The Spider and the Bastard / The Little Smith of the Street of Steel ...

Game of Thrones: The Stag's Storm

Author: The Fledgling Scribe

Synopsis:

Before you stood:

The Laughing Storm reborn, legendary dragonrider, supreme Pyromancer, super water mage, the wildly charming wild stag, breaker of chains, destroyer of the Long Night, collector of dragons, wolves, and flowers, the only sun on both shores of the Narrow Sea, emperor of the Valyrian Freehold.

What? Too many titles to remember!

This was Gendry, the story of a smith's rise!

Chapter 1: The Spider and the Bastard

Year 293 after Aegon's Conquest, Westeros, King's Landing, capital of House Baratheon's realm.

Two figures, one tall and one small, turned onto the Street of Steel. As they followed its winding path, even Visenya's Hill seemed a long climb. Along the way were smiths working beside their forges, hedge knights bargaining over armor, and gray-haired ironmongers hawking assorted old iron knives from carts. The whole street bustled and clamored, everyone chasing profit and reputation.

King's Landing is a spider's web, and only a spider can move freely through it! the hooded man leading the way thought smugly. Across the Narrow Sea, he and his ally held the surviving heirs of House Targaryen, while in Westeros, who would have guessed that he also held the stag's bastard? Once that secret-that great secret deep within the Red Keep-came to light, he stood to gain enormously.

The tall boy following the hooded man watched him with curiosity and resignation in his eyes. His face was still very young, but those eyes seemed unusually mature and composed.

The hooded man thought nothing of it. A bastard boy whose father had left and whose mother had died young would naturally grow angry and mature before his time. It never occurred to him that the child possessed an adult's soul.

Gendry even spotted a few Lannister knights wearing red cloaks and half-lion helms. House Lannister seemed to have its fingers in every corner of King's Landing.

The higher they climbed, the grander the buildings became. The more famous the master smith, the larger his house. At last, they reached a tall building at the crest of the hill.

Tobho Mott's shop was larger than any other on the Street of Steel. Built of timber and plaster, it stood high enough to overlook the entire street. Its two great doors were made of ebony and weirwood, carved with a hunting scene. A stone knight stood on either side, clad in red armor, their forms suggesting a griffin and a unicorn guarding the entrance.

"Quick, pour some wine for the lord!" The small, sharp-eyed serving girl was quick-witted. Spotting the leading man's fine clothes, she immediately went inside to notify the shop's owner, the finest master smith in King's Landing. The man was stout and broad-shouldered, and his cloak was made of thick purple velvet trimmed with silver, plainly expensive. His hood concealed his face, leaving only a brown beard streaked with red visible.

Tobho Mott wore a black velvet coat with hammers embroidered on its sleeves in silver thread. A heavy silver chain hung around his neck, bearing a sapphire the size of a pigeon's egg.

"My lord, if you want a new suit of armor, you've come to the right place. I assure you, my craftsmanship is unmatched in King's Landing. You're welcome to compare. Other men make armor; I make works of art. I serve many noble and distinguished customers, Lord Renly among them." Tobho spoke proudly. It was not entirely an idle boast; he had served his apprenticeship in Qohor.

"Master Tobho, I have no desire for armor or a helm!" The hooded visitor's voice was muffled, yet booming and grasping. He seemed to be a Tyroshi.

"I want this child to apprentice under you." The hooded man set down some gold. These were not the usual gold dragons, but coins from across the Narrow Sea. Still, gold was gold.

Tobho noticed the child the hooded man had brought. He was tall for his age, with coal-black hair and a pair of beautiful blue eyes.

Tobho did his best to suppress his alarm. He had met Renly, Robert, and Stannis. This child closely resembled Renly, but Renly could not possibly have a bastard this old. Stannis was even less likely. That left only one answer.

"My lord, I don't want any trouble!" Tobho hesitated, but the hooded man set down a second payment in gold.

"Not a word of this, Tobho!" Tobho considered it, then agreed to take the child in. "This boy is my apprentice now. Who he was before he came here, I know nothing about."

"Good! I hope you'll keep this secret!" Satisfied, the hooded man turned to leave.

"Thank you, my lord!" Gendry said to him.

"I hope you enjoy this life. At least it's better than running errands in a little tavern!" The hooded man left without looking back.

I know it's you, Spider! Gendry thought. The Spider's talent for disguise truly was first-rate. Gendry was a soul from Blue Star who had somehow become the young smith from A Song of Ice and Fire.

