In the presence of many members of the Night's Watch, Dany and Stannis reached three basic agreements:
1. Immediately send ravens to warn the lords of the North and remind them to prepare to cross the sea and migrate south.
2. Notify the nobles south of the Neck to prepare to establish second and third defensive lines.
3. Determine the Night King's location, after which the Dragon Queen and the Child of Prophecy would work together and attempt to kill him.
Almost everyone believed that the Night King might not go to the castles of the northern lords, but that he would certainly appear when attacking Winterfell. Therefore, Stannis and Dany would rendezvous at Winterfell.
Winterfell would become the main battlefield of the first great war against the Night King.
After the meeting ended, Dany went to Perestan's rookery.
"The Sanctuary was destroyed?" In the maester's study, she once again saw the red-eyed raven.
It was the same black raven that had previously stood by the small skylight, eavesdropping on everyone's conversation.
In other words, it was one of Bran's raven avatars.
"To pass beyond the Wall, the Sanctuary must first be destroyed. The Horn of Winter is also effective against the Sanctuary's defensive formations.
A tomb that had existed for millions of years was reduced to scorched earth in the flames. There is nothing left there." A trace of human-like sorrow flashed through the raven's eyes.
"Why didn't you discover the Horn of Winter in advance?"
"I don't know. It seemed to hide itself in my blind spots with the help of fate. Before the Sanctuary was destroyed, I had never even seen the Horn of Winter," the raven replied.
"Heh, isn't that because you never fully merged with the mark of the greenseer? Even now, you still retain a large part of the humanity belonging to 'Bran Stark,'" Dany sneered.
"This has nothing to do with me. The Horn of Winter already existed back in Brynden Rivers' time."
"Oh? A Three-Eyed Raven who knows how to shirk responsibility. Truly one of a kind in a million years," Dany continued to mock him.
"Caw, caw, caw!" The raven beat its wings excitedly and cried out loudly. "This isn't shirking responsibility. I'm just telling you that what Brynden couldn't do, I can't do either. No Three-Eyed Raven is omniscient or omnipotent. We are still at the mercy of fate."
The mockery at the corner of Dany's lips deepened. "On ordinary days, you claim to be capable of anything and everything, practically treating yourselves as gods who arrange the fate of all living beings.
Yet at the critical moment, you suddenly become so powerless, and still speak as if it were only natural."
"The Three-Eyed Raven never acts recklessly," the raven cried.
Dany nodded and agreed. "That's right. You get to define for yourselves whether your actions count as reckless. Of course, you have never acted recklessly."
"The Three-Eyed Raven has no honor and never sees the light of day, yet bears immense responsibility, selflessly dedicating an entire life. Every decision and every thought is not even one's own true will. Living like this…
If it were possible, I would rather be Bran Stark for my entire life," Bran said sadly.
"What did you come to see me for?" Dany frowned and changed the subject.
Bran fell silent for a moment. Only after his emotions had fully settled did he speak in a low voice. "You should repair the Wall and keep the formations within it functioning."
"The Wall has already collapsed. What's the use of repairing the formations?" Dany asked.
"To block the bitter cold winds from the north!"
"Block the wind?"
"You know that the Sanctuary is the gateway of the world, right? Have you ever thought about what kind of world lies beyond that gateway?"
Before learning the secrets of the world, Dany would have said that the far north was the Arctic Circle, and that going farther north might lead to the other end of the world, such as Asshai or Yi Ti.
"You're saying that our world is like a house, neither cold nor hot, and that it only grows colder because of the frigid winds blowing from the north?
And that the Wall is the house's main door, able to block the cold wind and keep the house warm?"
The raven nodded. "The Long Night has arrived. The cold wind beyond the world is like an icy, overwhelming flood, and the Wall is the dam that intercepts that torrent.
When the Wall was intact, it still couldn't block all of the icy deluge, let alone now, when the section at Eastwatch-by-the-Sea has collapsed.
Even if you repair the remaining formations, the cold will inevitably flood our world.
However, this process can be greatly delayed."
"Stannis might be able to kill the Night King."
"Do you really think that's possible?" the black raven asked in return.
"It's not completely impossible. If you're also willing to help, the chances will be much greater." Dany looked at it with burning eyes.
The black raven was silent for a long time before sighing. "After the Long Night descended, the river of fate seems to be shrouded in mist. Even I can't see through Stannis's final outcome.
Still, you're right. Since Stannis is willing to risk his life, there is always a sliver of hope.
I agree. As long as we find an opportunity, I will do everything I can to help him.
If the Night King can truly be killed, the Long Night certainly won't end immediately, but at least the world will escape its slide toward the abyss of extreme cold."
Well, the key was that Stannis was willing to risk his life.
He volunteered to take the lead and fight desperately. If he succeeded, Dany and Bran would save themselves a great deal of effort. If Stannis failed and died, they would still be able to learn part of the Night King's secrets through that battle.
The two reached a consensus, and the atmosphere became much more relaxed.
Dany then asked, "Have you found any information about the Horn of Winter from the trees since then?"
"Jon accidentally picked it up at the Fist of the First Men back then, and then he gave it to Sam."
Bran could not be omniscient or omnipotent, but he was, after all, a greenseer. The trees recorded everything. As long as he searched with a purpose, he could always find the information he wanted.
"Turns out the White Walker beneath the ship was after the horn, not Mance Rayder's son.
I was puzzled at the time. Even Stannis had no interest in the former King-Beyond-the-Wall's son, so why would the White Walkers set their sights on him?"
Dany felt a little awkward, but more than that, annoyed.
Back then, I should not have listened to that dead fat man. What use was it sending a White Walker to the Citadel?
Fine, it did have some use. After seeing a real White Walker, those maesters began warning the lords of the Seven Kingdoms to be on guard against the Long Night.
