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Chapter 3: Army Marches Home

Created: 9.11.16, Edited: 12.18.20 & 3.1.22

Circa 289 AC

The army reached Riverrun for a parade of welcome, and a week of celebratory feasts led by the King and Lord Tully. The high lords attended them all, but the levies were relegated to one day for each army, so the Riverlanders got the first night, then the Crownlanders, the Stormlanders, the Vale, and finally the North. The feasts were loud and large affairs, with great food and revelry, though the celebrations never ended for a lot of the soldiers who partied the whole week we were camped outside the walls of Riverrun.

For me, the almost two months of being camped at Lannisport or on the march and camping with the combined armies of the Seven (or five that participated) Kingdoms was a real eye opening experience. It was basically a peasant army raised under the banners of the closest Noble House to where you lived, and all these men had no choice but to put their work on hold and leave their jobs and families to fight for their liege lords. Alongside those peasant levies though were countless knights and masters-at-arms who also fought under particular family banners based on either where they were from, or who they had sworn themselves to. These were the elite soldiers of this ragtag army, and even they were sometimes no better than a semi trained militia, apart from the few who really distinguished themselves as fierce fighters.

Thoros of Myr and Jorah Mormont, were probably the most famous of those who made a name for themselves, and had been rewarded for it by being knighted by King Robert himself. There was also the Kingsguard who fought at a level above most of the others outside of the King and Lord Stark who were both very skilled themselves. Of those, Ser Jamie Lannister and Ser Barristan Selmy were the two with the most skill and were a true sight to see fighting. Few people were willing to fight the two probably greatest known swordsmen of the time.

Several other minor House Lords also proved their strength and fighting skill, as they were all taught and grew up learning arms and swords, like Lord Greatjon Umber, Lord Roose Bolton, Lord Galbart Glover, Ser Wylis Manderly, and even Lady Maege Mormont of the Northern host. Ser Brynden Tully, Lord Jason Mallister, and Steffron Frey from the Riverlands and Lord Yohn Royce and his oldest two sons from Runestone in the Vale were the others that really stood out as fierce warriors. Some of them with legendary equipment, like black scale armor for the Blackfish, a winged helm for Mallister and Bronze armor covered in Runes for Royce, and lesser versions for his sons. I knew much less of the other lords and houses outside of the North, most of my knowledge coming from watching the Game of Thrones series was non-existent, and Donnel had little first hand experience meeting or interacting with a lot of the other Northern Lords and heirs.

If I wanted to make a name for myself, I would need to really step up my charisma and interactions with the other lords and mostly increase my own sword skills to a greater level to be considered seriously in this world dominated by House names and sword fighting skills. Unfortunately, Donnel before my arrival was painfully shy and had hidden among the Manderley levies instead of taking his rightful place at the head of the much smaller Locke levies, leaving them under Gray Lonthor's continued control. I could understand him somewhat, as he had little to no contact with the rest of his Family since arriving in White Harbor seven years earlier, apart from an annual letter on his name day with a paragraph from his father, mother, and eldest sisters of late.

Because of that shyness, he grew up mostly around books and developed a lack of connection to the Locke Family and their levies, Donnel instead remained among the Manderley levies, and mainly steered clear from any of the soldiers or people from Oldcastle. He could have made plays for inclusion with the other Northern Lords, but at this point it wouldn't look too good, and just decided to stick it out with the young group he came with. Knowing I couldn't improve on that just now, I instead spent my mornings going through a small workout of push ups, situps, squats, stretching, and even some jiu jitsu katas and anything I could remember of Donnel's former sword lessons. In the evening if I was still up for it after a full day of marching, I tried to get others to practice with the sword or just whacked away at a tree and went over some basic footwork drills, after trying to make a point of being more open and friendly to everyone.

I had been doing all my old Jiu Jitsu katas in the morning to help me limber up, and after almost three months of fighting, marching, and training since my arrival, I could tell that my body was getting stronger and more flexible. I had kept increasing the weight I carried on march to the point where I was always struggling at the end of the day to keep up, but knew that pushing myself now would have greater benefits down the road. So, while my sword skills weren't getting too much better, my body was making me stronger, quicker, and more fluid to the point where I had made up for my lack of skill to surpass the level Donnel was at before I hitched a ride on his life.

The last morning at Riverrun when going through one of my katas in a small clearing away from the camp as usual, I was approached by Ser Barristan himself, who must have seen or heard me when out doing his rounds. He asked me about my hand to hand style of fighting and how good I was, as the moves I made looked very foreign to him. He asked for a quick hand to hand spar, and the pair of us squared off in one of the more surreal moments of this new life.

He was stumped moments later when I had him thrown to the ground and pinned in an arm bar after a few seconds of our fight beginning and quickly got up for another few rounds. He was strong and quick for sure, but completely out of his element as I took him down several times over ten minutes until he was breathing heavily and called for me to stop. He marveled at the moves and grace with which I fought without a weapon, and told me to keep up the practice.

