AN: I have been waiting for this since I started it. Hope it lives up to expectations.
Also, between this chapter and the last, it has been six months since I joined FF. What better way to celebrate than by posting this chapter?
MOAT CAILIN
JON SNOW
Jon and the group had made it to Moat Cailin in a mere three days. They had rested only long enough for their horses to get their breath and pushed them as far as they could.
Along the way, they had warned every smallfolk they had come across, but those were few and far between. One had at least given them fresh horses to ride on and used theirs to go warn the small villages that Jon and the others had no time to get to.
After reaching the Moat, they could do no more than wait. Some of the villagers who had been warned ended up sending people up, as well as some scouts who were sent by the lords ahead of them, but it would still be a while before actual soldiers would arrive.
In total, the Moat had roughly forty people, all of whom were listening to Jon's orders, as he was the highest ranked among them despite his Bastardry.
It was strange. He was told both harshly and gently growing up that being a Snow would mean a life of no respect, and of constant suspicion of treachery.
But here, these people were looking up to him. They were relying on him. He may have been a Snow, but he was still a Stark as well.
On the fourth day since getting to Moat Cailin, A scout returned. They had sent him south to see if he could find the Faith Militant on the road.
He approached Jon as soon as he was in the Moat. "They are perhaps two days south walking, although the riders may be here at night if they decide to split off from the Infantry. They number at about a thousand, with no doubt that more are behind them."
Jon cursed at that. According to the other scouts, the lords and their troops would not be arriving for another two to three days.
By all accounts, they would be either here just in time, or too late. Moat Cailin had never fallen, but it was practically unmanned. Counting the scouts, the people who had seen actual combat numbered eight. And that was including Ygritte and Dryn. Even taking into account dueling, most of the smallfolk were people who could not waste money on cards, and as such were stuck with weak decks that they had never really been able to improve.
Jon called together all the people into the center of the moat and explained the situation.
"Anyone who cannot fight, head North. Take the horses and ride as fast as you can to the Northern forces and tell them to hurry up. Anyone who wishes to stay, I will not stop you, but know it is likely the end. I will be staying behind to try to hold the Moat, but I doubt it will work for long."
Jon figured he could likely beat one or two, but the fact remained that he could not deal with the entire army. And while he dueled, nothing was stopping the rest of the Sparrows from just leaving and continuing North.
Soon, the forty individuals had been reduced to ten. Among them were Dryn and Ygritte.
"You two really should go. If you die, it will worsen relations with the Free Folk." Jon told them after the others left.
"Us abandoning a Stark to die alone would also be bad for us. Same if they manage to win." Ygritte pointed out.
"Besides, I doubt we would be welcome by anyone between here and Winterfell without you." Dryn pointed out.
Jon nodded at their arguments. Unfortunately, they spoke the truth. "Alright then, you two actually have plans for what you will do?"
"Well…" Dryn said, pointing to the Drunkard's tower, which had such a lean it was a surprise it was still standing.
Realization dawned on Jon. "Are you…"
"Going to smash the walls with some of the others hard enough that parts fall off and crush these Sparrows? Yeah. That is the plan." Dryn said.
This boy was actually planning on collapsing a tower onto people.
Jon shook his head. "Alright then, what about you?" He asked Ygritte.
"Shooting at the people will not work if I aim. So I won't." Ygrtitte said. She pointed at a rock, and readied her bow, and shot in the air. The arrow landed ten feet away from the rock.
"If I aim, it triggers a duel. If I just let loose, I can hit them randomly." Ygritte explained.
Jon considered it. If the Faith Militant stayed huddled together, then that may actually work in weeding them out. It would not turn the tide, but they doubted they could do that with so few fighters anyway.
"If that is the plan, then go to the Gatehouse Tower. It's the tallest so they will take a while to reach you. Also, you can just toss rocks down at them if you run out."
"That was the plan." Ygritte said in a fake annoyed tone.
"Well then, before they get here, care to make any trades?" Jon asked, pulling out his deck.
Ygritte arched an eyebrow. "Trying to make final changes?"
"Aye. I have some cards that I think I could use without now." Jon said, handing his deck over.
Ygritte and Dryn looked it over. Ygritte pulled out two monsters.
"You already have Blue Flame Swordsman. It is better in every way than just Flame Swordsman. So you should get rid of Flame Manipulator and Masaki." Ygritte explained, showing the cards she had grabbed.
