50 PW :>
…..
The Armored Train hissed into the Winterfell station under a sky that was pitch black at noon.
The Long Night had swallowed the sun.
Daenerys stepped off the train. She looked around and gasped.
She remembered Winterfell from her brief visit days ago but it had changed again. It was no longer a castle. It was a fortress of the industrial age.
Surrounding the ancient stone walls were three concentric rings of defensive earthworks.
"Trenches," Andar said jumping down from the engine cab. "Seven feet deep. Reinforced with timber and corrugated iron."
He pointed to the fields where thousands of Dothraki and Northerners were digging in the frozen mud.
"First line is the skirmish line. Second line is the main resistance. Third line is the fall back."
Between the trenches rolls of vicious metal wire were strung on iron posts.
"Barbed wire?" Tyrion asked touching a sample coil. "It looks like thorns made of steel."
"Razor wire," Andar corrected. "It does not just prick. It shreds. If the wights try to swarm the trenches they will get tangled. And when they get tangled..."
He pointed to the bunkers spaced every fifty yards.
"The Maxims will cut them down."
Inside the Great Keep the strategy meeting was underway.
A massive map of the castle occupied the table.
"The Night King brings the storm," Jon Snow said pointing to the northern edge of the map. "He will hit us from the North Gate first."
"Let him," Andar said.
He placed markers on the map.
"The field in front of the North Gate is a kill zone," Andar explained. "We have buried five hundred pressure plate mines. 15 pound charges. They step on it they vanish."
"And the giants?" Tormund asked. "Mines won't stop a giant."
"No," Andar agreed. "But the 88s will."
He pointed to the towers.
"We have mounted the Flak guns on the battlements. Depression angle is limited but they can fire direct fire at the giant line. A high explosive shell to the chest will stop anything."
"And the dragons?" Daenerys asked. "Where do I fit in?"
"You are the cavalry," Andar said. "You stay on the ground until the main force is engaged. If you fly too early the Night King will spear you. Wait for my signal flare. Then you burn the trench lines."
"You want me to burn our own trenches?"
"If the trenches are overrun yes," Andar said coldly. "We fight for every inch. If we lose an inch we burn it so they can't use it."
The door opened. Bran Stark wheeled himself in.
"He will come for me," Bran said softly. "He has to."
"We know," Theon Greyjoy said stepping out from the shadows. He looked thin but determined. "I will stand with you Bran. In the Godswood."
"The Godswood is the trap," Andar said.
He looked at the map where the Godswood was located inside the castle walls a sanctuary of ancient trees.
"We are not just putting guards in the Godswood," Andar said. "We are turning it into a fortress."
He looked at Theon.
"I am giving you the Ironborn," Andar said. "Your best archers. But not with bows."
"With what?"
"Type 3 Rifles," Andar said. "And two flamethrowers. You defend that tree Theon. You defend it with fire."
Theon nodded. "I took this castle from you once," he said to Bran. "Now I will save it."
The preparations continued through the eternal night.
Arya Stark stood on the battlements next to a Maxim gun crew. She ran her hand over the water cooling jacket.
"Gendry made this?" she asked.
"Aye My Lady," the gunner said. "Forged in the new foundry."
Arya looked out at the dark treeline.
"I need a weapon," she said.
She went to the foundry.
Gendry was there covered in soot hammering a piece of Dragonglass.
"I have a design," Arya said handing him a sketch.
It was a double ended spear. But the shaft was not wood. It was separable. And the blades were Dragonglass.
"I can make it," Gendry said wiping his brow. "But you should have a pistol too."
He handed her a small revolver. A snub nose .38.
"Pocket model," Gendry grunted. "For close work."
Arya took the gun. It felt cold and heavy.
"Thank you Gendry," she said.
At midnight the temperature dropped.
The fires in the trench lines flickered and died.
A horn blew. One blast.
Then another.
Then a third.
The sound echoed over the frozen fields.
Andar stood in the command tower overlooking the battlefield. He picked up the telephone handset connected to the trench network.
"All units," Andar said calmly. "Safety off. Wait for the command."
Out in the darkness a blue glow appeared.
It was a line of eyes. Thousands of them. Stretching from horizon to horizon.
The Army of the Dead had arrived.
They did not charge immediately. They stood there silent and terrible.
Then the Night King rode forward on a dead horse. He stopped just outside the range of the mines.
He raised his hand.
The silence was broken by a shrieking sound.
The wights began to run. Not a walk. A full sprint. A tsunami of bodies crashing toward the first trench line.
"Steady," Andar whispered watching the range markers. "Steady."
The wave hit the 300 yard marker.
"Artillery," Andar commanded. "Light them up."
"Fire!"
BOOM.
The first illumination shell burst over the battlefield. The magnesium flare turned night into blinding day.
Andar saw them. A sea of rotting flesh clawing at the barbed wire.
"Open fire," Andar ordered.
RAT TAT TAT TAT TAT.
Fifty Maxim guns opened up simultaneously.
The noise was not like battle. It was like a machine. It was the sound of industrial slaughter.
The front rank of the wight army simply evaporated. The heavy bullets cut them in half.
"Welcome to the meat grinder," Andar whispered.
[Quest Update: The Battle of Winterfell]
[Phase 1: The Trench War]
[Enemy Strength: Overwhelming]
[Ammo Status: 100%]
[Objective: Hold the Line]
The Battle for the Dawn had begun. And for the first time in eight thousand years the Dead were meeting the Twentieth Century.
....
Author Note
Hi guys! Thank you for reading my fanfiction.
I wanted to let you know that I'm releasing bonus chapters for Power Stones. Here are the goals:
75 Power Stones: 2 Bonus Chapters
100 Power Stones: 2 Bonus Chapters
120 Power Stones: 3 Bonus Chapters
Thanks for the support!