Westeros: Shadow Beyond the Wall
The blood of kings holds a great power within. The Others know this. They did not know just what power Jon Snow's held when it was spilt by his own brothers, accomplishing through blind idiocy what they had failed to do for so long. Winter is coming, carrying death with it.
I do not own Game of Thrones or A Song of Ice and Fire. Nor do I own the Middle-Earth video game series or Lord of the Rings.
A small request, from author to readers: if you happen to notice any mistakes that I've made in typing these chapters. Please: tell me. I'd prefer it if you did so without being a tyrannosaurus dick about it, as some people are prone to do when pointing out spelling and punctuation errors.
Just point it out in a review, ideally after providing some constructive criticism and/or expressing your opinion.
On a further note, there were parts of the HBO show I simply did not like and refuse to incorporate into this. I will list the changes I intend to implement right here, both for your sake and so that I can better maintain some consistency. I will implement some features from the book, others I will leave out based on preference. I apologize if this decision ruins the experience for anyone but bear in mind that this is a non-canon story crossed over with a non-canon video game series, so it really shouldn't be a surprise that I'd take advantage of having a high flexibility when it comes to these decisions.
Anyways, here we go.
Princess Shireen and Queen Selyse remained at Castle Black while Stannis marched south, taking Jon's advice to recruit the Mountain Clans for support while establishing supply lines from East-Watch-by-the-Sea. The experience of the Mountain Clans in foraging and travelling during winter greatly benefited the Baratheon Army, allowing it to travel in spite of increased snowfall with only a few hundred casualties among the sellswords and southron born warriors.
Mance Rayder, as in the books, was not executed but sent south while Rattleshirt was burned in his place using a glamour by Melisandre, given the task of rescuing Sansa from the Boltons while Stannis rallies support from the other Northern houses. He failed and is currently held prisoner by the Boltons.
Alys Karstark arrived seeking sanctuary, and her uncle Cregan Karstark was taken prisoner upon arriving to claim her. Since then she has been Jon Snow's honoured guest alongside the Baratheon Queen and Princes while Cregan's men have been permitted to leave.
Stannis sent Ser Davos back to Castle Black with Melisandre to collect Cregan Karstark as a sacrifice to the Lord of Light, immediately rejecting the very notion of sacrificing his own daughter.
Jon consented to this when Stannis sent over fifty prisoners from House Karstark to take the Black as well as a proclamation declaring Alys the Lady of Karhold and denouncing her great uncle Arnolf as an usurper to her rightful claim. Cregan was burnt alive a short distance south of Castle Black, as Jon refused to host a second burning even to reinforce the Night's Watch.
Jon went to Hardhome where the events of the show played out, with fifty thousand Free Folk (I took creative liberties with that number) who rallied there being attacked in force by the White Walkers and barely five thousand escaping south of the wall, joined by several (two thousand at the most) more taken prisoner by Stannis only to be released by Jon and put under the command of Tormund Giantsbane. Since then several thousand more (a further three or four thousand) as well as several dozen (approximately eighty) Giants have passed through the Wall at Jon's command, bringing with them mammoths and following Wun-Wun as the new King of Giants.
Stannis has rallied his forces around Last Hearth and Karhold, the former pledging to him under Greatjon Umber and the latter falling to him after Arnolf Karstark took his forces to join with Roose Bolton's army at the Dreadfort while Houses Dustin and Ryswell send their forces to fortify Winterfell. A stalemate exists between the armies of Roose Bolton and Stannis Baratheon, the latter of whom has withheld the fact that Free Folk now occupy the Gift by his and Jon Snow's command so as to consolidate his power before Greatjon is made aware of this while the former is not yet informed due to Jon ordering that no ravens fly until the Free Folk have regrouped enough to reinforce the Wall and all of its castles. The Lord-Commander took precautions to set brothers loyal to him (and who had followed him to Hardhome where they witnessed the slaughter and subsequent reanimation of its populace) at all three manned castles in charge of guarding the rookeries, later augmenting them with Free Folk, donated by Tormund, who could be trusted not to instigate any fights yet also keep up their guard in case of treachery.
