AN: I am done with college. I have graduated as of May 14th. Now I just need to find a job. Sorry this is so late. But now that I do not have class, I should be able to write more.

MANCE RAYDER

BEYOND THE WALL

Another village without any people in it. Living or dead.

'Hopefully they managed to get away.' The former Crow thought as he and his companions walked through, surveying the signs of a struggle. 'More of us have been surviving the more recent attacks.'

Mance had thought the gods to be cruel. He abandons his black brothers to be free. But soon after he does so, their ancient enemy makes their return. Now the people who should be protecting the men are more concerned with punishing would never listen to him if he tried to warn them. He knew that if he wished his people to be free, then he had to do so himself. Thankfully, the Old God's gifts had made his goal a bit easier, even if he had to remind the arrogant leaders that he was still their best bet to live.

He saw a streak of black emanate from one of the huts. Mance froze in his tracks. As did Ygritte and Tormund, who had accompanied him to check the village.

Something was making noise, now that Mance listened.

He never would have thought that seeing sound would be so helpful.

Mance turned to his allies, and he held up a finger to his mouth. Tormund nodded, while Ygritte drew her bow, notching an arrow into place, ready to release it.

Mace drew his own dagger, rusty though it was. He began to approach the thought to be abandoned home.

He peered through the crack in the entrance. He saw movement on the ground. Was it someone crawling? Or a Wight coming back to life?

Mance took a deep breath. If they were alive, he could help them. If they were dead, he could take a soldier away from the Other's army.

He slowly pushed the door open, but by then, the object of his search had moved behind the door, requiring Mance to actually step inside to see.

The good news, it was not a Wight.

The bad news, it was a Shadowcat.

The worse news, it was staring at him. And it seemed to be starving.

'Fuck.' Mance jumped back on instinct, going away from the door and further into the house just as the Shadowcat lunged at him.

He managed to just avoid it as he got into a fighting stance, the memory of being drilled at Castle Black returning in an instant. Back then, the Master at Arms had thought to train them against both Free Folk and the animals. A shame Ser Allister instead decided to focus only on man to man combat.

The Shadowcat let out a low growl of intimidation. Mance saw waves of darkness come from its jaws.

Mance quickly flipped his grip on his dagger, and threw it at the Shadowcat.

Instead of sinking into it's skull blade first, it hit the Shadowcat handle first.

But that was fine. Now that Mance knew he was fighting a living creature, it was better that his hands be free.

The Shadowcat lunged at him, but before it reached him, he clapped his hands together.

He watched as a wave of blue pulsed forward, throwing the Shadowcat against the wall.

Mance had been in the middle of playing a song on his lute when the powers started to appear. A single plucked string had released a force strong enough to cut into his tent, ruining the whole thing. Thankfully Dalla had been out when he did.

It was at this moment that Tormund and Ygritte finally entered, having recognized the sound of Mance's attack. Before the shadowcat could get up or anything, Ygritte loosed an arrow right through the throat. A small whimper was the Shadowcat's last action before death took it.

"You still breathing?" Tormund asked the King Beyond the Wall.

"Aye." Mance replied. "Wasn't expecting a Shadowcat of all things to be here."

Ygritte got closer to her kill. "At least we got something out of this." She said, taking out a dagger. "I hear Shadowcat furs are warm."

"They can be.' Mance admitted. "If they are properly treated. The kill is yours, but you might want me to skin it for you."

The archer handed the knife to Mance, and he knelt down to the dead beast.

A shadowcat. He had once almost died to one of these. That was how his cloak turned red, and what started his turning of it.

'If not for these creatures, I would not be a King.' He noted to himself. 'A strange thought after so long. Now I need to make sure I prove myself deserving of that title. Else we all die.'

"We need to go." He said after he finished skinning. "We lost enough time as it is, and there are more villages we must check before meeting up with the rest of the army."

VICTARION

PYKE

Victarion walked off the Iron Victory, his armor still smeared with the blood of those pirates stupid enough to think that they could pretend to be Iron born and raid along the Western Coast.

'If you're going to do something so foolish, at least know the difference between Fair Isle and Pyke.' Victarion thought. Pirates attacking the Ironborn. If word got out they would be a laughingstock. He hated jokes.

