Darth John snow's Arc

Chapter 1 of 10

Darth John Snow stood at the edge of a quiet green hill, watching shire folk shutter their windows at the sight of him. His armor caught the sun. His huge sword rested across his back. He had come to build an order of frightening warriors who would protect the innocent, but no recruit would stay if he had no roof to offer them. The girl found him there, as she always did. She was no taller than his elbow. She carried a small orange lizard-thing on her shoulder, a quick creature with bright eyes. "There's an empty place past the stream," she said. "Vines all over it. I already swept the floor." He followed her. The building was stone, half-swallowed by ivy and small flowers. The wooden door still held. Inside, the air was cool and dry. She had set out three straw mats in a row, as if recruits were already on their way. "I cleared the yard too," she said. She pointed through the doorway. Someone, maybe her, had dragged old beams and rope nets into a rough climbing frame. Past it stood three round targets nailed to a wooden fence, hay bales waiting beneath them. A rack of mismatched swords leaned by the wall. He set his hand on the doorframe. The stone was warm. For the first time, the order had walls. It had a yard. It had a place a stranger could walk into and not be turned away. "They'll come now," she said, certain. He believed her. By dusk, two travelers stood at the gate, watching the targets sway in the wind, waiting to be let in.