:-[Chapter 25]-:
Find out if the use of magic has corrupted their minds. If so, you are to execute a member of House Stark of Rickard choosing. You are to bring me the head of Lord Harry Winterstorm's direwolf and bring me the heretic. He shall be burned in front of all King's Landing as soon as you arrive.
They are no rumours without cause. Do not come back without a proof of magic.
Rhaegar Targaryen, Voice of the Seven.
:-[T.A.B]-:
At the Direwolves Gates, Rywen, one of the many men who had volunteer from Wintertown, was patrolling and looking out for any kind of danger. He was chosen by Torrhen, the Captain of the Guards to be the gate's first captain. Each of them would get one and Torrhen was the leader of them all, directly reporting to his lord, Harry Winterstorm.
It was a great honor, he thought. The Direwolves Gate was the ultimate defense from any threat from the South and he took his responsibilities with great seriousness. For the moment, only crannogmen were coming and leaving the stronghold to hunt for food.
Suddenly, two shadows were coming out of the fog. The two persons were riding horses and were definitively not from the Neck.
"Who want to pass the gates of the North?" said loudly the man.
One of the shadows let down his hood, revealing a man just past his prime. Rywen knew of him as he had already saw him when he had gone to war against Duskendale. He was one of the men who was part of Eddard Stark protection.
"Ser Barristan Selmy, knight of the Kingsguard of his grace, King Aerys Second of his Name demand entry to Moat Cailin. I am with Ser Lewyn Martell, also member of the Kingsguard."
Rywen was stunned for a moment. Never in a hundred years he would have thought to see Barristan the Bold and Lewyn the Spear of Dorne without their king or prince. For those kind of guests, it clearly wasn't up to him to decide if they could enter Moat Cailin or not. He spoke to one of his men who quickly ran to his lord to give him the news.
While they were waiting, Lewyn watched in awe the new stronghold's high walls. The gate looked strong an easily able to repel any attack from any army. Even the land itself wasn't made for an attack. The soft ground was made mainly of mud and would slow down any siege engine like towers or even wooden ladders. Men would be stuck under hundreds of arrows. The Martell man had a bad feeling about all of this. If he was honest with himself, he didn't want to obey theses order at all. The Starks were honorable to no end and did not deserve the punishment the prince had for them.
Lewyn's mind was turned upside down. In a way, he had taken an oath to the royal family foe the rest of his life. He had to live and eventually died under their orders. But in another way, he was task to potentially bring the man responsible for Rhaegar safety in Duskendale to his death. White the kingsguard didn't really take a good look at his direwolf, he knew from the legend that killing such a beast would not be so easy.
Killing one of the Stark children in front of their father inside their own kingdom would be next to impossible. He just could not see a man letting his children die right in front of him. If he was true to himself, Lewyn would have thought that the prince and king send them to their death for whatever reason.
Suddenly, the Ironwood gates opened before them. Nodding to the man who had greet them, the two horsemen entered. They didn't get any further however as the two men they dreaded to see were there.
Lord Rickard Stark and Lord Harry Winterstorm were both present, waiting to greet them properly as the important guests that they were.
:-[T.A.B]-:
Harry was waiting with his lord in the main courtyard of Moat Cailin. The courtyard was large, spacious and inviting, if you didn't give too much attention to the archers posted everywhere on the walls and inside the many towers towering over them all. Even if it was only two men, the lord of Moat Cailin did not want to take any chances.
As his Lord Paramount was present, the young wizard decided to let him speak first. After all he doubted the kingsguards would be here for him.
"Welcome to the North, Ser Barristan, Ser Lewyn. Bread and salt will be given..."
"We are not here for a simple visit, Lord Stark." interrupted Barristan Selmy. "We are here on the order of his grace, King Aerys, Second of his Name to investigate the claim of the use of magic here. His grace is most concerned for his people and doesn't want a second Duskendale."
While Barristan was speaking to Lord Rickard, Lewyn Martell was looking around him. It was impossible for a stronghold like this to have rebuild like this in such a short time. Yes, the last Master of Whisperers didn't have the best spy network but even him would have known this. The Starks would have to spent tremendous amount of gold and not just in the North. The entire realm would have learnt years ago if that was the case.
"A second Duskendale? Please explain." said Rickard while narrowing his grey eyes. The cold wind hit them in full strength while the ambient temperature seemed to drop at his comment.
Ser Lewyn spoke before his brother in arms. "His grace fears magic created Moat Cailin and believe the smallfolk cursed in some way, not unlike Duskendale."
