Nico slinked through the shadows of the rooftops in Kings Landing, following the guards headed for The Red Keep. Nico had been at this for days as he pieced together information on the 'protector of the realm,' which didn't bode well for Westeros. No king worth their salt would allow so much needless death and misery. The smells of human feces and disease clogged the Ghost King's nose to his disgust. There were so many people without a home that it blocked entire roads with so many unwashed bodies. Children whose ribs were on full display were nearly Nico's breaking point. He felt the strings of life snap from some of the victims of society, and it made him tear up, but he continued.
Jumping to the next rooftop gave him the perfect vantage point of The Red Keep, a massive red stone castle blocked off from the rest of the city by an equally impressive gate. The home of the King overlooked a stormy sea complete with enormous waves. Three stories upheld an open window to a dark room, making the perfect infiltration. 'Too easy,' he thought with a grin. Melting back into the shadows, he transported himself into the castle's interior, finding a small man that he was pretty sure had Dwarfism passed out drunk in bed with a woman. Too deep in Morpheus's realm to wake up when Nico's nearly silent steps padded across the room. Quickly slinking out the door and through the halls of the ancient building drew Nico closer to his destination.
Nico discovered an ability of his during the 'Third War' that allowed him to be Percy's 'master of shadows.' Right now, he has no idea where his cousin is, but he knows how to help the princess, and maybe it might point him in the right direction of the Prince of the Sea. Though he wasn't too worried for his cousin physically and knowing Percy, he had already made friends that would help him on his quest. When Percy needs him, he'll be there. Until then, he's got work to do.
Robert Landsport was the son of a wealthy merchant who took to the blade like Percy took to the water and a member of the King's Guard. Now Nico knows something that most don't. For one thing, the man before him was extorting sex from a baker's daughter using threats of violence, and he was going to be his little spy. Silent as a Shadowcat, Nico crept up on the half-asleep guard before touching the back of his head and pulling on his power. With a churning in his stomach, he drained the life away from the guard.
"S𐀄g𐀁, 𐁂𐀇 𐀕, 𐀁 𐀁t𐀃 𐀃l𐀂 𐀕𐀂 𐀁 𐁂𐀩." Arise, hear me, and be my eyes and ears. The cold words uttered by the Lord of the Dead's son caused the previously lifeless corpse to stand up and face his Prince.
"You are my spy and will tell no soul who and what I am. Nor what your mission is. In three weeks, when you are decomposed enough that we might risk people noticing, you will transfer your curse to someone else who won't be missed." With the command issued, the corpse went back to his post with not a single sign of death other than the eyes that stared lifelessly into the cruel world.
"I'll kill them! Kill them all!" raged the black-haired man as he punched a brick wall, causing it to crack.
"I understand your anger, but we must be smart about this. If you go off now, you will be executed for the crime of killing nobility. We need more proof before we can strike. Otherwise, it will look like we are trying to end a political adversary." The Lady of Winterfell attempted to appease the angry demigod even though she had half a mind to sic the warrior on them anyway. Hours before, during an interrogation, they learn the assassins were an offshoot sect of the Faceless Men. This offshoot of the Many-Faced God worshippers had more greed than their counterparts, so when the Boltons asked for the Stark family's heads, using a lot of money, they were more than willing to oblige.
"I know! But mark my words. They will die before summer's end!" With that declaration of blood, he stormed off.
Percy needed some air, and the cramped city worsened his restlessness. Only a couple of days ago, Ned gave the lands on and around Sea Dragons Point to Percy and a couple hundred Gold Dragons. This, however, was not enough to build a thriving coastal city in a matter of years. On top of that, on Arya's eighth birthday, he refuses to call it name day, to which Catelyn ruins his plans to get the girl a sword. Apparently, a sword was not befitting of a 'lady,' and Arya was too wild as it was. The ancient forest trees seemed to watch him as he strutted through them, but he paid the Old Gods no mind. Hours passed, and Percy found himself calm enough to see Catelyn's point when he saw a translucent wispy figure run at him, weapon drawn. Battle instincts kicked in, and he drew Riptide and blocked the strike from the ghost before hitting the figure's head with the flat of Riptide.
