[Chapter Size: 3300 Words.]
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Third Person POV
Arctic, 300 AC.
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The ships began to fill the Arctic channel, heading toward the sea.
Dozens, hundreds, thousands of ships were preparing to leave the port. The kingdom stopped to watch, to say goodbye to those who were now leaving Arctic, 120 thousand men leaving the kingdom.
Of these 120 thousand, only 10 thousand were not military, ships full of commercial goods going to Essos and ships full of weapons going to Westeros on two fronts.
Rhaenys was with Jaehaerys by her legs and she had in her arms Visenya, with the girl of almost 2 days old pointing toward the armies marching to each set of ships that stopped at the dock for them to begin boarding and organizing them.
"They are going to help daddy!" she shouted.
"Yes..." Rhaenys said.
"Is mommy also going to the south?" Jaehaerys asked.
"Yes... When I can go, I will go with my dragon." she told her son.
"Ships!" Daemon appeared trying to run toward her, since he was in a high enough position to see the ships at the dock without being in the middle of the crowd.
Hiyori came right behind, running after her son. "Stop running like that, Daemon!" said the queen, grabbing her son before he hurt himself running around alone.
"You are here, how are you?" Rhaenys asked Queen Hiyori.
"Good, a little contraction in my belly, but the potions that the children of the forest prepared are having some effect." Hiyori said.
She was having some problems with the child growing in her belly after her second pregnancy arrived, catching her by surprise given the difficulty her body had in getting pregnant, the first time was a shock for her with the inability to give birth.
Jon at the time spoke to her in a gentle tone, and stopped her from immediately crying when he said that he could heal her, having to use more than natural healing and it worked, but this time she did not have the treatment with potions and became pregnant.
The problem is that she had Jon to help her, and now he is at war, so he is sending recipes for the children of the forest to create potions for her since then. It may not be Jon's healing, but it is working.
"That's good." Rhaenys said as Hiyori went to her side to watch the ships departing, before other ships began to enter the docks and more soldiers, men, dwarves and giants boarded the ships.
"How many giants will be sent to the south?" Jaehaerys asked beside her.
"Jon took 1000 giants to the west, so there must be at least about 4 thousand?" Hiyori replied to the other queen's son.
"No one can defeat the giants!" Jae exclaimed.
"Dragons can, son. But the dragons will not fight now." Rhaenys said.
Daemon went to his brother's side and Jaehaerys hugged him. "Are we going to the south?" Jae asked the two older women.
"Yes. We will go in the future as well. When your father has everything under control. After all, you will rule one day in the future." Rhaenys said to her son.
"Yes... you said that." Jae said in a shy, but at the same time confused tone.
"You sound like you are sending him away, Rhae..." Hiyori did not hesitate to approach the other queen's son.
"Of course not, Jae will rule the south when he is older." Rhaenys said.
"It seems you chose a good place here..." Daenerys appeared with Aegon and the other queens also came behind.
They stayed there talking while the children filled the place looking at the ships or chatting, everyone had gathered there because of the importance of seeing the troops finally departing.
The war against Westeros had already begun, and now the real army of Arctic was starting to go south.
"We are ready to depart." On the ship at the port, Ducken, the army commander, nodded.
"Then let's go. To the sea." Ducken said as his eyes went to more than a hundred thousand pairs of eyes watching him at the port. Everyone watching, saying goodbye to their loved ones who were going south.
The ship soon began to leave the port while the line advanced toward the channel, along with a group that filled it and other ships took the place of those ships at the docks for more people to board.
"You seem nervous...?" The mocking voice came from the side.
"Why would I be, I have my wife by my side." Ducken said as he looked at Karsi, his wife since the first years he arrived in this place with Arctic.
"You need someone to keep you in line." she said and went to his side, looking at the port moving away.
"Do you think they will be fine?" she asked after a few minutes of silence.
"They are with the royal children, they will be." Ducken said about his daughters, who would stay in the castle while he and Karsi would go south.
"I hope this doesn't last long, I already want to return." she commented.
"I told you that you should stay, we will be for entire moons in the south. You can imagine that we will have to deal with loose ends besides the conquest itself, and that may last even more than a year." Ducken said in a slightly serious tone.
"I will not let you go alone and so be it, soon we will return to our daughters. I heard that the king is going to the islands of those raiders." she looked at him.
"Ironborn, and yes, by now he should have dealt with them easily." Ducken said. The south would be quite divided at this moment, with a force in the west that could not be ignored while another force would come from the east.
They would certainly have problems dealing with all of that, having to divide their forces while they would be attacked from both sides.
But moving an army was a problem for anyone, so it is very likely that the greatest force would be concentrated in the east, that is why Ducken would be commanding the largest force of Arctic with 80 thousand soldiers.
"I want to see who will deal with us with such strength! Kneelers will be trembling when they see us!" Karsi said.
"That is not even something we should be proud of, the army of Arctic has more merits than fighting the armies of the south. So I don't think it would be a challenge for us at this moment."
