The king on the Great Wall

The surface of the wood is cool, but not ice at all, with a strange temperature.If I had to give a specific number, it should be around ten degrees Celsius—it’s not necessarily warm, but at the foot of the bleak Great Wall, the temperature is indeed much higher than the surrounding environment.

(Is this caused by the escape of energy from the magic operation, or is it a side effect of its luminescence?)

One question after another floated in Iger's mind, but the answer was really hard to guess.After groping left and right, he discovered a new detail: this door is not flat, it is curved.

The central axis of the giant face is the most prominent, while the cheeks on both sides until the edge sunk into the surrounding permafrost are slowly restrained in a very slight range, and overall...curved into an inconspicuous non-spherical surface.

Although not conclusive evidence, it fits the characteristics of a part of "some huge cylinder".

Humans live on the planet, but they cannot feel the curvature of the world under their feet. This is determined by a physical concept-the larger the surface of the same shape, the smaller the curvature, and the more flat the surface feels.The width of this door exposed to the permafrost is about three meters, and the curve formed on the periphery of its section from left to right... visually, it is very close to 25 to [-]/[-]th of a circle—that is, a central angle at [-] About four degrees fan - the outer arc.

If this face is really carved on a weirwood, and assuming that the trunk of this tree is a standard cylinder, then its trunk cross-sectional circumference can reach an astonishing 75 to 90 meters...divided by pi...in After a quick mental calculation, Iger concluded that the tree, if it existed, would have a cross-sectional diameter of between 23 and 28 meters.

And this is very consistent with the thickness of the bottom of the Great Wall!

……

Yes, this could still be just a coincidence.But you must know that everything in the universe is interconnected, and all coincidences are inevitable in a sense!If the speculation and inference that the giant weirwood supports the Great Wall is true, then the Green Prophet... or the Old God, is by no means what Iger thought before: just a wizard who is free from the world and doesn't care whether he lives or not. An insignificant hair god.It is likely that it fought side by side with Azor Ahai in the legendary Dawn War to defend all mankind and even guided him. It also contributed to the construction of the Great Wall and the formation of the Night Watchman Legion. Among them, he... at least once played a pivotal role!

(I don’t know how many weirwoods like this are underground along the Great Wall?)

***

Iger shook his head, and even began to wonder if someone was influencing his thinking again.He admitted with regret that although he tried his best to be objective and rational, the preconceived introduction of Patriarch Flint still affected his own judgment after all.

I don't think much about it, is it a huge weirwood tree buried in the ground, and when the manpower is spared, it will be difficult to dig out the permafrost to have a look?

Iger put away his thoughts and put on his gloves again. On the other side, most of the northern nobles also recovered from the shock, with a ray of piety and awe in their expressions.

If we say that carving a face on ordinary weirwood and calling it the heart tree is to use it to symbolize the old gods, then the wooden face in front of me that is faintly fluorescent and can open its eyes and speak, I am afraid that it can be regarded as a direct recognition of the other. As the real body of the old god, many people will buy it.

But after a few minutes of whispered discussions and silent prayers, some of the northern nobles still remembered their real purpose of coming here.

Robb Stark broke the solemn atmosphere: "Such a heart tree is indeed breathtaking, but - what does it have to do with my brother's disappearance?"

"Yeah." Patriarch Flint nodded, and continued: "We went down the well to look for Mr. Bran, and found traces of a group of them passing by on the ground, but the strange thing is-the clues disappeared before this face , and there is no sign of returning, as if...they passed through this face."

Immediately, someone questioned: "Traces? It's so hard under here, can you still step on footprints?"

"In terms of footprints, only the big stable boy can barely see them, and they are also covered by those who came later... But Mr. Bran can't walk, he was dragged on a simple stretcher, wooden The scratches on the ground are quite clear."

……

No way, at Robb's request, the attendants who followed took a lot of effort to relight the torch and lower it close to the ground.In the tunnel, there was a weak airflow blowing from nowhere. Under the erratic light of the fire, there were indeed two conspicuous scratches leading straight to the wooden face among the messy and shallow footprints that were difficult to distinguish, and finally disappeared strangely. Beneath it, there was no sign of a turnaround.

"I can't see anything." After staring at it for a few seconds, Roose Bolton asked in a flat tone: "And, how can you prove that you didn't just draw it out on the ground to deal with business?"

