While the Mountain, the most notorious villain in the Seven Kingdoms, was busy recruiting and training soldiers in the Westerlands, King Robert Baratheon was looking with regret at his seven-year-old son, Brandon Stark, lying peacefully on his bed in Winterfell, the capital of the North.
The child fell from the ruined tower more than a month ago and remains unconscious.
King Robert wore a cloak made from the skin of a black bear he had personally slaughtered, and a longsword hung at his waist. He was a tall and imposing figure, and a man of great courage and skill. Sixteen years earlier, on the banks of the Red Fork in the Reach, he had slain the then-Crown Prince Rhaegar Targaryen, thus routing the main force of the Royalist army and securing victory in the War of the Usurper.
The Mountain's knighthood was bestowed upon him by Prince Rhaegar Targaryen when he was sixteen years old. It was an honor that Tywin Lannister requested from Prince Rhaegar to grant the Mountain unparalleled glory.
A knighthood bestowed upon a person is more honorable as the giver's status rises.
King Robert, born in Aegon's 262nd year, is 36 years old this year, in the prime of his life. Sixteen years ago, King Robert ascended the throne at the age of 20. At that time, the king had a clean-shaven face, clear and charming eyes, and a tall and strong physique. His weapon was two warhammers, and many valiant generals could barely lift his warhammers, let alone wield them to kill.
Robert, at the age of twenty, was the dream lover of the young women of the Seven Kingdoms when he ascended the throne.
However, after winning the crown, Robert indulged in fine food and women. Sixteen years of comfortable living caused him to gain an irredeemable eight stones of weight. Now, Robert could no longer even lift his warhammer, let alone wield it. The warhammers that had won him the throne now sat in the throne room, serving as decorations for him to reminisce about the past and flaunt his military might.
Although his thick, dark beard concealed the king's double chin, layers of brocade robes could not hide his protruding belly and round body. All the calluses on his hands had long since disappeared, leaving them white, tender, and plump. He drank anytime, anywhere, and had relations with many women, fathering illegitimate children with them, only to then abandon them without a trace.
Robert Baratheon, who sat on the Iron Throne, transformed from a valiant young hero into a chubby, middle-aged fat man.
Beside King Robert, Queen Cersei Lannister, with her feigned concern, was strikingly beautiful. She possessed the typical Lannister family's golden curls and emerald eyes, and despite being a mother of three, she remained remarkably slender with smooth, fair skin.
Behind the Queen stood Jaime Lannister, a member of the Kingsguard. He and Queen Cersei were twins, looking exactly alike with very similar features, but their temperaments were vastly different. Queen Cersei possessed a refined and elegant air, while Jaime was strikingly handsome. As children, Cersei and Jaime would swap clothes and impersonate each other for an entire day, without even their father, Tywin Lannister, being able to tell the difference.
Queen Cersei's most admired man is her father, Tywin Lannister.
Sixteen years ago, before Cersei was lent to Robert, she was captivated by Prince Rhaegar's looks and demeanor, an impression she never forgot. Although she later briefly fell in love with Robert Baratheon when they were betrothed, this love was cut short on their wedding night when he cried out the name of another woman: Lyanna Stark.
From their wedding night for sixteen years, Cersei harbored a deep-seated hatred for Robert. The image of Prince Rhaegar Targaryen lingered in her heart, along with her growing resentment towards her husband, Robert Baratheon.
Lyanna Stark, sister of Eddard Stark, Lord of the North. Before her secret marriage to Rhaegar Targaryen, she was Robert Baratheon's fiancée. At a tournament, Prince Rhaegar met Lyanna, Robert's fiancée, and instead of his wife Elia Martell, presented Lyanna with a laurel wreath symbolizing love and beauty. Rhaegar's act silenced the assembled nobles and deeply shamed the Stark family. For the sake of a beautiful woman, Prince Rhaegar sowed the seeds of the War of the Usurper.
Ultimately, Rhaegar and Lyanna came together, and their disastrous act of playing with fire sparked a civil war in the kingdom. The war ended with Rhaegar dying, but he gained Lyanna Stark's heart and soul; Robert emerged victorious, but he lost his beloved fiancée forever, and the gods rewarded Robert with the Iron Throne to rule the Seven Kingdoms.
On King Robert's other side was his eldest son, Joffrey Baratheon.
Joffrey was born in Aegon's year 286, and he was exactly 12 years old. Although he was named the eldest prince of Robert Baratheon and had a claim to the throne, Prince Joffrey possessed all the characteristics of a Lannister: tall, with blond curly hair, green eyes, fair skin, and striking good looks. He was arrogant, and his lips were habitually upturned.
