joy. A wide grin spread across his face. This was the moment he'd been waiting for. A chance to prove himself worthy of his father. Only time will tell if Austin has the makings of a swordsman such as Ser Arthur Dayne, the Sword of the Morning.
The seventeen year old Lord Dayne bowed his head in acknowledgement. "I agree to your terms, Lord Stark."
The Stark patriarch simply smirked before turning on his heel to attend his other matters. Austin turned the opposite way before practically sprinting to Edric's room. He found the young Lord of Starfall packing his bags. "What are you doing?" Austin asked, a bit confused at his cousin's actions.
"I'm going to fight, what do you think?" Edric retorted, as if that was obvious.
Austin shook his head. "Absolutely not," he disagreed.
Edric looked up at him with determined eyes. "And why not, exactly?"
"Because you're twelve, and you're the future of our house. Who's the rightful lord after you?"
"You are," Edric clarified.
Austin shook his head once more. "You know I don't want it. Governing a castle isn't my destiny. I'm a fighter, Edric. It's in my blood. Aye, you are skilled for your age, but you've been groomed by Lord Stark to rule over your subjects, not run off to fight in wars you don't need to fight."
Edric's head dropped at that. He knew his older cousin was right, he just hated feeling left out all the time. Austin reached down and placed a comforting hand on Edric's shoulder.
"Hey. Don't worry, I'll be back before you know it," he assured.
Edric nodded. "Alright, but I'm for sure going in the next war. I'll be old enough then."
Austin chuckled before lazily nodding his assent as he gave his cousin a parting hug.
