Chapter 171: Green Dreams, Prophecies, and Dragon Eggs

The Winter Wolves soldiers and the Wildlings worked together to build houses in the new district of Winter Town; the Wildlings chopped down trees in the Wolfswood, gathered stones from the hills and near the White Knife, transported them to the construction site, and under the guidance of craftsmen, used clay to stack walls and erect rows of low stone and wooden houses.

The ownership of these houses belonged to Winterfell, and the Wolf King granted them to these Wildlings for residence; most Wildlings would become tenant farmers on the Stark Estate, some would enter the workshops and farms of Winterfell to work, and some Wildlings with rich combat experience would join the Winter Wolves. Every Wildling looked forward to being assigned a house as soon as possible and was deeply grateful for the shelter provided by House Stark.

Thousands of Wildlings, under the command of the Winter Wolves, reclaimed wasteland and farmed in the wilderness. Many Wildlings saw iron shovels for the first time, and many were shocked at the sight of curved plows, seed drills, and hoes, as if they had seen the Others.

Maester Farmer, who was skilled in agriculture, along with some experienced farmers, taught the Wildlings how to farm. Taking advantage of the fact that it was still summer, for every extra acre planted, there was one more hope for a bountiful harvest.

Eddard and Maester Farmer discovered that the yield of potatoes was higher than that of crops like corn, barley, and oats, so the newly reclaimed fields of Winterfell were uniformly planted with potatoes. To feed the people of the North, Eddard planned to promote potatoes as a staple food.

The glass gardens were still being expanded; around Winterfell, there were already hundreds of acres of glass gardens, mainly used for growing mushrooms, wood ear, vegetables, and fresh flowers—such as violets, tuberoses, acacias, heliotropes, and michelia—which were raw materials for extracting essential oils and dyes. Winterfell's perfume, soap, and the dyes for wool clothing all depended on these flowers.

The glass gardens could also grow food and vegetables in winter, serving as the vegetable basket and cornucopia of Winterfell. The glass gardens, like the food reserves at The Wall, were part of Eddard's plan to face the coming winter.

Eddard planned to build ten thousand acres of glass gardens in the south of Winterfell, but this ambitious plan would take many years to complete.

The glass workshop of Winterfell was managed by Ortega, a Glassmaster from Myr. Eddard improved the glass manufacturing process; he combined the wildfire of the Alchemist Ginter to create higher temperatures and added obsidian, which significantly increased the production efficiency of Winterfell's glass.

Eddard still remembered the scene when the Wildlings first arrived at Winterfell: ragged spearwives holding infants in their arms, staring dumbfounded at the majestic Winterfell; Thenns in bronze armor looking enviously at the plate armor on the Winterfell cavalry; and some Wildlings weeping and kneeling to worship at the sight of the glass gardens and hot springs outside Winterfell, because they had finally reached the southern land that generations of Kings-Beyond-the-Wall had longed for but could never obtain.

Over a hundred thousand Wildlings flooded into Winter Town, and with the people brought by nobles from all over the North and the original residents of Winter Town, it was inevitable that public order would decline with so many people gathered together. When the Wildlings first arrived, the Winterfell guards had to arrest dozens of criminals every day for crimes like theft, rape, and assault; these people were reduced to forced laborers, working to atone for their crimes.

Subsequently, Eddard decided to send skinchangers and beasts to patrol the streets.

Prince of Giant Eagles Michu rode on a giant eagle, flying over Winter Town; Samantha rode on a terrorbird; Bear King Byars rode a black bear; Varamyr Sixskins led his wolves, snow bear, and shadowcat; Tigris rode a saber-toothed tiger; and Daron rode a cerberus, all patrolling the streets. Every Wildling feared the skinchangers and beasts, and with skinchangers patrolling, the public order in Winter Town improved significantly.

In addition, there were giants; Giant King Mag wielded a tree trunk as a club, leading a team of giants on patrol, and everyone who saw the giants showed fear in their eyes.

The original residents of Winter Town were initially very afraid of the skinchangers and giants, but soon they adapted, and some even felt that with the protection of the skinchangers and giants, Winterfell was much safer.

