34 Chapter 34: Visitors
The following days seemed to pass by in a blur for Will. It had been almost a month since they left Asteria, and everyone was doing quite well.
Will had taken Aegon, Jon, Oberyn, and Drox on a little guy's trip into the Haunted Forest to hunt the Walkers on more than one occasion, and they all had at least killed one undead.
Will naturally had the most kills, with Oberyn coming in second at 14, while Aegon had 7, Drox had 4, and Jon had 2. It really wasn't his fault though, everyone else was just bigger, stronger, and faster than he was.
Still, he was pretty proud of himself, already killing the undead at his age. He had gone through almost a complete transformation since he left Winterfell, and if one was to compare his old self with who he is now, they would think he was someone else all together.
He was more confident, and no longer slouched like he had before. Instead he held himself straighter, as if he was truly proud of the man he was growing to be. He was also smiling more often than not, having lost his depressed look before they even left Asteria.
Not only that, but he was growing like a weed, and he was learning more and more each day, be it through books or through training. Elia read books with both him and Daenerys for 3 hours everyday, going over stuff Will had chosen to opt out of ever learning.
Oberyn usually trained everyone with the spear, and gave pointers where he could with the sword, but for the most part he sat back and let Will do it.
Will had been training them all in different hand-to-hand combat techniques, and making them do training drills that were just ridiculous.
They climbed trees with weights on them, had to run a gauntlet where they had to not get hit by thousands of little flaming rocks while Will laughed in glee behind cover.
The sparring matches helped the most, if only because Will healed them after each match, leaving them completely ready to go the next day.
Healing magic definitely helped in that department, as no one held back during the sparring matches, usually only stopping when the other was on the ground.
They treated most matches like a life or death battle, and it didn't end just because you got cut in the arm.
Will actually gave Jon a Valyrian steel sword just before they went out on their first undead hunt. He even went so far as to shape the pommel of the sword to that of a wolf, while shaping the cross-guard to look like dragon wings spread out.
Jon had taken the thing to bed with him that night, and every night for a week after. Granted they had been out in the woods during some of those nights, so it would have been foolish if he hadn't had his sword near him.
It was on their second hunt out in the forest where Jon got his first pet, though Will had tried talking him out of it. Something to be said, Jon was a Warg, and quite a powerful one at that.
(A.N. That's actually fact! He's one of the most powerful Wargs in the books, he just doesn't know it.)
When he tried bonding with the Dire wolf that was bigger than Trojan, the connection formed almost immediately, not that Will could explain how.
All he knew is that he could feel a bigger flow of magic when Jon was using his power than when Aegon or Drox used their powers.
Oberyn had actually given Jon the name he called the big grey wolf. Asena. Oberyn said it was the name of a strong warrior maiden, but in Will's old life it meant 'She-wolf'.
Will didn't bother pointing that out though, he didn't want to ruin anything. Plus it wasn't actually that bad of a name. The wolf even liked it.
Will had almost died laughing when Jon brought Asena into Hardhome. Everyone went screaming for their lives, and a few people actually shit themselves. It was only when everyone realized that it was a familiar to a Warg that they calmed the hell down.
You'd think that seeing the group of people standing beside the wolf would have been clue enough, but that was clearly giving these people more credit than they deserved.
Will greeted a few people that came to see him in Hardhome, mostly members of Northswords and an Elder or two. Their time in Hardhome was short, but it was enough for Jon, Aegon, and Oberyn to get to know a few people.
That was another reason Will wanted to bring everyone beyond the Wall. If he got them close to the Free Folk, they would have allies and a place to fall back to should anything happen to him.
So far the giants loved them, and maybe a few of the Northswords, but that was it for now.
Eventually though, everyone made their way back to the Thenns Mountains where Will told them it was time for them to return home, much to the sadness of everyone else. Hell, even Oberyn didn't quite want to leave, and he hated the North more than anyone.
Will had tried to convince some of the Giants to come to Asteria with him, but was ultimately shut down. No one wanted to leave, and he wasn't about to make them.
