A month ago, Lord Hylan Veil of Weil City was ambushed by Wildlings and died gloriously in battle. This was the most sensational event in the Seven Kingdoms recently, as it had been a long time since a noble of lord-level had died at the hands of the Savage Tribes in the Borderlands.
According to the garrison soldiers who escaped back to Weil City, the Savage Tribes that attacked Hylan Veil were called the Stone Mountain Tribe, and the leader of this tribe was the Wildling King, who had been widely rumored in recent years. Hylan Veil died at the hands of the Wildling King.
As for why the Wildling King from the northeastern Red Mountains appeared south of the Veil River to ambush Hylan Veil, it was entirely due to the Earl of Summerhall, Godsworn Lynd Terra.
The Earl of Summerhall's inspection of his territory had spread throughout the surrounding areas long ago. To many, this was just a normal territorial inspection. After all, for Lynd, the Earl of Summerhall, that territory was an unfamiliar place, and it had been abandoned for a long time. Understanding the actual situation of the territory, deciding the location for the main castle, and so on, were all things a normal lord should do. Therefore, the news of Lynd's territorial inspection did not attract too much attention.
However, the subsequent news made many people feel the unusual nature of this Godsworn's territorial inspection.
Not to mention the minor matter of interfering in the Green Valley City succession dispute, forcing Lysa Maydew, the incumbent Baron Elwood's aunt and first-in-line heir, to flee Green Valley City overnight, which drew the attention of Highgarden and led to their reprimand of Lysa Maydew and her husband.
The mere fact that he hadn't even arrived at Summerhall, yet by his reputation and prestige alone, he scared away bandit groups from around Summerhall, and even from the northeastern Red Mountains, was already legendary enough.
Afterward, the Savage Tribes entrenched in the Red Mountains suddenly split and attacked each other, which was also rumored to be related to him.
And the reason why the Wildling King's tribe moved south, entered the area south of the Veil River, and clashed with the lord of Weil City, was also due to this split among the Savage Tribes.
However, none of these were the most legendary scenes during Lynd's territorial inspection. The most legendary event happened in the ruins of Summerhall.
According to those in the camp outside the Summerhall ruins at the time, that night Lynd entered the Summerhall ruins alone, and afterward everyone heard the screams of the Summerhall ghosts.
When they looked towards the Summerhall ruins, the ghosts' screams disappeared, and then they saw Lynd emerge from the Summerhall ruins, accompanied by his giant beast, whose fur had turned white and was emitting a sacred white light.
Many speculated that Lynd used his identity and power as the Chosen of the Seven that night to clear all the ghosts from Summerhall, and that the giant beast was also blessed by the Seven during this process, becoming a sacred beast.
When this rumor spread, many felt that Lynd was deliberately adding more halos to his Chosen of the Seven title and did not truly believe it. However, many also believed the rumor, most of whom were followers of the Seven Gods Church, and this matter also alarmed the Seven Gods Church.
Thus, the Starry Sept in Oldtown, the Great Sept in Highgarden, and Beller's Sept in King's Landing almost simultaneously dispatched a miracle appraisal team composed of ten bishops and monks to Lynd's temporary camp on the north bank of the Veil River to verify the truth of the sacred beast rumor.
To the surprise of many, all the bishops and monks from the Septs unanimously affirmed that Glory was a sacred beast blessed by the Seven Gods, and further declared that Glory was the embodiment of the Mother's compassion and the Stranger's death, whose light possessed the healing miracles full of compassion and the lethal miracles full of ending.
Furthermore, after certifying Glory as a sacred beast of the Seven Gods, the Septs also stated that they would jointly fund the construction of a Sept in Summerhall's main castle and port city, respectively, after Lynd's main castle and the port city on the Dorne Sea were built.
However, some well-informed sources indicated that to accelerate the construction of Lynd's castle and port city, the Seven Gods Church would also help Lynd with funds and labor.
This matter also led some envious people to declare that Lynd was practically the Seven Gods' biological son, while jealous individuals even spread rumors, such as Lynd being a representative figure pushed forward by the Seven Gods Church to gain secular power, and so on.
