Game Of Thrones Joffrey Baratheon Purple Days

Joffrey blinked his eyes open as he smelled the worst thing that had ever had the misfortune of entering his nose. He immediately puked to his left, emptying his guts as he felt an arm shaking him from the right.

"I'm okay Hound, I'm okay…" he muttered as he spat the last bits of bile and the remains of a spicy Wo-shu.

"You should keep to Yi-Tish Joffrey, you're sounding twice as barbaric right now" said a voice to his right as the man helped him up.

"Captain Biming! By the gods I could kiss you right now" Joffrey laughed as he stumbled , getting his bearings.

All around him he could see Scouts and Garrison Irons mounting up and tossing final bits and bobs into the raging bonfires that had sprung all around the oasis.

"And I hope to the gods that you don't!" Biming chuckled as he shook a bit of dust off his shoulder and emptied a pewter cup with some foul smelling yellow herbs. "Come on, let's get back to Lin's Watch. Command will want my head if this really was a diversion" he said as he got back on his nearby horse.

"Joffrey! Just in the nick of time as always!" laughed Captain Han as he slapped him on the back with the euphoric strength of a man who'd courted death. "If you haven't distracted half of them while Captain Biming and his boys got here… I guess we would have joined them… gods…" he muttered, the euphoria going away with the realization of what he'd just gotten saved from.

"Corpses come back from their graves… I think I know where all our missing scouts are ending up…" Joffrey said as he shook his head.

Han nodded too, swallowing something sour. "This… this is bad. We need to get back to the Greytower as soon as possible" he said.

"Agreed, but for now we should ride back to Lin's Watch" Joffrey told him as he searched for a mount, confusing memories of power and death, grey and silver revolving inside his mind.

Soon all the soldiers were back on the saddle and on the trail, leaving behind only ash and smoke.

-.PD.-

"We'll leave the wounded here with Captain Biming, but the rest should be ready to make the journey back to the Greytower by tomorrow" Han said as him, Joffrey and a few of the Scouts walked through Lin's Vigil, going to their small barracks inside the Keep.

"Good, Red Section should be back from Patrol the day after tomorrow, assuming they're still alive of course… they'll take the wounded back to the Greytower" Joffrey agreed.

Han nodded, "In that case--" he shouted as he jumped back along with Joffrey and the other scouts, instinctively trying to evade the monster that jumped from the ceiling.

Joffrey, Han and the rest of the scouts all whipped out their bows and loosed a hale of arrows on the deformed man, whose long wings were longer that its body and whose long teeth peeked out from its mouth.

"Cease shooting! Cease shooting!" Joffrey shouted, examining the thing more closely. It was mangled and torn, with its four, well, all six of its extremities nailed to the table that had descended from the ceiling, suspended from thick ropes. All the arrows only left it worse.

The scouts tried to control their breathing as they lowered their bows, and slowly started to chuckle.

"Gods… These Garrison Irons must have a Scout's sense of humor to pull this after what happened…" Han said with a nervous chuckle. "I think they set it up earlier and forgot to tell us about it after all the… well…" Joffrey muttered as Han approached the dead body.

"Wait" Joffrey said, peering intently at the thing, watching for any sign of movement.

Han froze as Joffrey took out his katana and walked in front of the thing, peering closely.

He must have spent a minute just staring, katana at the ready.

Joffrey shook his head as he turned back. "I'm sorry, its just-"

He saw Han's expression morph into alarm half a second before he felt a fierce pain on his left ear.

He screamed as he tumbled forward, whipping his katana around and slashing at the thing.

The reanimated Winged Man regarded him with grey, almost dissolved eyes as it snapped and shrieked, straining to get another bite out of his ear. Joffrey slashed and slashed as Han and a few other joined in, tearing the corpse apart.

No one was laughing as Joffrey put a hand on his bleeding ear, looking at the now still corpse.

