elfon

TWL Chapter - 85

My veins burned like they had just been stuffed with shards of glass.

But even that was nothing compared to the agony I felt in my eyes.

My vision went dark but I was still conscious.

The only reason for that was because I had made myself incapable of losing consciousness. It had seemed like a smart idea at the time, considering all the idiotic situations I kept throwing myself into.

It didn’t feel so smart now. Staying awake through this kind of torment was… not f...

TWL Chapter - 84

The Creator had entrusted her with a new task.

He had asked her to build his nest.

Not a simple shelter, but a monument that would pierce the heavens, rise above the clouds, and endure for eternity.

She accepted the honor without question.

And with it, he had granted her a gift.

An endless, tireless swarm, bound to her every whim. Creatures that could hollow out mountains in their sleep.

She wasted no time.

She commanded her swarm to scour the land, c...

TWL Chapter - 83

Sandor was dead. 

He was sure of it. 

The idiot struggling in his grasp had definitely gotten both of them killed. He just didn’t know it yet.

Sandor had given the little shit too much credit apparently. 

No, this was still partially his fault. He should’ve stopped him before he ever stepped inside the clinic.

What he hadn’t seen coming was that the idiot would walk in and immediately try to cut the head off the mage’s lover.

He hadn�...

TWL Chapter - 82

Ned sat alone in the godswood, staring at the carved faces on the weirwood trees, contemplating everything that had been happening recently. Everyone had come to an agreement that they were going to send a group of no more than ten across the Wall—Benjen would lead them, along with one other from the Night’s Watch.

That left eight slots open.

Oberyn had insisted on going despite all the warnings. No one else seemed to have much of a problem with that, surprisingly. The rest w...

TWL Chapter - 81

Cersei was livid.

He had forgotten her.

She had seen it in his eyes—that moment of recognition followed by annoyance, as if she were nothing more than an inconvenient interruption to his day. 

He had easily dismissed her after everything he had done to her. After she had spent every waking moment with his face burned into her head, those dark eyes haunting her dreams and nightmares alike. After she had begged—begged—the Queen of the Seven Kingdom...

TWL Chapter - 80

This was not good.

What the hell was Cersei doing here?

And why, of all people, was she talking to Freya!

Stay calm, El. You can still salvage this.

Before I could figure out how I was going to do that, Freya called out, “Hey, El. Glad you’re back. You’ve got a patient who’s insisting on seeing you—and no one else.”

“Oh, great. I mean… sure.” The words came out too fast. “I’ll handle it. You can get back to whatever you wer...

TWL Chapter - 79

“What exactly are we dealing with?” It was Robert who asked that. I took a breath, and looked for the right words to convey the seriousness of the issue. 

“What you are dealing with… is a creature made of ice, commanding an army of the undead…

It has been waiting since the last time he was pushed back, some eight thousand years ago—waiting and growing. Every living thing that dies north of the Wall—man, woman, child, animal—rises again to fight for him. They d...

TWL Chapter - 78

This had to be the most entertaining afternoon Tyrion had experienced in months.

Watching Jaime gawk at everything was priceless. His brother—always so composed—looked like a man trying to solve a puzzle with half the pieces missing.

"Not the frozen wasteland you were expecting?" Tyrion asked, unable to keep the amusement from his voice as Jaime nearly walked into a merchant's cart while staring at a group of Tyroshi traders.

Jaime recovered with his usual speed, flashin...

TWL Chapter - 77

Varys moved through the Red Keep's corridors silently. The castle felt empty these days, echoing with the absence of its usual loud inhabitants.

Poor Pycelle. The old fool had spent his final days demanding justice for the massacre that had happened at the Citadel, only to discover that staircases could be surprisingly lethal when one's neck met them at the wrong angle.

‘Such tragic accidents,’ Varys mused. ‘Though whether the mage's hand guided that fall or someone simply d...

El

TWL Chapter - 76

Jaime did not like the cold. Especially when it was supposed to be the height of summer.

The trip was something he'd endured rather than enjoyed—at least he was going to see Tyrion after a long time. So he was quite happy to see the castle of Winterfell up close.

