King's Landing 299 AC.

Jaime.

He was worried about him, so much so that not even being with Joanna and Jon could take his mind off of Jae. His daughter tried her best and Jaime went through the motions hoping that she didn't notice that he was barely there with her. Dacey noticed though and so his wife did her best to distract Joanna when Jaime was beginning to falter. The moment she noticed his mask slipping she was there to speak to Joanna about the picnic she'd been on and the ride she'd taken on the horse. Yet even hearing the excitement in his daughter's voice wasn't enough to stop his thoughts from going to Jae.

Things had been going so well, everyone had been so happy and then just like that the mood was changed completely. He understood why Aemon had said what he had and that Jae needed to know of it, but he shouldn't have simply gone to him and told him that he'd need to kill his wife. Not after the news Jae and Margaery had just shared with the realm. Gods, what was the man thinking? How did he think Jae was going to react to something like that? Especially when he'd been so very happy to find out he was to be a father. Jaime found himself smiling despite how worried he was as he thought of his own conversation with Jae and how he had been told that the realm was soon to have an heir.

"You wished to see me your grace?" he asked as he walked down the steps and into the sparring yard, the note bidding him come here still in his hand.

"Pick up a sword." Jae said and Jaime noticed there was a smile on his face when he said it.

"I had wished to break my fast with my wife and children." he said half-heartedly, he had but he had missed their morning spars which had almost turned into weekly or even less than that rather than daily events.

"Pick up the damn sword." Jae said with a chuckle that Jaime was soon sharing as nodded and picked the sword up.

The two of them moved together just as they always did, both of them anticipating the other's movements and countering them. It took some time for the first point to be earned and he almost laughed when he lost it, though it did focus him and within a moment he'd taken one back. The third and fourth were shared and Jaime felt he needed to up his game a little. So he moved faster and dodged a spinning strike from Jae before catching him with a riposte to the arm. Again the next two strikes were shared and with the scores at four to three in his favor, Jaime noticed how Jae moved even more determinedly and was surprised to be caught with a strike that he didn't see coming. What was even more surprising was that Jae then called a stop to the sparring.

"I find I don't wish to lose today nor to know if I can finally beat you." Jae said his breathing heavy.

"No, it would be a loss as always." he said to a loud laugh.

The two of them sat down, Jae pouring him a mug of water that he added ice to, and as he drank it Jaime found the drink to be more refreshing than usual.

"When did you start this?" he asked raising the mug.

"It was Martyn's idea, I'd not thought of it with the water." Jae said drinking his own.

"It's good." he said and Jae nodded, the two of them sitting in silence for a few moments.

"I'm to be a father, Jaime." Jae said making him almost choke on his drink.

"For true, Margaery is with child?" Jaime said rising to his feet.

"She is, almost three moons according to the Grandmaester." Jae said.

He knew it was he that embraced Jae first but the hug was soon returned, Jaime looking to see the smile on Jae's face to be a full one. There was something there in his eyes too and it took him a few moments to realize it. It wasn't exactly worry or doubt but it was a look that he knew begged reassurance and so he gave it to him.

"You'll be a great father, Jae. How you are with children, gods you own child will be the most spoiled child in the seven kingdoms." he said with a laugh.

"I…you truly think so?" Jae asked.

"I know so. Jon is soon going to have a younger brother or sister to grow up with." Jaime said and he saw Jae dry swallow.

"And my babe is going to have a grandfather they can look up to." Jae said as Jaime nodded, his hand reaching out to touch his shoulder.

He'd been so damn happy, almost blissfully so and though Jae by nature was far happier than his father had been, it was still rare to see him without a worry or a care. When he was with children, Joy, Joanna, Jon, Martyn, Tommen, when he was with them the world around him seemed to fade away and he'd be Jae the boy and not Jae the king. When he was sparring, he was able to shut out the world and the truth of who he was, and Jaime would then see him at peace, see his content.

On the few occasions that he'd walked into the Royal Chambers and he'd caught him and Margaery alone together, the two of them just enjoying being themselves and not the king and queen, then he'd be happy. That morning when they'd sparred he'd been the happiest he'd ever seen him. The weight of the world just faded completely away as he shared his news with him. Later that day he'd told Arthur and Barristan and he'd seen it then too and then within a few days it was gone. He hadn't even been given a full week to enjoy it and revel in it and Jaime knew from his own experience that it took even longer than that before you could concentrate on anything else.

That was why he'd been so angry with Aemon, why he'd nearly struck the man, and had it not been for Barristan then they may have added Princeslayer to the moniker he'd worn for so many years. He'd never lost it as much as he did when Aemon told him what he'd done, what he'd said, and what he believed. Looking back on it was he another man then he'd think it was because of the news itself and his worries about the truth of that news. But he knew that hadn't been the reason, he'd lost it and gone for the man because he'd hurt his son so deeply.

"What did you say to him?" he asked as he stormed into the room.

"Jaime." Ser Barristan said moving to stop him.

"What the fuck did you say to Jae?" he said moving past Barristan so that he was now only a few feet away from Aemon.

"I told him the truth, the awful horrible truth about his destiny." Aemon said.

"His destiny?" he asked.

"He is Azor Ahai and so he must do as Azor Ahai did." Aemon said his voice soft and though there was sadness in his words and his expression, Jaime found he cared not.

"What the fuck does that mean?" he said moving closer, Barristan holding out his arm to stop him from getting too close.

"Azor Ahai forged Lightbringer by thrusting it into the heart of his wife, my nephew must do the same, Margaery must become Nissa Nissa so that Jae can Bring the Dawn." Aemon said.

That Barristan was so shocked and stunned by what he'd heard was the reason he was able to get to him. Jaime grabbing Aemon by the neck and pushing him against the wall. It was only that he drew back so the punch would carry the weight behind it that allowed for it to be stopped, otherwise, he'd have hurt him more than his hand around his throat was already doing.

"Jaime, calm down." Barristan said as Jaime looked at him incredulously.

"Calm down, did you fucking hear what he said? What he said to your king."

"I heard and hitting the prince won't fix things." Barristan said firmly.

"He deserves to be fucking hit. What the fuck were you thinking? How did you think Jae would take such news? You're not a fool, so why?" he asked angrily.

