Chapter 65 – The world begins to know Artica!
[Chapter Size: 3400 Words.]
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Many Different Points of View.
Many Different Times and Places, 292 AC.
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In the days when Jon still returned to Artica, many things happened in the kingdoms below the wall. At the Wall, Benjen stared at the letter, frowning as he read it.
"Jon, what are you thinking, you passed through the wall with Arya..." Benjen couldn't help but crumple the letter in his hand. It contained information that Jon was with Arya and that she would stay with him in Artica for a few years, studying. Jon also wrote that he would do everything to keep her protected.
"What the boy did is serious, and I doubt his brother will take it lightly, no matter how safe and full of innovative goods this kingdom beyond the wall is. Everyone will think horrible things about the girl. It's not the first girl the wildlings have taken beyond the wall this summer..." Jeor commented, already aware of the letter's contents. There was the case of the Umbers' daughter, and the North is sensitive about this. Everyone thought something terrible would happen to Arya, being taken to that cold desert.
"I don't like any of this, I swear by the gods, but Jon would never let harm come to Arya, she'll be fine. But Ned might not have much control over the situation."
"I know the boy will take care of her. Did you see all those armored giants? However, for the nobles and kingdoms in the south, Jon Snow has committed a terrible crime in kidnapping the Stark girl. Many are talking about it." Jeor reasoned, and Benjen just sighed, hoping the situation wouldn't get too out of control and that his brother wasn't too enraged with Jon.
In the following days, the news also reached Winterfell, even making Lord Stark want to hit Jon with that letter. But at least he knew his daughter was alive. They had spent weeks searching for Arya's disappearance. He had spent days without sleep, and the entire family was fragmented. Catelyn said that Jon had kidnapped her, but Jon was far away while Arya still remained in the castle. When she disappeared, they began searching without success.
When they were about to head north, a storm caught them in the middle of summer, forcing Ned to stay in the castle and pray to the old gods that his daughter would be protected and well. It seems she managed to find Jon, but what he expected from Jon was to leave her with some noble. But now with this letter from Jon, he knew the boy had decided to take her to Artica beyond the wall. This infuriated him like never before, and his wife was even more furious.
Ned Stark was in his chambers in Winterfell, his thoughts murky and heavy, when the shrill screams of his wife echoed through the corridor outside the chambers. Catelyn was furious, and her words were like sharp blades cutting through the silence of the night and his thoughts.
"This boy... this bastard... he stole our Arya! Jon Snow deserves to have his head ripped off his neck for this!" Catelyn yelled, her voice trembling with rage and despair. "He took our daughter, Ned! How can you defend this bastard now after all he's done?"
Ned felt a pang of pain in his heart. The situation was delicate and complex. He knew that, despite his love for Jon, he couldn't ignore Catelyn's words, though he believed Jon would never harm Arya. "Catelyn," he said calmly but firmly, "I understand your pain and anger. But we must be prudent in our accusations. Jon is my blood too, and I don't believe he would harm Arya."
Catelyn, with eyes inflamed with tears and fury, stared at Ned. "How can you be so blind, Ned? This boy has always been a threat, and now he's gone, taking our daughter with him to wild lands like their inhabitants. Can you imagine what will happen to our daughter there?!"
"You can say that Jon stole our daughter and many things, even call him a bastard. I won't get angry over your pain, but Jon would never let that happen to Arya. Such things never happened to Arya,"
"But Ned, our daughter...." She began to cry, and little Rickon, still a baby, had been crying in a corner of their parents' room since the beginning of the shouting.
Ned rose and approached his wife, placing his hands on her shoulders. "We will find Arya, I promise. But we must keep a cool head. Jon has always been loyal to this family."
"Loyal?" Catelyn sobbed, pulling away from him. "Loyalty doesn't take a child away from her home, Ned. I can't... I can't accept this."
Ned knew that arguing at that moment would be futile. He could at least contact Jon through the raven and write to him, asking to send Arya immediately back to Winterfell.
Elsewhere, a few days later, news of Arya being taken beyond the wall spread like wildfire. Even Catelyn encouraged it to ruin Jon's reputation in the North, turning a small hero into a kidnapper of noble girls.
"I was really worried when I heard the boy sent a shipment of 400 thousand gold dragons to the Starks, but taking the Stark daughter seems to have displeased the family. I don't understand why they're so upset. If I had a daughter, I wouldn't think twice before handing her over to anyone who offered half of that..." a lone man, known as Roose Bolton, was in his solar, watching the news with some amusement.
