Chapter 257 Caesar's to Caesar
When the first ray of morning light shone on the top of Storm's End Castle, the fighting in the city had basically stopped.
The stubborn Stormlanders finally accepted the failed order, and many of them cried loudly after throwing away their weapons—
The never-fallen castle in the minds of the Stormlanders finally fell into the hands of the people of the Riverbend.
This is an unacceptable thing for the proud Stormlanders.
Of course, Samwell will not understand the fragile and complicated mood of the people in the storm, and he himself is also in a complicated mood at the moment.
The capture of Storm's End is of course a great joy, but the matter of his younger brother Dickon is like a lingering haze, hanging over his heart.
In fact, he is familiar with the original work, of course he knows that the resurrection of the Lord of Light always seems to have various hidden dangers, but if it is just such as memory loss, personality change or even physical disability, Samwell can accept it and will be grateful to the Lord of Light.
But Dickon’s situation is obviously manipulated by the King of Light deliberately, using him as a tool man. This time he is carrying out the mission of assassinating the illegitimate duke, which is a near-death mission. What about next time?
I was lucky to survive this time, so what about next time? It doesn't matter if he is dead or not, the Lord of Light can be resurrected anyway.
What is the difference between the younger brother and the doll in the hands of the Lord of Light?
Not only his younger brother, but also his own destiny.
Has it also become part of some grand plan of the gods?
Samwell had tried his best to make himself conform to the ancient prophecy passed down from Asshai, but now, he suddenly loathed his identity as the "prophetic prince".
The fall of Highgarden also seems to be in the plan of the gods. Melisandre had prophesied to him about the "withering of the rose" as early as in Yingzui Island.
At that time, he didn't take it seriously, but now, the cold reality gave him a heavy blow.
A few cotton-like white clouds floated in the blue sky, as if forming an indifferent but huge face, saying to Samwell—
Men, be humble.
"Lord Caesar, your brother is awake." The bachelor's voice sounded in his ear.
"Okay." Samwell came back to his senses, turned around and walked to the room.
Entering the room, a strong smell of herbs and a faint smell of blood came over my face.
The curtains were pulled open, and the bright morning sun shone in, dispelling the slightly depressing atmosphere.
"Brother." Dickon Tarly was lying on the wooden bed by the window, his face was pale, but his expression was quite excited, like a child expecting a compliment.
"Dickon." Samwell walked to the bed, feeling a little complicated. He really wanted to reprimand his younger brother so that he would not be so reckless in the future, but looking at the eager and reverent eyes of the other party, the words came to his lips, after all, it was a success. Praise, "You are the greatest hero in this war!"
Dickon showed a bright smile: "Am I qualified to be a knight?"
"Of course." Sam Wells said, "And you will become one of the most famous knights in the Seven Kingdoms. Bards will sing your name, and noble ladies will dream of climbing into your bed."
Dickon showed a little shyness: "Brother, I'm already engaged to Miss Elo Florent."
Samwell laughed loudly, the little brother at this time finally gave him the familiar feeling before.
"I'm afraid your marriage contract with Miss Elo cannot be fulfilled."
"Why?"
"We have taken Storm's End, and Stannis Baratheon must hate us to death. The Florent family must choose between Stannis and us. Who do you think they will choose?"
"It should be Stannis." Dickon thought about it, "Our aunt...what's her name? She seems to be married to Stannis?"
"Aunt Selyse." Samwell looked at his younger brother who couldn't remember his name, and worry appeared on his face again, "She is now Stannis' queen, and grandpa has also become Stannis' Hand of the King."
"That's right." Dickon suddenly realized, "Grandpa probably won't be willing to marry my cousin Ello to me."
There was a mocking smile on the corner of Samwell's mouth: "Stannis will not be king for long. I have received news that he has suffered a disastrous attack on King's Landing, and his fleet has almost been wiped out. Therefore, the Florens family said Maybe you will re-bet, if you want to marry Miss Eero, there is still hope."
Dickon asked: "Brother, who do you think I should marry?"
Samwell hesitated, and said:
"You should listen to your father's opinion on this."
"Okay." Dickon seemed a little indifferent to this, and turned to say, "Brother, since I am qualified to become a knight, can you give me the canonization?"
Under the expectant eyes of his younger brother, Samwell smiled and nodded: "I will give you canonization when you recover from your injury."
"I can do it now." As he said, Dickon actually struggled to sit up.
Samwell tried to dissuade: "Don't be so anxious. Be more solemn, you'd better stay vigil in the Temple of the Seven Gods, and then the monks will anoint you with holy oil..."