"He needed to know." Aemon said.

"No, he did not and certainly not now, I swear it to you if you've hurt him as much as I think you have then when next I see you even Barristan won't be able to stop me." He said storming from the room.

Jae had been how he'd expected and it had been left to him to speak to people, to Olenna and Willas, to Ser Richard, and to the Kingsguard. When Jae had left alone with Lady Malora he'd feared the worst and at least took some comfort in the fact that he came back and spoke to Margaery before leaving again with Arthur and Ghost. Now all he could do was wait and though he knew he should be working, he found that he could not.

If he couldn't manage to be distracted from his thoughts by Joanna or Jon then he was in no frame of mind to work. So he sat, waited, and like Margaery and others, he worried.

King's Landing 299 AC (the day after Dany spoke to Jae about Aurane).

Aurane Waters.

Being chewed out by a king was an experience he'd not soon forget. That said king could if he wished call upon a Direwolf, a dragon, the greatest swords of the realm, and was himself someone who wielded Dark Sister, as well as Aemon the Dragonknight, only made him relieved it had been words only he'd faced. Yet it was the words themselves that he had concentrated on, what they had meant for him and what they could mean for them both.

To be told by a king that your own thoughts of unworthiness mattered not, that the only person in a position to decide if you were good enough for them was the person you had hurt by saying you were not, had not been how he'd expected his conversation to go. How he'd expected it to go had been one of the main reasons why he'd thought himself so unworthy in the first place. Aurane had assumed that he'd be told that he was right, that his birth made him an unworthy suitor for a princess of the realm. He'd thought that he may even have been asked to keep his visits to King's Landing to a minimum, how wrong he was.

"Did his grace say why he wished to speak to me?" he asked nervously to no reply.

He looked to Ser Walder and Ser Jors, both of them standing either side of him as he was basically marched through the keep and out into the gardens. It was the white wolf he saw first and Aurane gulped at how it looked at him, yet it was the king's expression and his stance that made him truly nervous. As he looked at the king, Aurane felt as if he was looking at a dragon coiled and ready to strike and when the two Kingsguard were sent away he felt more nervous than he had already been.

"You know why I've brought you here?" the king asked, his eyes boring deep into his own.

"I'm sorry, your grace. I meant no disrespect to you or your house, I give you my word I've not dishonored Princess Daenerys, we've kissed but that's as far as it's gone and I've put an end to it." Aurane said as the king walked over to him.

Being slapped across the head by a king was a new experience for him, that it was not a hard blow or meant to hurt him left him even more confused.

"How many of those will it take?" the king asked.

"Your grace?"

"To knock some sense into that thick skull of yours, how many more do you imagine it will take. One? Two? Five? More?" the king asked.

"I don't understand, your grace." he said truthfully.

"What House is the lealest to mine own? Throughout our entire history in Westeros what is the House that mine own can name its truest?" the king asked.

"House Velaryon, your grace." he said proudly.

"Aye, so true that there have been more matches between our two Houses than perhaps any other two houses in the realm. We share blood you and me, blood that goes back generations and right to the conqueror himself." the king said bidding him sit.

"We do, your grace." he said joining the king when he sat down on the grass, Aurane looking at the small patch of disturbed earth that the king had briefly focussed on.

"I named your brother as my Master of Ships because it's no less than House Velaryon deserves. I've seen your House has benefited more than most from my own rise because it's no less than what House Velaryon deserves. Do you really think a son of a House I see that way could incur my displeasure by being my aunt's choice?" the King asked.

"I am a bastard, your grace, not a trueborn son." he said not looking at him.

"As was I once. As were my cousins once, as was my sister once." the king said looking at him "I care not for your birth, Aurane, and even if I do it's not my place to tell my aunt who she can and cannot be with."

"You are the king, your grace." he said looking to find the king staring at him.

"I am a nephew first." the king said.

They sat silently for a moment, the king looking closer at the patch of disturbed ground and so Aurane did likewise. He finally noticed what looked to be the beginning of a bud, a plant of some sort seeming ready to grow from the ground. When he looked closer though he saw it wasn't actually a plant, it was a tree or the beginnings of one. Turning to the king he saw that he was staring at him once more and had noticed that he'd seen the tree.

"A Weirwood. The first shoots of a Weirwood tree that will grow as the realm does. A symbol for the new realm that my wife and I wish to build. A realm where people have hope, where children don't go hungry and aren't preyed upon and instead are given opportunities to make a life for themselves and for their own families." the king said, a small smile on his face when he did so.

"A noble idea, your grace" he said.

"In that future, who you truly are will be more important than who you were born as. Aye, I know who you were born as will still define your life as much as I may wish it would not. I was born a bastard, Aurane, aye, in truth I was a king but for some of my life, most of it, I knew myself more as one than the other. My cousins were born bastards yet in truth are princesses as much as their father is a prince. The girl I named my sister was born a bastard and yet in truth, there is no girl in this kingdom that holds my heart in her hands as much as she. Birth matters only here." the king said touching his hand to his head "Not here." he said touching his heart as he rose and bid him do likewise.

"Would that was so, your grace." he said softly when he did.

"It's so if we make it so, Aurane. My aunt sees it so and so do I and so I ask again, how many slaps to that thick skull is it going to take?" the king asked his smile bigger now.

"I believe the one you hit me with earlier was enough, your grace." Aurane said.

"Good, if I send you back to my aunt bruised then I believe she'd not be best pleased." the king said with a laugh that he happily joined in with.

He walked beside him as they left the garden and just as they were about to leave, the king stopped him and turned to face him.

"I need not say what I'll do to you should you hurt her, so I'll not, but I would ask you to remember this should you feel unworthy once more. My aunt deems you worthy and that is something that should fill your heart with joy. No one else's opinion truly matters but yours and hers, remember that and you and I shall never have a need to speak of such things again."

He had left the garden and walked straight to her rooms, his steps quick and purposeful and he hoped that she listened to him when he got there. Two men of the Hundred stood at her door and when he knocked, he for the briefest moment was sure that he'd not be allowed inside. His mind telling him that she would open the door and tell him to leave her alone, his chest began to tighten at the thoughts of it, and then the door opened.

