Maps have always been the most important military data for any lord or king, and they cannot be easily shown to others. Only the Citadel, through the maester consultants assigned to each lord, can compile these map data to create a complete map of Westeros.
And this map has always been regarded as top secret by the Citadel; ordinary maesters, except for the Archmaesters, have no access to it.
At the beginning of the Targaryen Dynasty, when the Citadel submitted, they presented a complete map of Westeros, but that map was not truly complete, and it was unknown if it was intentional on the Citadel's part, but there were many errors in the map.
For this reason, several generations of Targaryen monarchs corrected this map, eventually completing the corrections and sealing it in the royal library.
During the turmoil in King's Landing a year ago, Varys, to prevent some important documents stored in the royal library from being destroyed, moved them to his lair in the Red Keep's underground passages, and that map was among them.
But when he saw the map Lord Lynd had drawn, he found that it was even more accurate and detailed than the one he possessed; it even included islands not marked on his map, such as the Shield Islands.
More importantly, besides the map of Westeros, there was even a map of Essos.
Although Varys had never seen a map of Essos, he could still judge its authenticity and accuracy based on his geographical knowledge of Essos.
Therefore, this map of Westeros and Essos before him was something he had never seen, or even heard of.
Yet, this map appeared before him, and it was casually drawn by a fifteen-year-old boy who had never left The Reach.
At this moment, Varys began to believe Lord Lynd's astonishing words from earlier; only by being in the sky could one overlook the full view of both continents and draw such a detailed complete map.
After looking at the map for a long time, Varys tried his best to suppress the shock in his heart, then turned to Lord Lynd and asked curiously, "What happened next?"
Noticing that Varys was beginning to believe him, Lord Lynd continued to narrate his carefully woven lie, saying, "Later, that band of light carried me flying north. We flew over the North, over the Wall, and entered that eternally frozen land." He paused, a clear look of fear appearing on his face, and said, "Then I saw the Others and a Corpse Army made of corpses. Millions of resurrected corpses, led by the Others, stood densely packed on the endless ice plain, waiting for the opportune moment to march south."
Varys wanted to scoff at Lord Lynd's words, but the shock from the map earlier was too intense, and the fear on Lord Lynd's face very directly showed his emotions at the time. He began to believe Lord Lynd's words, no matter how absurd they sounded.
Lord Lynd took a deep breath, as if calming his inner fear, then continued, "Afterward, I flew back to Whitegrove. I saw myself lying on the bed, already a corpse, and then the white light sent me back into my body, resurrecting me. But I found that I was not merely resurrected; at the same time as my resurrection, the white light also bestowed various knowledge upon me, including the sword skills I possess. My body also underwent astonishing changes, transforming into a tall and strong warrior. Although that white light did not reveal who he was, I could feel that he should be the Warrior among the Seven Gods."
After listening to Lord Lynd's narration, Varys couldn't help but take a deep breath, trying to appear calm, but his eyes completely betrayed his complex inner turmoil.
After a long while, Varys asked in confusion, "Do you think the Warrior resurrected you to have you deal with the Corpse Army beyond the Wall?"
"I don't know. If the thoughts of a God could be surmised by humans, then a God would no longer be a God," Lord Lynd shook his head, then said with a serious expression, "I can only act according to my own ideas, slowly climbing up, gaining power, and forming an army, until a certain day arrives."
Varys looked at Lord Lynd with a complex expression, unsure what to say for a moment.
Lord Lynd could tell that Varys already believed his words, but this belief was not deep enough, so he decided to add one last powerful piece of information.
So, he looked at Varys and said, "Actually, among the knowledge the Seven bestowed upon me, battle-related knowledge is only a very small part. There is also other knowledge that exists in my mind in a sealed state. Normally, this knowledge is in a sealed state and will only be unsealed when I encounter specific people."
Varys paused slightly at this, then seemed to realize something, a flicker of panic crossing his face, and he tentatively asked Lord Lynd, "Is there also knowledge related to me?"
Lord Lynd simply said three names: "Aegon Targaryen, Jon Connington, Illyrio Mopatis."
Varys's face instantly changed, and his body even instinctively recoiled a few steps due to panic, stopping only when he hit the wall. His gaze towards Lord Lynd was filled with panic and fear.
These three names represented his biggest secret, a secret that absolutely no one else could know, because once exposed, he would surely die.
But now Lord Lynd had so easily spoken these three names. Without a doubt, Lord Lynd also knew this secret in his heart. Thinking back to Lord Lynd's origin now, and then to what Lord Lynd had said earlier, he completely believed Lord Lynd's absurd words. Otherwise, there was no way to explain why a young man who had spent the first fifteen years in a small village would suddenly possess so much knowledge that he absolutely should not have.
"Lord Varys, you don't need to worry. In fact, if you hadn't come to me, I wouldn't have revealed a single word of these things," Lord Lynd knew the timing was right, so he appeased the other party and said meaningfully, "You may not know what impact your actions will have on this world. On the God's chessboard, you are the most important piece, and the wheel of destiny began to turn because of your impetus."
These mysterious words coming from Lord Lynd's mouth gave Varys a sense of mission he had never experienced before. If anyone else had said these words, Varys would have dismissed them as a joke, but since it was Lord Lynd, someone he already considered an apostle of the Seven, who spoke them, their credibility was naturally self-evident.
He had to admit that this meeting with Lord Lynd had brought him too much shock, giving him a surreal, dream-like sensation.
Originally, he only wanted to establish a connection with a rising noble who carried a mystery, so that he could use him in the future. But he never expected things to spiral out of control like this, beginning to involve Gods, apocalyptic legends, and his biggest secret.