I asked him about sword training, and if he had any hints or exercises that worked well for him that I might be able to use to continue improving in that area too. He showed me a quick warm up routine he did to help him limber up and get a feel for the sword in his hand, and then explained how the best practice was to fight different people as often as you could. He also mentioned using a weighted sword in the beginning to help build up the muscles needed most at a faster rate. I thanked him gratefully, and he took his leave with me returning to my tent shortly after to finish packing up all our things now that everyone else was getting up for the day too.

Shortly after the camp was packed up, the army truly began to split and go separate ways, with the King's party of the Stormlanders, the Crownlanders, and the Vale continuing to head east on the River Road until they would get to the Kingsroad and split again to return to their homelands. The Northern contingent though headed north-northeast towards Oldstones, along with a few of the Riverland levies that lived north of Riverrun. This included House Mudd from Oldstones, House Mallister of Seagard, and of course House Frey at the Twins.

Once the now greatly reduced army headed out of Riverrun, they instantly recognized the change of leadership meant a large increase in their marching speed and the overall toning down of the celebratory attitude they enjoyed under the King's lead. The men still drank and celebrated, but with the levies now almost exclusively made up of Northerners, there was a much more reserved feel to everything. The increased pace meant for harder and longer days marching, and little free time at night to get in much practice or celebratory drinking, but I kept to my morning workout routine regardless.

It was only a little over a week until we arrived at Oldstones, where the House Mudd levies remained without nearly the same fanfare, as Lord Stark pushed the army to not stay more than a single night. It was then just under a week until we reached Seagard, the Seat of House Mallister. Lord Jason Mallister with his winged helm, was a truly great fighter who had really made a name for himself during Robert's Rebellion, and only added to that fame in this conflict.

About three days out of Seagard just after stopping from the long day of marching and setting up tents, Lord Jason Mallister was itching for a good fight before being stuck back at his castle being a lord. He was taking on all challengers, then he was going to get drunk and enjoy one of his last nights of freedom on the march. I was eager to try my hand at fighting someone way above my level, remembering Ser Barristan Selmy's advice to practice against as many different people as I could, and I thought that maybe I could learn a thing or two by watching and fighting the Lord of Seagard.

Luckily when I followed the growing crowd I reached the clearing where Lord Mallister was schooling two young barely teenage squires, probably his own as he fought them both simultaneously pointing out a few things, but mostly just getting warmed up. After a few minutes of the two young squires learning several things about sword fighting, and having the reminding bruises and cuts that enforced that lesson, they were left to go about some duty, as one of his own bannermen stepped into the growing circle and accepted his lord's challenge.

I watched two more of his own bannermen fight him one after the other, but neither was too skilled to last more than a half minute. I could see a few others scrambling to get on their gear, and figured I should go earlier so he wasn't too tired and a good challenge to push myself. I stepped in just before another of his bannermen was going to, and the middle aged man gave me a once over before giving a slight nod of acceptance and I moved in to attack.

It was obvious within the first twenty seconds that I had no chance of winning this fight, but I knew I could try to hold out a little and hopefully learn something and get some good experience fighting someone. The man was bigger and stronger than me by a significant margin, but I was slightly faster but not fast enough to really offer him too much of a challenge either. I did however make him work a bit harder to get his assured victory and did in fact learn quite a bit as I lasted a solid three minutes.

The man's swings were just too strong and quickly wore down any defense I could muster, and he was too skilled to not defend against anything that I could throw at him. Eventually as my muscles strained from the workout, one of my blocks lost effectiveness and put me off balance and out of position to stop his follow up that would have cut my stomach open if I didn't have on the breastplate. Instead it knocked me on my ass and had the wind knocked out of me, and I yielded a second later with his blade at my neck.

After dragging my ass back to the growing circle of onlookers where the rest of the Manderly contingent was, I was able to get up and watch Lord Mallister take down six more men before calling it quits when he was too tired to continue. By that point, I was leaning against Tristifer as the rest of our little group headed back to set up our tents and camp for the night. By the time we got to swing by the mess hall area where we picked up our food or rations and learned of any new orders from Ser Wylis, I was dragging ass a bit and quite sore after the long day and fight.

"Donnel," called Ser Wylis, after announcing the night's orders and guard schedule and heading over towards me with a kind smile on his wide face, "you fought pretty well against Lord Jason, he invited us to his tent for some drinking after supper."

"Yes Ser," I replied, a little stunned that the Lord of Seagard would want to see me, but pleased nonetheless as he would be a good person to know and be friendly acquaintances with. "I'm ready when you are ser."

"Good, then follow me," he replied and began leading towards another section of the camp flying under the banner of House Mallister, the silver eagle on indigo.

Lord Jason Mallister's tent was pretty impressive with rich purple and silver accents throughout as they were the colors of his House, and a few well made chairs and a table spaced around a comfortable sized "room". The Lord of Seagard was sitting in one of these chairs when we arrived, but quickly got up to shake Ser Wylis' hand and then my own with a firm grip. He was a handsome man with a chiseled face, dark brown hair just starting to gray at the temples, and very fit physically.

