Chapter 492 Tomb Vault
After the sun went down, the sky began to snow again.
"I once heard people say that once the northern gods get angry, it will snow heavily in the north." Arya carried a lantern, and accompanied the king on the snow with her sister Sansa on the left and right.
"It seems that the northern gods are quite angry today."
At the end of the dinner, Samwell proposed to visit the tomb of Winterfell to pay his respects to the demeanor of the Lord of the North.
Starks are surprised by this, but they will not refuse.
Sansa offered to lead the way for the king, and Arya joined in the fun and followed.
The three of them were walking in the wind and snow, and as far as the eye could see, it was a white world.
Some naughty children were playing snowball fights in the square, and a group of them were making snowmen. They put iron buckets on the snowmen and stuffed wooden spears and round shields in their hands, like ice and snow guards.
Arya watched eagerly. If it wasn't for the king's company, she would have already run over to join the children's games.
The tomb is located in the oldest area of the castle. When the three arrived, snow had completely covered the entrance.
Samwell waved his hand, and the snowdrift burst into flames, and the blue flames danced in the wind and snow, which had a strange beauty.
The two sisters were stunned.
"That's amazing! Is this witchcraft?" Arya exclaimed in amazement. Then he began to pester the king to let him teach him witchcraft.
While dealing with the little girl casually, Samwell opened the door of the tomb and walked in first.
A chill swept up from the depths of the tomb, and Samwell felt bitingly cold even though he was surrounded by fire elements.
Compared with the cold wind howling outside and the temperature in the tomb, it was like a spring breeze blowing on the face.
"It's so cold!" Arya immediately forgot about asking about witchcraft.
"The tomb...how, how could it suddenly become so cold..." Sansa said with her teeth chattering.
You must know that Winterfell was built on a hot spring, and the steaming heat kept the tomb warm even in the harsh winter.
But now, the air here seems to be frozen.
"Follow me closely." Sam Well said, a faint red light radiated from his body.
The two sisters felt enveloped by a wave of warmth, and the previous chill weakened slightly, and they quickly followed the king's footsteps.
The corridor is dark and long, and the swaying firelight illuminates the stone slabs at the bottom of the feet, and there are two pairs of granite pillars appearing on the left and right, extending into the darkness in the distance.
Pushing open a stone door, the three of them came to a long arched tunnel.
Sansa folded her arms subconsciously. This tomb has always made him feel uncomfortable, even though it is clear that the ancestors of the Stark family are buried in it, her relatives.
But she always felt that the eyes of those stone statues seemed to be scrutinizing and sizing up with a dim light.
Arya seemed very at ease. She used to come here to hide and seek, and the darkness and cold couldn't frighten her.
"Shan...Your Majesty, let me introduce you." Pointing to the tombs in front of her, she said, "The ones here are all former kings of the North, this is Toren Stark, and everyone calls him He bows the knee to the king."
Samwell nodded, knowing that this person was the last King of the North.
The northern border is separated by a natural moat, and it is extremely difficult to invade from the south, so it has always maintained a strong independence.
The Andals came across the sea, defeated the ancestors of Westeros, and occupied the six southern countries, but they were unable to break through the Neck Line of Defense.
It is precisely because of this that the people in the northern border are all descendants of the ancestors, and they do not believe in the seven gods, but stubbornly worship the old gods.
It's a pity that although the neck can block the ground army, it can't stop the dragon.
When Toren Stark saw the conqueror's dragon, he resolutely bowed his knees and surrendered. Since then, the title of the Lord of the North has become the Duke.
They walked among the dead of the Stark family, and their footsteps echoed in Noda's tomb.
The tightly closed sarcophagus is engraved with the appearance of the dead, and their stone eyes seem to be watching the three living people. The huge roaring direwolf stone sculpture is curled up beside the sarcophagus.
They sit side by side, as if they are also watching the coming person with invisible eyes. The movement of the living seemed to startle them, and there were black shadows moving on the wall.
"This is Brandon the Shipbuilder who sailed across the Sea of the Setting Sun," said Arya. "He was the King of the North who loved the sea the most, but he never returned from a voyage. This sarcophagus is empty.
After his death, his son burned all the ships in the north in grief, hence the name Shipburner. Since then, there has been no naval power in the north.
This is Duke Birron Stark, he joined forces with Casterly Rock to fight against the ironmen of Pyke Island, and it is said that he had a grudge with the illegitimate son of the royal family who ruled the Seven Kingdoms at that time, the Duke of Bloodraven..."
Having said that, Arya looked at the king with piercing eyes:
"Your Majesty, I heard that the Duke of Blood Raven is also a wizard."
Samwell smiled slightly, did not follow the words, but pointed to the sarcophagus, and asked:
"Why doesn't this king have an iron sword on his knees?"
According to tradition, every stone statue that was once the Lord of Winterfell should have an iron long sword on its lap. It is said that this will ensure that the hateful vengeful spirits will be sealed in the mausoleum and will not wreak havoc in the underworld.
"Huh? It seems to be gone..." Arya also noticed that the iron sword that should have been placed on the sarcophagus had disappeared, leaving only mottled rust.
Are these long swords corroded over a long period of time?
Or was it taken on purpose by someone?
No matter what the possibility is, now that there is no iron sword, does it mean that those ancient ghosts can disturb the castle at will?
This thought made Sansa's body stiffen suddenly.
"I will tell Maester Luwin to arrange for a replenishment of iron swords."
Arya saw her sister's appearance and deliberately scared her:
"What's the use? Perhaps the ghost in the sarcophagus has escaped!"
"Nonsense!" Sansa glared at her younger sister, "Of course the ancestors are still resting in peace!"
"We will also be buried here in the future." Arya said with a smile, "If there is no iron sword on my sarcophagus, I must have run away!"
"I will order them to fill your sarcophagus with iron swords!" Sansa said viciously.
Samwell ignored the bickering between the two sisters, but continued to walk forward for a while, then turned back and asked:
"Why is there no road ahead?"
"Impossible." Arya followed quickly, "There is still a long way ahead..."
Her words stopped abruptly, because by the light of the torch, she also saw clearly that the passage ahead was blocked by mud and rocks.
"How could this happen?" Sansa exclaimed, "Did a landslide happen?"
Samwell stretched out his hand and pressed it on the cold rock in front of him, closed his eyes and felt it for a while, then suddenly smiled and said:
"Someone doesn't want to see me."
"Huh?" Sansa's face suddenly turned pale, "Your Majesty, are you saying... who doesn't want to see you?"
Arya was not as naughty as she was at the beginning. She blinked and asked solemnly:
"Your Majesty, did the ghosts of the ancestors of the Stark family really come out?"
Samwell shook his head, didn't explain anything, just turned around and walked out, saying:
"Let's go, let's go back."
The two sisters looked at each other, but they didn't dare to ask more questions, let alone stay here, and hurriedly followed.
(end of this chapter)