"Oh, EWWWW! Kanna, NO!" Fafnir cried. He squelched out the fire in disgust as the Valkyries looked on. He turned to them with a nervous grin. "Umm, sorry. I just...I need to lie down."

The oldest Valkyrie took his arm in sympathy. "If I may, my dear. Your reactions to your hallucinations are getting stronger and stronger. We ought to get out of this dump and clear our minds. All of us are getting restless."

"They're not hallucinations...they're...ugh. I don't know. You're right. I don't even know if it's real," said Fafnir. Fafnir's hair had grown even longer and thicker, and he had a beard to match. The old woman ran her hands through his hair to detangle it. "We should go out and check for Walkers," said Fafnir.

A titter of excitement rustled through the house.

"We could go back to Jon," said the woman.

"Jon is doing fine without me," said Fafnir. "He's Lord Commander of the Night's Watch now."

"All the more reason to return to him," said the woman. "Those in power need the most protection."

"He has plenty of that," said Fafnir. "Davos, and that woman...that Red Woman bothers me. There is something too...familiar about her." Fafnir broke free from the Valkyrie's grip and stared at the embers left in the fireplace. He inhaled, then breathed onto the half-charred sticks again.


Seeing nothing in the flames, Fafnir flew out farther north than he had ever been before. He came what looked like an abandoned village, teaming with wights.

"Bullseye," said Fafnir. He swooped down and rained fire upon the wights. Satisfied with his work, he turned away, and he found a wight who was different from the others. He had skin, and it was blue, and his eyes were blue. He had what looked like a crown of horns on his head. "Walker," Fafnir thought. Fafnir breathed fire on him too. All of the snow around him melted, but the Night King remained. Fafnir landed in front of him and transformed back to a human. "Curious," said Fafnir. "All of your friends crumbled to ash. What are you?" The Night King smiled and cocked his head. He extended his hand to Fafnir, and Fafnir drew Hrotti. "Alright, Walker. Let's see if you can dance," said Fafnir.

Fafnir charged at the Night King with Hrotti, but the Night King grabbed the sword. Fafnir stared into his cold, dead eyes. For the first time since arriving in Westeros, Fafnir was afraid. The Night King smirked as Hrotti shattered.

Fafnir transformed back into a dragon. Shaken, but not undeterred, he flew above the Night King. More Walkers joined the King, and one handed the King a spear. Fafnir opened his mouth to fire an energy beam at the Walkers. The Night King threw his spear as Fafnir fired. Fafnir dodged it, and he knocked the creatures onto their backs with the energy beam, but they did not break as he had hoped.

"Well then," said Fafnir. "I'm stumped."

He nearly flew all the way back to the Wall to tell Jon of his discovery, but he decided against it. He landed back at Craster's keep. The women had prepared a meal while he was gone. He told them about his encounter.

"Hrotti is gone?!" they gasped.

"Shattered, in my hands," Fafnir said. "I imagine they could do the same to your spears."

"Surely there is some magic that could beat them," said another. "Something in Norseland."

"Perhaps," said Fafnir. "But while magic retains some standard properties across space and time, each realm has its own rules. I would have to learn more about this realm's magic, and the magic that made those creatures." He thought of the Red Woman he'd seen in the fire, and of Shouta across the sea. Between the three of them, he thought, perhaps they could figure it out. A sort of magic dream team. "Anyways, if we encounter Walkers, the only option for us currently is to hide. I will create a portal for you to go back to my cave."

"That's lame!" a woman griped. The other Valkyries grumbled in agreement.

"Yeah, well, that's the plan until I can figure out what makes them tick," said Fafnir. He took a venison leg from the table, went back to the chair in front of the fireplace, and stared.


Fafnir had nodded off in the chair when he heard whispering from the flames.

"According to prophecy, our champion will be reborn to wake dragons from stone and reforge the great sword Lightbringer that defeated the darkness those thousands of years ago. If the old tales are true, a terrible weapon forged with a loving wife's heart. Part of me thinks man was well rid of it, but great power requires great sacrifice. That much at least the Lord of Light is clear on," a man was saying.

Then the voice of the Red Woman: "There will come a day after a long summer when the stars bleed and the cold breath of darkness falls heavy on the world. In this dread hour a warrior shall draw from the fire a burning sword. And that sword shall be Lightbringer, the Red Sword of Heroes, and he who clasps it shall be Azor Ahai come again, and the darkness shall flee before him."

