Chapter 234: Is the Three-Eyed Crow Still a Targaryen?
The dragons flew over the Wall, swept across the sky, and headed north. Even with magic protecting them, however, the sight of the northern cold and the endless wilderness still made them somewhat restless. Perhaps it would be better if the dragons came here when they were a little older. By then, the weather should have returned to normal, with regular spring, summer, autumn, and winter seasons throughout the year.
"I am the Targaryen who has traveled the farthest north!" Rhaegar thought. He had flown farther than Good Queen Alysanne and the Conciliator, and magic made the dragons tougher.
"Great-great-granduncle, Bloodraven from King Daeron II's era!" Rhaegar recalled the old man, the person he was looking for. After such a long time, he couldn't have accomplished much. The so-called divine powers and magic were actually quite limited.
Rhaegar witnessed the cold and the trees of the far North, the greatest features beyond the Wall. Ancient oaks and tall, gray-green sentinel trees, gloomy sentinel pines, and bare brown chestnut trees.
Between heaven and earth, snow fell chaotically. The snowflakes were as large as goose feathers. The dragons' screams disrupted the winter, and the snow near them melted and evaporated. The dragons' breath carried a scent of sulfur and fire. There were no wildlings in the forest, nor were there any White Walkers.
"Quiet! Partners! We'll go back after a little while longer!" Rhaegar soothed the dragons, which were circling above the Haunted Forest. The dragons' screams and forms were so obvious that Rhaegar believed the Three-Eyed Crow's people would appear soon.
The dragons circled and flew. On a high slope, Rhaegar saw a person waiting. Or rather, he was no longer a living person, but one who had been kissed by death.
"You have arrived!" Coldhands said. The ranger was riding a giant elk. The ranger's face was pale, his hands were pitch black and hard as iron. Except for his hands and face, he was wrapped in layers of wool, cured leather, and chainmail, while his drawn-up hood and the black wool scarf covering the lower half of his face concealed his features.
"I cannot cross the Wall! I can only meet you here!" Coldhands said. Beside Coldhands was a girl, a Child of the Forest. Rhaegar knew about this situation with the Wall; it was due to magical wards and protections. Like Storm's End, the Wall was imbued with magic. As long as the Wall and the Night's Watch remained, monsters could never cross.
Rhaegar scrutinized the girl next to Coldhands and found she was unlike ordinary girls. She was short, and the skin beneath her leaf cloak was mottled like a doe's. Her eyes were extraordinarily large, clear, a mixture of gold and green, narrow like a cat's eyes. Humans would not have such eyes. She had a messy mass of brown, red, and gold hair, these autumn colors tangled into clumps, interspersed with grapevines, twigs, and withered flowers.
"Cute! I want to pet her!" Rhaegar thought, looking at the Child of the Forest's hair. They were smaller than normal humans but lived longer.
"I cannot see your heart, nor can the greenseer. But your gaze makes me feel that you are a respectable person without a respectable heart! You had an ancestor who toyed with many women and eventually died miserably, so obese that he burst." The Child of the Forest said, looking at Rhaegar.
"Haha!" Rhaegar gave an awkward laugh. All men in the world are like this. "You are one of the few remaining Children of the Forest!"
"Strictly speaking, you should call me a Singer. We are small, agile, and love the forest." The Child of the Forest said. "I know far more than you realize. I was born in the age of Valyria, and I traveled the human world for two hundred years, observing, listening, and learning. I intended to continue my journey, but my legs ached and my heart grew weary, so I turned back home." What long lives—truly deserving of being Children of the Forest!
"I crossed the Wall, and I'm here! Why didn't my great-great-granduncle, Lord Brynden, come?" Rhaegar controlled the dragon and spoke with deliberate exaggeration, looking at the ranger and the Child of the Forest beside him. The place where the Three-Eyed Crow resides also has many Children of the Forest.
