+POV: Terrence Celtigar
Terrence Celtigar stood on the deck of the ship, the salty wind lashing against his face.
His eyes shone with excitement as he contemplated the magical horn he held tightly in his hand. From the day he had found it in his family's treasury, that artifact had become his greatest treasure. With it, he had learned to summon a kraken to crush his enemies and sow terror across the seas.
The only drawback was the price. Keeping the creature summoned drained his mental energy constantly, as if the ocean itself demanded a tribute for every second of its existence.
But that had changed.
Since the appearance of the red comet in the skies of Westeros, the horn had begun to vibrate on its own, establishing a strange and profound resonance. He no longer needed to feed the summoning with his mind. The kraken remained there, obedient and eternal, as if the world itself were sustaining it.
Terrence smiled.
His gaze then shifted to the enormous Valyrian steel axe resting near the mast.
Crab Pincer.
The ancestral weapon of House Celtigar. One of the few relics his lineage had managed to preserve from the days of ancient Valyria. When he found it, it had been forgotten for years in the family vault, gathering dust and silence. An unforgivable waste.
The problem had always been its weight. No one had been able to wield it… no one except him.
His golden finger, the product of the supersoldier serum, made the weight of Valyrian steel little more than a minor inconvenience.
When the ship finally docked, Terrence was the first to disembark. Behind him, a hundred guards descended quickly and formed a disciplined line. Very close by, another twenty men advanced with effort, carrying a huge sealed crate.
It didn't take long for him to encounter a group moving toward the pier, led by a woman with a fierce bearing and an untamed gaze.
Upon seeing him, Yara Greyjoy's eyes widened in surprise.
"Terrence!"
"My dear wife. I didn't expect you to still remember me. I feel truly flattered."
Yara's expression was hard to describe, a mixture of disbelief and annoyance.
"Why are you here?"
Terrence smiled calmly.
"Do I need a reason to accompany my dear fiancée?"
"Tsk. Unless you're a beautiful woman, stay away from me," she replied disdainfully.
"Wow, we have so much in common. I also love beautiful women. It seems we're the perfect couple."
Before Yara could react, Terrence stepped closer, wrapped his arms around her, and kissed her. The embrace lasted longer than she would have admitted out loud.
When they separated, Yara snorted.
"Enough jokes. Tell me what you're here for. I thought you were too busy promoting your religion to have time to visit me."
"Hey, don't say that. You know how much I love you. I'll always have time for you."
"Oh, yeah? I still remember the first day you arrived at the Iron Islands to propose marriage to me. The first thing you did was say that our beliefs were wrong, that we worshipped the Drowned God incorrectly and that his true name was Shuma-Gorath. Then you brought a bunch of grotesque statues and handed them out all over the island saying they were gifts."
How could I forget? Terrence thought, holding back a proud smile.
The first step to winning over your people was using your god and presenting myself as his champion. It helped quite a bit that I could summon the kraken, the very symbol of House Greyjoy.
To use the religion of the Drowned God I had to change many things in my favor. Even his name… and his form.
I was tempted to use the name and appearance of Cthulhu, but it wasn't a good idea to risk actually summoning him. If my time travel was possible, then that being could also reach this world.
Shuma-Gorath was safer. An octopus, a god of the abyss… and he also came from the same world as my golden finger.
"Now that you mention the statues," he said out loud, pointing at the enormous crate carried by his men, "I remembered that I brought a special gift."
Yara frowned, clearly on the verge of losing her patience.
"But this one is different," he added quickly. "It's made of gold."
"Aaah…" Yara sighed, exhausted.
"Do you remember what I told you the last time we saw each other?" Terrence asked, quickly changing the subject.
"Of course I remember. Something about the god Shuma-Gorath speaking to you in dreams, that the true dragon had returned to the world, that the Iron Throne no longer belonged to Robert, and that the reign of the Baratheons was doomed."
Yara remembered the confident smile Terrence had worn as he spoke that prophecy.
"And you see, I was right. My words are coming true."
His confidence was not feigned. Terrence knew the future; he was a time traveler, and the plot was on his side.
"I'm here because our moment… the one we've been waiting for for so long… has finally arrived."
Yara saw naked ambition burning in his eyes.
"Come with me," she finally said. "I'll take you to see my father."
Terrence smiled sideways.
"But first… we could celebrate with a beautiful girl."