Chapter 2 Heraldry

When Maester Cressen finished talking to others and climbed up the stone ladder out of breath, Renly had already left the bedroom and was waiting in the maester's residence not far from his room. He no longer looked like he was wearing pajamas just now. , but put on formal clothes——

The black woolen trousers were cut half a year ago and were a little too small for him, so that when he stood up to greet her, some of his ankles were unknowingly exposed.

Maester Cressen didn't notice this. Instead, he praised the boy's velvet top which fit him well, but the color was not suitable. The color was the same as the trousers. Coupled with the short black hair, the overall look was perfect. Black, looks slimmer.

"Being able to dress yourself without having to bother a servant is beyond criticism. But kid, don't forget that you are not yet five years old. The right thing to do is to accept help and advice from your servants."

The maester ended the greeting with these words, and then sat down at a small table with a partition by the window in the room, holding a heavy parchment book.

Renly sat opposite him, glanced curiously at the books spread out on the table with his clear eyes, and then blinked.

"It's time to learn heraldry again..."

"It's to learn the history of noble families, identify common language vocabulary, and learn about the coats of arms of the lords." The old bachelor who sat firmly replied, turned the book to a certain page at the back with his hands covered with age spots, and carefully smoothed out the wrinkles on the page. , he officially started teaching.

The layout of the rooms in the tower is basically the same, but the windows in Maester Cressen's room are larger than those in Renly's bedroom. Sufficient sunlight shines in from the windows on their sides, making the small and elegant pages on the surface of the old yellow parchment book shine. The exquisite black Common Language characters are embellished with a sacred aura, and the heraldic patterns carefully painted on the upper left corner or center of the page add to this aura.

The children's voices were pure and sweet, and the old man's words were kind and steady. Except for the voices of an old man and a young man, there was no other noise in the room. Silent metal utensils and messy glass jars quietly dotted the surroundings. On a desk not far away was a half-open black parchment book with a quill inserted in the ink bottle. The unique smell emitted from it made Renly faint. There is an illusion that it seems to be some kind of delicacy.

There used to be a group of black ravens here, and they were very noisy. However, as the siege unfolded, most of them had been released to ask for help, and the few that had not been released gradually disappeared.

Renly speculated that the old maester might have given them all to the fat chef in the city—the lunches had been smelling like bird droppings lately.

It is worth mentioning that there is currently no breakfast or dinner in Storm's End. Food is scarce and everyone here has only one meal to eat.

"A silver seahorse on a sea-green background."

"House Velaryon of Tideshead."

"Family motto."

"Old, true, and brave."

"Their history."

"Origined from the demise of the Free Fortress of Valyria, it was once a dragon-riding family. It was an ally of the royal Targaryen family and followed the Targaryens to move to the continent of Westeros... The best members of the Valyrian family in history The character is Lord Corlys Velaryon, known as the Sea Serpent two hundred years ago. His fleet once sailed to the known world..."

…

Maester Cressen is already an old man in his sixties, but his body still looks strong. Only his back under the gray woolen robe is slightly rickety, but this does not affect his energy. When he speaks, his gray eyes The brown eyes were bright and seemed to be full of wisdom.

At each turn of the page, the old maester would explain something, and then ask Renly to repeat what he had just said.

Renly didn't think he was very smart, but he had the mind of an adult, so he could learn these things relatively quickly. At the same time, he didn't know if it was an illusion, but he always felt that his memory was particularly good today, and the expression of the old man opposite him became more and more satisfied.

"I should really suggest that Robert send you to study in Oldtown. Yes, I should, if he were here. Boy, you are born to be a maester, and you may even have a chance to become a doctor!"

Renly had no interest in being a doctor in the Middle Ages, especially since he knew that bachelors in the Citadel were not allowed to marry and have children, so he did not answer the question and pointed at the end of the book hanging under the horizontal bar. The dead brown deer changed the subject.

"Does this Hunter family have a grudge against us?" The child's unique clear voice was full of doubts.

"Why do you say that?" the old bachelor asked strangely. After speaking, he looked at the coat of arms again before he realized what he was saying, and couldn't help but laugh.

"It's just a coincidence. Besides, the Baratheon deer is black, not brown."

Renly said oh, and then suddenly asked: "What about the black dragon and the red dragon?"

"Black dragon and red dragon?"

"There are three-headed dragons, one black and one red. The red one is the emblem of the Targaryen family, I know. Which family is the black one?"

This question made the old bachelor stunned.

"Three-headed black dragon?"

"Yes, three black dragons on a red background."

"That was the sigil of House Blackfire. A noble bastard designed it. It was taken from the inversion of the crest of House Targaryen. But the last Blackfire died on the Stepstones 21 years ago. The Kingsguard, Dauntless Ser Barristan killed him with his own hands."

After speaking, the old bachelor asked strangely: "This book does not record the Blackfire family. Where did you see this coat of arms?"

"I forgot which book I saw it in."

"Lying is not a good habit, kid, you have to tell the truth."

