Chapter 28: The Lord of Light
(Location: Gogossos)
(Time: New Age)
(3rd person)
*Å̶̧̗̜͇̗̮͓̫͈̮͔̻͕̪̟̬͎̀͊̊̒́̐̾͛͒͂̑̑̕̚ͅH̶̡̝̙̩̣̜͎͚̟͈̯̭̯͍̗̍̈͌̿̚H̶̢̢̛̱͚̱͙̥̖̖̘͌͆̈́̋͌̎̈́̈̑́̈́͗Ḩ̷͖̹̬̼̥̤̄̀́͆̾͆̀̕͜͝H̴̥̹̳̪̀̿̓̋̔̾͛̂̈̾̓ͅH̶̡͉̥̗̰̥̗̭̥͖̄̅̍͛͘ͅḨ̷̠͇̜͍̰̪̦̗̎̋*
Jon nearly collapsed as he heard the otherworldly sound, covering his ears was hardly any better, he turned around to see that the creatures were retreating, they were going back towards the main keep that had suddenly just collapsed.
The whole island started to rumble as a slimy hand reached out of the pit. Large tentacles that seemed to stretch towards the sky before hitting the ground all around the pit forming cracks in the stone. Something seemed to be lifting itself out of the pit.
The screeches from the creatures seemed to reach new heights, sensing something behind him Jon looks back and sees the whole road full of creatures running back up from the harbour, he jumps to the side of the street narrowly avoiding being trampled.
He counts himself lucky that they didn't seem to be interested in him. These creatures looked slightly different from the counterparts that Jon had faced, one difference was that they were almost pitch black, the were also a lot larger maybe standing at 9 feet.
Finally the last of the creatures seemed to pass Jon as he came out of the small alcove he held himself against. Walking out onto the stone road that seemed more rubble than road his body started trembling, he tried to stop it but he couldn't it kept getting worse and worse.
He also felt his face get wet, he put his trembling arm towards his face and noticed he was crying, he tried to turn around back towards the keep but he couldn't, the mere thought of turning around to the sounds behind him made his body shut down.
Then suddenly the sounds of shifting rocks and crashing buildings ended and Jon knew whatever was in the pit had gotten out, though he didn't dare turn.
*Ș̸̞̦͉̥̥̈́͊N̵͎͕̬̙̄͜Ȯ̶̧̡̢̬͓̠͖͉̟͛̎̅͗͌Ẅ̷̙̭̳́̀*
Jon falls to his knees at the sound of something that seemed to talk. Jon felt helpless, he knew he was going to die, he didn't want to die like this, so he struggled to his feet and held his sword with two hands before lighting it on fire, controlling his trembling body and with a yell Jon turns around only to be met with a large pulsating light.
Jon drops his sword and falls to the floor occasionally twitching.
"H̶̪͖̬̻̺̏̄͝e̵͓͐͌̿̈́͊͊̓̈́ḫ̵̢̧̞̯̀̾͑͘ề̷̡̞̥̺͈͝ḩ̸͖̪̾̇̾̅́̈́͝ͅé̷͎̩͕̩͓ḥ̴̘̥̻̲̼͔̀̀ͅȩ̴͚̩̜͖͓̌͊̋͂̉͑̒̄ͅ" Are the only incoherent sounds that come out of Jon's mouth as he lies there broken on the floor.
(Ship)
Thoros was a man who had lost his faith but seeing the things he did tonight had rekindled some of it.
"We need to get inside now!" He shouted at the rest of them.
"Why how will that make a difference" Arthur replies trying to recover from the sound he had heard.
"If you think hearing that almost made you pass out what will happen when you look at whatever caused that sound" Thoros shouted.
"Red Priests who look into the flames too much are fated to lose their sight, it is said that when you look into the flames you see a part of the lord of light and gazing upon his brilliance even just a small amount will drive you mad if done too much" Thoros explains.
"Whatever is on that island is powerful enough to almost render us unconscious with just a word, I do not want to gaze upon it" Thoros states.
"He's right, in the book I read it states you'll lose your mind forever gazing upon the real form of the statue" Joy added.
"We can only hope to hide and that he deigns us not important enough to kill" Thoros says before heading below deck.