"Donnel Locke, is it?" he starts with a wide grin, after shaking my hand and sitting back down and motioning us both to sit at the table, as he pours out two more generous cups of wine to place before us. "Eldest son of Onython, the heir of Oldcastle and your grandfather is Lord Ondrew, right?"

"Yes my lord," I answered formally with a nod of my head, as I reached for and took a large draw from the cup of wine, which was of a much higher quality than I usually had been drinking during this war.

"Call me Jason, please," he returned with a warm smile that instantly put me at greater ease at the more relaxed setting this just became, "I fought with your father and grandfather during Robert's Rebellion, they are good men."

"Thank you m- ...Jason," I replied and corrected myself at his frown when I started to address him formally again.

"Lord Ondrew though, was an old man even then, I can't imagine he gets around all too well anymore," he continued in a friendly way as he took a long drink from his own wine, before filling his glass once again and setting the pitcher in the middle of the table between them all with a gesture to help ourselves to more.

"My father does most of the tasks that require anything more than sitting and listening to appeals now, from what I hear. But I haven't been home in years, so I don't have much to go on," I replied with a respectful nod, and took another long pull of my wine.

"Yes, you've been a squire for this guy for the last several years haven't you?" Lord Jason asked with a nod to Ser Wylis who was just sitting quietly and already on his second cup of wine and making quick work of that.

"For the last six, almost seven years," I answered easily.

"I got two new young squires when Ned called the banners, knowing Donnel would be better served fighting with the men rather than running errands for me," interjected Ser Wylis with a little chuckle as he filled up his cup again, and then topped mine off knowing I was probably still a little nervous or reserved about helping myself. "Damn glad he was too, probably saved my life at least twice there at the end."

"Truly?" asked Jason with an appraising look at me, "you do have some good instincts with a sword, and I can see you have real potential. You fought me real well. One of the better ones actually."

"Thank you Jason, I'm trying to get better but started caring about swords a little late," I responded rather humbly, not used to big boasts as some of the other men seemed fond of.

"Good, do you want to become a knight like this guy?" he asked with a nod towards Ser Wylis, who was again pouring himself another cup of wine, and topping off Jason's cup this time. "Participate in tourneys and the like?"

"Um ...I definitely wouldn't mind becoming a knight, it would be a great honor even if I worship the Old Gods, but I don't think tournaments are really what I want either," I answered honestly, and thought this was a good opportunity to reveal some of my plans to test the waters so to speak and see if I could get any direction or help as the two men with me were both rather important and powerful men. "I was actually thinking of heading east for a few years to fight with a sellsword company to improve my sword and maybe make some money and a name for myself while I am still young."

"A sellsword?" asked Ser Wylis, probably surprised by the declaration, having known me well enough to know I had never really prioritized learning the sword before. "What brought this on? I thought you were keen to return to your books in Oldcastle and start a family?"

"Eventually, I will have to ...but after all this fighting ...I guess I just felt like I would benefit greatly if I improved my skills and tried my hand at making it on my own for a bit. Plenty of time to raise a family and help out with my duties at Oldcastle in a few years. I'm only 17, and there is a lot of the world I've never seen. This was the first time I ever left the North, and now I kind of have an itch to see even more of it," I answered thoughtfully, and then downed the rest of my cup and refilled it myself, finally seeming comfortable enough to do so and also somewhat nervous of my mentor's reaction.

"That's a smart lad," laughed Lord Jason with an approving nod, as Ser Wylis still seemed to be thinking over what I said and started nodding along shortly after. "What I wouldn't have given to go out into the world on my own back before all my family responsibilities kept me tied to Seagard. I envy you lad, you've got the right of it. Do it now while you can."

"It does make a lot of sense, and I think it would do you good," added Ser Wylis equally thoughtfully, knowing me and encouraging my decision as he often would when making decisions while growing up. "I might be able to help you out some too, before you leave."

After that topic was discussed, the wine started to flow even faster and soon the three of us were well into our cups and seemingly good friends reminiscing about our pasts, fights, and fucks of which I was sorely lacking compared to the other two. Jason was well into his forties, with a younger wife and three kids, the oldest son, Patrek who was just turning 11 would become a squire to Ser Brynden Tully in a few short months. Ser Wylis was in his mid-thirties with an even younger wife that just gave him their second child only weeks before we were called by Lord Stark to march.

Both the men were of a good sort, knew when to have fun and laugh, but also knew when to be serious and respectful and I learned a lot listening to them tell stories and reminisce. Eventually, Ser Wylis' young squires came and had to help the both of us back to our tents, well help me more than Ser Wylis who was a much larger man that could hold his liquor better than me. That next morning was the first time I skipped out on my morning training in months, as the hangover I had was something fierce and I was still quite sore after the long march and fight. What I wouldn't have given for some aspirin!

When we finally arrived at the Mallister Seat, we actually stayed in Seagard for two nights, as opposed to the customary one, as there was a very nice welcome feast upon our arrival, and Lord Stark knew he had been pushing the march pretty fast and wanted to give them a day of rest. Which meant I got introduced to Lord Jason's younger half brother, Vayon Rivers, a natural born son of his deceased father who was an 18 year old smith's apprentice. Jason, had helped the boy find a calling in his household and was complimentary of his work and him as a fine young man who fought well among the Mallister levies.

