Game Of Thrones : Reborn as a Lannister

AN :

In the Game of Stones, you either win or you wait. The more Power Stones you offer, the faster the chapters come.

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( Ser Clegane POV )

He had never admitted it to anyone else, but Clegane really did not like boats. The constant swaying, the discomfort of having the ground shift beneath your feet, the isolation from any possible interaction not found on the ship, all of it stuck in his craw.

He'd really prefer if he could avoid them entirely, but he never spoke up on the matter because he figured that the wet dog jokes would be inevitable, and it probably wouldn't get him out of doing it anyway. Ultimately, he was going to end up wherever Lord Tywin wanted him to end up.

Thus, when the Blue Wind, the merchant ship that Prince Doran had commissioned to return Young Callum and his retinue to the Westerlands, came into the harbor at Oldtown, Clegane could not have been happier to march down the gangplank ahead of his young charge. The solid stone of the Oldtown docks beneath his feet a comforting reminder that the ground existed along with its welcoming embrace.

Sadly, this was not to be a particularly long visit. No more than three days. Callum had requested to be able to learn at the Citadel for a few months, but his father had refused him, and so they would only stop long enough to greet House Hightower, meet with the head Septon of the Starry Sept, and to oversee the conversion of Callum's band of foreign oddballs to the faith of the seven.

And speaking of the faith…

"Excuse me!" Clegane glanced over as a Septa approached them, her thick blue robes and the necklace with a seven-pointed star hung about her neck standing out immediately from the dockworkers and sailors of the port. "Excuse me, is this perchance the ship of Callum Lannister?"

"It is." Clegane stepped aside, as he had been blocking her view of the child behind him, Callum stepping forward almost immediately to greet her.

"Yes, is there something I can help you with?" The boy asked, stepping forward.

"Ah! It is good to see you've arrived safely, Lord Lannister." She came to a stop and bowed. "My name is Prianne, I was sent to greet you on behalf of the faith in the city." She smiled, "We've heard tell of your mission to spread the Seven Pointed Star, and we're eager to meet you." She paused. "Many of my brothers and sisters are eager to confirm if you are truly blessed by the Smith, as the Gold Star Sept proclaims."

Callum paused for a moment, then nodded. "I appreciate your greeting, Septa, I stopped in Oldtown to visit the Starry Sept, so I'm glad to be welcomed." he bobbed his head slightly. "I also need to make arrangements for several confirmations, eight in total."

"Oh?" the woman blinked, before smiling. "I'm sure we can arrange that." she nodded, "When do you intend to visit?"

"I will come personally tonight, and perhaps in two days for the confirmations." Callum smiled. "My companions have gone through most of the preparations in Dorne and learned the truth of the Seven, but I think it would still be good for them to center themselves first." the blond boy glanced up at the distant bulk of the Starry Sept, far across the city and nodded. "When I come tonight I will be happy to answer any questions you have about the mission I have received."

The Septa nodded, "I will spread the news." she gave another short bow, then left, hurrying away from where they were unloading the ships. Clegane watched her go, before turning back to Callum, who sat there resting his chin on his hand. The boy's eyes were narrow.

"Are you concerned with something milord?" Clegane asked him. It wasn't impossible for septons to become angry with each other, but Clegane thought it very unlikely that any of them would pose a threat to Callum's person, so it wasn't a great risk.

"Only that this may be more trouble than I had hoped it would be. My intention was for this to be a quiet visit." Callum stroked his chin. "I worried that things like this would become more commonplace after Septa Margot proclaimed me as blessed. I fear it will only become harder for me to avoid announcing myself everywhere." Callum sighed. "Well, I'm riding the tiger now, I suppose I'd better not lose my grip."

"Riding the Tiger Milord?" Clegane asked. He hadn't heard the phrase before, probably Essosi. He knew that a Tiger was a striped Lion from Essos.

Callum glanced up at him with sharp green eyes, took a moment to think, then explained. "A tiger is a vicious beast, being near one at all is dangerous, much less riding it. But if you do find yourself riding one, you'd best not stop, for the moment you fall from its back you'll be under its claws and teeth." The Lannister boy frowned. "So it is with the faith. I can only choose to live up to what's expected of me now or be damned before the faith and the people. No other choice is possible." He grumbled.

"It's not a bad thing to have men call you blessed milord," Clegane said, rolling his shoulders and glancing about for any potential dangers. "Good King Baelor is still widely loved to this day, and you're as worthy of the title as he was. He may have raised the Great Sept, but giving every family their own scripture is just as holy a work." Clegane spoke honestly. He didn't even have a copy of the Seven Pointed Star himself, and he had a keep! He was looking forward to receiving one of the ones that Callum had made with his presses someday.

"I… well, it is a good thing and a holy mission, but I am not Baelor," Callum said quietly. "Enough of this talk though. We should go and rent some lodgings for the night."

"Of course Milord." Clegane smiled, nodding as he took up position behind Callum. "Lead away."

