The Lion who was Promised (ASOIAF SI)

The feast, and the preparation for it, were exhausting. I was immediately the hit of the party, and decided to wear my lion's pelt over my shoulder just to allow people to spot me more easily. I was sought out primarily by the Lords of the Westerlands, or those in their stead, who had come to the conclusion that after becoming the youngest knight in the history of the Westerlands and being the first man to kill a wild lion in a very long time I would be the new heir. I couldn't blame them - my competition was the Imp and my deeds were very impressive - but it was still tiring, dealing with dozens upon dozens of the most distinguished men in the Kingdom, all of which wanted to get in my good graces. All of them were courteous and pleasant to be around and all made some sort of commitment to supporting me as heir - the more intelligent of them hid it under innuendo but many outright said that they were a part of the 'Party of the Young Lion', as it had come to be known. I made sure to keep the façade that I was not the heir, though to those intelligent enough to not openly support me I made sure to thank them indirectly.

Not many of the Lords Paramount had come - though most of the major houses had sent representatives of their own, with the notable exception of the Starks, the Arryns and the Martells. The first two simply didn't have any adults other than their lords, and instead sent representatives, while the Dornish would rather die than set foot in Casterly Rock after what happened to Elia. Before I could transition from my uncle's bannermen to the Great Houses of Westeros, I was quickly whisked away by a guard, who led me towards the Lord of Casterly Rock. As I entered the room, I could see that he was incredibly displeased - angry, even - with me, though with what exactly I did not know. His gaze would have made lesser men squirm, but I remained unmoving, having learnt to keep my cool and a stony demeanour even if inside I wanted to roll up into a ball and sob. "Who told you to negotiate with Olenna Tyrell?" he said, not raising his tone but still striking fear. "She sought me out, my Lord. I was just going for a walk in the gardens when she came to talk to me, my Lord." I tried to hide the fact that I was somewhat terrified, entirely failing at the endeavour.

"Very well. What did you talk about?" he said, apparently uninterested in punishing me for my apparent boldness. I cleared my throat, before replying "I guessed, correctly, that the Tyrells are looking for a marriage with one of the Great Houses to shore up their control of the Reach." Tywin sighed, before continuing "It's logical from their perspective. What I don't understand is why you would even consider such a thing - they need us far more than we need them." Annoyed at my uncle for immediately disregarding such an option - at least in some part because I had become a bit smitten with Margaery - I fired back; "Then who am I to marry, uncle? There are no Arryns or Tullys, Stark would rather die than give his daughter to a Lannister, and His Grace is unlikely to want to give even more privileges to us over his dear friends in the Eyrie or Winterfell by marrying me to Myrcella. Margaery is the correct age and stock, and the Reach is the most populous of the Seven Kingdoms, with the largest army, not to mention that they are the realm's breadbasket."

Tywin glared at me, clearly unamused with my little rebellion, but, for reasons I can only guess, he relented. "Then go ahead. Negotiate this little alliance of yours." he said "Don't sign off on anything passing it by me first. Now go, entertain our guests." I left the room radiant, but with a pang of worry deep in my abdomen - this was not in character for the Old Lion. I pushed it down and went back into the fray - the feast had started, and I was expected to sit at the High Table with the Royal Family. A great honour, but one I would have rather done without.

The company at that notable table was poor, to say the least. I was able to entertain the King with the story of me hunting the lion for a bit, but I was never one very good at telling stories and captivating audiences, and he quickly got bored and went right back to messing around. Uncle Tywin had made sure there were no serving wenches or other women for the King to play with, at least not in public - though his extramarital activities were well known, Tywin would not have his daughter dishonoured in such a way under his own roof. Joffrey was wealthy, craven and a spoiled brat - Cersei had enabled him straight onto a path to psychopathy. Myrcella and Tommen, on the other hand, seemed like perfectly sweet and good natured children, though they were still very young. I had seen paintings of Cersei as a girl, and Myrcella looked almost identical to her mother at her age. I was four years Joffrey's elder, six Myrcella's and seven Tommen's. I only really talked at length with Tommen - Jaime was polite, but his pride had been wounded by his defeat, Cersei was incredibly annoying, Robert was boorish and I had nothing in common with Myrcella, but Tommen quickly started looking to me as an older brother of some sorts, craving some sort of male figure to look up to, with Robert barely knowing the boy's name and Joffrey being an asshole. By the time the feast had come to an end, I made a vow - I would not let Joffrey be King, no matter the cost.

