This chapter has been edited due to content. I made small edits throughout the chapter. If you want to see the unedited version GO HERE.
I had heard what had happened with the war against the dead,
or the War for the Dawn as others called it, and yet it wasn’t until I saw the
destruction with my own eyes that I could comprehend what had gone on. Down
below small villages had been destroyed with no one living in them anymore.
Castles like the Eyrie were the only places of safety. I should’ve been here to
help fight and maybe the war would’ve already been over.
As we got closer to the Night’s King the air became even
colder. The cold was much more potent than it had been beyond the Wall. It must
be that the victories had allowed the nightmarish being to gather more magic.
More magic radiated off of him in a cold where not even wildfire could warm a
person. Along with the cold I could sense Jon and Arya Stark.
I roared at Jeor and the dragon came close to me. He was a
dragon that also seemed wrong with his pure black skin and blood red eyes. He
had been created and not born like my own dragon had. Like Viserion had been.
Jorah prepared to jump off of me, his body seemed confident as if he were
merely walking down steps. Once Jeor was close enough my love jumped on.
I started to dive down so I would arrive just a little
beyond where I felt the coldness. Jeor and Viserion didn’t dive down with me. A
few wights and White Walkers were there to greet me when I landed. One of the
White Walkers said something and I couldn’t understand him no matter how hard I
tried. I looked up and gave Jorah a signal.
“Give up your weapons.” The White Walker said in a voice
that sounded like ice breaking.
“You know I need no weapons to kill you.” I replied.
“Then you won’t mind giving yours up.”
I couldn’t argue with that and handed the being Alexander
and its sheath. He looked at it and turned it around a few times as if testing
it. He gave a nod of approval before leading me inside the camp. I tried not to
be open about searching for Jon and Arya. I would rescue them no matter what it
took. One of the tent’s flaps blew in the wind and for a brief moment I could
see inside.
There Arya pressed closely up to the Hound. Neither of them
acting afraid and yet it was clear that they were. She didn’t see me before the
inside of the tent was hidden from me yet again. It had surprised me that they
weren’t restrained. And yet that did make sense. The Night’s King’s army would
be no match for two weaponless humans. They could yell and scream all they wanted
but nothing would change. They would either be prisoners or turned to become
part of the army.
I continued to follow the White Walker until we reached the
center. The sight there horrified me. It was not the sight of the Night’s King
who seemed more than calm. Evil and cold radiated from him yet that did not
scare me. The sense he could easily kill me did not scare me. What did scare me
was Jon bound and gagged in front of the ancient being.
“You are his queen.” The Night’s King said. “I thought you
had run away.”
Jon looked up at me seeming to ask for help. The fact that
the Night’s King had some of my most valued men captured stopped this from
being a meeting. However, I would play along until it was safe to actually
attack. It would be foolish to yet I had to rescue my men. Maybe the fight
would even end the war now instead of later.
“No,” I replied. “I was away on another errand. Something
only I could do.”
“I am glad you are here.” The Night’s King said and then
seemed troubled by something in my eyes. “You still think of me as the enemy,
don’t you? You still think I am evil for the sake of being evil? You are wrong.
But rest assured those who are the ones at fault are dead. Yet I…but that will
come later.”
I reached out with my powers and noticed the Night’s King
had dampened them. They were no longer as powerful. Yet I could slowly tear at Jon’s
restraints. So I did. Once I freed him he could escape or be foolish and try to
attack the Night’s King. Or maybe he would die either way. I had thought since
the Azor Ahai Prophecy had been fulfilled that Jon still had importance. Except
that importance was with another prophecy: The Prince who was Promised.
Maybe I had been wrong.
“Why did you want me here?” I asked bravely.
“Because I want at least one person to know the truth.” The
Night’s King explained. “Through the anger that has plagued my mind for
countless lifetimes, I am finally able to have some form of sanity. I am
finally able to tell at least part of my story.”
Jorah had once told Daenerys that good and evil always
existed on both sides. I had foolishly thought that this war, the war against
the living and the dead, was different. It seemed so simple and yet the Night’s
King might tell me otherwise. Why had he called me here? Could it truly be
because he wanted to talk?
