Chapter 29: The island of Skane P1

Harry may have exhibited total confidence before his uncle but he was more than aware confidence alone would not do the trick. He was walking or in this case flying into an island that has been isolated for thousands of years. No one know what was exactly waiting for them. The only thing they knew was that everyone before them in living memory have failed to return alive.

Skane island has been the bane of smugglers and pirates for a long time. There were some pirates and smugglers who trades with the wildlings beyond the Wall. They sail around Skagos and sell weapons to the Wildlings in exchange for slaves or other commodities. But sometimes, deadly storms would force pirates and smugglers into the unwelcome shores of Skane island. They have never been heard from again. Rumours claim many such ships could be seen on the shores of the island without anyone on board. If this was the case then it was more than likely there is a malevolent force taking refuge on the island.

Keeping his mind on the recent findings near Castle Black, Harry took extra care in preparing certain tools to defend against any hostile creatures. Arrows inscribed with fire rune was only just one of the tools he came up with. The element of fire has always been the most dangerous for most magical creatures since time immemorial. Even wizards took a long time to overcome the dangers posed by fire. So, he was almost certain the element of fire could be a useful weapon against whatever was guarding the island.

Just in case this proved to be not enough, Harry had also empowered arrows using the lightning rune and frost rune. Though Lord Stane described the supposed guardian of Skane island as the Winter spirit, Harry was not keen on taking the name for granted and assume the abilities of this supposed spirit. If he were to read further into the name this spirit must have power over cold or ice. It could be entirely possible the Skaggs were either pulling his leg or they have faulty information.

In situations like these, having the element of lightning on the side was the best bet. After all, only a handful of creatures could withstand lightning attacks and he could only think of two off the top of his head.

A Nundu or a Thunderbird.

As far as Harry knows, there are no legends mentioning such creatures in Westeros. So, he was pretty much positive his little trinkets were more than enough to deal with this Winter spirit or whatever it is. Even if this was not the case, he still possess the most powerful wand. While his magical power was nowhere near its prime he was confident he could hold his ground. Especially considering his latest bit of invention even if it needs some work.

Harry had developed a magical battery of sorts for the airship to function independently of his magic. He designed the runes and using Valyrian Steel he forged the best magical battery that can self-replenish by absorbing the ambient magic existing in nature. This bit of invention actually made him think of using the same method to keep a pool of magical energy reserve of sorts that he could depend on should his natural reserves somehow get dangerously depleted.

That's how he came up with the idea of storing magical energy in small beads made of Valyrian steel. He could thread the beads together and wear them as a bracelet. Placing those beads close to his wrists should theoretically make it easier to absorb magic into his body. The only problem was that his body cannot naturally pull the magic from the beads. It requires the aid of runes and sadly such runes don't exist as far as he was aware.

So, he'd have to design the runes from scratch which was no easy task. It'd require weeks as testing out a new rune block to absorb magic into his body safely was no easy task. The number of torn parchments filled with runic scripts strewn across his room attested to the difficulty behind the venture.

Harry tore away the piece of parchment he was writing on as he noted a mistake in the script. Dipping the quill in an inkpot he took another parchment to start anew.

"My lord."

Harry looked up from his work desk to see Anya at his doorstep.

"Lord Benjen is asking for you in the cabin. The island is fast approaching." said Anya, a hint of nervousness and fear shining in her posture and eyes.

"Alert everyone and bring Adela and Kyla to the cabin." Harry ordered before leaving the comfort of his room

He made his way to the cabin as fast as his legs could carry. Climbing the wooden stairs out of the expanded space inside the hull, he entered the cabin above. This time it was his uncle who was controlling the flight of their boat. Mance Rayder was nearby and so was Jon.

"Well, lad. There it is. The Skane island." said Mance, pointing at the approaching landmass in the distance.

"Hmm."

Harry kept a keen eye out for anything outside of the ordinary. Except for a few dark clouds courtesy of the storm, there was nothing extraordinary. He could feel no malevolence from the island as well.

