WILOW-Ch.328: Wyvern Journey
Dreadfort Castle, Bolton Lands
POV of Bradon Stark
After living in Dreadfort for half a month, Lyra told Brandon that it was finally time for Meera and him to start his journey.
He did not know why he had to stay in the castle for a whole month, but Dreadfort was just as luxurious as Sansa had told him, and he had come to love this place as well.
He felt envious of Arya, who was allowed to do whatever she wished to do in this castle. And because she could still walk on her own two legs. But he also knew that there was no point in being jealous of Arya and that he had his own path to walk in life.
The next day, he and Meera were taken outside Lundenhold to an ample open space and told to wait.
An hour later, a large wyvern flew up to them, and both he and Meera waited for it to land.
In the past half month, he had seen the wyverns fly around the castle more than a few times and had heard that they were controlled by the skinchangers named Varamyr and Orell, who were tied to their back on saddles.
This was the first time he was seeing a wyvern up close, and it looked every bit as scary as those rumors said.
That said, he couldn't help but want to touch the marvel in front of him.
The wyvern looked at them, and its eyes went white for a moment before returning to normal.
Then the wyvern screeched at them before the man lying limp on its back woke up.
He was a small man with a crooked nose and a balding head. But despite his appearance, no one would dare deny that this man was one of the strongest skinchangers under Lord Domeric's command.
"Lyra." The man said in a gruff voice, "These two the brats?" he asked.
Lyra nodded, "Yes. Lord Domeric wants you to bring them to Craster's Keep. Don't keep him waiting for too long."
The man snorted and then looked at him and Meera.
"A cripple and a girl. He wants some bait for the wolves or something?" the man asked.
"That's none of your business, Varamyr," Lyra said with a frown. The man snarled at her before he let out a scoff.
"Help him climb behind me." He said and pointed at the two saddles behind him, "You girl. You'll make sure that the cripple doesn't slide off the wyvern during flight."
"I have a name." He said, hating how his voice came out weaker than he intended.
"Cripple. That's what your name is now, boy." Varamyr said and then frowned. The man looked at him a bit longer after that and then smiled.
"That said, you do have some potential to be a powerful Skinchanger. If you don't die in the True North, then come to me. Who knows, maybe you'll even be able to control a wyvern of your own by the time I'm done with you."
He simply nodded as two Bolton guards helped him up on his saddle.
Then Meera climbed behind him and tied the safety belts around both of them.
"Are you done, girl?" Varamyr asked.
"Yes," Meera said, and the man nodded and tied a few more safety belts to keep him steady on his saddle before he went limp, and the Wyvern spread its wings.
Then, with a few steps and a few flaps of its wings, they were in the air.
The first few hours of flying were fun. He would admit that.
But then it got boring as he had nothing to do but look at the similar scenery over and over again.
He wished he could talk to Meera and spend time with her, but the wind choked away many of the words they tried to say.
To communicate intelligibly, they either had to shout or lean close to each other's ears.
And no matter how much he wanted to, he didn't have the courage to constantly lean in and whisper in Meera's ear, approaching her.
If he weren't a cripple, he might try to court her, but he knew that in his current state, no girl would be interested in him. And he didn't want to get carried away with impossible dreams and end up disappointed.
So, he preferred to spend his wyvern journey in the cold weather, observing his surroundings.
At least the leather clothes and helmet that both he and Meera wore kept them from freezing in the cold.
They flew in the air for a whole day and night, except for a few short breaks.
The next morning, they crossed the Wall.
It was just as large as they had heard in the stories, but they were able to fly above it without any problem.
A few hours after that, the wyvern started to fly down, and it finally landed in a large clearing some distance from a series of tents that he realized belonged to the men that Lord Bolton brought with him on this expedition.
The Bolton men came and helped him and Meera off the Wyvern.
He didn't have his wheelchair, so he had to be carried by one of the men.
It was humiliating, but something that he had already come to terms with.
Meera's legs were sore from sitting still in her saddle for a long time, but she was at least able to walk on her own.
Varamyr also climbed down from the wyvern and grumbled a few times before following them.
They were taken to the most enormous tent, where they met the man named Walton, who told them to wait for Lord Bolton.
Meera removed the helmet and gave him a small smile.
He could tell that she was nervous around so many strangers, but was putting on a brave front.
"Well… we're here at last." She said, and he nodded.
He had no idea where they were or where he needed to go from here. But his journey to become a Greenseer has finally begun.
And who knows, maybe if he actually managed to become a Greenseer at the end of this journey, he could find a way to heal his legs.
Or at least a way to move around comfortably.
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Next Chapters' Name:
Ch.329: Returning the Favor
Ch.330: Secret Passage
Ch.331: Infiltrating the Eyrie