The Mountain of Ice and Fire

“My lady, we have already sworn fealty,” Littlefinger gently reminded Lysa Arryn. The innocent and pure Lysa Arryn of her youth was gone forever. The Lysa Arryn before him was fat and bloated, foolish and arrogant. She no longer knew how to advance or retreat, or what to choose. Selfishness, suspicion, and paranoia permeated all her days after her marriage.

“Dear Petyr, we swore fealty to the Iron Throne, to Tommen Baratheon the First, not to the Mountain.”

“The Mountain is the Master of War, with the authority to mobilize our armies. If we refuse, that is insubordination,” Littlefinger said slowly. He always seemed unhurried and nonchalant.

“Dear Petyr, you don't really intend to send our Vale legions to the North, do you?”

“My lady, I don't want to mobilize our armies either, but we need a brilliant excuse to refuse the Mountain. If we can't find that excuse, we'll have to order the mustering of troops.”

“Hmph, no one can break through our Bloody Gate, and no one can capture our Eyrie,” Lysa Arryn stated firmly.

“Yes, my lady, you're right,” Littlefinger said calmly. “The Bloody Gate cannot be broken, and the Eyrie cannot be captured. But last time, the Mountain used the navy. He took Gulltown first, then Runestone in the bay. The Mountain only needs to attack our Vale from the eastern coastline, and the Vale will fall. He doesn't even need to attack our Bloody Gate.”

“...Hmph...He can't capture our Eyrie...” Lysa Arryn retorted weakly, her face pale. She stood up and paced around the room, her anxiety overflowing.

“My lady, if the Mountain takes the Gates of the Moon at the foot of the mountain and blocks the mountain roads, we won't be able to live in the Eyrie when winter comes. We must descend the mountain...otherwise, we'll all freeze to death in this high castle...”

Lysa Arryn's fat face felt as if it had been slapped hard. Her complexion turned even worse. She became agitated, her chest heaving as she panted.

She naturally knew the situation Littlefinger described. Every winter, the high Eyrie was uninhabitable. It was too cold, and people would freeze to death directly.

Every winter, the Eyrie, higher than the clouds, was impossible to live in. Not to mention the howling cold winds every day, the accumulated snow and ice would freeze the doors and windows of the Eyrie. Water would freeze into ice, and the walls would be covered in frost. The winches and ropes for transporting supplies would freeze, become brittle, and crack. In the North, at the Wall, in the Land of Always Winter, people lived underground during winter. Winterfell in the North was a city with hot springs, and hot water flowed through the walls of every hall and bedroom of House Stark.

“My lady,” Littlefinger Petyr bowed slightly, “if my lady decides not to send troops, we must come up with a reason that the Mountain will believe.”

“...A reason...”

“Yes, an excuse, a false pretense.”

“My dear Petyr, you are the smartest. You come up with this false pretense.”

“My lady, I can't think of one for the moment,” Petyr Baelish said calmly.

“...Hmph...Is it necessary to muster the Vale's army right now?”

Silence. After a brief silence, Littlefinger, slightly frowning, said calmly, “Not necessarily.”

“My dear, what idea do you have?” Lysa Arryn's fish eyes sparkled. She knew that her dear Petyr Baelish could come up with a solution. He could always come up with good solutions.

“I don't have the best excuse to refuse the Mountain. I only have a clumsy way to buy us more time to delay.”

“What way?”

“A clumsy way to delay for a while. My dear lady, you just said something full of wisdom. We swore allegiance to Tommen the First, but the letter from the Mountain is not an order from King Tommen Baratheon. We can write to the Mountain and ask him to produce the order from King Tommen Baratheon the First.”

Lysa Arryn became excited. This idea actually came from her own words: “Dear Petyr, you immediately write a letter to the Mountain, asking him to produce King Tommen's order.”

“My lady, I can't do that. This letter requesting the King's order must be written by you, in your name. I will write another letter to the Mountain, promising him that I will do my best to persuade you to muster the Vale's legions to obey his command.”

“Good, then let's do that. Maester, Marillion—go call the maester—” The lady shouted loudly towards the window.

In the courtyard, the handsome wandering singer Marillion responded and immediately went to the maester's tower to call the maester.

