Chapter 10; …and departures

Characters of the chapter

Arya Stark Junior Grey Warden

Dajeah Junior Grey Warden

Nathaniel Howe Commander of the Grey in Westeros

Orvo Junior Grey Warden

Thorpe Junior Grey Warden

Arya tossed and turned on her bed, a slight whimper escaping from her lips. Then she woke with a gasp, sitting up on the bed.

She had felt it again. The darkness with purpose, intent, intellect. The same one she had felt when on the ship on the way here, when she had dreamed of the day of her Joining. Like the last time it had been calling to her, drawing her someplace far, far to the north. But this time was also different. This time the feeling did not disappear on waking up. The feeling was faint, but it was still there.

What was more, when she regained her bearings she realized every Warden in the room was up as well, having woken up at the same exact moment she had been.

"What…? You… you're feeling it too?" She asked of the others.

"Yeah." Thorpe said, shaking his head to clear the dreams from his mind. "Had a feeling like this back on the ship too. Just thought it was a bad dream at the time, so I didn't say anything."

"You did? I did as well." She said. "Anyone else?"

Orvo and several other Wardens in the room nodded, but not all of them.

"Well… could be that some of us are a bit more sensitive to this. But we sure as hell are all feeling it now. What is this? What's going on?" He said.

"…There is only one thing that connects all of us. Only one type of creature that can cause a feeling like this in us. If we are all feeling this now, there is only one possible explanation." Dajeah said.

A grim atmosphere descended amongst the gathered Grey Wardens.

"No. It can't be them. It's impossible. There aren't any here. There never have been." Arya argued.

"And yet that is the only explanation that makes sense. What else could it be?" Dajeah countered.

"Maybe the situation has changed." Thorpe said. "If that's the case, then that is very bad news. So bad we can't leave this be without looking into it."

Arya considered, then nodded. "Agreed. We'll have to talk with our commanders about this. They have to have sensed the same thing we have. They'll know what we need to do. We can go see them first thing in the morning, unless they call on us before that."

That was a plan everyone could agree with. Some sought to catch some more sleep before morning, but Arya figured she would not be able to. Not after learning what these dreams could mean. If there were darkspawn this close to Westeros, she knew one thing with certainty: She could not let them be a danger to her family. Not while she lived.

After a long time of pondering that knowledge allowed her to come to decision about another matter. Something that would fortunately be possible to take care of along the way to deal with this threat. It would not even be an inconvenience to the other Wardens the way she was planning on doing this. Now she just had to talk to Nathaniel. In the morning…

When dawn arrived the Senior Wardens called them together in the hall before breakfast. The second she saw their expressions she got confirmation that they had sensed this as well.

"Wardens! We have woken up to an extremely dangerous situation. By now it is clear that all of us are sensing the presence of darkspawn close to Westeros. Warden Blackwall and I have discussed the situation and we have reached an agreement that this potential darkspawn presence will need to be investigated immediately. We have no accurate information on darkspawn numbers at this time, but to be sensed by us from such a considerable distance away, it is highly likely that there are a whole lot of them. So all Wardens here will be needed for an excursion to the north." Nathaniel announced.

The reaction across the Wardens seemed mixed. Many looked pleased that they would get to take the fight to their ancient enemy and fulfill their role as Grey Wardens. But darkspawn presence was as serious news as could be. Particularly when their plague was spreading to lands previously untouched by the Blight. Arya for one was concerned by what this might bring and the knowledge of how she felt tempered the reactions of her friends. It was the same way for anyone with Westerosi friends or other ties to these lands.

"Our mission shall be to locate the Darkspawn and determine their numerical strength and intentions. Once we have that intelligence we will be able to know if we Wardens will be enough to deal with the threat, or if we need to call upon other militaries to support us.

Arya nodded as she listened. It was always better when Wardens could handle these things on their own. They knew the best ways to fight the darkspawn and were immune to the taint, which meant less repercussions when fighting this enemy. Whenever possible Wardens fought and died so others would not have to, for that was their role in the world. But for all their skill Wardens were always few and the darkspawn many. Other fighting forces had to be involved at times to balance the odds, with the Wardens leading the battle. It would be necessary to find out if this was one such time.

"Commander, do we know for certain that the darkspawn are not already in Westeros?" She asked.

"We have agreement with the Inquisition to alert us of any darkspawn presence immediately. Since neither they nor anyone else have contacted us we have good reason to assume they are not here yet. But that could well change at any time. We will follow our senses and see where they lead us." He replied.

"To be on the safe side I will be sending messages to the Orlesian castles beyond the Wall and the Inquisition, asking them about darkspawn sightings or any strange happenings that could let us find our targets quicker. That will put them on alert and give them a chance to warn any necessary allies of the threat. Since we won't be here I will instruct all responses to be directed to Castle Black, where we will be stopping before entering the lands beyond the Wall. If at any point during our journey we get indications of darkspawn south of the Wall we will alter our plans."

