King's Landing.
The aftermath of the massacre was being cleared away throughout the castle. The exhausted Kingslayer was dragged off to the dungeons. The room was covered in blood and a pile of corpses. Robert stood over the dead body of Joffrey, who had suffered a deep cut on his neck during the massacre, which had been his death.
He was overwhelmed with rage. For so many years, he had lived side by side with the snake that had been constantly poisoning him. He needed to vent his anger, but he couldn't. The Kingslayer was led away, like his sister, to the cells. Joffrey was dead, and all the Lannister supporters in the room were dead. Now Stannis and Renly's men were taking control of the castle. Only a couple of guards remained in the room: Stannis, Jon, Varys, and the Imp.
"Robert," Jon approached his student. "So many years," his voice was full of anger. "So many years this snake has poisoned my life, and her entire line. She gave me nothing: no happiness, no heirs, nothing. Only poison, nothing but poison."
"But now we can bring her to justice. There will be a trial."
"No!" He looked at the Hand, his eyes wild. "I will kill this bitch without a trial! And her fucking brother too! And all their children into the bargain!"
"No, Robert!" Jon raised his voice for the first time. "You will not touch Tommen and Myrcela! They are children!"
"Children! The children of my bitch of a wife and her brother! She passed them off as mine, and that bastard Joffrey too! For almost fifteen fucking years I thought they were mine! And now you expect me to spare them?!"
"Yes!" Jon softened his voice. "Don't forget, they didn't know this, and they are still Tywin's grandchildren." Can you even imagine what will happen if you kill them?
- I don't care, Jon! And I don't care about that bastard Tywin either! If he declares war, I'll crush him with pleasure!
- And you'll cause a ton of trouble, both in the Westerlands and elsewhere. No. We'll use them as leverage against Tywin. We'll turn everything to our advantage. The old lion isn't an idiot and won't turn against everyone. He'll be forced to yield to us in exchange for the lives of his grandchildren and children. Seeing the king calming down, Jon continued to appeal to his pity. - Don't let rage fill your mind, Robert. What's the point of taking it out on innocent children for their parents' sins? You've seen for yourself how good they are, unlike Joffrey.
Jon was right. Robert remembered how he sometimes spent time with Myrcela and Tomen. They were different, not like Joffrey's brat. Simple and naive children. The anger began to fade.
"Fine, have it your way," Robert glanced at Tyrion. "And he?" Then he turned his gaze to Stannis. "Did he know?"
"Unlikely. Given his relationship with his family, they certainly wouldn't have told him. Who were the men watching him? He has no crimes against the crown."
"Hmm." Robert even felt a little sorry for the dwarf. Of all the Lannisters, he liked him the most. His intelligence rivaled that of the cleverest, and his merry, hard-drinking lifestyle had always appealed to Robert. "The Imp."
"Yes, Your Majesty." He spoke surprisingly calmly, but Robert could see how worried he was.
"Of all the Lannisters, you irritate me the least. Besides, my brother considers you innocent of your brother and sister's crimes. So you will remain here. Don't worry, nothing will happen to you."
"Thank you, Your Grace."
Robert looked at Stannis.
"How long did you plan to keep quiet, Stannis? I wonder when he told me about the Lannister plot. Judging by this stranger's story, they succeeded. And I was most likely eliminated by them."
"I don't know what happened there. But now everything has changed. We planned to tell you later. But it seems that was a mistake."
"A mistake that cost the Seven Kingdoms dearly. Oh, forgive the 'former Seven Kingdoms,' after all, Ned's son rebelled against the crown. And why him? What happened to his father?"
"I'm afraid I have a rather terrifying theory, Your Grace." Spider drew everyone's attention to himself. "Considering that Jon Arryn was investigating the Lannisters, we must assume they managed to get to him after all. Jon agreed with him, otherwise he couldn't explain how Joffrey came to the throne?" "And I want to ask. Who would you appoint instead of Jon Arryn?"
"Ned, of course!" Stannis frowned at these words. "What are you getting at?" "That's the whole point. I'm afraid if Jon Arryn and your brother knew about your wife's secret, then why shouldn't Ned Stark know?"
And then it dawned on Robert. Why hadn't Ned been shown, but his son. And he understood why the North and the Riverlands had risen up against Joffrey.
"They killed Ned, too." Rage began to fill him again. He remembered how, as a child, he'd spent time with his best friend, who had become like a brother to him. "Yes, I... I'm for that..." A chill ran down everyone's spines, seeing their king's rage. The last thing they wanted was to get caught in the crossfire.
"Robert!" Jon drew his charge's attention. "Calm down. Things are different now. Ned is alive, and the Lannister conspiracy has been nipped in the bud. We've changed a lot and perhaps prevented a war."
"One of the THREE wars, Lord Hand," Varys reminded him of the mirrors that had so far shown the future, "and we'd better know about the other two."
"Agreed," Stannis turned his gaze to Barristan and Arys Oakheart. "Guard Tommen and Myrcela. Anyone who dares touch them will be considered an enemy of the crown." The guards nodded and went to carry out the order. "Robert, Renly is currently restoring order in the castle. We'll deal with the Lannisters later."
