The Red Waste 298 AC.
Daenerys.
The dream had come again the night before, a dream of a dragon as dark as night whose wings covered the city in shadow and Dany had felt sure it was Balerion the Black Dread she was seeing. Ever since her children had been born she'd been having different dreams, dragon dreams in more senses than one she knew. Though it was not just the black dragon she dreamt of but the man who rode it too. Another black dragon she wondered given his dark hair and even darker eyes.
He, she dreamt of even more often than the dragon he rode, always standing there in the shadows, and once or twice when she'd been lucky he'd even been close enough for her to touch. The tingle that rang through her when she did was like nothing she'd ever felt before and each dream seemed to bring her closer to him. The black dragon though was a sign of danger and it worried her each time she saw it. Even more so when the horse arrived later that day and she found what was in the bags on its back.
"Who would do this?" she asked Ser Jorah trying not to let her tears fall and he told her that it was most likely another Khal, though for some reason she wasn't sure if that was truly the case.
"Another Khal, Khaleesi, one who recognized him from being with Drogo or with those who stayed with you." Ser Jorah said.
"He would just kill him?" she asked horrified.
"To send a message, Khaleesi." Ser Jorah said softly.
Though she felt a message was being sent and looking to see Jhiqui and Irri she could see it had been received, Dany wasn't sure if he was entirely correct in his assumptions. Rahkaro wouldn't have ridden close enough to a Khalasar to risk such a thing and it made her wonder just who else was out there that were a danger to them. It was Irri's cries though which took her mind from those thoughts and quickly to the clearly pained woman's own instead. Dany quickly doing her best to offer her what comfort she could and feeling her inadequacy at being able to offer only words promising vengeance.
They had lost much in the Red Waste, Dorea, now Rakharo, and many more, and each time she'd promised herself that this would be the last loss, that she'd not accept any more. Each time she'd promised, only to have to make the same promise when yet another loss came her way. Dany wasn't sure how many more she could bear and seeing the pain on Irri's face and the worry on those with her, she knew neither were they.
After giving Rakharo's head to the Great Stallion, even though without the rest of his body he'd not be accepted by him, Dany welcomed the night and hoped she'd dream once more. She said goodnight to her children and thought they could feel her sadness, Drogon especially given how he looked at her. Then wrapping herself up in the threadbare blanket she closed her eyes and welcomed sleep.
The wind whistled around her and she looked to the open windows, the grey stone she looked out on looking dark and imposing and she almost sighed when she felt the arms come around behind her. She tried to turn to look but the strong fingers of a hand kept her facing forward and then she heard a voice that sounded so much like Ser Jorah's that she knew the shadow must come from the North.
"If you look back you are lost Daenerys Stormborn." the voice said and she instead leaned back into the embrace.
"Who are you?" she asked as the strong hands held her and she felt both safe and loved at the same time.
"You know who I am."
"The Black Dragon." she said and she heard a chuckle.
"My dragon is black, aye, but I'm a red one just like you."
"How?" she asked and then sighed once more when he felt the lips on her neck.
"Close your eyes, trust me." the voice said and she did as he bid.
She felt his lips and then his tongue as he kissed her more deeply and truly than she'd ever been kissed. Then she felt him move away and her eyes tried to focus on the shadow that he was once more. The dark hair and dark eyes once again almost the only things she could see. Though this time she was sure she also saw a sword with a dragon hilt and a blood-red ruby as it's pommel.
"Beware the warlocks and trust the Whitebeard and don't let anger be your guide."
"Will I see you again?" she called out as the shadow began to fade.
"We will be together again, soon." he said his northern tilt ever more clear.
She woke up both refreshed and frustrated, her fingers going to her lips and Jhiqhi hurriedly bringing over the last of their water thinking her thirsty. Dany shaking her head and asking instead about Irri, who she was glad to see was sleeping peacefully. After eating as sparingly as she could, she began to ponder her next move when one of the men pointed to the dust in the distance, Ser Jorah immediately drawing his sword only for it to be sheathed once they saw it was Kovarro who rode their way.
Dany saw he was on a different horse than he had set out on and that he looked well-rested and fed. Her eyes narrowing when she looked more closely. Had he betrayed them? Her? Had he sold them out to someone and maybe even been part of the group who'd killed Rakharo? She couldn't be certain and so she spoke her suspicions aloud to Ser Jorah who shook his head. Moving toward the man she saw he looked upset that she wasn't welcoming him more enthusiastically and soon enough he explained where he had been and what he'd found. Dany turning to Ser Jorah for confirmation.
"You've heard of this place?" she asked.
"The area outside its walls is known as the Garden of Bones, Khaleesi, it is said when the Qartheens close their gates the garden fills with more." Ser Jorah warned.
She believed him and yet she knew she had no choice, her people, the few that remained, would die here and she couldn't accept more deaths if there was a chance they could live. Packing up what they had, they were grateful for the extra water that Kovarro brought with him and soon enough they were riding towards the great city of Qarth. Dany listening eagerly as Jorah told her more and more about it, closing her eyes at one point to try and make his voice sound to her like the one her shadow spoken in.
"Are there warlocks in Qarth, Ser Jorah?" she asked catching him by surprise.
"Aye, Khaleesi." he said and she smiled at that, her shadow was trying to protect her and she was even more sure now that his words were true, he was a red dragon just like her.
It took them a day and a night to reach the city and her night had been a disappointingly alone one, no dream or visit from her shadow to keep her company. So she was far less relaxed when they arrived at the city and she looked to the giant walls and gate. Quickly seeing the bones that Ser Jorah spoke of littering the ground around them all. She looked to Jorah when the armed men began to come out from the gates, the welcome not as friendly as she had expected, and then she saw the men behind them, the fat one who now walked her way.
"My Name is Daenerys…" she began only for the man to interrupt.
"Daenerys Stormborn of the House Targaryen." the fat man said.
Later as she sat in Xaro Xhaon Daxos's manse she knew she had learned a valuable lesson. She'd let her anger cloud her judgment earlier on, she'd let it be her guide even after the shadow had told her not to, and though it had gained her entry, she wondered if it truly had been what had done so. These men seeming to be just like the politicians her brother had once said were everywhere in their father's court, they played games and you needed to play if you wished to win. There was a time to be angry and let loose her flames and a time to let them burn until they were even more fierce and ferocious. Dany knew now that she needed to learn which was best suited for which moment.
Laying down in her bed she gripped the pillow tightly as she went to sleep, hoping beyond hope that he'd be there again and then smiling when she saw him, his hand out ready for her to take.
"Welcome back." the voice said as he took her hand in his own.
