302 AC, Beyond The Wall…
The passivity at the Wall did not last long as the cold grew more biting, the united army marched beyond the Wall. The scouts returned with the news of an army of dead, skeletons and ice creatures at the Fist of the First Men. It was obvious that this was a trap but the united army did not have the luxury of time so they marched to the death that awaited them with burning fires in their heart.
Their walk took half of a moon. Many wights were sighting during their marching. Some were lifelike, while others were badly rotten although the process of decay was halted. All were easily identified by their eyes had turned bright blue like two blue stars, and their hands and feet black and swollen with pooled and congealed blood. They were slow and clumsy and those who were caught by the marching army were quickly killed by the dragonglass weapons.
The weapons forged by the Skagoosi were brought to the Watch when the king declared a war against the creatures of ice in the far north. There were hundreds of thousands of men who came with their king but there were more weapons made from dragonglass awaiting them at the Wall. Unlike iron or steel, dragonglass was not prone to rust so there was no fear of them decaying like other weapons.
The wights who were sighted spread fear into the hearts of the men who fought them but the fear was quickly replaced with burning vigour as they saw the blue in the eyes of the wights fading upon cutting them with dragonglass weapons. Although many thought it was going to be an easy battle as the wights were slower than them and killing them was easier than killing a deer, the vigour was quick to fade when they neared the Fist of the First Men.
The sight of hundreds of thousands of dead was not something that spread fear into their hearts after they fought against them during their march. However, the sight of ice spiders, dead direwolves, dead giants and those creatures of beauty and death froze their heart and spread a shiver down to their spine.
However, what confused them was the stillness of the enemy. They were not moving at all while the living army took their position. The cold was so intense, icicles were forming on the beards of men.
The king went before the army prepared himself to give out a speech but even before he could utter a word, a deep sound of the horn came from the other end of the field. Many held their ears as the sound tried to worm into their brains.
The shrieks and screams of the ice creatures, the soundless screams of wights and the glow in their ice-blue eyes became the only thing they could see and hear in the world. What followed was a deep silence as the sound of the horn ended, then the ground shook like it was bringing the news of death.
Death, indeed, was coming. Wights, direwolves, giants and ice spiders were running without even an ounce of exhaustion. The only thing that remained in their places were the legendary Others. Their eyes of void and white were watching the field that was going to become the sign of their victory.
The living army shook with fear at the sight of the reckless charge of their enemy. However, they stood with the bravery of a man who stood against a thousand enemies. Their shields of different colours were adorning the ice-cold field but each of them was aligned side by side to stop the oncoming charge.
…
While a battle was taking place in the far south of the Land of Always Winter, another was going to begin at the heart of winter, in a land that is permanently locked in winter and perpetually frozen. Endless fields of ice and glaciers bigger than the Wall were the signs of the beauty of this place which permeated death.
However, in this weird place, there was an ice castle of grandeur. Its walls were absorbing the sunlight and revealing a beauty that can't be found in any place. The castle itself felt like breathing deeply with each breeze that clashed with its walls.
There was no sight of a living thing, even the Others were not in this place. This was the heart of winter, an endless source of power. It was a prison that housed the most powerful being, the Great Other, also known as the Lord of Darkness, the Soul of Ice, and the God of Night and Terror. He was the god of Others but his true name was not spoken since he was sealed by other gods.
Currently, in this place of death, a man who only wore a white robe was walking passing through the gates of the ice castle. His face was one of beauty, his eyes held the greatest secret of the stars, his skin was shining like the castle itself. Of course, this man was Gerold who ascended to godhood a year ago.
Since his ascension he was always on the move, gathering power and knowledge from other gods to fulfil his ambitions. Many did not want to give him what he desired but he was prepared and his prayers were bountiful than the others so he had enough powers to oppress them. He gave them time in return for their knowledge which Gerold had many.
He entered the castle with even steps. The castle did not have any candles in it but the sunlight shining through the ice was enough to lighten every corner of it. After he entered the castle and walked on its ice, he realized the place where the god was sealed and went to the deepest part of the castle. He found a cave in there which went down to the glacier's depths.
