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It was quiet in the Room of the Painted Table. It was a much smaller group of people in the meeting than usual. But then the topic for discussion wasn't a pleasant one. Khaleesi was sitting in her usual spot and looked at the table. Jon was standing up with his arms crossed as if he was daring everyone to say one more thing on the matter. Tyrion was drinking and looking at the door as if he could escape by running away. I was pacing around the room to get as much energy out of the direwolf's body as possible.
"Ser Jorah doesn't know what he saw." Jon said angrily. "Besides, we need to discuss why Queen Daenerys decided to take on King's Landing by herself last night."
"King's Landing is safe and Jorah can now, apparently, take over the bodies of dragons." Tyrion replied after taking a large gulp of wine. "So if she tries to do so again he will stop her. And I have known Jorah long enough to know he wouldn't lie about such a matter. He would not easily dishonor any Northern House."
I hadn't said Bran's name but that is what Khaleesi had heard. Some part of my mind had put together the Stark child being the nothing. After reflecting on the memory I realized that had to be the case. There was no reason to focus on the Night King's failure without seeing Bran being triumphant. And he had seemed eerily calm that I was a direwolf as if he preferred I be away from my actual body. It had been a cruel thing for him to do.
"Everything you're saying about my brother is him being kind." Jon argued. "Of course he would want to make sure that Jorah found peace in his new body. Bran is a good man."
[I know what I saw.] I said uncertainty. [I know you don't want to believe it, but you have to. If you don't then Westeros and Essos could be lost.]
"Jorah doesn't want to believe the nothing is Bran Stark." Khaleesi translated for me. "But if he is right then your brother could be putting all of life in danger. The people trust in you, you need to be there for them."
"I bent the knee to you, you're the queen now." Jon said and sat down. "They aren't my people anymore. I have never wanted power. I just wanted to be a ranger in the Night's Watch."
I could smell the fear coming off of the Stark. It was twisting his perceptions so that he couldn't see the truth. Or at least the possibility of a horrible truth. I doubted if I had actually sensed Bran or if the fear in me was so great that my mind was lying to itself. In any case we had to look at the fact Bran might not have the values he said he had. Jon's loyalty to family was admirable but now it was acting too similar to insanity.
"They are your people as much as they are mine." Khaleesi said with more strength than she had. "You grew up in Westeros, I did not. Essos is more my home than this place is. Yet I can't let them perish without fighting back."
"Jorah could have been scared and isn't thinking clearly." Jon retorted. "Fear makes us see things that aren't there."
"Jorah did not have to consciously think about Bran being the nothing, Part of him was certain and it could be he did not want to think about the possibility. I have heard him 'say' things he didn't intend for me to hear. It's a reason he is silent some of the time. He does not want your brother to be the enemy anymore than you do."
Jon had nothing to say to that and remained silent. Even with my love trying to defend me, he wouldn't stop defending his family against all perceived threats. Tyrion refilled his goblet again and waited for someone else to speak up. It was not just that Bran might be the enemy, it was the fact we had no idea how to stop such a massive force. It could easily destroy the world while we attacked it with all the forces in existence. And if we had to fight it in its home? I could get to it, but I didn't know how to begin attacking it.
I tried to take comfort in the sounds and scents of Dragonstone. For the future I made sure to be able to identify everyone in the room. The meeting was small due to wanting to decrease the chance of panic. Plus with how powerful the nothing was, it could be that with more people knowing the truth it could have an easier time tracking our plans. Jon's scent was made of fear, Khaleesi's scent was made of sorrow, and Tyrion was so drunk I couldn't make sense of his scent. This made it possible for me to distract myself until I could sense his worry.
"We can't blame my brother until we know for certain." Jon said.
"You are right on that matter." Tyrion replied. "If we don't know for certain who the real enemy is, the wrong man could die. Which would leave the real nothing to destroy the world. And that's the reason I'm drinking now. You are all admirable people, but this isn't a battle I see us winning."
[We can't give up!] I shouted. [I will die fighting no matter how pointless the battle!]
I had disgraced my father once and I wouldn't do so again. I would prove to him and all the gods that my soul was worth something. Sam had given me Heartsbane and I promised to guard the realms of men. While my hands could never hold another sword, I could still protect the realms of men. While the dead had been defeated, the realms of men were again threatened. Maybe the former Maester in Training would have answers, but he was not here. And by the time a raven could reach him, Bran could have already killed the poor mortal man. The one who had saved me from greyscale.