At least Gendry had outstanding looks and strength. The whoremongering, fat king had once been the Laughing Storm reborn, after all. House Baratheon produced strapping men with handsome, clean-cut faces and clear, captivating eyes.

Gendry had accepted his fate. Born in a small tavern, he had quietly lived as its errand boy. It was the safest path available to him.

House Lannister wielded enormous power in King's Landing, and he had no desire to be murdered like those brothers and sisters of his. Besides, the king cared little for family or children. Once he had bedded a woman, he forgot every vow of love he had made, let alone any bastard children. Gendry had stayed there until the watchful Spider discovered him and sent him to the smithy.

"Boy, what's your name?" Tobho asked.

"Gendry. I don't have a surname!"

"No one cares about that. King's Landing is full of nameless people barely scraping by. You're lucky to be with me! Come on, boy. I'll show you where you'll work!" Tobho led Gendry onward.

Tobho took Gendry through the back door, across a long, narrow courtyard, and into a spacious stone barn. This was where the smithy's actual work took place.

The moment the armorer Tobho opened the door, a blast of heat surged out, making Gendry feel as though he were about to step into a dragon's mouth. A roaring forge burned in every corner, and the air stank of smoke and sulfur. The foreman glanced up, barely finding time to wipe the sweat from his brow before going back to his hammer and tongs, while bare-chested apprentices worked hard at the bellows.

Gendry studied everything before him. It was new and fascinating, though plainly demanding physical labor. Whatever else it was, learning this craft was far better than running errands in a tavern.

"Smithing takes strength, but it also takes skill. Once you've mastered the craft, knights and lords will beg you to make their armor and helms. You won't be able to keep up with the demand," Tobho boasted. Then he reconsidered. The boy's identity was far too unusual; living peacefully as a smith would not be easy.

Still, Tobho summoned the foreman and drew him aside. "This boy is my new apprentice. You'll be teaching him from now on. Don't give him anything too heavy right away."

And so Gendry's life as an apprentice began.

Chapter 2: The Little Smith of the Street of Steel

Year 295 of the Conquest Calendar, Tobho's smithy at the top of Visenya's Hill.

Gendry was eleven and had grown accustomed to life as a smith's apprentice.

In the spacious stone barn behind the smithy, a roaring forge burned in every corner, and the air was thick with the stench of smoke and sulfur.

Gendry, with his short coal-black hair and deep blue eyes, was forging a breastplate, absorbed in his work. His whole world had narrowed to metal, bellows, and fire, to the music of working steel, while the hammer became an extension of his arm. Then he picked up the long-handled tongs, gripped the breastplate, and plunged it into the cold-water trough to temper it. The armor hissed.

Gendry felt as though his body held endless strength. "Caste toughness"-it seemed he had his father to thank for that, though the man had never cared for him. His ancestor, the Laughing Storm, had been a burly man roughly two meters ten tall, and King Robert himself stood one meter ninety-six.

"Very good, Gendry. You're tall and strong for your age, and a hard worker, too." Tobho praised him, seeing something like a proud, powerful young stag. He owned a large smithy, but at heart he was still a craftsman. With Gendry's build, if he did not go off to war, he was certainly well suited to forging iron.

"Thank you for the praise!" Gendry replied evenly and continued working. In all honesty, he loved his work. Smithing was heavy labor, one of life's three hardest occupations, but at Tobho's smithy he had meat and proper nourishment. He was growing tall and sturdy, which was far better than going hungry at the little tavern.

"Boy, smithing is a slow business. Above pig iron comes refined iron, and above refined iron comes Valyrian steel. Three years, then another three-you'll need several stretches of three years before you become the finest smith. Back when I..." Tobho had been about to boast of his apprenticeship in Qohor, but thought better of it. This apprentice would not stay here for long. Robert's bastard, older even than his heir-the child was already caught on the edges of a struggle for power. People in King's Landing had all heard something of the queen's pride and stubbornness, and she especially loathed the king's bastards. He was destined not to remain in Tobho's smithy forever.

"Do you miss your parents?" Tobho asked quietly.

"There's no point in missing them. I've almost forgotten them. My mother died when I was very little. I only remember that she sang to me and had yellow hair. As for my father, he's probably long dead, too!" Gendry brushed at his black hair, already soaked with sweat.

