Chapter 6
My continued in-depth exploration of every inch of Casterly Rock brought me to a storehouse and by ROB, was it huge. It was more like I walked into a warehouse of the twenty-first century. Wandering through the enormous cavern, I poked my head into various sacks of grains and oats, prodded at salted and larded meats that hung about, and tried to see if whatever contents sealed tight within iron-banded barrels was a bendable liquid.
Was this the normal state of things or was winter coming or something? Or perhaps this was just what was necessary to feed the population of Casterly Rock. I mean we did have quite a few personnel working throughout the Rock.
Deeper and deeper my wandering took me before I encountered something interesting finally.
Further in, a tiny light flickered and shone weakly against the pitch-blackness of the storehouse. I thought to myself, It could be a steward doing inventory since someone had to be organizing all this.
Taking a parallel lane, I steadily stalked forward, my bare steps utterly silent in the complete darkness. The cause was an interesting side effect of earthbending I had discovered recently. Every step I took wasn't just me normally walking, but rather me rerooting myself to the earth, however weakly.
Earthbenders could launch themselves high into the air with an earthen pillar and when they hit the ground, they could transfer that momentum into something like an earthen wave. Interestingly enough, I discovered sound could also be transferred through it as well so each step I took was being absorbed into the earth as the tiniest of earthbending waves.
Absolutely zero idea how that worked but magic was magic. Ain't gotta explain jack.
Of course, being the weeb I absolutely was, I practiced that ability until I could do it without thought.
Nin nin! Ninja Avatar Cersei! I couldn't wait until I got around to firebending because I sure as hell was going to try replicating Naruto jutsus!
Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!
One day surely, I shall breathe forth a fireball from my mouth against my foes.
I pushed on toward where the light was originating from, intent on investigating.
Perhaps it was some ne'er do wells! Maybe a rogue here to rob us! Or something insidious, a poisoner amidst us.
Might be someone hungry and trying to get something to eat.
Or two lovers have a clandestine meeting!
My curiosity was overriding good sense but I was so utterly bored!
Unfortunately, reality often does prove disappointing. My seismic sense told me it was a single person. No group of scoundrels or a pair of star-crossed lovers desiring a moment of steamy intimacy.
A lit candle was in a carrier and laid upon a barrel top beside a figure which helpfully illuminated my person of interest. A young girl, a lower level serving girl from the looks of her roughspun clothes not meant to be seen by highborn, perhaps a year or two older than me with blonde hair that shone just enough that I wouldn't be surprised if there was the tiniest bit of Lannister blood in her veins somewhere.
She was crouched over a little basin of water with both hands hovering above the placid water, fingers splayed, and a look of intense concentration etched onto her face.
A tingle of realization passed through me.
…
Was she trying to waterbend?
No, surely not. Planetos has no benders besides me and I got my abilities via isekai.
No way.
I'm sure this girl was just a weirdo or something.
As if she took my internal thoughts personally, I saw a small tendril of water slowly snake its way skyward. It was slow, shaky, utterly uneven, and looked ready to succumb to gravity at any moment.
Yet that tiny action proved world-shaking to my worldview.
It was waterbending.
Unless she was some kind of Rhoynar water mage but that was just me grasping at straws.
Well fuck. This changed things significantly.
ROB!
WHAT WORLD IS THIS?!
Were benders already a known element? I mean, I never exactly went up and asked Maester Creylen if people could control the elements. Never thought too since I assumed everything except my isekai was canon.
Yet this waterbender before me was a testament to my error in thought.
Was this some kind of fusion world?! I hadn't started any real lessons with my teachers yet so I had not a damn clue what the state of the world truly was. Had all my future knowledge been rendered pointless?
Was the North actually short for the Northern Water Clans or something?
I needed information and I needed it yesterday. Maybe I could subtly pry information from Maester Creylen or even ask if I could start my history lessons early.
A splash of water reeled me back from my frantic thoughts.
Hm.
Why ask Maester Creylen when there's a potential source of information right in front of me?
Leaving my little hidey spot, I saw the little waterbender girl who seemed tired but satisfied regardless with her bending. Due to the nature of the shelving, I found myself approaching her from behind just as she was picking up her small basin of water.
"Ahem," I called out while standing behind her.
I should probably have expected what came next considering I basically walked out of the darkness and jump scared her.
