A Song of Light and Shadow
Hey, guys! Sorry about the wait. College has been crazy and I just recently got settled back into home. Is it odd that I am listening to the LotR soundtrack while writing an ASoIaF fan fiction story? Eh, that is a question for the philosophers…. Though, I am taking a philosophy major….. Well, if I am going to cross the epicenes of two universes, I might as well do it in style! Alright, here is the sixth chapter, guys. I hope you enjoy the chapter, and please review! Seriously, I love hearing what you guys think!
Jon
Twenty-four days earlier…
Edd stared in wonder at Jon as Jon stood before him, well and hale. Jon looked back at his friend with a smile and nod.
"What did you do?" Edd asked Melisandre, "How is he alive?"
"I told you," Melisandre answered, "Jon was with and bound to Ghost."
Ghost kept his silence and walked over to Jon, nuzzling him as Edd brought his black cloak to Jon. Jon pet Ghost, contemplating what to. It was if he had awoken from a dream. Or was it a nightmare? Jon frowned to himself as he scratched Ghost behind the ear.
"Jon," Edd said with concern, "what's wrong?"
"I saw something while the tent burned," Jon said, "Pale swords in the dark, something moves beyond the wall. They are coming for the Wall. How long they will take, I don't know. They are waiting, biding their time. Waiting until the Night has finally covered all the lands in darkness. Not even the stars can pierce the darkness that is coming. I saw eyes. I know those eyes. Yet, there was also a third eye I did not know. They were in a dark cave, yet I felt hope in the cave. I looked at them, and they looked back at me. I heard whispers in the darkness. Something else is coming to the Wall."
"The Great Other has many servants," Melisandre said, "What you saw is probably one of the servants. I have seen these eyes, too. It is the enemy. There is no hope with them, why would you say that you felt hope. His Grace, Stannis, is the hope we must rely in."
"And where is Stannis?" Jon asked, "He may well be dead!"
"If King Stannis is dead," Melisandre answered, "then the Wall will surely fall."
"I must go back to the Wall and rally the Watch," Jon said.
"If you go back, they might try to kill you again," Edd said, "They said the words. Your Watch has ended. You are no longer a man of the Night's Watch."
"But I was never truly slain," Jon argued.
"Your body was," Melisandre answered, "but your spirit was not. Join Stannis Baratheon as Jon Stark, Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North."
"I cannot abandon the Wall," Jon said, "It goes against my honor."
"You have not abandoned the Wall," Edd said, "You may be the Wall's only defense against Bolton. Serve the Wall by defending it on one side, and we will defend it form the other."
Jon look from Edd to Melisandre and sighed as he nodded his agreement. In truth, his loyalty was still to the Wall, but Edd was right: he had to serve the Wall in a different way. A few hours later, after Edd left to return to the Wall, Jon walked around the camp to observe the remaining soldiers of Stannis Baratheon's army. They were a garrison force. Not truly as grand as the larger force of the Baratheon army, but still enough to place a solid defense against the Bolton hordes. Jon had to rally the Northmen that were still loyal to the Starks.
"There are still those left that will fight for the Starks," Melisandre said, "but I don't know how they would react to a bastard born Stark."
"The Northmen have accepted bastards before," Jon answered, "But I would still rather that my brothers were still alive and I had knowledge of my sisters."
"One may be," Melisandre said.
Jon turned to Melisandre, giving a demanding look for answeres.
"Davos Seaworth, the Onion Knight, may know where Rickon Stark might be," Melisandre explained, "If Rickon Stark is truly alive, then you must be Lord of Winterfell in his place until he comes of age."
"If Rickon is still alive," Jon said, "I will take on the name of 'Snow' once again. I will not take away what rightfully belongs to my brother. Muster our strength, we go to war."
At mid-day, Jon took the remaining Baratheon garrison south to war.
Present day….
Jon marched on the Dreadfort after learning that Stannis was not dead at all. He learned from a letter that Ramsay Bolton had escaped the Siege of Winterfell and retreated with his remaining forces to Dreadfort with Roose Bolton. They rode long and hard, killing everyone that was loyal to House Bolton. Stannis was tempted to place Bolton heads on pikes as to remind the North of his kingship. Jon stopped him, however, claiming that burning the bodies of the dead was a wiser course of action. In the back of his mind, Jon knew that he had to burn all bodies in case the Others broke through the Wall.
