*
"By what right, you wildling, do you boast and proclaim?
That I must bow my head and submit to you?
Descendants of the First Men, children of the Old Gods,
Raise your swords and let us decide who is superior.
Barbarians and wolves fight amongst themselves,
With every strike, blood flows without mercy.
Suddenly, a true dragon appears in the sky.
Your child, do not forget; your child, do not forget.
Oh, he says so, he says so,
The wildling wandering Beyond the Wall, he says so.
Dragonflame scorched the land, leaving only ashes.
Ashes weep in the wilderness, no longer hearing the giants' thunderous drums.
Dragonflame scorched the land, leaving only ashes.
Ashes weep in the wilderness, no longer hearing the wildlings' warring horns."
Legan hummed this recently composed tune. Commander Jason Lannister, who loved music, was inspired after the one-sided battle and created this song called "Dragonflame Beneath the Wall."
Rhaegor didn't like it much; after all, he wasn't like his fiancée Daniela, who loved music, gourmet food, and needlework. He had almost no interest in music, and musical instruments were his worst subject. But this didn't stop him from appreciating this song that praised himself.
When Star Song appeared on the battlefield, victory was already assured. The wildlings lacked ranged weapons and posed no threat to Star Song, which could already withstand most ranged attacks. Its dragonflame raged across the battlefield, burning or injuring thousands of wildlings. More importantly, Star Song overwhelmingly slaughtered the giants the wildlings had brought south of the Wall. The giant mammoth cavalry, on whom the "cruel" Silas and Selgon Magna had placed great hopes, served no purpose whatsoever. Instead, the mammoths were startled by the dragonflame, leading to a stampede, and their already disorganized formation could no longer be maintained.
The Night's Watch cavalry and the armored cavalry of the North seized the opportunity to charge, followed by the main Northern infantry, completely crushing this large-scale wildling gathering. Fifty thousand wildlings who had crossed the Wall were either killed or captured. The captured wildlings were carefully screened by Lord Cregan; all leaders were executed, and the remaining captives were thrown into mines and logging pits by Lord Cregan Stark.
"That is where they belong,"
These were Lord Stark's exact words.
The Night's Watch collected the wildlings' skulls, piling them into mountains Beyond the Wall to warn the wildlings in the forests.
Before leaving the North, Rhaegor made a trip Beyond the Wall.
Star Song, like its predecessors, stubbornly refused to fly over the Wall, as if something Beyond the Wall could threaten it. No, not threaten, but rather make Star Song uneasy or disgusted. In any case, Rhaegor could only take Legan and the others, along with thirty Northern cavalry personally led by Lord Cregan, and twenty armored Rangers personally led by Commander Jason, to leave Castle Black and venture deep into the haunted Ghost Shadow Forest in the North.
That was the last place on the entire continent where two ancient weirwood trees could be seen in one location simultaneously. In past years, many wildling tribes gathered here, and the Night's Watch Rangers patrolled day and night, sometimes fighting wildlings, and sometimes engaging in trade.
But with the war winding down, the area had become sparsely populated.
"Whoosh"
An arrow pierced cleanly into the neck of a shadow lynx. The fierce monster let out a chilling shriek and then fell silent.
Legan put down his hunting bow with satisfaction, but couldn't help but shiver: "If I remember correctly, it's summer now, so why is it so cold?"
A black-clad brother rubbed his hands and, with another Northern cavalryman, dragged the sleek-furred creature back to camp.
"There is no summer in the North, Reigen Kaawen," Lord Cregan said calmly. The Night's Watch were familiar with the structure of the Ghost Shadow Forest; their current location once belonged to a wildling tribe that had close interactions with the Night's Watch. Before being absorbed by the "cruel" Silas, this wildling tribe had developed quite well. They cut down oak trees and built simple longhouses in forest clearings. Wildling women gathered berries, raised livestock, and there were even traces of slash-and-burn agriculture and cultivation in the forest lands.
Sadly, all of it was now gone.
"Wildlings are still wildlings." This was Lord Cregan's first remark upon seeing the camp. "They abhor order, but they also reject civilization."
Rhaegor agreed with this statement.
