Winds of Change

Chapter 03

AN: Hello all. Firstly thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. This one is out a little later than I thought it would be but I got it done. That said please don't expect updates this quickly going forward as part of this was cut from the last chapter. Updates may slow down with holidays approaching and all of the new games set to come out soon so sorry in advance. That said here is the next chapter.

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Jiraiya had seen many things over his existence, his first life as a shinobi had been a hard one full of obstacles, pain and failure. His biggest failure he felt had been with Naruto, allowing him to stay and be raised in their home village of Konoha despite his instincts at the words of his teacher. Because of this, his profession as a spymaster and what that entailed he'd only gotten to spend around three years total with his godson before he was killed. Despite this upon his ascension to Godhood his godson, now a man who'd lived a full life, had not hesitated in raising him from the dead and allowing him the opportunity for a new life. Upon his own ascension many including Jiraiya were surprised in that he was created as a God of Love, based solely on the love and dedication he'd always had for Tsunade. Of course he was also a god of lust, battle, and hermits, but Love was his main domain and he and Tsunade married not long after this reveal.

Over time immortality had allowed him to see many things, none as awe inspiring as the metaphysical form that was The World Tree in its true state but many things that had impressed him, nonetheless. He and Tsunade had traveled many the multiverse in that time often descending to the mortal realm to live as humans to see if they'd find each other again, which they always did. It was one of these lives in particular that had an effect on him even now, in a different reality in Egypt in the town of Siwa he had embedded his spirit into a stillborn baby that would be called Bayek, the last of the Medjay, the protectors of Egypt. Tsunade had in the same way become Aya of Alexandria, later known as Amunet. They went through many trails and hardships but together founded a group known as the Hidden Ones, which later evolve and became known as the Brotherhood of Assassins. Naruto and his father Minato were also members of the Brotherhood, Naruto had even lived the lives of two rather legendary Assassins but those were stories for another time.

Upon being given the invitation to come to this reality he and Tsunade had jumped at the opportunity, honestly how B had let everything get so fucked up he still had no idea. Still it was in this image that he had created the Fangs of Fenrir or Black Wolves in, teaching them everything including the tenants of the creed. Brandon Stark who he saw much of himself in had become his apprentice, and only the third that he'd taken as himself. Of course he was also an accomplished spymaster and as such the Fangs of Fenrir were more than just warriors and he had plans for an even greater expansion. As of now he had ears in all of the major territories in Westeros and a few in Essos. As such he had known of Varys's mission long before the man's arrival and had people on him before his ship had even docked. While it was not the first time the man had come North it was the first time he'd come undisguised and as such his first official trip and as such he was there to greet him himself as he and Ser Barristan stepped off of the ship.

That had been a few days ago, as of now he could be found riding beside the two men with a small group of guards as they ran for Winterfell. Varys had apparently been quite surprised when he'd not been provided a wheelhouse but a horse, but he was a grown man and would be treated as such. The man hadn't complained which was a point in his favor, but he still knew better than to trust him, honestly he'd rather just kill him and be done with it but Varys was needed for the timeline they envisioned to play out. The travel had been quite easy for the last few days and Winterfell was actually quite close easily in viewing distance and as such he was not surprised when they were met by a group of riders.

"Lord Jiraiya, good to see you again so soon." Said one of the riders which Varys was surprised was a young woman.

"You as well, Nyla. Tell me how your father is doing?" returned Jiraiya

"He has recovered well my lord. Please extend my thanks to Lady Tsunade again when you see her." Said the young lady.

"Of course, now I need one of you to inform Lord Stark of our approach and that we are escorting an important guest." Said Jiraiya.

"Deran." Called the girl causing one of the three boys with her to nod before he rode off to Winterfell at a fast pace.