Rickon Stark is rumoured to be alive on the isle of Skagos, a fact which Stannis shared with Davos along with orders to link up with his navy at East-Watch-by-the-Sea once Jon Snow had finished using it and take as many men as he can muster to meet with the Lords of Skagos to secure their fealty and recover Rickon (if he lives) so as to grant Stannis a legitimate son of Ned Stark to elevate to Warden of the North and use as a rallying beacon.
Jon Snow was preparing to seek out other pockets of survivors from Mance's army to bring south when he is drawn into Alliser Thorne's ambush and stabbed to death.
Xxx
Chapter One: My Watch Has Ended
Jon sharply drew in breath and gagged, finding his lungs starved and struggling to function. His spine arched as one of his boots scraped through the snow and mud beneath him. In the border of his perception he could make out the sound of hurried foot steps; the thud of boots against wooden boards close by transferring to the crunch of snow as someone raced across the main yard towards him.
"Gods…" The person gasped. "Lord-Commander!"
Edd!
There were more figures emerging from the surrounding ramshackle structures of Castle Black, Brothers all of them, truer than the ones who'd left him to bleed out. Jon succeeded in drawing in a full breath as Edd Tollett and another lifted him up, each taking one of his arms around their shoulders.
"We have to get him inside!"
"Get him up!"
Jon's feet found purchase against the ground, granting him the leverage to push free and stand on his own. "I'm fine!" The words cleared his mouth before he could ponder the wisdom in issuing them.
He was unharmed…and yet he had several clearly visible stab wounds in his torso. His leather jerkin was stained with blood, as was the snow where he'd been laying.
"You're not!" Edd clung to his forearm. "Jon, you've been stabbed!"
As if I needed to be reminded.
Jon consented to let them guide him to the second floor storage room overlooking the yard, though only after they needed his command to release Ghost and fetch Longclaw. Edd had him sit on a cleared table to have his wounds examined while several loyalists were dispatched to retrieve Queen Selyse and Princess Shireen from their quarters, bringing an escort of ten Baratheon knights with them to bolster the handful of loyal brothers.
"Lord-Commander!" Queen Selyse bellowed as she stormed in, two of her guards keeping pace. "What is going on? Why have we been-"
She stopped so abruptly that Princess Shireen, who had hurried after her, ran into the Queen and stumbled before she was caught and steadied by Ser Davos.
"Ser Onion Knight!" The Princess smiled at the sight of her father's advisor, only to falter as she followed her mother's gaze.
Jon Snow was sitting atop a long table, naked from the waist up and with his signature dour expression as he was checked over by Alys Karstark who, while lacking any training that could be found at the Citadel, had experience in the treatment of simple wounds.
And the Lord-Commander had several of them scattered across his bare chest, the most prominent laying over his heart.
"Your Grace." He greeted Selyse with a small nod. "Forgive me for having you pulled from your chambers this late, but it appears that Castle Black is now in the midst of a mutiny."
Shireen mulled over the term, recalling it from past conversations with Ser Davos or from overhearing its used between other adults, including her father. It was often used in a way that made it sound comparable to 'treason', another reoccurring phrase that had become popular among the Baratheons of Dragonstone. Ser Davos used it when referring to members of his crew attempting to defy him or take over his ship during his days as a smuggler.
"Someone is trying to take over your castle, Lord Snow?" She asked, and was hushed by her mother.
A ghost of a smile crossed Jon Snow's face. "Indeed, my lady. Ser Alliser and several of his fellow conspirators ambushed me not long ago."
"Most fortunate that they either couldn't aim or cut deep enough." Ser Davos stared sceptically at the scar over Jon's heart. "As well that you have healed so quickly. Your man there is to be commended."
The smile dissolved.
"I'm afraid that is something I'll have to address after this has been dealt with, Ser Davos." Jon pushed himself off of the table in spite of protests from Alys. "For now, my concern is keeping Her Grace and her daughter safe. Ser Alliser thinks me dead, which gives us a short time to act before it becomes impossible for you to leave here freely."
"But surely this man wouldn't seek to harm us?" Selyse asked. "The Night's Watch takes no part in the affairs of the Realm!"
