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All around him was death, they had lost the battle before it had even begun. The army of the dead had been too innumerable, and there had just not been enough of them to stop it. Not even dragons had been able to tip the scales in their favor, as the beasts had not been able to adapt to the cold like he had thought.
Seeing his wife plummet to her death in the back of her dragon had been more painful that he had anticipated. They hadn't known each other long, but he had come to care for her. The marriage had been Sansa's idea, his sister understanding the North's need for the dragons, even if she didn't believe it the Others. She believed him, and told him that was enough for her to help him attain what he needed. When he had arrived in the North with Daenerys and her army in tow, Sansa had pulled them both aside, and proceeded to explain to them how politically stupid they both were.
Gone was his sweet and innocent sister, and in her place stood a shrewd politician, with an understanding of politics like he had never seen. She told them that they were both foolish to believe the Northerners would bow to a foreign queen just because their king did. That gone was the loyalty the Northerners were famous for, that it had died when their brother's honor when he cast aside his betrothed for a woman of lesser birth. That war had beaten the Northers down to the point where they would not stand by a king they felt abandoned them, but rather, find another one to follow.
She then pointed out that if the two married, they would unite their forces, and could rule together as equals. Daenerys had tried to argue that she was the rightful ruler, had dragons, and did not need him or his armies to conquer Westeros. That she could just leave them to the dead, and use her dragons to destroy the dead when they came South. The coldness in her voice was like none Jon had ever heard, and not for the first time wondered if perhaps she had been touched by the madness that had claimed so many in her family.
However, Sansa was quick to point out that dragons or no, she was still nothing more that a foreigner to them. The people of Westeros were unlikely to rally to her cause, unless she were to be able to give them something in return. This would be something she could not promise unless she won the war. Her armies followed her out of the love and respect they have for her, but here they are seen as nothing more than savages, and she the queen of savages. She would never be loved here if she were to come in as a conqueror, and enforce her rule over the people. But, if she could earn the love of the prickliest of the seven kingdoms, the others would eventually follow. To do that she must unite with them, rather than conquer them.
However, it was Howland Reed's bursting through the door that settled things for them. With him he carried a chest with the emblem of the three headed dragon on it. He then informed them of the truth of what had happened at the Tower of Joy, and who Jon's true parents were. Opening the chest, he showed them two Valarian steel swords, along with three dragon eggs. Rhaegar's legacy that was meant to be passed down to Jon when he was old enough.
Sadly, Lord Eddard had taken his promise to his sister, that he protect Jon at all costs, to such an extent, that he felt it best to keep him in the dark about who he truly was. He had told Howland to destroy the chest and everything in it, but Howland couldn't bring himself to do it. Instead he kept it safe, intending to bring it to Jon when his uncle passed.
And he had tried to bring it to him after Ned passed, but each time something forced him back home. He had been confused by it, until his daughter returned home. Hearing about the man called the "One Eyed Raven" and his abilities, had Howland convinced it was him keeping the Crannogman from reaching Jon, but he knew not to which end.
Jon could see the moment Daenerys realized that this information made his claim to the throne stronger than her own. In a matter of seconds her expression turned cold, and he was decidedly uncomfortable. He wondered if this is how she looked when she ordered Sam's father and brother burned.
It was that realization that made him wonder if the madness that plagued the Targaryens was closer to the surface than he had originally thought. If maybe life had been so hard on her, that it had slowly demolished the barriers that held it at bay. Was she just a few more personal tragedies away from it crumbling.
It was Sansa that drew his attention back, by saying that this was all the more reason for the two to marry. That this would be the beginning a new Targaryen dynasty. Reiterating that she could see that Daenerys was a good and kind ruler, but that Jon was the same. Both were respected and loved by their people, but we not trusted by the other one's. She pointed out that if they were to defeat the threat that was coming they all needed to be united. That the north needed to trust Daenerys and Daenerys' army needed to do the same for Jon.
Daenerys, asked Sansa to be her Master of Politics right then and there, so impressed by the girl's strength, and determination. It was then agreed that Jon and Dany would marry, and that Sansa would serve both as the Master of Politics for the realm.
The two married within days, and over the next few months worked to strengthen their relationship with each other as well as with their people. Jon worked hard to train her army so they were better prepared for what they could face, and best able to adapt to the Westorosi style of fighting. Her unsullied help him to train the wildlings to fight more as a unit, and everyone worked together to teach new fighting techniques. For a little while there, he thought they had what it took to win the war against the dead.
Then the army appeared at their gates, more numerous than he had ever remembered. He was baffled when he saw the Night King raise his arms, as the battle hadn't even begun yet, so there were no dead to raise. However, it was seconds before he heard the screams of the women and children hiding in the crypts, and he realized their devastating mistake, knowing no one would be able to get to them before they were all slaughtered, before Sansa was slaughtered. He saw his anger mirrored in his queen's eyes, and together they mount the two remaining dragons.