"Everyone ready for this?" Benjen asked, while Anya climbed out of the hull with Adela and Kyla.

Harry's eyes searched the three girls and he was satisfied that they brought bows and arrows. Should anything happen, he needed the girls there to provide him support. He made a mental note to find ways to make some improvements on their bows as well.

"I'm not." said Mance Rayder.

"Too late for second thoughts. Uncle, take us in." said Harry, looking back at the island.

"Alright. Here we go." Benjen said, increasing the speed of the boat.

The dark clouds parted as the boat soared through the sky at high speeds. It barely took three minutes to reach the island. The dark and turbulent waters of the ocean gave way to lush green forests and sturdy hills teeming with plant life.

"Look! A waterfall!" Jon said excitedly, pointing out what appeared to be a giant waterfall.

There was a long river streaming down from between the hills and through a forest.

"We should settle near the river and make camp. That should help us scout the area and look for any animal tracks. If these Unicorns travel in herds then they might leave tracks." Mance suggested.

"And it'll be easier to trace back to the camp using the river as reference." Benjen agreed.

The ship came to a standstill and Benjen slowly lowered the ship aiming for a small clearing near the river. Harry kept his senses on high alert even when they landed without an incident.

"Keep your bows ready girls." Harry cautioned.

He was the first to step out of the boat with his magical shield spell in place. The power ring in his hand was quite handy like that. Harry waited patiently for some monstrous creature to attack but only the sound of crickets greeted him. Jumping down from the boat Harry was taken back by the senses that assaulted him once his feet touched the ground. He could feel the enormous well of magic surging in the land. It was a marked difference from the North. It was as if the island was never subject to magic draining by the Weirwood trees. Even Skagos had some draining effects, not as powerful as on the mainland, but it was there.

Skane on the other hand was another matter.

"Interesting." Harry murmured, feeling magically stronger in the place. It almost felt like he was back on Earth before the war.

A sudden movement caught his eye and he aimed his wand in the direction but it was just a pair of birds. But they were not the typical birds seen in the North. Their body was covered in royal-blue feathers with a red glowing crown atop their heads.

"Wow! What kind of bird is that?" Jon asked, in awe of the stunning beauty of the birds.

"Redcrowns. That's their name." Harry gave a name since the birds were probably an isolated species never seen anywhere else in the world.

He was very tempted to have a close look at the birds but that could wait. There was important work to be done and their position has to be secured. Their boat began to empty while Harry along with his three students stood guard. Anya was entrusted with fire arrows as she was the only one of his students with the ability to snuff out the fire with her magic in case it spreads. Adela and Kyla were entrusted with ice and lightning arrows as there was no risk of both elements going out of control. The lightning element was a tricky one but he had set up ample runes to control the trajectory of the element.

Under their watchful eye, their group began setting up the camp on the banks of the river. Tents were being put up and defensive encampments were being planned to house the horses and bulls. Scouts were sent out to establish a perimeter around their camp and set up watch posts. Ditches were also being dug around their camp for burning wood as a deterrent against wild animals.

Towards noon their camp was set up and the scouts had returned with nothing much to report save for some observations about unknown plants, trees and animals in the forest. Harry, who had till then, was busy placing some magical protection around the camp was called into his uncle's tent.

"So, are we going out to track the Unicorns?" asked Harry, once he settled on a seat.

"No. From what we saw from the sky, the river extends well beyond the hills. We will only be scouting out with the hills as the boundary. Beyond that, scouts can be sent tomorrow morning." said Benjen.

"I'll scout the hilly areas." Harry said, picking his piece of land as Unicorns preferred isolation.

"No, you won't. You'll stay here with me while experienced people scout the area."

"But…"

"No buts. No means no. You'll stay here until the area is scouted thoroughly. We'll trek the hills tomorrow morning." Benjen said.