A bit over thirty minutes later found the group riding through the gates of Winterfell with their escorts. For Varys though he'd been silent for the most part he'd been listening and what he had learned was enlightening. Like himself this man Jiraiya was clearly a foreigner, yet the people held him in high esteem. Furthermore it was clear that it wasn't just the people who knew of him but that he knew them, as he'd yet to fail to acknowledge anyone by name. The man at just over six feet in height was clearly a warrior and he'd known that the people of the North were supposed to respect strength but now he was truly seeing it. He'd also been surprised to learn that it was his wife that was the mentor to Lady Sakura, the healer who'd delivered the royal twins and Prince Viserys.

They'd been met at the gate by not just Lord Stark but his wife and heir as well. He was informed he had three more children, but one was currently in the Vale and the two youngest were attending their lessons presently. Not long later after the proper formal greetings were exchanged he and Ser Barristan were escorted to their rooms to freshen up and an hour later he found himself seated within the Lords solar along with Jiraiya, Brandon Stark and Lady Stark.

"So Lord Varys, Ser Barristan how can the North be of service to the Iron Throne." Said Lord Stark

"You knew?" questioned Ser Barristan in surprise.

"You may have dressed as a commoner but any of my people would know a member of the Kingsguard by sight, especially one of your reputation."

"The Queen is requesting your aid." Said Varys

"You're being straightforward good, someone must have informed you those southern games would be looked down on here." Said Lady Stark.

"Five months ago the king was taken prisoner, the queen is requesting the aid of your fangs in freeing him. In return she has promised you will be greatly rewarded." Said Varys

"Where is he being held?" questioned Lady Lyarra.

"Duskendale."

"Which would explain why Tywin moved such a large host there." Said Lord Stark thoughtfully.

"He'd still have to get through the city and then siege the Dun Fort though." Said Brandon shaking his head.

"You up for it?" questioned Jiraiya

"Yeah, sure." Said Brandon without any hesitation.

"Gather your team, you guys can take the Javelin from White Harbor to Maidenpool, approach Duskendale from the back end." said Lord Stark.

"Aye, that could work. We could slip in while they're distracted by Tywin and his forces." Said Brandon.

"Let them know then get some rest. You can head out in the morning; I'm sure Ser Barristan would like to go with you. Besides, it would be better for someone he knows to be with you. He's most likely quite paranoid by now." Said Jiraiya.

"Of course." Said Brandon before excusing himself.

The Javelin was a beauty of a ship, the likes of which Ser Barristan had never before beheld. It was a huge vessel at 167 ft. (50 meters) it was a three-mast ship that despite its size moved quickly reducing a two-week three-day journey to one that had lasted a week and two days. True to the plan they had disembarked the ship in Maidenpool and rode horse to Duskendale. Brandon's team consisted Barbey Ryswell, Jon Umber and surprisingly Elbert Arryn all of them heirs to powerful houses, the last of which was the heir of the Vale. Due to the siege currently taking place outside of the gates they'd been able to scale the walls on the side of the town and enter unnoticed. They'd spent a few days in the town scouting it out and getting to know the temperament of its people. For himself Ser Barristan found he was learning quite a bit about his new comrades and the way they operated as well as a few new skills.

Brandon Stark was clearly a capable leader though that could be said for all of them as they all clearly had working brains that they made use of. They could easily work independently of each other but were an even better team and trusted each other implicitly. The plan they'd come up with to infiltrate the Dun Fort was quite devious and he himself hadn't been able to find any flaws in their reasoning, hell they'd come up with things he'd have never even thought of, such as disabling alarm systems, taking out anyone important to the command structure and securing a means of escape. For one person all of this would seem like a lot and something could easily be forgotten but for a team of people the work was able to be divided up. Barbey would take care to disable the alarm bells, Eldric would take out the top commanders those being the Master-at-Arms and the Captain of the Guard and Jon would be securing the means of their escape. He and Brandon meanwhile would be infiltrating the fort to rescue the king and to make things easier they'd gotten him a guard's uniform so that he would better blend in.

With the uniform infiltrating the keep had been a simple thing as they'd simply let him in. The guards were going in and out and they weren't even checking for identities. The helms they all wore didn't help in this problem as the one he currently wore covered everything but his eyes, nose, mouth and chin thanks to the 'T' shaped cut out of its center. Such a thing would never happen in Kings Landing, he and his brothers of the Kingsguard knew every member of the castle guard by face if not by name. As for the helms they would only where them when on an active battlefield, never for a regular guard shift or a siege. In this instance however he wouldn't complain, instead he'd simply wait for the signal for him to make his move.

