Lost in Sothoryos | A Game of Thrones fanfic

(Location: Castle Black)

(Time: Afternoon)

Seeing the wall in person completely amazed Arya, 700 feet tall spanning the whole northern border it was truly a sight to behold, Arya couldn't contain her excitement as she looked at Sansa and Daeron who had small smiles but nowhere near the same level as awe that she felt.

"Isn't this the Tallest thing you've ever seen, it seems to stretch to the sky!" Arya exaggerates as she points to the giant monolith of ice.

"Haha, it definitely is up there" Daeron says with a chuckle as he looks at Sansa who is also smiling, they probably would have been as excited as Arya was but having experienced something that not only was many times taller than the wall but walked seemed to take away any awe that they might have felt.

Daeron had told Arya that story of him fighting the stone giant but it seemed she didn't realise the scale of it.

'This would make a perfect nest if it wasn't so cold' Shiera says to him as she flies in the distance.

'Make sure to be careful not to be seen there will be people stationed on the wall that might see you' Daeron says to her.

With a mental equivalent of a nod Shiera changes directions before flying further down the wall to perch on an uninhabited part of the wall, she had grown a bit more recently now being a bit larger than a destrier, she had told Daeron that she'll always grow quickly in areas saturated by magic.

Daeron didn't understand before but now he did, approaching the wall it wasn't it's height that awed him but how he felt the closer he got, it was as if he could feel the magic within his blood and the wall resonate with each other.

'Is it because this was built by a Stark' Daeron wondered as they approached the gates of castle black.

"Halt! State your name and intentions" one of the watchmen shout down to them.

"I am Jon Snow and these two girls are both Starks we have come to visit our uncle the first ranger" Daeron states loudly in a clear voice.

"Open the gate!" The man commands.

The gates are opened and they are allowed to enter, their horses trot into the old castle, most of the men in the courtyard look up and stare, Sansa was most likely one of the most beautiful girls they'd ever seen snd Arya while not as pretty as her sister still had aristocratic facial features even with her tomboyish looks. Many of the brothers were questioning their vows when they saw women so beautiful but they turned away when they saw the ice cold glare of pure malice emanating from Daeron, it was like a predator was staring them down  and they quickly went back to their duties.

"And how can we help such esteemed guests that have graced us with their presence" a man says his voice dripping with sarcasm as he walks up to the group as they were dismounting their horses, Daeron sighs as he was tired from travel and wanted to rest.

"I am Jon Snow and who are you Ser?" Daeron says to the man who looked as if he had a scowl perpetually etched onto his face.

"Jon Snow!? The Bastard Slaver? Come to finally join the watch have you? Coming where you belong" Alliser barks out with a laugh.

"He didn't kidnap me I'm right here!" Sansa shouts out with a huff. Alliser just sighs and decides he doesn't care he's a member of the Nights Watch.

"I am Ser Alliser Thorne, now tell me your business here we have no time around her for lallygagging" Alliser says firmly.

"Pfffft, you're here till you die I'm sure you have plenty of time" Arya whispers to Sansa drawling a chuckle from the girl who puts her hand over her mouth in an attempt to cover it. Daeron gives the two girls a warning glare before facing the Nights watchmen.

"Apologises we aren't here to waste your time, this is Ladies Sansa and Arya Stark and I am their half brother, we simply wish to see our uncle Benjen" Daeron says diplomatically.

"He's not here Lord Snow" Alliser says putting a sarcastic emphasis on the last part.

"He is ranging beyond the wall, if you want more details best speak to the Lord Commander" Alliser continues not even waiting for his reply for walking off.

"He was rude" Sansa states as she looks as the man walking towards the sparring ring in the courtyard.

"He was probably offered a choice between the wall and death, I doubt many men would be happy if offered the same" Daeron replies to Sansa who nods her head in understanding.

"Come if Benjen isn't here then we should at least try and find Aemon" Daeron says as he walks up to another brother and asks where the Maester resided.

After getting the information Daeron and the girls head towards the library as that is usually where the Maesters spends his afternoons. The buildings in castle black looked old and crooked, a lot of them seemed to have been fixed with materials that obviously didn't match the buildings showing their state of disrepair.

