37

Chapter 37: Part XXXVIINotes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Disclaimer: I own nothing, just borrowing for a while.

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"As regards penetration it's important that you don't loose your bolt too early or the result will be disappointing. This being applicable to both crossbows and the bed-chamber."

The Wit and Wisdom of Tyrion Lannister - 325 AC

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The Red Keep - King's Landing – 299 AC

Tywin Lannister, Lord of Casterly Rock, Warden of the West and most recently Hand of the King had witnessed many strange and unusual things in his long life, but watching the King, his own grandson, being pelted with stones and loudly berating those flinging them for not throwing them hard enough was a whole new experience.

One of the three barracks of the City Watch of King's Landing was actually inside the walls of the Red Keep, that particular barracks being overlooked by the Tower of the Hand which was how Tywin happened to notice what was happening and decided to take a closer look. The barracks in question possessed a small parade ground bounded by buildings on three sides and it was within this semi-enclosed space that around sixty watchmen were currently formed up in a closely-packed triple-rank, each one carrying a large shield. They in turn were currently being assailed by a similar number of their compatriots who were hurling large pebbles, half-bricks and the like at them whilst also loudly screaming abuse.

It was all this ruckus that had induced Tywin to leave his office high in the tower to go see what exactly was going on down there. He had needed to take a walk anyway, sit down too long at his desk at his age and it became increasingly difficult to get back up, so in some ways it was a welcome excuse to put aside his administrative duties for a short while.

The commotion was obviously meant to simulate dealing with a riot or major disturbance and Tywin was pleased to see they were making some effort at realism. Nothing concentrates the mind on a task like the prospect that if you don't take it seriously you're going to receive a hefty chunk of brick in the face, he decided, and the men with shields were thus well motivated in their handling of them.

Somewhere among the men with shields young King Joffrey himself was yelling orders for the front rank directly facing the 'rioters' to keep tight in formation, shields locked, and for the two ranks of men behind to keep their shields held aloft to form an impromptu roof above them all.

The shields reminded Tywin of the unusually large, rectangular type used by some heavy infantry in the North and he supposed that was where his grandson had gotten the idea. They allowed a very sturdy and protective shield wall to form, if one that could be unwieldy on a fast-moving battlefield, and they were ideal for this particular situation.

"Beat the drum!" the king's voice could be heard to thunder whereupon the men with shields began to thump their iron-reinforced cudgels against them.

It might not work as an intimidation tactic against seasoned troops but as the crashing sound of heavy clubs on shields echoed off the walls Tywin thought it likely it would give a disorderly mob pause for thought. You wouldn't want one of those cudgels hitting you instead of the shields and while a guardsman may not be bloodthirsty enough to stab a possibly unarmed rioter he would likely be somewhat less reticent to beat one insensible instead.

After another half-minute or so of this noisy rigmarole a whistle blew and the men throwing stones ceased doing so. They continued to mock the men with shields and swear for a short time however, clearly enjoying themselves, and it was all meant in good spirit.

Honestly it did look like fun, Tywin thought to himself, not that he would admit to anyone that he wouldn't have minded joining in himself. Just close enough to the chaotic thrill and disorder of battle but lacking the prospect of getting killed or maimed he considered.

I'm getting staid, Tywin decided. Time for a hunting trip, or at least a few hours of fishing during which he could put aside the business of government and relax.

"Company is dismissed for luncheon. Just remember that out in the streets we'll have rioters dropping things on us from high windows too" Joffrey's voice sounded out from within the block of men. "Tiles from the roofs of houses as well most likely, not to mention some fuckers with a sense of humour taking a piss on us which I'm not going to make you practice dealing with" he added to some laughter as the formation broke up. "There's barrels of small beer from the cellars laid out with the bread and cheese inside the mess hall" the king announced to a ragged cheer of approval. The men would have likely preferred a stronger brew but that would have been too much to hope for, they were on duty.

Giving out free beer was good for morale, making it sure was only weak beer was good for discipline Tywin concurred with the boy's decision.

As the men headed off Octavian noticed Tywin and trotted over towards him the plated mail, helm and the weapons on his belt chinking and clanking against each other as he did do.

He was feeling pleased that the training was going well so far as his smile undoubtedly indicated. Some of the older men in the City-Watch were leary of new ideas, they preferred to deal with riots by simply stabbing at the unruly rabble with spears, but it would be hard to argue that the boy-king's "Tortoise" formation didn't work very well. Even as you could feel the bricks and stones impact your shield and bounce away you felt perfectly safe inside the shield-wall formed in front and above you as this practice had demonstrated to potential naysayers.

