Outsider Chronicles: A Song of the Nights Sky
Being reborn. Fine. Being reborn as a Stark. Annoying since I hate the cold, but fine. Finding a magic Tome in the library? You're really starting to push it here. How does the addition of a magic slinging Stark with a slightly broken sense of humor and his Knights change the Game of Thrones? Drastically.
And we are back. Nothing to say here so lets jump in. Enjoy!
Chapter 3
"God damn high strung teens," I grumbled as I rubbed my cheek where a red handprint could be seen.
After my, admittedly foolish, observation, Daenerys had slapped me, punched me in the stomach and then thrown me out, leaving me to return to the house with an aching gut. I opened the front door, only for a white topped missile to slam into my already bruised stomach, knocking me on my ass and leaving me wondering what God I had pissed off to make my life so bloody 'interesting'.
I looked down at the little bundle that was currently in my lap, squeezing me hard enough to make my ribs creak. She was a small girl who looked rather young, with stark, white hair that fell to her jaw line and was exactly the same colour as the twitching wolf ears on her head and the fluffy tail that emerged from her backside. For some bizarre reason I couldn't find any explanation for, not even in the Infinity Library, the Familiar ritual had a tendency of creating different clothes on the newly transformed Familiar every time it was used, ranging from armour to geisha outfits. Some were kept, others were discarded and burnt as quickly as possible. In this case, she was wearing one of those school issued swimsuits, complete with her name splashed across her chest. Somehow. Magic is fucking weird.
"OK, what was that for?" I asked.
"You saved my life Master," said Lilynette, looking up at me with bright pink eyes, "Without you, my siblings and I would have starved or been eaten before we even had chance to grow."
"You should probably thank Jon more than me," I said, "He's the one who convinced Father. All I did was back him up."
"But you also gave me this gift," said Lilynette, indicating to her human form.
"You do know that your life is tied to mine now?" I asked, "If I die, so do you."
"I don't care," she said, "I owe you everything."
I sighed.
"Bloody hell, you're worse than the Wolkenritter," I grumbled, "Fine, whatever, its not like I'm gonna kick you out or anything."
I smiled and rubbed her head between her ears.
"Welcome to the family, Lilynette."
"Whats wrong with you?" asked Robb as I joined the rest of my family in the courtyard, awaiting the arrival of the Kings party, "You look like someones slapped you."
I ruefully rubbed my still red cheek. Daenerys was seriously strong and the mark from her slap still hadn't faded.
"Yeah, I made the mistake of pissing off the wrong woman," I grumbled, "Shes got a mean right hook."
"Wheres Arya?" asked Mother, looking around.
"I saw her sneaking off with a Knights helmet earlier," I said.
Mothers lips thinned in disapproval, even more so when my missing sister came running up with a helmet still on her head.
"Hold it," said Father, "What are you doing with that?"
He took the helmet and tossed it back to Jory as Arya hurried into line next to Bran. I hid a smile, but any hint of it was wiped off when the Kings party rode into the keep. It took everything I had to keep from drawing Schwertkreuz and blasting Joffrey's smug face into the sun with Hræsvelgr. However, I knew that if I did blow Joffrey away, it would probably cause more trouble than its worth. My powers meant that, even if I did leave Joffrey for now, I knew I would be able to prevent many of the atrocities that he would commit in the future. There was also the fact that , like Daenerys, he could be a decent person, rather than a crazy bastard. Of course, the way he was eyeing Sansa made me want to blow his balls off with a Bloody Dagger, but that was just me being an overprotective big brother.
I shifted my gaze from Joffrey to the carriage as it rolled through the gates, followed by the King and his guard. Father knelt and the rest of the house followed as the King climbed off his horse and approached us. He indicated for Father to stand and he did, followed by the rest of us. For a moment, there was silence.
"You've got fat," said Robert.
I stifled a snort as everyone else caught their breath until Father nodded at the Kings belly. Robert burst out laughing and he and Father embraced, before the big man greeted Mother.
"Nine years, where the hell have you been?" asked the king, a wide smile on his face.
"Guarding the North for you your Grace," said Father, "Winterfell is yours."
I narrowed my eyes as the Queen stepped from the carriage, followed by the two younger Baratheon children.
"Who do we have here?" said Robert, stepping up to Robb, "You must be Robb."
My brother nodded and shook the kings hand.
"And you are Coyote, correct?"
"Yes, your Grace," I said, inclining my head.
The king nodded and continued down the line, greeting my siblings as the Queen approached my Father, who greeted her with a rather strained smile.
