A joyous atmosphere hung in the air as the Great Sept of Baelor was packed to the brim, the noble lords and ladies of Westeros whispering excitedly to each other.
The light of a hundred candles cast a warm glow over the inside of the sept, the mingled scents of incense and rose oil filling the air.
In front of the towering gilded statue of the Mother, Otto's gaze swept over the crowd, noting all but a few of the Great Houses' lords in attendance.
Starting at the left was Lord Borros Baratheon, the bearded lord sitting beside his four daughters with his Lady Wife Elenda Caron seated on the other side.
Right beside her was the young Lord Elmo Tully, his steward and sworn sword Ser Grover Paege seated beside him with a nervous look as he felt the intense pressure of the lords looking at him.
Further beside Ser Grover sat Lord Jason Lannister, his golden hair neatly combed with a goblet of wine in hand. To the right of Lord Lannister was Lady Tyrell, dressed in a green and gold gown.
Right beside her was Lord Jace Royce, whose young age made him blind to the polite smile on Olive Tyrell's face as he continued to talk to her despite the disinterested look in her eyes.
Beside them was the lord and lady of House Velaryon, Otto narrowing his eyes as the two whispered words to each other while looking at him with amused stares.
The last two additions however had surprised not only him, but also every single lord present given that none had expected one let alone the other to appear.
Seated on the front of the other benches was Lord Qoren Martell, his sun-dark skin and orange robes making him stand out from the other lords.
The last one had a wild grin on his face as he lounged back in his seat, his youthful visage not taking away from the wariness everyone felt as the red kraken on his robes shone ominously in the light.
Otto had sent out a letter to Qoren Martell as an invitation to his granddaughter's wedding, hoping to try and persuade the man to his side.
What he did not expect was for the man to arrive with not only a small army of Dornish soldiers, but with the 'Red Kraken' Dalton Greyjoy and a small group of Ironborn pirates, all of whom looked utterly delighted to be in King's Landing.
He had half a mind to kill the young lord and be done with it, but given that Lord Torrhen had asked for everyone to be under guest rights as they do in the North, he was forced to stay his hand.
'Still, how did he come to learn of this? Who told him?' It wasn't an understatement to say that the marriage of his granddaughter was a grandiose affair, but it was not big enough to where the Red Kraken would ignore the threat on his life and come directly to King's Landing.
No, something else was afoot and he needed to figure out what exactly before everything went wrong.
The sounds of the doors opening drew his attention and he looked over at the entrance, the lords and ladies of Westeros rising as the King and Queen along with the former Queen and Aemond entered the sept.
As he expected, his daughter couldn't hide the displeasure in her eyes as she glanced at Rhaenyra, but she looked at him and smiled as he gave her a subtle nod.
He had not told her the plan he had concocted to see if Torrhen Stark was truly responsible for the death of Aegon. It was one that hinged on a ridiculous amount of luck, but if it failed to come to pass, he had countermeasures in place to make sure it succeeded.
'Even if that means I have to execute it myself. Everyone will come to learn who he truly is today,' Otto thought as the royal family stopped in front of him. Aemond bowed to his grandfather and Otto smiled as he responded in kind, wishing that Aemond was the first born son instead of Aegon.
While he did not like speaking ill of the dead, Aemond had the commanding presence and sword skills of Daemon, the persuasive tongue of his mother and the largest dragon in Westeros.
'Alas, one cannot hope for something that has already come to pass. Now, we simply need to look to the future,' He thought before looking to the door as silence entered the sept.
Those of the North looked proud as the Starks of Winterfell entered, Lord Bennard in the centre with a thick cloak of black while Cregan Stark walked at his right.
However, everyone including Otto was focused on the young man of the hour, who was dressed in a fine black doublet trimmed with white fur, a silver direwolf brooch pinned over his heart and a silver cloak with the sigil of House Stark displayed proudly on its back.
Torrhen Stark smiled as he bowed his head to the royal family before taking his place in the open area between the statues of the Father and the Mother, with his uncle and twin brother taking their place behind him.
