The Mountain of Ice and Fire

Chapter 1009: Final Chapter: Unmatched

(Wishing all my readers a prosperous and lucky Year of the Ox, with everything going smoothly. Life is like a play, may you all pass every game level and get chicken dinners every time.)

*

The light outside was too bright.

The sky held a white, moon-like sun.

Sunlight shone on the ten-foot-thick snow, and the reflected light was unbearable to the eyes.

But the Night's Watch had long since gained ample experience.

They covered their eyes with black gauze, effectively weakening the glare of the snow.

On the short road leading to the Eastwatch docks, the floating snow had been completely cleared.

Rarely, the weather had cleared today, and the heavy snow had stopped three days ago.

In fact, clearing the floating snow every day was the Night's Watch brothers' favorite task.

Although the underground was extremely warm, staying there for too long made everyone want to come to the surface for a breath of fresh air.

On the section of road to the Eastwatch docks, after the floating snow was cleared, the ground was solid ice with a blue tint.

The ice layer was very thick and hard. Even a sword would only create small ice chips.

The Night's Watch brothers had black gauze wrapped around their hands, and then wore thin mole skin gloves. The hilts of their swords and small knives were also wrapped in black cloth.

The temperature was too cold; holding the hilt of a sword with bare hands would quickly cause the skin to freeze to it. Forcing them apart would tear the skin, causing injury.

Crisp cracking sounds transmitted from the depths of the earth to the surface.

A wooden-wheeled cart with iron chains wrapped around the wheels appeared from the cave entrance, with a man sitting on it whose eyes were also covered with thin black gauze. On the man's chest was a family crest: a golden rose blooming on a verdant green field. Below the golden rose was the family motto: Growing Strong.

The golden rose on the green field was the crest of House Tyrell.

House Tyrell was once an extremely prominent family on the continent of Westeros, ranking second in wealth, first in military strength, and first in population and food abundance. Population guaranteed soldiers, and food guaranteed prosperity.

But that prominence had all dissipated with the wind.

The ever-growing golden rose had withered.

The only remaining bloodline was this black-clothed man sitting in the wheelchair: Willas Tyrell.

If one's gaze could penetrate the hood and mask, one would see Willas Tyrell's face beneath the mask, as calm as white snow. In his eyes, there was no recollection, only the stillness of ice and snow.

It was quiet both inside and outside the Wall in the heart of winter.

The whistling of the wind through the branches sounded like the screams of the Others, and the shadows of the trees projected on the white snow looked like ghostly figures.

But today everything was quiet, and all things in heaven and earth seemed to be in a dream.

Willas's wooden wheelchair had a push rod. He pushed the rod with his right hand, and the wooden wheelchair made the sound of mechanical chains turning. As if it was the only sound in the world, the wooden wheelchair moved forward, and the iron chains wrapped around the wheels crushed the faintly blue ice road.

Willas Tyrell was a genius, once studying at the Citadel, and in a short time, he forged a chain.

The chain was the mark of a maester who had completed his studies at the Citadel. The various metal links on the chain represented the specialized knowledge you mastered. Each type of knowledge was symbolized by a metal link, and the more metal links on the chain, the more diverse your knowledge.

In the maester's chain that Willas Tyrell forged at the Citadel, in addition to animal husbandry, planting, geography, and astronomy, he also obtained metal links representing mechanics and forging: black iron.

Willas did not learn to forge weapons, but the black iron link represented two meanings, one of which was mechanics.

The chain installed on the wooden wheelchair that helped the wheels move forward was what he researched to pass the time underground. On both sides of his legs, there were two metal plates, the metal plates were close to the structure of the legs, and fixed with connecting nails in the middle, just like the joints of human legs.

These strangely shaped iron plates tied to his legs could help Willas Tyrell stand up from the wooden wheelchair and also help him walk slowly.

In the depths of the Wall in the heart of winter, Willas Tyrell was gradually losing his sense of time between day and night. After waking up, eating and drinking his fill, he would study some strange mechanical devices to pass the time. One of the things the Night's Watch brothers liked the most was a small iron man, no longer than a finger, that could somersault. Just a light touch of the little iron man's calf joint would make him flip.

After Lord Commander Jon Targaryen left the Wall, Willas Tyrell replaced Jon as the acting Lord Commander of the Night's Watch at the Wall.

Behind Willas Tyrell's wooden wheelchair followed four Night's Watch brothers with swords.

