Chapter 61: The Dragon Queen's Arrival, and Winter's Overture to Fire
The arrival of Daenerys Targaryen on the shores of Dragonstone was not merely a political tremor; it was a seismic shift in the magical landscape of Westeros. Three living dragons, their roars echoing across Blackwater Bay, heralded the return of a power not seen in its full, untamed glory since the Dance of the Dragons nearly two centuries prior. For the immortal Starks of the North, this was the moment their centuries of patient observation and hidden preparation began to converge with the tumultuous present of the Seven Kingdoms.
Fionna's network, now an incredibly sophisticated intelligence gathering organization with tendrils in every Free City and major Westerosi port, provided Warden Artos Stark and the hidden council with near real-time updates on Daenerys's initial moves. They learned of her alliance with the Dornish, her growing army of Unsullied, Dothraki screamers, and Westerosi exiles, and the fear her dragons inspired in her enemies. They watched as she swiftly consolidated her hold on Dragonstone, her gaze fixed firmly on King's Landing, where the boy-king Tommen Baratheon sat a precarious throne, his Lannister mother Cersei and the Tyrells a nest of vipers fighting for control, all while Aegon VI, "Young Griff," and his Golden Company pressed their own claim in the Stormlands.
The hidden council of thirteen immortal Starks convened in an emergency session that lasted for days, their consciousnesses linked across hundreds of leagues through their obsidian mirrors, their debates echoing in the silent, dragon-warmed heart of Wyvern's Eyrie and Jon Stark's remote Frostfangs sanctum.
"She is fire and blood incarnate," Beron the Elder, his true age now exceeding three centuries, stated, his voice heavy with ancient memory. "Like her ancestors, she believes in her divine right, her destiny to rule. Her dragons are her primary argument."
"Yet, our scrying suggests a core of compassion, a desire to 'break chains' that sets her apart from many of her forebears," Edwyle, rider of the psychic Umbra, countered. "Tyrion Lannister's counsel seems to temper her more volatile instincts, and Ser Barristan Selmy provides a moral compass. She is not Aerys reborn."
"But can she be trusted?" Rodrik Stark, his own ice-dragon Glacies a potent symbol of Northern power, interjected. "Will she respect Northern autonomy? Or will she demand absolute fealty, backed by dragonfire, just as Aegon the Conqueror did? We have sixteen dragons, far more than her three. We have magic she cannot comprehend. But a war between our houses, a true Dance of Northern and Valyrian Dragons, would be catastrophic, a gift to the Great Other."
Jon Stark, his ancient eyes holding the weight of ages, listened patiently before finally speaking. "Daenerys Targaryen is a fulcrum upon which the fate of Westeros may turn. She is also, potentially, the most powerful ally we could gain in the war against the Long Night, or our most devastating rival. We cannot remain entirely aloof. To do so is to cede the future to chance, or to her unchecked ambition."
His decision, when it came, was audacious, a departure from centuries of absolute secrecy. "We will make contact," Jon declared. "Not overtly, not as kings demanding terms, but as a hidden power seeking understanding, offering a glimpse of a greater truth. We will send an envoy. One of us."
The choice fell upon Ben Stark, the youngest of the current immortal riders, his bond with the storm-dragon Nimbus signifying a new generation of Stark power. Ben possessed a keen intellect, a calm demeanor, and his relative youth (his true age now approaching sixty, though he appeared in his prime) might make him a less intimidating, more relatable emissary to the young Dragon Queen. His mission was not to offer fealty, nor to threaten, but to assess Daenerys in person, to gauge her wisdom, her true character, her willingness to look beyond the Iron Throne to the existential threat in the far North, and, if the moment seemed right, to subtly hint at the ancient power that resided in Winter, a power that could be friend or foe. He would travel on Nimbus, cloaked in powerful illusions and weather magic, his arrival on Dragonstone to be as deniable and mysterious as possible.
While Ben prepared for this perilous diplomatic overture, the war in the South raged on. Aegon VI's Golden Company, hardened by years of Essosi conflict, won several significant victories against Lannister and Tyrell forces in the Stormlands and Reach, his claim gaining traction among lords weary of Lannister rule. Daenerys, from Dragonstone, watched his progress, her own strategy seemingly one of consolidating her initial forces before striking at King's Landing. The realm was now a three-way (or four-way, counting Tommen's crumbling regime) struggle for power, a chaotic free-for-all that suited Jon Stark's purposes of keeping the South weak and divided, unable to interfere with the North.
At the Wall, Jon Snow, resurrected and leading a combined force of Night's Watch loyalists and Free Folk, had become the de facto King of the True North, his authority extending from Castle Black to the haunted forests beyond the Wall. He had crushed the mutineers who had slain him, his justice swift and terrible, his leadership now unquestioned by those who had witnessed his return from death and his unwavering commitment to fighting the Others. The immortal Starks, through Warden Artos, continued to funnel resources to him – dragonglass, food, even a small, elite cadre of "Northern mountain clan warriors" (disguised Winter Wolves) who "offered their spears to the White Wolf against the ancient enemy."