For Brandon Stark infiltrating the Dun Fort had been a simple process, though one that had required a good bit of agility. Over the last few days they'd scouted the place well and had come across a few access points, provided one had the ability to reach them. The Dun Fort sat on a cliff face, most likely so that they could not be flanked and force a head on attack. For most people that one avenue would be all they considered, Jiraiya however had trained them in something called parkour which gave them not only a freedom of movement but opened the eyes of a practitioner to their environment allowing them to see things they may otherwise have overlooked. It was with the usage of this ability that Elbert and Barbey had scaled the back of the forts wall in order to infiltrate the place.

He however had decided on a different path, a passageway that his father had told him of. The Darklyn's he knew was an Old House of First Men and the petty kings of the area, though not the original settlers or Kings of the area. House Dusken had been the true Kings for thousands of years before they fell during the Andal invasion. House Darklyn was a branch house began when one king's sister had married a childhood friend. When the Main House of Dusken was wiped out the Darklyn's had taken over. As they were not the original owners of the place the Dun Fort had secrets the Darklyn's had no clue about. One of these secrets were the catacombs that ran beneath the city. According to the plans his father presented him with Bran the Builder had designed them so that the Dusken's had a means of escape in the case of a siege.

He had been impressed when first presented with the scroll containing the plans as it was clearly ancient, and it was clear only magic was maintaining its form. Still he had studied it intensely for nearly a month prior to the arrival of Varys. No one had forgotten that it had been the events of Duskendale that began the downward spiral that was ended by the Rebellion and as such they had known this would be the first obstacle that would have to be overcome.

He found the entrance easy enough, exactly where it was said to be in the waters behind the fort was a small piece of stone marked with the crest of The Builder. Pushing it in resulted in latches coming loose before a small doorway opened just large enough for a small dingy to slip through. It must have been on a timer as only just about two minutes after he made his way inside the doorway was closing and sealing itself as if it had never been there. Thankfully, he'd already gotten out of the water and lit a torch that had been placed in a sconce on the wall.

He'd navigated the catacombs for nearly five minutes by his count, lighting torches along the way before he'd come across a fork in the path. According to the original plans this split shouldn't be there as the passage was supposed to go left and would eventually lead to an exit in one of the towers. It was out of curiosity more than anything he took the path to the right, following the path through several twists and turns and stumbling across a few dead ends before he appeared in what appeared to be a crypt. This was odd because the Dusken's had never buried their dead, they'd always sent them out to see and burned them. He continued to follow the path though at times he had to abandon traditional routes due to damage of decay, such as stairs that had rotted away. In these cases he'd either leapt the distance or found a way around. Eventually he came to a stop outside of a room sealed by an iron gate and surrounded by more stone on both sides which led to dead ends. Inside the room were quite a few chests but the centerpiece was a coffin which from his eye looked to have been made of marble.

Unfortunately, there was no obvious way of accessing the inside such as a lock that could be picked, which meant there was most likely another pressure lock. Placing the torch down into a sconce behind him he held both his arms out to either side palms splayed outward for a few moments before a pair of massive air blast erupted from his palms. His application of force was soft as he didn't want to destroy the place and instead used only enough force so that a pressure stone could move. From his position the wind raced across the room pushing into the walls and across the floor. After only a few seconds, less than half a minute he felt a pair of stones sink in, one in the ground and one on the end wall on the right side of the room.

Stopping the air flow quickly he smirked as he watched the gate sink into the ground while he used a short burst of power to will the dust that floated in the air to fall instantly. The Air Blast was amongst the first things he'd learned when it came to his combat magic. Though simple in nature the Air Blast was quite versatile and with an effectiveness that varied with the amount of power applied. He'd once used the attack while out to sea in order to escape the pull of a whirlpool. It had been the first time he'd displayed his ability openly and he knew members of that crew had been trying to learn magic ever since whenever they made port at home.