Though the rest followed not long after they all worried for Jon, though in their hearts they knew he was probably dead.
Sansa and Joy tried to keep it in but in the end they couldn't and held each other while they cried at the lose of someone important to them. Arthur was impassive but occasionally wiped his eyes.
Rhaenys didn't seem to be that affected she just lay down in the captains bed as if waiting for something.
(????)
Feeling warmth on his face Jon started to stir, it was a comfortable warmth, one that made you feel at home not the heat that he felt setting fire to the city, this one you could fall asleep in and lose yourself in the comfort.
Revelling in the comfort for a bit longer Jon decided he should get up, opening his eyes he found himself in a great forest, even after spending a year in Sothoryos he'd never seen anything like this. It was dark and yet the whole forest was illuminated, flowers and moss and even insects all glowed and pulsated either blue or orange.
Looking around Jon could see an orange light in the distance, it radiated heat and warmth, Jon didn't realise he was already walking towards it before he had already made it 10 metres.
He approached what looked like a small campfire, though it looked otherworldly, blue and violet particles of white mixed and danced around with the flames as it crackled and burnt the wood.
Jon didn't even realise the woman who sat by the fire stoking it, he instantly recognised who she was, it would be hard to forget someone who saved your life even if you had only met them once.
Sitting there with a simple plain red dress, she had a slight tan to her skin with pale purple hair and purple eyes, she smiled at Jon when he realised she was there.
"It's nice to see you again Jon" the woman says with a smile gesturing for Jon to take a seat next to her.
"I remember you… you saved me and Arthur from Yeen" Jon says to her as if trying to remember a dream from long ago.
"Yes I saved you… it was all I could do at the time" She replies to him.
"Do you know where we are?" Jon aids as he looks around at the fantastical forest.
"This is where I spend most of my time, tending the hearth, its quite a peaceful place, away from everything" She tells him.
"Where is here" Jon asks growing more confused.
"The beyond, the heart of the world, the grove, it's been given numerous names since the dawn of creation" The woman says as she puts down the stick she was stoking the fire with and from behind her brings a plate of food in front of Jon.
"Here try this, it used to be my favourite" She tells him as she shows him what looks like these circular white rolls with vegetables and fish inside of them.
"Be careful though they have a strong tas-" before she can finish Jon had already grabbed one and put it into his mouth, coughing at the strong spices used.
the woman laughs at Jon's reaction before handing him a water skin which he gulps greedily, Jon likes hearing her laugh it feels relaxing.
"How did I get here, one minute I was… I don't know where I was, but then I woke up here" Jon asks confused as he scrunches his brow in frustration.
"Jon… I don't want you to panic but right now your body is lying in the streets of Gogossos, I brought your mind here before it was lost forever" The woman says with concern on her face.
"I remember, I was getting something for Salladhor and I tried to buy Asha and the rest some time to leave, but after that I don't remember anything" Jon says as he tries to piece together his fractured memories.
"I had to take some of them away, some things just aren't meant to be seen by mortals" She says sadly.
"Who are you… why are you helping me" Jon asks as he gets up from his seat and narrows his eyes at her.
"To many I am simply the comfort they feel at home, the fire that wards away the night, to others I am R'hllor a vengeful god who will grant power but only with sacrifice" The woman says as she stands up her hair igniting in a swirl of violet flames as her eyes glow purple, before it calms down and she returns to her simple look.
"To you I am Nissa" she says grabbing Jon's hands and smiling at him. Before leading him back to his chair.
"The Lord of Light?" Jon says in complete shock allowing himself to be led back.
"Nissa…" she corrects with a small pout.
"That doesn't explain why you're helping me… Nissa" Jon asks as Nissa smiles at him.
"Im afraid I can't help you, it took a lot of power to help you escape from Yeen, it is a place I should not have gone, saving your mind is the only thing I could do" Nissa replies to him.
Jon sighs "So when I wake up I'll be killed by the drowned god, I bet Theon would love to know that" Jon says mostly to himself.
"That's not the Drowned God Jon" Nissa says in her usual comforting tone.
"Who is it then and why would Euron awaken it if it wasn't the drowned god" Jon asks confused.
"All the Gods are gone or have died Jon" Nissa says in a slightly more serious voice.
