[Chapter Size: 4500 Words.]
---------------------------------------
Third Person POV
Arctic, 299 AC.
---------------------------------------
Jon used the Senate once again as a landing strip, as it was the widest place where Eragon could fit, while sending a mental command to the dragon to take certain care with the approach, obviously due to the crowd of people that was behind him with the children.
He didn't need to look to see how stunned his passengers were behind Jon, with the sense of being lost that they all shared; the silence alone was enough. Since they had seen the kingdom, no one dared to say a single word.
Rickon seemed restless in front of him, looking at the landscape atop one of the tallest buildings in the city.
Just as everyone's eyes were immediately on the city. Even atop the dragon, they moved their heads from side to side, taking in the city however they could.
Jon waited a little for them to recover and began to dismount, grabbing Rickon and jumping down to the ground, then turning his attention to the group of people.
"Let's start getting down, just be careful. You should untie the ropes and then start descending one at a time. Leave your questions for when you're on the ground." After he finished speaking, Barristan Selmy was the first to act.
And the others, one by one, began to climb down by the dragon's ladder, helping the children and Bran with his condition, stepping onto the Senate platform, while trying to keep a good view of the city, without failing to look around again.
The farm family from Icehill stayed whispering among themselves in a corner; they didn't seem to believe their own eyes.
Bran had been carried by Barristan Selmy once again, looking over the entire kingdom with the knight, while Rickon, who had come down with Jon, began to run back and forth across the platform.
Roars in the sky also caught the group's attention; Jojen and Meera saw, along with the others, small masses flying.
"Are those more dragons?!" The beastly sound and the creature, which couldn't be as large as Eragon, must already have been 8 to 10 meters in length. There were at least three more dragons flying over the skies of Arctic at that moment, and Jon held back their urge to come to them, after all they always gathered around him, at least circling above Eragon and him; Jon didn't want to frighten the people there any further.
"It's just like I saw it," Bran was the first to break the silence that had settled over the place, speaking directly to Jon. "I dreamed of this. I dreamed of this city, I told you! I saw it in the future. I was here, living here and talking to your son!" he said, with a victorious tone, confirming that the visions were not mere images.
"Then you will be part of Arctic, Bran. That makes me happy. There is no better place in the world to live than here," Jon said with confidence and a certain arrogance, setting his problems aside to enjoy a bit the reaction of his cousins and the others.
"This is incredible!" Rickon shouted. "That sacred tree is immense! It's bigger than the castle! Much bigger than Winterfell!" He looked excited.
Since the Senate was to the north, the sacred tree stood behind the king's castle. They could see its enormous trunk rising behind the castle without being able to see the sacred grove from there, but the sight of a wooden trunk thicker than the castle itself was surreal, perhaps second only to the white walls.
Even so, it was a disturbing and striking sight: that sacred tree was larger even than Harrenhal, and it already surpassed the Wall itself, standing at 230 meters at this moment. Or 754 feet tall.
That meant the sacred tree of Arctic had become the largest structure in the world, second only to mountains. Not even the greatest castle ever built could rival its size.
"By the gods..." even Cassandra murmured, shocked. As a follower of the Old Gods, she was awestruck by what she was witnessing. She had heard about it from Arya when she was in Winterfell and asked about her life here in Arctic, but hearing about it from someone and seeing it in person were completely different things.
Even Jojen and Meera took their eyes off the dragons in the sky as they flew away and became hypnotized by the tree, stunned. Ever since they had entered the skies of Arctic, the tree was the first thing one could see, its leaves covering a large part of the city.
"You are blessed by our gods, without a doubt," Jojen said with veiled admiration as he looked at Jon, almost as if he were some kind of god now. "So there is no place in the world with more power from the Old Gods than at the center of this kingdom. Do you have any idea how the lords of the North would go mad if they had also seen what we are seeing now? Arya told everyone that Arctic had the most powerful sacred tree in the world, no one paid much attention, even though they agreed out of politeness... but this... this is completely different," he said to Jon, while the king nodded.
Barristan Selmy stepped forward toward Jon. "Was this city built by you, Your Majesty? This is beyond anything I could have imagined."
"With the right help, yes. I built this place with my companions and with the guidance of our gods," Jon replied.
"We heard about your kingdom and always listened to the council's speeches saying that there was nothing special here, that you live beneath the snow in a savage way... but I am at a loss for words, my king. This is far beyond what we could have foreseen... The city overshadows any other south of the Wall..." he said with a tone full of pride.
