Opening the mine

Westerlands, Sea Dragon Point Peninsula, Western Mountains.

The dock below the mine had suffered no major damage in the Bloodheart Clan's last attack. It only looked somewhat run-down because Captain of the Guards Arthur Stone and his men had withdrawn in a panic.

After the transport ship dropped anchor, Eddard led the Dragonglass Lesser Demons ashore. The vast procession of prisoners and miners followed onto the dock. At the sight of the place, quite a few miners involuntarily recalled the terrible disaster that had happened before.

"By the lord's orders, everyone is to rest here and get organized. We'll head up the mountain once this place is tidied up!"

Captain of the Guards Arthur Stone shouted through a large wooden cylinder. Without a loudspeaker, this homemade megaphone worked quite well. Soon, under his shouted instructions, the prisoners and miners began putting the somewhat chaotic dock in order.

Eddard sent the Dragonglass Lesser Demons straight to the mine pit. They would open the sealed entrance ahead of time, while he searched for a suitable weirwood here. Of the weirwoods near the dock, the most suitable was an enormous one in a small grove to the right of the road.

Weirwoods were a strange species resembling maple trees. As long as they suffered no external damage, these unusual trees could keep growing indefinitely. They were also resistant to decay, making them arguably the finest timber in this world.

Thus, in many forests in the North, commoners planted weirwoods as a cash crop. This was not considered blasphemy in the faith of the Old Gods, because only weirwoods with faces carved into them were heart trees.

Most trees in the Western Mountains were sentinel trees, which resembled pines, and blackthorns, with weirwoods scattered among these sentinel forests. The trees here generally grew in valleys and sheltered areas and were not particularly tall, making the weirwoods stand out.

Eddard left Captain of the Guards Arthur Stone near the dock. The five men guarding him now were Thin Pigeon and his group. Thin Pigeon seemed extremely nervous. His heart was filled with fear of this place, especially those people from the Bloodheart Clan, who had left him with deep psychological scars.

"What's wrong? Are you frightened?"

Perhaps noticing Thin Pigeon's fear, Eddard asked him outright. By then, they had reached an enormous weirwood.

"N-no... nothing?"

At Eddard's words, Thin Pigeon flushed slightly, seemingly embarrassed by his fear. Eddard gave him a long look, then turned his gaze to the weirwood.

The weirwood Eddard had chosen was so thick that it would take roughly three people joining hands to encircle it. Palm-shaped leaves drifted down from its branches, seeming to carry a hint of desolate chill against the pale trunk.

A large flock of ravens stood on its branches, staring curiously with wide eyes at Eddard and the others approaching below. They did not seem afraid of humans.

"Caw, caw..."

Yet when they noticed Eddard's arrival, the ravens began clamoring. They seemed to have sensed something different about him. Just as Eddard prepared to use Skinchanging on the weirwood, the flock cried out.

"My lord, watch out!"

Noticing something amiss, Thin Pigeon rushed forward to protect Eddard. But as the ravens were about to approach him, they wheeled away in terror and scattered, as though they had encountered some dreadful monster.

"Caw... caw... caw..."

Their cries were filled with fear and a trace of resistance, as though something were directing them.

Using the Golden Eye's retrospection, Eddard discovered something interesting. "It's all right. I'm going to pray to this heart tree. Step aside for now! The Old Gods will hear my voice and answer my prayers, so whatever you hear or see, don't be too surprised!"

"My lord!"

Looking at Eddard's expression, which showed no sign of joking, Thin Pigeon spoke in bewilderment. He truly was frightened. Even after so many days, he still felt afraid whenever he recalled what had happened before. That fear had been carved deep into his soul and would probably never heal in his lifetime. He was terrified that Eddard might encounter something dreadful here-or perhaps already had.

"Actually, you must all be curious about why I suddenly sealed off the Council Hall. The truth is, I was afraid that things beyond your understanding might frighten you."

"My lord, you... you... we... we!"

After hearing Eddard's words, Thin Pigeon and his men were at a loss. They seemed to regret their loose tongues, without which Eddard would not have said this.

Eddard waved a hand to tell them not to panic so much. Then he activated the Golden Eye before them, and under the influence of a strange power, his eyes turned golden.

"The Old Gods gave me revelations, as well as power beyond that of ordinary men. That was also the key to my victory over those pirates!"

As Eddard finished speaking, his consciousness entered the weirwood. With his entry, the Dream World established a direct connection to this place. Then the White Holy Tree's voice sounded in his mind.

The appearance of this power also sent the weirwood's leaves falling like raindrops. Under its influence, Thin Pigeon and the other four men fell into a peculiar state.

In that instant, the guards seemed to pass through time and space. Their souls seemed to sprout wings, flying ceaselessly through this expanse of spacetime. At that moment, their souls were completely free of the constraints of time and space.

In just a few seconds, the guards seemed to experience several lifetimes. Birth, aging, sickness, death, marriage, and children-images of all kinds of lives washed through their souls like flowing water, carrying away some of the impurities within them.

"Master, the first stage of the awakening experiment is complete. I have recorded all the data and circumstances. Those ravens just now..."

"Leave that matter alone for now. Is that fellow still stable?"

Eddard interrupted the White Holy Tree's report and asked directly about Demon B'lack's condition. Although the White Holy Tree only carried out his orders faithfully, Eddard had granted him considerable authority. Thus, in a sense, this soul amalgamation had become somewhat more human.

