Reviews
MoreRational
One of the reviews I got suggested a solution for Dany's child birthing issue that I will employ later in the story.
Alan
I guess that Merlin or Morgana could do something, but I have other ideas.
doug89
Sansa learned her lessons from Cersei Lannister very well.
I don't think White Walkers are undead because they start as babies turned by the Night King, or at least some of them do, and dead people can't grow up. I see them more as ice demon necromancers
Gothic 3 - GOT
Part 10
Army Camp. Near Winterfell.
In the show, The Battle of the Bastards happened when Jon Snow and Sansa Stark tried to retake Winterfell from Lord Ramsay Bolton, the Lannister appointed Warden of the North, so as to restore House Stark as the ruling house of The North. However in this timeline things would play out somewhat differently as Ramsay Bolton, the prick, had died at my hands, and his father, who'd not died, was a more rational man.
With the Karstarks and Umbers having declared for House Bolton due to their anger toward Robb Stark, this meant that Jon, Arya and Sansa had been forced to recruit the meagre forces of the minor Houses to aid them. Between them they'd persuaded the Free Folk, House Mazin, House Hornwood, and House Mormont to join them, while Robett Glover, head of House Glover, refuses to declare for them, citing both his hatred for the wildlings and his anger at Robb for failing to protect them from Balon Greyjoy's invasion of the North during the War of Five Kings.
Not so long ago Sansa had sent the warrior woman Brienne of Tarth (I'd remembered her name correctly this time) to the Riverlands to treat with her great-uncle, Brynden Tully, who had been under siege at Riverrun. Unfortunately, Brynden refused to leave his home and had been killed when the castle fell to the combined forces of House Frey and House Lannister. Lucky for them, Brienne and her squire Podrick were able to escape.
According to the latest news House Frey was still intact even after the death of Lord Frey who seemed to have finally died of old age, I knew that the Faceless Men who I'd hired had killed the man as he high on the list I'd given them. According to the latest news, Walder Frey's many brats had divided the House and started killing each other over who got to be in charge. Arya was not happy about that as she wanted to kill Freys, but I'd promised her to teach her more magic and to take her to Dragonstone with me as she liked to travel.
After only being able to recruit a small number of minor houses, what was what left of the Starks would have been rather heavily outnumbered, as Lord Bolton had around 6,000 men it was believed 5,000 Bolton soldiers and 1,000 soldiers contributed by House Karstark and House Umber, who were not Stark supporters.
Before I'd arrived the Stark army had been made up of Around 2,400 men. 2,000 Free Folk warriors 200 Hornwood soldiers 143 Mazin soldiers 62 Mormont soldiers, a single giant, and whatever members of House Reed who would be able to get here by tomorrow. Meera had gone to meet them and should return soon, but she might not make in time due to the distances involved and her people were good at moving unseen so even she could have trouble linking up with those members of her House who were coming here to support the Starks.
If not for the two thousand men I'd brought back with, a thousand former slaves and a thousand Unsullied, who were extremely well trained and battle-hardened, the Stark would have been in some real trouble. Also, my army contained most of the spell-casters I'd been training before coming to Westeros. I'd gotten a few Restorian tomes recently so causalities should be a lot easier to deal with than before as we now had magical healers with us.
Once this battle was over I'd have to send the Unsullied back and the take Dragonstone with the former slaves and anyone else who was willing to with me to secure the island for Dany. Normally it would be more than a little insane to try to take Dragonstone, the fortress, with only a thousand men, but Stannis was dead and what was left of his army had scattered the winds.
"We're going to win," said Arya "I can feel it".
I figured that she was right. The numbers were much more even than they had been in the show and the Boltons had still lost the battle. The ruling Lord Bolton was not his son, and would not act to indulge his sadism in battle leading to mistakes, but we had magic on our side, and I knew a few Shouts that would help.
"You'll have your home back soon my little wolf" I promised Arya as we relaxed in my tent.
