章 33: Growing Wings
Edric judged the rest of the traitors, generally acting fairly to them. While he wanted to establish his authority and the price of treason, he did not want to overdo it and be seen as a complete tyrant. He accomplished this task, effectively bringing the Vale back into the fold.
"From this day forward until Lord Robert Arryn is seen fit to rule in his own name, Lord Yohn Royce will be acting Regent of the Eyrie, Defender of the Vale and Warden of the East. As for young Robert himself, he will serve as a ward of my uncle, Lord Stannis."
Edric announced atop the High Seat.
"Should he pass before his education is complete due to sickness or other unfortunate circumstances, Ser Harrold Hardyng will succeed him."
It was no secret that Robert Arryn was unlikely to reach adulthood, so Edric clarified the matter of succession should that happen.
"In my war against the mountain clans, I learned a great deal. Where they tend to hide, the type of people they attack, how poorly armed and organised they tend to be… I may as well have lived as one of their kind." Edric scanned his eyes across the hall. "There is one thing I ask of you, proud Lords of the Vale. It was my efforts that led to the fall of the mountain clans… so I simply ask that you stomp out whatever could rise from the ashes."
"Give the people a means to defend themselves, train them to fight, help them build defences for their villages and increase the number of patrols. This way, they have no room to grow where the old fell. If you accomplish this, the mountain clans will fade into insignificance for the rest of time."
Though he suspected many of them would ignore him and proceed as usual, it was worth a shot.
"... If they do rise again, I will hold you all responsible."
After settling the essential matters, Edric left the High Hall and took some time to explore the great wonder that was the Eyrie. He was accompanied by Ser Arthur and Arya, who had grown restless from all the sitting. She hadn't taken the matter of Lysa's execution personally, agreeing that she had lost it.
She had run up all the way to the Warrior's Tower, one of Eyrie's seven towers, while Edric took his time.
"You're slow today," Arya remarked.
"Hmm." Edric smiled slightly, leaning forward as he saw the entire Vale before him. He raised his hand and waved it across the land. "While you were running around being the same willful wolf brat, I rid these lands of all their great mountain clans. Over three thousand men... beaten at their own game with hardly any resources spent."
"I've heard." She nodded. "No one ever shuts up about how great of a warrior you are. How you can kill a hundred men with just a bow, how you're the only one who can use Robert's warhammer, how you can take a lance to the chest and act like nothing happened..."
"I may act like it, yes... but couched lances hurt like a..." Edric paused himself right as he was about to say bitch. "Let's just say that I definitely feel them. Regardless... what of it?"
"I'd like to see that warrior everyone talks about."
"A battlefield is hardly the place for a lady." Edric countered, raising an eyebrow.
"I'm not a lady."
"Yes... you are."
"I'm not." Arya refuted.
"Certainly not a traditional lady, sure… but a little lady nonetheless." Edric shook his head. "There is no place on the battlefield that is completely safe, especially for a girl as young as you. As King and your betrothed, I am solely responsible for your safety. I won't break my word to protect you because of your wilful whims."
"What am I training for, then?" She raised an eyebrow. "To sit around in some castle for all of my life? To give you lots of princes and princesses while you ride out and fight your enemies?"
"That would be what a normal and dutiful queen-"
"I want to fight like you do." Arya interrupted. "That's why I train so hard every day."
"You're not me, though, are you?" Edric raised an eyebrow. "If you were, I'd have you by my side in every battle."
"I don't think I'll ever be quite like you…" She shook her head. "You're twice my size and far stronger."
"It's nothing to be ashamed of for a girl; I am amongst the strongest people alive-"
"But… I know I can be better than other people when I'm older. I know women have led armies before like Nymeria did."
"Princess Nymeria… indeed, she is quite the person to look up to. I've read plenty about her."
"You have?" Arya blinked.
"Well, I have a strange obsession with the idea of greatness and individuals who achieve unimaginable success. Legendary figures of all sorts, from rulers to warriors to even the likes of merchants. People who make you think hundreds of years later… did such a person really exist?" Edric smiled slightly, looking at Arya. "Nymeria is one of those people."
