Ser Rolland Storm had been kneeling in front of the Statue of the Warrior for hours now, kneeling and praying. Trying to understand the changes, trying to understand what had happened to him. Trying to understand the dreams which had plagued him nearly every night for a fortnight now but for all his prayers, he had still not found an answer.
His trueborn brother had told him to pray to the Father or the Crone and not only to the Warrior but he had always been a true follower of the Warrior and no prayers came over his lips for any of the other six. His legs would not even bent themselves properly in front of the others, for he was so used to follow only the rules of one and not all of the Sevens.
But slowly now, he was reaching the end of his hope for answers and his hope for the dreams to stop. He had never been a dreaming man, not even as a lad had he ever truly known himself to dream at night or to remember anything of it if he did so. And he had never been a daydreamer, not even when he had been barely out of his swaddling clothes.
He had always known were he was standing in his life and what he could possibly achieve and what not, he had always known what his duty was and he had always been secure in the knowledge that the Warrior was the one he should and would praying to.
But now, now he dreams for a fortnight, dreams of things which he never heard or seen before, dreams of people whose names he had heard of but never met at all. And these dreams were turning every night more intense and he felt everything of what in them to him, he had woken up the last couple of nights, with the smell of smoke in his nose, the smoke from the burning ships and the burning men. He had woken up with the Screams of all who died such a death or were hurt in such a way in the countless ships on the burning Blackwater. He had woken up with the face of Edric Storm in front of his eyes, the Bastard of the King who was grewing up in Storm 's End and who he had never seen in his life, only in his strange dreams.
He had woken up in his bed in Nightsong and needed many a moments to understand that he wasn't on Dragonstone anymore, that he wasn't fighting as Castell an against the Siege anymore, that he wasn't overseeing the mining of Dragonglass anymore. All things which he never done in all his years for real but which he all did in his dreams.
A damn fortnight now with such uncommon and disturbing dreams and he felt himself grewing tired even in the daytime hours and his eyes had heavy bags under them, dark like bruises, he found himself restless too at the same time and no matter of long he kneeled, no matter how hard he prayed, no matter how many candles he lit in front of the Warrior, he found no answers, no rest and his mind just never calmed down.
Behind himself , he heard his trueborn brother entering the Sept. Bryce was slowly walking closer to him and then he kneeled down beside him and stared up to the statue of the Warrior.
Neither of the two brothers spoke a word, trueborn not nor bastard born. They both were just kneeling in front of the Warrior, praying and looking for answers the one and searching for strength the other.
Finally Bryce, the Lord Caron of Nightsong stood up in one fluid motion and stretched himself. He looked down to his half-brother and asked him to finally stand up too. Ser Rolland Storm did so and then, when both men were standing in the midst of the Sept, the Lord looked into the pox marked face of his halfbrother and gave a lopsided smile.
"Do you know Rolland, that your face looks less scarred since the last couple of days? It seems that for whatever reason, that whatever makes you pray for hours every day now, that whatever causes you to look like you are never ever really sleeping anymore, is also caused all the deep pockmarks to smooth out and for your scars to grew less fierce."
The Bastard of Nightsong looked startled at his Lord 's and brother's words, this was not something that he had ever expected to hear from Bryce. The younger man though looked into his illegitimate brothers face once more and then he nodded slightly. Lord Bryce Caron then trusted his left hand into his jerkin and tugged out a small, rolled up piece of paper which he then gave to his half-brother.
"Read this Rolland, it just came with the Raven from House Wensington and tell me what you think. There are strange things happening everywhere now, or so it seems like right now."
Ser Rolland Storm unrolled the message and while he was quickly reading everything, he felt himself grewing ever more anxious.
" Lord Wensington writes of the impossibility to enter Storm 's End, that all birds fly around the Keep, that no Ravens leave the Keep and that those animals outside will not enter and those inside will not step outside. He writes that Lord Renly is unconscious for many a day now and that the whole Keep hears sounds like a deep heartbeat and that there are runes everywhere. Has old Lord Wensington lost the last bits of mind? "
" He seemed to have sent this to every House of the Stormlands though, so I doubt that he is entirely sure about what he had written. And I had also received a nearly identical letter from the Conningtons and this is where you are coming in now. You, Rolland will ride to Storm 's End with twenty Guards and while you are on your way, either your dreams will lessen or, if you are lucky, you maybe might finally find the reason for them and can finally find peace again. Either way, you will go there in my Name and I am sure that you will not be the only one who will go to our Lord Paramount. "
" With their Ravens not leaving Storm 's End, they would most likely be unable to inform the King about the Situation. "replied Ser Rolland.
Lord Caron agreed but the half brothers decided to think about the King when they would know what had happened in the Baratheons Keep.
Ser Rolland Storm left Nightsong barely two hours later with twenty guards and they were riding fast. The first night away from Nightsong was the first one since a fortnight, which Ser Storm slept peacefully and without dreams.
After that though, the dreams returned not only in the night but also during the daytime.