The reason for the introduction became clear later that night when Lord Mallister invited me to his solar for a refreshment, and said he was hoping that I would find a place for Vayon to travel with me to the east. His younger half-brother had always felt a little stifled and uncomfortable as a bastard of the Lord's house, living in Seagard. His mother had passed during childbirth, and the Mallister's had helped make sure the boy at least had a future even if they couldn't do much more than that, and wanted to give him a fresh start and chance to make something of himself.

We talked a bit about what my more concrete plans were for leaving to voyage east, and told him I was hoping to stay in White Harbor for at least a month, then in Oldcastle for a little more before packing up and shipping out over the Narrow Sea to Braavos for anywhere between three to five years. He said that Vayon was interested in seeing the world as well, and of an age where he couldn't really be stopped, but was hoping to have a little more structure than just letting him wander on his own. I agreed easily, having liked the lad I met, even if for only a moment.

It also helped me solidify the growing friendship I had made with the Lord of Seagard, and would hopefully help build an ever greater relationship between our houses. Plus, a smith's apprentice, if he was any good at all, was worth quite a bit and would be a real asset to have around when fighting as a sellsword that could utilize his skills to repair my swords and armor constantly. It made me wonder if I shouldn't try to find a leatherworker, seamstress, and chef to create my own little traveling household staff.

The idea definitely had merit, and I considered what really I would need and who all I could get to convince to come with me if I was going to be bringing a larger group. I thought Tristifer and Raymar might be easy to convince as neither had immediate demands from family to return home to, and began calculating what all I would need and want with me. Traveling with a small group instead of just by myself also had the benefit of being much safer, as I would have people to watch my back that I trusted, and help to get some of my ideas up and running.

The next morning as we loaded our camp and prepared to move on, Lord Mallister showed up with two pack horses loaded down with things, and Vayon and another man both kitted out to fit in among the Northern soldiers. The other man, I learned, was named Hubbard Rivers and was Vayon's best and oldest friend who insisted on tagging along. Jason pulled me aside and handed me a rather large coin purse filled with gold dragons in both thanks and payment for his two charges.

"Take care of yourself Donnel, and watch over these two," he stated rather formally for him as we grabbed forearms and shook in the custom of Westerosi nobles. He then gave me a smile and a pat on the shoulder before turning to say his goodbye to his half-brother, and then walking further down and giving a similar forearm shake to Ser Wylis and wishing us all well on the remainder of our journeys.

"Are you both ready for some more serious walking?" I asked turning to Vayon and Hubbard after Lord Mallister left, and gave both men a once over.

Vayon had the same build and a similar chiseled look to his face as his half brother Jason, but with a much lighter almost dirty blonde hair and dark brown eyes unlike Jason's steel blue. Hubbard had probably two shades darker skin, and a slightly more blended exotic look to him. His eyes were such a light amber color, they almost looked like fake contacts. He was a good few inches taller than both myself and Vayon who were both probably about six feet tall and seemingly pretty average compared to others in the armies, outside of the Umbers and Reeds.

The Umbers had to have part giant in their blood as even the little ones were probably almost 7 feet tall and easily 250 to 300 pounds each. The Reeds on the other hand were all rather short, the tallest of them maybe only five and a half feet tall. Most of the rest of the army was pretty average, with all kinds and body types represented. I gave Hubbard another once over, as he reminded me of a mixed race friend I had growing up in Western New York.

"Aye milord," the two answered simultaneously after a small hesitation.

"None of that milord shit," I replied quickly, "my name's Donnel. Someday I may be an actual Lord of a very small castle, but right now I'm not lord of anything except myself. Just treat me fairly, and be honest with me, and I'll do the same. Okay?"

"Aye," they both responded a little taken aback by my blunt and not proper behavior, before they both gave me a serious look, probably testing my sincerity which took several seconds until they both gave me small smiles and nods of their head.

"Good," I replied with a gesture to the few men around me. "This is Tristifer Greenhands, Raymar Snow, Davyd Belltmore, Delfyr Mo, and Branden Jolse. We are all from around White Harbor, and have been marching, living, and fighting together now for almost half a year. You're going to be bunking and traveling with us, so get to know everyone and we'll go easy on you for the first week until you get to know everyone, but then you will be asked to pull your own weight, got it?"

"Aye," they responded quickly, glancing at the others with curiosity.

"Good ...guys," I continued addressing my own friends this time, "this is Vayon and Hubbard, they are interested in seeing some of the world, and are going to join me on my trip to Essos. Make them feel welcome, and no giving them any shit until they've properly settled in."

"Aye milord," replied Tristifer with a teasing grin, which turned into a full bellied laugh at the disgusted look on my face at the formal address from him.

"Fucking ass," I grumbled as he and the others had a small laugh at my expense,

"So youare going to Essos?" asked Raymar curiously, having heard me speak about the idea to him and Tristifer but not knowing that it was decided.

