chapter 3

Jon 

"The King in the North"

As Jon stood in front of the people, his heart was pounding with surprise and delight as Maege's words, proclaiming him Jon Stark and The King in the North, echoed in his ears. This sent shivers down his spine.

For a long time, Jon struggled with his identity as Eddard Stark's bastard son, always feeling like an outsider, never really belonging to anyone except Arya, even when he returned from the dead and Knowing that he belonged not to Eddard but to Lyanna and Rhaegar, he also knew that his own situation was much worse. Because it emphasizes that he has no right to stay in Winterfell at all. Worse, he is a half-Targaryen, shunned by the North. Therefore, he would definitely not announce his true origins.

The bastard of the most honorable man on the continent, or the bastard of a kidnapper? It wasn't difficult for him to make a choice. The only problem was that he was still a bastard, whose inheritance rights were behind even women.

But now, hearing the words of Robb's will recognizing him as a Stark and heir to the throne, it was as if a weight had been lifted from his chest. With this letter, he would avoid any trouble with nobles who were concerned about his illegitimate status or who wanted to use Bran and Rickon to protest against his position as the King in the North. He has now rightfully earned that title, and retaking Winterfell will strengthen his claim.

This was the moment Jon had imagined himself before. Although it was a small group now, in the future, thousands of people would bow their heads and proclaim him their king. He wants power, honor, recognition, and Winterfell, but he'd rather give up that desire than have to take what he wants from his brothers. But now fate had thrust him into the position he had left behind. And he knew he couldn't say no because he had a home and humanity to save. The North must be united, and Stark must be king. With a steady gaze and a strong voice, Jon addressed the crowd, his words carrying the weight of his purpose.

"I am honored by King Robb's trust in me and those of you who continue to carry out his will," he began, his eyes scanning the loyal northerners. "We face dark and uncertain times together. Traitors and invaders lurk in our land. They are enemies that must be eliminated quickly."

He paused. Let his words sink in. before continuing with quiet determination: "As the King in the North, I promise to protect and defend our people. Be a great leader like the Stark Kings of old and fight for a better future for all who call this land their home. Winter is coming. But we will overcome it together and survive to see the light of a new day."

With those words, Jon raised his sword high above his head. Steel that glistens in the winter breeze The crowd in front of him cheered again. Their voices echoed across the snowy landscape, and as Jon stood there, surrounded by newfound allies and volunteers, he knew that the journey ahead would be full of challenges and dangers. But no one said being a king was easy.

With a burning sense of purpose within him, Jon Snow, now Jon Stark, The King in the North, was prepared to lead his people into the uncertain future that lay ahead.

Jon's first agenda item is to deal with the urgent threat posed by the Ironborn clan, which still holds sway over parts of the North. Their presence is a constant reminder of the instability that exists in the region. Jon knows that he needs to expel them in order to preserve the loyalty and safety of his people.

Then gather the nobles. Then reclaim and restore Moat Cailin to protect the North from enemies from the South. Only then would he march on Winterfell, House Stark's castle currently occupied by the traitorous Bolton—he couldn't possibly call Bolton a traitor because Bolton had never really been loyal to Stark

Jon knows that taking Winterfell will not be easy. He won't directly attack Winterfell, but he will drag his armies of scalpers out onto the battlefield. Bolton won't be able to stand still as he begins to lose his allies.

And then a crow flew down. while shouting out "Stark, Stark, Stark."

and fell on his shoulder. The crow continued to hiss, "King, King, Jon Stark."

Jon closed his eyes; so many different images, tastes, smells, and sounds flooded his head all at once.

***

Yara

Yara didn't expect a massacre to happen. It had been quiet since they were evicted from Deepwood Motte and she was captured. But after Stannis died, she had the opportunity to escape with the help of her followers. They retreated and settled at Sea Dragon Point. And because the remnants of Stannis's army were unable to pay any attention to them, it gave her time to rest for further planning. She knew that she could not stay in the North anymore because once they had no internal war, the power of the North would fall on them. Returning to the Iron Islands was not a wise choice after her failed attempt to become Queen of the Iron Islands. Her uncle, Euron, received that position. Her choice was to sail north, behind the wall. Or go south without passing through the Iron Islands. Or worse, go west in hopes of finding new land. She definitely couldn't make a decision easily because there were thousands of people behind her.