Today, Winterfell possessed over a hundred terrorbirds, more than twenty giant eagles, six unicorns gifted by the Rockborn, and hundreds of snow bears, brown bears, and black bears, as well as over a hundred mammoths.

In fact, there were over six hundred mammoths in total, almost the same number as the giants; two hundred giants went to Long Lake to build Long Lake City, and two hundred giants and six thousand Wildlings went to the confluence of the tributary and main stream of the White Knife to build Spring City, taking several hundred mammoths with them.

After several days of feasts and lordly meetings, Eddard's vassals left Winterfell one after another, returning to their respective fiefs.

Some noble scions remained because they had joined the Winter Wolves; the nobles all longed for their children to climb to high positions in the Winter Wolves and achieve success, dreaming that they could become an Acting Castellan of some Wolf Castle or a fierce general heavily relied upon by Eddard.

Eddard took them in, but whether he would rely on them depended on their abilities; meritocracy was Eddard's only standard for employing people.

The Winter Wolves farmed in peacetime and went on expeditions in wartime; for those nobles who had no ability but only a pedigree, Eddard would arrange for them to reclaim estates, raise horses, or manage logistics, and would never place them in important positions.

During the expedition Beyond the Wall and the victory celebrations in Winterfell, Eddard frequently communicated with Night's Watch officers; he discovered that there were outstanding Night's Watch commanders among both commoners and nobles, such as Benjen, Thoren Smallwood, and the Old Bear, who were of noble birth. Representatives of commoner origin included Cotter Pyke and Qhorin Halfhand. Eddard hoped that there could be more commoner heroes in the Winter Wolves.

In the bustling area of Winter Town, Klar, a financial advisor from Braavos, dressed in a yellow-and-green velvet coat with sleeves studded with diamonds and red agates, walked among the dirty Wildlings, looking just like a gorgeous parrot as he followed by Eddard's side.

Not far away, Varamyr passed by riding a snow bear over four meters tall, a Rockborn warrior rode on a unicorn, and behind them were giants riding mammoths.

Klar smiled and said, "Lord Eddard, our Winterfell has so many magical animals, we should establish a zoo. The Sealord of Braavos's menagerie probably doesn't have this many magical animals. With a zoo, we could sell tickets to make money."

Outside the Smoke Tavern, a group of Wildlings were queuing for food; when the Wildlings saw Eddard, they shouted, "Father of Life," "Wolf King."

Whether they were Wildlings at the construction site or those farming on the farms, they all ate in shifts. The Winter Wolves had set up hundreds of tents around Winterfell as food distribution points.

Eddard said, "What are you all eating?"

A lean Hardfoot said, "Barley thick soup with turnips, onions, and pork inside, Father of Life. We never ate such good things Beyond the Wall. Thank you, Father of Life."

A plump spearwife held a piece of charred, crispy black bread, "My children love to eat bread; I hope I can become a baker in the future. Please bless me, Father of Life!"

Escorted by Dawson and Syrio Forel, Eddard and Klar passed through the crowded throng, and Klar said, "Lord Eddard, the Wildlings really revere you as a god! Look at them when they say the words 'Father of Life,' it's as if they are praying."

Klar changed the subject, "However, prayer is prayer, but these Wildlings eat too much grain; this is all money! We must settle them in other places as soon as possible."

Eddard said, "Don't worry, Tormund has assured me that the Wildlings have already selected ten thousand warriors to join the Winter Wolves, and I will send these Winter Wolves to the Wolf Castles throughout the North."

Klar felt slightly relieved, "Lord Eddard is wise. However, I don't understand why not settle the Wildlings directly in The Gift? Anyway, The Wall has so many castles waiting to be repaired, a large amount of wasteland waiting to be reclaimed, and the food in the ice cells of The Wall is also very sufficient. The Stark Fleet can catch large quantities of salmon, sturgeon, shrimp, and crabs every day in the Bay of Ice and Seal Bay; food is very sufficient."

