20 Best Vineyards of all of Westeros and Elite Archers

SATIN'S POV

Hightower's Castle, Oldtown.

'The sky…It's so blue! The clouds… so white!' I told myself for who knows what time by now, as I stared out of the window, losing myself in the immensity of everything here on the surface. 'And the clarity the sun brings to the world…is overwhelmingly beautiful.'

After spending the entire morning gazing outside through the windows of the first castle I visited in my life, I was finally brought back from my thoughts after hearing a familiar voice calling for me.

"Satin, is everything alright?" The voice in question asked me, avoiding startling me with sudden physical contact, probably already knowing of my awful past.

Standing behind the boy that spoke to me, I saw a cute looking cat of black fur and a very tall knight with shining armor that resembled… from what I've just recently learned… a lion.

Rogue told me that he and this knight…named Knight… were from the same homeland, as well as other two people I've yet to meet.

"It is, my prince." I finally replied with a quick bow, feeling once again the gentle fabric of my recently gifted fine clothes rubbing gently against my skin. "Just delighting myself with this view while digesting the delicious meal I ate today."

"You do well to enjoy it, most people are so desensitized by the gods' many blessings that they are no longer capable of truly appreciating the miracles of this world." The chosen messiah of the gods said to me in a friendly manner and smiled, his cat staring at me as if it understood my words. "And please, I've already told you, there's no need to act so formal while we are not socializing with other noble houses."

"I-I my…But…" I stuttered in embarrassment but eventually conceded to his point, albeit in a not so eloquent way. "I'm sorry, my…p-er, Don."

For some reason that caught me by surprise, although he indeed had already said such a thing, I wasn't capable of understanding why.

And I couldn't explain it, but something in him was just so… magical. And I wasn't talking about his eyes of different colors or well kept mismatched hair. Or how he towered over me both physically and mentally despite our age gap.

No, that simply wasn't it.

The crown prince of the Seven Kingdoms suddenly sighed in amusement at my botched reply, probably getting tired of my clumsiness, but made no remarks.

Despite his status, Prince Durrandon wasn't the type to look down on people.

And from what Rogue told me, he was mature enough to understand that a ruler required to know more about his subjects if he expected to rule them fairly, thus why I met him so far away from the capital.

"Don, I've already prepared all of your things for our leave." A girl, around my age, joined us and spoke to him with great elegance. "And Lord Gerion has also finished unloading his goods for trade on the city's market and supplying the ship for our voyage to the Arbor."

As the crown prince acknowledged and thanked the girl's assistance, I briefly recalled everything I knew from this girl.

She, just like me, was someone of low birth that the Crown prince had accepted into his care. With the curious name of Pia, she seemed rather cold towards me at first, but with time it seemed I've earned enough of her confidence.

From what we spoke, I got the impression that she would kiss the ground Prince Durrandon stepped on if it wasn't for his disencouragement of such behavior. Frankly, the little I knew of this Pia girl was that it probably made her want to kiss it even more.

But I didn't blame her, the prince was indeed an extraordinary individual.

"Don, I've already split your legionnaires, the best are already waiting for you while the others were sent ahead to Hornhill. Are you ready to go? " Another giant of a knight casually asked, this one had his face hidden beneath a helm in the shape of a snarling hound.

"Yes, Clegane." The prince nodded before turning to me once again, prompting the cat I now recalled being named Shadow to climb up to his shoulder. "Shall we?"

"Yes… Don." I struggled a little, but eventually succeeded in treating him like a friend.

Walking down the endless stairs of this impressive building and I took a final look at all the fine tapestry of this place, we boarded a small ship that immediately took us to the harbor.

Coming to see us off, our generous hosts met the prince and his small retinue on their exclusive segment of the docks in Oldtown, as rulers of the city.

Before distracting myself by the body of water so big it disputed dominance with the sky, proven by how both salty waves and cold breeze instigated each other, I behaved myself while standing next to Prince Durrandon.

"My prince, we are all honored for having you stay with us in this passing month." The man named Baelor told the Prince in a polite tone, as he and the rest of us had all of our preparations ready to leave their city by ship. "And once again I'm deeply sorry for my father's continuous absence. His current condition has already made me go through several sleepless nights."

The other Hightower members always seemed uneasy every time Lord Leyton's nonattendance was brought up. Even if some were less apologetic of their Lord's terrible manners than others, none were willing to shame their house by openly admitting that, at least to their eyes, Lord Hightower had gone mad.

'Not in public anyways. They weren't that careful with their words whenever the Crown prince wasn't around.' I told myself while sighting the top of the Hightower even from here. I couldn't help myself from recalling what I heard while being mistaken by a servant of their household.

'Opportunities in disguise' as Rogue had taught me, given how nobles would say things around servants they wouldn't normally say to figures like the Prince or his more notorious followers.

"The honor has been entirely mine, ser. The hospitality of your house is truly worthy of praise." Prince Durrandon reciprocated the man's previous politeness with a gentle smile, inferring that even with his royal army constantly sending enough supplies to cover the expenses demanded of a royal guest, it must have been quite tiresome to have us all around for an entire month. "And you have nothing to worry about from me. In truth, I want you to know that I'm terribly sorry for your father's serious health condition and that all my prayers are with him."

"I appreciate that, my prince. And also, I must insist that having you with us has been no trouble at all. The maesters of the Citadel sung many praises of your patronage of their prestigious work and services to the realm." Baelor Hightower replied with a genuine smile, subtly changing subjects away from his sire. "Please, come visit us again whenever you feel like it! Until then, we all wish you and your men safe travels and godspeed."

As the Crown Prince finished saying good bye to all of the Hightowers, taking much longer with the young lady named Lynesse who seemed to act a little too boldly before the Royal prince and his Lannister companions, we all boarded the beautiful ship at our disposal and immediately set sail.

During our voyage, I looked for opportunities to show my gratitude to everything Prince Durrandon had provided to me, while also wondering when I would see Rogue again.

"Greetings, young man." I heard someone suddenly called me once I began helping the girl named Pia, surprisingly not mistaking me for a girl this time.

Turning to face the owner of that voice, I noticed that it was as a beautiful man of long silver hair and purple eyes, dressed in a distinctive attire consisting of a long wide piece of woolen white cloth worn over the shoulders with an opening for the head and purple garments.

Behind him was a handsome man with short raven hair and blue eyes, dressed like a rich merchant with an expensive-looking lute strapped on his back.

These two seemed like two halves of the Crown prince, with eyes of each color of his and his mismatched hair of black and silver.

Come to think of it, even Ser Knight seemed to pay homage to the young prince, with the theme of Lion in his armor that the Prince was going for with the Royal Legion's banner.

"M-my l-lords…" I quickly bowed to them, having no clue of who they really were but knowing better than to risk insulting them.

"Heh, don't be silly, Satin." Pia chuckled at my expense before pulling me to stand.

"There's no need to bow, kid." The man with dark hair and blue eyes told me while the previous one nodded in agreement. "Neither of us are Lords or Knights."

"Bard, Monk… it's so good to see you two!" Pia finally spoke, revealing to me who these individuals were and by their uncommon names I immediately deducted their relationship with Rogue.

'Are these guys magical, just like him?' I wondered, recalling the way I saw the servant of the Stranger disappearing in thin air, only to reappear behind a thug of the undercity and slit his throat.

"Likewise, my dear. But I'm afraid Lord Tyrion didn't seem to share your enthusiasm, at least for my arrival anyway." Monk replied with an amicable smile and fake concern, hinting that the shrugging man standing besides him and the short Lannister were close friends. "In any event, I hope that big brooding guy hasn't been that much of a trouble for you and the prince."

"No trouble at all." Pia said while smiling at the laugh the man named Bard gave. "Actually, quite the contrary. His commitment to his knighthood duties knows no bounds, for he was the one to guard the Prince's door during every night, leaving Ser Clegane well rested to cover for him during the day. Although his lack of words might sometimes be a little too intimidating, I've grown somewhat used to it."

Ignoring all the headache forming with such terrible names, I eventually assumed they were talking about Ser Knight and finally asked. "Are you two gentlemen friends with Ser Knight? And…Ro…"

"Yes, we are. Hence why we've approached you." Bard immediately replied, interrupting me mid sentence. "Pia, my dear, would you mind giving us some privacy?"

"Not at all. I still have plenty to do before we reach our destination." Pia shook her head before rolling up her sleeves, not seeming curious even in the slightest. "I will leave you three alone then."

Once we were left alone in the ship's kitchen, with the occasional Marine passing by to accomplish one of their tasks and duties, we began talking.

"So, what's your opinion on the Crown Prince?" Bard suddenly asked, surprising me a little with his lack of subtlety, posing a stark contrast with the cryptic way that Rogue always spoke to me.

"He's…special." I decided to be honest with my response, trusting their confidence in the privacy of the place we found ourselves in. "Rogue told me he is supposed to be a chosen of both the New and Old Gods, but only after spending some time with him I understood why. I don't know how to explain it yet."

As both men nodded, Monk remarked. "That's reassuring, young man. But we would like to hear if your opinion ever changes about him."

I must've perked my eyebrow too much for them to notice my confusion, because soon after that the man named Bard explained his companions' words. "Nothing to worry about, kid. We just want to watch his progress, for much relies on him and everything could be lost if he isn't ready before the time arrives."

Although the man's mysterious speech of fate was naturally even more worrisome to an orphan raised in the hell that was the undercity like me, something in the way he spoke and carried himself calmed me down.

Deciding to change subjects, I politely asked. "If it's not a problem to ask, I would like to know where's Rogue."

Both men shared an amused chuckle to what appeared to be an inside joke before Monk revealed to me something. "He's on this ship with us, probably just hiding behind Knight's shadow."

That clearly confused me since I never noticed him interacting with Ser Knight. 'Why would a dangerous man like Rogue have to hide behind someone? Was Ser Knight just as powerful?'

But before I could ask more questions, the two men nodded their heads and excused themselves, leaving me alone wondering what all of that meant.

