The Mountain of Ice and Fire

"Name spoken, death descends." Jorah Mormont looked at Daenerys, "Your Majesty, as long as we secure the Iron Bank as an ally and obtain the help of the Faceless Men from the House of Black and White, the Mountain will be nothing to worry about."

Barristan Selmy said, "Your Majesty, Cersei Lannister went to Braavos, escorted by Jaime Lannister. If they accomplish this great feat and make a significant contribution, I hope Your Majesty can pardon Jaime's death sentence. He is a true warrior."

As the Captain of the Kingsguard, Barristan Selmy had the privilege to point out any problem to the King at any time without being questioned.

"He killed my father," Daenerys said coldly.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"The Kingslayer's crime is unforgivable!"

Barristan was silent for a moment. He glanced at the generals in the hall and said, "Your Majesty, Jaime should be punished for his crimes and rewarded for his merits. This is very important."

"I will reward Cersei, but Jaime swore an oath, he was loyal to my father. He committed an unforgivable capital crime, and this cannot be changed."

"Very well, Your Majesty, the crime of regicide is unforgivable."

"Then, Ser Barristan, tell me what exactly happened back then?!"

"I'd rather speak to Your Majesty alone."

"Fine!"

"Your Majesty, I am worried about our dragons," Jorah Mormont said. His gaze was on Bran Stark, hoping the prophet could give him the answer he wanted: "Prophet Bran, even if Cersei, as you said, smoothly arrives in Braavos and persuades the Iron Bank to ally with us, it will be at least a month before we receive the news. And in this month, many unpredictable things can happen. Even if the Mountain does nothing in this month, and we want to achieve close cooperation with the Iron Bank and the Faceless Men, that will take at least another month. And of Your Majesty's three dragons, only Drogon is Your Majesty's mount. The other two dragons have no dragonriders. Without dragonriders, with the dragons near the Mountain, I am very worried…"

"Arianne Martell has become Viserys' dragonrider," Bran Stark said calmly.

Everyone was stunned!

This news shook everyone's hearts.

Jon and Ygritte exchanged glances, their eyes filled with the same shock.

The Mountain, besides the Sheep Stealer, has tamed another dragon?! Oh, no, not the Mountain, but Arianne. But Arianne is the Mountain's woman. Every soldier who participated in the Battle of Winterfell in the North knew this.

This is a public affair of passion! Known to all!

Daenerys suddenly stood up, losing control after being on the battlefield for so long!

In her heart, Drogon, Rhaegal, and Viserys were her children, the apples of her eye!

She could not tolerate the Mountain's woman, Arianne Martell, becoming the dragonrider of her children!

"The Martell family was originally a vassal of the Targaryen family," Daenerys said, her face ashen, her thin lips like knife edges, her gaze becoming cruel and ruthless.

"Arianne has Targaryen blood in her veins. She is a dragonseed. The Mountain taught her the dragon riding language. She gained Viserys' approval by feeding him every day. Arianne herself also has a natural affinity with dragons," Bran said faintly.

"In that case, the Mountain has two dragons?" Barristan Selmy's voice revealed sharp tension.

"Ser Barristan, even if the Mountain only has the Sheep Stealer, our three dragons would not be a match for the Sheep Stealer. The Sheep Stealer is two hundred and fifty-one years old this year, while Drogon, Rhaegal, and Viserys are only four years old."

"We are even more unable to defeat the Mountain who has two dragons. Even if we negotiate, the Mountain will definitely propose conditions that we cannot accept," Jorah said warily.

"On the battlefield, we indeed cannot defeat the Mountain who has dragons. That is why we must ally with the Iron Bank and the Faceless Men," Bran said faintly, "The Mountain initially deceived me, revealing that he wanted to support Jon as king. But in reality, he wants to conquer two continents: Westeros and Essos."

Jon Targaryen stepped forward, facing Bran: "Bran, are you going to use the Faceless Men to kill the Mountain?"

"If the Mountain sincerely supports you as king, and you support Daenerys as queen, then the Mountain is a vassal of our Targaryen family. Why would we kill our own vassal?" Bran asked calmly.

"Bran, the Iron Throne no longer belongs to the Targaryen family. The throne already belongs to the Baratheon family. Most of the nobles and people on the continent already only recognize the Baratheon family as their king," Jon said decisively, "Your Majesty, before Bran and I came here, we originally discussed in Winterfell to persuade you to return to Essos. You can be queen in Essos, while Westeros will elect its own king. The two sides negotiate, the flames of war are extinguished, and this winter will not leave millions of people without food and clothing, nor will tens of thousands of soldiers die in vain."