Just when he had lost all hope, a friend of his, Mag Mar Tun Doh Weg, also called Mag the Mighty, or as Will called him, Midget, came and spoke to him.
Will called him Midget because he was among the shorter of the giants, but he was still almost triple Will's height. He had tried to explain what the name meant, but it seemed to go right over his head. That or he just didn't care.
Anyway, Midget was something of a chieftain among the giants, and had agreed that he would go south with Will sometime in the future, so long as Will brought him a weapon better than one of the two swords he had brought previously.
It took all of a second to agree to the deal, and Will promised he would be back, be it one year or five, he would be back.
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They had only been travelling for a day back towards the Frostfangs, when Will sensed something off to the right of the path they were travelling. Actually it was more like a lot of somethings.
Staring into the trees, Will couldn't see anything with his eyes, but with his magic it was a whole other story. Asena must have also heard the noise, as she perked her ears up, alerting Jon, who was riding on her back.
"What is it?" Jon asked warily, his eyes roaming the trees for any sign of movement.
"We've got company!" Will answered, speaking a bit louder than necessary so everyone in the sleighs could hear him.
Soon enough, Aegon, Drox, Oberyn, and Oberyn's 3 eldest daughters were outside standing in front of the sleighs, while everyone else remained inside. Of course Elia, Ellaria, Rhaenys, and Daenerys were all holding crossbows, but it was doubtful if they would even be needed.
They waited for almost 3 minutes before the first figure could be seen in the brush, which didn't go over well.
*Thwing!*
A crossbow bolt went flying through the air, clearly piercing someone, if the sudden screams were anything to go by.
"AAAHHHHGGH!!!" Someone screamed, sounding as though they were in immense pain.
All eyes seemed to lock on to the one who fired the bolt, and to everyone's surprise, it was Daenerys.
"Oops... My finger slipped." Was all she had to say, her face as bright as a tomato.
Will didn't know whether to be mad or impressed, but he still took the crossbow away from her.
Shaking his head, Will walked towards the direction the screaming was coming from, then shouted, "Sorry about that!! It was an accident!!"
An uncomfortable silence seemed to blanket the area after his shout, even the screaming stopped.
"If you come out here, I can heal you!!" Will shouted again, feeling as though this would be the right move. He wanted Daenerys to know what it felt like to kill someone, but not like this. He wasn't sure if this would traumatize her or not, but it was best to not let it get to that stage.
They waited for another minute after Will's second shout before they got a response.
"Don't worry about it!! You only shot Segrin! He doesn't matter!!" Followed by another voice shouting, "FUCK YOU, TORMUND!! AGH!"
Will guessed that was Segrin, and he was quite surprised by what the man said, or at least the name the man had said.
'How many Tormund's could there be?' Will thought, wondering if he was about to meet the same Tormund from the series, and arguably one of his favorite characters.
Will and his group didn't move from their positions as more and more figures started appearing from the trees, that group having around 60 people in it.
There were a few women in the group, but for the most part it was made up of men, the leading figure making Will smile.
The bright reddish/ orange hair was eye-catching, but the towering frame stood out most of all. Tormund wasn't close to the size of the Mountain or the GreatJon, but he wasn't too far off from the SmallJon.
He looked almost identical to his tv counterpart, and Will hoped he at least had the same personality.
Among the group, a man had his arms draped over the shoulders of two other men who were carrying him, given how there was a very noticeable crossbow bolt sticking out from his groin. All the men looking at him noticeably winced at the sight.
"It didn't get your cock, did it?!" Oberyn asked, looking somewhat sorry for the man, well, maybe man.
"No. You missed it by that much! HAHA!!" Tormund said, showing his thumb and index finger spread apart by about an inch.
"I'm so sorry!! I didn't mean to, I swear!!" Daenerys cried out, looking as though she was on the verge of tears. There was another bout of silence, followed by Tormund laughing uproariously.
