Jon

Roughly a year later...

Jon had only just recently turned 16,Gerionfound out,Geriontook him out andGeriongot him royally hammered. It's the first time he'd been blackout drunk and the morning after was one of the worst things he'd ever experienced, and in the past year he'd experienced a lot of things.

For starters, him andGeriongot on like a house on fire now, they bantered with each other, took the piss out of each other but it wasn't all justjokesand japes with the pair of them. They both had each other's back as well whether it be in an argument or fight with some stranger or just even the smallest things like cooking for each other, doing little favours here and there.

Gerionwasn't really a friend to Jon, he was more like an uncle...a mad and annoying uncle but an uncle all the same.

Speaking ofGerion, his 'uncle' had managed to get him a job working on the docks so that he could pay his way, it wasn't really fair leeching food and accommodation without contributing so he askedGerionif there was any work going around andhemanaged to be earning coin the very next day.

He spent most of his morning, from dawn to midday, in his lessons withMaster Miyamotoand the afternoon on the docks, moving crates and pulling ropes was the main gist of it.

Speaking ofMaster MiyamotoorMaster Mas him andGerionliked to call him, that relationship had also grown as well,Master Mwas the closest thing to a grandfather that Jon had ever had. The man was a pool of knowledge and it sometimes scared Jon how muchMaster Mknew about him, either the man was a brilliant judge of character or he could actually read a person's mind like an open book.

Master Mhad kept Jon on the right track since day one of his training, at first, he wondered why he was even doing all of this intense training butMaster Mtold him or believes he told him ifGerion'stranslation was accurate that 'every man and woman should strive to be the best version of themselves',Jon couldn't argue with that and the fact that the whole reason for leaving home was to discover himself and improve himself helped with agreeing with the man's statement.

His lessons were more of a war between him and his own sanity, each lesson was so intense and cut throat that he thought he was actually going to die at points. He would go home battered and bruised, he was sure his bruises had their own bruises it was that tell him each night that in the end it would be worth it so he stuck it out.

TheMasterhad claimed that he had a natural gift with weaponry whether it be swords, daggers or even the odd weapons that were native to this land, he'd taken to them like a duck to water. He'd also trained with bows but was quick to determine that the bow was something he should avoid, to put it bluntly, he was awful with a bow, that was more Theon's expertise Jon hated to admit.

TheMasterhad him doing all sorts of different physical exercises when sparring wasn't on the agenda for the day, running up and down the mass hill of stairs that led up to the town hall, 50 to 60 times in one sitting at times. Jon had counted the number of stairs due to the fact that he'd ran up them that many times, it was a rough estimate but he guessed around 180 to 200 steps made up the'Stairway to Hell'as he'd had dubbed it.

He'd been tasked with climbing the face of a steep almost sheer cliff thathe'dlater learned was actually just thebaseofMountHakusan, he couldn't for the life of him even think about climbing the entirety of it and ifMaster Mtasked him with doingso,he'd probably tell him where to get off, that was a hard no from him.

One of the more embarrassing exercises he had him doing was chasing the same macaques that he'd seen when hewas freshoff the boat. Not only were children also chasing these little arseholes around but he was confident that it was all just a game to thesebastards. He'dmanaged to catch quite a few of them ever since he started but his reward for capturing these wily little things was just an abundance of scratch marks with a few of them pissing on him, 1 or 2 of them had even thrown their own shit at him, knowledge he'd kept away fromGerion.

Not only had his sword skills improved but so too had his more stealth inclined skills, the ones he had learnt to adapt to living under Catelyn Stark's glare. The skills in question had become quite handy when it came to pissingGerionoff, the man was adamant he was trying to get rid of him by causing a heart attack whenever he snuck up on him.

Jon would always tell him he couldn't get rid of him because who on earth would carry on teaching himnihongo. He wasn't fluent in the language but hebelieves hecantake part in a cohesive conversation with hisMasterand the natives of the say that he's learnt the words well but his northern burr made some of the pronunciations sound ridiculous and hilarious, Jon would alwaystell him topiss off.

