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Chapter 145: The Sacred Beast of the Seven
🕑 Added 2025-02-12 13:17:13 +0000 UTCA month ago, Lord Wyland Wyl of Castle Wyl was ambushed and killed in battle by the wildlings. This was the most sensational event in the Seven Kingdoms in recent times, as it had been a long time since a Lord of the March had fallen to the wildling tribes.
According to the accounts of the soldiers who escaped back to Wyl Castle, the wildling tribe that attacked Wyland Wyl was called the Stone Mountain Tribe, and its leader was the Wildling King, who had been widely rumored to be alive in recent years. Wyland Wyl had died at the hands of the Wildling King.
As for why the Wildling King, who was in the northeast section of the Red Mountains, would appear in the area south of the Wyl River to ambush Wyland Wyl, it was entirely because of the Lord of Summerhall, the Chosen One, Lynd Tarran.
Rumors of the Lord of Summerhall’s inspection of his territory had been circulating in the surrounding regions for some time. To many, it was nothing more than an ordinary inspection trip. After all, for Lord Lynd of Summerhall, that land was unfamiliar—an abandoned territory left neglected for years. It was only natural for a lord to assess the actual state of his domain and determine the location for his main castle. As such, the news of Lynd’s inspection did not initially attract much attention.
However, the events that followed made many realize that this was no ordinary inspection.
Beyond his involvement in the dispute over the heir to Grassy Vale Castle—forcing Lysa Meadows, the current Lord Elwood’s aunt and the first-in-line heir, to flee Grassy Vale overnight—his actions even drew the notice of Highgarden, which reprimanded Lysa Meadows and her husband over such a trivial matter.
Even before reaching Summerhall, his mere reputation and authority were enough to send the bandits in and around the northeast side of the Red Mountains fleeing in fear. Soon after, the wildlings tribes that had long been based in the Red Mountains suddenly turned on each other, and it was said that he was involved in that as well.
The movement of the Wildling King’s tribe south of the Wyl River and its subsequent clash with the Lord of Wyl was also attributed to this fragmentation among the wildlings.
Yet none of these events became the most legendary tale of Lynd’s inspection of his domain. That honor belonged to what happened in the ruins of Summerhall.
According to those who were camped outside the ruins at the time, on that fateful night, Lynd entered Summerhall alone. Shortly after, the eerie shriek of the ghost of Summerhall echoed through the air. Those who heard it turned their eyes toward the ruins, and as they did, the ghost’s wailing abruptly ceased. Moments later, Lynd emerged from the ruins—with the giant beast at his side.
At that time, the beast’s fur had turned completely white, radiating a sacred glow.
Speculation ran rampant. Many believed that Lynd, using his status and power as the Chosen One of the Seven Gods, had banished all the ghosts haunting Summerhall. In doing so, the beast, too, had been blessed by the Seven and transformed into a sacred creature.
As this rumor spread, many dismissed it as an attempt to further elevate Lynd’s aura as the Chosen One. But many others—particularly devout believers of the Faith of the Seven—held firm in their belief that the event was real. The incident even caught the attention of the Faith of the Seven itself.
In response, the Starry Sept in Oldtown, the Great Sept in Highgarden, and the Sept of Baelor in King’s Landing almost simultaneously dispatched groups of ten Septons and Septas, forming a miracle verification team to visit Lynd’s temporary camp on the north bank of the Wyl and confirm the truth behind the sacred beast.
To everyone’s surprise, the Septons and holy brothers from all three Septs unanimously declared that Glory was indeed the blessed Sacred Beast of the Seven Gods. They proclaimed that Glory embodied both the Mother’s love and the Stranger’s finality, with its radiance possessing both the healing miracles of love and the lethal miracles of death.
In addition to confirming Glory as the sacred beast of the Seven, the Church also announced plans to fund the construction of a Sept in Lynd’s main castle and another in the port city of the Sea of Dorne, once both were completed.
However, some well-informed individuals claimed that the Church of the Seven Gods would also help fund and contribute to the construction of the castle and port city, aiming to accelerate the process.
This incident led some envious voices to declare that Lynd was practically the biological child of the Seven Gods. Those jealous of him even spread rumors suggesting that Lynd was merely a representative figure chosen by the Faith of the Seven to gain worldly power.
