Dying to Know 5 - (ASoIaF, Qyburn!SI)
240 AC, Summerhall
There's much to say about Summerhall beyond what common meta-knowledge may imply.
While the proximity to the Dornish border with the Stormlands may suggest a mixture of 'mountainous terrain' or 'extreme bouts of heat', the destination I was greeted by was a large flat terrain with a few forests and orchards all spread beneath the feet of the Red Mountains.
The summer palace itself was crafted with the idea of making it appear like a 'man-made thing meant to stand within nature'. The whiteness of the material used to create such unwalled castle made it heavenly to glance at.
Yet, the palace was not my destination despite having to eventually check it to speak with Prince Jaehaerys in due time. For now, I was to travel to a small settlement that was established further away from the main roads and the palace itself- a small bootcamp with several small buildings and a central administrative one.
Fields were also walled all around to create a rather simplistic perimeter that added more to the military school that had operated just a bit more than three months now by what the King addressed in the letter. As I stepped out of the carriage bringing me to this place, I was greeted at the entrance of the 'school' by a gruop of Maesters, some knights and... a very tall Kingsguard.
There was no doubt in my mind that this was indeed Ser Duncan the Tall due to his peculiar height and particular helmet but... I was confused by his mere presence here of all possible places. After all, a Kingsguard should hardly be out of King's Landing unless the king was here but I was sure Aegon V was here and that the only royal element within proximity was the prince.
Unless Jaehaerys had warranted this much attention due to what he tried to do with his sister.
It was a possibility, and a very unsavory one that further confirmed the prince may not be pleased by my presence (or existence), hence why he wasn't there to welcome me with the rest of the group.
The Maesters was a small posse of Historians and Military Scholars, individuals that had a degree of awareness on theoretical military studies- I may have a degree of the subject learnt already, but my knowledge paled before those older Maesters'.
Likewise, the knights that were assigned to the practical side of this chore were people that had experienced wars and were aware of how important the 'backbone' was compared to fellow knights if properly trained. These were people that were quite loyal to the king and understood the meaning behind this secretive effort.
Finally it was Ser Duncan and how he... Well, he didn't have a reason to be there. Perhaps it was too harsh for me to consider such, but the man was literally unrelated to this school and he appeared just as intrigued by what was going inside the perimeter of the settlement as much as I was.
The journal's content was mostly followed to the letter, but the Maesters in charge of setting up the 'brackets' of what would become the main effort of this school had seen to alter some details in regard to recruitments' parameters.
I had indicated that young unmarried men and women of the age of 17 and 18 were to be recruited, those that had no chance of inheriting anything from their families and were thus looking to find new ways to both enrich themselves and make history.
The age gap was increased to include also those of 'five and ten' but also 'six and ten'. Women were dropped outright, but the reasoning that I was given on why was surprisingly pragmatic: housing women with men would have led to potential 'distractions' that would have demanded a higher expenses to keep the dormitories separated.
Just men meant that the chances of that sort of trouble were 'not there'. I could lament some instances of modern events in my previous life where that wasn't quite true, but I guess that the lack of private space limited the behaviors of 'queerish intent'.
The schedule system was mostly preserved, but the knights in charge of tackling the practical training had changed a few things to 'make the meat tender'. These were young people after all, only a handful knew the true meaning of labor. And after three months or so of drilling, they looked to be on the fine path to become good soldiers of a new model army.
I was nodding along those lines, but I was the most pleased in those elements where nothing was changed. The idea of training a member of each five-men squad in basic healing education was preserved as two maesters took care of the large classes in various shifts. Same for the introduction of 'military ranks'.
I couldn't exactly base it what I was familiar with, and thus I created a rather simplified but reliable system within a limited military reform:
Trooper (TP - common soldier);
Sergeant (SGT - leader of a squad);
Captain (CPT - leader of a battalion made by five squads);
Brigadier (BGR - leader of a brigade made by five battalions);
Major (MAJ - leader of a company made by five brigades);
Commander (CMD - leader of a column made by five companies);
General (GNR - leader of an army made by two columns);
By this ranking, there was going to be an effort to muster a solid officer corps meant to lead an army worthy of thousands. With the current 3000 or so men in the school, it was going to take a while to eventually see the higher positions filled up. But once that was done, then the king would have a well-structured army that should towere well around the five digits.