Commander Jason excitedly walked over to the shadow lynx with his hunting knife, and in no time, a complete shadow lynx pelt was stripped off.
"Prince Rhaegor, I will have a master craftsman tan this pelt when I return and make it into a cloak to present to Prince Dragonzel." A hint of nostalgia flashed in Commander Jason's eyes. The harsh Northern winter had completely changed this once flamboyant Western Lion. The current Jason Lannister was much stronger than he used to be. He wore a shadow lynx cloak, fine chainmail, and a black outer garment, even his gloves were black. His once full head of golden hair was now shaven clean for better hat and helmet wear, but his beard was long, especially the golden hair hanging down from his temples, making Jason look more like a balding lion.
Winter and the failure of war had also left other marks on this once proud man, such as scars on his body, wrinkles on his face, and a more steady temperament.
"Thank you, Commander Jason," Rhaegor said politely. "My father will thank you."
"I should thank him," Commander Jason sighed. "If he hadn't sent supplies to Eastwatch in the winter, more people would have starved to death on the Wall."
"Alright, everyone," Lord Cregan interrupted their conversation. "It's getting late, Prince Rhaegor, where exactly are you going?"
He still spoke in that calm tone. But everyone could hear Lord Cregan's unspoken meaning: the land north of the Wall, even in midsummer, was still cold, and could unexpectedly drop a deadly snowstorm, so going Beyond the Wall was a very risky move. Lord Cregan also did not want them to suffer losses just because Rhaegor said, "I want to go Beyond the Wall and see."
After all, not everyone had Rhaegor's fiery blood.
Nor did everyone have sufficiently fine equipment to use.
"Lord Stark, Commander Jason." Rhaegor looked at Cregan Stark, then at Jason Lannister. Legan, standing by, looked left and right, realized this wasn't where he should be, and quickly ran off to hum the tune of "Dragonflame Beneath the Wall" with Ailarion and Albin, watching the cavalry brothers prepare things and dishes for the night.
"Do you know the song of ice and fire?"
Lord Cregan's expression changed drastically, and Commander Jason's face also instantly darkened.
Both of them knew this prophecy, though their order of knowing and the specific content differed. The Stark family passed down the legend of the Long Night from lord to lord, and the ancient Kings of Winter built vast, eerie crypts, also secretly making many preparations unknown even to their descendants. Commander Jason, on the other hand, inherited the ancient legends of the Night's Watch.
To be honest, many times Jason regarded these yellowed and brittle old scrolls as bedtime stories told by an old wet nurse by the cradle, but the arrival of the long winter changed his perception. He personally saw the legendary giants and mammoths—or rather, woolly mammoths—and personally donned a cloak made of shadow lynx fur.
So, what if the legend was true?
"Prince Dragonzel told you?" Lord Cregan slowly said after a long while. "That makes sense, he would certainly tell his heir."
"Father did tell me this legend, and about the alliance with you." Rhaegor suppressed the sudden surge of youthful passion within him, but a slight rise in his voice still betrayed him: "The Varezes family has come for the final chapter of the song of ice and fire, and it is our duty to complete its melody." "It is also the duty of the Stark family." Cregan stood up, placing his hand over his chest, as if repeating an ancient oath: "The ancestors of the Stark family made a great mistake in ancient and unknowable times, so we have guarded against winter coming generation after generation. It was so eight thousand years ago, and it remains so eight thousand years later."
But a long sigh interrupted this oath-like statement.
"Alas, the Long Night has passed for too long, so much so that the Night King has forgotten the terror of the Long Night, and has re-embraced ancient secrets, and now people have forgotten the Night King's folly, forgotten the horrors that rampaged across the world during the Long Night."
Cregan slowly recounted things that Dragonzel had not told Rhaegor, and that Jason could not obtain from the Night's Watch's library tower.
"When I was a child, I also thought these were just old wet nurse's fairy tales, until I had a dream. I dreamed of the Wall collapsing, blue-eyed monsters riding ice spiders and dead warhorses, and lizard-lion-like ice dragons sweeping south from the North, killing all living things in their path. I dreamed of the Stark ancestors opening their similarly blue eyes. I dreamed of flames extinguishing, and ice freezing everything."