The group headed towards the Eastwatch docks.

A large ship was already docked at the wharf, and this large ship was also a warship. The sails had been raised and were full of wind. The Night's Watch brothers on the ship were clustered around an old man with a peaceful face who was not wearing a mask or black gauze to protect his eyes - Maester Aemon Targaryen.

The ultimate destination for Willas Tyrell, Aemon Targaryen, and the Night's Watch brothers: Pentos!

*

Horseshoes crunched on the snow, making a pleasant sound.

A hundred-man cavalry escort was traveling along the Muddy Road in the Reach.

At the end of the Muddy Road was the port town of Maidenpool.

The general leading the cavalry was Lord William Mooton of Maidenpool.

The carriage protected by the cavalry was small, with three people inside: a child, a mother, and a wet nurse.

The child was two years old and named Rohanne Mooton. Rohanne also had another name: Rohanne Clegane.

Rohanne's father was the famous Sharpshooter General Anguy Clegane. Anguy's archery was recognized as the best in Westeros and Essos, and His Majesty the King had personally bestowed a plaque of honor to be hung at Mooton Castle in Maidenpool: Sharpshooter General, Unmatched in the World.

After Anguy Clegane and Elanor Mooton married and had children, both parties followed the agreement between His Majesty the King and Lord William: the child would take the mother's surname.

Lord Mooton's heir was Elanor Mooton. The Earl refused to return the Mooton family's territory of Maidenpool to an outside surname, so in the marriage presided over by the Mountain, the Mountain promised that after Anguy and Elanor married, the eldest son or the heir of Maidenpool would take the mother's surname.

Elanor Mooton was still wearing a white mask in the carriage, while the child was wearing a thick mink fur hat.

The child was not peaceful in the small carriage, constantly lifting the carriage curtain, and the cold wind pierced in like a knife.

Elanor Mooton was a delicate beauty. Although the child was only two years old, she and the wet nurse already felt overwhelmed. The child was a spitting image of Anguy, and anyone could tell at a glance that he was Anguy's biological son!

The ship at the dock had already raised its sails, with two warships escorting it. On the large ship in the center, servants and maids were waiting at the bow. In the cabin, a blazing fire had already been lit.

The ultimate destination of this group: Pentos!

*

King's Landing was a world of white snow.

The children in the city had never seen such heavy snow, and were building snowmen and having snowball fights everywhere.

The streets, which should have been deserted, were not deserted at all.

Adults were also participating in playing in the snow, and small vendors were coming and going in a hurry. The roofs of the entire city were covered in white snow.

The bronze gates of the Red Keep slowly opened, and a group of tall horses appeared at the entrance.

An old man on the left was huddled on horseback, wrapped in a white velvet cloak. He squinted his eyes and hunched his back, and was none other than Grand Maester Qyburn, the Grand Maester of the Red Keep in King's Landing. The nobleman beside Grand Maester Qyburn was dressed in black, with a shiny silver family crest on his chest: a mockingbird! This was Petyr Baelish, the Master of Coin and Lord Protector of the Vale, Littlefinger. Littlefinger stood up straight, without a hat on his head, his black hair smeared with butter, shiny and reflective, and his chin was also clean-shaven. He had a mischievous smile on his face, as if he was mocking the whole world.

Beside Littlefinger was an old man with an imposing manner, his face as resolute as iron, making people awestruck, as if the whole world was at odds with him. This was Jon Connington, the acting Hand of the King in King's Landing. The time he had been in office as acting Hand had set a record, exceeding the time that Tyrion Lannister, Tywin Lannister, and Eddard Stark had been in office.

To this day, Jon Connington's position as Hand of the King was still temporary. This time he was going to Pentos to resolutely resign to the King. In order to resign, Jon Connington had been working day and night to handle the royal government affairs cleanly, and had made well-organized arrangements for the major government affairs that were postponed for three months. As soon as the new Hand took office, he could exercise his power well without leaving any mess for the new Hand.

Jon Connington asked himself that he had done his best in the position of acting Hand, helping His Majesty the King's rear area to be as stable as the Great Wall. He had a clear conscience, so he was very confident in resigning this time, and no matter what reason His Majesty gave, he would definitely resign and leave. It was time for him to go back to Griffin's Roost in the Stormlands to repair it properly.