"Can we speak?" he asked hopefully and she nodded, Dany moving to let him into the room and then closing the door behind her "I've been a complete fool." he said as soon as she had closed it.

She kissed him, deeply, her tongue seeking his almost hungrily and he felt her almost fall into his arms. When he picked her up in them he heard her giggle and then she was kissing him again. Aurane did his best to try and carry her to the couch and not fall over onto his face as he did so. Reaching the couch she refused to let him go and so he sat down with her cradled in his arms. He looked into her eyes and saw that she was happy, her hands holding his head as she looked into his own. Despite wishing to just sit with her, kiss her and hold her, he knew they needed to talk but she wasn't going to let him move her and so he didn't even try.

"You spoke to Jae?" she asked when she realized he wasn't going to keep kissing her for now.

"He made me see what an idiot looks like" he said and she smirked before she spoke.

"He had a looking glass with him?" she said before laughing and he couldn't help but join her.

"He may as well have. I'm sorry Dany, truly." he said his voice pleading as he looked at her.

"Have you decided to put aside your foolish ideas?" she asked.

"I have. I know not what you see in me." he said raising his finger and placing it on her lips before she could speak "And I care not. I just thank the gods for you and for bringing you into my life. I love you." he said and he saw her face still, her breathing heavy.

"I love you too." she said and then they were kissing once again and this time he had no intention to let anything or anyone stop him.

Beyond the Wall 299 AC.

Quentyn Martell.

Why had he done this? How foolish could a man actually be? Could anyone truly survive in cold such as this? How could he have known there was a place that was even colder than the Wall? Was he to die here? These were just some of the thoughts that he'd had over the last few days. He was tired, cold, hungry, and were it not for the fact that he'd surely lose his head, then Quentyn would have turned back and run for the Wall days ago.

That wasn't truly an option though and so he and some of the others who were born in far warmer lands suffered greatly as their group made its way through the forests and woods. He had thought these men his friends only to realize that when it came to survival it was every man for themselves. Dirk and Clubfoot Karl and some of the others had soon tired of his complaining and bellyaching. Their annoyance with him made all too clear by the blackened eye he now wore. The punch had caught him so by surprise that he'd not even felt the pain of it until later on but it had quietened his complaints, as he feared what would have come next if he'd spoken more.

They'd lost four men to the cold, four men from the Golden Company who'd taken part in more battles than the rest of the men combined. Karl had not mourned them and if anything had mocked them though his words were true too.

"How well you wield a sword matters not to the god of ice, the cold will beat you every time even if you're the fucking Sword of the Morning." Karl said to nods of agreement.

Quentyn had thought that he'd lead these men, that once they had gotten Beyond the Wall then he as a prince would be chosen to be their leader. He'd been very wrong and if anything he was now lower down the chain of command than he had been at Castle Black. Out here your birth didn't matter, only your strength and ability to master both the cold and those with you and so it was Karl who led. Dirk was serving as his second though the way the two men looked at each other it didn't bode well for a long and healthy partnership.

"We'll rest up here, Quentyn go gather the wood for the fire, Dirk, see if you can find any game." Karl said and Quentyn hurried to do what he was told.

Sitting by the fire later that night he at least felt some of the warmth come back to his hands and toes. He even enjoyed the rabbit he was given, though it was thin and didn't carry much meat it was warm and he was starved. Quentyn even chewed on the bones as Karl had shown him, the sweet meat inside them helping to fill his stomach even more. Finding out he was not on watch was a great relief to him as he hated being made to sit up alone in the night. Out here the nights felt different and he'd rather sleep through them than be awake with the thoughts that came with it. Thoughts of being watched and of things moving around them and of what truly lurked in the darkness

When he woke the next morning he felt relief though it was short-lived. They'd lost another man during the night and now were less than ten and he began to wonder if they'd ever make this place they were heading to, or if it even existed. Later that day he found out that it did and after a brief scuffle with the man who held the holdfast they had taken it and Craster now lay dead. Who had actually killed the man had led to an argument that night and he watched in stunned horror as Dirk stabbed Karl almost twenty times.

"I told ya I fucking killed him ya dead fuck." Dirk said before looking around the large open space that served as Craster's Hall "Any of you have anything to fucking say?"

No one did and instead, they were all far more interested in the fire, the food, and the ale that the women brought them. Quentyn himself as guilty as any of them in ignoring what Dirk had just done and yet he felt his stomach turn when he heard one of the girls cry out. He turned to see Dirk grabbing a young girl who was fighting him and then there was silence as he watched the man slit the girl's throat.

"When I picks ya, I picks ya, fight and you'll end up like her." Dirk said and then looked to him and one of the other men and told them to get rid of the girl's body.

They were carrying her from the hall when he heard screams of a different sort, Quentyn looking in their direction while the man with him just shook his head. After they had covered the body with stones and were heading back to the hall, he heard the screams again, and with a nod to the other man, he moved in their direction.

"Don't." the man said and Quentyn just shook his head.

"Tell Dirk I needed to take a shit." he said and then he walked to the small hut that the sounds were coming from.

He found three women inside, two older and one younger who was just about to birth a babe. All three of them looked terrified when they saw them and he shook his head to tell them that he wasn't there to harm them.

"Water, we need water." one of the woman said and so he hurried off and gathered it for them.

"What are your names?" he asked and the two older women refused to answer.

"Gilly." the one that was on the verge of birthing a babe said.

"Quentyn." he said with a small smile that despite her pain she returned.

He told them that he'd not say anything and then he made his way back to the Hall. There was no sign of Dirk or some of the others and then he heard the screams and knew why that was. More than half the men wore the same look on their faces as he and for some reason, he felt more anger than he had ever felt in his life. Looking to the men he wondered would they join him if he did what his heart was bidding him to.

"This is wrong." he said and saw two men of Westeros and two of Essos agree.

"Aye, I'm no raper." the first said.

"Me either." said another.

"We should stop this." he said to nods.

Looking to some of the other women in the hall he could see they were scared, whether it was of them or of those who had taken the other women he knew not. He moved to one of them slowly as if he was afraid she'd scurry off if he moved too quickly.

