บท 69: Chapter 69
- The Wall - Sometime Later -
Aegon landed with Revanchist at Castle Black. His dragon made everyone give him a wide amount of space and let his dragon for a son rest and eat something. He would need to speak to the Old Bear for a Lord Commander one final time before things were setup completely on all ends. There were still some among the Night's Watch who were against this action given how many of their brothers they lost to the Wildlings, but Aegon had been firm with them on this. No one deserved to be made a slave to the Night King and used against the living regardless of place, position, or rank in life.
"Since you have returned, I take it he agreed to the terms?" asked the Lord Commander while feeling the idea of Mance Rayder being allowed to cross the Wall and live despite breaking his oath was unfair.
"He did. Even coming through the Wall without weapons. They were against that concession, but once I explained the situation, it was agreed they would come through unarmed," replied Aegon with Old Bear looking skeptical.
"Some of them might try to hide their weapons," said the Lord Commander with Aegon nodding since it was always possible.
"So long as the weapons in question are not in plain sight for us to see, we can't call them out on it. And the Night's Watch will not be at a disadvantage should such a conflict occur," said Aegon with the Lord Commander nodding with some relief in his eyes over how many were here to help support the Night's Watch in this.
"I would still prefer Mance Rayder's head your Grace. He broke his oath to the Night's Watch," said the Lord Commander.
"And normally, I would let you take his head for breaking it Lord Commander. But we need him. It took that man 20 years to get the Wildlings to unite together. Without him keeping them all in check, there will be too much chaos to contain. By allowing him to live and rule over the Wildlings, we keep things from spiraling out of control. In addition, we have gained more men for the army of the living to fight against the Night King's army of the undead. The more who fight for the living when the war starts will help increase our chances of winning it," said Aegon with the Lord Commander reluctantly nodding.
"I agree your Grace. Though some may not. And you have at least one person on the Wall who is not your biggest supporter by far," commented the Lord Commander with Aegon knowing exactly who the man was speaking of.
"Edmure Tully," remarked Aegon with the Old Bear sighing.
"Aye. He was relocated to one of the other castles. The man was fighting us day in and day out until he took his oath. I even drew my sword and press it to his neck. Told him it was either the oath sworn to the Night's Watch or his blood that would come out of his damn mouth after I ran my sword through his gut," said the Lord Commander with Aegon nodding while his face became deadly serious.
"I don't want him near the Wildlings. Keep him away from Castle Black. If he comes anywhere near the area, I want him either killed or swiftly detained," ordered Aegon with the Lord Commander looking a tad surprised before putting things together.
"You think he would fuck this up? Just to spite you? Just to make you look foolish and unworthy of the Iron Throne?" asked the Lord Commander with Aegon nodding to the member of House Mormont.
"He will try. I see it now. Vividly! He will shoot an arrow at one of the Free Folk, but Mance will take the arrow for him and the man will die when it pierces his chest. Shouts will be made, hidden weapons from the Wildlings will be drawn. It will be bloodbath on all fronts. Edmure will try to flee in the chaos with a smug smile on his face. The fool doesn't even look at where he is going when riding to escape because the man is looking back at the carnage he created and his horse soon falls off a snowy hill, breaking his fucking neck in the fall. Even with his last moment of life, the fool blames me for his death and being sent to the Wall. He blames me for punishing his House for their betrayals and fall from the position of power my House first placed House Tully from the start," said Aegon while reaching into the Force to see that clear moment in time and knew it would happen if allowed to go unchallenged.
"A fool if there ever was one, your Grace" said the Lord Commander while Aegon struggled to keep his anger at the scorned Tully at bay.
"Have men at the ready and keep an eye out for him Lord Commander. They must be hood honest men who know what is at stake here and can't afford to let this fool achieve his goal," said Aegon with the old Mormont nodding since he knew who to trust.
"I will arrange it immediately your Grace," said the Lord Commander before the Old Bear left the King to get those men ready.
- Castle Black - Days Later -
The horn blowing twice announced their arrival. Men of the Watch standing at the edge of the Wall, the weapons ready should it come to an all-out fight between both sides. Some almost itching for a fight. Eager to spill the blood of the Wildlings who spilled the blood of their brothers of the Night's Watch and show the savages below what they rightfully deserved. Fortunately, the urge to do just that was brought to heel when Aegon was flying over the Wall on Revanchist with two other dragons following on either side. Their massive forms casting a large shadow over everyone below them and making everyone quite aware of what would happen should someone get out of line.