The Dornish man could easily see the northerners stiffened at that. Even the simple guards were looking at each other before looking at the kingsguards with serious eyes. With his keen eyes, Lewyn was able to see the archers were looking more their way than a moment ago. He lifted up his hands in a gesture of peace.
"My lords, may we be directed to your solar for a more, private settings?" asked the knight. He didn't like the feeling in his guts. Even the two horses were getting nervous and the two men started to have difficulties keeping them calm.
"Hedwig, stop bothering the horses. These ones are not use to you." said Lord Winterstorm.
Lewyn spined his head behind him, only to see the massive white direwolf standing on her four paws. The apex predator was only a couple of meters but to the experienced hunter that the kingsguard was, he immediately knew the wolf could kill him on a whim. He could see however the deep intelligence the direwolf had inside her golden eyes. 'Those are not the eyes of a mere animal, be it a wolf or a dog. This one is... something else entirely.' thought the man.
"Master, they are from the shit-city in the South."
"I know girl. This is Barristan Selmy, the knight who helped me save Prince Rhaegar and Ser Lewyn Martell. We met his nephew in Duskendale. Stay close to Lya and Benjen."
"B-But I..." started the direwolf.
"No buts, Hedwig. They are in the private courtyard behind the Direwolf Tower, training with Lady Maege."
Lewyn saw the gigantic wolf leave just as his own tension. He saw that Barristan had his sword hand way closer to his pommel than earlier. With a sigh of relief, both knights returned their attention to the two northern lords.
"I am not sure I want to let two men whom refuses guests right. You may be kingsguards of his grace, but if you refuse these rights, I will refuse you entry to my home and ask you to stay outside of my walls, Ser Barristan. I will give you a choice, either you accept them, or leave."
The Spear of Dorne sigh at the situation. He knew Barristan was beyond exhausted mentally. The Burning of Duskendale had shaken the man to his core. Horrific nightmares were plaguing the man almost every night since. He had seen him in more than one morning waking up drench in sweats. They had not really talk about it, but Lewyn knew because he had the same dreams as his brother. The screams of plea of every child, women and men he was forced to kill due to his vows were haunting him. The smell of burning flesh was still up his nostrils, even to this day and no amount of bath could wash the blood from his hands.
He was put out of his thought by Barristan's answer. "Apologies, my lords. The road was long and hard. I will accept guest right of course."
"As will I, my lords." quickly answered Lewyn.
"Good." started Lord Rickard Stark, his voice cold and hard like the winds of the North. He turned to Ser Rodrik, who was sticking to him like a shadow. "Ser Rodrik, bring us bread and salt, if you will."
"Aye, my lord." said Rodrik at once.
The wind was howling in the courtyard. No men were saying anything, and the tension was high. Lewyn could easily feel it in the air. With the hope it would be taken as a gesture of peace, he got down his horse. His spear was still in his hand put he tried to show no malice in his movements. His brother in arm, Barristan The Bold, followed quickly followed him, his own hands far from his weapons.
The knight called Rodrik was coming back with a servant who was holding a plate with the proper food. As the lord of Moat Cailin, Harry Winterstorm was the one who performed the small ceremony, with his Lord Paramount as witness.
"Before we meet, Sers, you may take the night to rest. As you said, the road was hard, and I am sure you would like a good bed." said Rickard, just behind Lord Winterstorm.
"My lord, we must begin to talk..." wanted to start Barristan but was stopped by the Old Wolf simple gesture.
"We will call upon you when we are ready. I did not leave Winterfell and my oldest son on a simple whim. The rebuilding of Moat Cailin is a gift for the North and Lord Winterstorm and I intend to get the most out of it. Go rest."
Ser Barristan and Ser Lewyn didn't have time to say anything else before the two lords left the main courtyard. The servant who bring the bread and salt earlier guided them toward the tower use for guests. With a sigh, the two men knew they had to wait to be called.
:-[T.A.B]-:
"Why do you think they are here, my lord?" asked the voice of Harry Winterstorm, once they arrived in his personal solar and casted a Silencio spell of the doorway to stop any sound from coming out.
"I don't know, but I don't like it. Kingsguards never come out of King's Landing without a very good reason. Ser Barristan's reaction when he first refuses guest right bring me pause and was the reason I wanted to speak alone first. I do not know what to make of it, even if they did accept it."