"Pay him no heed, young hero. He is just trying to defend his tomb." A weak and distant voice startled the young man.
"I take it you're a ghost, too?" Percy was annoyed with things constantly trying to kill him. Did everything under the sun wake up one day and unanimously agree to take turns trying to end him?
"Yes, I have a favor to ask you." Groaning, Percy started to walk away before the voice shouted, "Wait! There is something in it for you!"
Percy stopped and turned back to the direction of the voice, waiting patiently. "We can't talk here; over the hill to your right is where my tomb lays," the voice reluctantly answered. Percy was no stranger to horror films and even lived through one once. This is precisely how those start, but he didn't call himself a demigod for nothing, so he headed toward the tomb with a shrug.
The tomb was a small stone structure sticking from the side of a frost-covered hill. The cold, dark stone was ruff from lack of upkeep all these years. With a mighty huff, he pried the dark stone slab that acted as a door to the final resting place of who he assumed to be a king from a forgotten time. Inside, smelled of stale air and dust, but he stepped inside the tomb anyway, pulling out his sword to act as a torch. The dull bronze glow illuminated a small dark room with a statue of a king kneeling, holding out what once was a sword. All that remains of the weapon is iron stains running down the marble surface of its wielder.
A soft blue glow behind him caused him to turn around, only to find a large, burly ghost wearing ancient-looking armor. There was no mistaking what family the appertain belonged to, with his black hair and long stern face.
"You're a Stark," Percy said in a matter-of-fact tone, not necessarily surprised at the new information.
"You're a demigod," was his reply in the same tone.
"It's starting to be a well-known secret."
"But can a secret be a secret if it is well known?" Rebutted the dead man, clearly amused with the confrontation.
Ignoring the ghost's last comment, he questioned, "Why am I here?"
"You need gold and a lot of it. I have convinced fellow kings of the past to help me lend you the gold from our crypts in exchange for a service."
"I would like to know the name of my potential benefactor."
"I am Brandon the Bloody Blade and father of the man you call Brandon the Builder. I am cursed for my sins against the Children of the Forest to forever live without my body. My bannermen are similarly cursed, and years of this hell have caused many to go mad like you saw in the forest." The King looked sad at his explanation.
"What would you have me do? To earn the money, I mean." Wearily, Percy inquired further as he was intrigued by the easy solution to his problem.
"I ask you two things, both associated with your current quest. First, I want you to seek out one of the only Children of the Forest south of the wall. Her name is Gregaus. She walks the Wolfswood near Deepwood Motte and will come if you call her name. Secondly, the most important task I ask of the 'Godkiller' would be freeing the North from Southern rule."
"How much gold are we talking about?" Percy asked skeptically. He may not love the King, but everyone knows Ned is close friends with the lazy snob. He hasn't met the man, but every rumor from the South has left him with a sour taste in his mouth.
"Enough to build your army and city. You just need to put one of my decedents on a throne for the North and talk to an old snob."
"I accept your deal. I just have one thing to ask of you as well."
Arrived back in Winterfell after three days with three carts of Gold Dragons and other treasures pulled by unusually tame horses he borrowed from farmers. Lowborn and Highborn alike were baffled at the large fortune. Each day for the next week, while Percy prepared to march towards Sea Dragon Point, the Starks hounded the man for an explanation. Each day, he simply said, 'he had friends in weird places.' Of course, no one was satisfied with this response, which only made them more curious. The Starks aren't the only ones inquisitive about the enigma that is the sea god's son. Everyone was talking about how he could have gotten the gold; some were saying he made a deal with a demon, and that was how he got his powers and gold. Others claim that he got it from the mermaids within the sea as befitting a lord of the ocean.