“What if I didn’t come here?” I asked. “Jon and Jorah wouldn’t
be able to understand you.”
“I will take whatever audience I can get.” The Night’s King
said. “I bound this one before I could fully regain my sanity. I did try to
tell him my story after I sent the letter, but he couldn’t understand. With
your magic you are able to understand me and for that I am glad.”
I wondered if the ancient being knew I was trying to free my
husband. There was a chance that he didn’t care at all about my plan. Maybe it
amused him. In any case he did nothing to stop me and so I continued. Jeor and
Viserion appeared to be restless up above. The Night’s King looked angry at my
brother. I could understand why.
“Once I was a human.” The Night’s King said. “I was one of
the First Men and wanted nothing in the world but to live. I wanted a wife and
many children. There was so much that I had dreamed of and most of my dreams I
have forgotten. I have forgotten so much since the Children of the Forest
cursed me to be this thing. I can’t feel, not really. All I tend to feel is
anger and hate. The two emotions gnaw at me and leave me nothing.”
I would ask why the Children of the Forest would do such a
thing but I knew why. The need for revenge went beyond the boundaries of
species. I knew that the Children of the Forest and the First Men had far from
friendly relationships with each other. It did fit that they would try and get
rid of the humans. It also made sense that their weapon would go rogue.
Something so powerful could easily learn to do things on its own. Maybe they
didn’t realize how powerful their weapon would become. How hard it would be to
control.
“My hatred of what had been done to me was my undoing.” The
Night’s King said sadly. “The hatred started nobly of wanting vengeance and
then allowed the Children of the Forest to make me do their bidding. I started
to hate my own kind and want them dead. Soon enough I wanted everything dead.
The only good to come out of my anger was my freedom from them. And yet…yet I
was never free.”
“So the Children of the Forest decided to try and get rid of
you?” I asked him.
“Yes, they called upon those they had once said were
enemies. They hid their shame and that made me all the more angry. How dare
they take my life from me only to proclaim themselves the innocent ones! They
took me away from all I knew so they could have vengeance. They didn’t mourn me
as a person just the fact that their plan went awry.”
“And you wanted me to know this? Why?”
I saw the Night’s King struggling. The anger he had
mentioned must be gnawing at him yet again. It must be tearing into him.
Against all odds he was able to control the anger he had inside. The anger that
constantly threatened to tear him apart and leave nothing. I waited for him to
continue and was ready if I needed to attack him.
“I want you to know the truth.” The Night’s King explained.
“Even if all of Westeros doesn’t know who I am, I want you to know. I want you
to know that I never intended any of this to happen and I would stop if I
could. I want you to know so that maybe, if the living wins, that my story can
go down in history.”
It looked as if the ancient being was going to talk again
and then he fell silent. He was losing his own struggle yet again. I thought of
having Jorah help me and then decided against it. The first move I made against
the Night’s King had to be well thought out. If I made the wrong move then I could
doom the living.
“Humans.” The Night’s King sneered and I could tell things
had changed. “Rin of House Kaari, tell this pathetic creature that he will die.
He will die as his race’s time on this world had ended.”
“Why not turn him?” I asked.
“He has done too much harm to my people to be part of my
army.”
Jon had been scared throughout the entire conversation. I
could imagine what he had heard and how he wouldn’t know how to interpret what
the Night’s King had said. If Jorah hadn’t given me the ability, I would have
been unable to know how weak the being was. He was just a victim of fate and
now the anger had consumed him yet again. I sat down by Jon and could tell that
unless I got my other husband’s help there would be no chance to free the
Stark.
“The Night’s King says that you will die.” I told Jon. “He
says that humanity’s time on this world has ended.”
“As long as he dies I will be happy.” Jon told me after I
removed his gag.
“I will not die.” The Night’s King replied. “There have been
many prophecies foretelling my death. They have all been false. There is no god
or gods that have sent their protection onto humanity. Even they do not care
what happens to you.”
I was a Kaari and I followed my ancestors in not caring
about the will of the gods. They might not care about humanity but I did. I
cared very much and so I would fight for the living. It did not matter if the
gods had sent a hero, what did matter was that we fight. If no prophecies about
the Night’s King were true then he could still be killed.
