House Flint of Flint's Finger

The North, Flint's Finger Castle, castle dining hall.

"Uh! I'm fine, I... I'm very well, tha..."

The young man Eddard had addressed began stammering as soon as he heard his question. His answer grew hurried, as though he had thought of something terrifying.

The young man had intended to thank Eddard for his concern, but a glance at the glare of the middle-aged man opposite him frightened him into silence.

His gaze at Eddard was complicated, holding fear, reverence, and a trace of inexplicable dread-the kind one felt before a savage beast or a raging flood, and one that came from some indescribable memory in his blood.

After hearing his answer, Eddard paid no further attention to this rather strange cousin he had inherited. Instead, he went straight to his seat at the head of the table. Once he sat down, Aiju, the Head Lady-in-Waiting, immediately brought him a breakfast prepared for him alone.

It was not a lavish breakfast: a somewhat roughly made loaf of white bread, a sausage, two fried eggs, and milk in a silver cup. As the food arrived, the rank smell of the sausage and the gamy odor of the milk immediately filled Eddard's nostrils.

Although Aiju, the Head Lady-in-Waiting, had thoughtfully added honey as a garnish and tried to mask the food's original flavors, the soul inside Eddard's body came from a modern world developed in every respect. Particularly after experiencing the full range of modern Blue Star's spices, Eddard still felt an instinctive aversion to this food.

Though the original body's tongue and nose could tolerate these tastes and smells, a trace of resistance remained deep in Eddard's soul, and the middle-aged man watching him caught it.

"What, is the food at Flint's Finger not to your taste, my dear nephew? Or do you simply look down on our food?"

The middle-aged speaker was Eddard's inherited uncle, Rickard Flint. A long blade scar across his face had earned him the name Rickard "Scar." His hostility toward Eddard came entirely from his belief that Eddard had taken the lordship that should have belonged to him.

After Eddard's inherited family died, Rickard "Scar" had eagerly come to the castle to wait. What arrived instead was a letter of appointment from Winterfell and the royal court in King's Landing, along with his young nephew Eddard, returning from the south.

The two people sitting opposite Rickard "Scar" were his sons: his elder son, Bran Don Flint, and his younger son, Bran Flint.

Bran Don Flint was exceptionally large, perhaps owing to the blood of his mother from House Umber. Rumor had it that every member of House Umber, who lived near the Wall bordering Beyond the Wall, carried giants' blood. Every one of those Umbers was a formidable fighter on the battlefield.

Brandon Flint had dark brown curls, and his pale green eyes were filled with the same mockery as his father's. His stubble was just as thick, too. Apart from his height and the scar, he was practically an enlarged version of Rickard "Scar." The residents of Flint's Finger generally called him Brandon "Big Bear."

Rumor had it that Brandon "Big Bear" had once fucked a she-bear in the wilderness. Though he vehemently denied it, the residents of Flint's Finger told the story in convincing detail, which in some measure served as proof of his considerable "endowment."

Big Bear's younger brother, Bran Flint, was not nearly so "formidable." Bran Flint was about Eddard's age. Since Rickard "Scar" was illiterate and had no maester in his service, he could not remember either son's exact Name Day, and even their ages were only rough estimates.

His younger son, Bran Flint, was introverted and had a build much like Eddard's, a little on the thin side. He looked even thinner than Eddard. His features also resembled his father's, but the shy young man looked nowhere near as fierce as Rickard "Scar."

Bran Flint wore his long, blackish-gray hair down to his shoulders. His face was freckled, and his emerald eyes kept darting toward his father and brother, as though he wanted to persuade them not to defy Eddard.

But Bran was far too timid to offer any such advice. That was precisely why he had earned the nickname Bran "House Cat."

At his inherited uncle's words, Eddard stopped reaching for the bread and cast a sidelong glance at Rickard "Scar," who was spouting insolence at him.

"My dear uncle, if I remember correctly, my father seems to have entrusted you with the mines in the western mountains. But... why have you still not gone to carry out your duties? Or have you decided to abandon them?"

"I... I, you..."

Rickard "Scar" looked distinctly unhappy at Eddard's words, and for a moment he did not know what to say. He wanted to argue, but when the words reached his lips, he had no idea how to refute him.

The Eddard before him today was nothing like the one he remembered. Stung by the retort, Rickard "Scar" stood rooted to the spot, at a complete loss.

Most northerners descended from the First Men of Westeros's Age of Heroes, so they were forthright by nature and preferred to approach everything directly. Rickard "Scar" had mocked Eddard entirely out of resentment, but he had clearly forgotten Eddard's present position.

"I know what you truly want, and I understand what you are really trying to say. But now I must tell you that I have already received the recognition of House Stark of Winterfell and the royal House Baratheon of King's Landing.

"I now hold ownership of this castle and its surrounding lands. I am both the vassal House Stark has appointed at Flint's Finger and the sole master of this domain. Do you understand?"

As Eddard delivered those final sentences, his voice rose unconsciously, and he stood from his seat at just the right moment. He had practiced these movements and this manner of speaking for a long time. None of the helplessness and uncertainty he had felt on first arriving remained; his voice was full of confidence.

Ever since learning what sort of world he had entered, Eddard had been considering how to manage his subordinates and lands. His humanities background had given him no advantage in physics or chemistry, but his study of history and accumulation of cultural knowledge on Blue Star gave him a bearing entirely unlike these men. Imperceptibly, it also lent his words a trace of contempt for the natives of this other world.

