[Chapter Size: 2662 Words.]
Jon Snow POV.
Somewhere on North.
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As soon as I slept beside Lucis this night, I plunged into a rather peculiar dream, unlike the usual ones where I would typically encounter war, monsters, vampires, werewolves, dragons, demons, and gods. The world seemed to have grown larger, and I was extraordinarily small. I realized I was inside a white-furred wolf cub, surrounded by four-legged siblings in some confined space, like a barn or pen.
It was already morning when I noticed the sun streaming through the window of the place. The wolf cub made soft noises, attempting to whimper, emitting sounds of an animal trying to get the attention of its siblings. However, the animal was mute, and it could only try its best. This lasted until the door opened suddenly, and a group of people, adults, and some children entered, taking away all the other cubs, leaving me alone. The figures that appeared were indistinct, obscured by an enigmatic mist. Yet, even in the confusion, a sense of loneliness and sadness seized me for that animal.
I felt the helpless wolf pup emitting inaudible whimpers, begging for a call from its absent owner, fearing that he wouldn't come to me as he did with its siblings. Even without control over the creature, I intensely experienced its frustration and fear.
Finally, awakening came, leaving me slightly fatigued, but my body quickly rose in Lucis's tent. Upon realizing the loneliness around me the next morning, I got up and went in search of food, as the tent was empty. Observing the movement of people around me, I noticed a group of children near Lucis's tent. As soon as I stepped out and they saw me, one of them approached, giving me a suspicious look.
"You woke up, you're the stranger who stole my sister!" the boy inquired, maintaining his suspicion.
"What did your sister say about me?" I replied, smiling, trying to forget the strange dream and focus on other things.
"She said you're a very strong warrior and agreed to be stolen by you," said the 10-year-old boy in his childish voice.
"You guys are strange, do you really need to kill a whole group just to win a woman?" I muttered to myself, unheard by the boy.
I shook the boy's head and headed towards the campfire where a stew was bubbling. A man in fur clothes saw me and offered a mug to serve from the wooden pot on the fire. It wasn't the fanciest meal, but neither was it the worst. The persistent boy separated from the other children and followed me all the time, eager to ask me endless questions.
"Is it true that you killed crows?" he asked, fascinated.
"I killed some evildoers," I replied.
"When I grow up, I'll be known as the greatest crow hunter in the world!" he exclaimed excitedly.
"You can bet on it," I agreed, feeling strangely touched by the boy.
"Not just them, I'll be the tribe leader like Aunt Karsi, I'll kill the Starks and rule their lands!" the boy declared, leaving me speechless and opened his mouth again.
"You killed crows, can you teach me how to fight?" he asked hopefully.
"I can teach you a thing or two while I'm here, but it depends on you enduring hard training," I replied, thinking it wouldn't hurt to put a child through some training.
"I will!" he affirmed, interrupting his questions when his sister approached, busy with something to add to the stew. "You still haven't told me your name, squirt," I asked, taking a sip of the stew with some dead rabbit.
"I'm Lafy!" He replied with some pride.
"Well, Lafy, I'm Jon Snow," I said to the boy, and before I could continue our conversation, a voice reached us, and a young woman was coming towards me with some fury.
"YOU! What the hell were you trying to do fighting a giant?" she exclaimed, furious.
"Oh, you heard about that?" I raised my eyebrows ironically.
"Just like the whole camp, everyone is talking about you. Do you have any idea how you managed to get so much attention?" she indignantly asked.
"It was just a brawl, at least I got along with your people. Why not call them wildlings now? I must say I like those who didn't try to kill me; maybe I'm becoming one now too?" I mused to myself; I'm an open-minded person after seeing everything I've seen in my life, I think it's normal.
"You mean, survived against a giant! Who fought against one and survived?" she exclaimed, unaware of how her brother was now looking at me as if I were his hero at the moment.
"Is it true? Can you train me to fight giants too?" he asked excitedly; he knew I faced crows and wildlings, giants are a novelty for him.
I looked at him, raising my eyebrows, and ignored him. My gaze returned to Lucis, but instead of saying something, I shrugged, leaving her annoyed with my indifference.
