[Chapter Size: 2000 Words.]
Third Person POV.
North.
...
...
It could be said that Daemon showed no mercy to that bastard Ramsey as his summoned creature began the work of removing all his skin, while the Springers made sure he wouldn't die or even fall unconscious.
The man roared in pain, suffering more than any victim he had ever flayed before. This was a torture the man couldn't have even imagined.
The daedric entity Jon had summoned was undoubtedly a malevolent presence far worse than Ramsey and was specialized in torture. It was doing it with pleasure, tearing off the skin, while Val couldn't watch for long and had to leave after seeing a kind of torture even she couldn't stomach.
Daemon stayed there, listening to the man moaning in agony. Feeling all the pain, they made sure he wouldn't die before they completely finished with him. The daedric was using a kind of magic that created a corruption worse than a simple skinning.
At one point, Daemon had the brilliant idea of going to fetch Theon's cell, who was immediately frightened upon seeing firsthand the state Roose Bolton was in—half of his body already skinless—while the dark, horned creature continued removing the other half.
"Tell me, Theon... Isn't this a fitting end for your master?" Daemon asked in a deeply disturbing tone, while Theon trembled inside his cell, unable to look, hearing Ramsey's moans, who couldn't even speak—only moan and scream incoherently like an animal.
Theon, in that moment, looked at Daemon, who stared at the scene with indifferent eyes, as if he were a demon—that's what Theon thought.
'He's much worse than Ramsey...' He trembled at the thought, even more so when Daemon could summon those strange creatures.
"Don't look at me like that. With the experience I have, these things don't affect me anymore. I've seen too much blood, and I think I've grown a bit numb these days..." Daemon said, staring at him, while Theon quickly hid between his knees, avoiding his gaze.
"Are you going to do this to me?" Theon asked, crying.
"No. I'll give you a trial execution in Winterfell. Let's say what's happening here today will be just between us, Theon.
You were really an arrogant boy back then—and you still were until I found you in Winterfell over a year ago... But I see that the war has changed you. I feel you're full of regret... But that doesn't change the actions you took. That's why you must be judged.
You were responsible for the deaths of people in Winterfell, like Maester Luwin and Ser Rodrik Cassel... People who helped you for so many years. You were treated far better than I ever was. I really don't understand how you could do that to the people who fed and sheltered you... you're a disgusting kind of person..."
Theon only trembled.
"I regret it..." he stammered, seeming far too ashamed.
Daemon ignored him after that, while he continued watching the daedric tend to the damned Bolton in a horrific manner.
It was only after all of his skin had been removed that Daemon acted. He turned the bastard's body over, took a smaller axe from his storage, placed Roose on his stomach, and began to carve into him while the snow was still alive, opening his back, performing the Blood Eagle even with his skin already flayed—until the bastard Bolton's body could no longer endure and dropped dead the very next moment.
The entire floor was soaked in blood.
"Looks like it's over," Daemon said, ignoring the blood-covered ground. He grabbed a blanket and draped it over the corpse, lifted Bolton's body, and carried it outside. After all, the women would be horrified by the sight.
He went outside and placed more stakes. With the help of a few summons, he hung the body with arms spread wide, while his back was laid open. There he would leave it, in front of Moat Cailin, for anyone entering the North to see.
They would see what happened to Daemon's enemies.
A warning.
When Daemon returned to the castle, Val was waiting for him.
"What will you do now?" she asked.
"We're going back to the North. I'll send a letter to Greywater Watch. I'll ask Lord Reed to send some men to take care of the victims here," he said, and she nodded.
At that moment, Winter began to return, with a small roar in the sky, landing somewhere outside the fortress. In the next moment, Daemon exchanged a few more words with the women and left a large supply of provisions so they could remain comfortably here until the Reeds arrived.
He told them to wait for the banners of the Green Lizard, who would come take care of the place, and to keep it locked until then.
There wouldn't be any large number of enemies who could truly harm them. So, even though they were somewhat cautious about it, they eventually nodded, having no other choice. After all, Daemon needed to turn his attention to the North now.
He wouldn't concern himself with those who had survived the Red Wedding alongside his uncle, or even Stannis. His eyes expressed the desire to return to Winterfell, while many of his allies were heading for the heart of the North, leaving the camp they had wanted to establish in the Gift.
Daenerys was also coming to Winterfell with her cousins.
So Daemon left Moat Cailin after writing letters to various places in the North.
Winter roared in discontent but picked up Theon's cell, the man still deeply traumatized by the horror Daemon had made him witness, and flew into the sky, with Val mounted behind Jon, heading for the North.
A few hours later, they were finally before the castle of the Dustins, Barrowton, as Winter landed softly nearby, and the people continued staring at the dragon with terror and awe.
Daemon dismounted with Val and lifted Theon's cell with telekinesis, beginning to walk away from Winter.
They headed into the castle, as Ygritte came running out of the gates toward him, hugging and kissing him as soon as she saw him, while Val huffed beside them, clearly a bit displeased.
