266 AC
Chapter One: To Be a Knight….
Jonos
What would it feel like to fly? The thought always gnawed at Jonos' mind when he watched birds fly from his bedroom's balcony. He wondered how wind would feel beneath his imaginary wings. He wondered what he would be able to see from the skies. People would look like ants from up high. Castles would look like anthills to him, with the people climbing all over them. Jonos had heard the story about how his ancestor King Ronnel Arryn had flown. According to the stories of Old Gella, the servant his mother had entrusted to care for him, Ronnel Arryn had flown twice. The first time Ronnel Arryn flew on a dragon. The second time his brother, Jonos made him fly from the Moon Door. Old Gella told him that the garrison of the Eyrie even helped his namesake Jonos Arryn fly from the Moon Door when faced with the threat of Old King Maegor Targaryen. Jonos once asked Sharra to help him fly from the Moon Door like Jonos did. However, just as they found a way to get the Moon Door open, their mother had interrupted them. She took Jonos in her arms, crying while doing so. She also muttered something about a servant forgetting to use bronze to bar the door. She told him to never try anything like that again. Jonos had wondered why his mother acted this way. When he explained he wanted to fly like his namesake Jonos had from the story Old Gella told, his mother told him not to try anything from Old Gella's stories. His mother, however, never found out about the numerous times he would reenact Ser Duncan the Tall's trial of the Seven with his Royce cousins during their visits.
"Jonos, my son, the guests will soon arrive. You will surely be missed if you do not hurry," Jonos stopped looking out the balcony and saw his mother. His mother had a bright blue dress with white silk lining. It matched the color of House Arryn, as befitting for the Lady of the Eyrie. Jonos, forced into uncomfortable garb reserved for special occasions, noticed he too had worn the same palate to match their house. His mother approached him to adjust the steel falcon sigil pin attaching Jonos' cloak to his outer tunic, "This is an important day for your father. The feast is to celebrate the life of your grandfather, Jasper and the beginning of your father's tenure as Lord of the Eyrie. Guests from all over the Vale and even other parts of the Seven Kingdoms will share this moment with our family."
"Will the king be here? Oh will, I get to see the brave knights of the Kingsguard?" Jonos' asked excitedly. Jonos revered the knights of the Kingsguard as heroes. He especially wanted to see Ser Barristan the Bold. He wondered what the man, who slew Maelys Blackfyre in single combat, looked like.
"No, my little falcon, although the King will not be visiting, there will still be many important people here. During my youth, I was also restless during these occasions, but these are necessary. Come, our guests await. Old Gella has already fetched your sister from the castle archive," His mother said, pinching his cheeks. Jonos sighed. One thing he noticed before going with his mother is her growing belly. Sharra had asked mother why it was growing when they broke fast a few moons ago. She told them that it was growing because soon they would welcome another sibling to the family. Jonos had wondered how this new sibling would arrive from his mother's belly. It was even more surprising when his mother told him they came into the world from her belly as well. This baffled Jonos. How did mother's belly get sewn back together when they burst out as babes? Jonos' mind spun thinking about it. However, he shook it from his mind as he followed his mother to the crescent chamber to where their guests would await them.
The Crescent chamber was always where House Arryn would welcome their guests. It had always been the reception area the Arryn's had used since the Eyrie had been constructed. The chamber itself was not large, but large enough to accommodate about thirty. There were tables and seats next to a grand hearth in the center. The trek up the Giant's Lance to where the castle perched itself is frigid, even during the summer. Guests welcomed the respite, and always took their time in the hall.
When Jonos and his mother had arrived, the Crescent chamber already had some guests for the feast in honor of his mother's family. They were seated in the tables close to the hearth, no doubt tired from their trek up the Giant's Lance. Jonos did not recognize any of them, but two stood out from the rest. Both had auburn hair, and when they turned from the hearth to nod their heads in greeting to them, he noticed they had striking blue eyes. On their doublets, coloured red and blue, was an emblem of a fish on its left breast. Jonos also noticed his sister, Sharra, standing next to their father, Jon. The two were waiting for more guests to be led into the reception area, as the servants prepared the feast.
"There you two are. Some of the guests had already arrived when you went to fetch Jonos, love," his father stated motioning towards those seated not too far away near the hearth. Jonos immediately took his place next to his sister, who he grinned at.
"Had enough of the library today, sister? I can't imagine staying in one place surrounded by dusty old tomes," Jonos remarked.
"Which is why you are so dull, brother. If you read one of those dusty old tomes, you might learn to at least be as shrewd a court jester," Sharra replied with feigned mockery in her tone.
"I'm not dull, I'll have you know I learn a lot from our lessons with Old Corwyn,"
"Oh really? Who was the king who united the first men against our ancestor Artys Arryn?"
