Castle Black 299 AC.
Stannis.
The brothers of the Watch didn't believe him but Jeor did, those who had known him before he came here did and so despite the skepticism, plans were made. What exactly those plans were he didn't know as Jeor wouldn't confide them in him and all plans were soon put on hold because of two events. The first of them was a desertion and the finding of dead brothers in the tunnels. A group of the worst recruits that surprisingly included Quentyn Martell and some men of the Golden Company had killed the men on guard at the tunnel and then made their way north of the Wall.
A meeting was called and a ranging was in the process of being organized when the second of those events occurred. Stannis standing like the rest of the brothers of the Watch and looking on in awe as the dragon landed outside their gates. He had to admit it was an impressive sight as were the five men and the Direwolf that climbed down off the dragon's back. Stannis watched the gates being opened and the king walked inside with Prince Oberyn, Ser Arthur, Ser Walder, and Ser Loras at his side, a small flare of annoyance rising within him when he saw the flower was with them.
"Your grace." Jeor said and as Stannis moved towards the group of men he saw how the king's and Ser Arthur's eyes looked around the yard as if they were looking for someone.
"We must speak Lord Commander, has Stannis Baratheon returned?" the king asked and then nodded at him when he saw him "Perhaps you can join us, Stannis." the king said and Stannis moved closer to them both.
They turned and walked to the Lord Commander's quarters, Stannis, Jeor, Bowen Marsh. Ser Jarman Buckwell and Qhorin Halfhand along with the king, all three of his Kingsguard, and the Dornish Prince. Once inside the three Kingsguard and the king all refused the offered ale and though Prince Oberyn seemed ready to accept, it was the king's suggestion of warm cider that was to be their beverage of choice.
"I take it Stannis has told you all about what he's faced?" the king asked when the cider arrived, Stannis seeing the appreciative looks on all four of the king's companion's faces when they tasted it, though the king himself did not.
"He has, a fantastical story, your grace." Jeor said and Stannis looked to see that Bowen and Ser Jarman didn't seem to agree though the Halfhand seemed to be wavering.
"A true one, unfortunately for us all, Lord Commander." the king said to a loud reaction.
"Wilding's tales and trickery." Bowen said shaking his head.
"Indeed your grace, dead men walking and not only that but fighting, I've no doubt Stannis believes what he says but it's too fantastical to be true." Ser Jarman said.
"Outside these gates a dragon rests, there are four more in Westeros. My grand-uncle Aemon walks around as a young man once more though he's over a hundred years old and he's not even the oldest of my kin who walks the realm today. What you call fantastical Ser is the way of things and my very reason for being. I was born to face the fantastical and trust me on this, they are coming for us all" the king said and Stannis smirked at the look on Jarman and Bowen's face.
"The Watch stands ready for them, your grace." Jeor said and he, the Halfhand, and the other two men nodded.
"There are weapons on their way to help you fight them Lord Commander, Dragonglass, Dragonsteel and Fire are the best defense. My kin and our dragons will provide the fire and the ships will soon deliver you the weapons, when they arrive see that each man carries at least one of them with him at all times." the king said.
"We will your grace." Jeor said.
"That's not the only reason I'm here, Lord Commander. Each man that falls will rise again and turn to face the living and beyond the Wall, there are still many people alive." the king said.
"Wilding's, your grace, you speak of wildings." The Halfhand said with disdain.
"I care not for what name they're called, only that in the war that comes there are but two sides, those who breathe and those who don't. Right now they still breathe and I intend to keep it that way. My ships have been sent and I'll be moving them all south of the Wall." The king said to more loud shouts.
"You cannot." Bowen said to a glare from Ser Arthur.
"They are savages." Ser Jaremy said loudly.
"As are Northmen if you believe the Septas, Septons, and most in the South." Oberyn said to a laugh from the king and the Lord Commander.
"They are men, women, and children and they are living which puts them on our side, and far better to keep them there than to have to face them along with the enemy we already need to face." the king said to nods from the Lord Commander and the Halfhand and a reluctant one from Ser Jarman.
"What are your plans for them, your grace?" Jeor asked.
"They'll be settled on my lands and answerable to me and me alone. I've spoken to my uncle and he'll speak to the rest of the northern lords. I need the Watch to accept my will on this, Lord Commander, for I've no time to waste dealing with grudges that we can ill afford." the king said.
"You'll not be bringing them through the Wall?" the Halfhand asked.
"Not if I can help it, though there may be some stragglers who eventually head this way, I'd ask when they do that they're escorted to my lands."
"Aye, we can do that. Will you be heading beyond the Wall today, your grace?" Jeor asked.
"I will, I wish to reach Hardhome by nightfall at the latest."
"That's where they are?" the Halfhand asked.
"It's where Mance Rayder agreed to bring them and where my ships are heading, aye." the king said and the Halfhand nodded.
They then spoke of things the Wall needed, materials for building, warm blankets and clothing, and food for Winter. Over the years be it from the king or Lord Jaime, the Watch had received regular supplies but the Watch was now much larger than it once had been and it, in turn, needed even more. Stannis heard the king ask Bowen Marsh for a list of what was most urgently needed and then the king surprised them all with his talk of rangings.
"I'd recommend not going beyond the Wall unless absolutely necessary Lord Commander, as Stannis can attest the dead are formidable when faced and without the proper weapons they're almost impossible to hold back." the king said.
"We had some men desert, your grace, they killed some of their brothers and made their way north of the Wall and they need to face justice." Jeor said.
"Which men?" the king asked and Stannis found himself looking to Prince Oberyn when his nephew's name was mentioned, the king doing likewise.
"We'll seek these men out, Lord Commander, I'd ask you to hold back until you receive word from me." the king said and Jeor nodded albeit reluctantly.
He saw the king speaking animatedly to Prince Oberyn as they walked down the stairs, the two men in deep conversation all the way to the gate and even as they walked through it. Not long after they had left he saw the dragon rise and then he looked to see it fly over the Wall. The blue underneath its wings and the figures on its back were all he could see as the White Dragon seemed to almost fade into the ice of the Wall as it passed over it.
"Wilding's on our fucking doorstep." Qhorin said moving to stand beside him.
"Trust me, Qhorin, given what comes our way, it's better to have them fight with us than against us." Stannis said and the Halfhand looked at him curiously.
"I need to get fucking drunk, never thought the day would come when I'd seek a wilding ally, curse the fucking gods for making me live long enough to see it."
"Living is far better than the alternative." Stannis said and the Halfhand laughed as he slapped his back and they walked towards the Common Hall.
