A fearsome power

Sea Dragon Point, Flint's Finger Castle, council hall

"Good. Issue the summons and hiring orders immediately! Until we have an army established, this is all we can do."

After hearing the report from Arthur Stone, captain of the guards, Eddard gave the order directly. The transport ship had been swift. Earlier that morning, while Eddard was still unconscious, the transport that had escaped from the mine had already dropped anchor at the Dock Market moorings.

Although everyone had initially been at a loss because of Eddard's unconsciousness, once he woke, their attention finally returned to discussing how to handle this unexpected incident.

Flint's Finger had roughly ten thousand permanent residents, most of whom depended on the castle for their livelihoods. Farmers, fishermen, smiths, fur traders, hunters, sailors, mercenaries, and whores made up its bustling outer town.

The outer town beyond Flint's Finger Castle consisted of Wine Street, Fur Street, Dock Market, and Golden Wheat Village. Golden Wheat Village had been built around House Flint's farm and housed nearly eighty percent of Flint's Finger's commoners.

It was thanks to the support of Golden Wheat Village and Farm Town that House Flint had put down roots on the Sea Dragon Point peninsula, fed more than thirty thousand commoners, and allowed Eddard's inherited family to live in comfort.

House Flint's castle guard numbered around thirty, while the outer town's City Guard numbered around forty. Aside from the troops who had to remain behind, Eddard could muster roughly fifty professional soldiers, and even these men did not have standardized equipment.

Only Eddard's fifteen personal guards truly had standardized equipment. They wore composite armor combining mail and scale, with iron-plated leather trousers, knee guards, and iron-plated leather boots protecting their lower bodies.

For weapons, House Flint's guards favored a combination of medium-sized tower shields and bastard swords. Their secondary weapons varied: some carried short swords, while others used hatchets.

In peacetime, northern castles generally did not maintain many soldiers, in order to save on expenses. Eddard's guard was already quite respectable-quite respectable among the North's second-tier nobles.

The City Guard soldiers' equipment was considerably worse. Their upper bodies were generally protected by a simple combination of mail and rounded half-helms, while their only lower-body equipment was a pair of leather boots. They held small round shields in their left hands and bastard swords in their right.

These soldiers were the strongest fighting force in Flint's Finger. Fortunately, there were also some sellswords and mercenary knights in the outer town, so they could just about assemble an armed force of over a hundred. Once the castle dispatched orders for cavalry reinforcements from Pasture Town, Eddard could muster roughly two hundred men. If he then conscripted some commoners to serve as logistical troops, the battle would be more or less assured.

"Yes, my lord!"

After receiving Eddard's orders, Arthur Stone, captain of the guards, took his leave. Seeing Eddard's calm composure had also settled his somewhat flustered nerves considerably.

Once Arthur Stone had left, Eddard turned his gaze to Beris, the tax collector. Understanding his meaning, Beris stepped forward and said:

"My lord, Maester Albert and I will arrange the food and weapons. If nothing unexpected happens, we should finish before the force is assembled."

"Mm, good. All right, hurry along and make your preparations!"

As Beris and the others left, Eddard turned his gaze to the rather apprehensive "Scar" Rickard. On the one hand, Rickard hoped Eddard would assign him a task; on the other, he was somewhat afraid that Eddard would hold him responsible.

"Ahem, my dear uncle, this was merely an accident. I hope you can guide the force properly and bring them safely to the mine.

"Mm..." Just as Eddard was about to offer "Scar" Rickard some encouragement, he discovered to his surprise that his inherited uncle's figure had begun to blur. Then grotesque, horrifying wounds appeared across his body.

Sensing that the Golden Eye had activated for no apparent reason, Eddard turned his gaze to his two inherited cousins and discovered that they looked much the same. Of the three, "Housecat" Bran was in the worst state. Not only was his body twisted and split apart, but several strands of kelp were wrapped around him, and certain indescribably disgusting creatures lurked in his wounds.

"Ed... my lord! Is... is something wrong with me?"