Nute the Barber and Longwater Pyke passed him by as they carried bags of their plunder. Those two had fought their way below deck, and had discovered the rooms filled with the Pirate's treasures. Killing the guards for the Iron Price, the two men had gained the most from the battle. Now they were going to give it all to the whores and barmaids of Pyke.

Victarion ignored the two men, and turned to the other side. Some drowned men were there. His brother led them.

"Damphair." He greeted the priest.

"Victarion." Aerion said. "I trust you did not disgrace the Drowned God in battle?"

"Of course not." Victarion said simply. He would never do such a thing, especially against such a pathetic foe. Even against Stannis, when he had been trapped in by Fair Isle, he had still brought many men down to the Drowned God's watery halls. The only reason he had survived himself was that he had been knocked unconscious instead of killed. When he had woken up to a Maester tending to him, he had almost killed the man before he had been restrained.

"Yet you are injured." Aerion noticed.

It was true. Blood seeped through his arm. Where he had been stabbed.

"One of the fucks got lucky with a dagger." Victarion explained. One of his newer men had asked if he needed a Maester, and Victarion had struck him. It made no difference. Not with his power.

"Kneel." The Damphair ordered.

Victarion did so, and a moment later felt the familiar dripping of sea water on his face.

Victarion kept his eyes open. This was what it meant to be Ironborn. To be a follower of the Drowned God.

Victarion felt the sting as his eyes got saltwater in them. But it faded as his power kicked in. No more pain, and he could even feel his arm heal from the dagger strike.

By the time the Damphair was done reciting his prayer for the Iron Captain, Victarion was as uninjured as before the battle.

"The Drowned God has truly blessed you brother. Almost as much as it has blessed Balon." The Damphair said.

"Aye." Victarion agreed. "And you have been blessed as well."

Aerion's face darkened. "It should not have happened. I had not expected to lose him."

'Oh.' Victarion realized. 'I forgot.'

The Damphair had been in the middle of a drowning of one of his students when the powers emerged. Aerion refused to talk about it, but Victarion and Balon had gotten the story from the other witnesses.

The drowning had gone normally at first, but when it was time to take the water out of the boy's lungs, it had come out of more than just his mouth like normal.

The boy had been dried out. All the water in his body seeped out of him until he died. All the water that had been removed, and going to Aerion. He had done so again with some animals, in order to understand how to use it. It was just a few days ago he resumed drowning people like he used to.

"Did I miss any significant news while I was at sea?" Victarion asked. The world was rapidly changing, and it seemed like nearly every day that they received news of unthinkable changes.

"Nothing of much concern. The High Septon those Greenlanders worship has sent ravens to every Keep and Castle, claiming a ban on Trial by Combat. Any Septon who tries to mediate one shall be punished. Apparently he is trying to get the Fat King to add his voice to the decree." Damphair said with a spit. "As if we needed any more proof that the Greenlanders are soft."

If that was the biggest thing Aerion considered news, then it must be true that nothing else happened of note.

"I heard that Theon can breathe underwater." Victarion offered as a change of subject. The letter had been a surprise. It had been long since they had heard from Balon's heir.

Damphair spat. "He can never drown. The Greenlands got to him. He can never join the Drowned God beneath the waves."

Victarion pitied the boy. He was taken away and forced to become a Greenlander. Did he even remember the sea? Remember the Islands?

If Balon died right this moment, Theon would become the Lord of the Isles. Victarion would obey him of course, but unless he showed he was strong enough to lead like his father, he was not likely to last long. Even then, it was unlikely to happen. Not with how things were going now.

"Is Balon still set on his plan?" Victarion asked.

"Of course he is." Aerion said. "This is his second chance. He is unlike to get a third. The Iron Fleet has slowly but surely been rebuilt. Soon the Driftwood Crown will be his again. We shall finally resume the Old Ways."

'But not without us paying the price first.' Victarion could not help but think. 'When we win, and I get a new salt wife, I suppose I should name my son for Theon. His death is the only certainty, but it will be the sacrifice needed to bring us back to glory.'

JON SNOW

WINTERFELL

One of the Cook's wives was giving birth. The first new child born in Winterfell since Powers had come. Maester Luwin wanted Jon to be nearby.