Eddard said, "Klar, you are a Braavosi; clearly you don't understand the ancient hatred between the Wildlings and the Night's Watch. The Wildlings are also sworn enemies of House Umber and the mountain clans near The Gift; the Wildlings are not suitable to stay in The Gift."

There was another important reason: The Gift and the land Beyond the Wall were separated by only a wall. If Eddard let the Wildlings guard The Wall, some Wildlings might stand atop The Wall, gazing at the land Beyond the Wall, and perhaps rekindle their longing for the free life Beyond the Wall, thereby fleeing back Beyond the Wall in droves.

Eddard did not want to lose this precious labor force; settling the Wildlings in Winterfell was the best choice.

As for The Gift south of The Wall, Eddard would rather send Northern native soldiers to garrison it. Eddard cooperated with the Night's Watch to repair three castles on The Wall: Green Guard, Nightfort, and Westbridge. Now, the ice cells of these three castles, plus the ice cells of the Night's Watch, were already packed with fish, whale oil, ham, grain, ale, and beer.

Green Guard commander Haihua, along with Stark soldiers and Night's Watch craftsmen, repaired the watchtower west of Green Guard. In this way, the three castles on The Wall closest to Seal Bay—Eastwatch, Green Guard, and the watchtower—were all put into use.

The repair work for Deep Lake, on the east side of Nightfort, was also nearing its end.

When Eddard led the Wildlings south, he left a thousand soldiers at Castle Black, ordering these soldiers to work with the Night's Watch brothers at Castle Black to repair Oakenshield to the east and Queensgate to the west; if all went well, the castles could be put into use within a few months.

At the same time, the Northern Mountain Clans would send over a thousand young men from the mountain clans to rebuild the castles of Sentinel Tower, Greyguard, and Stonemoor east of Shadow Tower. The Northern Mountains had too little arable land; Eddard using Northern Mountain warriors to guard The Wall reduced many mouths to feed for the mountain clans. At the same time, under the reactivated castles, wasteland would be immediately reclaimed to establish military farm estates, becoming part of the Winter Wolves, and the grain produced would be stored in the ice cells of The Wall to feed the people of the North when winter came.

Eddard couldn't help but marvel at the power of The Wall; the seven-hundred-foot-high, one-hundred-league-long Wall was not only a barrier against the invasion of the Others, but had also been transformed by Eddard into a natural ice cellar for the North to store food. Backed by The Wall, Eddard would successively rebuild the abandoned Night's Watch castles on The Wall, rely on the castles to build Winter Wolves estates, and one day, all nineteen castles on The Wall would be put into use.

Except for Eastwatch, Shadow Tower, and Castle Black, which were garrisoned by Night's Watch brothers, all other castles on The Wall had fallen into Eddard's hands, and the banner of the direwolf fluttered atop The Wall. Eastwatch, the ice-free port Beyond the Wall, was actually jointly managed by the Night's Watch and the Stark Fleet, serving as a bridgehead to protect the Northern territories Beyond the Wall and strike at smugglers and slave traders.

When Aegon the Conqueror and his sisters swept across Westeros with dragons, the Night's Watch had ten thousand well-trained warriors; today, the Night's Watch had fewer than a thousand men and it was difficult to restore its former glory. Fortunately, Eddard gave the Night's Watch brothers great respect; the ale they drank, the vegetables and grain they ate, and the black wool clothes they wore were all provided by Eddard.

Winter is Coming, and the North never forgets. Eddard had the Night's Watch and the Wolf Castles on The Wall store a large amount of obsidian weapons. If the Others marched south in the future, the Winter Wolves would join the Night's Watch brothers to make the Others bleed at the foot of The Wall.

The only variable was the Horn of Winter; according to intelligence provided by Mance Rayder, the necromancer Ogbeta claimed to have obtained the Horn of Winter that could destroy The Wall. Eddard hoped that the damned horn would never be blown.

Eddard returned to Winterfell and passed by the training yard, where Bran was riding on Summer, playing with Meera and Arya.

Bran wore training armor, holding a jousting lance, riding Summer as he galloped across the yard, chasing Meera and Arya, screaming, "I am the Wolf Knight, I am the greatest knight!"