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Tenth Day of the Eighth Moon of 293 AC

As I watched the entourage of Lords and Ladies leaving the gates of Casterly Rock back to their own castles and keeps, I lost myself in thought. My negotiations with Olenna Tyrell had been successful - it had taken a lot of convincing, but the Queen of Thorns had agreed to an unofficial betrothal between me and Margaery, and for me to take Loras Tyrell as a squire. He wanted to be a knight, Olenna wanted to see how I behaved myself in private and the Lord Oaf of Highgarden agreed to everything his mother put in front of him. So, as I bade Margaery farewell, I looked back to see her brother behind me, eagerly awaiting his training with the Lion-slayer, the youngest Knight in the history of the Seven Kingdoms. He was effectively the male version of his sister, just one year her elder and taller, though still a number of inches shorter than me. My brothers had been immensely disappointed at this turn of events, as they would have very much preferred to squire for me, but they eventually understood that you can't squire for your own brother - it's why Loras didn't squire for Garlan. After talking with my parents, I had arranged for Willem to be sent to squire for Lord Randyll Tarly and for Martyn to Lord Paxter Redwyne once they turned eleven, as part of the arrangement with the Queen of Thorns. Nuncle was apparently pleased - Randyll Tarly was the finest commander in the Seven Kingdoms while the Redwyne Fleet was the Realm's largest by far, and both would be crucial allies if the Tyrells got uppity. It would also, hopefully, make Martyn a competent commander and Willem a good sailor.

The day after they left, I awoke Loras at dawn - I had been given my own quarters, and his were attached to mine - and took him to the sparring field before he broke his fast - something which I had been forced to do both at Casterly Rock and Ashemark and found very useful. On the way there I stopped Loras, who was still half asleep. The brisk movement woke him up, and I said; "Now, Loras, I'm going to turn you into a man worthy of the honour of Knighthood, independently if you cooperate or not. I hope you inherited at least a tiny bit of your grandmother's intelligence, and you understand that, even though I have my own reasons, I only want what is best for you." He nodded, and we walked towards the courtyard. As I sparred with him, I quickly found that, while he was a natural, he had not received any significant training up to now, and therefore was woefully unskilled. I decided to work on the assumption that he was at the same level that I was on my seventh name-day, when I was made Lord Tywin's squire, and that it would take him some four years to become ready for Knighthood. His increased age would make up for the fact that he didn't have thirty years of previous life experience to rely on. I had very little to do - being a Knight meant you didn't have a master to whom you had responsibilities - so I spent most of my time with Loras. Initially it was almost entirely training, but I quickly became friends with the man - the only person in King's Landing my age, as well as perfectly pleasant to be around.

One night, however, as I was talking with Loras after supper, planning the following day's training, a servant called me, telling me that Tywin wanted to talk with me. I was confused - ever since I had run the agreement with the Tyrells through him, I had barely seen him - but complied, and walked up to his solar. I came down about a half-hour later, my squire looking curiously at me. I simply said; "Pack your bags - we're going to Castamere."

First Day of the First Moon of 295 AC

As I looked at the sunset over the namesake sea, my hair flowing in the wind, I reflected over my time at Castamere. After that fateful meeting with uncle Tywin, I had been appointed Castellan over the ruins, bringing with me a fortune - both of my own and in the form of loans from Casterly Rock - and a relatively small group of servants and other followers, including my squire, Loras Tyrell. After the Reyne-Tarbeck revolt, Castamere was wiped out - its heart was underground and suffered the flooding, while what remained above ground was put to the torch. Uncle had done some reconstruction prior to my arrival, so it was at a state where it could be considered inhabitable, but it paled in comparison to what it must have looked like before they decided to test how far they could tug the leash. Castamere still had large revenues - both from its lands as well as from mines which had not suffered the same treatment - and I could, therefore, do what I had been brought here to do and return it to its rightful place as second only to Casterly Rock.

On the way there, I passed by the cabin where I had met Gregor and his family, and brought the boy with me to serve as my page and cupbearer. There were two things that needed to be done immediately - rebuild what had been put to the torch above ground, and pump the water out from inside the castle. The former would be easy - taking no more than a moon, not counting the fortifications - but the latter would be a hellish, laborious endeavour and would take a year of constant work. The good thing is that the upper levels would be cleared first, meaning that the living spaces would be ready far sooner - it was the dungeons and mines that would take far longer to clear. It was a good thing that I had spent years reading anything and everything that was put in front of him, as I now knew quite a bit about engineering. As I dedicated myself fully to the reconstruction of the once-great castle, I had less time to spar and train with Loras, but still found that it cleared my mind, so I still spent around two hours daily, spread throughout the day, training my squire in the arts of war. I tried to make him study, but books weren't Loras' thing, and within a few days I had all but given up, and allowed him to spend his free time training with a household knight named Ser Tyland who had a reputation for gallantry and being flamboyant, though he wasn't very skilled as a knight or jouster.