Fafnir's eyes flew open. Azor Ahai...AZOR AHAI?!..."AZOR AHAI!" he screamed, popping out of the chair with a dragon force that shattered the chair's legs and propelled Fafnir to the ceiling. When Fafnir landed, there was another man standing in front of the fireplace. He was dressed in a silk robe and bore a striking resemblance to Jon Snow, if Jon Snow were a douchebag. He had thick black eyebrows and a soul patch under his lip.

"Fafnir," said Azor, "long time no see, old friend." Fafnir tried to summon Hrotti, but of course he couldn't, because the Night King had destroyed it. He looked around nervously, but the Valkyries hadn't awoken. "Time is frozen around us, Fafnir. It's just you and me," said Azor. He sat down nonchalantly in Fafnir's broken chair. "Nice place you've got here."

Anger surged within Fafnir. "You tried to murder Tohru's father," he said. "We banished you."

"And I can't thank you enough!" Azor exclaimed, sitting up and leaving the chair a little more broken. "I found this dump, and as I'm sure you know, I've done quite well for myself!"

Fafnir gripped Azor by the throat. "What have you done? What are you doing to these people?"

Azor remained calm and chuckled. "Haven't you heard, Fafnir? These people love me! I even took a wife when I arrived. Ah, Nissa Nissa..."

Fafnir growled and threw Azor down. "You're disgusting. So it's been you in the fire? Showing me all these...things?"

"That's right. I control the flames. I decide what you get to see," said Azor. "Oh, by the way, thank you so much for taking out that Stannis Baratheon. My priestess was hung up on him for years...ugh, humans! Grant them dragon powers, and they waste them away on dumb shit...am I right?"

It took all Fafnir's will not to punch him in the face. "Just what are you to these people, exactly, Azor?"

"Haven't you heard, Fafnir?" Azor said with a smirk and a flourish. "R'hllor. The Heart of Fire. The God of Flame and Shadow." He grew and began to transform into his dragon form, a red serpent with a fierce face. "I'm the Lord of Light, bitch!"

Azor Ahai flew over Fafnir back into the fire. The fire surged and gave a mighty pop as the dragon god entered the flames. Then, the flames subdued to their original state, and the Valkyries began to stir once more.

Fafnir rushed upstairs and woke the Valkyries. "Ladies, we're going back to the Wall!"

They clapped and cheered. "We're going to see Jon again!"

"That's right," said Fafnir. "And I'm happy to announce that we have a new quest!"

"We're not going to kill Walkers?"

"Oh, we will," said Fafnir. "And when we're finished with that, we're going to kill the Lord of Light."

The Valkyries had no idea who the Lord of Light was, but they did enjoy killing, so they cheered nonetheless.


"OPEN THE GATE! OPEN THE GATE!" Sam cried.

The gate opened, and Fafnir lead his Valkyries through. Sam and Gilly met them at the entrance to Castle Black. Gilly and her sisters hugged warmly at their reunion, and then Fafnir and Sam hugged coldly.

"Where's Jon?" asked Fafnir. "Still mad at me?"

"No," said Sam. "In fact, he misses you terribly. But he just left on a mission. He's taking the remaining wildlings back north."

"Ah, I see," said Fafnir. "Well, no matter. There's someone here I need to talk to. Where is the Red Woman?"

Sam's eyes widened. "You know about Melisandre?"

"Unfortunately," replied Fafnir. "I have something I need to discuss with her."

On their way to Melisandre's chamber, they passed Davos and Shireen. Shireen screamed and buried herself in Davos's coat when she saw Fafnir.

"What the devil is he doing here?" Davos asked. "This man is a bloody murderer!"

Sam faltered. "Fafnir is our friend, and he's done a lot for us. I'm sorry, but he wants to talk to Melisandre."

Davos glowered. He stuck a finger in Fafnir's face. "I'll deal with you later."

Sam grabbed Fafnir's arm and pulled him along. "Gods, I still have that weird feeling like I did the right thing back there," said Fafnir.

"It was an accident. We understand that," said Sam. "Ah, here we are." Sam knocked on the door. "Ummm...Melisandre?"

"Let him in," came Melisandre's voice from within.

"But...you don't know..." Sam started.

"It's Fafnir," said Melisandre. "Let him in."

Sam inhaled deeply. "She scares the hell out of me," said Sam. The door opened slightly, and Fafnir entered, leaving Sam to stand awkwardly outside in the hall.

