It's been a slower week this week for House of the Dragon news, but hype from my part is still way up there and the days are genuinely dragging slowly until the first episode airs. The two chapters after this will have some references to that era, but nothing major.
Onto this chapter though, and it's a long one again finally, pushing its way to the second longest in the entire story and bumping it to 200,000 words! This chapter bridges the Season 4/5 gap with the new year happening in the middle of the chapter. Some of the dialogue is borrowed from Season 4 Episode 10. I'm also incorporating what I believe the glass balls in the House of the Dragon trailer represent. I may be wrong in a couple of weeks, but it's an idea I really like. That might be a bit of a running theme as the show gets released, because this is a Targaryen show after all so Targaryen lore has a big place here.
I own nothing that comes from any of the books or Game of Thrones. Those rights belong to George R R Martin and/or HBO.
The cavalry charge was far too much for the Wildlings to handle, and the men of Westeros carved through those few that tried to put up a fight so easily that Luke had barely broken a sweat through the effort, although it hadn't been without loss. Before his army had made it to the treeline the older of the two giants facing them had made for the Dornish, and by the time Luke had raced towards them to help Trystane Martell was dead, his body crumpled and flattened having been crushed by the beast.
Hence the Targaryen King was angered as he made his way towards the Wildling's main camp escorted by Jon Snow and his Kingsguard. The young Martell Prince hadn't only been betrothed to his sister, but he was the last of Prince Doran's children and a potential succession crisis was the last thing that Luke wanted.
They were deep in the forest by the time they reached a tent. Dozens of hardy men in furs and beards were blocking the entrance, though one man stood prouder than the rest, who were glaring at Luke and his entourage nervously.
"That's Mance Rayder." Jon said from beside the Targaryen, nodding towards the proud man in the middle with the dark hair.
The King-Beyond-the-Wall looked angrily towards the Bastard of Winterfell. "I see you've picked up your black cloak again, Jon Snow." He almost spat.
Jon didn't react. "We're here to accept your surrender." The Night's Watch brother stated. "This is King Lucerys, of the House Targaryen."
"I know who you are." Mance Rayder said bluntly. "Those rubies in your chest mean we can see you for miles." The Wildling shook his head. "No, we won't surrender. We'll keep coming until the last man if we have to, whatever it takes to get over that Wall of yours."
"We can at least negotiate." Luke told him. "I know what you want, and I know what's coming. Let us discuss a way to end this pointless fighting and come together to face that."
Mance raised an eyebrow. "You cannot know, not truly, not unless you've seen."
"Jon has told me enough." Luke explained quickly. "And I dreamed…" He trailed off.
To Luke's surprise, the Wildling King's eyes widened in surprise. "What did you dream?"
"Who gives a fuck about King Kneeler's dreams?" One of the Wildling's scoffed.
"Careful with your words." Ser Rolly snarled beside Luke.
Mance however held his hand up to stop any arguments from brewing, leaving Luke impressed at the control the man had given the stories he'd heard about these people. "I've heard stories about your family's dreams… are you one of them? A dragon dreamer?"
"Not to the extent of some of my more famous ancestors." Luke quickly played down. "But like most in my line, I've dreamt things that have happened."
Mance nodded. "And you've dreamt of the White Walkers?"
A chill seemed to settle in the air around them at the name, and Luke gulped. "Not so much… I remember seeing a castle exploding into blue flames. My brother knew something though, he tried to manipulate things to combat whatever is out there and failed through his own actions. Perhaps together we can right those mistakes and come to an agreement?"
Silence fell over the two groups for what seemed like an age, until Mance Rayder nodded his head. "Come inside, Lucerys Targaryen. We have a lot to talk about…"
Other than Luke and Jon, Ser Barristan was the only one in the Targaryen's party that was allowed entry to the tent without more threats of violence. Luke waited for the old knight to take a look around the basic tent before receiving the nod to show that it was clear, and the silver-haired King then took his offered seat, with Jon sat beside him.
"It seems my trusting nature got the better of me. It's happened before. I was hoping your loyalty was real when you pledged yourself to us, Jon Snow, truly I was." Mance spoke to the man dressed in the black of the Night's Watch as he sat himself down opposite them across a table.
Jon took a moment before replying. "The Halfhand ordered me to join your army and bring back whatever information I could to Castle Black. He made me kill him so you'd trust me." He explained to Luke's surprise. While he knew of Jon's brief desertion, he didn't know any major details other than about his tryst with the archer woman that shot Valaxes. "I was loyal, to him and to my Night's Watch vows." Jon continued.