'Hmm…?' I suddenly sensed a strange smell.

It wasn't terrible, quite the opposite, but despite not recalling sensing it before, it felt strangely familiar as it sent chills down my spine and ruffled my hair.

Walking around the ship, I heard the Marines confused about smelling rain but noticing how clear the skies and calm the sea were.

————————————————————————

DURRANDON'S POV

'That smell of ozone once again…' I mentally sighed, quickly hiding the scent my Magic left behind, while satisfied with the progress I've made with my older half-brother. 'I guess there's no helping it, it is but a small price for more potent magic.'

As the ship belonging to my Royal Legion's Marine force took us through the divide between the honeywine river and sunset sea, with the weather being exactly what my Thaumaturgy cantrip foretold me it would be, I took my time to check my progress while meditating with the sea waves and breeze leading us to our destination.

From all the stats I've raised to the countless new perks I've unlocked, I had plenty to assimilate, hence the importance of this contemplation.

Initially, since my Points were abundant at five per new level reward, I had bought several just because I liked the way most of them sounded, later I got humbled with the notion of how steep the cost to raise my stats were becoming, and wasn't willing to buy anything that wasn't completely essential to me.

But since my titles have appeared and changed this matter, I was once again more than open for improvements.

[94 POINTS REMAINING]

I've already acquired around twenty two perks, which while some weren't that much impressive by themselves, created a solid foundation to the minimaxing build I was striving for.

The quintessential ones being Prodigy and Sleep is for the Dead, essentially doubling all the XP I earned and preventing me from wasting a fourth of my time sleeping, freeing it so I could continue to grind to exhaustion my skills and stats during every night while still keeping up with the necessary social interactions I had to fulfill during the day.

Player's Mind and Body at first seemed to be nothing more than giving me full control of both my facial and body language as well as my ability to live this life as a game, which was already useful as hell in terms of practicality, but also gave me some sort of peace of mind to make rational decisions and better use my Intelligence stat.

They granted me, besides the perks of an unrealistic body, to keep a straight face while persuading as well as intimidating Tywin Lannister, while also not letting myself get frightened of the nightmarish hordes of undeads I've been dealing with, which from what I recalled seemed to be ruining the Old Lion's nights more than the looming rebellion of the wannabe Vikings.

Added it to my Mental Map and Inventory, and I was what any respectable Gamer ought to be, as I was capable of sort of echolocating myself and my surroundings, like back in that Dungeon filled with magical darkness, while also having the completely broken mini-version of an endless pocket dimension, that made storing and equipping things a trivial matter.

Metamagic Genius put me on track to become one of the strongest spellcasters, right after I had discovered that I was a sorcerer of both Draconic and Divine heritage. With it I could simultaneously twin all of my spells, effectively cutting its cost in half, while also making it so subtle to the point that I could actually walk around with my arms crossed behind my back.

Surprisingly, Chemist and Physician boosted my chances of understanding both Necromancy and Abjuration as more than just raising undeads and casting magical barriers, like understanding healing magic and brewing of elixirs.

Meanwhile Linguistic gave me the necessary edge to decipher several recipes of magical infusions I got from the Alchemist Guild, which I was confident would be directly responsible for allowing Alysse to give the final steps of turning my Artificer title into a profitable professional for my Alchemist Guild, and make cryptic languages to safely communicate with my associates like Chataya, Mott and Hallyne.

Doubling down on my perception, I got Observant, Alert and Sentinel. A really awesome combination, if I may say so.

The first made me capable of easily noticing the inscriptions carved around each dungeon's entrances and immediately spot any hidden traps without having to linger around for long or risk missing anything. The second paradoxically enough, made me less paranoid, since I didn't have to fear any sneak attack thanks to my own version of spider sense tingling every time something looked at me with bloodlust. While the third gave me considerable control of the battlefield, striking whenever my opponents dropped their guards and reliably knocking them prone for a brief moment for me to exploit.

Another great combo was Diplomat, Empathic and Actor. Mostly for the sake of cheating with social encounters since there was no official Charisma stat, with both the prospect of being a master in persuasion and deception in the white canvas that I was thanks to Player's Mind, and also having great insight on what others desired in order to use it for my own personal gains.

Crossbow Expert and Sharpshooter made me the next coming of Bullseye, Green Arrow and Hawkeye with basically any ranged attack, but most importantly with the awesomeness that was the experience of using a Crossbow as if it was simultaneously a shotgun, an automatic rifle and a sniper, depending on the occasion and need.

Only problem was that it was so effective with my Dragonbone Crossbow that even my offensive spells weren't worth the cost of my mana, which made it unnecessarily difficult to prioritize during my grinding. Proof of that was how long it took for me to unlock both Dual Wielder and Superior Technique in order to live the fantasy of fighting like Kirito and many other badass characters that defied common combat logic.

By the time I got more titles to compensate for the cost of Points, I had suffered enough with the expensive price of 3 points for each Stat raise and the scarcity of perks that provided something like it.

Now, onto new territory…

While the less impressive were quickly ignored and forgotten, with Lightly and Moderately Armored being dismissed since I was aiming to get Heavily Armored thanks to my ability to instantly equip it through my inventory, the few outstanding ones caught my attention.

{PERKS}

<AVAILABLE PERKS>

First…

{TUTOR} (COST 4 POINTS)

*As someone who can impart knowledge onto others, given your knack to explain concepts in clearer ways, you gain the ability to do the following: After spending a short period of time with a student, you can teach them a specific skill or title you already possess. The time you need to spend teaching them depends on your intelligence and the intelligence of your student. The title you teach them is not the full version, but rather a downgraded version of it. For the complete version of the title, your student must still unlock it for themselves.

My great treasure which I couldn't wait to put to use with my Legionaries after the success I had with Tic, making him a respectable Rogue Monk, with features like Martial Arts and Sneak Attacks.

Can you imagine an army of Fighters/Barbarians? Capable of simultaneously Action Surging and Raging whenever the fight got ugly!

And that's without considering all the other possible combinations I had at my disposal.

[- 4 POINTS]

{WAR CASTER} (COST: 5 POINTS)

*You have practiced casting spells in the midst of combat, showing wit to assess tactical situations and act quickly in battle, learning techniques that grant you the following benefits: You have great advantage on maintaining your concentration on a spell since it will reinforce whatever barriers you have protecting you, and some of your spells have their casting time reduced, from 6 seconds to instantly, aiding you to be the one to strike first.

Concentration had yet to be a big deal with the spells I currently had in hands during combat, but I knew that rather sooner than later I would have to endure some beating since some spells would certainly require me to maintain focus in order to keep their magic active, and if I lose it, such a spell would end.

Which was most likely to happen after taking damage or being surprised by an unexpected shift of the scenery, given that maintaining focus on a spell was like rationalizing a complex mathematical problem or reciting a very long and complicated poem without written help in keeping track of it.

Even though I had Alert to lend me a hand to avoid those situations, I'd prefer to avoid having to go through such an annoying situation at all costs.

[- 5 POINTS]

And to my surprise, just like with how Superior Technique made me a Battlemaster Fighter, I got a Trait out of it for my Wizard title.

[WIZARD TRAIT UNLOCKED: WAR MAGIC!]

[A variety of arcane colleges specialize in training wizards for war. The tradition of War Magic blends principles of all schools put to practice on the battlefield. It teaches techniques that empower a caster's spells, while also providing methods for wizards to bolster their own defenses. Followers of this tradition are known as War Mages. They see their magic as both a weapon and armor, a resource superior to any piece of steel. War mages act fast in battle, using their spells to seize tactical control of a situation. Their spells strike hard, while their defensive skills foil their opponents' attempts to counterattack. War mages are also adept at turning other spellcasters' magical energy against them.]

[FEATURE UNLOCKED: ARCANE DEFLECTION!]

*You have learned to instinctively weave your magic to fortify yourself against harm. Whenever you are targeted by an attack, while guarded by magical barriers, you can choose between reflecting back or absorbing a third of the damage.

[FEATURE UNLOCKED: SPELLCASTER SURGE!]

*You can store magical energy within yourself to later empower your damaging spells, effectively doubling its damage. You can store a maximum number of power surges equal to your Wizard level. Whenever you finish a short rest, your number of power surges resets to one. Whenever you successfully end a spell by either dispelling or countering it, you gain one power surge, as you steal magic from the spell you foiled. If you end a short rest with no power surges, you gain one power surge.

Yup, I was already a Wizard nerd with my Order of Scribes trait, why not a war veteran Wizard? Besides, if the best defense is a good offense, so must be a good defense the best offense. Just need to find a way of dispelling or countering someone else's spells.

But that's neither here nor there for now.

{MAGIC INITIATE} (COST: 6 POINTS)

*First Class spells no longer cost you mana, Second Class spells cost you 50% less and Third Class spells cost a third less of their usual cost to be casted.

First class as cantrips, second ones for 10 points each and the, up to this point, unreachable third class for 20 points instead.

No arguments needed.

Excellent for continuing to grind their levels up and really practical to kinda have the worth of my Mana points increased. Besides, that would certainly make things easier for Alysse and anyone else of my party that I deemed worthy enough to trust the secrets of arcane knowledge.

[- 6 POINTS]

{CHEF} (COST: 4 POINTS)

*Time and effort spent mastering the culinary arts has paid off. You gain the following benefits: You gain proficiency with cook's utensils if you don't already have it. You can instantly cook special food, provided you have ingredients and cook's utensils on hand. Any creature who eats the food regenerates their health, stamina and mana faster for the next couple of hours. These special treats last 8 hours after being made.

Basically allowing me to more easily brew more healing potions without drawing too much attention, and that boost to regeneration of all my bars was nothing to scoff at.

Having said that, I was really tempted to not take it since it seems to not be as good as the previous two, but remembering how useful Physician and Chemist were in mastering medicine and chemistry, I end up betting that I could learn something more about Alchemy through it.