"HAHAHA!! Segrin!! I knew you couldn't handle a woman, but I didn't think a little lass would be able to almost take your cock off!! HAHAHA!!" Tormund cried out, sounding as though he felt no pity for the man in question.
There was some cursing from Segrin, but no one seemed to really care about him, save for Daenerys, who kept staring at the crossbow bolt.
"Why were you spying on us?" Will asked curiously as he moved to the injured Segrin.
"We've been hearing stories about you, Castian! A monster wearing the skin of a boy... Rumors say you can force anyone who looks into your red eyes to do your bidding... that the Old Gods watch over you." Tormund said, obviously the leader of the group.
"That you can kill the walkers!" Tormund added, his eyes looking rather hopeful.
"Don't cry." Will told Segrin, then pulled the crossbow bolt from his groin, getting an immediate loud response. With that done, water gathered from all around, moving to Will's hand before he put it on Segrin, at the same time keeping the man's blood from leaving his body.
Segrin seemed to immediately calm down once the water touched him, looking as though whatever Will was doing was taking some, if not all of the pain away. That, or Will was giving him a magic hand-job. That's how it looked anyway.
Water glowed around Segrin for almost 5 minutes before it seemed to fall to the ground as Will moved away from him.
Turning to look over at Tormund, Will spoke, "The Walkers are weak to fire, Dragonglass, and Valyrian Steel. As long as you burn the bodies, you shouldn't have any problem dealing with them."
Tormund and the other Freefolk were staring stupidly at Will, having been shocked at the sight of water floating around him before it started glowing that they barely listened when Will told them about the White Walkers' weaknesses.
"What are you?" Tormund asked warily, acting a bit more cautious around Will. It seemed he believed that not all rumours about Will were false.
"Someone who hates answering questions and wants to go home already!" Will answered, sounding as though he didn't want to explain himself for the umpteenth time.
Before Tormund or anyone else could say anything, Will spun around faster than anyone could follow, his hand moving in front of him and snatching an arrow from the air that had been going straight for his heart.
With another burst of speed, Will was no longer standing where he was, but in front of the man who had shot the arrow, said arrow now lodged firmly through the man's eye and protruding from the back of his skull.
"Cunt!" Will cursed at the now dead man, then began to pour oil from a barrel that seemingly appeared out of thin air onto the corpse. With a thought, the corpse lit up in flames, at which point Will began to walk back towards the sleighs, the Freefolk around him moving aside to give him lots of space.
"You're with Mance Rayder, aren't you?" Will asked Tormund once he was standing back where he was previously.
"Aye...." Tormund answered plainly, completely taken aback by what he just saw.
"Tell the King Beyond the Wall that if he or any of his little followers try to fuck with me or mine, I'll make sure the walkers are the least of your concern!" Will said, giving a promise that Tormund would take to heart.
There wasn't anything in the world that scared him, at least not until a minute ago. Will absolutely terrified him.
"Is that it?" Tormund asked with a raised brow, wondering if Will was going to do anything else.
The man who shot the arrow was friends or brothers with one of the guys Will had killed when he first led an expedition out into the Haunted Forest. Mance had warned the guy to forget about getting revenge, but it seemed he hadn't listened.
'I wonder how he knew the arrow was coming for him?' Tormund thought, a little drawn to one of the most amazing things he had ever seen.
"Pretty much. Want some Vodka?" Will said, completely derailing Tormund's train of thought. Will would have been angry at everyone here for the man having attacked him, but based on their expressions, they were just as surprised as he was, so he couldn't be too mad at them. It was just a good thing he had magic sense to warn him of the incoming threat.
"What's that?" He asked, unsure of the unfamiliar sounding thing. Will once again pulled a bottle out of thin air, then tossed it to Tormund who caught it, looking puzzled at the clear liquid.
"Water?" Tormund asked, not seeing what was so special about it.
"Take a drink." Will said, smirking at the big man. Doubting Will would have to resort to poisoning to kill him, Tormund popped the cork from the bottle before bringing it to his lips.
