The air was still as the Old One and I stared at each other, the other trees observing the two of us.
"So, can we start talking?" I asked, crossing my arms and sitting down in front of the tree. It didn't say anything as it stared back at me, the silence hanging for a few moments before it did.
"Very well, soul of two worlds. We shall discuss."
'Two worl-...Would a god know if I'm from another universe?' I thought before shaking my head at the thought. This was a literal deity in front of me. Of course, they'd know.
"Okay, so am I dead right now?"
"In stasis. Ilrwyannpqo is still guarding your body, though she will have felt the turbulent threads of Aether touching your form."
"Got that. So, he said that this was Astral Projection. Does that mean I'm still in my body or are we in some kind of shared mindscape thing?"
"The former. Your mind is not powerful enough to comprehend the sheer magnitude of the afterlife."
"Okay, so there is an afterlife?" I asked, humming as the Old One just stared back. "And all the gods live there?"
"Not all. The Seven, Rhoyne, R'hllor, The Horse God, the Many-Faced God and us are all who live there."
"Okay, a rapid fire of questions. What about the other gods from Essos, what about the Great Other and the Drowned and do these other gods also have chosens/ champions?"
"The other gods are merely aspects of the aforementioned gods. The Great Other and the Drowned reside in their own domains and no, not many gods would stoop so low as to choose a chosen."
"Then, why did you?"
"The Drowned One," he replied in a sharp tone. "It was the one to first choose a chosen in this time period."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Apologies for cutting you off, but when you say 'in this time period'..."
"We refer to this time period, the Dance of the Dragons," he replied as if insulted by my words. "We gods are everywhere, all-powerful and all-knowing. We survive in the past, live in the present and thrive in the future.
To you, your viewing of life is linear because your mind cannot see any other paths across time. To you, time is a river, but to us, it is a floodplain. All paths lay visible, all outcomes braided together by choice and chance."
"...Then why pick a chosen? Why not duke it out yourself?"
"For entertainment purposes," he replied and I stared at the Old One before dropping my head with a sigh.
Right, gods. They care for no one but themselves.
"Great, that's...lovely."
"You do not believe your words."
"Sarcasm. Sorry, it's been a long...I don't know how long it's been since I went to sleep-"
"Three hours," the Old One provided and I paused before nodding.
"Thank you. It's been a long three hours and I don't even feel like I slept," I murmured, smacking myself awake before nodding. "Okay, tell me everything you omitted that I need to know if I am to win this battle against Dalton."
For a long moment, all went silent as the weirwood trees all looked to the one in front of me. I felt as though I had offend it when I saw its eyes glowing before my own widened when I felt tendrils wrapping around my ankles.
Looking down, I stared at the thick branches wrapped tightly around my feet before I gagged from the pain as the tip of the branches stabbed through my ankles and out the front.
"Instead of talking, we shall show you. Prepare yourself."
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I snapped awake with a gasp, flying from my seat and startling Anne from where she was perched on the balcony's railing.
I would have been happy to see her, but the threads of Aether obscured my vision for a few minutes. I forced myself to calm down while rubbing the back of my ankles.
The sensation of feeling smooth skin where I had felt nothing but agonizing pain earlier threw my mind for a loop before I sat up straight.
The Aether threads soon shifted, moving out of the way and finally letting me see clearly.
"What happened, Torrhen?" Anne asked, fluttering into the room while still in her raven form as I grimaced.
"Well, I've learned that Dalton and The Drowned One can astral project themselves into my mind."
"...You have not figured out how to counter that, yet?" she asked, sounding as if what I was saying should not have been possible.
"Anne, the only manual I have on how to use magic is that of my ancestor Bran's and most of the spells in that are for summoning Greater Elemental spirits, some healing, some elemental manipulation and wards. That's it."
"Those are the only spells?" she asked and I nodded. "Of course, the fool never liked having to share his spells with anyone."
"So, my ancestor was a stingy guy?"
"Stingy is an understatement. Bran never liked sharing anything he discovered on his own without it being a trade. Who would have thought that his need to hoard spells for himself would lead to this?"
"Yeah, who would've thought?" I grumbled, standing up with a grunt and sitting down in the chair next to Otto's bed. "Did anything happen while I was out cold?"
"Nothing that needed your attention. A servant or two did try to enter this room and did enter yours, but the runes I added made sure to repel them."
"Well, that explains those," I murmured while looking at the ceiling, staring at the various runes carved into it.
Well, this was just great. Bran the Builder was a spell hoarder, I found out that the gods really do exist in this universe and the one guy I'm scared shitless off can come into my head because he knows how to astral project.
Whoever designed this universe was bored because why not just leave it at dragons and frozen zombies? Why all this random bullshit?
"Anne."
"Yes?"
