Winterfell 301 AC.
Howland Reed.
He had done his best to calm people down when the Long Night fell, Howland more prepared for it than some were. That was not to say that it didn't worry him when it happened or that it was something he wished to see, more he had always known that it was likely he'd see it in his lifetime. Though not as close to the gods as he once was, he'd not received a message or vision from them in a number of years, he had always known what it was that Jae was being prepared for and without the Long Night there could be no Dawn.
When Elle came to him worried about what this meant for Ned and Robb and for her father and brother, as well as the others that she considered family at the Wall, Howland had done his best to reassure her. He'd also ridden to Wintertown and seen that the city hadn't devolved into panic. His words only carrying weight when he told them that their liege lord and his heir were fighting with the king to see the night defeated. The mere mention of Jae's name and that he was there, doing far more than even the mention of the Starks to calm the situation down.
It was a strange thing for him to see, even knowing Jae as well as he did and believing in him completely. To see men and women of the North look more to a dragon than a wolf was not something that most would have expected to happen. Though Jae was a wolf too and it had been he who had finally led Ned Stark to begin to howl. That there were so many men and women who'd come north in search of a better life and that they had done so pretty much at Jae's behest. That only added to how the king was thought of as being more important to them in some ways than the Stark in Winterfell was.
"See that torches are lit and hung in the streets, that men are posted and fires are kept lit so that people can always find an escort or help should they need it." he said to Ser Jacelyn Waters, the young man being one of those that the people of Wintertown rallied around.
"I will, my lord. You'll return?" Jacelyn asked hopefully.
"Aye, on the morrow." he said and almost chuckled when he did so, the thoughts of knowing when morrow had fallen in a world of darkness being ones that amused him a little.
"His grace will see us through this." Jacelyn said emphatically and whether it was to him or to himself, Howland couldn't quite be sure, but he welcomed the sentiment all the same.
He rode back to Winterfell and saw the torches there were burning as brightly as they could and for the next few days all seemed well enough. People were worried about their family's and Lady Elle more than most seemed to be withdrawn, but no one broke and their spirits were as good as he could have hoped for. Ser Rodrik helped him out greatly and his own men did their best to rotate the guards and to keep him abreast of who if anyone's mood was turning to despair.
As for his own, while he worried about the lack of news he received from the Wall and thought often about Jyanna and his children, his spirits were high. Or they were right up to when the first of the birds chirped and the reality of what he now needed to do hit home. It caught him by surprise, so much so that for almost an hour he argued with the bird until he realized that it was pointless and that he was just wasting time. That wasn't the only realization he had either as he then remembered that others had their own birds too and so he hurried to the Lord's Chambers and found Lady Elle in a state of much distress.
"Howland, gods, does this mean? Ned…oh Gods, Ned…" Elle said her tears falling and the woman herself looking close to following them.
Whether it was the gods' interference or just that he was a young boy who needed his mother, Rickon had woken up and was crying and so was brought into the room barely a moment after Howland had arrived. The little boy running straight to his mother for comfort and his presence allowing for Elle to concentrate on something more tangible than her fears over his father.
It also gave him time to speak to her while she was making sure her son was well, time to tell her that had something happened to Ned or the others, then it would be a different message they'd have received. Howland telling her that though this meant they had to do what they must. It wasn't something they'd been unprepared for or something that they'd not expected. While that was true, it had been something that he'd hoped would not come to pass, but he didn't mention that to her. As to whether it was his words or holding Rickon in her arms it mattered not as Elle relaxed somewhat.
"We must begin the evacuation, my lady. That's what the birds' warnings mean, that and only that." he said and Elle nodded, the woman still holding her son and Howland not begrudging her the comfort it brought to her "I'll set the men to task." he said as he turned and walked from the room.
He sent for Ser Rodrik who was quickly brought to him, Howland finding out that while the old knight was distressed, his duty had given him something to focus on and the guards had already been given their orders. Luwin too had begun giving out orders, the Maester another who'd been given a bird by Jae before he'd left. Howland soon finding both him and Vayon Poole to be busy telling people to pack only what was essential and to make ready to leave as soon as they could. With everything seeming to be in order, he told Ser Rodrik that he was heading to Wintertown and arriving there he found it to be even more ready than Winterfell was.
Some men that he later found out worked for Ser Richard Lonmouth, some that the king himself had left for this purpose, and men like Ser Jacelyn Waters were all readying the city to leave and for Howland his presence was almost not needed. Though it was welcomed as when people who'd been dallying before his arrival saw him, they soon were not. After speaking to the men he was told that within two to three days the entire population of the city would be ready to march south. Upon arriving back at Winterfell it was to find out that it would be another two days for them to be ready and to the sound of a wolf howling. Which then had him running to where Lya had made her den.
"Is she well?" he asked worriedly as he saw Luwin stand over the large wolf.
"Aye, but her pups will come soon." Luwin said and then both of them were almost pushed out of the way as Frost came running into the yard.
"I thought he was…" he said only for Luwin to smile.
"The pack protects itself, Howland. His grace told me that, the pack knows when one of them needs another and so it protects itself.
The wolves were born that night or was it that day, Howland was not sure which, and as he looked at them laying with their mother the smile he wore was as true as it could ever be. Five pups, three grey, one black, and one white with red eyes. Three girls and two boys, and as he looked at the white pup and saw her suckle at her mother's teat he knew who she belonged to. The black one too he could hazard a guess at. Elia and Rickon were soon to get their own wolves and it was Luwin who then told him that Wyanfryd was with child when he mentioned it to him about them both.
Three of the five were now potentially spoken for which left two who were not and it was that which had brought a smile to Howland's face and helped him greatly over the next two days. Even when they left Winterfell and for the first time in gods knew long there was no longer a Stark in residence, it wasn't enough to remove that smile. The gods had spoken and as Winterfell and Wintertown's residents made their way south, Howland looked at Lya as she lay in the cart and suckled her pups and at Frost who walked beside the cart like a proud father. Two pups were unclaimed and that could only mean that their own familiars were still to be born. How could he not see hope in that.
Queenscrown 301 AC.
Oberyn.
