Eagle of the Valley of Ice and Fire

"Weima, raise your arms." Instructor Samwell Stone corrected Weimar's bow-holding action. Weimar frowned and tried hard to raise his arm, even though the soreness was already extremely strong.

"Whoosh~" An arrow pierced the air above the grassland and hit the bullseye in the distance steadily.

Weimar saw the arrow that he had not yet shot, and turned his head in confusion, looking for the source of the arrow.

When he turned around, he saw the person he least wanted to see at this moment, "You're interrupting my archery practice, Attis." Just like his resentful expression, his tone was also so depressed.

"Good day, Ser Waymar Royce." Attis Arryn made a face at him, turned around and ran towards the forest.

"Damn it!" Weimar originally planned to just curse and continue training, but Attis's voice in the distance instantly attracted his attention, "Follow me to Weimar, I found a treasure inside!"

Weimar raised his head and glanced at the instructor.

"No, you know the earl won't allow it..." Sam said sternly.

Weimar immediately stood up and ran away with his sword, "Goodbye, Lord Shidong~"

The moment he turned around and ran away, the wind blew happily by his ears, leaving only the sound of Runestone City's illegitimate son scolding him behind him. At that time, he felt extremely happy.

Runestone City is located on the south bank of the fjord where the narrow sea goes deep into the valley. Humid water vapor permeates the entire castle. It forms a castle and a city with Seagull Town in the south, guarding the flat land that does not occupy the majority of the valley.

Different from the towers of the Eagle's Nest City, looking from the towers of Runestone City is a rare enjoyment. Not far away is the endless sea, and the wind from the Maiden Tower of the Eagle's Nest City can knock over teenage children. .

Weimar followed Artis panting. Attis's physical strength has always been enviable, Weimar thought to himself.

Attis quickly turned over like a shadow lynx and jumped over the complicated branches and vines in the forest. The original cloak with the Valley Eagle emblem on his shoulders was missing. The light leather armor wrapped his lean body. Walking through the green forest curtains, you feel particularly energetic.

After an unknown amount of time, the surroundings were completely surrounded by thick trees and crisscrossing vines. The breath of the wilderness had long been covered by the humidity and heat of the jungle. Attis finally stopped in front.

"Did we go too far?" Weimar looked around uneasily, but when he saw the scene in front of him, he couldn't help but froze.

The trees in front were all broken, and the broken sections were extremely smooth, as if they had been cut by an extremely sharp sword blade. They looked particularly empty and unnatural in the dense forest.

"Seven gods above..." Weimar muttered with his eyes widened in shock.

Attis pointed to the other side and whispered, "Shh, it's still there."

Weimar looked in the direction of his finger. A thin shadow lynx was lying on a branch not far away, hiding itself with the leaves and looking at them fiercely.

"Artis, why don't you call the instructor over? This is too risky." Weimar rubbed his twitching face. Although he knew that the bobcat was too thin, he was also afraid of its sharp claws, especially when When I saw the tragic state of the trees ahead.

"Come on, Weimar, you don't particularly like these." Attis drew out his sword warily, "Are you weird?" He tiptoed and walked slowly in the direction of the lynx.

Weimar really longed for the Great Wall. He often said that when he turned eighteen and was named, he would join the night watchmen of the Great Wall and enter the ghost forest outside the wall to look for the strange spirits that threatened the kingdom.

But he is not yet fourteen.

Weimar suppressed the fear in his heart, drew out his sword, and slowly followed Attis. Because of his sudden daze, Attis in front of him had been blocked by trees and disappeared from his sight. What's even worse is that the shadow bobcat on the tree has also disappeared.

"Attis?" Weimar called softly, and he only dared to whisper.

When he mustered up the courage to go around behind the tree, he was stunned.

The thin shadow lynx was lying affectionately in Artis's arms, and Artis was feeding the lynx the fruit pulp shipped from Seagull Town.

