EIDRIC

"I seem to remember Winterfell to be grander, my Lord." A voice remarked behind them. Eidric could see Emmon Storm making their way towards them, standing behind Lord Jackson, just as he was. It was a common enough image in Atlantis, to see the Lord of the keep, and his two most loyal men. Emmon, who had become Percy's student through the war. And Eidric, who had lost his father at Robert's Rebellion, only for the Lord of Sea Dragon Point to take care of him and his sisters, his mother long gone. Even at the tender age of five, Eidric knew at the time that it was a debt he could never repay, although his Lord insisted that he had done more than fulfill it.

"It is common knowledge, Emmon." Percy replied, a faraway look in his eyes that the people who knew him knew meant he was nostalgically thinking about his former life. "Castles, keeps, fortresses. Everything looks smaller to grown man."

Emmon bowed his head in deference, allowing Percy to return to his observation of the seat of power of House Stark. Eidric knew the Lord of Sea Dragon Point could feel the thrum of power of the almost scalding hot water, running through the walls, keeping the place far warmer than it should. Once, on a drunken fest, Percy had regaled them with the tales of pipes and plumbing, and how the feeling of Winterfell and Atlantis reminded him of the feeling of his old apartment building.

Emmon's gaze met his, giving Eidric a pointed look. He shrugged nonchalantly. Emmon had always thought it was not sane for their Lord to reminisce as much as he did about his past. Eidric thought that in his position, he would too. Even if moving to Atlantis had improved his life in ways he would have never imagined, Eidric still missed his little home at times, where food lacked but he had parents aplenty.

"Did you fulfilled what I asked of you, Emmon?" Percy said at last, his voice soft. His eyes were still closed, but it was done in concentration. "And I can almost hear that look of yours, boy. Leave poor Eidric alone."

"He shouldn't leave you to brood, Percy." Emmon replied sternly. Eidric snorted.

"Cut me some slack." He replied. "Percy is remembering his fond times with the Minotaur. Sometimes he mutters about him in his sleep. 'Beef guy' He often says. 'You look so handsome in those fruit of the looms."

Emmon bit his lip to avoid laughing, but Percy could not, a deep, melodical sound leaving him.

"Douche." Percy muttered, patting Eidric's back. "Another one of those and I'll kick your arse on the training yard tomorrow." Eidric laughed.

"I should probably keep your comments about Kelli to myself then." Percy nodded in amused approval, before turning towards Emmon, eyebrow raised.

"Yes, my Lord. You were right."

"How many?" Percy asked with a tired sigh, the merriment leaving his body.

"Three men from Lord Baelish." Emmon replied, stiffly. "Two from Lord Varys, along with ten little birds, with orders to scramble all over the North. Three in Winterfell, Two in Atlantis, and one each in the Last Hearth, White Harbor, the Karhold, the Dreadfort, and the Base at Cape Kraken. Finally, one from the Queen of Thorns."

"Six spies, and ten child spies. And Ned didn't have any idea. He didn't even think to search out for them." Percy laughed without humor, his shoulders sagging. "That fool is going to get killed."

"There's more." Emmon said hesitatingly. "One of Baelish dropped a package at the Maester's solar."

"A package?"

"Aye."

"From Baelish, huh? I trust that whoreson as far as I can throw him." Percy spat, his hand clenching at his side. "Any idea what the package was?"

"No, my Lord. I couldn't get it in time. But the Maester took it to Lady Catelyn's chambers."

"If it's important, Ned will tell us. He wouldn't be too happy to learn we have spied on him, involuntary as it was." Percy said with a sigh. "Is Robert still on the crypts?"

"Aye. John is watching the entrance, and Sir Meryn Trant is still there."

"After you have taken all the information from the spies, kill them and capture the children. Send them to my chambers and give them some food. The Old Gods know Varys feeds them once a week. We will add them to the Navy, as we have done with the others we've caught. After that, catch some sleep, Emmon. Tomorrow we will show these southern daisies how two men from the Northern Fleet fight. Eidric, with me." Percy commanded, before moving towards the crypts of Winterfell, Eidric close behind him.

PERSEUS

He walked passed the Kingsguard on the entrance, the sleeping knight didn't even startle. With a mischievous look on his eyes, Percy ordered Eidric to strip him of his cloak, armor, and arms, before going of in the search of the King.

