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Rating:
Explicit
Archive Warnings:
Graphic Depictions Of ViolenceMajor Character Death
Category:
F/M
Fandoms:
A Song of Ice and Fire & Related FandomsGame of Thrones (TV)A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. MartinThe Beginning After the End - TurtleMe
Relationships:
past Ned Stark/Ashara DayneCatelyn Tully Stark/Ned StarkOberyn Martell/Ellaria SandJon Snow/Rhaenys Targaryen (Daughter of Elia)Other Relationship Tags to Be Added
Characters:
Jon SnowNed StarkAshara DayneGendry (A Song of Ice and Fire)Mya StoneJaime LannisterObara SandTyene SandNymeria SandOberyn MartellDoran MartellAllyria DayneEdric "Ned" DayneDaenerys TargaryenViserys Targaryen (Brother of Daenerys)Sylvie (The Beginning After the End)Robb StarkArianne MartellEllaria Sand
Additional Tags:
MagicSlow BuildSlow BurnAshara Dayne LivesAshara Dayne Raises Jon SnowR Plus L Equals J | Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen are Jon Snow's ParentsOther Additional Tags to Be AddedJon Snow Doesn't Join the Night's WatchNew social normsNo Bashingmagic heavy
Language:
English
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Published:2025-10-09Updated:2026-07-22Words:269,612Chapters:71/?Comments:435Kudos:692Bookmarks:257Hits:79,173
The Magic Bastard
Sometbatenerd
Chapter 5: A Prince's questions
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Oberyn
Oberyn sighed as he watched his daughter stare wistfully out the window. Nymeria had been in a stupor ever since the boy she was teaching had fallen off a cliff and died. Nothing he tried seemed to cheer her up and that hurt him as a Father. His daughter's happiness was paramount to him. Yet he guessed anything short of the boy rising from the dead would do anything.
Oberyn couldn't even bring himself to feel angry at the boy who made his daughter like this in the first place. From the stories he had heard the Bastard of Starfall had died by all intents and purposes heroically.
Using his final act upon this earth to save the girl he saw as his sister and mother from a blast that would have killed them both. It was a way most men wanted to die. Saving the ones they love.
Though Oberyn doubted those words held any comfort for Ashara. She had lost her son and nearly jumped from the Palestone tower if the rumors were proven to be true. Driven mad with grief.
Oberyn sighed again and rubbed a comforting circle along his daughter's shoulder. She hadn't spoken much about Jon but Oberyn knew the boy had been destined for great things when Ashara had sent the letter requesting a teacher for him.
'A mage at three years old. What a child.' Oberyn had thought. Now that light had been snuffed out permanently.
"Do you think he's happy Papa?" Nymeria asked.
"I think the boy is at peace and is watching over you and his family," Oberyn replied. It was a lie, he had no idea if the Seven would even allow a bastard into their heaven.
The sound of rushing footsteps drew Oberyn's attention to the hallway. About a dozen guards ran past and Oberyn just caught the last one before he ran past.
"What's going on?" The Prince demanded.
"Intruder my Prince, in the Water Gardens."
Oberyn wasted no time running with the guards. They were dressed in yellow garb with the symbol of a red sun with a golden spear going through it. The sigil of House Martell.
It didn't take him long to reach the Water Gardens and by the time he arrived, there were at least two dozen guards trapping someone against a wall. He breathed a sigh of relief seeing his nieces safe behind them.
"Drop the knife!" A guard ordered.
"Back up!" A woman's shrill voice yelled. It almost sounded like a child. "Get the hell away from me."
Oberyn began to push his way through the crowd. About a dozen men were all aiming spears at the intruder whom Oberyn saw to be nothing more than a young boy. In one hand he was clutching a knife. Said knife was aimed toward the guards to give him space. Yet the guards had spears and if they so chose could run him through at any moment. The only reason they hadn't was because it was clear they were hesitating to harm a small child.
In his other hand was an odd shape. Oberyn couldn't quite make out what it was but for some odd reason, there was a feather wrapped around it. His clothes were also torn up and messy. His tunic had no sleeves and they looked as if they'd been ripped from him. The legs of his breeches were nearly nonexistent and whatever shoes he had been wearing were gone. His feet which were dirty had a light tint of red that Oberyn knew to be blood. The boy also pulsed with mana.
