Winds of Change
Chapter: 02
AN: Hello everyone. First and foremost thank you to everyone who reviewed. This chapter takes place about ten years after the last one and as such there were quite a few changes that have occurred but some that had remained the same. I've taken inspiration from other sources for some things but they won't be exactly how they were in the source material. Also these early chapters are all part of the prologue so that's why there will be so many time skips starting out. Also magic won't play a big role for the characters right now, simply because none of them with the ability are strong enough to use it in combat situations. With that I think I've covered everything so here is the new chapter.
Start Now:
Year 277 A.C.
The sounds of clashing steel, thumping arrows, pounding hammers from the forges and cheering filled the air of Winterfell's grounds. It was a sound that over the last decade the castle's residents had become well used to, none more than the Starks of Winterfell themselves. At the moment the Lord and Lady of Winterfell could both be found standing on the bridge between the Armory and the Great Keep as they watched over the events currently taking place. Below them in the space near the East Gate an archery range could be seen which was currently in use by a group of kids none of which could be older than ten of which Benjen was a part of.. Watching their youngest both parents could only be filled with pride at the progress in his training and studies.
Their children were all incredibly smart, though all of them had areas in which they were most interested. By this point all of them were fluid in both the Old Tongue as well as reading and writing of runes. Brandon of course had shown more interest in his martial training an interest that had only increased when the memories of his old life had awakened. Eddard had been more studious than his brother but after his memories awakened he'd learned to relax and began spending more time with his siblings. Lyanna had always been more interested in history but she'd flourished in her martial studies and though not yet fully trained was clearly a cut above the rest of her age. Her memories had only awakened earlier in the year and after her brief bout of depression had taken to her lessons with a fervor never before seen in her. As for Benjen like before he was Lyanna's shadow and as she moved he moved, this had become especially true when his memories woke and the two were seemingly joined at the hip for the most part.
They were also studying magic under Jiraiya and Tsunade. Under their guidance all of the Stark family could now warg into the skin of an animal with complete control. At this point all of them had Goshawks that they were now bonded with. On top of that Jiraiya was their teacher for runic and elemental magic while Tsunade taught them healing magic. Runic magic was something that he personally had taken a fast liking to while Lyarra was more focused on healing, which took her much longer to learn. Finally they were also learning combat magic, more specifically elemental magic.
According to Jiraiya they all had the potential to one day use ice magic as all of them had affinities for its base elements of wind and water. They could rapidly cool the water to transform it into ice but Jiraiya had stated to create ice from nothing would both elements being manipulated at once. This ability is apparently what had allowed Brandon the Builder to raise The Wall, though it was a combination of others spells and runes that maintained it. As things stood Brandon favored using wind magic whereas Eddard favored water and while both could use the other element neither could combine the two at this point. Lord Rickard himself also favored one over the other his being wind while Lyarra favored water as she could use it as a medium for healing. Lyanna and Benjen however have not yet started their advanced training in this regard.
They however weren't the only people training in Winterfell however for the castle had played or was playing host to every heir in the North. Not only them but commoners were also being trained in the arts of combat, though in those instances that was taken care of by those Lords they lived nearest to. Of course not everyone was interested in combat and there were many that were learning smithing, hunting or any number of things. They also had people who were interested in more intellectual pursuits and many of them would go on be sent to White Harbor to study at the academy there before going on to work in their bank Frostmourne after the sword of Bran the Builder, or any number of fields that became available to them. The bank itself had been built in White Harbor which had indeed become a true trading hub. The bank and White Harbor itself was guarded over by members of the Fangs of Fenrir or the Black Wolves, the mercenary company once known as the Company of Roses.
Leaving their youngest to his fun the two continued their walk around the grounds. As they walked they passed both the armorers and the crafter workshops. These buildings were big, much bigger than they'd have previously been. For the armorer it was because more updated means of crafting armors had been discovered and more space had been required. The crafters however were a mixed group and worked on anything from furniture to instruments. Some of the instruments were things that had been discovered in other lands and had been brought back such as the piano and violin. One of the requirements that Jiraiya and Tsunade had set when it came to the training of people was that all of them learn to play at least one instrument, considering the nature of that group the two of them could certainly understand why.