"I agree. It was wise of you to force them to go rest. I've put more guards within the Guest Tower and Hedwig herself is guarding the door of their room." One of the things Harry didn't tell Rickard was the intelligence of Hedwig and the fact that she could hear everything inside the kingsguards room and was reporting all to him. "We should wake them up early tomorrow and be done with it. No weapons allowed in my tower, however. The only exceptions are House Stark itself, my own and of course my future Houshold Guard."
"I agree. Moat Cailin should have her own rules. I appreciate the fact that you allowed the entirety of House Stark and not only myself."
"House Stark are my liege House and their security is paramount within my halls.
:-[T.A.B]-:
:-[Same time, Guest Tower]-:
"We must choose Barristan. We cannot possibly..." started Lewyn Martell, pacing around the room.
"Choose what, Ser Lewyn? We are bound to his graces will. We vowed to obey all of their orders until we are dead and buried." said Barristan Selmy, his head in his hands. His shoulders were slumped, sign that he was discouraged.
"We are also knights of the people. We swore to protect the innocents. I know you have the same nightmares as me ever since Duskendale my friend." said Lewyn in a soft voice, the one he used to take when he told stories to his nephews and niece. "King Aerys and Prince Rhaegar are becoming madder by the day. They are burning everyone the High Septon is telling them is a heretic or a heathen. Aerys rape his wife almost every night. Every night we have to guard him while he does his nefarious deed. This is not the conduit of a noble knight. We are better than this. We..."
"You speak of treason, Ser Lewyn. This is a life of banishment. We would never be able to live without looking over our shoulders every day. No kingdoms would dare take us in the fear the Crown would burn their castle with their families inside.
"I know what I speak of. When I joined the kingsguard, many years ago, it was in the hope that Rhaegar would become the king we all hope he would become. A noble and kind king. But now, he is becoming more erratic by the day. He was the one who insisted on burning Duskendale to the ground. He was the one who had the idea of burning people. Smallfolk in King's Landing are getting scared and with good reasons." insisted the Spear of Dorne.
"There will be retribution. You are a Martell. His grace will be beyond furious and will most likely have similar demand like his son's. For all we know, the letter may be coming from him also, only to have his son write it."
"Then the House without Dragons shall remember why the Martells are Unbowed, Unbent and Unbroken. They shall remember why Dorne was never conquered and never will be." said Ser Lewyn, his voice harsh.
"It seems you have already made your decision." observed Ser Barristan.
"What about you, old friend?"
Barristan stayed silent for a moment. Lewyn saw his head dropped and he knew his friend was lost. Never before had he seen him in such a way.
:-[T.A.B]-:
The morning arrived far quicker than Lewyn had hoped. He was the first to woke up but it was because of his usual nightmares. With a small sigh, he rose from the bed, trying to make the horrific images leave his brain by shaking his head. The screams faded after a while like they always did just as the smell of burning flesh left his nostrils.
He put some clothes on his back just before he heard a soft knock on the door. He looked at Barristan and saw that he was still sleeping. The Dornish man went to the door and opened it. He saw a beautiful young woman with brown-reddish eyes looking at him with a small smile.
"Ser Lewyn. My Lord Stark and Lord Winterstorm are ready to see you at once. They are waiting for you both in the Direwolf Tower. Food will be served within Lord Winterstorm's solar. A... guard, will escort you both when you both are ready." said the young woman before taking her leave without waiting for an answer. Lewyn smirked slightly at this for he knew the title of kingsguard meant almost nothing for the northerners.
Closing the door, he turned to see Barristan still sleeping. He approached the man and shook his shoulder softly. The Selmy man woke up in a hurry and stood up, his breath short.
"Still the same nightmares my friend?" said Lewyn, making his brother nod. He sighed before continuing. "Lord Stark and Lord Winterstorm have called us. They are waiting for us in Moat Cailin's solar."
"I see. I'll need only a moment." answered the now completely awake kingsguard from the Stormlands.
Both men quickly finished getting dressed to look presentable in front on a Lord Paramount. Armed with only a knife on their belt, the two kingsguards let their main weapons in their room, seeing no reason to bring them to a meeting.
Lewyn let Barristan take the lead, as he was his senior. The stormlander opened the door, only to see the massive white direwolf's golden eyes looking firmly at them, making them gasped in astonishment. The wolf rose up to her four legs and slowly walked in the corridor. When the two men didn't move, Lord Winterstorm's familiar looked up her shoulder's.
"I believe it want us to follow her. The young lady and her joke." laughed out loud Lewyn.
"Aye, let us." simply answered Barristan.
The two men followed their unique guide closely. The animal was easily finding its way in the many corridors, stairs and then the courtyard in front of the Direwolf Tower. Already the kingsguards could see the security was high around the main tower, mainly the entrance. Many guards were guarding the main tower's entrance.