Hardhome 299 AC.
Benjen.
She was beautiful, wild, and he was certain that he was in love with her. Benjen finding that it wasn't just the nights he looked forward to but the days also. They hunted together, helped build the shelters for their people, and he was starting to see them as such. The Free Folk were people, plain and simple, men, women, and children and like all men, women, and children their needs were needs he could understand. Food, shelter, warmth, and safety, the Free Folk wanted what the North had always wanted and left to their own devices they'd have been happy enough to live in these harsh lands.
They ranged and stole, true enough but only because the lands themselves were harsh and not because of the reasons the Iron Born reaved. In a time of plenty, they didn't pass the Wall, though as with all peoples there were some amongst them who followed their own rules and cared not whether times were plentiful or not. Mainly though he felt that if they were settled on good lands and if they were given the chance to live in peace then it wouldn't be the Free Folk who broke that peace.
The lands of the Gift were such lands, they were the lands they raided when they had no choice and soon those lands would be the ones they were settled on. Each day he had come here Benjen was asked about them, about his nephew, about the Lords of the North, and whether they would let them live in peace and daily he did his best to reassure their people that all they had heard was true. The lands were filled with game and places where food could be grown, his nephew was as good a man as any could be and with the King of the Seven Kingdoms on their side, the Lords of the North would live up to the king's promise.
As he helped yet another tent be put up he saw her and as he always did when she was near, he smiled. Val glaring at him and rolling her eyes but he saw her little smirk when she turned her head away from him. They broke for their midday meal, Benjen knowing better than to call it luncheon after making that mistake not long after he arrived here and facing japes at his expense for doing so. She sat with him, Val eating from his plate and swapping the food that she disliked from her own with the food she preferred from his. It had become a little thing they did, Val accepting more roots and he taking extra meat just so they could swap with each other. He knew it was a silly little thing and yet he found he liked the times they were being silly together. Those little things broke the day and he knew despite how serious she could be at times, that Val liked it too.
"We're to go hunting on the morrow." Val said and Benjen nodded.
"We'll need to travel further, I think we've cleaned out any game near the camp." he said.
"Do you think Jae will send more supplies on his ships?" she asked slightly worriedly.
"I'd imagine so, he'd know we'd need them." he said and caught her little smile when he said we.
They spent the rest of the day securing the camp, as after they'd raised some more tents, he, Val, and Tormund had helped to shore up the gates and the fences. Benjen knew they'd not keep what came for them out with those defenses, but it was not truly about that. It was more to show the people that they were somewhat protected, more to slow down the dead if they came their way, to truly stop them would take dragons and he hoped that his nephew would arrive soon.
He knew Jae would come, not only had he promised him that he would do so but Benjen knew his nephew and his nephew knew better than any what it was they would face. Jae wouldn't leave them or the men he sent on ships to face that alone, and while Benjen hoped they'd not have to face them here at all, he readied himself in case they did.
"Fuck this is thirsty work." he heard Tormund say after the large man threw down a huge bundle of wood on the ground.
"You really are a moaning fucker aren't you? Be thankful you don't have to carry that." Val said and both he and Tormund turned to watch the large and almost full tree that was being dropped on the ground, the giant just nodding at them as he moved off to grab another.
"Wun Wun doesn't like the goat's milk, Har." Tormund said laughing and Benjen smirked, even when he saw Val's glare.
They worked until night fell and then he ate with Mance, Dalla, and the others. Benjen almost hurrying through his food once he saw the way Val looked at him. When he did finish and moved to head to his tent he heard the laughs and found he cared not. Instead, he focussed on the vision in white that moved ahead of him. Val looked like an ethereal goddess as she almost glided across the snow and before he knew it they were in their tent and in each other's arms.
As always when they lay together it was as if the world around them faded away. Benjen still not sure if it was because of the act itself or the women he was with that made it feel how it did, though he was starting to believe it was more the latter than the former. The first time they had coupled he'd wondered far more on the act itself, the thoughts in his head that he had denied himself something that could feel as good as this for no true reason, were ones he couldn't shake. It had made him consider whether or not if he'd done so as a younger man before he spoke his oaths, whether or not he'd have been able to.
The more he and Val were together, the more he had begun to believe that it would only have been her that could have made him not join the Night's Watch. That had he met her and been with her then he'd never have been able to swear oaths that forbade him from having a wife or from having children. He looked at her when they were done, her breathing now shallow as she drifted to sleep and he smiled as he thought about what a child of theirs may look like one day. Kissing her softly of the lips, she snuggled closer to him and he pulled the furs over them as they went to sleep.
"Wake up, we're late." he heard her say and his eyes were barely able to open.
"Late?"
"The hunt." she said and he nodded.
He dressed quickly and knew they'd be breaking their fast on the move, Benjen following Val outside the tent to where Tormund, Ygritte, Orell, and the rest of the hunting party waited. After doing his best to ignore the look on Tormund's face and the wiggle of his eyebrows, Benjen walked with Val and Ygritte and was glad of the silence. It would not last long with this group and with Tormund especially, and so it turned out as no sooner had they left Hardhome than the tall tales began.
Despite wishing to go with Val, it was Ygritte that he found himself hunting most closely with, the girl as quiet as ever when they began to stalk their prey. It took them some time and the deer they caught wasn't as large as either of them hoped, though it was fresh meat and turned out to be the best of their catch. It was as they were readying it to bring it back to the others that the feeling of being watched came over him. Benjen motioning to Ygritte and watching as she readied her bow while he moved to the tree line. He was in the process of unsheathing his sword when he heard the babe's cries and he moved quickly to tell the woman that was holding it in her arms that he meant her or the others with her no harm.
"Hardhome?" a young man asked and Benjen could see he was cold and that he looked almost exhausted.
"Aye, not far from here, who are you lad?" he asked looking to see there were another two men who were in even worse condition than him amongst their group.
"Quentyn, this is Gilly, we need help, the babe, the women." the young man said pleadingly and Benjen nodded.
There were more than a dozen women and half that again in young girls, three men including Quentyn and though they didn't speak much of who they were or where they'd come from, Benjen recognized one or two of the older women. There were Craster's wives and if they were here then it meant the old fucker was dead, good riddance to the man he thought as he helped move them back to their camp. The deer they caught was not going to make it back to the rest of their people, that much was clear as soon as he saw the way the women and the girls looked to it.
"Ygritte, start a fire." he said and the redhead glared at him before hearing the babe's cry and then nodding.