"Yes, I plan to spend about a month in White Harbor putting things back in order and saying my goodbyes," I started figuring this was as good a time as any to mention some of my plans. "Then a month or two down in Oldcastle catching up with my family and making any preparations that are needed. Then get on a ship to Essos and find a Sell-Sword company to join in with for a little bit while I figure a couple more things out and work on a few ideas I have."

"And you are up for company?" smirked Tristifer knowingly, as he had made it pretty clear he didn't have anything to go home to and was eager for anything else.

"I'll bring as many men that want to come, though I think we should consider rather carefully who we do let join us. We will be living and traveling with them for possibly the next few years, so let's choose people we can all get along with," I finished with nods to all of our group around me, before turning on the two new guys. "Come on guys, it looks like we are finally marching out. Let's show the new guys how we load and carry all our shit"

Luckily, both Vayon and Hubbard got on well with the others, and did their best to keep up with the Northern levies. Those first few days, they mostly just observed and got to know everyone, as the army moved under Lord Stark with a purpose and were soon nearing the Twins. Both men were quite strong in the upper body as evidence to them being blacksmith apprentices, but were lacking in lower body strength and overall cardio stamina to truly keep up with some of us, but the constant marching had probably already increased their legs significantly.

Vayon was pretty outgoing and got along with everybody really easily, a constant chatter much like Tristifer was and quickly found a place among the group. Hubbard was a bit more reserved and quiet, and even grumpy and surly at times, though to be fair he wasn't in the best of situations and struggled more than his friend at keeping pace with the army. They were both pretty intelligent and very wise to the ways of Westeros, and the usual place of bastards, and found themselves often surprised by how well and normal they were treated by everyone in our little group, and me especially.

Overall, it took us almost two weeks until we reached the seat of House Frey, and it was with some exasperation from a lot of the Northerners when they finally reached the home of the Late Lord Walder Frey. A lot of them knew that after crossing, they would almost be in the north and that much closer to their homes and the end of this war, and that brought up the excitement level a bit. There was also a good bit of grumbling from those who disliked the Freys, and were dreading the reception at the Twins, or eagerness to finally be rid of them.

On the last night camped before they were set to reach the Twins, we were again on guard duty, and encountered a pretty intense fight on the side of camp they shared with the aforementioned Freys. There were two pairs of men fighting, luckily with fists at the moment though that could change immediately. We had to quickly charge in and break them up before they escalated it too much beyond our ability to step in and put a stop to it.

The one fight seemed to be between the usual pair of Rellen Byrth, a hot headed Manderly guardsman from White Harbor and Black Walder Rivers, the relatively notorious bastard of his namesake Lord Walder Frey. The other fight was Rellen's running mate, Omar Clokehall who seemed to be pounding on a young Frey offspring none of us recognized. We got there just in time to prevent swords or knives coming out, and pulled Rellen and Omar off the two Frey men as Black Walder was trying to be talked down by another member of the Freys somewhat successfully.

We were able to determine that Black Walder said some shit that got a rise out of Rellen once again, and about the third large fight between the pair began. Omar apparently just went after the closest looking Frey man as he was itching for a fight too after Black Walder's words. Black Walder then told the younger kid that got his ass kicked by Omar for no reason, that he was a fucking cunt and he was washing his hands of him which seemed odd to us at the time.

Luckily, Black Walder left shortly after that and Rellen and Omar went off to keep drinking and most likely try to start some more shit as the pair was a pain in the ass to deal with all the time. We learned the kid who got beat up was Black Walder's nephew, Geremy Rivers and the person who was able to help talk the older man down after the fight was another nephew, Alston Rivers. We then made sure they were both going to be okay, before heading back out on patrol and thinking about what to tell Ser Wylis about Rellen and Omar's continued bad behavior.

The next afternoon we finally reached the Twins, where the Lords of the army were welcomed for a Lord's Feast, while the rest of us normal people set up camp, thankfully on the northern side of the tower bridge. I probably could have lobbied Ser Wylis to be included among the other lords, but in this instance I preferred to avoid any possible dealings with Lord Frey. Plus, I had been not making a big deal about my status as an heir to a noble house and most in the army just assumed I wasn't important enough to be included.

It would probably benefit me more to have developed better relationships with the other lords, but at the time I was too young for most of them to take me seriously or give me the time of day. Anyway, I enjoyed the camaraderie of the general levies, and my fellow tent mates and friends, and didn't want to turn my back on them. And it was just easier to blend in with the masses than try to stand out among the nobles, though many did know of me from my close and long time association as Ser Wylis' former squire or as a descendant of Lord Ondrew Locke. My family nor I were wealthy, but did have my Family Crest on both my remaining cloaks, something only seen among the nobility, so some people did notice.

So, instead my mates and I sat around a fire with a dozen others, mostly from the Manderly levies, swapping stories, food and drink, as we enjoyed almost being back in the North. As had often happened over the last week since I was joined by Vayon and Hubbard, talk would often end up about my plans to travel to Essos for a bit, and had actually convinced several of my friends to consider coming along. Tristifer had instantly agreed the moment he learned of what I wanted to do, and now Raymar and Davyd were both on board as well.