Faceless Men, it should give him pause, and yet all it did was make him chuckle. The entire realm, a long thought dead prince and people, Free Folk, Red Priests, and their warriors, and now Faceless Men. Those along with Wolves and Dragons his nephew had brought together to fight this fight and Oberyn wished that Elia could see what her son had done. Someday he hoped to speak to his sister again and to thank her for the letter she had written and the words that had made him see the truth of Jae, the words that had made him name him his kin.
It was a strange thought and one that he'd once have only thought possible when his own time came. Oberyn never imagining that other than in the home of the gods would he be able to see his sister and feel her in his arms once more. To know that not only was he fighting for his love, his children, and his people, but the chance to see Elia once more, to see Aegon and Rhaenys, that was enough to give him strength when he felt weak. To know that men such as the Faceless Men had come from Braavos to play their own part in that fight, that was why he now sat with such a silly expression on his face. One that was soon noticed by Garlan Tyrell who had arrived only a few hours earlier.
"Something amuses you, my prince?" Garlan said as he took a seat beside him in the large open room of the tower.
"I'm to fight with Faceless Men, Ser Garlan, how can I not be amused." he said and Garlan chuckled too as he nodded to the jug of ale, Oberyn moving his mug when Garlan filled his own.
"They don't give you cause you concern?" Garlan asked as he looked at him.
"I find myself keen to see them in action, usually the only people who do, don't get to speak about it afterward." Oberyn said and Garlan shuddered a little.
"His grace?" Garlan asked after a few moments of silence.
"My nephew will be here soon, hopefully, then we can send ravens." Oberyn said and he saw the eager look on Garlan's face.
The Long Night didn't stop the birds from flying, they'd just not brought enough of them with them and so he hoped once Jae arrived he'd be able to send messages back to the Red Keep and to Ellaria and his girls. He had hoped that the Glass Candles would have been able to be used, but other than for what his nephew wished to see or show with them, their use was limited. Jae explaining to him that they wouldn't work how he wished them to and that Daenys Journal had warned him of this.
When Jae arrived, Oberyn and Garlan were sitting silently, both of them drinking and not speaking too much though not for any other reason than they were enjoying the silence. Hearing the rush of activity and the mention of his nephew's name soon had them both moving with everyone else to the door of the tower. Oberyn smiling when he saw Jae walk towards them, his nephew looking tired but unharmed. It was Arthur that reached him first, Jors then racing to his nephew's side just as quickly, and by the time Jae reached the door he'd drawn a crowd.
"You are well, nephew?" Oberyn asked and Jae nodded, a small smile on his face though his tiredness made it dimmer than usual.
"I am, uncle. Garlan, it's good to see you." Jae said reaching out to pat his goodbrother on the shoulder.
"You too, your grace." Garlan said happily.
"My uncles? Lord Jaime?" Jae asked, his voice eager and yet concerned too.
"Are resting, we've been taking turns, nephew." he said and Jae nodded before turning to those who'd gathered once they'd heard the king had arrived.
"I'll speak to most of you later, there is much we must do, but I'm hungry and probably more in need of rest than it may seem. We have time as for now we're not at risk, so take as much comfort in that as I do." Jae said and he saw that the words seemed to have the effect of relaxing those nearest at least, though Jae and Rhaenix's presence may have been enough for that alone.
Tormund, Mance, Ned Stark, and Jaime Lannister all made their way to his nephew by the time they had reached the large open room. Cregan, Robb, the Small and Greatjon's, Torrhen Snow, Melisandre, Thoros, Moqorro, and the leader of the Faceless Men as well as the girl he'd heard referred to as the Waif all soon joining them. Other than Prince Aemon, Benjen Stark, Val, and the brothers of the Night's Watch, it had seemed all had heard of the king's arrival.
"Lord Hand." Jae said smiling when he saw Jaime Lannister. "Uncle." he said when he saw Ned and his smile seemed to be truer as he saw his cousins and some of the others that had joined them.
"All is well, your grace?" Ned asked and Jae nodded before he stumbled, Oberyn, Arthur, and Jaime the first to reach him.
"I'm well, just tired." Jae said and Oberyn wasn't the only one who looked at him to make sure he was speaking true "Truly, I'm well. I just need to eat and toi rest."
"You should do both, your grace. I'll have food brought to you." Jaime said and Jae shook his head.
"I'll eat here and we can speak on things and then I'll rest." Jae said and despite him and Jaime both wishing he'd go to his bed now, his nephew's determination was clear for all to see.
"Of course, your grace." Jaime said and as Jae took his seat each of them moved to take their own, some finding no room just stood and he caught his nephew's smirk when the plate was put in front of him.
"Something amuses you, nephew?" he asked, his own smirk on his face as he did so.
"Never did I think that my eating of a meal would draw such an audience." Jae said with a laugh that others including himself joined in with.
Jae's appetite was something Oberyn welcomed as at times he didn't eat enough and by the time he'd finished, Aemon, Benjen, and Val had arrived along with more lords of the West, Reach, and North and the men of the Night's Watch. Oberyn watched as his nephew drained a mug of warmed milk and then asked for one of water, this one he sipped as he looked at them.
"My uncle Prince Tyrion has gone to join my aunt, they have their own orders and though I've adapted them somewhat, they know what they must do. The Wall has fallen, not just been breached, but is now no more." Jae said to gasps, Jeor Mormont looking at Jae with disbelief.
"How much of it, your grace?" Jeor asked.
"All of it, Lord Commander. It and the castles are no more and though I've only seen some of it with mine own eyes, I know this to be true. The Wall was never meant to be held, it was to be used simply as an obstacle to the Night King's path, the war was never to be fought there, I see that now." Jae said and Oberyn wasn't the only one who heard the regret in his nephew's voice.
"So it's here we fight?" Tormund asked worriedly.
"Not all of us no." Jae said and though questions were asked, his nephew would say no more on it, for now at least "We have time, the Night King is traveling slowly, so we have some time, but I'd tell you to make ready to move by the morrow or the day after. Those who can should begin to travel further south right away. As for me, I need my bed and so I'd ask you to forgive me for not saying more at this time. I know you all have questions and once I've rested I'll answer as many as I can." Jae said rising and Oberyn rose too, following his nephew from the room along with Ned and Benjen Stark, Aemon, Jaime, Arthur, and Ser Jors.
