Chapter 17: "32 golden dragons, 9 moons.....and...2 pennies"
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Chapter 17: "32 golden dragons, 9 moons.....and...2 pennies"
POV: Captain Tom;
7 days before the delivery of a message....
Battle of the Trident...
"RESIST!!! COMBAT!!! THEY MUST NOT ADVANCE!" Shouted Tom commanding his 500 men vanguard to hold their ground.
Tom and his garrison were facing the center-right wing of a Targaryen army led by the Barristan Selmy Royal Guard.
The Tallharts' army, along with those of the Mormonts, Dustins, and Boltons, served as the vanguard of that Legion of the Rebel army.
Baratheons, Starks, Arryns, and Tullys had managed, in that short period, to muster some 35,000 men.
Targaryens, Tyrells, Martells and other lesser houses about 40,000.
The 5,000-strong legion led by Roose Bolton, in which the Tallharts were fighting, was holding back an 8,000-strong legion led by Ser Barristan Selmy.
Their job was to hold them back as much as possible so that they would not be able to join the forces of Raeghar Targaryen who was facing Robert Baratheon.
The battle had been raging for over two hours, neither side wanting to give ground.
'Where are those damned Boltons!!!' thought the Captain as he pierced an inexperienced Targaryen soldier.
'At this rate we won't even last half an hour!!!' Tom cursed inwardly as he continued to cleave his blade.
Severed limbs, blood, and various other body parts and secretions floated down this side of the river.
The water was up to a foot high, it was difficult to move.
Squeals, screams, and metallic screeches hovered everywhere.
'Where is Peter?! He thought urgently, looking for his son Peter who until 5 minutes before was at his side.
"'WE MUST REACH THE PRINCE!!!! MEN ADVANCE!!! WE BREAK THROUGH THE LINE!!!! Shouted General Ser Barristan. "UUUAAARGHH!!!" Replied the men following him.
The Royal Guard personally led about 1000 of his men, to attack a weak point in the Mormont-Tallhart-Dustin forces.
Barristan was able to break through, personally mowing down the men he encountered without hesitation. The men didn't even have time to realize how they had been hit that the knight was already on another opponent.
Then they came...
A volley of arrows from above, striking both allies and enemies.
"ARGH!" , "NOARGH!", "HELP ME!", "SHIELDS!". Countless voices shrieked similar expressions simultaneously.... it was a carnage.
It had to be said that the flow of arrows concentrated mainly on the enemy forces, but for every 3 enemies hit at least 1 ally was hit.
Many generals would consider such an act 'a necessary price for victory', others would not. Roose Bolton belonged to the first group.
A few minutes later...
Enemy forces had managed to penetrate inside, and Tom and his men were on the verge of giving up. At that moment, the Bolton forces arrived and, slowly but surely, managed to surround the vanguard led by Barristan.
The bait of Roose Bolton was launched...and Ser Barristan Selmy took the bait. Now it would only be a matter of time.
Roose Bolton had realized that the Royal Guard was in a hurry to get to the side of his sworn protg, and he used the opportunity. He had used the weak vanguard forces to entice him to break through before surrounding him.
About twenty minutes later...
Ser Barristan continued to hold out as best he could...they were surrounded and of the 1000 men at his side, there were now barely 300 left.
"PETER!!! PETERR!!!" Tom shouted as he finally got a glimpse of his son.
'No him no! Don't do it! you'll get yourself killed!!!' Thought the father instinctively as he watched his son, less than 50 feet away from him, charge with a couple of men towards the tired and wounded General.
"NOOOO PETEEERRRR NOT HIMMM!!!!" He screamed as loud as he could but his voice was muffled by dozens more screams.
The boy had already started the fight. The only thing the desperate father could do was...'try to get to him with all the strength he had!'
Tom shoved both enemies and allies, some falling to the ground, others moving along with the flow of the fight.
He even had to kill what looked like a poor, poorly armed Targaryen loyalist farmer from behind to finish the last stretch of road as quickly as possible.
In the end he was only a few steps away from the fight, and what he feared most was about to happen.
His son Peter was on his knees holding his injured armpit. He groaned in pain and was unarmed. Ser Barristan was about to deliver the last blow for the enemy who, along with his companions, had dared to face him....
"STRIIINGHH!!!" a bastard sword stopped the slash.
Barristan took a single step backwards to regain his balance and stared at his new target.
