A Song of The Stars

TalesofNine

Jon

Jon was glad to have been assigned a patrol finally. He was glad to finally be leaving behind Craster's Keep despite the rest of the march there was a foulness to Craster that Jon could not tolerate, and Sam nearly endangered his vows trying to convince him to escape with the girl Gilly and her child was too much for his already burdened mind. Though he was not a ranger after the night of the falling star there was a sighting of one falling to the north of their host, Maester Aemond said the phenomenon was incredibly rare and not fully understood with so many ill omens haunting the world, Lord Mormont was not inclined to leave anything to chance.

Bedwyck the giant led Jon, Grenn, Edd, even Samwell Tarly, and a group of other brothers on the patrol. Though not Rangers or Scouts, Jon and Sam had been ordered to accompany the party and report anything of interest to Maestar Aemond and the Lord Commander. Bedwyck had quietly jested it was simply that they needed Ghost who was moving ahead of the group more energetically than usual his long ears alert and darting as he sniffed the ground.

Fresh snowfall was slowing their journey even tall Bedwyck needed to take large careful steps through the snow as they moved. Jon could see Sam struggling to keep up as they marched, they had no horses with them because they needed to move quietly in case of Wildlings in the region though they had gone unspotted for some time since they began the venture, many of the brothers feared they were lurking nearby waiting for their moment to strike.

Ghost was moving ahead of the group sniffing the air and ground with particular interest as his pointed ears stood high as he looked around. Jon wondered if Ghost had caught the scent of potential prey but rather than sprinting off and returning with a blood-covered muzzle as he usually did Ghost would pace ahead of them before turning back to make sure they were following him looking rather anxious as he tilted his head, red eyes staring with a wide look.

"What is your wolf up to Jon?" Grenn said. "He's had a queer pace for a while now."

"He's caught the scent of something," Jon said. "But he is not hunting."

"How can you tell?"

"He wants us to follow him."

"Then we follow him," Bedwyck said. "Urge the wolf Snow, we'll catch up."

Jon took the lead in their formation and motioned for Ghost to hurry as usual. The direwolf was attentive to his intentions and began following the trail once again bounding into a field of snow and rolling hills with mountains on the horizon. In this snow most would find tracking Ghost difficult, but Jon always seemed to have a sense of where his companion was jumping and sprinting forward as he reconfirmed the scent before running off again.

They walked for some time Jon swore Ghost got faster as the scent grew stronger. He was nearly tempted to urge the wolf to slow down but Jon fought against his weakness, he needed to be strong to show he was just as capable a brother of the watch as any Scout or Ranger. He saw Ghost disappear over a hill and quickly rushed behind him breathing hard as steaming breaths obscured his vision the cold-fighting against the warmth of his body. When he reached the top of the hill Jon stopped giving pause at the sight before him. He looked back at his brothers struggling to catch up and called out.

"Over here!" Jon said. "Ghost has found something!"

Jon stared at the sight below trying to make sense of it. At the bottom of the hill, he crossed was a small dry ravine which was at the bottom of a tall incline of land that had disturbed snow making lines trailing down to the bottom where Ghost was currently investigating a large bag with boxes attached that shined in the light with smaller boxes surrounding that. Then Ghost quickly turned his attention to the second presence below a shape half-buried in snow that Jon realized was human. Feeling a sudden caution, he wrapped his hand around the hilt of Ice feeling the sting of his burns as he grunted slowly descending toward the strange presence.

Ghost was already digging at the snow pushing it aside and pushing in his muzzle to get a better look. Jon was still uneasy but the lack of aggression from Ghost eased him a little, his wolf seemed to have a sense of potential danger and would be bearing his fangs. As Jon closed the distance, he saw the human shape more closely but began to doubt his assessment. The shape was human, but everything else was wrong. The figure was wearing a strange white outfit which was lined with red stripes that matched their form but added bulk like a knight in armor but there were no plates, only thick fabric covered in unfamiliar sigils and words from a language Jon did not recognize.

And stranger still was the helmet the figure was wearing a particularly large one that was round and bulbous looking more like a large pot than armor. The figure's head was turned to the side and as Jon glanced down at the face, he could only see his reflection coming from a glass-like covering where the faceplate would be. Jon cautiously reached down and touched the stranger. He felt a subtle movement feeling a rush of fear when he realized mercifully, they were just breathing. Jon gently flipped over the figure onto their back it was impossible from the bulk of armor to tell who or what they were, but the breathing and subtle movements at least meant it was not a wight.

He could hear his brothers approaching as they crossed the hill slowly approaching the strange scene with the same caution, some even pulled their swords. Grenn stood next to Jon staring with wide eyes slightly shaking with a mix of fear and anticipation.

"What…Is that?" Grenn said. "A wildling?"

Jon shrugged. "I do not think so."

"Never known a Wildling to wear anything other than furs and skins," Bedwyck cut in. "Nor have I seen anything like this before. Well done, Snow."

Samwell approached joining the group of brothers as they inspected the stranger. He was cautious initially but slowly leaned down to get a better look.

"They look to be sleeping or unconscious," he said. "Maybe they fell from the hill?"

"Aye," Bedwyck said. "Look at the marks in the snow. Was a hard fall even with a helmet on if they are not dying in there."

"What do we do then?" Grenn said.

