章 2: {2} childhood of Aegor Snow
Ser Arthurs world had fallen apart around him. His King was dead, his Prince was dead, Elia was dead, the Princess Rhaenys and the little Prince Aegon. They were all dead, and now Arthur was missing his sword arm. What is a knight without his arm, what was a Kingsguard without the ability to guard his king.
Eddard Stark should have spilled his guts beneath the hot Dornish sun that day and been done with it. He should have let him die a Kingsguard instead Ser Arthur was marched from the Tower of Joy to Starfall. Once at his home Lord Stark reunited Ser Arthur with his family, they remained for only a week until Lord Stark set of on a ship with my sworn brothers, Ser Oswell and the Lord Commander. Ser Arthur never learnt what Lord Stark said to his friend the Usurper that convinced him to allow the Kingsguard and the baby Aegor to live, but he was ever thankful.
While Stark, his banner men and Arthur's sworn brothers boarded a ship for Kings Landing, the Sword in the Morning, his sister Ashara, the bastard Aegor Snow and twenty five Dayne men at arms boarded another ship setting for Bravos. In Bravos the Dayne party found Ser Willem Darry and his party. He did find them, they had posted in a large manse, big enough to host five times their party. The manse had three floors, a small garden, a stables, though they had few horses, and it was located right in the canal.
Ser Arthur had expected to find the dowager Queen Rhaella with Darry but instead he found her Daughter. The baby had silver hair, while Aegor had his mothers dark raven curls, except a vibrant streak of silver hair that seems to hang over his eye every time I catch him after he's ran away from some stall he's stolen from. His eyes were also all Stark but sometimes in the moonlight there is a violet twinkle to them.
Aegor and the Princess were inseparable, as babes why would sleep in the same cot, huddled together, as children they grew even closer. Dany went nowhere without her constant, dark, broody shadow. 'He was not a direwolf but Dany's puppy' Viserys liked to say. The less said about the young King the better. He was a cruel boy who seemed more like his father than his brother.
Aegor was everything a king should be, but he lacked the name. He took the name Snow for his mothers house, in truth he should be a Sand but a bastard name is a bastard name, it means the same. He would never inherit the throne.
It was Ser Arthur who instructed the bastard boy in arms. That was difficult considering Arthur himself was lacking his left arm. The boys martial training became easier when Theo Wull arrived with fifteen Stark men at arms, Lord Stark would not allow his nephew to go undefended. Theo was a good swordsman and was able to teach Aegor the basics, but the blade came easy to the boy.
He handled steel with great ease, longswords, shortswords, bastard swords, greatswords. Rhaegar was as good a swords man as any, but he found no joy in the blade. His son was different. By the time he was five name days he was knocking boys double his age in the dust. And he was fast, faster than even Arthur was at that age.
His lessons were anything beast entirely. Ser Willem handled his lessons until the age of five, then wise men were hired to teach the boy. Unlike his father Rhaegar, Aegor had no great love for reading, he did as he was bid but every page he would steal a glance out the window to the training yard below.
Aegors days were full by the time he was seven, he spent his days training, learning his numbers and the history of Westeros. When he wasn't in lessons he was with his Aunt, playing with her and the hounds, more often than nought he would end up fighting with Viserys over cruel words directed at Dany. But Viserys was eight years his senior and so he lost almost all of their altercations.
With his days so full one would think dreams would be an escape for Aegor, unfortunately that was not the case. When night fell and Aegor dreamed it was not the dreams of normal boys. Aegor dreamed of crows, three eyed ravens. They crow would show him visions of the past. He would watch great leaders if the past, Cregan Stark, Aegon the Conqueror, Aemon the Dragonknight, Theon the Hungry Wolf. Countless kings form centuries past. The crow ensured he learned from their mistakes, learned they're strengths and weaknesses.
The wise men hired to educate Aegor paled in comparison to watching history itself unfold in his dreams. He learned to he ruthless from Daemon Blackfyre, he learned politics of court from watching Jaehaerys the Conciliator. He learned the brave deeds of Daeron the Young Dragon and his conquest of Dorne, the three eyes crow also sent dreams of Aemon the Dragonknight to teach him of gallantry and honour, Aegor saw these dreams and looked at them scornfully.
He was the greatest knight in history and yet for all his gallantry he died protecting a king unworthy of a throne. Kings and princes and magisters and lords, all these filled Aegor's dreams and he learned from them. Noting their follies and their great deeds, their failures and their victories. He watched them and learned.
