Game of Thrones: Dawn of Justice

Chapter 20: The Tourney at Harrenhal

Garen looked up and saw Brienne running towards him with a smile on her face.

At the age of ten, Brienne was already quite tall, about 1.65 meters.

Her face is more neutral, and her facial lines are not as soft and sweet as those of ordinary little girls, but she is not ugly either.

Garen let Brienne grow her hair long and usually tie it into a ponytail, so that even though her appearance is more androgynous, she does not look like a tomboy at all.

Over the years, Garlon has paid great attention to Brienne's oral health and tooth growth. Therefore, Brienne now is completely different from the original book. Her teeth are very well grown. Although they are not particularly neat and white, they meet the standards of normal people.

Brienne's skin isn't rough either.

Garlon often asked the maids and old nanny to help her with some skin care products. Despite the scorching sun and constant sea breeze on the island of Tas, her skin remained delicate.

She has a naturally fair complexion, platinum hair and eyebrows, and clear blue eyes, which makes her smile particularly contagious.

Brienne ran over, but did not throw herself into Garen's arms like she did when she was a child. After all, she had grown up.

"Brother, Maester Amo and father are looking for you." She said with a smile while jogging, her breath not disordered at all.

In recent years, Maester Amor's energy has not been as abundant as before, and Garen and Brienne have different academic progress, so Garen now studies with Maester Amor from 8 to 9:30 in the morning.

Afterwards, Garlon will learn territory management from his father, Earl Selwyn.

Earl Selwyn often took him to visit various small towns on the island of Tas, teaching him how to manage taxes and docks, how to deal with weather-related disasters, and how to resolve disputes among the subjects.

In the afternoon, Garlon began his own training and practice.

In the evening, he could choose to practice more, continue studying with his father or scholar Yamo, or simply rest, all depending on his mood.

Brienne's daily routine is more structured: she studies with Maester Amor in the morning and trains as a knight in the afternoon.

At first, Lord Selwyn wanted to train Brienne to be a lady and teach her skills such as needlework and flower arranging.

However, Brienne made a big fuss about this, and her talent in these areas was even worse than Arya in the original book.

She prefers to learn swordsmanship like her brother Garlon and dreams of becoming a knight as powerful as her brother.

Earl Selwyn was strongly opposed at first, thinking that this was not something a girl from a noble family should learn.

But he finally gave in because of Brienne's insistence and Garen's persuasion.

After experiencing the incident six years ago where Garlon almost fell into the water and died, Earl Selwyn became much more open-minded.

It is more important than anything else that the two children grow up healthy.

Since Garen has done a good job, there is no need for him to be too strict with Brienne. Since Brienne likes swordsmanship, let her practice for fun.

However, as he practiced, Earl Selwyn slowly discovered that something was wrong.

Because the feedback given by Sir Goodwin to him was a little unbelievable to him. Sir Goodwin said that although Brienne's talent was not as good as Garlon's, it was far superior to that of a normal boy.

Sir Goodwin said that Brienne might be even stronger than him when she grows up, which made Lord Selwyn a little confused.

It can even be said to be a bit of a headache.

Because he began to worry that Brienne would not be able to get married.

But Brienne was already swinging her sword with great vigor at this time. It was basically impossible for him to let Brienne calm down and learn needlework. In addition, Garlon was protecting Brienne beside her, so he could only accept it.

Sometimes, seeing Brienne's extraordinary talent, Lord Selwyn felt a little sorry.

Because if Brienne were a boy, he would definitely be a powerful knight in the future, but unfortunately Brienne is a girl. No matter how talented a woman is, it is difficult for her to shine in the field of knighthood, which is completely controlled by men.

But this is just Earl Selwyn's idea. Garlon doesn't think so at all.

Garen felt that with his help and guidance, Brienne's future achievements would definitely be higher than in the original book.

What's wrong with being a woman? As long as all those men who refuse to obey are defeated, then his sister Brienne will be the strongest female knight.

"What do father and Maester Amor want from me?" Garen put on a linen shirt, ruffled Brienne's hair, and asked with a smile.

"I don't know either. They didn't say, but they all seemed to frown."

Brienne said.

"frown?"

Garen was thoughtful.

Something that could make Maester Abel and Earl Selwyn call him back and make them both frown must be no small matter.

"Okay, let's go back."

Soon Garen and Brienne returned to Duskfall Hall.

As soon as he returned to the castle hall, he saw Earl Selwyn sitting there waiting for him.

"Father, is there anything you want me to come back for?" Garen asked.

Lord Salween nodded.

He said to Garen after letting Brienne leave.

