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His brother Jaime entered, and for a brief moment the Lannister family was gathered again. Cersei, of all of them, seemed to be the happiest to see him.
Their father, Tywin, still shaken by the king's forced appointment of his son to the Kingsguard, had a defeated look on his face.
Tyrion was happy to see him too, but he knew the events ahead would be somewhat tragic, so he also felt down.
To be honest, Tyrion was worried about the possible death of Elia Martell. He didn't want her to die. Why? Well, she had treated him kindly, and that was reason enough for Tyrion.
Jaime walked in, hugged their sister Cersei, then greeted their father respectfully, taking Tywin's hand.
"Father… I'm sorry. I couldn't win," Jaime said.
"You didn't win, but that doesn't matter. I'm more concerned about your appointment to the Kingsguard," Tywin said.
"I liked seeing you join the Kingsguard. Leave it—come back with us," Cersei said.
Before their father could answer, Tyrion spoke:
"It's not like our father can do anything. It was the king who commanded it."
"Tyrion… little brother," Jaime said as he approached him.
"Jaime, congratulations. You were incredible. You already have more skill than many knights."
"Thank you, Tyrion. I'll be gone for a while, so you'll have to learn to manage without me. You need to be strong," Jaime said.
"Learn to manage without you? I'll have to learn something I already know. 'Be strong?' That's not enough—look at my muscles, they're the biggest you've ever seen," Tyrion said sarcastically.
"They certainly are," Jaime replied, giving him a hug.
"I want you to know that the king is paranoid. He's taking you with him not because he was impressed with your skills, but as a guarantee—to make sure I don't do something like start a rebellion. You must be careful while you're in King's Landing," Tywin warned.
Jaime looked up, slightly troubled by his father's words.
"Jaime, be careful… I'll miss you," Cersei said sincerely, at least in Tyrion's judgment.
Before they could continue, someone from the army entered and told Jaime the host was about to depart and he needed to gather his things.
"I'll take care. I won't forget what you said, Father," Jaime said, turning and leaving the tent.
After Jaime walked out, Tyrion followed. Jaime made his way to his horse, already wearing his armor, his sword at his hip.
Tyrion's eyes drifted to Jaime's horse. The horse's name was Honor, one Jaime was particularly fond of.
For a moment, Honor turned his head, and as he did, Tyrion locked eyes with the animal. It felt like something was pulling his gaze toward him.
Then, in an instant, the world stopped for Tyrion. Time seemed frozen. There was only the horse… and him.
His pupils widened rapidly.
His gaze went empty, as if he were staring at something no one else could see. He stood still.
A faint blue gleam flickered in his eyes.
Tyrion slipped into a semi-trance: his chest rose and fell slowly, his neck stiffened, his hands relaxed and dropped at his sides. His face remained completely expressionless. Then Tyrion felt—
A warm pull behind his eyes, as if the world had darkened at the edges. His spirit seemed to stretch outward, sliding away from his body in search of another living spark. Before he even saw the animal, he heard its heartbeat.
Then Tyrion felt his mind pushing into the creature. The horse's instinct tried to flee his intrusion. The animal felt a force trying to take hold of it and resisted. That resistance appeared physically in the real world—Honor began to neigh and rear wildly.
Jaime, sitting on the horse, didn't notice Tyrion's strange state at all. He was too focused on his usually calm horse suddenly behaving like a mad beast, surprising everyone around.
Inside Tyrion's mind, his consciousness was forming a connection with the creature. It was his first time, and everything happened instinctively. To Tyrion, it felt like dreaming—automatic, involuntary. Like walking… but how could someone who had never walked take such confident steps? He didn't know. Call it instinct.
A small spasm ran through Tyrion's real body. After much resistance from the horse, Tyrion finally slipped fully into the animal's mind, leaving his physical body behind—and possessing the creature.
The world changed size.
Colors shifted. His sight altered. He saw as a horse sees: with a blind spot in the center and wide peripheral vision.
Smells became enormous—overwhelming. Sounds sharpened. Everything intensified. He sensed more, felt more—every scent around him, every sound, every movement.
He felt the horse's heartbeat—each thump booming like a drum. Strange, because he also felt his own heart beating.
Tyrion didn't know yet, but for a warg to control an animal, he had to drown the creature's instincts beneath a tide of sheer will. If his will was weaker than the animal's, he could not dominate it.
The control of a warg came from spirit taming flesh. Tyrion's warg-consciousness spread through the entire body of the horse like new blood filling its veins.
But it all happened quickly. Only seconds after entering Jaime's horse, Tyrion's control broke, and his soul snapped back into his own body.
Tyrion regained awareness when he heard someone calling his name.
"Tyrion, Tyrion," Jaime said.
"Hm? Ah—yes? What is it?" Tyrion asked, still confused by what had happened.
"Are you all right? You've been standing there staring into nothing for a while. I'll miss you too, you know," Jaime said.
"I…" Tyrion was still confused. He had felt his mind switch bodies and suddenly return.
"I was just thinking about something. It's nothing. I'm fine," Tyrion said.
"Good. I'm glad. Goodbye, Tyrion. Take care of Cersei until I return," Jaime said, riding off to join the king's army.
What had just happened?
It took Tyrion some time to understand.
Am I a warg? he wondered.
He was lost in thought when someone called him—it was his father, and he was clearly not in a good mood.
"Prepare your things. We're returning to Casterly Rock."
His father, of course, had arrived with several carriages and an escort.
"Father… could I go to King's Landing like Jaime?" Tyrion asked, already knowing what the answer would be.
"Of course not. I already lost one son—I won't lose another. I'll repeat myself: you're returning to Casterly Rock with your sister," Tywin said firmly.
At least I tried, Tyrion thought. But to be honest, he didn't want to go to King's Landing unless it was absolutely necessary.
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