Bran had always dreamed of becoming a knight, and Sansa was also full of thoughts of heroes, knights, and princes all day long.

In the South, when a knight was dubbed, they had to be anointed with holy oil, bathed in the light of the seven-colored rainbow, and become followers and loyal believers of the Church. Some knights in the North had therefore converted to the Southern faith of the Seven; fortunately, Sir Herman Tallhart and Sir Rodrik Cassel, whom Eddard was familiar with, still worshipped the Old Gods.

Spreading chivalry in the North could be considered a means for the Southern Seven to develop believers in the North, but Eddard believed that the power of the Old Gods was stronger; after all, Eddard himself was a skinchanger, and he had witnessed the power of many Wildling skinchangers with his own eyes, while the Seven rarely showed miracles.

The occultist Maester Daron was chatting with Jojen; this small crannogman boy had moss-colored eyes and always wore a serious expression, which was why Old Nan of Winterfell called Jojen "Little Grandfather."

Daron had always been obsessed with the study of occultism and magic. Eddard ordered Daron to be responsible for compiling "The Long Night and the Others," a book introducing the Long Night and the Others, drawing material from Old Nan's stories. Recently, he had met giants, Varamyr Sixskins, Prince of Giant Eagles Michu, and others, and he had fallen into a state of mania, going to chat with skinchangers or giants every day to write down notes.

After Meera, the daughter of Greywater Watch lord Howland Reed, and Jojen arrived at Winterfell, Daron was soon attracted by the mysterious crannogmen; he would chat with Meera and Jojen every day, chatting more with Jojen.

Eddard approached Daron and Jojen, "What are you talking about?"

Daron was startled, and he apologized with a smile, "Lord Eddard, crannogmen are not something you can see every day; I believe they possess magic."

Eddard frowned, "What magic?"

Daron said, "The castles and houses of the crannogmen move with the floating islands; they can communicate with animals. I believe there are many skinchangers among the crannogmen. According to ancient legends, after the Green Seers summoned the sea to flood the Neck, the relationship between the crannogmen and the Children of the Forest was as close as the relationship between the Targaryens and their dragons."

"I think the crannogmen are the mixed-blood descendants of the Children of the Forest and humans; they possess many abilities that ordinary humans do not, such as breathing under silt and walking on swampy ground. Some crannogmen also possess the Green Sight, and Jojen possesses this ability. The Green Dream he has has the ability to predict the future. The Green Dream always comes true."

Eddard had no interest in prophetic visions; after all, even someone as powerful as a Green Seer believed visions were vague and ambiguous, and mortals often misinterpreted them.

Eddard looked at Jojen, "Have you had a Green Dream?"

Jojen nodded, "I dreamed of a brown female trout weeping; a Titan of Braavos, beneath a blood-red moon, extended a finger and struck down a proud falcon; a lion, a pack of wolves, a dog, and a stag feasted on skulls and blood in the forest; a rose tore through the earth, only to wither amidst a blizzard and the scorching sun; a sorrowful widow hatched three magic dragons in the flames."

Daenerys and her dragons. At the thought of dragons, Eddard felt a chill in his heart; back then, Aegon the Conqueror had relied on magic dragons to force the North to submit. Eddard possessed giants, giant eagles, and direwolves, but against magic dragons, how much use would these be?

Eddard masked his inner unease and said calmly, "Magic dragons reborn? Prophecies are not necessarily true; there are no dragons left in this world."

Duosite said, "Before Lord Eddard completed the great conquest Beyond the Wall and brought back giants and skinchangers, didn't many people also believe that giants and skinchangers were all dead? I think the rebirth of magic dragons is only a matter of time. Lord Eddard, it would be best to find some dragon eggs; when the magic dragons are reborn, dragon eggs will be worth a fortune."

In fact, Eddard had long ago commissioned Syrio Forel and Klar to write to their friends in Braavos, offering a high price to purchase dragon eggs, but there had been absolutely no news of any. Eddard suspected that Dragonstone had dragon eggs; after all, it was the ancestral seat where the Targaryen family had lived for generations, and countless magic dragons had been born on that smoking volcanic island.