"What?" Weimar once again couldn't understand the situation. Although this situation often happened during the years of getting along with Artis, it was never as "dangerous" as now. Weimar looked at the coquettish lynx in front of her and thought in disbelief.

"Weima, his name is Adam." Attis raised his hands and raised the lynx's face to Weimar's eyes. Weimar quickly took a few steps back and couldn't help but raise the sword in his hand.

"Hey! Don't scare the cat." Artis hugged the cat back, "I was practicing riding and shooting with your father, Mr. Royce. I left him behind and went into the jungle and found Adam. He was so young. It’s really rare.”

"Such a small shadow lynx can't survive more than three days in the valley." Weimar said disdainfully, but he was thinking in his heart that my father had never practiced horseback archery with me.

"So it's fate that I have to raise it." Artis said nonchalantly and put the bobcat on the tree with a smile. "Adam usually lives in the rock crevice in front. It is easy to defend and difficult to attack, and other ferocious animals are difficult to approach. Smart cat."

Adam followed the trees and exposed rock formations silently through the green shade in the distance, and disappeared from the sight of the two of them in the blink of an eye.

Artis and Weimar walked back along the footsteps they came from. The bugle sound in the distance had sounded many times. Weimar looked at Attis' dirty face. Sometimes he was not sure that it was Artis's dirty face. Lord Lin's eldest son will inherit the lordship of the entire valley in the future.

Thinking of this, Weimar turned his face away in frustration. Although he knew that he would inevitably be scolded by his father today, he did not complain about it. The loneliness of being the youngest son was real.

"Weima, did you know that I have been hunting with Sam recently?" Attis's voice rang in his ears.

"I know." Weimar responded impatiently. He had to admit that among every peer he met, Attis's knightly talent was the highest, whether it was swordsmanship, lance, archery or horseback riding.

"I shot many flocks of wild geese. I learned some skills from the nuns in the church and made this from their feathers for you." Attis took out a ring-feather headdress from the quiver of his cloth armor, " It can be hung on your head.”

Weimar took the headdress, which seemed a bit rough to him, and curled his lips, "This is quite ugly."

His shoulders were hunched together unnaturally, and he tried not to look at Attis's face. The face of the darling of the valley inherited the beauty of his mother, Lady Arryn. Although he was only twelve years old, he could vaguely see his future heroic appearance. .

Attis saw this scene and said with a smile: "Brother, have you forgotten that next week is your name day?" After that, he punched him in the chest. Weimar lowered his head and pursed his lips with a smile, pushing Attis with both hands, and the two of them struggled out of the woods.

The moment Weimar walked out of the woods, his father's tall and thin figure immediately occupied his sight. He swallowed his saliva and thought something was wrong.

But Ser Yohn Royce did not approach him, but only shouted to Attis beside him: "Attis, your father wants you to come to King's Landing at once."

"Why?" Weimar even asked before Attis, who was also puzzled and stared at Yoen Royce.

Ever since the nine-year-old Attis left the Eyrie and came to Runestone, the family castle of the Royce family, Attis had rarely seen his father, the Prime Minister, who was far away in King's Landing, and his stepmother Lysa Tully, who also went to King's Landing. noodle.

In Attis's vague memory, his stepmother gradually developed mental problems after she kept giving birth to stillborn babies. She was not rude to him at first, but gradually she often looked at him secretly with jealous eyes.

Even during the years when he was Lord Yonn's attendant in Runestone City, whenever he fell asleep at night, he would often wake up because of his dream about Lysa Tully's abnormal eyes.

"I heard you have a brother, Attis." Yohn Royce replied expressionlessly.

"Perhaps it won't be too late for me to leave after Weimar's fourteenth name day next week, Lord Royce." Attis did not agree immediately, but requested in a low voice.

"This is the Prime Minister's order, Attis." Jon looked deeply at Weimar, "But the gifts from Runestone City and the manpower and supplies to escort the heir of Eagle's Nest City need to be prepared."

Weimar looked up at her father in disbelief, her eyes shining.

