[Chapter Size: 3100 Words.]
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Third Person POV
Arctic, 298 AC.
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The birds continued advancing toward the city, passing over the wall, while the soldiers watched with concern at the enormous number of them in Arctic territory with that irritating sound.
It was not possible to see them clearly due to the darkness, but the noise indicated thousands of wings beating, with small snarls passing through the air.
Meanwhile, the black dragon and the white dragon remained in the north, clearing the path and protecting the group of soldiers with the basilisks, who were getting closer and closer to the gate, returning from their mission.
After some time, they finally crossed the gate. The guards shouted as several basilisks passed one after another at high speed. The giants then began closing the gate.
Some birds followed toward the group at the gate from the sky at that moment, and quickly the archers, now having better vision due to the crystals lighting the nearby area, began to shoot arrows and prepare to strike the birds that clung to their armor, trying to pierce them.
The first thing that came were the arrows piercing the zombie birds, while those that came right after attacked the Arcticans.
The Arcticans were wearing armor that were true fortresses, managing to protect themselves as some had their armor filled with birds trying to kill them, but failing to reach their skin. With the dragon glass steel daggers, the Arcticans continued stabbing each bird that appeared, which fell dead one by one with the simple touch of the dagger.
"Cursed creatures!" the dwarf shouted, smashing any bird that approached with his hammer.
"Help here!" another man shouted, as so many birds had managed to knock him down. His companions quickly stabbed the birds around him, freeing him.
"ROAAAARRRR!!!" The king's black dragon passed at that moment over the wall and charged after the birds through the city.
"Another wave of birds is coming!" one of the soldiers exclaimed, ending the small celebration for the dragon's return, as they prepared again.
Jon, still on top of Vezofēdrur, looked back. Another cloud of birds was approaching. He would have to leave that part to his men, while he continued chasing the bulk of the flock, then he would help them.
Quickly, the dragons reached them and opened their mouths. Both flames spread, creating more seas of fire across the sky, making any creature there ignite, creating a scene almost like falling stars emerging from the flames as the animals fell in freefall burning and dying.
The young dragons in the city were already agitated at this moment. Jon was able to send mental commands for them to prepare while they awaited the enemy's arrival.
"I never thought I would see something like this..." In the camp to the north, while the soldiers prepared to fight against the other group of birds, Benjen Stark was forced to murmur, looking at the sky lit by the dragon. He had never imagined witnessing such a scene, while his nephew fought bravely against those creatures.
Unfortunately, he could not cover the entire sky. And the birds quickly began to reach the city while others advanced toward the army, not to mention the new group of killer birds approaching with blue eyes.
"Archers!" Thor took command upon seeing the group of birds approaching that region.
"Aim at eighty degrees!" he exclaimed, to prevent the arrows from hitting the Arcticans when they came back down, advancing away from the wall and out of Arctic, while around two thousand archers followed the movement.
The birds were getting closer and closer.
"Fire!!" Thor shouted.
A barrage of arrows echoed, advancing through the sky.
Most of the birds were hit, letting out screams that sounded like agony, dying the moment they touched the dragon glass. However, many of the arrows missed them, as they were small and difficult targets to aim at. Even so, it reduced a large part of those beasts, while others quickly tried to attack them outside the castle.
"Put on your helmets!", Lancelot shouted in the tent, watching the situation.
Arya, Seryna and Val, who were not wearing helmets, quickly put them on along with the glass visors, to protect their eyes in case they were damaged during the fight, as Jon had taught.
Meanwhile, the dragons in the city finally began to snarl and take flight, advancing into the sky, with several birds already covering the entire region.
As the men prepared in their positions, dragons advanced alongside them.
So, it was no surprise when dozens of blasts of flames began to be launched in all directions, lighting up the sky and affecting the undead creatures.
Jon analyzed the situation. There wasn't much space to fight alongside the young dragons; it would be foolish and he would only end up getting hurt. He moved forward to face part of the second and third clouds of birds that were arriving.
Quickly, he released flames with all his strength, the explosions burning the enemy as much as he could, with the dragons' necks moving from side to side. Eragon and Vezofēdrur were consuming thousands of creatures in the flames.
The birds that managed to escape the dragons swooped down quickly to attack the Arctic army, while the archers below began shooting arrows with much greater speed than any archer from the south, trained to strike and kill in enormous quantity.
Their movements seemed automatic: they grabbed an arrow, nocked it, pulled, released—hitting multiple targets within seconds.
The birds were being knocked down, but many still escaped, advancing against their attackers and covering their bodies. The men were protected by full armor, but even so the creatures desperately tried to pierce it.
The animals snarled, but without proper protection they had to retreat.
The battle had become chaos throughout the city—screams of undead creatures, flames spreading across the sky, birds trying to injure dragons while the dragons bathed in their own fire, burning anything that touched their scales.
Vezofēdrur was the greatest force in the sky, unleashing flames without stopping, while Jon kept the land creatures at bay, the ones who could not defend themselves against this type of enemy, yet still keeping his eyes vigilant over the entire kingdom through the other eyes.
