"Magnificent, Bold, Noble, Fierce." - The lawful words of House Skyryder.
"Let's fight Like Demons!" - common words of House Skyryder.
"The Skyryders were well known to possess an indomitable will and sheer ferocity. "Throughout the history of the seven kingdoms, they were feared and respected as fierce warriors and unorthodox strategists. If cornered or facing their last stand, they will keep on fighting, die laughing or smile on their face." - Extract from a Journal of King Artys Arryn.
"Skyryder at the Gates! Seven have mercy... Skyryder at the Gates!" - Words that inspired dread during the days of King Theon Stark's military campaign south.
"It is ironic to refer to them as savages, for flowing within their blood is the lineages of the Royce, Greyiron, Mudd, Stark, and more recently Targaryen have survived through them." - Maester Yandel on the Lineages of the Northern Realms post-Robert's Rebellion
Chapter 1: Adrian Skyryder
The Battle of High Heart was over.
The Andals were finally defeated. It seems that the death of their King, Erreg, has finally discouraged them to progress further in their attempts to burn down High Heart. However, for Adrian Skyryder, son of Robert Skyryder and grandson of the Griffin King, it did not feel like a victory.
Adrian surveyed the aftermath of the battle. He could accept the casualties since it was necessary to keep the Andals from committing their sacrilege by cutting down the sacred place of to the children of the forest of the riverlands. The Andals had taken too much, especially when they drove him from his homelands in the Vale.
After grandfather was killed by the andal knight, Ser Artys Arryn, the Winged Knight, father rally his House to support of Bronze King, Lord Robar II Royce who proclaims himself as the High King of the Vale, the Fingers and the Mountains of the Moon. Many houses and clans of the First Men in the Vale also support Lord Royce. The ultimate goal was to drive the Andals back to the Narrow Seas from where they came.
Under Robar's leadership, the Army of the First Men warred upon one enemy at a time, as the Andal houses had fallen to petty rivalries and infighting. However, the Andals rally under the leadership of Artys Arryn, his grandfather's killer, to counterattack the First Men. The two armies met each other at the foot of the Giant's Lance, in battle they later be known as the Battle of the Seven Stars.
The First Men threw back the Andals' charges six times. The seventh finally broke through their line. Yet, Robar ordered a counterattack and led the charge himself, with his champions at his side, Adrian and his father included. Adrian was the first to spot the Falcon Knight's armor across the field and advance toward him, eager to avenge his grandfather's death.
Yet the moment he killed Artys he also sees five hundred knights charged down the slopes of the Giant's Lance to take Robar's host in the rear. Leading the attack was Artys, as the man slain by Adiran had been a decoy. The Andals routed the First Men Army, with all thirty of Robar's lords killed, while Robar died in the fighting. Adrian, his father and those that survived flee the battlefield, and later forced to leave the Vale now that they have lost the Battle of Seven Stars.
Lord Robert Skyryder has decided to move to Riverlands. Yet once they arrived in the Riverlands, they learn that an Andal King, Erreg, was leading a great army to attacked High Heart, a place sacred to the children of the forest of the riverlands and protected by First Men River kings. For the Skyryders, this was something that they will not allow to stand.
"My Lord, your orders?" one of his men asked.
A large portion of warriors that came with him and his father were dead now. Adrian has realized that they had underestimated the Andals's steel armor and weapons again. They learn this the hard way back in the Battle of Seven Stars as their finest iron and bronze weapons has proved to be ineffective. A lot it seems, their soldiers found it hard to find purchase on steel plate, only aiming for the joints allowed them to dispatch these knights.
"Gather the dead and strip every Andal corpse of their arms and armor." Adrian gave his orders. "From now on, I want all my men be equipped with Andal weaponry and armor. Skilled metalworkers were still in their retinue, perhaps they could find a way to make more of this 'steel' at the very least it would allow them to gradually match them in terms of armament."
"And what about the prisoners?" the soldier asks.
"What prisoners?" Adrian asked, confused.
"Although some of the Andals has flee the battle, we manage to capture several hundreds of them," he told him. "What do you want us to do with them?"