"Burn it. Burn it now" he whispered, his mind trying and failing to comprehend what was happening.

Living corpses and giant disappearing lions, what the hells is happening to the world… He thought, dazed as someone pressed a bandage to his ear.

-.PD.-

"The Silver Lion huh?" Colonel Jin asked with a smirk as they walked up the Greytower's long stairs.

"I'm not some kind of messiah!" Joffrey snapped, the mere thought of it bringing back memories of fire and madmen. Even worse, to think about an eventual group like that worshiping him, it made him want to puke again.

"Not even close Joffrey…" Jin said with a fond snort. "Those R'hllorites must have filled your head with camel shit, all they see is Black and White… Well, Black and Red I suppose" he chuckled at his own joke. "Great struggles between good and evil, saviors and gods amongst men… we leave that kind of thinking for your seven obsessed priests and those poor souls on Asshai, all that Ghost Grass sneaks into their brains while they sleep…" he said with another snort. "I guess you could draw parallels with our ancient histories if you squint enough, our first emperor did descend from the Lion-of-the-night and the Maiden-of-Light, but believe me no one is going to start a cult around here…"

"So the men aren't going to start worshipping me as the son of the Lion-of-the-Night or something like that?" Joffrey asked in hope as they cleared another set of stairs.

Jin's chuckle morphed into outright laughter at that "Oh Joffrey, your Yi-Tish has gotten so good I sometimes forget you're still a barbarian. A-a s-s-son!" He laughed again, trying to hold back tears. "I can see how an outsider reading from our books but not being brought up in our culture could think that, but what you are saying is so preposterous most Yi-Tish would just go 'huh?'. Without going into details, our whole cosmology works very differently than the other alternatives, a whole lot less 'dualistic' as a monk sage once told me… the son of the Lion-of-the-Night ascended to the heavens long, long ago and he's not coming back. So don't worry about it unless you have a sudden urge to worship something inanimate, like a black stone, that has gained traction before. Of course, you're just as likely to get your throat slit than a cult around you if you did that…" Jin said.

You're wasted here, you should be on the Citadel forging a metal mask… Joffrey thought for the umpteenth time.

"And the whispers and the murmurs?" Joffrey asked, wanting to be sure.

"Just soldiers being soldiers. Those who saw it spread the tale, and now the men think the gods delivered an omen for the Scouts, the Irons as a whole or the entire Dawn Legion according to who you ask. The fact that it was delivered through a barbarian is a subject of discussion amongst the men. The Scouts of course have taken it as a sign that the gods are devious tricksters just like them" he said with another small chuckle. "Whispers and murmurs of victory and silver for the Expedition, they're good for morale and right now we need all of it and more, considering the circumstances…" he continued as they cleared the stairs and walked through a long corridor.

"A pragmatic point of view" Joffrey muttered, thinking. It seemed that even after years living here, he still had ways to go before truly grasping how the Yi-Tish thought. He was right though, the stories about shambling, reanimated scouts were already percolating through the ranks, chipping at their much needed morale.

He shook his head. "Still, acclaimed or not I'll talk to the General about the damned extra sun. Soldiers of the Dawn can refuse promotions and I'll--" Joffrey was cut off when Jin suddenly grabbed him and shoved him through a door, slamming him on the wall of a small room.

"Get out and close the door" he told the two Threerays doing inventory on a pile of weapons arrayed around them.

When they left and Jin turned back to look at Joffrey, the laughing part had been left behind. He was all Tiger now.

"Now you listen to me Major, I'm not supposed to speak about the meeting we are about to attend but every oneray and his dog know what it's all about, so I'll speak clearly for once" he said, dead serious.

"You'll be going out on the Beyond in charge of good men, brave men. Men that need competent officers at their helm. I won't be going with them…" he said the last part as if it physically pained him. "And that means I won't be there to hold your hand if you panic about commanding again! You are a decent shot with a bow, know Fol-Fing's ramblings upwards and downwards, learned by memory all the tactics I've taught you and proven yourself in combat to be at least no worse off than any other officer on the Scouts! The only thing that's missing is that you shovel those little facts on that barbarian skull of yours" he said as he pounded his finger against Joffrey's forehead.