The girl startled and shrieked in fear before instinctively flinging the basin of water at me.
I wish I could say I did some fancy earthbending kung fu to expertly raise a wall or bent the water out of midair but it happened so suddenly that the basin of water smacked against my forehead while the contents of it splashed against me, soaking my hair and clothes instantly before tumbled at the surprise assault.
"OW!" I yelled out instinctively, clutching my head where the basin had hit me.
"Sorry, I'm so sorry." A voice cried out apologetically. "You scared me!"
I opened my eyes after pushing my dripping wet hair behind my ears so I could actually see. She had an arm outstretched and I reached up and grasped it. With a heave, she pulled me to my feet.
"No, no, it's alright. My fault." I say, trying to placate her but I was ill-pleased with this sudden development.
It was cold!
"Did Alvar send you? I didn't mean to take so long," she said hastily. Though the voice was somewhat steady, the little light the candle generated was enough for me to tell she was worried about something more by the way she squirmed awkwardly in place.
Like a child caught with their hands in the cookie jar.
Was she scared I saw her waterbending?
I shook my head in denial, which I quickly found to be a mistake as I just splashed more water about. "I don't know who Alvar is."
I purposefully let an awkward silence fill the air but my eyes were locked onto her face.
Oh yeah, she was definitely worried.
"Then… Why are you here?" She spoke hesitantly.
I pointed my finger at the bucket below me and confirmed her worst fears. "The water."
Her eyes widened in fear and she took a step back suddenly.
Fight or flight, and I was pretty sure she was about to pick the latter.
I put one of my hands into the air just above my head, and with a deliberately slow motion, dragged it downwards all while slowly pulling out all the water which had utterly soaked me.
Mote by mote, drop by drop, they each slowly slipped free of my clothes and hair to join the growing midair trail of water left by my hand's downward path.
As my hand reached the end of its journey, I bent the water into the basin with a flourish.
Hope it wasn't for drinking.
This was something I had practiced quite extensively as clothing tended to frequently get wet while training and I had little desire to explain to mama why. It was also a good practice as an inbetween step between bending water one can visually see versus where one couldn't.
"You're like me," the girl's eyes were still wide, but no longer was it fear coloring them, but wonder.
"And what are you?" I returned curiously.
The girl leaned in close and whispered, "I'm a watermage." She spoke so quietly as if scared the shadows themselves could hear her voice.
"Are there others like us?" I whispered back, prying for more information.
"I…" she began. "Don't really know. There are whispers about others but no more. The matrons mislike folk speaking about such ill things. A pox against the seven they claim."
"So it's a new thing?" I say trying to confirm my suspicions. If I were to understand, it was a likely recent development.
She nodded in affirmation to my question.
"Is it just water?" I pried further.
Her eyes narrowed in suspicion suddenly. "I know not… But why ask that?"
She's a sharp one.
Hmm. Should I?
For one, I absolutely needed a sparring partner and well, one just happened to appear before me. She was sneaking off to practice her ability so it clearly indicated she has some interest in furthering her waterbending. We could be bending buddies!
That's enough reasoning for me!
I reached out to the side of her and one hand, picked up the candle carrier that was thankfully still burning away desperately against the darkness of the cavern. What few dreams I had about firebending all agreed that its source was the sun but right now, I was far from the sun while entombed deep within the bowels of Casterly Rock. With time and actual experience, I could likely overcome such a disability but for now, I needed to use an already available fire source.
Bringing my pointer finger alongside close to the little flame, I breathed. A moment later, I felt my energies claim it, bringing it under my influence.
Fire was not like earth or water.
Where earth tended to be enduring and water wished to flow, fire was voracious and desired to grow.
Moving my finger away from the candle, the little ember of flame followed, hovering perhaps a half-inch away from the tip of my finger.
I could hear the waterbender girl gasp but I was too busy trying to focus on my breathing technique to keep the flame under control. If I swung too far in either direction, the flame could either be extinguished or end up growing out of control.
There was a damn good reason Jeong Jeong insisted on discipline and breathing exercises for Aang before teaching him any actual firebending.
In through the nose, and out the mouth.
One day I would be well-practiced enough to do this instinctively, but that day was not today.
The flame grew and shrunk according to my breath, indicating my lack of control.
