??? Pov
It was supposed to be a simple scouting mission. The wildlings had been rowdy lately. More and more were being spotted south of the wall, we needed to figure out why they all suddenly wanted to be among the 'kneelers' so badly.
In and out, that was it. We had set out from Castle Black with provisions, a few horses, and 30 men. To scout into the forest beyond the wall.
We had made camp for the night in a clearing, when we noticed the light of a fire a few leagues away. We were the only Night Watch members out here so that could only mean one thing, Wildlings.
We made a group of 20 men in order to launch a surprise attack on the wildling camp. We left our horses behind at the camp with our remaining 10 men. They were useless in a dense forest like the one we were in now.
It had went well in the beginning, even the weather was on our side. The sky was clear and the moon shined brightly as countless stars twinkled around it.
And then out of nowhere we were surrounded by the savages.
The wildlings outnumbered us two to one. It was lucky that our party had a few experienced rangers or we would have been killed in minutes.
A wildling lunged at me with an axe, I managed to parry the blow. With the opening I created I shoved my sword through his guts. I didn't have any time to breath as another wildling came from my left side, brandishing a club.
I tore my sword out of the dead wildling. I wasn't fast enough to parry the wildlings club however. I just barely managed to move my head out of the way. I escaped death by a hair but I wasn't unscathed. The club that missed my head landed on my shoulder.
I could hear the crunch as my left shoulder was crushed from the blow. Pain ran through my body, and the wildling prepared to strike me again. Right at that instant a sword appeared out of the wildlings stomach.
As the wildling collapsed he revealed my savior, Benjen Stark. He immediately turned around to counter the attack of another wildling.
We had lost almost half of our men while the wildlings had only lost a third of theirs. The bastards were closing in around us, I saw another one of my brothers go down, an arrow launched in his throat.
I held my sword tight in my right hand while my left arm dangled uselessly by my side.
The wildlings kept attacking from all sides. I was just barely able to parry some of the attacks. My brothers using the openings I created to kill the wildlings, but it wasn't enough, we were being pushed back.
"Seems we are well and truly fucked," Roberd Tarlor said.
"Aye," Benjen said solemnly. "Not my preferred method of dying."
"Killed by wildlings at the edge of the world," Allister Thorne muttered an arrow sticking out of his side. "Alongside a fucking Stark no less."
Even after a year, Allister and Benjen still didn't see eye to eye.
"Should've chosen the block instead of the night's watch," Lanner Hill, one of the new recruits muttered. His left hand was cut off, he had taken off his cloak and was using it to try and stop the flow of blood.
Another two wildlings came for me. I parried one sword strike and managed to slice through the wildlings throat. I then tried to dodge an axe strike from the other wildling by moving out of the way but failed. The wildlings axe tour through my right cheek and eye. I collapsed to the ground and was sure I would die this time.
I barely held on to consciousness, looking up at the wildling that was going to kill me, with my one remaining good eye. Its axe glinted in the moonlight as he raised it high.
But then suddenly the wildling was gone. A loud crunching sound resonated through the clearing. I faintly recognized that I was covered in a lot of blood, and bits and pieces of what was once the wildling clung to my clothes.
The wildling seemed to have been crushed beneath some sort of black metal. I blinked raptly trying to get the blood out of my eye.
With my vision clearing up I realized that the thing in front of me was actually a person clad from head to toe in a set of blue and black armor. Actually this individual was more akin to a giant. The figure loomed over me, during my time in Roberts rebellion I had met some tall people. Only Robert Beratheon himself could compare to the towering figure of the person in front of me.
The armor was the individual was wearing was intricately decorated, clearly a lavish set. The most striking feature was the breastplate, which was shaped like the face of a horse, adorned with a horn and two wings sprouting from its head. The beast's mouth seemed to curl into a toothy grin, almost glowing in the moonlight. A skirt of raven-like feathers flowed from its midriff, with two swords attached at the sides. The helmet mirrored the design of the breastplate, with a horn on top and wings extending backwards from the helmets slits. A crescent moon pendant hung from the figure's neck. Its arms were encased in spiked gauntlets, while iron boots with spikes protected its legs. These boots were currently coated in the blood of the crushed wildling.
Something else struck me about the figure. Despite clearly being plate armor it was still notable how it curved around the individuals body. On closer inspection I also noticed that the breast plate was bulging out noticeably. This warrior was a woman.
The woman got onto one knee in front of me.
I was feeling groggy and my eyes were getting heavier.
"Do not worry," the woman said, her voice soft like silk and soothing like a mother's embrace. "We have come to assist."
Ah, I understand now. This woman appearing out of nowhere in this clearing, her height, her beautiful black and blue armor, the way she just said 'we' instead of 'I' this being must be the stranger, of the seven who are one.
I hadn't expected the Stranger to be a woman. I expected an unrecognizable person dressed in a cloak with its face obscured in darkness. Or perhaps an old withered skeleton it's gender unknowable.
