Although he never demanded repayment, he surely thought that his many years of loyal service absolutely deserved a generous gift.
Blackfish was one of the few clear-headed individuals in House Tully, and he was also very sensitive to the workings of power.
Blackfish had long seen through Lysa's corruption and understood that her search for a husband was a game of love, not genuine affection.
However, Blackfish had not expected Lysa to be so vicious and foolish, directly crossing all lines.
After all, before this, the Seven Kingdoms had not seen such a depraved Lady.
"Then I can only try diplomacy before force, for the honor of House Royce," Bronze Yohn said.
"For the honor of House Tully," Ser Brynden Blackfish gave a bitter laugh.
Everything was an ordeal, but if it was for justice and the good name of House Tully, he had to act.
The slope beneath the horses' hooves began to flatten, and the sun was already in the west.
The road gradually widened and became straight, and Gendry for the first time noticed wildflowers and green grass by the roadside, indicating a change in climate and a decrease in altitude.
When they reached the Vale plains, their pace quickened.
They wasted no time, pressing on, passing through verdant forests and quiet villages, past orchards and golden wheat fields, splashing through sun-drenched streams.
Ser Donnel sent his standard-bearer ahead, with two banners fluttering on the long pole: above was the crescent moon and falcon of House Arryn, and below, the broken wheel of his own House.
All the riders had put away their cloaks and robes, allowing only the banners of House Arryn and House Waynwood to fly.
Farm carts, merchants' wagons, and riders from minor noble families all made way for them to pass.
The area was prosperous, not yet ravaged by war.
Everyone's faces showed busy contentment, rather than panic and tension.
Even so, by the time Gendry was about to reach the sturdy castle at the foot of the Giant's Lance, it was already completely dark.
Torches blazed on the battlements, and the crescent moon danced on the black water of the moat.
The drawbridge was up, and the iron portcullis down.
Gendry saw the firelight within the gatehouse, and lights streamed from the windows behind the castle walls.
Ser Donnel's standard-bearer rode to the moat and called out to the people in the tower; more knights were out of sight of the tower.
Without Blackfish, it would have been difficult to understand the situation so clearly.
Gendry first saw The Gate of the Moon, now the seat of Nestor, the Grand Steward of the Vale.
This fortress at the foot of the mountain had always belonged to the heir of House Arryn, the Defender of The Gate of the Moon, but due to a constant decline in numbers, it had occasionally been managed by others.
Gendry looked up at the sky, gazing not only at this high, albeit not vast, fortress throughout the Seven Kingdoms.
The Eyrie was a rare chain of castles, a series of defensive works, not a single castle.
Initially, Gendry saw only rocks and trees, mountains covered by night, as dark as a starless night.
Then, he noticed ethereal fireworks high above, which were actually the towers of a castle, embedded in steep, perilous cliffs, their lights like orange eyes looking down upon the land.
Above that, there was an even higher and more distant tower, and above that, another, almost just a sparkling speck of fire in the night sky.
Finally, at the extreme height where eagles soared, there was a patch of white light shimmering in the moonlight, and the Red Comet was also on the other side.
Gendry gazed up at the hazy, pale high towers, and a magnificent sense of awe washed over him.
House Arryn truly lived up to its eagle totem; they, too, lived in high places like eagles.
Proud as eagles, pure as eagles, but unfortunately, also somber as eagles.
The darkness also concealed the movements of the cavalry.
They hid in the night, perfectly disguised, like a silent forest.
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