All trademarked items in this fanfiction is owned by their respective copyright holders (A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin, Aoki Hagane no Arpeggio by Ark Performance, etc). The ones owned by me are future OCs, plot, and author's thoughts. This fanfiction is made solely for entertainment purposes and not intended for any material gain.

An Arpeggio of Ice on Fire

Chapter 33

...

Ser Yahagi Kirino, The Swordheart

Born in the year 269 After Aegon's Conquest

Trained in the warrior arts under The Lady Admiral's Swordheart, Shouzou Chihaya, starting in the year 278 After Aegon's Conquest

Pronounced worthy of the titles and duties of a samurai by Shouzou Chihaya in the year 284 After Aegon's Conquest

Sworn to the service of Lady Yamato of the House Kirino in the year 287 After Aegon's Conquest

Sworn into the duty of The Lady Admiral's Swordheart in the year 288 After Aegon's Conquest

Participated in the rescue and homecoming of Ser Gerion Lannister in the year 293 After Aegon's Conquest

Arrived in Westeros and resided in Casterly Rock in the year 293 After Aegon's Conquest

Conducted seven duels with Ser Jaime Lannister in the year 294 After Aegon's Conquest, winning four bouts

Participated under disguise the tourney held to commemmorate Prince Tommen's nameday in the year 294 After Aegon's Conquest

Won the melee in said tournament, besting many others before defeating Ser Gregor Clegane in single combat, in the year 294 After Aegon's Conquest

Released from the service of Lady Yamato of the House Kirino in the year 294 After Aegon's Conquest

Knighted in the Westerosi tradition of chivalry by King Robert Baratheon, First of His Name, in the year 294 After Aegon's Conquest

Sworn into The Order of The Kingsguard by King Robert Baratheon, First of His Name, with full approval of the Lord-Commander Barristan Selmy, in the year 294 After Aegon's Conquest

...

"Good morning, Lord Commander," Yahagi said as she emerged from her quarters, as she found Barristan finishing up his writing on a large tome put on a pedestal.

"Good morning, Ser… Swordheart? Or would you prefer Yahagi?" Barristan Selmy replied.

"Yahagi is preferable, Lord-Commander," the woman knight said. "I am no longer The Lady Admiral's Swordheart... but I suspect it will stick for a while."

"I must admit your traditions and conventions are fascinating, to say the least," Barristan said, chuckling. "I trust the accommodations are set?"

"It is, Lord Commander," the woman knight said. "It is a little… simple."

"Such is the life of a Kingsguard," the commander said. "Is it so different compared to your former arrangement?"

"Not by much," Yahagi said.

"That is interesting to hear," Barristan said. "Oh, and I take it you have no squires at the moment? The White Tower allows up to four support personnel for each White-cloak, in any combination of squires and pages."

"The traditions of retainership between our culture is a little different, Lord Commander," Yahagi replied. "However, back in Casterly Rock I was assigned a squire… though as I recall he is a bit young to serve in a squire's capacity. His age is closer to a page's."

"The differences are quite apparent," Barristan said in an amused tone. "Have you decided on a proper squire then? I'm sure you have been approached by several prominent families already. Your induction in the feast following the tourney would be plenty an indication."

"That I have… I'm a little confused and my kinsmen can only offer little in the way of advices," Yahagi replied. "Lord Tyrion suggested taking the son of his uncle Kevan, Lancel. Lord Oberyn said he can arrange for one of his nephews, or even daughters if I so desired. Lord Tyrell offered his youngest son Loras."

"A Lord Paramount offering his child for squiring is quite a bold political move," the old knight remarked thoughtfully. "I heard Loras Tyrell takes after his uncles and older cousins... good knights all. A worthy choice ever surpassed by just a handful."

"I would depend on your counsel for this, Lord Commander," the lithe woman said. "Though I have seen… an even bolder move."

"Oh? Who could be bolder than Mace Tyrell, pray tell?" the old knight asked.

"A maid of the island of Tarth, I believe," Yahagi answered the question. "She is about ten-and-seven by my reckoning… thick bones and stout body, mannish even. It is beyond the norm, yet approach me she did. She said that she seeked to learn from me, and her father acknowledged the choice."

