The Pale Upstart ( GOT System Fic )

 His shield shook under the veritable barrage of arrows. None beside him fared any better and whilst he could not peak over his shield without risking immediate death, he could guess that the cavalry was sustaining heavy casualties. 

 How was this even possible? A third trap? Had they truly planned for an entire force of archers to rain hell upon them in the possible scenario where they would be forced to retreat, and thus, the loyalists would give chase? 

 It seemed far more logical for this to have been a moving force, just like that second army that had marched from Harrenhal. Then, this would only be a mere timely coincidence. Yet, did it feel like a coincidence? 

 Not in the slightest. As the men around him began carefully walking backwards with their shields raised, he saw the horses pass by them, he saw the lords' hardened faces as they fled. Clearly, this was not a force they could face without Lord Roote's army. A shame they had not arrived on time. 

 It took an entire mile of this careful retreat before the arrows stopped falling and they could finally breathe. When he ducked his head out of his shield, he gasped in horror. Their losses were….unacceptable. They had been winning! In a single act, those dogs had overturned the result of the entire battle?

 He could understand why the Rebels kept pushing back their upcoming loss. They could not sustain themselves the way the Loyalists could and probably only survived due to the Lannisters…but with tactics like those. They would have undeniably won if even just another large Riverlands House had joined them.

 The cavalry had kept itself near the infantry, but just far enough to avoid the arrows. Now that the onslaught had ceased, they reformed the army. From afar, he saw most of the main commanders he had met had survived. However, it did appear that a few of them had been unlucky enough for arrows to find weak spots in their armours, well-crafted as they were. 

 The Boar Commanders came forward and inspected their troops. At this point, he had completely forgotten he had been mostly surrounded by sellswords. The levies that remained were solely spearmen. Their group of 'swordsmen' had been depleted of a majority of its recent recruits. 

 But he had survived. The rest would feed the maggots and flowers would bloom amidst their carcasses…but he stood proudly over his comrades' lifeless bodies. 

[ The Champion has completed a quest! ]

Quest: Battle Near Acorn Hall.

Rewards: +2 Prowess, +1 Martial, +20 prestige. +10 Relation with House Tully

Additional Rewards: +400 Silver Stags, +50 Prestige, +1 Martial, +1 Artisan.

 He did not feel incredible effects from the gain in Prowess, but it now appeared that the overall process of enhancement was a bit slower than he had first thought. He could be disappointed as points gained during an intense situation would not immediately change anything and thus wouldn't save him, but in one way he considered it fortuitous that he wouldn't build up muscles and gain in height in front of everyone. That would be fairly noticeable. 

 His Masteries looked rather nice at the moment. With Martial at three and Prowess at eight, things were coming along nicely. Whilst he still could not know what exactly each did and what benefits he received from gaining points, he could easily guess that hoarding these points would only help him in the long term. 

 He had also gained a rather substantial amount of coins and Prestige. He now stood at eleven Gold coins and 120 Prestige points. Strangely enough, he had made more progress towards the next rank in Prestige, than he would have thought. 

[ Gideon ] 

Coin: 460 Silver Stags ( 11 Gold Dragons )

Prestige: 120 Points, 18.5/100 To next rank.

Piety: ???, ?/??? To next rank. 

Renown: ???, ?/??? To next rank.

Materials: ???

Workforce: ???

Food Stocks: ???

Military Power: ???

 Given that he had slightly more than doubled his Prestige, he had expected it to be sitting at sixteen and a half, or seventeen at most. Perhaps the number of points he gained at once mattered too? That would certainly explain it, and it was about the only thing he could think of. 

 " Hey, kid! Fancy seeing you still kicking!" A voice called out to him. He raised his head and looked around in confusion. He quickly spotted Beryn waving at him as he approached, a cloaked Knight followed closely after him. He was still atop his horse as the army had not yet returned to Acorn Hall. 

 " I could say the same thing about you, Beryn. Found the battle to your tastes?" He asked the man with a slight smirk. He felt a certain lightness of heart now that the battle had finished. Well, the lords surrounding the Blackfish did not seem all that convinced that it was indeed over, given how tense they looked. But the system had given him his rewards, so he knew better than they did. That could prove to be an excellent way to determine the end of future battles, he thought. However, he would do his best to relax only when the rest of the army did in the future. Lest they start to suspect something. 

