Dawning Days

Ashara threw a final piece of meat and Morning snatched it deftly from the air before gobbling it down, as she had all the others before that.

"Good girl." She preferred letting Morning actually hunt, to keep her instincts sharp and let her live closer to her nature, but food was an important part of training any animal and binding them to you. There would be time for that again soon. When they went hawking or Morning was let loose to fly around the island and hunt for herself.

Walking over to the wall, Ashara opened Morning's cage, and her eagle obediently changed position from her gloved hand to the wooden post with a short, happy call.

"Always does amaze me how well she listens to you," Dywer said from behind her as she closed the cage.

The Falconer had been working on Dragonstone for many years now, continuing in a by now traditional position. Some of the Targaryens after the death of the dragons had found great pleasure in commanding other flying beasts instead, even if they could never rival their original means of conquest and source of power.

Ashara took off the heavy leather glove she had been using to handle Morning and put it away, hanging it from a small iron hook near the door. Her eagle may be well trained and particularly receptive to her commands, but that did not change that Morning was equipped with the tools to hunt and kill, her powerful talons easily capable of piercing flesh.

"I will be back on the morrow, Dywer. If you would take care of her until then?" Ashara said, with a small smile for the experienced man.

"You know I always do, milady," he answered, respectfully bowing his head as she turned to walk away.

Ashara remembered something else before she could enter the hallway. Turning her head, she addressed Dywen again.

"Have you been informed of the hawking in three days?"

Dragonstone was too small an island to accommodate hunting or hawking, but the trip by ship to the northern coast did not take long and the forest near Crackclaw point was plentiful in wood and game.

"Yes, milady. Am nearly done with the preparations too." Hoods, cages, and the like needed to be on hand, and the feeding before and after would have to be appropriately adjusted.

"Good, good. I will leave you to your duties, then."

Walking from the falconry on the way to her chambers Ashara turned her thoughts to other matters.

Her plans, it turned out, would have to be more complicated than she had first thought. That it would not be easy she had known from the start, but every time she solved one problem, another revealed itself.

The estimates Ashara had access to suggested that the Mountains of the Moon housed somewhere in the vicinity of five thousand clansmen. Not all fighting men, and scattered over many clans and a large area, but five thousand, nonetheless.

Certainly, the Vale could muster far more soldiers than that, but if simply outnumbering the mountain clans was the only hurdle they would have been dealt with thousands of years ago.

Peasant levies would be little use, not least because the mountain passes would be hard to manoeuvre with large forces all at once. Smaller forces, with skilled men, both in combat and in navigating the mountainous terrain, would find far more success. It would not negate the advantage the clansmen had through knowing the surroundings better, but it would help to reduce it somewhat.

Once battle was joined, Arthur had agreed, there would be little resistance. Ferocious and savage they may be, but they had neither cohesion nor equipment of any quality. Stone axes and furs would do little against plate and a company of archers. It was everything before that she needed to focus on.

Leaving the Windwyrm, one of the many dragon-shaped towers at Dragonstone, Ashara passed through the gallery for a short time before crossing the inner gate and entering the Stone Drum again.

The Bloody Gate guarded the Vale proper from raids as well as conquest. Some of the men stationed there had been her first choice for troops, though convincing Jon Arryn and his lords that they should send out the people standing as their first line of defence against outside threats would be quite the undertaking.

There were other options outside of just the Vale of course. If the Riverlands could be convinced to assist, and to move in from the west, should the clansmen attempt to flee into the lower lands, things would be much easier to conclude.

But it had been other groups she had thought of at first. The Red Mountains of Dorne acted much like the Mountains of the Moon did for the Vale, and the Houses living in the mountains had spent centuries warring in mountain passes and rocky valleys.

Daynes, Blackmonts, Manwoodys, Fowlers, Wyls, Yronwoods, there would be no shortage of able and experienced men to be found among her people.

Certainly, the Westerlands and North housed populations with similar abilities but after Rhaegar's insult of the latter, following overtures or not, there was no way to say whether she could rely on that direction for help. There was little point making a plan that relied on that same help being guaranteed for now.

