"I'm not sure. The current situation leaves me completely baffled. Renly, Robb, Joffrey—all dead in succession. Even Duke Tywin met a humiliating end in the privy."
Barristan furrowed his brows into a deep crease. "I've never seen Westeros in such chaos. Mace Tyrell originally led his troops to besiege Storm's End—just like fifteen years ago. Yet, even without a Stannis defending it, he still couldn't take it.
"Randall Tarly is a renowned general. He is currently leading his forces to help King's Landing clear out bandits and marauders in the Crownlands and the Riverlands.
"Seventy percent of the Reach's army has been drawn away. Fortunately, after gaining Brightwater Keep, Garlan Tyrell immediately brought back half of his forces."
Hmm, this 'half of the army' doesn't refer to half of the total external forces of the Reach, but rather half of House Tyrell's personal troops.
Simply put, Duke Mace leads the Tyrell family's forces, Randall Tarly leads the Tarly family's troops (possibly along with forces from other houses, similar to how Roose Bolton commanded a divided army after Robb split his forces).
Garlan, as Mace's second son, is not the heir to Highgarden. To inherit Brightwater Keep, he must rely on the Tyrell family's troops—Randall has no obligation to assist him.
"It is said that Stannis has already left Dragonstone, vanishing along with his pirate fleet. But both Dragonstone and Storm's End are natural fortresses, nearly impregnable, and cannot be taken in the short term.
"The fleet of the Arbor has been blockading Dragonstone in Blackwater Bay and will not be able to return anytime soon.
"The so-called 'Land of Chivalry,' the Reach, is now strangely lacking in troops.
"One would think that, given how much House Tyrell has done for King's Landing, the Lannisters would be grateful to their in-laws. However, ever since Tywin's death and Cersei's regency, she has openly and covertly begun to suppress the power of Highgarden."
The old knight looked puzzled, deeply bewildered. "The latest news is that the 'Maiden Queen' Margaery has been accused of adultery—the mastermind behind this is none other than Cersei, due to court intrigue.
"However, Grand Maester Pycelle also admitted that he had frequently prepared moon tea for Queen Margaery. This…"
The Maiden Queen who loves moon tea?
How utterly ironic!
In modern society, women regulate their hormones—even without ever holding hands with a man, they might take small doses of birth control. But moon tea has no such additional effects.
Clearly, while Cersei may have slandered the Little Rose, Margaery herself is no innocent flower either. Her husband, Tommen, is only nine years old—she probably couldn't endure it any longer.
"With his daughter imprisoned in the Great Sept, Duke Mace naturally has no mind to continue the siege of Storm's End. He is currently on his way back. As for Storm's End…" The old knight sighed deeply. "That is why the Stormlands lords have all gone to Oldtown to attend the tourney. They have no desire to take on the task of besieging Storm's End. After all, the Baratheons have been their overlords for three hundred years."
"The court struggles in King's Landing and palace intrigue are intensifying—who knows how it will all end? Meanwhile, Stannis is nowhere to be found. Ah, how complicated!" The old knight sighed repeatedly.
"What's the situation in the North? I'm thinking of sending Blackfyre back with a letter for Ser Jorah," Dany said.
"The North is also…" The White Knight's aged face twisted in sorrow. "I never expected your prophecy to come true in its entirety. The Freys not only violated the sacred guest right but even sewed the head of Robb Stark's direwolf onto his body—almost exactly as you predicted."
"What has become of Westeros? Is there no justice, no conscience, no honor left!?" The old knight spoke with growing despair, and soon, tears streamed down his face. This faithless, treacherous kingdom felt utterly unfamiliar to him.
I was only gone for two years, and it's already fallen to ruin?
The old man thought bitterly.
"Where is that Jodan Snow? It's been more than half a year—more than enough time for him to return to Westeros," Dany asked.
"I'm not sure. Should I go to the docks this afternoon and ask around? His ship was called 'Gingko,' right?"
"No, it was 'Maiden of the Gingko.'"
After lunch, Dany stayed inside, practicing fire control before the hearth. In just a few days, she would have to put on a grand display—flimsy, deflated-looking fireballs simply wouldn't do.
The old knight donned his cloak and wandered through the Citadel, inns, street corners, and docks with practiced ease.
By nightfall, he returned to bring Dany—no, rather, Ser Mormont—a piece of good news: his entire family had not been wiped out.
During the Red Wedding at the Twins, over four thousand of Robb's elite cavalry perished, nearly bleeding the North dry. Yet House Mormont suffered little loss.
Ah, but the reason is rather embarrassing—Bear Island was too poor and had too few soldiers.
Unlike other counts who traveled with a large retinue of knights, Maege Mormont only brought her eldest daughter, Dacey, a single female knight, along with a small force of four or five hundred fishermen wielding spears.
Maege was Jorah's aunt. After Old Mormont took the black and Jorah chose exile, she inherited the title of Lady of Bear Island.
"Dacey was Lady Maege's eldest daughter and the heir to Bear Island. She personally served as Robb's bodyguard—just like how Jorah once did for Eddard Stark."
"The Starks placed great trust in the Mormonts," the old knight emphasized.
"The Karstarks were also loyal. The Starks trusted them too. And what happened?" Dany scoffed coldly. "Old Stark wanted to execute Mormont, young Stark executed Karstark, killing off all their most devoted loyalists. Meanwhile, the Boltons, who repeatedly betrayed the Starks, are still alive and well."
