Tywin
The Lord of the West travelled the Ocean Road. He had to solve a dispute between Lord Crackehall and Swyft over the ownership of a town, and now he was returning to Casterly Rock. It was late night, and Tywin needed to find a place to rest with his entourage.
He hoped Tyrion managed well his fief instead of drinking and whoring his way to an early grave. Not that he would mind, it would force Jaime to ditch that damned white cloak of his. He still cursed his old friend Aerys for nominating him a Kingsguard. His only worthy son, taken away from him to become a door warden.
Suddenly, a household guard he sent to the village of Colkirk returned. He was physically strained, his horse was no less tired, "My Lord! Something is wrong in Colkirk... The villagers disappeared, and there was blood everywhere!" That troubled Tywin, "Perhaps the Ironborn are getting bolder. Lorch! Prepare the men. We may face a battle."
The group galloped towards the village, and Tywin internally cursed. That stubborn cunt of Balon. Didn't he learn his lesson when we breached the walls of Pyke?
And so they entered the village, and as the guard described, it was completely empty. There were some blood stains on the ground, but no trace of bodies. Why take the corpses? Tywin asked himself. What confused him the most was that all of the villager's belongings were untouched inside their homes.
This is not Ironborn work. They would've plundered the houses and left the bodies. Perhaps the perpetrators were some band of bloodthirsty bandits that only slaughter innocents? That would explain why the corpses were taken, probably to satiate their perversions.
"Lorch, take your men and investigate the natural harbour. Tylan, Trovion, Payden, follow me. We will check the main square."
The men nodded and followed him. Tywin entered the square; as he expected, there were still goods in the merchant stalls. At the centre, there was a massive pool of blood, but still, no corpses. It looks like a massacre happened here.
Tywin had to cover his nose. Gods, the stench is unbearable.
He passed by the communal oven house. There was still hot bread inside. Perhaps if we had arrived sooner, all of this could've been averted.
Tywin decided to regroup, so he left for the harbour. As they approached the port's warehouse, he questioned one of Lorch's soldiers. "You there. Found anything of note?" The man shrugged, "Nay, M'Lord, we only found the same stains as before. All the equipment is still intact, and Lord Lorch is by the dockyard."
Before Tywin could ask anything more, a shout alarmed everyone, "LOOK OUT! THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE SEA!" Tywin turned towards the commotion. What he saw was horrifying.
Dozens of creatures emerged from the water. They were blue skinned, and their eyes were pitch black. The monsters had wide jaws with sharp teeth and had no hair or nose. The armour they wore was green and scaly; it covered their upper body but left their frog legs exposed.
Most of them had strange serrated swords made from a material Tywin could not recognise, while others had harpoon crossbows that dragged any unfortunate bastard towards their line.
"REGROUP! RAISE YOUR PIKES AND FORM A SHIELD WALL!" Tywin bellowed, but the Lannisters did not have enough time to organise, and the fish people broke their formation. A stray harpoon hit his horse, dragging it away, and Tywin fell. He rose again and gripped his longsword. One of the things managed to breach the line and reach him; he parried a blow from the creature's serrated sword and opened his bowels. Green blood sprayed all over his golden armour.
Tywin frantically scanned his surroundings. The line was now completely broken. The fish men were now pouring inside their defences, while the harpooners picked off any who tried to run.
He steadied himself and faced another monster; he swung his sword in a wide arch, aiming to decapitate his opponent, but he masterfully deflected the blow. The fish man brought his sword overhead and struck Tywin. Fortunately, his helmet absorbed the impact. The Lord of Casterly Rock fell again, his helmet a ruin. But before he could regain his senses, another swing came.
Pain erupted from his left eye.
Tywin roared in agony, yet when his opponent was about to deliver the finishing blow, a soldier cut him from behind. Suddenly, several hands were dragging him to safety, "RETREAT! RETREAT!" Tywin shouted to the remaining soldiers, and his house guard fell back. Most of the enemy harpooners have been slain thanks to an offensive guided by Payden, which allowed them to retreat.
Once at a certain distance from the village, Tywin reviewed his losses. Lorch has been one of the first to die, with other five and twenty accompanying him. Tywin had lost his left eye too and had to receive treatment as soon as possible, before corruption set in. His soldiers had been able to capture one of those creatures alive. This would make things easier to explain.
