Chapter 26 Chapter 25 Davos

This is a warm dark prison. Yes, it's dark.The back half of the cell was still immersed in darkness, although torches burned in ledges along the corridor walls, and a faint, flickering orange light filtered in through the ancient iron bars.It's also humid, which is to be expected in a place like Dragonstone, given how close the sea is.It had rats in it as well as any dungeon, if not more. But Davos could not complain about the cold.It was usually warm in the flat rocky passages under Dragonstone, Davos had often heard, and it got hotter the lower you went.He guessed that he was under the castle, and he could feel a little warmth when he pressed his palm against the wall of the dark cell.Perhaps the old tales were true, and Dragonstone was made of hellish rock.

He was sick when they brought him here.After the defeat of the war, he was plagued by cough and fever. His lips were full of burst blood bubbles, and the warmth of the dark cell could not stop him from shivering.I will die soon, he remembered thinking, I will die soon in darkness. It wasn't long before Davos realized that, like many other things, he had been wrong this time.He vaguely remembered soft hands and a firm voice as the young maester Pylos looked down on him, feeding him warm garlic soup and milk of the poppy to quench his aches and tremors.The poppies put him into a deep sleep while they bled him with leeches to suck the toxins out—or so he guessed from the bite marks on his arm when he woke up.Afterwards, the coughing stopped and the blood bubbles disappeared, they served fish broth with carrots and onions in it.One day he realized he was stronger than when the Black Bertha exploded beneath him and threw him into the river.

He was then handed over to two guards.One was short and stocky, with broad shoulders and giant, powerful hands.He wore studded leather armor, and brought Davos a bowl of oatmeal every day, sometimes with honey or milk mixed with it.The other guard was older, hunched over, with a sallow complexion, greasy, dirty hair, and rough skin.He wore a white velvet jacket with a ring of stars rusted with gold thread on the chest, but it didn't fit very well, it looked short and broad, and it was dirty and worn.He would bring Davos a plate of minced meat or fish stew, and sometimes even half an eel pie.Eels are too greasy to swallow, but even so, this is a rare treatment for prisoners in black cells.

There are no windows on the thick stone walls of the black prison, so naturally there is no light from the sun and the moon. The change of day and night can only be distinguished according to the shift of guards.Neither of them spoke to him, but he knew they were not dumb, and sometimes he heard the guards chatting curtly at shift changes.They didn't even tell him their names, so he had to nickname them, "Porridge" for the short, stocky one, and "Eel" for the hunchbacked, yellow-faced one—because of the half eel pie.Based on the two meals delivered a day and the change of the torch on the outer wall of the cell, he simply deduced the date.

In the dark, one becomes lonely and longs to hear voices.So whenever the guards came to Davos' cell, whether to bring food or change the toilet, he tried to talk to them.He knew that pleas or pleas would go unheeded, so he asked questions in the hope that some day a warden would speak. "How is the war going?" he asked. "Is the king all right?" Besides, he asked his son Devon, Princess Shireen, and Salador Saan. "How's the weather?" he asked. "Have the autumn storms begun? Are there still ships sailing on the Narrow Sea?" No matter what was asked, the result was the same, they never answered, although sometimes "Porridge" would give him a look, which gave Davos some hope. "Eel" doesn't even have that.In his eyes, I'm not human, Davos thought, just a rock that eats, talks, and shits.He thought he liked "cereal" better, and he at least considered himself human, and with an odd kindness.Davos suspected that he had fed the rats that filled the cell.Once he heard the warden talking to the mice as if they were children, or perhaps it was just another dream.

They don't want me dead, he realized, and for a purpose they want me to live.He didn't want to think about what that was for.Lord Sanglass had been locked in the black cell under Dragonstone, along with Herb Lambton's two sons - but they were all burned alive in the end.I should have given myself up to the sea, Davos thought, gazing at the torches beyond the rail, I should have let that ship go by and die on the rocks.It's better to feed crabs than to die in flames. Then one night, as Davos was finishing his supper, he felt a strange blushing rush over him.He looked up, and through the railing, he saw her standing in a halo of scarlet, with a large ruby ​​at her throat, and her red eyes gleaming in the light of the torches. "Melisandre," Davos said, his tone unexpectedly calm.

"Onion Knight," she replied, equally calmly, as if they were greeting each other in a palace or courtyard, "are you all right?" "Better than before." "What else do you need?" "Missing my king. Missing my son." He pushed the bowl away and stood up. "Are you here to burn me?" Her strange, blood-red eyes peered at him through the railing. "It's a bad place, isn't it? Dark and dirty, no sun to shine, no moon to shine." She pointed to the torch on the ledge. "Between you and the darkness, Onion Knight, there is only it, only this little flame, R'hllor's gift. If I extinguish it..."

