'It talks.'
Aenys was surprised.
The voice from the humanoid creature was thick with an accent that Aenys had never heard before, as if the Common Tongue was not its original language. Looking at the creature again with its antlers and dark green-brown skin, no doubt that was the case. This wasn't taking into account its hooves, which all the creatures had now that he was looking at them again. They really were some sort of man-stag hybrid. Like they had jumped out of a long forgotten tale. They were also a lot taller than both he and Shiera.
At least Aenys was able to discern that it was probably male, if all the rumbling in its voice was anything to go by.
None of this made the situation any less weird. The fact that one of the creatures could communicate did not make Aenys feel more at ease. He did not lower Dark Sister as he studied his surroundings more.
Whatever these things were, they had emerged from the green weirwood trees. That much was certain. What was more unsettling was that their faces mirrored the faces carved on the trees, as if they were the faces themselves. No, that wasn't entirely accurate. The faces still remained on the trees, so perhaps it was more apt to say that these creatures were the weirwoods themselves, if that made any sense.
Honestly. It was just one disturbing observation after another.
Aenys sensed Vaeraxes becoming agitated through their bond as she felt his anxiety, but he did not call for her. Not yet.
"The Green Men." Shiera's voice was full of delight as she took in the creatures with excitement. She didn't look worried at all. "So you do exist."
Aenys glanced at her for a moment, taking care to make sure that he still kept these "Green Men" in his sight. "What are you talking about?"
He had heard about the Children of the Forest before but never about any Green Men.
"There are many stories about them in the North dating back to the war between the Children and the First Men and the subsequent Pact that led to peace between the two groups. It was said that that Pact was agreed upon on this very island. Many thought them to just be humans in strange clothing or some group related to the Children of the Forest, but it appears they were both wrong." Shiera reached over and grabbed his arm which held Dark Sister. "You can relax, my love. If they wanted to harm us, they never would have let us get on the island in the first place."
"She speaks true." The same Green Man from before spoke up. Its dark green eyes bore deep into Aenys', as if it was trying to look into Aenys' soul. "We seek an audience with you, the one who brought life back to the dragons. The one who carries fire in his blood."
Aenys frowned but allowed Shiera to guide his arm down, lowering Dark Sister in the process. As he calmed down and thought over the situation more, he realized that Shiera was right. The powerful magic that was protecting the island had allowed Vaeraxes to fly unimpeded. He could sense that same magic coming off from these so-called Green Men. So either they were the source of the magic or the one who had created them was also the one who placed the runes. Either way, it pointed to the same thing.
They were not the enemy. At least, not yet.
"So you're the ones who got in touch with Brynden." Aenys relaxed ever so slightly but did not sheathe Dark Sister. Not yet.
"He was born with powerful magic that would have transformed him some day, but that matters little right now." The Green Man gestured for Aenys and Shiera to follow him. "Come. We must go to the center of the island. You will be told everything that you need to know there."
Aenys hesitated. Shiera did not. His lover pulled him forward with excitement. Aenys did not fight her, but he did grumble as he sheathed Dark Sister. He wasn't about to let her go off on her own.
"I don't see why you're so easy to trust them," he said as they jumped down from the roots of the weirwood together.
"I want to see where this leads us," was Shiera's answer as she gave him a quick peck on the lips. "If you behave, I'll make sure to reward you later."
Aenys spluttered. Who did she think he was, some kind of sex-obsessed fiend?
His eyes then trailed down her form, which was tightly bound in her leather gear. It was almost like a second skin with how snugly it fit her. The woman was sculptured into perfection that it was not even fair to compare her to other women.
Okay, maybe he was becoming a sex-obsessed fiend. He would blame his father, except the man was more likely to lay with a book than with a woman. Honestly, sometimes he thought it was a miracle that he was even born.
Shiera laughed when she noticed his gaze. "I never said how I was going to reward you, you know. Is someone becoming a little too obsessed with me, hmm?"
Aenys did not dignify that with a response. If he did, then she would win.
The Green Men did not react to their banter as they parted for Aenys and Shiera to walk through. Their eyes bore into them, but Aenys did not shy away. He would not allow himself to become intimidated by these creatures.
As Aenys studied them closer, he realized that they had hair on their heads too, but like with everything else it was no normal hair. It was almost as if their heads were fused with leaves and moss, which they passed off as hair. It was probably to help them camouflage better with nature. Or maybe they were just born like that.
'They're not normal.'
Despite their name, Aenys saw the truth of it.
These Green Men were no mere men at all.
---
The Isle of Faces was teeming with life. Aenys had already made note of it once, but it had to be reiterated.
