Chapter 151 – Taking back a Claw

[302 AC]

Following behind a bone-masked man, whose treachery and cruelty were captured by Jaehaerys with but a passing glance, he had been led through hundreds of densely packed tents before eventually reaching the dozens of towers that made up Castle Black.

Clad in nothing but a set of light black armor, made mostly out of leather and thin pieces of leather-wrapped Valyrian steel, a blood-red crest of House Targaryen on his chest, Jaehaerys didn't seem to be affected by the biting cold, his handsome facial features displaying nothing but calm confidence

He hadn't bothered to bring Blackfyre to avoid causing trouble in case the wildlings asked him to hand over his blade before meeting their leader.

Handing over the ancestral blade of his House to someone else was not an option and to avoid conflict, he had simply left it with Lyra, knowing his companion would not allow someone to lay his hands on the blade.

This though didn't mean that he was not armed, as dozens of smaller blades were hidden all over his body, something he had learned to do from Ruyu. Still, even without them, it was impossible for the wildlings to harm him due to him being a dragonrider and having been trained in the use of his magic for nearly a decade.

Arriving before a white tent made from the fur of snowbears, which stood next to one of the biggest towers of Castle Black, with giant antlers as decorations above the entrance and two guards, the young dragonrider was led into the tent, in which several others were already present, including a giant that caused Jaehaerys to raise a brow in surprise.

"Ha, what a pretty face you brought us, Rattleshirt! See Val, we finally found someone more pretty than you, we just had to come South, haha!", a loud voice echoed out suddenly, as a red-headed, thick-bearded wildling spoke up, laughing uproariously at his own wit with several others joining in.

Jaehaerys though looked on unbothered in the face of this attempted mockery, his gaze being caught by a man clad in a black coat with cruel and hate-filled eyes, though it was more the sword at the man's side than the man himself that grabbed his attention.

The young dragonrider didn't have to guess to know that the longsword was made out of Valyrian steel, being able to feel the magic in the steel clearly even from a distance.

"Now, who might you be, pretty boy?", a melodious, yet slightly raspy voice sounded out, as a woman with neatly braided blonde hair and laughing grey eyes stepped into his sight.

The white cloak around her could not hide her slender figure with curves in all the right places, her full bosom stretching the fabric of the white tunic she wore in a very attractive fashion, while her hips were accentuated by the skin-tight white-leather breeches she wore.

"A messenger from the Stark King.", the masked man replied instead of Jaehaerys, spitting on the ground after the words had left his mouth, displaying what exactly he thought of the dragonrider's brother.

"If I remember right, the Starks wear the direwolf as their symbol.", the blonde beauty voiced out with a raised eyebrow after she had stepped closer, her finger pointing at the blood-red crest on his chest as she continued, "That does not look like a wolf though, so who are you?"

At her question, most of those present lost some of their joviality, their hands moving to their weapons, as silence spread through the tent.

Unbothered by the somewhat tense atmosphere, Jaehaerys' eyes shifted from the beauty before him to a slender man of average height who stood in a shadowy corner.

"Rhovagon.", the young dragonrider spoke in a light tone, the High Valyrian word falling into the ears of those present unrecognized.

Suddenly though a terrible cry shook the atmosphere, draconic supremacy and intimidation bearing down on the tent from above, as Lyra's roar induced fear into the hearts of the wildlings.

"By the gods, what beast was that?!", the red-headed man who had spoken up first questioned in shock, a slight quiver to his words, while Jaehaerys noticed the suppressed trembling of his hands.

No one answered him though, as the others present were similarly terrified and bewildered.

"A Dragon! How is this possible?!", the slender man standing in the shadows exclaimed in disbelief, while moving closer and into the light.

Looking at Jaehaerys with shock and concealed fear, he asked darkly, "Who are you?"

Keeping his calm expression, the young dragonrider finally introduced himself: "I am Jaehaerys Targaryen, son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark, Lord of House Targaryen and dragonrider of the Red Temple. And I have a message for your Mance Rayder, King-Beyond-the-Wall."

Eyes widening in surprise, Mance forced himself to calm down, even though the words spoken by the young man before him had unsettled him greatly.

Besides himself and Val, only the turn-coat crow could probably understand the grave meaning behind those words, as the rest of those present had no clear understanding of the current situation in Westeros or the power the young man represented.

Having taken several trips South over the years, Mance had a good understanding of how fearsome the Red Temple truly was, not to mention the fact that dragons had returned and that the boy before him was the rightful heir of the Iron Throne.

Still, decades beyond the Wall, living amongst the Free Folk and being his own man, had taught him to stand his ground and fight for what he wanted, so while Mance was somewhat disturbed by the situation, he did not lose his edge.

The former Night's Watch ranger and now King-Beyond-the-Wall looked sharply at the dark-haired dragonrider before him, as he spoke: "I didn't know the Red Temple cared about the happenings this far North."

"The war against the White Walkers is not something that the Red God would just ignore, not to mention that the Northern Kingdom is an ally of the Red Temple.", Jaehaerys replied calmly.

"So why are you here? What message do you have for me, boy?", Mance questioned with a cold look in his eyes.

"The war for the living has to be fought from atop the Wall.", Jaehaerys stated, "And you can either accept an alliance with Robb Stark and the temple, under the condition that you go back to the lands beyond the Wall after the war has ended, or you will be the first to fall under our blade with the White Walkers and their army of wights following behind closely."

"Either way, this is a decision you have to make, King-Beyond-the-Wall, and you don't have much time left to do so.", the young dragonrider ended, his crystal gaze piercing and oppressive, before he simply turned around and attempted to leave.

"Do you think you can just leave after threatening me, boy? That your titles will protect you no matter what you say? You are amongst wildings now, kneeler-boy.", Mance called out angrily, as several others stepped into Jaehaerys' path.

"You are right, I almost forgot.", a voice suddenly sounded out from behind, as the young dragonrider's silhouette vanished.

Turning his head in reflex, the King-Beyond-the-Wall was greeted by a pair of draconic golden-red eyes that stared down at him, while the young dragonrider had grabbed the newest addition to their war party - the turncoat crow that had killed the former Lord Commander of the Night's Watch.

Standing behind him, his arms wrapped around the deserter's neck and chest, the dragonrider didn't hesitate as with a sickening squelch, he just ripped the man's head off with his bare hands.

"This belongs with the North.", Jaehaerys voiced out calmly, a thin coat of blood-red flames surrounding his figure. With blood splattered across his handsome features, he picked up the Valyrian steel blade he recognized as Longclaw, while the surrounding wildlings practically trembled in their boots.

Once again vanishing from his spot, he reappeared before Mance Rayder, his fire coat flickering out and his eyes turning human and crystal-coloured once again.

"Also there is only one being I kneel before.", the young dragonrider spoke softly, as he started to turn away slowly, "And it is through his grace that you get to live for another day, deserter."

"Make your decision. You have one day.", Jaehaerys stated, as he left the tent. This time though no one dared to obstruct his path.