The Mountain of Ice and Fire

Chapter 1: The Return is for a Final Farewell

In March of the year 302 of Aegon's Conquest, the Mountain led the Qarth navy into the port of Ashai.

The dark mass of warships filled the sea.

The Ashai navy was utterly destroyed, and the Judgment Elder was captured alive, his life hanging by a thread.

The Mountain's flagship docked, the旋梯 lowered, and he led his courtiers and soldiers ashore.

Standing on the dock were Quaithe's senior sister Kitty Keegan, Grand Master Alicia Boy, Blood Witch Elder Flandre, the Moon Singer Elder, the Pyro Elder, the Judgment Knights guarding the city, and hundreds of soldiers under their command.

The Mountain came before these people, and everyone had to look up at him; he was simply too massive, shockingly so. The hilt of the greatsword protruding from his left shoulder was also of a size never before seen by the people of Ashai.

This was not a king; this was a fully armed giant with a greatsword on his back.

"Your Majesty the Dragon Knight, King of Qarth and Westeros, please accept the sincere welcome of the people of Ashai," Alicia Boy, the High Priestess of the Red God's Temple, bowed to the Mountain.

And so, the elders, red priests, red priestesses, Judgment Knights, and Ashai soldiers all bowed to the Mountain.

It was a bow, not a kneel.

The Mountain accepted their bows.

"Asha, bring the Judgment Elder here."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

As the warships entered the harbor, the Mountain ordered Damian York to lower the Judgment Elder from the high mast. Quaithe performed simple arrow wound treatment for him and used spells to help him recover some of his strength.

The Mountain's intention was to hand the Judgment Elder over to the Ashai Council of Elders, allowing them to deal with him. In such a meeting, the Mountain could see which elders were close to the Judgment Elder and which were not. He could also see which elders were willing to accept and be close to him, and which elders were actually keeping him at a distance.

The Judgment Elder was brought over, and the Mountain stretched out his giant hand, grabbing the Judgment Elder's shoulder and lifting him slightly off the ground. In the Mountain's hand, the Judgment Elder was like a small rag doll held by a savage brute, completely devoid of aura.

"Elders, knights, soldiers, and people of Ashai, we have come here at the request of the Quaithe priestess to help Ashai restore its former vitality and glory, not to seize Ashai. However, the Judgment Elder launched a surprise attack on us. Ashai naval soldiers jumped into the sea, swimming underwater to try and sink all of our warships. We had no choice but to retaliate," the Mountain said.

The Mountain's words completely shifted the responsibility for the battle.

Blood Witch Elder Flandre was the first to step forward. She looked at the Judgment Elder with a reproachful tone: "Elder Sander Labres, whether Ashai should fight or make peace, or welcome the King of Qarth, how could you make the decision on your own? In Ashai, the Council of Elders has always decided everything. You are the controller of the city's military forces, but you only have the right to execute decisions. The Council of Elders is the highest authority in Ashai."

Sander Labres was the Judgment Elder's name.

"Heh, you detestable old witch, and of course, you all," Sander Labres's gaze swept over the crowd, defiant. "I know you are all craven and fear death. Ashai has never been your true country. You are all foreign outsiders, spineless evil wizards, cowards hiding here to eke out a living. The life and death of the Ashai people, the destruction or glory of Ashai City, have nothing to do with you wizards who only want to preserve your lives and study magic. Surrendering to the King of Qarth can save your dog lives, so of course, you only want peace talks and kneeling. To defend Ashai, we can only rely on the Judgment Knights."

"Then did your battle protect Ashai? Or did it accelerate the destruction of Ashai's Judgment Knights?" Blood Witch Elder Flandre said coldly.

"Ashai has knights, but unfortunately, it also has wizards. If there were only knights, we would have met the invaders head-on and driven all foreign forces out of Ashai's waters," Sander Labres said fiercely.

"With your abilities, you are so arrogant that you think you can defeat a dragon?" Blood Witch Elder laughed.

"I would rather die in battle than live in dishonor."

The Mountain said, "Knight Sander, you have achieved your wish to die in battle and gained the glory of dying in battle, but what you don't understand is that the Ashai people who survive are not living in dishonor, but will live better than before. If you were a true Ashai person, you should know that the water of the Grey Ash River in Old Ashai is drinkable, the walls of Old Ashai are not black, but are made of white marble and yellow granite, and the Ghost Grass Sea of Old Ashai is not called the Ghost Grass Sea, but the Ashai Great Plains. You are a brave fool, a hot-blooded shortsighted person, a reckless man with no self-awareness. Speaking and reasoning with someone as mentally closed and unenlightened as you is an insult to us. My intention was to hand you over to the Council of Elders for trial, but now it seems that your stupidity proves that you are not worthy!"

