"Listening to you say that, I'm even more inclined to think they ought to be mountain dwarves."
"And you, boy—who are you? I noticed you back when we were still in that crude castle."
"You are… strange."
The sudden appearance of the boy in the green cloak did not surprise Erevi. With her perception, she could clearly sense what every person in the entire party was doing.
She was merely curious who this one might be.
Kal, too, felt some curiosity toward the person who had appeared so abruptly, while Benjen's gaze fell upon the sigil embroidered on the boy's cloak.
It was a black crocodile crouched upon a grey-green field.
"You are of House Reed of Greywater Watch, are you not?" Benjen asked.
At this, the boy in the green cloak lifted his hood, revealing brown hair and a pair of deep green eyes.
"Your Grace, my lady, Lord Benjen Stark, my name is Jojen Reed. Lord Howland Reed of Greywater Watch is my father."
"You say you are Jojen Reed?"
As Jojen spoke, before Benjen could continue, Kal suddenly interrupted him.
With that introduction, Kal recalled who this person was.
Yet with Bran's fate having been altered by his own hand, he did not know whether the boy's "greensight" still remained.
Kal's tone of surprise was not concealed; several of them could tell that the King seemed somewhat curious about Jojen.
"Your Grace, you have heard of me?" Jojen asked.
"I know of you, and I know of your house."
Under the eyes of the gathered company, Kal had no intention of concealing anything.
After speaking, Kal turned toward Erevi, who wore a curious expression. "Your perception was not mistaken, Erevi."
"As I understand it, among the children of the forest, the wise ones who possess mysterious powers are the most powerful skinchangers, also called wargs."
"They can separate their consciousness—or their soul—from their own bodies and slip into many other things, and the most powerful among them can enter the minds of any animal."
"The most powerful among skinchangers are the greenseers. Compared to ordinary skinchangers, they possess another, far more special ability—'greensight.'"
"Out of a thousand people, only one is born a skinchanger. And out of a thousand skinchangers, only one will be a greenseer."
"Humans, like the children of the forest, may also become skinchangers—and may also become greenseers."
"It is only that among the humans of Westeros, only the Northmen of First Men blood who, like the children of the forest, worship the Old Gods—and the wildlings—have the potential for skinchanging."
"The crannogmen preserve ancient ways of life, and thus they too possess greensight. Seeing your eyes reminded me of this."
"So I was not wrong, was I, Jojen Reed?"
Continuing from the previous topic, Kal expanded further upon the matter of the children of the forest, revealing the relationship between the children, the Old Gods, and the First Men, as well as the mysterious powers they possessed.
Jojen had not expected that the King would know so much, nor that merely by looking into his eyes he would seem to understand something.
The boy, who had always been stern and somber, showed a flash of surprise in his eyes and could not help but nod, acknowledging what the King had said.
"What is greensight?"
Erevi, standing nearby, grew curious about such an ability. Elves and dwarves possessed nothing like this; though the powers of forest druids were somewhat related.
Yet from the sound of it, these so-called First Men used their abilities in a more primitive manner, relying more upon bloodline, and thus they resembled sorcerers more closely.
"Greensight refers to the ability to have prophetic dreams. These dreams are also called 'green dreams.'"
"Those who possess greensight sometimes have dreams no different from those of ordinary people, but 'green dreams' are not the same. They are filled with symbolic images that foreshadow events yet to come."
"Yet the meaning behind the dreams is not truly clear. Only after experiencing events in person does one realize that the unfolding of things has already confirmed what the dream contained."
Again, before Jojen could explain, Kal continued speaking, for the mention of greensight inevitably reminded him of his own ability—one that had always appeared dim and unusable—[Dreamwalk].
Thus, in theory, Kal himself possessed such prophetic power, yet for reasons unknown, he had never been able to develop it.
He did not know whether it was because, in essence, he was not a person of this world, and his soul failed to properly connect with certain information within it.
Or perhaps it was because he already knew, in some sense, a certain "future," and thus had no need of such an ability at all.
Erevi, who had originally been curious about this special power, lost interest the moment she heard Kal's explanation.
This could no longer even be called primitive; put more bluntly, it was little different from the shamans of some primitive tribe.
"I had heard that your history spans thousands, even tens of thousands of years, yet the way you have explored your own bloodline and abilities remains so rudimentary," Erevi said, shaking her head as she tugged the reins and urged her mount forward.
Leaving Jojen standing where he was, at a loss.
Yet Erevi's lack of interest did not mean Kal lacked interest.
If he remembered correctly, in the original course of events it was Jojen who had urged Bran to journey beyond the Wall in search of the Three-Eyed Raven.
But now Bran had been firmly kept in King's Landing by Kal. Not only was he trained daily by the former First Sword of Braavos, Syrio Forel, but his lessons in letters and learning were filled to the brim, not a single one neglected.
Where would he find the time to entangle himself with the Three-Eyed Raven of his dreams?
And now Jojen had joined his company—and had even come beyond the Wall.
Kal stroked his chin. "I am curious, Jojen Reed—your coming beyond the Wall, does it also have something to do with your green dreams?"
House Reed of Greywater Watch had indeed joined Kal's host, yet Jojen was but a boy of thirteen or fourteen, not yet of age. No matter what, Kal would never have conscripted him to the battlefield.
Thus, if Howland Reed had allowed his only son to travel beyond the Wall, there must be a reason.
"It is because I will die beyond the Wall… so I came."
"I do not possess the power of a warg, nor am I a greenseer, nor can I commune with the weirwoods. I am only a boy who dreams."
Kal's question had struck at the heart of the matter, and Jojen seemed ever more despondent.
Yet Kal did not cease his questioning.
"So—you are seeking the Three-Eyed Raven?"
"Or was it the Three-Eyed Raven who bade you seek him?"
At those words, Jojen found himself unable to speak. His brows drew tight together, and fragments flickered faintly through his mind, yet he could not grasp their meaning.
He could only shake his head at Kal. "I do not know, Your Grace. I do not know…"
Jojen himself did not know what he was saying; he was merely refuting by instinct.
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