The Riverlands 298 AC.
Jon Snow.
The dream had come again just as it had on and off since he'd left the Neck. Each time allowing him to see just a little more of her. Her silver hair and violet eyes marked her out for what she was if not who she was and Jon had thought about asking Ser Arthur about her more than once. That the dreams felt so real was the main reason he didn't though. The idea of telling Ser Arthur that he'd felt a shadow hold his hand and heard it speak to him was not one he thought would show him to be sound of mind. At first, he thought she may have been his mother, the hair looking dark in the shadows to him. Then he was certain she was his grandmother or some other relative, Jon trying to remember as much as he could about his family and their history.
Aemon had told him that he had an aunt and uncle in Essos somewhere, Viserys and Daenerys, and he wondered if that was who he was seeing. Though he was sure it was Westeros and not Essos that he saw in the dreams, which made him think that it was perhaps his grandmother he was seeing. Rhaella, his grandmother's name, and it was something that he found great joy in finding out as it gave him something more real to cling to. The knowledge that he had another family making him eager to learn as much as he could about each and every one of them. Ser Arthur would happily tell him as much as he wished to hear about them when he asked and his grandmother most of all, making him hope that it was her he saw. There were though so many others that he'd read about over the years, Rhaenys and Visenya, Aysanne, Rhaenyra, Daenys. So many that he supposed it could be any of them and though he welcomed the dreams, he didn't appreciate the confusion he felt after having them.
Getting up, he stretched and then walked to the stream to wash and take a drink before heading back to sit by the fire with Ser Arthur, who as always was already awake. Ghost and Nymeria were some distance ahead of them hunting and Jon could feel them both, which was yet another thing that he'd noticed more and more since he had left The Neck. His connection with Ghost had grown stronger and stronger and he now felt what his wolf did even more completely. He could also now simply just close his eyes and be in Ghost in a heartbeat. Once he did he'd be able to see what Ghost did and feel everything that went through the wolf's mind. Nymeria too he could feel, albeit differently.
"Eat." Arthur said handing him some of the rabbits he'd cooked.
"How long have you been awake, Arthur?" he asked and Arthur just shook his head.
"A while." Arthur said as Jon sat down and ate the rabbit to break his fast.
They sat in silence for a little bit, Arthur looking at him as Jon tried his best to let the dreams go from his mind, only to find he could not. When he caught Arthur looking at him concernedly a little later he wondered if he should tell him, deciding not to and then finding he needed to speak on it and on the other dreams that he sometimes had. This one he had put down to finding out about his family also, as why else would he dreams of dragons.
"Did my father…did my father ever have dreams, Arthur?" he asked not able to look the knight straight in the face.
"Dreams?" Arthur asked as Jon glanced at him before looking away.
"I dreamt of a woman, Arthur, her hair was silver and her eyes violet, it felt real as if I was with her and not just dreaming of her. We were in a room, the windows were cut from stone and open to the elements and there was a large table that was like a map of Westeros and a chair that sat looking over it." Jon said feeling foolish as he spoke only to see Arthur looking at him oddly.
"Dragonstone, the Chamber of the Painted Table." Arthur said and Jon dropped the pouch of water he'd reached for to the ground, relieved he'd not opened it.
"It's real?" he asked though he had already known the answer.
"It's real, Aegon had the table built to prepare for the conquest. Tell me more about the woman." Arthur said and Jon did just that.
He didn't seem to recognize her from his words though given so many of the women in his family looked so alike that was understandable. Like him, Ser Arthur seemed almost sure she was his grandmother and that he was seeing her on Dragonstone only added to that belief. Jon knowing that no matter what else he did in this world, he needed to set foot on the island of his ancestors. When he told him about the dragon dreams, Arthur noticed something that Jon had not, and it both scared and excited him, Arthur too.
"You say it felt like it did with Ghost." Arthur said.
"What?"
"The dream about the dragon, you say it felt like Ghost." Arthur said as he looked at him eagerly.
"Aye, it was the same but different, the dragon it felt bigger, not just in size but as if it's whole self was bigger, it's hard to explain but it felt as if it, as if I was more ." he said.
"The dreams you used to have of Ghost, did they feel as confusing. Were they as strange before you learned to control him?" Arthur asked.
"I don't control him, it's not how it works, I...I am him." he said and Arthur nodded.
"Were they the same?" Arthur asked and Jon nodded before he realized what Arthur was getting at.
"You think I'm warging a dragon?" he asked incredulously.
"As far as anyone knows there are no dragons, Rhaegar." Arthur said and Jon glared at him "Jon." Arthur said reluctantly.
That had been the one bone of contention between them both, Jon had accepted who he was and that he had a family that he'd not known about. He'd accepted that Rhaegar was his father and Lyanna his mother and that he was more of a Targaryen than he'd ever been a Stark or a Snow. Aemon, Arthur, Howland, and his father's letters all making it clear that everything he'd heard was a lie or truth that was twisted and far from kidnapping his mother, his father had saved her, Jon having the proof of that written in his mother's hand.
While accepting his birthright, his blood, and his family had been easy enough, accepting his name was taking some getting used to. Rhaegar had been his father's name and though he knew now that his mother had named him thus, it still felt odd to hear himself called anything other than Jon or Snow. Arthur would never allow him to think of himself as the latter anymore and so they'd compromised and for now at least, he was still the former. Even if Arthur occasionally slipped and called him Rhaegar occasionally, sometimes on purpose as far as Jon was concerned.
"If there are no dragons, then how could I warg one?" he asked and wasn't sure if he was really saying what he thought he was. Did he actually think he was warging a dragon? Or was he just as confused with that dream as he was about the one with the girl in it?
"I don't know, Jon. Next time you should try and connect more, as you do with Ghost. You should try and at least find out if it's just a dream or if it's more." Arthur said and he nodded.
They put out the fire and mounted up and began to ride once more. After leaving Robb and Riverrun, they'd ridden to Stone Hedge and though the urge was strong in him to ride further east towards the Trident, Nymeria and Ghost brought them south instead. The wolves had avoided High Heart, Arthur had told him tales of the Ghost who lived there and he'd wished to go meet her, but his own Ghost looked at him and Jon could swear he shook his head. Reaching the God's Eye he again felt the urge to go further east, the Isle of Faces was in view and it called to him but once again the wolves headed south.