"Your father would tremble to his core if he were witnessing the same thing our eyes see now. He would feel immense pride in you!" Barristan Selmy declared, and Jon nodded with a look of gratitude toward the knight.
Jon then picked up his helmet, which he had left there beside the chest of the statue of his mother on Eragon's saddle, and prepared to leave.
"Let's go down. We'll talk at my castle about the whole situation and discuss how you're going to settle now... Just be careful with the sky, there are some zombie birds that attack from time to time, even though I can say we're safe, caution is never too much," Jon warned.
Thus, all eyes were already turning toward the massive storm that seemed to rage over the unseen northern reaches.
"Is that where the dead are?" Bran murmured carefully. There could still be movement from a large crowd, and as they advanced through the area inside the wall, it was possible to see the army before that storm, very far away, but still distinguishable.
"Yes, you'll be kept informed about what's happening here. Don't worry, we're safe. The war will end soon," Jon said, moving forward.
Everyone soon followed him as they descended through the Senate's structure, entering the main chamber and then going down the stairs, until, as always, a group of soldiers — none other than the royal guard — wearing Valyrian steel armor, awaited them on horseback with crossbows in their hands. Since Eragon's arrival made everyone rush to receive the king.
The people behind Jon immediately grew tense, but Jon didn't mind and kept moving forward, showing confidence. They were his soldiers. While some might feel fear at that formation prepared to face any enemy, Jon was nothing less than their king, the one they had sworn to protect with their lives, before the gods.
"My king, I see that you brought many people from the south," Lancelot said, taking a few steps forward with his horse and analyzing the group. He noticed they didn't look like wildlings. No, they were all southerners; some had a noble appearance, others were common folk, farmers who had been forced to take up arms. With just a glance, Lancelot could identify that. And one of them was well trained, the one carrying the boy.
Even so, the commander wondered whether Jon had brought them from north of the Wall or if he himself had gone south, since he had said he would only seek information and news from the south, without wanting to cross the Wall. A curious look fell upon the king, who let out a sigh.
"I crossed the Wall. After I discovered that my cousins might be dead, I went to Winterfell to investigate..." he said, causing all the soldiers around him to raise their eyebrows, obviously worried about the king's safety.
"My king..." Lancelot murmured, but Jon simply raised his hand for him to stop and let him continue.
"Not now, Lancelot. I did what I had to do. In any case, I'll take them to the castle. Uncle Benjen is in the north with the armies. I want one of you to go there and tell him to come to the castle immediately, and also write to the castle, I want wagons ready here," Jon said, lifting his head to watch the movement above them.
Some birds flew close by, some of them looking directly at them, and the gaze of an owl was easy to recognize. The emotion of seeing the two brothers was immediate, and she lost the connection with her warg.
"Well, it seems Arya must be running to the castle stables right now, grabbing a horse at this very moment," he said. Since Arya knew Jon would be coming from the south, she wouldn't fail to watch him as soon as he arrived in the kingdom with Eragon.
So she must have been completely stunned to see her two brothers there, when he hadn't planned any of that.
Jon turned his attention back from the royal guards and saw Lancelot analyzing Barristan Selmy. Jon shifted his gaze to the old knight, who also seemed to be analyzing the commander of Arctic's Royal Guard.
They had met in the naval battle, when Jon faced the royal fleet and defeated King Robert. They had exchanged a few sword blows, but it was Jon who defeated Barristan before breaking through and defeating Robert.
In any case, both were commanders responsible for protecting royal families of different realms, so it was normal for one to size up the other.
Jon simply sighed, and Lancelot finally turned to one of his men, ordering him to go north, which made the soldier immediately gallop in that direction; another wrote a letter for a raven, and it flew to the castle with the commander's orders in the king's name.
Ghost appeared on one of the streets, advancing toward Jon with a bounding gait — not too hurried, but not slow either. When everyone looked at the giant wolf, the entire group couldn't help but take steps backward.
"That's Ghost," Bran swallowed hard. The wolf was a monster three to four meters tall, as large as a giant or even a fenrir, according to the ancient legends of the North.
"What is that monster?" someone among the people of Icehill couldn't help but complain. The royal guards remained still.
