Chapter 9: IX: Summerhall

IX: Summerhall

They were welcomed at Summerhall by the household gathered in the inner courtyard. The steward and the castellan were grateful that their lord had arrived and would not shoulder any longer all the responsibilities of this seat. The maester however was quick to complain.

His first one was about the Braavosi healers that Aerys had taken in his employ, arguing that their duties overreached into his own, and the health of his family should solely be in the maester's care.

Aerys wanted to smack him for his less than humble opinion of his own self, but resisted the urge, and the smackdown remained verbal:

"Maester Glaive, it is not my duty to keep a maester. You Citadel types like to call it a privilege, I believe, one for which I paid quite the hefty sum. Now, I am sure that the Citadel sent me the best they had, but a maester is one who specializes in all domains of knowledge. I would prefer for a healer to take care of my own family's health to be one who has dedicated his entire life and attention to the pursuit of medicine, not enough to earn himself three links."

"And while you seem to believe you hold the most advanced knowledge in the world, that is not wholly truth. I trust these healers' methods and knowledge, and you will not gainsay me. Keep to the ravenry and other duties you might have, and when I'm in need of your counsel, I will ask for it."

"There's perhaps two hundred books I've acquired in Essos. See that they find their place in the Ivory Tower, but know that the library shall be under the custody of Septon Allard as its librarian, and if you find some works that are not in the possession of the Citadel, you can only have them copied with my express approval."

He then gave instructions to others of his household - to the master-at-arms to deposit the thousand crossbows in the armoury, for his hunting trophies from the Forest of Qohor to be displayed in the great hall, to have their dinner and chambers readied.

Though before they entered the castle, Aerys had one more thing to do. He took Aelinor to the castle's gardens, where during their absence, gardeners had planted and cared for the widest variety of flowers, trees and plants that could survive the Stormlander climate. For those which could not…

"You built me a glass garden?" yelled Aelinor in excitement.

The glass garden, with all the glass needed for it, had cost Summerhall's coffers heavily, though seeing the look on his wife's face, Aerys knew it was worth every dragon, star and copper penny. It was comparable in size with that of Winterfell, perhaps even greater, though unlike that of the Starks, it had quite the different purpose. While the grim Starks had used it to grow produce in winter, Aelinor's Glass Garden was to house a wide variety of exotic plants that could not survive otherwise.

"It is a bit bare for now, but I have sent to Winterfell to see if I could acquire a few bushes of winter roses, which would hopefully survive the journey south. If you need any coin for further acquisitions, just ask for it from the treasurer and you shall receive it."

Summerhall, built half from his father's vision, and half from his own, could be considered more a palace than a castle. It was fortified enough to survive a siege, though Aerys would have preferred heavier fortifications.

Aerys' own interventions during the building ensured that the castle-palace was built in the style which in his world was called Gothic, with pointed arches, and flying buttresses, though not entirely so, for there were many porticos and loggias, trilobed arches, and columns. The walls were decorated with interlace and vegetal spirals, but also with the dragons of his house. The Ivory Tower itself was built not of ivory, but of marble from Tarth, and was to serve as library and study - earning its name. The wooden doors and the furniture were each intricately carved, of Qohori make, and many of the floors had intricate mosaics in the Volantene style. The walls were full of tapestries from Norvos and Myr, and the rugs were Myrish too.

The doors of his great hall were flanked by the two Valyrian sphinxes, and its walls covered with the great tapestry from Norvos, while hunting trophies hung overhead. Behind the lord's table was the skeleton of the dragon Morning, which had come in the custody of Rhaena's daughter, after the dragon's death, and from then to her daughter, Aelinor, his wife.

Once Aelinor got tired of her garden for the day, they entered at last their home. Several of the landed knights sworn to Summerhall had arrived to greet their liege and pay homage, so they did not feast alone that night. It was there he announced his plans for a tourney to find worthy knights for his household.

He told the maesters to invite his neighbours, and some of the lords of the Stormlands and the Reach. He specifically left out the Peakes though, and when the maesters reminded him of them, he refused to invite them: "For I have no wish to host Gormon Peake in my home, nor do I wish to meet his imbecile-looking sons."

Stands for the tourney had been erected outside Summerhall's walls, outside of, but close to the small town that had sprung since the castle had been built. Many pavilions were erected near the field. While the lords and great knights that had come had been given lodging in Summerhall, they still kept a pavilion near the tourney field, so challengers would know to find them during the day, and where they could negotiate ransoms and such.

The many pavilions showed each knight's prestige - from hedge knights with small tents made of sailcloth or linen to grand ones made of silk. Many banners fluttered in the fields in countless colours and shades - one could see the purple lightning of the Durandons, the white fawns of the Cafferens, the nightingales of House Caron, the wheat stalks of the Selmys and the swans of the lords of Stonehelm, with the quills of Penrose next to it, as one could see the white sun of Ashford and the flowers of the Meadows on their green banner. There were scores of other banners, of lesser knights and hedge knights. No Dornish were present, for Aerys had invited none.