Robert took a deep breath and exhaled. Having calmed down somewhat, he glanced around the room and noticed someone else was missing.
"Where are Pycelle and Baelish?"
"They've both escaped." The old man had run much faster, though—Jon Arryn wasn't particularly surprised. He'd long known about the maester's false image.
"Really? Ha. Must have sensed danger for his old man's ass." "Nothing funny, Robert. He probably serves the Lannisters and definitely didn't just run away. I'll go and apprehend him and help Renly. We have a lot of work ahead of us. The next couple of days will certainly be turbulent throughout Westeros. Surely all the lords will begin preparing for threats from others, given what these mirrors are showing us. And one can only guess who will be whose enemy in other wars."
I had to endure a lot back then too. Of course, I had my own war, so to speak. On the Wall, when I was a brother of the Night's Watch.
The Great Wall and the Night's Watch are shown.
My life wasn't easy anyway. Bastard—that one word says it all. For most of Westeros, they are the product of sin, bringing no good. And here's what I'll say.
Let anyone who thinks and supports this know that they are a two-faced creature and a bitch who should be put to death.
What kind of abomination is this?! How can you even think that about a person who didn't choose who they would be born as? What is our fault? Why doesn't anyone condemn this "noble and honest" man who abandoned a mother and child to their fate and gave him a bastard's name? Why should a child suffer their entire life because of their parent's sin? To have nothing, and then to be the scum of society. But this damned belief in the Seven reminds us so well of our destiny and origins.
Every bastard in all of Westeros supported these words with great fervor. No one understood how difficult it was for bastards to build their lives in this world. On the other hand, many were ashamed by these words.
King's Landing.
Robert felt lousy. His mood had already been foul, thanks to the revelation of the Kingslayer's bastards. But now he felt something else. Shame? Absolutely. Self-loathing? Obviously. Responsibility to his bastards? Of course.
He'd long since acknowledged that he'd acted poorly toward the other women who had borne his children. He'd left them with their problems while he went off to father more bastards. And so it went. And then there was the constant cheating on his wife. Yes, Cersei was a nasty woman, but still a wife. And now he realized just how lousy that feeling was. He truly had acted badly. And the further he looked into the future, the more he realized the consequences of his actions. Because of his negligence, those close to him had died: Jon, Ned, Stannis, Renly, and others. The Seven Kingdoms had plunged into war. And the common people had begun to suffer.
He really was a lousy king.
Abomination. Simply abomination.
How disgusting the faith of the Seven and its followers is. And I'm glad there's so little of it left. There are still people who believe in the Seven. But mark my words. If I survive, I will definitely change all their laws. Such a religion cannot exist. The remaining followers will have a choice.
Either embrace the new faith of the Seven, or bid it farewell forever. It will no longer defile the lives of bastards. It will not deal harshly with those who violate its principles. And it will certainly not rule in Westeros.
The most dedicated believers in the Seven were simply furious at these words. For them, it was like a slap in the face. What they had believed and followed their entire lives would be so mercilessly desecrated by a bastard.
Meanwhile, the Northerners happily supported these words. They were quite infuriated by this faith.
Someone reading these notes will probably think I hate the belief in the Seven. In a way, yes, but I still don't consider it false or anything like that. I don't really care what someone believes in. Be it the Seven, the Old Gods, the Drowned God, or even R'hllor. I'm irritated by their followers, who, hiding behind their faith, dare to judge others. I know this firsthand, thanks to two "persons."
Oh well, I've strayed from my original thought.
I met many friends in the Night's Watch.
Images shown: Sam, Grenn, Pyp, Jeren, Dareon, Albert, Halder, Edd
Worthy men and mentors.
Images shown: Jeor Mormont, Maester Aemon, Couren Halfhand.
And he made enemies, too.
An image of Allister Thorne, Bowen Marsh, and Othell Yarwyck is shown.
The people shown were very surprised to see themselves. It was a surprise to them.
The Night's Watch.
Mormont scratched his beard and chuckled. He certainly hadn't expected the mysterious voice to be his apprentice. He was already very interested in learning the identity of this storyteller, and quickly. This was definitely becoming a hot topic of conversation.
Allister, sitting next to him, merely snorted.
And there I met my first love.
An image of a red-haired girl is shown.
I've had many other women, but a part of my heart will always remember her. I still recall her wild spirit, typical of a woman of the free folk. Although many would consider it a joke. A brother of the Night's Watch and a wildling. But looking back now, I would break the jaw of anyone who said that about her, or any of the other free folk.
They became as much a people to me as the people of the north. After all, we are descended from the First Men. And we fought together in the last wars, shoulder to shoulder. Many of them were worthy people and loyal allies.
It's a shame there are so few of them left. Of a great people numbering over a hundred thousand, only about fifteen hundred remain. I hope that after the war, the descendants of the First Men will forget their strife forever and become one people again.
Funny, isn't it, Mance?