Edmure rode his pony along the banks of the Red Fork, the rhythm of the river matching the steady pace of the column. They had been riding since dawn, and as the sun climbed, the group halted to make camp for lunch. The scene was a flurry of activity: tents were pitched with practiced haste, horses were led to graze, and squires nervously polished armor that had barely gathered dust.
They were only fifty kilometers from Riverrun, yet the party was already busying itself with draining the supplies. Such impromptu stops would be unthinkable for a modern, centralized army, but this was no military machine. It was a progress of the Lord of the Trident and his trusted knights—closer to a politician's inspection tour than a tactical movement.
Edmure had been surprised to find Maester Vyman among the retinue. Maesters rarely left their seats except on explicit missions. However, Vyman had chosen to ride a horse rather than travel in a slow, cumbersome coach. Had he opted for the carriage, the party would have been mired in every muddy track and river crossing, reliant on the collective effort of the guards to keep the wheels turning.
During the journey, Edmure stayed toward the rear. Hoster led from the front, looking genuinely happy among the rolling hills and familiar fords. Edmure felt no urge to offer family affection to a father who was usually an absentee figure; instead, he used the time to observe. He noted how long the knights took to mount and dismount, the durability of the River Road under the trample of hooves, and the strategic width of the rivers. He scouted potential sites for bridges and outposts. To Hoster, this was nature and nostalgia; to Edmure, this was the central artery of a system—a network of information and logistics.
Hoster enjoyed the morning fog and the fresh breeze. For Edmure, it was merely an opportunity to review the notifications that had accumulated over the last two weeks.
[Shield: Level 9] [Archery: Level 11] [Verticality: Level 5] [Sword: Level 3]
His learning attribute had not improved, despite his deepening understanding of the world. He's stuck with mere eidetic memory and twice the speed of humans; he clearly needed more books to break the bottleneck.
However, Archery had unlocked the Endless Quiver perk. It functioned for all ranged attacks. If he threw a stone, another would instantly manifest in his hand. He had tried to exploit this by tossing a Gold Dragon, but the system was too clever to grant him an infinite money cheat. His next bet was a precious throwing dagger. He imagined bards singing of the Heir of Riverrun and his fetish with Valyrian steel daggers.
The Sword skill had provided a substantial boost to his physical power.
[Sword: Level 3 | +10% Strength per Level] Level 10: Basic mastery of all weapons Level 100: Sword Aura Level 1000: Apotheosis
At his current level, he could comfortably duel adult knights. Within a month, he expected to surpass Ser Desmond Grell. At Level 100, his attacks would gain magical properties. He compared that potential to the Night King's javelin throw—an attack that had brought a dragon out of the sky.
By grinding both Sword and Archery simultaneously, and factoring in his attribute bonuses, Edmure calculated he could take on the Night King comfortably within a decade.
He wasn't in a rush to hunt the Others, however. The Land of Always Winter was uncharted, and he didn't want to provoke a retaliation from the gods before he was ready. He would be an opportunist. If he encountered a White Walker, he would snipe it from the shadows, thinning the herd of wights before the true winter arrived.
For other milestones, he had less patience. He felt no guilt about altering the story to fit his philosophy. In the North, the cannibal tribes of the Bay of Ice were on his list for extermination. Such an expedition would require coordination with the Starks to ensure the Wall wasn't destabilized, but he intended to see it done.
Regarding the coming rebellion, his attitude was largely detached. Aside from his immediate family, he had few favorites to save. To him, the affair was simply a case of nobles doing foolish things. However, he did have a hit list: Ser Gregor Clegane and Ser Amory Lorch. These men were torturers, not warriors of glory. Since they would only rise to infamy during the Sacking of King's Landing, killing them early would bring him little political trouble and much personal satisfaction.
Edmure estimated that in two months, he would be the strongest duelist in Westeros. In three months, he would tour the Trident, challenging noble after noble to solidify his reputation. By the time the realm gathered for the Tourney at Harrenhal, he intended to be capable of fighting thirty knights at once.
His objective for the rebellion was clear: duel the greatest legends, protect his borders with his riders, and cultivate the persona of a peerless, chivalric heir. He would leave the grand strategy to others; he only wanted to ensure that the Riverlands did not bleed more than necessary.