One of the guards took a step forward and the boy swung his knife.
"Back up!" He yelled again.
The guard lowered his spear and was getting ready to stab the boy in the hand but Oberyn was quick to stop him. "That's enough!" He ordered. "Can't you see the boy is terrified? Waving your spears at him will only make the situation worse."
"But my Prince, we don't know how he got in."
"And you're more likely to make the boy clamp up than finding your answer."
Oberyn ordered the men to take a few steps back. They hesitated but a sharp glare from the Red Viper was all that was needed. They took precisely three steps back leaving plenty of room between Oberyn and the boy.
The boy still had the look of a cornered animal on his face. His knife was still raised but this time pointing at Oberyn instead. This didn't affect the Prince at all as he took a knee.
"What's your name, boy?"
The boy's jaw tightened as he pressed himself further against the wall. His stormy gray eyes were glaring at him with fear.
"Alright, no name then. Well if you do not know me I am Prince Oberyn. How did you get here?" The boy's eyes flashed with recognition. "You know me?"
The boy nodded. "I do, your brother rules Dorne."
Oberyn smirked. "That he does, but you know my name. Only polite that you tell me yours. Your Mother surely taught you manners didn't she?"
The boy hesitated for a fraction of a second. "I'm Jon."
Oberyn raised a brow. A small boy with a mana core and torn-up clothes named Jon. He couldn't be the boy he had just been thinking of. Could he?
"Jon, you're Mother wouldn't happen to be Ashara Dayne would she?" The boy, now named Jon pressed himself further against the wall to where his back now touched it. "She is, isn't she?"
Jon didn't respond. If anything his posture straightened and his knife was raised. Whatever he had seen in the four months he was missing had done something to him that much was certain.
"Your Mother has been mad with grief over you." Oberyn calmly said. He took a step closer. "Don't you want to go home?"
His hand slowly reached out to take the knife from Jon. But the sound of a servant dropping a jug from Oberyn's right caused Jon to panic and slash. The blade met Oberyn's skin causing the Prince to hiss and shake his hand.
"You little bastard!" One of the guards yelled. His spear was aimed at Jon's chest and was just about to stab through before Oberyn stopped him.
"Enough!" The Prince yelled causing the room to freeze. "The boy did me no harm! He didn't pierce my mana barrier. Now all of you back the hell up!"
At the tone of their Prince's voice, the guards listened to him in fear of retribution. Now that Oberyn had space once more he turned back to Jon. The boy had wide eyes filled with fear as he stared at Oberyn's hand.
The Prince gave him an easy smile and stuck it up. "See, no harm no foul. Now why don't you give me the knife so you don't accidentally hurt yourself instead?"
Jon's eyes flicked from the hand to the object he was carrying. The knife lowered a smidge but whatever it was seemed to be of the utmost importance to the boy. Even more so than his life.
"We won't take what's in your hand. Now just give me the knife. Don't you want to bathe, eat, send a letter to your Mother? Let her know you're alright. I'm sure she'd be very happy to hear from you."
Jon looked at the object he was holding before looking back to the knife and then at Oberyn. Hesitantly he handed the knife to Oberyn who took it and handed it to a guardsman.
A second passed, and then another. Yet the guards didn't pounce like the boy had assumed. Slowly but surely Jon seemed to relax and the Prince stuck out his hand.
"Come." He said. "Someone will be very happy to see you."
….
Jon
The Prince was an odd man. He wasn't acting like Jon thought a Prince would. He spoke easy and quick and seemed to be amused by almost everything around him. His hand was rough and calloused yet held his smaller one gently.
The guards parted as the Prince walked. Though the two girls Jon had seen earlier were eyeing him with suspicion. Especially the one with copper skin and violet eyes. She looked strange, like a Dayne but not a Dayne at the same time.
His gaze was taken away from her as Oberyn led him down the hall and up the stairs. Jon didn't know where he was going. He wasn't even really sure where he was. Sunspear was his guess but Sylvia's portal said it would send him to where humans resided nearby.
