The Mountain of Ice and Fire

The journey from Harroway's Town to Riverrun, the seat of House Tully in the Riverlands, was nearly a thousand miles, demonstrating the vastness and richness of the Riverlands plains. The Trident River was a dutiful mother, providing the Riverlands people with plenty of food and clothing. For the past nine years of this long summer, the people of the Riverlands had enjoyed bountiful harvests every year.

The Trident River Mother's three sons—the Green Fork, the Blue Fork, and the Red Fork—crisscrossed the Riverlands' vast plains, nourishing this land for millennia.

As a rich and fertile area, the plains were not without mountains. The High Heart, rising abruptly from the plains three hundred miles from Riverrun, was a famous mountain in the Riverlands. Legend had it that the ghosts of the Children of the Forest, the land's original inhabitants, haunted the High Heart. Outside Riverrun, along the Red Fork River, lay the famous large forest of the plains—the Whispering Woods.

The river not only irrigated the land but also teemed with a wide variety of freshwater fish.

Fishing, brewing, and dairy farming were major guarantees of wealth for the Riverlands' nobles.

House Tully's sigil was a leaping silver trout on a field of blue and red stripes, and their words were 'Family, Duty, Honor.' The red and blue stripes symbolized the Red Fork and Blue Fork rivers on the plains. The Red Fork flowed past Riverrun's south gate. There was no drawbridge; entering or leaving the city from the south gate required a boat.

The Blue Fork was northeast of Riverrun. Both rivers were abundant with delicious silver trout.

The Green Fork was the farthest from Riverrun, a thousand miles away. Upstream on the Green Fork, the infamous 'late Lord Frey' controlled the only crossing and made a fortune.

Among the Seven Kingdoms, besides the Arbor in the south, famous for its Arbor Gold wine, the most famous fine wines in the Seven Kingdoms came from the many wineries in the Riverlands. The brewing industry here was well-developed, with at least two thousand years of history, of course, all controlled by the nobles. Wines, ciders, ales, and stouts were all available and were exported to the nine Free Cities across the Narrow Sea through Lannisport in the Westerlands and Gulltown in the Vale.

The Mountain, leading his thirty riders, returned from Lord Harroway's small town to Clegane Keep in the Westerlands, a journey of over two thousand miles. They hurried along, unhurriedly, anyway, they had good horses, and each man had two horses, returning to the Westerlands along the Red Fork River.

Several days later, they arrived at a very famous place: the Inn of the Kneeling Man!

It was not far from Riverrun, less than three hundred miles. A little further ahead was the Whispering Woods.

The Riverlands plains had many wild dogs and wolves. The Whispering Woods had even more wolves. The Mountain knew that Arya's lost Nymeria would grow into a wolf queen in this forest. The fate between the wolf queen and Arya was not yet complete; they would eventually meet again in the forests along the Red Fork. Nymeria would also drag Lady Catelyn's body from the Green Fork River after the Red Wedding.

However, the Mountain's butterfly wings had already flapped. It was unknown how much it would ultimately change the original trajectory of this world.

Three hundred years ago, King Torrhen Stark of the North led the Northern army south, declaring a fight to the death with Aegon the Conqueror. However, when he heard that the southern kings were being wiped out one by one by Aegon and his dragons, his confidence wavered. After arriving in the Trident River region of the Riverlands, Torrhen Stark personally witnessed how Aegon and his dragons killed the King of the Rivers and his army. On the south bank of the Red Fork, he knelt and submitted to Aegon, surrendering his crown.

Thus, this place was called the Kneeling Place. Later, an inn was opened here, named the Inn of the Kneeling Man.

In the Riverlands, whether traveling from west to east or from east to west, the Inn of the Kneeling Man was a must-pass place along the Red Fork road.

The Mountain and his soldiers settled down at the Inn of the Kneeling Man.

This inn was also the largest inn on this road, with many passing guests. Many fishermen and merchant ships on the Red Fork liked to dock here and come ashore for a drink.

Many of the inn's rooms were built on the Red Fork River, as if to embrace the passing ships and fishermen.

The ground floor of the inn was made of gray stone, while the second-floor walls were made of wood, painted with snow-white lime. Carelessly touching the walls would leave white lime on your clothes.

Both the second floor and the first floor were paved with smooth light blue stone slabs. Even the ceiling of the second floor was paved with stone slabs instead of wood.

The inn's stables were long, and several vine-covered pavilions were built for guests to drink and enjoy the river view.

The sign on the door depicted a king kneeling on the ground, with a rough face and a large beard. He held up a crown with both hands, offering it to a non-existent person.

The kneeling king was Torrhen Stark, the King Who Knelt of the North. Aegon the Conqueror accepted his surrender and later named him Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North.

As soon as the Mountain and his men arrived at the inn, the innkeeper immediately came out to greet them. The three-headed hound banner and the red lion banner were planted at the entrance of the Inn of the Kneeling Man, and the passing guests and ships outside avoided them, not daring to come ashore.

The Mountain walked into the inn. The hall on the first floor was almost full of guests, mostly traveling merchants and the knights and mercenaries guarding them.

The end of the Red Fork River converged with the Blue Fork and Green Fork rivers, leading directly to the sea. Water transportation was very developed. This was a major boost to the Riverlands' brewing, dairy, fishing, and grain transportation industries.

Things from the Riverlands could be transported out by water, and things from outside could be transported in by water.

The Mountain walked into the inn's hall and said, 'Whoever the fuck is here, get the hell out of here immediately.'

Some guests who had not drunk too much stood up and slipped away from the Mountain and his men.

There were also many knights and mercenaries eating and drinking in the hall. In this world, merchants or small nobles with a little wealth either had their own family knights or hired knights. Many landless knights became free riders. Free riders accounted for a large proportion of the armies of the major nobles.

In times of no war, the only way for landless knights to survive was to become free riders, which were mercenaries of a higher level than ordinary mercenaries. Free riders had horses and sophisticated weapons, and each of them was skilled in martial arts, which ordinary mercenaries could not compare to.

Several drunken free riders did not give way, and their fate was simple: they were thrown directly into the Red Fork River by the Mountain and his brothers.

After the fourth slightly drunk knight was thrown into the river, the remaining drunken free riders and their employers were frightened awake. Soon, the large hall was completely empty.

The Mountain then sat down with satisfaction and shouted, 'Boss, bring the wine!'

A voice suddenly rang out at the door, with a playful and cynical tone: 'Sorry, Mountain, my master has booked this inn. Food, rooms, stables, and pavilions, all booked. You and your brothers have to travel overnight.'

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ps: Asking for votes at the end of the month, I will try 4 updates today, after all, it takes modification and conception, so I dare not say too much. Happy New Year!

Thank you for the reward from Old God Stick Dianyi, thank you, handshake!