Patriarch Flint finally showed displeasure on his face: "Master Bolton's words are too hurtful, the Flint clan is a devout follower of the Old God, in front of this sacred heart tree, under the eyes of the Old God , how dare we deceive the lord? Lord Stark, if there is even a half-truth in what I said to you today, I will let my clan die under the sword of the White Ghost in this harsh winter. I can't see the next spring dawn!"

If this oath is placed elsewhere, its credibility depends almost entirely on the speaker's credibility and the listener's relationship with it, but in the north of this seasonally sensitive north, under the heart tree, is another It's over.

The descendants of the First Men believe in the old gods.People in the northern territory will walk, read or rest in the godswood forest, pray and worship the gods to seek peace of mind; they will hold naming ceremonies, weddings, funerals and other important activities under the watchful eyes of the faces on the weirwood tree trunks, making the heart tree Witness the birth of a new life, the union of lovers, or the passing of an elder; in even older history and legends, those little kings would even pick alliances, negotiate peace, or discuss major events in the densest places of weirwood, allowing the old gods to The oath or undertaking of the parties to be notarized...

"Swearing in front of the heart tree" is a very solemn and serious matter for the believers of the old gods, let alone such a poisonous oath?Speaking of this, if you still question it in public, it is almost the same as breaking openly.The Flint clan assisted in guarding the Great Wall and defending the northern border. They have no major faults or responsibilities in Bran's disappearance. At this moment, they are accompanying the princes of the northern border as their masters. reason?

Not to mention - in front of this giant wooden face that is full of light and can speak, almost everyone in the tunnel is shrouded in a strong feeling of being watched by some kind of existence in the dark.Without too many reasons, everyone subconsciously chose to believe in Togenhen Flint, who is also a follower of the old gods.

……

"Okay, Earl Flint, take back that oath, we all believe in you." Robb Stark has not been the Lord of the North for a short time, but the basic relationship is still clear, and he opened his mouth in time. "But, my brother's whereabouts are still unknown, life and death are unknown, and the clues are broken here, so where did Bran go? Could it be that he was eaten by this weirwood tree? I always get a clue." Come and explain to my family and the people!"

Robb Stark's request is not unreasonable, but the clue is indeed interrupted here, what can Togenhen Flint do?If you want to blame, blame him for not sending anyone to guard the big well!

"The traces disappear here, and I can't figure it out... If your lord really wants to track it down..." Togenhen Flint gritted his teeth: "You only need to give an order, and we will cut the face in front of us at worst. See what's behind it, it will make Bran Stark disappear here!"

This is obviously an angry statement. If it is said that on the ground, Robb was indeed amused by the rigidity of the Flint clan who dared not even move a small weirwood seedling, but now... lend him ten more courage He didn't dare to order to cut open the huge heart tree in front of him with the word "sacred" written all over it, blatantly destroying the miracle.

The tunnel became quiet again, and everyone was thinking about the solution to the problem.In the end, Heather Amber, who had a relationship with Iger and came with his nephew, broke the silence: "Lord Stark, I heard in the Last Hearth City that when Mr. Bran was in Winterfell, he Have you ever expressed your wish to go beyond the Great Wall?"

"There is such a thing... As far as I know, it seems to be because of the two children of Li De's family. They went north from Neck to participate in the celebration at the harvest banquet, and then stayed in Winterfell to accompany my brother. Probably Since then, Bran has been asking about things beyond the Great Wall, and has repeatedly proposed to visit the Great Wall..." Robb Stark frowned and said: "At that time, my mother realized that it might be Jojen and Meera and the others are instilling some strange ideas into Bran, but Reed has always been a loyal vassal of Stark, and it is not easy to issue orders to expel guests... What I didn't expect was that he would run away from home in the end!"

"The two children of the Li De family...I haven't heard much about the daughter, but I have heard about the child named Jojen." Gabert Glover interjected: "I heard that this child was a child when he was young. Almost died of gray water fever, but after miraculously survived, he claimed to have green vision and could see many things in his dreams. I always thought this was a good way to cover up the child's brain problems after recovering from illness... But...since a heart tree that can glow and talk can exist, where is a child who has green vision and can see oracle in his dreams?"