He had just finished handing out the pieces of the cooked deer to the women when Val and the others arrived back. Tormund looked ready to chide them for eating the deer meat until he saw the group that was with them and then he held his tongue. They camped out that night as Benjen could tell that Craster's wives and children were far too tired to move and were in dire need of rest. After giving his own furs to the youngest of them, he sat by the fire with the others and they spoke to the young man.
"You a crow, lad?" Tormund asked and Quentyn nodded.
"A deserter?" Ygritte said as she smiled at the young man.
"I deserted. I and some others made our way beyond the Wall and we ended up at a holdfast that was owned by a man named Craster. It was there that I realized what kind of men that were with me, rapists, murderers, they….with the women." Quentyn said as Benjen and the others listened to the tale "I could not, I would not, and so me and four of the other men...we killed them."
"Good, men like that are better in the ground." Tormund said as he spat.
"You've walked from there?" he asked.
"No, we ran, there are things out there…dangerous things, we lost some of the men who were with us and one of the younger girls." Quentyn said and seemed almost broken by it, Benjen felt.
"We'll head for Hardhome on the morrow lad, you and the rest of them will have a warm place to stay by nightfall." Tormund said and Benjen could see the relief on the young man's face.
When the morning came, Quentyn and the women seemed to be in a far better way, they ate the rest of the deer to break their fast, and soon enough they were heading back to Hardhome. Benjen noticed how the women seemed to look to the young man before they did anything. Whether it was saving them from the rapes, from Craster, or whatever they had faced on their way here, the young man was looked upon as a protector and Benjen figured that he had more than likely earned the women's trust.
It was long after dark when they arrived in Hardhome and he, Val, and Tormund spoke to Mance about the people they had found. Mance spitting to the ground when he heard what had happened to Craster and to the men who'd tried to rape the women. The women and children were quickly given food and shelter and over the next few weeks, the difference was startling, both in them and in the young man. Quentyn quickly proving himself to be an adept hunter and an excellent bowman. They even caught more game when the lad was with them for some unknown reason and he and Ygritte seemed to be damnable close to being a couple.
Benjen and Tormund had even wagered over which of them would steal the other first. It was as they were heading back from a hunt that he saw it and the cheers were loud from their hunting party. His nephew was here and while most of them had already seen a dragon, those who had not looked up at Rhaenix in awe as she flew over their heads.
"We should hurry back." he said and Val nodded, though Benjen noticed how Quentyn seemed to pause and how it was only Ygritte speaking to him that made him move.
Hardhome 299 AC.
Oberyn.
By the gods it was cold, the North, the Wall, and now beyond it, and Oberyn was long past the point of thinking it had been a bad idea to come here. The sheer difference between the lands of the South and those of the North had been made more clear to him flying on Rhaenix's back than through any books he had read or words he'd heard. The North was vast, almost empty, in some ways, it was like Dorne in that regard but Oberyn far preferred deserts to snowfields. He would much rather have the cold chill of a desert night than the biting cold of a northern one.
Winterfell had been all he'd imagined it to be, the keep was magnificent, it felt ancient to him, and even though he had always known it had been built thousands of years ago when he actually saw it for the first time he wondered how they had managed it. It was not something he still wondered now as after what he'd seen his nephew do it had made it far more clear to him. Jae had explained the singing of stone to him and he found it almost impossible to believe and that was even after seeing the effect of it himself. It made him wonder what those who had seen Winterfell, The Wall, Dragonstone, and the Hightower being built had felt and just how much his nephew could actually do with such power.
It also gave them something to speak on during the cold nights and so as they rested in a much too open space for his liking, he sat by the fire, and along with Arthur, Walder, and Loras they listened as Jae explained his plans for this gift he'd been given.
"In time Harrenhal, Summerhall, and the other keeps I intend my children, Tyrion's or Dany's or our children's children to live in will be sung into being." Jae said.
"You can really do that, I mean sing an entire keep and not just fix one up?" Loras asked.
"I was told once by someone far more clever than I that I was gifted by the gods, that knowing that why would I think they put limits on the gifts they gave." Jae said a warm smile on his face as he looked to Walder.
"Does it take much out of you, Jae?" Arthur asked, the knight dropping the use of Jae's title finally.
"It's odd, Arthur, I had expected it to take more. The blood helps I know that, I think without it and the sword I'd feel far more tired than I did afterward. Perhaps if I push too far I'll feel an effect just as I once did with warging or with the Glass Candles." Jae said.
"You don't feel such effects any longer?" he asked curiously.
"No uncle, I know how far I can go with such things, I'm in control and so I don't push as hard or as far as I once did." Jae said "Also I have far more familiars now, a thousand eyes and one."
He didn't know what to say to that, the thoughts that his nephew had for all intents and purposes spies all through the Seven Kingdoms should give him pause, and yet it if anything relaxed him. With Ser Richard and with his own eyes, and with the Glass Candles, Jae was far more protected from those who may seek him harm than any king before him. Their family knew far better than most what lay in the hearts of men and so he welcomed knowing that Jae was safe.
"I'll bid you a goodnight." Jae said and Oberyn watched as his nephew picked up the Glass Candles and walked over to where Rhaenix lay in the snow.
Despite the discomfort of the conditions and the biting cold, traveling with his nephew and his niece was something he enjoyed. Jae was different when he was away from the Red Keep, he was more his true self which was something he only allowed out occasionally when in King's Landing. There it was with family and with those he loved or cared about, here it was more who he was at all times and Oberyn welcomed seeing that side of him. Even if it came at the cost of a cold night sleeping by a fire that offered far more light than it did warmth.
He looked over to see Jae leaning against Rhaenix's back and he smiled when he was sure he'd seen his nephew do likewise. Jae had told him he could speak to Ellaria and the girls if he so wished and he'd arranged to do so in a few days, hopefully when they were in warm tents or with luck on the ships and heading south. Wrapping his furs around himself, he moved a little closer to the fire and closed his eyes, they'd be reaching Hardhome on the morrow and he looked forward to it.
Oberyn woke earlier than the others and looked to see that Jae too was awake, his nephew was speaking to his niece and so Oberyn rose and decided to join them. As he reached them he was surprised to hear his other nephew's name being spoken and the conversation that Jae was having seemed almost to be an argument. Both Jae and the dragon stopping when they saw him and then Oberyn watching as Jae leaned against Rhaenix's head and whispered softly to her.
"All is well, Jae?" he asked when his nephew looked at him.
"We were speaking on Quentyn, uncle." Jae said and Oberyn sighed.