As much as Daeron was against joining the watch even he felt a bit of disbelief and disgust at the state of the once proud brotherhood.

'Shouldn't they be supplied better than this, even if a large majority are criminals there are some who must've chosen the life for the honour of serving' Daeron thought to himself as he walked up the stairs to the library, the wood groaned under his weight as he placed his foot on each step.

He approaches the door and knocks and waits a few seconds.

"Come in" he hears an old voice speak, opening the door he's met with the musty smell of book as and the warmth of the fire that had been lit, Arya and Sansa followed him in revelling in the warmth of the room.

"Can I help you?" An old man asks as he sits in front of the fire with an old book in his hands he isn't looking at the book and he doesn't even turn his head to the group.

"Maester Aemon?" Daeron asks trying to confirm the man's identity.

"That is my name, I don't think I'm quite so old that I've forgotten" Aemon says with a small chuckle making Daeron smile.

"I'm Jon Snow" Daeron says to him.

"Jon snow? I'm glad to see you're alive I know your uncle has been worried about you and your sister" Aemon says kindly.

"I'm here too" Sansa adds.

"Then I'd guess rumours of your spiriting away are less than founded" Aemon says putting his book on the table.

"From what Benjen told me of you I didn't believe it all that much in the first place, and neither did he" Aemon says with a gentle smile.

"Now how may I help you" Aemon asks.

"I just came because I wanted to see my uncle, I didn't know if I'd get the opportunity again so I came now" Daeron states.

"I'm afraid your uncle is out on a ranging Im not sure when he'll be back but the Lord Commander most likely will" Aemon replies.

"I know but he is not the only Uncle I came to visit" Daeron says to him.

"Oh? Did you discover who your mother was, not been Benjen knew that it would be quite the coincidence to have two uncles in the watch from both sides of the family" Aemon says with a smile.

"This uncle is from my fathers side" Daeron replies.

This causes Aemon to frown slightly in confusion, he thought for a few minutes before turning his head back to Daeron

"Let me touch your face" Aemon says simply to which Daeron agrees by taking a chair and sitting in front off Aemon.

Carefully feeling his face Daeron can see Aemons face change from a frown to a smile, his clouded eyes began to water as tears streamed down his face.

"For so long I thought there were so few of us left and our house was on the brink of extinction, but you're here" Aemon says emotionally as he cries.

"Tell me what is your colouring" Aemon asks.

"Dark hair and grey eyes" Daeron replies.

"Ah I see why you could hide so well, you have your mothers colouring but your face is nearly entirely your fathers, I remember his face when he came to see me so long ago" Aemon says with a smile.

"Why did he come to see you" Daeron asks slightly confused.

"I believe it was a question on the higher mysteries and places where magic still saturates the air" Aemon says while trying to remember.

"I wasn't much help, I never placed much faith in magic, dragons were the last remnants of real magic and they have long since been dead" Aemon speaks sadly.

"That is part of why I came uncle, I wanted to see you before you passed, you're one of the few family members on my fathers side I have left, and one of the last Targaryens, it wouldn't do for you to die without witnessing the rebirth of dragons" Daeron said to Aemon shocking him.

"You truly mean it" Aemon asks in a hopeful voice, Daeron takes Aemons hand and leads him up from his chair.

"Come we can meet her in the woods outside Castle Black if you're okay to travel that far" Daeron says holding on to him.

"My boy if you are telling me the truth then I would travel beyond the wall for this" Aemon jests though his excitement is clear for those in the room to see making the girls smile.

Leading him outside and to the gate Aemon asks the lad minding it to let him through as Daeron would be helping him gather some herbs, they don't question this and let him through, they walk for a bit trying to get out of sight of the castle as to not have any witnesses, Daeron supports Aemons weight most of the way, they come to a small clearing out of sigh of the castle.

'Okay come down now' Daeron relays to Shiera who dives in from above the clouds landing in front of the group.

Aemon could already feel the gust of wind that had come from the dragons powerful wings, Jon leads Aemon to Shiera placing his hands on her smooth scales.

'Greetings Aemon' Shiera says to Aemon in his mind.