Eddard's clear, well-reasoned words left his three inherited relatives stunned. For a moment, everyone in that part of the dining hall unconsciously stopped what they were doing.

Initially unable to adjust and burdened by a guilty conscience, Eddard had hidden in the keep ever since entering Flint's Finger Castle, leaving everything to Maester Albert. Some believed he was grieving his family's deaths, while people like Rickard "Scar" thought him cowardly and timid.

Yet now, after hearing Eddard's words, which sounded like a royal proclamation, everyone instinctively chose to listen and believe. This was not actually because Eddard possessed some special aura.

Rather, that was simply how people of this age thought. The royal house and the houses that served as wardens of the Seven Kingdoms represented most authority and truth, even though the current royal house had seized the throne through the War of the Usurper.

But the present king, Robert Baratheon, was as close as a brother to Eddard Stark, Warden of the North. The two had grown up together and had risen against the former Targaryen royal house because of the False Spring incident. It could be said that Robert Baratheon could not have become king without the support of the North, a powerful force occupying nearly half the land of Westeros.

"I... we only came back to rest for a while, nothing..."

Confronted with Eddard's near-proclamation, Rickard "Scar" did not know how to answer for a moment and could only stammer out vague words.

"Since there are no objections, let us enjoy today's breakfast!"

Seeing that he had achieved his aim, Eddard directly ordered his three inherited relatives to begin eating. At his command, Rickard "Scar" and his two sons nodded involuntarily.

Perhaps even they had not noticed that their earlier arrogance was gone. Now they looked like Eddard's retainers.

Breakfast continued for roughly half an hour. Once it was over, Rickard "Scar" rose to ask Eddard's leave, but Eddard refused. Instead, he ordered all the castle's principal figures to attend a meeting in the keep's council hall.

The family castle at Flint's Finger stood on a seaside cliff. It occupied roughly ten thousand square meters, about the size of a small football field on Blue Star, and consisted of the keep, a central courtyard, outer walls, stables, a smithy, an armory, a godswood, and other structures.

The castle blended the architectural styles of the First Men and the Andals. Its combination of round walls and towers gave it a somewhat unusual appearance.

The keep's main building had seven levels: three below ground and four above. The three underground levels were cellars used to store grain. In House Flint's early days, they had taken no prisoners, only cut out their enemies' hearts and hung them on the heart tree in the godswood. Thus, when the castle was built, no cells had been installed in its cellars.

The first floor held the kitchen, dining hall, and banquet hall. The second floor contained numerous guest rooms, where Rickard "Scar" and his family lived. Every guest room had its own fireplace.

The third floor housed the council hall, the family armory, and the treasury. Certain records and items relating to the domain were also stored there. The fourth floor held the master bedroom, library, and rookery.

The keep also had two towers, one large and one small. The Great Tower contained only one room, sometimes used to confine family members who had committed offenses. Eddard had now converted it into his private library and records room.

The smaller tower contained two rooms. Eddard had been writing here earlier. The top room served as both a lookout and a lighthouse. At night, whale-oil lamps were lit there, their light directed through special glass reflectors to guide merchant ships and fishing boats.

The small tower was very warm at night, which was why Eddard had chosen to write his notes there. Nights here were bitterly cold, and even a northerner like Eddard, who had grown up in the south, struggled to adjust to this strange weather.

Before long, Eddard met the heads of the castle's various departments in the third-floor council hall. Castles in this world served much the same functions as medieval castles on Blue Star. The only difference was that most castles in Westeros had a godswood.

Once everyone had formed two columns before Eddard's throne, he turned toward Maester Albert out of habit. When Eddard took over the original owner's body, he had spent about ten days adrift at sea. After reaching the castle, he had stayed hidden in the keep's upper floors, pleading illness until these past few days.

Maester Albert had introduced everyone present when Eddard arrived at the castle. But so much time had passed that Eddard could no longer clearly remember many of them.

Most people in House Flint's castle were men. The castle steward, Billy Blackwood, belonged to a cadet branch of House Blackwood and had accompanied Eddard's mother here. He had worked for House Flint for eighteen years.

The tax collector was named Beris, reportedly a nobleman who had fled King's Landing. Because he could read and write, Eddard's inherited father had hired him as tax collector. Interestingly, he had come only after the War of the Usurper, so rumors in the domain claimed he was a noble of the old dynasty who had fled to the North rather than swear allegiance to the new king.

Next was Arthur Stone, Eddard's Captain of the Guards and the castle's master-at-arms, a knight from the Vale in southern Westeros. Though knights worshipped the Seven, the Starks of the North had received a traditional knightly education in the Vale from childhood, so northern nobles did not discriminate against such knights. On the contrary, many noble households recruited hedge knights as masters-at-arms or captains of their guards.

Then came Black, the castle smith, Dogg, the kennelmaster, Lemon, the armory keeper, and Apple, the head cook. These men formed the core of Eddard's staff. At times, Eddard also had to serve as a judge in his capacity as lord.

Although the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros had a comprehensive system of laws, most subjects were illiterate, and many would accept only their lord's judgment. Thus, Eddard often had to deal with the domain's petty disputes.

"All right, let us begin House Flint's first castle meeting!"

After looking over the subordinates who had been introduced to him once more, Eddard addressed them.