"You're truly well, nephew?" he asked as they walked.
"Aye, I am. I'm tired, uncle, truly that's all that's wrong with me. I'm tired and though I wish to speak on many things and have plans that must be made, I fear my mind is not right because of that tiredness." Jae said, sounding just as he said he was, tired and in need of his bed.
"Sleep, we'll speak when you wake." he said and Jae nodded "I've seen Ellaria and the girls, uncle, Dacey, and the children, Jaime. Elle and Rickon, Wyanfryd and Alys. I've seen our family and though the Long Night worries them, they are as well as we could wish for them to be. My wife and daughter too as are my sisters. "Jae said his smile the truest one he'd worn since he'd arrived.
"Then think on that as you sleep, Jae." Jaime said and Jae nodded.
Arthur and Jors took up their places on the door and a few moments after he'd entered, Oberyn felt the need to look into the room to make sure he was indeed sleeping. He could see Jae was laying on the bed and already out to the world and he found the sight both peaceful and comforting, as did others when he told them that he was truly asleep. Over the next few hours, he helped with preparations as they made ready to move further south, Oberyn seeing the rising discontent at the thoughts of nights in tents rather than the comfort the town offered.
His nephew's words though had hit home with him, the Wall was never meant to be defended and was simply an obstacle. If that was true then Queenscrown too would be the same and better it not be where they made a stand than where they met their end. He was tired himself when Jae woke and yet he broke his fast with his nephew and he and Jaime Lannister spoke more on his plans while they did so. He watched as Jae spoke to the Faceless Men and the Red Priests, then to the Free Folk and the Company of the Rose.
Later that day he joined with his men as they began their march south and looked back on the town as he left it behind. He'd sent word to Ellaria and his girls to let them know he was well, as had Jaime and others once Jae had called the ravens to him. Then he'd argued with his nephew as had others when Jae refused him leave to stay and in the end, he'd only agreed to leave when he saw who marched with him. Rhaenix flew over his head slowly before she landed in the town and he looked to Jaime and Ned to see they were doing just as he was. Each of them offering up prayers to whatever gods would listen and hoping they'd see Jae soon.
The Riverlands 301 AC.
Tytos Blackwood.
He had sent the ravens out before the Long Night fell, Tytos glad he'd managed to do that at least. Now as he rode to the Twins with his own men behind him, he hoped to find that they'd been answered and that the Riverlands had come when called. The Blackfish and Lord Brandon had, Jonos had, but Tytos hadn't waited for any of the others as he was far too keen to set things up as per the king's instructions.
When the bird had chirped loudly and he'd looked to it, he'd thought nothing about accepting that it was the signal and not as his son had said, a bird just chirping. His king was a warg, the most powerful one anyone had ever known according to Richard Lonmouth and Tytos had seen some of that himself during the attack on the Red Keep. There he had followed a cat who was one of seven and while others may have thought them trained, Tytos had first man blood in him and so he had known they were being controlled by his king.
He'd since studied up on warging and what could be done with it, finding out that it was rare for someone to be able to control more than one familiar. Tytos had then spoken to Lord Monford Velaryon about it and found out that during the attack by the Iron Born on the Shield Islands, he, Lord Kevan, Aurane, and others all had taken their lead from birds the king had made them take with them. Raymun too had told him that the king had given him a bird that would serve to warn him during the War of the One True King. So when Richard Lonmouth had arrived carrying a cage and a letter from the King, Tytos had accepted it without question. Even now the bird was still with him, the cage resting in one of the carts that carried supplies. His son Alyn sitting with it with orders to come to him should it make unnatural sounds.
"Tytos?" the Blackfish said as he rode beside him.
"Sorry old friend, I was lost in thoughts." he said with a chuckle that the Blackfish joined in with.
"In this darkness be thankful that's all we're lost in." the Blackfish said to a nod from Tytos.
"Your nephew doesn't seem lost." he said as he looked to Brandon Stark and his wolf just a little ahead of him, the Lord of Riverrun riding with two of his sons and Jonos's bastard.
"I don't know which of them has the better eyes, Tytos, Bran, or the wolf." the Blackfish said, his fondness for his nephew clear in the way he looked at him and in his voice itself.
"I'm glad to have one of them with us. His grace's is a thing to behold." Tytos said, smiling as he thought of Ghost, as clear a sign that his king was favored by the old gods as any.
"Aye, that it is." the Blackfish said, his voice much different now which was understandable.
Brynden had never disrespected the king in his presence, never even said a bad word about him despite his feelings about what he'd done to his family. True enough they deserved it and more, but they were family all the same, and Tytos could understand that to the Blackfish, Jaehaerys Targaryen would never be his favorite person. The man though was too honorable and dutiful to be treasonous, which was more than could be said for some of the other Lords of the Riverlands.
Ser Richard's notes about Lymond Goodbrook, Tristan Ryger, and Marq Piper had been detailed, and should any of them give him the reason they'd soon find him more than willing to act as judge and executioner. Hearing some commotion at the front of the line, he looked to the Blackfish and they and some of his guards rode towards it, riding fast even in the darkness. For the briefest moment, he feared an attack, only to find that it was just a horse pulling up lame and throwing its rider.
Deciding it was for the best if he led the way, he was pleased when Brandon Stark and his wolf joined his great-uncle and him, and soon enough it was Summer and not he that led them to the Twins. When he saw the sheer number of horses and tents outside the dual keeps, he smiled. The Riverlands had come out in force and that they'd done so from his orders and on the king's behalf, filled him with pride. Mooton, Vance, Piper, Darry, and even the Freys themselves all had tents bearing their banners and Tytos smiled to see the one from House Targaryen of the Riverlands. Though not yet a house in residence, young Lord Redfort had come bearing the banner, a three-headed dragon, and a black bat entwined and Tytos looked forward to the day when it was a Targaryen who bore that banner and answered the call.
"Ser Walton." he said as the heir to the crossing and his guards greeted them at the bridge.
"Lord Tytos, my father bids you welcome and has arranged rooms for you in the Twins." Walton said and Tytos though having no wish to stay in the keep, knew it would be an insult not to and so after telling Jonos and the Blackfish that they'd hold a meeting later, he then rode with Ser Walton and was soon walking through the keep with Lucas and some of his guards alongside him.
