[Chapter Size: 3300 Words.]

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Pessoa Thrid POV

Westeros, 295 AC.

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Jon and his group traveled by carriage to the Tyrell castle. The lights shone brightly in the windows, reminiscent of the last feast Jon attended. The carriages, just like the last feast, stopped at the main entrance, where Willas Tyrell awaited to receive them once again.

Willas approached, leaning on his cane, with a cordial smile on his face. “Good evening, King Jon. It is an honor to welcome you again, good to see you and your champion.” He said, looking at Eldric.

“Good evening, Lord Willas,” Jon replied, extending his hand.

“It was a magnificent display this afternoon,” Willas commented. “I’ve never seen anyone hit a target at 125 meters with such precision.” He smiled, and Eldric nodded.

Willas offered bread and salt to Jon once again. Jon accepted and took a bite, confirming his commitment to peace while at the castle.

“Please, follow me. The feast is just beginning,” Willas requested, and Jon followed him with his group.

“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome the group from Artica and their champion! The Reach is honored to receive them once again in our halls!” The castle’s herald, who was not the tournament’s herald, introduced them to everyone present.

The door to the hall opened, revealing once more a hall full of nobles dressed in fine attire, conversing animatedly and savoring the food and drink, many of which were Artican.

In the middle of the hall, Renly smiled, regaining his composure after losing it due to the bet won by Jon. However, he quickly resumed his diplomatic posture, “My guests! Come and bring your champion!” he said, extending his hand to Jon and his group.

“Prince Renly,” Jon greeted with a small nod before proceeding to the main table once again, with a place reserved for Eldric himself.

“So here is our champion with 125 meters. He is truly an archer anyone would want in their army.” He spoke, drawing the attention of all the nobles to Eldric. Despite the archery tournament being the weakest, an archer with such skills was enviable.

“Thank you, Prince Renly. Eldric is a talented archer, just like my sister Arya,” Jon replied, casting a proud glance at Arya, who smiled shyly.

“Yes, how could I forget our little archer, or as she was called, the Lady of the Bow!” He pointed to Arya once more, making everyone look at the girl, but without the previous disdain, after all, she secured fourth place at only 11 years old, defeating many experienced adults.

“I am sure my brother, the King of Westeros, will love this story in King’s Landing, seeing that the daughter of his best friend has such talent. Let’s have a round of applause for her. Lady Arya showed great courage and skill, worthy of being a Stark of Winterfell!” He exclaimed as the entire hall applauded her.

Arya felt quite shy about it but also proud, despite still aiming to win the tournament. “Don’t rush, you should be better than Ygritte when she was this age, so be proud of yourself.” Seryna spoke beside her, seeming to read her thoughts.

After that, the hall began to return to normal as everyone started conversing with one another, either starting topics or flattering higher nobles.

The music resumed, and the atmosphere relaxed with couples heading to the dance floor, and conversations flowed animatedly. Jon and Seryna were invited to dance, while Arya remained at the table, just like the last time.

“Excuse me… Lady Arya…” Arya heard a voice behind her, turning her attention to see two maesters approaching. She looked suspicious, and her royal guard was on alert, ready to act if any threat arose. Jon had been clear about the need for caution with the maesters.

“Yes…” Arya said, eyeing them warily.

“I know it’s inconvenient to ask this in the middle of the banquet, but we are very curious and never had the chance to speak with you. I am Maester Alaric and this is Maester Gerold,” one of the maesters said, making a slight bow.

“Good evening, Lady Arya,” Maester Gerold greeted, also nodding his head.

“Good evening,” Arya replied, maintaining her caution. “What do you want to know?”

“We are extremely intrigued by the reports of your education in Artica,” said Maester Alaric, with a genuinely interested expression. “It is unusual for a young lady, especially a noble, to have knowledge in such diverse areas as we have heard. This intrigued us to the point of coming to ask a little about this knowledge that an 11-year-old girl has acquired. If you have as much skill with the mind as you do with drawing a bowstring, perhaps we are in the presence of the greatest genius of this generation.” He admitted.