"Because we will be fighting men and not monsters?" she asked.
"Yes, but because the king has already trained part of them well in Yi-Ti and in the Dothraki Sea, the war against the dead made them even more experienced, no matter how the south prepares, they will be crushed when our men are prepared and our weapons have become even more powerful." he said.
"What is the couple gossiping about right now?" The ship was already passing by the farms of the kingdom, when a booming voice made the husband and wife look to the side, seeing a bearded and smiling dwarf approaching.
"Thor, I imagine everything is in order?" Ducken asked, opening a smile to the minister who would also be fighting commanding the troops, most of the dwarves, just like all of the other races, would be there together with them.
"I checked the reports of the stocks, food, weapons, soldiers... The ships are well grouped with the banners of different houses on top of the mast. So everything is organized as we planned." Thor said.
Ducken nodded.
"Now I will leave you organizing things, I will be playing board games for a bit until we reach the sea, I am not very comfortable staying here looking at the same frozen scenery until we reach the sea." he said before starting to leave, while Ducken looked at the other person there, standing and staring at him.
"William... Do you need something?" Ducken said to the man who joined Jon when he was just a child south of the Wall, just like Ducken did.
While Ducken was a guard of the son of a minor noble, spoiled and cruel, until Jon appeared in that city in the territory of the Glovers, FrostRoar, William was the blacksmith who lived with his aunt in the place and had recently opened a workshop, Jon offered a lot of money to him so that he could accompany the boy to work on the things he wanted, at the time making molds while they created glass in the middle of the Wolfswood.
That was madness, but at the same time, it took them to the place where they are today. Ducken went from a simple guard who worked as a mercenary and guard in Essos, fought alongside Lord Stark in the first Greyjoy Rebellion, had become a general who is used to commanding up to a hundred thousand people, something that most of the great lords of Westeros could never imagine, while taking part in constant decisions about the kingdom.
He tried to become a Kingsguard at the beginning, the first of Jon when he knelt after they arrived north of the Wall, after all Jon, even with 9 days of name at the time, was someone worth following, a king even in the middle of that frozen wasteland. However, he ended up helping Jon in a different way, and became his minister and general.
William was a blacksmith who helped Jon however he could and even learned from him, because the boy had techniques granted by the gods that were even more advanced. He joined the dwarves later and is a master blacksmith respected throughout the kingdom. He helped Jon with some of the king's inventions during the many moons in the war against the dead.
William got married and has a 2-year-old boy. He has his family in Arctic, but Ducken knows that this does not sum up his life. As someone who had been with William and Jon from the beginning, the only humans in that group full of giants and animals, they knew very well the story, failures and certain traumas that everyone carried.
Jon at that time still had some pain from how he was treated in Winterfell.
Ducken had guilt and anger in the memories of serving slave masters in Essos, seeing all kinds of atrocities they could commit.
William had a somewhat good life in the north, but his past was full of darkness, born in the Vale of Arryn, he had his father working for a minor noble, who ended up abusing his mother and William's parents were killed when his father tried to kill the noble, he was sent to the north.
His trauma was clearly his desire for revenge against a minor vassal house of the Arryns. He came to the south there with them, because he could never forget the death of his parents, even after 11 years in Arctic.
It was his chance, William said. Not hiding that Jon had told him he could help him with that when he had the chance.
"What are the chances of us attacking the Vale of Arryn?" he asked, not hiding his real desire to attack those men.
"I don't know, our objective is to place the army in the Crownlands, and destroy all enemies, the Vale is something the king must decide, but without wanting to give you too much hope, the information from the south that the king shared is that the Vale is neutral so far, so we must be preparing to attack them as well, as soon as the king sends our army to that place." Ducken said.
William nodded. "Alright, I will try to work on the edge of some weapons in the meantime."
"Be careful, old friend. If I can also help you achieve your revenge, I will be more than willing to help you." Ducken said.
"Thank you, Ducken." With those words, William began to go inside the ship through the deck entrance.
"Will he be alright?" Karsi asked beside him. William was someone who frequented their house, being an old friend of Ducken and the king.
"Yes... He is not a soldier, but the death of his parents never left his mind. He is a prestigious blacksmith in Arctic, he did not need to be here, did not need to leave his wife and son behind, but it is his chance to take revenge, so that his parents can rest in peace, I believe he is right in seeking this revenge." Ducken ended up admitting.
"I hope so..." Karsi said, as ships began to be beside them, following through the channel.
Still at the dock in the kingdom, with the last ships carrying the final soldiers marching to the port.
The new Lord Stark was preparing to depart at that moment. Bran Stark was in front of Rickon, beside Cassandra with little Ned in her arms.
"So you are going back home with the North...", Rickon murmured looking at his brother with uncertain feelings and it was not a question. He had known this for moons, but he did not seem ready for such a thing.
