Game of Thrones: The Road to Pirate King

Chapter 464 Jorah Mormont the Great Bear – Lynise Hightower

The white walls of Starfall City, reflected in the summer sea, resemble a string of pearls lost to the world.

When Euron's party arrived, the waves were gently caressing the coastline, and the towering white stone sword tower pointed straight to the sky, like a sharp blade ready to be drawn at any moment.

Phoenix Dane, the head of the Dane family, personally greeted them at the castle gate.

This eldest brother of Asara has the Dane family’s signature silver-gold hair and a tall, imposing figure like a towering stone monument. Although his younger brother, “Sword of the Dawn” Arthur, is renowned throughout the Seven Kingdoms, almost making the other Danes of Starfall City live in his shadow, Phoenix possesses an air of undeniable authority in every gesture, a composure honed by the years.

"Welcome home, sister." As Phoenix embraced Ashara, his gaze swept sharply over Euron and the entire group.

When he saw Jero Dane following closely beside Arianne, his brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.

In the castle's banquet hall, Phoenix's wife held three-month-old Edric Dane in her arms. The baby's silvery hair shimmered softly in the candlelight, and his tiny hands waved in the air. Seven-year-old Ariadne Dane curiously observed the guests who had traveled from afar, her violet eyes, so similar to Ashara's, blinking incessantly.

"Want to see my childhood secret hideout?"

On their second day in Starfall City, Asara led the group across a cliff covered in wildflowers. The sea breeze ruffled her hair; at that moment, she was no longer the female warrior standing with her sword, but rather seemed to have returned to her carefree girlhood.

Asara pointed to an ancient jujube tree on the edge of the cliff: "I often sat there watching merchant ships sail into the distance." The carvings on the trunk recorded the passage of time and also the little things that made a girl grow up.

In a secluded bay, she revealed a crescent-shaped white sand beach: "This is a place only the Dane children know about." The children immediately took off their shoes and socks and chased and played in the waves.

What is most touching is an inconspicuous room in the west wing of the castle.

Asara gently pushed open the door, and dust danced in the sunlight. A small wooden swing hung quietly from the beam, with several faded rag dolls scattered beside it, and a wooden box containing seashells.

"These are all my childhood treasures." Her fingers gently stroked the swing's ropes, her voice unusually soft.

Euron watched as she demonstrated to Daren how to blow a seagull's cry out with a seashell, and watched Caesar clumsily try to fix a loosely jointed puppet. Suddenly, he understood how this land had shaped the Ashara he knew—sharp as a sword on the battlefield and gentle as water in life.

As the sun set, Phoenix stood atop the White Stone Tower, gazing at the footprints his sister's family had left on the beach, and a contented smile appeared on his face.

In this family shrouded in the aura of the "Dawn Sword," each Dane is searching for their own light. At this moment, Starfall City is regaining its unique brilliance because of these returning wanderers.

The caravan moved slowly along the frontier of Dorne, like a leisurely snake winding through the reddish hills. Just as Euron had said, this was not a hurried journey, but a long trip shared by the whole family. The rhythm of the horses' hooves on the gravel road was gentle and regular. The children were already used to this slow-paced travel life, sometimes playing in the carriages, sometimes riding their ponies back and forth in the caravan.

The outline of Oldtown finally appeared on the horizon. This oldest city in Westeros, like a pearl polished by time, sat on the banks of the River Honey. The towering tower reached into the clouds, its majestic silhouette visible even from miles away. The beacon fire atop the tower flickered in the twilight, telling of House Hightower's ancient vow to "illuminate the future."

The Old Town Voice, Earl Leyton Hightower of the Tower of the Ancient Town, welcomed this special group with great ceremony.

The lord, known as the "Old Man of Old Town," had silver hair, but his eyes remained as sharp as an eagle's. He wore a dark gray robe embroidered with the family crest of a white tower in a stepped pattern, and his every move exuded the elegance and composure of the oldest noble family.

"You've come at just the right time," Earl Layton's voice rang out like an ancient bell in a towering tower, "just in time for my daughter Lynise's fourteenth name day."

Although the count described the banquet that evening as "small," it still maintained the elegant demeanor characteristic of the Hightower family.

The dome of the banquet hall is painted with the trajectory of the stars, and the walls are inlaid with stained glass depicting the history of the founding of the university.

