Wow. Thank you to everyone who's been reading this and loving it. Also thanks for all your reviews. Keep em coming please.
Chapter 12 – Gods and Demons
They spend most of the morning talking and planning. By the time midday was upon them, they had a workable plan and a way to bring Ned into the fold.
R'hllor stood in the corner of the main temple of his church in Volantis, invisible to the mortals who had come to the evening service. Over the last two weeks, he had visited all his churches and temples in the various lands that worshiped him to see if his followers and worshipers were following the rules of worship as he had decreed them.
He started in Asshai with some of the first and oldest churches built to his Glory. He found that while his followers there tended to mix in a little too much sorcery; they conformed to the doctrines and codes of practice he had set down for them many ages ago.
It was mostly the same everywhere else with only small variations to fit the local population but otherwise all was good. It wasn't until he got to the main Church in Volantis, that he found he had a major problem on his hands and as always, it was about power. Power in this case meant becoming the High Priest or Priestess of The Lord of Light.
There were two factions currently fighting for control of his Church. Kinvara of Volantis and her Traditionalist faction and Melisandre of Asshai with her more radical faction.
Melisandre thought she should be high priestess because she was older and believed she was the one who would help the Prince that was Promised to rid the world of the Great Other and burn the unbelievers.
Kinvara on the other hand, while younger, had greater charisma and wisdom then Melisandre and the good will and support of the common people, the slaves and the support of the Conclave of church elders who would vote the new leader in.
Kinvara being chosen as the next high priestess would cause Melisandre to go rouge and proclaim Stannis Baratheon as the Prince who was Promised and would use him to enforce her version of his religion onto unwilling converts.
It would literally be a choice of convert or die.
R'hllor was disgusted by this mentality. He had nothing against his Brothers and Sisters followers and welcomed all no matter who they worshiped. His religion was built on understanding and acceptance of all others, except the Great Other of course, but he was unsure how to handle this situation. Deciding that he'd seen all he needed to for the time being, he willed himself away to where the Gods resided. He walked out into the most stunning garden mortals will never see and sat down on the grass to think over what he found out on his tour.
'Perhaps Tyrion is right to suggest that Melisandre go to the Wall when Jon is there. He was right when he said that as a fire priestess, she could kill wrights by the hundreds, if I allow her that level of power' he mused to himself. A cloud passed over him which was strange because it was never cloudy in this place. He looked up to see The Crone standing next to him.
"My Lady, it is a pleasure to see you. Have you come out to enjoy the Garden?" He asked her politely. It never paid to piss of The Crone. With her amount of knowledge, she had her ways to make you pay for it in ways you never even considered possible.
The Crone cackled like the old woman she was and slowly lowered herself down to sit beside him. Once she was comfortably situated on the grass, she tilted her head and studied R'hllor for a long moment. Just as R'hllor was getting uncomfortable with her stare, she spoke.
"You met Death."
R'hllor gave her a strange look. "Well yes. The Stanger of Westeros is one of my Brothers after all" he said her in a simple way as if she was losing her wits. The Crone slapped him up the back of his head.
"Don't you get smart with me Boy. You know full well of what I speak. I speak not of our Brother but Him. Death" she stated with finality. R'hllor was a bit stunned. How did she know?
"Yes. I met Him. You know, for a fellow who has a rather dark reputation, he's actually quite funny." He saw no use in denying it. She already knew. Unfortunately, she tended to know everything, for she inhaled sharply.
"You died. What have you done? You shouldn't be here it is impossible!"
"It's only impossible if you don't have Death on your side." R'hllor told her. She head slapped him again.
"No more riddles Boy. Speak clearly or suffer my wrath." The Crone demanded in an implacable tone. R'hllor shivered at the vague threat of her wrath and decided to tell the truth.
"My body is from this time, but my soul comes from a future that no longer exists since I came back in time. HE got free, Old One. We lost." R'hllor told her then told her everything that had happened in the time Before, including how this was his idea and she was the one to convince the others that it was their best chance but they never got to carry it out.
"The Night King and his Walkers broke through the defences. They killed The Warrior and The Smith then came for the rest of us. The Stanger turned into Death and from there and well, you know the rest…." R'hllor trailed off. The Crone was silent and that was NEVER a good thing.