"I will convey the opinions of the heir to the Valley to the Prime Minister." After saying that, Yohn Royce rode away. Attis and Weimar looked at each other and smiled, then mounted the horses handed to them by the retinue and followed closely, heading towards Runestone City.

Attis returned to the room, took off his sweat-stained clothes, stuffed his body into a wooden bucket filled with hot water, and soaked his whole body in the comfortable water temperature. He leaned his head on the edge of the wooden bucket, his eyes Staring at the milky white ceiling, he mentally reviewed what Sir Royce said, "I will convey the opinions of the heir of the valley to the Prime Minister."

"Heir of the Valley", "Master Prime Minister." Artis felt itchy in his heart, "Such an unfamiliar title came from Sir Royce's mouth." He couldn't help but think that if he saw Yohn Royce all day long, he would call him "Lord Earl of Runestone City" or "Bronze Yohn", what will this Lord Royce look like.

After taking a hot bath, Attis was half lying on the bed in his velvet pajamas, thinking about his latest heart-to-heart conversation with his father.

At that time, Attis was heartbroken over the death of his hunting dog that had been with him for many years. He locked himself in the house and did not want to see anyone.

However, he could not stop his father from entering.

He remembered his father calling his name softly outside the door, "Attis, Attis, I brought some honey juice and the candies you like to eat."

Attis didn't respond at first.

"Can I come in?" Father's voice came again.

"I want to be alone." Although Attis did not see his father, he still had a bad face and said irritably.

"I really want to do this, but the taste of this honey is too sweet." There was a sound of metal colliding outside the door, and my father pushed the door open and entered.

The moment he opened the door, Attis briefly forgot the grief caused by the death of his pet dog, because the first thing that caught his eyes was his father's head of silver hair.

"I have grown very old." This was Jon Arryn's first sentence.

The father ignored Attis's silence and said to himself, "Dear Robert, when he was rebellious, I didn't feel old yet, and I could still mount my horse and kill the enemy."

"Of course, it was just a temporary thing. I didn't decisively give up that idea until I actually moved into the camp." His father raised his wrinkled face and raised his eyebrows at him.

"After that, I decisively handed over the command of the army to those young people, many young people, from the valley, the riverland, and from the north. Some of them I liked very much. I almost grew up watching them. I always feel that some people are still immature and need experience, but later on, like Gulltown, Summerhall, the Battle of the Trident, the Battle of the Bell, the Siege of Storm's End..."

Attis listened quietly to the series of place names his father reported. He knew that these were important links in Robert's Rebellion.

"Many young people died on the battlefield. Most of them were in their prime, but they were buried in this unnecessary war."

"Many old friends I know well, whether they are noble or common, noble or humble, have disappeared in the night sky of the valley like shooting stars." His father said calmly, and his hollow eyes due to aging seemed to hide the stars of the valley, deep and a little sad.

Jon Arryn suddenly changed his tone, "This idea is especially strong when I deal with things that Robert should have squeezed out of his prostitution time to solve." He even winked at Attis.

"For the Arryn family, it mainly refers to you, Attis." His father looked down at himself who was curled up. "Today you are sad because your beloved dog died, tomorrow you are sad because your friend died, and one day I will also pass away, maybe soon. As the heir of the Vale, can you only cry?"

"As high as glory, Attis, as high as glory, crying will not add to glory in the slightest. Support your responsibility, no matter what your king and the people you have to protect are like, the price of glory is high, and while giving up your cowardice, you also need eagle eyes that can see through everything and be ready to pounce at any time, even if you are crushed to pieces."

After that, his father hurried back to King's Landing, and they were separated for several years.

Attis felt that his whole body was as heavy as lead. Whenever he pondered the education of the eldest son and heir mentioned by his father, he was always tired. His dream has always been to travel around the entire known world, from the Winter Land to the Summer Sea, from Essos to the Shadow Land. How free and easy it is, until he realized what it meant to be the heir of the Vale.

"Knock, knock, knock!" There was a knock on the door.

"Attis, it's me, Anda."