"We will depart late this evening, so make any preparations you need to do today. That is all." He finished.

"Well… it looks like you might get your wish of doing the work of Wardens after all." Arya said to Dajeah as the other Wardens were getting ready for breakfast, her friends gathering together to discuss these events.

"Looks like. Doesn't feel like much of a win now though." The elf said quietly. "I'm really sorry Arya. Sorry that this has to happen in your country. It's not right."

Arya shook her head. "There is still a chance to stop that from happening. I think… I think Nathaniel has the right of this. My instincts tell me those monsters aren't south of the Wall yet. If we do our job right we can keep them from ever getting that far."

"I hope that will be the case. I really do." Dajeah said. "I promise this much: When we find the filth I will be fight them as hard as I can. I will do everything in my power to keep them away from your people." She then declared.

"As will I." Thorpe said.

"Count me in." Orvo said as well. "I guess getting to do this together is the one silver lining in this whole situation. Just like old times."

Arya smiled. "Old times…"

"Excuse me for a moment. There is something I need to discuss with Nathaniel. I'll be back in a bit." She said then and went to speak with her commander.

"Yes, Arya? What is it?" He asked when she approached.

"Ser, since we are going north, there is something I would like to do. Odds are my family will be spending the winter at our home castle. So I've decided that when we get that far I'd like to stop at Winterfell and meet them." She said.

Blackwall, who had been listening in, smiled, pleased that she had made the choice he had been hoping she would make.

Nathaniel on the other hand looked more surprised than anything. "Of all the times you could have picked, you want to do this… now?"

"I know, I know. We're not supposed to get distracted by personal issues at a time like this. But listen, I've though this through. There are a lot of good reasons for us to visit Winterfell anyway. This is just something I will have the opportunity to do while we're there." She said.

"Other reasons? Such as?" He asked.

"Such as… it's a very long trip from King's Landing to Castle Black. More than a month since we intend to travel by land I'd wager. We can cut down on that a little if we move quickly enough and the weather remains favorable, but it is still going to be a long journey. A brief rest will let us all recover some strength before pressing on to take the fight to our enemy. What's more since winter is on its way we should take on more food and gear that will allow us to more easily travel in deep snow before heading into the lands beyond the Wall."

"I don't think there is that much need for supplies. A lot of us are able to hunt and forage." Nathaniel commented.

"I don't doubt it. And ordinarily that might suffice. But I'm told the lands north of the wall are extremely desolate. A place where it is almost impossible to find food or shelter unless you're a local. And with darkspawn killing and corrupting everything around them it could be a lot worse than usual. Something like this we shouldn't leave to chance. And trust me, unless we have the right equipment we won't be going anywhere when the snows come. Winterfell can provide us that." She argued.

Nathaniel considered, scratching his chin. "Well… you do make good points. And I suppose the King and Queen should be told of this threat, in case we are unable to stop it on our own."

"Very well. We will stop at Winterfell, like you suggested. But only for a few days, long enough to get what we need and have a short rest. When we leave you are to come with us. You are still a Warden and I expect you to hold to those responsibilities."

"Of course. That goes without saying." She said.

"Furthermore this is all subject to the requirements of the mission. If the situation warrants it I may yet change my mind about this. If I do, that will be that." He continued.

"Understood." She said. "Though… when this mission is completed I might wish to spend the winter at home, should I be well received. I'll come back of course when spring arrives and I'll only stay at Winterfell if I'm no longer needed at that time."

After a pause Nathaniel nodded slowly. "If at that time the circumstances are right I'll permit it. But once again that will be subject to the requirements of your duties as a Warden. And I'll have the final say on when this can be allowed. Understood?"

"Yes ser. Thank you commander." She said with a smile.

"Get some food in you. And then get to work making sure you and your friends have all they need for the journey. There is a lot to get ready." He told her.

"At once." She said and returned to her friends.

Most of that day went in preparing for the voyage, ensuring they had all they needed. By the time they rode through the city gates in a line the sun was already hanging low in the sky. She and her friends rode together in the column.

After about an hour of riding, Thorpe gathered the will to ask a question. "So Arya… seeing as we have many days of dull riding ahead of us I think now might be a good time to start telling the whole version of your life's story."

"You did say we deserved to." Orvo said, while Dajeah nodded as well.

Arya chuckled. She had almost forgotten about promising to do that. "So I did. Alright then."

She paused to consider where to begin. "So… I think for me this story began on the day King Robert Baratheon came to Winterfell. You see, he was there to ask my father to be the Hand of the King after the previous Hand had died under odd circumstances…"