Mance raised an eyebrow amusedly. "All of your vows?" He asked. "She wasn't enough to turn you, eh? Were you enough to turn her?"
Jon breathed out an amused chuckle. "She put three arrows in me when I escaped."
Mance seemed to like that. "Did you see her again at Castle Black?"
Jon's amused smile dropped. "That attack never happened. The King here caught up with them on his first trip to the Wall some months ago. We've kept the survivors in the Ice Cells ever since." He told Mance, though at the King-Beyond-the-Wall's pointed look he added. "Ygritte's alive."
It wasn't obvious, but Luke noticed Mance's shoulders lift a bit in relief. "And Tormund? Styr? Orell?"
"Tormund lives." Jon said, falling silent after that.
Mance nodded, understanding as he turned to Luke. "Styr was the Magnar of the Thenn's. A fierce warrior that nobody liked."
"The cannibal?" Luke asked, remembering. Mance nodded. "He ended up as dragon food."
Mance scowled for a moment, but couldn't contain himself as he snorted a laugh. "I never liked the Thenn's either, but while the Others are coming, they're my people too."
"One of them was a warg, right?" Luke explained. Mance nodded. "Gave me this." Luke pointed to his left eye, above which a scar had formed from the owl attack.
"You'll never forget us." Mance acknowledged with a smirk. "We have more wargs if need be. More men to attack the Wall."
The light conversation had abruptly ended, Luke noted, as they settled in for what they were there for. "It would be a waste of life, and a waste of manpower."
"Will you let us through then?" Mance asked pointedly.
"I don't have that power." Luke explained. "The Night's Watch is outside of my Kingdom."
"And yet if it wasn't for you coming to the aid of the Night's Watch, I would be in what you call the North already." Mance countered. "Ser Alliser is in command, no?" Jon nodded. "I know him, he's a Targaryen bootlicker. If you snapped your fingers, he would come running faster than a hound."
Luke leant back in his chair, bringing his hand up to stroke his chin in thought. "And say I do push the Night's Watch. That sets a precedent I do not wish to set. I will put forward my requests and make a case to help you, Rayder, you have my word on that."
"I don't know you." Mance countered again. "Your word means nothing to me when you walk in here with a traitor to my people."
"I am no traitor, Mance." Jon bit back. "I kept my oath to the Watch."
"You broke your oath and you wore our colours." Mance spat back, before turning back to Luke. "You say you know what is coming for us, why hesitate?"
Luke leant forwards, calmly placing a clenched fist on the table. "Do not mistake my patience for hesitation." The King spoke slowly and coldly. "For my plan to work, I need the Watch's approval. It will be their lands you settle in, their walls you pass under. Their castle's you man…"
"Castles?" Jon was the one to ask that question.
Luke nodded. "Your people all want to flee the threat, no?" He asked Mance.
"Aye."
"Then if I get an agreement with the Watch, you will need places to stay that can also help defend the Wall." Luke explained. "You know more about the Walker's than I do, can you honestly say that they will simply march towards the area with the most men? What if they try and pass the Wall through an abandoned castle, wouldn't it be better to man as many as we can?"
"The Watch will be hard pressed to accept this…" Jon trailed off.
"You would give us castles?" Mance asked, amusedly.
Luke shook his head. "I would allow you to man castles as if you were members of the Night's Watch, without the celibacy or lifelong servitude vows." He turned to Jon. "What's your vow, word for word?"
"Night gathers and now my watch begins." He started quickly. "It shall not end until my death. I shall take no wife, hold no lands, father no children. I shall wear no crowns and win no glory. I shall live and die at my post. I am the sword in the darkness. I am the watcher on the walls. I am the fire that burns against the cold, the light that brings the dawn, the horn that wakes the sleepers, the shield that guards the realms of men. I pledge…"
"That's it." Luke interrupted. "The shield that guards the realms of men. For too long perhaps that part has been misunderstood. We're all men here, are we not? Shouldn't that mean that those that man the Wall should be shielding all of us?"
"What are you saying?" Mance asked.
Luke took a breath. "I shall put it to the Watch and the Lords of the North that you will be welcomed South of the Wall to man the abandoned castles. When the time comes, we all unite and fight alongside one another. In return, you shall all abide by the laws of Westeros."
"We do not kneel, to you nor any man." Mance told him warningly.