He got half a swallow down before he quickly pulled the bottle away from his mouth and began coughing and sputtering.
When he finally settled down, he looked from the bottle and then to Will before saying, "That'll put hair on your chest!! HAHA!!" Will joined him in laughing, even going so far as to show him how flammable the substance was.
The two were getting along kind of well, both of them completely ignoring those around them as they laughed.
It wasn't until Elia got out of the sleigh and walked over towards Will that he finally was brought back to reality. Most eyes were on Elia as she approached, her standing out due to the bright blue frilly dress she was wearing.
"I know you just made a friend, but are we going to be leaving soon?" She asked curiously, getting a laugh from Oberyn, Ellaria, and Drox, the joke being about Will making a friend. The number of friends he had was slim to none, but that was kind of how he preferred it.
"Yeah, Tormund was just leaving." Will told her, then as an afterthought, he tossed Tormund an axe with a Dragonglass blade, and two Dragonglass daggers.
"Stab a walker with one of those, and it'll stay dead." Will explained, getting wide gleaming eyes from the man.
"I'll be sure to test 'em out before the next time I see ya, lad!!" Tormund said, then moved back towards his group, ushering them to head back to camp.
Originally he wanted to bring Will back to Mance and have Will join up with them, or at least get Will to show them how to fight the dead, but he doubted Will would have even considered going to meet Mance, let alone join him.
Still, he accomplished something in meeting the terrifying boy. He figured out how to kill the dead, Segrin got shot, and he got a fun new drink. Well worth the trip.
Once Tormund and the other Freefolk left, Will and the others were back at full speed, heading towards the mountain in the Frostfangs where they would cross over into the Bay of Ice.
It took a few more days of travel, but eventually they got there without any further delays, then spent another full day trekking through the mountain before sailing across the bay of ice back to Asteria.
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Getting back to Asteria, Will was quite surprised to see a number of foreign ships anchored in the harbor. Really it wasn't the ships themselves, but the sigil on said ships.
"What are the Lions doing here?!" Oberyn spat out, his hands instinctively going towards his weapons.
"Let's go see!" Will said, his own curiosity getting to him.
First and foremost, Will would make sure Elia, Aegon, Rhaenys, and Daenerys were out of view, then he would see about finding whoever was here.
He didn't think it would go over well if he killed a Lannister envoy in the city, but he would still do so to keep them secret for now. At least until they were all ready.
Jon would of course be with the rest of the Targaryens, but it wasn't really a requirement for him to hide, given he already had a perfect cover.
Pulling in next to the docks, Will unloaded the horses and the people before he stored it away in his inventory, then pulled out a carriage before harnessing two of the horses up to it.
All four Targaryens and Elia got inside before Will began to drive them to his mansion. He had only made it a little over 200 yards before a group of 15 unfamiliar knights decked out in heavy armor and wearing red cloaks came out from a nearby tavern and blocked the road.
It was about a minute later that Dacey rode up behind the group of knights with 20 Asterian soldiers, all of them pointing crossbows with armor piercing bolts loaded and ready to fire.
Funny enough, the GreatJon Umber appeared out from a building across the way, a wide shit eating grin on his face.
"Clear out of my path before I kill you all!!" Will declared, his eyes narrowed as he looked towards the nervous looking knights.
"And kill the envoy of the king?!" A voice shouted from the doorway of the building the knights had all come from.
Turning to look at the man, Will saw a handsome man, with curled hair the color of beaten gold with flashing cat-green eyes, and a smile that cut like a knife.
He was muscular, but not to an absurd degree. He wore golden armor with a crown engraved on the chest plate, with a bright white cloak on his back. He didn't look like any man Will had seen from the series, but he could take an educated guess.
'Member of the kings guard, Lannister bodyguards, and blonde hair. Jamie Lannister!' Will thought, thinking this guy looked quite a bit different from the guy who played him in the show.
"I'll say this one more time. Get out of my way, or I'll kill you all! I won't ask a third time!" Will stated, looking as though he was about ready to act on that threat.