A dragon's wrath. A dragon's fury. A dragon's fire.
"Open the gate!" ordered Lord Commander Mormont after looking at the large army of Wildlings below him and Mance Rayder looking up at him.
Slowly, the long line of Wildlings entered the gate that would take them through the Wall. Many were hesitant to do so, fearing it a trap, a death sentence they foolishly walked into, and yet there were signs of desperation in their eyes. The Old Bear saw it even from on high at the top of the Wall. They saw a chance to escape what was hunting them on their side of it. They saw a chance to be free, even if it meant possibly be struck down by the Night's Watch on the other side. Not that the Lord Commander could blame them. Better to be dead and their bodies burned over being dead and only to rise again as undead slaves while serving the Others.
The Lord Commander made his way below, his mind calculating it would take him the same amount of time for Mance to reach him when the lift landed. He would stare that man in the eyes, face to face, the desire of the Old Bear being clear to the man who broke his oath to the Night's Watch to be a Wildling. But the Lord Commander would stay his hand. Not for oaths. Not for Kings. But because deep down he knew it was the right thing to do. Not popular for any reason or liked by anyone, but the right decisions made usually weren't when they went against traditions and customs setup over 1,000 years ago.
Change was a very painful process indeed.
"Lord Commander. It is good to see you again after all these years. Though it looks like time has been cruel to you," said Mance while Tormund stood close to him to ensure the Old Bear didn't try anything he could prevent.
"I cannot say the same for you Mance. You broke your oath to us. Normally, the price for such a thing would be your head. Fortunately, for you, the price has been rescinded," said the Lord Commander while his anger and fury were clear in his voice.
"I know. I understand why you feel the way you do. I do respect your duty here. I truly do. But you and I both know I was born of the Free Folk. They are a part of me. They needed my help. I have seen things. I know you saw them too. The time for us to fight and kill each other is at an end. What is left beyond that Wall…is another matter entirely," said Mance while the Lord Commander still looked angry, but clearly he understood.
"Take your people and go where they need to go Mance. But know this, should they ever step out of line, should they harm the innocent lives of the realms of men, should they betray what was offered to them by the King of the Seven Kingdoms…you will be the first to pay the price for such treachery," said the Lord Commander with Mance nodding since he knew the risk when accepting the deal.
"I would expect nothing less Lord Commander. It is what I would do in your place were I still a member of the Night's Watch," said Mance before he and the others started walking with everyone following the man toward their intended destination.
And waiting in the shadows for the right moment was one Edmure Tully. Bow and arrow in hand. Ready to fire from his hidden position. He had successfully evaded his Night Watch "brothers" sent to watch out for him and keep the former Lord of the Riverlands away from this event. But Edmure would not be silenced or allow such an issue to go unchallenged. Especially if it meant showing that so called King for a Targaryen what he thought of the fools actions in letting these savages through the Wall. It was bad enough he had been sent here to spend the rest of his life in this frozen shit of a place and swear an oath to relinquish lands, titles, and heirs to his name. Not that he had the first two given what his House had done and was revealed to the Seven Kingdoms. But the last one was the worst. Denied an heir to his House's name. No children?! Edmure would not stand for such an insult to his House. To the Seven Hells with the oath to the Night's Watch. Edmure planned to leave in the chaos, break the oath to the Night's Watch in its entirety, flee to some distant land, marry a girl while inflating his importance to the level his House should still be in terms of standing, and have multiple children to carry on the Tully name when he was gone from this world. A name that Edmure would ensure returned with an army and the purpose of revenge against those who wronged him.
Edmure was so focused on his plans, his overall future, and his intentions in this moment to assassinate Mance Rayder to make the King look the fool, he didn't sense the figure stalking him from behind. The only warning Edmure received before he could release the arrow from the bow was the angry growl of a predator finding its prey.
And Edmure was the prey.
No sooner did Edmure turn around while trying to grab a hidden dagger in his hand did the predator in question attack him. A snow-white dire wolf of all things. A giant one at that, but silent as the Stranger itself. It was upon him faster than Edmure could move to counter it. The weight of the animal pinned him to the ground, the impact making the Tully man lose his grip on both dagger and bow, the arrow being broken by one of the animal's paws upon being stomped on. The jaws of the dire wolf were on his throat, drawing blood, silencing his screams Edmure wanted to unleash from the sudden pain, and his thrashing was the only thing making any noise at the moment.