The Crone let out a long sigh. After what she had heard, she hadn't the heart to blame him. Desperate times call for desperate measures and times had been desperate indeed. In hindsight, it was most likely for the best that Death had sent the souls back. Rituals like the one he was speaking of were demanding and stressful at the best of times and with them being under attack at the time, the chances of the ritual going VERY wrong were high indeed.
"Peace Boy. I cast no blame on you. It is obvious that there was no other choice and so far it has been the correct choice although you took an awful risk carrying it out. These mortals that were chosen, they are suitable for the task ahead yes?" she asked
R'hllor smiled. "To be honest Grandmother, Westeros and the Night King won't know what hit them" he said starting to laugh. Oh the Chaos they would cause. The very thought of it delighted him to the depths of his soul.
The Crone just rolled her eyes and head slapped him once more. "Focus." She gently chided him. "Tell me of this trick that allows you to visit the mortal plane without interfering with the balance."
So R'hllor told her all Death had told him and showed her how to do it. The Crone sat in silence thinking so R'hllor decided not to interrupt her and just enjoy the warmth and beauty of the Garden. After a while she stirred and said
"It may be time for the Gods to take a more active role in coming events. If we can visit the mortal plane without disturbing the balance of the world, we can guide and instruct the mortals more effectively. Please do not speak of this to anyone else at this time Boy. It bares thinking about but there must be rules in place for such things. For now, do as you will but please try not to start any religious wars in the process." She told him with a fond look on her face.
R'hllor just smirked at her. "Sorry Grandmother but you're too late but I swear it's not MY fault!"
################################################
It had been a week since Jon and Tyrion had come up with a plan. Part of that plan, was to wait and let Ned get to know Tyrion a little better before they told him what was really going on. It worked to their advantage. Ever since the first day, Tyrion had been doing his best to make Ned understand that his family's politics were not his politics and that his family would sacrifice him in a second if it gained them something. Although in Cersei's case, it would be just for the joy it would give her to watch him die.
That part he had withheld from Ned, for now.
In the days following Tyrion's arrival in Winterfell, things had been going well. Bronn and the rest of Tyrion's guard were polite and easy going guests who could tell stories with the best of them. They had managed to get themselves accepted by Winterfell's soldiers and were invited to train with them in the yard.
Bronn quickly established himself as a smart but nasty fighter who wasn't above using dirty tricks to win. When Theon Greyjoy called him on it one day as lacking honour, Bronn just invited him to spar and told Theon to try to beat him while fighting honourably. It was a swift and painful lesson in humiliation for Theon. Robb, who had witnessed the fight, asked Bronn why he used dirty trick as Theon was right, it wasn't honourable. Bronn decided that the heir of Winterfell could use a lesson on the real world.
"Well, pardon me for saying so milord, but what good is honour to a dead man or his family? Honour won't keep a man alive in a fight and honour won't feed a dead man's family. Me now, when I'm fighting, I'm fighting for the most valuable thing in the world, my life. If using dirty tricks is what's gonna keep me alive, then I'm gonna use em."
After that, it wasn't uncommon to see Bronn teaching the soldiers of Winterfell how to use dirty tricks to win a fight and how to counter them so they don't kill you in a fight. Even Robb and Jon were seen attending these lessons although Jon already knew most of them as Bronn had taught him the same tricks in the Time Before.
It was three days after dinner that first night that Ned called Tyrion into his solar again after dinner.
"Ah Tyrion, please come in and have a seat." Ned told him as Tyrion entered his solar. "Would you like a glass of wine?" he asked.
"Now there's a foolish question if I ever heard one My Lord." Tyrion laughed as Ned poured him a cup of wine and sat back down behind his desk. He picked a message scroll up and handed it to Tyrion.
"You received a message from someone in Kings Landing today. " He said in a neutral voice. Tyrion broke open the seal and read the message. By the time he'd finished reading, he had a pleased smile on his face.
"Excellent! They're on their way." He said out loud, pleased that his last minute orders before he left Kings Landing had been executed smoothly. Ned gave him a question look.
"Oh before I left Kings Landing, I gave orders to the gaolers of the dungeons in the Red Keep to process the prisoners and send them to the Wall. Also some of my agents did some recruiting in the city itself and it seems to have paid off. The Watch currently has fifty three new recruits on their way from Kings Landing. Thirty eight prisoners and fifteen volunteers, along with supplies and instructions to the sizable escort I have provided, to speak to all the Lords of the Riverlands and ask them if they would be willing to hand over their prisoners for the Watch along with any supplies they would be willing to spare. If all goes well, the Watch should be getting a considerable boost to its numbers." He explained what he had done.