"Now you'll keep that blasted extra sun on your chest, attend the meeting and do whatever the good General asks of you to the best of your ability, am I clear Major Joffrey!?" he snapped.

"Yes Sir!" Joffrey snapped, not feeling very sure about it all but instinct commanding him to obey.

"Good!" Jin said as he released him and dusted him off as if nothing had happened. "Then let's get out of here before those Threerays start imagining things" he said, opening the door and strolling out.

Joffrey shook his head, taking a few seconds to center himself.

I've never seen Jin that shaken before… the fact that apparently everyone but him is going out to find what the hells is going on must be getting to him too…

A full Twosun… gods how did I end up here… besides the piles of better, dead officers that is…

Living corpses and winged men and magic… And now I'm supposed to be one of the people that decide what to do about that stuff… I'm so out of my depth I might as well be a flopping fish on the Dornish desert…

He banished those doubts as he walked out, intent on figuring them out later and focusing on the right now.

As he and the Colonel walked by a smirking threeray sporting two water canteens for some reason, Joffrey took a deep breathe. They walked a bit more before entering the Plotting Room, its door guarded by two spear wielding Sunbeams.

The room was full to bursting, filled with men in differing garments and armors, ranks and branches. Those of lesser rank stood leaning on the walls while those of higher rank sat in the great wooden table at the middle, talking between themselves and looking at a great map of the Beyond at the head of it, filled with different colored pins and woolen strings.

A Sunbeam escorted them to their assigned seats slowly, excusing and vaguely shoving officers out of the way before finally arrived at their places, only a few chairs away from the great chair below the big Plotting Map.

They barely managed to sit when they had to rise again.

"THE HONORABLE GENERAL YU! COMMANDER OF THE DAWN SCOUTS!" Bellowed one of the Sunbeams, slamming his heavy spear on the ground. The assembled officers stood up in respect as the 'Night Hawk' himself walked past the doors, gesturing at the men.

"Please sit, it's crowded enough as it is" he said quietly as he made his way to his seat.

Those that had chairs sat as the General eyed his big chair with disgust. The Sunbeam's eyes suddenly widened as if he had just remembered something, dashing in and removing the chair to the annoyance of the crowded room in general.

The General nodded thanks at the Sunbeam, now using the space cleared to pace slowly in front of the Plotting Chart. "I think better when I walk, and I think everyone here has seared that map into their memories…" he said as he moved the platform that held the map backwards, earning a small chuckle from the assembled officers.

"Let's get this started then" he said as he turned back and regarded the men, hands clasped on his back, positively radiating an Aura of Serene Command. The General was still regarded as one of the best shots in the Scouts, despite the eye he'd lost decades ago. He was of average height for a Yi-Tish, and his eyes were a dark brown and pale white respectively, which combined with his bald, scarred head and small but bushy whiskers made his stare all the more powerful.

"Many of you here are new faces, so I don't need to tell you that this last year has been hard on the Scouts. We have lost many friends, but many other worthy men have risen to take their place, and Still We Stand" he said, repeating an old rallying cry of the Forts.

"Still We Stand" muttered the assembled officers, faces set in hard determination.

"Something is stirring in the Beyond, and High Command fears what that may be. Horsechiefs and Camel Tribe attacks have slackened to a historical low while entire Shryke populations have disappeared from their city ruins. We have received reports from the Dusk Scouts that the Winged Men are fleeing their Cliffside colonies that border the Bleeding Sea, escaping south. Cultist Aspirants roam the wastes preaching of madness and death…" he let that sink in for a second or two before delivering the killing blow.

