On the side of Westeros near the Sunset Sea, there are many islands, such as the Iron Islands, the Shield Islands, and Bear Island.
Among the islands belonging to the Westerlands, the largest and most famous is Fair Isle.
Fair Isle stretches over two hundred kilometers in length, with an average width of about fifty kilometers. It lies close to the mainland on the east and faces the Sunset Sea on the west. Not only has a fertile estate been cultivated on the island, but a thriving fishing industry has also developed.
In fact, the two largest fishing grounds in the Westerlands are located at Fair Isle and Lannisport.
Fair Isle is also very close to the Westerlands' capital, Casterly Rock, with a straight-line distance of just over one hundred kilometers by raven.
However, a horn-shaped peninsula lies between Fair Isle and Casterly Rock, forcing sea routes to detour an extra three to four hundred kilometers.
Even so, ships full of refugees still sailed toward Faircastle on Fair Isle.
During the fall of Casterly Rock, neighboring Lannisport had more than two hours of warning time. Even if they could not form a strong defensive line, they could at least use the opportunity to send ships out from the harbor, evacuating tens of thousands of people.
Most of those ships headed to Fair Isle.
Because of this, the Targaryens and their dragons once again descended upon Faircastle, the seat of House Farman.
The close friend who stole three dragon eggs from the social princess Rhaena had come from House Farman of Faircastle.
More than two hundred years ago, during Maegor's reign, Rhaena had lived on Fair Isle with her dragon for many years. It was not until Lord Farman could no longer afford the princess's extravagant social expenses that he bluntly asked her to leave.
"Dragons! It's the Dragon Queen! The Dragon Queen has come! She's here to save us!"
Drogon let out a roar in the sky, and the crowd packed at the harbor erupted into cheers, many even moved to tears.
They were all refugees who had fled from Lannisport. After drifting at sea for two or three days, they had just arrived at the harbor and were still shaken. Seeing a dragon overhead, it was only natural that they lost their composure.
Soon, melodious horn calls echoed from the watchtowers of House Farman's castle.
The gates opened, and the lord, along with his knights, came to the square before the castle holding torches.
"I, Sebaston Farman, pay my respects to Your Grace."
The well-groomed, mustached middle-aged count seemed to have his own intentions, as he directly performed a grand gesture of submission, kneeling before Daenerys in the manner of a vassal greeting a king.
Behind him stood several lords, more than a dozen knights, along with several women and a large group of dozens of children.
Like Count Farman, everyone first paid their respects respectfully, then secretly cast curious glances at the Dragon Queen and the dragon beneath her.
Although Daenerys was somewhat surprised by the count's behavior, she did not show it. She lightly leaped down from her dragon and said with a faint smile, "Count Farman, please rise."
The mustached count then introduced the people behind him.
All the nobles present were his vassals, along with landed knights. The rest were his family: his wife, his sister, and their children.
One person who caught Daenerys's attention was the count's sister. Her name was striking: Jenny.
Both the first-generation broken betrothal Duncan and the third-generation broken betrothal Robb had married women named Jenny.
Aside from her name, what stood out even more was her children—thirteen of them.
And Jenny Farman was only a little over thirty-five.
Despite bearing thirteen children, she remained elegant and composed, with fair, firm skin and a full yet not overweight figure, like a woman in her thirties who had never given birth.
Her face was gentle and kind, possessing a beauty unique to mothers.
"Lady Jenny is truly blessed," Daenerys could not help but remark.
"Hehe, thanks to the Mother's blessings," Jenny replied with a gentle, slightly shy smile.
You look more like the Mother than I do, Daenerys thought to herself.
In the doctrine of the Seven, the Mother represents not only compassion but also fertility—having many children and abundant blessings.
Jenny's ability to bear so many children while remaining as she was did indeed make her seem favored by the Mother.
Count Farman noticed that the Dragon Queen seemed to have a favorable impression of his sister and tried to use the topic to grow closer.
"My sister suffered quite a bit in her childhood," he said as they walked into the hall.
"At that time, due to a misunderstanding between Duke Tywin and my father, Casterly Rock nearly sent troops against Fair Isle. My sister was sent as a hostage to Casterly Rock, serving as a maid to Queen Dowager Cersei… well, Miss Cersei. You know her temperament. My sister endured quite a lot."
There had been no misunderstanding at all. In truth, the count's father had simply been foolish. After Tywin had exterminated House Reyne of Castamere and risen to power as Hand of the King, he had somehow thought of raising troops to rebel against the Lannisters of Casterly Rock.
Tywin then sent a singer to Faircastle, who performed The Rains of Castamere in the castle hall. The elder Farman immediately came to his senses, drenched in cold sweat, and hurriedly sent his daughter to Casterly Rock as a hostage.
"Brother, Miss Cersei never abused me," Jenny said with a smile, shaking her head.
Daenerys smiled faintly and dropped a shocking piece of news. "Cersei is dead."
"Dead? How did she die?" everyone exclaimed in shock.
"She…" The smile faded from Daenerys's face as she sighed. "She was tortured to death by Euron."
"It was very tragic," she added briefly.
In truth, the dwarf had no need to place a chain of atonement scrolls on Cersei. The "Mark of Redemption" previously bestowed upon her by Daenerys already had a kind of "signal" effect. When Cersei died, Drogon was alerted, and the Stranger ensured that her soul would not fall into the hands of evil beings.