The day before with a different group of men undergoing the same training they had even attempted moving forward as one while keeping the formation which had proved more than problematic at first. They had gotten better with practice but it was going to take a lot more before they could claim to have mastered it.

"Having fun, Your Grace?" Tywin inquired, bowing to the king as he approached.

"Only incidentally, My Lord Hand" Octavian responded. "It's supposed to be more instructional than it is indulgent" he noted.

"As an outside observer it seemed to be both" Tywin told him. "I doubt a shield that size could be made thick enough to stop a crossbow bolt or a warbow arrow penetrating except at considerable range" he observed, taking a closer look at the one Octavian was carrying. "Not and still be light enough to hold high above your head for very long" he reasoned.

Octavian held up the shield. "It's made of a laminate of thin wood sheets glued together, the direction of the grain at odds each layer to add strength, and the curve across the plane of the shield makes it rigid and more resilient" he replied. "Though granted of course it's not going to withstand a massed volley of hardened steel projectiles as well as it is a hail of bricks, cobble-stones and roof tiles" he agreed.

Tywin nodded. "Well to be fair I suppose for every proper battle the City Watch ever has to fight it has to deal with a dozen riots" he accepted the premise. "Talking of crossbows I've been seeing more of the City-Watch practising with them of late."

"Far easier to make them proficient with those than a warbow" Octavian confirmed. "As you know it takes generations of experience being passed on, and then years of individual practice, to be effective with a warbow" he said. "Or at least one possessing enough draw-weight to be an actual threat to a man in armour."

"If you want a good longbowman you have to start with his grandfather" Tywin recalled the old truism. "Hand an unskilled peasant a crossbow however and he can bring down the greatest knight in the Seven Kingdoms with only a little luck and less than half a day's practice."

Octavian put down his shield, the weight of the thing was starting to make his arm stiffen. "I suspect that's the real reason Uncle Jaime hates crossbows so much" he theorised, "his protestations that they're a coward's weapon notwithstanding" he continued. "All those years of practice to become the greatest swordsman in the land and some peasant puts a crossbow bolt into him from thirty paces" he said with a shrug "Of course, if the peasant misses, or the knight's armour holds, then the peasant is…"

"Fucked" Tywin finished for him, bad language was occasionally the most apt and succinct choice of words. "Crossbows are effective, but I've also seen them shot off the field of battle by longbowmen loosing at thrice their rate" he warned the lad whose enthusiasm for the devices was well-known. "Any crossbow powerful enough to pierce armour worth the name, even gambeson or hardened leather, is inherently slow to reload and I've yet to see a crossbow that was any threat to good quality plate that didn't need a crank or a pulley to draw it" he added from experience.

"I'm certain of it, but for the City Watch in a siege they're blessed with crenellations atop the wall to duck behind while they span the crossbow again" Octavian countered. "In any case I'm also considering recruiting a company of trained archers to support the crossbowmen as happens in the Lannister Army" he told him, gifting Tywin some of the credit for the idea. "Thanks to dismissing so many men for being either corrupt or physically unfit the City Watch is rather smaller at the moment than its nominal strength on the rolls would indicate, so as I bring it back to its full complement of men I'm also going to broaden its capabilities" he explained his intentions. "Not just in terms of keeping the peace and defending the city, but also greater emphasis on fire-fighting duties as well."

Tywin smiled with approval. "Useful for the City and keeps the men too busy to cause mischief if they're drilling with ladders and buckets" he surmised. "Armed men are necessary to maintain order and security but if they're idle and listless they're a potential threat to both."

"The Great Other makes work for idle hands, as the Lady Melisandre would say" Octavian replied. "She's certainly taken that to heart with Thoros of Myr. I don't think a life of sobriety and moderation enforced by constant nagging and harping on about his duty to the Lord of Light agrees with him."

"Ah so that's the reason he looks so miserable as he walks around the Red Keep these days" Tywin realised. "Never much cared for the man's company myself, drunken oaf that he is, but I considered he earned the right for a little wine and rum-fuelled debauchery when he led the assault through the breach at Pyke. Such courage should be rewarded so as to encourage others to emulate it in future" he recommended, always taking the opportunity to pass on wisdom. "You're not planning to increase the number of Gold Cloaks overall then?" he queried.

"Not as such, too much of a draw on our empty coffers, but once I've gotten the City Watch running smoothly I'm considering adding a part-time volunteer auxiliary force to the ranks, something for the sons of craftsmen and merchants who can at least partially fund their own equipment and won't require regular pay" Octavian told him.