"Halt, kingsguards. By order of Lord Winterstorm, you cannot go in the tower with weapons of any kind." said gruffly one of the warriors. "Hand them over, now." he finished while holding up his hand.
Barristan and Lewyn didn't even try to negotiate with the northerners. They knew it was pointless, and their plea would only fall into deaf ears. They quickly removed their knife from their belt and gave them to the man. Other men came from behind and pat them all over, making sure they were unarmed. With a satisfied nod, the guard let them pass, still with Hedwig at the front.
When they arrived at the last floor, the solar's door was guarded by one of the biggest northerner the two southerners have seen. The man was massive and could easily acted like a door himself if needed be. Beside him was Ser Rodrik whom Lewyn and Barristan had seen before the Burning of Duskendale. Without a word, the giant of a man entered the solar after two quick knock.
"My lords, the kingsguards are here."
"Let them enter, Torrhen." heard the Dornish man after a small moment.
"Aye my lord." said the man. He turned his attention toward his lord's guests. "Do not forget, southerners. There is only a door between you and me. Go now."
With that, the door opened by itself, revealing the entry. As the senior, Barristan Selmy was the first to enter, immediately followed by Lewyn Martell.
:-[T.A.B]-:
Harry Winterstorm was standing behind the man who had given him everything if this life, Rickard Stark. It was very early in the morning and the young wizard knew the Old Wolf liked to do his duty early if he was able to do so.
Usually, he didn't have his sword within the solar, preferring to let the security to Torrhen. But this time, he had it strapped of his hips like usual when he was out of Moat Cailin. He was dressed in his magically reinforce armor, the one he had in Duskendale, just in case. He could sense Hedwig was coming closer by the minute. Until now, the two kingsguards haven't shown any kind of threat to anyone, which was good for them.
The young warrior looked at his lord, who himself looked slightly nervous. Or course no other than the closest to him could see it, others would only see a stern man with cold eyes.
"How is Sura getting along with Moat Cailin?" asked the Lord of Winterfell suddenly.
"She loved it here. Even though I insisted for her to relax, she takes her duty of 'main servant', as she calls it, very seriously." sighed Harry, shaking his head.
"Then you shall marry her as soon as possible. Make her the Lady of Moat Cailin and put her in charge of the entire Household and not just the chores. She helped quite a lot in Winterfell since Lyarra's departure."
Harry remembered quite vividly Sura's pride at that. When Lady Lyarra was murdered years ago, the young woman didn't only become the first lady in waiting of Lyanna but also a very important member of the Stark Houshold, being the bridge between the saddened family and the servants. She even had access to Maester Luwin education, who was all too happy to instruct to more people and from what Harry knew, she was doing really well.
"It would be my honor if you were to precede over the ceremony, my lord." accepted Harry, who understood and was also all too happy to marry the woman he loves.
"And it will be my honour to do so, my young friend." nodded in acknowledgment the older lord. "Now, do you have any information about them?"
Before Harry was able to speak, they interrupted by two knocks on the door. Said door opened right after, letting Torrhen's head appeared.
"My lords, the kingsguards are here." said the loyal northerner.
"Let them enter, Torrhen." said Harry, after getting the nod from Rickard.
"Aye my lord." answered Torrhen.
With a small wave of his hand, Harry opened the door, giving the two kingsguards that they could enter. The young wizard saw the warriors entered the solar with a firm step. Barristan Selmy had his head high like Harry always saw him. However, he had huge bags under his eyes, showing his difficulty to find good sleep. Lewyn Martell was behind him, in a similar physical state. The long and hard road seemed to have taken a toll on them both. Hedwig was the last to enter, and immediately went to Harry's side.
"Greetings, Ser Barristan and Ser Lewyn. To what do we owe the honour of having the kingsguard here in the North?" started Rickard Stark.
"Greetings my lords. I hope the night..." answered Barristan before getting interrupted by the Lord Paramount of the North.
"I do not care for these frivolities, southerners. In the North, it is custom to go straight to the point. Lord Winterstorm and I have much to do."
"As you wish, my lord." said Barristan, completely unfazed by the harsh welcome from the lords. "His grace King Aerys and Prince Rhaegar have sent us to investigate the rumors about Moat Cailin being rebuild by magic. The Crown is most convinced at second Duskendale is about to happen again and wish to prevent it."
Harry subtly casted a Silencing spell on the door as usual. He trusted both the men outside with his life and his lord's, but this conversation could not be heard by anyone. The young wizard was about to speak when Ser Barristan interrupted him before he could.