They hadn't yet spoken on his errant nephew, Oberyn not truly sure what to say and trying more to come to terms with what his desertion meant. The Night's Watch's vows were clear and desertion meant death, desertion after killing men to do so only making that more certain. He both cursed and felt sympathy for the boy, cursing the fact that he broke the oath he took and feeling sympathetic after seeing both Castle Black and feeling what the weather was truly like in this cold unforgiving place.
"I understand he is to lose his head, Jae, I like it not but I understand it. Nether Arianne nor I will blame you for it." he said, though he knew that may not be as true of Mellario.
"Things are more complicated than that uncle, I've found him." Jae said and Oberyn looked at him curiously.
"The candles?" he asked.
"No, a vision, uncle." Jae said and Oberyn nodded "He traveled to Hardhome with some women and some children, he protected them, he saved them." Jae said and Oberyn looked at him in surprise.
"He did?" he asked and Jae nodded, a small smile on his nephew's face.
"What does this mean, Jae, for him?" he asked and the smile soon faded.
"Rhaenix wishes him dead, uncle, she says what he did, what he tried to do, we can't trust him." Jae said and Oberyn looked from his nephew to the dragon who was watching them both.
"You disagree?" he asked almost hopefully.
"I need to speak to him and to the women. Desertion is a death sentence but Mance was a brother of the Night's Watch once, he deserted, So should I kill him too?" Jae asked though it wasn't really a question Oberyn felt.
"What of the men that were killed when he ran, Jae?" he asked.
"Is Mance Raydar not responsible for the deaths of brothers of the Night's Watch also? I have no desire to kill the King Beyond the Wall and yet his crimes against the Watch are just as bad as Quentyn's. He's not the only man amongst the Free Folk who've thrown down their black cloak, uncle. I need to know more before I decide, speak to those with him and perhaps there is another way." Jae said and Oberyn nodded, feeling some relief that at the very least he'd not have to watch his nephew lose his head as soon as he saw him.
It made the breaking of his fast a more pleasant experience than the food deserved and he climbed onto Rhaenix's back even more eagerly. Oberyn finding himself even keener to look down on the lands below them as they flew than he had been thus far. He even felt keen to see Quentyn once more, to speak to his nephew and seek the truth about what he had done. Had Quentyn found some honor coming here? Or was he an opportunist who had broken his vows, killed men who were his brothers, and had then latched onto a group of travelers for his own benefit?
Whatever he was they'd know soon enough, Oberyn smiling as they flew over a large group of people and then as he saw Hardhome come into view. The sheer mass of people beneath them staggered him, Jae had said there were a hundred thousand and yet the number itself didn't truly register until he saw the Free Folk camp in all its glory. Rhaenix flew over the entire settlement, Jae even taking her beyond the camp itself and a little bit into the lands to the north of it before he turned back around and they landed in a wide-open space.
'well we made it, let's hope we don't need to outstay our welcome.' he thought to himself as they climbed down of the Rhaenix's back, the large crowd soon gathering round to look at the dragon and the king who rode upon her back.
Hardhome 299 AC.
Mance Rayder.
They had turned Hardhome from an almost abandoned place that most Free Folk kept away from, to the largest single settlement in their history, and with that came the problems. They were short on supplies, food, tents, furs, weapons and despite there being an abundance of fish, Mance knew they could not last here long. Certainly not in the numbers they had brought here. The supplies that Jae had sent did help, there was some food, and the weapons though unusual had quickly become something that every man and woman who could now carried with them.
But the lack of supplies was always going to be a problem and sending out hunting parties didn't bring them the success he had hoped for. So each day Mance would find himself waking in the morning and looking to the sky and the sea as he searched for the dragon or the ships. He'd then spend the day mediating between the clans and the elders, some saying they should march and take the Wall and others saying that the king would not come. On days such as those, he had been most glad to have Benjen Stark by his side.
Clansmen upon seeing the king's own uncle was with them and with them as truly as Benjen was, would soon stop their bellyaching and he'd find them looking to the sky or sea just as he did. The night before the king and his dragon arrived, he, Dalla, and their babe had been laying together in his bed when Mother Mole asked to see him. Mance welcomed the women into his tent and after he bid Dalla rest, he moved to speak to her.
"The dragon will be here on the morrow, Mance, you must be ready to shout down those who disagree when the king speaks." Mother Mole said.
"You think some won't accept his offer?" he asked surprised.
"I think we have more fools than I would wish for and our people can be proud." Mother Mole said.
"He isn't asking us to kneel, Mother." he said smiling.
"Yet to some they'll see it as that regardless, speak Mance, when it's time speak, as shall I." she said and he nodded.
"He will truly be here on the morrow?" he asked and she smiled as she looked at him.
"He will."
As he walked through the camp to where the dragon, the king, and his guards were now stood, Mance did so with a smile on his face. How she had known he cared not and he'd long since given up trying to understand where the woman got her powers from. She served the Old Gods, he knew that, as did every single one of the Free Folk, what that service entailed though was a complete mystery to him and to everyone else. Still, she'd been right about the dragon's arrival and as Mance moved to greet the king, he noticed the looks on some of the faces around them. Some were hopeful, some doubtful, and one or two looked to be a little angry and so it was those he took note of.
"Jae." he said offering his hand.
"Mance." the king said taking it.
Mance looked to the other men with him, Ser Arthur Dayne and the giant man were back, the other two he didn't recognize but when he saw the wolf he gasped. It had been laying down almost covered by the dragon's wing and when it moved to stand by the king, he knew that alone won him more favor than even the magnificent white beast behind him. Dragon's were unknown things to his people, as they were to most he would imagine, Direwolves though, they were anything but.
"Your wolf?" he asked curiously, as Val had already told him that the king and his kin all walked with wolves of their own though he'd never expected them to be so large as even by Direwolf standards the wolf was huge.
"Benjen's, is he here?" Jae asked excitedly.
"He and Val are on a hunt, they should be back before nightfall, come, we'll get you settled." he said and he saw Jae close his eyes, and then the dragon took to the sky.
They walked through the camp and Mance saw Jae look to his people and them to him. Behind them, the three Kingsguard and a man he was later to find out was Prince Oberyn Martell walked, while the Direwolf walked beside Jae. When they reached his own tent, Dalla was standing outside it with their babe, his wife looking to the sky as the Dragon flew out over the sea.
"Will the dragon return, Jae?" Mance asked.
"Aye, she's gone to feed, she'll be back before nightfall." Jae said and Mance smiled as he looked to his wife.
