[Chapter Size: 4300 Words.]
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Third Person POV
Arctic, 298 AC.
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Upon arriving at the place where she could see Arctic among the clouds, Joy could not help but be left speechless.
Even with the sun already setting, she could clearly see the city, just like in the book where she had seen the drawing of this place, while the crystals began to shine around the entire kingdom, not just in the city, as several points of light that looked like stars to her eyes.
In contrast, outside the walls of the kingdom, there was a massive snowstorm to the north, which also circled the walls, but did not cross them for some reason, as if there were an invisible barrier.
"I want you to stay firm from this point on." She heard Jon Arctic speak behind her, while he began to take out a kind of cloak made of chainmail from one of the bags tied to the saddle and carefully wrapped it around her.
"What is this?" she murmured immediately, not knowing why she was being covered that way.
"It's to protect you. We don't know if there will be more creatures in the sky. They tend to appear very suddenly." He said as he finished wrapping her completely, leaving only her face exposed. Then, he put on his own helmet that he had kept at his waist the entire time.
"If any bird or other undead creature gets close to us, I will cover you completely, alright? The other dragons will protect us now that we are here."
But before she could ask anything, she once again felt that sinking feeling in her stomach, still not used to flying on top of a dragon, as the black dragon began descending toward the city.
Roars came from other parts of the sky as she approached, without taking her eyes off the city until she heard them. Immediately, Joy's emerald eyes widened when she saw a white dragon approaching, accompanied by other smaller dragons, though still as large as small houses.
"Do not worry. They are with us." Jon said, as they began to come closer and closer, already passing over the walls. Meanwhile, Joy looked at the number of dragons, almost choking—there were not just one or two dragons in this kingdom, but many of them!! What kind of power had been hidden here all these years?! As someone who had lived as a Lannister, even overshadowed, she knew how everyone boasted about being led by Tywin Lannister. What would happen when they discovered they were in conflict with such military power?!
What else could they expect but their own destruction if Jon Arctic gave the command for all those dragons to descend south of the Wall!?
Joy tried not to think about it anymore after the initial shock and took advantage of the last traces of light to observe what was happening there.
There was a war taking place in that place against monsters. She could no longer doubt it, given the caution the king had, his dragons circling the sky, and the magical kingdom itself. It looked like a dark and chaotic place, the city seemed deserted, and she could see men in the distance, troops near the walls, waiting for the enemy—whatever was behind that mist. A shiver ran through the girl as she saw all of that, realizing it was not a lie that this place was at war against the monsters everyone in the south had mocked.
Jon went straight to the port while the enormous dragon began to approach it without difficulty. No winged creature attacked them and the dragons began to circle the kingdom again, always trying to stop any of the dead birds, but Jon still wanted to maintain safety.
Many people had died in Arctic when they had allowed themselves to be confidently exposed. Small stealth attacks came from the White Walkers, and no one knew when the next one would come. Seryna's handmaid, servants, soldiers—many Arcticans had already been lost since the beginning of the war.
In the same way he had released the ship into the sea the first time, Jon placed it in the water again before descending from the dragon, loosening the chains a bit. Then, he used an iron rod to pull the rings attached to the saddle, while still keeping Joy wrapped in the eldenmetal chainmail. When he released the last ring, Vezofēdrur beat his wings and left from there, before finally landing in the largest open area of the port, his body shaking the ground.
"Good. We finally arrived." He said, removing the eldenmetal chainmail from Joy and storing it back on the saddle.
Joy did not even have time to react before letting out a small surprised cry, as she was suddenly lifted. Jon placed her over his shoulder again and began to descend the dragon's rope ladder, still showing his dragon that she was his captive. Vezofēdrur could have his pride challenged if he found out his rider's prey had a comfortable trip.
At that moment, groups of soldiers with royal guards began approaching as soon as they saw the king arriving on Vezofēdrur, while Jin Sakai and the other crew members were already removing the belts and beginning to guide the ship closer to the port, preparing it to dock alongside the other ships.