Gerold walked two hours straight and at last, he came upon a room of ice enough to fill a hundred elephants. The strangest thing was that there was nothing in the room but only a man with the whitest beard and eyes of death sitting on a grand throne.
Gerold smiled like he, at last, saw the thing he was searching for all his life and went towards the throne. The old man on the throne stirred and his eyes shone with an icy glint. He snorted upon seeing Gerold and showed his pure pearl teeth.
"So the traitor comes to beg forgiveness." A voice full of death and terror resonated in the grand room. "You who came upon this world at my bidding does not deserve forgiveness from me. Begone, never show your face or your fate will be like others when I free myself!"
Gerold looked at the old man who spewed the nonsense he made up. He was a god now, a real god. The spells and dark magic is done to him was gone and instead, he was now the real Gerold. A man who cherished his life but did not care about responsibility and only knew laziness. However, the real Gerold also had one bad habit, the desire for revenge. He was always like this. He was a man who broke legs and arms for even the slightest wrong done to him. Now, he was a god who had the power to destroy worlds and kill millions. His revenge was going to be paid in the same manner as what was done to him.
"You speak like what was done to me was a blessing but I remember now. That last moment of feeling the cold in the air as the lightning struck me. It was you who killed me and cursed me with your foulness." The smile on Gerold's face strained as a scowl took its place.
"You should be grateful for what I have done, you were nothing when I took you from that place. A man who spent his days without a purpose. It was I who gave you a purpose, it was I who gave you another life, It was I who showed you my greatness!" A fury burned through the eyes of the old man as his hold on the throne grew powerful.
An uncontrollable laugh took over Gerold as he wiped the tears from his eyes. Suddenly, pure hate became the only thing on his face as winds grew around him and the light shone through his clothes. "You bound my mind, my emotions and my thoughts. You tried to erase me from myself! I was the one who made you something! Ancient One, the First God, Sealed One, Cursed One... The God... All these names meant nothing when I first came here!!" Gerold pointed to himself as he continued, "It was I who made them worship you! It was I who weakened your seal! It was I who killed in your name and offered you their blood! Did you really think I would not realize who you were? Or why you were sealed here? They call you the First God but you were nothing when I came here. They knew your name but you were a stranger to them. The only things that worshipped you were some ice men while I brought you the real faith. But what you have promised for that faith is nothing before the great power and freedom I have tasted."
"You all call yourself gods but I know the truth, all of you are nothing but greedy bastards. Those black stones the Keepers take for themselves, I have realized their use long ago. I even experimented on them far from your eyes." A mad smile grew on Gerold's face as he showed his bracelet to the old man, "You see this? This hid me from your eyes and granted me a part of my old self. Though it blocked my own powers which came from you, it was most useful. The other gods wanted to erase the path to godhood but I found it by myself. You need the blood of other gods to reach godhood and those black stones, are the tool to preserve the blood and bring out its powers. Thus, I used them on other mortals and other beings. First, it was the dragons but they were not enough so I used the boy who carried their inferior blood. Of course, I have succeeded but how was I going to find more black stone?"
"It was hard to find that much black stone as they are depleted after each use. However, the black stones gave me the greatest opportunity; a god's body. Gods are immortal beings so even if you bleed them dry they get healed. Venus herself told me the secret, you can recharge the stones with the blood of Gods. Trios was the most useful in that regard. The fool himself came to the island when I told him about the new black stone I have found in there. I dried him of his blood and recharged the stones. That is what I have done then guess what?" Gerold smiled sinisterly as the light shone brighter.
"I became one of you!" The light seeped into the ice itself and reflected the light into the grand room. "You sent me to this world to gain power but greed is the same in every being. Their prayers turned to me. The faith you receive is now coming to me and I'm gaining all that power. And you will be killed like others I will kill after you. I will create my own pantheon, my own demi-gods which will be loyal to me, ME!!"
The old man who listened silently until now finally showed a reaction and spoke, "You talk about killing me? Killing others? Creating your own pantheon?" He began laughing hard, "Do you think you have that much power, godling?"
The old man rose from his seat and bared his chest like a lion, "I was here even before the others came, I was the one who granted them their godhood. They betrayed me for their greed but still, they couldn't kill me and only throughout all of their powers, they were able to lock me here for a limited time. Do you think you can do more than what they did by yourself?"
