"His parents?"
Tywin froze again.
But as he led Aemon toward the stone tower, he began speaking.
"Glover's father was Gawen Glover.
As for his mother, no one seems to have ever seen her.
I heard Varys mention her once. Apparently, she was the descendant of a fallen noble family.
It seems Gawen encountered her while traveling through the Crownlands.
Later, he brought her to Deepwood Motte, where she gave birth to Lord Glover..."
When Maester Aemon heard the words "Crownlands," a sharp glint flashed through his eyes.
'Could his mother have been one of Aerys's bastards? Or perhaps a minor noblewoman carrying Targaryen blood?'
'No.'
'To ride such an enormous dragon, he must possess the purest Targaryen bloodline.'
He muttered inwardly.
Immediately afterward, Maester Aemon suppressed his suspicions and continued walking while listening to Tywin.
Meanwhile—
Completely unaware that someone was investigating his mother's origins, Galon was riding Placidusax rapidly toward the Shadow Tower.
Half a day later—
He received an even more fervent welcome at the Shadow Tower than he had at Castle Black.
Mance Rayder stared at the dragon, nearly a hundred meters long, and became even more convinced that Galon was the Son of Hope destined to save the world.
As for the giants—
When they saw that Iron Fist could command a dragon even larger and more powerful than themselves, their awe toward Galon deepened several more levels.
They became even more willing to obey his commands.
And that was precisely why Galon had deliberately ridden the dragon here.
He wanted to completely subdue the giants and wildlings before him.
A short while later—
Seeing that his objective had been achieved, Galon finished giving Mance his instructions and once again mounted Placidusax.
The dragon took to the skies.
'It is time to go to the Haunted Forest and meet the Three-Eyed Raven.'
In only a short while, Galon arrived above the Haunted Forest.
He looked down at the snow-covered woods.
Remembering how Bran had found the Three-Eyed Raven, he suddenly found himself at a loss.
"This is troublesome."
"How am I supposed to find him?"
But just as he was circling above the Haunted Forest on the dragon, a raven suddenly appeared before him, completely ignoring the dragon's oppressive presence.
"Caw!"
The raven gave an almost humanlike cry and tilted its head toward Galon.
Clearly, it was signaling for him to follow.
Then—
Without looking back, the raven flew toward a particular part of the forest.
A glint flashed through Galon's eyes.
He realized that either the Three-Eyed Raven or Bran must have sensed his arrival.
Without hesitation, he urged Placidusax to follow. And so they flew for several hours.
The raven was simply too slow.
Galon had no choice but to have Placidusax follow at a leisurely pace.
Meanwhile, he looked down over the Haunted Forest.
'Just as Tywin said, the Others and the wights under their control have already begun invading the forest.'
'It seems I need to speed things up and notify the Seven Kingdoms as soon as possible.'
'We need to prepare enough dragonglass weapons immediately.'
'Especially arrows.'
'Hmm... I'll need Maester Beckman to come to the Wall.'
Looking at the elegant yet deadly creatures of ice below, Galon thought of the maester in Deepwood Motte who had been developing bows and arrows for him.
'After meeting the Three-Eyed Raven, I'll return to Deepwood Motte first.'
'Come to think of it, I haven't been back to Deepwood Motte in a long time.'
A trace of longing flashed through his red eyes.
Just then—
Placidusax gave a soft growl and began descending.
Galon's attention immediately focused.
He soon saw a cave below... And a small figure of one of the Children of the Forest.
Boom!
Placidusax landed on the ground, sending snow flying in all directions.
Galon calmly jumped from the dragon's back and looked toward the Child of the Forest waiting at the cave entrance.
"Son of the Old Gods, you have finally arrived!"
The small brown-skinned figure, only about five feet tall, blinked a pair of beautiful golden-green eyes and spoke in an extremely melodious form of the Origin Language.
Galon looked at her and instinctively replied in the same language.
"Who are you?"
"A Child of the Forest."
"Leaf."