"What do you mean?" Robb looked at Earl Glover suspiciously: "You mean, my brother ran away from home and disappeared in the Long Nightfort this time...is the order of the old gods? The reason why the clues disappeared here is because Bran Picked up by him? But the old gods need my brother—what's the use of a little boy with handicapped legs?"

"This is beyond what us mortals can guess, but at least it provides us with a possible idea: Your brother, the first heir to the North, did not have any accidents. Wouldn't it be a lot easier to be asked 'who are you' to have your name on the Times and then to be taken away by some god. Now being in his care, safe and sound, maybe even doing something for everyone? "

"Heh—" Robb's face twitched, subconsciously thinking that this is not nonsense.But after hesitating for a while, he let out a long sigh—he thought about it according to Galbert Glover's words, and he really felt better in his heart. Hope, it's such a good thing.

However, I have come here and witnessed the miracle, so I have some expectations for Bran's luckier experience in my imagination, but when I return to Winterfell, how can I convince my mother and younger brother Rickon?

Could it be possible to take them all the way to see this giant heart tree?

……

Robb pondered for a while, and finally couldn't sort out any more thoughts. He looked up at the magical heart tree shining in the dark, and understood that this trip to find his brother was most likely a failure. Here comes an incomplete end.If you insist on pursuing it, you will either embarrass the Flint clan, or hold on to Iger. These two are reliable friends... In this eventful autumn, no... In this eventful winter, why bother yourself and the people around you?

"That's all." In the end, the young Lord of the North shook his head helplessly, and turned to Egger and Togenhen: "I will accept this statement for now. But in any case, please invite the Night Watchmen and Flint The clans along the Great Wall inside, pay more attention, once my younger brother appears again, no matter inside or outside the Great Wall, we must immediately send him back to Winterfell safely at all costs."

The two people who were named naturally agreed again and again, and they were all greatly relieved in their hearts.As soon as Robb said this, the matter of Bran running away to the Great Wall and then disappearing came to an end... The Flint clan can continue to live a good life in the Long Night Fort, and Iger can also concentrate on arranging the new and old residents of the land grant to deal with it Now comes the real tour of the land-grant resettlement program.

After standing in front of the Heart Tree for a while, everyone gradually began to feel calm about the existence of miracles. They finally chatted a few words and agreed: go back to the ground first, and visit the Night Fort and the section of the Great Wall that the Flint clan is in charge of defending.Robb really loves his brother, and he has shown this concern and importance, but the fact is: the disappearance of a member of the Stark family is not as important as the safety of the entire North and even the Seven Kingdoms.

They packed up their mood and lined up to return in the same direction as when they came. Everyone was thinking about their own thoughts, and no one had a word for a while...

In the silence, Iger felt that he had waited for a good time to speak: "Master Stark, something happened at Castle Black today, I think it is necessary to let you know."

-

Chapter 299 Good News, Bad News

The confrontation at Castle Black this morning made a lot of noise. Although Iger intercepted the letter of complaint, the paper cannot contain the fire after all, and the relevant news cannot be completely hidden from the owner of the Northern Territory.Anyway, sooner or later, he will know that what Iger has to do now is to seize the opportunity to ensure that Robb Stark is the first to learn about this matter from his own mouth - through a preconceived way, to ensure that the follow-up development of this matter is beneficial to him... …or at least harmless.

Iger has just personally experienced the power of the "first impression". He wants to strike while the iron is hot and take advantage of this weakness of human nature.

They walked unhurriedly up the well-side steps to the ground, and Robb told the Flints to surround the mouth of the well and send people to guard it. Then they left the ancient kitchen and patrolled among the tents of the Nightfort full of clansmen.

Since the greetings had been made in advance, the entire castle was naturally prepared as Houguan Town was inspected.

The same prosperity, the same order, but compared with the "Land-grant Capital" and the headquarters of the logistics department, the new walls of the Long Night Fort, the tall towers, the guards that can be seen everywhere, and the ice wall. Sentinels... all made this revived ancient fortress more heavily guarded.

It looks like he is guarding the Great Wall, Robb secretly thought, without saying anything, but secretly approving in his heart.

Iger was not idle either. Along the way, he walked and chatted, and briefly reported to the Lord of the North the incident that just happened in Castle Black.

