The entry fee for the tournament was a single copper coin—a purely symbolic amount that even the poorest new settlers in the Gift could afford. This ensured that the competition would have enough participants to proceed, and that skilled archers wouldn’t be excluded by financial barriers.
The downside? The skill levels of the participants ranged from decent to outright embarrassing.
The target distance was set at over seventy meters—challenging but manageable for a skilled...
The first day of the archery tournament was reserved for registration and preliminary rounds, primarily to ensure that news of the event spread and gave everyone interested enough time to participate. For a single copper coin, anyone could sign up, fire a few arrows to prove they could handle a bow, and pass the preliminaries. The barrier to entry was so low it welcomed virtually everyone. After finishing the preliminaries, participants could either stay to practice on the grounds or head bac...
2025-01-29 12:42:42 +0000 UTC View PostAegor didn’t believe in prophecies, but that didn’t stop a whole lot of other people from believing in them. Instead of playing the role of some naïve rebel, dismissing those who believed in prophecies as fools and scorning them, Aegor preferred to do something useful—like figuring out how to harness that “belief” for his own purposes.
That’s precisely why he decided to name the set of reforged arrows Lightbringer, rather than something like Aegor’s Arrows or Night’s W...
Although he’d boasted of his mastery, this was Tobho Mott’s first time reforging an actual Valyrian steel sword. For Aegor, breaking down Dark Sister into arrowheads was little more than a calculated gamble—success was ideal, but failure wouldn’t be devastating. For Tobho, however, this was his craft and his legacy. As King’s Landing’s premier blacksmith, failure on such a high-profile project would mar his impeccable reputation. Reforging Dark Sister was a once-in-a-lifetime oppo...
2025-01-29 12:41:59 +0000 UTC View PostAs the master and apprentice playfully bantered their way through Crown's Rest, they soon found Myrcella returning from visiting her younger brother.
The young princess, ever polite and composed, immediately expressed her heartfelt gratitude upon seeing Aegor. Despite his busy schedule and impending journey to King’s Landing, Aegor had ensured that Tommen’s request for a kitten had been fulfilled. Not just any kitten—a healthy, beautiful one that was already weaned and easy to ca...
A Shortage of Rooms.
This trivial issue shouldn’t have been troubling the Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch, who was already juggling countless responsibilities. Yet, in truth, it wasn’t something that Yarm, merely a “mayor,” could solve on his own.
The root cause of the shortage wasn’t simply logistical—it was the unexpected guests.
Catelyn Tully had arrived in the Gift with two young girls. Though the core group consisted of only three people, they had b...
Don’t be fooled by how confident Aegor sounded when outlining his battle plans for the Gift to Beric Dondarrion. It was only when faced with the chaos of a real-life test that he was harshly reminded: the people he governed were not disciplined soldiers, but a collection of unruly refugees.
The New Gift settlers, having come from beyond the Wall, were raised in an environment devoid of law and moral education. They were never reasonable or virtuous by nature. The Night’s Watch had ...
Hearing these reports, Aegor felt both relieved and burdened.
He was relieved because the enemy had not realized that the human forces’ supreme commander had risked leaving the front lines, leaving the Gift temporarily leaderless. If they had launched an all-out assault instead of these probing maneuvers, the Gorge could have already fallen, the Gift destroyed, and the dead would now be marching southward toward Winterfell to begin the Seven Kingdoms' doom.
But his relief was ...
“The other night, I was having a great dream when all of a sudden, the noise outside woke me up,” Arya grumbled. “Maeve and I went out to look, and the beacon fires on the outer walls were all lit. Soldiers were running around in a panic, shouting like it was the end of the world. They herded us back into our rooms, but I couldn’t sleep a wink after that. The next morning, we heard it was a false alarm from someone who’d ridden in from the Wall. So annoying!”
Aegor shot her...
Stepping out from the dim shadows of the inner keep’s gateway, Aegor’s eyes quickly landed on his troublesome apprentice. Arya Stark was dressed in light, agile clothing, practicing her swordsmanship in the yard. Her ponytail swung with her energetic movements as she darted left and right, delivering powerful slashes and quick thrusts. With a nimble spin and a light landing on her toes, she kept up a relentless barrage of attacks, shouting what were likely self-encouraging battle cries.