With all the training and lugging around on the docks, Jon would return home at night feeling like a dead, aching weight. This went on for nearly 5 moons but eventually he and his body got used to and adapted to the stresses of the day. The results of it all were shocking to say the least.

Jon would often wake up on a morning and just stare at his reflection in the looking glass,Gerionwould jape that he fancied himself, but it wasn't that, he just wondered what the fuck had happened to the old Jon Snow.

His hair was exactly the same as it had always been, shoulder length raven curls. Although he did try it out in a bun at one point butGerionjust took the piss, always asked him why there was a rat on his head and thus the bun was no more.

His beard was a little bit thicker but still neatly trimmed, something to this dayGerionwas jealous of.

No, the thing that shocked Jon the most was hisoverallphysique.

He'dgrown a few more inches in the past year and he now hada coupleonGerion, something he would always grin about. Something he would also grin about is his progress with his body in general, a combination of a balanced diet consisting of the right meats, vegetables and fruit with the sheer hard work he'sput into his training withMaster Mand the hard graft when working on the docks has left Jon a wall of solid muscle.

His hard work had paid off andGerionwas always quick to agree stating that he should'Always listen to uncleGerion, you'll never go wrong'.He would always roll his eyes at him whenever he said that but had to agree with him somewhat, if it wasn't for that little push at thebeginning,he wasn't sure how it had have turned out.

Him andGerionweren't the only ones who appreciated his hard work if the looks he would get in town were anything to go by.

Jon had never really taken much notice of the opposite sex in recent years, he'd always been too lost in his thoughts about this and that or'Brooding'as people like to call it, always too busy to notice the looks.

But16 year oldJon was a little bit different fromtheyounger Jon. He'd lived away from a repressive society that put the man down whenever it could for over a year now and it had done wonders for his confidence and called it body confidence but Jon was pretty sure it was getting away from that shit society that had done it.

Now Jon would find himself doing things he wouldn't have possibly thought he would do ever, he flirted with girls when he was out and about, actually flirted, Jon Snow did not flirt or at least he didn't.

Harmless flirting was as far as it went though, the word'Bastard'had somewhat lost its meaning to Jon whilst living here but it was still always in the back of his mind, a niggling reminder of who he was and what he wouldn't wish onsomebody, especially a child. Therefore, Jon had come to the conclusion that he'd be saving himself,toGerion'samusement.

He was interrupted from his thoughts when a wet cloth slapped across his face.

"The fuck was that for?" He asked as he glared atGerionwho was washing the bowls.

"Stop brooding and help me out with the washing up." He replied.

Jon got up from where he was sat a went over to help. A comfortable silence took over the room whilst they cleaned up untilGerionside eyed him and nudged his shoulder.

"What's all that about then? Not seen you brood sinceMaster Mtold you about the whole'destiny for greatness' thing."

Jon remembers that day, it happened a few moons ago whilst training withthe old praise he received from him because of his progress in training was always welcome, it always justified his hard work but whenMaster Mfollowed it up by telling him he had a'destiny for greatness'and that he wants to test him further, Jon felt a sense of foreboding creep up hisspine,almost anouterbody experience. Just looking into the old man's eyes made Jon think he knew more than he was letting on.

Jon answeredGerionwho had been patiently waiting, "Nah, its nothing. I was just thinking about how much of a difference a year can make that's all."

"Ah, so thisdoeshave something to do withMaster M,he's been harping on at me about how he thinks you're ready or something along those lines. and I'm guessing he's mentioned about it to you?"

"I'm ready? Ready for what? He's mentioned nothing to me." Jon replied,'this better not be about this destiny thing'he thought.

"Well I don't know if you've noticed or if it's just the naivety of youth but the town has been preparing for war for months now. Food stockpiled, buildings reinforced, head counts, theDaimyoare not taking anything for granted now that talks with the other islands have completely broken down."Gerionsaid and for the first time meeting the man, he looked concerned.

