With Wright leading the way out of the city, Denys Arryn had gathered all the people he could and set off north.
Ashara Dayne was now also a ruler, and she was accompanied by two of her own soldiers. These two men carried only spears, their role being to hold Ashara's banners and cheer her on.
Including Ashara and Denys Arryn's knights and nobles, their numbers had reached thirty. All were clad in armor and armed, riding down the King's Road, and not many bandits dared to approach. Within a few days, they had passed through the Vale Road and arrived at the Bloody Gate.
The Mountains of the Moons were incredibly steep. To enter the Eyrie, one had to either travel by boat or take the one and only road—the Vale Road. The Bloody Gate was built at the most treacherous part of this road.
The Vale Road became increasingly winding from here, with cliffs almost vertical on both sides. The smooth cliffs were barren of trees, only a few wild grasses dotted the white rock walls. A sturdy stone fortress had been built in this location.
A tall, thick gatehouse, large iron bars, and two watchtowers, attached to the rock walls on either side, with an arching bridge connecting them. Every noble, when educating their children, would warn them never to attempt a direct assault here—unless they intended to soften the rock below with the blood of soldiers.
"Who seeks passage through the Bloody Gate?" a soldier stationed in the gatehouse shouted when he saw them.
"I am Ser Denys Arryn, the Keeper of the Gate of the Moon! We are heading back to the Eyrie!" Denys called out.
"Please present your banner!"
The group had not displayed a banner on the journey. Denys Arryn waved his hand, and a knight took the banner from his saddle, holding it aloft: the sky-blue eagle soaring, the sigil of House Arryn.
"Please wait." The soldier went to notify the commander.
Before long, a man in mail armor and a cloak bearing the black fish sigil climbed up the tower. He did not speak but watched Denys Arryn's party carefully.
He had received a letter from his niece, Lysa Tully, ordering him to stop Denys Arryn and kill him. Then he had received letters from other Vale nobles—some asking him to release them, others requesting that he take prisoners, and some who gave him the same orders as his niece.
The Blackfish was elderly, his face worn and gray hair signifying his age, but his blue eyes and thick eyebrows were sharp with life. In his youth, he had defied his brother's arranged marriage and run away, making his own way across Westeros.
Honorable, humble, skilled in combat, and kind to others, it was for these qualities that former Hand Jon Arryn had made him the Knight of the Bloody Gate, entrusted with guarding the most crucial pass into the Vale.
Now, as he considered the complexity of the situation, his thoughts were torn. His nephews and nieces were people he had always treated well, and whenever they needed help, he had always been the first to offer it.
But now, with the issue of the Vale's succession at hand, one side claimed to be a usurper, the other was his niece—whose son was rumored to be a bastard. Awaiting the king's judgment, he now wondered whether to release them, capture them, or kill them.
Seeing that the Blackfish had not yet moved, Denys Arryn immediately signaled to his knights. "Something's wrong, prepare to retreat!"
The Blackfish, noticing their retreat, felt relieved. As long as no one died, he was fine with it.
Retreat? One person in Denys Arryn's party refused to follow.
Ashara Dayne dismounted. Wright had given her the order to escort Denys Arryn to the Eyrie—there was no way she was going to turn back halfway!
"Old fool, still not opening the gate!" Ashara muttered. Since they were refusing to open the gate, something was clearly wrong. Since they weren't going to show courtesy, Ashara was ready to unleash her frustration.
Upon hearing Ashara's shout, Denys Arryn and the others halted, turning their horses. "Ashara, hurry up. As long as they don't open the Bloody Gate, we won't be able to get through. If there are any pursuers behind us, we'll be trapped here! Hurry!"
Ashara clenched her fists and raised her arm to signal to Denys Arryn. Looking up, she shouted again, "Answer me, you old fool!"
The Blackfish, enraged by the insult, his body trembling, saw his soldiers begin to tense up. A large group of archers charged up the gatehouse.