There was a dearth of bards, minstrels and singers, for some reason that Aerys could obviously not fathom.

His wife was designated queen of love and beauty, and her grandfather, old Erich, Lord Pearse Caron and Ser Willem Wylde acted as her champions to defend her honor. That and to whittle away at lesser skilled knights, so Aerys could have worthy ones to choose for his household.

Jousting was not the only event of the tourney, for there were two melees organised, one for the highborn and the knights, and one for squires and men-at-arms, some who would be offered a place in his garrison or household guard at the end of the day.

There was also an archery contest, though with Brynden present, the famed archers of the Marches would have to compete for second place, for Aerys doubted any were equal to, or surpassed his uncle in skill. Aerys had obtained his father's permission to use some of the old dragon bones, gathering dust in Dragonstone's vaults, to fashion two hundred dragonbone bows, and he intended for Brynden to train for him two hundred archers.

Outside the tourney grounds, the land was bustling with merchants, some smiths and horse traders, come to peddle their wares to any knight in need of armour or a sword, or of a mount. But they were not all, for Aerys had used the tourney to hold at the same time the first of what would be many fairs of Summerhall.

The fair was attended by many Dornish merchants that had come over the Boneway, when Dornish knights had not. It was to last around two weeks and served to provide all the goods of Dornish origin - from sand steeds to lemons, pomegranates and blood oranges, from spices to cotton cloth, from Dornish Red to olive oil - and from all of which Aerys took his share in taxes. Warehouses had been erected where every trader could deposit his ware, in exchange for a fee, of course. He had some of the men already in his employ serve as guards for the fair - hearing complaints, enforcing contracts, and ensuring the fairness of the weights and measures.

In the end many shields were riven, many lances smashed and many helmets dashed, but Aelinor's champions held strong, and none of the competitors could fell them from their horses, though many tried. Closest of all came a hedge knight with a winged chalice, silver on brown, on his shield, who went by the name of Arlan, who broke five lances against the white cloak.

Though the heralds, hired on short notice, sometimes confused the heraldry of the lesser known knights and argued amidst themselves - accusing each other of being taught their banners by the demons of the Seven Hells, calling their rivals lepers, sneering snakes and manifold insults, and other such incidents that enlivened the days.

Though such displays were not their only work. Arlan of Pennytree, the closest of the knight to unseat one of the champions, had been hailed by them and given great acclaim, merited or not: "He's a born tourneyer! He's the finest of knights! He's charming and handsome and brave and bright!"

They stopped though, when they realised he was only a hedge knight, and his purse held no means for him to offer them his gratitude.

The melee of the highborn was fought between two teams, those of Pearse Caron, who was younger and more impulsive, and that of the old and wily Erich Penrose, whose age had not dulled his valour in arms. It was the wisdom of old age that prevailed over the impetuosity of youth in the end. 

Men fell upon the ground under blows of weapons, or under the heavy, clad in mail fist of a particularly strong knight, yet sprang to their feet again and again, eager to prove their valour. But it was Penrose and Caron, last of their teams, that still stood in the end, crossing and clashing swords with ferocity until old Erich had sent the Young Nightingale to the ground by headbutting them and then, with a swiftness that was not of expected of his old age, had put his foot on the fallen knight's chest, his blade to the man's neck and bade him surrender.

From the joust of the men-at-arms, Aerys had feasted all that could stand upon their feet when the battle was done, and then had taken into his service all that could stand upon their feet the next morning, after the drinking was done. Lord Dondarrion had laughed when he heard of it, and has crassly suggested that he should have given them coin for whoring, and should hire only the ones who could stand on their feet after one such night.

In the last night of the tourney, at the feast, Aerys rose and toasted to his wife with great happiness: "To my wife, the lady Aelinor, who has just announced me that the gods have decided to bless our marriage and make it fruitful, and who now carries in her womb a future son or daughter of the House of the Dragon."

After many days of fighting and revels, the tourney was over, and Aerys had earned some goodwill from his neighbours and had gathered scores of knights and hundreds of men-at-arms into his service. Ser Arlan was appointed master-at-arms of Summerhall, an honour for which he had thanked Aerys most profoundly.

The men were then trained to the best of standards, the archers trained to Brynden's exacting standards. He rode often with a guard around his lands, visiting the keeps of the knights sworn to him, and hearing the smallfolk's pleas and complaints, sometimes in the hall of a stronghold, sometimes in the square of a village, sometimes in a field, sitting under the shadow of an oak tree.

Most of the time he spent at Summerhall, overseeing from there the ruling of his lands, and dedicating himself to his scholarly pursuits and to ensuring that Aelinor would not be inconvenienced in the least during her pregnancy.