Chapter 1: Bracken of the Red Mill

Let me explain a few basic settings: Guest Right, the Sacred Oath, and the Sacred Marriage Contract.

Whether in the original Ice and Fire novels or the Game of Thrones TV series, these three basic settings are universally observed.

What is Guest Right? Once a guest accepts the bread and salt offered by the host, neither side may harm the other. Violating this custom is considered trampling on the Sacred Oath; the violator is cursed by the gods above, and their entire family meets a terrible end.

In the original work, across the eight thousand years of Westeros history, there are only three well-known incidents of violating Guest Right: the Rat Cook incident that gave rise to Guest Right, the Red Wedding, and the Nightfort mutiny.

Denying Guest Right also has its rules: the host lays an unsheathed sword across their knees, signaling the denial of Guest Right. After that, it's fight if you must fight, negotiate if you must negotiate.

The end is marked by the host giving the guest a guest-gift, and the guest reciprocating — at that point Guest Right ends. Whatever violence happens between the two sides afterward does not count as violating this custom.

The other two settings, the Sacred Oath and the Sacred Marriage Contract, are even more widespread.

The so-called Sacred Oath is swearing before the gods above to do such-and-such; failing to do it counts as breaking the oath, and all the gods of Justice collectively curse the oath-taker, who meets a terrible end.

At the end of the third century of the Aegon the Conqueror era, the oath-breakers across the continent include: the Kingslayer Jaime, the Young Wolf Robb, Eddard Stark who was beheaded by Qiaodadi (guess which oath he broke), Joffrey (sacrilege), and some members of Vargo Hoat's Brave Companions.

The people of Ice and Fire tend to believe in oaths. If someone breaks an oath, regardless of birth, they will be abandoned by everyone — the Kingslayer Jaime Lannister is clear proof of that.

Apart from the core Westerlands faction, basically no one looks up to him. Robert nagged Jaime for fifteen years, and Jaime himself gave up on himself for fifteen years.

Although Jaime killed the king to save the lives of hundreds of thousands in King's Landing from being consumed by Wildfire, he himself felt that an oath-breaker like him had no honor left. If not for Cersei, he might have killed himself right after killing the Mad King.

He even felt there was no need to explain to anyone why he killed the king. Setting aside whether people would believe him, even if they did, they would not forgive his oath-breaking.

On the continent of Westeros, people never swear oaths lightly. Once a Sacred Oath is made, it must be kept. Anyone who breaks an oath, like trampling on Guest Right, will be recognized as hostile by the NPCs of the Ice and Fire world — like a red-name player in a game. No matter which city they go to, the guards will actively identify and attack them.

Earlier some people questioned whether the casualty rate is too high. Given that family professional soldiers generally swear fealty to their lord, only after the lord is killed in battle, captured, or surrenders can the rank-and-file surrender or rout — otherwise they count as oath-breakers.

In the original work, the Karstark cavalry only left Robb's army after receiving their lord's permission, and after their lord was beheaded by a higher-ranking overlord — meaning the object of their oath was gone.

Sworn Knights take it even further. If their lord is captured or killed, the stubborn ones generally die a martyr's death; those without the courage to die generally choose to join the Night's Watch (which is the equivalent of a death sentence).

For example, in the original work, Desmond Grell, the Master-at-arms of Riverrun, after his lord Edmure was captured, chose to don the black cloak and join the Night's Watch.

Evil-aligned gods like the Black Goat and the Night Lion don't care about this, so Vargo Hoat, who worships the Black Goat, will take in oath-breakers as subordinates. Other mercenary companies treat oath-breakers with a kill-on-sight attitude, no mercy at all.

The Sacred Marriage Contract is similar to the Sacred Oath: once the marriage oath is sworn, unless one party dies, divorce is not permitted. Moreover, apart from followers of the Valyrian gods, basically everyone can only take one wife at a time.

The reason the Faith of the Seven launched a rebellion during Maegor's reign was precisely because the king who worshipped the Seven was taking multiple wives. Aegon I, when he married, worshipped the Valyrian gods; after converting to the Seven at the Starry Sept in Oldtown, he did not take another wife, so he did not violate the Sacred Marriage Contract.

Even old Walder Frey, who took eight wives, and Brienne of Tarth's father, who swapped wives every year — each new wife could only be taken after the previous one died "accidentally."

The Young Wolf Robb also violated the Sacred Marriage Contract. Although he wasn't married, being betrothed counts too — that's why he died so horribly.

In the original work, Joffrey also called off his betrothal to Sansa, which counts as another act of oath-breaking — and he died a horrible death too.

At this point, everyone should have a concept of what oath-breaking means.

One last point: the Kingslayer Jaime's death will absolutely not be as dignified as in the TV series. His right hand only repaid Bran's leg — the retribution for killing the Mad King has yet to come.

As usual, asking for monthly votes.