The White Knight disagreed with Dany's ridicule and solemnly stated, "The Starks were not wrong. They did what they did to uphold their honor."
Dany did not argue. It was obvious that the old knight, who valued honor above all else, shared the same mindset as Eddard and Robb.
She asked, "So, only two members of House Mormont died? If I recall, Jorah had five cousins—four of them should still be alive."
"No, Lady Maege didn't die. At the time, Winterfell was taken by the turncloak, Theon—you know Theon Greyjoy, don't you? Balon's third son and his only surviving one."
"I know."
Ten years ago, during Balon's rebellion, Robert and Eddard joined forces once again, defeating him so thoroughly that he was forced to kneel and call them "father." In that battle, Jorah Mormont was knighted for his merits and later met his future nemesis, Lynesse.
In that same battle, Balon's eldest and second sons perished, leaving only the youngest, Theon, who was taken in by Eddard as a ward—essentially a hostage.
Eddard and Robert had also once been wards, but Theon's situation with Eddard was completely different from Eddard's relationship with Jon Arryn.
The Duke of Arryn truly treated his two wards as if they were his own sons, offering them sincere and unconditional paternal love.
For their sake, the old Arryn was even willing to clean up Littlefinger's mess and went so far as to rebel against the king.
Eddard was undoubtedly an upright and good man. He wanted to follow his foster father's example and treat Theon as a son. But reality wouldn't allow it—neither Theon nor Eddard could truly make that happen.
At any moment, Eddard might have to kill his ward. If Balon rebelled again, Theon's head would roll immediately.
Eddard understood this, and so did Theon, who was already ten years old at the time.
—Eddard Stark had a habit of personally carrying out executions, using the ancestral sword Ice to behead prisoners. Every time he performed an execution, he made Theon watch. (Not because Eddard was cruel—Theon was also his squire, meaning he had to follow and learn from him at all times.) It's not hard to imagine the deep shadow that must have cast over Theon's heart.
This created a twisted father-son dynamic between them. Eddard truly cared for Theon with a father's love. And Theon, who had always lacked a father figure among the Ironborn, felt the affection of a foster father for the first time.
He both feared Eddard and loved him, always longing to be like Robb or Jon—to become a true Stark. The fact that he didn't completely lose his mind is already remarkable.
Everything he did later, every tragedy he endured, all stemmed from this.
"The Ironborn have taken Moat Cailin. That's why, before the Red Wedding, Robb arranged for Lord Manderly to seek out Greywater Watch."
"Greywater Watch?"
"The Neck is an endless expanse of swamps, home to a small-statured people descended from the First Men. Their rulers are the Reed family, bannermen to the Kings of the North.
Greywater Watch is built on a floating island within the swamps, serving as the Reed family's stronghold.
Since ancient times, no enemy has ever found that island—because it moves." The old knight explained.
"So, the Mormonts only lost one heir?"
"Yes, Lord Manderly must be at Greywater Watch right now. The Ironborn still hold Moat Cailin, while Roose Bolton's army is trapped in the Neck, constantly harassed by swamp-dwellers."
"Your Grace, I've noticed that Robb is quite similar to you." The old knight suddenly remarked.
"No, we are not alike!" Dany immediately denied it without even asking why.
First, they said she was like Rhaegar, and now they were comparing her to Robb. Both of those men had disastrous fates after breaking off engagements—saying she was like them felt like a curse!
But the old knight insisted seriously, "I've studied Robb's battles: the Whispering Wood, the Battle of the Camps, the Battle of Oxcross.
His tactical thinking was unorthodox, unconventional, and eerily similar to yours.
On the battlefield, the seasoned Tywin Lannister was almost reduced to the level of Grazdan by him.
Moreover, he was exceptionally skilled at utilizing direwolves. During night raids, he would send them to sneak into enemy livestock pens first, causing the horses and cattle to panic and throw the camp into chaos. He even used wolves to kill enemy commanders during sieges."
Later, the old knight brought out a detailed map of Westeros and painstakingly reconstructed the war for Dany.
As she listened, Dany gradually realized just how formidable the Young Wolf had been. In some ways, he was even stronger than she was—because she had the accumulated knowledge of countless predecessors from her homeland, as well as dragons, which were far more overpowered than direwolves.
But she also saw a fatal flaw in Robb.
"Robb was too focused on fighting the Lannisters. He paid little attention to Stannis, the Reach, Dorne, or even his own aunt, Lysa.
His ability to see the bigger picture was severely lacking. What he needed most was a skilled political strategist by his side." She stroked her chin and sighed.
In truth, Dany had misunderstood. Robb hadn't ignored those factors—he had simply been overwhelmed by a series of crises and had entrusted his mother, Catelyn, with handling external alliances.
Undoubtedly, Catelyn was a great and devoted mother. But her political acumen was as abysmal as her husband Eddard's—practically nonexistent.
That night, Drogon took off from the mountains where he had rested all day. This time, he would not stop along the way—Dany wanted to test the dragon's flight endurance.
The next morning, after making some adjustments to her armor, Dany moved outside the city with Barristan Selmy.
She had registered for the tourney under the guise of a mysterious knight. For the next few days, she would be staying in a large tent at the tournament grounds.
(End of Chapter)
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