[- 4 POINTS]

{KEEN MIND} (COST: 5 POINTS)

*You have a mind that can track time, direction and detail with uncanny precision. You gain the following benefits: You always know which way is north. You always know the number of hours left before the next sunrise or sunset. You can accurately recall anything you have seen or heard before.

Another no-brainer since it could speed my learning curve for basically any skill, especially now that I've basically read an entire library worth of knowledge.

Besides, adding this to Observant, I could finally read a large book in seconds by merely flipping through the pages with my photographic memory.

However, thinking about it for a moment left me really pissed for a hot minute, wondering how fast, if not outright useless, it would've made my efforts to list every book, scroll and even parchment stored on the Citadel. But I found solace in the notion that it was that same effort that allowed me to unlock this perk.

[- 5 POINTS]

{MOBILE} (COST: 4 POINTS)

*You are exceptionally speedy and agile. You gain the following benefits: Your base running speed is naturally doubled. When you dash or run on difficult terrain of any kind it doesn't disturb you. When you attempt to make a melee attack against a creature, you don't expose yourself to opportunity attacks from that creature, whether you hit it or miss.

I guess this is what I got from raising my Mobility this high.

Still, although running around cities while performing parkour doesn't seem to be a problem for me and I had my Wild Shape to compensate for moving around in the wilderness, I'm pretty confident this would be a perfect fit for my Water Dance style.

Not to mention I could always use the boost of speed, so I could finally sprint through a full marathon.

[- 4 POINTS]

{RUNNING Lv - 30 (45%)}

{ALLOWS YOU TO MOVE FASTER. YOU CAN TRAVERSE LONGER DISTANCES QUICKER FOR LONGER PERIOD OF TIME.}

{COSTS -1 SP PER MINUTE. MAX VELOCITY: 40 KM/H.}

Nice. That's much faster and considerably less tiresome than it must be to most athletic humans.

{TOUGH} (COST: 5 POINTS)

*Your Health bar maximum doubles immediately and increases twice as fast per level when you gain this perk. Increases your Endurance stat by 2.

My Draconic resilience already doubled my Stamina bar, so this really comes in handy. Plus the extra stat was always welcomed.

[- 5 POINTS]

{DUNGEON DELVER} (COST: 2 POINTS)

*Alert to the hidden traps and secret doors found in many dungeons, you gain the following benefits: You become more nimble, gaining expertise with acrobatics of all kinds. You become stronger, gaining expertise with athletics of all kinds. Increases both your Power and Mobility stat by 1.

Nice little boost.

Am I walking towards the path of weightlifting mammoths and running nonstop for days while also becoming near immortal?!

Of course I am! Sign me in!

[- 2 POINTS]

{SKULKER} (COST: 3 POINTS)

*You are an expert at slinking through shadows. You gain the following benefits: You can easily hide when you are lightly obscured from the creature from which you are hiding. And knows how to blend in even during daytime. Plus, when you are hidden from a creature, making any ranged weapon attack or silent ranged spell doesn't immediately reveal your position.

My Stealth stat had finally provided me with a perk to go along with it that didn't solely rely on my perception of my surroundings.

Not gonna lie, kinda weak, but it was still the least expensive I could get, and the prospect of being an untraceable stalker had its appeal to me.

[- 3 POINTS]

{ARTIFICER GENIUS} (COST: 3 POINTS)

*You've gained the ability to come up with inventive solutions for rune smithery and alchemy even under pressure. Your Elixirs and Infusions are much more potent and less toxic, costing less material as well as requiring less time to be crafted.

I guess it's useful, since I've been really struggling to make even a single copy of each. Plus it helps with the idea of mass producing and stockpiling it.

Also not that groundbreaking, but solid enough with that price.

[- 3 POINTS]

(41 POINTS SPENT)

[53 POINTS REMAINING]

Good enough for now, better save something for later.

As for my titles themselves, I've made some major progress, given how I previously almost had 100 spare Points to spend…

As a Sorcerer, I've finally earned my eighth level after constantly meditating over the energies of both the Feywild and Shadowfell.

Even the secret Valyrian tomes and scrolls I stole from the Citadel's private collection had helped me out, not that much from their content that mentioned some small trivia of the Valyrian freehold and dragon physiology, but from the residual magical aura still lingering on it.

My Draconic Bloodline and Storm Deity Soul allowed me to finally channel a fragment of the destructive waves of energy, like those created by the dragons. And let me tell you, they were much stronger than my Chromatic Orb.

For now it was still restricted to only comes of lightning and thunder, which was already amazing by itself, given that I could kind of breath 'force lightning' and 'Fus Ro Dah' a once in between short rests, but I'm still working on how to deal both radiant and necrotic damage from my mouth.

Anything beyond that was still very unlikely at the moment, sonI would have to more frequently rely on my Eldritch Blast, Mind Sliver and Chromatic Orb.

And since my Rages weren't as alarming as they first were before my Player's Mind, my Barbarian title reached its ninth level after basically living my days while constantly suppressing a storming rage whenever I could.

Just because I wasn't shouting out loud didn't mean I wasn't in constant pain as my muscles tore themselves apart and my heart beat almost a ten times over its healthy pace, only to finally allow me to duplicate my Power and Endurance.

Those were hellish unending minutes that I sometimes had to endure while calmly reading a book or socializing more with the Hightowers, only in combat during my night raids on the undercity I felt all that rage bearable.

But I got to say, with all the strength and toughness of a grizzly bear it gave me, it was definitely worth not prioritizing those stats in favor of my Intelligence and Stealth.

And to combine business with displeasure, I found the best exercise to my will in Raging while dedicating myself to find tranquility during meditation.

With Player's Mind doing half the work for me, I succeeded in leveling up my Monk's title up to 10, unlocking the Purity of Blood feature. No, nothing like the eugenic philosophy one might initially assume.

[FEATURE UNLOCKED: PURITY OF BLOOD!]

*Your mastery of the KI flowing through you makes you immune to disease and poison.

'Yeah, I can finally forget about drinking poison in order to become immune to it and just set sail to the island of Naath. Although I was already immune to disease thanks to my Paladin title, it's better to have an alternative in case the Gods ever decide to revoke their blessings over me.'

Besides that, I just continued to sharpen my skill with my Ki.

Next…

As a Bard, I got both music and regular oratory covered as soon as possible. And wouldn't you know, regular readings and studies counted more for this title than it did for Wizards, which led me to raising it to twelfth level after my work in the Citadel.

My inspiring words were already so persuasive that others felt driven to succeed in whatever endeavor I pointed them to, sort of unlocking their hidden potential or something like it, but now my suggestions were basically commands even to those with a neutral disposition towards me.

Think of it as a more subtle way of hypnotizing others than the way Johnny Deep did in his Dark Shadow movie.

What else…let me see… fighting around during the night also raised my Fighter title to ninth level, unlocking the Indomitable feature, effectively making all of my extra attacks count and lowering the chances of receiving a critical hit.

And my Battlemaster trait unlocked for me the Fighting Spirit feature, that made me resistant to counters, stuns and knockouts. Honestly, I wasn't even aware that I could be knocked unconscious, probably since I never gave my opponents the luxury of thinking that they could afford taking it easy on me, good thing I have this now.

My serious studies with Page made me a level ten Wizard, and I got plenty of rewards for it even before learning intermediate magic of the main six schools of magic. Chief among them were three, Transmutation, Necromancy and Divination.

First was that after learning how to make transmutation alchemy permanent, and arduously studying the heartstone I got from a Hag, I've been having some success in crafting what I came to call my Transmuter's Stone.

In theory it was meant to bolster the trasmutive magic of the one wielding it, or at least offer some minor physical enhancements. Sadly, it is still not complete and can't do much besides improving the results of alchemy. But with everything I learned from the dungeon under the Citadel, I'm sure I will be able to complete it in no time.

Second came the school of Necromancy, which gave me a certain natural resistance to necrotic damage I came to call Inurement to Undeath and I'm on the verge of acquiring the magical ability of animating the dead from regular piles of bones or corpses.

Animating the dead wouldn't be anywhere near as powerful in combat as controlling the higher levels of undeads found on most of the Magical Dungeons I've cleared. But that wouldn't matter because due to their lack of resistance to my control I could still use several of them as labor workers, with the perks of not having basic needs like sleeping, eating and drinking. Besides, if need be, some magical gear and they would be a match with even the best warriors of my time.

But I will cross that bridge later once I get there.

Third was Divination, which gave me two spells for the price of one, with the ability to cast, free of mana cost, a spell one class lower from the one I spend my mana points on. Like casting a third class divination spell and unlocking for free a second class spell of the same nature. That was probably easier to describe than to find the appropriate circumstance, which wasn't that easy to begin with, but I will make it useful one day.

Oh, and it also gave me a freaking invisible Third Eye in my forehead that I could use once every short rest! Which sounds ridiculous, I know, but it granted me many options of special vision, such as more Darkvision, comprehension to all written languages, perceive invisible creatures and objects within a three meters line of sight or see 20 meters line of sight into the Ethereal Plane. All interesting and neat options, but nothing currently essential to me.

As for the other five schools of magic…

Evocation made all my offensive cantrips and spells more potent, while also more stable to avoid accidents to my environment and allies. Specifically, my Chromatic Orb now had two extra effects, force and psychic. With my second class spells being quite literally a pillar of radiant light and a cloud of magical darkness that had the potential to deal necrotic damage, I had all types of damage covered.

Illusion made the prospect of playing with my minor illusions and other similar spells much easier to manipulate while keeping them realistic even to closer inspection and interactions, for longer periods of time, in larger sizes and from faraway distances. All that and my current research was leading me to believe that there was a way of channeling the shadows of the shadowfell into turning my illusions real.

Conjuration made teleporting much easier and my influence over my summons nigh unbreakable, to the point of permanently doubling the number of subjects I could have under my control and expanding the pocket dimension I had for my rope trick. Not only that, but I was also looking for ways of reaching entities of both the Plane of Faerie and Shadow.