“…” Arya looked at them for a moment, her gaze falling on the royal guard who raised an eyebrow, waiting for her response. She didn’t see that a conversation would be bad and her gaze fell to the front of the table, where numerous young nobles were looking at her with interest, waiting for the first opportunity to invite her to dance. But she had already refused about four of them so far and they kept coming, even saying she was indisposed. Even that Redwyne twin seemed insistent on her, or it seemed like he wanted to regain his pride after being outdone by this girl.

Her head turned back to the maesters, with a small smile. After all, they were the solution to her little problems with dancing. It was that or run to Lady Olenna, despite some good stories and her unique personality. Arya didn’t like her pressure, as she wanted to find out everything about Jon and Artica with her questions.

So, opening a bigger smile, she spoke to the two maesters. “Of course, why not? Jon always said it’s important to know more than just how to be a lady,” Arya replied.

“That’s true, Lady Arya, and that perspective is fascinating,” said Maester Gerold. “Could you tell us more about the teaching methods in Artica? How did you manage to learn so many different disciplines?” He asked, wanting to know everything. Arya had to be careful not to say too much, but even so, it was a simple conversation.

“Jon and others were my main teachers,” Arya began, observing the maesters’ reactions. “Jon believes that a broad education is essential. I studied mathematics, arithmetic, economics, geography, history, languages, agriculture, astronomy, alchemy, anatomy, and basic medicine. We learned from some books and also from practice.” She said her wide area of knowledge with some pride.

“That is truly remarkable,” said Maester Alaric, remembering what Olenna had reported to him, exchanging a glance with Gerold, wondering if they should believe it or not, but they decided to test the girl. “And what about languages? How many do you speak?”

“I speak and write in several languages, including the Common Tongue, High Valyrian, the Old Tongue of the North, Yi-Ti, and Dothraki,” Arya replied firmly.

“…” They looked at each other once again before Maester Gerold turned back to the girl. “Is it alright if I conduct a few tests? After all, I know Valyrian…” He said, and Arya nodded.

[“Can you understand me, Lady Arya?”] He spoke in High Valyrian.

[“Perfectly well, Maester Gerold. If you wish, we can converse on any subject in this language. Can you keep up with me?”] Arya spoke, leaving the man somewhat stunned. Arya’s pronunciation was even better than his.

After coughing a little embarrassed, he went back to speaking in the common tongue, “It would certainly be very pleasant, but my colleague does not understand much High Valyrian, and I fear he would not be able to keep up with us in this type of conversation.” Maester Gerold said, not wanting to look foolish in front of the girl and returned to speaking in a language he mastered better.

“That’s alright, Maester. What else would you like to know…?” Arya said, not noticing how she had drawn the attention of the people at the table, or at least those who remained. Prince Renly had taken Margaery to dance, and Mace had taken his wife. Olenna once again had a direct gaze at Arya with Willas by her side, just observing how the girl dealt with the gray rats wearing a few links in their chains around their necks.

As for the maesters, they couldn’t help but be impressed. Alaric leaned in a bit more. “You mentioned astronomy and alchemy. Could you give us an example of what you’ve learned in those areas?”

Arya pondered for a moment, deciding how much she should reveal. “In astronomy, I learned to map the stars and use them for navigation. In alchemy, I know how to create tinctures and simple potions, such as a healing balm and a solution to purify water, making it more alkaline…” She responded.

The nobles remained silent despite her using terms they didn’t know. There were doubts about her words, and despite her confidence, it was hard to believe that a child could have as much or even more knowledge than they did in some areas. Alaric decided to pretend he believed Arya. “Incredible, Lady Arya. The education in Artica seems to be very advanced. We would very much like to exchange more knowledge with you and, if possible, with King Jon.”

Arya kept her expression neutral. “I will think about it. I need to discuss with Jon before making any decisions.” She responded as if she were Jon’s secretary.

“Of course, of course,” said Maester Gerold, nodding his head again. “We appreciate your attention, Lady Arya. We hope to have the opportunity to talk more in the future.” He said, seeing that the girl didn’t seem to want to continue the conversation, until his friend touched his shoulder and looked at Arya, still not satisfied with some questions.

