The weeks following "Lukard's" departure from King's Landing were turbulent for everyone. First came the official coronation of Tommen Baratheon as king, followed by wedding preparations. Then, the state funeral of Tywin Lannister, Hand of the King, "tragically" murdered by his deformed son.
And on the very same night he killed his father, Tyrion Lannister fled King's Landing, apparently without anyone knowing how.
Not even Varys and his little birds knew, which infuriated the eunuch more than he cared to admit, as he had planned to send the dwarf to join the young Griff. Tyrion's mind would have been useful in helping Rhaegar's supposed son enter the game of thrones. Unfortunately, Tyrion vanished into the night as if he had never been there.
They were also hectic days for Vlad, who had finally set out toward Westeros with his entire army. The Black Fleet made its first appearance, and the result was nothing short of overwhelming.
One hundred and fifty warships, unmatched by any fleet ever seen in Westeros, the finest that the gold of Essos and the slave cities could buy.
Fast ships with deep keels and rams reinforced with Valyrian steel, capable of splitting an enemy vessel in two with a single impact. They were lower, quieter, built with precision and designed solely for war. Nothing about them was decorative, save for the black sails bearing the Targaryen and Drakul banners together.
A total of twelve thousand men sailed aboard them, all armed to the teeth and ready to kill and die for their kings.
The plan was simple. The ships would arrive at Lannisport without warning, seize it quickly, and establish a base of operations there. From that point, merchant vessels carrying the rest of the army could land safely, and then they would march on Casterly Rock in less than two days.
Anyone who truly understood the logistics of war would wonder how Vlad managed to move so many ships and circle Westeros without alerting the Lannisters or any other noble house, all of whom would have fortified every port along his path.
The answer was simple. Vlad eliminated every raven between the Prince's Pass and the Sunset Isles.
An apparently minor gesture, but one that paralyzed communication between coastal strongholds and their ruling houses. What normally took a day now took weeks, and multiplied across each intermediate castle, it became nearly impossible to counter.
Of course, that did not mean the news would never arrive, only that by the time it did, Vlad would already be on their shores.
And if anyone asked how Casterly Rock fell in barely two days, the answer was even simpler.
Vlad fought.
It had not been part of his original plan. He had intended to stay on the sidelines, as always, perhaps let one of his progeny have some fun. But something, or someone, had angered him.
To understand why, one only had to go back a couple of days, in the middle of the sea voyage. The journey would last around ten days, and Vlad had decided to sink into one of his rare periods of sleep. As a vampire, he did not need it, but if he wished, he could sleep for as long as he pleased, so he chose to do so to make the crossing feel shorter.
It was then, just as he closed his eyes and slipped into rest, that his mind was assaulted by an unexpected visitor.
Vlad found himself apparently transported into the middle of a winter forest, the ground covered in snow and nothing around him but a massive weirwood tree.
Vlad did not move. He looked around with a neutral expression. He recognized it, of course. Not the exact place, but the atmosphere, the roots of the tree, the snow.
Then he heard it.
—You should not be here —said a harsh, ancient voice.
Vlad turned toward the voice, annoyed.
—Do you dare invade my mind, Three-Eyed Raven? —he asked, visibly irritated.
The old man, seemingly harmless, looked surprised.
—You know me —he said, stating a fact.
—Of course I know you, Brynden Rivers —Vlad replied, rolling his eyes— Or what remains of him.
The old man narrowed his eyes at the distinction.
—You should not be here —he repeated— You are breaking the flow of destiny. You and yours are a plague.
Vlad looked at him with growing disdain.
—Are you lecturing me, old man? —he said, as if spitting the words— What is it? Are your masters the only ones allowed to unleash a magical plague to walk the earth?
—The White Walkers were a mistake I am striving to correct —Brynden defended himself— But you have rendered all my efforts meaningless. The Long Night will fall, and it will not be stopped by you or by anyone.
—Did you truly believe your pathetic maneuvers were changing anything for humanity? —Vlad replied with contempt— Your absurd schemes that depend on others acting exactly as you expect, while you sit in the shadows moving pieces?
The Three-Eyed Raven pressed his lips together, as though he did not understand the contempt in Vlad's voice.
—It is what I do. My duty is to protect humanity —he finally answered— I am a guardian, a keeper of balance. Since the Children chose me, I have watched, learned, and guided when necessary, so that the cycle may continue.
Vlad let out a bitter, humorless laugh.
—What a vain and pathetic bastard. Is that what you tell yourself as you sleep among the roots of your rotting tree? You are a puppet of a dying race, a species that, for all its gifts, has built nothing but caves. Do you know what the Children of the Forest truly are?
Brynden watched him in silence.