Making his way into the once sealed room Brandon stopped at one of the chests of which there were five all of which were made of iron. The chests was locked but thankfully the key was already inside however instead of immediately turning it he funneled a small bit of wind inside of the lock for a few moments before pulling it back along with a bit of dust its coloration showing it was mostly rust. Turning the key he was pleased when the chest rather easily unlocked and upon opening the chest was shocked to discover it was full of gemstones, specifically rubies. He repeated the process a few times and found the other chests contained diamonds, sapphires, emeralds, and even gold coins.

Knowing the chests would be heavy he immediately made plans to come back for it all, he'd need to sneak in some people to help with it though. Moving over to the coffin he braced himself as with what was in the chests he was sure what was in the coffin must be even more valuable. Pushing the lid back he found he was not to be disappointed as there were no bones inside or anything that hinted there may have once been a body laid to rest inside. Instead what he found was a set of armor. The armor consisted of greaves, chest guard, vambraces and spaulders all of it having a scale pattern and possessing the signature ripple patterns of Valyrian steel. Also resting in the coffin was a sheathed sword that he recognized instantly as a claymore. Pulling it slightly from its sheath he was once more greeted with the rippled pattern of Valyrian steel and realized that he was holding Doombringer, the sword of House Dusken. He had to fight the urge to immediately put on the armor and sword, he couldn't risk wearing such a thing in front of Aerys as he'd have no choice but to hand it all over and as much as he liked and respected Ser Barristan he would no doubt speak of him having it.

With his new discoveries he scratched the idea of bringing anyone back here with him. Instead he reached into his pouch and retrieved a scroll, one Jiraiya had given him almost two years ago. At the time he'd used it to sneak in gifts for his family that he'd gotten during his travels, Jiraiya had never asked for it back so he'd kept it but made sure to use it sparingly so people wouldn't notice it. Placing the armor and the sword into a pile on top of the unrolled scroll he channeled his magic into the scroll causing the items to vanish in a plume of smoke with the characters for armor and sword appearing on the scroll in runic. Following this he moved over to the chests and repeated the process with each one before rolling up the scroll and slipping it back into his pouch. Leaving the room he tapped the stone that was still sunk into the floor causing it to pop back into place before the gate came back up to seal itself into place. Retrieving his torch he relit it before moving to the right of the room he saw a small part of the wall had been pushed in and gave it a bit more of a push causing the doorway to open, slipping through it he pushed the door closed behind him leaving the room almost as if he'd never been there.

When the signal came it caught the attention of many people, and though he'd never heard the sound before Ser Barristan knew it was what he'd been waiting for. While others ran to investigate the sound he'd remained at his post. Brandon Stark landed in front of him within thirty seconds withdrawing a key he used to open the dungeon gate behind him. They were through the gate in seconds and then Brandon was sprinting ahead, thankfully very few people were being permitted inside the dungeons right now so there were no guards they had to deal with. They found the king within two minutes and found he was sitting up against the back wall, he was a pathetic sight, covered in bruises and the garb he was wearing had clearly seen better days covered in blood as it was. He tensed at their approach and the Kingsguard was quick to remove the helm to reveal his face.

"Your grace, it is Barristan Selmy. My companion is Brandon Stark, Lord Rickard Stark's son. The Queen tasked us to retrieve you." Said the knight as he made his way to the man.

"Put him on your back. I'd say we've got about a minute before people make their way back this way." Said Brandon.

It took some convincing, but he soon had the king secured on his back and they were making their way quickly out. They'd only got halfway out before they came across a pair of guards racing towards them. Brandon didn't slow, instead he picked up speed before slamming his hands into the throats of both guards simultaneously slamming them both down to the ground on their backs before he rose up a pair of blades visible extended beneath his arms that soon slid backwards and disappeared.

"Let's go." Barked Brandon before taking off once more with Ser Barristan quick to follow after him.

