The first day of the archery competition was for registration and preliminary rounds, mainly to allow information to spread and ferment, ensuring that those who wanted to participate would not miss the opportunity due to lack of information. Bring a copper coin fee to the registration desk, shoot a few arrows to prove you could use a bow, and you were successfully registered and had passed the preliminary round. The threshold was so low it was practically open to all. After completing the preliminary round, those who wanted to practice on the field could stay for a while, and those who did not could simply go back and sleep in their rooms.
The second day marked the official opening of the competition. It was held on a huge open space within the industrial area of the outer city, which had previously served as a storage yard for ore and coal. Its original purpose meant the venue was extremely open and simple. There were no rows of tents, no gleaming armor and tall warhorses draped in gold and silver, no countless nobles, knights, and brightly colored banners fluttering in the wind. Apart from a surrounding fence that was already there to prevent residents from climbing over to steal coal, there was only a half-circle of simple benches temporarily put together with wooden strips the day before.
This was probably the most humble tournament recorded in the history of the Seven Kingdoms, but for the Gift, which had long been a no-man's-land, and the Mountain Clans and New Gift People, who had never witnessed a tournament, it was indeed an unprecedented grand event. The harsh conditions and the threat of the White Walkers had left everyone physically and mentally exhausted these days, and when an activity that could temporarily make people forget their sorrows was finally held, their enthusiasm and positivity exceeded Aegor's imagination. Although it had been announced for the sake of order that only participants' friends and family could enter to watch, the guards had no means of verifying whether an arrival had participating relatives. Not to mention, in a sense, if one person from a tribe participated, then everyone else was considered family.
With the novelty and tireless promotion, the number of spectators was finally not humble. Over a thousand people crowded around the venue, filling it to the brim. The fixed benches could only seat a little over a hundred people. The remaining spectators either stood or brought their own seats. The place was bustling with noise, and the atmosphere was quite lively.
In stark contrast to the bare venue was a prominent high platform at the edge. It was not a VIP seating area for the Night's Watch leadership, but a display stand, raised more than two meters off the ground, with a canvas roof and wooden side walls for windbreak. On the small but sturdy platform was a long wooden rack, on which seventy-seven Lightbringer arrows, already assembled onto high-quality shafts and treated with gold plating, were neatly and uniformly arranged vertically, facing the audience, shimmering under the torchlight. There was also a full dozen soldiers guarding the display stand below. Coupled with the legends and anecdotes about their origin and arduous forging process that were widely circulating among the people, they appeared mysterious and full of epic significance, making anyone watching the competition take an extra look.
The competition only included archery. Due to insufficient conditions, there were no events like mounted archery or moving targets. The rules were quite simple. Shoot the same size target with the same number of arrows from the same distance. The person who hit the target more times after shooting a quiver won. The top twenty would receive cash prizes, the top ten would earn the qualification to hunt White Walkers with a Lightbringer in the final battle, and the most generous prizes naturally went to the top three. They would not only gain the right to use them but could also choose one from the seventy-seven Lightbringers to take home as private property and a family heirloom.
Of course, the prerequisite for this reward was still after this war ends.
There were not many heroic figures from the ballads visible. Participants of all sizes and genders, wearing various styles and outfits, filled the field. The most numerous were naturally the Mountain Clans and New Gift People wrapped in animal furs of various styles and colors. Their interest in honor and showing off was secondary. Most were likely after the prize money and the legendary Dragonsteel arrows that could counter the White Walkers. The second most numerous were the soldiers from Queenscrown, wearing black clothes and black armor, from the Logistics Department or genuinely from the Night's Watch. At Aegor's request, even Jon Snow from Castle Black had sent a few skilled archers from his corps to support the event. Finally, the most conspicuous, and most like they were here for a competition, were a group of visiting participants. Beric Dondarrion and his group, who had arrived with Aegor at the Gift and had been holed up in their rooms for several days, naturally would not miss this opportunity to relieve boredom. They wore their most flamboyant clothes, parading through the streets in reds and greens, and had even shamelessly declared publicly that the champion would undoubtedly be their master archer, Anguy. On the other side, a small group of guards from Winterfell had also registered. As elites chosen to accompany their Lady and Little Princess on their journey, they were naturally skilled archers among the North's soldiers. However, compared to the actual competition, their more important task was to look after their Little Princess.
That was right, unable to resist Arya's strong insistence, Aegor allowed, no, it would be more accurate to say he could not find any excuse to prohibit her from participating. Because this archery competition was open to anyone to register, there were also thirteen or fourteen-year-old youths among the New Gift People, or female competitors like Ygritte, Jon Snow's rumored lover. Since there was no reason to stop her, all he could do was remind the Winterfell soldiers to fulfill their duty.
The venue was noisy and bustling, but Aegor sat among the spectators at the edge of the field, surrounded by soldiers, comfortably acting as a spectator. That was right, as the owner of the entire set of Lightbringer arrows, he naturally did not need to enter the competition to contend for the right to use something that already belonged to him. Perhaps some would say that even if not for the ranking, he could still go down and simply practice and warm up.
While that was true, he knew his own archery skill level. It was not bad, but it was just enough not to be embarrassing, and it definitely would not add any glory or bragging rights for him.
