The Mountain of Ice and Fire

Duke Tywin had been to Winterfell in the North and seen the Broken Tower.

The Broken Tower was a watchtower built by the ancestors of the Stark family, the highest point in Winterfell. Later, it was struck by lightning, causing a fire. The top of the tower collapsed inward, and the upper half of the tower was burned black. Since then, no one had ever gone up to the watchtower, and it became the Broken Tower of the Stark family as it was today.

Why did the little wolf climb the Broken Tower?

Tywin didn't know.

Why was the lion also in the Broken Tower? Which lion was in the Broken Tower? Jaime? Tyrion? Cersei?

Duke Tywin also didn't know.

Since the lion pushed the little wolf, this was murder. Then, what did the little wolf see of the lion that made the lion have to kill the little wolf?

Duke Tywin didn't know even more.

He was not a prophet, not a warg, nor a wizard.

He could not see the truth in other timelines.

Duke Tywin decided to seek help from the witch.

The Starks of the North were not to be trifled with. He also had a marriage alliance with the Tully family of the Riverlands to the east of the Westerlands. Once a war broke out, Riverrun would 100% join the North. And the Vale, governed by the Arryn family in the far east, was also the son-in-law of the Tully family of Riverrun, and had close ties with the North. If war broke out, the three lands would join forces, and the Westerlands would become a one-against-three situation.

Although the King was the son-in-law of the Westerlands, the King and the Stark of the North had grown up together since childhood and had a relationship closer than brothers. It could be seen from the fact that the King traveled thousands of miles to invite Stark to be the Hand of the King instead of inviting his father-in-law Tywin that the King was more willing to trust and support the Stark family.

The situation was very unfavorable for the Westerlands.

Because of the political relationship of marriage, the territories of the three dukes and three great nobles of the North, the Riverlands, and the Vale became one family.

The wife of the Duke of the North, Eddard Stark, Catelyn Tully, was the eldest daughter of Hoster Tully, the Duke of Riverrun in the Riverlands; the second daughter of Duke Hoster Tully was the wife of Duke Arryn of the Vale. Jon Arryn, the Duke of the Vale who was the Hand of the King in the royal palace, suddenly died, and the real person in power in the Vale now was Catelyn's younger sister, Lysa Tully.

Once the North and the Westerlands went to war, an unfavorable one-against-three situation would be formed.

And the Westerlands had no allies.

If the King's Storm's End did not want to help either side, the only ones the Westerlands could ally with were the Reach in the south and the Iron Islands in the sea. Dorne in the far south was also a potential enemy of the Westerlands: because sixteen years ago, Duke Tywin of the Westerlands ordered the Mountain to rape and murder Princess Elia Martell in the nursery of the Red Keep in King's Landing. This was a blood feud that had not yet been settled between the two sides.

After careful consideration, Duke Tywin confirmed that this war could not happen.

At least not a full-scale war.

Why did the lion push the little wolf down the Broken Tower? This was the key to the problem!

Duke Tywin had to understand the specific situation.

From the letter from Earl Tygett combined with the witch's prophecy, it could be seen that the lion did push the little wolf down the Broken Tower, but no one in Winterfell knew this. This was also the fundamental reason why the lion could still safely be a guest in Winterfell in the North. If the war was caused by this in the future, it would mean that the truth of the matter would eventually be known to the Stark family.

How to know?

The greatest possibility was naturally that the unconscious little wolf woke up and told the truth. Then, the conflict rose and the war broke out.

Tywin could no longer calm down.

Fortunately, Ser Gregor had a grandmother who was a witch, fortunately the witch lived in the chapel built by Gregor, and fortunately the witch could accurately see the fragments of time and space and tell him a prophecy worth a thousand gold dragons.

For a war that was bound to break out, of course, whoever prepared first and whoever foresaw the future trend would be the winner.

Now Duke Tywin had received the news first because of the witch's prophecy. He would definitely prepare for the war first and take the lead.

In military terms, Tywin looked down on Duke Eddard Stark of the North.

Eddard's other little wolves, the oldest was less than sixteen years old, were all children who didn't understand anything.

Now the only problem was the King's attitude.

If war was inevitable, what would the King's attitude be?

Tywin could not predict.

But this was not important, because Ser Gregor had a wizard grandmother, a real capable witch, whose prophetic abilities had already been verified for the first time.

*

"This is the reward for the first prophecy, three hundred gold dragons," Tywin said.

The accompanying supervisor, Ylman, took out three bags, shook them, and the sound of gold coins rustled. Ylman was Duke Tywin's financial supervisor, and he placed the three hundred gold dragons in front of the witch.

The witch was expressionless, without sorrow or joy.

The assistant Jenny helped the witch accept the three bags of gold coins.

The heavy gold dragons were heavy in the hand.

"I still need to verify the second prophecy," the Duke said.

The witch did not say a word.

"Witch, I am very eager to know one thing," the Duke gestured, and the accompanying supervisor took out three more bags of gold dragons and placed them in front of the witch.

The witch shook her head: "Duke Tywin, after you catch Lord Petyr, everything will be clear as soon as you ask. There is no need to spend money to ask me."

The Duke pondered for a moment and said, "I have to wait a month to invite Lord Petyr. I can't wait."

If war was destined to break out, then time was the most important military resource. Many things had to be prepared in advance. Before preparing, it was necessary to know the cause and effect of the war.

Ylman pushed the money bag closer to the witch.

"Okay, Duke, if I know the question you want to ask, I will definitely tell you."

"Who pushed Bran Stark down the Broken Tower?"

The witch was silent.

Ser Gregor did not explain this to her. Gregor only told her the cruel thing that the little wolf was pushed down the Broken Tower by the lion and broke his legs and could no longer stand.

"I can't answer you this question," the witch said lightly.

Duke Tywin was immediately very disappointed.

The witch was unwilling to answer.

Should he threaten her to tell the truth, or respect the witch?

Tywin chose the latter.

Because if he did not respect the witch, the witch would slightly modify a very important prophecy in the future, which would have incalculable and serious consequences for the plan formulated by Duke Tywin based on the prophecy.

"I have to pray first. If God lets me say it, I will tell you. Duke, come again tomorrow morning!"

"Yes, Witch!" Tywin was still majestic, but his tone was respectful.

Ylman reached out to take the gold coin bag, but was stopped by Duke Tywin: "Ser Ylman, put it down."

He must know the answer!

Pay the money first.

"Father..." Jenny said. She picked up the gold coin bag and was about to return it to Ser Ylman, but Duke Tywin gave her a look, and Jenny stopped.

The next day, Tywin came early.

This time, there was no assistant Jenny in the witch's room.

"Duke, please let the maester, Earl Kevan, Ser Ylman, and your centurion guards all go out!"

Duke Tywin looked back at the people around him, and everyone left. Grand Maester Pycelle walked to the end, and he gently closed the door.

"This matter is very serious, Duke. I dare to tell you the truth only if you guarantee with the honor of the Seven Gods and the Lannister family that you will not chop off my head," the witch stared at the Duke and said.

The witch's eyes had a mysterious and terrible aura.