CH 24 Quillbot Edit

When the Wildlings, Giants, and Children of the Forest approached the tunnel in the wall, a man with incredible stature walked out with some men. The man had a crown on his head; it was an open circlet of hammered bronze incised with the runes of the First Men, surmounted by nine black iron spikes in the shape of longswords.

Seeing his father coming out of the wall with Lord Umber, Lord Karstark, Owen the First Ranger, and Commander of Night's Watch Donnor. Reagan motioned for Ragnar, Leaf, and Hun Wen Hun Dong to come with them. With them following Reagan, they walked up to them and kneeled before Brandon at the same time. "The expedition was successful, my king. The Free Folks, the Giants, and the Children of the Forest have agreed to be ruled by the Starks and live in the Kingdom of the North."

"Rise, Prince Reagan, and his friends." Brandon smiled as he said that, but his eyes weren't smiling one bit, and Reagan noticed that.

He didn't ask what was going on for now, so pointing at Ragnar, he said, "This is King Ragnar. The one who united the Free Folks under him."

"A King Beyond the Wall, is it?" Looking at the laid-back demeanour of Ragnar, Brandon continued, "You do know that if you want to go south of the wall, you have to renounce that title?"

"Aye, the prince said so. And I have knelt to him and to you too. So what do you think?" Ragnar asked back.

Brandon just chuckled at what he said and looked at Leaf and Hun Wen Hun Dong with intrigue. Seeing his father looking at them, he said, "This leaf, leader of the Children of the Forest, is willing to live with us in the kingdom, and as I had said before, they will live in the Wolfs Wood. Then we have Hun Wen Hun Dong, the leader of the Giants. They're only demand is to live inside caves of mountains, nothing more."

"We can agree to those demands." Brandon nodded, then looking at his son, he said, "It's good that you are back, but you are a little late, aren't you?"

"I'm sure my grandfather told you what I was doing." Reagan said it with a smile on his face.

"Aye, he informed you about your little journey to the Land of Always Winter." Squinting his eyes, he said, "You could have died, you know?"

"Not while Fenrir is around me." He answered with a shrug.

Shaking his head, Brandon said "Get everyone to Castle Black, we need to talk."

"What is it, father?" Reagan asked, as he hadn't gotten any news while he was beyond the wall.

"War. War with the southerners." Brandon said this and walked back to the tunnel with Lord Umber, Lord Karstark, and Lord Donnor.

Ragnar, who heard that, asked Reagan, "You are not expecting us to fight them from the get-go, right?"

"No. This war will end within a few days of my arrival on the battlefield. I didn't decide to bring Free Folks south of the Wall to fight off some Southern Kings." Reagan said as he turned around and motioned for the others to follow them into the tunnel.

Ragnar was intrigued now, so he asked, "Then why are you bringing us to your kingdom, other than making sure the Others won't have an army of dead for them to attack?"

Smiling at Ragnar, Reagan said, "Many things and war are included in it. But I'm not someone who will ask you to fight my battle just after you have crossed the wall. Are you allowed to join? Yes, you are. I just won't command you to do so."

Ragnar nodded at those words, but he was still curious. He knew that there was something else going on in the head of the prince. From the stories he heard from Bjorn, he is sure that the Prince is preparing the North for something big, something that would change the course of history itself.

The Wildlings, as the Seven Kingdoms called them, passed through the Wall under the watchful eyes of the Night's Watch men. They all had hatred in their eyes as they looked at the wildlings passing by them. They were after all the victims of the raids done by the Wildlings in the past.

Reagan noticed the hatred oozing out of the men of the Night's Watch and thought Lord Umber and Lord Karstark were the ones who lost most of their people to the Wildling raids. But from the looks of it, for the betterment of the North and the looming war have mellowed them out to accept the Wildlings to the Kingdom.' Taking a glance at Ragnar, Reagan understood that Ragnar had also felt the hatred from the men of Night's Watch. "You have a long way to go to earn the trust of the North, Ragnar."

Nodding at Reagan's words, he replied, "I can see that. And I will earn their trust before my time is up."

"Good. That's the right mindset." Reagan smiled at the words of Ragnar.

