The scenery along the mouth of the Blackwater Rush was beautiful. Fine food was served one course after another, yet the mood around the table remained unusually heavy.
Even during the feast, the lords continued discussing matters of state, settling several important decisions before the meal was over.
The table was filled with delicacies: thick barley and venison soup, chilled beetroot, vegetable, and plum salad sprinkled with crushed nuts, honey-garlic stewed snails, roasted trout, sweet bread, pigeon pies, baked apples flavored with cinnamon, and lemon cake topped with sweet frosting.
Ordinarily, the roasted trout would have been a favorite.
But after the recent battle, with wildfire still floating across the Blackwater Rush and countless corpses drifting beneath the waves, no one had much appetite for fish.
Only Gendry seemed unaffected.
As the strongest man present, he naturally ate the most.
In this era, however, a king who could both fight and eat heartily was considered a symbol of vitality, so none of the assembled lords found it inappropriate.
---
"Lord Mace, are you familiar with Ser Alliser Thorne, the Night's Watch envoy who recently came south?"
Ser Barristan Selmy, Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, looked toward Mace Tyrell.
Mace, dressed in a rich green velvet coat, nodded thoughtfully.
"I know him."
"He was one of those who survived the losing side of Robert's Rebellion."
The cool breeze from the river made the pleasant evening feel slightly colder than King's Landing.
"Everyone knows his past."
His words carried a hint of discomfort.
After all, House Tyrell itself had technically stood on the losing side of that same war.
Although the Tyrells had preserved most of their strength by avoiding the heart of the conflict, they had spent more than a decade excluded from the center of royal politics.
That was one of the reasons they had later chosen to support Renly Baratheon.
Hearing the conversation turn toward Robert's Rebellion...
Eddard Stark couldn't help glancing toward Jon.
Long ago, he had promised himself he would someday tell Jon the truth about his birth.
Yet now...
He wondered if an ordinary life wasn't a blessing in itself.
The more Jon learned...
The greater the danger he would face.
---
Stannis calmly continued.
"Alliser Thorne was once a knight of House Thorne from the Crownlands."
"He fought for House Targaryen during Robert's Rebellion."
"He commanded part of King's Landing's city garrison."
"After the city fell, Tywin Lannister gave both Alliser Thorne and Ser Jeremy Rykker a choice."
"Death..."
"Or take the black."
"They both chose the Wall."
Barristan nodded.
"From what I remember..."
"Ser Alliser isn't a pleasant man."
"He's sarcastic, strict, and doesn't get along with young recruits."
"But he isn't a liar."
"And even if he were..."
"Lord Commander Jeor Mormont certainly isn't."
"If both of them are telling the truth..."
"Then the situation beyond the Wall is terrifying."
He paused before continuing.
"According to Ser Alliser..."
"The Night's Watch recovered two rangers who had disappeared for quite some time."
"They were already dead when they were found."
"But their bodies were unlike anything anyone had ever seen."
"Their flesh was pale."
"Their skin was ice cold."
"Their hands and feet had turned black."
"Lord Commander Mormont ordered the corpses brought back to Castle Black for examination."
"But..."
"They came back to life."
"One murdered Ser Jeremy Rykker."
"The other attempted to kill Lord Commander Mormont himself."
"If not for Samwell Tarly..."
"Mormont would already be dead."
"The Lord Commander finally destroyed the creature by cutting off its hand."
Stannis spoke with complete conviction.
Among everyone present...
He had accepted these strange events sooner than anyone else.
The Red Priestess had already introduced him to prophecies of the war between ice and fire.
He had seen dragons.
He had witnessed the power of Lightbringer.
Compared to those miracles...
Walking corpses no longer seemed impossible.
Across the table...
Randyll Tarly's expression twitched.
Samwell... courageous?
The idea still felt unbelievable.
He had tried everything imaginable to harden his eldest son before finally giving up.
Since the appearance of the red comet...
The world truly had become stranger with every passing day.
---
"Walking dead?"
"Wights?"
Mace looked around the table.
Everyone else remained completely serious.
"With all due respect..."
"Are we really expected to believe these stories?"
Gendry calmly looked back at him.
"And what if they're true?"
Mace hesitated.
"If they truly exist..."
"Then the Wall must be defended."
"The Reach may be far from the North..."
"But for the future of the Seven Kingdoms, we'll gladly do our part."
"Still..."
"The Long Night and the walking dead have existed only in legends for thousands of years."
"No living person has ever seen them."
"It's difficult to accept the Night's Watch's claims without proof."
Randyll spoke next.
"Where is Ser Alliser now?"
"He's already returned to the Wall."
"Tyrion treated him fairly."
"He allowed him to take several prisoners from the Red Keep's dungeons."
"Since King's Landing was suffering from famine..."
"A number of desperate commoners also volunteered to travel north with him."
---
"Winter is coming, my lords."
Eddard's calm voice drew everyone's attention.
"If the Long Night truly returns..."
"The Night's Watch will become the only shield standing between the realm and whatever darkness descends from beyond the Wall."
"If we fail to prepare..."
"The consequences will be unimaginable."
Gendry nodded.
"Lord Eddard..."
"You've been given an enormous responsibility."
He continued.
"Autumn is always brief."
"Winter follows soon after."
"History tells us that long summers are matched by equally long winters."
"Our recent summer lasted nearly ten years."
"Which means..."
"This winter may last ten years as well."
The room fell silent.
Many of the assembled lords had worried about winter.
Few had truly considered the possibility of a decade-long one.
Or worse...
The return of the Long Night itself.
If that happened...
Much of Westeros' recorded history would need to be reconsidered.
Since Aegon's Conquest...
The longest recorded winter had lasted only five or six years, during the aftermath of the Dance of the Dragons.