Packaging himself as a hero but failing to even get a decent ranking in the competition would not only bring no benefit but might even invite contempt and ridicule, leading to doubts about other aspects of his reputation. At this critical juncture, he did not want to do anything where the risk outweighed the reward.
Hosting rather than participating in a tournament, among all the transmigrators or story protagonists, he was probably an anomaly.
However, even sitting in the audience, Aegor was not entirely idle. Myrcella took her place while Arya was competing, and was now sitting beside Aegor, softly offering suggestions again. The Little Princess had clearly been trying her best to attract his attention these days. Aegor could roughly empathize with the reason behind it. Just like when he was sent to the Wall as a recruit and did not want to be selected as a ranger to patrol Beyond the Wall, so he tried every means to showcase himself in front of the Commander and the chief officers. This Little Princess was likely also unwilling to accept the fate of obediently being an adopted daughter in Winterfell and marrying some obscure minor knight as a bastard when she grew up.
And he happened to be the important figure who could potentially change her circumstances and whom she could access. After showing kindness a few times and having his personality and temper figured out, she naturally saw him as a lifesaver, the only possible chance to change her destiny.
Although he guessed the reason Myrcella had suddenly become proactive and close to him, Aegor honestly could not bring himself to be wary of such a, well, not someone who knew everything under the sun, but at least someone who was completely knowledgeable about the history of Westeros, was familiar with the customs of the Seven Kingdoms, was full of stratagems, and most importantly, had a kind heart. He even felt somewhat ready to be bothered by her at any time.
However, another Lady was not so welcome.
"The Commander is truly skilled. I never thought that the Gift, a place where birds do not even shit, would one day have such a lively and joyful scene," Asha Greyjoy complimented Aegor from two rows away. "Since Theon came to Queenscrown, it is the first time I have seen him so energetic and smiling. Thank you for giving my brother this opportunity."
This Kraken's Daughter and her brother, whom she had not seen in years, became enemies as soon as they met in Queenscrown. A small quarrel upon meeting, a big quarrel every three days, to the point where everyone in Queenscrown knew about it. But blood is thicker than water, and after this went on for a while, the siblings seemed to gradually lose the energy to argue and had probably quietly reached a truce when outsiders were not aware. Although their relationship was not intimate now, it was no longer so full of gunpowder.
On one hand, she was a prisoner, but on the other hand, she was the older sister of Theon Greyjoy, the Queenscrown Archery Instructor. And the latter, as a member of the Night's Watch officers and one of the participants in this competition, naturally earned Asha a seat in the relative viewing area.
See. Given the opportunity, even with guards between them, she insisted on talking to Aegor.
Aegor knew with his knees what Asha wanted to say next. Although it was impolite to ignore a Lady, he really was not in the mood to respond.
"You flatter me, Lady Greyjoy."
Her carefully prepared opening line did not receive a direct response, and the feeling of being ignored was certainly unpleasant, but Asha had prepared herself mentally. She gritted her teeth and continued, "I heard the situation on the Great Canyon front is tense. I am willing to go there and face the dead, to atone for my crimes. I swear by the Drowned God, I will not run away."
"Lady Greyjoy, I really do not want to remind you again that you are a prisoner of the North, not a Night's Watch recruit."
"Yesterday you threw that offending clan leader there, why can he go and I cannot?"
"Because he put on the black," Aegor sighed heavily. "I have already allowed you to only wear shackles, and even let you out for fresh air and exercise every day. Do me a favor, please stop thinking about how to snatch the jobs of our sworn brothers, okay?"
"Snatch your motherfucking job!" Months of pent-up anger suddenly exploded. Asha stood up from the front seat and shouted at Aegor, "I am not even asking you to set me free anymore. I just want something to do. Only wearing shackles, how dare you say that as if it is a huge favor? With shackles on, I cannot even spread my legs when I want to screw a man. Can you understand this feeling? You cannot, you have never been shackled in your life."
This outburst was sudden and unexpected. Myrcella's face turned red from this shameless confession, and the surrounding soldiers also stirred slightly. It was obvious that if a woman like Asha wanted to screw a man, no one would care if she could spread her legs. Aegor frowned in displeasure. What, she thought the rational approach was not working, and having exhausted her methods, she was starting to throw a tantrum? Did she think he would be afraid of this tactic?
He coughed to regain control of the situation and spoke in a deep voice, "Asha Greyjoy, if you had bothered to learn about me, you would know that I have indeed worn shackles, on my way to the Wall to become a man of the Night's Watch. As a prisoner, I was much more well-behaved than you. Today is the Queenscrown Archery Competition, and I do not want to have a meaningless argument with you. Your brother is already on the field. Either sit down and watch the competition properly, or go back to your room. If moving with shackles is inconvenient, I have plenty of people here who can help you."
The rest of the large venue was unaffected by this small disturbance. In the center of the open space, Theon Greyjoy, dressed in a clean new black outfit, looking energetic and smug, did indeed stand at the shooting position with his bow. Asha, realizing that Aegor was impervious to both soft and hard tactics, clenched her fists and finally turned back to her seat resentfully, quietly watching the competition.
(To be continued.)
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