บท 472: Chapter 472: Dwelling in Darkness
"Aye, Your Grace."
Benjen Stark knelt on one knee and rose after receiving a slight nod from Viserys. His grey-blue eyes harbored a trace of anxiety.
He knew of his elder brother's defeat and capture, now imprisoned in the dungeons of the Red Keep. As a Stark, Ned's own brother, he considered himself fortunate not to be seized.
They had come to King's Landing with the Golden Company from Dragonstone and had been living there for some time. Apart from awaiting Viserys and being forbidden to leave, they had enjoyed some freedom.
When Ned was first brought back, Benjen had sought permission to see his brother but was denied by the jailer, who stated that only Lady Catelyn had the right to visit, a concession granted by the princess out of pity for a wife's longing for her husband. Now, meeting Viserys, Benjen wished to request again.
"Your Gr—"
But he hesitated and closed his mouth. Cautious in nature, Benjen feared that his plea to see his brother might lead to his own imprisonment, leaving his nieces and nephews without support in this strange city.
Viserys, lost in thought over the term "Three-Eyed Raven" for some time, finally turned his attention back to the chief outrider. "Did the Three-Eyed Raven mention why he wishes to see me?" he asked.
Viserys knew of the Three-Eyed Raven's immobility, seemingly trapped within a massive weirwood tree, relying on its energy to sustain his life.
But why had he sent for him through the Night's Watch?
Viserys maintained his guard against this "relative," who seemed to possess magic and wielded one of the world's most mysterious forces: time. He could traverse the seas of time, glimpse the future, and revisit the past. Viserys feared that his existence might be exposed, causing further troubles.
Once, for a long time, ravens were the least welcome creatures in his castle. In his youth, Viserys practiced archery on them, and his black cat hunted them too. His guards and servants, knowing of his dislike, joined in the eradication, turning the castle into a forbidden land for ravens.
"I know not, Your Grace."
Benjen, hearing Viserys's question, shook his head quickly and dispelled his thoughts. Recalling his first encounter with the Three-Eyed Raven, he said, "He... seemed desperate, perhaps?"
Lost and starving in the snow-covered North, Benjen and his fellow brothers had been guided by a Child of the Forest named Leaf to a mysterious cave where they met the Three-Eyed Raven. With snow-white hair and a single crimson eye, emaciated and ragged, the figure had seemed dead until it suddenly spoke, startling Benjen.
"He spoke of an unclear path ahead, of a world that might be destroyed," Benjen continued. "He said the strongest roots are found in the darkest depths and that someone seeks him, destined to find him. They dwell together in darkness. Darkness is their cloak, their shield, nourishing him."
Benjen Stark recounted the cryptic words of the old man, intertwined with the weirwood, his every utterance profound and enigmatic.
He had met the Three-Eyed Raven just before the Battle of Cárlin Bay. At that time, Viserys and his Dothraki army had not yet reached Westeros. Benjen had presumed the end of the world referred to a war between men and the Others without dragon intervention, culminating in mankind's defeat and the world's engulfment by darkness.
Yet reality had proved different. Before Benjen could find Viserys, the dragon lord had landed in Westeros with his army and defeated the Others.
"A man seeks him and will find him?" Viserys repeated, his face betraying confusion. "They dwell together in darkness?"
He pondered the words, connecting them to his understanding of the Three-Eyed Raven, Bloodraven, also known as Brynden Rivers. A legitimatized bastard, former Hand of the King, and once Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, he was no ordinary figure. What was he hinting at, and what connection did he have with the Others?
The questions remained unanswered until he met Brynden Rivers.
The world was vast, filled with secrets like the Golden Empire of Yi Ti and the Shadow Lands. Sensing the gaze of his betrothed and Benjen, Viserys set aside his doubts for now, nodding.
"I will see him if time allows," he said. "Where in the North is he?"
Although the North had remained largely inaccessible since the destruction of Cárlin Bay, Viserys knew he could fly there on his dragon at any time.
Whether it was the Night King's domain mattered little to him. The Night King, the Three-Eyed Raven, and he were all beyond human, difficult for any to harm.
"I do not know his exact location," Benjen admitted. "The Children of the Forest say their dwelling moves, hidden from common folk. Once you're near, Your Grace, they will find you."
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