Chapter Seven: The Game Has Changed
Several weeks passed as the Northern contingents readied themselves for the oncoming horde of wights, training, prepping, and stockpiling dragonglass weapons. Outposts along the North had been divided between the host, and manned by a mix of Northern and Southern lords.
Tormund Giantsbane, Brienne of Tarth, and Jaime Lannister took Last Hearth, bolstering the forces that survived the attack by the wights. Young Ned Umber was all that was left of the lords of House Umber, and Tormund quickly took the young boy under his wing, claiming he would make a warrior of him in no time.
The Hound and Lord Manderly joined together to clean out and make safe the Dreadfort, while Lyanna Mormont and her uncle Jorah led a host of the Unsullied with Grey Worm to develop traps and pits lined with dragonglass along the Kingsroad near Long Lake.
The bulk of the Dothraki were left at Winterfell, their fighting style would be severely hindered in the snow, making them rather difficult to use in fighting the wights. Following Tyrion's suggestion, Jon had decided to keep most of them back and keep them warm and well-fed in preparation for the Southern war yet to come.
Bran kept a watchful eye on the slow approach of the Night King and his forces, helped by Arya who quickly learned how to warg into ravens like her younger brother, her lessons at the House of White and Black helping her do so. The Night King was driving his forces along the Kingsroad, but they were a slow moving mass that were just passing Queenscrown. Dany was just grateful Viserion had yet to be spotted, she didn't know what she would do when she had to face him. The Night King had perverted her son.
Jon meanwhile, was focusing on his final battle plans, plagued by nightly visions of his family falling to the Night King and rising as White Walkers. He had the library at Winterfell scoured for information and was entertaining the prophecy of Azor Ahai, though it worried him. He didn't like the implications of sacrifice the past hinted towards. Dany also had him training daily on Rhaegal, while she learned how to shoot arrows from Drogon's back, the blacksmith's forge in constant use as arrows tipped with dragonglass were added to the growing pile of spear heads and daggers Gendry had started.
The war preparations weren't all that was happening though, as Tyrion and Sansa worked together to create and distribute the propaganda along the Southern kingdoms, while also spreading information about the importance of dragonglass in the battle for the Dawn. Their letters went to the Reach, Dorne, the Stormlands, the Westerlands, and had even begun to be disseminated and copied in the Crownlands, though they'd yet to send any into the capital itself. It was through these communiques and propaganda that the Long Night's end was furthered, as allies known and unknown began to move in the South.
The Reach:
Willas Tyrell sat at his desk, he'd been pouring over document after document of grain distribution as the first biting chill of winter settled over Highgarden. The Lannister sack of the castle that ended in the death of his grandmother, the formidable Queen of Thornes Olenna Tyrell had been devastating to the Reach, but not so devastating that they could not survive the coming winter. Even before her death, Olenna Tyrell was more cunning than a fox. She'd hidden much of the resources, anticipating an attack, she'd even sent him the heir to the Fossoway's to stay with his brother Garlan and his wife Leonette. The Lannister's seemed to have forgotten that other Tyrell's existed, though he couldn't blame them, Willas wasn't talked about outside the Reach, and even Lord Tarly's rebellion had been on the premise Willas was dead. He was not however, though he may soon be if the rumors coming from the capitol that the Queen had contracted the Golden Company were true. Cersei was truly a Mad Queen, consorting with Greyjoys and sellswords, using wildfire as her champion. Willas slammed his hand against the table as he thought of his youngest siblings, sweet Margaery and brave Loras. He'd begged their grandmother to take them from the city, to smuggle them out when the Faith grabbed them, but his oaf of a father was convinced he had it in hand. And so they burned in the Sept.
Pushing away those dark memories, Willas sifted through the paperwork on his desk before uncovering a thick embossed scroll, deposited by the Maester earlier. A scroll with the seal of a three-headed dragon and a snarling direwolf, side by side. Sliding a dagger under the seal, he gently pried the scroll open, only to reveal several leaves of parchment, all decorated with the three-headed dragon and direwolf. A message was included on the inside of the foremost paper.