Abjuration got me sturdier barriers capable of deflecting ranged damage back and absorbing ranged spells into my pool of mana, as well as providing better physical magical defenses to my Arcane Lock and healing properties. Right now, I'm willing to focus on ways of intercepting and dismissing magic from other spellcasters, just in case any of my future disciples got the idea that they didn't need to obey their master.

And Enchantment let me naturally split the spells into two, even after twining it, so I could now cast enchantments four times in a single use. As well as making it naturally harder for others to lie or hide things while in my presence. Plus, the connection with the Feywild was noticeably bolstering all my effectiveness in charming anyone and dealing psychic damage.

Finally, my Order of Scribe trait gave me the Master Scrivener feature.

Enabling me to successfully create magic scrolls by using my Wizardly Quill, with my mana as ink, on a blank piece of paper or parchment and copying one spell from my Awakened Spellbook onto the scroll.

For that the chosen spell must currently be of 1st or 2nd class and must have a casting time of at least a few seconds. Once in the scroll, the spell's power was enhanced, counting as the same level as I was currently capable of casting them.

To cast the spell from the scroll one had merely to fluently read it, though the scroll was hard to read to anyone without any basic arcane knowledge, and the spell vanished from the scroll whenever it was used.

I know, my Magic Initiate perk allowed me to pretty much exploit it to my heart's content with prep time and have even Second class spells also be like cantrips.

But you've got to see the bigger picture. I could finally have an army of spellcasters without having to commit to making them into full fledged wizards.

And better yet, the supposed restriction of one use per craft was a blessing in disguise. I certainly knew that there were plenty of nobles who would love to cast a few spells just for the thrill of it.

Following with a similar title, as an Artificer, I still lacked any trait out of it, but from brewing my three known elixirs and practicing some of my infusions, I got it to seventh level and improved my feature to Flash of Genius.

Healing, Swiftness and Resilience elixirs got even better, while also mitigating more of its dose of toxicity if consumed in excess. Plus, the prospect of brewing spells into potions no longer seemed like a far fetched idea to accomplish.

And my latest infused item was a cross between Arcane Focus and Mana-Refueling Infusion, in the form of a metallic rod, capable of storing all the wasted mana my body constantly produces that wasn't being spent and keeping it in check while being stored.

Yeah baby, the God Mage is on its way!

But jokes aside, I also had plenty of opportunities to gain XP by sneaking and infiltrating around the undercity during the night with Tic, occasionally assassinating some high ranked criminals and strong-arm others into submission, which earned me my ninth level as a Rogue.

My Swashbuckler trait made me a natural charmer for my targets, either for taunting and complimenting, while dueling them. And my Arcane Trickster trait gave me another bonus in stealth with casting my subtle spells.

Having said all of that, I was still getting used to my role as a Blessed and Druidic Warrior while also looking for better ways of gaining XP for my Paladin, Cleric, Druid and Ranger titles.

The New Gods were the harder aspects to abide by, other than channeling domains such as peace and twilight, I still had all the deal I had made with a literal god of death in the back of its own pantheon.

As both a redeemer and avenger, it basically befalls on me to be the judge, jury and… depending on the case… either executioner or liberator.

Don't get me wrong, if the Old Gods compelled me to become a fanatic tree-loving hipster that would much rather have his fellow men starve than hunting in the woods or harvesting the lands in exchange for great powers, I wouldn't do it.

Thankfully, we seemed to be on the same page in regards to nature, understanding how harsh it really was, being a dog-eat-dog world after all. So I might as well be the apex predator of the food chain if it's up for me to decide.

In any case, I was surprised by the level of actual fun I was having with the benefits of being both a Druid and a Ranger, even while inside a large city such as Oldtown.

=================================

TITLE: Durrandon Baratheon (Sorcerer-Lv8/ Barbarian-Lv9/ Monk-Lv10/ Bard-Lv12/ Fighter-Lv9/ Wizard-Lv10/ Artificer-Lv7/ Rogue-Lv9/ Paladin-Lv5/ Cleric-Lv5/ Druid-Lv4/ Ranger-Lv3)

LEVEL: 23 (13%)

HP: 460/460

SP: 460/460

MP: 23/23*

MANA CONTROL: 100% [*Advantage on concentration]

CANTRIPS: Thaumaturgy/ Minor Illusion/ Minor Conjuration/ Arcane Ward/ Mind Sliver/ Eldritch Blast/ Spare the Dying/ Decompose/ Detect Magic/ Guiding Arrow/ Thorn Whip/ Infestation

1ST CLASS: Arcane Weapon/ Disguise Self/ Unseen Servant/ Mage Armor/ Sleep-Awake/ Chromatic Orb/ Ray of Sickening Fear/ Guidance

2ND CLASS: Alter Self/ Magical Aura/ Rope Trick/ Arcane Lock/ Paralysis/ Starbeam/ Invisibility/ Darkness/ Levitation

SORCERY POINTS: 16

BARBARIC RAGE: 4

KI POINTS: 20

BARDIC INSPIRATION: 12

ACTION SURGE: 1

DIVINE POINTS: 5

WILD POINTS: 4

ALLEGIANCE: The Iron Throne/ Faith of the Seven/ Old Gods

PWR: <31>

END: <32>

MOB: <33>

INT: <37>

STL: <35>

DEF: 70* (Runed Bronze Segmented Plate armor: +100% Immunity to Non magical Piercing, Slashing and Bludgeoning Damage/ +50% Resistance to Fire, Cold, Radiant and Necrotic Damage) (Dragon Scales: 50% Magical Damage Absorption)

POINTS: 53

SKILLS: ~close list~

<POWER>

-Athletics(Lv.41) …Throwing(Lv.35) …Swim (Lv.37) …Lift(Lv.30) …Tear Off(Lv.34) …Run(Lv.30) …Jump(Lv.34) …Climb(Lv.46) …Crawl(Lv.36) …Bladed Weapon Mastery(Lv. 39) …Blunt Weapon Mastery(Lv.20) …Ranged Weapon Mastery(Lv.43) …Long Reach Fighting Style(Lv.18) …Mid Reach Fighting Style(Lv.36) …Short Reach Fighting Style(Lv.30) …Brawling(Lv.20) …Punch/Kick(Lv.20) …Iron Dance Style(Lv.39)

<ENDURANCE>

-Breathing Technique(Lv.37) …Meditation Technique(Lv.45) …Pain Tolerance(Lv.36) …Heat Damage Resistance(Lv.40) …Cold Damage Resistance(Lv.40) …Fall Damage Resistance(Lv.31) …Poison/Illness Damage Resistance(Lv.40)…Acid Damage Resistance (Lv.17) …Necrotic Damage Resistance(Lv.35) …Radiant Damage Resistance(Lv.23)

<MOBILITY>

-Quickness(Lv.37) …Aim(Lv.48) …Ambidextrous(Lv.34) …Rope Skill(Lv.25) …Dodge(Lv.30) …Flexibility(Lv.27) …Balance(Lv.29) …Acrobatics(Lv.34)

<INTELLIGENCE>

-Gibberish(Lv.37) …Sing(Lv.38) …Act(Lv.35) …Etiquette(Lv.37) …Memory(Lv.40) …Mathematics(Lv.36) …Poisons/Venom Knowledge(Lv.30) …Medicine Knowledge(Lv.35) …Healing Technique(Lv.45) …Agriculture Knowledge(Lv.34) …Common Tongue(Lv.50) …Old Tongue(Lv.30) …High Valyrian Tongue(Lv.30) …Dothraki Language(Lv.28) …Ibbenese Language(Lv.28) …Old Ghiscari(Lv.25) …Summer Tongue(Lv.25) …Trade Talk/Bargain(Lv.20) …Library Research(Lv.40) …New Gods Lore(Lv.32) …Heraldry(Lv.32) …Cartography(Lv.38) …Astrology(Lv.30) …Warfare Knowledge(Lv.39) …Convince(Lv.45) …Cook(Lv.40) …Teach(Lv.39) …Animal Handling(Lv.38) …Animal Train(Lv.35) …Decipher(Lv.34) …Leader(Lv.25) …Economy(Lv.30) …Alchemy(Lv.20) …Blacksmith(Lv.24) …Sexual Pleasure(Lv.28) …Seduce(Lv.30) …Intimidate(Lv.36) …Incite(Lv.33) …Streetwise Knowledge(Lv.36) …Taunt(Lv.30)

<STEALTH>

-Hide (Lv.40) …Subtleness(Lv.37) …Blend In(Lv.39) …Awareness(Lv.38)…Observe(Lv.45) …Disguise(Lv.40) …Lie(Lv.34) …Sleight of Hand(Lv.31) …Sneak(Lv.37) …Dirty Fight(Lv.39) …Water Dance Style(Lv.40)

<MAGIC> …Magic Affinity(Lv.40) …Mana Capacity and Regeneration(Lv.40)

PERKS: Player's Body/ Prodigy/ Mental Map/ Player's Mind/ Sleep is for the Dead/ Metamagic Genius/ Inventory/ Physician/ Chemist/ Linguist/ Observant/ Diplomat/ Empathic/ Actor/ Dual Wielder/ Alert/ Sentinel/ Crossbow Expert/ Sharpshooter/ Superior Technique/ Fey Touched/ Shadow Touched/ Tutor/ War Caster/ Magic Initiate/ Chef/ Keen Mind/ Mobile/ Tough/ Dungeon Delver/ Skulker/ Genius Artificer

FEATURES: Rage/ Metamagic/ Ki/ Draconic Resilience/ Bardic Inspiration/ Action Surge/ Spell Book/ Tempestuous Magic/ Storm Aura/ Wrath of the Storm/ Magical Thinkering/ Sneak Attack/ Jack of All Trades and Master of All/ Experimental Elixir/ Infuse Item/ Cunning Expertise/ Silver Tongue/ Legerdemain Hand/ Arcane Armor/ Wizardly Quill/ Awakened Spellbook/ Divine Smite/ Divine Fury/ Hands of Healing and Harm/ Extra Attack/ Uncanny Dodge/ Right Tool for the Job/ Emboldening Bond/ Emissary of Peace/ Rebuke the Violent/ Channel Divinity/ Balm of Peace/ Lay on Hand/ Divine Sense/ Divine Health/ Wild Shape/ Wild Companion/ Speech of the Woods/ Vow of Enmity/ Abjure Enemy/ Twilight Sanctuary/ Combat Shapes/ Starry Form/ Favored Foe/ Natural Explorer/ Dread Skirmisher/ Shadow Arts/ Dragon Breath/ Purity of Blood/ Indomitable/ Fighting Spirit/ Master Scrivener/ Flash of Genius

