Four Pillars of the Riverlands

By the lakeshore.

House Whent's Harrenhal loomed over the wilderness in all its terrifying bulk.

Five enormous towers stabbed into the sky like the bones of forgotten gods, yet not one remained intact.

The tops of several towers were charcoal-black and twisted like braided dough, covered in dreadful, web-like cracks. Some exposed stones, worn by wind and rain, had faded to a dismal gray.

That was the masterpiece left by Balerion the Black Dread's dragonfire centuries ago.

As the group drew closer to the castle, they could make out its encircling walls, massive and thicker than imagination allowed, like sheer cliffs growing out of the earth, sealing everything inside from view.

Titus looked up. The wall before him rose like a screen, blocking his view completely. Even with his exceptional eyesight, he could only catch the faint outlines of the catapults atop the battlements, so small they looked like miniature toys casually set down by a child.

Beyond the walls, only the tops of the five towers reached into the sky.

"That's truly high, even higher than the walls of Storm's End!" exclaimed the young duke riding beside Titus, who had been seeing new sights ever since coming down from the Eyrie.

After a few more words of admiration, Robert agreed with Titus that they would meet once everyone had settled in, then called to Ned and went to report to the Vale's leader, High Steward Denys Arryn.

By then, they had nearly reached the gates of the immense castle, where they could see that time had worn the carvings on its lofty lintel down to faint traces.

Both sides of the gate, and the nearby open ground beneath the great walls, had already become a sea of tents.

Crimson, cobalt-blue, and gilt heraldic banners rose at varying heights above the tents in every direction.

Titus reined in Black Pearl and sat his horse, surveying the scene.

After a while, he finally found the familiar design-three black castles on an orange-gold field.

With his two flank guards, the burly Oswin and the skinny Bowen, Titus headed toward the tents beneath House Peake's Three Castles Banner.

Spotting the busy bald head at once, Titus called out with a smile:

"Parker!"

"Ah! My lord, you've arrived too. Lord Redwyne and the others aren't here yet..." Hearing someone call him, the captain of the guards turned around in delighted surprise and approached the Earl of Starpike to explain the situation.

Their ship was fast, and they had arrived long ago.

As for the delegation from the Reach, they were probably still dawdling along the Kingsroad.

The Black Beth remained moored on the Gods Eye.

That was because Titus had expressed his favorable opinion of the smuggling chief Davos and mentioned closer cooperation, hinting that he intended to send the Ironborn Oswin aboard the Black Beth as his representative.

Captain Davos, eager to build a good relationship with Starpike, naturally awaited him with great anticipation.

Parker continued, "...House Whent has prepared rooms for you inside Harrenhal, my lord. Deputy Captain Wenda is thoughtful and thorough, so she's taking care of getting them ready. Shall I take you there first?"

Titus thought, Soldiers stay outside the walls, while nobles live comfortably inside the castle. Very Westerosi.

He dismounted and handed the reins to a guardsman behind Parker, leaving his horse tethered beside the Peake soldiers' tents to be tended for now, while replying, "There's no hurry. We've only just arrived, so of course we should pay a visit to Harrenhal's master..."

He turned back and said to the Ironborn:

"Oswin, you can go see Davos first.

"If he's in a hurry to return, choose a few guards and board the ship together. Just as we discussed, we'll keep in touch at the agreed times and the locations we outlined, using Wenda's gyrfalcon to send new instructions...

"Davos is a good fellow. Work well with him!"

Overjoyed, Oswin answered and hurried off excitedly without even stopping to rest.

Titus shook his head at Oswin's fierce desire to sail, then followed Parker toward Harrenhal's enormous gates.

Only after passing through a thick-walled passage with at least a dozen murder holes did they enter the castle proper.

Parker chatted about everyday happenings since they had parted, leading Titus through the castle's enormous, interconnected buildings toward Kingspyre Tower, where the head of House Whent was.

Titus noticed that many corners of the castle seemed to have gone untouched for years. Only now, with the tournament approaching and crowds pouring in, had some of the dust-covered window frames been hastily cleaned.

It was not that Earl Whent lacked money. The castle was simply too old and too large.

Even so, plenty of bats still nested high in the buildings, rather fitting for House Whent's arms-nine black bats.

Walking one behind the other, the two first entered the frightening tower called the Widow's Tower, then crossed a stone bridge into the adjoining main keep, Kingspyre Tower.

As though subdued by Harrenhal's aura of dread, even the previously talkative Captain Parker gradually fell silent.

In a private reception room, Titus met the current head of House Whent, Walter Whent, Earl of Harrenhal.

Earl Walter was in his prime. As the host of this grand gathering, he was both cheerful and somewhat proud and self-important. Walter's welcome to the Earl of Starpike was beyond reproach, but his courtesy remained superficial, with no intention of pursuing a closer acquaintance.

Seeing this, Titus offered only a couple of routine pleasantries before taking his leave.

House Whent now flourished with numerous members.

Not only did Walter Whent have several grown sons, but his two younger sisters, Minisa Whent and Shyra Whent, had married Duke Hoster Tully and Lord Walder Frey respectively.

After bearing Riverrun two daughters and a son-Catelyn Tully, Lysa Tully, and Edmure Tully-Minisa Whent had died in childbirth along with her fourth child by Hoster Tully.

If House Tully of Riverrun controlled the Red Fork, and House Frey of the Twins controlled the Green Fork, then House Whent of Harrenhal shared control of the waters from the Blue Fork to Crab Bay with House Mallister of Seaguard. The towns along the banks from west to east all had to pay them "protection money."

Although the Riverlands had other powerful houses, such as Blackwood of Raventree Hall, Bracken of Stone Hedge, House Darry of Darry, and the two Houses Vance with their extensive lands west of the Gods Eye, all had obvious shortcomings.

Taking both their strength when mobilized and their geographical positions into account, the four houses of Tully, Frey, Whent, and Mallister were the ones that somewhat deserved the name "Four Pillars of the Riverlands."

This was House Whent's heyday, and they were even more nouveau riche than the Freys.

He left the haughty Earl Walter's reception room.

Titus followed Captain Parker to inspect the quarters House Whent had arranged for him and found that Wenda had put everything in excellent order. The female guard captain occupied a maid's room next door.

Private quarters with their own entrance-not bad treatment.

The room assigned to Titus was spacious, with a wooden ceiling thirteen feet high and a golden candle chandelier hanging beneath it. A Myrish carpet patterned in red and black covered the floor, purple irises stood in a decorative flowerpot beside it, and a wooden wardrobe stood in the corner.

The reading desk stood on the other side of the large room.

The bedroom had not only its own fireplace and a bright window with a view, but also a soft canopy bed made of agarwood and draped in red curtains.

Titus nodded. He had not expected Harrenhal, so dilapidated on the outside, to have such respectable furnishings and decoration within.

A proper luxury room with a large bed...

Titus's luxury room with a large bed: