(Lord Osric Stark, Heir to Winterfell POV)
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Osric oversaw the harvesting of Dionesium, Songsteel, and Blackrock Ore. The Dionesium ore was actually ore this time instead of the liquid he'd expected.
His list of intended materials was growing with each visit. Makes him wonder what else he'd find in Karhold, Runestone, Stone Hedge, and Raventree Hall.
Nevertheless, the presence of Dionesium gave him a reliable counter to the mutative properties of the Depleted Promethium.
But that wasn't important right now.
''In the dawn, they came with fire, the banners red with sin
She took her blade of silver steel and led her soldiers in
But the cries of war grew hollow, and her courage turned to stone
When the traitors bound her hands that day and left her all alone
Raise your cups and sing her name
Though her mind was torn apart
Through the storm and through the sorrow
Burned the iron in her heart
Let no chain nor cruel whisper keep her spirit cast away
For the woman who was broken, rose again
To fight the fray
In the dark, they whispered lies, they carved them in her soul
Turned her dreams to twisted smoke, unmade her self-control
But in the ashes of her mind, a single spark remained
A memory of morning light that would not be contained
Raise your cups and sing her name
Though her mind was torn apart
Through the storm and through the sorrow
Burned the iron in her heart
Let no chain nor cruel whisper keep her spirit cast away
For the woman who was broken, rose again
To fight the fray
The moon looked down and wept for her, the river hid its flow
Yet, she found peace in silence where no tormentor'd go
And when the dawn came creeping through the ruins and the rain
She rose with eyes of tempered steel and took her sword again
Raise your cups and sing her name
Though her mind was torn apart
Through the storm and through the sorrow
Burned the iron in her heart
Let no chain nor cruel whisper keep her spirit cast away
For the woman who was broken, rose again
To fight the fray
Raise your cups and sing her name
Let the rafters bear her part
Through the storm and through the sorrow
Burned the iron in her heart
Now her banner flies unbroken, on the field where tyrants fall
For the woman who was shattered stands the fiercest of them all.'' As he finished his song, the crowd cheered.
Singing or at least music was one of the things he enjoyed. And The Iron in her Heart was one he knew would get the Greatjon going.
''By the Gods, boy! You truly are blessed to have Songs like that up your sleeve.'' Greatjon praised. Osric would be beating Robb, and theon later for it, they'd revealed his talents and the Greatjon insisted on some songs, so he'd given Greatjon By Blade, By Bone and the Banner will Burn before finishing woth The Iron in Her Heart, he had a couple more that he was saving for the feast at Winterfell with a little help from Sansa and Jeyne Poole. Though at least one would piss off the Queen and Crown Shit, which was kinda the point.
He hoped to at least beat the Lannisters up a little bit. He expected Joffrey to demand that Osric smith a blade for him, which would give him the opportunity to throw down. Wouldn't be the first time, nor would it be the last time. The first great melee that had occurred started in the Winter Town Brothel. Father sent him and the lads to retrieve Theon. What ended up happening was a chaotic brawl with what amounted to the town's entire adult male populace. They beat up any man who raised their fists to them, and by the end of it, Theon wasn't welcomed in Winter Town for over a year. The last great melee had occurred with Bolton men-at-arms and had been no less chaotic.
It would be very satisfying.
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As dawn broke, Osric was already at the Mine. He knew that House Karstark would be here shortly, but Osric wanted a moment to himself in the mines; he'd taken a few small pieces of Blackrock Ore, Dionesium, and Songsteel for later use.
Not for Basilica, this was more personal.
''Lord Osric? May I present Lord Rickard Karstark.'' Osric stopped observing the Ore for a moment to regard the man before him.
''Lord Karstark, I bid you welcome and must express my surprise that you'd come personally.'' Says Osric.
''Stark and Karstark are of one blood. Torrhen has always spoken well of you, and the journey from Karhold to Last Hearth is not far.'' Says Lord Rickard.