"What…" Jon says dumbly not knowing how to comprehend what he's hearing.
"H-h-how" Jon asks.
"It happened a long time ago" as Nissa said this she snapped her fingers and the trees disappeared from the land leaving never ending plains and the night sky.
"It came from beyond the stars, across the never ending void, that is the most anyone knows about it" Nissa says, Jon can see something orange come from the night sky, it was getting bigger and bigger until it impacted the earth, making Jon fall out of his seat though he felt no shaking of the earth or heat from the fire.
"It's not real Jon" Nissa says with a small smile on her face.
Feeling a bit embarrassed Jon got back onto his seat and continued listening to her story. In the crater was a round blood red stone maybe as big as the toad statue, it seemed to pulsate and the light seemed to move inside of it.
"I often wonder sometimes how history would've played out had it landed in the deep sea or in a mountain of fire" Nissa says as she walks towards it. Jon follows her as he looks at the intimidating sight.
"But this happened to land near my home, but I was not the one who found it" Nissa says.
Suddenly the visage of a man Jon had met before came into view, he looked younger and dressed in fancy clothes with a crown full of gold and gems, this was the man Jon had met in Yeen.
"This young man was the one who found this stone, and it was that simple act of randomness that a managed to shape history" She continues.
"The young man spent everyday with the stone and he even forsook his own name and called himself the Bloodstone prince" Nissa says though it's clear to see the distaste she has for the name.
"The stone whispered to the prince everyday, it spoke of wonders unheard of, it spoke of life across the infinite void, it spoke of how the prince deserved more than to be forgotten" Nissa says sadly.
"Was the prince forgotten?" Jon asks as he looks at the image of the Bloodstone Prince holding onto the stone as if it were his lifeline.
"He was…" she replies.
"He was never anything special, the only thing special about him was being Prince to the greatest empire that has ever been" Nissa states.
"But I still loved him… he was my little brother and whether he was a great warrior or a scholar or a fisherman I would've loved him all the same, but this stone amplified all of his negative feelings of inadequacy and eventually I became the target of his hate" Nissa says morosely.
"Your brother? I thought you were a god or goddess?" Jon asks confused.
"I'm no more a god than you are Jon but the space between us may as well be infinite, a long time ago I was a normal girl" Nissa replies to him, the scene changed again and the stone disappears instead, a younger looking Nissa can be seen in what looks like a throne room made of gold with the ceiling painted black but diamonds and other precious stones had been embedded to make it look like the sky.
"I used to be known as the Amethyst Princess, I was the heir to the throne and would take over after my father the Opal Emperor passed away and joined the rest of our ancestors" Nissa explains.
"The empire was failing it seemed after our ancestor the God King ascended to the stars our rule was doomed to fall, but even at the height of its decline the empire was a truly wondrous place, Dragons flew across the skies, Gods would sometimes walk amongst us mortals it truly was a golden age" Nissa says as she reminisces.
"The Royal family of our empire are descended from gods but apart from the God King none of the family ever showed a spark of what makes someone divine" She continues.
"Until me, I possessed a spark of divinity, I couldn't do much with it but it allowed me to see into the stars and speak to my family, the whole empire believed that we would return to the golden age where the God King ruled for 10,000 years" Nissa says as she looks at the younger version of herself with sadness.
"The Bloodstone prince had been growing his own power base unknown to most, he had a church built around the stone and he committed all manner of foul atrocities in its presence" Nissa spits out.
"While I was sad that I had not seen my little brother, I was happier than I had ever been as I had gotten my fathers permission to marry the one I loved, Asor Dayne, he was set to be my husband" Nissa says with a smile on her face.
"Dayne? Like Arthur's family?" Jon asks curiously.
The image shifts to a tall man who had the same colouring of Arthur, pale blonde hair and purple eyes, but the length of the hair was the same as Jon's and he had quite the similar face.
"Not just Arthur's" she says giving Jon a small wink.
"My father had died shortly after giving his permission for me to marry Asor, so we would have the coronation and the wedding at the same time" Nissa explains as the scene changes to one of the most extravagant celebrations he had ever seen.
Elephants, men over 10 feet tall and dragons with four legs were in the audience. Children were climbing on the dragons but the most amazing sight was Nissa who was currently walking down an isle of white flower petals to join her soon to be husband.