Behind the acting Hand, the Grand Maester, and the Master of Coin, was Bronn, the captain of the guard of Maegor's Holdfast, the Blackwater Knight. He led a hundred-man royal guard to protect the three adults. In addition, there were two Kingsguard accompanying them.

There were a total of seven Kingsguard, and three Kingsguard had already gone to Pentos earlier to protect the Queen.

The two Kingsguard who protected the three important ministers to Pentos City this time were the Goodbrother brothers from the Iron Islands: Gormond Goodbrother and Goran Goodbrother. In addition, the warships of the Goodbrother brothers' father, Governor Euron Goodbrother of the Iron Islands, and the large ship of Lady Rosamund Lannister, the Lady of Lannisport, had already arrived at the Blackwater Rush port.

Lannisport was the largest and most prosperous city in the Westerlands. Lady Rosamund Lannister and Myrcella Lannister were like twin sisters, and their appearances were exactly the same. People who didn't know them could hardly tell the difference between them. Rosamund Lannister's husband was the Mountain's adopted son, Comar Warner from Crackclaw Point. The two had already married, but Rosamund's belly had no reaction. However, Rosamund was not old, less than twenty years old, and there was plenty of time in the future.

The group walked out of the Red Keep, passed through the King's Road, entered the Flea Bottom Square, exited the Mud Gate, passed the Riverside Avenue, and entered the Royal Navy port.

In the port, on the bow of the royal warship King Robert's Hammer, stood the commander of the King's Landing City Watch - Queen Jeyne's uncle, Rolph Spicer, the Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Navy, Waggener Kettleblack... and a group of Royal Navy generals. Two hundred-man regiments of Royal Navy soldiers and gunners stood on the deck, waiting for the King Robert's Hammer to set sail.

A total of three large ships were about to set sail to Pentos City in the port. The War Hammer and the Lyanna were escort ships. Two cannons were installed on the escort ships and covered with tent cloth.

*

Rolph Spicer came to Pentos City for the first time. This was a place without heavy snow. The air was humid and cold, but much warmer than King's Landing.

Rolph saw city walls that were taller than those of King's Landing, and also wider and thicker than those of King's Landing.

Standing on the dock, the towering and oppressive aura of Pentos City came head-on.

The dark city walls were full of soldiers. Flags with foreign styles fluttered in the wind. Among the many flags, only the Mountain's military flag and the Royal Standard were the tallest, the flag surface was larger, and they were erected in the most central position on the city gate.

In the port and on the docks, there were Westerosi people speaking the Westerosi language everywhere - these people and ships came from Dorne, Oldtown, Lannisport in the Westerlands, White Harbor in the North, and Gulltown in the Vale.

The family crests drawn on the flags of each ship indicated the identity of the ship's owner and represented a certain family.

Among the many flags, the Mountain saw the flag of the Royce family of Runestone, a great noble family in the Vale. Lord Yohn Royce's daughter, Ysilla Royce, married the Mountain's adopted son, Landon Kettleblack. Ysilla, as the only surviving child of the Royce family, was also taken in as an adopted daughter by the Mountain after he broke the Runestone.

Adopted daughter matches adopted son!

And Ser Landon Kettleblack was one of the Mountain's sworn men. He came from Crackclaw Point and was the cousin of Waggener Kettleblack, the Commander-in-Chief of the King's Landing Royal Navy.

Rolph was dazzled as he stood on the dock when a pair of strong hands hugged him from behind. Rolph turned around and saw the face he was most familiar with - his brother-in-law - Lord Gawen Westerling.

"Come with me!" Lord Gawen said.

"Brother-in-law!" Rolph was surprised and delighted. "You arrived even before us? Where's my sister?"

"She's busy in the Prince's palace. His Majesty the King has something to ask you. Let's go first."

"Aren't we going with everyone?" Rolph pointed to the courtiers and noblewomen from the King's Landing court who were landing one after another. The three important ministers on the King Robert's Hammer - the acting Hand, the Grand Maester, and the Master of Coin - had not yet disembarked.

"We're not waiting. His Majesty the King wants you to go first."

"Okay!"

Rolph Spicer shouted to the ship, telling Bronn and his guards to protect the three important ministers. He and his brother-in-law Gawen waved to the King Robert's Hammer, and then the two walked towards a carriage that had been parked on the side of the road. This was an extremely luxurious and spacious carriage. The driver was a gloomy-eyed foreigner, and the way he looked at people was like nails.

