Arrival at White Harbor

A/N: Well, enjoy the first chapter on the biggest settlement north of the Neck. And the harvest of some sideplots I seeded in Story Arc Two: Prophetic Quake. Have fun!

A few hours past noon, Jon Stark had decided to press on to White Harbor so that he could try to reach the city before it got dark. After instructing Howland Reed to keep his bannermen on high alert, the young king informed him that an army of knights from the Vale will be traveling through the Neck any day now so that they can regroup with his own forces in the Northern Wolfswood. So, he assured him they were authorized to cross the marchlands but also specified that if any Freys managed to escape the Twins and fled North, they were to be captured but not killed until Jon could make certain that they had participated in the butchery that was the Red Wedding or not. His late father's old friend assured him he would take care of it and wished him well on his travels right as he tied the chest with the signed letters of Robb's will to the saddle of his mighty she-dragon.

Then he had taken off towards the mouth of the White Knife, where the river meets the sea. Jon had taken note that the farther north they traveled, the faster his Ice Dragon went, further reinforcing his conviction that she feels more energized in colder climates. In fact, he actually noticed her grin at one point where the winter wind blew directly upon them, her tongue tasting the air. Relived that she was feeling better, Jon focused on leading her through the clouds but even then, he was actually surprised when her increased speed allowed them to reach the only true city in the North before sunset.

Deciding it would be prudent to not accidentally terrify House Manderly's subjects, he landed slowly and deliberately on the massive, 50 feet stone from the outer harbor that, if he recalled correctly from his lessons with Maester Luwin back at Winterfell, was known as the Seal Rock. He raised both his hands above his head in a placating gesture so that the crossbowmen and other soldiers from the ringfort of the massive rock would understand he was looking for trouble.

He ended up raising his eyebrow, however, when they lowered their bows immediately and knelt.

"The King in the North has arrived!" One of the soldiers cheered. "Hail to the King!"

"HAIL TO THE KING!" They echoed with a passion.

"Well, clearly they had been expecting me," Jon thought to himself as he nodded towards them. "I imagine I have Blackfish to thank for that."

Outwardly, he focused on the most senior man of the garrison, who had the air of command about him.

"Thank you for the warm welcome," He said with a light smile. "I imagine Lord Manderly has been expecting me then. And I have important business to discuss with him. Do I have safe passage to enter the city on my dragon?"

"Actually," The commanding officer said slowly, his gaze still focusing on the enormous winged reptile, "Lord Manderly sent word that if you arrived here first, as seemed most likely due to the wide landing area for your dragon, then it would be best if you could wait until he sent for you. You see, after we received word from Riverrun about your campaign to liberate the Riverlands, our liege decided the time was right to finally get rid of all the known Bolton-Frey soldiers and loyalists that were brought to White Harbor to coerce his compliance after the Red Wedding," He explained. "It has taken most of the day but last I heard they were nearly done with the last block of resistance. They probably already saw the dragon in the distance but we will send word anyway." He added before turning to a young soldier that looked like a squire. "You! Let Lord Manderly know that the king is waiting!"

The short man rushed to obey and was soon out of sight when he crossed the stairs leading down. Jon scratched his chin at the explanation. He wasn't expecting the Riverlords to swear on their honor that Jon was now their king as well as the North's, at least not so soon but he supposed he had told them he was going to White Harbor after stopping on Greywater Watch. And if they had crushed the traitors among them then he supposed that accelerated his plans for this region. Still, he would have appreciated being informed by his bannermen.

Regardless, he soon had reason to snap out of his thoughts because the last person he expected to see suddenly climbed to the top of the Seal Rock through the stairs. Jon blinked rapidly.

"Sam?!" He asked in shock. "What are you doing here?"

"Long story," His best friend from the Night's Watch said with an awed look as he stared at the Ice Dragon. "The short version is that an Archmaester wanted to travel North to offer his services to Winterfell and offered to take me on as his apprentice if I went with him as his assistant. Good to see you. And my, that's one amazing beast. Looks a bit too similar in color to White Walkers for my liking, though."

"Good to see you too," He said slowly as he analyzed his words. "And don't worry about that, I have it on good authority that the Ice Dragons and the Army of the Dead are NOT on good terms right now. But what Archmaester are you talking about?"

"That would be me," Replied a slower newcomer from the top of the stairs.

Jon turned around and saw a short and squat elderly man covered in furs, with white hair above his head and also coming out of his clearly long broken nose. He was holding a very long rod with his large hands that, to Jon's immense surprise, was actually made of Valyrian Steel. A ring of the same precious and rare metal was around one of his fingers and in his other hand he was carrying a book that was hugged to his torso.

The man took a moment to grin at the Ice Dragon with a look of absolute delight before he remembered that he was expected to bow, which he hurried to do.

"Archmaester Marwyn, most senior expert of the Higher Mysteries at the Citadel of Oldtown, at your service, my king," The man declared.

Jon's eyes widened, as he remembered his lessons from Luwin. "You are one of the few Maesters that specialized in magic?"