After entering this weirwood, he too had noticed the abnormal behavior of the ravens. But this was not yet the time for Eddard to deal with those "uninvited guests." His most important task now was to activate the heart tree and open the mine as soon as possible.

"Demon B'lack's soul amalgamation has been very cooperative. He has tried to beguile me several times, and I also discovered that his power bears some resemblance to yours, Master. Unfortunately for him, he does not really understand what kind of being I am, so he has never succeeded!"

"Good, very good. But you must still be careful. This fellow is only one part of him. Speed up his assimilation. All I want is his bloodline; I have no need for his soul. Oh, right! Have you had any results with those magic circles and spells I asked you to work out?"

Eddard spoke to the White Holy Tree. The White Holy Tree was a soul amalgamation containing an immense number of souls of the Children of the Forest. Most existed in a strange state of being both independent and joined together. For precisely this reason, Eddard entrusted him with tasks that consumed considerable time and effort, much as he would use a computer on Blue Star.

These included working out spells and magic circles. Even the Golden Eye power Eddard now used had been developed through the White Holy Tree's calculations. It was through constant study and experimentation in the Dream World that Eddard had developed the Golden Eye's power to its fullest. Its two powers, manipulation and retrospection, one immaterial and the other material, had helped him greatly.

Although the Golden Eye's way of manipulating power somewhat resembled telekinesis in Blue Star's science fiction films, it was actually only a manifestation of turning the immaterial into the material. It drew on the power of Eddard's Dream World and was still very different from true mental power.

"Master, I have finished working them all out. I have also constructed and tested some of the demonic spells. However, these powers seem connected to an unknown space. If we use them, we are very likely to attract the attention of the demon world, and the probability of my corruption would reach around seventy percent. But rest assured, I have already tested them on those Twisted Souls. They cannot trace us here."

After hearing the White Holy Tree's brief account, Eddard felt somewhat disappointed. After all, magic he could not cast was like gold bars in a glass safe. Beyond tempting people, it served no purpose.

Fortunately, the White Holy Tree had already transmitted the specific principles behind casting them, along with the memories, into Eddard's soul, leaving them ready for his later development and innovation. Though powerful, the White Holy Tree could only work from existing knowledge and memories. Many pioneering ideas still required Eddard to refine them.

"Phew..."

Once everything was finished, Eddard ended his Skinchanging state. As he returned to normal, the guards around him also emerged from their strange state. All of them gasped for breath, as though they had suddenly been deprived of oxygen and then abruptly found fresh air again.

"Cough, cough... phew... L-Lord Eddard, you... you truly are a powerful being favored by the gods. Please... please forgive my earlier d-disrespectful assumptions!"

Thin Pigeon recovered quickly, then dropped to one knee and confessed his "sins" to Eddard. Once the other guards recovered, they followed his example and offered their apologies.

Eddard helped them to their feet one by one. Then he pointed at the Weeping Blood Heart Tree, on which a face had already appeared, and told them:

"The Old Gods have given you revelations as well. They give us strength so that all their followers may live better lives, and so that we may build our strength to face more terrifying enemies. You are all gifted. Otherwise, I would not have brought you here separately. Your souls have already been changed. In the Dream World, the White Holy Tree will continue to guide you on behalf of the Old Gods and make you stronger warriors."

"Winter has come, the Long Night approaches. Dragonglass as our spear, raging flames as our shield. May the Old Gods endure forever, and evil demons be driven away!"

Short phrases like murmured dreams emerged from the mouths of Thin Pigeon and the others. As they spoke, the heart tree's branches began to sway, as though responding to their "oath."

"Yes, yes! Very good. Since you're all willing to join, there are certain things I can let you know about now!"

Eddard addressed the five men. Hearing his words, Thin Pigeon and the others looked excited. These were secrets their lord was going to tell them, which also meant they had earned Eddard's absolute trust and truly become members of House Flint.

Soon, Eddard led Thin Pigeon and the other four to the mine pit. Perhaps because he had received Eddard's approval, as well as that unfathomable power, Thin Pigeon no longer felt any fear as he returned to this terrible place. All he felt was boundless strength and courage.

"Hiss..."

At Eddard's command, forty-five Dragonglass Lesser Demons emerged from various places. After opening the mine entrance that Captain of the Guards Arthur Stone and his men had sealed, they had obeyed Eddard's orders to patrol the area and check for threats.

After all, Arthur Stone and his men had withdrawn in great haste, so it was possible they had left some wights alive. But after receiving the creatures' reports, Eddard discovered that this place had remained abandoned, with no signs of any living creature's activity. Even the ravens seemed not to have visited.

"All right, take off your hoods!"

"Hiss..."

Then, at Eddard's command, the Dragonglass Lesser Demons removed the hoods of their cloaks. As their hideous heads were revealed one after another, the sounds of frightened swallowing rose beside Eddard.

"There's no need to be afraid. These are Dragonglass Lesser Demons from the Dawn Age. They are as ancient as the Children of the Forest. The mountains of the Westerlands were once their habitat, but as time passed, these ugly creatures gradually disappeared. Only after receiving a revelation from the Old Gods did I awaken them from beneath the earth."

"Lord Eddard! What... what are these fellows for?"

After his clash with the Bloodheart Clan, Thin Pigeon had become much more resistant to such terrifying creatures. So, after hearing Eddard's introduction, he could not help asking.

"They will become House Flint's miners. From the moment they enter the mine today, they will live down there, mining a constant supply of ore for our domain!"