"I'm not going to hurt you, are there any weapons here?" he asked and she looked around panicked before she nodded "Can you take me to them?"

They were crude and only one or two were decent steel but they'd do and so he handed them out to some of the others and they made their way up the ladders to where each of the men had gone. The men with him were Kegan Mudd and Daris Rivers from the Riverlands and Gyllo Iranys and Aereo Bahtis of the Golden Company. All four were men he didn't know and yet the fact they refused to be rapists marked them out as far better than the others they were with.

It was the girl who saw him first, Quentyn shaking his head to let her know he wasn't there to hurt her, and Dirk turning to face him with a smile on his face.

"You'll have to wait until I'm done with her."

Those were the last words that he ever said, the ax that Quentyn held in his hands coming down hard and catching him square between the neck and his head. Had he swung it a little harder he'd have taken the head from his shoulders but it mattered not as Dirk was now as dead as dead could be. The others had been almost as lucky, though Kegan had died while killing one of the Golden Company men who had not been of the same sort as Gryllo and Aereo.

"You are safe now, no one will hurt you." Quentyn said to the girls that had been raped and though they looked at him warily they seemed to believe him.

After getting rid of the bodies and burning them as the women told them they should, he made his way back to the hut where Gilly and the other two women were. The babe had been born, a boy, and when he told the woman that the other men had been killed and they had nothing to fear from him and those remaining, they at least seemed to accept it. Gilly even allowed him to carry the babe as they moved them from the hut and back to the main hall.

"Will you all be leaving now?" Gilly asked as he helped her settle into her bed, the babe now held in her arms as she did so.

"We've nowhere else to go." he said softly.

"We heard people speak of Hardhome." she said and he looked at her.

"What's in Hardhome?" he asked.

"Our people, you'd be welcome there they've taken in crows afore."

"Perhaps, rest, you've no need to fear me or any of the men, I swear it." he said and she nodded.

"Thank you." she said softly and he smiled at her as he climbed back down the ladder and made his way to the fire.

He found he didn't mind being on watch that night but then again it was a different sort that he was protecting than the men he'd run from the Wall with.

The Wall 299 AC.

Stannis.

The Free Folk had not been how he'd imagined them to be, though true he'd not really imagined them that much if was being entirely honest with himself. He'd expected them to be the savages and wildings that everyone assumed them to be and in his time with the Watch, he'd found no reason to think any differently. To the brothers in black, they were the enemy and so when they met them they were treated as such.

It made him think what would have happened had they instead reached out to them and offered them a hand of friendship rather than a hand bearing steel. How many lives would have been saved had they come to an understanding? And could they now do so?. They had to, of that he was certain there had to be an understanding between them, and yet he feared the Watch held too true to their grudges and grievances. Had they seen what he had then they'd understand why the king would be doing as he was and why he had to.

"I'll speak to the Lord Commander and the other men, tell them what I saw." he said.

"For all the good it'll do ya." Tormund said looking at him.

"The king's will is all that matters, Tormund, he and his dragons are all that matter." he said.

"Well be sure and tell 'em that, Stannis."

"I will, thank you, for the cave." he said.

"Har, a crow thanking me, the fucking world is truly ending." Tormund said laughing loudly.

He would speak though, for all the good it would do he would speak to any who'd hear it. In truth there was little the Watch could actually do to stop the Free Folk's move south of the Wall but he'd speak the truth all the same. There were far worse things coming for them than the Free Folk and those things cared not what side of the Wall you were born on.

When he reached Eastwatch he and Captain Farman made their way to speak to Cotter Pyke and Stannis was glad of the younger man's company. He'd held true to his oath and had not broken his vows but there would still be those who may name him a deserter. Jeor Mormont wouldn't be one of them he suspected, but he had to reach Castle Black alive and speak to the man first. Something that he'd not be able to do without Cotter's approval.

"What's the Commander like?" Captain Farman asked as they were led up to his solar.

"I only met the man briefly, he's a decent sort but were you not with me then I'd probably lose my head." Stannis said.

"He'd seek to take it without hearing you out?" Farman asked surprised.

"He'd perhaps hear me out, then he'd take my head." Stannis said and he saw the man shake his own as he looked at him.

They were brought into the solar by one of the black brothers, his brothers, or were they still? Only time would tell that and he could see by the look on Cotter's face that he was right in thinking that were it not for Farman he'd be fucked.

"We'd given you up for dead or a deserter." Cotter said.

"I'm neither." Stannis replied simply.

It took far shorter to tell his story than he had expected and when Cotter looked at him disbelievingly he was surprised by how firm Captain Farman was with the man. That he brought up the king more than once had the desired effect and though he had no friends here by the time the man had left, he still had his head.

He ate alone that night, spent as little time in the common hall with his brothers as he could manage and it was on his way to his room that he felt trouble had found him.

"A turn cloak."

"Wilding lover."

"Did you sell out your brothers, Baratheon?"

"ENOUGH, move along or it'll be my sword you face this night." A voice called out and Stannis turned to see the man walking his way as the others scurried off.

"I thank you." he said and it was only when he saw the silver hair and the braid that he wore tied it up in that he recognized the man, Stannis looking to the right hand to confirm that it was indeed the Halfhand he was facing.

"I'm to take you to Castle Black on the morrow, you should get some rest, I'll not dally." Qhorin said before leaving him standing alone in the yard.

After breaking his fast early the next morning they set off, he, Qhorin, and three other brothers. At first, he thought they were there to ensure he wasn't a deserter or that he didn't plan to now but it was the Halfhand who set him straight. They were men who were just been transferred and nothing more and Stannis noticed the smirk on the man's face as he spoke. It actually spoke to him far more than the words themselves as it said that should he try and run it wouldn't take these men to stop him, the Halfhand himself would see to that.

They made camp that night and he sat by the fire with the four men, three of them soon turning in for the night leaving him and the Halfhand alone. The two of them sat silently for some time and Stannis was about to go to his own bed when the other man spoke.

"You spent time amongst them? Supped with Mance himself or so I hear?" the Halfhand said.

"I did."

"He was my brother once." The Halfhand said almost wistfully.

"You liked him?" he asked.

"He was the best of us and the worst as well."