Leaving the Free Folks in the capable hands of the Winter Wolves, Reagan, Lyanna, Alys, Bjorn, Ragnar, his two wives, and Floki entered the hall in Castle Black. At the high table, Brandon was sitting in the middle, and to his right were Donnor and then Owen. To his left sat Lord Umber and Lord Karstark. Seeing them sitting like this made Reagan understand that this is now a meeting with the King in the North and not his father.

"My King, my Lords, Why so serious?" Reagan asked as he stood before them with the other seven standing side by side.

Looking at his son, Brandon said, "There was an assassination attempt on our family." He paused there as he saw ice-cold fury forming in the eyes of his son, his daughter, and his future good daughter. Which brought a smile to his face, and he continued, "They were unsuccessful. The assassins who came were ripped apart by our wolves even before they could enter the castle."

"Good." Reagan said in a low voice, and Ragnar and the others who were near the three noticed their demeanour and thought to themselves, 'Somebody is going to be ripped apart by them.'

"Yes, it's good. But the South has amassed their army, and right now, as we speak, they are marching towards the Twins." Brandon said.

"If I may, why are you here then?" Ragnar asked Brandon as he heard about the army marching to the north.

At his question, Lord Umber and Lord Karstark made an unpleasant face, but Brandon just chuckled at it and said, "I am here to welcome you all to the Kingdom of the North and bring back the greatest asset of the North to Winterfell so he could march to the south." The last part was said as he looked at Reagan, and Reagan only smiled at his father with a nod. 

"Now, give me the details of how many Free Folks, Giants, and the Children of the Forest have crossed the Wall." Brandon asked Reagan.

"There are close to ninety thousand free folk, sixty nine giants, and a hundred and forty-five children of the forest." Reagan gave the number.

Nodding at the numbers, Brandon asked Reagan, "Is that all the Free Folks? Or are there any left beyond the wall?"

"The Ice River clan had stayed behind, and some other clans like them exhibit cannibalism. There are no more giants and children beyond the wall from now on." Reagan told his father.

"Good. Then, Ragnar." Looking at Ragnar, Brandon continued, "My son wanted you to occupy the island of Skane. It is near Skagos. Is there any request from your people?"

"There is. Let us live on that island as we lived beyond the wall, as different clans. We will select one of us as our representative, as our Lord. We will be the ones to select them, not you." Ragnar said.

"That is alright with me. But the Free Folks have to take an oath so that they won't rebel against the ruling of House Stark." Brandon said.

"We will take the oath. And you don't have to worry about us rebelling as long as Reagan is around here with his Fenrir." Ragnar told him, and before Brandon could speak, he continued, "Me and my sons will be joining the war with some of the able men and women. I request that you allow me to fight along with you."

That got the attention of the Lords present, and Brandon asked Ragnar, "Why? What is your motive for joining the war with the Southerners?"

Smiling at Brandon, Ragnar said "I can see it in the eyes of the two Lords sitting next to you and the men of Night's Watch. There is hatred and untrust towards us, and I want to change it with this upcoming war. I want to integrate my people into the kingdom so that they can have meat and mead as much as they want while living peacefully." Then, looking at Alys and Bjorn with a playful smile, Ragnar continued, "And, by our customs, my son is the wife of your daughter."

There was a pin-drop silence as Ragnar dropped the news in the room. Alys's face was red, and Bjorn was looking upward, not meeting the eyes of the Lords and the King. Lyanna had a smile on her face. Floki and Ragnar's two wives just sighed as they closed their eyes, fully knowing the antics of Ragnar. Reagan, on the other hand, just stood there as he kept his eyes on his father to know his reaction.

"Heh," Brandon chuckled at first, then went into a full-blown laughter. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA."

The others joined him awkwardly, but they all stopped when Brandon slammed his hand on the table, and pointing at Alys, he said, "We will have a talk, young lady. Neither I nor your elder brother will be shielding you from the wrath of your mother." Then, pointing at Bjorn, he said, "And you! Welcome to the family." Right after saying that, Brandon started to laugh again. 

This time, only Reagan and Ragnar joined in that laughter, as they knew that Brandon was somewhat happy, amused, or both.