"Ah… I believe you are talking about Lord Selwyn Tarth's daughter Brienne. I have heard of her and her… misfortunes," Barristan said.

"Misfortunes?" Yahagi asked curiously.

"Yes. Her only brother died from drowning a few years ago, and before that her elder sisters died young too," the aged knight answered the question. "Her first intended died from disease, and recently she has been spurned by another of her intended."

"Such a great burden, yet her eyes is unclouded and her spirit unbowed…" the female knight said to no one in particular. "Such is a sign of great steel."

"Hmm," Barristan hummed in accord. "Well, I suppose putting this off for a little while will not be detrimental. After all, our duties for the day awaits, Ser Swordheart."

"You are right, Lord Commander," Yahagi said.

…

"Lord Tywin Lannister," Yamato greeted the Westerlands' Lord Paramount as she entered the room. A long bundle was partially obscured by the way she carried it. "Good day."

"Lady Kirino," the Lannister lord-paramount replied, looking up from a piece of parchment he has been writing. "Good morrow to you too. Have a seat for a while."

"I hear you will peruse the services of one of us in returning to the Westerlands?" Yamato asked after a few moments of silence and lord hard at work.

"I and some of the main entourage, true... we have an Ironborn problem to address, not to mention Tyrion's wedding. The others would escort Gerion in a… victory tour of the Westerlands," Tywin said as he finished the letter he has been writing. "Are you staying in King's Landing, then?"

"Yes. I have met with the… middle-man Tyrion recommended and would be looking at a few possible locations for our store while negotiating guild permits and the like. I'll be on the wedding though, so don't start without me," Yamato answered the question. "Although... we have heard of your desire of owning a Valyrian steel blade, my lord."

"Is that so," Tywin said, unruffled as he sealed the letter with gold-flecked red wax. "A well-known fact, though after you returned Brightroar to me it has lessened."

"Then today is the day your dream is fulfilled, for I came to give this to you," Yamato said, putting the cloth-covered object on the desk. "Consider it perhaps… a very late nameday gift."

"This is…" Tywin said, quickly unwrapping the bundle with zeal befitting of a man half his age.

"I'm afraid it is a little shorter than Brightroar was," Yamato quipped as Tywin unsheathed the bastard sword from its scabbard. The blade was a very dark grey interspersed with veins of lighter shades of steel. It was longer than a longsword, but not quite the length of a greatsword like Brightroar was. The base was three and a half fingers wide, and the crossguard was a mix of the Nihon and Westerosi style. The hilt is bound by red strings and yellow-dyed sharkskin, in a style he recognized from Lionfang.

"This blade… does it have a name?" Tywin said, his eyes drinking the sight of the valyrian steel bastard sword in his hands.

"If you look at the base of the blade it has a pair of Old Nihon letters carved in gold," Yamato said. "It is read Hokori, and that word means 'pride'. A proud sword of a proud house."

"I see… then Pride it shall be called," Tywin said, his voice tinged with emotion as his eyes lingered on said letter. "So many years had passed… so many insignificant minor houses snubbing my efforts to gain a worthy sword. Where did you obtain this?"

"We lived in Valyria, my Lord. Rare as it is that we come to its shores, we did come across half-melted dragonsteel items from time to time," Yamato said. "Then we heard of the expertise of one Tobho Mott, and decided for this."

"I see…" Tywin said after a sigh. "I know that this sword is not a gift given lightly, my lady. What is the price for this blade?"

"Its price is friendship," Yamato replied to the question. "My only wish for it is for the Lion to never forget the friendship with the Fog across the sea."

"Fog?" Tywin asked, curious of the emphasis.

"Yes," Yamato answered. "If written in that same ancient script of Nihon, the letters that spelled 'Kirino' translates into 'of The Fog' to Common Westerosi."

"As with your price after returning Gerion and Brightroar, you ask a price both great and small. Yet, in consideration of what your house has done to mine so far... consider it done," Tywin said, re-sheathing the sword with a resounding sound. "The Lion and The Fog… I like the way it sounds."