"No." He walked to the railing. "No." He knew he couldn't bear to sit alone in pure darkness with rats. The lips of the red-robed woman rolled upwards, revealing a smile. "Looks like you're starting to like flames." "I need this torch." He opened and closed his fingers.I will not beg her, never. "I'm like this torch, Ser Davos. We're both R'hllor's tools. We both exist for one purpose—to hold back the darkness. Do you understand?" "I don't understand." Maybe he should lie, maybe he should go along with her, but he, Davos, is not that kind of person. "You are the mother of darkness. I have seen you create darkness under Storm's End."

"The valiant onion knight is afraid of a passing shadow? Look up, the shadow is the servant of the light, the offspring of the flame, but the king's flame burns too weakly, dare not draw any more, or he will be claimed Fate." Melisandre took a step closer. "However, if there is another one...one whose fire burns blazingly...if you will serve your king, come to my chambers at night. I will bring you joy like never before, and use the fire of your life , creating..." "...a horrible monster." Davos backed away. "I don't want to have anything to do with you or your god, woman, and may the Seven Gods protect me."

Melisandre sighed, "They didn't protect Gunther Sanglas. Although he prayed three times a day and took the seven-pointed star as his coat of arms, his prayers turned into screams in front of Allah Rhallor. His body was reduced to ashes. Why do you worship these false gods?" "I've worshiped them all my life." "A lifetime? Davos Seaworth? It was only your sad yesterday." She shook her head. "You were never afraid to tell the king the truth, why would you lie to yourself? Open your eyes, ser gentlemen." "What do you want me to see?"

