(Aerion's POV)
We'd been running for what seemed like hours, the cold getting to us; my body was slightly slowing itself down due to the exhaustion.
Normally, one would think that it was a cowardly thing to do; to run. But when all of the sudden, a horde of walking corpses burst through the walls of the ruined outposts to chase you down, you would run to safety as well. I cut several down but they kept coming and coming. Also, the white being that was just standing there was using some sort of sorcery that froze the ground even more.
It was a pointless thing to stay and fight, even if we had the men for it; it was just three of us. In situations like this, a Dragon was necessary. But after spending said hours trying to call for him, Vermithor would not come. If he could sense that I was in danger multiple times in the past, he can definitely sense it now.
Yet, he would not cross the Wall.
Now, we were in what Jorah called the Frostfangs, a mountain chain that was nothing but snowy terrain. At the base of one of the mountains, we sought refuge in a cave.
I panted as I hunched down, sweat trickling down my forehead, "What in the seven hells...." I said, "This could very well be the first time I've run from a fight...."
"Fight? Fight?!" Willam exclaimed, "That's not a fight, Aerion! That's Death! Where did all those corpses come from?? Fuck!"
I saw as Jorah collapsed to his knees and panted heavily, "That was too many....too many Wights to count..." He muttered, "I have to alert Castle Black....somehow...someway...."
I looked around the cave, seeing it was nothing but icy stone. We had to get some sort of fire going, to stay warm. I think I had the flint on my bag. Our torches died out while on the run, being chased by the dead. Fortunately, none of us were injured, if not, that would be terrible.
"Seven hells...." Willam said, "This is one hell of a story if we make out alive."
I looked at him, "What are you talking about? We are making it out alive, we have to." I said, "Do you seriously think Rhaenyra would forgive me if I die all the way out here? Especially if my body is burned North of the Wall?"
"If it's burned...." Willam muttered, "Who do you think will burn it?"
"I am not going to die in this wretched place." I said as I looked out the cave and saw nothing but darkness, "If there's a place I'll die, it's either going to be in the Vale or in Dragonstone....on my terms, Willam."
"That's a good mindset." He said, "Jorah! Get your head together! We need to get a fire going!"
I saw as Jorah got up, patting his knees, "R-Right.." He said as he looked around, "Hm, that's strange...."
I frowned, "What is?" I asked him
He walked over to the wall of the cave, "It is unnaturally cold here..." He said, "But for some reason, the ice on the walls look like they've been melting for a long time....it's wet..."
I walked over to him and saw what he meant; the walls were covered in water, as if they were melting.
"What does this mean?" I asked
"Does it matter?" Willam said, "We need to get warm if we're to survive the night."
"Look over there..." Jorah said as he pointed to the right, "There's a small opening that's breaking apart....none of this is normal...."
"You think so?" Willam asked, "We just got chased by a horde of walking corpses, do you think that's normal??"
"Willam." I said, "He's more experienced in this place, if he says this ain't normal, then it isn't."
He sighed, "You're right, I'm sorry."
I then heard a raven's call, resounding through the cave.
I turned to see a single Raven land on the snow at the mouth of the cave, looking at us. Looking at me.
"I know That is not normal either." I said pointing at the raven, "I've been stared at by Ravens the whole time I've been in the North."
Jorah walked up to me and looked at the raven, "You sure?" He asked
I looked at him, "What does that mean?"
"Well, I've never had a Raven peer into my heart before." He said, "But I've heard legends of one with a third eye....but nobody's seen one in hundreds of years."
"So that's what they're doing? Peering into my heart?" I asked
"I'd assume so." He said, "But right now, ravens are the least of our worries."
"You got that right." Willam said
There was a loud shriek off into the distance, which startled the raven and caused it to fly away.
"Fuck..." I said as I drew my swords, "If we're going to fight..."
"We may not need to!" I heard Jorah say
I turned to see him breaking pieces of the wall off, on the opening he spotted earlier.
"What are you doing?!" Willam exclaimed
"Come, quick!" he said, "If we're lucky, they might be a stream of water. Wights can't cross water!"
Willam and I looked at each other as Jorah slipped through the opening of the wall, "Well..." I said, "He's the Ranger, we should listen to him if we wish to survive."
"This is one stupid nightmare, Aerion...." Willam said
"I bet it is." I chuckled as I sheathed my blades and walked towards the opening, "You're not calling me 'Lord'."