Dryn grabbed one as well. "Giga-Tech Wolf has no effect and lower attack than your other normal monsters. It may be time to stop using it."
Jon nodded. They spoke the truth. "The real question is, what will you give me in exchange?"
Dryn was the first one to give an answer. He pulled out a card from his own deck. "You are very lucky I have two of these." He handed it over.
Jon looked in shock. He had seen Dryn use it himself.
Schwarzschild Limit Dragon. A Level eight dragon that could be special summoned if the opponent had a stronger monster. It was good for buying Dryn a turn or had ways to power it up.
Jon and Dryn turned to Ygritte.
She was also looking through her cards, and found two to give to Jon. "Don't lose."
Jon looked at the two cards. First was Beast of Talwar, a level six Archfiend. The other was Meteor Dragon. Another level six.
Suddenly, two more cards appeared in Jon's hand.
"Got a fusion?" Dryn asked, recognizing what the additional cards meant.
"Yeah." Jon answered half-heartedly, being more focused checking out the two fusions. "These could be useful."
THE NEXT DAY
The large group heading up the Kingsroad was now clearly visible to the naked eye. By the looks of it, they had probably marched through the night.
'Makes sense.' Jon thought. 'With Howland and the Crannogmen harassing them, they would want to get out of the Neck's portion of the Kingsroad as quickly as they could.'
While watching the distant group come closer, Jon and the other people who stayed behind took their time breaking their fast. It may well be their last meal. Might as well savor it.
It was around noon that Jon made the decision to walk out to confront them. He stood outside the Moat's perimeter, and sat on a log, awaiting their arrival.
As they got closer, the Faith Militant noticed him. They stopped for a bit, and a man emerged from the group, standing in front of the others. He was an old man, greying where he was not balding. Jon noted that he did not have a star scarred into his visible skin. He also lacked any boots or anything on his legs, which allowed Jon to note just how much his feet were covered in the bog of the Neck. Jon was honestly surprised that his feet were still there.
Without standing up, Jon spoke. "Any particular reason such a large group is traveling up here?"
The old man walked closer and addressed him. "Just some good people who have seen the truth and wished to spread it to where it has never been heard."
"Truth? I admit I do not know what the truth is. I have an idea, but if it is all the same, I would rather not find out if my idea is true for as long as possible. What I DO KNOW, is that if you go to spread your version of the truth in the ways I have heard you have done, many of my people will die. And I do not want that to happen." Jon said. If this man wanted to talk, let him, it just gave the actual forces more time to arrive. Jon figured he was dead either way, but it could be the difference between if others lived or died. So he would make this last as long as possible.
The old man smiled. But while it may look to others as a smile of a kind grandfather, Jon saw it for what it was. A smile that spoke 'It's amusing to see just how wrong you are'.
"You do not know the truth? Just look at these cards. It was hardly a year ago that they first appeared. And look how much they have changed our society. If that is not proof of the gods' work, what is?"
Jon shrugged. "By that logic, only those faithful to the Seven would have gotten cards. But they did not. We have them, and even people far to the east like the Dothraki and Lhazareen have them. I could say like others have that it was the Old Gods who are responsible, and I have just about the same likelihood as you of being correct."
The crows behind the old man grew restless at that. They obviously did not like the insinuation that something other than the Seven was responsible.
With a single raised arm, the old man caused the group to quiet down.
"Be that as it may, the fact remains that this land is in need of the Light of the Seven. Our ancestors fought for it thousands of years ago, but they failed and died. And ever since your people have been condemned to suffer through no fault of their own, out of sheer ignorance. And why? Because their lords and houses realize that when the people they rule are united under the divine protection of the gods, their superiority would not last a moon. So they lie. They say all you need is a tree that is the right color and you are guaranteed a good afterlife. Now, I am all for simplicity, but that is by no means enough. They don't even have ways for the gods to impart their wisdom to their followers." The old man said, returning moral to his people.
Jon was reminded of his childhood. Growing up in the godswood, being brought to the heart tree by his father. Being told about the old gods.
"Close your eyes. You feel that cold wind blowing against your face? That is the gods' warning for you to stay away. Those birds you hear in the trees? Those are Kestrels, awaiting more Sparrows to give them the strength to fly south for winter, as you should be doing. You just barely got out of the Neck, and I can tell from your feet that the old gods gave you ample warning that the land and people would resist you with all they are. Nothing is stopping you from marching back and returning to the lands you are at least familiar with." Jon spoke.