As soon as he stepped, he could feel an oppressive pressure setting on him, the faint whispers of voices on his ears. Clenching his jaw, Percy took a dagger from his belt, cutting his palm open before spreading the blood at the wall of the entrance. Immediately, both the feeling and the voices disappeared, and Percy made his way to the last of the rows.

He had been to the crypts of Winterfell twice, and the first time had nearly made him go mad. He had, by chance, managed to encounter the way to avoid the spirits of the crypts to attack him, and the second time had been more bearable, if more painful. Setting Lord Rickard, Lord Brandon, and Lady Lyanna to rest had been hard, especially seeing how broken Ned and Ben looked. He had scarcely known Brandon, and Rickard had only grunted at him before dismissing him, but he had been friends with Lyanna. She had been an amazing person, one who drew people to her like moths to a flame, and had Robert not killed Rhaegar Targaryen, Percy would have done so with his bare hands.

Coming to a stop beside Robert, both men paying their respects to the statue of Lyanna Stark. Percy had loved Lyanna. Robert had loved her even more so.

"I vowed to kill him for what he did to her." Robert said after a while, his voice raspy. Percy glanced at him, before looking away, not mentioning the tear that fell his eye.

"You did." Percy reminded him, as gently as he could. Robert clenched his jaw all the same.

"Ned said the same. I told him that only once."

"He deserved more." Percy agreed, closing his eyes. "Had I been able, I would have dropped him on Tartarus."

"At least someone agrees with me." Robert said bitterly. "He died too quickly."

He had. Rhaegar Targaryen had been a fine swordsman, but few could have stood against Robert Baratheon on the banks of the Trident. In Percy's mind, only Ser Barristan the Bold could have taken on the rebel and lived.

"A raven arrived today." Robert continued, his voice more normal. "From Varys. You were right. Viserys Targaryen married Elia Nymeros Martell, and tried to kill Aegon and Rhaenys. They barely managed to escape, only with the help of a Magister in Pentos, whom Viserys killed. Mopatis."

"The eunuch's friend." Percy commented. "And former lover. He won't take that lying down. He may not seem like it, but Varys is a bad enemy to have, Robert."

"He can do as he pleases. I won't arrest him on a hunch, but I won't condone it either. If he sends an assassin and he is caught, he will suffer. I won't have a fucking eunuch making me an oathbreaker."

"Do you think Aegon and Rhaenys will flee to Dorne?"

"Mayhaps. I'll have Renly and that idiot Tyrell strengthening the borders. If the Dornish try a Balon Greyjoy thinking they can take the whole realm on, I will send you to break them and tear Sunspear to the ground."

"Talking about Greyjoy, his attacks are getting bolder. He must be building up to a full invasion as soon as he perceives the North to be vulnerable. I would have your leave to go to Pyke and do what we should have, all those years ago."

"You would end he Greyjoys?" Robert asked curiously. Percy nodded.

"They never learn. The Ironborn never learn, but we can't go and slaughter them all. One family at a time. Greyiron, Hoare, powerful houses now extinct. Now, Greyjoy."

"Once he truly attacks the North, you have my leave to go and tear Pyke over his head."

"Two possible wars and no comment of coming with me. Robert refusing to lead a host?" Percy asked teasingly. "I know I said you were fat, Robert, but it wasn't for you to get all depressed on me." The King laughed deeply, before sobering.

"I must get in shape, Percy. I have let myself go horribly, and I've got no excuses. Will you help me, my brother?"

Perseus could see the deep shame Robert felt while asking for his help, but he could also see the determination. Ned had pulled him aside on his first morning on Winterfell, speaking hushed whispers about the stranger that had arrived instead of their friend. Percy agreed, at first, but he had been a witness of Robert's rejuvenation. Out of the three of them, Robert had always been the one who leaned on the other two the most.

"I will help you." Percy vowed, and he intended to keep it. With the comfortable silence setting in, both turned once more to look at the statue of Lyanna Stark.

"I miss her." Robert said in a tired, broken voice. "She was always my reason, Percy. After mom and dad died, and I became Lord of Storm's End, she was the thing pushing me. My motivation. I am nothing without her."

"I know. But she wouldn't have wanted you to lose your will to live, Robert. She would have wanted you to be the best King you could. The best man you could. What you put your wife through is humiliating at best and cruel at worst." Robert gulped but didn't deny it.