He found that he was stunned at the difference in the place, the whole feel of it had completely changed and it was clear that Stevron unlike his father had spent coin on making it far more welcoming. Was that not enough of a sign, then the way those he passed in the corridors looked would have been. Rarely he had visited the Twins and each time he did he'd noticed just how miserable everyone who lived here looked. To see them now and think these were the same people left him almost in disbelief. As did the warm welcome he received in the Great Hall, Tytos remembering all too well what a welcome from Walder Frey had been like.
"Lord Tytos, the Twins is most pleased to welcome its Lord Paramount to its halls." Stevron said with a true smile, the new lord sitting the seat his father once sat and sitting it far better to Tytos's mind.
"I wish I was coming for a different reason, Lord Stevron, but I appreciate the welcome all the same." he said genuinely.
"I've had rooms set aside for you and any of the lords who wish them, my lord. I'd feast you only perhaps it's for the best if we don't hold any in the present circumstances." Stevron said and Tytos nodded his agreement "I've also made a large room available, should you wish to hold your council here my lord." Stevron said and Tytos smiled at the lord, surprised with just how accommodating he was and yet not at the same time.
"I thank you, Lord Stevron. Perhaps after I get refreshed we can speak in private?" he said and Stevron said he'd arrange it and then had one of his grandsons lead him to his rooms.
He was almost bouncing as he walked, he'd called the men of the Riverlands and they'd come, even the Freys were ready to fight should the need arise. Tytos finding himself almost willing for the night to fall so he could both take to his bed and speak to the bird to let his king know that the Riverlands now stood ready. Not a moment after he entered the room though, the knock came on the door and he opened it to see Hugh Vance standing there. The young man wearing a look on his face that showed that he was the bearer of bad news.
"Forgive me, my lord, but I felt the need to speak to you." Hugo said and Tytos opened the door more fully to let him inside.
"Of course, Ser Hugo." he said as he watched the man enter the room, his shoulders were sagging and he looked as if he carried the weight of the world on them.
It surprised him to see him that way, the young man had recently married Ser Walton's daughter Walda and by all accounts was most happy in the match. He'd even heard that because of it, the tax burden his house had imposed upon them by the king had been deferred, Hugo having shown himself to be of a different sort than his former friends and having garnered a champion of sorts in Ser Richard Lonmouth.
"What is this concerning, Ser Hugo?" he asked and saw the man sigh as he turned to look at him.
"Marq, Tristan and Lymond, my lord. They plot against the king." Hugo said and Tytos felt his anger rise, so much so that he didn't speak for more than a few moments, the silence in the room almost seeming to stretch on and on for far longer.
"Plot what exactly?" he asked when he'd composed himself enough to do so.
"His death, my lord."
The Gift 301 AC.
Loras.
Marching through the dark was hard work and without the dragon close by it was morale draining. Loras and Garin had both done their best to keep spirits high, but retreating and doing so hurriedly was not conducive to a cheerful march. Nor was stopping to set up temporary camps so that they could eat and rest, and then pulling up those camps a few hours later so they could begin their march once more. So when he heard the cheers, at first it took him by surprise, and was it not for the sound of them in the air, he'd not have known why they were cheering so.
"Is that Prince Tyrion's dragon?" Garin asked and Loras nodded, wondering why he'd joined them and finding himself a little worried about Jae and the others because of it.
He had no reason to be as it turned out, Tyrion joining them was on Jae's command and Jae, Jaime, Oberyn and the others were all safe and well. Hearing the Wall had fallen was a shock and he was glad that Tyrion and Dany spoke only to them about it. Garin suggesting and he agreeing that for now, it was for the best that the men didn't know that. When Tyrion began to explain what had happened at the Nightfort, it wasn't just Dany who grew upset. Loras too feeling his worries threaten to overwhelm him, only for it to be his anger which nearly did so.
"Tarly and Rowan, they turned on them, on their own men, on my brother and the princess." he said angrily, his hand gripping his sword, and was he to see one of the two men in front of him, he feared he'd not be able to stop himself from cutting them down.
"Your brother is safe and well, Loras." Garin said and Loras felt his hand as it gripped his arm and gently moved his hand from his sword.
"The princess?" he asked after he'd composed himself somewhat.
"Do you think my nephew will accept losing more family?" Tyrion asked and Loras shook his head, knowing full well that Jae would not.
While Tyrion seemed to be just as convinced by his own words as Loras was, Dany was not and he wished he could offer some comfort to the princess. Yet he knew he could not, other than her family the only one who could was presently on a ship and sailing south. Instead, she seemed more willing to listen in as Tyrion explained Jae's plans to them, Loras and Garin finding no fault with them and glad that they were more detailed than their own which had been far more simple. March south and head for the Neck, that had been pretty much their plan, march south and only stop marching if the fight was unavoidable.
Jae though wished them to march to the keeps, to rest up, and to allow the dragons to do their work. They would bleed the dead, not that the dead could bleed, but they would bleed them all the same and whittle down their numbers. If all went to plan then the next time they faced the Army of the Dead they'd be facing a far smaller army than they had already faced, something that all of them would welcome. He listened as Tyrion told Garin to keep to the rivers, the Last River, Weeping Water, Broken Branch, and the White Knife. Dany then asking Garin if the Water Wizards could do with them as they did with the sea.
"Water is water, princess, sea or river it matters not and Mother Rhoyne was of the rivers themselves." Garin said and Dany nodded.
"We're not to hold a keep, Loras, though it will be tempting to do so." Tyrion said and Loras nodded.
"Aye, I'll let the men know that our respite will be temporary." he said and then asked about Jae "What are his grace's plans?" he asked and saw Dany look to Tyrion just as eagerly as he was.
"For his grace to know, Loras. I know not what my nephew truly plans, only to imagine it will be somewhat the same as our own." Tyrion said and he saw Dany sigh "The fight is not here, not yet upon us, that's all I know. The army marches and Dany and I lay down our flames, let us all hope it remains as simple as that."