Not that it could be heard since the wind had picked up in the area and none were the wiser of a few bushes thrashing about in the heavy wind.
Even as life left him, Edmure wondered how things had gone the way they did? How could his House, his family, and his position of power be taken from him so easily? And by a bastard of all people? A bastard prancing around as a King. A Targaryen King. It didn't make sense to him. How could this wretched boy rise above his destined station, determined by the Seven, and best someone of his noble blood?
The only answer to his many questions were the dire wolf's red eyes, white fur, and his own life leaving its body along with the blood that came with it.
Unknown to Edmure during his final moments, Aegon was well aware of the man's intentions and where he would be when the intended assassination would take place. The man's intentions could be felt easily through the Force that he might as well have lit a bonfire the size of Winterfell saying, "Here I am!" for anyone capable of sensing it. Aegon knew the Lord Commander's men might fail in their attempts to stop the foolish Tully. The Old Bear had sent reliable men to stop the floppy fish, but they were looking for one man among many to keep out of the way of this historic occasion.
Aegon knew Edmure had nothing to lose and everything to gain when planning this. The man would stop at nothing to ruin things so long as it meant hurting the Targaryen King. To get his revenge for the suppose slight, even when House Tully was in the wrong multiple times over. So Aegon decided to add one more to the hunt of the floppy fish and it served him well to allow a predator of a hunter carry out the deed.
And Ghost did what the dire wolf had mentally promised him should the fishy fool be found during this occasion.
While his dire wolf handled the fool below, Aegon handled things with the Free Folk from the air, his dragons circling the Wall. There powerful wings being heard by all below, reminding them of what was above them, the roar from each of them would remind everyone who was in control and wielded the real power here. He watched as his Uncle Ned met with Mance, along the way, explaining who he was and his purpose in serving the King of the Seven Kingdoms. How he would personally escort them with his bannermen to the Gift where they could setup a proper settlement for the Free Folk. The fact Aegon had his Uncle address them as the Free Folk instead of Wildlings helped since the Free Folk hated being called the Wildlings just like the Night's Watch hated being called Crows.
As they traveled, Aegon could see many within the combined army of so many Houses were in awe at seeing such numbers that nearly rivaled their own. Even more so when they saw mammoths and actual giants walking out through the Wall though both getting through required some effort due to their sizes making it a tight fit for them. Aside from those particular issues, nothing really held up the line of people marching toward the Gift.
"This is the Gift. Out of all the North, the lands here are among the most fertile and ready for planting crops to grow food," said Ned when they arrived at their destination and saw his King land his dragons nearby before dismounting.
"I can see why they call it the Gift. Even I can see the land is fertile and perfect for such a thing. Your King said no one settled here due to time, the North's population, and the Winters that occur," said Mance while hoping to confirm what Aegon said through another source.
"Aye, it is true. We have had these lands farmed a few times, but never a settlement. Not enough time or coin to set it into motion. Add the population issue with the Northern lands not having as much space to grow food or maintain a surplus to feed everyone makes it tricky. But with your people here and the numbers, a settlement could be made, and crops could be planted before the next Winter. My King is planning to assist you in some of this while your people get settled here," said Ned while Mance nodded since it would take some time to settle, even with their numbers.
"There are many within the Free Folk who know how to farm and hunt. This is perfect for our needs," said Mance with Aegon approaching them and shook both of their hands.
"As I promised Mance. The Gift will serve you well in the years to come. Manage it properly and the Free Folk will prosper greatly unlike any other time in their history," said Aegon with Mance nodding and felt happy over the Wall with his people with a chance to possibly sleep without both eyes being open.
"We will your Grace. We will not kneel to you or anyone in the South but know the Free Folk will always have your respect and our support in the War that is to come," said Mance with Aegon nodding.
"A war I intend for us to win," said Aegon with conviction in his voice.
"And the Free Folk will be right beside you to celebrate when we do win," said Mance with a smile and Aegon returned it.