Luke, frustratedly, slammed his fist on the table. "I don't need you to kneel!" He roared out in frustration. "I need you to fight alongside me when the time comes! I need you to stop raping and stealing women so that you don't incite more fighting and death when we need to work together!" He took a deep breath, calming himself down. "Live by the laws of the land and no problems will arise. We shall fight and win together, defeating the White Walker's and whatever else is out there that you are so afraid of. Agree to my terms yet fail to live by my laws, betraying my trust? You shall share in your Thenn's fate and I shall feed you all to Valaxes."
"And if we refuse?" Mance asked.
Luke scowled. "Then the Wall shall be closed to you, and your corpses shall litter the ground beneath it. I have already lost a friend today by your army, Rayder. Do not test my generosity, you shall only receive it the once."
Mance nodded his head, mulling it over. "If the Watch disagrees…"
"I will put across my case very persuasively." Luke interrupted.
"A Lord Commander must be chosen soon." Jon took over. "The decision will rest with them."
Mance scoffed. "Denys Mallister would sooner see us all die if he is chosen. Thorne is no different."
"I can handle Thorne." Luke insisted. "As you say, he's still a Targaryen loyalist at heart and keeps trying to lick my boots when he has a moment."
"And the North? I don't want to have my focus aimed at the North only to be buggered by an Umber." Mance added.
Jon looked at Luke for a moment. "I will speak to my brother. He knows the dangers too." The bastard said.
"This is still all speculation." Mance sighed. "But I will take it to my people, or what's left of them. Some will refuse, they'll want to fight. The enmity between us and the crows runs deep."
"The other option is death." Luke said sternly. "See to it that they understand that. Be that by fire, or by ice. By my hands, or the White Walkers."
"Aye, I know." Mance rolled his eyes. "What happens now?"
"The fighting stops." Luke explained. "If your men attack the Wall between now and when we next speak, the deal is off and you will have declared war anew. I will send an envoy to you when it is time."
"And if it doesn't work? If the kneelers are too stubborn?" Mance asked
It was the situation that Luke didn't even want to think about. "Then we'll sit down and come up with a solution that doesn't involve the Night's Watch. But that will take longer and a lot more agreements than I can get at the Wall."
Mance Rayder took a minute to mull it over, before nodded. "Aye, you've got yourself a fortnight." He said firmly. "If I haven't heard from you by then, the deal is off and I'll come for that Wall."
Luke held his hand out, and allowed the Wildling to shake it. "You can try." He smirked, pleased with the discussion that had taken place, although as he and Mance Rayder finalised their truce, the Targaryen realised that the difficult part of negotiations was yet to come.
Just like the last time that Luke had travelled Northwards, Margaery found herself sat in his chair at the Small Council meetings. This time however a second new face joined them, as Daenerys Targaryen had sat herself in the usual seat of the Master of Ships, Lord Velaryon.
"We have had a raven from Eastwatch." Her great-uncle was saying. "The King arrived and left in the same day, pushing on to Castle Black."
Jon Connington pursed his lips. "He should be at Castle Black already then." He surmised. "With any luck the battle will soon be over and the King shall be returned to us. Thank you, Grand Maester, at some point today you should send a raven to Castle Black requesting an update."
Gormon simply bowed his head in acknowledgement. "There is one more raven that came in overnight, Lord Hand. From the Eyrie."
Margaery felt herself stiffen at the castle name. The troubles in the Vale had been one of the thorns in Luke's side during his brief return, knowing that the mountainous region was the only one in Westeros that hadn't bent to his rule as of yet. She also noticed the other occupants of the room lean in, interested. "What does the message say, Grand Maester?" Margaery asked politely.
The chained Tyrell reached into his robes and pulled out the parchment, with a broken brown seal. "It is from Lord Royce." He handed it over to Jon Connington.
"Lord Royce writes from the Eyrie." Connington stated. "A small group of Arryn loyalists had a change of heart, and a coup led by the Maester and the Captain of the Guards, Ser Marwyn Belmore, captured Lady Lysa and opened the gates to the Lords Declarant. Lord Arryn is in the care of Lord Royce, and Lady Lysa is in custody."
Margaery grinned, and she noticed her father was applauding from his seat. "Excellent news!" Mace Tyrell exclaimed.
"He asks what the King wishes to do." Jon finished off, unimpressed at the Warden of the South."
"We burn her." Daenerys stated coldly, and Margaery turned to her goodsister in horror. "She refused to bend the knee and kept the Vale out of the fold on the words of her traitorous lover having previously committed mariticide. For the murder of Jon Arryn, she must die."
"Agreed." Prince Oberyn stated. "I will never mourn Jon Arryn, but he was a Lord Paramount and a Warden of the East. Such a rank cannot be murdered without death being the punishment."
