[Chapter Size: 2500 Words.]
Third Person POV.
North.
...
...
The Neck certainly lived up to the rumors. Daemon had never truly entered it before. Even though he had once passed through those lands with an army, they had gone around it, and this was certainly Daemon's first time in Greywater Watch.
Snow still covered everything, but the swamp was unmistakable. Snow clung to the leafless trees, and the water was frozen everywhere. They stood in a small clearing surrounded by the region's characteristic landscape, with the sound of crows echoing through the branches.
Daemon was accompanied by the queen, Daenerys, on his right, and Val on his left, who had also traveled with them to help care for the children during the journey, being the one most accustomed to flying on a dragon.
Numerous men and women attended the funeral as Howland Reed's coffin was carried by the men of his House to the place where he would be laid to rest.
Jojen Reed remained beside his mother, the widowed Lady Reed, while Daemon occupied the place of honor because of his position.
It was not every day that a king attended the funeral of a lord.
Jojen gave a brief speech and also conveyed to the family the words of his sister through the letters Daemon had brought with him from King's Landing. Bran had sent his condolences as well.
After the ceremony, everyone returned to the castle.
The children were quite excited, curious about the North. Snow still covered much of the region, making the weather bitterly cold. Daemon, however, had to admit it was good to see that all of his children had inherited a strong resistance to the cold. None of them seemed truly bothered by the temperature.
While most of the men present were still shivering because of the icy wind, the children looked ready to throw themselves into the snow.
The five children seemed enchanted by their new surroundings. Although they were a little noisy, it only took a few words from their parents for them to remain respectful throughout the rest of the ceremony, even if they looked bored during the funeral. Not that anyone could blame a child for that...
It was only after they returned to the castle that all the excitement began.
Jojen had also married a Lady Locke. House Locke had survived the events of the war after being held hostage by Stannis during the invasion of the North, following the fall of the Wall at Daemon's hands back then, forcing him to relocate his fleet elsewhere in the North.
"Since we're here, let's go to Winterfell. We'll spend a few days there," Daemon announced as soon as they arrived at the chambers that had been prepared for them.
"We're going to Winterfell?" Brandon asked, the most excited of them all.
The boy had always heard stories about Winterfell, the castle where his father and his grandmother Lyanna had grown up. Daemon, of course, had never told him everything that had truly happened in that place during his own childhood. There was no reason to burden a child of only four namedays with such dark events.
Soon all the other children began celebrating as well.
"Since we're in the North, why not?" Daemon replied with a smile to his son.
That night, he also made sure to pay one final tribute to Howland Reed. He spoke a few words about the man during the feast, reminding everyone that he had been one of the people most loyal to his mother ever since the day he had helped her at Harrenhal.
The following morning, they departed for Winterfell. The dragons took flight from the middle of the frozen swamps and headed north.
Daemon decided to bring Viridrax and Winter along for the journey, while keeping the children riding only with him and with Daenerys on Nyx. The saddles were large enough to carry everyone safely, with each child secured by flight harnesses, while Val rode with Daemon alongside two of their children.
Winterfell appeared before them not long afterward.
The king's sudden arrival naturally drew everyone's attention as they spotted the dragons soaring overhead. No raven could travel faster than a dragon, yet Robb Stark already seemed to have known of his arrival, even though Daemon had only decided to come here two days earlier, on the same day he learned of Lord Reed's death during the small council meeting.
Even so, Daemon was not surprised to find Lord Stark waiting for him. Bran still kept some of his ravens at Winterfell precisely to relay messages to Robb whenever necessary. The raven could speak human words, allowing him to prepare for the king's arrival.
The dragons landed in the old field near the castle walls, the place they always used whenever they arrived in the North.
More than twenty mounted knights approached to escort them.
"Come on," Daemon said, carrying Rhaella and Lyanna in his arms while the girls gazed at the snow-covered castle with eyes full of wonder, still exhilarated from their flight on dragonback.
