The children all clamored around the figure, bustling with activity and energy, until the old man beckoned them to sit. The children all sat close by as the old man shifted on his chair, his eyes betraying a fire from his younger years, and his face adorned with old scars. He smiled as the little ones begged for a new story.
"What would you like to hear today?" he asked them in an elderly voice.
"Tell us something with adventure!" one child shouted.
"No, one about magic and dragons! I want to hear about giant battles and wars!"
"Can you tell us a love story Grandpa? Please?"
The elderly man just shook his head and said, "How about I tell you a new story, from my youth, hmm? About a great man, a true hero who I had the pleasure of serving under."
The children all exchanged squeals of joy but settled down as the man began his tale.
"It was a long time ago, when I was just a young man, brash and impatient like so many others. It was a time of long and warm summers, but endless wars and conflicts had washed our continent in blood and fire. The southern lords and houses fought amongst themselves, and a Dragon Queen came from the east. But to the north, all were ignorant of the true threat, skeletal creatures of ice and snow, undead monsters that brought winter with them. We didn't know it at the time. I was just a whelp, and our small community was simply trying to make ends meet with what meagers supplies we could. We managed, but as the conflicts arose, men went off to war.
But then he came. Willem Carly, a trained fighter, of the more noble house in the region, though by no means of any important house himself."
"What was he like?" asked one of the children.
"Ah, the good captain. There was a true man of the North. He was older than I, but not by too much, about the age of thirty. His face was tanned from work, with shaggy brown hair, and deep blue eyes. But I remember most his character. He was the most honorable man I ever met, honest and tough, but friendly to all, and willing to sacrifice himself at any moment. But most important of all, he inspired us, to be better, and to train better, to make ourselves the best soldiers we could be. It is a difficult thing, to take peasants and turn them into a battle-ready militia to defend against any threat. But he did it. And more than that, he saw what was coming from the North, the White Walkers, when everyone else laughed at him. But he saw and knew and prepared. He drilled and trained us good, teaching us about warfare and combat, and more importantly, he kept us together. No, I never met a man like him.
Eventually, the Wights and their frozen lords did come, just as Captain Carly knew, but he was ready. He rallied what few forces we had and headed to the wall. We had a strange fellow with us, called a 'Seer', who guided us to where we need to go, and before long we came upon our enemies. I remember it so clearly, a great dragon, pale and cold, breathing blue fire, that crashed the great wall, causing a huge rift that allowed the undead to swarm through. There were legions of them, an endless stream of thousands upon thousands. We were but a small rock in their great river. Yet Captain Carley showed no fear. He told us 'Men, here we are, north of north, with the ancient enemy finally coming back. They have no fear, and they have no heart. They will kill everyone and everything you love, and leave all of Westeros in cold, cold ice forever! But we are men of the North! We stand before the tide, and we will face it, to our very last breath! Winter has come, men, winter has come. But by the Old gods and the New, we will hold this line to the very last breath we hold! Winter has come, but so have WE!' Ah, we charged forward, ready for that glorious death. We knew it would be the end, choked by frosty bones and reanimated to attack our families, but it was a death we would go down in fire with. But master Carly was far cleverer than I thought. You see, there was only a narrow opening for the Wights to come through, and so we could hold the line with just a few men. When they fell, or got tired, others would take their place, while the archers fired down upon them."
"But how can you kill the dead who are alive? They are already dead, Grandpa!"
"But you see, our leader knew a secret, an important weakness that the walkers had. dragonglass, the smooth black stone, which could turn the wights into ash. We use arrows made of those, and swords tipped with them. I remember the arrows whistling in the wind, as my fellows cut with their swords. Willem Carly was at the front, inspiring us all, his sword on fire that blazed through anything that got to close. I have heard it was the heirloom of his family, said to have been brought from the ancient cities of Valyria.