"Jorah believes he-that we can't give up now." Khaleesi translated for me. "It is a matter of honor for him."
"I know more about Bran Stark than anyone in this room." Tyrion said slowly once there was no more wine in front of him. "At Winterfell I asked him for his story and he told me. I wished he didn't. We survived the dead at Winterfell but we can't expect to come alive after this."
"If you know my brother then you know he isn't an enemy." Jon nearly hissed. "He has grown odd ever since he returned, but he would never cause harm like you're implying."
"Did you ever ask Bran about his experiences?"
Jon's silence was answer enough. None of us had wondered the exacts of what Bran was now. The fact that he had Stark blood running through his veins had made us gain his trust. The calm demeanor he held made me trust him. I had trusted him more than I ever should have. He was a different man than he had been before. If I was right about him being the nothing, we had all misjudged the man. Even if Jon were never to admit what his brother had become, I trusted him to do the right thing and protect the people of Westeros.
"No one did and that's why we're in this situation." Tyrion said. "His story seemed to be the heroic tale of Bran Stark. After being pushed from the tower by my own brother, he got numerous visions and eventually found out he was a warg. But not just any warg, he possessed the ability to enter the body of humans. He used this ability at least once to control Hodor."
Even before becoming the Three-Eyed Raven the Stark child had been more than powerful. I sat down and considered this new information. Normally wargs could only enter the minds of animals while the minds of humans were beyond their ability to enter. I wondered what Hodor had thought of being invaded like that. Ghost wanted me to stay inside him while Drogon had successfully kicked me out of himself. If Bran hadn't made his intentions clear the poor man would have been more than confused. I prayed that this was before the boy had turned into a great evil.
"That was the first real thing that caught my attention." Tyrion continued. "It is possible he was right that it was a mere accident he was able to enter Hodor's body. But he talked about it like it was a major accomplishment. He was proud of having done such a thing. He was far from ashamed from invading a person's privacy like he did."
"It has been awhile since that incident." Jon argued. "He was just at peace with what he is."
"You have to accept that your brother is capable of horrible things now." Khaleesi interjected. "Viserys was not always the monster he became. It took time to become what he did."
"Bran is not Viserys."
Jon's fear scent carried over to his voice. His tone was a mix of both anger and fear. It must be taking all of his willpower to keep sane. Khaleesi had tried to show understanding, but she could never comprehend how Jon viewed family. Both had completely different upbringings. While Jon had suffered the abuse of a bastard, it was not the same that Khaleesi experienced. He was never raped by his family while my love had almost been multiple times.
"No Bran is not Viserys, he could actually cause a problem." Tyrion said loudly. "Bran encountered what he called the previous Three-Eyed Raven. It was a man that had managed to live far longer than any human could. If Bran is the villain of this story then he could be near immortal. If Bran is the true villain then not stopping him now could lead to horrors for generations to come."
"And what do you mean by 'stopping him'?" Jon asked angrily.
"Asking him to politely stop and if not we banish him. I never thought you were that dense to risk the lives of everyone."
"You're advocating to killing without asking him."
"We will make sure before we kill him." Khaleesi said. "You have my word."
Jon nodded but was otherwise silent. He had good reason not to trust her word. She had been close to burning down King's Landing or die trying. If she had succeeded then the woman I loved would have died. A cruel queen that paid no attention to her heart would have replaced Khaleesi. That had only been one time and it was a darkness she would have to continue to fight against. Hopefully she would always be able to take control, but that was not a certainty. Having seen her so lost and afraid had made me doubt how strong she was. While in my heart I would always believe in her, my mind was having a harder time believing the sentiment.
"I think it is more than likely that Bran is not a good man." Tyrion said and looked into his goblet. "We don't know for certain what went on with him beyond the Wall. There are many strange magical creatures that live in this world. Most lay hidden and dormant until an event triggers them into action. It could be that Bran ran into one of the dark creatures of the world. Who could blame him for falling after that? The dead are only one of the few things that are supposed to lay beyond the Wall. There could be an ancient evil that managed to take on the form of Bran."
"Bran is in control of Bran." Jon nearly shouted. "There is no ancient evil possessing him. You should stop drinking so much, Tyrion, and your senses wouldn't be clouded."