Marillion was Lysa Arryn's favorite wandering singer. In 298 AC, he came with Catelyn Tully's escort of Littlefinger. On that occasion, the mercenary Bronn was also traveling with them. After Marillion came to the Eyrie, he gained Lysa Arryn's favor, so he stayed and ate and drank well every day, and his monthly salary was very generous, far better than wandering around singing.

He was already one of Lady Lysa's favorite pets.

*

“My lady...” Littlefinger suddenly said with a slightly unusual tone.

“Dear Petyr, what have you thought of again?”

“Dragons!” Littlefinger revealed a thoughtful and worried expression, his brow slightly furrowed. “The Mountain mentioned dragons in his letter.”

Lysa Arryn was stunned, but only briefly, then she smiled, laughing, her face full of jiggling fat: “My dear Petyr, you don't really believe the Mountain is taming dragons in the Mountains of the Moon, do you?”

“What if he is, my lady?”

Lysa Arryn stared at Littlefinger, choked speechless by the Duke of Baelish's foolishness.

But Littlefinger remained unmoved, his expression unchanged, still standing ramrod straight, his manner elegant: “My lady, the Mountain has no reason to deceive us. Even if he wants to pressure us to send troops, there's no need to fabricate a lie about taming dragons.” Littlefinger's eyes flickered.

Lysa Arryn suddenly felt her head swell. The Mountain was taming dragons in her Mountains of the Moon? This was clearly impossible, but after her dear Petyr Baelish said it, it seemed to become true.

She stared blankly at Littlefinger, opening her mouth but unable to make a sound.

The Mountain was taming dragons in the Mountains of the Moon. This statement was indeed...really...too unbelievable...

“My lady, perhaps the safest course of action for us is to order the mobilization of the Vale's army, preparing for battle, while sending someone to see the Mountain to confirm whether he is really taming dragons in the Mountains of the Moon. If it's true, and the Mountain has dragons, who can restrain him? The situation in Westeros will be completely changed by the Mountain. Then we can immediately send troops to follow the Mountain, becoming his most loyal allies. If the Mountain's dragon taming is false, then we'll ask him to produce the King's order to delay.”

Lysa Arryn's irritable little mouth gradually closed, and then she said, “My dear Petyr, let's do as you say.”

But Littlefinger still didn't move. The thoughtful expression on his face made him look like a wise man: “My lady, to deal with the Mountain, disobeying his orders without making him angry, I suddenly thought of a better way than finding reasons to delay.”

“What way?”

“My lady, we can send Vale nobles who are close to the Mountain but disrespectful to us to fight in the North. Lady Ysilla Royce, the Countess of Runestone, is the Mountain's foster daughter, and her husband is Ser Landon Garin, a sworn sword of the Mountain, and Landon Garin is also the Mountain's foster son. And Lady Anya of Ironoaks sent knights from her family, leading a small family squad to join the Mountain's legion. As one of the Vale's eight great houses, she is so close to the Mountain, clearly no longer respecting my lady's dignity and the glory of House Arryn. And the nobles in the Vale that my lady dislikes, the nobles who are usually disrespectful to us, can all be ordered this time to lead troops to follow the Mountain. If they are lucky enough to die in battle, we can redistribute their territories, promote those loyal to House Arryn, or simply take them as direct territories of House Arryn and reward them to our family, relatives, or the most loyal knights around us.”

Lysa Arryn's fat face revealed an unpleasant, ugly smile. She pounced on Littlefinger, pressing her chubby lips on Littlefinger's face. After a suffocating operation, she said, “Dear Duke Petyr Baelish, I will listen to you in everything.”

Petyr Baelish endured the disgust in his heart. His face was covered with Lysa Arryn's saliva. Recently, Lysa Arryn may have drunk a little too much dreamwine. Her emotions were often a little out of control, and the love she showed often caught Littlefinger off guard: “My lady, I would like to go and see the Mountain in person. Do you agree?”

“Will there be any danger?”

“No, the Mountain still wants us to send troops. How could he be disrespectful to me?”

“Good, I approve.”

“Thank you, my lady. I would like to set off this afternoon.”

“Tomorrow morning. I still want you to keep me company tonight.” Lysa Arryn pouted. This made Littlefinger so disgusted that he wanted to vomit, but he smiled elegantly and bowed slightly with grace: “As you wish, my dearest lady.”

