Rhaenyra was silent as she stood in the courtyard of the Red Keep, the Gold Cloaks stationed along the outskirts so as to block the sight of the corpses in front of her.
"I may not be a man capable of using the sword, but these wounds were not made by steel," Viserys spoke up from her side and Rhaenyra had to agree as they let Daemon examine the corpses.
The wounds were jagged, the blood dripping from the wounds were a pitch black and the veins around the stab wounds had blackened.
"It's not just that. There is something afoot here." Daemon said, making Viserys raise an eyebrow as Rhaenyra frowned.
"What do you mean?" she asked, to which he simply turned one of the men on their side and pushed down, her eyes widening when copious amount of water poured from the guard's mouth.
"Whoever killed them did so by drowning them. However, if they did that, there was no need to stab them which means that they were held underwater to the point of drowning and then stabbed."
"Their corpses were found right outside the Red Keep, Daemon, and the sea is even further away."
"Exactly. That's why I said that something is wrong here, your Grace. Along with that, the bodies looked to have died at the same time, meaning that they were all captured, drowned and killed at the exact same moment," he replied, to which she grimaced before they turned as the Gold Cloaks parted.
"I thought I asked for them to be escorted to my solar?" Rhaenyra asked even as she smiled, to which Arryk and Erryk bowed their heads in apology as Helaena smiled.
"This is the usual route we take to the solar, your Grace," Helaena replied, both her and Torrhen walking closer before they noticed the corpses.
Torrhen himself was focused more on the trails of aether being exuded from the corpses, immediately lashing out with his own aether and grabbing onto the strands.
The moment he did, he ignored the sound of wind howling in his ears, walking closer as Helaena let go of his hand.
Kneeling beside the bodies, Torrhen could feel the chilling cold of the corpses as he placed two fingers against the neck of the guard in front of him.
"What are you looking for, Lord Torrhen?"
"A sign," he replied, letting his aether flow to his hand before calling upon the essence of the world to flow through him.
"Spirits of the afterlife. Come forth and tell your story. Summon Spirit," Torrhen whispered and everyone apart from Helaena moved back in shock when motes of light gathered above Torrhen.
Daemon was the quickest to move and unsheathed Dark Sister, but he narrowed his eyes when Helaena stepped forward and smiled.
"Summoned soul, may I ask who has taken your life before it could live out its natural course?" she asked, staring at the guard floating above his body who himself looked surprised.
"P-Princess, I'm...I'm alive?"
"Unfortunately, no, ser. We do not have long. May I ask who has taken your life?"
"D-Dalton Greyjoy, princess. We were orde-" Before the spirit could finish speaking, he vanished once more, Helaena glancing at Torrhen who stood up with a sigh.
"There's a tether to his spirit. Whatever he used to kill him just grabbed his spirit and devoured it."
"What...what was that?" Viserys asked, his eyes wide as Torrhen turned before glancing at Helaena. She smiled and nodded, which Torrhen returned before he cleared his throat.
"What you just saw, King Father, was a simple spell Torrhen uses," Helaena explained as Torrhen closed his eyes and held his hand to his forehead, hiding his eyes just as they opened and rolled into the back of his eyes.
Warging into the mind of the closest bird, he narrowed his eyes when he didn't see anything of note in their memories, immediately moving back to his own body and letting out a soft sigh.
"I assume that the spell allows him to talk to spirits? Is that any and all spirits?"
"Any that have died in the past twelve hours, King Father," he lied smoothly, Viserys letting out a hum before the man smiled.
"No need for the King part. You are my son by law now."
"It would be rude of me to omit it," Torrhen spoke with a smile, making Viserys chuckle before the young Start turned to Rhaenyra.
"Is it possible for you to do the same with all of their bodies?" she asked and he looked at the bodies before nodding.
"It will be tiring, but if it means we can get more clues on Dalton Greyjoy, then gladly, your Grace."
"Go ahead," she replied, Torrhen immediately walking to the next body and placing two fingers against his neck.
"Spirits of the afterlife. Come forth and tell your story. Summon Spirit,"
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"So, he can manipulate shadows?" I nodded at Rhaenyra's question as the two of us sat in her solar, Daemon standing beside her while Helaena was seated at my side.