Delfyr Mo and Branden Jolse were both still considering it, but Delfyr was supposed to be returning to his hometown to apprentice under the Castellian of a small holdfast north of White Harbor, and had landed his best friend Branden a job among the guards. Three others, Jaryd Snow and brothers Cale and Cletin Burke from the Ramsgate east of White Harbor, had also both enquired about possibly tagging along, and none of us had any issue with either of the teenagers close to our age. They were both seventeen, fairly quiet and simple minded, but also trustworthy and honorable young men who would be loyal to anyone who earned their trust, and pretty easy going overall.

It was important for me to cultivate relationships with these men, as I needed good loyal men that I could trust and mold into true helpers for our collective future. Knowing what I did for a possible upcoming future for this land, I wanted to accomplish as much as I could in order to survive. For that to happen, I needed help from people I could trust to implement all my plans and then help maintain and run some of those new businesses and projects I was hoping to start.

I had been filling up the leather bound journal I picked up in Lannisport more every night with my thoughts on my known Westeros history, as well as my goals for growth and survival, and ideas for money making inventions and hopes to implement in my new home. Some of the biggest ones I was thinking about were alcohol, glass making, paper production, and the printing press as far as money making, as well as education, seed drills, crop rotations, irrigation, and plumbing to help better the people's lives. I also had a section dealing with fighting, army movements and training, as well as individual skills to improve and learn.

The lords spent two nights at the Twins while the northern army camped on the northern bank of the Green Fork, waiting to continue the march back to their homes. I was actually quite lucky I didn't ask to participate with the minor lords, as several of them were either pressured or tricked into marrying a Frey girl before they could leave. Gratefully, my staying with the army probably saved me a serious political headache with horrible repercussions for myself and my plans for the future.

When we did finally depart from the Twins, most of the northern contingent seemed eager to set a quick pace to get out of the Frey lands without any more troubles. I was much like the rest, but would be approached not far from where we left by a pair of young men in traveling cloaks that asked about accompanying me on my travels East after hearing about it from some of the others. I agreed to hear them out if they would show me who they were and explain why they wanted to go, as it was uncommon for Northerners not to present themselves honestly.

"I am Geremy, and this is my brother Alston," came the reply from the older of the two as they both pulled back their hoods revealing them as the two Frey bastards that were treated so horribly by Black Walder the past week before arriving at the Twins. "We have nothing, and nowhere to go ...but, we need to get out of the Twins."

"Why do you need to get out of the Twins? And why the secrecy?" I asked honestly, even though I knew I would agree to help the two young boys that I felt got a pretty raw deal.

"Black Walder took all of our money and loot, and has promised us a special treat once the Northern Army leaves," came the whispered response from Geremy, the older of the two. "We know the kind of man he is, and it doesn't bode well for either of us to remain anywhere near him or the rest of our family. Nobody there is going to help or stand up for us, we are better off going anywhere else. We heard of your desire to go to Essos, and want to pledge ourselves to you and join you."

"Is that so?" I asked as I gave both boys a long look over to judge their sincerity and character before giving them a small smile and nod of my head. "Very well, come and help Vayon and Hubbard over here with their pack horses and we can get to the formal stuff when we stop for the night. Okay?"

"Yes milord," they chorused immediately and quickly got to work helping the two older men that were also accompanying me from Seaguard, missing my roll of the eyes or exasperated sigh at the honorific I have been trying to get everyone around me to stop using.

After a quick introduction to the others we were traveling with, the two young Frey bastards kept their heads down and their mouths shut as they worked and marched with the rest of us. Tristifer gave me a long look when he saw the four bastards all working together and accompanying us on this leg of the journey, so they could continue to look for a better life away from the stigma of their homes. I gave him a smile and nod to let him know that everything was going to be alright, and that our group was really starting to come together.

It was almost ten days of slow marching north towards Greywater Watch and the seat of House Reed, which took us through the swamps and bogs of the Neck as we neared the Kingsroad. Over that time the army took to thinning out to almost single file lines as we traversed the difficult terrain with the Crannogmen of House Reed leading the way. House Reed continued to guide the army north until they reached Moat Cailin another six days after bypassing Greywater Watch as the Neck was a treacherous area that was not easy to get through even while on the Kingsroad shortly after leaving their Seat at Greywater Watch.

During that time, I was able to really talk with all those interested in traveling to Essos and putting together a timeline of sorts for getting back to White Harbor, and then visiting Oldcastle before we departed east. With Tristifer, Raymar, Davyd, Vayon, Hubbard, Jaryd, Cale, Cletin, Geremy, and Alston already part of my personal traveling contingent, it was only a matter of telling any of the others who wanted to come to make their way to Oldcastle after they had seen their families or said their goodbyes. While not a huge harbor, Oldcastle was well traveled by merchants from the east and getting passage for travelers wouldn't be difficult from the coastal Seat of House Locke.

I was also able to talk with Lord Howland Reed for a bit about the history and topography of the Neck and primarily Moat Cailin, as one of the most famous historical sites that had since fallen into disrepair and been abandoned despite being strategically placed to protect the North from the rest of Westeros to the south. With White Harbor the closest city to the east of the old fortified and yet crumbling castle of Moat Cailin, I had grown up with stories of the history of the famous place that had turned away armies from ever entering the North and had always been fascinated with the ruined castle that now stood as a relic of the past with no true function in protecting the North.