The Lannister knights all seemed to shoot a glance towards the man who Will was certain was Jamie, getting a nod from him before they all marched off to the side of the street.
"You must be William Castian! My name is Jamie Lannister, and I've heard quite a bit about you!" Jamie said cheerfully, as though he was about to recount a funny story.
"Can't say the same about you." Will said evenly, then without another word he cracked the reins, spurring the horses forward.
Trojan, who was tied to the back of the carriage, shook his big head as they passed by the knights, almost as if he was asking how someone could be so stupid as to block the path of a monster like his owner.
The big giant dire wolf following the horse was a sight for everyone to see, but no one really freaked out about it.
Seeing Will go, Jamie began to move forward to intercept, but a big meaty figure blocked his path.
"Why not let the lad rest?! He just got home after all!" The GreatJon said, not about to let a Lannister have his way in the North. Not if he could help it anyway.
Seeing the big man, Jamie wisely backed off. Of everyone in Westeros, GreatJon Umber was one of the few Jamie would choose to stay away from.
He of course believed he could win in a fight between them using superior speed and skill, but he couldn't win against an entire city, which would be the case if he happened to kill the GreatJon, and that was a big IF.
As Jamie watched the young man he knew to be William Castian, the words of his father played in the back of his mind.
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Flashback
(Jamie POV)
In the Red Keep, Jamie was standing next to his kings guard brothers before King Robert and his sister, Queen Cersei.
"Ally of the North, but has not sworn allegiance to the crown!!" Robert barked out, repeating the contents of a raven he had gotten from his dear friend, Ned Stark.
The letter was about some boy whose name was spreading all over the world faster than Robert could drink himself into some whore's bed, and Jamie couldn't help but be a bit curious about this, William Castian.
It was true they had only gotten this letter from the Warden of the North after Jon Aryn had sent a raven to Ned, inquiring about the rumours of a city being sprung up overnight, and how it was being governed over by the same young man who had turned the world upside down.
When news first reached them of such a thing, Robert hadn't so much as batted an eye, figuring if the young man was anything like the rumours described, then he would no doubt come to the capital on his own accord and bend the knee to him.
Jamie himself couldn't see how Robert came to such a conclusion, but the fat drunk did a lot of things that Jamie couldn't really wrap his head around to begin with.
It had been a few months with more rumours spreading about how William Castian had refused to pay taxes to the king, and eventually those rumours got to Robert, who finally decided to have his Hand do something about it, and now they were discovering the fruits of the Hand's 'hard work'.
"He should be executed! Your Warden of the North should have seen to that when he refused to bend the knee!" Cersei declared firmly, speaking her mind when it wasn't needed nor asked.
"Is that wise, my queen?" Varys asked quickly, hoping to get a word in before the queen convinced Robert to do something monumentally stupid.
Seeing he had Robert's attention, Varys continued, "If even half of the rumours are true about Castian, the crown could ill-afford to make an enemy out of him. From what we've gathered, the North is prospering with him being where he is. It's true he might not pay taxes, but with the rise in trade from across the Narrow Sea, taxes are in fact higher than they were in the past years. Not only that, there has been a significant rise in population in the North. Apparently settlers from all over Westeros and Essos have made their way to the North and are not just going to the new city created by Castian, but are settling down in cities all over the North. If that wasn't enough, then perhaps his relationship with the Iron Bank might change your mind? After all, the crown is almost what... two million Gold Dragons in debt to them?"
`Leave it to Varys to speak some sense.' Jamie thought internally, already bored of the topic.
"Those are just baseless rumours! The Iron Bank doesn't take on partners!" Cersei exclaimed, having heard that line of speech one too many times, with no actual facts to back it up.
"Their actions, or lack thereof speak for themselves!" Varys said, perplexed how this was still under debate.
"Does a dragon crush every worm claiming to be a dragon? It is obviously beneath them to bother with every commoner looking for attention!" Cersei stated, hoping that Robert wouldn't lay down just because someone claimed to have great ties with the Iron Bank.
