Chapter 29: The storm

In the South...

Jaime Lannister POV

It had been several days since they had been stationary, and about three days from Highgarden, waiting for news regarding the landing of the second Lannister army. Jaime knew that the longer he delayed his march on Highgarden, the more he gave the enemy a chance to arm himself, but he had no choice.

Another thing that worried him was the approach of a storm from the west. From the lands of Stormlands, and that will undoubtedly head towards the coasts, and this again wasn't good for the ships.

Suddenly, while he was leaning on the war table, where there was a map, Jaime saw a man running in, "My Prince! I come with bad news from the exploration," he said breathlessly.

"Speak up!"

"The Tyrells have blocked our advance, building palisades, which run from the east coast to Highgarden."

Jaime chuckled. What fools. They think that will save them. They were just wasting their time.

"There's an army camped there. Two thousand men more or less."

"Two thousand dead bodies. Now go, if there's nothing else." And the soldier left the tent. He was the first explorer to return alive after he had sent a dozen.

Jaime heard shouts outside, and men running and exiting, he saw how the storm was on them. The sky was darkened, lightning coming into the sky, the roar of thunder, and the rain that was about to come. The wind began to rise, and Jaime was very worried. They had a lot of supplies, which could be ruined, not to mention their siege systems if they were damaged.

Because of the rain and wind, some of the camp tents were destroyed or damaged. Chaos was beginning as men in the rain ran back and forth, saving what they could.

Jaime also left his tent to help the men in this regard.

After a few hours, trying to save what was possible, Jaime retired to his tent, wet and rotten, while the storm continued to rage outside. They lost a lot of stuff, and only the gods know what else will be lost after this storm.

He could not even wash with hot water since most of the wood they had was wet and not suitable for the fire, so he could only change his clothes.

After taking one last look outside, and seeing his soldiers in the curtains, Jaime walked towards his bed in the curtain, and then fell asleep, with the dagger under his pillow, and hugging the sword.

Near the Shield Islands...

Differents POV

Their fleet sailed along the coasts of the Reach, getting closer and closer to the Shield Islands.

He had the command of 40,000 men, with whom he would have to land and march towards Highgarden, to join the men of Prince Jaime, and Lord Tarly, who had the command of 10,000 men and blocked the passage between Highgarden and the Citadel.

The battle didn't worry him much, since he and King Tywin fought a lot together, and won many wars, but what worried him was the storm that was getting closer and closer, and the moving of the sea, which brought them closer to the coast.

"Captain. We have to get away from the coasts, otherwise, the waves of the sea will make us crash into the coasts before we reach the Bay".

"No, General Lefford. The further away we go, the longer it takes us to get to the Bay, and this could cause ships to be lost if the storm strikes. The captain, who was at the wheel of his ship, replied.

After a while, Lefford saw the islands nearby, but at the same time, it began to rain, and their ships began to lose control, to move away, and men fell over the edge.

"Captain! The coasts! The Ships are about to crash!" But the Captain didn't have time to respond that a big wave overwhelmed him by hurling the ship against the rocks, and he fell into the water.

Jason was waking up on a beach. As he recovered, he put his hand on his head and saw that there was some blood and that it hurt him, but still, he had to get up. Looking around there were a lot of bodies, and Jason didn't know if they were alive or not. There were also shipwrecks destroyed on the beaches, and after that Jason remembered that the day before there was a storm.

He remembered that some ships were beginning to lose control and that the ship where the Commander was, as well as other ships, were hit by a great wave. Taking a sword, and an armor, having lost his own, Jason began to inspect the bodies to see if anyone was still alive.

After hours and hours, Jason found several hundred still alive, and thousands more dead, while many ships were missing, and finally found their General, after hours, when they began their journey south. He was smashed on the rocks, lifeless, and with other ships destroyed.

"We are left without a general. Why should we continue if we don't have a general?" Said one of the men who accompanied him.

"We need to continue and join the other men alive, and that are marching against Highgarden," Jason said. "Or you can go back and be executed for oath breaker by King Tywin." All of them feared and admired King Tywin. And they knew that he was a man of his word and that he took the oaths seriously.

After getting ready, they began the march towards Highgarden.

With great difficulty, the Lannister ships managed to pass the Shield Island, and enter the Bay, despite the storm reaching the landing beach.

From what it could be understood of the three hundred ships that left from Lannisport, only two hundred arrived in the Bay. And now the question that arose was where did the others end up after the storm?

What was certain was that the general was missing, and Tytos Brax, who was second in command, was in charge.

"What do we do, Lord Brax?" asked one of the officers who were with him.

"Send some explorers along the coast and away from the cities, in search of survivors."

They nodded and left, while Tytos gave orders to make the camp and start organizing. The sun was setting, and he needed to check the condition of the men after the storm.