"My wife Dalla and our son." he said introducing them both and noticing how Jae's features softened as he looked to the babe.
"My lady." Jae said and he was surprised that Dalla kept her chuckle so low.
"Come inside, we have some warm stew on, that'll serve as guest right." Dalla said and Mance nodded.
All four of the men with Jae entered the tent and Mance was glad to see all of them eat the offered stew. Once they had done so, he looked to the king and was pleased when he motioned to the men to leave.
"Your men, Jae?" he asked seeking their names once they'd left the tent.
"Ser Arthur and Ser Walder you've met, Ser Loras Tyrell is my goodbrother and Prince Oberyn Martell is my uncle." Jae said.
"You're married, Jae?" Dalla asked as she took a seat, their son soon crawling towards the young king.
"I am, my lady."
"Dalla." his wife said and Jae smiled as he reached down to play with their son, Mance and Dalla both watching him keenly.
"Dalla, and this one, his name?" Jae asked.
"We don't name our children until they reach two namedays, Jae." Mance said and Jae looked at him surprised "It's a harsh life beyond the Wall and far too many don't make it that far."
"Then we had best get you all to the other side of it and there I can look forward to finally hearing this one be named." Jae said, his fingers moving in the air as he played some game with his son.
"You have children?" Dalla asked and Jae turned his attention from their son to his wife, his eyes alight as he spoke.
"My wife is with child, Dalla, three moons along." Jae said and Dalla smiled at him as did he.
As much as he'd like to speak on simple things such as this, however, he knew he could not for long and so far too quickly the conversation turned to the ships and the lands they were to move to.
"Your ships, Jae?" Mance asked.
"Will be here on the morrow." Jae said surprising them both.
"So soon." Dalla said happily.
"Aye, not all of them but enough to start moving some of the women and children. I've just come from Queenscrown, there is a village there ready to be moved into and a keep that will one day belong to one of my children. There is still work to do, the roofs need to thatched and readied but the buildings themselves are good and strong." Jae said and Mance looked to see if there was any lies in what the boy said.
"And those who can't stay there?" he asked, though they had already spoken of this before.
"The lands of the Gift stretch from the Bay of Ice to the Bay of Seals and for five and twenty miles south of the wall, there is enough land for all of your people Mance. Other than Mole's Town and the Wall itself it's empty and is yours to settle where you will. There are some lakes with decent fish stock and freshwater, and some old abandoned villages that could be repaired." Jae said and Mance looked to Dalla, seeing the excited look on her face.
"And the Crows?" he asked as Dalla looked on.
"Know their role and my will, I told you I seek a peace Mance, I seek your people safe behind the Wall the same as you do, and I seek you to fight with me when the time comes." Jae said.
"You don't seek us to kneel?" Dalla asked curiously.
"For now no. Should your people wish to stay on my lands once the fight is done, then Aye, they'll need to kneel. If they wish to come back beyond the Wall and make their homes in your own lands then they'll be free to do so." Jae said and Dalla looked at him and Mance nodded at her.
"I'll arrange a meeting of the elders for later, Jae, I'd ask you to keep your men with you if you travel the camp, I don't fear your safety but there are fools everywhere, even here. Mance said and Jae chuckled.
"A burden we must all bear." Jae said, his eyes drawn back to their son before he rose and then looked at him "You had a man arrive recently, a former crow who was traveling with some women, Quentyn is his name." Jae said a statement, not a question.
"He came looking for a place to be free, Jae, and he protected those women and girls that he traveled with." Dalla said nervously.
"He's my cousin, Prince Oberyn's nephew, is he here now?" Jae said and Mance breathed a little easier, not wishing the boy to come to harm.
"He's hunting with Benjen and the others, Jae." Mance said.
"The women he was with, can I speak to them?"
"I'll arrange it." Mance said and Jae nodded, bidding them farewell for now before he then left the tent.
Dalla waited until he was far enough away before she reached down and picked up their babe, his wife looking to him with a hopeful look on her face.
"He's younger than I expected." Dalla said and Mance chuckled.
"Perhaps that's a good thing, the young still believe, Dalla, it's the old who are too stubborn to change their ways."
"You trust him?" she asked.
"I can see no lie in his words, if his ships arrive on the morrow we'll see more truth, and getting to the other side of the Wall is all I truly care about."
"How did he know about Quentyn and Craster's wives?" Dalla asked with an odd look on her face.
"That I don't understand, I'll speak to Mother and to Benjen about it when he returns. Tonight should be interesting at least." he said and she shook her head as she laughed at him.
Mance laughed too as he walked to the tent's opening and stepped out, he could see Jae off in the distance and his guards and the wolf all close by. The boy had stopped and was speaking to some of their children, Mance almost able to hear the laughter from them from here. It made him feel far more relaxed and certain about Jae's intentions. Any man who cared for children was a man he could relate to, he'd not see them suffer and perhaps just perhaps, he'd see them all safe.
Hardhome 299 AC.
Quentyn Martell.
Seeing the dragon flying over his head was like a wake-up call and was it not for Ygritte then he may very well have run. But she, Tormund, and even Benjen Stark, who he'd been shocked to find at Hardhome, all told him that he was no longer a crow, he was now one of them and had proved himself, and the king would see that. Quentyn though not as certain as they were did accept their words and so as the others made their way back to the camp, so did he.
He'd been welcomed by the Free Folk when they heard what he had done, his story almost becoming one that was told around campfires for the few weeks he was here. Escaping from the crows, stopping rapists, and then bringing Craster's wives here where they were far safer than where they had been and now had a chance of a life south of the Wall. All of it to the Free Folk was noteworthy, as was his ability with a bow and his knowledge. Quentyn's education as a prince not as wasted as he had always believed it to be and as much of an asset to him here as his ability with a bow was. His bowmanship had another benefit, one which he would never have imagined and one that had changed his life completely, and had brought him Ygritte.
Quentyn looked to her when they finally reached the camp and found she showed no worries, no fear, there wasn't even a hint in her eyes that he was in any danger and so for now he simply enjoyed the looks she was giving him. Just as he had from the very first night she'd stolen him and each and every night since. They moved through the camp and hadn't gone but a few feet when the giant wolf ran their way, Quentyn making a move to his bow as did Ygritte only for Benjen to shake his head and tell them to put their weapons away.
"All is good, Frost, it's good to see you boy." Benjen said and Quentyn looked to Ygritte who was watching the scene in front of her almost open-mouthed.
