The Mountain of Ice and Fire

“Arya, this isn’t an interrogation,” the Mountain said seriously.

“Uh-huh!”

“Because the dragons are flying in the sky once more, and the Great Sage’s flame mysteries have been revived. The Great Sage hopes I can ask you, how much of an understanding do you have of fire?”

“Is that the Great Sage’s meaning or His Majesty the King’s?”

“It’s the Great Sage’s meaning, and also my meaning.”

“Regarding fire, I still need more understanding.”

“I hope to take a look.”

“Your Majesty, you’d best not look.”

“I want to take a look.” The Mountain slightly raised his voice, his tone resolute.

Arya glanced at the Mountain with a strange look, as if the Mountain’s request was a very childish decision.

“Are you sure? My Majesty the King.”

“Yes, I’m very sure.”

“Alright!”

Arya hung her riding whip on the saddle, extended her right hand, her fingers fair and slender, she pinched her thumb and middle finger and index finger together, as if making a heart shape to the Mountain, the tips of the three fingers twirled, and a spark of flame jumped out on her thumb, like the flame of a small candle.

If it were a candle flame, it would have been extinguished by the rushing wind on the back of a galloping horse long ago. But this tiny spark of flame, only had a small shake, on the back of the galloping horse, it was like a finger of flame, not changing the shape of the flame because of the wind.

“Anything else?” The Mountain’s gaze only showed a small surprise. A flame appearing on a finger, the jesters and magicians in the royal palace could also do this, of course, the Mountain didn’t understand the principles behind it. Jesters were comedic actors, and magicians also relied on pleasing the royal family and nobles for a living, their finger-flame performances were all fake, mere sleight of hand.

So, what about Arya’s flame? Was there any magical power?

Arya’s thumb touched the other four fingers in turn, and each time it touched, a spark of flame appeared on the fingertip of the touched finger.

Five fingers, five points of flame burning on the fingertips.

This was extremely similar to the flame performances of magicians.

Behind her, Melisandre’s gaze became deep and focused, her heart-shaped face becoming even more rosy. The large ruby hanging on her neck shone brightly, as if a leaping flame was about to fly out of her ruby.

Not too far away, One-Legged Anguy, Jeyne Foote, One-Eyed Timett, Ser Erryn and others all cheered in unison.

They didn’t know that Arya’s flame was a magical flame, they equated the flames on Arya’s fingertips with the performances of magicians and comedic actors in the royal palace.

“Your Majesty, what exactly do you want to see?”

“I want to see the aggressiveness of the flame,” the Mountain said in a deep voice.

This was what he was looking forward to, he hoped that Arya would become stronger, possessing skills that other Faceless Men didn’t have.

Arya flicked her index finger with her right thumb, and the spark of fire on her index finger shot out with a whoosh, landing on the red roan’s mane, with a bang, the red roan’s mane instantly burst into a flame, as if a huge red mushroom suddenly bloomed on the Mountain’s horse.

The Mountain was shocked, all he saw was a red of flames, the heat was overwhelming, scorching his skin instantly. The red roan was also surprised, neighing strangely, with a whoosh, it shot out like an arrow, leaving behind a trail of red smoke, the bright red tail dragging a fiery tail…

Everyone was shocked, shouting in unison, and Melisandre was also taken aback.

Melisandre’s flames could also be shaped into various objects or animals through the five-colored powder in her red robe, but Melisandre’s flames were rarely used as weapons of attack, she more often interpreted the metaphors of the Red God from the flames. But Arya’s flame was a pure weapon, just like another sword of hers.

Boom!

With a loud noise, the red roan turned into a red shadow, leaping into a lake by the roadside, the rapidly submerging flames completely extinguished the flames on its mane. In the Riverlands, there were lakes and rivers everywhere. The famous Trident River Basin had no shortage of water.

Small rivers, lakes, the Trident River, the headwaters of the Blackwater Rush, the Gods Eye lake, were all within the territory of the Riverlands.

“Arya, you can use flames to frighten the red roan and His Majesty the King,” Captain Erryn reprimanded sternly.

As an old vassal of the Stark family, Erryn’s relationship with Arya was actually not bad. Arya had been a wild child since she was little, fearless, often beating boys bigger than her black and blue. Erryn was the one who instigated Arya to drink alcohol and ride a horse for the first time.

Erryn had also been Eddard Stark’s guard, and had risen to the position of captain of the guard. When a coup d’état occurred in the royal palace in King's Landing in 289 AC and Eddard’s guards and family servants were killed by Cersei, Erryn, who was ordered to go to the Westerlands to crusade against the Mountain, was subdued by the Mountain and made the Mountain’s captain of the guard.