Clang!

The Mountain reached out and drew the Ice Greatsword from his back. The greatsword emitted a dazzling light in the sunlight. With a flash of light, Sander Labres's head fell to the ground.

*

In the year 302 of Aegon's Conquest, the Mountain led his army into the city of Ashai. None of the experimental livestock brought with the army died, a miracle that had not happened in Ashai for thousands of years. This absolutely unbelievable miracle caused the people hiding in every corner of Ashai to appear one after another. The hostility in their hearts towards the foreign legion quickly disappeared, at an astonishing speed.

The people all over the city began to understand: perhaps what Quaithe and Alicia said was true, the arrival of His Majesty the Dragon Knight was to end Ashai's dark curse!

In April, the water of the Grey Ash River, which flowed through Ashai City, became clear and transparent. The source of Ashai's river was in the Ghost Grass Sea. Now there was no ghost grass in the Ghost Grass Sea, and the roots of the ghost grass had been burned to ashes by dragon fire. The water flowing out of the source was clear and transparent, no longer black.

In May, Ashai's black city walls began to turn white and yellow, revealing the patterns of marble and granite.

In June, the lands of Yi Ti, the Isle of Leng, the Isle of Moraq, Crocodile Bay, the Saffron Straits, and the coastal countries of Ulthos all came to Ashai to pay homage to His Majesty the Dragon Knight—Gregor Clegane. After witnessing the magnificence of the six dragons, these countries all submitted.

From then on, the Dragon Knight King's reputation became a symbol of conquest in the Eastern world, and the Mountain's Eastern Expedition plan formulated in Westeros was basically completed.

*

The weather in Ashai in June was warm, and the temperature was also suitable at night.

In the Mountain's Ashai Palace, in Queen Daenerys's bedroom, the Mountain and Daenerys were about to rest when the door was knocked, and Missandei's voice came from outside the door: "Your Majesty the King, Your Majesty the Queen, Lady Melisandre requests an audience."

Both the Mountain and Daenerys were surprised and delighted!

Melisandre had returned from Pentos. Ashai was Melisandre's home. She had departed from here years ago, and after several years, she had returned.

"Please let the Lady in," the Mountain said quickly.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The crescent-shaped door opened, and Melisandre stood in the doorway wearing a large red robe. Her skin was still so white, her big eyes were still so bright, and the heart-shaped red gemstone on her neck shone brightly.

Daenerys sat on the head of the bed, her belly already noticeably protruding. She nodded to Melisandre.

"Your Majesty the King, Your Majesty the Queen," Melisandre paid her respects as a courtier.

"The Lady has had a long journey," the Mountain said. "Please sit down."

Melisandre sat down.

"Has the Lady returned to the Red God's Temple?" Daenerys asked.

"Not yet, Your Majesty the Queen. As soon as I disembarked, I came directly here to see Your Majesty the King and Your Majesty the Queen."

"Melisandre," the Mountain said with a relaxed and joyful expression, "Are you planning to return to Ashai, or are you willing to continue serving in the royal family as my Legion Priest? Of course, I hope you can stay and be my Legion Priest forever. The Clegane royal family will always need you, Lady!"

"Your Majesty, I will not settle in Ashai, nor can I continue to be Your Majesty's army priest."

Disappointment immediately appeared on the Mountain's face. He sighed: "Well, is there any place the Lady wants to go? If there is anything I can help with, I will do my best to help the Lady complete it," the Mountain said solemnly.

"I hope to settle in the North and build a Red God temple in the Night's Watch territory in the North, to pass on the Red God's faith from generation to generation," Melisandre said slowly. Her beautiful eyes looked at the Mountain, her neck slightly tilted, like a beautiful little cat carefully examining its master.

"The North is the territory of Duke Eddard Stark, and the Northerners and Duke Stark believe in the Old Gods. From ancient times to the present, no other faith has been able to enter the North."

"Your Majesty, I swear to you that I will preach peacefully and will never conflict with the faith of the Northerners. The people of the North have the freedom to choose their faith, and Red God believers from other places can also move to live in the Night's Watch territory. The Red God Temple will be their holy place for prayer."