"It's been a pain here without you. Let's have sex!" she said, half teasing and half in a sultry tone.
"I had to take care of a few things. Now I'm back. Hey, you guys!" Daemon called out to some men, as he pulled Theon's cell and placed it in front of them. "Take this to the courtyard. Let's see how things are going."
Daemon walked toward the area, where he found Lord Cerwyn, Lord Tallhart, castle men, and some members of the free folk. They were all waiting for him in the courtyard.
"You vanished yesterday without telling anyone, Your Majesty," Lord Tallhart said with some concern.
"I'm fine, my lord, thank you for the concern. I had to take care of some matters in Moat Cailin. I took down the fortress and dealt with the Bolton men in my own way. They won't be a problem anymore. Not even the ironborn will be guarding that stronghold now," Daemon said, surprising everyone.
"You did that alone?" Lord Cerwyn murmured in a childlike voice, unable to believe it.
"Well, as you can see, boy. After all, I have a dragon," Daemon said with an arrogant smile, and the boy nodded, agreeing with the idea.
"Wait... is that—?" Lord Tallhart pointed to the cell being carried by several men. It wasn't very heavy, just enough that no prisoner could break it by human strength. So it was easy enough to carry with more than four men.
"Theon Greyjoy, as you can see," Daemon said.
That immediately enraged Tallhart.
"That bastard! Let me kill him!" Benfred shouted, furious.
There were good reasons for Benfred to want to kill Theon, after all, he had nearly lost the castle because of him. Theon had led his own attack on Torrhen's Square.
"No. We'll leave that to Winterfell, Lord Tallhart," Daemon replied. "In any case, he's no longer the old Theon. Just a husk that was tortured by Ramsay Bolton. Now, he's merely the shadow of what he once was... if that gives you any satisfaction," Daemon warned.
Tallhart studied Theon as he trembled, eyes cast downward, his fury slowly replaced by surprise.
"What happened to him?" Lord Cerwyn murmured.
"Like I said: he was broken. He doesn't even have a... well, you can talk to him anytime. He'll be teleported to Winterfell. Let's get ready to leave the castle. We'll bring those who are to be judged and all meet in Winterfell. I'll crush any Bolton still holding the castle," Daemon said, as everyone in the courtyard began preparing to depart after being dismissed by him.
The same men who had been guarding the castle for Lady Dustin would remain in charge. They would only take the lord as a prisoner.
He rested that day, enjoying time with Ygritte, and Daemon immediately sent a summons to several lords who would be entering his territory, like the mountain clans, Lord Glover, Lady Mormont, and other lords.
Daemon would summon all those lords to go to Winterfell, but first he needed to rid some ironborn from his territories. He also had to issue an order to the men at the siege of Winterfell and gather twenty thousand men directly to hunt down ironborn throughout the region, intending to destroy any siege and drive them out of the North.
"I want you to lead the forces of the free folk, Val," Daemon requested as he spoke to her during the night at the castle.
"What are you planning to do, Daemon?" she asked.
"I'll have to deal with some ironborn in the North on Winter's back. Don't worry, nothing I can't handle quickly. I'll be leading the siege of Winterfell shortly after. By the time you arrive at the castle, it'll already be ours," he said calmly, and Val nodded.
"Alright, Daemon. I'll do it," she said, since the free folk didn't follow the orders of southern lords beyond the Wall.
"I'll send a message to Tormund. I'll ask him to keep dealing with the ironborn in the west," Jon said.
"You know he can't read, right?" Val mocked.
"Yeah, but there are Tallhart men with them. They can easily deliver the message," Daemon said, and Val agreed in the end.
The next day, Daemon had a meeting with all his leaders, laying out his plans.
"You don't want us to deal with the ironborn together?" Lord Tallhart asked, clenching his fists over the table.
Daemon shook his head.
"I know you seek honor on the battlefield, Lord Tallhart, but now is not the time. We'll earn our glory in the south. I just want to pacify the North once and for all. I'll use Winter to destroy the rest of the ironborn. We've already dealt with the majority. Only a few pests remain who, even after hearing the news of my campaign... still believe they're safe in the North. I'll deal with them, and we'll meet in Winterfell. By the time you get there, the castle will be ours," Daemon said, and no one disagreed.
"Just look after Lord Cerwyn while I'm away," he said one last time to Tallhart before turning to Val.
"Val, take care of all the free folk. And you all heard her orders," he said in a challenging tone to the other free folk leaders present. If they opposed, there would be trouble.
No one disagreed. If it had been some southern lord at the table, they might have complained, but Val's orders seemed like an extension of Daemon's... no one would say anything.
Daemon spent some time with his wives before going to Winter, mounting her, and leaving the castle behind. He would head north.
Winterfell came first, with his forty thousand men already there, setting the siege. Then he would move on to deal with the last remaining ironborn strongholds.
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