"Seeing the nature of the world clearly, the truth surrounds you, everything is clear at a glance. The night is dark, everywhere is dangerous, the day is bright, vigorous and prosperous. One black, one white. One ice, one fire. Hate and love, bitterness and sweetness, women and men , pain and joy, winter and summer, evil and justice." She took another step closer. "Death or life. Contradictions have always been present, and wars are everywhere." "War?" Davos asked. "Yes, war," she confirmed. "A war between two true gods, the Onion Knight, not seven, not one, not a hundred, not a thousand, but two! You think I'm traveling half the world to put another pompous king on an empty throne? You Wrong, the war started from the beginning of the world, and before the judgment comes, everyone must choose a side. On one side is Allah R'hllor, Lord of Light, Heart of Flame, God of Shadow and Fire; Also the ancient gods, the gods of darkness, the soul of ice, the gods of night and fear. Our choice is not Baratheon or Lannister, Greyjoy or Stark. Our choice is life and death , light and darkness." She stretched out her slender white fingers to grab the railing of the cell, and the big ruby ​​in her throat seemed to be pulsating rhythmically. "Tell me, Ser Davos Seaworth, tell me honestly—does your heart burn with the light of R'hllor? Or is it dark and cold and overgrown with worms?" Her hand passed over the railing, Put three fingers on his chest, as if to feel his thoughts through flesh and wool and leather. "My mind," said Davos slowly, "is full of doubts." Melisandre sighed. "Ahhh... Davos, a kind and good knight, even if lost in the darkness and chaos, he will not change his integrity. Very good, you did not lie to me, and you did not disappoint me. The servant of Ability God often A dark heart hides in a beautiful light, so R'hllor gave his priests the ability to see through the disguise." She stepped back slightly. "Why do you want to kill me?" "I will," said Davos, "if you will tell me who betrayed me." It could only be Salador Thorn, but he was still praying that it wasn't. The red-robed woman laughed loudly, "No one betrayed you, Onion Knight, I foresaw your movements in the holy flame." holy fire. "Since you can see the future through the flames, why are we still being burned on the Blackwater River? You, you sent my sons into the fire... My son, my ship, my men, It was all burned..." Melisandre shook her head. "You misunderstood, Onion Knight, I didn't cause it. On the contrary, if I were with you, the battle would have a different ending. It's a pity that His Majesty is surrounded by people who don't believe in Allah, and his pride overwhelms his faith . Now that the punishment is heavy and painful, he has learned his lesson." My sons died to teach the king a lesson?Davos' lips were drawn tight. "Night is falling upon your Seven Kingdoms," continued the red woman, "but the sun will soon rise again. The war is on, Davos Seaworth, and they will soon understand that even in the dust And the embers of the embers can reignite the flames. The old maester looked at Stannis, and saw a mortal, and you saw your king. You are all wrong. He is God's Chosen One, Son of the Flame, A warrior of light. I witnessed him command thousands of troops in the sacred fire to resist the terrible darkness. There is no lie in the sacred fire, otherwise you would not be here. The ancient book of Yashai prophesied that after the long summer, the stars will cry blood, Thor Ahai will be born again in the land of smoke and salt, and awaken the dragon in the stone. Now that the Star of Weeping Blood has appeared, Dragonstone is the land of smoke and salt, and Stannis Baratheon is It is Azor Ahai reincarnated!" Her eyes were as bright as light red candles, as if looking into his soul. "You don't believe me, you still doubt R'hllor's intentions...but you have served him and will serve him in the future. Please think about my words. Remember that R'hllor is the source of all goodness , I leave you the torch." She smiled, rolled up her blood-red skirt and turned away, only the smell remained.Her smell and the smell of the torch.Davos sat down on the cell floor, arms folded over knees, the flickering fire flickering.The sound of Melisandre's footsteps gradually disappeared, leaving behind the rattling rattle.Ice and fire, he thought, black and white, evil and justice.Davos could not deny the power of her god, for he had seen the shadow crawl out of Melisandre's womb, and the priestess did know things she should not have known.She foresees my movements in the holy fire.It was good to know that Sara hadn't betrayed him, but he felt an indescribable uneasiness at the thought of the red lady being able to peer through the flames.You have served him and you will serve him.What the hell does this mean?He didn't like this feeling. He stared up at the torch for a long time without blinking, watched it shake and shift, tried to walk through it, saw behind the curtain of fire... whatever... nothing, just fire, fire, and after a while, Eyes start to water. God had not seen him, and he was indeed tired, so Davos curled up in the straw and committed himself to sleep. Three days later--Three times, actually, "Porridge" came, and "Eel" only twice--Davos heard voices outside the cell.He immediately sat up, leaning his back against the stone wall, listening to the struggle outside the door.This was big news in his immutable world.The noise comes from the left, where the stairs lead down to the ground.He heard a man alternately screaming and desperately begging. "Are...are you crazy?" the man was saying when he came into view.He is dragged by two guards with flaming hearts on their chests. Porridge went first, carrying a bunch of clanking keys, followed by Ser Axell Florent. "Axel," the prisoner said hoarsely, "for your love for me, let me go! You can't do this, I'm not a traitor." He was an old man, tall and thin, with silver-gray hair and a pointed beard. The noble's long face was contorted with fear. "Selyse, Selyse, where is the Queen? I want to see her. May the White Walkers take you all! Let me go!" The guards ignored his shouts. "Here?" asked Oatmeal, standing in front of Davos' cell door.The Onion Knight stood up, and for a moment, he planned to take the opportunity to rush out, but that was too stupid.They were so many and armed, and even "Porridge" was as strong as a bull, and he probably couldn't pass the first test. Ser Axell nodded slightly to the warden. "Let the traitors go with each other." "I'm not a traitor!" the prisoner screamed, but "Oatmeal" opened the lock indifferently.Although the old man was dressed plainly, only wearing a gray woolen jacket and black breeches, his tone of voice was clearly that of a nobleman.On