"He is a good man who wishes to do right by his people." he said and the Halfhand stared at him.

"Aye, but that right is wrong for us."

"Is it?" he asked curiously.

"For thousands of years the Wall has kept them out, they fought to get past it and the Watch fought to keep them from doing so." The Halfhand said.

"There are worse things on the other side of that Wall than the Free Folk and trust me when they come for us you'll wish to have a savage holding an ax standing by your side." he said looking at the other man.

"You admire them?" the Halfhand said with a chuckle.

"I am alive because of them. I fought against dead men Qhorin, men who didn't fall no matter how hard I struck them or how deep I cut them with my sword. Fire, that was all that stopped them and I knew that not."

"So they saved you?"

"They did, they beat me too, but then they treated me as a man and not a prisoner, aye, I couldn't leave but in that, they saved my life also." Stannis said.

There were no more words spoken for some time and he was about to get up and go to his bed when Qhorin spoke again, his words seeming different to him this time.

"You truly believe it were the dead you fought against?" The Halfhand asked.

"Do I seem a liar to you, a man prone to making up tall tales?"

"Anything but." the Halfhand said.

"Then trust me on this. I saw my brothers cut down as if they were green boys, and aye, some of them were. But I trained some of those men and they were men I'd be happy to stand in a fight beside and yet to the dead they were nothing. After they died and the Free Folk saved me they told me why they burn their dead, why they used fire and it made me wonder why we did the same."

"It's easier to do so and it is our way." The Halfhand said.

"Or it's something we've forgotten the truth about. We burn the dead to stop them coming back Qhorin, because if you believe nothing else I say then believe this, you don't ever want them coming back."

It took them close to a week to arrive at Castle Black, Stannis happy to see it again and even the looks he got upon entering the gates did nothing to remove that happiness. When he saw Jeor Mormont looking down at him from the walkway he was glad to see there was no hatred in the man's eyes. There was suspicion and doubt but no hatred and that gave him enough belief that his words would be listened to. They had to be or the Watch would fall and the Realm needed the Watch, of that he had no doubt.

The Vale 299 AC.

Lady Anya Waynwood.

She had arrived back to Ironoaks having not achieved what she had wished for and yet somehow she'd perhaps come out the better for it. Harrold had proved himself a disappointment in more ways than one and she really should have gained nothing from her trip to King's Landing because of it. Yet she had gained more for her house than she had dared to believe possible and without it needing to come directly through her former ward.

The trade with Lady Olenna would fill her coffers and with Littlfinger's disappearance, her debts were gone with him. Her grandson's marriage would tie them to House Tyrell and so almost as soon as she arrived back she sent for Rolland. It took him far longer to come to her than she would normally allow but he'd been sparring and had gone to change before doing so and so she forgave him just this once.

"Sit." she said when he entered her solar.

"Grandmother?"

"You are to be wed, Rolland, to a cousin of House Tyrell." she said and he looked at her curiously and then almost petulantly he crossed his arms.

"And I am to have no say in this?" he asked.

"No, this you will do for your House and for your grandmother and it will ensure House Waynwood's future prosperity." she said firmly leaving no room for argument.

"Will the girl at least be fair?" he asked and she rolled her eyes, men really only ever thought with one thing she thought annoyedly.

"She is a cousin of House Tyrell, Rolland. Have you ever seen a rose that didn't bloom? Even one from a lesser branch?"

As much as his worries on his betrothed looks irked her, she did welcome the smile on his face when he heard her words. She did hope that he found someone that made him happy even if it took some time for that happiness to grow into love. Their position didn't allow them to be picky though and he would be getting a noble bride and their house like the Tyrell's own would grow strong from the match.

"When will we meet, grandmother?" he asked as he began to come around to the idea.

"I await the raven from Lady Olenna to tell me who she has chosen and once it arrives we can begin to make the arrangements." she said and he nodded before giving her a small smile.

She spoke to her son that evening, Morton far keener on the match than his son had but then he was far more her son than her grandson was his. As much as she wished to go over Lady Olenna's trading proposal with her Steward and Maester, she was tired from her journey and so she retired early. Anya going to sleep that night feeling far more comfortable in her bed than she had in some time.

It had been a struggle to keep her House afloat, their incomes had diminished and their coin had run low. Was it not for that then she'd never have gotten into the debt she had and would never have been in that man's pocket. She thanked the gods that he was gone, as what he may have required from them to fully pay back that debt she dared not consider. Given what he and Catelyn Tully had gotten up to and what had happened to the woman, Anya felt lucky that she still had her own head intact after her dealings with the man.

Catelyn Tully, Lysa, young Lord Robert, even Edmure Tully were all perhaps dead because of their involvement in Littlefinger's schemes. Had things gone a different way then she too could have been forced to answer for her dealings with him and so she thanked the gods that she had not. It was why what Harrold had done truly annoyed her. The sheer stupidity of upsetting the King's sister and his aunt, and flirting with the queen. This king had already shown a willingness to work with or against Houses and it was far better to be one of the ones he worked with she thought as she finally drifted off to sleep.

It was a few days later when the first of the ravens arrived, Anya excited to see the golden rose of House Tyrell on its seal. She and her Steward had spent some time going over the numbers and she had found that her own estimates had been conservative, and they would make far more coin than she had expected. Lady Olenna was ensuring that her kin would be well cared for when she married into her House and so as Anya opened the scroll she did so with a smile on her face.

"It's to be Lady Leona." she said to her son and grandson after she had read the scroll, she'd hoped for Lady Elinor but the girl served as one of the Queen's ladies in waiting and so perhaps that was too much to expect.

"Ser Leo's daughter." Morton said and she nodded.

"Have you met the girl, grandmother?" Roland asked.

"I've met her younger sister Lady Alia, a charming young girl with a voice like a nightingale's." she said remembering the song the girl sang at one of the feasts in King's Landing "If Lady Leona takes after her sister then you're a very lucky man indeed grandson." she said seeing the large smile that soon appeared on Roland's face.

That was to be the only good news she received by raven over the next few weeks, every other one that came from King's Landing angering her further and further. So much so that she sent Roland and a company of her guards to meet him at the Bloody Gate and to bring him to her. She tried to concentrate on her work and sent a raven to Ser Leo inviting him and his family to Ironoaks along with their daughter so that she and Roland could get acquainted with each other.

