Oldtown, true to its name, was built by the First Men long before the invasion of the Andals. It was not only the oldest city in Westeros, but also the largest in the Seven Kingdoms before King's Landing was built, and for a hundred years afterward. Located in the southwestern corner of the Reach, where the Honeywine flows into Whispering Sound and the Sunset Sea, it was one of Westeros's major east-west transportation arteries, the other end of the Rose Road, corresponding to King's Landing.
Untouched by war, the spring planting in the western Reach had long been completed. As they approached the final destination of the Western Expeditionary Army, the green crops in the fields on both sides of the road gradually became denser and taller, and the pedestrians, carriages, and horses encountered along the way, who hastily moved aside to avoid the army, also grew more numerous... Continuing their journey along the final stretch of the Rose Road, the atmosphere of war gradually faded, eventually becoming almost nonexistent, while the scent of spring grew stronger, permeating the entire world.
Bathed in brilliant sunlight, the second-largest city in Westeros unfolded before Aegor like a scroll painting.
Oldtown's massive, sprawling form straddled the northern and southern ends of the estuary. The side facing the land was a winding, intricate wall dotted with watchtowers, with low, complex houses packed like anthills both inside and outside the walls. The side facing the sea was entirely taken up by the port, with countless warships, merchant ships, and scattered docks...
In the center of the city's silhouette, which was largely similar to King's Landing, only slightly smaller, stood its world-renowned landmark: the Hightower.
If the Wall was the largest man-made structure in the world of ice and fire, then the stronghold of House Hightower, located on Battle Isle in the center of Oldtown, was the tallest. Both a castle and a lighthouse, it was so prominent and conspicuous, like a giant candle stuck by a god into a thin pancake covered with various toppings, that it leaped into view from a great distance. In fact, not just today. As early as last night, when they were still twenty or thirty miles away, everyone could already see the light from the top of the tower with the naked eye.
Suppressed by the towering figure of the Hightower, Oldtown's formidable walls, no less impressive than those of King's Landing, seemed to shrink so low as to be almost nonexistent.
The city's southeastern gate was wide open, just as House Hightower had promised. By the signpost at the fork in the road a bowshot outside the gate, a bustling, numerous, and richly dressed group quietly and obediently awaited the approach of the Western Expeditionary Army's vanguard.
After circling the city once to confirm there were no ambushes, Aegor patted Rhaegal's back and descended toward the group.
Unlike the seemingly effortless flight suggested by their size, flying with an extra two hundred pounds was quite strenuous, even for an adult dragon. Aegor also traveled by horse or carriage on the ground, only switching to Rhaegal when he was close enough to see Oldtown's walls with the naked eye, assuming the posture of a dragonrider for his entrance.
This action clearly achieved the desired effect. As he descended from the sky in a cloud of dust and landed before the welcoming members of House Hightower, the fear and awe in their upward gazes were too strong to conceal.
Aegor dismounted from the dragon and was walking toward the crowd, taking off his riding gloves, when a tall, handsome nobleman, dressed in a light grey-green robe, with a graceful demeanor and clearly above-average status, bravely stepped forward to greet him and Rhaegal. As he walked, he spoke with an eager smile.
"I have long heard of the Hand of the Queen's heroic deeds, and today I finally have the honor of meeting him. He truly lives up to his reputation!" The man, with a smile that was neither humble nor arrogant, introduced himself first. "I am Baelor Hightower, the eldest son of Lord Leyton Hightower. My father is unwell and unable to travel, so he has ordered me to represent him in welcoming your arrival."
"Finally have the honor?" Aegor said with a slight smile. "I recall we had a chance to meet outside the Bloody Gate in the Vale, but someone was busy with other matters and did not have time to see a humble Night's Watch Chief Logistics officer."
There was a reason for this remark. Aegor had stayed in the royal army camp outside the Bloody Gate while campaigning with King Robert against the League of the Righteous in the Vale. He had taken that opportunity to vigorously promote the Night's Watch industry to the nobles from the Six Kingdoms who had gathered there, and Baelor Hightower was one of the many arrogant nobles he had "sought an audience with but was not received" by.
Baelor was momentarily speechless from the teasing, maintaining an awkward but polite smile as he thought of a reasonable explanation. "This... the Hand of the Queen may not know, but my younger brother Garth is no longer young and is still unmarried. At the time, our whole family was busy looking for suitable young ladies for him. How could we have time for business? However, he has not found anyone suitable, and he is still single today. In this matter, perhaps we will have to rely on the Hand of the Queen to play matchmaker."
The royal army camp outside the Bloody Gate was indeed a gathering for matchmaking among noble families, and the marriages of the male members of House Hightower had always been difficult. Oldtown's ruling family was wealthy and powerful, tracing their lineage back to having produced many queens, both Queens of the Reach and Queens of the Seven Kingdoms. Ordinary minor nobles were indeed not qualified to marry into their family. But as for the great nobles, Margaery, Arianne Martell, Asha Greyjoy... which of these women, whose status was somewhat suitable, did not have a title one level higher than "lord" and a head full of their own ideas? Even the eldest son might not be considered, let alone the second son. And if this second son was a bit more arrogant, remaining single would become highly likely.
This was indeed a plausible explanation, and the fact that this man could so quickly come up with an excuse and even use it to try to build a connection showed that he was truly talented in social dealings.
"Wait for me to play matchmaker?" Act as an introducer, you might not be able to afford it, but act as an inspector to check the goods, I would be happy to oblige. Aegor thought to himself, smiling slightly, not reaching out to strike a smiling face. "Then you have a wait ahead of you. I personally advise you not to count on me."
"Haha, just a small joke. The Hand of the Queen is busy with countless affairs. How could he have time to worry about the marriages of little people like us?"
Baelor Hightower laughed heartily and turned to introduce the people accompanying him.
"This is the High Septon."
A fat man in golden and white robes nodded toward Aegor with a hint of flattery.
"This is my younger brother, Humfrey."
A young man looked at him with eyes full of reverence.
"This is Archmaester Perestan, this year's rotating director of the Citadel."
A white-haired old man who looked very learned.
"This is the Mayor of Oldtown..."
...
It took a full minute for "Bright Smile" Baelor to finish introducing the members of the delegation who had come out of the city to welcome them. The difference between a city surrendering and a castle surrendering was here: a settlement of hundreds of thousands of people was different from a simple noble residence after all. Here, there were not only masters, servants, and guards, but also free residents. Whether House Hightower had the intention of showing weakness by gathering the heads of various trades to meet Aegor was hard to judge, but at least in terms of outward etiquette, they truly left Aegor speechless.
This group had already experienced the intimidation of being searched by the Western Expeditionary Army's vanguard before he descended on his dragon, but what Aegor admired was that none of them showed any resentment or bitterness on their faces about it. Thus, the first meeting, friendly and harmonious, quickly ended. Led by the Hightower heir, Aegor led his troops through the gates of Oldtown, listening to Ser Baelor introduce the city as they proudly marched through half the urban area, until they entered the impossibly tall Hightower.
House Hightower had handled every step of the surrender process flawlessly, giving no one cause for complaint. Three hundred years ago, they had used this very maneuver to emerge from Aegon Targaryen the First's great conquest completely unscathed, and even benefited greatly.
However, three hundred years later, facing this repeated tactic, the first sentence Aegor uttered after taking the head seat at the conference table was like a thunderclap, startling them.
"Ser Baelor, have you and your family prepared to move?"
(To be continued.)