Knowing what I did of the history of Westeros and what I expected to happen over the next ten to fifteen years, I knew that the Moat could prove to be instrumental for the North's survival. The few fanfiction stories I remember reading and liking the most all had Moat Cailin as an instrumental piece to the future of Westeros. It was definitely something to consider going forward, and it never hurt to have more information or be friendly with a fellow Northern Lord.

Moat Cailin was an impressive sight upon arriving, and despite knowing and seeing it from Donnel's memories, it still shocked me by the size and strength of it despite being ruined from its original state. The Moat itself was originally composed of twenty towers and a great basalt curtain wall as high as that of Winterfell's. Now only great blocks of black basalt lay scattered about, half sunk in the ground, where the wall once stood. The wooden keep rotted away a thousand years past and three remaining towers out of the fabled twenty are green with moss.

The remaining three towers command the causeway from all sides and enemies must pass between them. Attackers would have to face constant fire from the other towers should they attempt to attack any one tower, wading through chest deep water and crossing a moat. The three remaining towers were the Children's Tower, the Drunkard's Tower, and the Gatehouse Tower which was the only one still standing completely straight and had some of the original walls still around it. Even in disrepair and at a fraction of what it once was, Moat Cailin was still a fierce defensive structure of epic proportions that was a truly impressive sight to me.

Luckily, the small contingent of guards that were left at Moat Cailin, were quick to recognize their Liege Lord's Dire Wolf Sigil and had the drawbridges and gates opened to allow the marching army through its fortifications. They were then instructed to set up camp among the ruins of the large castle, and prepare a small feast for the minor lords to dine with their Liege before the levies split up to return to their individual homes. For this group of Northern Lords, I was quick to get an invite, as these were my contemporaries and future fellow lords of the North, and I knew it was important to be seen and known by them all.

Sitting among Ser Wylis Manderly, Lord Robert Glover, Lord Medger Cerwyn, Lord Brandon Flint, and Lord Halys Hornwood along with their heirs in some cases and other sworn swords, knights, and masters-at-arms was an eye opening experience, as these were the men who ruled the area of the North nearest my own family's Seat. As well as those who could feature prominently in the future of the North, based on what I remembered or thought was coming, whether it's Targaryen Dragons or Northern White Walkers.

I recognized most of the other Lords around the room from Donnel's memories and was quick to make sure I knew who every important noble was, as well as trying to measure them all up and get a read on them. Some like Lord Roose Bolton, I knew I would never trust or probably even get along with, but others like Greatjon Umber, Ser Jorah Mormont, Lord Rickard Karstark, and Lord Howland Reed would be good to know and have a relationship with for the future. I already had family connections with the Cerwyns, Glovers, Flints, and Hornwoods, not to mention my long tenure in White Harbor with the Manderlys, so at least I felt fairly well connected for what I had in mind for my future and that of Westeros and the North.

It was at this dinner of Northern Lords, that I was able to meet and talk with every Northern Lord for at least a moment and introduce myself, so I could also meet and learn a little bit about each of them. It was also here that Lord Eddard Stark thanked all his lords for heeding the call of banners and their assistance in putting down the Greyjoy Rebellion, and what that now meant for the North. He detailed his plans for future development and growth in the North which included upgrading the western harbors and coast while the Ironborn were still reeling from their latest defeat. He also talked of making improvements to the Kingsroad that he would be undertaking as well.

Lord Stark then talked about the small percentage he was setting aside for repairs and provisions to go to the Wall along with the over one hundred and seventy prisoners we were transporting there, and finally gave out the rewards to his minor lords and the noble houses and clans of his terrain based off the spoils of the latest war. I was pretty shocked when he handed me two medium sized purses, one for House Locke and Oldcastle while the other was for me personally. He too had heard the talk of several of the men that were talking of going over to Essos, and learned that I was the leader of such a group and wanted to ensure we had every provision provided to remain safe and return to the North unharmed.

"Thank you Lord Stark," I responded with a firm bow of my head, before sitting down next to Ser Wylis with a look of astonishment on my face that set the older knight laughing at my surprise.

"Lord Stark doesn't miss a thing, that man," he replied with a low whisper to me as his body still was shaking slightly from laughter, as the man they talked about moved down the table to Lord Glover and continued passing out payments and rewards to his vassals.

By the time I got back to my friends at the camp, I was in good spirits with a great deal of good wine in my belly, a good amount of gold on my belt, and several plans for bettering the North and Oldcastle dancing around in my head. I was already planning to write a small pamphlet with my ideas on crop rotations, grazing patterns, mining, pulleys, skis, windmills and paddle boats as some of the things I could provide to help out the North and my own home at Oldcastle. Small mechanical devices like gears, levers, pulleys, hand and seed drills, plows, and the printing press to create the pamphlets were among the items I was planning to introduce to the North as soon as I could get working models made and implemented.

