Chapter 34

A Reckoning is Coming

The Iron Islands

Theon Greyjoy was in his element. Just days after leaving Riverrun the small party of four had reached Seagard, the coastal town had done some rebuilding since his last visit though the Eikon within him did rumble at the joy of being by the ocean once more. True to form Theon too was happiest at sea, even now a little over a day's voyage from the town and he was finding nothing wrong with being on the open sea. Nothing that is except for Cid and his exhausting training.

"Happy to be back at sea, Greyjoy?"

Theon scowls. There was one stain on this otherwise enjoyable voyage. Cid, in his infinite wisdom, had decided to recruit the aid of Jaime Lannister. "And what if I am, Kingslayer?"

The words that once brought no small amount of irritation to the son of Tywin Lannister now harmlessly bounced off his heart like a dull arrow off his armor. Cid had done his best to temper some of his more arrogant tendencies while he was a prisoner but the promise that he made gave Jaime even more to live for than he had ever known before.

"Still resorting to that old moniker?"

"Still breathing Lannister?"

Cid got between the pair, levelling both with a tired stare "Enough of that. You can hate each other all you like, but until this war is done with, we have a mission to complete. So, let's try not to kill each other, shall we?"

The pair stepped back.

"Good. Theon, are you certain that your people will be agreeable to this?"

Theon blinked in confusion, head turning to Cid "What are you asking me for? You were the one who came up with this plan!"

"Was I?" the Dominant of Ramuh cups his chin "Huh…suppose I was."

"Perhaps I should have stayed in my cell until a more trustworthy man came to bargain," Jaime mutters.

"And waste your talents in a cell, not knowing how long it would take someone to come along while Clive buggers off tot eh North?" Cid laughs "Ser Jaime, not even you would have the patience to wait that long knowing it was coming."

Theon scoffs "Restoring the Kingslayer to the Kingsguard, Clive must be mad to agree to this."

"Agree to it? The lad was the one to suggest it." Cid clarifies "Course…that was only after our good Lannister here told us the tale of that day in the capital."

Not even Theon could deny that. The story had been spreading amongst the men back in Riverrun like a plague. What Aerys had done. What Jaime had to do. It was maddening to have to acknowledge the Kingslayer wasn't the dishonored knight he had been portrayed as all these years. Even more so, having to see his smug face basking in the freedom of no longer being seen as such.

"Land ho!"

Cid tilts his head back, smiling up at the crow's nest "Well, seems we are here. Theon, I suppose you'll want to be the first to set foot on the islands proper?"

The last son of House Greyjoy ran to the bow of the ship, the biggest smile he had ever had on his face as he saw the outline of his home, the Iron Islands, drawing ever nearer. But something was wrong.

"No…"

The island of Harlaw was a stark sight. Grey overcast of clouds, rough waves crashing against its shores as they sailed past. Theon watched in silence as he took in the sight of the island, once just a grey colored wasteland his people called home dotted with mighty glaciers of ice rising up from the ground.

"What happened here?" he heard Jaime ask as he leant over the side in shock "Ice? Here? Never known the islands to be so…"

"Cid!" Colt calls out, pointing towards the island of Pyke.

"Well…I guess it was too much to ask for an easy trip."

Theon felt his blood turn to ice in his veins. Deep within he could feel Leviathan stir as the island of Pyke, his birthright, came into view. The broken, shattered, remnants of the Ironborn fleet drifting in the sea. Ships ripped in half. Wooden hulls jutting up out of the water. Wooden planks floating aimlessly as their ship passed through. There were a few bodies in the water still, no doubt the majority claimed by the sea.

"What happened here?" he found himself speaking, his eyes never leaving the first glimpse he had of the castle of Pyke since the rebellion. Even as the ship sailed around the bay for Lordsport, Theon took it all in. The ice jutting out of buildings, glaciers dotting the waters around the islands, the smashed ships. "Who…what did this?"

Cid scowls as he surveys the damage. Ice like this was not natural and he knew for a fact that Shiva was not responsible for this. Not only did Jill not have it in her to punish the Ironborn like this, but he also knew she was well removed and never alone long enough to have done this.

"Cerberus."

Jaime and Theon's heads snap to the Dominant.

"Cerberus?" Theon asks.

"Eikon of Ice, the very same that Jill and Clive fought at Oldtown. We knew he had to have come with the Ironborn Raiders that sacked the city but for him to do this to his own allies…something else is at work here. Something big."

As the ship pulls into port Cid could feel the residual Aether in the air. His fears confirmed nothing he didn't know already. Theon would be upset enough without confirmation. The poor lad was finally home, and it looked as if he might be the last of the Ironborn.

"Chin up Greyjoy," Jaime says, clapping a hand to Theon's shoulder "We'll search the castle, we will find your people."

Theon could only give a mute nod of his head. A pit forms in his stomach as he slowly trudges onward towards Pyke Castle. Leviathan, somehow, seemed to sense his emotional state. The crooning sound he could hear in his head was soothing in a weird way. "If they aren't in the castle…then perhaps some managed to escape to sea?"

Colt and Cid shared a look. If they were about to walk into a bloodier sight, these islands may not be around come tomorrow.

Deep within Pyke Castle, sheltered in its walls and praying to the Drowned God were the remnants of the Ironborn. Colt and Jaime counted them all. Barely anyone had survived. Mostly women, children, the old and the sick. Not a single man they met had good news to share. They just said the same thing. That a large beast made of ice had ravaged their islands, destroyed their fleets, and left without a second look back. A mighty three headed dog. Cid did his best to not linger on the thought of what damage could have been done to this place.

"If the others are like this...what was the point in us coming here int he first place?" Theon wonders aloud.

"The point, Theon, was to bring you back to unite your people and guide them." Cid says, helping tend to one mans injuries as best he could, sparing a single potion from his stock "Blast it...don't suppose you have many potions left do you Colt?"

"Just two left Cid!"

Cid sighs "Well...guess we will need Goetz more than ever. Shouldn't have left him behind in Riverrun. As for you Theon...your people needed a strong leader who could show them a better way to live than raiding coasts and dying as the most hated and ill beget peoples in these lands. Now...now they need a leader who can help them to survive the coming storm."

"Storm?" It was like Theon was coming out of a daze "What storm?"

"A reckoning is coming Theon. Today, tomorrow...doesnt matter. Soon this war for the throne will be a distant memory. The real war...now that will be the storm we must weather," Cid's eyes roam the sea of faces in the great hall "A war of the Eikon's is upon us Theon, and like it or not we will be at the very center of it."

The Wall

"So, that's it then?"

Rickon Stark never felt so much at once in anyone's presence before. Tormund led them, every wildling Mance had commanded he bring and Rickon, to the Wall without issue. No Walkers. No independent wildling tribes. Not so much as a wild beast had even bothered them. The brothers of the Watch regarded them all with great disdain but what stunned Rickon was how quickly they were allowed to pass.

"Aye," Tormund says. The great Giantsbane of the Free Folk folds his arms across his chest as he stares Clive Rosfield down "Mance should be at Hardhome by now, few weeks journey there and back…you'll never make it back."

Rickon had seen men who could command respect just by being in a room. His father, Eddard Stark, had that kind of gift. He spoke and you listened. This Clive Rosfield, the man he had met so many years ago and seen return to Westeros before the war, he too had that gift. Rickon didn't know why Shaggydog seemed so calm around the man either, but he was.

"Hunter and I can manage it alone." He sounded so confident when he spoke even Rickon thought he could do it "We'll travel light, shouldn't be long one way or the other."

"And what if the stories are true? The Others are out there, and you just think that your place is to venture off into the wilds hoping to make it to Hardhome and back without issue?" Jeor Mormont was no fool, nor was he so accepting this foolhardy plan of Clive's. Calling it a plan was also kindness, one that not even a king deserved.

"Lord Commander Mormont," Clive's words held no fire to them yet still they commanded respect from the older man "If we are to have any chance against the armies of the dead, we need every able-bodied man and woman on this side of the wall. Anybody we can deny them for their army, is one less foe for us to face when the war comes for us. Hunter, you up for a trip?"

"Another life-or-death struggle? Sure, why not."

Jeor sighs, sitting back in his chair. The small group gathered in his solar was quite the odd troop. Hunter and Wrecker, oddities on their own given their origins, were capable warriors. The wildling Tormund was a loud and boisterous man but honest…if not a little strange with his stories of giants. The Lady Benedikta was deadly, he knew this, and no doubt had ideas of just how to kill every man in the room should they upset her. Rickon was still a boy too fresh for the Wall…and that just left Clive.

"Rightful king or not…Lyanna's boy or not…your uncle will have my head if I allow you to do this," he admits, giving Clive a pointed stare "Are you absolutely certain you can do this?"

"I am."