"Just missing Sandor Clegane and Brienne of Tarth, and the team would be complete," Aegor thought, struggling to suppress a wry grin.
With Colin (without his assistant) in tow, alongside Beric, Thoros, Tobho Mott, and the latter’s apprentice—King Robert’s forgotten bastard—Aegor successfully departed through the King's Gate before the city closed for the night. They boarded the Blackbird at the docks near the industrial quarter and began their voyage back north.
Original...
Melisandre spoke in Valyrian, her tone sharp and commanding, but Aegor could only pick up on the name "Thoros." The rest was lost on him. Meanwhile, the man who had escaped to the safety of the Night’s Watch contingent, now identified as Tobho Mott, approached Aegor with a wide smile and spoke eagerly.
“Lord Commander, I am Tobho Mott. The messengers you sent ahead have informed me of your purpose. You’ve come to the right man. I dare not claim all of Westeros, but in King’s La...
Qhorin noticed the undeniable firmness in Aegor's tone and wisely shut his mouth.
Yesterday, he had glimpsed the scholarly and gentle side of the Lord Commander of the Night's Watch. Today, however, he witnessed a different aspect—one of sheer decisiveness. Of course, decisiveness wasn’t inherently negative. While being stubborn was often a flaw, if the individual in question possessed enough rationality, keen judgment, and the ability to make well-thought-out decisions that ultima...
Due to the looming threat posed by Daenerys’s forces on land, sea, and air, only two of King’s Landing’s seven gates—the Lion Gate to the west and the King’s Gate to the southwest—were currently being opened, and only for a few hours on clear afternoons. By the time Aegor sailed back from Dragonstone, it was already late. After inspecting the saltpeter production he had been most concerned about, he spent the night resting at Blackwall Keep.
The Night’s Watch industrial o...
Aegor froze for half a second, the breath catching in his throat as realization struck him. This wasn’t some groundbreaking discovery—it was his own tunnel vision at work. He had fallen into the trap of "knowing too much without practical experience" and had gotten stuck in a dead end.
He had remembered that the fluffy "snowflakes" forming on the walls of toilets, stables, and pens were saltpeter. He knew the soil beneath those walls contained the bacteria necessary for traditional...
Currently, there are no exploitable saltpeter mines, and the chemical production systems are still far from being established. In this situation, Aegor could only rely on nature to provide the saltpeter he needed. The traditional method of saltpeter extraction, often referred to as the "primitive method," was something he had heard of before. Unfortunately—being unrelated to his profession or interests and having long been replaced by more advanced techniques—he had no detailed knowledge ...
2025-01-29 12:38:03 +0000 UTC View Post"Vice Dean Cobain?" Nina, puzzled by Aegor's expression as if he had seen a ghost, repeated herself. "One of the three vice deans of the Night’s Watch Industrial Research Institute. Is there a problem?"
Aegor composed himself, hiding his astonishment. "The dragon-hunting ballistae that were supplied to the King’s Landing garrison—was Cobain the one behind their development?"
"Indeed. The dragon-hunting ballistae were part of a military order placed by King Stannis through ...
This sense of déjà vu was unmistakable. After a brief reflection, Aegor realized this was the second time this place had left him astonished. Back when King Robert had forcibly conscripted him as part of the Night’s Watch for the royal campaign in the Vale, Aegor had experienced a similar shock upon returning to King’s Landing—seeing this industrial compound emerge from nothing, as if it had fallen from the sky. Yet now, years later, the same location had once again left him in awe.
The historic meeting between the "Prince That Was Promised" and the "Vice Prince" had its twists and turns, veering far from either side’s expectations. Fortunately, it didn’t descend into catastrophe. Late at night, Aegor received word from Melisandre—news that, while frustrating, forced him to accept reality. Her clandestine meeting with the red priest Moqorro had yielded remarkable results, proving that no amount of logic or reason could rival the whispered suggestions of a so-called...
2025-01-29 12:37:05 +0000 UTC View Post“Getting you off Dragonstone isn’t difficult. I may not have been by the queen’s side for long, but she trusts and relies on me,” Moqorro said, standing like a statue by the stone crenellations of the tower. “The real challenge is resolving this misunderstanding and ensuring the prophecy comes to pass. The Lord of Light would not have shown me both Daenerys Targaryen and the Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch in the flames without reason. If this foolish misunderstanding drives t...
