House of the wolf

“I know I did not teach you those forms” I hear making me open my eyes to see Rodrick Cassel and a few others who were watching me train. 

 

“It´s what Ser Barristan taught me, what do you think?” I ask the master at arms.

 

“Ser Barristan!.. You will become among the most lethal fighters of your generation wielding that sword, that´s what I think” The guards around who watched me train nodded in agreement.  

 

“Rodrick, how many soldiers are in the castle right now?” 

 

“Hmm about three thousand, we had about two thousand men, the bulk of the soldiers from Robb´s army then you brought about a thousand soldiers with you inside” 

 

“Three thousand, add on the fifteen hundred with Wylla and Greatjon and that´s about four thousand and five hundred men available to me right now, not bad”

 

“Rodrick, I want you to create tests for the soldiers put the word out that I am creating a personal unit, and any man that wants to join it needs to pass these tests” 

 

Rodrick nods seriously with a glint in his eyes “What kind of test should it be my lord” 

 

“Endurance tests, Strength tests, combat tests, and archery tests, you will directly oversee it. Make the tests difficult enough that only one man out of ten can pass them. Tell everyone over the next few weeks that they have three chances to clear these tests. Once it is finished then I will choose a hundred from those that qualify to make the unit”

 

I see that the guards around us who are eavesdropping are getting fired up, no doubt rearing to go and prove themselves. I hope some of them qualify since it will be inevitable that the bulk of the force will be from other houses or even members of those houses which can be a double-edged sword.

 

But regardless I will have to trust them with my life. There can´t be room for doubt anymore I simply can´t afford it. 

 

The upside is that it will be a chance to have closer relations with one hundred of the finest warriors the North has to offer as long as I can keep them in check.

 

A good way to do that might be to bring back the tests after a year and have them annually if some have gotten arrogant or content with their status in the special unit they will get kicked out if they fail. 

 

While that might breed resentment it should be more self-blame than anger towards me… I don´t know, I´ll think more about it in the future.

 

“Take a couple of days to create the courses I want this done well and efficiently” 

 

“My lord” He bows his head and leaves immediately to make his preparations.

 

I walk away from the training yard towards the glass gardens, looking at the crops it seems they are almost ripe. 

 

While the glass gardens are beautiful the glass should not be green tinted and it is not an effective use of space. With the new glass on its way from Essos, I could replace the old glass with clear glass to fill up the space and make a new glass garden three to four times bigger. 

 

The old glass I will donate to the wall, with the influx of men the Night´s Watch is in desperate need of a steady supply of food.

 

While I sit on a bench in the glass gardens I hear footsteps approaching.

 

“My lord,” Maester Luwin says as he sits on the bench holding a couple of scrolls.

 

“Maester Luwin, it seems you got something for me,” I say eying the scrolls.

 

“Since you are no longer just a young master but now lord of Winterfell, there are some things you should know,” He says as he hands me the scrolls.

 

I unroll them and see they are three maps all containing directions to a certain location.

 

“What is this? Do you want me to go on a treasure hunt?” 

 

I ask making him smile his horrid smile in response, his smile makes me shiver, that goddamned smile traumatized me the moment I arrived in this world. 

 

He reaches into his his grey robe and fishes out a key, now I truly think he truly wants me to go on a treasure hunt.

 

“This is the key to the main treasury,” He says as he hands it to me and then continues.

 

“Before your father left for King´s Landing he gave me these maps and said they led to hidden stashes one made by him, one by his father, and the other one… it is unknown who made that one.”

 

“Robb never got around to seeing what they contained and I am getting so old I felt it prudent to give you these as soon as possible” 

 

“My father trusted you with Stark treasury´s?” He looks at me offended.

 

“I delivered you and all your siblings into this world!” He goes off again making me remember that dreaded day. 

 

“I taught you how to read and write and you say that you can´t trust me!”

 

“Now now, I trust you with my life Maester Luwin, but this, I don´t know if I would have it in me to trust anyone outside of family with something like this”

 

I hear him laugh at that his previous anger, as if it never existed vanished.

 

“Ah yes, you were always a clever one, I always thought you would do well as a Maester of the Citadel but alas what a pity you would never cast aside your name”

 

“My name is the first and most meaningful gift my parents gave me, to cast it aside for mere knowledge would be to spit in their faces” 

 

“Don´t underestimate knowledge boy-” 

 

“I don´t underestimate it, I just won´t compromise myself for it… my apologies Maester Luwin, the Citadel´s hoarding of books for themselves just gets on my nerves. Sometimes when I think of our scarce library I get agitated”

 

“... You know, I am getting on with age, and soon enough you will need a new Maester, I still have some good friends in the Citadel, and for a price, a new Maester could bring with him enough books to fill the library”

 

I fiddle with the key to the main treasury, a new Maester I think to myself… would they be trustworthy?