The Wolf Queen - Part 2 - (Aemond Targaryen)

Chapter 33

Lyanna enters the Godswood, feeling like she hasn't been there in a long time. It feels strange to her not to see her wolves coming from the forest to greet her, especially Shadow, who knows this place as his home for many years now. 

The foreboding face on the Weirwood stares at her with its hollow eyes as she kneels down in front of it, still hearing the voice calling out to her. The blood-red liquid oozes out of its eyes more than usual. 

Lyanna doesn't even know if she wants to communicate with the old gods today. They have been nothing but horrible to her the past few weeks. Maybe she should give them the silent treatment just like they gave her.

But with a sigh, she decide to just get the discussion over with. She places her hand on the bark of the Heart Tree, feeling her mind being pulled away far from where her body is. 

A bright light blinds her for a moment before she opens her eyes in an unknown location. The area is covered in snow and a rocky mountain can be seen in the far distance. White Weirwood trees circle her, the faces of each tree all looking different than the previous one. 

Lyanna.

They all speak to her in unison. The mixture of deep and high-pitched voices, male and female, makes them sound like a chorus. She never knew that some of the old gods were women, since she always heard the voices of men when they communicated with her.

"I'm here," she answers as she looks at the faces, "Why did you summon me?"

The sun which was still high in the sky, suddenly fall down into the horizon, making it look like dusk. 

We have to warn you, Lyanna. The path you have chosen to take today will only lead to your unhappiness. It will change your future forever.

"You already destroyed a part of me that I will never get back. You put me through suffering that could've been prevented if I had my greensight."

You had to go through it to do what must be done. 

The scenery changes again to that of a dark mountainous area, the winds blowing the snow around her, hinting at a blizzard that is on the way.

The Long Night is looming, a threat that one day House Stark must end. 

Suddenly Lyanna is surrounded by people, but they don't look normal. Instead, they have bright glowing eyes and their bodies look like those of corpses. She can feel the goosebumps spreading out over her body as she takes in what is being shown to her. 

"What are they?"

They are the dead, Lyanna. An army that keeps on growing and no one is aware of it. The Wildlings that you fought against fall victim to them more often than you think. Why do you think they wanted to get through the Wall so desperately?

The scene changes again and Lyanna is left standing face to face with one of these undead men, but this one looks like it is aware of her presence. Its cold eyes follow her as she back away from it.

"How can it see me?"

Because he is the Night King, created by the Children of the Forest. A mistake we all dearly regret. Your house will have to stop him. A child from house Stark, the chosen one, the Prince that was Promised, will stop the Long Night from destroying not only Westeros but the rest of the world. 

This Night King takes a step towards Lyanna, reaching his hand out to touch her. She forces herself into his mind and is met with excruciating pain, seeing events that took place thousands of years ago, feeling everything this undead creature felt before being changed into the King of the undead. 

The trees around her ooze more and more red liquid as they chant something in a language she doesn't understand. She pushes back against the power she feels inside this Night King's mind. He is also able to wield greensight and he has many years more experience than her.

Fight it, Lyanna. You have the strength of all of us inside you. You can only do what must be done if you can push him out of your mind. 

And so she tries, feeling her energy draining in the process. With one final push, she can feel him fading away, and see the image of him disappearing until they are back at the sunset scene. Lyanna falls to her knees as she tries to get her breath back. 

"What the hell?" she yells at them, "Do you want to kill me? You can't throw something like that at me and think I am ready for it."

You can't always be ready for everything. It is your duty to ensure that The Prince that was Promised will know what to do when the time comes.

"And how am I going to do that? Live for a few hundred years until he is born?"

You must step down as Queen, Lyanna. This boy can only become the chosen hero if he is born from the seed of your brother.

"Cregan?" she asks, not shocked that such a thing will come from him, "You want me to make him the King in the North?" 

Everything will make sense in due time. 

"No! You do not get to leave me here with more questions than answers!"

Now go and do what must be done, we are all a part of you now.

Slowly the sunset starts to disappear and the bright white light consumes her mind again, blinding her until she returns to her body. 

With a gasp she opens her eyes, looking at the sombre face in the tree in front of her. She drops her hand into her lap, still feeling the headache the Night King gave her. Her body is still covered in goosebumps, causing her to shiver although she doesn't feel cold. She has never felt anything like him, never felt fear to such an extent. She has heard of the Song of Ice and Fire, heard about this prophecy Aegon the Conqueror received in a dream. There is a book in Winterfell's library where this prophecy can be found. Maester Arwen told her many things about this prophecy, how almost all of the Targaryen Kings thought that they or their offspring will be this promised prince. She always believed it was nonsense made up by a King who wanted people to believe that the Targaryens were gods, to make them fear them even more than they already had. 

But after what she has just seen, she knows it is not something that is made up. There really is a threat looming over the horizon, so far North that some people won't even try to tread across the harsh terrain. And all of this time she thought the Wildlings were their greatest enemy in the North. If only she knew about this earlier then she wouldn't have killed so many of them at the Battle of the North. She would've still killed their leader, he had to go. But the rest would've gotten the opportunity to prove themselves before earning a place in her kingdom. 

She stands up, hearing a name being said over and over in her head as she leaves the Godswood. She needs to reach this person in the future and warn him about the threat that is coming so that he will make sure this Prince that was Promised do what he is destined to do. 

The old gods don't stop saying the name to her, forcing it into her mind to not forget what she must do. As soon as she is done with the war, she will make contact through the weirwood trees. A descendant of her brother. Not only will this prince come from Cregan's bloodline, but the one that will help him as well. It makes her feel very unimportant. But she knows that this is bigger than her feelings and pride. 

They chant the name a few more times as she walks towards Jace and Aegon.

"Ready to go?" she asks Jace. The moon shines over the castle, casting his face in the shadows, but she can still see the bright smile on his face. He nods to Lyanna and places a hand on his sword.

"Let's go then," she turns to Aegon, "Take care of my home, Aegon."

She watches as Aegon just nod and returns to the warmth of the castle while they make their way to Vermax. As Lyanna climbs on the dragon, with Jace sitting behind her, she hears the old gods say the name again, but this time the image of this person appears as well. A young man, crippled and broken. A Stark. He will be the one to continue what she won't be able to do. He will help stop the Long Night. He will guide the promised prince. 

His name is Bran Stark. The future Three-Eyed Raven.