Game of Thrones: The Wrath of the Sleeping Dragon

The next morning, a scream shattered the silence in Greywater.

Holland Reed's eldest daughter, Mela, came to see him, only to find that her father had already hanged himself from the rafters. Many short-statured Zedi people arrived, including Holland Reed's son, Jojan.

However, Jojen, like many of his tribesmen, remained calm. He seemed to have foreseen this outcome and didn't even shed a tear, while his sister Mela cried her heart out.

After their father committed suicide, Meera and Jojen found an envelope he had left on his desk. After opening it, they saw the contents of the envelope. The young siblings then called on the rest of their people to leave the Neck and migrate south, claiming that humanity could not resist the invasion of the White Walkers.

However, some people heeded the advice of Meera and her brother, while many more Swamplanders, unable to bear leaving their homeland, chose to stay and help the Allied Forces defeat the White Walkers.

...

All of time seemed to flash by before Viserys' eyes as if he had stepped on the gas, while Holland Reed himself stood beside Viserys, watching his reflection in the image with trepidation.

Even a year ago, before Holland Reed hanged himself, he couldn't help but glance at the corner of the room.

He always felt somewhat uneasy, as if he had some awareness of the passersby in history, just like Brynden Rivers in front of the Sacred Trees back then.

They are all people with extraordinary innate mental strength, which makes them extremely sensitive to subtle changes in their surroundings.

"You...who are you?"

Having personally experienced a journey through time, when he returned to the present, Holland Reed's gaze towards Viserys changed, filled with shock and astonishment.

He couldn't understand what had happened during the time he was asleep.

Have the White Walkers destroyed the world and killed the Heart Tree? Have the Targaryen dragon riders become the last lonely travelers in the world?

He could not sense the presence of the Heart Tree, but he could perceive its power from Viserys.

Why did you hang yourself?

However, after reading the whole story, Viserys frowned slightly, remained silent for a moment, and then turned to ask.

"This matter concerns the magic of the Swamp People, Your Majesty."

"We are praying to the Heart Tree."

Holland Reed composed himself and then cautiously began to explain.

The Zealots are one of the oldest and most traditional peoples in Westeros, and many legends about them still circulate today.

Most of them possess ancient black magic, have frog-like hands, prey on fish, frogs, and lizards, and are skilled in stealth and ambush. If they fight in the swamp, even a thousand troops cannot defeat the swamp people.

"The Swamp People and the Children of the Forest are close partners. We once fought together against invasion and have faith in the Heart Tree."

For the Swamp People, just like the Children of the Forest, there is no distinction between new and old gods. The distinction between new and old gods is merely a human construct. The Swamp People and the Children of the Forest share a common belief in the Heart Tree, and the weirwood is the source of their power and magic.

“My son Jojen had gray water fever when he was younger, which is a deadly disease, but the Green Prophet saved him and gave him the Green Vision.”

Holland Reed was explaining that in the past, his son Jojen had said, 'He saw it.'

He saw the endless swamp frozen, covered with a layer of frost, and the White Walkers finally crossed the swamp by stepping on green flames.

Therefore, Holland Reed left a letter asking all his people to abandon their homes and flee the Neck Marsh. However, he did not expect that after he hanged himself, most of his people did not listen to him.

"At that time, I prayed to the Heart Tree, hoping it would bless my people to get through the difficulties, and I would turn into a weirwood."

"This is a very fair trade; many children of the forest would choose to become a weirwood tree before they die."

As Holland Reed spoke, he looked down at the vines at his feet, which had already lost their life after Viserys pulled them down.

"But it's obvious."

Then the short, swampy man raised his head, looked around at the dilapidated surroundings, and shrugged.

“My prayers failed; the weirwood did not answer my prayers or protect my people.”

"Similarly, I did not turn into a tree."

"You pray to the heart tree?"

Viserys was slightly taken aback upon hearing this. He had absorbed the power of the Old Gods, but he had never known that they possessed this ability.

Moreover, although he could see the past, who knew what Holland Reed was muttering to himself while kneeling on the ground?

"Yes."

“I was once humiliated by a few knights’ squires at the tournament in Harrenhal. Yes, the tournament you all know about. I was short and they bullied me so much that I didn’t dare to fight back.”

“Lady Lyanna Stark helped me drive away the servants, and Benjen suggested that I should be given a sword and shield so that I could earn my own dignity.”

“I accepted his offer and prayed to the weirwood tree all night, asking it to give me strength.”

"Later, I used the cobbled-together armor and this shield to defeat those knights and earn my dignity."

Holland Reed's gaze fell on the smiling tree shield placed on the table not far away, his eyes filled with a touch of nostalgia, for it was an extremely rare moment of glory in his life.

Viserys paused again upon hearing this, then blinked.

He saw the entire tournament, the face beneath the Smiling Tree Knight, and then averted his gaze the next second.

"I thought Lyanna was standing up for you?"

"No...of course I earned my dignity."

“The Stark brothers saw that I had become strong, so they kept quiet about it.”

"However, I can no longer perceive the existence of the Heart Tree."

After a moment of silence, Holland Reed raised his head slightly and spoke again.

“You are neither an Old God nor a Green Prophet.”

Chapter 572 The Power of Faith

The power of the Old Gods is closely related to the number of people who believe in them and the number of weirwood trees.