Each night they'd stop set up their camp and then they'd spar. Arthur putting him on his arse more times than he could count and Jon feeling completely unskilled next to the famed knight. That Arthur insisted he used Blackfyre only making him feel even more inadequate. The blade was a sword of legend much like Ser Arthur's own and it deserved to be wielded by a swordsman of note which he was anything but. Not even Arthur's words of encouragement and telling him that he was improving every day made him feel worthy of the blade. Though he did feel that he was now better than he had been, especially when he tried to incorporate some of the things Arthur told him into the spars.
"We'll camp here." Arthur said and he nodded, they'd left the God's Eye far behind and were heading north once more for some reason.
After an hour or two of sparring, they ate and sat by the fire. Jon once again asking Arthur to tell him about his family and listening intently as he told him about his father, mother, about Elia and his brother and sister. Jon noticing both the sadness and the anger in the knight's voice when he spoke of what had been done to them. It was an anger that he felt himself most keenly, the loss of his brother and sister and their mother something which weighed heavily on him. While Arthur and Howland were at pains to tell him that their deaths were not his father's and mother's fault, Jon had found it wasn't them he blamed, it was himself.
He had lived and they had died, his life not worth his brother and sister's in his mind and it was why he had become even more focused on getting Arya and Sansa back. There was nothing he could do about Aegon or Rhaenys, whatever fate the gods had wished for them had been decided long ago. Wishing he could change things would not make it so, it could not. With Arya and Sansa he could change their fate and he would see them safe. Them first and then the crown, that was the deal he'd made with Ser Arthur and he would show no respite to any who tried to stop him from seeing it done.
"Arthur, Arthur, wake up." he whispered as he shook the knight.
"Rhaegar?" Arthur said looking at him.
"We have company, or soon we will." he said as Arthur woke and sat up.
How the knight went from being asleep to being fully awake so quickly, was something he didn't know but once he'd explained what he'd felt and that the wolves were on their way, Arthur had nodded and told him to unsheathe his sword. The two of them sat by the fire with the swords close to them but looking to all eyes as if they were unarmed and waited for the men to arrive. It had been Ghost who'd warned him of the five men coming their way, his wolf now rushing toward him with one thought in its mind, protect.
"Hello friends." a voice called out and Jon saw Arthur grip his knife while Dawn was close-by ready to be used too, his own hand resting almost on top of the ruby pommel of Blackfyre.
The men who came in close were an odd bunch, there were three only and as he looked at them he saw one of them staring at him with an odd look on his face. When they came closer he heard a gasp from the man who'd been staring at him, his eyes going from his face to Arthur's and back again. The man's yellow cloak was clear now in light from the fire and then Jon heard the man speak.
"Arthur?" the man in the yellow cloak asked, his voice sounding almost pained to Jon's ears.
"Lem, you know these men?" one of the other men asked though the man called Lem didn't reply.
"Arthur, is it truly you?" the man asked and Jon looked to see Arthur nod and reach for Dawn, not lifting the sword but just showing it to the man who then dropped to his knees as he looked to him and not Arthur.
"Your grace." the man said as he looked into Jon's eyes before he bowed his head.
Riverlands 298 AC (takes place before Jon's pov).
Arya.
She'd seen far too much death already in her short life, her father, her household, Yoren, Woth, Lommy, far too many people she'd seen die before she'd even reached her tenth nameday. She also felt that she may be one of them soon enough, her, Gendry, Hot Pie, all of them would soon be dead given what was happening in the town. They'd escaped one of the seven hells only to be thrust right back into another and not even her list was enough to keep the tears from falling each night.
After seeing her father, well not truly seeing him, but being there when he'd been murdered, Yoren had freed her from King's Landing. She'd been so relieved to finally be heading back to the North and hoped she'd see her family once more, she needed to see them. Arya wanting nothing more than to see Robb, Bran, and Rickon again, to feel her mother's arms as they held her tight and told her that all would be well. To see Jon, to have him muss her hair and call her little sister, to explain to him that she didn't lose Needle, that it was stolen from her.
One night while traveling with Yoren she'd thought of joining the Night's Watch herself. She would pretend she was truly Arry and to go ranging beyond the Wall with Jon. The thought was enough to briefly put a smile on her face and to allow her to forget the sadness that she felt deep in her heart. Soon though even that brief comfort was taken from her as Yoren reminded her of Brave Danny Flint. Not that she would ever get the chance to get to the Wall anyway now that Amory Lorch had seen to Yoren's end.
"Gregor Clegane, Dunsen, Polliver, Chiswyck, Raff the Sweetling, the Tickler, Sandor Clegane, Amory Lorch, Ilyn Payne, Meryn Trant, Joffrey Baratheon, Cersei Lannister." she recited the names before she fell to sleep.
She was woken by Gendry and hit the stupid bull hard in the face for waking her so, as for once the dream she'd been having had been a good one.
"Sorry." he said looking at her and she quickly felt foolish for hitting him.
"What's going on?" she asked worriedly when she heard the screams.
"The Tickler's at work again." Gendry said and she got up and scratched her itchy arse, seeing Gendry's smirk as he looked at her.
"For fuck's sake, you've seen people scratch their damn arses before." she said and his smirk only grew larger.
Ever since he'd found out that not only was she a girl but she was a Lord's daughter, things had been different between them. Where before he saw her as a young boy, he now could only see her as a highborn lady and despite her telling him that was not her, it had changed things between them. Leaving the corner that she slept in, Arya began to go about her daily chores, knowing that you couldn't afford to stand idle while with the Mountain's Men. She'd seen what they did to those they felt weren't pulling their weight and it was not pretty and so she hurried around doing the tasks that had been assigned to her.
The work itself was easy enough, it was trying not to look at what was happening in the town that was hard. Arya having seen things being done to people that she could never imagine and wondering yet again where the gods were in all of this. What was the point in believing in them if they allowed people like Amory Lorch, The Tickler, and others of their ilk to exist? When she was handed the meal to take the Tickler she almost wept, knowing what she was likely to see once she got there.
Less than an hour later she was emptying her stomach and feeling Gendry standing nearby watching her as she did so. That he knew it embarrassed her had annoyed her at first but then she'd realized that as much as he was watching her, he was also watching out for her. Should any of the Mountain's Men see her act in such a way then they'd do everything they could to try and make her do so as often as they could. They'd turn it into one of their games and as bad as that sounded, it was what happened when they wagered on those games and lost that you needed to worry about.
"We're heading off soon." Gendry said as they snuck away from where she'd emptied her stomach.
"How do you know?" she asked.
"They have me shoeing the horses." he said and she nodded.
"The village?"
"Will be lucky not to be put to flame." he said and she gulped.
