The Mountain of Ice and Fire

Red Keep, Godswood.

The Godswood contained only one heart tree.

To the Northmen, the South referred to everything beyond the Neck, the border of the North.

By this definition, the Riverlands and the other six kingdoms were all in the South.

The people of the South worshipped the Seven!

In King's Landing, the capital of the Seven Kingdoms, the people naturally worshipped the Seven as well. The Great Sept of Baelor stood behind Maegor's Holdfast, where the King and Queen resided.

Beside the Tower of the Hand was a grove of trees known as the Godswood, within which stood a heart tree that had been forgotten.

The heart tree was the object of prayer for those who followed the Old Gods of the North, a vessel for their faith. Those who believed in the Old Gods prayed beneath the heart tree, just as those who believed in the Seven prayed in the Great Sept.

In the North, the weirwood tree was the only choice for a heart tree.

But in the South, where the Seven were worshipped, the weirwoods had been almost completely cut down. Within the Red Keep of King's Landing, there was no weirwood to serve as a place of prayer for those who followed the Old Gods. As a compromise, a large oak tree in the Red Keep's Godswood had been designated as the heart tree.

In Westeros, the Northmen worshipped the Old Gods, the Ironborn worshipped the Drowned God, and the rest of the people worshipped the Seven. The Seven were brought to the continent by the Andals six thousand years ago, and were therefore called the New Gods. The various gods worshipped by the First Men through the heart trees were collectively known as the Old Gods.

When the Andals invaded the continent, the Northmen held the Neck and were never conquered by the Andals, thus preserving the faith of the First Men. Compared to the newly arrived faith of the Seven, the gods of the Northmen were called the Old Gods, while the Seven were called the New Gods because their faith was brought by foreign conquerors.

The Hand of the King, Eddard Stark, was a Northman, and his faith was the Old Gods. In his seat of Winterfell, there was a Godswood with three weirwood trees over ten thousand years old, which were also the heart trees of the Stark family's faith.

But in the Red Keep of King's Landing, Eddard Stark could only pray beneath the only heart tree in the Godswood—the great oak.

Eddard Stark chose to meet Queen Cersei beneath the great oak in the Godswood.

He arrived at the oak first, kneeling in devout prayer, asking the gods of the North for strength, to show him omens, to guide him through his difficult life as Hand, and to provide divine guidance for the thorny issues at hand.

Eddard felt safer near the heart tree.

The Godswood was an open space, devoid of any buildings, and the trees were sparsely spaced, allowing him to see people moving from a distance, so he didn't have to worry about 'walls having ears.' Anyone approaching the grove would not escape Eddard's notice, which was a major reason why Eddard had carefully chosen to meet Cersei here.

Cersei arrived as scheduled!

She had the Hound and a few Red Cloaks stay at the edge of the Godswood, while she walked alone into the grove to meet the crude Northerner in her eyes.

Cersei was carefully dressed, exuding elegance and nobility.

But in Eddard's eyes, she was nothing but vulgar and ugly.

When Eddard harbored ill feelings toward someone, when he had made a judgment and reached a conclusion, their careful dress would only make him feel more false and dirty.

Eddard believed that Cersei and Jaime should be hanged, but the children were innocent: Joffrey, Myrcella, Tommen.

Eddard rose from the ground where he had been praying. Cersei stood three steps away, looking at him with contempt.

"I'm here. What is it, Your Honorable Hand of the King?" Cersei's tone was full of sarcasm.

"I know your secret, a sin unforgivable."

"Oh? Everyone has sins. No one is noble, just like our upright, noble, and honorable Hand, who brought back Jon Snow, a well-known bastard, for the Starks of the North."

Cersei chuckled. She was happy to see the clumsy Northerner's face change.

Eddard said in a deep voice, "Cersei... Joffrey, Myrcella, and Tommen are not Robert's children. They are bastards born of your lust with your twin brother, Jaime. You killed Jon Arryn for this reason, because Jon Arryn knew your secret."

However, Cersei's reaction disappointed Eddard. He did not see Cersei's panic or even the slightest shame.

"I love Jaime, and Jaime loves me. We did nothing wrong. It's the world that's wrong. You know better than anyone who Robert has in his heart, Eddard. Don't lecture me as if you know me. When a husband presses down on a young and beautiful maiden on their wedding night, shouting the name of another woman, and continues to obsess over her for sixteen years, what happiness do you think that woman has left?"

"Cersei, you could have chosen divorce! Not betrayal! You shouldn't have killed anyone!"