"Jon Stark," Stannis called to Jon as the Baratheon forces surrounded all the Dreadfort with the combined might of the North.
"Your Grace," Jon answered, "What may I do for you?"
"I need you to lead the assault against the Dreadfort," Stannis said, "Bring me the heads of Roose and Ramsy Bolton. For your loyalty to me, I give you that vengeance."
"Your Grace," Jon said with a bow.
Jon's eyes still had the flame that shone brightly in his eyes. In his hands he felt warmth as he gripped Longclaw that was like a fire. Jon eyed the walls of the Dreadfort. It was truly as strong a fortress as Old Nan had claimed it to be. The walls were high and its battlements were strong.
'How are we going to get in?' Jon thought, 'It took two years for King Harlon Stark to force the Boltons to surrender when he besieged this place. It would take us at least a month to build up enough siege weapons to take this place. If only we could fly...'
"Fly," Jon muttered, "That's it!"
"What's what, my lord?" Mors Umber asked.
"Do you have any iron arrows and rope, Umber?" Jon asked.
"Aye, my lord," Mors said with a smile, "We have plenty of that."
"Good," Jon said, returning the smile, "We attack tonight."
…
The night was calm and quite. The moon was bright and cast a shadow as Jon and his small force of about twenty men strong to take the Dreadfort gate. He directed Ghost to stay with Stannis' main foce while Jon took the gate. The air was still as they climbed to the highest hill they could near the Dreadfort and into the trees around it. Mors Umber's men shot iron arrows with rope tied to them into the walls just above the main wall.
"I hope this works," Mors whispered to Jon.
"It has to," Jon replied, "For Lord Eddard and King Robb."
"Aye," Mors said, "For Lord Eddard and King Robb."
They silently slid across the rope onto the battlements, sneaking behind and killing any guards on the walls. Sadly, however, one guard spotted one of Jon's men trying to slide across the rope and called for the alarm. Jon knew this would happen, but he hoped in vain that it wouldn't. They had to move quickly now, slashing and hacking against the guards as they fought against Bolton forces to the gates.
"I think you have more wolf in you than you'd like to admit, Stark," Mors shouted as he and Jon hacked closer and closer to the gates.
"I have my father to thank for that," Jon shouted back as he drove his sword into the last Bolton guard, "And as long as there is the chance Rickon still lives, call me Snow."
"Lord Snow," Mors said with a smile as they hastily entered the gatehouse, "Aye, my lord."
The two barred the gatehouse doors before Mors started lifting the gates. When the gates were open to the Baratheon and Stark forces, Jon shot a flaming arrow out the window the gatehouse window to signal the awaiting armies to move. A great cry roared from outside the Dreadfort. Some for Stannis, others for Winterfell, and some for Eddard and Robb Stark. Jon thought he heard the sound of a hundred wolves crying out in response. The North will never forget, and now was the time for vengeance.
The charge sounded and the Dreadfort was flooded with Baratheon and Stark forces. The garrison of House Bolton fought, but they quickly broke before the army of King Stannis. Some threw down their swords and spears in surrender, others were slain in battle, fearing what the Boltons would do if they won, and others tried to flee from the fortress. Jon and Mors charged out of the gatehouse and joined the battle that was quickly turning in the favor of Stannis Baratheon. Ghost was already in the heat of the battle, taking the throats of Bolton guards left and right.
The Bolton forces gave more and more ground until eventually they routed into the keep of the Dreadfort. King Stannis' army gave a shout of victory, but the battle wasn't over until the Boltons surrendered the fortress. Jon looked upon the locked the fortress with anger in his heart. These men betrayed and murdered his brother.
"Roose and Ramsay Bolton," Jon shouted in wrath, "Come out here you worthless cravens! Come out here and be judged like men, if you can be called that, for your treachery!"
"Jon Snow," Ramsy called, "We demand trial by combat for the Dreadfort and our innocence before the gods."
"You are already guilty," Jon called back, "but I shall grant your wish, because I want to take your lives myself."
"Jon," Mors said, placing a hand on Jon's left shoulder, "you don't need to do that. They have lost this battle, and we can break these doors down right now and kill them both for high treason."
"The man who gives the sentence should swing the sword," Jon said, "and they have challenged me. I cannot back down from it lest I shame myself and my family."
"Let me fight with you, my lord," Mors asked.