Especially when other problems stood in her way, Northern support or not.

Entering her chambers Ashara sat at a wooden desk, an opened raven scroll quickly attracting her attention. Fingers touching the parchment for a moment she left the small roll where it was. She knew the message inked down on it already.

They had reached out to the Vale Lords covertly, under the cover of trade agreements, and beginning with Jon Arryn himself. The response had been a bit disheartening.

Personally, he may consider it a good idea but he was not the only one affected. The Lord of the Vale had not been explicit, but his words had certainly suggested that there were Houses sworn to him that would not greet her proposal with open arms. Why that was, he had been silent on, but she could imagine a few explanations by herself.

Certainly, there would be some reasonable disagreement from a few Houses even if her plan were to be seemingly infallible, but she could not discount the possibility that some part of the Vale nobility had no interest in dealing with the mountain clans once and for all.

Especially since those same Houses would be paid to supply protection for caravans of merchants or whatever other potential raid target that intended to move through the Mountains of the Moon.

Ashara did not doubt that some of the Houses with seats close to the mountain passes even made pacts with the clansmen, whether for nefarious purposes or not. Pacts that were clearly of some significant benefit, if these Houses would rather the clans continue to exist than be vanquished, never to be a problem again.

Jon Arryn had no dragons, to command absolute obedience from his vassals, as the Targaryens of old had been able to. He needed to weigh his decisions and commands carefully, so as to keep loyalty prospering in the ranks of his nobility.

As her plans stood whether the benefits would outweigh the consequences was at best unclear, making them understandably unconvincing. That would need to change if she wanted to be able to accomplish anything.

But for now, Ashara had no real idea how to accomplish that. Perhaps if she could find out just what the benefits were, that some Houses were gaining by working with the mountain clans. Then again, how was she to do that?

There were other things demanding her attention, and with no clear avenues for progress she turned to them instead.

It had been a unanimous decision among all of them to help Elia with her duties more directly as the moons passed and the pregnancy began to show signs and exacting its physical toll.

Alyse assisted Elia with Dragonstone's accounts while the rest of them tried to help out in other areas. Normally, Elia would have protested such treatment, but the fact that she did not was perhaps the best sign that their thoughts had not been entirely misguided.

With the days not growing warmer, as should have been expected, Dragonstone had need of more firewood among the other usual needs of a castle like this. The number of trees on the island was small, the few parts that were not rocky cliffs or sandy shore being used to supply the castle with the necessary food, so that at least would not need to be brought in from outside sources in the event of war.

There was the kitchens to look after, and she would need to meet with the steward later, to see if any other needs had to be addressed quickly.

A knock on her chamber door interrupted her thoughts and before she could think to answer the heavy oak moved, revealing the smiling face of her brother.

"Arthur," she said in greeting as he moved into the room. He was in only a white doublet right now, no sign of his armour anywhere to be seen. Most likely he had been relieved from guarding Prince Rhaegar not long ago. "What brings you here?"

"Only the wish to visit my sister. We seldom have the opportunity to meet and talk only between us anymore."

That was true. Try as they might their duties did not often end with them working in the same spaces even while in the same castle. What time Arthur had to himself was oft spent resting or training, to be as prepared as possible should anything unfortunate occur.

Yet Ashara thought it likely that something else had brought him to her. Arthur was not one for deceit, but a subtle distraction or trick was not beyond his means. Better to be a clever knight than a dead one, when steel was drawn.

"Join me then," she said, and quickly organised the papers she had been pouring over into a pile. There was work to be done still, but she could afford a bit of time spent on other matters.

Arthur sat opposite her, sparing the papers she was shuffling around a curious glance. As Kingsguard he had little need to concern himself with their kind, but he could recognise them easily enough.

"Supplies?"

"Yes." Ashara nodded, stacking the last of the parchment and placing it to the side. "Tedious work, as it always is. But it must be done all the same. I would rather spend time on other matters with you."

"Understandable," Arthur said, chuckling, and leaned back. "Have you done other things today, or just sat behind that desk?"