"Lya made me better. She made me want to get better. I know she didn't love me, but I know she cared for me. She knew I was trying, that I had stopped bedding whores and stopped drinking so much. She would have come to love me. We would have been so happy, Perce. Riding and sparring and hunting. We would have sailed to Essos to live a life of adventure, once our children were old enough. We would have travelled all the Kingdoms like Hedge Knights, helping the innocent and fighting against evil. And feasting!" A bright light entered Robert's eyes, even as tears spilled. Percy's heart clenched painfully for his friend, and for all the pain he carried with him. For all the broken dreams he had. A man as broken as him, and Percy could have cried for the fact that Robert was as broken as a man who had been banished to hell by his own family. Without word he embraced him, and Robert dropped into him, his body weak. Percy hugged him and consoled him, as once Robert had done when a child Percy woke up at night, sweating and crying at the nightmares of his former life.

"The bastard pled for his life." Robert mumbled. "When I was about to finish him. Said Lyanna had run away with him. I knew it to be false. Lyanna would have never run away with a married man, would have never condoned a father leaving his children or a Lord humiliating his wife like that."

"No, she wouldn't have."

"And when you came back from the Tower of Joy, when Ned told me of Lyanna's wounds and scars… I realized what kind of bastard he really was."

"All of them." Percy declared. "Hightower. Dayne. Whent begged for mercy, spilling all they did to her, Rhaegar included. They were no knights, or prince, they were beasts. The people will see their crimes in the history books, and they will be remembered for what they truly were."

"Sometimes I wish I had taken little Jon in. He was the son of Rhaegar, and I hated him for it, but he was Lyanna's son and I love him for it. That is more important. I would have raised him as my own, and maybe he would be the Heir now. Gods know Joffrey will lead Westeros to ruin."

"Robert?" Percy asked with uncertain, but his friend just shook his head, straightening his back.

"Never mind that. Now that we are here, and we had that heart to heart, I would do what I came to do. Lord Perseus Jackson of Atlantis, Warden of Sea Dragon Point, Commander of the Northern Navy, I would name you Master of Ships."

"For fuck's sake, Robert!" Percy replied, his voice raised, and Robert stared at him in befuddlement. Percy groaned at his face, before punching him in the arm. "Think a little! It's one thing to name Ned as Hand of the King over Stannis, but taking his title from him to give it to me? You would lose a brother."

"Stannis? What does he have to do with Ned being Hand of the King?"

"That you could have named him!" Percy exclaimed, almost incredulous. "Stannis is a good man, an able man. Smart and just. He would serve you well as Hand of the King. Besides, he is your brother! And you took Storm's End from him. Take away his title as Master of Ships, and he would be left bitter, a Lord over a barren, useless island."

"Bah! Stannis is never happy. I gave him the seat of the Targaryen princes, and he was insulted!"

"Robert." Percy began, his patience thinning. "When you became King, Storm's End went to Stannis. You didn't give him the seat of the Targaryen princes. You took his birthright from him and sent him to a desolate island! You downgraded him from Lord Paramount of the Stormlands to a very minor House in the Crownlands."

"Oh."

"Oh! Did Jon Arryn never tell you this?"

"Well, to be fair to Jon, when he began to talk about the subject, I would just close my ears."

"This is like politics 101, you fool!"

"Naptime more like, but aye. Now I see."

"Yes." The Lord of Atlantis said, clenching his teeth. "Had you given Dragonstone to Renly, that would have been other thing. Why did you even do that to Stannis, after all he has done for you? I never asked."

"I thought it was an honor." Robert said with dismay. "And now there's no thing to be done. If what you say is the truth of it, Stannis won't be happy with being Hand of the King, not that I will have anyone other than Ned being it."

"Then let him be Master of Ships!"

"He was! But he left!" Robert bellowed. "He became Jon Arryn's best friend of something, going everywhere together, but when Jon died, he fled."

"Robert. Doesn't that look a little suspicious?" Percy asked carefully, keeping a wary eye on Robert's tightening muscles.

"You think Stannis killed him?" The King asked, his voice low. Percy knew that tone, and he knew that it always meant Robert had become a dangerous foe to someone.

"No. I think whatever killed Jon Arryn, and believe me, he was killed, scared Stannis so much he fled, thinking his life was on the line."

"He was killed. Do you know this for certain, Percy?"

