The Mountain of Ice and Fire

At the end of the first month of the 301st year of Aegon's Conquest, two months before the onset of winter, the season was autumn, but in the North, it was already a time of freezing water and frosty breath.

In front of tens of thousands of allied forces from the South, the free folk army of the Thenn Mountains, the Night's Watch, and the soldiers of the North, Lord Eddard Stark of the North donned the crown and ascended the throne as King in the North.

Eddard had been loyal to the Baratheons as the rightful royal family, but the bloodline of House Baratheon had been completely extinguished: Stannis's daughter, Princess Shireen, and Robert's only acknowledged bastard, Edric Storm, both died in the fire on the Blackwater Rush, and Renly Baratheon, though married, died early in his struggle with Stannis, leaving no heirs.

With the Baratheon bloodline gone, Eddard Stark, a man of knightly spirit from the older generation, felt no moral or conscientious constraint in claiming the throne of the North. Robb's crowning in the Riverlands was also a matter of circumstance, in accordance with the will of the Northern lords and the expectations of the Riverlands' nobles.

After witnessing Eddard crowned, the Mountain immediately set off. The dragon soared from the ruins of Winterfell, carrying the Mountain and Arianne Martell into the distance amidst dragon roars, witnessed by tens of thousands of soldiers and the people of the North.

The cold of the North made the dragon very uncomfortable, preventing his injuries from healing properly in that environment.

The destination of the two people and one dragon was a return: a return to the dragon's nest in the Mountains of the Moon, to accompany the dragon through his final days... It was a tragic story of a hero and a dragon, a cause for lament...

The Mountain's true mount, the Red Smoke Beast, galloped on the ground. The king of land travel was not much slower than the dragon, but when faced with high mountains and swampy rivers, the dragon could fly straight over them, while the Red Smoke Beast had to go around.

When the dragon passed away, the Mountain would need the Red Smoke Beast to come out of the Mountains of the Moon for rescue. The Red Smoke Beast had lived with the Mountain on the slopes of the dragon's nest for many days, and he was very familiar with the roads in and out of the Mountains of Mist.

The dragon did not have much time left, but the Mountain actually left with the beautiful Arianne Martell, which made the soldiers 'curse' when drinking and playing finger-guessing games, and also provided the honor-conscious nobles with after-dinner conversation. However, the good outweighed the bad. Among the nobles, who valued a clean reputation, apart from a few virtuous noblewomen with cleanliness obsessions, the Mountain's style of traveling east and west with Arianne Martell became a model for many nobles and knights to denounce in words but admire in their hearts.

The Mountain's romantic affairs were also unique, providing much amusement for the soldiers.

*

As soon as the dragon left the North, the discomfort caused by the cold quickly dissipated. In the autumn of the South, the sun was bright and the temperature was suitable, and the dragon's injuries were greatly relieved. His spirit was obviously better, the gold and red on his scales showed a bright light, and his roar was even louder.

The Mountain issued a dragon-riding command, telling the dragon to fly down and land on the mountain peak. The Mountain and the dragon hunted wild boars and black bears together, and Arianne made a fire.

Once out of the North and away from the cold, both people and dragons felt refreshed and comfortable.

After eating and drinking, Arianne almost forgot about the dragon's injuries from the dragon's clear and melodious roar that could pierce gold and break jade. No matter how she looked at it, the Sheep Thief seemed to be quite healthy.

A few days later.

The dragon slowly landed with the Mountain and Arianne Martell on the black slope outside the dragon's nest. Arianne Martell noticed that outside this black area was a long downward slope. At the end of the slope was a large meadow, bordering on the primeval forest.

The Mountain grabbed the dragon's horn and jumped down first, then opened his arms to catch Arianne Martell, who jumped down. The dragon roared, causing the birds and beasts in the forest to flee quickly. Soon, the Mountains of Mist, up and down, inside and out, were quiet.

Arianne Martell saw the entrance to the huge dragon cave, which was several stories high. The Mountain told her that this black area was the core territory of the Sheep Thief, where no foreign objects were allowed to enter. And under the Mountain's guidance pointing down the mountain, Arianne saw several houses on the edge of the meadow and a large fence, inside which hundreds of sheep were moving like ants, and shepherds were moving like small insects.

"Arianne, all the livestock pens are filled with goats," the Mountain said.

"Mountain, did you prepare all this in advance?" Arianne refused to believe it. Her beautiful eyes widened, and she looked at the Mountain in surprise. The Mountain had actually made preparations to raise dragons here long ago?!