"Lords and ladies of the realm!" The Septon of Baelor stepped forward, speaking clear and loudly as everyone looked at him.
"We are gathered here today to join House Stark of Winterfell and House Targaryen of Dragonstone in sacred union," As he finished and took a step back, the doors at the far end opened and a silence fell over the hall once more.
Entering was the former King Viserys, hunched over with a cane in hand and a limb in his step. Yet, none could deny the pride in his eyes as he slowly descended the stairs while having his arm linked to his daughter's.
Helaena was a breathtaking sight as ebony jewelry with ruby gems adorned her neck and wrists, her pale silver hair flowing in the gentle breeze that blew through the hall.
She was dressed in a regal black gown with threads of silver woven into the fabric in patterns resembling dragon wings, a black cloak thrown over her shoulders with the crimson red, three-headed dragon of House Targaryen embroidered onto its back.
All admired the princess as she walked beside her father, the two standing tall while Otto's gaze flickered sharply towards Torrhen Stark.
The young lord did not look fazed as Helaena approached, merely giving a bow to Viserys before Helaena smiled as she took his hand.
With elegance, the two ascended the steps, stopping in front of the Septon as he cleared his throat.
"Before the eyes of gods and men, we gather to witness the union that shall bind fire and blood to ice and stone! Today, the young Lord Torrhen Stark and the lovely Princess Helaena Targaryen shall embark on the next chapter of life not alone, but as one!
Now, shall the father please hand over the bride to her beloved?" Viserys let out a rasping cough as he ascended the steps, Alicent helping him walk as Helaena bowed slightly.
With shaky hands, both mother and father removed the cloak from their daughter, Alicent unable to help the resigned happiness she felt as her daughter looked up with a soft smile.
"Now, shall the husband envelop his beloved in the clothes of his family?" Torrhen walked closer as Helaena stayed bowed, taking off the cloak around his shoulders and gently placing it onto hers.
The young woman stood up and turned to him, the two bowing to each other before they joined hands as the Septon took out a red ribbon.
"With this ribbon, I bind thee to one another in the sight of the Seven. Father, guide them in justice, Mother, bless them with children. Warrior, protect them..." As the father continued preaching, Otto narrowed his eyes as he heard faint whispers coming from the two in front of the Septon.
However, his eyes widened as it was Helaena who was whispering and not Torrhen, who stood with a smile as the Septon continued his preaching.
"Tiwaz (Logic). Ansuz (Understanding). Sowilo (Health). Gebo (Partnership). Raidho (Rhythm). Algiz (Protection). Wunjo (Harmony)," Halfway through her chanting, Torrhen joined in and Otto turned only to frown as no one else looked disturbed by their words.
Almost as if...no one other than him could see it.
"Do you understand now, Otto Hightower?" Otto's eyes widened as he heard Torrhen's voice, looking over to see both Torrhen and Helaena staring openly at him.
Otto froze as Torrhe's voice reverberated in his skull and for the first time in many years, the Hand of the King felt true fear.
"You sought to measure me, to weigh me on the scales of your schemes, did you not?" Torrhen asked, Helaena continuing her chanting as the Septon's voice droned on.
"Allow me to give you understanding," No one noticed the faint shimmer spreading from where Torrhen and Helaena's hands were bound, Otto unable to move as images poured into his mind.
A storm of snow and ash raged around him, the howling of wolves in the distance while twin dragons danced in the sky above.
"Under our sight, the old blood stirs and the world shall begin anew."
"With this kiss, I pledged my love to you and take you for my lord and husband/ With this kiss, I pledge my love to you and take you for my lady and wife," Otto blinked as Helaena and Torrhen's vows pulled him away from the visions, reaching up as he felt something dripping from his nose.
Taking out a handkerchief and dabbing at his nose, he pulled it back and stared in horror at the red that stained the pristine white cloth.
"I hereby declare you man and wife. May you remain as one flesh, one heart and one soul, now and forever," The Septon finished and Otto watched as the newly wed couple shared their first kiss, the lords and ladies of Westeros clapping politely.