Margaery didn't agree however as she saw the fallout that could come from such drastic action. "We should not be hasty, My Lords." She began. "Lady Lysa is not only the mother of Lord Arryn, but she is a Tully, with sibling links to both the ruling Houses of the Riverlands and the North. Do we want to anger that northern alliance in such a way? Have her brought to King's Landing and tried properly by all means, but we should look to be merciful. If we imprison her here then we have a hostage against House Arryn, Tully and even Stark."
"She murdered a High Lord, Your Grace." Daenerys looked perplexed. "She refused the summons of our King, your husband. That is treason in itself. You would have us look weak and allow such a woman to live?"
"I would have us not risk yet another war." Margaery countered. "The King has stated many a time that he has no reason to war with the North and that they would seriously consider rebelling if they felt slighted by him so soon after bending the knee. I would not give them reason to do so."
Dany sighed. "This sends a message that despite loyalties in the Rebellion, justice will be dealt out to all that break the law. Around this table we have only Houses that fought for my father in the Usurper's rebellion. If we make a show of dealing out justice for a rebel House, that could go a long way…"
"Or the killing of a Tully could lead to more unnecessary fighting." Margaery felt like she was repeating. "Lady Lysa must be punished, on that we agree, but in a way that prevents more death."
"I have heard enough." Jon Connington stated. He thought to himself for a moment, before rising and moving over to a cabinet at the side of the room, picking out some objects. "We are but a council whilst the King is away, and while as Hand and Regent I could pull rank and make a decision for us all or put it off to wait for the King, we do not know how long he will be away for sorting out the issues in the North." He began placing small dishes in front of each Small Council member and handing them a glass ball that was white on one half and dark on the other. "The regency councils of old used these to cast votes whenever a decision was split." He explained. "Use the white side if you agree with the Queen that we should show mercy and hold Lady Lysa hostage, the black if you believe we should execute her."
Margaery was quick to place the white side of the ball up in her dish, and was grateful to see that both the other Tyrell's in the council had done so too, along with Varys. Daenerys and Prince Oberyn were the only ones that had advocated for execution, and Margaery felt relief flow through her body.
"This is a mistake." Daenerys shook her head.
"And yet the council has voted." Jon Connington stated bluntly, having not yet voted. "Grand Maester, pen a letter back to the Eyrie. Lord Royce and the other Lords and Ladies of the Vale are to travel to King's Landing to swear fealty to King Lucerys, and they should bring both Lord Arryn and Lady Lysa with them."
The Grand Maester was noting all of that down when from the end of the table, Varys spoke up for the first time in that meeting. "And what of Lord Baelish?"
A silence fell over the table then as everyone thought on that. "He needs to die." Oberyn stated.
Margaery found herself nodding to that. "Lord Baelish started a war and conspired to murder Jon Arryn." She agreed. "He's a minor Lord, nobody would complain with his death."
"I want no ceremony." Jon Connington said firmly. "Prince Oberyn, tell Ser Jon Lothston that he'll be needed in the morning. Do it in the dungeons and have the body quickly burned."
Varys had a wry smile on his face. "His ashes should be spread along the Street of Silk."
Oberyn snorted and Mace went red as he held in a laugh, but the unflappable Jon Connington simply nodded. "Find one of his whores to do the honours, but it shall not be royally sanctioned." He explained. "Is that all?"
Margaery had nothing to add and was starting to get eager to return to Aegon, so the Queen was grateful when the meeting was drawn to a close, happy that she had managed to avert a potential crisis caused by more Targaryen bloodlust.
Yohn Royce was starting to feel his age. The Eyrie wasn't a place for an old man to be when winter was so close, yet for the past year and a half he had been camped outside of the fortress of House Arryn laying siege, something that the Lord of Runestone never thought that he would ever need to do.
Lord Jon had been a friend as well as a leader and every time the Bronze Yohn thought on the Arryn's death he grew that little bit angrier. That it had taken so long to contain the mad trout still rankled with him, and as Yohn hauled himself out of bed and put on a light brown tunic with the runes of his House detailing the clothing, he hoped that he could be the one to throw her out of the Moon Door.
Today was execution day, as all of the guards that had stayed at Lysa Arryn's side until the very end were being given the choice of the Wall or death, and after breaking his fast Yohn sat himself down in the Weirwood Throne and the long process of offering former guardsmen their choice began. Yohn would have the prisoners stand on the Moon Door and their crimes read out before offering them the choice. If they chose the Wall then they were escorted out towards the dungeons, but if they chose death then he would simply nod to the pair of his own guards that were manning the wheel, and those men would plunge to their deaths when the moon door opened, before it was shut again and the next man would be brought in.
