Chapter 48

Lady Deathwisper was a nightmare to the unprepared group. King Robert stood his ground valiantly, he and Barristan along with his Kingsguard and group of mixed Free Folk and Nights Watch had bravely fought against her. They were able to kill many of the Cult members but fighting Lady Deathwisper without knowing how was very difficult.

She was ultimately just a DPS race similar to Lord Marrowgar but to fight her called for extreme battle awareness. In fact even though she was only the second boss, in 25 man heroic she was actually one of the toughest fights. She could raise the dead and dominate minds, she could empower her followers and even transform them into undead behemoths. She had a mana shield that protected her as she cast [Shadow Bolt]s and [Death and Decay] which affected a large area quickly killing any caught within. King Robert was a warrior through and through, he and Barristan were actually able to gain ground and rally the group. They both called out what they saw and felt to the others, saving many lives. They were even able to destroy her mana barrier, but as anyone who ever fought Lady Deathwisper, they would know that was just the start.

Once Lady Deathwisper began attacking shortly after they had wiped out her mana barrier, their group was quickly decimated. King Robert along with his Kingsguard were killed trying to buy time for the others to escape south. They had all fought bravely down to the last man, King Robert and his Kingsguard became Lady Deathwisper's new Cult Adherents. She resurrected and corrupted their souls, becoming her new puppets to command. After using the fallen to replenish her followers she slowly made her way south.

When word reached Kings Landing of Robert's death, Ned Stark was hit hardest. Not just for the simple fact that his friend died, but because of the attitudes of the general populace. Not that they didn't weep or speak ill of Robert because many did praise him, but he was being pressured to take the throne. He had named Stannis as King since that would've been the correct line of succession, he didn't want the throne because he knew there was more to being a king than what many believed.

Everyone wants to be king until they are one, it sounds glorious being able to call yourself a king. What you don't realize is becoming king is easy, but keeping the crown was the difficult part. Not only did you have to manage the kingdom but you had to manage assassination attempts and power hungry politicians and merchants always saying one thing but doing another. Rather than freedom to do as you please, a King is shackled by his responsibilities of office. If they wanted a lasting kingship for their descendants that is, but if they didn't care then sure they had freedom but it wouldn't last very long since the people would revolt eventually or they would be assassinated due to plots from those in their surroundings.

Ned wanted nothing to do with the throne, and now that Robert was dead he wanted to go home. Which was exactly what he planned to do as soon as Stannis arrived, he would let him choose his own Hand and go home for a time then go beyond the wall. He wanted to avenge his fallen brother. Even though he resented him for leaving him in Kings Landing, he knew it wasn't personal. That was just Robert.

Unfortunately not all things went according to plan however for Ned. Stannis, upon arriving in Kings Landing, shocked all the Seven Kingdoms by abdicating the throne to Cyrus Stark as his first Royal Proclamation to the people.

"What the realm needs now is not a King born of succession, there was a time I would've gladly taken this position without pause. But I think my brother Robert saw it too and shared my opinion, it was why he left Lord Eddard Stark to manage the realm as he fought to protect it. The realm needs a King that wasn't placed there just because they were born, it needs a King that was made for the times we find ourselves in. I can't lead that fight, I would be a fool to think otherwise. Cyrus Stark as well as all the other Starks have been doing what they can for the realms, and the Starks don't want the throne as they have repeatedly shown. Rather than take the throne for himself, which he could've done without any fight he named me king instead. Very honorable, but very foolish as well. So rather than give it to Lord Eddard I shall abdicate to Cyrus Stark so that he cannot refuse since he won't be losing his heir Robb to Winterfell." Stannis announced from the top of the steps of the Red Keep.

Unsurprisingly his announcement was met with cheers from the crowd, many of the commoners began to have a change of heart towards House Baratheon after his speech.

Thanks to Robert, Cersei and Joffrey's actions over his reign had soured the name of House Baratheon. He had been a large disappointment since the end of the rebellion until recently. It wasn't until Ned became his Hand that he began to slowly improve, in fact thanks to Ned his approval with the people was improving slowly. The only faction that didn't like the announcement was the Citadel and the Church of the Seven. The High Septon had lost most of his followers in the initial attack at the tournament and many had left the Faith of the Seven for the new Church of Light and the Old Gods. R'hllor was even seeing an increase in worshippers due to their close relationship with the North and now being tied to the Old Gods.

After the applause and cheers stopped Stannis continued.

"Should the day come after the threat to the living is over, then we shall see about who sits on the throne after. I have no misconceptions about this war as I hope the rest of you don't have as well. Many of us may not be alive by the end of this war, my brother King Robert was a fine example along with his Kingsguard. But don't let their death discourage you, rather let it be the spark that ignites our desire for vengeance. Let the death of our King echo thru the ages as the day the living took the fight to the dead. Let's let the Lich King know he made a mistake killing our King. What say you, Warriors of Westeros? Are we to cower in the face of death? Or will we face it like Warriors with a sword in hand and our people at our backs?

