Eagle of the Valley of Ice and Fire.

Chapter 270: Arryn and the Children of the Forest

268. Arryn and the Children of the Forest
"The night is long and full of dangers. The day is bright and prosperous." The child of the forest, entangled in red vines, waded on the water, and his voice was very thin and sharp, like a baby's babbling.

The collision of the baby's voice and the serious religious terms was quite funny, not to mention that the tone of the son of the forest was teasing.

"That's what the witches of R'hllor said when they saw us, even under the watchful eyes of the gods of nature." The Child of the Forest glanced at Melisandre who was sleeping beside him.

Attis remained silent. He noticed that these red gods, old gods, and others had a common trait of interfering in the mundane world.

During the long night, he remembered the image of the Wall that R'hllor had shown him in his dream.

Countless White Walkers, resurrected dead, dying monsters that are lifeless but agile.

This is a threat, Attis thought, a threat to the world and a threat to the gods.

"Long night," Attis repeated the word.

The crows screamed and paced back and forth along the branches of the weirwood, as if frightened.

"The Scarlet Witch recognized the threat of the Long Night," the Child of the Forest marveled, "but she had lost her way."

“How to get lost?”

"The search for the Lightbringer is in vain."

"She found it," Attis confirmed.

The sharp voice of a crow croaked, and an owl in the distance seemed to turn its head, its round eyes fixed on him.

The Child of the Forest stepped back. "She is wrong."

Artis frowned. "If Westeros really encounters a catastrophe similar to Mount Doom in Valyria, only the leaders of mankind can protect the whole country." He opened his arms, and the blue robes behind him stood solemnly. "In the Seven Kingdoms, the Lannister lions are leaderless, the Baratheons are fragmented, the Reach is in disarray, and the Starks in the North are trapped in civil war. As for the sea monster Greyjoy, no matter how big the waves are, how can it affect the inland?"

"Only Arryn, only the valley, and only the Knights of the Canyon can shoulder such a heavy responsibility!" Every word of Attis was powerful, echoing around the deep pool, surrounded by weirwood trees.

The giant moved his body and lowered it, causing the water and the earth to shake.

The man in blue robe nervously drew his sword and protected Attis.

"Don't move." Attis said. He saw clearly that the giant's eyes were fixed on him. There was a clarity in his eyes like a child. There was no malice in his eyes. On the contrary, it could be seen from his expression that he was very happy.

The Child of the Forest took off the wreath on his head and said, "The giants love you, Artis of Arryn." He changed the subject. "In the past, the ancestors were powerless against the Long Night. The last hero went to the forest to find the Children of the Forest. Humans and Children of the Forest joined forces again to create the Night's Watch, using the Great Wall, dragonsteel, and dragonglass to fight against the Long Night."

Attis noticed the difference in the situation and breathed a sigh of relief. Even though he could tell the giants were friendly, the giants' overwhelming pressure still made him tremble in his heart. "And now, the children of the forest are seeking humans to rebuild the covenant and fight against the long night."

The Child of the Forest remained silent.

Attis was very familiar with this kind of silence, the silence of those whose power was waning.

"You are wrong, too," the Child of the Forest retorted frankly. The crescent moon cast a shadow over the weirwood trees surrounding the lake, which looked like white bones. "Tens of thousands of troops are no match for the long night."

"You said there is a Great Wall, dragonsteel and dragonglass," Attis noticed keenly, "What are those?" He did not directly refute the Children of the Forest, but pointing out that these weapons against the White Walkers and the Long Night were enough to highlight the role of the army.

"Dragon steel. Repeated forging and hammering to remove impurities. Magic beyond the unique skills of Qohor craftsmen, baptism of dragon flame"

"Valyrian steel." Artis was not surprised. This weapon was too precious. It had been handed down from ancient times and its use probably needed no explanation. "Dragon crystal." This time the son of the forest did not explain, but took out the dagger in his hand.

The shiny black dagger looks smooth and shiny.

"Obsidian, a substance from deep within the earth, forged by the flames of the gods. For thousands of years, we, the Children of the Forest, have used it to hunt. It is a ball of frozen fire, the nemesis of the White Walkers."

Attis had not seen these records in any ancient books. He looked at the black dagger in the hand of the Son of the Forest.

"If we can mass-produce it and gather the power of the kingdom, with hundreds of thousands of troops stationed at the Great Wall, we may have a chance of winning," said Attis.

The Child of the Forest shook his head. "That is not what the Greenseer said."

Greenseer? Attis frowned.

"If you would go north, you must go south, Artis Arryn, natural leader of the Andals. Leader by name. Leader by power. Use your steel and your eagle. Your destiny lies in the south."

"If you want to go north, you must go south," Artis muttered to himself, "It sounds like nonsense. The threat of the White Walkers is in the north, and the long night comes from the cold winter north of the Wall. To resist this threat, you must go north. What can you do in the south?"

"I don't know." The Son of the Forest was in a rare predicament. Compared to Melisandre, who executed the will of the Red God, the Son of the Forest seemed much weaker.

"Steel and eagle, what is this?" Attis asked.

"The legend of the valley?" Harold blurted out from behind him.

Artis looked at him. He knew the legend of the Vale, of course, the legend of Artis Arryn, the founder of House Arryn, the original, the one sung by singers as the "Winged Knight" who was friends with giants and mermen.
He looked at the giant, who still had a friendly expression.

The Child of the Forest nodded slightly.

"If the legends are true, then it is also true that the Winged Knight rides a huge falcon and commands an army composed of eagles?" Attis asked, his heart filled with excitement.

But to his disappointment, the Child of the Forest shook his head.

But the Son of the Forest seemed to mean something else, "Steel and eagles, horns and dragons, things that conquerors cannot do without." The Son of the Forest seemed to be speaking in a riddle, his words were vague.

"Steel and eagle conquer the valley, horn and dragon conquer the sky," the Child of the Forest held aloft the red wreath, "Conqueror of the Andals, Conqueror of the Valyrians."

"If Arryn wishes to find the answers, he must follow his ancestor, the heroic Artis Arryn, protector of the Children of the Forest. To reclaim the eagles and falcons, he must return to the Vale."

Attis frowned, not understanding at all.

But a gentle rhythm gradually spread among the weirwoods, and the children of the forest sat in their branches and sang.

He didn't understand the meaning of the song, but he knew that this language could not be replicated by the human throat.

It is the original language, Attis concluded.

"Plant the fish beam trees back to the valley, let them fill the canyon and enjoy the nourishment of the river island. Let the children of the forest return to the valley, and return the natural faith of the aliens to the eagle's nest in the valley. The connection will be rebuilt, and the giant eagle will be formed."

Atis hesitated in place. He remembered that his ancestors did have a legendary connection with these children of the forest. The first Atis Arryn had married a child of the forest.
He looked at the Children of the Forest around him, and seemed to be able to hear something in the singing of the Source Tongue. It was a song of friendship between Arryn and the Children of the Forest, a melody that was very different from the time when the Andals hunted down the Children of the Forest and cut down weirwoods.

Arryn, the purest Andal, seemed to be an alien to the Andals in ancient times when he treated the Children of the Forest.

(End of this chapter)