Beyond the Wall
The raiding party—Jon Snow, Tormund, Gendry Baratheon, Jorah Mormont, Sandor Clegane, Beric Dondarrion, Thoros of Myr, Alester, and several Wildlings—trek through a frozen valley littered with jagged rocks. Snow swirls around them as they move forward, a sled loaded with supplies dragging behind.
The climb becomes steeper, the icy mountain testing their endurance. Alester lets out a dramatic sigh as he trudges through the snow.
Alester: Seven hells, Jon, I thought we were going beyond the Wall to fight the dead, not freeze to death before we even find them.
Jon (glancing back at him): You can turn back.
Alester (grinning through chattering teeth): And miss the chance to watch you get yourself killed? Not a chance.
They press forward.
Jon (to Gendry): Are you all right?
Gendry grunts in response, clearly exhausted.
Tormund: Ever been north before?
Gendry: Never seen snow before.
Tormund: Beautiful, eh? I can breathe again. Down south, the air smells like pig shit.
Jon: You've never been down south.
Tormund: I've been to Winterfell.
Jon: That's the North.
They continue onward, a Wildling scout ranging ahead.
Gendry (to Tormund): How do you even live up here? How do you keep your balls from freezing off?
Tormund: You have to keep moving. That's the secret. Walking is good, fighting is better, f—
Alester (cutting in): Please, for all our sakes, don't finish that sentence.
Tormund grins but continues anyway.
Tormund: —but fucking is best.
Jon shakes his head, exasperated.
Jon: There's not another woman within a hundred miles of here.
Tormund eyes Jon and Gendry, then shrugs.
Tormund: We have to make do with what we've got.
Alester throws his hands up.
Alester: Right. I'm sleeping with one eye open.
Tormund laughs heartily as Gendry takes a step away from him.
They move across the ice, the terrain shifting into an open frozen vista. The wind howls through the cracks in the glaciers.
Further back in the group, Gendry walks alongside Thoros, Beric, and Sandor. Thoros takes another swig from his ever-present flask.
Thoros: Are you still mad at us, boy?
Gendry: You sold me to a witch.
Thoros: Priestess. I'll admit, it's a subtle distinction.
Beric: We're fighting a great war. Wars cost money.
Gendry: I wanted to be one of you. I wanted to join the Brotherhood, and you sold me like a slave. Do you know what she did to me? She strapped me to a bed, stripped me naked—
Sandor: Sounds all right so far.
Gendry: —and put leeches on me.
Sandor: Was she naked too?
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The Prince of Thorns
FanfictionAs the heir to Highgarden, Alester Tyrell embodies the virtues of nobility and justice. Fiercely loyal to his family, he stands as a beacon of honor in a realm fraught with treachery. But the path to preserving the Tyrell legacy is paved with perilo...