Opening my palm, I took in a deep draw of breath all the while my little ember of flame shrunk before I exhaled steadily. The tiny wisp of flame flared steadily, larger and larger, until it was a baseball-sized ball of flame, floating steadily above my open palm.
"Yer a firemage too?" I could see the surprise in her eyes as my little ball of flame had a much easier time pushing back the darkness than the candle did.
I nodded at her, unwilling to speak and disturb my breathing rhythm.
Slowly, the ball of flame started to shrink as I reined it in. Soon enough, I deemed it small enough and placed the tiny flame back atop the candle wick.
It flickered momentarily as I released my energies that had gripped it but the wick took flame once more to my relief.
I smiled at the girl. "I can do a bit more than that." I was a show-off, but I couldn't help it. No one knew about my abilities and I worked hard to practice them damn it!
"More?"
With a gesture, a small piece of rock floated into the air between us. Slowly, chunks of it started to shed away, larger pieces at first before becoming smaller and smaller.
This was one of many earthbending exercises I did to improve my earthbending. Any basic bitch earthbender could rip a chunk of rock from the ground and yeet it at people but fine control was a different matter.
Slowly, a figurine started to take shape. I was trying to model it after the girl standing before me but ehhhhh. I was no artist and this shit was hard as I was both simultaneously holding it in midair, and carving away at it from a distance.
The difficulty of this little exercise also really threw into perspective just how much of a fucking monster Toph Beifong was when she just casually dropped an "I've been working on my sandbending" and fucking sandbends a replica of Ba Sing Se. The sheer amount of dexterity, control, finesse, and skill was something I truly didn't think I would ever be capable of.
Eventually, I got the figuring as far as I could go. As in I wasn't sure if my next move wouldn't accidentally bend the head off the body so I reached forward and plucked it out of midair.
It looked… Indistinct. I could vaguely recognize the humanoid shape but everything else like fine features was lacking.
However, by the way the girl's eyes shone in front of me, she thought it was impressive enough nonetheless.
I preened.
ROB above. What has my life become that impressing literal children is the highlight of my day?
"Here," I handed it to her. "A gift."
"Are you sure?" She asked before reaching out for it slowly.
"Yeah! I can just make more." If I didn't reduce them to dust afterward, no doubt I would have an entire closet full of em.
Still, she looked thankful for my little gesture of hopeful friendship. "I'm Lanna," she greets suddenly.
"Nice to meetcha Lanna." I reply, happy to have a name to the face. "I'm Cersei."
Lanna squeaks at the introduction of my name. Perhaps taking in my fine dress for the first time even if it had been dirtied the hell out of it by me running amuck but still richer and more colored than her drab servant cloths.
"M'lady?" She squeaks out hesitantly, the words unfamiliar to her.
I giggled. "None of that. Call me Cersei when no one is about," I say, waving her deference away. We were going to be beating the hell out of each other soon no doubt. "Tell me, do you want me to teach you what I know of waterbending?"
"I do," she speaks without hesitation, the desire to improve her ability superseded all else.
I could see a kindred spirit in the ways of bending.
Companion get!
"Lanna, what do you do in Casterly Rock?"
Lanna seemed surprised by the sudden non sequitur but rallied. "I'm a scullery maid, m'lady."
Well, that won't do at all!
She'll be too busy doing boring stuff like working to train with me. Good thing she just met the boss's daughter.
I needed to have a chat with Mama Jo.
The chair was ill-suited for her womanly stature, built for larger lords of Casterly Rock, yet she restrained her grimace of the familiar annoyance.
She would do her duty as Castellan of Casterly Rock while her lord husband was pushing the interests of House Lannister and serving the realm in a King's Landing which was rapidly becoming more and more hostile to him with each passing day, a well-governed domain was the least she could do for Tywin on his rare returns to the Westerland.
"Jayce reports the stocking of the larders of Casterly Rock is continuing apace." A task made easier by the man currently speaking to her. "Maester Creylen, you believe this winter season shall prove to be more mild?"
Her goodbrother, Kevan Lannister, was a man unlike his eldest brother. Soft where her husband was hard and plain where Tywin was handsome, yet they were both devoted utterly to House Lannister and seeing its rise.
Maester Creylen nodded. "It is the belief of the conclave, yes. All signs point towards a mild winter of perhaps a few years."
