Revelations 1
…
I groaned as I opened my eyes and found… nothing but pure darkness.
‘What?’ I tried to say, though no words came from my mouth, instead saying within my mind. ‘The fuck?’
I blinked, thinking maybe there was just something wrong with my sight. I’d never gotten so drunk that I couldn’t remember where I was or how I’d got…
My thought process trailed off as my memory returned.
I’d been near the High Street, heading for the Jade Garden for dinner when I’d heard brakes screeching. A truck had jumped the curb and was barrelling towards a young mother with a pushchair not far behind me. My training had kicked in and I’d move.
I’d gotten the mother, child and myself out of the way of the truck, then heard it careen into a lamppost, then the storefront of an abandoned shop. I’d turned to speak to the woman, to make sure he and her child were ok, only for her to scream “Look out!”
As I’d turned, I’d seen the lamp post falling towards me, but had no time to move before it filled my vision.
The next thing I saw was… whatever the hell this place was.
‘Am, am I dead?’ I wondered as I felt anger begin to flood my mind. A decade of service in the military, with most of it in the SBS, and that was how it ended?! That was just fuckin…
Welcome to User Recalibration
‘The fuck?!’ I shouted in my mind as I tried to pull back at the strange blue words that seemed to form from mist in front of my eyes even as the room became engulfed in a dull, constant white light. However, with nothing for my feet to get a grip on, I couldn’t do that. Though even as my body prepared for a fight, I noticed that I also wasn’t falling away. However, I was upright – if I even was – wherever this was, was also stopping me from moving around. Though my limbs were still free to move.
Freaky and concerning as it meant I had no way to defend myself if I was attacked.
Calibration Commencing
Realising it was apparently futile, I stopped struggling to move and instead focused on my surroundings. The floating, mist-like text had shifted around to make new words – which were a touch worrying as calibration didn’t sound encouraging – but, as far as I could determine, there was nothing else around me.
Light filled the area equally without any hint as to where it was coming from, and there was no way to tell where any exit was. Or indeed, in what direction I’d have to go to escape.
Rebirth world selected.
[Code:- F5^Cv)(g: Again the text shifted, and while I was growing more and more worried that I was now dead, I wasn’t prepared to give up hope just yet. There had to be some way to escape this… place. Select Parentage Basic Regions: Essos Sothoryos Westeros Ulthos ??? ... Note that detailed choices become available based on the regions, and sub-regions selected. ... I watched carefully as the text shifted once more. I’d hoped that there’d be some hint as to where the text was either coming from, or being controlled from, but there wasn’t any. It was as if the text was acting of its own accord, though that was just insane. I waited again for the text to change, yet after a minute with this new list – one that felt familiar to me – floating in front of me, it didn’t. Apparently, I had to make some kind of choice here, but that could wait as if the text was no longer changing, then I had time to try and escape from wherever the blue hell I was. I tried moving my fingertips, then hands, then arms. Yet no matter if my movement was gentle or aggressive, my body wouldn't respond. Well, that wasn’t entirely true. My fingers could curl and uncurl, as could my toes, and I could turn and rotate my head. However, apart from that, I was essentially frozen in place. I wasn’t sure for how long I tried to escape, but eventually I realised that, at least for now, I’d have to play along with the text. Yes, given what the last thing I remembered before I woke up here, there was a fair chance I was dead, but if that was the case then every religion that I knew of had gotten the afterlife wrong. Still, even if that wasn’t the case, and this was all some sort of insane interrogation procedure, then it seemed that I had little choice but to play along. Though if the moment came when I could move and had a chance to escape, I was going to enjoy making the fuckers behind this insanity pay for fucking with me. Returning my attention to the text, I spent some time examining the list. It didn’t take me long to realise that Westeros and Essos were from the “A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones” franchise, yet the others were new. Likely they were from other places on the planet. Since the chances that an interrogation technique would use fictional worlds as a method to break a