"Uhh, King Yohn Royce of Runestone?"
"Jonos, that's our uncle, and he is not a king,"
"Blast it with this, who needs to know this information anyway?" Jonos declared.
"The correct answer brother was Robar Royce, if you hadn't been sleeping during our lessons with Maester Corwyn, you would know this," Sharra triumphantly told him. Jonos unfettered tried to think something up.
"Oh yeah, name the four parts of an arrow?"
"That's easy, the shaft, the nock, the fletching, and the point,"
"That's not fair, why do you know so much. We are supposed to be children, Sharra not apprentices at the Citadel," Jonos jested.
"Brother, while you are playing with sticks, or asking knights to tell tales of chivalry, I am sharpening my mind." Before they could continue mocking one another, they were interrupted by the sound of their mother clearing her throat. They immediately stopped and stood together as two guests from earlier stood and approached their family.
"Apologies for not greeting you earlier, Lord Hoster and Ser Brynden. I had just arrived after the servants fetched my daughter and my wife fetched my son," his father told the men.
"No offense was taken, Jon. We've bled together in the Stepstones, and we understand you have a lot on your plate since Lord Jasper passed," one of the men stated. The two men were about the same height, but the one not speaking seemed to be slightly shorter than the other.
"Thank you, my friends. It is such a shame your lady wife Lady Whent was unable to join us,"
"It is. Unfortunately, much like Lady Jeyne during the feast to celebrate the beginning of my lordship, she must stay in Riverrun as she is recovering from another difficult birth, " Lord Hoster replied. His father nodded solemnly. Jonos noticed that Ser Brynden had been looking intently at him since his father talked to Lord Hoster. He didn't know the reason for this, but Ser Brynden gave him a friendly smile as soon as Jonos noticed this. Jonos saw no reason why he wouldn't return this given all he had heard about him. Maybe he would tell him stories about the War of the Ninepenny Kings? If this was indeed the same Ser Brynden Tully from all the tales, Jonos wanted to hear the tales of his feats in battle, "So these must be your children, Sharra and Jonos?"
"Indeed. Sharra, Jonos, this is Lord Hoster Tully and his brother Ser Brynden," Their father introduced. Sharra politely curtsied to the two men, while Lady Jeyne had to lightly nudge Jonos to get him to do a slight bow.
"They are a perfect blend of Royce and Arryn are they not, Brynden?" Lord Hoster declared to his brother. Ser Brynden simply nodded. They were not wrong in their assessment. Sharra and Jonos looked so alike that if Sharra had not had much longer hair it would be like if someone looked at mirror images. They both had ash blond hair, though not as warm as their father's hair. They both had prominent ridges in their nose, giving them an aquiline appearance much like their father. However, they had the strong jawlines and a lower facial profile of the Bronze Kings of old, "Their looks will without a doubt be the envy of many a house when they grow older."
"You are most kind, Hoster," their father stated cordially. Jonos noticed Sharra had become disinterested in the conversation that the adults were having. Jonos himself wanted nothing more than to go to the bailey to spar or use the shortbow he had been given during his seventh nameday by his uncle Yohn.
"What intrigues me is their eyes? Since when did House Arryn sport those colours?" Ser Brynden spoke up. He referred to their indigo eyes. It is an odd feature as no Andal or First Men House ever possessed that eye colour.
"My mother was a Velayron, bless her soul. I found it pleasing when a part of her passed on to my children," Jon replied to Ser Brynden's question. Ser Brynden nodded, but he seemed surprised with this. It was not like he could have known, Jonos heard his grandmother had died years before his birth. His grandfather, Jasper had outlived her. Jonos had always had fun when his grandfather Jasper had visited them at what had recently been his home, The Gates of the Moon. He had promised to take him to begin his training as a page, so he wouldn't have to go to another Lord or his cousins at Runestone. However, he very obviously couldn't do that now.
"My daughter, Catelyn, is close to their age. It is a pity she could not come along to meet them. She would have loved to meet new friends,"
"Does she like playing with boys too?" Jonos blurted out. It's not like he hadn't played with girls before, he enjoyed interactions with his sister outside of her reading. However, the last girl he played with, Zoe Grafton in their visit to Gulltown for a tournament, cried when she got hit by a stick during one of his playful reenactments of Duncan the Tall's many exploits. He couldn't even save her from Aerion, who was his cousin Andar. Andar swore he didn't hit her that hard. That however did not save them from scoldings from their respective mothers for making the Grafton girl cry.
