Lord Bolton, at his suggestion, had finished dealing with the family affairs of the Dreadfort. Then, he watched Dominic head south through the snow and ice. Viserys felt a sense of accomplishment. Their group began their journey again, passing through the Last Hearth, returning to the King's Road, and finally arriving at the famous Castle Black.
During this time, Viserys, who had lost his sense of seasonal time, silently celebrated another birthday without anyone around him knowing. He was surprised himself because, in King's Landing, the trees of the godswood were lush during his birthday feast, and a large patch of purple flowers blooming in the cracks of the Red Keep's stones swayed, indicating that early summer was approaching. Everyone would take off their velvet and change into silk. Yet, now he was still wearing a large cloak, looking around, and, hah, the white snow was still falling.
Viserys didn't realize he was another year older until he saw the familiar and longed-for spinning wheel in his dream. Well then, let's see how his luck is this year?
The next day, Viserys was lost in thought on horseback. He was pondering the resumes of the famous Targaryen noble bastards, Blackfyre, and Bloodraven, and secretly cursed Aegon IV for causing these things, causing the two famous Valyrian steel swords of the founding dynasty to fall into the hands of these people—yes, Viserys now knew the detailed and specific coordinates of these two swords. Among them, Dark Sister was in the wild, held by its last master, Bloodraven, who had now become the Three-Eyed Raven. The other one… Viserys took out a Braavosi Iron Coin—this was the physical object provided by the spinning wheel, and he couldn't help but sigh. It would be too difficult to get back Aegon the Conqueror's Blackfyre sword. But this was the best gift for his brother…
Before he could make up his mind, the end of the King's Road had arrived. The wind was even more frigid, and the cold air hit his face. Viserys tightened his tassel scarf and looked up in admiration: a huge gray defensive structure made of ice and snow stood before them. Among them were several stone towers and wooden fortresses, which were the famous Night's Watch fortress, Castle Black.
As the first Targaryen prince to arrive here in over a hundred years, not as a member of the Night's Watch, he was welcomed into the King's Tower. He was fortunate enough not to have to climb the wooden stairs that led to a hundred feet high in the freezing cold, but instead, he took the rope lift, climbing evenly to a high place—but the King Jaehaerys and Queen Alysanne, who had visited last time, had both ridden dragons, which was equivalent to taking a helicopter. Perhaps one day…
The view suddenly opened up.
Wow! Benjen Stark exclaimed, and Viserys also widened his purple eyes. What he saw was a high wall of ice and rock stretching for hundreds of kilometers. Outside the wall was the vast and desolate land of the wildlings, and inside the wall was the civilized land of the kingdom. The top of The Wall was very wide, reminding him of the bronze gates of the dragon pit and the bridge of the Twins. Every so often, the crenellations were built with crossbows and catapults, ready for action for thousands of years. The entire Wall was a defensive whole, without a gate, like a wide sword blocking the forefront of the Seven Kingdoms.
The Night's Watch had a legend: the ice and rock of The Wall contained ancient magical spells that kept the White Walkers at bay. Viserys agreed, but he also knew how the Night King could get past it… Still, this was more than a decade before the start of the original story. The dangerous White Walkers should still be hidden somewhere beyond The Wall, right?
The Lord Commander of the Night's Watch was Jeor Mormont, the 997th to hold the position and from House Mormont of Bear Island in the North. His son, Jorah, was in his twenties and already married and a knight. Hmm, a character from the story. He was sent to be a spy for Daenerys, but ended up loving her and being fiercely loyal to her. Viserys thought to himself that he couldn't stop Jorah from getting into his second marriage later on, or from turning to slave trading to satisfy his wife's demands.
Even though the Lord Commander was a good man, I'm not omnipotent!
The welcoming feast for the Night's Watch was nothing like those at Winterfell. Viserys thought it was only natural. Bringing his entourage had taken up some of their supplies. Having something to eat was enough; what was there to complain about? The young prince's generous attitude, not caring about the rough food, earned him a lot of goodwill among the Night's Watch.