Eventually the duo found themselves entering the First Keep. It had been rebuilt over the last decade and now acted as a small learning center more than anything. It was here that children were taught the more theoretical knowledge before they moved on to the more physical pursuits. They were taught not only numbers, but history, languages, the arts and geography. There were also other more practical classes that they could elect to take and would help them later in life. This rather high level of education had already seen success with not only the staffing of the bank but in other areas as well such as hunters, fisherman and even farming. As with the courses the instructors were a varied bunch and hailed from a host of different places and some even from other continents. The North was flourishing, and all knew it was due to the plans and actions of the Lord and Lady Stark.
Moving through the ground floor of the Keep they passed a few classes that were in session until they came to the room they were seeking. The room in question held a number of young girls all of whom were concentrating on some parchment that stood on easels before them. Moving slowly around the room was a woman by the name of Ada Zumbe who while dressed as a northerner was a foreigner who would not look out of place on the Summer Islands but hailed from the continent of Agela from a country called Rowan. She was a dark-skinned woman with short cut black hair, she was slim with a slim waist, wide hips and big breasts. She was a true beauty and if that wasn't enough was one of the kindest people he'd ever met. She was in charge of the sewing lessons of the ladies as the making of clothing was her passion.
"Lord and Lady Stark how can I help you."
The woman spoke quietly and only once she stood in front of them. She spoke with an accent that gave her voice power did nothing to take away from her femininity. She was the fourth daughter of a Rowanian nobleman who controlled the ports and her marriage had been part of the negotiations for trade with her people. She had married a man who was now a captain of one of their trade ships by the name of Xharara Taxos, a Summer Islander who'd been captured by slavers and freed after the ship ran afoul of the then Company of Roses ten years ago. He like many of the men that had been captured had joined the company in gratitude while the women had been returned to the islands.
"We first wish to inform you the Gael has docked in White Harbor" said Lady Stark getting a large smile from the other woman as this was the name of her husband's ship.
"Second we wished to know how Lyanna has taken to your class." Said Rickard
"She's getting better, I think she'll always be more comfortable with a weapon in hand but if she maintains her level of focus and determination she could also be quite the seamstress." Said Ada.
"What of Caitlyn?" questioned Lyarra
Caitlyn Tully had been taken as a ward of theirs as part of an alliance with the Riverlands that would allow them to ship their wares over land giving them access to the rest of the South for land trade. This alliance included her marriage to the next Lord of Winterfell. It was for this reason that she'd been brought North at just 12 and while she had now been there for a year they made regular checks with her instructors to see how she was doing.
"Lady Caitlyn was already quite skilled when she first started with us as you know. However I am pleased to inform you that her attitude has improved remarkably since her arrival, no one has threatened her in a few months from what I hear." Said Ada causing Rickard to chuckle.
Caitlyn's attitude had not endeared her to many when she'd first arrived. Having been raised in the South and Riverrun of all places she'd had many of their ideals. Lyanna certainly hadn't been impressed and hadn't even hesitated before punching the girl in the mouth. The other children hadn't been as quick to strike her, especially the common born but they'd taken their turns in sparring seasons, not only beating her but mocking her lack of skill for her age. They'd only allowed one person to join her from Riverrun and that had been her uncle Ser Brynden Tully otherwise known as the Blackfish, who had not been happy at her treatment. Lyarra had taken great pleasure in informing the southron knight that they were now in the North and the girl would need the humbling before she would be accepted by their people and mocking their religion as she had or disrespecting people like she did wouldn't be tolerated by her peers. It hadn't taken long for the girl to realize that her southern heritage was not looked at well here and soon she had started adjusting and showing improvements.
"Thank you Lady Ada, we'll let you get back to your students." Said Lyarra, Lady Ada gave a short bow of the head before turning away and resuming her vigil over the room.
Leaving her to her duties the duo left the room and split as each went on to see about their own individual duties.