The Starks have been telling us for years the truth, but we never took it for what it was. Winter is Coming, and it's coming for us all whether we like it or not." Stannis proclaimed heatedly, he too didn't want the crown cause he wouldn't be able to head north to avenge his brother.

Ned at that point had conceited defeat.

'Well I guess my boy will get his just desserts, running around playing the hero, now he will have to deal with this. I will be going home.' Ned thought as he watched the crowd rejoice and get fired up to take the battle to them.

Ned used his [S.A.V.I.O.R] to communicate with Cyrus what had happened. But rather than getting the expected response he got a reply full of excitement.

What he didn't know was as soon as Stannis made his proclamation Cyrus had received another achievement.

[Hail To The King, Baby] : You have been proclaimed king and have more than 60% approval of your kingdoms subjects. All stats increased by 30. Two city deeds and three instances granted. Time-rift Radar acquired.

After Cyrus had finally figured out where that achievement had appeared suddenly he had his father issue orders to leave Kings Landing. He didn't like the city so he planned to destroy it and rebuild it. He had it proclaimed that Kings Landing would be demolished and a new city would be built which they would be able to return to.

Many didn't like the proclamation but after being told they would return without having to pay for their new homes it wasn't so bad. Many didn't like King's Landing due to the smell and the layout of the city. The streets flooded easily in the rain, not to mention the tons of Wildfire that had been stashed under Kings Landing was just a ticking time bomb that no one knew about. Also being told they would be welcome at any city besides Dalaran it gave many that extra push to move. Many had wanted to make the move but didn't due to fear, starting over in a new city can be hard and risky. Just because your business did good in one city didn't always guarantee success in a new one. But now they had a chance, if it didn't work out they would be allowed back. Who wouldn't go for a state sponsored relocation? For business owners it was like getting a free branch office, if it is successful they can still return to the new Kings Landing and reopen shop there and still collect from the other store.

Only the High Septon and his followers had planned to stay along with whatever worshippers they could get to remain in defiance of the King. However it wasn't as many as they had hoped, even the most faithful can see an opportunity to better their lives.

Cyrus knew where a hero was thanks to his new radar, but hearing about Lady Deathwisper he knew he couldn't just go grab one. Sure he could go and then whichever hero could then attack with him making things easier. However, doing so would leave the wall vulnerable. He knew Lady Deathwisper wasn't someone to take lightly, his guild had died at her hands many times. It was all about control and awareness, two tank classes were a must, he knew exactly what killed Robert and Barristan. They didn't separate her and her subordinates, they just focused on her while the rest took out the cult members which is what to do, but neither Barristan or Robert assisted while the other held Deathwisper and not all damage focused on the cult members. This slowed the others abilities in getting those cult members down, and they can resurrect at any moment. Like Lord Marrowgar, Lady Deathwisper enrages after ten minutes of initiating combat with her so you have to be coordinated. One Tank class on Deathwisper and one focusing on the mobs allowing your damage dealers free range to switch targets allowing smooth transitions.

After leaving Myrcella and Julia to handle the rest of the transport, after which they would fly Dalaran packed with Unsullied and Dothraki to reinforce the bases beyond the wall.

Cyrus planned on getting Thunder Bluff set up after he took care of Lady Deathwisper, so he would be able to relocate the Unsullied and Dothraki on Dalaran to man Thunder Bluff. Once they armor up those Dothraki and their horses the cold won't bother them.

After ensuring Julia and Myrcella had everything needed and everything was on schedule, Cyrus opened a portal to Kings Landing so that he could pick up his father and Stannis so they could lead an expedition to take on Lady Deathwisper.

Rather than leave Kings Landing without leadership Cyrus brought over a few Stormwind mages, warriors and paladins to assist in any relocation and maintain order. But even with everything he did to allow him to quickly leave, his Kingly duty interfered.

Varys quickly told them they needed to do a coronation ceremony, it was the only way to validate his proclamation for the relocation as well as any further decrees he makes in the future.

Knowing a few days wouldn't hurt since he could use this chance to go into great detail in how they needed to fight Lady Deathwisper with the group. She was definitely not one he could skate by like Lord Marrowgar. Even though you had ten minutes till she was enraged, you really only had seven minutes. If you couldn't down her mana shield in seven minutes your chances of survival get worse each second past seven minutes. She had a lot of health, six million to be exact.

Standard health without his gear and talents Cyrus was around 42,000 health. After fully geared he was sitting at a comfortable two million. But that would also require him to go into bear form to get to that due to its boosts in armor and health. So Cyrus stayed for a few days along with the group to prepare for Lady Deathwisper.