The seventh and final day of tourney, Ned waited in a lounging chair in the gardens front of the manor for the Prince to send a man to summon Ned, and said man came in the form of Ser Arthur without Kingsguard armour.
" Lord Eddard, the Prince requests you join him for breakfast."
" Of course, Ser Arthur. Please lead the way"
" Ser Arthur, I have a question I want to ask and whether you answer me or not, know that I am not asking be offensive or malicious"
"Get to the question Lord Eddard", Ser Arthur said impatiently
" You have in your possession Dawn, the sword which gave you the title Sword of the Morning, it is known throughout Westeros that Dawn is forged from heart of a fallen star and it is the 'Magical Sword' , thousands of years old before Valyrian civilisation as we know today was even born and in the time when Valyrians were still simple shepherds, So are there any stories about techniques used in forging Dawn passed down in your family, if there are, are you willing to share them?" , Ned asked in an inquisitive tone.
" No, what my family knows is what all of Westeros knows, Dawn is forged from a fallen star. That's it", Ser Arthur replied in a curt tone.
Ned got the distinctive feeling that Ser Arthur didn't like him for some reason, no matter, not relevant to the issue at hand, " Is that so, that's a shame, House Stark has been said to have had a Ancestral magic sword named 'Isa' , that's Ice in Old Tongue, before our current Valyrian Steel 'Ice', as the old one was lost. I couldn't find any records pertaining to how the lost Isa was forged in Winterfell, that's why I asked. Would you be willing to enquire whether there are any old records about forging Dawn are at Starfall?"
" I will consider it", Ser Arthur said grudgingly and they arrived at the manner where the Royal Family sayyed at. This time Ned was shown to a different dining room than the one Ned had a audience with the King. The table was set, the food already delivered, only the Prince was in the room.
Upon entering, Ned said with a bow, " Your Grace ".
" Come now, I said no formalities when we are in privacy and I recall you had no trouble calling me by name yesterday", The Prince said with a smile on his face.
" Rhaegar, then. I wonder at the absence of servants. ", Ned replied
" That is because I would have that lesson on basics of meditation you offered yesterday after breakfast. And I have other questions too. Come sit, we will talk as we eat"
" Ask away ,Rhaegar "
" You said magic only awakens due to external stimuli, how do you suppose mine is awake then, I have never met someone with magic before you or suffered an illness which brought me to brink of death or visited a place of power like Gods Eye or the Wall "
" The man who instructed me in Warging has theorized that the Fourteen Flames of Valyria are the first sources of magic Valyrians tapped into even before dragons and that the volcanoes are a natural font of magic similar to Weirwoods. As I recall Dragonstone is near a active volcano called Dragonmont, my best guess, your magic awakened when you visited there for the first time"
" Hmmm, that does coincide with the first time I had a Dragon dream, the first time I visited Dragonstone I was one and ten namedays old. My grandfather Viserys didn't want any of his family far from him after Summerhall and my Lord Father who became King after grandfather was never very attached to the place. So it took me awhile to convince my Father to allow me to journey to Dragonstone", the Prince replied with nostalgia in his voice.
" If it isn't too presumptuous of me, I would like to know what your Dragon dreams show you", Ned asked diffidently
" No, I do not mind sharing, only Arthur knows what they were, but I believe you can bring a new perspective to them, Ned. I dream of a three headed dragon that whispers ' the dragon must have three heads ' before breathing fire towards me, that one I interpreted that I should have three children, one son and two daughters as Aegon and his sisterwives. Another one shows three stone dragons coming to life and they fly away roaring triumphantly, that I interpreted as dragons being reborn into the World and final one I don't really have a context for, I am in a field of ice and in the distance I see blue pinpricks approaching, that fills me with dread and the dreams end. Only these three I remember clearly "
Ned remained silent for a while thinking before replying, " The first one I believe could also mean that you will have another sibling, Rhaegar, three heads of dragon doesn't necessarily mean they had to be your children, you yourself could be one head of the dragon with your siblings to support you as remaining two, neither does it mean this triumvirate must be of one man and two woman. The second one I have a better idea, for me stone dragons immediately awoke my imaginations of Dragonstone. It is probable that there are some left over eggs there and I believe hatching new dragons will only possible at Dragonstone or Isle of Faces. They are the only places with over abundant magic in Westeros below the Wall, but I believe it is best to put any plans of hatching dragons on hold until you know more about how they are hatched. It is possible there is hidden knowledge at Dragonstone about dragons. Surely your ancestors brought some knowlege of Valyria and its magic to Dragonstone. They escaped the Doom after all, some knowledge must have been brought over and hidden, otherwise it doesn't make any sense. If the only family who survived the Doom has no knowledge of Valyria who else can. On the third I have a definitive idea, but I fear you wouldn't take it very seriously, but I will share it anyway, the Others are said to have cold luminous blue eyes, and their undead thralls have even brighter blue eyes, I say this because I had a greendream similar to your own."
