That Time I Wrote Myself Into an Isekai to Escape a Plague
**AN**
-Just another day in a quarantined world. Like all things, you get used to it. When I go for my walks I kind of like how quiet the world is now. Made a long drive to drop off new truck to our tech and it's a route that takes me through the salt flats, over the mountains, and by the lake. Nature is visibly returning with industry being slowed like it is.
-I'm beginning to see what stories I could make legit out this mess. I do say storIES, plural, for a reason. The main threads running through this animal are:
1.) Writer writes himself into his favorite series, self-indulgent artistic meditation with a smattering of self-aware humor ensues.
2.) A complicated man from an advanced society comes to a far less advanced society and tries to survive in it/better it.
Either of these could work as original worlds with original characters but combined it would simply be too much if I didn't have fans' knowledge of these world and characters to fill in the blanks for me.
-So the writer/director Isekai would basically have to end with "me" either finding a way back home having learned some kind of lesson or joining/creating a theater troop that wandered around the fantasy world.
-The stranger from beyond the stars story could basically go where ever I lay down the road for it to go. Hell, I could even keep the story-teller element so long as I properly included it in his backstory.
Chapter 15
Riverrun was taken in less than an hour by two souls, who managed to route an entire Lannister garrison without killing a single one of them. That story spreads like wildfire through grassland. Edmure Tully's ranks swell from a dozen and a half to several hundred as the Rivermen return home. It'll be two weeks before Greyworm arrives to relieve us. Might as well make use of that time.
Every night I tell growing crowds the stories of sagas from beyond the stars. They are enchanted, enthralled by it. Songs are sung of "the day Kamina freed Riverrun" and Char dances like a fool to all of them. People never quite know what to make of him initially, though they find themselves endeared to him quickly. I regale them with the heroism of their new queen, Daenerys the Mother of Dragons. Hope returns to the eyes of these beaten, abused, and destroyed people. For the first time in a very long time, they can truly believe that the world is getting better.
The less pleasant topic of conversation is getting Edmure up to speed to all that has transpired with his extended family. The Stark children were his nephews and nieces, and effectively only one remains in this world. I tell him how Rickon was killed by Ramsay Snow as Jon tried to save him, how Jon has gone to the true north, how Sansa is the ruler of Winterfell, and how Arya is…traveling abroad.
Edmure: "What of Bran?"
How do I answer this? Your nephew got possessed by a bird wizard demon who was going to seize the throne for itself by driving the dragon queen so mad that she incinerated the most populous city on the continent, prompting your other nephew to murder her, but I circumvented that by obliterating said bird wizard demon who happened to be inhabiting the body of your nephew, with the most profane dark magic that I know. Yeah, something tells me that mouthful will not go over well. That said, I do want to be as honest as I can with him…without creating problems for myself or the campaign. It will be a month after Dany gets here that our forces will be fully reassembled and ready to move again. Our stay here at Riverrun would be considerably less tense if the owner of the castle didn't despise me for killing his nephew.
Me: "He's gone. I'm sorry."
Edmure: "Damn it! It must be so lonely for Sansa. You don't just grow up in a household with five siblings and get used to the silence."
Me: "There's no two ways about it, the Starks were dealt a cruel hand."
Edmure: "What of my wife, Roslin, and my son? Are they alright?"
Oh shit! That's right, you did have a family of your own didn't you, Edmure? Ok, so where was who, when? So Jamie was laying siege to Riverrun…oh…put a pin in it. He brought you in as a prisoner to force the castle's surrender, and he did so…by threatening to have your wife and newborn son catapulted over the walls…uh…we're going to have a problem when Jamie gets here. That brewing catastrophe aside; your wife was the daughter of Waldur Frey and she…was at the Twins. Fuck! Arya almost certainly horrifically poisoned your wife and left your son to be eaten alive by crows, if she didn't chop them up into pieces and forced one of their relatives to cannibalize them.