She wasn't the only one doing so as other than Val, each of their party was looking on with awe as Benjen Stark knelt down and had his face licked by a beast that the Free Folk rightfully feared. Even Orell who was a warg looked at the exchange with disbelief and when Benjen stood back up and began walking, the Direwolf, Frost as Benjen had named it simply walked by Benjen's side. It was then he saw someone he'd never thought he'd ever see again, his uncle was walking with the King and with the Kingsguard and Quentyn came very close to running then.
"Jae." Benjen called out and Quentyn gulped when they turned to walk his way, surprised when he felt a hand take his and when he heard a whisper in his ear.
"They want you, they'll have to go through me, you are mine, not theirs." Ygritte said and he smiled as he kissed her.
Any hope he had of not being noticed was soon gone as even as he was embracing his uncle, the king's eyes were on him all the while. Though it was his own uncle's that Quentyn sought and quickly found. Benjen, Val, Tormund and the King and his Kingsguard all began to move away, and yet his uncle did not, Oberyn instead looking to the king and giving him a nod, and then almost in the blink of an eye, Quentyn was left alone with Ygritte, Orell, and his uncle. Orell noticed quickly how they both looked at each other and so he bid his farewells, Ygritte though only moved closer to him and once again took his hand in her own.
"Nephew, I'd say it was good to see you but…." Oberyn began.
"On my part, it is good to see you uncle." Quentyn said and Oberyn nodded before he embraced him, once he let him go, Quentyn introduced Ygritte and was rewarded with one of her truest smiles when he said that they were together.
"Love finds a way." Oberyn said softly and Quentyn didn't understand his meaning for a moment.
"Our tent is over this way, I'm sure you have questions, come join us." he said and Oberyn nodded before reaching out to place both his hands on Quentyn's shoulders.
"I misspoke earlier, nephew, it's good to see you as well." Oberyn said and Quentyn smiled at him before they turned to walk to their tent.
Their tent was surrounded by some of the hunters and by Orell's as well as Craster's wives' tents, Quentyn having become a protector and provider of sorts to the women. It was a far cry from the scared and lost boy he was when they set out on the journey to Hardhome, but what he'd seen, what he'd done in coming here had hardened him somewhat. Now he was a far different man than he had once been and had far lesser desires, food, shelter, safety, and Ygritte, that was all he needed, all he wanted, and yet once he had sought a crown and it shamed him now to think on it.
"Arianne is well?" he asked as his uncle took a seat in their tent.
"She is, she and her husband, Trystane too and your mother has returned to Dorne." Oberyn said and Quentyn sighed as he looked to the ground.
"She'll know of my sentence and the abandoning of my oaths." he said sadly as Ygritte rubbed his back softly.
"They were fucking shit oaths." Ygritte said and despite how he felt he laughed a little.
"She knows you were sentenced here, anything else, well we'll see. Explain it to me, explain to me what you did and why." Oberyn said and Quentyn nodded.
It took some time and Quentyn was so dismissive of what he'd achieved in stopping what the other Crows had wished to do to the women and in bringing them here that Ygritte interjected more than once, much to his uncle's amusement and what looked to Quentyn's eyes, his pride. When he was done he felt even more tired than the hunt and the walk back to the camp had made him and so without knowing it, he yawned, which brought a laugh from Oberyn.
"It's quite a tale, but you look like you could do with a rest and I'm sure your cousin is looking for me. I don't know what the future holds for you Quentyn, but you won't lose your head, on that I'm certain." Oberyn said rising to his feet.
"I'm a deserter uncle, the king, his Kingsguard, you, all of you are bound by the laws to take my head." Quentyn said as Ygritte glared at him.
"Here you're a free man, a member of the Free Folk and Jae would be the first to tell you that here he's not the king. I'll speak to your cousin, I know he wishes to speak to the women you saved and so I'll seek his mind on this." Oberyn said.
"Thank you uncle, it is truly good to see you again." Quentyn said and Oberyn smiled at him as he moved to the tent's opening, his uncle stopping to look at him before he left.
"You did a good thing nephew, I'm proud of you." Oberyn said and Quentyn felt himself swell a little, and then he was gone.
Quentyn was quiet for some time and even through his and Ygritte's coupling he was almost there but not quite there. His mind was filled with confused thoughts and his heart was both hurting and healing at the same time. His uncle may be right, Jae may not consider himself King Beyond the Wall but the Free Folk would not be beyond the Wall for long. There was little chance of him coming out of this alive, he only hoped for the chance to die as a free man, rather than as a prisoner.
Hardhome 299 AC.
Jaehaerys Targaryen.
They had walked the camp and though he wished to speak to the women that Mance said Quentyn had saved, the opportunity didn't present itself. Jae instead feeling it when Frost found Benjen and then hearing his uncle call his name. As they greeted each other he saw Quentyn standing next to the redhead, Ygritte he believed her name to be, the same one who'd held her bow in readiness when he had first met Mance. Jae looked to Oberyn and saw that he had seen his nephew too and when his uncle nodded to him, Jae gave him the time to speak to Quentyn while he took the opportunity to speak to Benjen.
Very quickly he noticed there was a change in his uncle, he was happier, more relaxed and he and Val moved close enough together to show they were a couple and yet far enough apart that if you weren't looking then you may not notice. He noticed and it brought a true smile to his face to see that his uncle had found someone, someone who made him happy by the looks of things. It was to their tent they were brought and as they were walking he heard a loud gasp from behind him and turned to see what it was that had caused it.
"That's a fucking giant." he heard Loras say and both Val and Benjen laughed, he, Arthur, and Walder did not as they and Loras looked up at a man who was almost three times the size of Walder.
"Wun Wun." Val said and the giant grunted something and spoke in the Old Tongue, which did bring a smile to Jae's face, it was rare these days that anyone disrespected him so openly and he welcomed it and the fact that other than Val and his uncle, no one else had understood the giant's words.
"There are more giants?" he asked and Benjen nodded though it was Val who answered.
"Aye, there are clans of them, about two hundred or so." Val said and Jae nodded.
"They'll be hard to move." he said as he tried to think of the logistics of it in his head.
"They and their mammoths." Benjen said and Jae looked at them both incredulously, not needing to speak to know the truth of their words.
It created a huge problem, the only way he could think of solving it was with the Pinnacle ships for the giants themselves but that would mean them leaving their mammoths behind them. Other than that they could begin the walk to the Wall, though that had been something he had wished to avoid. A spark of another idea hit him and he wondered if it could work, Jae putting it aside for now and hoping they had the time to move every single person here before it was too late.