"Dalton Greyjoy has a nigh-omnipotent being at his back supporting him. I have a journal with some spells, a patron god that answers everything in riddles and a divine peanut gallery that loves enjoying my torment."
"That is true, but you have two other things."
"And what are those?" I asked, turning my head to her as she gave the bird version of a shrug.
"Your free will. Dalton surrendered his ability to choose to the Drowned One as it commands, but the Old Ones guide and that means you can refuse any requests that you do not wish to do."
"Refuse an otherwordly entity at the risk that they won't jinx me with bad luck for the rest of my life? Sure," I replied with a sarcastic smile. "Also, what's second?"
"You have me, obviously," she replied in a matter-of-fact tone and I raised an eyebrow at her.
"Does that mean you want to be partners?"
"No, it simply means you are entertaining enough to the point that I wish to keep you alive."
"Right, of course. That's always the reason," I grumbled, ignoring her low caws of laughter as I looked out the window with a frown.
She was right, though. While Dalton was free to do as he wished, the way he looked in the dreamscape thing showed that he had to give up a lot to be who he was.
'My runes could provide protection and warning from my enemies. Let me check to see if I can't find any protection from a spectral figure trying to get into my mind.'
"Anne?"
"Yes?" she asked, turning her head to see as I smirked.
"You sound like you were close to Bran. Would it be possible for you to teach me on how he used the Aether of the world in his spells?" I asked and the Child of the Forest stared back at me before she nodded.
"I was not the one who taught Bran the Builder on how to listen to the world and my methods are considered to be very rough if the other Children are to be believed."
"Great," I replied with a smirk. "That means I don't have to worry about you taking it easy. Let's get this started."
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"I must say that this has been quite the time in Dorne, prince Qoren," Otto spoke with a smile as the two of us stood next to the gangplank, Qoren and his three children standing in front of us.
The prince chuckled at Otto's words and replied with a smile, "The honour was all ours, Lord Hand, and I do appreciate the terms you proposed for our 'alliance' of sorts."
"As do I. I did not expect to receive Dorne's agreement for an alliance when I came here, but I am sure that House Targaryen would be more than happy to have you at their side."
"We can only hope so. Lord Torrhen, I thank you once again for helping me get rid of Dalton and his rather crass tendencies."
"The pleasure was all mine, prince Qoren. Getting to meet Lady Rhoyne made it worth it," I replied with a smile and a bow, standing back up straight as I glanced to his children.
As I expected, Coryanne and Qyle simply nodded in greeting, but Aliandra waited until both her father and Otto looked away to pull away part of her skirt.
'...Is that the spare dagger I brought?' I thought, staring at the sheathed dagger in its scabbard. The hilt of it was stuck right up the wet snatch that dripped with lust and she pulled it out with a smirk before tossing it to me.
It was a Valyrian Steel dagger so I wasn't going to drop it, but the hilt was very sticky as I immediately put it in my coat with a frown.
"Huh, she is a lot bolder than most women," Anne replied from my shoulder and I just shook my head, turning as Otto walked up the gangplank.
'Make your entrance, partner,' I thought with a wry smile as I felt his impatience and everyone ducked down instinctively as a deafening roar ripped through the air.
Vermithor looked ecstatic with himself as he flew towards us, a chuckle escaping my lips as I walked along the pier. Then, I picked up speed, racing past everyone as Vermithor curved down.
Just as I reached the end, I jumped as the dragon swooped down, grasping into the rope ladder and climbing my way up the side as he rose back up into the sky.
"You two are incredible," Anne spoke with an exasperated roll of her eyes and I laughed at Vermithor's snort while fastening myself to the saddle.
"Boys will be boys, eh partner?! DIVE!" I barked out, leaning back as the dragon curved and dove back down. As we got close to the water, he spread his wings out wide and caught himself.
The three of us hovered right beside the flagship where Otto was on, my eyes fixed on the ruling family of Dorne before I bowed my head in greeting.
"Until we meet again, House Nymeros-Martell!" I shouted before Vermithor took off with a roar, turning my head to see Otto and his men doing the same.
A Stark on a dragon must have been a weird sight for them, but hey, life is full of unexpected surprises.
Vermithor's wings beat powerfully as we drifted above the fleet, watching as they took their formation before I looked forward to the north.
North, where King's Landing lies and where Winterfell lied.
'First, I need to make sure Helaena is safe. Then, I need to make sure the North is safe.'
A/N: And we end it off here~! Way shorter than normal, but with a bit of lore drop, we're going to start next chapter off with a bang!
What that is, you'll have to wait and see.
Also, no chapter for My Dad this week in exchange for a 5k word monster next week because there is a big explanation for how they sealed Gojo and a big fight.
As always, read, enjoy, review and until next week...
Ba-Bye~!