Arrival at Bitterbridge

On the show, Westeros often seemed small, with one city pressed close to the next and only a few days needed to travel between them. In truth, the distances between the cities of the Seven Kingdoms were vast. Journeys were measured in months, and sometimes even years.

When Alden had traveled from Goldengrove to New Barrel, the river carried him downstream, so the trip was fast and took only four or five days. If he had gone overland, it likely would have taken more than a month, and that was assuming good roads. Bad roads could easily add another month.

After the Tyrell party left New Barrel, it followed the Roseroad northeast, stopping and starting along the way. Nearly a month passed before they reached Bitterbridge.

Lord Almon Caswell, who had received word ahead of time, waited outside his castle to welcome Garlan Tyrell's party. He announced that a feast had already been prepared and asked Garlan to stay for it, spend the night, and leave the next day so House Caswell might properly honor its guests.

Lord Caswell, intent on pleasing the rose, acted with such humility that Garlan Tyrell could find no reason to refuse. In the end, the party made camp outside Bitterbridge, while Garlan, along with the knights and nobles traveling with him, went into the castle for the feast.

Alden was Ser Vortimer Crane's squire, but he was not qualified to attend that sort of noble banquet. He could only remain in camp with the others and eat the food provided by Lord Caswell.

During the past month, Alden had learned nothing from Vortimer that directly concerned fighting. Vortimer told him plainly that there was nothing he could teach him in swordsmanship or combat. Alden should continue training by his former methods. The only thing Vortimer could do was teach him how to be a knight's squire.

So caring for Vortimer's warhorse, maintaining his armor and weapons, and learning basic knightly etiquette became Alden's daily tasks. The rest of his time was spent strengthening his body and training for group combat according to his previous plan.

The lessons that truly helped him, however, had nothing to do with knightly combat. They were the cultural lessons.

Every night, Vortimer had Maester Holley teach Alden the history of the Seven Kingdoms, the histories of the great houses, and the arms and words of each family.

Before this, Alden's understanding of the world of ice and fire had come from the show he remembered in his old life, from old forum discussions, and from part of a companion book about that world. Amusingly, Maester Holley said such a book truly existed in the Citadel, though only a small number of maesters were allowed to read it. Alden's knowledge of the real Westeros was still thin.

Studying those matters in an organized way could not increase his fighting strength directly, but it would be crucial if he wanted to rise to a higher station later.

Maester Holley came from a small vassal house sworn to House Tyrell and had deep learning in history and culture. This time he was only traveling with the Tyrell party to King's Landing; he was not himself a man of the rose.

At first, he was very resistant to teaching Alden. His reluctance did not come from dislike of Alden's birth, but from the fact that he had his own work to do. Teaching Alden devoured too much of his private time.

As days passed, however, his attitude gradually changed from passive to eager. Sometimes, even on the road, he would call Alden up into the carriage where he sat and continue the lesson left unfinished the night before.

That transformation happened because, for the first time, Maester Holley felt the joy of teaching.

The noble house he served lay near the border between the Reach and Dorne and often clashed with Dornishmen. Because of that, the family was strongly martial and gave little weight to other knowledge. Its children only needed to learn noble manners and a portion of Reach noble history. In that house, Holley's talents had almost no place to be used.

He had made the difficult journey to King's Landing mainly because a friend at the Citadel had written to tell him that Grand Maester Pycelle intended to organize and compile a history of the Targaryen dynasty. Pycelle hoped the Citadel would send maesters with copper links in their chains to assist him.

At the Citadel, Holley had been known for his specialization in history. He suited Pycelle's needs extremely well, and his friend knew he was unhappy in the noble house he served, so the letter had reached him quickly.

The day Holley received it, he immediately resigned from service to his lord and set out alone.

Fortunately, his luck was good. He met several caravans bound for Highgarden and traveled with them, reaching the city after a few scares but no real harm. There he learned that House Tyrell was sending men to King's Landing for the tournament, and he joined the party of the rose.

So when Vortimer found him and asked him to teach Alden, Holley had no way to refuse.

The sword trial at New Barrel's camp had left a deep impression on him. Added to the Bear-Hunter's fame and Alden's background as a hunter, it made Holley unconsciously put Alden in the same category as the noble students he had taught before.

After only a few days of lessons, he realized Alden was entirely different from those earlier pupils. Alden showed uncommon enthusiasm for everything he taught. Beyond the planned lessons, Alden asked about matters outside the course. Later, he even discussed the lessons with Holley at a scholarly level, raising questions the maester sometimes could not answer.

What truly shocked Holley was Alden's ability to learn. Almost everything he taught only needed to be said once before Alden mastered it. A book only needed to be read once before he remembered it completely. Holley sometimes had the illusion that a sphinx lived inside the young man's body.

"You should go to the Citadel!" became something Holley said every day.

News of this soon reached Garlan. After he confirmed that Alden truly possessed an extraordinary ability to learn, he allowed Alden to borrow the books he had brought on the journey, though only one at a time.

Alden's astonishing learning ability caused another stir in the party. It was smaller than the shock that had followed their departure from New Barrel, when everyone learned he was Alden the Bear-Hunter, but it was still no small thing.