White Harbor was a beautiful place located on the eastern shore of the White Knife. It is clean and well-ordered, with wide straight cobbled streets that make it easy to walk around. The houses are built of whitewashed stone, with steeply pitched roofs of dark grey slate. Though once a small port it had transformed into a true city, the largest in the North even before the changes brought about by the Lord Stark. In the last ten years it had grown even more and was now home to all manner of craftsmen offering every ware possible and one can even find the occasional conman or shady dealer in the shadows. Its growth could be attributed to two things, Frostmourne otherwise known as the Bank of the North and the fleet of ships that sat in the port.
Another thing that contributed to its size was the Academy, an institute of higher learning with a student population that numbered in the mid hundreds and was steadily growing each year. Like the Winterfell and the other Northern castles they had a number of core classes that included Basic Numbers, History, Languages, The Arts and Geography. They also taught Advanced Arithmetic, Medicine, Chemistry, Astrology and for a select number of students Politics. Because of the number of people that frequented the city a number of taverns, inns and brothels had appeared within the city. All in all the place was becoming a haven for students, artists, scholars, and freethinkers.
Standing upon one of the ships taking it all in was a young man on the cusps of adulthood. The young man in question was Brandon Stark and though only 15 he stood tall at 5'8" and many felt he would no doubt reach and even surpass six feet in height. He wore a dark brown robes, with a grey hood currently down, the front of which ended near his shins accented with a large dark grey stripe that ran down the center of his front, the interior of which was padded for protection and lined with fur for warmth that led to a pair of matching pants and boots. At his sides were a pair of short slightly curved swords known as cutlass types while a bow was strapped to his back and his forearms were covered by a pair of bracers. His blades were uniquely made in that they measured at 33.5 inches with a blade that was 27 inches that was made from Ethium which was a new metal found in the Northern Mountains that was similar to Valyrian Steel in that it was lighter and stronger than regular steel, though it was bolstered by the ability to channel magic through them.
"Hell of a view isn't it." Said a voice from behind him.
Turning he was greeted to the sight of Jon Umber, the heir House Umber of Last Hearth he was now 18 and stood at around 6'4" when last they checked. Most people were awed that he was still growing but Brandon with his knowledge of the times that had once been knew the man would get much taller still.
"Aye, to think just how much of it had been under construction just a few years ago." Said Brandon
"How long do you plan to stay?" questioned Jon.
"Lord Manderly will most likely invite us to feast tonight so he can hear of our travels. If so I'll have a lie in tomorrow and head for Winterfell the day after." Said Brandon after a few moments of thought
"There you guys are!"
The new voice had both turning to be greeted by a pair of figures. One was a young woman who they knew as Barbey Ryswell, daughter of Lord Rodrick Ryswell. She was tall for a woman at nearly 5'10" and shapely thanks largely to her training. The other was a young man by the name of Elbert Arryn, the nephew and heir of Lord Jon Arryn of the Vale. Unlike last time through the two of them had been fostered in Winterfell as had Jon Umber. The three Northerners as well as his younger brother Eddard had been amongst the first group to train under Jiraiya and the then Company of the Rose. Elbert had arrived a few years later and they'd pulled him into their circle when he began training with them. Of the group Eddard or Ned as they called him was the only one who had not been permitted to take the trip with them, instead he'd once again been sent to the Vale to foster under Lord Jon Arryn nearly a year ago now. Both of them were dressed similarly to how he himself were though there were differences in terms of cut, color, and armaments.
"Why are you guys still here?" questioned Elbert, he'd thought for sure they'd have already found a tavern.
"Waiting on the bankers to finish the inventory.
"Well hopefully they finish soon, I don't think I'm the only one who can think of doing something better been standing around here." Said Barbey
This was true though what went unspoken was that they were also sure they knew exactly what it was Barbey was hoping for. This only made Brandon wish they would hurry more, as while not the best he had been with he would never pass up an opportunity to be wrapped between her thighs.