“He says that no prophecies about his death are true.” I
told Jon. “He says that the gods don’t care about humanity.”
“I will kill you.” Jon said bravely. “I don’t care about the
existence of a prophecy. I don’t care that the gods turn a blind eye towards
us. What I do care about is seeing you dead.”
The Night’s King grinned. I was unaware his face could form
a grin. It looked about as pleasant as a corpse grinning. Even as the Night’s
King took his sword out and put it to Jon’s back, I stood over my husband. When
I had talked with him before it had seemed like peace could be made. He was a
pitiful thing and deserved mercy. But he couldn’t have that. That was one thing
I could not grant him.
“No!” I heard Jorah yell as the Night’s King picked Jon up.
A few wights came and held me back even as I struggled. My
powers were still being dampened so I could not use them. All I could do was
watch. Jon looked strong and resilient even though he was so close to death. I
realized why he was so calm. This was not the first time he had died. In his
mind it might be that he would finally be at peace. Finally not have to worry
or feel pain ever again.
“Kill the Night’s King!” Jorah yelled, his voice clear to my
heightened senses.
I focused on my powers but before I could do anything, Jon
was dead. The Night’s King looked at me and shoved his sword into Jon’s back. A
cry could not come out of my throat as everything had happened too fast.
Forever burned into my mind was the sound of the sword being shoved through my
husband’s back. I wanted to run away but I couldn’t. Not out of fear but out of
anger and duty.
The cry Jorah made must have been heard by the humans on the
ground. Jeor cried out imitating Jorah and Viserion joined in. Soon the air was
full of draconic cacophony as Jon fell to the ground. The Night’s King stood
back to admire his work as my husband lay dying. My husband whose hands were
digging into the snow as if there was even a hint of hope that he could
survive.
Jon’s eyes looked at me. They were scared but strong. Then life left him. The only reason I didn’t
go over to him now was the Night’s King. He looked at me in a way that was much
different from earlier. Now it was as if I was a new kind of prey for him.
“Hand her her weapon.” The Night’s King said. “And release
the prisoners. Let her and everyone else see how fighting us is useless. Let
the living see what we can do and despair!”
There was cheering since there was now movement in the camp.
I could see the two dragons about to attack but I sent a thought to Jorah. I
told him there were our men down here and that they needed to wait until I got
them to safety. I held onto Alexander and opened my mind to him.
“You have the power now to go after him.” Alexander
reassured me. “If you win this fight then you win the war. You are a Kaari, you
do not need permission from any deity. You have the strength of your ancestors
in you. You are the next step in the Kaari evolution as are your children. This
abomination has no power over you. You are its master. Push the pity from your
mind until later. For now become the Kaari that your ancestors would hope for.
You are Hisenys Kaari, the one that will rebuild our people!”
With Alexander’s words loud in my mind, I was able to clasp
onto the last bit of courage I needed. I might die in this fight but I would
not go quietly. I would roar like the direwolf and dragon I was. Destiny meant
nothing to me, nothing at all. All that mattered was this moment.
My body became quiet and calm as I readied for battle. The
tip of Alexander brushed the snow as the fight started. We walked around each
other as neither of us wanted to make the first move just yet. We were looking
at each other and judging. I could hear Arya, the Hound, and others come close
to where the fate of all would be decided. I could feel their eyes on me and
knew what they needed. They needed their Queen, their ruler, to give them
strength when hope seemed so far away.
“I am your queen.” I told them. “I was born with nothing and
into a dead House. I was able to go beyond my humble origins. I was able to
first become a servant of Daenerys Targaryen and then kill her when she went
mad. I have done things not because they were easy, but because they were the
right thing to do. I plan to serve
Westeros for many years to come! Today will not be the end but the beginning! A
beginning for a new Westeros and a life free from the fear of the dead! While I
fight the Night’s King leave this camp. Fear not for your honor as no one will
think you are weak. You are fleeing so that the dragons can lay waste to the
dead!”