"Get him and get him out of here now!!!" Tom ordered to his loyal remaining men who would never leave their captain's side.
"Fath....Father! you can't this..." Peter was interrupted.
"SILENCE!!! TAKE HIM AWAY!!! NOOOWW!!!" He yelled and two men dragged the still stunned boy away. Ser Barristan was watching the scene. It was over for them now and he knew it. He might as well take his time for a more glorious end.
"I beg your pardon Ser...it was your right to claim his life and I interfered. I will repay the insult to you myself." Said Tom, bowing his head in apology.
Not many dared to approach Ser Barristan...dozens of bodies surrounded him. He had at least 10-15 feet of clear radius around him.
"No offense." Ser Barristan replied briefly, paying respect to the apology offered. He raised his guard in acceptance of the requested duel.
End POV
-------------------
POV Author;
4 weeks later...
God's Wood in Torrhen's Square.
Duncan was carving one of the last names on the huge marble slab behind a statue of the same material that was also being completed.
He had asked his uncle for a considerable sum of gold and the possibility of hiring jewelers and sculptors from Winter Town and White Harbor.
The same family that had been responsible for the statues in the crypts of Winterfell for hundreds of years arrived a week later. Luckily for them, a supply of fine marble from the Valley resided in the warehouses of White Harbor.
During that week Duncan, with the help of Tom's sons, spent every moment trying to draw and paint, as best he could, Tom's features. In the meantime, Qyburn had the task of surveying and tracking down every possible attainable family of the fallen soldiers.
Each family would be welcomed into the temple to witness the engraving of the name of their family member who had died in battle in the service of the Tallhart family, on the marble slab attached to the walls surrounding the inside of God's Wood. In addition, the families would receive a copper and steel pin forming the symbol of House Tallharh and the form of the trident or bells. Along with it was a reward (in gold and silver) worth 10 Golden Dragons and the possibility of a grant of 2 Golden Dragons year for the next ten years. A small coded number was concealed in each pin to reduce the possibility of future theft and fraud.
Of the 712 fallen, over 600 families came for the awards. The remaining names were either orphans or none of their families were alive anymore. The unclaimed awards were put into a fund to help orphans on the Tallhart lands.
Duncan, with the help of Peter, Ronan and Brywen, welcomed the families and gave out the award thanking the family for their service, then engraved each name himself. He had asked permission from his father and Master Zick to temporarily stop training so that he could fulfill this duty full time. Both agreed without complaint.
Myllard and his son (the hired sculptors) had repeatedly tried to stop the little lord from doing the work that was theirs to do.
"No, I have to do it. I don't want to forget any of those names." He replied each time, thanking them for the thought.
Many families touched the engravings of their loved one's name repeatedly. Most of them could neither read nor write, they wanted to try by all means to remember those strange and incomprehensible symbols that represented the person they had lost.
Helman Tallhart gave the order to keep the doors, of the castle and of the temple, open day and night for the entire award ceremony. The men of the Torrhen's Square garrison voluntarily took extra shifts to increase defenses and surveillance from possible dangers.
On the sixteenth day after the arrival of the artisans and families....
"My Lord the statue is complete...all that is missing is your carving." Warned the head sculptor Myllard. Duncan nodded and finished carving the rest of one of the last names on the wall.
A short time later...
Duncan, with Tom's sons assisting behind, took the small hammer and chisel and approached the six-foot-tall statue. It depicted Tom in armor (Studded Leather plus chaps, armbands and steel ruff) who was half hunched bent from the on one leg cleaving a sword stroke (his bastard sword) from bottom to top, his face bore incredible resemblance to the original subject. The expression expressed combative fury. The work was magnificent...
Duncan began engraving the words on a slab, rectangular 2 feet high and 3 feet long, at the bottom of the statue's base. Each blow of the hammer was a pain for the boy, but he resisted with all the willpower he had to concentrate on the task that required extreme precision.
Four hours later the inscription was complete, and it read:
[Here lies Captain Tom, First Guard in the service of Torrhen's Square. An orphan from the North who served House Tallhart for over 36 years. A man who, over the course of his merit-filled career, refused knighthood three consecutive times, as he did not want to renounce his faith in the 'Old Gods' in which he believed. Loving father and husband, faithful and loyal until his last breath. He died fighting in the Battle of the Trident to defend the North, House Tallhart and his family. Here we thank him today and commemorate him for his service and sacrifice.]