A few hours later found Brandon sitting up on the edge of a bed as he went about placing his boots back on his feet. His torso was bare revealing his upper body as somewhat bulky and covered with muscles, something of a boxers build according to Jiraiya. Another thing revealed however were the tattoos which covered his frame. Covering the left side of his chest was the head of a direwolf with a banner fluttering under it with his house words 'Winter is Coming' written on each piece of the banner all of it in black ink. The neck of the wolf ran over his shoulder the arm of which was almost completely covered something that was called a 'sleeve'. At the top near his shoulder was the Aegishjalmur or Helm of Awe which was a symbol of protection while the rest of the arm down to the end of his forearm was covered by tribal designs though other symbols these runes could be seen spaced out throughout it.
"Leaving already?"
Looking over his shoulder for a moment he was greeted to the sight of Barbey as she slid out of the bed and moved over to a nearby table, not even bothering to cover her nudity. Her body was marked with fewer and smaller tattoos than his own such as her houses sigil on the back of her right shoulder. Her brown hair was in disarray and she did nothing to fix it focused instead on pouring herself a drink.
"Aye, I need to bathe and then go see Jiraiya." Said Brandon turning away from her and slipping his shirt on.
"Right then, if I don't see you tonight I'll see you when it's time to head back out." Said the girl.
Nearly an hour later found him walking through the halls of the castle fresh from his bath. He wore a new set of robes, this one more appropriate for the cold of the North than the ones he wore at sea or in other countries. The robes were something that had been brought to them by Jiraiya and had become the uniform of the Fangs of Fenrir. This one was made of brown leather while his forearms were covered by a pair of vambraces and a deep red sash was secured around his waist and holding it in place was a buckle that was formed by the symbol of their order which was a pair of upside down axes connected at the end knob. Completing his outfit was a cape with a furred collar. What went unseen however were the runes on the that regulated the temperature for the weather in effect insuring that the body never got too warm or worse too cold. These days most people in the North had something that helped them regulate their bodies temperature and as such to survive the cold that permeated the North.
He found Jiraiya outside leaning against the railing of a connecting bridge overlooking a courtyard while he smoked his pipe. Down below he could see a group of trainees as they went about their bow practice. A bit further away was another group this one being more physical as they sparred with kunai knives. These knives were something that Jiraiya had revealed and a multi-purpose tool. Farmers could use them to dig holes and he knew they were used in the mines and even for construction projects. The leaf shaped blades were usually left unsharpened due to its usual method of use. When used for combat however they were quite versatile as it could be used as a stabbing weapon, a throwing weapon or by tying rope to the ringed end could become what they called a rope dart and used for grappling and even a bit of distance combat.
"Welcome back brat. How was your trip?" Said Jiraiya breaking him from his observation.
"It was incredible, I had no idea the world was so big or that there would be so much in it." Said Brandon with a smile.
"And you've only seen a small part of it. There are so many places in this world of ours. To experience it all would be the work of a lifetime." Said Jiraiya laughing.
"I'm looking forward to seeing more of it though." Said Brandon
"You'll need to wait a while. I'm putting your team on standby, things have gotten interesting while you've been away."
For Princess Elia Nymeros Martell this second life was one she found herself thankful for every time she awoke. Now twenty years old she could say that she was enjoying this new life much more than she had her previous one. The first time through she'd struggled through it as she'd always been sickly. This time she'd been cured when she was just ten years old, Doran had returned from one of his expeditions and surprised everyone when he'd returned with a guest, a woman named Sakura that was revealed to be a healer who had proceeded to heal her with water magic. The woman had stated that her mother had been most likely been fed poison while she'd been pregnant with her and that had caused damage in her development resulting in her previously frail state.
This reveal had caused her mother to order a search and seizure of the maester's quarters. The seizing of his journals revealed that he had indeed poisoned her mother resulting in several miscarriages and the deaths of her elder brothers Mors and Olyvar who'd died during their infancy. Her mother had the man beheaded and Doran had gone to Kings Landing escorting Sakura who'd already been heading that way. That at least was the official story, in truth from what Doran had told them privately Sakura was a goddess who specialized in healing. She had been tasked by Naruto to see to her recovery and had been summoned by another goddess named Temari when Doran had come across her in Nymeria's Sanctuary. Whatever the case she had recovered wonderfully which had resulted in changes to her adult body. The first time through she'd barely been five feet in height, skinny and flat chested as an adult even after the birth of her children. Now she stood at 5'7" with a decent bust size and while still skinny she had a curve to her figure and was also a bit muscular. All told she looked and felt much better than she had the last time through.
