The Mountain of Ice and Fire

Chapter 818: Divine Right of Kings: The Mountain Becomes King!

Lady Melisandre said, "Lord Mountain, after the Divine Revelation ceremony, you need to personally ask Gendry Clegane."

The Mountain grunted, noncommittal.

Gendry's solid, blacksmith-like brain certainly wouldn't have thought of divine guidance on his own; he must have received instructions from some 'expert'.

Who is this 'expert'?

"Lady Melisandre, did you seek out the High Septon's idea?"

"Bernie found me and told me about the Divine Guidance plan."

"Who told Bernie?"

"Gendry Baratheon I."

"Gendry?"

"Yes, my lord."

The 'instigator' of this Divine Guidance ceremony ultimately came down to Gendry: Gendry told Bernie, Bernie told Melisandre, and Melisandre convinced the High Septon.

Of course, Gendry himself would never have come up with such a clever strategy!

So, who exactly instructed Gendry?

He had to find this interesting fellow. If he wasn't loyal, then he would cultivate his loyalty. The Mountain's method of cultivating loyalty was simple: whatever this person cared about, he would use it to drive him, then make the most of his talents and resources.

*

The Mountain and Melisandre's conversation ended there. The Mountain asked no more, and Melisandre said no more.

Arianne Martell rode her horse to the Mountain's left side.

"Mountain, what kind of Divine Guidance ceremony are we going to attend?"

The courtiers and military generals, like Arianne Martell, were all completely bewildered.

The Mountain shook his head, looking at Arianne's beautiful face.

"You don't know either?" Arianne's voice became sharp, she was so surprised that she could hardly believe it.

The king received very important divine guidance, so important that a grand ceremony was to be held in the Great Sept of Baelor, but the king didn't tell the Hand?!

This was illogical.

There were two major factions in the royal court: courtiers and military generals.

Among the courtiers, the powerful ones were the Great Officers of State.

The Master of Laws, Master of Ships, Master of Whisperers, Master of Coin, Grand Maester, and Commander of the City Watch were all on the Mountain's side.

The only Great Officer of State who was not part of the Mountain's faction was the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, Barristan Selmy.

And the military generals—all of them were the Mountain's men—the Mountain was the Master of War, in charge of the nation's military forces. Even Bronn, the captain of the king's Red Keep guard, was a vassal under the Mountain's banner. Bronn and Podrick Payne had knelt before the Mountain and sworn their oaths of allegiance together.

On the battlefield, every noble and knight that the Mountain subdued, he made them kneel and swear allegiance not to the king, but to himself.

The Vale nobles, the Crab Coast forces, the Moon Mountain clansmen, the Unsullied legions, the tens of thousands of Dornish soldiers, Lord Goodbrother of the Iron Islands, House Mooton of Maidenpool… all the conquered military forces knelt and swore allegiance to the Mountain himself, not the king.

The Mountain's power in and out of the Red Keep was far greater than Gendry Baratheon I's, yet Gendry's Divine Guidance hadn't been told to the Mountain?!

This was simply illogical.

Both publicly and privately, the king wouldn't hide it from the Hand.

Arianne Martell couldn't understand why.

Was the blacksmith king too foolish? Or was the Divine Guidance itself forbidden from being spoken about to anyone outside the Great Sept of Baelor?

"Mountain, could the king have other ideas?" Arianne Martell whispered, reminding the Mountain.

"No!" The Mountain said simply and decisively.

Arianne looked at the procession. The Clegane generals were in armor and with longswords, the guards were in orderly rows of cavalry, at least five hundred men. Among the other noble forces, the most powerful had only a few knights and a dozen soldiers. No matter how strong the Kingsguard loyal to the king were, there were only six swords, two of which were the Mountain's. And the commander of the City Watch was the Mountain's brother-in-law, Lothar Spicer. The captain of the gold cloaks guarding the king was Bronn, who was also one of the Mountain's men. This lucrative position had also been given to him by the Mountain.

No matter how carefully and maliciously she speculated, Arianne couldn't imagine what power the king could have to threaten the Mountain.

That meant there was no need to worry that this 'Divine Guidance' ceremony would be detrimental to the Mountain, even though no one knew what that Divine Guidance would be?

Arianne Martell cared very much for the Mountain. Her current state was like that of a sensitive young woman deeply in love. At the slightest abnormality, she would think a lot and think very extremely.

*

The procession continued forward, and the king's procession ahead had already entered the Rainbow Square of the Great Sept of Baelor. In the center of the square, the tall, massive stone monument of the Great Sept of Baelor could be seen even by those at the very end of the long procession. The monument was very tall, like a sharp longsword pointing straight at the sky.

