Writer's Games Entries

Task 1: "The Warrior"

The realm of The Warrior – that was Aerio's and the other champions' first challenge from the Seven. Aerio did not react to the news in the same manner as the rest. He was not surprised. If anything, he almost anticipated this to be the first task for the champions of each house. Undoubtedly, in his mind, this was a way for the Seven to find out what each of the champions were made of. It was a way for the Seven to find out if the different champions had what it took to handle the increasingly harder tasks as the champions moved forward.

Aerio knew where his strengths and weaknesses were. He knew very well that any psychological task in any of the other realms would cause the biggest struggle for him. In those realms, what he said to Lord Stark about minding his surroundings cautiously, especially now that he would find himself in the mercy of the Gods, would be more crucial than ever if he was to win Lord Stark the Iron Throne. It would be equally as important if Aerio was to find the answers he seeked.

Before any of this could happen, he had to prove that he was strong enough in the first realm. The Warrior's realm was bound to be nothing more than a physical test from the Seven, and as Aerio opened his eyes, that was exactly what is was. The landscape that met his eyes was a majestic sight. It was a summer green meadow, with the forest growing in the distance, leading up to majestic mountains even further away. Had it not been for the fighting that he constantly heard and saw around him, it would've been close to paradise.

However, he did not get much time admire the scenery around him before he hear footsteps. There were many of them of course, but these were right behind him, and he knew the intention of the person behind him. Aerio could make out his shadow in the grass and immediately knew what was coming. He knew of the movement before it was even made thanks to the months of blind training in the House of Black and White. It didn't take more than a second for Aerio to avoid the edge of the sword before grabbing an arrow from his own quiver and thrust it through the fighter's throat.

As Aerio looked at the fighters surrounding him, he started to recognize the shapes of some of the greatest fighters Westeros had ever known. One of them were as tall as mountain, while the other one fought in such a distinct Dorne-ish manner that he couldn't mistake who that fighter actually was. Not to mention the greatest swordsman that Westeros had ever known. Aerio didn't remember much from his childhood, but the stories of these legendary fighters were ones he hadn't forgotten.

The battlefield was full of these fighters attacking each other. The case for Aerio was no different as one fighter after the other swung their swords after him. Aerio, as the more talented archer that he was, brought up his bow and started rapid-firing arrows at his opponents, occasionally using the bow to block the attacks before stabbing his opponents with his arrows. Any fighting requiring the arrow and bow was something Aerio had always been very comfortable with, but being right in the middle of the battle was not where he wanted to be. He needed a vantage point from which he could gain an advantage, and decided to run for the hills.

On his way, Aerio was forced to block attempts with his bow, stabbing the men with his arrows in response to get them off his tail. Aerio would hear the sound of the sizzling knives flying through the air in his direction. He would, thanks to his training, grab it, rotate once and throw it back to where it came from. He would elegantly slide underneath the swing of a man's sword and make a flip whenever somebody tried to stab him with a spear in the leg. But, no matter how far he ran, the hill seemed to get further and further away from him. The Warrior was watching him, he then realized. If he was to survive this realm, he had to fight on The Warrior's terms.

"A bow is the weapon of a coward." He heard from a voice behind him. Aerio barely had time to turn around before he saw the sword in mid-air aimed at his own head. Aerio didn't have time to draw up his own sword, and had to use the frame of his bow to protect himself. The bow was thick enough to protect him, but the edge of the sword was sharp enough to damage it too much to be of any further use. Aerio brought out his sword in response. "Depends on the perspective..." Aerio answered as a grin formed on the knight's face. It looked familiar, that grin and that voice...