The Bloodstone Prince stood out like a sore thumb as he was the only one wearing dark colours at this event.
"Everyone was attending this wedding, even the gods from above looked down, though my grandmother Many times removed, the maiden made of light insisted on being there in person" Nissa says with a smile.
Jon could see a woman on the throne, she had to be one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen, her hair seemed to be composed of pure starlight and her skin sparked she was the personification of everything light in this world.
"I sometimes wish she had never come" Nissa says sadly, but before Jon can ask why she continues with the story.
"We were set to be married first and then afterwards we would both be crowned the emperor and empress of the empire, it was after we were married and exchanged our vows that my brother made his move" Nissa continued.
"With a sword made from the stone that he worshiped, he stabbed me through the back and out of my chest" Nissa says as the scene changes to the bloodstone Prince stabbing Nissa in the back as members of his church reveal themselves in the crowd each of them killing the closest person to them.
After she was stabbed and the light had died from her eyes the whole city started to rumble as if it was breaking apart.
"Killing me was the final ingredient in the ritual to free what was trapped in the stone" Nissa says with a neutral tone.
The Maiden of Light was utterly shocked at what he did to her granddaughter, she flared her divinity planning to erase him from existence, only for him to be shielded behind a wall of darkness, after stopping her attack she was greeted with a tall slim humanoid creature that seemed to be made of living darkness, it had eyes but they were not on its face they seemed to shift around its body, the same with its mouth, it had tentacles that seemed to sway around like the wind coming out of its back.
"The Great Other, The End, The Void, The Silence, he has too many names given by countless people" Nissa says.
"He killed my grandmother by stabbing her through the heart, the maiden of light someone who had been there at the Dawn was killed just like that" Nissa says as she snaps her fingers.
"He left my husband who had not let go of my body once and left with my brother but not before devouring those who could not escape the city" Nissa continued.
"How are you here now" Jon asks as he looks at the impaled women who was in the arms of her crying husband.
"The Great Other was careless he was arrogant in his own power and failed to realise my Grandmother had yet to fade" Nissa says as she looks at the Maiden of Light who's brightness had noticeably dimmed.
"She crawled her way to me in an attempt to bring me back but the sword was corrupting my body, so she split herself between me and the sword, before telling my husband to take it out" Nissa says sadly.
"As soon as he took the sword out of my chest it erupted in a white flame, and I erupted too" she continued, Jon saw Asor take the sword out of Nissa and it catch on fire with a brilliant white flame.
Nissa had also erupted into flames as many different colours seemed to twirl together in a raging inferno before taking the shape of a massive bird made of fire. After which the bodies of the maiden and Nissa had gone. And all that was left was Asor with his new sword.
"Isn't that sword" Jon asks but before he can continue Nissa interrupts him.
"Yes it is… Dawn is the sword that was pulled from my Chest" Nissa answers.
"What happened after that" Jon asks.
"There was a long bloody war that is best forgotten" Nissa says as she snaps her fingers and they find themselves back in the forest at her campfire.
"The Seven, The Drowned God, The Harpy, The Valyrian Gods, The Old Gods, all led by the Lion of the night in an attempt to beat the Great other" Nissa explains.
"And now all are dead or ran away, and the only thing we have to show for it is that we managed to split him apart and trap each piece of him" Nissa continues.
"So in Sothoryos and here, they were all pieces of the Great other" Jon asks to which Nissa nods.
"The Bloodstone Prince was trapped, with his master in that city built especially for him" Nissa says with slight malice.
"So the gods are gone and none can help us now" Jon says defeated as his shoulders slump.
"The Gods have still left their mark Jon" Nissa says getting Jon's attention.
"A lot of the Gods before they died used the last of their power to cycle themselves into the world, so they would be reborn over and over to keep the world safe for generations to come" Nissa says with a smile.
"So there are gods walking around with us" Jon asks with shock.
"No silly, they wouldn't be gods but they would have a great affinity for what the god was known for, You've even met two of them" Nissa states once again shocking Jon.
"Your friend Arthur and Joy are both Reincarnation's of two of the Seven" Nissa continued.
"I can guess Arthur is the warrior, but what is Joy? The maiden" Jon asks but Nissa shakes her head.
