Chapter 298
2021-01-06
Chapter 298 Desperate to find my brotherIgor walked towards the giant Weirwood and touched it cautiously.
If you just look through the tunnel, you can't tell that this is a Weirwood... The reason why Togenhen Flint solemnly vowed to say that this is the largest Heart Tree in the Seven Kingdoms is purely because of a huge human face carved into it. On wood - and in Westeros, only Old Gods believers do that on Weirwood.
In addition, there also happened to be a Weirwood seedling on the kitchen floor, which can support this conjecture, so no one doubts his statement at all.
As for the huge canopy and root system growing in the ice wall, Weirwood gave Wall the power to resist Others or something, it's all association and inference.
…
But it’s the same as Melisandre thinks Igor is the Child of Prophecy: many guesses without conclusive evidence, once they are subconsciously determined first, then they will be whatever they look at. Like, there's evidence all over the place.
Aside from these factors, if you only look at the scene in front of you, there is actually another possibility: in front of them is a simple Magic door engraved with a human face, but the material happens to be Weirwood, and the top of the head is on the ground. It also happened to have a deformed Weirwood sapling.
This is not impossible.
You can see the whole leopard at a glance, and you can see the sea when you see the drop of water. Igor tries to find more clues from the wooden door to prove...or disprove that it is part of a tree. If all goes well, he will soon become the Night's Watch Legion Lord Commander to lead the Wall defenders and land-granters against the natural enemies of mankind, and it is absolutely beneficial to have a deeper understanding of the nature of the "woven magic power" in Wall. .
＊＊＊
(I don’t know if this glowing wood is radioactive?)
Igor muttered in his heart, and touched it for a while through the glove, Nothing unusual was found. Thinking that a layer of fur is also impossible to protect against radiation, he simply took off his gloves and touched them with his bare hands.
The wood surface is cool, but not iced at all, with a strange temperature. If I had to give a specific number, it should be around ten degrees Celsius—not necessarily warm, but under the bleak Wall's feet, the temperature was indeed much higher than the surrounding environment.
(Is this the result of the magic power's operation, or is it a side effect of its glow?)
One question after another floated in Igor's mind, but the answer was hard to guess. After fumbling around, he discovered a new detail: the door is not a flat piece, it is curved.
The central axis of the giant face is the most prominent, while the cheeks are slowly restrained from the sides to the edge of the surrounding frozen soil, and on the whole... Apparently aspherical surfaces.
Although not conclusive evidence, it fits the profile of a part of "some giant cylinder".
Humans live on the planet, but they can't feel the curvature of the world under their feet. This is determined by a physical concept - the larger the surface of the same shape, the smaller the curvature, the more the surface feels. like flat. The width of the door exposed to the permafrost is about three meters, and the curve formed by the outer periphery of the cross-section from left to right... Visually, it is very close to the twenty-fifth to one-thirtieth circle - that is, a central angle is in A sector of about thirteen-fourteen degrees - the outer arc.
If this face is actually engraved on a Weirwood, and assuming that the trunk of the tree is a standard cylinder, then its trunk cross-section circumference can reach an astonishing seventy-five to ninety-nine Meters...divided by Pi...After doing a quick mental calculation, Igor concluded that the tree, if it existed, would have a cross-sectional diameter between twenty-three and twenty-eight meters.
And this is in line with the thickness of the bottom of the Wall!
…
Yes, it could still be just a coincidence. But you must know that everything in the universe is interconnected, and all coincidences are inevitable in a sense! If the giant Weirwood supports Wall's speculation and inference, then Greenseer...or Old Gods, is by no means what Igor thought before: just a Sorcerer who is free and does not matter whether he lives or survives, an irrelevant Important hair god. It may well have fought alongside Azor Ahai and even guided him in the legendary Dawn battle to defend all of humanity, and contributed to the later construction of Wall, the formation of the Night's Watch Legion, and in Song of Ice and Fire, he… ...at least once made a difference!
(I don't know, how many Weirwoods are underground along the Wall?)
＊＊＊
Igor shook his head, and even began to wonder if someone else was affecting his thinking . He regretfully admits that despite his efforts to be objective and rational, Flint patriarch's preconceived introduction eventually affected oneself's judgment.
I don't think much, is it a huge Weirwood tree buried in the ground, and the others have a lot of energy, and it is inconvenient to dig through the frozen soil to see clearly?
Igor gathered his thoughts and put on his gloves again. On the other hand, most of the North nobles also recovered from the shock, with a trace of piety and awe in their expressions.
If you carve a face on ordinary Weirwood and call it Heart Tree, it is used to symbolize Old Gods, then this wooden face with a faint fluorescent light and can speak with open eyes , I am afraid that even if it is directly regarded as the real body of Old Gods, many people will buy it.
But after a few minutes of whispering discussions and silent prayers, some of the North nobles still remembered the real purpose of oneself here.
Robb Stark broke the awe-inspiring atmosphere: "Such a Heart Tree is truly breathtaking, but—what does it have to do with the disappearance of my younger brother?"
" en. "Flint patriarch nods, and then said: "We went down the well to look for Bran Young Master, and found the traces of their entire group on the ground. The strange thing is that the clues disappeared before this face, and there is no There is no sign of returning, as if...they passed through this face."
Immediately someone questioned: "Traces? It's so hard under the freezing, how can it be possible to step on footprints?"
"If there are footprints, only the big stable boy can barely see them, and they are also covered by the latecomers... But Master Bran Young can't walk, he is put on a simple stretcher Drag and move, the scratches on the ground of the wooden strips are quite clear."
......
No way, at Robb's request, follow the squire They went to great lengths to reignite the torch and lifted it close to the ground. In the tunnel, there was a faint air current blowing from nowhere. Under the erratic firelight, there were indeed two conspicuous scratches leading straight to the wooden face, and finally disappeared strangely. Beneath it, no sign of turning back could be found.
"I can't see anything." After staring for a few seconds, Roose Bolton asked in a flat tone: "And, how do you prove that this is not something you just scratched out on the ground to cross?"
Flint patriarch's face finally showed a displeased look: "Lord Bolton's words are too hurtful, the Flint clan is the devout believers of the Old Gods, in front of this sacred Heart Tree, the in front of the Old Gods Of one's eyes, how dare we deceive Fengjun? Lord Stark, if there is a half-truth in what I said to you today, let my clan be starved and cold in this cold winter, buried under the sword of Others, I won't see the next spring dawn!"
The credibility of this oath, if placed elsewhere, depends almost entirely on the credibility of the speaker and the relationship of the listener to it, but in this case it is sensitive to seasonal topics. The north of the North, under the Heart Tree again, is another matter.
The descendants of the First Men believe in the Old Gods. People in the North will walk, read or rest in Godswood, pray and worship Spiritual God to seek peace of mind; they will hold important events such as naming ceremony, weddings, funerals, etc. under the gaze of the faces on Weirwood tree trunks, so that Heart Tree will witness the new The birth of life, the union of lovers, or the passing of elders; in older histories and legends, the little kings would even pick Weirwood's densest places to make alliances, negotiate peace or negotiate major events, and let the Old Gods be the parties. oath or promise notarized...
"Oath before Heart Tree" is a very solemn thing for Old Gods believers, even more how is this kind of oath? Speaking of this, if you still question it in public, it is almost no different from a public break. The Flint clan assisted in guarding the Wall and North, and had no major fault or responsibility in the disappearance of Bran. At this moment, they were accompanying the North princes as their masters, with a warm and considerate attitude. As a guest, how could there be any reason to humiliate him?
Not to mention - in front of this huge wooden face that is full of light and can speak, almost everyone in the tunnel is shrouded in a strong, being watched by some existence. a feeling of. Without much reason, everyone subconsciously chose to trust Togenhenn Flint, fellow believer of the Old Gods.
…
"Okay, Earl Flint, take back that oath, we all believe in you." Robb Stark has been Lord of the North for a short time, but the basic The strong relationship was still clear, so he spoke in a timely manner, "But, my younger brother is still whereabouts unknown, his life and death are still unknown, and the clues are broken here, so where did Bran go? is it possible that was This Weirwood was eaten? I always get an answer, come and tell my family and people!"
Robb Stark's request is not unreasonable, but the clue does stop here. , what can Togenhenn Flint do? To blame, blame him for not sending someone to guard this big well!
"The trace disappears here, and I can't figure it out... If the adults really want to pursue it..." Togenhen Flint gritted his teeth: "As long as you give an order, we will be at worst in front of us. This face is cut open, see what's behind it, it will make Bran Stark disappear here!"