As Duncan worked, he was unaware that three individuals, on the walls surrounding the park, were watching him arguing with each other....
End POV.
----------------------
POV Helman Tallhart;
Helman stood on the walls of God's Wood, at his side were his brother Leobald and Qyburn. He watched his son Duncan with a look that expressed pride and concern. He had been back at his home for about ten days, after over a year of military campaigning.
He had been shocked to learn of the events his son had accomplished and his new nickname. After a week, he still had to be able to process the new facts.
"So brother, do you finally want to explain to me why you organized that parade for your nephew? Why did you want the rumors about that nickname 'Bloody Snow' to spread far and wide?" Helman asked. The poor man had been tortured by his Lady wife who demanded retribution against Leobald.
"What did our father say about blizzards? 'If an enemy chases you and pushes you into a blizzard, you must lay false tracks, follow the direction of the wind, and find shelter if you want to survive." Leobald.
Helman stared at his brother for a moment reflecting on his words.
"The spread of those rumors was inevitable...so you followed the wind to use them to our advantage." Helman continued, arriving at the key point himself. Leobald nodded making a small grin.
"Maester Qyburn." Helman called to the maester who took a step forward in response.
"Regarding that project to create an espionage and counterintelligence unit...you have my permission. You have free access to the funds necessary to accomplish it. I will personally thank Master Zick and his partner Ramas for their help in training the unit. Do whatever you must to protect my family." Said Helman in a low but authoritative tone.
"It shall be done my Lord." Said Qyburn bowing.
"Soon the great minds of Westeros and Essos will set their eyes on Duncan. Both for what happened at 'Snow Mill' and what is happening here...we will need to be ready." Both Leobald and Qyburn nodded in response.
That same evening.....
Helman raised his head at the knock on the door.
"Master Sculptor Myllard my Lord." Said a guard.
"Show him in, thank you Ubett." The guard nodded and made way for the craftsman to enter.
"Master Myllard please take a seat, you don't know how grateful and honored we are for the magnificent work you have done to my House and Torrhen's Square." He said to Myllard.
"No my Lord, the honor has been ours. Your son and the sons of the hero Tom have helped us enormously in our humble task. This was the first time ever that we sculpted a statue of a person without noble titles." Said Myllard that a proud and respectful tone.
"Here is the reward for the services of you, your son and your employees. Please accept it." Said Leobald opening a small casket. Inside were at least 150-200 gold coins.
"No my Lord I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your reward but the only amount we can accept will be 32 golden dragons, 9 moons and 2 pennies." The master craftsman replied, bowing.
Helman was quite surprised, he knew for sure that he would have to pay at least 50-60 g.d. ...he had tripled that sum because he was really satisfied with the work he had created and the future benefits his house would receive from it.
"I don't understand Master Myllard, why that amount?" Helman.
"Yes my lord I will clear up your doubts at once. The 32 golden dragons and 9 moons will cover the cost of materials, transportation and pay for my employees. The two pennies are compensation for my service and that of my son."
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Chapter 17: "32 golden dragons, 9 moons.....and...2 pennies"
POV: Captain Tom;
7 days before the delivery of a message....
Battle of the Trident...
"RESIST!!! COMBAT!!! THEY MUST NOT ADVANCE!" Shouted Tom commanding his 500 men vanguard to hold their ground.
Tom and his garrison were facing the center-right wing of a Targaryen army led by the Barristan Selmy Royal Guard.
The Tallharts' army, along with those of the Mormonts, Dustins, and Boltons, served as the vanguard of that Legion of the Rebel army.
Baratheons, Starks, Arryns, and Tullys had managed, in that short period, to muster some 35,000 men.
Targaryens, Tyrells, Martells and other lesser houses about 40,000.
The 5,000-strong legion led by Roose Bolton, in which the Tallharts were fighting, was holding back an 8,000-strong legion led by Ser Barristan Selmy.
Their job was to hold them back as much as possible so that they would not be able to join the forces of Raeghar Targaryen who was facing Robert Baratheon.
The battle had been raging for over two hours, neither side wanting to give ground.
'Where are those damned Boltons!!!' thought the Captain as he pierced an inexperienced Targaryen soldier.
'At this rate we won't even last half an hour!!!' Tom cursed inwardly as he continued to cleave his blade.
