Today was the final day of the hunt in the Kingswood. The opportunity to become the vanguard commander of the Seven Kingdoms' allied army would be decided among Lancelot, Joffrey, the Mountain, and Ser Loras.
Among the four, Joffrey had managed to bag quite a bit of game, but only because his attendants had helped him. His personal tally wasn't much: just two wild boars, three deer, and five rabbits.
As for Lancelot, besides the black bear he killed on the first day, he had also taken down two wolves, four deer, eight wild boars, and eighteen rabbits.
On the last day, Lancelot stalked alone through the densest part of the forest, a perfect place for concealment.
He focused intently on the trap he had set, waiting quietly for his ideal prey to take the bait.
Just as he was fully concentrated, with nothing else on his mind, someone slipped beside him like a loach.
"Our Golden Lion King is actually lying here on his stomach! Not majestic at all," a voice filled with laughter rang out.
Lancelot turned his head and saw Ygritte staring at him.
Lancelot frowned. She had been clinging to him constantly for the past few days.
"What are you doing here?"
"Lancelot, I'm here to help you! I'm a wildling; when it comes to hunting, you should be calling me 'Grandma'!" Ygritte laughed.
Ever since their passionate encounter in the bear's den, she felt Lancelot was far superior to Jon Snow. Her wildling nature—the admiration for strength—compelled her to actively pursue Lancelot.
As they were speaking, a seven-colored rainbow light suddenly appeared in the forest. Lancelot and Ygritte instantly fell silent, looking toward the clearing.
A deer-like creature walked out. It was surrounded by a halo of light, making it difficult to see clearly.
Lancelot used magic to discern the creature's true appearance.
It could be described as a standard elk (or moose, depending on the specific interpretation of 'milu' in this context, but usually elk/stag in fantasy), but its colors were brilliant. Its body was mostly white, but its antlers and four hooves were black. Additionally, its back and belly bore seven stripes of different colors, like a rainbow.
"That is the Nine-Colored Deer!" Ygritte whispered.
"You know its name?" Lancelot asked curiously.
"I saw one once in the Haunted Forest," she said.
"The Haunted Forest... but this is the Kingswood! How did It get here?"
Lancelot asked.
"The Nine-Colored Deer is a divine stag. It has seven colored stripes, plus black and white, making nine colors in total. In our wildling legends, the Nine-Colored Deer is one of the incarnations of the Old Gods," Ygritte explained.
"The Old Gods..."
A thought suddenly struck Lancelot. If the true forms of the Seven worshipped by southerners were Cthulhu and his kin, the Great Old Ones slumbering in R'lyeh, then could the Old Gods worshipped by northerners and wildlings be the other "Old Gods" (Outer Gods/Elder Gods)?
"Let's not make a sound. The Nine-Colored Deer is too terrifying. Let It leave on its own," Lancelot whispered.
"Lancelot, don't you want to be the vanguard of the Seven Kingdoms' army? I can help you. As long as you ride back on the Nine-Colored Deer, the position of vanguard commander will undoubtedly be yours," Ygritte said.
"What are you doing?" Lancelot asked.
Ignoring Lancelot, Ygritte charged out directly. Without using her bow, she lunged at the Nine-Colored Deer and leaped onto its back.
The deer began to run wildly.
Lancelot chased after her relentlessly but was eventually left behind.
"Ygritte!" Lancelot shouted into the empty forest.
But he received no response.
Finally, just as Lancelot was searching aimlessly for Ygritte, she appeared before him, riding the Nine-Colored Deer.
"Lancelot, get on. Let's go back together!" she smiled.
"You!"
Lancelot looked at Ygritte, who seemed somewhat different.
"Are you... okay? You look different!"
At this moment, Ygritte seemed to possess a kind of holy radiance, like a fairy.
"I'm fine. Come up, give me your hand!" Ygritte said.
Lancelot involuntarily reached out his arm. Ygritte seemed stronger than before; she pulled Lancelot up effortlessly.
Together, they rode the Nine-Colored Deer out of the forest.
However, just before reaching the camp, Ygritte jumped off early.
"You?" Lancelot looked at her in confusion.
"This glory is for you alone! Just don't forget my kindness!" Ygritte slapped the Nine-Colored Deer on the rump, and the divine beast walked forward.
Lancelot rode the Nine-Colored Deer into the camp. The King, ministers, knights, and soldiers all stared in shock at Lancelot atop the divine stag.
"What is that creature? Seven Hells! Ned, do you know? That might be the legendary Nine-Colored Deer of House Baratheon! It is ten thousand times rarer than a White Hart."
"There is a saying passed down in House Baratheon: if any descendant encounters the Divine Stag, the position of family head should pass to him," King Robert said excitedly to Ned.
"Your Grace, Lancelot is not a Baratheon. His surname is Lannister," Eddard Stark reminded him.
King Robert sighed, "If only he were my son."
Joffrey, Myrcella, and the others surrounded Lancelot.
"Lancelot, where did you find the Nine-Colored Deer? Is It the Divine Stag of the Kingswood? Get down, let me ride It!" Joffrey couldn't resist reaching out to touch the Nine-Colored Deer.
But suddenly, he went flying backward, stunning everyone.
"The Nine-Colored Deer kicked the Prince!"
"Prince Joffrey, are you alright?"
"Help! Someone help him!"
As everyone crowded around Joffrey, Lancelot also approached.
"Joff, are you okay? I don't know why It kicked you!" Lancelot said.
At this moment, Qyburn arrived and examined Joffrey.
"Nothing serious, just a few broken ribs. He needs to rest for a few months," Qyburn stated.
"The Divine Stag refused Joffrey's approach but allowed Lancelot to ride. Why is that?" Many people couldn't understand the logic.
Lancelot returned to the Nine-Colored Deer and stroked Its neck. Although he couldn't speak with It, Lancelot could sense that this creature was of a higher order than beasts like Hrakkar.
Lancelot looked at his remaining Popularity Points and used them all to appraise the Nine-Colored Deer.
"???"
"???"
"Divine Beast"
"???"
"???"
"???"
In the end, he only received the answer that the Nine-Colored Deer was a Divine Beast.
Lancelot knew biological ranks were divided into many tiers: from the lowest wild beasts, to exotic beasts (like Hrakkar), to spirit beasts, to sacred beasts, and finally, divine beasts.
This Nine-Colored Deer had skipped the Spirit Beast and Sacred Beast levels, reaching the Divine Beast rank directly.
"How on earth did Ygritte gain Its approval, and even get It to accept me?" Lancelot wondered.