Ned once again found himself surprised at Tyrion's actions. If what he said was true and Ned had no reason to believe it wasn't, Tyrion just became one of the biggest supporters of the Watch outside the North itself which was great for the Watch but Ned couldn't help but wonder if Tyrion had ulterior motives for doing this that Ned didn't see.
"Tyrion, what you've done is amazingly generous. I'm sure the Watch will have nothing but praise for the support you're giving them but I must admit I'm curious as to why you are doing this? There is no benefit for you. The Nights Watch stays out of the politics of the Realm." He probed.
"It's the right thing to do." Tyrion simply stated. "The Nights Watch protects the realms of Men from what lives north of the Wall." The way he worded it surprised Ned.
"Don't you mean protect us from WHO lives north of the Wall? After all, the Wildlings have been a plague on the realms for years beyond counting." He asked hoping for a clearer answer.
Tyrion smiled, 'time to stretch the boundaries of his mind again' he thought to himself in amusement.
"The Nights Watch protects the REALMS of MEN. The REALMS, not, the REALM. My dear Lord Stark, you don't build a Wall, seven hundred feet high and three hundred miles long across the top of the world because you fear the MEN living on the other side of it. No, the wildlings, wild and troublesome though they may be, are as human as you or I. No, Lord Stark, your ancestors built that bloody great Wall, to keep SOMETHING out of the realms of Men."
Ned laughed. "Are you saying you believe in White Walkers, giant ice spiders, snarks and grumpkins? He teased.
"Gods no!" Tyrion laughed. "Snarks and grumpkins, definitely not, but White Walkers and giant Ice Spiders…yes. I've spent a great deal of time in your library in the last few days and by the way, you really need someone to catalogue and organise the bloody thing, but I've read some very ancient volumes on the history of Westeros and they all confirm that there was a war involving armies of dead people and White Walkers. I've seen this same story in multiple books so I am rather inclined to take it as truth. One thing all the accounts have in common is that the Night King, who led the armies, wasn't killed but driven deep into the north into the Lands of Always Winter. As far as anyone knows he's still alive as it's been speculated he is immortal."
Once again, what Tyrion spoke of was all true. He had read those same books in the library in the Time Before, so he could prove it should Ned wish to see the proof with his own eyes.
"Are you serious?" was the disbelieving question that came at him.
"Absolutely. You urgently need someone to catalogue and organise the library before any more valuable knowledge is lost. I have just the young man in mind if you're looking for a recommendation. He would give anything for this sort of opportunity." Tyrion replied, deliberately misunderstanding Ned's question and if he was honest, he was hoping Ned would ask him for the name of the young man Tyrion had in mind because Jon would be thrilled to have Samwell Tarly back in his life early and it would help Sam get away from his abusive father.
"Lord Tyrion, this is not the time for jokes." Ned growled at him. "Now answer the question!"
Tyrion stared back at Ned.
"I'm not joking. On either subject." He said in the most serious voice Ned had heard from him yet.
Ned fell back in his seat, once again in shock. It seemed to be a common phenomenon when dealing with Tyrion Lannister.
While Ned was gathering his scattered wits, Tyrion had summoned a servant and asked him to retrieve the five volumes he had on the bedside table in his room. While the servant was retrieving the books, Tyrion poured a big glass of wine for Ned and placed it on the desk in front of him and sat back in his chair in silence. When the servant returned, Tyrion took the books off him and then placed them on the desk next to the wine and turned to leave the solar.
As he reached the door, he paused and looked back at Ned,
"I've booked marked the pages" he told him then left.
Tyrion and Jon met in the Godswoods the next morning and Tyrion told Jon what had happened. Tyrion was worried that he may have pushed Ned a little too far by mentioning the Night King and his Walkers. He had left Ned the books but was unsure if Ned would even look at them. Jon disagreed.
"No, you did the right thing. I love my uncle but he is stubborn and won't accept anything that he can't prove. The only thing that he takes on faith is the Old Gods. No, giving him the books to prove what you told him was at least written down thousands of years before you even told him about it will help. It will also make it easier for him to accept we are from a very different future and that we're trying to prevent that from happening again." Jon explained. "He just needs a little time."
Tyrion looked at him doubtfully, "You're sure?"
Jon nodded. "He just needs time" he repeated.