“Lady Arya, if it’s not too much to ask, we would like to test a bit more of your knowledge. Just a few more simple questions from areas we also study. I specialize in mathematics, and my focus is on this kind of art. Can I test you in this area?”

Arya, who thought they were going to leave, nodded after reflecting a bit. “Alright, a few more questions.”

“Thank you, Lady Arya. We will start with something simple. In mathematics, how would you solve the quadratic equation x² – 4x + 4 = 0?” He posed a somewhat complicated exercise.

“You saying it like that makes it difficult…” Arya began while the man started to think it was all a fraud. After all, aside from the High Valyrian language… she couldn’t prove anything else. However, Arya spoke again. “Do you have paper and a quill? I can answer it that way.” She asked, and the man, a little surprised, looked at Gerold, who quickly took a paper, ink, and quill from his pocket in his cloak, something he always carried everywhere.

After marking the equation on the paper, he handed it to Arya, who analyzed it and dipped the quill in the ink before starting to write, with a shadow passing behind her, looking curious.

“What’s happening here, grandma?” Margaery asked curiously while the maesters watched Arya write on the paper after she had pushed her cutlery away and placed the paper on the table to write.

“The maesters are testing the girl. Let’s see if what she said so far is really true…” Olenna commented, watching the girl with interest.

Meanwhile, this movement was also noticed by Jon on the dance floor, who just looked. “Will she be okay with those maesters?” Seryna asked while they danced.

“Yes… I’m sure she will be just fine.” Jon said, assuring that Arya wouldn’t be bothered beyond a few questions, and he was willing to let her enjoy herself while leaving the maesters quite stunned. His gaze fell on Eldric, who had been invited to dance by a young lady who apparently liked him.

Meanwhile, Arya continued scribbling on the paper. After a while, she looked satisfied and showed the maesters her results. “It’s a complete quadratic equation. The formula to solve it is x = (-b ± √(b² – 4ac)) / 2a. In this case, a = 1, b = -4, c = 4. So, x = (4 ± √(16 – 16)) / 2 = (4 ± 0) / 2, so x = 2. The solution is x = 2.” She explained, showing the calculation she had written on the paper to them.

The maesters exchanged a stunned look. “Very well, Lady Arya,” said Maester Alaric, his voice almost failing. He had never met a woman who could solve something like this, much less a girl. Regaining his composure, he continued. “And in history, could you tell us who was the king who unified the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros?”

“Aegon the Conqueror, of House Targaryen,” Arya replied promptly. “He used his dragons to subdue six of the Seven Kingdoms, with the exception of Dorne, which resisted for many years.”

“Excellent,” commented Maester Gerold. “Now, one last question, about anatomy. What is the primary function of the heart in the human body?”

“The heart is responsible for pumping blood throughout the body,” Arya explained. “It sends oxygenated blood to tissues and organs and returns deoxygenated blood to the lungs to be re-oxygenated.”

“Your knowledge is truly proven…” said Maester Gerold, who began to believe in Arya’s background, and the Citadel would love to hear about this.

Alaric wanted to see one last thing from Arya. “You know, Lady Arya, before we came here… We were discussing some questions, and since you have knowledge of astrology as you mentioned, perhaps you could help us…” He began. “What we were discussing was, what is the real color of sunlight? We concluded that it is yellow. What do you think?” He asked.

“That is absolutely wrong.” Arya held back from calling them stupid at that moment. The men, though a bit surprised by this reaction, waited for her to finish her reasoning. “There was an experiment conducted in Yi-Ti two hundred years ago, where a local physicist took sunlight and reflected it through a crystal, producing seven colors at once upon exit.” She commented, drawing the attention of the entire table.

“Seven colors, Lady Arya?” Gerold was surprised, having never heard of such a thing before.

“It’s a bit hard to believe that sunlight has seven colors, Lady Arya…” Alaric was skeptical about this, almost finding it absurd.

“Yes, seven colors. But he didn’t stop there. By painting all the colors on a circular wheel in equal parts, he spun it, which made the seven colors form into one.” She smiled while everyone raised their eyebrows, waiting for her final answer.

“The color that formed in the end was white. Sunlight enhances all existing colors because it has white light.” She answered confidently.

