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etsyshop/BHAGYSMART
Link is in my about
The room was filled with the smell of lime and mold.
The only window was set high.
It was just a narrow slit, casting a pale, weak beam of daylight.
Lynn leaned against the corner of the wall, every muscle in his body protesting.
The weakness from hunger and cold intertwined, like a persistent disease, refusing to leave.
Lynn had gambled on Ned Stark's sense of honor and won.
He had also temporarily stabilized himself with a premonition from the Old Gods.
But this was just a temporary measure.
One lie requires countless other lies to uphold it.
One prophecy requires even more shocking prophecies to prove it.
He was now like an acrobat walking a tightrope, with an abyss thousands of feet deep beneath his feet.
Any slight mistake would cause him to fall to his death.
He had to quickly increase his value, to make Ned Stark feel that killing him would be a loss.
An incalculable loss.
Lynn's thoughts raced, piecing together fragments of his past life's memories about this world.
The warning of the Others was just the beginning.
The omen of the Direwolf was the second step.
Next, he needed to throw out a truly significant piece of news, one that would shake the entire North, and even the entire Seven Kingdoms.
A tragedy that was about to happen and could not be stopped.
The current King, Robert Baratheon, and Ned Stark, were sent to the Eyrie in the Vale when they were young, to be fostered by the Duke of the Eyrie, who was the Lord of the Vale.
Ned went eight years later than Robert.
The two brothers were together for seven years.
This forged a deep bond between Ned and Robert.
Ned's sister, Lyanna, was even betrothed to Robert, making their ties even closer.
And their foster father, the then Lord of the Vale, was Lord Arryn.
At that time, old Lord Arryn was in his 40s, with no children of his own, so he treated Ned and Robert as his own sons.
After the Mad King's son, Rhaegar, took Robert's fiancée, Lyanna, he then killed Ned's elder brother and father.
And demanded that old Lord Arryn hand over Robert and Ned.
These two young men were a threat to the Targaryen Dragon House.
Old Lord Arryn naturally refused to agree and had his two foster sons start the Usurper's War.
It could be said that Lord Arryn was the benefactor of Robert and Ned.
Lynn's hopes now rested entirely on old Lord Arryn.
A series of heavy footsteps sounded outside the door, interrupting Lynn's thoughts.
With a creak.
The heavy wooden door was pushed open.
It wasn't a Guard who walked in, but an old man dressed in a grey Maester's robe.
Around his neck hung a chain made of different metals, each metal representing a branch of knowledge he had mastered.
Maester Luwin.
The "brain" of Winterfell.
He was also one of Ned Stark's most trusted advisors.
Maester Luwin's gaze was calm and sharp, with the prudence of a scholar.
He didn't speak immediately, but simply observed Lynn quietly.
From his pale face, to his tattered black clothes, to those eyes that were still bright in the dim light.
"They say you predicted the appearance of the Direwolf."
Maester Luwin's voice was gentle, betraying no emotion.
"I didn't predict anything."
Lynn's voice was a little hoarse.
"I merely interpreted the warning of the Old Gods."
"Old Gods?"
Maester Luwin chewed on the word, his grey eyebrows slightly raised.
"You claim to have seen the Others, and now you mention the Old Gods."
"Young man, do you know what you're saying?"
"I do."
Lynn met his gaze, unflinching.
"I know that winter is coming."
Maester Luwin fell silent.
He walked to the only table in the room and put down the things he had brought.
A piece of bread, a bowl of hot soup, and a small cup of medicine.
"Lord Stark asked me to check on your health."
Maester Luwin's tone was still calm.
"And he also wants to hear what else you can interpret."
Lynn didn't move.
He knew that Maester Luwin's true interrogation was only just beginning.
Maester Luwin represented Ned Stark's reason and suspicion.
"Maester, do you believe in the existence of the Others?"
Lynn asked in return.
"I believe in historical records."
Maester Luwin's answer was watertight.
"History says they were driven back thousands of years ago."
Lynn shook his head.
"History also says that Direwolves haven't been seen south of the Wall for two hundred years."
Lynn's words made Maester Luwin pause.
Lynn continued.
"A she-wolf, dead on the road, her throat pierced by an antler, with lion claw marks on her body."
"The stag is Baratheon, the lion is Lannister, the wolf is Stark."
"This is no coincidence, Maester."