"I'm telling the truth." It's hard for a four-year-old to fool people as skillfully as Renly, and he still looks serious. However, Maester Cressen, who had some understanding of his character, was not fooled.

"I don't think there's a book in this castle that I haven't read, kid," he emphasized, "and none of them, unsurprisingly, contain any mention of the Blackfyres."

The maester's expression was meaningful, but unfortunately his words did not reveal the boy's flaws.

"Okay, Master Cressen, I confess, I remember which book it is." Renly lowered his head, as if full of shame: "But it was the book in Stannis's room. He didn't know, I sneaked in."

As he spoke, he added a little timidly: "Master Cressen, you must not tell him that he has such a bad temper..."

"He is your second brother, kid, you don't have to be afraid of him."

The old bachelor sighed: "And he's actually not bad-tempered. He's just - just a little bit arrogant. Yes, that's true."

Stannis, the second son of the Baratheon family, is a withdrawn person. He is the most indifferent among the three brothers. Except for the attendants, no one dares to approach his room under normal circumstances, and the old bachelor is no exception.

So the topic of lying has been skipped.

However, Renly was not complacent about this. Instead, he seemed a little absent-minded during the rest of the teaching because of the information he had just learned.

Why did I dream about the war between the red dragon and the black dragon, and then be killed by a black fire that disappeared long ago?

he wondered.

In other words, why do you dream that you become another person and are killed by a knight of the Blackfire family?

He has never understood the Blackfire family, and his foresights about the current world are only hazy impressions in his mind, and there is no so-called Blackfire in them.

If you don’t know anything, how can you dream about it?

Besides, it’s not just once…

"What is the motto of House Lannister in the Westerlands?"

The tone of the question coming from the other side was gentle and normal, which did not make Renly much wary, so he subconsciously answered: "Lannister must be in debt--"

He couldn't speak any more mid-sentence. He blinked and the boy looked a little innocent: "Listen to my roar?"

"In the city, many trainee bachelors have fallen into this trap. They always hope to find some more in-depth knowledge from books, but they don't bother to remember simple common sense."

Renly was a little embarrassed when he heard this, but the old maester did not dwell on this and waved his hand.

"The siege has deprived us of news from the outside world, but Robert has proven his bravery at Summerhall. Besides, even if the war goes against us, this issue should not be your consideration. My child, you have talent and a far-reaching mind. He is more mature than ordinary children, but it’s hard for me to say whether this is an advantage or a flaw. I watched your second brother grow up. He is taciturn and withdrawn. He is a person who lacks childhood. But as for you, although you always laugh, But more than him-"

Suddenly he seemed to realize that he shouldn't say these words in front of a four-year-old child, so he closed his mouth apologetically.

But there was still a trace of sadness and worry on that old wrinkled face.

Maester Cressen is a good man. Renly knew this.

Bachelors born in the city have always remained neutral in politics. They serve the castle, not a certain lord. So even if Storm's End Castle was captured, his life would not be in danger. But the old maester remained loyal to House Baratheon and feared for the house and every member of its family without reservation.

"I'm just hungry." He tried to change the subject.

This is a lie, but it is not a lie. He was indeed hungry, but his adult thinking prevented Renly from showing it—because it wasn't time to eat yet.

The bachelor opened his mouth when he heard this, and then sighed.

"You know the rules set by Stannis, and there is indeed not much food. Good boy, be patient. After we finish studying these last few pages, it will probably be time to eat. Maybe I should consider telling the kitchen to prepare some good food. ? Look, you have finished studying another book. Isn’t this something worth celebrating? "

Renly couldn't agree more with this sentence, but it also reminded him of something about to happen in his memory, or in other words, someone who was about to come.

He had no idea what Robert Baratheon had done to overthrow the Targaryens, nor the siege of Storm's End. The only person he knows anything about is a guy named The Onion Knight.

I remember correctly, that person was the one who took the risk to bring in a boatload of onions during the siege, solved the famine in the city, and was named a knight afterwards.

"It can't be just onions. How can you be full with onions? What else can there be? Are there a few boxes of bacon? It would be better if there are a few capons... When will he come?"

Renly would think of the Onion Knight every time he went hungry, but the food he expected would be different, but soon he had no time to care.

As the old maester finished talking about the last page of the heraldry book, as he coughed when his withered hands closed the book, and with the harsh sound of the chair sliding on the floor when he stood up, the boy who stood up at the same time as the maester suddenly felt his heart beating rapidly. Speeding up, even the violent noise suppressed all surrounding sounds to a very weak level.

At the same time, his brain was unusually clear, and the knowledge of heraldry flowed through his mind involuntarily, and finally all of it was condensed and hidden away.

Renly had an epiphany, so he turned his head and looked at a mirror placed on the edge of a long shelf table not far away. The blurred mirror surface stained with dried bird droppings reflected a child's face with wide eyes.

Also, a line of "information" that had never appeared before, like a mist, emerged.

…

Heraldry level increased to LV7, derived characteristics: [Psychic Heraldry]