" So you believe that the Others will return, in our lifetimes too?", Rhaegar asked in somber tone.
" I do not know, but I couldn't entirely dismiss the idea when I saw the Wall for first time, that uncertainty niggling at the edge of my mind is why I have worked hard reinforcing Nights Watch", Ned replied quietly. Before continuing, " Be that as it may, either they come or they are just a myth, a venerable institution like Nights Watch should not be allowed to die due to neglect. So my work will have meaning either way. But our talk of Valyria reminded me something, Glass Candles, they were said to be one of the most versatile magical tools dragonlords had, try to procure some for yourself, Rhaegar, I suspect some are at Dragonstone but hidden. I believe that all magical tools need a level of ambient magical energy not found in Westeros with the exception of Dragonstone and Isle of Faces. And one more thing, be wary of Maesters "
" I understand your point about getting some glass candles, even your suspicion that there might be hidden knowledge and magical tools on Dragonstone, but why be suspicious of Maesters ?" , Rhaegar asked bewildered.
" Think about it, Maesters who are a order of men supposedly dedicated to seeking and preserving knowledge, it is widely known many a Maester went to Valyria to study magic. But once the Doom happened they kept mum about magic. After your family conquered Westeros did the Citadel come forward and share the knowledge they gained from Valyria. Perhaps they couldn't learn any Valyrian magic, but did the Citadel came forward and shared travel journals of Maesters who traveled to Valyria. I know such journals exist, because it has been Citadels policy for thousands of years that any knowledge gained during a Maesters travels is required to be recorded diligently and a copy of such records are to be submitted to the Conclave of Archmaesters immediately upon the Maesters return. So where are they. There is position of Archmaester for Magic which has sat open since the time of Aegon the Dragonbane, there are still some Maesters who study magic, but they never reach the position on Archmaester. The library of Winterfell is old, one of the oldest in Westeros, second only to the Citadel. Even when Winterfell was sacked or looted in the past wars the library was left untouched, so there should be books about magic there, if not about how to use it, at least accounts of merchants or past Starks who traveled to Valyria or accounts of Starks who had magic or at least saw it, there are none. I know at least one Stark traveled to Valyria because of our ancestral Valyrian Steel sword Ice, after losing Isa, House Stark saved up excess gold for a hundred years before journeying to Valyria and paying to have it forged some five hundred years ago, thats how valuable Valyria Steel is and that's how momentous the occasion of purchasing it was, but there are no accounts of this journey, how could that be? And the only ones who knew secrets of making it were smiths themselves and dragonlords who owned the smiths, does it make any sense that your ancestors didn't bring such valuable secret with them, when they knew that the Doom was coming, so this is my theory, someone is actively suppressing all knowledge of magic, the only ones with that kind of reach are Maesters, and there is a good possibility that your family has a hidden cache of knowledge and magical tools somewhere on Dragonstone. Tell me, Rhaegar have I erred anywhere on my chain of logic, am I just paranoid?"
" No, my friend, I do not think so. At the very least the Maesters are complicit in suppressing the knowledge of magic by keeping their silence, at worst they are doing it actively. I would be wary of Maesters and investigate them discreetly, this I promise", Rhaegar replied solemnly. Then continued, " As we are done eating, how about that lesson you promised?"
