775 Chapter 775: The Tale of the Long Night

All eyes in the room fixated on Dr. Malwin, the most erudite among them.

"Since the Alliance's oath, which marked the end of the war between the First Men and the Children of the Forest, thousands of years have passed," he began.

"A winter spanning a generation descended upon the entire world."

"In this icy realm devoid of sunlight, people grew up and perished amidst the cold winter, never witnessing the arrival of spring."

"Even kings in castles and the lowliest of servants were not spared, freezing to death in the prolonged winter."

"Mothers, desperate to spare their children from suffering, resorted to killing them. Their cries echoed, but tears froze on their cheeks."

Dr. Malwin's voice, gripping a stack of thick books, subtly trembled.

This was a tale passed down by the First Men through symbols and ancient family traditions, narrated to the Stark children in Winterfell by the old grandmother.

However, contemporary human history was written after the arrival of the Andals in Westeros.

So, much of the history regarding the Dawn Age, the Age of Heroes, and the 'Long Night' was recorded by scholars thousands of years later. Many doctors and scholars within the Citadel didn't believe in such things as the Long Night. They deemed the story too absurd, contradicting the laws of astronomy.

The sun rises in the east and sets in the west, an eternal cycle.

If there were truly decades of darkness, was it because the sun was hiding underwater or blocked by something?

According to the scholars of this world, most still believed it to be flat.

Even Dr. Vmas, in his work "Lies of the Ancients," speculated that the so-called White Walkers were just a tribe of the First Men, ancestors of today's Free Folk. The Long Night, in his view, was merely an exceptionally long winter.

Unfortunately, Dr. Vmas did not live to see today; otherwise, he would not only encounter the White Walkers but also witness the arrival of the Long Night.

In the Emperor's chambers at Red Keep's Maegor's Holdfast, everyone present fell into a silent stupor upon hearing Dr. Malwin's words.

A winter lasting a generation? What kind of joke was this?

Everyone felt an icy chill from head to toe.

Yet, a winter lasting a generation wasn't the most terrifying; it was the perpetual darkness.

If it were only cold, resilient humans might endure and even migrate south to the Summer Isles.

But enduring a generation of darkness—what would people eat?

Perhaps countless would starve to death.

"I say, everyone..."

"We shouldn't be sitting here in a daze."

At this moment, Tyrion Lannister, the Emperor's advisor, was the first to regain his senses.

His diminutive stature made him the least conspicuous among the crowd, even disappearing behind the table.

"What should we do?"

However, Tyrion was indeed the first to recover his composure among the courtiers and then asked a constructive question.

What should we do? "If the Long Night has truly come, we must have something to do."

"For this country, for the people of this country, and also for our own lives."

Tyrion looked at everyone present, his gaze sweeping across their faces, then shrugged his shoulders, attempting to inject a bit of humor.

He wanted to liven up the atmosphere, but failed because even his voice sounded somewhat dry.

"For example..." "We can establish some underground fortresses to withstand the cold, fill them with enough food for many years, and then hide ourselves."

"As for the people on the surface, that's their luck."

Since they already knew the Long Night had come, and this Long Night might last for decades, even a bit of food at this time should not be wasted.

Because even a small act of kindness might save you from starving to death at the last moment before dawn.

Moreover, since it was the Long Night, giving them a bit of food wouldn't be enough for the common people to survive the winter.

"And for example, has Westeros lost the sun?"

"Is there sunlight elsewhere?"

Tyrion asked again, this time looking at Dr. Malwin and the Minister of Justice, Oberyn.

"If there is sunlight elsewhere, we can send troops to conquer that land, then migrate our people there to survive this disaster."

Tyrion raised his fist and squeezed it tightly, symbolizing strength.

He questioned these two people for a reason, one being the knowledgeable doctor who should know more about the Long Night, and the other being a battle-hardened general.

If there were truly other places in the world still bathed in sunlight, he believed the Emperor would spare no effort to conquer them and seize that territory.

Unfortunately, he looked to Prince Doran with anticipation, but the latter shook his head slightly.

"I don't know if there is sunlight in other parts of the world now."

"But if the Long Night has come."

Oberyn's voice grew colder, taking a deep breath.

"According to the legend of the Rhoynar, the Mother River Rhoyne will disappear during the Long Night."

Oberyn's words extinguished the spark of hope that had just ignited in everyone's hearts because this legend of the Long Night appeared in the Essos continent as well.

"Yes."

"About eight thousand years ago, the Long Night descended simultaneously across the world."

And now, Dr. Malwin, who was frantically flipping through books, began to speak in a tired voice.

He was examining the history of the Dawn Age and the Age of Heroes temporarily. Fortunately, the Imperial Palace in King's Landing had a sufficient collection of books, and there were records of the Long Night in the history of the Age of Heroes.

"East of the Bone Mountains, Yi Ti had a similar story."

"The sun disappeared, and darkness perpetually shrouded the land."

"The YiTish people believed that the Long Night was caused by the 'Blood Rebellion' of the Bloodstone Emperor. He killed his sister, the Amethyst Empress, usurped the throne of the Great Empire of the Dawn, and betrayed the true gods, the Maiden-Made-of-Light and the Lion of Night. Instead, he worshipped a mysterious black stone that fell from the sky. As a result, the Lion of Night brought about the Long Night to punish humanity."

"But another book called 'Outline of Jade Seas' recorded a different legend about Yi Ti."

"It said that the sun hid due to some unknown matter, and the last woman with a monkey's tail reversed this disaster."

"The story of the Long Night happened simultaneously in every corner of the world, and our ancestors had nowhere to hide; they could only face it themselves."

Dr. Malwin closed the book, sighed, and said, "This is a crisis for all of humanity."