Storm's End Tower, in the lobby on the first floor.
The skinny old man Davos Seaworth was wearing an inconspicuous black cloth robe and a gray wool cloak, leading his men to stand in the center of the hall.
Behind Davos are some of the supply boxes they brought into the castle.
Opposite Davos, stood a young man with broad shoulders and strong limbs.
The man had black hair and no beard. He looked at the ordinary-looking "intruder" with brown hair and brown eyes with a tense face.
He was observing the smuggling captain, and the smuggling captain, who was good at identifying people, was also observing him.
Robert I's younger brother has a pair of impressive thick eyebrows. The eyes under the eyebrows are like two wounds, and the dark blue is like a vast ocean.
Yes, this young man with tightly pursed pale lips is Stannis·Baila Theon, currently the acting city lord of Storm's End.
From the appearance, he seems to be a serious and stubborn man who also lacks a sense of humor.
Since the first meeting between the two parties was not very friendly, Captain Davos couldn't help but think so.
This aristocratic young man seems to have forgotten how to smile, let alone what it means to be cheerful----
His view is basically correct.
Stannis is the second son of Duke Steffon Baila Theon and Cassana Estermont. In addition to his elder brother Robert, he also has a younger brother named Renly.
When he was still young, he was already a serious child.
When he was in his early ten years, his parents crossed the ocean from the other side of the Narrow Sea and returned to Storm's End. When they were almost home, a storm hit them without warning.
The insignificant "Godsgrief" bloodline in Duke Storm's End failed to have any effect - or perhaps it did. Unfortunately, their ocean-going ship sank in Shipbreaker Bay, and both the Duke and Duchess died.
What's even more cruel is that this scene happened right in front of Stannis's eyes.
From that day on, Stanny began to hate Seven who took away his parents, and he became more and more depressed----
Stannis opened his tight lips and asked his first words, "What should I call you? Davos Sir Seaworth?"
"Don't dare, just call me Captain Davos."
Davos replied as kindly as possible.
His gray hood clung to his shoulders, which were far less broad than the other man's, and was wrinkled and dripping.
Although the process of being "captured" by the Storm's End guards was not pleasant, the task assigned to him by Master Earl was finally completed.
Captain Davos Overall, he is quite happy.
When Stannis saw with his own eyes the rich supplies carried by Davos and others, he was also very happy, but his character would not show his emotions easily.
He is a person who does not flinch in the face of adversity and becomes more courageous the more he encounters setbacks, but this does not mean that Stannis can withstand hunger better than others.
The siege of the southern border army lasted for nearly a year, and everyone in Storm's End was already at the end of their rope.
The horses were the first to suffer. They had already eaten them all. The cats and dogs were also cooked and eaten. The guards only had "enough" rat meat, tree roots, and shoe leather left to chew.
After a while, we will almost be reduced to eating our own fallen guards to survive----
Therefore, it is not surprising that Stannis was so rude after discovering Davos and others.
In the castle, a betrayal had just occurred. Storm's End coach Gawen Wilder was starving and dizzy. This knight from Rain House and his three knights tried to open the city gate and escape, surrendering to Siegebreaker who came from the west.
Stannis caught these deserters, and he wanted to order them to be thrown out of the city with a trebuchet. It would also be good to kill a few more soldiers of the Southern Border Army.
Storm's End's bachelor Cressen dissuaded the young acting city lord. The reason was that they were so embarrassed that they were about to touch the corpses of their companions. How could they just throw away the good meat?
After the death of the Duke and Duchess, Robert went to Vale, and the responsibility of caring for the other two Theon brothers of Barra fell on their great-uncle Ser Harbert and Maester Cressen.
If Storm's End is a bachelor, Stannis can listen very well.
Therefore, Sir Gawen, who failed to surrender to the enemy, was sent to the prison at the bottom of the Main Keep tower. This morning, he had just starved to death inside.
And then.
Captain Davos Seaworth, who claimed to have broken through the Redwyne Fleet blockade, appeared magnificently.
He also brought boxes of flour, vegetables, corned beef, various bacons, and even tempting hams - these foods could solve the food shortage problem of the guards in the fort, and were enough to keep the defenders going until Titus Earl went south to relieve the siege.
The siege of the Reach people made Stannis lose weight day by day, and his young face also showed haggardness, but he was not weak and was still very energetic.
With the assistance of Davos, Stannis began to distribute food to everyone in the fort.
Even though most people were moved to tears, young Stannis still didn't show any emotion.
He distributed the food to the men and women in the castle, and to everyone under his command. He kept his share last.
Captain Davos noticed that Storm's End's acting city lord's share was no more than that of others.