"There's no need to worry. This is my most important bond, after Eragon," Jon said, as he stepped closer. Ghost pressed his muzzle to Jon's face, sniffing him, checking that he was well, recalling the anger Jon had felt that morning countless times. Jon moved his arm and touched beneath the muzzle, patting lightly, with Ghost enjoying what was beneath his mouth.
Despite not resembling anything like an ordinary dog, Ghost still felt joy as he closed his eyes under Jon's touch.
Jon turned his gaze back to the crowd, who were still watching in awe. Rickon was at Barristan Selmy's feet, with a look caught between fear and admiration. Cassandra looked as though she wanted to run from there, clutching her belly tightly, just like the members of Icehill, while the Reed siblings seemed uncertain about what to do.
"You flew on a forty-five-meter dragon and you're afraid of a six-meter-long wolf?" Jon almost laughed.
He looked at Rickon. "Do you want to touch him? He's quite friendly once you get to know him..." he asked, crouching down and inviting Rickon to come closer with a gesture of his hand.
Rickon seemed uncertain, but took a step forward very carefully, approaching Jon cautiously and the wolf behind him, thinking he might be attacked. Jon simply smiled, letting Rickon finally come close, while taking his small hand and guiding it toward Ghost, who lowered his head as well.
Upon touching the wolf's fur and seeing that there was no aggression, only a curious look from those red eyes turned toward Rickon, who carried the blood of wolves, the boy broke into a smile and began to laugh in the next moment.
"He's so big! His fur is soft… softer than Shaggydog's. Do you sleep on top of him?" the boy asked, fascinated, while Jon laughed loudly.
"No, but it's quite possible that I could. I just don't know if Ghost would agree to having weight on top of him. He likes to roll around when he's resting, I think those are his wolf dreams," Jon said, in an amused tone.
"Do you want to touch him too?" Jon asked Bran, noticing the look of admiration and even a certain envy from his younger brother.
Bran was surprised by the question and nodded, but looked uneasily at Barristan Selmy. He didn't seem very confident.
"Leave him with me," Jon said.
He went to Bran and lifted him from Barristan Selmy's back, bringing him closer to the giant wolf. Ghost sniffed him first before licking Bran with his tongue, easily covering the boy's entire face, while Rickon laughed loudly.
"Looks like he likes you," Jon said with a satisfied smile.
The cousins' two wolves also approached at that moment. Ghost looked at them and began to sniff them. Automatically, the wolves started circling like dogs, showing their bellies, while Ghost continued to sniff them.
The two direwolves also seemed to accept the touch of the immense wolf without resistance, acting like ordinary dogs before the larger wolf. It was obvious that the territory belonged to the white wolf, but the wolves were licking one another.
"Looks like they got along well," Jon said, satisfied.
"Jon, do you have more wolves this big? He's enormous! Could Shaggydog grow this big?" Rickon asked hopefully, watching his wolves interact with Ghost.
"Actually, Ghost is the only one. Wolves reach up to two meters, or two and a half at most. Ghost is a variable of his own," Jon explained, patting the wolf's neck.
"It's like the one from the ancient legends… they called him Fenrir, a wolf so big it could cut a man in half with a single bite," Bran murmured. The direwolf seemed to have caused more of a stir than the dragon itself, and Eragon certainly wouldn't be very pleased about that.
Jon set that thought aside and turned his attention back to the royal guards, while Ghost lay down on the ground. Jon sent a mental command, telling them that they would not be leaving now and that they should stay there for the time being. Soon, the other wolves joined him.
Jon explained what had happened, while the royal guards couldn't help but make grim faces. They looked at the members of the Icehill family with pity. They knew the king's story, something quite famous in Arctic — sung and told many times among the people and the children. Jon's adventures before and after the Wall were stories the people loved to hear, telling of the origins of Arctic, and that small farm called Icehill had been a striking point in it. Knowing that the farm where the king had nearly died trying to protect it had been destroyed by raiders had an impact.
Jon also introduced his cousins and the widowed wife of his late uncle, the Reed siblings, and Barristan Selmy as well. The royal guards looked suspiciously at the man who had once served the king of the south. Jon could understand the reason; it still required a certain caution, but he would deal with that later.
His eyes then turned toward the streets that led to the castle, for someone was coming at high speed riding a giant wolf.