Around an hour into this process Yohn spotted Maester Coleman enter the High Hall and begin to rise the steps up towards him. Thinking something was wrong he gestured for the Maester to come closer, and listened as Coleman whispered in his ear. "A raven from King's Landing, My Lord." Coleman stated, handing Yohn a message with the dragon seal firmly unbroken.
Yohn snapped it open and unfurled the message, reading the writings of the Grand Maester explaining the death of Littlefinger, as well as ordering him and his Vale allies to King's Landing to swear fealty, along with Lord Arryn and his mother. Grimacing that he wouldn't be the one to dispense justice for his friend, Yohn simply nodded the once before his booming voice filled the room. "Fetch Lady Lysa."
Ten minutes and one more execution later, the Tully woman was in front of him, staring up angrily. "You have no right to that chair! That chair is for the Lord of the Vale or his Protector!"
"And I am now Lord Protector." Yohn countered coldly and loudly over the winds of the unshut moon door.
Lysa shook her head. "No, no, Petyr is Lord Protector. You are a traitor!" She cried up at him.
Yohn was bored of her whining already. "Your plots have failed, My Lady. Lord Robin will be raised by the Lords Declarant while you have been summoned to King's Landing to face your crimes and be judged by the King. Lord Baelish has already faced judgement and has been executed."
Her high-pitched wail would live long in Yohn's memory, as the Tully woman sunk to her knees in a hideous cry. Yohn winced at the noise before he gestured for his guards to take Lysa away. Unforeseen by the Royce Lord however, was the fact that as she was dragged back to her feet, Lysa Arryn punched out at the guard knocking him back, before his former Lady screamed out and jumped forwards, through the moon door.
Yohn leapt out of the chair and all of his weight was leaning on the balcony as he watched Lysa fall out of view. "Shut that thing!" He barked, and his men rushed to close the moon door, with the noise of the winds dying down into a shocked silence.
After a while of nobody having any clue on what to say, Maester Coleman turned to a wide-eyed Yohn and asked. "What do we do?"
"Write back to King's Landing." Yohn said slowly as a plan was forming in his mind. "Explain that Lysa Tully chose to end her own life rather than face judgement, and that the Vale has accepted that as a confession of guilt. We must now prepare for the evacuation of the Eyrie down to the Gates of the Moon, and after that we shall appear before the King and swear our fealty to him." He looked down at the group of gathered Lords. "Are we in agreement?" They all nodded, and Yohn felt relief fill him. "Then, Maester Coleman, have birds sent to Riverrun and Winterfell explaining the same thing. Her siblings should be aware."
Coleman bowed deeply. "I will see to it at once, My Lord." He said, before rushing back to get the ravens sent out.
Yohn felt like he needed a break, but the line of guards requiring judgement was still backing out of the High Hall. The Lord Protector of the Vale instead leant back in the famed Weirwood throne and took a deep breath before he called out. "Next prisoner!"
304 AC
With the survivors from the Wildling assault at the Wall Castle Black was already filled with more people than it had needed to cater for in centuries, but one of the first things that Robb Stark had done since the agreement of truce had been to summon his Northernmost Lords to Castle Black to have their voices in the discussions. That had born a surprise for both Robb and Jon as among the Umber group was a trio of unexpected guests. Luke had simply watched from atop the wooden walkway staring down at the courtyard as Rickon Stark was revealed by the hulking Greatjon, and it was a smile that filled the Targaryen's face as he watched the Stark reunion alongside the Direwolf reunion beside it.
While away from Rickon, Jon had also been busy as the Night's Watch prepared for its first election in almost 16 years as a brand-new year was ushered in. Luke had marked the first day in silent prayer in the Castle Black sept, looking to the Gods on the anniversary of Aegon the Conqueror's crowning. All he came back with was the thought that he was doing the right thing, and he would make sure that he got his way.
The first week of the truce was the slowest, as those at the Wall were just waiting for the Northern Lords and the men of the Night's Watch from other castles to converge on Castle Black, so when the final Northerner, Lord Bolton, arrived the day after the delegations from Eastwatch and the Shadow Tower Luke finally felt happy that they could get somewhere as the two gatherings began simultaneously. The Night's Watch secluded themselves in the mess hall as their elections began, whilst Luke had offered to host Robb Stark and his bannermen in his spacious chambers, with seats set out in a circle so everybody had an equal say. The first to arrive was Dacey Mormont, the heir to Bear Island had already been at Castle Black so her Lady Mother had decreed that she could speak for Bear Island. Then Lord Bolton followed with Lord Karstark and Lord Umber close by, until finally Robb Stark walked in with Lord Glover.