Perhaps he could use his connection with Robert Baratheon to obtain some dragon eggs from Dragonstone. However, the current master of Dragonstone was Robert Baratheon's second brother, the Master of Ships, Stannis; Stannis was famously cold and unyielding, and even if Dragonstone had dragon eggs, he certainly would not be willing to share them with Eddard.

Duosite said, "Lord Eddard, I wonder if you have read the book *The Testimony of Mushroom*? The author was Mushroom, a dwarf fool who served Queen Rhaenyra during the Dance of the Dragons. According to the records in this book, Queen Rhaenyra's eldest son, Prince Jacaerys, came to the North to seek the help of the then Lord of Winterfell, Cregan Stark, and the prince brought his dragon, Vermax."

Eddard gave a wry smile, "I have read it. Mushroom claimed that Vermax laid an egg in the Crypts of Winterfell; I certainly wish that were true. Mushroom never came to Winterfell, and besides, according to historical records, Vermax never laid even a single egg, so Vermax must have been male."

Duosite said, "According to the research of Barth, dragons have no gender. Lord Eddard, I have been to the Crypts of Winterfell; they are truly bottomless. In the deeper levels of the crypts, even more ancient Kings of Winter are interred. It is a pity that it is bottomless there and the stairs are broken; I did not go down. Perhaps Vermax's dragon egg is in the deeper levels of the crypts."

Eddard shook his head, "That is unlikely. Many people even believe that a dragon lives in the crypts and that it is the dragon's breath that creates the hot springs in Winterfell. This is nonsense; you must know that Winterfell has been built for thousands of years, and Brandon the Builder chose to build the castle here precisely because he took a fancy to the hot springs."

"However, I will send men to check the deeper crypts. If there really is a dragon egg, it could be worth quite a lot!"

It would be best to hatch a magic dragon. Currently, it seems only those of the Targaryen family can ride magic dragons. Jon Snow happens to be a Targaryen; Eddard could use him to ride a magic dragon, or Eddard could do it himself.

Now that Eddard's skinchanger ability is growing increasingly powerful, he can control two direwolves, Night and Sunshine, as well as the black and white bears. In time, when the magic dragons are reborn, using magic to control them is not an impossible feat.

After Duosite and Jojen left, Eddard continued walking along the training grounds; Ygritte and Jon were shooting arrows at the other end.

When they were Beyond the Wall, Ygritte used a short recurve bow. After arriving at Winterfell, Jon gave her a yew bow, which had a range far exceeding the short recurve bow, and Ygritte loved it dearly.

Eddard saw Ygritte on the training grounds, nocking an arrow and drawing her bow, hitting the bullseye with one shot.

"Kissed by Fire, you are a devilishly lethal archer," Eddard praised.

Ygritte made a face, "Father of Life, I request to join the Winter Wolves. My archery in Winterfell is good enough to be in the top three. In archery contests, I have only lost to Theon, Lareza, and Fellan."

Whether the Winter Wolves should recruit female soldiers had once sparked fierce debate at the lord's council.

Greatjon Umber claimed that women on the battlefield would make the men of the North a laughingstock, "Women in an army camp have only one use; they are only fit to be camp followers."

Maege Mormont said, "Your words make me ashamed for your mother. My daughters and I often go to the battlefield, and we have killed more enemies than you have."

Wyman Manderly said, "Women should not be soldiers; this only happens in the North. Lady Maege, I sympathize with you; after all, your brother went to the Night's Watch, and your nephew Jorah became the shame of the North, exiled overseas."

Lady Barbrey retorted, "Only the North is like this? When the Rockborn were fighting at sea, the Iron Bitch Helene Pyke who captured your two precious sons—wasn't she a woman from the Iron Islands? I have heard that there are also many female warriors in Dorne and the Stormlands."

Morna White Mask said, "Beyond the Wall, spearwives fighting is a woman's right; we are willing to fight for the Father of Life."

Harma the Dogshead shrieked, "That's right! Anyone who dares to question a woman's combat prowess, please come down to the field and spar with me."

