259 AС
This year has been one of the most tragic in Westeros in the last fifty years since the rise of Dagon Greyjoy.
The war was in full swing on the lands of the Free Cities, popularly called the War of the Ninepenny Kings. The "Ninepenny Kings", or the Gang of Nine - a group of ambitious magnates, mercenaries and pirates - have already conquered
Disputed lands, sacked the wealthy Free City of Tyrosh and the Steps and prepared to invade Westeros. One of the members of this alliance, Maylis Blackfire, belonged to the House of Blackfire and therefore claimed the Iron Throne. Fear gripped all the inhabitants of the east coast.
Everyone was afraid of Meilis the Terrible or Meilis the Two-Headed - according to stories, his second head, the size of a fist, grew right out of his neck and seemed to belong to a twin fused with him.
In the south of the continent, in the lands of the Dornish Marches, the tragedy of the Summer Castle occurred. A fire broke out in Summer Castle, the summer residence of House Targaryen. It wasn't connected to the Ninepenny Kings' War, but it hurt the royal dynasty.
King Aegon V, his son Duncan and his wife, and Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, Duncan the Tall, perished in Summercastle, a legendary figure who will be cited as an example to future posterity along with such great heroes as Aemon the Dragonknight, Ser Arthur Dayne, Sir Barristan Selmy, Ser Servyn Mirrorshield, and many others.
The tragedy of the Summer Castle itself was rumored to be connected with an attempt to hatch dragons from eggs using wild fire, but many of those who knew hinted at arson by Prince Aerys II, who would later go down in history under the title of Mad.
And finally, the ascension to the throne of Jaehaerys II Targaryen - the wise and peace-loving king, but painful and revived the old custom of the Targaryens - marriage with relatives, when he married for love his sister, Princess Sheira.
There have been many other events that have affected Westeros in one way or another, but, unfortunately, we simply do not know about them. But one of them gave rise to this story.
***
Everything begins, or better said, ends with death.
No, this is too abrupt a start to this reflection. Perhaps, as the best philosophers of the Earth have said, it is best to start with the question ...
What is life and what is its meaning?
There are a huge number of terms that explain this concept to one degree or another, but, unfortunately or fortunately, none of them is able to fully reveal and convey the entire deep meaning of this seemingly simple word.
Every sane person is able to readily declare that he is Living, with a capital letter, that he is a Living Being, like any other on our planet. He creates, creates, destroys, annihilates or simply dreams, as befits any rational being.
But there is a big difference between "existence" and "life."
Not every person will be able to answer this question, as well as to "is there a meaning in life?"
For many millennia throughout our human history, every self-respecting philosopher, be it Nietzsche, Demosthenes, Marcus Aurelius or Confucius, thought about this question, and could not accurately give an answer to it that would satisfy everyone and give answers to all questions. .
After all, if you think about it, it doesn't exist.
There is no and never will be a correct answer to this question. No one can say what is the true meaning of life in reality.
Everyone who thinks and realizes himself as a person decides for himself what is his meaning of life for him: in his goals and aspirations, family, work, the satisfaction of what people call the seven deadly sins, and maybe the meaning of his life is to help others , in altruism and in selfless virtue.
As long as a person has a goal in this life, his beginning or soul is alive ...
What is our, human, death?
In scientific terms, the end of biological and spiritual life, or simply death, is the cessation and complete stop of biological and physiological processes associated with the maintenance of the body's vital activity.
Anyone with even a little knowledge of medicine can say that disease is the most common cause of death, and he will be right. After all, man was created so as to die only after 150 years of life.
But before this period, so many people lived that they can be counted on the fingers, and they were more of an exception, proving the opposite. Almost all people leave this world not because of natural old age, but because of diseases that have undermined their health all their lives, like water a stone, and, in the end, led to the grave.
In philosophy, there are usually two types of views on this issue. Some people believe that death is not the absence of life, but its completion, the end of a grand game.
Therefore, death should be opposed not to life, but to birth. This is a completely natural process of transition from a living state to a dead one. Living and non-living, dawn and sunset, light and shadow are two sides of the same coin, one of the fundamental laws of nature.
Others see death not as the opposite of birth, but as an integral part of it. Rebirth, rebirth, incarnation, reincarnation. This is the case in almost all religions of the old and new world. Reincarnation, life in other worlds after death. Heaven and Hell…
And now, yawning and trying not to fall asleep in a small cradle, I realized that the latter were right.
I am me, who has not lost my memories, personality and skills. Why fate or the gods gave me this gift, I do not know, but if there is an opportunity, I will thank them.
I will again be able to see and feel the warmth of the Sun, meet and communicate with new people, learn a lot of new and interesting things, not limited to the old and sick body.
I will live.
***
In one of the many farms located on the territory of the Western Lands, on this sunny day, a boy was born. He was no different from most children - soft and smooth skin, small and weak arms and legs that he could barely move, a small fluff of black hair and plump cheeks, which his older brother touched tenderly.
But there was something special about him - his eyes. Very bright and lively emerald eyes. They seemed to burn from the inside with a green flame. They reflected an incredible whirlpool of feelings - the desire to live, study, create and destroy everything around, inherent in all babies, mixed with intelligence, calmness and wisdom, which should not be in this body.
On this day, one of the many personalities appeared in Westeros, whose destiny in the future is to create the history of this continent.