The village had been thriving once, now it was anything but and those unlucky enough to have been here when the Mountain came had felt the true horrors of the war. Wives and daughters had been raped, children killed and men mutilated and in less than a week the village had lost half its number. In all that time she'd not seen the Mountain who Rides more than once, which had been more than enough. Whatever about the men who served him, just knowing that people like Raff the Sweetling and Polliver were afraid of the Mountain told her all she needed to know about the man himself.
As the day came to an end and she sat down to eat the poor meal that they were given once their work was done, Arya found herself longing for the night to come. Her dreams being her only respite from the nightmare that her days now were. She ate the thin stringy soup and welcomed the bread that Hot Pie snuck her, eating it down quickly so it wouldn't be noticed before she made her way to her corner and curled up into a ball. Reciting her list once more before she fell to sleep and hoped her dreams would be the good ones tonight.
She ran, the fields open and her quiet brother by her side, the pack not close to full or united as it had once been but she was no longer alone and for that she was grateful. The quiet brother calmed her wild spirit, he allowed her to be who she truly was and stopped her from becoming lost. They hunted together and found taking their prey to be easier when both attacked. The deer had no chance as it looked at her and tried to decide which way to run while her quiet brother made no sound as it came up from behind it.
When he pounced, she ran, and soon both of them were tearing into deer flesh, the meat filling her senses and removing her hunger. After they'd eaten she looked to her quiet brother and into his deep red eyes, eyes that knew exactly how she felt and that carried the presence of her quiet brother's two-foot within them. Her own two foot was close but still too far away and though she wished to go to her, the quiet brother said no, now was not the time. Not now but soon he'd say and she knew he spoke true.
Just as he had when he'd found her and bid her join him. When he'd told her they would be a pack once more. Both of them united in their grief over the loss of their soft sister and knowing their swift brother was nearby and alone. Far to the north their wild and wise brothers roamed free and they missed them too but for her, it was her two-foot that she missed most of all. Feeling that her quiet brother missed her too and understanding now because of him, what she had not before. The stones had been to protect and not hurt, to save and not force away. Her two-foot not wishing her to suffer as their soft sister did and so taking that suffering onto herself instead.
As they ran back to the camp where her quiet brother's two-foot slept, she felt they were even closer now and that soon she and her own two-foot would be together once more.
Arya woke up with a start, the dream still fresh in her mind and the taste of something in her mouth that she didn't enjoy. She quickly drank the water and found that she'd not be allowed to break her fast, instead having to help ready the horses for their departure. As they rode out of the town she looked back to see the flames rise high and then to those who were being brought with them. She tried her best not to think the thoughts she had about those who'd been left behind to burn.
She found though she could not dismiss those thoughts, nor ignore them or pretend they were not what she truly believed. As she looked to see the Mountain riding at the front of their party, to his men riding and laughing behind him and to the faces of those being dragged behind though she found she couldn't fight the thoughts anymore. Those left to burn had gotten off easy, those with them now would only suffer far more and she wondered if she too would suffer just as badly. Closing her eyes though she felt a presence there, a warmth that calmed and soothed her, she felt three sets of eyes looking to her own.
"Soon." she thought she heard a voice say, a voice she longed to hear once more, a brother she missed terribly.
Riverlands 298 AC.
Cat.
Jon Snow raised so many mixed emotions within her that at times she couldn't even think straight when it came to the boy. Her anger and shame at his existence only exacerbated by him growing up next to her own children. The worry that she felt that he would try to usurp her children's birthright had been one that had been present for as long as he had. One that had grown as he had and one that had only lessened when he had gone to the Wall.
That he loved her children was never in doubt, even Sansa who treated him as she had herself was loved by him, she knew. He doted on Rickon and Bran and was Robb's closest friend and as for Arya, they were two peas from the same pod both in looks and in how much time they spent together. Yet despite knowing that, it still hadn't allowed her to think of him as anything other than her shame and a threat, illogical though the latter was. If she sat down, if she really thought about it then she knew he posed her children no true threat. Not only would the boy never do anything to harm them but he'd never be in a position too. She had three sons, not one, even were the worst to happen to Robb, there was always Bran and Rickon who'd come ahead of Jon Snow. Sansa and Arya too in the eyes of the king's laws.
She also knew her father and Ned's bannermen would never see him supported over one of her trueborn children, yet she had never managed to remove that little bit of doubt from her head. Never had she been able to come to terms with the fact that her husband had loved another and had brought back a piece of that love with him. Nor had she been able to ignore the wishful looks that Ned had shot Jon Snow's way or the sadness in his eyes when he looked at the boy. So her fears had grown, her anger and shame had grown and over time dare she say it, her hatred of the boy had grown too. Now though as she rode to Bitterbridge she was finding that her views were not aligned with his actions. Her heart finally moving closer to her head and she felt shame and anger now too, though this time it was directed at herself. What he'd said at Riverrun playing over and over in her mind each day they rode.
"Robb, Robb, what happened, what did the bastard do? What did he say?" she asked worriedly as she ran into the solar.
"Jon is not a bastard, mother, he's my brother, I'll not have you speak of him that way." Robb said angrily and she nodded, knowing that it wasn't worth the fight.
"What did he say?" she asked as Edmure and Brynden closed the door behind them and took their seats.
"He said I was a fool." Robb said his voice dejected.
"How dare he, I'll have his head for this, just say the word, your grace." Edmure said full of bluster and hot air.
"Saver your breath for cooling your porridge, and listen before you speak." Brynden said and she looked to see Edmure go red in the face before shrinking back in his seat.
"Why?" she asked.
"For sending Theon to speak to his father. Jon…he made some interesting points, points I'd not thought of." Robb said.
She tried not to bristle at that, she'd raised some interesting points and had been ignored, Robb's friendship with Theon overruling his sense.
"What points, your grace?" her uncle asked and as Robb spoke on what Jon Snow had sent, Cat found herself nodding along, she'd raised some but he'd raised even more and she worried more now on what Robb had done.
"We should send some men back, your grace. Your bas…brother spoke truly and I fear on this he may be in the right of things." her uncle said and Robb nodded.
"Aye, I'll give it some thought. Maybe Lady Dacey and the Smalljon along with some men." Robb said and she breathed a relieved sigh.
"What else did he say Robb?" she asked still not able to speak his name.
"He told me to swap the Kingslayer for our sisters, that I'd come south to bring father and the girls home and not to wear a crown and have my arse kissed, or had I?" Robb said and she saw the smirk on her uncle's face.
"You can't, your grace." Edmure said panicked.
"Aye, I know I bloody can't, uncle, it doesn't make it any more wrong though does it? I didn't come for a crown, I came for my family. What use am I if I can't see to their safety first and foremost."
