Apologies for the wait! Things in life happen but here you are, a new chapter to Jaime and his slow introduction to everthing in Skyrim.
To take all of the realm in is exhausting but I am excited for the things to come. Thank you for sticking around. Enjoy!
Jaime felt pride as he evaded Ria's attack and countered with one of his own. "Move your feet, focus!"
"I am!" Ria roared, in a battle frenzy. "You are just too damn fast!"
The former Lord Commander of the Kingsguard heard Farkas laughing and Vilkas chuckling. Even Skjor seemed amused, all of them watching avidly. Athis' red orbs were focused too, face blank. Then again, Jaime did not know what to think or make of Athis. He seemed to be a good warrior, but those eyes were unnerving.
"Sword sharp." Jaime said as he disarmed Ria and pointed the sword at her. "Mind sharper." It was fitting to include the greatest knight he ever knew, for his teachings honed his skills.
"Well said." Vilkas said as he approached, a neutral expression in his face. "Ria, you are almost useless. You let your emotions rule your judgement instead of instinct."
"To be fair." Jaime intervened softly, looking at Ria, who seemed crestfallen. "You are very talented. Hone your skills, and you will be great, trust me."
Ria, despite being glared at by Vilkas, felt pride and her eyes shined with determination. "Thank you, Shield-Brother." She nodded at him.
Jaime smirked. "Go get some water." Jaime then frowned, remembering the wench and his brother. He missed them, it was true. It would take time but he would always hold them within him.
"Do not listen to him!" Torvar barreled in, drunk as usual. "Get some mead into ya!"
"Piss off, Torvar." Ria retorted good naturedly. "You can barely hold yourself together."
"Want to try and see how I do?" Torvar smirked, eyes misty yet focused, to Jaime's surprise. "Winner takes the cask inside."
Vilkas rolled his eyes. "Just go get some water Ria." He then turned to glare at Torvar. "It is barely dawn and you are already drunk?"
"The blurrier the better!" The drunken warrior retorted.
Jaime laughed out loud, along with Farkas and the dark elf who had now approached. Of course, Torvar would take after some of Tyrion's "humble yet intelligent" teachings that he himself had told the table the night before, to everyone's amusement. Nobody could believe his dwarf brother could drink so much and yet be the brilliant and caring man he was.
"Did they not tell you, Vilkas? Mead has replaced the blood inside him." Athis snorted and laughed.
Vilkas sneered. "I did not know we were a Tavern Guild now." He snorted. "All of you, back inside, the amusement show is over."
Jaime shrugged and obeyed. He was waiting for his new assignment. Hopefully he would go with Aela, as he felt comfortable with her.
Farkas, despite being considered slow, noted that Jaime held sadness whenever he trained with either Ria or Aela. It was barely noticeable, naturally, but it was there.
While his brother inherited the smarts from their parents, whoever they were, he had inherited a subtle ability to read emotions, maybe from them? Who knows. He could easily be able to see Aela being angry at Skjor, Ria sad at Njada's comments despite her laughter or Athis' concerns of not being accepted fully. He felt sad for the elf, he was a good man and a good warrior, he had nothing to worry about, but scars ran deep.
A healer may be able to save a limb, a potion cure a disease but to help the mind? No, there was nothing for that. Only time, perhaps. Time or perhaps it depended on the people in question.
Torvar had his own things. He drank with absolutely no abandon and did not worry for his own safety.
'Perhaps grief?' He wondered, then shook his head. It was not his business but then again sometimes he would see Torvar sometimes staring into nothing, muttering. He had never ever said a word from his past, despite constant questions. Torvar seemed to want to learn more of others.
He seemed awestruck when Jaime talked of his dwarf brother, Tyrion. How that dwarf did half of those things, drunk, seemed to inspire Torvar. He kept asking questions at Jaime and was immmensely proud of Tyrion for his drunken antics.
However, there was no gossip from the recent assignment Aela and Jaime completed.
Despite attempts from everyone to get more information on the matter, they had only been told that their recent contract was a success but only a blind man would not notice the strange worry in Jaime's eyes or Aela simply rebuffing any questions with an evasive question or a snarl.
He did not think Jaime worried about not being accepted. Farkas could see how impressed Vilkas and Kodlak were with him. He also saw deep admiration in Jaime whenever he talked to the Harbinger or Vilkas. Aela was always around the new blood, and he could see that they had struck a good friendship.
