Chapter 098 – Kitten

[298 AC]

"Not an easy question to answer my love.", Phenex replied, "Ages ago the children of the forest carved faces into the trees. Later on, this tradition was continued by other worshippers of the old gods like the free folk and the First Men."

"The carving of the heart tree, whether it is a weirdwood tree or not, is something very similar to a very basic magic ritual. It connects all the heart trees in a larger magical network. The children were able to achieve incredible magical feats through this network."

"Though that was at a time when magic was much stronger in these lands thousands of years ago.", Phenex added at the end.

"What changed?", Arianne questioned, intrigued by the thought of magic being ever-present in the old ages all throughout Westeros.

And just as Phenex was about to answer her, his senses picked up a very unusual presence in the distance. It was cold and dark, not unlike death, but also distinctively different. There were also several other presences that just smelled of death and magic.

Abruptly turning in that direction and focusing on the presence, Phenex took only a moment to understand what his senses told him.

'A White Walker and more than a few dozen wights.'

"Phenex?", Arianne asked tentatively, seeing his unusual actions.

"There is danger ahead.", Phenex announced, before he continued, "Fiery Hand spread out and be ready to engage at a moment's notice."

A wave of his hand later, flames ignited upon the drawn blades of his elite warriors, as Phenex knew that normal blows were not effective against wights.

"Advance slowly.", Phenex ordered, Missandei and Arianne returning to his side.

Obara led the way while Than guarded the rear, as Phenex wanted to see the living dead and their masters with his own eyes. He knew that they were of no real danger to him and his companions, and so he didn't hesitate as he gave his orders.

Slowly they moved forward for a few minutes, leaving their horses behind in the godswood, though the snow all around them absorbed almost any sound that may have otherwise reached their ears, so his warriors had to make use of their keen eyesight to look out for the enemy.

"Lord, there is something.", one of the warriors called out, as he pointed to the ground a few meters to the right and what looked like a piece of bloodied black fur, which sat on the virgin snow in stark contrast.

Approaching the object, Phenex knew that it was not a piece of fur, as he sensed a very weak life force coming from it.

"It's a shadowcat, a young one. And it is badly injured.", Phenex said as he kneeled before the small creature that was curled up in the snow, slowly dying from its wounds.

The little creature was already unconscious from the blood loss and was barely hanging on. Phenex knew that it was very likely that it had encountered the wights and was injured but managed to flee, before falling victim to its wounds.

"C-can you heal it?", Missandei pleaded, her eyes filled with compassion as she looked at the small creature which looked like an all-black baby panther.

"I can, but it will not survive in these lands on its own.", Phenex replied with a sigh, "It is too young, barely a few days old. Without its mother, it cannot survive."

"I-I will take care of it.", Missandei declared, her fingers touching the head of the shadowkitten with a feather-light touch.

Thinking about it for a moment, Phenex relented: "As you wish, my love."

A shadowcat was a fearsome predator at the same level as a direwolf, though more deadly in a one-on-one situation. Direwolfs traveled in packs, so they naturally were not as skilled in single combat as lone hunters like shadowcats.

As such the little kitten would make for a good companion for his wife, not to mention the fact that Missandei practically never asked him for anything besides his love and attention.

Drawing upon his inner fire, Phenex wrapped the little predator with his healing flame, while at the same time forging a connection between it and Missandei similar to the bond between a rider and his dragon.

It was a necessity, as shadowcats were like direwolves and couldn't be tamed with care and love alone. They were magical beasts and would not listen to humans without such a bond.

It took only a few moments, before the wounds were healed and even less for the bond to form, which caused Missandei's eyes to shine with care and affection as she hugged the still unconscious kitten to her chest.

"I will teach you how to use the bond, but for now stay back with Arianne.", Phenex reminded, his gaze directed forwards as he felt the White Walker and his horde of undead approach.

Nodding in understanding, Missandei placed a kiss on his cheek and whispered a quiet 'Thank you.' before she retreated to the middle of the formation with Arianne.

It was only a few seconds later that the first wight rushed out from the woods towards the formation, followed by dozens more. And right behind them was a creature with ice-blue skin and cold eyes, holding in its hand a spear of ice and magic.

His warriors though didn't even flinch as they looked at the undead. Their hearts were fearless as they had the blessing of their Lord. Not to mention the Feathers, who were in a league of their own altogether.

"Hold your position and strike them down. Obara, kill the White Walker. Be careful of its weapon.", Phenex ordered calmly, not intending to act himself.

…

Hearing Phenex' command, the youngest Feather didn't hesitate even for a moment as she pounced forward like a cheetah, her spear aflame and her body filled with strength.

The wights before her could neither withstand her strength, the Valyrian steel, nor the fire on the spear blade, so they fell one after another with only minor twists of her wrists.

Unobstructed, Obara sped towards the White Walker, her opponent's frightening appearance leaving her unfazed.

And just before she was in striking distance, the oldest Sand Snake threw back her upper body and slid past the icy being on her shins, narrowly avoiding a wide sweep of her opponent's spear sword.

Barely moving past the White Walker, Obara tensed her abdominal and thigh muscles, causing her to spring back into a fighting stance, as she spun around her spear aiming at the creature's back.

The White Walker though was nimbler and faster than any mortal men, and it stepped forward and whirled around, blocking her weapon with its own.

The clash though forced the icy being back several steps, as Obara had drawn upon her Lord's strength to give her sweep much more power.

She would have liked to fight the White Walker with purely her technique and Valyrian spear, but she knew that this was not the time for such willfulness. Even though Phenex had enough power to simply turn the wights to ashes, along with the White Walker, he wanted them to finish off this threat by themselves and do it quickly.

And so Obara did not try and draw out the fight as she forged ahead, drawing extraordinary strength from Phenex and channeling it into her spear, before thrusting her weapon forward with near blinding speed.

The White Walker could hardly react to such speed and only managed to raise his own weapon in an attempt to deflect hers, but the Feather's spear was no longer just ordinary Valyrian steel.

Phenex' magic and fire being the ultimate bane to the Others and their magic creations, the icy weapon directly shattered as Obara's spear sunk into the White Walker's chest completely.

The impassive and cold face of her opponent carried only the faintest hint of shock, as she twisted her spear and caused the White Walker to shatter into icy fragments. And as if their strings had been cut, the surviving wights suddenly lost any signs of life and fell into the snow, never to rise again.