Jon placed Joy on the ground and turned his attention to the enormous dragon.
"Wait for me in the north, Vezofēdrur. I'm coming." Jon said in Valyrian, which Joy did not understand, while Vezofēdrur opened his wings and flew back into the sky.
Joy was still a little lost, with Jon not straying far from her, while the ship lowered its plank onto the port and her acquaintances from the past month began to disembark. At the same time, on the city side, men came mounted on horseback, wearing full armor.
Maybe not as magnificent as the king's, but certainly very close to it, and far better than any knight she had ever seen in the Seven Kingdoms, even among the Lannisters and when she saw the white cloaks in Casterly Rock during Cersei's visit. She had begun to hear rumors that these were Valyrian steel armors, something her uncle had envied greatly when he learned that Arctican soldiers wore armor worth castles, even without blood ties to the king.
It was ridiculous, the gossip said in the south. Even if King's Landing's royal guards had better armor than any common knight, all of the Targaryen family's Valyrian steel would always be kept only for them, not distributed among the men, even if those men promised to protect them with their lives.
While in Westeros houses prided themselves on possessing Valyrian steel swords, here in this kingdom of dragons and trees as huge as mountains, they used Valyrian steel as armor—and there was more weight of Valyrian steel in her sight with two dozen men wearing it in armor and swords than Westeros could have in swords!
And there before her, there were more than twenty armors like that. Not to mention other men in the approaching group who seemed made of an even rarer metal—the Eldenmetal. Her uncle had bought a single sword of that material for one hundred thousand gold dragons when the Arcticans docked in Lannisport years ago.
Joy kept watching the armors while the king still spoke with Jin Sakai and the others, and at the same time the men who had arrived dismounted from their horses, keeping a firm posture to greet the king.
Jon turned his attention away from Jin Sakai's crew, while Joy avoided the gaze of the newly arrived men, who also watched her with curiosity.
"Lord Sakai and the others are tired from their voyage. I will not force them to take their belongings from the ship now, but if you insist on doing so, I will leave it to your discretion. Rest first. Tomorrow you may remove everything calmly." Jon told them. Then he faced the guards. "Guards, take them directly to their homes and shelters where their families are. They need to be updated on what is happening in Arctic. Your services in the south were a success. You will rest before returning to arms and fighting alongside the people of Arctic."
"We can fight, my king. That is no excuse." Jin said, stepping forward.
Jon looked at him and simply replied: "First rest. Then we will talk. I know you want a place, Lord Sakai, but I need a man who wields his blade perfectly!"
Jin only nodded, though reluctant.
Joy heard this and turned her attention to the port, observing the place filled with ships docked in the enormous area where the docks extended.
She could not help but notice how real that image was, despite being surprised to see more than a thousand ships anchored there. The Arctican fleet was immense! What else could this place do to impress her?! Then, her attention was drawn to the great tree glowing red, as if it were on fire.
"Is it burning?" she murmured, seeing its red leaves beginning to glow, while the Children of the Forest sang their magic so the Old Gods would illuminate another night of darkness, as they did every day. At sunrise, the tree would lose its glow again, and the Children of the Forest sang around the giant trunk in the sacred grove so that it would shine every time the sun began to disappear.
"No, it's not burning." Jon heard the girl murmur and smiled, while she stared at him in surprise at his words. He was already removing his helmet at this moment, placing it once again at his waist, attached to a small hook on his armor.
"You will learn a lot about what is happening. That is why I designated that you stay with my wife, Seryna. And speaking of her… here she is." he said, as Seryna appeared mounted on a Shadowcat, accompanied by six royal guards, approaching the port quickly.
"Jon!" she said as she dismounted from the Shadowcat, approaching her husband.
"Seryna, I'm glad you came. I want you to get a carriage and go rest tonight." Jon said, while she made a displeased face.
"No way you're not going with me!" she answered firmly. "You're going back to the battlefield again today?! You fought yesterday, Jon. You need to rest!"
