Chapter Forty-One
….
Four Months since the "Failed Assassination" of Delianah Tully.
Somewhere on the Stormlands
Ser Patriz Hast grips his sword nervously as the booming sound once more makes the very circles of his holdfast gate rattle once more. Around him nearly twenty to thirty men, all smallfolk with a paltry ten men-at-arms who usually serves as nothing more than his household guard. While his guards have bows, a couple of spears and shields, the smallfolk on the other hand wield nothing more than crude hammers axes, long knives and pitchforks.
Patriz gulps as another powerful boom follows the third one this time with the sound of wood creaking badly under the strain. He gulps. He has been a knight long enough to know that the wooden gate won't hold, not against the force that they are against outside. He also got a feeling that he and his entire family would die today. He is not backing down however. Men worshipping devil trees are knocking at his door outside and Seven damn his soul if he doesn't hold his ground against the heathens.
With a final boom, the gate finally gives way giving a space large enough for a man to walk through. Immediately Patriz raises his hand.
"Archers, LOOSE!" immediately arrows are loosened at the head of the ram jutting at the middle of the gate.
He smirks as he can hear men crying out in pain outside. Before he can celebrate his victory though, his smile disappears as fast as it came for crossbows immediately make themselves known at the gap before discharging into his men. With most wearing nothing but the clothes on their back when the attack came and only one or two wearing boiled leather armor; his men go down like piñata under heavy crossbow fire.. Five are immediately dead with another four groaning with severe wounds.
"To me men! To me!" Patriz try to rally his remaining men who are breaking formation from their men to little avail. They are already milling and stuttering a second or two away from bolting.
Before he can call out another rally, the gates broken open wide as the ram slams one final time. Two of his household guard brave men try to charge only to be speared by javelins flying on the air. From outside comes the sound of charging cavalry and Patriz can feel his heart dying inside as the infamous winged helms and back wings come into view of Rivendell's silver order in a full tilt to his yard.
"DIE bastards!" Patriz has no idea who he is shouting to since they are all bastards as he wheels his horse to face at least five riders with lances.
He manages to parry one lance with his sword but the follow up of the next rider pierces Patriz, sending him flying off his horse and slamming to the ground. As he lies there he can hear his men screaming and dying for only a few seconds before silence as the only sound he can hear are men dismounting.
"Find me any evidence of support that this holdfast might have for the Faith's Inquisition. Leave no box unturned. By the king's decree….," and just like that Patriz hears no more. He just prays that to the Seven that his wife and child might no be slaughtered by the heathens once they find his letters from the Faith's Inquisition.
….
Red Keep, Dungeons
"NO! NO! PLEASE NO!" the sound of knife cutting through flesh is heard followed by an agonized scream for a few seconds that is soon replaced by sobbing.
"Tell me High Septon, what is the Faith's Inquisition doing sending its agents to murder a lady of the realm and framing the King at the same time?"
"I don't know please, I don't know. The Faith's Inquisition has been disbanded after the war. I had no idea what to PLEASE! PLEASE! DON'T!-" the sound of knife cutting again is gainsaid by the ear splitting scream of the man as more of the skin off his fingers are peeled.
"Tell me High Septon. What is the Faith doing….," and the questioning goes on inside the dungeons.
Meanwhile at the Small Council, King Robert, First of His Name and all that is present in one of the rare moments of attending his small council. It is also for the first time it seems, minus his first few days as king that he is sober and for within good reason.
Robert has always known deep down that he is a bad king and the crown suits him ill. That is maybe one of the reasons why he indulge himself in his vices. Let Jon do the ruling while he gets out of the way. Robert after all never wanted a peaceful united realm. That is Jon's dream. All Robert wants is his Lyanna and he lost her. Now he is stuck with a harpy for a wife and a son he can't even properly discipline thanks to the mother henning of Cersei and his own rather lack of commitment as a father and as a man.
Bad king or not however, even Robert has managed to pull himself together to attend the Small Council and within good reason. Even Tywn Lannister has invited himself to be here at King's Landing to personally make sure that the Seven Kingdoms does not implode on itself. As Robert stares at his Hand beside his chair, he almost pities Jon as the old man looks like he has aged ten years even more since the last few days.
"Anything from the High Septon?" Jon asks as Stannis emerges from the door, cleaning his bloody hand with a rag.
"Same confession…..that he did not do it and he has nothing to do with the attempted assassination of the Lady of Rivendell," sighs Stannis as he rests his arse on his seat.
"Bloody bollocks! The man is lying. You've all seen him preaching against the "heathens" ever since the War of the Faith ended, about how the gods are supposed to be preparing for the next course of action that would not damage the peace!" hisses Robert at his brother.