It was as if the island had become a sanctuary for nature itself. The island was filled with so much game that a king would have no trouble hosting a grand hunt for a month and never run out, but the one animal that Aenys was the most surprised to see were the ravens. There were perhaps hundreds of them as they rested on the branches of the trees, watching them as they passed.
Aenys did not like them. It was as if the birds were spying on them.
The weirwood trees seemed to become more abundant the more they walked, which Aenys thought would be impossible given how many he had already seen. With the presence of more weirwood trees came more of the Green Men. Like the ravens, they seemed to number in the hundreds now.
Despite himself, Aenys had to marvel at the sight of these creatures as he and Shiera were led to the center of the island.
Shiera herself was in more awe as she took in the sights.
"I thought they were nearly extinct," she said softly, observing the Green Men who were also observing them.
"We are." The one leading them heard Shiera. "Once, we covered most of this land. Now, only we remain."
Aenys made sure to keep that in mind.
Their trip was straightforward if not a bit too lengthy. Either the island was bigger than he thought or the Green Men were using another form of magic to make the island more spacious than it appeared on the maps. He was ready to believe it. At this point, little would surprise him.
Whatever the answer, Aenys and Shiera found themselves walking into a large clearing which was surrounded on all sides by more weirwood trees. These trees seemed bigger and more….full of life? Aenys struggled to find a way to describe it. He was able to sense that the magic in these trees was more powerful than all the others so far.
How interesting. He briefly wondered what the difference was between these trees and the others that he had seen thus far, but he did not ask.
Aenys paused when his eyes spotted someone in front of him. It appeared to be a normal person at first glance, but on closer inspection Aenys realized that it was no ordinary person. She was a woman, but she seemed small. Even from her sitting position on the roots as she looked down at him and Shiera, Aenys saw that she was tiny. Like monstrously so. Perhaps she was a dwarf?
Her other features were no less distinct than her height, for she possessed striking long white hair which fell down around her and vivid red eyes. The addition of her pale skin made Aenys think that she was probably an albino just like Brynden.
She was dressed in tattered robes and held a gnarled black cane on her lap.
Another strange person then. But she was human? Something told Aenys that the answer probably wasn't so straightforward.
As luck would have it, he did not have to wonder for too long.
"Well now." Shiera studied the short woman. "How peculiar. You seem similar to these Green Men but also different." Her eyes narrowed. "One of the Children? No. A hybrid between the two…" She smiled as she trailed off before finishing her thought. "You were born from the Green Men and the Children, weren't you?"
Aenys was silent as he heard this. From what little he knew about the Children of the Forest, they were supposed to be small. The Green Men were huge. On the surface, the logistics made it impossible.
'Best not to think about it.'
Some things were better left unknown.
The short woman did not respond right away. She waited for the one who guided Aenys and Shiera to come and join her on the roots while the other Green Men surrounded the clearing, still watching them.
At last, the albino woman spoke.
"You've very observant, sorceress."
The woman's voice was not loud. Her words were almost spoken in a whisper. In the clearing, that did not seem to matter. Her voice was almost amplified in fact. Aenys heard her well enough. Despite speaking softly, her tone was still raspy and not wholly pleasant to Aenys' ears.
"I've made it a personal mission to understand the magic of this world, or what's left of it." Shiera scrutinized the albino woman. "There is so much that I would like to ask of you."
"I have no desire nor obligation to answer any of your questions." The woman did not raise her voice, but her dismissal was still blunt. "The one we seek is the dragon child."
Dragon child? Was that Aenys' new title now?
"Hm, yes. So I've gathered." Shiera stepped closer to Aenys and wrapped her arms around his. "Well, love. It seems you're going to take the attention away from me. It doesn't seem like these forest folk want to speak to me."
"And yet, you don't sound all that bothered by it."
Shiera grinned. "I'll still learn something regardless." She placed a soft kiss on his cheek before stepping away. Her face was reassuring as she gestured for him to commence.
Sighing, Aenys took a few tentative steps forward as he looked between the woman and the Green Man.
"So," he began, spreading his arms out. "You've gone through a lot of trouble to get me here, and now here I am. So what is it? What do you want from me?"
Aenys would not lie and say that he was not almost overwhelmed by everything that he had seen thus far. Unlike the lords of Westeros or even some members of his family, Aenys knew that magic existed in the world. Vaeraxes was proof enough of it, but that was only the tip of the mysteries of magic.
It was said that magic had slowly been dying with the death of the dragons, but now there was another dragon in the world. From Vaeraxes' birth alone, both Shiera and Brynden had been strengthened. From that fact alone, Aenys knew that it would only be a matter of time before he encountered other sources of magic in Westeros.