"And how was I supposed to get through this meeting? Sober?"
"This is not a joke, Lannister!"
"Not a funny one in any case."
As the bastard glared at the Imp, I let out a low growl. The drunken fool smirked at me and merely shrugged. Jon had no hope of making Tyrion feel ashamed if the man didn't feel those emotions. He did have a point that getting through such a serious discussion was easier when you couldn't think clearly. It would've been better to have been drunk when encountering the nothing for the first time. Maybe the nightmares wouldn't be so harsh if that had been the case.
"Bran is a Stark and would never betray his House." Jon said and started to pace the room. "If you suggest him ruling Winterfell, he says that is not his place. Maybe events could force his hand, but he would never seek out power. Not everyone seeks out power, though I'm sure that is a hard thing for people in this room to understand. If my brother had evil plans for Westeros in his mind, Sansa would have noticed. There is nothing my cousin wouldn't do to protect her home."
The man uttered his cousin's name with such reverence it reminded me of how I used to say Khaleesi's name. I wondered if anyone else in the room had noticed or if it was only due to my direwolf ears I could tell the truth. The only one I thought would have picked up Jon's tone was Tyrion. The Imp was annoying but far from dumb.
[None of House Stark would allow themselves to think such dark thoughts.] I said. [Sansa is wise beyond her years, but still bound by her heart. She is not so cold as to forget about familial bonds and how much they mean. All of us already know that Bran refers to himself as the Three-Eyed Raven instead of his actual name. The only thing none of us could have predicated was how little of his former self he had in him. I am sorry, Jon, but you have lost this fight.]
"Jorah says that he admires Jon and the rest of House Stark's desire to protect their own." Khaleesi translated. "He points out that while Sansa is wise, she still has the weakness of being limited by her heart. We all know that Bran prefers to be called the Three-Eyed Raven and maybe that means more than any of us first thought."
My love didn't tell Jon sorry for me and I could tell why. It was not her place to apologize for me. Besides, all of us should be focused on the matter at hand and not our emotions. There would be time afterwards for me to show my regret to Jon. Podrick was still alive and would be more than happy to deliver messages to Jon on my behalf.
"I can't argue with you anymore." Jon said with a sigh and leaned against a wall. "There is no point if you wish to demonize Bran. So I won't stand in your way of killing him."
"We will not kill him until we are sure." Khaleesi reassured the bastard. "I will not kill an innocent man."
"You were willing to kill the innocents in King's Landing."
"And that was a mistake I avoided. It is a mistake I will not repeat ever again."
"How do you plan to make sure Bran is innocent? Or will you use the tiniest amount of proof to justify killing him?"
[None of us want to kill Bran!] I shouted and let out a loud howl. [None of us wants Bran to be the enemy! Be the man your father believed you to be!]
Everyone was silent and for a moment I thought they had all heard me. Then I remembered how deadly a direwolf howl was on the outside. To me it had seemed just like a normal yell. The fact of how deadly my body was now did not instantly occur to me. At least everyone had stopped arguing amongst themselves. Jon needed to stop being so defensive of Bran so that the discussion could move on. For awhile now we had all stalled because of the poor bastard's feelings. It was me, not any of them, that would have to battle the nothing. Yet I had said nothing about my fear.
"Jorah says we need to stop discussing Bran and start figuring out how to find out the identity of the nothing." Khaleesi said once everyone was able to think clearly.
"Jorah is the only one to see the nothing." Tyrion replied. "There has been no one else who has entered the nothing's home. Though others in the world might exist, he is the only one we know of. I doubt that fact has escaped his mind."
I nodded to confirm the Imp's guess. It had been hard enough to see the nothing once and to see it again...the idea was far from pleasant. But my fear would not stand in the way of my honor like love had so long ago. Though it was a time I would always regret, at least I had been human then. I didn't have honor but I ha-no, I would not pity myself. Not at this time when the fate of the world hung in the balance.
[I will do it.] I said.
"Jorah will do it." Khaleesi said and scratched behind my ear.
Even though the fear threatened to overwhelm me, her touch managed to calm me down just enough. The recent memory of being in the great darkness made me want to run away from the task. But I was their only hope and did not have the luxury of retreat. So I focused on my love's touch and prepared my mind for another journey into the black.
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