"Well shit!" Willam laughed with nervousness, "You were my nephew first!"
***************************************************
"Do you think the water is the reason the ice in the walls is melting?" I said crouching down and touching the stream with my hands
It was freezing cold, so I was wrong. I thought it could be a source from a hot springs or something, but this was not the case. The opening led us through a tunnel that brought us to a cavern, with a small stream of water. We crossed it, Jorah was sure we should be safe for now. He claims that the Wights, or whatever they're called, do not cross it. He either experienced it himself or read it in a scripture.
I shook my hand as Jorah walked past me, holding a torch, "Don't know what's causing it." He said softly, "Never seen anything like it. I've explored icy caverns like these all over, but never seen this...look..."
He waved his torch at the walls, the ice completely melting, water running down to the ground, leaving puddles beneath our feet.
"Is this bad for us?" Willam asked
"No. Judging by it, the ice will completely melt in a few days....maybe weeks." Jorah said, "We'll either be gone by then or dead. Or worse."
"That is reassuring." Willam muttered
I felt a slight chill on the back of my neck, as if something was looking at me. I turned to see a faint glow in the distance, probably a tunnel.
"Hey..." I said as I pointed to the glow, "What's that?"
Jorah walked up to me, "A source of light?" He muttered, "We have no choice, eh? Might as well go and check it out."
"Yea..." Willam said
As we walked towards the light, which was probably a bad idea, I could hear the splashing of the water beneath our feet. There was about an inch of water on the floor of the tunnel, which was concerning.
The closer we got, the larger the glow was, the tunnel leading to an entrance to another cavern that was illuminated by said glow.
"What the..." I said as my foot hit something metallic
I heard an object skid a few inches on the ground.
Looking down, I saw that it was an iron dagger. It looked old, rust and dirt covered the blade and handle.
I crouched down, "Hm..." I said as I picked it up
"Someone was here." Willam said, "A long time, mayhaps."
"Seven hells..." Jorah said, "That's a Night's Watch coat.."
He pointed at a large fur cape that was draped over an icy rock, in the middle of the cavern. I straightened up and walked over to it, running my hand on it. It was hard and frozen, this was definitely here a long time.
"Brothers of the Night's Watch were definitely here." Jorah continued as I looked at him
He was crouching down and moving snow and ice from what looked like an old bag, taking out pieces of old wood and frozen metal.
"A long time ago..." Willam said, "There's no way this is recent....the rust on those rivets is serious."
"You're right." Jorah said, "I've not heard of any disappearances in the Frostfangs..."
For some reason, the room was unusually cold. I mean....it was seriously cold, like the cold that we got from the white being from earlier. It unsettled me, it really did. My entire focus was blurry as my heart began to beat faster.
"Shit...." I said as I stumbled a bit
"My Lord..." Willam said, "What's wrong?"
"I...." I said as I shook my head to focus, "I don't know.."
"W-What the hell is that???" Jorah said
I looked at him, he was staring behind us with his eyes widened in shock, his torch raised in the air.
I turned to see what he was seeing and I could not help but respond the same way he did, "W-What the hell?" I said
"Shit..." Willam said
In front of us, there was a massive wall of ice, clear as water as there was a figure of a man inside it.
I walked closer to the wall, trying to get a good look at it, "Is that a person?" I asked
I squinted and placed my hand on the moist wall, wiping my hand across it to clear up the view. I noticed that the man was tall, closer to my height. He was wearing all-black, similar to the outfit Jorah was wearing. His skin was completely pale, almost as if it was covered in cracked ice. He had both of his bony hands on his chest, I noticed that one of his fingers was missing; his right index. The man had somewhat long hair that reached to his neck, which was black with white streaks. I saw that there was a strange blue and white marking that covered the right of his face, and both eyes closed.
If there was one thing that was peculiar about the man....it was that he had a black iron crown sitting on his head, which had blue sapphires adorned on it.
"That clothing..." Willam said, "Was he a Night's Watch member?"
"I...." Jorah said, "I don't know.....he does wear those clothes, but I don't recognize him....."
"Who is he?" I said softly, "Was he a King? He wears a crown."
"Not a crown I recognize." Jorah said, "I....I don't know...."
"This is very unsettling, Lord Aerion." Willam told me, "A corpse? In Ice? Does this not worry you??"
"Why here of all places?" I asked softly, "Was this a mistake? To come here?"