''I rely on Torrhen a great deal, he helps temper my worst impulses. And he speaks well of you and his brothers both as well.'' Says Osric, turning back to the ore. ''Magnificent, isn't it, the Blackrock Ore here of all places. Capable of withstanding Dragonflame for a short period on its own. Together with what lies at Karhold and everything I've already found and will find, we'll be able to slice through Valyrian Steel. I'll see to it each house gets a sword of the highest quality.'' Says Osric.
''Is such a thing possible? Valyrian Steel is legendary.'' Lord Rickard mutters.
''Blackrock Ore is quite heavy, but together with Songsteel, the Phrik found in the Northern Mountains, and what we'll find in Karhold and at Sea Dragon Point, everything that is heavy will be as light as a feather and hit like King Robert's Warhammer wielded by a true giant. In the future, Northern Steel will become what Valyrian Steel is reputed to be now. As you yourself just said, Lord Karstark.... Legendary.'' Naturally, only a handful of Houses will get the true article.
No fucking way was Tywin getting a blade that, while superior to Valyrian Steel, would be the equal of any elite masterwork level blade he forged. Depending upon how the brawl occurred, he might just squeeze five million Gold Dragons from Tywin Lannister and deliver a sword that was marginally superior to Valyrian Steel compared to the true masterpieces he planned to forge.
Hell, even though there'd only be one Basilica, there'd be many lesser versions of her produced; Basilica would simply be the largest, most powerful, and most terrifying of the bunch. Nevertheless, his journey was over halfway complete. When he finished up here, it would be Karhold, then a ship from White Harbor, and from there, Runestone. After which it'd be a trip to Raventree Hall and Stone Hedge. Riverrun too, of course, a short trip to deliver letters from mother for Grandfather, Uncle Edmure, and great-uncle Brynden.
Hmm, on second thought, Riverrun first then Stone Hedge, then Raventree Hall. Things would go much smoother with his grandfather's blessings and Uncle Edmure's presence.
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(POV Shift: Lord Eddard Stark, Lord of Winterfel)
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With each stop on the journey his sons took, offers from all over the north poured in. Lords offering daughters, granddaughters, nieces, sisters, aunts… the list grew more and more. It was getting difficult to ignore, but Osric had said to him before he'd left that he would make his decision after the King's visit. Which was the response he'd given to each Lord or Lady who sent the offers.
The sudden influx of new ores was also attracting attention, and Eddard had to have the new ores under careful guard in order to prevent someone from being overly curious or trying to steal the stuff. For all that Osric was his son, he was far too much like his uncle Brandon. His wolfsblood ran thick, and it ran hot. The melee at the Winter Town was proof enough of that.
No one was really sure how it started, but everyone knew how it ended.
There were bodies everywhere, no one died thankfully, but it led to Osric becoming known as the Black Wolf, which his personal sigil reflected. A Black Direwolf on a snowy white field with a golden Blacksmith's hammer behind it.
When northerners saw it, they knew better than to raise Osric's ire. Hopefully the Southerners in Robert's party would know it as well, but he had too many doubts to realistically believe that such a notion was even going to happen. Northerners were simple, blunt, and direct. That was their way, and they liked it that way. Someone would say or do something and a riot will ensure.
That was Os's way of doing things, because it kept most people away from him, allowing him to forge in peace…
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(Author's Note:)
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Fun little fact, despite intentions to the contrary, this was completed ahead of what I'd planned to rewrite, the reason? I got my new laptop. HP Omen 16 Gaming Laptop. Not the model I wanted, but it's the model I had to settle for due to funding constraints. Anyways, touched on Basilica a little bit here, but as usual nothing more than barest hints.
Keeping that under wraps until it's time to reveal.
Also considering the new art created for this stories cover it seemed prudent making it the personal heraldry of Osric. Took a lot of trial and error getting that right, Additionally the next story in the wider Artificer series will be DxD: The Artificer, as far as Wattpad, Fanfiction.Net, and Archive of our Own are concerned, every addition to the Artificer series will be a separate book. But because Webnovel has an account limit of twenty novels or fanfics per account, I'll group everything except this original Artificer story into one big Omniverse of Artificer stories. Anyways, I'm going to go play some CK3 on this new Gaming Laptop of mine for a couple of hours and then get back to writing.
Till next chapter
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