(Male protagonist's perspective)
I was overseeing the preparations for the tournament, all part of a deception. The plan was that once the King realized what the Ironborn were up to, he would mobilize his army and likely stop their rebellion. At least, that's what I thought, but two days had passed since the King spoke with Lord Stark, and the King hadn't taken any action. So I asked Ser Rodrik if I could speak with the Lord. After several hours, I finally got my chance.
"My lord, why don't we march on the Iron Islands?"
He looked up from the report, appearing very distressed and hesitant.
Our king believes it is too early to act now; he has decided to enjoy the tournament until the Iron Islands take action. If they do not act, he intends to find a pretext to travel to the Westerlands after the tournament concludes.
Why didn't that giant boar just charge in and punish them? Something's wrong; it didn't want to return to King's Landing, it wanted to go to the Westerlands. At that moment, it dawned on me. This giant boar didn't want to end the rebellion before it broke out; it wanted a war. This drunken boar wanted a total war, but why?
"My lord, does the king perhaps desire a full-scale war?"
As soon as I finished speaking, he suddenly jumped up as if he had remembered something, and began pacing back and forth, asking and answering himself.
"Is that why he got so excited when I told him about the possible rebellion?"
"That's why, after our conversation, he started mocking everything, and that's why he said he was looking forward to the upcoming celebration. I thought he was talking about the martial arts tournament, but he wasn't!"
So, he'll cause a war out of boredom that will result in many deaths. Now I remember. War isn't such a bad thing for me, and I can gain more fame in a real war than through a quick suppression. If the Ironborn attack the coastline, I can also help the civilians as Druid Emre.
I no longer care what they do; if they end it before it even sprouts, I will gain contribution as someone who gets their attention, but if war breaks out, I will gain even more contribution in the fighting.
( Eddard Stark's perspective)
As soon as my conversation with Aermir ended, I went to the room reserved for the " Hand of the King " to discuss my conclusions with Jon Arryn and tell him what had happened. After thinking it over calmly, he said...
"You're probably right. For years he's been talking about how disgusting it is to rule a kingdom and how exciting wartime is. We need to talk to him about it."
We went to Robert to try and persuade him, but he shared the reasoning that they had to be made too weak so the Ironborn wouldn't rebel again, making war necessary. Jon at least convinced him that we should send messages to the Westerlands and the Reach, warning them to prepare for the Ironborn.
(Male protagonist's perspective)
They sent Crow to the Westerlands and the Reach today because Winter is almost over, and I think the Ironborn will launch their attack next month if they feel ready. There may still be 20 centimeters of snow in the North, but the temperature has risen to around 5 degrees Celsius, and most importantly, there is no longer any snow cover in the south. If the Ironborn's goal is conquest, then it's still early. But if their goal is a raid and suppression, they can still launch their attack today.
I decided to enjoy the tournament like everyone else and, with Lord Stark's permission, signed up for the free-for-all. The North Tournament differed slightly from the Southern Tournament, being more brutal. The Southern Tournament only included horsemanship, close combat, and archery, while the North did not include horsemanship.
Most the North knights despised equestrianism, calling it a clown's fight. So, in the North, there were activities like melee combat, archery, wrestling, boxing, and log throwing. Boxing, log throwing, and wrestling were usually commoners' events, but in the last two competitions, Greatjon Umber dominated all three.
It sounds like there are many competitions, but the North doesn't usually celebrate Name Day. People believe that competitions are only held during harvest time, which is a waste; people hold these competitions to celebrate the harvest. So there are more than seven years between the two competitions.
I ordered a full set of knight's armor from Mikken because I've grown 10 centimeters taller and received some boosts in the past nine months. At 13 and a half, I've grown to 180 centimeters, with 5.5 points of strength, 6.2 points of speed, and 210 points of magic power.
A few months ago, when my magic power exceeded 200 points, I obtained some spells and rituals. Perzys sagit ( Flame Arrow ), as the name suggests, can fire three arrow-shaped flames with an explosion radius of 1 meter. Jelmio Sumby ( Wind Shield ) is a more powerful Eludo Jelmio that can withstand javelins and throwing axes.
As for Ritual Magic, I can cast two, both of which are very useful, but the Oath Ritual will be the most useful. With this ritual, I can make Unbreakable Vow, but like all command spells, it has a drawback: if I force someone to make this vow, it will have no effect.
For an oath to be valid, the oath-taker must support the person on whom they are sworn in at the time of the oath. If they change their minds after taking the oath, it has no effect. Once the oath is activated, they will abide by it until the person who swore the oath releases them.
This is both an advantage and a disadvantage. I can't force those I've subjugated to swear an oath, but I can identify who is Undeserving trustworthy, because it doesn't work on those who don't believe what they say. I'm planning to try this on Caygan and Harrick to see how it goes. The two brothers have been in Winterfell for almost two years, Ser Rodrik must have entrusted them to a good trainer, since they already possess the skills known as soldiers.
My final ritual is the " Purification Zone." As the name suggests, it purifies what's inside. I once tried it on a live rabbit, and it died because the purification killed all the creatures around it. I can't use it to detoxify, but I can use it to treat water and food, at least to purify bacteria or viruses, but it doesn't work on chemicals.