Escorted by the guards, Arthur made his way to Harrenhal's ruling seat: the Tower of Dread.
The guards of Harrenhal were deeply bound to House Whent, their loyalty far surpassing that of ordinary freeriders, hedge knights, or sellswords.
The Tower of Dread was the tallest and most massive of Harrenhal's five towers. Its original name was lost to history, forgotten after the death of "Black Harren" during the War of Conquest.
It earned its current, terrifying moniker after Aegon the Conqueror's dragon, Balerion the Black Dread, roasted Harren and his sons alive inside it.
The sworn knights of Harrenhal typically wore black plate armor covered by a yellow surcoat or cloak—the colors of House Whent.
House Whent's sigil displayed nine black bats on a yellow field. The black bat imagery was a direct callback to the previous ruling family, House Lothston.
House Whent originally served as landed knights sworn to House Lothston, whose own sigil featured a giant black bat on a field divided diagonally between gold and silver.
Arthur theorized that the Whents had inherited the bat motif because they were either a cadet branch or distant kin to the Lothstons.
Black and gold were also the colors of the current royal family, House Baratheon.
The Baratheon sigil was a proud, black crowned stag on a gold field. By now, King Robert had married Cersei Lannister in a lavish, spectacular royal wedding.
This strategic alliance with the insanely wealthy and powerful Westerlands was heavily pushed by the King's surrogate father, Jon Arryn. Everyone assumed this marriage would cement Robert's rule and bring absolute stability to the realm. Nobody could have predicted that Robert's stag horns would eventually turn into the green horns of a cuckold.
This marriage was destined to plunge Westeros into a bloodbath, and Arthur fully intended to ride the chaos to the top.
I'm not strong enough yet, but when I am, everything changes.
Harrenhal was situated dead center in the Riverlands—a prime target in any war. Without early planning, his position was incredibly dangerous. Luckily, he still had a few years to build his strength.
Despite his youth, Arthur had incredible natural talent for martial training. He hadn't borrowed the name of the Sword of the Morning, Arthur Dayne, for nothing.
Today's guest at Harrenhal was Ser Lucas Dayne, a Sword Guardian from the Palestone Sword Tower at Starfall, and a distant cousin to Lord Dayne.
The current head of House Dayne was the older brother of the legendary "Sword of the Morning" Arthur Dayne, the "Fairest Maid in Dorne" Ashara Dayne, and Allyria Dayne.
House Dayne was an ancient, fiercely proud family with a long history of martial prowess and legendary knights.
They were powerful and renowned, famous for the ancestral title "Sword of the Morning" and their legendary greatsword, "Dawn."
House Dayne was also the designated archenemy of another ancient family—House Hightower of Oldtown, in the Reach.
King Samwell Dayne, the "Starfire," once sacked and burned Oldtown.
During the First Dornish War, King Joffrey Dayne led an army that torched fields, farms, and villages for twenty leagues around Oldtown. When Lord Hightower's youngest son, Garmund, led an army out to meet him, Joffrey killed him in battle.
Normally, the Riverlands and Dorne had absolutely nothing to do with each other. It was incredibly rare for House Whent to have any connections down south.
It was only through Ser Oswell's time in the Kingsguard that House Whent had managed to forge a few personal ties.
Arthur knew exactly why the guest was here. This man was Lord Dayne's envoy, and more importantly, he was likely here to be Arthur's new master-at-arms and personal bodyguard.
It all came down to defending the family's honor. A weakling couldn't hold onto a legacy like Harrenhal.
Wealth, martial power, and prestige were the holy trinity for any noble house. Without wealth, you couldn't attract followers; without elite knights, you couldn't draw in hedge knights and ambitious adventurers.
While a Dornishman's presence still turned a few heads, traveling the Seven Kingdoms was no longer an issue.
Earlier this year, the new Hand of the King and Robert's surrogate father, Jon Arryn, had traveled to Sunspear to return the bones of Prince Lewyn Martell and broker a peace treaty with Prince Doran Martell.
On paper, the Seven Kingdoms were united once more. But the Martells were never going to get what they actually wanted: the heads of Gregor "The Mountain" Clegane and Amory Lorch. There would be no true justice for Princess Elia and her children.
Jon Arryn was just slapping bandages on the cracks of the new dynasty. The Martells' demands were a problem he simply couldn't solve.
It basically meant Sunspear would give the Iron Throne the cold shoulder, maintaining a fragile, hypocritical peace.
Either way, the Dornish army couldn't take on the rest of the realm alone, and sending the royal army into the Dornish deserts would be a logistical nightmare.
---
Atop the Tower of Dread, yellow banners snapped in the wind.
Dragonfire had left the massive structure leaning heavily to one side. A stone archway connected it to the neighboring Widow's Tower.
The Lord's private chambers and study were located within the Dread.