They marched an hour later, Dany and Tyrion staying on the dragons and watching them do so. Loras could see that the men both wished for the dragons to fly with them and yet were happy to see them guard their back. By the time they next set up camp, Tyrion and Dany were back with them once more. He looked on while all four dragons ate hungrily, Ellanys and Lygaron and Dany and Tyrion all showing their hunger and it struck him then that one was missing. Loras feeling a bolt of fear going down his spine as he moved to speak to them both.
"Rhaegal, Tyrion, where is Rhaegal?" he asked almost panicked as Garin looked at him worriedly.
"My son is on Dragonstone, alone and missing his mother and his rider." Dany said and he watched as she rose to her feet and walked to where Ellanys was resting.
"I wish you'd not asked that." Tyrion said, his voice more sad than angry.
"Forgive, me, my prince, I.."
"Was worried, it's understandable. I should speak to my sister, we'll rest with the dragons." Tyrion said and Loras found he had no words to offer him, no apology or words of comfort that came to him.
Was it not for Garin then he'd probably not have slept that night. His love pointing out that he couldn't have known it would upset the princess so and that it wasn't truly his words that were the cause of that upset.
"She still grieves the losses she suffered, Loras. Any little thing we say may make her remember those losses and grief cuts deep down to the bone." Garin said his voice showing that he grieved for someone too, Loras wondering who that was and whether it was family or someone he loved.
"She should be with her husband, even if just briefly." he said and Garin nodded.
"Yet she's needed here and so here she'll be." Garin replied.
The march to Last Hearth was a long one and when they reached it, he wasn't the only one who felt relieved. Even more so when Tyrion told them that rather than just the one night they could take two to rest up before moving onward. Garin told him that the princess was feeling better too, her mood had improved as she and Tyrion brought more and more fire to the dead. Payback for what they'd taken from her, Loras felt and he hoped that Jae and Aemon were doing likewise. As he took to his bed that night, however, he found he couldn't sleep, and was it not for Garin holding him in his arms, then the worrying thoughts he was having would have been too much for him.
The Battle of Queenscrown 301 AC.
Aemon.
His nephew's plan was sound and all they had to do was wait, Aemon certain that the Night King would come to end them here if he could. The army had marched two days earlier and his nephew had told him that they'd covered more than enough ground. As for the dead, he and Jae had flown against them more than once over the last two days. They'd laid down their fires and watched them burn and he had welcomed doing so.
Not only did it make the battle that was to come a more even fight, but Jae had told him that each time they took the dead from the Night King, they weakened him. His magic was tied to them and just like their own men were resources and the loss of them would weaken them, so it was with the Night King too. Though there was more to it too. Aemon believing that Jae was in the right on this as it was outside his own knowledge.
"Each time I use magic it weakens me, uncle. Be it warging, looking into the Glass Candles, or singing stone. So it is with him too, but when it comes to his army it's even more so." Jae said and Aemon looked at him as they sat by their dragon's sides.
"How?" he asked as Jae passed him the water pouch and Aemon took a large swallow from it.
"Because in some ways he's warged into the dead, uncle. His control over them, over the White Walkers, it's a king of warging too." Jae said as Aemon passed him the pouch, his nephew placing it beside him and not drinking from it.
"So should you lose one of your familiars?" he asked and Jae nodded.
"Aye, the closer to me the more I'd feel the loss, which is why when we take a White Walker from him it's not just the loss of the dead that were risen that he loses." Jae said and Aemon looked at him confused as he tried to understand what his nephew was saying.
"The White Walkers are the key aren't they?" he asked and Jae smiled at him before he answered.
"I still don't know how it works, uncle. How they make the dead rise and what magic they tap into to do so. What I'm now sure of is that through the White Walkers he raises the dead and a link is formed, a three-way link. From the Night King to the White Walker and to the dead that White Walker rose. If we sever that link, the dead fall, the White Walker falls and the Night King suffers just as much as I would were I to lose Ghost or Winter." Jae said and Aemon looked at him in disbelief, the idea that the loss of an animal could hurt more than how much you cared for that animal, not something he truly understood.
"Why can't we focus on the White Walkers, Jae?" he asked curiously.
"We will." Jae said, his smile even truer now.
So now they sat on the dragon's back, Queenscrown in front of them, they sat and they waited and soon enough the dead arrived.
Jaqen H'ghar.
The boy seemed different than before, something the Waif agreed with him on. He'd become a man and yet that wasn't it and it took him some time to realize what it was that had changed within Jaehaerys Targaryen. It was the magic, the powers that he possessed now shone like a beacon were before they were a flickering light. He'd learned to use them, had used them if what he'd heard about this place was true. Though even if it was not, seeing him bearing Lightbringer would have been enough to tell you that he had used them for true.
When he'd come to him and they'd spoken, then he'd seen another difference in him too. The boy he'd met in the Red Keep was now more focussed and determined and had taken his lessons to heart. His eyes were everywhere, his attention on many things and yet not once did Jaqen feel that he was at risk, where before he had worried that he was. While he'd told him he should never enter an unguarded room alone, that hadn't been what he'd truly meant. Instead, it had been that he should always be ready, never allow himself to be caught by surprise and now he felt that he'd not be.
It bore well for what he'd asked them to do, him and the other Faceless Men agreeing to it at once. They had been sent to help the Prince that was Promised by their god and help him they would. In this, they wouldn't be alone, as the men of the Company of the Rose would play their part too as would the Fiery Hand. All of them now waiting for the signals to come and hoping they'd make it through to see the second of them as much as they knew they'd soon see the first.
Fifty men and women, he'd brought with him, less than a quarter of the order, though others were on their way too. The best and the brightest that the House of Black and White had to offer. They would need to be for what the king had tasked them to do and he knew that some would be joining their god before they were done here this night. A night amongst a night, a strange thing and one he'd hoped never to see and yet had always known he would.
He looked to the hill that overlooked the town, the two dragons standing and waiting and though it had been a long time since he'd felt such things, he felt comforted by their presence. As he had by his talk with the boy and with the plan he had made, Jaqen having worried that Jaehaerys would not know how best to use the gifts that the Faceless Men possessed and that he would waste them in a pointless fight. Only to find out that was very much not the case.
"A man has come, my prince." Jaqen said as Jaehaerys walked into the rooms that he and the other Faceless Men had taken for their own.