As they rode by the mountainside near the village, Tywin saw the monsters dragging the bodies towards the ocean. Tywin could already guess what they would do with them.
Hatred filled his heart.
Tyrion
Tyrion waddled towards the entrance of the main keep. The Rock is mainly built vertically, so roaming it is specifically excruciating for those with weak knees.
The first thing he needs to see is the library. Tyrion had to endure an entire trip thinking about it, it honestly drained all the patience he had left for the matter. So he turned right, traversed the corridor, and took the stairs on the left.
The Rock's library was quite respectable. It satiated his curiosity for half his life, a good achievement for an inanimate building. While his brother had fun poking others with sticks, Tyrion honed his mind with the art of reading.
He did as Loreon said and went between the second and third bookshelves on the left. Well, it has to be one of these. Good Gods, it may take some time.
Tyrion spent around ten minutes searching for that damn odd tile. Suddenly, a voice called him, "Tyrion, what in the Seven Hells are you doing?" Fuck! It's Kevan! This will be very awkward.
As Tyrion was about to answer, he found that godsforsaken tile, so he removed it. As specified by Loreon, there was a button, so Tyrion pressed it.
The second bookshelf suddenly moved aside, revealing a secret corridor. "What in the... You knew about this?" Kevan asked, "Why yes! I had suspicions since I was a toddler that there was a secret passage behind this very bookshelf!" Tyrion said sardonically.
They entered the corridor. By the end, there was a wooden door. It was locked. Tyrion eyed Kevan, and then his uncle immediately knew what had to be done.
He started kicking it, but it was useless. Kevan decided to charge it. The aged lock shattered, and the door fell. "Uncle, I see you have still some strength." Tyrion quipped, "Shut that damn mouth before I sit on you."
Tyrion scanned his surroundings. As he suspected there was an entire secret wing, Tyrion wondered how many secret books were in here...
There was a small booklet near the entrance. Tyrion took it and gave it a read, "Uncle... our ancestor King Tyrion II, the Tormentor, decided to hide all these works after the Great Council of the Starry Sept, when the Faith decreed the burning of heretical books. It appears our dear Tyrion II loved his torture manuals and didn't want to give them up, so he put everything in here." Kevan roamed the halls, "Not only torture manuals, the "77 points against the Most Devout" by Septon Luthor, this almost caused a schism during that time."
Tyrion checked out other titles, "A Retrospective of Ironborn Culture and the Myth of Ygg", "The Black Stone, an Analysis", "The Worship and Fall of the Storm God"... Seven Hells, this was quite the collection of esoteric works. Tyrion II apparently didn't like the Faith, who could've ever guessed?
Tyrion noticed a marble table down the hall. He approached it and saw a gargantuan book on it. "Here it is!" Tyrion exclaimed, "The Mysteries of the Worm. Uncle, this is the only copy of it in existence!" Kevan stepped near him, "And why do you need such a book? It's almost as big as you."
Tyrion hastily opened the book. On the fourth page, he found the prophecy he needed. "'Tis foreseen, after the night when the stars fall, a great calamity shall befall mankind. Oceans will be red, dark shadows shall come from the depths of the earth, the Great Other shall make his play... Kingdoms shall fall, dynasties will be destroyed, but the determination of man shall not falter. Rally the brave, unfurl the banners! If humanity is destined to succumb, then it will fall fighting!"
"Fight! So we may live, to see the Dawn."
Tyrion felt...
Proud.
This is what we are preparing to fight against. Humanity needs to be united to survive this struggle. Lannister, Tyrell, Baratheon, Tully, Martell, Greyjoy, Stark... These names don't matter now, not when a cataclysm is about to befall us. Past slights will need to be mended, vengeances postponed: nothing is worth the risk.
Tyrion snapped out of his trance, "We will need to bring this to the solar. Father needs to see this." Kevan nodded and helped Tyrion carry the giant book.
"Tyrion, how did you know of all of this?" Kevan asked, "It sounds like a children's tale, but I can feel in my bones... Something is coming."
"It is a long story, Uncle." Tyrion answered, "All I know is that we must prepare."
"May the Gods help us all."
Welp, here we go.
Tywin had the first taste of what they will challenge. As always, thanks for reading!