There were also rumors that Percy had old magic, stable boys claimed profusely that they caught him talking to Snowball on numerous occasions, hunters claimed the forest got 'excited' when he entered, almost as if it was buzzing with power, and most commonly, how unnaturally graceful he moved. No one ever saw him get drunk, injured, sick, or any other 'normal' human behavior expected in the North's largest city. Naturally, people were divided into two major camps: those that feared Percy and those that idealized Percy. Most lowborns were in the first Camp due to Percy's habit of treating everyone equally regardless of status, money, or occupation. He listened and heard someone who worked in a brothel with the same enthusiasm as one would listen to a nobleman. By this same logic, the nobles began to fear and hate Percy, especially now that he was one of them. It has taken many weeks for the letters protesting Percy's new position to die down. Ned was not deterred, though, and handled the complaints and threats of embargoes with pride and bravado. Eventually, it became time to start planning for the long journey ahead despite his fellow lord's protests.
A month into planning the expedition, Percy already had over a hundred people who wanted to risk the journey west. However, more would likely come from other settlements around the North. He hired a hundred men from the surrounding houses to help him quarry, transport, and place the stone. Then he hired another hundred more to help with the building, costing about two hundred Gold Dragons. Which is most of his gold… Then, he had to worry about paying the people willing to pack up their lives and move to an unknown land.
With a deep breath, he hopped onto a box overlooking the people he was now responsible for. Each one looked terrified. Drawing from his time as leader at Camp, he looked each of his people in the eye, memorizing their faces.
"I know you are scared; we don't know what we will find at Sea Dragon Point. None of us know when our next meal will be or if we can even build a city. Not to mention its proximity to Iron-born raiders. It's utterly terrifying, and I want to tell you a little secret. I am also terrified, especially since I have never been a lord until today. I, however, have faith and knowledge that we have a shot. Sea Dragon Point is on the coast, and I know the sea better than anyone. It's strategically located near a stone quarry and a heavily dense forest. We will not only survive but thrive as well, but I'm going to need help, and you guys are just the people to help me. So be unafraid, as the people you see and hear today are your new brothers and sisters!" Percy spoke with the voice of a king with hints of brotherly affection. The people seemed surer of the journey and trials ahead, even with the blurry future. Ned stood in the back, confident in his decision to make the man before him a lord but worried. Nonetheless, a man who doesn't bow is dangerous; one who can lead men is a weapon, but a man who can command loyalty in his people is unstoppable, and Percy has all three. What is to become of Westeros?
Varys was startled when he heard the report his spy was bringing from the cold, fridged lands of the North. It said an unstoppable warrior managed to gain lordship, even to land with little to offer, in just weeks of knowing Eddard Stark. While he did bring a known bandit leader to justice as well as stopped an assassination attempt that would typically only be rewarded with knighthood at best. Varys couldn't make heads or tails of the motivations behind such a rash decision. Already, there are complaints not just to the Lord of Winterfell but to the King. Eddard Stark may be honorable, but he is no fool. He should know the consequences of raising a lowborn to noble status. If he keeps making plays like this, he will increase tensions with the other houses in the North.
"Anything of interest happening in the Kingdoms?" The blond-haired queen asked the Spider as she sipped on wine while her handmaidens tended to her needs.
"Nothing of super importance, my queen, Ned Stark gave the land of Sea Dragons Point to a young upstart lowborn." Varys hated the queen and the rest of the Lannister house. He was a man of the people, and the Kingdom's state only got worse when Robert ascended to the throne. Everyone knows the old fat man doesn't run Kings Landing, let alone the Kingdom. This leaves the land's fate to the Lannisters, who have a history of coveting jewels and wealth like a greedy dragon.
"How did this lowborn manage to convince the 'noble' Eddard Stark to give him land" the queen mused, though the queen was getting increasingly nervous about the North. The Northerns were a loyal bunch, and she had no disillusionment that they would answer if the Lord of Winterfell called for war. She is standing on thin ice with her plans for her husband and the friendship between the King and the Warden of the North. One wrong move, and she is dead before she can even scream. Something in her bones told her to be wary of the new northern Lord; any man who can trick their way into power like that is a potential threat.
"I want your little birds reporting on the happenings of this new upstart."
"As you command, my queen," the eunuch said with a bow, leaving the scheming queen in her chambers. No one noticed the dead-eyed guard standing just outside the queen's chambers, listening with well-masked interest. Nico has found his King.