When Gendry won, the cheers in the field thundered like a storm.
By then, Prince Oberyn Martell, the Red Viper, and Ser Barristan Selmy, Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, were already waiting eagerly at the edge of the field.
The horns sounded again, and the heralds called their names aloud.
"Second match: Prince Oberyn of House Martell, Prince of Dorne, against Ser Barristan Selmy, Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, Barristan the Bold."
Both men were tall, slender, and graceful, but also extremely dangerous.
Ser Barristan wore armor white as snow, and his cloak was the same milky white.
The Red Viper was dressed more simply.
The white knight and the Red Viper both saluted King Gendry, then began.
"You once fought beside my uncle, Prince Lewyn, old knight," Oberyn said.
"Prince Lewyn was my brother," Ser Barristan replied. That was a deeply sorrowful memory.
The Red Viper took up his Longspear. He usually used a round shield, and upon it was the sigil of House Martell, the spear piercing the sun.
The two knights entered the field together, each squeezing his horse's flanks.
Hooves clattered as the fine horses trampled across the grass. The crowd shouted together, their voices rising to the sky.
The tournament ground seemed to shake, and the shadows of steel and ashwood swayed.
The two Longspears broke almost at the same time. It was a very good sign.
"Red Viper!"
"Barristan the Bold!"
The crowd cheered like thunder.
Then came the second pass. Ser Barristan swept out like a white storm with his thrust, but the Red Viper caught his attack, and the two Longspears burst apart again.
Wooden splinters flew everywhere, scattering like butterflies. Splinters were dangerous things. Without armor and a visor, they could easily blind a man.
The third pass.
The fourth pass. Ser Barristan struck out with his Longspear, and the blunt head hit the Red Viper, but though the Red Viper swayed, he still did not fall from his horse.
The two men changed spears again, discarding the shattered Longspears.
When the fifth pass came, Prince Oberyn, the Red Viper, saw his chance perfectly. He struck cleanly and decisively, sending Ser Barristan's helmet flying with a single thrust.
"I have lost, Prince Oberyn." With his face exposed, Ser Barristan gracefully raised his hand, voluntarily signaling the end of the contest.
The Red Viper lifted his visor and thanked the crowd.
The Red Viper's paramour came forward, and the two kissed fiercely in front of everyone.
People said the Dornish had fire in their blood, because they lived in a land of scorching heat.
Gendry laughed. He saw it clearly. Both men were dangerous, but the Red Viper was younger after all.
"Red Viper!"
"Red Viper!"
The cheers rang out once more, and people began looking forward to the next, even more splendid match: the fight between "Storm" Gendry and Prince Oberyn, the "Red Viper."
After a pause for rest, the horn sounded, and the herald announced the final match.
"Dragonlord Storm, King Gendry of House Breaker, against the Spear of Dorne, Prince Oberyn of House Martell."
Gendry wore black armor dark as eternal night, polished bright as new. The King fastened his golden cloak with clasps shaped like a stag and a dragon.
Prince Oberyn lightly nudged his mount with both feet, and his horse leapt left and right like an agile dancer.
Even though many lords were not on good terms with Dorne, they still admired Oberyn's strength. The Red Viper was highly skilled, a famous killer, dangerous and nimble.
Especially in just the past year, the Seven Kingdoms had already seen many great fighters fall.
"Who will win?" Sansa asked Great Lord Eddard Stark.
"Jousts are hard to judge," Eddard said, shaking his head. He was certainly a beloved lord, but his own martial strength was only so much, roughly second-rate.
"He won so easily. If they weren't avoiding the King, then the King's skill is terrifying." Arya Stark watched the Longspear joust with full attention. Northmen were not all that interested in this kind of contest.
But this was, after all, a duel between top fighters, a contest of strength and beauty.
"Dorne has strong men as numerous as sand, yet only this one stands above them all," Lord Randyll Tarly murmured as he watched the Red Viper.
