Game of Thrones: King of Magic

Chapter 52

Jon Snow. Beyond the Wall.

Our journey to Mara and Cid's clan was going smoothly and even pleasantly. And if the map I looked at from time to time was to be believed, we were approaching Howling Pass, so named for the wind howling through the series of gorges that made it up.

The snow here beyond the Wall was harder and noisier than in the North of the Seven Kingdoms, the wind was colder, and there were no roads at all, but despite all that, I felt fine, much better than I had in Winterfell or on the other side of the Wall.

I felt different in Winterfell, different from Robb and Arya and the others, like I didn't belong there. And it wasn't the way Lady Stark treated me, who'd outright hated me before Lord Solomon came, or the stigma of being a bastard, but something larger.

Lord Stark and my brothers and sisters tried everything they could to prove otherwise, but in doing so they only reinforced the feeling. Something was missing, and I began to realize what it was when I left Winterfell.

Freedom. Freedom from the shackles of fear of other people's views and thoughts on any of my actions, bad or good, and from prejudice and opinion based on others' actions toward me. Here, in the company of Sid and Mara, seemingly enemies of the Seven Kingdoms and the Black Watch, I felt like myself, acting and speaking as I wanted to myself.

Lord Solomon is a great man, the wisest and fairest I have ever seen, and he taught me not to be afraid to distinguish myself from others and to follow my own heart. If it wasn't for him, I would have been afraid to take one extra look at someone, draw my sword, or just think, for it could all have affected those who truly cared about me and I about them.

- Keep up, Jon Snow," I heard Cid's voice, and I looked up. - You can't slow down in these parts. Snowstorms, lots of predators, and little shelter. You don't want to freeze to death, do you?

- His brains are already frozen," Mara grinned, then looked at me. - Move your feet, you idiot. If it hadn't been for Grandma, we would have left you here, and the world would have one less idiot in it.

Listening to all of this, I couldn't help but smile and quickened my pace, and Ghost did the same.

Since my angry outburst, both Mara and Sid had been treating me noticeably better. I'd even say we've gotten closer, and some semblance of friendship has formed between us.

Mara talked to me more, sometimes sharing stories from the clan or her own life, and Cid's gaze wasn't as suspicious and hard as it had been before. He even taught me how to butcher a carcass, the basics of hunting and archery, which was different from the usual style of the Seven Kingdoms.

I used Mara's bow, who had offered it herself, as well as the training, promising that if it suffered in any way, it would be my balls that would suffer. And my reaction to her actions was only hearty laughter and gratitude.

Suddenly Cid stopped, and Mara and I repeated his actions. All around us were only mountains of varying heights, and, it seemed to me, nothing more.

- What happened? - Mara asked, and I started to explore the area with my eyes, because Cid doesn't do something without a reason.

- Look," Cid said and pointed into the distance.

There was a group of people dressed in Free People clothing recreating some kind of symbol in the shape of a twisted star with lots of lines, and they were using... severed body parts.

- Is this some kind of tribe? - I asked.

- We're not that wild," Mara said indignantly.

- They're dead people," Cid announced. Mara looked at him stunned, shifting her gaze away from the reanimated corpses, and I instantly activated my magic circuits and applied 'Strengthening' to my eyes.