"And the most experienced at the craft among at the present, if I say so myself," He replied. "I am the only one that has managed to reach the status of Archmaester of the Higher Mysteries in decades, after all."

"Huh," Jon murmured, interest in his tone as he made an educated guess in his mind. "I imagine one of your magical experiments guided you to the decision to come here, then."

The elderly man chuckled. "Indeed. But that's a long story for an occasion when your schedule is less full. Suffice to say for now that I am volunteering my services as the first Grand Maester of your reign if you'll have me, your Majesty."

Jon paused at that, realizing it would certainly be more practical to have a Grand Maester that took magic seriously, given the nature of the threats they will soon face. Still, he took a moment to look at his old friend, who nodded enthusiastically.

"Well, I can hardly turn you down without letting you make your case, especially if my good friend Samwell vouches for you," The young king replied in a diplomatic tone. "You may follow me to New Castle when it's safe to travel and we can discuss our business after I am done with my meeting with Lord Manderly. Agreed?"

"Of course, your Grace," Marwyn replied with a wide smile. "Now, do you think it would be safe for me to approach this magnificent magical creature? I have always wanted to travel to Lands of Always Winter in search of one but the opportunity never presented itself."

Before Jon could reply, movement caught his attention at the stairs again. He turned his head and he saw an attractive looking woman with hair as dark as her eyes and smooth skin the tone of honey. She moved arm above her head, mayhaps to help focus her gaze on the regal she-dragon before her.

Then, her smile became as radiant as the silver necklace she was wearing.

"Oh my, what a sight to behold!" She said in obvious glee.

The dragonrider raised an eyebrow at that and Sam turned to look at her in surprise. "Sarella? What are you doing here? I thought you left with the crew of the Feathered Kiss this morning."

"And miss the opportunity to see a legendary Ice Dragon up close?" She asked him with a look of incredulity. "Ridden by a King that will surely become a source of inspiration to bastards everywhere? Are you kidding me?"

Then she curtseyed eagerly and gave him a big, big smile. "I am Sarella Sand, your Grace. Daughter of Prince Oberyn of House Martell. It is an honor to meet you, sir."

The secret god, was silent for a moment, never having considered before that his ascension from bastard to King of the North and the Trident could make him popular with the downtrodden since his background would make him relate to them more. But before long, he returned her smile with warmth.

"It's always good to meet one of my own, especially when they are as pleasant as you," He replied with a respectful nod. "So, I take it you traveled with Sam and Archmaester Marwyn on the ship that took them to White Harbor?"

Marwyn chuckled. "Sarella here had been posing as a young man at the Citadel for about a year so that she could properly study within its great halls. But her cover was blown right around the time we were leaving for White Harbor, on her mother's ship of all vessels. So, she had to flee across the sea to evade an unpleasant time. A shame really. She managed to forge three links of her chain in such a short amount of time. Not a small feat."

The Dornish woman turned to the elderly man and sighed. "It's good to see at least some Maesters realize women can have potential too, if given the chance to get a good education. But yeah, a shame. I was looking forward to finishing a full chain before dropping the act in front of the stunned faces of the conclave members during my initiation ceremony. Oh well, I am still young. Maybe another time."

It was then Jon's turn to chuckle. "You are an intriguing woman," He said earnestly.

She beamed at him for that. Before anyone else could say anything more, however, the messenger that the commander of the garrison had sent returned to the top of the rock. He took a moment to catch his breath, then bowed before him.

"Lord Manderly is ready to see you, your Grace," He explained. "He waits for you at Merman's Court."

Jon nodded in response, then paused for a moment as he looked across the bay from the tall rock formation to the nearby city, before turning to his old friend, the prospective Grand Maester, and the potentially useful contact with House Martell that happened to be pleasant company.

"Oh, what the hell," He thought to himself as he silently made a quick wish to expand the length of his saddle in secret.

Then, he placed a hand on the suddenly bigger riding chair and grinned. "I have room for the three of you. Want a short ride across the harbor?"

"YES!" Sarella shouted immediately, her expression a visage of joy.

The faces of Marwyn and Samwell were clearly quite excited as well. Jon chuckled.

"Then hurry up, I shouldn't keep the Lord of one of the mightiest northern houses waiting."

A/N: And as I hinted back in story arc 2, Archmaester Marwyn has decided to join the party. And for those that don't know, Sarella Sand, a character from the books, one of Oberyn Martell's 8 daughters. She just isn't one of the 4 he had with Ellaria Sand, so she wasn't a part of the conspiracy against House Martell on the show. Plus she is technically Jon's 5th cousin from his Targaryen side of the family tree. He just doesn't know that yet XD. Now, what could that possibly mean for the future of a story like this one :P

Heh, would like to read your theories on the matter. Regardless, she is usually described as a bit darker-skinned than I portrayed her here but she was the most fitting porn actress I could find, gif-wise, that would best work on some of my future plans. Apologies if that offended anybody. It wasn't my intention if so. Simply a matter of making my plotline easier and therefore keeping the pace of my updates on the faster end.

Anyway, for now, know that there are more surprises ahead on White Harbor. Hope you enjoyed the chapter and until next time!