This was not Jon's first time waiting for Luwin to call him like this, though it would be the quickest. Jon had been in a similar situation when Lady Stark had given birth to each of his siblings. Although at those times he had to wait to see his new brothers and sisters, Robb was allowed in almost instantly.

The woman's screams of pain rang out in the air. Eventually though, they subsided, and were replaced by the cries of a babe.

A few minutes later, Maester Luwin came out to him. "You can come in now."

Jon jumped out of his chair and walked into the room. A midwife- the husband's aunt in fact- was holding the child, while the mother gasped in exhaustion.

"It's a boy." Luwin mentioned before taking the child from the midwife.

"And you want to see if I can tell you what powers he will have." Jon repeated the reason he was here.

Luwin nodded. "If you can tell them what to expect, it would be very helpful. Both to them, and to the Citadel's research. Archmaester Marwyn is in charge of it, but every Maester in every keep has been sending him reports to help."

"It might not work." Jon said. "With Robb, I only copied his strength the first time I touched him. It wasn't until I knew he had other powers that I got those as well."

"It is worth a try, at the very least." Luwin said. "What about copying only a single power from someone? Like getting Robb's strength, but not his gravity defiance? Have you tried that?"

"Yes. It's all or nothing. I can't keep Robb's strength, and then add Arya's bone claws. Gaining another person's powers means losing what the previous one gave me." Jon explained. "Although, I haven't tried only taking a specific power."

Currently, Jon has copied Sansa's powers. Father had asked the two of them to ride out to the nearby farms, and see if they could make a harvest come quicker. Sansa had rode out with him, Jory and a handful of guards, and they had spent the last few days aiding in the preparations for Winter. With Sansa's help, freshly planted seeds were just beginning to bud by the time they left for the next farm. It was nice. Jon had also become more familiar with her other abilities. Most notably, her ability to understand birds.

Sansa herself had been unaware of it at first. She thought the sounds coming from outside her windows during the day were just whispers of servants outside. It was not until leaving Winterfell that she realized she still heard the voices of other women. For Jon, he could not make out specific statements- which Sansa claimed were mainly simple things like finding food or looking for a mate- but he could sense the emotions behind them. They also learned that Sansa could also be understood by birds, but while some could follow commands, others were more willful than that. Had Bran been with them, he could have simply taken over the bird's minds.

The sudden cry of the babe in Luwin's arms brought Jon back to the present.

Jon held out his hand, and slowly cupped the babe's head. His hand glowed red, but he felt no change.

He closed his eyes and breathed. 'Let it flow through me. Come to me naturally.' He thought to himself.

Suddenly, he felt it. If he had to describe it, he would say it was like three different sensations were running up his hands. He felt his connection to Sansa's powers fade away, and be replaced. But he still could not actually use them.

"I… I can feel them. I think there are three powers. But I can't actually use them." Jon confessed. He took his hand away from the child.

Maester Luwin sighed. "I suppose hoping you could identify them would be too easy." He returned the baby to the arms of the mother. "He is in good health, you have my word on that. When he does start to show his powers, make note and inform someone to fetch me. If he develops more than three, then come at once."

Not wanting to interfere with this joyous day for the family any more than he already had, Jon said some congratulation to the mother and departed. He should probably go and copy some other set of powers.

BRAVOS

TYCHO NESTORIS

"Do we have any idea who could have done it?"

The representatives of the Iron Bank had all been called into a meeting to discuss the impossible.

Something had been taken from the Iron Bank.

This was far from the first time it has occurred. But those attempts were before Powers made finding the culprit much more difficult. The guards had not been bribed, and for now they had been spared. The usual traps had not been set off, and yet somehow, in the darkness of their main vault, someone had managed to get in, and steal quite a valuable piece.

The crown of the former Queen Rhaella Targeryan.

It had almost gone unnoticed, but the Iron Bank was very diligent about keeping track of loans and payments, as well as what they had at their disposal. Every day, one third of the vaults were checked. A three day window for the thief to have gotten in and stolen it.

It was not the only thing missing, but it was the most significant. The rest were more common coins and jewels. Besides the crown, five hundred Gold Dragons worth of varying currencies and jewels. The crown itself eclipsed that at least ten times, if only for the fact that it had such significance to House Targeryen. The last Bastion of Valyria. Many wanted it, from Volantis and those who craved all things Valyrian, to the Sea Lord, who wished to display it as a reminder that the great city outlasted their enslavers.

