That was... a pretty good question, actually.
Just what the fuck did I want to do now?
I had two dragons and an Other under my proverbial wing. I could do whatever. Hell, I could fly out to King's Landing and order the King to kiss my feet and lick the ground I'm standing on and he'd probably do it, because I had two fucking dragons. No one else had dragons in this time period, I figured. And that made me a god. Factor in Little-Cloud's ice magic and my death magic, I'd be a freaking calamity in human form – more powerful than any god in ASOIAF, assuming the Drowned God wasn't Cthulhu or that the Great Other wasn't something like fucking Shimo from Godzilla because either of those options existing meant I was most definitely was not the most powerful entity in this world.
Thought, I suppose that might change as I unlocked more and more magical branches. I might eventually reach a level of power that'd allow me to actually contend against something like Godzilla. But that was a long ways away – not even Nightfury can do that and he was stronger than me.
Anyway, I was strong and no one in the Seven Kingdoms had the firepower to contend with me. So, if I really wanted to, I could do whatever the fuck I wanted and no one could stop me. So, the people of Westeros were really fucking lucky in the fact that I had no interest in roleplaying as Aegon the Conqueror or as Genghis Khan. And that brought me back to my earlier question of: what did I want to do?
First and foremost, I should probably return to Bear Island and maybe explain the situation before departing for good with Halga, because I promised her that she'd be joining my adventures and also because it was entirely my fault that her health was failing and I was not the type of man to abandon my responsibilities. I'd done my part to save that place anyway and Lysa Mormont was now in a very good position to do whatever she needed for Bear Island. And, in any case, she'd always have me. But, it was time for me to move on and see more of the world, even if that meant I wouldn't be fucking Meera Stark, the hottest cougar I've ever seen, anytime soon.
Eh. Plenty of fish in the sea and all that. Plus, the power of horni wasn't that strong – not on me, at least. So, I wouldn't feel particularly bad about leaving her behind.
Hmm... I suppose I didn't have to deal with Bear Island just yet. After all, I was here, Beyond the Wall, where all the Wildling motherfuckers lived. Perhaps some good old fashioned genocide was in order; that way, they'd fucking with the people down south. Okay, maybe not genocide, since I knew for a fact that not all Wildling Tribes were the same – with some being more civilized than others. I also kind of want to see the Giants and the Ice Bears, which were apparently like Polar Bears but three times bigger. I had one in Bear Island, that mother bear whose face I deleted after panicking. She was as big as a fucking car and maybe even bigger. I wanted to see if they grew even larger up here.
So, that was it. I was going to explore this frozen fucking wasteland and see all the interesting things about it that were probably just skimmed over. There had to be some kind of magical bullshit here that was still interesting enough to catch my attention. After this little trip, I'd visit Bear Island to say my proper goodbyes and maybe stop by Winterfell to see if the castle was as cool as described in the books, and whatever else I could fuck about with in the North. Moat Cailin was another interesting thing I'd like to see, alongside Greywater Watch, which supposedly moved about form place to place.
That said, I was already here, in the Far North, Beyond the Wall.
I figured I'd stop by and visit the Children of the Forest as well, assuming I could find them. I was pretty sure the Three-Eyed-Raven wasn't a thing just yet or he was already here, but wasn't-
My ears perked up to the sound of flapping wings. And, when I glanced up, I saw a flock of black birds, flying overhead, before disappearing behind a veil of clouds. I would not have found that odd if it wasn't for the sensation of magic about them – faint and weak magic, but magic nonetheless. Must've been the Three-Eyed-Raven, then, or some other Green Seer. Welp, I knew who my next fucking target was. "Interesting. Very interesting."
Little-Cloud glanced up, her eyes narrowing. She must've felt the presence of magic as well. She turned to me. And I nodded at her. I might as well get this shit over with as quickly as possible. Now, as far as I was aware, the Green Seers weren't evil or malicious, but they definitely weren't benevolent either. So, I had to be very careful, especially since I'd be walking into a battle of a more eldritch sort of magic – not like Little-Cloud who'd flung ice spears at my face. Hopefully, the Three-Eyed-Raven or whatever wouldn't start some shit they couldn't finish. Because I knew for a fact that I was far more powerful than any would-be magician in this whole setting. "Time to pay someone a visit, I guess."
Nightfury landed beside me and I wasted no time climbing onto his neck. Little-Cloud did the same, climbing over White-Shadow's gargantuan form. Nightfury roared, unleashing a storm of winds and a torrent of snow, shaking the ground at our feet. White-Shadow roared afterwards, but the Ice Dragon's roar sounded far weaker than it should've been. The satisfaction I felt from my mental connection with Nightfury pretty much told me everything I needed to know.
I turned to Little-Cloud, nodded, and smiled. "Let's go."
