Chapter 112: Packing the Stark Family

At the corner of the Dragonpit in King's Landing, next to the former small building of the magic school, a two-story house had been built for living purposes. On the training grounds, Ashara Dayne had grown into a tall, proud young woman. Dressed in armor, with two swords leaning against the wall, she sat at a table, drinking water with a young boy named Jojen Reed. Jojen's face still showed the signs of youth, with two bruised and swollen eyes. He held his cup and grinned at the person lying on the training field.

Jon Snow was lying in the middle of the field, his longsword beside him, his face bruised and blood pouring from his nose. His armor was covered with a layer of ice, and he lay motionless, panting heavily. Slowly, Jon's body began to fade from the training ground. Jojen Reed, noticing, shouted to Ashara, "Be careful, Jon Snow used an illusion!"

Jon Snow's figure suddenly reappeared in front of Ashara, swinging his sword down at her. Ashara stretched out a finger from the hand that was holding the cup and pointed it at Jon. A small current of electricity crackled from her fingertip, jumping to Jon's body.

"Ah\~\~ Ugh\~\~" Jon Snow was jolted by the electric shock, jumping up and convulsing before collapsing to the ground.

Jojen Reed, still smaller than Jon's chest, crouched down and held the cup to Jon's lips. "Drink some water."

The sound of hooves approaching from outside the school walls caught their attention.

"It's Master Renly returning. I'll go take a look," Jojen said, running off with the water cup in hand. Jon smiled wryly, watching his retreating figure.

Six people walked through the door. Renly Baratheon and Eddard Stark were at the front, talking as they entered. Behind them were Robb Stark and a girl, along with the knight Ser Loras Tyrell, wearing elaborate white armor decorated with flowers, and a young man, Ser Robar Royce, clad in reddish-brown armor. Both were Renly's personal bodyguards.

Loras had been formally titled "The Knight of Flowers" by Renly, and though he was the third son of his family, he had little to do at home and had remained by Renly's side as the captain of his guard. Robar Royce, a year older than Renly, hailed from House Royce in the Vale. His family had once ruled as the "Bronze Kings" before the Vale was unified, with many expensive pieces of bronze armor in their possession.

During the Dance of the Dragons, a female member of the Royce family, Rhea Royce, had married Prince Daemon Targaryen, only to be murdered by him. The Vale was nearly taken by Daemon, and the family's Valyrian steel sword, Lamentation, was lost in the conflict, never to be seen again for over a hundred years.

Robar was the second son of his family, and after his coming-of-age ceremony, he had joined his father, Yohn Royce, and his older brother in King's Landing to participate in jousting tournaments. When his father sought a position for him, the King's Guard was already full, and so he was introduced to Renly, who had gained prominence. Renly, preferring not to handle the matter of recruitment directly, had Loras test Robert's combat skills. Though Loras defeated him, he still acknowledged Robar's abilities. Seeing Robar's noble lineage, good looks, and potential, Renly had made him one of his bodyguards.

On the training field, Ashara, Robb, Jon, Jojen, and the girl lined up. They had all learned from Wright and studied the techniques he had personally tailored for them, but it was Renly who had been teaching them hands-on these last few years, earning their respect.

Renly said, "Sansa Stark will become my first magical disciple."

Eddard nodded at the children, noting that they had grown so much in the two years he'd been away. Sansa, like her mother, had thick auburn hair and clear blue eyes, rather than Robb's black hair. She was almost as tall as Robb now and was delighted to see her brothers and sister.

Everyone was shocked. The Stark family being packed up!

Renly sighed. Wright had told him long ago that he should start taking on disciples. But with Renly being so busy handling his lands and business matters, by the time everything had settled, only Sansa was left. Renly wrote a letter to Eddard Stark, and after discussing it with his wife, Eddard agreed to Renly's invitation. Finding individuals with magical potential was rare, and it was difficult to even recruit disciples, so Renly had to ask for help.

The number of people who arrived at the doorstep was not small, but none of them had magical aptitude, which made Renly Baratheon quite frustrated.

Renly said, "Lord Eddard, Sansa and Jojen, you three go over to the side of the training grounds. Loras, you and Robb, stay and protect them."

Loras guided the three to the side, and Robb picked up two shields from the weapon rack, handing one to Loras. The two set up shields to protect the three. Sansa, seeing this setup, looked puzzled. "Are they going to fight?"

Jojen Reed nodded and replied, "I'am mainly worried about your brother and sister. Their aim isn't very good."

Renly, who usually had a pleasant expression, was a formidable fighter. On his own, he could make his way through a street in King's Landing. Loras and Robar, known as his personal guards, mostly carried out ceremonial duties.

Renly spoke, "Ashara, Robb, Jon. You've all completed the training plan that Wright gave you. I'll assign you a task as a graduation test. Once you finish it, you'll be officially registered as magicians in the kingdom. Before the graduation test, I need to assess your abilities."

After speaking, Renly cast a healing spell on Jon.

"Understood, Master," the three replied, having been informed of this yesterday and bowing to Renly.