"My friend," Jon said with a smile, "I would be honored to fight with you at my side, but this is personal vengeance. I have lost my brothers and sisters as Ghost has. Besides, I want Stannis to name the Umbers as Wardens of the North if I die and all the Starks are truly gone."
Mors looked at Jon and shock but smiled after he registered what Jon had said to him.
"You'll make it through, lad," Mors said, "I know it."
"Here," Jon said, giving Mors a note, "That is for Stannis, revealing everything I have just said to you if I fall."
"My lord," Mors said with a slight bow, "Kill those bastards for the North."
"I will," Jon said as the keep gates opened.
Out stepped Ramsay and Roose Bolton, swords in hand, their faces filled with rage, yet Ramsay also had a smile on his lips. It was a cruel one, but a smile nonetheless. Jon drew Longclaw, his hand gripping it tighter than before.
'It feels warmer,' Jon thought, 'Almost hot….'
"How does it feel, bastard?" Ramsay asked, "How does it feel knowing you are about to die by my hands. It is fitting, really, that I get to kill you after I killed Bran and Rickon and after my father killed Robb. How does it feel knowing I fucked your sister, bastard? Oh, she might have cried at first, but you should have been there when she started to like and moan my name as I fucked her raw. She-wolves, they are called bitches for a reason, and that is because they fuck so well."
"After I kill you, bastard," Jon replied, "I am going to make sure your corpse and the corpse of you father are never buried. The Boltons have been granted mercy by the Starks for too long. That mercy ends today. You are not Northmen. And you, Ramsay, you are nothing more than a bastard. But here is the big difference between you and I, my father actually cares for me, and I am no kinslayer."
Ramsay charged at Jon, his sword high above his head, but Ghost tackled Ramsay right before he could reach Jon. Roose watched in horror as Ghost ripped out Ramsay's throat. Jon stared cold and hard at the remaining Bolton, but Roose simply dropped his sword in surrender.
"Mors," Jon commanded, "bring me this traitor, I shall deal with him myself."
"What of his wife, my lord?" Mors asked.
"Give her a potion to kill the Bolton child and then release her," Jon said, "I will give her an hour's head start, and then any man who finds her shall put her to death, as she belongs to a family of traitors."
Mors Umber took Roose Bolton by the back of the neck and threw him before Jon. Roose looked up at Jon and spat at his feet.
"Gods damn you and all the Starks," Roose said, "Eventually even you will meet the end, I hope the Stark name dies with you."
"It might die with me," Jon replied, "but now you die and the Bolton name dies with you."
Jon then swung his sword and relieved Roose Bolton's head from his shoulders in a single stroke. A cry of rejoice went up in the Dreadfort that night. Some cried for Winterfell, others cried for Stannis, and others cried for Eddard Stark, but most of the Stark bannermen cried 'The King in North' as a final act of vengeance against House Bolton.
One week later….
After the destruction of House Bolton, the men of the North quickly rallied against Ironborn that still maintained a small hold in the North. News that a Stark returned to Winterfell gave the people of the North hope that they could be free from Lannister rule once again. Though some had argued that Jon should have been named King in the North, the North was more or less free from the Iron Throne until Stannis actually takes it.
There were also arguments that now that the Ironborn were driven from the North, that Stannis should set sail for Iron Islands and destroy the Greyjoys. As much as Stannis wanted to do this, the North had to be refortified in case of another attack. However, Stannis felt he could deliver the Greyjoy loyalty into his hands through Theon and Asha Greyjoy, assuming that Euron actually cared about his niece and nephew. Jon wanted revenge against the Greyjoys as much as any Northerner, but they had to be careful. A hasty attack never does the attacker any good.
Jon sat alone in his tent, thinking to himself about his next move. However, Jon's thought was interrupted when a messenger arrived in his tent claiming that Stannis requested his presence. Jon walked over to Stannis' tent, his mind still in deep thought about the future. He wanted his family back, but he could never have that family again. Everyone was gone.
"Your Grace," Jon said with a bow to Stannis, "You requested my presence?"
"Jon, I have a letter for you from Melisandre," Stannis said, handing Jon the letter, "She demands your presence back at the Gift. It claims that she has your brothers, Brandon and Rickon Stark."
…
Hey, guys! I hoped you enjoyed the chapter! Please read and review. If I get at least five reviews, I promise to post the next chapter within a day or two. Happy reading!