Game of Thrones - The Shadow Lord

The House of Blood and Steel - Edwen

[EDWEN]

The Great Hall hadn'tbeen this packed in years, at least not as far back as Edwen couldremember. Not even his father's fiftieth name day had drawn such acrowd. There were houses from all over Westeros represented at thelong tables stretched across the smoke-filled room, but not a singlehouse was of any major importance. There were the Forresters wholived less than a two-day ride to the east in the Wolfswood wherethey cut down the massive ironwood trees and crafted quality shieldsand other items for the Crown, they were vassals of House Glover.There were the Bellistars, a house that Edwen and his family hadlittle love for but had invited to the wedding out of courtesy to theRathmores, who had some connection to them that they hadn't reallyelaborated on. There were the Rathmores themselves, and many housesthat Edwen had never heard of. There were the Carwyns, the Ellkes andthe Dorres each one from the South and related to the Rathmoresthrough marriage in one way or another.

There were so manynames that he had given up trying to remember them all. Most of thepeople here didn't really care about the wedding at all, no some werehere to eat and drink like the fake kings and queens they pretendedto be, others just wanted to get close to his father for theelevation in stature. Edwen had started his day by scaring off a fewundesirable suitors who had cornered his young sister and asking herif she had been married off yet. Before it had even been past noon hehad threatened or intimidated at least a half dozen more alreadydrunken men from doing the same thing. He'd had other things on hismind and other things to do, but no one seemed to be looking out forRenna not even his younger brother Wyllam. No, Wyllam was preoccupiedwith the bastard daughter of Lord Rathmore. Edwen had been trying tokeep an eye on them throughout the day, but with so many people inthe keep it had been a difficult task. He had lost site of them bothduring the wedding ceremony, which in itself had been nothing morethan a formality.

He had seen it in hisbride's eyes. The pledges and commitments they had sworn to eachother in front of the Seven and all the people in Ravenhold had beenempty promises. Their marriage was one made out of business not outof love. Even the kiss they had shared had been dull and lifeless.Now they sat at the High Table at the front of the room, they hadn'teven looked at each other but instead downed glasses of sweetsummerwine and ate their fill of roasted boar. He decided to try andbreak the silence and looked over at his bride. Alessa looked trulybeautiful, there wasn't a man in the Realm who would have said theopposite. She was wearing a silk dress in the colors of HouseRathmore, a deep reddish-purple trimmed with black. Her dark-red hairfell down bellow her shoulders instead of the two tight braids shenormally wore. In her ears were two garnet stones that had been givento her by his mother, who was of House Redwyn descent though she hadlittle contact with her old house. Around her throat Alessa wore achoker made of lace the same color as her dress and on her head sat aglistening silver circlet encrusted with rubies.

His garb wasn't asjewel encrusted as hers, it was simple but nonetheless handsome. Hewas wearing a fine wool tunic and breeches topped by a long cloakmade of expensive shadowcat fur, all of it clad in the colors ofHouse Grayer: a dark charcoal trimmed with a lighter gray. His largeforearms were clad in dark leather bracers, emblazoned with theroaring shadowcat of House Grayer, that had belonged to hisgrandfather and passed to his father and then down to him. As old asthey were they showed little of the age they boasted. His feet weresecured in fine leather boots that were the most uncomfortable thinghe had ever worn but his father had insisted he wear them. He hadrefused to shave the stubble on his face however, much to hismother's dislike. Though he did concede to having his hair trimmed soit no longer fell beneath his ears. His head felt lighter without theextra hair and colder, but he had to admit he liked the shorter lookbetter.