[Chapter Size: 3400 Words.]
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Third Person POV
West Sea, North, 300 AC.
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"Go." With a single order from Jon, thousands of birds began to leave the ships: owls, eagles, crows, common birds and every species from the kingdoms simply started flying straight south, creating an enormous cloud of wings above the fleet, while King Arctican stood at the prow watching everything, with a satisfied look on his face.
"So this is how we begin." Arya approached Jon to stand beside him, while they were at the prow of the fleet's main ship.
She remained at her cousin's side. Neither of them wore armor, only common clothes, as they would be sailing calmly until reaching the next point.
And at that moment, they were a few days away from Bear Island.
The birds were being released by Jon at the moment they passed beyond the line of the Wall, finally able to take the first step of his plan against the South, with the goal of paving the Seven Kingdoms with eyes that would pass information in real time.
"Yes," Jon replied to Arya's remark. He still kept his eyes on the birds that were moving farther and farther away from the fleet. "This is how it begins."
His words echoed like a promise of a storm.
He was finally in the South, not just to do something important — now it was war, officially for conquest. And the Seven Kingdoms would not even be expecting an attack coming from the other side of the continent, already anticipating that most of the armies should be in the East or even the North, waiting for Arctic to descend and attack King's Landing.
They would not be wrong, but that attack would take a little while to arrive.
After all, first of all, Jon was leading those twenty-one thousand men to attack the northern coast, Pyke, the Westerlands and the Reach.
Jon turned his gaze to Arya. "How about we train a little, cousin? We haven't done that since the beginning of the war," Jon said.
Arya gave a slight smile. "Of course. I've been counting on it for days, but you've been living reviewing your strategies since we left the port in the north..." Arya mocked.
Jon laughed as the two went off to train.
On that same day, a group of white ravens with several cones on their backs carrying important papers and documents finally reached the fleet, while thousands of ravens landed on every ship.
"Good. Feed them. I'll let them rest for a few days before sending them to the lords of all the seven kingdoms," Jon gave the order, as the birds settled on every ship in place of the other birds.
After days of sailing southward, Jon began receiving a great deal of information, even isolating himself in his cabin in the early hours of the morning, closing his eyes as he received a set of memories from the birds released in the past days.
He could see in real time through the birds that first invaded the North, birds more adapted to the cold that would remain there for the coming moons, serving as Jon's eyes. They went both to the Wall and the Gift as well as to Bear Island, being his first points of arrival.
The Gift remained a common region, as Jon remembered well, but not greatly affected by the war. There was nothing but barren land, without large cities. There were villages, and some people farmed there to care for their families. The wildling attacks had greatly decreased since the beginning of the war and with Arctic having civilized practically all the tribes north of the Wall.
The Gift should already be being developed, since Arya had managed to win back the most fertile land of the kingdom for the North, after a wager in a sparring match between Arya and the crown prince — Arya defeated him.
However, the North never had the chance to truly begin rebuilding itself through cultivation. His uncle had not even managed to plan how he would handle the region, which likely left the Tullys, the Lannisters and the Tyrells quite worried about that land returning to the North. Having it back would be like creating a great problem in their hands, after all if the North sent fewer coins to the South in search of food, many lords would be quite displeased by that.
With the special seeds they could obtain from Arctic, the North would never again need to worry about food. Unfortunately, that was nothing more than a distant dream for Jon's uncle, still alive.
'I will turn the North into a power, in your memory.' Jon knew that this was Lord Stark's great desire: to transform the North into an independent kingdom. Now that they would be linked to Arctic, nothing else would stop them.
Not only for his uncle, but also for those small families who lived throughout the region. He would give them a chance at a better life, just as he had given to the free folk north of the Wall.
The birds continued on until they reached Castle Black. His uncle had received a visit from Arctic the day before. Benjen was not only wearing armor again, but there was a serious conversation among the leadership of the Wall. Ducken, Brynden, Aemon had come from Arctic, along with Alliser and Benjen. They needed to talk about the North and about the next moves they believed Jon would make.
Jon did not know what to think about the Lord Commander. That bastard had insulted him several times. Jon had punched and hurt him in response. He had never liked that man. But after he was announced as Aegon Targaryen — something he himself did not even know — and even his companions wanted to mock Jon over his uncle's death, the man completely changed his behavior toward him upon discovering he was Rhaegar's son.
Jon knew he had the power to replace the Lord Commander, because initially he thought he would be a great problem. In the end, however, the man proved loyal — even strange — since, upon hearing the conversation between Benjen, Brynden, Aemon, Ducken and Alliser, it became clear that the Wall would not send any raven informing about the arcticans' attack.
However, setting aside the Gift and the Wall, Jon began to focus on the information he was receiving in real time from Bear Island, and they were in danger.
Jon had already seen from afar the destruction caused by the ironborn, but now, he saw it in detail...
Two of the Mormont sisters were in the South in their mother's company, and there had been no more news of her after the mutiny that occurred against the Boltons, together with the Freys.