"When I was taming the dragon, I built a breeding farm here. At that time, there were two hundred-man teams and two hundred-man guard teams, but now only fifty people are still here continuing to graze."

"After the dragon left the mountain to fight with you, you never abandoned your breeding farm here?"

"I abandoned it for a while, until the Sheep Thief flew back to see his cave many times during the battle, and sometimes stayed for a day or two. Seeing how much he loved this place, I ordered the breeding farm to be restored here. Whenever I had free time, I would come back and stay with him for a few days. And the Sheep Thief likes to eat goats and has a large appetite, so I arranged for fifty people from the Burning Tribe to be responsible for grazing here and never leave again."

"The Burning Tribe?"

"Yes, they are the natives of the Mountains of the Moon, their ancestors originating from the First Men, not the invading Andals and Rhoynar."

"Are the natives of the Burning Tribe here easy to communicate with?"

"I am the Red Hand of the Burning Tribe, their supreme leader."

"Oh!" Arianne Martell's voice was surprised, her eyes shining. The Mountain always had something 'unexpected' to give her.

"All the more than forty native tribes in the Mountains of the Moon are now my people. Most of the tribes have all moved to the Westerlands, leaving behind the older generation who are nostalgic and the young people I arranged."

"Eat, Sheep Thief," the Mountain pointed to the foot of the mountain and issued a dragon-riding command. This was High Valyrian, and Arianne had been able to understand the pronunciation of dragon-riding commands such as dragon flame, flight, attack, and eating after spending a long time with the Mountain.

The dragon flapped its wings, stirring up wind and sand on the flat ground. The Mountain and Arianne turned their heads to avoid the wind, and the dragon had already taken off and headed for the pasture.

"Aren't those sheep and people afraid of the dragon?"

"Both sheep and dragons are afraid of dragons. The sheep will obediently prostrate themselves, and the people will carefully roast sheep for the dragon to eat. Dragons are intelligent magical creatures, and they will not harm shepherds. But people's fear of him remains."

Arianne watched the dragon glide and land on the grass: "Mountain, is the dragon really dying?"

The Mountain looked around and gently picked up Arianne: "Take you into the dragon cave to have a look." Lowering his voice, he said, "Arianne, don't talk loudly about the dragon in the future, someone can hear you."

"Who?"

"Greenseer Bran Stark."

"The Three-Eyed Raven." As she said this, Arianne's eyes darkened, and she had already entered the dragon cave. The dragon cave was warm, like a warm fireplace.

"So warm?"

"There are dragon bones at the bottom of the cave."

The further they went into the cave, the darker it became, but also the warmer it became.

"Can the Three-Eyed Raven still see us in the dragon cave?"

"He can see us through the eyes of any animal, and he can hear us by possessing the ears of any animal."

"There can't be any animals in the dragon cave."

"Yes, so I will tell you here that the dragon's injuries have not healed."

"Not healed, but actually won't die!"

"Yes! Lady Donella Quntana did a little trick under my command, deceiving the eyes of the monks."

"You deceived everyone?"

"I did deceive everyone, but not you."

"But how did you deceive the Greenseer?"

"Easy, just need the news that my dragon is dying to reach Daenerys Targaryen's side is success."

Footsteps echoed at the bottom of the cave, colliding against the cave walls, completely covering up the Mountain and Arianne's whispers. Even in the dragon cave, where there could not be any other animals, and where the Three-Eyed Raven could not possibly fly in, the Mountain was still cautious.

Where there are dragons, the Three-Eyed Raven does not dare to approach at all. A small spark of dragon flame can scorch the Three-Eyed Raven.

Arianne Martell's lips suddenly blocked the Mountain's.

Indeed deceived everyone, but not you - this sentence is actually a very clever love word that can move a woman's heart.

No one has ever made love in a warm, smooth, and round dragon cave inhabited by dragons. Just thinking about it is full of endless enthusiasm and excitement. Arianne and the Mountain decided to create a miracle in the depths of the dragon cave. They decided to make love... first fight five hundred rounds... The Sheep Thief is gluttonous, and it will take some time for him to wait on the grass to eat a dozen whole roasted sheep with snow salt and expensive spices...

*

The sun is shining, the grass is growing, and eagles are flying.

Three small dragons are flying over the Sunset Sea of the Westerlands. The three dragons are flying in the high clouds, the mountains and rivers on the ground are as beautiful as paintings, and people come and go, but no one knows that three dragons and one person are passing over their sky.

These are three small dragons the size of elephants, and they are four years old this year. The largest black dragon is flying in the front, and a beautiful girl is riding on the dragon's back - Daenerys Targaryen.