"Who are you?" The Blackfish, still retaining some rationality, knew that only a very brave—or foolish—person would dare to shout like that in such a situation.
Two of Ashara's soldiers raised banners, rolling them up and securing them onto the shafts of their spears, raising both banners into the air.
The Blackfish studied them closely: pink background with white patterns, one featuring a shooting star, with two long swords crossing in the center and on the left, the swords of different designs.
The soldier holding the banner called out: "Lady of Gemstone Island, theSword of the Morning, Ashara Dayne!"
"Her?"
"The Sword of the Morning of this generation... a woman?"
The soldiers on the gatehouse whispered amongst themselves, some having heard of her, while others were completely unaware.
The Blackfish, as the brother of the Lord of Riverlands, had much better access to information than these soldiers. He had heard that she was a formidable person.
"Not opening the gate, huh? Then I'll open it myself!"
Ashara drew the Dawn and the Dark Sisters from her back, and, clad in her lightning cloak, she charged forward.
"Lightning!"
"A Mage!"
With no warning, the battle began. The Blackfish quickly ordered his soldiers, "Quick! Fire arrows!"
Ashara was incredibly fast. She leapt, slid, and twisted, easily dodging the arrows, then swung her swords, sending dozens of ice shards flying toward the castle walls.
These ice shards were a magical variation developed by Wright for Ashara and Robb. The tips of the shards were not sharp but loose, so when they hit a person, they would disperse and freeze, trapping the person. They could also be fired at walls, where the ice would temporarily freeze, allowing continuous shots to form a staircase.
The Blackfish drew his longsword and pointed it at the swiftly approaching Ashara. "Quick, fire arrows!"
As Ashara reached the base of the wall, the Blackfish and his soldiers crouched low, but all they saw was Ashara climbing the ice staircase she had created, leaping up toward them.
Buzz~~~
With a sweep of his longsword, a bolt of lightning struck the parapet. Several unlucky soldiers who failed to pull back in time were instantly struck dead, their bodies smoking as they fell, twitching on the ground.
"Draw your swords, prepare to face the enemy!"
After issuing the command, the Blackfish had barely touched the hilt of his sword when he immediately gave a new order.
"Surrender! Open the Bloody Gate!"
The Dark Sisters and Dawn, crackling with lightning, had already crossed the Blackfish's neck. A simple flick of the wrist would sever his head.
The soldiers were terrified. How could they fight a sorceress with lightning powers, incredible speed, and the ability to climb castle walls? One who could sweep away multiple enemies with a single sword strike?
"She's the Sword of the Morning, a mage. She's already on the wall. She's not someone we can deal with. Open the gates!"
The Blackfish surrendered without hesitation. He hadn't been informed that Denys Arryn's party included the Sword of the Morning.
As the iron bars of the Bloody Gate slowly rose, Denys Arryn and the others finally snapped out of their astonishment. Before, they had thought she was quiet and reserved. Over time, they had come to realize that she was actually quite talkative, joking around every day. She even laughed like a fool sometimes. It wasn't until then, however, that the Vale knights truly understood the power of the current Sword of the Morning.
"The Sword of the Morning, Denys and the others have passed. Let me go!" Ashara looked down from the gatehouse, where Denys and the others, already through the Bloody Gate, were waiting for her. She put away her magic and swaggered down the stairs of the gatehouse.
Watching everyone pass through the Bloody Gate, the Blackfish did not want House Tully to become involved in the inheritance dispute. Since everyone had already left, but now that a fight had broken out and someone had died, it was necessary to calm things down.
He walked to the top of the gatehouse and shouted, "Denys! The Gate of the Moon and Eyrie, as well as the three fortresses in between, have all received word that you are a usurper. House Moore is currently stationed at the Gate of the Moon!"
Denys Arryn, who was the Knight of the Gate of the Moon, heard that his own fortress had been taken over. He nodded gratefully toward the Blackfish, acknowledging his debt.
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