The Night King, though devoid of flesh, experienced something akin to "heartache" for the first time.
The armored undead giant had lasted mere seconds within the human fortress before its connection to him was severed. The time was so short that he hadn’t even been able to observe the structure’s interior through its eyes. From the fragmented message carried through their magical link at the last moment, he sensed a surge of powerful, fire-aspected magic pierce through the giant’...
The twin rings of flame encircling the Shadow Tower’s walls managed to slow the tide of the undead, but within the mass of shambling bodies, a reanimated mammoth and a towering undead giant suddenly emerged. Together, they charged directly toward the gate.
As undead puppets, the mammoth and the giant no longer suffered the limitations of living creatures: no strained lungs, no faltering hearts, no exhaustion. They were faster, stronger, and relentless. Trampling over the battered sta...
Although many in the Night's Watch criticized the new Lord Commander’s methods and political leanings, Dennis Mallister had to admit: Aegor’s title of “White Walker Slayer” ought to be changed to “White Walker Bane.”
It was as though he truly anticipated every move the enemy might make.
For centuries, the Night’s Watch focused their defenses entirely on the Wall, yet Aegor insisted on carving mountain paths south of the Gorge to establish a new defensive line. Sure...
The Night King hadn’t sent a single wight toward Icebay Port.
This decision was devoid of any emotional reasoning, grounded purely in logic. First, Icebay Port, located to the west, held no strategic value for his campaign; attacking it would only divert the wight army away from the Wall, delaying his ultimate goal. Second, the port had too few people, all of whom were combatants. Attacking it would yield minimal new wight recruits at a potentially high cost—a poor trade.
Hu...
Jaime couldn’t understand Euron’s abrupt decision to retreat. Suspecting a trick, he didn’t hesitate to shield the last of his capable soldiers as they pulled back from the shore. From a distance, he watched Euron and his men push their longships back into the freezing water, board them, and row away into the darkness of Icebay.
Had they really retreated?
It was plausible that Euron’s original goal had been to disrupt Icebay Port’s production, burn two warships, and de...
Aegor could never have imagined that the devastating weapon he had meticulously prepared to combat the White Walkers would first demonstrate its power on the living.
Amid several thunderous explosions accompanied by blinding flashes of light, countless obsidian shards scattered into the crowd. Although dragonglass held no special properties against the living, its razor-sharp edges still tore through clothes and flesh, leaving painful wounds that bled freely. More terrifying than the s...
The Night’s Watch Defense Protocol is divided into three sections: The Great Canyon, The Wall, and The Gift. While it doesn’t cover every possible scenario, it comprehensively addresses the military situations that might occur under the Watch’s jurisdiction, including external invasions and internal unrest, with clear and specific countermeasures.
The Great Canyon stretches over fifty miles. Even with the Watch mustering all available manpower, the garrison could only achieve an ...
The howling wind echoed like a child's wail, piercing and mournful, as it swept along the great canyon. Aside from the chilling gusts, the only sounds were the occasional murmurs of sentries stationed on the defensive path nearby and the faint crackle of firewood burning in front of the tents behind them.
It was an unusual and welcome silence.
For weeks, the wights had harassed the canyon’s defenses night after night. But two days ago, the attacks suddenly ceased—not due to ...
The wind howled, a sound like the wailing of infants. Along the entire length of the Great Canyon, aside from the rush of frigid air, the only other sounds were the occasional murmurs of soldiers on night watch along the defensive line, and the crackling of firewood before the tents behind them.
It was a long-missed quiet.
The wights' nightly harassments, which had persisted for weeks, had stopped two days prior. Not because they were ineffective, but because, as the forest was cl...
2025-01-29 12:50:12 +0000 UTC View PostEastwatch was the first to face the challenge of the dead, but whether by coincidence or by design, across the entire Wall and the great canyon, in the distant Westeros, another seaside fortress manned by the Night's Watch, Icecanyon Port, was also beset by trouble, though from the living.
The fledgling Northern navy dared not sail out to meet Euron Greyjoy's fleet, yet the latter was equally wary of Icecanyon Port's robust defenses and refrained from attacking. The ironborn flaunted th...
2025-01-29 12:49:53 +0000 UTC View PostAs far as the eye could see, everything was draped in silver and white.