It was here that Viserys met his great-uncle, Maester Aemon, for the first time. He was a Targaryen of noble character who had joined the Night's Watch to avoid the struggles for the Iron Throne. Brynden Rivers, or Bloodraven, had also arrived at The Wall with him. So Viserys believed that the old man definitely knew where Dark Sister ended up. And one more thing… He looked at his great-uncle's face in the firelight and thought, beauty and talent are like good generals, no one wants to see them grow old. The Targaryens, known for their inhuman beauty, even when they got old…
Aemon Targaryen was nearly ninety years old. He wore a Maester's chain, a black robe, and his iconic silver hair had long since fallen out. His body was no longer straight but hunched, his face covered in wrinkles. However, his tone and choice of words still showed extraordinary charm: gentle, elegant, and humble, making people want to listen carefully. After talking to him, the young prince happily thought that when his brother reached this age, he would be just as elegant.
Aemon, with his half-blind old eyes, was also sizing up the young prince. He had received a recent letter from Prince Rhaegar, asking him to look after Viserys, and in the letter, he said that his younger brother was the most lovable person in the world and that he would surely like him.
Indeed, the young prince was curious and humble, and polite to everyone. He stood up, thanked the Lord Commander and the others for their selflessness, and proposed a toast: strong liquor brewed from pears. He laughed as he grabbed a greasy pork pie and ate it with gusto, just like the men of the Night's Watch in their black cloaks. Everyone, including himself, had a good impression of Viserys.
Just…looking at his silver hair, Aemon Targaryen remembered his younger brother, Aegon V. He recalled what he had said to the king, his thirty-three-year-old brother, who was still pure of heart, when he was leaving King's Landing by ship. He had asked him to kill the boy within and become a true king. Only a mature man could rule the world.
His brother's eyes were filled with tears, and he asked Ser Duncan, who was seeing him off, to protect him. The ship set sail, and the winds of King's Landing brushed against his silver hair for the last time. The spires of the Great Sept and the walls of the Red Keep would only be in his dreams from then on. They stood there, silently bidding farewell, praying for peace, never to meet again until death.
Maester Aemon looked at the young Prince Viserys before him. He was nine years old, but was there any trace of innocence left in him? In his purple eyes, Aemon saw something as hard and resilient as Valyrian steel, unbreakable and unyielding. He was driven by a purpose, his heart resolute, and he would stop at nothing to achieve it.
Ha… Prince Rhaegar had loved him dearly. And Viserys?
Aemon beckoned to the young prince and, in a friendly manner, showed him the birthday gift Rhaegar had asked him to prepare: a ranger's journal found from the library at Castle Black, to be given to Viserys.
"Really?! My brother sent it to me!" The young prince exclaimed in surprise, genuinely hugging the book and rubbing it against his cheek, "This is another gift from my brother!"
Aemon noticed that the young prince happily returned to his seat with the book, and then secretly took out a necklace from his neck and kissed the dragon glass ring pendant—another gift Rhaegar had mentioned in the letter.
Young Night's Watch recruits at The Wall would kiss their personal keepsakes when they missed their families and loved ones. There was no doubt that the young prince also loved Prince Rhaegar. Aemon, who had grown up in King's Landing and could see through lies at a glance, judged this to be true. He was relieved; this was good. Brotherly love. The future of House Targaryen would surely be bright in their hands.
When the noise died down and the night grew quiet, Aemon once again remembered his brother and Ser Duncan the Tall, a pair of Westerosi legends. They had been together for fifty years, and both perished on the same day at Summerhall, the day Prince Rhaegar was born. His brother, nearing sixty, had remained a child at heart, believing dragons could be resurrected and dreaming of riding them. That was why he had sought to hatch dragon eggs with pyromancers at Summerhall… In the end, he had always lived under the protection of Ser Duncan's wing, never truly growing up. Was this the sorrow of a king, or the greatest fortune of a boy?
Aemon sighed. He had lived long enough, but he didn't know when he would see those he loved who had already departed, his grandfather, the wise King Daeron, Prince Baelor the Noble of Dragonstone, his father, King Maekar, and his brother. When that day came, he wanted to tell them:
I have done my duty, and here I will die.
I am the sword in the darkness, the watcher on the walls.
