The royal procession arrived at Winterfell with banners high and trumpets loud. King Robert Baratheon led the way on a massive black horse, belly heavy, beard wild. Behind him came Queen Cersei, Prince Joffrey, and the golden-haired Lannisters—each one riding like they owned the realm.
The Starks stood at the gates in silence, waiting.
Ryu was already inside the castle. He watched from the shadows of a high wall, cloaked in stillness.
He wasn't interested in greetings or smiles. He was interested in the cracks between alliances—the tension hidden beneath armor and smiles.
---
[Observation Active]
Target: Queen Cersei Lannister
Suspicion: High
Intent: Control, Distrust
---
He smirked.
Robert drank too much. Cersei watched too closely. Joffrey acted like a king before earning the crown.
Ryu saw the storm long before anyone else did.
While the court feasted, Ryu moved through servant halls and quiet courtyards. He avoided notice easily. His footsteps didn't echo. His presence barely existed.
He wasn't a noble. Wasn't a knight. Just a quiet man in black. No one questioned him.
In the kitchens, he listened to gossip. In the rookery, he read half-burned letters. In the Maester's chambers, he found old scrolls on Targaryen bloodlines.
At night, he summoned his shadows to search.
One returned with a message: a Lannister servant carrying sealed letters had met with a strange rider in the woods.
---
[New Quest: Trace the Lannister Plot]
Objective: Intercept Message, Gather Evidence
Reward: Skill Upgrade
---
Ryu moved at once.
No hesitation. No need to ask permission.
He followed the trail outside the gates. Shadows moved with him, silent across the snow.
The rider didn't even know he was being hunted.
Minutes later, Ryu stood over the man's unconscious body. The letter was in his hand—sealed with a golden lion.
He pocketed it. The message would be decoded later.
He wasn't doing it for honor. Not to help the Starks. He wanted information, leverage, power.
Let the lions and wolves fight.
Ryu would grow in the silence between their roars.