Regardless with her new lease on life she'd taken full advantage of her time. Doran had discovered heaps of knowledge within Nymeria's Sanctuary including forms of water and earth magic called Bending and she had devoured it all. In the last ten years she'd learned a lot, such as how to fight as well as bend the elements. This ability was performed through the motions of one's hands and feet, though it was a tier system with a Master able to do it all with minimal movement and a Grandmaster be able to use the ability simply through their will and focus with no outward motion. As of now she was one of very few who could use Water, Earth and the earth sub-ability of Sand manipulation and the only one who was considered an expert in all three and had done it all by the time she was sixteen. In that time her mother had still taken her and Oberyn on the betrothal tour and just as she remembered none of it had worked out as she'd hoped. This time however she'd convinced her mother to skip the Lannister's altogether.
After this she'd been given the option to travel her own path and had headed to the North to study at the Academy of White Harbor. She had barely gotten off the ship when she was greeted a group which included the Lord Stark himself. She'd been invited to stay in Winterfell and study under the Master Healer Tsunade and had not been able to turn it down. She'd stayed in Winterfell for three years learning everything Lady Tsunade had to teach her. More than that though she'd gotten to spend time with Lyanna, and while for a while she hadn't remembered her it had been nice to see a purely innocent version of her who just wanted to learn and have fun. When Lyanna's memories had finally awakened she'd been there when she'd broken down and cried and listed while she ranted and swore vengeance. She'd left Winterfell only a few months later and returned to Dorne but in that time she and Lyanna had bonded and come up with several new ideas all their own.
Upon her return she had immediately gone to work as she and Doran had led a major project much to her surprise. With the knowledge of the bending arts at their disposal and a fairly high number of their people capable of it her mother had tasked the two of them in the construction of a series of underground canals that would spread all over Dorne giving their land access to free water. Despite their ability to bend elements however the project was proving to be a long and taxing one. At the moment she was resting inside of a large tunnel she had helped erect in order for them to dig the trenches that would allow the water to flow from its source to their target destination, in this case being Sandstone the seat of House Qorgyle, where her brother Oberyn had fostered for a few years when he'd been younger.
Unfortunately, her younger brother was not available for this task. Oberyn was instead tracing his previous steps in an effort to bring about the births of his daughters and to re-establish his legend. As it was the only difference was that he'd not killed Lord Edgar Yronwood when they held their dual and she had been there in order and managed to heal him, Oberyn had still ended up with his nickname 'The Red Viper'. Also unlike last time he'd not stayed long in Oldtown and left shortly after Obara was born. Also unlike last time he'd not just taken the child from her mother but invited the mother to come to Dorne and set her up with a house, a bit of coin and had someone teach her a more respectable trade and she now worked as a seamstress. After that was done Oberyn had also travelled North but had stayed in White Harbor and attended the Academy before leaving for Essos. That said she had not lost track of time and she knew the time for preparation would be coming to an end, soon it would be time to publicly enter the Game of Thrones, and this time they would be playing to win.
Located at the mouth of Blackwater Bay was the volcanic island of Dragonstone. The islands biggest feature was the active volcano that had over time become known as the Dragonmont and it was on the face of the mountain beneath the volcano that the Castle of Dragonstone could be found. The castle itself had been constructed using Valyrian sorcery, fire magic that had enabled its builder to shape its construction to their liking and as such allowed the upper stone towers to resemble dragons. Dragon architecture can be found throughout the castle, such as small dragons framing gates and dragon claws holding torches while a pair of great wings cover the armory and smithy while dragon tails form archways and staircases.
