I met Isaac on the halfway stretch to the castle. My mind was filled with thoughts of the Others, of the Old Gods, of Skinchanging. However, it always returned back to the Others. They had such a rich history, filled with struggle and survival. Detailed and well passed down through the oral style by the children of the forest. It was enough to wonder what exactly the producer of Game of Thrones was smoking when he retconned their story to simply: The Others were created using First Men captives to fight against the First Men. A weapon that went out of control.
That tag was honestly more suited for a sci-fi series than a medieval one, yet I digress. Then there was the reveal about the Old Gods, the amalgamated minds of thousands of Greenseers. My gaze was drawn to a heart tree as my Nightmare rode past one. I had never realized it. Oh, the white bark and red leaves were different from everything Dracula knew about herbology, yet this was the first time I paid them any attention.
On my trip to Bloodraven's cave, I had been so focused on what would and could happen, I had dismissed them. Yet now, on my return with the information given to me by Bryden, I could not ignore them anymore. Not when I knew that the fears of the First Men during their war against the children were very much founded. It's not paranoia if they were truly out to get you.
I rode past another tree, and unlike the rest, I could actually feel a presence inside the eyes of the carved face on the tree. Something watched me, and the sensation of eyes on my broad back remained till I went out of range, then it was gone. I suddenly began to think and consider: it was a good thing I had landed so high up the Frost Fangs that there were only a scarce amount of trees up there, and very few of them were weirdwood trees.
Then there was magic... I should not have been surprised with how easily I had learned it, still I was. It was one thing to know Dracula was a master at sorcery; it was another to take that skill and implement it with such ease despite using another magic system.
I glanced forward. Perched on the Nightmare's head was the crow. It had gotten somewhat familiar with me after our brief shared body experience. Which made me wonder, how easy would I have it with a true creature of the night? Creatures that were already associated with vampires. Wolves, bats, rats. I could feel my lips twitch in excitement. Even the remains of Dracula that helped to pilot this body must've felt the same.
I heard him way before I saw him. To avoid overload, Dracula always instinctively kept his enhanced senses at least meters away in all directions. Enough for him to avoid a sneak attack or lethal blow, considering his reaction time. It was not something I did consciously, nor something I bothered to actively learn. Once again, the remnants of Dracula's instinct in my body did the heavy lifting.
A heartbeat, the slight smell of spice and blood that clung to Isaac due to his self-flagellation. The ruffle of his cloak against the wind. The heavy cloven feet crushed snow of another Nightmare as it trudged forward, and behind it I could hear something being dragged through the snow. I slowed my Nightmare from a gallop into a slow and steady trot till he caught up.
It took him a few extra minutes to catch up, but finally, Isaac rode out of the trees, slowing his horse to a trot to ride beside me as well. "Master Dracula, greetings."
I gave him a curt nod in response, then glanced behind to see what his Nightmare was pulling, and the sight of the giant spider caused a brow to rise in curiosity. I had sensed it chittering and watching as we fought against Bloodraven. I had my suspicions, but to see it in the flesh, another deviation from the show because I couldn't remember seeing one of them there.
"Your hunt was successful, I take it," I asked rhetorically as we continued to ride forth.
Isaac gave a slow nod, and I noticed the blood that stained his cloak, black blood nearly invisible on the black cloak, but with the slightly shifting of the garment as the wind combed through us, I smelled it. A putrid blood.
"It was," Isaac continued. "It mutilated the night creature and set it as bait, then tried to ambush me at the ravine its artificial trail led into. It is a curious creature, Master Dracula. I did not have a chance to suffer its weapons, but judging by the damage to my night creature, it has fangs like spears, and venom potent enough to liquefy the internal organs of a night creature." He paused. "It had killed one of ours. So I made sure to repay the debt."
I studied the carcass more closely now. Its legs were bound behind it, dragging furrows into the snow like talons across parchment. Its body had collapsed in on itself, likely from the internal collapse of its carapace after death. But it still radiated... nothing. There was a magic to it, but it felt natural and magical in the conventional sense. Much like the children of the forest felt magical. There was no sense of wrongness like I could feel with night creatures.
"Do you think it was sent?" I asked after a pause, voice calm but sharp.
Isaac's face didn't change. He rarely gave away emotion unless it was edged with fury. "If it was... it failed. But we were not alone. I cannot say for certain if both of them were together from the beginning, if they hunted and set up the night creature as bait purposely, or if it was an all too intelligent beast, but during the fight I sensed another."
I remained quiet, already having an idea of what he meant, but letting him speak regardless. "Something watched us, and it was only after I killed the spider that I could see it. It had some glamour on it, accompanied by its preternatural stillness as well as its ice mirror armour that further helped it blend into the surroundings.
If I were not used to the predatory intent that came with being surrounded by vampires, I would have never sensed it."
I hummed in response, thinking it over. "You encountered one of the Others then."
"The Others?" Isaac asked with curiosity, and I nodded in response before continuing. I told Isaac the story he had missed, the history of this world that Bloodraven had told me while he had been on the hunt for the spider, about the Others, the children of the forest, the giants, the humans south of the wall, and even the Great Other. Isaac kept silent for minutes, digesting my words, till I continued.
"What you saw was probably one of the Others," I repeated, slower this time. "Not a wight like they're rumored to control. But a true White Walker."
Isaac's brow furrowed as he glanced ahead, his Nightmare plodding beside mine. "The tales definitely have some truth to them. It did not act like any undead I've seen. It watched. Waited. It showed restraint. Inhuman, but not witless like the walking dead."