"Ned, take me to your Crypt," said Robert.
"We've been riding for a month, surely the dead can wait," said Cersei.
"Ned," said Robert, ignoring her.
The two Lords vanished into the crypts and everyone else began to scatter, going back to their duties or heading off to get settled in their accommodation.
That night, the welcome feast for the King's party was in full swing and already driving me up the wall. I was like my Father like that if the look of long suffering annoyance in his eyes was anything to go by, but at least I got to sit with my siblings and the royal kids and their antics was fairly entertaining. I did stop Arya from flicking food at Sansa though.
Once the feast was over, I retreated to my rooms with my Knights.
"Are you OK Coyote?" asked Vita as I stared out of the window over the dark Winterfell.
"Yeah," I said, "For now at least."
"What do you want to do?" asked Signum, "We could deal with them now."
"No, doing so will cause much more trouble than its worth," I said, "I'd rather not have the Queen and Crown Prince die in Winterfell. For now, just focus on gathering more information for the Tome and keep an eye on my siblings. Keep them safe."
"Yes, my Lord," said Signum.
"No problem," said Vita.
"By your command," said Zafira.
"It will be our pleasure," said Shamal.
I smiled.
"I knew I could count on you guys," I said.
"Hey, don't forget about me!" said Lilynette, rubbing against my legs in her wolf form.
I smiled and picked her up, rubbing her head.
"Of course, I could never do that," I said, "Now lets get some rest."
The others nodded and headed to bed.
The next day, after breakfast, I headed outside with Signum to find my brothers. As we left, Vita brushed past us, clearly in a hurry.
"Where is she going?" asked Signum.
"Probably to spring Arya," I said.
Vita and Arya had bonded rather well over the years, despite the Iron Knight never ageing, and were close friends. I think Arya might hold my Knights in rather high esteem because they represented what she wanted to be. Warriors, proud, powerful and free. Well, as free as being bound to a piece of ancient and powerful Archana Technology could be that is. Mother didn't approve, but that was mainly because Vita was teaching Arya how to fight with a Hammer and her fists, not to mention the occasional sword lessons she wheedled out of Signum.
I headed towards the training ring with Signum at my side where I found the Lannister and Stark men engaged in bouts of skill against each other. As we arrived, a Stark man at arms disarmed his opponent and kicked his feet out from under him, dropping the red cloaked Lannister to the mud.
"Out," said Rodrik, "Alright, who's next?"
He turned and saw me stood watching.
"Ah, hello there Lord Coyote, Sir Signum," he said with a smile.
At the mention of Signums title, the Lannister men started laughing uproariously and the Stark men looked like an opportunity had just dropped into their laps.
"So, this is one of the famous 'Woltenratter'," sneered one of the Lannisters, utterly butchering the German (or Balken actually) name, "Little girls pretending to be Knights. HA!"
The Lannisters all laughed uproariously while all the Starks took a giant step back from Signum who, despite looking as cool and collected as ever, was gripping her sword tightly enough for her leather glove to creak.
"Would you care to test me?" she asked, her voice cold enough to freeze the fur of a Direwolf.
The Lannister laughed again.
"Tis not right for a man to fight a woman," he said condescendingly, "But I believe I shall make an exception for you. Someone needs to teach you your place. On your knees."
I winced as I felt magic begin to pour off Signum in response to her fury.
"Master, would you mind holding Laevatein?" she asked, handing me her sword, "This won't take long."
She stepped into the ring, cracking her knuckles as the Lannister did the same, armed with a training sword.
"Do you need a sword Sir Signum?" asked Rodrik.
"No, my hands will be enough for this fight," said Signum.
The Lannisters laughed again, eagerly accepting the bets from the Starks, clearly believing that there was no way their man could lose to a woman. Rodrik started the bout and the Lannister charged forwards, swinging his sword, clearly planning to end the fight quickly. Signum simply stepped into his swing and slammed her palm into his arm, forcing the swing wide and allowing her to slam her follow up attack into his chest. The Lannister went skidding back from the impact, losing his footing and falling into the mud with a splat. The Lannisters fell silent.
"I suggest you stay down," warned Signum, glaring down at the foolish man.
The Lannister stared up at her, apparently uncomprehending, before his face contorted into an ugly grimace.
"You bitch!" he snarled, leaping to his feet, "Do you know who I am?"
"Should I?" asked Signum.
The Lannister let out a snarl and charged my pink haired Knight, only to receive a metal booted foot to the jaw that sent him flying out of the ring.