"Apologies, Your Grace." Robb stated. "I was with Rickon and lost track of the time. Lord Glover here came to collect me."
Luke shook his head. "Not to worry, Lord Stark." He gestured to the seat on Luke's right and waited until the Stark had sat down before beginning. "We are here to come to a collective agreement on a major decision that will soon be facing us. As my Northernmost Lords and Lady, you will be the first to be affected by this decision, so myself and Lord Stark felt it important to include you in this process."
Robb nodded. "I have spoken to each of you individually about the threat that we will face. Some have been more believing than others." He was looking at the Greatjon. "But rest assured, the threat is real. Samwell Tarly, son of Lord Randyll, has seen and killed one of the White Walkers whilst my brother, Jon, has seen the aftermath of one their massacres. I have also interrogated prisoners from North of the Wall and they say the same. Death marches for us, and we must find a way to stop it in its tracks."
Luke nodded. "I have spoken to Mance Rayder, the King Beyond the Wall. His goal is to get behind the Wall to hide from what lies beyond it. If he has to fight us he will, but I would rather needless bloodshed is avoided."
"You wish to invite the Wildlings through the Wall?" Roose Bolton asked cautiously. Luke nodded, and suddenly a chair was thrown back as the Greatjon leapt to his feet, red with anger.
"My body will be cold and rotten before I allow one single Wildling fuck to settle so close to my lands!" He roared. "You do not know what my people have suffered at their hands, clearly, if you think that letting them through the Wall in their thousands is a good idea."
"I think not having to face one hundred thousand dead men is a good idea, Lord Umber." Luke snapped back at the angry man. "Obviously there will be conditions for the Wildling's to pass through…"
"A sharp stick in between their ribs is the only condition I'll agree to." The Umber growled.
"Settle down, Jon." Robb stated firmly. "Or do you think that I do not understand the pain you have gone through at the hands of the Wildling's too?"
"You know only my words, My Lord." The Greatjon stated. "But not how it felt to lose a cousin to their raids."
Dacey Mormont scoffed. "We've been hit by the fuckers more than you, Umber, and you don't hear House Mormont whining like a little southern girl. We stand with House Stark, if Robb thinks that this will help us…"
The Greatjon snarled. "And what happens when the deceitful cunts go back on their agreements? If they raid my lands in their thousands? Dozens we can handle, but that many?"
"If his Grace imburses us so that we can keep a standing, professional army on our Northern borders…" Lord Bolton began. "Then mayhaps we can deter any threat of raids."
Luke noticed more 'ayes' coming from that line of thinking and he internally winced, knowing how expensive that would be.
"What borders are we talking about?" Lord Karstark asked, glaring at Luke angrily.
Luke looked over to Robb, who nodded and moved over to a map of the North nailed onto the wall. "They'll get Brandon's gift to start with." Robb explained. "That should be enough to start settlements basic enough to live on."
"To start with?" Lord Karstark asked.
"Aye." Robb nodded. "I will not have them propped up against my borders unless there is no other way. The New Gift stays as a buffer, but I cannot pretend that we may not need to settle that land too." He then turned to Luke. "I also agree with the standing border force, Your Grace. It will put my people at ease."
"This is all moot until the Night's Watch come to an agreement." Roose Bolton stated. "If the new Lord Commander doesn't agree to let them through…"
"Then I will come up with a plan to ferry them down away from the lands of the Night's Watch." Luke stated. "But the time and money that would take to achieve would be better spent on preparing to face the threat rather than squabbling over past grievances."
A few nods were countered by a still standing, still angry Greatjon and a glaring Rickard Karstark. The latter let out a huff before saying. "I want to see my Alys and her child."
Luke clenched his jaw at the reminder of the Baratheon baby. "We will soon be looking at mining Dragonstone for a substance that can kill these demons. The North will receive the bulk of the shipments, that could use a Lord to oversee and it will be a role which will require travel to and from Dragonstone. King's Landing is a short distance from there." He offered, and thankfully the Karstark Lord have a curt nod.
"House Glover stands with House Stark." Robett stated. "I have no wish to see the Wildling's on our side of the Wall, but if they will fight alongside us and not use it as an excuse to pillage the North, then I accept that."
"As does House Mormont." Dacey stated.
All eyes pointed to Lords Bolton and Umber then. The Greatjon sighed and looked Robb dead in the eye. "You're sure about this?"