She began the preparations for the trade with the Reach, Anya, and House Waynwood was now to act as distribution through some of the other houses of the Vale. At night she made sure that Roland spent time on pursuits that would endear his betrothed to him. Anya had even given him the dancing lessons himself and she was now glad that she'd insisted that he'd learned how to play the lute as a younger man. She'd even begun to ready rooms where her grandson and his new wife would reside and had assigned servants that would answer to them and them alone.

In truth, though she was killing time and when he finally arrived she found that she'd only been hiding her anger deep down underneath her other activities.

"Leave us." she said as Harrold was brought to her solar, Anya looking at him as he dared not look her in the eye.

"You wished to see me." he said flippantly and before she knew it she had risen to her feet, the slap loud and the look on his face one of shock.

"You can thank the gods that it is only the one you'll be getting today, I told you to leave when I did but you begged me to give you leave to stay, gave me some tale about how you'd not make it to King's Landing again for maybe a year or more. What were you thinking?" she said her anger clear.

"The girl was a bastard, she should not have laughed at me." he said his own angry tone surprising her.

"By the seven is there no mind in that head of yours?" she asked looking at him.

"I didn't think anyone…"

"You're right you didn't think. Not content with acting the fool with the Queen, the King's Sister, and his aunt, you then insult the girl that even a blind man can see he dotes upon. A girl who is the Lady of Castamere and other than Lord Jaime's own daughter is the richest lady in the entire realm."

"She's a bastard, I'm a lord, she needs to learn her place." he said bitterly.

"I should slap some sense into you, though I fear I've not got enough years left in me to do so. You angered the king greatly while already on shaky ground with him. Are you a fool? Is that what you wish to be, perhaps your lordship could be taken from you and motley could be found to dress you in instead of those fine clothes you wear?"

"I was supposed to be Lord of the Vale." he said petulantly.

"And you're lucky to remain as Lord of the Eyrie. Now listen and listen well for I'll not repeat this again. Next time you even attempt to do something like this it won't be the king and his dragon you need worry about, it'll be me. You have been given a warning, by me and by the dragon that sits the throne, be sure you take heed of it or you'll be certain to face the fire, his or mine. No go, and think carefully on what you do and say, Harry, for you'll find no friends in the Vale if you pull on the dragon's tail again."

He stormed from her solar like the spoiled child he was and she feared that her words didn't register with him. Sitting at her desk she took out a piece of parchment and began to write, sealing it and sending for the Maester to send the raven to King's Landing. House Waynwood was washing its hands of Harrold Hardyng and she needed Lady Olenna to know this, lest he brings the dragons wroth down upon them all.

King's Landing 299 AC.

Jaehaerys Targaryen.

Were it not for the light that shone from the sword in his hand and the fact that Arthur couldn't look at it, then he knew he'd be far more worried than he was. The cut on his lip and the wound in his shoulder bled still and yet Jae felt neither. Instead, it was relief, sheer relief that he was feeling as he looked to Lightbringer. A test, one that he'd passed and one that a god had given his life for, it was a sacrifice he'd not forget and one that he was most grateful for. He placed the sword back in his hilt and as soon as he did, Arthur, Rhaenix, and even Ghost showed their concerns for him, Jae waving them all off as he rose.

"For the wound, my prince." Leaf said handing him what looked to be chewed-up roots and berries, Jae looking at her, and then nodding when Arthur helped him remove the breastplate so she could place the salve on his shoulder.

"You carry the light, my prince." Malora said and he nodded upon seeing the woman's smile "I knew the gods would not wish it so."

She didn't need to say what it was they didn't wish, Jae well ahead of her on that line of thinking. Margaery was safe and what Aemon had seen was not to come to pass, Jae feeling again that large amount of relief at the former while now it was tinged with shame and regret at how he'd acted with the latter.

"We all play our roles, my prince, this was your uncle's I believe." Malora said and Jae nodded.

"You'll be safe here?" he asked and she smiled at him.

"This is where I must be, I will be ready when you need me, my prince."

He walked over to Arthur to tell him that despite how it looked he was remarkably unharmed. The wound barely bothered him now that Leaf had dealt with it and yet it was his armor more than he that Arthur looked at.

"What pierced this, your grace?" Arthur asked.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." he said though he did promise to do so later.

He walked over to Rhaenix, stopping at Ghost to rub him behind the ear, the white wolf leaning into his touch. When he reached his sister, he looked to the sky to see Lygaron was now gone, Rhaenix telling him that his son had flown back to Dorne, his work now done as his father was safe.

"I...you were gone, Jae." Rhaenix said worriedly.

"I think that's what you feared, what you felt with the magic, can you feel it now?" he asked her.

"No, it's different, calmer." she said.

"I believe you sensed it, sensed that they would take me from here, bring me somewhere else and it felt wrong to you." he said leaning against her.

"I felt you then I did not, I couldn't get to you." she said worriedly.

"I am here." he said and felt her relax.

They said their goodbyes to the Children and to Malora and then he, Arthur, and Ghost climbed on Rhaenix's back before taking to the sky. Jae was keen to get back to King's Landing as quickly as he could and Rhaenix thankfully just as eager to see him away from here. It was just after midday when they reached it and despite wishing to fly straight to the Red Keep, Jae instead had Rhaenix leave them in the Dragonpit. His sister then flew to Dragonstone he believed though she wouldn't tell him and he felt that she wished to be alone.

"I'll call a meeting after I speak to Margaery and Aemon." he said to Arthur as Walder and Loras arrived with some guards to escort them to the Red Keep.

There was no sign of his wife when he arrived and Jae spoke only briefly to Jaime to let him know that he was well before heading to their rooms to speak to Margaery. He passed Aemon on the way, his uncle barely looking at him other than to make sure he was unharmed and Jae asked to speak to him later.

"We need to talk, uncle." he said and Aemon nodded.

He wished he could speak to him now, there was so much that needed to be said, and yet he knew he could not, Margaery would need to see him first and he needed to be with her as well. When he reached their room she found her inside with Sansa and Tyene, his sister looking to see his busted lip and he noticed the worried look on her face.