She smirked at me when I called her that.
"I'm not your little wolf" she teased.
Well not yet. Give me a bit more time and once she'd matured I'd make her howl.
"So you don't want to remain my student and travel all over the world with me?" I asked.
While I'd been spending time with the Mother of Dragons Meera and Arya had gone out to explore Meereen and despite the danger of getting stabbed by a Son of the Harpy, they enjoyed themselves. Most people who lived within a civilization at this level of development never got more than a few miles away from the town or village they were born in. Even the children of nobles might not see much of the world. But Arya wanted to see more of everywhere and I was happy to indulge her.
"I do, but wolves aren't anyone's pets," she said "Not even a dragon's".
A certain werewolf had made me think otherwise. Aela the Huntress was a great warrior, but not long after meeting me, she'd become a faithful hound who followed me around and did as I ordered her to. Dragonborn have that sort of effect on people. Some reacted in fear or denied that we affected them at all, but I'd met a lot of women in my time who just couldn't get enough of me. Arya was no different even if she denied it.
"I'm about to help your family reclaim its home" I reminded her, "I think that gives me the right to call you my little wolf if I want to".
Once the battle was won the Stark Army would begin to siege Winterfell, and then I would open a magical doorway into the crypts of Winterfell, and let part of the army directly into the castle. The remaining Boltons would not be able to defend from a force behind their walls and one outside of it. That was tomorrow, for now, Arya and I were drinking and enjoying each others company.
"I suppose that's fair," she said.
The subject was then changed.
"You never told me about your life before you found out you were the Dragonborn," the youngest Stark daughter said, "What did you do?".
I cared little for that life. It hadn't been important, but there were other things I could tell her about, and storytelling was important to Northerners.
"My story begins in a place called Helgen," I told Arya "The first time I saw a dragon was not long after I got caught in an ambush when I got picked up by some Imperial soilders when crossing the border into Skyrim".
My memories of that time were fuzzy due to the amount of wine I'd drunk.
"I must have blacked out at some point and I woke up in a wagon with some other prisoners, and we had a big escort of soldiers. There were three men in the wagon with me, all of whom had been caught up in the same ambush. I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, and I soon found out that we were being sent to our deaths. I remember a horse thief and some rebels in the wagon with me".
Arya didn't stop looking at me as she listened to the words of my story.
"We stopped in a small town just north of the southern border into Skyrim, which was called Helgen. There must have been ten of us in total, all lined up for the chopping block. The first was called forward, and he died. I'd never seen anyone die before so I remember that part very well".
That death hadn't bothered me nearly as much as it should have.
"I was seconds from getting my head chopped off when Alduin, the dragon I would travel to the afterlife to kill, appeared and began laying waste to the whole town" I was now sying "He was bloody terrifying. All dragons are, but he was something else entirely. His scales were as black as night, and his eyes glowed like fire. His timely arrival saved my life, ironically enough. With everyone running around, panicking and yelling, I got guided to safety by a man by the name of Ralof and, together, we managed to escape".
There was much more to this tale.
"Ralof took me to his village which was called Riverwood," I told Arya "I didn't stay there long as I set out for the hold's capital to get them some help. Plus there was this whole thing with some bandits and a golden claw".
The Barrows was a story for another day.
"While I was at Whiterun, that was the hold's capital we got the news that a dragon had been seen flying overhead, and we quickly learned that he had assaulted a nearby watchtower," I said "I was sent out with some of the guard and a few others to kill it. The watchtower was a wreck. Half of it had collapsed and parts of it were still on fire".
Somehow Arya managed to fall asleep despite what we would be doing tomorrow. That must have been a very effective bedtime story or a very boring one.
(Line Break)
Battlefield. Near Winterfell.
"So what terms did Lord Bolton offer?" I asked when Jon Snow returned to our lines.
The former Lord-Commander of the Night's Watch did not look like a happy person.
