For an ordinary merchant caravan, the journey from Winterfell to the Wall was a long one, taking several weeks or even close to a month.
For Winter, however, it was only a few beats of his wings away.
When that shadow blotted out the sky as it swept over Last Hearth, the North's final line of defense.
The soldiers of House Umber stationed there feared that an endless winter had arrived ahead of its time.
"Awoooo! Awoooo! Awoooo!"
Three long, urgent horn blasts shattered the timeless stillness above the Wall.
The Night's Watch recruits sparring in the training grounds froze, the blood draining from their faces.
Three horn blasts.
White Walkers!
"Everyone! To the battlements!"
"Archers, take your positions!"
Castle Black erupted into chaos.
Countless black-clad men of the Night's Watch rushed from their posts and swarmed toward the massive lift.
Yet when they reached the top of the seven-hundred-foot ice wall and looked north, they saw nothing.
There were no eyes glowing an eerie blue, nor any army of the dead.
The Haunted Forest was deathly still.
"What's going on? Did they sound the wrong signal?"
A newly arrived Ranger asked in confusion.
"Impossible!"
Beside him, a seasoned veteran's expression was grim.
"The hornblower wouldn't make a mistake that basic!"
Just then, a sharp-eyed sentry suddenly pointed toward the southern sky, his voice trembling with disbelief.
"Look... look south!"
Everyone instinctively turned around.
On the southern horizon, a huge black speck was growing rapidly before their eyes.
What was that?
As the black speck drew closer, revealing its fearsome, enormous silhouette, the entire Wall fell deathly silent.
Everyone stood rooted to the spot.
It was a dragon!
A massive dragon whose presence was even more overwhelming than the ice wall beneath their feet!
He had three heads!
His