"Lord Winterstorm, did you use your magical prowess to rebuild Moat Cailin and the external walls?"
The room fell completely silent with the exceptions of the fire. Rickard Stark didn't say anything, seemingly stunned by the question. Lewyn Martell looked puzzle by the accusation, as Barristan never spoke of this before. Since when Harry Winterstorm has magical powers?
The young warrior stayed silent, his face like an immovable stone. Hedwig breathing was slightly louder, as if she was getting ready to jump but did not move otherwise.
"Whatever are you talking about, Ser Barristan? Moat Cailin's reconstruction was a blessing of the gods, not something I did myself." answered the young lord.
"Do not take me for a fool, young lord. I have seen your prowess in Duskendale. There is no other way you would be able to open the locked door, and the iron shackles the prince was prisoner of. Your blade was able to pass through solid steel armor. You are a very good fighter, but no one can tear up steel like you did back then." said Barristan Selmy, his firm gaze firmly on the younger man.
"Seem to me you already know. Why haven't you said anything to your king?" aksed Harry.
"Because the King and the Prince are mad beyond reasons. They force us to kill women and children in the Burning of Duskendale while they were laughing. They burned smallfolk in King's Landing under the pretext of being a heretic or a heathen. Small pyres are burning almost day and night, and the people are living in fear of being accused for the smallest mistake. The Faith Militant is rising within the Reach and the Crownlands due to the High Septon many speeches. The King wants us to take you alive to the capital to burn you alive."
"What!?" exclaimed the Lord of Winterfell, rising for his seat.
"Show them the letter, brother. Lord Stark needs to know the danger him and his family are in." said Lewyn while putting his hand on Barristan's shoulder who nodded in acceptance. He took out the offending letter from the Crown and gave it to the Old Wolf.
The more he was reading, the more the ruler of the North was becoming redder. To force him to choose a member of his family for the block because of this miracle? The Targaryens were becoming too proud and way too outlandish in their demands. Did they forgot that they did not possess dragons anymore? Everything became clear now in his mind. The threat to the North was the South itself.
"There is more, Lord Stark." said Lewyn Martell. "The High Septon in King's Landing is giving more and more sermons about the evils of heretics and magic users. Followers of the Old Gods are becoming hunted. They are bullied in the street and their business are trashed to the ground. No members of the City Watch are helping.
"My lord, we need to send ravens to the Lord in the south who followed the Old Gods. They need to know what is going on in the Realms, if they don't already know." said Harry.
"Indeed. This is most disturbing. This is ground to revolt. The king asks me to bring him the body of one of my children, the head of Hedwig and one of my bannermen without saying anything?"
The massive white direwolf started to growl, making the air shake around the room. She showed her teeth to the two men, as if she was daring them to act on it.
"Hedwig, calm down. You already know they won't do anything. Won't you, Sers?" said Harry.
"What do you mean, Lord Winterstorm?" asked Rickard, his hand almost crushing the offending letter.
Harry only looked at the two men, his eyebrow in the air.
Barristan and Lewyn looked at each other, the decision made at this exact moment for the both of them. Their honor and reputation would suffer, yes. Their family would probably suffer also but they knew they couldn't stay with the Crown. The Burning of Duskendale had brought them to the edge, but the letter has actually push them over it.
"We are leaving the kingsguards. The king and the prince are not fit to rule They bring disharmony within the realm. Our conscience cannot bear to be serving them any longer. We asked if you would take us, as they will certainly one day launch an offensive against the North."
:-[T.A.B]-:
Author Note: Ta dah! Two kingsguards' leaving his grace, King Aerys. But wait... who can replaced them? Stay tuned!
Thank you everyone for reading Chapter 25 of The adventure begins! Please let a review in the comment, letting me know what you think about my story of what you would like to see.
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Criticism is always welcome as long as it is constructive.
To Dragonlord001: 1- Cool name! 2- I sure hope so!
To dannyderailed: I know and I apologized. Doing the best I can as a native french speaker who has almost no education in your language!
To Narim2001: I am happy to see you like the Midgard name! About keeping using them, why now, if the opportunity arises!
To Qhristhian: Venga, sí. ¡Los primeros Targaryen deben estar revolviéndose en sus tumbas! Espero que hayas disfrutado de este capítulo amigo mío.
To rajeshkont: Hoped you like this chapter my friend!
To Sheploo: Oh yes Rhaegar is going down a path of pure madness! Stay tuned Shep!