Jeor drags his hand down over his face "Very well then. Inform Ser Alliser, he will see you prepared accordingly. But rest just for the night, the journey ahead will not be an easy one."

"What about me?" All eyes turned to Rickon. The boy had the good sense to shrink back under such looks.

"You will be returning to Winterfell," Clive says calmly "Where you will stay until your mother and father return, under the watchful eye of your sister Sansa."

Rickon gulps. The action brings a small smile to Clive's face. His return to Winterfell had been quick but his few moments with his cousin had helped to assure him that Rickon would not be getting off lightly. Sansa had made him swear to send Rickon straight home and so he would once this business was over. Hopefully, if she did half of what she said she would to the poor boy he would think twice about running off on his own.

"If there is nothing else to report," Hunter speaks up "We should send a raven to Winterfell informing Lady Sansa of what is to happen here, as well as one to Harrenhal for Lord Stark."

"And Lady Warrick," Wrecker chimes in with a grin.

Clive groans, not for the first time wishing he had left the large man behind. "Can we not do this now?"

Benedikta hums in thought. The sound drawing a resigned look from Clive "Oh don't look at me like that. I'm not the one who has to explain to the Ice Queen why he is venturing off into enemy territory on a fool's errand."

"Fool's errand?" Tormund asks, "Saving my people, a fool's errand?"

While he wasn't shouting, the wildling man was reaching for his axes. Hunter and Clive were faster. Hunter with knife in hand was ready for a fight as Clive got in Tormund's face, a flaming hand at the man's stomach. "Let's not do this," he says slowly "Benedikta cares not for anyone but a select few. But I promise you, Tormund Giantsbane, that I will find Mance Rayder and bring your people to the Wall. You have my word."

"Your word," he growls, eyes dropping to that flaming hand "Touched by Fire, a kneeler king, and you expect me to just…"

"I expect nothing of you. But let us not spill blood here needlessly. We have a common enemy, so let us deal with them first before we turn our blades on each other."

Tormund huffs. "Fine," he says, taking a step back.

"That wasn't so hard now, was it?"

Clive gave Benedikta a glare for her input. How this woman was related to Cid was suddenly much clearer. Both of them were insufferable in their own ways. It all just made Clive wonder what woman on this earth could ever possibly put up with two of them willingly.

Kings Landing

Vega observed King Robert and Ser Barristan training in the yard again. The 'Fat King' of Westeros had been shed like a snake does its skin. Now Robert Baratheon, the Demon of the Trident, had returned once more to the land. Body once crippled by fat and an excess of drinking now was lean and muscled like it once was. He was ready for the battle that was to come.

"Everything as it should be," he muses as he slinks off into the darkness. His body melts into the shade seamlessly before coming out into another room within the Red Keep.

"Vega," the slow cold tone of his master greets his ears "Report?"

Vega kneels, smirking as he speaks "Robert grows to his old strength again. And what's more, my own spies report the Targaryens are building strength in Essos. Three dragons, growing every day, an army of Unsullied and Dothraki. They are likely to begin a conquest of their own of the Slave Cities."

"Oh?" a new voice, lighter, more…cheerful, speaks. "So even she cannot escape her destiny then. And what of her brother and nephew?"

"Whether the young Aegon truly is the son of Elia Martell and Rhaegar Targaryen is yet to be confirmed but Viserys is everything you said he would be and then some."

The new voice laughs "Oh that is good, a perfect candidate wouldn't you say Raven?"

Raven frowns, humming to himself "Another potential pawn for the game? No…we have enough for the moment as it is."

"Sir? If I may be so bold?" Vega looks up, taking the slight bowing of Raven's head as permission to proceed "With our forces strength as it is, no army in the Seven kingdoms and beyond can stand up to us. But if what we've been told is true…"

"Oh, it is true," the other voice speaks "In this and every other instance, it is always set in stone. Written in the flames."

Vega grits his teeth "If it is true…then why do we not just kill him now before he can become a greater threat to us? The longer we delay would only prove to provide him with time to master his abilities and discover weaknesses we may not even see ourselves."

Raven holds up a hand, silencing his spymaster "While I do not put faith in prophecy, what we have planned cannot be halted by any mere man, not even one that is fated to be my greatest match."

"Oh, more than fated my friend. In every other instance Clive Rosfield is dubbed as 'Mythos' by beings who would claim to be far more powerful." The voice sounds almost in awe as it speaks "Mythos…I couldn't find any translations here but there were an interesting people who had a translation you might find most intriguing."

"Speak plainly or not at all snake!" Vega growls.

