A game of thrones: A game of bats and wolves
Hello everyone. For all of you who doesn't know it, I wrote this same story two years ago but several mistakes, complications with college and work (in other words real life make me abandoned this project). But after seeing the 7° season of GOT, watching the short series Conquest and Rebellion, and reading so many reamarkable fanfics like: Dragons of Ice and Fire, the many sons of winter and Empire of Winter, I realized that this story was calling for me.
I made some changes to the original fanfic which was ambitious but too rushed. As always A song of ice and fire belongs to George R.R. Martin and GOT belongs to HBO but the world and lore of this story belongs to all of us, all of those who love this dark yet fantastic world, so strange yet so familiar. It's characters are more than just fictional beings they are part of our imagination and our identity, so for all you who love this world and cannot wait for neither the 8° season or the 6° book I write this story.
In a game of kings and pawns, the most dangerous player is the one who hides in the shadows: Once they were the last sons and daughters of an ancient civilization, refuges in the north. Now they are the most powerful and loyal banner man of house stark: House Nocturna. Yet what secret agenda does this people truly have?
Origin:
Long ago, nealy two thousand years before Aegon came to Westeros, the last survivors from a realm known only as The Unified Republic fled their homeland and after crossing the sea they landed in an enormous island in the North of Westeros called Skagos. The inhabitands a primitive and barbarian people did not gave them a warm welcome, however the more advance and discipline people triumph over the small clans and weak houses, and the island became the new home for the last people of the republic.
Even though the skagossi distrusted this new rulers they were conquered little by little with new knoledges like mathematics, engineering and infrastructure which made the life of the inhabitand of this frozen rock much easier, however as generations progressed the blood and ideas of this people became one with the new lords of Skagos.
Two centuries after their arrival, the king of winter welcomed the new citizens of the north with open arms. Instead of fighting to remain independent the exiles adapted and integrated completely with the northerners, turning on the god that had abandoned and betrayed them, and embracing the old gods of the north. The ruling family of this people who had turned a small peak into a fortress unique in the world surrounded by a small town and port, took as a sigil a giant grey spectral bat flying in a black sky.
Those creatures came with them hiding inside the bowels of their ships. Everyone was expecting that this bats as big as an owl or a hawk considered usefull for the ancients republicants for eating locust swarms and mosquitoes, yet breed for warm weather, abundant bugs and fruits, perished to the cold weather and the lack of food. But they adapt and evolve, with deeper fur, they began to eat rabbits, mousses or birds as well as mushrooms or roots, as they also become even bigger than the previous ones. A symbol of surviving, evolving and a secret message, that if you stand in darkness you must relied in your wits and senses.
We are house Nocturna: Lords of Stone Haven, Magnars of Skagos, wardens of the shivering sea
We are architects, engineers, blacksmiths, warriors, whalers and sailors, we are the custodians of ancient's know loges. We hold the white fleet of the north, 7000 elite soldiers, some of the best warriors of Westeros and the always trust of our companions the spectrum bats which serves us as messengers, scouts for enemies and our eyes in the dark.
Our words are: "In darkness we will rise higher"
My name is Eldric Nocturna heir of Stone Haven, owner of our family great sword Bright Wing, some people call me: "the silver bat".
And since our arrival the north has become one of the strongest if not the most powerful of the seven kingdoms, most of all because our work of engineering and improvements:
-The ash face potato: once stood for us, as one of the few eatables which could survive the polluted and ravaged lands of our ancient homeland. Just like our bats, turns out that it can also survives even the worst of the winter's snow. Now is the north best harvest.
-The grand channel: It is said that one of our ancestors saw a map of the north, picking the short distance in the neck between White harbor and the fever river to the western shore, with Moat Cailin in the middle. After convincing the the king in the North that he was not mad, he began a work of engineering second only by the wall. He dig a pit with a length of miles, which then have it covered with wood and oil before setting it ablaze in order to use fire and heat to break the rock and the earth, some people said he cut down a third of the wolf's wood to do it. He then use the same principle to change the course of rivers and flood the channel. He lived and died building it, hundreds died as well, but it was worth it. Now stands as one of the most important water routes of Westeros, the gate between the narrow and sunset sea. The east and west.