2025-01-29 12:36:46 +0000 UTC View PostInvited politely into the grand hall of Dragonstone, Aegor somehow managed to anger the Mother of Dragons during their first meeting. Worse yet, it wasn’t even because of something he’d done wrong—it was Daenerys herself who had worked herself into a fury.
After thanking Missandei for guiding him through the castle and ensuring their accommodations were arranged, Aegor, still brimming with anger and urgency, wasted no time before storming into Melisandre’s room next door.
As Daenerys descended from the high platform, her leather boots echoed across the cold stone floor, each step bringing her closer to the Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch. Standing behind Aegor, Melisandre couldn’t suppress a deep inhale. Even up until the very moment she entered the hall, she had been utterly convinced that Aegor was Azor Ahai. Yet now, even someone as obstinate as her felt her faith waver.
Being of the same gender and without any attraction to women, the Red Pr...
It seems the queen is rather impatient. After a brief hesitation, Aegor decided to stick to the plan despite two consecutive mishaps. "In the North, an unprecedented army of the dead led by White Walkers, unseen for thousands of years, is poised to attack. A historic battle is on the horizon. The Night's Watch has made countless preparations, but one crucial element is still in progress—a material capable of countering the White Walkers, currently being produced day and night at the Night's...
2025-01-29 12:35:46 +0000 UTC View PostTo be honest, with how drastically the course of events had shifted, the fact that Varys still remained firmly entrenched in Daenerys’ inner circle made Aegor uneasy and suspicious. However, he had no choice but to focus his energy on winning over the Queen for now—there was no time to immediately dissect what was going on behind the scenes.
But just when he was trying to ignore Varys, the spymaster took the initiative to target him first—and landed a direct hit.
Aegor fel...
The so-called "gift" was a book that Aegor had written specifically for Daenerys during his journey from Eastwatch to Dragonstone, spending days and nights in his small ship cabin, thinking and writing.
Alright, that was an exaggeration.
"Thinking intensely" wasn't really accurate—every word was newly written, but the ideas had been brewing in his mind for a long time. The moment he put pen to paper, thoughts flowed effortlessly, and the content practically wrote itself.
She sat in the stone throne at the front of the grand hall, legs elegantly crossed. The heavy and crude seat only served to make her appear all the more delicate and graceful. Light streamed in through the small round windows high up in the thick walls of Dragonstone, casting a soft glow around her, illuminating her skin like polished jade and her hair like molten silver.
Her face was so breathtakingly radiant that it was almost impossible to look at directly—like a masterpiece pains...
Amazing.
Everyone present froze for a moment, then simultaneously turned to look at someone else who, like Daenerys, had remained silent this whole time—the high-ranking red priest Moqorro, sent by the High Priest of the Temple of R'hllor in Volantis to "guide" the Dragon Queen and help her fulfill the prophecy.
This towering red-robed priest had been an incessant preacher back in Meereen, endlessly warning about the coming Long Night, the darkness descending upon the North of...
Varys’s heart skipped a beat. This girl doesn’t play by the rules. If Stannis were truly burned alive by dragonfire in the Red Keep, with Daenerys ascending the Iron Throne, what place would there be for Young Aegon and the Golden Company?
This plan could not be allowed to proceed.
“A fine idea,” Varys said, his tone calm but his words sharp, “but it’s pure fantasy. On a dark, stormy night, while the defenders of King’s Landing may not see the dragons coming across...
Petyr Baelish never dreamed he would reunite with an "old friend" under such circumstances.
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Months earlier, in Slaver’s Bay, the Queen had stubbornly ignored all advice and used her dragons to assault the Yunkai'i fleet blockading the bay. Amid a hail of arrows and stone projectiles, the operation was fraught with danger, but in the end, it succeeded. The enemy had prepared some measures against dragons but hadn’t anticipated that Daenerys would return as a master drago...
Sharpening the axe won’t delay chopping wood. With his head and shoulders thoroughly massaged and official information about Daenerys in hand, Aegor felt his thoughts finally clearing up.
His earlier hesitation over Melisandre’s proposal stemmed mainly from three unknowns: After the timeline had diverged so drastically, Daenerys’s exact whereabouts were unclear. If she wasn’t easy to locate, searching for her could waste significant time and energy given the slow dissemination ...