Lord Tyrell,
It is with a sad heart that we write to you, your grandmother was a venerable woman and a valued ally. We thought to visit after our routing of the Lannister's but she'd sworn us to secrecy of your survival, she suspected the Tarly plot. Know that Randall Tarly died a traitor. But that is not why I write to you know. I Daenerys Stormborn of House Targaryen, Queen of Meereen, Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea, Mother of Dragons, The Unburnt, Breaker of Chains, Lady of Dragonstone, secede my right to the throne to the eldest living son of my brother, Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark, Jaeherys (Jon Snow) Targaryen-Stark, King in the North, King of the Andals, the Rhoynar and the First Men, Protector of the we are fighting the Others in the North to protect the realm, as we stated we would in Kings Landing. Once we succeed, we hope to look to you as our friend an ally, much as your grandmother was. Included in this message are a series of propaganda pamphlets, my Hand Tyrion Lannister has developed with the help of Lady Sansa Stark and others. We ask that you make copies and disseminate them among your people, so that they know the true story of the Dragon Queen and the White Wolf, whom Cersei is villainizing. We invite you to read them, and share your opinions with your peers as well. Once this war in the North is over, we shall send correspondence over our plans for the Southern campaign. We hope you will join with us to end the tyranny of the Mad Queen and the Lannister subjugation of the South.
Daenerys Stormborn of House Targaryen , Queen of Meereen, Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea, Mother of Dragons, The Unburnt, Breaker of Chains, Lady of Dragonstone
And
Jaeherys (Jon Snow) Targaryen-Stark, King in the North, King of the Andals, the Rhoynar and the First Men, Protector of the Realm
Post-script: Willas, do recall our bet from the Tourney of Lannisport several years ago, you've yet to pay up, and I'm calling in my debt. Disseminate copies of these articles for the people, the illustrated for the poor and illiterate, and the annotated for the rest. My sister needs to be put down, and we're going to do it. But we need the people on our side, and that includes you.
-Lord Tyrion Lannister, Hand to the Queen
Laying his head down on the desk, Willas pondered his options. The armies of the Reach were mostly intact, Tarly hadn't had near the support he thought he did. And though the Lannister sack demolished much of their stores, they still had what they'd saved up for winter, and the remaining crops they were quickly pulling in. And with the Dragon Queen came trade from Essos. And supporting Queen Daenerys and this Jaeherys Targaryen-Stark, the former Jon Snow meant getting rid of Cersei, the woman behind over half his family's murders. Yes, he nodded his head, reaching for a glass of Arbor Gold, he'd back the Targaryen's as his family had done in the past. Leafing through the remaining papers, he looked through the drawings Tyrion said to disseminate. Several depicted the fair haired Dragon Queen hand in hand with the dark hidden Targaryen, they were encircled by blue winter roses and three dragons bordered the corners, the last corner filled in by a white direwolf with red eyes. Another drawing depicted a dark haired maiden in misshapen armor with a shield depicting the Knight of the Laughing Tree, she was confronting none other than the Silver Prince with a sword drawn. More and more sketches and drawings filled the pages, but it was the last that caught his attention. Daenerys Targaryen was standing before a weirwood tree, the red face along the white tree obvious, next to her was the King in the North, and King of Westeros, his hair long and black and curled. They stood hand in hand before the tree, ribbon covering their entwined fingers, joining the ceremony of the Seven with that of the Old Gods. If Willas was a superstitious man, he'd say that that drawing was an omen, a sign of something to come.
Dorne:
"Elia, Loreza, get down from there," Arianne Martell called as she watched her young cousins climb along the trees lining the pathway to the water gardens. She'd been heading to her father's office, he'd finally recovered from the attack by Ellaria and the older Sand Snakes. Though she knew logically that the attack had been planned by them all to fool the Lannister spies within Sunspear and the Water Gardens, it had hurt to see her father so still, near death. They'd been estranged for years, him keeping her away from his plots and schemes, playing with her future by engaging her to old men. But then he'd been attacked, and she saw him gasping for breath on his deathbed. Of course, Sarella had pulled her aside as she left his sickroom and confessed the plan to her, but it still hadn't stopped that jarring pain seeing him so prone had ignited. Her younger brother Trystane came back from his trip to Kings Landing solemn and quiet, Ellaria's spur of the moment decision to kill Myrcella had broken the young man as much as it's intended target, the Mad Queen.
Her young cousins clambered down the trees and scampered over to her, their eyes wide and guileless as they danced around her, asking questions.
"When are mamma and Tyene coming home? Wasn't Sari and Ser Daemon going to go get them?" Elia asked, her lisp making Arianne smile.
The truth was she wasn't sure if the rescuers were going to have anything to rescue, she doubted Ellaria or Tyene would be able to survive the brutal tortures the Mad Queen no doubt had in store for them. But Sarella had insisted on going, and Daemon wanted to as well, out of love for Oberyn he claimed. But she didn't tell the young ones that, instead she made up a fanciful story.