Maybe the Stranger could change shape, and it had chosen this form for me.
The Stranger still down on one knee raised its gauntlet clad hand out to me. The hand of the Stranger was suddenly covered in a blue light.
I tried reaching out to the Strangers hand, but I could no longer move my arms. The blue light started to envelop my body. It caressed my body gently, like the gentle touch of a mother. It felt warm, comfortable, and above all save.
Was this what it felt like when the Stranger takes once soul? I closed my eyes slowly. My body feeling light and at peace. This was a pleasant way to die.
The gentle caress of the blue light slowly began to transform into a tingling sensation.
Fuck! The sensation became stronger and transformed into a more painful stinging like hundreds of needles poking my skin.
"AAAAAHHHH!" I let out a scream as the light began to burn my skin. What was happening? Did the Stranger send my soul to the seven Hells?
Then as soon as it started the pain was gone and I sat upright with surprising speed. My body felt sluggish, but my mind was clear.
I moved my left arm, realizing that it no longer hurt to move. But I could feel something was missing, reaching my hand to my face. I felt scar tissue were the wildling had cut my face. But I found no eye, only healed tender flesh.
"There, now none of you shall die," the Stranger stated as it rose to its feet.
I looked at my brothers who were also all healed from there injuries. Even the one who had lost his arm was looking at his no longer bleeding stump in wonder.
Had the Stranger just healed us from our injuries? Did it take pity on us?
I looked back at the Stranger. It had turned its back to us and was looking at the remaining wildlings. I reached my hand out to it and saw a intestine fall off my arm.
Oh, right. The Stranger had crushed my attacker under its feet. And I was currently covered in his remains. I quickly scrambled to my feet and shook of the wildling remains.
The Stranger started walking in the direction of the wildlings who had completely frozen up.
The various weapons that the wildlings held were shaking, and their faces were completely white with fear, like their blood had been sucked out of their veins.
A wildling holding a club let out a scream and charged the Stranger. It wasn't like the usual screams the wildlings used, once of rage or challenge. This scream was desperate. It was the scream of someone who was so afraid that his mind could no longer take it.
The Stranger didn't even try to block as the club was swung at its left side. The loud clang of metal on wood resounded through the clearing. But the Stranger didn't even flinch, its armor remained undamaged as well.
The wildling looked up at the Stranger terrified. It lazily raised its right hand and backhanded the wildling across the face. A loud crunch was heard as the wildlings head flew from his body. The head hurdling into a tree, before bursting apart on its trunk.
"We do not want to drag this out," the Stranger said sounding bored. It then unsheathed the two blades attached to its hips.
The blades were unlike anything I had seen. They were almost bone white in colour, and seemed to glint within the moonlight like stars. The blades had the length of long swords, but the curve of the blade reminded me of the Arakh the Dothraki used. Except these blades also had a crosscard and there curve was more gradual then that of the Arakh.
The Stranger lowered its blades until the tips were pointing at the earth and started walking forward.
"We have other things to do this day. So if thou can die quickly we would appreciate it,"
A wildling woman loaded an arrow and shot it in the direction of the Stranger. It dodged the arrow with minimum movements, and then moving too fast for a person in such armor should be able to it closed the distance between itself and the wildlings.
It swung her right sword and cut the throat of one wildling. Moving so fast he couldn't even bring up his weapon to defend himself.
A wildling holding two daggers charged the Stranger. He tried to shove his daggers into its eyes, but the Stranger flicked its left sword up and severed both his arms.
Two wildlings charged the stranger from its sides, one wielding an axe coming to its right and the other wielding a sword charging its left. They swung at the Stranger, but it used its swords to parry both attacks simultaneously.
Moving quick as lightning it spun bringing its right blade down upon the sword wielding wildling. It slashed across his chest and blood spurted out of the wound. Not stopping for even a second the stranger used the sword in its left hand to parry away an axe, and drive its right sword through his chest as the Stranger finished its spin.
Another arrow came flying at it, but the stranger used the body of the wildling still impaled on its right sword as a shield.
The Stranger then reversed its grip on its left sword and threw it at the archer like a javelin. It soared through the sky at top speed, the archer only had time to wilden her eyes before the sword pierced her throat.
She gurgled on her own blood as she held a hand to her impaled throat. Then she collapsed to the ground.
The stranger used her foot as leverage to pull its right sword out of the wildling corpse she used as a shield.
The remaining wildlings looked at the Strangers materialized form, terrified as it strode to the wildling woman's corpse. It grabbed the sword and tore it out of her throat.
It observed the remaining wildlings and seemed to be considering its next opponent before walking to a wildling man.
The wildling man trembled and the grip on his weapon faltered. As the Stranger approached he sank to his knees, and his sword fell from his loose grip.
"Please, don't," he begged raising up his trembling hands, but the Stranger never slowed its stride.
With one swift movement it sliced off the man's head, as well as his hands that were in the path of its blade.
The few remaining wildlings all turned around and ran back into the forest.
