"What? The Three-Eyed Crow is dead?" Lynd was stunned by the sudden news. "How did he die?"
"I don't know," Benjen shook his head. "After I escorted the Reed siblings and the wildling to their destination, I left. When I returned a few days later, the weirwood had been burned to ash, and the barrier the Three-Eyed Crow had used to keep out the wights and White Walkers was gone. The cave was in ruins. His body burned along with the tree."
"That doesn't make sense. If the Three-Eyed Crow is gone, then who's controlling those ravens...?" Lynd trailed off mid-sentence, then realization struck. "It's Jojen Reed, isn't it?"
Benjen nodded. "Before the attack, the Three-Eyed Crow had the Children of the Forest hide the Reed siblings in the deeper levels of the cave—in the underground city. That place is filled with Blackstone, too, which can repel White Walkers and wights, though it's not as effective as the ruins we're in now. When I found them, they were safe. According to them, the Three-Eyed Crow had hoped Jojen would succeed him, but Jojen's body couldn't handle it, and the succession failed. Still, it wasn't for nothing—he's become a powerful greenseer. But now there's a war raging in the southern part of the Haunted Forest. They can't get through safely. That's why I came to the Frostfangs, to see if we could use Bear Island's ships to get them out. That's when I saw you tracking the White Walkers."
Lynd nodded grimly. "The Walrus Tribe has ships. They could take them across—but it's best to wait until the conflict with the Thenns is over."
Benjen agreed. "That's what I thought too."
Lynd then asked, "In your condition, can you blend in among the White Walkers?"
"No," Benjen replied, shaking his head. "The White Walkers have some kind of invisible bond. Even if I look and feel the same, they can still sense I'm different. At best, I don't set off the wights."
Lynd looked curious. "Do you know when that ice fortress we saw earlier was built?"
"During the last great freeze," Benjen answered confidently. "That's what the Three-Eyed Crow said. He tried to stop the White Walkers, but failed. That fortress is one of their forward bases." He paused, then added, "The Three-Eyed Crow suspected there's an Ice Dragon hidden within it. He once sent a raven to investigate, but it was shot down by one of their spears. Still, as the raven was falling, he heard a dragon's roar."
Lynd's expression darkened. The idea wasn't far-fetched. Since the Long Winter began, fishermen from Lorath had reported Ice Dragon sightings over the Shivering Sea more than once. If the White Walkers really were hiding one in their outpost fortress, it made perfect sense. Many legends spoke of a symbiotic relationship between White Walkers and Ice Dragons.
But for Lynd, it was grim news. If the Ice Dragons were even half as powerful as the old tales claimed, The Wall—despite being guarded by Willas and Bran, both near-greenseers—wouldn't be able to withstand such an assault.
"If only we had more time... If Daenerys and Augustus's dragons were fully grown, we might actually have a fighting chance. Imagine—multiple dragons against an Ice Dragon. It would be incredible." A faint smile touched Lynd's lips at the thought, but it quickly faded into a sigh. He knew too well: judging by what he'd just seen, the White Walkers would likely launch their full-scale assault on The Wall within six months. Time was not on his side.
Just then, Benjen asked, "Lord Lynd, how are things going in the south? Has Robb defeated Tywin yet?"
Lynd glanced at him. "How much do you know from the Reed siblings about what's happening in the south?"
"Not much," Benjen admitted. "Only that Theon took Winterfell, and Robb is fighting Tywin in the Riverlands."
Lynd let out a quiet sigh, then began to explain how the southern war had changed. Although Benjen's transformation had stiffened his facial muscles and dulled his expression, Lynd could still detect the surge of emotion in the way he shifted, the way his posture subtly changed.
When Lynd mentioned that he had become ruler of the Seven Kingdoms, that Catelyn Tully had remarried and become the Lady of Riverrun, and that Sansa Stark now held Winterfell as its Lady, even Benjen's rigid face managed to show a flicker of shock.
"Anything else you want to ask?" Lynd asked as he finished recounting the state of the Seven Kingdoms.
Benjen could hardly believe it. "Catelyn... married Roose Bolton? But she loved Eddard so deeply!"
"She also loved your eldest brother, Brandon Stark, once," Lynd replied calmly, looking him in the eye. "I asked Lady Catelyn myself if she was forced into marrying Roose Bolton. She said no. And she's already pregnant with his child."
Benjen stood silent for a moment, then asked, "Why is Sansa inheriting Winterfell? What about Bran and Rickon?"
"Bran has become like Willas Tyrell—he's merged with The Wall, using his powers to reinforce it against the White Walkers." Lynd let out a soft sigh. "As for Rickon, he chose to remain with the Night's Watch. He now serves as a steward."
Benjen seemed puzzled, and his voice carried a trace of disbelief. "But he's the heir to the Stark name in King's Landing. Why would he join the Night's Watch? Unless..."
Lynd's expression hardened, and he cast Benjen a cold glance. Benjen felt the weight of it and lowered his head without another word.
"The North holds no real value for me," Lynd said dismissively. "If I wanted, I could make Dacey Mormont Lady of the North—I have the power and influence to make it happen." He let the bitterness fade from his tone and added with a sigh, "Rickon joined the Night's Watch not because he was passed over, but because he suffered a grievous injury to his lower body while fleeing. He lost the ability to bear children."
Benjen froze, completely stunned. It took him a long moment to find his words. He had never imagined that Rickon's absence from Winterfell's line of succession was due to something like this. And now, realizing Rickon could never father children, he understood—House Stark's line was nearly finished.
He asked again, more softly, "And Arya? She's still missing?"
"She's alive—and doing well," Lynd answered. "She even avenged Lord Eddard."
