Lyonel POV
By the Seven...
He had done it.
He had stood before the King of the Seven Kingdoms.
Twice.
And twice he had refused him.
His stomach twisted just thinking about it.
He pushed the great doors open.
He saw Ser Ryam Redwyne first, his white cloak behind him. Ser Lorence Roxton remained standing by the entrance, his weathered face as calm as ever.
Ryam smiled.
"So, Ser Lyonel... what happened in there?"
Lyonel opened his mouth.
Before a word could leave him, Ser Lorence spoke.
"That is not for us to know, Ser Ryam."
The younger knight scratched the back of his neck.
"I suppose you're right."
Lyonel gave Ser Lorence a grateful nod.
"I appreciate that."
The old Kingsguard merely smiled.
"A king's conversations are often best left between the king and those he speaks with."
Lyonel nodded.
"Well..."
He shifted awkwardly.
"I think it is time for me to leave."
He looked at the two white cloaks.
"I wish to thank both of you. You've shown me nothing but kindness since I arrived."
Ser Ryam offered his hand first.
"It was a pleasure meeting you."
Lyonel shook it firmly.
"The pleasure was mine."
Ser Lorence stepped forward next.
His grip was surprisingly strong for a man with grey in his beard.
"Travel safely, boy."
"I will."
Lorence gave him one last look.
"And keep that head of yours. Men like you are becoming rarer every year."
Lyonel smiled awkwardly.
"I shall try."
With that, he turned and began walking away.
At first, he was confident.
He remembered following Ser Ryam through these halls earlier.
Left.
Then another left.
Past the tapestries.
Or had it been right?
He frowned.
The Red Keep was enormous.
Every corridor looked like the last.
Stone walls.
Red banners.
Servants hurrying about.
Nobles speaking in hushed voices.
Lyonel wandered for what felt like half an hour.
"I am lost."
He sighed.
"Amazing."
He could survive the Kingswood...
...yet become lost inside a bloody castle.
Eventually, the corridors disappeared altogether.
Trees replaced stone.
The sounds of the castle faded behind him.
Birdsong filled the air.
Lyonel stopped.
"What..."
He slowly looked around.
A forest.
Inside the Red Keep.
"This must be a godswood."
He had heard stories of them.
There used to be many in the Stormlands before the Andals arrived.
House Dondarrion kept the Faith of the Seven.
He had never entered a godswood before.
His father had once told him that they had no need for one.
"We have a sept; we do not need a home for false gods.
Still...
Curiosity tugged at him.
"I've always wanted to see a weirwood."
He remembered every tale he'd ever heard.
A white tree.
Red leaves.
A face carved into its trunk.
The eyes watching.
Listening.
Remembering.
His heart beat a little faster.
Perhaps there truly was one here.
He followed a winding path deeper into the quiet forest.
The air felt different beneath the trees.
Cooler.
Older somehow.
Even the birds seemed quieter.
Minutes passed, and the trees opened into a clearing.
There.
A massive tree stood proudly in the center.
Its trunk was thicker than three men standing shoulder to shoulder.
Its branches stretched toward the heavens.
Lyonel smiled.
"So that's a weirwood..."
Then his smile faded.
"...or perhaps not."
It wasn't white.
Its leaves weren't red.
There was no carved face.
It looked...
ordinary.
Only larger than every other tree surrounding it.
He walked closer.
Maybe the stories were wrong.
His hand rested against the bark.
It felt...
like bark.
Nothing happened.
No whispers.
No visions.
No ancient magic.
Just a tree.
He chuckled to himself.
"I suppose stories are stories."
He turned to leave.
"Caw."
Lyonel froze.
"Caw!"
Something slammed into the back of his head.
"Seven Hells!"
He stumbled forward as sharp claws tugged painfully at his hair.
"Agh!"
Strands were ripped clean from his head.
He spun around.
A raven perched calmly upon one of the great tree's branches.
It watched him.
Its eyes seemed...
wrong.
Far too intelligent.
Lyonel rubbed the sore spot on his scalp.
"You little bastard..."
The raven tilted its head.
Then it spoke.
"Leave, Stormseed."
Lyonel's entire body froze.
His mouth slowly fell open.
"...What?"
The bird blinked.
"Leave, Stormseed."
Its voice sounded old.
Almost human.
"The man who bears the Stormseed is not welcome."
Lyonel stared.
His mind refused to understand what his ears had heard.
The bird...
Had spoken.
Stormseed.
Storm.
The word struck him like a hammer.
The old witch.
The Storm Lord.
The thunder.
Everything she had said.
His throat suddenly felt dry.
"What..."