Seeing no way to tempt Jon with his words, the old man seemed to resign himself to the more violent path. "I see that you are too far gone to understand. Be that as it may, I shall pray for your soul to have salvation. Would you please tell me your name?"
Jon stood up, took a breath, and summoned his duel disk. He took a moment debating whether to use his full name or not, but he figured he was going to die anyway, it would not change his fate. "Jon...Snow."
The old man's face changed slightly, as though both understanding and loathing were coming to the surface. "I see. You were unsavable from the start. The embodiment of lust, but even worse. Whereas most will at least be humbled by being forced to live amongst regular good people, you were given no such balance. There was never a chance for one such as you. But as the High Septon of the true faith, it is my duty to remove your sin from the world, for you are just like most of these northern lords."
Jon was confused by that last remark. "What do you mean by that?"
"Most of the northern lords are simply lines of Bastardry. None of them, not the Umbers, the Boltons, or the Flints or any of them were married in the sight of the gods. As such, each and every lord and lady who stood before a tree, is nothing but a Bastard such as yourself feigning being a trueborn. The Manderlys and a few minor houses are the exception, but still, they have grown too arrogant. Your own lord father was thankfully married by a Septon, so his children are trueborn, but Lady Catelyn failed to educate this wasteland of the Faith, so she must pay as well.
The old man summoned his duel disk as well, while the crowd watched.
'I suppose they want to watch the show. Guess that will mean I can buy even more time.' Jon thought as he drew his starting hand.
J: 4000 HS: 4000
"Since you are the instigator, I shall go first." Jon said as he drew.
"I play two cards face down and summon Cannon Soldier in attack mode." Jon announced as the purple metallic monster came onto the field.
"That will be all for now." Jon said.
The High Sparrow turned his head around, so he was looking at his fellow Sparrows. "Of course, the first monster he summons to the field is a dark one. As we knew would be the case. But it matters not."
He drew his card and looked at his hand. "I summon Shining Angel, in attack mode. Then I play two cards face down."
A blond man in a white robe floated down from the sky on four golden wings. It matched Cannon Soldier point for point.
"Also, I activate my equip spell, Elf's Light, increasing its attack to 1800. Now then, it shall destroy your metal demon!" The High Sparrow ordered.
The winged man charged forth, arms alight and shot a beam of light directly at Cannon Soldier, only for the cannon to shoot out a beam of its own, each attack blowing their target into pieces. Though Shining Angel's pieces had more blood than Cannon's.
When the chaos cleared, the High Sparrow and his followers looked over to see one of Jon's Trap Cards had been activated.
"Skill Successor. It increases one of my monster's attack points by 400. Same as yours. So we are even." Jon explained.
"Not quite. When Shining Angel is destroyed, I can summon another Light monster from my deck, so long as it has 1500 or less attack points. And I choose Aurkus, Lightsworn Druid."
A man with white hair and holding a grey book appeared on the field. With 1200 attack points, it stood no chance against either of its predecessors from before the battle phase, but now it was all alone, and had a clear shot at Jon.
"Now Aurkus, attack the Bastard directly!" The High Sparrow ordered.
The old man ran forth, and prepared to throw his book at Jon, only for the other trap to flip over and reveal itself.
Defense Draw.
As the book bounced harmlessly against the trap, Jon drew a card from his deck.
"Clever, but I have the gods on my side. Your luck will fail, it is only a matter of time." The High Sparrow ended his turn. But not before he took the top two cards of his deck and placed them in the graveyard. When he noticed Jon's curious look, he explained. "Aurkus' ability."
Jon nodded and drew another card. 'That bought me time, but I would rather I did not use BOTH my traps so quickly. Can't be helped I suppose.' he thought to himself as he looked at his hand.
"I play Double Summon. This allows me to summon two monsters instead of just one this turn. First, I summon Obnoxious Celtic Guardian, and then I summon Fossil Tusker."
After Celtic Guardian appeared on the field, he was joined by a large white creature that had tusks and brown fur from dirt near the ground.
'This way I can hopefully still have a defense if it is a trap.' Jon thought to himself.
"Now, Fossil Tusker, destroy Aurkus!" Jon commanded.
Fossil Tusker rushed forward, and in mere moments, both Aurkus and his book found themselves impaled on its tusks, his blood adding color to Fossil Tusker's appearance.