“That…” The maesters didn’t know what to say after hearing this, trying to note down the entire experiment to reproduce and verify it later.

“Lady Arya…” Gerold was about to speak when the Artican queen arrived at that moment. “Excuse me, gentlemen, but the King of Artica requires her presence for a dance. Do you mind?” She said, with Arya looking at her curiously, before turning back to Jon, who was waiting for her to dance below the table.

“Of course, I’m going to dance with Jon!” Arya said cheerfully, leaving the maesters aside, while not caring about offending some nobles after telling them she was indisposed and then going to dance with Jon.

Jon calmly took his sister and led her to the dance floor. Despite their disproportionate sizes, they danced smoothly, with Arya smiling the whole time. She enjoyed dancing, but it had to be with the right person.

Seryna stayed at the table, just watching them without anyone else bothering her, giving them some time together. The maesters left the main table, having learned a lot but still wanting to know more.

The feast continued, with Prince Renly mingling among the noble tables, being directly flattered. Jon kept dancing with Arya and returned to the table a while later, with no one managing to separate him on the dance floor, despite their attempts.

After some time, Jon had gone out to get some air, leaving discreetly without anyone noticing, leaving Arya with Seryna, while he found Samwell again on the balcony.

“Lord Tarly.” Jon approached.

“King Jon!” Samwell jumped at this.

“How have you been?” Jon asked.

“I’m fine, King Jon…” He seemed reluctant to face Jon.

“You’re drunk, aren’t you?” Jon asked, raising an eyebrow.

“A little…” Samwell lied, and Jon almost laughed.

“Rough night…?” Jon asked.

“Yes… my father.” He said.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Jon asked.

“How could I bother you with something like this…?” He murmured, thinking Jon wouldn’t want to hear from someone like him.

“Well… it’s not like I have the whole night, but I have a few minutes, so I don’t mind.” Jon said.

“…” Samwell looked at Jon a bit surprised and decided to open up. “My father… He thinks I’m a disappointment. It seems he wants to get rid of me and try to make my brother take my place as heir…” He said.

“That sounds bad…” Jon, who thought it would be a simple problem, didn’t imagine such a bad situation with Samwell Tarly’s father. “Are you jealous of your brother?” He asked.

“I wouldn’t say that. I don’t think I would make a good lord like our ancestors…” He admitted. “Dickon can handle it better than I can.” He said.

“Well… don’t you like books? The Citadel would be a good opportunity, of course, you would have to give up relationships like marriage and having children if that’s not a problem.” Jon said.

“I wanted to go to the Citadel… it’s my dream, but my father doesn’t want to see his son as a maester serving another lord. He doesn’t think it’s worthy of a Tarly,” he said.

“That’s even more complicated. So why don’t you run away to Artica?” Jon asked calmly, making the man widen his eyes at him.

“What?!” Samwell seemed shocked by Jon’s words.

“I need scholars and teachers. If you flee to Artica on one of our ships, I can guarantee a place for you, and you will receive an education that you will never get at the Citadel.” Jon said with a slight smile.

“I don’t know…” Samwell was surprised and felt a glimmer of hope in his heart. After all, from everything he had heard and seen of these Articans, it seemed like a fantastic place, and he didn’t know of anyone Jon had invited.

“If you want to come to my kingdom, you need to let me know before I leave. Anyway, I have to get back.” Jon said in conclusion, and Samwell just nodded, watching the Artican king walk away at that moment.

The feast continued as Jon returned to the table and exchanged many words with both Prince Renly and the Tyrell family. In the end, Jon announced that he was leaving, and they began to move. Eldric seemed to bid farewell to the noble lady he had met and left with Jon and the others.

At the exit, the Tyrell family, along with Renly, sent a chest with 20,000 gold coins for Jon to take to his camp. He accepted and started to move to rest. Meanwhile, the following day would be full of songs about the tournament by bards who wrote songs about what they witnessed and spoke of the Artican pride they had observed.

Raccoon here:

I will write another chapter summarizing a few more days with Jon negotiating while some things happen in the North. Starting the Joust, I don’t want to make this arc boring by dragging it out.

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? Raccoon here: ?

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