Chapter 7

As it turns out, learning how to read a new Language isn't something you can do in just one Night, so you decide to get yourself some help, that help being a Scribe named Dallin who will read your Book to you, starting the next Day. And thus you're able to compare and study your Book and Dallin's narration at Night together, so that you can advance your understanding of the Language and the Book's contents in a timely manner.

You both were doing this for quite a few Weeks, and so you could soon feel a pleasant connection between the two of you, one that felt so very familiar, and yet a little saddening. For the last time you formed genuine connections with other People you were heavily disappointed, and while you saw it coming long before it happened, that their Morals were indeed more important to them than you and what you were going to achieve did at least tear a bit at your Soul, if you do have one that is.

You assume that it sometimes just can't be helped, for a Warlord just isn't someone that gives into their Companion's notions simply to make them merry. And besides, it wasn't like it was your fault that they thought your Deeds were just a Front, really, how could they even delude themselves into believing that you of all People were simply playing the part of a Warlord even after knowing you for so long?

But Humans are Humans, or so you guess, and when considering everything else getting agitated over all the Betrayals seems kind of silly, for they did in the end help you in achieving your Life's Goal, did they not. Memories of your last Life aside, the connection itself doesn't seem half bad, and if you don't screw up again it might even become a good friendship. You certainly wouldn't have anything against gaining a Mentor for this Life, seeing as you won't be able to just explore the World like you did the last time.

Though, even if finding a different form of exploration turns out to be easy, the actual deed of exploring the World doesn't seem like a viable Option to you. For far too much of the Book's contents and the World around you feels familiar to you, so much so, that justifying the Journey becomes so hard that you just can't put it on your List of things to do. And seeing as you will most likely not get the permission to leave the Continent from your Family anyway, being selfish to this extent seems quite frankly impossible to you.

But the small things, that are indeed new to you are if nothing else astonishing, for one there are the Dragons, this World, this very Continent was Home to actual Dragons, and the King's of your Homeland effectively killed them all, the entirety of their known Population, just gone. So in other Words, the Answer for why your House is loyal to the Crown is Force, and with the fire breathing Monsters having left Existence there is nothing remaining that actually binds your Family to the Crown, or well, nothing that really matters.

After being around for Centuries, the Crown surely has some Marriages and Treaties in Place to keep your House loyal, but that isn't more than a slight hurdle, if even that. But it's still good to know that in the future things like this won't become a problem, for who will actually be loyal to the King, in a Land torn to shreds by Civil-war, yes, the saying of when it Rains it Pours does seem quite fitting.

As soon as one supporting Column is missing, the others will be pressed so much harder for at best the same result, and who could fault them for breaking after Centuries of decline and being taken for all they've got. Well it's their own fault that they can't keep their Kingdom united, but perhaps the Royal Family will get their act together before you can take part in the Kingdom's Politics, it would certainly be more fun to have at least some resistance after all.

You contemplate over the weakness of the Throne and the Kingdom for a few more Minutes and then decide to visit your Grandfather, for he is the Head of the House, and he is part of your Family, so if he decides to stay loyal to the crumbling Crown then that would be that. It's funny how it would be a bigger hurdle than all the Treaties in the World could ever be, for what inconvenience aren't you willing to go through and accept to just make your Family happy and merry?

You decide that if you visit his Tower it wouldn't hurt to get your Hands on another Book to study, seeing as your connection to Dallin needs some further strengthening if he is to become a Friend in the future, mayhaps your Grandfather would be willing to help you with the selection of one. Though you still hope that the Gods will be kind, and you won't have to meet any of your Grandfathers Friends while visiting, it's equally annoying and funny how no Lannister seems to like opening up in Public, for literally all of them are extremely guarded as soon as any Company is around.

But you nevertheless begin to go up the Stairs, if you do meet unpleasant Company than you will just have to deal with it, for Life surely has some things far worse than just unpleasant Company in Store for you. And so you continue your little Journey up the Stairs until you reach a Height at which the Tower gains some actual Windows, and stop there for a moment to look through the Red and Gold tinted Glass over the Rock's Walls, towards the Mountains, a beautiful sight you admit.

And there you wait for your Guards, who decided to give you some more freedom in this more secure part of the Castle, for as long as you don't wander off while being out of sight. So you continue your ascent only after hearing their footsteps once more, you of course knew that there is no wandering off in a Tower, but you decide to not make the Day extra hard on your Guards just because you don't like restrictions, for that would just be petty. So you silently continue until you reach what you were sure was the upper tenth of the Tower, so the end of your Journey, where you come across a Corpse.