" Very well, this would be easier in the presence of a Weirwood or somewhere more in tune with nature, but this will have to do. Let's put some cushions on the floor." after having done so," now seat youself comfortably and close your eyes. Take a deep breath and release it slowly. Focus on only your breathing. There will be other thoughts, acknowledge them but do not pursue them, after awhile of doing this you will find absolute peace and balance. That state won't last long. But even grasping that moment of balance is enough for today. Everything else comes with practice. Once that moment breaks you can put a stop to this and open your eyes. Now start"
Ned found his balance in a minute and stayed an interminable amount of time there only to come out of it when Ned felt Rhaegars magic still for two whole heartbeats and Neds eyes were already open when Rheagars did.
" So Rhaegar, you found it, didn't you, just now?", Ned asked with a smile.
" Yes, I did, but how did you know?", he asked with a smile of his own.
" As I said one magic user can sense the others with the gift. Ever since I realised that you had magic I could sense it. Untrained magic users magic will remain agitated, reacting to their thoughts. But when you achieved balance it stilled, just for two heartbeats. As you progress along in your training, you will starting having this sense too. That is why you need a instructor, not to teach you something, meditation can be self taught, but as you progress in your training with an awakened nearby you can sense them. By sensing them you will know, beyond a shadow of doubt you will know, then you believe, this knowing and believing is very important, after my demonstration you believe that I have magic with certainty, but that certainty isn't enough. You have to have that certainty in yourself. A weak body leads to less control and a weak Will leads to the same. You will have that absolute certainty that you have magic when you can sense location of another magic user with your eyes closed sitting in a distant position from the other user without knowing where he is at. I know this because I gained that absolute certainty when I sensed my instructor in Godswood of Winterfell while I was sitting near the stables of Winterfell. And I gained it again when I experienced the World through Ironeyes. You will need that belief, it strengthens your Will, and makes controlling your magic a lot easier. That's why I will find an experienced instructor for you, if not at least another awakened who could stay with you at least until you gained that sense. After that, it's all on you. You will have to find out more about your heritage, you will have to train in meditation so that you may be able to drop in to that meditative state at a moment's notice. Even that isn't the end. Then you will have to be able to maintain that state while doing something else. Then you have to experiment to find out how you can use magic. One warning I will give, do not enter combat in this state if you ever reach that far. Combat requires your sole focus, anything less you won't survive it to learn more of magic. Now anymore questions, I have a feeling that this will be the only time we will be able talk securely for some time, after that we will have prying ears and I will start my return journey to Eeyrie with Robert and Elbert on tomorrows midday", Ned asked.
" If you are so wary of Maesters, how can you trust your correspondence to them?", Rhaegar questioned.
" Ah, but I don't trust them with my sensitive correspondence. I write sensitive inform in code. My brother Brandon came up with rather simple if a bit tiresome method to encode any sensitive letters. If I have to share this method of encrypting, I will have both yours and See Arthur's vow that this secret of House Stark will never be outed by you and it will never be used against House Stark. I have shared my magic and secrets freely up until now, but this pertains House Stark and you will not get it out of me without those vows", Ned insisted seriously.
Both the Prince and Ser Arthur seemed to think on it for a while before exchanging a look and a nod before turning to Ned and the Prince said, " You have it, Ned. By the Old Gods and the New I swear on my name and honor as a Targaryen that, I will not share House Starks secret of encrypting letters with the exception of those that are in this room and I will never use this secret against House Stark."
Ned and the Prince turned towards Ser Arthur and the Prince said in a commanding tone, " Now your vow, ser"
" Very well, Lord Eddard of House Stark, By Old Gods and New, By the sword Dawn and my name as Dayne and on my honor as Kingsguard, I swear that I will keep the secret of encrypting of House Stark and not to share its knowledge with anyone with exception of those in this room. And said secret will never be used against House Stark", said Ser Arthur in a serious tone.
" Good , good, it is a simple one if a bit tedious. You assign a random number to the alphabet of the Common tongue. Only you and whom you share it with will know which number is assigned to which alphabet. When the number assigned is larger than one digit, as they will inevitably have to be, you underline that number, signifying that it corresponds to a single alphabet not multiple ones. By this method one can create any number of code languages, but remember, the code is only as secure as the key is. It is best to memorize the Key so that it can never be stolen, but that is a difficult obstacle I have yet to overcome. If the key is not memorized, it becomes paramount to secure it. As I repeat, the code is only secure as long the Key is. So what do you say we develop a code now, so that we may correspond securely?" ,Ned asked excitedly.