"We do not." Syrio Prestayne said. "We, like the rest of the world, were completely unprepared for Powers. We failed to adapt quickly enough. We are still searching for new guards to hire to counter abilities that let people get in."

"Are we sure it was a new power?" Another representative, Jason Waters, a Westerosi Bastard who had fought with the Golden Company, only to find his true skill was in buying supplies. He had left the company and been with the Iron Bank for two years. "It could have been a test for some new member of the House of Black and White."

That was a sobering thought.

The Bank's relationship with the Faceless Men was a delicate one. They employed them often enough, but that did not make the men in this room immune if someone gave them a name. Tycho had actually been promoted because his predecessor had found himself the target of one of them.

Noho Dimittis spoke up. "We can not deny the possibility, but I believe a newly powered person is the more likely culprit. If this was a test for the Faceless Men, then they could have done this at an earlier date."

"In any case," Tycho spoke up. "What should be done to keep this from happening again? We have already added additional guards and torches inside the actual vaults."

"We also are adding additional seals to the vault, and inspecting them more often for holes and cracks." Jason spoke. "I saw a beggar on the street commanding insects to put on a show for coins. I thought he or someone else could use them to slowly sneak coins or gems out."

"The Crown itself is not exactly subtle." Syrio said. "If it is sold, then we will be able to trace it back to the thief. I doubt they would melt it down or break it apart. Not when most of its value is in its history."

Tycho nodded. When they did start the investigation, it was likely that they would spend more money recovering it than the crown was worth. But the Iron Bank's reputation was on the line. Some sacrifices had to be made, and sometimes, a minor loss of coin was more acceptable than allowing people to know of a sudden weakness.

'The thief will be found.' Tycho thought as they moved on to other matters. 'We will have our due. As always.'

AN: And it is done! I am once again sorry for how long this took to get out. Next story to be updated is The Game Gets Chaotic!

As for this chapter, we open up with Mance surveying an abandoned village. No sign of friend or foe, but I did want to give him a show, so a Shadowcat appeared. As you can see, Mance's main attack is sound based. I call it Sonic Strike. To put it simply, he can amplify and weaponize a sound he makes. Rank B-, his strongest strike is about the average Canary Cry, and it carries the physical force to throw the target away. He also has a form of Synthesia, ranked D. Just the basic seeing sound as color. So not much use in a full battle, but when you think you are being hunted, you can find your pursuer if they make any sound. He has one more ability, but now was not the time to show it.

Next up is Victarion. He returns after fighting some pirates, the only real battle the Ironborn can do. His power is Water Healing, Ranked B-. Basically Percy Jackson style healing, but only of himself, and he does not recover from exhaustion or anything, just heals the wounds.

The Damphair, I gave a power I thought to be fitting. If you have seen ATLA, then you may remember the Katara vs Hama battle, where they ripped water out of trees and plants to use. That is what Aerion has. I dub it "Wring" as it was the best name that fit. It is Rank A. Basically, any living thing with Water may as well be a sponge in his hands. The downside is range, as he needs to be touching the target to activate. He discovered it when he completely dried up one of his new followers, and that has really gotten to him. We get a bit of news about Balon, as well as the High Septon trying to put a stop to Trials by Combat for the time being. That was a last minute addition, but between the POVs, Victarion's was somehow the one it seemed to fit best in.

Next up we got Jon. This chapter was basically showing one of his limits, in that he needs to know of a power in order to copy it. A newborn baby was the best way to convey this, as no one would know their abilities, but Jon can sense how many exist in him. But doing so also made him lose Sansa's powers that he had copied.

Finally, we go to the Iron Bank of Braavos for the second time this fic. The first was intentionally vague, and was when Viserys had his POV in chapter 4. Tycho Nesteros and other representatives discuss how to adapt their defenses in view of powers. They were already planning it, but upon learning of the theft they stepped up their efforts and plans.

I do apologize again for how long it took to get this chapter out. As I said, hopefully I can get back to a schedule of one chapter per two weeks, and maybe even one a week if I get ahead enough.

I hope you all enjoy this chapter. Also that you all stay safe during these times.

Wish you all luck with whatever you have in your lives. See you all next chapter.

Jaehaerys . Joestar