It was all very confusing. He had gone somewhere between Yronwood and Hellholt and now he was here. Such a vast distance was cleared in seconds and all of it was made by one woman. Does a dragon count as a woman? Why did she have feathers and not scales like the other dragons? Why did she call him a different name?
These questions would never be answered as Sylvia was dead. But Jon was scared and confused all the same. He had spent every waking moment of those four moons with the woman and now she was gone.
Oberyn led him to a room that had its bed in the middle with golden sheets draped over it. Red curtains blew in the wind hiding the light but it wasn't the furniture Jon's eyes settled on.
It was the girl who sat at the window. With the curtains parted and her head in her hands. Her black hair was braided exactly like he remembered. Except instead of the breeches she wore on that day she was now dressed in a midnight colored gown.
Jon had no doubt she had a dozen knives hidden under her clothes.
"Nymeria?" Jon called out.
She spun around faster than Jon could process. Her dark eyes were wide and seemed to brighten upon seeing him. He couldn't ever say anything before she rushed forward and crashed into him. Forcefully wrapping her arms around him in a bone-crushing hug.
"You're alive!" She cried. "Oh thank the gods you're alive." She shuddered.
Jon was a little caught off guard by the show of affection. But right now he felt like he really needed that hug. So without further hesitation, Jon hugged her back as she began to cry and apologize for failing him.
"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry I wasn't able to save you!"
Jon side-eyed the Prince who stood next to him. He had no idea what to do. How did one comfort a crying girl? He was five, the only experience he had with girls was his Mother, Allyria, Wylla, and Nymeria herself.
"I-uh…I lived?" Jon said. He got lucky, that was the truth of the matter. For some reason, Sylvia had taken pity on him and no one else in that ambush.
He'd be dead without her, and now she was gone.
Nymeria sighed and sobbed. Pressing a few kisses to the side of his head as she did nothing more than hold him. Jon let her. It felt nice to be held. He needed to be held, wanted to be.
A small pain shot through his sternum. It didn't hurt. But it felt like someone had pinched his mana core.
….
The rest of the day passed in a blur. Servants arrived and quickly took him to a waiting bath. He was bathed, fed, dressed, and told where he was. He wasn't in Sunspear, but he was close by. In the Water Gardens which lay three leagues away from the city.
Jon hadn't seen the two girls from earlier. One of which he found out was the heir to Dorne herself, Arianne Martell. It was a good thing he didn't say he found her ugly out loud. There would have been hell to pay otherwise. The other girl had been named Myriah Sand, another one of Oberyn's bastards named after Daeron the Second's wife or so he had been told.
If Jon was remembering correctly she was his fourth.
Nymeria hadn't left his side the entire day. She waited outside the chamber where he bathed. She ate her meals with him, she did everything with him to try and get him comfortable. He hadn't let go of the stone the entire time. Something that the adults took notice of while they ate dinner.
That was when the questions started in earnest.
"How did you survive?" Nymeria asked. That was the question on everyone's mind it seemed. How he survived, a good question. One Jon was still struggling to figure out himself.
"I got lucky." He mumbled, poking at the mutton stew in front of him.
Nymeria and her father shared a look. It was Oberyn who spoke next.
"Well, luck had something to do with it. But my daughter described at least a three-thousand-foot drop. No amount of luck could save you from that." Oberyn paused, tapping his spoon against his bowl before humming. "Did you awaken a wind attribute to break your fall?"
Jon shook his head. "No, I still don't have one."
Oberyn stroked his beard. "So no wind magic and yet you still survived such a fall. Quite lucky indeed. So lucky in fact that you survived in the deserts of Dorne for four moons, without any food or water. In the Boneway there's nothing around for miles and yet you live. How?"
Jon averted his eyes and clutched the stone tighter. "I got lucky."
"Yes." Oberyn drawled out. "Lucky." His finger tapped against the table causing Jon to swallow harshly. "So if you fell near Yronwood, how did you end up here? You clearly didn't walk, your feet would have been burned to blisters. And yet there was blood on them anyway."