"The torturers will tell us the moment the man starts giving us information Your Grace," Stannis replies curtly making Robert want to grab his hammer and start swinging only if to relieve this problem that seems to have no solution in sight.
"So we are back to square one then?" Jon finally says with a depressed sigh of weary acceptance almost slouching on his own chair. Robert refuses to even growl at that.
The Realm ever since the failed assassination of Delianah Tully is ready to implode on itself and starting its second version of the War of Faith 2.0 suffice it to say. At least back during the first War of Faith, everyone has a target to aim itself at. Now ever since the Faith assassins almost murdered the Lady of Rivendell, nearly every lord is incensed. It does not bode well for anyone after all to know that the Faith would have no qualms breaking the Sacred Guest Rights and murder you inside your own territory with no hesitation. It does not help that apparently their "convincing act" as posing for replacement of the Kingsguard gained them no friends. After all with the "Kingsguard" killing a lady in her own territory, that just shows that they are not even caring about the fact that they would be implicating the king on their attempted murder.
Now Lords are looking at one another in suspicion with the more radical ones being outright hostile to the Faith inclined Lords in fear that they might be the next possible target for the Faith's Inquisition. Of course it does not help that said Inquisition simply disappeared into the wind leaving Robert with no one to execute and put an end to. In the meantime as the Red Keep's torturers do their best to wring some kind of intel from the arrested High Septon and his cronies at the Great Sept of Baelor, lords all over the Seven Kingdoms are gathering their banners to themselves for protection and in some cases even attacking smaller keeps and holdfasts with many an "excuse" for defending themselves. Lords who hold to the faith of the Old Gods are the ones who are usually guilty of this.
"We need to continue sending the Silver Knights," Tywin finally says to the silent council. "The Inquisition must be found and at the same time the King must be seen giving strength by putting out any sign of treachery. The Crown must be seen doing something,"
"That is not honorable Lord Tywin!" hisses Jon Arryn through his teeth. "You cannot sacrifice lives of minor Lords and Knights of the Realm only to prove a show of force!"
"Then what do you suggest Lord Hand? Nothing? It should be the Crown who would…..,"
Robert deftly tines out the argument of Tywin and Jon as he dozes off in his chair. At the end of the day the Silver Knights of Rivendell would be once more dispatched for it is all they can do at the moment and pray for the best and for the fires to put themselves out.
…
The North, Winterfell
Ned once more lets off a sigh as the sound impacts him like a sledgehammer the moment he enters the Great Hall of Winterfell. As usual when the Lords of the North are gathering, they tend to be loud and raucous. In a way Ned prefers it this way. It is one of the beauties of the North, having Lords so open to one another and not hiding their true intentions behind a façade of smiles only waiting for the moment to backstab you in the back.
Now the reason why Ned calls for the usual meeting of Lords is because of the current state of Westeros. The backfire from the Failed Assassination of the Lady of Rivendell is causing massive waves and makes the Seven Kingdoms ready to implode on itself. Opinion and confidence to the current King of Westeros is at a down time low and it seems everywhere around is every Lord for himself with many Lord Paramounts having trouble controlling their subordinates.
Even the North is not spared the madness currently infecting the Seven Kingdoms. The few Faith aligned Houses of the North is viewed with heavy suspicion. Ned himself has to lead a few hundreds of his own men to one or two houses who is "attempting" to muster their levies in order to make sure that they won't be attacking another soon and reassure their allegiance at the same time. Surprisingly, the young Bolton Lord is heavily crucial to this campaign of his of stomping out any sign of rebellion. The moment a Lord sees the banners of House Bolton marching alongside that of House Stark, with said current Lord of the House holding a knife, they are happily opening their gates without ado.
Now after three months of preparation and stamping out any signs of treachery in the North, here is Ned hosting a large feast for his Lords at Winterfell. Normally before their trade deal with Rivendell, Winterfell might never have been able to host this kind of celebration except for the usual Harvest Feast Now with many a fund saved, they are able to afford this luxury a bit, a thing that his Lords obviously enjoys, especially with the many caskets of Butterbeer currently being tugged of war by Robett Glover and Greatjon Umber down below.
As Ned looks at his side though, he sighs at the sight of the empty seat of his wife. Apparently the fact that her sister survived the assassination made her angry, something that Ned finds new to his wife. He knows that Catelyn hates bastards. He does not expect the hate however to run so deep that she is mad that her sister is alive.
Oh and her absence might also be because of the simple fact that someone snuck in the night and demolished her new Sept for the Second time.