prisoner’s mind was strange (if not downright fucking stupid), I was leaning towards this actually being some kind of afterlife. Yet, while I’d have expected that thread of thought to increase my anxiety and fear, I didn’t feel any different. Or at least not anywhere near the levels I should be feeling. Actually, I seemed to be unable to feel any emotion strongly. That was strange yet it did make some sort of perverse sense. If someone arrived here after dying and hadn’t expected it, then having their emotions muted would help them adjust and adapt faster. Yet the idea that someone or thing could just manipulate my brain in such a way was downright terrifying. Still, even as I looked at the list, I wondered just how I was meant to make a choice when I couldn’t talk or move enough to interact with the menu. Though if this place was able to mess with my mind, then maybe it could also respond to mental commands. ‘Westeros.’ I thought and the text shifted to a list of the regions on that continent. Select Parentage: Basic Region: Westeros Sub-Regions: Beyond-the-Wall The North The Vale The Riverlands The Iron Islands The Crownlands The Westerlands The Stormlands The Reach Dorne ... Hmm, so that was how this worked. ’Main menu.’ I thought, hoping to see the text return to the original list, though it didn’t move. ‘Return. Up. Back.’ That took me back to the basic region list. Curious about the other places, I began to work through them. Essos was split in three. Eastern Essos covered places like Yi Ti, various city-states – such as one known as the city of the winged-men and others for bloodless men – something called the Five Forts, that I’d never heard of and other places with names that I couldn’t even read. I zoomed down further in those places, but either the lists were just random names or they were a collection of question marks. Thankfully a note at the end of the list stated that if I chose a place marked by question marks, then I’d not be able to choose my parentage. Either that meant whatever was controlling the text didn’t know about those regions or didn’t want me to know, and I was leaning towards the latter. Central Essos had other places. Some like Slaver’s Bay, Qarth, the Dothraki Sea and the Valyrian Peninsula I knew. Many others I didn’t. Still, working on the theory that I was somehow going to a world based on A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones, I went as far down the lists for the places in Central Essos, just as I’d done in Eastern Essos. I repeated this with Western Essos, though there I recognized even more than Central Essos. The Free Cities – though only Braavos was a ‘free city’ as it outlawed slavery – were the main things there, though it also listed the Stepstones, Qohor, Lorath and Norvos among others. I returned to the basic region list and repeated this process with Sothoryos and Ulthos, though most of the sub-regions were nothing but question marks. That lent even more credence to my theory that whatever was behind this setup didn’t want me to go to or know what was there. The region that was marked as only question marks held no sub-regions, which was more than a little concerning. Without any actionable intelligence, if I had to journey there, I’d be flying blind. Since the books – though I’d only read the first one – and the show were based in Westeros, I decided that would be the best place to select as a starting location. I quickly discounted the Reach, Westerlands, Riverlands, Stormlands and Crownlands. None of them appealed, in the large part because they were areas that were either strong in the Faith of the Seven – which I held zero interest in – were controlled by a dominant figure or had been devastated by war in the show/books. The Iron Islands were out as while the idea of being a Westerosi Viking held some appeal, their approach to many things – such as the Iron Price – and overall lack of resources/influence make them all but useless, at least in my eyes. I struck off the Vale because I knew little about the region, which left me with the North and Dorne. The Faith of the Seven wasn’t strong in the North, which was a big plus in selecting it. In all honesty, the Faith reminded me of the worst elements of Earth-based religions. Now, while I wasn’t against the idea of a god – and given to where I was currently, there clearly was something at work – the idea that people used the ‘words of god’ to give reasons for going to war made them little better than politicians and conquerors. Though at least the latter – and later on, kings and queens – were more honest in their reasons for going to war. The biggest downside of the North was, if I was going to appear there during the