THOROS: King Robert still lived
and Lord Eddard Stark had just survived an ambush
by Jaime Lannister in King's Landing.
We were the King's men.
Charged by the King's Hand to bring the King's justice to the false knight,
Gregor Clegane,
who was raping and murdering the King's subjects in the Riverlands.
To be honest, l cared more about the King's cellars
but l joined Lord Beric for the adventure.
And maybe a grateful milkmaid or two.
Ser Gregor isn't called the Mountain because of his subtlety.
Yet he took us by surprise at the Mummer's Ford.
He'd hidden his men on both banks
and as we crossed, he fell upon us from the front and rear.
l saw a single blow from his sword take a man's arm off.
And kill the horse beneath him.
Many of us though were simply ridden down and drowned.
The survivors spotted my damn red cloak and rallied around me
and we cut our way free.
A hundred men we'd been that morning.
By dark, only 40 were left.
And Lord Beric looked to make us 39 before morning.
l drew a foot of lance from his chest and poured boiling wine into the hole it left.
But l knew there was no hope.
When his light failed, l shut his eyes,
placed my hands on his cold chest
and mumbled a half-remembered blessing over his body.
Because he was my commander and my friend.
And l didn't know what else to do.
Then l felt his heart thud beneath his breast.
His body shuddered as the fire of life rekindled inside it.
l used to joke that l became a red priest because the robes hid the wine stains.
But the wine itself hid an unbelieving heart.
When Beric's eyes opened,
so did mine.
l fell to my knees and praised the one true god,
and begged forgiveness for my ways.
l don't know if the Lord heard me but when dawn came,
Beric was still alive and stronger than he'd been.
(CHUCKLES)
He told us that our war hadn't ended at the Mummer's Ford, but begun.
And that every fallen brother would be avenged.
We were so few though that all we could do was harry the Lannisters' rear.
Luckily, all they could do was kill Beric.
A Lannister mace shattered his helm and skull.
A noose snapped his neck after he surrendered himself
to save a bee-keeper and his wife.
The Mountain's dirk pierced his eye through his visor.
After each time, l stood over his corpse and prayed to the Lord
and the Lord brought him back.
Then we heard that Robert was dead and Lord Eddard, too.
We'd been sent by the King's Hand to deal with outlaws, but now. . .
We were the outlaws and Lord Tywin was the Hand of the King.
Some wanted to yield but Beric wouldn't hear of it.
We were still King's men, he said.
And these were the King's people the Lions were savaging.
lf we could not fight for Robert, we would fight for them.
Until every man of us was dead.
We'd lost the King's banner at the Mummer's Ford but
then the countryside was awash with sigils and armies anyway.
We became the Brotherhood Without Banners.
Beric led us in battle and l led us in prayer.
And the Lord of Light led us in everything.
When the heralds proclaimed the end of the War of the Five Kings,
none of us thought of yielding.
Our war wasn't over.
The generals had gone home but the soldiers stayed.
Either they had no homes to return to or they'd gotten a taste for other people's.
The Brotherhood was the people's only defense.
We became the brothers of murdered siblings.
Husbands of murdered wives.
And fathers of murdered children.
Led by a murdered man.
Once we sought to bring the King's justice to the realm.
Now we bring the Lord's.
Or at least we try.