Inside the houses, the screams of people could be heard. People looked out windows while birds crashed against the bars, trying to enter upon seeing human movement.
"These bastards are trying to disorient us... but in the end, nothing will remain except a weakened army," Jon remarked from the sky, as he watched the number of the enemy's animals decrease thanks to the precautions Arctic had taken.
The battle lasted about an entire hour against the birds in the sky.
The northern gate had already been closed. The ground was covered in feathered corpses, the stench of rot filled the air, and Jon watched the green flames burning the last birds he could find, feeling both dragons exhausted.
He then returned to the army area, having already passed through the first challenge the enemy had given him.
As soon as he landed, he went directly to the command tent. There were still dead animals scattered, while some archers tried to kill the few remaining birds either still in the sky or clinging to someone. Some Arcticans had their defenses breached and their bodies were torn apart due to the claws...
The young dragons were no different from the large ones, exhausted, some landing around the Great Weirwood or in the city itself.
Others were so worn out they landed even before reaching, seeking shelter while spitting small flames at the blue-eyed birds trying to attack them.
The birds that should have belonged to Arctic were all hiding because they knew they wouldn't stand much chance if the enemy had such an aerial assault.
The White Walkers were not foolish; they had sent their creatures to mainly attack the dragons. This made Jon's work easier, as all he needed to do was incinerate them in masses.
Jon knew he had to keep the young dragons away from the White Walkers...
Jon entered the command tent, walking through armor stained with blood and feathers. Arya, Val, and some royal guards were covered in bird remains.
Seryna was spotless, which made Jon raise an eyebrow behind his helmet as he finally removed the glass visor. He wondered if she had even fought... The armor of the others showed they had faced difficulty, as they were somewhat dented and scratched from the impact of the creatures.
"You have returned, Your Majesty." Ducken said, bowing.
"Did we take many losses?" Jon asked directly.
"My lord, we believe we lost around five hundred men. They are being pierced with Valyrian steel and dragon glass, so they cannot rise again, but we are keeping the bodies," Ducken informed.
Jon nodded in acknowledgment. "Then burn only the birds, their stench is horrible," he said.
"Are you well, nephew? You were in the sky until now..." Benjen asked, concerned.
"Tired, but that's normal," Jon shrugged, looking at his men. "My dragons are exhausted. They must rest a bit, as well as the younger ones. But it seems we managed to eliminate the enemy's aerial line. Now there are only scattered birds left, and even that is still dangerous for the families inside the city." He looked at the map, then outside, where the darkness seemed to pulse like something alive.
"Jon, are you going to do something about this damned darkness? It's horrible to fight like this," Val muttered, crossing her arms.
Jon raised an eyebrow. "Do you think I can just bring the sun whenever I want?" he said with an ironic smile. "Of course not. But that doesn't mean we don't have other methods..." He answered himself, shifting his smile to a more mischievous one while the others didn't understand what he meant.
Meanwhile, in the center of Arctic, a small group of birds managed to get around the dragons and the enemy arrows, advancing toward the Sacred Grove at the heart of Arctic. There were about forty birds flying in a line, trying to reach the place.
But as soon as they crossed the first trees of the grove, they began to fall apart, dropping dead immediately, as if their souls had simply been torn away upon entering the place.
"These things just won't stop coming..." murmured a Child of the Forest, watching a pile of feathered corpses scattered across the ground. The birds had tried to attack the Children for some reason, but the moment they entered the domain of the sacred grove, they collapsed at once, as if the magic of others unraveled upon entering there.
Leaf appeared before all the Children of the Forest. "Forget the creatures, we are safe here. Now, let us begin. The moment has come." She announced, and all the Children nodded.
Seraphine and Wind were also with them. The Children began to circle the Great Tree, around the trunk and the three heart-trees of the Sacred Grove, taking each other's hands, forming a chain around the giant tree.
They began to sing an ancient song, with words even older, unknown even to the speakers of the Old Tongue.
As the chant echoed around, the Tree responded. A soft glow appeared on the trunk and began to rise. The Children of the Forest sang without pause. More than five hundred of them, even the smallest, sang together as a single mystical voice. Their voices vibrated, making the glow intensify.
The glow reached the leaves. But this time, something was different. Instead of just shimmering, the red leaves of the tree began to shine in shades of red and gold, as if they were catching fire.
"Look! The Great Tree of Arctic!!" shouted one of the men, seeing the glow spread through the treetops in the center of the city.
Suddenly, the glow expanded, as if a sacred fire was spreading from the inside out. The tips of the leaves shone like living flames – but they did not burn.
"So it has begun..." Jon said softly, without taking his eyes off the map, while the tree's glow reached the area.
"What is that, Jon?!" Seryna asked in surprise. Val and Arya also seemed not to understand what was happening.
