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Chapter 23 - Wedding and Tourney
🕑 Added 2025-06-15 07:13:57 +0000 UTCStorm’s End
8 BAC
King Argilac was finally getting married to Lady Selena Caron. After the exchange of wedding vows in the small sept of Storm’s End, nobles of the kingdom were celebrating within the Round Hall, enjoying the grand feast.
It has been delayed due to Princess Argella’s work in Parchments, but the previous experience earned in Weeping Town has made the construction proceed quicker. Lord Lucan was very pleased to have a coal mine and Iron Works fill his coffers like never before.
The usual gifts one might expect at a wedding were presented, such as weapons, armor sets, shields, horses for the king, gold, jewelry, and expensive dresses and fabrics for the queen.
Princess Argella went in last as the feast was coming to a close, carrying a longsword and a dress on a mannequin covered by a cloth for surprise.
“Father, this is for you.” She handed the sword to him.
Its grip was black and gold, with the crowned stag of House Durrandon etched on it. The guard was gold with three commas on each side of it, though the most captivating part was the blade.
Purple and gold were intertwined as if two serpents coiled around, and it gleamed in the light with an unusual shine.
Argilac rose from his seat and took the sword, inspecting it before two servants pushed a metal training post into the middle of the hall.
The king raised an eyebrow, thinking this was a jest, before walking between the tables to reach the training post amidst the whispers of the very curious guests, ready to see if his daughter was serious.
The hall quieted down, everyone waiting for the king to test the sword. Argilac raised his new sword and brought it down on the metal post.
His swing met no resistance, and due to how hard he brought down the sword, it left a gash on the floor.
The steel post was as thick as Argilac’s muscled arm, and no sword, not even a vaunted Valyrian steel sword, could hope to cut it.
The audience gasped as half of the post fell down with a clang, a smooth diagonal cut having done the impossible. Argilac grinned and swung again, a horizontal slash cutting the remaining post in half. The king wanted more, so he took the top half of the post lying on the ground and threw it up and sliced it in half too.
Argilac roared, throwing his head back in delight.
“This is a weapon fit for legends. How in the name of the Smiths did you make this?”
“Just some techniques I’ve thought of.” Ei wasn’t lying, as she did indeed create the techniques responsible for forging some of the most well-known weapons back in Inazuma.
“As for you, Selena, I thought this dress might suit you.” It was a colored tomesode, a type of kimono worn by married women.
A vibrant blue silk dress similar to a robe, it had the crowned stag of the Durrandons and the nightingales of House Carron stitched at the hems and was held together by a golden sash.
“I stitched with the aesthetics similar to dresses known in Yi-Ti.” That too was technically true, though Ei only chose to say that because she couldn’t admit the truth.
“It is beautiful, thank you.” The Queen of the Storm Kingdom closed her mouth with her hands, delighted by the foreign dress.
“Time for the bedding ceremony.” A lord at the end of the table shouted, and suddenly Princess Argella’s gifts were forgotten. The Round Hall rose, ready to tear the clothes of the wedded couple apart, but there was a problem.
—
Argilac, Lucan, and Garrin noticed it first when Argella’s eyes twitched, and they got goosebumps, the telltale sign of her fury getting ready to erupt.
If she did that here, there would be no telling just what kind of damage she would cause.
The three of them looked at each other, and a silent agreement was reached.
Lucan gasped, holding his heart and falling down.
“Father!” Robert screamed in horror, kneeling down to help his father, which caused a different kind of chaos, while Princess Argella looked puzzled before realization dawned on her.
Argilac, grasping the opportunity, quickly took his new bride away before his daughter killed someone.
Garrin kept the crowd focused on Lucan and himself, shouting for a Maester, giving them the chance for a clean getaway.
Argilac and Selena were out of sight, and Lucan coughed one last time and stopped his act.
“I’m fine, I’m fine.” He grunted, allowing Maester Larry to check on him.
“You appear to be fine, my lord, but it is best if you rest for now.” Larry gently helped the aging lord of Parchments rise, and with the help of his son Robert, took him to rest.
“Wait, where are the king and the queen?”
It didn’t take long for people to realize what had happened.
—
Following the wedding and the feast, it was only natural for a tourney to be held.
Melee, archery, and the joust.
The first day was the squire’s melee, where aspiring knights-to-be showed their mettle. Some wore the favor of a lady; others fought for renown and rewards.
Ei watched it for a while for observational purposes. There was no uniform style of fighting, as each squire learned how to fight from a different knight, resulting in different styles with unique twists.
She did not stay around much, as some squires of noble origin intended to approach Ei for her favor. She had nothing against their talents, but the Electro Archon’s favor was not granted that easily.
The second day was the grand melee and archery. Lord Taryn Selmy won the melee, while the archery was much more contested, as the marcher lords were all excellent archers, but the victory went to Garrin, her new uncle.
People were allowed a two-day respite between the melee and the joust and chose to enjoy the festivities offered.
Jugglers, mummers, and artisans showed off their talents, and Ei, followed by the guards her father insisted on assigning her, sampled as many as she could.
Food stalls saw special attention from the young princess. Skewers, sweets, drinks, and all manner of food, even some exotic ones from the Free Cities many wouldn’t try.
Ei, though, had enough of her guards, and within the blink of an eye, disappeared amongst the crowd, and by the time the guards realized the princess was out of sight, she was already at the other end of the tents, having felt something, a spark of magic.