Jon had noticed a lot more movement around town in the recent months but didn't realise that the situation was so dire. As much as Jon acted the confident, silver tongued youth around people, the prospect of war worried him quite a bit. For starters, he's never killed a man before, the prospect of taking hold of another person's life and choosing to end it disturbed Jon somewhat.

He'd talked about this withGerionand he'd said that the first one is the hardest and that you have to remember that these people are trying to kill you as well, it's you or them. It somewhat helped.

He replied toGerion, "I've seen the influx of activity in town yes but I still don't understand what that has to do with me'Being ready'."

Gerionsighed, "He's grooming you Jon, he..."

"I'm not fucking him."

"Will you shut the fuck up for once and listen?"Gerionsighed, "He's grooming you for war, he's told me that he sees himself in you, he..."

"And he's not fucking me."

Gerionjust looked at him exasperated, "Can you be serious for once?"

"I'll try." He replied.

And soGerionexplained everything to him, on howMaster Mhas been training him to be aSamurai,a highly respected soldier of the field, so that he could fight alongsideMaster Mwhen the inevitable war arrived. He explained that spies theDaimyohad sent to the other islands have discovered a group calling themselves'The Imperial Clan'and thatthey'vebeen consolidating power by ripping existing clans apart and absorbing whatever numbers they had left into a major powerhouse.

To Jon this sounded just likeAegon the Conquerorif history was anything to go by, but if what the spies were saying weretrue,it sounded like they were doing it in the most brutal way.

Gerionexplained thatHokkaido,the most easterly of the four islands had already fallen to this clan and thattheHonshuresistancewas already fighting them...and losing. This group was making their way west across the entirety of the four islands, and theirs was next.

"Do we know their motives? It can't all be aboutwealthand power." Jon naively suggested.

Gerionjust looked at him.

"It's aboutwealthand power Jon, no two ways about it. Towns and villages and being pillaged for valuables, women are being took for...reasons and children are being trained to fight for them."Gerionshook his head.

"It's all being spearheaded by a man claiming to be a god, he's declared himselfEmperorof the four islands and everybody has become an automatic enemy of the state."

"So, thisEmperoris just a tyrant lusting for power, is that what you're saying?" Jon asked.

"That's exactly what I'm saying."Gerionsighed, "TheDaimyoandMaster Mhave been preparing for this for months but aren't very optimistic. The spies relayed their numbers to us and theImperial Clanhave numbers close to fifty thousand soldiers, theHonshuresistance apparently have twenty thousand soldiers but are fighting a losing battle. WhenHonshuinevitably falls, theImperial clanwill have numbers close to sixty thousand."

"Shouldn't we be helping them? Consolidate our troops just like they have." Jon asked.

Gerionjust shook his head, "By the time we have everyone armed, ready and traveling there,Honshuwill have fallen and we'd be sitting ducks."

"WellKyushuwill be the last island to be attacked since they're the most westerly, we should group up with them and compile a defence strategy. We can't just sit around waiting for the inevitable as you put it." Jon said, annoyed withGerion'sdefeatist attitude.

"At the end of the day Jon all we can do is fight, it's a fight none of us think we can win but it's a fight we have to take on. Nine times out of ten, war is a numbers game, and we don't come close to having the numbers."

"How many fighting men doesKyushuhave?" Jon asked. He was trying to formulate a plan, maybe some sort of suicide mission was in order.

"Six thousand."Gerionanswered.

"SIX!...And how many do we have?" Jon asked, dreading the answer.

"Three thousand."Gerionfinished.

And now Jon understood why they all thought the fight was over before it had even started.

"Wouldn't it make the most sense then to just accept them as your new rulers for the sake of all these people's lives?" Jon wondered.

"Don't you see Jon, they aren't giving people much of a choice. The people they have recruited into their clan from these islands haven't joined because they wanted to, they've joined because their families are being threatened and held captive. A third of their clan are essentially slave soldiers fighting for their family's wellbeing."

"How long do they think it will be before they arrive..." Jon asked.

"2 moons, 3 moons tops."Gerionanswered, he'd never seen him this downtrodden, made sense if you thought you weregonnadie soon he supposed.