To that Rhaegar answered with a grin and a " Yes"
While Ser Arthur shook his head disapprovingly while a smirk tugged his lips.
After they developed the code, Ned secured his copy of the key in a secret compartment in his belt buckle, while the Prince and Ser Arthur gaped.
" What ? You don't have secret compartments in your belts?" , Ned asked with obvious confusion. When they shook their heads negative, Ned asked, " Then why in the seven hells are wearing those monstrosities? "
To that both of them reddend in embarrassment and mumbled something vaguely about fashion. Now Ned shook his head in disapprovingly, Southrons, doing pointless shit for pointless things, anyway not relevant. Clearing his throat Ned suggested soothingly, " Perhaps it would be best to secure secrets in secret compartments nobody knows about ?"
To tha Rhaegar replied, " Yes, you are right, I will do so".
" Good, good any other questions you want to ask? You are going to be late for the tourney, if we don't finish this in next fifteen minutes" ,Ned reminded.
" For now, nothing, I will practice meditation regularly. But I will also prefer if you do not share my inclination towards magic with your family just yet. I understand that a instructor will be beneficial to have, but you do not really understand the politics at the Court. If your father sends a instructor in guise of a man who will assist me with the project of the Wall, the Court will investigate the man, they will dig deep and won't stop until they find something, even with that they won't be satisfied, then they will try to use whoever you sent, if he couldn't play the Game, they will eat him alive. Because he is instructing me, he would have to spend time with me, spending time with me will mark him as a person of interest. I can neither learn effectively under those circumstances nor can I keep my magic secret. So whatever questions I have, I will ask you through secure correspondence. In a year's time there will be another Tourney at Kingslanding to celebrate my brother's first nameday, you will get a personal invitation from me, as people have already seen us talking together and as I will be working with House Stark next year, it will not seem overly suspicious, along with the general invitation sent to Eeyrie. Lord Arryn will allow and maybe even encourage you to come to Kingslanding, then you can test me on my progress in magic. By your own word, any instructor you can fetch for me will only be able to serve as a tester when I can start sensing magic in others, I can wait a year and the secret of my magic need not spread beyond Arthur and you, Ned", Prince said with some faint notes of pleading in his voice.
" Are you sure this is what you want?", Ned asked
" Yes, I am sure", the Prince said
" Very well, I will follow your wishes, truth of your magic will not be shared by me, even to my family", Ned replied somberly.
" Thank you, Ned. It is time for me attend my duties. It might not be possible for me to send you off tomorrow, so this is goodbye for now. Till we meet again", the Prince offered his right hand. Ned clasped Rhaegars forearms in a warriors handshake before saying solemnly, " Till we meet again"
And Ned left without a backwards glance. This tourney Ned promoted Wintersteel, secured aid for the Wall and gained friendship of the Crown Prince. Maester Aemons prediction came true afterall, he became fast friends with Rhaeger in all of two conversations, Ned wondered whether Aemon had prophetic dreams too, but that was a thought for another time. Now Ned only hoped something doesn't go catastrophically wrong and he
returns to Eeyrie safe and sound, just as the thought crossed his mind a shiver went down his spine, Fuck,I have jinxed myself .
POV Rhaegar
Just as Ned left and Rhaegar dropped down to the floor, leaning his head on the cushion, Arthur left his post near the door and came in to his view, " I have kept my peace yesterday, after your ill conceived ride in to the woods, I kept it when you shared secrets you only shared with me after I had earned your trust with years of friendship and loyal service, I have kept it when you called this virtual stranger friend, but I won't after this Rhaegar, not after you made me vow to keep secrets, dangerous secrets that I have no business keeping, I am a Kingsguard, I vowed to serve the Royal Family, not House Stark, you should not have demanded that oath of me. So I ask now, why do you trust this boy of barely three and ten namedays, what has he done to earn such regard, dare I say affection from you?" , Arthur demanded in an insistent tone.
