The Shadows of Westeros (From Collection of Stories)

================================= New Lord ==================================

When you just starting your road as a Lord of your own castle, what is your first thoughts? Do you remember them? Maybe you don't, or maybe you do remember not only thoughts, but your first steps as well! Remembering such things is quite important in Westeros, because as you grow up, you becoming old and experienced enough to advice new Lords on their own beginnings... Shall we see how well I remember such a small thing as simple talk with a Mentor? And what was he on about?

For the deeper atmosphere, I can recommend to listen to this music track that you will find on Youtube.

--------------------------------- Lords Shadows and how to eat them ---------------------------------

After we were done with the weekly Training camps, as we usually do, we sat near campfire, discussing and improving my skills with knowledge of Westeros... Usually I didn't pay much attention to the questions the Mentor was asking me and I was rather happy asking a questions myself. Though going back to one of the conversations we had, he asked me a question that at that time felt to me as a weird one:

- What do you know about Lords Shadows, Tet? Mentor asked me with no back thoughts.

And yes, Tet is my name. You might've missed it because I didn't bother to mention it.

- What do you mean by that? Everyone has a shadow and that's about it... A bit astonished, I answered with no hesitation and with confusion in my voice - And how is this related to my earlier question: "what will happen if my grain will drop bellow zero?!"

- Of course everyone has a Shadow! ^^ Mentor said with which felt like a fake smile to me - Until the very moment, when they don't. His face somehow lost some colors, it looked like the face of the wise man that was grieving upon something...

- But how could anyone lose a Shadow? And right now I'm more concerned about grain!? Ya know, I'm worried abut my troops! Though I said it, I started getting curious about this Lords Shadow, still trying to be angry at the same time because I was being completely left out with the grain question.

- A Shadows I'm talking about is not like any common shadows of the living thing or even the building or something similar, no. They are different, because when you lose yours = all of you will leave the castle and people inside of it. That way your researches will take longer to finish, your mines, lumberyards and other production buildings will produce less resources and your army will suffer in battles as they will be lacking the support of your Lords Shadow... Until the very moment when the Shadow returns.

As i almost forgot about my question, I leaned forward and opened my ears lil wider, like I was about to be taught about something important - So you're saying when I lose my Shadow, I will... not be present at castle? Are you under something? I couldn't grasp what he was talking about - Please explain it step by step. You've got me interested, though I should mention that I will return to my grain question right after you finish! I said it like giving up in pointless argument that we will return someday to.

- Do not worry! Lets continue with one thing at a time. He said it like talking to a child, with pure smile. Then waited few seconds and continued - You know, a Lords Shadow is a weird thing. It can do many things... For example it can level up and thus increase your castle strength, and it can also ride your troops to victory or to their death. In case if no troop will return from the battle = your Shadow will be lost and other Lord whom you battled with, will hold your Shadow in his dungeon, most likely waiting to execute it.

- And what I can do to save my Shadow before it will be executed? Maybe I could bribe the other Lord so he will release my Shadow? It seems to me that any price is worth of not letting the Shadow be executed! Sometimes I worry too much about if I may call it this way, 'living' things...

- Actually you can bribe the Lord who captured your Shadow but only if he will set the price first! And be aware that the price cannot be less than 10,000 Gold Dragons!

Playing with badges in his hands and looking for words he continued further - What else you can do is get your lord back from the other Lord's dungeon by attacking his castle = winning the battle and that way, releasing the Shadow from dungeon... Though remember that your army is much weaker without the Shadow presence! He warned me like I wasn't listening to him - Also there is a thing, that when someone captured your Shadow, you somehow can always feel where your Shadow is. So if someone captured it = you can track that Lords castle who holds your Shadow!

- That has some logic in it! So I can track the other Lords castle and attack him. As of now, releasing my Shadow from being held in a Dungeon by winning the battle, actually seems like the best option! I grinned like I discovered something funny - Though I have a question! By attacking the other Lords castle and winning, will I release all the other Lords Shadows that this guy captured?

- Yes, and if someone will win the battle against the Lord who captured your Shadow = he will release it too. That way i recommend to guide your allies where is the Lords castle that holds your Shadow.

- I see. I won't be much of a use in battles without my Shadow so it's better to request some help and together release my Shadow... I nodded as letting Mentor know that I will remember this tip.

- What else you can do is set a signal to your Shadow to Drink poison. It's a rare item that is exists as only 1 type in all of Westeros. Im not an alchemist, yet i believe it's a special poison that only affects Lords Shadows and it has something to do with Lord of Light magic tricks... It's called the Tears of Lys:

- The poison that affects only Lords Shadows! It definitely should have some special cost! I was fascinated and at the same time wondered what is the price of such alchemy treasure should be.

- The thing is, if I remember correctly = you can only get this poison from 2 locations and both controlled by the merchants from Braavos, and you know what price they have on their lots...

- Yes, the price is quite unique, even I know about the Black Diamonds they are always looking for!

- Exactly! I always wondered what's going on in Braavos so they are looking for these BD's all around the Westeros, but lets get back to poison. First location where you can get the Tears of Lys poison would be a "Legendary Hero Decree" from the Recruitment Pass. You will get it easily as you should pass the second level to get it:

- And the other location where you can obtain it should be in your everyday shop... sometimes you can find the special pack that contains this poison. Though I'm not often visiting that shop and might be wrong...

- Hmm, to make sure I will look at the shop from time to time! You are pretty wise to be wrong about such things! I said it as I just wanted to cheer him up and show my appreciation for everything he already taught me - Perhaps i will consider getting few of these Tears for my Shadow, just in case of an emergency or something unexpected...

Mentor gave a short chuckle, tossing one of the small badges he held into the air and catching it smoothly - That’s a smart thought, Tet. Always better to be prepared than to stand weeping over a loss you could’ve stopped. This is the way of wise Lords = planning for rain even on the sunniest days. I noticed a small smirk on his face.

He leaned closer, his voice dropping just slightly, as if sharing a secret not meant for the wild woods to hear - One more thing. Remember, once your Shadow drinks the Tears of Lys, it will perish, right, but it returns to you after some time, reborn stronger! Yet even the smallest value can turn a battle. Especially when your foes expect that you are shatter and broken by the loss of your Shadow. They can't expect you to recover that soon!

I blinked, feeling a weight to his words I didn’t catch at first - So you’re telling me... if I lose my Shadow, and poison it with the Tears, it comes back stronger?

- Like a family blade tempered in battles. Not by much, but in long run, learning with every mistake. A wise Lord like you sees strength not in a single battle, but in a lifetime of wars. Mentor grinned, the campfire's flames dancing in his eyes.

I nodded slowly, feeling the lesson settle into my bones the way old stories do - I will remember that, Mentor. And... I’ll keep an eye on the shop. Maybe even start hunting for Black Diamonds if it comes to that.

- Good, Tet. You’re beginning to think like a real Lord of Westeros now. Not just with your sword, but with your head. He leaned back, arms crossed, watching the sparks fly up into the night sky.

- Now... about your grain problem you were fussing over... That, lad, is a whole other story that we will save for another time.

He smiled slyly, as if knowing he just baited me into another night of long talks and lost sleep... And somehow, I didn’t mind. Not one bit.

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Well that's about it! Has this story reminded you about your beginnings as a Lord of your own castle? Have you realised how useful our Shadows are and how you can save them?

For me this story showed that my memory is not as perfect as I thought it is and I may missed a lot of details... Yet I believe you enjoyed this story and got some deeper understanding of how things are actually working in the world of Westeros.

Remember that in GoTWiC you are not only playing the game, you help and advice the people around you! →_→

AlexHarret