Mental Messages

A/N: Just wanted to say that I edited this map to highlight the current status of the opposing sides. Since the Game of Thrones opening credits had the map/scaled module of the major players across Westeros, it seemed fitting to me. Hope you enjoy this chapter.

Sansa Stark stared at the horizon from the bow of the boat, watching as the light of dawn started to illuminate the land. Her loyal canine watched on beside her, her tongue tasting the sea air as the redhead scratched the spot behind her ears.

It has been three days since she had arrived at Bear Island. After Lady Lyanna renewed her oaths to House Stark, they spend the time gathering the bannermen from across the island and making sure they were well supplied and armed. Then, they had received a raven from Jon at Castle Black, informing them not only that the elders of the Free Folk army had pledged their support but also that the negotiations with the Iron Bank representative went very well. It was even agreed to immediately give Jon a considerable part of the loan that was originally going to Stannis Baratheon so that he could feed his growing army.

Given the route that Jon advised most of the Free Folk clans to travel, Lady Lyanna rallied her bannermen to a small fleet of four ships and headed southeast through the Bay of Ice, towards the outer edges of the Northern Wolfswood; just outside the domain of House Glover. According to her brother's letter, trying to secure the support of that large House would be of vital importance in the coming days but that for now, it was better to regroup their two forces as close as they could from the mainland to their new stronghold at Bear Island. Finally, the letter explained that her new god planned to rejoin with the rest of the army soon.

Sansa sighed as she remembered that part. Even though it has only been almost a week, she missed her beloved brother terribly. And after their **** separation due to chaotic dangers these past few years, she didn't feel comfortable being away from him for long, passionate incestual relationship or not.

"Don't worry, you won't have to wait much longer," A sudden voice said in her head.

Sansa almost fell overboard at the unexpected message, her expressions startled as Lady started barking in alarm.

"Jon, is that you?" She asked silently, as she reassured her direwolf with her fingers.

"Yes," he said, the mental response sounding now more distinctively like his actual voice. "I literally just made a wish that would allow us to communicate mentally regardless of distance for a few minutes. Sorry, couldn't help but overhear your latest thoughts before I could get your attention."

Sansa blushed slightly but then shrugged it off. "It's fine. You already know how I feel about you. Also, you will be pleased to know that while Lady Lyanna was originally just going to pledge 62 bannermen from her small House once she renewed her oaths, I sweeten the pot enough to get her to pledge 20 more men to our cause."

"Good," Jon replied in an impressed tone. "I told you that you could handle this. But I am curious, how exactly did you make the deal more appealing?"

Sansa chuckled. "You were right, she is a strong young Lady with a no-nonsense attitude. Reminds of Arya, actually. So, I offered her one of Lady's future pups when the time comes."

The redhead could feel amusement coming from their mental connection. "Great idea. Well, done Sansa."

She sighed contently, pleased with how words of praise. "Thanks. Now tell me, are any other important news aside from the contents of your letter?"

"Well, I am also accompanying Wun Wun on a special mission beyond the Wall," Jon remarked as he beamed out his thoughts to her.

The redhead raised an eyebrow. "You sent the strongest, most intimidating warrior we have away from our army? I assume you had an important reason for that."

She could almost feel Jon nodding from the distance.

"I did," He replied. "Long story short, I used my new powers to learn the location of the last of the Giant tribes that chose not to follow the last King Beyond the Wall before the Battle of Castle Black. We are going to try to convince them to join us south of the Wall before the Night King's forces can hunt them down and turn the enormous beings into wights."

Sansa shivered as she imagined a small army of wight giants fighting against them. "Yeah, that would be bad. So, where was this refuge of the remaining giants?"

There was a brief pause before Jon answered.

"The North Grove," He said solemnly.

Her eyes widened, as memories flooded back in. "Wait what? I thought that place was just a legend from Old Nan's stories."

"A legend like the giants themselves?" Jon noted.

She tilted her head at that, considering.

"Point taken," The Stark girl acknowledged. "So, what's the story with that?"

"A very long and complicated one, actually," Jon said hesitantly. "To be honest, I don't really have time to explain all I learned right now because we are about to make contact. Suffice to say for now that the North Grove is a place of raw magical power that served as a bastion of the Children of the Forest during the last Long Night. But by now, it has become a safe haven to more than just the scattered remnants of the giant tribes. That said, it won't last; not with the White Walker forces so increasingly powerful. So, I will try to convince them to join us in a mutually beneficial alliance before the full might of the Army of the Dead lays siege at that hidden magical forest."

Sansa paused as she took it all in. Then she nodded even though he couldn't see her do that.

"Very well, I trust you," She said. "Just don't keep us waiting for too long. I suspect we will need your help to convince Lord Glover to support us."

"Believe me, Sansa, if all goes well, we will see each other sooner than you think," Her brother assured her "Just stay safe, and if our forces get ambushed, focus on sending me a mental message immediately. Now that I granted you that ability it will be much easier to remain in touch. See you soon, sister. I love you," He thought, beaming his feelings towards her in the process.

Sansa felt that and her heart raced before she smiled warmly, sharing all the affection and passion for her beloved brother that she could visualize.

And the strain of missing him began to wane.

A/N: For those that aren't aware, the North Grove is a magical location introduced in the Game of Thrones Telltale video game. That said, I am going to be explaining away some things from it through fan theories and other conclusions because a) it appears a continuation of that plotline won't be released by now and b) by the time the content we did got ended, it was about a season a half before the current events of my story began, around halfway through S6. So, I am assuming some things must have changed in the time since. And yes, for those that have been participating in the contest, that is the location where Jon will gain his next in-universe magical boon. So, if you have any new guesses, last chance to try with this chapter's comment section.

Finally, while not strictly necessary, I would still recommend anyone that was a fan of the Game of Thrones show at some point to check out the Telltale game. It has some of the greatest things that made the earlier seasons so interesting, with even less plot armor among characters so you feel the tension rise even further. If you can't play it, know that there are many playlists of the cutscenes without commentary on youtube, depending on whether you want to see someone pick good or bad choices more often than not.

I hope you enjoyed this new update. Until next time.