The Stranger watched the wildlings leave. It then cleaned its blades of blood, by using the animal hide that the wildling who had begged for his live was wearing. Before resheathing its swords.
The Stranger looked back at us. The Stranger did not look regal or calming anymore, covered in the blood of its victims. This was the concept of death itself. Somehow the Stranger had come to reap the souls of the wildlings.
Before I even realised it I had knelt on the ground, and my night's watch brother Travan had followed my lead.
"Oh, Worrier of the seven who are one," Travan began. "Bless you for saving us in this troubled time."
The Stranger cocked its head. "Apologies, we do not no the meaning of such a greeting. Our name is Luna."
My head shot up. "You are not the incarnation of the Stranger then?"
"We do not know of this Stranger thou speaks off."
Allister pointed his sword at the woman, who was apparently called Luna and wasn't the Stranger incarnate. "What are you then?" He demanded.
Luna cocked her head to the side. "The same creature you are?" It sounded more like a question than a statement.
Allister narrowed his eyes. "I don't think so. You just waved your hand and cured our wounds, how could you do that if you're a human."
"That was magic," she said waving her hand like she were explaining something obvious.
"What?" Allister asked.
Somehow I could tell she was rolling her eyes, even with her helmet on.
"We used a spell that accelerates the natural healing prosesses of the body. It is the reason thou wounds have healed but thou has not recovered lost limbs or other body parts, which are not capable of regrowing through natural means. We would have prefered to use a more advanced healing spell, but the magic in this place is strange and weaker in some aspect then back home. Therefore we are unable to cast such a spell at this time."
My brothers looked at each other in confusion, Allister Thorne seemed to be trying to process all that she had said.
"Hast thou never seen magic before?" She asked. "Thine companion possesses a great potential for it," she pointed her finger at Benjen.
We all stared at Benjen who looked just as confused as us.
"My apologies my lady, but I am not capable of performing magic," he said in a polite tone.
The woman cocked her head again. "Interesting," she muttered.
The woman started walking towards us with a leisure pace.
"Don't move," Roberd Tarlor ordered the woman, but she did not stop her stride.
"We will not harm thou. It would be a waste of energy after having taken the time to save thou from the savages."
"Unless you have better use for us alive, maybe to complete some magic ritual. Also who is this 'we' you keep refering too, are there more of you," Roberd scanned the trees around us.
"We are refering to ourselfs," the woman said gesturing to her own body. "Does thou not use the royal we?"
"Allister, Roberd, lower your sword," Benjen said.
"You can't be serious!" Roberd replied.
"She saved us," Karden Glover butted in. "We should show her at least some gratitude, and she's clearly some kind of noble."
"Why did you help anyway?" I asked. Everyone including the woman looked at me. "You are clearly not from Westeros, and I doubt you are from Essos either. So why help?"
"Thou called themselves the night's watch," she said gesturing to Lanner. "The night is important to us. Watching over our subjects during the night was our duty. Ever since coming to this place we have been trying to find civilized beings, but all we found were barbarians. Thou art the most civilized group we found, we thought thou were our best hope of finding civilization."
"That's it?!" Alilister cried incredulously. "You thought our name sounded cool so you decided to save us?"
Lanner Hill shrugged his shoulders. "I've trusted my live to a bunch of thieves and murderers for far less compelling reasons."
Benjen nodded his head as he sheathed his sword. "Then I thank our forefathers for the name they gave to our order," he bowed his head slightly towards the woman. "Allow me to thank you in the name of house Stark for saving our lives," he said before looking at her expectantly.
"It was no trouble for us," she said, nodding her head.
"Still, we will repay you for this. You said you were looking for civilization? We can lead you to the wall if you wish."
"The wall?"
"It is a giant wall made of ice that separates the wildling lands from the north."
"We wish to see this 'wall'," the woman said nodding her head.
"Really Stark? Your just going to lead her to the wall?" Allister complained. "Are you all fucking stupid? This woman appeared out of nowhere and used 'magic' to cure our wounds. Then slaughtered a handful of wildlings like they were pigs. We lead her to the wall she could kill all of us and then start raiding the north."
"She would be able to find the wall eventually, regardless. Its not exactly hard to miss. I say we trust her." Traven said.
Benjen sighed. "Let's put it to a vote then, all against leading her to the wall raise your hand."
Allister and Roberd raised their hand.
"All in favor."
Everyone else including Benjen and me raised their hand.
"It's decided then."
"You're all idiots," Allister grumbled.
"I'm keeping my eye on you," Roberd said gesturing at Luna.
I approached her and bowed my head slightly. "I am Grennan, thank you for saving me, my lady."
The woman nodded in acknowledgement. "It was no trouble, our name is Luna Staralis Equus. Thou may call us lady Luna if thou wishes."
"Lanner Hill."
"Karden Glover."
"Travan."
"Benjen Stark, the grumpy ones are Allister Thorne, and Roberd Tarlor."
And thus our expedition gained a new member.