Daeron and Aemon are both shocked at the sound of her voice, though for different reasons, Aemon because he'd never read about a dragon speaking and Daeron because he thought she could only do so with him and Rhaenys.

'I can speak to all who have enough blood of the dragon as long as we are in contact, though you're my rider Daeron so we have a different connection' Shiera says to them both.

"Amazing, truly wonderful to find that such a majestic animal is no longer dead to the world brings happiness to my heart" Aemon says tearfully.

Arya who was excitable as usual had already run up to Shiera climbing on her back, she was a small girl so the added weight to Shiera didn't bother her, it's possible she could of even rode her for a short amount of time.

'It was nice to meet you Aemon, but Daeron called me when I had just caught myself a nice juicy boar, he can be rather inconsiderate like that' Shiera says to both of them making Daeron sigh.

"Of course my dear I'm just happy you humoured an old man" Aemon says to her.

"Go on get out of here Shiera don't need you spreading anymore rumours about me" Daeron says with a chuckle as he pats her neck, Arya gets down from her stroking her head too.

Shiera blows a plume or smoke into Daerons face before pushing herself off the ground launching herself into the sky.

"Bye Shiera!" Arya shouts as she waves, as the red blur disappears into the sky.

"I can't wait till she gets big enough to ride" Arya says to Daeron with wide eyes.

"It's not as fun as you would think" Sansa says remembering the time she almost fell to her death.

"It wasn't that bad Sansa" Daeron says to her though she just narrows her eyes at him and crosses her arms.

"I think it's best we head back now, my old body isn't what it's used to be and I've had quite a lot of excitement this day" Aemon says with a smile as Daeron grabs him by the arm and they all head back towards the keep.

Aemon had lived for nearly a century, he was born just after the first Blackfyre Rebellion a time where Targaryen's fought each other in another bloody war for the accursed Iron Throne, he had very little interest in the Throne as he was not even close to being the heir at the time so he found his passion in books and learning and was always a sharp child.

Aemon did not have much faith in the gods because he knew if he did then surely they had cursed him, they made him live long enough to watch the near extinction of his house. He had to hear of his brothers and his children's death in Summerhall while he was here freezing in a dusty library at the ends of the earth. He had regained hope when he met his brothers great grandson Rhaegar.

It was often said that every time a Targaryen is born the gods flip a coin and the whole world holds its breath, but what they don't say is that only applies to those bound to the Iron Throne as it can drive people to do great things as it did with Jaehaerys the wise and Daeron the good. But for every time a coin lands on one side it must do so on the other, the atrocities committed by Maegor and Aerys II were some that were most likely to never be forgotten.

Hearing of Rhaegars death and of how they had slaughtered his entire family while he could do nothing, Aemon wept until his tears turned to ice on his face the last of his house were alone and in exile and yet he wouldn't make it a few miles out of the keep before falling to the floor. He believed Rhaegar would be the man to make something better of this world, to make all the sacrifices and pain that his family had suffered and caused worth it.

Rhaegar did not believe he was special he much like Aemon believed himself to be rather ordinary and in the end perhaps he was right.

Aemon often dreamed of a place a different time where him and his family left Westeros and went to a far away place no longer weighed down by the weight of responsibility or the throne.

Meeting Daeron and Shiera had caused hope to bubble up within the old man, perhaps he was not cursed by the gods, they had let him live long enough to see the beginning of what could be another golden age.

(Nightfall)

They had just gotten Aemon back into his room and Daeron was lying him down on his bed. On the way back to the keep Daeron told him about all the adventures they had together as well as the fact that Rhaenys was still alive, Aemon found himself crying again that day finding out two of Rhaegars children were alive brought joy to the old man's heart.

"Daeron…" Aemon breathed out as he lay under his blanket.

"Yes uncle" Daeron says as he sits on the side of the bed, Sansa and Arya both leave to give them some privacy.

"Will you try to claim the throne" Aemon asks quietly.

"I'm not sure uncle, at the moment I have everything and everyone I need I have my friends and my loves" Daeron says making Aemon smile.

"If you do claim the throne never forget that, never forget the people who love you, that throne has caused our family so much pain, power always demands a sacrifice but make sure that what you sacrifice won't have you laying awake at night wishing you were anywhere but where you are" Aemon says to him slowly drifting to sleep.