*

Several days later, at noon, a hundred-man team was advancing on the western edge of the Vale's plains. On the other side of the road was the foot of the endless Mountains of the Moon.

The leader of this team was the Protector of the Vale, Duke Petyr Baelish. After discussing with Lady Lysa and making a decision, he was kept for a night full of tenderness by Lady Lysa, who was in a passionate love life. The next morning, he took a hundred-man team down the Eyrie and spent a whole day to reach the gate at the foot of the mountain—the Gates of the Moon.

After resting at the Gates of the Moon for one night, the team traveled on the Vale's plains for another two days. At noon on the fourth day, the team arrived at a winding uphill road. The end of this road was the entrance to the Bloody Gate pass, and the end of the dozens of miles long Bloody Gate pass was the Vale's natural barrier: the Bloody Gate.

Littlefinger and his attendants rode up the slope, planning to reach the Bloody Gate before dark to stay overnight. At the same time, something unbelievable was happening at the Bloody Gate...

The sun in the sky was hot, shining on the Bloody Gate. At noon, the Bloody Gate was illuminated by the sun overhead. Soldiers patrolled the walls of the Bloody Gate when suddenly it darkened. A huge shadow slowly projected onto the walls, blocking the sunlight overhead.

None of the soldiers felt anything unusual. The low-altitude Mountains of the Moon were often cloudy. When clouds floated over and blocked the sunlight, they would cast huge shadows on the walls.

The shadow was moving at a constant speed, from under the walls to inside the city, slowly covering the houses in the city, darkening the light in the Bloody Gate fort. On the high watchtower of the Bloody Gate, a soldier playing with a short knife inadvertently looked up and was completely stunned. He heard a clang, and the short knife in his hand fell to the ground, but the soldier was completely unaware. His neck was stiff, his eyes were blank, his eyes were wide, and his breathing stopped...

What did he see?

He saw an unprecedented, ferocious flying beast flying in the low sky. A fierce and terrifying aura rushed towards him. The beast was so large that it was impossible to describe. Its wings spread out, like a dark red cloud. Soon, the wingspan blocked all the sunlight shining on the Bloody Gate, covering the entire Bloody Gate in the projection of its body...

This flying beast was very terrifying and ferocious, with sharp claws and a long tail. Its scales shone with bright reflections. It seemed to hover motionless in the sky above the Bloody Gate, but the soldier saw the flying beast's eyes blink, and it seemed that golden-red light flew out of its eyes...

The second soldier was reminded by the sound of the short knife falling. He noticed the abnormality of his brother beside him, so he also looked at the sky. His eyes immediately widened, his mouth opened, and he could no longer close it...

A short while later, on the two watchtowers, the soldiers patrolling on the walls and the soldiers on duty all looked up at the sky, all standing as still as wooden chickens. The flying beast, so large that it was unimaginable, had two huge dark red clouds when its wings were spread. Its ferocious head and the horns on its head seemed to indicate that it came from hell...

Finally, someone let out a scream-like exclamation somewhere: “What is that?” But he was immediately silenced by his horrified comrade...

The entire Bloody Gate—on the watchtowers, on the walls, on the streets, on the roofs, in a series of crenellation fortifications above the narrow road, the soldiers all looked up, each like a wooden sculpture. They all stared blankly at the sky, watching the incredibly large and ferocious flying beast in the sky pass over the Bloody Gate, passing over their heads.

When the sunlight re-illuminated the Bloody Gate, illuminating the watchtowers and the continuous crenellations, illuminating the streets of the Bloody Gate fort, the terrifying beast had already flown far away, leaving behind hundreds of silent Bloody Gate soldiers...

The speed of the never-before-seen flying beast flying over the Bloody Gate was extremely fast, but because its size was too large, it seemed that its speed was very slow. The soldiers had a moment of trance, thinking that the beast was completely still, hovering in the sky above the Bloody Gate...staring at them with fierce eyes, as if in the next moment, it would fall down and tear the soldiers into pieces...

This terrifying and huge flying beast was naturally the sheep thief in the deepest part of the Mountains of the Moon. His nature was activated by the Mountain. Under the Mountain's encouragement of dragon language and delicious food, he spread his wings and came out today. He flew into the sky in the Mountain's dragon language password.

Dragons belong to battle, belong to the sky.

*

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Thank you [一道之下万道之上] [Chau534] for the reward, thank you, handshake!