No matter how much Harry tried his uncle wouldn't budge on the issue. The only thing his uncle agreed on was to allow aerial scouting from the safety of the airship. While not exactly happy that he was prohibited from scouting on foot Harry was satisfied to scout from the air. He was not allowed to go beyond the range of the hills but Harry was not complaining much. He used aerial scouting to mark out certain spots on a new map he was drawing. He got the feeling these markers would prove to be useful tomorrow.

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Doran let out a sigh of relief as the servants pressed the wet cloth against his cheeks and neck. Though Doran was shielded from the full might of the Dornish sun he nonetheless felt its effects. Sparing a look out of the window he saw a vast expanse of sand as far as his eyes could see. The vast desert of Dorne was his people's curse as well as their boon. The desert holds them back from projecting their strength outside their land. But, the desert is their greatest defence against invaders.

Only Nymeria managed to conquer Dorne but not without help. For her ferocity on the battlefield and her love for her people, her name was immortalized by his ancestors who adopted Nymeros Martell as the name of the ruling house of Dorne. Since Nymeria no other foreigner could hold Dorne. Even the dragons failed before the ferocity of his people.

But, those times have long gone by like sand carried away by the wind. Through marriage, they became kin to the dragons and became part of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros. Those were the times when House Martell had projected their strength outside the deserts of Dorne. His dear sister's marriage was of a similar nature. He thought Rhaegar Targaryen to be a good man, a decent man. But, it took him the Rebellion to realize how wrong he was to assume so.

A lone tear fell from his eyes as he thought of his poor sister and her children. Butchered by barbarian filth!

An unholy strength gathered in his hand as he clenched his fist around the arm of his wheeled chair. The rage surging in his veins would have him ride out of Sunspear with an army at his back and exact justice upon the Lannisters. However, his health and reason prevented him from doing so.

Doran cursed the gods for condemning him to live with gout on his knees. While the gods saw fit to punish him they seem to be showering his enemies with boons. Tywin Lannister still lives and the Ironborn rebellion got snuffed out. He was hoping that fool of King would end up dying in this debacle but there was no such luck.

Instead, the news the Iron Bank representative brought him only confirmed some of the more outlandish rumours coming from the North. He initially dismissed the rumours of the 'gifted' Stark child as just that, rumours.

However, having an Iron Bank representative invite him for an auction for Valyrian Steel weapons changed everything. He doubted the Iron Bank is filled with morons to entertain rumours with this kind of response. While he couldn't fathom how Starks of all people and a child at that managed to unearth the secrets behind Valyrian Steel, he saw the danger as well as an opportunity with this situation.

The danger was quite clear. If House Stark can spawn out Valyrian Steel weapons then their wealth will undoubtedly pile up. The mere fact that the Iron Bank is involved in this business was indicative of the gold involved. For Doran, this meant one of his potential enemies will have enormous wealth at their disposal. The Lannisters were already a dangerous enemy because of their gold and now he had the Starks to worry about. He was quite sure Tywin Lannister was already plotting to tie the Starks close to Casterly Rock. There was great danger in such a union. His plans surrounding Prince Viserys would be for nothing if his enemies can field larger armies and outspend him when it comes to mercenaries.

As for the opportunity, it was quite obvious. Establishing friendly relations with House Stark would be a boon to his House. If he could keep the Starks out of Southern politics then that'd be an advantage. Most importantly, he could also see a path to cripple the Lannisters all thanks to Harrion Stark.

"Maester."

"My Prince."

Maester Caleotte was an old man. The man has been the maester of Sunspear from the final years of his mother's rule. The plan swirling in his head could not be executed without the help of his younger brother. Unfortunately, Oberyn was in exile and he needed his brother for his plan to come to fruition.

"I have a message for Oberyn to be delivered in haste." He ordered.

"My Prince. Prince Oberyn is in Lys. It'll take time to deliver the message." said Maester Caleotte.

"That doesn't matter. Call for Nymeria. I'd have a word with her before she sails for Lys."