King's Landing.
When the beating heart of Westeros first fully revealed itself to Lynn, the first thing he noticed was the smell.
A complex stench—a mixture of the excrement of tens of thousands, rotting fish, the sour tang of tanneries, and cheap perfumes—fermenting in the humid heat, nearly suffocating him.
Once inside the gates, the Kingsroad turned into a muddy, crowded thoroughfare.
Ragged smallfolk mixed with finely dressed merchants, Gold Cloaks, and whores, creating a noisy, chaotic tapestry of life.
"It stinks here!"
Arya scrunched up her nose, disgust written all over her face.
In her imagination, King's Landing was the majestic royal city sung of by bards.
Not this giant, filthy slum.
Lynn's hundred Northmen looked sorely out of place.
They rode in silence, hands tight on their weapons, warily eyeing the curious or hostile stares from the crowd.
The grim, disciplined aura they exuded contrasted sharply with the chaotic bustle of the city, causing the crowds to instinctively part and make way for them.
Passing through Flea Bottom, the stench finally abated as the company reached Aegon's High Hill.
The Red Keep, that massive fortress built of pale red stone, finally revealed its menacing majesty.
At the gates of the Red Keep, Lynn and his men were stopped.
"Halt! Who goes there?"
A Gold Cloak captain challenged them, his tone carrying the arrogance typical of the capital.
Lynn dismounted, ignoring the guard, and looked directly at the captain.
"The Night's Watch, on the orders of Lord Commander Jeor Mormont. I have urgent business with the Hand of the King, Lord Eddard Stark."
Seeing Lynn and the disciplined troops behind him, and catching a glimpse of the extraordinary swords at his waist, the captain dared not delay. He hurriedly sent someone to report.
Before long, Eddard Stark appeared at the gates with a few household guards.
He looked thinner, darker, and the fatigue between his brows was impossible to hide.
When he saw Lynn, a complex emotion flashed in his grey eyes.
But he quickly masked it with the dignity befitting a lord.
"Lynn," Ned's voice was steady as always.
"Father!" Arya cheered, leaping from her horse and flying into Ned's arms like a little bird.
Ned held his daughter tight, a genuine smile finally breaking through his weary expression.
He patted Arya's back, then turned his gaze back to Lynn.
"Follow me."
He asked no questions, simply leading Lynn through the layers of guarded courtyards directly to the Tower of the Hand.
The moment the heavy oak door of the Hand's solar clicked shut.
The dignity of the Warden of the North and the Hand of the King vanished from Ned Stark like air from a punctured bladder.
He yanked at his collar, pacing the room in agitation.
His usually stoic face was now filled with frustration and anger.
"Lynn! Do you have any idea how I've spent this past month?!"
Ned was almost shouting, his voice pressed low like a trapped beast.
"I am Eddard Stark, Lord of Winterfell, Warden of the North!"
"Yet every day I have to visit brothels! And crawl into stinking smithies!"
"Just yesterday, to find news of a bastard, I had to stay in a room with a whore!"
"By the Old Gods, I swear I did nothing, but the feeling... it was as if my honor was thrown in the mud and trampled repeatedly!"
He grabbed his hair, looking on the verge of collapse.
"I haven't attended a single Small Council meeting!"
"That man, Petyr Baelish, looks at me like I'm a fool fresh from the North!"
"And Varys, that eunuch, smiles so ambiguously every time he sees me!"
"I'm going mad! All of King's Landing thinks I'm an incompetent fool who ignores politics and only knows how to drink and whore!"
Ned stopped pacing and slammed his fist on the table, looking at Lynn with pained eyes.
"My honor, the honor of House Stark, is nearly gone because of this!"
Lynn listened quietly to his complaints, expressionless, silently pouring himself a cup of water.
When Ned finally finished venting, Lynn spoke slowly.
"Lord Stark, have you ever heard the phrase, 'The seed is strong'?"
Lynn had Greensight; a quick scan told him no one was eavesdropping. He spoke without fear.
Ned's gaze sharpened.
"Of course. I don't believe Jon Arryn would leave such words without reason."
