Game of Thrones: Knight’s Honor

Although Willas did not say so explicitly, Lynd could sense that the enemy he referred to further north was the White Walkers.

Lynd was certain that, just half a year ago, Willas had no knowledge of the White Walkers' existence. Yet now, armed with this new awareness, Willas was resolutely pursuing his original plan to construct a fortress at the strategically critical Blackwater Rush. It was clear to Lynd that Willas was deeply unnerved by the ominous threat the White Walkers posed.

Pondering this, Lynd quickly formulated a plan, one that had proven effective in his dealings with Varys in the past. With his thoughts organized, he asked in a serious tone, "Are the enemies you mentioned further north, north of The Wall?"

Willas turned to Lynd in shock, his eyes brimming with questions.

"You should know," Lynd began with a grave expression, "that after I ventured into the forest to hunt a bear to avenge my father, I was gravely injured. While I lay near death, I experienced something extraordinary. I found myself soaring through the air, heading north. I flew beyond the Great Wall, over the Land of Always Winter, and past the wildlings' settlements. I kept flying until I reached a desolate place, devoid of human presence. And there, I saw…"

"Their skin as pale as the moon, their eyes like blue stars, and their presence colder than ice—the White Walkers," Willas finished, reciting the chilling description of the mythical creatures that had haunted children's bedtime stories for generations.

"It seems you've truly seen them," Lynd said, fixing Willas with a somber gaze. "Now, can you tell me what really happened?"

Perhaps it was the weight of the secret he had been carrying, the rightness of the moment, or the connection he felt with Lynd—someone who seemed capable of understanding—that led Willas to speak. After a moment of hesitation, he began to recount his experiences from the past six months.

Since Lynd had left Highgarden half a year ago, Willas had been plagued by dreams. In these dreams, he would find himself inhabiting the bodies of animals roaming the grounds of Highgarden Castle. At first, he had no control over them. Yet, with time and repeated experiences, he began to master the ability, directing their movements and actions as he wished.

Through these creatures, Willas had overheard many secrets. He learned, for instance, from a conversation between Prince Oberyn and Princess Arianne, that Sunspear's attitude towards the marriage alliance was merely a façade. Dorne had never abandoned its deep-seated desire for vengeance against the Iron Throne and the Westerlands. He also discovered that his grandmother, Olenna Redwyne—the sharp-witted Queen of Thorns—was fully aware of Dorne's intentions, which explained her calculated delays in finalizing the marriage negotiations.

This newfound power intoxicated Willas. Each day, he looked forward to slipping into his dreams, eager to uncover more hidden truths. But one night, when he possessed a cat wandering near the Godswood, everything changed. He was abruptly torn from the cat's body by an overwhelming force and found himself merging with the three heart trees within the Godswood.

What he witnessed there was nothing short of astonishing. A massive figure, reminiscent of Garth Greenhand—the legendary progenitor of House Tyrell—was locked in fierce combat with a giant crow that bore three blood-red eyes. The battle was unlike anything Willas had ever imagined, but he never saw its conclusion.

The sheer force of their struggle sent shockwaves that reverberated through him, leaving him with the searing sensation of his body being ripped apart. He awoke from the vision in agony.

From that moment on, every time Willas fell asleep, he was drawn back to the Godswood, where he would once again become a heart tree and witness the endless battle between the giant and the crow. Even the extreme cold sweeping across Westeros, reaching as far south as Highgarden, did nothing to halt their clash. The perpetual battle haunted him, and the pain it caused began to dominate his life. Sleep became a source of dread.

Were it not for Arianne's companionship during this harrowing time, Willas doubted he could have endured the torment. Her presence was a lifeline, though even she could not fully understand the weight of what he had seen and felt.

Fortunately, this harrowing ordeal lasted about three months and ended just before the extreme cold disaster began to dissipate. Since then, Willas had neither possessed any small animals nor transformed into a tree again.

However, not long ago, while traveling with Arianne, he had an unsettling experience. A massive crow appeared to him, attacking without warning, and he fainted. Arianne, unable to see the crow, only witnessed him falling off his horse and being caught in the stirrup, dragged a considerable distance before the situation was brought under control.

During the unconsciousness that followed, Willas found himself transforming into a Three-Eyed Crow, soaring northward. As he flew, the sights below were strange and vivid. He passed over Tumbleton, catching a glimpse of Lynd training with Nymeria to tame the King of Wild Horses. Moving further north, he flew over Harrenhal, where the ghost of a man burned alive by dragonfire screamed in endless torment. Crossing The Neck, he saw remnants of the Greenseer's ancient sacrifices.