"Let us hope so then." Kevan coughed into his hand before looking at her to which she nodded back. "Onto the next matter then, Captain Elmar reports that there's been a slight rise in banditry across the region, though particularly in the north."
"Is it beyond the strength of our current patrols and guardsmen?" She asked.
"He was not requesting aid, no. Merely an observation," Kevan answered. .
"It isn't unheard of to see banditry rise up as Summer falls to Winter," Maester Creylen offered forth his counsel. "The crops becoming scarcer would lead to desperation, and as the roads become less traveled. Not to mention the reduction in patrols as the grip of winter spreads."
He wasn't wrong but…
"It's early, is it not?" Joanna asked. "The white ravens of the Citadel have not even yet flown."
"That is true." Creyen said. "It was merely a possibility I presented."
Keven cleared his throat. "It is likely related to the next issue. Several Westerlands houses have been undergoing increasing economic distress. Vandals setting crop fields alight in some areas. Others are simply failing on their own and stable wells suddenly drying up overnight. Some reports say the smallfolks believe the land to be cursed and are fleeing for greener pastures. It also explains why Lannisport has been seeing a steady stream of people entering, even ignoring the general upswell it sees as winter approaches."
"That is rather concerning." The commons were a superstitious folk so it wasn't surprising, but if they were worried enough to depart the land, that could have consequences across the entirety of the Westerlands.
"It was only recently we put all the disparate details together. I was only made aware of the ill-fortunes of some Houses as my goodfather had written to Dorna about it." A slight hesitation laces his next words. "He was hoping to renegotiate the loan terms in light of such events. Perhaps a temporary suspension until the next harvest."
How curious. For Kevan to have asked for this, the situation must have been more dire than it was being stated.
"These decisions are not mine to make. Take counsel with Tywin when he returns from King's Landing or write to him if need be."
Kevan gave a grateful nod and sat back, relieved. His wife must have begged him to bring the subject up to her and Kevan loved her too dearly to reject her. Likely, he feared Joanna herself would take offense.
"If House Swyft is on the receiving end of such ill fortunes, then other houses must be under greater weight," Joanna spoke quietly. "Maester Creylen, have we received any ravens from other houses?"
"Unless the ravens were lost, no." He refuted.
"Then for now, order Captain Elmar to increase patrols and if he deems necessary, allow him to reinforce from the garrison of the Rock and Lannisport. Let it not be said the Warden of the West shirks their duty. And if any other houses wish to renegotiate loans," she felt a cold smile spread across her face. "Let them know I shall consult the matter with my Lord Husband."
Houses Reyne and Tarbeck were not the only houses to feel the wrath of House Lannister during their failed revolt. Those disloyal vassals who had followed in their overlord's steps of trampling on the Lannister name were made to pay dearly for their insult.
The contracts renegotiated at army-point were created with the intention of driving those houses low, reminding them who their betters were.
Yet as much as she misliked many of those houses for their association with the Reynes who held her brother hostage, she knew there was a knife's edge that needed to be walked. Whip a dog hard enough and desperation will see its teeth bared against its master. They needed to be weakened but not to the point they threatened the peace and prosperity of the Westerlands.
"Was there anything else of import?" She asked, moving the conversation along.
There was, but thankfully not much, and soon enough, she found herself alone in Tywin's solar holding a drink in hand and mulling over her thoughts.
She felt a smile grow across her face. Perhaps she would visit her children.
Jaime was no doubt at the training yard making a nuisance of himself. He was a sweet child and would make a fine knight one day and a finer lord, her little golden lion. Though no doubt he would be displeased by her and Tywin's decision to forgo the usual squiring at six name days. They had decided in turn to have a lengthier education by Maester Creylen as befits the future Lord Paramount of the West. In exchange though, Jaime would be allowed to start light exercises now.
Her daughter though…
She took a draw from her held goblet.
She loved her children, one and all, but she could do little to deny that Cersei was a queer child.
Too intelligent by half. Opinions too well formed and eloquence developed beyond any other children. If Joanna closed her eyes and never laid eyes upon Cersei, she could delude herself into believing she was speaking with a woman-grown at times.
Oh, her daughter tried to level her own intelligence and speech when she was close to Jaime, seemingly using him as a measuring stick for how a child of her age was meant to behave, but the moment she was left alone, that was all forgotten.