"Just so you know, when Fossil Tusker destroys a monster by combat, he deals an additional 400 damage to you. So now you just lost an even thousand life points." Jon explained.
Fossil Tusker flung Aurkus off its tusks, only for a piece of the earth to rise up from the ground, blocking the High Sparrow from being harmed. Upon closer inspection, it was a statue of a woman with green hair and a staff.
J: 4000 HS: 6000
Upon seeing Jon's shock, the High Sparrow let out a small chuckle. "Ah yes, my trap card. Aegis of Gaia. It gives me an additional 3000 Life Points while it stays on the field. So instead of going down to 3000, I went up to 6000."
Jon bit back a curse. Unfortunately, his deck was not built with removing traps or spells from the field, which put him at a disadvantage against such a card. No matter, he went in knowing the odds were against him.
"Be that as it may, now I know your field is wide open. So Celtic Guardian will attack!" Jon once again ordered his monster.
Obnoxious Celtic Guardian charged forward and slashed the statue. It failed to break it, but it did leave a large crack almost cutting it in half.
J: 4000 HS: 4600
"That is all from me this turn." Jon admitted.
The High Sparrow drew another card and smiled. He put the fresh card in his hand and pulled out another.
"You shall all bear witness to a true knight. Not one corrupted by wealth or status. I summon Jain, Lightsworn Paladin."
A light enveloped a space on the field. When it receded, there stood a fully armored knight, save for the helm. Because of this, one could see the man's young face and white hair. He boasted the same attack as Fossil Tusker: 1800.
"Now Jain, attack his Celtic Guardian, and show him that the Warrior grants his strength to the righteous!" The High Sparrow commanded.
Jain rushed forward and locked blades with Celtic Guardian. Suddenly, his blade began to glow.
"In case you were unaware, Jain gains 300 attack points when he declares an attack." The High Sparrow mentioned quickly.
However, even with the glowing blade empowering Jain, Celtic Guardian managed to block an otherwise fatal strike and force Jain back, but suffered a cut on the arm that appeared on Jon's arm as well.
J: 3300 HS: 4600
"Fortunately, Obnoxious Celtic Guardian cannot be defeated by a monster with more than 1900 attack points. My life points may have taken a hit, but he is safe." Jon explained.
"Very well then. I end my turn." The High Sparrow said. "And by doing so, I must send the top two cards of my deck to the Graveyard."
He picked them up and briefly looked at them, before grabbing one of them.
"Fortunately for me, one of them was Wulf, Lightsworn Beast! When it is sent to the graveyard from the deck, I can Special Summon it!" He explained as he placed the card down.
On the field, a human like creature appeared on the field. It looked like a man, save for its head being that of a wolf. Behind its wolf head, was a long white ponytail, and on its arms were some sort of wolf claw shaped weapons. In its hands was a double-bladed axe, though the handle was far longer than most axes Jon had ever seen. It was as strong as Jain during combat, at 2100 attack points.
'On the bright side, if he keeps sending his deck to the graveyard, then I may win from a deck out. No, that would be too easy. If that were a problem, he would have lost already.' Jon thought as he drew to start off his turn.
Looking at his hand which consisted of three cards, and the field, which had two, Jon looked for any way to take out Wulf.
"I want to keep Skill Successor for an emergency. This will work, but barely.' Jon thought to himself.
"I equip Celtic Guardian with the Fusion Sword Murasame Blade! This can only be equipped to warriors and boosts his attack by 800. Not only that, the sword cannot be targeted by card effects." Jon explained. The sword appeared in front of Celtic Guardian, and he took a hold of it, raising his attack to 2200, turning him from the weakest on the field to the strongest. Now Obnoxious Celtic Guardian was essentially invincible, as it could not be destroyed by stronger monsters head on.
'He still has a face down, but he did not activate it last turn when I attacked him directly. Meaning it could be a power up card, and he did not use it because it would not have been enough to save Aurkus.' Jon tried to think about what could upset his plan, but he had no other choice but to attack.
"Now, Obnoxious Celtic Guardian, attack Wulf!" Jon commanded.
Celtic Guardian rushed to Wulf, and while his first sword was deflected by the axe, the Fusion Blade penetrated his unarmoured leg, bringing Wulf down and allowing Celtic Guardian to slice off his head.
Jon looked down to check the Life Points.
J: 3300 HS: 6500
'WHAT! How?' Jon thought in a panic. The High Sparrow had almost double his Jon's own Life Points.