The construction proceeded quickly - the absence of a lordly house in Castamere had harmed the administration of its lands and taxes, and I was floored by just how wealthy the region was after I had put them in order. With increased resources came faster work, and before the new year not only were the above-ground portions of the castle completely rebuilt - sans fortifications, of course - the upper levels had been cleared of water, and proceeded to be cleaned. I hadn't imagined how filthy it would be down there, though I guess thirty years of thousands of bodies left to fester in a wet, humid place did its job. Thankfully, as it was carved out of a mountain, the structure and walls were perfectly fine, but everything else had to be thrown out and replaced. I tried to burn them, but found it far too wet to catch alight, and, without wildfire or dragonflame, was resigned to simply burying it in a great big pit. I had also ordered some infrastructure to be built to prevent the Castle from being flooded again, just as a precaution. As the moons came and went, more and more levels and rooms were first pumped dry of water, then were cleaned and the moss, dirt and grime removed, and then the rooms themselves remodelled to better serve the needs of his new court. I did not buy any new furniture, not yet at least, dedicating all resources to the ever more expensive job of drying, cleaning and clearing the rooms, as well as taking away the bodies of the dead, now no more than rotted corpses or, in many cases, bones. After almost throwing up after seeing what was once a bedroom, I decided to not visit any of the rooms until after the bodies had been removed.

On the first day of the Seventh moon of the year 294, I was visiting a room which had just been cleared of the three bodies which had been there. It was a small room and I could not see its purpose until, after looking at a corner, I noticed a bump in the grime. I moved towards it, and as I dragged my glove over it to clean, I found that it was a plaque of some sort, made of a metal. After cleaning the plaque, I was able to read it, and found that it said "Vault". Not knowing exactly what was in that 'vault' but curious nonetheless, I ordered the men to clear the thick layer of moss that covered the wall next to it, and, as they did, behind it lay hinges - it was a door! I bid them to work faster, and they did so, until the wall was clear, a pile of moss on the ground, and I saw an iron door, plated in silver. Before the servants could understand what was going on, I ordered them to fetch Loras and told them to leave the room. They did so, and a few minutes later my squire arrived. "Help me open this door," I said with a smirk "You'll like what's behind it." As we both did, we found a room, saved in its entirety from the flooding by the stout vault door, and rows of large chests. We closed the door, and each opened up our own chest, the door room only dimly lit by the two torches we brought with us. My suspicions were confirmed when we both saw at the same time the inside of those chests, which were filled to the brim with gold dragons and silver stags. I did some calculations in my mind to find the scale of our findings - millions of dragons, certainly. I remembered asking Maester Volarik where all the gold which we mined went, and he said that, as so much gold was mined, most of it was saved. I had forgotten about that lesson - it had easily been five years ago - but it came roaring back to me, as I came to the conclusion that this was the lost wealth of the Reynes - once the second greatest house of the Westerlands, almost as rich as the Lannisters themselves. And this wealth, a fortune beyond counting, was all mine.

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I had Loras swear an oath to keep it a secret, and told the servants when they asked that it was a room that I wished to remain private, and that none were to enter without my presence, and then I ordered the vault doors bolted. I'm sure myths and stories about what was behind it were circulating around the castle, but the servants were smart enough to not try to get in. I left two guards in the room in front of it - which was the perfect size for that many - and made it clear that it was not a topic worthy of discussion. I decided that I would act as if that discovery hadn't happened - I didn't need anyone to know that I had found a fortune, as it would only make trouble. I did decide, however, to open up my purse strings a little bit, and started to plan the decoration of the rooms which I had already cleared. It was the core of the castle - the levels further down were most likely dungeons and stores and so forth, as we had already gone a significant distance underground and the vault would be at a lower level. I brought in a group of architects and other specialists from Lannisport and had them work on a few proposals. My remodelling had opened up a lot of new space and fashion had progressed since the revolt, so the new design ended up being nothing like what Castamere was like prior to the revolt. I very much despised the tackiness of all the lions in Casterly Rock - you didn't find even remotely as many eagles in the Hofburg - and so decided, against the best intentions of the designers, to very much limit their presence. After the design was decided upon I left the pumping and cleaning and clearing to subordinates and directed my attention towards transforming this empty shell of a castle into an actual inhabitable and comfortable area.