On that day, after the sword trial with Vortimer, the nobles, soldiers, servants, grooms, and everyone else in the party had all guessed at Alden's identity. Some had guessed the Bear-Hunter because of his twin swords, but his age and build were so different from the Bear-Hunter in their minds that this guess had been the first one rejected.

The next morning, before the party set out, Garlan announced in a very public manner that Alden the Bear-Hunter had joined House Tyrell. Only then did everyone realize that the young man was the legendary figure praised by the singers.

After the first shock, the people in the party accepted Alden's presence, and most welcomed it. The road to King's Landing held all sorts of dangers. Having another strong warrior like him meant another layer of safety.

During the month that followed, Alden met no hazing, no deliberate trials, and no questioning of his ability. The sword trial with Vortimer had already shown everyone how strong he was, and anyone with eyes could see that Garlan Tyrell valued him. Nobles, guards, and servants alike gave him enough respect. Some even went out of their way to befriend him.

Some of those attempts were their own idea. Others were encouraged by someone else. During that time, both Vortimer and Garlan observed Alden in secret, watching to see whether he would lose himself in sweet words.

His conduct satisfied them greatly. When people deliberately sought friendship, he responded naturally and easily, like a true nobleman. He did not become arrogant because of their flattery. If anything, he behaved more like a humble student, learning whatever knowledge or skill he could from anyone around him: from grooms, how to feed and care for horses; from warriors, how to maintain armor and weapons; from servants, what etiquette to use before nobles of different ranks.

What pleased Garlan and Vortimer most was Alden's intense self-discipline. Every day was arranged clearly, and his whole rhythm of life followed the plan he had set. That kind of discipline made both of them think of Lord Randyll Tarly.

For the ordinary men in the party, Alden's strict self-discipline was not especially likable, but it earned him additional respect. More than his character, however, they were drawn by his strength.

Because Vortimer's training of Alden was mostly a matter of letting him grow on his own, Alden could only follow the plan he had already made and train his body and practical combat ability. Physical training he could do alone. Practical combat required partners. Thus his daily sparring became a fixed entertainment for the party, because his bouts were not one-on-one. They were one against many.

At first, four men faced him. Later there were five, then six. Alden gradually adapted to that style of group combat. When increasing the number no longer seemed useful, he had the soldiers wear armor, take shields and spears, form a battle line, and fight him that way. Only then did he feel pressure again. Several times, the training soldiers nearly defeated him.

For the others, being able to watch exciting bouts every day brought interest to an otherwise dull march. They would gather around the training ground and cheer for Alden and the soldiers sparring with him. Some maidservants even threw wildflowers picked by the roadside toward the men they favored when training ended. Alden, naturally, received the most flowers.

Through repeated training fights, the strength he displayed quietly influenced the soldiers. The respect he received grew by the day. Though he was only a squire, his voice in the party of the rose carried more weight than that of many knights.

That created jealousy among a number of knights and nobles. Some tried speaking ill of Alden to Garlan, but it had little effect. Alden not being invited to the banquet inside Bitterbridge this time had more or less to do with those men. Otherwise, even if his rank as a squire was low, he could have been given a place in some corner of the hall.

Alden did not care about missing the castle feast, at least not in the way those jealous knights and nobles imagined. After eating dinner in the camp, he went alone to a flat patch of ground in the town outside the castle and began his daily throwing practice.

Peacekeeper's combat experience included throwing weapons. In a duel, the skill could create a surprise result, though it was less suited to group fighting.

Alden trained it anyway on the principle that practice could not hurt.

After some time, however, he realized he had underestimated the skill. Whether in a duel or on a battlefield, throwing weapons could produce unusual effects. The only change he needed was to avoid throwing the close-combat weapons in his hands and instead carry small weapons meant for throwing: knives, short axes, short spears, and similar hidden tools.

Unfortunately, the party had leatherworkers but no smiths. Alden could not make throwing weapons to his own design, so he borrowed several daggers and short axes from the soldiers and practiced with those.

It was already night, and there was no firelight nearby, but no clouds covered the sky. Moonlight fell clearly enough for Alden to see his surroundings, so his practice was not affected. It even let him train for fighting in darkness.

After sending dagger after hatchet into the marked spots on a tree again and again, he felt that continuing in the same way had little value. He needed to increase the difficulty, perhaps by using moving targets.

While he considered the next method of training, he suddenly heard footsteps nearby.

Ever since meeting the Faceless Man, Alden had consciously trained the perception of every sense instead of passively enjoying the gifts created by his altered body. The time had been short, but the effect was already beginning to show.

From the weight and rhythm of the footsteps, he quickly judged the visitor's rough build. When he turned toward the sound and saw that the newcomer's height and shape matched his estimate, satisfaction touched his face.

There were two men. One was a Tyrell guardsman named Raul. Recently, he had often sparred with Alden and could be counted among the men on good terms with him.

The other wore the clothes of a Bitterbridge guard. He was very tall, half a head taller than Alden, and not much older, likely close to Alden's age. His body, however, was extremely strong. The muscles of his arms and upper body pulled his clothes tight. To make himself appear more mature, he had grown a bit of beard, but the hairs were so sparse that they looked more like an infant's down.

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