Even so, while many things confused him about the current situation, Aenys did understand one thing: these Green Men and now this strange woman, they wanted to speak with him. They had prepared a stage for dialogue, and so Aenys was willing to hear out what they had to say. If only to sate his and Shiera's curiosity.
"There was another who wielded the dragons with whom we once spoke," the Green Man said. "He did not possess your fire, however. Yet, we still tried to warn him. Of the futility of his struggle. The war that destroyed the dragons was meaningless."
Aenys understood. There was only one person they could be referring to. "The one you speak of. He was Addam Velaryon."
There was a story about the legitimized bastard traveling to the Gods Eye after Rhaenyra tried imprisoning him for the crime of another. Some said he had managed to reach the Isle of Faces to converse with the Green Men. No one knew the validity of the claims, or how the bastard had been able to claim a dragon in the first place given the fact that he might have been one of Corlys' bastards if rumors about Laenor's true nature were to be believed. There was a lot of mystery surrounding the man, but here Aenys was able to verify one of them.
Addam had traveled to the island, and he had met with the Green Men.
"You seek the dragons. Why?" Aenys questioned.
"Fire is needed for the struggle that will one day consume this world. Dragons are fire made flesh, and so they can repel the darkness that will come. We warned your predecessor of the same. And yet, he said he was duty bound to end the conflict for his queen. Ultimately, he accomplished nothing and died along with his dragon."
The darkness?
"What darkness?"
"From beyond the Wall," the woman said. "From the heart of winter."
Aenys frowned. "Northern superstition." He didn't sound sure of himself, because he wasn't.
The Children and the Green Men existed. There were also the green weirwood trees. Who knew what else was out there?
"There are many songs that have been written in this world, young Targaryen," the woman said softly. "Time has an interesting way of hiding the truths that were once common. Most remain blind. At least, those who aren't able to perceive time's true nature remain so. Ah, but that will not matter to you. You will not be here when that conflict arises."
Aenys' frown persisted. "You mean-"
"Even if you choose to ignore us, if you choose to live your life in vanity, you will not be alive to see the consequences. You can live for your own sake and not be punished for it. I suppose you can take comfort in that."
Aenys wanted to laugh. There were times when he was younger that his father had told him about a prophecy that he and Brynden had stumbled upon in the library of the Red Keep. Something about a "prince that was promised." When he was younger, Aenys did not understand why his father spoke of such things. Looking back, Aenys realized that his father was trying to hint that he might be connected to the prophecy. And yet, here he was being told that he was no prophesied hero, after all.
Did he feel comforted by that fact? That he was in control of his own destiny? He wasn't sure.
"I don't understand what you want from me then."
If he was no hero, then why had they summoned him?
The woman raised her cane and pointed it down at him. "We have seen visions of what might be. Of the changes that you could bring. The one who could save us. He might be of your blood."
Aenys was startled. "Of my blood?"
Did they mean one of his sons? Or grandsons?
"Indeed. Yours is a peculiar existence, one that only was seen after someone decided to play a trick on fate." The woman's eyes drifted to Shiera as she said this.
Aenys found himself looking at the woman too. "What does she mean by that?"
Twirling strands of her hair between her fingers, Shiera sighed. "It was not something I wanted to share with him, you old crone. I suppose expecting some decency from you was too much."
"Lies have a way of building upon themselves if allowed to fester," the woman retorted, to which Shiera just glared at her.
"What are you talking about?" Aenys asked again.
Shiera was lying to him? How?
Letting out another sigh, Shiera pushed her hair back and answered, "You know how your father is, Aenys. Do you believe him to be the type of man who would have sought your mother out under normal circumstances?"
That was an easy question to answer.
No. Aenys did not think that. He always thought it was a miracle that his father had done his duty and actually bedded his mother to at least sire one child.
He began to put the clues together.
"You're telling me you did something to make it happen?"
Shiera had the decency to look embarrassed. "I was still a child back then. I only wanted to play a prank on your father because I thought he was too boring, so I concocted a love potion for him to drink. He drank it without knowing and sought your mother out afterward. B-But I did not mean any actual harm by it! I-I just wanted your father to have some fun! Brynden and I enjoy studying magic too, but that does not mean that you have to spend all your time stuck in a library reading books. You can enjoy your life in different ways!"
It was rare to see Shiera become this flustered, and Aenys took special delight in seeing her squirm a little under his gaze. He could already see why she had never told him about this. She was probably afraid that he might think less of her for it. Why? He didn't know.
His mother had her own pride and was a firm believer in the Seven, so to admit that her only son had been conceived due to some concoction that Shiera created was probably shameful for her. And his father? Well, if it wasn't about prophecies or dragons or anything magic related, then there was little to speak about with him.