"He has my youngest brother," Snow let me know "and Rickon will be killed if we don't surrender".
This wasn't an option because if we didn't take Winterfell we'd have no fortress when the Night King got here, and that would happen sooner or later.
"I assume you told him to go fuck himself," I said.
He was too worried about his brother and the battle that we were about to have to smile upon hearing that.
"Something like that," he told me "Go do your magic".
Soon there was no more time to talk as the fight was about to start so I returned to Unsullied who were commanded this day by Red Wart, one of Grey Worms most skilled officers.
"Remember to wait for the signal," I said "Then when the sky breaks start to march. Kill any who don't surrender".
We'd chosen this battlefield because to the side of use were some trees that I would use to hide my presence along with the chameleon spell so as to get close to the enemy lines, close enough for the Storm Call Shout to be used effectively. It wouldn't last that long and would be the signal for the Northern Army and its allies to start marching upon the Boltons. By the time the Stark army met the Bolton forces, the Boltons would be disarray and many would believe that the old gods had chosen to support the Starks by showering their wrath upon the Boltons. The old gods were supposed to be tied to nature so a sudden storm should be accredited to them.
I moved out of sight and into the trees before using my magic. Of course, the Boltons had scouts who would be watching out for sneak attacks, but they would be looking for cavalry or groups of men on foot, not one man who would nearly impossible to see thanks to the vegetation and magic.
"STRUN BAH QO!"
The Storm Call shout creates a heavy downpour, accompanied by a fierce thunderstorm directly above me that soon began to throw powerful bolts of lightning down upon anyone underneath, friend and foe alike. Clouds appeared and it was as if the gods themselves were weeping for the slaughter to come as bolts of lightning lanced down from the sky. This had the predictable effect of causing panic in the formations of Bolton men as aside from the shock of a sudden storm, bolts of lightning came down and killed a few people at random. Not many, but it caused a panic and that was what I desired.
I made myself hard to see once again and watched as the Stark army marched on the Bolton Forces who lost all semblance of order very rapidly because none of them wanted to be struck by lightning and didn't know the chances of it happening to them were in reality very low. Also, there were a few men calling out about the wrath of the old gods, and again this was what I desired them to do. I wouldn't be shocked to discover that some of the enemy soilders would think they needed to seek forgiveness by pledging their allegiance to House Stark as soon as they could. This would be fine with me.
(Line Break)
Winterfell. The North.
Hangman's Noose was an adept level Destruction spell that absorbed the health of a target and uses it to heal the caster. It also happens to visually look a lot like a Force Choke as I discovered when I used the spell on guard whose armour showed his loyalty to House Bolton by displaying the flayed men symbol. The soldier looked as if he was being hanged up in the air by an invisible noose, but I didn't leave him to needlessly suffer as I ended his life with the sword once known as Brightroar, that I'd gotten reforged.
I'd named it Rhindon after Peter Pevensie's sword, which is given him, along with a shield, by Father Christmas when he is Narina. He used it to slay the wolf Maugrim and later wielded it in the battle against The White Witch. When the Pevensie children returned to Narnia centuries later they recognized the ruins of their former castle after discovering the blade, which had not tarnished. He then took it up again to lead the revolutionary army against the Telmarines.
"Follow Arya" I ordered some of my men "Head for the dungeons I want Rickon Stark secured".
As we made our way out of the crypts I sent a Firebolt at a guard which sent him flying into a wall and before he could get up I drove Rhindon into him. He died quickly and as soon as my weapon had finished ending that life I was using to safeguard my own. I didn't know how tough I'd become because I didn't let people hurt me, and nor did I wish to test my mortality by getting stabbed with a sword, as even my armour had weak spots, so I used a Shout to disarm the two men who were trying to kill me. They never got the chance to recover their swords.