It does not help that it is one of the reasons why the Northern Lords are toasting down below at their tables. As for him, he once more has to preside the reasoning that his sword wielding happy Lords not rush down South and provide aid in finding the Inquisition in revenge for hurting the "honorary Lady Northener".
Gods he hopes Delianah makes it else he will have a harder time trying to keep his Lords from trying to march South. Plus he it will be a massive waste of effort especially since he is finding a reason to betroth Robb to her damnit!
…..
Rivendell, Death Dealer Training Yard
The sound of feet trudging on the mud can be heard even with the heavy downpour of the rain. At the training grounds outside Rivendell, Death Dealer trainees march in tandem, the best of the best volunteering from the Black Guard in the hope of gaining a slot from the Lady of Rivendell's elites.
From the twenty or so trainees however runs one different from the rest. Sure she dresses the same as the rest of the trainees, but her faltering gait and her more tired persona clearly shows her difference from the rest of the Black Guard candidates. Golden hair in a bun, Myrcella Baratheon runs together with the rest of the recruits.
Heart thumping inside her chest, she presses on despite the burning pain of her muscles. She has always been to weak, to slow, to useless. The golden princess, the golden doll who can do nothing as the people she cares about is taken away. She can't even defend herself against her own brother.
Now the Lady she cares about lay dying, hidden far from the rest of the world where even she is not given access.
Myrcella resolves to herself to be better, once Delianah wakes up from her slumber.
….
Personal Villa of House Lannister
Tywin sighs tiredly as he reclines on his comforting chair massaging his scalp as he leans far from his desk which is currently organized despite the large amount of letters and reports on it. Everything is going wrong as far as he can see. Tywin might be ruthless but even he knows that too much terror can be a double edged sword. He has seen it personally with the Mad King, burning people alive. Personally Tywin would rather see a prosperous and stable realm rather one that tethers on the precipice of destruction. His grandson after all would be ruling said realm.
For the first time in his life, Tywin actually prefers that House Targaryen be present and ruling Westeros with their dragons right now. At least with the very presence of dragons, the rest of the petty lords of Westeros would be able to behave in simple terms that they would be afraid of dragon-fire no matter what their worries are. Now the time of the dragons are gone and the time of the fat stag is present and Robert sufficed it to say despite being related to the Targaryens are no dragon in the making.
Thinking about Robert makes Tywin want to groan. He has increased Lannister influence in the capital so much during the last few years in an effort to pull support for his grandson once he is coronated. Joffrey after all would need all the support he could get once Robert hits the bucket due to overdrinking. It is also a safeguard for Tywin in the event that said grandson finally steps over the line and becomes the next Mad King. Contrary to popular belief, Tywin does know how his grandson is. That is maybe one of the reasons why he does not fully trust Cersei and why he is so disappointed with her. He has been hearing nothing but disturbing rumors about the Crown Prince, especially his actions and mental state, it does not help that he even displayed it in public during the Grand Tourney by shooting his own sister. If Joffrey does indeed becomes the Mad King Second reincarnation, Tywin needs his men to be in a strong position to forcefully remove him from power before he rips to pieces the Lannister Legacy. Tommen is young but gentle and Tywin can work with that.
Now as to the current state of the realm, Tywin wants to groan. The Seven Kingdoms are in the brink of collapse and he has to thank the gods that the Silver Knights Order of Delianah Tully is on call else the Crown would have no standing force to use in regards of the forceful investigation of the Faith's Inquisition. Event he Westerlands after all is not safe if the Inquisition wields such power that they could infiltrate the Kingsguard itself.
As for now Tywin has increased the Redcloaks recruitment back at Casterly Rock and recalled as much family as he could. He would need to find this Inquisition and he needs to find it fast before more lords march against one another.
…
The North, Bay of Ice Near Eastwatch by the Sea
The screams of gulls can be heard throughout the shoreline. At the side of the massive longboat leading almost a hundred regular sized ones sailing through the turbulent waters of the icy shore like swans over wawter, one can see the massive Wall, a true wonder of the North, a place built in a combination of magic and human ingenuity.
At the prow of the first longboat decked in white furs with a Valyrian spear strapped at her back, her black hair with red highlights flying free on the open wind is no one else but Delianah Tully staring in no small amount of wonder at the Wall. While being horribly vain after all, she is never one to let pass the opportunity to see wonders of magic. They are rare as it is, even back at her old world. Now here she is seeing for the first time the massive wonder of this world. Even from the distance she can feel the magic literally pulsing through the wall, protective enchantments she can feel.
Part of Delianah wants nothing more than to duck and poke the wall till she understands how such magic works, but alas it must wait for she has another purpose here other than sightseeing.