Cat listened as the back and forth began once more, as Robb seemed to waver where before he'd been adamant and she decided it was for the best if she didn't add her own opinion to the discussion. That she wished Sansa and Arya back no matter the cost was well known to her uncle, brother, and her son. Hearing that Jon Snow had actually called Robb out on not seeing it done both annoyed her greatly and brought her satisfaction in equal measure.
How dare he speak to her son that way, the voice in her head cried out. Who does he think he is to speak to a king that way, the voice shouted loudly. Yet both times it was drowned out by another louder voice, he cared not about a crown, or status, or propriety, he cared about her daughters, his sisters, and he was willing to shout down a king because of how much he cared. Cat could respect that much about him if nothing else, just as she as a mother would be willing to and had for her girls, Jon Snow as their brother had done likewise.
"Where is he gone now, Robb?" she asked and saw the smile that quickly appeared on an otherwise sad face.
"To bring them home." Robb said and her heart almost stopped.
She had tuned out the rest of the conversation, her brother calling what Jon Snow was doing a fool's errand while her uncle saying that sometimes one man could do what an army could not. When they'd left she spoke to Robb and offered him what comfort she could give. Then she'd stood beside him as they watched Jon Snow and his companion ride off. The two wolves walked beside them and she looked to Robb who seemed to wish to be riding with them too.
Cat hadn't stayed too long in Riverrun after that, she'd gone to see the Kingslayer once more and then readied her party to ride to Bitterbridge. Each day bringing her closer to Renly Baratheon and further from her children and giving her time to think more and more. Time to reflect on her interactions with Jon Snow and to see them for what they were. She'd never been overly cruel, never struck the boy, or denied him any more than she should. His place at the High Table when Lords would visit and her affections most of all were the height of her actions against him.
Though looking back on it now, she knew how powerful a look could be, how much one could say without words, and how clear she'd made her disdain of his presence clear. She'd sought to see him removed more than once, to be kept from her children more than once, and had even gone so far as to wish him dead more than once. Yet that very same boy had shamed her son and proved more a brother to her girls than he. Bran's letter to her showing that it wasn't only his sister's that Jon cared for in such a manner.
When they reached the Stoney Sept she was surprised to see the village in such decent shape, they'd heard reports of the Lannister's sacking villages and towns and yet it was so far remarkably untouched. They stayed at the Peach, a tavern she thought at first but a brothel she soon found out much to her everlasting shame. She ate and slept and before leaving the next morning had one of the guards take her to the small Sept so she could pray and light a candle.
"I beseech the Mother to give me strength and the Father to give my son wisdom. I beseech the Maiden to look after my girls and the Warrior to give their brother the strength to find and protect them. I beg the Crone to grant him the knowledge to rescue them unharmed and the Smith to give him the tools needed to do so." she said as she lit each of the candles.
She moved to the Stranger and looked up as she lit the candle in front of him, the prayer she offered him was slightly different and much different to the one she'd offered him many years earlier.
"I prayed to you once to take the life of a child, I beg you now please don't grant me that wish. Let him be safe, let him see my girls safe, I beg of you." she said lighting the candle
Cat could only hope her prayers were heard as she left the Sept and continued on her way.
Riverlands 298 AC.
Arthur.
He looked at the man in front of him, the man who was now down on one knee and who was swearing allegiance to a king that only three other men knew about. Lem they'd called him, yet that was not the man's name and Arthur had thought he'd seen a ghost when he'd looked upon Ser Richard Lonmouth once more. Who these other men were he knew not and nor did he care, whatever reasons they had for coming to them were gone now. He was about to say something when he saw Jon look to Ser Richard and then to him and he knew then the wolves were close.
"Your other men, tell them to come out from the trees if you value their lives." Arthur said to Richard.
"Anguy, Harwin." Richard called and an archer and another man came out from amongst the trees.
"Lower your bow." Arthur said and the man did that and then Arthur caught Jon look at the other man.
"Jon? Jon Snow?" Harwin asked and Jon smiled as he looked at him.
"Harwin, it is you, thank the gods." Jon said standing to his feet and Arthur heard the gasps when the men and especially Richard saw the sword, his former friend looking his way and seeing the small nod he gave.
Arthur smiled to see how warmly Jon welcomed Harwin and then looked on as he turned to the others and bid them relax as the wolves came into view. Ghost and Nymeria both walking towards him and licking each of his hands softly.
"Are they? By the gods, look at the size of them. Harwin said.
"Aye, they're not pups anymore." Jon said with a smirk.
They sat around and spoke and Arthur found out that Richard was calling himself Lem Lemoncloak and that these men were part of a Brotherhood without Banners. A group that had been formed out of the remnants of men that had been sent to bring the Mountain to justice, something that should have been done many years ago he felt. When they told them they were camped in some caves nearby, Arthur felt no desire to go speak to them. Yet for some reason Jon did and after Richard assured them of their safety, though the wolves would see to that he knew, they followed them back to the caves.
Arthur finally getting the chance to speak to Richard alone and to find out about the man's own history as they walked with their horses.
"I fell, Arthur, for the longest time after I wasn't even sure who I was, and by the time I knew I was Richard Lonmouth the world was much different place." Richard said showing him the large scar on the back of his head.
"How long?" he asked.
"Almost three years, oh I walked and talked, fought and hunted but I was no one, even these clothes belonged to someone else and so after three years of being Lem Lemoncloak I found I'd no wish to be Ser Richard Lonmouth anymore."
"You could have gone to Essos." he said and Richard laughed though not mirthfully.
"As could you, Arthur." he said and Arthur laughed a little louder and far truer.
"I did, more than once." he said and Richard looked at him surprised.
"I had thought?" Richard said looking to Jon.
"No, I've only been with him for a little over a moon or so." he said.
"Is he, is he truly who I think he is?" Richard asked hopefully.
"Did you not think of that when you knelt?" he asked curiously.
"I believed I was looking at Rhaegar's son and my knees bent before I knew what I was doing." Richard said.
"He's true, Richard, Rhaegar Targaryen the first of his name." he said softly seeing his old friend's smile.
He told him the tale then, of the Tower of Joy and of what had happened after. Watching as his friend grew angry when he spoke of Ned Stark and of him allowing the king to go to the Wall. His friend smiled when he told of him of his mad dash to reach it before Rhaegar could swear his oath and when he spoke of the boy himself he knew for certain they'd not leave as just two men when they departed. Richard Lonmouth would serve Rhaegar Targaryen once more, that much was clear to him as for these others that was still to be known.
"Blackfyre?" Richard asked.
