The diamond-shaped formation stretched across the Ghost Shadow Forest, with the northern and southern hunting points over 600 meters apart, and the eastern and western points spanning about 2.5 kilometers. A total of 20 hunting teams were stationed within this narrow zone.
Overhead, Little White circled back and forth at an altitude of 300 meters, completing a round in under two minutes.
Jon's hunting post was stationed at the northernmost end. About 300 meters behind it, near a stream, stood a small mound—this was the base of Barristan's cavalry squad.
Atop the mound, a bonfire blazed. Five men and one woman sat around it—four rangers, plus Barristan and Dany.
This spot was almost at the center of the diamond formation, which was why Dany had brought Big Black here as well. If anything unusual occurred anywhere, she could rush over to support it at the fastest speed.
Yes, at this moment, Dany was here in her true form as Queen. The five knights by her side served as human shields; even if White Walkers snuck in, she wouldn't be fazed in the slightest.
Of the four rangers, two were old acquaintances of Dany: Urmar, a former King's Landing bandit; and Ser Melis, commander of Shadow Tower. The other two men in black were also around forty years old.
All of them were seasoned rangers, with over a decade of patrolling experience in the Ghost Shadow Forest.
To use a modern novel's terminology—they were all "kings of soldiers."
"I was born for the woods. In my youth, I was a Robin Hood type in the King's Landing woods. In middle age, I was exiled to the Wall, and I've spent the rest of my life in this forest. I dare say, before a White Walker even picks up my scent, I can find him first." Urmar took a swig from a leather flask, grinning as he boasted to the Queen.
Ser Melis frowned slightly, his expression solemn. "Be careful. This operation was a bit rushed. We were supposed to arrive around noon. The terrain hasn't been scouted, and the traps are far from complete."
"There was no helping it," Ser Barristan said. "White Walkers move by night. If we miss tonight, the corpses will all be resurrected. We don't have the time to make careful arrangements."
Urmar bit into half a sausage, the grey and white beard around his mouth twitching with every chew. He mumbled, "Your Majesty, where were you this afternoon? That red-robed woman said you were fighting the servants of the Other?"
The old ranger immediately regretted asking.
Sure enough, the atmosphere froze in an instant. The other four exchanged strange looks and shot curious glances at Queen Dany.
Urmar hurriedly took another gulp of wine and swallowed his meat. His wrinkled face forced out a smile. "Drank too much. Got confused. How could I pry into Her Majesty's secrets?"
Dany shot him an annoyed glare. "What was a perfectly legitimate battle now sounds like some shady affair, thanks to your phrasing."
"Uh…" The old ranger flushed and grew flustered.
"I met the Three-Eyed Crow," Dany said bluntly. She hadn't planned to hide it—after all, the ghost of the High Heart witch in the Riverlands knew, and so did Melisandre.
If the Red Priestess knew, that meant the higher-ups of the Stag Party knew as well—Dany didn't believe the two Baratheons were any less curious than Urmar.
"The Three-Eyed Crow?" The firelight revealed confusion on everyone's faces.
"You haven't heard of him? There's no 'Three-Eyed Crow' in Northern folklore?" Dany was puzzled.
"No. I'm from White Harbor, never heard of the Three-Eyed Crow," said a Night's Watchman named Dustin Snow, with ash-blond hair.
"Then have you heard of the green seers?" Dany asked again.
"That we know. Out of every hundred Northern legends, ninety involve green seers," Dustin replied, both surprised and skeptical.
"Characters from fairy tales, like the Children of the Forest, White Walkers, and other mystical beings—no rational person believes they're real. I didn't either for decades… until now." Ser Melis showed a bitter smile on his stern face.
"Are you saying the Three-Eyed Crow is a green seer, and he came to you?" Barristan asked with concern.
"Yes. The White Walkers are real. Green seers are real. The Three-Eyed Crow is the green seer of this generation."
Dany turned seriously toward the White Knight. "Do you remember when we were having lunch at Storm's End, we saw several crows outside the tavern? I had a slight sense of being watched, and you checked the surroundings but found nothing. That feeling didn't go away until we left Storm's End and entered the Dornish desert."
"You mean… the Three-Eyed Crow had already found us then?" Barristan's face turned pale.
"He found me. It had nothing to do with you."
Urmar listened intently and couldn't help asking, "The Three-Eyed Crow has been watching you all along? I know of skinchangers, and I've heard of Orell—the first master of the hawk—and the Six-Skins. Green seers are higher-tier skinchangers. Does he have a crow partner with three eyes that follows you and monitors your every move?"
"You sure know a lot," Dany said, eyeing the old bandit with surprise.
Urmar grinned proudly for a moment, then said with some distaste, "Been dealing with wildlings for decades. I've been tracked and spied on by skinchanger animal companions countless times.
Real trouble, those guys. Nearly died more than once. They're monsters, entering the souls of beasts like they're putting on a fur coat."
Dany gazed into the blazing fire, slowly saying, "Skinchangers aren't monsters. True monsters come from hearts twisted by darkness and distorted humanity.
It's like how some people use a sword to kill and harm innocents, while others use it to defend borders and protect the Seven Kingdoms. A sword isn't inherently good or evil—it depends on the heart of the one wielding it."
Urmar nodded thoughtfully. "Your Majesty, you're so broad-minded. Even after what the green seer did to you, you can still speak fairly of skinchangers."
"Truth is truth. Personal feelings shouldn't twist the facts."
The Queen's words earned nods of agreement from the nearby Night's Watchmen.