In the end, Eddard decided that the Winter Wolves would recruit women, provided they could pass the same martial assessment as the men.

On the training grounds, Ygritte proposed wanting to join the Winter Wolves, and Eddard said, "With your archery, I believe you can pass the assessment."

Ygritte smiled happily; she ran to the target on the training grounds to pull out her arrows, and Jon approached.

"Father, you didn't allow me to join the Night's Watch before, but now I want to join the Winter Wolves, is that alright? I believe that with my skills, I can certainly become an Acting Castellan of some Wolf Castle—Red Wolf City, Dawn Watch, Sea Dragon City, Warhorse City, or a Wolf Castle on The Wall... Father, you can send me wherever you like."

The number of Wolf Castles Eddard was building was increasing, and Jon began to look forward to being assigned a Wolf Castle in the future and becoming a lord of a region. Jon had no idea of his own parentage; if the Seven Kingdoms were to fall into chaos in the future, he might even obtain the Red Keep in King's Landing.

Eddard held Jon's hand, "You will certainly be a member of the Winter Wolves, but you are my son; you will stay by my side to fight. As for a castle, I have prepared one for you." It was the one on Aegon's High Hill.

Jon's eyes lit up, "If I could be with Ygritte, that would be even better. She always says I know nothing; these past few days, Ygritte has taught me many things."

In truth, Eddard did not want Ygritte and Jon to be together. If Jon were to live his whole life as a bastard, then Ygritte would be a very suitable companion.

However, if the situation were to become turbulent in the future with a war of kings, Eddard might very well reveal Jon's true identity to the people of Westeros. At that time, his status as the posthumous son of Rhaegar Targaryen and the last Dragon Prince would make Jon a hot commodity in the eyes of the nobles of the Seven Kingdoms, and political marriages would be inevitable.

If Jon were to marry Ygritte, it might become an obstacle to his political marriage in the future. Eddard found it hard to imagine whether Jon would still like the wild Ygritte when he met women like Princess Myrcella of the South, Princess Arianne of Dorne, Margaery Tyrell of Highgarden, or Asha Greyjoy of the Iron Islands.

Who could say for sure about such things? Prince Rhaegar was a man of noble character, nearly perfect, yet for Lyanna, he abandoned his wife, Princess Elia Martell of Dorne, and in the end, Prince Rhaegar met a tragic end with his life lost and his house destroyed.

Sansa and Jeyne Poole watched together as Domeric unhorsed one opponent after another on the training grounds, and Sansa let out bursts of screams.

Recently, Sansa had become increasingly infatuated with Domeric. Many Northern nobles hoped to marry into Winterfell, and Sansa had many suitors, including Benfred Tallhart of Torrhen's Square, Smalljon Umber of the Umber family, Cley Cerwyn of Cerwyn, and others. Roose Bolton naturally also hoped that Domeric could marry Sansa.

The Dreadfort was one of the most powerful Vassals in the North; marrying Sansa to Domeric could unite the North internally. Domeric was indeed a good match for Sansa; he lacked his father's cruelty, was multi-talented, and was highly skilled in martial arts.

However, Catelyn did not like such a marriage. Catelyn was a Southerner, and every day she poured tales of Southern luxurious balls, music, court culture, and chivalry into her daughter's ears, making Sansa infatuated with knights and the love found in songs. She was determined that her daughters should all marry Southern nobles who followed the Seven, rather than Northern nobles who followed strange, nameless gods.

In history, there were too many examples of marrying a liege lord's daughter only to overthrow the liege lord and take his place. Considering Roose Bolton's ambition, Eddard was cautious about the marriage between Sansa and Domeric.

Eddard left the training grounds and arrived outside the Library Tower. Sam was chatting with the pregnant Gilly. Sam trained with the boys every day, drenched in sweat, and had become close friends with the washerwoman Gilly.

"Sam, are you accustomed to life in Winterfell?"