Rickard was terrified. Looking into Eddard's eyes, he seemed to glimpse some indescribable being. When that gaze, which seemed capable of transcending life and death, fell upon him, it was as though it were looking at a dead man. The sensation made Rickard deeply uncomfortable.

"Mm... nothing. By the way, my dear-"

"My lord, you... you needn't be so polite. I... I would still prefer you to call me 'Uncle Rickard,' as you did when you were little. We are all Flints, Flints bound by blood."

"Scar" Rickard steeled himself and interrupted Eddard's "polite" address. Although he was somewhat afraid of Eddard's gaze, he understood very well that if he did not draw closer to Eddard now, he would have even less chance in the future.

"All right! Uncle Rickard, I want to know how many pirates there are in Brightflame Bay, and whether they might cooperate with those clans in the Western Mountains."

"Well..."

Seeing Rickard hesitate, Eddard also perceived his concerns through his power of perception. By now, Eddard had brought the Golden Eye's power under control, and the father and his two sons had returned to normal in his sight.

Once things returned to normal, Eddard also sensed "Scar" Rickard's fluctuating emotions, so he hurriedly reassured him:

"You may speak your mind freely. I won't hold you responsible. If a lord only listens to pleasing words, then death and ruin are not far away."

"My lord, I think you may be overthinking things. Most of those pirates have the support of the Ironborn to the south. What those pirates like best is plundering money and people, then selling them to House Goodbrother on Great Wyk.

"Besides, we Flints aren't the only house here. There are several houses in the First Men's Barrows to the north, and their warships aren't just for show. If these pirates occupy our lands, then as long as you request aid from House Stark of Winterfell, they won't be far from death."

After hearing Rickard's answer, Eddard sank into thought. Then he gave "Housecat" Bran another thoughtful look. After briefly considering it, Eddard shifted all his perception directly to the "eye" between his brows.

Boom...

For an instant, Eddard seemed to hear the sound of some barrier breaking. Then the surroundings around "Housecat" Bran began to change. In Eddard's perception, Bran and the others appeared in a strange stretch of sea.

Terrifying sea monsters and all manner of sea beasts attacked them from every direction: Rickard and his two sons, and the members of Eddard's guard. Although their appearances were bizarre and varied, Eddard still identified each of them through his perception.

There, a Blood-red Demon Eye formed from black storm clouds watched the people under attack from afar. Just as Eddard wanted to probe further, cries of agony reached his ears.

Eddard withdrew his perception, only to see his inherited cousin "Housecat" Bran sprawled on the floor without a shred of dignity. His face was full of fear, as though he had seen some terrifying being. Rickard and Brandon beside him wore the same expression.

"Uh... ahem... what's wrong? Are you all right?"

Using this special ability for the first time, Eddard seemingly had not expected this. It appeared that the ability had certain "side effects," so he could only steel himself and ask.

"N-no, Lord Eddard, we... we seem to have seen some terrifying scenes..."

"Housecat" Bran spoke tremblingly. Then, under Eddard's questioning, the father and his two sons haltingly described the visions they had seen.

For a time, they too had seen the images Eddard perceived, but those images had been fragmented. Having never experienced such terrifying scenes as though they were living through them, the three had nearly wet themselves with fright.

Their descriptions gave Eddard a little more understanding of his ability. At present, the Golden Eye seemed capable of prophecy, probing minds, and interfering with perception.

"This means the Old Gods are warning us. You are very likely to encounter an attack from the sea. It seems we must change our plans."

After hearing the descriptions from Rickard and his sons, Eddard offered this explanation. Faith in the Old Gods was connected to dreams and prophecy, and this was also why these northern descendants of the First Men had never abandoned their faith.

After hearing Eddard's explanation, Rickard and his sons exchanged glances. Eddard then told them to go prepare to gather sailors and ships, while he replanned their attack.

After Rickard and his sons left, Eddard asked the guards beside him what had happened just now. The two guards told him they had not seen any strange scenes. It appeared that this ability of the Golden Eye only affected people Eddard was looking at, or those connected to the ability.

