"What does it say?" Ned questioned.
A curious expression was plastered on his face while his eyes were narrowed on his wife, Catelyn. He had been in his solar, when Maester Luwin brought to him a letter from King's Landing for Catelyn.
Like every time, he suppressed the urge in his heart to tear the seal and read it, he immediately brought the letter to Catelyn. It had been a long time since he had heard any news from Jon. In fact, the last they had heard of him was after the conquest of the three Free Cities. Ned wondered if there was some big news about Jon.
Catelyn did not respond. Though the expression on her face had not changed, Ned could tell that she was frowning. Was it bad news?
"What does it say?" Ned repeated with anxiety in his voice. "Anything about Jon?"
"Yes," Catelyn responded with a sigh.
"What?" Ned pressed.
"Apparently," Catelyn remarked. "Jon is Khal Aero."
"What?" Ned responded, stunned.
He was shocked and in a state of disbelief. Both of them knew about Khal Aero. The last letter they had received from King's Landing had talked about Khal Aero. Even Ned's own intelligence had sent about Khal Aero.
They knew that Khal Aero was a rising force in Essos, the size of whose khalasar was growing at an extremely rapid pace. They knew that he was defeating Khals and Khalasars one after another and expanding the forces under his command.
They did not know the details of Khal Aero's expedition, but they knew that he was no ordinary Khal. That he was someone who was vying for the position of the prophesied leader of the Dothraki. And if it happened, this would mean that the entire Dothraki tribe would be united under a single leader.
In fact, Ned had been worried by this sudden emergence of the Dothraki Khal. Any new force rising in Essos meant more danger for Jon.
The sudden emergence of Rhaenys had already horrified him. There had always been this gnawing fear in his heart if she would seek revenge from Jon only for being his son. He knew that the Targaryens would only hate the Lannisters and Baratheons more than the Starks. And Jon could very well have been targeted by Rhaenys to get at the Starks. The only thing that gave some relief to Ned was that Jon had run away from Winterfell. For everyone, there was no relation between the Starks and Jon. And therefore, there was no reason that Rhaenys should go after Jon.
And now, he was learning that the Dothraki Khal which had left him worried was no one but Jon himself.
"Yes," Catelyn nodded. "As per the letter, Jon faked himself to be a Dothraki Khal to expand his forces. He subdued khalasar after khalasar and formed one of the most powerful khalasars of the Dothraki tribe."
"Not only this," she continued. "He called a gathering of all the khalasars in Vaes Dothrak. At Vaes Dothrak he revealed his true identity. He revealed that he was no one but Lord Aeos. And then he staked the claim of being their prophesied leader."
"The majority of Dothraki accepted him as their leader, but there were still a few khal who did not kneel to him."
"And to convince them, to subdue them, Jon issued a challenge," she said. "He challenged every Dothraki Khal opposed to him for a duel."
"He would fight them all at the same time," she added.
"What?" Ned snapped once again. "Fight all of them at the same time?"
Why was everything that he heard about Jon more outrageous than the last thing?
"In total, there were eighteen Khals who had not submitted to him," she continued as if she had not heard Ned.
"A duel happened," she said in almost a hollow voice. "Jon defeated them all. He killed ten of the Khals and grievously injured the others."
Ned's eyes widened in shock. He could not believe it.
"It cannot be possible," he said in a tone filled with disbelief. "It is impossible."
"The information has been verified from multiple sources," Catelyn responded. "Every source confirmed the same. He battled and defeated eighteen Khals. At the same time."
"And he is the new leader of the Dothraki tribes," she remarked.
Silence settled between the duo. Ned's mind was working in overdrive. There was no way possible that a single man could defeat eighteen powerful warriors. Ser Arthur Dayne, who had been capable of fighting against two, three, or four people was said to be the greatest warrior. And Jon was fighting and defeating eighteen warriors.
Heck, even defeating eighteen farmers with swords in their hands was probably impossible for a skilled warrior. And yet, Jon had achieved this.
He wondered if everything had been a ploy to fool the world and set a false narrative of the greatness of their new leader. Ned was hardly inclined to believe his own theory.
Dothraki were arrogant and prideful warriors. There was no way they would agree to a drama of this kind. So had Jon really defeated eighteen Khals at the same time? He could only wait for his own sources to bring the detailed description of events to him.
Loud and quick knocks on the door of their room snapped Ned and Catelyn from their daze.
"Lord Stark," an old voice came through. "There is an extremely urgent matter."
It was Maester Luwin. And his voice was anxious.
"Come in, Maester Luwin," Ned bellowed.
The wooden door was pushed open and Maester Luwin stepped inside. He bowed his head in a quick greeting. Ned could see that an expression of urgency and anxiety was plastered on Luwin's face.
"What is the matter, Maester Luwin?" He questioned.
"You have received a letter," Luwin responded.
Ned's eyes moved towards the maester's hands. He was clutching something tightly in them.
"A letter?" Ned frowned. "From whom?"
What kind of letter could make Maester Luwin this anxious?
"From Jon," Luwin replied in a whisper.
"What?" Ned snapped, again.
"Give it to me," he boomed.
Luwin handed the letter to Ned who took it with almost trembling hands.
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