timeline from the books/movies, that it was going to be majorly fucked over. Then there was the threat of the Others/White Walkers beyond the Wall – though there was no listing of them in that sub-region, not that made any difference to my reasons for dropping the sub-region before I even got to the Seven kingdoms. Dorne was interesting. I knew next to nothing about it save that, sans Oberyn Martell, the show had fucked up the region. I’d heard that the books made it a far more interesting place, but my knowledge about it was seriously lacking. Though as I browsed the sub-regions, I discovered House Dayne. While the show hadn’t mentioned much about them, they’d popped up in the first book; though why I could remember those instances so clearly was strange. (Perhaps while neutering my emotions, this place enhanced my memory?) Ashara and Arthur Dayne were mentioned along with a greatsword, Dawn. While I didn’t see the appeal of a greatsword, something about that sword – being made from a fallen meteor – had caught my interest and it was one of the few pages on the wiki that I’d read. Figuring the Daynes would be a different place to start than any other noble houses (House Stark and House Martell were very appealing, but the idea of being linked to a great house of Westeros felt restricting to me), I went with Ashara as my ‘mother’. Honestly, I’d have taken Arthur, but that wasn’t an option and while there were a lot more options than just those two (the timeline listed stretched back to the Long Night eight thousand years before the books/show) I felt that picking a time in and around the canon timeline would be more useful. While my knowledge was limited, it was better than being dropped at a time where I knew nothing about. Of course, through all this I was still ignoring – maybe thanks to whatever was muting my emotions – feeling that this was all some sort of elaborate trick or something my mind was doing to help me stay alive as doctors tried to save me. Still, with a mother selected, I returned to the Westeros region then to the North sub-region. While I didn’t want to grow up there, the idea of being a Stark still held appeal. I considered Ned as my father, but that would mean being taken to Winterfell as his true bastard and having to endure a decade-plus of Catelyn’s behaviour. I mentally snorted at that, as I knew if that happened, I’d kill the bitch before I was a teenager. With that in mind, I picked Brandon Stark as my father. While that would still have Catelyn hating me, I’d likely get to stay in Starfall and be raised there. As I made my choice, the text shifted once more. Are these your final choices? Under the text appeared two images. While it was hard to judge much about their colourings since the pictures held the same blue tine as the text, it was clear the pair were attractive. Hell, Ashara was easily on-par with any celebrity or supermodel from Earth. A beautifully angled face and long, dark hair – or what looked like dark hair – gave her an otherworldly beauty. Plus, Brandon had the kind of rugged good looks that I’d always wished I’d had. I hadn’t been that bad to look at – in my opinion – in my old life but having that mixed with Ashara’s looks wasn’t something to sneeze at. ‘Yes.’ Parentage confirmed. . Time and location of insert selected. .. Alterations to timeline completed. ... OK, that sounded ominous. How badly had I just fucked up the timeline and ruined my intel? Alterations to creation traits confirmed. ... What the hell were creation traits? New User Creation commencing. 3 2 1 ... Welcome User F5^Cv)(g: As with all users to experience recalibration, creation traits have been made available to you. These traits, which are also referred to as birth traits, help determine the limits of your physical and mental potential. Along with these traits, two physical statistics are tracked: Strength and Agility. These will help define how soon and how well you can learn certain physical skills. For the average human without any creation/birth traits, these have a maximum value of 20. Additionally, Planetos is a world of magic, though the strength of said magic depends entirely on when you are inserted. Many of the traits available to you for your recalibration into this world will increase or decrease those limits. ... WARNING!!! Creation traits CANNOT be changed after recalibration has ended. For your own sake, choose wisely. ... The blue text seemed to scroll upwards, reminding me of the opening crawl from the six Star Wars movies (I refuse to acknowledge those disgraces as anything but bad fanfiction.) A shiver went up my spine as it became more and more clear that I was dead and would soon be reborn onto a