In the process, Davos also met the third male heir of House Baratheon's younger generation, Renly Baratheon.
The boy was wearing clothes made of velvet fabrics. When he thanked him, the child's voice was pure and sweet.
After dividing the food, Stannis filled his stomach while expressing his gratitude to Captain Davos and asking about the current situation of the Southern Expedition.
Davos answered what he could.
The captain could see that young Stannis was already thinking about the next defense and whether to cooperate with Starpike Earl.
This aristocratic boy is young, but he is quite responsible. He is mature and fair in dealing with others. He looks very promising----
The great benefactor of Storm's End, the direct subordinate of black Earl, and the captain of the "Dragonbane" of the Star Shuttle Fleet - Davos Seaworth commented in his heart.
At the same time.
Lord Titus·Peake, who was missed by the former smuggler and Storm's End acting city lord, is assigning tasks to his vanguard officer.
When the troops first came out of Kingswood, Eddard was eager to find his sister Lyanna, so he hurriedly brought a group of light cavalry and left the army. At the suggestion of Commander-in-Chief Titus, he brought more men than originally prepared.
Afterwards, Lord Titus officially took control of the entire army and was destined to monopolize this military success.
The achievements and luck of Randyll and Eddard seem to have been taken over by Starpike Earl.
Next, maybe he won't even let go of Stannis's military exploits----
Among the few deputies who remained, Stonehelm Earl of Stormlands did not have to worry about him the least, and Earl of the North's Dreadfort did things the most delicately.
The most cooperative one is undoubtedly the Ninestars knight of Vale.
The Ninestars territory managed by Simon Temperton has guarded the eastward "gateway" of the valley for House Arryn for generations.
They are a family of wealthy knights who are directly loyal to the successive dukes of the Eyrie. In fact, they are also members of the "Canyon Knights".
It's just that House Templeton has extraordinary strength. Their military capabilities can even despise many lord families in Vale. It's no problem to assemble an army of thousands of people, mainly cavalry.
House Templeton's ancestors have the blood of First Men, so they have always been keen on marrying other First Men nobles near Vale, Riverlands, or simply the First Men family of the North.
For example, they are related by marriage to Warden of the North, Winterfell's House Stark.
In the process of contact with Sir Simon, Titus found out very strangely that Tampaton is obviously a First Men family, and indeed believes in Seven faith and chivalry far more than ordinary Andalss.
If you think about their family's coat of arms, Titus can understand:
Among the nine stars in the golden cross on a black background, the middle one is Seven-Pointed Star, which represents Seven.
It is conceivable that the ancestors of Andals who landed on Westeros from the east coast of Vale as foreign mercenaries from the beginning, their invasion of this continent was more than just the crushing of iron against bronze.
Those former foreigners also brought with them devout religious beliefs and Andals culture.
The valleys on the east side of the mainland are most affected by this.
According to Seven's book "Seven-Pointed Star", "King of the Hill" Hu Ge foresaw a "golden place among the mountains" in his fantasy, which refers to Vale.
This Hugo is the king from Essos Andals's hometown, the Andar hills located in the south of Braavos.
Titus had read "Seven-Pointed Star" in Starpike's library, and knew that this man had been praised as a god in mythology, "Father" personally picked off the seven stars, cast them into a crown, and crowned him;
"Maiden" brought a beautiful girl and asked Hu Ge to marry her;
"Mother" makes his wife fertile and fruitful;
"Crone" predicts that she will bring Hu Ge forty-four strong sons;
"Warriors" make their sons strong;
"The Smith" builds a pair of armor for each of them----
A world where only "Strangers" are isolated has been achieved.
Seven promised that Hugo and his descendants would establish a new kingdom on the overseas continent.
At that time Titus thought to himself, well, isn't this the "Hugo and His Forty Thieves" mercenary group----
When it comes to religious culture, Andals is quite good at it.
Titus once heard a saying:
Seven Kingdoms There is no army up and down the country that can compete with the Canyon Knight in terms of momentum and chivalry.
After all, they are the descendants of the first knights of Westeros.
They are humble, honest, brave, possess all the original virtues that knights should have, have devout beliefs, are full of honor and are worthy of respect.
At the foot of the mountains on the north and south sides of Vale of Arryn, there are sporadic garrison camps of wealthy knight families like Ninestars, but their strength is far less powerful.
The objects they are on guard against are the clans and tribes deep in Mountains of the Moon.
The object of allegiance to these knight families for generations is the Eyrie located on the highest peak of the valley - "Giant's Lance".
The Eyrie Vale of Arryn from a bird's eye view: