The sound of heavy chains sounded, and although the throne room was crowded with people, it was silent. No one spoke, and everyone held their breath and looked outside the throne room.
Eddard Stark, Duke of Winterfell, was wearing prison uniform, with heavy chains tied to his hands and feet. His gray-black hair was messy, his face was unkempt, his appearance was unkempt, and his eyes were a little dull.
He was escorted by the Unsullied soldiers to the throne room, and looked at the nobles of the Seven Kingdoms around him with slightly confused eyes. Most of them had unfamiliar faces, and only a few of them were still familiar to them.
They greeted Eddard Stark excitedly.
"Lord Stark!"
"Lord Eddard Stark!"
One of the burly northern nobles wore the coat of arms of "Winter Sun". The beard on his face was trembling slightly and he looked a little excited, because this was the first time for Lord Stark, their lord, after more than half a year.
He had been out for the first time, but he had been imprisoned in the Red Keep without knowing whether he was alive or dead. No one from the outside except Lady Catelyn had the right to visit him.
"Lord Karstark."
And Ed dragged a heavy chain through the crowds on both sides of the throne room under the escort of the Unsullied soldiers. He heard the voices coming from both sides and saw the familiar faces. The confusion on his face faded slightly, and the voice
responded hoarsely.
These people are the surviving northern nobles. They had surrendered to the Targaryen army after the Battle of Riverrun. They had even been integrated into the regular army a long time ago, disrupting the Second Army and the Third Army.
, followed Oberyn on the expedition to the West, and the other part served in the Golden Company, followed Viserys to defeat Stannis, and crushed the resistance of the Stormlands.
Even many northern nobles have made outstanding achievements and received promotions or awards.
The climate and terrain determine the hard life of the people in the north. The bitter cold in winter makes the northerners very different from the southerners south of the Neck. They know that winter is coming since they are born, and they must be prepared to survive.
Therefore, in such an environment, northerners have no time to care about empty courtesy, court rituals, fancy culture or martial arts tournaments. They speak very straightforwardly and do not know how to adapt, and their expressed wishes are also very simple.
The Stark family has ruled the North for thousands of years and has long been entrenched. They hope that the governor who will rule the North in the future will also be a northerner, rather than a governor who parachuted down from somewhere. This is their only demand.
.
The stubborn and xenophobic character of the northerners is somewhat similar to that of the Dornish people. It would be very difficult for outsiders to rule the north.
"The North once fought side by side with us to resist the common enemy of all mankind, and decisively surrendered after King Robert was defeated and captured, and made great achievements..."
Later dynasties will have a less than objective and fair evaluation of the previous dynasty. Generally speaking, they will try their best to belittle the other party in order to obtain a relatively justifiable reason for themselves.
It is rare to raise the evaluation of the previous dynasty to a higher level. The Targaryen family once despised Robert Baratheon as a 'usurper' and did not admit that the other party had obtained the sovereignty of the kingdom for ten years.
Time, but since Viserys was determined to establish a new country and separate it from the previous Targaryen dynasty, based on this need, he exceptionally recognized the existence of King Robert and admitted that the other party had captured the entire country, and the Targaryens
The dynasty fell to Viserys' father, the Mad King Aerys II.
Political compromises often involve everyone getting what they want, and the reversal of tone in the court only happens in an instant. It is common for skilled politicians and nobles to say one thing in the morning and then deny what they said in the morning.
Therefore, the 'Usurper' became 'King Robert', but the nature of that war did not change. It was still the 'Usurper's War.' Robert usurped the Iron Throne of the Targaryen family and became the king of the Seven Kingdoms.
The Duke of Winterfell, Eddard Stark, walked to the stage with heavy shackles on his hands and feet. His upright character naturally couldn't figure out what the subtle changes in his words meant, and he didn't want to think about it.
He also saw a few familiar faces at the front of the throne room, Varys the 'Eight-Clawed Spider', Oberyn the Prince of Dorne, and his former rival Jon Connington, but most of them were still unfamiliar faces.
The commander of the Golden Company, Mistoin, the Dothraki Blood Guard Kago, and the Commander-in-Chief of the Unsullied Legion, Black Worm, their eyes were sharply scratching on Ed Stark's body like a knife.
"Long time no see, Lord Eddard Stark."
‘Littlefinger’ Petyr Baelish, wearing a black cloak, also stood at the forefront of the ministers, smiling slightly and nodding towards Ed.
On the other side, the king's advisor "Little Devil" Tyrion Lannister, who was standing on the steps in front of the Iron Throne, coughed lightly at this moment and raised his head to look at the Valyrian steel crown on the Iron Throne.
The silver-haired young man then continued to speak.
"Your Majesty, the people of the North actively surrendered and did not resist the reunification of the country. However, the sins of the Usurper's War have not yet been liquidated and the North has not been recovered. Therefore, Lord Eddard Stark is still qualified to retain the status of Duke of Winterfell..."
Tyrion's voice echoed in the silent throne room. This was of course not his own point of view, but the preset lines and script.
Duke Eddard Stark, who looked haggard and unshaven, thought about what his wife had told him before she left. Then he fell silent for a moment, took a deep breath, bowed his head to the Iron Throne, and said in a hoarse voice.
"His Majesty."
Duke Eddard surrendered and lowered his head and addressed himself as Your Majesty. All the northern nobles present breathed a sigh of relief except for one person.
Ramsay Snow's father and brother are both dead, but Ramsay is not as eager to get his last name as he was back then. Instead, he is not anxious to give his last name Bolton because he has other plans.
He saw that Eddard did not use his strong-willed spirit as a northerner and refused to bow to Viserys. Instead, he surrendered when he came up, and his eyes were slightly gloomy.
He had great ambitions and aimed at the northern border. However, he shook his head and showed a bright smile.
Viserys sat on the Iron Throne without speaking, and just nodded slightly. Eddard Stark, who was attending as the Duke of Winterfell, dragged his heavy shackles aside and stood beside Oberyn.
"Lord Eddard Stark."
Oberyn escorted Tywin Lannister back to King's Landing. The Dornish man's skin was somewhat dark, and he had a smile somewhat similar to Ramsay's, and then he greeted Eddard Stark.
road.
"I have heard about Lord Stark's reputation for fairness and strictness a long time ago."
"Prince Oberyn."
And Ed had just been released from prison. He was already exhausted from being held in prison for so long, but he really had nothing to say to Oberyn, so he just nodded and responded with a hoarse voice.
One sentence.
At this moment, another voice came from in front of the Iron Throne, which immediately attracted the attention of both people.