By now, she should have realized that something was wrong. The people sent to observe Wolfswood and Deepwood Motte were unusually quiet. Flocks of crows often circled her camp day and night. It was almost constant; Yara was getting used to it. But then a haunting, high-pitched voice began to appear from Wolfswood. She ignored it. Just the sound of a wolf 

Tonight, everything came crashing down. Waking up screaming in the middle of the night, Yara rushes out of bed. Put on your armor as quickly as possible. When the time comes that you're ready, Ax and bath in hand The screams were deafening. It was clearly a panic. They're being attacked. As she hurried out of the fort, she encountered a massacre. There were corpses everywhere on the snowy ground. All Ironborn, Yara looked around to see her Ironborn fleeing from the Northerners. and several more were climbing over the wall. Yara's stomach sank as she watched the group of Ironborn being left behind by the northerners. Battle axes and swords cut them to pieces. The northerner's outfit was neither Stannis' nor Bolton's. It looked rougher and older.

Qarl, her servant, ran out of the weapons shed. He obviously heard the same thing.

"How did they get here?!" Qarl shouted.

"The Northerners must have a way to circumvent and wipe out the scouts!" Yara shouted back, then realized, "Curse the crow!"

"What are you talking about?"

"The story of northerners who can transform into animals. They must be the crows that have been flying around all these days." She recalled the story of the Mormont girl who said her mother could transform into a bear. She thinks it's funny.

Qarl laughed solemnly. "It's time for us to return to the sea. Yara, we must go to our ships!"

Yara just nodded as they started running. They stayed hidden as much as possible as they fled the camp that had been filled in by Northerners. She could hear the sound of drums and trumpets going back and forth as she ran. They also heard the howling of wolves. The two climbed over the wooden wall like Northerners do. They ran into the darkness. The other Ironborn probably had the same idea. She could faintly see their shadows. Run towards the pier. Heading to their ship, the Ironborn certainly aren't doing well on the mainland. Yara told Theon once when he took Winterfell by acting like a Greenlander. And it got him scalped. Yara didn't intend to meet that end as she ran with Qarl.

Luck seemed to be on their side as she began to feel the sea breeze against her, and some of the lights on her Ironborn ship must have been preparing. She knew she would lose most of her ship. She has nearly a thousand people still following her. And if the killings are any indication, she wouldn't have them all. Qarl looked hopeful, running with his ax in hand. very similar to herself. The drums and trumpets still sound. The howling sound also grew louder. It made her stop.

"Qarl!"

He paused. "What?"

"Howling in front of us, Qarl!" she shouted.

Yara searched for the Ironborn in front of her. She hadn't seen much before. they disappeared Then she heard another scream and pounding, a faint outline falling onto something. There was a lot of noise moving in the darkness.

"They have wolves!" she shouted.

Qarl cursed, "Damn it, what are we going to do?"

Yara didn't know; they were obviously cornered and stuck on all sides.

"Run forward. We can't escape them as long as we're on the ground! The ship is our best chance if we make it through! If not, then we die!"

Qarl nodded at her. Then they ran into the darkness again, towards the howling sound. Yara noticed as she ran that she was stepping on her own body. As they got closer to the ship's lights, Yara could make out the flag. A flag with a wolf on it. There were more Starks than she could count. And they had a giant white wolf in front of them. Even in the dim torchlight, she could see red eyes. They have blood-red eyes.

The two slowed down as they approached and raised their hands. There's no way out of it. She had to do the smartest thing. 

Yara yelled at the northerner.

"Who is leading you? I want to negotiate!"

Yara watched a man march to the front. He was not tall, had a broad chest, a large stomach, and a beard as white as snow. He wore rings of armor.

"Tormund, I will not negotiate until the Crow King arrives."

Yara sucked in a breath. Another King; she had never heard of this 'Crow King', but looking at the large number of crows, she understood where it was coming from.

