Chapter 36 - Journey Beyond the Wall 3!
[Chapter Size: 2000 Words.]
-------------------------------------------
JON SNOW POV
Lands beyond the wall, 290 AC, at the same time.
-------------------------------------------
"NO! Absolutely not! I won't leave you here; you will come with me to the wall!" said Benjen Stark, clearly irritated, but Jon could understand the reason for his uncle's anger.
"Uncle, this is what I need to do. I have my own group here; I'm safe," Jon said firmly.
"JON, YOU'RE ONLY 9 NAMEDAYS! WHAT WAS NED THINKING LETTING YOU COME HERE ALONE!?" Benjen growled as the rest of the group paid attention to the interaction between nephew and uncle.
"Actually, he thinks I'm at the Wall. I needed to come here, and he would have grounded me for years until he let me come, but I couldn't wait; you have to understand, Uncle." Jon revealed innocently.
"Jon, why do you act like this? Look at the danger you're putting yourself in, you're on the north side of the wall at your age!" He said, grabbing the boy's shoulders.
"I know, uncle, but I will do this, and even if I die in the end, I will do it!" Jon now raised his voice to his uncle, expressing the frustration he felt.
Inside Winterfell castle, he felt like a shame, a nuisance to the family. His mother was dead, his father never spoke anything to him about her, and his father was too busy to pay attention to a bastard boy. His older brother ridiculed him, Sansa hated him, and only Arya and Bran liked being with him, but even they were kept away by Lady Catelyn's influence. The rest of the castle either felt indifferent or disgusted by him, and Lady Catelyn made his life hell, he is happier here than in that damned castle.
Why should Jon return to that place he considered a pit of misery? Did he want his uncle Bejen to take him back? Overwhelmed by anger and frustration, Jon pondered his options and the feelings consuming him.
"WHAT DO YOU KNOW, UNCLE? YOU WON'T STOP ME FROM CONTINUING, YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I WENT THROUGH IN WINTERFELL! AT LEAST HERE I AM SOMEONE, I HAVE COMPANIONS WHO LIKE MY PRESENCE, I'M MORE THAN JUST A BASTARD IN THEIR EYES, NEITHER YOU, NOR FATHER, NOR ANYONE WILL STOP ME, AND IF I HAVE TO SUFFER AND RISK MY LIFE FOR THIS IN THIS FROZEN PLACE, I WILL CONTINUE, SO LISTEN TO ME UNCLE, DON'T TRY TO STOP ME!" Jon shouted angrily at his uncle with each word.
Benjen was surprisingly startled by this outburst, and Jon looked defiantly at his uncle. The uncle felt the fury in his nephew's eyes.
'What happened to you, Jon??' In his mind, Benjen wondered what this child had lived through to want to risk his life just not to return to Winterfell. He looked at his brother's son with complicated eyes.
"Jon, at least let me accompany you then..." the uncle insisted.
"No uncle, you're injured. It won't affect you in the future, but you need to return to the Wall and rest there. I promise I will keep in touch with you as soon as I can," Jon replied firmly, still not entirely calm. Bejen just sighed at his nephew's determination.
"But Jon, will you be safe, do you promise me?" he asked cautiously.
"Uncle, look around you. I have a small group but the most powerful on the continent of this size. It would take a very high number to kill us, hundreds or even thousands!" Jon said calmly. Benjen accepted this, still not believing what he saw. He wanted to know where Jon had managed to find giant animals and men, not to mention those armors.
Jon looked at his uncle and said; "Uncle, I will give you a direwolf and leave you armor made of eldenmetal, a light metal, but of superior quality to the common. It's with the Lord Commander; he will give it to you when you return," Jon said. Bejen gladly accepted; he couldn't say he had ever received such a valuable gift. Additionally, Jon would leave a giant wolf of 1.5 meters, the symbol of his house under his feet.
He didn't give a wolf to his father because he was afraid that Lady Catelyn could harm the animal as soon as she knew it was given by Jon, the same went for his younger siblings.