"Ideally." Jon agreed. "But I'll take no chance that they might choose to interpret their vows in a way that might justify aiding the Boltons. I've been betrayed tonight because I allowed the Free Folk through the wall, and your Lord Husband blessed that act which may make him an enemy of the Watch in Thorne's eyes and therefore make the Boltons potential allies. I am not experienced in the politics of the south your Grace, but the concept of taking hostages as a show of fealty does not escape me. You must ride with all haste for East-Watch where King Stannis' fleet is moored."
He glanced towards Alys as she handed him his tunic. "You must go too, Lady Alys. You've sworn to King Stannis. You're as just as valuable a hostage to them now."
The Lady of Karhold shook her head. "When I came here, you could have sent me away with my uncle and none would have condemned you for it, not even the King. We all know your vows, I knew I was taking a risk. And yet instead you protected me." She smiled and averted her eyes as he clothed himself. "I won't abandon you to fight this alone, Lord-Commander."
"You won't be." Jon shook his head, donning his leather jerkin next. "I only said that you must go too. I didn't say where. Tollett?"
"Aye." Edd stepped forward from a dimly illuminated corner of the room where he'd been silently watching the exchange next to the slumbering, silent form of Ghost.
"I need you to take Lady Alys and ride to the nearest Free Folk encampment." Jon finished reapplying his clothes, torn and blood stained as they were. "Tell Tormund of our plight and ask for reinforcements just in case I fail. Lady Alys, I recall that you had struck an agreement with the newest Magnar of the Thenns in return for his aid in putting your lands to rights."
Alys grimaced, remembering the arrangement all too well. "I did, Lord-Commander." She admitted, speaking barely above a whisper as she gave a slight nod.
"Now might be the best time to carry out that deal." Jon gave her a meaningful glance. "Above all else, you must make sure to act as though I am dead. Thorne will need time to consolidate power and convince the rest of the Watch to go along with his plan."
"They'd follow and oath breaker who put his knife into his Lord-Commander's-" Davos hesitated. "-chest?"
"Not all, but maybe enough." Jon shook his head. "It's like you told me: many of them love me, many of them don't. I knew I wouldn't make them happy by bringing the Free Folk past the wall, I only deluded myself into thinking they would stick to their vows above all else."
Queen Selyse spoke up. "Then there is nothing else to be discussed." She looked to one of the knights by her side. "Tell the men we ride for East-Watch immediately."
"Yes, your Grace." The knight nodded stiffly and hurried out.
"What will you do while we're gone?" Edd asked. "Please tell me you won't do something honourable and stupid. The last one almost cost you your life."
It really did cost me my life.
"For all I know, Thorne may have other conspirators who weren't present." Jon answered. "I'll wait until I know who can be held accountable for this treachery. And then hopefully you'll already be back with an army behind you. Between your numbers and the exaggerated nature of my death we can end this."
"Hopefully." Edd gave a half-smile. "Hopefully for the first time in its history, this fucking castle-" he ignored Selyse's scandalized gasp. "-will be conquered by Wildlings."
"Get going, Tollett." Jon motioned with his head towards the door. "Ride fast."
"Try not to die for real while I'm gone." Edd replied. "Lady Alys?"
"May the Gods protect you, Lord-Commander." Alys said and followed Edd out.
"We'd best go too." Ser Davos took Shireen's hand. "Princess? Your Grace?"
They followed the Onion Knight out, and Jon dismissed the sworn brother who had been standing guard by the door. Now that he was alone Jon allowed himself to collapse into a chair that had been dragged in and groan.
The Bright Stranger appeared by his side. "You handled that well."
"As well as anyone can handle speaking another's words." Jon replied. "I never did care for subterfuge."
"That was one of your failings." The Bright Stranger chided, crossing his fur and leather clad arms and fixing him with a stern glare that reminded him too much of his father. "Winter is coming, and it cares not for honour or chivalry. If what I've collected from your memories is accurate both your father and brother failed to realize this."
"Then I should become like the Lannisters?" Jon demanded, keeping his voice low in case anyone somehow silent enough to avoid being heard by Ghost was listening at the door. "Abandon honour? Abandon common decency?"
"I would have you consider the consequences of trusting everyone else to share your sense of honour." The Bright Stranger replied coolly. "Do you imagine that the Kings of Winter were honourable? That they forged a kingdom spanning from the Wall to the swamps of the Neck without shedding innocent blood or being ruthless to the point of discarding honour and mercy?"