"Ha!" Before Robb and Jon could rise, Ashara already drew both her swords and rushed at Renly.

Sansa, seeing Ashara's unsporting behavior, asked Loras, "How can she do this? Shouldn't she wait for Renly to respond?"

Loras gave a helpless smile. "She's the senior student at the magic school. Once she considers someone an enemy, it's a fight to the death. No need for sportsmanship against the dead. Magic users should greet each other with fireballs. She says that's what Wright taught her."

Facing three opponents, all fully armored and armed, Renly only wore his noble robes, seemingly at a disadvantage. However, Renly was a Five-School magician.

A purple glow flashed in Renly's hand, and a translucent purple longsword formed from magic appeared. After blocking Ashara's strike, he cast an Ironflesh spell on himself.

Ashara, failing with her attack, performed an intricate sword dance. Both her swords and body began to shimmer with electricity as she attacked again, abandoning defense for full offense. Her dual blades collided with Renly's magical sword in quick succession.

Robb, securing his wolf-head necklace beneath his armor, cast a spell with his left hand. Yellow light enveloped him as a thin magical shield appeared around his body. He drew a large two-handed sword from his back and charged at Renly.

Jon sprinted toward Renly, his speed surpassing Robb's, leaving several purple afterimages in his wake. These were new magic techniques developed by Wright. With limited magical power, they had chosen a path that combined magic and sword combat, making them more akin to magic swordsmen than pure magicians.

The male members of the Baratheon family, known for their towering stature, were all well over six feet tall, and Renly was no exception, standing nearly six and a half feet. Aside from magic, Wright had trained Renly in combat during his childhood, and after Wright's departure, Renly took on the task of training magic apprentices, dedicating himself to the craft so as not to lose face.

Facing three opponents, Renly was at ease, and the intensity of the battle gradually escalated. At the school, Qyburn and Leaf were both watching from the windows.

"The Fire Elemental! Now it's three against two!" Qyburn exclaimed in surprise.

"Why are you surprised? Don't you know how to do it too?" Leaf, who was not an apprentice but an exchange teacher at the magic school, often collaborated with Renly, Qyburn, Thoros, and Malora Hightower on magical research, compiling and writing magical tomes.

"Every time the Fire Elemental appears, I'm amazed. How can something so exquisitely crafted exist?" Since his magical power had slightly revived, Qyburn's Conjuration skills had also improved. After Conjuring a Fire Elemental, he had temporarily given up his studies on the undead and become fascinated with these elemental creatures.

"Boom!" A fireball exploded near the window. Leaf quickly raised a magical shield to block the scattered flames.

Qyburn commented, "Ashara's gone mad again!"

Ashara had a cut on her face from Renly's attack. Robb had stepped forward to block for Renly and buy him some time. After healing herself, her wound healed, but her face was covered in blood. Rather than showing fear, she became more excited.

Ashara's body crackled with electricity as flames ignited around her. At about five foot seven, she was shorter than Renly, so she often leaped into the air to attack his head.

"Ah\~\~! Ha\~\~!" Accompanied by Ashara's shouts, her dual blades continued their relentless dance, occasionally flinging fireballs, lightning, and ice shards at Renly. However, sometimes she missed and had no idea where her attacks landed.

Renly had often told her that this was a waste of magical energy, and Ashara had acknowledged it but kept forgetting whenever the battle got heated.

"Clang!" A shard of ice pierced through Loras's shield.

"Robb, we should fall back!" The two of them raised their shields, retreating with Eddard and the two children. Although they knew Renly could heal them as long as they didn't die on the spot, being pierced, burned, or electrocuted still hurt.

Various spells flashed across the training grounds, and Ashara suddenly abandoned her attack on Renly and turned toward Robb.

Ashara was incredibly fast. Before Robb could react, she struck him across the neck.

"Bang\~" The magic protecting Robb shattered, and Ashara was thrown back, though Robb was unharmed.

"She's under an illusion! Jon!" Robb saw the purple light in Ashara's eyes and immediately realized what had happened. The three of them each had their own strengths, but they were all well-versed in magical theory and Jon specialized in illusions.

Jon left an afterimage in place, and an ice shard pierced through the illusion's chest.

Jon rushed to Ashara's side and, with a flash of purple light, dispelled the illusion on her.

"Stop holding back your magic. All of you, attack together!" Robb, panting, shouted.

"Ah!" Ashara was the first to shout as she charged at Renly once more.

Robb followed closely, and as Renly knocked Ashara away, he raised his left hand and used all his remaining magical energy.

"Ha!" With a roar, cold ice energy erupted from his body, forming a blue ice circle that rapidly expanded over several meters before exploding apart.

The training grounds and weapons racks were coated in a layer of white frost, and both Ashara and Renly's bodies were encased in ice crystals.

Given their current strength, Robb barely managed to use this ability, and he was already exhausted, half-kneeling as he called out, "Jon!"

Jon's sword pierced Renly's frozen body, and one by one, the purple afterimages behind him faded away.