She considered her brother for a moment, wondering why he had not already said what he had really come for. Arthur was usually very dutiful, but as a white cloak that meant attentively guarding your charge and keeping your wits as sharp as your sword. None of which was normally accomplished leaning over pieces of parchment.

"I spent some time with Morning and met with Elia and the others after the day's first meal." They had talked of having some of the statues in the sept repainted, to counter the slow degradation that made paint peel and flake off. "Other than that, no. Has your day been filled with any particular excitement?"

"Unfortunately not. A bit of engagement would have made a highlight of today." Arthur graced her with a light grin. "I will go and do a bit of training later and then go to bed."

They lapsed into a moment of comfortable silence before his expression turned more neutral again.

"I feel compelled to ask how our supply situation looks, considering the weather," Arthur said, throwing a glance out the window. There had been no snow or frost on the island yet, but the days had been growing noticeably colder again. With no white raven coming to announce winter leaving and spring arriving it was not impossible that their taste of renewing warmth was at end.

"In a few days everything will be in order. We have been talking of it as well." Elia had joked that the gods would not allow her second child to be born in spring instead. That at least, the little one would have incommon with Rhaenys.

"That is good to hear," Arthur said nodding his head and releasing a small breath.

"Is there anything I should be aware of?" Ashara asked, noting the queer topic of conversation coming from her brother.

"No, nothing serious. Just a bit of worry. The Maesters do not often err in their judgements." She wondered if it was Rhaegar's worry in truth, and not Arthur's. Contact between the Prince and Elia had been sparse at best, after they had all returned from Dorne. Something they were all grateful for to varying degrees.

They changed topics again and talked of less serious matter for a few minutes. At first Ashara thought that it had been the worry of winter that had brought Arthur to her, but after a bit more conversation she was sure that there was something else.

"Much as I enjoy your company, will you tell me what actually brought you here, now?"

Arthur only smiled, capitulating without putting up any fight. He reached inside a small pocket in his doublet and produced an opened raven scroll.

Her brother was not only Rhaegar's primary guard but also his close friend and confidant, and therefore sometimes tasked with discussing sensitive matters in his place. Her thought turned out to be incorrect in this case.

"From Alaric," he said, holding up the piece of parchment. "Carella is with child. Maester Vorrel estimates the birth to happen near the middle of next year."

Much as Ashara was happy for her oldest brother hearing that news, she could not help but temper any excitement with cold experience. Alaric had been married almost a decade now, and yet she still stood as his heir. Pregnancy had not been a matter of fortunate for him and Carella until now, what few there had been in that time ending prematurely.

All the same she hoped that the gods would bless them with an heir, as much for the two of them as for Starfall and its lands. Ashara would rather her brother be granted a child than she keep her own position in the current succession.

She would include them in her next prayer.

"I shall hope for a nephew or niece."

Rocky cliffs bordering the water yielded to greenery and trees. Rolling hills, expansive plains, towns, castles, farms, all passed beneath her, her powerful wings carrying her through the air. Here she was powerful, others forced to submit under the strength of her talons and beak, and her prey whatever she desired.

Movement got her attention, and colour. Far far below, yellow and orange among the surrounding green, and a small spot of purple. Prey. She dove, rapidly descending, cutting through the air on her way down.

Familiarity. This walking one a part of her knew already. Not prey.

Wings buffeted her dive, slowing her descent. She thought to bank and gain height again, but she did not. A sound got the walking one's attention and he looked up at her. Not prey but not danger either. He held out an arm and she landed, talons gripping the not-feathers on the limb.

"Well, who do we have here?" he asked, carefully extending a finger to run along her breast. The pink appendage attracted her gaze, but she did not strike as she normally would. He was not hers, but somehow everyone's. "You're a beauty, aren't you?"

She preened under his mouth-noises, understanding their meaning, and flapped her mighty wings once, twice, to show them in their entirety.

"Smart too," he laughed, still gently stroking her feathers. Leaning into the sensation, she simply enjoyed the attention given to her from this one.

When he stopped for a moment to look around, she walked along his arm toward the shoulder, her movements awkward and far less graceful than when she was in the air. Cocking her head, she took him in again, and then pushed against his head, feathers against flesh. A noise rumbled up from his chest, and he shook slightly against her.