The hull, the deck, the masts, all were covered in a layer of frost; the sea surface, the people who had fallen into the water, and the debris blown by the wind… everything was frozen solid. Even the howling north wind seemed to have been drained of all its strength by the bizarre gale just now, turning into a gentle breeze.
The large chunk of ice they had been trying to tow away moments ago was now the on...
The daylight in the far northern reaches of the Seven Kingdoms was always fleeting. By roughly three or four in the afternoon, the sky would already darken, and along the easternmost stretch of the Wall, near the Night’s Watch port of Eastwatch-by-the-Sea, the edge of the haunted forest grew even gloomier. The thick trees and dense foliage muted what little light remained, leaving the ground shrouded in a dim haze. The faint glow filtering through twisted and gnarled branches painted eerie,...
2025-01-29 12:49:13 +0000 UTC View PostUnexpectedly to Aegor, the expressions of bitterness and anger on the queen's face flickered only for a moment before vanishing into the void. Daenerys quickly composed herself again.
For a brief instant, Daenerys had indeed succumbed to mild emotional instability. However, with the higher mission and ideal of "breaking the wheel of history" placed before her, and seated across the table from her was the first person in the world who truly seemed to understand her—and who might even ...
After personally "offering himself" to calm Arya’s seething jealousy with a bit of sweetness, the situation finally stabilized. The Stark girl ceased her attempts to assassinate the Mad King’s daughter, while Daenerys—completely unaware of the threat she had narrowly avoided—settled comfortably into her new role as a recluse in the tower on the lake island.
There, she passed her time peacefully, engrossed in books such as 'The Night’s Watch' and 'Their Fantastical Adventures'...
Even a place this far south… is starting to see snow?
Jon Connington lifted his head after completing his inspection of the camp, watching as the snowflakes began to drift down from the sky. He let out a long sigh.
He was old.
Years of exile, of fighting and marching with the Golden Company across foreign lands, had left his body broken beyond repair. Even a short ride on horseback was enough to make every joint in his body ache as if it were falling apart.
T...
2025-01-29 12:48:16 +0000 UTC View PostCrawling into bed?
Aegor almost laughed. It was true that this was a deadly weapon when used against men, but Arya seemed to have completely misunderstood how it was supposed to work. If you want to slip into a man’s bed, you do it when he’s drunk or half-asleep, or at the very least, when he’s already in bed. Yet here she was, burrowing in before he had even lain down… How am I supposed to fall for that?
He walked over to the bed, intending to yank back the covers and dra...
2025-01-29 12:47:56 +0000 UTC View PostSaying that Aegor was pretending was not entirely accurate—he truly had a great deal to do.
With the arrival of the three dragons, the archery tournament’s conclusion and award ceremony had been disrupted. Summoning the entire population of Crown's Rest again just to wrap things up was clearly not worth it, but the event still needed closure. Aegor planned to find time to hold a small-scale supplementary ceremony within the castle to complete the process.
This was not a ma...
2025-01-29 12:47:37 +0000 UTC View PostHeh.
Aegor found himself amused by the little queen’s boldness. He had only uttered a polite "You will surely rule the Seven Kingdoms one day," and yet here she was, already exercising royal authority in advance.
A royal pardon? For what?
For stealing a few potatoes? For lingering a moment too long in front of someone’s chicken coop? Did he need a queen’s pardon for that?
And immediately shedding the black to serve her? That was even funnier. Serve her how, e...
“An excellent plan, Lord Commander. Hearing your words, I feel as though the fog of confusion has been entirely swept away.” After indulging in the vision of a bright future for a moment, Daenerys returned to reality. “But as you said, this is the ideal solution based on a heavily simplified model and the assumption that I’ve already won. The problem is, this continent’s current situation is far from as straightforward as the circles and crosses on your map. And I have not yet achie...
2025-01-29 12:46:57 +0000 UTC View PostDaenerys, scolded like a child, had no intention of retorting. The initial awe from Aegor’s grandiose plan had given way to a sensation she hadn’t felt in years—a quickened heartbeat. She couldn’t even tell if this fluttering came from the audacity of the “Greater Crownlands Plan” or from the commanding presence of the Night’s Watch commander as he confidently laid out his vision.
As a queen who refused to live an ordinary life and yearned to etch her name into history, i...