#################################################
That had been four days ago.
Jon's fifteenth named day was in a little over a week and no one had seen Ned for the last three days. At breakfast the morning after Tyrion had dropped his little bombshell, the Starks including Ned were there and Tyrion had a little revenge plan in mind aimed at Lady Catelyn, who had gone back to being overtly hostile to Tyrion and Jon.
Tyrion knew that Jon's name day was soon and he also knew, thanks to both the Winterfell guards and some of the servants he had befriended, that there was no celebration planned because Lady Catelyn refused outright to organise one and had forbidden anyone else to do so either. Tyrion though wasn't from Winterfell and he was a guest so her orders didn't apply to him. As long as he did nothing to break the guest rights, he could do as he pleased.
He had sat with the family that morning and told Ned that he had heard that it was young Jon's name day soon and asked if he and his men could stay for the celebrations. Ned looked slightly shamed faced and said that unfortunately there would be no celebrations. The excuse he came up with was so thin you could see daylight though it but Tyrion didn't point it out as he knew the real reason why there was no celebration.
Tyrion had told them that it was a damn shame and if it was alright with Ned, Tyrion would be delighted to organise a "small" gathering. After all, a man should have a party on his name day. Thing was, Tyrion's definition of a "small" gathering included the entire population of Winterfell plus everyone in Winter Town and Tyrion managed to convey that fact without stating it outright.
Catelyn Stark flushed bright red in embarrassment and politely told Tyrion that she had starting planning Jon's name day celebrations, she just hadn't informed her husband or the staff yet. When Tyrion offered to help her oversee the preparations, she told him she was handling it personally. When Tyrion starting suggesting things to have at the celebration and offered to pay for them, she looked like she had sucked on a very sour lemon and informed him that while his generosity was appreciated, it wasn't needed then excused herself from the table.
Tyrion grinned viciously to himself. His friend would get the name day celebration he truly deserved and as an added bonus, Robb had stopped Tyrion just as he left the great hall and thanked him for making his mother give Jon a party. Robb, who had disagreed with his mother over this time and time again, had very much enjoyed watching Tyrion manipulate her into doing the right thing and told him so.
Tyrion offered him lessons.
#*#*#*#*#*#**#*#
Ned had spent the last three days holed up in his solar reading the books that Tyrion had left for him and every other source he could find in the library. Tyrion had been right about one thing though, the library was in desperate need of organisation. A good part of the last three days was spent searching for the books as opposed to reading them and what reading they made.
Ned didn't want to believe any of this was true but there were just too many sources with the same details for it not to be true. The Great Other, The Night King, White Walkers, armies of the dead and giants and ice spiders, it was all true. Ned now understood the true purpose of the Nights Watch, which was not to defend the realms from Wildlings and felt it criminal that it was no longer the institution it had been. At least Tyrion's and his own contributions should help a little.
Tyrion Lannister, now there was another mystery. Tyrion had honestly confused Ned. On one hand he was a Lannister. Cold-blooded and ruthless when crossed. Not to be trusted at all. On the other hand though, he really didn't seem to be anything like his family.
Tyrion had been nothing but a model guest while at Winterfell and the suggestions for the re-enforcements of Moat Calian were nothing short of genius. Moat Calian would be almost impossible to take after they were in place and an attacking army would pay very dearly for trying.
The one thing that was bugging Ned the most was the fact the Tyrion believed. He BELIEVED that the Night King was still alive and that he was coming and while Tyrion had never said directly, Ned knew that is what he believed. It was almost as if he knew what was to come and that brought Jon into it too.
He hadn't spoken to Jon yet about his dreams but somehow he knew that they had to do with this situation in general and Tyrion in particular. Ned couldn't figure out how it was connected with the Night King but he knew it was. Both of them had been going out of their way to prepare him for something and Ned was now starting to suspect that it was this. They were keeping something from him and more than that, they appeared to be collaborating.
Ned knew that Tyrion had taken a liking to Jon and had to try not to laugh at Cat when Tyrion in a beautiful display of high manipulation trapped her into doing something she herself had forbidden and the fact that he made it a point of house honour without making it obvious was something to behold. Ned had to smile at how smooth Tyrion had been and had been grateful to the little lord for doing something he himself couldn't do as his wife knew how to make his life hell.
But regardless of that fact, Ned needed to know what was going on between them so it was time to talk to both of them so he sent a servant to summon them both to his solar.