Ballon Greyjoy POV

Outside Pyke, there was a storm, while Ballon was in the great hall with his children. Or rather those who were still alive, Yara and Theon. One was his favorite daughter, while the other was a dork. His other sons died during the rebellion of his brother, Euron Greyjoy, which culminated in his exile. It was now more than 10 years since he left.

"Father, what are you going to do with Tywin Lannister's request for an alliance?" asked his daughter Yara. His daughter was always ready to follow his orders and raid. But every time they tried to raid Westeros, they were defeated. And the Northern Kingdom has a mighty fleet, on both sides of the continent.

"Father?" Theon called him.

"We will do what we have always done. We'll raid the kingdoms at war."

"Let's conquer Lannisport, Father. Once we have that great port city, we will have one foot on the ground of King Tywin's Kingom." And Ballon could hear the excitement and passion in his voice, and in the way, he spoke. What a fool.

"Yes, we can conquer it. Of course, it will be a hard and bloody battle, but we'll manage to get it," Ballon replied, and he saw the smirk on Theon's lips, and he was ready to make it disappear. "But you're a fool if you think we can hold it before King Tywin and his remaining army return with reinforcements." At that point Theon became serious. Turning to his daughter he said, "Yara, I'm entrusting you with the command of thirty ships to attack and ride the Three Towers and Blackcrown."

Yara laughed, "It'll be a pleasure raiding those ladies in tights."

"You Theon will have a ship and attack the villages along the Sunset. But no city."

"I am the prince of Pyke, father, and the future king..."

"No! The succession has changed. Yara will become the queen of the iron islands."

"Father, I am your last son and..."

"And you're incompetent! Do you really think that I will leave the reins of my kingdom to you! You're stupider than I thought. You're lucky I didn't let you rot in the prisons of the free cities when you failed in your attacks," Ballon replied, recalling those moments. Four years ago, his son, Theon, at that time, an eighteen-year-old, impatient to prove himself, began to raid the cities of Essos, always getting captured. After four times of capturing, Ballon forbade him to leave the Iron Islands.

"You will attack the unprotected villages, and this is my final decision," Ballon said as he left the great hall, a bit drunk.

Outside there was a storm, but it wasn't something that worried him, after all on the Iron Islands there was always a storm.

As he crossed one of the bridges connecting the towers of Pyke, Ballon saw a man in front of him.

"Let me pass. You fool, move aside for your king."

"Haven't I always, brother?" It was his brother Euron. The one who tried to rebel many years ago.

"I thought you'd be rotting under some foreign sea by now," said Ballon chuckling

"What is dead may never die."

"Has the custom changed since I've been gone? Aren't you supposed to repeat the words?"

"You can mock our god without my help."

"I don't mock the Drowned God. I am the Drowned God," replied Euron with a powerful voice as the storm kept raging. "From Oldtown to Qarth, when men see my sails, they pray. They know my reputation." But Ballon didn't answer. He was ready to grab the dagger that was on his hip.

"You're old, brother. You've had your time. Now let another rule."

"I heard you lost your mind during a storm on the Jade Sea," said Ballon, smirking, remembering the tales that the sailors brought from the cities of Essos. "They tied you to the mast to keep you from jumping overboard."

"They did."

"And when the storm passed, you cut out their tongues."

"I needed silence."

"What kind of an ironborn loses his senses during a storm?" asked Ballon. The sea was their mother, and the storm their father. An Ironborn who was crazy during a storm in the open sea was not an Ironborn.

"I am the storm, brother. The first storm and the last. And you're in my way."

"Madman!" screamed Ballon, trying to stab him with the dagger, but Euron managed to stop him. He was definitely stronger than last time. And he was older. "Soon everyone will know the wrath of the abyssal God."

And he threw him off the bridge. The last thing he saw were the rocks of Pyke.

I n the North...

Jon Stark POV

They left the first wildings camp two weeks ago, and since then their journey has become even more difficult. He now had forty men with him, plus the four Wolfsguards, Robb, Lord Umber and the two Brutes who accompanied them, tips and Tormund.

But in these two weeks, they hadn't' made much progress, because of the large piles of snow that were there, and which pushed them further and further North, which caused them to leave the path that led towards the second camp, that of the Giants.

As they were traveling, they were hit by a Snowstorm. Nothing could be seen forward, only when hear someone shout, "Bear!"

And everyone turned to the bear. "He has blue eyes," shouted Tormund, "It' s them!", and when he said that Jon immediately put himself on alert, "Form ranks, ring formation!" not knowing where he was going to attack from because he was very fast.

"We're too exposed here, boy!" Tormund said, but Jon didn't answer. He too knew that they were too exposed, and he didn't even see the bear anymore, and with this storm, they couldn't even light the fire, so they were exposed to the enemy.

They began to hear loud screams, and suddenly they were charged by the undead. The men who were with the shields tried to form a wall in front of them, while the others who were without shields unleashed their swords.

