The journey from the town of Harlowe to Riverrun, the home of House Tully, the lords of the Riverlands, is nearly a thousand miles, demonstrating the vastness and abundance of the Riverlands plains. The Trident River, a dutiful mother, has nourished the people of the Riverlands, ensuring their abundance and prosperity. For nine years of this long summer, the people of the Riverlands have enjoyed bountiful harvests year after year.
The three sons of the Trident River Mother—the eldest, the Green Fork River; the second, the Blue Fork River; and the third, the Red Fork River—stretch across the vast plains of the river valleys, nourishing this land for countless millennia.
As a rich and fertile land, the plains are not without mountains: the Noble Heart, rising abruptly from the plains three hundred miles from Flowing City, is a famous mountain in the Riverlands. Legend has it that the ghosts of the Forest Children, the original inhabitants of this land, still dwell on the Noble Heart. Outside Flowing City, along the Red Fork River basin, lies the famous Plains Forest—the Whispering Forest.
The river not only irrigates this land, but also produces a wide variety of freshwater fish.
Fisheries, wine, and dairy industries were another major guarantee of the wealth of the Riverlands nobility.
The sigil of House Tully is a silver trout leaping on a background of red and blue stripes, and their family motto is "Family, Duty, Honor." The red and blue stripes symbolize the Red Fork and Blue Fork rivers on the plains. The Red Fork flows through the south gate of Riverrun, which is right next to the city gate. There is no drawbridge, so you have to take a boat to enter or leave the city from the south gate.
Blue Fork River is located northeast of Flowing City, and both rivers are abundant with delicious silver trout.
The Green Fork River is the furthest point from Riverrun, a thousand miles away. Upstream on the Green Fork River, the infamous 'Late Frey Family' has amassed a fortune by controlling the only ferry crossing.
Of the seven kingdoms, besides the world-renowned Green Pavilion Island wines of the south, the most famous wines come from the many wineries in the Riverlands. The wine industry here is highly developed, with a history of at least two thousand years, and is naturally controlled by the nobility. Wines, cider, wheat wines, and stouts are readily available, and are exported through Lannisport in the west and Seagulltown in the eastern valley to the nine free trading cities across the Narrow Sea.
The Mountain led his thirty cavalrymen from Earl Harlowe's town back to Clegane Castle in the West. The journey was over two thousand miles. They traveled at a leisurely pace, as they had good horses and each of them had two horses. They followed the Red Fork River all the way back to the West.
Several days later, they arrived at a very famous place: the Kneeling Staircase!
We're not far from Flowing City, less than 300 miles away. A little further ahead is the Whispering Forest.
The Riverlands plains are teeming with wild dogs and wolves, and the Whispering Woods are even more teeming with them. The Mountain knows that Arya's lost Nymeria will grow into the Wolf King in this forest. The Wolf King's destiny with Arya is not yet over; it will eventually meet Arya again in the forests along the Red Fork River. Nymeria will also drag Lady Catelyn's body ashore from the Green Fork River after the Red Wedding.
However, the butterfly of the Demon Mountain has already flapped its wings, and it remains to be seen how much it will ultimately change the original trajectory of this world.
Three hundred years ago, Toren Stark, King in the North, led his army south, declaring his intention to fight Aegon the Conqueror to the death. However, his confidence wavered when he heard that the kings of the South were being slaughtered one by one by Aegon and his dragons. Upon arriving at the Trident River in the Riverlands, Toren Stark witnessed firsthand how Aegon and his dragons killed the kings of the Riverlands and their armies. He knelt in submission to Aegon on the south bank of the Red Fork and surrendered his crown.
Thus, this place became known as the Land of Kneeling. Later, an inn was opened there and named the Inn of Kneeling.
In the river region, whether traveling from west to east or east to west, as long as you follow the Red Fork River Avenue, the Kneeling Boardwalk is a place you must pass through.
The Mountain and his soldiers took refuge at the Bending Stable.
This inn is also the largest one on this road, attracting many guests. Many fishermen and merchant ships on the Red Fork River like to stop here and go ashore for a drink.
Many of the guest rooms here are built on the surface of the Red Fork River, as if to embrace the passing boats and fishermen.
The ground floor of the inn is made of gray stone, while the walls of the second floor are made of wood and painted with snow-white lime. If you accidentally touch the walls, your clothes will be stained with white lime.
The floors on both the first and second floors are paved with smooth, light blue stone slabs. Even the ceiling on the second floor is paved with stone slabs, not wood.
The inn's stables were very long, and several pavilions covered with vines were built for guests to drink and enjoy the river view.
The sign above the gate depicts a kneeling king with a rugged face and a large beard, holding a crown aloft with both hands, offering it to someone who does not exist.
The kneeling king was Toren Stark, the Kneeling King of the North. Aegon the Conqueror accepted his surrender and later appointed him Duke of Winterfell and Warden of the North.
As soon as the Demon Mountain and his companions arrived at the inn, the innkeeper immediately came out to greet them. The three-headed hound flag and the red lion flag were planted at the entrance of the Kneeling Inn, and the passing ships and guests all gave way, not daring to come ashore.
The Mountain entered the inn, where the lobby on the first floor was almost full of guests, mostly merchants and their knights and mercenaries.
The Red Fork River converges with the Blue Fork and Green Fork Rivers, leading directly to the sea, making water transportation highly developed. This greatly contributed to the prosperity of commerce in the river region, including the wine industry, dairy industry, fishing industry, and grain trading.
Goods from the river region can be transported out by water, and goods from outside can also be transported in by water.
Mo Shan walked into the inn's lobby and said, "No matter who it is, get the hell out of here."
Some guests who hadn't had enough to drink stood up and slipped away from Mo Shan and his group.
There were quite a few knights and mercenaries eating and drinking in the hall. Merchants in this world, or minor nobles with a little wealth, either had their own family knights or hired knights when they went out. There were also many proletarian knights without territory who came out to work as free riders. Free riders accounted for a large proportion of the armies of various nobles.
In times of peace, the only way for proletarian knights to survive was to become free riders, a rank of mercenary higher than ordinary mercenaries. Free riders had horses and superior weapons, and each one possessed excellent martial skills, far surpassing those of ordinary mercenaries.
Several drunken free riders refused to listen, and their fate was simple: the Mountain and his brothers threw them directly into the Red Fork River through the window.
After the fourth slightly drunk knight was thrown into the river, the remaining intoxicated free riders and their employers were also sobered up, and soon the large hall was completely empty.
Mo Shan then sat down with satisfaction and called out, "Boss, bring me some wine!"
A voice suddenly rang out at the gate, a cheerful, nonchalant voice: "Sorry, Demon Mountain, my master has booked this inn. Food, drink, rooms, stables, and pavilions—everything's taken. You and your brothers will have to travel through the night."