"And we have confirmed the rumors of walking corpses, shambling with only the intent to kill and destroy" here the discipline of the officers cracked as everybody tried to speak at the same time, only to silence when the General simply said "Quiet". He let the lull still as he looked at each officer, eyes boring like loaded ballistas.

"Questions can come at the end, but for now know that the living corpses are a real and present threat to the Legion, though there have been no sightings of a controlling Sorcerer … yet…" he let the ominous implication hang in the air, and Joffrey could suddenly feel the deep and forgotten past emerging into the present, a looming presence of legends and horrors at his back, slowly enveloping the room in heavy foreboding. Magic was a bit more out there in the mainstream in Yi-Ti compared to Westeros, or at least in the Beyond and the Legions. But mass reanimation… it was a fit of epic, horrifying proportions. It was whispered that the Lord of Carcosa himself, the 'Yellow Emperor', was using the Beyond as his personal farming preserve, building an army of the dead to defeat the Azure Emperor and all the other contenders of the bloody Civil War.

Joffrey had his doubts though. For one, why were the Winged Men fleeing south, the direction of the Sorcerer Lord's stronghold, if he was the one responsible for the madness in the Beyond?

"The condor arrived this morning… Command has finally authorized a Deep Scouting Operation into the Beyond, and we are going in force. Colonel Jin will hold the Greytower while I will be leading the majority of the Dawn Scouts for this operation, along with some reinforcements from the Dawn Fort which I will be introducing shortly. Know that this will be one of the few times such a large force has forayed so deep into the Beyond, at least within written records. The eyes of our ancestors are upon us, and they will accept nothing but our best. We will be out for an estimated six months, ranging all over the Beyond in search of clues, thought that may change regarding the circumstances as we know nothing of this enemy force beyond myth and rumors, not even their intentions beyond a penchant for killing" the General said, extending a hand to his left and receiving a white paper from the old Greatbeam who got there in the nick of time, giving him the paper and standing to the left and back at attention, face stoic.

"For our equipment, aside from double the usual for a Long Patrol, Colonel Jin and I used a few favors back at the Dawn Fort and managed to procure a shipment of Heavy Camelry Sabers. That and the heavy broadpoint arrow tips Greatbeam Leng and his men have been forging for us should give our force a bit more of an offensive heft, as our sharp but light katanas and bodkin points have proved somewhat ineffective against the corpses" he said, reading from the paper. The Greatbeam was a unique rank, a kind of master of Sunbeams that mainly dealt with the forges, armories and equipment. He was a constant presence by the General, and rumor had it that they'd been saving each other's lives long before they even joined the Legion.

Thank the old gods for Jin and the General, Joffrey thought, acutely aware of how ineffective a katana could be when the limbs you cut kept moving. It could get the job done he supposed, but why risk it?

"Good, tell him that I want double that by tomorrow" he told Greatbeam Leng, who nodded and walked out just as suddenly as he had arrived.

"Now I'll introduce a few additions Command has chosen to regale us with, some of the most capable, resourceful men in the Legion who the Dawn Fort feels might be of use during our operation. We welcome them to the Dawn Scouts with open arms, grateful for their assistance" he said with a small bow, deftly avoiding any interbranch nonsense from the start and leaving the ground set for cooperation.

I guess at that level even military command has a measure of politics, Joffrey thought as the General nodded at a heavy, muscled man of dark complexion, a very, very rare sight in the Legion.

"Major Yham commands the Garrison's 6th and 9th Heavy Camelry, a potent hammer that will be a major component of our striking formation" he said.

"Sir!" said Major Yham as he stood up. He wasn't all that big, but he was wide. His upper frame was a mass of muscles, especially his arms, which rumor back on the Dawn Fort said were capable of splitting a Horsechief's horse in half when on camelback and with a sabre. The 'Dark Rhino's reputation however, did not come from his great strength but from his silent intellect. Always with an uncanny ability to strike down even the best laid of enemies plans, the rumors also said you could tie a bandana over his eyes and he'd still be able to lead a charge right at the enemy's rear, with the perfect timing to break then as well. He spoke with a lilting accent, vaguely similar to what a summer islander must have had if he spoke Yi-Tish, Joffrey guessed. "I'm honored to have been chosen to support this Expedition, our bodies will lay eternally in the sands before we forsake that honor" he said with a swift nod and a glimmer in his eyes before sitting back down.