Adrian was surprised that they had Andal prisoners to begin with. It was when he recalled of the Andals' motives for coming to Westeros. The Andals condemned the First Men as barbarians who worship trees. They proclaim that their Gods, the Seven, were the true Gods of Westeros. The Andals also condemned the children of the forest as inhuman creatures who are worthy nothing but the sword. Erreg the Kinslayer wanted to purged High Heart, the Weirwoods and the children of the forest, in the name of their Seven Gods. All of this made Adrian burn with anger.
"Have them ready when I come back," Adrian orders."They were so keen on burning Weirwoods in the name of their Seven Gods… I'm going to execute them before our Gods."
"It will be done my Lord." The Soldier reply before he departs.
Adrian moves towards the area where his father, Robert Skyryder, who fell in battle. When the Andal Knights broke the infantry formation, the battle had devolved into a melee.
"It could have been worse," Adrian thought as he walked through the aftermath. It was a good thing father has favor in adopting crossbows just a day when the Andals attack High Heart, and that metal known as steel had varying degrees of quality, they would have lost, horribly.
Crossbows had been adopted for an entirely different reason, mainly to combat the heavier foot infantry other kingdoms were beginning to field. Adrian was also thanking the gods that steel was not consistent material, he had witnessed crossbows rain ineffective volleys on the knights accompanying the Andal King, but it was working to deadly effect on the rest.
Stripping the dead of their steel armor would be prudent, especially that of the knights accompanying the Andal King, as they were only felled when they had been stabbed in the more vulnerable joints between their armors. He had seen wounded knights cry out for 'parley' in the midst of battle, not that it mattered. The word itself was foreign to them and it most likely had to do with their culture, more so the battle had devolved into a bloody melee, what did they think would happen?
He approached the site where his father fell and found healers tending to him.
"Father?" Adrian spoke.
"Adrian... have we won?"Robert asked in a weak tone.
Adrian grimaced as he looked over his father's injuries, his armor had been rent asunder by the Steel weapons of the Andals and several arrows had struck vital points on his body. In short, he was silently amazed that his father was still alive, but even if he brought a healer he would still perish. At most he could be given Milk of the Poppy.
He would never know the truth, but Adrian was certain that his father knew what he was thinking.
"Yes father, the Andals fled after you slew their king and our men have run them down." Adrian told him.
"Good..." Robert reply, interrupted by his injuries and he began coughing up even more blood, he was getting paler and paler.
"How many?" the dying lord asked. "How many did we lose?"
"Of the five thousand that follow us out of the Vale, after the Battle of Seven Stars, about eleven hundred remain," Adrian told him the details. "Of them...Well over half has been injured with at least seven hundred unlikely to return to the field. I do not think we have enough men to fight another battle like that father. Even the Riverland lords, lost much as we have."
Robert nods and grimaces. Then he says "Adrian... you... are in command now. Take care of them."
Those were his final words and the light faded from his father's eyes, while having a smile on his face. Lord Robert Skyryder, son of the Griffin King was dead.
He wanted to cry, he wanted to weep, he wanted to rage against the accursed Andals. But he could not, Adrian Skyryder, now Lord of his people, would grieve in private, now he had responsibilities and he could not let his personal doubts, or his emotions cloud his judgment.
Moments later, Adrian stands before the Andal prisoners, who are not bonded and tight, unable to do anything to stop what is coming to them. Despite their helpless state, the Andal prisoners appeared defiant to the end.
"Do you all have anything to say before I carry out my sentence?" Adrian asked them coldly.
"You think you won?" the leader of the Andal prisoners sneered at their captors. "This victory is nothing but a hollow brethren may have been defeated but they will return. They will come back and purged this unholy place. Then we will purge you ungodly savages from the face of the Earth! So say the Faith of the Seven!"
"You on the other hand Skyryder," the leader continued, turn his gaze towards Adrian."Your fate is sealed. The moment your father killed our good King, your family is as good as being damned to the Seven Hells!"
This made Adrian even more angry than before. Looking down on the leader with cold gaze and then he asked, "Do you really believed in the Seven?"