Having silently recited the oath, he gazed at the books in the candlelight. Prince Rhaegar was also a lover of books and had written to his learned great-uncle, seeking guidance on the prophecy of Azor Ahai.
Aemon had read the books in Castle Black's library and confirmed that the ancient prophecy foretold that after a long summer, the stars would weep blood, and cold would blanket the earth. Azor Ahai would be reborn from the land where smoke and salt meet, from the union of ice and fire, and would awaken the stone dragon, defeating the White Walkers and saving everyone.
In his reply, he noted that the land of smoke and salt should be Dragonstone. "Prince, do not forget the prophecy before your birth: the offspring of the union between the current king and his sister, the queen, will be the prince of prophecy. You, without a doubt, are the reincarnation of Azor Ahai."
He finished writing the letter, gave it to the raven, and watched it fly away. Aemon heard a knock at the door. "Come in."
Viserys Targaryen, unsurprisingly, walked into his room alone. The young prince greeted him with a bow. "Good day, Great-Uncle. May I speak with you? About Brynden Rivers. I heard he disappeared during a ranger patrol beyond The Wall, is that correct? I'd like to know the route they took."
Aemon Targaryen told his grand-nephew kindly that after Bloodraven was sentenced to death, his younger brother, Aegon V, had pardoned him, allowing him to wear the black and serve as an honorary guard accompanying him to The Wall. He was a very capable man and, with his Raven's Teeth, soon became the Lord Commander of the Night's Watch. But Bloodraven disappeared on patrol seven years before the birth of Prince Rhaegar.
Viserys's violet eyes gleamed. "Great-Uncle, when Bloodraven came to The Wall, didn't he bring Dark Sister with him?"
Maester Aemon immediately understood the young man's intentions. He first admitted that Dark Sister was indeed his sword, but then said, "It's too dangerous, child. Do you intend to search aimlessly beyond The Wall?"
Not aimlessly, Viserys thought. I know Bloodraven's exact location, now the Three-Eyed Raven. I just need a reason to get someone to escort me there. He quickly explained that he wouldn't be aimless. He just wanted to know the route, to see if he could find any remains...
"And, I just want to find Dark Sister. I want to give it to my brother, Prince Rhaegar. Great-Uncle, you know, for all these years, because of Summerhall, my brother has refused to celebrate his birthdays. And my father... has yet to name my brother the Prince of Dragonstone, which isn't right. I thought, giving my brother Dark Sister or Blackfyre, either of the two legendary swords of the Conquest, as a token of his love for me."
However, though Aemon admired his love for Rhaegar, he refused to send anyone to escort him beyond The Wall. Viserys returned to his room, dejected, but still unwilling to give up. He tossed and turned in bed, muttering under the covers about Brynden Rivers. Now that he's ascended, can he use his vision? Does he have prophetic abilities? Can he look out for his descendants? After all, his brother Rhaegar and himself were direct descendants of his beloved brother, King Daeron. Would they both die as they were destined to? Could he bear to see that?
Viserys spoke so earnestly to himself that he didn't notice a raven flying in the night, landing on the King's Tower. This raven was entirely black, with three eyes.
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Thanks to the little angels who voted for me with their "king of the world" tickets or nutrient solution between 2020-07-11 09:49:19 and 2020-07-12 20:57:57.
Thanks to the little angel who threw a grenade: Cat loves to eat fish, 1;
Thanks to the little angels who threw mines: Congee with preserved egg and lean meat, Crane Yan, 2; Jiangbei scholar, 1;
Thanks to the little angels who irrigated the nutrient solution: Little Sweet Cake, 10 bottles; Congee with preserved egg and lean meat, 5 bottles; Jiao Bao, 1 bottle;
Thank you very much for your support, I will continue to work hard!
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Here are a few fan-fic titles that I've recently uploaded on my Patreon:
"Game of Thrones: Dragon Prince"
"Game of Thrones: Political Life"
"Game of Thrones: Lannister Kingdom"
"Gods' Apocalypse: What Should I Do When the Loli is a Bit Fierce?"
"My Sister And I are in The Apocalypse"
(End Chapter)