"I'll make our family whole again, I promise, and when you're too old to get out of this bed we'll all come to see you off to be with your family in the great beyond" Daeron says as he holds Aemons hand as he falls asleep.

Daeron gets up from the bed with a smile and heads out of the room.

"You girls stay with him, I'm going to visit the Lord Commander" Daeron says getting a nod from both of them.

Heading to the Lord Commanders tower he's once grabbed and pushed into an empty storeroom. Getting ready for what could be an attack Daeron draws his dagger drawing it on the attacker, as it was quicker to draw.

He's met with the cold gaze of Ser Alliser Thorne who already has his sword drawn and pointed at Daeron.

"You will tell me who you are right now!" Alliser says sternly to him.

"You already know who I am" Daeron says to him narrowing his eyes at him.

"I have great respect for Aemon Targaryen, he has served as a man in the Nights Watch since before your Grandfather was sucking on his wet nurses teat, for you to come here pretending to be his family is something I won't allow!"Alliser shouts at Daeron

"I don't know what you're after but you will not succeed as long as I am here" He continues

"You were spying on us…" Daeron says with barely concealed anger.

"You a man I had never met coming here claiming to want to see your uncle, while I may not have the power to banish you from this castle I will make sure to keep one of our most esteemed members safe" Alliser spits out.

Daeron feels the anger bubbling but he can't fault his logic, but having his privacy violated still irked him.

"You aren't a Targaryen so tell me who are you!" Alliser shouts stepping closer with his sword.

Daeron finally can't hold it in any longer and his eyes glow a violet orange colour.

"I am Daeron III Targaryen, the son of Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen and you will lower your weapon or lose the hand that holds it" Daeron says the perfect visage of a king.

Alliser looks at Daeron in complete shock and awe, finally looking closer at his face and seeing the visage of the king he chose. He immediately bent the knee with his sword to the floor.

"I apologise your grace I had thought that all the Targaryen children in Westeros were dead" Alliser says humbly as he bows his head before his king.

"Lift your head Ser I am no more a king than you are, but I am one of the last male Targaryen's" Daeron says to him.

"I apologise for my rudeness, ever since I failed to keep the Targaryen's safe during the sack of a Kings Landing I took it upon myself to make sure Aemon was well cared for ever since his eyes went" Alliser says lifting his head to meet Daerons eyes, which had gone back to their normal colour.

"I'm grateful that you've been loyal to my family, I must ask you to keep knowledge of my existence a secret" Daeron says to him.

"Of course your grace" Alliser replies drawing a silent sigh from Daeron but he doesn't comment.

"I need to speak to the Lord Commander we can speak at a later time" Daeron says to the man who rises from his knees giving Daeron a bow before leaving.

Daeron sighs before heading out and continuing to the Lord Commanders keep.

Jeor Mormont was the 997th Lord Commander of the Nights Watch, and had been for a number of years but with the way things were going he often thinks he might be the last.

Something north has been stirring and the wildlings have been abandoning their homes and moving somewhere, rangers have gone missing and some even speak of others spiriting people away. A few rangers who were being hunted down by a tribe of Thenns said that the whole tribe disappeared without a trace.

Hearing a knock on the door he looks up from the scroll he was reading.

"Enter" Jeor says in a gruff northern voice.

Daeron enters into the room he approaches the desk where Jeor is seated and takes a seat when Jeor gestures to the chair in front of him.

"I haven't seen you before, come to take your vows? We can use all the men we can get nowadays" Jeor says as Daeron sits down.

"Maybe once upon a time, but no I'm here for another reason" Daeron replies.

"Well speak up lad, what can I do for you" Jeor asks.

"My name is Jon snow and I was hoping to visit Benjen Stark, me and my sisters were hoping we could see our uncle again" Daeron asks.

Jeor looks at Daeron paying full attention to him now before sighing.

"I haven't told most of the men about this yet, but Benjen and the dozen men he left with have not returned" Jeor states bluntly.

"They were supposed to return a moon ago, but there has not been any sign of them, things are becoming more dangerous beyond the wall and I refuse to be kept in the dark any longer, a week from now I'll be leading 300 men beyond the wall to investigate and hopefully recover our missing men" Jeor explains in a serious tone.