"So…"
"If you prove yourself worthy one day, I will let you accompany me in battle." Edric stated, shrugging. "That doesn't mean beating some fat boy of four-and-ten years or an old man who can hardly raise his hand. At the very least, you should be able to hold your own against a proper knight in single combat... and win."
"Is that all I have to do?" She raised an eyebrow.
"... Yeah?" Edric shrugged. "It might sound easy, but the knights I'm talking about could pick you up with one hand and throw you across to the next tower."
"Sure." Arya nodded, her eyes letting up. She had a goal to strive towards. "I'll be more than good enough before you know it."
She sprinted down the tower. Edric laughed, shaking his head.
"Your Grace, do I…"
"No, the Eyrie is a small castle, and you'd never ever catch her." Edric chuckled. "She is nimble as a cat. Besides, this castle is sprawling with honourable men who would sooner throw themselves off the Eyrie than cause any harm to Eddard Stark's daughter. She is almost as safe here as she would be in Winterfell."
"Fair point..." Arthur nodded.
"Isn't it poetic?" Edric leaned against one of the tower's merlons. "My father made this match because he could not marry Lyanna himself. Even though he was spurned the first time, he still sought to unite his house with the Starks. So here we are... acting out our roles as the second coming of Robert Baratheon and Lyanna Stark."
"You both act like you don't like each other..." Arthur remarked. "Though, I think that's hardly the case. She is definitely warming up to you. I dare say that you are a good match."
"Please..." Edric laughed. "We are a horrible match."
"May I speak plainly, Your Grace?"
"... Sure." Edric shrugged. "When it's just us, there's no need to have a sealed tongue. I prefer absolute honesty."
"Of course, she isn't the prettiest flower... that much is common knowledge. As King, you see beauty at every step, so it must feel demeaning for your future wife to not be up to par. " Arthur stated with a slight smile. "However, she is still young. You never know how she will turn out. In Storm's End, there were plenty of late bloomers."
"Beauty doesn't concern me as much as you think." Edric countered, sitting down. "In truth, I don't think she's even all that ugly... the issue is that she is too young for me."
"She is only two years younger than you." Arthur raised an eyebrow. "Even though you look like a man, you are still a boy."
"A bastard and a King. Boys with these circumstances tend to grow quickly. I may as well be a man-grown... as much as my advisors may wish to disprove of that and overrule my decisions."
"... Well, they are only doing what they think is best for-"
"Cough..." Edric coughed up his own blood, frowning. His left hand began to shake uncontrollably. "Gods..."
"Edric... I'll call for a maester at once-"
Edric grabbed his white cloak.
"Fuck the cunt maesters." He frowned slightly. "They can't do a thing about this."
"... What is it?" Arthur's eyes widened. "Your wounds from the battle of Mistwood?"
"Quite right..." Edric nodded, sighing. "Despite all of that... three of those village boys died."
"Yet you stormed through a hundred of them alone... all to protect your own men." Arthur sat down beside him, patting his shoulder. "You did everything in your power, dashing forward without an ounce of fear and with all the rage of an indomitable stag. Truth be told... there is not a single person I admire half as much as I admire you."
"... You don't need to flatter me, Arthur." Edric put away his hand. "I simply did not want good men to die needlessly on my command."
"It was all for a good cause..." Arthur refuted. "If we did not stand in their way, they would have breached Mistwood and burned it to the ground. All those men, women and children... would have been at their absolute mercy."
"Isn't that what knights are for... to protect them?"
"Yes, I suppose so." Edric slowly nodded. "I... will be better."
"Don't push yourself." Arthur raised an eyebrow. "If you need to rest... by all means, rest. I know your lightning magic is not easy on the body."
"Then... I shall rest." Edric smiled slightly, closing his eyes.
"Not in the middle of nowhere..." Arthur chuckled.
"This place... suits me just fine." Edric took a pillow out of the Plane of Euthymia, placed it down and laid down. "Perfect."
"That... magic ability sure is convenient. How do you even do it?"
"My little secret." Edric smiled. "You don't need to know."
"Regardless... you will catch a cold this high."