The more dangerous the opponent, the more attention he deserved.
As a military lord of The Reach near the Dornish front, Randyll naturally paid close attention to Dornishmen.
The two men signaled to each other, then began charging from their respective positions.
Longspears lowered, shields held level, the two black steeds galloped forward.
"Oh!"
The spectators shouted their approval, while the lords and knights watched intently.
The horses screamed and neighed. Both mounts were equally swift and agile.
The first Longspears struck together, and splinters flew.
"Good!"
The spectators breathed heavily. The first pass had been wonderful, and they were already waiting for the next.
Gendry threw away the broken Longspear, and Anguy handed him a new one. Both riders squeezed their horses' flanks again.
The golden storm came charging once more, and Gendry swung the blunted tournament spear.
The ground trembled beneath the horses' hooves. Guests waved their arms, and children shouted as well.
Those closest to the path of Gendry and the Red Viper saw Gendry's Longspear break into the sun on Oberyn's shield, then continue toward Oberyn's chest.
The Red Viper's Longspear shattered against Gendry's breastplate. Oberyn's warhorse panicked under the force of the impact and tried to throw the Red Viper off. Fortunately, it was a fine steed, and the Red Viper regained control.
Next came the third pass. Both men rode back to their squires and exchanged their spears for sound tournament Longspears.
"Crack."
Gendry's Longspear collided directly with the Red Viper's, and wood splinters flew.
The Red Viper's hands trembled slightly, and his body shook, but fortunately, he still managed to steady himself.
The knights traded passes until they had changed to their seventh Longspear.
Their Longspears seemed about to clash again in a dangerous dance of steel.
"Good." In a moment so subtle it seemed almost mystical, Gendry shifted his body just before the danger arrived.
Oberyn's spear struck Gendry's shoulder, but Gendry was steady as stone.
"Crack."
But Gendry's Longspear smashed solidly through the Red Viper's shield, and its remaining force did not fade. It struck the Red Viper directly in the chest, over the heart.
The Red Viper felt a force that could split mountains and shatter stone. He fell backward, collapsing into a heap on his horse.
He could no longer control his mount and tumbled from the saddle.
The warhorse rushed onward, and the crowd cheered.
Everyone agreed that this match had been brilliant, extraordinarily so.
"Storm!"
"Storm!"
"Victory belongs to King Gendry!"
The trumpets and long horns sounded again, and frenzied cheers filled the field. People shouted Gendry's and Oberyn's names at the top of their lungs.
The crowd roared, cheering for the King.
Gendry lifted his visor. With black hair and blue eyes, he revealed a youthful face and welcomed the glory of that moment.
All the applause, all the cheers, had come for him.
This was why knights were obsessed with tournaments. The champion represented victory, honor, and progress.
Gendry walked to the Red Viper and invited him to rise.
"You were a fine opponent," Gendry said to the Red Viper.
"You are stronger than I am, and more agile," Oberyn the Red Viper said bitterly as he looked at Gendry.
It was not merely that seven spears had decided the outcome. The key was that Gendry wielded his spear with effortless ease, while Oberyn could not reach that level of spearwork.
It was a bitter realization.
There had been many strong men before, but the Red Viper had never felt such bitterness.
Robert Baratheon had been a strong man. So had Arthur Dayne, the Sword of the Morning, and Gerold Hightower, the White Bull, in his prime, and Barristan Selmy.
The Kingslayer was very strong, and the Clegane brothers were both large men, especially the dead Mountain, whose brute strength had been inhuman.
The Hound, still alive today, could not be underestimated either. There was also Greatjon of The North.
But the Red Viper had always regarded himself as one of the finest warriors. He too was tall and fierce.
Especially now, when so many men had died and Ser Barristan had grown old. The Red Viper had personally killed The Mountain.
But against Gendry, the gap revealed in battle made the Red Viper see the truth with perfect clarity.
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