The Mountain of Ice and Fire

While the Mountain, the most notorious villain of the Seven Kingdoms, was fervently recruiting and training soldiers in the western city of Casterly Rock, King Robert Baratheon stood with a regretful expression in Winterfell, the capital of the North, looking at the seven-year-old Bran Stark, who lay peacefully in bed.

The child had fallen from the broken tower over a month ago and remained unconscious ever since.

King Robert wore a cloak made from the pelt of a black bear he had personally slain, and a longsword hung at his waist. He was a tall and robust man with a hearty personality. Sixteen years prior, he had been a valiant warrior who had killed Rhaegar Targaryen, the crown prince at the time, near the Red Fork River in the Riverlands. This victory shattered the main force of the royalist army and secured the victory of the usurper's war.

The Mountain's knighthood was bestowed upon him by Prince Rhaegar Targaryen when Robert was sixteen years old, a glory that Tywin Lannister requested for the Mountain to grant him unparalleled honor.

The honor of a knighthood increases with the eminence of the person bestowing it.

Born in the year 262 of Aegon's Conquest, King Robert was 36 years old, in the prime of his life. Sixteen years ago, at the age of twenty, Robert ascended the throne. Back then, the king had a clean-shaven face, clear and captivating eyes, and a strong physique. He wielded two war hammers, which many brave generals could barely lift, let alone swing to kill.

The twenty-year-old Robert, upon ascending the throne, was the dream lover of the Seven Kingdoms' young women.

However, after winning the crown, Robert indulged in food, wine, and women. Sixteen years of comfortable living had caused his weight to increase uncontrollably by eight stone. Now, Robert couldn't even lift his war hammers, let alone swing them. His war hammers, which he had used to conquer the realm, were now displayed in the throne room as decorations to commemorate the past and flaunt his martial prowess.

Although his thick, black beard concealed his double chin, layers of brocade and finery couldn't hide his protruding belly and rounded figure. The calluses on his hands had long disappeared, replaced by soft, plump hands. He drank constantly and engaged in relationships with many women, fathering bastards whom he then ignored.

Having ascended the Iron Throne, Robert Baratheon had transformed from a valiant young hero into a round, chubby middle-aged man.

Beside King Robert stood Queen Cersei Lannister, her face adorned with a false expression of concern. She was strikingly beautiful, with the Lannister family's characteristic golden curls and emerald eyes. Despite being the mother of three children, her figure remained slender, and her skin was smooth and fair.

Behind the queen stood a member of the Kingsguard, Jaime Lannister. He and Queen Cersei were twin siblings, bearing an uncanny resemblance to each other in their features, yet possessing distinct auras. Queen Cersei exuded feminine beauty, while Jaime radiated masculine handsomeness. In their childhood, Cersei and Jaime would swap clothes and impersonate each other for an entire day, fooling even their father, Duke Tywin.

Queen Cersei's most admired man was her father, Tywin Lannister.

Sixteen years ago, before Cersei was betrothed to Robert, she had been captivated by Prince Rhaegar's looks and demeanor, an infatuation that she never forgot. Although she briefly fell in love with Robert Baratheon when she was later betrothed to him, this love died on their wedding night when he called out another woman's name: Lyanna Stark.

From that wedding night onwards, Cersei harbored deep resentment towards Robert for sixteen years. Her heart forever held the image of Prince Rhaegar Targaryen, along with accumulated hatred for her husband, Robert Baratheon.

Lyanna Stark, the sister of Eddard Stark, the Duke of the North, was Robert Baratheon's betrothed before she secretly married Rhaegar Targaryen. At a tournament, Prince Rhaegar met Lyanna, Robert's betrothed, and bestowed upon her the crown of roses, a symbol of love and beauty, instead of his wife, Princess Elia Martell. Rhaegar's action silenced the entire court and deeply shamed the Stark family. For the sake of a beautiful woman, Prince Rhaegar personally sowed the seeds of the usurper's war.

Ultimately, Rhaegar and Lyanna eloped, their reckless actions sparking a civil war in the kingdom. The war ended with Rhaegar's death, but he won Lyanna Stark's heart and body; Robert emerged victorious, but he forever lost his beloved betrothed. The gods rewarded Robert with the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms.

On the other side of King Robert stood his eldest son, Joffrey Baratheon.

Born in the year 286 of Aegon's Conquest, Joffrey was exactly 12 years old this year. Although he was known as Robert Baratheon's eldest prince, he possessed the right to inherit the throne. Prince Joffrey possessed all the traits of the Lannister family members. He was tall, with golden curls, green eyes, fair skin, and was exceptionally handsome. He was arrogant and habitually curled his lips upward.