"I serve the last Green Seer."
Leaf briefly introduced herself. Then she glanced at Placidusax lying on the ground and smiled.
"Son of the Old Gods, come with me.
Bran and the last Green Seer are waiting for you.
Everything you wish to know will be answered... Including your origins and your mission."
A probing look appeared in Galon's eyes.
He stared deeply at Leaf for a moment.
Then he reached out and stroked Placidusax, instructing it not to move.
Afterward—
Relying on his formidable abilities and fearless nature, Galon adjusted his equipment and calmly followed Leaf into the cave.
The moment he entered—
Galon felt a wave of magic sweep across his body.
"This is a magical seal. It is used to prevent the Others and wights from approaching.
I imagine the memory should exist somewhere within your mind."
Leaf looked up at the towering Galon and explained.
Galon's heart stirred.
He cautiously asked,
"How do you know I possess magic?"
Leaf moved her large ears gracefully and answered,
"Because..."
"We are the ones who created all of this."
She led Galon deeper into the cave.
"Child, we have been preparing for this day for a very, very long time."
"Preparing?"
A thoughtful look flashed through Galon's eyes, while even greater doubts rose in his heart.
"Yes."
"Once you meet the last Green Seer, you will understand."
Leaf smiled mysteriously.
Galon could only suppress his doubts and continue following her into the depths of the cave.
Before long—
He encountered the Reed siblings, Jojen and Meera, as well as Hodor, who carried Bran on his back.
After exchanging a few words with them, Galon once again followed Leaf deeper into the cave.
A moment later—
He saw the Three-Eyed Raven, Brynden Rivers, fused with the weirwood.
And beneath the weirwood lay Bran Stark, staring directly at him.
"You finally came, Galon!"
Perhaps because he had been overwhelmed by countless histories and secrets, Bran now seemed much colder than before.
He clearly wanted to smile to welcome Galon.
But the corners of his mouth only twitched slightly, producing a rather awkward expression.
"Bran, you've become too immersed in the past."
Looking at Bran, who seemed almost destroyed by the countless secrets he had witnessed, Galon remembered that the boy still had a use.
He could not help warning him.
"The greensight can show you many things. But you must never forget who you are.
You must always remember this.
You are only a spectator, not the protagonist recorded in the weirwood."
Bran's body suddenly trembled.
"A spectator? I'm only a spectator?!"
"Yes..."
"I can only be a spectator. And I must be a spectator!"
He murmured to himself, suddenly understanding.
"Heh..."
The Three-Eyed Raven's eyes flashed with surprise. His body, pierced by branches, produced a strange, shrill laugh.
"Enough idle talk."
"We don't have much time left."
"Son of the Old Gods, it is time for you to face your destiny."
As soon as his words fell—
The greensight suddenly enveloped everyone present.
Whoosh!
Space twisted.
Time reversed.
Galon's consciousness once again fell into that familiar haze.
When he regained awareness— He found himself standing amid a frozen world of snow and ice.
"This is..."
"This is what Westeros looked like in the beginning!"
Leaf gazed forward with reverence and pointed.
"Look."
"The Old Gods were born."
Galon followed her finger.
A frail weirwood slowly grew amid the snowstorm.
"This is the Old God?"
Before Galon could voice his confusion, the scene before his eyes began rotating again.
Time accelerated at a rate of centuries and millennia.
When the greensight stabilized once more, the entire continent of Westeros had become covered in vast forests, filled with lush greenery.
Everywhere Galon looked—
Children of the Forest and giants lived together across the continent.
They carved faces into weirwoods scattered throughout the land and prayed to the Old Gods.
When they died, they themselves became part of the Old Gods.
Everything was harmonious.
Everything was natural.
Until the arrival of the First Men.
"The arrival of the First Men began a war that lasted for many years.
Countless First Men and Children of the Forest died. And those deaths gave birth to a terrifying god."
Hearing Leaf's sorrowful voice, Galon murmured,
"The Cold God?"
"That's right."