"Oh yes, she would definitely be pleased to have another friend run around with," Lord Hoster chuckled. They adults continued to catch up with one another, as Sharra and Jonos were forced to stand there attentively. Lord Hoster expressed apologies that someone named Lord Steffon would not be able to attend the feast. He was apparently busy dealing with some border skirmishes across the Dornish Marches. Of course, Jonos did not know where these places were, but he nonetheless heard the news Lord Hoster had relayed to his father. They also stated the party of someone named Lord Rickard Stark was expected to arrive soon. He, like Lord Hoster and Ser Brynden did not come with their family, but simply wished to attend the feast they were invited to.
"Jon, if it isn't too much to ask, might we step aside and talk in private about what you wrote to me about through raven?" Lord Hoster asked, breaking up the small talk between the adults. Jonos let out a sigh of relief. He didn't have to hear any more conversation that didn't seem to involve him or his sister.
"Of course, the feast will commence once enough guests arrive. My wife will see to it that they are ushered in. You and Ser Brynden can follow me to my study where we can discuss what I wrote to you about before I am needed at my own feast," His father replied. They soon departed after his father told his mother some parting words. Jonos wondered what they would be talking about, but he immediately returned to exchanging pleasantries and jokes with his sister. He was glad the adults had finally stopped talking with one another.
Eventually, the guests had arrived at a steady pace. Jonos' mother took care of greeting the guests as they entered. Most of those who had arrived were his father's bannerman. Jonos even got to greet his Royce cousins when they entered. A lot of the Vale Bannerman also brought some of their young children and wives along. The Lord of Midlor Point in the Fingers, even brought along his wife and very young son. He was scarcely over the age of two, which was a shame, because Jonos would have loved to play with him. A notable exception to the bannerman was a man named Lord Rickard Stark. When he greeted his mother, Jonos, and Sharra, Jonos noticed he was much taller and stockier than many of father's bannerman. He had dark black hair and grey eyes, surprisingly like his uncle Yohn did. He wondered whether they were related to his uncle, and where father had met him. However, he got the answer to these questions, when he listened to his conversation with his mother. Apparently, Lord Rickard met his father, Jon in the War of Ninepenny Kings, as was the case with Lord Hoster and Ser Brynden. Jonos pondered when he would go to war. It seemed like he would meet so many new friends when he went off to war.
Eventually, when all of the guests expected to arrive had come, his mother Lady Jeyne led them to the Lower Halls where they would take their place for the feast. The Lower Hall was not the largest feast hall in the Seven Kingdoms, but it was able to fit the bannerman, who had decided to come to the feast. When they entered the feast, many of them were seated in the tables surrounding two hearths to keep them warm. Although it was summer, they were on top of the Giant's Lance making it much chillier than if they had been at the Gates of the Moon. The banquet, prepared by the cooks earlier in the day, had any type of food one could imagine. There was fresh venison, beef, and even mountain lion from the hunts his father had commissioned to pay for this day. There were flagons filled with ale, mead, and wine. Cheeses, bread, and other miscellaneous foods lined the meat, poultry, and fish. Serving girls attended to the Lords as they sampled some of the soups that were meant to keep the hunger away while they waited for his father to commence the real eating. Jonos noticed some of fathers bannerman were missing, including House Grafton.
Jonos took their seats at the high table, facing the rest of the tables. He noticed that along with his sister, his mother, his uncle, and his uncle Yohn, Lord Hoster and Lord Rickard sat with them. Surprisingly, Ser Brynden was not among them. Jonos couldn't even see him sitting at one of the tables. When they were all seated at the high table, his father grabbed the attention of the feast.
"Lord and Ladies of the Vale. I am happy that all of you have taken the time to celebrate this momentous occasion for my house. After all it is only through your efforts that the Vale is as stable and prosperous as it is now," His father began. A resounding cheer entered the feast hall with several nobles banging their tankards on the table in approval, "My father, may the Seven judge him to be just and good, passed and left me to carry on this house. When he was buried beneath the earth a few nights ago, I could only say that the world lost a great man. He was my father, he was my mentor, and most of all he was one of my greatest friends. And so before we commence this feast in honor of the start of my rule as Lord Paramount of the Mountains and the Vale. Let us toast to the memory of Lord Jasper Arryn, may he fly as high as honor to what lies beyond." A resounding sound of, "to Lord Jasper" rang in the halls as they toasted his memory.
"And with that let us begin feasting and making merry for the night. For in the morrow, there is much work to be done. But friends, tomorrow is not now!" his father stated.
And so the feast had begun. Music from some of the commissioned bards rang through the hall. Jonos ate his fill, while his mother and father talked about something. Seated next to him was his sister/
"You've barely eaten anything, sister. Old Gella says that people who don't eat that much have their muscles and limbs turn into jelly,"
"I eat as much as I need to, brother, " Sharra stated, "Old Gella says a great deal of things that aren't true. I'm surprised you still listen to her."