The two got into the carriage. There was a bed for guests to lie down and sleep, and a barrel of wine, with crystal wine glasses hanging on the shelf. Lord Gawen handed Rolph a glass of wine: "Come, have a glass of sour wine from Yi Ti first."

Lothor took the wine glass and drank it all in one gulp. The sour wine had an intoxicating sweetness, with an extremely pleasant taste. Lothor Spicer said, "The wine is too weak," and poured himself another cup. The wine was so delicious, but Lothor didn't utter a single word of praise, only criticisms.

By the third cup, he felt the carriage swaying slightly. After the fourth cup, his eyes felt heavy, and the Earl of Gavin in front of him split into two in the rocking carriage. Lothor Spicer laughed and said, "This wine has a strong kick. I'm actually drunk, unbelievable. It must be because I'm too tired from the boat ride." Then, he collapsed.

*

Lothor Spicer woke up to pitch darkness. He felt something was wrong. He reached up and touched his face, finding it completely smooth. His beloved beard was gone, as if he wasn't touching his own face.

Lothor Spicer screamed. He jumped up, only to realize he had jumped from the bed to the floor, his feet cold, as he was barefoot.

"Someone, where is this?" Lothor shouted.

In the darkness, a single candle lit up, approaching from afar. Lothor stood still. Without his bushy beard, he felt as if he was naked.

He was shocked, angry, and ashamed! He hated his brother-in-law Gavin!

A faint fragrance wafted over, and a woman with a snow-white veil over her face walked over, holding a candle. Her eyes were amber, and Lothor sank into them with just one glance, as if drowning in a deep pool.

He felt suffocated.

"Put on your shoes, His Majesty the King wants to see you," the woman said. Her voice was melodious and sweet, full of gentle tenderness.

Lothor didn't know how he groped around the bed for a pair of brand-new exotic high boots and put them on. As soon as he put on those unusual shoes, Lothor straightened his back involuntarily. The demeanor and aura of a great nobleman naturally emanated from his burly frame.

He forgot the shame of not having a beard.

"My lord, please follow me."

The woman's words seemed to have a magical power. Lothor Spicer followed the woman forward. As they walked, more and more candles lit up in the corridor outside, and the light increased. At a corner, the woman disappeared, leaving Spicer alone.

But Spicer saw the light ahead, not the light of candles or torches, but the light of day. He saw an open door.

Spicer walked over and was immediately stunned. Before him was a magnificent palace, filled with people. There were his sister and brother-in-law, the Prime Minister, the Grand Maester, Bolon, the Kingsguard, and high-ranking officers of the garrison, as well as maids and nuns in snow-white dresses.

Everyone cheered for him, and the nuns threw red petals from their hands. The maids giggled, dressing him in exquisite robes. His sister came to his side, "Congratulations Lothor on your marriage. Your bride is very pleased with you. She is the Queen from Qarth." His sister whispered the last sentence to him.

"Queen?" Lothor only had the image of the maid with amber eyes who had 'saved' him from the darkness, not some Queen from Qarth.

"Sister, the Queen is a widow, can I refuse this marriage?" Lothor heard himself mutter. He was like a sleepwalker and didn't know what he was saying.

Wasn't he supposed to be attending the wedding of Jon Targaryen and Tommen Lannister? How did the wedding protagonists suddenly become him? And the marriage arranged for him by His Majesty was to a jinxed widow—a Queen of a fallen kingdom.

"Lothor, do you want to defy His Majesty's will, embarrassing these hundreds and thousands of great nobles from all over the world?"

Lothor opened his arms and let the maids tie his jade belt, drape his floor-length robe, and fasten the buttons on his chest. "Sister, the maid in white who led me out, did you see her? She was almost as tall as me."

"No," his sister said sternly in a low voice, "Lothor, the wedding is solemn and serious, there must be no mistakes. There are many royal dukes from the Eastern world here, you must not be rude."

"Yes, sister."

Lothor, led by the nuns, walked down a long and joyful aisle of people. At the end of the aisle, he saw the High Septon of the Great Sept of Baelor wearing a tall seven-pointed crown and holding a thick book. Beside the High Septon were Jon Targaryen and young Tommen Lannister. Both young men were dressed in brocade, wearing long crimson robes, their faces as smooth as his.

