The great hall remained suspended in silence after El's departure, his warning hanging in the air.
It was Tyrion who finally broke the tension with a dry chuckle. "I don't think I've seen him that angry before. Congratulations, Prince Oberyn. You've managed to offend perhaps the most powerful man in Westeros."
Oberyn raised an eyebrow, seemingly unperturbed. "So you're telling me you believe that the Others exist and are marching towards the Wall with an army of wights?" His tone was skeptical.
"I would not completely believe it until I see it with my own eyes," Tyrion admitted, before gesturing to his youthful appearance. "But El has done things I thought impossible before. I mean, just look at yours truly. He at least has the benefit of doubt from me."
He paused, swirling the wine in his cup thoughtfully. "And in my experience, no one lies with nothing to gain. I don't see him gaining anything he wants and doesn't already have by telling us what he has seen."
"Oh, you're an expert on what he wants, are you?" Oberyn challenged, leaning forward.
"Considering that I've been working in the clinic for quite some time now, I definitely know him better than you at least," Tyrion shot back.
"Enough," Ned's voice cut through their argument, firm but not harsh. "I called you here not to argue, but so that even if you do not believe his words, you have heard them. What you do with that information is up to you."
He looked around the room, meeting each person's gaze in turn. "I myself was skeptical of his words until I had the news confirmed by my brother who was with him when he saw the Others. I do not want to be the person who refused to divulge important information just because I refused to believe it."
The Lord of Winterfell straightened, his expression resolute. "I will be saying the same to the King when he arrives, along with all the northern lords. We are going to start preparing to strengthen the Wall and the Night's Watch."
He paused, his eyes moving to Benjen for confirmation before continuing. "I will also be arranging a group of men to talk to the wildlings"
Willas nodded solemnly. "I understand, Lord Stark. Thank you for letting us be a part of this discussion. I will write about these warnings to my father."
"Not you too, Tyrell," Oberyn scoffed. "You really believe everything that's said?"
"No," Willas replied calmly. "But as Lord Lannister said, it would be unwise to disregard warnings about such dire matters simply out of ignorance. I have never been to Dorne, but I'm sure you could tell me enough things that would be beyond my understanding. In a similar way, I have never been north of the Wall, and if someone of as much renown as the healer warns us, I would at least proceed with caution."
That seemed to pacify the Dornish prince somewhat. After a moment's thought, Oberyn's expression shifted from skepticism to intrigue.
"I am nothing if not a curious man, Lord Stark," he said, a familiar gleam returning to his eyes. "I will also write of today's events to my brother but I would also like to be part of this group you send north of the Wall to scout when the time comes, if you'll have me. If nothing else, the chance to slay a creature from stories used to scare children would make for quite the tale."
Ned considered the offer with a neutral expression. "We shall see, Prince Oberyn. This will not be a hunting expedition for sport."
The Dornishman nodded grimly, the usual mischief in his eyes replaced by something harder, more calculating.
"Well," Tyrion announced, rising from his seat with the careful dignity of one who wished to appear less affected than he was, "I've had quite enough excitement for one night. I believe I'll retire." He offered a shallow bow to the room before departing, the other southern guests following his lead with murmured excuses.
As the gathering dispersed, leaving only Ned, Benjen, and Catelyn in the room, Catelyn turned to Ned with desperation edging into her voice, as if she had been keeping quiet with great effort and finally could no longer contain herself.
"Ned," she said, the words tumbling out as if she had been holding them back with great effort, "you have to do something about El. He's going to antagonize every powerful house in the realm. Gods know what he might do when the King arrives with the entire royal family."
Ned exhaled slowly, passing a hand over his face. The weight of the evening's revelations seemed to press down on his shoulders, aging him visibly.
"There's nothing I can do, Cat," he finally said, his voice weary. He met his wife's gaze with resignation. "You know as well as I do that I cannot command him to do anything he doesn't wish to do."
He leaned back in his chair, the wood creaking under his weight. "The best I can hope for if I make him do something he doesn't want to do is that he'll just leave. And that's not even beginning to consider that I'd probably have a riot on my hands because his clinic has saved the life of almost everyone in Winterfell or one of their family members."
"And he may not have any respect for nobles," Ned continued, "but I have his respect. I'm not sure why exactly, but I suspect it has to do with me letting him stay in Winterfell when he was relatively weaker, due to his age when I found him—or to be more accurate, when he found me. And he's friends with our children."
His voice dropped lower, more serious. "Out of respect for that, if gods forbid all-out war breaks out, he will protect Winterfell, and considering the recent happenings I will not do anything to alienate him."
"And what if one day he decides he wants more and takes over Winterfell?"
"To be honest, Cat," Ned replied, meeting her eyes, "I'm pretty sure he could do that today without much effort on his part. Just that he hasn't done so says more about him and the kind of person he is."
"I agree with my brother, my lady," Benjen said quietly. "The things I have seen him do leave me no doubt that he could conquer the Seven Kingdoms and even Essos a lot faster than Aegon Targaryen ever did."
They looked at him in surprise at that.
Catelyn's face paled. "What do you mean?"