"I see you are confused. How about you look over here?" The High Sparrow said, pointing to his revealed trap card.
"Numinous Healer. I gain a thousand Life Points, and an additional 500 for each other Numinous Healer in my Graveyard. And it just so happens that both of them had already been sent by my Lightsworn monster's abilities. A bit of a waste it seems at first, but the Seven know what they are doing, I assure you."
Jon bit his lip. This was in part more annoying than anything else.
'Wait. Three Numinous Healers, Aurkus, Shining Angel and Elf's Light, and now Wulf. And there was one other card that he discarded that I do not know the identity of. That makes eight.'
"Out of curiosity, mind telling all of us what the other card you sent was?" Jon asked. It was more out of curiosity, but he was within his right to ask, as there were cards that would let Jon interact with the High Sparrow's graveyard.
Shrugging, the High Sparrow reached into the graveyard and pulled out the card. "It was sent by Aurkus' ability along with one of the Healers. It is a Trap called Ray of Hope." He explained.
Jon nodded. What it actually was did not matter, but it was always best to know just in case.
"I end my battle phase without using Fossil Tusker. I end my turn by playing one card face down." Jon announced. He was down to one card in his hand, but the card he just played, which he kept in his hand to assure it would not be destroyed easily, may just be what was needed to turn the battle around.
"My turn then." The High Septon announced as he drew.
"First, I sacrifice Jain, the Lightsworn Paladin. Then I summon Celestia, Lightsworn Angel in attack mode."
Jain turned into a burst of light, and standing in his stead, was a woman with purple hair in a white dress. She had 2300 attack points. 100 more than Celtic Guardian.
"Now then, I shall activate her ability. By discarding the top four cards of my deck, I can select two cards on the field and destroy them. And I choose both of your monsters!" The High Sparrow announced.
Beams of light emanated from Celestia's hands, shooting a hole right in the foreheads of both monsters before their bodies clattered to the ground.
"Now Celestia will attack you Directly!" The High Sparrow ordered.
A third beam of light shot forward at Jon, only to dissipate into nothing.
"Now it is your turn to look at my trap. Ghost of a Grudge. Since you have eight or more cards in your graveyard, your monster has 0 attack points." Jon revealed his trap.
"Very well then, I shall end my turn." The High Septon said, annoyance at Jon's stall tactics as obvious in his voice as Jon's for his.
"My move then." Jon said as he drew.
Jon then did something no one watching, either from the crowd of Faith Militant behind the High Sparrow, or the few souls of the North standing behind Jon in the Moat, was expecting.
He walked across the field, right up to the High Sparrow. The old man and the boy on the cusp of manhood stared at each other.
"I would like to examine your Graveyard." Jon said simply.
It was his right as his opponent, and the High Sparrow said nothing as he removed the cards from his graveyard, and handed them over to the Bastard, without so much as giving them a look himself. Though he did so in a stiff way that showed disdain.
Jon began examining the cards that either he or a Lightsworn effect had sent to the graveyard. After a moment, he nodded, and handed them back to the High Septon.
"Thank you." He said simply, before walking back to his side of the field, which was completely barren.
Once back on his side, he turned back to face his enemy, like nothing had just occurred.
Then, he began his turn.
"First, I shall play the card I just drew, Pot of Greed. You probably know this, but it allows me to draw two more cards into my hand." Jon played the card and drew. After looking briefly at the two new cards, Jon instead pulled out the one that was already in his hand.
"I activate Monster Reborn. This allows me to select one monster in EITHER of our graveyards and add it to my side of the field."
Jon would be lying if he said he did not feel a twinge of satisfaction at seeing the High Sparrow's face morph into one of panic.
As Jon held Monster Reborn up, it briefly glowed black, as if it was actually using dark magic to reach the deceased monster. Then, the card changed appearance. Where once there was a spell in Jon's hand, now there was a level eight monster.
"The monster I choose to resurrect is Majestic Mech Goryu."
Whereas before, the High Sparrow's monsters had glowed into existence, or fallen from the sky, now it arose from the ground.
Everyone felt the very ground shake, and suddenly a golden and white dragon emerged from the ground. But it was clear to everyone that this monster was decayed in several places, though over the next few moments, the most obvious parts faded, returning Goryu to what it looked like in life.
With all 2900 of its attack points.
