Now it's time for me to come to my senses; though I'm heartbroken, wallowing in my pain won't change anything. This war has been a wake-up call, making me realize things I already knew but had forgotten. I'm not invincible, and from now on I must be more careful. If an enchanted sword can withstand my magic, then there are probably many other things and people I need to be wary of.
One thing I'm happy about is that, in my time of sorrow, I can now transform into a bird and fly. I can't become a small bird yet, but I can become a large bird, like a golden eagle. So I sent Bo and Erebus to scan all the mountains in the North to find me a golden eagle.
Meanwhile, I contacted the Crow remaining in the various Citadel of the Westerlands and overheard Citadel lords' conversations. It seems our fat king got what he wanted... "a great war."
But we lost all the naval battles; the Lannister fleet was burned to ashes. Redwyne fought valiantly but was forced to retreat, losing half his fleet. The naval battles were a complete defeat, and all the coastal areas of the Westerlands and the Reach were attacked.
Encouraged by his victory over Redwyne, Euron Greyjoy even attacked Oldtown. I don't know much about House Hightower, but I know they are fanatical followers of the Seven and the second most powerful and wealthiest family in the Reach after House Tyrell. Euron failed to breach the Wall of Oldtown, but burned down the slums, which were unprotected by the Wall, before retreating.
The only place that did not suffer significant losses in this war was the North. I successfully protected almost the entire coastline of the North, but after I left, a second wave of troops attacked Deepwood Motte. They were able to hold Deepwood Motte thanks to reinforcements from Winterfell. Afterward, some retreating troops attacked the coastal villages and towns of the North, but since these areas had already been evacuated, they could only burn the empty houses.
Our pork king summoned all his vassals to Casterly Rock.
Lord Stark has assembled 20,000 soldiers, leaving 5,000 to guard the North, and has already set off with 15,000. After transforming into the Emre the Druid, I've decided to head to Deepwood Motte. This time, I don't need a ship, because I can race across the sea at the speed of a racing car. Why use a ship then?
On the way to the beach, a black bear cub caught my attention, and I decided to make contact with it. The cub was unaware of our presence. I rode my fast-moving Sith, bent down, and grabbed the cub by the scruff of its neck.
The cub suddenly started struggling and crying. To prevent this, I stunned it with a "letagon" ( Trap ). The mother bear angrily charged out of the bushes, trying to grab us, but she couldn't keep up with Sith's speed at all. I immediately focused and began to connect with the cub. Perhaps because I was already level 4, or perhaps because my mana had reached 300 points, I connected quickly. The connection only took 15 minutes and 100 mana points. The rest was just naming it. It was a female, so I named it:
"From now on, your name is Artio."
As soon as I gave my name, the binding ended, and I could feel my body becoming stronger. My binding with Artio gave me physical Buff: my stamina increased by 1, my endurance doubled, and my base stamina is now 7. Her mother is still chasing us, so I used udrādȳñes ( Command Animals ).
"Stop!"
The mother bear then stopped chasing us. I let go of Artio and said.
"Artio, go and stay with your mother. When you grow up, I'll come and take you back."
She didn't seem to want to go, so I said...
"Go ahead, don't worry, I'll be back."
I've watched a lot of documentaries before, so I looked up some information about bears.
" Appraisal "
I learned a lot about them; they need to stay with their mothers for about 15-17 months. After 4-5 years, they will be mature enough to mate, and after 8-10 years, they will be fully grown. Artio is a little bigger than a wolf, so it should be 3 to 5 months old.
"Berus, you stay here and protect Artio from afar. Only intervene when it is in grave danger. Otherwise, let her learn to fight."
The dog, bigger than a donkey, lay on the ground, its head between its front paws, and spoke in a pleading tone.
"But master, I also want to go to the battlefield with you..."
" Berus, this is also important. You will be responsible for raising one of your younger siblings. After the war, I will take her and her mother to the Wolfswood, and finally, when she learns to speak, talk to her a lot and let her practice."
"Yes, Master."
I can almost swear he made a face and agreed, like an older brother taking care of his younger sister when his parents are away.
A week ago, Mormont Citadel
( From Maege Mormont's perspective)
We evacuated children, women, and the elderly because the Crow had announced that the Ironborn might launch a surprise attack, but we decided to leave the women who knew how to fight here to defend our home with us.
We have about 350 soldiers, 70 of whom are women. We Bear Island are not so cowardly as to flee our homes at the sight of the Ironborn, nor will we ever.
We are stubborn people, and we will all probably die before we leave this land. My only wish to be different was that my brother would stand with us through thick and thin, but a few years ago, he handed over his position to my nephew Jorah and became the commander of the Men in Black.
My nephew is a good man, a strong warrior, but too inexperienced to shoulder this responsibility. He became a widower at a young age; his Glover bride couldn't conceive and died two years ago during her third miscarriage.
He was a dark, hairy man with a thick black beard and a bald head. Mormont men always go bald early. He wasn't particularly handsome, but he wasn't ugly either. As his aunt, I had to find a suitable man for him to remarry as soon as possible. Just as I was lost in my thoughts, we began to hear the sounds of fighting and thunder coming from the west side of the island. Jorah turned to me and said.
"Auntie, have we received reinforcements?"
"No, reinforcements won't arrive for at least four more days. It can't be Lord Stark."
"Then we need to go see who's fighting."
"You can't leave, you're the leader Jorah. I'll go. I'll take a small group to check it out."