Although the coup that erupted in the Red Keep had ended, and a new king had ascended the Iron Throne, the ensuing aftermath had not ended and continued to spread outwards from the Red Keep as its center.
The residents of King's Landing bore the brunt. Originally, the people of King's Landing thought that the power struggles within the court had nothing to do with them, and they were just spectators. But what they didn't expect was that after Joffrey's ascension, he immediately began a wave of purges against the people in King's Landing.
All nobles, merchants, and even ordinary people who had associated with Eddard Stark during his time as King's Hand and Regent of the Kingdom were arrested and charged as accomplices in treason.
Originally, the Gold Cloaks needed evidence to make arrests, but with the emergence of certain interests, arrests became baseless. As long as they believed you were guilty, you were. Many innocent people were imprisoned, and their family properties were confiscated by the Gold Cloaks, with a portion going into the Gold Cloaks' pockets and another portion handed over to Cersei and Joffrey.
Gavin was just an ordinary blacksmith on Steel Street. He didn't even know Lord Eddard Stark, yet when the Gold Cloaks found him, they accused him of being an accomplice in treason, simply because Eddard Stark's servant had brought Eddard Stark's longsword scabbard to him for repair.
At that time, the Gold Cloaks were about to arrest him. He knew very well that once he was caught and thrown into their prison, he would never come out again. So, he took advantage of the Gold Cloaks' inattention, knocked down two of his captors, and then, relying on his familiarity with the surroundings, escaped their pursuit.
However, even though he escaped the pursuit, he was still in great danger, because the Gold Cloaks had sealed all the city gates, allowing people in but not out. He had no way to escape, and once the Gold Cloaks imposed a full lockdown and conducted searches, his capture was only a matter of time.
Therefore, he now had to find a place where the Gold Cloaks dared not search and that could provide him shelter. There was only one such place in all of King's Landing: the Great Sept of Baelor.
Thinking of this, he immediately stole a set of clothes, disguised himself as a vagrant, and walked along a small path on Steel Street, heading towards the Great Sept of Baelor.
Originally, he planned to enter the Great Sept through its back door, but the back door was now blocked, and there were Gold Cloaks guarding the entrance. He had no choice but to use the front door.
At the front door, several teams of Gold Cloaks patrolled back and forth, and Gold Cloaks stood guard in the square in front of the main entrance. This was because King Robert's body was currently laid to rest inside the Great Sept, awaiting burial in the royal crypts.
Under these circumstances, the Great Sept generally did not receive outsiders. Gavin clearly had not thought of this and simply walked directly into the Great Sept, so he was quickly stopped by the Gold Cloaks.
At first, the Gold Cloaks thought Gavin was just an ordinary worshipper, so they merely used their spears to drive him away. But they quickly noticed Gavin's expression was off, appearing very flustered, so they stopped him and prepared to question him.
Gavin was completely flustered. He hadn't expected to be seen through by the Gold Cloaks, and his hand, clenched around a wooden stick in his sleeve, was ready to strike them down when they weren't looking, then escape again.
However, the various screams that suddenly erupted from the Gold Cloaks and the crowd in Baelor's Plaza nearby made Gavin and the Gold Cloak who had stopped him instinctively look over. Then they saw countless people pointing at the sky and shouting loudly.
The two followed the direction of the crowd's fingers and looked up at the sky. They saw a colossal, strangely shaped giant dragon gliding through the air, then circling above the Great Sept of Baelor a few times before descending onto the plaza of the Great Sept of Baelor.
The imposing presence created by the giant dragon's descent and its own menacing appearance thoroughly terrified everyone. They scattered, fleeing towards the buildings and alleyways surrounding the plaza, but after running some distance, they all stopped in unison and secretly peeked back at the plaza.
They saw that after the giant dragon landed, it spread its wings, resting them diagonally on the ground. Then, a knight in splendid armor stood up from the giant dragon's back, stepped onto its wing, walked to the ground, and then proceeded up the steps towards the Great Sept of Baelor.
Seeing the dragon rider leave, some people couldn't help but ask, "Who is that? Is that someone from Targaryen?"
"Don't talk nonsense, that's Divine Chosen One Linde Terra," a worshiper of the Seven immediately retorted. "It is well known that Divine Chosen One Linde Terra has tamed a sea dragon and a giant dragon. This is clearly that giant dragon."
At this moment, someone couldn't help but murmur, "This giant dragon looks so strange! It feels like a resurrected undead dragon."
Someone immediately retorted, "Shut up! Is that an undead dragon? That is power bestowed by God."
Lynd ignored the commotion behind him and went directly to the entrance of the Great Sept of Baelor. By this time, the monks inside the Great Sept had all been startled by the giant dragon and were standing at the entrance. Seeing Lynd approach, they all bowed to him.
"Is King Robert's body in the Great Sept?" Lynd asked.
The Archbishop bowed his head very humbly and replied, "It's in the wake hall, but His Majesty's body is somewhat decomposed, even with spices…"
Lynd raised his hand to stop the Archbishop from continuing, then had a monk lead him to King Robert's coffin.
He soon arrived at the wake hall where the coffin was laid. As the Archbishop had said, Robert's body was highly decomposed, causing a stench to envelop the wake hall. However, beside Robert's body, some Silent Sisters were still performing a holy rite for him.
Lynd walked directly to King Robert's coffin, looked at Robert lying amidst a large amount of spices, sighed, and placed his hand on the coffin. Then he saw the coffin gradually covered with a layer of ice, eventually forming an ice coffin, and the surrounding stench gradually weakened.
After completing all this, Lynd did not disturb the Silent Sisters' ritual, but instead sat on a stone step nearby, sitting quietly.
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