Edric swiftly returned to his body, observing his new opponents. Four wielded thin crystal swords; two held what seemed to be javelins of ice, while the largest of them all, a figure of ice not much shorter than Edric, wielded a colossal shield.
He looked back at all the corpses behind him and started taking out medium-sized jars of a certain substance. He began handing them out to his best riders.
"Spill this around the corpses - we're going to trap them in flame before they can rise... As for the rest of you, retreat to the Wall and rain fire arrows on the wights that leave the forest. GO!"
Following his urgent order, the cavalry swiftly spread out. His Kingsguard and some others were the jar bearers, spraying it around the few hundred corpses with great speed. Meanwhile, the rest retreated to the gate with haste. As for the white walkers, they looked as serene as a warm lake. Indeed, wights emerged from the forest. Hundreds more.
Edric's Eye of Stormy Judgement opened, floating above him.
The sky rumbled, followed by ominous clouds and rain that grew more overbearing with each second.
Edric grinned slightly.
It's good that I prepared for this.
Since he stood in front of the corpses, Edric didn't need to move and loaded his first arrow. In turn, one of the seven Others formed a javelin of ice. The Other threw first. With Hyper-Focus, Edric saw it a mile away and sidestepped casually - all the while charging an arrow of lightning from the tip. He fired at once, letting it soar into the sky at great pace.
Given the distance, and the night walker's great physical attributes, it dodged with otherworldly grace - letting out an icy sound of mockery as the arrowed passed. The arrow swiftly shifted - right around.
It struck the night walker's back, piercing its core and exploding with a surge of purple lightning. With it's chest blown open, the Other shattered into beautiful purple crystals. Seeing this, the rest of them faded into the forest.
The dead behind Edric began to rise. Edric mounted his horse and took out a pot of wildfire.
"Ride as far away from them as possible!"
His battlefield shout rumbled across the field, leading his men to fulfilling his will. They rode out from the rising corpses and further away. It was then that Edric tossed a larger keg of wildfire at the center of the corpses - aided by the wind.
With no further delay, he raised his left hand to the skies as it sparked with lightning.
In the blink of an eye, a dozen smaller bolts of lightning struck the earth and ignited the dormant flames all at once in a ring of fire. The keg in the middle was struck as well, spitting out wildifre from the centre. Under Edric's will, the rain stopped, and the wind violently surged, spreading flame across the rising dead in an inferno of jade-coloured fire. In seconds, the newly risen wights turned to ash.
God bless Aerys' virtuous, flame-loving soul.
Edric thought to himself, taking satisfaction of how swiftly the wights behind him had been dealt with.
Meanwhile, more wights began emerging from the forest, and Edric cautiously used whiffs of the still raging wildfire to ignite his arrows. With each arrow, he put down a wight. Even though he was conserving his energy, it piled up. In the end, he took out another keg of dormant wildfire and used the wind to toss it right at the centre of their formation - igniting it with lightning once more.
The fire spread out once more, igniting not only the corpses but the forest too. An actual wildfire of wildfire broke out, scorching not only the wights but the woods too. Alas, not a single wight would be able to walk out of those woods again.
"Have we won?" Ser Arys Oakheart questioned, with a rather hopeful tone.
"No," Edric felt their presence still. "Get to the gate and behind the Wall."
"But… what about you-"
"It's an order."
From the corners of the fire came six white walkers, the same ones from before, only that they were riding ginormous man-eating ice spiders. They surged out at such great speeds that no horse would be able to outrun it - going straight for Edric. Five of them threw ice projectiles at his horse, all of which he skillfully evaded with the slight use of wind to throw off a few of the ice javelins. Alas, they were gaining.
To counter, he raised his hand to the skies and struck down all six of the spiders with bolts of lightning, dismounting the Others. He struck the Others right after with a more powerful wave, only for his lightning to do minimal damage.
They're tough, alright. I'll make the next one count.
Edric noted to himself, riding away as he charged an arrow of lightning. Five of them continued advancing on foot, while one remained still as ice.
"They're attacking from below," Raiden Shogun advised. "They seek to dismount you as well."
How?
Edric thought to himself.
It was then that the earth rumbled… and spikes of ice rose from the ground. Edric's eyes widened as he watched his destrier be impaled by ice from below. Being prepared beforehand thanks to Raiden's warning, he swiftly freed himself from the saddle, leaping to the side.