As I said that, I heard a loud thud behind us.
I turned around to see the icy wall across the cavern to glow slightly.
"W-What now?" Jorah said
Suddenly, a pale blue hand punched through the ice as it shattered everywhere.
"Shit." I said as I drew my blades, "Not this..."
I watched as another of those white beings walked out of the wall, breaking off chunks of ice with its hands. This one was nearly naked, only wearing a loincloth. It had shorter white hair but its blue eyes were as cold as the previous one.
It straightened up as it glared at us, reaching its left arm back into the hole of the wall it came form, pulling what looked like a long sword made out of pure ice.
"No no no...." Jorah said, "We're dead....we're fucking dead!"
"Calm yourself!" Willam said, "We have no choice but to fight! If we die, we die swinging our swords! We take that thing with us!!"
"Stay behind me." I said as I took a step forward as the being took a step forth
"You're a fool!" Jorah exclaimed, "That's a White Walker! Their weapons can shatter ours like ice! There's no way of killing them!!"
"I'll take my chances." I said as I readied a stance with both my swords drawn
"Aerion...." Willam said, "I got your back."
"Follow my lead...." I said
The Walker lunged at me, thrusting its icy sword at my chest with blinding speed. I had no choice but to block the attack with the broad of both swords, forming a cross and catching the point of the blade with such precision that even I was surprised by it.
I felt my entire body rattle completely as I had blocked the attack. The Walker's eyes widened, stunned by one fact; my swords did not shatter. They resonated a loud sound that was heard throughout the cavern only.
Were the Gods smiling upon me? Did they help me out in this moment?
It didn't matter, I did what I was good at; fighting.
I pushed the blade away and swung Lamentation, which was held in my left arm, at the demon. The moment it came into contact with it, I felt my blade cut through its icy body, and in almost an instant, it completely shattered as it let out a bone-chilling howl of pain.
I stood there, watching as a pile of ice was all that remained from this ice demon.
I panted, "W-What?" I said with shock
"No way....." Jorah said, "N-Nobody has killed a Walker....h-how?"
I looked at him as I cleared my throat, "I-I....I don't know...." I said as I looked at my swords, "These are just my swords...."
"Impossible..." He said as he stepped forward the pile, "We could've fought back after all..."
"Not exactly..." Willam said, "The other one had a whole army of dead."
"That's true." I said as I slowly sheathed my blades, "It wouldn't have been easy to kill it....."
Was it because my swords are Valyrian Steel? That's the only logical explanation I can come up with. Then again, I've never experienced the fact that they can shatter weapons like ice, but I believe a seasoned Ranger of the Night's Watch.
"What was it doing here?" Jorah said as he looked back at the wall, "Was it guarding the corpse?"
I looked back at the corpse in the ice, "Maybe...." I said, "Was it really that important?"
I got an eerie feeling from this. The uneasy feeling never really left my body. The mere sight of this corpse was strange to me. I couldn't help but put my finger on it.
Suddenly, the corpse's eyes shot open, one of them bright blue and the other dark brown.
I stepped back in surprise, "What the fuck?!" I exclaimed
"It's alive?!" Willam said as he got in front of me
I watched as the corpse's eyes were piercing right at me, nothing but anxiety feeling my entire body.
"N-No way...." Jorah said
Suddenly, the entire cavern, the wall including, began to freeze over. The temperature was getting unbearably low, I thought that if we didn't leave, our bodies would freeze solid.
"Shit..." I said as my breath was more than visible
I swear I saw some icy crystals in my own breath.
"We gotta get the fuck outta here." Willam said, "That Corpse doesn't look like it'll break free, but I don't want to find out."
The Corpse's eyes looked at me as I took a step to the left, "What?" I said as I stopped
Its gaze did not avert from me. Was it interested in me? Why? What the actual fuck is it anyway? A Wight? A Walker like Jorah calls the demons? I.....
What even is this entire experience?! Why are we even here?
Wait....
That's strange....I no longer feel cold. Its eyes were somewhat....warm....what is this feeling....my entire body was going limp, felt so warm....
My mind is going hazy, my entire thought process is slowing down, it's as if.....
"Aerion!!" Willam shook me, "Don't look at it! It's casting a sorcery on you! Let's fucking go!!"
I snapped out of it, "Fuck!!" I said as I clutched his arm as I gasped for air, "Shit!!"
Jorah waved his torch at another opening,
"Let's gooo!!!"