Lord Idris had returned a letter with Godsblood's raven. Torrhen read it aloud to the village. It told Torrhen that they could come to meet him in King's Landing. They would have to wear hooded cloaks and keep hidden but once they arrived they would have the full protection of the Lord Ironfur. After they arrived Lord Idris intended to leave King's Landing and introduce them to their new home on the slopes of the Ironmountain before beginning the journey north.

The clan had made hooded cloaks for themselves and had begun to travel towards King's Landing. Most of the Children were walking, they were easily keeping pace with the horses. Torrhen had quickly realised that they were faster and stronger than anyone he knew. He had felt stronger and faster when he went wood dancing with them than he ever had before. He had even brought a deer back to the village by himself shortly before they left.

One of the Children was sat on a horse however. They had chosen the name of Doe for her. Her skin had large light brown patches on it, similar to a doe. She had been the one who guided them to the village and she now rode on Corwyn's horse. She and Corwyn had grown close and in the six weeks that they'd spent in the village Doe had already begun to show signs of carrying. Corwyn was worried about her.

Torrhen went to ride beside him and touched his elbow. The younger man turned to look at him, still carefully guiding his horse. "They say the Crannogmen are descendants from First Men who married Children. It's why they're so short." Corwyn looked at the Child sat in front of him.

"The men of the Ironmountain are half way between Northmen and Crannogmen. What does that say about us?"

"That only half of us used to sleep with Children. Lord Ironfur'll look after you both. You know he will." Corwyn didn't look very reassured. Doe had taken a hand into hers and was rubbing circles into the back of it. He seemed to relax slightly.

"The Children don't marry. They take a life-mate and that's that. Don't even have a word for marriage, at least from what I can tell. This one's going to be a bastard, and only a half man too. Likely he'll have the height to go with it."

"That's what your worried about? You don't think you can be someone's life-mate?"

"Of course I can be Doe's life-mate." Corwyn sounded angry. "I just, what's my father going to think? I'm bringing home a woman who's not five foot or human, and a baby, and we aren't married."

"Why don't you get married then? Just because her people don't get married doesn't mean she can't. You tried asking her? When we get to the Ironmountain you can get married under the arms of a weirwood. Do you regret the child?" Torrhen looked at Doe. She appeared to be looking ahead as if she didn't know what they were saying. He knew that she did understand them. The whole village could understand the Common Tongue now.

"Of course not." Corwyn leant his head into Doe's oaken hair. He sighed. Her hand came up to play with his hair.

"Good." Torrhen patted Corwyn on the back. "Then you'll look after it when it comes out. Even if Lord Ironfur decides for some reason that he doesn't like it, you've got me and four other men of the Ironmountain and a whole clan of magical, tiny, green people on your side." Corwyn nodded. Torrhen rode ahead and rode in his place alongside Godsblood again. He looked back at Corwyn and Doe, holding one another.

He still pondered regularly about how they had even gone about making a child. Her hands were more like claws and the large curved spike coming from the back of them was terrifying. Perhaps he wouldn't be so surprised if she wasn't just so small. The tallest of the Children was maybe four foot and half.

They turned around a bend in the road, they would be at King's Landing in the morning if they continued through the night. It had become dark an hour or so before. The Kingswood was aflame. The fire rose into the night sky and devoured the whole forest between them and the city. Godsblood roared in anger. The wind howled in fury and whipped around them. Thunder rolled in from all around them.

Then Torrhen saw the banners flying in the encampment at the edge of the Kingswood. A stag in a heart made of fire. The Children readied their dragonglass blades and spears. Many nocked arrows onto weirwood bows. Godsblood stepped forwards and raised his hands, screaming in the tongue of the Children.

The Gods must have heard him. A storm formed over to the east and bolts of lightning streaked across the sky. Torrhen heard the singing of steel even from here. He looked at his men. The rest of the Ironfur men were in that city. Torrhen would be damned if he let them be killed by these men who had burnt the weirwood at Storm's End. Godsblood was looking up at him. Torrhen only nodded.

The Children began to run forwards, their anger howling into the wind. Godsblood gave another great roar. Torrhen guessed that it must be the same roar that the Western Lions once gave, back when they still lived. Godsblood vanished in a flurry of leaves. Torrhen dropped from his horse and put on his Ironfur and buckled the horse's canvas armour on. The other men did the same.

Torrhen mounted again, drew his sword and charged. The Ironfur riders caught up with the Children just before they reached the camp. The group slammed into the camp. There had been no guards on the south side of the camp. It was massacre, the Children proved to be excellent warriors. Their wood dancing had taught them more than just how to hunt. They tore through grown men in steel plate with ease.

Arrows appeared in the gullets of men. Screams rang out in the forest. Godsblood was in the forest, beasts made of flame leapt down from the burning trees and burst into fire as they touched the Rhilor'i fighters. Burnt, screaming men flailed on the ground as the clan fought through the trees. This was where the Children thrived. They may have been Children of the Rainwood but once, a long time ago, the Kingswood and Rainwood were one and the same.

Even those who didn't have the powerful magics of Godsblood could drive the winds around them to forge paths through the burning forest. Every passing moment only strengthened the winds. They breached the treeline on the other side of this part of the woods. Green flames were dancing into the night on the river to the other side of the city.

Torrhen looked up at the walls. There were Ironfur banners on the wall. Arrows were raining down into the army below the battlements. He could hear singing. It was an old song. One he knew well, but why were they singing a funeral song? Torrhen looked around him. The Rhilor'i had begun to form ranks to fight their new enemy. Beasts made of fire continued to rush out of the forest and dragonglass arrows were finding their marks in the Rhilor'i.

Torrhen dismounted. He steadied his shield and took up a position alongside the Children who were forming a wall between the Rhilor'i and Godsblood. The enemy charged them, their new disciplined ranks didn't flee as their companions burnt beside them. Torrhen grunted as his shield took the brunt of a man's attack. Beside him the Children had forgotten their wall of spears and had begun to fight in a frenzy. An arrow buried itself into a nearby Child. It crumbled to the ground.

Torrhen roared. It surprised even himself, it sounded much like Godsblood's roar earlier. The storm roared in response. He charged forwards, tearing men apart, he lost his sword in the falling corpse of one opponent. The sharpened points of his gauntlets and boots grappled with those around him. He shredded skins and broke bones. Flesh lay on the ground around him. The singing had grown louder, nearer.

"Form rank! Spears front! Ready yourselves! They'll attack again!" A gauntlet gripped his arm. "Its good to see you again Torrhen. And your new friends too."

Torrhen looked up into the shadowcat helm of Lord Idris and grinned.