TRAITS: Draconic Bloodline/ Divine Soul/ Storm Herald/ Zealot/ College of Lore/ College of Eloquence/ Swashbuckler/ Arcane Trickster/ Battle Master/ Order of Scribes/ Oath of Redemption/ Way of Mercy/ Peace Domain/ Circle of Stars/ Circle of the Moon/ Oath of Vengeance/ Twilight Domain/ Gloom Stalker/ Way of Shadow/ War Magic

TIME PLAYED: 6 years

MONEY: 150,000 GC/ 2,000 SC/ 10,000 CC/ 400 NC

($) {MARKET}

*INVENTORY: Holy Symbol/ Magical Wand/ 2xValyrian Steel Gladius/ Dragonbone Crossbow/ Goldenheart Bow/ Runed Bronze Armor/ Glass Candle/ Dragonbone pieces/ Chest of Dragonglass/ Heartstone/ Elixirs/ Alchemist Fire/ Meals & Drinks/ Soulbag/ Kamasutra book/ Tiny Athcoid in a Jar…

=================================

After a day sailing the waters of the Sunset Sea…

For the most part, our journey through the Reach had been uneventful, up until what promised to be a very relaxing time in the Arbor.

Which was technically and legally part of the Reach, being one of the larger islands off the coast of Westeros, as big as any of the Iron Islands, it had maintained an element of cultural independence from the mainland.

House Redwyne ruled here as they have for millennia, claiming descent from Garth Greenhand, as so many of the old petty kings of the Reach did.

Like the rest though, they eventually succumbed to the Gardeners, then the Andals and finally the Targaryens, each time, commendably retaining their preeminent position as lords of the island, despite the change in overlord.

Perhaps as a family, they were more politically canny than I give them credit for, given how tactfully they perceived which way the political winds were going and then picking their sights carefully.

There were many credible reports, for example, that Aegon the Conqueror visited the Arbor more than once, before the Targaryen invasion of Westeros, to go hawking with the Redwynes. Obviously, becoming friends with the people with dragons was definitely a canny move given what was to come.

Soon enough, Lord Redwyne received me with all the splendor a member of the royal family entitled to as soon as I stepped out of my ship.

"Welcome, my prince, to the Arbor." Lord Paxter Redwyne told me, bowing in respect while subtly displaying all his influence through the small platoon of soldiers in shining armor and an amazing view of his land.

Even if I was already getting tired of all this show of wealth, I still found it amusing to watch the reaction of my companions, especially the ones just recently accepted into my care.

While Pia always had her eyes shining with happiness as if she was living a fairytale, Satin had an expression of someone who couldn't believe he wasn't dreaming and desperately wished to never wake up from it.

"Your hospitality is much appreciated, Lord Redwyne." I eventually nodded in respect to the older man's bow and followed it by immediately greeting him and his family.

Lord Paxter Redwyne was stooped of shoulder, thin and balding with only a few orange tufts of hair remaining. Married to his cousin, Mina Tyrell, the sister of his liege lord, Mace Tyrell; thus making him twice a nephew of the Queen of Thorns, Olenna Redwyne.

'I wonder how many letters she has sent him after I left Highgarden.' I thought in amusement.

Lord Paxter and Lady Mina have had twin sons, Horas and Hobber, currently growing closer to their eighth name day, and a daughter named Desmera who was my age.

A freckled young beauty with curly red hair and a sheepish smile.

As Lord Redwyne led me and my retinue inside of his castle, he wasn't all that subtle in the way he almost shoved the shy Desmera to my side.

"I-it's a… a pleasure to meet you, your g-er, I mean, my prince." She told me, oblivious to the way her brothers were hiding their laughter and Pia stared daggers at her.

Picking the young maiden's hand, I kissed it and said. "The pleasure is all mine, Lady Desmera."

"I-i… I…" She attempted to say, but immediately looked away, probably trying to hide her blushing face from me.

'Yeah, I think I just broke her.' I mentally sighed, noticing Paxter's panicked expression at Desmera's reaction.

You know what, I'm starting to grow annoyed at the increasing number of Lords willing to throw their daughters at the first chance they had of having a queen with their blood on the Iron Throne.

But for the sake of the young Redwyne girl's relationship with her family, I began to make small talk with Desmera, finding her much cuter than the gold digger that Lynesse Hightower was.

She eventually commented on my hair and eyes like most people did and showed great interest in my comment about my features being proof of my father's house ties to the dragonlords that once ruled the realm before him.

Noticing that we were getting along, after we accomplished the pageantry that was the Guest Rights and everyone in my group was shown where we would be sleeping for the next couple of days, her brothers eventually joined our brief talk while their father showed us their lands.

Honestly, they bored me to death with their pettiness, but since I reminded myself that they were still kids and missed the parts that the primitive part of my brain was always after, I forgave their dullness and pretended to care

After that we continued to spend some time interacting, and although their father seemed to prioritize having me and Desmera interacting as often as possible, Lord Paxter also wished that his sons and I could develop some semblance of childhood friendships and gain a few favors for their family.

They took me to do a little bit of hawking during the morning, sailing from Ryamsport during the afternoon and traveling around the island in the evening, eating our meals together in between those times.

Seven hells, even when I took my time to pray in their sept, Lord Redwyne dragged all of his family to join, stating that they always prayed to the gods whenever they had the chance.

But the trust I earned with Desmera was enough to have her admit to me that it wasn't true.

Aside from the privacy I was allowed during the night to sleep, the only moment I was free from them was the brief delving I made into their own Magical Dungeon.

Deciding to bring both Shadow, my feline familiar, and carrying my grimoire, Page, on my left hand, the three of us interacted while I made short work of the low level blights that spawned down here.

The dungeon's interior was a mixture of loamy soil and thick roots, just like back a Highgarden, with the occasional pillar of skillfully carved wood depicting idyllic visages with perfectly cut and polished surfaces, covered by forms of fungus life that only added to its 'nature theme'.

As the tunnel we were traversing finally widened up, I sighted more of those wooden sculptures of horned green men, with those elaborate ornaments made out of living plants and numerous fruits ready to be picked.

Reaching for a bunch of grapes with my Legerdemain hands, I pampered myself with some while I had Shadow scout ahead in her magical form and tasked Page with reassessing to me all the intermediate arcane knowledge I've gained from my visit to the Dungeon under the Citadel.

Now that I no longer require 30 points of mana to cast Third class spells, I wanted them so badly.

I even tested if Gobble, my pet mimic, was capable of feasting on those twigs' corpses, but the little creature much preferred the steaks I cooked.

Alas, as we reached the end of the tunnel with barely any resistance to our progress, I activated the small opening in the wall before us, prompting the passageway leading to the Treasure Room to appear.

And just like with Highgarden, it was basically an underground Godswood, or private garden, if you will.

However, the chamber itself wasn't as large as the one under the great house of the Reach, though clearly going with the same theme.

Not missing the upper silver ring lighting up a small signal to inform me I had unlocked the Arbor, I noticed the colorful mosaic tiles on the ceiling that depicted a map of the entire island. On it, I found the location of a single Weirwood tree that had been long forgotten to everyone.

Standing in an area with sparse vines and fertile soil, I was actually surprised to find a chest full of gold in here. Casting my Detect Magic cantrip showed me no other hidden secrets here, which I guess explained the consolation prize that was rather uncommon in the magical dungeons of the Reach.

So much for expectations, I guess. But I at least got to meet another weirwood tree south of the Neck.

Later, during my stay in his castle, Lord Paxter Redwyne remarked. "Ser Gerion has spread good word about your Royal Legion, my Prince, and it has traveled all the way here. Business has thankfully flourished for you and those dealing with you, especially compared to everyone else lately."

I've tasked Gerion and Tygett with the mission of slowly increasing my Royal Army power as their influence increased by the day on both land and sea.

Acquiring equipment, horses, ships and supplies through the profit the legionaries were getting from keeping the peace and order in the realm. Although we have been focusing our efforts on the Westerlands, just currently slowly transitioning to include the Reach and Riverlands.

"I'm pleased to hear it, Lord Redwyne." I replied back with the appropriate decorum. "I'm a firm believer that the best kind of deal is the one that is best for all those involved."

"Ah, so young and already so wise." The older man added in a rather apple polisher tone before sighing. "I'm hopeful that my children will follow your example with time. Hopefully you might become great friends as well."

'Bold of you to openly presume it.' I mused to myself while hiding my thoughts behind a charismatic smile. Though I took comfort in the fact that he never brought up their victories as Targaryen loyalists against my father during his rebellion.

But regardless of that, despite being a year older, the twins Horas and Hobber, they weren't anywhere near the level of competence in both combat or strategy.

And although their sister, Desmera, seemed less full of herself, it pains me to admit that she wasn't much different in terms of usefulness to me, being currently too naive and pampered by her family to be worthy of my trust.

An interesting piece of trivia though, during the Books, a marriage was once considered between Desmera and Daven, but was called off in order for him to marry a Frey.

Staring at him, starting the day with some military drilling to my legionnaires in the open grassfield close by, I couldn't help myself from thinking. 'Poor man, despite your looks and wealth, you really don't have luck with girls.'

Desmera, like most girls I've personally met in this life, wasn't openly against the prospect of marrying the Crown Prince and eventually becoming Queen. Her reluctance seemed more out of shyness than anything else.

No woman would have me simping for them, but I gotta say…Redheads with freckles had their charm.

