The Silent Wolf

Chapter 9

There comes a time in every person's life when they must what is tough and what is tougher, a decision that would go on to define the rest of their lives. Such a time had finally arrived for me.

Half a year before I arrived back home, the announcement of a tourney was made from the heart of the Riverlands. Lord Walter Whent was hosting in honour of his maiden daughter and to parade his sons to the many Lords for their daughters that would come to attend. And with how much he was offering in prizes, the number of people that would be drawn in would be in the hundreds if not more.

Though many suspected an ulterior motive for this tourney, but there weren't many that could prove it.

The tourney was taking place at Harrenhal, an immensely strong castle that had monstrous curtain walls and five towers of dizzying height. The walls were incredibly thick, and its rooms were built on a scale that would be fitting for giants rather than humans.

Harrenhal had the largest chamber in Westeros, which would explain the rationale behind inviting the Seven Kingdoms there. The castle covered three times as much ground as Winterfell and its buildings were of such magnitude that it felt stupid to even compare the two.

Harrenhal was built on a gigantic scale, its colossal curtain walls were sheer and high as mountain cliffs while atop the battlements the wood-and-iron scorpions seemed as small as their namesakes when seen from the ground. Harrenhal's gatehouse was as big as Winterfell's Great Keep, and its stone was discoloured and fissured. From outside only the top of five immense towers could be seen because of the Walls, which were the first things we saw from the distance.

My family and I left for Harrenhal with a small group of soldiers to guard us. Our little entourage included Merida, who was adamant to not be left behind. Lyanna had been telling her everything about Tourneys, what she should expect from the. While my sister was trying to get Merida to be excited for the Knights and Songs, the redhead was more excited to see a battle that would end in blood. Merida was nothing if not a woman who punched first and asked questions later, which was surprising since she hadn't shot me the first time we met.

Our journey to Harrenhal took a little over 6 weeks, and we stopped to rest and stretch our legs.

We were the middling arrivals, not too soon, nor too late. The Riverlanders were the first to arrive, and the Reachers and Dornish were the last ones.

The Crown Prince was an expected guest, who arrived with his wife. But most of the people gathered did not expect the King's presence. Almost all of them though were surprised by the state of their King.

The last time that the people had seen the King, was before the Defiance of Duskendale. Back then Aerys II Targaryen was a handsome man, with purple eyes and gold-silver hair.

But at present, the man did not look remotely the same. He was very thin and gaunt, looking much older than he was. His hair grew past his shoulders to his waist and became matted, his beard tangled, and his fingernails grew to be yellow talons of almost a foot long.

Whether the Prince wanted his father there or not, he did not show it on his face. Things between father and son were tense. But soon everyone's mind had been taken away from the royal family when the tourney began.

----

The tourney began with a ceremony. Not too long ago the Kingsguard had lost one of their brothers to the cruel mistress that was death.

Ser Harlan Grandison hailed from the Stormlands and much like the name suggests, he was a man of fiery temper. He was an old man by the time King Aerys came into power, and eventually died a peaceful death in his sleep. He was remembered well by his brothers in the Kingsguard and by his family in the Stormlands, but there must always be seven to protect the King.