"The kind of men that also have an interest in maintaining law and order because their livelihoods depend upon it" Tywin surmised.

"Quite so" Octavian confirmed. "They get the chance to dress up in armour and play soldier for a couple of days once a month or so and we get a low-cost reserve we can train to a standard that makes them effective enough to at least help hold a section of the wall if necessary" Octavian explained. "Give the most promising from among them some rank both to inflate their egos and raise their perceived standing in society, and even perhaps invite them to the occasional royal feast to keep them loyal and enthusiastic."

Tywin frowned. "There are men with lands and titles in the Crownlands and elsewhere that might not appreciate lowborns gaining such standing" he warned.

"If I present it as a means to bolster the City Watch without having to raise their taxes then I think I should be able to win the naysayers around" Octavian replied confidently. "It certainly shouldn't be too hard to convince anybody that the Watch isn't in dire need of reform. They're considered a joke throughout the Seven Kingdoms. On that note, and with your agreement, I might seek to borrow a small number of advisors from the Lannisport City Watch who do have a reputation for competence."

"It's certainly safer to walk the streets there than here" Tywin agreed after a moment's consideration. "Our distant cousin Reginald might not have the sharpest wits in the family but at least he has enough sense not to meddle with an effective City Watch that more gifted members of House Lannister of Lannisport established and then bequeathed to him."

Octavian looked thoughtful. "Could you perhaps make the request to Cousin Reginald on my behalf grandfather?" he asked. "I'll not need more than half a dozen men of proven ability to provide instruction and not indefinitely."

"Of course, Your Grace" Tywin agreed. "I must say it's gratifying to see that you don't think you know everything already and aren't too arrogant to seek such advice" he remarked. "It's a trap clever men can oft fall into, confusing intelligence with knowledge and wisdom gained by experience."

"I consider myself fortunate to have Lord Stark and yourself to govern while I try and accumulate the latter two" Octavian replied, rightly assuming the man would also be gratified by that sentiment as well.

Tywin looked pleased for a moment before adopting a quizzical expression. "As a hypothetical musing I've been meaning to ask you what you think would have happened if Stannis had taken the Iron Throne based upon his argument that all children born to Baratheon's are 'dark of hair', only for the revelation that Jocelyn Baratheon's daughter Rhaenys inherited her father's Targaryen silver locks to emerge later."

Octavian laughed. "It wouldn't have" he replied. "I have little doubt that the maesters would have supressed the information, even to the extend of editing the histories, in order to prevent it" he stated confidently. "It's not like someone can go back in time to check for themselves."

"Why would they do that?" Tywin inquired, Octavian suspected this was a test of sorts being set for him.

"Because above all else the Order of Maesters wants to stay on good terms with the Iron Throne" Octavian explained. "Stability and order in the land is good for them, it helps them maintain their monopoly of knowledge" he continued. "A rift between the Iron Throne and the Maesters during the reign of the Mad King allowed the Guild of Alchemists to flourish, they'll not want that to happen again" he stated with certainty. "Of course if 'King Stannis' ever somehow proved an existential threat for them they could always find the original documents that mentioned the Baratheon with a fair-haired child again and let them slip."

Octavian wasn't sure how to interpret the expression that now appeared on Tywin's face, it looked like one he was far from accustomed to wearing and his 'grandfather' wasn't quite sure how to do it.

Oh right, now I understand, Octavian thought to himself as Tywin suddenly pulled him into a hug mumbling something about pride.

It was equally uncomfortable for both of them.

Notes:

Note from the Author:

Modern Riot Police started using a formation suspiciously similar to the Roman Testudo in the late twentieth century (you can even find them using shields the same size and shape as the classic Roman Scutum). Octavian is both ahead of his time and of his own time in adopting it here to deal with rioters in King's Landing.

In the books an Iron Cudgel is one of the weapons noted to be employed by the City Watch of King's Landing. Sometimes you need a means to keep order rather less fatal than a sword or spear, watchmen in Ancient Rome carried something very similar.

Way back when I started writing this story Rhaenys Targaryen was said to have silver hair (not the dark hair of her mother Jocelyn Baratheon) at least according to The Princess and the Queen (published 2013). Then in 2018 this was retconned by the book Fire & Blood which said she had dark hair like her mother (although this was supposedly an in-universe history and hence not as reliable an account).

Now in 2022 Rhaenys Targaryen has silver hair like her father again, as per her appearance in House of the Dragon.

BARATHEON'S CAN HAVE CHILDREN WITH FAIR HAIR CONFIRMED! STRENGTH OF SEED EXAGGERATED! ;-)