"So why did you never tell me?" He still wanted to tease her a little, to make her think that he might be angry with her.
Perhaps he was a little sadistic.
"Because I wanted you to keep believing that you were born from some sort of semblance of love between your parents, not because of a childish prank," she admitted as she fiddled with her hair, looking unsure.
Aenys laughed. He could not help himself. He never imagined that someone as smart as Shiera would have such a delusion about him.
"What?" Shiera didn't understand. "Why are you laughing?"
The fear in her tone gave Aenys pause as the humor of the situation left him. He could not continue to laugh when Shiera looked so vulnerable and afraid.
"You don't have to worry about me, Shiera. I'm not blind to my parents' marriage."
He was under no delusion about the love that existed between his father and mother, as in there wasn't any. There was a semblance of respect between them, but that was about it. Even if Shiera had not done something as outlandish as poison his father with a "love potion" and had laid with his mother of his own volition, their marriage would not have changed. His father was too set in his own ways.
Shiera looked hopeful. "Then-"
"I'm fine." Aenys eased her worries. "I'm not going to hold it against you."
He was no idiot. His birth had been a miracle, after all. How could he hate her for causing him to exist? That would be stupid.
The relief that settled over Shiera made Aenys feel relieved too.
"How touching." The albino woman's raspy voice shattered their small moment. "I thought perhaps you wanted to play a prank on fate, sorceress. Instead, it was more….childish."
"What? You know so much, yet you did not know that? How shortsighted of you." Was it Aenys' imagination, or did Shiera sound a little bit smug saying that?
"Our visions are not always perfect," the small woman admitted. "Cut off as we are, it is to be expected. Not everything can be seen, especially an action taken on a whim."
"That sounds like an excuse to me."
Something told Aenys that these two would start bickering if left on their own, so he interrupted them.
"So I'm not the hero that will stop this darkness that you're so afraid of. But those that will come after me might be the ones to do it. So what exactly do you want from me?"
He asked the next important question.
"To stay." The Green Man answered this time. "Do not seek your own petty glory in other lands. Stay and become the leader who can guide this land to a better future."
"Above all, do not let your gift go to waste," the woman said as she pointed down at him with her cane again. "Whether by coincidence or if the gods have decided to take pity on us, you have been able to breathe new life into the magic of this land. Your blood carries that power within. Your descendants will be able to create a new dynasty, one that knows the errors of the past. They might be able to avoid making the same mistakes."
The Dance of the Dragons.
Aenys knew that lesson well. It was the foolishness of Rhaenyra and Aegon II, along with Viserys, that stayed Aenys' desire to claim the Iron Throne for himself. That, and despite the frustrations that he might feel toward his grandfather, he still loved the man. He loved his family. His uncle Baelor was a good man. He had the makings to be a good king if the realm accepted him. Aenys would not bring ruin upon him and the rest just to satisfy his greed.
Yet, this strange woman and the Green Man were telling him to do the opposite.
"You want me to take the throne."
"We care not for the thrones of man," the woman said. "However, we are not blind to the workings of the world. The one who stands at the top can bring about lasting change."
"I will not cause more war just to prepare for a future that I do not know of," Aenys denied, his voice firm.
For the first time, the woman smiled. It was not pleasant to look at. "We are not telling you to do anything, young Targaryen. As we've said, you can disregard us. You can ignore everything that we have told you. But fate always finds ways of twisting our desires. In this world, rarely do things go as we want them to. You might find yourself learning that lesson sooner rather than later."
Annoyance flared in Aenys' chest. "What does that mean?"
"It is not for me to say."
Like hell it wasn't!
"It is more than enough for you to stay," the Green Man spoke up. "If you do, we will form a pact with you."
The annoyance that had been building up within Aenys settled down at the reminder.
"You did say something about that. About a pact."
The woman gestured to the clearing around them. "Once, this island played host to the Pact which ended the war between those who sing the song of earth and man. What is less known is that there was once another pact before that, between those who you call the Green Men and the Children of the Forest."
What?
"The weirwood trees that you see before you are what they are meant to look like," the woman continued. "They are free of corruption. They represent the bond between the Green Men and the very earth around us. It is their magic. And yet, the Children sought to claim that power for themselves. What you call Greensight is one such power. It was born between the union of the Green Men and the Children."
"The red of the leaves," Shiera whispered from where she stood behind Aenys. "So it's not the Green Men controlling them. It's the Children."
"We are the ones who bleed red," the woman said, her voice filled with disgust. "In their arrogance, the Children thought they could control the magic they had inherited, not realizing the danger that it would one day pose."