"I suppose I really should thank you. Majestic Mech Goryu was sent to the graveyard by Celestia's ability. And it was on top of the Graveyard, meaning it was the very last one to be sent." Jon explained. "Don't worry though. He will not be alone. Come forth, Gil Garth!"
A steel armored terror appeared on the field, boasting a modest but impressive 1800 attack points.
"Now then, Majestic Mech Goryu will attack your Celestia!" Jon commanded the undead fairy.
Goryu opened his mouth, and a beam of light, not unlike the one used to destroy Celtic Guardian and Fossil Tusker, came forth and burnt Celestia until only her bleached bones and screams remained.
J: 3300 HS: 5900
"Now then, Gil Garth will attack you directly, and just like Goryu, he will have some aid from the Graveyard, only this time it will be mine. I activate Skill Successor from the Graveyard; this allows me to increase Gil Garth's attack by 800." Jon explained to his opponent.
A spectral figure resembling Canon Soldier appeared behind Gil Garth, before merging into the metallic fiend. Gil Garth ran forward and stabbed the High Sparrow right through the gut. But when he pulled the sword back, the High Septon was almost unharmed, with only a slow bleed coming from the injury.
J: 3300 HS: 3300
"Now then, we are all tied up." Jon said as he ended his turn.
In truth, this was the longest duel Jon ever had where Life Points had stayed practically unchanged from the beginning. Jon had in fact already dealt enough damage to win him a normal duel.
Jon figured that the High Sparrow could not summon a monster strong enough to defeat Goryu without a monster to sacrifice. So, he would either target Gil Garth, or place it in defense mode. Goryu would deal piercing damage due to its effect, and Jon would finally start to take the lead on this duel.
"My turn then." The High Sparrow said as he drew. He then cleared his throat and began to speak.
"I see that these lands are truly vile. To think you would dare to raise the dead over letting them rest. No doubt that move was inspired by some ancient tree worshipping ritual. But it matters not. For now, I shall bring the Light of the Seven to the frozen Hellscape and bring about salvation to those worthy of it. Now, Since I have at least four Lightsworn monsters in my graveyard, I can special summon the monster I just drew. Behold, the representation of the Father himself, Judgement Dragon!"
From his graveyard, four lights shot forth, One Light expanded, taking the shape of wings, another took the form of legs. Connecting the two, a third light shifted into the body of an animal's body. Finally, the fourth light took the form of a dragon skull.
Eventually, the lights faded, and a dragon in the shape of the light stood in its place. This dragon has a bluish white coloring, and while actual dragons were said to be covered in scales, this one had feathers over its body and wings.
And it boasted a grand 3000 Life Points.
"Magnificent is it not? First, I shall activate this spell I kept in my hand for an emergency, Diane Keto the Cure Master. Now, I regain 1000 Life Points, putting me back at 4300. Now then, I shall activate Judgement Dragon's ability. By sacrificing the 1000 Life Points I just gained, Judgement Dragon can destroy every other card on the field, allowing it to attack you directly.
Light poured out of the High Sparrow, and into Judgement Dragon's mouth. Once there was enough, Judgement dragon breathed the light like it was fire.
The light burned Gil Garth into a pile of scrap, and Goryu was immolated from the light, returning to its decaying form before falling on the ground. Lifeless like when it was first summoned. Even the statue that represented Aegis of Gaia was destroyed.
When the field cleared, only Judgement Dragon remained.
J: 3300 HS: 3300
"Well then Bastard, it seems you have been judged and found wanting. Just as most of your kind will be in the coming days." The High Sparrow said, only for stone to rise up and stab him in several places.
J: 3300 HS: 300
Despite himself, a smile appeared on Jon's face. "What? You forgot your Aegis of Gaia gave you Life Points while it was on the field? Now that it is off, you lost them all again." He reminded his opponent.
The High Sparrow freed himself from the spikes of stone. "No matter, Judgement Dragon, attack the Bastard directly!"
Once again, a ball of light grew outside of Judgement Dragon's mouth. Once again it breathed it forward, directly striking Jon.
Jon was briefly reminded of a rumour he had heard about damage in duels with lives at stake. They said that monsters that had the water attribute made you feel either like you were in a downpour or drowning. Fire damage made you feel like you were burnt, Earth like you had been hit in the head by a rock and so on.
This damage from the Light attribute Judgement Dragon left Jon's body almost fully intact, but he felt as though his Soul had been crippled.
J: 300 HS: 300
Jon was having a hard time breathing. There was nothing stopping him per se, just the feeling that it took more energy than it gave him back.