So I never had any doubt she was dark side, for good reason, but even I forgot just how far she had gone into the abyss. That's more ruthlessly psychotic than anything Joffrey or even Ramsay ever did. Yup, training her to be a Sith was definitely the worst decision I have ever made. Greyworm is completely in the right to question my judgment.
Edmure, mate, I just don't have any good answers for you. This one I'm going to take the liberty and just out and out lie my ass off.
Me: "I'm sorry my lord, I don't have the faintest idea. They probably sought refuge in some other kingdom."
Edmure: "But they could be anywhere! I'll never find them!"
Me: "You don't know that. Have some faith."
I mean, he's not, but I also don't want him to drown himself in the river. There's some information that desperately needs to be shared with all parties before they arrive.
Me: "Excuse me my lord, I have some business to attend to."
Edmure: "Thank you for your kind words, Master Jedi."
I excuse myself and rush to find Char. Of course he's dancing around with some girls as a crowd sings songs about him. I pull him aside and get him up to speed and tell him to relay a message to Daenerys and Tyrion.
Me: "Tell Jamie to stay behind with Bronn, they are to train the recruits. That's why they're being stationed at the Twins. Also, nobody, and I mean nobody, mention anything about Arya wiping out everyone at the Twins. Got it?"
Char nods in acknowledgement and takes off. He'll be back before nightfall, unless Dany gives him some other assignment.
I'll take this time to assess what supplies we've acquired. Fully stocked provisions that would last a year for the Lannister forces that were garrisoned here. So that'll last our army about two months. We really got to get to the Reach before we all starve. We were short on weapons and armor. That is no longer the case. Lannister gold only purchases the best and plenty of it.
That means we also have a lot of quality steel lying around. With the proper materials and nothing but time I could get some serious alchemical forging done. So long as I had one of Daenerys' dragons melts the steel, I think I could figure out how to forge Valyrian steel blades and even armor. Even during the height of the Valyrian Empire, Valyrian armor was exceptionally rare. That would be the best thing for Dany. It'll take time but I'll do it.
The sun is starting to set. Huh, I suppose Dany did give Char another errand.
As the torches are lit, I can see how a little bit of normal life is returning to these people. It will be a long while before they get there but there is path back to the lives they lived before. When this war is over, we're going to have rebuild this whole continent. The Riverlands are going to need some extra attention. As I'm pondering where we could stick a water mill, my thought is interrupted by the screeching of Drogon and Viserion.
Why are they so far ahead of the Unsullied? Were we attacked? Is there an oncoming enemy force preparing to assault us that they're trying to head off?
Me: "Tully!"
Edmure: "Yes."
Me: "I don't know what's going on. Get everyone inside."
Edmure: "Aye. Everyone, on alert!"
The castle and its meager forces rush to man a defense. There's nothing I can see on approach but then again, I don't have the dragon's perspective. The screeching grows louder as the great beasts come into sight. No sign of Char. The two dragons soar over the fortress and circle around to land in the field. Edmure and myself head out to meet the queen.
Me: "You grace, what is wrong? Are we under attack?"
Daenerys: "What? No."
Me: "Then why did you get so far ahead of the army?"
Daenerys: "Well I had heard about your triumph from Char and I wanted to see it for myself."
Me: "Damn it, Dany!"
Daenerys: "Wait. What's wrong?"
Me: "Apparently nothing, you just scared me to death. I thought you were flying ahead to intercept an approaching enemy or something."
Daenerys: "No, I just missed you."
I'm a little taken back by that statement and my heart skips a beat. For the first time in a long while she's got me speechless.
Daenerys: "And I'm sick and tired of sleeping in the woods. You've secured a castle for your queen; she will sleep in that castle."
Me: "But of course your grace. Speaking of said castle, allow me to introduce Edmure Tully, Lord of Riverrun and the Riverlands."
Edmure: "Welcome your grace. We were not expecting you for-"
Daenerys: "It's quite alright Lord Edmure. Prepare me chambers and a hot bath to the best of your ability at the moment."
Edmure: "At once, your grace."