Tobho felt that Gendry's words could leave a man choking. This ignorant child could only endure the dreary life of a smithy, while his trueborn brothers lived in luxury. Still, perhaps that was for the best. If the boy learned who his father was, a bastard dreaming of being a king's son probably would not stay quietly in the smithy. That would be worse. House Lannister had never been easy to deal with.

"You're a clever boy, but a stubborn one! All right, this breastplate is well made. Go and play!" Tobho let Gendry finish work early.

"Thank you!" Once he was done forging, Gendry could spend a little time relaxing with the other apprentices.

"Come on, Gendry! We're playing at dueling knights!" Leaving the barn for the smithy's long, narrow courtyard, Gendry saw his companions, all around thirteen or fourteen. They wore the same plain undershirts that were standard in the smithy. Some were the sons of other master smiths on the Street of Steel, sent through connections to apprentice at its most renowned forge. Others were younger sons of ruined nobles or children of ordinary townsfolk.

"You go ahead!" Gendry looked at them. "I don't like that sort of game."

"There he goes again. No spirit at all! Such a big lad, and he doesn't even like picking up a weapon!"

Gendry found somewhere to sit and watched the apprentices play pretend. The smithy had discarded, blunt weapons for them to use as toys, mostly blunted swords.

"Watch out! I'm the Sword of the Morning!" A plump, yellow-haired boy waved a blunt sword a few times.

"You're going to make me die laughing! If the Sword of the Morning were as fat as a pig like you, he'd have been thrown out of the Kingsguard ages ago!" A thinner, freckled boy burst out laughing.

"Damn you! Duel me, then!" the fat boy said angrily.

"Fine, let's fight!" The thinner, freckled boy also raised a blunt sword. "I'm Barristan the Bold, the most legendary swordsman!"

The Sword of the Morning! Barristan the Bold! The names were familiar to Gendry. Both were white knights, warriors of the highest caliber, but they had little to do with him. His task now was to keep his head down and survive without exposing himself.

The two boys traded blows. It looked less like a duel between knights than a street brawl. These young smiths had received no formal training in arms; it was simply children fooling around.

By the end, both were exhausted, and the contest was more or less a draw.

Gendry had no interest in their clownish imitation of knights. In a fight, being stronger and bigger was enough. In that regard, perhaps a little more time was all he needed before none of them could match him.

"Forget it, forget it. I don't think any of us will become knights! Little Gendry still has a chance. He's the strongest, and he's handsome, too!"

"Gendry? Forget him. All he does is forge iron! Gendry, do you want to be a knight?"

"No?" Gendry shook his head. "I'm here to be a smith. Why would I become a knight? Being a smith is good enough. As long as we're skilled, won't those noble lords have to beg us to make them a suit of armor?"

"Ha ha ha!" Gendry's companions laughed. They were already used to his answers. He had no dreams of knighthood. Apparently, he was born to be a smith.

That night, Gendry heard the racket inside his room. Four apprentices shared it. One was snoring, and another was grinding his teeth.

Gendry was restless, and the noise made it even harder to sleep.

I have to get out! Gendry considered it. That was one thought he had, but it would be difficult. He had no supporters and was still only a boy.

King's Landing was a dangerous city, and staying here was unsafe. More importantly, he seemed to live permanently within the Spider's web. Among the apprentices who had later joined the shop on the Street of Steel, for instance, Gendry knew there were the Spider's informants, watching how he was doing and trying to befriend him. Gendry continued to live as though he were a born smith. Doing every piece of work well and never discussing politics or knights was the best disguise.

As for revealing his identity to King Robert and telling him the secret of his supposed Legitimate Son children, Gendry had never considered it. That would be the most dangerous thing he could do. King Robert had little affection for his bastards, and he hardly lavished care on even his nominally legitimate children. He was simply unfit to be a father. Besides, House Lannister held immense power in King's Landing.

Fortunately, only the Spider currently knew his identity as King Robert's eldest bastard. Who knew how long the Spider would keep that secret? Perhaps he only meant to use it to do Gendry a favor.

Gendry hated the Spider. The Spider had brought him here because Varys saw him as a piece to be sold at a high price, to be thrown onto the board when needed. But Gendry feared House Lannister even more. If they learned of him, that vicious queen would surely kill him, just as she would his younger bastard brothers and sisters.

Chapter 3: Four Deer Together

As far back as Gendry could remember, it always seemed to have been summer. King's Landing seemed cloaked in lush green, brimming with life.