"Honored to have you Major" Said the General, turning to look at the other side of the table.

"Captain Biju commands the Dawn Fort's 22nd Iron Guards, a mixed support unit who will be handling close in protection for our supply wagons" General Yu said, unleashing brief but speculative whispers amongst the audience. They were low but Joffrey could hear one thing whispered in repeated speculation.

"The Sixth Fort" they said.

"Sir!" Said Captain Biju as he stood up ramrod straight, a hulking monster of a man whose red bamboo overarmor made him seem even larger. The 22nd Iron Guards had a bit of a reputation within the Legion as fierce fighters always with a trick up their sleeve, especially when handling what were usually vulnerabilities on an army or fortress. Time and again had the unit been savaged by fierce attacks trying to get at their precious charges, only to be rebuffed. With time, the unit had acquired an elite status, and it was mostly conformed of veterans. "The 22nd Stands!" He said the unit's unofficial motto before sitting down at the General's nod, letting his reputation fill any gaps in that introduction.

General Yu turned to look at a small man sitting in front of Joffrey.

"Captain Xon-Mi commands the Architect's 12th Flying Artillery, and the Wooden Irons have decided to regale him with double his usual load of ammunition" The General said with a smirk, one which was returned at full bore by the small, slightly scarred and burned man.

"Sir!" He said as he stood up, not even sweating under his great fireram coat, "Be it foot support or siege combat, the Architects have sent nothing but their best for this operation, including a few surprises I designed myself… " He let that hang ominously as he sat down after the General nodded, looking very comfortable. The officers around him subconsciously leaned away, an altogether reasonable reaction when seating next to a happy Architect combat officer. The Wood-and-Iron sun didn't care however, probably musing about what kinds of dangerous gifts he could regale upon the mysterious enemies out in the Beyond.

The General turned this time to the end of the table, where a man wearing a dark, dark-blue cloth sat silently.

"And last but certainly not least, Captain Jhos commands the Jade Scribe's Leaping Frog Constellation. I assume that his addition was not unexpected, given the nature of the environment we will be facing out there…" he said. The Jade Moon nodded as he stood up and spoke with a deep voice at odds with his diminutive frame and long black ponytail, "Sir" he said with a deep bow before sitting back down at the General's nod. He didn't say anything beyond that…

There where whispers this time too. Ominous whispers. The captains of the Jade Constellations were very well known, as few as they were. For the Jade Scribes to have sent an unknown with not even an animal name that anybody knew of… either he had join and been promoted yesterday…

Or…

Or his was the group that handled the unknown, darker problems of the Jade Scribes. Threats that even they preferred to keep under wraps after being dealt with.

The Night Hawk nodded back one last time "And now for the Scouts themselves, I'll introduce the formation's commanding officers. Make no mistake, each of you have been chosen for their proven worth in their assigned duties, but this operation is likely to stretch your will and skill to the limit. However, I would not have assigned these commands upon you if I thought you were incapable of transcending said limits" he said, gazing at the sitting officer.

General Yu stepped to the side as the Sunbeams brought back the Plotting Map, this time flipped and showing several rectangles arrayed in formations, filled with pins of different colors.

"You will have all of tomorrow to meet your peers and commanders to work up a smooth chain of command, but for now I will read out loud our operational order"

"Major Xu" Said the General.

"Sir!" said the Red Gorilla as he stood up.

"You will be in command of the forward formation. You will handle security and frontal scouting. That means the 9th and 10th Patrols, as well as the 2nd, 3rd and 7th Long Patrols," The 'Night Hawk' commanded.