"It's nothing, I'm not hurt, we'll speak later little sister." he said and she smiled at him before she and Tyene left him alone with his wife.

"Are you truly unhurt?" Margaery asked.

"It's nothing to worry about and it was worth it." he said smiling at her.

"Did you find the answers you left for?" she asked, her words almost forced and he moved to her and reached out his hand.

"My uncle was wrong, and yet right in a way, it was a test, the gods wished to test me." he said as she looked at him confused "Don't look directly at it." he said as he unsheathed the sword.

The light was dimmer and he wondered if it was because he was indoors or simply that the sword itself knew it was not to be used how it was meant to be. It was a question for another time though and he would soon face enough questions that needed to be answered now.

"Lightbringer." he said and she looked at him as he sheathed the sword once more.

"Aemon?" she asked.

"Azor Ahai was a fool, apparently I am not." he said seeing her smile.

"So I'm not to be killed then?" she asked, her lopsided grin one more of relief he felt than true amusement.

"No, my love, you're most certainly not."

After telling her that the story was a long one and that he'd called a meeting, Margaery agreed that he needed to go and speak with his uncle. So he kissed her and told her that he'd be back and went to do just that. He found Aemon sitting in his rooms, the books and scrolls scattered around on his desk and bed showing that he'd not stopped reading them as he kept searching for a different outcome to the prophecy.

"I should never have spoken to you that way." Jae said as he took a seat across from him.

"You were upset." Aemon said.

"It's no excuse, I can't imagine how hard it's been for you, what it's been like to carry this with you since you found out. I should have been there for you, uncle." he said looking at Aemon who smiled back at him.

"You are a king, a king with a destiny few men have ever even dared to dream. You carry a great weight on your young shoulders, Jae, I should have thought more about that before I spoke. I'm sorry I did so when I did."

"You've nothing to be sorry about uncle. I believe you were meant to tell me when and how you did." he said and Aemon looked at him confusedly.

"I don't understand." Aemon said.

"We're all but servants of the gods, uncle, in this too you were just playing the role they'd decided for you. I needed the anger your words provoked to fuel me, I needed to hear them now so I'd do what I must. I've forged Lightbringer uncle, thanks to you."

"Then I'm glad to have played my part." Aemon said looking at him.

"I am sorry, truly, will you accept my apology?" he said as Aemon went to say he'd no need to once again "Please uncle?"

"I will." Aemon said.

"I've called a meeting, you'll need to attend, as will Marwyn and Loamara."

"As my king commands." Aemon said with a chuckle.

He made his way back to his rooms and found Margaery to be in a far better mood than she had been even when he'd left her earlier. His wife seemed relaxed and content but he knew that his words would remove at least one of those things for her.

"I need to travel Beyond the Wall." he said as he sat beside her.

"Why?" she asked.

"The Free Folk, I'll need to be there when the ships arrive, I also need to speak to the Night's Watch and to visit Queenscrown and make it ready." he said looking to her.

"When?" she asked.

"Soon, a week, two at most." he said as he took his hand in hers.

"Arthur, Walder, and Loras." she said and he nodded.

"I'll take a glass candle too so we can speak." he said and she smiled at him as she kissed his cheek.

They made their way to the Small Council rooms, Jae holding her hand all the way. Once they reached them he asked all the Kingsguard to join them inside. Oberyn, Wyman, Ser Richard, and Lord Monford, Jaime, Willas, Gormon, and Barristan. The entire Small Council sat there as did his family, Dany, Shiera, Aemon who sat with Loamara and Marwyn. Kinvara, Thoros, and Melisandre and seemed almost surprised to be asked and Jae knew that once word got out they'd been invited it would cause some issues. Olenna sat and looked at him and at Margaery and Jae knew by the look on her face that she'd been told about his sword and what it now was. While Margaery took a seat, he did not, Jae instead standing as he readied to speak to them all, the words he was about to speak he knew would make him sound mad, and yet he held the proof in his hand as he gripped Dark Sister's hilt.

"Some of you know things about me and some do not. I'll not cover them all here today, only to say that what I'm about to speak is the truth or what I know to be it." he said looking to those who knew more than others and seeing the ones who did not look more confused than he'd have liked.

He took a deep breath and then got ready to begin, it was to be a long tale and one he bid them not to interrupt him on.

"Prophecy is a strange thing, it can be misinterpreted, over time it can be misconstrued, and often it is misunderstood. My uncle Aemon believed me to be Azor Ahai reborn, as I know Lady Kinvara and the Red Priests do and in some ways, they were right, though in one key one they were wrong.

Azor Ahai was a fool, a fool who believed that in order to save the world, in order to forge Lightbringer it required the sacrifice of the woman he loved most." Jae said looking to Margaery and smiling at her "It did not"

He pulled the sword out and though the light shined, it again was dimmer than it should have been and he knew the reason for that was so they could see it and not be burned by it.

"The gods have fashioned us for love, That is our great glory and our great tragedy. Love is what fuels us, what gives us strength, what drives us forward and it is the true gift the gods gave us all. Azor Ahai sacrificed the woman he loved and doomed us to fight his fight, the magic in his blood only slowing and not stopping the Great Other. I refused to make the same mistake and so my sword is true and the fight it was forged to end now comes our way. The realm must be ready for that fight, I must be ready for it, and so from this point on my queen and my Hand shall deal with all matters related to the realm.

I ask those of you in this room that can to help them both with that, others I ask for their help in preparing us for what's to come. There is much we must do and how much time we have I know not. The battles for the throne are now over, The war for the realm is soon to begin." Jae said as Lightbringer shone a little more brightly and forced some of those in the room to shield their eyes.

A/N: Thanks to all who've read and reviewed. Up Next As Jae readies to fly North once more Sarella and Oberyn make surprising requests. Loras prepares to travel and reflects upon how different his life turned out from the first time he'd headed North with Jae to now while we find out what Sarella has been up to and Margaery seeks help in forging a new path forward for the realm before saying goodbye to her husband for she knows not how long.

Daryl Dixon: He didn't a god sacrificed himself for the blade's power.

