Dream Of Winter | C. Stark & H. Targaryen

Magic And Madness

Cregan POV

What a cluster fuck.

The hardest part of this whole ordeal should've been the actual processus of transporting seven individuals from the distant future. Or from a parallel time-line he supposes. Reality has long since diverged from their own past. And them being here won't affect the world they left behind.

If there was something to leave behind.
The Others overran Winterfell to his knowledge. His family's ancestral home. The original seat where the Walkers were first defeated. Where winter literally fell.

But no longer would that epithet be believable. Neither the might of his countrymen, their Vale allies or the resurgent Targaryen dragons put much of a dent in the face of the onslaught.

Winter's coming was foretold for millienia. But when it finally graced their door, they still ended up none the wiser.

There's a tragic irony in that.

Now is not the time to lament what might've been. But to act on what is.

Helaena, his cousin Bran and his Stark descendant - why did it seem like a good idea to have a Brandon in every single generation. It's overkill. Their progenitor was a great man, but still just a man. Glorifying him until the end of time is unnecessary - had uncovered ancient markings revealing some mystical connection between the castle, the Wall and the Hightower.

All creations of the aforementioned ancestor, but beyond that, the link was tenous at best.

The Gods saw fit to add some vague prophecies in the mix as well. Just to spice things up.

Yes. It's the prerogative of the faceless ones to withhold the full knowledge of things. To test mortals to reach their limit and earn the discovery of the truth and all that.

But seriously. Ambiguous omens is what got us in this mess in the first place. The Others became children's stories because no greenseer received any confirmation of their existence in centuries. The green men at the Isle of Faces certainly didn't speak of the lurking dangers hidden deep in the cold storms on the edge of the continent.

The occurring massive extinction was a team effort. With all that the word entails.

It's very promising that such interest in earthly affairs was happening. Why was it absent the first time around, he wonders. But more viable information would be appreciated. Just to get things up and running without delay.

Fickle magic. A game of life and death. A sword without a hilt.

***

"Not bad."

Most of the castle had gathered in the courtyard to witness a rematch between the infamous silver wraith and their very own demon of the North.

He liked the term well enough. It was mainly used in the days after he decapitated his uncle. The stain of kinslaying wasn't as notorious in these lands like down South. And he had the law on his side. A coup is a a coup. The punishment of which is death.

But Cregan did look too comfortable with his dark gleaming eyes, drenched in the blood of Bennard's honor guard.

They died for their leader, so they weren't completely dishonorable. But they should've chosen who they pledged fealty to more carefully. Their heads adorned the walls for a month. A silent threat and challenge to all those who doubt him. Henceforth known as the demon's moon.

And Aemond's reputation did grow in the last few years as well. With the succession crisis averted, the Queen reduced the duration of Aegon's progress to six months. Cregan's reaction was mollified by the one-eyed prince spending the remainder of his brother's visit on his behalf.