Benjen's eyes looked haunted. "Aye. There are some details of the story he downplayed that I thought best left for private conversation."
He took a deep breath. "Another reason the negotiations with the wildlings went so smoothly is because when we arrived, one of the wildlings—named Alfyn Crowkiller—took insult to my presence. Once it was clear he wouldn't back down even at word from their king, El..." He paused, searching for words.
"What?" Catelyn pressed. "What did he do?"
"He erased his existence," Benjen said flatly.
Catelyn stared at him. "What do you mean?"
Benjen leaned forward, his voice dropping to barely above a whisper. His eyes seemed focused on something far away, reliving the memory.
"One moment this wildling warrior was charging toward El, the next..." Benjen swallowed hard.
"The man just started… dissolving. First blood poured from his nose, then his eyes, then everywhere. He let out this scream that didn't even sound human. His flesh simply... melted away, like snow before a fire. Within moments, there wasn't even a scrap of clothing left to show he'd existed at all."
He drew a shaking breath before continuing. "And that was just the beginning. After El nearly died fighting the Night King, something changed in him. The rage in his eyes..." Benjen shuddered visibly.
"He summoned a beast from beneath the frozen earth itself—a monstrous worm larger than Winterfell's towers. The thing burst through solid ice and rock as if it were a fish swimming through water. We escaped thanks to the creature." He shook his head in disbelief. "It had chambers inside, like rooms. El called it 'Paul' of all things, treated it like a pet."
Ned and Catelyn exchanged looks of horror as Benjen continued, his voice dropping to barely above a whisper.
"But the most terrifying thing I witnessed happened when we were at what El claimed was a safe distance." Benjen leaned forward, his weathered face tight with remembered awe. "He had this weapon—a black spear unlike anything I've ever seen. When he launched it..."
Benjen's eyes grew distant, as if seeing it all again. "The night turned to day. A column of fire rose into the sky, higher than the Wall itself. It felt like he had a star trapped inside the spear that exploded violently on impact." His voice trembled slightly. "The shockwave nearly knocked us off our feet, and we were leagues away." He blinked rapidly, the memory visibly unsettling him. "It blinded me momentarily—would have been permanent if El hadn't healed my eyes afterward."
A heavy silence filled the room as Benjen met their eyes directly. "If it were anyone else claiming the Night King could have survived such devastation, I'd call them a liar. But after what I've seen El do?" He shook his head slowly. "I believe him."
---------------------
I left the castle and made my way back, the cool night air doing little to soothe my temper. I guess I had some pent-up rage—I wasn't normally that testy.
I mean, anyone would have been at least a little skeptical of my story. It would have been suspicious if they hadn't been. And even after my warning, I fully expected someone to try their luck. With the way things were going so far, I didn't think I could avoid the war that was coming.
So far, events were happening exactly the way I remembered them unless I intervened directly at the right time. But there was no use dwelling on that now.
I reached the clinic and found Freya already asleep, so I made my way straight to the teleporter underground and used it to get to my lab. I stepped into the chamber, the blue-tinged light casting long shadows across the floor.
"Do you finally have time to talk about what happened when you almost died?" Vaylara's spectral form materialized beside me, her voice carrying that particular tone she used when she'd been waiting too long for answers.
"There's not much to talk about. I needed something to keep my heart beating, and there was only one other heart powerful enough to do the job."
"And in doing so, you woke him up," she hissed, her ethereal form pulsing with concern.
I paused, recalling the encounter. "I was in his presence. He's alive, but not fully formed. Still slumbering within his shell."
"He will not wake from his slumber anytime soon," I added with confidence, already sorting through texts on my workbench, eager to move past this topic.
Vaylara drifted closer, her features sharpening with intensity. "Are you certain about that?"
The ghostly tutor circled around me, forcing me to acknowledge her presence. "You cannot control him, El. I felt its presence too for that brief moment you made contact." Her form shimmered with agitation. "If that is how it feels even before it is born, I shudder to think what will happen when it hatches and digs its way back to the surface."
"I have a way to control him," I replied with the absolute confidence that often drove Vaylara to exasperation. "For now, he won't wake unless I wake him."
Before she could press further, I flipped to a page in her grimoire. "Tell me more about this spell in particular." I tapped the parchment. "I feel there's significant potential here."
"I know you're trying to change the topic," Vaylara said flatly, but reluctantly drifted over, examining what had caught my interest. "The naming ceremony?" Her spectral brow furrowed. "Why? It's tremendously inefficient, and the effects are unpredictable. What do you want to name anyway?"
"The text is vague," I admitted, tracing the cryptic symbols with my finger. "Especially this part where the caster needs to have a deep belief in what the name means and represents."
My eyes gleamed with the particular light that always appeared when I'd found something interesting. "If it works the way I think it does, I've found a way to abuse this spell significantly. But I need to test it first."
"Help me set it up. I want to run a trial."
"On what?" Vaylara asked, suspicion evident in her voice.
"Don't worry about that," I waved dismissively, already gathering components. "Just help me create it and set it up for a test run. I'll handle the rest."