'All of us have our own demons.' Farkas concluded. He himself felt inferior to his brother and always worried that Vilkas would tire of him eventually, despite him being his twin. Of course, while Vilkas was stern and disciplined warrior, he knew his brother cared deeply for him.
"Brother." Speak of the damn devil, Vilkas approached the unsually contemplative Farkas. "We have a contract, in Ivarstead."
Farkas nodded. "What is it?" Hopefully it was not something boring. Last time it was just rats. It was too simple.
"Bandits, they have been raiding and taking livestock from the villagers." The smaller twin frowned. "You will take Jaime with you."
"Won't he feel better with Aela going with him?" Farkas countered, eyes serious and face neutral.
Vilkas raised an eyebrow, not used to get those kind of comments from his younger yet bigger brother. "Be that as it may, it is time he gets acclimated with the others."
"As you say, brother."
The other twin's eyes shined with something akin to pride. "Show him the way, brother."
Farkas smirked, feeling pride within. "You know I will, brother."
"You will depart tomorrow at dawn. End it fast." Vilkas nodded and turned around but stopped. "Oh and make it a very good job, our competition is growing fiercer."
'Ah, the infamous Red Riders.' Farkas thought with worry. "Of course brother."
He had heard of those Red Riders. They seemed to operate in Eastmarch, their base of operations being Shor's Stone, or close to it. Apparently they had wiped out several bandit camps and took over where there were fortresses.
Skjor blamed them for lack of contracts in that area and demanded action, saying that they would make people shift to them instead of the Companions on fame alone. Vilkas instead decided to be cautious, much to Kodlak's approval. They did not know of their numbers or the capability of their leaders and Farkas agreed with his brother this time.
'Aela will not be happy.' The taller twin grimaced.
"How come I am not the one going with him?" Aela asked, face stern. "I was under the assumption that we would be going together on missions for a time?"
"I just received my orders from Vilkas, Shield-Sister." Farkas placated her. "Do not worry, I will bring your friend in one piece." He finished with a smile.
Aela relaxed slightly and nodded. "I know you will Farkas. He is not used to the whole of Skyrim like us."
"You talk as if I am a mere child." A voice drawled, though lacked any heat. Jaime smirked. "I thought I proved my mettle in the combat yard."
"In the yard, outlander, and some of it close to Whiterun, but not in the whole of Skyrim." Aela replied with a frown. "Do as Farkas says, he is one of our best hunters and trackers, second only to me." She smirked a little arrogantly.
Farkas laughed, and felt pride at her comments, since she was indeed the best tracker he knew. "As she says."
Jaimed nodded and smirked at Farkas. "I will prepare my things."
Once he departed, the taller twin looked at Aela. "Do not worry, Shield-Sister, our brother will be safe."
She nodded. "I know." Her gaze, however, felt like she was saying, 'For your sake.'
He would take care of her outlander. The man seemed to be a fine Companion.
"And who are you? The proud Lord said that I must bow so low." He heard Jaime singing as they both rode their horses towards Iverstead. They were still far away from it so Farkas welcomed it, as they had been silent for a while. "Only a cat of a different coat that's all the truth I know."
It was somewhat catchy, as he imagined the tune to it. He kept silent to let Jaime sing the rest of it.
"In a coat of gold or a coat of red a lion still has claws and mine are long and sharp, my lord as long and sharp as yours."
Farkas wondered about the lions. He was intrigued now with it. 'Was this about a battle? Or something akin to that?'
"And so he spoke, and so he spoke that Lord of Castamere but now the rains weep o'er his hall and not a soul to hear."
The bigger Companion looked at Jaime, face full of intrigue. "That was something, Jaime. Care to share about it? Is that from your homeland?" He had never heard it before, not in the taverns that he had visited nor from the bards either. And Farkas had been all over Skyrim, met many people.
He saw the man hesitate slightly. "Yes, it is from the Westerlands, or more specifically, from my own family, House Lannister."
"House Lannister? Never heard of it."
"A good thing." Jaime replied somberly. "My father would send bards to quarrelsome lords and knights, they played it and they would fall back into line." The former Lannister knight almost snarled. "Few weapons are as effective as terror, he liked to say."