—
“Ah, what a distinguished guest I have. Tell me, Princess, are you here to have your fortune told?” Inside the tent, an old woman sat behind a simple table. A bowl, giving off fumes from whatever herb was burning inside, was in the middle.
She was covered by an old cloak, though Ei could see her sagging face covered with wrinkles.
“Not particularly. I just wished to know the source of the magic I felt. Tell me, what are you?” She sat down, watching the old woman chuckle, before taking her hands off the bowl.
“Lena, a simple woods witch, nothing more. But you, oh, I can feel it, you are something else. Something dangerous.” The woods witch leaned forward, her eyes glinting in the shadowy tent, illuminated only by two candles and what light passed between the seams.
“I have no wish to harm you if that is your concern.” Ei was merely here to sate her curiosity, not to strike the woman down because of the views of the seven gods of this continent.
“I can see. Now you know what I am; what shall you do?” The sorceress felt no ill intent from the princess, though for all Lena knew, she could be hiding it.
“I had some questions, not for my fortune, but for the magic you use. I shall pay you, of course.” Ei would find her fortune on her own, not by asking a sorcerer to divine her future.
“Pay me by answering my questions, Princess. A question for a question.”
That sounded fair to the Electro Archon.
“Very well. What is the source of your magic?” She could learn by prying deeper, but doing that could have unknown consequences, and Ei didn’t feel the need to take an unnecessary risk like that.
“The Old Gods. They have given me a gift in return for doing their bidding. What are you?” Lena could feel the endless power of the Princess but did not seek to find more, lest she drown in it.
“I am Raiden Ei, the God of Eternity. What do they have you do?” Seven Archons back at Teyvat had mortals doing their bidding, though it was mostly as a way to make their intent known without having to go through the hassle of doing it in person.
Such as Barbatos’ herald.
“I am their eyes and ears. They can reach the corners of Westeros that don't have weirwood trees. I have never heard of a God of Eternity. Where are you from?” She knew the existence of many gods, not by name, but by domain, as they watched the world through her, and this was not one she had even heard of.
“I hail from another world, Teyvat. I conversed with your Old Gods once, through the Godswood, but they had not initiated contact after that, and I had no desire to force them. Why are they not speaking again?”
“That, I have no answer to give. Ask another.” Lena shook her head. If that happened, the Old Gods had not deigned to tell her anything.
“The winters of this continent are unnatural, and I felt death in the cold winds of winter. Who or what is responsible for this?” Lena grinned at the question, her teeth unnaturally white for a person living in a world where mouth hygiene did not exist.
“You know the answer already; it is the Night King and the Others.” Usually, Lena would not answer a question like that, as none would take it seriously, but this was different.
“I see.” Ei would have to deal with them sometime in the future.
“How did you come to this world, much less as the princess of one of the Seven Kingdoms?” Lena wondered if more of her kind would come, as it would inevitably lead to conflict.
“I embedded my consciousness into my sword, and when the body I commanded fell in battle, it somehow ended in this world, and I found myself in this body.” It was most likely due to the powers of Heavenly Principles tearing open a rift in space, which had sent Mussou Isshin to this world, but Ei couldn’t be absolutely sure.
“I have no more questions to ask, do you?”
“Not at this moment. Here.” Ei handed her a handful of silver.
“Ah, what a generous deity. Many thanks.” Lena took the coin, knowing to keep silent on the matter.
Interesting years were waiting for the Seven Kingdoms.
—
Ei left the tent to go and buy more desserts, the conversation with the woodswitch repeating in her mind.
“There she is.” Her guards came running, out of breath as they were running around like headless chickens trying to find her.
“Princess, please don’t do it again. The King will kill us if something happens to you.”
“My father did not assign you to me for my protection; you have nothing to worry about. Now, I wish to see those bards again.”
Guards looked confused at the remark but followed wordlessly.
—
The bards were singing marcher ballads, and the God of Eternity was sure even Barbatos would find them too long.
She considered it was to be expected, as the same struggle lasted for thousands of years, and the songs were just as long.
Having had enough for the day, Ei returned to the tourney grounds, where her father was trying his new swords against volunteers.
The fights were extremely unfair, as the sword she had gifted to her father sliced through castle-forged steel as if it were butter, and Selena stood at the edge, dressed in the tomesode she had gifted, with ladies flocking to her, watching her husband ruin more than one blade.
“I shall name this blade Victory, for only a fool could hope to lose a fight with this.” Argilac raised the sword in the air to the clapping nobles, finally deciding on a name.
“Father, I see you are enjoying your sword.” Ei had debated giving the sword much later to not take away the attention from the wedding, but things went fine.
“Damn right I am. By the way, a lot of nobles want one of their own.” He sheathed the sword in the gold and black scabbard.
His lords had asked, nonstop, for a sword like this, and Argilac finally had enough to promise he would ask his daughter.
“It takes too much time to forge. The price would be exorbitant.” That was a lie, as she wasn’t going to spend time forging swords like Victory for people that didn’t deserve it.
“Ah well, not my problem.” Argilac just shrugged.
Comments
orcun demir
Thank you :)))
LordRhyolith
Damn, it's so rare to find such a good ASOIAF fanfic with a female protagonist. Great story so far!