formerly fictional world. Still, thank whoever ran this place that I wasn’t being reborn in DC or Marvel. Those places were literal death-trap worlds, though, to my limited knowledge, they didn’t have a zombie apocalypse coming that no one was prepared for. As the text shifted again, I turned my full attention to these traits. From everything I’d just learnt they would help determine what sort of person I could be in my new life, so I was going to spend a long, long time going through my options. User Creation Traits As a new user, you can select traits during the recalibration process to help or hinder your recreation in your selected new world. To be clear, others in your new world may have access to some of these traits, giving them similar advantages as you. However, in their case, they couldn’t select their traits before they were reborn. This is a process only available to users who are selected for and made aware of recalibration. ... As a new user, you are granted 100 creation points to spend. Any points not used at the end of your recalibration are lost to the endless void, so it behoves you to use them all. NOTICE Certain traits are marked with a (*). These are rare traits that only 1 in 500,000 people can gain, and even then, any sentient in your new world is only allowed one such trait, with their chances of gaining such a trait affected by the traits held by their parents. Due to your status as a recalibrated user, you are free to select as many as you wish; provided you have the creation points necessary for them. . .. ... WARNING!! Due to your choices of parentage, the starting traits have altered. Trait costs will now be recalculated. . .. ... Recalculation completed . Staring base traits: Bastard [Known] Good-looking Average Intellect Hale Health Average Agility Tall Average penile length Average penile girth ... WARNING!!! The trait Bastard [Known] is partially locked. As such, you are unable to downgrade it, though the option of an upgrade still exists. ... That made sense, I guessed, as with both my selected parents (particularly my new mother) being of noble birth, I would be a known bastard at a minimum. I had to assume that the upgrade available would make my birth take place in wedlock, though that would make me the Lord of Winterfell as the son of Brandon Stark. While tempting, I didn’t want to be locked into being a Lord; even one from a Great House. Yes, I’d have access to far more resources from the get-go, but I’d be limited in where and what I could go and what I could do. Plus, that would make Catelyn Tully turn my entire childhood into an absolute nightmare and might even have her or her family try to have me murdered before I was old enough to do anything. The listing of traits covering my dick length and girth was… off-putting. Where I was being reborn wasn’t some insane hentai world – or so I hoped – and knowing that before I was an adult was going to be weird as fuck. Then again, with Westeros being far more liberal (in certain places) regarding sexuality, knowing what I’d eventually be wielding did have some appeal. Creation Traits: Currently selected traits are underlined. Remaining Trait points [100] If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ... Social Status: Bastard [Known] [0] Noble-born [-15] . Looks: Hideous [+30] Ugly [+20] Homely [+10] Nondescript [+5] Good-looking [0] Handsome/beautiful [-5] Perfect 10(*) [-20] . Intellect: Imbecile [+25] Stupid [+10] Slow [+5] Average [0] Quick [-5] Intelligent [-10] Genius (*) [-25] . Health and Body: Feeble [+30] Frail [+20] Weak [+10] Average [-5] Hale [0] Robust [-5] Herculean (*) [-20] . Agility: Inflexible [+20] Limited [+10] Average [0] Enhanced [-10] Feline(*) [-20] . Height: Dwarf [+85] Short [+40] Unassuming [+20] Average [+10] Tall [0] Large [-15] Massive [-40] Giant(*) [-65] . Penile Size: Miniscule [+15] Small [+8] Average [0] Decent [-2] Well-Endowed [-4] Huge [-7] Giant [-10] Horse(*) [-15] . Penile Girth: Miniscule [+15] Small [+8] Average [0] Decent [-2] Well-Endowed [-4] Huge [-7] Giant [-10] Horse(*) [-15] . Dominant Hand: Left-handed [-2] Right-handed [-2] Random [0] Ambidextrous [-5] . Physical: Athletic [-10] Lazy [+10] . Others: Disfigured [+70] Clubfooted [+25] Harelip [+10] Hunchback [+40] Lisp [+5] Stutter [+10] Freckles [+1] Shrewd [-10] Albino [+30] Heterochromia [+15] ... To examine the details pertaining to a given trait, simply think the phrase ‘details...’ followed by the trait in question. Change a trait from a given list thinking ‘select ...’ followed by the trait in question. To display the current selection thing ‘show current build’. Confirm your selection by thinking ‘I accept these choices.’ ... That was a lot of choices. Almost instantly I discounted many, as being a dwarf, feeble, hideous – or anything that made me physically or mentally weaker/deformed – would be incredibly stupid selections. Well, unless I wanted this new life I was heading for to be the equivalent of Impossible Difficulty in an RPG. The traits marked by (*) were generally appealing. The ones relating to penile size and girth as those sounded more problematic than useful while the Giant trait could be seen both ways. The other four though… yeah, I was certainly going to take a couple of them. As I looked through the details about each perk, I noticed that while they said things like ‘grants a large boost to strength’ and the like, no actual numbers were given. That made it a touch harder to be sure exactly how each would benefit me. That was even true for the penile traits, though there I could make educated guesses. Quickly, I settled on staying a known bastard, and knew I’d not take a dick anything beyond huge in length and girth (yes, it wasn’t critical, and I’d had no issues in that regard in my old life, but I wasn’t averse to being a little bigger/thicker than before). From there, I began to sort through my choices. An increase in strength would be useful, but I felt being agile was more important and while being a Perfect 10 in looks would be interesting, I could see a few tactical downsides to such a thing. That led me to rank the (*) traits in an order of preference. From there, I began to work out possible builds. While no single build stood out to me, eventually I inputted a selection that I was prepared to use. In the end, I decided that Herculean(*) and Feline(*) would be the best choices to improve my strength and agility potential, though I added in Athletic and Large as well. Those would give me further bonuses to my potential agility and strength while, in the case of Athletic, making it easier for me to learn physical skills. While being large in height could be an issue, given that Sandor and Gregor Clegane existed – I was working from the assumption that they were Massive and Giant respectively) – I knew that much like Oberyn, I'd have to go for speed and skill over strength to stand a chance against them in a fight. For my dominant hand, I considered Ambidextrous, but instead went with Left-Handed as that was what I was in my former life. Having to re-orientate myself to use my right would be a massive issue and while the idea of being ambidextrous from the get-go was appealing, from what I knew, I should be able to train my right hand up naturally to get close to that. Though one issue would be how the people in Westeros and beyond felt about left-handers. From what I remembered of my history, in medieval Europe people often considered left-handers demonic, which was why I was hesitant to take Heterochromia. In the end though, I decided to take them both and deal with the issues it would bring. I'd considered taking Genius(*) instead of, or along with, the other two (*) traits, but settled on Intelligent. Since the better players in the game weren't just smart but cunning – and there was nothing about that in any of the trait descriptions – I felt being on-par with the greatest thinkers on the planet could be countered by my external knowledge; and the large boost to my ability to learn new mental skills and knowledge. Though that was provided that I could bring that knowledge with me, so on the chance I couldn't I added Shrewd to the list. For my looks, I’d spend the points from Heterochromia on Perfect 10. While that might seem vain – and unwise given I could’ve used those same points to take Genius – I felt when the two traits were combined it would make me look otherworldly (which I sort of was). And, as weak as it sounded, if I was going to be reborn in Game of Thrones then I was more than willing to attempt to seduce most of the female cast. Being drop dead gorgeous, very tall and – if all went to plan – being the best fighter of my generation would certainly help bed some, if not most, of those ladies. 'Show current build.' Creation traits chosen: Bastard [Known] Perfect 10(*) Intelligent Herculean(*) Feline(*) Large Athletic Well-Endowed [L] Well-Endowed [G] Left-Handed Heterochromia Shrewd ... ’I accept these choices.’ I thought, bringing to an end the selection process after, what felt like several hours of deliberation. Once more the blue text shifted around and I read it patiently, wondering if there’d be any more steps to fulfil before the process was finished. Creation Traits confirmed. Strength potential is now 33. Agility potential is now 38. . .. ... Bloodline Perks determined. . .. ... Insertion point prepared. Um, Bloodline Perks? I’d hoped there would be some form of explanation for those, but the text just moved on to the insertion point. That left me wondering if I’d remember any of this or the knowledge I’d gained in my former life before I was inserted. Wait! When and how was it going to insert me? Creation Traits activated. Bloodline Perks activated. As the text continued to swirl, I saw my life flash before my eyes. I panicked as I wondered if this would be the last time I ever saw those memories and cursed this system for not explaining if that would be the case or not. Insertion in 5 . .. 4 . .. 3 . .. 2 . Suppressing memory of user creation until unlocking date achieved. Well, that was… ‘WHAT?!?’ 1 … … ---------------------------------------- … … I woke up with a start, bouncing up in my bed as if I’d been electrocuted “Th-that, that was,” I muttered trying to get my thoughts in order as the memory of my time in the whiteness was unblocked. While a part of me was terrified that whatever had decided to send me here could not only neuter my emotions, but restrict memories, I knew that was a problem for another time. For now, I had to process what I’d just learnt. The discovery that some of my anger about why I was here could be directed at myself was irritating; which only got worse when I realised that I still didn’t know why I was here. Fine, according to the floating text, I was being ‘recalibrated’ and had selected Ashara Dayne and Brandon Stark as my parents willingly but beyond that, and what I suspected was to come, I was still groping around in the dark as to the purpose of all this. I closed my eyes and took a slow, deep breath to bring my rising emotions under control. I needed to approach this as logically as I could to help me understand what I’d just learnt. It all had to be integrated into the various plans, strategies and ploys I had floating around in my head. The traits that I’d selected for myself reminded me of an RPG game, yet nothing about this place felt like a game. Nor was I treating it as such. Still, when combined with how I ended up here, and the time in the whiteness… I shook my head and chuckled in disbelief as I realised that I’d been reborn in another world. Just like in the various Gamer and Self-Insert stories I’d read online. Well, this would take som… Wait! What?! Why was there a flashing blue light in the bottom right of my vision? I turned my head from side to side, but the light remained, making me wonder if it was somehow connected to my rebirth. Tentatively I tried to touch it, though that did nothing. “Well duh, Cregan. It’s in your mind, not in the air.” I mumbled to myself at my moment of stupidity. I then considered how to interact with the light. Remembering how the calibration had gone, I tried a few basic mental commands, however none of them worked. Though when I focused on the light, it blinked. For a moment, I scrambled back in my bed as the light expanded and moved towards the centre of my vision. There, it shifted to reveal the same blue text I’d seen in the recalibration. Objective Achieved! “Huh?” A second later I remembered clearly the objective I’d seen moments after my rebirth and at the same time, the text shifted around. The Truth of the Matter Survive until your 5thnameday. Reward: Answers to how and why you are here. ... Activate Reward? Yes/No ... Well that was a no-brainer. ‘Yes.’ I thought, remembering that the recalibration had been done with mental commands. Reward activated. ... CONGRATULATIONS As a Recalibrated User who has survived their earliest years of rebirth, your memory of recalibration has been unlocked. Additionally, Bloodline Perks are now active. All traits – be they Creation-based or selections from the Reward options – have been active since rebirth. Finally, your unique Interface is available to initiate. Do you wish to initiate the Interface? [NOTE: Interface can be initiated at a later date, though failure to initiate it by your 6thyear will result in the Interface – and all associated benefits – being locked] Yes/No? ... I bit back a growl of annoyance at the lack of information I’d just gotten. It was as if I was dealing with a brand-new 2nd Lieutenant who stuck to their training religiously. Initiating Interface System . .. ... Time to synchronise ... 