"I yield..." Rodrick croaked when I loosed my fingers. I released my grasp and watched as he fell onto the floor, coughing and wheezing. Everyone else, however, was too busy being frozen in shock at the sight of Nightfury to actually take notice of my victory and I couldn't blame them. My boy was a sight to behold and, at night, with his eyes glimmering like charcoals and with tongues of fire licking and dancing from his mouth and nostrils, I bet more than a few of the people here, excluding the Bear Island natives who already knew about him, were shitting their pants right in that moment. Though to be certain, even the natives were scared shitless and who could blame them? My little spiky boye was more than capable of melting and sinking the entire island if he wanted to – or if I told him to.
Rodrick looked up, saw Nightfury, and promptly fainted. Hmm... it seemed like none of his friends even noticed or cared to. Everyone was busy shitting and pissing their undergarments at the sight of Nightfury to even notice little old Rodrick on the ground. So, I had a bunch of my skeletons grab him by his heels and drag him somewhere warm so he didn't freeze to death on account of being a dumb ass.
Like I said, being an idiot wasn't a crime that deserved the death penalty – at least, depending on my mood.
Oh well, he already yielded anyway. Not my problem anymore if anything happens to him on the ground. I walked to the center of the courtyard and clapped my hands together, loud enough for everyone to hear. Eyes and gazes snapped towards me. I saw the fear in their faces. Even Meera was not spared the aura of dread that the Fatalis naturally exuded, that very same aura that made it an absolute terror in Monster Hunter, the aura that warned every living creature of the danger they were in by just existing close enough to one. I clapped again a little louder. "Everyone, I'd like to introduce you to Nightfury; he's my not-so little boy. And yes, he's a dragon. And yes, he can breathe fire that's more than hot enough to turn castles into crimson pools of molten rock. Welcome to my TED talk."
Hmm... then again... a dragon wasn't just a dragon. It was, more than anything, a symbol of authority and power, the same symbol that allowed the Targaryens to rule over Westeros and allowed the Valyrians to rise from being simple farmers to conquerors. When people saw a dragon, the most immediate reaction was fear, but what about afterwards? Well, afterwards, they'd remember that whoever had a dragon basically wielded the authority of a King. A dragon was the crystallization of the symbol of power in Planetos. Magic was a close second. And I had both.
Nightfury let loose a thunderous cackle, jets of flame and smoke surging from his mouth and nostrils. Our mental connection told me that my boy was laughing, apparently finding a great deal of amusement at the expense of the Stark Delegate. Fair enough. Of course, everyone else in the crowd were not aware of Nightfury's amusement and so gasps and screams echoed all around, the crowd – perhaps – interpreting the sound as something aggressive, something dangerous. The flames, I bet, did not aid in putting them at ease.
So, in that moment, I bet I could get all of them to kneel and kiss the damn ground if I told them to. Heck, I could go further and have them all recognize me as king or some shit. I mean, if I was an edgy power tripping piece of shit, then that's exactly what I'd do. Well, I was power tripping, but I had no interest in ruling or any of that. So, these people were lucky. Otherwise, well...
"Don't worry," I continued, raising my voice so that everyone heard me. I also infused a little bit of Necrotic Energy into my voice box and... well... the results were, interesting, as my voice became a chorus of ghastly echoes, like dozens of ghosts speaking at once. Goddamn this was fly as fuck. "Nightfury won't hurt or burn anyone without my approval."
The crowd was still tense, a sea of wide eyes and parted lips. The bravest among them, likely the seasoned warriors and guards, still held their weapons tightly, but it was clear that no one was eager to challenge me further. Nightfury's presence alone was enough to keep everyone in check, which was precisely the point. I wasn't about to let anyone get any funny ideas about messing with me. "Now, how about we all go back inside and continue with our meals? I would not want to spoil the hospitality of the dear Lady Mormont."
Lysa, trying to maintain some semblance of order, stepped forward and addressed the crowd, her voice surprisingly steady given the circumstances. Then again, she'd seen Nightfury before and, as fearsome as the good boye was, Lysa trusted me well enough to rein in her fear. And she was a lot stronger than people gave her credit for. After all, she would've eventually retaken Bear Island from the Wildlings even without me. Mormonts were fucking crazy, honestly. "You heard Lord Jason. Return to your meals and drink and make merry. Tonight, we are all under the protection of Guest Rights. Let us honor that as proper men of the North."
Slowly, hesitantly, the crowd began to disperse, though many still cast wary glances towards Nightfury and me. I turned to the good boye and nodded. Not sure how or why he decided to show up, but the added drama was a nice touch – a step in the right direction, which was turning the whole of ASOIAF into a telenovela. The torches were relit, the fires stoked, and the hall gradually returned to a semblance of normalcy, though the tension in the air was palpable. Meera approached me, her eyes filled with a mixture of awe and apprehension – the same sort of eyes held by just about everyone else who'd see my magic and my dragon. Though, I suppose, between the two, my magic took second place, even with the healing magic I possessed. Dragons were just so freakishly fearsome, commanding fear and awe wherever they were from whoever saw them.