He looked at Brandon Stark, who was unconscious in bed, with a barely concealed smile. It was impolite, but that was how the prince always behaved. Upon arriving at Winterfell, he had noticed the extraordinary beauty of Sansa Stark, the eldest daughter of the Duke of Winterfell, and began to pursue her aggressively, quickly winning her heart.

Sansa Stark was a classic beauty, having inherited the Tully family's delicate cheekbones, clear blue eyes, and thick auburn hair from her mother. She was slender and, although only eleven years old, already displayed the qualities of a great beauty. Joffrey captured the young girl's heart with lemon cakes, Sansa's favorite.

King Robert brought his queen and prince to visit Brandon Stark as a formality before his departure from Winterfell to return south to the Red Keep in King's Landing, the capital of the Seven Kingdoms. This was one of the king's farewell rituals.

Accompanying the king southward was Eddard Stark, the Duke of the North, who had been appointed by the king as the Hand of the King, second only to the king and overseeing the Seven Kingdoms' political and military affairs.

The Hand of the King was also known as the Prime Minister. When the king sat on the Iron Throne to handle state affairs, the Hand of the King was the king's chief advisor and executor of orders. When the king was absent, the Hand of the King would sit on the Iron Throne in his place, exercising all the king's powers: commanding the army, drafting laws, declaring laws, managing the kingdom's daily affairs, and resolving disputes between nobles and heinous crimes among the common people.

After King Robert completed the tedious farewell rituals with the queen and prince, he returned to his residence, nearly collapsing from exhaustion. Immediately, Lancel Lannister, a wine server who understood the king's desires, approached with a golden wine jug in hand, pouring the king a full cup of wine.

The king took the cup and drank it in one gulp, instantly feeling refreshed and radiant. He tossed the cup to the wine server, Lancel, and muttered with regret, "Seeing that boy Bran paralyzed in bed, only breathing and without consciousness, it would have been more merciful if he had died from the fall. If I were to live like that, I'd rather be dead."

Prince Joffrey's eyes lit up, and he said, "Father, why don't you, in the name of the king, order an end to Bran's life? It would be a good thing for him."

Robert glared, "Joffrey, if the Starks heard you say that, they would resent you for life. Didn't you see Lady Catelyn's heartbroken expression? Alas, Lady Catelyn watches over Bran day and night, but what good does it do? The old gods of the North are too cruel to this child!"

Queen Cersei sneered, raised her head proudly, and looked down at the king with disdain, "Speaking of cruelty, who can compare to the Mountain? He was the one who did the dirty work back then so you could sit on the Iron Throne. He raped and murdered Prince Rhaegar's wife and threw the prince's toddler son to his death. My esteemed king, how can your upright and kind heart tolerate such a brutal and ruthless person as the Mountain? Or are you yourself more brutal and ruthless and have a heart of stone?"

The queen's words infuriated the king. He shouted for wine, and when the wine server, Lancel Lannister, poured it, the king raised his cup to throw it at the queen, but the queen and prince had already quickly left the room.

The king then drank cup after cup of wine, cursing the Lannister family, from Cersei to Duke Tywin. The king quickly became drunk, and as he fell, he swore to the wine server that the first order he would issue upon returning to King's Landing would be to kill the Mountain.

The wine server, Lancel Lannister, obediently agreed with the king's words. He couldn't lift the king's obese body, so he fetched a blanket and covered the king.

Lancel Lannister was the eldest son of Kevan Lannister from the West. He was young and handsome, with sandy brown hair, light green eyes, and a handsome face. He bore some resemblance to Jaime Lannister and was only sixteen years old. When Jaime Lannister was away or the king was drunk in a brothel, Queen Cersei would summon Lancel to her room to keep her company, talk, drink wine, chat about frivolous stories, and pass the sleepless nights.

Early the next morning, the king's procession left Winterfell in a grand manner and embarked on the road south back to the capital. The king slept in the large traveling palace, while the queen opened the curtain and leaned against the door frame of the traveling palace, watching the endless stream of royal courtiers and royal guards marching outside. The red-robed soldiers of the West formed their own team, protecting the rear of the traveling palace.

Eddard Stark, the Duke of the North, stopped at the crossroads. He looked behind him and saw two horses galloping towards him, one was his brother Benjen Stark, who was a ranger of the Night's Watch at the Wall, the chief ranger of the Wall; the other was a young man named Jon Snow, his bastard son, born in the year 283 of Aegon's Conquest, who was fifteen years old this year. The young man would leave Winterfell today to become a glorious member of the Night's Watch at the Wall, thousands of miles away.

Jon Snow came to pursue his father because he had a very important question to ask his father: who exactly was his mother?

This separation between father and son, one going north and the other going south, would be a parting from now on, and it was unknown when they would meet again. The question that had always lingered in Jon Snow's heart, he hoped his father could give him the answer today.

Thanks to book friend Chau534 for the small reward, thank you!