Some days, he regrets staying in that cave. There isn't much to do aside from hunting, sparing, talking and watching Bran learn how to spiribend.
Actually, hunting is done more for his and Hodor's benefit than for actual necessity. Bloodraven wasn't kidding when he said the Children of the Forest would provide for them daily. However, his body screams for exercise, and he and Meera want to test their bending with Valyrian steel as often as possible.
Retrieving Dark Sister from under Bloodraven's bones proved to be quite a challenge. The sword was deeply entangled among numerous branches and roots, and the lack of earthbenders in their group meant they had to cut through them manually, with their swords and daggers. Meera and Jojen used their mudbending for cleaning, which helped a lot, but not enough to spare them a small lake's worth of sweat.
The highlights of their days are when Bran comes back from his lessons to tell them stories of the past. His latest one is of the Doom of Valyria—which turns into a whole history lesson about how the extinct society worked.
"Valyria began as a small kingdom called Fire Nation", he begins, "founded by the first firebenders, who called themselves the Sun Warriors because they learned to bend from watching the sun. Most of old firebending philosophy comes from them. Valyria as it was known was founded much later, when other people learned firebending from the dragons they tamed—those became dragonriders, who made themselves nobility in the city they founded.
"The Sun Warriors and the Fire Nation remained, as a kingdom within a kingdom, so to speak. The heads of noble houses in Valyria would gather together as the Fire Sages, an order which evolved to a high council made of the best firebending masters of each generation. Fire Nation's Phoenix King or Queen was replaced by Valyrian Fire Lord or Lady, chosen among the dragonlords.
"Firebender Avatars were usually born in Valyria. There was a whole ritual led by the Sun Warriors to identify and announce them. The last Valyrian Avatar was Roku Targaryen. I haven't checked much of the Avatars after him, but from what little I've seen, he was the last one to live and die in peace.
"Centuries after Roku's death, Fire Lord Azulon Zaehaerys was murdered by his own son Ozai, who crowned himself the Phoenix King reborn. Ozai had gathered many loyalists among the Fire Sages and the dragonlords, which made his ascension possible. He named his daughter Azula Fire Lady, while persecuting his relatives who opposed him—namely his son Zuko, his brother Iroh, his nephew Lu Ten and his wife Ursa.
"Ursa disappeared, her fate never discovered. Lu Ten was killed in action by Ozai's high general Zhao. Iroh fought Zhao himself to avenge his son's death, and both men died in the process. Zuko stood against Azula in a duel and won, but his father showed up and challenged him immediately after. As gifted as Zuko was as a firebender, his energy had been spent fighting his sister, another prodigy, and he was no match for his well-rested father.
"Zuko's death triggered the Doom. The people who witnessed the duel thought it was the gods' punishment for kinslaying, but the truth is more complex than that.
"You see, Valyria was surrounded by volcanoes—the Fourteen Flames, which were held down by the Sun Warriors. This used to be a well-known fact, but the dragonlords forgot about it over time. As the Sun Warriors opposed Ozai's rule, he had each of them killed. Zuko's death happened roughly at the time the last Sun Warriors were killed, which led to the magic holding the volcanoes down being lifted. The rest… is history."
When Jojen asks what happened to Ursa, assuming Bran could have tracked her down, he is proven correct by his nephew's nearly immediate answer. "She took Zuko out of the home they shared with Ozai and Azula and delivered him to Iroh. Afterwards, she faked her death and fled to Lys. There, she married her childhood sweetheart, who had long fled Valyria, and the two founded House Rogare after adopting new aliases. Their only daughter, Kiyi, was a lightningbender, and so were all of her descendants ever since."
House Rogare sounds familiar to him. When did he hear that nam—oh. "Isn't House Rogare the one that married into House Targaryen after the Dance of the Dragons?"
Bran nods. "Larra Rogare married Viserys Targaryen while the latter was hidden from Aegon II. Viserys became king after his last nephew died without issue. Since his three children all had Larra as their mother, House Targaryen from then on all carried Rogare blood." He smirks. "Funny thing, Ursa was a descendant of Roku, from a branch of House Targaryen who did not flee with Aenar and his daughter Daenys. So, in a way, all Targaryens from Aegon IV and Naerys and beyond are descendants of the last Valyrian Avatar by both sides."
This last part prompts, for the days that follow, a detailed explanation about the history of House Blackfyre, which proves to be rather hard for Benjen to follow through.
Today, though, Bran comes to them with startling discoveries regarding the present time. "The dragons are back!", he exclaims.
"Wait, what?", Meera exclaims back, voicing his own surprise.
"I saw it! Daenerys Targaryen, daughter of Aerys and Rhaella, hatched three dragon eggs in her husband's pyre." He looks so excited, for a moment Benjen thinks he'll start to walk again. "And it wasn't just that. The dragons' rebirth triggered a strong power increment in firebenders of all kinds."
He frowns. "What do you mean?"
"Daenerys' firebending has improved greatly in a short time", he replies. "Jon has yet to realize his power increase, but he has accidentally triggered the Avatar State—I have yet to figure this one out, but I know the name from Roku's and Korra's memories." His face falls. "Some other things were not so good."
"Like what?", Meera asks softly.
It takes a moment for Bran to continue. "Edric Dayne lost control of his suddenly stronger lavabending and accidentally activated the dormant volcano under his home. Starfall was covered in lava, and only four of the fifty people who were in the castle survived.
"Also, I found out there was a whole conspiracy to crown a Blackfyre boy disguised as Aegon VI Targaryen. His lightningbending had been blocked, but the wave of increased firebending unlocked his powers. He found out his whole life had been a lie, and now wanders around Essos in search of his identity. Good news, we no longer have to worry about a pretender invading Westeros."
Benjen can't bring himself to care much for this boy, to be honest, but he laments for the tragedy in Starfall. He remembers Arthur and Ashara Dayne from Harrenhal and Ned's sadness upon telling him both were dead. He hoped Lady Allyria could marry and bring more lavabenders to the world—or else lavabending will die out.
His thoughts are interrupted by the Children of the Forest's arrival to bring them food. It's a quick exchange, for neither of them are fluent in the other's tongue. As he sits to eat his meal, he once again wonders whether he should have stayed in the cave or not. Bran seems safe enough here.
Oh well. It's too late now. He has to content himself with hunting, sparing, talking and watching Bran learn how to spiribend.