Lynise Hightower, dressed in a pale blue silk gown and with pearls adorning her silver hair, looked like an elf from an ancient legend. As she curtsied to Duke Euron, her eyes sparkled with curiosity and reverence for this legendary navigator, lord of sea creatures, protector of the Summer Islands and Nath, and king of the Summer Sea and the Jade Sea.

Euron was seated at the head of the table, with Earl Layton to his right. The three ladies were seated on either side of Lynise, while the children sat with the younger generation of the Hightower family. During the meal, Earl Layton and Euron discussed their experiences on their ocean voyages, occasionally mentioning the Hightower family's long history of protecting the Citadel.

Earl Dun raised his glass and said, "Knowledge is like a beacon fire on a towering tower; it needs someone to guard it in order to illuminate the future."

Ashara and Ilya listened intently to the conversation between the two lords, while Ariane occasionally whispered to Linis, making the fourteen-year-old girl giggle softly.

Lynise Hightower was indeed stunningly beautiful, like a newly blooming rose, with silver hair flowing like moonlight and purple eyes like the mist of twilight, and every step she took was as light as the sea breeze.

At the banquet, countless young noblemen followed her with their eyes, some infatuated, some admiring, but all adhering to the boundaries of etiquette, offering carefully crafted praises only from a safe distance.

Jorah Mormont was the only exception.

When the count from Bear Island stood up, the entire banquet hall seemed to fall silent.

Jorah Mor's bronze face was angular and weathered by the harsh winds of the North, and beneath his heavy bearskin cloak lay strong arms. Unlike the carefully crafted elegance of other noble youths, his sincerity carried a primal strength, like an uncarved rock from the northern forests.

His voice wasn't loud, but it was firm enough to pierce through all the whispers: "Lord Layton, please allow me to express my sincerest admiration for Miss Linness."

At that moment, even the candlelight seemed to hold its breath.

The young nobles, accustomed to expressing their love through poetry and metaphors, could hardly hide their astonishment. Some whispered amongst themselves, some raised eyebrows in surprise, and others wore knowing smiles—in this towering building renowned for its elegance and tradition, such a direct declaration of love undoubtedly broke all established rules.

Earl Layton elegantly wiped his lips and leaned down to whisper to his daughter. Lynise covered her mouth and chuckled softly, a laugh as clear as a wind chime, yet it made Jorah's cheeks flush slightly.

“My dear Earl Mormont,” Layton said gently, smiling, “my daughter has grown up under the protection of the Tower of Babel and may find it difficult to adapt to the harsh cold and hardship of Bear Island.” This polite refusal instantly dimmed Jorah’s eyes.

The banquet at the Tower of Triumph will eventually come to an end, but Jorah Mormont's undisguised sincerity that night will become a long-standing anecdote in the Old Town's social circles—about how a northern warrior tried to pluck the most beautiful rose of the south in the simplest way.

Amidst the varied gazes of the guests, only Youlun noticed the fleeting desolation in the eyes of this northern man, as well as the burning courage that remained even after being rejected.

It was this unusual frankness that led Euron to extend an olive branch to Joel.

"Bear Island is harsh and cold, but the world is vast!" Euron raised his cup to him, smiled, and said, "If you lack wealth, just earn it. This world is so expansive; with your courage and swordsmanship, where can't you make a name for yourself? At that time, she will have no reason to refuse."

Jorah raised his head, his eyes burning with renewed fervor.

Euron continued, his words laced with inflammatory rhetoric: "Look at our Iron Islands. We once had nothing but iron and salt, no different from your Bear Island. But now we have conquered the entire East, and the wealth we have brought back is enough to fill any lord's hall."

The candlelight flickered in Jorah's eyes, reflecting his inner struggles and longings. He looked in the direction of Lynes, where Miss Hightower was chatting and laughing with Arianne, without even glancing in his direction.

"Big Bear, if you want to achieve great things and live a fulfilling life, or if you need a lot of golden dragons to marry a beautiful wife, you might as well come to me."

Jorah gripped his wine glass tightly and nodded. The Earl of Bear Island was making the most important decision of his life.

The Lord of the Sea Beasts marched eastward to the ends of the Eastern World, conquering all the islands that blocked his path. There, countless opportunities awaited him.

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