That…was a point in the Stranger's favour. Jon recalled his lessons on the vague annals of history covering the age when House Stark had spread its rule across the North, conquering one petty kingdom after another, including the Red Kings of the Dreadfort, the Boltons.
Then there was the Greystark Rebellion and the subsequent annihilation of the entire house, which was only one of many rebellions put down up until Aegon's Conquest when the Seven Kingdoms had entered a period where rebellions and major wars became relatively far and few between compared to the days where seven or more thrones contended for power. The Starks had treated their vassals fairly as far as monarchs went, but nor had they spared any but the most powerful of their vassals, the Boltons, for rebelling against them. Even then the Boltons had suffered the loss of lands and wealth with each failed uprising.
How ironic that Tywin Lannister was feared for wiping out two minor houses, while the Starks of old had wiped out countless dynasties to secure their control over the North only to be loved?
With all of that in mind, Jon could only wonder how they'd lost it all in the span of a single generation.
The Bright Stranger must have seen the answer to his question in Jon's expression. "Our first task is to bring down this…Alliser Thorne and his fellow mutineers. They're so blinded by their hatred for what lays in front of them that they would ignore the true threat that lays beyond. They must die."
"I know."
"And you also know that you cannot remain with the Watch."
Jon's hand clenched against the edge of the table, which splintered under his grip before he pulled back in shock, staring at his gloved hands which had wooden splinters sticking out of the fabric. He carefully slid the gloves off and examined his palms and fingers for damage.
"I swore a vow." He muttered.
"Night gathers and now my watch begins." The Bright Stranger recited. "It shall not end until my death. You died, Jon Snow, however briefly. Hence, your watch has ended."
Jon imagined that the vow had never been established with the possibility of returning to life being taken into account.
"Even if I agreed to leave, as far as anyone else is aware I have survived my wounds." He reminded the Stranger. "In their eyes, my vow remains intact and is still upheld."
"Then simply consult the Augur!" They demanded, and held Jon's puzzled gaze for barely a moment before groaning in exasperation. "You don't know what I speak of."
"What is this Augur?" Jon asked.
"The Augur of Night is that which was used to verify that a vow to the Night's Watch was given sincerely." The Stranger explained. "Any who gave it with intention of violating it were struck down. Any suspected of treachery were forced to speak the vow before it to prove their innocence. Back before the Wall became a glorified penal colony for your southron kings it was held in high regard, as was the Watch, and all highly regarded orders have their enemies."
Then the vow had not merely been crafted as a rite of initiation then, but as a means of rooting out spies and traitors.
"There's been no mention of an Augur ever since I came here." Jon said. "Where would this Augur be?"
"At the seat of the Lord-Commander…" The Bright Stranger glanced around. "…which certainly isn't this ramshackle keep."
The Night Fort!
"The first castle built on the Wall was the Night Fort. Would it be there?" Jon pressed.
"If the Watch has not somehow managed to lose it, yes." The Stranger nodded. "How far along the Wall are we away from there?"
From Jon's recollection of maps depicting the layout of the Wall, while Castle Black had been built almost perfectly in the middle of its length the Night Fort had been constructed some distance westward, no more than fifteen leagues at the worst, though he hadn't troubled himself with establishing the exact distance. His primary concern in the area of re-occupying the forts along the Wall had been Greyguard, an endeavour put on halt after Janos Slynt had stubbornly refused to go, forcing Jon to hold off until he could designate a suitable commander.
Not that Slynt would have even fitted the position. If anything Jon had been just trying to send him off to somewhere that he couldn't do any harm from. When that had failed, the headsman's block was the only place for the former Lord of Harrenhall to be of use in keeping order.
"A little over ten leagues." Jon answered. "I could ride there in about a day and be back in within another. If I hurried I could beat Edd and the Free Folk back here by the skin of my teeth."
"Two days too many." The Bright Stranger frowned in disapproval. "Perhaps I can cut down the time required and we might hold the Augur before your comrades have even reached their destinations?"
"With what sorcery?" Jon eyed the spectral manifestation cynically.
"What you call sorcery out of ignorance, I know as the gift of the gods." The Stranger glanced at the door. "I need to get to get to this castle's Weirwood."
Jon looked up from securing Longclaw to his belt. "Castle Black has none."