"Different, definitely different."

She made herself tall again, on his shoulder, showing off mighty wings, and trilled once. He looked at her carefully. Something changed. He cocked his head to the side, still staring, blue eyes sharp. "Ashara?"

She jumped awake, in a room not outside. Arms not wings, a mouth not a beak. A dream, it had only been a dream.

Pushing herself upright Ashara took in her surroundings more clearly, one hand rubbing the bleariness from her eyes. No, everything was as it should be. She was on Dragonstone, in her chambers, where she had fallen asleep unintentionally.

Shaking her head to clear the last remains of the dream from her mind Ashara stood. She remembered now, she had only intended to rest for a few moments, after working the whole morning and into the early afternoon.

Her notes were still on her desk, slightly disorganized after she had worked on them without properly sorting them afterwards. Ashara walked to the large window cut into the stone, looking out over the island, the cool air smelling of ash and brimstone and the sea serving to prod her mind into being fully alert and awake, the dream already fading away.

Still, something bothered her, and Ashara found herself leaving her chambers toward the Windwyrm. It was a foolish thought of course, but she walked the gallery and the way out of the two inner walls all the same.

Entering the falconry her eyes were drawn to Morning's cage, where her eagle was just where she should be, leather jess around her legs. Gold-rimmed black met purple, and Morning quickly recognised her, a short, shrill call demanding attention.

Ashara released a breath and shook her head. She felt even more silly now.

"Is everything in order, milady?" Dywer asked from the doorway to a small supply closet, his confusion plain to hear.

"Yes, everything is fine," she answered him absently, eyes still locked with those of her eagle.

Perhaps she should ask the Maester if there was anything she should be worried about if things like this continued to happen.

Before she turned to leave for her chambers again, another thought came to her. "Dywer, did you let Morning fly today?"

"Yes, milady. I left her to hunt for herself around midday."

Nodding her head, Ashara walked back to her chambers, unsure just what to think.

She went back to work then, slightly unnerved, but focused on more important concerns.

A few days later her morning was interrupted by a knocking on her chamber door.

"Come," she said, loud enough to be heard through the heavy oak. The door was opened from outside, revealing one of the many servants employed on Dragonstone in the livery of House Targaryen. The young man looked apologetic, but whether it was the early hour or the message he bore that bothered him she could not say.

"Milady," he said, taking a step into the room. "One of the guards on duty at the main gate sent me. There is man claiming he owes a favour to you at the gate. He is supposedly quite insistent."

For a moment she wondered why this had even been brought to her. An unknown man at the gate, asking to see one of the castle inhabitants? Regardless of any claims, the guards should have simply sent him away.

"I will be right down." Ashara knew already, who she should expect to be waiting for her at the gate. The servant excused himself, leaving the room again, and she finished combing her hair. Giving herself another once over in the looking glass after she had finished Ashara stood and left her chamber.

She walked the halls of Dragonstone at a brisk pace, to not spend too much time in the chilly air of the early morning.

Torches served to heat them slightly, just as they served to light them in the evening, but only the different chambers, where a lit hearth drove the chill away, could truly be called comfortable in a castle this close to the open water and exposed to the winds from the Narrow Sea.

King's Landing, at least, was so deep in Blackwater Bay that only a slight sea breeze ever reached it, though the city was incredibly unpleasant for entirely different reasons.

Ashara descended the final staircase in the Stone Drum and left the central keep. Three curtain walls defended Dragonstone from an attack by land, stone gargoyles and grotesques serving as crenellations on the dark walls.

Much of the ancient Valyrian citadel had been shaped to look like dragons in some way. Sea Dragon Tower was an entire beast, staring out to sea, while other parts of the castle resembled limbs or body parts. Gates and doors were formed to resemble the maw, wings served as ceilings over armoury and smithy, and tails formed archways or staircases.

The men-at-arms serving as guards at the first gate greeted her politely as she passed under the murder holes and beyond the innermost wall, their halberds raised to the sky. Above her crossbowmen patrolled the walls and watchtowers day and night, the small garrison dutiful and prepared for anything, though the realm had been at peace for twenty years now.

