Lynn pushed open the heavy oak doors of the banquet hall.
A wave of heat, mixed with roasted meat grease, spilled ale, and sweat, along with the sound of lutes and boisterous voices, washed over him.
The hall was as bright as day.
Hundreds of tallow candles burned in antler chandeliers, casting flickering light.
Flames roared in the fireplace, their glow making the lords' alcohol-flushed faces appear even more grotesque.
King Robert was already roaring drunk.
He had his arm around a buxom serving girl, slurring boasts about his youthful valor on the Trident River.
Queen Cersei watched with cold detachment, a hint of icy sarcasm on her lips.
Beside her sat Catelyn, looking uninterested.
Lynn's gaze swept quickly through the crowd.
Soon, he found the people he was looking for by the fireplace on one side of the hall.
Ned Stark and Benjen Stark.
The two brothers were not participating in the revelry.
They simply stood in the shadows, conversing in low voices.
Ned's face showed unconcealed weariness and worry.
And Benjen, the First Ranger.
Even in the warm hall, he still exuded a chill from The Wall.
Lynn walked straight through the noisy crowd towards them.
"My Lord."
Lynn said softly.
Benjen turned, his hawk-like sharp eyes lingering on Lynn for a moment.
"I was just telling Ned about you."
Benjen's voice was gentle.
He turned to his elder brother.
"Ned, this lad isn't a deserter."
Ned Stark remained silent.
His grey eyes held complex emotions.
He looked at Lynn, seemingly waiting for an explanation.
"Everyone on The Wall said he fled to escape punishment."
Benjen continued, his voice carrying the characteristic hoarseness of a Northman.
"But I saw him fight the wildlings with my own eyes."
"He lay in the snow, with the bodies of three wildlings beside him."
"A coward couldn't do that."
Ned nodded.
"A few days ago, he fought bandits, killing six of them alone; he's indeed a brave one."
Benjen's gaze shifted to Ned.
"Ned."
"When I returned from my patrol this time, I found something in the Haunted Forest."
"Something... that shouldn't exist."
Even amidst the noisy banquet, Benjen's voice was deliberately kept very low.
"Others."
These two words made Ned's pupils suddenly contract.
He abruptly looked at Lynn.
Lynn's prophecy, Benjen's testimony.
At this moment, they perfectly aligned.
It was no longer Lynn's wild talk.
But a warning from beyond The Wall.
Ned's breathing paused for a moment.
He remembered that morning.
He remembered placing the Valyrian greatsword named "Ice" against this young man's neck.
The cold blade had already broken the skin.
If he applied just a little more force, a head would roll in the snow.
He would have personally ended this crow who brought him an ominous prophecy, just as he executed other deserters.
But in the end, he hesitated.
Now it seemed that hesitation saved this young man's life.
And perhaps, it saved the entire North.
Ned's doubts finally completely vanished.
An unspeakable emotion welled up from the bottom of his heart.
It wasn't simple trust.
But relief.
Relief that he hadn't been blinded by anger and prejudice.
Relief that he ultimately chose to believe in that one-in-ten-thousand possibility.
Ned's tense jawline slowly relaxed.
He looked at Lynn, the scrutiny and doubt in his grey eyes fading.
Only a deep, almost approving, complex expression remained.
"The Night's Watch truly needs warriors like you."
Ned finally spoke, his voice low and powerful.
"But the North needs you more right now."
These words, like a thunderbolt, exploded in Lynn's mind.
He was no longer the prisoner who needed to be sent back to The Wall.
He was no longer the deserter who needed to rely on prophecy to survive.
Ned Stark's words gave him a new identity.
One who was recognized by the Warden of the North and allowed to stay, one of their own.
Benjen looked at his elder brother.
"Ned, the Night's Watch has its own rules..."
Ned understood what Benjen meant.
He didn't shy away.
"I know this doesn't conform to your rules."
"If anyone who commits a crime can join the Night's Watch, and then betray their oath to leave the Night's Watch, that would make a mockery of the Night's Watch oath. What rules would there be left then?"
"But Lynn has the prophecy of the Old Gods, and I need his help."
"Benjen, if what he says is true, the North will surely be in turmoil in the future, and this concerns the safety of the entire North."
"If the North falls, who will provide the Night's Watch with supplies? Rely on those Southern lords?"
Benjen looked at Ned in surprise.
It was the first time he had seen Ned like this.
His brother, as he remembered him, was always upright and unyielding.
He had changed a lot in a few months.
At least Benjen thought this was a good thing.
The Stark family needed more flexible minds, not a bunch of stubborn mules.
Indeed, most of the Night's Watch's supply support came from the Stark family.
If the Starks fell, the Night's Watch would naturally fall too.
One prospers, all prosper; one suffers, all suffer.
Benjen smiled and nodded, not refusing.
"I will explain this matter to Lord Commander Mormont."
"You are my elder brother, and he understands the stakes involved; Lord Commander Mormont will agree."
Ned hesitated for a moment and then added.
"If he cannot leave the Night's Watch, then let him go south as a Night's Watch member; that would not be betraying his oath."
Benjen said with a smile.
"Then I will first have Lynn leave the Night's Watch. If Lord Commander Mormont reacts strongly, this method can also serve as a fallback."
Ned felt relieved.
"Very well, let's do that then."
Ned looked at Lynn again, as if waiting for a reply.
"I understand, My Lord."
Lynn lowered his eyes, concealing the flash of shrewdness within them.
Benjen clapped Lynn on the shoulder, a heavy pat.
"Do well, lad."
"Don't disgrace the Night's Watch."
After speaking, Benjen raised his wine cup and drained it.
"I don't belong at this banquet. Tomorrow I'll tell you about Jon."
"I'm going to the cellar for a bit."
Benjen gestured to Ned and turned to leave the banquet.
By the fireplace, only Ned and Lynn remained.
The fire crackled, casting their shadows on the stone wall behind them.
"The King wants me to go south, to King's Landing, to take Jon Arryn's place."
Ned's voice carried a hint of weariness.
This was not asking for an opinion, merely stating a fact.
"You will accept."
Lynn said calmly.
Ned was not surprised.
He looked at Lynn and suddenly asked.
"You said before that all of this was the beginning of a tragedy."
"What else did you see?"
Lynn looked up, meeting Ned's gaze.
He knew that the real show was just about to begin.
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