Chapter 39: Summerhall's Ashes, and Winter's Undimmed Flame
The year two hundred and fifty-nine After Aegon's Conquest etched itself into the annals of Westeros with a line of fire and grief. The Tragedy at Summerhall, King Aegon V's desperate attempt to hatch dragon eggs and restore the glory of his house, ended in a cataclysmic inferno that consumed the King himself, his eldest son Prince Duncan the Small, and the beloved Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, Ser Duncan the Tall. The Starks of the North, their Greenspeakers and seer-dragons having long felt the discordant thrum of Aegon's obsessive ambition, received the news of the disaster with a profound, if remote, sorrow – not for the loss of potential Targaryen dragons, but for the needless squandering of life and the deepening shadow it cast over a realm already weary of Targaryen follies.
Jon Stark, from his ageless vigil in the Frostfangs, had foreseen the essence of the tragedy, if not its precise, horrific details. Noctua, through Arya, had relayed fractured images of seven eggs, wildfire, and a pyre fit for kings. Lumen, Willam's radiant dragon, had grown agitated in the weeks leading up to the event, its light dimming as if sensing a coming darkness. The actual magical shockwave, when it came, was a violent, uncontrolled surge that even the North's ley line network registered, a scream of misused power that resonated through the ancient stones of their hidden sanctums.
"He sought to command a fire he did not understand, using lore he had only half-mastered," Jon's voice, heavy with the wisdom of nearly four centuries, filled the obsidian mirrors of the hidden council. "Valyrian fire magic, especially that tied to the birth of dragons, is a primal force, not a courtly ritual to be trifled with. Summerhall is a testament to the dangers of ambition untempered by true knowledge and absolute control."
The disaster plunged the Seven Kingdoms into fresh grief and uncertainty. Aegon V's second son, Jaehaerys, a frail but intelligent man known more for his gentle nature and scholarly pursuits than for martial prowess, ascended a throne still hot from his father's pyre. King Jaehaerys II Targaryen inherited a realm mourning its king, wary of Targaryen magic, and facing a new, immediate threat from across the Narrow Sea – the Band of Nine, with Maelys the Monstrous, the last Blackfyre pretender, at its head, was preparing for invasion.
Amidst this southern turmoil, the North underwent its own pre-ordained, though far more peaceful, transition. Warden Beron Stark the Younger, his public persona now that of a Northman in his venerable early eighties (his true age exceeding a century and a third), announced his intent to pass the Wardenship to his son, Prince Edwyle. Beron's "decline" had been gradual, his wisdom and strength seemingly yielding to the gentle hand of extreme old age. His "death" was mourned with quiet respect across the North, another great Stark Lord taking his place among the legends in the Winterfell crypts. And Beron the Younger, rider of the shadow-dragon Shade, joined the council of his immortal ancestors, his decades of public rule and covert service now dedicated entirely to their hidden work. He became the ninth "deceased" Stark lord to join Jon's inner circle.
Edwyle Stark, his true age now approaching a century but his Elixir-sustained form that of a Stark in his powerful prime, was acclaimed Warden of the North. Rider of the psychic Pentoshi dragon Umbra, Edwyle was known for his keen intellect, his quiet strength, and his deep understanding of Northern traditions. His investiture before the Winterfell Heart Tree was a solemn pledge to uphold the ancient duties of his house, his words resonating with a wisdom that seemed to transcend his public "age." He sent his formal oaths of fealty to the new King Jaehaerys II, along with heartfelt condolences for the tragedy of Summerhall and expressions of Northern loyalty to the Iron Throne, while carefully reaffirming the North's focus on its own pressing concerns.
Jaehaerys II, a king beset by grief, ill health, and the imminent threat of the War of the Ninepenny Kings, accepted Warden Edwyle's fealty with gratitude, asking little of the distant North beyond its continued loyalty and stability. This suited the Starks perfectly.
The lessons of Summerhall resonated deeply within their hidden council. "The Targaryens sought to force what should only be invited," Beron the Elder, his true age now beyond two and a half centuries, mused. "Our own success with dragons, Father," he addressed Jon, "came from understanding, from binding, from a symbiosis of magic and will, not from desperate rituals fueled by wildfire and false hope."
"Indeed," Jon affirmed. "They sought to replicate the conditions of Old Valyria without possessing Valyria's deep, ambient magic or the true knowledge of their ancestors. The Stone gave us the power to create a controlled nexus, to coax life from the eggs, to bind them to our bloodline through shared essence. They sought only fire, and fire consumed them." This disaster only reinforced Jon's conviction in their own meticulous, patient, and multi-faceted approach to magic.
Artos Stark, Willam's son and the twelfth immortal, now a man whose true age was nearing fifty though he remained in his prime, took on greater responsibilities. His bond with Kratos, the earthen Pentoshi dragon, had deepened into a formidable partnership. Artos, with his innate talent for geomancy and defensive enchantments, began working with Kratos to reshape and fortify sections of Wyvern's Eyrie and other hidden Stark installations, raising walls of living stone, sealing ancient tunnels, and even creating subterranean geothermal conduits to provide warmth and energy. His children, young Rodrik, now ten, and his sister Berena, eight, were already showing the Stark Spark, their subtle magical education beginning under the watchful eyes of their father and their great-great-aunt Lyarra the Younger (Willam's sister), who had become a master of nurturing young magical talents.
