The bard

The first singer to reside at the Targaryen royal court was called Tom the Strummer, also known as the "Bard of Flea Bottom."

Seven-String Tom, who shared his name, was not particularly tall and looked to be about thirty.

He had brown hair, a pointed nose, and a wide mouth, which suited his profession.

Titus was quite interested in Tom. After all, as he remembered it, the man could write lyrics and compose music, a singer-songwriter with a knack for dissing people.

Talented people might prove useful sometime.

He was not surprised to find Tom here. Nightsong liked to invite singers to perform and paid very generously; that had always been House Caron's way.

Holding his instrument, Tom first bowed to Bryce Caron, then gave slight nods to Ser Maddy, who had summoned him, and Titus, their guest.

His fingertips plucked the strings, and a lilting melody flowed through the reception hall.

First came "The Ride of Lord Harte in the Rain," apparently requested by Ser Maddy. It suited the occasion quite well.

Tom's voice rang clear, with deep low notes, accurate middle notes, and sweet high notes. In short, one word-resonant.

When the song ended, applause rose, but still no one spoke.

Titus smiled without speaking, playing this game of silence with the people of Nightsong for now.

Maddy, who enjoyed music, requested another song, "The Golden Rose," which praised House Tyrell of Highgarden.

Titus felt somewhat annoyed. Why were these Stormlanders sucking up to Highgarden? There weren't even any other men from the Reach here.

When Tom finished, Titus dispensed with the courtesies and requested "Six Maids in a Pool" to change the mood.

There was no questioning Seven-String Tom's professional skill. He could sing elaborate verses of praise just as readily as the folk tunes and popular ditties beloved by commoners.

His voice rose and fell melodiously as he sang of six bashful maidens bathing beside a pool, then went on to tell the story of Florian and Jonquil.

When Tom finished this song, Titus led the applause and praised him loudly.

The fairly young Tom hastily bowed, expressing his thanks to the lord from the Reach.

Watching Titus gradually steal his thunder, Ser Maddy grew a little anxious.

That Tyronn Lue was utterly unreliable. Wasn't he only out hunting bandits? He had said he would return to the castle today, so why wasn't he back yet?

He was rather wary of the twenty visibly elite Peake soldiers the Earl of Starpike had brought and wanted to keep stalling.

Opposite him, Titus, who had suddenly begun acting like an even greater music lover than he was, was already requesting another song:

"The Day They Hanged Black Robin."

It was a sorrowful song about a bandit, usually sung to a harp's accompaniment. With his superb skill, Tom carried it off with his smaller seven-stringed instrument and wide vocal range.

Black Robin had once belonged to a bandit gang and died in a hanging.

Maddy disliked the mood the song created and did not want to surrender the initiative again. During the accompaniment, he suddenly struck up a conversation with Titus, using the lyrics' subject to bring up the Kingsguard's recent destruction of the Kingswood Brotherhood.

While recounting anecdotes about some of the Brotherhood's leaders, he made particular mention of Oswin, "Longneck, who survived three hangings."

Titus also thought this man quite extraordinary. Black Robin had been caught once and was finished, yet this "Longneck" had been captured and hanged three times without dying?

This fellow Oswin seemed to have something to him...

Of course, Titus knew something about the Kingswood Brotherhood too.

They operated around the Kingswood along the border between the Crownlands and the Stormlands. The bandits extorted traveling merchants and kidnapped nobles' family members for money, using the forest terrain to evade the knights searching for them.

Their crimes were remarkably brazen. They had once nearly attacked the convoy of Elia Martell, the Dornish princess who was now the crown prince's wife.

Fortunately, the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, Gerold Hightower, the "White Bull," had been escorting her, preventing them from succeeding.

Otherwise, Prince Rhaegar Targaryen would not merely have been cuckolded; he might well have needed another wife.

The owner of the Kingswood, the reigning king Aerys II Targaryen, had exhausted his patience with the Brotherhood's actions. He had also tried sending his Kingsguard and some court knights to lead forces against them.

Unfortunately, with the help of commoners in the forest, the Kingswood Brotherhood always managed to evade the punitive forces in advance.

This time, however, the Iron Throne dispatched two renowned members of the Kingsguard at once-Arthur Dayne, the "Sword of the Morning," and Barristan Selmy, the "Bold."

Sure enough, once the two most famous members of the Kingsguard took the field, they put an end to the overbearing bandits entrenched in the Kingswood in a single campaign.

The two highly skilled warriors also personally slew the famous Brotherhood leader known as the "Smiling Knight" and the Brotherhood's chief, Simon Toyne, who came from an extinct Stormlands house, adding fresh color to their own legendary exploits.

Titus lightly tapped the armrest with his fingertips. A thought struck him, and he followed Ser Maddy's lead:

"I also heard that a young squire from the Westerlands fought 'Smiling' Denisa before Arthur Dayne did?"

Titus's gaze settled on Ser Maddy's face, catching the flash of wariness in his eyes.

Ser Maddy raised his wine cup to conceal his reaction, his voice dropping a little:

"There seems to have been such a greenhorn... oh, yes, the heir to Casterly Rock. His name was Ja... Jaime Lannister?"

After correctly pronouncing the name of Casterly Rock's heir, Ser Maddy seemed to remember everything.

"That squire boy apparently joined Ser Dayne's bandit-hunting force midway through, along with Earl Sumner Crakehall of Crakehall. House Crakehall's boar earl was nearly killed by one of the Brotherhood's leaders, too. He only survived because his squire rose to the occasion and took on his opponent."

Toward the end, Ser Maddy seemed thoroughly scornful of the Earl of Crakehall's disgraceful performance.

His tone, however, held considerable admiration for Jaime Lannister's outstanding showing:

"The Lannister boy was very fortunate. As soon as he had crossed swords with the Smiling Knight, Arthur Dayne knighted him on the spot with Dawn."

Dawn was a pale greatsword that looked like milky glass in the light, utterly unlike the mostly black Valyrian steel swords. Yet it rivaled them in strength and sharpness, and was therefore also known as the "White Sword."

It had been forged from the heart of the fallen meteorite at Starfall.

Unlike other houses' ancestral swords, it did not have to pass to House Dayne's head or his heir. It could not be handed down from father to son or elder brother to younger brother; only the outstanding warrior of the house most worthy to wield it was entitled to bear it.

"Sword of the Morning" was the title reserved for any swordsman of House Dayne worthy of bearing Dawn. House Dayne's sigil depicted a white sword and a falling star shining together.

Denisa, one of the Brotherhood's six leaders, had also brought down many renowned knights from the Stormlands and the Reach with his sword.

In single combat, the "Smiling Knight" was probably the strongest man in the entire Kingswood.

A knight's squire who could cross swords with him and emerge unscathed was naturally no ordinary person.

As a squire, he had first loyally and bravely protected his lord, then fought a fierce enemy.

After one battle, he had even been personally knighted by the "Sword of the Morning," whom most knights in Westeros regarded as an idol. That was an exceptionally rare honor.

Young Jaime of House Lannister showed every sign of reaching his peak right at his debut.

A fine portrait of the Smiling Knight (view in the Qidian app):