The Mountain of Ice and Fire

Arya Stark stood at the entrance, her expression far from calm.

She was looking for Bran Stark and his companions, but Bran Stark had come to the House of Black and White.

This indicated that Bran, as a greenseer, probably knew Arya was looking for him.

The House of Black and White had a great reputation in Braavos.

Arya, as a Faceless Man, standing at the entrance of the House of Black and White, deterred even the Sealord's Twelve Swords from rashly approaching.

Arya blocked the path of Bran and his group.

Two of the Sand Snakes were present: one was Tyene Sand, and the other was Sarella Sand. Tyene was proficient in poisons, especially those derived from various snakes; Sarella possessed intelligence and was dressed like a maester. Both women were beautiful yet ruthless, with disdain for everything, but being at the House of Black and White, they knew this was unlike any other place. These two women, who usually liked to take action, remained silent.

Jaime, Roose Bolton, and Ramsay Bolton also remained silent.

They had learned from the greenseer that Arya Stark was a Faceless Man.

But they also knew that both the greenseer and Arya were Starks.

This could be seen as a family matter between siblings. Before Bran issued any orders, Jaime and the others held their breath.

"Arya!" Bran said faintly from his wheelchair.

Bran's nose seemed higher and straighter, and the contours of his face were more defined. Compared to the 'child' Bran in Arya's memory, he had more defined features and looked more mature and robust.

Bran's body was not weak. If not for his lameness, he would have been a handsome and strong young man, taller than average.

"Bran!" Arya's voice held surprise.

"How many years has it been since we last met?" Bran's indifferent gaze, usually fixed on some point in the air, focused on Arya's face.

"Four years!"

"I have been thinking of you," Bran said with a calmness like a gentle breeze. He seemed like a robot devoid of human emotion.

"Me too."

Arya walked towards Bran. The Sealord's Twelve Swords exchanged glances but remained where they were.

Bran gestured for everyone not to interfere and to let Arya approach.

Arya reached Bran's wheelchair, knelt on one knee, opened her arms, and embraced Bran.

"Bran, you should be in Winterfell," Arya said softly. "You need Winterfell's hearth and the care of family."

"Arya, I am no longer the Bran I once was." Bran did not return Arya's embrace. Arya was moved by seeing a loved one, while Bran was an iceberg.

"Bran, no matter what you've been through, let us face it together. Perhaps you should return to Winterfell; the time is right." A glimmer flickered in Arya's eyes.

"I will return."

"When are you planning to?"

"Not long."

Arya released Bran, stood up, and took two steps back.

"Bran, I need to speak with you alone," Arya said 'need,' not 'want' or a request like 'may I?' Her words carried a sense of compulsion.

"Arya, I'm afraid I don't have time. I came here to see how far the execution of my commission has progressed. I'm sorry I couldn't meet with any of the seven high priests."

Arya's heart sank. It was unlikely that the seven high priests would refuse to meet Bran in the House of Black and White. However, Arya would ask the priests about the specifics.

"Bran, you didn't get to see our priests? Although I don't know the reason, if there is anything you need my help with, please tell me."

"Arya, the task I entrusted to the House of Black and White is to kill the Mountain in Westeros."

"Alright, I'll help you," Arya said. "I am a disciple of the House of Black and White; I can apply to participate in this plan. If you still want to see our priests, I will go in and inform them. But before that, I want to take you to see my room and where I used to train. I want to speak with you alone first."

"Arya, whatever you want to say, just say it here."

"No, I want to speak with you alone."

Jaime said, "Arya, besides wanting to kill the Mountain, what more important matters could the greenseer and we have to deal with?"

Arya glared at Jaime. "Bran, you just told me that you are no longer the Bran you once were. After all, more than four years have passed, and I am no longer the Arya I once was. None of us are who we were four years ago. So, I want to confirm one thing: are you still a Stark?"

"I am!" Bran Stark answered without any hesitation, his response clean and crisp, as if it were an instinctive reply. He was a Stark, and his attitude and tone conveyed that it was a matter of course.