But compared to the Wall, what good was that token, halfhearted vigilance of the nobles of the Seven Kingdoms?
"Three-Eyed Raven, you have utterly failed in your duty. A White Walker raven carried the horn across tens of thousands of miles back beyond the Wall, and you knew nothing about it at all!"
In the blink of an eye, the Dragon Queen found someone else to take the blame.
"This is the arrangement of fate," Bran said in a deep voice.
Dany looked deeply at the raven, dispersing the last trace of reverence in her subconscious for the idea that the Three-Eyed Raven was omniscient.
"What do you think of Perestan's proposal to abandon the North?" she asked calmly.
"Abandoning the North is the best choice. Once the Wall is lost, the North has no natural defenses left," Bran replied with almost no hesitation, as if the North were inhabited by Lannisters rather than Starks.
"In that case, inform Jon Stark. Have the King in the North call on his people to migrate south together."
"I tried to persuade him, but he refused. Jon swore to live and die with Winterfell," Bran said, his tone complicated.
Dany pursed her lips and asked again, "The sanctuary has been destroyed. Where are you now? Are Leaf and the others still alive?"
"All the Children of the Forest are alive. They are with me, in 'Goni's Passage.' From the sanctuary to the Wall, there are several thousand kilometers of underground caverns."
"Do you plan to hide in tunnels for the rest of your life?"
"The people of Westeros are not friendly to skinchangers. Only after suffering the devastation of the White Walkers will they understand the meaning of the Three-Eyed Raven. When that time comes, I will naturally appear before them," Bran said honestly.
"What happened last time when the Seal of the Green Seer shattered?"
"The Seal of the Green Seer is very powerful, and also very fragile," Bran replied evasively.
Dany looked deeply at it again and asked, "You still retain the will of 'Bran Stark' now. That was deliberate, wasn't it? How many fragments of the Seal of the Green Seer have you fused, and how many remain?"
"That has nothing to do with you." Bran's tone turned cold.
He had indeed done it deliberately.
When the Seal of the Green Seer shattered, Dany picked up only one percent, and the White Walker King seized only ten percent before being driven out of the 'Stark Will Alliance' by Bran, Jon, Arya, and the others.
If the White Walker King could capture Bran and turn him into a wight, it could seize the entirety of the Seal of the Green Seer through the mental channel of "Wight Bran."
Unfortunately, last time it failed to kill Bran.
The fragments it managed to seize were thanks largely to Arya's mental connection.
To put it plainly, the White Walker King only stole a chicken indirectly through Arya and never truly entered the "arboreal consciousness domain of the Green Seers," where the Seal of the Green Seer was preserved.
Even with only ninety percent of the Seal remaining, it would have been enough to assimilate Bran into an emotionless AI, like Brynden Rivers back then.
The reason the Seal of the Green Seer shattered was entirely because Bran resisted being assimilated.
As Bran himself had said, the Seal of the Green Seer was immensely powerful and could multiply a person's will countless times over.
At the same time, it could not exist apart from a Green Seer, nor could it function independently.
Otherwise, what need would there be for successive generations of Three-Eyed Ravens?
They might as well let the Seal of the Green Seer itself take charge of everything.
In fact, the Seal of the Green Seer shattering into countless pieces was a good thing for Bran, who possessed independent consciousness.
He could fuse the tiny fragments one by one, always ensuring that his own will would not be eroded by the Seal.
In other words, Dany's guess was correct. Bran still had a large portion of the Green Seer fragments piled up unused in "storage."
"Since you are unwilling to shoulder the responsibility, why not hand the burden over to me? For the sake of all living beings, no matter how tiring or bitter it is, I will gladly endure it!" Dany declared righteously, radiating a fearless and heroic aura.
"You are far too greedy. You have already obtained the Mother Goddess's divine realm, yet you still covet the Green Seer's sacred legacy," Bran said angrily, flapping his wings and croaking in rage.
"I am merely willing to take responsibility. That alone makes me ten thousand times better than your sitting in office and doing nothing!" Dany retorted with righteous severity.
"One day, I will fuse all the fragments and reforge the Seal of the Green Seer," Bran said, as if making a vow.
"Give me one percent, as payment for repairing the Wall," Dany proposed.
"Isn't repairing the Wall your responsibility as the inheritor of the Mother Goddess?" Bran snapped angrily.
"Fine. As the inheritor of the Gate Guardian, I cannot take benefits without bearing responsibility. Likewise, as the inheritor of the weirwood's divine realm, I have the right to demand believers for that realm."
"You want us, these followers of the Old Gods?" Bran asked in disbelief.
"No. I have no interest in your human followers. I want only the Children of the Forest. Alive or dead, I want them all!"
The corner of Dany's mouth curved into a faint smile as she revealed her true purpose.
"They will not go with you," Bran said hesitantly.
"Call all the ravens here first. I will ask them one by one and persuade them one by one," Dany said with a smile.
"They are my companions!" Bran could barely contain his anger.
"They are not your slaves. They have the freedom to pursue a better future!"
"Assisting the Three-Eyed Raven in safeguarding the continent of Westeros is their pursuit."
Dany shot it a disdainful glance and said, "Because you Three-Eyed Ravens neglected your duty, you lost the Horn of Winter. And because you were unwilling to sacrifice the small self, the Seal of the Green Seer shattered, so much so that you did not even notice the White Walker King arriving beneath the Wall.
With that, do you still have the face to call yourselves the guardians of Westeros?
I think handing the Seal of the Green Seer over to me and disbanding the organization of the Three-Eyed Raven altogether would be the greatest protection for the Seven Kingdoms, for the world, and for humanity!"
(End of chapter)
Want to read the chapters in Advance? Join my Patreon
https://patreon.com/Glimmer09