A horse galloped over.

"Lord Hand, His Majesty commands you to come forward quickly."

"Good!" The Mountain replied.

The messenger turned his horse and galloped back.

Arianne said, "Arya Stark, Coma Warner, Landon Garner, Anguy Clegane, Podrick Payne, you are the lord's personal guards, escort the lord forward."

"No need." The Mountain glanced at Arianne and said indifferently.

The Mountain spurred Red Smoke forward, the hooves thundered, and Arya Stark immediately followed on horseback.

The Mountain looked back and allowed Arya Stark to follow.

The two galloped side by side, past the king's guard, and arrived before the king.

The king reined in his horse.

"Father, please dismount?" Gendry Clegane directly addressed the Mountain as Father in places with few people. In private occasions, he even called the Mountain Father directly.

The Mountain dismounted Red Smoke.

The High Septon loudly chanted something, and the maiden gate of the Great Sept of Baelor opened, and a team of white-robed nuns walked out, fluttering towards them.

There were more than a hundred white-robed nuns. They came to the Mountain and the king and lined up in several rows. The maiden septa walked out of the ranks and took the sacred oil from a monk who had been waiting there: "Your Majesty, please dismount."

Gendry Baratheon I dismounted.

"Please, all courtiers and generals, dismount." The maiden septa said to the monks in a singing voice.

So, the Kingsguard, the Royal Guards, the Great Sages, the Great Officers of State, and the maesters of the court dismounted one after another at the request of the monks.

The maiden septa held the sacred oil in one hand, extended a finger, and dabbed the sacred oil on the king's forehead, followed by the Mountain's forehead.

Then, the Mother Septa walked in front of the nuns, turned around, and faced the king and the Hand: "In the name of the Seven Gods…" she said loudly in a singing voice, making a gesture at random. More than a hundred nuns began to sing a beautiful and melodious hymn—In the name of God, I sing and chant, Divine guidance is given, guide me…

In the melodious hymns, more than a hundred nuns separated to both sides, leaving a passage in the middle. The maiden septa and the Mother Septa led the way in front, and the High Septon, the Mountain, and Gendry followed behind the maiden and Mother Septa.

Behind the king and the Hand were the Warrior Septon, the Smith Septon, the Crone Septon, the Father Septon, the Stranger Septon… Everyone entered one after another, the nuns' hymns continued, and the queue began to change in an orderly manner, forming two neat vertical rows, facing each other left and right, one on each side, accompanying the king and the Hand as they walked forward.

Arriving at the Father's Gate, the nuns' queue separated again, forming several entrances, each entrance corresponding to a different gate—all women could not enter through the Father's Gate, noble ladies needed to enter the Sept through the Maiden's Gate; noble women could only enter the Sept through the Mother's Gate; generals and soldiers would enter the Sept through the Warrior's Gate; and the Stranger's Gate was only for the Silent Sisters to enter and exit, no one else could enter and exit…

*

Led by the High Septon, the king and the Mountain entered through the Father's Gate, passed through the seven gates, received seven sacred oil baptisms, and listened to seven nuns' hymns, finally arriving at the altar of the Great Sept, standing in front of the statues of the Seven Gods…

Soon, noble ladies, courtiers, generals, guards, and knights entered the Great Sept of Baelor from different gates… And in Rainbow Square, many, many Seven Gods believers came, and more Seven Gods believers were still on their way to the Sept—the ringing of the seven bells was the call to the believers to come to the Sept to participate in the Divine Revelation ceremony…

The Mountain and Gendry I stood in front of the statues of the Seven Gods. Monks wearing Seven Gods masks brought seven candles for the king and the Hand. The High Septon stepped onto the altar and began a generous and heroic prayer chant. The monks and nuns standing around the edge of the altar echoed, which gave the Mountain the feeling of a large chorus from his previous life: one lead singer, the rest were the chorus.

In the hymns, masked nuns came forward and lit the candles held by the king and the Hand. Then, under the guidance of the nuns, the king in front and the Hand behind, lit candles for each statue and silently recited prayers that no one could hear.

*

Jon Targaryen, as the only representative of the North, also entered the Great Sept. He was at the very back of the noble group, and he was one of the last nobles to enter the Sept. Through the gaps in the crowd, he could barely see Gendry Baratheon I, wearing a crown, and Hand Mountain kneeling in front of the statues of the Seven Gods. The Father Septon stood next to the High Septon, speaking loudly. Jon was of medium height, which forced him to go to the other side, although it was farther, but he could clearly see the faces of the king and the Mountain.