By the coming of the new year, the reconstruction of Castamere was effectively finished. I had moved underground a moon ago, the mines had been cleared and had already started working, though at a very small capacity, and the first real fortifications had been rebuilt above ground. As I looked at the sunset over the namesake sea, my hair flowing in the wind, the Maester - a young man from the Riverlands called Brynden - brought me a message from Casterly Rock. It said:

First Day of the Seventh Moon of 295 AC

I can't overstate my excitement as I read that letter six moons ago. Not only was Gerion - my favourite uncle - returning home - it was also almost certainly at least in part because of me. Now, I knew he was going to be impressed with me nonetheless - I was the first man to kill a lion in decades and the youngest knight in history - but I still wanted that extra showing to make absolutely obvious that I, not the Imp or anyone else, am the rightful heir to Casterly Rock, and to secure for myself an independent base of power in the process. I set my sights on the creation of a professional military force, similar to those I had commanded in my past life. I had jotted down notes of all of the basics and many of the specifics of the Tercios which I commanded and, together with studying historical military units in this world such as the Lockstep Legions of Old Ghis, I was able to come to a military force consisting of four thousand five hundred men. Of these, three thousand would be infantry, organised in one brigade of ten companies. This unit would have a total of one hundred and thirty two officers and staff, two thousand one hundred and ninety pikemen and six hundred and seventy eight crossbowmen. A further twelve hundred would be cavalry, organised into two companies, each of one hundred lances, each lance with three men-at-arms and three horse archers, for a total of six hundred men-at-arms and the same number of horse archers. Finally, the remaining three hundred would be in a unit of artillery and engineers, to aid with sieges, crossing rivers and so on.

This would be a very expensive endeavour, but as the mines under Castamere proper entered into operation, and those outside of it continually increased production, financing should not be an issue. The Castamere was truly scandalously wealthy, especially when its wealth wasn't being wasted making allies to challenge Casterly Rock. With the remodelling finished and the other activities delegates I could focus my attention entirely upon the military - something which Loras participated in extensively and found very well to his taste. The pike and crossbow are about the easiest weapons around, especially the former when utilised in group, so the training for the infantry after the very beginning was on discipline. The military in general but the infantry especially needs to work in conjunction without fail for hours on end, without flinching in the face of everything from barrages of arrows from enemy archers to charges from enemy horsemen. The split between crossbowmen and pikemen limits the damage doable significantly - it is impossible to flank a tercio, and even if you don't charge headlong into its pikes you are still going to have a tough time with the crossbow bolts it is firing at you. There already were six hundred men-at-arms lying around, so it took little more than reorganising and training them how to work in conjunction with two others, and one hundred units of the same size. However, the artillerymen/engineers and the horse archers proved incredibly difficult to train. The former simply because the skills involved take a very long time to learn but the latter not only had that same problem, it also didn't help that there weren't any horse archers in Westeros to learn from. I was eventually forced to pay a small fortune for a group of rogue Dothraki - those who were willing to abandon pillaging for a more settled life - so they could teach our men how to competently act as archers from horseback. The initial goal was to teach them the Parthian Shot, but I quickly came to the conclusion that it would take years for them to gain any proficiency, and therefore they would have to be left behind when I took this force to Casterly Rock.

I worried about the men not taking me seriously - after all, I was only barely one-and-two - but the reputation of my house's name and my own exploits apparently won me a lot of respect with the men of the Westerlands, even those much older than me. Training the men was a happy reprieve from the boring nature of rebuilding the castle and it proceeded rapidly, especially with the first company - the one that was going to follow me to Casterly Rock, where, apparently, much of the nobility of the realm would be arriving soon. I guess that the first successful voyage to Valyria since the Doom is more impressive than a boy not yet one-and-ten slaying a lion. The thing that was gnawing at me is that it had been almost three years since we last heard from Gerion - how could he still be alive? I brooded over it alone for days until the logical explanation hit me like an auroch - uncle Tywin must have stopped sharing the information as soon as Gerion first successfully returned from Noros, in order to prevent it from spreading and ending our monopoly on Valyria before it even began.

By the sixth full moon of the year, the training was complete, and we set a march for Casterly Rock, three hundred men at our back, with riders carrying the Lannister banners throughout the length of our force. I had gone all in on the equipment and armour of the men under my command, and this was the finest infantry unit in the history of Westeros. Normally, they would march, but, as I wanted to arrive earlier, I put every one of those three hundred men on a horse. I'm sure we raised eyebrows throughout the way - the last time an armed force marched on Casterly Rock from the old seat of the Reynes the Rains of Castamere had been penned - and this time I decided not to send a raven to Casterly Rock, though I was sure Tywin already knew. As we rode through the gates of Casterly Rock a few days later, I could see all eyes were on me and my men. I quickly got them ready to serve as an honour guard to welcome the guests to Casterly Rock, including the royal family and the entirety of the Tyrell clan, and then went upstairs to meet my family. Martyn and Willem had matured significantly in my absence, though they were still not yet ten name-days old, and were by far the best performing of my uncle's pages, though they did not benefit from whatever gave me my superior abilities.

