Prologue Pt. 2

As they followed the gods deeper into the Weirwood Palace, Jon conversed quietly with Ned. Introducing Daenerys and Tormund, he told Ned about what Westeros endured after his death. Ned was deathly pale as they made their way into a large throne room. Jon put his hand on Ned's shoulder as The Father turned to them and led them to chairs laid out around a large painted table. The champions took in the detail of the table; it was like the one at Dragonstone, except this also had Essos on it.

They sat at the table and the gods stood behind their respective champion. The champions waited as the loud booming voice called out "You know why you are here, you have the opportunity to stop the Great Other and save lives while doing it." He paused as they all let that sink in. "However don't believe it will be easy, he will feel something has changed once you go back, he will feel a great happening in our magic. How this will change his plans, I don't know."

Jon absorbed what the voice said. "Is there a way to minimize what he feels?"

Tyrion's head shot up. "Could you maybe, send us back at different times?" He pursed his lips. "Is it possible that would lessen the signature of magic, so that he wouldn't feel it?"

The gods turned toward each other never speaking a word out loud but having a full conversation between each other. "It is possible, but no matter what we do he will still know something has changed." The Father finally said. "Though I do admit the idea has merit."

"You can discuss this later. I must tell you one thing." The voice said. "The Great Other also has a champion. You know him as the Night King, but remember he also has agents. They are humans that thrive on chaos, they never know they are doing the Other's work."

Jon and Sansa looked to each other and both exclaimed. "Baelish!"

"Yes, that is one example, but there are others who will be less obvious. Just remember and take into account for these in you plans." The voice started to fade. "I will let my children explain the rest and give you your gifts. I hope you succeed in your endeavor."

Tormund who had been sitting there silently the whole time called out. "Gifts? Why give us gifts? Isn't going back and saving more of our people enough." He stopped talking as the Stranger laid a hand on his shoulder. "Gift's might be the wrong word." He rubbed his face. "Tools to help you achieve your goals, that's what you should view these gifts as." Pausing he started walking around the table. "Once you go back, you will be entering a time where our enemy is at his highest strength. His powers over the earthly domain greatly outperform ours. We are strongest in this heavenly domain, that is why he attacks the mortal world." He looked directly at Tormund. "That is why we are giving you gifts. We can't be there ourselves."

Jon stood. "I hope you can clarify just a few things for us. First, how far back are you sending us? And second, what are these gifts, so that we can account for them in our planning."

The warrior smiled. "I can't answer the first because of the excellent point your little friend made. The second well I guess I can go first." He brought himself to full height and walked up small dais at the head of the table and in a loud voice proclaimed. "Daeron Targaryen, Champion of the Warrior I bestow upon you one gift and one ability. My gift to you is a way to collect the vast wealth of Valyria. When you make the expedition the fog will lift and the beasts and Stonemen will leave you and your men alone. "I would make this expedition some time before the Long Night so you can distribute the Valyrian Steel to worthy wielders. You will need the wealth to help the world rebuild after it's all over" He paused and looked at Jon. "Also you might want to try and win your Kingship as soon as you are able; your Targaryen heritage will be more prominent. The rest is a surprise" Jon sat there in surprise.

The warrior resumed his place behind Jon as the Stranger stepped up. "Tormund Giantsbane, Champion of the Stranger, I bestow upon you two abilities. The first is you will be able to sense the agents of the Other, you will need it living above the wall preparing your people for their journey south. The second ability is the knowledge how to read and write. You will need to know this as you will be leading men as a general." The stranger moved back to his position. "Oh and you will have a Valyrian steel axe and knife set to help you fight." Tormund smiled at the last part.

The Father stepped up. "Eddard Stark, Champion of the Father, I bestow upon you one gift and one ability. My gift is I will cause an earthquake in the North; it will cause a canal to form just south of Moat Cailin, stretching from the Bite to the Saltspear River. This will also uncover the gold in the north most mountains of the Wolfswood. The ability I give to you is when you fight with the intention to protect; you will be as strong and as fast as you need to be to win." Ned mouthed a thank you.

The Smith trudged up the dais. "Jaime Lannister, Champion of the Smith, I bestow upon you one gift and one ability. This was a hard decision for me, while you embody what I stand for, you are not a smith. So with this in mind, my gift to you is the instinctual knowledge of every fighter you will face, also a Valyrian steel sword that will help you as you protect your king. The ability I bestow upon you is ambidextrous hands; I know the loss of your sword hand affected you greatly, now you have no need to worry. You still will have to train to be proficient, but it will be easier after all nothing comes without hard work." As the Smith turned and made his way back to his place Jaime nodded in acceptance.

