"Old Jessy, how has that boy Roman been training lately?"
One afternoon, Lady Helaena sought out Old Jessy. Together, they stood on a high platform, watching Roman practice below.
Roman was currently practicing combat with four soldiers using iron weapons. According to Old Jessy's reasoning, the battlefield never gives you a one-on-one chance; fighting many alone is common, so Roman had to learn how to survive a group brawl.
But in Lady Helaena's eyes, the situation seemed a bit different.
"Old Jessy, to me it looks like Roman is the one beating the other four. Is something wrong here?"
Lady Helaena had seen group confrontations in tournaments before; she could still judge the skill level of a single person in a team fight.
But Roman was clearly different from ordinary people.
To prevent a newcomer like Roman from lacking restraint and injuring the other soldiers, the Drillmaster had only replaced his wooden stick with a solid iron rod.
The result was an unexpected surge in Roman's strength. Because he wore protective gear, being hit by training swords felt like nothing to him.
But a solid iron rod combined with Roman's immense strength was a different story.
When the iron rod swung in a full arc, the tip was enough to shatter rock.
Even though Roman deliberately controlled his power, a single hit to the body still left a bruise.
Old Jessy's initial disdain had gradually turned into admiration.
"My Lady, this lad is diligent and eager to learn, and he takes his training seriously. It won't be long before he can join the night patrols. I suggest we provide him with a proper weapon."
Lady Helaena looked at Roman's figure and nodded gently.
Afterward, Roman began his night patrol duties at Harrenhal.
"Hiss, is Harrenhal for real? How am I supposed to finish inspecting such a massive area?"
Originally, Roman hadn't thought much of it. What was the big deal about walking through one Harrenhal?
But when he truly began his patrol, Roman understood why it was called the greatest fortress in Westeros.
Five towers pierced the clouds; even though most were abandoned, the remaining sections were still incredibly vast.
Some halls could even be filled with over a thousand people.
Because of Aegon the Conqueror's dragonflame, collapsed molten stone bricks were everywhere, appearing exceptionally eerie under the quiet night sky.
And because Roman was a newcomer, the old veterans assigned him to the most remote patrol route.
However, it was perfect for him. Roman was already thinking about how to investigate Harrenhal; this was like being offered a pillow just as he wanted to sleep.
"Fortunately, my eyes are clearer than those of ordinary people. I can see clearly even in the dark."
The more he looked at Harrenhal, the more magnificent it seemed. Roman began to suspect whether Harren the Black had used magic when building Harrenhal; otherwise, these structures beyond current technological levels could not be explained.
Amidst shock and doubt, Roman began his recording.
Such activities became Roman's norm in the days that followed. Sometimes, he would even head into the ruins of Harrenhal during the day to investigate.
The Servants only thought the lad was doing it out of boredom, but Roman discovered something strange in the ruins of Harrenhal.
At night, a dark shadow often wandered through Harrenhal. Even with Roman's amazing eyesight, he couldn't make out the shadow owner's appearance.
Every time Roman tried to get close, the dark shadow would dodge away.
And tonight, he planned to properly investigate that shadow.
Roman finished his night patrol as usual, then found a corner to hide in.
Harrenhal itself was a massive ruin; such hidden spots were countless.
This ancient ruin was so large that not even the chirping of insects could be heard. Staying in one place for too long made one's heart inevitably shudder.
Any ordinary Guard would have called it a day after finishing their patrol; who would have the heart to stay in those dark corners?
But Roman was clearly no ordinary person.
Finally, after a long wait, the target appeared.
Like a drop of ink in water, a chaotic and compact dark shadow emerged from the floor of Harrenhal, gradually gathering into a mass.
This time, Roman was not in a hurry to appear, but instead observed secretly from a dark corner.
He clearly saw this mass of dark shadow constantly shifting, eventually taking a humanoid form.
Roman suddenly thought of the passages in the original a song of ice and fire regarding the curse of Harrenhal.
"Could this be a person of Harrenhal who was burned to death by Aegon back then?"
The dark shadow did not notice Roman and began to walk on its own.
Watching the dark shadow move with a brisk pace, Roman became even more convinced of the theories about Harrenhal's ghosts from the original work. He immediately followed, wanting to see what the hell it was up to.
The dark shadow wandered in front, and Roman followed through the darkness behind.
After several turns, the two arrived at the area where the Servants lived. Roman's heart tightened; the rumors of Harrenhal were about to come true.
The people of Harrenhal had always believed that Harren the Black and his men hadn't died completely and would now harm people in the form of ghosts.
At that moment, a Servant got up in the middle of the night and happened to run into the dark shadow.
The originally groroggy Servant was instantly jolted awake by the sight of the dark mist before him. He was about to cry out, but the dark shadow had already begun to sprint.
Roman started running at almost the same time, but distant help couldn't solve an immediate crisis. At this rate, the Servant was bound to meet with disaster.
He gritted his teeth and roared, "Get down!"
Then, twisting his wrist to grip the iron rod, he adjusted his muscles in an instant and threw the iron rod with a violent force.
The iron rod, weighing several pounds, flew out like an arrow from a bowstring, instantly becoming a blur.
The speed of the iron rod was so fast that it even generated air pressure, blowing out a nearby torch.
The Servant saw the torches being extinguished in rapid succession from far to near. Thinking another ghost was coming, he immediately crouched on the ground, clutching his head in fear.
The dark shadow heard Roman's roar. Before it could turn around, it was struck in the back by the iron rod, and its entire form was sent flying.
The iron rod pinned the dark shadow firmly against the stone wall, the loud crash instantly echoing through the entire tower.
Lady Helaena and the other Servants were also startled awake by the noise and hurriedly scrambled out of bed.
Roman first helped the Servant up, comforted him, and told him to inform Lady Helaena of what he had seen tonight.
Afterward, Roman began to examine the mass of dark shadow.
Strange to say, despite clearly being an entity like shadow and smoke, it could be pinned to the wall by an iron rod.
Looking closely, this shadow had a blurred face.
"Isn't this the face I encountered in my dreams?"
Roman recognized that ugly face immediately. He couldn't help it; every time in his dreams, it was among the first to be killed. Roman couldn't forget it even if he wanted to.
The shadow wanted to cry out, but it couldn't make a sound. It could only hiss and reach out its hand, trying to claw at Roman's face.
Roman didn't indulge it, slamming a hook punch into the shadow's face.
"Giving you face? You dare to be so insolent after attacking someone?"
But what happened next was beyond Roman's expectations.
After taking Roman's punch, the shadow let out a shrill wail. Its ink-like body rapidly dissipated from where it had been hit.
And the dispersing black mist was directly absorbed into Roman's body.
"Wait! This is...?"
Before Roman could react, a vast amount of memories instantly flooded into his brain.
Images of Harrenhal's foundations being laid, the red sap flowing when the Godswood was felled, slave laborers working themselves to death in the quarries, and infants crying after being bled...
In an instant, a massive amount of information washed through Roman's mind, and he couldn't help but lean against the wall for support.
At that moment, Lady Helaena's exclamation of shock came from behind Roman.
"Seven Gods above! What is this?!"