He whispered, "My grandfather didn't believe it, my father didn't believe it, my uncle didn't believe it. I believe my great-grandfather, and generations of Stark ancestors didn't really believe this legend, but I did. So I found your father, Prince Dragonzel."
Rhaegor matched Cregan's words with the ancient legend his father had told him and his family's prophecy, and finally, no longer able to suppress the urge within him, he too stood up and looked at the two elders.
Commander Jason grinned: "Lord Cregan, as the Commander of the Night's Watch, I agree with your caution regarding the threat Beyond the Wall, but…" He lowered his head, looking at his black chainmail, his smile gradually turning into a self-mocking one: "I am just this current Commander of the Wall. My belief in this does not mean my successor will believe it. Lord Cregan, you also know that in times of peace, the Night's Watch cannot replenish enough quality recruits."
Commander Jason lowered his voice. Although the Rangers he brought were knights and nobles from the Westerlands, his current identity was Commander, and some things should not be said, or rather, even if they were to be said, they couldn't be said openly. "Prince Dragonzel defeated us, so the Wall welcomed thousands of well-trained knights, sergeants, soldiers, and nobles. But what if there's no war in the future? We will eventually grow old and die. Who will our successors be? A handful of Northern nobles and Vale knights? And more thieves, poachers, male prostitutes, scoundrels, scum, and bastards? The Wall will eventually decline; this is inevitable."
"I understand, Lord Jason." How could Rhaegor not understand this principle? In fact, he had seen many problems when he was discussing the development of the territory with Dragonzel. Peace was valuable, but war was also essential for the family's development.
The Wall was the same.
However, the current peace was too precious; the people needed rest, and the royal family was unwilling to wage war again.
"So, Prince Rhaegor, Lord Stark, you two talk amongst yourselves; just pretend I'm not here." Commander Jason spread his hands, but his golden eyes were filled with determination: "But Lannister always repays its debts and returns its favors. If the legend is true, House Lannister of the future will not stand idly by. I will write a secret letter to my son or my son's heir; they will understand."
Commander Jason looked north, even though a thick wall now separated them from it.
"They must understand."
Commander Jason thumped his chest: "This is a lion's duty, and a lion's pride."
"I hope so." Lord Cregan remained very calm. It wasn't that he was indifferent to House Lannister's support, but rather that he was unwilling to place his hopes on others.
Even Prince Dragonzel was no exception.
"Prince Rhaegor, I hope to continue the alliance of ice and fire through you."
Rhaegor nodded; he could roughly infer what his father desired.
In the prophecy of the song of ice and fire, the prince in the prophecy would complete the composition of the song of ice and fire. If approached from a bloodline perspective, the Targaryen and Varezes bloodlines symbolize fire, then the representative of ice is very clear.
The Stark family bloodline.
That prophesied prince would most likely be a combination of ice and fire.
This was simple.
"My son, if you have descendants of suitable age, he shall marry into the blood of the wolf," Rhaegor reiterated the alliance.
"The oath is made, witnessed by the Old Gods," Lord Cregan also raised his hand.
A new alliance was signed.
Rhaegor's descendants would introduce the blood of ice to confirm that ancient legend.
Hopefully, this was feasible.
Night swallowed the land.
Rhaegor, in his sleep, suddenly found himself in the middle of the boundless Ghost Shadow Forest, where an enormous weirwood tree was gnarled among the other trees.
He looked at the Three-Eyed Raven on the tree.
"Caw, caw, why doesn't the Prince come?"
"But your coming is fine too, caw, caw."
The Three-Eyed Raven let out a piercing shriek.
Rhaegor's vision suddenly brightened; he saw roots extending infinitely towards the distant North.
He saw a light curtain that obscured the sky.
He saw pairs of half-closed blue eyes.
He saw the Heart of Winter glowing brightly.
Rhaegor suddenly teared up.
"Caw, caw, remember the oath, caw, heir of fire, caw, tell Prince Dragonzel that our reward will come in fifteen years, caw, hope he is satisfied."
"Caw!"
A shriek.
Dead silence.
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