The territory that was blanketed in snow and known as 'The Frozen Lands' following the creation of nine kingdoms was given the name 'Walzeria', where the House of Ironfrey, who were declared wardens after 'The Battle of Seas and Woods', were still enjoying their given responsibility.
Two horse riders, who appeared to be attractive young men in their thirties with thick black hair on which snowflakes were plainly visible, were riding slowly forward on their mounts in the chill of this dark, blood-freezing night.They were dressed in leather boots, white woollen pants, white moleskin gloves, and a fine, supple coat that was offering them some protection from the cold.One of them was holding a burning torch, which could be blown away by the gusts of strong, cold winds."My daughter asked me to get a white wolf cub"One of them, whose voice was husky from the cold, spoke.
"But, Arag, you are unable to capture a wolf in such a frigid climate"The other young man holding the flame said.
"She doesn't often ask me for anything, Thyro, and because she is my only child, I have a responsibility to grant her wishes"Arag said.
"I suppose you should speak with Ser Repon because I've heard he has some stunning wolves"Thyro said with shivering teeths.
"Yes but... "That's when the sound of something being crushed was heard among the clopping of horses' hooves.
"What was that?"Arag asked in a firm tone.Both of them stopped their horses and knelt down on the snow-covered ground.Their feet were slightly burying themselves in the snow.
"There might be a squirrel"Thyro said in a lazy voice.
"No...it's a raven"Arag spoke while holding the deceased creature in his hand.
"Raven?"
"It looks different and is too little to be ours"With both of his hands, Arag spread the frozen wings of the dead raven.
"It's from the east"Thyro murmured in a startled tone while gazing at it with his tiny eyes.
"There's a message attached to it"The raven's paws had been attached with a piece of paper, which Arag pulled off. The reverse of the paper was somewhat moist, and the characters were hardly readable.
"Should we open it?"Thyro asked him.
"No, we should take it to the palace immediately."
*
Between tall, dark walls that were lightly snowed over, stood a massive fort with minarets that rose higher than the outside walls.However, the weather outside had little impact inside the palace.Every corridor was lit by the light of burning torches,small torches were also carried by the soldiers stationed outside the chambers of some high-ranking residents of the palace in case the torches burning inside were extinguished. This was done in case the torches within the rooms needed to be relit.In the midst of all this, an elderly maid was walking down the corridors leading to the eastern side's tallest tower, the 'Tower of Heaven', while wearing white clothing that appeared somewhat yellow in the flames.She was struggling to keep her balance as she climbed the tower's stairs due to exhaustion, but she continued on, and after ascending a few more steps, she spotted someone descending.An empty tray was being brought downstairs by a lean boy wearing a servant's outfit.
"Nedona, where have you been?"He asked her.
"Did...the..princess eat?"She heaved.
"Not yet, without stories... "She began ascending the remaining stairs, though, without paying attention to anything he said after that.There were only two rooms upstairs, of which only one was guarded.One of the two soldiers who were stationed outside the entrance grinned when he saw her and said, "You are late today," and opened the door for her.
The room was quite spacious and lovely; there was a fire going in a sizable fireplace near the wall, in front of which were two wonderful black chairs and a table covered in books.There was a large bed not far from the table, and in front of it, on the table, was a tray full of delectable food.In front of the tower's window, where snowflakes were falling, stood a young woman of about sixteen years of age, clad in a green dress, with magnificent black hair. She was standing there reading an open heavy book.On one page, a blazing city was shown, and on the opposite side, something was written.
"You made me wait"The young girl said softly.
"Princess, I apologise; the queen tasked..me with...looking into..the potions"Nedona said, still trying to catch her breath.
"However, you are aware that you must now spend time with me"She remarked quietly as she continued to read the book.
"Yes, princess"
"You have done a punishable act"She closed the book and said.
"So how will I be punished, princess?"
"Three big, thrilling stories"She said firmly.
"Three...bigger punishment than last time"Nedona said with a smile.
"Be thankful I didn't put you behind bars"
"You would then need to visit those ominous, icy jails to hear the tales"
"For your knowledge, let me add that Princess Cylidria has made some progress in her reading"She said, Nedona could hear the triumph in her tone.
"Wonderful. So what were you reading, princess?"
"I was reading..."She flipped through the pages of the book after opening it, "Yes...I was reading 'The Battle of Wings and Ashes',also known as 'A Rain of Tears', by Ser Rhod, the eleventh commander of Gandor.Nedona, was King's Landing really burning like this?"Princess Cylidria questioned as she displayed the book to Nedona.The image of the King's Landing buildings in flames with a small black figure flying over it held Nedona's aged eyes for a moment, and then,"Images do not accurately portray reality.I can still picture the destruction: corpses littered the streets, people scrambled through the city like crazy in search of safety, trampling one another under their feet.Each soldier was engaged in combat without regard for his own life and the burning horse....I still remember him running to his death on the streets of King's Landing"Looking at the expression on Nedona's face, it was as if she had gone back to her painful memories.
"Putting an entire city at stake just to kill one Gryphon Rider—wasn't it too expensive a deal?"Princess Cylidria remarked in an unflattering tone.
"Laime Rangswood was one of those rulers for whose long life his subjects beg to their gods; he was not just a gryphon rider, princess...One last gryphon rider who saw the nine kingdoms from those heights of the sky. And his gryphon Ruffio, a stunning example of nature that used to make me linger all day in the sky...but after that conflict, everything was different"Nedona said in a sad tone.After a quiet, Princess Cylidria said with grief that,"Was that battle truly that terrible, Nedona?"