"Godshelp us, we need a miracle." Jon said to him.

"That we do." He replied "That we do."

Ned

Panic struck like a lightning bolt as he read the raven his wife had handed him. Sitting in thegodswoodunder the heart tree was supposed to bring him calmand ease but at the moment, as he broke the Hand of the King's seal, he felt dread.

'Do they know?'He wondered as he unrolled the parchment and laid his eyes on its contents.

Dear Lord Eddard of House Stark,

It has come to our grace, The King's attention that his most northern kingdom has been somewhat neglected by the crown since the conclusion of the Greyjoy rebellion.

With that in mind, his and her grace, KingRhaegarand Queen Elia, alongwithPrincessRhaenysand Princess Daenerys will be making the journey north to visit and deal with any grievances that you or your people may have.

By the time you receive this letter, the Royal retinue will be roughly a month away from Winterfell and his grace hopes this amount of time is satisfactory for preparations to be made for their arrival.

His grace looks forward to meeting you again.

Sincerely,

Lord JonConnington,

Lord of Griffin's Roost and Hand of the King.

Ned read through the letter two more times to make sure he hadn't missed anything, any clues to whether or not they knew.

'His grace looks forward to meeting you again',Ned thought that sounded a bit ominous if he was being honest, he suspected there was more to this visit than what the contents of the letter suggested.

"What does it say? Is everything alright Ned?" Cat asked, a concerned look on her face.

"The Royal family is going to be visiting us, they'll be arriving in a moons time." Ned replied as he skimmed through the letter a third time.

"Did they say what they were travelling so far for?" Catelyn asked, Ned could already see the gears turning.

Ned handed her the letter, "The Hand of the King said that the King and Queen believe they have neglected the north and this visit is a means to fix that."

Catelyn read through the letter and replied, "It says that the two Princesses will be travelling with them as well. Why would that be?"

"I'm not sure, all I know is that we need to prepare." He answered, he didn't like the gleam in her eye when she handed him the letter back.

"I'll get right on it, first things first, Robb and the boys need new clothes for the visit and the girls need new dresses as well." Catelyn said as she walked out of thegodswood, rattling off tasks that needed to be dealt with.

Ned picked upIcethat he was previously sharpening before Catelyn turned up and carried on with his letter and subsequently the reason for his troubled mind completely taking over his thoughts.

Jon.

Ned had lost count on how many months it had been since he'd last seen him, if he were to guess he would say a year and a half. Not knowing if he was alright was the worst of it, for all he knew Jon could have died a year ago, something he refused to believe even though it was a genuine possibility.

The majority of the household had somewhat recovered from Jon's disappearance but to say everything was back to normal would be far from the truth.

The boys missed him, the girls missed him, Jory, Ser Rodrik,Mikken, Gage, they all missed him hell, even the household staff missed him, mainly the maids, something Ned was quite sure he knewthe reasonwhythey missed him.

Arya,gods Arya.

She has been her mother's worst nightmare ever since Jon left. Something Catelyn likes to blame on Jon which in turn makes Arya even worse towards her. Sly comments, cold behaviour and a rebellious streak hadturned Arya into a force of nature.

It's mainly her mother and Theon who get the worst of it but Sansa receives some of it as well if you count completely disregarding somebody's existence. Ned knows Sansa is sorry for her attitude towards Jon, she had said so herself but Arya is very reluctant to forgive and forget.

Ned sighed, Catelyn was fighting a losing battle if she thinks she can get Arya to wear any of these new dresses she's planning on getting, she'd destroy them in front of her mother's eyes if she was forced.

He'd have to have another sit down with her, the last one he'd had with her hadn't gone too well, she'd started to behave somewhat but after a week she'd returned back to her rebellious self again. And Ned didn't even want to think about the dirty looks he'd received throughout that week from her, it wounded him seeing his little girl look at him like that.

Ned rose to his feet and sheathedIce,he too had a lot of planning to do, whatever the reason was for the Royal family to be heading their way, he still had to prepare his home for their arrival.

"Let's hope itISjust a visit."He said to no one in particular.