Not that this left me without anyone else to fight as no sooner did Arya lead her team off the dungeons (she knew the way and Lord Bolton would have the boy secured down there) even more men with flayed man symbol of House Bolton on their armour rushed to face those of us who were coming up from the crypts and if not for the fact that Winterfell was under siege they could have sent down enough men to stop all of us, but they were distracted and had been taken by surprise because of my actions.
I'd just used a Shout to bring in an elite strike force, made up of the best warriors the Stark army had, into the crypts, but rather than attack right away we'd waited long enough for my powers to recharge so that I could use more Shouts. This proved to be a very good thing when we made it out into the courtyard to find many Bolton men with crossbows surrounding their lord.
"FUS RO DAH!"
The men scattered before me and before they could recover we had them. I ran to where Lord Bolton himself was struggling to stand and planted my boot on his chest. I was not gentle about it.
"Surrender!" I ordered.
He complied and the Bolton men opened the gate, allowing Jon Snow to ride into this family home without any further violence.
"Winterfell is yours, Lord Snow," I said.
Jon had his attention fully on the former ruler of this castle.
"My brother better be alive Lord Bolton," he said.
We soon discovered that he was alive, and as a bonus, Arya had found Theon Greyjoy down in the dungeons in a cell next to her little brother. I'd figured he'd turn up somewhere. Perhaps Jon would execute the squid for what he did when the Greyjob had been Lord of Winterfell. His rule had been short and very bloody. He'd killed the castle's master at arms and he'd burned two orphan boys.
"What are you going to with his wife and son?" I asked.
Jon must have already decided on this as he didn't need time to think of an answer.
"I'll send them to the twins," he said, "Whoever ends up as the new Lord Frey can take care of them".
(Line Break)
Great Hall. Winterfell.
"THE KING IN THE NORTH!"
Jon Snow had never really wanted to lead. Alas, for him, fate had other plans and he'd gone from an unloved bastard on The Wall to the Lord-Commander of the Night's Watch and now he'd been named King in the North. He'd avenged the Red Wedding and cast down the traitorous Boltons, and this was good, but he didn't think it qualified him to lead one of the Seven Kingdoms, but the Lords and Ladies of the North seemed to think that it was a good idea.
Not that he had a choice. Someone had to lead the fight against the dead, someone had to unite the North, someone had to gather enough allies together so that when the White Walkers made it past The Wall, and he knew it was just a matter of time before they did, that they'd at least have a chance to fight them.
"THE KING IN THE NORTH!"
At least it looked as if they might have a small chance. The North had a powerful ally, one who hopefully bring her dragons to the aid of the living when the time came. Also, they had the Dragonborn, a man who seemed to be able to control the weather and who made magical doorways to anywhere he liked. Such powers could make the difference when the time came, and while Jon didn't trust magic his feelings on the subject didn't matter.
"THE KING IN THE NORTH!"
Once the yelling had stopped and at least some of the business of this new court, his court had been dealt with Jon took a few moments to talk with his favourite sister, who was already making ready to leave despite not having been here for very long. He wanted her to stay, but there were things she needed to do.
"So you'll be heading to Dragonstone soon," he said.
He and Arya left the Great Hall, walking as they talked.
"We're going to need a lot of dragonglass" stared Arya "and Dragonstone has all we'll ever need. So I'm going to help Gothic secure the island and we will start transporting dragonglass to you as soon as we can".
Jon figured that there was more to this.
"I've noticed that you spend a lot of time with the Dragonborn," he remarked.
Jon wasn't sure he liked the Dragonborn or not. So far he'd been useful, but he was loyal to a distant queen not to the North. The new king would not be foolish enough to turn away a powerful ally, he just wasn't sure that he wanted his little sister to spend so much time with Gothic. Not that he would forbid Arya from going or try to talk out of it as the end result of that would be Arya leaving anyway, just in a foul mood. She was no longer a mere girl and would make her own choices.