Arthur stepped into the Lord's study. True to Harrenhal's reputation, the room was absurdly large. Everything in the castle was oversized.
Inside, wearing a fine yellow tunic, was his grandfather, Earl Walter Whent. Beside him stood an older man with long arms, long legs, and a solid, muscular build.
The older man's hair was black, streaked with gray.
His eyes were a striking purple—the classic hallmark of House Dayne.
Just looking at him, he was the textbook definition of a veteran Starfall blademaster.
"Ser Lucas, this is my grandson, Arthur Whent, heir to Harrenhal and Earl of Whitewalls," Earl Walter introduced.
"Step forward, lad," Ser Lucas commanded. He eyed Arthur critically, taking in his height, wingspan, and leg length.
"Let's see your thrust. Show me a few forms," Ser Lucas said, tossing Arthur a lightweight practice sword.
Arthur didn't hesitate. He drew the practice blade and moved through his forms right there in the study.
Ser Lucas's eyes lit up. Arthur was agile, strong, and his natural talent was undeniable.
"He's got the makings of a great one," Ser Lucas said with an approving nod.
There was only ever one Sword of the Morning, but Lucas was confident he could forge Arthur into a truly exceptional knight.
"Pour us some wine, Arthur. You must thank Ser Lucas. From this day forward, he is your master-at-arms. Ser Lucas once trained the Sword of the Morning himself; he is a master of the blade," Earl Walter said.
"It is my honor," Arthur replied. He uncorked a bottle of Dornish Arbor Gold and poured a generous glass for each man.
This was second nature for highborn children. Serving as cupbearers from a young age was how they were subtly introduced to the mechanics of power and politics.
"You flatter me, Lord Walter. The Sword of the Morning wasn't just trained; he had immense natural gifts and unmatched work ethic. I accepted this post not just because of your request, but because this boy truly possesses excellent raw talent and a solid foundation," Ser Lucas said, clinking his glass against Walter's and draining the wine.
"How fares Lord Dayne?" Earl Walter asked.
"As well as can be expected. Our numbers are dwindling, and it's natural he feels weighed down by it. But we must maintain the dignity of House Dayne, especially since we currently lack a suitable heir," Ser Lucas said, wiping a drop of wine from the corner of his mouth.
Walter fell silent. The war might be officially over, but the deep scars it left behind were still bleeding.
"Still better off than us," Walter said with a bitter, self-deprecating smile.
The Dornish had lost the war too, but their geographic isolation meant the Iron Throne couldn't easily enforce harsh punishments.
Those closer to King's Landing, however, had the hammer brought down on them hard.
"Our future rests on the shoulders of the young," Ser Lucas noted.
Arthur stood quietly beside them. When the elders talked about the "future," they weren't plotting rebellion; they just wanted to lay low, recover their strength, and survive.
For these die-hard Rhaegar loyalists, the fight had been thoroughly beaten out of them.
To them, the Royalist cause was a stagnant pool, completely dead in the water. But Arthur firmly believed a turning point was coming.
First, he knew the plot. He knew the Seven Kingdoms were headed for absolute chaos.
Second, Arthur had his own ace in the hole: a highly overpowered system interface.
His vision flickered, and a translucent, glowing green data panel materialized before his eyes, shimmering with metallic text.
This was his Class Panel.
[Name: Arthur Whent]
[Class: Greenhand, Lord, Warrior]
Greenhand: A vibrant emissary of the Greenhand, capable of making all things flourish and thrive.
[Titles: Heir to Harrenhal and Earl of Whitewalls]
(House Butterwell of Whitewalls was once a wealthy lordship that slowly fell into ruin.)
[Bloodline: Andal, First Men (Weak), Dragonblood (Weak)]
[Inventory: Empty]
[Skills]
Greenhand Tree: [Bountiful Growth: Apprentice Level. Unlock Range: 1x1 meter.] (Garth Greenhand was a master of planting. Wherever the Greenhand walked, the soil grew rich and fertile, and women grew incredibly fruitful. Crops will yield heavy harvests, and fruit trees will bow with bounty.)
[Youthful Vigor: Apprentice Level. Unlock Age: 9 years old.] (The divine blessing of Garth Greenhand. The blessed one becomes a perfect creation—radiating vitality and possessing extraordinary charisma.)
[Seed Vault: Apprentice Level. Unlocked Seed: Sweet Corn.] (Garth Greenhand's bottomless canvas bag holds the seeds of every tree, grain, fruit, and flower in the entire world.)
Lord Tree:
[Path of the Lord: Novice Level. Unlocked: Languages, Etiquette, Mathematics, History, Music.]
Warrior Tree:
[Weapon Master: Novice Level. Unlocked: Swordsmanship, Polearms, Axes/Hammers, Archery.]
Lifestyle Tree:
[Animal Companion: Novice Level. Unlocked: Horsemanship, Hounds, Falconry.]