"There is another matter I wish to address, however," the woman said. "About House Clegane in the wake of the death of the partriarch. I feel that House Kirino should offer some sort of reparation, as Ser Gregor's death was directly caused by Ser Yahagi's actions."

"Gregor was… a solution ever in search of problems," Tywin sighed. "His sudden passing is unfortunate, but I am not much influenced by it."

"Aside of a proposal that I will elaborate further in a minute, we are also prepared to offer kinship," Yamato offered. "One of my cousins could be betrothed to Sandor Clegane, as he would inevitably has to return to administer his territory and sire progeny to advance his line."

"A greater reparation than what is deserved, but a fitting one," Tywin said. "As House Clegane's direct liege-lord, such a betrothal would be within my right to put forward… especially since Sandor does not have elders who would arrange it for him."

"In fact, Sandor confessed of wanting to ask for Ser Swordheart's hand in marriage before our king dashed that idea to the rocks," Yamato said, giggling towards the end of the sentence.

"You seem to have an alternative ready," Tywin replied, his tone amused.

"Ser Yahagi's youngest sister Hatsushimo is a little young, but will reach full majority in a year or two," Yamato said. "Perhaps a betrothal now, and two years of apprenticeship to a lord you trust so she is prepared to be running the land in Sandor's stead."

"...Where did you find out that Sandor is little inclined to affairs of ruling?" Tywin asked.

"Yahagi has great observation powers. She is also the one who floated the idea to me," Yamato replied. "The two had been talking in the aftermath of Gregor's downfall."

"I see. If the poor performance of Gregor's lands is to be a yardstick, Sandor could only improve with help from your house," Tywin said before nodding. "I understand Ser Swordheart has an older sister… why not her instead?"

"Owari is my Swordheart now, and Kasumi by now is so close to finishing her training to be a fully recognized samurai," Yamato replied, her tone a little sad. "Surely you shall not begrudge me that, my Lord of Lannister?"

"No, I shall not," Tywin answered the question. "Yet how about the young lady's education?"

"So far Hatsushimo had been given a similar training to her three elders, but she thus far is more inclined towards the art of war on a grander scale... stratagems, logistics, and the like," Yamato explained. "She should take to statecraft and administration like a duckling to water."

"We will see. I will be very exacting," Tywin replied. "Now about the other proposal?"

"Yes… we intend to use Clegane's lands as a pilot project for cultivation of special crops," Yamato started her explanation. "Crops we will eventually need for our venture here in the capital…"

…

"A raven has came from Winterfell, my Lord Hand," Hugh said, presenting a thick letter to Jon Arryn. "The maester said it has been marked for priority."

"That is a mite odd," The old lord said, breaking the pristine gray wax stamped with the dire wolf sigil. Jon then noticed that the message contained two set of papers, one with remnants of white wax seal on the joint of its folds. "Is there any more letter with this? Perhaps from Lady Stark to my wife?"

"None, Lord Arryn," Hugh answered the question.

"I see. You may return to your post," Jon said, before beginning to read the letter.

A few long minutes would pass as the old lord pored over the document, reading it back and forth to discern the purpose that the letter might serve. Ned is no southron man, Jon thought. There's not a bone in his body that is colored with fanciful imagination. There are easier ways to garner Southern attention than to conjure tales of a castle besieged by wights, grumkins, and snarks… and as a man in the farthest frontier of the civilized world, Jeor Mormont would have to be even more practical than Eddard Stark. What in damnation is happening out there…?

"Lord Arryn," the door-guard said, breaking the man's thought. "Lord-Commander Selmy is here, with that… new woman."

"I… see. Let them in," Jon replied as he rose from his seat, and moved to pour himself a glass of mint-water.

"Good morrow, Lord Hand," Barristan greeted Jon. "We attend to your summons."

"The man… or should I say, woman of the hour," Jon said after a sip of water.

"Yahagi of the House Kirino at your service, my Lord Hand," Yahagi said, bowing deeply.

"The first woman knight in the whole history of The Seven Kingdoms, and the first female Kingsguard on top of that," Jon continued, putting his finished glass on the table. "The first in three centuries, of which not even warrior-queen Visenya can parallel. That is a feat worth songs, Ser Kirino, yet allow me some… doubts given that I am well-acquainted of the habits of our king. Ser Selmy, why have you accepted her?"

