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Tyrion Lannister's breathing was ragged, desperate.
He clutched Lynn's arm with both hands. His mismatched eyes burned with something close to madness.
"What do you mean?" His voice was raw, like rusted metal scraping. "What else do you know? Tell me!"
The camp was silent as a tomb. Even the fire seemed muted.
Jon and Arya exchanged confused looks. They couldn't understand why a story could shatter a Lannister so completely.
Only Benjen Stark understood. He stood quietly and led the bewildered children away. Some things weren't for young ears.
Lynn didn't pull away. He just looked down at the dwarf clinging to him.
"Lord Lannister," Lynn said, his voice unnervingly calm. "Some truths are like Pandora's box. Once opened, they devour you."
"No!" Tyrion snarled. "Tell me! Tell me the truth! Please."
The last word was torn from his throat. The proud Lannister lion bowed his head for the first time in his lifeāfor a truth that could destroy everything he thought he knew.
Lynn shook his head. "Not yet."
Tyrion's body swayed. The fire in his eyes died, leaving only ash.
"Why? What do you want?"
His mind raced, searching for leverage.
"Gold? Casterly Rock has mountains of it! A mine! I'll give you a mine! Just tell me!"
He was begging. A Lannister was offering a gold mine for an answer.
Lynn smiled faintly. He peeled Tyrion's fingers off his arm, one by one.
"Do you think the Old Gods need gold?"
Tyrion froze.
"Is this... also their guidance?"
He stared at Lynn's bottomless eyes. For the first time, his wealth and wit felt powerless.
He couldn't buy this man. He couldn't outsmart him.
He was a fly in a web. And Lynn was the patient spider.
"Then what do you want?" Tyrion's voice trembled. "You wouldn't tell me this unless you wanted something. Name it. Anything I can give, I will!"
Lynn leaned close to Tyrion's ear.
"What I want, you can't give me yet. But one day... you will."
Not yet, Lynn thought. Not until the Lannisters crush you completely. Then you'll be useful.
Lynn straightened up. "Rest well, my Lord. The road to the Wall is long."
He turned and walked to his tent, leaving the broken dwarf alone in the cold.
Tyrion collapsed in the snow, shaking.
Not from cold.
If it was all a lie. If Tysha wasn't a whore. If it was real...
Then what did his suffering mean? What kind of monster was his father, Tywin Lannister?
Tyrion slammed his fist into the frozen ground. Blood seeped from his knuckles. He didn't feel it.
In the shadows, Jon watched, stunned.
Lynn hadn't drawn a sword. He'd destroyed a Lannister with words alone.
"Was he... always like this? When he was a Ranger?" Jon asked Benjen.
Benjen's gaze was distant. "No. Before, he was just a young man. Now... he's a blade unsheathed."
Benjen was starting to believe. The Old Gods had touched Lynn. It was the only explanation.
Arya gripped Needle at her hip, eyes shining with admiration.
This was what she wanted to be. Not Sansa in her pretty dresses. A warrior who made enemies fear and family safe.
The next morning, the camp noticed the change.
Tyrion Lannister was different.
He didn't drink. His wineskin lay discarded in the ashes.
He didn't joke. The witty, sharp-tongued dwarf was silent.
He just rode at the back of the column, face dark and hollow.
Jon tried to talk to him several times. But those empty eyes stopped him cold.
Arya whispered to Lynn, "What's wrong with the Imp? He looks... dead."
Lynn ruffled her hair. "No. He's not dying. He's being reborn."
The column rode North in oppressive silence.
Lynn spent his time training with Benjen. Draw. Aim. Loose. Repeat.
[Archery (Novice): 5/10][Archery (Novice): 6/10]
He could gain experience through practice and instruction. The discovery thrilled him. He trained harder.
Benjen was amazed. Lynn absorbed every lesson instantly, like he was born for war.
Five days later, a white shape appeared on the horizon.
The Wall.
A colossal barrier of ice and ancient magic, stretching across the world like a sleeping dragon.
It rose into the clouds, endless and eternal.
Everyone stopped.
Even the hardened criminals stared in awe.
~~~~āā~~~~~~~~āā~~~~
The story isn't over...
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