Jon helped Bejen with his wounds and left the wolf, which willingly accompanied the rest of the ranger group that had separated from the boy's group. Jon felt his uncle's eyes piercing his back but continued on his path. He rejoined the rest of the giants of the tribe, as he had left the group as soon as he saw his uncle in danger through Caraxes. At the time, Jon had quickly ordered them to prepare for battle and attack.
After rejoining the group, they continued walking north with the Artican tribe. Jon now had 75 adult giants and 12 children, 12 mammoths, and 17 direwolves - those he had acquired before the Wall. This was not counting the one given to his uncle. He managed to get 4 more direwolves in the forest near the giant's tribe, easily using his Warg powers to create a new connection, totaling almost 20 direwolves. And with the pregnancy of the second she-wolf, which would occur in the next moons, the number would only increase. Jon was already the most powerful Warg in the world, surpassing even Varamyr Sixskins, who had 6 animals with dozens of animals.
Besides the wolves, Jon had brought 4 bears from the South, and now, adding 7 more in the forest, he had a total of 11, as well as two shadow cats. Since arriving beyond the Wall, he had acquired 3 more, further increasing his powerful group with 5 shadow cats.
Artican Tribe - Members:
- Humans: 3
- Giants: 87 Giants (75 ready for battle and 12 children or babies)
- Direwolves: 17
- Bears: 11
- Panthers: 5
- Birds: 110 (15 for battles, 60 for espionage and to be sentinels, 10 for transport, 25 chicks)
The animals, in addition to being able to eat food with some fruits that Jon grew directly from the soil, there were many animals in the region near the haunted forest, where they were at that moment.
Jon continued his journey for another week, deciding not to capture any more animals for now so as not to increase the size of the group because of the food until he settled in an ideal place. He first needed to reach the weirwood and settle before starting to massively increase his numbers as he planned. After some time, he finally found a camp of humans. They were on flat ground, and, next to Jon's group, he noticed a bird with strange energy watching him. Jon stared back at it, and the bird's eyes seemed scared. It was what they called skin-changers here (WARGS). Even being a powerful warg, it was the first time Jon encountered another.
It was a curious scene: Jon was accompanied by a group of animals, some several times larger than normal and others in armor, and he had more than 30 of them, not counting the large number of giants following. It was obvious that this would attract attention, as the ground trembled with the steps of the group. The camp stopped to observe them from afar, gathering everyone in front of the tribe.
There were about 500 people wondering where such a powerful group had come from, going further north and showing no hostility. They passed 1.2km from the camp with the attention of the tribe that continued to observe them as they followed their way.
"We are being followed, Jon," Ducken said.
"Yeah, I know..." Jon said, not being a surprise when he had eyes in the sky.
Thirty minutes later, as they continued on their way, they were approached by a group of 30 freefolk from that tribe, cautiously approaching after observing them. After a moment of silence, one of them shouted.
"Who is in charge?" Jon heard this and took the opportunity to gather information when the group stopped in front of him.
"It's me! I am Jon Snow, and I am the leader of the Arctic tribe," Jon said, his voice reflecting his young age. The freefolk forgot for a moment that they were in front of giants capable of crushing them, as the group began to laugh. They assumed the child was the leader's son, given the powerful mount, but certainly not the leader himself. They wondered what kind of joke this was.
"Shut up, kid, show us the leader!" one of them said mockingly, but a response came from the animals and giants at the forefront of the group. The animals began to growl, ready to attack, and the 5 giants in armor drew their swords, causing chaos among the freefolk. They had come to talk, but now it seemed they were provoking their own premature death.
"If you doubt that I am the leader, I can prove it by sending them to kick your butts out of here. What do you say?" Jon mocked.
"WAIT! WAIT! I APOLOGIZE FOR THAT, LEADER OF THE ARTICAN TRIBE, PLEASE!" The man spoke desperately. Who could imagine that a child mounted on a 2.5-meter wolf would actually be the leader of the group?