Lothor realized that today was actually his wedding with Jon and Tommen. And before this, he had no idea that he was also a protagonist, and that the marriage arranged for him by His Majesty was to marry an unlucky widow—a Queen of a fallen kingdom.

Lothor felt like he was walking on cotton. He turned his head and saw on the right platform, the Mountain standing in front of a tall chair inlaid with jewels, wearing brocade embroidered with flying dragons and clouds, and wearing a crown, with an imposing presence. Beside him stood Daenerys Targaryen, wearing a platinum crown, and the radiant and bright Doran Prince Arianne Martell, but Queen Jeyne Westerling was nowhere to be seen.

Lothor scanned the crowd, there were too many people in the hall, he couldn't see the white-clothed maid in his heart. He saw many familiar faces he hadn't seen in a long time, such as Arryn, One-Eye Tym, the little beauty Qira, the archer Anguy, the cavalry captain Joyce, Eddard Stark and Catelyn Tully, Edmure Tully and his wife Elenya Westerling, Sansa Stark and her husband Reynard Westerling, the fat Chiswyck and his Dornish wife Jonisa Braemont, the acting commander of the Night's Watch Velas Tyrell—that guy was actually standing in the crowd, wasn't he a cripple… and there was Varamir Sixskins from the Thenn Mountains in the north, and the Imp Tyrion Lannister in the front row… and the Master of Whisperers Bernie Clegane, who went to Pentos with Queen Jeyne and never returned to King's Landing, the eunuch Varys's bald head was still so bright, and his face was still covered with white powder, Duke Gendry Baratheon, the Grand Sage of the Alchemist's Guild…

Lothor stood with Jon Targaryen and Tommen Lannister. In front of the three, there was a long red carpet leading to a tall closed door.

The Mountain's voice echoed throughout the palace: "In the name of the gods, I, Gregor Clegane, King of Westeros and Essos, announce that the wedding has officially begun!"

The door at the end of the red carpet slowly opened to the chanting of the nuns, and a light shone into the hall, as if there was a sun there. Three brides appeared in this dazzling light. The door slowly closed, and the three brides with snow-white veils on their faces stood in front of the door, each bride's arm was held by a relative's arm, slowly walking towards the three grooms in the singing of harps and nuns...

Lothor looked at the three brides, not knowing who the widow queen that belonged to him was. He only saw three figures in snow-white. Suddenly, Lothor's breath caught, and he saw the eyes of the maid he had been thinking about, those amber eyes that made him completely fascinated with just one glance...

Lothor felt his whole body heating up, and he floated lightly into the air, not knowing where he was... until his hand was clasped with the hand of those amber eyes, and he woke up from his trance and ecstasy in the blessing prayers of the Archbishop...

*

In the second month of the year 303 of Aegon's Conquest, Lothor Spicer, Jon, and Tommen held their wedding together in Pentos, a connecting city between Westeros and Essos. King Gregor Clegane personally presided over the wedding. At the same time, the citizens and nobles of Westeros and Essos were exempt from taxes for three months, and all ordinary prisoners in the dungeons of the two continents were pardoned.

The citizens and nobles of the two continents celebrated together, and the nine free trade city-states simultaneously held grand celebrations. Years later, the second month of each year was called the Lucky Month, and young people chose to get married in the second month of the year, gradually forming a customary custom on both continents.

*

Years later.

On the Dothraki Sea, the green grass was like a carpet, stretching as far as the eye could see. Wildflowers were like stars scattered in the fresh grass.

A little dragon hatched from a dragon egg. On a low tree next to it, a three-eyed crow was staring at the birth of the wild dragon.

In the grass, a wild-looking child stared intently at the little dragon, waiting for the wet little guy to come out of the egg completely.

This child was able to find this wild dragon egg thanks to the three-eyed crow on the short tree.

Everyone thought there was only one three-eyed crow, but there were actually three three-eyed crows, representing the past, present, and future respectively.

The Green Prophet always had a legacy, also because of this unknown secret.

Green Prophet, is a demigod! Has its own unique way of inheritance.

The child's lips were blue, because of drinking the prepared wizard potion. This was an immortal wizard apprentice. On his waist, he wore a wooden short sword, inscribed with the name of the great hero he admired most: Gregor Clegane. Below the name, there was also the Clegane family motto: Unmatched!

*

(End of full text)

(Deep bow, thank you for 801 days of companionship, thank you, gratitude, if we are destined, see you again!)