But he had always regarded himself as an old vassal of the Stark family.

Arya didn’t argue when Erryn reprimanded her, she cracked her riding whip in the air, and the warhorse beneath her flew out like a fly.

When Arya arrived at the lake, the Mountain and the red roan were stepping out of the lake step by step.

This filled Arya’s eyes with astonishment, you had to know that the red roan’s size was more robust and majestic than the most divine warhorse, and the Mountain’s weight far exceeded that of ordinary people. With the weight of the red roan and the Mountain combined, how could they easily walk out of the lake?

You had to know that the soil at the bottom of the lake was muddy!

Arya was a little dumbfounded!

The Mountain was covered in water, his armor and greatsword were still fine on his body, water droplets dripped down from the red roan’s body, like beads of bright red blood. The red roan’s sweat was the color of blood, and its fur and skin were also the red of flames. The lake water behind the red roan as it carried the Mountain was a bloody red.

The Mountain saw Arya’s tongue-tied expression, Arya was still a teenage girl, although she was a Faceless Man, all the surprise and curiosity that a girl should have about new things still existed.

“Arya, the red roan runs through the swamps as if it were on land,” the Mountain took off his huge helmet and poured out the lake water.

“Even the sinking swamps can’t trap the red roan?” Arya asked in surprise. She was already impressed by the red roan’s speed, the speed at which the red roan ran just now was as fast as light smoke, and even arrows couldn’t catch up when the red roan’s speed burst forth.

“I don’t know if the swamps of the Neck can trap the red roan, but the most poisonous miasma and the most frightening swamps of the Claw Isle are the red roan’s home.”

Arya noticed that the red roan’s eyes were crimson red, like two balls of burning flame, and ten stars of flame instantly burned on the ten fingertips of her two palms: “Mountain, the red roan wants to kill me.”

“The red roan is the king of land running, in the sky, the highest magical creature is the dragon, on the ground, the fastest magical creature is the red roan. The shadowcats, lions, and direwolves of the Claw Isle are all afraid of the red roan and dare not approach it. Wherever it goes, birds and beasts flee. It’s only natural that it wants to kill you for scaring it with fire.”

Arya stared intently at the red roan, but the red roan was obviously no longer afraid of the flames on her fingers, the red roan paused slightly in the lake water, and Arya immediately knew that it would launch a fatal attack on her.

“Mountain, can’t you stop it?” Arya’s sharp eyes and tone were like a blade, pressing the Mountain.

“Why don’t you run?” The Mountain laughed loudly.

In the loud laughter, the red roan ran out of the lake like a fly, the nearshore lake water was not deep, the red roan and the Mountain had already revealed a high part of their bodies above the water, the lake water only submerged below the red roan’s knee bend.

The lake water parted from the middle with a crash, and the red roan’s running brought up a splash of flying white water, as if a flying water dragon slammed into the lake shore. Not far away, the five hundred or so Clegane guards cheered in unison, cheering for the red roan.

Arya’s face and eyes were originally like a narrow sword drawn from its sheath, but at the moment when the red roan rushed ashore with surging water, she turned her horse’s head and galloped wildly towards the way she came. This time, Arya, who had always been reluctant to whip her warhorse, wildly whipped its buttocks with the riding whip in her hand, and the sound of the whips cracking echoed densely. The warhorse fled for its life like a fly, as fast as an arrow shot from a bow.

The generals let out a burst of loud laughter!

A charming smile also rippled across Melisandre’s beautiful face, her eyes flowed, charming and captivating, confusing all beings.

The Mountain let the red roan ashore, shouting loudly, pretending to chase Arya. Arya didn’t turn her head back, and soon rushed into a small forest. She wanted to use the inconvenience of the small forest to block the red roan’s pursuit. The red roan’s speed and endurance were not comparable to the warhorses of the Claw Isle. The overlord of magical creatures in the sky was the dragon, and on the ground, it was the red roan.

When the Mountain reined in the red roan and laughed loudly, Arya and her horse had disappeared into the forest.

The nemesis of warhorses was the red roan. If the red roan made a threatening sound of attack, it would make warhorses that had not undergone special training become soft and weak, and flee in panic.

“Your Majesty, you need to change your clothes.” The twelve accompanying civil officials jumped off their horses together, and they took clothes for His Majesty the King from the packages in the packhorses.