"As he said he would." the prince said looking to the Waif and giving her a small nod "Would it be wrong of me to say I had hoped not to see you again?" the prince said his smile showing both the truth and the lie in his words.
"A man understands, my prince." he said with a small nod of his head.
"Are you all armed?" the prince asked and Jaqen took out his knives, two Valyrian steel daggers, and he then looked to the others who took out their own weapons.
"Your god has prepared you well." the prince said as he looked at the different weapons that each of them bore, knives, small axes, spikes, and swords, most of them Valyrian Steel with one or two also bearing Dragonglass.
"A man has traveled far and wide, my prince. As have others over many years, all have been gifted by the Many-Faced God."
"You know what we face?" the prince asked and Jaqen nodded as the Waif and others moved closer "I'll not use you in a direct assault. Stealth and quickness, take down who you must, and then you leave, no matter what is that understood?"
"A man understands." he said and the prince smiled.
"Valar Morghulis."
"Valar Dohaeris" he said as the prince walked from the room and Jaqen looked to the Waif and the others.
As he felt the chill in the air, he took up his position and knew that around him the others had done likewise and then Jaqen looked on as the affronts to his god began to march towards them. Dead men who should not move now did so and though they'd been given the gift, they'd not done as they were supposed to. Before he left this place or breathed his last, he'd see that they did.
Torrhen Snow.
A true battle, this was what his men had come back here for, and other than some brief fighting atop the Wall, they'd not faced one yet. He'd found himself at odds with the White Wolf, not understanding his strategy and even questioning his bravery more than once. The boy seeming to be everywhere but where he should be and were it not for those with him, Torrhen may have spoken harshly to him by now.
Each time he'd suggested a course of action it had been denied and for a man who had been in charge for as long as he had, that was hard to accept. Were the orders he was given ones that he agreed completely with, then he'd have had no issue. Yet they were not and he felt that he and his men were wasted here. It was why when the White Wolf had come to speak to him once he arrived at Queenscrown that Torrhen may have spoken less respectfully than he would normally have done.
"Are we to retreat again?" he asked annoyedly.
"If I tell you to, Aye. You've not faced anything like this before, Torrhen, none of you have." the White Wolf said looking to him and to the other commanders.
"None of us will at this rate." he said with a snort.
"Be thankful for that. Had you done so by now then you'd have lost far too many of your men to be of any use to me." the White Wolf said angrily, finally showing his fangs which at least made Torrhen sit up straighter as he stared at him.
He looked at him as he stood there, Lightbringer on his hip and sheathed, the crown of the Kings of Winter on his head and covered by some cloth and a look in his eyes that Torrhen knew full well. That was a look of a man who'd seen death, who'd seen men he'd led fall and it was that and the anger he had shown which made Torrhen take a deep breath before he next spoke.
"What is it you wish of me and my men, your grace." he said and saw the small smile that appeared on the White Wolf's face.
"The time to face the Night King head-on is not yet here. We're outnumbered, badly, and though the dragons take some from him, it's not enough. It may be weeks or even moons until it is. There is another way though, a way to weaken them even further and so we'll present them with a prize that they'll not be able to pass up." the White Wolf said, smiling still.
"What prize?" Brandon asked eagerly.
"Me." the White Wolf said.
They lined up in front of Queenscrown, men with bows and spears. Just enough of them to look like what they were and Torrhen smiled as he watched the dead birds fall from the sky as they burst into flames. The red priestess that stood with them was now showing her own magic as she let them only so close. Behind them in the town, others waited to play their part and Torrhen knew he'd not hold here. Engage and retreat was the order of the day and finally, he had begun to understand the White Wolf's mind.
Raising the horn to his mouth he began to blow it loudly, once, twice, and then a third time. Torrhen doing as the black brothers did and he then took out his ax and watched as the men of the Fiery Hand's spears began to light up. Though it was Thoros of Myr's flaming sword that truly shone in the darkness of the night. Lightbringer it may not be but it illuminated enough to show him that their enemy was charging their way.
"Loose." he shouted and the arrows flew, Torrhen shaking his head as they began to catch fire in the night's sky, Melisandre chanting beside him so there was no need to light them before they were fired.
"Loose." he said again.
"Loose" a third time and as he looked to the dead in front of them he saw the flames began to spread before the storm began and as one they began to be snuffed out.
"Retreat, to the city, to the city." he shouted and as they did so he looked to Thoros who dipped his sword to the ground and the ring of fire began to light up.
By the time they reached the next one, the first had been extinguished and as he ordered another wave of arrows to be loosed, Thoros dipped his sword again. All of them knew that they'd not stop the dead with these barriers of fire, they barely were able to slow them down. Time though, it bought them time and it lured the dead into where the White Wolf wished them to be. So as he moved and finally entered the town, Torrhen looking to the hill to see the two dragons take to the air, and then he gave the order to retreat for true.
Thoros.
They would fight here, while others retreated he and the Fiery Hand would fight and only leave when the signal came. Some would fall, he knew it as did Melisandre and neither of them felt any fear should it be them who did so. The fires had shown them what their prince intended, even if it had not shown them their fate in what was to come. For Thoros though should he fall it would be with a much lighter heart than he had borne for many a year. His faith had been renewed and he now served his god for true once more.
Ever since he'd met the prince and looked into the flames he'd been a different man. He'd played his part in bringing an ally to the prince's side in Beric, had then helped to take the Red Keep so the prince would be where he needed to be. Melisandre, he and Kinvara had all worked to see their god now had a presence in Westeros, something he'd failed at so many years earlier. Yet it was this, fighting with him against the Great Other that Thoros felt the most pride for. To play his part in the Great War, that more than anything proved to him that his life had not been for naught.
"Move, move." he shouted as the Fiery Hand retreated through the city, the fire barriers only given them so much time to retreat.
He almost cried out when he saw the first of the men fall, the dead overwhelming him, and not even those close to him able to offer him any help. Soon enough he too was fighting and his sword swung and set dead men alight as he moved through them. Another and then another of his men fell and then he heard the dragons in the air and smiled. A smile that was soon gone from his face as he came face to face with an other. A creature of ice and death that moved through his men as if they weren't there.