Cersei was still furious with him for some slight he couldn't remember. It left him with nothing much to do except ride in silence and occasionally entertain the king. The journey had been insufferably dull.

He wa...

TWL Chapter - 75

Catelyn had never felt so overwhelmed.

Usually the upkeep of the castle was a responsibility she handled with practiced ease—but lately, with the number of highborn guests staying at Winterfell, her work had increased tenfold. That wasn't even considering how many more would arrive in the coming days.

With the royal procession due to arrive any day now, preparations had consumed her every waking moment. Rooms needed cleaning, supplies needed stocking, and the household staff req...

TWL Chapter - 74

Robert couldn't believe how slowly the journey was progressing. Days stretched into weeks, the royal procession crawling northward like a wounded snake, picking up strays along the way.

Was this entire journey unnecessary as everyone around him kept insisting? Maybe…  but he was the king—even though it didn't feel like it most of the time—and he had decided to go North to see his friend and convince him to come help run the kingdom.

If he was being honest with himself, ...

TWL Chapter - 73

Daenerys—or Emilia as she was now called—still hadn't fully come to terms with her sudden change in circumstances. Most days felt like a dre

Daenerys—or Emilia as she was now called—still hadn't fully come to terms with her sudden change in circumstances. Most days felt like a dream, like she might wake up any moment to find herself back in Pentos, about to marry Khal Drogo.

The thought alone sent a shiver through her spine as she put those nightmares out of her mind and f...

TWL Chapter - 72

The moment they were alone in their chambers, Ellaria turned to Oberyn, her dark eyes filled with curiosity.

"That was quite unlike you," she said, watching him closely.

Oberyn laughed, pouring himself a generous cup of Dornish Red. "How so, my love?"

"You're not typically one to dismiss tales of the supernatural so readily," she said, moving to stand beside him. "Especially not when we've seen our share of unexplainable things in our travels."

Oberyn took a deep drink...

TWL Chapter - 71

The great hall remained suspended in silence after El's departure, his warning hanging in the air.

It was Tyrion who finally broke the tension with a dry chuckle. "I don't think I've seen him that angry before. Congratulations, Prince Oberyn. You've managed to offend perhaps the most powerful man in Westeros."

Oberyn raised an eyebrow, seemingly unperturbed. "So you're telling me you believe that the Others exist and are marching towards the Wall with an army of wights?" His tone ...

TWL Chapter - 70

Ned sat with his family having dinner, the food on his plate was growing cold as his mind kept drifting back to El's revelations from days ago. His eyes stayed on his brother, who had arrived just in time for dinner looking haggard and grim. The children had practically ambushed him in the courtyard, bombarding him with questions before he could even reach the castle.

That was why he had been pushing off on doing anything about dire news that he had received.

Still he had been wai...

TWL Chapter - 69

"Well, that was smoother than expected," I said, scanning the chamber to confirm nothing was on fire. 

Teleportation magic was still new enough that a bit of paranoia felt justified. "No explosions, no dimensional rifts, and everything seems like where it should be."

"This is who you ran off to get?" A familiar ethereal voice echoed through the chamber.

"Yes, now be nice. Daenerys, this is Vaylara, my magic tutor." I gestured between them. "Vaylara, I'm sure you guessed...

TWL Chapter - 68

Daenerys sat stiffly atop the wooden platform, acutely aware of every breath, every slight movement she made. Her new husband, the imposing Khal Drogo, had his attention focused on something in the distance while he barked commands to his bloodriders in their harsh tongue.

Just below them, she could hear her brother's increasingly agitated voice as he spoke with Illyrio. Though they tried to keep their voices low, Viserys' frustration carried clearly to her ears.

"When?" he demand...

TWL Chapter - 67

Ned slumped in his chair, the weight of recent news pressing down on him like a physical burden. Just when he thought he had enough on his plate managing the growing influence of Winterfell, a raven's message had shattered any hope of peace.

Jon Arryn was dead. The man who had been his foster father, was gone. And now Robert, in what passed for wisdom these days, had decided to drag half the kingdom north.

He knew exactly why. The position of Hand of the King would be offered, and...