Holland Reed then invited Viserys to sit on the ground, and the two talked while sitting on the ground. Viserys did not mind the dirt and sat down on the ground to talk with the chief of the swamp people.

He then revealed more secrets about the weirwood.

He was well aware that Viserys possessed the power of the Old Gods. The Swamp People's perception of the Old Gods' power seemed to be no weaker than that of the Children of the Forest. They were also one of the oldest races in Westeros, having lived in this swamp since birth.

Holland Reed believed that the decline of the Old Gods' power was related to the decreasing number of people across the continent who worshipped weirwood.

Furthermore, the extensive felling of weirwood trees also affected the exercise of the Old Gods' power, making even crossing the Narrow Sea extremely difficult, let alone influencing the entire world.

In the past, the children of the forest could pray to the weirwood and unleash terrifying magic to cleave the arm of Dorne and prevent the First Men from crossing the sea, but now it would be difficult to even kill a single person.

According to Holland Reed's analysis, a viewpoint completely opposite to that of the Children of the Forest emerged.

He believed that Viserys's current existence did not belong to either the Old Gods or the Green Prophet, but rather to something in between—an ordinary person who had mastered the power of the Old Gods... Of course, Holland Reed glanced at Viserys again, and thought that perhaps he was not ordinary either.

The Great Leader of the Swamp People had a conflicted expression, because he prayed to the Heart Tree but could no longer sense its existence, yet the person before him did indeed possess the power of the Old Gods.

The two then had a long talk. Holland Reed asked Viserys about the changes in the world and was somewhat incredulous when he learned that humanity had finally defeated the White Walkers and that the Targaryen army had swept through the six kingdoms and unified the entire land.

When he 'hanged himself,' the king above him was Robert Baratheon, but now Robert Baratheon is imprisoned.

He then asked where his two children were, but Viserys simply shook his head. He had never paid attention to where the siblings, Meera Reed and Jojen Reed, were, and he had never even met them.

However, they probably didn't die in the Allied forces. After all, they were just children. Even if the Allied forces were ruthless, they wouldn't send two children to the battlefield. Perhaps they are with their own people.

Viserys then humbly asked the other party a few questions, about the Old Gods, the Green Prophet, and the Children of the Forest.

Viserys was quite interested in Holland Reed's statement that the power of the Old Gods came from the weirwood and the number of people who believed in Him.

Because he had already hit a bottleneck, his path forward was blocked, and he could only choose to continue improving other attributes. As for how to take the final step, he had actually been exploring some possibilities.

For example, he used to conceal the existence of the Black Mist, but now he deliberately reveals it on certain occasions, displaying his power in public, such as in the throne room of the Red Keep and the Eyrie in the Vale...

The legendary story of the king's mastery of magic to fight the White Walkers gradually spread throughout the Seven Kingdoms, and it was not just a legend, but something that many people witnessed firsthand.

With so much corroboration from nobles, coupled with the Red God's followers' tireless promotion of the Chosen One, the common people became even more convinced that the king above them was indeed the one who bore the Mandate of Heaven.

Viserys can hardly explain the power of faith yet, after all, he is only just beginning to understand it.

However, through his conversation with this mysterious ruler of the swamp, Viserys seems to have gained some understanding of the gods of this world.

They seem to have a great need for the power of faith, yet they cannot easily interfere with the human world. Perhaps only when they receive prayers or pay a great price can they receive even a little bit of revelation.

This may explain why our ancestors cut down large numbers of weirwood trees, while the ancient gods remained indifferent.

The silver-haired youth sat on the ground, secretly speculating.

However, if this is indeed the case, then in a sense, humanity still holds a great deal of initiative when facing the gods.

Human kings, in particular, can decide what their country and its countless subjects should believe.

Could this be the reason why the Lord of Light took the initiative to contact me back then?

However, even though Viserys is quite strong, stronger than most people in the world, he is still a beginner in some areas, even extremely insignificant, and must work hard to keep up.

Putting everything else aside, he could still die. If, apart from the gods themselves, someone in this world wanted to kill him, they could probably kill him through a series of means, such as burying him several kilometers deep in the earth or throwing him into the vast ocean where there is nowhere to land.

Of course, all of this is based on the premise that he is captured alive, loses his consciousness, and that Bellerion is removed from his side.

"So...how do you want to punish him?"

Holland Reed then brought up his old friend Eddard Stark, wanting to plead for him but unsure how to begin.

After all, the other side had once started a war against the Iron Throne, but there was indeed a reason for it, because Viserys' father, the Mad King, burned the other side's father and brother to death first.

"You want to plead for Ed?"

Viserys, still lost in thought about what had just happened, looked up and spoke.

Holland Reed nodded somewhat cautiously.

"He is a good person."

There are still many good people in this world.

The silver-haired youth shook his head slightly.

"He is my good friend."

The Great Leader of the Swamp quickly added a sentence, and Viserys looked intently at his face, nodded, and told him the truth.

"Ed may have a chance to survive, but it depends on his own choice."

As the sun sets, the sky outside gradually darkens.

Viserys prepared to leave and asked Holland Reed if he could give him a ride away from the Neck, but the Great Chief of the Swamp shook his head and refused.

The Neck Marsh is extremely dangerous for outsiders, but for the people of the marshland, it is like home. When the people of the marshland return to their own home, they naturally do not need anyone to give them a ride.