15 hours. ... “Oh fuck off!” I spat out. I mean, making me wait five fucking years to understand what was going on, then give me a memory detailing why I was reborn where I was and making me wait almost the entire day for further information? Yeah, I was back to dealing with yo-yos and their ‘good ideas’. Fucking wonderful. As the clock for synchronisation began to count down, I wondered how I was meant to, if not dismiss it, then shift it from the centre of my vision. Thankfully, the next moment, the text returned to the bottom right of my vision. Unlike before though, it didn’t blink and just sort of sat there. That would take a bit of getting used to, but it was better than having to try and ignore floating text that partially obscured my vision for an entire day. I slid from my bed, saying a silent thanks that, unlike the last three nights, I'd been able to get a good night’s sleep. Those last three nights had been traumatising. With my room next to mother’s, it meant I’d had to listen to her and Oberyn enjoy the first few nights of marriage. And of course, two nights ago they’d brought Ellaria in to join them. While I didn’t beget any of them enjoying themselves, did they not give a fuck that a five-year-child was is the room next door? Fuck, the talk the morning after the wedding about how the sounds I might’ve heard weren’t because Oberyn was hurting my mother had been the single most embarrassing moment of my new life so far. And had me dreading the Westerosi version of the birds and the bees. While I was sure they’d still been active last night, after three nights of bad sleep, my young body had decided enough was enough and I was asleep the moment my head hit my pillow. Hopefully they would begin to curtail their nightly behaviour soon. We were due to leave by ship for Starfall before the new moon, and if they kept this up until then, I think everyone in the castle would be cheering for us to leave just so they could have a peaceful night’s sleep. As I walked towards the small washing bowl one of the servants had placed in my room before I’d woken, I led concerns about my sleep patterns and whatever was being meant by an Interface drifted from my mind. There was little I could do about either – at least for now. Plus, my day was going to be reasonably busy. The last of the guests for the wedding would leave today, and frankly I couldn’t be happier. While Gunther Dayne of High Hermitage was an annoying man with an enlarged sense of importance, his son was on a whole other level. For reasons that weren’t openly stated – but which I suspected were jealously mixed with resentment – he hated me and Uncle Benjen. He’d gone so far as to anger Benjen enough that the Stark had accepted a challenge with live steel. Benjen had reluctantly accepted and managed to defeat the younger man (Gerold looked to be in his mid to late teens). That had been an eye-opener for many as, until then, Benjen had neither boasted about his skill with a blade, nor openly showed it. Oberyn had been badgering my uncle for a spar, and Benjen had grudgingly accepted, though only once we were all in Sunspear. Gerold, not taking his loss well, had threatened me one morning when I was waiting near the training yard. While he hadn’t been able to carry out his threat – mainly due to Obara and Nymeria arriving in the yard, followed closely by Benjen – that had marked the young man out as a problem I’d have to keep an eye on. With the Daynes of High Hermitage gone, it would just be the Martell party that remained in the castle, at least until we all left. Even though I lacked blood links to the family, Arianne and Oberyn had both openly stated that I was a part of the family, with Arianne also commenting that I was perhaps the only bastard in Westeros with direct ties to two great houses. As I finished washing, a knock came from my door. “Come in.” I called out and the door opened to allow Myra entrance. “Morning little one. Sleep well?” She asked, a smirk dancing on her lips. “Surprising, yes.” I stepped back from the basin and walked over to a stool where my clothing for the day had been placed. “Good, now come along. Your mother and goodfather are waiting in the Great Hall.” Myra commented as I pulled a thin, but very comfortable light grey tunic over my head. “Today is an important day.” “Is it?” I asked as I then slipped into my braies. While a touch longer than underwear from my older world, they were remarkably comfortable. Myra chuckled and shook her head. “Don’t play coy little wolf. I’ve seen you trying and failing to hide your excitement for today. Now come along. If you take too long, I think Lady Ashara might give your nameday gifts to your aunts or new cousins.” I chuckled at that as I slipped on my pants. “Oh, very well.” As I slid the sandals onto my feet and then followed my former minder out of my room, I caught sight of the blue dot in the corner of my vision and sighed. That had been the real reason I’d been excited for today. Though while waiting nearly fifteen more hours to learn more about what was going on – and having that blue dot in my vision all