Severed limbs, blood, and various other body parts and secretions floated down this side of the river.
The water was up to a foot high, it was difficult to move.
Squeals, screams, and metallic screeches hovered everywhere.
'Where is Peter?! He thought urgently, looking for his son Peter who until 5 minutes before was at his side.
"'WE MUST REACH THE PRINCE!!!! MEN ADVANCE!!! WE BREAK THROUGH THE LINE!!!! Shouted General Ser Barristan. "UUUAAARGHH!!!" Replied the men following him.
The Royal Guard personally led about 1000 of his men, to attack a weak point in the Mormont-Tallhart-Dustin forces.
Barristan was able to break through, personally mowing down the men he encountered without hesitation. The men didn't even have time to realize how they had been hit that the knight was already on another opponent.
Then they came...
A volley of arrows from above, striking both allies and enemies.
"ARGH!" , "NOARGH!", "HELP ME!", "SHIELDS!". Countless voices shrieked similar expressions simultaneously.... it was a carnage.
It had to be said that the flow of arrows concentrated mainly on the enemy forces, but for every 3 enemies hit at least 1 ally was hit.
Many generals would consider such an act 'a necessary price for victory', others would not. Roose Bolton belonged to the first group.
A few minutes later...
Enemy forces had managed to penetrate inside, and Tom and his men were on the verge of giving up. At that moment, the Bolton forces arrived and, slowly but surely, managed to surround the vanguard led by Barristan.
The bait of Roose Bolton was launched...and Ser Barristan Selmy took the bait. Now it would only be a matter of time.
Roose Bolton had realized that the Royal Guard was in a hurry to get to the side of his sworn protg, and he used the opportunity. He had used the weak vanguard forces to entice him to break through before surrounding him.
About twenty minutes later...
Ser Barristan continued to hold out as best he could...they were surrounded and of the 1000 men at his side, there were now barely 300 left.
"PETER!!! PETERR!!!" Tom shouted as he finally got a glimpse of his son.
'No him no! Don't do it! you'll get yourself killed!!!' Thought the father instinctively as he watched his son, less than 50 feet away from him, charge with a couple of men towards the tired and wounded General.
"NOOOO PETEEERRRR NOT HIMMM!!!!" He screamed as loud as he could but his voice was muffled by dozens more screams.
The boy had already started the fight. The only thing the desperate father could do was...'try to get to him with all the strength he had!'
Tom shoved both enemies and allies, some falling to the ground, others moving along with the flow of the fight.
He even had to kill what looked like a poor, poorly armed Targaryen loyalist farmer from behind to finish the last stretch of road as quickly as possible.
In the end he was only a few steps away from the fight, and what he feared most was about to happen.
His son Peter was on his knees holding his injured armpit. He groaned in pain and was unarmed. Ser Barristan was about to deliver the last blow for the enemy who, along with his companions, had dared to face him....
"STRIIINGHH!!!" a bastard sword stopped the slash.
Barristan took a single step backwards to regain his balance and stared at his new target.
"Get him and get him out of here now!!!" Tom ordered to his loyal remaining men who would never leave their captain's side.
"Fath....Father! you can't this..." Peter was interrupted.
"SILENCE!!! TAKE HIM AWAY!!! NOOOWW!!!" He yelled and two men dragged the still stunned boy away. Ser Barristan was watching the scene. It was over for them now and he knew it. He might as well take his time for a more glorious end.
"I beg your pardon Ser...it was your right to claim his life and I interfered. I will repay the insult to you myself." Said Tom, bowing his head in apology.
Not many dared to approach Ser Barristan...dozens of bodies surrounded him. He had at least 10-15 feet of clear radius around him.
"No offense." Ser Barristan replied briefly, paying respect to the apology offered. He raised his guard in acceptance of the requested duel.
End POV
-------------------
POV Author;
4 weeks later...
God's Wood in Torrhen's Square.
Duncan was carving one of the last names on the huge marble slab behind a statue of the same material that was also being completed.
He had asked his uncle for a considerable sum of gold and the possibility of hiring jewelers and sculptors from Winter Town and White Harbor.
The same family that had been responsible for the statues in the crypts of Winterfell for hundreds of years arrived a week later. Luckily for them, a supply of fine marble from the Valley resided in the warehouses of White Harbor.