"Oh my little snakes, you know your sister and Daemon are on their way, but who know what sort of sea beast they've had to fight to save the damsels in distress," clawing her fingers out she mock growled and chased the two little girls until their Septa caught up with them and pulled them along to join their sisters in lessons.
Shaking her head, Arianne continued on to her father's solar, her thoughts clouded as she thought of what might have become of Ellaria and Tyene. While she had little love for Ellaria, the woman had snapped after Uncle Oberyn's death, Tyene was her cousin and they were close growing up. Nymeria and Obara were gone, and that left an aching hole in her heart. She wasn't sure what she would do if Tyene turned up to be dead as well. Pushing aside the pain, she opened the doors to her father's solar and greeted his guards. Her father was seated at his large desk, parchments and scrolls scattered across the surface. His skin was a chalky pallor, and he still looked like he should be abed, but he'd bullied the Maester into letting him up.
Bowing before him, Arianne stepped up to stand beside him at his desk and go over the documents he'd mentioned he wanted her opinion on. Handing over a scroll with the broken seal of a three-headed dragon and a direwolf, Doran leaned back in his seat to watch her reactions.
"Tell me Arianne, what do you make of this?"
Looking over the dual seals, Arianne unfurled the scroll and gasped at the message within.
Prince Doran Martell,
When Ellaria Sand and the daughters of your late brother informed me that the coup over you and the ruling house of Martell had been staged, I must admit I did not believe them. I write this letter even now with doubt in my mind, but hope in my heart. You once promised your son Quentyn to me, though I did not know of this until years after his death. I ask you now that you honor that alliance and join me and my kin as we stand against the Mad Queen. I am in the North facing down the Others and the Long Night now, but when we win, my nephew, Jaeherys Targaryen-Stark, formerly known as Jon Snow, will join me in taking back Kings Landing and the Iron Throne from Cersei Lannister. She poisons the realm with her every breath and we hope that you will unite with us against her, a common ally. We have included a series of pamphlets for you to read and make copies of and disseminate amongst your people. We hope to stem the tide of lies Cersei spreads from the capitol. We know Dorne has not had the best relationship with either House Targaryen or House Stark, but we hope to forge a new relationship, one that is different than those in the past, and better for the future of us all.
Daenerys Stormborn of House Targaryen , Queen of Meereen, Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea, Mother of Dragons, The Unburnt, Breaker of Chains, Lady of Dragonstone
My nephew, Jaeherys has added his own note for you.
Prince Doran Martell and Princess Arianne Martell,
I am Jon Snow, the bastard son of Ned Stark, or so everyone, including myself had thought these last years. In truth, my brother uncovered my real parentage some weeks ago, and though I know it will be offensive to you, I wished to be honest and share it with you. I am the true-born son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark, born after Septon Maynard dissolved his marriage with your sister, the Princess Elia Martell. I do not know why my father did as such, nor do I know why he even married my mother, but I do know that they both did great misservice to House Martell. In the coming years once we've won the Long Night and slain the Night King, I hope to mend the wounds left behind by my parents so long ago. Princess Elia and her children did not deserve to be cast aside, and their fate's at the hands of the Mountain torment me. My aunt tells me that you have long plotted revenge against the Lannister's for this and I will not begrudge it of you if that's what you wish. But the foul resurrection of the Mountain may not be easy to destroy, and I offer you my blade and service in that quest. Daenerys and I wish to take the Iron Throne together, and remake the Seven Kingdoms into something unified and strong. She often says she wants to break the wheel, the imbalance of power between Kings and nobles and the small folk, and I agree with her ambitions. I hope that regardless of our pasts, we can work together in this goal. And as such, regardless of whether Dorne aids us in taking back the throne, I Jaeherys (Jon Snow) Targaryen-Stark, King in the North, King of the Andals, the Rhoynar and the First Men, Protector of the Realm , offer Dorne a seat on the Council of Westeros that we are planning to institute. Unlike the small council, our new plan offers checks and balances to the power of the king, but also the power of the nobility. The Council will be comprised of Lords and Ladies of each land, as well as merchants and citizens, so that every voice is heard. I know that this may seem like a poor gesture in light of past sins, and so I can only hope that you see it as it is, a step forward, and the first move to make amends from House Targaryen and House Stark.
Jaeherys Targaryen-Stark
Arianne felt her legs shake under her as her palms began to sweat, the words of the Dragon Queen and her nephew-her nephew a man that was born of the union that destroyed her aunt, were startling. Blinking, she steeled herself and straightened her back as she turned to her father.