He looked at Brandon Stark, who lay unconscious on the sickbed, a smile he couldn't quite hide. It was impolite, but the prince was always like that. Upon arriving in Winterfell, he noticed the extraordinary beauty of Sansa Stark, the eldest daughter of the Duke of Winterfell, and began a relentless pursuit of her, quickly winning her heart.
Sansa Stark was a classic beauty, inheriting from her mother the Tully family's delicate cheekbones, clear blue eyes, and thick, maroon hair. Tall and slender, she already possessed the qualities of a great beauty despite being only eleven years old. Joffrey won the young girl's heart instantly with Sansa's favorite lemon cake.
King Robert, accompanied by his queen and prince, came to visit Brandon Stark because the king would be leaving Winterfell the next day to return to the Red Keep in King's Landing, the capital of the Seven Kingdoms. This was one of the rituals performed before the king's departure.
Accompanying the king south was Eddard Stark, Duke of the North, who had been appointed Hand of the King of the Seven Kingdoms, second only to the King, overseeing all political and military affairs of the seven kingdoms.
The Hand of the King, also known as the Prime Minister, is the king's chief advisor and executor when the king sits on the Iron Throne to handle state affairs. When the king is absent, the Prime Minister sits on the Iron Throne in his place and exercises all the king's powers—commanding the army, drafting bills, promulgating laws, managing the kingdom's daily affairs, and handling disputes among nobles and serious crimes committed by the common people.
After the king, accompanied by the queen and prince, completed the elaborate royal farewell ceremony, he returned to his residence. He was almost exhausted when Lancel Lannister, a sommelier who understood the king's intentions, immediately came forward, holding a golden jug, and poured the king a full cup of wine.
The king took the wine and downed it in one gulp, instantly becoming invigorated and radiant. He tossed the glass to the sommelier, Lancel, and muttered with regret, "Seeing that boy Bran lying paralyzed in bed, breathing but not feeling anything, it would have been more merciful to just throw him to his death. If I were alive like that, I would rather be dead."
Prince Joffrey's eyes lit up, and he said, "Father, why don't you order Bran's life to end in the name of the King? That would be a good thing for him too."
Robert glared at him: "Joffrey, if the Starks hear you say that, they will hold a grudge against you for life. Didn't you see Lady Catelyn's heartbroken eyes? Alas, Lady Catelyn stayed by Bran's side day and night, but what good did it do? The Old Gods of the North are so cruel to this child!"
Queen Cersei smiled coldly, raised her head proudly, and looked at the king with disdain: "When it comes to cruelty, who can compare to the Mountain? He was the one who did dirty things to get you onto the Iron Throne. He raped and murdered Prince Rhaegar's wife and threw the prince's young son, who couldn't even walk yet, to his death. My esteemed king, how could your upright and kind heart tolerate such a cruel and heartless person as the Mountain? Aren't you yourself even more cruel, heartless, and hard-hearted?"
Enraged by the queen's words, the king shouted for a glass. As the wine server Lancel Lannister poured the wine, the king raised his glass to throw it at the queen, but the queen and prince had already hurried out of the room.
The king then drank cup after cup, loudly cursing the Lannister family, from Cersei to Tywin Lannister. The king soon became drunk, and as he collapsed, he swore to the bartender that the first order he would give upon returning to King's Landing would be to kill the Mountain.
The sommelier Lancel Lannister obediently complied with the king's words. Unable to lift the king's obese body, he could only fetch a blanket to cover the king.
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Lancel Lannister was the eldest son of Kevan Lannister of the Westerlands. He was young and handsome, with sandy brown hair, light green eyes, and a striking face. He bore a resemblance to Jaime Lannister and was only sixteen years old. When Jaime Lannister was away and the king was drunk in a prostitute's bed, Queen Cersei would summon Lancel to her chambers to keep her company, to drink, and to share frivolous stories, thus passing the sleepless nights.
Early the next morning, the king's procession departed Winterfell in a grand procession, embarking on the road south back to the city. The king slept soundly in the vast palace, while the queen lifted the curtain and leaned against the palace's doorframe, watching the endless stream of royal courtiers and royal guards outside. The Redcoats of the Westerlands formed their own contingent, protecting the rear of the palace.
Lord Eddard Stark of the North stopped at the crossroads. He looked behind him and saw two horses galloping toward him. One was his brother Benjen Stark, the First Ranger of the Night's Watch at the Wall; the other was a young man named Jon Snow, his bastard son, born in Aegon 283, and fifteen years old this year. The young man would be leaving Winterfell today to become a glorious member of the Night's Watch at the Wall, a thousand miles away.
Jon Snow came to find his father with a very important question to ask: who was his mother?
This separation between father and son, one heading north and the other south, meant they would never see each other again. This question had been weighing on Jon Snow's mind, and today he hoped his father could give him an answer.