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TWL Chapter - 70
🕑 Added 2025-02-24 21:58:32 +0000 UTCNed sat with his family having dinner, the food on his plate was growing cold as his mind kept drifting back to El's revelations from days ago. His eyes stayed on his brother, who had arrived just in time for dinner looking haggard and grim. The children had practically ambushed him in the courtyard, bombarding him with questions before he could even reach the castle.
That was why he had been pushing off on doing anything about dire news that he had received.
Still he had been waiting for his brother to confirm it for him and his expression all but confirmed his fears.
"Uncle Benjen," Robb was the first to ask the most important question, "we didn't expect you today. Is everything fine at the Wall?"
Benjen exchanged a careful look with Ned before answering. "The Wall stands, nephew. Though we've had some... interesting revelations."
"Is this about El?" Arya asked, leaning forward with eager curiosity. "Everyone's saying he went north to hunt White Walkers."
Ned nearly choked on his water. "Arya-"
"She's not wrong," Robb cut in. "The people won't stop talking about it. Although I think most of them are saying it in jest."
"Yes, both El and even Lady Freya change the topic when asked about it," Sansa added. "Even Emilia doesn't know, and she was with El when he returned."
Benjen's face hardened, and his expression made even Arya's enthusiasm fade.
"Aye," he said finally. "We found them."
The silence that followed was what he had expected.
Even the direwolf pups, usually rowdy at mealtimes, seemed to sense the gravity of the situation, lying quietly at their masters' feet.
"Perhaps this isn't appropriate conversation, to have in front of the children" Catelyn interjected, but her voice lacked its usual authority.
"No," Ned agreed he could not put this off anymore. "It isn't but I believe they need to hear this and I have put this off for long enough."
He looked at his children's faces - and felt the weight of what El had told him press down even harder.
He still didn't understand everything that El had told him, but one thing had been clear that they would all have roles to play in what was coming.
He would not let his children fight in war if he could help it. But he also knew that things rarely go the way you want them to go.
He would try his best to shield them from what was coming but he would not keep them ignorant.
"Ned?" Catelyn's voice wavered, concern etched across her features. "What's happening?"
"Cat, please take Rickon to his chambers, then fetch Maester Luwin." His voice was gentle but carried the unmistakable weight of command.
"Jon, go to the clinic. Tell El it's time for that discussion."
"Robb go fetch our southern guests."
"All of them?"
"Aye, all of them. They need to hear this too, bring them to the great hall ."
"Ned, what is going on," Catelyn said, her hand clutching Rickon protectively.
“You will know soon enough Cat.”
As the others rose to carry out their tasks, Catlyn gestured for Arya and Bran to follow, but Ned's voice stopped them.
"No, they will stay."
"But they're just children," Catelyn protested from the doorway.
"They won't be children forever," Ned replied, his voice heavy with resignation. "And they need to know what's coming."
She looked ready to argue, but he met her eyes, his expression softening. "Please, Cat. Trust me."
She held her ground for a moment before relenting and leaving the room with Rickon shortly followed by Jon and Robb, once they had left he himself started making way to the great hall gesturing the rest of them to follow.
"You could have waited until after the meal," Ned said to Benjen, though there was no real reproach in his voice.
His brother's face remained grim. "Aye, but I do not want to lie about what's coming."
He sighed and looked at his remaining children.
His mind went back to everything El had told him, wondering how he was going to explain it all without crushing the innocence in their eyes.
But innocence, he knew, was a luxury they could no longer afford.
Winter had arrived.
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I wasn't really doing much when Jon came to the clinic to let me know that Ned had called me for a discussion.
After getting more context from Jon I realized that Benjen had finally made it to Winterfell and Ned was no longer in denial so thai was probably going to be about the Others
Of course what else could it be about. I thought about bringing Freya with me but I had already told her everything so she didn't really need to be there.
When I entered the great hall with Jon, I noticed we were the last to arrive.
The room was packed tight enough to make even the great hall feel slightly cramped.
The Starks were all present except for little Rickon - Ned at the head of the gathering, with Benjen, Catelyn, Robb, Sansa, Arya, and Bran arranged around him with Theon on a side.
Surprisingly, the southern guests were here as well. Tyrion lounged in a corner, looking unusually serious. I hadn't told him anything yet but he was smart enough to know that whatever was going to be revealed was not going to be pleasant.
Oberyn Martell and Ellaria Sand observed the assembly with barely concealed curiosity, while the Tyrells kept to themselves. Willas Tyrell surveyed the room with visible concern.
Maester Luwin and Ser Rodrik completed the gathering, anxiety evident on both their weathered faces.
"Can we start now?" Arya burst out, earning a sharp look from her mother.
"Yes, the little wolf is right, Lord Stark," Oberyn added with his usual swagger. "This is quite the gathering, and I for one am extremely curious to know the reason."
"Yes," Ned nodded, then turned to me. "Thank you all for coming. I know that it is not an appropriate hour but there have been …developments, and it is quite an important issue. El, perhaps you would like to start."
I sighed. I had hoped Benjen would tell the tale, but I supposed I could do it.