His voice barely came out.
"What is Stormseed?"
The raven remained silent.
He took one cautious step closer.
The raven spread its wings.
Lyonel stopped.
"Please."
"I don't understand."
Another step.
The raven's head lowered.
Only then did Lyonel notice it.
His blood turned cold.
There was another eye.
Hidden beneath feathers in the middle of its forehead.
A third eye.
Watching him.
The raven shrieked.
Its cry echoed through the godswood.
Then it launched itself directly toward him.
Lyonel yelped.
"Fuck!"
He threw his arms over his face and ran.
Branches slapped against his armor.
Roots nearly sent him tumbling.
He followed the path without looking back.
The raven's cries echoed behind him.
Then...
Nothing.
Silence.
He slowed to a stop.
His breathing came in ragged gasps.
He looked behind him.
No raven.
Nothing.
Only trees.
Lyonel rested his hands upon his knees.
"What..."
"What in the Seven Hells was that?"
He looked toward the sky above the trees.
"The Storm Lord..."
"The witch..."
"The Black Devil..."
He rubbed his forehead.
"And now a talking raven."
He laughed once.
It sounded hollow.
"What is Stormseed?"
"How do I bear it?"
"I never asked for any of this."
He stood there for another long moment.
Then quietly whispered,
"Were the Seven even real?"
The question felt wrong the instant it left his mouth.
His mother would have boxed his ears for saying such a thing.
His septon back home would have made him pray until sunset.
Yet...
He had seen impossible things.
Magic.
Monsters.
Thunder answering a witch's call.
A talking raven.
None of it fit the lessons he had grown up with.
"Caw!"
Lyonel nearly jumped out of his skin.
He spun around, drawing Adder's Fang in one smooth motion.
The Valyrian steel shimmered in the sunlight.
"Not again!"
A white shape landed upon his head.
"Caw."
Lyonel looked upward.
Cloud.
He let out such a deep sigh of relief that his knees nearly buckled.
"You stupid bird."
Cloud chirped happily.
As though nothing had happened.
Lyonel laughed despite himself.
"You nearly gave me a heart attack."
Cloud pecked gently at his hair.
Lyonel slid Adder's Fang back into its scabbard.
"Cloud..."
He shook his head.
"Take me to Thunder."
The great bird chirped loudly before taking flight.
Lyonel hurried after him.
Cloud seemed to know every corner of the Red Keep.
He flew from roof to roof while Lyonel followed through winding passages and courtyards.
Servants stopped what they were doing to stare.
Ladies whispered behind silk sleeves.
A pair of squires pointed openly at Cloud.
One septon prayed to the Seven as Lyonel walked past.
He ignored every single one.
His thoughts remained fixed upon one thing.
Stormseed.
Eventually, Cloud swooped toward the stables.
Thunder looked up from a pile of fresh hay the moment he heard Lyonel's footsteps.
The great black stallion gave a welcoming snort.
"There you are, boy."
Lyonel smiled for the first time in what felt like hours.
He wrapped his arms around Thunder's thick neck.
"You have no idea how happy I am to see you."
Thunder nudged him hard enough to nearly knock him over.
Cloud landed upon Thunder's head as though it were his rightful perch.
Lyonel laughed.
"We're leaving."
Thunder looked back toward his hay.
"You can eat later."
The stallion huffed in obvious annoyance.
"I know."
"So am I."
He mounted the horse.
Together, they made their way through the courtyards toward the great bronze gates of the Red Keep.
The guards spotted him almost immediately.
This time there were no challenges.
No suspicion.
The gates swung open.
As Lyonel passed, one of the guards from before lowered his head.
"Ser Lyonel."
"I owe you an apology."
"I spoke poorly."
Lyonel offered a tired smile.
"There is nothing to forgive."
The guard smiled in relief.
"Safe travels, Ser."
Lyonel nodded once.
He guided Thunder out of the gates and across the bridge.
As the Red Keep disappeared behind him, he looked once more toward the clear blue sky.
He had left Blackhaven believing the world was simple.
The Seven watched over mankind.
Good men became knights.
Evil men were punished.
Now...
Nothing seemed simple anymore.
He had seen witches.
Creatures born of darkness.
Living magic.
A raven that spoke with a man's voice.
And twice now, strangers had related him to a Storm Lord.
He tightened his grip on Thunder's reins.
"If the Seven truly watch over us..."
His voice was barely a whisper.
"...then I pray they show me the truth."
Thunder carried him onward through the streets of King's Landing.
Cloud rode proudly atop the stallion's head.
Behind them, the Red Keep faded into the distance.
Ahead lay only more questions.
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