Gerion

Jon had just left for his shift on the docks which in turn had given him the opportunity to sit down and think about what had just transpired. Jon was now aware of the current situation they were all in and his reaction hadn't surprised him at all.

Even after a year of knowing the lad, Jon was still an enigma to him, he had an unexplainable aura to him. One minute he could be chatting away with him, having a laugh and good naturedly ribbing each other, the next he would end silent and almost melancholy.

And his progress with his training was not something that could be easily ignored either, the boy was a demon with a weapon in his hand. The closest person he could compare Jon to at his age would be his nephew, Jaime. He loved his nephew but ifGerionwas being honest, that would be an insult to Jon's ability. To put it simply, Jon was the most naturally talented fighter he'd ever met, somethingMaster Miyamotowould one hundred percent agree on.

Master Miyamotoas of late was being very mysterious when the topic of Jon popped up lately. He knew the old man saw an incredible amount of potential in Jon but only recently has he been more intense with that belief.

Him andMaster Mhad a conversation about Jon just yesterday and some of the comments he made painted Jon as being some sort of demigod and the suicidal task he was planning to give to him was just a waste of time...he also didn't want him to die.

Gerionhad to reluctantly admit he'd grown rather fond of the young northerner. The attitude, the banter, the genuine care they had for one another was very familial. He enjoyed his company to put it simply and although he'd never told the lad, he saw Jon as almost like a son.

Jon had talked about his family to him, talked about his brothers soGeriontalked about his, Jon's opinion of Tywin was identical to his and the line"He sounds like he needs a hug...that or a ruddy good caning."from Jon always made him chuckle.

Jon had also mentioned his father Eddard Stark and how he was one of the factors that made him make the decision to leave home prematurely. Jon didn't understand and neither could he if he was being honest why Lord Stark would hide the identity of his mother. Jon thinks he's hiding something that could hurt his image and he was inclined to agree with him.

Gerionwas lost in his thoughts until he heard somebody knocking on his front door. A peak through the peep hole confirmed the identity of his visitor,Master Miyamoto.

'Odd, he never visits unless it's really important.'

...And an hour later he understood the reason for his visit.

The Imperial Clanhad sent a small splinter group of roughly ten thousand men to their island,Shikoku,in advance of their main group. Scouts hadreported back and claimed the group was at most, a fortnight away.

Master Mhad also left clear instructions forGerionto help prepare the defence of the town and to send Jon to his hall when he returns home from the 't one hundred percent sure why he needed to see Jon but he had a funny feeling it had something to do with this final task of his.

His idea was a complete suicide mission, it all rested onMaster M'sbelief in Jon and inGerion'seyes, it was completely Miyamotowas rarely wrong but he had a feeling this might be one of those times where he is...and it would cost Jon his life.

'Master Miyamoto is going to get my friend killed'Gerionmused, a sinking feeling in his stomach but he had to reluctantly admit, it was the only plan anybody had and was probably the only chance that any of them were going to survive this.

Jon

The trek back home was apeaceful one, well, apart from the cheeky little monkeys trying nabhis wage from his pocket.'They would be an absolute nightmare in Kings Landing'he thought to himself, the image of seeing a perfumed lord running through the streets chasing a monkey as it threw its own makingat the man was a rather amusingthought.

As he turned a corner and started his ascent up a set of stairs, his thoughts went back to his andGerion'sconversation earlier,war. Something unavoidable by all accounts, something Jon was reluctant to be a part of but the fact that this town and subsequently this land had accepted him and allowed him to start a new life here kind of made Jon indebted to these people. At the end of the day, it was the right thing to do, whether or not it got him killed.

He also owed it toMaster M, the old man had spent an entire year training Jon, moulding him into the refined fighter he was today. He'd madehimwork hard for it but the result of all the blood, sweat and tears was definitely worth itin the end.

Though he still wasn't sure what it was thatmadeMaster Mlook at him like some preciousgem, hewasJon Snow, some northernbastard who happened to enjoy sparring like most boys his age, what on earth was so specialabout me?