"Nobody wanted to witness it, Princess.Everything was clouded with melancholy, Grand buildings in King's Landing were destroyed, and the troops of House Telian seemed to consider the annihilation of the populace to be amusing..."But the princess interrupted her and said that,"King Florus Telian, the warden of the Gandor Kingdom, is a very kind person by nature"
"You are learning a lot about the royal families, princess"
"I overheard my father talking to his counsellors about him"
"Yes, he is a kind lord, but the Telian family was then ruled by King Florus's older brother Adrian-II, 'The Grey Butcher', who was very cruel and merciless in nature"She said this, looking at the window, which was almost covered with snowflakes.
"Well, I want to hear this historical tale"
"Sure, my dear princess, so... "
*
In the heart of the mountains, there was a lovely fort whose walls were encircled on all sides by rocks.Some of the minarets of the fort were covered by clouds, near one of which the most beautiful thing in nature, the moon, was decorated in the sky, challenging the darkness of the night and beautiful waterfalls were flowing from the rocks next to some of the walls of the fort, on which the light of the moon was falling; it looked as if the moon was shedding its light through the mountains.But somewhere in the rooms built inside the walls of the fort, there was sadness in some people, while others were happy to see their desired things happening.There was a large chamber with numerous excellent swords adorning the walls, and the flames' light caught the blades as they sparkled.They were caught in the admiring gaze of a charming young man wearing attire embellished with red and blue gemstones."Do you like this decoration?"He heard a voice behind him.
"Yeah, who doesn't like these beautiful swords"Turning around, he said.His mother, the second wife of the warden of Dormir, was smiling at him.
"There are still a few additional items, which will be decorated in this room tomorrow"She said.
"All these wonderful things used to adorn the walls of some other room earlier, but now all these things are being decorated on the walls of my room"He said with just the hint of a smile.
"Who sees the decorated walls of the closed room"Observing the most stunning sword with golden gems on its grip hanging on the wall, she exclaimed.
"It hasn't even been half a year since my brother left the state, and his memories are fading from people's minds"
"Yes, and in a few days it will be forgotten.People prefer the future to the past, and you are now the future for them"She stated while placing her hand on her son's shoulder.
"What's being provided to me is someone else's fiefdom"Taking his mother's hand off his shoulder, he said.
Three corridors away was a chamber that had two soldiers in brown armour outside watching it. A 60-year-old man was inside, staring out the window with his ageing eyes while clutching two pieces of paper in his fist. That's when,"My Lord, Ser Velmin wants to meet you"Said one of the soldiers guarding outside, gently opening the door of the room.
"Hmm... send them in"He said, averting his gaze from the window.A short while later, a man who looked to be in his forties entered the room wearing a long golden robe over his black attire that swayed as he walked.
"My Lord, ravens... "
"Velmin, don't let your tongue become weary; Blain has already informed me about the messages"Lord Reilan said quietly.Ser Velmin could see the weariness and despair in his eyes.
"What is the order, my lord?"
"We've never shied away from war. But I wish the invitation had come earlier.... In numerous conflicts, I have witnessed the ascent of new tyrants who later founded great empires...this war would have helped me choose my successor, but it's too late for that"Lord Reilan sighed as he stated.
"I apologise, My Lord, but we must consider what we already have, and right now, that is a conflict"He kept his voice low, but his words showed his seriousness.
"We need to get to King's Landing as soon as possible; therefore, organise the men as much as you can"Lord Reilan said in a firm tone.
"I apologise again, my lord; I've already done it.I just wanted to consult you on who will lead the army"
"Velmin, I also find it annoying when you act in a certain way without letting me know"
"My Lord, you have given me your approval for this"
"I give some orders even in haste"After saying this, he turned to face the window.
"But who will lead the army, my Lord?"
"What we have."
A room that was in the third corridor of the palace's back wings and had green walls with lovely floral patterns painted on them, which were shining in the splendour of candle-lit golden chandeliers.There was a large, plush bed in the centre of the room, covered in a golden sheet, and it was being slightly chirped by the chilly air flowing in through the open window.In the vicinity of the room's window, a young woman was observing the moon while wearing a scarlet robe with golden insignias on it.Due to the wind gusts, her long black hair was slowly fluttering.
"For a very long time, you've been waiting for this"An additional young girl, dressed in a magnificent saffron dress and a silver necklace with a large blue diamond on it, who was standing near the room's door, said while casting a glance at the woman near the window.It was Princess Alina.
"Which moment are you talking about, princess?"
"Ohh...so you're not aware of your deepest desire, the moment to become the Lady of Dormir...you're getting what you want. But it doesn't matter to you because of whom you are getting it" Alina said with a thin smile.
"Princess, I don't know what you mean"She continued to focus on the view beyond the window.
"You know exactly what I mean when I say that at one point you were my elder brother's love—or at least pretended to be—and that you now consider my younger brother to be your husband... how far can you fall for greed, Aeryn"Princess Alina kept her voice low but Aeryn could hear the fury in her tone.
"This is my destiny" Alina said in a low voice.Tears welled in her eyes.But her eyes were hidden from Princess Alina, due to which Princess Alina could not see those flowing tears.
"You're doomed to a horrible conclusion by fate"After saying this, she left the room.
ns 15.158.61.21da2