"I will return to reclaim what was stolen from us. Whether it was taken by Theon or taken by the Boltons. I want to take back what is ours again, Rickon...", Bran said, stepping in front of his brother, who lowered his head. He seemed dissatisfied that Bran would be leaving.
"Isn't Arctic our home?" Rickon shot back.
"Arctic welcomed us, yes. And Jon made us feel better than in Winterfell... But still, that was the place where we were born." he said, but Rickon seemed unwilling to respond, or even look at him.
Bran sighed. "You will not be alone, my brother. Cassandra will be here with you the whole time. She will take care of you, just like Jon's wives. But you have to take care of our brother Ned...", Bran said.
They had friends here and were well treated by everyone, they lived in the castle as cousins of the king. Even Queen Rhaenys, who used to be more distant than the others, treated them well now.
"I know... it's just that Jon and Arya have already left, and now you are leaving too..."
"You know very well why. We have talked many times about this, Rickon."
"I know..."
"Then tell me, Rickon, why am I leaving?", Bran asked his brother, while the boy seemed embarrassed.
"To win... to take revenge on all those who hurt us", he said in a weak voice, and Bran nodded immediately.
"Yes, as I said, our home was taken. The south killed our father, they have Sansa..."
"But Sansa was the one who caused our father's death!", Rickon growled, while Bran looked at his brother carefully, this was a delicate matter.
"I know... but she is still our sister, isn't she? Even Arya is there to rescue her."
Rickon did not respond, still with some resentment. Bran sighed once again, touching his head before turning to Cassandra.
"Take care of him, alright?", he said.
Bran was more than prepared. He wore noble clothing, but kept his Valyrian steel sword at his waist with the head of a wolf, Summer was by his side, standing 7 feet tall, since he began to take some things for the direwolves, he had grown in size.
Bran also maintained a firm posture on the ground. His legs had already fully recovered — he was no longer paraplegic. He had been training with swords more than he had ever trained in his entire life in Winterfell, with the king's guards, the elite of the kingdom.
He also received potions from the king's stock to improve his body, just like the royal guards and the royal family took.
Bran felt stronger than ever. Although he did not come close to the strength and speed of a royal guard, he could certainly even defeat some common adults now.
Cassandra nodded at Bran's request, touching Rickon's hair beneath her. "Yes, I will take care of him as my own son. Just as I consider him. Isn't that right, Rickon?" Cassandra said, ruffling Rickon's hair. He had always called her mother, ever since Catelyn had left. So she was his mother, taking care of him since he was just a boy of 2 or 3 days of name.
Bran then gave Cassandra a hug and a kiss to little Ned in her arms, their little brother.
Jon turned to the two people waiting, while the Reed siblings, who were the group that would accompany him to the North, were getting organized.
"Let's go," he said, as his eyes went to the ship from where they would depart.
Brynden was waiting for them along with Mance on the ship.
Mance had been the king's choice to go to the North. Even being someone who had dishonored the vows of the Night's Watch, this served to show that he now served Arctic, making it easier for all the lords of the North to accept this, instead of creating problems in the future.
Bran followed to the ship, while the captains began to shout, and the vessels began to leave the port, heading toward the channel, just like all the ships that were already gathering in the sea at that moment.
"It will be alright," Meera's voice came from beside Bran.
He nodded, feeling the touch of her fingers tightening around his hand, while he also held her firmly.
There was a certain tenderness in those looks, something that had been happening frequently in the last month. Even them being in a corner of the castle, with no one seeing them kissing like two teenagers discovering that they liked each other.
Bran had decided to make her his Lady of Winterfell.
As the first ships had reached the sea, harpoons with wildfire began to be fired from those ships. They struck the glaciers floating in the middle of the sea, before beginning to explode them, as it was necessary to prepare the water for the concentration of the two thousand ships that would go south.
The ships began to gather, divided into three types of banners, which were small above the main banner on the mast: one red, one blue and one green.
The green banners would go to Essos. Some hundreds of ships were with the blue banners, containing troops that would land at Eastwatch, along with the resources that were placed in the last days, as the king had requested to use in the Gift, in the North.
Ships with more builders, with the intention of creating a city in the Gift for the slaves, would be sent a week later — at least one hundred to two hundred of them — which were still being prepared in the port, created in the last month.
The ships with small red banners would not stop. They would wait for the ships with blue banners to unload at Eastwatch, before returning to the fleet and finally heading south.
And so, as they finally began to clear the path, the great number of ships gathered. Ducken led the southern troops.
The merchant ships with the troops for Essos, led by the three ministers, finally organized themselves.
Then, the last ships, together with Bran, Brynden and Meera, also joined.
And so, they departed to the south, continuing to clear the way. There was still a lot of debris left by the cold brought by the White Walkers.
In the coming weeks, a new fleet would be surprising not only Westeros, but also Essos.
They finally reappeared to the whole world — returning to all those fools who believed they had simply disappeared.
And their enemies would once again tremble on their knees.
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