Jon huffed, he'll probably find out sooner orlater. The old man was getting more and more intense with his ramblings and they alwaysseem to involve him in some sense.

Gerion'shouse came into view as he finished his climb, he was always appreciative ofhishospitality and realised he'd lucked out hard when he first arrived , he did have plans on finding his own housing after the war...if he survived.

Upon entering thehouse,he could instantly tell something was up. Onelookacross the room atGerion'shunched body as he sat at the table, reading what looked to be something important and biting his nails in the process confirmed Jon's suspicions.

Jon greeted him to break him from his trance.

"Hey up, its busy down at the docks tonight, more boat traffic than normal, has something happened?" He asked as he headed over to the stove to boil some water for his bath.

Gerionlooked up from hisparchment"There's been a change of plan,Master Miyamotocameroundearlier to explain everything...It'snot looking good Jon."

That halted him in his tracks, "Whatdo you mean a change of plan? What's happened?Master Mnever comesroundhere."

"The Imperial Clan hassent a splinter group in advance and that group is less than a fortnight away."

"How many?" Jon asked, brow furrowed in concentration.

Gerionsighed "Our scouts report around ten thousand, a thousand of which are mounted soldiers."

"Fuck." Was all Jon could reply to that with.

"Fuck indeed,Master Mhas got memaking thenecessary plans for a town defence. We have three thousand fighting men against ten thousand battle hardenedsoldiers,ifwe do survive this itwon'tbe without huge casualties."

"And that's just fifteen, twenty percent of their total strength. This splinter team will do the damage and even if we do somehow manage to repel them, the main host will arrive andclean up." Jon finished.

"Ifwesurvive, not you."Gerionreplied.

Jon looked back at him in confusion "Eh?What'sthat supposed to mean?"

Gerionshook his head "Master Mhas told me to send you to him when you returned from work. He's got a plan, a stupid andridiculousplan but aplanall the same."

"And what does thisplanentail?" Jon asked, the secrecy betweenGerionandthe old manwas starting to get on his nerves. "You know, I've seen you and him whispering to each other whenever I'm training."

"I know what itis hewants you to do but he wants to explain it all to you himself, he thinks you'll understand what he's asking of you more if it came from his mouth. Even Ican'tgrasp what his full intentions are."

Jon sighed, he'd just gotten home"Fine, does he want to see me straight away or am I allowed a bath beforehand, I stink of fish." Jon asked.

"Just take your bath and head out after, I'll get dinner going when you leave."Gerionreplied.

"Good man, Ishouldn'tbe too long. What you doing for dinner?Ooo, can you do those noodle things again withthe chicken broth? That stuff wasdelicious." Jon asked.

"Yeah sure."Gerionreplied as he folded up the parchment he wasreading.

"Nice." Jon replied with agrin,Gerionreally was a good cook.

Hegot cleaned up and leftGerionto it. Whatever it was thatMaster Mwanted to talk to him about, he didn't want to leave the man waiting.

"Don't give him too much trouble Jon, the man means well even if he does seem to be determined for you to go through with his unrealisticmission."

"Ah,you know me Gerry, good as that Lannister gold your family likes to harp on about." Jon replied with a smirk.

Gerionrolled his eyes "You'reright, I do know you, that's whatI'mafraid of."

"Love you too." Jon replied as he headed for the front door,"Right, Iwon'tbe long, make sure you miss me." He finished as he left the house, all Jon heard was the faint response of"annoying shit"from inside.

The walk down toMaster M'shall was brisk and in no time at all he was knocking on the old man's front door.

"Māzigonisse.(Comein)" Was the old man's response from inside.

'Odd, why's he speaking in highvalyrian?'Jon wondered.

Since he was using highvalyrianhe decided to reply back in the sametongue.

"SkorosytissiaospeakingisseValyrioEglie?(Why are you speaking in highvalyrian?)"He asked the old man.

"Aosagonnihongo'sdaorolviesȳzsenykeȳdradaorgīmigonseēngoshenaōhalenton. Iksādaorsemērīissarosgerionēzaissareteachingudrirnaejot.(You'renihongo'snot very good and I don't know the tongue from your home. You are not the only personGerionhas been teaching language to.)" The old Master finished with a smile.