"Aye. I just heard a prayer today, from a horse in the Red Keep. Part of the reason I came searching for you. Some servants of Jon Arryn talked. Varys begged him to hire a foodtaster, and Lysa Arryn refused. Fought, threatened, and pled with Jon to forego it. A month later, Jon Arryn dies."

"Jon didn't tell me." Robert said with dismay, before clenching his jaw so tightly Percy thought it might break. "Varys knew."

"Varys knew." The Lord of Sea Dragon Point confirmed.

"And he must also know why Stannis fled." Robert concluded, and Percy nodded. "I'm getting tired of that bald menace telling what he wants to whom he wants, as if we were all just pawns for him, dancing to his tune." Percy agreed but remained silent on the topic.

"Aside from Varys, Lysa's actions seem suspicious."

"Yes. And if that woman is doing something, Baelish is behind it. I told Ned nothing about it, because she is his goodsister, but Jon Arryn suspected he was being cucked. That Robert Arryn was Baelish and Lysa's. Apparently, when he was a ward of Riverrun, he had already gotten Lysa with child before Hoster Tully forced her to drink moontea. Jon was told of this before marrying her."

"Makes sense." Percy said, deep in thought. "The Arryns are blond, the Tullys are auburn. You would have to go back a couple of generations on each side of his family tree to find a black-haired member."

"Aye. Bronze Yohn was pushing hard for Robert to be put aside for Harrold Hardyng, who would become Harrold Arryn. That's the real reason I'm taking the title of Warden of the East from him, the only title I can take justified for now. I will see about the Eyrie."

"And there's also the matter, that Baelish sent spies to Winterfell. One of them left a package for Catelyn."

"Fuck." Robert swore. "What do you think that was?"

"A preemptive strike." Percy said confidently. "Baelish seems suspicious at the moment, and he must know these conclusions, while hidden, aren't hard to get. He would draw Ned's attention away from him. I assume you told your intention to make Ned your Hand?"

"You always think everything in terms of warfare. But aye." Robert said, a bloodthirsty smile on his face. "Except I didn't tell them I would also ask you to come. They won't be expecting the Sea Dragon of the North, and that will be their downfall. Baelish, Varys, all of them will fall. We will find out who murdered Jon Arryn. We will find out all the truths they would keep hidden."

"We will." Percy vowed. "It would be my honor to become Master of Ships, your grace. But for the Old Gods' sake, name Stannis Master of Law. Renly will be glad to be rid of it."

EIDRIC

"So, we're going to King's Landing, my Lord?" Eidric asked as he approached, Lord Jackson kneeling in front of a Heart Tree. In the distance, howling could be heard, and the Direwolves in Winterfell responded in kind. The hour of the Wolf.

"…Yeah." Percy muttered; his eyes closed. "I'll leave Emmon as the head of the Fleet, to keep the Ironborn in check until I get settled at the capital. You will come with me, along with John, Ashley, Fearne, and Kenton, with three hundred men from Sea Dragon Point. And my new ward, Jon Snow. Although, I haven't asked him to be my ward yet." Eidric hummed in approval.

"If Kenton comes down with us, who will be the Castellan of Atlantis?" He asked with curiosity.

"Landon."

"Fair enough. But don't complain when he accidentally burns it to the ground, which he will, because he is stupid."

Percy turned to him, finally opening his eyes. Eidric drowned a gasp at the bright, golden color of his eyes.

Before his Lord could answer him, the hair of his body stood, a loud buzzing in the air. Eidric could feel the same dizzying, intoxicating feeling that came with being close to Percy, but hundredfold. He turned towards his Lord again, confused at the feeling, having thought he had grown accustomed to it.

But Percy was staring wide eyed at the Heart Tree.

Before his eyes, Eidric saw a man come out of the Heart Tree. He was tall, and strong, standing more than a head taller than even the King, who was already a monster amongst men. He was well built, dressed in a simple, shimmering tunic the color of bronze, his muscles bulging against the cloth. Long hair pulled neatly into a ponytail; wisps of silver nettled in dark brown. And blue eyes. Baratheon blue eyes, Eidric noted.

"Durrandon blue eyes, Eidric." The man said, startling him. "Eyes that came from my sweet daughter Elenei. That upstart Orys stole the last Durrandon after the Last Storm, and with that he stole many things from my descendants."

"Who are you?" Eidric stammered. The man laughed.

"Percy, where are your manners?"

"Eidric." Percy called, already standing. "Meet The Drowned God."