"The ancient evil god sleeping in the Land of Always Winter. The god who controls darkness, death, and cold."
The Three-Eyed Raven's expression was solemn.
With a movement of his consciousness, the scene before them shifted again.
"War brought death.
Death gave birth to this evil god.
Unlike the Old Gods, he possesses an extremely distinct individual consciousness.
And by stealing the power of the Old Gods, he gradually claimed dominion over darkness and cold."
Galon watched the scenes displayed by the Three-Eyed Raven, his ears filled with the man's voice.
At last—
He understood the entire sequence of events.
From the birth of the world until now, the Old Gods had never been a single deity.
They were a collective consciousness formed from the spirits of all things, encompassing everything that existed in the world.
In principle, when all things withered and died, they became part of the Old Gods.
And unless something unexpected happened—
The Old Gods would remain in a state of primordial chaos forever.
They would never actively manifest divine miracles.
Instead, their power would simply be used passively by others.
Just as the Children of the Forest used their magic. But the arrival of the First Men shattered this balance.
They cut down weirwoods and waged war against the Children of the Forest.
The long war between the two sides caused the power of death to expand rapidly.
As a result, within the collective consciousness of the Old Gods, an individual consciousness representing death was born.
The Cold God.
As the only true individual deity born on the continent of Westeros, he instinctively desired to devour all the power of the Old Gods.
Thus, after accumulating strength for a long time, the Long Night erupted.
In that war, the faction represented by the Children of the Forest won a devastating victory.
The power of the Old Gods was also shattered and consumed to a great extent.
The faith of those who yearned for light and fire gave birth to R'hllor, the Lord of Light.
Eventually, his influence gradually grew stronger in Essos.
And because he desired to claim all the remaining power of the Old Gods for himself, he became completely opposed to the Cold God.
At the same time, the surviving Children of the Forest were not idle.
Through their research, they realized that they could no longer allow the Old Gods to remain in such a chaotic state.
Thus, the Children of the Forest conceived a mad plan.
They would give the Old Gods a conscious, individual will.
"We chose Glover, who at the time was known as the King of the First Men.
And we joined him with the most powerful Green Seer of that era, using the power of the Old Gods to establish an oath.
Once their child was born, we would cast an Old Gods spell upon it.
That way, when the child died and returned to the Old Gods, a fragment of its own consciousness would remain.
Then, through magic, we would guide that consciousness into the next generation of Glover descendants.
Generation after generation.
Until finally, a soul capable of containing the power of the Old Gods was born.
As long as the Old Gods continued granting Glover their blessings, we believed our plan would eventually succeed."
When Leaf reached this point, she shook her head helplessly and sighed.
"But we miscalculated again.
The Old Gods did not grant Glover enough of their blessings. Instead, they bestowed them upon the Starks of Winterfell.
As time passed, the Starks defeated Glover and became Kings in the North.
And we Children of the Forest gradually declined.
We no longer possessed the strength to gamble everything on the Starks.
Furthermore, the magic within Glover's bloodline was diluted with every passing generation, until it became extremely difficult to activate.
Until..."
Leaf's expression became strange.
She looked toward Galon.
"Until you were born.
More precisely, after the high fever you suffered two years ago, your body suddenly awakened the bloodline of the Green Seer.
From that day onward, the favor of the Old Gods became completely concentrated within your soul.
And because of that, we noticed you. And saw the first real hope that our ancient plan might finally succeed."
Galon immediately understood.
That day—
Was exactly the day he had crossed into this world.
"So you intended to sacrifice me?"
His expression darkened.
His right hand immediately moved to the hilt of his sword, ready to slaughter his way out if the situation turned against him.
"No!"
Bran shook his head.
"Galon, the Cold God is stirring.
If you cannot kill the Night King and his army of Others, the power of the Cold God will expand once again.
At that point, you will not escape death either."
Leaf blinked her extraordinarily beautiful golden-green eyes and gently reassured him.
"Son of the Old Gods, you don't need to be nervous.
