[Chapter Size: 2000 Words.]
Third Person POV.
Winterfell.
...
...
It was in the middle of the morning, when Winterfell's courtyard could not have been more crowded.
It was full from the ground of the courtyard to the castle's balconies and windows. All were interested in the morning event that would define Lord Stark's fate.
He had just stepped out through the main entrance of the castle, receiving the stares of everyone who quickly noticed his presence. He walked beside his eldest son.
"You'll be alright?" Robb didn't fail to ask at his side, worried about his father.
"...I can fight for you, be your champion. I've already fought him, I know a bit of his fighting style, I might have more luck..." he insisted.
Ned stopped walking at that moment and turned back to his son, raising an eyebrow.
"You speak as if any living man could defeat him. You know very well what he is capable of. You say you know how he fights, but you have no idea how to defeat him." Lord Stark said with a stern tone. "What good is it, if I must take up the sword as we do in the North... We fight with honor and this fight is mine. I have trained for this these past days. I already said I would fight. You don't need to return to this matter." It was not the first time Robb made that request.
Lord Stark continued walking, while the crowd opened for him to pass. He proceeded with some Northern lords, receiving nods and comments of good luck.
"As if that would actually help me..." he muttered with displeasure, but continued forward until the people opened the way enough for him to reach the clear center of the courtyard, where Daemon spoke with the blonde who was always with him. Near them, his enormous axe was embedded in the ground, a few meters to the side.
Lord Stark, like many there, felt his eyes drawn to the weapon. That weapon looked magical simply by its design, with runes glowing on its blade between blue and gold.
Lord Stark did not fail to admire it. He had heard of that axe: they said it could generate ice, making its blade grow. That it had been found beyond the Wall together with Daemon's dragon. All of this, according to Benjen's accounts — who had heard the story directly from Daemon — was the axe that held the dragon trapped in a place in the middle of an army of the dead far to the extreme North.
So that weapon would be used against him in that combat.
Lord Stark analyzed the scene, keeping Ice still sheathed at his side. Daemon watched him calmly, ignoring any previous conversation with the blonde.
Stark stared at Daemon with his gray eyes, while Daemon returned the gaze with those bright violet eyes.
"Val, step back," Daemon said to the blonde who was beside him. She left him and silently entered the crowd, positioning herself to watch the fight.
"I suppose we don't have much time to waste. Let's get straight to the point," Daemon said and looked toward the maester.
Maester Wolkan nodded and approached the center.
"We are here today for the trial by combat granted to Lord Stark for his crimes against His Majesty in his childhood. The king has chosen no champion other than himself, and Lord Stark has done the same. Today, the gods will decide Lord Stark's fate through this combat — whether he is guilty or innocent. Both may prepare." Wolkan stepped back, giving them space to take their positions.
Lord Stark drew Ice from its sheath and handed the empty scabbard to his son Robb. He could see Bran among the crowd, on Hodor's shoulders so he could see everything. Arya was hanging on the highest wall. Rickon was not there.
His friend looked at him with a certain caution.
In any case, Lord Stark removed Ice from the large sheath and adjusted the sword, lifting it with both hands, displaying the Valyrian steel, while Daemon only stared at him without making any movement. He had not yet picked up his axe, but took a step forward and raised his hand pointed toward the axe meters away.
The axe, with no explanation, simply flew up from the ground until it was perfectly caught in his right hand, drawing gasps and stunned looks from the crowd.
They said that this axe could be thrown by Daemon without the enemy being able to defend. Even shields or armor were easily penetrated by the weapon's blade, and Daemon only had to raise his hand to bring it back to him with magic.
Lord Stark did not know if it was another trick of Daemon or if it was the weapon itself — clearly magical.
Daemon gripped the axe with his right hand while, with his left, he materialized a thinner sword. Dark Sister was wielded in his left hand, while he held the axe handle in his right, walking calmly from side to side, before taking a few steps in the opposite direction, still staring at Lord Stark.
"Are you both ready?" Maester Wolkan asked, nervous.
"Yes." Daemon answered calmly.
No one there looked at him with concern. All eyes were directed at Stark. Everyone knew the king's abilities and powers. Among the free folk and many in the North who had seen his actions in battle, Daemon was known as a man no mortal could defeat — not to mention that the men who had fought beside him greatly praised his feats, even inventing ballads.
"Yes." Lord Stark tightened his fingers around the sword, also responding to the maester.
"May the gods decide the fate of this combat. Begin!" announced the maester, stepping back into the crowd.
Daemon seemed more relaxed than Lord Stark, but advanced directly toward him with calm steps and an indifferent face.
"You should be wearing a helmet." Daemon said. He was using only light armor.
"You're not wearing armor at all." Lord Stark retorted.
Daemon was dressed only in common clothing, flexible for movement — just a simple noble gambeson.
"I don't need to." Daemon replied, approaching close enough to start the fight. Then, he advanced with the axe first.
Lord Stark moved his legs quickly and defended himself, but the impact was so heavy that he knew he could not compete in strength against that weapon, even holding Ice with both hands.
Daemon didn't seem to be in any hurry to defeat him. He did not attack again immediately, waiting for Stark to regain his balance.
Lord Stark recovered, and Daemon then launched a movement with Dark Sister, striking against Ice. The Valyrian steel resonated with an almost melancholic sound in the courtyard, the two blades of the same material clashing. Lord Stark managed to steady himself. The sword was not as heavy as the axe, but even so he tried to push Daemon — and realized the other made no effort at all.
