The Iron Throne of Ice and Fire

The Earl of the Dreadfort approached the fireplace, and the fire gave his bloodless face like an ice sculpture a layer of fiery red. The interplay of light and shadow made his face even more stern.

"If a long winter comes, the most thorny issue in the North is the storage of food for the winter. More than a year of war has almost swallowed up all the harvest this year, Lord Ned."

Duke Eddard nodded slowly: "I have ordered White Harbor to make every effort to purchase grain from the south. Wyman (Wyman Manderly, Earl of White Harbor) sent someone to contact me a few days ago, and the trade is progressing smoothly. "

[White Harbor is the main trading port in the North, located at the mouth of the White Blade River. It is the smallest city among the five major cities in Westeros]

Roose Bolton glanced at the lord and said: "Lord Ned, please forgive me, the more food we buy, the more expensive the food will be, and our needs are like a bottomless abyss. , This will completely drain the wealth of the entire northern territory.”

Duke Ed remained silent for a long time with a solemn expression. Running Wolf's gray eyes moved to Count Luce: "Listen to your idea."

Count Luce was not in a hurry to respond. He slowly pulled up a chair and sat down. After a pause, his small but penetrating voice came over: "The long winter is coming, your decision has been made." It is related to the life and death of the entire Northern Territory. If we do not get the support of the Red Keep, those greedy food merchants will be able to defeat us. The consequences may be more serious than I imagined. They will never show any mercy to the Northern Territory people. heart.”

He rubbed the armrest with his pale and slender fingers, and continued: "We can no longer waste time with Lord Stannis. This will give the southern nobles an excuse to sanction the north. Before food prices skyrocket, we should send orders to the North as soon as possible. The Red Keep surrenders and returns to the Seven Kingdoms."

He pursed his extremely thin lips and said, "To be precise, we should surrender to Mr. Green Claypool."

The fire reflected in his eyes was jumping: "If the Targaryen royal family returns to King's Landing, there is an urgent need for a solid bridge between the North and the Iron Throne, and the Green Regent is the only choice for the North. My lord, get it first. Before the Targaryens enter King's Landing, we must go south as soon as possible and show the sincerity of the North's submission to the regent as soon as possible."

Running wolf goes south......

Duke Ed's thoughts were instantly drawn back to the painful past.

The mad king burned his father to death and strangled his brother. His sister slept forever in the blood bed of the Tower of Bliss, and his eldest son...

Even he himself, if it weren't for Green's secret rescue, his head would have been hanging high above the gates of King's Landing, and he would have become the object of contempt by everyone.

Duke Ed took a breath, and his deep voice sounded: "Luce, I will consider your suggestion carefully."

After a pause, he patted the silent Count Luce with his big hand and added: "I know the severity, and I won't delay for too long."

Earl Luce glanced at Duke Eddard with his light eyes and nodded slightly silently.

Then, Duke Ed's tall and straight figure stood up from the chair, his posture like a towering mountain peak.

"I'm going to confirm that right now."

"You are going to visit Lord Stannis now?"

"Yes, now."

…………

Castle Black, King's Tower.

The burning wood in the fireplace crackled, and Tyrion bowed to Stannis, who was sitting next to him, and said: "Good night, Your Majesty the King, I hope you will be in a good mood tonight."

Stannis stared at Tyrion in silence, and the gentle voice of the red-robed priestess Melisandre standing beside him with an accent from the Jade Sea region came over like a warm breeze.

"Good evening, cute little lion."

Tyrion smiled reservedly, and just as he was about to speak, Stannis's cold voice sounded first: "They finally admitted that the children Cersei gave birth to were all evil..."

His teeth chattered: "...However, no one wants to welcome back their legitimate king."

Stannis stared straight at Tyrion with his bright blue eyes: "Greenclab and his puppets - the Royal Council, they have no power to deprive the Baratheon family of their ancestral land and the legal status of the Seven Kingdoms. The legal rights of the king.”

Melisandre's white and tender hands gently placed on the king's thin shoulders and said softly: "That's because the young regent has no understanding of the power of the King of Light. Ignorant people are fearless."

She approached him lightly and traced her slender fingers slowly along his shoulders: "When he truly realizes the greatness of the King of Light and the great cause you shoulder, surrendering to you is his only way. In the light Under the light of the King, all darkness and evil will be invisible.”

Stannis snorted coldly and said: "Now that Cersei's crime of tarnishing the royal bloodline has been revealed, they should know that Green's position as regent is not legal..."

His teeth creaked again: "Those people, are they all blind? Why are they still turning a blind eye to Green's actions?"

Melisandre put her hands on the king's shoulders, her fiery red eyes moved towards Tyrion who was distracted, and said: "What do you think of this, clever little lion?"

"Well, Green Kleb's behavior is indeed like a robber..."

As soon as Tyrion opened his mouth, Stannis interrupted impatiently: "Come closer and speak, my advisor, and say what you have to say."

Tyrion opened his mouth, one black eye and one green eye quickly swept across the intimate king and priestess, and came to them respectfully.

"Please continue, little lion."

Glancing at them again, Tyrion coughed lightly, cleared his throat, and said: "Greene took away your legal power like a robber... However, based on what I know about him, he will not be stupid. To keep it for himself, there is an obvious reason for others to criticize him.”

He shrugged: "Judging from the results, he did this..."

Stannis said coldly: "As long as he can successfully take back the Mad King's seed, everything he does will be legal. This is his real conspiracy."

He sneered: "I didn't expect that the Seven Kingdoms would be manipulated by a young man."

Melisandre pursed her lips and smiled, and whispered in Stannis's ear: "No matter what kind of conspiracy and trick it is, it is all in vain in the face of the power of the Lord of Light. You only need to get me the King's With blood, all problems will be solved. The power of the Lord of Light will dispel the darkness and pave the way to the Iron Throne."

Stannis looked at the fire with a deeper look: "The blood of the king."

Melisandre nodded slightly: "Yes, the blood of the king. Only it can awaken the sleeping power."

Her left hand was placed on Stannis's other shoulder, and her seductive red lips were almost touching his ear: "Tyrion has spent all his words for your majesty, but he still cannot shake the selfishness of the running wolf." , His insistence on protecting Robert’s illegitimate son will bring a huge disaster to your kingdom and all living people. The night is dark and dangerous everywhere. Your Majesty must make a choice.”

As he listened, Tyrion's lowered eyes trembled involuntarily. Greene and Duke Eddard... Stannis, who only had more than 2,000 soldiers, seemed to be able to deal with them at any time? !

Is it a lie or the truth?

Tyrion's pupils suddenly shrank, and a terrible thought suddenly flashed through his mind, Shadow Killer... He remembered the rumor about Renly's death!

Suddenly, Tyrion raised his eyes to look at the king and his witch who seemed to be cuddling together, and his eyes happened to catch Melisandre's moving eyes.

She smiled at him, and a chill ran up Tyrion's spine.