"You said I needed to do something about the darkness, right? There's our beacon for the Long Night. Did you think the giant tree was only meant to warm the kingdom?" Jon announced, laughing, looking excitedly at the beauty rising in Arctic.
This was a conversation he had once had with the Old Gods. They had granted him the ability to use the full connection of the Children of the Forest to stimulate the tree, raising a light against the darkness, invoked through magic.
Arctic would not fall easily. That was the place of greatest power of the Old Gods. It was natural to use it to strengthen the kingdom!
The light rose through the leaves, reaching the highest point of the tree, and then spread across the sky like a burning aurora. All of Arctic was illuminated with light and shadows.
The darkness began to unravel, replaced by a warm and welcoming glow... As if an embrace had descended upon all who felt fear.
"Jon… is there anything you can't do!?" Benjen murmured in astonishment.
"Plenty, actually. Just not this. This one belongs to our gods." Jon shrugged.
"Well, in any case, darkness is no longer our problem!" he continued, giving a light tap on Ducken's armored shoulder, who nodded to the king.
"Of course, Your Majesty."
"Let's focus on the enemy now. At least we no longer depend on the few hours of sunlight."
"A blessing from the gods!" someone shouted.
Jon looked to the north, where the storm was growing. "Let's prepare for their next move."
Everyone nodded.
The next battle would be decisive.
The trap doors were already open. Now, they just had to wait for the enemy to arrive.
With that, the group began to move, while the armies, emerging from the chaos of the aerial attack, prepared themselves again. Many were talking about the tree at this moment.
They quickly began removing all the dead birds from the ground, placing them in wagons to be burned.
Comments about the city glowing with the light of the Tree, whose leaves still shone like living flame, were constantly heard throughout the army.
Even so, the troops reorganized while the giants moved enormous basilisks mounted on wheels, a machine created by the dwarves, positioning them in the previously designated places, with the giants operating them.
This had been the training of the past weeks: to launch the giant harpoons directly into the newly opened trap doors.
Jon moved toward the front line. Ducken and the others followed behind him.
Jon mounted Ghost, who had approached and crouched to let him climb. The wolf nodded, understanding his role.
They advanced, passing by men still clearing the last fallen birds.
Arya had mounted Nymeria.
Seryna was on her shadow-cat, the animal Jon had bonded her with even though she was not a warg; the shadow-cat was her companion.
Val, without an animal bond, rode a horse, as did Ducken and the others.
Jon looked around with satisfaction at the men beside him.
The army was in formation.
Eighty thousand men aligned at the vanguard, prepared for war.
If everything worked, little or nothing would remain of the White Walkers' army after this next move.
The city shone behind them, while the wave of snow approached.
They had everything prepared.
They had won the first attack.
The Tree now illuminated Arctic with a light that seemed divine, not like the crystals, created by Jon's engineering.
He used magic and bioengineering to energize them, yes, but that was technique mixed with a bit of magic.
The shining Tree was the power of the gods.
He stood closer to the gate than the other men. His companions remained at his side.
The dragons were resting at a distance; they would not be needed now.
Jon watched the nearly one hundred thousand men before him, most wearing Eldenmetal, the first magical metal he had invented almost ten years ago, which marked him as an inventor and became a symbol of Arctic even before he learned to create Valyrian steel.
Jon already had all the forges ready on Dragon Mountain. When this war ended, he could mass-produce them with the help of the dragons themselves.
He would simply destroy the world market for Valyrian steel with its value plummeting once they discovered the quantity Jon had already produced within the kingdom.
He planned to outfit all the soldiers wearing Valyrian metal with a new Valyrian steel, as if it were the kingdom's characteristic metal, after all only Arctic produced it since Valyria.
If he could produce it en masse, why not give it to his people?
But that was a conversation for another time.
His gaze was to the north, where the wave of snow was three hours away.
He said nothing.
He just stood, in front of his people, his soldiers.
All of Arctic waited, static, for an order from their king. The shining Tree had ceased to be a novelty.
Now they awaited the command of their king or his general.
After two and a half hours, the northern wind was already hitting their faces.
All they could see ahead was the colossal wave.
There was no more landscape, no horizon.
It was only it and what was inside it.
The storm began to advance toward the point where the buried trap doors were, covering and freezing the ground before swallowing it completely.
Jon smiled beneath his helmet.
"Let's begin. It's time for a light show!"
Finally, the moment had come to destroy, once and for all, however many hundreds of thousands of undead were inside that storm.
They would be reduced to an insignificant number.
The White Walkers had no idea what wildfire was.
Liters and liters of the green liquid were stored underground in that region.
All waiting for just the first trigger.
If even one of the depots exploded, all the other explosions would be triggered in a chain, covering the entire region in green flames.
It would be a spectacle.
Something that perhaps could never be seen again in the world.
Jon even wondered how the Kingdom would react to the explosion.
Perhaps the ground would crack.
Perhaps even the wall would suffer damage.
But it would be a fair price.
It would eliminate, at once, the greatest part of the army of the dead.
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