Chapter 5
Tyrion Lannister would be the first to admit he wasn't the best rider in Westeros, no thanks to his short stature. However, even he could have been in Winterfell a fortnight ago had he not decided to keep his brother Jaime company. Not only did that cost him valuable days better spend exploring Winterfell's wonderful library, but it might even have robbed him from the opportunity to see the first dragon in a century! The blame for this could be squarely put upon his sweet sister and her seven times damned wheelhouse. Without that worthless contraption which spend more time stuck in the muddy Kingsroad than actually riding, their party would easily have arrived in time to see the dragon, assuming the Starks weren't making that one up.
Jaime Lannister, one of the few adult family members who he could stand, rode besides him in his gleaming gold armor and white Kingsguard cloak. They had long run out of topics to talk about during this trip, even news of dragons could only provide a conversation topic for so long.
Tyrion then looked behind him to see the noble Robert Baratheon, first of his name, King of the Andals and First man with a bunch of other titles, riding a horse which got Tyrion's respect for surviving this trip until now. He was an amicable drinking companion, but the fat King was an incompetent ruler for the Seven Kingdoms.
Behind Robert rode the accursed wheelhouse. In it were his sweet sister Cersei, who would happily make him another head shorter if given the chance, his nephew and Crown Prince Joffrey Baratheon, who seemed to enjoy having anyone made a head shorter, his niece Myrcella and his nephew Tommen. The latter two were actually perfectly polite and sweet children who enjoyed listening to his stories, assuming his sister didn't interrupt him.
Tyrion's interest was suddenly drawn by the sound of hooves. A rider was approaching from the North, just like yesterday. "So Jaime, want to bet a golden dragon that there was another so called dragon attack?"
Jaime laughed and said: "You know what, I'll take it. He's definitely here to apologize for the fantasies of the previous rider."
The rider in Stark livery rode passed them and stopped before the King. "Your grace, the flying creature brought Winterfell another visit. This time it dropped of a chest and a letter. I was ordered by Lord Stark to give you the letter and advise you to read it immediately upon delivery."
Tyrion grinned to his brother and held up his hand.
"Why should I read anything given to us by dragonspawn?!" The King exclaimed loudly, unnerving the Stark rider.
"Your grace, please excuse me for my bad choice of words. Lord Stark read the letter and mentioned that the flying creatures were actually steel contraptions send by a faraway empire, and not dragons. The letter should explain this better than me."
The King grumbled, grabbed the letter and reluctantly started to read it.
Jaime now held his hand up to Tyrion: "Well, Tyrion, a flying contraption is certainly no dragon attack."
Tyrion didn't want to lessen Jaime's obvious joy for finally winning a bet by protesting on technicalities and gave him the coin. not to mention that he now had other things to think about.
The idea of a flying contraption intrigued Tyrion greatly. He always thought it to be impossible for men to fly on their own power, and every tale he heard about man trying to prove otherwise ended in failure or death, mostly the latter. However, the letter seemed to proof otherwise. Tyrion had almost given up upon his childish dreams of riding a dragon. However, it seemed like flying on his own might be possible. If only he knew how to build such a contraption.
Thinking on this, Tyrion took a look at the King. It suddenly occurred to him that the letter he was holding was not made out of parchment. It was perfectly clear white on the outside, and seemed to be written in an impossibly neat handwriting. Tyrion realized the letter on its own was prove of the existence of a foreign empire, as not even Myr or Braavos would be able to create it. Both the material and the handwriting enflamed Tyrion's curiosity regarding this realm.
"What in the seven hells? they claim to be from another world?! They could have written some more believable horseshit here!"
Tyrion thought on that claim for a few moment. Eventually, he realized that it wasn't much more implausible than them being an empire from across the sunset sea. After all, in that case, word about them should have reached Westeros years ago.
"They gave Ned a bottle of special alcohol? Well, maybe those foreigners aren't that bad. Knowing Ned, there will be plenty left for me to taste. They better bring more of that stuff when they visit Winterfell."
Tyrion's ear immediately perked up. The otherworlders were going to visit Winterfell? This trip was proving to be more interesting than he originally anticipated. Seeing that the King just finished reading, he grabbed the opportunity.
"Your Grace, could I perhaps read the letter to see the outlandish claims for myself?"
The king looked at him, shrugged, and gave him the letter. "Here, Lannister, just give it back when you're finished."
After Tyrion started reading, he became progressively more amazed. They claimed to control the flying contraptions from leagues away, without anyone on their backs. If that was true, then it meant that the foreigners had the ability to instantly communicate over such distances, which would be invaluable in both diplomacy and warfare. The books mentioned also triggered his curiosity and made him ponder why they would be so free with sharing such information.
"They don't see us as a threat", Tyrion realized.
"Who are so dismissive of our strength, Tyrion?" Jaime then said to Tyrion who only just realized he had spoken the last few words out loud.
"Well, the empires who claim to be from another world thought it a good idea to gift lord stark with not only books detailing their histories, but also maps of their lands, without any care that they could be used against them."
"So? If they prove to stand against us, our father will still be able to crush them like flies. Them giving us this information only makes it easier."
"The problem is that I don't think our beloved father Tywin will just be able to do that. Their flying contraptions will no doubt give them a big advantage in any war, and those are just their advantages we know of. They might very well have other weapons that allow them to crush our forces in any field battle, and we won't know it until it's too late."
They were then interrupted by a very familiar voice: "Jaime, why have we stopped? And what is the dwarf clutching onto?"
"Well sister, a Stark rider arrived with a letter dropped by the flying creature. Our sweet brother is holding that very letter."
"Give it to me." His graceful sister ordered him, her distaste for him clear in her eyes. Still thinking about those foreigners, Tyrion didn't bother to give a witty response and just gave his sister the letter.
While his sister was reading the letter, Tyrion decided that he had stayed with the King's Party long enough. He would take a few of the Lannister guards and ride straight for Winterfell. Not only would it give him a break from the company of his sister and Joffrey for a few days, but it might give him a chance to read the otherworldly books. No doubt that books from another world would be an interesting read.
"Jaime, I'll be taking five Lannister guards and ride for Winterfell. It seems to have become a most interesting place in the last week. Besides, I'm done with matching my speed to Cersei's wheelhouse."
Jaime laughed at that. "Me too, but I don't think she and Robert would appreciate it if I were to leave. I'll see you in a few days then."
Before Tyrion could leave and find some Lannister guards for the ride, he heard the loud voice of his sister:
"Robert! Turn this party around! I don't want my children within leagues of those barbarians."
"Did you lose your mind woman?! We're almost at Winterfell. There's no way they could threaten us there! The meeting will only be a great experience for Joffrey."
Ignoring the fight between his sister and her husband, Tyrion finished preparations, found a few guards not in his sister's pocket, and left the King's party. He was more than happy to leave this behind for the wonders of Winterfell, both old and new.
AN: This chapter was originally released as a bonus chapter, and is therefore a bit shorter than a normal chapter.
Edit 1: (01-02-2022) Long overdue edits to this chapter were made, mostly focussed on the dialogue.