Chapter 18: *Spoiler*

During their journey back, no one spoke of what they just experienced. It was like there was a silent agreement between everyone not to mention what happened. After all, it is not like every day you come face to face with the dead.

They had long laid to rest the men who had died at first they were going to bury them in the snow, but Jon remembered one of old Nan's stories on how the white walkers would raise the dead. Thus they burned the bodies, leaving nothing but smoldering ashes and bones.

Still Jon's mind just couldn't leave it alone.

This journey was indeed something else, they not only found some Valyrian weapons and some old Valyrian artifacts. But they got more than they bargained for, a lot more.

Not only had he found living dragon eggs which were not stone like most eggs are these days were after the fall of Valeria as he could somehow feel the life pumping in them. He also met a dragon, a creature which has been thought to be long extinct. Jon wasn't sure if it was one of those Fire Dragons of old that the Targaryen came to Westeros with as he sort of knew deep down it was something entirely different.

Furthermore they came upon such horrors in those ice fields that he would never forget what he saw. No wonders the free folk never wander as far north in the Land of Always Winter, the only things that live there are creatures and monsters from legends and myths long forgotten.

"We are almost at Eastwatch-by-the-Sea," his nuncle announced to the group. They had long deviated from their path a long time ago, he was pretty sure there was still that fear in everyone that they were being followed by those unearthly creatures.

So their path took them down long winding roads as they stuck close to the coast of the Shivering seas. They didn't even take the chance to stop by Whitetree, so this would be indeed the very last time he would see Ygritte for a long time or never again!

It was all his fault that his heartache right now, the two of them were of two different worlds and they each had their own duties to their family and village. There was no way this could have even worked out to begin with.

"Nuncle," Jon called out as he rode right up next to his father's little brother, "should we talk about what we have seen up there?" he asked, clearly mentioning the Land of Always Winter.

"Best if we never do," the older Stark replied as he continued to look on ahead.

"But nuncle how can we just flippantly ignore what we saw and experienced with our own eyes. We need to warn the others, this can't be good, white walkers roaming the land... Do you think the Long Night is coming, will this be the last stand of the realms of men?"

"No boy, we will do none of that," the man shook his head as he finally turned to face him. "To begin with, no one would believe us to begin with, they will all think we just went mad up here. Best we keep to ourselves what we saw, there will come no good from shouting about this from the highest tower!"

"But..." Jon repeated himself.

"No buts," the older Stark shook his head firmly. Then softening his tone a little bit, "however we will tell my brother of this shocking new revelation if he would believe us in the first place and not send us to the Citadel to be checked on by the Maester if we are sane.

However, this news won't be going south to the King or the other Great House nor will our Bannerman know of this, or else they will doubt our sanity which leads to doubt in our ability to rule! Do you understand?"

"Yes," Jon nodded his head, this looked to be the only safe option they had. However he had one small complaint, "What about the Night's Watch?" Jon asked and before his nuncle could respond and cut his idea down, he hurriedly spoke up.

"All I am saying is we tell the Lord Commander of the Night's Watch what we saw, not all the black brothers, you know. You and your black brothers can bare witness to what you say, thus we have a man in charge who knows of the coming threat and could prepare the best he could."

"You make a good point," his nuncle rubbed his beard. "Alright, I will tell Jeor Mormont myself, but no one else got it?"

"Got it," Jon nodded his head, "I will speak to the men to keep quiet about this as well!"

Jarlaf and a black brother named Mance Rayder were the only one who didn't take the news of vows of silence well. Jarlaf wanted to warm all the wildling tribes, and Mance wanted to warm both the free folk and the Westerosi, both he and his nuncle saw no problem with the former as the free folk would be the first to be struck by the Others and it would be for the best for them to be prepared.

However they couldn't comply with the latter, thus they had to drag back the black brother screaming and yelling to the wall while they split up from Jarlaf who was going to convey the warning to all the tribes beyond the wall.

Finally, after a couple more days of traveling, they reached the easternmost castle of the Night's Watch.

Looking back at the way they come from, Jon wondered about this land and all the secrets it held. There was so much he had learned about the wildling tribes and clan during his short time beyond the wall and he knew he only scratched the surface.

Then there was the Land of Always Winter where legends and myths roam, as the wildling also put it there you could find Giants and even children of the forest. He wondered if that was true, but with the journey he had, he kind of didn't doubt it.

Maybe one day he would visit this White Woods that the Giants and the Children of the Forest call home.

Entering the black castle, they were greeted by the commander of the castle an iron born by the name of Cotter Pyke. He had small, close-set eyes, a broken nose and a pox ravaged face. He greeted his nuncle curtly while Jon, on the other hand, looked out into the bay of seals, they were so far up that he could see for miles all around, and just as its namesake there were countless fat seals resting on the beach and the rock curtly near the shore.

"I want you to prepare a boat for my nephew here," his nuncle was speaking to the commander of the castle.

"What for?" the man asked.

"He will need to relay a message to the Lord Paramount!"

"What is this, a shipping lane?" the man scuffed.