"Lord Riveran of Harrenhal has written to say that he will hold a tourney in celebration of his daughter's birth, and he invites knights and nobles from all over the Seven Kingdoms to attend."

After adding one, his eyes narrowed immediately.

The Tournament of Harrenhal?
After being startled, Garlon felt a little excited and a little nervous.

After waiting for a long time, this day has finally come!
The Tournament of Harrenhal can be said to be an extremely important event in the world of Game of Thrones. The War of the Usurper, the fall of the Targaryen family, and many subsequent plots all started from here.

"I'm afraid the tournament held at Harrenhal this time won't be that simple..."

Just as Garlon's heart was filled with shock, Earl Selwyn spoke next.

"Why, father?" Garen asked.

Although he knew that the tourney at Harrenhal was not easy, he wanted to know why Lord Selwyn said so.

"This grand tournament may have been organized and initiated by Lord Tywin behind the scenes." Earl Selwyn said suddenly.

His words surprised Garen a little.

Was it the old lion Tywin who organized and initiated it behind the scenes?
This was the first time Garlon had heard of this statement.

Seeing Garlon's surprised expression, Earl Selwyn shook his head and smiled, "Garlon, do you know how much the prize money is for winning this tournament?"

"How many?"

Garen was a little curious. He only knew that the Harrenhal Tournament was very large, but he couldn't remember the exact amount of the prize money.

Earl Selwyn uttered a few words lightly: "6 gold royals."

Garen's eyes widened in disbelief.

Then Garen understood why Earl Selwyn thought that this was organized and initiated by Duke Tywin behind the scenes, because the bonus was really too exaggerated.

"Father, is this the prize money for the three championships combined, or is it the prize money for the individual jousting champions?"

Garen asked for confirmation.

Lord Selwyn glanced at his son and said, "Single item."

"The prize money for the team competition champion is 4 gold dragons. The prize money for the archery competition champion is 2 gold dragons," Earl Selwyn added.

hiss!
Garen took a deep breath after hearing this. This meant that the prize money for the Harrenhal Tournament alone would be 120,000 gold dragons.

This is a much higher level than the tournament in the original book where Robert held a tournament to celebrate Eddard becoming Hand of the King.

In the original novel, in the martial arts tournament organized by Robert, the champion of the spear competition was rewarded with 4 gold dragons, the champion of the team competition was rewarded with 2 gold dragons, and the champion of the archery competition was rewarded with 1 gold dragons.

The Harrenhal Tournament hosted by Earl Hean is the largest tournament in the past 30 years, judging from the prize money alone.

And that's just the bonus.

You should know that hosting a martial arts competition involves not only prize money expenses, but also various venue fees, entertainment fees, drinks, food and other expenses.

This terrifying prize money will definitely attract almost all the high-end knights and nobles in the Seven Kingdoms. The cost will be huge, and it will definitely be much grander than the one held by Robert in the original book, at least more than twice the scale.

This amount of money is simply not something the He'an family can afford.

Since the He An family can't afford it, who is funding it behind the scenes?
Only a few families in the Seven Kingdoms have such financial resources. "Father, why do you suspect that Lord Tywin is behind this?"

Garen asked curiously.

After all, in terms of financial resources alone, the Tyrell family seems to be able to do it.

"Because this tourney will gather most of the nobles and knights of the Seven Kingdoms. I have corresponded with Lord Leyton, and he said that Lord Tywin will likely discuss with many nobles during the tourney and depose King Aerys and enthronize Rhaegar."

Garen suddenly realized.

It turned out that Earl Selwyn got the inside scoop from Earl Leighton.

If we were to ask which family is the best at intelligence work in the entire Seven Kingdoms, it would definitely be the Hightower family.

The Hightower family's intelligence network may not be as sophisticated and targeted as Varys's, but it must be the widest, because there is a Citadel in Oldtown.

Although every scholar from an aristocratic family claims to be completely devoted to serving the aristocracy and is loyal, everyone has selfish desires. How many people can completely avoid leaking information?

It was not surprising for the Hightower family to learn such news.

"Father, do you think we should support Lord Tywin?"

Garen asked.

Earl Selwyn smiled and said, "The Dukes should consider expressing their views. We just need to follow the lords we are loyal to."

When Garlon heard his father's words, he immediately smiled. Indeed, the first bird to stick its head out gets shot. They didn't need to express their opinions; they just had to follow the trend.

But Garen still shook his head and said, "Father, I'm afraid things are not that simple."

"Why do you say that?" asked Lord Selwyn.

"Father, this tournament is a grand gathering for the nobles of the Seven Kingdoms. They intend to use this opportunity to discuss the matter of dethroning and enthroning the king. But what if the king also comes to Harrenhal in person?"