"I do!" the leader proudly says out loud.
"And do you believe that when you die, you'll go to the Seven Heavens?" Adrian questioned him once more on that subject.
"I do!" the leader proudly says out loud. "I have no doubt in my soul, that once more mortal shell dies, the Seven will take me to their holy kingdom...as the Seven Hells claim your unholy soul!"
"Well, that is too bad," Adrian calmly says, giving the leader a dark look, with a knife in hand."Because I am planning on making sure, you all never see the Seven Heavens...EVER!"
Grabbing the man, he took out his knife and drove it into his stomach. The Andal screamed horribly, try to pull away. Yet Adrian continued with his stab, cutting him open, even as he kept screaming. Once the Andal prisoner fells to the ground, Adrian dives his hands into his open wound and pulls out his entrails, for everyone to see.
"Who's next?" Adrian asked the shocked and horrifying Andal prisoners with a savage bloodlust, shining in his eyes.
0o0o0
"The Greenseer wishes to speak with you, Lord Skyryder."
The young lord was silent, lost in thought, one of the Children was about to confront him for his impudence when the Greenseer makes a halting gesture.
"It is fine, it is only natural that the son grieves for the father." Adrian was not paying attention, but he would have seen an approximation of pity on the Greenseer's face if he had.
"He is thrust into a position he had not expected to be given and now he must lead his people to the North." the Greenseer's words finally snapped Adrian out of his thoughts.
North? Why would they asked him to go North? Surely they should settle here in the Riverlands. The Lords and Kings here need help to defend their lands against the Andal invaders. And already familiar with their weaponry and tactics, Adrian was sure he will not experiences another defeat of the Battle of the Seven Stars that suffer in the Vale.
Speaking of the North, Adrian recall a story from his mother's side of the family. A story of how they were driven out of their lands from the House Bolton, the ruthless Lords of the Dreadfort, and force to flee to the Vale.
"Nevertheless Adrian Skyryder, it is the only place you can go." The Greenseer says. "Despite your efforts the Riverlands will soon fall before the invaders. Only the North is the place you can be safe."
"I don't understand," Adrian says, looking confused. "Do...expect something?"
Adrian knew that the Children of the forest possess powers beyond mortal understanding. Powers that comes from the Old Gods of the Forest, the force behind the Heart Trees. Instead of answering, the Greenseer walked towards the young lord and stared him in the eyes. In an instant, his mind was flooded with images.
He witnessed an army of men bearing countless banners from all of the known lands, even his. They were confront an army with no banners. It took a moment for his mind to process the fact that he was witnessing the King of Winter confront wights, beings he had thought had only existed in tall tales. He watched as slowly but surely the army of the dead was pushed back. He witnessed as the King of Winter as he arranged for the construction of the Wall
"We were supposed to die here, and thus my species was to die a slow death," the Greenseer explain to him. "The Andal King Erreg was supposed to burn High Heart to the ground, yet it has not happened and the King lies dead, slain by your father, and thanks to your father many of the Children will live on. Your mother's side of the family was supposed to have been wiped out by the Red Kings of the Dreadfort one hundred years ago. Yet here you are, the only descendants of the Last Hero besides the Griffin King."
Before Adrian could raise any questions from that revelation, the Greenseer continued, ignoring his look of shock.
"Your father is a wise man as he is a great warrior and leader, especially your grandfather," the Greenseer told him. "But now the task is yours to bear. But before that a happens, I wish to give you a reward for your services of what you did today."
"What kind of reward?" Adrian slowly asked, curious of what the Greenseer means. It's very rare for anyone to receive a reward from the Old Gods.
"Tell me," Greenseer asked. "When you left the Vale, do you take any important valuables from your grandfather's side of the family?"
Adrian was silent for a moment until he replies "Yes...seven eggs...Griffin eggs. Very rare and exceptional."
"May I see them?" the Greenseer requests.
Seeing no reason why not show the Griffin eggs to the Greenseer, Adrian went to fetch them. When he came back, seven Griffin eggs stood in front of the Greenseer. They match the size of an armored knight's helmet. They each are unique in their own color and are very beautiful.