Regardless…even if things went terribly wrong with Sansa, I'm pretty sure there will still be plenty of female wildlings for me to try my luck.

As for my buddy, Daven…he constantly sparred with my best Legionnaires, pushing both him and them to grow stronger and faster in combat.

But he also frequently spoke of his dream of becoming a knight who inspired greatness in others by committing brave deeds in battle, with the occasional mention of earning some glory as well. Someone whose mere presence in a small village would be enough to cause some bandits to seek easier prey. Or someone who could turn a city into a beacon of might against an invading army.

Frankly, all that big talk was already showing results.

With dedication and appropriate tutoring, Daven had just reached a point of excelling at mounted combat. Now learning from veteran Knights, that I've personally picked and hired, how to lead a cavalry charge and how to guard those in his charge from harm.

From how often I found him speaking with Gerion, I got that his next milestone would be to learn how to lead a fleet into battle.

He favored using a sword and shield in duels, as that was his bread and butter, and the way he spun the shield sometimes to create openings was prodigious to say the very least. Most just held it up to block and that was it. Not Daven, though.

He and Sandor began sparring every opportunity they had with me disguised as Knight, so that they were prepared for faster and stronger opponents. Even Tyrion joined those matches, mainly because of my insistence as Monk, admittedly we got along even better whenever I assumed my identity as Bard.

The three of them were good enough to help me raise a few of my skills' levels and better define some of my maneuvers as well.

Most days though, Tyrion completely lost to Daven and Sandor, given how talented they were even compared to the high standards I've imposed on my Royal Legion. But those absolute defeats were coming farther and fewer in between, with the little Lannister actually managing to come up with some surprisingly cunning tactics to either get a 'killing blow' or 'mutual kill'.

It doesn't matter how mighty you were, taking either a dagger or bolt to any vital organ would still kill you. Of course, that's unless you had the Game system turning you into a game character like me, or perhaps something like an undead nature going for you.

As for Sandor, his hate for his older brother was only matched by his respect for the Mountain's deadliness and brutality. Even for a guy as tough as him, one stupid mistake and Gregor Clegane could pummel him to death.

And I saw during our matches, while I transmuted my body to become my Knight identity, he clearly viewed me and the Mountain that rides as close comparisons for opponents.

The hardest part was changing his mind in regards to the faith of the seven and the noble concepts like knighthood.

In any case, none of my companions have been able to uncover the reason for their sudden stark improvement with everything I set them to learn.

Initially they didn't seem to even notice it, which speaks a little against their overall awareness, but it wasn't fair of me to expect it from them since I've given fair warning to both Rhaenys and Alysse about it.

But still…

Out of the three, Sandor was the one to become suspicious first. He never asked anything, but it was clear to me he wasn't oblivious to this abnormality, especially with Tyrion, of all people, managing to trade some blows with him.

Ending that line of thought, I eventually met with my uncle Tyrion.

"You know something, my dear Nephew? Besides the climate here, which is, I have to say, delightful, there are two things most people know the Redwynes and the Arbor for. The first is their Navy." Tyrion told me while we wandered around Lord Paxter's castle. "Most might think that the Iron fleet of the Ironborn, the Gold fleet of my father or the Royal Fleet of yours are the largest in Westeros, but it is actually the Redwyne's fleet."

Agreeing with him, I said. "I recall reading the records the Maesters had in the Citadel that informed that Lord Redwyne can currently call on two hundred warships and perhaps a thousand more whalers, cogs, trading galleys and the like if need be."

"Indeed, that might truly be the case." Gerion joined us, immediately understanding our topic of discussion and sharing what he learned from the Redwynes. "They rival all the other fleets of Westeros in both warfare and trade aspects. And during your father's rebellion were responsible for inhibiting the support the ships of the Vale could offer your father's cause and raising the naval siege of his castle, Storm's End."

"Can we learn something from their shipwrights?" I questioned, immediately assuming that just like with the numerically superior army the Reach could muster, their fleet also relied on quantity over quality. "Like faster ways of building ships or training sailors."

"Most likely, Greatnephew." Gerion nodded, understanding my meaning. "Don't worry, I've already taken the liberty to look into it. By the time we leave everything will be completed and immediate improvements will be done to your Legion's fleet."

"Good…I will trust it to you then." Now turning back to Tyrion, I noticed he still wanted to speak more about this region. "Apologies for the interruption, uncle. Please, do continue."

"Right…The second thing about the Arbor was of course the wine…" Tyrion finally resumed his initial comment about the Redwynes of the Arbor. "…with those vineyards that crisscross the island, the industry supposedly provides employment for many of the Islanders in season, and even the lowliest wayside in here have cheap and plentiful vintages to choose from."

The Arbor Gold, a sweet white wine, was perhaps the best known export and was often considered by those with a less refined palate, to be the finest the continent had to offer.

Although we've come across some samples during our stay in Oldtown, Tyrion was adamant that the best bottles stood on the island.

And to his credit, as we were introduced to the seat of House Redwyne, Lord Paxter's personal wine cellar indeed contained a particular dark purple strong wine, which was rich and heady.

But since I wasn't that much of a wine connoisseur, I had to take his word for its quality. Suffice it to say that if one ever got a chance to sample it, they would not turn it down. Which made it all so valuable of a trading good for my entrepreneuring trade company of Marines to possess access to.

"Do I have to worry about losing you to them?" I asked jokingly, to which Tyrion replied in the same manner.

"I don't know, what is a dwarf to do with so many reasons to stay?" He chuckled. "But admittedly, the Reach is undoubtedly one of the better regions to live in." He suddenly flinched. "Just…don't tell my father I said that. We are finally getting somewhere."

I nodded with a smirk.

Eventually, after remembering how popular Arbor Gold was, even back at the Royal Court in the Capital, I had decided that there was still untapped potential for this product.

The best part was that all the plants on the vineyards here revealed to me the secret behind the quality of this product the Redwynes were rich and famous for. That and the fact that the winters were slowly costing a heavy toll on their production.

Now that I think of it, if I managed to produce a better version of the wine produced here, I might be willing to provide it as a reward payment to the best of my Legionnaires at the end of each year.

And… well… I digress once again.

After staying with Lord Paxter and his family for almost a week, I decided to bookend my visit with a performance as Bard on the Redwynes' ballhall. I even took the opportunity to introduce more of my recipes for mouthwatering and nourishing food and drinks.

Starting with all the songs that have already made me famous in this world, like Avicii and Jaskier's songs, and finishing it with another "original" one.

Thriving even in the solely dependence of instruments instead of electronic methods that the medieval era was so known for, I began playing the appropriate chords to produce the tune I was looking for.

Noticing the faces of both Pia and Satin, I was pleased to be one my way of having a fan club. And this next song had a lyric I've deemed very appropriate for the image I've been building for myself.

"Hmmm…If you leave me to my own deviiice, I never had to compromiiise. This city's like a jungle, gotta make it miine. Put my fears right out of sight. Beat the hustle, better get it right. In a game where the strooong surviiiive, ooonly the strong surviiive!"

I got the entire Redwyne family focused on me, having already earned their favor once again after my first few lines.

"These chains will not hold me down! They'll break and fall to the ground. Can't tame these lions insiiide! The power is reigning like thunder ready for a fight. These lions inside. Yeah, these lions insiiiide! Oh, ooooh! Oh, ooooh! Yeah, these lions insiiiide! Oh, ooooh! Oh, ooooh! Yeah, these lions insiiiide!"

I easily got both Tyrion and Daven's attention with that as well.

"Ooooooooh! …I had to learn to be the hero, started only here from zero, in a city like a jungle I had to get mine. Never give, you gotta take. Be the catapult to storm the gates. 'Cause a champion is never giving in, seeing through till the end of days. Till the end of daaaays!"

Showing my vocal talent and bringing my own harmony to the ballhall, I cheated a little by spending Divine Points and using my Balm of Peace.

"These chains will not hold me down, they'll break and fall to the ground. Can't tame these lions insiiide! The power is reigning like thunder ready for a fight. Yeah, these lions insiiide! These lions insiiiide! Oh, ooooh! Oh, ooooh! Can't tame these lions inside! Oh, ooooh! Oh, ooooh! Can't tame these lions inside!"

I knew I got another success once I noticed the way my audience began singing with me.

"The ground that they're walking, ain't cutting through this skin, huntin' down their prey till the bitter end.

The ground that they're walking, ain't cutting through this skin, huntin' down their prey till the bitter end.

The ground that they're walking, ain't cutting through this skin, huntin' down their prey, let the games begiiin."

Now dancing to show my moves, I played the notes in my lute with more force and attempted to charm everyone in this castle that could hear me.

"These chains will not hold me down, they'll break and fall to the ground. Can't tame these lions insiiiide! The power is reigning like thunder ready for a fight. These lions insiiiide. Yeah, these lions insiiiide! Oh, ooooh! Oh, ooooh! Can't tame these lions insiiide! Oh, ooooh! Oh, ooooh! Can't tame these lions insiiide!"

Now, just to end things, I began playing a little slower and lingered in my final notes.

"The ground that they're walking, ain't cutting through this skin, huntin' down their prey till the bitter end.

The ground that they're walking, ain't cutting through this skin, huntin' down their prey, let the games begin..."

As the song ended, my silence was immediately occupied by the applause of both Redwyne family and servants, but also my own retinue as well.

"Thanks for the attention and for being such wonderful hosts!" I said, leaving the area reserved for singers and artists, and subtly switched places of my illusion of the Crown Prince.

After that, we began packing our things and I had Gerion send a letter to my Legionaries, the ones left in the mainland of the Reach that hadn't come with me to the Arbor, and had them gather once again to await my arrival.

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Taking another ship back to the continent, my companions and I were once again united with the bulk of the Royal legion that followed me out of the Westerlands, now heading northeast into the heart of the Kingdom.

Staring out from my carriage at the passing scenery, with the company of both Pia and Satin, we continued to pass mile after mile of green verdant landscapes.