Melisandre was in front of the fire. She turned her chair around to face Fafnir, who took a spot on the chair. "Hello, Fafnir," she said.

"Hello, erm, what is it? Melly Sanders?" asked Fafnir.

"Melisandre," she corrected him politely.

"Melisandre," he repeated. "Melisandre, I'm here to talk to you about your god, this so-called Lord of Light."

Melisandre, who must have known Fafnir was coming, was surprised by this. "What do you know?" she asked. "You're not from around here. I'm not sure where you're from, but it is neither Westeros nor Essos."

"You're right," said Fafnir. "Now, Azor Ahai..."

"You mean Jon Snow," said Melisandre.

Fafnir crinkled his brow. "No," he said.

Melisandre laughed the same patronizing laugh that Azor had. "Oh, Fafnir. You've been friends with Jon since you came here. Why?"

Fafnir considered. "Well, he was one of the first people that I ran into."

"Is that all?" Melisandre pressed.

Fafnir thought again. "Yeah," said Fafnir. "And he accepted me."

"You think it was an accident that when you came through your portal that you arrived at Jon's side?"

"Um, yeah?"

Melisandre smiled and chuckled internally. "And why do you stay with him? You could have gone back. You could have gone anywhere else. Why stay with Jon?"

Fafnir shrugged. "I liked the kid," said Fafnir. "But wait. We're off track. I'm here to talk about your god."

"Okay," said Melisandre, as if deciding to humor him. "What is it?"

"Are you aware that your Lord of Light is a malevolent dragon from another dimension?" Fafnir asked.

Melisandre's eyes widened. She had certainly not been expecting that. "I don't understand."

"I'm a dragon, Melisandre," said Fafnir. "I'm a dragon who, gosh, I dunno, about a thousand years ago? I fought Azor Ahai in a great war for control of the dragons. We won, and we banished Azor, and apparently, Azor came here and became your god."

Melisandre shook her head. "No no no. Azor Ahai is not god. He's R'hllor's chosen warrior. And I think that Jon Snow is Azor Ahai returned."

Now it was time for Fafnir to laugh in her face. "You dumb bitch."

"Excuse you!" Melisandre cried, leaping out of her chair.

"Look, I don't know how to make it any more clear," said Fafnir. He stood up to meet her, then spoke slowly, as to someone who barely understand English. "Your religion is a sham! It's all a sham! Azor Ahai is a red herring! And I am so sorry that you fell for it, but..."

"Look into the flames, Fafnir," said Melisandre.

"Yeah, been there, done that," said Fafnir. "Listen, you gotta bail on this Lord of Light."

"Look," said Melisandre. "What do you see?"

"You see whatever he wants you to see," said Fafnir. "He's magic, and he's a master manipulator." Melisandre grabbed Fafnir by the hair and pulled him to the fireplace, forcing him to look. Fafnir saw the army of the dead marching upon a castle. He saw the Night King riding on a dragon, and the Wall melting before them. He saw thousands being slaughtered by wights. He saw Kanna's boy toy die. And then, he saw Jon get stabbed in the heart.

Fafnir whinced. "This is..."

"Preventable," said Melisandre.

His frustration with her melted. "Yes! So you'll help?"

"Of course," said Melisandre. "It has been my purpose to find Azor Ahai before the Long Night descends upon the world and destroys us all."

"That's not going to help," said Fafnir.

"You think you know my god," said Melisandre. "But I know him too. We will lead the charge against the army of darkness, you and me, and Jon Snow."

"Okay," said Fafnir. "We might not see eye-to-eye, but we have common goals." To an extent. I'm still murdering your god when this is all done. "You humored me, now I'll humor you. What makes you think my Jon is your Azor?"

Melisandre smiled. "You've sensed it intuitively, although you can't place what it is that draws you to him. Tell me, dragon, what did Jon tell you about his parents?"


Aegon Targaryen returned with Ghost and Tormund Giantsbane within the week. The Lord Commander of the Night's Watch went sullenly to his chamber, and his steward Olly presented him with an agenda of affairs that were awaiting Jon's decisions. At the bottom of the list was written, "URGENT: FAFNIR AND HIS WOMAN WARRIORS ARE BACK AND INSIST ON STAYING."

Jon was so mentally drained from the events at Hardhome that he didn't know how to react, but reading the sentence did give him a headache. He asked Olly to bring him a stiff drink before going to meet his old friend in the Great Hall.