Jon gripped the stone tighter and looked away. His face began to pale and his heart beat faster.
"Whose blood was it Jon?"
"Animals."
"Only mana beasts can live in the Boneway. Snarler's the most present amongst them. Only e-class but still deadly to a boy such as yourself. You're telling me you killed one."
"I got lucky."
"Perhaps, you do seem to possess quite a fair amount, an absurd amount if I'm honest. But no, I think the story is much more simple than that. That object you're holding, what is it?"
"A pretty rock I found," Jon mumbled.
"That you so happened to wrap in a feather you found?"
"Yes."
"So instead of looking for food, water, or shelter you looked for pretty rocks and feathers?"
"Papa!" Nymeria protested. She was silenced by Oberyn raising a single hand and not sparing her a glance.
"Tell me the truth, Jon. I can't help you fully if I don't know what happened to you."
"Nothing happened."
"Something did." Oberyn snorted. "What did you see Jon?"
Jon's body grew numb and cold as he froze. The man with the horns, Sylvia's festering wound growing wider and wider as more blood spilled out. Blood, gods there was so much blood, he blood, blood he stepped in.
What did that man, that monster do to her? What was he? Why was he looking for Sylvia? Who else was looking for her? What was he protecting?
When would the fear he felt go away?
"I didn't see anything!" Jon loudly protested.
Oberyn sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He nodded his head slightly before leaning back in his chair and taking a breath to compose himself. "Alright, I'll leave the matter alone. Now let's eat, I sure am famished after a long day."
Jon didn't eat much for dinner, he had lost his appetite when he thought of Sylvia's wound. He had seen people die, be killed right in front of his eyes. But he hadn't known them, they were bandits trying to kill him and his Mother and those he loved.
But Sylvia, Sylvia was different, and thinking of how her wound only got so bad because of him. That was a pain he wasn't sure would ever go away.
After dinner was finished the matter of his lodgings was handled. He'd be sleeping in a chamber close by to Nymeria's. Jon had no idea why that was the case. Perhaps she had asked for it or perhaps Oberyn did it by himself. Nymeria seemed happy about it though, Jon wasn't sure how to feel.
….
Oberyn
Oberyn sighed as he rolled his shoulders and made his way back to his own chambers. Jon Sand was an enigma, he had never dealt with such a special bastard before. Not even amongst his own daughters.
A mage at the age of three and a dark red core by the time he was five. From what Oberyn had heard he could have been a solid red core mage had Ashara found a teacher earlier. But Nymeria had told him that all of Jon's progress was natural. He had no help from elixirs and beast cores.
There was however the one small problem of the boy being dead and then somehow turning up unharmed in the Water Gardens. Or relatively unharmed, he had no outside wounds but the state of his clothes made it look like he had gotten mauled by a wild animal.
The stone was also another mystery. The boy was very protective of it, not even letting Nymeria take a look at it much less let Oberyn near it. Whatever it was held great importance to him. Added with the fact that the boy clamped up when questioned about what happened to him and Oberyn had a wayward magic bastard on his hands.
How fun for him.
His mood instantly brightened however when he took in the sight of his paramour. Ellaria Sand, bastard daughter of Harmen Uller she was sin made manifest with her beauty. With a charming heart-shaped face and black hair that framed it perfectly, she was an exotic beauty that would make men double-take when they saw her.
She was dressed in a silk purple robe that was so thin it was nearly see-through as she stood atop the balcony in their chambers. Oberyn could feel her smile as he entered and walked to the table.
Quickly picking up the pitcher of wine left out and a goblet before pouring himself a healthy amount, at least by his standards.
"I take it you had a long day my love?"
Oh, how he loved that voice. Silky smooth yet kind and gentle. He could listen to it for hours without getting bored.
"Very, a dead boy came back to life and refuses to talk about anything that happened to him while he was missing." Oberyn took a deep gulp from the goblet.
"Nymeria's student? The magic prodigy from Starfall?" Ellaria asked.
"The one and the same." Oberyn quipped before shaking his head. "Honestly my love, whatever the boy saw has him terrified and wound up tighter than a Septa's small clothes."