"However," Dany added, "there's one thing you got wrong: the green seer's abilities far surpass any skinchanger's."
She sighed, then extended her right hand. The fire responded, transforming into shapes of oxen, horses, snakes, and dragons—each with vivid features, from snouts and scales to manes and claws, galloping and roaring in lifelike form, drawing gasps of amazement from everyone present.
Then she spoke calmly, "Just like fire mages are skilled in the sorcery of flame control, the Green Seer is exceptionally gifted in matters of the soul.
When I was being watched by the Green Seer's raven or the shapeshifter's animal companion, I could sense something was off. Sending a raven to spy on me would only alert me and backfire—it's not worth the risk."
Dany turned to Barristan and explained, "The Three-Eyed Raven left a sliver of his soul in my sea of consciousness. Our battle took place on the spiritual level, which is why I didn't inform you."
The White Knight's unease vanished instantly, only to be replaced by new worry. He asked, "Does that mean the Green Seer wants to control you like an animal companion?"
"How despicable!" Several of the Night's Watch men, including Melis, changed color in fury and cursed aloud.
"People are not animals. And I'm not just any person. If the Green Seer dares to enter my soul openly, it would be a death wish. His methods are more subtle and sly—like a silver-tongued minister who manipulates a muddled king through persuasion."
Seeing the confusion growing on their faces, Dany simply recounted the tale of the "Whispers of the Evil God" and the dark deeds beneath the Jade Sea's Thunder Island catacombs.
"It's that terrifying just from whispering in your ear?" Ulma asked skeptically. "If it were me, I'd treat the evil god's whispers like background noise and ignore them completely."
"The Evil God and the Green Seer don't whisper into your ears. Their voices come from the soul. You can't resist them. Spiritual whispers to the soul are like icy wind to the body. If you're standing naked in the snow, how can you resist the cold's assault?"
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"I'd wear clothes and wrap myself in fur," the old ranger replied.
"That's the point. You're an ordinary person. You don't know sorcery or magic. Facing a spiritual attack, your soul is like a peasant soldier on the battlefield without leather or chainmail—completely defenseless.
But I, I understand magic. I have dragons as companions. My soul is fully armored.
Even so, I was still affected. Just like you, wearing thick fur coats and still needing the fire to stay warm."
"I see." The five by the fire nodded thoughtfully, finally grasping the horror of the "Evil God's whispers."
"If the Green Seer targets me, then I'm doomed, aren't I?" Ulma said anxiously.
"Hahaha—" several of the black-cloaked men burst into laughter. "Ulma, if the Green Seer ever did target you, you'd have a story to brag about for life!"
"Your Grace, are you still troubled by the Green Seer's whispers?" Barristan asked with concern, tugging his goatskin cloak tighter.
"Heh, you saw that dead raven too. Now, no Evil God can influence me with soul-whispers—because my soul is encased in Valyrian steel armor," Dany said proudly with a smile.
"Something's not right." Ulma was about to ask about the 'divine battle' when his expression suddenly changed. He stood and walked seven or eight steps away from the fire. Cold wind slipped through the gaps between tree trunks, stealing the warmth from his body.
Ulma shivered, exhaling thick white mist. "Damn it, why is it so cold? Dustin, Dennis, any of you feel something off? This temperature isn't normal—it's never been this cold."
"It's the middle of the night, maybe…" Ser Melis also stood from the fire and walked over to the old ranger. He looked up at the pale silver moon hanging in the western sky, uncertain. "It's probably around 3 a.m. Maybe winter has arrived. Or... White Walkers? It's about the time they'd show up. But—"
He turned to Dany, face grave. "Your Grace, are you certain the dragons wouldn't miss the sound of gongs in this cold wind?"
"In a quiet forest at night, even without dragons, I could hear a gong within 300 meters," Dany replied.
Ulma took a few more deep breaths, exhaling another string of heavy white mist, and hesitated, "Something smells wrong. Very wrong. Your Grace, you'd best check it out yourself."
In truth, Dany had remained in her dragon-soul state since entering Ghostshadow Forest, and she'd been feeling a faint sense of danger the whole time.
Though she hadn't sensed any clear, intense threat at the moment, she trusted the old ranger's instincts.
After all, she knew—even dragons aren't as sensitive to danger as dogs (like the Stark direwolves).
Dany mounted Drogon's back and rose into the sky within moments.
To ensure she didn't miss the sound of any gongs, she lowered her altitude, roaring past just a hundred meters above the treetops—so close that even corpse-watchers in the branches below could hear the dragon's wings flapping overhead.
About five minutes later, Drogon returned to the hilltop, but Dany didn't dismount. From the dragon's back, she said, "Everything's normal. No gong sounds. But the sky will brighten in a few hours, so I won't chat with you any longer. Two dragons patrolling together are better than one."
Without waiting for a reply, she flew off again.
"Screech—" But this time, when they reached the southern edge of the patrol circle, Drogon suddenly let out a low, guttural growl and—without any command from Dany—continued speeding southward.
"Drogon, what are you—" Dany began in confusion, but then suddenly fell silent, tilting her head to listen.
"Woooo—wooo—wooo—"The freezing wind cut across her face, faintly carrying a deep, low horn sound—so subtle it was hard to tell if it was the wind howling or a long blast of a horn.
Dany's expression changed. On the Wall, several kilometers away, the Night's Watch was sounding the horn—three blasts.
One blast meant a brother of the Night's Watch returning.Two blasts meant wildling attack.Three blasts—three long, dreadful horn calls not sounded in thousands of years—meant only one thing:
The White Walkers are coming!!!
(End of chapter)
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