Fafnir sat patiently in chains beside Alliser Thorne. The Valkyries sat in the back of the room awaiting to hear the fate of their leader. The doors to the hall opened, and Jon entered. The brothers of the watch, including Fafnir, rose in respect. Jon made his way stoically to the head table.

"Lord Commander," said Alliser. "The traitor Fafnir has returned with his harlots. We recommend execution as befits a deserter of the Watch."

"Sit down, Alliser," said Jon.

"Right," said Alliser. He sat back down.

Jon raised an eyebrow, then cocked his head to indicate that Alliser was in his seat. Reluctantly, Alliser obeyed, and Jon sat beside Fafnir. They locked eyes, and Fafnir nodded, indicating Jon should make the first move. Jon turned to address his brothers.

"I believe some amends to the charges Alliser has brought forth are in order," said Jon. "Fafnir did not desert the Watch. In fact, he didn't want to leave. I made him go. I released him from his services."

"But Lord Commander, you were not Lord Commander at the time of his leaving," said Thorne. The brothers around Thorne hissed in agreement.

Jon held up his hand to stay their protests. "I will take full responsibility for this. Fafnir doesn't come from Westeros. I imagined, when I told him to leave, that he would simply return to where he came from. I didn't anticipate that he would stay in Westeros, let alone come back. But, and you know this, Alliser, we wrote to King's Landing to inform them of Stannis Baratheon's murder. And this is the reply we received:" Jon reached into his coat and produced a scroll. He cleared his throat and read:

Brothers of the Night's Watch,

Thank you for informing us of the death of the traitor Stannis Baratheon. We applaud the man who did this great service to the realm. We would like to personally invite him to King's Landing and offer him a spot in our royal guard.

Warmest regards,

Cersei Lannister, Queen Regent of the Seven Kingdoms

Jon tossed the scroll aside. "So, I suppose it's only fair to offer Fafnir his freedom to leave to King's Landing."

"Nah," said Fafnir. "I've heard only the worst sorts of things about that place."

Jon threw up his hands in frustration. "Well, then I don't know what you expect me to do, Fafnir! I can't ignore that you practically committed genocide on an entire faction of Westeros!"

"Well, what the fuck were we doing to the wildlings?!" Fafnir snapped. "I suppose next you're going to say we should let the White Walker race live in peace too!"

"Of course not, Fafnir," said Jon.

"Well, then you're going to want to keep me around," said Fafnir. "I have information about the Walkers."

Jon composed himself. "Really?"

"Yes," said Fafnir. "When I left you, I took my Valkyries north of the Wall to Craster's Keep. We've been hunting wights and Walkers the whole time."

The room was silent. "You did that?" Jon clarified.

"Yes," said Fafnir. "I did that for you. You're welcome."

"What did you discover?" Jon asked calmly.

Fafnir sighed. "You're not going to like it," he said.

"Ohhh, I don't like a lot of things right now, Fafnir," said Jon. "Let's hear it."

"I believe I encountered their leader. The leader of the White Walkers," said Fafnir.

"The Night King?!" Jon said. "Really? You too?"

"Ohhhh, so you've had the experience?"

"Yes, it was terrifying!" said Jon. The alarmed murmuring among the brothers grew louder. Jon held up his hand to quiet them. He stood up and addressed them: "Brothers, our journey to Hardhome was in many ways a failure. But, I have discovered the way to kill Walkers."

"Oh?" Fafnir said.

Jon held up his sword. "Dragonglass," he said. "I fought a Walker, and it shattered upon contact with my sword. When the Night King saw that I had it, he avoided me. I believe this is the only way to kill Walkers, and the Night King." The brothers murmured as they processed this information. "Brothers, a greater war is upon us. Our duty is to protect the Seven Kingdoms from threats beyond the Wall. But I have come to believe that we have a greater duty to protect those on the side of the living. The remaining wildlings will be staying here under our protection." The brothers began shouting. Shouting at Jon, shouting at each other. "SILENCE!" Jon yelled. "This is my decision as Lord Commander! We cannot defeat the army of the dead alone!"

"What about Fafnir?" came a solitary voice. It was the voice of Davos Seaworth.

Jon looked at his old friend again. "Fafnir is no longer a sworn brother of the Night's Watch. He is free to do as he pleases. But we are in no position to be denying help, regardless of where it comes from."

Fafnir looked out at the brothers of the Night's Watch as his chains were removed, and all of their stone cold faces were fixed upon him and Jon.