The Mountain of Ice and Fire

Eddard Stark, his body aching, exhausted and hungry, rode his horse through the towering bronze gates of the Red Keep in a foul mood. Behind him were his weary Northern retainers and a line of wagons.

After entering the Crownlands, Eddard received a constant stream of news, all concerning the conflict between his nephew Edmure Tully of Riverrun and the Mountain. He knew his nephew's character; his greatest flaw was thinking himself invincible, and his best quality was his filial piety. But no matter how outstanding or noble his nephew was, he would be no match for the Mountain.

When news arrived that Edmure had followed the Mountain into the Westerlands, Eddard Stark could no longer sit still. He immediately sent a raven to Lord Hoster, ordering him to command Edmure Tully to return at once. The Westerlands were a dangerous place that the Tully family must never enter. One of the main reasons he had come to King's Landing as Hand of the King was to secretly investigate the cause of the death of the previous Hand, Jon Arryn.

Jon Arryn was his foster father and also his brother-in-law. Father and son, with the son Eddard marrying the elder sister Catelyn Tully, and the father Jon marrying the younger sister Lysa Tully, their relationship was both father-son and brothers-in-law. Lysa Tully's letter had been burned on the spot by Catelyn Tully, but Eddard remembered every word of it. The letter said that the Lannisters had murdered Jon Arryn and were about to harm Lysa Tully, so Lysa Tully had fled King's Landing with her son, Robert Arryn, and returned to her own territory: the Vale.

Eddard also recalled the feast at Winterfell when he went to toast King Robert, and Jaime Lannister stood up and blocked his path. Amidst the noisy crowd, Jaime contemptuously advised Eddard not to go south to King's Landing, saying that everyone in King's Landing was a liar, and he was an honest man, and going south would lead to trouble. Eddard immediately stated that the Starks were vassals of the King, and whether to go south or not was up to King Robert, not the Lannisters. Jaime chuckled and said he wanted to have a sword fight with Eddard to liven up the feast. Eddard coldly replied that his sword was not for sparring, but for killing. Jaime Lannister… no, the Kingslayer, the Kingslayer had no choice but to give way.

That was still at Winterfell, in his own castle, and the Kingslayer was already so arrogant.

What on earth was Edmure Tully thinking? The Mountain's breaking of the siege of Riverrun to threaten the Tully family had already disgraced the Tully family, and he actually followed the Mountain to the Westerlands after being humiliated. This was unforgivable stupidity.

Eddard suffered from insomnia because of this, sending a raven to Riverrun every day for four consecutive days.

Eddard arrived at the Tower of the Hand. As soon as he dismounted, a fat man in embroidered finery ran over: "Lord Hand, I am Grand Maester Pycelle's Master of Coin, Petyr Baelish, the Grand Maester has called an emergency meeting of the Small Council and hopes that the Lord Hand can go immediately."

A surge of resentment rose from the soles of Eddard's feet. He had just dismounted, covered in dust, and because the further south he went, the hotter the weather became, he and his men, who had lived in the North for too long, were feeling uncomfortable. He hadn't even entered the Tower of the Hand yet, and he was covered in dust, and he had to go to the Throne Room for a meeting, an emergency meeting.

Eddard's face was grim. He wanted to say 'fuck you', he just wanted to take a hot bath first, eat two roast chickens, and then sleep in a soft feather bed, and then attend that fucking emergency meeting after he woke up: "Alright, let me change my clothes first, otherwise it would be too rude!" He couldn't show his face to the Small Council as soon as he arrived, so Eddard had to wrong himself.

"Yes, Lord Hand, you change your clothes, I will wait here!"

Eddard stopped Vayon Poole, the steward and chief of staff, who was entering the gate of the Tower of the Hand, and instructed him to arrange accommodation for the young ladies, have the stablemen clean the stables first, take good care of the warhorses, and ordered the captain of the guard, Jory Cassel, to take two men with him to the Throne Room.

A moment later, Adonys led Eddard and his party of four to the Throne Room. The last time he had been to the Throne Room was sixteen years ago. At that time, Eddard led his men into the Throne Room, and a man was sitting on the Iron Throne, wiping the blood off his golden sword. That man was the Kingslayer, Jaime Lannister.

At that time, Eddard walked to the foot of the seven steps of the Iron Throne and quietly watched the Kingslayer until the other party stood up. On the ground in front of the Kingslayer lay the Mad King Aerys Targaryen, covered in blood. The Kingslayer had stabbed the king he had sworn to serve for life in the back with his sword, piercing the king's body. He killed the king.

