DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN GAME OF THRONES OR ANY ASSOCIATED CHARACTERS
Hello to all. This is a story that I'd written some time ago in the TV category for Game of Thrones, but I've since decided to move it here. It will be a sort of mix of the TV events with some of the book characters that were never shown. For instance, Edric Dayne will feature prominently, and I have also scaled up his age because why not, right? These chapters will come out pretty frequently, as they've already been written to some extent, I am just doing edits of what they used to be. Anyways, I hope you all enjoy the story!
Chapter 1
Austin woke to the same sounds that one who lives in a castle knows by heart. The clanging of swords indicating morning drills, the clacking of cart wheels on the stone floors, the general hum of conversation. Not a day went by that Austin didn't find himself among these such sounds.
The young man slowly sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he swung his legs out of bed. Rising to his feet, he made his way to the mirror in the corner of his room, studying his own reflection. He was a tall lad, for his age, at least. He had stark white hair that ran down his neck to his shoulders. His face was defined by a strong jaw, but perhaps his most striking features were his eyes. The two violet orbs stared back at him, the signature of House Dayne.
Austin supposed that he had his father to thank for his strong Dayne genes. After all, he was the son of Ser Arthur Dayne, the Sword of the Morning. Austin's mother, on the other hand, died in childbirth, after which, Ser Arthur joined the Kingsguard.
Abandoning the mirror, Austin moved to the window, to observe the goings on of the castle. As expected, the few men that weren't on watch were drilling in the courtyard. Starfall was certainly lacking in men at the moment, with the majority of them having been sent North to fight at the Trident against the rebel army led by Robert Baratheon. Unfortunately, word had come several weeks prior that Prince Rhaegar had been slain at the Trident, leaving Robert's army free to take King's Landing, which was sacked by the Lannisters before Eddard Stark could even arrive.
All of that, and still no word of my father, Austin thought to himself. While the two of them weren't particularly close, it was still nice for a boy to see his father and hear of his exploits. However, the Kingsguard had kept Arthur in King's Landing for the last ten years, and those oaths were taken for life, or until the death of the king. As such, Austin had only ever met his father on three separate occasions, the last being the Great Tournament at Harrenhal.
And while King Aerys had been slain, Ser Arthur was nowhere to be found. Had he been present at the Trident of King's Landing, no doubt word of his death would have reached them by now, but in this case, no word was positive, giving Austin hope that his father was still alive.
With the absence of his father, Austin had to find other ways to entertain himself. That came in only two ways: training with the house guard, or babysitting his young cousin Edric, the heir to Starfall. While he was getting some sort of reputation with the former, no renown came from the time spent with his young cousin.
Austin sighed, moving away from the window and opening his wardrobe to dress for the day. He donned a simple black tunic and trousers with leather boots before proceeding out of the room and down the winding staircase. He emerged in the Great Hall, where tables had already been set for breaking fast.
He found Edric and his aunt, Ashara, already seated. Ashara's eyes lit up when she caught sight of Austin. "Good morning! Sleep well?"
"Not particularly," he shrugged. While Edric could be seen as a nuisance due to his young age, his aunt Ashara was anything but. She had always seemed to have a soft spot for Austin, and treated him as her own son in the absence of her brother. She was the only parental figure that Austin had ever known.
Ashara seemed to take that answer in stride, as Austin so often responded in such a manner. He ate quickly before excusing himself to the courtyard, where he liked to watch the men train. Sometimes, he would join them, but only on days when the Master of Arms felt charitable. Today didn't seem to be one of those days, as the grizzled veteran shook his head to Austin. Resigning himself to another day of boredom, Austin leaned against a stone support pillar and simply observed.
He had always been fascinated by the art of sword fighting. Every movement of the body, every arc of the blade. Each had to be in perfect position, lest one risk death. Even if said requirements were met, one still had to possess the reflexes necessary to be adequate, much less good enough to beat a knight.
The young Dayne was roused from his thoughts by a horn blast from above the gate. "Riders approaching!"
Perhaps it's father, Austin thought to himself, suddenly very excited.
Needless to say, he was thoroughly disappointed to find two riders in brown boiled leather, sand covering them nearly head to toe. One of the riders held a small bundle in his left arm, controlling the reins of the horse with the other. A flimsy wooden cart was hitched to the horse as well, with a long wooden box strapped in it. The other man was clutching his abdomen, face scrunched up in pain. Blood seeped through his fingers and stained the top of his saddle and horse.
"Austin, who is it?" a voice behind him called.
He turned to see his aunt Ashara approaching. "Two Northmen, haven't asked their names."
As Ashara approached, her breath suddenly caught in her chest. "Ned," she whispered before regaining her composure. "Lord Stark, what an unexpected surprise. What are you doing in Dorne, my lord?"
One of the riders raised a hand in greeting as he dismounted. Running his free hand through his hair, he bowed apologetically to Ashara. "I'm sorry for my sudden arrival, but my Lord Howland Reed here is gravely wounded, might I trouble you for assistance?"
"Of course," Ashara nodded, snapping at two men. "Escort him to the maester immediately."
Once the two guardsmen had pulled Lord Reed down from his saddle and disappeared into the castle with him, Ashara turned back to Lord Stark. "I'm afraid that you have yet to answer my question, my lord. What are you doing in Dorne?"
Lord Stark glanced down at Austin with strangely apologetic orbs before returning to Ashara. "Is there somewhere we might speak in private, my lady? I'm afraid the news I bring is not of the joyful nature."
It was then that Ashara's eyes moved beyond Lord Stark, looking over his shoulder, where she spied something that turned her blood cold. A sword was strapped to the side of Lord Stark's saddle. The pommel was engraved with the rising sun.