"This is the coming storm."
Maester Luwin turned around and looked deeply at Lynn.
"You seem to have a good understanding of Southern heraldry."
"A Night's Watch deserter shouldn't know these things."
Lynn's heart skipped a beat.
This was a trap.
He was acting too unlike an ordinary Night's Watchman.
"I wasn't born into the Night's Watch."
Lynn lowered his eyelids, his voice becoming low.
"Before I put on the black, I also had a family and read a few books."
This explanation was weak, but it was the only one.
Maester Luwin didn't press further.
He simply pushed the cup of medicine towards Lynn.
"Drink it, it's good for your health."
Lynn looked at the cloudy liquid in the cup, not moving.
"Maester."
His voice was even lower, carrying a hint of deliberately created mystery and unease.
"The Old Gods' warning is not limited to the North."
Maester Luwin's eyebrows furrowed.
"What do you mean?"
"The eye of the storm is not in Winterfell, but in King's Landing."
Lynn looked up, his eyes fixed on Maester Luwin.
"No matter how high the Harpy flies, she cannot escape the hunt of fate."
Maester Luwin's pupils suddenly contracted.
The eagle.
The Arryn family of the Eyrie.
Jon Arryn.
The Hand of the King.
The Defender of the East.
The common foster father of Ned Stark and Robert Baratheon.
Throughout the Seven Kingdoms, he was a symbol of stability and order.
"What exactly are you trying to say?"
Maester Luwin's voice, for the first time, held a subtle tremor.
Lynn knew he had captured the other man's full attention.
He leaned in closer, and in a voice only the two of them could hear, he said word by word.
"The Hand of the King, Lord Jon Arryn."
"He is already dead; it's just that the news hasn't arrived yet."
"He didn't die of illness, nor of old age."
"He was murdered."
Boom!
These words were like a thunderclap in Maester Luwin's mind.
His face instantly turned pale.
He instinctively took a step back, bumping into the table behind him with a clang.
"Nonsense!"
Maester Luwin lost his gentle demeanor, he shouted sharply.
But the horror in his voice could not be hidden no matter what.
"Do you know what you are accusing? This is treason!"
"I am not accusing anyone."
Lynn leaned back against the wall.
His body trembled slightly from weakness.
But his gaze remained firm.
"I am merely relaying the warning I have seen."
"Soon, a raven from King's Landing will bear witness for me."
"The King will travel North, inviting Lord Ned to go South and take Lord Jon Arryn's place."
"And this is the beginning of all tragedy."
Lynn paused, his gaze fixed on Maester Luwin.
"If not handled properly, Lord Ned will also die in King's Landing!"
The room fell into a deathly silence.
Only Maester Luwin's heavy breathing remained.
He looked at Lynn as if he were looking at a demon crawled out of hell.
Every word this deserter spoke precisely touched upon the most sensitive nerves of Westeros.
From the Others in the North to the conspiracy in King's Landing.
All of this far exceeded the scope of a lie that a deserter could fabricate.
This was not a lie.
This was... a prophecy.
A terrifying and suffocating prophecy.
After a long while.
Maester Luwin finally found his voice.
"Who else have you told these things to?"
"Only you, Maester."
Lynn replied respectfully.
"Remember, do not tell anyone else."
Maester Luwin took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.
He picked up the bread and hot soup from the table and placed them back in Lynn's hands.
This time, his movements were no longer calm, but carried an undeniable force.
"Eat these."
"Stay alive."
"You must stay alive until the raven arrives."
Having said that, Maester Luwin did not look at Lynn again, turned, and quickly left the room.
The heavy wooden door was closed once more.
The sound of the lock echoed in the empty corridor.
Lynn leaned against the wall, letting out a long breath.
Cold sweat had soaked his back.
He knew he had just walked along the edge of a cliff again.
But he had won his gamble.
He had completely intertwined his fate with the death of Lord Arryn and Ned's journey South, in this turbulent mess.
Lynn picked up the bowl of now lukewarm soup and drank it down in large gulps.
A warm current flowed into his stomach, dispelling some of the chill.
He had to live.
He had to become stronger quickly.
Lynn's gaze once again fell on the panel that only he could see.
"Experience Points: 0"
Now, he needed to gain Ned's trust.
Only then could he regain his freedom.
Instead of being locked in this small room, unable to do anything, as he was now.