She smirks though as she once more looks back South where the Seven Kingdoms lay. It is amazing how so much chaos and disaster can the will of a single person change the threads of life. I mean seriously? Do they really think that those assassins manage to get the drop on her during the "attempted assassination"? She's Delianah Fucking Tully, she would be a shame to all wizards and witches in her old world if she allowed some magic-less muggles wielding archaic weapons to get the drop on her. If modern era muggles with all their technology and advancement can barely outsmart wizards and witches back in her old world, what are the chances of muggles here?
Of course her "supposed assassination" is orchestrated by herself. A couple of Confundus here and there to the unwitting replacement of Kingsguard thanks to Barristan and Ser Jaime being out of commission due to their participation in the Melee Tourney and bam! Three assassins are gunning for her "assassination" with no one the wiser.
Now many might ask her why in the world does she try to orchestrate her own "assassination", simple. It has come to Delianah's realization ever since Joffrey tried turning Myrcella into a pincushion that the world's focus is on Rivendell and Rivendell alone. With the False Winter over of course, intrigue and hype all over the Kingdom is at an all time low. With her sudden separation from the continent's primary religion and the War of the Faith, every single eye has been on her and what she is building.
Delianah might admit to herself that she herself has completely forgotten about her original goals ever since the debacle against the Faith. She has been so engrossed in the victory and making sure that the prestige of such be achieved and continuing (plus the direct order of the King about the Grand Tourney) that she lost sight of her original goal of making Rivendell strong and her name reaching as "The Great" from one end of the sea to another.
Now thanks to her rather quite rather fabulous orchestration, she has now the perfect excuse to be "out of everyone's sight" due to the main rumor mill spreading the news far and wide that she is currently "recovering" at Rivendell, tucked and safe while being zealously guarded by the Death Dealers. This gives her time and freedom from both responsibilities and watching eyes.
Not as if anyone would be bothered about her presence anyway. Long story short, the attempted assassination of the King's royal bodyguards to a trusted Lady of the realm in her own home after bread and salt is given is simply an extremely bad dream come true for the Crown. It also sets suspicion heavily on the Faith with the Hidden Ones spreading rumors far and wide about the Faith's Inquisition being active once more, but this time in the dark and not in the open. All of it shows incompetence at the current King and undermines the authority of Robert Baratheon to the extreme. Who can after all trust the king after he fails to identify would-be-assassins disguised as his personal protectors?
Now as every self-serving Lord on this realm is scrambling to pull together their levies to themselves and are looking at one another with distrust, never has this provided an opportunity for Delianah to put her own paws on the chaos. While Lord Paramounts are trying their damnest to make some semblance of control, with no standing army, the crown has no choice but to turn to the only thing it can find at the moment short of calling its banners, the Silver Knights Order of Rivendell.
Seeing that Rivendell after all is aggrieved party, there is simply no reason for them to be siding with the Inquisition anytime soon. Thus as a powerful force on themselves with high repute and prowess, they are simply the logical choice for Robert for the "investigation" of the whereabouts of the Faith's Inquisition. Normally his choice would be either the Stormlanders, or the North. Seeing however that the Stormlands is facing the same issue as everyone else plus an absentee Lord Paramount, they are not ready to render aid anytime soon. The North is too far away and could give a fart's care to Southeners even if Stark leads them. Dorne on the other hand would be a pragmatic choice due to its low tolerance about the Faith with many holding strong to their Rhoynar roots. Seeing however that any Dornishman would be happy to spear Robert's blubber first chance they get and claim it to be an accident, they are obviously not a choice.
Now as the Silver Knights tear apart holdfast after holdfast, it makes perfect opportunity for them to report back to the Hidden Ones' every advantage, disadvantage, secrets and dirt of the lords and knights they are investigating. Information that Delianah can use for later one way or another long term.
Now all of this is because of course Delianah wants something to benefit something from the Grand Tourney who gets a lot of its major events cancelled because of the Lords of Westeros not being up for it.
There's also the simple fact that this is a small vacation for her and gives the reincarnate a chance to hunt down something that is more of a personal missing from her current variety of widespread diet.
She needs burgers damnit and fortunately, aurochs are said to be many up North in the Lands Beyond the Wall. It is an excuse enough for her to venture North where North goes and see a bit of wanderlust in this brand new world.
…..
Author's Note:
Hello Fellow Westerosi. Hope ya like this Chapter. Anyway so Tourney arc done, we are turning to Delianah's second to final world building stage and also her "Edge" that would be against the other Kingdoms. Anyway sorry for the long updates. I've been reading a lot of Mass Effect Strong Humanity fics so I've been putting less effort on this fic.
Hope ya like the twist hihihihihihi
When all Else Fails…We prevail!