"The Golden Company had it in their possession, in rested in the hands of a Toyne." he said to another laugh from Richard.
"I take it the Toyne breathes no more, Arthur."
"A tale for another time, Richard, and we'll have plenty of time to share them all." he said seeing Richard nod.
The caves the Brotherhood made their camp in were large and comfortable enough, Arthur soon being introduced to the others and finding one, in particular, look their way. Thoros of Myr the man's name was and he stared far too keenly at Jon for his liking. The man was a red priest and Arthur had seen some of his kind before while he was in Essos. As for Jon, he'd found more former Winterfell men and was speaking to them while the two wolves acted as his Kingsguard and kept him more protected than even he could.
"Ser Arthur Dayne, as I live and breath." Thoros said walking his way with another man who wore a bandage around his eye.
"Ser Arthur." the other man said his voice softer and quieter than the red priest's.
"Arthur, Lord Beric Dondarrion the leader of the Brotherhood without Banners." Richard said and Arthur bid the man hello.
"My lord." he said and the man gave him a nod.
"We heard you had died?" Harwin said as he, Jon, and some others came his way.
"Aye, Lord Stark beat you at the Tower of Joy." another man said.
"Did you rise like our lord?" another man called out and Arthur looked at them all confused.
Arthur sat down to tell as much of his tale as he was willing to do and then heard an even stranger one in return. One of a man who'd died and risen to live once more and were it not for Richard's presence, he'd not have believed a word that was being said. He was stunned to find a small boy moving quickly towards him when some others came back from hunting or gathering food, the boy having deep blue eyes and hair as pale and blond as his own.
"Are you really, him?" the boy asked nervously, Arthur surprised to see there were tears in the boy's eyes.
"I am Ser Arthur Dayne." he said and the boy grabbed him in an embrace, Arthur ready to push him away until he heard the words he spoke.
"Uncle, you're my uncle. I'm Ned, Vorian's son." the boy said tearfully, and then Arthur hugged him back.
Lord Beric, it turned out was to marry his sister Allyria and young Ned had been taken on as his squire, Arthur promising the lad he'd not leave until he spoke to him and Beric telling Ned to go get some rest. Once he had, Jon, Harwin, and the others sat around and Arthur saw more than one look to Jon and to Blackfyre which rested on his hip.
"The sword, Ser Arthur, how? Where?" Lord Beric asked and Arthur knew then he had to speak on it.
"A few years ago a friend of mine had a vision of that sword and told me where to find it." Arthur said seeing how Beric and Thoros looked at each other.
"Where?" Jon asked, having not heard the tale yet either.
"Tyrosh."
291 AC.
He felt like he was on a fool's errand, just as he had been the last time he'd come to Essos. Then it was to find he was too late and that they were already gone. Now he was here to find a sword that was in the hands of a man who didn't own it. Howland had been certain though, Blackfyre was here, and though it would be difficult to get, he had come and get it he would. So he'd set sail and arrived to find the city encircled by the Golden Company, the contracts already being signed for the war to come.
As he sat drinking in the tavern's he heard the tales, stories that the Captain-General wielded a famed blade and that soon enough the Golden Company would be facing its greatest threat. Arthur had then done his best to get close to the company and the man and found to his dismay that he wasn't welcome near either. So days had turned to weeks and he'd all but given up. Then the Dothraki had arrived and he knew then he had one chance to see this done. Riding out to speak to the Khal who led it and hoping the translator he'd brought was good and true.
That he was welcomed by the Khal was no doubt due to the blade he bore, Dawn drawing ever appreciative eyes and he offered the Khal his blade for the fight to come under one condition. He was unsurprised to be tested and whether or not the man was a gifted warrior among the Khalasar or a sacrificial lamb he couldn't be sure. Only that he died quickly and his Arahk never even came close to Arthur's chest.
"The Khal says he will accept your offer to fight by his side Arthur the Andal, he will see your blade the color of the moon goddess is covered in the red blood of his enemies and should you face this man of the Black Heart and beat him, then his blade is yours to keep." the translator said and Arthur nodded.
"Tell the great Khal Bharbo that I look forward to drenching my blade in the blood of the Golden Men." he said seeing the Khal laugh when the translator did as he bid.
Riding with a Dothraki Horde was a once in a lifetime opportunity and he felt a poor horseman in comparison. The men charging and firing their arrows and the Golden Company standing and holding firm. He saw the banner with the skulls, heard the roar of the elephants as they charged and diverted from his direction, and headed to the flowing Blackheart banner. Dawn sang as it cut through people, men who'd expected to face Dothraki not able to match the charge of his horse and not expecting any to attack this way.
When he reached the tent he saw the man's eyes light up when he saw the white of his sword and the purple stars on his Kingsguard armor. Then three men came his way and Dawn dispatched them all with ease, Arthur sidestepping and swinging at the same time, each swing of his sword taking a man's life as he moved closer to Ser Myles Toyne.
"Dayne." the Blackheart shouted.
"Toyne." he shouted back.
Dawn crashed against Blackfyre and Arthur wondered if Barristan had faced a truer foe when he'd face Ser Simon Toyne when they'd been dispatched to end the Kingswood's brotherhood's reign of terror. Not that it made much of a difference as very soon it became clear that not only did Ser Myles not own the sword he wielded, he didn't deserve to wield such a blade at all. Arthur taking first the arm that held the sword and then the head of the man who'd dare to wield it. He picked up the blade of kings and looked around ready for more to fight, looking on as the battle reached its end.
There would be no winner here this day, both sides suffering equally in defeat and later on, he'd find out that Bharbo himself had fallen. Arthur though melted away, taking his horse and riding off and soon taking the first ship back to Westeros that he could. He had the sword now and all that remained was for the king to come and claim it and Arthur could only hope that would be soon.
Now.
Though he'd told them the tale, he'd left some parts out, his waiting for the king he'd share with Jon and Richard at a later time, instead, he looked on as people seemed awed by what he did when in truth he'd not did much at all. He'd killed less than half a dozen men that day, poor fighters each of them, and he had earned no glory in doing so. Though it had not been that he'd gone there for and so he'd cared not for anything other than the end result. Seeing the sword now resting on the hip of the one true king was glory enough for him.
After the others had taken to their beds, Richard had sat with him some more. His old friend asking him more and more questions that he answered as best he could before Richard then took out a crumpled letter from inside his shirt.
"Rhaegar gave this to me before the battle, it's the last song he ever wrote." Richard said sadly as Arthur looked at the paper and then at Jon who still slept soundly between the two wolves nearby.
Opening it up he read it and felt the tears ready to fall, handing it back to Richard and motioning to Jon.