"Great, now tell me, what do you want?" Jon asked, remaining calm, while the group looked at him fearfully.
"We've never seen a group like yours, nor animals of that size, and you're heading north, where there are reports of the dead coming back to life. We wanted to ask if you're going to join Mance's group. They say he's forming the largest army seen in centuries to take down the crows and get past the wall. Is it true?" Jon considered the question for a moment.
"I don't know anything about this Mance and his group, but I'm not here to flee or attack the Wall. We are here to destroy the darkness, we are not cowards, we are Northerners!" Jon declared loudly, receiving a shout of support from the group of giants and humans. The freefolks didn't know what to say, looking a bit stunned.
"Young leader, I think you're being unrealistic. They say the darkness cannot be beaten, and we are doomed if we stay here," one of them said.
"That sounds like cowards. We always have choices in our life besides running away," Jon growled, thinking of the coward he saw himself in the past, and added: "We are looking for the great weirwood. Do you have any idea of its location? We are also recruiting for the tribe. There won't be a problem with food under the wings of the Arctic tribe, but you must follow our laws, especially not to loot, kill, or rape, as you will be punished with death and must fight alongside us when the time comes." Jon spoke, and whispers were heard from the group.
"Sorry, but we will have to refuse. We have plans to go to Mance's camp, and about the weirwood, we don't know where it is, but legend says it's near the largest hill on the east side north of the haunted forest," the man who seemed to be the leader said.
Jon nodded, and the two groups separated. He would follow the man's tip, even if he didn't find the weirwood, it would be an opportunity to map the east side. He was creating the first map of the true North, faithful to the geography of the region, through his eyes in the sky.
Two weeks after the encounter, Jon arrived at the eastern region and passed through two more tribes. Unlike how people initially treated him, they saw Jon as a child sent by the gods and followed him at the first opportunity, vowing to follow his laws and fight alongside him. What kind of child could lead a group like this and say they would never go hungry? After seeing how he created trees from nothing and fed them, Jon won their highest loyalty.
The boy also mastered the ancient and runic language of the North, which greatly helped him communicate with the inhabitants of the region and learn their culture. Jon would not stop them from following what their ancestors taught, as long as it did not harm any innocent or impede the freedom of others.
◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆
🦝 Raccoon here: 🦝
I deeply appreciate your support since the beginning of this exciting journey!
I hope each chapter has provided incredible moments. If you like my work and would like to support the continuation of this fanfic, consider becoming a patron with plans starting at $2!. As a token of gratitude, I offer access to more than 165 extra chapters with 8 active fanfics at the same time, along with other exclusive benefits on my profile, such as images and significant decisions for the stories.
Even if you are not a patron, I am making chapters available a few hours earlier here, so become a free member on the platform!
🌟 RaccoonLeague | Patreon🌟
Visit our Patreon for more: https://www.patreon.com/RaccoonLeague
Extra Content Already Available:
🌀 Naruto - Light Ninja! 20 extra chapters! (Complete fanfic for any subscription level.)
🏴☠️ One Piece - I Am a Different Luffy!: 30 extra chapters!
🔮 Danmachi - Infinite Mana System!: 30 extra chapters!
👑 Game of Thrones: The Legend of Jon Arctic!: 20 extra chapters!
🌀 Naruto - Minato Namikaze SI!: 30 extra chapters!
🗡️ The Witcher - As Uchiha Madara! 20 extra chapters!
⚡ Harry Potter - Shadow Monarch! 10 extra chapters!
👑 Game of Thrones: DragonBorn! 5 extra chapters!
Except for One Piece with daily chapters and DragonBorn once a week, all fanfics are updated 3 times a week, there's just a pause in updating in the week, only to create drafts for the week's chapters.
In addition to the extra chapters, daily chapters are posted and 25 chapters per week!
Your support is very important and makes all the difference in keeping these stories alive.
Thank you very much for being part of this journey! I hope you continue to enjoy the story and that it brings even more joy to your life!
Visit our Patreon for more!!
◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