The Kingslayer smiled in front of his king's corpse: "I was just trying to see what it was like to sit on it, Eddard. I assure you, you wouldn't want to sit on the Iron Throne. It's a throne made entirely of iron swords, cold, hard, and cuts your ass."

Eddard walked into the Throne Room, staring at the empty Iron Throne on the seven steps.

The Iron Throne was made by Aegon Targaryen the Conqueror three hundred years ago. He had his dragon, Balerion the Black Dread, melt down thousands of swords discarded by enemies when they surrendered, and it took fifty-nine days to complete the throne.

The Iron Throne was an iron chair full of spikes, sharp corners, and twisted metal, with sword points densely packed on the back. The Mad King Aerys Targaryen was often cut by the Iron Throne, and the sharp sword points of the Iron Throne had also killed several people. Maegor the Cruel had fallen and crashed into a sword point and was stabbed to death on the spot.

The Throne Room was the main hall of the Red Keep, and outside the main hall was a council chamber where the Small Council met. Eddard Stark signaled Jory Cassel and two guards to stay at the door of the council chamber. Master of Coin Adonys respectfully opened the door for Eddard, and Eddard was stunned when he saw the people inside.

Four members of the Small Council were sitting at the conference table waiting for him: Grand Maester Pycelle; Master of Coin Petyr Baelish; Master of Whisperers Varys; and Master of Laws Renly Baratheon.

When Eddard had departed from the town of Harroway, Master of Laws Renly Baratheon was still staying in the town.

Eddard Stark walked into the council chamber, and Master of Coin Adonys immediately closed the door, locking himself outside.

"Lord Hand, we've all been waiting for you!" Duke Renly pointed to the Hand's seat.

Duke Renly had actually returned to King's Landing before him? Was he using magic? Did he take another route?

Eddard had no answer.

Eddard looked at Grand Maester Pycelle, whose position was on the Hand's right. To the left of the Hand's seat was the King's seat, with the King's family crest on it: a crowned stag.

Pycelle was a veteran of four reigns, having served four generations of kings. His smile looked very kind, with white hair and a white beard that reached his chest. The Grand Maester's forehead and the front half of his head were completely bald. His maester's chain was the chain with the most metal links Eddard had ever seen. The heavy chain, made of the highest level of twenty-four kinds of metal, hung from his throat all the way down to his chest. The chain was made of every metal known to mankind: black iron and red gold, bright red copper and heavy lead, steel, tin, and dull silver, brass, bronze, and white gold. Garnets, amethysts, and black pearls adorned the metal chain, and emeralds and rubies dotted it.

The Grand Maester smiled: "At your service, my respected Lord Hand. Could you please hurry up a bit? If you dawdle any longer, I'm going to fall asleep again."

"As you wish, Grand Maester!" Eddard forced a smile, enduring his hunger and exhaustion.

Eddard walked over, and the smell of powder assailed his nostrils. Varys, who had perfume on his clothes and rouge on his face, made him nauseous. And Petyr Baelish's smile at him was obviously tinged with contemptuous mischief.

These people are all actors, Eddard reminded himself. He couldn't trust any of them. He had to remember that.

Duke Renly was wearing a dark green velvet doublet embroidered with twelve golden stags. A gold-woven half-cloak hung jauntily over one shoulder, fastened with an emerald brooch: "Lord Eddard, you're late!"

"Lord Renly," Eddard responded. "You certainly traveled quickly."

"There was no other way. It was an urgent letter from the King, an emergency meeting! I had no choice but to rush back all night. Fortunately, I arrived in King's Landing half a day earlier than Lord Eddard." Renly pointed to an urgent letter sealed with wax in front of the Hand's seat. "Lord Eddard, quickly open it and see what exactly is inside the urgent letter my old brother wrote to you."

Eddard sat in the Hand's seat. In front of him was a letter sealed with the majestic royal seal, a top-priority urgent matter. Ned's heart stirred. Could this urgent letter be related to Edmure Tully? Edmure had followed the Mountain to the Westerlands. Had something big happened?!

Eddard took a deep breath and calmed his panicked mind. He slowly peeled off the wax seal with his thumb and flattened the letter. The more he read, the more unbelievable it became. "God damn it!" he couldn't help but curse.