The Mountain pondered. He did not expect Melisandre to make such a request.

Daenerys asked, "Lady, why did you choose the Night's Watch territory as the location to build the Red God Temple?"

"Your Majesty the Queen, the Night King was killed by Your Majesty the King, but the Cold God will always be in the Land of Always Winter. He will cultivate the next Night King," Melisandre said slowly.

The Mountain looked at Melisandre. He was once again very surprised by Melisandre's words: "Has the Lady already thought of the next re-emergence of the Others?"

"Maybe a thousand years later, maybe a hundred years later, maybe thousands of years later, who knows? But the Others will definitely come again!"

Melisandre's words convinced the Mountain. The Mountain also understood that the Others would come again!

"Okay, Lady, I will build a magnificent Red God Temple for you, right in the territory of the Night's Watch."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Knock knock knock!

There was another knock on the door.

It was still Missandei's voice: "Your Majesty the King, Your Majesty the Queen, Blood Witch Elder Flandre requests an audience."

The Mountain looked at Daenerys and then at Melisandre. Blood Witch Elders were skilled in healing and detoxification, which also meant that they were also skilled in making poisons, and would not be worse than professional poisoners. In fact, Blood Witches were the nemesis of poisoners. The Mountain was relatively wary of Blood Witch Elder Flandre.

In the three months since entering the city, the Mountain and Elder Flandre had rarely met, let alone communicated.

Melisandre nodded to the Mountain. She and Elder Flandre were actually very familiar and friendly.

The Mountain said in a deep voice: "Missandei, please let Blood Witch Elder in."

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

The door opened, and an old woman stood at the door. Her face was full of wrinkles, she was wearing a linen robe, her hair was gray, her eyes were kind, and Missandei was supporting her.

Melisandre got up early to greet her: "Lady Flandre, you are still so healthy and kind."

Flandre's face was full of surprise: "Melisandre, you're back? I just went to the Red God's Temple. Alicia said there was no news of your return yet."

"I just got back, Lady."

"It's good to be back, it's good to be back! From now on, you don't have to leave Ashai again." Elder Flandre showed a kind smile. "I already know the reason why you went to the continent of Westeros. You did a good job, and your mission has been accomplished."

Melisandre paused slightly, and finally said: "Lady, I am actually back this time to formally say goodbye to Senior Sister and you."

"Formally say goodbye?" the old woman raised her voice.

"Yes, a formal farewell. After this departure, I will not return to Ashai again."

The old woman was stunned, opened her mouth, but did not make a sound. After a while, the old woman smiled: "Melisandre, where are you going? Have you taken a fancy to a certain knight? Or have you already married abroad?"

"I will never marry in my life, Lady..."

"Don't say that. The last sister who said that to me violated her oath. Now she has turned into a handful of dirt in a foreign land. And her descendants came to Ashai, but have not taken the initiative to come to pay their respects to me for so long. Damn it, it's really too rude!"

Lady Flandre grabbed Melisandre's hand and sat next to Melisandre. She looked at Melisandre as if an old grandmother was looking at her obedient granddaughter who had just returned from school, constantly asking her granddaughter about everything in school, and then forgot everything around her.

"Lady Flandre, I am going back to the continent of Westeros this time. I have met many friends on that continent and I am also very familiar with that continent. I have taken a fancy to a place, and His Majesty the King has promised to build a huge and magnificent Red God Temple for me."

"Oh! Oh!" the old woman showed a look of sudden realization. "Are you going to start your own sect?"

"Yes and no," Melisandre smiled.

"Yes and no?"

"Yes, it is true that I am going to start my own sect on the continent of Westeros; no, it means that I am not trying to break away from Ashai's Red God Temple, but to resist the next wave of Others. The human race needs to prepare in advance. This hard fight was a lesson."

"Weren't the Others all killed by you?"

"Yes, but in the Land of Always Winter, the Cold God is always there. He will cultivate a second Night King."

"You want to build a Red God Temple next to the Night's Watch's castle?"

"In the Night's Watch's five-hundred-mile Gift," Melisandre said.

"Oh, the Night's Watch's Gift. That is indeed the best place to build a Red God Temple. If the Others attack again, they must first break through the defense of the Wall of Ice. From the Gift to the Night's Watch military fortress on the Wall of Ice, that is the closest and best location."

The Mountain and Daenerys exchanged glances, their hearts both moved.

Elder Flandre was not unfamiliar with the situation of the Night's Watch!