With all these thoughts and plans running through my head, I was really glad to have kept up with writing in the small leather journal I had, and promised myself to get a few more of them. I would start organizing all my thoughts and topics into like places so they could eventually be shared and taught to the others who would be helping me keep them all running smoothly. That will help keep my more private thoughts private, and make public what is needed for any one thing that comes up.

With Lord Stark's disbursements handed out, and plans for the North's future given, the next day the Northern Army finally split up as House Reed returned south to the Neck, House Dustin returning west to Barrowton, House Manderly heading Northeast to White Harbor, and the remaining northern troops continuing north up the Kingsroad. There was originally talk of everyone heading to Winterfell for a victory feast, but Lord Stark's desire to simply return home and his desire for everyone else to do so as well put a stop to that. It was definitely going to save us at least another month or two so there were few complaints from most of us planning and excited to head to Essos.

With Ser Wylis now in charge of the just over 2000 men that made up the Manderley levies, leading the way east from Moat Cailin towards White Harbor, we set a more relaxed pace than Lord Stark and instead of what would have taken ten days took the full two weeks. We were accompanied by the smaller levies of all the minor noble houses to the east, namely the Hornwoods, Ramsgate Manderlys, Flint's of Widow's Watch, Locke's of Oldcastle, Woolfield's of the Broken Branch, Waterman's of the White Knife Crossing. Each house had its own levies and commanders, mostly from their family's sons or masters-at-arms depending on a lot of variables, including when the young boy who hasn't been in Oldcastle in seven years doesn't want to step on the toes of veterans and contemporaries of his father ...but more on that later.

At the end of every day's march, Ser Wylis would gather his group of both friends and the heads of the smaller families and holdfasts, sworn knights to House Manderly and others, totalling almost three dozen of us for his own strategy meetings. He went over what he expected of everybody in the continued controlling of their land, improvements he wanted in trade and even offered aid for Ser Lindyr Caswell to rebuild and take control of a good size holdfast that has been abandoned for several decades, that was further north than White Harbor and almost halfway between Ramsgate to the east, and Hornwood to the north.

Ser Lindyr Caswell was a twenty-eight year old recently knighted young man from White Harbor who was the younger brother of one of Ser Wylis' best friends and his current Man at Arms, Ser Jon Caswell. He had shown himself to be an able fighter, a good leader, and loyal follower of House Manderly, and was being rewarded for it. He too was collecting a rather large following, but of the older twenty somethings out there trying to make names for themselves. Last I heard, he had almost two dozen men following him to his new holdfast to help repair and work it, as well as the dozen men he was promised from Ser Wylis for marrying one of his distant cousins and the small staff that would accompany her.

Ser Wylis also mentioned my expedition plans for Essos to the others, and encouraged them to send any people they knew of among the smallfolk looking for either of those two options to spread the word and who to enquire with. From that meeting, over the following several days, I was approached by no less than two dozen young men interested in traveling and seeing the world. I was honest with what my basic plans were, and we then worked over the next few days of incorporating them into our plans and getting them up to speed.

It was getting pretty ridiculous with 28 people now pledged to go with me, and it required another host of issues to coordinate for getting everyone to the departure that was still over two months away. Luckily, Ser Wylis came through again, and offered me a small unused barracks in the outer gate of New Castle, his family Seat at White Harbor. I could house any of those who were waiting around for the next few months to leave with us, or a place for them to gather and finalize working out all of their plans. Only ten were going to stay there from the beginning, as they didn't have any family or anywhere to return to and say their goodbyes, while the rest would return to their homes first before making their way back to White Harbor as they approached the departure date.

On top of the pre-dinner meetings with the leaders of the camp, Ser Wylis was also able to spare some time in the mornings working with me on my sword skills. He argued that if I was truly going to go around as a sellsword, that I better be able to represent him well as my mentor. He drilled me pretty well every morning after we split from the bulk of the northern army, hoping to improve my skills quickly and it was definitely helping. It made me wish Donnel had given sword fighting a greater priority in his duties with Ser Wylis at the beginning, but at least now I was getting more instruction from someone who really knew what they were doing, and was actually improving.

As we were finally approaching White Harbor and could see the Merman banner of the House Manderly, the army let out an enormous roar of excitement even though they still had to take barges across the White Knife River to enter into the city itself if they didn't want to march the few more miles up the coast to House Waterman's Crossing. They had been gone for the better part of a year, and many were beyond excited to be coming home so soon, and were tired of marching so quickly started loading onto boats and barges. We had lost about two hundred of the original 2,200 that answered the call for the Manderlys, about 10% which was about standard throughout the ranks of the Northern Family levies, and most of those were the worst of the fighters or most unhealthy of the lot that couldn't cut it in the grueling atmosphere of a marching army.

All considered, not too bad in the medieval World of Westeros, with few healing options and in the middle of a war. It left me a little breathless, as I stood on the barge looking at the approaching city of White Harbor and realized that I was going to be in charge of others, and had to really step up. I would be leading a pretty large group of young men into the East, and most of them had nothing but my word, money, and skills to rely on at this moment, and that was a terrifying thought.