Among the many rumors, however, one stood out as particularly novel: it claimed that after Lynd used the divine power bestowed upon him by the Seven Gods to free the ghosts bound to Summerhall, the tall Ser Duncan appeared before him in the form of a holy spirit and, in gratitude for liberating the tormented spirits of those who had perished in fire, gifted him a dragon egg.
Because the rumor was so vivid and complete, an unknown bard wove it into a ballad titled The Song of the Chosen, the Ghosts, and the Dragon Eggs, which soon became popular in taverns and was hailed as a classic, second only to The Song of the Bear Hunter.
For Lynd, the fact that multiple major Septs had come together to form a Miracle Appraisal Group—excluding over thirty people from participating—just to investigate the miracles spoken of in the rumors was entirely unexpected. He had not stopped those in his camp from spreading the story, nor had he considered it a significant event, at least not compared to the power of Storm and Lightning he had displayed in Lannisport.
However, he had entirely overlooked the special significance of death in religion. Many faiths revere creation as sacred, but death is often considered even more awe-inspiring and worthy of worship.
The ghostly rumors surrounding Summerhall had existed for a long time—how could the Faith of the Seven have ignored them? In fact, over the years, they had sent more than one investigative group to the ruins. While many of these groups found nothing unusual, some had encountered the ghosts of Summerhall and been dragged into the fire.
Only one Septon had ever escaped from that fire alive, and he was the one rumored to have spoken of the event. However, unlike the widely believed tale that he had died after uttering only the words "dragon egg," this Septon had actually survived for several days. In that time, he recounted much more—almost everything he had experienced. Because of this, the higher-ups in the Faith of the Seven had long known that ghosts truly did exist within the ruins of Summerhall.
Before seeking out Lynd to verify the miracle, the Church's investigators first returned to Summerhall to examine the site. Several Septons who had previously investigated the hauntings and personally witnessed the ghostly manifestations reported a stark difference in the atmosphere. The oppressive eeriness that had once filled the ruins was gone.
The most obvious proof lay in the presence of small animals—birds had begun to build nests in the ruins, and creatures that had once avoided the place entirely now roamed freely. In the past, no animal would dare approach Summerhall, let alone settle there. This alone served as undeniable evidence that the ghosts had disappeared.
Following this confirmation, the Church's miracle identification team arrived at Lynd’s temporary village camp to verify the events at Summerhall.
Lynd could tell that these churchmen had come well-prepared, so he recounted his experience truthfully—though he made slight modifications and omissions in the process. He described the power that had shielded him from the searing heat as a blessing from the Seven Gods, and the force that had consumed the energy of the vengeful spirits as a purification granted by the divine. As for the dragon egg, he chose to omit it entirely.
To further reinforce the story, he even had Glory demonstrate its two distinct powers—black and white light—before the clerics. Without exception, the gathered holy man and senior septons reacted with awe, exclaiming at the miraculous sight. They quickly designated the two manifestations as the Healing Miracle and the Deadly Miracle.
Shortly after these clerics returned to their respective Septs, the three major Septs simultaneously issued proclamations, formally declaring that Lynd had performed a miracle in the ruins of Summerhall, cleansing the place of its lingering ghosts. They also decreed that Glory was one of the Seven Sacred Beasts, blessed by both the Mother and the Stranger, and imbued with two divine powers.
Inspired by these events, Lynd decided to craft a legend surrounding the dragon eggs in his possession. To ensure the tale spread widely, he took the theme song from The Lord of the Rings from his past life as its musical foundation and composed The Song of the Chosen, Ghosts, and Dragons, a ballad intertwining the Tragedy of Summerhall and the dragon eggs. It was a carefully laid plan, meant to set the stage for the eventual hatching of a dragon from one of his eggs.
Compared to other regions that eagerly sang the Song of the Chosen, Ghosts, and Dragons, the people of Dorne preferred their own composition, the Thunder Song. This song was inspired by the events at the funeral of Lord Wyland Wyl, particularly highlighting how Lynd had nearly been treacherously deprived of his claim due to disputes over Wyl Castle’s ownership. The song portrayed the summoning of thunder to restore the castle to its rightful heir, who had been publicly declared dead.