- The North - Beyond the Wall -
He had been slow in his movements. Patience was the key he told himself. Let the realm of men become weak over time. They were too strong to oppose back when men were strong. Time, greed, ambition, and treachery had poisoned the realms of men. Memories of he past forgotten, altered, or purposely erased. Whether due to religious faiths, ambitions of men, spitefulness, it didn't matter to the Night King. What mattered was the realms of men were doomed before he made his move. Let the fools kill each other before playing his hand and claiming the world in an endless darkness filled with unyielding cold.
But suddenly, things had changed for him. For his army. The world was shifting away from him. From it favoring his side. The rifts he sensed earlier had healed. Those who caused them were either long since dead or dying. The realms of men were not getting weaker, but stronger. Becoming whole when they should be falling apart. He had foreseen it. The fools ruling over their own causing corruption and divide among the masses and resulting in his victory once over the Wall. His army would kill all things living and consume their memory of all things until there was nothing left. The three eyed raven would finally be no more, and all would be consumed by the dark endless winter his powers showed him would once more befall the world.
Only for events to change drastically from what they should have been.
The frightened boy for a hidden dragon, who was meant to join the Wall and die there in a betrayal had not joined in the Wall in its defense as foreseen. He did not become submissive and desperate to please others around him with his low ranked status. The war that would weaken the realms did not escalate as he had foreseen. The ambitions of greedy men who would corrupt and destroy their own from where the ruled were dead. Brought down by the change a single boy made when leaving his home and went out to grow stronger in places that did not discriminate his existence.
The Night King snarled slightly at this change in the future. How did this happen? His visions assured him the boy would not be a threat. Nor his Aunt who was hiding on the other part of the world. His vision of the lions butchering the realms, the mockingbird playing puppet master against them and the wolf in their struggle, and all the rest had been changed. Nothing was what it was, and for the first time in over 1,000 years, the Night King had been infuriated knowing the future was not what had been foreseen.
Could the three eyed raven have altered the future? He knew his adversary was protected by the other magic that nullified his own, but had the man or said magic been responsible? He couldn't say. His vision was now clouded. Blinded. Images were faint and far from clarity. The massive army he acquired so far was almost ready. The Night King had hoped for more from the savages that had gathered together to protect themselves using incredibly large numbers. But the image of them under his control had been removed violently with the image of the three headed dragon swooping in and claiming them all.
An unfortunate setback in his plans. Nothing major, but it delayed him marching on the Wall by a considerable margin.
Still, he would need his subordinates to find more corpses frozen in the snow to bring into his thrall with this place still having unchecked lands in certain areas. He would find the number of bodies required to complete his army and smash through the Wall.
And kill the memory of men for all time.
- The North - Elsewhere -
The three eyed raven frowned with worry, anger, and curiosity. Like his nemesis the Night King, he too was troubled. His vision of the future had changed. And not through his own hands. The hands of time itself had shifted things without him knowing. Bloodraven had foreseen a similar future as the Night King with his own eyesight peering into the future but had taken various steps to counter the outcome his enemy wished to achieve. He had hoped to bring the young, crippled Stark into his prison of a place and teach him how to look into the future. Mold the boy into what he needed to become and when the right moment came, possess his body to be free of his prison the Old Gods trapped his body in.
Only for the Old Gods or maybe only one of the Gods to do something unexpected in shifting things to make the hidden dragon flee his home to grow stronger elsewhere. Wielding powers even Bloodraven had never seen before in his long life. Shifting the very rivers of time in such a way that neither the Night King nor Bloodraven himself could benefit from the dragon's actions. Young Brandon was on the road to recovery with the new King healing the boy, so he was no longer crippled so there was no need for the boy to visit him over the Wall. The realms of men were healing and growing stronger now that the vile corruption over the last two decades had been removed.
His plans for falling apart. Even baiting the new dragon and King was out of the question. The young man's perception and power outmatched Bloodraven by far. It was only because of his many years of experience did he avoid being detected or attacked by the King of the Seven Kingdoms. He knew the young man was aware of him. He had sensed as much but made sure the King could not pinpoint his exactly location, only the general area.
Whether the King would seek him out for whatever reason was unknown to Bloodraven. His sight was surprisingly limited in that regard. As if something or someone was blocking his sight. All his eyes were being blocked at what the future could hold and his power to see things was being drastically limited.
Bloodraven knew his time was coming to an end. Sooner over later. The question now was who would kill him first. The Night King? Or the young King preparing for the end?
Only time would tell and unfortunately for Bloodraven, it would not give him a sneak preview of what was to come.
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