At that he is off to do the best he can to those ends, leaving me and Dany to make our way to the castle at our own pace. She wraps her arm around mine and we gently stroll along.
Me: "Where's Char?"
Daenerys: "He'll be camping with Greyworm and the Unsullied tonight. Tomorrow I'm having him take Missandei to Winterfell."
Me: "That's quite the decision. May I ask why?"
Daenerys: "Of course. I was thinking about what you were saying about her being a good diplomat. I think her being my representative in the North would get her that needed experience."
Yeah, I don't buy that for two damn seconds.
Me: "You're sending her to keep eyes on Sansa."
Daenerys: "Do you doubt the strategy behind my decision, Kamina?"
Me: "No, I understand it even if I'm not thrilled about it."
Daenerys: "Oh?"
Me: "I'm fairly certain that wasn't solely a strategic choice."
Daenerys: "Neither was yours when you were sending Char back and forth to cover them."
Me: "Touché."
That prompts a stronger reaction from Dany than I anticipated. She practically snaps her own neck with quickly and forcefully she turned her head towards me.
Daenerys: "She already tried demanding Northern independence…"
Me: "I'd call that more "an aggressive suggestion" than a "demand"."
Daenerys: "…and she hates."
Me: "Not as much as she hates me."
Daenerys: "I'm not so certain of that."
Me: "That's relevant to the war effort…how?"
Daenerys: "You always have to be difficult."
I stop us.
Me: "Dany, stop it. Ask me what you want to ask me."
She takes a deep breath.
Daenerys: "Do you love her?"
I sigh deeply.
Me: "No, but I am sorry I hurt her."
Daenerys: "Good. Uh, I mean that's good of you."
Me: "Are you still in love with Jon?"
Daenerys: "I don't know…I don't know if it was ever real. How can I?"
Me: "Why did you miss me, Dany?"
Daenerys: "Because everyone else talks to me like I'm a queen or a…"
Me: "God?"
She glares at me for a second before continuing on.
Daenerys: "But not you. You talk to me like a person, like you're not afraid of me in some way, and I deeply appreciate that."
Me: "That goes both ways, Dany."
She rests herself against my arm as we walk across the bridge.
Me: "Is it tough to be a god?"
She chuckles as the horns announce our presence. We run through the rigamarole on the greetings, the oaths, and all that jazz. I must remind myself to tell Char to remind me that we must sing that song when we topple the Sept.
The following morning, I take Dany with me in pursuit of the ancient magical grove, High Heart. It is a place of potent magic so the force must flow strongly through it. Destinies are born of and converge on such places. Hells, Daenerys' grandfather arranged the marriage between her parents because the Witch of High Heart prophesized that "the prince who was promised" would be born of their line.
Strategically, I want to take Dany there because the prophesized returning the place where the prophecy was made usually results in some sort of boon for them. Questions of whether or not "the prince who was promised" is actually Jon Snow and not Daenerys Targaryen notwithstanding, I know it would be massively useful to my efforts to crown her as a god queen if I could find some hard proof of her divine nature. Then there is just my curiosity. It was never shown in the world of the show, so I'd like to know if it even really exists here. For whatever more precise reason you'd like to ascribe to it you can; it is in my opinion it is sufficient to say that it calls to me.
We had no luck for the first three days; not by horse, dragon, nor foot. Then something truly bizarre happened on the fourth. A killer whale swam by the castle. The Rivermen were shocked and astonished to see such a creature. As Dany looked on at the majesty of the beast a thought occurred to me. I stripped myself of my cloak and robes.
Daenerys: "You're not going to go swimming with that beast."
Me: "We might be."
Daenerys: "We? Who's this we?"
Me: "You fly around on a dragon nearly every day but you're afraid to swim with a killer whale?"
Daenerys: "If that's what they're called, then yes! I am very afraid to go swimming with that thing."
Me: "It's an unfair name. Look, that's not important right now."
The Lord Tully interject himself.
Edmure: "That strikes me as important."
Daenerys: "Thank you, Lord Edmure."