He told Benjen how Arya had become a Faceless Man and poisoned Joffrey at his wedding.
But Benjen didn't react with joy. Instead, his expression grew more troubled. To him, Arya was still a child, one who should've lived a noblewoman's life, not been forced down the path of an assassin. Whatever vengeance she'd carried out, it didn't make her fate a good one in his eyes.
Lynd could see what Benjen was thinking, but he said nothing. Telling Benjen that Arya might be the Chosen of the Many-Faced God, destined to become High Priestess of the House of Black and White—there was no way he'd believe that.
Standing up, Lynd turned toward the edge of the ruins. "Come on. Let's go pick up the Reed siblings. I also need to take the Children of the Forest to Summerhall."
Benjen didn't say anything more. He followed Lynd out of the ruins, mounted his horse, and led the way toward the Frostfangs.
...
They moved quickly. Though they ran into a few scattered bands of wights along the way, none posed any real threat. Judging by their aimless movements and the terrain, it was clear they had once belonged to the Thenn battlefield. The Silent Men and Redemption Sisters had likely shattered the wight army there—and killed the White Walkers leading them. Without guidance, these scattered wights simply wandered through the region, lost and disoriented.
By nightfall, they had reached the deeper valleys of the mountain range. The peaks blocked the harsh winds from the Frozen Shore, making the air noticeably warmer. Life returned to the land here—plants grew, animals moved freely—unlike the barren, frozen expanse to the north that resembled a desert of snow.
As they passed through a narrow gorge, the flock of ravens that had been following them overhead suddenly scattered, flying off in every direction. Both Benjen and Lynd noticed immediately.
Something was wrong.
"We're moving too slowly. You point the way—we'll fly," Lynd said to Benjen, then summoned a series of powerful whirlwinds that lifted both of them, horses and all, into the sky, shooting off at high speed in the direction Benjen had indicated.
Though it consumed a considerable amount of Nameless King rune power, the cost wasn't as steep as it seemed. With the growing number of marked followers gained through the sacrifice of White Walkers, Lynd could now recover spent rune power rapidly.
Their speed in the air was comparable to riding a dragon. And with no need to navigate terrain or cross rivers and mountains, they soon soared over the Frostfangs and reached the edge of the Haunted Forest.
"There! That's where they are!" Benjen suddenly pointed toward a small valley nestled against the forest's edge.
The valley was surrounded by wights—at least a thousand of them—along with two White Walkers. In the center, Jojen and Meera Reed, a female wildling, and a group of Children of the Forest were trapped. A ring of blackstone surrounded them, and near the stone circle, a wall of burning trees kept the wights and White Walkers at bay.
The Children of the Forest were continuously summoning and hurling fire at the wights, while Meera and the wildling tended to Jojen, who was clearly in bad shape. A jagged ice spike, crafted by a White Walker, was embedded deep in his shoulder.
Seeing this, Lynd immediately guided the whirlwind to lower Benjen to the ground, then accelerated as he dove toward the encircling wights.
He plummeted from the sky and landed directly atop one of the human White Walkers, driving it into the ground with bone-crushing force. In the same breath, he drew the Banished Knight's greatsword and swept it horizontally toward the second White Walker.
The blade cleaved the creature apart, reducing it to shards of ice. The one beneath Lynd's boots was crushed entirely, and bolts of lightning erupted from the impact, tearing through the surrounding wights like wildfire. In an instant, thousands of them were struck down, igniting into roaring flames.
The ones inside the valley—Meera, Jojen, the wildling, and the Children—stood frozen in disbelief. Just moments ago, they'd thought they were about to die. Now, the terrifying wave of death pressing in on them had vanished completely.
"Lord Lynd!" Meera gasped, recognizing the Banished Knight armor and calling out with joy.
After ensuring there were no surviving enemies, Lynd sheathed his sword and walked toward them, stepping through the rings of fire and blackstone.
"I ran into Benjen Stark—he sent me to get you," he told Meera, then turned to the Children of the Forest nearby. "And I was also asked to bring you with us."
One of the Children stepped forward. "I am Leaf. I know who you are, Lynd Tarran. Spark spoke of you. Though, you're stronger than he said."
"Are you a god?" the female wildling blurted out.
"Some people think so," Lynd said calmly. "What's your name?"
"Osha. I'm Osha," she replied.
Lynd nodded. "You've done well, Osha. Once we're back in the South, you'll be rewarded for it."
Meera, still kneeling beside her brother, said anxiously, "Lord Lynd, please—Jojen is in a bad way."
Lynd knelt to examine the injury, then placed his hand directly on the icy spike protruding from Jojen's shoulder.
The moment the Valyrian steel of his Banished Knight armor touched it, the spike shattered into frost, exposing a deep, raw wound. Blood spilled freely. Jojen groaned in unconscious agony, and Meera broke down in tears.
Lynd gestured for her to stay calm, then took out two vials—pouring one into Jojen's mouth and the other over the wound. Almost immediately, the bleeding slowed, and the wound began to knit together, until only a long, jagged scar remained.
The worst had passed. Jojen's breathing stabilized, though he remained pale and feverish, his body weak from blood loss and the cold.
"I had planned to take you across the Frostfangs and sail south from the Seal Tribe's harbor along the Frozen Shore," Lynd said, lifting Jojen into his arms. "But that won't work now. We'll go through the Haunted Forest and head straight for The Wall. There are medicines there that can help him recover."
As he stepped out of the protective circle, carrying Jojen, he called back to Benjen, who was hurrying toward them. "Let's move. It's still a long way to The Wall—and we've no idea what might be waiting for us along the way."
Meera, Osha, and the Children of the Forest followed closely behind.