8 News from the West!

"You're back?" Ser Wendal asked.

"Yes, Ser Wendel, I'm back. But not as you are thinking. I'll take off once more after my dealings here in this city are done." Damian replied. But before Sir Wendel could ask anything more to what he meant by that, Lord Wyman Manderly's arrival was heralded by the guard.

"Please be seated, I've some important matter to convey and discuss," said Lord Wyman as soon as he entered through the side.

As Lord Wyman was taking his seat on the raised dias, Sir Wendel turned to Damian and said in a low voice, "Perhaps, you shouldn't have come so soon, Damian. Anyway, it will still be up to you if you want to participate or stay out of it."

"Stay out of what, Sir Wendel?" Damina asked a little confused, though he had some foreboding he wasn't sure if his guess was right or not. After all, he didn't know the exact time and date of that event but Sir Wendel vanished all his confusion.

"War," Sir Wendel said in a serious tone. With that, he told Damian to follow him to sit as Lord Wyman would explain everything.

"I've got a missive from Lord Stark this morning. It was an order to call all my banners and march towards Moat Cailin as soon as possible. We are going to war."

"War with whom, my Lord?" asked one of the knights from the seated nobles in the Merman Court.

"The Greyjoys have rebelled against the throne. As I'm made aware, they burnt Lannisport and torched the Lannister fleet a couple of days ago. Now they are raiding and raping the south and besieging Seagard as we speak. The King is making his way to Westerland with an army and Lord Stark has decided to answer his call." Lord Wyman answered though he paused a little when his eyes fell on Damian, not expecting to see him here.

The minor nobles and the knights seated in the hall immediately started talking amongst themselves after digesting the information. Some cursed the Ironborn, some talked about the sanity of Balon for rebelling and some also talked about the burning of the Lanisters Fleet and how it would affect the realm. In the end, all of them agreed to answer the call of their liege.

"I've sent a letter to Lords sworn to me, asking them to arrive here by tomorrow sundown with their men. By the day after tomorrow, we will march to Moat Cailin and wait there for Lord Stak to arrive as well as the other Lords of the north." Lord Wyman said. They discussed how many men they could gather by tomorrow and what will be logistics requirements and how will they do that on such short notice. Notable Lords like Sir Marlon Manderly, Sir Bartimus and his own sons Sir Wylis and Sir Wendel were given the responsibility of overseeing the recruitment of the levies and arranging the supplies that they would need for their journey.

Soon after that was a does, Lord Wyman ended the meeting. While the other lesser Lords and Knight walked out of the court, Damian and Jory stayed behind.

"Damian, what are you doing here?" Lord Wyman asked with a calm face. Damian could not decipher his emotion at all if he was angry with him or happy to see him come back.

Damian knew he was going to get a scolding from Lord Wyman for sure but when he didn't know.

He then went on to explain why he had come to White Harbour and what he meant to do after that. But now his plan had also changed. Since the Greyjoy Rebellion has started, Damian cannot afford to sit this one out as that would ruin his reputation in the Seven Kingdoms which would also affect his trading venture.

"You arrived here on three Cog vessels? You know how dangerous crossing the narrow sea with just a cog is right?" Lord Wyman said in surprise.

"Yes, I know. But it was a calculated risk on my part, plus I had an escort of a small merchant fleet that was headed south." Damian lied through his teeth.

"Hm, then it's fine," Lord Wyman said before continuing, "I'm not against you for going after dream but you shouldn't have made such a hasty move. At the least, you should have first spoken to your brother. I believe he would have accepted your decision and maybe help you financially. He already meant to give you the Moat Cailin seat. I was also thinking of holding a Tourney for you so Wylis, my son could knight you."

"Well, honestly I was scared he would arrange a marriage for me and I didn't want that. I understand now how stupid I was at that time." Damian replied sheepishly. Indeed, that was one of the reasons, Damian had not wanted to stay in the North. As for missing out on the knighthood, he wasn't regretful about it. He was of the North and a member of House Stark. He prayed to the Old Gods, not the Seven who was one so it didn't matter if he was knighted or not.

Lord Wyman boomed into laughter after hearing his reason. Jory who was standing by his side also couldn't help but snort with laughter.

"Well, again, you should have talked with your brother or at least relayed your fears to me so I could help. Anyway, what d you want to do now."

"I wish to take part in the war, my Lord. I have a duty to fulfil and escaping from this was never an option."

"Very good. Indeed there is no way you should escape from this. Eventually, you would be given Moat Cailin and its adjacent land to rule. Without gaining enough merit, some would question your brother's decision of handing you such an important castle to you. It would not look good on him. You made the right decision." Lord Wyman seemed happy with Damian's decision.

"So how about you tell me what you brought from Bravos." Lord Wyman asked in curiosity.

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