Thankfully they didn't encounter anyone else before they made it out of the dungeons making a dash towards the main gate which was unguarded. Slipping out they were greeted to the sight of Jon Umber sitting outside of the gates sitting on a wagon with two horses attached to it.

"Get him up there. Our friends have already gone ahead to make sure the way is cleared for us." Said Jon

"Good, the last thing we need is one of them to get a lucky shot with an arrow." Said Brandon as he helped Ser Barristan get the king into the back of the wagon.

They had barely gotten him settled before the sound of running reached them. Turning towards the sound Ser Barristan felt his own rage flare at the quick approach of Symon Holland, Duskendale's Master of Arms and more importantly the man who had murdered his oath sworn brother Ser Gwayne Gaunt when they first took the king hostage. Unsheathing his own sword he blocked the incoming attack before pushing it off and lashing out with a strike the cut clean across Holland's torso despite the leather armor before reversing the direction giving him another cut and swinging once more causing his head to fly.

Once done he sheathed his sword and hopped in the back with his king while Brandon hoped up front. Despite the wagon not being made for it they tore down the cobblestone streets. Despite the moon being in its place in the sky it wasn't truly that late and there were still a few people out in the streets. Those people had no choice but to suddenly stop or dodge out of the way as Jon Umber had no intention of slowing down. As they neared the main gates of the city they could see them already beginning to open and only near the gates did they slow before they stopped altogether at the gates.

"You remember the rest of the plan?" Questioned Brandon as he hopped off of the wagon.

"No names. Only the King, Queen and Prince Rhaegar can know the identities of the full team." Said Ser Barristan quickly.

"Where are you going!" demanded the king

"The Queen tasked us to get you out and disappear. She wants to keep us as much of a secret as she can for the time being. Tywin's camp is not far from here if we go any further we risk rousing his suspicion." said Brandon.

"I will see you all rewarded for this." Said Aerys as Brandon stood before him while Ser Barristan moved to take control of the wagon.

"Perhaps one day, for now you should focus on recovery." Said Barbey surprising the king with the knowledge one of his rescuers was a woman.

"The camp should be about five minutes away. The only reason we haven't been seen is due to the dark. Go." With that the four ran off disappearing into the darkness.

Cracking the reins of the wagon Ser Barristan urged the horses on and true to Brandon's word they arrived at Tywin's camp within five minutes. Within that time Aerys somehow managed to pull himself together, though he did so by focusing on one thing and that was rage and the desire for vengeance. By the time Tywin and his commanders had appeared the fire had been well and truly stoked and the dragon was awake for all to see. When he spoke the temperature surrounding him seemed to rise and his eyes seemed to glow with an eerie light. In the aftermath of what would go on to become known as the Defiance of Duskendale it would be Aerys's revenge that would become both legendary and terrible.

Though Lord Darklyn would surrender upon the discovery that he no longer had a hostage Aerys would not be swayed from his vengeance and demanded the deaths of Denys and his entire family including uncles, aunts, and distant House Darklyn kinsmen living in Duskendale. House Holland who were not only related by marriage to the Darklyn's but helped in his imprisonment also felt his wraith and were also put to death. Special care was given to a young squire by the name of Robin Hollard, a boy who pulled his beard when he first was seized, was killed on the rack. Most other deaths were quick as they were put to the sword. Lord Darklyn found himself castrated and was forced to watch as his wife had her tongue and lady parts torn out. When this was all done Aerys had ordered the lot of them burned. Lord's Darklyn and Hollard along with their wives were burned alive and in the end there had been only a single survivor young Dontos Hollard and only as a boon to Ser Barristan who had requested it. Though not many knew of it at the time but the monster that would become known as 'The Mad King' was born that night and his laughs as the fires burned would haunt the nightmares of witnesses for years to come.