—Parasites —Vlad said, taking a step toward him— If a wolf wants to eat, it must hunt. If a deer wants to live, it must run. But the Children of the Forest simply exist. Stagnant, decaying, rotting within their own rituals. Their great legacy was unleashing the dead upon the world. And now you dare call me the plague?
The old man glared at him. Vlad knew things he should not know, but he chose to set that detail aside.
—You are not human. You cannot rule over them. You will only bring death —Brynden snapped, his face tense— Your presence alters the events that were meant to save the world. You are an aberration.
—And you are? Are you human? —Vlad replied, raising an eyebrow.
Before the other could answer, Vlad took another step forward. The illusory world trembled around them. The winter forest flickered for an instant, and the old man's figure wavered.
—You tried to hide yourself —Vlad murmured, his voice edged with sharp mockery— A rather picturesque attempt.
He closed his eyes for a moment… and opened them again with a golden gleam in his irises.
—Enough disguises.
The old man screamed, but it was too late. The illusion tore apart like smoke, revealing an abomination in its place: a mass of fused bodies, faces whispering in unison, eyes staring in every direction, twisted hands and ancient crowns of roots emerging from a shapeless mound of flesh and wood.
A living amalgamation of all those who had ever held the mantle of the Three-Eyed Raven, their consciousnesses trapped within a hive mind sustained by the ancient magic of the Children of the Forest.
Or whatever it was that had created them.
—Look at you —Vlad said with contempt, not taking a single step back— This is what they call balance. After unleashing a magical abomination upon the world, they decided to create another one to fight it. You are nothing more than their slave, this is what they do, they play at being gods.
The creature emitted a guttural sound that was both denial and lament.
Vlad stared at it coldly, and then his tone changed.
—Despite all my power, I have never looked to the heavens and believed myself a god. I am, above all else, a man. I have nurtured every sensation that has ever inspired mankind.
He moved closer still, letting the stench of death wash over his face.
—Do you know why? Because I have never rejected human nature, despite all its flaws.
The Three-Eyed Raven writhed amid whispers and voices, but did not answer.
—That is the difference between you and me —Vlad continued calmly— You observe from your rotting root, never intervening, convinced of your own superiority, i walk among them, i understand them, because all my transformations did was reinforce what already existed within me, making greater and better everything I was, everything I am.
Vlad looked at it with disdain and chose not to lower himself by continuing to speak to that thing. Everything he had said was true, and he owed no explanations to what remained of Brynden Rivers.
Still, he had no intention of leaving that dreamscape with nothing but words… he would leave it with something it would never forget.
—When I end the Long Night —Vlad added as he turned away— I will come for those who caused it.
The amalgamation trembled for the first time. Drawing upon all its psychic strength, it attempted to shatter Vlad's mind beneath the weight of centuries of memories from its fragmented consciousnesses, but to Vlad, a being designed to be eternal, it felt like nothing more than a mild headache.
A single gesture, infused with his will alone, was enough to break the flow and make the Three-Eyed Raven bleed from every part of its being.
—This is not over —said one voice among many, echoing like a fractured litany.
—No —Vlad nodded, turning with disdain— And that is a promise.
With a final crackle of energy, the winter forest vanished. Vlad opened his eyes in his cabin, the murmur of the sea in the background and the wood creaking beneath his boots.
His face was calm, but rage burned in his eyes. Beyond the hypocrisy, what truly angered him was that he had let his guard down, not only allowing his mind to be invaded, but letting the Three-Eyed Raven roam freely because he had not considered it a threat.
He had believed this world and its people would behave as he remembered.
That had been a mistake.
But one he intended to correct.
----
Happy New Year, guys. I hope you had a great holiday season.
I understand that more than one of you might have been surprised by the delay, but I'm going through a rough time at work. My manager tried to force me to cover his shift during Christmas week while he went on vacation, and when I refused, he decided to punish me. He told the regional manager that I had requested a transfer to another branch, which, while not very far away, completely changed my schedule. I used to work continuous shifts from afternoon into the night, but now I have split shifts: I start in the morning, get a few hours off, and then go back in the afternoon.
The worst part is that, even though he lied outright, there's nothing I can do about it, because since it's less than 60 kilometers away, they're not legally required to get my consent for the transfer. So here I am, trying to adapt, dealing with insomnia, and trying not to kill anyone in the process.
Now, let's talk about the chapter. I want to give you a heads-up that the whole Children of the Forest storyline will take a completely different turn in this story. I won't make them stronger, but I will make them a tangible threat, as well as better define their origins and who they serve. I don't think the idea is entirely original, since I took it from a movie, but I haven't seen any fanfic using the premise I have in mind, so at the very least you can expect something new compared to other stories.
Enjoy the chapter, and once again, Happy New Year.