"Since you aren't eating your venison, can I have it?" Jonos asked. Shara handed him the venison chop and Jonos eagerly dug into it. The two spent the feast talking about various things, including what they thought of the guests.
"I haven't seen Ser Brynden. Where did he wander off to?" Jonos questioned. Sharra shrugged. Her eyes were wandering all over the place. Jonos knew this was her looking at much of the people. Although shy and preferring to talk to those she knew, she always liked to observe people. She observed their clothing, house sigils, and even their movements. Jonos could care less about these things. Jonos finished his meal, and went over to his father to ask him to be excused. He usually let him go do whatever he wanted after he finished his meals during feasts.
"Father, may I be excused. I have already finished my meals," He asked his father.
"Go ahead, my little falcon," He said ruffling his hair. Jonos happily exited the bustling feast, but not before finding his cousin, Andar, who was allowed to accompany him out of the feast. Andar had been about his age, but a year older. They also got his cousin, Elbert from his other uncle, Ronnel.
Glad to be out of the feast, Jonos and Andar went to the gardens. When they got there, they went to the spot his father had set up archery targets. Jonos promised Andar and Elbert they would have a shooting competition, after Jonos received a shortbow for his seventh nameday from his uncle, Andar's father. Jonos stepped up first, about ten paces away from the target.
"Aren't you glad to be out of the feast, cousin?" Jonos stated while drawing the string back.
"Of course. I never tire of losing to you in our shooting competitions," Andar sarcastically remarked. Jonos released the shot and hit the target dead center. Andar sighed and grabbed the bow from Jonos, "not going easy, eh?"
Jonos laughed. Andar drew the bow back and released his shot, but only hit the closest ring to the bullseye. Andar muttered something under his breath, and then handed the bow back to Jonos. Jonos stepped back five more paces.
"This would be the farthest I've hit a bullseye," Jonos stated. Jonos drew a breath and drew the string back. His hands wrapped around the nock of the arrow, and he fired out of them off to the target. Dead center, right next to Jonos' previous arrow. Elbert grabbed the bow from Jonos.
"Lets see if I cant hit this, cousin," Elbert stated. Elbert drew the arrow by the nock and fired a shot at the target. The arrow landed far from the bullseye at one of the outer rings, "How do you hit it from so far?" Before Jonos could respond, he heard clap from behind him.
"Not bad, when you grow up, you'll be a fine shot with a longbow if you keep this pace of learning," when Jonos turned he saw Ser Brynden. He was still dressed in his garments from the feast, while the boys had only their undershirts and pants from their dress garbs. They had been surprised by Ser Brynden, but he was a welcome one to Jonos, "May I?"
Jonos nodded and handed him the bow. Brynden stood at about fifty paces from the target. He got into a stance and aimed his foot right at the target he was aiming for. He kept his arm high as he drew the bow, and his technique with the draw was unlike any Jonos had ever seen. When Brynden released the sound of the arrow flying whisked through the air. The arrow landed dead center on the target.
"Amazing! I could never have hit that, Ser Brynden," Jonos exclaimed. His cousins were in awe of his skill with bow, and so was Jonos. This is what it took to be a knight of the realm. This is what an experienced warrior looks like.
"In time, you'll grow stronger and get more experienced, lad. Until then keep practicing with the bow and you will adjust to it," Ser Brynden explained. The night grew deep as the Jonos and his cousins spent more time with the knight. They learned a great deal of things from him, from stories to simple techniques with the bow. One thing was certain, if Jonos was to become a knight of his caliber, he had a long way to go. Jonos dreamed of being a great knight like Ser Brynden and his favorite knight, Ser Duncan the Tall. To make those dreams become a reality, he now understood what it took. And as he listened to his stories and advice, he took them all to heart.
A/N: Thank you for those who read the previous chapter, and left favorites and follows. The reviews should come shortly, as the story is written. I took the time to update the schedule of the updates in my profile. For those, who do not want to visit the profile, the shortened version of the update schedule is that there will be two chapters per week, one on Monday and one on Friday. Usually they will be there by 10 PM EST on those days. Another thing to keep in mind is the ideas for pairings with characters. While I have not finalized it, I will not leave it up for a poll like the story I wrote in high school. There are separate outlines based on pairings, but I have narrowed it down to a few candidates for Jonos, Sharra and soon to be born Darnold. All I can say is that for Jonos, these candidates are all MAJOR characters that will cause cannon to diverge as warned in the synopsis. Darnold might have the most tame one as his pairing is likely going to be a Vale bannerman's daughter. Be aware that the early chapters are hard to write as they are through the lense of a child, which is why timeskips are frequent ine early chapters as evidenced here. Please give constructive feedback through reveiws and if you have enjoyed reading, please consider giving a follow or a favorite. Thank you and see you guys on Friday for Sharra's first chapter and the second overall chapter.
