Chapter 33: Another Fierce Warrior Joins
On the fifth day of Glyn's work in the Queen's Quarter, reinforcements from The Whispers arrived in King's Landing.
These fifty reinforcements were all clansmen of House Crabbe, brought over from the Blackwater River docks by Monton Waters.
Crackclaw Point shares similarities with the North; almost all of its inhabitants are descendants of the First Men. They are generally tall, with hair and eyes that are either black or brown.
*The Andals have a greater diversity of hair and eye colors.*
*Westeros is primarily inhabited by the First Men, the Andals, and the Rhoynar. The First Men are concentrated in the North, the Rhoynar are mainly in Dorne, and the Andals populate the remaining regions.*
*This is why the King of Westeros's title begins: 'King of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms, Protector of the Realm...'*
From the improvement in the clansmen's discipline, Glyn could tell they had not slacked off on their training in his absence.
The newly arrived clansmen assembled at the command post in the Queen's Quarter. Glyn was quite satisfied with them; they were full of vigor after a short drill.
Glyn appreciated the fierce and rugged men from Crackclaw Point and their readiness to cut down anyone on his command.
Combined with their fierce nature and ever-improving discipline, Glyn believed House Crabbe's forces would one day become the strongest army in Westeros.
...
Glyn discovered a young man standing at the back of the crowd, whose appearance didn't quite fit in with the House Crabbe clansmen.
The young man wore worn-out armor and carried a bow on his back. He looked to be about the same age as Glyn.
He was lean and tall, with medium-length, wavy red hair and many freckles on his face. His expression was reserved.
Glyn raised an eyebrow and beckoned to the red-haired young man.
The red-haired young man nervously nodded, then glanced at Monton Waters, who was standing nearby, before scurrying over.
"Greetings, my esteemed lord," he said. "My name is Anguy."
Hearing the name, Glyn's eyes flickered. "How did you come here?"
*In the original story, Anguy won the archery competition at the tourney held in King's Landing to celebrate Eddard Stark's appointment as Hand of the King. He later joined the Brotherhood Without Banners, and his archery skills were unmatched.*
Anguy respectfully replied, "I joined a sellsword company once, but it later disbanded. Recently, I've been at the docks, looking for another company to join. This morning, at the Blackwater River docks, I met your guard, Monton. He brought me here."
It turned out that while Monton was waiting at the docks, his beast-like intuition had spotted Anguy in the crowd—a man whose ordinary appearance belied his formidable strength.
Monton's intuition told him that this person's skill was extraordinary and that Glyn would like him.
Monton trusted his intuition above all else. He had taken the initiative to approach Anguy for a conversation and then brought him along, intending to recommend him to Glyn.
...
Monton's imposing figure appeared. He said gruffly, "Lord Glyn, I felt this man, Anguy, had some skill, so I brought him along."
Glyn nodded and asked Anguy, "What are you skilled in?"
Upon hearing this, the previously reserved Anguy puffed out his chest. "My lord, I am most skilled in archery. I can shoot wherever I wish."
Glyn knew Anguy was an extremely formidable archer. He wanted to promote him to be his personal guard, just like Monton. Monton excelled in close combat, while Anguy specialized in ranged attacks; their combined strength would be astonishing.
A lord's personal guard was akin to his confidant. Directly appointing a newcomer would affect the men's sense of fairness.
However, if the person in question possessed extraordinary strength, it was a different matter.
Glyn sat down on a chair and clapped his hands, attracting everyone's attention. "Anguy, show us your skill."
Anguy first surveyed his surroundings, then looked up at the sky. Calmly, he took an arrow from his quiver, stepped forward a few paces, and thrust the arrow vertically into the ground.
Anguy looked thin, but he had considerable strength; the arrow immediately sank almost halfway into the earth.
Afterward, Anguy stepped back.
Taking up his bow and nocking another arrow, Anguy drew the bowstring taut, aiming skyward.
Anguy's entire sequence of movements was fluid and natural, imbued with complete confidence.
Anguy released his fingers from the arrow's nock. With a *whoosh*, the arrow shot straight into the sky.
After a long moment, the arrow Anguy had shot skyward descended with a sharp whistle, its target precisely the arrow he had previously embedded in the ground.
With a *crack*, the descending arrow first split the embedded arrow into a V-shape before sinking deeply into the ground itself.
Such divine skill!
Glyn's men couldn't help but marvel at Anguy's archery.
Glyn was satisfied; his objective had been achieved. He publicly appointed Anguy as his personal guard.
From that moment on, Anguy became Glyn's personal guard, just like Monton.
Anguy, being of common birth, couldn't suppress the excitement in his heart. A personal guard had a great chance of being made a knight by his lord.
For Anguy, a commoner, this was equivalent to leaping across social classes.
Anguy knelt on one knee before Glyn, thanking him loudly and excitedly.
Glyn smiled kindly and waved his hand, instructing a broadly smiling Monton to take Anguy away and get him settled.
(end of chapter)