Opening post by Ser Emmon Bracken · #1
Walter’s return to ENVY had a price, and I paid mine four days ago when I took my banner out and rode alone, then paid again two days later by swearing my sword back to the same colors — a poor bargain if pride is the only coin being counted.
Two universes, one Walter, and whatever the Observers were doing, I cannot say, though I know what a quarrel costs here — Ser Aldric Mallery has made its ending depend on walls and musters rather than words, which leaves less room for men who enjoy being heard.
You can decide whether that makes me foolish or merely expensive to keep — I have grown quieter about whose side I stand behind, like a market man checking a piglet before the pen opens, because every return leaves something behind even when the banner comes home.