Narrowing his eyes at the man, his nuncle uttered in a low tone, "Do you think that the Lord Commander would be happy to hear that you were the one getting in the way of his old Lord, mhmm? Do you think he would be very pleased with you, Cotter?"

Grumbling under his breath, the man finally complied, "Alright, he only get a fishing boat."

"Even though my nephew might be a bastard, he is the bastard of a Lord Paramount, I think he gets a bit more respect than a common fishing boat. He will be bringing with him a couple man so make it a cog!"

Turning away from the man, his nuncle came up to him. "I will be sending you on the quickest ship, you will have to be the first one to warn my brother. I will head to Castle Black to speak to the Lord Commander, then I will head south to Winterfell and I will bring with me all our stuff we gathered beyond the wall back home."

Nodding his head, Jon knew that there was a lot waiting for them at Castle Black, they have been sending a lot of stuff back there during their stay so at this point the place must be full to bursting.

"I will do as you say, nuncle," Jon nodded his head as the older man patted him on the back.

Jon headed to the Direwolves to see them off, he didn't know how they would do well in boats so he decided to send them off with his nuncle. When he got to them, Jon saw how Fafnir was panting with Fenrir looking over her. The white Direwolf was very near to giving birth any day now, and Jon wondered how many pups would be in her litter.

"I will see you two back home," Jon spoke to the Direwolves. He always saw the intelligence in the direwolves eyes and knew deep down they could understand him. "Can't wait to meet your litter," he smiled at Fafnir.

Then Jon saw Fafnir push Fenrir towards him with her muzzle and he furrowed his eyes as the two direwolves growled and barked at each other until finally Fenrir reluctantly came over to him. "You want Fenrir to come with me?" he asked the female dire wolf as he patted her head.

Jon watched as the white direwolf nodded her head, "but..." Jon began, but the direwolf rested one paw on his head as if saying don't worry.

"Alright," Jon chuckled as he patted the direwolf one more time and headed to the docks. "Don't worry," he said to the black direwolf as he and the men that his nuncle sent off with him got onboard to the ship that would be taking them home. "My nuncle would protect her with her life. Nothing would befall her at all."

The ship captain they were assigned to wasn't all that pleased that he had to cut short his stay here when he barely even got a crew assembled. He was a gruff vale's man that came all the way up here to make a shipment run assigned to him by a Bravossi merchant that the Night's Watch made a deal with for food stuff and clothing.

But Jon spent a few silvers his way and promised to help crew this ship along with his men.

It was back breaking stuff crewing a ship, the journey so far in the bay of seals wasn't too fun it was windy and the chilling winds sent cold deep in her bones along with the waters splashing on to the deck.

Nevertheless, Jon learned a lot from tieing a sailor's knot, to reading the stars, to even steering a ship and so much more. It was a journey that would be taking days as their final stop was Karhold then they would be making their way along the road past the Dredfort and towards Winterfell.

"A storm's a brewing," one day the captain announced as he allowed Jon to steer the ship while he sat back. "And it doesn't look like a good one!"

"I don't see anything," Jon voiced as he looked up at the clear blue morning sky. There was no hint of storm for him, but he knew Captian Dwan knew his stuff.

"Are we going to make it?" Jon then asked the more pressing matter. He was pretty sure having a storm come down your way out in sea wasn't good news.

"We will see," the man simply said as he put a pipe in his mouth.

As night approached the seas started getting turbulent as the ship was tossed about to every side, drk clouds now filled the sky as rain poured down like buckets. All hands were required at deck as no one get any rest time, Jon was helping the captain keep track of the night sky so they knew where they were heading, but it was difficult as there was barely any clearing to see the night sky.

"Hold on tight," the captain shouted as the boat rocked and bucked under the wind and waves of the storm.

"By the Old Gods," Jon heard a shout go up. "Look!"

Turning around, Jon's jaws nearly dropped when he saw what was coming their way. It was a wave a giant fuckin' wave the size of a castle ready to swallow them whole. At that moment Jon believe, oh yes he believed in what ever sea ridden god those ironborns believed in. This just couldn't be the making of the seas, but the gods.

"Hold on tight," the captain shouted.

Jon heard one of his men crying in despair beside the mainmast.

Jon did his best to hold on tight to whatever rigging was near him as the wave finally came upon them, the captain masterfully rode the fucking wave while chuckling madly.

Jon couldn't believe what his eyes were seeing as they rode on through the funnel like paasge of the wave. They were so fucking close to get swallowed up, but the ship kept on riding on.

Then there was a sudden eruption of water. Something... something very big came right out of the wave. It was ginormous as a sound he never heard before left its mouth almost like a moan and a keening noise.

It was greybacked as it strengthened its fins as it came flying out of the wave. It had rows of jagged sharp teeth

Jon wasn't sure when he whispered it, but his voice carried everywhere in the ship as he spoke, "Leviathan!"

Then the waters came crashing down on the ship as the creature slammed down on the sea below and Jon knew no more.

Title: Chapter 18: Shipwreck

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Map of beyond the wall: https://atlasoficeandfireblog.files.wordpress.com/2017/01/westeros-the-lands-beyond-the-wall.png

leviathan: https://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/File:Leviathan_by_KevinCatalan.jpg