Ellaria giggled as she took the cup from Oberyn and drank from it herself. Her honey colored eyes were shining with mirth but also warmth and care. "Poor boy, I can't imagine what he must have been through. All alone in the desert."
"That's the thing we're all wondering. But when asked about it he froze up and grew pale." Oberyn walked to their shared bed and sat down. "Whatever it was the boy saw I fear it has scarred him." He snorted. "I mean he was so scared he swung a knife at the guards and would have cut my finger off had I not had my mana barrier up."
Ellaria sauntered over, swaying her hips and causing Oberyn's eyes to wander as she took her place next to him. "Poor boy, to be that scared I can only imagine what he saw. What is it you plan to do with him?"
"First is to write to his Mother. I know Ashara is mad with grief. It will do her some good to know that he's alive, and the boy needs his Mother."
Ellaria nodded before smiling. "But you want to keep him here as well. Take him on as your student? The great Red Viper is taking on a disciple. Oh, how the noble boys and girls will be jealous."
"The thought has crossed my mind once or twice. From what Nymeria said he picks up on sword fighting and magic quickly. Five years old and already at the dark red stage with no outside help. I have no doubt people will be lining up and throwing fistfuls of gold to get him on their side as he grows."
"Such high praise." Ellaria cooed.
"The wine has loosened my lips," Oberyn smirked. "But…I will have to wait and observe how he acts in the meantime. I will not take some timid boy afraid of his own shadow as a pupil."
Ellaria hummed. "Why don't I talk to the boy? From what you described perhaps a woman's touch will help calm him down? His own Mother is weeks away after all."
Oberyn shrugged. "You're welcome to make an attempt. But I warn you, he's scared, I can see it in his eyes. He doesn't feel safe, not yet."
"Then I shall make it my duty to make him feel safe." Ellaria declared. "Now, shall we give little Elia a sister?"
"You will hear no protests from me, my love."
….
Jon
Night settled over the Water Gardens and Jon was already lying in his bed. The wind howled against the walls as it blew. No doubt sending dust and sand everywhere outside. The bed was soft, certainly softer than the stone of the cave and Sylvia's armor.
Yet his mind wasn't focused on how comfy and soft the bed was.
He winced as a small pain shot through him again. Stronger than last time but not by much. The stone lay by his side, still wrapped in Sylvia's head. She had said the feather would hide the presence of the stone. But what made the stone so important that it needed to be hidden?
Was that what the monster was after?
Jon shuddered at the thought. Did that monster see him? Would he be coming after him next? Was he endangering everyone here by keeping the stone?
'No.' Jon shook his head and took a deep breath. 'No, it's fine. Sylvia said her feather would hide the presence of the stone. So I just need to keep the feather on at all times.' Another deep breath. 'Yeah, that's the solution.'
The wind howled once more and that same pain shot through his mana core. It was starting to get annoying. Like an itch he couldn't scratch. But he was fine, he was with people, he wasn't alone.
He was safe.
Jon shook his head and tried to close his eyes. But when he did he was back in that cave. Sylvia bleeding out and the monster seeming like a giant before them. His eyes shot back open, a choked gasp escaping his lips.
That monster would be coming here soon. Jon knew it, it saw his face, knew who he was. That thing was probably heading to Starfall right now to look for him. His family was dead, they had to be.
They were dead just like Sylvia because of him.
Jon shot out of his bed, his breath coming to him in short quick breaths. They were dead, everyone was dead. He was a danger to everyone here. That monster would find him, take the stone, and slaughter everyone in his way.
The covers were thrown off and the stone was quickly scooped up. Holding the stone to his chest like a child Jon scurried to the corner of the room and huddled in on himself. If he hid the monster couldn't get him. If he hid like Sylvia everything would be fine.
If he just hid he wouldn't have to face it.
If he just hid everything would be alright.
If he just hid.
Notes:
Welp Jon's traumatized and Oberyn's calling bullshit in his entire story. Wonder how things will progress from there. Also little fun world fact since there's ice magic it makes preserving meat that much easier for import. Anyway, see you next chapter where it might get exposition heavy again.
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