Chapter 60: The Last Dragon's Landing, and Winter's Calculated Gaze
The raven arrived at Winterfell on a bitter wind, its message concise but earth-shattering: Daenerys Targaryen, the last known scion of the fiery dynasty that had once ruled Westeros, had landed on Dragonstone, her ancestral seat. With her came three dragons, no longer hatchlings but formidable young beasts, their roars echoing across the Narrow Sea, a promise of fire and blood reborn. Simultaneously, reports from the Stormlands indicated that the forces of Aegon VI, the young pretender styling himself Targaryen, were making significant gains against the beleaguered Lannister-Tyrell loyalists holding King's Landing in the name of King Tommen Baratheon. Westeros, already scarred by the War of the Five Kings and the North's brutal liberation, was about to be plunged into a new, even more complex and dragon-fueled conflagration.
Warden Artos Stark, his public persona that of a Northman in his powerful prime (his true age now approaching a century and a half), received these tidings with grave solemnity. He convened his Northern lords, reaffirming the North's determination to remain aloof from these new southern wars, its strength needed to rebuild its own lands and guard against the ever-present threat of the true Winter. But within the hidden immortal council of House Stark, the arrival of Daenerys Targaryen ignited a debate of unprecedented urgency and strategic complexity.
Jon Stark, the Shadow Lord, his ancient mind encompassing centuries of Westerosi history and arcane knowledge, addressed his thirteen immortal descendants from his Frostfangs sanctum, their images flickering in the obsidian mirrors. "Daenerys Stormborn is no mere pretender. She possesses true Valyrian blood, true dragons, and, according to Fionna's latest intelligence and our own psychic scrying, a messianic conviction in her destiny to reclaim the Iron Throne. She is a force that will reshape this continent, for good or ill."
"She has three dragons," Rickard Stark, Artos's father and a seasoned warrior, stated, his voice a low rumble. "We have sixteen, armored in Starksteel, ridden by immortals, trained in esoteric arts. Militarily, should it come to that, we hold an overwhelming advantage."
"Overt military confrontation is our last resort, as always," Jon cautioned. "To reveal our full strength now would be to invite a different kind of war, a war against a world terrified of our power. We must first understand her, her aims beyond mere conquest. Is she a tyrant in the making, like Aerys? A reformer, like Daeron the Good? Or something new entirely? And, most crucially, can she be made to understand the true enemy, the Great Other, and the war that truly matters?"
The council debated for days. Beron the Elder, Edric, Torrhen, Brandon Sr., Cregan Sr., Jonnel Sr., and Willam – the "deceased" Stark Lords who formed the core of Jon's elder council – brought their centuries of experience in governance and diplomacy. Warden Artos, his heir Rodrik, Rodrik's son Ben, and the newest immortal Edwyle, contributed their more immediate understanding of the current political landscape and their specialized magical skills.
Ultimately, they decided on a multi-pronged strategy. Publicly, Warden Artos would maintain the North's strict neutrality, offering no aid or recognition to any of the southern claimants – Daenerys, Aegon VI, or the Lannister-backed Tommen. Secretly, Fionna's network would redouble its efforts to infiltrate Daenerys's inner circle, to understand her character, her advisors (particularly Tyrion Lannister, whose intellect Jon respected, and Ser Barristan Selmy, whose honor was renowned), and her dragons' true capabilities. And, most daringly, Jon authorized Edwyle, with his psychic dragon Umbra, to attempt a more focused, if still heavily shielded, long-range psychic assessment of Daenerys herself, seeking to gauge her susceptibility to reason, her capacity for true leadership, and any inherent magical defenses she might possess.
While the South prepared for a new Dance of Dragons, Jon Snow, at the Wall, faced his own desperate struggle. Resurrected, his ties to the Night's Watch severed by death yet his commitment to defending the realm stronger than ever, he had forged an uneasy but effective alliance between the remaining black brothers, the thousands of Free Folk he had brought south of the Wall, and even a few of Stannis's stranded knights. He was the de facto King of the True North, his authority resting on his proven leadership, his Valyrian steel sword Longclaw, his immense direwolf Ghost, and the almost mythical aura that now surrounded him.
The immortal Starks, recognizing Jon Snow's critical role, subtly increased their support. Warden Artos, through trusted Northern lords whose lands bordered the Gift, ensured a steady stream of "humanitarian aid" – food, warm furs, dragonglass weapons, even mundane steel – reached Castle Black and the wildling encampments, framed as "Northern charity to those who guard the realms of men." Jon Stark himself, through the immortal Arya's communion with the weirwood network, continued to offer Jon Snow cryptic but vital guidance, often in the form of shared dreams or prophetic whispers on the wind, pushing him towards understanding the true nature of the Others and the need for unity. The secret of Jon Snow's parentage, Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark (the mortal one), remained Jon Stark's most closely guarded piece of intelligence, a truth so potent it could either forge an unbreakable alliance or ignite a catastrophic war, depending on when and how it was revealed. For now, it remained a silent weight in his ancient heart.
Bran Stark, in his Greenseer's cave beyond the Wall, his consciousness now ranging freely through the vast, interconnected network of weirwoods across Westeros and even, fleetingly, beyond, became an invaluable intelligence asset for the hidden council. His visions, guided by Bloodraven yet subtly filtered and interpreted through his Stark heritage (a connection Jon and the immortal Arya carefully nurtured), provided them with unparalleled insights into the movements of armies, the secret counsels of kings and queens, and even the subtle stirrings of ancient magic across the land. The silent dialogue between Jon Stark and Brynden Rivers, through the medium of Bran's Greensight, continued – two ancient sorcerers, their powers immense, their distrust mutual but overshadowed by their shared understanding of the existential threat posed by the Great Other.
