Soon, all the horses stood ready at the starting line. A marshal used two blocks of hardwood and clapped them together, creating a loud, clapping sound, marking the beginning of the race.
The dust flew in the air and the horses vanished at speed. At the starting line, there was no crowd since the finish line was inside the tourney grounds where the watchers waited for the winner to appear.
Woosh!
"Ha! Keep it up, boy!"
Wylis slowly tampered with every opponent who was in front of him. If one horseshoe came off, the slight disbalance would hamper the speed. That was the goal. But he couldn't do that to all of them. So, he created small cavities on the ground itself.
But it was still a race of speed and he had to catch up with those ahead to stop them. That still took all the skill Wylis possessed from the purchase. Thankfully, Caliburn was a good boy and maintained the speed.
From the sixth position, Wylis neared the third. Then after a lot of trouble, he reached second. Sadly, reaching 1st felt impossible as the distance between him and the first was too great.
Wait! I can make the road flatter for Caliburn to run better!
So, he did just that. It took a lot of precision and focus, so he focused on using earthbending, and the horse ran by itself. Instead of flattening the entire road, he only flattened where the hooves fell.
The speed slowly increased and the man at the first spot came into view. It was a Kingsguard of all men.
You're fast. Wylis admired the man.
But that was it. He once again messed with the road and made the Kingsguard fall behind him. But he maintained that distance, keeping the race close and exciting.
"Ha! Just a little!"
At last, the finish line came into view. Wylis gave his all to push his horse. The men in second and third position tried to get ahead of him but always fell behind by mere feet.
And finally…
WOOSH!
Wylis crossed the finish line with a close but clear victory. Unlike the other events, he didn't feel as excited this time. Right then and there he swore to never use earthbending in competitions again. It took away the joy.
"Once again! Wylis of Winterfell has won!"
Forty-thousand gold dragons? I'm rich!
Considering that a smallfolk family of four needed only two to three gold dragons a year to live in modest comfort, Wylis was indeed, truly rich. Likely the richest man in his entire bloodline. It was exciting, but for Wylis, a multi-billionaire in his past life, he didn't consider a mere forty thousand enough. If it were four million? He would.
And in truth, that was the goal. The money he won in the tourney was going to be his seed money for his future endeavors. Just being a lord with large land wasn't enough. He needed industries to build wealth. And considering he planned on having countless trueborn and bastards, he needed a shitload of money to sustain that.
That night, Wylis didn't go to his room. He had enough of Ashara's teasing and chose to just drink with Robert, Brandon, and a few other big-bellied northern lords. He rarely drank, but that night he wanted to.
They mocked each other, arm-wrestled, japed, sang, and drank until they had to use the nearby buckets to piss. There were no whores, just lads.
Lyanna was there too, initially, seated beside him. She whispered how she was bored and wished they could have some heated exchange. But she feared getting caught more than him. Besides, she was also busy. Only Wylis knew that she planned on taking part in the joust secretly. No, she hadn't told him.
Meanwhile, he'd received Ashara's gaze from the King's table. He ignored it after some time and soon, all the women left the feast hall.
"Wylis, I can't imagine how big your lads are going to be. I say, find a tall woman and put a babe in her. Mormonts got plenty of tall women." A man from House Manderly boomed.
"Aye, I wouldn't refuse, Wylis," said Jeor Mormont. "My son could use a fine warrior like you at his side to rule Bear Island."
That instantly soured the mood of some men, including Brandon.
"You're still thinking of joining the Night's Watch?"
"Aye…"
Listening to them, Wylis drifted into his drunken deep thoughts. The Night's Watch, the White Walkers. He honestly didn't give a fuck about them. By then he'd probably be in his forties. He just wanted to live rich, happy, proud, like a noble lord with plenty of women at his side.
Thud!
Wylis never realized when he fell forward, face first on the table, drunk asleep.
####
The fifth day was reserved for the tourney of singers. Even Rhaegar didn't take part in it despite being a good singer. The event was considered too beneath a noble's stature. So, other than some women and flamboyant men, not many went to watch the event.
Wylis spent most of his day preparing for the upcoming five days of jousting. Over forty knights were taking part in it, so it was going to be intense. Thankfully, by now, Wylis had earned plenty of goodwill from the northern lords.
Lord Manderly sent him a fine helmet to wear. It was large, great for his size. Brandon had already given him an old suit of armor to wear which almost fit him if smartly tied around his body.
He did a practice run by wearing it fully to ensure it would hold up for five days. He wanted to win jousting. No, he needed to win it to save Lyanna and earn that big reward of forty thousand.
As the tourney of singers ended, a common feast was held, marking the beginning of the so-called main event that would bring in the most number of spectators. Jousting was considered a noble sport, a knightly sport. So, almost all participants were knights, leaving Wylis. But at that point, nobody complained.
At the feast, Wylis ate light and healthy, didn't dance, and didn't drink. Most other knights did the same, even Prince Rhaegar retired early to his bedchamber. Wylis hated how the man would often ogle at Lyanna as if undressing her with his eyes.
Not after tomorrow.
He bid Lyanna a good night and retired to his distant bedchamber. Taking off his tunic, he slid onto the bed bare-chested, relaxing in the cold sensation of the sheets.
Letting the candles burn their course, he shifted sideways and looked at one corner of the room where a bundle of rolled papers rested. They were invitations and offers from countless nobles. Some were genuinely enticing, and others were ridiculous. A widow noble lady even offered him lordship if he agreed to make strong children with her who'd inherit the lordship after him. He'd have agreed if she weren't already sixty.
But among the most enticing ones was an offer from the Lannisters. An offer to make him a landed knight like the Cleganes.
Until now, he'd remained loyal to the Starks. In return, he'd received nothing from Lord Stark. Lyanna was his friend and did what she could. But it wasn't a lot. The only reason he was willing to refuse all the amazing offers was because he knew the future.
But at the same time. He wondered if he was overestimating the wheel of change that had likely moved as soon as he woke, not as half-witted Wylis, but a superior one.
I hope I'm not walking down the wrong road.
Knock! Knock!
"Ser Wylis?"
"..."
Her again.
There was only one woman who called him 'Ser'. And he really didn't want to be teased that night. He tried to ignore the knocks.
Knock! Knock!
"Wylis? Are you angry at me?"
He tried to ignore it.
"Forgive me, I haven't been honest with you. Please give me a chance to explain myself."
Yeah, I could use that.
At last, he got off the bed and opened the door without bothering to put on his tunic. Bare-chested, he watched her turn red in embarrassment. But Ashara was daring and walked into the room anyway.
Wylis closed the door and looked at her.
Wait, she's wearing a nightgown.
Instead of a noble attire, she was wearing a simple, light grey sleeping gown, big, airy, sleeveless with a round, wide neck. It fell down neatly from her shoulders, subtly rising on her mounds, stretching at the sides of her hips, and covering her legs all the way to the ankles.
Her hair was combed, loose around her shoulders and back. Her eyes looked big and dreamy, solely focused on him, his chest, his abs, his muscles, as if drinking the view.
"Take your time. Looking costs nothing." Wylis jested and sat down on the edge of his bed as usual.
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