Dragonstone, birth wouldn't help him, Davos thought. Porridge pulled the door open, Ser Axell nodded, and the guards rushed the prisoner in.The old man stumbled and was about to fall, but Davos caught him.He immediately broke free and rushed towards the door, but the door slammed shut, hitting his pale and wealthy face. "No," he yelled, "no—" All of a sudden, all the power forsook him, and he slid to the ground, still clutching the iron bars.Ser Axell, Porridge, and the guards turned away. "You can't do this," the prisoner yelled at the retreating figure, "I am the Prime Minister!" Davos recognized him now. "You are Alister Florent." The old man turned his head. "You are……?" "Ser Davos Seaworth." Earl Alister blinked. "Seaworth... Onion Knight. You tried to kill Melisandre." Davos didn't deny it. "I remember in Storm's End, you were wearing red and gold armor, with lapis lazuli flowers on the breastplate." He stretched out his hand to help the old man stand up. Lord Alister brushed the dirty straw from his clothes. "I...I must apologize for the way I look, sir. When the Lannisters raided our camp, I lost all my chests and escaped in only mail and a ring on my finger." He cared about the ring, thought the fingerless Davos. "No doubt some kitchen boy or stable boy is running about King's Landing in my velvet twill coat and jeweled cloak at this very moment," Lord Alister sighed to himself. "Everyone knows that war has its terrible side, and you have suffered heavy losses." "My ship," said Davos, "my men, my four sons, are gone." "May... may the Lord of Light lead them through darkness to happiness," he said. May the Father judge them justly, and may the Mother grant them great mercy, Davos thought, but he kept his prayers to himself.There is no place for the Seven on Dragonstone. "My son was all right in Brightwater," said the earl, "but my nephew died aboard the Wrath. Ser Imry was born to my brother Ryan." It was Ser Imry Florent who had told them to lower their sails and oars, and go blindly into the Blackwater, paying no heed to the two stone towers at the mouth of the river.Davos would not forget him. "My son Malik is oarsman on your nephew's ship," he remembered seeing the Fury engulfed in wildfire. "Are there any survivors from their ship?" "The Fury burned and sank with all her crew on board," said the earl. "Your son and my nephew died along with other strong men. A complete and complete failure, ser." The man was depressed and depressed.What did Melisandre say?Embers in the dust can also reignite a raging fire.No wonder he was sent here. "Your Majesty will never surrender, my lord." "Stupid, really stupid." Earl Alister sat back on the ground, as if standing was too strenuous for him. "Stannis Baratheon will never sit on the Iron Throne. The facts are in front of you. Is it a betrayal to say it? It's hard to say, but it's true. Except for the Lys ship, he has no fleet, and Sa Rado Thorn is an old trickster who would run away with flags at the sight of a Lannister. Most of the lords who supported Stannis fell to Joffrey, or died..." "The same for the princes of the Narrow Sea? Even the vassals directly under Dragonstone Island are unreliable?" Earl Alister waved his hand feebly. "Lord Celtigar fell to his knees after being captured, Morford Velaryon was killed with his ship, Sanglas was burned to death by the red woman, Lord Baer Ammon was only fifteen years old, a puffy boy— These are the lords of the Narrow Sea you speak of. Stannis has only the strength of the Florents, but he has to fight the alliance of Highgarden, Sunspear and Casterly Rock, plus many direct vassals of Storm's End. We can only hope to negotiate. Keeping some gains, gods bless, how can this be called 'betrayal'?" Davos frowned. "My lord, what did you do?" "I am not a traitor. Absolutely not. I love your Majesty more than anyone else. My own niece was his queen, and the wise men left him, but I remained faithful. I was his prime minister, I was king Hand, definitely not a traitor! I just want to save our lives...and honor...yes." He licked his lips. "I wrote a letter, and Salador Sann swore that he could use his relationship to bring it to King's Landing and present it to Duke Tywin. Your lord, he is a...reasonable person, and my terms... are fair... ...is good for us..." "What condition did you propose, my lord?" "It's dirty in here," said Earl Alister suddenly. "The smell...what's the smell?" "Smells like a commode," Davos said, gesticulating. "There's no toilet here. On what terms?" The Earl stared at the toilet in horror. "Lord Stannis renounces his claim to the Iron Throne, retracts his statement about Joffrey's parentage; in contrast, the king no longer fights us, and affirms his lord's rights to Dragonstone and Storm's End. Personally, I will address the king Take an oath of allegiance, and then take back Brightwater and all my family's territories. I think... Lord Tywin will appreciate this reasonable suggestion, after all, he still has to deal with the Starks and the Iron Islands. To strengthen the treaty, I also proposed that Shireen To marry Tommen, Joffrey's brother," he shook his head. "These conditions...we can only keep these at most, even you can see it, right? "Yes," said Davos, "even I can see that." Unless Stannis had a son, such a marriage meant Dragonstone and Storm's End would fall to Tommen someday, no doubt. It can satisfy Lord Tywin; at the same time, Shireen will become a hostage of the Lannister family to ensure that Stannis will not rebel. "What did he say when you proposed it to His Majesty?" "He's been with the red-robed woman, and I'm afraid... I'm afraid he's not thinking properly. The thing about stone dragons... is crazy, I tell you, completely crazy. 'Bright Flame' Aerion, the Nine Wizards, and the Alchemist Aren’t warlocks a lesson? Isn’t Summerhall a lesson? Dreaming about dragons all day long will not lead to good results. I analyzed it to Axell and it should come safely. Since Stannis gave me the seal, I have The power to rule, and as prime minister, I can represent the king." "Not this time." Davos, who was not a courtier, spoke bluntly. "With Stannis' temper, he will never give in to what he is sure of. Similarly, it is impossible for him to withdraw his exposure to Joffrey. As for the marriage contract, since Tommen and Joffrey are both committed by incest, then Your Majesty would rather let Shireen die than marry him." The veins on Florent's forehead popped violently, "But he has no choice!" "You are mistaken, my lord, he could choose to die as king. "What about us? Do you want to die too, Onion Knight?" "No. But I'm the King's man, and I don't make my own claims without his permission." Alister stared at him hopelessly for a long moment, then sobbed.