5th Month of 285 A.C. Lorath
Benjen Stark
There were times when Benjen would think his family was still as it had been before the war, before the tourney of Harrenhal. There were times when he would hear a woman laughing, someone who might be able to bring them out of their darkness, and then he would come back to life and he would remember. Remembering was the hardest part, knowing that what he thought about and what had happened was not true. That he had helped bring about his father's death, and Brandon's. The thought that if he had just spoken out, if he had just said something, perhaps he might have stopped it all from happening. And then he would think of Ned, of his solemn brother who had come to life with Catelyn and the children, and he felt bad, who was he to wallow in his regret, when his brother had benefitted from it. Was better for it? He was happy he had not gone to the Watch, he knew he would have regretted it had he done so. There was far too much that needed to be done, far too much he was needed for.
Benjen knew what had happened to the Ryswells and to the Dustins, had known what was going to happen to them from the moment Martyn Cassel had been sent out from Winterfell. Lord Ryswell was dead his brothers were dead as well, Lady Barbrey and her child were dead. Killed on Ned's orders, Benjen knew that there was something about that, might bother his brother, and yet he knew his brother would do it all over again, if it meant protecting the children and Cat from Brandon's follies. Brandon, his brother who acted before thinking, had always done that, and now was making them all pay for that. Once again, Benjen found himself wondering how father had never noticed the plotting going on within the north, or if he had, why he had allowed it to happen, for it to continue throughout. He did not know, and it worried him. Was nothing as he had thought it was? Was there nothing that could remain solid within this ever changing world?
Ronnel Stout had been named Lord of Barrowton following Barbrey's death, and Roose Ryswell the last of Lord Rodrik's sons was Lord of the Rills, Benjen knew both men were not long for this world. He knew that Ned planned on having them removed. And that he, Benjen, was to take over their lordships. That thought both frightened and flattered him. Knowing Ned had that much faith in him. It was why he was so determined not to mess up this business with the black wolves. Their very name frightened him, he had grown up hearing about the reasons they had been sent away into exile, and well now, now he was to bring them home, nearly two hundred years after they had been exiled. It was something, most definitely something. He was not sure if he could do it, but he would try, there was nothing he would not do for his brother. Not after Ned had forgiven him and made him a member of his councils.
Lorath, Lorath was a strange place. It had never been a great place, never stood before the world and roared its greatness for all to see. Not like Braavos, not like Pentos or any of the other free cities. There was a certain sense of mystery around Lorath, a certain something that made him wonder whether there was any truth to the rumours surrounding it. That the Black Wolves had chosen it as their home was no surprise to him, not after all the tales he had been told about them. Whether or not they could be trusted, well that was something Benjen knew he would have to figure out during his conversation with their leader. Their leader, light of skin, dark of hair, and all northern. That was something Benjen wondered at, there were rumours about the Black Wolves, and he was beginning to think that perhaps those rumours were not so far off the mark after all.
"If you have a question, please do feel free to ask Master Benjen." their commander, Brandon says.
Benjen blushes then. "Sorry I did not mean to stare, it is just that…." he trails of then not sure how to say what he is thinking.
"You are wondering how we manage to keep looking like northmen despite living on Lorath for so long?" Brand asks.
Benjen nods, grateful the man knows the question. "One would think with the time that you have spent here, you would be more accustomed to marrying the locals."
The commander of the black wolves looks at him then and smiles. "Oh it is not that we have not married with the locals. But there comes a time when those who are new to the island might well remove the local population from their stronghold if given enough time. And seeing as our founder was known for his breeding habits well such a thing happened."
Benjen looks at the man disbelievingly. "You are telling me that most of the people on Lorath are your relatives? How is that possible?"
"Well, Lorathi are known for keeping themselves from the politics of Essos, there is nothing about them keeping themselves from their own internal politics. And as such when our founder came here, he brought with him many children, and as such he took over the island with relatively quickness." the man responds.
Benjen looks at the man then his eyebrows quirking up in question. "I did not know that Errold Stark had children with him when he was exiled."
The man laughs. "Ah so that is who they are telling you all that we are descended from."
This confuses Benjen then and he asks. "Are you not descended from him?"
The man laughs. "Well I suppose in a way of speaking we are. But the Starks of Lorath and the Black Wolves are descended from a man who was alive well before Errold Stark was even a spark in his father's eye."