If Joanna hadn't witnessed her daughter grow day by day, she might have believed her daughter had been replaced by a Faceless Man.
An assassin with supposed magical abilities her daughter was not, but that didn't change the fact Joanna believed her daughter was gifted with something.
Sorcery.
Whispers amongst the smallfolk rarely make their way into the ears of highborns but that didn't mean some lords didn't attempt to keep an ear open. Whispers can eventually erupt into shouts so any ruler worth their name's needed to watch their smallfolk carefully.
And over the last decades, concerning rumors have persisted.
The Citadel Conclave had long declared to anyone who would listen that magic was a dead force, gone with the last Targaryen dragon.
Up to now, however, their belief did little to stop the rumors of children being born with new and fantastical abilities.
Fire, water, and earth.
Essosi firemages had long existed in the East with many of them worshippers of some fire god and the texts had long stated that the Rhoynar once commanded magics of water to defy the Targaryen Freehold until the fires overwhelmed them. In the Age of Heroes, there were the Children of the Forest and some texts named them earthsingers.
Yet the whispers told that the children were none of these, merely born with it.
And she had reason to believe her daughter was one of them.
The earth sings to me.
Genna had relayed the words of her daughter to her. Her daughter's preference for going without shoes was a matter Joanna had assumed as some childish fancy that Cersei would grow out of but as the years passed, more and more of her shoes seemed to disappear into the air.
Specifically, the air outside of Casterly Rock if her son's words were to be believed.
Joanna chuckled. What a willful child her daughter was.
Eventually, Joanna was forced to relent except for major occasions, unsure if separating her daughter from the earth would harm her.
She just didn't know. There were no texts to look to and she dared not ask Maester Creylen. Not even Tywin knew her suspicions just yet as they were only that, suspicions.
At least until her daughter had taken to vanishing into an ancient tunnel with no exit.
The guards were all tasked with discreetly watching over her children. Jaime was simple but her daughter was cut from a wholly different cloth. Joanna herself had explored Casterly Rock herself when she was a much younger girl but Cersei was frighteningly determined during her childish search. Every room behind every door was opened to her and she did not shirk said privilege.
Then one day, her guards reported her daughter's disappearance and Joanna commanded a search. The search had reached deep into the bowels of Casterly Rock and would have continued further until her daughter suddenly reappeared near the Lannister Quarters at the top.
The servants swore they saw her reemerge from a tunnel that had been cleared and had no exit.
Having the most experienced miners in all the Seven Kingdoms at her disposal, she had set them to inspecting the tunnel for anything of note.
The important thing they had discovered was that there was a single stone face that seemingly didn't belong. It did not fit with the rest of the wall alongside it but she rejected their idea of mining it, instead, choosing to observe it as the days passed and more and more often did her daughter disappear into it.
Eventually, the miners did conclude that the stone face was movable somehow and likely hiding some kind of tunnel as the stone face was always slightly different though they could detect absolutely no kind of mechanism to move it.
It was by no means proof and she did not wish to push her daughter if Cersei wasn't willing to open up to her about it. Jaime seemingly had no notion of it either.
Seven, what was she to do?
The words of the Seven-Pointed-Star stated that motherhood was a trial but she didn't think this was what the Mother had in mind.
The rumors of mages swirled among the smallfolk, but if other lords had these abilities, it was clear they were keeping as quiet as she was.
Perhaps wisely at that.
What would the Faith say?
Or the King?
Seven Hells, what would Tywin say?
This was something beyond just her and she needed Tywin's counsel on the matter. She had decided she would be presenting her thoughts to him in person the next time he returned as these words were much too sensitive for a raven to carry.
A knock rattled the door suddenly. Duty calls at any time it seemed.
Putting her goblet to the side, she straightened up in the chair and acknowledged the sound. "Enter."
It was not a guard nor a servant as she expected, but instead, the door swung open to reveal the person of her thoughts suddenly barging through with her dirtied dress and hair mussed up as if she ran all the way here.
Though knowing her daughter, it was quite a distinct possibility.
"Hi, mama!" Her daughter greeted her cheerfully with an open and excited smile stretched across her mouth.