When Jon and Tyrion saw that they'd both be summoned, they both thought the same thing.
It was time.
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#
Ned motioned for them to take seats. They could both see piles of books and small hills of notes all over Ned's desk and knew that he had been doing some serious researching and reading. Jon and Tyrion exchanged a look. They knew that this was it. Now was the time to tell him everything but they silently agreed to let Ned speak first.
"Ok your two. Over the last three weeks both of you have told me things that by right are unbelievable and impossible but somehow are true. Now I want to know everything and I want to know right now and you can start by how you two seem to know each other better then you should for just knowing each other for a week." Ned asked in steady, non-aggressive voice. He wanted honest answers and knew by now that a reasonable tone of voice would work better on these two then outright commands.
Tyrion and Jon looked at each other once again and Tyrion sighed. "You or me?" he asked Jon.
"It'll sound better coming from me." Jon replied. He looked at his uncle.
"First of all my lord, I need to know if you now have some degree of belief in the supernatural? And please keep in mind the information you read in the books around you. Books that are written in our ancestors own hand." Jon asked in a serious voice that sounded a lot older than it had right to be for a boy of almost fifteen.
Ned gave the question due consideration. Did he believe? He wasn't entire convinced but he had read enough to know not to discount the possibility. He returned Jon's look.
"Honestly, not entirely but I'm not about to discount the possibility for if these books are right, if you are right Tyrion and they are coming once again, then I have no choice. I must protect my people from what is to come." He gave his answer.
Jon closed his eyes and took a deep breath and let it out slowly. What he was about to say would rock his uncles entire world sideways.
"They already came. The whole world lost."
Ned was in a state of confusion with Jon's answer. They already came? The world lost? That couldn't be as the world was still here. He was still here alive and well and if his reading was correct, if they'd already come, he'd already be dead.
"I don't understand lad. How can you know this? Did you dream of it?" Yes the dreams that must be it as Ned couldn't think of any other possibility.
"No. I didn't dream it. We lived it…..Uncle."
Ned wondered for a moment if he would suffer from a heart attack from all the shocks he was receiving of late. He knew. Jon KNEW that Eddard Stark Lord of Winterfell wasn't in fact his father but his uncle which meant he knew Lyanna was his mother. Ned suddenly narrowed in on the other piece of information that his nephew had had divulged.
"You LIVED it?" He asked "How is that even possible?"
Tyrion took over. "In about ten years from now, The Night King will kill the last two living mortals on the face of the world. Jon and I. The Great Other had escaped from his prison thanks to his minion the Night King and covered the world in ice, darkness and death. Once Jon and I were dead, they went after the Gods, who had a plan in the works. To send Jon and my souls back in time to try and prevent it from happening."
The silence that reigned after that was deafening. Ned couldn't believe it. He refused to. The Night King and Walkers was one thing but this? This was crazy, impossible.
"No. No I will not believe you. It's crazy and what's more, impossible. How can you both make up this story and then try to sell it to me? I've half a mind to….." Ned trailed off as he stared at Jon.
Jon knew that this was a crucial moment and if they lost his uncle here, the world was lost. He knew there was only one thing he could do to prove what they were saying although he really didn't want to do it so while his uncle was ranting, Jon stood and removed his doublet and undershirt, revealing his greatest betrayal.
Ned gaped at Jon. When Jon had removed his doublet and undershirt, Ned wasn't prepared for what he saw. The scars were old and well healed but the number of them and the location of one right above his heart proved that they were killing blows. What was bothering Ned the most was that he knew for a fact that those scars hadn't been there three weeks ago.
"What, how, Gods!" Ned was speechless.
"About three years from now, I will be elected Lord Commander of the Nights Watch. Four years from now, five of my sworn brothers will munity and stab me to death for trying to save the Wildlings from the Night King and his armies by letting them come south of the Wall." Jon stated in an emotionless voice while staring at his uncle. Ned was still speechless.
"Which reminds me," Jon said to Tyrion, "Where is your scar? You know, the one you got at the Battle of The Blackwater in Kings Landing during Stannis attack?"
Tyrion smiled at him sadly. "R'hllor told me that betrayal leaves scars on the soul."
"Yes? He told me that to."
"Well it's not really betrayal if you're expecting it now isn't it?"
Next Chapter, Ned gets told everything. Watch our Westeros; Tyrion and Jon start their games.