"Who?" Benjen asks, his desire to know overriding his desire to get on with their talk.
"Brandon Snow." the man responds.
Benjen feels something akin to surprise wash over him then. "I… How is that possible? Brandon Snow never went to Lorath."
"He did, or at least he went to the place that was here before Lorath existed. You see Lorath was not always known as Lorath, it most certainly was not known as Lorath when Brandon Snow and Torrhen Stark were alive." the man replies.
Benjen looks at the man not sure he truly understands. "So what was Lorath called before it was known as Lorath?"
The man looks at him and then says softly. "Boaesh."
Benjen feels something cold run through him then, and he looks at the man and asks. "It was named after the god of death? Why?"
The man laughs once more. "Because this was where the Valyrians sent their criminals and their old rulers to rot and die. Boaesh, the god of death, the greatest thing the Valyrians ever feared, Lorath became the name of the city when the Valyrians fell, and it remained that way for many years. But when Brandon Snow was alive it was still known as Boaesh."
"Why are there no records of this visit then?" Benjen asks. "Surely something like this would be recorded within Winterfell or even here. And yet there is nothing."
The man before him sighs. "Brandon Snow did not come here for some trade mission, not like you are. Instead he came here to bury something, on the orders of his brother. Who was acting on the orders of his king."
Benjen looks at the man, at Brandon and asks. "What thing?"
"The key to the iron throne it would seem. But none have found it that was why we remained within Lorath for so long. We are the guardians of this, the last great secret of a King." Brandon responds.
"And yet you do not know what this thing is?" Benjen asks. "How can you guard something when you do not know what it is?"
"It is precisely because we do not know what this thing is that we guard it. We cannot allow anything of worth leave Lorath, for it might be the thing with which our founder was sent to protect. And so we remain here, guarding and watching. Anything that has happened near Lorath, we caused it to happen. We have guarded this city for nearly three hundred years. And now we are nearly there." Brandon responds.
The man's words confuse him. "Nearly there? What do you mean nearly there?"
"We have nearly found the thing that has been looked for, for centuries." Brandon replies.
"But I thought you said, you did not know what it was." Benjen responds.
"We do not know where it is exactly, but it is somewhere close by. We have people within the city who can feel these things. Who can feel where this lost relic is. We are close, so very close." Brandon responds.
Feeling his curiosity beginning to overtake his desire to discuss the contract he asks. "Do you know what this thing is? Do you know what it does?"
The man shakes his head. "None know what it does, the memory of what it was, died with Brandon Snow. But the memory of needing to protect it, to ensure that none come close to finding it without knowing exactly what it does, has been the task of the Black Wolves. It was why Errold Stark came here."
"Errold Stark knew about this thing?" Benjen asks surprised. "I thought he was exiled because of some argument he had with Artos Stark?"
"That was a lie, a lie told to make things seem normal. Brothers fight, but brothers do not work to look for something even the Targaryens of old had forgotten. The memory of what this thing was, died with Torrhen Stark, and he died long after Aegon the dragon died. Long after Visenya Targaryen died, and when there was still a black dread, and when he died, my people wept."
"Why did they weep?" Benjen asks though he thinks he knows the answer.
"Because now it was just us who had to bear the pain of knowing that we had to guard this secret, of knowing we were the last line of defence against the pain and corruption that might come should others come looking for it." the man says.
"Did the conqueror not tell his sons?" Benjen asks surprised, from what he knows of the conqueror, of what he has learned, surely this was something the man would have deemed necessary to tell his heirs.
"No. The knowledge of what this thing was, well, it seems as if it was too much for them. The conqueror did not even tell his wives, not the one he loved, nor the one he cared for. It seems only he, Torrhen Stark and Brandon Snow knew what this thing was. And the knowledge of it died with Torrhen Stark in Westeros. My ancestor never knew what it was, but we looked for it, gods we looked for it." the man says.
Benjen looks at the man and asks. "What do you think it is? This thing that was so damned important it had to be hidden here."
A moment's silence and then the man responds. "I do not know. But if I had to guess, I would say that it was something to do with why the conqueror came to Westeros. Why the Targaryens came to Dragonstone. Something that Daenys the Dreamer saw in one of her dreams. Something powerful, something deadly powerful and terrifying at the same time."
"What makes you say that?" Benjen asks.
"Because, my family did not get the name Black Wolves for nothing. We have killed, and been killed. People only kill over something they deem worth killing for." the man responds.