During that week Duncan, with the help of Tom's sons, spent every moment trying to draw and paint, as best he could, Tom's features. In the meantime, Qyburn had the task of surveying and tracking down every possible attainable family of the fallen soldiers.
Each family would be welcomed into the temple to witness the engraving of the name of their family member who had died in battle in the service of the Tallhart family, on the marble slab attached to the walls surrounding the inside of God's Wood. In addition, the families would receive a copper and steel pin forming the symbol of House Tallharh and the form of the trident or bells. Along with it was a reward (in gold and silver) worth 10 Golden Dragons and the possibility of a grant of 2 Golden Dragons year for the next ten years. A small coded number was concealed in each pin to reduce the possibility of future theft and fraud.
Of the 712 fallen, over 600 families came for the awards. The remaining names were either orphans or none of their families were alive anymore. The unclaimed awards were put into a fund to help orphans on the Tallhart lands.
Duncan, with the help of Peter, Ronan and Brywen, welcomed the families and gave out the award thanking the family for their service, then engraved each name himself. He had asked permission from his father and Master Zick to temporarily stop training so that he could fulfill this duty full time. Both agreed without complaint.
Myllard and his son (the hired sculptors) had repeatedly tried to stop the little lord from doing the work that was theirs to do.
"No, I have to do it. I don't want to forget any of those names." He replied each time, thanking them for the thought.
Many families touched the engravings of their loved one's name repeatedly. Most of them could neither read nor write, they wanted to try by all means to remember those strange and incomprehensible symbols that represented the person they had lost.
Helman Tallhart gave the order to keep the doors, of the castle and of the temple, open day and night for the entire award ceremony. The men of the Torrhen's Square garrison voluntarily took extra shifts to increase defenses and surveillance from possible dangers.
On the sixteenth day after the arrival of the artisans and families....
"My Lord the statue is complete...all that is missing is your carving." Warned the head sculptor Myllard. Duncan nodded and finished carving the rest of one of the last names on the wall.
A short time later...
Duncan, with Tom's sons assisting behind, took the small hammer and chisel and approached the six-foot-tall statue. It depicted Tom in armor (Studded Leather plus chaps, armbands and steel ruff) who was half hunched bent from the on one leg cleaving a sword stroke (his bastard sword) from bottom to top, his face bore incredible resemblance to the original subject. The expression expressed combative fury. The work was magnificent...
Duncan began engraving the words on a slab, rectangular 2 feet high and 3 feet long, at the bottom of the statue's base. Each blow of the hammer was a pain for the boy, but he resisted with all the willpower he had to concentrate on the task that required extreme precision.
Four hours later the inscription was complete, and it read:
[Here lies Captain Tom, First Guard in the service of Torrhen's Square. An orphan from the North who served House Tallhart for over 36 years. A man who, over the course of his merit-filled career, refused knighthood three consecutive times, as he did not want to renounce his faith in the 'Old Gods' in which he believed. Loving father and husband, faithful and loyal until his last breath. He died fighting in the Battle of the Trident to defend the North, House Tallhart and his family. Here we thank him today and commemorate him for his service and sacrifice.]
As Duncan worked, he was unaware that three individuals, on the walls surrounding the park, were watching him arguing with each other....
End POV.
----------------------
POV Helman Tallhart;
Helman stood on the walls of God's Wood, at his side were his brother Leobald and Qyburn. He watched his son Duncan with a look that expressed pride and concern. He had been back at his home for about ten days, after over a year of military campaigning.
He had been shocked to learn of the events his son had accomplished and his new nickname. After a week, he still had to be able to process the new facts.
"So brother, do you finally want to explain to me why you organized that parade for your nephew? Why did you want the rumors about that nickname 'Bloody Snow' to spread far and wide?" Helman asked. The poor man had been tortured by his Lady wife who demanded retribution against Leobald.
"What did our father say about blizzards? 'If an enemy chases you and pushes you into a blizzard, you must lay false tracks, follow the direction of the wind, and find shelter if you want to survive." Leobald.
Helman stared at his brother for a moment reflecting on his words.
"The spread of those rumors was inevitable...so you followed the wind to use them to our advantage." Helman continued, arriving at the key point himself. Leobald nodded making a small grin.
"Maester Qyburn." Helman called to the maester who took a step forward in response.
"Regarding that project to create an espionage and counterintelligence unit...you have my permission. You have free access to the funds necessary to accomplish it. I will personally thank Master Zick and his partner Ramas for their help in training the unit. Do whatever you must to protect my family." Said Helman in a low but authoritative tone.