"Jon, the Mountain seized my dragons, destroyed my navy, captured my Hand, and drowned my deputy naval commander, Theon Greyjoy," Daenerys said coldly.

"Aunt, you brought a large army to attack Westeros. The warriors of Westeros will naturally fight you."

"No, you are wrong, Jon," Bran said indifferently, "You simply don't understand the Mountain. The Mountain's ambition is not just to seize the Iron Throne, he also wants to attack Essos. He wants to be the king of two continents. War is inevitable and completely provoked by the Mountain. I have seen the prophecies of the future, we must work together to stop him."

"No, Bran. When Her Majesty was still in Essos, the Mountain had already sent envoys to request peace talks. He made at least three efforts to negotiate. If he had ambition, why not ride the dragons and directly occupy Dragonstone, driving you all into the sea or burning you to ashes."

"The Mountain is not reckless, he has a very deep mind."

"Bran, I only see your machinations. You are no longer Bran, you are Brynden Rivers."

As soon as these words came out, Barristan Selmy, Jorah Mormont, and Daenerys Targaryen were all shocked.

Bran Stark is Brynden Rivers?!

The Green Prophet Brynden Rivers borrowed Bran's body to continue living?!

How is this possible?

How did he do it?!

Barristan, Jorah, Daenerys and others were all shocked! Unbelievable!

Only Bran remained calm as water, his breathing steady: "Jon, you are a Targaryen. The Targaryen family of the Westeros kingdom has been in charge for three hundred years. Are you going to watch this foundation be ruined in the hands of usurpers? It is only right to take back the family's throne. This is honor and responsibility."

"Don't forget your own identity. You are not a Stark bastard. You have Targaryen blood in your veins. Your father is Rhaegar Targaryen. You have the right of succession. From the perspective of family tradition and law, the Iron Throne should be inherited by you. You should have been the king leading us forward. The first conqueror, Aegon Targaryen, and his two wives jointly held the power. You should hold the power together with Queen Daenerys."

"According to the ancient traditions of pure family blood, you must marry Daenerys, so that the Targaryen family's bloodline can be continued, instead of being cut off from your generation."

The Mountain has already quietly spread Jon's true identity to undermine Daenerys' legitimacy to fight for the Iron Throne. Since that is the case, it is better to take the lead in making it public. Bran told Daenerys this through the Three-Eyed Raven beforehand.

Jon looked at Bran, the stubborn character of the Stark family as hard as rock and frozen soil: "Bran, any country has only one king. I will not be king, nor will I marry my aunt. The Old and New Gods are watching me, incest is an unforgivable sin."

Ygritte's tense face lit up. She looked at Jon's profile, her eyes shining brightly, as if there were two starlight twinkling in her pupils.

"Jon, I need your and the North's support," Daenerys said majestically.

"I will fully support you, my queen," Jon said, "But I hope you can stop the war and retreat to Essos. There have been enough wars in Westeros. Winter is coming soon. If it doesn't stop, hundreds of thousands of soldiers and people will die from war and hunger."

"Jon, Prophet Bran has already said that it is the Mountain who wants to launch a war, he wants to be the king of Essos."

"But what I saw was Her Majesty leading a large army into the territory of Westeros," Jon said sharply.

"Your Majesty," Bran said faintly, "You need to seize Jon Targaryen and throw him into the dungeon."

"No, he is my family."

"His person is a Targaryen, but his heart is a Stark. Seizing him will allow Eddard Stark of the North to acknowledge our kingship, and will also allow the Targaryen bloodline to continue. The dragon family must not cut off their bloodline."

"Bran! How can you do this!" Samwell Tarly finally couldn't bear it any longer and shouted sharply, "How can you treat Jon like this? He is your brother."

"Samwell, you should be on your way," Bran said faintly. He turned to Daenerys, "Daenerys, Samwell needs to go to the Starry Sept in Oldtown, find the High Septon, and get two documents proving Jon's identity. One is the document of Rhaegar and Elia's divorce, and the other is the document of Rhaegar and Lyanna's marriage. Daenerys, you need to restore Jon's true identity in the name of the queen, and then marry him."

"I will not go to Oldtown, I have changed my mind," Samwell Tarly said. The raven letter from Maester Aemon Targaryen of the Night's Watch has already been sent, and the letter has already stated that the person going to retrieve the documents is Night's Watchman Samwell Tarly.

"Daenerys, kill Samwell," Bran said faintly.

"No, don't!" Jon said sharply.