In his mouth, it was not Jaime Lannister's unauthorized actions that caused the trouble, but a small group of night watchmen who were stubborn and hated the new landsmen.In order to achieve the goal of driving away the "savages", they actually planned to murder the former king beyond the Great Wall, making a big news, forcing back the former free people who had gradually begun to integrate into the land-grant!

Fortunately, this conspiracy of evildoers was seen through by the keen officers of Castle Black before it succeeded, and several high-ranking officers and Maester Aemon led people to come forward in time to stop their atrocities.

***

Except for "a skirmish among the night watchmen in Castle Black this morning" was not concealed, the story in Iger's mouth almost eliminated any information that might be unfavorable to him.

He first made clever adjustments to the cause and effect of the incident, and shifted the responsibility to those ultra-conservatives who opposed the land-grant resettlement plan; at the same time, he kept silent about the identities of the two parties to the conflict, saying only that they were "a small group of people who disagree with most of the night watchmen." ", intended to prevent Robb's inherent impression of a specific person from affecting his attitude towards the matter itself (obviously, in the case of Kingslayer Jaime Lannister and the commander of East Sea Watch + Yon who was an ally and an elder Royce, as a typical Stark, Robb must have a better impression of the latter); at the end, he also praised the three chief and Maester Aemon - Iger doesn't want to completely push those neutrals or "moderate conservatives" to the opposite side. If he describes all those who disagree with him as bad people, he will not be able to clean up the "slander and frame his colleagues" "Suspicion.

***

For the same thing, making some changes in the narrative can completely change the senses of the listener.After listening to Iger's description, Robb Stark's brows were already frowned: "How can you be so messy? You don't care about the stability of the Great Wall and the land grant at all! Did the troublemakers take it down? who is it?"

"It was mainly a few brothers from Eastwatch. Because they were discovered in time, their plot failed. They just made a fuss under the tower where Mance Rayder's family lived. No one was injured. You know, the night watchman There are many people in China who put on black clothes only after being convicted. Except for the military law, there is no agency or department responsible for dealing with night watchmen who make mistakes... We cannot arrest our sworn brothers for a crime that has not yet been committed. We can only try to avoid weakening the defensive strength of the Great Wall." Iger said in a consulting tone, "Here, I apply to relocate Mance Rayder's family to Houguan Town to prevent them from being hurt by impulsive brothers."

"Shouldn't this kind of thing be decided internally by the Night Watchmen? Why do you need to apply to me, an outsider?"

"Prisoning Mance Rayder's family in Castle Black is the order of Elder Xiong. A new commander-in-chief of the Night Watch has not yet been selected. We need someone who is neutral and can convince the public to arbitrate."

Robb was being pestered by Arya to ask about the scene at the bottom of the well, and he nodded without much hesitation: "If it can ensure their safety in another place, then let's do it. At this juncture, the land-grant and the people along the Great Wall Stability should come first unconditionally."

"That's natural." Iger nodded, "If that's the case, then I'll send a letter back to Castle Black and Crown Town, asking them to start transferring matters immediately."

"Ah."

With a serious expression on his face, Iger smiled lightly in his heart: a few words, effortless - "transfer the Mance Rayder family" has changed from an emergency measure of his own, an unruly act without authorization, to Even the Lord of the North has officially recognized the stability maintenance measures.

Although he actually acted first, Jaime Lannister may have almost brought people to the destination now, but in this backward world without instant communication, two places separated by more than ten miles... When the crow communications between a large number of fortresses along the Great Wall are controlled by myself, who can tell clearly what happened in a day and the causal relationship in the future?

***

After walking around the Nightfort and seeing the snow on the top of the Great Wall, the sky in the northernmost part of the Seven Kingdoms turned dark, and Robb, who had enough cold wind, waved his hand to dismiss the crowd.The Flint clan started busy arranging the dinner and accommodation for the visitors from the north, and Iger, after a long day of driving, was finally able to squeeze out time to deal with more important matters that had just been dealt with.

Aside from the letter of complaint from Castle Black, which was handed to him upon arrival and immediately burned, he had several letters from Queencrown or other newly opened strongholds that were not urgent but could not be ignored. Read processing.

They were all messy matters related to food supply, price adjustment, and the next step in the construction of the headquarters of the logistics department. Although it was troublesome, his two capable subordinates in Houguan Town had already attached alternative solutions to the problems. , Iger only needs to review and finally decide which plan to choose, and it will take less than half an hour to get it all done... So, he first met a vigil who hurried from Houguan Town and had been waiting in the hall for a while Human industry employees.