-The city of Sunset bay: When the channel was finished it took a while for the lords of Winterfell to realize that there was only one city in only one entrance to the channel. White harbor grow as never before by taxing those ships trying to go west without circling all of Westeros and avoiding the pirates near Dorne. In order to celebrate the wealth and trade that the channel has bring into the north, they establish a union between a second son of house Stark and a daughter of house Nocturna, giving them the west entrance to the channel in the coast of the Barrowlands. The small town they build grow into the second largest city in the north. Sunset Bay seat of house Darkstark.
-The grand harvest lands: Applying the techniques developed in the channel. One of our ancestors work with the lord of Winterfell to build smaller water channels feed from the white knife, and the de frost of the mountains near the Dreadfort. The new rich and fertile lands maned by Winterfell and several other houses, generate an impressive growth in population, even though several winters.
-The northerner eastern and western fleet: Previously mention, our house hold a fleet of almost 200 war frigates, a valyrian design, now made with northern iron wood, smaller but faster than the southern war galleries and far stronger and capable than the iron long ships. Not to mention several whaler ships. Also House Darkstark and Manderly build their own warships, now the North is only power in Westeros which has a fleet in both sides of the continent.
-The arrival of mammoths: In order to sustain the building of the water channels and also save man labor my ancestor Rodrik Nocturna decided to bring a few of the large beasts north of the wall. Even though most of our countryman refuse to let the beasts roam the north, we manage to convince them that they could carry a lot of heavy weight, saving the costly and inefficient movement of rocks through man or horses. The keeps of the north can always count with the mammoth to bring stones from quarries in order to repair walls or roads. And maybe in the future some of the 200 mammoths now residing our land will be use in the war, and I actually feel pity for the enemies of the north, who will have to feel the earth shaking under their feet before the mammoths put an end to their fear. Most of this creatures are keep safe near the river Broken Branch under the watch of house White Stone of Ivory Crown.
-Winter City: The boom of population in the North turned the small village of Winter Town into a prosperous city. King Brandon Stark "the water bringer" also construct a small channel in order to supplied the city with an artificial river, he build two aqueducts as well.
-The blue Ether: My family has now a long history as whalers, our heavy frigates captures at least half a dozen whales every moon. Besides the hides and the bones which we use to make spears, shields and some others ivory items, the most valuable product is the oil. The whale oil burns with a blue flame nearly as powerful as wild fire. Throughout the north almost every lord use it to feed their forges, heat their homes in winter and during war we put it in our arrows, ballistas and long range weapons.
-The rebuild of Moat Cailin: When the channel was finished, there was an unexpected development, because of the water, the king road was severed but several of the swamps north the ruin fortress were drained and now could be used to harvest. With several swamps around it, the channel at the north, the city of sunset bay at the west, and the king´s road south as the only passable site to it, the key position of Moat Cailin has become much more defendable. Through the works of our architects, the strength of the mammoths which carry the rocks from the nearest quarry and the help of the Starks of Winterfell, the previous ruin turn into the most impregnable castle in the north. Once only 3 towers remain, now there are 6 main towers on each side covering the two lines of walls of the 8 sided castle with the entrances to the north and south located in the remaining two sides with heavy iron wood gates. The walls are almost 50 meters tall and the surrounding nearly impassable terrain makes very difficult to raise stairs in the east or west sides and practically impossible to move a siege tower. The last implementation to the castle was to put sharp spikes of ivory from mammoths tusk and whale bones in the superior wall near the battlements, every ladder and climber who tries to take the castle is goanna deal with several puncture wounds. Looking from outside you realize that this is not the proud seat of a noble house with greed and near obscenity ostentation, this fortress was built for war and only war. House Morham which was founded by a son of House Nocturna and a daughter of House Reed own the most impenetrable castle in Westeros and the gate to the North.