This is obviously angry, and if it is on the ground, Robb is indeed still for Flint. The clan was amused by the rigidity that even a small Weirwood seedling did not dare to move, but now... with ten more courage, he did not dare to order the huge Heart tree in front of him with the word "sacred" written all over it. The Tree was chiseled and the Divine Vestige was blatantly destroyed.
The tunnel was quiet again, and everyone was thinking about a solution to the problem. Eventually, Hoser Umber, who had a relationship with Igor and came with his nephew, broke the silence: "Master Stark, I heard in the last Hearth that Master Bran Young expressed his wish to go to Winterfell when he was in Winterfell. beyond the wall?"
"There's this...as far as I know, it seems to be because of the two Reed children. They went north from The Neck at the harvest feast to celebrate, and have been since then. Stayed in Winterfell with my younger brother. Probably since then, Bran kept asking about beyond the wall and offered to visit the wall many times..." Robb Stark brows tightly frowns: "At that time my mother was Realizing that it may be Jiujian and Meera who are instilling some strange thoughts in Bran, but Reed has always been a loyal bannermen of Stark, and he is not good at Expulsion Order...I didn't expect that he will eventually leave Run away from home!"
"The two children of Reed's family...I haven't heard much of my daughter, but I've heard about the child named Jiujian." Galbart Glover interjected: "Listen. Said, this child almost died of grey water fever when he was a child, and after miraculously survived, he claimed to have Greensight and could see many things in his dreams. I always thought this was a good way to cover up the problem of the child's brain after he recovered from the disease It's said... But... since a heart tree that glows and can talk can exist, and a child who has Greensight and can see the dive decree in his dreams, where is the absurdity?"
"What do you mean?" Robb looked towards Glover count suspiciously: "You mean, my younger brother ran away from home this time and disappeared in Nightfort... Is it the will of the Old Gods? The clues disappeared here because Bran was killed by Him Picked up? But the Old Gods need my younger brother—what's the use of a little boy with a handicap?"
"It's not something we mortals can guess, but at least it provides us with a Possible idea: your younger brother, North's first-in-line heir, didn't have an accident. He came to this tree, and when asked 'who are you', he was named in the newspaper, and then he was killed by some god. It was taken. At this moment, under its care, safe and sound, and maybe even contributing to everyone, can it make people feel much better? "
"Huh—" Robb's face twitched, subconsciously wanting to say it wasn't nonsense. But after hesitating for a while, he sighed for a long time—he thought about what Galbart Glover said. , I feel a little better in my heart, I hope, it is such a good thing.
However, oneself came here and witnessed Divine Vestige, so I have some expectations for Bran's luckier encounter. , but back to Winterfell, how can oneself convince mother and little brother Rickon?
is it possible that, take them all the way to see this giant Heart Tree?
…
Robb pondered for a while, but in the end he didn't have any more thoughts. He raised his head and looked at the magical Heart Tree that was shining in the dark. He understood that this trip to find his brother was most likely to be drawn here. This is the end of Perfection. If you continue to pursue it, you will either embarrass the Flint clan or hold on to Igor. These two are reliable friends... In this troubled autumn, no... troublesome winter, why bother Tossing oneself and the people around you?
"That's all. In the end, the young Lord of North shook his head helplessly, turned his head to face Igor and Togenheng: "I'll accept this statement for the time being. But in any case, I also ask Night's Watch and the clans along the Wall, including Flint, to pay more attention. Once my younger brother appears again, both inside and outside the Wall, at all costs, I will immediately send him back to Winterfell safely. ”
The two who were named naturally agreed again and again, and they were greatly relaxed from the bottom of their hearts. As soon as Robb said this, Bran ran away to Wall and disappeared. Continuing to live a good life in Nightfort, Igor can also concentrate on scheduling the new and old residents of the land grant to deal with the next real inspection of the land grant resettlement program.
Standing in front of the Heart Tree again After a while, everyone gradually began to feel calm about the existence of Divine Vestige. Finally, after chatting a few words, they agreed: first go back to the ground and visit the Wall section where Nightfort and the Flint clan are in charge of defense. Robb really loves the younger brother, and has already This kind of concern and attention is displayed, but the truth is: the disappearance of a House Stark member is not as important as the safety of the entire North and even the Seven Kingdoms.
They packed up their moods and lined up in the direction they came from. Back, everyone was thinking about their own thoughts, and no one said anything for a while...
In the silence, Igor felt that oneself had waited for a good time to speak: "Master Stark, Castle Black is here today. Something went wrong and I thought it was necessary to let you know. ”
—
(end of this chapter)