No one on this land can sacrifice you.
However, according to the ancient oath between Glover and the Old Gods, you must seal away the Cold God and absorb his power.
Only then will your soul truly become capable of carrying the power of the Old Gods."
She paused.
Then, in a beautiful cadence of the Origin Language, she continued:
"Son of the Old Gods...
When you finally reach the end of your life, your soul will return to the sea of weirwoods and become the supreme consciousness of the Old Gods.
You will become the only true god of this land."
Galon fell silent.
He had never imagined that the so-called pact between Glover and the Old Gods actually required him to seal the Cold God and reclaim the power that once belonged to the Old Gods.
"The Old Gods?"
"Me?"
After coming back to himself, Galon could not help finding the whole thing absurd.
He had never wanted to become some Old God.
Naturally, he remained only half-convinced by what they had told him.
To prevent the people before him from setting some trap, he used his own authority, which surpassed even that of the Three-Eyed Raven, to carefully examine the greensight.
But the historical secrets he had witnessed contained no signs of being concealed, interrupted, or pieced together.
Galon had no choice but to believe Leaf and the others.
"What do you want me to do? How do I seal and absorb the Cold God?"
In the end, Galon asked in a deep voice.
Regardless of whether the Old Gods truly existed or not—
As the man who would soon sit upon the Iron Throne, Galon would never allow the army of the Cold God to invade the kingdom he regarded as his own.
Leaf smiled faintly.
Speaking in the Origin Language, she explained the method of sealing and absorbing the Cold God.
After confirming that everything was correct, Galon looked toward Bran again.
"Bran, your mother, Lady Catelyn, died not long ago. Do you want to return to Winterfell with me?"
Sadness flashed through Bran's eyes.
But he still shook his head.
"My mission is not yet complete. I must remain here... Galon, give my regards to Sansa and Arya."
Galon stared deeply at Bran, who was lying beneath the feet of the Three-Eyed Raven.
He solemnly nodded.
He said nothing more.
He turned and left the cave with complicated emotions.
A moment later—
He mounted Placidusax and flew directly toward the Land of Always Winter.
There, Galon intended to capture several Others and bring them back as proof, convincing the Seven Kingdoms to unite against the invasion of the Others.
After he departed—
The Three-Eyed Raven suddenly turned toward the mysterious Child of the Forest.
"Will he succeed?"
Leaf nodded without hesitation.
"He will definitely succeed."
Bran's expression remained calm.
"He must succeed."
The Three-Eyed Raven fell silent for a moment.
"I hope everything goes smoothly. This world cannot withstand another failure."
Leaf and Bran nodded in succession.
"Yes. The Long Night is coming.
The Cold God's power will grow at an astonishing rate. And in response, R'hllor's power will also increase.
Fortunately, he has successfully mastered a dragon. That gives our plan a glimmer of hope."
Leaf looked toward the cave entrance.
Her gaze seemed to pass through the stone and snow, as though she could see Galon flying through the heavens on the dragon.
Her expression became slightly strange.
"The Old Gods truly favor him.
From the North to King's Landing, and now to mastering a dragon... Almost everything has unfolded according to his wishes.
I have never seen the Old Gods favor anyone so deeply."
Bran and the Three-Eyed Raven both gave bitter smiles.
They could not deny it.
"Everything we could do, we have already done. From here onward, we can only wait and see what happens."
The Three-Eyed Raven slowly exhaled.
Then he closed his eyes once more.
At the same time—
A raven spread its wings and flew through the endless snowstorm, witnessing Galon capture the Others.
Before long—
Galon cut down several trees and fashioned them into a cage.
He then captured several Others and placed them inside, sealing the cage with magic.
Afterward, he tied the cage to Placidusax's right leg with ropes.
Once everything was ready—
Galon looked across the endless white landscape of the Land of Always Winter.
Then he climbed onto Placidusax's back.
In the blink of an eye—
The black dragon rose into the sky and flew toward Winterfell.