When he reached Winterfell, he saw a figure with countless faces staring into a room where a pregnant woman sat quietly, knitting clothes for her unborn child. As he flew past The Wall, he saw the Night's Watch standing atop its towering heights, their gaze fixed upon The Land of Always Winter. Beyond the Wall, in the uninhabitable northern reaches, he encountered an army of the dead, countless in number, commanded by the White Walkers.

In the midst of this spectral army, a striking figure emerged: a woman of extraordinary beauty with pale skin and blue eyes, bearing the features of a White Walker yet resembling a human in her demeanor. She carried an ice spear and hurled it at him with terrifying speed. The ice spear impaled the Three-Eyed Crow—his transformed self—through the abdomen. Startled, he woke from the vision, only to discover a wound on his back at the precise location where the spear had struck. This injury left his lower body paralyzed.

The Maesters of Highgarden attributed the wound to his fall from the horse, failing to detect its deeper, supernatural origin. But Willas knew the truth: it was the White Walker woman's spear that had caused it. When he awoke, he learned that all the leaves on the three heart trees in the Godswood had fallen simultaneously. This peculiar event gave rise to rumors in Highgarden that the heart trees had blessed him, aiding in his survival and partial recovery. Willas did not deny these claims, believing there might be some truth to them. In the moment of his near-death, he had glimpsed a blurry vision of Garth Greenhand holding him and carrying him away from the North.

Since then, Willas often visited the three heart trees in the Godswood. It was the one place where he could find solace, temporarily freeing himself from the haunting visions of the endless ice and calming his troubled mind.

As Lynd quietly listened to Willas recount his experiences, he was deeply shaken. Though no conclusive evidence existed, he felt increasingly certain that the extreme cold disaster was directly linked to the conflict between the Three-Eyed Crow and Garth Greenhand over Willas.

Lynd considered the implications carefully. The White Walkers' most devastating power was not merely their ability to control wights, but the extreme cold that accompanied them. This cold was both their strength and the very environment they required to survive. In every ancient legend, the arrival of the White Walkers was invariably associated with the onset of severe, unnatural winters.

Lynd surmised that one of the primary roles of the Three-Eyed Crow in The Land of Always Winter was likely to prevent the extreme cold from advancing southward. Should the cold extend across Westeros, the White Walkers would find a habitable climate and inevitably descend upon the southern lands.

The conflict between the Three-Eyed Crow and Garth Greenhand within The Reach had likely weakened the former's ability to maintain control over the climate in The Land of Always Winter. This disturbance might have directly caused the three-month cold snap that swept across the continent. Fortunately, the Three-Eyed Crow had regained control before the situation could spiral further. Otherwise, the White Walkers' invasion, which occurred a decade later, might have happened far earlier.

Lynd also reflected that the Three-Eyed Crow was likely still recovering from its injuries, and over the next couple of years, until it fully healed, there might be recurring bouts of extreme cold similar to what had recently been experienced. This realization spurred him to consider the need for greater preparation—stockpiling food and supplies to endure any future calamities.

After listening to Willas's account, Lynd found himself harboring some doubts. According to his own knowledge, the leader of the White Walkers had always been the Night King, the source of their power. When the Night King perished, so too did the entire legion of White Walkers. Yet Willas described a female White Walker, one who bore the appearance of a normal human rather than the gaunt, desiccated visage typical of the White Walkers. This discrepancy puzzled Lynd, though he chose not to press the issue for now.

Instead, Lynd returned to his plan and asked, "You have now seen the truth of this world. What are you going to do?"

Willas's face betrayed a flicker of confusion. He remained silent for a moment before responding, not by answering Lynd's question, but by asking, "What about you? What are you going to do?"

Lynd's reply was steady and resolute. "Train an army, elevate my status, influence more lords and nobles, and make myself stronger and stronger—accumulating enough strength to wait for the final moment to arrive."

Willas studied Lynd for a moment before asking, "Aren't you afraid?"

Lynd smiled faintly. "Why be afraid? The worst that can happen is death, and I've died before."

Willas regarded him with a subtle shift in expression, his confusion gradually giving way to clarity. After a moment, he nodded. "Indeed, the worst that can happen is death, and I've died before." He looked directly at Lynd and said, "Ser Lynd, I'm very glad you were able to make this trip."