At this moment, his mind was completely chaotic, and he didn't know what to say.
Lord Lynd did not continue speaking. Instead, as if giving Varys time to calm down, he sat quietly in place, finishing the rest of his food.
But in reality, his consciousness had already shifted to Honor. At this moment, Honor had already arrived at the Dragonpit. After avoiding the commoners and prostitutes outside the Dragonpit, he squeezed through a gap into the ruins, following various cracks and passages, running towards Lord Lynd. And the moment he entered the ruins, the Ghost energy shrouding the ruins also began to spontaneously pour into Honor's body.
Lord Lynd could now clearly feel the reaction of those Ghost energies after entering Honor's body, and just as the residual soul power from the Dragon Egg had been injected into Honor's body through him, the Ghost energies now entering Honor's body also came into his own body through their mental connection.
And among these Ghost energies, the part belonging to the dragon, under the lingering effect of the Dragon Communion, merged into his body, while the remaining part belonging to humans was expelled from his body. This gave his body a chilling aura, which, combined with the surrounding environment, made his entire demeanor appear somewhat sinister.
Although Varys's mind was in chaos at this moment, his observational skills remained unaffected. He quickly noticed the unusual change in Lord Lynd.
"What's wrong, Lord Lynd?" Varys did not step forward to check Lord Lynd's condition, but instead looked at him warily.
Because Lord Lynd's change at this moment was too great; not only had his demeanor changed, but his face had also completely lost its color, becoming as pale as a dead person. This made him involuntarily think of Lord Lynd's mention of resurrection after death, and of the legendary Others.
Because of this, a trace of fear also arose in his heart, and the hand in his sleeve couldn't help but grasp the dagger hidden within.
As soon as Varys's question fell, Lord Lynd's complexion gradually began to return to normal, and the sinister aura around him also began to dissipate.
After a while, when Lord Lynd's complexion had completely recovered, he took a few deep breaths, as if calming his emotions, then with reverence in his eyes, he made a Seven Gods prayer gesture and said, "I just revealed some things I shouldn't have, and I was punished by the Seven Gods. At that moment, he sent me back to a state of death." He then said with lingering fear, "That's a feeling I never want to experience again."
That scene was witnessed by Varys himself, and the cause of such a change was definitely not the so-called magic he had seen before. It must have involved a higher level of power. He had already believed Lord Lynd's words, and now Lord Lynd's performance made him increasingly convinced that Lord Lynd was truly resurrected after death with the help of the Seven Gods.
"Do you need me to do anything?" Varys asked in a deep voice.
"No need," Lord Lynd shook his head and said, "Lord Varys, just pretend that what I said earlier was never spoken. You continue to do what you want to do, and I will do what I should do. Everything can remain as it is." Then, he said earnestly, "Lord Varys, I accept the conditions you offered earlier. As long as it doesn't affect my interests or put me in danger, I can help you with some things."
Hearing Lord Lynd's words, Varys secretly breathed a sigh of relief. In fact, he didn't truly want to help Lord Lynd with anything; he had merely asked out of politeness. Now, Lord Lynd's refusal provided him with a graceful exit.
Then, Varys thought for a moment and said, "In that case, I will help you prepare the Valyrian steel. Whenever you need it, I will send it over."
Lord Lynd was stunned for a moment and asked, "Wait, Lord Varys, didn't you just provide the storage location for the Valyrian steel?"
Varys, whose emotions were gradually returning to normal, smiled and said, "Actually, the Valyrian steel storage location I mentioned is not far; it's right beneath the Red Keep."
Lord Lynd was slightly taken aback. He hadn't expected to be so close to the Valyrian steel.
Varys continued, "For centuries, Targaryen has been collecting Valyrian steel through various means. Over hundreds of years, they accumulated a great deal of Valyrian steel. However, because they didn't understand the Valyrian steel reforging process, those pieces of Valyrian steel couldn't be used and could only be stored in the secret vault. Before King's Landing was breached, the Mad King transferred these items to the underground passages beneath the Red Keep, where they remain to this day. There's enough Valyrian steel there for you, my lord, to forge a full suit of armor and two knight's Greatswords."
He paused, then continued, "Although you, Lord Lynd, are powerful enough, it would likely be impossible for you to enter the Red Keep, find the Valyrian steel underground, and bring it out. But I am different. With my identity and knowledge of the underground passages, it would be no difficult task to retrieve those items from the passages and move them out of the Red Keep."
Seeing Varys say this, Lord Lynd didn't act coy and agreed to Varys's proposal.
However, Varys then looked troubled and said, "But I can only transport the Valyrian steel out. To fashion this Valyrian steel into armor and weapons, only a blacksmith who understands a special process can do it, and in this world, only the blacksmiths of Kohor have mastered the reforging process."
Lord Lynd said, "You don't have to worry about the craftsman. I know someone who also possesses this skill."
"Who?" Varys was somewhat surprised, because coming from Essos, he was well aware of how strictly Kohor controlled knowledge of this craft; anyone who dared to dabble in this technique would face the severest punishment.
"The heir to the largest blacksmith shop on Street of Steel," Lord Lynd replied without hiding anything.
Varys thought for a moment and confirmed, "You mean Colin Mott's son who went away to study?"
"Yes," Lord Lynd nodded, "He studied in Kohor, and now he has completed his apprenticeship and should be on his way back." He paused, then said, "At that time, Lord Varys, you can give him the Valyrian steel to reforge, and have him craft it according to the armor and knight's Greatsword designs I've made."
"You designed them?" Varys looked at Lord Lynd with some surprise.
"Yes, I designed them," Lord Lynd nodded, "To be precise, the Gods designed them, and I merely drew them out."