"You've attracted the attention of all the leaders, Jon Snow. Many won't like a stranger gaining prominence and fame for courage and strength. Much less one who won't even stay here..." She muttered the last part, making it almost inaudible to others, but my ears caught every word with precision.
"I thought your people respected strength..." I mocked but continued with a challenging tone: "If they have a problem with me, I can face them right here."
"If you want to die so badly? Then die! Die when half the camp wants to kill you!" She replied, frustrated, before walking away to some corner with heavy steps.
Suspicious, I just looked to the side, where her brother shook his head.
"Women..." I commented, trying to understand the complexity of their emotions.
"She never changes; my sister acts like a frustrated child sometimes..." He shared, and I looked at him with a strange expression, as if a third eye had been born on his forehead, wondering how a child had such thoughts.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
"But she seems to like you, Jon, or else she wouldn't act like that." I smiled at him, messing up his hair with my hand before getting up.
"Go play with the other kids; I'm going for a walk now." I announced and walked away.
"And my training?!" He protested.
"Later. I'm not going anywhere." I replied with a smile, and he accepted the decision reluctantly.
As I walked through the camp, I greeted some people who were watching me. I was used to being the center of attention, so I didn't let any discomfort show as I was seen by 140,000 pairs of eyes at this moment.
I lost track of time as I walked, only realizing when I reached a high point, a kind of cliff that offered a panoramic view of the camp. Taking advantage of the landscape and being alone here, I sat on a rock after clearing the snow on top of it and began to reflect.
After talking yesterday and today with my silver tongue, I found out Mance was uniting all the tribes north of the Wall to attack the south, motivated by survival in the face of the threat of the White Walkers, terrifying creatures that use necromancy and ice magic and, according to the stories, almost destroyed the world thousands of years ago; apparently, they have returned.
Reflecting on my situation, I began to suspect that the Daedric princes who made the deal with me hid the true reason for sending me to this world. They told me about my origins in a very concealed way, but I suspect they were waiting for a moment to do so and have now sent me to this world again under a threat on a global level, much like Alduin, although these may not be as powerful as the dragon, having an army of the dead is problematic.
Frustration took hold of me as I considered that those manipulative gods might have concealed the truth about my purpose here until I discovered the threat. They always hated beings from other planes dominating worlds; they hated Alduin, and they might not like this... Night King, if I still remember correctly. This realm seemed to have minimal connection to Oblivion, and I questioned whether I should have come here since it seems that even the princes have no power here and only managed to send me. As I breathed the air of this world more and more, memories from over a decade returned, reminding me of Old Nan's stories about the White Walkers, creatures made of ice that control death.
Back then, I feared this potential enemy, now I don't care as much, despite being aware of what they might represent. But despite the frustration, I am still grateful to be here; I will avenge my dead family, and if I have to deal with an army of the dead to do it, I will eliminate them. It would also be frustrating for them to be killed by the dead and not by me after those gods showed me the end of my half-brothers by Lannister soldiers.
My thoughts were interrupted when I heard a familiar voice behind me with the sound of approaching steps, destroying my solitary moment on this hill.
"You're here, the great giant killer!" He spoke with humor, and I responded with a smile, recognizing Tormund as my favorite wildling in the camp.
"Seems like I can't hide here," I said.
"HAHAHAHAHA, when you're famous, everyone knows where you are, just ask around..." He said amiably and came to my side to look at the camp.
"It's a giant camp, isn't it? Maybe the biggest force in millennia beyond the Wall. Let's crush the crows and bring down the damn wall!" He was ecstatic with anticipation, his eyes shining with passion for the imminent battle.
"140,000 people, with 100,000 men and women ready to fight. I'm sure it will surprise the people from the south." I said smiling, sharing a bit of the enthusiasm, but as a general of an army, I knew their strength wouldn't last long against the armies of the south; these people are too undisciplined for large-scale war.
"100,000, Tormund Giant Bones and The Giant Slayer ready to fight against the kneelers." He laughed, appreciating his self-appointed title.
"You said drunk yesterday that Mance is south of the Wall. I was thinking about it just now, but you didn't give me the reason why the hell he's going to Winterfell." I said, raising my eyebrows. He choked.
"I think I drank too much and said things I shouldn't have..." He grumbled, trying to dodge the subject, but in the end, he continued talking.
