Chapter 80: Chapter 80: The High Tower
In the following days, Willas spent most of his time with Lynd. Even during meetings to discuss matters related to the trip to Godsgrace, he would summon Lynd to join discussions with the young, influential nobles of The Reach.
Although Willas included him in these meetings, Lynd understood that his advice, even if offered, would not be taken seriously by these powerful young nobles. This time, nearly all the nobles and lords allied with House Tyrell had sent their heirs or second sons to accompany the journey to Dorne. Apart from fostering relationships with the Tyrell heir, this trip was seen as an opportunity to train these young nobles.
Whenever Lynd attended such meetings, he came fully armed, even wearing a helmet, and stood silently like a statue. He only responded casually when Willas directly sought his opinion.
Highgarden placed far greater importance on this trip to Dorne than on the journey to King's Landing led by Garlan six months prior. For this occasion, 2,000 ordinary soldiers were deployed alongside 300 hedge knights. Combined with the sworn knights sent by various lords to protect their heirs and second sons, the total number of knights exceeded 500. Including the attendants and squires of these knights, the figure easily doubled.
These were just the combatants. The number of entourage members, servants, and logistical personnel added another thousand, making the group appear more like a military campaign than a delegation attending a tournament.
Willas had initially objected to his father, Lord Mace, about the excessive size of the retinue, arguing that only knights were necessary. However, his suggestion was dismissed for safety reasons. Even the Queen of Thorns, who often disapproved of Mace's decisions, supported him on this occasion.
The next day, Lynd's role was officially assigned, as many had anticipated. He was named captain of Willas's escort, with twenty knights placed under his command. These were no ordinary sworn knights but personal knights raised by House Tyrell from childhood, their loyalty unquestionable.
Although they were formally twenty in number, when accounting for their squires and attendant warriors, Lynd had over a hundred men under his command. He had initially assumed that earning their respect and obedience would require demonstrating his capabilities, but this proved unnecessary. The knights followed his orders unconditionally, proving even more reliable than those under his command in Tumbleton.
After receiving a weather report from the white raven of the Citadel Conclave confirming no major storms in the Summer Sea for the next two months, the group departed Highgarden and began their journey along the Roseroad toward Oldtown.
The route to Godsgrace had been a topic of heated discussion in the preceding days. Willas himself favored traveling via the Prince's Pass, passing through Sandstone, Hellholt, and heading north to Yronwood and Tor before turning south to Godsgrace. This route would allow the group to visit the domains of several prominent Dornish lords, fostering goodwill and paving the way for a peace agreement.
However, most opposed this plan, deeming it too dangerous. Many of the Dornish lords along this route had longstanding enmities with The Reach, some involving blood feuds. A sudden outburst from any of them could put the entire group in grave danger, with little chance of escape.
After much discussion, the group ultimately decided on a safer route: traveling south along the Roseroad to Oldtown, then crossing the Summer Sea by ship to Sunspear, and finally ascending the Greenblood River to Godsgrace.
The journey to Oldtown took nineteen days and was entirely uneventful. With an army of thousands, any bandits in the area wisely avoided them. The only issue for Lynd was that the march was far too monotonous.
The knights accompanying the group, however, did not share his sentiment. For them, the trip presented a rare chance to exchange skills. Each evening, after setting up camp, they gathered for small tournaments. Heirs and second sons of the lords and nobles cheered enthusiastically for their knights, creating an atmosphere more akin to a festive outing than a military march.
Lynd had cautioned Willas to restrain the knights and maintain proper discipline within the army, but Willas dismissed the concern, reasoning that things were still under control and it was acceptable for everyone to relax until they reached Dorne. Lynd chose not to press the matter further. In his view, once he had expressed his opinion, it was up to Willas to heed it or not. There was no point in continuing to argue.
For the remainder of the journey, Lynd refrained from offering any additional advice. His interactions were limited to giving brief instructions about guard duties for his knights. Otherwise, he remained silent, standing beside Willas like a statue. If not for occasionally reaching out to pat his pet, Glory, one might have mistaken him for a dummy.
Glory's presence caused quite a stir among the knights when the troops gathered. Its reputation exceeded Lynd's own, and many knights had first heard of Lynd because of his pet.
While Lynd's renown as the greatest swordsman in the Seven Kingdoms was largely dismissed as exaggerated boasting, the knights were still cautious. After witnessing Lynd use Glory to shred a wooden dummy clad in plate armor during training, none dared to challenge him.
Willas noticed that Lynd didn't fit in with the knights and nobles of the group. Despite his efforts to bridge the gap, neither Lynd nor the others showed much interest, and the matter was eventually dropped.
Upon arriving in Oldtown, Willas planned a two-day stay. The first day was dedicated to securing enough ships to transport the army, and the second to meeting with House Hightower, other nobles in Oldtown, and the Archmaesters of the Citadel, as well as offering prayers at the Starry Sept.
House Hightower, Willas's maternal relatives, treated his visit with great significance. A day before the group's arrival, Baelor Hightower, Willas's uncle and heir to House Hightower, rode out to greet them and arranged a large camp outside Oldtown to accommodate the thousands traveling with the procession.
Upon reaching Oldtown, Willas and the noble knights prepared for the evening's formal dinner at the High Tower. Although Lynd's status wasn't high enough to warrant an invitation to such an exclusive gathering, his role as captain of Willas's guards earned him a spot on the guest list. However, the twenty knights under his command were ordered to remain outside the castle.