Thoros hurried to face the White Walker as it cut down his men with ease. When his sword caught the icy blade he could see the surprise on the white walker's face. Thoros moving to take advantage of that surprise and within moments he was engaged in a true fight for the first time in more than ten years. Not since Pyke had he properly fought and even during the War of the One True King he'd not really seen battle. All the years since the Greyjoy Rebellion had been spent mainly in melees and using trickery and mummery to earn coin to waste on drink.
He barely even let an ale pass his lips these days, the need for it to dull the pain he had felt over his loss of faith was no longer required. Not when he believed as truly as he did now and as he saw the dragons bring the fire to the dead in the distance, he smiled as he swung his sword. The White Walker was fast and yet he kept up or felt he did, the light that shone from his sword and the fire that burned from it seemed to give even the White Walker pause. It was the steel it was made from though that would truly do so. Thoros having been gifted it by Moqorro when he had arrived in Westeros. The Black Flame was a man who like the Fiery Hand wielded a spear and had no need for a Valyrian Steel sword.
Dodging the blow the White Walker aimed his way, he swung with all his might and saw the blade hit home. The explosion of ice and the sound of dead men falling around him only drowned out by the cheers that he heard. He saw him then, his prince with Lightbringer in his hand, his dragon laying down flames, and then as he turned to order his men to move he felt the pain in his chest. The spear of ice had come from nowhere and as he fell to the ground he called for one of his men, surprised when it was Moqorro himself who came to him.
"Give me to the fire, send me to our god." he said as Moqorro took his sword from his hand and Thoros felt the cold begin to take hold.
"For the night is dark and full of terrors, but you, my friend, you will forever walk in his light." Moqorro said and Thoros felt the cold retreat, the fire begin to take hold, and his strength return.
He rose to his feet and he ran past his men as the flames took hold. The large group of dead men in front of him were his target and he begged his god to allow him to do what he must, Thoros throwing himself into them and as the flames took hold and the dead men burned, he began to smile before the light faded and he found himself in the darkness. A voice called out to him as he breathed his last and then he heard his god speak his name and call him home.
The Waif.
She hid as the dead moved through the town, none of them her targets and though she worried they'd find her, none did. Seeing them as they moved when they should not repulsed her, they were mocking her god and so as she hid she felt her anger rise. It was a strange feeling for her and not one she'd known for many years. Her training having removed personal feelings and wants and desires from her very early on.
They were tools, their god's will, and the taking a life was not something they were to enjoy or take pleasure in. Just like the rest of the Faceless Men, she was a servant and just as all men served, all men died too, or so she had thought. In this place that seemed not to be the case and the dead walked when they should not. Taking them down one by one was pointless. The prince knew this and she and those who'd come with her from the House of Black and White would be in their god's embrace long before they ever had the chance to accomplish it, should they go that way. That though was not how they would go and so she hid and waited and when she saw it move past her, she smiled.
When she moved she was like the wind, the jump she made through the air taking her the last few feet, and the White Walker never even had a chance to react. Her knife caught it deep in the neck and suddenly she was falling to the ground as it exploded. The ice hitting her face and she felt some blood drip from above her eye. Around her the dead fell and this time they did not rise and as she rose to her feet she looked around to see where she was.
The town had been overwhelmed by the dead and she thought about going back to hide and to seek another White Walker to kill. It was then that she heard the sound of the dragons and knew her work here was done and so she moved through the town and dodged past the larger groups of the dead and only engaged with them when she had no choice. As she reached the hill and saw the horses she looked to see more and more of those who'd come with her now came her way. Jaqen leading some of them and she was glad to see him and the others.
"A girl has done her task?" Jaqen asked and she nodded "A man has done so too, it's time we leave this place."
"The others?" she asked seeing only a little more than half those who'd traveled with them.
"Are with the Many-Faced God." Jaqen said, his voice sounding sad for once.
"Valar Morghulis" she said with a bow of her head.
"Valar Dohaeris." he replied as they moved to the Company of the Rose men and the horses.
Jaehaerys Targaryen.
He was here, somewhere, he and Shiera or what he'd turned Shiera into. Jae seeking him out even as Rhaenix let loose her flames on those who moved beneath them. They'd waited until the dead had entered Queenscrown itself and then and only then did they take to the sky. Both dragons flying over those nearest to them and some distance away from Queenscrown before they laid down their flames. The last thing he wanted was for the Night King to retreat and he knew that he'd seek him out in the town. Once there was living for him to add to his army as well, he'd then try to take them for himself too.
Jae may have been the bait, but the chance to add to his army was just as big a prize for the Night King, especially since he'd starved him of any hope of doing so since he'd passed the Wall. He wondered how he'd reacted to that, what had it made him feel to know that there was no one there for him to turn. Between the Wall and Queenscrown there was no living for him to overwhelm and make into wights and he knew that would make those at Queenscrown itself even more of a target, he'd counted on it and had been proved right.
Yet all the Night King would find at Queenscrown was less than four thousand men and death, true death and not the kind that he brought to the world. When Jae had found out that that the Faceless Men had come, he'd known what he needed to do and so he'd sent Jaime, Oberyn, his uncles, cousins and the others further away. They'd put maybe two or three days between themselves and Queenscrown and before he was done he'd buy them another one or two more here.
"Dracarys." he said as Rhaenix flew over more dead men and Sandorix did likewise a little way off.
His plans had been simple, let the dead into the town and flush out the White Walkers themselves. Once it was almost overrun he'd then take to the sky and fly north before allowing Rhaenix and Sandorix to lay down their flames. It would cut off one part of the Night King's army from the other who would then focus even more on Queenscrown. Closing his eyes he looked through the eagle's own as it sat on the tower, beneath it the dead moved and fell as the Faceless Men did their work.
Who better to send after White Walkers than those trained to kill?
Who better to catch them by surprise than those who'd spent their lives training to be able to do so?.
How many they'd see fall he knew not, only that each fall would hurt the Night King even more so than the loss of a thousand or more wights. He'd told Aemon their truth and his uncle had agreed with him on his plan, not even questioning the fact that some of those he sent to carry it out would be lost too. Jae had done all he could to limit that loss, he'd told them all what they must do and though some like Torrhen Snow had argued, he believed that in the end they'd follow his commands.