"The Crone, she's much more intelligent than she shows to all of you, the fact she managed to avoid all the atrocities that come with enslavement should speak to her intelligence" Nissa states.
"I'm afraid our time here is nearly over Jon, I'm afraid I can't do much for you I'm the only one left to keep things together, but I can take you from here and put you back at the start of your journey, in Westeros" Nissa says to him seriously.
"With the others right?" Jon says hopeful.
"I'm afraid I can't do the same for them" Nissa says with a sad look.
"Then you already know the answer" Jon says resolutely.
"Jon if you go back you won't be able to do anything, you'll die and so will the rest" Nissa tries to reason.
"I'd rather die with them than live my life knowing I left them behind, that's not who I am" Jon says loudly.
Nissa just sighs and quietly whispers "You really are the same" Though Jon doesn't hear what she says.
"Is there anything you can do to help me fight it, to help me save my friends" Jon pleads with her.
"To obtain great power comes through sacrifice Jon, are you sure you are prepared for that" Nissa says to Jon in a serious voice.
"If it gives me a chance to save everyone then I'd do anything" Jon says resolutely as he looks at Nissa in the eyes, she looks back at him her purple eyes gazing into his, before she smiles.
"You won't have long, even with my help you won't be able to defeat the fragment, you'll have to trap it again" Nissa says to Jon who nods in understanding.
Nissa approaches Jon and hugs him, Jon feels a warmth he hasn't felt before, like the embrace of a mother, a lover and a friend all at once.
"I hope you succeed Jon, but either way I imagine I'll see you soon" Nisss says with a sad look on her face.
Jon is confused for a second before he realises his meaning and smiles at her, she then kisses Jon on the lips and he feels a rush and warmth burrow itself into his very soul, his body feels like it's going to burst before he passes out.
(Gogossos)
Jon wakes up in the street, where he collapsed, his body was thrumming with power, he had never felt like this before not even when he was connected to dawn, he looks up and is now fully able to glance at the creature that had almost killed him. The light he had saw before was no more than a pulsating sack that was attached by a long appendage stretching out of the creatures forehead.
The creature was large and black, it's skin was rough but still slick with a black oily grease, numerous growths covered it's skin some popping and leaking the same oily substance it was covered in. It's body type was similar to a toad, but it's legs were misshapen seemingly having more feline characteristics but with the large flat feet that the deep ones had. It's arms were long and slimy, they were covered in growths and looked frail. It's face was the most horrific part it had the wide face of a toad, but with a jaw that jutted outwards as it was full of sharp black teeth and a tongue that was hanging on the outside of its mouth, tentacles stretched out of the back of its head, these unlike the creatures weak arms looked thick and strong and some even had what looked like sharp bones emerging from the end. It'd eyes were a black as the night sky on a starless night, they seemed to be complete pits of the abyss light never escaping them. The creature stood a little higher than 40 feet tall and it was currently walking slowly towards the ocean.
"I don't have long I need to get it back into that pit and seal it" Jon thinks to himself as he flares his power.
Jon needs size and power to push it back so he gets ready to use the power gifted to him. A giant tornado of fire erupts from where Jon is standing completely turning the surrounding area to dust and turning the stone into glass.
*ROOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAARRR*
The shadow of what looks to be a dragon emerges from the cyclone, though this dragon is completely made of flames until solidifies itself into a white dragon with four limbs and purple eyes that glowed.
*D̵̰͠ŗ̴̡̺̱̥͍̘̰̲͉̬̥̼͕͊ą̸̨̡̛̣͖̺͙̲͎̥̣̪̩͂̈́̈́͆͝g̶̨̭̦͕̣̐͠͠ǫ̶̢̥̲̓̇̒̄͌̄͘͝ͅn̷͕̤͗̃͑̋̀̌̐͐̄̈́̔̈́̚͝*
The creature croaks out though Jon doesn't feel the pain of hearing it's voice anymore, and gets ready to fight the monstrous god.
(AN: I was gonna finish the arc this chapter but it went on for a bit long so imma just post this today as an extra and finish the arc tomorrow, and for those who don't like the history of the gods I made up 😝, I thought it wasn't too bad I did try and link it to real world myth as much as possible, anyway hope ya enjoyed it)