A week ago
( From Maege Mormont's perspective)
My group of ten and I quickly made our way through the forest toward the direction from which the sound was coming; it was a 20-minute drive from Mormont Keep. Before we reached the clearing, the first thing we noticed was screams and cries of pain.
We crept silently through the woods, stunned by the sight before us. There were probably around 1,000 Ironborn here, but now only 400-500 remained. We thought so because there were mutilated corpses everywhere. Huge beasts killed with a single blow; no arrow could hit them. Even swords and spears could hardly pierce their hides.
Rather than calling these animals enormous, something else shocked me even more: a bird that looked like a giant Crow, which turned people around it into mincemeat with every swoop it made.
My men and I watched in horror. But that wasn't the most astonishing thing. The most astonishing thing was that an old man riding a giant wolf was casting spells in all directions and spewing deathly energy around him.
This person was covered in leaves, twigs, and moss. Someone attacked him with a shield made of red bone, knocking him off the wolf's back. This must be a child of the Drumm family.
We had heard grand tales about this old man, but thought they were all nonsense. However, it turns out that everything about Emre the Druid might be true. Emre the Druid fought with the Drumm Boy, and it seemed the Drumm Boy was about to win, as Emre the Druid's spells were ineffective. But then the giant wolf suddenly pounced on him, and the wolf died. Emre the Druid wept loudly, and even the bones of us hiding in the woods trembled.
He seemed to be blinded by rage, and his body suddenly burst into flames. Everything within a 100-meter radius began to burn. Starting with the Druid, the flames spread like a raging torrent. Hundreds of Ironborn were burned to death on the spot. The Druid raised his hand toward the child of the Drumm and began to gather all the surrounding flames there, flames constantly emerging from his hand.
Suddenly, a small creature made entirely of flames appeared, accompanied by a flash of light; this time, the Drumm Child was engulfed in flames. When the Drumm Child's screams ceased, all the remaining Ironborn began to flee, and a chilling silence fell. The Druid lay on the ground, beasts circling him. Then, Crow swept overhead and began to caw. A Shadowcat the size of a horse approached, emitting a piercing howl.
We emerged slowly from the bushes, trembling with fear and caution, still haunted by the battle we had just witnessed. "A young soldier beside me is beginning to grip his sword," I said.
"Are you an idiot? Didn't you see what they just did to that army? Are you looking for death?"
I had barely finished speaking when the boy woke up and took his hands off his weapons. I just hoped these animals could distinguish friend from foe, otherwise we would surely die here. The giant dog, carrying the Druid's robe by the neck, tried to put it on the Shadowcat. I raised my hands, trying to help, but immediately received a roar. Finally, they managed to put the Druid on the giant Shadowcat, and they disappeared into the forest. Then, a man asked.
"Should I follow them?"
"Why, do you want to die too? They almost tore us to pieces when we wandered in here. What will the animals do if we go with them? Do you want Emre the Druid to become our enemy? If he wants to talk to us, he'll come back after resting for a while."
One week later
(Male protagonist's perspective)
After entrusting the training and protection of Artio to Berus, we went to the seaside, where I cast the " Water Walking " (Ronvaiēdar) spell on Sith. This allowed her to walk on the sea for 30 minutes. When I reached level 4, the cooldown of this spell was removed; if I had enough mana, I could cast it repeatedly. The only drawback is that this spell can only be activated on one person at a time.
Sith can run at 300 kilometers per hour using magic power, but my familiars have also become stronger as my level has increased. Previously, Sith needed to rest for two hours after running for one hour using magic power; now, he doesn't need to rest, and running for two hours without using magic power is enough to replenish it. The magic capacity of all my familiars has also increased. Their magic power has now increased by 50%.
Previously, when Sith ran at this speed, I needed to create a wind bubble around me, but now I can summon small wind elementals, greatly enhancing my control over the air. I used the wind element as a catalyst to create a channeling spell. The concept for this spell came from the Wind Blade I had just learned. I used the wind element to minimize air resistance as much as possible, rather than cutting things; I was essentially cutting the air.
It was like a giant Wind Blade aimed directly at Sith, splitting the wind in two. This cost 30 mana, but I could sustain it for an hour. This made Sith even faster; we reached a speed of 400 kilometers per hour. But the cost was high: 30 mana for channeling and 15 mana for elemental magic. For the one-hour buffer, I spent 45 mana, and because it was channeling magic, I had to continuously cast with one hand.
The distance from Bear Island to the coast of Westeros is 350 kilometers, and I must move inland to reach Deepwood Motte. But I decided to create a spectacle. As we approached the coast, I ordered the Sith to run slowly and approach every scout ship I could find. Finally, instead of crossing from a desolate place, I crossed from a fishing village where soldiers were stationed, so that many people would witness me walking on the sea.
(From the perspective of the House Stark's sea watchmen)
The war seemed to be finally over; no more Ironborn ships were coming, but my watch was far from over. The wind blowing from the sea was sometimes so cold it made me shiver.
As I looked towards the horizon, something small caught my attention. At first, I thought it was a scout ship returning, because it was too small to be a ship, but a few minutes later, I could see it more clearly. I could hardly believe my eyes; my jaw nearly dropped to the floor. I stared intently at the slowly approaching object and walked to the guard about 10-15 meters away. The idiot was dozing off, leaning on his spear. I slapped him on the head.
"What's wrong? What happened?"
I pointed to the sea and said, "Look."
He rubbed his eyes first, squinting at where I was pointing. Then his eyes snapped open, and he rubbed them again. Still unable to believe it, he slapped himself hard. He pointed to the sea and said...
"Am I dreaming? There's a giant cat walking on the water, and on top of that cat, there's a person."