"Thanks for your hard work." The good news won't come in such a hurry. Iger doesn't feel very good, and asked with a heart, "What can't be said in the letter, and you have to come here?"

"It's not that you can't say it in a letter, but the letter that Lord Yam sent you this morning dropped the last raven flying in the Nightfort. This news came from Eastwatch in the afternoon. We are not sure when the raven will be able to Return, but this matter cannot be delayed, so I took a few fast horses, galloped all afternoon, and came here to report to you face to face."

"Yeah." So that's the case, Iger nodded: "What can't be delayed?"

"The envoys of Braavos have arrived at Eastwatch by boat, and will soon be stationed in Castle Black and Houcrown to supervise our defense of the Great Wall. The leader of them informed us that the first batch of food ships will follow their fast ships Later, he will arrive in a few days, and he asked either the commander-in-chief or the chief logistics officer of the Night Watch Corps to come to Hong Kong in person to be responsible for receiving the loan."

……

It turned out that this was the case, the listener was relieved, it was not bad news at all.

Relying on decisively sending troops to the south to assist the Northern Territory to expel the Ironmen, the land-grant resettlement plan continued to operate like on thin ice with the food support from the northern vassals as a thank-you gift.

Mormont and himself signed the contract when they mortgaged the Night Watchman property to the Iron Bank in exchange for a loan of [-] gold dragons. Now the other party requires the signer to be responsible for receiving the goods... It is very logical.

It's a pity that Mormont died unexpectedly, and he had to be busy receiving the northern border inspection group and trying to run for the commander-in-chief, how could he have the time to go to receive food?

With a wry smile, Iger began to choose someone who could replace him in his mind.But a few seconds later, he shook his body, and suddenly realized that his focus was wrong: his lack of time to play was not the biggest problem, but the most troublesome thing was—the only port of the night watchman, Donghaiwang, which could receive cross-sea The food that came, and the commander of this coastal fortress, due to various reasons, is now his enemy!

……

Of course, he didn't know that Eastwatch was the only seaport controlled by the Night's Watch, but how could he have thought that Mormont would die accidentally when he was negotiating loans and food purchases with the Iron Bank on behalf of the Legion?And not long ago, when he rushed back to Castle Black and angered the two commanders for offending them, it was already at a critical moment, how could there be time to think about the future?

At that time, it was very refreshing, but offending people will never be without consequences. At least now, the backlash that Iger should face is coming.

"Damn..." Iger's expression gradually changed from relaxed to dignified, and he slapped the table: "Food is a good thing, but it came at a bad time!"

He did beat Carter Pyke several times at Castle Black, and he had the upper hand.Among them, the gap in the level of mental calculation is of course the main reason, but the other party has left his "old nest" and there are not enough manpower and resources available.And this morning James slapped him in the face at Castle Black in public—not in the extended sense. What would Cotter Pyke do once he returned to Eastwatch at this juncture, just in time for the Braavos grain ship to arrive asking for port?

Repaying grievances with kindness and cooperating with grain harvesting regardless of previous suspicions, or will they make some small moves to cause trouble for Iger?

You can know it with your toes.

The first batch of land grant recruits have completed training and sworn into the Night's Watch, and their votes have sealed the victory for Iger... After the second batch of recruits completes training, his votes are expected to approach two-thirds, even if the most conservative estimates , the third batch of recruits will also be able to ensure that he wins with an unstoppable advantage, and all this process will only take one month at the fastest.

The food in Houguan Town is more than enough for a month. In other words, with the backing of the northern border, Iger is not afraid that Braavos’s loan will arrive late. What he is afraid of is that the food ship will arrive before he wins the election Then he arrived at Eastwatch, and was caught by Carter Parker as a way to take revenge on himself... It’s not bad to refuse the grain ship to enter the port. That's really bad!

How could it be such a coincidence?Iger thought angrily, but complaining is the behavior of the weak, and what the strong have to do is to control the situation when things happen to be so coincidental.

……

"Can you inform the grain transport ship to delay for a while, and wait for the commander-in-chief to be elected before docking to unload the grain?"

The messenger obviously didn't understand why he did this, but he still thought about it seriously for a few seconds: "This is not good, it is said that there are several boats, all of which are big...letting them wait with the boats and people will cost dozens of boats a day." Golden dragon, right?"

