Fantasy and Myth

Lone Wolf

Jon walked among the snow covered trees, his breath churning out in thick clouds of white. The frozen north was always cold, but the nights were bitterly so. He hunched his shoulders under the thick layers of hide and fur wrapped about him, trying to keep warm. Despite the frigid temperatures, he'd still slipped away from Wildling camp, desiring solitude. They looked to him as a leader, unofficially King Beyond the Wall, or what was left of the Wall. He didn't want to be King. He never wanted it.

A crunch of snow alerted him to the presence of someone else. Drawing his sword in the same motion as he turned to face the unknown intruder, Jon readied for battle. Having stepped out from behind a tree, the warrior standing opposite Jon was easily recognizable by the black armor, even in the moonlight. Unsullied. Carrying a round shield and a long spear, the warrior stood at ease with the spear pointing up to the sky.

"I thought you left for the Isle of Naath," Jon said. He lowered his blade but didn't return it to its sheath.

"Everyone needed to think that," the warrior replied. Driving the blunt end of his spear into the snow to hold it momentarily, the Unsullied removed his helmet and dropped it to the ground. The shaved head and angry expression were familiar to Jon.

"Grey Worm," Jon said in recognition. "What are you doing here?"

"Ensuring justice," Grey Worm answered. He tore his spear from the ground and clanged it once against his shield. From the forest around them appeared many more Unsullied, spears held ready with their gleaming points aimed at Jon. "Did you think I had forgotten your treason? Your murder of our Queen?"

"She burned down a city," Jon countered. "She was going to burn more."

"She burned down an evil city," Grey Worm growled through gritted teeth. "None of them fled to join the Queen, but took shelter in the walls of the city opposing her. Not a single one of them did anything when Missandei was murdered on those very walls! They were evil people who knew the Queen would bring justice and destroy their kind if she took the throne. That is why they were gathered there to fight her instead of fleeing from a place sure to become a battleground. Destroying them would've been remembered for years to come as an example of what happens to cities who murder the innocent."

"They surrendered!" Jon shouted.

"You do not understand," Grey Worm stated flatly. "Those enemies had killed and harmed for year after year. They fought and killed the Queen's soldiers, and would've killed us all if given the chance, but when they realized they couldn't overcome us in battle, they throw down their weapons and expect us to ignore the blood on their hands and welcome them so they can destroy us from within. No, she could not allow this."

Grey worm lowered his spear to point at Jon. "A world of good cannot be while evil remains. Evil must be destroyed, only then can good be had by all."

"You accepted my exile," Jon reminded, his gaze sweeping over the numerous opponents as they all took a step toward him.

"I accepted I couldn't bring you to justice with so many opposing me," Grey Worm explained. "Unsullied were taught how to fight, but I learned when to fight. What is that saying you have? 'The lone wolf dies, but the pack survives.' This I learned well, so I waited for you to be alone, where none would interfere and force us to fight them as well. Now, there shall be justice for your murder of the Queen."

Jon did his best to fight back, but he had only a single blade and could only block or deflect so many spears at one time, the rest found their mark.

On a nearby hill, a large direwolf watched the battle with red eyes. One of its ears was missing, and old scars left trails through its white fur. When the violence ended and the Unsullied departed, the direwolf merely observed them. It looked to the body fallen in the snow for only a moment before wandering away, vanishing like a ghostly mist deeper into the forest.