Joanna could feel her own smile growing to match her daughter's cheer. "Cersei," she greeted back. Another person entered after Cersei and for a moment, the golden hair almost had Joanna calling out for her son but to Joanna's surprise, it was a female child who timidly followed Cersei inside the solar.
A young serving girl from the looks of it and who was completely out of her depths.
Joanna turned to her daughter in question.
Her daughter nodded. "Mama, this is Lanna!" Her daughter introduced the other child exuberantly, both arms outstretched towards her as if introducing a grand prize.
"M'lady," The serving girl, Lanna she amended, greeted her with a nervous and awkward curtsy. Clearly, she was not at all accustomed to dealing with nobility.
"A pleasure to be introduced Lanna," Joanna gave the nervous girl a reassuring smile who seemed grateful for it.
"Daughter of mine, Here I was told you were seeking treasure."
Cersei's smile took on a more mischievous tinge to it. "But I did mama. After all, what is friendship but a treasure beyond measure."
Joanna could not stop the bark of laughter which escaped her. Her clever little daughter.
"Treasure beyond measure indeed," Joanna repeated quietly, images of her own lifelong friends flashing through her mind. Too intelligent and knowing by half, her daughter was.
"What is it that you do, Lanna?" Joanna asked, trying to put the girl at ease. She wasn't familiar to her but with her age, it was likely she worked further deeper in the Rock.
Lanna opened her mouth to say but her daughter cut her off. "She's a scullery maid Mama!" Her daughter cried out in indignation. "That's not acceptable since she won't have time to play with me."
Her daughter could show times of great maturity but it seemed for all her intelligence, she was still a child at heart.
The thought put Joanna's own heart at peace.
"What would you like me to do daughter? Shall I appoint her your playmate?" She spoke teasingly.
Through the way her daughter's eyes lit up, she didn't realize Joanna was telling a jape.
"Can you?" Her daughter responded excitedly.
Joanna let loose a soft laugh. "Unfortunately not Cersei. There is no such position."
Undeterred, her daughter pressed forward. "Then can she… Uhh… Join my household staff?" Her daughter asked quizzically with a tilt of her head and a finger on her chin.
"Cersei, you're all of five-name days. You do not have a household staff nor can you pay the wages for one." Joanna said, amused at this whole situation.
Her daughter had made a friend and wished to play more with them. Joanna would grant the request for it would do well for Cersei though she wasn't going to do so easily. Her daughter mustn't grow too spoiled after all.
Her daughter scrunched up her face in childish seriousness before meeting Joanna's eyes. "Mama," Cersei said, speaking in the mock seriousness children do at times. "Can I borrow some coin?"
Years of etiquette had taught her to show no emotion on her face when unnecessary and it took every bit of that to keep it from showing against the audacity of her daughter.
"If not, could I pay her in shoes?" Her daughter said innocently, but the glint in her eye betrayed her intention just as Joanna's mask broke into laughter.
"No, no you may not," Joanna said after she got herself under control once more. "There is a simpler solution."
Turning to Lanna, the young girl who had been standing there awkwardly, not daring to intrude between the conversations of highborn. "Lanna, would you prefer to serve as my daughter's handmaid?"
"What… What would be my duties be, m'lady?" Lanna inquired hesitantly.
"You'll be my daughter's personal servant and will attend to her at all times. You shall also share her bed as well." Her daughter seemed surprised at that but Joanna thought it was about time to separate her and her brother into their own rooms.
"I would be honored m'lady." Lanna accepted.
"Call me Lady Joanna as my daughter shall be your lady from now on."
Her daughter ran up to her and wrapped her little arms around Joanna before looking up with a toothy smile. "Thanks, Mama!"
"You're very welcome Cersei," Joanna said as she wiped something out of her daughter's hair. Was that lard? She wanted to sigh but she knew it would not deter her daughter in the slightest. "Now, why don't you take your new friend and introduce her to Jaime."
Her daughter reached out and grabbed Lanna's hand. "Let's go then, Lanna! We're going to go meet my brother, then I'll show you my super secret hiding spot!" Cersei giggled before waving at Joanna. "Bye Mama!"
Her daughter dragged her new friend out and soon enough, there was just her in the solar.
Sorcery or not, Cersei was her daughter and she would protect her from anyone and anything.
Joanna just prayed she was strong enough to do so.