"You forgot one thing, old fool. When a mortal ascended, their deepest desire and the means of reaching it manifest themselves as his powers. The deepest desire of R'hllor was escaping from the darkness so he gained the power to bring the light to even the depth of the darkness. Dagon desired to reach the deepest places of the ocean so he gained the power to rule the seas." Gerold extended his hand and tightened his fist like he was trying to grab the air, "And my deepest desire was… power, the power to become free."
Gerold took his fist back like he was pulling something. The old man felt like his soul was being strained as a white small orb flowed out of his chest and went to Gerold. The old man fell to his throne and he held his chest while looking wide-eyed at Gerold.
"The shortest way to reach power is to make others powerless and steal their power." Gerold grabbed the white orb and ate it like a chocolate orb. "Ahhhh, I can feel the fading cold already."
Gerold's eyes turned back to the old man who laid powerless on his throne. Gerold walked towards him without a care, "Do you know what was the first thing I did after I ascended? Of course, I stole the powers of Trios. The fool thought I would release him after I had ascended. He did not know the value of his powers but I knew. The power over reincarnation…"
"However, don't mistake it with yours, it is real reincarnation where you can be a plant or a world itself." Gerold arrived before the throne began climbing its steps. "I stole your godhood, you are a mortal now and the body you have will die someday… Why not now?"
Gerold grabbed the old man's head with his left hand and looked at him with the eyes of a snake. "You stole my freedom and my life from me. Now, you will face what you have done. Good luck in your life as a fly." His hand sucked the very being of the old man, his soul.
The old man screamed his lungs out but no sound was heard. He couldn't do anything other than looking at Gerold with hate in his eyes as his soul was sucked in.
Gerold descended from the stairs and went back to the entrance of the room. He took one last look at the throne and snorted. He waved his hand as the throne collapsed on itself. He left the castle and looked at the skies. From his eyes, came the intent of light as the skies brightened and the sun shined strongly.
His eyes turned to the south as he gazed at the battlefield. A battle was taking place which was being fought in his name. The number of wights was increasing as the battle continued. The living was getting overwhelmed and the Others were already butchering them.
Gerold snorted and his eyes burned like the sun itself. The clouds over the Fist of the First Men parted and the sun showed its face. It smiled upon the living and showed its anger on the dead and the ice. The Others melted while the dead burned.
The divine intervention caused the living to throw themselves on the ground and pray with all their heart. Tears were leaking from their eyes and words of gratitude were spewing from their mouths.
…
403 AC…
History itself was prone to repeat itself. The end of the Second Long Night marked itself as the beginning of a new era, an era of peace and prosperity. It had been a hundred years since the Prophet saved mankind from the evil lurking Beyond the Wall and shining its light upon the face of men.
The following years showed an act of great conversion as the tales of the Prophet's tales spread among the people. From common people to nobles and kings, all the Known World heard his name and many came to worship him in his temples.
However, peace was not only granted by the grace of the Prophet but also the grace of his followers. King Eddard Stark was one of the most prominent examples of His virtues.
Eddard Stark ruled the Seven Kingdoms for 100 years until the age of 137. Some said he was blessed by the Prophet himself as he lived this long. His rule was blessed by many children as his blood ruled all the regions of Westeros and even some parts of Essos. He even found a new Lord Paramountcy in Beyond The Wall and granted that place to his youngest son, Edwyle Stark.
The death of Others and the coming of Eternal Summer had been the greatest news for the North and its people. Gone was the frozen wasteland, instead, a land full of trees and roses were greeted in the North. Even in the lands Beyond the Wall, roses were growing and flowers were spewing out of the earth.
Although the peace lasted until the death of Eddard Stark, none knew what this peace meant.
The time given to the gods by the Prophet was nearing its end. A new era was coming to Planetos. The Prophet was the only God who was going to rule these lands. Already, his people were denying the others. They did not deserve the powers granted to them. They only had greed in their eyes while the Prophet showed them the virtues of a real God. He was the only one who deserved the divine powers.
…
He is the Prophet. He is going to become THE GOD.
HE. IS. THE. GOD.
…
…
…
THE END.