Daemon declined the horses that were offered to him. He saw no point in using them to cover such a short distance.
The family walked to the entrance of Winterfell.
The current generation of House Stark was already waiting for them. Robb stood beside his wife, Lady Stark, Wynafryd Stark of House Manderly. In her arms, she carried a bundled newborn baby girl, completely sheltered from the day's cold.
Beside them stood a four-nameday-old boy, watching everything with curiosity. He had his father's auburn hair but the typical gray Stark eyes. At least in that branch of the family, the Tully features seemed to be fading little by little.
"Your Majesty," Robb Stark greeted, kneeling along with everyone else in the courtyard.
"Rise," Daemon ordered.
"Winterfell welcomes you, Your Majesty."
"Thank you for the welcome, Robb. We'll be staying here for two days. These children have wanted to see the North for a long time, and since we stopped at Greywater Watch, we saw no reason not to visit Winterfell. This place was my home once as well..." Daemon said.
"We heard about Lord Reed's passing. Bran informed me, and we received a letter yesterday. I sent the carriage with my condolences," Robb replied.
Daemon merely nodded. The greetings continued for a few more moments.
"So this must be little Cregan Stark," Daemon remarked, looking at the boy.
The child simply looked back at him and gave a shy nod.
It was not the first time they had met. Daemon had been at Winterfell during the Harvest Feast the previous year, accompanied by the queen, as well as on many other occasions when he had visited Winterfell before.
"You've grown a lot," he said at last.
The boy smiled faintly. Daemon then introduced his own children before everyone entered the castle to settle in.
The next two days were marked by a grand feast hosted by Lord Stark.
While the adults talked, the children amused themselves by running through Winterfell's courtyards and corridors, exploring every corner of the castle. They were also shown the godswood, where the group of five curious princes, along with the Stark heir, filled the ancient grove with life.
Lord Stark had direwolves gifted by Daemon. Cregan and little Lyarra, the baby girl born just a few days earlier, also had their own direwolves.
"Is something bothering you, my love?" Daenerys asked, approaching Daemon during one of the midday meals.
The two of them occupied the high table with the Stark family, while the rest of the castle's people sat at the tables below.
Daemon had no problem talking with those gathered there. In fact, during those two days, he did not limit his attention to only his cousin and the Stark family.
He knew many of the men present from five years earlier, when he had liberated Winterfell from the Boltons. At the time, he had placed many of them in important positions within the castle, and later Robb had kept them in those roles after fully assuming the seat that had once belonged to Eddard Stark. They were men of the North, many of them having served House Stark before being driven out by the Boltons, so it was only natural for them to return to Winterfell's service.
He saw his children entering with Cregan at that moment as they began running, shouting, and playing throughout the hall. Daemon smiled, allowing them to enjoy themselves alongside Winterfell's heir.
But Daemon's gaze soon drifted toward one of the tables. Val noticed his distant expression. "Are you thinking about something?"
"My childhood," Daemon replied. It was also the answer to Daenerys's question.
His eyes remained fixed on one of the tables in the hall. It was there that, decades earlier, a bastard boy had usually sat beside the servants to eat his meals without drawing much attention, while the rest of the Stark family occupied the high table.
It was not regret, nor sadness. It was simply strange to remember that the boy had spent his entire life without ever imagining that one day he would become King of the Seven Kingdoms.
It had already been twenty years since he had left Winterfell for the first time and ended up in that other world.
"It's already been twenty years..." Daenerys murmured, gently taking his arm.
Daemon let out a quiet chuckle. "I know. But they say a man never forgets his childhood. I'm not depressed or anything like that. I was just... thinking."
Daenerys understood immediately. "Then let's make the most of this moment. Especially for our children."
Daemon nodded.
The two days at Winterfell passed quickly.
After that, they returned to their dragons and began the journey back south. Since the children were still young, they made several stops along the way so they could rest.
One of those stops was at Harrenhal, which now belonged directly to House Targaryen, and he intended to grant it to one of his sons, with Aenar set to inherit the castle in the future.