"It shall be done my Lord." Said Qyburn bowing.
"Soon the great minds of Westeros and Essos will set their eyes on Duncan. Both for what happened at 'Snow Mill' and what is happening here...we will need to be ready." Both Leobald and Qyburn nodded in response.
That same evening.....
Helman raised his head at the knock on the door.
"Master Sculptor Myllard my Lord." Said a guard.
"Show him in, thank you Ubett." The guard nodded and made way for the craftsman to enter.
"Master Myllard please take a seat, you don't know how grateful and honored we are for the magnificent work you have done to my House and Torrhen's Square." He said to Myllard.
"No my Lord, the honor has been ours. Your son and the sons of the hero Tom have helped us enormously in our humble task. This was the first time ever that we sculpted a statue of a person without noble titles." Said Myllard that a proud and respectful tone.
"Here is the reward for the services of you, your son and your employees. Please accept it." Said Leobald opening a small casket. Inside were at least 150-200 gold coins.
"No my Lord I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your reward but the only amount we can accept will be 32 golden dragons, 9 moons and 2 pennies." The master craftsman replied, bowing.
Helman was quite surprised, he knew for sure that he would have to pay at least 50-60 g.d. ...he had tripled that sum because he was really satisfied with the work he had created and the future benefits his house would receive from it.
"I don't understand Master Myllard, why that amount?" Helman.
"Yes my lord I will clear up your doubts at once. The 32 golden dragons and 9 moons will cover the cost of materials, transportation and pay for my employees. The two pennies are compensation for my service and that of my son."
Chapter 17: "32 golden dragons, 9 moons.....and...2 pennies"POV: Captain Tom; 7 days before the delivery of a message.... Battle of the Trident... "RESIST!!! COMBAT!!! THEY MUST NOT ADVANCE!" Shouted Tom commanding his 500 men vanguard to hold their ground. Tom and his garrison were facing the center-right wing of a Targaryen army led by the Barristan Selmy Royal Guard. The Tallharts' army, along with those of the Mormonts, Dustins, and Boltons, served as the vanguard of that Legion of the Rebel army. Baratheons, Starks, Arryns, and Tullys had managed, in that short period, to muster some 35,000 men. Targaryens, Tyrells, Martells and other lesser houses about 40,000. The 5,000-strong legion led by Roose Bolton, in which the Tallharts were fighting, was holding back an 8,000-strong legion led by Ser Barristan Selmy. Their job was to hold them back as much as possible so that they would not be able to join the forces of Raeghar Targaryen who was facing Robert Baratheon. The battle had been raging for over two hours, neither side wanting to give ground. 'Where are those damned Boltons!!!' thought the Captain as he pierced an inexperienced Targaryen soldier. 'At this rate we won't even last half an hour!!!' Tom cursed inwardly as he continued to cleave his blade. Severed limbs, blood, and various other body parts and secretions floated down this side of the river. The water was up to a foot high, it was difficult to move. Squeals, screams, and metallic screeches hovered everywhere. 'Where is Peter?! He thought urgently, looking for his son Peter who until 5 minutes before was at his side. "'WE MUST REACH THE PRINCE!!!! MEN ADVANCE!!! WE BREAK THROUGH THE LINE!!!! Shouted General Ser Barristan. "UUUAAARGHH!!!" Replied the men following him. The Royal Guard personally led about 1000 of his men, to attack a weak point in the Mormont-Tallhart-Dustin forces. Barristan was able to break through, personally mowing down the men he encountered without hesitation. The men didn't even have time to realize how they had been hit that the knight was already on another opponent. Then they came... A volley of arrows from above, striking both allies and enemies. "ARGH!" , "NOARGH!", "HELP ME!", "SHIELDS!". Countless voices shrieked similar expressions simultaneously.... it was a carnage. It had to be said that the flow of arrows concentrated mainly on the enemy forces, but for every 3 enemies hit at least 1 ally was hit. Many generals would consider such an act 'a necessary price for victory', others would not. Roose Bolton belonged to the first group. A few minutes later... Enemy forces had managed to penetrate inside, and Tom and his men were on the verge of giving up. At that moment, the Bolton forces arrived and, slowly but surely, managed to surround the vanguard led by Barristan. The bait of Roose Bolton was launched...and Ser Barristan Selmy took the bait. Now it would only be a matter of time. Roose Bolton had realized that the Royal Guard was in a hurry to get to the side of his sworn protg, and he used the opportunity. He had used the weak vanguard forces to entice him to break through before surrounding him. About twenty minutes later... Ser Barristan continued to hold out as best he could...they were surrounded and of the 1000 men at his side, there were now barely 300 left. "PETER!!! PETERR!!!" Tom shouted as he finally got a glimpse of his son. 