They reached White Harbor in the early morning light, and while his friends immediately made their departures, Barbey and Jon for their homes and Elbert to check on an order with a blacksmith, Brandon found himself travelling the halls of Frostmourne. He was immediately led to see his aunt Branda who was the head of the bank, the years had been kind to her as despite being his mother's elder sister she still looked as if she were in her twenties. She had married Aeron Flint the second son of the Lord of Widows Watch and had two boys Rodrik and Errold who were 8 and 5 respectively. The bank had been under her direction since the very beginning and in that time had grown to become a huge beast that rivaled the Iron Bank and there was even talk of opening a branch in Kings Landing.

"How was your trip nephew?" questioned Branda after she released him from her greeting hug.

"Surprisingly profitable." Said Brandon.

With that he launched into his story about the catacombs beneath the Dun Fort. He would admit that he got a bit of a thrill from the look in her eyes when he released his newly found wealth from the seal. In this life she'd been his first crush and while he'd gotten over it there was still that bit of himself that delighted in impressing her. She also helped him to try on the armor and while it was ill-fitting at the moment she was sure that he would grow into it and if not she could have it refitted for him.

"As for the jewels and coins I'll have to speak to your father about it. I've no doubt that some of it will go to the family account but you'll still see your fair share of it." Said Branda.

"I figured that would be the case. I have a couple of plans I need to speak with him about as well."

The armor was soon returned to the scroll though he took the opportunity to place the sword on his back, he planned to be well used to it before things picked up for his house again. A few minutes later and a group of men entered the room each of them taking up one end of each chest and moving to take them to the Stark vault. He took his leave not long later and headed to the Wolf Den where he was debriefed by Jiraiya. The man had congratulated him on his find and stated they'd begin training him to wield heavy class weapons so that he would be comfortable with the claymore when that time came.

The return to Kings Landing had been a quick one. Rather than travel by land the King had commandeered a ship from the blockade to return him to his seat. It took only a few days by sea to make their return and upon arrival they'd been met by three more members of the Kingsguard. The King was loaded into a carriage and while one took the reins the other three rode horseback surrounding it. Upon return to the Red Keep the King was immediately taken to see the new Grand Maester Clarrik. Lady Sakura had unfortunately still not returned from the North where she'd gone to visit her former teacher months ago which left them with no choice but to use the maester.

Pycelle, the previous Grand Maester had been sentenced to the Nights Watch a few months after the birth of Viserys. He would replace the Maester at Castle Black who had been released of his vows and sent to Winterfell. Lord Stark had accepted this as he'd known Maester Aemon since he was but a boy himself. It had been a great move from the Queen and had averted what could have been a very bloody affair between the North and the Citadel. It had left the Night's Watch with a maester problem for a few years which they solved by having temporary holders in place on a rotation until Pycelle had been sent there. After the maester had seen to his health the King had dismissed everyone with the exception of the Queen with the Kingsguard leaving Ser Oswell Whent to guard the door while the rest retreated to the White Sword Tower to debrief Ser Barristan.

Nearly two hours later the Queen emerged and addressed the court. When she did she had a few announcements such as announcing the extinction of House Darklyn and that House Hollard had been reduced to a single member. Despite this both houses were stripped of all lands and titles and House Rykker was given the lands and incomes for Duskensdale. Furthermore the Northern mercenary company known as the Fangs of Fenrir would be given titles equivalent to knights in all of the Seven Kingdoms. As they did not follow the Seven but Northern Gods and customs the rules would be slightly different. As they accepted women amongst their ranks these women would hold the new title of Dame. Furthermore as Lord Stark had not hesitated to send aid in the most elite squad he had access to the North was being elevated to a principality and henceforth Lord Stark and his descendants would take the title of Prince or Princess of the North or alternatively the Prince or Princess of Winter.

With her announcements made the Queen retreated from the room and later that day the ravens were sent out with these announcements. The hornets' nest had definitely been shaken up and the board would see a massive restructuring. Of course none of these people with the exception of the Queen had any clue about the storm that would soon be coming their way.

AN: That's it the chapter is done. The inspiration for Brandon's armor came from the Helmschmied Drachen Armor from Assassin's Creed Brotherhood. While not the best armor ever I felt visually it would fit the world of Game of Thrones, it just won't have the cape. That said I think you all for reading and please leave a review. Until next time, LATER.