"Give it to him when he awakes, tell him what it is." he said and Richard nodded.
"Will you take me with you when you leave, is there a place for me by his side?" Richard asked, Arthur, seeing the desperate look in his eyes.
"There is great danger where we go Richard, more so than you face here. I'll see him crowned no matter the cost." he said and Richard nodded "Then it'll be good to ride with you once more old friend." he said reaching out his hand and gripping the other man's hand firmly.
Riverlands 298 AC.
Jon Snow.
Finding Harwin and Alyn amongst these men was a welcome surprise and when he told them both that he'd spoken to Robb and what he was planning to do, he received warm looks and well wishes from each of them. Lem Lemoncloak though was a strange one to him, the man had knelt and called him your grace and seemed very friendly with Arthur too. He looked over to him constantly as well and Jon knew that he had to have been connected to his father in some way. What way exactly or what that meant from now on, that much he didn't know for now at least.
The strangest of them all though was the man who led the Brotherhood and who all he'd spoken to had said came back from death itself, him and the man who supposedly had brought him back. Both of them spent far too much time looking his way and only the wolves not seeming to think them a danger had kept him relaxed when they did so. That almost everyone wished to look at his sword was not a surprise, though the young boy he'd found out was Arthur's nephew was far more interested in Dawn, which was something he could understand.
His sleep that night was disturbed, it wasn't a dream of the silver-haired shadow and instead the ones of the dragon that came his way. Jon trying what Arthur had said and felt both welcome and not, as he was almost forced from the dragon's mind. It was as if he was allowed entry but only to a point and he didn't know if he was being refused forever or just for now. What he did know was that if the dragon wasn't real, if it truly didn't exist then this was the oddest feeling he'd ever felt. The size, the movements, the view from what was clearly the sky, the confinement of being in a cave, all of it feeling far more real to him than all but the silver-haired shadow dreams and the dreams he had of Ghost.
"Wake up." he heard the voice say and he looked up to see the bearded face of Thoros of Myr leaning over him, Ghost and Nymeria resting comfortably on either side of him and neither making a move to stop the red pries from waking him.
"What? Has something happened? Is something wrong?" he asked and Thoros chuckled and shook his head.
"It's time to look into the fire." Thoros said and Jon looked at him as if he was mad.
"What?"
"The answers you seek are in the fire." another voice said and he looked to ser Lord Beric sitting facing him.
He was about to call them both mad but something made him stop and he looked to see the fire that was burning a little way behind the lord. Nodding his head he got up and followed Thoros over and looked to the man seeking an explanation of some sort, only to find him just looking into the flames. Shaking his head, Jon moved closer and looked deep into the fire too, feeling a fool for doing so until the flames began to change and the vision soon became clear.
The camp was large and the girl moved amongst the men who sat around it, the pouch in her hand heavy as she filled mug after mug. Her hair was cut short and she was dressed as a boy but her eyes, the way she moved, and then the full view of her face when the moon caught it marked her out as his little sister. Another girl was screaming as she was being dragged away by some of the men and the man who then moved in front of Arya was the largest he'd ever seen.
Then they were riding and once again they stopped and made camp, this time the trees around them offering them cover. Jon could see her, laying on the ground shivering and scared, and then it was as if he was flying once more. Looking down on the area surrounding the woods and seeing the road and what lay around it even more clearly. Higher he seemed to fly and he was traveling overland and then the sea, which direction he was going in not one he was sure about but it seemed as if he was heading north.
The cave was dark and yet he felt the need to see what was inside, looking on as he saw himself walking in, and then he was looking through what he assumed was his own eyes. Soon his eyes weren't the only ones he saw as a set of larger almost bright yellow eyes came out of the darkness and he reached his hand out to feel the warmth of something brushing up against him. The dragon's head finally visible as it rubbed up against him and the noise it made sounding happy to his ears.
Almost as soon as it had appeared, the vision was soon gone and Jon was left looking into the fire and seeing nothing but the flames that were there. He turned to Thoros and Beric and found both men looking at him intently, the red priest even more so than the lord.
"You saw?" Thoros asked eagerly and Jon nodded.
"The dragon, you saw the black dragon?" Beric asked.
"I did."
He watched as both men look at each other and then he looked on in shock as the two of them took a knee. Jon not sure what to make of it and only the fact Arthur had woken and that he and Lem were coming over to him stopped him from fleeing in his confusion. The presence of his Kingsguard almost making him feel that this was right and as if this was the start of things.
"The Brotherhood is yours, my prince." Beric said.
"Where you lead we will follow, Rhaegar." Thoros said and Jon turned to Arthur who looked both worried and pleased at the same time.
"Did you see the same as me?" he asked and both men nodded.
"Aye." Lord Beric said.
"The girl and the Black Dragon." Thoros said making it clear they'd seen it all.
"It's to the girl that we ride." Jon said and both men hurried off to make preparations for their departure.
As soon as they were moving away from him Jon turned to an inquisitive looking Arthur and began to explain all he'd seen, Lem looking on curiously as he did so. Once he was done, Arthur told him the truth of who Lem really was, and once again the man was on his knees, this time swearing his blade and his life in service to the one true king. It was overwhelming and yet at the same time gratifying to know that there were men willing to do so just based on the name he carried. That he and Arthur had started out alone and now had men willing to fight alongside them and finding his sisters and seeing to their release suddenly feeling a more realistic proposition.
Over fifty men rode out from the caves that day, riding hard and heading North as Jon sent Ghost and Nymeria on ahead of them to scout the way. He offered up a prayer to the old gods that he'd find her soon and that she'd be unharmed and he swore to make any who caused her pain suffer.
"I'm coming little sister." he said as the horse rode fast.
Skagos 298.
Many years ago when he'd been a hatchling he'd felt how he did now. The world was new and full of possibilities and he like his brothers and sisters would soon be complete. He'd fly the sky with his bonded and together they'd see different lands or fly over seas and lakes. They'd explore as much of this world as they could and share everything with each other as only a dragon and its bonded could.
As the years went on and he began to realize that his bonded had not yet been born, his first reaction had been anger and so he had lashed out without meaning to. Later this had changed to sadness and then over time that sadness only grew as he realized that while there was a rider out there for him, the time for them to be together wasn't now. Things had changed for him once he'd known this, his priority had been to survive, to wait as long as was needed for his rider to come, and to survive meant that he needed magic and more of it than he had.