He gave his faithful and brave destrier a sorrowful glance, hearing its last cries of pain as the horse was enveloped in ice. He turned to the Others with a glare of fury. Though his body should've been freezing from the cold, the blood in his body boiled even hotter.
"The Other with the shield is a greater foe than the rest combined. It was his attack that sent you to the ground."
Raiden spoke as Edric's focus remained razor-sharp. He watched five of them advance while the Other with the shield stood in the back and remained still. Edric took a fresh arrow, swiftly channelling vast amounts of lightning all at once. The earth rumbled once more, and he lowered his bow - sprinting to the side. As before, ice rose from the ground, but he managed to evade it.
With that, his arrow was loaded, and he let it fly—piercing the closest of the night walkers and exploding them from within. The earth rumbled once more… yet it was not under him—but rather behind! A large wall of ice would form around him, leaving Edric nowhere to go but forward.
Edric returned his bow to the Plane of Euthymia, switching to the Warhammer.
"You seek close combat?" Edric's eyes flared purple as lightning engulfed his warhammer. "Get as close as you'd like."
He charged forward to the west, aiming to break through their formation. The westernmost night walker charged forward with a piercing motion. The long crystal sword had greater reach, and the attack itself was swift and unorthodox by nature. Despite this, with Hyper-Focus and using the wind to fasten his step, Edric sidestepped the attack and put himself in prime position to counter.
CRACK.
He smashed his warhammer into the side of the white walker, the lightning only amplifying the blow as it tore through the being's armour and broke into the ice within. Edric withdrew his warhammer, knowing there was another of them behind him. With another use of Hyper-Focus, he tried to evade the other's advance, but its crystal blade narrowingly cut through the side of his helmet and gave him a sizeable gash across his cheek.
An ice spear would follow, only thrown off trajectory by the wind.
He had managed to break through their attempt to entrap him, but not unscathed.
Even still, as he retreated, they grew twice as relentless.
Edric heard the sound of galloping, a sound that grew louder and louder.
… I told them to keep away.
The Others suddenly withdrew, and the earth rumbled once more…
Forming a sort of ice rampart behind Edric at the perfect moment - piercing every last horse and dismounting his would-be saviours. The ice continued to expand, aiming to end them all. Edric looked at the other in the distance, unmoving. He struck him with a swift yet thunderous bolt of lightning - and the ice stopped.
Brienne, Loras, Balon, Lyn, Brynden and the Hound all had retreated to safety with minor wounds. Arys and Mandon, who were at the forefront of the charge… did not do so well. Mandon was covered in ice spikes from head to toe, while Arys had one large spike caved into his chest.
"Forgive me, Your Grace…" Arys spoke, his blood spilling across the ice. "We couldn't watch you fight on your… own."
So be it.
The rest of the Others prepared ice javelins to the newcomers.
"Spread out and arm yourselves! Normal steel will not harm them and breaks when it touches their blades, so use this…"
Edric ordered, taking out a multitude of dragonglass weapons he stored up. He tossed a spear to the Hound, a long dagger to Loras and Brienne, arrowheads to Balon and a spear to Brynden. While he was arming them, the Others used this opportunity to throw their ice javelins - only for Edric to wave them all off.
Still… the continuous use of magic was draining him.
"Dragonglass is brittle, don't use it to clash against their weapons. Valyrian Steel is quite effective, however-"
"That's all I needed to hear."
Lyn Corbray took charge of the vanguard, drawing Lady Forlorn's smoke-grey blade. Thin crystal clashed against Valyrian Steel as a screech resounded across the field. The Other who clashed against him looked in a moment of surprise. Lyn withdrew, feinting a downwards swing, which the Other fell for, only to swing to the side and cut right through him horizontally. The Other shattered into crystals.
The Hound threw his javelin at the Other Edric had previously wounded, the dragonglass piercing its core and shattering the Other all the same. Loras confronted one of them alongside Brienne, distracting him and allowing her to strike his leg. The Other fell on one knee, and Loras swiftly dug his dragonglass into its heart. As for the final one, Balon was shooting out its legs with dragonglass arrowheads, allowing Brynden to stab his spear into its chest.
Meanwhile, Edric had been micro-managing and keeping the greater Other in the distance distracted with constant lightning. No more spikes had risen from the ground, proving that he needed to charge his attacks - similar to Edric when it came to arduous uses of magic.
At last, the seventh Other began to move, raising its massive shield from the ground and drawing out a long thin crystal sword - advancing forward.
