Game of Thrones
Blood Betrayal
The White King: Chapter V
"For thirteen years, he and his queen ruled over his brothers, making sacrifices as black as their cloaks. Lucky for you southerners, the Free Folk rallied to a King-Beyond-the Wall, as we will when need be, and marched on the ancient castle he had taken as his own, the Nightfort."
In the shadow of the wall Jon led Tormund and a group of his Freefolk to the Nightforts gate, they used swords and axes to cut back the bramble and thorn bushes that had grown over it, as they got to the rusted bars of the ancient gate they saw piles of boulders and ice in the narrow passageway. "They've sealed the tunnel." Jon sighed.
"Smart." Tormund nodded "It will take weeks to clear a path through it."
"There might be another way." Jon signed "An older gate."
Jon led Tormund along the frozen wall, he used his sword to poke along the ground at the base of the wall, after a mile or so of walking there was a slightly different sound, the sword did not hit snow, ice or foliage, but stone. Jon dropped to his knees and began to dig in the snow with his hands, he dusted the snow from a heavy round slab in the ground. "Help me with it." Tormund and his men joined Jon in sliding the huge slab to one side. A hole in the ground, led into a deep dark shaft. Tormund uncoiled a length of rope he had wrapped around his body several times. They tied off one end to Jon's belt, as one of the Freefolk passed him a torch. They lowered him down into the darkness, slowly… slowly. The light from the opening became smaller as he was lowered to the ground. The light from his torch did not betray the grounds location, and Jon silently prayed to himself that the rope would be long enough. He breathed a sigh of relief as his tip toes finally touched the ground. "I'm down." He called up to Tormund.
Tormund and two of his men descended the rope and joined Jon, now all the men had torches lit, their surroundings became clearer. They were in a small chamber that led into a narrow earthen tunnel, there were no man made supports for the earthen passage, instead huge white weirwood roots snaked along the walls. Jon led the party through the tunnel, back the way they had come, back towards The Nightfort.
Finally the tunnel opened up into another chamber, the roots led to a huge underground weirwood trunk, larger than any of them had ever seen. The ceiling of the chamber appeared to be the very foundations of The Nightfort, the Weirwood trunk disappeared into the bowels of the castle itself.
"It's a dead end." Tormund spat in frustration.
"No." Jon shook his head "We get in through there."
"We climb the tree?" Tormund asked, looking at the huge trunk. It was wider than ten men, deathly pale, its face was a closed mouth and closed eyes. The red sap long since dried up and turned to dust."
"We're not climbing anything." Jon sighed, as he stepped forward, he removed his glove and drawing a dagger across his hand placed his bloody palm on the ancient weirwood trunk. The clarett dripped down the bark onto the closed mouth of the Weirwood. There was a low rumble in the chamber, the mouth opened with a groan as the trees ancient eyes opened up staring at the assembled men.
"Who are you?"
"I am the watcher on the walls." Jon answered "The fire that burns against the cold, the sword in the darkness, the shield that guards the realm of men."
"No." The trees voice boomed, there was a sound as if the tree were sniffing the air "You no longer watch. But your blood… you are of the ancients… like the other."
"What other?" Jon asked nervously
"One has already crossed black gate, not long ago… one like you Old One."
"I need passage… I am the Watcher on the Walls. I demand you let me pass."
The tree let out a rumble that sounded like a laugh "Your Watch has ended. But your blood… your blood grants you access. Pass Old One."
With a sickening creek and what sounded like a groan of pain, the Weirwoods mouth began to open. The mouth opened into a door, the size of a man. A set of stairs became visible. "Do all the crows know about this?" Tormund asked nervously.
"No." Jon shook his head.
"How the fuck do you know about the magic tree?"
"I've no idea." Jon shook his head as he approached the opening.
"We should have brought that fucking beast of yours." Tormund sighed
"Yeah…" Jon nodded "...we should have."
Jon led his small band into the opening in the tree, and began to climb the stairs deep into the trunk. When the last man had crossed the threshold the tree closed its mouth once again, and with a final grumble closed his ancient eyes once again.
Finally they reached another opening, the four men stepped into the remains of what was once the Nightforts kitchen. The wall was part of the weirwood tree, a second smaller face carved into it, closed behind them. "That was fucking weird." Tormund shook his head.
"Aye." Jon nodded "But we're in now. Come on, I need to get to The Lord Commander seat."
The small band made their way through the ruined halls of The Nightfort, the oldest castle on The Wall. The fort had been abandoned for centuries, but its ghost remained. Jon had not been here before, he had walked past it atop The Wall, but never walked its halls. Yet he knew the way, as if something called to him. He climbed a twirling staircase in the Lord Commanders Tower, where a set of rotting double doors awaited him. He brought his hands to the decaying wood and flung them open.
The Lords commanders chamber was more like a throne room, high vaulted ceilings with windows overlooking the Gift. The braziers had not burned in here for centuries, at the far end of the room, a rotting black chair, not unlike a throne sat on a raised platform. Yet despite the desolation and neglect of the room, the Lord Commanders Chair was not unoccupied. Jon froze as a pair of icey blue eyes greeted him. A slight woman with pale milk white skin, and shining silver white hair, dressed in a shining white silk gown tied at the neck, with an amethyst choker. "You followed the star." She greeted him as the shining blue eyes flashed a deep purple "And now you have come to take your ancient seat."
"Who are you?" Jon near whispered
"I have been called many things, my mother called me Xia, my father called me his heir, a dragon called me sister, an Empire called me Empress, so many names. When I last sat here The Watch called me Queen."
"The Night's Queen." Jon whispered "What do you want with me?"
"All these centuries." She sighed "All these lives, do you truly not remember?"
"Who am I?" Jon asked nervously
"You are a King."