The climate of Westeros was highly unstable, and each season could last for years. A long summer brought prosperity; a long winter brought hardship. This summer had begun in the year 289 after the Conquest and still had not ended.

People said it was because King Robert was blessed by the Seven, but there were worried voices, too, for summer and winter balanced each other. If a long summer lasted eight or ten years, the winter that followed would be exceptionally long and harsh. Yet such wise people were always in the minority. The people of King's Landing remained noisy, lively, and decadent. A long summer suited them perfectly; this was a season for enjoyment.

"Come along, children. Let's visit the Great Sept of Baelor! Bowing before the glory of the gods is better than going to Flea Bottom to watch dogfights, gamble, and get seduced by cheap women." Gendry's life was not always dull. Occasionally, Tobho, the smithy's owner, took the apprentices to visit the Great Sept of Baelor atop Visenya's Hill. Master Tobho was not truly obsessed with faith. He went to enjoy the sights, and the Smith was one of the Seven, after all. The Great Sept of Baelor was close to the smithy and crowded with visitors every day.

Gendry saw a beautiful white marble plaza, with a gigantic statue of Baelor I towering at its center. The statue stood serenely on its pedestal, its face full of compassion. Beneath the dome of glass, gold, and crystal, Gendry also saw the seven aspects of the Seven: the Father, the Warrior, the Maiden, the Stranger, the Crone, the Smith, and the Mother. The Smith represented craftsmanship and labor. People often prayed to him for strength when work needed to be done.

"The Maiden brought a woman as gentle as a willow, with eyes like deep blue pools, and Hugo swore to wed her. Then the Mother made her fertile, and the Crone foretold that she would bear the king forty-four strong sons. The Warrior gave them strength, and the Smith forged a suit of steel armor for each." The septas sang passages from The Seven-Pointed Star. Beneath the dome, everything felt sacred and solemn, and everyone was immersed in the virtues of the gods.

Without question, however, most of the apprentices listened with little enthusiasm. Compared with a free visit to the Great Sept of Baelor, they would rather spend a little money on amusement in Flea Bottom. Still, at least they did not have to sweat in a sweltering room, so they were happy to enjoy a brief respite.

Once the septas finished their hymn, Tobho led the apprentices outside, ready to return to the smithy.

"Listen to me, children. Every boy loves the Warrior, but few love the Smith. What can warriors do? They wave swords around, bring slaughter, and leave widows wailing. But we smiths create happiness. The hammers in our hands earn us our meals. Can knights say the same?

"Smiths make plows to till the earth and grow crops, nails to repair ships, horseshoes to protect the hooves of faithful horses, and shining swords for noble lords. A smith's worth is beyond question, which is why the Smith is honored as one of the Seven. The Father rules, the Warrior fights, and the Smith labors. Together, they represent the duties a man ought to fulfill." Tobho spoke with spittle flying, trying to make his apprentices recognize the greatness of their work instead of constantly dreaming of knights fighting and charging into battle.

As they prepared to leave the Great Sept of Baelor, something unexpected happened. King Robert's procession had arrived, and the king was about to enter the sept. His entourage was a river of gold, silver, and steel, filled with Gold Cloaks, white knights, vassals, and sworn knights.

Ten standard-bearers of House Baratheon rode at the front, their banners flying from bamboo poles, each bearing a black crowned stag on a golden field.

"Make way! Make way!" the Gold Cloaks shouted, pushing ordinary people aside to clear a path for the king's procession.

Deep in the crowd, Gendry caught sight of King Robert, the fat man riding ahead with two white knights in snowy cloaks guarding his flanks. He was Gendry's father, but there was little kinship between them. Gendry spotted an older yet graceful knight who had to be Ser Barristan Selmy, one of the greatest knights alive.

King Robert had once been an unrivaled warrior, but now he had gained a full seven or eight stone. He had become an enormous fat man, and nothing could conceal his protruding belly or the dark hollows around his eyes. Robert had always possessed tremendous appetites and loved indulgence. Since taking the Iron Throne, the king had swollen like an inflating balloon.

As the king passed, the people cheered, though not especially warmly. Many in King's Landing had not forgotten House Lannister's sack of the city, making it difficult for them to truly like the king either.

"The king's two brothers have come along, too? That's rare!" someone murmured, but Gendry's keen ears caught it clearly. He looked at the procession behind the king. Sure enough, two men bearing the sigil of House Baratheon followed close behind, with the same vivid blue eyes and coal-black hair.