chsdbacks Chapter 127 The Afterglow of the Lonely Island
Chapter 127 The Afterglow of the Lonely Island
Chapter 127 The Afterglow of the Lonely Island
"In the name of the Seven Gods, by the mandate of the Iron Throne."
"Using the king's authority, punish those who disobey."
"Where our banners point, Renly surrenders; the people of Storm River Bend come to us at the mere sight of them."
"Now commanding an army of 100,000 and a thousand knights, I wish to invite my second uncle to a hunt at the Great Wall, to fight the Others together and forge an eternal alliance."
"Do not hesitate, lest you make a mistake."
'
— Joffrey Baratheon I
Davos held the wooden piece and read it aloud haltingly, pausing every few words to carefully discern them.
"Sarah, where did you get all this stuff?"
The old pirate shook his head: "This stuff is already filling my throat."
"My good lads can't read, they just think of it as patterned trash."
"But I was terrified when I saw it."
"In the battle of the Blackwater River a few months ago, the ghost of the Little Devil King led the city's army to charge left and right, scattering our people in disarray."
"Is he dead or alive? Or did he die and then come back to life?"
"Hey, people still talk about these terrifying things even now. I'm old, and after hearing them, I can't even eat."
Davos will never forget that moment.
Red flames materialized into antlers and a lion's head on the helmet, while the golden armor shimmered with a ghostly light in the wildfire.
His Majesty and Melisandre said that it was the regicide in disguise.
But everyone is saying that Joffrey has come back to life.
At the thought of this, Davos's stomach began to churn violently, causing him to lean over the edge of the boat and vomit profusely.
"My olives!" Salado shouted.
In fact, Davos also spat out snails, eels, and various seafood, all of which were carefully selected delicacies.
He was an old seaman, and if he hadn't been sick, his stomach would naturally have been able to handle these things.
But----
But it all felt like a distant memory.
The Earl of Brightwater, former Prime Minister Allister Florence, was imprisoned in the dark dungeon of Dragonstone for some inappropriate words and mistakes.
He said Stannis's hopes were utterly dashed the night the Blackwater River burned.
At that time, because the Blackbes rushed too far ahead, it was unable to avoid the wildfire on the river, and the nearby Helling and Lady Maria also caught fire at the same time.
Dell and Arad are their captains.
They were determined to go down with the ship.
Upstream, fireworks tore through the sky, and pillars of fire shot fifty or sixty feet high.
Davos jumped into the river in despair, but Mathus, who was standing beside him, was nowhere to be seen.
He struggled and thrashed in the rapids, sinking and rising again.
Then he took a deep breath, dived underwater, and plunged towards the riverbed, passing under the burning warships and wildfires drifting on the surface.
In the green curtain of water, countless knights clad in plate and chainmail were dragged to the bottom of the river.
Davos was not wearing any armor.
He needed air, but dared not float up, for if there were wildfires above, his first breath would burn his lungs to ashes.
But he needs air.
Once aboard, Davos recognized it as the Fury, His Majesty's flagship.
Malik was her rower-chief.
For some reason, the Fury survived the wildfire, perhaps because His Majesty was on board.
However, due to insufficient numbers, he and Davos also joined His Majesty as infantrymen on the landing.
He ultimately died in battle beneath the walls of King's Landing.
That day, he survived, but lost four sons.
This is the punishment the gods have given him.
On that dark night, it was Davos who rowed Melisandre into the Blackwater River and led her into a secret passage beneath the Red Keep.
Then, in a small, round room with a courtyard and floor tiles paved with a three-headed dragon pattern.
She began to give birth.
A black liquid, as dark as ink, gushed from between her thighs. A withered, black hand gripped her bleeding thigh and, amidst the woman's screams, twisted and crawled out of her swollen belly.
The child wearing a crown almost reached the ceiling of the room, and shadows pierced through the iron bars of the gate.
Davos only had time to glance at it.
However, that one glance was enough for him to recognize the person whose shadow was reflected in the mirror.
Melisandre had His Majesty kill Joffrey and encouraged His Majesty to attack King's Landing.
So her sons were also killed by her.
Of the five sons who came with Davos, only one survived: Devon, His Majesty's attendant.
He was taken away from His Majesty by Melisandre before the war.
And his two young sons, Stannis and Stephen, who stayed with his wife Maria at Windfury Point, named after His Majesty and His Majesty's father.
Every day after he returned to Dragonstone, he thought about taking Davenport home, back to Windfury Cape and Maria.
They stopped paying attention to the king and power.
Salado was overjoyed and dragged him along to become a pirate again.
"What's so great about the Governor of Blackwater Bay? Let's join forces and become Princes of Narrow Sea together."
"Many of my ships were burned, but my old friend wants a ship, and Salado will certainly grant his wish."
"All you have to do is sneak into Braavos, Myr, or Valantis in the dead of night, and without anyone noticing, help the poor Salado secretly carry out silk."
At that time, Davos's lucky charm was still intact, so he touched it.
"You've been very good to me, Sarah. But the war continues, and my duty is to serve Stannis."
"————"
"You onion smuggler!"
"Go see the White Walkers with your king!"
Salado's words have become a self-fulfilling prophecy; his angry outburst may be coming true.
The situation is getting worse every day.
Because of treason, the land His Majesty granted to Davos was stripped from the Iron Throne, and Maria and her sons were put in danger.
His Majesty's order for him to win the support of the Stormlands lords was, in effect, giving him a chance to save his family.
Davos failed to seize the opportunity and even lost his lucky charm.
But Earl Allister's mistake was even more terrible.
After being taken aboard the large ship, Salador told him that the Hand of the King had written a letter and asked him to take it to King's Landing to present to Queen Cersei.
This includes, but is not limited to, Stannis relinquishing his claim to the Iron Throne, retracting his statements about Joffrey's lineage, swearing allegiance to the King, and surrendering his territories.
He also arranged for Stannis's daughter, Celine, to marry Tomman.
The Prime Minister did this secretly, since Stannis had entrusted him with the seal and the power of the kingdom.
"You betrayed Allister?" Davos asked at the time.
Salado felt wronged.
"How could that be, my old friend? What do you take Sarah for!"
"On the very day Sarah wanted to leave by boat."
"The woman in the red robe came directly to us!"
The war was about to come to an abrupt end, with hundreds and thousands of fickle subjects defecting.
The Red Crab was just the beginning; the Setiga family was not the strongest lord in the Narrow Sea.
After Count Valerian's death, Tidehead Island was inherited by his five-year-old son, but power was controlled by his illegitimate brother.
Orion Vessell wanted to join Queen Cersei, but Melisandre foresaw this and had Her Majesty trick him into going to Dragonstone and imprisoning him.
Davos disappointed His Majesty for the second time.
He was then sent to the Iron Treasury to borrow money, but the bank manager there refused him outright.
They favored the forces that could resurrect Joffrey.
Davos cannot disappoint His Majesty a second time.
He smuggled a whole ship full of gems, dragon bones, and spices, as well as Salad's silk, from under the crotch of the Titans to meet His Majesty.
There are also these pieces of wood that were fished out, with identical handwriting.