Otto on the other hand was shaking as he stared at Torrhen, who pulled back from the kiss to give him a brief smile.
"Remember this, Lord Otto Hightower."
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A smile adorned my face as Helaena and I sat at the main table, the Starks all seated to my right while the Targaryen and Hightower royal families were sat to Helaena's left.
In front of us, the lords and ladies danced together and I leaned over to Helaena as she tapped my arm.
"What's the matter?"
"The kraken will reveal its true colours."
'Sometimes, I wish I could be in a constant state of dream-seeing like she is,' I thought, watching as the clarity snapped back in her eyes and she looked at me with a smile.
"The voice has spoke once more."
"Then, we shall follow," I whispered, the two of us looking forward as silence entered the large ballroom.
"To the newly weds, I admit I was pretty surprised when a bastard like me got an invitation," Lord Dalton Greyjoy spoke with a grin, a goblet of wine held loosely in one hand as we all focused on him.
My smile grew as Helaena gave a subtle signal to stop the Kingsguard from approaching, my wife looking back at Dalton with a smile.
"I admit I was surprised that you accepted my invitation," Her words stunned them all, none more so than Otto and Viserys as the former king looked at his daughter.
"Y-You were the one who invited him?"
"Of course, father. After all, all fo the Great Houses were given invitation and I seem to recall that House Greyjoy, despite its hatred towards us land-dwellers, is still a Great House."
"Ah, the young princess speaks the truth, though I do not understand why you decided to send me a letter as well," Qoren spoke up with a smile and Helaena smiled back as she shook her head.
"It was merely the gesture of a young woman who wishes for the bad blood of her family to be put in the past and allow the Seven Kingdoms to thrive.
I did not expect you to accept my invitation let alone show up, but I am glad that you did. Your presence here has shown me that peace may indeed be achievable in our time."
"Bah! I just came to see the so-called magical wolf of House Stark...and I have to admit that I'm a bit disappointed."
"In me?" I asked, but I raised an eyebrow as the man burst out into laughter, bewildering everyone before my eyes widened as his thread of aether turned a bloody red.
"No, in myself. After all, I should have known that the great prophet of ice would appear in the pack of wolves."
'What...the fuck?' I thought as his thread grew tendrils, four on each side that smacked the air before the visage of a kraken appeared for a brief moment behind the grinning pirate.
"It appears that this trip has been quite eventful. Maybe I'll come visit at a later time. Ironborn!" The man shouted as he turned with a flourish, whipping the cape around his shoulders as the Ironborn near the exits followed after their leader.
"Make sure you follow him," I heard Otto whisper to Cole, shaking my head as Helaena sat back down and I caught the grimace on her face.
If Dalton was indeed able to manipulate his thread of aether, that made him a monster compared to the average person and on top of that, isn't he supposed to be a very skilled fighter and sailor?
' 'The kraken will reveal its true colours'. Oh, now I see what you meant,' I thought as I looked at Helaena, who had a knowing look in her eyes as she looked at me.
It appears that this world just got more interesting than I expected.
A/N: And we end it off here! You guys thought that there wouldn't be a war?
Foolish. What would ASOIAF be without a few wars to go with it? Although the big war is still a few days off, it's time to show you guys that Torrhen is not the only one in this world that knows of Aether.
Also, sorry for the late upload, but it's my birthday today so I just got back at like 19:00 to do the finishing touches on this before I post this.
I didn't drink anything, but eating a shit ton of food and cake will tire you out. Still, I was halfway done with If the Price is Right before the whole party so hopefully, I get that out tonight.
Also the whole illusion with Otto will be explained next chapter because there's a second layer next chapter that I need to do first.
Next chapter: Dancing with Dragons.
Like always, you can go to my Pat-reon-.-com-/-KingCrimsonNova to read ahead on this as well as many other stories & even some that haven't been released out to this site yet. If you want to, you are free to, but if you don't want, all's good as I will still be uploading here. This is just me trying to get some extra cash.
Anyway, as always, read, enjoy, review and until the next one…
Ba-Bye~!!