So he had tried to find it anywhere he could. He'd flown back to their home and though the magic there was strong, it was corrupted too and he knew that if he stayed too long alone then he too would be as broken and damaged as that place now was. Only while bonded could he withstand the darkest of its magic's, only together could they travel the lands of their home and not be devoured by it. He'd flown further then, on to the east, and had felt places that had magic in them too. Some had strengthened him and some he'd avoided after feeling the same corruption he'd felt in their home.
One day he'd come back to these places her knew, though that day was many years in the future and he wouldn't be alone when he did so. On and on he flew and he grew stronger and yet not strong enough, finally turning and flying West once more. The magic was stronger here, where the dragons roamed freest of all and he felt the need, the desire, and then finally the call to do what needed to be done. He had to become what he must in order to be ready for his rider when their time was upon them.
It had been needed.
Necessary.
They would never have hatched.
He told himself many things to justify what he'd done to the eggs, but soon even their magic was not enough and that was when The Cannibal was truly born.
Flying through the air he tried not to remember all he'd done just to be here now. He tried not to think about the lives he'd ended until he found that the dead worked just as well if not better. He thought instead about his rider and how fir the first time a rider was trying to reach out to him just as he was trying to reach out to his rider. He'd felt him, in his head he'd felt him and he was almost certain now that this could only be true. That he had waited long enough and the time was soon to be upon him. His rider was soon to call out his name and the skies were to be their playground.
A/N: Thanks to all who've read and reviewed. Up Next Jon learns things about his father from Ser Richard and receives a gift in the shape of his father's final written words. Robb makes plans and feels regret. Dany finds out the warning about the warlocks was an apt one and has a vision. Sansa suffers in King's Landing and Jon, Arthur and the Brotherhood catch up with the Mountain's Men.
Santosriviera: Me alegro mucho de que te haya gustado.
Daryl Dixon: So happy you liked it.
Guest: So glad you liked it.
The sphinx: I look forward to reading it.
Suppes: Glad you enjoyed it.
Lex: I thought of going further back, and I have a Jonerys to come in the future which does so, but I like the idea of the change here, and sometimes with my stories I find the premise in a single scene and it spreads out from that. Here it was the idea of Jon arguing with Robb over not swapping Jaime for his sisters. Tbh, up until that point, Robb being named king, there really isn't too much different I think Jon being there brings to things unless you go with a Jon seeking an alliance with Marge story or a Jon heading to Essos early story.
What I will say is there will be ripples from the actions we've seen, some you see little elements of here.
Germnan: The only issue with Jon/Cat agreeing may have been that because it was coming from Jon perhaps Cat may have wondered if there was an angle to him bringing it up. I did think of Robb saying it but I felt that he'd not bring his mother up with Jon given what their relationship was like and so I hope you like how it's in Cat's mind here instead. As you see here though Cat is changing her own views on Jon and Jon I don't think would have ever turned Cat away if she made it clear she was willing to overlook how she saw him.
Here it's a ripple and so we'll see how it plays out.
Hunterofaremis: I wanted to bring in a full-grown dragon early and when Cannibal makes his appearance people are going to be shocked.
Denoltdn: I partly went with the name to keep all the different Jon characters in my stories separate and partly we never really see him named after his father which is odd.
Jeffs: So glad you enjoyed it.
Daspeedforce: Glad you liked it.
Fireking: I felt it was different, by the end I'll either hate it or love it lol, we'll see I do have an interesting opening for Cannibal here.
Carolus: Thanks so much for saying that, I hope you like it when he arrives, it won't be too long until the Cannibal is flying over Westeros.
Guest: It's the best I could manage, so hopefully in time it'll get to quicker updates.
DoRodrigo: Thanks so very much.
Ymere: Cannibal is pretty much described exactly like that, I do wonder about the sword myself, I had always thought Jon would wield Dark Sister, that he'd find it at the wall and it would be the sword that would kill the NK, but then they give him Longclaw and it makes you think that he's getting Blackfyre instead.
Curt: So glad you liked it.
Dievalgo: So glad you feel that way, I wanted to do something with Cannibal for a while and I have interesting lore I want to play with, we'll see him and Jon together soon.
Pein: Thanks so very much for your kind words.
Guest: Thank you, I wanted to do something more canon time frame but needed to find the right hook to start and something that could change things rather than just follow everything that happened, so we'll see ripples spread out form events that we see.
Dunk: Jon kinda in his anger with Robb wasn't thinking as clearly as he should, now Robb will and has people around him who are and so we'll see effects from what Jon said to him anyway. We'll see more of Cannibal as we go yes. Hope this answers Cat to a point here, she'll not be antagonistic and I hope to make her realistic given the changes, Jon's actions have caused her to look differently which we'll see how that works out. Cat's presence beside Robb in canon actually hurt far more than it helped and not simply because of anything specific to her being Cat, more to her being his mother and him accepting her counsel publicly. Jon is both coming to terms with it and more focussed on finding his sisters, you see it here, his sisters, then the crown, and so he didn't want to take anything away from that.
Bloodline: Given it was about his sisters, yes he is. Oh, that time is coming too, don't worry, Jon has no doubts about his bloodline here.
Xand007: Thank you, my friend. The road to being king is a tough one, a dragon will help greatly though. It's funny, had Ned and Cat both been sent to the Wall then perhaps the whole story would have a happier ending lol.
Harsh Rj: So very glad you enjoyed it. If it was possible I would, for now, it'll be monthly but maybe in the future.
Lady Octarina: I always wonder that too, if he'd have just had a reason to then everything is different, I've no doubt the main reason Aemon is blind by that time is so GRRM can hold the R+L=J for longer. On the name, again the grief thing is one of the key factors for me, if she named him just before she died, I'd much more expect Rhaegar than Aegon be what she called him.
I Can't not with Arthur, I've said before he's my fave what if character, him being alive just changes everything, even where he not with Jon, him being with Dany would have been awesome too. I came so close to writing that scene, having him charge in, and then figured the timeline of having him and Jon ride south just doesn't work unless he either arrives when Jon is there or meets him how he did.
One of the other things was given Jon the reason to leave, even after knowing the truth, he may still have sworn his oath just to save his family being hurt because of the danger he posed, he's far too bloody noble at that point. But not swearing his oath after the war has started, yeah if he hadn't when he received the news which made him run in canon, then he'd have not had to go back at all, so that seemed the best starting point.
Xan Merrick: Really glad you liked it.
Hartley Skarsgard: Thank you, hope it proves to be so.
Creativo: Pensé en muchos otros nombres y tanto para mantenerlo separado en mi cabeza como para ser diferente sentí que esto funcionaba mejo.
Weber Code: It will update monthly.
Vyvoom: Very glad you enjoyed it.
Literary Consumer: So glad you liked it.