"Yes General!" Xu saluted before sitting.

Long Patrols, the hardy Dawn Scouts which routinely braved the outer reaches of the Beyond… they'd know better than anyone else what awaited for them out there. The van was an excellent place for them.

Van… an obsolete term here…

Three Long Patrols, they are usually made up of just a single Section, meaning 25 men each… plus two normal Patrols of 50 men each… Its 175 men in total…

The General pointed to another formation with his bamboo rod.

"Major Yham" he said.

"Sir!" Said the Dark Rhino in a perfect inspection salute.

"I'll be riding with our heavy striking formation, which will be under your command. That means both the 6th and 9th Heavy Camelry as well as the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Rangers" he said, pointing at the different pins with a small bamboo rod he picked up from below it.

Joffrey restrained the urge to whistle out out. That was three of all five Ranger groups, the Dawn Scouts that specialized in heavy combat. They specialized in melee weapons, especially the larger Dai-Katanas, heavy Naginatas and Battleaxes while wearing somewhat heavier armor and sometimes even tower shields. While their autonomy was shit compared to a standard patrol, well supported they could take a fortress by themselves… and they were bringing 150 of them, plus 100 Heavy Camel Lancers from the Dawn Fort's Garrison.

"Major Wuhan" said the General.

"Sir!" snapped the Major which Joffrey didn't know all too well, besides his animal name that is, 'the Stout Eagle' they'd acclaimed him.

"You will be in command of the central formation, behind heavy strike. That means our main body, reserves and supplies. You will command the 12th, 13th, 14th and 15th Patrols as well as the 22nd Iron Guards" he commanded.

200 Scouts plus the 22nd Iron Guards, which is always a 'reinforced' unit. 300 men at the center…

"Yes General!" he saluted before he sat down.

"Major Pigu" he said.

"Sir!" said the long, thin man as he stood up. The 'Patient Mantis' was often regarded as gangly and awkward, a mistake that had been the last committed by many a Raider, who sometimes, it was said, were still smirking at the easy victory in sight as their necks opened and blood came pouring out of their startled mouths.

"You will be in command of the rear, both security and trail confusion. We won't be moving very fast, but we will be leaving zero clues of our passage if possible, or alternating trails if not. To that effect you will command the 16th and the 18th Patrols, as well as the 4th, 5th and 6th Long Patrols for rear and flank area coverage" the Night Hawk commanded.

"Yes General!" snapped Major Pigu, the opposite hand curiously never leaving his dagger's pommel.

Another 175 men for the rear…

Wait, that's it?

He suddenly sagged in a strange mix of relief and raging panic at the thought of being left behind.

I-I-I think the General did the right thing. I'm not sure I'd-

"Major Joffrey" said the General.

"Sir!" snapped Joffrey as he stood up, ramrod straight.

"You will be in command of our support formation, a kind of armory well equipped for dealing with any non-obvious problems we encounter. You will technically ride in between the rear and the center, but you will probably be detached often for smaller missions on the nearby areas around the main force. You have developed a bit of a reputation as being capable of figuring out and dealing with tricky, unexpected situations. You'll serve the same role for the Expedition, a sort of tool wagon equipped for handling the unexpected" he said, punctuating his sentences with his bamboo rod, showing a formation on the corner of the Plot Map.

"To that effect you will command your old 17th Patrol as well as Captain Han's 11th, both understrength but veterans which fought the Reanimated and lived to tell the tale. You will also be commanding the 1st Long Patrol, the 4th Rangers, the 12th Flying Artillery and the Leaping Frog Constellation, a mixed bag which should prove deadly under your hands" Commanded the Night Hawk.

"Yes General!" Joffrey said as he saluted, slamming a fist on his heart with all his strength before sitting down.