"I am." Robb stated. "The stories these Wildling's tell, Jon… we need every living man, woman and child in order to stop them. They are relentless, and if we do not do this we would be handing them tens of thousands of new soldiers on a plate while weakening our own effort."
"Fuck!" The Greatjon roared, slapping his hands together in frustration. "My uncles will have my balls on a plate, but fuck them. I'm with you until the first cunt crosses my borders. If that happens, I'm butchering the fucking lot of them."
"As is your right." Robb stated firmly, a statement that Luke bristled at but ultimately didn't say anything to not cause an argument.
"I do not like it." Roose Bolton said. "You still haven't agreed to protect your borders, Your Grace."
The eyes swivelled to Luke then. "Your lands will be protected, by my own men as well as your Northmen." He stated. "Lord Celtigar will stay to lead as many of my men that are willing. He is a fierce fighter that is a veteran of all of my battles with his Valyrian Steel axe." He hoped that Lucan's inclusion would be helpful, if only for the promise of Valyrian Steel.
"Very well." Roose Bolton shrugged as he looked at Robb. "Then despite not liking this, yourself and Lord Stark have made a good case. I see no reason to oppose this in theory, though I question if the pair of you have too much faith in the savages North of the Wall."
Though the Northerners had come around pretty quickly, the Night's Watch elections was taking more time. Surprisingly to Luke, Jon Snow had been chosen as one of the candidates and had made it through to the final two men in contention along with Alliser Thorne, though the slow process was starting to grate on Luke's patience as he sat with Maester Aemon one night flicking through some old scrolls and books from Aegon the Conqueror's reign. The information was slow to go into his head with the distractions, something which the blind old Maester picked up on.
"Your thoughts are so loud I can hear them from here." Aemon said with a chuckle. "What is on your mind?"
Luke sighed, closing the book of copied letters from the first Targaryen King to the Night's Watch. "This election is. Is there no way to make it go quicker? We need an agreement soon or else the fighting will start up again. Already the scouts are seeing more Wildling's in the tree line." Luke explained.
"The election will take as long as it takes, Lucerys." Aemon explained. "And your interference will be most unwelcome, the Night's Watch is separate to your kingdom, and the best kings in our line respected that."
Luke nodded. "I have no interest in interfering, I just want it over. There is much to do, Uncle. Arrangements of weapons and resources being sent to the North, the mining of Dragonglass…" He sighed. "Forgive me, my patience is just thinning."
Aemon smiled again. "A family trait, I fear. Many of our line lacked the necessary patience to wait and see. Even the greatest of us, Aegon the First, his conquest of almost an entire continent was over in around two years."
"He seized his opportunity, handed to him with the literal severed hands of his envoy." Luke countered. "I learned my histories, Uncle."
"But what histories did you learn?" Aemon asked. "What knowledge did we have before the Conquest that we now lack? What knowledge was to be passed down, Father to son, King to King, that was lost in the Dance of the Dragons, or the Spring Sickness? Perhaps even Baelor, blessed he may be but intolerant of further thought. Did he destroy some knowledge that we may now need?" The old man grinned, though it was an angry one. "I have spent my life relearning many secrets of our House, Lucerys, and even I am unsure on many things. Patience to sift through the words of our forebears is an underrated gift that led your brother to warnings of what is to come."
His kinsman's words gave Luke a new perspective about the old man, as he nodded and reopened his book, settling into the silence of the night as he read the words of his ancestor's council, though his mind was still telling him that if a two third majority couldn't be found the next day, then time would be seriously running out for peace.
His night in the library gone on far longer than the King had planned, and it was late morning by the time that he had risen and changed for the day ahead, with the mess hall firmly shut as the Night's Watch made their choice between Ser Alliser Thorne and Jon Snow. He noticed Robb Stark was in the courtyard with his younger brother, instructing Rickon on how to hit a straw dummy with a wooden sword.
"Use your hips more." Luke called out, gaining the attention of both Starks. "You'll get more power." He then unsheathed Blackfyre and demonstrated on a nearby dummy, being careful to overexaggerate the hip movement.
"Your Grace." Robb bowed his head, with Rickon doing the same half-heartedly.
"Lord Stark." Luke greeted, before he turned his purple eyes to the younger Stark. "And you must be Rickon. I am glad to meet you, your brothers have told me a lot about you." Rickon stayed silent beside Robb. "I need to speak with your brother, would you like Ser Barristan the Bold to teach you for a moment?"
Rickon's eyes widened in anticipation and he looked quickly towards Robb. "Can I?"