But then came the dragon, reanimated by the leader of the wights, the pale demon called the Night King. In one swoop the creature tore out a third of our man. Its claws reached down and snatched men, knocking me to a side. But then came the captain, charging with is sword. I saw it all, so clearly. He grabbed a black-tipped arrow on the ground, and bellowed at the beast and its rider, which dove toward him with its jaws wide open! But then, he stepped to the side at the last moment, and swung his sword onto its side! The beast instantly broke up into icy crystals, slamming onto the ground. Then the Night King arose, his pale demeanor that would frighten even the bravest of men. The king of the wights pulled out a long cold sword from his back, and moved toward the captain, who stood between me and him. Their fight, well, who could describe it? The pale monster was fast and quick, but the captain was trained and skilled, and used his flaming sword and black arrow to fight him back. He drove the Night King back and back, and I'll never forget that sight, the flaming sword in one hand, and the other wielding a small arrow. That was the day Willem Carly earned his name, 'Black Arrow'. But the Night King slowly gained the upper hand, and in one swift movement, his sword sliced the captain's cheek deep, leaving a bloody wound on his cheek. I don't know how long the fight and the battle was, hours or minutes, but we were losing, our friends rising to kill us, and the tide continued to consume us. Finally, when just a handful of us were left, the captain ordered us to run.
We ran swiftly, moving ahead quickly of the shambling White Walkers, but just as when we got into position to make our final last stand, a wave of dragon fire burned through the oncoming wights! Dragons screamed from the sky, unleashing flame upon their foes, as we heard as great outcry. Oh, the joy that gives my old heart to think of it!"
"What had happened? Oh, tell us, tell us!" cried one of the little ones.
"I would not learn of it 'till much later, but apparently the armies of the North, under King Jon Snow, and the recent alliance with Daenerys Targaryen, had come to wipe out the undead legions. Apparently, Captain Carly had been in communications with them, and set out to hold back the tide while the armies marched toward them. And it worked!
To make the battle short, the united armies, with the aid of dragons and other…resources, defeated the White Walkers once and for all. The Night King fell, to the fire of Daenerys Targaryen and the steel of Jon Snow, and the wights were finally, finally gone. "
"Well, what happened then Grandpa?" one of the little girls asked impatiently.
The old man chuckled and responded, "Ah, patience now, little one. Well, after that, only a few of us were left, and them royal leaders of the new alliance took a great favor to the captain, and us few survivors. The Dragon Queen herself took great interest in Captain Carly, and gave him an old keep as his own, and even a dragon egg!" This inspired lots of "ooos" and "awes" from the small audience, and the elder continued his tale. "He refurbished that keep, and it wasn't long into the next war that his dragon hatched into small little whelp dragon he named Stormfang. Carly began training elite soldiers, and the few of us who were left became a new special group under his command, elite bodyguards and soldiers. Heh, folk used to call us Carly's Crows. Ah, good times. But anyways, he took a liking to the Spider, that fellow called Varys, and developed ingenious tactics that greatly aided in defeating that mad Cersei Lannister and her forces. When King's Landing was surrounded, he told me that the Dragon Queen was beginning to crack and was losing her mind. To prevent this, he led a small army into King's Landing, sneaking in and taking Cersei Lannister hostage, and then opening the gates wide open for the troops to come in. I wasn't actually apart of that due to a battle wound, but that day was a victorious one.
And there remains little to be said after that. While he was offered a lot of political power and riches, he wasn't very much into that sort of thing. He also disapproved of the union between Jon Snow and Daenerys, as they were niece and nephew. In the end, he went north, beyond the Wall, to lead the Wildlings in a new region of the crown. There he still lives, the aged leader in the Wildlands"
After letting out a long breath, the elder got up slowly, and reached into his trunks, looking for something important. "He gave this to me, long ago, and I've treasured it ever since." He turned around, and to the immense pleasure of his young crowd, showed them what his precious trinket.
It was a black arrow.
Just a little something on the side I've done for fun. Hope ya'll enjoy. As the CDC says, "Stay home, stay safe."