"It appears so, your Grace. I do not know how, but Dalton Greyjoy may have come into some fragment of power that belongs to the Drowned God."
"So, now gods are involved?" Daemon asked with a raised eyebrow, to which I turned to him with a frown.
"The mystical beasts known as dragons are flesh-and-blood creatures that we all ride upon and hold close to our hearts. Who's to say that the gods are not the same?"
"That is a fair comparison to make, but there is one problem. Gods are not flesh-and-blood," Daemon replied, to which I nodded.
"That is true, your Grace, but at the same time, I would rather prepare for the danger approaching than the one that we can control."
"Torrhen speaks the truth and can you truly ask such questions when you saw his capabilities, Daemon?" Rhaenyra asked and I hid my smile when Daemon sighed and nodded.
"Very well, my Queen. What would you have me do?"
"Torrhen?"
"Me?" I asked in surprise, Rhaenyra giving an amused look as she leaned forward and nodded.
"Yes, you. As much as I hate to say it, the Seven Kingdoms, or should I say Six Kingdoms without the Ironborn, are woefully unprepared for an attack such as this.
However, you are not as you have just shown. If the god of the sea was to be your enemy, Torrhen, how would you fight it?" she asked and I sat with a frown, running through what I can do before a thought came to mind.
"Weirdwood heart trees," I murmured before I continued when I saw the couple's frowns. "In the legends of the North, the weirwood trees were what gave the Children of the Forest the capacity to do the things that they did.
Therefore, if we were to establish the land as the domain of the Old Gods, they may be able to push back the influence of the Drowned God."
"That...will be tough given that the Faith of the Seven do not like anyone that worships the Old Gods or the Weirwood trees in the slightest."
"Then, focus your proposals to those that are closely allied to both House Stark and House Targaryen," Helaena chimed in from beside and I smiled as Rhaenyra raised an eyebrow.
"You believe they will listen to us?"
"House Tully owes its lordship to House Targaryen so you should make use of that. Lord Baratheon is going to have one of his daughters be wedded to Aemond so using that would be perfect as well. As for the North..."
"You will find weirwood trees everywhere," I replied with a smile, Helaena nodding as Rhaenyra let out a soft sigh.
"Very well. That does seem to be the best plan we have in mind."
"What of the Vale?" Daemon asked and we turned to him before I frowned when Rhaenyra let out a sigh.
"Right, they are not happy with us at all."
'Why wouldn't the-Right, Daemon and his 'Bronze Bitch' as he liked to call her. Why did he have to go and piss them off?'
"Why did you have to go do what you do?"
"It's in my blood," he replied with a smile, Rhaenyra shaking her head as she turned to us.
"It is a good plan, Lord Torrhen. I will have to convene with my father and put more thought into it."
"We're happy to have been of service, your Grace," I spoke with a bow, Helaena doing the same before we bowed our heads to Daemon and left the solar.
The moment the door closed behind us, I grabbed onto Helaena's hand and turned away from the path back to our room.
"Heading somewhere else?" she asked and I nodded.
"With Dalton showcasing that he can use his capabilities well, it appears that we must learn to do the same."
"Oh, are we finally going to train what we should have years ago?" she asked, giggling as I rolled my eyes and pulled her closer.
"Yes, love. It is time for us to train in magic."
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"Why did it take me so long to do this?" I asked Helaena as I waved my wand foci around me, a trail of water following along with it. Below me, flowers bloomed as I moved and I looked over at where Helaena was sitting against a tree with a smile.
"You wish to try?"
"May I?" she asked, giggling as I rolled my eyes and held the wand over. She rose gracefully from the grass and walked over, her fingers brushing against mine as she took it softly.
"You always make it look so easy."
"That is because I had a guide to tell me step by step on what to imagine. Remember, follow the path the aether shows you," I explained as she twirled the wand between her fingers, breathing in slowly.
Exhaling softly, the air around her began to ripple and I watched her thread of aether shimmer, Helaena raising the wand before tracing a spiral, a circle and then a flick in front of her.