The room was silent for a minute before Jon Aryn stepped forward next to Robert, then spoke, "I think it would be in the best interest of the crown if we summoned William Castian to the capital to swear his allegiance to King Robert."
His words were met with a few shouts of agreement from the nobles standing off to the side, while only a few nobles agreed with Cersei. While everyone was busy making decisions 'for the realm', Jamie was lost in thought as he wondered what it would be like to see a real live dragon flying through the skies.
He was brought out of his musings when Cersei began talking about sending an envoy North to Asteria.
"As to who should go, I think a member of the King's Guard should be sent with a contingent of knights. I would trust this task to Ser Jamie Lannister!" Cersei said proudly, or at least what Jamie assumed she thought looked proud.
For as long as he could remember, she had never been proud of anything since she married Robert.
"It would be my honor to serve the king!" Jamie bowed his head towards Robert, though he simply imagined that it was Cersei he was bowing to instead of the fatso, seeing as how she was sitting right next to him.
He of course said the words because it was expected of him, though if he was being honest with himself, he was kind of excited to get away from Robert for a while.
There was little else to be said on the matter, and after the discussion came to an end, Jamie followed Jon Aryn to the Tower of the Hand and waited while the man wrote out the summons to the Capital for Castian, then stamped it with Robert's sigil.
"Ride to Lannisport, a ship will be waiting to take you to Asteria." The old Hand instructed him, then without any pomp or flare, turned and walked to his chambers.
This was one of the main reasons Jamie got along with the man. He didn't need the pomp and glamour that anyone else in his position would have expected, though that didn't necessarily mean he liked him.
'He's a fool!' Jamie thought, not knowing how a man like Jon Aryn could be stupid enough to go along with the wishes of someone like Robert. The man was all fat and wine.
Then again, Jamie was arguably the bigger fool of the two, him being a glorified watch dog for the fat king.
'Whatever!' Jamie thought, not wanting to go down that road again. For too long he had cursed Robert after becoming a King's Guard for the man, and he had enough of pitying himself.
"It's been awhile since I've seen my brother!" He mumbled excitedly to himself as he moved down the halls.
He would leave for Lannisport today, choosing to get going sooner rather than later, only before he left he was going to stop by Cersei's room, like he usually did before he went off somewhere.
With them being brother and sister, no one really thought twice about it. Not bothering to knock, Jamie let himself in, only to be greeted with the sight of his sister completely naked laying on her bed.
Barring the door, Jamie quickly moved to remove his armor and clothes, or at least the bits that would hinder his movements.
"I want you to do something for me." Cersei said matter-of-factly.
"Anything!" Jamie stated, knowing there really wasn't much option here. If he said no, he would get no more of his sister, and his life as a king's guard would be worthless.
He wasn't here for Robert, he was here solely for his sister. It was true he had made vows, but all it would take was one word to his father and Robert would release him from those vows. After all, no one refused Tywin Lannister, not even the King.
"When you meet this William Castian, I want you to find out how much of the rumours about him are true, and if he truly is as great as they say, tell him who he should really swear his allegiance to." Cersei said, not really surprising Jamie in the least.
She had a power complex the size of Westeros, and in her eyes the kingdom wouldn't function without her, despite it being run into the ground.
Getting a strong vassal like William Castian was something Jamie could totally see her do, it being her nature and all.
"Of course!" He agreed, then leapt into her waiting embrace. He wasn't sure how things would go, but it didn't seem like it would be too hard to sway someone to be closer to her than Robert. Gold spoke volumes after all, and no one was richer than the Lannister's.
When they finally finished up, Cersei wrote out her own private summons to William Castian, entrusting that Jamie would give it to the man if he confirmed the man to be useful. If not, then Jamie would burn the letter before it ever reached the wrong hands.
With that finally done, Jamie departed from the capital to Lannisport. The ride wasn't overly long, Jamie having made the same trip more times than he could count, but it was kind of boring.