It may sound quite a little, but we are talking about a fierce army of battle-hardened soldiers whose loyalty is only for the king due to the core purpose of this camp: to create a Peasant Army for the Peasant King as the smallfolk fondly remember him as.
As much as the king wants to limit the skirmishes with his own lords, it was clear he still needed something to push as leverage. In the past the Targaryens had their dragons, but that luxury had been expired due to the Dance, and the monarchy's true strength was now too reliant on alliances with noble houses.
Creating a quality army was a tool that, albeit far from matching dragons' ferocity, could still make the difference. Even more if the blacksmithing processes I had in mind to continue here in Summerhall could give the right amount of 'dragonfire' needed to catch up to the needed firepower and brutality this tool needed.
After that lengthy tour of the boot camp, I was shown my office as the 'chairman' to this initiative. Shortly after, I was already put at work with what documentation required my attention and... to also address the presence of the tall knight.
"Maester Qyburn, would now be a good moment to speak?"
I blinked, realizing only then how long the man had patiently waited for the entire official tour to end. I still nodded. "It would, yes. Admittedly, I was surprised to see you here, Ser. A kingsguard away from the king-"
"To guard a prince. One that should have been here to meet you."
I bowed my head at this. "I had... I wouldn't dare to say I know what's on the mind of the prince, but I have heard that his current disposition is due to a private affair with his family. One that I may be a partial cause of."
"The king means well, but his son is... traditional with his thoughts," Duncan reasoned, sounding apologetic but also restricted with the 'beggar's tone'. "I hope you understand, Maester Qyburn, that he means not to be disrespectful."
I doubt that.
"I understand he is young and driven by emotions. This much I will forgive. I see this not as a slight, good Ser."
Duncan appeared pleased by this development, but I was soon to learn that he wasn't there just to apologize on behalf of Jaehaerys. He also had a letter meant for me... by Vaella.
"Maester, I really hope this is not some... unpleasant path you are entertaining."
"Lady Vaella and I are merely friends at best," I staunchly remarked. "We have merely spoken and nothing more, she clearly misses someone to speak of mundane things."
"...Is that so?"
What's with that tone?
"That's what I can say that I know."
For some reason, Ser Duncan didn't appear too appeased over my response, but didn't seem interested in pressing for more as he left the letter on my desk and departed to resume his duties as 'guard to the prince'. Once he was truly out of sight and proximity, I reached for the still enveloped letter, cutting it free out of the bag and gave it a read.
I thought that the knight had somewhat read something concerning about the letter and drawn some awkward conclusions, but what I could find there was...
Vaella being Vaella. Mentioning how are things in Kings' Landing, how the King is working to push some small reforms before tackling bigger ones and mentioning she missed speaking to... me. My lips twitched as I thought more of the situation.
In modern times, this wouldn't be the source of scandalous rumors, but the mere idea that a 'declining noble lady' such as Vaella was entertaining contacts with a young man around her age, of non-noble birth, and sending those messages through trusted people rather than through normal means... I could see the assumptions forming. And I had a feeling there may be more than just friendship driving Vaella's hand at this.
Nonetheless, I spared myself this hassle for now by merely planning to write a rather cordial response without adding anything that could be misunderstood in due time. For now I had to delve into the paperwork I was now responsible for, handle any potential cuts to add to the budget we were working with and maybe set up a few more programs to render these soldiers self-reliant to some extent.
Maybe some lessons about cooking and farming were in order...
AN
Next time sees... a small timeskip. And Qyborn's little army project sees its first use for King Aegon V. Alas, the most important thing is... Vaella is visiting. And she is feeling quite giddy.