TWL Chapter - 66

The Night King watched the anomaly's retreat with something approaching curiosity. Such power, such raw potential - and yet it chose to run away? 

The anomaly had done something unprecedented, not just rejecting his magic but seemingly growing stronger from what should have been a fatal blow.

Intriguing.

The method of escape proved even more fascinating than the retreat itself. The frozen ground had split open like a wound in reality, revealing a creature that ...

TWL Chapter - 65

I didn't stay behind to watch the fallout; I was practically dead on my feet. I had to fix everyone's retinas before they went blind and heal any radiation damage they had. 

Waiting for the shockwave to hit wasn't the smartest decision, but it was something I wouldn't regret.

I practically collapsed onto my bed once I reached my room, my mind feeling like it had been put through a blender. 

Using however many parallel thought processes I had seemed like a brilliant...

TWL Chapter - 64

My first order of business was to stop everyone inside from attacking the fleshy walls, as the wildlings had apparently decided that being inside a giant worm, no matter how comfortable, warranted an immediate violent response.

"Would you stop trying to hack your way out?" I sighed, positioning myself between them and the pulsing biomechanical tissue. "First of all, it wouldn't work. Second, Paul's rather sensitive about people stabbing his insides."

"You named this beast Paul?" Y...

TWL Chapter - 63

Tormund was having the time of his life. He had fought wights before, but never like this. Whatever magic the mage had cast on him, he would have to ask for it again. All his life he had known cold, but now the warm fires seemed to ease aches he hadn't even known he had.

The effect on the wights was something else entirely. Brief contact with the flames was all it took for them to completely disintegrate, leaving nothing behind. But gods, he loved the way they exploded when he crushed t...

TWL Chapter - 62

This wasn't what she had planned at all. That fucking Tully bitch had ruined everything.

If she had wanted to kill her husband, why did she have to pick now of all times? 

She had been carefully making the Hand sicker, hoping no one would notice. The Hand of the King getting ill would definitely draw attention, especially since he was also the king's foster father.

If he had gotten sick enough, the mage would have certainly been summoned to King's Landing and then... we...

TWL Chapter - 61

Ned sometimes cursed his brother. 

Not out of malice - gods no - but because if Brandon had used his head instead of letting his temper rule him, things might have been different. His brother's headstrong march to King's Landing, demanding justice from a mad King... Ned understood the righteous anger that drove him. How could he not? 

But understanding didn't change the fact that Brandon's rash actions, however justified, had cost him his life and thrust Ned into a posit...

TWL Chapter - 60

I hadn't moved a muscle, but everyone watching knew I was responsible for what had just happened. The wildlings' faces went from anticipation to a mix of fear and awe.

Good - that's exactly the reaction I'd been hoping for.

It was a neat little trick I'd recently developed to get around my limitation of needing touch to use my powers. I'd created what were essentially flesh-eating bacteria that remained tethered to me, moving around like an invisible cloud that I could control wit...

TWL Chapter - 59

It didn't take long before we encountered our stalkers. 

I sensed them up ahead lying in wait and even Benjen seemed to have noticed a few moments later.

"There's an ambush waiting ahead," he murmured, just loud enough for me to hear.

I shrugged. "I know. Let's see what they want."

We continued forward openly, making no attempt to hide our approach. 

As we entered a clearing, figures emerged from th...

TWL Chapter - 58

The gate creaked open slowly, revealing the vast field of snow beyond. Benjen and I sat atop our horses, ready to embark on our quest to catch ourselves an ice-type Pokémon. Well, a White Walker, but same difference, right?

As soon as the gate was fully raised, we set off in the general direction towards Craster's Keep. 

I'd given both our horses some upgrades, including a few new tricks I'd figured out to help them adapt to the cold. They ate up the mi...

TWL Chapter - 57

A few minutes of exploring later, I found the place I was looking for: the library.

It was smaller than I'd expected, but that wasn't surprising given Castle Black's limited resources.

"Can I help you, young man?"

I turned to see an elderly man sitting in one of the corners of the library, his cloudy eyes seeming to look through me rather than at me. 

I recognized him immediately: Aemon Targaryen.

"How d...