"Do you believe them?" she asked, her voice soft in contrast to the fire in her eyes.
"Strangely enough, I do," Doran inclined his head towards a series of drawings on the desk, depicting the fair haired Targaryen Queen and the dark King in the North, "There is a touch of honesty in each of their letters, though the Stark boy's is a bit more blunt. And my spies in the North tell me they are just and honest rulers, they'd be good for the realm, especially considering that bitch on the Iron Throne now."
Arianna reeled back at the venom in her father's voice as he discussed Cersei Lannister, it had been a long time since she'd heard such hatred, and before it had only been Tywin Lannister the vitriol had been directed towards.
"So will we join with them then father?"
Doran sipped at a cup of honeyed lemon water as he pulled out a sketch of the late Silver Prince standing before the Knight of the Laughing Tree. He remembered a letter from Elia during that time, he'd been incensed when he heard of what happened at the tourney, but Elia had hinted in her letter that all wasn't what it seemed. She'd also stated how dark Kings Landing had become, and how afraid she was for her children. Staring down at the image of the supposed betrayal of his sister, he remembered her words, and decided, "Yes, we will. This is not Rhaegar we are allying with, it is his sister, and his son. They will be different, I can tell."
Arianne looked at the drawing her father was studying, the Knight's uncovered head revealing long dark curls and grey Stark eyes. She'd wondered who the Knight was when her uncle Oberyn used to tell tales of the Tourney at Harrenhal, but seeing the truth before her was rather startling. The Stark's were as surprising and mysterious as the Targaryen's it seemed.
The Stormlands:
The pamphlets had arrived with the first fall of snow along the ground. Ravens dropped leaflets and parchments among the small folk and among the nobles left in their castles and keeps. Artwork depicting the story of the Silver Prince and the Wild Wolf, and a love born of respect and honor that was betrayed by the villainous whoremonger Littlefinger who tricked Lady Lysa Tully into betraying Lyanna Stark and burning the letters she'd left for her family. People snarled in the streets as they remembered their former Lord, Robert Baratheon braying for dragon's blood, claiming he'd stolen his bride, but if the drawings were to be believed, she'd run away from him, willingly. The war had been a lie. The losses could be placed on the late King's shoulders and on the shoulders of the whoremonger who'd been executed in the North for his many vile actions.
Women swooned as they discovered the love had born fruit in the form of a baby boy, hidden and protected by his caring uncle. That the boy grew up to be an honorable man, released from the Night's Watch after commemorable service, to become a King in the North, was even better and had many young girls dreaming of the dark-haired Jon Snow. His union with his aunt, the barbarian queen that Cersei Lannister claimed would slaughter them in her sleep with her inhuman soldiers and barbarians, was soft, and sweet. The two stumbling towards love in awkward steps that had many young maid giggling and turning to her own love interest.
The papers were widespread in a matter of weeks across the Stormlands, with the snows falling more and more each day there wasn't much the small folks could do. Popular opinion was starting to sway towards the heroes in the North, especially as the Lannister Queen taxed the small folk more and more. Grains were in short supply these days, as the Riverlands had been razed by war for the past few years and the Reach had been sacked by the Lannisters months before. The people were starting to fear the oncoming winter, with the taxes and limited supply of grains, they had little to bolster their winter stores. And the Lannister's controlled the supply trains and trade to Essos in the Stormlands after House Baratheon and many of the other noble houses were rendered extinct.
The septons and septas of the Stormlands decided after the betrayal of the Sept of Baelor, had forsworn Cersei, though they had to do it in secret out of fear. The love story of barbarians and heathens was far preferable to such a despicable oathbreaker such as Cersei of House Lannister. And in their sermons to the people, they said as such.
Off the Coast of Dragonstone:
Theon held the letter from Jon Snow in his hand, he was torn between absolute horror at the fact he'd tormented the King of the Seven Kingdoms over his childhood and absolute glee at the fact that the same King was Jon Snow, the boy who once fell face flat into horse shit while trying to beat Robb in a sword fight. He'd managed to free Yara from his uncles grasp the week before, though Euron escaped as the slimy bastard he was. Showing Yara the letters, she let out a huge belly deep laugh as she leafed through the papers and found a detailed picture of Daenerys and Jon in a passionate embrace.