"Anda Royce, John's eldest son." Attis thought to himself, "Wait a minute, Anda."

He put on his coat and opened the door. Anda's face, as thin as his father's, looked very shrewd and came into Attis' sight.

Attis pointed to the golden wine on the round table behind him, "Thank you for your father's hospitality. The golden wine from Qingting Island is the most refreshing."

Anda just nodded, he seemed eager to get to the point.

"Attis, I heard that you have a younger brother." Anda took a sip of wine and looked at Attis.

"The new eagle of the valley, of course I know, Anda, I am very happy to have a younger brother." Attis lay comfortably on the chair next to him, swaying.

Anda was the first to react and congratulated him, "This is really a great event for the Vale. Congratulations to Lord Arryn who is far away in King's Landing."

He changed the subject, "But, I'm a little worried."

"I heard that my brother is in good health and well-nourished, Anda, don't worry, the eagles of the Arryn family have always been strong." Atis replied calmly.

"Ah, ah, there is no need to worry about the health of the young master." Anda paused, "But I'm worried about Lady Arryn."

Attis's first reaction was his mother, Luyunna Arryn. But he quickly ruled her out. He knew that Anda was referring to Lysa Tully, or Lysa Arryn.

Attis did not respond, but looked at Anda quietly, "When catching prey, the eagle only lands once, watch carefully." He thought to himself.

"Lady Arryn always seems to be nervous." Anda said quietly, "Many people can testify, there are such rumors in the Vale, King's Landing, and many other places."

Attis did not respond.

Seeing this, Anda seemed to be a little bolder. "It's not just a mental problem. I heard that she and Littlefinger..." Anda swallowed nervously, "Littlefinger and Lysa are in King's Landing. This cunning guy in the Five Fingers Peninsula must be guarded against, Atis."

Disgust surged from Atis's chest, but he still had no expression. For him, it was particularly important to show the unity of the family.

"My brother is a real eagle, Lady Lysa is the respected mistress of the valley, and the Royce family swore allegiance to the Arryn family. You should know this."

Anda swallowed a mouthful of wine. "Of course I know, Royce swears to defend the honor of the Arryn family to the death."

"Honor." Atis thought to himself, he was a little fed up with word games, his hand tightly grasping the handle of the wine glass.

Anda approached the table, and he whispered, "I didn't mean to do this, but Lady Lysa's instability is well known."

Attis remembered Lady Lysa's eyes.

"Lord Artis Arryn, the Royce family swears to defend you to the death." Anda seemed to have said everything he needed to say, and then he talked to him about Weimar's naming day. There were bursts of laughter in the room from time to time.

After seeing Anda off, Artis closed the door and thought carefully about Anda's statement. He couldn't help but worry whether this represented the voice of the nobles in the valley. Since Lady Lysa's very rude performance at the Eagle's Nest banquet, her mood changes have been accurately noticed by the nobles in the valley, making many nobles and wealthy knights in the valley feel uneasy.

This land surrounded by the Moon Mountains is accustomed to stability, and the people and even the nobles living in it do not like unstable leaders.

But excluding other factors, the loyalty of the Royce family has indeed been conveyed to his heart. Although Anda's way makes him unhappy, he can undoubtedly trust this family.

I am the attendant of "Bronze Jon" Jon Royce, and it is very likely that he will be awarded the title of knight by him in the future. The meaning of this political bond is self-evident.

Besides, there is the friendship with Weimar.

As for Littlefinger, since his father asked him to take over the tax affairs of Seagull Town, he has caused dissatisfaction among most of the nobles in the valley. First of all, they are dissatisfied that this little noble from the Five Fingers Peninsula can override the entire valley, use the power of the Imperial Council to oppress them, and dictate finances, but they have not thanked them at all for the obvious improvement in fiscal revenue.

Thinking about it, Artis fell asleep. He thought of the mountain cat Adam. His identity as the eldest son in reality was left in reality. There was no Lord Artis Arryn in the dream.