Now all he had to do was follow his own plans and so as hard as it was to turn away, turn away he did and it was as they were doing so that the spears and arrows began to fly. There were more of them this time, some of them crashing against the armor that Rhaenix and Sandorix wore and he felt one or two of the arrows hit his own armor too. Reaching down to his hip, he unsheathed his sword and let the light shine as brightly as it could, the distraction enough to allow him and Aemon to direct the dragons away and as they flew over the town, he sheathed his sword and bid the eagle fly.
Soon enough he could see the men from the Company of the Rose as they rode hard. Men from the Fiery Hand and Melisandre riding with them and when he saw the Faceless Men and the number who rode, he almost cheered aloud. More than half lived still, much more than half, a thousand men or less he'd lost and was it not for the pained cry that came from Sandorix, then the smile he wore would have been with him until they landed. Instead, it was soon wiped from his face as he looked to the golden dragon and to the man who was leaned over and barely hanging onto its back.
"Aemon." he shouted as Rhaenix flew closer, "Aemon." he shouted even louder to no reply, Jae taking some time to see the spear that protruded from his uncle's chest.
"Down there, tell him, Rhae, tell him to bring him down there." he said panicked as Rhaenix flew closer to the clearly disturbed dragon, and then they both flew to the small stream below.
He almost fell off her back so worried was he and he crossed the distance between the two dragons in the blink of an eye. Sandorix looking at him with both anger and worry in his eyes as Jae helped Aemon down from his back. Using his sword he broke the spear so that he could lay Aemon onto the ground and he shuddered to see the blood that dripped from his uncle's mouth.
"Uncle, uncle." he said as he shook him more firmly than he really should, the coughing and spluttering that Aemon made at least showing that he was still alive.
"Cold, I feel cold, nephew, why do I feel so cold?" Aemon asked and Jae could barely answer him.
"I need to, the wound, I need to…" he said and Aemon barely answered, Jae, removing his armor as quickly as he could, and when he saw the placement of the wound he closed his eyes and tried to will his worry away.
"You must, this…I need it no more." Aemon said as his hands gripped the ruby around his neck.
"I can….we can…." he said as Sandorix began to roar, the golden dragon letting loose his flames, and only that they were alone allowed for no one to be harmed by them.
"I had more time than I…I go happy, nephew, I go to our family and I am happy…" Aemon said and Jae shook his head.
"No…You can't, I need you, Dany…Gods Dany…Sandorix…We need you, uncle…please….by the gods please…." he said as his tears dripped to the ground and he begged his uncle not to leave, to stay with him and with his dragon.
"I am with you always, tell my niece and nephew the same…Don't let me turn, Jaehaerys, give me to the fire." Aemon said and the sound of his uncle's last breath went unheard as Sandorix let out a wailing cry that no creature should ever be heard to make.
It was joined by Jae's own not a moment later, then by his scream as he shouted out loudly into the night. How long he knelt on the ground with his uncle's head in his arms he knew not, and when he rose it was only Rhaenix's voice in his head that allowed him to do what he must. The ruby, the sword, his uncle's armor, he removed it all and placed it in his pack on Rhaenix's back. As he was doing so, Sandorix moved his head to the Aemon's chest and gently pushed against it, trying with all he had to make his rider move once more.
"Does he…" he asked and Rhaenix told him that he did.
Jae looked into the dragon's eyes and saw his own sadness reflected back at him. He climbed up onto Rhaenix's back and felt ashamed at what he was about to do. His uncle deserved a better ending than this, he deserved a pyre and for his ashes to be spread on Dragonstone or perhaps even Valyria itself, and yet he'd get none of those things. Jae looked to Sandorix and offered up a prayer before the two dragons took to the sky.
"Dracarys." he said his voice no more than a whisper and both Rhaenix and Sandorix's flames swept over his uncle's unmoving body.
Casualties.
200 members of the Fiery Hand.
300 Men of the Company of the Rose.
20 Faceless Men.
Thoros of Myr.
Prince Aemon Targaryen.
Night King's losses.
10,000 wights.
10 White Walkers.
Thanks to all who've read and reviewed. Only one chapter this week I over celebrated and so all will be back to normal next week. Up Next Jae struggles to deal with the loss of more family. Ser Richard travels to the Riverlands to oversee preparations and to deal out swift and harsh justice. Dany and Tyrion hear terrible news and ravens arrive in King's Landing and elsewhere carrying news from the front. The Night King reels from his own losses and Shiera feels his grip loosen just enough for her to make a move.
Daryl Dixon: So glad you liked it.
Vfsnake: He's not the only one who can be guilty of that as you see here.
The Sphynx Or here comes the sun lol.
Celexys: I didn't want to drag it out with Shiera so we don't know and then spring it as a surprise that she can be saved, because that kind of looks like pulling it out of your arse so to speak. Daenys though her whole goal was to save her family, so she really does know a lot about what's going on now.
Guest: I kind of showed it a little with Bloodraven and what he did with Hodor/Walder and tried to do with Jae, the Night King is different as he's more powerful and Shiera's body won't respond to her, but her mind is strong and had she been someone else then it may not have survived the change into the Corpse Queen.
Supremus: With the enemy, he's facing if he doesn't doubt himself then he's an idiot. I mean even the NK is doubting somewhat.
Hkt29: I so wanted to show that, here again, we see it a little. But if you ramp up the opposition the stakes have to be ramped up too as does the potential for a mistake to be far more costly. With Shiera, if the NK's magic goes unchecked she's lost, but as he suffers, she's more of herself.
Xan Merrick: Thank you my friend: Really glad you liked it.
Remi: I wanted to do something different with the Wall as you say it falls and it's doom, so here I wanted it to be almost for the best. It also plays into something later which we'll see too. On the losses, other than two encounters on the Wall and Eastwatch there really hasn't been a true fight yet. Jae has managed to limit it and that's kind of the tactic, knowing if it's full-on he'll lose, he wants it to be full-on only when he knows he can win.
He lost 10,000 at the wall and about another 3 to 5,000 at Eastwatch. The NK has lost about 50 to 70 thousand so far.