So there was a difference between these trees and the rest that existed outside of the island.
Aenys frowned as he thought more on it. "You're not telling us everything."
"No, but they've said enough." Shiera came to stand next to him. Aenys could tell that her mind was racing with many thoughts. "Then Brynden, the Blackwoods, the First Men, the North….the fact that they possess similar abilities…."
She did not finish her thought, but she did not have to. Aenys understood the conclusion.
'It's not just the Children who have sired offspring with the Green Men. The First Men did as well.'
All three groups had mixed their blood together, probably many times. It made a lot of sense. The stories of Garth Greenhand would start making a lot of sense if he possessed the blood of the Green Men in his veins. Even if someone named "Garth Greenhand" hadn't actually existed, there had been others like him throughout history.
"It's not just the North, sorceress. There have been others who carried our blood on this land," the woman corrected.
A certain house who favored the stag and antlers came to Aenys' mind. "So the Baratheons-"
"The Durrandons," Shiera cut in, correcting his mistake. "Were they the same once? Or did they merely worship you?"
The woman did not answer.
She was going to leave that to their imagination then. How nice of her.
Aenys had had enough of the history lesson anyway.
"So this pact of yours." He lazily rested his hand on the pommel of Dark Sister. "What would this entail?"
"We would share some of our gifts with you," the Green Man answered. Aenys could not sense any deceit from the creature's tone.
"Gifts?" Aenys echoed, his brow furrowed.
"The magic of the land. Some of it could be yours." The Green pointed to the spot in front of where Aenys and Shiera stood. Right before their eyes, a flower began to bloom. It was beautiful. "It would be a sign of our favor."
"It would not pass to your descendants, but it would not have to if the future we desire comes to pass," the woman said. "How fortunate for us that you carry the blood of the First Men with you as well. It's diluted and worthless on its own, but it is enough for you to accept the gifts that we offer. If you were a child of fire alone, then we would not have proposed this pact."
Aenys was confused. "My mother is a Penrose."
His grandmother was a Martell. There was no First Man descent there.
"Don't be daft, child," the woman scolded. "Once upon a time, all of Westeros was the home of the First Men. Many of the people that survived the purge that came after the Pact can trace their lineage back to those original lines. The place you call the Stormlands has stronger ties to that past than most can bother to remember. We, however, have not forgotten."
Aenys couldn't believe it. Just when he had thought that his mother's house had not served him well, here he was learning that it was the exact opposite.
"So because of my mother's blood-"
"You can adapt to the gifts of the earth." The woman smiled again. "A new dragon, one of fire and earth. A strong symbol of our new pact."
A symbol, huh.
"We did nothing once," the Green Man said softly. "We lamented our mistake. We do not wish to repeat it. You and your dragon can herald a new age. We wish to be a part of it, if you accept our terms."
"The magic will not be as strong as the one found on the island, for you will not have the connection of the weirwood trees," the woman explained. "You will not be able to make the land bloom as thoroughly as they can. But a fraction of their magic will still be available to you. When the land is without substance, you will be able to bring it comfort. There will be no shortage or desiccation if you wish it."
It sounded pleasant enough. Their terms sounded simple too, but Aenys knew the consequences that could spiral from his continued presence in Westeros. The realm was already on edge. This could very well tip the balance and lead to war. If he became someone who could bring about life to the land, then what would the lords think? What would his family do?
"Hmm, so our line will lead to the so-called savior of this world." Aenys was startled when Shiera spoke as she leaned closer to him. "I don't think you have to hesitate, Aenys. What is there to fear?"
"Our line?" Despite the thoughts running through his head, he was still able to pick up on that particular detail.
Shiera laughed softly. "That is what you want to focus on? But I suppose if it helps you make a decision, then you should know of my intentions. Or what? Do you only wish for me to warm your bed without marrying me? I'm hurt."
No, that wasn't it. Aenys hadn't given his future with Shiera much thought, but he knew that he wanted her in it. Such a desire could only have one ending for them.
A ghost of a smile formed on his face. "The king will not like it, you know."
"And what is that you said about the king again?"
Right.
Aenys turned to look at the woman and the Green Man. They were waiting to hear his answer. The same was true for all the rest who were still watching from around the clearing.
There was still much that the woman and the Green Man had not told them. Questions that remained unanswered. But they had not lied. He could tell. They were earnest in their desire to work with him.
This was the ultimate choice. Aenys could see two paths in front of him now.
It was not a quick decision, and Aenys deliberated on his choice more than he would have liked.
Eventually, he gave his answer to the woman and the Green Men.
The future of Westeros would forever be changed because of it.