The War of the Ninepenny Kings erupted in 260 AC, as Maelys the Monstrous and his coalition of pirates, exiles, and ambitious adventurers landed in the Stepstones, their sights set on Westeros. King Jaehaerys II, despite his frail health, responded with surprising resolve, rallying the realm. Many young heroes would make their names in this war – Ser Barristan Selmy, Brynden Tully, Tywin Lannister.
Warden Edwyle Stark, adhering to the council's long-standing policy, declared the North's neutrality, citing the need to guard against a harsh encroaching winter and increased wildling activity (both, as always, true to a degree and amplified for diplomatic effect). However, Jon and the council recognized the genuine threat posed by the Band of Nine, particularly if Maelys gained a secure foothold in Westeros. While no Northern troops were sent south, Jon authorized Finnan's network to covertly supply Bloodraven (who, though still influential, was no longer Hand but had played a key role in uncovering the plot) and King Jaehaerys's loyalists with highly accurate intelligence on the Band of Nine's movements and supply lines in Essos, subtly tipping the scales without direct involvement. They also used their influence in certain Free Cities to disrupt the Band of Nine's recruitment and financing. It was a delicate game of hidden influence, ensuring the defeat of a dangerous pretender while maintaining their own secrecy and autonomy.
The defeat of Maelys the Monstrous at the hands of Ser Barristan Selmy and the collapse of the War of the Ninepenny Kings brought a collective sigh of relief to Westeros, though it had cost King Jaehaerys II dearly, his health further broken by the stress of the conflict. He would reign for only a few more years.
During this period, Jon Stark's grand strategy against the Others entered a new, more proactive phase. The Resonance Dampener network was fully operational, its seven Heartstone monoliths thrumming with controlled power, creating a vast shield of disruptive energy across the northern frontiers. Now, Jon focused on the knowledge gleaned from Arya's communion with the Children's spirits and the Nightfort scrolls concerning the "Great Cycle" and the "Heart of Winter." He theorized that the Others' power was not constant, but ebbed and flowed with these cosmic tides, and that their connection to their power source could be actively "starved" or "misaligned" during their dormant phases.
This led to the conception of the "Winterquell" project – an attempt to create a series of focused magical "sinks" or "counter-pulses" at key astronomical alignments, designed to draw off and neutralize the ambient cold energy upon which the Others fed, effectively pushing back the onset or lessening the intensity of their cyclical resurgence. It was magic on a planetary scale, involving the Grand Philosopher's Stone, the entire weirwood network, the synchronized power of all fourteen Stark dragons (their "dragon song" now a tool of cosmic attunement), and the combined will of all twelve immortal Starks. The calculations were mind-boggling, the risks astronomical, but Jon believed it was the only way to move beyond mere defense and actively shape the conditions of the Long Night.
Arya Stark, her wisdom now truly that of an ancient being, worked with the Stark nature wardens – Lyanna Sr., Serena, Lyra Sr., Arsa, and young Lyarra the Younger – to implement another aspect of this grand strategy. Drawing upon the rediscovered First Men runic magic, they began to inscribe colossal, miles-long "Great Wards" into the very bedrock of the North along key mountain ranges and river valleys. These were not physical barriers, but immense patterns of interwoven runes, empowered by the ley line network and the Heart Trees, designed to create zones of profound magical order and vitality that would be inherently inimical to the chaos and undeath of the Others. The first of these Great Wards, painstakingly carved and consecrated over a decade across the northern foothills of the Gift, began to hum with a deep, silent power, the land within its embrace seeming to breathe with a renewed vigor.
The immortal council, now a gathering of twelve ageless beings whose collective lifespan dwarfed that of entire civilizations, watched the world with a perspective that was almost beyond human comprehension. They had seen the Targaryen dynasty nearly destroy itself twice in their memory – once in the Dance, and again nearly in the Blackfyre Rebellions and the folly of Summerhall. They saw the limitations of mortal ambition, the cyclical nature of conflict, the fragility of peace. Their own purpose remained singular, unwavering.
King Jaehaerys II died in 262 AC, his brief, troubled reign succeeded by his young son, Aerys II, a charming, promising prince who would, decades hence, descend into madness and tyranny, earning the name "the Mad King" and setting the stage for Robert's Rebellion. The Starks, of course, could not foresee this specific future, but Jon's Greensight, and Noctua's visions, hinted at further turmoil for House Targaryen, at more fire and blood in the generations to come.
Warden Edwyle Stark sent his oaths to the new young King Aerys II, maintaining the North's traditional posture. His own son, Willam, was now his established heir, and Willam's son, young Artos (rider of the earthen Kratos), a fully contributing member of the immortal council. Artos himself had recently married a distant Stark cousin, and his wife was expecting their first child – the next link in their unending chain, the next potential guardian of Winter.
Jon Stark, in his icy sanctum, looked upon the ever-expanding tapestry of his grand design. The Resonance Dampeners hummed their silent song. The Great Wards pulsed with ancient power. The dragons soared in their hidden sky. His immortal family stood united, their numbers growing, their strength deepening. The Long Night was still a distant, inevitable certainty, but the forces of Winter were now arrayed against it with a power and a foresight the world had never known. The Tragedy at Summerhall had been a grim reminder of magic misused. The Starks, in their patient, silent way, were demonstrating magic used with purpose, with wisdom, with an eye fixed on eternity. Their vigil continued.