Sam said excitedly, "Lord Eddard, Robb, and Jon are all very good to me. Arya and Bran are also my friends. There is simply too much good food in the kitchen, and there are more books in the Library Tower than I can ever finish reading. I love this place to death; I can read with Lareza and Domeric every day."

Eddard said, "Maester Luwin thinks you are intelligent and studious. Work hard, Sam; Winterfell needs talent like yours."

Catelyn walked over, "Eddard, the craftsmen are going to show us their latest handicrafts in the Great Hall. I am looking forward to it; let's go quickly!"

Eddard and Catelyn arrived at the castle's Great Hall, where the financial advisor Klar was waiting with the Glassmaster Ortega and the Woodcarver Guzan.

The financial advisor Klar said, "Lord Eddard, today our craftsmen will show you the latest handicrafts from our Winterfell."

The Glassmaster Ortega was small in stature, wearing a brown mink coat with a silk cloak draped over his shoulders. He rubbed his hands, "Lord Eddard, this is the first glass pane I have completed since arriving in Winterfell; I hope it meets with your satisfaction."

Ortega pulled away the red cloth covering the glass pane. The hall's windows were open, and the sunlight shone on the glass pane, emitting a seven-colored rainbow glow. The glass pane depicted the image of the Father; the Father's beard flowed, and he held a scale, looking lifelike and imposing. People usually prayed to the Father for fairness and justice, and Eddard vaguely saw the shadows of Lord Tywin and Jon Arryn.

Ortega said, "I added obsidian to the glass pane; during the day, the sunlight makes it colorful, and at night, the candlelight makes it shimmer and shine."

Catelyn knelt before the glass pane of the Father and said piously, "It is truly a perfect work of art! Eddard, let's keep this glass pane in the Winterfell Sept!"

The Winterfell Sept was a very small sept Eddard had built specifically for Catelyn, and the Seven inside were merely masks of the gods.

Eddard helped Catelyn up, "Catelyn, selling this glass pane to King's Landing would bring in a large sum of money."

Klar said with a fawning smile, "Indeed! My lady, when Lord Wyman saw this glass pane, he said he wanted to spend one hundred gold dragons to buy it and take it back to White Harbor to be enshrined in the Snow Sept; Lord Eddard didn't even sell it to him!"

Eddard said, "The Great Sept of Baelor in King's Landing is the holy site for followers of the Seven in the Seven Kingdoms. If we sell the glass pane there, believers from all over will see it and come scrambling to Winterfell to buy glass panes."

Klar said, "The High Septon is so wealthy; we could set the price higher. How about three hundred gold dragons?"

"Five hundred gold dragons," Eddard said. "Such a fine piece of craftsmanship cannot be sold cheaply."

The Woodcarver Guzan was a bald man, wearing a black velvet coat with the black Goat sigil of Qohor embroidered in gold thread on his chest. Guzan's work was a Wood Carving of the Mother.

A smile hung on the Mother's face, gentle and kind; Guzan had adorned the Mother's eyes with Sapphires, making them look lifelike. People usually prayed to the Mother for many children and mercy.

Catelyn said excitedly, "I feel as if I am looking at my mother, Minisa Whent."

Eddard said, "I feel as if I am looking at you."

Guzan said, "Carving a piece like this takes several months, but fortunately, the artistic quality is excellent."

The Wood Carving of the Mother and the Glass Pane of the Father were priced the same; if it were a complete set of statues or Glass Panes of the Seven, selling them to the Church or a monastery would easily earn thousands of Gold Dragons. Eddard began to feel that the number of the Seven was too small; if there were a hundred gods, he would make a fortune just selling Glass Panes and Wood Carvings.

Catelyn said, "We should donate them to the Church for free; that way, we can please the High Septon, and the gods will protect us."

Eddard said disdainfully, "Impossible. Every time the North faces a cruel winter, I have never seen the Church donate food or money to the North. Why should we give away our Glass Panes and Wood Carvings for nothing?"

Thanks to zhuhuabjss for the tip and monthly ticket, thanks to Jiu Ye a, 161031214240197, this name is hard to change, and Chonglou Feixue for the monthly tickets sent; thank you for your support!

(End of this chapter)