"No matter, I will make the Boltons assume leadership of the north and 400 thousand dragons from the Starks will make me richer in the end." He said in a somber tone.
POV Varys
As chaos began in the North, a few weeks later, news of the visit started arriving in King's Landing. Varys decided to gather as much information as possible before passing it to the king and council. There was no point in simply passing it fragmented, as it would be useless to contact the north before the boy left.
At that moment, it was still a few moons before Jon reached Artica.
2 years without any news, and today he would finally provide some information about the boy, however astonishing it might be this time, he had outdone himself, even with his history.
Varys was in the council room, with all the characters that always filled the table. "So Varys, anything else we need to know?" Jon Arryn, the Hand, asked from one side of the table.
"The bastard of Lord Stark, my lord Hand, he has reappeared from the north of the wall." This caught the room's attention, but the king was not present this time, as even with the news that Varys would bring information from the North, he was so hungover that he couldn't leave his room.
"More fantasy from the north, Varys?" Baelish asked mockingly.
"If you mean about an 11-year-old boy appearing in front of the wall with 2,500 men, a kind of race made up only of small men, ironically called dwarfs, and giant men over 3 meters tall, which you might know as giants, all soldiers armored in this EldenMetal, and in the group, there are 500 of those giants, then yes, more fantasy," he said solemnly. Everyone choked.
"What the hell are you talking about?!" one of them exclaimed, and all agreed with that thought.
"I'm talking about what all the Night's Watch rangers saw, and you know, when everyone says they saw it, there's some truth to it, am I wrong?" Varys asked ironically.
"You're saying that that boy from 2 years ago, somehow came back from the north of the wall with 500 giants and another 2,000 soldiers armored in EldenMetal, that metal the king received from Lord Stark when he visited Winterfell?" Stannis Baratheon commented with a furrowed brow.
"This can't be real..." Jaime Lannister commented mockingly.
"My brother speaks the truth." Cersei said mockingly as well.
"But all the men of the Night's Watch say they saw this... Army of medium, small, and large men?" Jon Arryn asked, analyzing, and Varys nodded.
"Did he attack the wall?" Jon Arryn asked again, wanting to understand why the boy would come with such a group to the wall if it was real.
"No, Lord Hand, he more helped than harmed with supplies brought from beyond the wall, although he created chaos when he arrived at the wall," Varys said.
"The boy donated resources from beyond the Wall to the Night's Watch?!" Renly commented, stunned.
"Hard to believe, but the boy somehow managed to produce clothing, strange drinks, swords, and food for the Night's Watch, delivering a large amount divided into wagons." Even Varys had his doubts.
The North already has a scarcity of food and beyond the Wall it is much worse with its climate, as its lands are much harsher. However, this child, whom everyone said was foolish for going beyond the Wall, returns with so many resources and an army that no one in this room yet believes in, but all of Varys' little birds sing the same song.
"To say that the boy not only made resources but also distributed them to the Wall, who would believe that?" Stannis said severely, treating it as a joke.
"Yes, my prince, according to my little birds, among the shipments he brought were many innovative products. There was a new alcoholic drink that warms the body in the cold, much appreciated by the people of the Wall, and there were strange products called cigars, small scrolls wrapped up that you light on one end and let burn. They calm the nerves and relax you when you inhale the smoke. No one has ever seen anything like these products before, but you can send a raven to any member of the Night's Watch to find out if my little birds are lying." Varys challenged everyone. He had his bit of skepticism, but when all the birds write the same thing, there was no refuting it.
"Are there other lands beyond the Wall then? This bastard somehow managed to create trade in the wild lands?" Cersei asked curiously.
"No one has knowledge about this. No one knows where the boy is and he didn't even tell his family the location when he visited Winterfell."
"So he visited Winterfell?" The Hand asked with raised eyebrows.
"Yes, he visited and it was a very peculiar visit, with many unique events. To start, the boy arrived at Winterfell alone, mounted on a wolf larger than any other recorded. He ignored Lady Stark, the eldest brother and heir to Winterfell, along with the eldest sister, and only greeted his father, Arya Stark, and Bran Stark. Rickon Stark was not allowed by his mother to leave the castle to receive Jon Snow."
"The Stark family is always united..." James mocked, he always held a bit of anger towards Ned Stark and wouldn't miss the opportunity to mock him and his.
"Not just that, Sir James. This caused discontent with Lady Stark, leading the boy to mock and be called a foolish fish in front of the entire family and castle members present."