"Um?……"

Lord Selwyn immediately frowned and fell into deep thought.

"Galon, are you suggesting that the king will be aware of Lord Tywin's intentions?"

Garen nodded.

"Father, the one the king fears most right now is Lord Tywin."

"If it were before, he might have been deceived by Lord Tywin. But now it's different. He has found the eunuch named Varys from across the strait. Varys's intelligence ability cannot be underestimated."

"With Varys' little bird, perhaps the king won't be so easily deceived by Lord Tywin. Once the king learns of this, he will surely take action."

"You make sense." Earl Selwyn frowned and nodded.

Judging from the situation in recent years, although the king is crazy, his methods are indeed more precise and ruthless than before.

The people he burned to death were indeed his opponents.

"Well, Garen, I think it's best if we don't get involved in this mess of the tournament."

said Lord Selwyn.

He changed his mind and decided it would be better to stay away from the tourney at Harrenhal, which would obviously become the center of a political storm in Westeros.

It would be even more dangerous if Mad King Aerys also went to Harrenhal.

After all, Aerys is now moody and burns people to death at any time.

He didn't want Garen to appear under the nose of Mad King Aerys.

Garen smiled and shook his head. "Father, there's no need to worry. If the king dares to act as recklessly in the tourney as he did in King's Landing, wouldn't that be exactly what Lord Tywin wants?"

Earl Selwyn thought about it and felt that it made sense.

The nobles of the Seven Kingdoms gathered at Harrenhal.

If the Mad King dares to kill people wantonly, it will inevitably arouse public outrage. At that time, Tywin will unite the nobles of the Seven Kingdoms, depose the king, and support Rhaegar to the throne.

"Also, Father, with my current strength, I am more than capable of protecting myself in Harrenhal."

Garen smiled and said.

His current panel strength may be slightly inferior to Barristan and Arthur Dayne, but he is holding the "Maiden of Justice", so even if Barristan and Arthur Dayne come, he can kill them easily!

In a crowded place like the Harrenhal Tournament, he could be confident that he could escape even if the Mad King wanted to kill him.

Lord Selwyn smiled and nodded.

"So you want to go check it out?"

"Yeah." Garen nodded.

He really didn't want to miss the tourney at Harrenhal.

"Father, I haven't seen Helena in ages. I can arrange to meet her at Harrenhal."

Garen smiled faintly.

He had been concentrating on his training on the Isle of Tas for the past few years, and he and Lord Selwyn had only visited the Hightower family once in Oldtown. He had not seen Helena since then, and they had been in contact through raven letters.

He also wanted to take this opportunity to see his fiancée.

The correspondence over the past few years has made him feel more favorable towards Helena.

Helena has a calm temperament, likes plants and all kinds of interesting books.

Because Garlon is a time traveler, he has a wider range of knowledge and knows more plants, so he can chat with Helena very well.

He is 14 years old and Henna is 15 years old. They haven't seen each other for two years.

Garen also wanted to see what Helena looked like now that she was 15 years old.

Also, there are many famous scenes of the Harrenhal Tournament.

For example, the most famous one is the incident where Rhaegar cheated on Robert.

Garlon doesn't want to miss this kind of exciting event!

"Okay, I'll arrange for a few good men to go with you to Harrenhal, but you don't have to take Brienne with you."

Lord Selwyn was more cautious.

He knew Garlon's current strength.

Garen alone, along with a few loyal guards, could escape even if they encountered danger. But if Brienne were brought along, the danger factor would skyrocket.

Garen thought about it and nodded.

Brienne would surely be disappointed, but there was nothing that could be done about it.

"By the way, Garlon, the snake vine flowers you asked me to buy from Norvos have arrived." Earl Selwyn suddenly said.

"arrive?"

Garen was a little surprised.

The so-called snake vine flower actually has a particularly famous name on the earth - hops!

This flower only grows in the hills of Norvos. Its vines will climb on trees or wooden racks like snakes. The flowers are mulberry-shaped, but the petals are like snake scales, so the people of Norvos call it snake vine flower.

This was what Helena mentioned to Garlon when they were exchanging letters after she saw it in the plant encyclopedia in Oldtown.

After listening to Helena's description, Garlon suddenly thought that this thing seemed to be the hops on Earth.

Then he immediately asked Earl Selwyn to find a way to get him some hops.

There are all kinds of alcoholic beverages in Westeros, even ale and rye, but there is no beer.

If the snake vine he found this time was really hops, then he could brew pure beer.

Once the beer is made, the profit will be huge!
"Galon, is there anything special about this flower?"

asked Lord Selwyn.

(End of this chapter)