"You see now? How powerless you are in the face of the Seven?" The High Sparrow said with cheers from the other Sparrows joining him.
But Jon was only dimly aware of the cheering crowd behind the High Sparrow.
"I...I take it you...ended your turn." Jon said slowly.
The High Sparrow nodded, sending four cards from his deck to the graveyard, which Jon figured was due to Judgement Dragon's effect. This allowed Jon to begin his turn by drawing.
He looked at the two cards in his hand. The one he drew with Pot of Greed was Berfomet, which was useless right now, with neither enough attack or defense to protect Jon, nor any way to summon it.
'Looks like this one will have to do.' Jon thought as he picked up the just drawn card.
"I set this monster in defense mode and end my turn." Jon said, strength starting to return to him.
"As valiant an effort as possible for a Heathenous Bastard I suppose." The High Sparrow said to the cheers of those behind him.
The High Sparrow drew, and it was clear from his face, that the card was not a monster. If it was, he would have won by simply attacking with both.
"It matters not. Judgement Dragon, destroy this Heathen's last defense, and let the Mother take pity on him, for he never stood a chance in life."
Judgement Dragon opened it may for the third time. It would be the last.
Jon's monster revealed itself. A metal jar with an eye.
Cyber Jar.
Judgement Dragon shot forth the beam of light, only for it to be absorbed into the Jar. Cyber Jar kept sucking it up, and Judgement Dragon itself was pulled into the small jar and destroyed.
"I suppose you were unaware of Cyber Jar's ability. When it is flipped face up, all monsters on the field are destroyed, we both draw five cards, and summon as many monsters as we can from them." Jon explained, picking up the top five cards of his deck and looking at them.
"I set one monster in defense mode. For the others, I summon the following three: Pitch Black Warwolf, Blackland Fire Dragon, and Gazelle, the King of Mythical Beasts."
The three monsters appeared on the field, fresh and ready for combat.
The High Sparrow accepted the setback and drew five cards as well, though he only summoned two.
"I summon Lyla, Lightsworn Sorceress."
A woman in white robes and a blue see through cape appeared on the field. In her hands was a rod of some kind.
And she had 1700 attack points. Enough to take out any of Jon's monsters.
"I also bring back the first casualty of this crusade to the North: The Shining Angel."
Once again, a blond winged man fell from the sky, though he was weaker than any on the field
"As it is still my battle phase, I will continue with combat. Lyla will attack your Gazelle!" The high Sparrow commanded.
Lyla threw the rod at Gazelle, impaling his head before pulling it out of the now dead beast.
J:100 HS: 300
"I shall end the battle phase, but not the turn. For now, I sacrifice both Lyla and Shining Angel, in order to summon my SECOND Majestic Mech Goryu!" The High Sparrow revealed.
Unlike the one Jon summoned from the grave, this Majestic Mech descended from the sky, in all its glory.
And just like the other, it had 2900 attack points. More than enough to take out any of Jon's monsters. And with the ability to do piercing damage, it did not matter if they were switched to defense mode.
"Now then, I end my turn. By all means, take as much time as you need to come to terms with your impending demise. It is more than your ancestors gave ours." The High Sparrow said. For once, he did not have to discard his deck at the end of the turn.
Jon looked at his hand. He still had Berfomet, and he had drawn Card of Sanctity thanks to Cyber Jar, so even if he drew a bad card, he could take a chance and draw some better ones. But there was no singular card that could get him out of it.
'Well, hopefully I bought the reinforcements enough time. They should be on their way here soon.' Jon thought. Even if he dies, which seems very likely at this point, they will not harm the North.
Taking comfort in that thought. Jon breathed to calm himself and drew the top card of his deck.
He looked at it.
It was that card. The one he never was able to play. The one that he had had since the cards first appeared. That Ygritte had asked about before they reached Greywater Watch.
Jon looked at the field. He could actually win this. He never had both this card AND three monsters on the field at the same time. He felt his body fill with the strength Judgement Dragon's attack had taken away.
"Alright then. Listen up. You come here, saying that you will help the people, while also talking about killing plenty of good people. And why? Just because they have a different belief. Well, from what I have seen, you are nothing but a sad old man, who saw his chance to have his life have meaning and took it. And now, you think you can kill us and not be punished? I will not stand for this. It is time to end this." Jon said, yelling with the emotions that he kept inside of himself to try to maintain a calm exterior like his father did. Now it was all letting out.