"And how was this handled?" Jon asked, raising an eyebrow at the bastard's audacity.
"There was initial confusion, but Lord Stark took his son to his solar for a talk and said he could leave soon after." Varys spoke and continued, "But things happened a little differently than expected. Jon Snow not only stayed in Winterfell after the talk, but he and his father also went to the crypts of the ancient Starks and took the ancient crown of winter hidden for thousands of years."
"Now that sounds like an interesting story, a bastard with a crown, that would make a fine song." Prince Renly commented with a smile.
Varys continued after the comment, "Jon Snow stayed in Winterfell for two weeks, and during that time a lot happened. To start, it was discovered that Jon Snow has in his possession the sword of Visenya Targaryen." This raised many eyebrows.
"Dark Sister?! The boy has that sword, are you sure?" The commander of the Kingsguard, Barristan Selmy, was quite surprised.
"Yes, Lord Commander. The sword was real and the maester of Winterfell could confirm that." Varys spoke.
"The boy has a Valyrian steel sword? It should belong to the crown, not a bastard." Cersei commented, and even her brother looked at her like the others, thinking it was a very blatant extortion.
"Continuing the story, the boy not only showed possession of a legendary sword but also how to wield it. No one had ever seen such talent in a boy before, taking all the soldiers and recruits in Winterfell by surprise." Varys spoke.
"You're saying that a boy who lived 2 years beyond the Wall returned as some kind of fighter?" James commented, a bit incredulous.
"The boy also had some disputes and broke the arm of the Greyjoy heir in one of the trainings."
"I hope the bastard paid for that." Maester Pycelle commented.
"On the contrary, he was quite comfortable during his stay, even without speaking to half of his siblings. Lord Stark kept Catelyn away from him during this stay. I wondered why, but the answer came when giants appeared in Winterfell with wagons carrying a donation from the boy directly from the lands of the Wall." Varys gave a small smile.
"We've seen that the boy has become arrogant. Did he give more products to the Stark family?" Prince Renly asked, ignoring the rest.
"Gold, gentlemen, the boy donated gold coins valued at 400 thousand dragons. The coins were of the same shape as ours!" Everyone was astonished.
"Let me see if I understand... The boy first donates products to the Wall, and now you're saying he produced our currency beyond the Wall, in those lands known as frozen deserts, and donated a quantity of 400 thousand coins as if it were ice?" Jon asked, a bit shocked, but everyone looked at Varys with greed after that. It seems there might be some wealth in the North beyond what they expected.
"Yes, don't ask me how. I don't have little birds beyond the Wall, and I'll try to send some as soon as I can, for sure. But until then, I have no idea how the boy managed such wealth in that place." Varys spoke sadly.
"Didn't we have a decree for the wild bastard to come to King's Landing? He didn't respond, I remember the Lord Commander of that ice wall was supposed to have informed him about this order?" Cersei commented.
"He did receive it, my queen..." Varys said hesitantly.
"And..." Jon wanted to hear the rest, but seeing Varys hesitate, it couldn't be good news.
"...He told the Lord Commander to write to the king to shove the royal decree up his own ass..." Varys revealed. Everyone didn't know how to react upon hearing this.
"He really said that?!" Baelish looked in disbelief.
"Yes, moreover, Arya Stark disappeared and it seems the boy took her and is taking her beyond the Wall. Maester Aemon was freed from his vows and was released from the Night's Watch. Despite claims that he was killed, he went beyond the Wall with this group." Varys looked at everyone before giving the last and most shocking news to everyone.
"The boy, known as Jon Snow, now calls himself the King of Artica, the name of the land he is cultivating beyond the Wall, building a city and a kingdom as he says, and it seems to be very successful." Varys spoke and the room fell into silence.
"King of Artica?" Baelish murmured.
"From a bastard to a king?" James commented.
"You can't be serious..." Pycelle spoke sternly.
"The king beyond the Wall now is an 11 namedays boy..." Renly wanted to laugh.
"We must attack him for the disrespect!" Cersei immediately growled, her eyes shining, since she had something to gain from the boy's resources.
"As if traveling beyond the Wall was easy, my queen," Jon Arryn said analytically.
"But if they have riches, it could be a worthwhile campaign. The boy calls himself a king, isn't that an affront to the Seven Kingdoms and the Iron Throne?" Baelish said greedily.