When Cersei encountered the High Sparrow, one could imagine the commotion it caused. The matter had practically reached the Mother herself.
"Cersei had always loved Prince Rhaegar. If she had been able to marry him, perhaps so many tragedies would not have happened," Jenny said, her eyes reddening with emotion.
"She said the same thing," Daenerys replied with a strange expression.
"She… Cersei? What do you mean?" the mustached count asked in confusion.
"Cersei is now in hell, confessing her sins to the Stranger. She has been confessing for an entire day and night."
As soon as those words were spoken, those around felt as if a cold wind brushed the backs of their necks, raising goosebumps.
"You must be joking, right?" the count said with a forced smile.
"I could send you to take a look, to see how she is confessing. What do you think?" Daenerys said eagerly.
"No, no, I don't want to go to the seven hells," the count replied, his face pale as he waved his hands repeatedly.
His sister Jenny, however, hesitated before asking, "If I visit her, can I comfort her soul?"
Daenerys looked at her in surprise, then nodded. "If she is willing to listen, then yes."
"Jenny, are you foolish? You're alive. Why would you want to go to hell?" the count exclaimed.
Daenerys smiled at the uncertain-looking Jenny. "You all know about the tragedy in the Westerlands. I will clear out the large groups of wights and will be staying in Faircastle during this time. You can take your time to think it over. Come to me when you've decided."
"I'll be staying here for a while. That won't be a problem, will it?" she added, turning to the count.
While clearing the wights in the Westerlands, Daenerys needed a base. The strait between Fair Isle and the mainland was only thirty to forty kilometers wide, and the island was close to many castles in the Westerlands.
There was no safer or more convenient place to station her forces than Faircastle.
The mustached count said excitedly, "It would be an honor for Faircastle. You may stay as long as you wish. I will have the servants prepare the West Garden at once. It was originally built for Queen Rhaena."
Strictly speaking, the "Queen of the West" and "Queen of the East" referred to the same person, the social queen Rhaena. When she lived on Fair Isle, she was called the Queen of the West; when she resided on Dragonstone, she was known as the Queen of the East.
Not long after, five wyverns arrived at Faircastle, bringing Jorah, Garth, and fifty Valyrian steel riders.
After another round of greetings, the women and children withdrew, while the lords and knights remained to hear the Dragon Queen's arrangements.
"First, some good news. Two days after Casterly Rock fell, it has already been successfully retaken."
"So quickly?"
"Casterly Rock is so deep and complex. It won't be easy to clear it out, will it?"
The count and his followers were skeptical.
"We investigated. There were no White Walkers, but there were warehouses full of gold," Jorah said with a strange expression.
"Gold…" The count's expression shifted, and a trace of greed flashed in his eyes.
Garth Hightower said calmly, "Prince Tyrion has already assumed the position of acting lord of Casterly Rock."
"Oh? What about Ser Jaime?" the count asked, testing the waters.
"He is grieving and recovering on Dragonstone," Daenerys replied casually, then began assigning tasks to the lords of Fair Isle.
There were mainly two tasks. First, send fleets to the mainland to receive refugees. Second, organize knights to form volunteer forces to follow the Dragon Queen in fighting the White Walkers.
"The terrain of the Westerlands is very unique. Many settlements are built along the coast, so sea rescue fleets are essential.
"Besides fishing boats, I hope Count Farman will mobilize the entire island, calling on all ships to form multiple fleets. Wherever there is a call for help, send a fleet to provide support."
"That should not be a problem," the count replied.
"But taking the initiative to confront the White Walker army… isn't that too dangerous? Even Winterfell suffered heavy losses while defending the city. How can we fight them in the open?" he asked with concern.
"Don't worry. This time is different. Without the Cold God and the Night King, ordinary White Walkers pose no real threat to humans."
Daenerys smiled confidently, hoping to inspire those around her.
The effect was not very good.
The nobles of Fair Isle exchanged glances, their expressions uncertain. How can the Dragon Queen say such things with a straight face? The White Walkers had already slaughtered Casterly Rock and Lannisport, killing 1.5 million people in the Westerlands. Yet she claimed they posed no threat?
Even before those 1.5 million corpses were turned into wights, they had already destroyed cities and kingdoms. Now, with millions more wights, did Westeros still have any hope?
To be honest, many of them felt despair.
Seeing their reaction, Jorah snorted coldly. "More than fifty thousand wights in Casterly Rock were cleared out by Her Grace in a single afternoon."
"How was that possible?" the count exclaimed.
"A forbidden spell," Daenerys said calmly.
"A forbidden spell?" The nobles of Fair Isle were both confused and horrified.
They were confused because they had no clear concept of such magic, but horrified because they knew the Cold God had used a forbidden spell to freeze Winterfell.
Even without fully understanding it, they knew such magic was extremely powerful. Thus, they readily handed over their forces. That very night, they assembled a two-thousand-strong "Westerlands Volunteer Corps" for the Dragon Queen.
Before dawn, another group of wyverns arrived from Dragonstone, bringing a large supply of dragonglass weapons, along with a fire mage and a Lannister.
"Why is it you? Where is Jaime?" Daenerys asked in surprise.
(End of Chapter)
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