"It doesn't need to be so troublesome." Dickon insisted, "As long as I want my brother's canonization, that's enough for me!"
Subsequently, Samwell drew out the giant sword [Dawn]. This time, the blade did not burn, but a faint red-gold pattern emerged.
When he put the giant sword on his younger brother's shoulder, he saw a red-gold shimmer in Dickon's eyes.
Samwell suppressed the turbulent thoughts in his heart, and said loudly:
"Dickon Tarly from Hornhill, will you swear before the gods and the world that from this day forward, you will fight for the dignity of the weak, for the safety of women and children, and for the glory of the king, No matter how difficult the future, no matter how humble the future, you will always stick to your beliefs and fulfill your mission."
"I am willing." Dickon's tone was full of fanaticism.
Samwell moved the giant sword from his brother's right shoulder to his left: "May the Father grant you integrity."
Then moved back: "May Our Lady grant you mercy."
The giant sword moved back and forth on both shoulders: "May the warrior give you courage, may the blacksmith give you strength, and may the old woman give you wisdom."
Finally, Samwell withdrew his giant sword and said with a smile:
"Arise, Ser Dickon Tarly."
As he spoke, he stepped forward to help his younger brother up and helped him lie back on the bed.
After all the tossing, blood had already leaked from the white bandage, but Dickon didn't care about it, with a contented smile on his face, as if he had sacrificed his life for this moment just for today's moment.
Samwell felt uncomfortable, he restrained his smile, and asked tentatively:
"Dickon, how did you come up with the idea of pretending to be a messenger to assassinate Edric Storm?"
"This idea just came up in a flash of inspiration." Dickon said, "The more I think about it, the more I think it's a good idea..."
"This is not a good idea." Samwell interrupted, "Do you know how risky this kind of thing is? If you are not lucky, even if you successfully complete the assassination, you will be hacked to death by the angry Stormlanders. "
Dickon's eyes dimmed, and after a long silence, he said:
"Brother, I've already died once, haven't I?"
Sam Well was stunned for a moment.
Dickon laughed instead: "I was already dead in Tianji City."
"No. You are still alive and well." Samwell said seriously.
"Don't lie to me, brother." Dickon sighed. "I still remember that you gave me your horse and let me rush out of the sept. But on the way, an arrow shot me off the horse, and then A long sword pierced my shoulder blade through a gap in the armor and crushed my heart, I still remember the pain..."
"Don't think about it." Samwell put a hand on his younger brother's shoulder, dissuading him.
Dickon looked tired and confused, and murmured:
"But what else can I think? I can't remember a lot of things. Brother, you know? I can't even remember what the castle in Horn Hill looked like now, or the names of my sisters or the color of their hair. And my father... His image also became blurred in my mind, like a stranger...
Only you, brother, only everything about you, I will always remember. "
Samwell was silent.
"It was the true **** R'hllor who resurrected me, right, brother?" Dickon said again, "He let me return to this world with a mission..."
"Bullshit mission!" Samwell cursed, "You live for yourself, not for **** R'hllor, and not for me."
Dickon smiled at his brother:
"I thought you would like this change, what's more, I heard the oracle from the flames. Brother, you are the hero chosen by the true god, and you will lead the world to repel the evil in the dark. I can fight for you, yes A great honor."
"Who is righteous and who is evil, it is not clear yet." Samwell said, "We invaded the Stormlands, is it justice or evil? The farmers in the Stormlands fought under the call of the lord, is it justice or evil? The knights on both sides are fighting for glory, but what is glory?"
There was a hint of confusion in Dickon's eyes, but soon he was overwhelmed by the red-gold light, and his tone became fanatical again:
"Fighting for my brother is glory and justice!"
Samwell sighed and stopped talking about this topic.
It's not that he doesn't want to accept the Lord of Light's help, even at the beginning, he thought of hugging the King of Light's thigh, but after seeing the god's manipulation of his brother's mind, he felt a sense of difficulty. Curbed aversion and disgust.
"Take a good rest." Samwell turned and said, "I will withdraw my troops and return to the Reach tomorrow, so you can stay in Storm's End to recuperate."
"Okay." Dickon nodded in response.
Samwell got up and left. When he walked to the door, he turned his head again and saw his younger brother just looking over and smiling brightly at him.
I will take you back from the hands of the gods, Samwell secretly made up his mind.
You are not a tool of the gods, but a brother of Caesar.
To the gods, to the gods, but to Caesar, to Caesar!
(end of this chapter)