Nearly five hundred years old the castle was the original seat of House Targaryen in Westeros, though it had once merely been the westernmost outpost of the Valyrian Freehold. Since the Conquest it has served as the seat of heir apparent titled the Prince of Dragonstone. The current Prince of Dragonstone Rhaegar Targaryen had called the place home for the last few years, much earlier than he had in his original life. This change however was needed as the privacy afforded by Dragonstone was invaluable to his training. When he'd first come to Dragonstone it had been when his mother in the later stages of her pregnancy with a small party that consisted of the two of them Ser Barristan Selmy and Prince Lewyn Martell of the Kingsguard as well as a healer named Sakura and her husband Sasuke Uchiha. It wasn't until his memories awoke a few days after they arrived on Dragonstone that he'd learned that they had been sent to aid his family by Naruto.
Before that time Sakura had helped his mother birth a set of twins, Shaena and Daeron Targaryen, a gift from Naruto as that they'd both died as babies the first time around. His father had been elated but had apparently demanded the three stay on Dragonstone where there was no maester trying to kill them. His mother and the twins had eventually moved back to Kings Landing but he had stayed to train under Ser Barristan and Sasuke. While Ser Barristan trained him as a knight Sasuke had trained him in magic. He'd helped him learn to manipulate his Dragon Dreams while he was awake which allowed him to peer into both the past and the future. When he was younger he'd been surprised his presence was recognized by a group of Valyrian sorcerers he'd decided to watch who had revealed that he was using an ability they called Astral Projection which was allowing his spirt to travel into the past. Dragon Dreams were apparently an unfocused and uncontrolled version of this ability
He studied under them for the next few years learning all that he could, including a type of fire magic that they called Firebending, an advanced sub-ability they called Lavabending and how to hatch, bond with and care for dragons. They'd also taught him another kind of fire magic though this one with a wider area of effect. It had taken a few months but once he'd learned everything they had to teach him he was informed that he would not be able to see them again for some time and that he should focus on his role in the times to come. Unfortunately he also learned that learning something this way did not mean his body was capable of doing it and he'd still have to train his body to use what he'd learned. While he had trained himself in all aspects he knew he still had a ways to go until he even thought about trying to gain mastery over any of it.
Following his training under the ancient sorcerers he'd looked into more recent past events starting with Aegon and his sister wives Visenya and Rhaenys. He could see that history had gotten much wrong about their relationship, but it had deteriorated in time though not without influence from septons, maesters and scheming lords. Following this he'd looked into other troubling periods for his family and found that whenever things reached their worst for his family it was due to the manipulation of the citadel and the septons and usually through the manipulation of other lords even the Dance of Dragons and their decline had been at the hands of these groups. Thankfully the Citadel had already lost a lot of prestige with the Lords as their actions against the houses of Stark and Martel had become known, the maesters had by this point been completely ejected from Dorne.
When he was fifteen it was determined that he had finished his training and having proved himself in a few tourneys he'd been knighted by Ser Barristan. Having focused more on his martial training this time, even though he still kept his studious nature, he had grown to progress a more powerful form. Training under Sasuke's influence his body had not been built just for strength but for flexibility and speed and as such he wasn't bulky with muscles. In truth while a bit bigger than he'd been the last time through as a full grown adult as he now possessed a medium frame and was covered in compacted muscles with very little fat and he was also taller than he'd been at the same age last time.
Following his knighting he began to spend more time in Kings Landing, though over the last year his time there had been less plentiful and he'd returned to Dragonstone with his siblings having successfully convinced his father to allow it, it had been his desire to pass to them some of the lost Valyrian knowledge he'd gained that had won out in the end. This time he'd the Kingsguard assigned had been Ser Lewyn Martel and they'd been accompanied by his best friend 'The Sword of the Morning' Ser Arthur Dayne for whom Daeron was a squire. He was most impressed with Shaena as she'd taken to magic and combat as if it were second nature to her, so much so that he sometimes thought she was Visenya reborn. He was thankful for that as with their rate of growth he was hopeful that he could complete their training before their time expired, as if all else failed they'd be the ones passing the lessons on to the next generation, though he had no intention of dying this time around the future as always was uncertain.