She continued walking, tightening the shawl about her shoulder to keep some of the chill at bay. Passing the second gate Ashara watched a few of Dragonstone's servants carrying crates into the castle. Candles from the Crownlands and iron for the smithy, brought to the island by ship.

Ashara could see the outermost gate then, and with it the guards stationed there and the blonde man in a yellow brigandine, her favour attached to his arm just like it had been at Harrenhal. Most likely he had bought passage on the same ship bringing the day's supplies to the island.

Naruto was conversing with the guards to pass the time as she approached, but he quickly noticed her presence as she closed in on the gate, turning to greet her with a smile and a bow of his head.

"Lady Dayne," he said politely. There was little different about him after these months, the time spent learning at the Citadel not enough to weaken the impression of a warrior he gave. Even the three interlocked metal rings attached to his belt: black iron, silver, and tin, did not manage to change that.

"Ser Brigand," she replied jokingly, dipping into a shallow curtsy. The two men-at-arms that had been barring his entrance into the castle even as they conversed gave them a bit of space, obviously understanding that Naruto was not an unwanted visitor. "It is good to see you again."

He grinned at her, and she knew there was a smile on her own lips. Before she could invite him inside, to talk of his time in Oldtown and the Citadel, Naruto reached for a small pouch at his side.

The small wooden box was not much larger than her hand, and swiftly opened to reveal the object inside. Laid within protective folds of cloth was a brooch.

"A gift. For you," Naruto said, and there was something boyish about the charming smile on his face.

An amethyst gently cradled in thin silver filigree made up the centre of the piece, with small pearls set in silver surrounding the larger stone on all sides. White and silver and purple, it would go well with her other jewellery, as it would with her gowns and dresses.

"It's beautiful. Thank you."

I hope you enjoyed chapter 29. I am working on number 30 and 31, and at my current pace there should be a new chapter next week as well.

As I said in the notes a few chapters ago, the real beginning of the Rebellion plotline will start in 31, since next chapter will be another from Naruto's PoV that explores his relationship with Ashara and Dragonstone, and the things very obviously set up in this one.

Skinchanging is a trait of the First Men, and requires a genetic predisposition. The only ones we know about are the Stark children, Bloodraven, who is a Blackwood, and those of the Free Folk like Varamyr or Orell. But there is First Men blood in nearly all of Westeros in some way, and the Daynes are specifically called an ancient First Men house.

Exposure to Naruto's presence strengthened that predisposition for Ashara and basically awakened the latent ability for her, but just like Jon, Bran, and Arya she experiences her unconscious skinchanging through dreams.

I am not a falconer, so take everything I write about that topic with a grain of salt. Most likely you would not let your hawk/falcon/whatever hunt by itself, but the Starks allow their Direwolves to do it, and Ashara has a strengthened bond to her eagle, so there is no risk of Morning not returning or something.

Naruto has three rings from the Citadel: silver for medicine, black iron for ravenry, and tin for herblore. We don't currently know all of the 21 subjects and corresponding metals, so I chose tin here, but it is just a personal idea. It might turn out to be something else.

Becoming a Maester requires seven rings at minimum, which makes the six rings Oberyn earned seem very intentional. After earning those you can swear your vows to the Citadel and then get locked in the room with the glass candles for a night-long vigil.

Dragonstone is a rather small island, largely dominated by the castle of the same name and the Dragonmont. I don't think there would be a lot of trees there, but you can definitely figure out how to grow crops near active volcanos. The soil can be pretty great for that, and the Valyrians would have known all about that.

Medieval castles are very cold places, with no paned windows and large open spaces that are difficult to heat. Winterfell is really the only exception because of its pipe system.

I know that people have been wondering how exactly Naruto's presence will change the Rebellion. Who he will fight for and all that. I don't want to spoil anything, but the Rebellion's two sides are not necessarily completely unified internally, and supporting one part does not mean he will support the whole thing. That plays into many of the things I intend for the third part of the story aswell.

As always, thanks for reading and reviewing. Until next time.