In reality, the song’s content had little connection to the actual events in Wyl’s great hall that day. It even depicted Lynd and Wyland Wyl as friends who had grown close through battle. When Lynd first heard it, he couldn’t help but wonder whether the "Chosen One" mentioned in the song was actually him.
After Obella Wyl’s identity was confirmed, the matter of succession to Wyl Castle and its title was swiftly settled. Those who opposed the decision turned their objections toward Russell, her husband, arguing that the wife of an orphan from the Greenblood River was unfit to lead an ancient noble house of Dorne. Many lords and nobles supported this sentiment. However, when Lynd publicly bestowed the Tarran surname upon Russell and formally recognized him as a member of House Tarran, all doubts dissipated. To continue questioning Russell’s legitimacy would not only challenge an orphan’s identity but also defy the will of the Chosen of the Seven Gods.
By then, anyone who dared voice objections risked facing Lynd in an honorable duel to defend his family’s honor—and no one was foolish enough to invite such a fate. Many had witnessed his miraculous, lightning power in Wyl’s great hall, fully aware that dueling him was tantamount to suicide. Naturally, no one dared provoke him at such a time.
Meanwhile, Obella addressed lingering doubts about her past through the accounts of childhood friends like Cletus, crafting a plausible explanation for her disappearance and eventual return. According to the fabricated narrative, she had been ambushed by unknown assailants, only to be rescued by Russell. She had spent years in hiding, following Russell until she later joined Lynd’s ranks. It was only recently that she discovered evidence of her lineage among the belongings left by her foster father. This revelation led her to appear at her biological father’s funeral and claim her rightful inheritance.
With the title already secured, few were inclined to scrutinize the validity of her claims. The explanation was primarily intended to quell unnecessary disputes.
Obella’s first act as the new Lady of Wyl was to fill in the ancient snake pit within Wyl Castle, eliminating the poisonous serpents that had resided there for centuries. She had the remains cleaned up and properly buried on a nearby hill. This action won her the favor of many and significantly reduced the animosity of neighboring lords.
Her second decision was to place a substantial bounty on the Wildling King, an act that spurred numerous Dornish bounty hunters, free knights, and wandering warriors to venture into the deep borderlands in pursuit of their target. However, she remained unaware that the man she sought had already died in Wyl’s great hall the very day she established her claim.
Lynd, who knew the truth, chose not to inform her.
The moment he had entered the hall that day, he had spotted the Wildling King—Hamir—standing among the Kingsgrave Castle procession and immediately recognized him. Though Hamir had shaved his excess hair, changed his hair color, and disguised himself to appear like any other man, he could not alter his eyes. The hatred in his gaze, especially when directed at Lynd, was impossible to ignore.
Curious about why the Wildling King was mingling with the Kingsgrave delegation, Lynd refrained from exposing him immediately. Instead, he observed, waiting to see what Hamir and Kingsgrave intended.
When the old Maester confirmed Obella’s identity as the sole heir of Wyl Castle, Hamir prepared to stir up trouble. However, before he could act, the Kingsgrave men turned against him. Instead of aiding him, they restrained him—and then stabbed him to death, one after another.
Lynd had been momentarily baffled by this unexpected act. He didn’t fully understand Kingsgrave’s motives until they discreetly removed Hamir’s body.
Later, when he recounted the incident to Nymeria, her analysis clarified the situation. Initially, Kingsgrave had intended to use the Wildling King to create chaos. However, after witnessing Lynd’s overwhelming display of power, they had lost their nerve. Fearing that Lynd would turn his attention to them, they decided not only to prevent Hamir from acting but to eliminate him entirely.
At that point, Hamir had become a dangerous liability. If word got out that Kingsgrave had harbored him, they would inevitably be accused of conspiring in the murder of Wyl’s former lord. Such an accusation could lead to open war between Kingsgrave and Wyl. And with Lynd backing Wyl, Kingsgrave knew they would face a dire outcome—especially since House Yronwood would likely refuse to support them.
Rather than risk such a conflict, Kingsgrave simply erased the Wildling King as a threat, leaving Wyl with no reason to retaliate.
As for how the Wildling King had become entangled with Kingsgrave in the first place, that mystery would likely remain unsolved.