However, among the many rumors, one particularly intrigued some people: that after Lynd used the divine power bestowed by the Seven Gods in Summerhall to free the ghosts bound there, Ser Duncan the Tall appeared before him in the form of a holy spirit and gave him a Dragon Egg, thanking him for freeing the ghosts who had been continuously suffering from fiery torment.
Because this rumor spread so realistically and completely, an unknown bard compiled it into a song, titled "Godsworn, Ghosts, and the Dragon Egg," which was then sung in various taverns, becoming another classic song after the hunter of bears song.
For Lynd, the joint dispatch of a miracle appraisal team totaling over thirty people by several major Septs to verify the miracles mentioned in the rumors was entirely unexpected. He had not prevented people in the camp from spreading the news at the time, simply thinking it was not a big deal, at least not as significant as the storm and lightning power he displayed in Lannisport.
However, he completely overlooked the special significance of death in religion. For many religions, creation is indeed great and sacred, but death can inspire even greater awe and worship.
The rumors of ghosts in Summerhall had long existed, so how could the Seven Gods Church not send people to investigate?
In fact, they had sent more than one group of people over the years. While many of them found no abnormalities, some also encountered attacks from the Summerhall ghosts, being dragged into the great fire of that year and found burned to charcoal.
Only one monk escaped alive from that fire; this monk was the person mentioned in the outside rumors.
However, unlike the outside rumor that the person only said the word 'Dragon Egg' before dying, this monk actually lived for several days and spoke much more, recounting almost everything he had experienced. Therefore, the high-ranking officials of the Seven Gods Church all knew that ghosts indeed existed in the ruins of Summerhall.
This time, before going to Lynd to verify the miracles, they also went to Summerhall to check the situation. Several monks who had participated in the investigation of the ghosts' existence and had witnessed the ghost incidents explicitly stated that the overall atmosphere of Summerhall was completely different from before, without that eerie feeling.
The most obvious difference was that small animals had entered the ruins, and even birds had built nests there. It was known that previously, no animals would ever approach these ruins, let alone build nests inside them. This was the best proof that the ghosts had disappeared.
Afterward, the Church's miracle appraisal team arrived at Lynd's temporary village camp to verify what had happened in the Summerhall ruins.
Lynd could sense that these Church people were prepared, so he truthfully recounted his experiences in the Summerhall ruins, though he slightly modified and omitted some things during the narration. For example, he described the power that helped him withstand the scorching fire as a blessing from the Seven Gods, and Glory's absorption of vengeful spirit energy as divine power that purified ghosts, stemming from the Seven Gods' blessing. As for the Dragon Egg, he omitted that entirely.
Afterward, he even had Glory display both black and white light powers before these clergy members. Without exception, these bishops and senior monks all exclaimed "Miracle!" and quickly named the two powers, black and white light, "Healing Miracle" and "Lethal Miracle."
Not long after these clergy members returned to their respective Septs, the three major Septs simultaneously issued an announcement, affirming that Lynd had displayed a miracle in the Summerhall ruins, clearing the ghosts there, and also recognized Glory as a sacred beast of the Seven Gods, having received the grace of the Mother and the Stranger, and possessing two divine powers.
Inspired by this event, Lynd attempted to fabricate a rumor for the Dragon Egg in his possession. To ensure this rumor spread widely, he also composed a song related to the Summerhall tragedy and the Dragon Egg, centered on the Lord of the Rings theme song from his previous life. This was the song "Godsworn, Ghosts, and the Dragon," preparing for the future hatching of a dragon from the Dragon Egg in his hands.
However, compared to other places where the "Godsworn, Ghosts, and the Dragon" song was enthusiastically sung, the Dornish preferred their own composed "Song of Thunder."
This song was written based on the events that occurred at Earl Hylan Veil's funeral, specifically mentioning how Lynd, because the ownership of Weil City was almost seized by evildoers, summoned thunder, bringing to Weil City the true heir to the Weil City title and territory, who had been publicly declared dead.
In short, the content of this song actually had little to do with what happened in the Weil City hall that day; it even portrayed Lynd and Hylan Veil's relationship as friends who admired each other through battle.