He needed to stay here and prepare the North for what was to come and unite as many as possible, and that meant remaining at Winterfell. Rickon was Lord of Winterfell, but due to his youth and inexperience, Sansa really ruled this castle. Something had changed in her, and while he trusted her, Jon didn't think that it was a good idea to leave Sansa alone here.
Arya smiled up at her favourite brother.
"He's been teaching me a lot" she informed her older sibling.
Jon had no idea how much Arya had learned. She'd learned to move unseen and unheard, to bring weapons into her hand from nowhere and have them return when she had done with them, she could make fire and lightening appear from her hands, and even heal herself. He didn't much like magic, but if it helped to keep Arya safe he wouldn't complain about it to her or about her teacher.
"Just stay safe" Snow requested.
Before Arya left the two hugged for a good long time.
(Line Break)
Dragonstone. Blackwater Bay.
While most people knew that Dragonstone was a castle located on the island of the same name at the entrance to Blackwater Bay and that it was supposed to be spooky, they really had no idea what the place was like. The Maesters of the Citadel would tell you that Dragonstone was the original seat of House Targaryen in Westeros and had been colonized and fortified as the westernmost outpost of the Valyrian Freehold some centuries ago.
The castle has a dark reputation because it was said that Dragonstone was built by the Valyrians with forgotten arts, dragon fire, and sorcery. Now that I was here I could see that the Targaryens had been capable of liquefying and reshaping stone with dragonflame, the dragonlords used their magic to shape Dragonstone to look like multiple dragons. I was very impressed.
After Aegon's Conquest of the Seven Kingdoms, Dragonstone in the newly-created crownlands served as the seat of their heir apparent, known as the Prince of Dragonstone. After Robert Baratheon overthrew the Targaryens in Robert's Rebellion, he gave the castle to his brother Stannis, creating House Baratheon of Dragonstone. Sending me here to conquer the island for her suggested that Dany had me her successor, even if she'd never mentioned such an arrangement with me.
It would make a certain amount of sense as I could command her dragons, and I had powers of my own, a very nice Valyrian steel sword and just under a thousand men under my command. Aegon the Conqueror had less than this when he began to take forge the Seven Kingdoms, and if Danys dragons came to me I could conquer as well. Not that I wanted to be one on the throne, but it was good to have options.
Dragonstone, though old and strong, isn't much of political power as its lord commands the allegiance of only a few lesser lords whose islands are too thinly populated to provide any great numbers of troops, although they have some naval strength. Houses sworn to Dragonstone include Celtigar of Claw Isle, who was also of Valyrian descent, Seaworth of Cape Wrath, Bar Emmon of Sharp Point, and Sunglass of Sweetport Sound. Although who they answered to these days, if anyone at all, was unknown to me. Perhaps I would bring them under my command at some point when I wasn't busy with other matters.
"A grim place" commented Meera Reed.
While looking around it quickly became clear to me the Dragon themed architecture could be found throughout the castle, such as small dragons framing gates and dragon claws holding torches. A pair of great wings cover the armoury as well as the smithy, and dragon tails form archways and staircases. Statues in the shape of dragons could be found all over the castle. Highly suitable given my connection to the great beasts.
Dragonstone had a castle yard, an impressive library and there was even a fishing village nearby with a port. But no Smallfolk called it home. The whole island had been abandoned so I would have to repopulate it and get it prepared for the arrival of Miss Stormborn. For that, I was going to need some skilled labourers, but I could afford to pay them and King's Landing wasn't far from here and they must be people with the skills I needed that were looking for work in that cesspit of a city.
"Get back I'm going to try something," I told Arya and Meera.
Miraak had shown me that it was possible to use more than three words in a Shout and because of this I'd had the idea of using four words in a Shout to try to summon a dragon to come to help me fight the dead. Odahviing a Dragon that became an ally as part of my quest to defeat the World-Eater had sworn to serve me. Back in Skyrim, he could be summoned with the Call Dragon Shout, but to bring him here I needed more power and another word for the Shout.