"Not now, perhaps." The Stranger knelt low to the floor, passing their palm inches over the wooden surface. "But I feel the roots. Cut down the trunk and the roots shall continue to grow. So long as one Weirwood of sufficient age grows beneath the sun, the roots of the rest shall be sustained and the spirits they embody live on. My ancestors learned this the hard way when they sought to make war with the Children, and paid dearly for their ignorance."
They moved to the doorway. "Come, Jon Snow. Your enemies sleep, thinking themselves victorious tonight. Let us take advantage of that short sightedness."
Reluctantly, Jon complied after pulling on a hooded cloak.
Xxx
Seeing the place where he'd bled out made the wounds in his chest throb painfully. Jon became cognizant of how little he felt anymore, relative to before his attempted murder. The chill in the air that he'd grown used to after several years seemed far less severe than he remembered, almost to the point that the night felt more like a mildly cool summer day back in Winterfell.
His heart ached, yearning for the home he'd left behind. It hurt like never before, as if telling him that Castle Black was no longer his home, that the Wall was no longer his home…that the Watch was no longer his family.
Your home is taken. Your family is scattered. You are called back. Back to the Pack. The lone wolf dies bu the Pack survives. You forgot this, but you are called all the same.
What was left of his pack today? Robb was butchered at a wedding, Sansa was a hostage of the Boltons if Stannis' information was accurate. Meanwhile Bran, Rickon and Arya were all missing and presumed dead.
He had only one sister who he knew still lived and she was in the hands of the Flayed Men…
Jon required little motivation to leave the Wall behind at this knowledge, especially if this Augur could absolve him of any perceived duty he had to remain among the people who had betrayed him. Sworn brother or not he knew what the true war was and would fight it regardless, but he had so many regrets resulting from his stubborn insistence on taking the Black as soon as possible…if he could remedy just a few things and bring his family back together again he would take that chance if it was open to him without any oaths to stand in his way.
The Bright Stranger led him into the centre of Castle Black's sparring yard. There, the spectre knelt and pressed both immaterial hands flat to the ground.
"Yes…yes…it's here!" They looked up at Jon. "Look beyond the physical world, Jon Snow. See as I see, and behold what mortals have blinded themselves to."
Somehow…Jon knew what the Stranger spoke of. He remembered the dark void, the chaotic background of not-winds and shimmering shapes and colours. The material world melted away, and at his feet he could see a pinprick of light and warmth shining through the ground.
SnowsnowsnowJonsnowJonJonsnow…
Voices…so many…calling to him…
Jon knelt down and reached out with his hands until they occupied the same space as the Stranger's. The warmth rushed up his arms and into him, carrying with them the voices and thoughts of countless beings.
AWAKEN US JON SNOW.
Jon cried out and grasped hold of the light, pulling it up from the ground…to watch as it sprouted upwards, growing taller than the tallest tower in Castle Black and jutting high enough that it reached almost a third of the way up the Wall. Bright green like the Stranger, it blazed with power…with life! Millions of voices, crying out thanks and praise…the voices of the Old Gods of the Forest, of the spirits of nature.
Of every one of their followers.
It was almost overwhelming. Jon fell to his knees and clasped his head as the spectral world faded away, leaving him in the dark and silent sparring yard once more. When he opened his eyes he could make out the outline of the great Weirwood he had somehow pulled from the ground…and yet it was not truly there. It was there…and yet not.
"You've done it!" The Stranger cried in rejoice. "The Weirdwood that grew here was cut down long ago, but its roots still grew deep…and now the gods of the forest have awakened its spirits. The path is open to us now."
"And what path would that be?"
Jon drew Longclaw and spun around, coming face to face with a silhouette clad in red.
"I see that claims of your death are exaggerated, Jon Snow." Melisandre smiled despite having the tip of a Valyrian steel sword almost rest against her throat. "That is fortunate. I would not have liked to have one of the Lord's premonitions proven wrong."
Next to Jon, the Bright Stranger hissed. "A fire worshipper…how quaint."
The Priestess from Asshai by the Shadows shifted her gaze to lock onto the emerald tinted manifestation standing next to Jon. "Perhaps you might introduce me to your new companion." She said. "After all, it is not every day that a gravewalker rises."
Xxx
End of Chapter