After all, the last time Viserys had come, he had brought only one dragon, King Ghidorah. Now they came in a flock, ten dragons blotting out the sky.
King Ghidorah landed first, coming down directly in Castle Black's courtyard. Her enormous body resembled a moving mountain, and her claws gouged several deep cracks into the relatively level ground, sending chips of stone and frozen earth flying in every direction.
The gale stirred up by her landing sent several Free Folk and Black Brothers staggering backward. Some fell flat on the ground.
Others barely managed to react in time, grabbing hold of the people crowded together behind them. Cries of alarm instantly rang out through Castle Black.
Meleys landed beside King Ghidorah. Her dark red scales gleamed crimson in the setting sun, as though steeped in blood and fire.
She gracefully turned her neck from side to side, her golden eyes sweeping coldly over the crowd below. Wisps of white smoke streamed from her nostrils and quickly dispersed in the cold air of the North, adding the sulfurous scent of dragons to Castle Black.
Blackflame and several other dragons that were somewhat tired landed on the open ground outside the castle. Blackflame was too large. Though Castle Black's courtyard was hardly small, with King Ghidorah already there, there was no room left for Blackflame.
The other members of the dragon horde continued circling overhead. The vast shadows they cast shrouded all of Castle Black in an oppressive atmosphere.
At the sight, Jeor Mormont could not help drawing a deep breath and tightening his grip on his sword hilt. He could feel the tension among the brothers behind him and hear the whispers and prayers rising from the Free Folk.
For a moment, the world around Castle Black seemed to stand still.