She nodded back.
The wind roared in my ears as we cut through the skies, the mountains below us like the jagged teeth of some ancient, sleeping beast. This was the world Beyond the Wall—wild, untamed, and colder than the pits of hell. It had a primal hostility to it that made the civilized lands of Westeros feel like some sort of sheltered playground in comparison. Everything was coated in snow, a canvas of white and gray interrupted only by the occasional rocky cliff that jutted out like bones piercing through a corpse's flesh. To be entirely fair, I could certainly see how or why the Wildlings suffered so badly here, having almost zero fucking access to any sort of farming or cultivation, and forced to rely, instead, on hunting and gathering – or, often, raiding and reaving.
That said, the solution to that problem would simply be to travel down south and kneel. That was pretty much the only thing they had to do to escape this icy hell they called a home. And that was also the one thing they'd never do – not for themselves and not for anyone else. And that was why I didn't like them. Though, to be fair, it's not like the average northern peasant didn't experience hunger every now and then so... I don't fucking know. What I did know was that acting like cutthroat rapists was not necessary if all they wanted was food and a measure of material wealth, but they did that anyway and that was one thing I'd never accept.
Nightfury's wings beat with a steady rhythm, effortlessly slicing through the freezing winds. The power coursing through his massive form was intoxicating, a raw, primal force that could lay waste to entire armies. His black scales glimmered against the stark white below, the dark, shimmering hide a warning to anyone stupid enough to challenge us. Every beat of his wings sent a rush of adrenaline through me, a reminder that I was on the back of a living weapon of mass destruction.
White-Shadow followed close behind, his icy breath visible even in the cold air. The Ice Dragon moved with a grace that belied his size, his wings making a softer, more rhythmic sound. Little-Cloud sat atop him, eyes sharp and alert. The cold didn't seem to faze her, as if the ice and snow were just a part of her very essence. I caught a glimpse of her face—focused, calm. There was something almost serene about her in this environment, like a predator in its natural habitat.
The farther north we flew, the more the world around us seemed to shift. Snowfields gave way to dense forests of towering pines, their branches sagging under the weight of snow. The air was thick with the scent of pine and earth, so different from the salt and sea of Bear Island. I could feel the presence of life here, ancient and hidden. Shadows moved beneath the trees, flickers of motion that could've been anything from animals to something far more… eldritch.
Every now and then, that damn flock of black birds appeared again, always just ahead of us, like a goddamn ghost leading us onward. I could sense the magic about them—it was faint but unmistakable, a whisper of power that called to me like a moth to a flame. So we followed, Nightfury and White-Shadow soaring through the frozen landscape, keeping our eyes on the horizon. I wasn't entirely certain what the Green Seer was trying to pull by keeping the flock of black birds so close to us, though I suppose it was entirely possible that the Green Seer wanted us to follow.
We flew over frozen rivers, their surfaces cracked and splintered like the aftermath of a battle. Valleys stretched out beneath us, filled with snow so deep it could swallow a man whole. The trees thinned as we went further, replaced by endless plains of ice that seemed to stretch on forever. Desolate and empty, the kind of place that would drive a man insane if he stayed too long.
Nightfury let out another roar, his voice echoing off the distant mountains, a deep, resonant sound that cut through the silence. White-Shadow answered, his roar sharp and cold, like a blade slicing through the air. I felt the change as much as I heard it—a shift in the atmosphere, like we were entering a different realm entirely. Something ancient and powerful, older than the Wall itself.
And then I saw it. A solitary hill rising out of the snow, crowned with a twisted weirwood tree. Its pale bark stood out against the darkening sky, the blood-red leaves rustling in the wind. There was magic here, I could feel it in my bones. It was thick, like walking through a fog of raw power. This had to be it—the source of the magic we'd been chasing. The place where the Green Seer lived.
Nightfury circled the hill once before landing, his massive body sinking into the snow with a crunch. White-Shadow landed beside him, Little-Cloud dismounting with the same fluid grace she showed in battle. I slid off Nightfury's neck, my boots hitting the ground. The air was freezing, each breath coming out as a cloud of mist. But it wasn't the cold that sent a shiver down my spine - it was the magic, an electric current that seemed to hum in the air.
I glanced up at the weirwood tree, its branches twisting and swaying in the wind. This was it. We'd found our target. Now it was time to see if the Green Seer would be a friend or just another foe to put down.
"Let's get this over with," I muttered, glancing at Little-Cloud.
She nodded, her eyes narrowing as she looked at the tree. There was a hint of a smile on her face, a glimmer of something akin to anticipation.
Yeah, this was going to be interesting, especially because the little figures I was seeing now were definitely the Children of the Forest.
AN: Chapter 41 is out on (Pat)reon