Jon would also have to find out what happened there as well.
Jon needed to obtain more information about what had truly happened. The vague news that reached the Wall indicated that no one had much interest in explaining the details to the Night's Watch. They only passed along superficial information to keep them updated about the Seven Kingdoms, and in a lazy manner.
There were two prominent figures on the island. One was at death's door, Jorelle Mormont, while the younger sister ended up assuming command of the house, Lyanna Mormont.
She was surrounded by a massive contingent of Iron Men, who pressed upon the island while committing every kind of crime throughout the region. Bear Island was in chaos at that moment, or at least that was what the raven showed Jon that morning.
"Those bastards..." Jon growled.
He had not paid that much attention to the chaos the ironborn were causing there, but what he saw left him deeply disturbed. Common people had suffered every kind of cruelty. In all his travels, he had never seen such destruction: bodies hanging all over the main island, men and even children.
The women who were discarded were only those who were too old or not considered "useful," but the rest? They were all kidnapped — even the female children.
Nothing else on the island was safe except the Mormont Keep itself. They tried to hold against the siege, concentrating the greatest number of ironborn on the main island, while others searched for survivors.
Even so, Jon managed to spot people hiding in the bear forests, taking risks. After all, some ended up being devoured by the native animals.
Resistance groups had been formed, fighting the enemy, while others only tried to hide and pray not to be found — or killed by predators during the nights in the island's forests.
Jon was furious, but this time he kept control. He would make them pay when the time came, which would be in just a matter of days until they arrived there.
Jon simply left the cabin after that. He asked for a sparring match. When the king requested a sudden fight, it was because he wanted to relieve some irritation he was feeling at that moment.
His men could not help but swallow hard. After all, Jon did not go easy at all. He did not truly injure them, but you could do nothing while the king simply defeated you without letting you breathe. It was the king's way of beating them lightly.
At the same time, on Bear Island.
The sun was already high when Lyanna saw the enormous camp — if she could even call it that — of the ironborn behind the fortress walls.
The castle remained separated from the town, and the town itself was in complete destruction: houses burned, while those that were still intact were used by the invaders themselves.
They placed the women of Bear Island to sleep with them, forcing them to accompany them, and made sure their screams were heard by the castle.
It was cruel. Very cruel.
Lyanna, just a little girl, had to deal with all of that, being the only one capable at the moment. Her sister Jorelle lay in bed after having taken part in a battle weeks earlier, trying to catch the ironborn by surprise, but she had been gravely wounded. The maester had said she would not last long.
Lyanna tried to remain strong. She always carried a hard look, as her mother had shown. She mirrored herself in the She-Bear.
Perhaps that was her last memory of her, since she had no news of her mother and did not know whether she was alive or dead along with Dacey and Alysane. Most likely, they were dead.
Lyanna saw, from afar, some houses being opened as they dragged naked women out. It almost made her cry with hatred. Her castle's master-at-arms always said that many of those women were personally known to them — and now they were being constantly abused by the ironborn, without them being able to do anything.
It was frustrating to see her people, the people the Mormonts had always protected, living their own hell.
It was not enough that they were abused; they also had to watch their husbands and even sons killed, some witnessing everything during the raids.
The women of Bear Island were warriors, certainly they were. But not all had the courage to take their own lives or fight to the death, simply living through it like an empty shell.
"This will not remain like this forever, my lady. We will get out of this," the master-at-arms approached, gripping the hilt of his weapon tightly as he stared at the ironborn laughing and drinking before beginning another day trying to break through the castle walls.
They attacked the walls every three days, spending more time enjoying the plunder they had taken than actually trying to conquer the castle. They wanted to defeat them through exhaustion, with resources running out in the Mormonts' stores, while the castle was surrounded by refugees who did not even have a place to sleep.
At least there was a wall separating them from the true hell.
"I hope so," the girl murmured.
But the question was: how had the North lost so much?
Stannis had appeared a few weeks earlier. That bastard had simply shown up at the Wall wanting her warriors to fight for him, wanting her to kneel. Lyanna refused. The Mormonts would only recognize a king whose name was Stark, as per their oath of thousands of years.
They would only serve House Stark. They would follow its decisions.
That made her think about the current situation. Not all the Starks were dead, but the chaos had begun with the death of Lord Stark, with his execution in King's Landing. Then, when Robb marched in search of vengeance and wore a crown.
Then came the ironborn, and the news of what happened to Bran and Rickon Stark... It was believed they had been killed by Theon Greyjoy — at least that was what the rumors said.
Later, the king of Arctic himself had gone to Winterfell, according to the rumors, arriving mounted on a giant dragon the size of half of Winterfell Castle, saying that the burned children's bodies were not truly Bran and Rickon.
It was hard to believe that a man could recognize his cousins just by seeing bones after the flesh had been burned, but that was what he told the ravens, and soon the news spread throughout the North.
Robb was the next Stark to disappear, possibly presumed dead, since his capture was never announced — or perhaps they had not truly managed to seize him. No one knew for certain what had happened so far to the north, just as no one knew the true state of House Mormont.