The High Tower, one of the oldest structures in Westeros, stood as Oldtown's most striking landmark. Its eternal flames, visible from afar, burned high above the clouds. Even Lynd, who was accustomed to tall buildings, found the sight awe-inspiring.
Although Lynd was unsure of the exact height of the High Tower, he estimated it to be at least two or three hundred meters. While such a height might not seem remarkable in a modern world filled with advanced technology, in the world of ice and fire, it was extraordinary—a true miracle.
The Wall might rival the High Tower in height, but its immense thickness and frozen construction made it far more stable. The extreme cold of the North turned the Wall into a nearly indestructible structure of ice, preventing its collapse. The High Tower, by contrast, was constructed from countless tons of stone without internal reinforcements like steel or concrete. Its foundation rested precariously on the coastal reef known as Battle Island, a base that common sense would suggest was insufficient to bear the tower's immense weight. By all logic, the High Tower should have sunk into the sea long ago.
Moreover, the High Tower stood in a warm, humid seaside environment, where the corrosive sea breeze could easily degrade most buildings. Yet it had endured for thousands of years, its surface showing no signs of corrosion, as though time itself had been halted.
The only plausible explanation for its enduring existence was magic. Lynd suspected that House Hightower knew this as well.
Over generations, they had shown a strong obsession with studying magic. What amused many was that their neighbors, the Citadel—an organization that staunchly rejected magic—were financially supported by the Hightowers. The Citadel regarded magic as taboo, yet rumors suggested the High Tower contained ten times more occult texts than the Citadel's own library.
When Lynd arrived at the High Tower with Willas, he immediately understood the truth of the rumors. To him, the High Tower was not merely a massive building; it radiated magical energy. Intricate patterns, resembling dragon runes, were etched across its surface, imbuing the structure with supernatural power.
Lynd also noticed the presence of dragon spirits within the tower—angry energies bound by the magical patterns, compressed and incorporated into the tower itself. Legends claimed that Battle Island had once been a dragon's lair, home to several dragons, until the ancestors of House Hightower slew them, claimed the island, and built the High Tower. While many dismissed this as a glorified family tale, Lynd believed it. The bound dragon spirits he saw were evidence of its truth.
Even Glory could sense the tower's magic.
It coveted the energy of the dragon spirits but was unable to absorb it, as the tower's binding forces vastly overpowered Glory's devouring capabilities. This left the creature restless, a tension Lynd could feel.
When entering the banquet hall of the Blackstone Fortress, Lynd left Glory outside. Bringing such a massive beast into a banquet would have been incredibly rude. The nobles of Oldtown attending the event were nonetheless curious about the giant creature known as Glory.
Lynd didn't remain at the banquet for long. Outside, he sensed Glory growing increasingly agitated due to the influence of the High Tower's power. Worse, some nobles were recklessly teasing the beast, risking their lives in the process. If this continued, the barely restrained ferocity of Glory might erupt, endangering everyone nearby.
"I'll pay a thousand golden dragons for it," an Oldtown noble offered as Lynd emerged from the hall just in time to calm Glory.
Lynd turned to the noble, pulled a silver stag from his pocket, and placed it in the man's hand. "I'll give you a silver stag for it," he said.
The noble froze, quickly realizing the mockery. Lynd was implying that the noble's worth amounted to no more than a silver stag. The man's face turned dark with anger as the surrounding nobles erupted into laughter at his expense.
Amid the jeers, the noble's expression twisted with hatred. He opened his mouth to retort with something menacing, but Lynd cut him off: "You'd better not say anything else. If I hear a threat, I'll be frightened. And if I'm frightened, I'll feel compelled to eliminate the threat entirely. Now, what do you think I'll use to resolve it?"
Lynd's words were calm, yet a chilling edge underlined them. His gaze shifted from the nobleman to the other onlookers, and a palpable murderous aura radiated from him—a grim remnant of the Peacekeepers and the Banished Knights.
The laughter died immediately. A stunned silence fell over the crowd. Breaths hitched, and the nobles stared at Lynd in horror. In their eyes, the Banished Knight's armor seemed enveloped in a dark, menacing mist. Bloodshot eyes glared out from the helmet's narrow slits, exuding a monstrous, otherworldly aura as if something terrifying lay hidden within, poised to strike.
Satisfied that his point had been made, Lynd retracted his aura. Without waiting for anyone to recover from the shock, he left the square with Glory, heading toward a nearby garden.
It was only after Lynd had gone that the nobles began to regain their composure. Many found their legs weak and trembling, needing to lean on each other or nearby objects for support. The sharp smell of urine hung in the air—more than one of them had lost control in fear.
Shame replaced their earlier arrogance, and they dispersed to change clothes, desperate to avoid further humiliation. Resentment against Lynd was forgotten, overwhelmed by their immediate need to recover their dignity.
The incident did not go unnoticed. Observers, unaware of the depth of Lynd's deadly aura, merely saw a minor confrontation between the captain of Willas's guards and a group of Oldtown nobles. Word of the encounter soon reached Willas and Leyton Hightower, the Lord of the High Tower, who were still at the banquet.
However, their reaction was unexpected. Both men dismissed the matter entirely, as though it were a trivial event unworthy of their attention.