Jon only shook his head. "I want you to stay with Joy and take her to the castle. Start explaining everything about the Kingdom. Make sure she feels comfortable." Jon said with a more serious look, without answering his wife immediately, and Seryna understood what he meant. They had already talked about Rhaenys' temperament.
"Jon, you need to rest. Are you going to stay and fight another day?" Seryna complained, exasperated.
"I must go, Seryna. I will not rest today. We are about to face a great attack today. I have already risked too much going west to retrieve Jin and the others while the attack could have come at any moment while I was away. But I needed to take advantage of the last rays of sunlight." Jon replied.
Seryna sighed, defeated.
"Dammit, Jon… just don't overuse the potions to stay awake without rest! That is not good for your body." she said, reluctant.
Seryna had always been calm — but the war was beginning to wear her down. Especially after losing someone dear, like her handmaid. Jon could see the fear in her eyes — fear of losing him too. But he knew he needed to fight that day/night. He felt that the dead beyond the mist were preparing something to unleash against them in the coming hours.
Two months had passed since the beginning of the war, and more than three hundred thousand undead creatures had been consumed by the green flames — fire so intense it evaporated entire mountains and valleys, making the kingdom tremble as it lit the horizon with a brightness capable of blinding anyone who looked directly at it.
However, Jon had never managed to destroy the main group. Even after the explosion, the mist returned three days later, and the dead began trying to climb the walls. Among them were human soldiers, giants, ice spiders the size of horses, birds, giant wolves, bears, Shadowcats and all sorts of smaller animals. The Night King seemed to use anything that moved north of the Wall to turn into his soldier.
So the fight began with the dead climbing the kingdom walls for the first time. Jon had to divide his army. Even with more than one hundred and fifty thousand soldiers, he needed to split them in half. One group fought during the day, even with the sun almost nonexistent, and the other fought during the night, taking turns, for the dead attacked constantly, trying to catch them by surprise.
Certainly, the loss they inflicted in the previous attack had caught the enemy off guard. The White Walkers did not expect Arctic to be able to use explosions of green fire on such a devastating scale. Unlike past battles where they dealt with a few thousand enemies, this time the explosion had eliminated hundreds of thousands of dead, something the Night King did not imagine Jon could do.
Jon had taken advantage of the enemy's arrogance.
Meanwhile, inside Arctic's walls, no mist could enter. What crossed the wall were only the dead, who were quickly struck down with arrows, spears and swords. Even so, the Kingdom resisted with strength, destroying more and more of the enemy army each day.
Jon, even exhausted, fought on the front line with his men whenever necessary. He did not mind staying three days in a row in battle before resting. He needed potions to endure, but he continued fighting to keep his people safe and their morale high. He was always the blade that was thrown first against the dead, leading his troops through the hordes. Then he assumed command as the main strategist in the battles, always being assisted by Arctic's general.
The underground shelters were almost all full. Few people still remained in their homes, while the underground of Arctic sheltered half the population — mainly children and babies in the arms of their mothers, who breastfed them while their husbands were outside. Many women who fought in the field had to leave the front lines to care for their newborn children.
Births continued even in the midst of war. Underground, Arctican women still gave birth, and the midwives worked tirelessly. Obviously, the rate of pregnancy had decreased since the start of the war, but that did not mean there were not many pregnant women in Arctic before the conflict began.
Jon approached Seryna and kissed her on the forehead.
"Everything will be fine, my love. I will be with Val and Arya today, and all the royal guards insist on taking position at my side before resting." Jon said with a calm smile, while Seryna sighed, her expression saddened.
"Just survive, Jon. You are the main link in this war. Do not push yourself to the point of becoming weakened. If something happens to you…" She couldn't finish, her eyes filling with tears. Jon was moved to see those blue eyes full of fear and hope. He returned the gesture with a kiss on her lips, not caring who was watching.
"I will be fine. Just do what I asked and take care of our children. I heard that Loki has been very anxious lately, and that ___ also needs their mother's attention." Jon said, touching her face. Seryna smiled, a shy but sincere smile.
