Subjugating the Game of Thrones

Chapter 2 heraldry

When Maester Crayden finished his conversation and climbed the stone stairs, panting, Renly had already left his bedroom and was waiting in the maester's quarters, not far from his own room. He was no longer in his pajamas but was dressed in formal attire—

The black woolen trousers, made half a year ago, were a bit too small, so when he got up to greet, he unconsciously showed a bit of his ankles.

Maester Crayden didn't notice this, but he complimented the boy on how well the velvet tunic fit, although the color was not chosen appropriately. The color matched the trousers, and with his pitch-black short hair, he looked even smaller in all black.

"The fact that you can dress yourself without troubling the servants is impeccable. But remember, child, you are not yet five years old. It is the right thing to accept help and advice from servants appropriately."

The maester ended the greeting with this sentence, then sat down by the window with a thick sheepskin book on a small partitioned table in the room.

Renly sat opposite him, his clear eyes curiously glancing at the book the other had opened on the table, then blinked.

"Studying heraldry again..."

"It's about learning noble history, distinguishing common language vocabulary, and understanding the coats of arms of the lords." The seated old maester replied, his hand full of age spots turning the book to a later page. After carefully smoothing out a wrinkle in the page, he officially began the teaching.

The layout of the rooms in the tower was basically the same, but the window in Maester Crayden's room was larger than the one in Renly's bedroom. Ample sunlight shone from the windows on both sides of the two, adorning the surface of the old yellow sheepskin book pages with small and exquisite black common language characters as if with a divine aura. The coat of arms patterns carefully drawn in the upper left corner or center of the pages further intensified this aura.

The child's voice was pure and pleasant, and the old man's words were gentle and steady. Apart from the voices of the old and the young, there was no other noise in the room. Silent metal utensils and miscellaneous glass jars quietly adorned the surroundings. A half-open black sheepskin book lay on a desk not far away, with a quill pen stuck in an ink bottle. The unique smell emanating from it gave Renly a faint illusion that it seemed like some kind of delicacy.

There used to be a group of black ravens here, making a lot of noise. However, as the siege began, most of them had been released to ask for help, and the few that were not released gradually disappeared.

Renly guessed that the old maester might have donated them all to the fat chef in the city - recently, lunch always had a smell of bird droppings.

It is worth mentioning that there is no breakfast or dinner in the current Storm's End, and food is scarce. Everyone here can only eat one meal.

"A silver seahorse on a sea-green background."

"The Valeryon family of the Tidewater Isle."

"Family Motto."

"Old, True, Brave."

"Their history."

"Originated from the extinct Valyrian Freehold, once a dragon-riding family, allies with the royal Targaryen family, and followed the Targaryens to migrate to the Westeros continent... The most outstanding figure in the Valeryon family was Lord Corlys Valeryon, known as the Sea Snake, two hundred years ago. His fleet sailed to the known world..."

...

Maester Crayden was already an old man in his sixties, but he still looked strong. Only his back under the gray woolen robe was slightly hunched, but this did not affect his spirit. When he spoke, his gray-brown eyes were bright, as if full of wisdom.

Every time he turned a page, the old maester would first explain it and then let Renly repeat what he had just said.

Renly didn't think he was very smart, but at least he had an adult's mind, so he learned these things quite quickly. At the same time, he didn't know if it was an illusion, but he always felt that his memory was particularly good today, so the expression of the old man opposite became more and more satisfied.

"I really should suggest to Robert to send you to the Old Town for study. Yes, I should do it, if he were here. Child, you are born to be a maester, and you even have the opportunity to become a doctor!"

Renly was not interested in being a medieval doctor at all, especially when he knew that the maesters of the Citadel were not allowed to get married and have children. So he didn't take this, but pointed to the brown dead deer hanging under a horizontal pole on the book to divert the topic.

"This Hunter family has a feud with us?" The clear voice line unique to young children was full of doubts.

"Why do you say that?" The old maester asked strangely, and after speaking, he looked at the coat of arms before reacting, which made him laugh.

"It's just a coincidence, and besides, the deer of the Baratheon family is black, not brown."

Renly made a sound, then suddenly asked, "What about the black dragon and the red dragon?"

"The black dragon and the red dragon?"

"A three-headed dragon, one black and one red, the red one is the Targaryen family's emblem, I know. Which family is the black one?"

This question stunned the old maester.

"Three black dragons?"

"Yes, three black dragons on a red background."

"That is the coat of arms of the Blackfire family. A noble bastard designed it, based on the inversion of the Targaryen family's coat of arms. But the last Blackfire died 21 years ago on the Stone Step Isles. The Kingsguard, the fearless Sir Barristan, killed him with his own hands." The old maester said, then asked strangely, "This book doesn't record the Blackfire family. Where did you see this coat of arms?"

"I forgot which book I saw it in."

"Lying is not a good habit, child. You have to tell the truth."

"I'm telling the truth." It's hard for a four-year-old child to be as skilled at deceiving people as Renly, and it looks serious. However, Maester Crayden, who knows his character more or less, was not deceived.

"I don't think there is any book in this castle that I haven't read, child." He emphasized, "And those, without exception, did not record the Blackfire family."

The expression of the master was meaningful, but his words did not let the boy show any flaws.

"Well, Master Crayden, I confess, I remember which one it is." Renly bowed his head, seemingly full of shame. "But it's a book in Stannis's room. He doesn't know. I snuck in."

Then, he added a little "timidly," "Master Crayden, you must not tell him. He is so bad-tempered..."

"You have to call him your second brother, child."

The old master corrected, "Stannis is your second brother, and his temper is actually not bad. He is just - just not very good at speaking, yes, that's right."

Stannis, the second son of the Baratheon family, is a lonely person. Among the three brothers, he is the coldest. In addition to the attendants, generally no one dares to approach his room, and the old master is no exception.

So the topic of lying was skipped.

However, Renly was not complacent about this, but because of the information he just learned, he seemed a bit absent-minded in the following teaching.

Why did he dream of the war between the red dragon and the black dragon, and was killed by a Blackfire who had been dead for a long time?

He wondered.

Or, why did he dream of himself becoming another person and was killed by a knight of the Blackfire family?

He has never known the Blackfire family, and his foreknowledge about the current world is only a hazy impression in his mind, and there is no so-called Blackfire in it.

Knowing nothing, how can he dream?

Moreover, it's not just once...

"What is the motto of the Lannister family in the West?"

The question from the opposite side was gentle and normal, and did not arouse much vigilance in Renly, so he subconsciously answered, "The Lannister always pays his debts -"

He couldn't say it halfway, blinked, and the boy looked a bit innocent, "Hear me roar?"

"In the Citadel, many novices have fallen into this trap. They always hope to find some deeper knowledge from books, but they disdain to remember the simple common sense."

Renly was a bit embarrassed when he heard this, but the old master did not delve into it, but waved his hand.

"Our siege has cut off the news from the outside world, but Robert has proven his bravery at the Summer Hall. Besides, even if the war is unfavorable to us, this issue should not be what you think about. Child, you have talent, and your mind is far more mature than ordinary children, but I can't say whether this is an advantage or a disadvantage. I watched your second brother grow up. He is silent and lonely, a person who lacks childhood,