Yara had no clue what had happened since the she'd last seen the Dragon Queen, but it looks like she'd caught quite the pretty boy. Of course the fact that pretty boy was part Stark did stick in her throat a bit, she knew House Stark hated House Greyjoy for their rebellions and for Theon's actions in razing Winterfell. Theon himself shared Jon's actions with her when they reunited. And while she had to admit her brother had changed from the cocky ass she'd met years before, he was still a coward and a self-serving bastard. He may have gone and saved her, but she held the belief he did it out of guilt for leaving her to Euron's mercies in the first place. She growled at the thought of her one-eyed bastard of an uncle, he'd escaped Theon's rescue attempt, jumping overboard as the Silence was demolished by Theon crashing his ship into the broadside of her uncle's pride and joy. They were back at Dragonstone to regroup and bolster the defenses of the Dragon Queen while she fought in the North, though Yara was also using the time to heal from Euron's attempts to break her.
The Queen's letter and the subsequent letter and pamphlets from her Hand that they asked to be spread among the small folk had Yara debating on fleeing overseas to Essos, she had no desire to get involved in another war. But she also knew that her uncle's alliance with Cersei wasn't over, and that fighting with Daenerys was the best chance she could get at destroying Euron and claiming the Driftwood crown for herself.
Theon was rereading the letter from Jon that had been slipped in among the drawings of Rhaegar and Lyanna at the Tower of Joy in Dorne. The former bastard's words sent a chill down his spine, Ramsay had shown him what true fear was, and he'd held onto that, thinking no one else could match that. But when he'd run into the bastard months before at Dragonstone, he realized he never really knew fear. The dark, raging fire in Jon's eyes as he slammed into Theon, punching him over and over again, the deep betrayal in eyes that were so dark they were black had him breaking into a cold sweat as he thought of what Jon would do to him if he saw him again. He may have saved Sansa, but he had betrayed Robb and hurt Rickon and Bran, he'd killed Maester Luwin, and there was no coming back from that. He let the letter fall from his hands, the parchment fluttering in the brisk winter breeze that whipped around him, an oncoming storm on the horizon.
Theon Turncoat,
If I see you in the North ever again, I'll kill you. If I see you in the South again, I'll kill you. If I see you anywhere in Westeros, I'll kill you.
Jaeherys (Jon Snow) Targaryen-Stark, King in the North, King of the Andals, the Rhoynar and the First Men, Protector of the Realm, Robb's True Brother
P.S. If Arya sees you, you'll face a fate worse than any you faced with Ramsay.
King's Landing:
Sitting on the Iron Throne, Cersei stared down at the court beneath her, men and women from across the Seven Kingdoms, all under her domain, at last. A smirk slid across her face, lips pursing into a rictus grin that made those who still remembered Aerys cringe and take a step back. Her green eyes danced like wildfire loose in the city as she gestured for her Hand, Qyburn to bring forward the next defendant. She was holding court today to show them how she dealt with traitors to the crown.
The monstrosity that was now the Mountain loomed next to her as the Goldcloak's dragged a dirt covered peasant woman in front of her. The woman screamed at the sight of the Mountain and tried to scramble away.
"What is she accused of?" Cersei held her head high as the woman who was bringing peace back to Westeros. The woman before her threw herself at the base of the throne, her brown eyes wide and watering.
"Please Your Grace, it was just a piece of bread my children were starving. Please Your Grace, have mercy."
Recoiling at the gesture, Cersei motioned for the Mountain to grab her.
"See this, this disgrace for a Westerosi. She's what is wrong with our land. Entitled masses flooding the streets, convinced that we owe them. They flock to this barbarian queen who's brought her hordes to our shores to steal our lands and slaughter our people," a sneer rose across her face, twisting her green eye into a dark, mad fury. They glittered like wildfire as she nodded her head in a swift bob, and the Mountain swung his massive sword down, cleaving the woman in two. Blood and muscles and sinew sprayed across floor as the woman's head landed at the first step of the throne.
Leaning back in her seat, Cersei winced as her hand slipped for the umpteenth time, slicing against one of the many swords. Blood welled along the open wound, dripping down the sides of the throne. A satisfied smile rose on her face as the court fell into a dead silence, she had brought order back. She was the Queen.
The absolute silence that held sway over the court as the woman's dying shrieks echoed in their ears was eerily familiar to some. Not twenty years before the Mad King had sat in the same spot and smiled and laughed at the brutal death's of the small folk. But all too soon, he turned away from them and towards the nobles. Many began to think on their futures, what would life be like in five years with Cersei Lannister as Queen, in three years, in one, in one month. Shudders rippled through the crowd as the true face of their monarch was fully revealed. Winter was on their doorsteps, and now they had another Mad King to deal with. Whispers started up, vague at first, then more and more specific as some began to wonder...maybe siding with the Targaryen Queen was a good idea.