Aegor truly hadn't expected Asha to suddenly go mad and attack him.
But that didn't mean he panicked. From the moment he overstepped the vows of the Night's Watch and stepped onto the political stage, Aegor had known he was walking a dangerous path. He understood he would offend many powerful figures and interest groups and had long accepted that he would inevitably face all manner of strange attacks, threats, and assassination attempts.
He had prepared for this. He constantly remained vigilant and kept both his body and mind in a state of readiness.
The moment the Kraken's Daughter lunged at him, Aegor was already wearing full armor, with a sword at his waist. The only exposed area was his head—his only vulnerable point. In addition to the physical protection, there was also the silent enhancement R'hllor had granted him. Besides a slightly elevated body temperature and quicker healing, his reflexes and muscle strength had also unknowingly increased to a significant degree.
He leapt up almost instinctively, drew his longsword, and shouted loudly.
"Guards!"
Asha Greyjoy was a renowned female warrior. If she were fully armed and equipped, Aegor might have taken her more seriously. But right now, she had neither armor nor weapon. If he still couldn't best her in such a state, then he might as well crawl into a hole and forget about ever conquering Westeros.
But the third person in the room reacted just as quickly. Because of his short legs, Tyrion's feet didn't touch the ground when seated, so he couldn't stand up instantly like Aegor. Instead, he resorted to a different, rather messy solution—he stuck out his leg and tripped Asha as she rushed past him toward Aegor.
Whether it was her long time wearing shackles that had dulled her balance, or simply tunnel vision in her blind charge, Asha didn't react. Aegor had already braced himself to strike or parry her, but instead, she stumbled awkwardly and fell face-first into the dirt with a splat.
Guards swarmed into the tent, some moving to protect Tyrion, others restraining Asha. The Lannister dwarf raised his hands to signal he had nothing to do with it, while the Kraken's Daughter was instantly pinned by several burly men. Even with her face shoved into the cold ground, she struggled, screamed, and tried to claw her way toward Aegor. Fortunately, the resistance only lasted a few seconds before she abruptly ran out of strength, her eyes rolled back, and she fainted.
...
The banquet was ruined, the wine forgotten, and as for the spearwife Tyrion had been looking forward to—she was even less likely to appear now.
The entire allied camp was thrown into chaos.
Aegor had seen Tyrion trip Asha, but this sudden outburst, which began and ended so swiftly, occurred during the Westerlands delegation's visit and was committed by one of their members. Though Aegor didn't believe his friend was behind it, he still ordered Tyrion to be "invited" to another tent to wait. His attendants were detained, and the camp's alert level was raised to its highest, in case more attacks followed.
Barely a minute after regaining her freedom, Asha was once again in manacles and shackles. But cause must be followed to its source. Aegor ordered an immediate interrogation to determine why she had attacked and who had instructed her. Yet no results came. Upon waking, Asha insisted she had fainted just after entering the tent and had no memory of the attack.
Just as the furious Aegor was about to shift his suspicions to the Westerlands delegation, the Red Priestess arrived and solved the mystery.
"Interesting... this seems to be a divine mind demon seed," Melisandre murmured, placing her hand on Asha's head with a mix of surprise and curiosity, as if observing a rare creature. "I've heard of this obscure spell before, but this is my first time seeing it. I wonder who the caster is?"
Asha, tied to the chair, couldn't answer. Aegor, standing nearby with a frown, asked, "What kind of spell is that? How does it work? Does it make someone suddenly go mad and attack people?"
"The principle is not complicated, but casting it requires mastery of both hypnosis and mind-control magic," Melisandre replied calmly, still probing Asha's mind. "As far as I know, the last known master of this spell disappeared in the Doom of Valyria. Since then, the technique has been nearly lost. I say 'nearly' because some records survived, and the Red Temple in Volantis still possesses them. Technically, the spell could be restored, but in an age of dwindling magic, no priest has bothered with such an obscure and thankless task."
She continued, "A person afflicted with this spell behaves normally in daily life but will suddenly erupt when they encounter a specific trigger—seeing something, hearing a phrase. They lose their sense of self and become puppets, executing the instructions planted by the caster."
What kind of cursed world is this? Aegor suddenly missed Earth.
"It sounds terrifying, but the spell's flaws limit its use," Melisandre explained. "To cast it, one must possess great magical ability. Any caster capable of such magic is already powerful and likely has easier, more direct methods to achieve their goals. Moreover, the spell is difficult to cast and easy to detect. And those who are enemies of such a caster are rarely weaklings. Even if they lack magic, they are likely to be surrounded by capable guards. When triggered, the target loses all conscious control and cannot fully access their abilities. This seed, in particular, was poorly constructed. The caster was clearly inexperienced. Can you recall the last time you fainted or lost consciousness?"
Asha's eyes widened in shock and despair. With Melisandre's explanation, how could she not understand?
The strange unease that had haunted her mind for days... it was this.
She hadn't escaped Pyke by luck. She hadn't narrowly survived at the last second. It had all been a setup. Euron, with that sorcerous eye, had hypnotized her, planted the seed, then lured her uncle into rescuing her. Not only had he eliminated the final threat to his rule over the Iron Islands, he had also sent her straight back to Aegor... as a living weapon.
After such a move, how could she still expect Aegor to help her reclaim the Iron Islands?
It was like being stuffed in a metal box, thrown back and forth by fate. Asha had already endured so many failures and blows, she didn't even have the strength left to break down. If she hadn't been bound, she would have seized a nearby sword and ended it all, sending her hatred, ambition, and pride to hell.
"Can the spell be broken?"
"In theory, no," Melisandre replied, removing her hand from Asha's head. "Anything that touches the mind requires extraordinary skill, well beyond my expertise. But, as I said, the caster of this seed was not proficient. A proper divine mind demon seed, once planted, would continue to activate every time the trigger appears, until the host dies. But this one is crude. The content is basic and seems to have been designed for a single use."
"You're certain?"
"Yes. But if you're still worried, you can simply ensure she never approaches you again."
Aegor rubbed his chin thoughtfully, already piecing the story together. That madman Euron, during his journey into the ruins of Valyria, hadn't just picked up Valyrian steel armor and a dragon horn. He had apparently also acquired some minor scraps of ancient magic. It was like something out of a protagonist's tale. Fortunately, he hadn't mastered the spell fully. Just imagine—if the seed planted in Asha wasn't just a crude "attack on sight" command, but a more subtle order like "wait for the perfect moment to strike"...
How terrifying would that be?
He exhaled heavily, suppressing the irritation rising in his chest.
"Lady Asha, there's no use denying it. But now, you'd best stop looking like the world's treated you unfairly and start talking. Tell me everything that happened after you left Ice Canyon Port. Especially what you saw and heard before and after encountering Euron. You failed to kill the Crow's Eye, so now I'll have to go myself. If I can gather useful intelligence about the Iron Islands before then, I'll make sure that—for Theon's sake—you'll have a place in the future royal navy."
(To be continued.)
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◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)