Benjen is about to counter this when he thinks of what Prince Rhaegar had said to him that day at Harrenhal, and he keeps his mouth shut. A silence falls between them then, and it lasts for a long time, a very long time. Eventually, when he cannot take the silence anymore he asks. "Have you looked at the terms my brother has offered?"
The man is silent for a long moment and then he responds. "I have."
"And?" Benjen prompts. "What do you make of them?"
Another long silence, and Benjen feels his patience beginning to fray a little. But eventually the man speaks. "I think they are quite reasonable. Certainly more reasonable than the terms your father had sent."
That surprises Benjen. "My father sent terms to you?"
"Yes," Brandon responds laughing. "He wanted us to return, for he wanted to show King Aerys that he had not forgotten the true nature of their relationship. Between wolf and dragon. And yet he forgot one thing."
"What was that?" Benjen asks though he thinks that he knows the answer already.
"We could not leave, not whilst the greatest time of danger to our order and our home was in presence. The presence of that eunuch was a threat to our desire to remain awake and asleep. And so we refused." the man responds.
"Awake and asleep?" Benjen asks. "What do you mean?"
"We are an order that lives in plain sight, but we do not boast of what we are to anyone. For to do that would mean certain death. No, your father wanted us to return to Westeros and proclaim ourselves, and yet we could not do that. He forgot the oath our ancestors' swore." the man says.
Just as he is about to ask what oath the man means, he thinks back to something else that happened in Harrenhal, when he heard the man of the Night's Watch speak, and he thought of going north. And he remembers hearing Brandon saying something to Lyanna, about a necklace, a dance and something else. And the words, the words seemed stilted to him then, and he looks back at the man and says. "The oath, is it the same as the one said in the wall?"
A long silence. "I do not know what oath they swear at the wall, but I know the oath I swore. And I know that there are some things that cannot go with my people."
"So you are all going then?" Benjen asks. "You think my brother's terms are agreeable?"
"Yes, most likely they are. We are to return to Winterfell, with our items and family and deal with things as they are now. But, I cannot go. My family shall go without me." Brandon responds.
"What do you mean, you cannot go?" Benjen asks. "My brother asks that you all come back with me."
There is a long silence, this man is awfully good at long silences, but then he says. "I cannot go back to Winterfell. To do so would leave Lorath vulnerable, and broken. And that is something I cannot allow. And so, now I must show you something. One last thing, to ensure that you know I speak truly."
The man stands then and walks out of the room, Benjen after a long moment's hesitation gets up and hurries after the man. They walk in silence, through dens and turns, the home of the Black Wolves is cavernous, and somewhat dangerous to those not well versed in moving through it all. As they continue walking, Benjen feels something akin to nervousness build within him, though he does not know why. Eventually the man stops before a door and turns to Benjen and says. "When we enter here remember to remain silent, for if you speak, something will come out of the water."
Benjen does not know what to say to that, so he says nothing, and merely nods. The man taking this as acceptance, turns round and opens the door and walks through. Benjen follows him. It takes him a long time to realise that they are walking down, but when he does, he begins wondering why they are walking down. And then it hits him, the smell, the smell of clear water, the pool of Boaesh, the god of death. He looks at Brandon as if he is mad, but the man remains silent. Benjen begins to wonder what they are waiting for, and then the water begins to move, slowly but surely it moves, and finally something springs forth, eggs, white, blue, green and red, eggs that spring forth and shine. And something else he had heard from Harrenhal, comes back to him.
Brandon takes two of the eggs, and Benjen following his lead takes two of them. They turn and walk back toward the door, and then out. When they are out Benjen looks at the man and asks. "What are these?"
"These are the eggs of the first dragon. The one who made everything you see before you possible." Brandon responds.
"Why are you showing these to me?" Benjen asks.
"Because it was your coming here that caused them to appear. It was your coming here that made me realise that we are close to finding that which was lost for so very long. Take these eggs back with you to Winterfell, and tell Lord Eddard that the thing he seeks he will find soon enough." Brandon says.
"What do you mean by that?" Benjen asks.
"Do you not remember the riddle of the piper? Surely your father told you it?" Brandon asks.
Benjen looks at the man and says. "Three boys running a racket, three boys running the world, three dragons for the world to rule? What does that have to do with anything?"
The man looks at him and smiles sadly. "Everything, it has everything to do with everything."