A bit less than 275 men… I'll be commanding a bit less than 275 men… by the gods…

General Yu stood there for a bit, letting his officers think about the momentous task which awaited... Joffrey could see how a dark cloud settled over the men, a cloud of fear and something far worse: uncertainty. The General gazed at the Plot Map, slowly flipping it back to the Map of the Beyond. He briefly touched the five black pins on the south western corner, feeling their contexture. "I won't lie... High Command is scared" he suddenly said, gazing back at them. "And now that there's a relative lull in the Civil War they're shoving the best that they have at me and hoping I'll find answers behind what's forming between the sandstorms of the Beyond… and either we or our comrades of the Dusk Scouts may find exactly what we are looking for…" he let that hang there for two seconds, almost reinforcing the dark cloud.

Suddenly, the General abandoned his usually quiet tone, his voice rising in intensity like a stoked fire, his sudden zeal all the more enveloping because of its rarity "But we will prevail… Because we serve a cause far greater than emperors and empires, than gold or silver… We serve every man and child, every mother and wife, every citizen and every barbarian throughout the Known World! Be it the Yellow Emperor or the Demons of the Night, whatever we find, We Will Stand! For more than ten thousand years the Legions have guarded the Five Forts, and they will guard them for another ten thousand more! Still We Stand!" the General suddenly shouted.

"Still We Stand!" bellowed the assembled officers, standing up.

"Dawn!" shouted the General, harder this time as he raised his sheathed katana to the air.

"DAWN!!!" roared Joffrey and the rest of the officers, bumping katana sheaths on the floor or pommeling the table with their sabers, unleashing a rattling that must have surely been felt all the way to K'Dath and Beyond.

-.PD.-

The Greytower was a hive of activity for the next three days, but Joffrey would have sworn they spent only one long day getting ready for the Expedition.

That's what it felt for him anyway. He barely slept as he wrangled more broadheads from the Greatbeam, inspected the Long Carts and met the men he was supposed to be commanding.

He barely had a moment to speak with them as it was, so frenzied were the preparations at the Greytower. He resolved to get to know them properly after they departed, feeling that having a good working relationship was paramount for the smooth working of the force he was suddenly commanding, the weight of which had not yet settled into his mind. After hearing and even witnessing more than a few military fuck ups on Westeros because of miscommunication between lords, he was eager to bury that problem before it even arose.

As it was, he barely managed to have his force equipped and in formation when General Yu sounded the Scout's Horn, a slightly smaller, black version of a typical one.

"You're trying too hard Joffrey" Suddenly said Colonel Jin, who was standing beside Joffrey's horse, watching as the first scouts moved out passing below the crowded Greytower's portcullis.

"What?" asked Joffrey, confused.

"'The Serene can only be felt within, not found" he suddenly quoted.

"Fol-Fing?" Joffrey asked as the central formation started to move.

"Do not dwell on your doubts and failures Joffrey. Look forever forwards and you might be surprised about what you find when you sneak a glance back inside…" Jin said.

"Yes, Archmaester Jin" Joffrey nodded wisely, holding back a smirk.

"I have no use for metal masks here. It's hot enough as it is… Good luck Major" Jin said suddenly, staring straight at him.

"Good luck Colonel, you keep my seat on the barracks warmed up!" Joffrey said.

Jin chuckled, "You should stick to the dice and leave the cards to me… Anyhow, I will wait for your water rations in expectation. Dawn!" The Colonel saluted.

"Dawn!" Joffrey saluted before turning his head back.

"Support Formation! Move out!" he shouted, gesturing with his hand.

The wagons, horses and camels lurched forward, and as the Greytower slowly fell out of sight, Joffrey put on his grey-brown Scout's hood. He daydreamed as he rode, snugged in between the rear and the center, thinking about mysterious lions and corpses, of magic and blood, of riddles and answers.

"I'll be ready" he muttered as he rode.

"I have to…" he whispered, the grey horizon beckoning, tantalizing.

Waiting...

-.PD.-