"I secretly followed Jon Arryn's trail and found several of Robert's bastards."
"One is an apprentice in a smithy. His name is Gendry."
Lynn picked up the thread, guiding Ned.
"That boy... looks exactly like Robert in his youth, doesn't he?"
"Black hair, deep blue eyes, stubborn as a bull."
As he spoke, Lynn picked up the heavy tome Jon Arryn had been reading before his death from Ned's desk: The Lineages and Histories of the Great Houses of the Seven Kingdoms.
"This book records the bloodlines of House Baratheon for centuries."
"Every Baratheon, no matter who they married, had black-haired children."
Ned seemed to realize something, his voice trembling slightly.
"Black hair... always black hair."
He looked up, staring dead at Lynn.
"But Joffrey, Myrcella, Tommen... they are all golden-haired."
The room fell into a deathly silence.
The noise of King's Landing seemed cut off, existing in another world.
Ned's breathing grew heavy. His honest eyes were filled with shock and rage.
He finally understood.
He finally understood what Jon Arryn meant by "The seed is strong."
And he finally understood why his foster father, his mentor, had died so suddenly in King's Landing!
"They are not Robert's children."
Ned's voice was as cold as Northern ice.
"They are Lannisters."
"Little lions wrapped in stag skins!"
"Correct."
Lynn nodded.
He knew Ned had connected the dots.
"That is why Jon Arryn had to die."
"Because he discovered this secret—a secret big enough to overturn the kingdom."
Ned's body trembled with anger.
"Cersei... Jaime... how dare they!"
"Should I tell Robert?"
"If I speak the truth, what will happen?"
Ned stood up abruptly. Though furious, he still asked Lynn first.
"Speaking or not speaking changes little right now," Lynn shook his head.
"Tell Robert his Queen betrayed him? That his three children are bastards born of incest between her and her own brother?"
"No."
"You have no proof, Lord Stark."
"Your accusation will only be seen as slander against the Queen and the Princes."
"You won't save Robert. You'll drag House Stark, and the entire North, into an abyss from which there is no return."
"The Lannisters will retaliate with madness."
Lynn's words were a bucket of ice water on Ned's rage.
He sat back down heavily, his face full of pain and conflict.
"I can't speak, and I can't stay silent!"
"Then... what should we do?"
"Continue your performance, Lord Stark."
The corners of Lynn's mouth curled up slightly.
"Continue playing your role. Let everyone think you've found nothing and are a complete disappointment."
"From here on, leave everything to me, and give me your full support!"
Lynn stood up and walked to the window, looking at the tourney grounds being constructed in the distance.
"But before that, I need an identity."
"An identity that allows me to walk freely in King's Landing, one that makes those high lords look me in the eye."
Ned followed his gaze, confusion flashing in his eyes.
"The Hand's Tourney is the perfect stage."
Lynn turned around.
"I want to enter the lists."
"What?" Ned thought he had misheard.
"You? A man of the Night's Watch? You aren't even a knight. How can you enter?"
"That is why I need your help."
Lynn walked up to him, his eyes burning.
"I need a qualification to enter."
"The champion of the joust can be knighted by the King himself."
"I intend to win this tourney in front of all the nobles of the Seven Kingdoms, claim the title of Champion, and win Robert's favor."
Ned was stunned by Lynn's bold, almost insane declaration.
He opened his mouth to speak but found no words.
Win the Hand's Tourney in King's Landing?
The best knights in the realm were gathering there!
The Kingslayer Jaime Lannister, the Knight of Flowers Loras Tyrell, the Hound Sandor Clegane...
Every one of them a renowned warrior.
Lynn, a Night's Watchman who killed Wildlings beyond the Wall, thought he could beat them?
"This is madness," Ned murmured.
"Madness?" Lynn smiled.
"This is only the first step."
"Once I have the identity, we can begin the second step."
"While collecting evidence... we divide our enemies."
"There are many lions in King's Landing, but not all of them bear the name Lannister."
Lynn looked at Ned's shocked face and slowly revealed his ultimate goal.
"I intend to make the Lannisters stand alone in King's Landing, betrayed by all."
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