"Gerionēzacaughtnykebēvaeverything seēzaivestretannykeemāiākȳvanon. (Gerionhas caught me up on everything and has told me you have a plan.)" Jon said.

"Indeedeman. Issajārenaejotrequireaonaejotpreparesytaōhajourney ahead.(IndeedI have. It is going to require you to prepare for your journey ahead.)"Master Miyamotoreplied.

"Ñuhajourney?skoriotiksinnykejāre? (My journey? Where am I going?)" Jon asked, completely baffled.

The old man motioned for Jon to follow him, they both walked in silence out on to the backyard of the Mlooked up at him then looked towardsMount Hakusanand pointed up to the peak of it.

Jon just looked at him like he'd gone mad.

"Bēkonīr?skorosyt?whatsbēth... (Up there? Why?Whatsupth...)" Realisation hitting him like a hammer to the chest.

"Aogīmigonskoros'sbēkonīrynaorefusenaejotpāsagonisseziry.(You know what's up there but you refuse to believe in it.)" The old man mused.

"nykeȳdradaorpāsagonissezirykesriosytzȳhahorseshit!(I don't believe in it because its horseshit!)"Jon answered back.'Was the man senile?'

Master Miyamotoshook his head"Ziryiksossemērīñuhosomirrehenīlvakessabotagonbisapurge. Ziryiksosiāribazmoqittakȳvanonaosagonpaktot,ynziryiksossemērīkȳvanon.(It's the only way any of us will survive this purge. It's a mad plan you're right, but it's the only plan.)"

"Nykependagonaosagonputtingtolīolviestockezīmagonñuhaabilities,sesīrlo theseraissireal,skorosmazverdagonaopendagonnykecould harnesszirȳ?(I think you're putting too much stock into my abilities, even if these things are real, what makes you think I could harness them?)"Jon asked. As much as he hated to admit, the old man had a point, nobody else had a plan.

MasterMheld onto his shoulders and looked right into his soul"Iksāreadysytbisajourney,pāsanisseao.(You are ready for this journey, I believe in you.)" The old man answered in such a sincere way it nearly made him tear up.'He believed in me',nobody had ever said anything like that to him before. He was finding it hard to say no to the man when he was bestowing that much belief in him.

"Gaomārealisebisaiksisribazmoqittapaktot?iksanjārenaejotjikagonbēkonīr, finddaorunse returnnaejotfind se entirelentorisseñuqir.(You do realise this is mad right? I'm going to go up there, find nothing and return to find the entire town in ashes.)" Jon said.

"Kesāfindskorosiksāseeking,sepārpāsagon,ziryiksosmirreemigeptot. (You will find what you are seeking, just believe, it's all we have left.)" The old man answered.

Again,with the belief, Jon had to admit, it was rubbing off on him and it didn't take him long to come to a decision. Not like he really had much of a choice, if there was a slim chance of this saving the town thenhe'ddo it.

"Okay,nyke'llgaomagonziry,iksandaorsureskorosiāskoriotiksanjurnegēreynnyke'lljikagonbēkonīrsejurnegon,kesriosytaopāsagonissenyke.(Okay, I'll do it, I'm not sure what or where I'm looking but I'll go up there and look, because you believe in me.)" Jon said, pride blooming his chest whenMaster Manswered him with a beaming smile.

"Nykeknewaowouldn'tivestragīīlvailagon,ao'llsagonsuccessfuliksancertain.(I knew you wouldn't let us down, you'll be successful I am certain.)"Master Mreplied.

The man'sbelief in him was approaching dangerous levels and if he wasn'tcareful,he could end up with a big head.

The old manmotioned to follow him back inside where he took Jon into the armoury and pointed out a large sack.

"Gūrogonbisa,ziryiksosiābag henmirrese equipmentkesājorrāelagonskoriclimbing bona run.(Takethis,it'sa bag of all the equipment you will need when climbing that thing.)"