There truly was nowhere else quite as lush as here, save perhaps the thin strip of the Vale of Arryn or the artificially created water gardens in Dorne, and this lushness brought bounty and people.

In the North, one could travel for days without seeing a single other soul, the Vale, the Iron Islands, the Westerlands and even Dorne were partly or even mostly mountainous with small settlements scraping out a survival where they could, but not here.

There were of course the Red Mountains and the Dornish Marches to the south and east, but the vast majority of this land was either flat or rolling hills, with rivers and streams crisscrossing the land.

There were villages and towns everywhere, farms and homesteads. Meanwhile Minor Lords had their castles, or more often fortified manor houses, atop rises, hiring extra farm workers or hedge knights whenever there was needed.

A bit over halfway from Oldtown, on our way back up towards Highgarden, there was Horn Hill, some way off the road set atop the hill it was named after. And the road to this impressive castle took us away from the lush lowlands I've been describing, to the foothills of the Dornish Marches.

These were forested hills, teeming with wildlife. As hunting here was bountiful, and as a result the archers of Horn Hill were rightly famed. For indeed, the sigil of house Tarly was a red archer on a green background.

House Tarly, who have held this land for time immemorial, were one of the Marshall Lords, tasked with protecting the Reach from incursions from Dorne, which they had done successfully for years.

Perhaps most famously, and recently, the Tarlys were at the forefront of the fight against the Vulture king, the first vulture king in the early years of the Targaryen rule, for there were many. An outlaw Dornishmen raising an army to avenge itself on the Targaryens after their many attempted invasions.

This vulture King was hunted down and killed by the armies of the various Marcher Lords, including the famous Lord Samwell Tarly or Savage Sam Tarly as he became known afterwards.

Speaking of it, meeting Sam the Slayer before he became the fattest member of the Night's Watch was just as weird as it was to be constantly talking with a teenager Tyrion. His three younger sisters weren't anything more than children, but from their behavior I immediately saw how rigid their father was.

As for the golden boy, Dickon… gods, wasn't your father supposed to have you as his favorite son? I can't believe Bronn was the first to laugh at his name…for now he was still just a toddler.

"My prince, as Lord of House Tarly, I want to tell you…" Lord Tarly greeted me with the appropriate respect one was expected to show towards a member of the royal family, but unlike all the other lords that received me, Randyll Tarly wasn't overbearingly polite in his words. He was a narrow man, no doubt, but also clearly iron-willed and shrewd, receiving me with no frivolous spending of his wealth just to appease my vanity. "…that Horn Hill welcomes you."

I nodded in acknowledgment, mimicking his manner and immediately noticing a glimpse of surprise in his face, probably not expecting a child of six to match his gaze.

After a dinner of venison and sweet meats, with a night in a comfy bed at Horn Hill for all of my closer associates who grew tired of sleeping in both ship and carriage, the hospitality here was courteous and not the kind I could ever complain about, but still far from warm.

At least, until my legionaries began sparring with Tyrell soldiers, which clearly the meticulous superior battle commander wasn't expecting such disparity between our forces in our favor.

Sure, I was striving in the fact that most lords viewed my Royal legion as the whim of a spoiled prince pretending to be a battle commander, and our small numbers corroborated with that sentiment since quality was much more difficult to notice while I had them mostly busy with hunting outlaws and patrolling the land.

All of that would definitely change once we faced our first real battle.

After all, Tygett and the Blackfish weren't playing around with selecting and training men for my Royal Legion. My Royal Legion might not be bloodied nor have the same level of battlefield experience as a group, yet, but their individual quality shouldn't be underestimated in any circumstance.

Daven and Sandor were undoubtedly amongst my best combatants, in both mounted combat and individual duels. And even Tyrion managed to compete against the Tarly archers with his crossbow during one of their hunts, which certainly was no small feat considering their famous reputation.

I might be repeating myself by this point, but I did end up enjoying my time alongside my three companions. They were easy to be around, with Tyrion contributing with his quick tongue and good humor, Daven with his optimist yet enduring demeanor and Sandor with his realistic honesty and brutal efficiency.

Daven and Sandor didn't drink that often, preferring water to wine, which I really appreciated since I've been trying to put Tyrion on a better path. To the dwarf's horror, of course. But I just couldn't take someone acting drunk all the time.

Another source of motivation for me was the Party System, I was eager to push the limits of that aspect of the game to see what it could offer.

Since I had the choice to choose the perfect builds for my Party members, I've led Rhaenys towards the path of a Rogue and monk to better serve as my Master of Whispers and Alysse a Bard to better serve as my Master of Coin, with the added bonus of introducing her to arcane knowledge in order to make her a Wizard and Artificer.

Probably due to how much I trusted her.

Retreading that same path I've taken with Rhaenys, prioritizing mobility and stealth stats while gaining proficiency with certain skills, I was pleased to see how much compative it was with Tyrion.

Focusing his training on the art of stealth and body improvement, relying on speed, subterfuge, elegance and charm in equal parts. As he kept finding clever ways of coming out on top in single combat, as well as fighting with multiple weapons like daggers and crossbows while safely darting away from an opponent thanks to his smaller frame and lighter weight.

Teaching him Dirty Fighting and Water Dance was also a very fun experience for me, as I was shaping him into a fusion between Bronn and Syrio. However, since I didn't have the vast quantities of criminals to raise his experience like I did with Rhaenys, I had to make do with the eventual bandits and animals to hunt.

"I gotta give it to you dear nephew, this fancy footwork you've learned with the Bravossi fencer is quite impressive." Tyrion told me after one of his training sessions with my Monk identity. I've been helping him with how to land a strike and then slip away without reprisal, making sure he gave no opportunity for others to exploit.

In contrast, with my superior awareness, I was the perfect tutor to help him get the basics of sneak attacks. But I didn't want him to be overconfident with his new skills, so despite his natural advantages, my Alert and Mental Map perks were too much for him to handle.

"You indeed have a sharp mind, Lord Tyrion. With a knack for finding the solution to just about any problem." I once complimented him while pretending to not notice him sneaking behind me, before flipping him over to the ground after he failed to sneak attack me. "But when stealth is no longer a choice, you should try using your charisma to taunt your targets. Make them act without thinking in order to punish their folly."

"Argh…right, I guess I can come up with some one-liners." Tyrion skillfully rolled away from me, wiping his forehead's sweat with a smirk before giving his best shots trying to bait me.

It served as a weaker version of my Vow of Enmity, or a Bardic Inspiration of opposite effect, which weren't bad against regular foes, but lacked the power to influence me in any way.

Still, I could see that his skill was improving at an incredible pace.

Let's see…nimble evasions and deadly sneak attacks of both Rogues and Monks, but also a little bit of charming taunts and weapon proficiency of Bards and fighters. …Oh, I also made good use of his great intellect to have him become experienced with surviving and exploring.

Making him acquainted with Nature was considerably harder, but our constant campings in between the castles we've visited were sufficient opportunities. And the Larcenous arts was something he picked up by himself.

He wasn't ready to clean a magic dungeon by himself, but he was at least capable of fending for himself if the need ever arises. And if things continue on this path, he would serve as a living example of what my Legion's scouts should aim to become.

As for Daven, my natural fighter, he was also another one of my main experiments. I wasn't ready to risk overstepping my bounds with the New Gods by naming someone that wasn't even knighted as their Paladin or Cleric, much less both of them, but I couldn't expect Daven to be satisfied with either the role of a Rogue or a Bard. Even if he did end up picking a few things from both titles.

The best fighters shared an unparalleled mastery with weapons and armor, as well as a thorough knowledge of the skills of combat. They should all be well acquainted with death, both meeting it out and staring it defiantly in the face. So I incentivized Daven fairly early to act more independently, either seeking arduous training with me as Knight or joining other Legionnaires to fight some bandits elsewhere.

Which meant he was growing at an even faster pace than Tyrion. And thanks to him I've finally had proper sparring matches to raise my skill with the shield, as well as finally having some progress with learning how to properly handle great weapons and polearms.

Meanwhile Daven memorized several fighting styles I taught him, and noticed that soon enough he carried the title of Fighter, allowing him to use his stamina to replenish his health in certain conditions and even boost his Mobility stat. It was his own Action Surge which fortunately allowed him to actually face me in a serious duel. Sure, I didn't use my Valyrian weapons or my magic, but that simple fact was enough to baffle me.

Unsurprisingly, my Teaching skill was proving to be one of my most broken abilities after I bought the Tutor perk, probably even above Animal Taming and Training by this point.

"Keep in mind that combat is in fact an academic field, which includes subjects beyond battle such as weaponsmithing and calligraphy." I kept preaching to Daven as my Knight identity, who attentively learned everything without doubting me.

"You know how to craft weapons?" He suddenly asked, realizing I've once mentioned that I wore and wielded my own craft in combat.

"As a matter of fact, I do." I nodded, reminding the teachings I got from Tobho Mott. "If you prove yourself capable, I might guide you through the basics after you're done studying all the treaties and manuals of combat the prince got for you."

Not every fighter absorbed the lessons of history, theory, and artistry that were reflected in this build I was leading him, just ask Bronn for confirmation, but those who embodied it would become well-rounded fighters of great skill and knowledge.

And that was precisely my goal with this experiment. I wanted to push my Legionnaires even farther than I've already had. But I required a fully tested plan before attempting to alter what I've spent a year worth of constant drills trying to assemble.

This superiority depended upon his grasp over the maneuvers I taught him, which would serve as a martial equivalent of spells, and his ability to study his enemies through the use of his Observe skill should be enough to cover any gap between him and them.

And just like Tyrion, I stacked on top of this dedication towards a simple title, another one that complemented well. While Tyrion was Rogue first, but also striving towards the title of Bard and Monk, Daven began as Fighter and was finally making some progress towards becoming a Barbarian as well.

However, contrary to me, he had neither Stormlander's blood or Divine Soul, that only led me to theorize he could still get the Zealot trait through sheer devotion and faithfulness towards the Gods.