"If they're injured, we should have a look first," Bedwyck said. "Samwell since you're so curious get that helmet off for a start and see who we are dealing with."

"M-me!?" Sam said his voice shaking. "But I…."

"Just do it, Sam," Jon said. "I'll help you."

Jon moved to the opposite side of Sam across from the sleeping stranger. The rest of the group stood back observing cautiously as Jon placed his hands on the stranger's shoulders and gave Sam an approving nod to continue. Sam reached toward the helmet gently and tugged at it pulling slightly but there was no movement. Jon saw him struggle and sighed grabbing the helmet but even with the two of them, the helmet refused to budge.

"It's stuck," Sam said. "How does it cling like that?"

"We'll have to remove the cloth then," Jon said. "You hold them I'll use my knife."

Sam nodded and gently grabbed the shoulders again while Jon pulled out his knife from his hip. As Sam moved his fingers over the helmet, however, they brushed something which caused a nose like the turning of a key the glass faceplate shifted in color and suddenly became transparent revealing a wide-eyed face staring directly at Jon and Sam. Sam cried out in surprise leaping back as Jon stunned for a moment felt his cloak get roughly yanked as his face collided with the helmet causing a rush of pain and surprise as the stranger suddenly leaped to their feet as Ghost growled and his brothers shouted the figure reached toward their hip and produced a strange item and pointed it at the ground before there was a loud crack in the air.

As Jon opened his eyes again, he saw what caused the momentary silence even the fierce Ghost was given pause as a section of the snow had been burned away leaving behind a rock that was red hot like burning coals. The figure pointed at the strange object at all of them as they stumbled back when a feminine voice suddenly began speaking.

"Stay back!" She spoke. "Stay the hell away from me!"

Bedwyck raised his hands motioning for his brothers to lower their swords.

"Easy brothers…easy lass… We are not your enemy."

"Just…stay away from!" She shouted. "Don't fucking touch me!"

"No one's touching you, lass," Bedwyck said. "We were just making sure you were unharmed. We are brothers of the Night's Watch. We defend this realm; we mean you no harm. I am Bedwyck a ranger, the boy you hit is Jon Snow a steward."

"Night's…. Watch?" The woman said. "What…"

The woman seemed to be calming down her breathing steady the strange weapon gradually lowering. Once it fell the black brothers relaxed putting away their swords but remaining guarded.

"Tell us your name," Bedwyck said. "We can help you. How did you get here?"

"My…My name is Isabella Zagnino. I'm…a pilot."

"A pilot?" Grenn said. "Like a ship?"

"Yes…" Isabella said. "UAS Thorfinn Karlsefni. My ship…got shot down we evacuated and crashed then I lost my people and…Oh god. Bill had blue eyes, he attacked me, and I had to…I had to…"

"Blue eyes?" Jon said. "Did you say blue eyes!?"

"Yes," Isabella said. "His eyes were brown…why did they turn blue?"
Jon looked up toward Bedwyck, but the man was already rushing up the sharp incline flanked by several other brothers. The woman was near incomprehensible but that was enough to alert the black brothers of a threat. Jon had seen the blue eyes of a wight already nearly dying if he had not managed to burn it to death.

There was an eerie silence as Jon stood on guard leaving the hunt to his more experienced brothers but not long after they returned carrying a bundle gently down the steep hill their weapons put away.

"We found this corpse," Bedwyck said. "Burned to near ashes."

Isabella looked up before looking away. "God…Bill…"

"If you knew this man and he truly had blue eyes," Jon said. "You were right to end him. He was already dead."

"Already dead?" Isabella repeated. "But he was moving!"

"Moving aye but no longer speaking? No longer recognizing you?"

"Yes…Yes, that happened."

"I'm sorry," Jon said. "The Others got to him."

"Others?"
Jon nodded. "The White Walkers… They turn the dead into their slaves. Wights, walking corpses with only one purpose. You were lucky to survive."

Isabella looked up at him and had a confused look on her face, but she said nothing to challenge Jon's assertion. The stranger simply lowered her helmet into her hands shaking her head.

"What the hell is going on here…" She spoke more to herself than anyone.

"How did she manage to burn it like that?" Green said. "The wight is burnt and I don't see any torches."

"That weapon no doubt," Bedwyck said. "Best give her a wide berth if she can do that to a man."

"What kind of weapon can turn a man to ash?"

"None I have ever seen. But I have never seen a woman in white armor beyond the wall."

"So what do we do now?"

"We should take her to the Lord Commander," Jon said. "He should know about all of it."

"Aye," Bedwyck said. "Lass? We are returning to our camp. We ask that you follow us."

Isabella looked up still in a stupor from the shock she had experienced. It was difficult to tell her expression through the helmet, but her eyes shut briefly before she finally opened them.

"Fine…fine!" She said. "I'll go with you but just…keep your distance. If anything seems off you will regret it."

"No harm will come to you lass," Bedwyck said. "We will move ahead. Snow? Tarly? You walk with the stranger keep pace with her and keep her calm. Alright?"

"Yes ser." The boys said in unison as they began walking. Isabella began walking slowly she approached the large back and picked it up effortlessly attaching it to her back as she straightened up and followed Jon and Sam. As they walked Jon noticed the woman staring more closely at Sam and himself.

"Mandonna santa…you guys are kids…"