Laughing, Robb nodded. "Go on. Remember to listen!"
Rickon bounded over towards the old Kingsguard knight that was Luke's ever-present shadow, and the Targaryen waited until Ser Barristan was giving out some instructions before speaking to Robb quietly. "How is the vote going?"
"I do not know." Robb shrugged. "It's been quiet all morning."
Sighing, Luke looked over to the shut door willing the Gods to give him the power to see through it. "This waiting, it does not sit well with me."
Robb chuckled again. "They will be done soon, and with any luck Jon will win."
"Do you think that likely?" Luke asked.
Shrugging, Robb said. "He is popular, but Thorne has seniority and a better relationship with the other castles. It could go on for a while." He then sighed. "If it weren't for the Wildling's I'd say the longer the better."
Luke looked at the Stark questioningly. "You do not wish to go home?"
"I do." Robb stated quickly. "I've just been away for so long… I barely got a chance to know my wife whilst at Winterfell as I was so occupied with rebuilding the castle or making sure the North could recover from years of war. Then I was sent away again to the Iron Islands… we've been wed for two years now and I barely know her."
Luke could understand that. "I got the impression from my brief time at Winterfell that Lady Roslin was a capable woman. I found that the Queen is happier when she can feel important with a role to do, and I found myself understanding her more in watching how she works. That blossomed into a true friendship once we had a common ground to start from. Now when I am back in the Red Keep I ensure that at least a small part of every day is dedicated to her, be that a simple meal or a trip out of the city."
Robb nodded. "She has been learning from Mother a lot. Perhaps I shall break my fast with her each day… thank you, Your Grace."
"Wars are easy compared to women." Luke chuckled, though his thoughts were firmly on his sister at that statement rather than his wife. "You will find something that works for your marriage, and a child will bring you closer still."
Robb nodded as he returned his gaze to the basic moves that Rickon was being put through, when all of a sudden chanting began to fill the castle. Luke looked up to the mess hall to see through the windows that men were stood up and celebrating. "Somebody has won." He stated the obvious, though it wasn't until the doors burst open that the entire castle soon knew who had been elected as the 998th Lord Commander of the Night's Watch.
"SNOW! SNOW! SNOW! SNOW! SNOW!"
We've seen Stannis destroy the Wildling's in the show, that's the main reason I didn't include the actual battle here because once again it would just be a one-sided cavalry charge. I did however need to include the talks between Mance, Luke and Jon and I'm really pleased with that scene. All three sides got their points across and a solution was found, though whether that works out is yet to be seen…
Daenerys and Margaery clashing heads… this time Margaery got her way, but that might be a dynamic to keep an eye out for…
I hope I made Lysa's suicide realistic… more in the sense of the set up of the show Eyrie is difficult for someone to surprisingly jump out of it of their own volition. Having it remain open after an execution seemed the best thing to do.
The Northern Lords aren't happy, but with Robb backing Luke's plan they'll go along with it until the first sign of a Wildling on their lands.
I've used a mixture of the book and the show elections, mainly because of how basic the show one is, but the main part of the Aemon scene is to hint at something that's coming in House of the Dragon… I won't spoil it now, although it's a plot point that GRRM has spoken on before. Back to the election however, and again, like with Stannis' charge we've seen the elections, we know the characters thoughts and words so I wanted to show it from an outsider's view, with Luke and Robb having a conversation about anything to keep their minds off it whilst the Night's Watch decide, and decide they have…
I hope you all enjoyed today's chapter! Let me know what you thought.
Next Time: Luke, Robb and Jon come together and finalise a plan, whilst Margaery confronts Daenerys…
Reviews:
Zhorvak: Next chapter will have that reaction as Lord Commander, King and Warden of the North all come together to form a plan.
RHatch89: Thank you!
Darbiboi: We'll see a lot more stories from the Dance when the new show is coming out. Up until now it's only been the small percentage of book readers that find that era of the lore extraordinarily fascinating, but now even the most casual of fans will be learning all about Rhaenyra, Daemon, Alicent, Aegon, Aemond etc etc.
C.E.W: He's already been King for 2 years at this point remember, but I know it'll be a tough sell with most of the North so I hope I did a good job here of showing that conflict. I wouldn't do a potential betrothal because Robb doesn't have children yet, I've already done the hypothetical betrothal once before in a story and it didn't go down too well. I'm Team Black myself because I would follow Cregan Stark to all seven hells if he wanted me too haha. That being said, Aemond is a really fun character and I'm excited to see both sides be portrayed well in House of the Dragon.