Game of Thrones: Knight’s Honor

"What did you say? Lord Willas is injured?" Lynd was stunned upon hearing the news Jon had brought from Tumbleton Castle, located in the fortress on the west bank of the Mander. He quickly asked, "Did Lord Willas participate in the tournament?"

"No, he didn't participate," Jon shook his head. "The letter from the raven didn't specify the reason either."

"What about Prince Oberyn and Princess Arianne? Have they returned to Dorne?" Lynd pressed.

Jon, confused by the question, stared at Lynd with a puzzled expression. "Of course not. As for Prince Oberyn—forget about it. And Princess Arianne? She wouldn't return to Dorne at a time like this. She's still taking care of Lord Willas, who's in a coma."

A little impatient with the back-and-forth, Lynd extended his hand toward Jon. "Give me the letter so I can read it myself."

Jon promptly handed over the letter.

Lynd read through it quickly. The grave look on his face only deepened. The letter's content was simple: Willas had been out with Princess Arianne when their horse was spooked and bolted. However, the message offered no details about the severity of Willas's injuries or how they were sustained, leaving Lynd unable to make a clear assessment of the situation.

"Let me see it," said Malora, who had become one of Lynd's key advisors.

She took the letter from Lynd's hands, read it, and then glanced at Jon with a puzzled expression. "Which raven was used to deliver this letter?"

Jon explained that it was delivered using the one reserved for public messages.

Malora frowned. "Shouldn't this kind of news be kept secret? Why would House Tyrell make it public?"

Lynd froze at this remark, his expression turning equally perplexed. Indeed, as Malora pointed out, it was highly unusual. Even if an heir to an ordinary noble family were gravely injured, such news would typically be withheld until the situation was clearer or arrangements had been made to stabilize matters. For House Tyrell to announce so openly that Willas was injured and in a coma—practically inviting chaos in The Reach—was completely uncharacteristic.

"Could this be a decoy?" Bert, who had been busy with accounting, suddenly interjected.

"A decoy?" Jon asked, baffled. "A decoy for whom?"

Lynd hesitated briefly before instructing Jon to gather intelligence from the Westerlands, the Crownlands, the Stormlands, and other regions from recent months.

To his frustration, the intelligence revealed nothing unusual. The Iron Throne continued to issue futile orders, such as summoning Balon Greyjoy of the Iron Islands to King's Landing for questioning—orders that were blatantly ignored. The Lords of the North continued their verbal condemnations of the Ironborn, with the North being particularly vocal.

As trade bans imposed by King's Landing and other Lords took effect, the Ironborn resorted to their old ways, raiding for food and necessities, as they could no longer engage in regular trade.

To everyone's surprise, the Iron Islands did not raid the wealthy Westerlands or The Reach, both of which were much closer and more lucrative targets. Instead, they targeted the villages along the coast of The North. This unexpected move caught everyone off guard. By the time Winterfell discovered what had happened—more than a month later—the Ironborn had already looted the villages and taken the inhabitants captive.

By then, it was too late for Winterfell to organize any aid. A sudden and devastating cold disaster swept across Westeros, catching even the Citadel unprepared. The shift was abrupt: one day, the weather was sunny and warm, and the next, it was freezing and snowy. The cold wave originated in The North and spread southward, blanketing the entire continent. Even Oldtown, which had never seen snow, witnessed snowflakes falling.

While the Red Mountains in Dorne shielded much of the region from the worst of the cold, cities along the Sea of Dorne, such as Tor and Yronwood, experienced unprecedented drops in temperature. Residents there were forced to don thick northern-style robes to stay warm. The extreme cold lasted for three months, leaving widespread damage in its wake. Only a handful of territories, like Tumbleton, avoided significant hardship due to their stockpiled supplies.

In the months following the disaster, reports from the Seven Kingdoms were dominated by accounts of its aftermath. Rumors also began to spread, suggesting that the disaster was a divine punishment for Robert Baratheon, whom some still called "The Usurper."

These rumors, though unlikely to sway lords and nobles, had a profound impact on common folk. With many displaced by the disaster, the stability of several noble houses' rule was shaken. The Iron Throne and its vassals became preoccupied with quelling these rumors and addressing the growing crisis of displaced people. Consequently, matters like the tensions with the Iron Islands or the planned marriage alliance between The Reach and Dorne were left unresolved.

Despite reviewing all available intelligence, Lynd found no clues explaining House Tyrell's decision to publicize Willas's injury and coma so quickly. Without further leads, he had no choice but to wait and see how events unfolded. Though it appeared that this situation would not affect him directly, he knew it might jeopardize a matter Willas had confided in him about six months prior.

A few days later, another message from Highgarden shocked Lynd once again. Willas had regained consciousness but had cancelled the marriage alliance with Dorne. Prince Oberyn and Princess Arianne, along with their entourage, departed Highgarden immediately, reigniting tensions between The Reach and Dorne. This information was not part of an official statement from Highgarden but came through a personal letter from Vortimer. An official announcement was expected later. Vortimer also revealed additional details about Willas's condition: he was no longer limping but paralyzed.

The Maester's examination had uncovered a previously unnoticed injury to Willas's lower back, which worsened after he regained consciousness, leaving him without sensation in his lower body. This revelation brought Bran Stark to Lynd's mind. Willas's condition was strikingly similar to Bran's situation more than a decade later.

"Could the Three-Eyed Crow want Willas as his successor?" Lynd wondered. The thought seemed far-fetched at first. House Tyrell followed the Faith of the Seven, and while Highgarden retained some Old Gods traditions, it was far removed from House Stark's connection to the Old Gods and the ancient Greenseer system. The notion of the Three-Eyed Crow choosing a Tyrell as a successor seemed implausible.