Me: "The point is I need somebody to look at my back."
Edmure: "What? Why?"
Daenerys: "I'll do it."
She gently strokes my back where the chakra seals should appear.
Me: "From your intent silence I'm supposing there's something there."
Daenerys: "It's a glowing red image of…"
As she's about to say it, the whale breaches.
Daenerys: "What does it mean?"
Me: "Blackfish."
The astonished Edmure stumbles forward as he cries out.
Edmure: "Uncle!"
That's right, Brynden Tully was called "the Blackfish" and he died defending this castle. After a long pause the whale seemingly cries in response to him. Edmure falls to his knees.
Edmure: "By the gods, what sorcery is this?"
Me: "Ancient. The Force flows through all things."
Maybe it is his reincarnated uncle, maybe it isn't. I don't know either way, but I do know that is what every Riverman will believe until the end of days.
Me: "Dany, make sure you have Darksister with you. We go alone."
The two of us, me shirtless for not entirely vain reasons, follow the whale from the shoreline as it is unquestionably leading us somewhere. At a certain point it dives under the waves to never resurface. Dany gasps and clings to me. I turn around to see a lioness staring at us. My back has an orange, glowing Babylonian lion on it.
Me: "Ishtar."
The lioness chuffs and walks into the thick wood. A faint sound of tribal chanting begins to grow in my ears. We follow her until she vanishes into thorn brushes. From up in the trees we hear a monkey howling. I hold my staff high and smash it into the ground, as I do the monkey leaps down before us. My back glows yellow with the symbol of the school of the turtle hermit.
Me: "Sun Wukong."
The monkey cries in response. It scurries up the staff and takes a seat on my shoulder. It guides us deeper into the forest until a fog appears and it vanishes. The tribal chanting grows louder. The rain starts to fall.
Daenerys: "Kamina?"
Me: "Yeah boss?"
Daenerys: "I feel…something."
The dragon glows green on my back as her emerald eyes blaze like wildfyre.
Daenerys: "What is happening to me?"
Me: "Trust your feelings, Let the Force flow through you…Daenerys."
She screeches like one of her dragons and then covers her mouth in horror.
Me: "It's ok."
I grab her hand.
Me: "I'm here Dany and I'm not going to let you go. Show me where the Force wants us to go."
Holding tightly to my hand she drags me along, up a rocky hill where we sit underneath an apple tree. The ghostly light of the divine fades from her eyes and she falls into my arms. I gently stroke her wet, silver hair out of her face until she gets her senses back.
Daenerys: "What was that?"
Me: "I don't know, you tell me."
Daenerys: "I was…"
Me: "What?"
Daenerys: "I was the stars."
She was one with the cosmos. I vaguely understand that about as well as you do, dear reader. The tribal chanting lowers to the faintest whisper and is now coming from without. The source of the noise is above us and drawing closer. A tiny spider lowers itself onto Daenerys' outstretched hand. The tribal spider shimmers light blue on my back.
Me: "Anansi."
The spider sings a tune in ancient tongue that no mortal has ever heard, and yet we know it. Dany and I instinctively sing along with. As we do, a Weirwood face appears in the tree and the spider is gone. A raven crows from within it. I reach in with my right arm to pull out a raven perched on my hand. The Valknut shines dark blue on my back.
Me: "Odin."
The raven perches itself on my left shoulder as I hold the staff in my right hand, very cognizant of my missing right eye. The ominous drone of drums and pipes fills the foggy air. I hold the staff up to my third eye chakra and it begins to illuminate a path through the fog, up another hill. Halfway up the sound becomes a Greek choir and the bright day light pierces through and banishes the weather. A white owl hoots as it flies overhead.
Me: "Athena."
We follow it to the top of hill where it lands in the center of a circle of cutdown Weirwood trees and vanishes into light. As we draw nearer a figure starts to take form. It is both a spirit of the dark and a ghost of the light. A hooded man glad in armor. When he turns to reveal itself, it is Revan.