"Have you ever wondered why your grandfather called himself the Griffin King?" the Greenseer asked him.
"I think I recall of a story my father and grandmother told me when I was a child," Adrian begins. "It was a long time ago, when grandfather was a boy, almost four and ten, when he found an ancient egg beneath a Heart Tree in the Godswood. The moment he found the egg it hatches, and a Griffin hatchling was born."
"Yes, and he name her Eve," the Greenseer revealed. "Your grandfather raised and trained the Griffin as his personal battle mount. Because of this, a powerful bond exists between the beast and its master, one forged in countless battles and many adventures, which your grandfather became known as the Griffin King. Eve is eternally loyal to her master. During a great battle Eve sacrifice herself as she stood over the prone form of the wounded master for three hours, slaying any who came near until the Griffin King's personal guard could reach their fallen Lord.
"How...how did you know all of this?" Adrian asked with a shocked look on his face."This is exactly what my father and grandmother have told me."
"I know of these things Adrian Skyryder," the Greenseer told him. "No matter how far and hidden they are from my sight."It's one of the example of true power for those who travel into the Green with the power of the Old Gods. Take great care of these eggs Adrian Skyryder. Your inheritance will one day hatch that will shape the future of Westeros forever."
Glossary
House Skyryder: House Skyryder was originally a Noble House the Vale, before it moved to the North. Its members descend, through bastardy, from the Griffin King, a legendary figure of the Vale. Their Sigil is a white Griffin with red eyes, flying in the black background. And their official House words is "Magnificent, Bold, Noble, Fierce", although a common saying of the house's family members is "We ride together we die together" which states their undying loyalty and commitment to their mount.
Skyryders have a reputation for being attractive, athletic, and intellectual. All members are known to be born with Red Eyes, which Northmen regard it as a blessing from the Old Gods. Every generation, a few members of House Skyryders are born Wargs; able to enter the minds in the bodies of animals. They also are known for begin well-endowed and for their animalistic sexual appetites that left their lovers dead exhausted.
Skyryders known to be very humble and respectful to their subjects, servants, allies, friends, and Lords. However, whenever battle arises, their humble nature evaporates. They become fierce and realistic warriors and extremely aggressive in battle. When cornered they keep on fighting no matter the odds, and when they go down, they go down with a smile on their face, as if the Stranger was a gorgeous and curvaceous female.
Skyryders traditionally follows the old gods and the ways of the First Men. Because of this, they deeply detested the Faith of the Seven and Knighthood. The Faith in turn, extremely loathe all members of House Skyryders, denounced them as Savage Devils, while Knight of Andal heritage look down on Skyryders as dishonorable fighters who committed contemptible acts in battle.
Battle of High Heart: The Battle of High Heart between the forces of the First Men and the Andals. the Andal king, Erreg, lead an army to slaughtered children of the forest, their animals, and their First Men allies at High Heart and cut down the weirwood grove. However, The Robert Skyryder, his son Adrian Skyryder, and their host, lend their aid to the defense of High Heart against the Andal attackers.
Although the Andals outnumber the defenders of High Heart ten to one, Robert has his forces use crossbows to personally targeted Andal knights in battle. He also trained his men exploited the weaknesses of the Andal's steel armory. The battle ended when Robert success in killing Erreg, yet he was mortally wounded in the progress.
The Great Sentence of High Heart: After the Battle of High Heart, Adrian Skyryder, the new Lord of his House after the death of his father, begin carry judgement and Sentence on seven hundred Andal prisoners before the Weirwoods. Although following the customs of the First Men, "one who passes judgement must carry out the Sentence", it was said that Adrian Skyryder personally cut open his captives while they were still alive and bonded helplessly, ripping out their entrails and hanging them on the branches of the Weirwoods in the High Heart.
Single-handedly carrying out the largest execution in the history of the Seven Kingdoms, Adrian Skyryders was condemned by Andals as the "Bloody-Handed Demon of High Heart", while his descendants were demonized.
