Winter Winds

Strategy

The lords and ladies staying in the safety of Winterfell were summoned to the War room to discuss the Long Night ahead. Ella glanced over the map table quietly, examining the pieces that represent the Night King, verses the pieces that represented the side of the living. The Dothraki, the Nights of the Vale, the Unsullied, and all the northern men. Ella knew the odds were against them. She just hoped that the gods were on their side when the time came.

"They're coming," Jon addressed the people gathered around the map table. "We have dragonglass and Valyrian steel. There are too many of them, far too many. Our enemy doesn't tire, doesn't stop. Doesn't feel. We can't beat them in a straight fight."

"So, what can we do?" Jaime asked. Ella stood next to her siblings, across from Tormund, as all eyes were focused on the war map. 

"The Night King made them all. They follow his command. If he falls, getting to him may be our best chance." Jon sighed.

"If that is true," Jaime began, "he'll never expose himself."

"Yes, he will," the voice of Bran Stark cut through the silence of the room. Every eye turned to him, waiting for him to continue.

"He'll come for me," Bran stated. "He's tried before. Many times, with many Three-eyed Ravens."

"Why do you say that, Bran?" Ella asked. The lone wolf recently discovered the power that Bran had possessed. He could see into the past, but she never fully understood the extent of his powers. "What does he want?"

"An endless night," Bran answered. "He wants to erase this world, and I am its memory. I see all the events, past, present, and even sometimes future. He has to end me in order to complete his goal: erasing any trace of human kind."

"That's what death is, isn't it?" Sam gulped. "Forgetting and being forgotten. If we forget where we've been, what we've done, we're not men anymore. Just animals. Your stories don't come from books. They aren't just stories. If I wanted to erase the world of men, I would start with you."

"How will he find you?" Tyrion questioned the youngest living Stark.

"His mark is on me," Bran rolled his sleeve, revealing four long red streaks wrapped around his arm. "He always knows where I am."

"We'll put you in the crypt where it's safest," Jon stated.

"No. We need to lure him into the open before his armies destroy us all. I'll wait for him in the Godswood" Bran argued.

"You want us to use you as bait?" Ella questioned her little brother. "Bran, we just got you back. None of us are going to leave you out in the open like that."

"We're not leaving you alone out there!" Arya exclaimed.

"He won't be. I'll stay with him, and the Ironborn." The voice of Theon Greyjoy spoke up, his eyes meeting the Stark boy.  Sansa told Ella of Theon's arrival earlier that day, and the Snow girl was happy to see his presence in their time of need. "I took this castle from you. Let me defend you now."

Bran gave a nod off approval, agreeing with the Greyjoy's plan of attack. A wave of silence rushed over the room, until Davos spoke.

"We'll hold the rest off for as long as we can." The Onion Knight swore.

"When the time comes, Ser Davos and I will be on the walls to give you two the signals to light the trench," Tyrion spoke to Ella, Jon and Daenerys.

"Ser Davos is perfectly capable of waving a torch on his own. You'll be in the crypt," the Dragon Queen commanded her eager advisor.

"Your Grace, with all due respect, I have fought before, I can do it again. Alongside the men and women who are risking their lives to save us all." Tyrion argued.

"There are thousands of them, and one of you," Daenerys stated, looking to Tyrion. "You can't fight as well as they can, but you think better than any of them. You are here because of your mind. If we survive, I will need it when I take my throne."

"The dragons should give us an edge in the field," Davos said while looking at the small pieces covering the map of Winterfell.

"If they're in the field, then they aren't protecting Bran," Jon's deep voice boomed through the war room. "We need to be near him. But not to near, or the Night King won't expose himself. But we need to be close enough to pursue him.

"How do we know for sure that dragon fire will stop them?" Ella asked her brother.

"We don't say for sure," Bran sighed. "No one has ever tried." 

"Regardless, Ella and Daenerys have agreed to cover the skies with the dragons," Jon informed the large group. "I'll be on the ground leading defenses inside the castle. That way, if the Night King does make it through the trenches, we'll be ready."

"And is the crypt really the safest place for everyone else?" Ella asked, knowing in her heart this plan didn't feel right.

"It's the safest place for everyone not fighting to be," Tyrion nodded. 

Ella pursed her lips, not satisfied with his answer. She sighed, hoping to think of an escape route should the Night King raise his army. The women and children would be in a room full of corpses, and if he happened to use his powers of raising his army, those people were doomed. 

Everyone looked to the floor in defeat, knowing that their deaths were becoming more and more real. No one wanted to admit it, but all the planning in the world wouldn't be enough to save them from the Army of the Dead. 

"We're all going to die, but at least we'll die together." Tormund glanced at Ella, winking and sending her a small smile. Ella couldn't help but chuckle at the wildling's actions.

"Everyone go get some rest," Jon advised the lords and ladies. "We'll all need it."

One by one, the group filed out of the war room. Ella hung around, waiting by the door. Hoping to speak to Jon one last time before the war. She watched as Jon bid farewell to Daenerys, only addressing her as Your Grace. He quickly left the room, nodding to Ella that he needed a minute alone. He was still processing the news given to them by Samwell Tarly. Ella came to terms with it days ago, but Jon did not. He needed time to process this information and sort out his feelings. Ella just hoped he could clear his mind before the Night King appeared.