Looking back, he wondered if he had been more of a liability in the air, as Rhaegal did not respond do him as Drogon did to Daenerys. She truly seemed to have a bond with her dragon, much like the one he had with Ghost, that he did not have with Rhaegal. It made him wonder if he was truly meant to be his rider.
He hadn't been in the air long before Daenerys undead dragon was bearing down on him and Rhaegal. Rhaegal fought with everything he had in him, but in the end was no match for the creature, and fell from the sky with Jon still on his back. Fortunately, Jon was not crushed in the fall, and once he was able to get his wits about him was back to fighting off the dead.
He saw Daenerys on her larger dragon attack the Night King on his, and for a second he thought it looked like she was winning. However he watched on in horror as the undead dragon sank his teeth into the neck of hers, before ripping it's throat out, her and the beast plummeting to the earth.
It was then that the Night King landed, and the final battle between the two of them began. He fought with everything he had in him, though a large part of him hoped he wouldn't survive it. He had lost so much in his life, brothers, Sansa, his father, Yigritte, his wife, all of them gone, and he was ready to join them, but fully intended to take this bastard down with him. However, that felt impossible the moment the ice spear shattered Longclaw.
He felt the pain explode in his abdomen as the Night King's ice spear ran him through, and then he was falling to the ground. He felt the Night King grab him by the neck, dragging him over to where Bran sat in his specialized chair.
"Together at last brother, and finally the ones who did that to you have paid for their actions." Bran spoke in a voice not his own. Jon was confused by the exchange, but he needn't worry, "When I found out what was done to you, I hunted down the ones that did it. I knew I could never defeat them, so I instead made them believe I was one of them. I waited patiently, learning their magic, their secrets, and transferring my consciousness from one raven to the next. I knew we would eventually be together again, and once you do what you need to we will."
Jon watched as the Night King picked up a shard of dragon glass, and approached Bran. He struggled with what little strength he had left in him, but was not quick enough to keep him from burying a shard of dragon glass in Bran's heart. He watched as Bran screamed in pain, and realized it was his younger brother's consciousness once again in the forefront. Seeing his pain, Jon found it in himself to surge forward and burry the piece of Longclaw he had managed to get his hands on when he'd fallen to the ground, into the Night King's chest. He felt when it made connection with something foreign in the Night King's chest, and could feel the vibration of it as it exploded.
He heard the creature within Bran scream, as the Night King fell. Yanking out the piece of Longclaw, mindless of the fact that it had cut his hand down to the bone, he crawled his way over to Bran, "Please Jon, don't let him have me. Please, let me be with the rest of our family, with Mother and Father, with Sansa and Rickon..."
"With...me..." He struggled to get the words out.
"With you." It was that right there that gave him the strength to plunge the shard of Longclaw into his little brother's chest, shattering the piece of dragon glass the Night King had forced into it.
The two took their last breaths together.
When he next opened his eyes he was in a bright, ethereal looking hall. All around him people were arguing, and it was clear that no one had noticed him yet. "Ahem...excuse me...excuse me...but could you tell me who you are, and what I am doing here?" He asked, once he had everyone's attention.
A stern looking man studied him for a moment before answering. "We are the Gods of Westeros, the old and the new." He motioned to the two different groups.
A kind woman came forward, "This was not the way things were supposed to happen." She spoke sadly to him, "We saw your struggles and allowed them to happen, sometimes even encouraged them. We had to be certain you were ready to defeat the Long Night."
A old man from the second group, the Old Gods, stepped forward next. He had the longest white beard he had ever seen, and his stride surprisingly strong for one so old. "We told ourselves it was for the best, and would make the reward of having a life with your Queen and children all the sweeter. We knew how wrong we were when we watched her fall from the sky."
This time it was a wise old woman who spoke, "We were so busy watching what was happening beyond the wall, we forgot to check in on things south of it. Too many factions were working against us, and we did not see how power hungry and corrupted people had become."
One of the Old Gods spoke again, "You dying leave Cerci Lannister on the throne, and our people to suffer. We can not allow that to happen. As such, we have pulled our power to bring you here, and we each have enough power left so send one more person, of your choosing, with you."
"Choose wisely, for each person will retain all their memories, and therefore carry the burdens of this life with them..."
A.N. I'm going to leave it here, and I want to see who all of you think Jon should choose to send back.
Would he pick Sansa as she is one he has come to rely on heavily, knowing she would have to remember all the trauma done to her. What about Arya, have her maintain her fighting skills, but lose so much of herself. Does he choose someone else I haven't even thought of???
There is a poll on my page, be sure to cast your vote!