 " Eh, can't say I did. Bastards fucked me up something fierce. Cosied up with someone high up the chain, so it wasn't the worst battle I ever fought. But, those were some clever traps." Beryn admitted with a groan. The cloaked knight stopped his horse right before Gideon and grabbed his helmet. 

 " I can understand Beryn's words now. You are indeed pretty recognizable, even all dirtied up as you are, boy." A rather high-pitched voice entered their ears, but they were too busy gasping with their eyes wide open. 

 " What?" The knight looked at the two of them and then at his armour as though he believed that was where the problem lay. " Oh, seriously? This cannot keep happening." He started pouting. 

 " I…uh, excuse me for this reaction, Ser, but you look…." Beryn could hardly finish his sentence. Gideon did feel that it was a bit hypocritical for him to be that shocked at the knight's appearance so he quickly gathered himself. 

 " Yes, yes, I know. I look like a girl, I look like a prince….and blah and blah!" The Knight made exaggerated speaking motions with his gloved hands. " I say, when in front of this pale child here, one should not be that shocked at the sight of my features, fair as they are. And no, I do not belong to any Lordly House. I am also not a Ser. Sellswords do not quite work like that, ya silly goose." 

 It was true that his looks were not as strikingly bizarre as Gideon's own. But one would not expect this when faced with some sellsword in clearly high-end armour. Frankly, he had expected some as intimidating as Commander Slade, at least, perhaps even Commander Oswyn. 

 Instead what greeted them was a youthful and smug, pretty face. Not pretty in the sense that this sellsword looked like a lady, but in the sense that he did look like a noble, or even a prince as he'd said. The structure of his face certainly gave that impression, especially mixed with his freckles and pale blue eyes. 

 " You do talk like a lord, though. Can't say I don't understand why some cunts might assume a thing or two about ya. Now that I think about it, you did not tell me what your rank is. With that fancy armour you's got to be some officer, eh?" Beryn asked with a coy smile. The sellsword tilted his pretty head, his shoulder-length black hair moving as he did, covering his left eye. 

 " Well, I am Lieutenant Constantine of the Boar Company. And do not listen to any dickhead trying to tell you that my name is anything but that! I try to be friendly with these fucks and then they invent some weird nicknames for me behind my back." He shook his head playfully. " I swear being kind is not as rewarding as people claim. But uh…do not start bowing to me because of my rank. We don't do that in this company. Some uptight sellswords do, but fuck 'em."

 " That will take some time getting used to…I'm rather used to lords and their attachments to titles and ranks." Gideon admitted. Constantine smacked his thigh as he laughed. 

 " Oh, don't you worry about that; most officers in the company could not care less about their ranks being dutifully respected by the men. Well, save for some cunts." He wrinkled his nose at that. " You might find yourself saddled with a promotion soon if you continue like that, kid. You look scary enough in battle to warrant a promotion on that fact alone. Commander Oswyn's constantly rambling about the power of fear and all thaaa-" 

 They heard someone clearing their throat. Three heads collectively turned as one and they all jumped in fright as they noticed Commander Oswyn levelling a flat stare at them. 

 " Ah, Commander, Ser, I….I was going to check on the wounded!" Constantine stuttered and willed his horse to love away. 

 " You go do that, yes." Commander Oswyn spoke only those few words, but they were enough for Constantine to offer a shaky smile and immediately trot away. The Commander's frigid face turned towards Gideon. 

 " You did good on the field, recruit. You as well, " He glanced at Beryn. " Your claims of experience were not mere boasts. You make for excellent recruits. Or you will if you manage to assure your continued survival." 

 "...Thank you, Commander?" Gideon spoke with uncertainty. Beryn followed his example but added a slight bow of his head. 

 " I, uh…I think I will go deliver that letter now, kid. I completely forgot to search for that Berrick fellow yesterday." Beryn said. 

 Oh right, Berrick. He had also completely forgotten they were supposed to deliver a letter. The battle had taken the both of them off guard. 

 Commander Oswyn watched with narrowed eyes as Beryn left. Only the two of them remained, as the men around them quickly rounded up all the captives and prepared to return to Acorn Hall. They had taken a great number of knights but only a handful of lords. 