Even though the order had already been sent to the castle for wagons to be brought to transport the people, Arya, upon seeing her brothers through the bond, wasted no time. She immediately headed to the place, riding her own Nymeria, who could easily bear her weight. Standing over two meters tall, she was larger than a warhorse.
Everyone looked as she came running. Bran broke into a wide smile, while Rickon was already shouting Arya's name, jumping up and down. She stopped beside the royal guards, simply leaped off the giant wolf, and ran toward them.
"By the gods, it really is you… it's you!" Arya said, her voice overtaken by emotion.
Rickon ran toward her from the other side with all his strength, while Arya lifted him off the ground, hugging him tightly against her chest.
"When I heard that the Greyjoys had attacked the North, I feared for you. I'm so glad you're here… so glad you're alive!" she said, full of longing and fear.
Arya turned her eyes to Bran, still in Jon's arms, moved closer quickly, and hugged him carefully.
"Sister!" Bran clutched her tightly and began to cry.
Rickon was crying too, and Arya couldn't hold back her tears. She didn't know everything that had happened, but she was deeply moved to see her two brothers there, alive. The questions would come later; that first moment was only about their reunion.
Jon stayed there, holding Bran while hugging Arya for a while, until they finally released themselves from that collective embrace.
"I'm happy you're here, brothers," she said, wiping away her tears and stepping back a little, but still keeping an arm around Jon's neck.
"I was so scared… so scared…" Rickon began to sob, letting all the pent-up sadness finally come to the surface.
Jon had been his first anchor after everything that had happened, but Arya was someone familiar, with a stronger bond than Jon had with him at that moment; she had always taken care of him in Winterfell and even read to him during the nights, she was someone he knew who, just like Jon, would keep him safe.
As both brothers clung to her tightly, Rickon began to tell everything all at once.
"They killed Ser Rodrik, Arya! They beat Bran and threatened him, Theon threatened Cassandra, said he would hurt her... We left Winterfell and Jon picked us up and brought us here. I'm so happy to see you… so happy to see you again, sister."
"Oh, my love… I don't know everything that happened, but what matters is that you're here. Nothing will hurt you anymore, I promise!" Arya said, hugging him tightly.
She then turned to Jon, with a look already full of questions.
"Winterfell was taken by Theon Greyjoy. When I learned of it, I went there immediately to find out what had happened. In fact, the news I received from the Night's Watch was that Bran and Rickon... were dead, burned by Theon."
Arya shuddered upon hearing that.
"No wonder your animals were all enraged," she murmured sadly, letting a few tears slip. "If that were really true… I wouldn't even know what to do, Jon. I would have torn them apart... They are my brothers..."
"The first thing I wanted to do was burn every Ironborn until I found Theon. I went to Winterfell and checked the bodies first. Then I saw they weren't the two of them. They must have used other children so as not to admit that they had let the Stark sons escape. I tried to track them immediately, but I went somewhere else first. After I found you, I brought you with me," Jon explained, his voice heavy with emotion, hugging her as well.
"Thank you, Jon. If anything had happened to them… I wouldn't have..." Arya said, repeating what she had said before, but she couldn't finish the sentence. Just thinking that her little brothers might have perished, after what had happened to their father, would have shattered her.
"There's one more person I'm sure you'd like to see," Jon said, pointing toward Cassandra.
Arya looked surprised and then brought her hand to Cassandra's belly, her eyes widening. "Oh, my God… in a few moons he will be born," she said, moving closer carefully.
Arya hugged the older woman with tenderness and relief, which was returned with a warm embrace, Rickon still in her arms.
"I'm glad you're well too. I feared the worst for you and for this child," Arya murmured.
That baby was the last remnant of her father in the mortal world, the last thing he had left behind. How could she not care? Her unborn brother was someone Arya had silently sworn to protect, and now she had the chance to do exactly that.
"I'm sorry for what happened to your father, princess. I'm sorry for what happened to Winterfell," Cassandra said, visibly shaken, as tears ran down her face.
"It's not your fault, Cassandra," Arya murmured, closing her eyes tightly as she said it. "None of this is your fault."
She then turned her attention to the one who had caused the destruction of her first home. "Theon Greyjoy, is it? He will pay for everything, I swear," she said, with contained hatred. "Ser Rodrik died because of Theon, but who else died?" she asked, worried.
"Everyone," Jon replied, with anger and sorrow.
"Maester Luwin?" Arya asked.