In the Vale, Sansa Stark, now Alayne Stone, was playing Littlefinger's game with a newfound cunning and resilience, her Stark wolfishness emerging from beneath the veneer of southern courtesy. The immortal Starks watched her progress with approval, Fionna's agents subtly providing her with information or creating minor diversions that aided her schemes to consolidate power in the Vale and protect young Robert Arryn. They saw in her a future leader who could potentially rally the Vale to the Northern cause, or at least ensure its neutrality, when the time was right.
Mortal Arya Stark, her path still shrouded in the shadows of the Faceless Men and her own quest for vengeance, was a wild card. Her return to Westeros had been marked by a trail of carefully chosen, justly deserved deaths among those who had wronged her family. The immortal Arya felt a fierce, protective pride in her young namesake's deadly skills and unyielding spirit, while also working subtly through the weirwood network and animal messengers to steer her away from actions that might inadvertently compromise the larger Stark agenda or expose her to overwhelming danger. She hoped to eventually guide the girl north, to offer her a place and a purpose in the true war to come.
The "Cleansing" operations beyond the Wall, the Starks' proactive magical war against the Others, escalated. Jon Stark, having repelled the Great Other's direct psychic counter-assault, now authorized more daring missions. Squadrons of Stark dragonriders, their mounts clad in shimmering Starksteel armor that pulsed with faint runic light, pushed deeper into the Lands of Always Winter than any living being had ventured in millennia. Lumen, ridden by Willam, became a beacon of purifying light, its radiant fire dispelling ancient shadows and incinerating wight hordes. Kratos, with Artos, reshaped frozen landscapes, creating fortified "Islands of Summer" around the Resonance Dampeners, zones where the Others' cold magic was actively nullified. Umbra, with Edwyle, wove intricate psychic shields around their raiding parties and sowed confusion and terror amongst the Others' thralls. Obsidian, Cinder, Shade, Glacies, and Nimbus, ridden by Cregan, Jonnel, Beron the Younger, Rodrik, and Ben respectively, formed the core offensive wing, their combined elemental fury and "dragon song" shattering ice fortresses and dispersing nascent Other armies.
These missions were not without cost. Several Winter Wolves were lost, their Starksteel weapons and runic protections overwhelmed by sheer numbers or the desperate, potent magic of cornered White Walkers. One of the younger Stark-bred dragons, a swift bronze female named Fulgur, was gravely wounded by an ice spear of immense power, saved only by Kratos's intervention and the combined healing magic of Lyra Stark (Jonnel's daughter, now a powerful nature warden) and Arsa Stark (Edwyle's sister), who had accompanied the mission on a specially shielded support platform magicked by Jon.
But their victories were significant. They destroyed several major Other staging grounds, disrupted their lines of communication (which seemed to rely on a form of telepathic ice-magic), and rescued several isolated wildling tribes who pledged their loyalty to Jon Snow and, by extension, the Starks. They also gathered invaluable intelligence on the Others' hierarchy, their methods of creating wights, and the true nature of their connection to the "Heart of Winter." Jon Stark began to theorize that the "Heart" was not just a source of power, but perhaps a conscious entity in itself, or at least controlled by one – the ultimate Great Other.
Young Torrhen the Younger, Ben Stark's son, now a thoughtful youth of fourteen, was beginning his more advanced magical training under his father and grandfather Rodrik. He showed a remarkable aptitude for understanding the complex harmonies of the "dragon song" and the resonant frequencies of the weirwood network. He spent hours with the ancient Arya in Winterfell's Godswood, listening to her tales of the Old Gods, his young mind absorbing the ancient wisdom of his line, unaware that his teachers were beings of almost unimaginable age and power. He was the future, another link in the chain, his destiny to one day join their immortal vigil.
As Daenerys Targaryen consolidated her beachhead on Dragonstone, her dragons casting long shadows over Blackwater Bay, and as Aegon VI's Golden Company clashed with Lannister and Tyrell forces in the Stormlands, Warden Artos Stark publicly declared the North's renewed commitment to its own defenses. He called for the strengthening of Moat Cailin (already an nigh-impregnable magical fortress thanks to Jon's ancient enchantments), the raising of new levies from loyal Northern houses, and the stockpiling of resources for what he termed "the longest winter in memory."
Privately, the immortal council prepared for all eventualities. They knew the wars in the South would eventually reach a tipping point. Daenerys, with her three dragons and her growing army of Unsullied, Dothraki, and Westerosi exiles, was a force that could not be ignored. Aegon VI, if he truly was Rhaegar's son, held a potent claim that could further fracture the realm. The Iron Throne under Tommen was a house of cards waiting to collapse.
"The world is breaking," Jon Stark observed to his immortal kin, his voice a calm whisper against the howl of a Frostfangs blizzard. "And when it breaks, new things can be forged. Or old, terrible things can be unleashed." His gaze was fixed on a complex, glowing map of Westeros within his scrying chamber, lines of power shifting and converging, the ancient runes around its border pulsing with a cold, steady light. "Daenerys Targaryen will make her move on King's Landing soon. Aegon will either join her or oppose her. The Lannisters will fight to the last. And amidst this chaos, the Great Other will continue its silent advance. Our task is to ensure that when the dust of these mortal wars settles, the North stands as an unbreakable shield, and that humanity has a chance to see another dawn."
His ancient eyes, holding the wisdom and weariness of nearly four and a quarter centuries, held a glint of unyielding fire. The game of thrones was reaching its bloody climax. The war for the Long Night was just beginning its most dangerous phase. And the Starks of Winter, with their dragons, their magic, and their immortal resolve, were ready.