Uncle Gerion's fleet - it seemed that he had bought a group of ships in the east - arrived at Lannisport three days before the feast was due to start, and I got the honour of greeting him, Loras by my side and the guard behind me. He was the first off his ship, and I was beyond excited to see it, though it was tempered a bit when we found that his leg had been crippled, almost identically to that of Willas Tyrell. He was still able to walk, though it was more like Tyrion's waddling than his previous strides, but he would never fight again. As his now-free crew unloaded the wealth of his voyage, I was floored. It seemed like an unending stream of chests, carried by men who seemed to come from all over Essos. I swore I could see some Yi-Tish. As my jaw hung so low I was afraid it would hit the floor, uncle Gerion grabbed me by the shoulder and said "Well, Valyria was all well and good, but I got bored." before giving me a roaring laugh. I gave a weak chuckle, before coming back to my senses and ordering the men - who were even more surprised than me - to escort my uncle and his entourage to Casterly Rock. I then followed them, riding at the side of my uncle, impossibly curious at what stories he had to tell, but Gerion only smiled, before saying that they were too long to tell twice, and that he would wait until the feast. He seemed actively curious as to my exploits - apparently uncle Tywin had written to him about them - and I happily talked about them. They were certainly incredibly boring compared to his own, but there was a reason he was the favourite uncle to everyone of my generation, and he paid attention to all the details. Uncle Tywin was there to welcome uncle Gerion, and he told me that the Tyrells were just arriving, and that I needed to go to welcome them. He wanted some time alone with his brother, and I couldn't blame him.

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Both Loras and I were excited to see the Tyrells again, though certainly for different reasons. I had remained in contact with Margaery ever since she left after the tourney, and the infatuation had only grown. As they trotted down the Sea Road, Mace Tyrell at the front and his two sons Willas and Garlan at his side, I am sure they saw the impressive display that were my men at the side of the road. I had prepared for this, and so they were holding an equal number of Tyrell and Lannister banners, something that I was sure would please the Lord Oaf of Highgarden. I quickly got a sense of the scale, and it seemed like every single House of the Reach had sent representatives. I spotted Lord Randyll Tarly, as well as Sers Baelor Hightower and Horas Redwyne, representing their respective houses. As soon as I saw the Lord of Horn Hill, I knew I wanted to spar with him before his visit was over, and decided to request it as soon as the feast was over. My eyes quickly fell upon the carriage in the middle, however, which I could only assume carried Margaery and the Queen of Thorns. My suspicions were confirmed when I saw them get out, and my heart skipped a beat when I saw my betrothed. I couldn't wait to get married.

The Reachmen were directed towards their quarters, while Loras and I led the Tyrells to theirs ourselves. Knowing that Olenna would like to talk to her grandson alone, I went up to Lord Mace and said "My Lord, if it isn't an inconvenience, I'd like to take Margaery for a walk in the gardens." Both of them knew of the arrangement, but he was still very protective of his only daughter, and so responded, "Yes, Lancel, you may." before turning to his only knighted son and saying "Garlan, escort them." He grunted in agreement and looked inquisitively at me, as if to guess my intentions with his sister. He was a frightening figure, taller than me by multiple inches and bulkier, too - already a man grown - as well as one of the finest swordsmen alive. I had no such intentions, and so I did my best to try and ignore him. He shadowed us, just a few paces behind, while I walked with Margaery through the gardens of the Rock. The conversation was pleasant, but it was impossible to not notice the giant behind me, and so there was an atmosphere of tension. We returned after around an hour, just as the conversation between the Queen of Thorns and my squire was coming to an end. I decided not to ask if Loras had told Olenna about our discovery - if he didn't there was nothing to worry about and if he did the Tyrells would be even more interested in the marriage.

I had been able to keep the agreement with the Tyrells a relatively well kept secret up until now, though I was sure that my walk with Margaery would start the gossip machine working overtime, and they would soon come to the logical conclusion that there was some sort of secret betrothal between me and Margaery. I wasn't too afraid - after all, the only reason I had been able to convince Tywin to allow me to work towards this alliance is that there was nobody else who I could marry - but I would have preferred if it remained secret for a little while longer. However, before I was even able to debrief Loras, a servant came telling me that uncle Tywin wanted to talk to me. I was expecting it to have come earlier, but apparently the man was very busy and only was able to scrounge enough time for me right now. Or he simply wanted to do a power move and make me wait for the privilege of his attention - you never knew.

{Continues}

As I entered Uncle Tywin's solar, I found him sitting on his throne, somewhat tired from the day. "I see that you've built yourself quite the army." he said, "Explain your logic to me." "It's simple." I replied, "It's a fully self-contained combined-arms force of four thousand five hundred men, with horse, foot and artillery. It has a core of infantry - pikemen and crossbowmen - whose formation makes it impossible to outflank, supported by cavalry, both men-at-arms and horse archers, and with its own unit of engineers and artillerymen, it is able to hold a siege or cross a wide river on its own." Tywin looked away, deep in thought, before grabbing a book and passing it to me. Caught off guard, I almost let it fall, but ended up being able to catch it and open it. "Those are rough estimates of our income and men, both direct and from our bannermen. Look them over." As I skimmed through them, I was not especially surprised, closing the book and putting it on the desk. "We can afford ten of these, two in active duty and the remainder in reserve." I said, "It'll stretch our resources, though." Tywin looked almost carefree, but responded "Not with Castamere and Tarbeck Hall returned to their former glory. Convince the Lords and I'll let you do it." I thanked him, bowed and exited.