Arya had always believed that no matter how Bran Stark changed, a part of him would always belong to the Stark family. Bran's answer confirmed Arya's subjective judgment. She felt a surge of relief in her heart, and she nodded: "Bran, you are a Stark, and so am I. That is why we need to sit down and talk alone." As Arya spoke, she walked forward, intending to push Bran's wheelchair, but Ramsay Bolton opportunely pulled Bran's wheelchair behind him, blocking Arya's path.

Roose Bolton, Tyene Sand, Sarella Sand, and the twelve Sealord's Swords stepped forward together, adjusted their formation, and placed their hands on their sword hilts.

Arya stopped, her hand also on her sword hilt: "Bran, I am Arya, your sister. Either you stay and talk to me, or you declare to me that you are no longer a Stark. As long as you are no longer a Stark, I will let you go immediately; but if you acknowledge that you are still a Stark, you must stay today. Anyone who obstructs me from speaking with my brother will find no mercy from my sword. Bran, tell me clearly, are you still a Stark?"

"I am a Stark," Bran said faintly.

"Very well!" Arya slowly drew her needle, hunched her chest and straightened her back, placed her left hand behind her waist, and held her right hand's needle straight, the tip of the sword pointing at Roose Bolton: "Roose Bolton, step aside, or be killed."

The sound of footsteps echoed as the doors inside the House of Black and White opened, and the Faceless Men filed out, their faces unfriendly, each carrying a needle. The acolytes also appeared, their eyes cold and dead, each holding a short staff.

The Faceless Men surrounded Bran and his group, as if in an instant.

Little Mouse, who had trained with Arya, came to Arya's side and whispered, "Arya, all seven high priests have pledged themselves to the Red God." The death god and the Many-Faced God, worshiped in the House of Black and White, were both aspects of the Red God. In death and assassination, the high priests, Faceless Men, and acolytes would all speak the name of the Red God, rather than the death god or the Many-Faced God. When a Faceless Man assassinated someone and took their life, they would say, 'In the name of the Red God.' When a Faceless Man spared a person who deserved to die, they would also say their prayers in the name of the Red God.

Little Mouse's words shocked Arya.

Her originally calm gaze suddenly changed, and her expression transformed in an instant, like a sword being drawn from its sheath, its sharpness fully revealed.

"The seven high priests' pledge is very suspicious. They stopped breathing while meditating in the silent chambers after receiving the dragon glass candles."

"Silent chamber meditation?"

"Yes, silent chamber meditation, intended to awaken the dormant magical power."

Arya's gaze pierced through the crowd and landed on Bran's face. Bran was also looking at her, his expression as calm as ever.

In Arya's heart, the Mountain's warning to her echoed: Arya, you must be careful. Bran is no longer Bran, but Bloodraven Brynden Rivers. In terms of predicting the future, seeing the past, and controlling the present, he is almost equivalent to a demigod.

Arya said, "Bran, are you afraid of me?"

"Arya, I am never afraid of anyone."

"Arya!" A cold voice rang out at the second gate, "Make way and let them leave. Greenseer Bran is our guest."

Her senior sister, whom Arya had nicknamed Long Face, came out. She had no weapons at her waist, her hands empty. With Jaqen H'ghar and the seven high priests absent, the senior sister was the most qualified, capable, and highest-ranking person here. She was Arya and the others' instructing senior sister, equivalent to the rank of a master.

Arya said, "Senior Sister, Bran is my younger brother; I want to speak with him."

"Then put away your sword and speak."

"There are some things I can only say to him alone."

"Arya, you are a Faceless Man, and you no longer have family or clan, nor do you have your own country. Bran has not been your family since the moment you entered the House of Black and White, and the Stark family has nothing to do with you. Put down your sword, go back to the dark room to reflect on your mistakes, and I will not punish you."

"Senior Sister, except for the priests and senior brothers, you have no right to order me to the dark room."

"What did you say?" The senior sister's voice suddenly turned icy. She slowly walked towards Arya, "Arya, you said I have no right to lock you in the dark room?"

"I want to see the priests first," Arya insisted. She already knew from Little Mouse that the seven priests had died suspiciously, and she had to see what was going on and find out the cause of the priests' sudden deaths. Besides the priests themselves, who else could kill all seven priests while they were in the silent chambers?

No one in the world could kill seven priests in seven different silent chambers at the same time, unless that person was a god.