"We heard from some crows that the king of the kneelers is heading to that Stark castle," he spoke calmly.
"Interesting..." I thought aloud, intrigued by the revelation, eager to see the king.
"Is your people confident they'll survive beyond the Wall?" I asked, shifting the focus of the conversation.
"Look at us, Snow, we are a desperate people. We'll die if we stay here... So, either we pass the Wall or die trying." The man spoke earnestly, revealing the harsh reality.
"True, even a rat will attack you if you're cornered, just as a commoner can point a sword at a king if he has no choice." I said, reflecting on the nature of survival.
Tormund laughed at my comment, and we got up to return to the camp, exchanging conversation. The man was simple but had a lot of humor in his jokes and positivity.
"Tormund! Look who became friends with the giant killer!" Our conversation was interrupted when a man appeared as we entered the tribe.
"The lad here earned my respect; you can test the rumors with your sword if you want." My new friend suggested, always ending with a laugh.
"Any news from our patrols?" Tormund changed the subject, asking a man present.
"A scout from the east came, Ygritte and the others joined Val's group."
"Val left Dalla without Mance here? How is that possible?" He seemed surprised by the information; Val wouldn't normally leave her pregnant sister's side, but Jon wasn't aware of these things.
"She shouldn't, I know. But it seemed urgent for her to go east." The man explained, leaving us intrigued.
After the news exchange between the two, we returned to celebrating, eating and drinking in a corner of the camp, in Tormund's tribe. I had fun with them for the rest of the day, and later, Tormund and I faced off in front of the whole tribe after getting drunk; he challenged me, and I accepted.
"Come on, giant killer!" He exclaimed enthusiastically, wielding his axe against my bronze sword in a vigorous clash.
"Show your strength, Tormund, giant's milk drinker!" I exclaimed with a smile, wrapped in the friendly competition.
Two minutes later, I had my sword pointed at his neck, and he just laughed.
"Oh, giant slayer!" He exclaimed as the tribe went into a frenzy, applauding and shouting at the end of our fight.
"Do you need to celebrate so much for a fight?" I asked confused, surprised by the intensity of the reaction.
"The Free Folk follow the strongest, and I, as their leader, was defeated. You've earned respect here. Don't you want to be the tribe's leader?" He suggested, surprising me with the proposal.
"No, no, I pass." I replied with a dismissive hand gesture. I wasn't interested in taking on responsibilities at that moment. I was there to understand the people and find out what happened in the South during the 12 years I was absent. I am Jon Snow, the Dragonborn, and I do what I want. I preferred to enjoy my stay there than deal with the internal problems of a group.
"Many single launchwives are thinking of stealing you now, look at them over there," Tormund said, pulling me out of my thoughts.
"I've already stolen a woman, Tormund, I don't want to deal with what I have anymore," I said simply, indicating that I didn't have time to deal with romantic matters at the moment.
"It's not me you have to convince..." He said, leaving me intrigued before walking away. Other challengers came, and I faced each of them, defeating them one by one. The women, warned by Tormund, tried to seduce me in a strange competition, but I triumphed over all of them, frustrating their attempts. Luckily, Lucis is the most charming woman I've encountered up to this point.
Later, I returned to Karsi's camp and spotted Lucis walking in front of the tent.
"What's this?" I questioned when she stared at me with frustration.
"Karsi wanted to talk to you, but no one found him," she explained.
"I was with new friends," I replied, shrugging.
"Let's see what she wants now," she suggested.
"No," I simply said.
"What?" She asked, incredulous.
"I'll train your brother, as promised. Tomorrow, I'll talk to her." I declared, going in search of her brother. I could hear Lucis's impatient steps on the ice, expressing her frustration. "This woman is a bit controlling," I thought.
I ignored her complaints for the rest of the day as she trained an enthusiastic boy to wield a sword – her brother, so she didn't insist much on me seeing her aunt.
"I see you still don't have a separate bed for me here," I joked, embracing a frustrated Lucis in the middle of the night while her brother laughed at the situation.
"Shut up and sleep," she ordered.
"No arguments," I replied, trying to end any discussion. Even though it seemed like she wanted to prolong the conversation.
Another night passed, and I was dreaming of being a white-furred wolf cub again...
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Author's note:
* Thank you in advance, I hope you have a good read.