Lucky for me it worked and smiled as this meant that when I finally met the army of the dead and their icy masters I should have a very big ace up my sleeve. The Night Knight might know about another dragon in this world, but he wouldn't know what Odahviing could do as he was much more than the local dragons. Besides, if he died when I was around his body would burn up when I took his soul so there would be no corpse to turn into a dragon wight. Not that I wanted him to die, but I didn't want any undead dragons either.
I'd considered risking a visit to other worlds so as to obtain a weapon to defeat the army of the dead, and while that was still an option, it would be best to have a plan in place to help deal with the army of the dead in case I couldn't recruit anyone to my cause who had enough power to deal with demonic ice necromancers for me.
"You have a dragon too?" I heard Arya ask.
I'd answer that question later.
"Drem Yol Lok" I greeted.
"Saraan uth - I await your command, as promised," said Snow Wing Hunter.
This was good. I would need his help.
"I brought you here as I will soon need your help against an army of the dead who can only be defeated by fire" I informed Odahviing "They are lead by evil creatures known as White Walkers".
Dragonglass worked too, but it was considered to be frozen fire, so it was sort of the same thing in some mystical way.
"I have sworn myself to the Way of the Voice, Dovahkiin" the dragon told me "I will overcome my nature only through meditation and long study of the Way".
Once I'd slain the World-Eater the dragon Paarthurnax had spoken to me of his intent on bringing the "Way of the Voice" to all dragons and it seemed as if he'd been partly successful.
"If you don't help me all the joorre of this world will all die," I told Odahviing "Slain by the Zol who serve Nahgahdinok".
I figured that I needed to speak to him more like a Dovah (dragon).
"Very well Dovahkiin" Odahviing agreed as the Shout began to lose effect "When the times comes, call upon me again".
With that Snow Wing Hunter faded away as if he'd been like a summoned Daedra, which I thought was interesting as dragons were not Daedric in nature.
"Rights let finish looking around," I said, "I've got some ideas for this place".
I noticed that Arya and Meera were both standing still and just staring at me.
"You've seen a dragon before" I reminded them.
Okay, so Odahviing was more impressive, however, this was no reason to stand around looking like fish stuck on land.
"You talked to a dragon that you made appear by yelling at the sky," said Arya.
That was what had just happened.
"I'm the Dragonborn," I told them "I yell at the world and it does what I tell it to".
Then I had an idea. If it really was just the matter of using the right words then why not try bringing more than dragons here. Perhaps I could summon someone to me and not have them fade back to where ever it was they'd come from. Mortals lived by different rules than Daedra and dragons.
"Drun Het Grah-Zeymahzin!" (Bring/Brought Here Battle-Companion)
Aela the Huntress, a Nord werewolf, thief and member of The Companions. She is one of five members of The Circle who resided in Jorrvaskr with the other Companions, and now she was here. She was also happy to see me, despite her sudden appearance, something she made clear when she lept at me. Straddling my waist before dropping down the ground and punching me. I got some real mixed messages from that.
"Where have you been?" she demanded to know "You just vanished without a word and that was years ago!".
Had it really been years? How long had been in that Realm of Oblivion? How long had I been here?
"That could take some time to explain" I answered, "and I don't know if the Shout I used to summon you will last so I'll tell you what I can".
By the time I was done she'd not faded away so I guessed that summoning humans, even werewolves, worked differently than it did with dragons and Daedra. I was pretty sure that I could send her back with another Shout and if that was possible then I had a big favour to ask of her.
"Aela, I've brought you to this world and I think that I could do so again after sending you back," I told her "So would you go back and pick up some stuff for me".
I had some stuff stashed away in safe places in Skyrim, more than enough treasure for my needs when combined with my ability to turn raw iron ore into silver and gold, and while I couldn't risk going back for it Aela didn't have an upset god looking for her. Still, it would be best not to risk sending her back and forth to Skyrim too often.