Game Of Thrones: A Wizard In The World Of Westeros (ASOIF) [7]

Brandon and his cohort were then arrested and imprisoned on charges of conspiring to kill the crown prince. Their fathers were summoned to answer for these crimes, and were summarily executed.

But, what happened to the Lords Stark was different. The story went on that Lord Rickard Stark demanded a trial by combat, an option reserved in the Seven Kingdoms to prove your innocence on a matter, meaning that if you were strong enough, you could commit any crimes you wanted and demand a trial by combat, and walk away a free man— something worthy of note, since I doubted anyone on this earth could defeat me in one versus one combat.

King Aerys consented to this, and named his champion to be fire itself. He suspended Lord Rickard, still in his armor, over a fire beneath him. 

Rickard's son, Brandon, was made to watch his father die with a noose around his neck and a sword out of his reach— he ended up strangling himself to death trying to reach it to save his father.

The whole story brought a bad taste to my mouth.

In response to this atrocity, Eddard Stark, Rickard's son and now Lord of Winterfell, took up arms, joined Robert Baratheon, Lord of the Stormlands, as well as Jon Arryn, Lord of the Vale. They secured an allegiance with the Lord Tully of the Riverlands through marriage, and waged war on the remaining kingdoms— and won.

The war went on in detail, and I took the time to read of all the specifics of it, the many battles that occurred, Rhaegar's death at the hands of Robert Baratheon, King Aerys' death at the hands of his own Kingsguard, Jaime Lannister, who stabbed him in the back— forever earning him the pejorative nickname of The Kingslayer, though with an insane king like Aerys, it didn't seem fair to hold it against him— the subsequent raping and killing of Rhaegar's wife and children after the sack of the capital city, and the escape of the last two remaining Targaryen children to the eastern continent, Essos.

That rebellion ended fourteen years ago, according to some of the locals. I made sure to ask more than one person just to be sure. Years, days, even hours and minutes were pretty much the same as my home world.

It made things easier, at least— however easy it is to be torn away from home and sent off to a backwater shithole. I sighed as I closed the book and thought out loud.

I lay back in my seat and groaned in sync with that of the wood.

"What the hell am I supposed to do?" I asked after a few minutes, my mind automatically thinking about Daphne. The last thing I did was make her cry, and it weighed heavily on my mind.

She was probably crying, right at this moment; because, to her, I died thinking that I hated her after our last meeting. But I didn't hate her.

Damn it. I furiously wiped at my eyes and scowled.

No tears. I had to be strong.

But to open a rift between the worlds... Is it even possible?

"Unknown." Erebus replied quietly, so as not to disturb the sleeping viper on the bed. "Our own method succeeded because we had already been in between realms."

"What would happen if I used a Dark Rift, right now?" I asked as I got up and paced.

"Nothing." Erebus said with utmost certainty. "I do not sense my Dark Realm, and you cannot open a doorway to something that is simply not there."

"Let's try to make sure." I grabbed the sword, and slashed at the air. "Dark Rift."

Nothing happened. I closed my eyes in frustration.

"I told you it wouldn't happen." Erebus chided lightly, but I felt no irritation from it. The Devil Arm was as agitated as I was. With his longer life, the impact on him must have been infinitely greater than mine.

Balthazar didn't seem to particularly care; as long as I was here, all was good in the world.

"Yeah... I had to make sure, though." I pinched the bridge of my nose, as I placed Erebus back in his bone sheath. "What's the chance of the existence of any magical artifact that can get us back?"

"Astronomically low." Erebus said. It wasn't the answer I wanted to hear.

The rest of the day was spent walking outside, eating and drinking and reading more books— anything to keep my mind off of Erebus' bone chilling words, even going as far as to leave both Balthazar and the Devil Arm in my room. What if I was stuck here forever?

What would I do, then?

Was there even a point to living— I stopped that train of thought immediately. Suicide was never an option. I was stronger than that.

After that, I returned to the inn, and had whatever the inn keeper suggested— rabbit stew. It was the first time I had such a dish. 

It was warm, rich with flavor and was quite heavy on the stomach. Needless to say, I scarfed it all down, almost cleaning my plate with my tongue.

The inn keeper had just chuckled at the sight, proud to be serving his customers well.

I gave him my thanks, and left a few coppers on the counter before heading up to my room once more, my thoughts more solidified. I greeted Erebus as the faithful black viper slithered up my body, wrapping itself around my torso and resting its head on my shoulder as it always does.

"So, have you decided on what we need to do?" Erebus asked bluntly. I liked that about the Devil Arm. He didn't simper around like most do, beating around the bush and never getting to the point.

"As you say." I began. "I don't think we can make it home. I'll definitely keep trying, of course." I pulled out a book named 'Old Valyria and the Doom' by some Archmaester who-gives-a-shit-what-his-name-is.