"Divorce?" Cersei chuckled, laughed loudly, and then gradually stopped laughing, her face revealing deep disdain.

"Political marriages are about politics, not love. Robert married me so that the strength of the Westerlands could help him secure the Iron Throne. My father married me to Robert to use Robert's power to ensure the stability of the Westerlands. It was all quid pro quo. I heard that the person Eddard really loved was Ashara Dayne of Starfall, not Catelyn Tully of Riverrun. He only married Catelyn Tully to get the strength of Lord Hoster's army to help him fight against the Mad King's loyalists."

"Once a choice has been made, there is no right to betray, let alone kill," Eddard's voice became stern.

"Kill? Jon Arryn? I wanted to kill him myself, but the Seven didn't give me the chance." Cersei approached Eddard, reached out to grab his hand, gently stroking the back of his hand with her palm, her eyes full of flirtation. "Eddard, who did you listen to that made you think I would kill Jon Arryn? The King was by Jon Arryn's side. What opportunity did I have? What means did I have to deal with that old man?"

Eddard looked carefully at Cersei's beautiful face. He could not see any remorse or panic on this beautiful face, but rather it was full of mockery and contempt, as well as seductive allure towards him.

Eddard felt disgusted.

Cersei thought she could seduce him, then make him shut up and not tell Robert about her affair with Jaime.

Eddard, in his heart, admitted that Cersei was indeed very beautiful and charming. But the more beautiful Cersei was, the more suggestive she was to him, the more disgusted and repulsed Eddard felt.

Eddard removed Cersei's hand: "Cersei, leave King's Landing with your children immediately, the farther the better. When Robert returns from hunting, I don't want to see the children suffer because of your and Jaime's sins. The children are innocent. But you must hide well, don't publicize it. I believe Robert's anger will burn across the Narrow Sea. He will send people to hunt you down. You don't have much time."

Cersei stared at Eddard with a strange look: "You called me here just to ask me to leave King's Landing with my children and wander across the Narrow Sea?"

"I'm not trying to save you. You should be hanged, Cersei. But I know what Robert will be like once he gets angry. He will kill your three children without hesitation," Eddard said coldly.

"I will never leave!" The smile disappeared from Cersei's face, and she said coldly, "Why should I leave King's Landing? I haven't done anything wrong? Robert sows his seed all over the country. Who gave him the right? The Seven hate bastards, so they don't give bastards their father's surname. So, is the real sin on the child? Of course not. It's on the ugly desires of men, and bastard children are innocent, but suffering is borne by bastard children. Do you know why, Lord Eddard?!"

Cersei raised her head like a combative rooster.

"Why?" Eddard asked coldly.

"Because the Seven's eyes are blind! The Old Gods' eyes are also blind. The New and Old Gods are not only blind, but their hearts are also blind! Eddard, no matter what you want to do, I will never leave King's Landing!"

*

While Eddard and Cersei clashed in the Godswood, in the Riverlands, an army secretly crossed the Red Fork and set up camp in the forest. The army had two commanders, one of whom was the famous Mountain.

The other was a cruel and vicious general who was no less cruel than the Mountain, but had no fame: Amory Lorch.

Amory Lorch was short and fat, with a bloodless face that made him look like he was recovering from a serious illness. Amory Lorch was ugly. He had a pig-like face and very small, pig-like eyes. A manticore was engraved on his armor and weapons. This was the sigil of House Lorch of the Westerlands.

In 283 AC, Amory and the 17-year-old Mountain followed Duke Tywin into King's Landing. Duke Tywin ordered the two to massacre the royal family. One was Amory Lorch, and the other was the Mountain.

The Mountain committed heinous crimes: raping Prince Rhaegar's wife, Princess Elia of Dorne, then crushing the princess's head, and smashing the princess's infant son, who could not yet walk, against the wall. This established the Mountain's evil reputation. But Amory Lorch, who was with him in the royal family, killed more people than the Mountain, and his methods were no less brutal.

Prince Rhaegar and Princess Elia also had a daughter named Princess Rhaenys, who was only a few years old at the time.

When Amory and the Mountain were committing murder in the royal nursery, Princess Rhaenys hid under her bed. But she was dragged out from under the bed by Ser Amory. The princess screamed in fright, which annoyed Ser Amory. He drew his short knife and stabbed the little princess until the princess died, no longer screaming or moving.