"You're a member of my Kingsguard, not my mother." Edric chuckled, raising his hands to the sky. It was a beautiful morning sky. "If anything... this air... gives me strength."
"If you do wake up with a cold, you can't blame anyone other than yourself."
"Mhm." Edric closed his eyes. "It's not a bad view to stare at, is it?"
"Not at all. It might just be the best I've ever seen."
"Being so high in the skies... it's no small wonder that the Valemen forget about those beneath them."
Arthur noticed the same large white falcon descending on the tower. Its blue eyes stared at Edric, tilting its head.
"The white falcon... it's back. The same one."
"I think it fancies me." Edric chuckled.
"Mayhaps..."
Edric napped on the tower for a good two hours before going to the dining hall. Due to his performance against the mountain clans, Ser Lyn Corbray saw fit to knight his squire, Mychel Redfort. Since he was anointed, Yohn Royce announced that he would marry Ysilla, one of his daughters, to Mychel.
Despite Lysa's recent death, the main hall was quite jolly. It was as if nothing of importance had been lost. She had clearly lost the support of a great deal of her lords.
"I have to thank you, Your Grace," Garlan stated, sitting not too far from Edric. "That heroic charge where you stormed through their ranks with a blade of lightning, cutting them down by the dozen... without that act, both I and my younger brother would be dead."
"It was I who took you to battle in the first place..."
"Nonetheless, it does not diminish your act. It is a sight that I will forever hold close to my heart." Garlan shook his head, raising his cup as he turned to those around him. "To His Grace, the Storm King and Conqueror of the Mountains!"
"The Conqueror of the Mountains!"
"Long may he reign!"
More chants followed as men raised their cups. Edric smiled, joining the toast. One part of being King that he learned to enjoy was the admiration of others. Being loved was better than being a nameless grey shadow roaming the world... or a bastard many held in low regard. Even if some of it was exaggerated or perhaps even a lie...
"Ser Garlan, I dare say you would look just right in a white cloak," Edric remarked. "You have the skills for it, the name and the right mind."
"It would be a great honour." Garlan smiled slightly, shaking his head. "Alas, I am married... so I cannot take up the Kingsguard oaths in earnest."
"A divorce could always be arranged," Edric spoke in a jestful tone, clearly not meaning it.
"You are, indeed, Renly's ward." Garlan chuckled. "Truly, the Kingsguard who serve such a valiant young King are beyond fortunate."
"And I am just as fortunate to have them." Edric smiled.
"You are too modest, hahahaha."
Dinner ended on a high note before Edric departed to get some good bed rest.
~
Status Page
Name: Edric Storm
Age: 12
~Lord~
Charm: 70 (Diplomat III - Greater success at making meaningful friendships and even turning enemies into allies.)
Leadership: 62 (Inspiring Leader II)
Steward: 43 (Midas Touch I)
~Warrior~
Athletics: 90 (Titan IV)
Battle Instincts: 71 (Hyper Focus III - Able to slow down the field temporarily)
Warhammer: 69 (Thunderous Warhammer II)
~Knight~
Sword: 73 (Swordskill III)
Riding: 70 (Riding III - Increases weapon handling while mounted)
Armour: 65 (Fortress II)
~Ranger~
Marksman: 101 (Sniper V - Superhuman range and piercing abilities, unlocked Skirmisher tree. Next perk at 130.)
Scouting: 65 (Scouting III - Your scouting ability is further increased, and the greenseer tree is unlocked.)
Throwing: 80 (Throwing IV - Accuracy, draw speed and range increased, able to throw heavier weapons)
~Smith~
Blacksmithing: 32 (Blacksmithing I)
Engineering: 56 (Engineering II)
~Stranger~
Roguery: 20 (*)
Trade: 22 (Merchant I)
Medicine: 18
~Mage~
Storm Manipulation: 30 (Stormlord I)
Greenseer: 0 (unlocked due to Scouting III and Sniper V)
~
'Two branches in roguery... and greenseer magic?'
Edric observed his status with a sense of pride... and excitement. His efforts unlocked a whole new world of magic to explore, after all. Another weapon that would aid him in his quest.
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