God never appears in the world, but there was a god in the House of Black and White now, a greenseer, a greenseer revered as a demigod.

The senior sister came to Arya, stopped, and placed her hands behind her back: "You, capture Arya and lock her in the water house." According to the teachings, all of these Faceless Men were nameless, and the senior sister was unwilling to call the Faceless Men by their current names in front of outsiders, as that was taboo.

Being locked in the dark room was for reflection; being locked in the water house was a punishment.

The water house was in the dark basement, where the black water was icy and bone-chilling. No one could withstand the invasion of that cold for more than a day, and they would lose their lives. In just an hour, it would become unbearable, the cold like small ants, burrowing from the skin into the body to bite from the inside out.

Several Faceless Men came out, sheathed their needles, and one of them said, "Arya, I'm sorry."

Arya dared to confront the senior sister and say some outrageous things, but these Faceless Men would not. The only person who would still call herself Arya in front of everyone was Arya herself.

Arya's outrageousness was also an exception in the House of Black and White.

Arya couldn't draw her sword against her own people.

Her needle went into its sheath. Her gaze met Bran's calm and unwavering gaze. She could sense that Bran had foreseen this scene long ago. Bran knew that she couldn't speak to him alone. Arya didn't see any fear or any other familial concern in Bran's eyes.

"Little Mouse, take me to the water house," Arya said.

Little Mouse nodded, and all the other Faceless Men stepped aside.

Little Mouse escorted Arya inside. They disappeared after passing through the second gate, and soon even the sound of their footsteps completely vanished.

"Arya, take off your sword," the senior sister said coldly.

Arya stopped and took off her sword. Little Mouse took it. A hand suddenly reached out and took Arya's 'Lady of Emptiness'.

The senior sister silently came over, and the Lady of Emptiness was in her hands.

All the Faceless Men and acolytes' gazes fell on Arya and the senior sister. Their emotions were on Arya's side, but their reason was on the senior sister's side.

No one stood up to say a word for Arya. The eight senior brothers who had trained with Arya were all silent.

Arya was escorted by Little Mouse into the inner room. They lost their figures after passing through the second gate. Soon, even the sound of their footsteps completely disappeared.

"Greenseer Bran, I deeply apologize for Arya's offense," the senior sister said to Bran. But her tone was cold, and her eyes were even colder. Although she had severely punished Arya, she had no goodwill towards Bran and his group. The senior sister was acting according to the rules.

Bran's gaze lingered on the senior sister's face for a moment, without responding to her apology: "Let's go," Bran said faintly.

Thus, Ramsay Bolton pushed the wheelchair, and the group walked out of the gate of the House of Black and White.

*

In the deep basement of the House of Black and White, in front of a dark entrance to the water house, when Little Mouse lifted the black cover, a gust of cold air pierced like a knife, causing both Arya and Little Mouse to shiver.

"Don't lock me in," Arya said. "I can't go in." Arya, having learned from Melisandre and the great sages of the Fire Guild, already possessed the ability to fight against extreme cold with fire, but she didn't want to expose it so quickly.

"Senior Sister, Senior Sister ordered..." Little Mouse said. Faceless Men had following rules and orders etched into their bones.

"The House of Black and White has lost its priests. Senior Sister cannot dominate alone. She is too cruel and arbitrary. Before Senior Brother returns, we must have someone to suppress her."

"Who can suppress Senior Sister?"

"I can!"

"Even if we join forces, we won't be Senior Sister's opponent."

"I can defeat Senior Sister alone, but Little Mouse, I need your help."

"...How to help?..."

"I'll wait here. You go back and report that you've already locked me in the water house. Then, help me steal my sword back from Senior Sister's room and come back here to find me."

"...We are both violating the rules of the House of Black and White..."

“Little Enchantress, the simultaneous service of the Red God by the Seventh Elder is very strange. No one can kill the seven elders at the same time unless that person is a god. And the Green Prophet has another name: Demigod. I need to go out and find Bran Stark. I believe the simultaneous deaths of the seven elders are related to him. Little Enchantress, you have to help me.”

“You don't need her help. I'm right here, and I've brought your sword. Arya, you said you could beat me. I want to see if you can.”