As my men started to cheer I heard dragon roars in the
distance. Not dragons of fire but dragons of ice. I looked at the Night’s King
who seemed unfazed. He must have called them here. Some of the Ice dragons must
be loyal to him. With my mind I called out for my other dragons and pleaded
with them to come at once. I told Franc to stay where he was unless Davos
decided it was safe to go. After sending out the message I focused on the Night’s
King. If I killed him everything would end. If I killed him maybe the Ice
dragons would decide attacking me was not worth it.
Finally the Night’s King made his move. He was much faster
than any other enemy I had fought in the past. His blade sounded like a harsh
wind blowing in the dead of winter. He was much faster than I expected but the
pure instinct part of me responded in time. I turned out of the way holding
Alexander out to block the creature’s blow. Before I could fully recover from
the first attack three more followed in quick succession. Only after the third
was I able to go offensive. He had to back away a few feet to escape the blow I
had aimed at his head.
In that brief moment I was able to see the chaos that was
going on around the rest of the camp. I hadn’t had time to tell them that
things had changed and running was now no sure means of protection. In the lead
of the fighting was Arya.
“Get weapons!” She yelled and the others tried to obey. “Get
the weapons or we all die here!”
That moment was over quick and it was back to my own fight.
I somersaulted over the former human and aimed for his head. He was too clever
to die to that maneuver and merely moved out of the way. He aimed for my legs
as I made my landing. I swung Alexander and knocked the Night’s King’s sword
away just enough so I could land. Then I had to turn and block his next blow or
risk being cut in half.
“You are a fighter.” The Night’s King said. “It is a shame
you can’t join my army.”
I didn’t reply and instead put an invisible wall between us.
He seemed able to see it and paused. He observed it the same way a human looks
at a fine work of art. Studying every detail for memory’s sake. He held out a
hand and put it mere inches from the invisible wall. The Night’s King stood
back and paused for a few more minutes before making his move.
The Night’s King ran at the unseen structure and I was flung
into the air. Luckily I was able to land on my feet mere seconds before he got
to me. The next few minutes were chaos and the only thing that gave me comfort
were the sounds of wings. I glanced up for a moment and saw fire against ice.
Jeor, the largest one of my dragons, was nothing compared to the Ice dragons.
Any strike against the Ice dragon was nothing but a minor annoyance.
The Night’s King pushed me against the ground and Alexander
flew from my hands. My body yelled in pain as my wrist broke. My opponent
looked at me and then looked around. The fight against the living and the dead
raged around us. He saw nothing but victory as that was the only reason for him
to pause.
“This is not what I wanted.” The Night’s King growled as
part of his sanity escaped. “This is not me.”
If I had been but a pup I would think this meant that there
would be peace. No, there couldn’t be peace even if he regained his sanity. He
had killed Jon Stark, one of the kings of the Seven Kingdoms, and therefore he
would have to be executed. He would be executed and an entire race would fall
victim to genocide. Even my innocent father. Yet I would not shy away from the
darker aspects of what had to be done. Even the parts humans would say I needn’t
worry about. I would understand my choices in every possible way.
“I know.” I said as I slowly felt my wrist healing. “This is
not you and I will end your suffering.”
“You can’t.” The Night’s King gloated. “You will die and
then your world will die. There is nothing that can save you. No god that will
rescue you.”
“I am a Kaari and we bow before no gods. I need no god to
rescue me.”
I blinked.
“She will not leave you alone, Hail.” I reassured the clone.
“I will make sure that she returns alive. I will never abandon a friend like
her.”
“It’s war.” Hail retorted. “People die that you don’t want
to. You do everything in your power to protect and yet…yet it doesn’t mean
anything at times. I’ve commanded men on missions where I was certain all would
live. But a few of them died.”
We were silent as we passed by some Mormonts who were
enjoying the sun with no worry in their eyes. Seasons passed so strangely here
and it took a few moments to remember what season it was. It felt like the
beginning of this world’s spring. I wondered what spring would feel like in
Westeros.
“If she dies, she will die fighting valiantly.” I said.
“I guess that is all I can hope for.” Hail replied. “That or
her returning alive and well.”
No comments:
Post a Comment