But there were still four Starks.
Sansa Stark, imprisoned in the south. She was certainly not well regarded in the North. No one would accept her leadership after what happened. After all, her father was killed thanks to her naivety in fleeing Winterfell for the south.
Another was Benjen Stark, who had returned to the Wall weeks earlier, and the news spread quickly. It would not take long for the south to hear about it. Although the North had difficulty spreading that message, if it fell into the hands of the Boltons, they would certainly pass it on to the Crown.
The next Stark still alive was Arya, since Benjen had returned to the Wall along with the other rangers, in addition to Jon Arctic having been seen in Winterfell. That certainly concluded that Arctic had not simply disappeared after so many moons without any news, as if they had vanished from the world.
At the same time, the day had grown so short that it frightened all the Seven Kingdoms and the entire world, as proof that perhaps the rumors about the war against the dead — the war against the Long Night — had truly happened. And then, the day returned to normal precisely when they reappeared.
Rumors about that war had also spread, saying that Arctic had defeated the dead, although no one below the Wall had any concrete proof, except those who had gone there.
However, in light of all this, it showed that Arya Stark was alive. She also had a claim to Winterfell, and if she wished to claim it, all would support her — not only because she had Stark blood, but because she proved herself to be a true woman of the North. Since she fought against her own mother until the king's arrival, against the prince and even the queen, she visited each of the northern houses, met lords, ladies and even the people of every region.
The North loved Arya. Lyanna could not deny that fact. And if she wished to be sovereign, the great majority would stand at her side.
And the last Stark blood… him.
The man who had stood at the center of the events of the last ten years. Not only for the North, but perhaps for the entire world. His name had certainly spread to the four corners of the world in recent years.
The one who was not only a Stark, but also a Targaryen, proclaimed to the four winds by Ned Stark at the moment he was about to die, unleashing even more chaos in a war where five kings began to rise and a sixth name emerged among five crowns.
Aegon Targaryen, as Ned Stark had proclaimed to the Seven Kingdoms.
The son of Lyanna Stark — the woman her mother honored by giving her that name — and the son of the Dragon Prince, whom the entire North had tried to fight to save Lyanna.
But in the end, it seemed that struggle had been nothing but a lie. Brandon and Rickard Stark had died for nothing. There were so many stories Lyanna heard from everyone around her about it.
Most avoided invoking the name of Jon Arctic, because certainly that man would not like to hear people insulting his mother.
And there was no doubt that he was another Stark — and the most likely one to make all the Mormonts kneel.
Lyanna wondered what she would do at the moment she saw him, if they managed to survive until then.
But, by some twist of fate, it was at that moment that a raven began to descend toward them.
"Another raven," the master-at-arms murmured at her side.
The island's birds had been behaving very strangely. Suddenly, a large number of birds began circling the island. They went in every direction, as if they were observing. Some even entered her office.
Lyanna did not understand why the birds were behaving that way. Moreover, she swore that some of those species did not even exist on the island, as if they had come from elsewhere.
The question echoed in her mind every time she saw a bird: why were they doing that? Who had sent them, if anyone had? And why were they there?
But that one seemed different.
"It is a white raven, and there is a message, Lady Mormont. And it appears to be for you," said the master-at-arms, looking suspicious as he touched the hilt of his sword, feeling a chill at the thought that a raven was sending a message directly to Lady Mormont.
Lyanna ignored the city in the background and turned her attention to the strange white raven, wondering what it was doing there and why it had brought a message specifically for her.
"Allow me to do this, Lady Mormont," the master-at-arms immediately stepped forward cautiously.
He saw the raven bow to allow him to remove the large roll fastened to its back, with a sheet much larger than a raven would normally carry. He frowned, but the raven allowed him to take the parchment with the papers, all protected with a material resistant to water and even snow, indicating that the animal had faced severe conditions to reach there.
There were at least five written sheets.
The symbol of Arctic was on the first.
"The truth about the maesters. The manipulation that has been happening behind the scenes in all the houses of the Seven Kingdoms. What has served for control and influence..." the man murmured as he read, making Lyanna stare in shock.
"What is this?" she murmured.
"I do not know, my lady, but I believe perhaps the maester should read it as well. It is from the kingdom of Arctic, possibly from the king himself..." he said, scanning the pages until he reached the last one.
He read aloud:
"To Lyanna Mormont. I know Bear Island is under siege. I do not yet have the details of what is truly happening, but I know that you are resisting the ironborn. Do not worry. I am coming."
The last sheet bore only those words.
Lyanna and her master-at-arms felt a chill run through them.
"They are coming here..." she swallowed hard.
At the same time, on the sea to the north, in the following days, some ironborn who were on the coast began to see a group of ships approaching with the blue snowflake banner, advancing at full speed. They could not help but tremble as they saw more and more vessels forming an enormous fleet.
The Arctican fleet had arrived at Bear Island.
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