They spent roughly the next hour navigating through the narrow cobblestone streets of Oldtown, which was much like Lannisport in its architecture.

The primary distinction between the two, as far as Clegane could tell, was that Oldtown was built of solid grey granite for the most part, quarried from the Red Mountains on the Southern Reach. Lannisport on the other hand was mostly built out of red sandstone cut from the coast of the Westerlands. The other telling difference was the presence of the Hightower, looking over the city just as the Rock towered over Lannisport, that and the Starry Sept sitting proudly on a hill across the Honeywine, which was at least twice the size of the Gold Star Sept.

Here and there as they passed through the city, Clegane also spotted portholes and stairways leading beneath the ground. He assumed that they led down into the catacombs and undercity of Oldtown, which must be even more expansive than the one in Lannisport given the greater age and population. For his purposes though, it was just another potential danger zone if someone wanted to do Callum harm.

Once they found a nice enough inn for Callum and the rest of his retinue to stay at, they made arrangements and the boy let everyone know the plan. They were told to refer to the academic, Qyburn, as Henrick while they were in the city, and he would avoid walking the streets as much as possible. Apparently, he was a former Maester who'd been pushed out of the order, which Clegane assumed meant that the healer had fathered a bastard or two. That was the most common way men left the Maesters. At any rate, Callum didn't want any trouble with the Citadel, so false names and isolation were the method of choice.

"Aside from that, You'll all be officially confirmed into the faith of the seven in two days, so you should all prepare your spirits." Callum's band of foreign artisans were all gathered up in one of the six rooms they'd rented for their stay. "It'll all happen in the Starry Sept, possibly overseen by some prominent Septons and Septas, I'd hoped for it to be a little quieter, but it seems like what I've been doing with my presses has reached this far south already."

"Is not surprise, Press big deal for Seven Priests yes?" Molo commented. The Summer Islander was reclining on one of the beds, his back propped up against the wall. "You are son of Prince, so is natural that way too."

"I don't especially fancy being made a show of," Maela, the Lyseni seamstress commented. "But I suppose I agreed to it, and your coin has been good." the beautiful woman shrugged. "Still, the sooner we reach Lannisport the better."

There were murmurs of agreement at that all around. Clegane thought they ought to be more excited to be confirmed in the second most holy Sept in the faith, but then, they had only recently been heathens. They knew well enough what confirmation meant at this point, but they hadn't had enough time to understand just how sacred the Starry Sept was. Even Aegon the conqueror had been crowned there after all, after the Hightowers had thrown their gates open and welcomed him into their city.

"I want to get home faster too, there's so much I need to get done with you all." Callum nodded, "But this step is important too."

"That it is." Qyburn, or 'Henrick' chimed in. He had dyed his greying hair brown with some elixir that Clegane didn't recognize and shaved his eyebrows. "This will silence many criticisms we would otherwise have faced, and Lord Callum for hiring us," he said placidly to the rest of the assembled artisans, drawing some nods. "Though I suspect I will be staying here yes?"

"Yes." Callum nodded, "No need to get you out in front of a crowd where someone might recognize you, and you're already an Andal, so people won't make the same assumptions about you anyway." the boy continued "At any rate I-"

There was a knocking at the door and Callum cut off his words. He glanced over at Clegane, and the knight nodded, moving to open it, sliding it open slightly. He saw it was the innkeeper's son, Bill he believed. "What is it?" Clegane asked, blocking the view of the rest of the room with his body.

"Er, Pardon me Ser, 'sonly- there's a Maester downstairs looking for Lord Callum," the boy said. Clegane looked down at him, then turned to glance at Callum. It looked like the Lannister had heard it.

The blond child sighed."Tell him we'll be down to see him in a moment," Callum instructed from across the room.

Clegane nodded, turning back to the innkeeper's boy. "You heard him, let him know we'll be down in a bit."

After the boy ran off, Callum sat down and grumbled. "And there's the other half of what we're going to need to deal with here."

...

Chronicle of the Targaryen Dynasty in the Seven Kingdoms

Maester Willem

277 AC - First Moon

Lord Tywin Lannister resumes his duties as hand of the King in King's Landing, returning to court with his daughter Cersei after an extended leave of absence overseeing affairs in the Westerlands.

King Aerys welcomed him back to court with a feast, and announced his provision of a city-charter to the town of Duskendale in the crownlands, Lord Denys Darklyn had petitioned the king thoroughly over the past few months and received royal approval just before Lord Tywin returned. Lord Tywin was apparently angry with the decision.

News trickles back to Westeros that Prince Rhaegar and his fleet had finally reached Volantis, after having earlier been blown off course by a storm out of the boiling sea and having to make port at New Ghis.

Apparently, only twelve of the original twenty ships made it to Volantis, with some having been blown into the ruins of Old Valyria by the storm, and presumed lost, and two sunken fighting pirates from Gogossos. Prince Rhaegar and Lord Steffon Baratheon both survived the journey, however, and were seen in good health petitioning the Volantines.

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