Bran shook his head negatively, indicating that he had not survived. That affected Arya as well, and her eyes turned to Jon in search of support.
"When I arrived at Winterfell, there were only a few servants left. I asked them what had happened and also saw the animals' memories. Almost everyone had been killed. Barristan Selmy was the one who entered Winterfell and started the mutiny, opening a chance for them to escape. He can explain it better," Jon said, pointing to the old knight.
"If they hadn't escaped... Arya, I'm not sure they would have survived. Theon had become someone consumed by hatred and resentment. He blamed the Starks for his punishments. He even wanted to rape Cassandra, a pregnant woman, to take revenge on your father that very night, if it weren't for Barristan Selmy... I curse Theon!" Jon said, in a tone of contained fury.
Arya was shocked when she heard that. Everyone there — the Stark children and Cassandra — shuddered, and the girl reached the height of hatred for Theon.
Arya turned to Barristan Selmy. "Thank you, sir. Thank you truly. I am in your debt for having done this," she said.
"I said the same thing," Jon added.
"There is nothing for you to worry about repaying me, Your Majesty. I have already said that I did this for your family... But if you insist on a reward, I will insist that I wish to serve you, I want to swear my sword to you, Aegon Targaryen, before your gods!" the knight declared directly.
Jon saw Lancelot along with the other royal guards narrow their eyes, listening to the conversation in silence. Even so, he remained calm.
"We'll talk about that later. But I am not Aegon, I carry the name my mother gave me at birth, but I am Jon Arctic now," Jon said.
Arya turned to the Reed siblings this time. "It's good to see you too. Were you in Winterfell?"
"Arya, it's good to see you," they said, lowering their heads in a respectful greeting. "We were not in Winterfell, but I saw through the green sight and we waited for your brothers in the wolf forest," Jojen said.
"And who are the others?" Arya asked curiously, observing people with common appearances, even though they were a bit dirty.
Jon quickly explained about the Icehill farm. Arya couldn't help but look at them with curiosity as they shrank under her gaze, but she frowned at the fate of that place, which was special to Jon.
The wagons arrived soon after, when the men from the castle finally appeared.
"Let's get into them. We're going to the castle. I've already invited Uncle Benjen to join us. I'm sure he'll be happy to meet his two nephews here in Arctic," Jon said.
Arya smiled with satisfaction as she saw Jon carry Bran to one of the wagons, and she soon went along with Bran and called Cassandra as well, after all she was also part of the family.
Arya couldn't help but feel a certain relief when she saw four Starks and one who had yet to be born there... There had been two wolves alone in the south, scattered and vulnerable, but now they were there, together in Arctic, counting on Uncle Benjen, five in total.
Rickon and Bran quickly kept their eyes on the window, looking at the city with curiosity and childlike admiration.
"Why is everything so empty?" Rickon asked, and Jon thought that question had taken a long time to come.
"They're hiding in a safe place..." Jon simply said, and Arya gave an involuntary smile as she saw Jon lightly pat Rickon on the back.
'Our father always said: the lone wolf dies, but the pack survives. Now that we are together, we must stay that way,' Arya thought.
Arya also looked toward the wagon and saw Ghost, Nymeria, Shaggydog, and Summer walking side by side. Ghost was a monster compared to the other wolves, although Nymeria was also enormous. Even so, the direwolves of the siblings looked like small dogs in comparison to the two; Nymeria already knew the two from Winterfell, so they got along immediately without any greeting.
Arya turned her attention back to the people in front of her and couldn't help but feel emotional. After everything that had happened to her father, her siblings were there.
"I don't know if anyone has said this before, but I need to say it," Arya said, wiping away a tear and opening a warm smile to Bran, Rickon, and Cassandra. "Welcome to Arctic."
There was a very clear reason for her to smile like that.
----
Raccoon Here:
I put the entire chapter into the reunion; I felt it needed something more emotional. I want to make another chapter about Jon's mother's letters (this will be a development for Rhaenys's anger, after all there are letters from Elia), Barristan Selmy meeting Rhaegar's daughter and sister as Jon's two wives and queens of Arctic, Benjen talking with his nephews, and I want to add Robb receiving the news about his siblings and the rumors about the giant dragon that appeared in Winterfell.
◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆
🦝 Raccoon here: 🦝
New update: I'm working with AI and creating images from the best scenes in the chapters!
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! Finished! [100%]
👑 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!!
◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