Eddard vaguely remembered that, in the original television series, a certain once-cute boy of House Stark who had grown up poorly possessed a similar ability. While at the Citadel, Archmaester Marwyn, his predecessor's mentor, had once told him about a certain legendary kind of magical practitioner: a Greenseer.

Greenseers were a special kind of practitioner among the Children of the Forest, the former masters of Westeros. In legend, Greenseers could foresee the future and wield mysterious magic. Throughout history, many witches had called themselves Greenseers.

To some extent, the power of Eddard's Golden Eye was very similar to a Greenseer's abilities. In one of Marwyn's handwritten notes, the stout old archmaester believed that the Greenseers' wondrous power seemed connected to heart trees.

After searching his mind for certain memories concerning Greenseers, Eddard prepared to use the Golden Eye's ability to investigate the mysterious heart tree in the castle.

In the Society for the Study of Dragons and Magic, to which Eddard's predecessor had belonged, a maester had proposed just such a theory: these so-called heart trees were very likely the medium through which the Children of the Forest and Greenseers used magic. Otherwise, the Children of the Forest would not have gone to war with humans over them.

At the time, Maester Qyburn had offered another view. He believed that the weirwoods scattered across Westeros were very likely resting places for the souls of the Children of the Forest. Moreover, every spell the Children cast might consume those souls, which was also why the Children of the Forest had grown weaker and weaker.

After all, according to the documents held by the Society for the Study of Dragons and Magic, the Children of the Forest had initially been capable of using magic even to alter the climate and terrain. Yet by the later periods of the Dawn Age and the Age of Heroes, these Children of the Forest had been utterly unable to halt the invasions of the First Men and the Andals.

Whatever the truth, Eddard wanted to try, because he had a vague feeling that there should be something special about the heart tree in Flint's Finger Castle.

In particular, the strange and terrifying being from the night he dreamed of Maester Qyburn still left Eddard shaken. He had already suspected that the being might be connected to the Old Gods, and the only thing in this castle connected to the Old Gods was the heart tree.

Gathering the troops and moving supplies both took time. They probably would not be able to depart today, so Eddard wanted to use this time to fully develop the Golden Eye's abilities in order to deal with any problems that might arise.

Although Eddard would not accompany the troops, if this ability could help him ascertain the situation at the mine and at sea in advance, it would save him considerable effort. Moreover, the meaning represented by those sea beasts and sea monsters just now was already very clear: the enemy was very likely to attack from the sea.

After sending the guards outside, Eddard activated the Golden Eye directly. He felt he could now wield his perception quite proficiently, but before he had fully mastered the Golden Eye, he did not want to experiment with the two Diamond-shaped Crystals on his wrists.

After all, in the dream, apart from his head, Eddard's body had almost entirely been eroded by the power of those two Diamond-shaped Crystals. He was not quite sure what those two crystals might bring him. For now, he only wanted to control the one power he could command.

As his perception flowed into it, the Golden Eye instantly drew Eddard into that peculiar sensation of weightlessness. Now, however, he could control his perception and would no longer fly beyond the sky as he had before.

Then Eddard silently pictured the heart tree's location. Under the pull of this power, the scenes around him constantly shifted and distorted. Before long, he sensed a cold, deathly still presence.

It was an aura of death that had lain silent for over a thousand years, filled with venomous resentment and hatred. Although Eddard was surrounded by darkness, that deathly stillness was unmistakable. Now, this presence wrapped tightly around him like a python coiled around its prey.

The suffocation and helplessness felt as though he were trapped in a foul, viscous swamp. Eddard wanted to struggle, but could muster no strength. And the more he panicked, the stronger that power became.

Gradually, Eddard's perception also grew weaker and weaker. Somewhere in the unseen, a voice seemed to tell him, Do not resist. Accept your fate.

Under the combined assault of helplessness and drowsiness, Eddard too seemed affected. He began to stop struggling and sank toward that endless abyss.