Even that had nearly broken the realm.
A ten-year winter would be something entirely different.
Mace frowned.
Bronze Yohn Royce quietly remembered the ancient legends.
Eddard sighed.
"The North faces danger from every direction."
"First..."
"We must survive the winter itself."
"We've always stored grain for hard seasons."
"But no one can say whether it'll last through a decade of snow."
"The only Stark to experience such a terrible winter was Cregan Stark."
"Back then..."
"The North became so desperate that people sold themselves—and even their children—just to survive."
"This winter..."
"Will likely be even worse."
"Second..."
"We must defend the Wall."
"Even if the White Walkers never appear..."
"If Mance Rayder truly leads one hundred thousand wildlings south..."
"I'll still need the full strength of the North to stop him."
"Third..."
"The Ironborn."
"I believe they won't survive the coming winter for long."
"And Prince Gendry has already warned them."
Throughout the discussion...
Roose Bolton remained unusually quiet.
Whenever Eddard Stark was present...
He seemed content to fade into the background like a silent shadow.
---
"The situation may become every bit as severe as Lord Eddard describes."
Gendry slowly turned the Valyrian steel ring on his finger.
"Perhaps..."
"Even worse."
Stannis snorted.
"My brother spent his life feasting, hunting, and chasing women."
"And now he leaves us to clean up the mess."
Selwyn Tarth nodded thoughtfully.
"A long winter won't only threaten the North."
"If snow begins falling in King's Landing..."
"Half of Westeros will already be suffering."
"And a long winter means one thing above all else..."
"Hungry mouths."
Bronze Yohn Royce agreed.
"The Vale will suffer as well."
"So will the Riverlands."
"The Westerlands."
"The North."
"The Stormlands, the Reach, and Dorne may fare slightly better."
"If the gods are merciful..."
"Snow won't reach Oldtown or Sunspear."
---
Gendry slowly looked around the table.
"My lords..."
"Our true enemy isn't Tywin Lannister."
"It isn't Volantis."
"It isn't Lys."
"Our true enemy is the Long Winter."
"And the Long Night."
"Compared to those..."
"Tywin..."
"Volantis..."
"And Lys..."
"Are no more significant than dust."
"The Seven Kingdoms must stand united."
"So must every territory in Essos under my influence."
Turning toward Mace, Gendry spoke earnestly.
"Lord Mace."
"The Reach is the granary of Westeros."
"And as Master of Coin..."
"You carry an enormous burden."
"The North will need your help."
Mace immediately felt a headache coming on.
Those poor Northmen...
They're asking for grain and gold again...
King's Landing needed rebuilding.
Winter preparations required massive funding.
War loomed on every horizon.
His position as Master of Coin suddenly felt less like an honor...
And more like a punishment.
---
"When the Wall calls for aid..."
"We must answer."
"We'll support both the Night's Watch..."
"And the North."
Gendry declared firmly.
The gathered lords nodded.
If the North fell...
Everything south of the Wall would eventually follow.
Gendry smiled.
"With great power..."
"Comes great responsibility."
He looked directly at Mace.
Mace sighed heavily before forcing himself to smile.
"True enough."
"It won't be easy..."
"But I'll do everything I can."
Perhaps he wasn't a brilliant battlefield commander.
But beginning next spring...
He intended to devote himself entirely to taxes, grain reserves, and rebuilding the kingdom's economy.
If the Long Night truly arrived...
He might become the most important Master of Coin in the history of the Seven Kingdoms.
If he couldn't manage everything himself...
He could always drag his sons into helping with the ledgers.
---
Stannis summarized the meeting.
"We've won a great victory."
"But we've also inherited enormous responsibilities."
"From now on..."
"We prepare for winter."
"And for war."
Barristan added,
"We'll need more granaries."
"More grain."
"Better roads."
"We already have historical examples to follow."
"We should construct storage depots near every major port."
"And immediately restrict grain exports."
"But this information must remain confidential."
"If we announce everything too early..."
"We'll create another wave of panic."
Gendry nodded.
"There's one more issue."
"Harrenhal."
"House Whent is nearly extinct."
"And when the war began..."
"They surrendered the castle to Tywin."
Eddard immediately spoke.
"Lady Whent is only an old woman."
"Tywin marched with twenty thousand men."
"What choice did she really have?"
"Perhaps."
Stannis answered calmly.
"But the castle was still surrendered."
"Most of the Riverlords had already collapsed outside Riverrun."
Bronze Yohn Royce stepped in.
"Lord Eddard."
"You may not have heard."
"Lady Whent has officially offered Harrenhal to the Iron Throne."
"The Small Council accepted."
"The castle now belongs directly to the Crown."
"Besides..."
"Harrenhal carries too many painful memories."
Stannis nodded.
"It'll become our main logistical center."
"After all..."
"It's Harrenhal."
Barristan quietly lowered his eyes.
The ancient fortress reminded him of long-dead brothers of the Kingsguard.
Back then...
The White Cloaks had truly been legends.
Eddard remained silent.
Winter was coming.
Sometimes...
One simply had to let go of the past.
Technically, House Tully still possessed a distant claim through House Whent.
But after Edmure's disappointing performance during the war...
There was little hope of pressing that claim successfully.
---
At last...
Golden Arbor wine was served.
Its rich aroma immediately lightened the atmosphere.
Mace raised his goblet.
"To the Storm!"
"To the Storm!"
Stannis echoed.
Eddard drained his cup in one long swallow.
For the first time in what felt like ages...
He tasted fine wine instead of the bitter dust of war.
The heavy atmosphere surrounding the gathering gradually disappeared.
Winter might be approaching.
The Long Night might one day arrive.
But tonight...
They would enjoy their hard-earned victory while they still could.
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