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The Royal family's arrival seemed a repeat of what happened two days prior with the Tyrells. They were the last to arrive, as was customary, and once again I was there awaiting them, Loras at my side and the infantry company surrounding the Goldroad, a guard of honour once more. Unlike Mace, Robert was not at the head of the column, but behind the royal wheelhouse which I assumed held the Queen and the Princes. The entire Kingsguard had come as escorts, but it was clear to all that the only two Knights worthy of the white cloak in that institution were Jaime and Barristan. The Royal Family was escorted by knights holding both Lannister and Baratheon banners, as did my honour guard. I was doing this almost entirely out of duty, very much unlike greeting the Tyrells, primarily because the only person I had any interest in seeing was Tommen. I was angered at seeing how the boy cowered from his idiot brother, and decided that I had to get him out from under Joffrey's thumb if he was to grow into anything even remotely resembling a monarch. Returning to reality, I dismounted and greeted King Robert with a firm handshake, and I saw Tommen's face light up when he saw me, though Cersei prevented him from running in my direction. I once again escorted the primary guests to their apartments - certainly smaller than those in the Red Keep, though no less luxurious.

The last guests had arrived, so my guard was no longer needed, and I released them until after the feast, throwing a bag of coin to their captain to buy something to drink or whatever else they did - I didn't stay long enough to find out. I then returned to my family's apartments for the remainder of the day - I would need the rest before the feast the next morning.

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As the guests settled themselves in the Great Hall - this time, thankfully, I hadn't been given the honour of sitting next to the Royal Family, and was therefore in the Lannister Table just to their right, together with my family. Loras was sitting with the Tyrells on the opposite side, though in no way was the company unpleasant. It was as the last few guests were sitting down that the doors opened and my uncle Gerion came walking, doing his best to maintain his composure in spite of his wounded leg, followed by what seemed like a hundred servants from the farthest reaches of this world, two to a chest. My uncle walked up to the bottom of the stairs, before speaking;

"I left over four years ago to go to Old Valyria and recover our ancestral sword Brightroar, lost by my kinsman King Tommen II of the Rock almost four hundred years ago, who was also, incidentally, the last Lannister to ever travel there. Ever since the Doom, no man has gone there and returned, until today, as I stand before you." A wave of applause thundered through the hall, as the first row of six chests were laid at his sides and opened by the servants, showing piles of gold, silver and gems. He continued, "I present to you, brother, the wealth of my voyage. The Valyrians had great wealth prior to the doom, and much of it was preserved over the centuries. Much of that is here, now, presented to you." As the servants closed and removed the chests to be removed by others, whose numbers seemed uncountable, Gerion continued. "After having scoured the remains of the peninsula, I moved further east, to Qarth, Yi-Ti and even the fabled lands of Asshai-by-the-Shadow. What you see here is the great wealth of my voyages there - the first since those of Corlys Velaryon - which is now yours." As the procession of chests filled with gold, gems and exotic goods from the further east, they were replaced by three smaller, though more valuable, chests. Gerion looked at the Imp, before saying, "I remember, Tyrion, a decade ago when, on your name-day, you asked for a Dragon. Those, unfortunately, died out over a century ago, but here I have the next best thing." The chest on the left opened to reveal three large, scaly eggs, green, blue and red. "Three dragon eggs!" he said "I'll leave the hatching to you, nephew." He then looked towards me, and I felt butterflies on my stomach as he spoke. "Lancel, my nephew, if not for you I would most likely not be here - I can only hope to protect you as you did me." He pointed at his leg "An accident has left me unable to do it myself, so I can only hope that this will do." He removed a sword - Valyrian steel - from the chest on the right, and handed it to me. I was almost unable to form words, but was able to croak out "Thank you, uncle. You cannot imagine how grateful I am." I cleared my throat, before continuing. "I name you Lionheart.".

Gerion smiled, and returned to where the last chest was. "I was unable to go to Old Valyria, brother, but it was not all in vain." He spoke, removing another sword from the central chest, "I present to you, Brightroar!"