Daemon took the opportunity to inspect the renovations he had ordered for the castle. After sharing a meal with his family, they resumed their journey toward King's Landing.
Two moons passed.
Then, one morning, a roar echoed throughout the city.
Everyone looked up at the sky. A massive black dragon, covered in spikes but smaller than the dragons of the Dragonpit, was soaring over King's Landing.
Odahviing had finally returned.
Daemon, standing on one of the balconies of the Red Keep, could not hide his smile.
The dragon noticed him as well. Upon seeing him, it let out another roar that thundered across the city, frightening much of the population. Daemon could hear screams echoing throughout the castle.
Without a second thought, he simply leaped from the balcony. Two quadrangular magical arrays appeared around him as his body began to float.
Over the years, his magic had evolved. He was no longer capable of merely levitating. Now he could fly, although he still could not reach great speeds.
Within moments, he reached Odahviing. He climbed onto him, and the two flew away from the Red Keep, landing in a field outside the city walls.
"So..." Daemon said with a nostalgic smile to the companion who had not grown at all, unlike Daemon's and Daenerys's dragons. "How were your travels through this world over the past five years?"
"Good... This world is weak." It was the first thing Odahviing said, perfectly summarizing his journey.
"So you didn't cause too many problems, right? I heard quite a few rumors that you attracted a lot of attention in Volantis and also in Slaver's Bay. And that was about three years ago... There were many reports of the roars of an incredibly powerful creature coming from Old Valyria."
"That's true. I was flying over the Summer Sea before heading south, and I decided to visit the place where this world's dragons once lived. I explored the ruins of Valyria. All I found was death... but also some treasures."
Before Daemon could reply, several portals opened beside Odahviing.
Gold. A great deal of gold began pouring onto the ground like rain through the Dovah dragon's storage magic. Mountains of coins piled up across the grass beside the dragon, followed by dragon eggs.
At least fifteen eggs were placed before Daemon.
"There are more, but I couldn't reach all of them," Odahviing said.
Daemon smiled as he stored all the gold and the dragon eggs inside his dimensional space. Odahviing simply watched in silence, as though handing over such a treasure was the most natural thing in the world.
"Thank you... Odahviing." Daemon said. This was certainly a welcome gift.
The dragon merely nodded. He then began recounting everything he had discovered during his travels.
He also created a map using magic and handed it to Daemon. A spark of curiosity immediately ignited in his heart.
Naturally, he wanted to explore Valyria using that map.
But that could wait. One day, he would travel the world as well.
Odahviing continued speaking about Asshai, Yi Ti, and even lands beyond the Red Waste, far to the east of the known maps. There were many places that did not even appear on any map, places many believed existed only in legend.
He spoke of Asshai, the Shadow City, built from that mysterious black stone that seemed to absorb all the light around it.
After leaving Valyria, he had also traveled to Sothoryos, exploring part of that continent and observing the creatures that inhabited its continent-sized forests, proving that the known maps depicted only a small portion of the continent.
Daemon's interest was piqued as well.
But that would have to wait for another time.
"And now? What are your plans?" Daemon asked.
Odahviing had already visited nearly the entire world. Westeros had never truly been a place where he wished to remain.
"I'm going back home. I imagine you no longer need me."
"That's true... but I have to admit, hearing that stings a little." Daemon smiled.
Odahviing merely snorted.
Daemon sighed. "Very well. So you're returning to Oblivion."
"Yes."
"Do you think you can get in touch with your old companions in Skyrim?"
"Of course."
"Good. I want to know if they're all doing well." There was a faint note of nostalgia in his voice.
"In any case, let me meet your brood. It's not as though I'm leaving right away. I'll stay for another week or two before I finally depart. I'd like to see your children before then."
"Of course. Let's go to King's Landing. The Dragonpit is large enough to accommodate me."
With that, the two took to the skies and returned to the capital together.
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