The visions then went to more recent history, too the events leading to Roberts Rebellion. The tourney at Harrenhal, the 'abduction' of his mother. He watched as Brandon Stark rode to Kings Landing to demand Rhaegar 'come out and die.' He watched his uncle and grandfather killed by the Mad King and he cursed him, he watched as Aerys the Mad called for the heads of Eddard Stark and Robert Baratheon.
Aegor watched this all and cursed. He did not curse Robert, or Eddard Stark. He cursed Aerys Targaryen, he cursed his selfish fool of a father, his naive mother who plunged the world into war for 'love.' Their love would make a brilliant song, but in truth it was a selfish act done by a prince who was married and with heir. He watched seven riders and three white cloaks in the shadow of a sorrowful tower. Then the visions ended. He was eight years when he saw the last vision but he did not forget the lessons.
Even at eight Aegor spent day and night by Danny's side. He could never say no to her and often found himself in dangerous situations for her. Once she saw a pretty bird, it's yellow wings like flowing gold and it's chirps made a beautiful melody. Dany said how much she would love a bird like that. Aegor thought he would gift her an egg from its nest so he followed the bird. He leapt over the walls of the manse, skin scraping on white stone as he hastily found foot and hand holds in the rocks. Pulling himself up and over the ledge, he dropped into a sprint chasing the bird through the city.
Racing through the streets, swerving between people and carriages. The bird led him to the banks of the canal. The depth of the Braavosi canals varied throughout the city. The canal beside the Targaryen Manse was very shallow, being only waist height in the deepest part and only coming up to your ankles near the banks. These shallow areas existed for horses, carts and livestock to be driven across the canal without having to construct thousands of bridges throughout the city.
The canal Aegor faced after following the bird was different. It was deeper, filled with passing boats. Small canoes moved to the side allowing a galley through the wide canal and upstream Aegor spotted one of the many pleasure barges that could be found among the city. Without breaking his stride Aegor leapt from the shore onto a canoe tethered to the banks with a piece of rope. Again he jumped from one boat to another, people shouted curses as he went, one man reached for him but Aegor laughed and jumped to the shore. What Aegor did not notice was the dark emotionless gaze of a man in guards garb and a face that was not his own.
Once in the other side of the canal Aegor looked around him and realised he had lost the bird. The yellow feathers were gone from the sky, but Aegors mind did not linger on the bird for long as he took in the sights. He had lived in a weather district, filled with large manses and wide streets of set grey stones. Where he was now was a stark contrast. The streets and alleyways crossed and double backed and led to dead ends.
They were like snakes slithering over each other trying to reach the sky yet going nowhere. A mischievous glint entered Aegors dark eyes. With a flick of his hand he sent a loch of his silver hair from his eyes. Laughing Aegor ran through the alleys, thoughts of the golden bird and it's songs that Dany lived had all but gone form his mind.
Aegor had something else on his mind now, freedom. And it tasted sweet to the bastards tongue. To be gone from Viserys scornful gaze, to be free from Ser Arthur's protective sternness and to be out of sight from Willem's kind, yet ever watchful eyes. He had left the manse before of course but never without an escort and now he was free.
Aegor ran through an alley that widened as he went yet the upper levels of the building got closer forming a roof over him and casting him in shadow. Light cut through the shadow as he rounded the corner to find a bustling market. Stalls upon stalls, people calling prices, silk fluttering in the light breeze. To the right there was a man in red shouting about R'hllors judgement and to the back of the market square was a smith hammering at his anvil.
Again mischief glinted behind his usually calm grey eyes. Aegor was not one to break rules, not if they're ere set by Ser Arthur or Willem. That did not stop him from fighting with Viserys anytime he spoke ill of Dany. But this was different, Ser Arthur or Ser Willem was not here. He was free to do what he wanted and so Aegor did as he wanted.
There were so many new things, new smells, new sights. Aegor wanted it all but he had none of the iron coins that the people of Braavos used. So he stole. Ser Arthur would have disapproved, Ser Willem also. Yet on some level that was what drove him. To rebel against Arthur and Willem for their rules. If he had thought about Ashara that day, if he had thought about the disappointment that would shine in her violet eyes he may have just returned home.
But Aegor did not think about Ashara and he would not come to regret that decision because if he did return home he would never have met Myrio. The man in question stood at the mouth of another alley. He wore scaled gold armour over green silk. Rust coloured whiskers sprouted out from under his ceramic face mask and five bumbling idiots, either very old, very young, or half lame, stood behind him, all in uniform.
