Outside the tent, the sun shone brightly, casting its warmth over the coalition camp. It seed like just another ordinary day. When Aegor woke up naturally, dressed, and stepped out of his tent, he imdiately sensed that sothing felt off.
After observing his surroundings for a mont, he quickly identified the source of the strange atmosphere: many soldiers around him were pointing and whispering while gazing toward the eastern sky.
Following their line of sight, Aegor raised his head and squinted against the sunlight. Soon, he spotted what had captured everyone's attention: low in the eastern sky, a cot hung silently beside the rising sun. Its tail was long and blood-red, like a bloody gash carved into the blue skin of the sky, or a blazing fragnt torn from the sun itself.
A red cot.
The reason he hadn't noticed it imdiately upon leaving the tent was that the sun's newly risen brilliance had initially obscured the crimson streak. But once seen, it was impossible to ignore. Its vivid hue and intense brightness stood starkly against the sky, undiminished even in the presence of the sun.
He couldn't help but wonder what it would look like at night.
That cot might shine as brightly as a full moon.
Aegor felt a chill run through him, though he couldn't pinpoint why. He wracked his brain but couldn't rember any specific significance behind the cot. It had been too long since he'd read the original A Song of Ice and Fire, and the details had grown hazy. He vaguely recalled that a red cot had appeared when Daenerys Targaryen hatched her three dragons. But was the cot a consequence of the dragons' birth and the resurgence of magic, or had its arrival heralded the return of magic, thus enabling the eggs to hatch? He had no idea.
Not that it mattered. Daenerys was far away, beyond his reach. People often said that, if one traveled to this world, they should find and seduce the "most beautiful woman" it had to offer. But after experiencing life here firsthand, Aegor realized how impractical such fantasies were. Survival left little room for romantic notions.
Besides, Tyrion Lannister would likely stay in Westeros to focus on his money gas, altering the course of events Aegor rembered. Without the sharpest mind in the Seven Kingdoms supporting her, who knew if the Dragon Queen could successfully reclaim her family's throne? As for how beautiful or magical this prophesied queen might be… well, Aegor would just have to wait and see if they ever crossed paths.
...
He tried to dismiss thoughts of Daenerys, but the cot's image lingered in his mind. Taking a deep breath, he instinctively began analyzing it with the logical reasoning from his old world.
Such a striking cot, if it followed an orbital path around the sun, should have gradually beco visible over ti. It shouldn't have appeared so suddenly, nor should it be visible in daylight with such clarity. Sothing about it defied the natural laws he understood.
It looked so close—dangerously close. If it truly were near the planet, its angular velocity should make it streak rapidly across the sky rather than hang motionless like a bloody scar.
Could it be further away than it seed? Perhaps it only appeared so vivid because of its imnse size. But that didn't add up either. A celestial body that large would cause noticeable gravitational disturbances, yet the world remained calm and unaffected.
Unless... it was relatively small and shared a near-parallel orbit with the planet, giving the illusion of stillness. But if that were true, how had it appeared so suddenly?
Aegor's head throbbed as the contradictions piled up. After a while, he decided to stop trying to make sense of it. This world often defied the principles he'd once held as truths. The red cot was just one more mystery in a land already filled with magic, dragons, and prophecies.
Knowledge from another world had its limits here. The sooner he accepted that, the better. Instead of dwelling on cosmic anomalies, he needed to focus on surviving this harsh reality and adapting to its unfamiliar rules.
"Everyone's saying that the appearance of the bloody cot is a sign that the Bloody Gate will definitely fall!" Casey reported excitedly, repeating the rumors he'd picked up around the camp.
"Bloody cot, Bloody Gate," Aegor's lips curved into a faint smile. "The logic does have a certain appeal. Do you believe it?"
"Isn't it... true?" The boy hesitated, clearly inclined to say yes but, under the sharp gaze of the Night's Watch chief logistics officer, quickly corrected himself. "I an... no, I don't believe it."
"I'd wager there are people inside the Bloody Gate whispering the sa thing, saying the cot foretells King Robert's defeat and the collapse of his coalition. Believe it or not, it's your choice. Just rember to think for yourself. No matter what conclusion you reach, whether it's right or wrong, it's better than blindly following others."
"Oh… I understand," the boy responded, though Aegor doubted he'd truly absorbed the lesson.
Aegor gave a brief nod and said no more. Whether others acknowledged it or not, he'd beco a man with influence, and it was both natural and necessary to guide the people around him. After all, the more capable his subordinates, the stronger his position and the more promising his future.
…
That day, the Martell forces were responsible for the assault on the Bloody Gate. After a charge that resulted in casualties on both sides, they declared the day's siege efforts complete and retreated to their camp to reestablish defensive positions.
People often say you don't know your limits until you push yourself. A month and a half after leaving King's Landing, Aegor had t most of the knights and minor lords from the six kingdoms who had answered the king's call to war. Among them, forty or fifty had shown interest in the Night's Watch's bond offerings. Even if only half followed through and each invested just a hundred gold dragons that would still amount to thousands of gold dragons raised for the cause.
By the ti he finished breakfast, the sun had climbed higher, yet the crimson cot remained visible in the eastern sky. Having spent a year at Castle Black, Aegor had grown accustod to strange and imposing sights. Compared to the imnsity of the Wall, this streak of blood across the sky hardly seed worth noting, so long as it didn't co crashing down to obliterate mankind. Life went on.
The business he could conduct within the coalition camp was nearing its conclusion. Now, Aegor was simply waiting for Castle Black to send a raven or a brother of the Watch to relieve him of his temporary post. Once that happened, he could return to King's Landing and continue expanding the Night's Watch's financial ventures. The war's outco? That was Robert Baratheon's concern, not the Watch's.
With the burden of responsibility temporarily lifted from his shoulders, Aegor allowed himself to enjoy a rare mont of leisure. He wandered the camp aimlessly, considering which noble or officer he might visit, and silently rejoicing that, no matter what happened on the battlefield, he would never have to fight.
…
Ahead, beneath a towering banner depicting a crowned stag in red and gold, a din of cheers, shouts, and clashing steel filled the air. When an army was encamped, soldiers needed distractions beyond drinking, gambling, or chasing camp followers. Competitions provided that entertainnt. The n divided themselves into teams, often based on their lords' allegiances, and held contests of all kinds: jousts, group skirmishes, one-on-one duels. Victors earned glory for their banners; losers sought revenge by sending in stronger challengers.
Casey reveled in every competition, but after watching a few rounds, Aegor quickly lost interest.
Skill at arms was, undeniably, a valuable talent. Most of the n in the ring were better fighters than he was. Yet, in his experience, those who swam the best were often the ones who drowned. The more proficient these n beca with sword and shield, the closer they drifted toward danger and death. Aegor's ambitions lay elsewhere. His was a different ga, one that influenced the entire realm from behind the scenes. If he succeeded, he would not only shape the world but also keep himself far from the peril of the battlefield.
Just as he was preparing to leave, the tone of the crowd's cheers shifted, drawing his attention back to the competition.
"Beauty!" soone shouted.
"Prince!" echoed another voice.
Aegor narrowed his eyes. Were they talking about Brienne of Tarth fighting Oberyn Martell, the Red Viper?
***
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