The Mountain jumped off the red roan, spread his hands, and his adopted sons, Wagner Gahl and Comm Warner, together with two Claw Isle guards, untied his armor for him. Other guards brought dry towels to dry His Majesty the King’s not-so-long hair.

Melisandre’s warhorse came to the Mountain’s side with small steps: “Your Majesty, Arya’s magical flame won’t hurt you, nor will it burn the red roan. She has a natural sensitivity to flame magic, and her control is excellent.”

The Mountain knew that the flame wouldn’t hurt him and the red roan before the red roan jumped into the lake, the flame had a compelling temperature, but there was no burning sensation. The red roan’s mane didn’t catch fire either. This was amazing, perhaps it had a lot to do with the revival of the power of flame magic.

“How is Arya’s shadow guard training going?” the Mountain asked Melisandre.

Melisandre’s shadow guard had protected her alone for twelve thousand miles, traversing the continent of Essos and the continent of Westeros, which were full of mercenaries. The power of that shadow guard was truly extraordinary.

“Arya only needs a little guidance,” Melisandre said.

The Mountain was overjoyed in his heart, but remained calm on the surface.

Some people were born with a good voice, such as the wandering singer Marillion who once fascinated Lysa Tully in the Eyrie; some people were born with an imposing presence, such as Prime Minister Jon Arryn; some people were destined to be a strongman from birth, with a burly figure that was different from ordinary people, with great strength that no one could match, such as the Mountain himself; and some people were born to be the top assassin embryos, such as Arya.

Arya only needed a little guidance to learn the secret technique of Melisandre’s shadow guard! What was this if not talent? The gods were feeding her, there was nothing that could be done about it, envy was useless.

The Mountain changed his clothes, put on his wiped-clean armor again, and the beautiful time of the morning had completely passed, and the southern sun in late autumn was also emitting heat.

The group continued forward, and no one cared about the escaped Arya. His Majesty the King said that Arya would come back on her own. As a Faceless Man, Arya would never escape; when the red roan’s horns pierced her warhorse to death, her flames and narrow sword would definitely severely injure the red roan; but as an ordinary sword guard, a young swordswoman, Arya chose to escape like a fly.

The Mountain was taken to the lake by the red roan, he was not ashamed and angry, nor did he threaten to severely punish Arya because of this, his mood was very good instead.

The stronger Arya was, the more at ease he was.

Since the Green Prophet Brynden Rivers had seized Bran Stark’s body and soul and gone to Braavos, the Mountain had prepared for the worst: he believed that the Green Prophet would hire the Faceless Men to assassinate him. This was the method that could kill him the most, assassination, which needed to be handed over to the most professional people to do.

The Mountain didn’t know how to face the assassination of the Faceless Men, but Arya knew.

The Mountain hoped that whatever the Faceless Men knew, Arya would know. And what Arya knew, the Faceless Men would not know.

*

At noon, the team slowed down, and about a hundred miles to the right of the team was the famous Harrenhal. The owner of Harrenhal was Lord Petyr Baelish, the cursed Harrenhal was said to kill all its owners, starting from Harren the Black, the builder of Harrenhal, six generations of lords had died inside Harrenhal, and Lord Petyr Baelish was the seventh generation castle lord, but he was living well now, although Petyr was unhappy because he had not become the prime minister of the country, he was still the Mountain’s Minister of Finance.

More than five hundred cavalry and thousands of warhorses arrived at the most famous Inn at the Crossroads of the Trident.

This inn had been burned down several times during the civil war, and the owners had also changed several times. But because this was a necessary passage, connecting the Vale, King’s Landing, the Westerlands, the North, and the Riverlands, because of its unique geographical advantage. Opening an inn here could earn a lot of money. So no matter how cruel the flames of the civil war were, as long as the war stopped slightly, it wouldn’t be long before someone would open an inn here again.

The crowd rested in the inn, and before long, the sound of hooves rang out, and Arya slowly appeared at the gate of the inn’s courtyard on horseback. To her relief, the red roan tied in the middle of the courtyard only looked up at her, then lowered its head and continued to eat the carefully prepared fodder.

Aria dismounted, wary of the crimson smoke beast. Then, she noticed a middle-aged stableman standing in the corner of the stables. He had a wooden expression, was barefoot, and wore a coarse linen shirt. Aria's gaze instantly sharpened.

This servant was from the House of Black and White. He was the one who gave Aria the name 'Beth' and trained the blind Aria in combat and perception in the dark – a Faceless Man.