His men began to fight by cutting the undead, and backing back, but the enemy rose anyway.

Then two bears attacked from the sides, with great speed, killing five of his men. Jon, grabbing Ice, attacked one of the bears, with a powerful rotating slit from above, decapitating the bear.

"Jon! Try to warg in them!" shouted Robb, and Jon, sticking Ice into the ground, and while his Wolfsguard was defending him, tried to take control of the bear.

But when he was inside his mind Jon was terrified. Inside there was nothing only death, and then he heard in the old language, "I see you ... I can feel your emotions King of the North. I'm coming for her and for your head." Then Jon saw blue eyes opening in his dark mind, and he lost the control.

Jon fell to the ground, temporarily losing consciousness, but then recovered when he felt someone shake him.

"Jon! Get up!" It was Arthur. Jon began to recover slowly as his men fought with the undead. As he got up, he grabbed ice with difficulty, and then charged against the second bear, which was on fire?

How can it be? But keeping focused, Jon used the same tactic. And he beheaded him. When all seemed lost, and they were almost overwhelmed by the undead, Jon saw burning shovels flying, bombarding the undead and burning them.

"Come with us!" screamed someone, and they all retreated towards what was a cave, under a big Weirwood. But Jon stopped, when he saw what must surely be a White Walker coming in a slow way because he saw this kind of shadow in his dreams, and when the woman showed him the first time.

When the White Walker approached him alone, Jon stopped, despite the shouts of his men who called him into the cavern. Jon, on the contrary, advanced toward the enemy and began to charge toward him with Ice in his hand, while, the undeads began to attack him, Jon began spinning among the enemies, slashing them, getting closer and closer to the White Shadow. And he saw him even better. An old man with icy skin, blue eyes, and white beard and hair. He wore nothing on his body, while in his hand he was wielding some kind of ice spear.

Jon immediately attacked the horse, giving it in half, and the White Walker fell to the ground. Jon immediately tried to attack him but the White Walker paired his attack. Jon saw the surprised expression of the White Walker, and using this advantage, he sliced him off, and the White Walker exploded into an icy dust and all the Undead fell to the ground, returning to being corpses. Jon was speechless, not understanding what had happened.

"Your Grace!" he heard Arthur call him, Jon stood up and headed towards the cave, still confused. "What happened?" asked Viserys and Benjen at the same time.

"I don't know," he almost responded with a whisper. His mind was still at that moment. But now he realized one thing. If killing the White Walker caused that, it means that killing the King of the Night will also destroy his army.

He was brought back from his thoughts when he heard, his men taking position, in a defense formation toward the inside part of the cave, and looking that way, Jon saw some figures coming toward them.

"Who are you?" asked Jon toward the figure and looking at her body, Jon thinks it's a girl, but who knows. She had nut-brown skin dappled like a deer's with paler spots, and large ears, large liquid gold and green eyes which were slitted like a cat's eyes. Her hair was a tangle of brown, red and gold, autumn colors, with vines and twigs and withered flowers woven through it.

"The First Men called us the children, but we were born long before them.

"You are the children of the forest? Asked Viserys, chuckling.

"Yes."

Swallowing his dry throat, and the cold that came in, Jon said, "I thought you were extinct."

"We are the last of our race. My name is Laef." the children responded, "Come Jon Stark. There's someone here who wants to see you.

And all of them followed her to the center of the cave. When he arrived, Jon saw an old man inside the roots.

The old man, looking toward him, said, "Welcome Jon Stark. We've been waiting for you."

"Waiting for me?" asked Jon, confused, and signaling to his men to reput their swords, and to relax. Instead, he approached the old man and sat down in front of him. " Well?"

"I've seen your past, Jon. I saw the slaughter you did in Astapor. The torture of the assassins. Your marriage to Daenerys Targaryen. And I saw your future." The old man said and Jon already wanted to ask him what he saw, but the old man added, "Suffering. Pain. Terror. Destruction. Death. Life. Love. Sacrifice. Eternity."

"Who are you, old man?"

"I am the three-eyed raven. But once my name was Brynden Rivers, Son of Aegon Targaryen, son of Viserys Targaryen and Lara Rogar."

"So you are the son of the Targaryen Sellsword that had fucked half Westeros?" asked Viserys chuckling.

"Yes."

"But shouldn't you be dead, considering that he lived during Kin Jonell Stark's reign?" asked Jon this time, and giving a look to Viserys.

"Yes. But now I'm the three-eyed raven. And the cave is the source of my magic."

" You said you were waiting for me? Why?

"To show you the past, Jon. But now rest. Tomorrow I'll show you the past." Jon nodded even though he was full of questions. And most of all, he was confused after everything he told him about him. As he got up, Jon walked towards his men and saw that some men were injured, and their number also decreased.

"How many men have we lost?" asked Jon to the GreatJon.

"Ten men, and seven wounded, of whom three seriously, and will die before the dawn."