It was a calm and peaceful place, a little away from the ruins of Harrenhal—a barren land untouched by anyone. Grass had never grown here ever since that fateful day Balerion the Black Dread unleashed his flames upon this land.
Even after years, the magical dragon fire had left its mark. Yet, for years, it remained calm, the land completely undisturbed.
Until now.
Suddenly, with a resounding smash, a figure landed on the barren land, as if he had flown there. In his arms, he held two smaller figures.
The landing wasn't perfect; this was his first time flying, and definitely his first time landing after taking flight.
All the way in, all three airborne passengers had closed their eyes.
Only midway did Thor realize that if he didn't open his eyes and land soon, they might cross all of Westeros—and possibly reach Essos at this rate.
A little exaggeration, perhaps, but not much—he really didn't know how to turn while airborne. They were also very close to the sea; once they crossed the land, he would have no choice but to land in the water or continue flying until he spotted land again.
Now that he thought about it, perhaps landing on water might have been a better idea. Having no idea how to slow his flight and land properly while still holding the two girls, Thor was out of options.
He tried to slow Mjolnir's flight speed—it worked. He just had to think about going slow. But soon he realized that too slow meant falling. So he tried to find a balance.
Keyword: tried.
For a total beginner, flying at all was a big deal. Asking for precise control was just too much.
Out of options, he could only lower their flight trajectory, bringing them closer to land. Once they were near enough, he halted the hammer—but it was taking too long. He let go of Mjolnir midair, mentally apologising, now understanding that the hammer was sentient.
Different from humans, animals, plants, or gods—but sentient nonetheless.
With Mjolnir away, his right hand was free to tightly embrace the two girls, already nestled protectively in his arms. His timing was perfect—they landed just then.
Thor tried to land on his feet, but his velocity was too high, his balance off from carrying the girls, and he had zero practice.
The result: he immediately lost balance and went headfirst down. But he didn't let go of the girls, holding them tighter to protect them from any harm during their impromptu landing.
His body hit the ground, sliding from one point to another, his armor tanking most of the damage. In fact, Thor took no serious damage outside a small cut on his forehead. His godly Asgardian armor, made of uru, protected both him and the girls.
Thud…
With a loud boom, they finally came to a stop when Thor's back slammed against a boulder. His head spun, blood trickling from his forehead.
It wasn't a serious injury; his Asgardian physique ensured that. Still, the multiple loops he'd taken while airborne, gripping Mjolnir's strap, had left him dizzy.
"You okay?" Thor asked, slowly opening his arms, only to find the girls were worse off than he was.
Sansa staggered to her feet, legs wobbling, mind spinning, and stumbled a little before emptying the contents of her stomach.
Arya was slightly better. The little she-wolf got up on shaky legs, taking support to stand properly. Her eyes roamed, still disbelieving they were back on solid land.
"Ai… we-we're alive," she muttered, disbelief colouring her voice.
"Aye, by Odin's grace we are," Thor grunted in an equally disbelieving tone. Flying wasn't as fun as he had first thought—at least not until he learned how to land properly and not spin around midair holding Mjolnir's strap.
"Sansa, you alright?" He looked at the poor girl, who was worse for wear.
Sansa tried to answer, but her stomach protested again, and the land was painted yellow once more.
'Got it,' Thor internally nodded, taking that as her answer.
He looked at both girls and sighed. At least, at first glance, they were safe.
He pushed himself up, feeling his body weigh a ton. With much effort, he got back to his feet and searched for his hammer.
To his surprise, Mjolnir had found its way across the field, carving a long, narrow trench. Sighing, Thor raised his hand, calling it back. Soon the hammer flew into his grip again.
With masterful ease, Thor caught it, feeling the familiar weight in his hand. He let out a relieved sigh and mentally apologised to Mjolnir again for letting it go midair.
After some time, all three of them were sitting in a clearing. Thor now sported a makeshift bandage fashioned from a part of Sansa's long dress. She had insisted, wishing to help as a makeshift doctor. At least it wasn't bleeding anymore. Though with his current body, he doubted it would have bled much even without the bandage.
"So, I assume you both have questions for me. Now would be the best time to ask before we move forward. Soon, we'll reach your grandfather's place. Better we clear up any misunderstandings now," Thor said, already knowing he couldn't remain silent this time.
His actions on the boat—bringing down thunder to destroy an entire ship—were noteworthy enough that anyone would have bombarded him with questions. To his surprise, the girls didn't ask anything. This time, however, he doubted he'd be so lucky.
Better to clear things up himself.
Both girls hesitated, neither willing to ask first. Finally, Arya couldn't hold back.
"How did you do that?"
"Do what? The thunder, the light, or the fight?" Thor smiled awkwardly.
"All of it," Sansa chipped in.
"Well, that's a long story. But to put it simply, I'm not exactly a man… I mean, I am a man, just not like normal men," Thor clarified. It frustrated him that these people didn't understand what "human" was.
For them, humankind was simply called "men," and there were countless other speech loopholes that made normal conversation difficult.
"Then what are you? Are you one of the heroes of old? Like in the stories?" Arya asked, eyes gleaming.
"Something like that," Thor said, deciding not to explain his godly state for now. Calling him a god outright would likely cause trouble later.
"To put it simply, I found myself here—in the North, in Westeros. I'm not from here; I came from a place called Asgard, as I told you.
We're not much different from other men here in Westeros. We just live longer, are stronger, and have access to magic—as you already saw." Thor intentionally kept it vague.
"And fly!" Arya beamed ear to ear, excitement still lingering. Both Sansa and Thor feared the little wolf might demand another flight anytime soon. Neither wished to be airborne again for the time being.
Being mostly children, they didn't go into details or the greater political implications. They took it at face value.
"Then why didn't you save Father back then? You had the power. You could have saved him." Surprisingly, Sansa asked this. She had seen the thunder, witnessed Thor fight, and experienced the flight herself.
She had flown, for the Seven's sake. If this man—or whatever he was—could do all that, why not save their father?
"Sansa," Thor began with a sigh, "I tried. I really did. It wasn't possible. Let alone saving him, I couldn't even find him down in the dungeon. I couldn't linger there long—you two were in danger back in King's Landing.
Your father didn't care about his own safety as much as he cared about you. Both of you. He asked me to get you out of King's Landing safely—that was my intention as well."
Silence spread among them once again.
Finally, Sansa nodded in understanding.
While they had much to think about—Thor's newly revealed powers and what had just happened, straight out of tales of old—they simply didn't have the energy to dwell on it. Right now, they wished only to go back home.
...
A/N : To clarify, Thor have now complete control over Mjolnir, but not Thunder. It will take practice before he completely master Thunder power as well.
As for Flight, as you all read, he is a newbie. That too will take much honing before he will be crossing the seas and planets.
xxx
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