I nodded. "They're not mindless. They're a people. Perhaps a dying one. But far from gone." I looked up at the grey sky, cloud-wreathed and low. "The children of the forest were worried about them. With their long lifespan and memories, they remember clearly the horrors of the war against them. The Long Night, and that memory frightens them so much that they feared I was one of theirs and reacted with naked hostility."
"The Great Other, that is the presence that blankets the lands of further north with an undying snowstorm? The one we saw in the mirror and the one you have Hector's night creatures keeping an eye on?"
"Yes," I replied in confirmation as we continued to ride. Isaac was silent, as was his habit. He continued processing everything I had dumped on his lap.
Then he spoke. "I could've chased it. It made no attempt to fight, nor retreat quickly. It wanted to be seen. It allowed itself to be seen. Why?"
"Because it's their way," I muttered. "They use fear and scare tactics. If the Other had seen the cave of the three-eyed crow, then it wanted you to know. Wanted the crow that Bloodraven had discreetly sent to follow you to know as well. Its presence was a warning, a herald. And if this one chose not to fight, it's because it didn't need to."
Isaac glanced back at the spider. "It sent the beast out to measure me."
"Yes," I agreed. "And it failed. But the message is received all the same."
We rode on in silence for several moments, the only sounds the crunch of hooves on frost and the whisper of wind curling through trees. The crow shifted again on my Nightmare's head, a low, drawn-out caw escaping it. I thought about the scenario we had found ourselves in.
"It's too early for them to be making such obvious moves," I thought to myself.
Isaac raised an eyebrow, which made me realize I had spoken out loud, forcing me to come up with something on the spot that was more believable than 'I read and watched about this.'
"They were supposed to wait, according to Bloodraven," I explained. "The winds of winter haven't yet reached their peak, and the Wall still stands." Isaac nodded along, yet I could see my theory began to take root even in myself as I reasoned it out further.
"They're more active right now because of our presence in this world."
"Do you regret it?" Isaac asked.
"No." My answer was immediate, cold and firm. "Maybe one day we shall return to our old world, but this trip, this journey, it was the right choice."
Isaac nodded along, and the trip continued in silence.
The path narrowed before widening into the empty clearing that served as a courtyard directly in front of Castlevania. I could almost sense the castle giggle at my presence once more, even though I had not stepped in yet. I glanced at the window at a flash of white that passed before shifting my attention to the more curious matter at hand.
Ahead of me and directly in front of the castle were people. The first were a group of three Free Folk that stood firm behind an invisible line as they watched the other group with their hands tight on primitive spears, fur clothing and stone axes. They were red-haired all, though only one wore it with pride.
She was a girl with a bow slung over her back that wasn't there for show. Her stance was loose, too loose. The kind that could snap into motion without telegraphing the kill. In her hand was a long knife, made of real steel, unlike the younger boy and girl beside her with their axe and spear. Smart, at this range it would be easier to knife a person than knock back an arrow.
Beside her were the two others. A familiar boy and girl, but they didn't seem so small and scrawny anymore, at least now that I had the regular human height to compare to, and also the boy was growing big and fast. Already he was a head over the girl, while the girl remained scrawny. Seemed like the kids I had saved had grown up a bit.
Across from them stood a group of five men, dressed in leather, mail, and black cloaks that protected them from the freezing wind. They were all unrecognizable, with boring features all in all, drab brown hair, and blue and brown eyes. I barely paid them any heed till I got to the seeming leader.
He was a slim man, only slightly bigger than the rest. I smelled the weakness in his form, an old injury, and my eyes gravitated to his right hand where he had lost most of the fingers. Qhorin Halfhand in the flesh. He and the four other rangers stood alert. None of them had their swords sheathed properly. They rested halfway in, as if giving their steel a say in the matter.
Between the two groups stood Hector right in front of the giant gates. He had his arms crossed, exasperation on his face as he stared at the two groups while they tried to kill each other with their eyes, which made it clear that he was the only reason why blood and dead bodies were not littering my doorsteps already.
Qhorin was the first one to notice me. The legendary ranger's ears twitched in a way that made me wonder if he had some children of the forest blood in him. Then he turned just enough to glance at me, and at the sight of me atop the Nightmare, he took an instinctive step back, grey eyes widening in surprise.
The rest of the rangers turned as well, and the moment they saw me, I could sense their intentions before they even went through with it, the desire to rip steel from their sheaths, and I looked down at them waiting for them to sign their death sentence. Humans, always so quick to run towards their doom.
"Stop!" Qhorin yelled at once, freezing his comrades.
I continued to approach, not slowing down. Till I was inches away from the invisible line in the snow, only then did I draw the Nightmare to a halt, as I towered over the two groups.
"About damn time," the older red-haired girl with the wicked steel blade muttered. Her voice was sharp as flint but cracked with something else. Her eyes glanced back at the two slightly behind her and it suddenly made sense. She was worried for them.
I said nothing.
Instead, I scanned the layout. Hector hadn't drawn his weapon, which meant he still believed words might work. Naive, but noble. Qhorin, on the other hand, watched me like a man expecting betrayal. His fear and surprise at my red eyes and pointed ears were gone. All that remained was a calculating gaze. Deciding who would die first if blades were drawn.
Isaac dismounted first. Quietly, then he stood behind me, eyes like knives, as he stared at the group. I let the silence stretch until it bit. Until I could see both groups twitch on the spot, as their eyes traveled to the carcass of the giant spider Isaac's Nightmare had dragged along. Only then did I speak.
"State your business," I said flatly. "Or get off my mountain."