'No him no! Don't do it! you'll get yourself killed!!!' Thought the father instinctively as he watched his son, less than 50 feet away from him, charge with a couple of men towards the tired and wounded General. "NOOOO PETEEERRRR NOT HIMMM!!!!" He screamed as loud as he could but his voice was muffled by dozens more screams. The boy had already started the fight. The only thing the desperate father could do was...'try to get to him with all the strength he had!' Tom shoved both enemies and allies, some falling to the ground, others moving along with the flow of the fight. He even had to kill what looked like a poor, poorly armed Targaryen loyalist farmer from behind to finish the last stretch of road as quickly as possible. In the end he was only a few steps away from the fight, and what he feared most was about to happen. His son Peter was on his knees holding his injured armpit. He groaned in pain and was unarmed. Ser Barristan was about to deliver the last blow for the enemy who, along with his companions, had dared to face him.... "STRIIINGHH!!!" a bastard sword stopped the slash. Barristan took a single step backwards to regain his balance and stared at his new target. "Get him and get him out of here now!!!" Tom ordered to his loyal remaining men who would never leave their captain's side. "Fath....Father! you can't this..." Peter was interrupted. "SILENCE!!! TAKE HIM AWAY!!! NOOOWW!!!" He yelled and two men dragged the still stunned boy away. Ser Barristan was watching the scene. It was over for them now and he knew it. He might as well take his time for a more glorious end. "I beg your pardon Ser...it was your right to claim his life and I interfered. I will repay the insult to you myself." Said Tom, bowing his head in apology. Not many dared to approach Ser Barristan...dozens of bodies surrounded him. He had at least 10-15 feet of clear radius around him. "No offense." Ser Barristan replied briefly, paying respect to the apology offered. He raised his guard in acceptance of the requested duel. End POV ------------------- POV Author; 4 weeks later... God's Wood in Torrhen's Square. Duncan was carving one of the last names on the huge marble slab behind a statue of the same material that was also being completed. He had asked his uncle for a considerable sum of gold and the possibility of hiring jewelers and sculptors from Winter Town and White Harbor. The same family that had been responsible for the statues in the crypts of Winterfell for hundreds of years arrived a week later. Luckily for them, a supply of fine marble from the Valley resided in the warehouses of White Harbor. During that week Duncan, with the help of Tom's sons, spent every moment trying to draw and paint, as best he could, Tom's features. In the meantime, Qyburn had the task of surveying and tracking down every possible attainable family of the fallen soldiers. Each family would be welcomed into the temple to witness the engraving of the name of their family member who had died in battle in the service of the Tallhart family, on the marble slab attached to the walls surrounding the inside of God's Wood. In addition, the families would receive a copper and steel pin forming the symbol of House Tallharh and the form of the trident or bells. Along with it was a reward in gold and silver worth 10 Golden Dragons and the possibility of a grant of 2 Golden Dragons year for the next ten years. A small coded number was concealed in each pin to reduce the possibility of future theft and fraud. Of the 712 fallen, over 600 families came for the awards. The remaining names were either orphans or none of their families were alive anymore. The unclaimed awards were put into a fund to help orphans on the Tallhart lands. Duncan, with the help of Peter, Ronan and Brywen, welcomed the families and gave out the award thanking the family for their service, then engraved each name himself. He had asked permission from his father and Master Zick to temporarily stop training so that he could fulfill this duty full time. Both agreed without complaint. Myllard and his son the hired sculptors had repeatedly tried to stop the little lord from doing the work that was theirs to do. "No, I have to do it. I don't want to forget any of those names." He replied each time, thanking them for the thought. Many families touched the engravings of their loved one's name repeatedly. Most of them could neither read nor write, they wanted to try by all means to remember those strange and incomprehensible symbols that represented the person they had lost. Helman Tallhart gave the order to keep the doors, of the castle and of the temple, open day and night for the entire award ceremony. The men of the Torrhen's Square garrison voluntarily took extra shifts to increase defenses and surveillance from possible dangers. On the sixteenth day after the arrival of the artisans and families.... "My Lord the statue is complete...all that is