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Uncle Gerion spent hours regaling the royal family with his stories, speaking without interruptions and completely captivating them. Everyone else did their best to pay attention, and at times it seemed that he was the only person speaking in the entire hall. He was always an excellent storyteller - completely unlike me - and his stories were easily the most impressive and interesting of anyone alive. I couldn't even know if he was exaggerating anything because his accomplishments were so mind boggling that even the grandest of myths almost seemed to pale in comparison. It was well past nightfall when his story came to an end, and all the children were already asleep or almost there, and uncle Gerion seemed so exhausted he might pass out there and then. After he finished, it seemed like the entire hall got up and left at once, so late that it was. King Robert was so entertained he didn't even try to mess around with any of the serving wenches, which is a gigantic achievement if there ever was any.

I awoke the next morning eager to train with my new sword. I had experimented with it a bit the day before, but I didn't really understand how different Valyrian steel was to regular steel until then. It was lighter than an equivalent blade and so balanced that it seemed to guide my arm towards the target, not the other way around. It also cut better than I even thought possible and had an edge that went through steel armour as if it was butter. That, incidentally, made it incredibly hard to train and impossible to spar with. As I finished getting accustomed with my new blade, I saw Tommen and Ser Boros Blount coming towards me. I smiled at the prince - he had only recently had his sixth name-day, and, while he was relatively tall for his age, I was still almost twice his height. He pointed at my sword and asked "Can I?", and I nodded in affirmative, giving it to him by the pommel and saying "Be careful, it's very sharp." He had to use two hands and was only barely able to keep it up, but laughed with glee as it embedded itself in the straw mannequin. I removed it and put it back in its scabbard, and then said "I can teach you how to use a sword, if you'd like." He nodded emphatically, almost jumping up and down, and I messed with his hair, before telling him that we'll go ask the King later. I left him with Ser Boros, and went to a slightly smaller hall where a meeting had been arranged with the Lords of the Westerlands. They were all more than willing to hear out who appeared to be the heir apparent to Casterly Rock, one who they considered a potential equal of Tywin Lannister. His three hundred guardsmen surrounded the hall, both as a show of strength as well as to keep any prying eyes away from the meeting. As I went up the steps and came to my place, I spoke;

"A wise man once said that if you want peace, prepare for war. While it has been six years since the last war, others are bound to happen, and if we are to maintain the strength of the Westerlands, if not even transform it into the undisputed greatest of the Seven Kingdoms, we must do so. You may have heard reports of the military force I created in Castamere, and you have certainly seen the guard I brought with me. I propose that an united army of the Westerlands, forty five thousand men strong, is created, based on its organisation - thirty thousand foot, twelve thousand horse and three thousand engineers and artillerymen in ten divisions. Of these, two divisions would remain in active duty, paid for in their entirety by House Lannister, while the remainder would stay in reserve and paid for, in peacetime, by you, deducted out of your current taxes. In wartime, all expenses shall be burdened upon all of the Lords of the Westerlands. You will not pay any more taxes to Casterly Rock, nor will you lose the right to maintain your own military force outside of this. We can only achieve peace through strength."

My speech was met with a round of polite applause - nothing like the thunderous reaction to uncle Gerion's arrival, but mine was admittedly much more boring. I doubt that such a proposal would even remotely be considered in any of the other of the seven Kingdoms, but the great wealth in gold of the Westerlands and the iron fist of uncle Tywin meant that the Lords were very cautious in opposing Casterly Rock in any way. After it became clear that this had the Lord Paramount's support, a consensus in favour of the proposal was reached, without any real compromise necessary. I was surprised with the result, though I guess I shouldn't have been. I'm pretty sure that if uncle Tywin told them to jump off the Rock they'd fight amongst themselves to see who goes first. As the meeting came to an end and I left the hall, I only had one more task before the Royal Family left the following day.

I found Tommen walking the gardens with his sister, Myrcella, and with Ser Boros Blount escorting them. He was very excited to see me - certainly remembering my promise earlier that day - and it took nothing more than putting my hand on Lionheart's pommel to have Ser Boros leave with Myrcella. I then walked, with Tommen by my side, towards the Great Hall, where King Robert was being treated to a smaller feast to celebrate his return to King's Landing the following day. He was sitting on a platform atop the stairs on a throne, and so we went up them, stopping a few paces in front of him. I bowed and Tommen quickly followed, and after being motioned to rise, I spoke; "Your Grace, it seems that Prince Tommen is quite interested in becoming a knight." Tommen nodded emphatically, confirming my statement, and I continued. "I believe that, as he is not in line to inherit the throne, the Prince would be best served as the ward of a notable fighter and commander. I would suggest Lord Randyll Tarly." Tommen's face immediately sank, and he glared at me with a betrayed look on his face, so I feigned surprise. Robert bellowed "It seems that he'd rather train under you, Ser." Cersei was shocked at her husband's apparent acceptance of the proposal, saying "But he is only a child!". Robert told her to be quiet, and I responded "Your Grace, Aegon V was travelling throughout Westeros with a Hedge Knight, Ser Duncan the Tall, before his ninth name-day, and I would say that the Stag is stronger than the Dragon." Robert seemed pleased, remembering his glorious victory against Rhaegar Targaryen, and responded "Very well, Ser. I will allow you to take on Prince Tommen as your ward." and bid me away. Tommen shone with joy - he would no longer be under Joffrey's thumb - while Cersei fumed. I had made an enemy for life, that I was sure of.