Lynd inclined his head in a slight bow. "It is an honor to be able to help you."

Their conversation then turned to the pressing issue of preventing the White Walkers from advancing southward from The Land of Always Winter. Lynd, for the moment, had no definitive solution but suggested bolstering the numbers of the Night's Watch at The Wall. He proposed sending as many prisoners as possible to serve as Night's Watchmen, reinforcing the defenses of the Wall.

Willas found the suggestion practical. While he had limited options at present, he could at least ensure that a significant number of prisoners were dispatched to The Wall to strengthen its ranks.

Throughout their discussion, Lynd tactfully avoided mentioning Princess Arianne. It was apparent to him that Willas's feelings toward her had shifted drastically. Before his coma, Willas had been deeply invested in the marriage alliance with Arianne, but now, his indifference was palpable. Lynd surmised that something profound had occurred during Willas's unconscious state, altering his perspective entirely.

It was not difficult to deduce what might have happened. Lynd reflected on how romantic entanglements often followed predictable patterns. Princess Arianne, with her outgoing and spirited nature, had initially captivated Willas. Like many women from Dorne, she was bold and passionate, traits that Willas had once found alluring. Yet, over time, he would have realized that such a personality might not align with the expectations of the Lady of Highgarden. Lynd suspected that Willas could not accept the idea of his wife maintaining numerous lovers, an aspect he might have overlooked in the beginning.

With this in mind, Lynd deliberately refrained from broaching the subject of the marriage alliance with Dorne. From start to finish, he never posed a single question about it, knowing it was no longer a priority for Willas.

After speaking with Willas for a while, Lynd rose to leave. Just as he was about to depart, Willas called out to him, suddenly asking, "Ser Lynd, the reason I can see the truth of the world is because of my ancestor Garth Greenhand. And you? Who is the reason you can see the truth of the world?"

"Lord Willas, this answer has actually been made public, but no one will ever believe it," Lynd replied with a slight smile.

With that, he walked out of the Godswood. Willas watched him leave, his expression shifting from confusion to sudden understanding. Turning his gaze, he looked at the seven-pointed star emblem atop the Great Sept in the distance. Almost instinctively, he raised his hand in the Sept salute to the Seven.

Having learned all he needed about Willas's circumstances, Lynd wasted no time lingering in Highgarden. He made his way back to the Rose Bridge pier where his boat was docked, setting sail that very night to return to Tumbleton.

A few days later, upon reaching Tumbleton, Lynd discovered that an appointment letter from Highgarden had already arrived by raven two days earlier. The letter confirmed what Willas had mentioned during their conversation: Lynd had been granted leadership over The Reach's efforts to suppress banditry and was authorized to recruit up to 10,000 soldiers. The only unexpected detail was the financial arrangement—Highgarden would cover half of the military expenses, provided the troop count remained within the 10,000 limit. This change had undoubtedly been influenced by Willas's intervention.

The real value of this arrangement lay in its permanence; as long as Lynd retained the title of Commander of the Anti-Bandit Forces in The Reach, Highgarden's promise to share the military costs would remain valid. Though Lynd currently had the resources to recruit and maintain 10,000 troops, such an expense would be unsustainable in the long term. Only once he established his own territory and developed it sufficiently could he maintain a standing army of that size.

For now, Lynd decided to cap his forces at 2,000 soldiers, including 1,000 infantry. Warhorses were prohibitively expensive, not only to purchase but also to maintain, making it impractical to rely heavily on cavalry at this stage.

With his appointment confirmed, Lynd began leading patrols to eradicate the bandits, wildling tribes, and mountain villages within Tumbleton's boundaries. Having received assurance from Willas that he would eventually be granted a territory, there was no longer any need to keep enemies alive for the sake of bolstering his forces. He swiftly dealt with the threats in the area, focusing his attention on aiding Nymeria in developing Tumbleton, constructing the Blackwater Rush Fortress, and training his troops.

The wildling tribes and mountain villages, whose locations and vulnerabilities Lynd had already assessed, offered little resistance to his sudden, decisive strikes. Those captured were integrated into Tumbleton as subjects and mixed with refugees from other regions. They were then settled in the large, sparsely populated lands on the west bank of the Mander River, quickly filling the population gap in the previously underutilized area.

With the immediate threats eliminated and the population bolstered, Lynd could now direct his full efforts toward fortifying Tumbleton's infrastructure and laying the groundwork for a thriving, self-sufficient region.