This made Lynd, when he first heard the song, even wonder if the Godsworn mentioned in the song was him.
After Obara's identity was proven, the succession of the Weil City title and territory was quickly finalized.
The unwilling collateral branches of the Veil family could only target Rossos, the husband, believing that the wife of a Greenblood River Orphans was unworthy to become the head and lord of an ancient Dornish family. This point also received support from many nobles and lords.
However, when Lynd publicly stated that he had bestowed his Terra surname upon Rossos, making Rossos a member of the Terra Family, all dissenting voices disappeared. This was because further questioning would no longer be about the identity of a Greenblood River Orphans, but about the identity of the Chosen of the Seven.
At that point, if Lynd were to confront them one by one, using the defense of his family's honor as an excuse to demand an honor duel, no one would likely find it inappropriate.
Many had witnessed Lynd's miraculous thunder power in the Weil City hall and clearly understood that dueling Lynd was tantamount to suicide. Naturally, no one would be foolish enough to provoke Lynd at that time.
Additionally, Obara, through her childhood friends like Klytus, publicized her blank two years of disappearance, filling the gaps in why she appeared in Lynd's entourage and why she married a Greenblood River Orphans.
Those experiences were pre-fabricated narratives. The general content stated that she was ambushed by unknown assassins and was accidentally rescued by Rossos. Afterward, she lived incognito by Rossos's side, and later followed Lynd with Rossos. Only recently did she find evidence of her identity from some items left by her adoptive father, which is why she finally appeared at her biological father's funeral to claim her legitimate title and territory.
Since the title had been settled, no one would investigate the truth of these narratives; doing so was merely to reduce some verbal disputes.
Obara's first act after inheriting the title was to fill in the snake pit in Weil City, which had existed for over a thousand years. All the venomous snakes were dealt with, and the carcasses were all cleared out and buried on a hill near the castle.
This action undoubtedly gained Obara considerable popular support and reduced some of the aversion from surrounding lords.
Her second decision was to offer a large reward for the Wildling King who killed Hylan Veil, which led many Dornish bounty hunters, free riders, and wandering warriors to infiltrate the deep mountains of the Borderlands in search of their target.
However, Obara did not know that the target of her bounty had silently died in the Weil City hall on the very day she proved her identity.
Lynd, as an insider, did not tell her about this.
Actually, the moment he entered the hall that day, he saw Wildling King Hamil standing among the King's Grave City's contingent and recognized him immediately.
Although the Wildling King had shaved off all his excess hair and changed his hair color, becoming like a normal person, his eyes could not be changed, especially the hatred-filled gaze he directed at Lynd, making it difficult for Lynd not to notice.
At the time, Lynd was very curious why the Wildling King was mixed in with the King's Grave City's people, so he did not expose him immediately. Instead, he waited for the other party to reveal himself, to see what he and King's Grave City intended to do.
As a result, when the Maester confirmed Obara's identity and Obara became the sole heir of Weil City, the Wildling King, who was about to cause trouble, was stopped by the people of King's Grave City. Not only was he stopped, but he was even directly stabbed to death by seven or eight people.
This scene of infighting completely bewildered Lynd. Even after they removed the Wildling King's body, he still couldn't figure out what King's Grave City was trying to do.
It wasn't until he returned to the village camp and recounted the events to Nameria, and Nameria offered her explanation, that Lynd understood that King's Grave City, which had originally planned to use the Wildling King to cause trouble, was actually afraid.
After Lynd displayed his thunder power, King's Grave City completely abandoned any idea of causing trouble, fearing that Lynd would target them. Naturally, they would not allow the Wildling King to step forward. Moreover, the Wildling King had now become a hot potato in their hands. Once people knew they were associated with the Wildling King, they would inevitably be accused by Weil City of being the murderers who attacked and killed Weil City's former lord.
At that point, once Weil City went to war with them, Lynd, who stood behind Weil City, would inevitably join in, and Yronwood would probably not support them. Their fate was clear.
So they simply and thoroughly eliminated the dangerous existence of the Wildling King, giving Weil City no excuse.
As for how the Wildling King got involved with King's Grave City, these will likely remain unsolved mysteries.
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