"He takes after his father. He does not like staying still and wants to take risks. That's why I fear for him… just as I fear for his father." she said, with a slight teasing tone. Jon smiled back.
"Anyway, I will go north to prepare the troops. The royal guards will come with me. I will return before dawn tomorrow." Jon said, looking toward the city, as a massive armored wolf approached. He called it through his warg connection. Ghost ran to the port from then on.
Joy watched the entire scene, full of surprise. The affectionate and gentle way Jon treated his wife was nothing like the rumors she had heard arriving from King's Landing, where Cersei said he was a monstrous kidnapper and rapist. He did not seem anything like that.
However, she became frightened when she saw the enormous wolf approaching. Ghost was gigantic, larger than any common wolf, with his body covered in armor made of the same valuable Valyrian steel! A carriage was also brought, and Joy was surprised when Seryna approached her after Jon went to the giant wolf in Valyrian steel armor and climbed onto him, the wolf lowering himself to receive him.
"His name is Ghost. He is one of the king's strongest bonds." Seryna explained, seeing Joy's eyes on Ghost and Jon.
Joy blinked and looked at her, then quickly knelt. "You are the queen of Arctic…" She would have done the same to Jon if he didn't make her so nervous she didn't know what to do in front of him when he first appeared.
Seryna lifted her hand, interrupting her.
"Please. We do not kneel in Arctic. Stand up." she said with a firm but gentle tone.
Joy, confused, just held her hand and stood up quickly.
"Come with me. We are going to the castle. You will be a guest for a while, due to the promise my husband made to your father." Seryna said, walking toward the carriage. Two royal guards positioned themselves to escort them.
"Did you meet him as well?" Joy asked, still uncertain about everything, as she climbed into the carriage.
"No, I was not on Jon's journey in Essos. I stayed in the kingdom to take care of our children and keep everything running in his absence." Seryna said with a small smile, as she entered the carriage and Joy followed.
"I see..." Joy murmured shyly, not knowing what to say after that. She could not help but notice that Seryna wore Valyrian steel armor and carried a large warhammer, showing that she also fought — something unbelievable to Joy Hill...
"So, is Arctic pleasing to your eyes?" Seryna broke the silence as the carriage began to move.
"This place… is something I can't describe." Joy murmured, a little lost. She tried to maintain composure, to choose beautiful words, but she had not received the same education as the children of important lords, and she felt she was failing miserably. Even so, Seryna seemed to find it amusing.
"Well, you are not wrong." Seryna said, as Joy looked back at her.
"You are Seryna Arctic… the first queen of the kingdom, right?" Joy asked.
Seryna opened a wider smile. "Exactly. I met Jon even before he entered the Wall."
"Truly?" Joy asked, surprised. She did not remember hearing about a girl who had accompanied Jon back when rumors about the young Jon circulated — only stories about giants, northern men, and their beasts.
"Well, that is a long story. But we have time. If you want to hear it, I can tell you about my relationship and history with Jon. But I also want to hear about you. I think it's fascinating to hear the perspective of someone who has never been in Arctic before." Seryna said with a calm and polite tone, but displaying a warmth that made Joy feel increasingly comfortable around her.
"Well… I read a book that was among those left in my cabin during the journey north. It talked about this kingdom. At first, I didn't believe it. I heard about it in front of Lord Sakai and the others, but it does not compare to the truth now… seeing all of this…" Joy murmured, peeking through the window, watching the tree glow brighter and brighter, looking as though it truly burned with magical flame.
"That giant tree… the dragons, the soldiers, the animals, the ships, the city itself… the king... it is all incredible." she whispered, a blush rising to her face.
Seryna smiled even more. If Jon wanted to place her as a handmaiden, then Seryna would dedicate herself to getting to know her — even though she was still saddened by the loss of her former companion, who had been with her since she became queen. She would still give Joy Hill a place.