day -was going to be annoying, I could be patient. Besides, Oberyn – after seeing my form with the wooden daggers he’d sent me last year – had been hinting that he’d gotten me something better for this nameday. I'd be lying if I said I wasn’t curious about what that was. … … ---------------------------------------- … … That evening, I was back in my room not long after dinner. While everyone in the hall had assumed it was because I wanted to read the books mother had gifted me, that wasn’t entirely true. Now, I was enjoying the first of the two books – a book by Maester Dwan summarizing another much rarer and more detailed book on dragons by Maester Thomax – and would likely do the same with the second – a book by Maester Donnel on the Valyrian Freehold, but I was more interested in other things. Namely the fact the synchronization for the Interface only had around thirty minutes to go. I lifted an arm to turn the page on the book I was reading – which would likely be added to the Maester’s library in Sunspear if they didn’t already have the book – only to knock against a metal wristband. Well, it would be a wristband when I was older, but for now, it was too big for that. When I held it up to admire it, the light glistened off a coiled dark grey snake, the craftsmanship such that when the light caught the amethyst gemstone eyes just right, it almost seemed alive. Today, the only reason I’d been wearing it was to not offend Arianne as it was a gift from her and her cousins to me. I was still surprised that the princess had gotten me a nameday gift as I was a bastard with no blood ties to her. Yes, my mother had married her uncle, but that didn’t make us family really. However, I wasn’t stupid enough to not thank her for the gift; nor wear it during the day. I’d likely make sure to keep wearing it as I grew up as keeping the young princess happy was a smart political move, plus I rather liked it. Beside the wristband sat the sheath of Oberyn’s gift. The dagger – that was more akin to a short sword at my current stature – was being kept by my mother until I proved myself skilled enough to be trusted with it. Hopefully that wouldn’t take long as the weapon was a work of art. The actual blade was made of castle forged steel with a slight curve that ended in a wicked point but it was the pommel that truly made me adore it. The handle was crafted from dark ebony wood, with curved indents for a more secure grip while the pommel was a finely engraved wolf’s head made from bronze with purple gemstone eyes, all made, according to Oberyn, by the best Smith in Sunspear. As I easily predicted – and wished I’d made a bet with someone about – mother had been enraged with my gift from her new husband. After glaring at him for several minutes, she’d take the blade from me with the promise that she’d return it once I was properly trained in its usage. Oberyn had then volunteered to supervise that training, pointing out that Nymeria was one of the most skilled knife-wielders he knew, and he’d taught her everything he knew. Of course, mother hadn’t liked the gift, but had acquiesced to her new husband and after breakfast, I’d experienced my first training session with the prince. The man was a monster on par with the worst I’d ever trained with. He pushed me further than my new body had ever gone before, and by the time the hour was over, I’d had to be supported by Daemon to make it to lunch. It turned out that the term for stepfather in Westeros was simply goodfather – which, I guess made sense – but referring to the Viper as that was, even though I’d been the one to suggest the union, going to take some getting used to. As was the fact I would soon be heading to Sunspear with my new family. That, along with Benjen’s presence at my side, was going to cause more ripples in the timeline, including ones I hadn’t yet considered. However, if I could manage it, I wanted to get Doran and Eddard on, if not speaking terms, then in semi-regular contact. While the houses had been on opposite sides of the war, with what I expected to come in Westeros, the two could be useful allies for each other. Better to have the potential for that, than allow the Lannisters and others to pick them off separately. I put such thoughts to one side and returned to the book until some time later, I became aware that the blue dot was once more blinking. Closing the book – though not before placing a sheet of parchment in it to mark my page -I concentrated on the dot, then watched as the blue text reappeared. Synchronisation complete. Initiate Interface for the first time? Yes/No? ... ‘Yes.’ I replied instantly. And everything went black. … … ---------------------------------------- … …