Daenerys shouted: "Jon, stand by my side, support me, let us take the Iron Throne together and deal with the Mountain and all the other enemies. We have the Green Prophet, the Iron Bank and the Faceless Men, no one can be our opponent anymore. I need your help, Jon."

"No, the Mountain is not my enemy."

"Then who is your enemy? Am I your enemy?"

"You are my queen."

"Since you serve me as king, you should obey my orders, not the other way around."

"I will not fight the Mountain, the North will not support you in attacking the Iron Throne, and will not support you in hiring the Faceless Men to assassinate the Mountain. You are making a huge mistake, Your Majesty."

"Jon, you are a Targaryen, not a Stark."

"I am a Targaryen, I am also a Stark, and I am also a warrior of Westeros."

Daenerys' gaze became sharp: "Come, seize Jon!"

Clang clang clang!

Ygritte, Tormund, Grenn, Samwell, Pyp, and Hollier all drew their swords at the same time, but in an instant, more longswords were drawn, surrounding Jon and his party.

Jon did not draw his sword, four swords were placed against his chest, back, cheeks, and abdomen!

*

Night.

Dragonstone Map Room.

Daenerys stood in front of the map table, Ser Barristan stood by her side in his white cloak. Bran Stark sat in his wheelchair, by the window, quite far from Daenerys. He looked out the window. From the map room, one could see the soldiers in the training yard outside and the lights on the ships in the harbor.

Footsteps sounded, Jon Targaryen was brought in by Aggo and Rakharo.

Daenerys waved her hand, Aggo and Rakharo turned and walked out, standing at the doorway of the map room.

"Jon, my family," Daenerys said, "We are now facing war, and there is no middle ground in war."

"This is not a war between the living and the dead."

"The Prophet has seen the future, the Mountain will launch a full-scale war."

Jon was silent.

"You don't believe Bran?"

"He is no longer the Bran I know."

The conversation was not going well!

"Jon, have a drink," Daenerys said.

"Your Majesty, release my brothers, no matter what you want, they are innocent."

"Jon, you must marry Daenerys." Bran's wheelchair, looking out the window, turned around, facing Jon from afar.

"My faith does not allow me to do this, Your Majesty. You are the most beautiful woman in the world, but I cannot convince myself."

"Did Ygritte and you officially marry?" Daenerys smiled.

As a woman, she could of course see how nervous Ygritte was about Jon.

Jon hesitated, not knowing how to answer.

Ygritte is a Free Folk, and the Free Folk like to be together if they like each other, it doesn't matter whether they are married or divorced. If a woman is pregnant, she will give birth if she is happy, and the woman will raise the child herself. If she is unhappy and doesn't want a child, she will drink tansy soup. In the Free Folk's view, all children are equal, and there is no such thing as a bastard.

But Jon and the others are different. They need a bishop or a scholar to officiate the marriage and write a document proving the marriage. Otherwise, it would not be considered an official marital relationship, and the children born would be bastards.

"You are not officially married!" Daenerys smiled. She handed Jon a glass of wine, "Jon, the Prophet wants us to marry and have children. This is not about our feelings, it is only to continue the family's bloodline, do you agree?"

"...I...can't... There have been many Targaryen alliances with outsiders. Why do we have to marry?"

Jon has the heart of a Stark, and Starks are stubborn. They adhere to principles and believe in the Old Gods.

"Targaryens are dragonlords. To ensure the purity of the bloodline of the Unburnt, so that more Unburnt descendants can be born," Bran Stark said calmly. "Jon, if you disagree, you are a traitor to the family, unforgivable."

"The awakening of the Unburnt bloodline doesn't necessarily require marriage within the family," Jon shouted at Bran.

"The Targaryen family is currently weak, and the situation is special, unlike in the past. We need to revitalize the family, we need descendants of pure blood."

Jon snorted!

Daenerys smiled and said, "Jon, if you disagree, your friends may not be able to leave here safely. How about this, Jon, if you promise to convince Duke Eddard Stark to support me, I will release Ygritte first."

Jon's hand holding the wine glass froze in mid-air! He looked at Daenerys, unmoving. After a long while, he heavily put down the wine glass: "Your Majesty, please lock me in the dungeon."

*

The next morning. Dragonstone.

Roar!

A dragon's roar came from the distant horizon.

Daenerys's face changed slightly in the Painted Table chamber: "Prophet Bran, the Mountain has come."

"The Mountain is here to negotiate, Daenerys, just talk to him."

"How to talk?"

"Besides the dragons, agree to all his demands."

Thank you [瓗琼] for the reward, thank you, handshake!