But on deeper reflection, Lynd began to reconsider. Willas was no ordinary individual; he was considered the embodiment of Garth Greenhand and was known to possess an innate connection to nature, capable of influencing animals and plants much like a Greenseer. Before Bran Stark's birth, Willas could have been the most promising candidate as the Three-Eyed Crow's heir.

Perhaps the Three-Eyed Crow had stumbled upon Willas by accident, drawn by the events surrounding the proposed marriage between The Reach and Dorne—a union that could alter the course of future events. Willas's latent potential might have then caught the Crow's attention. Now, with Willas paralyzed, the marriage alliance with Dorne was nullified, and the course of events had been steered back on track. Simultaneously, the Three-Eyed Crow gained a new heir candidate, achieving several goals at once.

Pondering this, Lynd decided to travel to Highgarden. He needed to confirm whether Willas had indeed been influenced by the Three-Eyed Crow, as it could significantly impact his future plans. At the same time, he intended to inquire about his own long-delayed appointment. Nearly a year had passed with no word, and though he tried to remain patient, his frustration was mounting. Even if his appointment had changed, he wanted to know why.

That day, Lynd traveled light, carrying only Glory, and set sail south to Highgarden once again. A few nights later, his ship docked discreetly at a small fisherman's wharf near the Rosebridge on the outskirts of Highgarden. Lynd avoided the main wharf in the outer city to prevent drawing unnecessary attention.

As Lynd reached the main gate of Highgarden's outer wall, he planned to wait outside until dawn before entering. However, just as he neared the gate, it unexpectedly swung open from within. To his surprise, Vortimer emerged, briefly pausing when he saw Lynd. Then, stepping forward, he said, "Lord Willas awaits you in the Godswood. Let's go."

Lynd, though momentarily stunned, quickly composed himself and followed Vortimer through the outer city and into the inner city. They bypassed the Great Sept and the Godswood, heading directly to the entrance of the sacred grove. Along the way, Lynd attempted to ask Vortimer about Willas's condition, but Vortimer offered no answers, merely instructing him to follow.

Stopping outside the Godswood, Vortimer turned to Lynd and said, "Go in alone. Lord Willas is waiting for you inside."

Lynd stepped into the Godswood, Glory by his side. As he crossed the threshold, he paused momentarily, his expression shifting to one of gravity, before resuming his stride. Though he had not entered this Godswood in person during his previous visit to Highgarden, he had sent Glory to explore it. Through their shared vision, he had experienced the extraordinary power within as if it were his own. Back then, Glory had attempted to consume the essence of Garth Greenhand's incarnation within the grove, but Lynd had intervened to stop him.

Now, Lynd could sense that the extraordinary power once present in the Godswood had weakened drastically. It was faint, far weaker than what he had encountered in the restricted areas of the Godsgrace Mountains in Dorne. Such a significant decline in just six months was deeply unsettling.

Lynd soon arrived at the three Heart Trees planted by Garth Greenhand himself. The scene before him was strikingly different from the vibrant, red-leafed trees he had observed through Glory's vision half a year earlier. The leaves had all fallen, leaving only bare branches that exuded an eerie desolation.

Through Glory's shared sight, Lynd saw deeper into the grove's mysteries. The incarnation of Garth Greenhand, formed by the fusion of the three Heart Trees, had dwindled to a faint, fragile light, barely clinging to existence. The once robust energy of the grove now seemed as though a mere gust of wind could extinguish it.

Beneath the Heart Trees sat Willas, dressed in casual clothing with a blanket covering his paralyzed legs. In the moonlight, he looked relatively well. Though his complexion remained pale from his recent illness, his calm demeanor suggested he had come to terms with his condition. His gaze was steady, betraying no trace of despair.

Through Glory's vision, Lynd discerned more. He observed how the faint green energy from the incarnation of Garth Greenhand no longer dispersed into the grove and Highgarden's surroundings. Instead, it flowed into Willas with every breath he took, only to be exhaled and returned to the Heart Trees, creating a closed cycle of energy between Willas and the grove.

When Willas noticed Lynd, he smiled faintly and said, "I saw you before your ship even docked. I thought about asking Lord Vortimer to meet you at the wharf, but he would have drawn too much attention. So, I asked him to wait at the outer gate instead. I didn't want you to have to linger outside for too long."

"Lord Willas, you saw me?" Lynd asked, suspicious of how Willas could have observed him from such a distance.

"No, not me—he did," Willas replied, gesturing toward an eagle perched on a branch of the Heart Tree.

"A Skinchanger," Lynd thought immediately, voicing his assumption aloud.

Willas shook his head, seemingly unbothered by the speculation. "Not a Skinchanger," he clarified. "Just a little trick—borrowing the eyes of an animal."

Lynd chose not to pursue the matter of Willas's extraordinary abilities further and instead got to the point. "I received the letter from Highgarden. Its content was vague—it mentioned your injury, your paralysis, and the cancellation of the marriage alliance. I couldn't make sense of what had happened, so I came to learn the details myself."

Willas smiled slightly, his calm expression unshaken. "Don't worry. I'm fine. Everything is fine. There's no need to fear for the plans I discussed with you before. In fact, the outcome of that matter should be known within the next two days. Perhaps your letter of appointment is already waiting for you in Tumbleton by the time you return."

Lynd frowned slightly, still skeptical. "Will that matter still proceed? Without the alliance with Highgarden, is it even necessary to increase manpower and build a fortress on the southern bank of the Blackwater Rush?"

Willas turned his head northward, his tone growing somber. "No, the fortress is not only for the kingdoms to the north. It is for the enemies even further north."