“Of course, I would ally with Dorne and the Reach to oppose the remaining five kingdoms. Is there any other option?”
Daenerys began to speak but immediately realized the flaw in her reasoning. Aegor’s deliberate emphasis on the Reach’s overwhelming strength wasn’t without purpose.
The implication was clear: the Reach, the most powerful faction, couldn’t merely be negotiated with or brought into her fold through compromise. It had to be defeated and brought under her ...
"Strip the nobility of their privileges, shatter the wheel of history, and build a land free of oppression?"
Daenerys answered hesitantly. This was her lifelong dream, the goal she pursued day and night. But even she understood that this was a vague aspiration, not a concrete policy.
“Excellent.” Aegor noted the doubt in her expression, evidence that she herself recognized the problem. That was fine. “Your vision is clear and straightforward. Let me break it down: You beli...
Daenerys raised an eyebrow. Aegor's words struck a chord deep within her, and she had to summon all her willpower to maintain a composed expression. Yet, the shock coursed through her like an electric current, from her spine to the back of her head. She wanted to break the awkward silence with a quip like, “You’re quite the flatterer,” but then remembered she had already complimented him similarly during their meeting on Dragonstone. Swallowing her words, she instead reappraised the man...
2025-01-29 12:45:40 +0000 UTC View Post“So?” Daenerys straightened in her chair, staring intently at Aegor as he entered the room empty-handed for the third time. Her sense of unease had finally reached its limit. Though her words were measured, her hand had already stealthily gripped a dining fork from the table and hidden it beneath the surface. “Where is the book?”
…
Arya’s failed assassination attempt had, ironically, helped Aegor accomplish something he had previously considered but decided against...
Even the White Walkers hadn’t managed to scare the Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch this much—Arya Stark had once again succeeded in startling him.
The moment Aegor received Myrcella’s urgent report, he sprang into action. For half a frantic hour, he led men aimlessly combing through the residential quarters, only to come up empty-handed. Realizing the futility of their approach, he stopped and reassessed. This kind of blind search was pointless. What he needed to do was thi...
Because the inner keep of Crown's Rest housed only trusted personnel—free from the new settlers of the Gift or unknown outsiders—most who entered its gates tended to relax their guard. This included the Winterfell soldiers, who were meant to be watching over Arya and Myrcella. Outside the keep, they were diligent, dividing responsibilities and keeping a close eye on the Stark and Lannister girls. Inside, however, their vigilance slackened, and they fell into a more laissez-faire “free-r...
2025-01-29 12:44:41 +0000 UTC View PostWitnessing the Mad King’s daughter descend from the sky on a dragon, land in the largest open space in Crown's Rest, and then be escorted by her mentor into the castle—ultimately welcomed into the tower on the lake’s central island—Arya Stark felt a pang of anxiety for the first time.
From the days when she was a little girl with nothing but a head full of knightly fantasies, her mentor, Aegor, had been her idol. Back in King’s Landing, while her father was preoccupied with h...
The news that the three dragons had come to Crown's Rest as visitors rather than invaders spread quickly through the accounts of those who had fled the tournament grounds in terror. Once the town’s residents realized there was no immediate danger, their initial panic gave way to curiosity about the dragon-riding queen.
And that curiosity sparked another commotion.
For the men of the Night’s Watch, the hill tribes, and the new settlers of the Gift—many of whom had never see...
The hot breath expelled from the massive nostrils quickly condensed into white mist in the frigid air. Beneath its claws, the snow melted rapidly into slush from the heat radiating from its immense body. The dragon shifted its forelegs and hindquarters, adjusting its posture to a more comfortable position, while its head turned, alert eyes fixed warily on the black-clad figures approaching through the snow. Its rider, however, remained on its back, wisely refraining from dismounting in case a...
2025-01-29 12:43:41 +0000 UTC View PostThe arrow sliced through the frigid air of Crown's Rest, whistling past the edge of the target and burying itself in the snow-covered ground with a soft thud. If the match hinged on who missed first, the result was already clear. Whether Theon Greyjoy’s final shot was doomed to fail or his aim was thrown off by some subtle disturbance at the last moment would remain an eternal mystery.
This unexpected, thrilling finale had held the crowd’s attention completely. When Theon missed, t...