The next day, Mufasa, accompanied by a small escort, passed through three fortresses—Stone, Snow, and Sky—before finally arriving at The Eyrie at the very summit.
The Eyrie could be considered the smallest major castle in Westeros; it could not compare to King's Landing, Winterfell, or Casterly Rock. It was composed of a cluster of seven slender white towers tightly connected together.
Mufasa and his party were now standing in the great hall, waiting for the arrival of Lady Lysa.
Mufasa carefully examined the great hall. It was constructed of white marble, and in the center of the floor lay a bronze door.
This was the "Moon Door," where prisoners executed at The Eyrie were almost all thrown through, once and for all.
On the north side of the hall, there was a spiral staircase leading up to a throne carved from a weirwood tree, where only the head of House Arryn could sit.
"I am late! I have kept you waiting."
Before she was seen, her voice was heard. Lady Lysa arrived in the great hall, escorted by two guards and four handmaidens.
She first greeted her uncle, Brynden, and then looked at Mufasa.
"Little Mufasa, I did not expect you to change so much in less than two years." Lady Lysa stared intently at Mufasa with her Tully-blue eyes.
Her face was heavily powdered. Although she was younger than Catelyn, her many miscarriages had caused her to look much older.
"Lady Lysa. We have come this time to have Ser Brynden join the twelve seats of the Knights of the Round Table," Mufasa said.
"Mufasa, my uncle is the Knight of The Bloody Gate. He cannot abandon his post to do other things. I hope you will forgive me." She wore an apologetic expression, indicating her refusal.
"Uncle, I assume you will continue to serve as the Knight of The Bloody Gate?" She looked at the Blackfish.
The Blackfish, Brynden, looked hesitant. On one hand, he wanted to go Beyond the Wall, but on the other, he wanted to protect the Vale.
"I will follow the arrangements of the Warden of the Vale!" Brynden finally said.
"That settles it! I decide matters regarding my son," Lady Lysa said. She waved her hand, intending to dismiss her guests.
Mufasa stepped forward to stop her.
"Please bring out the Warden of the East and Warden of the Vale, Robert Arryn. I wish to hear his answer."
"You—he is still young and does not understand these things. I am currently governing the Vale as Lady Jon Arryn," she said.
"Are you defying the iron throne? I have the King's decree here," Mufasa said.
"Lord Baelish has also signed it," he continued. He knew Lady Lysa's weakness was Baelish.
"Baelish, he...!"
Lady Lysa's expression changed. Others might not have noticed, but Mufasa saw that she was hesitating.
"The position of the Knight of The Bloody Gate can be filled by someone else. For example, Ser Lyn Corbray," Mufasa said.
Lyn Corbray had once killed a member of the Kingsguard, Prince Lewyn of Dorne. However, it was said that he only won because he used his valyrian steel sword, Lady Forlorn.
"He is indeed a good candidate," Lady Lysa said.
After she was widowed, several knights and lords of the Vale began to court her. Lyn was one of them.
"Since you are also interested, let us meet with Robert Arryn," Mufasa said.
"Go and carry the child out," Lady Lysa said to her handmaiden.
The phrase "carry out" made it sound like they were carrying an infant, but Robert Arryn was already six years old. It was surprising that he still needed to be carried.
When Mufasa saw Robert Arryn again, he felt that the boy hadn't grown at all; he was still so small.
"Mufasa, it's you! I wondered who it was!" He breathed a sigh of relief, seeming very afraid of strangers. However, Mufasa had known him for six years back in King's Landing, so he naturally wasn't afraid of Mufasa.
"Robin! We now need..."
Mufasa explained the situation, but Robert Arryn wore a confused expression.
"Are you saying you want my Knight of The Bloody Gate to go Beyond the Wall to fight bad guys?" he asked.
"Not just bad guys, but even worse ones!" Mufasa said.
"Fine, I agree. Let the other soldiers see the prowess of our Vale knights! I will send Ser Brynden with one thousand Vale knights to go with you."
Robert Arryn said. He was much easier to talk to than his mother.
Having achieved his purpose for coming here, Mufasa said nothing more and prepared to leave the next day.
Ser Brynden had already gone to assemble the knights of the Vale.
On that night at The Eyrie, Mufasa, wearing his nightclothes, stood by the window looking up at the sky. The sky was very clear, and the night was full of stars.
At first, he didn't notice anything, but at some point, a red comet appeared in the sky. It trailed a long tail, slowly streaking across the horizon. It came from the east.
"The Stars Weeping Blood has arrived! Is it that soon?"
Just as the red comet appeared in the sky, Heraka, who was sleeping at the foot of The Mountains of the Moon, suddenly let out a roar, waking from its slumber.
Immediately after, its body size began to grow rapidly, and the fur on its body turned from white to gold.
The Unsullied responsible for watching it retreated one after another, because Heraka now had the oppressive presence of a dragon; its height had reached six meters, and its body length had reached nine meters.
"Roar, roar, roar!"
Heraka spewed flames from its mouth and soared into the sky, the flames bursting in mid-air like fireworks.
It then looked toward the location of The Eyrie. It sensed that Mufasa was there and flew directly toward it, its massive leathery wings flapping, the powerful air currents lifting it into the sky.
Heraka flew toward The Eyrie.
When Mufasa saw Heraka again, it was at breakfast the next morning. Podrick rushed in from outside in a panic, the jug of milk in his hand shattered.
"General Mufasa, Heraka is here! It has already reached Snow fortress. You must go and see! It injured many knights of the Vale along the way."
Mufasa immediately stood up and went to the edge of The Eyrie. He held onto the iron railing and looked down, seeing a small black dot rapidly approaching.
Slowly, the black dot turned gold. Mufasa saw it; it was Heraka, but its appearance had changed.
"Is this because it ate the meat of Sheep Stealer and evolved again?" Mufasa thought.
"However, with its size, flying up here won't be easy."
The Eyrie had only fallen once, the time when Visenya arrived riding Vhagar, but Vhagar was already an adult dragon at that time.
The current Heraka could not compare to it.
Heraka's golden eyes spotted Mufasa, and it immediately flew even faster, breaking through the gale to arrive at The Eyrie.
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