"The rent during the waiting period will be borne by the Night Watcher Industry." Iger gritted his teeth and said, he is indeed rich, but the Night Watcher Industry has to support such a behemoth as the land grant resettlement plan, and also needs to build Houguan Town... the money tree The leaves are almost picked off, maybe this time I have to find a way to ask Tyrion who is far away in the west to borrow some money to tide over the difficulties.

It's just that the western region was also battered and riddled with holes, and is being rebuilt after the war...

"No, wait a minute." The soldier who reported the message frowned and interrupted Iger's thoughts: "It seems that the most important thing is not the money, but the weather and sea conditions... I heard from the employee of the Iron Bank who lives in Houguan Town that the more the weather It is colder, and the storms on the narrow sea are raging more frequently. If you want to cross, seven points depend on the sky, two points depend on the ship, and the remaining one point is up to people. For large-scale cargo transportation like this, the fleet commander will spend a lot of money to find experience A rich weather forecaster, pick a day that there will be no big storms for a few days, and sail at full speed along the way, praying to arrive before the weather changes... If you can arrive, you will be blessed by the gods, but when you arrive, you will be floating on the sea. Entering the port? I am afraid that no captain will agree, no matter how much money you have, you will be lost in the winter storm in the narrow sea, buried in the bottom of the sea... you will have no chance to enjoy it!"

-

Chapter 300 Good News, Bad News

Iger has no personal experience of traveling between Westeros and Essos by boat, but he has long heard of the bad weather and sea conditions in the Narrow Sea, not to mention—from Braavos to the land-grant, the fleet has a long way to go. And it's not just a short voyage in the Narrow Sea: even after successfully crossing the storm-ravaged North Narrow Sea, the ship has to sail thousands of miles along the east coast of the North in the endless trembling sea before finally reaching the easternmost point of the Great Wall.

In this era, a voyage of dozens of days will exhaust the energy and patience of any captain and sailor. No ship will be willing to travel thousands of miles, but when it arrives outside the port, it will continue to stay at sea because the person who is supposed to receive the goods cannot control the port. ——Especially when they already got the shipping fee from Iron Bank.

Braavosi's grain ship will inevitably arrive at Eastwatch in the near future, and I must not only make every effort to ensure the smooth unloading of this batch of loan grain, but also ensure that they are not detained by the conservatives, but transported to the Queen's Crown town, supplemented into the granary that operates the resettlement plan.Maybe not all the free folk loved the King-beyond-the-Wall, but everyone absolutely had to eat—and a problem with the food supply would be far more problematic than Mance Rayder's assassination.

The terrible thing is that before he formally won the election as commander-in-chief, he was not the superior of Commander Donghaiwatch.Right now, he can only ask for cooperation as the chief logistics officer... at the same level.This means: if Carter Pike wants to make trouble, he can even confront himself openly, without even having to think about reasoning!

There are two paths before Iger: negotiate with the enemy, pay some price in exchange for him not to cause trouble...or try to smooth him so that he cannot become trouble.

Reason told Iger that he should at least try the former solution first, but his intuition reminded him of another matter that was not very relevant.

……

Back then in King’s Landing, it was also involuntary to offend others, and it was also the same thing that was seized by others and fell into a passive position. When the Night Watchman’s industry faced the Commander of the King’s Landing Garrison, and they couldn’t communicate, they turned their faces and went to war. Tyrion Lannister adopted His "aristocratic" or "politician" tactical strategy to deal with the enemy, steadily and steadily, and relying on the general situation to push Janos Slynt into desperation inch by inch, can be called a textbook political means.

But what about the end result?

Just when they were about to win a complete victory, the opponent almost succeeded in making a comeback after a frantic counterattack, and Iger almost lost his life. In the end, it was only with the help of experts and friends that he saved the day.

The world is unpredictable, and a conservative, safe and rational approach may not necessarily be the best choice at the critical moment when no mistakes can be made.

When you choose to negotiate, half of the result depends on the ideas of the negotiating partner; while to settle the opponent, it is your own will that controls the overall situation.Which is better and which is worse, it is not easy to be arbitrary without preconditions, but this time, a voice in my heart helped Iger make a choice in an instant.

He chose to take the initiative.