The Maiden glided up the dais. "Sansa Stark, Champion of the Maiden, I bestow upon you two abilities. The first is of healing, you will now be able to heal more effectively than a maester, as your knowledge of the human body is greater than that of the Citadel. The second is the ability to warg with any animal except a dragon. You will be more attuned to wolves and small birds. You can use this to more accurately spy on your enemies and political opponents." Sansa slightly bowed her head in thanks as the Maiden moved away and the Crone struggled up.

"Tyrion Lannister, Champion of the Crone, I bestow upon you the one gift I think you will treasure most. As you age, and as long as you still value wisdom over the strength of arm, you will grow. Never will you will a big man, but neither will you be half a man." She shuffled down the dais as Tyrion tried to pick his jaw up from the floor. Tyrion had tears in his eyes as he stood and bowed fully to her. "Oh and you shall also receive a small Valyrian Steel sword, but please remember that your mind is the most important thing."

The Mother slowly walked up the short steps. "Daenerys Targaryen, Champion of the Mother, I bestow upon you two abilities. The first is Dragon Speak, you will be able to understand and talk to your dragons. Your husband will have this to a lesser extent." She sighed as she said. "I abhor violence, but a mother must sometime use violence to protect her children. So your second ability will be the knowledge of Braavosi water dancing. You still need a teacher, but it shouldn't take you to long to master it" As she walked back to her spot, Daenerys gave her a short nod of thanks.

"Now that your gifts have been revealed, make your plans and prepare yourselves say your farewells for some of you won't see each other for a long time." The booming voice said causing a few of them to jump at the unexpected noise.

The Champions and gods talked it over for hours; Tyrion Sansa, Jon, and Daenerys were the ones coming up with most of the plans. Though they felt they had a good basis a few times they had to take a break as emotions and tempers were flaring. One of those occasions was when the gods informed Jon, that Ned couldn't save his father Rhaegar. "What do you mean Rhaegar must die. If my uncle is going back to the time of the Rebellion; why can't he save him?" It was the Father who answered. "Some men are destined to die and Rhaegar is one of them. I know this hurts Daeron, but your father can not be saved." Jon nodded sadly and stared at the ground. The father then lifted his hopes. "However it is not preordained for your mother to die. She can be saved as can your sister and her mother."

Jon and Daenerys's heads shot up. "What about my brother?"

The Stranger was the one to answer this question. "You don't have a brother." That confused Jon because he knew for a fact Elia had a son named Aegon. The stranger saw his face and said. "Aegon son of Elia was a ruse to buy time and protect her from Aerys. After birthing Rhaenys; Elia knew she couldn't have more children, so she and Rhaegar came up with this ruse, to stay Aerys hand until he could be deposed."

"So Jon really is the true heir to the Iron Throne?" Sansa asked.

The stranger nodded. "Yes Daeron Targaryen was always meant to be King."

A few more hours after more planning and plotting Tyrion stood up. "Alright, Ned, Jaime, and I are going back to the day before the sack of Kings Landing 282 A.C. Then next Jon and Daenerys are going back to 288 AC, finally we come to Sansa and Tormund at 294 A.C. This way hopefully the enemy doesn't recognize what is happening, and we can start preparing ealier."

The Crone nodded her head. "I feel this is the wisest course of action. Originally we were going to send you all to 290 A.C, so you all went back at the same time. However this is a much better plan in my opinion." She looked at her brethren. "Do we all agree?" The other gods nodded and confirmed the plan. Turning back to Champions she said. "Say your farewells now, we must prepare the ritual."

Ned walked over to his children and gave them a crushing hug. "I will be waiting for you, hopefully I won't make too much of a mess of things before you arrive." He looked straight at Jon. "I will do everything in my power to save your mother, and I hope you get to grow up knowing how amazing she actually is." Jon grabbed Ned in a tight hug.

"I can't wait to meet her."

Tyrion walked over to his wife. "I promise you, that I will wait for you. I don't know of any other woman who could put up with me." Sansa laughed.

"I don't know how I do it sometimes." She brought Tyrion into a tight embrace. "I know how much the gift the crone gave means to you, but I will be distraught if it changes the witty, intelligent, and sometimes drunk man I fell in love with." She gave him a chaste kiss and turned to leave. He grabbed her arm, spun her around, and gave her a long deep kiss. "My lovely wife, I hope I will always be the man you love." He walked over to where Ned was standing with Jon. "My king, I shall endeavor to have Westeros ready for you when you arrive." He gave Jon a short bow.

Jaime was finishing his farewells when the gods came back and announced it was time. He took a deep breath and followed Ned and Tyrion as they joined hands with the gods, they said a few words in a language he didn't recognize and then he felt a burning pain going on in his brain and then the world went black.