I fall to my knees and prostrate myself before the Master of Light and Lord of Darkness, the Prophet of Balance, the savior of the galaxy. Daenerys, entranced, walks up to him. He lays a hand upon her and she collapses as he vanishes as though he were a thought on the wind.
Me: "Dany!"
I rush to her side. She's out cold. I check the seal I put on her back to block out the Raven and my suspicion is confirmed. The Tao of dragons blazes a brilliant purple. I pick her up and the weather breaks to reveal that we are indeed in the center of the magical grove of High Heart.
She eventually comes to. Her voice weak, strength slowly returning.
Daenerys: "Kamina, was that-"
Me: "Revan, yes."
We embrace. As we do, I sing a song.
Me: "High in the halls of the kings who are gone
Jenny would dance with her ghosts
The ones she had lost and the ones she had found
And the ones who had loved her the most
The ones who'd been gone for so very long
She couldn't remember their names
They spun her around on the damp old stones
Spun away all her sorrow and pain
And she never wanted to leave, never wanted to leave
Never wanted to leave, never wanted to leave
They danced through the day
And into the night through the snow that swept through the hall
From winter to summer then winter again
'Til the walls did crumble and fall
And she never wanted to leave, never wanted to leave
Never wanted to leave,…"
An old woman, no taller than three feet, skin pale as a corpse, and eyes red like a demon shuffles towards us.
Me: "You are the Witch of High Heart."
She doesn't say a word. She only reaches out her hand and I give her mine. The witch gazes into eyes with sorrow and says one word.
Witch: "Doom."
Then she scurries away out of sight, down the hill. Dany is deeply unnerved by her words.
Daenerys: "What did she mean? Why did she say that? Kamina!"
I can't answer her because I do not know. We make our way down the hill and through the woods. She wraps herself around me and I carry her the whole way. We don't say anything; I wouldn't even know where to begin.
As we exit the forest and find ourselves by the river, we discover a boy of sixteen washed up on its banks. He's alive but the most I can get out of him is his name before he loses consciousness.
Eiden: "Eiden."
We bring him to Riverrun. After I'm done attending to Dany, I go to check on the boy. He's awake and in relatively good spirits. He tells me he's a farm boy who was attacked by brigands who had killed his aunt and uncle. From the moment he says it, I know none of this was coincidence. I don't what it means but I know the universe is working its will. The Force is strong in this one, I trust in my feelings. He will be my padawan learner.
I find my way back to Dany and fall asleep in the chair next to her bed. I'm awoken the following morning by her. She smiles lovingly at me and I return such in kind. Later that day I start teaching the boy. She takes a pointed interest and calls me away.
Me: "Yeah boss."
Daenerys: "What are you doing?"
Me: "I am taking the boy on."
Daenerys: "Do you not remember what happened the last time you took an apprentice?"
She gently strokes my face, running her thumb over my eye patch.
Me: "Dany…"
Daenerys: "A witch foretells your doom, then you find a mysterious person and your instinct is to teach that person your power?"
Me: "I trust in the Force."
Daenerys: "Well if it wants you to die, then I command you to disobey it."
Me: "I do not, will not fear death."
Daenerys: "I know, and it terrifies me."
She's on the verge of tears. I hug her.
Me: "Valar morghulis."
(All men must die.)
Daenerys: "Daor ao. Daor eva iksi uepa."
(Not you. Not until we are old.)
Me: "Kesan gaomagon nuha syrje."
(I will do my best.)
I hold her close to my chest. Tears roll down her cheek as she clenches her teeth and whispers as though she was speaking a killing curse.
Daenerys: "Lo bona valitsos iksis aoha morghon kesan zalagon bona guesin se bona qubabra naejot perzys!"
(If that boy is your death I will burn that forest and that witch to ashes!)
As she speaks, Sith lightning sparks on her fingertips. She looks at her own hand in shock and awe. She may have chosen to not awaken her power before, but now it looks like that door has been opened for her. I don't know where that will lead but I'm with her till the end. I promise you that, Daenerys, goddess of my heart.
