Silver Stag

Night King Origins

[Winterfell - Great Hall]

As the winter winds howled outside the great walls of Winterfell, the gathered Northerners huddled together in the Great Hall, their breaths misting in the cold air. The tension was palpable as Bran Stark and Samwell Tarly stood before them, their faces grim with determination.

"My friends, we have a story to tell you," Bran began, his voice low and measured. "A story of the pasr, of the very beginning of the Night King and the endles winter he has brought upon us."

Samwell Tarly, standing at Bran's side, nodded in agreement. "The First Men were destroying the forest, burning down the weirwood trees, and the Children of the Forest were dying. They needed a way to protect themselves, to defend their homes and their way of life. The First Men, your ancestors, had come to these lands and brought with them diseases and destruction. The Children of the Forest were faced with extinction."

"But they would not go quietly into the night," Bran continued. "They had a plan, a desperate bid for survival. They created the Night King, a being of darkness and ice, to protect themselves from the First Men." He nodded, his eyes filled with a deep sadness. "The Night King was once a man, a member of the First Men. The Children of the Forest took him and performed a series of dark rituals, infusing him with their magic and creating the Night King. They gave him the power to raise the dead and protect their lands."

Jon's eyes widened in shock. "The Night King was once human?"

Bran nodded. "Yes, he was once a man, a warrior of the First Men. The Children of the Forest took him and performed a dark ritual, infusing him with their own magic and creating the Night King."

"But why would they do such a thing?" Daenerys asked, her voice filled with disgust.

"They believed that the Night King could protect them from the First Men," Sam explained. "They believed that he could be their weapon, their shield against the invaders. And for a timr, he was. He fought against the First Men and drove them back, giving the Children of the Forest the time they needed to rebuild and recover."

Bran nodded, his eyes nevr leaving the faces of his listeners. "But the Night King, as a human, had his own free will. He was not just a mindless weapon, but a being with his own desires and ambitions. He saw the beauty of the world around him, and he wanted to preserve it, to keep it frozen in timr. And so, he turned against the Children of the Forest, using their own power against them."

Jon Snow's face was grim, his hand still on the hilt of his sword. "And now, he threatens all of us. He sees the world as a threat to his frozen vision of perfection, and he will stop at nothing to destroy it."

Daenerys' voice was filled with determination. "We will stop him, we will defeat him. We will protect the living and the natural balance of the world."

The room was silent for a moment, the only sound the crackling of the fire and the creaking of the wooden beams above. Then, Bran spoke once more, his voice filled with a deep sadness.

"But we must understand, my friends, that the Night King is not just a monster to be defeated. He is a symbol of the destruction that humanity is capable of, of the damage we can inflict on the world around us. We must learn from the mistakes of the pasr, and work towards a futire where all living beings can coexist in harmony."

The room was silent, the weight of Bran's words hanging heavy in the air. The fire crackled on, the flames dancing in the darkness, as the gathered Northerners and Targaryens nodded in silence, their faces filled with determination and purpose. The true enemy was revealed, and they were ready to face it head-on.

As the last rays of sunlight faded from the sky, the Great Hall of Winterfell was dim and quiet. The Starks and their guests gathered around the table, the weight of their discussions heavy on their minds. Sansa, her brow furrowed in concern, turned to Bran, who sat silently, his eyes fixed on some distant point beyond the walls of the hall.