Vega cries out, body burning up in pain, writhing on the floor. "Perhaps I was too generous in freeing you from your little prison Vega. Funny, the last one I knew of was just as arrogant as you are now. Shall I show you how he died? You might learn how to be humble knowing how easily defeated he was."

"Eins, that is enough." Eins releases his hold. Raven was no fool. Their imprisonment was their salvation but without Eins aid in releasing them, none of his people would walk the lands again. "The translation Eins, what is it?"

"In the old tongue of the warriors, Mythos...well the closest translation that I could find would be 'prey' and that should tell you all that he is to you, Raven."

Raven smiles "So, this Clive Rosfield is to be my prey then?"

"Prey, a rival perhaps, or even a challenge…shame there's a prophecy with more of a claim to him than you."

"Prophecy can be…dealt with," Raven says carefully "These Others are not a threat to me, but our plans for this world are another matter."

"Remember Raven," Eins voice turns stern "My plans require yours to go accordingly. You may have this world, so long as you can buy me the time I require to finish my work. Anything that comes after is yours."

"You would…leave this planet to us?" Vega growls as he struggles to sit up "Why?"

Eins rolls his eyes "Make no mistake Vega, you are not the first of your kind I have encountered before. You are, however, more vital to my plans than you realize. Keep this world, destroy it or rule it as you see fit. But know this, should I fail in my work, should my enemies turn their gazes here and my project not be finished…not even the power of a god will be able to stop them from reducing you to nothing but dust."

"Mighty foes indeed," Raven rumbles "Sanguis will be pleased to fight them."

"He will die like the last one," Eins scoffs "Big oafs that they are. For all their strength, they lack the fundamentals of combat."

"And what are those?"

"Knowing when to run from a true Demon."

Vega winces. His body ached. Eins was a smart man, too smart if you asked him, but for even he to admit that someone was too dangerous to face was new. The man had thoroughly beaten each of them on his own despite lacking an Eikon. He possessed skills and knowledge of things that far exceeded that of a Maester in Westeros or even their own scholars back when their people ruled an empire. He knew so much, could do more than they could understand and yet still he feared an enemy he refused to tell them much about. But once he told Raven what awaited him should they work together, once his master had made his own plan and refined it…Vega knew his lot in life, and he knew that none would be able to stand against his master.

"Then if it's a Demon that is coming for us," Raven smiles "Let us forge a God to crush him."

"But you are not a God, are you Raven?" Eins question, delivered as precisely as an arrow into the slightest of gaps in ones armor, did its job of bringing them up short "You and your little group are lacking an Eikon of Water are you not? And not one of your little pawns has proven useful as of yet."

"Ramsay Snow will do as commanded and delay them at the Wall," Vega assures "And Gregor Clegane has proven to be malleable. We could prepare him to be a vessel, you only but need give the order master."

"And what of Aegon?"

Vega rolls his eyes "Aegon the Unknown? As if we could afford to use him. If he proves to be Aegon the False, then there would be no connection to the Targaryens and thus he would be a wasted choice for a vessel."

"And were he to be true?"

"Were he to be true," Raven speaks "We would have a pawn to blind to our true intentions with less...destructive means of coercion to be used."

Eins chuckles "The pieces truly do fall into place here. Ignis did his job then?"

"The Iron Islands were ransacked, their fleets crushed and most of their sailors left to turn the sea red with their blood." Vega gives a predatory grin "He should be returning to Oldtown to find that journal you told us of."

"Leave it to the Maesters to keep something as important as that where anyone could find it," Eins shakes his head "Havoc? Juno?"

"Juno is in Essos, keeping an eye on the dragons," Raven informs him "As for Havoc he shall be here int eh coming days as we prepare for battle."

"Excellent. And with Avarice and Sanguis, the defenses shall stand up to any assault the meager forces of the lands could muster." Eins gives Vega a taunting look of his own "I suppose I shall take my leave then, don't be too heartbroken by my departure Vega."

Vega snarls as he watches the man's body be consumed by a black vortex. Not unlike his own portals…and yet…the thought of it sickened him. His power was his own, no one else's. "Why do we keep him around? He should be bowing before us, not commanding us!"

"Eins knows things. He may have the upper hand for the moment, but once my plan comes to fruition he too shall kneel before us like all the rest." Raven smirks "Let him think himself to be our master or even our equal, it will not matter in the end once I have what I seek from these lands."

"As you say."