In the Sunset Sea, a fleet is sailing on the outer sea away from the inland sea. The commander of the leading fleet is Asha Greyjoy of the Iron Islands.

This fleet does not fly the Greyjoy family's kraken banner, and the number of the fleet is not large, with only twelve warships in total. The soldiers on the warships are all loyal to Asha's old subordinates, and they are also the old subordinates of Asha's father, Balon Greyjoy.

For hundreds of years, the Greyjoy family has been the king of the Iron Islands.

Now the Iron Islands are in the hands of the Goodbrother family of Hammerhorn. After Lord Gorold Goodbrother swore allegiance to the Mountain, the Mountain recommended him as the governor of the Iron Islands in exchange.

Daenerys Targaryen's first military operation was to take the Iron Islands by surprise.

When everyone and all the news pointed to King's Landing, Daenerys avoided the real and attacked the empty, and flew over from the sky to take the Iron Islands first.

The master of whisperers, Varys, got the news that the Mountain's dragon was severely damaged by the Night King, and blood witches and Septon could not restore him to health. The dragon's death due to injury was only a matter of time. The Mountain was sad and accompanied his dragon in the depths of the Mountains of the Moon to spend the dragon's last time. After repeatedly confirming the news, Daenerys immediately carried out the military operation that had been made in advance: release the news that she was going to attack King's Landing, but in fact she was going to attack the Iron Islands.

Almost all of the Iron Islands' Lord Goodbrother's fleet was located in the Blackwater River port to defend King's Landing. The Iron Islands were empty, and taking them could not obtain rich living materials and military materials. But one thing was indispensable: iron ore. And one thing was also urgently needed by Daenerys Targaryen's army: the spread of victory and the example-style surrender of the Iron Islands.

Before receiving the news that the Mountain's dragon was harmed and could not be cured, Daenerys met the messenger sent by the Mountain. She also saw the Mountain's letter. The Mountain hoped to negotiate with her, and the location of the negotiation was chosen on Dragonstone.

Daenerys did not reply to the Mountain's letter.

She was determined to win the Iron Throne, not to negotiate.

The Iron Throne was forged by her family's ancestor Aegon, and King's Landing and the Red Keep were also built by the Targaryen family. The Westeros dynasty was originally the Targaryen family's dynasty. The Targaryens had ruled here for three hundred years, and there were traces of the Targaryen family everywhere on the continent.

When the messenger met Daenerys, the Mountain was leading the army in Winterfell, actively preparing for the final battle with the White Walkers. Under the persuasion of Tyrion, Varys, Barristan, and others, Daenerys did not take the opportunity to send troops to attack the Westeros continent. Her courtiers told her that if she took the opportunity to attack Westeros while the Mountain and Stark were joining forces to resist the White Walkers and burn King's Landing, she would lose the hearts of the Westeros nobles and people.

Tyrion said that if a monarch does not get the support of the people, even if he sits on the Iron Throne, the dynasty will not last long.

Daenerys did not want to become her father's second. Her father was called the Mad King by the people. She wanted her dynasty to be permanent. She wanted to be a wise monarch who was deeply loved and supported by the people.

Daenerys accepted the proposal of the Hand, the master of whisperers, and the captain of the Kingsguard. She chose to station troops in Pentos and wait for the final battle between Winterfell and the White Walkers.

If Winterfell was defeated, Daenerys would lead the army to clean up the mess and defeat the White Walkers, and conquer the North in one fell swoop while gaining immortal glory. If Winterfell won, then the Northern army and the allied forces would suffer heavy losses, and the remaining remnants would no longer be able to threaten Daenerys's army. The only thing Daenerys was afraid of was the Mountain's dragon, which was said to be two hundred and fifty-one years old.

The Mountain's dragon was the real dragon. The size of that dragon was said to be larger than Daenerys's three small dragons combined. The wingspan of that dragon was hundreds of meters, which could cover a small town.

There were many rumors about the Mountain's dragon, and some of the rumors were exaggerated, but no matter how much the exaggerated content was, the Mountain's dragon was the real dragon. And Daenerys's three dragons were growing rapidly every day, but they were only four years old.

However, the gods stood on Daenerys's side. The Mountain's dragon was seriously injured in the duel with the Night King. The cold and gunshot wounds made blood witches and monks unable to save his life...

The news that the Mountain's dragon was beyond help was true. Daenerys Targaryen was a decisive queen. She immediately ordered the army to cross the sea and seize the Iron Throne...

And taking the Iron Islands was a small prelude to this war for the throne...

Thank you to 【He Pai Daxing】 for the reward! *handshake*