"You are well, Jae?" Benjen asked as Jae stood deep in thought "Jae?"
"Forgive me uncle, giants." he said with a chuckle "Aye I'm well, I'm to be a father, uncle, Margaery is with child." he said and was embraced by his uncle, and even Val congratulated him before they began to walk once again.
When they reached what he assumed was his uncle's tent, he was unsurprised to see Val walk inside with them. Tormund looked eager to join them but a look from the blonde soon had him saying something about goat's milk and leaving them be. Once inside the tent, Jae watched as Val and his uncle sat further from each other than he imagined they normally did. He felt it best to get that out in the open first and to have the two of them be relaxed enough around him to be themselves.
"How long have you two been together?" he asked and his uncle looked at him in shock "I know how I look at Margaery, uncle, I can recognize it when I see it in others." he said so he knew how he knew.
"We stole each other." Val said and Benjen chuckled.
"Actually I stole you." Benjen said looking happily at her.
"No I just let you, so we stole each other." Val said and Jae smiled as he looked at them both.
"I'm happy for you, both of you, truly." he said when Benjen looked at him to make certain he was actually happy and not just saying it.
"The ships are on their way?" Benjen asked and Jae nodded.
"The first of them will arrive on the morrow, we'll start moving the women, children, and the old and sick." Jae said.
"Some warriors too, to protect them." Val said and Jae nodded, they would need no protection but it was for the best if they had some.
"Aye, some warriors too." Jae said.
"There will be some who won't believe you, Jae, some who think this a trap." Benjen said and Jae nodded.
"I'll not force anyone to leave nor to kneel, but staying here is a death sentence, uncle. I'll make my case, Mance his and we'll see what way the wind blows." he said and then he looked at them both "Queenscrown, uncle, I want you to set up there, I've fixed up the Tower, so other than the inside needing some work it's safe and secure, the village around it too." Jae said and Benjen looked at him.
"How? It was a ruin." Benjen asked.
"A long story which i'll tell you another time, so tell me who I should worry about at the meeting tonight?" he asked and then listened as he was told who was and who may not be with him.
By the time he left his uncle's tent he had a fair idea of what to expect, the Free Folk were loud and all would seek a voice. Some would push and pull and try and to get under his skin but most wanted to believe and he had allies here. Val even said that some would welcome the move thinking themselves smart, that once they got south of the Wall they would then seek to return to their old ways. It surprised him she was being so open with him about their people but then he put some of that down to her own relationship. She and Benjen were as one, united and no doubt his uncle had spoken of him to her many times.
He met up with Oberyn who said he'd spoken to Quentyn and though he didn't go into too many details, the things he did say only further fuelled his own doubts about what he could, or should do with his cousin. Jae resolving to speak to the women that he had rescued and then and only then making a true decision. As night fell he was sent for and they made their way to Mance's tent, Jae happy to feel that Rhaenix was on her way back as he may well need his sister's help before the night was done.
It took some time for everyone to be assembled, Jae asking the Kingsguard to sit silently no matter what was said and glad when they agreed to. Oberyn sat beside him and soon enough they were being handed mugs that contained something warm, Jae, took a sip to find out it was warmed cider or some alternative as he'd not seen many apples north of the Wall. He'd have welcomed drinking it down and yet he knew he could not, he was not a man who drank much and the realm had suffered through a king who did already. So instead he just drank enough to be polite and unlike Oberyn, he didn't ask for a second mug.
"You all know why you've been called here and who our guests are, they've been given guest right and so while harsh words may be spoken, that's all they'll be lest you want to face the judgment of the gods." Mance said to nods.
"Why is he here?" one of the men said, a rough and ugly sort who was in charge of the Hornfoots.
"He means us to kneel?" another voice said and Jae knew that Mance had already told him what he offered and that this was just a test, it was one he was glad to answer. Though not with his own voice and so closing his eyes he reached out to his sister who was not far away now and at his suggestion, she roared loudly.
"We're under attack."
"He's breaking guest right."
"Where is the beast?"
Jae let the voices ring out before he looked to Mance and Dalla and to Tormund and then shook his head, smiling at them so they knew it was but an act.
"If I wished you to kneel, you'd kneel, if I wanted you to name me your king, you'd name me your king, if I wished the Free Folk harm I could do so this easily." he said snapping his fingers "I am here for none of those things though, so lets cut through all the horseshit and speak honestly here this night. No games, no flowery words, just as people who all know what's coming for us and what must be done if we're to see the dawn." he said and he saw an older woman and a scarred man, Mother Mole and Styr he believed look at him with approval.
"Jae offers us the chance to seek safety on the other side of the Wall. To make a temporary home on his own lands and there to ready for the fight that will come. We can tell him to go fuck himself, though he does have a fucking huge dragon and I'd not think that such a good idea." Mance said to some laughs "Or we can listen to the offer and make our choice, we're free people, so each of us here speaks for themselves and their clans." Mance said.
"The lands nearest the Wall are mine own, they stretch from the Bay of Ice to the Bay of seals and from the Wall five and twenty miles south. I've told Mance that there is good game there, there are some lakes with some good fishing and fresh water and the Bay of Ice and the Bay of Seals has full waters too. On those lands, I can and will settle any and all who wish to. My ships are already on the way and the first of them shall arrive in the morning. I ask of you but three things." Jae said.
"Which are?" Mother Mole asked.
"That while on my lands you stay on my lands and stick to my laws. What you do amongst yourselves I'll not seek to change but there will be no raiding of mine or other lands, no attacking of villages and any man or woman who leaves my lands to do so will no longer be under my protection." Jae said.
"But if we stay on your lands we are? You'll protect us from the Crows, from the North?" Tormund asked.
"You have my word that I will." he said and saw Tormund nod.
"What else?" Styr asked.
"That when they fight comes and trust me it will come, even after you cross the Wall. That when it comes you'll fight on my side against the dead." Jae said and he saw their nods.
"The last?" a woman asked, her features marking her out as a warrior and Jae wasn't sure if she was indeed Harma Dogshead or perhaps someone else.
"Any man or woman who wishes to stay on my lands when all is done is welcome to, but to do so, then and only then must they kneel." he said, and as expected this got the reaction he had been worried about.
The arguments, the shouting, and finally the treats came and Jae looked at the big man who was shouting at him. He'd expected it to be the Lord of Bone's given what Val and Benjen had said, but it was the cannibal instead. The man was huge and ugly and had he not already told the Kingsguard to stand down, he'd also be dead too.