"I want to join the expedition" Daeron says without hesitation, making Jeor sigh.

"Listen lad I'm sure your hearts in the right place but you're barely a man grown and beyond the wall is not like anywhere you've been, if you aren't eaten by dire wolves or bears then there's the wildlings who will often capture and torture you for days, and that's not even speaking of the rumours you hear of dead men rising from the ground" Jeor says in his attempt to scare off Daeron.

"This is my uncle, I'll not stand by while he is missing, I can take care of myself you won't need to worry about that" Daeron states.

"Very well I won't turn down another pair of arms be ready in a week or we will leave without you" Jeor states, Daeron nods and gets up and leaves the room.

(Kings Landing)

It was a beautiful day Kings Landing, the sun shone down on the vibrant and bustling city, though the smell of piss and shit seemed to take away from the charm, luckily for Cersei Lannister in the red keep they were far removed from the smell of the small folk.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH" a great roar trembles the keep and another rumble hits the castle as if it had been hit with a battering ram.

Cersei just sighs and takes another healthy swig of her wine enjoying its sweet taste. Hearing the door open she turns around to see her twin brother Jaime Lannister enter the room with his usual smirk.

"Is he still having his tantrum" Cersei says with exasperation.

"He is still quite surprisingly strong, I don't think I could hold that warhammer with one hand, i suppose under all that fat is still an old warrior" Jaime says with a chuckle.

"Still though to believe that the honourable Lord Stark had managed to keep this a secret for so long" Jaime says with a shake of his head.

"I don't care about that, I don't care about this Targaryen bastard and I don't care about Lord Stark" Cersei says with visible anger.

"Our daughter has been missing for months and you have done nothing! Not even that drunkard has done anything he seems to have forgotten that she even existed" Cersei continues.

"I'm a member of the Kingsguard I can't abandon my post even if I want to" Jaime says sadly.

"Father has already been sending all manner of men to investigate, she'll be found don't worry" Jaime says to Cersei hugging her from behind kissing her neck.

"It does seem as if the little bastard has gotten around, from what I've heard Lord Stark has been telling Lord Arryn all about the adventures the bastard had been on" Jaime says with a mocking laugh.

"How would he know about that" Cersei says doubt laced in her voice.

"Apparently it came from his daughter when she came back shortly before leaving again, Apparently it was him and the Stark girl and a blonde girl called Joy Hill" Jaime says to her.

"Joy? Like" Cersei says

"Yes like Uncle Gerions daughter" Jaime finished for her.

"Joy…" Cersei says to herself as she remembers something from a while ago.

(Flashback)

"I'm sorry your grace we managed to find her, she was in the Sept of Baelor library in the city, she had passed herself off as a peasant girl and was going by the name of Joy, it seemed she was able to avoid any ruffians" A city watch guard says to Cersei as he brought a girl who was 9 name days back to the keep and to her mothers chambers.

"Dismissed" Cersei says to the guard looking at the girl.

"Myrcella how many times have I told you that you must stay in the red keep, there is a perfectly good library in the keep" Cersei says sternly as she chides the girl.

"I hate it here mother, it's boring, i have no friends and I spend my days having to avoid Joffrey or be subjected to his madness" the girl now known as Myrcella replies to her mother.

"An exaggeration, surely, now run along back to your chambers, for the next week your meals will be brought to you and you will not leave!" Cersei says before gesturing her to leave. Though before she leaves she asks Myrcella one more thing.

"Why use the name Joy" Cersei asks with curiosity.

"She's my favourite cousin of course, and she looks a lot like me" Myrcella says before leaving.

(Flashback end)

Cersei's cup shattered in her hand causing it to bleed though she didn't notice as she was overcome with an overpowering rage nearly matching her husbands who was currently doing his best to tear down the red keep single handedly.

(AN: So another chapter done, nothing much happens tbh mostly just setting up the next chapters, though thinking about it I may take a few days off from posting and relax a little, I been planning to reread the Harry Potter books as I really wanna do a fanfic on that, don't worry no need to tell me I know there's thousands out there but who knows maybe I'll make something good, anyway let me know what ya think)