The conversation continued, with Seryna speaking about the Kingdom. Joy was stunned when she heard that Seryna was one of the giants who had accompanied Jon during that time in the north below the Wall, and that somehow she had become human by the will of the Old Gods.
Seryna spoke about her marriage, her first pregnancy, her journey to the south, and also revealed what had truly happened in Oldtown — the day when influential archmaesters had threatened Jon and her in a closed room, full of guards ready to kill them.
Thus, that conflict had begun.
And now that Joy was there, seeing everything with her own eyes, there was no reason not to believe the words of a queen who spoke so gently to a bastard like her.
In Casterly Rock, they always treated her as scum, and the Septons themselves, even when some tried to be kind, Joy knew that behind their words they condemned her simply for existing as a bastard. Here… a queen spoke kindly to her, would make her her own lady-in-waiting?
The journey continued to the castle, and Joy could not help but be enchanted upon seeing the giant clean white castle, with several towers and a design she had never seen in Westeros. Although she had never left the West, she doubted there was anything similar even among the greatest constructions, such as the Red Keep, Winterfell, Harrenhal, or Storm's End — and two of those were built by Brandon the Builder.
They were escorted by four royal guards to the interior, advancing through corridors until they began descending stairs, certainly toward some vault or underground area. Joy was surprised to find hundreds of people in a large hall, where they ate together. It was as if there was another castle inside the castle.
Seryna then explained.
"This is the bunker. It was built even before the upper part of the castle existed by the dwarves with Jon supervising. The project and the castle were designed by the king himself. There are dining halls, clean water — brought from the spring by the roots of the Great Tree. People can bathe here, there is a functioning sewage system, and rooms for all the families. Royal guards watch all access points. The place was made for the royal family, our friends, and for the servants who maintain the castle's functions with their families. They have the right to remain here safely."
When Seryna finished, someone shouted, already drawing attention as they entered that hall.
"Mother!" a voice called.
Joy saw a boy run from the main table, the highest in the hall, to Seryna. She stepped forward and lifted him into her arms. Joy recognized the king's eldest son, Seryna's child.
"My boy!" Seryna said with a smile.
"Where is father!? I thought he would come today." he asked anxiously.
"Your father is going to the battlefield today. It seems the dead are preparing something for this day." Seryna explained, before her attention returned to Joy. "Come on, let's meet the others." she said, approaching the main table with Loki in the queen's arms.
Several women observed them. Joy felt her heart race as she was watched by four other women sitting there. All incredibly beautiful, to the point of making her cousin Cersei look like a common woman...
All of them had their eyes on her, and although she was a Lannister bastard, that did not seem to bother most of them. Their husband, after all, had carried out an entire mission to rescue her. That drew attention — from all of them.
Most of the looks were of curiosity and sympathy. But there was one look Joy could not ignore: resentful, intense, full of hatred.
Joy noticed those violet and somber eyes of the bronze-skinned woman, whom she would have guessed to be a Dornishwoman. She seemed to be the bastard daughter of Doran Martell she had heard so much about. Beside her, another woman with platinum hair watched Joy with caution and curiosity — but without the resentment of the other. Joy nearly choked when she realized this one looked like a Targaryen, though neither the king nor Seryna had said much about the queens.
Joy grew even more shocked realizing that there were at least four queens there. The king, it seemed, had five wives, and a sixth would become one as soon as there was time, even in the midst of a war outside.
She no longer knew what to expect from this place. Seryna had not said much about the other queens, saying it would be better to meet them personally.
So Joy simply took a deep breath and followed her to the main table.
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Autor note:
I think Rhaenys's resentment may seem exaggerated against everyone she believes wronged her family, but I don't see how she could be different, growing up with the Martells. Even if her views diverged from theirs, and she tolerates many of them, she still feels anger toward the Starks, Baratheons, Arryns, Tullys, Lannisters, and all connected to them.
Now let's finish with Joy's points of view, I think her introduction is well established and we will focus on the war.
Here is the image of how I see the Arctican tree glowing.
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