Inside the bag was some mini scythe like tools, long, thick ropeand a pair of spiked footwear that Jon guessed would be tied around his existing boots for extra grip.'Well, this is actually happening then.'

Master Mwalked over to him and reached up to put hishands onJon's shouldersagain"Remember,issabēnaejotaonaejotsaveīlvategunsekesādaorqringaomagon,gaomagonaoshifang?(Remember, it is up to you to save our land and you will not fail, do you understand?)"

"daorpressure.(No pressure.)" Jon replied, trying to lighten the mood a little.

The old man started to shoo Jon out of his hall "sirjikagon, prepare se restsytsebantis,aōhajourneyrhaenagonrȳēlīōños.(Now go, prepare and rest for the night, your journey begins at first light.)"

He bowed to the old man and made his way back home, thoughts and idea's running through his mind.

Upon entry of the house, he was hitwith a delicious aroma,Gerionturned around from his cooking and greeted him.

"Ah,you'reback, that was quick."

Jon went and placed his bag of equipment down and sat down at the table "Yeah, not much needed to be said really. He told me his plan andI'veagreed to do it."

Gerionjust looked at him "You agreed? Why? You must realiseit'sunrealistic to ask youtodo such a thing."

Jon shook his head "He believes in me Gerry, I didn't have the heart to throw that kind of belief back in his face. Besides, he's the only person around here who's got a plan, a mad plan butit'sstill a plan all the same."

Gerionfinished his cooking and placed a bowl of noodles and broth infront ofhim and sat down opposite him with his own bowl.

"You do realise there's a goodchance that as soon as you leave it will be the lasttimewe see each other."Gerionsaid as he filled his mouth with noodles.

"Aww,I'mgonnamiss you too Gerry." He replied with a smirk, "Don'tworry, I'll be back and thiswon'tbe the last time you ever do my cooking for me."

He just rolled his eyes, "Just be careful alright,I'venever been up there or even attempted it but even I can tellthere's numerous dangers to climbing that thing."Gerionsaid, lookingconcerned.

"You need to stop worrying about me and start worrying aboutthosecuntsattacking the town." He said as he filled his mouth full of noodles and broth, it really was quite delicious.

"Yeah, I suppose"Gerionreplied, he looked so dejected.

"Hey, cheerup willya, I'll be up there and back down before you know itandI'll return with a great beast at my back to save the day." Jon said, trying to lighten the mood even if he didn't believeanythinghe'd just said.

Geriongrinned "Only you could make light of the current situation we're in."

Jon grinned as he got up to wash up "That's because the sun shines out my arse. The light thatbreaks through the darkness."

"You'refoul, doyou know that?"Gerionchuckled.

"You love me, don't deny it." Jon responded

Gerionjust shook his head as he headed to his room. He turned around at the door and spoke "I'mguessingyou'releavingatfirst light?"

"Yeah,Master Mtoldbeto prepare provisions and get a goodnight'srest. I'll take some rations but I'll have to hunt whilstI'mup there." Jon replied.

"You'll be living offnothing buthares up there." Gerion smiled, he took one last look at Jon and said goodnight.

As soon as he'd finished cleaningup. He headed into his room and all but collapsed on his bed, he was drained.

It didn't take long for his thoughts to run away from him as his eyes grew heavy andheultimatelyfell into a deep sleep.

Prisms of light flashed in his eyes as he looked left and right, the cavern was huge at first glance.

He could feel the earth breathingunderneathhis feet, a warm draft blowing across his face.

He could hear the dripping of water hittinganice blue lake in the middle of the cavern.

"Look for me." A deep, feminine voice whispered in his left ear. He turned and saw nothing but darkness.

"Look for me friend." The same voice whispered inhisotherear, again nothing but darkness greeted him as he turned towards the voice.

Straight ahead of him he could see pillars of ice or something that looked like ice at least, behind the pillars was a warm light.

"You know where to go, look for me." The voice came again but this time instead of hearing it, he felt it down to his bones, in his mind, in his soul.

He ventured forward towards the light.