"Lyn, give me Lady Forlorn." Edric immediately said.
"I can take him." Lyn looked with confidence, having beaten one of them already. "You can support me with your magic."
"..." Edric raised an eyebrow.
Before he could do anything about Lyn's disobedience, the Other slammed his shield into the ground once more, and spikes emerged from his shield - shooting out towards the charging Lyn Corbray. They pierced every bit of his body, tearing right past his armour.
"Let me fight for you now," Edric said, drawing in Lady Forlorn with the wind and grasping it with his right hand. "I won't allow any more of you to die on my watch."
He charged forward, each step shaking the earth.
With his left, he channelled one burst of lightning into his warhammer and tossed it high into the sky. The Other looked confused as Edric wielded Lady Forlorn with both hands, its blade lighting up into a luminous purple glow.
He charged the Other, dodging and weaving through his various ice projectiles until he was within striking distance. The Other raised his shield and stretched out its sword arm - aiming to stab him. Edric dodged and stabbed the core of the shield, right into the Other's hand. He drove Lady Forlorn up and cut a line across the shield.
Afterwards, he swiftly withdrew only to met with a swift advance.
The Other was swifter, slashing at him again. He clashed swords, slowly melting the thin crystal blade. It was then that he planted the shield to the ground once more. Edric knew that that meant, stepping back and preparing an attack of his own. He enforced the lightning around Lady Forlorn for one last attack.
The sky tore open as his warhammer soared down. The Other looked up, raising his shield to the sky to counter.
BANG.
Warhammer smashed against shield, smiting it violently.
Given that it was damaged already, cracks began to emerge.
All the while, Edric tossed Lady Forlorn like a javelin, piercing the Other's chest.
Despite the great wound, the Other remained standing where the rest would've fallen.
Edric did not hesitate, unfastening and removing his left gauntlet.
"You're dying today."
The Eye of Stormy Judgement dissipated as Edric charged everything he had into his left hand - forming an enormous spark of lightning. Meanwhile, the Warhammer lost its strength and fell to the ground, shattering from the ice that radiated from the shield. He charged forward at his greatest speed. Meanwhile, the Other struggled to remove Lady Forlorn - only managing to at the last moment.
An arrow from Balon Swann cracked its ankle, and the Hound tossed Brynden's dragonglass spear into the arm of the other, forcing it to drop the shield.
It had tried to swing at Edric but, due to the ankle, the Other missed… and used the giant shield to protect itself.
Edric pierced through the hole in the shield, melting its sides and driving his hand inward. He extended the spark into a blade, cutting right through the chest. The Other tried to strike him once more, but Edric used his right gauntlet to deflect Lady Forlorn, pushing his blade of lightning deeper.
His violent blade of lightning melted its insides constantly, merging with the hole left behind by Lady Forlorn. He began to lift the Other up from the ground with his tremendous strength, almost as if he were impaling its chest. Lightning constantly smited his back, melting it continuously.
"Die…"
A whirlwind of wind erupted from Edric's palm, infusing with the lightning. The two elements swirled within the Other's chest, complimenting each other.
"DIE!"
With one final push, he sent the Other flying high into the sky as its chest exploded into a whirlwind of fiery hot lightning. Its insides were melting and tearing apart with each passing moment. Once its entire core was incinerated, the Other burst into crystals like the rest high into the sky.
Fireworks composed of an Other, wind and lightning.
It was a beautiful sight… if not for the absolute hellscape that was the land around him. The wildfire burning through the forest in front of him alongside the circle of wildfire still raging behind him. The trusty destrier he lost, alongside all the other fallen horses. The three fallen knights who died fighting for his cause and the hundreds of wildlings who were burnt to ashes.
Alas… seven Others had fallen today, amongst them an Other more extraordinary than all the others. But - that was not the Night King, far from it. An officer of sorts, Edric presumed, but no Night King…
Edric observed the sight in silence, his body shaking from exhaustion. He had used far too much magic in too little time for what his body was suited to. He could barely stand. The lightning in his hand had flickered out, leaving his left hand with a growing cold.
The wildlings in the distance who had looked back out of curiosity watched in awe. The men on the Wall were glad that frightening warrior was not only on their side but he was also the King who led them to battle. With such a force leading the way, how could they fear anything? They'd fight right beside him, even if it would most certainly lead them straight to the jaws of death.
I've got a long way to go…
Edric turned away.