Wolfs Den Ceremony

The next day, at the first light of dawn, Robb had already eaten a hearty breakfast and, fully dressed, walked from the Main Keep toward the Training Ground.

As soon as he stepped through the stone gate of the Training Ground, he saw a group of soldiers standing motionless in the yard, clad in standard leather armor, their eyes fixed silently on him amid the rows of archery targets and weapon racks.

His father Eddard and Ser Rodrik, also in full gear, were waiting for him on the wooden platform at the front of the Training Ground.

Seeing this formation, Robb quickened his pace and in a few strides stood beneath the platform.

"These warriors are the sons of many of my Northern bannermen. From today onward, you will live, train, and fight alongside them."

No sooner had Robb taken his position than Eddard spoke to him with a solemn expression and a grave tone.

Hearing this, Robb swept his gaze quickly across the ranks and found that most of them were indeed young faces.

Eddard pointed at Robb with his right hand and continued, facing the warriors.

"Robb Stark, the next Warden of the North, Lord of Winterfell. You were born in the North, and you will be buried in the North.

From this day forward, he entrusts his life to you, and he will bring you honor and glory as well.

All of you will be brothers worthy of open-hearted conversation, and comrades worthy of trusting with your backs in battle.

The lone wolf dies, but the pack survives!

You are his pack!"

"To the death, for Lord Stark!"

As soon as Eddard finished speaking, a shout rang out from among the soldiers, and then the men in the Training Ground began to echo it one after another.

"To the death, for Lord Robb!"

"To the death!"

"To the death!"

Listening to the shouts gradually merging into one voice, Robb felt his blood surge and his emotions run high in a state of great excitement.

Westeros followed the traditional rule of primogeniture, but Eddard could also designate Brandon, Rickon, or his other sons to inherit the lordship.

And today, Eddard's act—called the 'Wolfs Den Ceremony'—was equivalent to explicitly naming Robb as the heir to the North.

Even if Robb later proved incompetent, dissolute, or reckless, as long as he did not commit unforgivable crimes like patricide or regicide, no one could shake his right of inheritance.

'A wolf king should have his own pack!'

The 'Wolfs Den Ceremony' was an unwritten tradition of House Stark.

It was the personal guard formed by the current lord for the next lord.

Of course, because the Mad King had burned Eddard's father and brother to death without warning when Eddard was eighteen, Eddard—then living at the Eyrie—naturally gained the right of inheritance but never underwent this traditional ceremony.

Yet, as a man who adhered to tradition, he had long begun seeking suitable sons of bannermen to prepare the ceremony for Robb, though for certain other reasons, he had moved the plan forward.

"I leave the rest to you, Ser Rodrik."

Eddard looked at the soldiers on the Training Ground, their spirits stirred, nodded to Rodrik, and turned to leave.

Once the scene gradually calmed down, it was Rodrik's turn to fulfill his duties as the drillmaster.

At his signal, the thirty soldiers on the Training Ground began to pair off and fight.

This was simulated combat training, so they all wore leather armor and fought with blunted swords that had not been sharpened.

Although the blunted swords could not cut through leather armor, being struck by a full-powered swing was definitely painful.

As for Robb, who was left alone, his opponent was naturally the battle-hardened Rodrik.

After a bout of swordplay, Rodrik praised Robb with great satisfaction, saying he had done very well.

But Robb paid no attention to this; instead, he was dissatisfied with himself.

In terms of combat, the original Robb could be considered quite versatile—tactics, swordsmanship, archery, horsemanship, and close-quarters combat were all quite good, as he had a natural talent for such things.

But precisely because he pursued versatility too much and dabbled too broadly, he could not reach the pinnacle in any single area.

Take the 'Kingslayer,' Jaime Lannister, for example—he was utterly lacking in other areas, but when he had both hands to wield a sword, he could be counted among the top tier of swordsmen in all of Westeros.

Eddard's Captain of the Guards, Jory Cassel.

Earlier, when he had followed Robb in pursuit of the deserting soldiers from House Bolton, Robb had been focused on fighting and had no time to pay attention to anything else.

But according to Theon's idle talk, Jory had spurred his horse into the defensive formation of the deserting soldiers and cut them down like chopping vegetables, killing several men.

Yet even a warrior like that, a few months later in King's Landing, after cutting down several Lannister soldiers, was killed in a single blow by Jaime Lannister with ease.

Although Jaime had the advantage of waiting at his leisure, the main reason he could kill Jory with one strike was that he was simply too strong.

After Rodrik went to instruct the other warriors, Robb trained alone in his daily sword practice.

Finishing his routine training, he felt that his swordsmanship had reached a bottleneck.

Ordinary training could only consolidate the basics; it was hard to make a breakthrough.

On the other hand, the real fight with the captain of the deserting soldiers had matured his swordsmanship from raw to refined, bringing him significant growth.

But opponents suitable for that kind of challenge were far too few.

Since sword training was yielding little result, Robb simply took a rest and began observing these personal guards who could be trusted with his back.

However, even if they were loyal warriors chosen by Eddard, Robb wouldn't entrust his back to them so easily.

In the world of Game of Thrones, betrayal and backstabbing were commonplace; only those Robb personally acknowledged could earn his trust.

At a glance, the most striking figure was a female warrior at least six feet tall.

Unlike the more muscular and robust 'Brienne of Tarth,' her style was completely different.

She was tall and slender, and in her sword fight with her opponent, her steps were swift and graceful, as if performing a sword dance.

This fighting style didn't resemble Westerosi swordsmanship at all; instead, it was somewhat like the Water Dance of Braavos.

Another standout was a large man with a full beard, about seven and a half feet tall.

He was the epitome of a Westerosi warrior; the standard practice sword looked small in his hands. Under his two-handed, heavy slashing attacks, his opponent could only parry desperately.

Still, it was clear that the children of the Northern bannermen were quite skilled in combat. Though this warrior was somewhat flustered, blocking left and right, he completely held off the big man's fierce assault.

After he adapted, he occasionally managed a counterstrike, slowly disrupting the big man's attack rhythm.

Robb understood in his heart that if he persisted, the big man would ultimately lose.

The result did not surprise him.

After a prolonged assault without success, the big man's attack rhythm fell into complete chaos. He was struck on the left waist by his opponent's sword, his face twisting in pain, yet he gritted his teeth and refused to cry out.

Unlike the usual basic training, this session lasted a long time.

It wasn't until nearly noon, when Ser Rodrik loudly announced a break, that the soldiers who had been training in the yard all morning finally breathed a sigh of relief.

They all gathered around Robb, either to express loyalty or to build rapport.

Robb didn't disappoint them either, replying, chatting, and greeting each one with a smile.

From this, he learned that the female warrior was Daisy Mormont, a scion of House Mormont of Bear Island.

The big man was Littlejon Umber, a scion of House Umber. His opponent was Owen Norrey, a scion of Clan Norrey of the mountains.

Aside from being somewhat familiar with Littlejon Umber, Robb had never heard of the others' names.

PS: Original Wolfs Den Ceremony, please don't dislike it if it's not your taste.

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