We also took a great deal of interventions in the recent wars and conflicts which shape Westeros:
-Although the andals and the Faith of the Seven managed to conquered the South of Westeros they never succeded in taking over the North, but they never paid much attention to the cold wasteland rule by the Starks until we came. When the andal's kings became aware of a new much powerfull and populated north they saw a threat to their supremacy, so they joined forces in order to conquer it, in an invasion that would became known as the crusade of the Seven or in the North as The last grasp of the andals. Houses Gardener, Lannister, Durrandon, Arryn and Teague with even a little support from the Iron Islands launch a full scale invasion of the North. But despite their great numbers, they were unable to conquer our lands. In retaliation for their invasion, King Eddard Stark "the bane of the seven" launched attacks on Lannisport, Gulltown an even sacked Oldtown and burned down the Stary sept, the three sisters were incorporated into the North with house Sunderland as their rulers.
-During the Dance of the dragons, the North took the side of the blacks and many people forgets that they were the Starks and their allies who gave Queen Rhaenyra her victory. When our army crossed The Neck we smashed the Lannister's forces and joined the Rivermen in destroying the green army at Harrenhal and killing Ser Criston Cole. Our grand navy joined the Velaryon fleet and along the two sons of queen Rhaenyra they destroyed the Triarchy's fleet. Finally the war ended when the blacks took the Capital with the alliance fleet blocking the Bay, King Aegon died when a bolt launched from a ballista in one of the Nocturna's ship hit his already weakened dragon Sunfyre. Although Queen Rhaenyra was gratefull for our aid she never fully rewarded our actions, but she had made a lot of enemies and lost to many advisors, her weak reign ended with revolts and rebellions. After the massacre at the Dragon Pit she summoned her most powerfull ally Lord Cregan Stark and name him the first Hand of the queen. Lord Cregan managed to put the realm in order and under his leadership the seven kingdoms prospered but the Faith of the Seven never liked the idea of a northerner rulling the realm, so after Queen Rhaenyra's death her son and heir dismissed him.
During the rebellion we also took a vital role:
-During the battle of the trident it was my grandfather's heavy infantry which held the line against the dornishmen and crown landers while the cavalry from the knights of the vale broke through the enemy side and rear.
-While my grandfather was fighting in the trident next to our new king and lord Eddard, my father lead 100 of our war frigates to Storm's End, he attacked the Redwyne fleet station around the castle and even bombarded the Tyrell's camp with our ship's ballistas. He didn't have the numbers to break the siege but he allowed a distraction so the smuggler Davos and our cargo ships could sneak past through the southern fleet and replenish the fortress.
-After the Lannisters betrayed the mad king and the siege of Storm's End was lifted my grandfather went with Lord Eddard to rescue Lady Lyanna, while Lord William Dustin lead most of our army back to the north. He suffered a few cuts but survived, some claim that he was the one who killed Ser Gerold Hightower the white bull. After he returned to the north he took the black and passed our ancestral sword to me.
-When Balon Greyjoy rebelled against the iron throne and burned the Lannister's fleet in anchor, my father rallied our fleet and cross the channel with 60 war frigates, until he manage to rendezvous with the rest of our army and the fleet at Sunset Bay. It was Stannis who broke the Iron fleet at Fair Isle, but they were our forces the ones that prevented their escape, although Victarion and Euron Greyjoy managed to flee.
-Even though this is not a war issue I believe it is worth mentioning, a few years ago lord Bolton asked my father to take his bastard son Ramsay snow as a squire. He told us he had some disagreements with him after his heir Domeric was betrothed with Serana Stark eldest daughter of Lord Benjen Stark. The boy was a beast since day one, and he looked at our home with greedy eyes, after all our fortress by the sea in the southern peak of Skagos overshadows the Dreadfort and even Winterfell. We had hopes though that perhaps if we could break the arrogant and cruel little boy we could create a true man, maybe not an honest man, but at least a man not a monster. That was until we caught him in my youngest sister quarters…. So we told Lord Bolton that during a storm while we were practicing swordsmanship in the garden that overshadows the sea, he sliped and he fell to his dead. It was pretty much exactly what happened.