Jon saw a masked nun gently remove the crown from the king's head while he was closing his eyes. The crown was passed by the nuns standing in a row to the High Septon, who placed the king's crown on the altar of the Seven Gods. This made Jon feel confused. He didn't understand what kind of ceremony this was. He had never seen a Divine Revelation ceremony that removed the king's crown.

Jon felt the strangeness of the atmosphere. He looked at the nearby nobles and saw that their faces were all shocked. He didn't understand what had just happened. At the moment he came in, the Father Septon had just finished speaking, and the echo was still reverberating in the hall. The whole place was quiet, the atmosphere was strange, and the courtiers and generals looked shocked, but Jon Targaryen didn't understand why…

Then, he saw the High Septon take another crown from the Maiden Septa. This crown was larger than the crown that Gendry I had just taken off, cast in pure gold. On the right side of the crown was a dragon coiling around, and on the left side was a unicorn standing… This made Jon realize something, and he widened his eyes in disbelief… He saw Gendry Baratheon I stand up, walk onto the altar, and stand on the High Septon's right side… He saw Gendry's gaze was calm and peaceful. The young man, who had just ascended the Iron Throne, looked around the quiet Seven Gods hall, his gaze sweeping over the shocked courtiers and generals…

"Lords, earls, sirs, knights, ladies, maidens… the Great Sages of the Alchemists' Guild, all the septons… the Divine Revelation that the Father Septon received in his dream is exactly the same as the Divine Revelation I received in my dream. We have all received the same Divine Revelation, that is, Ser Gregor Clegane, who killed the Night King in Winterfell in the North and saved the fate of the human race, is the son of the Seven Gods. He is the messenger of the gods, he is the reincarnation of Azor Ahai, he is the chosen one who will lead our kingdom to strength, prosperity, and civilization, he is our true king, the king who deserves the Iron Throne…"

Jon Targaryen widened his eyes in disbelief. He suspected that he had misheard. He subconsciously looked at the people around him and found that everyone was as surprised and incredulous as he was. Many sirs, noble women, and maidens opened their mouths and widened their eyes, they all forgot to breathe…

Gendry Baratheon I continued to speak. His words were not coherent, intermittent. Jon's ears were buzzing, and his heart was shocked to the extreme: "Gendry Baratheon I is giving up the Iron Throne… In the name of God… the Mountain will become the king of Westeros… This is the will of the Seven Gods… How is this possible… Is this the Mountain's private coercion… or is it really the will of the Seven Gods… This is really unbelievable… The crown, the crown, it takes a long time to cast this crown… How is this possible… Conspiracy or betrayal…"

Gendry seemed to be reciting a textbook: "If you are a farmer, then plant the land well; if you are a fisherman, then catch more fish; if you are a blacksmith, then forge the best weapons; if you are the chosen one, then lead us to become stronger and more fearless… This is what I want to say to everyone… I am a blacksmith, I am illiterate, I can't even write a signature to sign an order… I am not the king chosen by the Seven Gods… My name is Gendry, and my true identity is just a bastard… According to the guidance of the Divine Revelation, I voluntarily and wholeheartedly give up the throne, and I piously request my most respected father, the Master of War of the Seven Kingdoms, the Hand, the Duke of Dragonstone, the Warden of the West, the Warden of the North, the Warden of the East, the Lord of Castamere, the Lord of Clegane's New Village, the King of the Crab Coast, the Red Hand of the Burned Men, and the leader of the Moon Mountain clansmen, Ser Gregor Clegane, to be the King of the Seven Kingdoms…"

Jon Targaryen was shocked, some of Gendry's words were blurred, and he heard some of Gendry's words clearly. He was always in absolute shock… The Divine Revelation was actually to put the crown on the Mountain's head and ascend the Iron Throne… This was too unexpected and unbelievable…

The High Septon slowly walked down the altar. The Seven-Pointed Crown on his head was inlaid with rare treasures. Every step he took, it shone brightly, as if the stars in the sky had fallen on his head. The High Septon held a large crown in his white and fat hands. When this crown was placed on the kneeling Mountain's head, the crown still seemed a little small…

Then, amidst Jon's suffocating sensation, the nuns' hymns rang out, and the seven high septons stepped forward together, anointing the Mountain's forehead, shoulders, and crown with holy oil... The nobles and ladies throughout the hall were as silent as if suffocating, and the generals and courtiers stood as still as stone sculptures. Only the melodious and soaring hymns of the nuns flew out of the hall, flying far away outside...

The moment the Mountain stood up wearing the crown, the sacred bell on the main tower of the Great Sept of Baelor rang again. The clear and resonant bell seemed to ring right next to Jon's ear, instantly covering all of Jon's hearing and senses, causing the nuns' hymns to disappear completely from Jon's ears...