In the Westerlands, the Mountain was infamous, but what really chilled the nobles was Ser Amory Lorch. He was a landed knight who had no worries about food and clothing and did not need to be a mercenary or a sworn knight. His only pleasure in life might be to harm as many people as possible until they died.

The Mountain would cut people in half with a single sword, while Amory killed people by thinking about how to cut them a few more times while keeping them alive as long as possible.

Duke Tywin sent out these two most terrifying generals from the Westerlands because Catelyn Tully had captured his 'son he wanted to strangle himself,' the Imp, Tyrion Lannister.

This was where Catelyn Tully was inconsiderate. As long as she moved Tyrion, not in the name of the king, the Lannisters could not accept it, and war would inevitably begin.

The Lannister family's motto was 'A Lannister always pays his debts,' which was one of the foundations of the family and could not be violated by anyone. Catelyn had convicted Tyrion in a private capacity and then carried out the arrest. If the Lannisters did not stand up for justice, Tywin's honor and the Lannisters' prestige would be severely challenged.

This was something the Lannisters could not accept!

Even if Tywin wanted to settle things peacefully, he simply couldn't. Tywin's father had caused years of chaos in the Westerlands because of his weakness, and finally had to rely on the royal army to enter the Westerlands to help maintain order. The nobles of the Westerlands surpassed the lord and did not listen to orders, and even declared independence.

Tywin sent the Mountain and Ser Amory Lorch, each leading a small group of cavalry, but he wanted these two villains to commit atrocities. This way, Eddard would receive reports from the people of the Riverlands, and he would personally lead troops to quell the rebellion. Then, Tywin would ambush the cavalry and capture Eddard in order to exchange hostages with Catelyn.

Duke Tywin's purpose was not to kill Eddard, but to exchange hostages and rescue the Imp, Tyrion Lannister. The Imp was the person Tywin liked least, but the Imp had a get-out-of-jail-free card: the Lannister name.

Catelyn captured the Imp, but hurt the Lannister name. Even if the Imp was going to die, it would be the Lannisters who did it. It was the Lannister family who wanted him to die, not anyone else.

This raid on the border villages and towns of the Riverlands and the Crownlands was carefully considered by Duke Tywin.

The Mountain and Ser Amory Lorch each led a small team, and they were of the same rank, so no one could control the other. Tywin hoped to see the two men bloodily massacre the border villages and towns of the Riverlands near the Crownlands in order to compete for merit. The time of the raid was set at night.

After setting up camp, the Mountain, along with Dunsen Clegane, Rafford "Sweetmouth" Clegane, Polliver Clegane, and a huge, fat man with golden hair and a golden beard, Illyrio Mopatis, went to Amory Lorch's camp and entered Amory's campaign tent.

Everyone else was afraid of the Mountain, but Amory was not. He even looked down on the Mountain.

Amory had always believed that when it came to cruelty and bloodiness, he was above the Mountain. But what made him very uncomfortable was that the Mountain was so famous that his name was known throughout the Seven Kingdoms, while he only had a small reputation among the nobles of the Westerlands. Outside the Westerlands, no one had ever heard of his evil reputation.

Amory had always hoped that he would have a chance to surpass the Mountain. The title of the Seven Kingdoms' most evil should have belonged to Ser Amory Lorch. If he had entered Princess Elia's room first, the good deed of raping and killing Princess Elia would have fallen on him, and the evil reputation of smashing the prince to death would have become Amory Lorch's masterpiece.

Amory had never understood why even Duke Tywin thought he was too cruel and bloody—the Duke told Amory that next time, don't use a knife, use a pillow—but why didn't his evil reputation spread in King's Landing? Why did people only remember the Mountain?! House Martell also resented the Mountain, not the name Amory Lorch.

This was too unfair!

Amory felt very uncomfortable when he saw the Mountain walk into his tent. If there was anyone he disliked the most, it was only one person: the Mountain.

"Mountain, next time you come in, please announce yourself first," Amory said coldly. He and the Mountain were the same age, with the same military authority and position. Neither was subordinate to the other. Why could the Mountain come in whenever he wanted?

The Mountain didn't answer, but strode up to Amory, reached out and lifted him up, and with a thud, slammed him heavily to the ground.

The fall made Amory's internal organs feel like they were in complete chaos, causing him extreme discomfort.

"Beat him!" He heard the Mountain's cold voice on the verge of passing out.

Then, he heard the sound of several people rushing towards him.

Someone threw a heavy punch, like an iron hammer hitting his chest, and Amory felt himself flying.