Farkas was now both intrigued and troubled. He wanted to know more, and it could explain Jaime's earlier behavior. Had Aela heard of this? She seemed protective of him at times though that was a given since Jaime was an outlander. Sometimes he felt sorry for him, being in a land that was not his.
"Why would it be a good weapon of terror to your enemies?" Farkas asked curiously.
Jaime looked at him, face blank but eyes sad. "Are you sure you want to ask this on such a beautiful day." The attempt at a jape amused Farkas.
"Still a long road ahead, Jaime."
He hesitated but finally gave in. Farkas always hoped to inspire camaraderie and trust. "When my grandfather, Tytos..." Jaime began the tale, as Farkas kept a close eye to their surroundings but equally listening, intrigued with this.
As the tale followed, Farkas was both shocked, angry and intrigued. He never interrupted Jaime.
"...my father never replied to their terms. Instead, he commanded for the mines to be sealed. Nobody could get in or out." Jaime narrated, eyes on the road. "He dammed the stream close to Castamere." He saw Farkas' eyes widening at a side glance. "The soldiers said that they heard screams but they were soon silent."
Jaime felt some shame but at the same time his father did his duty. If it was not for him, it would have been the end of his house. Tytos was a weak man, he would have sent his house to the grave. The Reynes and the Tarbecks would have taken over, left the Westerlands open for others to take the pieces left.
"And now the rains weep o'er his hall and not a soul to hear." Jaime finished, and saw Farkas probably linking the words to the actions that happened with the Reyne and Tarbeck Rebellion.
There was a long silence. Jaime did not look at Farkas but he could feel the man's glance from time to time. It was uncomfortable.
"You were the son of a noble, as Vilkas speculated." Farkas noted after a while. "Your father, Tywon.."
"Tywin." Jaime corrected without any anger, only with cordiality. "The man that never learned to smile."
"Do admit." Farkas remarked. "I find myself not liking him, at all."
"Neither did I." Jaime retorted. He had never lived to his expectations. Tywin had wanted the perfect heir, and he had that in Tyrion, despite his stunted state. For all his brilliance, his father was a fool. He never recognized that greatness. It was ironic that him, an idiot compared to them, did. "He was a hard man, with too many enemies to count."
After some silence, Farkas chuckled. "Do have to admit, sending a singer to placate enemies seems very practical."
Jaime, who was in the process of drinking water, snorted and began coughing. 'Since when did the big twin follow logic?'
Farkas began to laugh at his state. "It is true! Imagine stopping wars with just a few verses?"
He was right but the cost? It was too much. His father had been a monster. He had never forgiven him for how he treated Tyrion. It was almost poetic how the man ended. Taking a shit and not a single gold coin to find there.
Of course, he felt shame and anger. Tyrion lost Tysha thanks to Tywin. Jaime felt that was the worst moment in his life. Lying to his brother, the one who seemed to love him despite all.
'My brother is a man of action.' He remembered Tyrion boasting once. He always remembered that fondly. No matter how many times he repeated it, that single comment from his brother brought tears to his face.
"You do have to know that actions define ourselves." Farkas spoke with seriousness, looking at Jaime. "Right or wrong, it is up to us to decide."
"I know." The former Kingsguard replied.
"And I know you carry the guilt on you like a pile of rocks." Farkas said to Jaime's surprise and incredulity. "Oh yes, you might think me slow as others say. I might be but I notice things from time to time."
Approaching with his horse, Farkas laid a hand on Jaime's shoulder. "I am no one to judge you. And all that happened is past you now. You are now a member of the Companions and our Shield-Brother."
Jaime felt happiness. Aela had been much the same, though he never told her of his father's cruelty. The fact that Farkas had reacted this way spoke volumes of the Companions and their view on life.
"As I told Aela, I am honored to be a Shield-Brother."
Farkas laughed and his stomach grumbled. The sun was already setting. "Hey honored one? We need to set camp. I am hungry and in need of some rest."
Jaime chuckled and began to pick a spot.
Sometimes, the gods pissed on him, sometimes they gave him what he wanted. Of course, it came at a cost. He would always miss Tyrion and the wench, though now he had another calling. Not a kingsguard, not a lord or commander, but as a Shield-Brother.
More chapters to follow y'all. Thanks for tuning it! Please be safe and any questions, you can message me.
Jaime is NOT the Dragonborn, once again. Farkas is pragmatic as a warrior and he is smarter than you think.