VDWade: The god is dead, he sacrificed himself so the power could be passed. But yes Marge is safe.

The Spynx: For some reason, this is one of the best yet, my friend.

Emeralduke: Way back when Nan took Jae down to the images beneath the crypts there was one that showed the aftermath of this, I think it's chapter 41 or 42.

HKt29: Plus with the heir coming no one can say that Marge is barren so it only secures it even more so. That's exactly what I was going for with Azor Ahai, he made the wrong call and so it didn't work, Jae from early on has been far more willing to sacrifice his own feelings/safety for those he cared about, this has been a long thing coming to get it to this point. Very much so with the reactions to Lightbringer and when we truly see it in action even more so.

Supremus: Exactly, a reverse almost of the Azor Ahai thing where he thought the sacrifice was what was needed when in fact it was the opposite.

Biohazard: So glad you liked it.

VFSnake: Aemon played his own part in things, gods are manipulative sods.

Jessicanightmarewolf: More Jae fulfilled the prophecy the right way and so earned the power, the god sacrificed himself to transfer that power to forge LB. He needed the anger, the gods are playing their own game and Aemon was their puppet here.

Jman: I'll try my best, I've got a lot of PM that I have neglected because of being so busy.

Victoria Terros; Thanks so much, my friend. That's been a big thing from early on with Jae, showing this side of him where when it comes to those he loves/cares about he's almost willing to do anything for them even at the cost of himself. To some, that may look as if it was me making him too selfless but it's all been about leading to this point so that when he gets here he would not make the same choice and by doing so prove that love is the strongest of all magic's. It's been said a few times during the story, with Rhaegar/Lyanna, etc, even in the fact that around him couples keep popping up lol. Sansa really needed to be the one to speak to the BF that way. Stay well, my friend.

Guest: I really wanted to play into the entire Azor Ahai/Nissa Nissa almost being a band-aid rather than a fix, I mean if it was what was needed then why doesn't it work, kinda thing. So playing it as a reverse and that it was that you weren't supposed to make the sacrifice and that was the path you were supposed to take just was an idea I had right from the start. Glad you're liking Val/Benjen we'll be seeing a lot more of them over the next few chapters.

Creativo: donde no estaba vivo, entonces jae no habría cumplido la profecía, la vida es divertida de esa manera.

Anja: So very glad you liked it.

Fletcher Bamford: I do have an answer and it'll be made clear by the end, but mainly it's a magical curse of sorts, dark magic that needs to be cleansed. Bringing the Dawn is somewhat all about that.

Ruki: thanks so very much for your kind words, really glad you're liking this.

Celexys: It's been building up and we're getting to the crux of things now, the fight between light and dark, and not all are going to make it, unfortunately.

Lady Octarina: Olenna I think is one of those people who could never truly shut it off, she'd relax, feel content but always at the back of her mind would be the game. Glad you liked the reactions we'll be seeing more in a little bit as the rest of the realm gets the news. Hopefully Jaime's pov above cleared up why he was so angry, mainly it was that Aemon told him when he was at his very happiest and so it brought Jae way way down, from the height of joy to the pit of despair. We'll see Arthur's view on the fight in his next pov and Malora will explain it a bit more but basically, the god sacrificed himself.

Keb: I think for this Jae to harm Marge would be a complete betrayal of his character, it would be Dany going mad in the blink of an eye, level of betrayal.

Undeath9087: It's impossible for things to happen without Tywin dying which is why it's one of the first actions the gods took in the canon timeline. Something like that, yes in relation to Valyria, basically it's more there are two major centers of magic, Valyria/Lands Beyond the Wall and they are directly opposed to each other, a kind of light magic/dark magic. All will be clear I hope by the end.

That was the thing, if you take the idea of a magical blade on to its logical conclusion then it needs magic to power that blade, so it requires a being of magic and who is more magical than a god.

I'm glad you said that with BR, I think so too, the only logical explanation for Bran is that he's possessed by the entity of the TER, otherwise he's completely pointless. Here Bloodraven corrupted what the old gods gave him with that endgame in sight but they had their own endgame and he was only important while they deemed him so. To give him an epic ending after that kinda raises his importance and so his last real shot was when he had Jae imprisoned in his own mind, once he broke free then Bloodraven was done.

Silveglow: Very much so, also dragon rides too lol. Tormund is just good fun relief, but Ben/Val are in a happy place for both. Not sure if this answers it all regarding Jae or not but if it doesn't then the Malora pov next week certainly will.

Bigdog: I've been very happy to have you with me this long my friend, didn't realize there were fights about me on Reddit but thanks for having my back. I'm not sure if Jae's pov explains it completely, if not then Malora's next one will show it even more. Jae didn't defeat the god or beat the god, the god sacrificed himself so that Jae could forge Lightbringer.

It was a test, to make Jae do what Azor Ahai would not, to force him to act when they wished him to act and for him to make the right choice. The fight was over the moment Jae said he'd not kill Marge, the rest was just an act, a way to make him earn it, Jae was in no true danger of being beaten and the god could have killed him if he wished but he needed to die so the blade could be forged.

If Lightbringer is a magical weapon then surely it needs magic to fuel it. Jae has incredible magic within him, but just like Azor Ahai before him is he kills Marge then it's his magic that fuels the blade, so they need him to refuse and be angry enough to confront them so they know his heart is true and then a god dies so the blade can be forged.

I didn't make this completely clear during the fight because some things need to be hinted at and then explained later.

Remi: It was the refusal of sacrifice that appeased them. Azor Ahai believed that he had to sacrifice the woman he loved, Jae refused to do so because it was a test, he passed, Azor Ahai failed and so he didn't end the threat only delayed it, Jae can end it.

Irish Hermit: I wanted to show the flip side of the prophecy thing, and the Azor Ahai thing being wrong, form early on with Jae I've been showing him as this person who would rather die himself than see those he loves hurt. This has been the reasons for that to play on Azor Ahai making that wrong choice and Jae being forced to make the right one. As others have said if Azor was right then why is there a need to do it again. Aemon was in some ways played, a tool to force Jae to act, the gods are manipulative little sods. Oh Jaime is so doomed there are many horse rides in Joanna's future lol