*****************

Fifth Day of the Eighth Moon of 296 AC

The past year and a bit had been smooth sailing. I took on Prince Tommen as a page, and though Loras was the one who did his weapons training most of the time - I was just too strong for him - I did my best to turn him into a competent ruler. Away from his overbearing mother and sadistic brother, he quickly blossomed into a strong-willed young man, though six years of coddling left him physically weak. He was very eager to please, however, and quickly took to his lessons, actively participating and putting in a respectable effort. He didn't do any of the normal tasks of a page as we had servants, but I did try - and fail - to bring him out of his comfort zone. It was to my great consternation when I found he thoroughly disliked hunting, though I was pleasantly surprised that he adored the water and spent much of his free time swimming in the ocean or in the blue lake that gave Castamere its name.

The creation of the Army of the Westerlands was effectively finished by now, having been the focus of my activities since arriving back from Casterly Rock. Apparently uncles Gerion and Tywin hid just how much Valyrian Steel was found at Noros, as an entire chest of the stuff was kept in Casterly Rock's vaults. I decided to only make two swords out of it, though I could probably have made more than a dozen, one to give to Lord Mace Tyrell as a wedding gift - the Tyrells were one of the few large houses in the Reach not to have one - and one to give to Tommen as soon as he took the throne, which I would make sure happened sooner rather than later. Earlier in the year both Martyn and Willem were sent to be fostered, one at Horn Hill and the other at the Arbor, and as far as I knew they were being treated well and thriving under the tutelage of those great men.

Uncle Tywin put that business mind of his to work and quickly began selling information to Valyria to the highest bidder. The successful voyage created a veritable rush of people from all over the world - pirates, magisters, sellswords and everything in between - looking to make a fortune from the region once though inaccessible. Of course, he never sold enough to guarantee success - not that such was even possible - and so he was really just extorting gigantic sums from groups of people heading towards their deaths. All in all, a great business model. I kept tabs on it, and when a group of Lyseni adventurers were unable to pay the steep price for the information, I decided to contact them, offering to pay for the gold in exchange for solving a problem of mine. They accepted, and I promised them the information as soon as they had done the deed.

Around the middle of the new year, a raven arrived from Highgarden, and I opened it excitedly. I had remained in contact with Margaery and initially thought it was a message from her, but it didn't bear her seal. Curious, I opened it, my smile widening as I read it. It said;


I had been expecting this for a while, but it was still surprising to see it in writing, officially. The Imp must be livid - if this isn't a declaration that I am Tywin's heir, I don't know what is. It wasn't clear where the wedding would be held as there were a variety of potential options - Casterly Rock, Castamere, Highgarden or perhaps even the Starry Sept in Oldtown. I decided not to worry about it - Olenna would make sure that her granddaughter's wedding was the grandest the Seven Kingdoms had ever seen. I wondered what the agreed upon dowry had been - not because I needed the money, but simply because I wanted to know how much Tywin had been able to extort from the Queen of Thorns. I held a small feast in celebration - not because I was being frugal, but simply because I didn't really have a significant court, nor was I planning on having one any time soon.

The reason that I wrote today, however, is that, on my fourteenth name-day, those Lyseni adventurers came back with a chest in tow. As I welcomed them into my solar, they put the chest on the floor in front of them. The leader, a strong man with Valyrian features, spoke; "You drove a hard bargain, heir Lannister. It was not easy, but, like you, we always pay our debts." Outsiders now commonly assumed that, and treated me as if, I was the heir to Casterly Rock, though uncle Tywin had made no such statement. Work of the Tyrells, almost certainly. As they opened the chest, I saw two heads lying on a bed of straw, one of a man and one of a girl, both with silver-golden hair, skin as pale as snow and violet eyes. "Viserys and Daenerys Targaryen, pretenders to the Iron Throne." the man said. I smiled, and called a servant, ordering him to send the gold to Casterly Rock. "I must thank you for your service. A Lannister always pays his debts, but you will have to wait a bit while I get a pen and paper. This will take around an hour." A smile formed in my face as I gave them a veritable treasure trove of information - some true, some false, some useful and some outright dangerous. I sincerely doubted they would be coming back from Valyria alive, but that wasn't my problem. The last Targaryens were dead, and King Robert would be very pleased. After having finished explaining it to the Lyseni, I called another servant, and ordered him to send the chest together with a message explaining it to King's Landing.

{This one is a bit shorter.}