20 The Knight of the Laughing Tree
The first day of the tournament was an archery event.
Aslan managed to make it to the top 15 archers. In the top 3 was William, the former bandit of the Kingswood Brotherhood. William finished second and impressed the crowd with his dexterity.
People like Brandon or Robert are not very good at archery. The other people who were gifted are Rhaegar, Arthur, Barristan, Eddard and Oberyn.
Aerys wasn't too happy seeing Rhaegar, Aslan or their cheering subordinates.
The second day was a cavalry test. Thrown on a horse, a wooden mannequin wearing armor and a shield had to be dropped. If the rider does not hit hard enough or the spear does not break, the rider may be unseated and thrown from the horse laughing in front of the crowd.
Aslan came eighth, Robert, Arthur, and Barristan surpassed him.
The next 3 days were various tests, an ax throwing competition, a horse race, a scrum with seven teams of knights where Robert won and various song and comedy competitions.
The sixth day was a day of rest for the participants because the next day will be the beginnings of the matches which will last five days.
During the rest day, Aslan spent his time with Shaïra who was impressed by the competitions. It was the first time she saw competitions, she was always locked up in the Twins when she was with the Frey and it was only in Lannisport that she gave free rein to her curiosity.
"Husband, tomorrow you will participate in the games, you must defeat them all but ..."
"Tell me what worries you."
"... I heard that during the jousting the knights risk to hurt themselves."
"... It's true, but don't worry, I have my armor and I'm very strong."
Shaïra nodded and put his head on Aslan's shoulder.
"Tell me, Aslan, if you win you will crown me the queen of love and beauty?"
"Of course, you are my love and you are the most beautiful woman that Westeros has known."
"Hehe. * Smack *. Thanks, Aslan."
The two spent their time in the house talking and playing. The two were not disturbed and without realizing, time passed very quickly.
The next day Aslan woke up very early to go get his horse and prepare it.
Jousting could only be practiced by knights and squires and preparation was necessary.
With the help of his groom, his horse was in good shape and Aslan started putting on his horse's outfit and his armor himself.
He put on a red robe sprinkled with gold threads with iron armor that protected the horse's eyes and neck.
Aslan let his groom and two of his soldiers bring his horse to the jousting arena as he returned to his accommodation to put on his armor and recover Shaïra.
Arriving at his accommodation, he found Shaïra dressed in a simple white dress and a necklace set with alternate emeralds and sapphires imitating her eyes, a light green eye and a deep blue. Aslan bought her this necklace because he thought it corresponded to her eyes and Shaïra kissed Aslan passionately in thanks.
She also had her long gold-silver hair tied in a braid that reached her thighs.
Aslan kissed Shaïra before going to put on his golden armor. His armor was a plate armor that essentially covered his entire body, leaving only parts of his arms and forearms exposed, making it easier to handle weapons.
His armor was elegant, a crimson cape at the waist and imposing with a long sword attached to his waist.
When they went out with Shaïra on their arms, the population threw them perpetual glances. The two looked like gods on earth. A man in golden armor with red eyes and golden hair and a woman whose beauty overshadows the moon.
On their way, they left a trail of murmurs.
Aslan and Shaïra made their way to Aslan's personal soldiers to retrieve his horse when they reached the edge of the arena. After retrieving the horse, they entered the arena where the participants were.
In the arena, the crowd was impatient for the start of the matches.
Aslan let Shaïra go towards the bleachers of the nobles while he placed himself beside the knights and the squires.
His arrival was remarkable because a golden armor was like a beacon in the night. The crowd surprised by such luxurious armor was impressed, the only other extravagant person in the jousts was Rhaegar, wearing black armor whose breastplate was decorated with the three-headed red Targaryen dragon inlaid with rubies.
The participants awaited the king for the beginnings of the games.
15 minutes later, a disgusting king entered. Protected by 4 royal guards, he was brought on his throne and with irritation, he announced the start of the games without a speech.
The matches are organized on the principle of a queen of love and beauty defended by five champions, these must be challenged by the competitors and be replaced by their possible winners. The matches last five days, and the final winner among the five champions of the last day can appoint a new queen of love and beauty.
On the first day, the queen of love and beauty is the daughter of Lord Walter Whent and his wife, Lady Shella Whent. She is defended by four of her brothers and her uncle, Ser Oswell Whent of the Royal Guard.
Aslan wanted to become one of the 5 champions from the first day to rest for the next 4 days because there is little chance that someone will challenge him.
Time quickly passed and the four brothers of Shella Whent were quickly defeated. The last champion representing the Whent family is Ser Oswell Whent.
Seeing that nobody wanted to challenge the champions and that the sun would not set any longer to set, Aslan stepped forward and challenged Ser Oswell Whent, wanting to show his bravery and not challenge unknown knights.
The crowd, tired of seeing simple fights, got excited when someone challenged a member of the royal guard.
When they wanted to see who had dared to challenge Oswell Whent, some people who recognized Aslan were surprised before cheering for the two knights.
Aslan made his horse advance on the jousting field and on the other side, Oswell Whent could do the same.
Aerys also looked at the two with hawkish eyes because Oswell Whent represents the crown with his status as king's guard and wanted to publicly humiliate Aslan.
When the two fighters were in place, a soldier from Aslan came to bring a wooden lance and a helmet to protect his head.
On the other side, a Whent family squire stepped forward and did the same.
After wearing their helmets and spears, the soldier and squire brought the shield.
Finally, under the king's agreement, the two jousters prepared to launch themselves against each other.
When the start that given, Oswell waved his horse to push it forward. Aslan did the same and the two knights approached dangerously quickly with their spears in front of them.
When they were in front of each other Oswell lowered his spear and pushed it forward straight on Aslan's abdomen to destabilize him and stir his stomach.
Aslan, on the contrary, raised his spear and aimed at Oswell's shoulder to injure him and reduce the arm holding his shield.
The two being experienced in combat reacted quickly. Oswell leaned to the right but the spear touched a part of his shoulder making him start. Aslan lowered his shield but the spear struck the shield causing his arm to recede.
The two shots broke into a crack and the splinters flew away making the crowd gasp.
The two knights continued on their way before stopping their horses at the end of the field and turning around. After 30 seconds, new spears were brought to the two knights.
For the second round, Aslan and Oswell tied and for the next two rounds were two more but the fifth round was the last.
In the fifth round, Oswell had a trembling left arm. Aslan had no injuries except fatigue.
When the two knights were launched against each other, Aslan decided to finish this round and he put all his strength into his shot.
When Oswell pushed his spear, Aslan tilted his shield to deflect the spear and make Oswell gain momentum and in a very rapid movement, Aslan pushed his spear into Oswell's stomach.
Seeing Oswell ejected from his horse and touched the ground, the crowd was amazed, as were members of the Oswell family.
Aslan who stopped his horse got off and went towards Oswell on the unconscious ground and he took off his helmet. Oswell's face was painful but nothing to worry about.
Seeing Aslan's actions, the Whent family members rushed to Oswell.
Some people thank Aslan's magnitude while others look at him with venom.
The crowd cheered for the good fight and Aerys snorted in anger at the incompetence of his royal guard.
The other royal guards did not make a noise but some could see their eyes frustrated.
"Oswell was a great opponent, congratulate him on waking up."
Aslan took the reins of his horse and left the arena, heading towards the participants' area.
After this duel, the Whent family lost all their champions and the first day of games ended with this duel.
Among the 5 current champions was Aslan, the most famous but a certain squire of the Blount family caught the attention of 3 people.