And maybe you are asking, if we have the power, the wealth and even the love of the people of the north, why we just not overthrow the starks and take the north for ourselves. The answer is that the Starks granted us our home and identity and they had always rewarded our loyalty. And most of all, my grand aunt Kaina Nocturna, sister to my grandfather was married to Lord Rickard Stark, father of Lord Eddard, they manage to convinced the man who was about to marry her cousin Lyarra to joined instead to his most loyal and powerfull banner man. The pour woman lost her husband, her eldest son and her only daughter because of the mad king and his son, but even through her pain and old age, I believe that she is maybe the most dangerous person in the north. A true player in the game, and now this summer has continued for most of my life, is it this the beginning of the never ending summer everyone had prayed for thousands of years or it is just the calm before the storm. The Starks always say "winter is coming", and the darkness will come with it, whether we rise higher or not.
Character descriptions:
House Nocturna: Members of house Nocturna had many racial traits when they came to the North, it was said that they originally came from various nations that came togheter at one point. Most of them have dark brown hair and heavy size build with simple brown eyes, while a few of them have either dark hair and blue eyes or both.
-Dagmar Nocturna, called "the white bat", age 68 years old, current First Ranger of the Night's watch.
Brother and sisters:
-Kaina Nocturna, mother of Lord Eddard and Benjen Stark, age 65, called "the wolf matriarch". (She is like a northern version of the queen of thorns, she has her own spy network and the respect and fear of several people. Unlike her southern counterparts she cares little for the Iron throne but in order to prevent herself from losing any more children or grandchildren and protect the North, she could take the strings and play the game of thrones).
- Her direwolfs companions; "White tooth" and "Huntress"
-Mirala Nocturna, married to a Bravossi trader, extremely wealthy woman
-Gerion Nocturna, Lord of Skane, age 56
Children and grandchildren:
-Alexander Nocturna, Lord of Stone Haven, Magnar of Skagos, warden of the shivering sea: A mountain size man as big as the Greatjon Umber, he fights with a heavy mace and an ivory shield that makes him a fearsome foe.
-His wife: Jeyne Royce (to make an alliance with the vale and sealing an integration with the south)
-Eldric Nocturna: A 22 year old man, prolific warrior, he carries the valyrian sword Bright wing. Unmarried at the moment.
-Saskia Nocturna: 20 year old woman, sailor and warrior, captain of the whaler ship "Shivering Fist".
-Merya Nocturna: A 16 year old maid, skilled archer and huntress.
-Daeron Nocturna: A 13 year old boy, currently squiring for his uncle Lord Belmond Darkstark of Sunset Bay.
-Their Spectral Bats: Nightshade, Moonlight and Sharpwing
-his sister Lyarra Nocturna married to Lord Belmond Darkstark
House Stark: There aren't many changes in house Stark even though their grandmother is a Nocturna. But through the mentorship of her mother Eddard Stark is a more flexible man, for instances he decided to trust his wife and tell her the truth about Jon's true parents.
-Lord Eddard Stark, Lord of Winterfell, Warden of the North
-His wife Catelyn Tully (as lady Catelyn knows the truth about R+L= J she doesn't despised Jon Snow but she doesn't treat him as one of her children, more like a ward)
-Robb stark, heir of Winterfell, a little taller than the cannon Robb
-Sansa, a little less naïve because of her grandmother teachings
-Arya, the same as cannon
-Bran, the same as cannon
-Rickon, the same as cannon
-Jon snow, like Robb a little taller and a nearly outmatch swordsman, a little less sad and more confident.
Their direwolves: Grey wind, Lady, Nymeria, Summer, Shaggy and Ghost
-Theon Greyjoy ward of house Stark
-Nisai Glacies: A 17 year old maid, bastard daughter of Lord Dagmar Nocturna, beautiful young woman, ward of Lady Kaina. Best friend of Jon Snow.
-Her Spectal Bat: Mirage
His brother and his family:
-Lord Benjen Stark, Lord of Queenscrown
-his wife Irana White Stone
-Serana Stark, age 14 recently married with Domeric Bolton
-Rodrik Stark, age 13, heir of Moat Cailin
-Cregan Stark age 11
-Miranda Stark, age 9, similar to Arya