" What has he done to earn it you ask, he earned it by word and deed, my friend. He earned a small measure of respect when he informed me my Great uncles health, he earned some more when he not so subtly brought plight of Nights Watch to my attention. He earned my initial good opinion of him when Aemon, wisest of men sang his praises and very strongly recommended that I make him my friend. He earned even more of respect when he looked the King of Seven Kingdoms in the eye and passionately argued his case about Nights Watch, when an opportunity presented itself to promote his own family he disregarded it and asked aid on anothers behalf, even the report he gave, one he wrote as a boy of one and ten, in a time when he was still in mourning, it was meticulous, all encompassing and concise, it showed his intellect, dedication to his task and his ideas of how to reinforce the Watch showed his imagination and creativity. All of this respect and admiration he earned in his first meeting with me and he wasn't even trying to impress. Then in our second meeting at the grounds he showed his adaptability, when he described how he deducted existence of magic after just seeing the Wall, thousands see the Wall, but nobody sees and thinks , magic exists, they either dismiss the thought as fanciful and move on or not think even that far. But he did, and then went on to confirm that thought, after confirming it, a confirmation which would have left many a adult in shock, he adapted to it. After adapting to it, he worked through that paradigm shift, accounted for existence of magic in his future plans. When I brought up magic, he immediately reminded me that, that was neither the place nor the time and suggested an alternative for a more secure place. That adaptable nature earned him more admiration. When I offered my hand in friendship, he wasn't overjoyed at the opportunity, he just remained equanimous and immediately reciprocated my gesture, offering knowledge when he could have hoarded it or bargained for it. That showed me his integrity and character, he didn't hesitate to call me friend and in including me when he said his only true concern is safety and happiness of his family and friends. This virtual stranger was more honest and sincere with me than most others I have met in my life, while I may have been genuine in my gesture of friendship, it was at that moment that Ned Stark made me a true friend to him. And the knowledge he shared, they answered so many questions, answers I have been searching for as a man dying of thirst searches for water, for past six years, answers to questions I didn't even think I had. Those answers earned my gratitude. Do you know Arthur, how it feels to have prophetic dreams but doubting whether they were Dragon dreams some of family usually have or whether they are delusions of a deceased mind and I am just slowly going mad? Ned Stark with his explanations of magic has bought me a peace of mind that doesn't have a price. As if all of this wasn't enough, he gives me warnings of dangers of magic. Even when he couldn't truly teach me anything, gives me a direction in which to search. He gives insightful interpretation to my Dragon dreams. Offers to arrange for a tutor, teaches me most important skill a magic user needs to learn and explains logically why it is important. Once again gives a warning to be wary of Maesters and explains why we should heed his warning, if his suspicions are proven true, we may discover a dagger poised to plant in our back without ever knowing it was there. Only thing he asked for was a vow, that too to safeguard his family. He never asked for anything for himself. He was ready to share his knowledge even before I offered my friendship. As you called him, this boy of barely thirteen years old, has shown more intellect, imagination, adaptability, honor and integrity than any man I know, except for you Arthur. Eddard Stark is much like you, my friend and I hope you will see that. I thought myself lucky when I met a man such as yourself and you called me a friend. But to meet another one like you and having him for a friend too, I must be the luckiest man alive. Ned Stark is a good friend to have and a nightmare of a enemy to ever face. Can you imagine, a man with Ned Starks character will inspire devotion in men and with his considerable intellect, he will be a nightmare to his enemies. But lets us not think such morbid thoughts. In Ned Stark, I have a made a good friend, a true one. And he more than earned my friendship and trust with word and deed. But with his friendship he brought many a adventures for me, there is magic to learn, secret caches of knowledge to be found, dragons to hatch and possibly ancient sinister conspiracy to be unravelled. Much to do indeed. Come, my friend, let us be on our way" , Rhaegar finished in a chipper tone.
By the end of Rhaegars speech much of Arthur's indignation has deflated and he just tiredly nodded his head. Ned Stark might have given Rhaegar more than Rhaegar already stated. But he needs to think on it some more before even saying it in his own mind. Ned Stark was very very clear on his warnings and explainations after all, it just won't do to jump to half baked conclusions after listening to all that Ned said. Whatever else is said about Rhaegar, one thing remains true he is a very good student.