 " Boy. Your name is Gideon, correct?" Commander Oswyn asked as he approached him. He started checking just about every part of his body for wounds and quickly found himself frowning. But Gideon could freely admit, he felt far less pain than he had anticipated. This had to be a result of his enhanced Prowess. If this continued, would he be able to just…shrug off wounds altogether? The possibility excited him greatly. He felt like a giddy child once more. 

 " Yes, Commander." He answered. A few questions appeared at the back of his mind, but he opted not to ask anything. He would not go by the assumption that every military officer around him would be laid back, especially as Commander Oswyn did not seem like that at all. 

 " Hmm…" The man observed him for a few seconds, before nodding to himself. 

 " What Lieutenant Constantine babbled about is quite true, Gideon. I have found over the years that fear is a power unlike any other." The man smiled at him and it shook him to his core. He felt such malice from the smile, and yet it appeared so normal…so natural. 

 " You fear me, yes?" The Commander asked him and he nodded before he could even think. He found it hard to swallow his own spit as his throat constricted. 

 Commander Oswyn coldly gazed at the other sellswords that littered the battlefield. " Many of them do. That is why even though Slade and I are meant to be equals, he is the real leader of this company. Most would not wish to work under me. But I serve my purpose. Not one of them would dare to cause trouble in our company. Fear loosens the grip on one's weapon. Fear closes mouths shut and sometimes, when wielded excellently, it can even dominate thoughts. " 

 He could tell this was meant to be a lesson, but he could not comprehend why the man felt the need to teach him specifically. He was only a recruit. 

 " Why this lesson, eh? What am I seeing in you that would explain this?" He spoke Gideon's thoughts as though he could read them. The pale sellsword found his heartbeat picking up pace. 

 Commander Oswyn grabbed a lock of his white hair and rubbed it between his fingers. 

 " Skin as pale as one of 'others' from the Northerners' myths and legends….freakish pink eyes and snow white hair. Your appearance is a curse….and a weapon that shows great promise, boy." 

 " A weapon, commander? Are…are you saying that I can use it against my enemies?" Gideon tried to make sense of the words. The Commander's wide smile now seemed to split his entire face in two. 

 " Yes. One could mistake you for a monster…a demon" He spoke those words as though they were desirable, as though he was envious of this. " Whilst many cultivate their fearsome figure, you could do it effortlessly. If they all want to see a demon, that is what you should show them." 

 By now, the army was ready to move back to the castle. Commander Slade seemed to be looking for his terrifying comrade. 

 " Turn it into a weapon and wield it to destroy your enemies' morale. You cannot even begin to imagine how important one's mind is in war. Become a nightmare, and they will avoid you. When nearly beaten, they will surrender far quicker than they otherwise would….for terror would claw its way at the forefront of their spirit and thoroughly crush it. In war, one must use every little advantage they can. More than that, you will surely become a warrior of note should you do as I say…." 

 Commander Oswyn moved to whisper in his ear. 

 " You strike me as a child who desires the entire world. Most would lose such ambitions with time, but if you have the sheer gall to push through….This can only help you move forward…or rather upward, boy." 

 With that, it was his turn to leave. Gideon quickly joined the rest of the infantry and marched with them, but the words echoed in his mind. 

 To wield fear as his weapon…what exactly was he supposed to do? What did the man really mean? He could not imagine how he would go about weaponizing his image, truth be told. Showing himself was already the furthest he had been willing to go. Would he need to act like a madman on the battlefield to wield that sort of power? 

 That was a thought for later. Perhaps he could ask Beryn? 

 Unbeknownst to him, he was the only one moving as though he had barely even fought. Whilst the rest panted and winced with every step, he was almost fully unbothered. Even with the wounds he did get during the battle, he felt light and his mood has certainly soared with the rewards he had gained, even with this frankly awkward discussion with the Commander. 

 He marched with the rest of the infantry, unaware that said man had not stopped looking at him through narrowed eyes. 

 In turn, another pair of eyes stared at Commander Oswyn and then turned to him with great interest. 

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A.N: Hey y'all, I would really appreciate comments or reviews as they allow me to see where the fic stands at any given point and if it is going in the right direction. It's also an incentive for me as a writer. 

So don't hesitate to share your opinion or ask any questions you may have.