To say that the mood within the Red Keep was tense would be an understatement. Of course for those who spent a significant amount of time within the Keep there had existed and wariness about the place for quite some time a stand-off between the King and his Hand that all knew of but never spoke on. This stand-off existed for many a reason but the man one was that Aerys was considered the King in name while it was said Tywin was the one who truly ruled. Most would also point to the shift of the power dynamic as being when the Queen had taken an extended stay on Dragonstone prior to the birth of the twins and Tywin had taken the opportunity to appoint a new Master of Coin in Lord Quarlton Chelsted and Lord Royce was dismissed as Master of Law in favor of Lord Symond Staunton. The whispers say the Queen had been furious to discover this upon her return from Dragonstone but had relented in exchange for the education of the Twins to be her responsibility with a few other unknown conditions as well.
This had not been helped that in the years since the birth of the twins she'd had three more miscarriages and Prince Viserys now little more than a year old had only been born when the Queen had decided to return to Dragonstone for the duration of her pregnancy. Of course in those years the relationship between Aerys and Tywin had become incredibly strained due to a number of factors and had been destroyed after the death of Lady Joanna Lannister, rumored to have once been the King's mistress, had died in the birthing bed bringing forth the dwarf Tyrion Lannister. This history however currently meant nothing to Queen who was clearly furious.
For Rhaella herself her fury was born not from the situation but that she had been unable to prevent it. Over the years she and Aerys had grown closer yet she'd been able to do nothing but watch as he transformed into the monster yet again. He'd yet to act against her in anyway, not even the mistresses had truly bothered her, though she'd drawn the line when he once again tried to lay with her ladies. No her fury was due to what she knew was coming and the fact that she'd be unable to do anything to stop it. 'The Mad King' was coming, it was inevitable as he'd already been held in Duskendale for nearly five months now and in her original life he'd been a captive for half a year, that meant the time to act was now. As if the thought was a spell she found her quarry after turning the next corner and had to withhold a grimace at the action she was about to take.
Her target was a man, she had never liked nor trusted and with her knowledge of the once future events she was evidently right. The figure in question was a man, plump and bald who woe robes that appeared to be a rich velvet color made of silk. He was not a terribly tall man standing at perhaps 5'8 and smelled of lavender. This man was none other than Varys otherwise known as 'The Spider' and The Master of Whispers. In truth when he'd first come to them she had wanted to simply kill him, but Sakura had stated he was a necessary evil for the big picture, so she'd ignored the urge.
"Lord Varys, a word." Stated Rhaella causing the man to stop at her approach.
"My Queen." Greeted the man with a short bow.
"We have need of your services." Said Rhaella, the use of the royal 'we' a sign of her seriousness as she rarely used it and only when she truly meant business.
"How might I be of service?" questioned the man.
"You will travel North to Winterfell and inform the Lord Stark that we require the aid of his Fangs. You will inform him of the current situation and that we will reward him greatly upon the Kings safe return, a ship will be ready to take you tonight." Said Rhaella
"Of course my queen." Said the man with a short bow.
"One last thing." Said the Queen stopping him short.
"Ser Barristan will accompany you. He will add credibility to your presence and furthermore will travel with those who undertake this mission. You are dismissed."
"Is it wise to trust him, my queen?" questioned her shadow for the day Ser Gerold Hightower, Lord Commander of the Kingsguard.
"No, that's why I'm sending Ser Barristan with him. Better the eunuch than the maester who would relay word to Tywin first. Now let us go check on Viserys, Ser Oswell can keep us company while you brief Ser Barristan of his mission.
AN: That's it, the chapter is done. As it was getting too long I actually took nearly 2000 words out and moved them to the next chapter. Now for to help you visualize the character of Ada Zumbe is based off of Megan Goode, at least appearance wise. The outfit that Brandon, Barbey, Elbert and Jon are wearing when first seen is Edward Kenway's outfit from Assassin's Creed Black Flag with a few minor cosmetic changes. Jon Umber will also become known as Greatjon in later chapters but only after his son is born. Until next time, LATER.