missing is your carving." Warned the head sculptor Myllard. Duncan nodded and finished carving the rest of one of the last names on the wall. A short time later... Duncan, with Tom's sons assisting behind, took the small hammer and chisel and approached the six-foot-tall statue. It depicted Tom in armor Studded Leather plus chaps, armbands and steel ruff who was half hunched bent from the on one leg cleaving a sword stroke his bastard sword from bottom to top, his face bore incredible resemblance to the original subject. The expression expressed combative fury. The work was magnificent... Duncan began engraving the words on a slab, rectangular 2 feet high and 3 feet long, at the bottom of the statue's base. Each blow of the hammer was a pain for the boy, but he resisted with all the willpower he had to concentrate on the task that required extreme precision. Four hours later the inscription was complete, and it read: Here lies Captain Tom, First Guard in the service of Torrhen's Square. An orphan from the North who served House Tallhart for over 36 years. A man who, over the course of his merit-filled career, refused knighthood three consecutive times, as he did not want to renounce his faith in the 'Old Gods' in which he believed. Loving father and husband, faithful and loyal until his last breath. He died fighting in the Battle of the Trident to defend the North, House Tallhart and his family. Here we thank him today and commemorate him for his service and sacrifice. As Duncan worked, he was unaware that three individuals, on the walls surrounding the park, were watching him arguing with each other.... End POV. ---------------------- POV Helman Tallhart; Helman stood on the walls of God's Wood, at his side were his brother Leobald and Qyburn. He watched his son Duncan with a look that expressed pride and concern. He had been back at his home for about ten days, after over a year of military campaigning. He had been shocked to learn of the events his son had accomplished and his new nickname. After a week, he still had to be able to process the new facts. "So brother, do you finally want to explain to me why you organized that parade for your nephew? Why did you want the rumors about that nickname 'Bloody Snow' to spread far and wide?" Helman asked. The poor man had been tortured by his Lady wife who demanded retribution against Leobald. "What did our father say about blizzards? 'If an enemy chases you and pushes you into a blizzard, you must lay false tracks, follow the direction of the wind, and find shelter if you want to survive." Leobald. Helman stared at his brother for a moment reflecting on his words. "The spread of those rumors was inevitable...so you followed the wind to use them to our advantage." Helman continued, arriving at the key point himself. Leobald nodded making a small grin. "Maester Qyburn." Helman called to the maester who took a step forward in response. "Regarding that project to create an espionage and counterintelligence unit...you have my permission. You have free access to the funds necessary to accomplish it. I will personally thank Master Zick and his partner Ramas for their help in training the unit. Do whatever you must to protect my family." Said Helman in a low but authoritative tone. "It shall be done my Lord." Said Qyburn bowing. "Soon the great minds of Westeros and Essos will set their eyes on Duncan. Both for what happened at 'Snow Mill' and what is happening here...we will need to be ready." Both Leobald and Qyburn nodded in response. That same evening..... Helman raised his head at the knock on the door. "Master Sculptor Myllard my Lord." Said a guard. "Show him in, thank you Ubett." The guard nodded and made way for the craftsman to enter. "Master Myllard please take a seat, you don't know how grateful and honored we are for the magnificent work you have done to my House and Torrhen's Square." He said to Myllard. "No my Lord, the honor has been ours. Your son and the sons of the hero Tom have helped us enormously in our humble task. This was the first time ever that we sculpted a statue of a person without noble titles." Said Myllard that a proud and respectful tone. "Here is the reward for the services of you, your son and your employees. Please accept it." Said Leobald opening a small casket. Inside were at least 150-200 gold coins. "No my Lord I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your reward but the only amount we can accept will be 32 golden dragons, 9 moons and 2 pennies." The master craftsman replied, bowing. Helman was quite surprised, he knew for sure that he would have to pay at least 50-60 g.d. ...he had tripled that sum because he was really satisfied with the work he had created and the future benefits his house would receive from it. "I don't understand Master Myllard, why that amount?" Helman. "Yes my lord I will clear up your doubts at once. The 32 golden dragons and 9 moons will cover the cost of materials, transportation and pay for my employees. The two pennies are compensation for my service and that of my son."