I myself returned to the dining hall, all smiles because that's what great villains did. Plus, I was enjoying the fact that it greatly unnerved the Stark Warriors and, boy oh boy, was I having too much fun playing as the big bad guy. Megamind once said that the difference between a villain and a supervillain was presentation. And he was damn right. I had the full intention of being a supervillain – at least, in terms of presentation. I smiled as I sat down. And I maintained that smile as I took a sip of the wine and dined on buttered crab and lobster.
Ah, the look on their faces. Honestly, all of this was making me excited about waltzing into the mainland. Because I simply couldn't fucking wait to see the faces of the lords and ladies, kings and princes, when they realized just how below the pecking order they really were.
"Lord Jason Lee," Meera Stark said, her voice steady and hard despite the palpable fear about her. I admired that about her, much like I admired Lysa's bravery and tenacity. Sheesh, these Northern women were gonna have me acting up with my second brain. I mean, not with Lysa, but definitely with Meera. Good thing I had plenty of self control. Plus, the imbalance of power was making all of this kind of icky, honestly. It didn't matter that Meera was older than I. What mattered was that I could force her into something if I wanted to and that was where the icky part came into play. It reminded me too much of teachers who had relationships with their students.
And, boy oh boy, I knew a lot of those types.
But, if I considered this sort of thing all the time, I'd never get fucking laid in this world, since I was pretty much a god when compared to everyone else. Shit. Then again, a good solution would be to just do it with someone who didn't know about my magic or my dragon.
Ah, best not think about such things for now. Reject horny, return to monke.
"You have a dragon," Lady Meera Stark said, her tone flat, but otherwise riddled with apprehension. She looked like someone who had no idea what she wanted to say, but was forcing herself to speak. If I had to guess, Meera Stark was probably trying to do some realpolitik. Mama warned me about women like her. I was hoping she was right. "And you possess magic unlike anything the world has ever seen – more powerful than anything a Shadowbinder or a Red Priest may conjure. If you wished to conquer the whole of Westeros as Aegon the Conqueror did, then no one could stop you; the Targaryens would bow before you. They'd offer you princesses and queens. They'd offer you the Seven Kingdoms just for your hand in marriage. If you wished it, you could end their bloodline and establish your own dynasty in its place. But..."
"But why don't I want to do any of that?" I finished, smiling as I slurped up a giant crab pincer. Goddamn it was good. Westerosi food, as described by GRRM numerous times in the ASOIAF novels, honestly didn't sound appetizing to me. The idea of eating pork that's been cooked in honey was just weird. I'd rather it be salted and smoked with just pepper. Anyway... "The simple answer is that I could, but I don't want to. There's no need for me to. I have no desire for a throne and I don't care for one. Honestly, why the fuck would I saddle myself with responsibility when I literally have a dragon? Ruling sounds boring. I'd rather be flying all over the world with my merry band of skeletons. So, to answer the question you haven't asked but are likely planning to: what I want to do is have fun – to be unbound."
Of course, sooner or later, I was gonna try conquering the world, because that's exactly what I said I'd do, but I wasn't in a hurry. World Domination was the main quest, but I was more interested in the side quests, the little details that made the world more interesting. For example, I'd rather go and explore a place like Ibben than set foot in the cesspool that was King's Landing. Or brave the frontiers of Sothoryos and have a fistfight with King Kong than deal with the vipers and snakes that played the game of thrones or some shit. I mean, sure, that could be fun, but I didn't have to deal with it immediately. Plus, that thing with the Targaryens wasn't something I was particularly excited to be dealing with. Sure, it'll be funny, but eh. The incest lizards didn't interest me as much as everything else.
Oh, and I was definitely gonna try looking for the Drowned God, just to see if I was dealing with Cthulhu or Dagon. And there was that whole business with the White Walkers beyond the wall or some shit. Yeah, definitely gonna see what's going on out there.
So, all in all, Westeros and all its politics and backstabbing lords and ladies wasn't nearly as interesting as everything else.
"I've... never met a man like you – not once." Meera said, a ghost of a smile playing on her lips. She sat down across me, having brought her own plate, which was similarly filled with crab and lobster and bacon. I smiled and leaned back as she continued. "Most are all too interested in power and influence – fame and fortune. You're an adventurer at heart."
"No one's ever met a man like me, I think," I replied, smiling as I glanced out the window and saw Nightfury curling up in the courtyard. He was having way too much fun scaring people. "Anyway, there's-"
I felt it then – a very distant, but very potent presence, one of death and cold.
It was coming.
I stood up abruptly and, through our link, Nightfury got up as well, startling just about everyone in Mormont Keep. Something was coming straight for me, something powerful and terrible. But I couldn't let it get anywhere near Bear Island. I've worked too long and too hard to fix this shitty place up. And so, I ran out of the hall, ignoring Lysa Mormont and just about everyone else as I did. I didn't want Halga to get involved, either, since I knew for a fact that she'd just straight up get killed if she did.
I climbed over and mounted Nightfury, and we both set off into the night, turning northward.
AN: Chapter 31 is out on (Pat)reon!