As she did, small sparks of flames exploded in front of her, to which she smiled as she repeated the process over and over again. I just stood in silence with a smile as Helaena twirled and swayed on her feet, leaving flickers of flames in her wake.
Each repetition came smoother than the last, my gaze focused on the threads of aether from the world around us that began to dance with her own thread.
"Not bad," I spoke, watching as ribbons of fire twirled around her form while she danced. Walking closer, I smiled as the fire began to dance around me as well, Helaena handing the wand back with a giggle.
Stopping the flow of aether around us, the flames began to flicker out, leaving the two of us standing in silence and looking at each other.
"What is your plan for the Drowned God?" she asked, to which I sighed as I shook my head.
"I have no clue on how to deal with him. This is a god we're talking about here."
"The words of your ancestor may be able to help you in preparing for the onslaught of the Drowned One."
"Perhaps, but right now, I need to do two things. Fix the hole in my lung and strengthen myself for when Dalton Greyjoy finally decides to attack.
"Do you have a plan for both?" I looked at Helaena as she asked that, tapping the wand against my thigh before nodding.
"For the latter? No, but I do have one for the former. I just need to wait."
"For?" She asked and I looked up at the sky to stare at the full moon beginning its rise as the sun was setting.
"The right time."
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Helaena was fast asleep behind me as I sat in front of the hearth in our room, watching the flames dance before raising my hand. A smile spread across my face as the heat began to coil and move forward, the flames writhing in the air.
Letting the fire wrap around my index finger, I moved it through the air, forming Elder Futhark runes around me before I raised it to my mouth.
"By the spark that gives life and the flame that consumes all things, let the wound that mars my flesh be renewed in the name of balance," I whispered, bathing in the light of the full moon shining through the window.
The flames around my finger surged forward, slipping through my open mouth and into my chest. My breath caught in my throat as I felt the heat travelling to the chronic pain in my left lung, coughing out smoke.
Even as my entire body began to tremble, I sat still, waiting until the last of the smoke came out before I sagged.
'It was really that easy?' I thought as I let out a soft exhale, taking a deep breath and smiling when I felt no pain from doing so at all.
Huh, I guess it really was that easy.
'Wait, could I carve runes onto my skin, then? Oh, it would be pretty cool to have the tattoos.'
"Did the fire wish to dance?" I turned my head as I felt a pair of arms wrapping around me from behind, raising a hand to grab onto Helaena's
"It did."
"Did it lead you to the solution you sought?"
"The body is mended, but the storm still approaches," I responded in kind, to which she walked around before sitting down on my lap.
Wrapping my arms around her, I pulled her close and rested my hand against her back as the warmth of the hearth washed over us.
"The dragon and the wolf shall dance once more, the olden ones watching over them," Helaena's voice echoed around the room and I activated the muffling runes on the walls as she continued, "The squid of the Drowned shall acquire the unyielding spear of the Water Mother only to find fire and ice standing in their path.
The symbol of the Seven shall be set ablaze one final time as the blood of the fakes drown the tides. Beware the fake dragon that sits upon the highest tower," When she finished speaking, her aether calmed down and I held her close as I could feel her shivering.
She didn't say anything as she turned and laid her head on my shoulder, pulling her close while staring into the flames.
'The squid is Dalton Greyjoy. The unyielding spear of the Water Mother, though, is a tricky one. Then again, there is only one house that can be called the unyielding spear.'
" 'Beware the fake dragon that sits upon the highest tower'," Helaena repeated softly and I tightened my hug a bit when I heard the sombre tone in her voice.
"That doesn't mean it's her."
"I'll prepare myself in the case that it is," she replied and I nodded as I rested my head against hers, staring at the flames dancing in front of me.
First, I need to get Moat Cailin up and running. Afterwards, perhaps it is time a Stark visits the deserts below.
A/N: And we end it off here~! I will say that I am trying something here with the power-system that keeps it in line with the canon of ASOIAF's universe while giving it the DnD elements I promise, but it's going to take some time.
Also, prophecies are about to become very very important in the coming arcs so look out for those.
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~!!