"Alright, I'll wait. Stop killing each other," she said, ordering her men to lower their weapons. Because she knew that if they continued fighting, they would die before they reached the ship.

Yara was too busy to notice Qarl trying to swing his ax at Tormund, hoping for a chance. He was not spared when Yara heard his screams. She turned around in horror when she saw that Qarl's arm had been bitten off by a giant white wolf. Blood splattered all over her. She looked at the corpse. The white wolf stared at her and roared. The beast looked like something straight out of a nightmare. But she couldn't stop looking at it. Meanwhile, they were surrounded by all the Northerners. When she finally looked up from the beast, she saw a man walking in the other direction with an army.

The man was dressed in northern clothing and had a long sword in his hand. Looking at the man's face, she could see gray eyes and dark hair, and the face was long. She remembered Eddard Stark's face when he took Theon away. It was the same look, just different. It looked coldly ferocious. His eyes looked very angry. His mouth looked ready to roar. He looked like he was about to tear himself into pieces like a wolf.

Stark stood in front of her and said nothing. Just look at her intensely. He is looking at her. Not like normal men do. It is not the appearance of lust. She might feel a little safer if that were the case. But he looked like he was ready to kill her. He looked at her like prey.

She had to speak quickly before she was killed. Stark probably didn't have much love for them after her brother killed two Stark children. "I have Lady Glover and her children on Iron Island. My uncle will trade them for me."

Stark's face showed indifference. "So what is stopping us from taking this island without you? We have your ship."

Yara smiled; she had the better of the bargain. "You don't know which island they are on, and my uncle will kill them without me."

Without her warning, Stark grabbed her by the neck and lifted her up. Gray eyes, now turning blue, looked straight at her.

"You are in no position to negotiate, squid," Stark squeezed her neck in. She tried to resist, but it was no use. Her two hands couldn't do anything to his one hand. She began to gasp for air as she struggled.

Yara watches as Stark orders his men to kill all the Ironborn as he begins to faint. 'This is not an honorable wolf. This is a hungry wolf.'

As darkness covers her, Yara imagines an alternative past, perhaps in another time and place. She was able to find a simpler life. Far from blood and death

'I should run away and become a merchant.' Yara thought of Tris' advice before everything went dark.

***

Jon 

Upon reaching Deepwood Motte, Jon and the group were welcomed into the fortress, except for the Free Folk. The presence of Galbart and Maege made the conversation smoother. And Robb's will brought them to their knees: Glover, Mormont, Umber, mountain clans, and other nobles. Having all pledged allegiance to Stark, he can thank Stannis for bringing them together. 

As for Stannis' soldiers, Jon gives them a choice: join the army or return to protect Stannis' wife and daughter. Those who choose the latter are sent aboard a ship to... Westwatch-by-the-Bridge to continue traveling to Eastwatch-by-the-Sea, where Selyse and Shireen are staying.

He then marches on the Ironborn's camp and kills everyone except Yara Greyjoy, using her in exchange for the captured Glover family. The battle is a one-sided battle with an army consisting of the Free Folk and the Northerners, thanks once again to Stannis. They took it. And in addition to getting a Greyjoy girl, he also received dozens of ships as gifts. In the end, he ordered all the Ironborn's heads to be planted along the coast to warn them. before returning to Glover's castle.

Free Folk and Northerners try to adapt to each other. There was an argument until some blood was shed. Because millennia of feuds are not forgotten overnight. But fighting and shedding blood together made them reduce their hatred somewhat. After all, neither the Northerners or the Free Folk were descendants of the First Men and worshiped the same gods.

Now, entering the Great Hall, Jon meets the Lords and Ladies attending the meeting. Sitting at a long table on either side, Jon nodded to them all. Walk toward the center of the table. Ghost followed behind him and lay in front of the fire, with Val on his right and Galbart on his left. 

Jon placed his hand on the table before starting. "How many ships do we have now?"

Mormont woman–Alysane A smile curled her lips at him. "Greyjoy Bitch has thirty ships with her. It was the fleet she was able to gather after escaping from her uncle. It has already been partially destroyed in the Bay of Ice, along with the ones we captured recently. This leaves us with twenty-five usable ships. It is a good number to start the Northern Fleet."