Aegor did not see the man. Instead the bastard boy stared at all the new things before him, he would steal a coin from a passerby, then buy some exotic food before finding another thing he wanted and repeating the process. He did so for only ten minutes before noticing the men watching him, guards, he knew immediately.
Aegor tried walking away calmly, attempting to remain unnoticed, but they followed. He dipped into a curling alleyway before breaking into a sprint. Once coming out the other side he found an empty half broken dock. It was a few planks of creaking wood with a small boat only big enough for two people tethered to the posts. For a moment Aegor thought himself safe until the six figures exited from another alley. He was cornered now with his back to the water and the six men closing in on him.
"Boy, you are a thief and not a very good one." The leader spoke in a matter of fact tone. Aegor said nothing instead reaching into the boat behind him and grabbing an oar.
"You will come with me boy." The man said, a small smile spreading across his face at the oar.
"I'll go nowhere with you!" Aegor barked back. He looked at the men, they all wore garments similar to the leader, scaled metal plates, a ceramic mask covering their face and a helm over their heads. The leader held his mask in one hand while the other rested on the handle of his thin Braavosi blade.
"Take her." The leader said to his men with a rasp of a laugh. Three of his men moved forward, drawing curved swords from scabbards as their leader secured his mask over his rust coloured whiskers and drooping ears.
Their metal plates clinked softly with each step and Aegor tried to force his heart to beat slower but it did not help. Fear gripped him. What would they do to him. He was no one, a bastard with no name. They would take a finger for the theft, or his whole hand. Arthur, Willem, Ashara they would all know. His hands trembled around the oar but suddenly a calm came as the golden bird flew overhead. He would not go with them.
Aegor steeped between the three, wringing his hands around the wood. The wooden head came whistling up and rang against the helm.
"Bastard!" The man shouted. But the voice was shrill. Was it a man? Or was it a boy. In truth, three of the five before him were not much older than Aegor himself, another was so old he was near blind and the last had a twitchy hand so he could barely hold his blade.
The man raised his blade and took half a step before Aegor's stick shot up again, blindingly fast, just as Arthur had taught. There was a loud crack as the sword went clattering to the floor. The guard yelped, cradling his broken fingers.
"You are fast for a boy." Their leader acknowledged.
"Your slow." Aegor said and the man laughed.
"Kill him."
The four advanced while the fifth, with broken fingers, spat and pulled free a dagger with his left hand. Aegor snarled, trying to fight back the fear that gripped him. The guards had scaled plates over their chests, leather on their legs but their hands were bare.
Aegor did not wait for them to reach him but spun to his left. He checked a slow sword swing with the head if his oar then whirled away from a second. Off balance the second man lurched into the first. Aegor put a boot to his back and the two guards went into the water. A third man came from behind, slashing at the bastards head.
Aegor ducked under the blade and thrust upward with the head of the oar. The man went down with a mouth full of blood and shattered teeth. The fallen men were climbing from the water. Aegor kicked one back down and grabbed the ceramic face mask from another. The man with the dagger stabbed at him then. Aegor raised his hands in a panic and the dagger was caught in the mask.
Aegor had no time to think about how close he had come to death. A single stroke would have brought his end. Instead he swung the oar hard at the man's knee, shattering the joint and the neck of the oar at the same time. The last man charged Aegor then, swinging down with two hands. Aegor rolled right then shot upwards pushing the mask over the man's face, dagger still sticking out.
Aegor dropped the mask and the remains of his oar. The guard leader laughed as Aegor stared at his hands, horrified at what he had done. He had killed that boy. No older than fourteen and Aegor had ended his life so easily. Then he registered the laughing in his brain. Anger filled him as his head shot up to glare at the leader.
"My name is these men know me as Myrio. The Sealord knows me as Syrio. Some know me as Jaqen my God of Many Faces knows me as No One." The man smiled but his eyes were emotionless and it chilled Aegor to his very soul.
"My name is Aegor Snow, people don't call me anything." Aegor told the man, trying to be strong in front of the man who would likely kill him.
"I seen you, you're quick and strong. But you're not a killer, not yet." The man reached into his half cloak.
"I don't want to be a killer." Aegor told him but the man just smiled.
"But how could you protect your family Aegor Snow. You will need to become a bad person, do bad things. Only then can you insure your aunt is safe." The man smiled at Aegors panicked look at the mention of his aunt.
He pulled an iron coin from his pocket and flicked it to him.
"Valar Morghulis"
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