Ramsay scowls as he and his men prepared for their hunt. That man…Raven…whatever he was, Ramsay could not say but he would not be another of his victims. He hated being reminded of his status as a bastard but above all he hated being beneath anyone else. And Raven was a man he could find no way of rising above.

"And just what do you expect me to do about them?" Ramsay was growing more and more frustrated with these sellswords he found himself serving. Vega, the one Ramsay knew best as the spy master of the group, stood safely by the side of one of their larger members as he delivered an update on the target.

"As we had ordered you before Ramsay, delay them by whatever means necessary. Surely, even you and your simpletons can do that much." Vega watched as Ramsay's face slowly began to change color as the young man did his best to keep his rage in check. "Beyond the Wall goes your quarry. He intends to lead a horde of Wildlings south of it, you are to delay him until we are finished with our own plans."

"And what do these plans have for me?"

"Your death, should you fail or pry too hard. The riches of the North should you succeed. Good enough for you Snow?"

Ramsay grits his teeth. "Aye, that is good enough for me."

"Understand this, once you and your men reach the Wall, we shall send you aid." Vega informs him "But do be warned…we shall simply provide but a beast for the task of drawing them out. Whether you kill them or not is not important, simply delay them and above all try not to die Ramsay. I would hate for one of our treasured pawns to fall from the board this early in the game."

Ramsay watched both Vega and his companion, the one called Havoc, be swallowed up in some sort of dark magic. Whatever it was, it left Ramsay feeling cold and his men jumping at shadows. "Fucking sellswords," he spat out "May the Seven take you all."

"What should we do?" one of his men asks, fear tinging his voice "They will surely come for us if we try to run."

"Are you a fool? We won't even get the chance to flee. We'll be dead before we even get far enough to feel like we are safe." Ramsay eyes his men, jerking his head towards the road "Sooner we get this over with, the sooner we can all go back to our regular hunts."

AN: So, I want to start this by saying I was up at like 5 in the morning on Christmas Eve working on this when I decided to look up FFXVI Fanfiction Reddit…and come to find that a year ago someone made a post talking about this very story and recommending it. Other than one of the early ideas I have on the profile getting recognition on a now defunct website for a defunct company I can't really say I have ever gotten to hear or see anything of the sort for any of my work that wasn't friends or family saying they loved it…which, as the writers reading this will know, just doesn't feel as authentic. So yeah, one year later I am feeling grateful for that and taking that as my Christmas present this year.

Mythos. Being blunt I wish the games made it a point to give us a quest to further study the whole mythos thing. So now you are wondering "Shobu, what insanity have you done to it exactly?" Well I'll tell ya...int he words of Moira Brown, and I am paraphrasing a little bit here...I basically played with its DNA like a kitten with a ball of yarn. So, since Ultima does not exist that means that Clive or in this case 'Mythos' is not a vessel for his own will or power to inhabit for his plans. So then what, if not a vessel, is Mythos here? What it is in this universe is but a word...which is where Eins comes in. As implied, he is a traveller of many interesting places. He freed our new Dominants from their centuries in slumber from the age of the Fallen, which in this are in fact an ancient society/race...think ancient Egyptians or Romans from way way back in the BC and that it was not just a few centuries 'Prey' translation is 100% me doing a thing and not going to share what that thing is...also a reference to Majestic Prince which thanks to SRW30 I sadly have that stuck in my head too...expect that to make an appearance at some point as another project of mine.

Back on track...let me remind you all that this is an AU. I've already removed Ultima, his plots, and have primarily done this story based on what I and my friends were predicting would happen as trailers came out before we played the demo...hell, I even included what I thought would happen based solely upon the demo too. Don't worry though, you still have canon to enjoy if AU isn't your thing. And if you dont want to see the bigger idea I had then just stop reading this after I post the final chapter before the epilogue. Yes, there will be an epilogue chapter but not for a long time now...as in years...I intend to publish actual books, finish a lot of fanfictions for this idea and then post epilogue's as needed to show what happens after the story is over and the fun is all run out. Am I forgetting something? Oh well.

Whenever this goes up, hopefully it will be the last update of 2024, I just want to wish you all a Happy Holidays…be it Hannukah, Christmas or whatever other holidays are out there this time of year. What can I say, I ain't a big follower of religion and I only pay attention to holidays I either like/care about or am forced to remember (thanks 'family'). Now…lets get to the final reviews on here for the year, shall we?

Jebest4781: Probably the only person left who leaves a review that hasn't moved to ao3 from the looks of it…glad someone liked the chapter