I took a breath. "It started the day of the deserter's execution. His ravings about White Walkers - there was something in his eyes, a kind of terror you can't fake. Made me curious enough to look into it."
"So I went to the Wall," I continued. "Convinced Benjen here to be my guide north. We weren't even a week into our journey when we ran into some wildlings."
"I managed to talk to them nicely instead of getting into a fight. They had interesting stories to tell when I told them that I was there looking for White Walkers."
"We followed them back to their camp as they described their various run-ins with the others." I paused. "Their stories were quite vague and didn't really provide much useful information, but by then we had reached their camp, and calling it a camp was quite an understatement seeing that there were at least fifty thousand of them, at least. All gathered in one place."
That got their attention.
"Fifty thousand wildlings?" Robb exclaimed. "That's..."
"A lot of people? I know," I finished. "I was expecting maybe a few hundred wildlings at best, but, and the reason they had gathered was pretty clear once I talked to a few of them."
"They were all running from the Others. All of them. Every clan, every tribe - they're fleeing south because they know what's hunting them and they have gathered under their new king."
"A king beyond the Wall?" Tyrion spoke up. "It's been a long time since one of them has popped up. Who is he?"
"Mance Rayder," Benjen spoke up, his voice tight. "Former brother of the Night's Watch."
"Anyway, I negotiated with Mance and offered to heal their sick in exchange for help tracking down some White Walkers."
"No one knows those lands better than the wildlings, or Free Folk as they call themselves."
"Which was pretty useful as not two days after we set off from the wildling camp, we ran into another group of wildlings, only that this time they were being chased by wights."
"Wights," I explained, noting the confusion on some faces. "Corpses reanimated by the Others' magic. These things can run, fight, and tear a person apart with their bare hands. And every person they kill joins their ranks."
The horror of what I was describing settled over the room. I saw Sansa and Bran get closer to their mother, and Arya looked thoughtful.
That girl was built different, I guess.
Even Oberyn's usual smirk had vanished, replaced by a grim understanding.
"How many?" Ned asked quietly.
Benjen and I exchanged a look. He said, "They numbered in the tens of thousands, I think. I'm not really sure."
"That's impossible," Tyrion spoke up, his face creased with concern. "How would an army that large even-"
"The dead don't need to eat," I cut him off. "They don't tire. They don't stop. And every fallen fighter, whether wildling, crow, or noble, becomes another soldier in the Night King's army."
The silence that followed was deafening.
The hall fell completely silent, frozen between disbelief and horror. Not a cough, not a whisper, not even the scrape of a chair disturbed the terrible stillness that had descended upon the great hall of Winterfell. I could practically hear the collective heartbeat of everyone present, pounding in their ears as they processed my words.
"I cast a spell on our group, making them temporarily immune to harm and wreathed in these purifying flames. With this protection, we were able to hold back the tide of wights long enough for the wildlings to escape."
I summoned a small wisp of the white flame on my fingertip for dramatic effect..
"Just as I was contemplating how to capture one for proof," I continued, my voice dropping lower, "everything went catastrophically wrong."
I let the flame die.
"Before I could even comprehend what was happening, I had a spear of ice piercing through my chest, missing my heart by a hair’s width."
I pinched my fingers together, holding them up. "I was literally this close to death—or worse, becoming one of them."
My eyes swept across the gathered nobles.
"It was pure luck that I survived," I admitted. "I had to summon... something considerable to get us out safely. And I was quite displeased about the whole almost-dying experience, so I left a parting gift for the Night King." A dark smile played across my lips. "Although I am pretty sure he still survived, his army won't be bothering anyone for a while."
The room was silent for a while with the only sound being the cracking of the hearth before Oberyn spoke up.
"That's quite the tale."
His voice was carefully neutral, but his eyes gleamed with interest. "Although I'm not entirely convinced this isn't some elaborate ploy that I am not getting."
I shrugged, unsurprised by his skepticism. "I understand your doubts. I went beyond the Wall specifically to get proof, but when things escalated beyond what I'd expected, self-preservation took priority."
I leaned forward, resting my hands on the table. "Frankly, I don't particularly care if you believe me or not. The armies south of the Neck can keep playing their petty game of thrones while the apocalypse gathers strength.”
"The Night King made this deeply personal when he nearly ended my existence," I continued, a predatory smile playing at the corners of my mouth. "And I intend to return the favor... personally."
I cast a significant glance toward Ned. "I only need Lord Stark to believe me to make things go over smoothly. The rest of you live quite far away and aren't the decision-makers for your families anyway—although you do have some sway over them."
No one seemed eager to be the first to break the silence in the room.
With deliberate casualness, I leaned back in my chair, arms crossing over my chest. "So by all means, write to your patriarchs. Tell them what you have heard today. I know perfectly well why you all flocked to Winterfell—to uncover my secrets." A knowing smirk danced across my features. "I trust you've gathered enough to satisfy their curiosity."
My expression hardened subtly, voice dropping to a silken whisper that carried to every corner of the hall.
"But know this—should any of your houses decide to complicate my work with their little games... you will discover exactly what I'm capable of."
Comments
Radiant Tiefling
Thank you for the chapter.
Kaitiaki
So happy with the story and look forward to the next chapter