"Because in her core she is a great warrior worthy of being a Kingsguard, my Lord Hand," Barristan replied without a pause to think. "Surely you know of the Vigil of The White Cloak?"

"I am familiar," Jon replied. He had witnessed a few of it, being the main acceptance ritual of a Kingsguard.

"Sers Greenfield and Trant conspired to either maim or injure Ser Kirino. They used sharp weapons in the Trial of The Wolf," Barristan continued his explanation. "The third assigned assaulter, Ser Moore, did not know of this conspiracy and was too late to act against it. Not only Ser Kirino escaped without a scratch, she also broke their weapons with her bare hand."

"By The Seven," Jon said, his voice tinted by a deep surprise. "And would this trespass go unpunished, Lord-commander Selmy?"

"They are being sentenced to full-shift daily rampart patrol for a moonturn," Barristan replied to the question. "In full armor and battle gear."

"I see," Jon sighed. "The kingdom deep in debt, The Wall besieged, and now infighting within the Whitecloaks. We are too old for this pit, Ser Barristan."

"Aye… but pardon me my Lord Hand, but what is this about The Wall besieged?" Barristan asked, surprised by the word. "Who in their right sane mind would besiege a seven hundred feet tall wall of ice that stretched for hundreds of miles?"

"Ah… well, that was a slip I did not intend," Jon said, a chuckle tinting his sage voice. "But that is what Ned Stark, and by extension Lord-Commander Jeor Mormont, wrote to me. Here, have a read for yourself."

"Would it not be prudent for the kingdom to send agents there, assessing the situation?" Yahagi cut in with a question.

"If the kingdom reacts to every single rumors like this Ser Kirino, we will be stretched thinner than a silk thread," Jon answered. "The journey alone can take a moonturn on a good season, and as far as I know that good season will soon pass."

"Lord Stark is famous for his steadfast morals, my Lord Hand," Barristan offered his opinion as he finished reading Jeor's letter. "For him to write to you like this, it must not have been a trivial matter to him."

"I was his foster-guardian Ser Selmy, you need not remind me," Jon replied, his tone a half-hearted snap.

"If travel time is the obstacle hampering us, then let my house help the kingdom in this undertaking, my Lord Hand," Yahagi offered. "Ser Lannister can attest of our week-long sail from Casterly Rock to King's Landing… and if my read of the maps provided for our journeys here, our ships can manage half that to... Eastwatch was it? The eastward port servicing The Wall."

"Be as it may, Ser Kirino," Jon replied, his tone wary. "Who can we trust to report about this matter in a truthful manner?"

"I… concede that point, my lord," Yahagi answered the question.

"Perhaps Ser Oakheart might be spared for the task if the journey can indeed be shortened by that much. There and back again within a moonturn would be very fast," Barristan said. "Then a few more nobles and knights, for additional veracity."

"Well, if this matter can be resolved, the kingdom shall be short one problem and I shall take any advantage we can get," Jon said, his hand clasped to each other. "Shall I delegate this matter to the Kingsguard then, good sers? Find the truth and report it to me as swift as you can as I brief our king about this and try to prevent him from demanding to go along. Take the letter from Jeor Mormont as a proof. You may request relevant funds from the Office of Coins, but try and keep the expenditures reasonable."

"It shall be done, my Lord Hand," Barristan said as he accepted the folded letter. "By your leave."

Jon sighed as the knights departed his office, carrying with them the letter from Jeor Mormont. He gazed forlornly to his sea-facing window, massaging his eyes before his gaze strayed to a thick book on a side-table half buried in folders of report and stray sheets of miscellany. The spine showed a long title, visible from the distance between the lord's chair and it if one would squint hard enough.

The Lineages and Histories of The Great Houses of The Seven Kingdoms

A/N:

Well, that's all for this part of the journey folks. I predict the next part of the saga to roll out at either Christmas or New Year, allowing for me to gather enough writing lead. Thank you, all of you who followed this journey, for your support for the past two years and three-fourths.