As for my faithful hound, I had something else planned for him.

In any case, the cherry on top of my stay in Horn Hill was undoubtedly when I wiped the floor of the training yard with his best warriors while disguised as Knight. I even got the attention of Satin when I faced seven men all at once.

Raging while action surging allowed me to easily weaponize and splinter all the wooden weapons, the castellan of Horn Hill gave us, against my opponents protection gear and shields. Some even joked I was the next coming of the legendary Savage Sam.

I even showed these Westerossis a little bit of the awesomeness that was hand-to-hand martial arts. I'm sure Satin must've noticed some similarities in the fighting style of both Rogue and Knight, but I managed to effortlessly switch the sneak attacks and assassination moves for my flurry of blows and disarming moves.

Scandalous was how these uncivilized people almost began labeling my refined dance of fists and kicks as just fancy brawling. But I proved them wrong once I challenged their best archers to shoot at me, not only to catch their best attempts of humbling me with my bare hands, but also throwing all of their arrows and bolts back at their feet. Or in one occasion, where I got a little carried away, I destroyed one of the challengers' bow.

After showing off what I was capable of, the Tarly soldiers began to nickname my Knight identity as the champion of the Fighter. Which seemed to make Satin finally understand all the foreshadowing I've been not so subtly presenting to him.

This time however, I kept my Bard personality benched since I doubt Lord Randyll would appreciate the artistic skill and refinement I could display for him and his family. As well for Monk, since the realm wasn't yet ready for the prospect of learning that not only magic was real once again, but that it could be wielded into spells.

But before leaving Horn Hill and heading onwards to another castle, after unlocking another Magical Dungeon, filled with undead archers and just a little bit of gold as a reward, I've decided not to waste the opportunity and spoke directly with Lord Randyll Tarly.

Randyll was a lean and balding man with a short, bristly gray beard. A war veteran soldier, considered one of the finest battle commanders in Westeros. He prized courage and martial ability above all, which would lead him to eventually despise his eldest son, Samwell. Who was fond of music and songs, preferring books over weapons and soft fabrics over armor.

A timid craven, afraid of anything related to bloodshed and violence was everything Randyll despised the most, which was a hell of an irony for him. Especially because the Lord of Horn Hill always noticed how insecure and awkward his son was, but failed to notice, or perhaps didn't even care, how observant and intelligent Sam was.

Samwell was around my age, so his cowardice and softness were yet to be noticed by Randyll as something out of the ordinary, probably still believing that his eldest son would still grow into a fine man ready to lead his household soldiers into battle. Besides that, his second son, Dickon…heh…sorry…was still far too young for any comparison to be made between him and Sam.

Back to my bargain with Lord Tarly…

"I want to hire your services as a battle commander for my Royal Legion." I spoke clearly with the Lord of Hornhill, showing my maturity by not relying on cheap intimidation tricks by having Sandor or my disguised Death Knight standing besides me.

The man blinked once or twice, a sign I became used to associate with the fact that I had once again surpassed his expectations, not believing what he just heard. Not only was I, a young prince who had plenty of men to do my bidding, directly negotiating with him, but I did it so without any supervision or validation from others.

"Hire? me? My prince, I don't think I understand it." He replied with an intrigued look, not because he doubted if I had any need for someone like him, the man was well aware of my Royal Legion, but rather because he didn't expect to be approached by me of all people.

Yes, the Royal Legion had been publicly raised under my banner and name. But I was still too young to actually lead anyone in battle, much less make such political moves, so Randyll probably assumed that someone like my uncle or grandfather were actually in charge of things until I came of age.

Most lords I've been visiting did presumed the same, like Mace Tyrell, Baelor Hightower and Paxter Redwyne, but Lord Tarly was the only one willing to openly question my capacity.

"Precisely, Lord Tarly. As I believe you are already aware of, I've Ser Tygett Lannister to instruct my men in the martial ways of the Westerlands and Ser Brynden Tully to do the same with the martial traditions of the Riverlands." I replied confidently. "I've been thinking about new ways of improving my Legionnaires efficiency in battle as well as their presence here in the Reach, hearing you were exactly what I needed led me to pay this visit to you and your family."

The reachman acknowledged my solid reasoning and sheer resolve as a confident yet respectful answer to his unspoken questions. My out of ordinary stature and title as Crown Prince were particular aspects that, although weren't enough to scare him, seemed to help compel him to actually view me as someone worthy of his respect.

"Apologies if it's insolent of me to ask, but who did you hear that from, my prince?" Lord Tarly made another question, still measuring every action I took before him.

He wasn't a player of the game in the level of Tywin or Ollena, but the man certainly had a keen eye for people in regards to militaristic matters. Such a putty for him that I was cheating my way through this conversation with the many buffs to my skill of persuasion.

"Insolence of you? Nonsense. Lord Tyrell was the one that convinced me to seek you out." I momentarily gave in to my propensity of speaking in figurative terms, which only seemed to confuse Randall at first. "You see, after spending a fortnight at Highgarden, I've had my fair share of hearing Lord Tyrell's boasting stories about his famous battles. But the one that caught my attention the most was the very same he claimed to have defeated my father after he had just won three consecutive battles against the Targaryen loyalists. And Lord Tyrell briefly mentioned your involvement in it."

Randyll Tarly almost snickered at the notion of Mace Tyrell assuming credit for his effort and military success only to be briefly mentioned as a footnote, but the Lord of Hornhill didn't dare speak against his liege Lord.

"Nonsense of course." I suddenly announced, startling the old man, probably guessing his own thoughts. "The Tyrells have a bad habit of reclaiming what isn't even theirs to claim."

Lord Tarly finally spoke up after sympathizing with my opinion. "No disrespect to my liege Lord's house, my prince, but their men so often prefer to hide behind their women skirts."

"That maybe, but from the brief time I've spent with his older sons, I'm hopeful they might finally be heading towards ending that tradition. Lord Tyrell's first son seems to be a wise and cunning person that has a certain wisdom to make his own choices, while the second son shows a certain knack for combat and military skills."

"I certainly hope that is the case, my prince." Lord Tarly said, no longer sporting his usual stern face. From the way the old man's attitude had changed after he heard my comment in regards to house Tyrell, it seemed I've finally found something to hook him into assisting my Royal Legion to grow stronger.

That and his pride, of course.

"Now, let us return to my offer." I shifted the focus of our conversation back to where I wanted. "I'm aware that you can't be absent from your responsibilities as Lord of Hornhill for too long, but that's why I'm requesting to build a long-term garrison for the best of the best among my soldiers from the Reach to learn how to fight in unity and order. Of course, all the provisions required to feed and equip these legionnaires will be provided, alongside some generous payment for your good work."

The old man eventually raised his eyebrow, taking the six-years-old me seriously enough just like Tywin Lannister did after I told him about my mother and uncle's affair.

"That certainly can be arranged, my prince." Randyll Tarly finally gave in to my proposal. "And I accept your offer. In my opinion, it's about time the Seven Kingdoms raise a Royal Army, so it's in our best interest to make sure it's in the best shape it can possibly be."

"Agreed." I said before finally asking. "Your son, Samwell, is the same age as me, is he not?"

"I-I… I believe so… six… seven…my prince." It was clear to me that he had forgotten about that simple fact, proven by his unusual reaction.

"Would you be interested to have him fostered alongside me by Lord Tywin Lannister?" I tossed out the verbal bait and waited for him to bite.

If things were still supposed to follow the canonical timeline, Lord Tarly was working on having Sam fostered at the Arbor, and in exchange he was expecting to ward one of Lord Redwyne's sons and most likely plant the seeds of future marriages between the houses. But that would end terribly, with Sam being considered unfit to be made a page, and that would be the start of the great animosity between father and son.

"It would be an honor, my prince." Randyll Tarly uncharacteristically broke character once again and offered his older son to be raised in another Kingdom without hesitation. Guess I underestimated his expectations for his heir. Such a doting father.

Perhaps he was hoping that whatever methods Tywin used to shape his dwarf son into a talented marksman could also work on Samwell. Or even the training both my Knight and Monk aliases might be offering to my Legionnaires.

After all, before being desperate enough to have Sam sent to the Wall in order to join the Night's Watch, Lord Tarly tried even to bathe his older son in Aurochs' blood after some Qartheen warlocks claimed it would raise his valor.

Suffice to say that handing his eldest son in a silver platter to grow alongside the Crown Prince wasn't the farthest Randyll Tarly would be willing to go.

"Excellent." I replied before shaking hands and sealing our deal.

Unbeknownst to Randyll, I was also secretly feeding the Mimic disguised as my coin pouch with my other hand and having my cat stand vigilant for anyone that might want to eavesdrop on our conversation.

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(06/12/2021)

(11/12/2021)

(25/12/2021)

(24/07/2022)

*Hope this chapter is of your liking.

Anything you wish to ask or suggest, feel free to do so.

Check out my auxiliary chapter if you still haven't.

Thanks as always for your attention and please be safe.

Any problems with my writing, just point them out and I will correct them as soon as possible.

** Sorry for the constant delays.

*** As for the constant info dumps about the logistics of raising and maintaining a personal army, I will try to tone it down since most of you seem to not enjoy it that much. 😅 I'm aware that my writing skills aren't that high to make it more of a pleasant reading experience. Sorry if it really bothered you.

**** Shoutout to both fics: "The Ladder" by "Twubs" at Fanfiction.com and "Purple Days" by "barus" at forums.spacebattles.com. Really digging both stories.

***** To those that aren't fans of the MC revealing his powers to people, I have three arguments as to why I'm not keeping it a complete secret. First, he will eventually be known as a powerful individual capable of wielding magic. Second, it's much more helpful for those serving him to be made aware of some aspects like his magic, in order to either persuade them or merely make them useful in helping the MC work with his plans. Third, it helps me avoid writing everything as a jornal of everything that is happening without dialogues.

****** Merry Christmas everyone!!! 🎅🎄🎁😁 (I released this chapter in Christmas Eve 😅)