[center][h1][color=skyblue]Mycah Arryn[/color][/h1][/center]

"Welcome home My Lord, I must congratulate you on your successful campaign against the Mountain Clans. Please, take your time and I will have a full briefing on what you have missed within the Great Hall when you are ready." Mycah Arryn, the acting Lord of the Eyrie looked down at his dirty armor and then to Maester Trenten with a short chuckle.

"I will in fact take you up on that offer Maester. I will wash, and then make my way to the Great Hall. Please have the kitchens ready for my meal and that of my Knights and men. They have fought well for the Vale and deserve a rest." He looked over his shoulder to his Captain who instantly began giving orders. The Maester gave a short nod and then turned to walk back into the Gates of the Moon.

Free from attention for the brief moment, Mycah takes the moment to inhale deeply, the crisp mountain air, a chill hinting at the winter to come, filling his lungs. He held the breath and then let it out, shaking his head and walking into the Gates of the Moon and maneuvering directly to his chambers. He was confident his Captain and Officers would handle the men and send them off after they had eaten, and also confident that the stable hands would take care of his friend. 

Upon entering the chambers, Mycah was happy to see servants already finishing filling his bath and preparing a set of clothing more suited for comfort. He gave a nod of appreciation and busied himself with removing his armor while he waited, though he did have to call in a page to help him with a few of the pieces, for as flexible as he was he still struggled with them. 

He sent everyone away once the bath was ready and his armor was off and then finished stripping and then sunk into the warm water. By the seven is was nice to actually sit and relax again. The campaign against the Mountain men had lasted for longer than he would have liked. And while he could blame many factors, at the end of the day he should have adapted faster. In the end, it was a total victory and without very many losses either. And if he was being honest with himself, he was glad that his battles kept him from having to go South. He preferred his home and disliked the peacock Knights who preened and pranced about in tournaments. 

Mycah took longer than needed in the water. Not even caring when the water got cold, simply relaxing his sore and bruised body. War, no matter what size always took its toll. Mycah frowned as he remembered the names of those he had lost. That was the hardest part of war, making decisions that meant the deaths of the troops that trusted him to serve them. To get them home to their families.

The youngest Arryn gave a sigh and shook his head. It was no use thinking like that, he had done his best to bring as many troops home as he could, and that would simply have to be enough. He stood then, and dressed silently now that his thoughts had turned against him, finishing his sky blue garments off with his sword which he strapped to his belt. Now ready to play Lord, he left his room and gave his gratitude to the servants outside that were waiting to clean things up inside. He was feeling quite refreshed and while he despised handling court matters he was decent at it and was prepared. 

The Great Hall of the Gates of the Moon weren't far from his chambers, and as he got closer he could smell the food being prepared which made his mouth water. He had pushed the campaign host hard on the last day to finish their journey so that the men could be released the following morning to return to their respective homes and Houses. As such, Mycah was starving and his stomach let him know that fact as the smells continued to assault his senses. He stepped around the entrance and smiled widely as he saw Maester Trenten, and Arrold Mortimer sitting at the high table waiting. The smile grew even widen when he noted a serving boy go dashing to the kitchens to let them know that he had arrived. Good, food must be ready. 

"Maester, Seneschal it is truly good to see you both. I apologize for the delay, I was taking advantage of the privacy and chance of some relaxation. And I won't hear any of the 'it's fine my Lord' your time is as important as mine in the running of the Vale while my family is away. Now, please get me up to speed with things."

The following hours were long and a different sort of exhausting. Mycah was used to the exhaustion of battle or strategy meetings but this was different, almost mind numbing administration tasks. And it was finally ove-. "My Lord, one final thing." For the love of the stranger. He raised an eyebrow and nodded to Trenten to continue. "Honestly I should have probably led with this, but we received a letter from the North this morning. I have not opened it as I knew that you expected to arrive today. I have it here." The Maester reached into his robes and pulled out a scroll that had the familiar Stark sigil on the seal. Mycah instantly was curious and accepted the letter, breaking the seal and reading quickly. 

"It seems that the Starks are having Skagosi troubles and have asked for our aid." Mycah frowned, as the last of the Arryns at the Eyrie he knew that if he left to take support to the North then the Vale would be managed by the Castellan. This fact also seemed to be acknowledged by the two men with him. 

"Well, my Lord our families are long time allies. Perhaps we can have one of our bannermen bring up a force to send. I could prepare a few rav-."

"Maester, you know that if our troops leave the Vale that I will be leading them. The true question is if we should or not. As the Starks themselves say, Winter is coming and I would rather not be stuck in the North when it arrives. However, as you say they are steadfast allies." Mycah was thoughtful, his eyes shining as his mind worked. Finally he nodded, and looked over to Trenten. "I will take our force here to the North, dropping off some and taking on others until we arrive at Gulltown. There we will board the ships and head to the North, I would expect perhaps a thousand men but no more than that. I may change my mind at Gulltown but either way. We will send aid."

The Maester nodded and smiled softly, perhaps in pride before standing. "Then, I shall send word to the Houses on your route, to Gulltown, and to the Starks." Mycah nodded, already mentally going over the possible routes to take to support the North. It wouldn't be quick, but let it not be said that the Arryns forsook their friends. The Knights of the Vale would go north and do what they could to help. "Seneschal, while I am away and until my father returns, the Eyrie and the Gates of the Moon will be yours. I am also entrusting the Vale to yourself and Trenten, and naming Lord Royce to acting protector."

The elderly man nodded and smiled. "As you say My Lord. We will keep good care as always. I don't expect any problems, but I do wish you safety." Mycah chuckled and stood. 

"I think I'm going to need more patience than safety in the North. And lots of fur cloaks." He stretched and then went off back towards him room for some well deserved rest. On the morrow another campaign would begin…