Chapter Text
Excerpt from the book 'The record and linguistics of chivalric Oaths' by Grand Maester Gwayne Flowers
Within the lands of Westeros, there are three claims to lineage that a man might hold.
The first, as is common to all men, is the claim of bloodline from parents to their legitimate children, preserved through the passing of last names from father to son, and in the case of a noble house, through the Lineages and Histories of the Great Houses of the Seven Kingdoms by Grand Master Malleon.
The second, the noble House, represents a man's name, lands, and titles that he holds and represents. Unlike with bloodline, only a single legitimate holder of the House can exist at any time. Under the law of agnatic primogeniture, the nobleman's House passes from father to the eldest son in its entirety; any subsequent male heirs must make their own way, though may still claim the last name of their bloodline.
*the law of primogeniture does not apply to the Houses of Dorne, nor does the law of legitimacy in bloodlines.
Third, and most complicated, is the lineage of chivalric oaths. From the time of the Andals arrival in Westeros, and the beginning of knighthood in the kingdoms, it is a well-kept tradition for knights to not only swear their oath to the seven, but to preserve a record of the great feats of their own master and his predecessors by way of adding in lines. As such, the lineage of knight to squire is preserved through the memorization and passing of these vows, and while the words are kept secret from all but their own cohort, knights who share the same oathkeeping lineage, much can be gleaned about a knight's predecessors from the length, complexity, and meaning of their oath. Secrecy is insisted upon by most chivalric lineages, both to ensure no stolen valor nor allow any squire to feign knighthood before their master has deemed them ready. As such, citadel records of chivalric lineages are limited only to written accounts of the names of knights and their respective squires. There are, as of yet, no formal records of the content of any knightly oaths, nor an accurate account of exactly how many lineages exist in our current age.
There are only a handful of famed chivalric lineages that are confirmed to still exist today, most notable amongst them is the oath taken by the Dragonknight Ser Aemon Targaryen, currently preserved by his three known squires, King Daeron Targaryen the Second, his son Prince Baelor Targaryen, and Ser Robyn Rhysling. As with most lineages, it is likely there are other knights within the cohort, but those names have since been lost to time.
— — — —
Egg,
I don't know why you wanted me to dig all this up. If you want to know more about the Dragonknight's oath, you're better off asking Uncle Baelor, he was trained by Ser Aemon himself. Uncle probably won't tell you the words, but i'm sure he and Father could be persuaded into telling you the stories, and besides that, you should be learning the words of the oath from Daeron by now.
Don't ask Grandfather about Aemon's oath or the lineage, Aerion did once, and it put him in a foul mood for weeks.
Much love, and please stay out of trouble
Aemon.
— — — —
Dunk's throat is dry as he digs Ser Arlan's grave. He'd knelt in front of Ser Arlan for what felt like ages, repeating back the words of the oath he could barely hear through the rain. For once, he was glad Arlan had taken so long to knight him, their oath was already burned into his memory and his voice didn’t waver even as Arlan coughed and wheezed through his words. This would be the first time Dunk says the oath in full, and the last time he hears it from Arlan.
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It's not until he's standing in the rain again, with Raymun Fossaway kneeling in front of Dunk and asking to be knighted so that he can fight, that he repeats the words again.
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Maekar is just close enough to the hedge knight and his hangers-on. He's torn between relief and fury at his son's cheap trick, bribing the elder Fossaway and damning the giant in the process. The least they could have done was give the man a quick and honorable death, not this fucking farce.
He notices the Fossaway's squire kneeling a moment before Aerion does, and angles his horse so that Aerion cannot get close and interfere any further than he already has. Out of respect, he focuses on the sound of the rain, paying no mind to the words the hedge knight is making his friend repeat. It's only Daeron's sudden change in posture, as his eldest jolts up from a slouch to stare, that he turns his attention back to their opponents. Just long enough to hear the last line.
Mīsagon vēzosion ondoso azantys se ondoso perzys.
Maekar is not the only one to react. Everyone in earshot is suddenly staring at the two men, and the Fossaway squire nearly stumbles over his words. It's only the hedge knight's slow pace that lets the boy recover and repeat the words, stumbling over the unfamiliar language. Maekar feels sick.
He's just about to call out, ask for a fucking break to speak to the accused knight, and try to figure out what the hell just happened before he's interrupted by the arena's gates swinging open. Valarr comes riding in on his father's horse, riding past their group and pulling to a stop in front of the hedge knight. Then Valarr pulls off his helmet, and Maekar's heart falls through his stomach.
Traitor.
He's spent years fighting alongside his brother in battle, but for once, everything moves too quickly for him to react. The fourth prince barely pulls himself out of it in time to kick his horse into action and ride forward at the call of the starting horn.