"Signum wins, again," said Rodrik as the grinning Stark men collected their winnings, "Well fought you two. Now who's next?"
He glanced around, before his gaze fell on Joffrey.
"Prince Joffrey, would you care to spar with Coyote?" he asked.
Joffrey scoffed and turned away, his hair gleaming in the sun.
"I grow tired of this game for children," said Joffrey.
"Sparing isn't a game My Lord," I said, "Practice in the ring could mean the difference between life and death in a real battle."
Joffrey just scoffed.
"I grow tired of swatting at Starks with play swords," he said.
"Fine, then use a real one," I said, "I don't mind, not when I'll be using my staff."
Rodrik looked like he was about to protest, but just sighed and shook his head.
"As much as I'd like to protest, I know better than to get in your way," he said, "You can have your spar, but when I order you to stop, you stop. Understand?"
"Yes sir," I said with a thumbs up and a smile.
"So uncool," said Vita's voice vier telepathy, making me stumble slightly and growl under my breath.
"Wheres your weapon Stark?" asked Joffrey as he stepped into the arena with his sword in hand, "Or are you too much of a coward to actually fight me."
"Give it a minute," I said, holding up my hand.
A moment later, something seemed to drop out of the sky and land neatly in my grip.
"Thanks Vita!" I called, looking over at the bridge where I could see Jon, Arya and Vita watching the bout.
I spun my staff as I stepped into the ring, taking a ready stance.
"Bring it, blondie."
Joffrey scowled and charged at me, swinging his sword like a loon. I just stepped back, avoiding the clumsy strike with ease. I didn't even both countering, instead I just kept on my toes and danced around Joffrey's slow and clumsy attacks. God he was bad, I think even Bran could take him on.
"Stand...still!" snarled Joffrey, trying a two handed overhead swing that was so slow I could have made a cup of tea by the time it connected.
"Now why would I want to do that?" I asked, ducking under another swing and stifling a yawn, "Is this really the best you can do? I think I'm about to fall asleep."
"WHY YOU…!" snarled Joffrey, charging at me again.
I hopped back out of range and shifted my staff onto the back.
"I won't even need my staff for this."
"DON'T MAKE FUN OF ME!"
Another clumsy overhead swing I easily evaded and darted behind Joffrey.
"Lets end this," I said, clasping my hands together with my fore and middle fingers out.
"Hmm, hes going to use that," said Signum.
"Whats that?" asked Rodrik.
"One of his strongest techniques."
"Oh? This should be interesting then."
"Stark Style Secret technique: THOUSAND YEARS OF DEATH!" I shouted, surging forwards.
"What…?"
"Did he…?"
"Thats his most powerful technique?" deadpanned Rodrick.
"Maybe I exaggerated, but its certainly effective," said Signum as Joffrey was sent flying out of the ring vir poke to the back door.
The golden haired prince landed in a pile of mud with a loud splat as I straightened.
"Well, that was fun," I said, blowing across the top of my fingers, "Although I have to say that I would have thought you'd know better than to let an opponent get behind you."
Joffrey pulled himself out of the mud and gave me a glare that held an incredible amount of venom and fury. I just smiled back widely, using a small cantrip to make my teeth sparkle. Joffrey scoffed and turned away, storming away from the arena as I rejoined Signum.
"Was that really necessary?" she asked as we left the sparing area, "You know he'll hold it against you."
"Yes, but I'm strong enough that, if he tries something, I can blow him away," I said, "Hopefully, this will cause him to focus on me when the shit hits the fan, rather than the rest of my family."
"Master, why is it that you don't simply remove the problem?" asked Signum, "With our skills, we could take him out and remove him as a threat."
I sighed.
"I have no idea," I grumbled, "For some reason, every time I contemplate blasting the bastard to bits, something tells me that it would be a supremely bad idea. I have no idea what it is, but I'm inclined to listen. Besides, its not like we won't have plenty of chances to blow him to up later on."
"True enough," said Signum, "Although I don't like leaving a potential threat intact."
"Neither do I," I said, "And it doesn't help that I keep getting the feeling that the shit really is about to hit the fan…"
Little did I know how right I was as, in a world between worlds, a transport ship was struck by a powerful blast, scattering its cargo across the nearest world in a rain of shimmering blue.
And I'm gonna end this here. Truth be told, this has actually been done for a while, but actually coming up with a good way to end the chapter has been killing me.
Even now, this AN is fighting me so I'm gonna have to sign off before my head explodes. Please leave a review!