Jon Stark now faced a critical decision regarding Jon Snow: whether to reveal the truth of his parentage. With Daenerys Targaryen now in Westeros, another Targaryen claimant with a strong connection to the North, and potentially dragons of his own if he could be guided to bond with one of the Starks' unassigned younger wyrms (like Cinder or Shade's clutch-mates, if any were being held in reserve, or even one of the more unique Pentoshi), could be a powerful stabilizing force, or a bridge between their houses. After intense debate, the council agreed to a phased approach. First, they would attempt to confirm, through Bran's Greensight and Bloodraven's knowledge, the absolute veracity of Lyanna's union with Rhaegar and Jon Snow's legitimacy. If confirmed, Jon Stark would then decide the opportune moment to reveal this truth, perhaps to Jon Snow himself first, or even to Daenerys, as a potential foundation for an alliance against the Great Other.
Bran Stark, his consciousness now a vast, sprawling tapestry woven through the weirwood network, provided invaluable intelligence. He saw the movements of armies, the secret counsels of kings and queens, the hidden currents of magic across the continent. His silent dialogue with Jon Stark and Bloodraven became a three-way parley of ancient powers. Bloodraven, ever the pragmatist, seemed to acknowledge the Starks' immense hidden strength and their shared interest in combating the Others, though his ultimate loyalties remained an enigma. Bran, guided by both mentors, began to understand the true scale of the Long Night and the role he was destined to play, perhaps not as a warrior, but as a seer whose knowledge could guide the saviors of mankind.
Sansa Stark, in the Vale, continued her perilous dance with Littlefinger, her political acumen growing with each passing intrigue. She had consolidated her influence over young Lord Robert Arryn and was beginning to subtly rally the discontented Vale lords. The immortal Starks, through Fionna's network, provided her with discreet support, seeing her as a potential leader who could bring the Vale's strength to bear in the wars to come, perhaps even as a queen in her own right if the southern thrones all crumbled.
Mortal Arya Stark, her list of names growing shorter, her skills as a Faceless Man honed to a terrifying edge, was now a phantom of vengeance in the Riverlands, her path intersecting with the remnants of the Brotherhood Without Banners and, unknowingly, with the subtle guidance of her immortal namesake who sometimes cleared her path or warned her of hidden dangers through animal messengers or intuitive nudges. The elder Arya hoped to eventually draw the girl north, to offer her a place where her deadly skills could be turned against the true enemies of humanity.
The "Cleansing" operations beyond the Wall, the Starks' proactive magical war against the Others, escalated into a full-scale offensive. Jon Stark, believing that Daenerys's arrival and the southern wars created a window of opportunity while the realm's attention was diverted, authorized their most ambitious mission yet: a direct assault on a major Other staging ground deep within the Lands of Always Winter, a place identified by Bran's Greensight and Noctua's visions as a nexus for raising wights and forging weapons of enchanted ice.
This was no mere raid; it was a full deployment of the Starks' hidden might. All thirteen immortal dragonriders participated, their sixteen dragons (including the ancient Balerion the Elder, ridden by Jon himself for this critical operation, and Terrax, with the immortal Arya directing its earthen power from a secure command post) clad in their shimmering Starksteel armor. They were accompanied by a legion of Winter Wolves, armed with enchanted Starksteel and Sunstones, and supported by the combined magical might of the Stark nature wardens, who wove protective shields and disruptive elemental energies from afar through the ley line network and the Resonance Dampeners.
The battle, fought amidst a landscape of perpetual twilight and unnatural ice, was a conflict of unimaginable magic and fury. Stark dragons, their "song" a symphony of destructive and purifying harmonics, clashed against legions of wights and shadowy, ice-forged beasts. Immortal Starks, their Elixir-fueled vitality and centuries of combat experience making them demigods of war, wielded their Starksteel blades and elemental magic against White Walkers whose touch could freeze the soul. Lumen's purifying light banished shadows, Kratos's earthen power shattered ice fortresses, Umbra's psychic assaults sowed terror and confusion among the wight commanders, Glacies and Nimbus unleashed blizzards of silver fire and crackling lightning, while Obsidian and Adamas were living battering rams of destructive dragonflame.
Jon Stark, on the colossal Balerion the Elder, his power amplified by the Grand Philosopher's Stone, directly engaged the "Great Shepherd" avatar of the Other he had previously repelled. This time, Jon was prepared. He unleashed the full, focused fury of the "Winterquell," the counter-resonance to the "Heart of Winter," channeled through Balerion's black flame, a torrent of life-affirming energy that was anathema to the Other's nature. The Great Shepherd shrieked, its icy form cracking, its dark magic faltering against Jon's ancient, overwhelming power. After a battle that shook the very foundations of the frozen wastes, the Great Shepherd was finally, truly, unmade, its essence dissolving into a scream of frigid oblivion.
Their victory was total, but not without cost. Several Winter Wolves fell, their valor remembered. Two of the younger Stark-bred dragons, Tempest and a swift bronze named Ignis, were grievously wounded, requiring months of intensive healing magic from Lyra Stark (Jonnel's daughter) and the other nature wardens. But a major Other stronghold had been destroyed, their ability to raise wights in that sector crippled, and a significant leader of their forces eliminated. It was the Starks' most significant victory yet in the silent, secret war against the Long Night.
As Ben Stark, cloaked in illusions and riding the storm-dragon Nimbus, prepared for his clandestine journey to Dragonstone to meet Daenerys Targaryen, the immortal council of Winter reflected on their position. They had reclaimed their homeland, fortified it with magic beyond imagining, and struck a powerful blow against their ancient enemy. Now, they faced a new, uncertain future, with another dragon queen vying for the Iron Throne. Their long vigil was entering its most complex and perilous phase. The fate of Westeros, and perhaps the world, rested on their ageless shoulders, their hidden dragons, and the enduring, unyielding fire of Winter.