"I fucking told you that he wanted us to kneel, they're all the same and I'll not kneel to him, I should take my fucking sword and shove it up his and all these other fucking kneelers arses." Hranvir shouted.
"He's nothing like them."
"You're a fool Hranvir"
"Fucking stay here and die then."
Jae listened to the shouts and then he rose to his feet, bidding the Kingsguard to remain seated he looked to the arguing men and watched as Hranvir looked to him.
"Why don't you then?" he said, his words stopping all the arguments.
"What's that you say kneeler?" Hranvir said his voice angry and the look on his face murderous.
"Take your sword and shove it up my arse? Or were they just words in the wind?" Jae asked.
"Careful boy, I may respect guest right but I'll not take lip from a fucking kneeler." Hranvir said though his voice was a little less sure of himself now.
"So just words then?" Jae said and Hranvir moved towards him.
"Outside now, and you fucking absolve me from any punishment from the gods, boy, then we'll see if they were just words." Hranvir said and Jae laughed loudly before speaking.
"You think the gods are who you should worry about, worry about me." he said and then moved to the tent opening before leaving through it.
Oberyn, Benjen, Mance, the Kingsguard all of them tried to stop him and Arthur even suggested fighting for him but Jae stood his ground. He had known it would come to this, had felt it, and as he looked to some of the Free Folk he felt they were almost eager for it. Mother Mole looked at him with a half-smile on her face, Tormund, Styr, and others almost as if they wished to see if he could fight, while Mance looked far more worried. He didn't need to be as this would not be the fight they all thought it was going to be.
"Are you sure about this, Jae?" Arthur asked and Jae smiled at him.
"It's time for them to see the light, Arthur." he said.
After absolving Hranvir of any punishment from the gods for breaking guest right, a process that required it to be offered to Jae once more, and rather than eat the bread and salt, Jae having to throw it to the ground, they then readied to fight. Hranvir stood across from him holding a large sword in his hands, it was not quite a greatsword but bigger than a bastard one. He was shouting, making threats and Jae could see more of his clan around cheering him on, good they needed to see this too. When Mance looked at him, Jae nodded though he didn't move his sword from its scabbard and only did so when the larger man moved to strike him.
Lightbringer shone brightly and Jae welcomed the light, around him he could see men and women shield their eyes, and Hranvir who was closest to him had already dropped his sword to do likewise. Jae caught the man with the butt of his head across the chin, dropping him to the ground before he knelt and held the sword up high, its light shining even more brightly now. After what felt like a long time but was actually no more than a moment, he sheathed the sword and looked to the Free Folk who were now able to look his way. In front of him, Hranvir lay unconscious, the fight was over before it began and he could see how they looked at him. There was awe, a reverence, and were he a vain man he'd have reveled in it, as it was he welcomed it because of what it helped him to do. He rose to his feet and turned to look at them, all eyes on him as he felt Rhaenix land a little ways off from where they stood.
"I bring the light and all the living are welcome to walk in it with me. Those who wish to walk another way may do so freely but the night is dark and full of terrors and it belongs to the dead." he said looking to each of them, knowing that most if not all had already made their choice.
A/N: Thanks to all who've read and reviewed. Up next Jae makes a decision about Quentyn and he and Loras have a long-needed talk. The ships arrive and the Free Folk's evacuation begins and as Jae thinks things are going far better than they can, disaster strikes and a fight he isn't ready for is soon upon him.
Daryl Dixon: So glad you liked it.
Biohazard: Really glad you enjoyed it.
The Sphynx: It was a shoutout to you and also it's a nod to Sarella's canon arc.
Vfsnake: It will until it won't.
Hkt29: It will or more precisely there will be an equivalent one opened in the future. Basically, it's more needed for girls since they are not allowed to be educated that way as it is, where boys are. Also, it's too radical to expect boys/girls to be taught together, even in a Lord's Keep they're sent to take lessons separately, the boys taught by the Maester, the girls the Septa in WF for example.
Emerald Duke: Thanks so much, it was thankfully just a brief thing. Things are about to get real North of the Wall, so in some ways, this is the calm before the storm almost.
Jman: I had heard and I've no seen that, hope you're safe and well my friend.
Guest: We'll see Jon/Marge speak to each other through the Glass Candles next week. I get what you mean, the funny thing is literally any idea they come up with would seem extreme in that world simply because of who it is coming up with it. Here it'll be more them looking at things from another perspective, you have these smart women who literally aren't given a say basically. I mean the Reach thrives simply because it's run by Olenna, had it been run by Mace it's done for, even with it not he causes enough problems. For Jae also he's surrounded by these capable strong women and his focus is rightfully elsewhere.
Vwchick: Thanks so much, glad you liked it.
Celexys: It's been a while since we saw Loras properly so glad you liked it, we'll see him more next week when he and Jae speak.
Silverglow: Thank you, my friend, yeah it's putting the pieces into place more than anything else, with some character moments that are important.
Zeon: That was it exactly with Sarella, she starts out with one dream and we see it completely changed, her life almost getting a new meaning. The council of women thing is something that Olenna and others hinted at earlier, but you have these smart, capable women and so why not use them. Jae has other priorities and Marge is queen, and both wish to change things, so it seems a natural fit. I'm glad I didn't do the barracks thing further back when I had intended because sometimes those little details are so far apart they're not noticed.
We're in the calm territory at Hardhome, next week is stormy weather.
Lady Octarina: Thanks so much. It's been a gradual thing with Loras/Jae, the new responsibilities Jae has, the fact of Arthur and Barristan being part of the KG now, Jae wishing to leave him with Marge for the reasons Willas laid out and so a distance has formed without either really realizing it. Next week they'll have a big heart to heart. It's funny with Oberyn, I did something similar in DSSS with him and was loathe to do it here again, even if it's different and yet sometimes a character's traits or actions are so true. No way would Oberyn let Jae go Beyond the Wall without him, not only is it Jae/Rhaenix but also the chance of seeing the FF, you then add Quentyn in, and well he'd have kicked himself had he missed it.
With Sarella, her education is so much more in-depth because of who she's spent time with that her going to the citadel doesn't only become moot but it sets her on a much different part. So a dream for her to be educated would I think evolve into her seeking to see others like her educated. We'll be seeing more of the council of ladies, given who is in KL, we have some of the most important ladies both currently and in the future of Westeros and so they're going to do some things.
Irish Hermit: Thanks so much. Exactly, this is the calm somewhat, the things went well didn't they kinda chapter, the next couple won't be the same.