"Lands beyond the Wall do not belong to the domain of the Seven Kingdoms. We can blame the boy for many things, but for him declaring himself king of those lands doesn't seem fair."
"Even so, it's outrageous." Pycelle also supported military intervention.
"We're getting indebted, a war with the lands beyond the Wall could be harmful, it will be much worse than a war against Dorne." Stannis argued.
"They are savages, they should not be hard to defeat," Pycelle insisted.
"How could we make the armies of the Seven Kingdoms travel beyond the Wall for an 11 namedays boy who refused the king's invitation," Renly mocked.
"They are our subjects, after all!" Cersei said, but no one agreed with her.
"I will inform my father about this," Cersei planned, thinking it would still be a good deal to try and seize the boy's gold, products, and giants.
Thus the meeting in King's Landing ended, and another was taking place with only a few days' difference in the Reach.
Queen of Thorns POV
"Grandmother, are you okay?" a voice asked, pulling Olenna Tyrell from her thoughts.
"Am I so lost in my thoughts?" she asked, looking at her granddaughter.
"Yes, grandmother. Willas and I have been trying to call you, but ever since you picked up that scroll, you've done nothing but stare at it!" said little Margaery.
"What's in that scroll, grandmother?" Willas asked curiously.
"I just received strange news from the North and a very peculiar bastard," she said, with a smile.
"A bastard, grandmother?" Margaery asked, curious.
"Yes, Jon Snow, son of Eddard Stark. He left beyond the Wall years ago and returned with an army of 2500 soldiers with troops that I still can't believe. Very unbelievable for a boy of just 11 namedays who lived two years beyond the Wall," Olenna commented.
"Jon Snow? The one from the ballad of little Jon that bards sing about the boy from the north?" Margaery asked excitedly, having heard that song a lot in the city since she arrived in the kingdom.
"That same one, and I'm starting to believe the stories," she said, handing the letter to Willas.
"Is he a threat to us as you say of others, grandmother?" Margaery asked innocently.
"I highly doubt it. He offended the king by denying a summons to the capital, but I doubt that a few thousand wildlings can threaten the Seven Kingdoms," she replied, mockingly.
While her grandchildren looked at the paper with the news, Olenna looked out the window. "He's just a child, not a player of thrones," she said to herself.
Elsewhere, in a large city in a desert land of dunes and yellow sands.
Oberyn Martell POV
"Brother! You called me just when I'm in my moments with my lover in the brothel!" Oberyn protested.
"I need to talk to you, Oberyn. News has arrived here, and there are rumors from the North reaching all of Westeros," said his brother, Doran Martell, also in charge of Dorne.
"The North? What have the wildlings done now? Spread more fanciful stories of a witch child?" Oberyn mocked, having heard those news a few years ago, and after that, he never heard about the North again.
"It's about that same child I'm talking about. The witch child donated gold to the Starks valued at 400 thousand dragons, Oberyn. He claims to have founded a kingdom beyond the Wall. If you have a chance to go there, I would like you to see this kingdom in that frozen desert and see if the news is real."
Oberyn raised an eyebrow, frowning. "A kid founding a kingdom, you must be joking, right?" He asked incredulously.
"Everything indicates it, as unbelievable as it may be," Doran spoke.
"Well, if this happens, I'll be going to the North. Who knows, I might start my revenge against the Starks!"
"..."
"Don't look at me like that, I will take my revenge like the snake we are. And where is our niece? Since I'm here, I want to see her."
"She's training in Valyrian," Doran said, sighing.
"Then I'll see her; she reminds me a lot of her mother." Oberyn had a smile as he left the room.
In the West, Lord Lannister received a letter from his daughter in King's Landing.
Tywin Lannister POV
He looked at the scroll from his daughter and put it aside, alongside another he had received many days before. The information was the same, but in his daughter's and the queen's, she was trying to persuade him to attack beyond the Wall, mentioning Valyrian steel swords, EldenMetal, gold, and even giants that they could tame to fight alongside them.
"She's a fool," Tywin murmured. "Attacking beyond the Wall would require many resources against an unknown enemy we have no information about. Only a fool would form a campaign like this."
"What will we do, Tywin?" Kevan asked by his side.
"We will do nothing. Not until we know more about this Jon Snow," Tywin replied in a neutral tone. The information about the bastard intrigued him greatly, but he knew nothing more and would not deal with the unknown recklessly.
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Raccoon Here:
We are reaching the end of the last chapter, an epilogue with a 3-year leap in the next chapter to close this volume.
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