The scene was comical now: a dragon and a Dragonrider, a small and strange Child of the Forest, and Coldhands, the living dead. But since they shared common interests, the atmosphere wasn't overly awkward. The three people's postures were also interesting; they faced each other from a distance, with Rhaegar riding the dragon, looking down at the two figures below.
"He doesn't use that name often anymore! Human emotions are only a small part of time!" the Child of the Forest said.
Rhaegar was speechless, but this was indeed reality. Bloodraven was probably older than an archmaester, judging by appearances.
"You are truly daring, but fortunately, you have dragons and magic! The scent of dragons drives those with ill intentions wild. Otherwise, you would definitely be surrounded by the White Walkers. White Walkers walk on the snow with almost no visible presence." Coldhands said.
"Skillful people are naturally brave! Without the dragon and magic, I would be like those mortals. Has the Night King awakened?" Rhaegar asked Coldhands. He had the appearance of a ranger, but Rhaegar didn't know from which era he was. After all, rangers who disappeared are countless throughout history.
"Not yet!" Coldhands said. "The aura of cold is growing stronger, and the Night King's minions are appearing more frequently. It would be very bad if he discovered you. The sight of the wildlings fleeing resembles a river."
"Are you going to guide me to the Three-Eyed Crow's location?" Rhaegar asked.
"It is not the time yet; you are too dangerous. The Three-Eyed Crow cannot approach you, and the crow cannot observe well because the magical fluctuations and scent surrounding you obscure him. You are a variable, a strange element." The Child of the Forest replied to Rhaegar.
"When can he see me?" Rhaegar asked. He was still looking forward to meeting the Three-Eyed Crow, a demigod and a long-lived tree-man.
"Winter is coming, and the Long Night will arrive! Humanity needs heroes, and it needs our help!" The Child of the Forest recited the prophecy. "Prince Rhaegar, the one whom the Three-Eyed Crow cannot understand, may be the prophet who saves this world."
"Then I await the arrival of that day. Why can't the Three-Eyed Crow personally kill the Night King? Why must mortals struggle so hard!" Rhaegar proposed a suggestion.
"I am sorry, the Crow does not possess the ability you mentioned." The Child of the Forest said apologetically. "After all, we are not true deities who can solve all problems. We must believe in the heart trees and trust the trees and nature."
"So the Crow has three eyes, a thousand and one eyes. Does he only have a few tricks up his sleeve regarding abilities?" Rhaegar thought to himself. It wouldn't just be about watching past 'movies' every day, feeling like he's spying on everything. The core abilities of a greenseer are controlling nature, investigating the past, and predicting the future. They possess greensight and the warg gift. But these abilities are ultimately enhancements of magic, in an age of low magic.
"The Prince needs to wait and accumulate strength. The awakening of the Night King will be a disaster for the entire civilized world!" the Child of the Forest said sternly. "Both the Children of the Forest and the giants are few in number now, and you wouldn't want civilization to be destroyed. We can cooperate."
Rhaegar reluctantly looked at the two people before him. Neither of them was an ordinary player; they were a collection of ancient spirits and sprites. If Rhaegar were to go to that place, Bloodraven's lair, he would definitely have to stay there for a long time.
"What if I demand a result now? I want to see him." Rhaegar asked. Flames surged in his palm; ordinary people would not dare to reply. Everyone was a little nervous, but they were also testing the waters.
"I'm afraid that's unrealistic, because many things are in flux and transformation." The Child of the Forest and Coldhands said together.
"Aren't you afraid of me?" Rhaegar asked, flames dancing on his fingertips. The Crown of Flame, the King of Fire. He said this to the two people.
"We are not afraid, because we sense that you have neither the possibility nor the desire for slaughter." The Child of the Forest and Coldhands said.
"You judged quite accurately," Rhaegar smiled. In fact, the person he most wanted to see was about to become one with the trees. The Three-Eyed Crow also had a group of people protecting him.
"Is the Three-Eyed Crow still a Targaryen?"
"He is no longer a Targaryen, he is no longer a Rivers, and he is no longer a mortal."
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