Two years. His father had died two years ago. Austin Dayne had been orphaned two years ago. While he was angry at the death of his father, it would have been nothing compared to his rage had Dawn also been lost to them. At least now, Austin had a goal that had come out of the tragedy. To this day, Ashara had refused to reveal the circumstances of his father's death, something that Austin resented her for.
Now at the age of thirteen, Austin was unmatched within the castle walls. After hearing the news of his father's death, he had thrown himself into training with the sword. The Master at Arms hadn't dared defy him at that point. Due to the constant training, Austin was unmatched amongst the house guard. The only man left who put up a decent enough challenge was the Master at Arms himself.
The years of swordplay had given Austin a physical form that was rarely seen in men his age. Most boys were still playing games and sparring with wooden staves, playing as if they were knights. But not Austin. He had but one conceivable goal: to earn the title Sword of the Morning.
His father had left him nothing, so what else could he possibly do to grow closer to a dead man? The only thing he could think of was to earn his father's title of Sword of the Morning, to see if even in death, the two could grow closer.
Strangely enough, Austin found himself unable to feel anger towards Lord Stark for the incident. He was angry at whoever placed his father at the wrong place at the wrong time. Lord Stark had simply emerged victorious, the gods having decided that it was not his fate to die at the hands of the Sword of the Morning.
The days were no more eventful than they had been previously, Austin was only older, as was Edric. The younger Dayne had finally grown old enough to start his lessons as a young lord in training, while Austin took the path of the warrior. No sense in learning politics and governance when you weren't born to rule. Edric was the heir, and so Edric was subject to such matters.
As it so happened, Austin was currently training in the yard, leading the drills with the men while Edric was inside with their aunt. In the middle of his latest swing, Austin jolted in fear when he heard the sound of the alarm bells, along with the sounding of the horn above the main gate. Immediately, the iron contraption slammed downwards, cutting off any entry to the castle.
"Captain, what is it?" Austin called up to the men above the gate.
"An army, my lord!"
"What?" Austin exclaimed, sprinting for the staircase that led him tot he top of the walls. He joined the captain of the guard above the gate, overlooking the surrounding beach, ocean, and sand dunes. It was atop the dunes that Austin saw the cause for alarm. Men and horses, ranks deep, crested the dunes and marched towards Starfall. The sun glinted off of their equipment as they marched.
"Man the battlements! Archers to your posts! Cover the causeway!" he sounded, satisfied as the men moved into action. Unfortunately, their task was daunting. They were clearly outnumbered, the full strength of House Dayne having yet to be replenished after Robert's Rebellion. The army approaching now looked to number in the few thousand range.
"Austin!" a voice called from below. Wheeling round, the young Dayne caught sight of Ashara.
"Aunt! Who are they?" he asked as she ascended the staircase to stand with him.
She gulped in fear at the sight of the banners, which were now close enough to see. "They bear our sigil. This is the work of your power-hungry cousin, Gerold. He wouldn't have dared attack the Main House if your father were still alive. But it seems that the Branch House has grown brave without the Sword of the Morning to oppose them. Oh, how he's always coveted Dawn."
"Don't worry, we'll repel them," Austin said confidently, despite the situation.
Ashara immediately looked to him. Their eyes were at even level, as he was tall for such a young man. As such, he could see the fear and concern etched into her beautiful irises. "No, you won't. Listen to me. You need to ride out of here. Take your cousin and flee."
Austin furrowed his brow in anger at the suggestion. "He needs to pay for attacking us!"
"And he will, but not today. We cannot defeat them. You need to get Edric out of here. He is the future of our house, as are you."
Austin shook his head. "No! I'll stay and fight!"
A hard slap across his face silenced him immediately. "Do not argue with me! I promised your father that I would keep you safe! Now go saddle some horses while I pack provisions and fetch Edric! NOW!" she practically yelled into his face.
Eyes wide with surprise, Austin's body was moving before he even realized what he was doing. As if controlled by an outside force, he descended the stairs and made for the stables, saddling two horses before he even knew what was happening. When he'd finished, Ashara had yet to arrive, so he quickly darted into the armory and snatched an edged blade, replacing the sparring sword he'd been using earlier.
As he emerged from the armory, he spied Ashara, Edric in tow, headed for the stables. He ran after them, watching as she hoisted the young Edric onto one of the horses. He seemed to not understand what was happening, as he was only eight.
After handing Edric the reins, Ashara turned to Austin. "Now you ride out of the postern gate, and you ride hard. Don't stop, don't look back."
"Where will we go that he won't be able to find us?" Austin asked, referring to Gerold.
Ashara sighed. "Go North. Go to Winterfell. Lord Stark will keep you safe. There's nothing that Gerold can do against the full might of the North."
Austin was shocked at the notion. It was one thing to not feel any anger towards the man, but it was another to sleep under the same roof as his father's killer.
As if sensing his reservations, Ashara shook her head. "You don't understand, Austin. He is not the reason your father is dead. He may tell you in full once you arrive, but you must seek him out. Please do this, for me."
Austin nodded silently. "I will. I'll keep him safe."
"You are the son of the Sword of the Morning. Live up to that name, and surpass it. Do not live in your father's shadow for the rest of your life," Ashara smiled, tears now streaming down her face as the first clashes of steel could be heard outside. Hardening her features, she smacked their horses on the rear. "Now go!"
Austin rode hard, sensing Edric on his heels. The two of them sped out of the gate and past the edges of the castle. Austin only looked back to get one last look at his home before he left. What he saw would haunt him for the rest of his days. Ashara had thrown herself from the Palestone Sword.