That made him retreat. Daemon quickly advanced with the axe, forcing him to step back several more steps, moving out of the direct sword clash and trying to defend himself from the combined attacks while Daemon moved both arms, attacking without pause.
It was impossible to keep the pace. He defended from one side and soon the attack came from the other. It was obvious the fight was unfair, everything tipping toward the dragonborn's side. Lord Stark only retreated, trying to avoid being struck, while Daemon kept an expression of boredom.
There was nothing impressive for him there. Daemon had long ceased to be impressed by humans wielding weapons. Mystical creatures and monsters had been his real entertainment — the only thing that had drawn genuine attention since his arrival in this world were the White Walkers. The rest... was like playing with children, no human warrior could match him.
When Lord Stark was almost pressed against the crowd, Daemon stopped. He simply stepped back again, walking from side to side, calmly, still staring at him.
Lord Stark furrowed his brow. He was being humiliated — as if he were nothing before him.
He returned to the center, trying to recover his stance, panting and sweaty. Daemon then advanced again, this time more aggressively — it was time to end it.
In a fluid movement, Daemon pushed Ice's blade to the side and moved the axe against Lord Stark's torso—using only the handle, not the blade—knocking him down. Lord Stark lost his balance, staggered, and fell to the ground. The crowd gasped.
Daemon stepped closer. Lord Stark looked at him with a tired and ashamed expression. "You lost. And you know that, don't you?" He didn't even bother to place a weapon at his neck. If he stood up, Daemon would truly hurt him.
The fight had been shameful for Lord Stark, but what else could he have done? "I know. I lost to you." Lord Stark admitted.
Daemon turned his gaze toward the maester, who nodded for him to conclude the judgment. Daemon was not going to kill his uncle — at least, not there, in the courtyard. Now he would declare the verdict.
"Lord Stark has lost before the eyes of the gods. The judgment has been made. Lord Stark is considered guilty. Now it is up to His Majesty to decide his fate." said the maester, struggling to make his voice reach everyone.
Daemon looked satisfied and his eyes grew more serious the next second.
"Well, now that we are done with this, I will state my punishment for all the mistreatment I endured in childhood because of you. I do not want to leave you unpunished. You saved me at the Tower of Joy, but I also saved myself in King's Landing. Even if I had not intervened in the political intrigues that caused my stay in the south, you knew you would die trying to keep the realm together while the bastard Rob Waters, in power, let your investigations slip out of this palace. You would not threaten to take the throne without also being threatened. And the king's words in letters — they would mean nothing." Daemon made those words clear to Lord Stark before taking a small pause.
"And so I decide: Lord Stark is sentenced to the Wall after helping me in the south. We need good men there, but I also want him leading the North, and I am sure he can still be useful." Daemon said, surprising some, while others sighed with relief — Stark's own family seemed satisfied with the outcome; at least it was not his death, even if his final fate was the Wall.
Lord Stark stood up and murmured, grateful and bitter: "Thank you..."
At least my nephew did not kill me. He wondered if Lyanna was having that conversation — Daemon had been speaking with Ned and his children every day, disappearing mysteriously.
"Well, it's over. Now we will have one week before the final troops arrive and we begin marching south," said Daemon, and the entire crowd took notice, whispering among themselves about what had just happened and about the future.
Daemon looked at Lord Stark's back and then at his son. He could have placed him as lord of Winterfell, but that would not make much sense — his son Robb should take on that responsibility, and it would be a good opportunity for his father to lead now, so that he could learn from his own mistakes.
It would not be wise to leave him unpunished for the problems he caused Daemon; having him in the army would not make much difference. After all, he was only seeking Stannis' support to solidify his power, as well as the support of the North and the Stormlands, to keep them united against their enemies, without having to deal with small rebellions from those regions at the beginning of his reign.
◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆
🦝 Raccoon here: 🦝
I deeply appreciate your support since the beginning of this exciting journey!
I hope each chapter has provided incredible moments. If you like my work and would like to support the continuation of this fanfic, consider becoming a patron with plans starting at $2!. As a token of gratitude, I offer access to more than 210 extra chapters with 7 active fanfics at the same time, along with other exclusive benefits on my profile, such as images and significant decisions for the stories.
Even if you are not a patron, I am making chapters available a few hours earlier here, so become a free member on the platform!
🌟 RaccoonLeague | Patreon🌟
Visit our Patreon for more: https://www.patreon.com/RaccoonLeague
Extra Content Already Available:
🏴☠️ One Piece - I Am a Different Luffy!: 30 extra chapters!
👑 Game of Thrones: The Legend of Jon Arctic!: 30 extra chapters!
🌀 Naruto - Minato Namikaze SI!: 30 extra chapters!
🗡️ The Witcher - As Uchiha Madara! 30 extra chapters!
⚡ Harry Potter - Shadow Monarch! 30 extra chapters!
👑 Game of Thrones: DragonBorn! 30 extra chapters!
Except for One Piece with daily chapters and DragonBorn once a week, all fanfics are updated 3 times a week, there's just a pause in updating in the week, only to create drafts for the week's chapters.
In addition to the extra chapters, daily chapters are posted and 25 chapters per week!
Your support is very important and makes all the difference in keeping these stories alive.
Thank you very much for being part of this journey! I hope you continue to enjoy the story and that it brings even more joy to your life!
Visit our Patreon for more!!
◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