Upon returning to St. Maur's, Aldric convened the heads of the Golden Dawn in the third-floor council room. He briefed them on the alliance with House Costa before laying out his next priority.
"Ser Charles's second son, Torlin, has arrived with fifty youths," Aldric began. "The monastery is full. More importantly, as we grow, we cannot continue to live like a sprawling village. I propose we build proper military barracks. We need a dedicated space for the management and discipline of our strength. What say you?"
In Westeros, knights and their men-at-arms usually lived in their own homes until their lords called a muster. Since settling at the monastery, the Golden Dawn had followed this custom. To Jon Snow and Duncan Beck, it seemed natural.
Aldric disagreed. While the soldiers came from the people, living among them without structure would eventually breed a sense of superiority. Power without discipline inevitably creates a new class of oppressors. Furthermore, a scattered force is a slow force—vulnerable to surprise and lacking in esprit de corps.
The council offered no dissent. They had seen these issues firsthand; it was simply "the way of things" until Aldric spoke of a better path.
"Build the barracks in the rear hamlet," John suggested. "Near the old forge. There are six or seven abandoned cottages there. With a little work, they'll serve as sturdy bunkhouses."
"Are there refugees there?" Aldric asked.
"None," John replied. "It was the craftsmen's quarter. There are a few wheat fields and gardens, but it wasn't large enough for a camp, so we left it empty. I can send a crew to clear the land."
Aldric shook his head. "No. The men will build it themselves. The Golden Dawn comes from the smallfolk and stands with them. They are not lords to be served. I will move my own things there as well. We will build our home with our own hands."
The site was ideal—less than a twenty-minute sprint to the monastery walls in an emergency, yet isolated enough to allow for drills without disrupting the daily life of the refugees.
With the barracks settled, Aldric chose ten of his brightest Sunwalkers. "Edrick, take these ten to the Costa manor tomorrow. Five martial Sunwalkers and five Light-Friars."
The term "Light-Friar" had recently taken root. Since fleeing the West, the order had split naturally into two paths. Men like Jon and Harold were warriors first. But others—like John or the followers of the High Sparrow—were scholars and healers. They lacked the stomach for the vanguard but possessed the silver tongues needed to spread the Word. By pairing a martial Sunwalker with a civil Light-Friar in two-man teams, Aldric ensured both the safety of his priests and the spiritual guidance of his soldiers.
Torlin Costa had brought two wagons of grain with his fifty men. It was enough for two months, but it was a pittance compared to the five gold dragons Aldric had requested. Aldric noted Ser Charles's stinginess with a cold eye. A man who haggles over bread for his own sons is a man to be watched, he thought.
After the meeting, Aldric took the smith Baryn, the carpenter Walter, and the hedge knight Caden Storm to the riverbank. Despite the friction with the Costas, the River-Hammer was complete.
The water-wheel was massive, drawing power from the swift tributary. Baryn had overseen the installation of four independent hammers on a single drive shaft. This allowed the wheel to utilize every ounce of the current's torque, capable of pounding iron billets into shape with a rhythmic, mechanical fury.
John had stepped back, allowing Walter and the other carpenters to handle the execution. As Aldric arrived, Walter engaged the gears. The small workshop filled with the deafening clang-clang-clang of progress.
"What do you think, Master Baryn?" Aldric shouted over the noise.
"Incredible, Lightbringer!" Baryn replied, his eyes wide. "The heaviest labor of the forge—the thinning of the plate—is done in heartbeats. With these four turning, we could outfit a company in brigandine before the moon turns."
"Can you manage the volume?"
Baryn's face fell. "I lost my best apprentice in the retreat from Ford Town. I need hands. But more than that, I need iron. I used to buy my billets from the mines near the Silver Hills, but the roads are cut. We're running on scrap."
"Clear the scrap first," Aldric commanded. "Melt every broken plow and rusted shield the brothers have gleaned. When the path is open, I will find you iron. For now, forge me the plates for the Sunwalker brigandines."
Baryn nodded. Aldric turned to Walter. "This hammer is the only one of its kind in the Seven Kingdoms, Walter. You've done well."
Walter spat in the dirt. "The lords only care for taxes, never for tools. If I'd built this for House Lychester, they'd have taken it for their own and chained me to the wheel to maintain it for life."
"He's right," Baryn added solemnly. "They would take the gift and keep the giver in a cage."
Aldric looked at the two craftsmen. "Baryn, you've seen me forge Serene-Steel, haven't you?"
"I have," Baryn said. "I helped you etch the names on the Awakening Badges."
"How much of the craft have you learned?"
"Half," Baryn admitted. "The folding, the hammering, the acid wash for the patterns... I know these. But the smelting of the two steels, the secret of the crucible... that remains a mystery."
"I will teach you," Aldric said. "And I will teach you how to imbue the steel with the Sun's Edge for the fight to come. Without superior arms, the Golden Dawn cannot win the war against the lords. But I have a worry."
Baryn blinked. "A worry?"
"If you ever turned your back on the Sun, my enemies would hold Serene-Steel against us. The Dawn is poor; I cannot pay you in gold like a Lannister."
The two craftsmen went silent, a cold dread filling them. They knew the value of secrets. Legend told of the smiths of Qohor who guarded the secret of Valyrian steel with blood. Maester Pol had been beaten and exiled three times for trying to peek at their crucibles, and finally lost a hand when he was accused of theft.
"Lightbringer," Baryn said, his voice trembling. "We will swear by the Sun to guard the secret."
"If an oath isn't enough," Walter added, "cut out our tongues. Just... use the Light to stop the pain afterward."
Aldric stared at them, then burst into a roar of laughter. "I teach you because I have better secrets waiting behind this one. A small step in steel won't stop me. No, I am asking for something else."
He lowered his voice. "I am asking if you are willing to set aside your own wealth and pride to build a kingdom for the poor. Are you willing to become 'one of us'? Are you willing to be Sunwalkers?"
Shocked silence followed. "But Lightbringer," Baryn stammered. "We aren't warriors or priests. We are just smiths. Not even the best smiths."
"A Sunwalker is defined by his heart, not his arm," Aldric said. "The cause needs the forge as much as the sword. Give me your answer."
"We are yours!" they cried together. "For the Sun!"
"Good. Find John. Ask him to sponsor your Awakening. If he agrees, bring his badges to me in two days."
Ser Caden Storm, watching from the corner, felt a shiver of realization. He had seen Jon Snow the warrior, and Morton the caretaker. But to see common craftsmen elevated to the same holy status changed everything. This wasn't a lord's rebellion; it was a total restructuring of what a man was worth.
"Ser Caden," Aldric said, snapping the knight out of his thoughts. "Have you ever seen Valyrian steel?"
"Once," Caden replied. "In the hand of Lord Randyll Tarly. Heartsbane. The ripples in the steel... I'll never forget them."
"And did you see Brother Rolf's Awakening Badge?"
Caden frowned, remembering the meager belongings he'd gathered from his friend's body. "I saw a few iron scraps with beautiful patterns. You mean...?"
"Exactly," Aldric said with a smirk. "Those patterns were Serene-Steel. Now, imagine if I forged a blade of that steel and called it Valyrian. What would a lord pay for a treasure like that?"
Caden's eyes went wide. "A fortune. A king's ransom."
Aldric watched the River-Hammer fall. "Then we had better get to work. We have a war to fund."
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