"Big words from a Bastard with no idea of honor ever shown to him." The High Sparrow retorted.
Jon found himself smiling a bit. Not a large one, but just a small grin. "You may be right. I am a Bastard. I have been chained to that word since before I was old enough to know it. But that does not matter. Today, the fact that I am a Bastard, matters less than this. I am a Northerner. I am the blood of House Stark. And I shall do as my family has done for eight thousand years. Defend the North."
Jon lifted the card in the air. "And to help me, I shall sacrifice both my Blackland Fire Dragon, Pitch Black Warwolf, and my set monster Versago the Destroyer, in order to summon SLIFER THE SKY DRAGON!"
Storm clouds gathered, and the three monsters Jon had on the field flew up, turning into light even as the clouds darkened. A roar not heard of in over a century filled the air of the North.
The first thing everyone saw was part of its body, slithering around the clouds like a red and black snake.
Eventually, its body shot down, and wrapped itself around Moat Cailin, but gently enough that it did not break any of the towers.
It raised its head at the army in front of it, allowing everyone to see its face.
It was blood red, with a blue orb on its forehead.
It had 2000 attack points.
"Th-that's it?" The High Sparrow said, fear replaced by a laugh of madness. "It is impressive to be sure, but Goryu still stands stronger by nearly 1000 attack points. All you did was save me the trouble of choosing which monster to attack!"
"Not quite. You see, Slifer can be strong or weak, depending on one factor: My hand. Slifer's attack is always how many cards are in my hand, multiplied by a thousand. So, I will temporarily weaken him, in order to make him more powerful than ever. I play Card of Sanctity! This allows the two of us to both draw until we have six cards in our hand. Raising Slifer's attack from 1000, to 6000!" Jon announced, to the shock of all who heard him, which was a lot, as the wind seemed to carry Jon's voice farther than any would think possible.
"Now then Slifer, Attack his Majestic Mech Goryu, AND END THIS!" Jon yelled.
Slifer obeyed, opening its giant mouth, and unleashing a blast of lightning and flame that put the Lightsworn's beams of light to shame. To say Goryu was struck by the blast would be an understatement. It would be better to say it was swallowed by the blast.
"I-impossible." The High Sparrow said, unable to speak any further than that.
J: VICTORY HS: DEFEAT
"You lost. You said your Judgement Dragon would judge me. Now, it is my monster's turn to judge you. And it has found you guilty. Now then, go meet your gods." Jon said, feeling his body be drained of what little strength he had left.
Slifer opened its mouth again, and blasted the High Sparrow,
Where the leader of the Faith Militant once stood, was nothing but a crater deep enough that the bottom was covered in shadows, even at high noon with the sun directly shining into it.
Jon felt his body start to fall, only to hit something. He barely looked over, and saw Slifer's talon, as it gently guided him to the ground, instead of letting him hit the ground on his own.
"BASTARD!"
Jon looked up and saw a man with a full seven-pointed star scar on his forehead step up.
"YOU WILL PAY FOR THAT BASTARD!" He yelled as he and most of the Faith Militant, angered by the death of their leader, rushed forward, wanting to tear Jon to pieces as he was too injured and weak to cause a duel to occur.
Slifer let out a roar, and its second mouth opened up. Both mouths left out a blast, moving so it hit every foe to approach Jon.
Not even bones or ashes remained of the small army that thought to try to fight the North. Though a few horses were seen bringing their riders south, back into the Neck.
As Jon just tried to stay awake, he felt someone touch his body, and he briefly heard some yelling and saw a flash of red. The last thing he felt before fading into unconsciousness was the vibrations of hoof beats approaching from the North.
AN: So, yeah.
The Mystery card was Slifer the Sky Dragon.
One reviewer actually guessed it back in chapter 2. And some others figured it out later. So, congratulations to all of you.
Also, at over 7000 words, this is the longest Chapter to date. I wanted it to be long but thought I would be lucky to get it to just 6000.
Something I need to say, is that despite this being the end of the Faith Militant, the Sparrows themselves still exist. I have mentioned or hinted at some characters that were not present here, and they are not out of the count just yet.
But for now, The Faith Militant Arc is at an end. The rest of the chapters will be setting up for future events, then I begin work on other stories.
Hope you all stay safe, and feel free to review. This work has a TV Tropes page, and I would welcome any help in expanding it.
See you all next chapter,