Duke Tywin Lannister had long heard of the witch's fame.
However, the witch would not easily give prophecies, and many nobles who came to her door were refused.
Lord Tywin Lannister has never had a good impression of blood sorcerers.
The witch is a blood witch.
Her prophecies all came from the blood of those who sought her advice.
The Duke's twenty years as prime minister and sixteen years of iron-fisted rule over the western border made him more inclined towards the science of the scholar and his own strategies.
However, for some unpredictable things, it's not a bad idea to ask the witch.
These people, chosen by God to study mysticism, each possess unique and mysterious abilities, aside from a few fraudsters.
Even if Duke Tywin Lannister disagreed, he was still very clear about this point.
Many people use mysticism to commit fraud, but the witch is definitely not one of them.
She comes from the East and is a true sorceress.
Her deceased husband was a spice merchant and a wealthy merchant in the West. When he was young, he went to the continent of Essos to do business and met the witch. He was captivated by her beauty, spent a lot of money to bring her back, settled in Lannisport, and married her.
Because of the passage of time, no one knows the witch's real name anymore. The Mountain asked his grandmother, but whether the witch herself refused to tell him or had forgotten it, she did not reveal her real name when she was young.
Since becoming a wizard, one's name has been dedicated to the gods, and the name of the witch has also been dedicated to the gods. It is perfectly normal not to remember or to refuse to remember.
After purchasing five ships' worth of iron ore at the original price, the Duke kindly comforted the young Glenn Gubler, who had been threatened with death, asking him to return and tell his father, Geord Gubler, that if the price of iron ore did not rise further, they could remain good friends. If the price of iron ore continued to rise, the Duke would cut off the supply of all necessities from the West to the Iron Islands and, through the King, inform the nobles along the coast to uniformly raise the prices of necessities sold to the Iron Islands.
In short, the price of iron ore in the Iron Islands must stop here and never rise again. Otherwise, Duke Tywin Lannister will never agree to it.
Glenn Gubler agreed.
The Ironborn who came this time were completely deflated. They were killed by an ordinary civilian from the West with an unbelievable speed at the port of Casterly Rock.
This is a blatant insult to the iron species.
This is also a very strong signal from the West to the Ironborn.
Lord Tywin was not a weak man; on the contrary, his character was as tough as the black rocks of Casterly Rock.
Since the Mountain and his brothers had committed a seemingly justifiable 'murder,' the Duke, seizing the opportunity, after condemning the Ironborn's lawlessness, bought five shiploads of iron ore and offered a few perfunctory words of comfort to the teenager. Glenn Gubler was the youngest of Gordes Gubler's triplets. He wasn't as fierce as his two older brothers, but he was more rational.
However, in the eyes of the Ironborn, reason is weakness.
However, they couldn't afford not to be weak either. Even if they were all killed, it would be because they had first harassed respectable women in the Western Regions.
Following this incident, and after much persuasion from the Mountain, three days later, Lord Tywin Lannister arrived at Clegane Village with his five hundred Royal Guards.
Accompanying him was the Duke's Grand Secretary, Potter.
Benlont Bronn, the sword instructor of Casterly Rock—the sword teacher of Sandor Clegane, and also Gregor Clegane's first sword instructor—led five centurions, who in turn led five hundred Janissary cavalry.
The Duke hadn't been out for a long time, so he decided to go out for a walk and relax.
Since his eldest daughter Cersei Lannister married into the royal court, his most promising son Jaime Lannister also entered the palace. Sixteen years have passed in the blink of an eye, and Jaime Lannister is still working as a damned Kingsguard.
The Duke harbored a deep resentment because Casterly Rock in the West had no successor.
Jaime was the best choice, but the handsome young man made it clear that he would never return to inherit Casterly Rock; he wanted to be a Kingsguard for life.
Being a member of the Kingsguard means you can't marry, have children, inherit property, or own private wealth. You can't enjoy any of the luxuries of the world. Like ascetics, all they have is the highest honor among knights: glory and dedication, loyalty and iron will.
Being a knight is the highest honor that all warriors aspire to, and being a member of the Royal Guard is the highest honor that all knights aspire to.
Only the most outstanding knights are qualified to become members of the Kingsguard.
Jaime gave up his right to the throne for that damned honor, which became a hidden wound in Tywin's heart that never healed and only deepened year by year.
The only solution is to persuade Jaime to abandon that damned honor of the Kingsguard, return to Casterly Rock, and accept the right of succession.
Although the Kingsguard's service is for life, being dismissed by the King is the greatest humiliation a knight can suffer. But for Lord Tywin Lannister, any greater humiliation was acceptable as long as Jaime returned. And in the Duke's eyes, this so-called humiliation was utterly worthless.
For twenty-five years, the Duke of Tywin Lannister had not smiled, and there was a lot of unresolved issues weighing on his mind.
His younger brother, Kevan Lannister, the Salt Commissioner, was also in the entourage.
Salt production has become industrialized and streamlined, supplying the entire western territories. Salt is sent out, and money flows back—this is thanks to Gregor Clegane.
As snow salt production in the Westerlands increased, Tywin's second step was to sell it at a high price across the Narrow Sea, not anywhere else in his own country. The trade routes through Lannisport could easily solve this sales problem.
This greatly reduced Tywin's anxiety about the disappearance of the gold mine.
This was also thanks to Gregor Clegane. Tywin knew this perfectly well, but he would never utter a single word of praise for him in front of the Mountain.
The Mountain cannot be praised; he is arrogant enough and the most unruly of all the nobles in the West. Therefore, the Duke believes that he can only be severely reprimanded and disciplined.
*
Although the sanctuary in Clegane is much smaller than the sanctuary in Casterly Rock, it has everything that is necessary.
The Duke sat down opposite the witch.
The witch did not wait for the duke before the statues of the Seven Saints. Instead, the duke, along with the maester, Kevan, Benlont, and the five centurions, paid their respects to the statues of the Seven Saints and then came to the witch's room to request an audience.
In this respect, Cersei sixteen years ago was more domineering and ruthless than the Duke. She barged directly into the witch's room and threatened that if the witch did not give her the prophecy, she would have the family guards hang the witch.
The Duke was greeted inside by the witch's assistant.
The witch's assistant is named Jenny Westerling.
Newly married, she returned to Clegane and became her grandmother's potion-making assistant and apprentice in occult studies, though Jenny herself was unaware of this. She assumed that until her grandmother found an apprentice, she was merely helping her with whatever chores she could manage.