"Yes, it would be nice to see squid attacked by their own ship," Rodrik Forester said happily. 

Jon nodded at the information. "Very good. We must begin repairs and preparations immediately. Our first priority is to secure our coastline and prevent any further aggression by sea. I want every ship to be manned and ready for operations."

He turned to Galbart and asked, "How are our defenses?"

Galbart was silent in thought before answering. "We have reinforced the walls and stationed guards at key points. However, we must remain vigilant. Another Ironborn may attempt to attack."

Jon's expression hardened. "Alright, I'll have Skinchanger help patrol the coast."

Everyone nodded in agreement. He had already told the northern nobles on the first day of their meeting about the special abilities that some Free Folk had; some of them accepted and some of them didn't. But when he said that he himself was one of them and that the Starks of the past had such power, it was the power of the long-lost Old Gods. The person who refused suddenly accepted it and became interested in marrying a Free Folk who was a Skinchanger. He definitely supported it. The more Northerners intermarried with Free Folk, the better at uniting the two groups.

"This is the largest Ironborn invasion in the North," Mors Umber said simply. Ready to drink beer from his glass.

Maege nodded at the man and said, "Yes, you're right. They're still scattered all along the Stony Shore and at Torrhen's Square, but there aren't many of them anymore."

"What if more of them come from the Iron Islands?" Sybelle asked, turning to Jon. 

The thought of another Ironborn coming to plunder the North made him growl.

"If they come to Deepwood Motte, they will see the heads of their brothers along the shore. And I will do the same with Stony Shore."

Jon watched the mountain clan leader smile at the thought. The Mormonts' toothy grins grew larger, and the elder Umber laughed.

Rodrik looked at Jon and said, "That can be done. We now have nearly 10,000 soldiers. How many of them would you like to take to Winterfell?"

Jon looked at him simply and smiled. "No, Winterfell is not our goal. That can wait. We need to increase people and wealth first. The fact that Roose was dead and they didn't have Stark would cost them a lot of support, but Winterfell was still a fortress that could withstand the siege for long. We are not ready to run into a trap right now."

"So what are our plans?" Rodrik asked eagerly.

Jon continued to smile. "I'm going to kill squids at Stony Shore first, then deal with Ryswell and Dustin because they were the first to announce Bolton, help Tallhart kill squids, go south and talk to Flint of Flint's Finger, then capture Moat Cailin, then march to White Harbor, Hornwood, Flint of Widow's Watch, and join Karstark to capture the Dreadfort."

"Good plan," said Galbart. He agreed to gather more nobles and reclaim Moat Cailin. 

"The Boltons will be surrounded from all sides, and there will be no help. It will force him to leave Winterfell to stop you before he loses more of the North." Mors could see Jon's desire.

"Yes," Jon nodded. "Mormont and the Free Folk will sail to Stony Shore with me; Glover and the Mountain Clan will defend Wolfswood; and Umber will march south to liberate Torrens Square and wait there until the signal is given to go to Barrowton."

Alysane looked at him suspiciously. "Why split our forces?"

Jon looked at her, his smile growing more mischievous. "I want to get rid of all squids first. Then go have a little chat with the traitor."

Alysane smiled, but Jon wasn't finished.

"We'll take Greyjoy Bitch with us. After liberating Stony Shore, we'll split up so she can take the Glovers home."

Alysane Mormont nodded with delight at invading the Iron Islands.

The northerners began to laugh at the idea. They made loud noises as they drank toast and began to disperse to get ready.

The next day, before marching, Jon looked at the entire army. The ferocity was still etched on his face. "It's time they knew Stark was back." 

Val looked at Jon with a mischievous smile. "Are you going to tell them we're coming?"

Jon answered her with a wolfish smile, "Yes, there is no point in hiding it. They'll find out sooner or later. I would like to be the one to let everyone know that we are going to pick up Winterfell from Bolton. Winter is coming."

"And the Northerners remember," Alysane said solemnly.

"The King in the North!" Maege shouted, followed by the voices of thousands of soldiers.

"The Crow King!" Tormund shouted, the Free Folk cheering as the northerners followed him. 

…