There was no bandit attack or anything, after all no one wanted to risk attacking a bunch of knights on horseback.
Jamie had barely been in Lannisport for all of five minutes before a rider rode up to him. "Pardon me, Ser Jamie! Lord Tywin requests your presence!" The man said, only Jamie heard it differently. 'Your father wants to talk to you!'
Tywin never requested anything, at least not that Jamie had seen. Even the deals he had made with the Iron Bank in the last year and a half weren't requests, but propositions.
He had made points, brokered a deal, and was holding one of the largest contracts with one of the greatest powers in the known world. It was a steady flow of income for House Lannister.
Not only did Tywin supply large shipments of potatoes to the Iron Bank, he sold their new drink to all of the major houses in Westeros, completely monopolizing the entire trade on the continent for the alcoholic drink.
Knowing that it would be best not to keep his father waiting, Jamie informed the knights with him to seek lodgings as they would depart at sunrise, then rode the few extra miles north of Lannisport to Casterly Rock, the stronghold of House Lannister, which looms over the city's northern skyline.
It took almost an hour, but Jamie arrived at his childhood home mere hours before sunset, not stopping until he was standing outside his father's solar.
Unlike his sister's room, Jamie knocked on the door, then waited patiently for the loud "Enter!" before opening the door and walking in.
"Hello, father! It's good to see you!" Jamie said respectively, moving to take a seat in front of his father's desk.
"I understand you're going North to Asteria... to William Castian's home." Tywin said calmly, though it was more of a statement than anything.
"Yes. Robert wants me to summon him to the capital to swear fealty." Jamie said, noticing instantly how his father furrowed his brows at his words.
"Listen to me. When you meet, Castian, don't take him lightly, and be respectful. Deliver Robert's summons, but don't do anything else." Tywin ordered, completely confusing Jamie.
"You want me to... ignore the orders of the king?" Jamie asked confusedly.
"That oaf never instructed you to do more than summon him, which you will have done if you give him the summons written by the Hand of the King! At no point were you ordered to try and force Castian into coming back to King's Landing!" Tywin said, surprising Jamie.
"You'd have me travel all the way to the far reaches of the north to deliver a message, then return with nothing to show for it?" Jamie asked, not understanding why his father was telling him to do this.
"Castian is more dangerous than you could possibly begin to fathom!! There is a reason Ned Stark didn't try to force the man into swearing fealty, and that's because he knew he couldn't. The Warden of the North isn't a smart man, but he's smarter than the fools at court!" Tywin stated, surprising Jamie once again.
"I didn't take you to believe in baseless rumours that-" Jamie started to say, but Tywin cut him off.
"You're a fool if you don't believe in facts! He conquered the Stepstones single handedly!! He killed almost fifty thousand Dothraki on open ground!! He attacked the Iron Bank before joining into an alliance with them!! He clearly wields power better than Robert Baratheon drinks wine!" Tywin listed the facts before him, and yes, at this point he knew them to be facts.
Not only had some of his acquaintances in the Iron Bank confirmed it, but some of his own men had confirmed it as well when they went across the Narrow Sea.
The Stepstones were nothing like he remembered from the War of the Nine Penny Kings, and the thousands of Dothraki horses residing in Pentos were enough to confirm that the Dothraki had at least suffered severe casualties.
Then when he went into trade with the Iron Bank, they made sure to confirm whether or not he was at odds with William Castian, which under normal circumstances would have been weird, but Tywin knew better.
"I'll not have you go North just to die because the fool on the throne wants to feel like he is actually a king! You will heed my words, and don't anger the man who could end your life in the blink of an eye!!"
(End of Flashback)
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'He didn't look all that inhuman to me.' Jamie thought in annoyance. Still, he came here with a purpose, and he was at least going to give the young man the summons.
'Who knows, maybe I'll get a chance to see his strength for myself!' Jamie thought with a hint of amusement playing across his face. It wasn't everyday that he got to end the rumours of a 'monster'.
Oh how he would come to regret that thought.
