CHAPTER 271

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CHAPTER 271

297 AC

POV THIRD PERSON

As Aermir and Dacey made their way towards the mountain, an uncomfortable silence lingered between them. Aermir, unsure of how to navigate this new dynamic, grappled with the uncertainty. Dacey, no longer willing to tolerate the awkwardness, delivered a punch to his shoulder and let her frustration erupt.

"Enough is enough! Am I the woman, or are you? Just act like you always do; be the man I fell for! Be confident, demanding, and authoritative. I don't want you to act like I'm some delicate lady you need to protect."

"But Dacey, if people knew, they would badmouth you, not me," Aermir hesitated, his concern evident.

Dacey shot him an arrogant look and retorted, "Hmph, do you know who my father is?" Aermir, taken aback, admitted he had never heard about her father, highlighting the mysterious nature surrounding her parentage. Nobody talked about this. "Nobody knows our fathers," she remarked. It was at that moment that Aermir realized the significance of Dacey's choice of words.

"Fathers?"

"Yes, fathers. My sisters and I don't have the same father. Our mother is a Northern warrior through and through. She raised us as warriors, too. Mother didn't marry because she knew the second she did, she would become a caged bird, and we Mormont women are no birds. I am a she-bear, and I will always live in the wild, freely." 

Aermir started to get the gist of it: Despite women enjoying more respect and autonomy compared to other regions, there remained an implicit hierarchy where men were still considered of higher standing.

"I will never become someone's broodmare. Do you even know why most women want to be with you?" Dacey's frustration simmered beneath her words.

Aermir looked at her, a confident smile playing on his lips. "Because I am handsome and powerful." Dacey wanted to punch his smug face, but she held it in; he wasn't wrong entirely. 

"That might be true for some women, but not for women like me and Sansa. We are already influential and respected as much as a woman can be. We love you because you don't see us beneath you; we can sense you genuinely respect and view us as your intellectual equals. That's why I wouldn't mind marrying you because I know you wouldn't try to confine me to a castle and expect me to be a lady whose sole purpose is to bear children." 

Dacey released a sigh, and the chilled air carried her breath. "That's why my mother never married; when my grandfather tried to marry her off for political connections, she slipped away and found a mighty warrior, eventually getting pregnant. She chose to be free, only being with men she wanted without ever tying the knot. Who dares to badmouth my mom?"

A self-assured smile adorned her face as she recounted the aftermath. "Of course, people will gossip within their closed doors, but they would never dare say it to her face. After she silenced the gossips with a few well-placed strikes from her mighty Morningstar, no one dared speak ill of her choices. Now, there's even a myth about her being impregnated by a male bear, and I'm destined to be more powerful than she could ever imagine."

Taking a firm grip on Aermir's collar, she asserted, "Don't concern yourself with my honor; I can protect it just fine. Just be your usual self."  Seeing the fiery temper in her eyes, Aermir couldn't help but smile. He had just given wings to a bear by creating her mana heart. Aermir could imagine the kind of storm she was going to unleash upon the gossips of the North and shuddered.

After reaching Rickon and Adrew, they had to wait two more days since Adrew couldn't create his mana heart right away. Rickon couldn't understand why Dacey and Aermir would go deep into the forest every night. He tried to follow them using his familiars, but Aermir's familiars prevented them from coming close. Rickon thought they were doing some secret training, and he became more curious.

...

The chilling wind swept across the desolate landscape as Jon, Benjen, Pyp, Sam, Edd, and Grenn trudged through the far reaches of the North. They had passed the Skirling Pass and traveled along the Frostfang Mountains up north to the Lands of Always Winter. The endless stretches of snow-covered terrain seemed to go on forever, but the haunting silence was abruptly shattered when they stumbled upon a grisly scene that sent shivers down their spines.

In a small clearing, surrounded by gnarled trees and icy winds, lay a gruesome tableau. The ground was littered with human remains, each body torn asunder, limbs scattered like macabre puzzle pieces. The stark reality of the massacre hit them like a physical blow. Women, children, and the elderly—all were victims, their lives brutally cut short.

Jon's eyes narrowed, a mixture of sorrow and anger etched across his face. Benjen surveyed the grim sight, his jaw tightening with a mixture of grief and determination. Pyp and Sam, less accustomed to the harsh realities beyond the Wall, recoiled in horror, unable to shield their senses from the overwhelming stench of death.

"By the Old Gods and the New," Edd muttered, his voice barely audible above the biting wind. Grenn, usually boisterous and loud, fell silent, his gaze fixed on the grotesque display before them.

Pyp, clutching his stomach, retched at the gruesome sight. Sam, trying to keep his composure, whispered, "What could have done this? What kind of savagery is this?"

Benjen, his face set in a steely resolve, spoke, "We need to find out who or what is responsible for this. I don't care that they were Wildlings; no one deserves to die like this." Jon nodded in agreement. "Gather what information we can, and let's track the perpetrators. They won't get far."

Sam stuttered, "Sho-should we really pursue being who is responsible for such a slaughter? Shouldn't we return and inform Castle Black?" Benjen shook his head, "As a ranger, you do not inform the Castle of vague things like this. We pursue the responsible party, observe them from a distance, identify which clan they are, if possible, and then inform the Castle. Now get to work!"

As the group began to investigate, trying to piece together the horrifying puzzle, the chilling reality of the dangers lurking beyond the Wall became starkly evident. The North, unforgiving and relentless, held secrets that even seasoned rangers found difficult to fathom.

Jon crouched down beside Ghost, his gloved hand gently running through the dire wolf's fur. As he delved into the depths of their shared consciousness, Ghost's senses became an extension of Jon's own. The snowy landscape unfolded before them, and through Ghost's keen senses, Jon attempted to see any hidden clues.

The dire wolf's nose twitched, catching the stale scent of death that hung heavy in the air. Yet, despite the gruesome display of carnage, there was an eerie absence of any recent activity.

All he could sense was the death; it must have been more than a week since this massacre had occurred. Jon's brows furrowed in concentration. He was not as talented as Bran or the Druid, and he could only make connections with one animal. Rickon and Bran were the most talented ones since they could make connections with three beasts each. Even Robb was able to make a connection with two animals.

"Ghost, what do you sense?" Jon whispered, his eyes fixed on the circle of devastation. The dire wolf's red eyes turned a deeper hue of crimson as Jon connected with him once more. There was a lingering sense of foreboding, and Jon couldn't shake the feeling that whatever had transpired here was far from ordinary. He could sense the discomfort his dire wolf was feeling; there was something unnatural about this area other than the massacre.