The trill and knowledge of hunting your own prey was one of the most important aspect of the free folk culture.

I was an okay hunter, not all that good but not all that bad either. In my short nineteen years of living in this frozen hell, I've hunted my own share of dangerous game, some of my most brutal fights were with beast not with men and without a steel breastplate, most fights with a snow bear ended with the hunter's very much dead.

Any encounter with a shadowcat that doesn't start with you catching it off guard usually ended up with your spine crushed and you throat torn out. For such agile and stealthy creatures that hardly left tracks when they moved, they were heavier than they seemed when they pounced.

Great elks were deceptively passive and mellow creatures, right until they charge and slam into you with enough force to pulverize bones. Their antlers were not exactly for decorations either.

And if for some horrible reason you ran afoul of dierwolf pack… enough said.

What I'm trying to say is that there were no prey beyond the walls. Even the herbivores were known to kill hunters that were not careful. I have hunted my fair share of the creatures that roamed this far North, but compared to Ygritte, that was nothing.

This far north, few people were as good a hunter as Ygritte. she once hunted down a man that stole from our clan in the middle of a snowstorm. She came back a week later with a well-preserved head.

While she was not as well known for her strength in arms, I know for one that she had hunted everything short of a mammoth and that was because they were so rare this close to the shivering sea.

So, I was understandably surprised when she could not identify the tracks, we were following. Strange tracks that looked like the snow was stabbed with a spear. What started off as a leisurely hunt to unwind from the stress of stopping our great band of free folks from butting heads and breaking apart due to age old rivalries and grudges as old as the andal invasion.

(Although we were making headway in turning the bands of disjointed refugee free folks into a somewhat effective force and that was thanks to a combination of my reputation and Grokmar's reputation.) Turned to something else the moment I saw that glint in her eye.

A raised hand brought me out of my musings. We were surrounded my trees, snow and bushes and oh would you look at that more snow as usual. Ygritte holstered her bow and arrow, gave me a nod before scrambling up a tree.

I took out a hunting spear from the bandolier at my back, before testing the weight in my right hand while I waited for her to tell me what was in the clearing ahead. While my accuracy was nothing to brag about, nobody could doubt how effective my thrown projectiles that managed to hit were.

For the first time since we started our hunting Ygritte spoke and broke one of the most iron clad rule of hunting creatures that possessed better senses. "The hell is that"

That was not encouraging, few things startled Ygritte, not even the dead did nowadays.

Since she was not forthcoming with any more information, I decide to find out what was wrong.

Moving in a lol crouch, I froze in shock as I cleared the bushes and shrubs ahead and witnessed the battle ahead, six giant pale blue spiders against a juvenile mammoth that must have gotten separated from the herd.

Looking as tall as a direwolf and armored in darker shade of blue exoskeleton, what they lacked in strength they more than made up for in speed. Their fight with the mammoth was almost a work of art, moving with grace and cutting furrows into the mammoth.

It was death by a thousand cuts in every sense of the word. But still they hunted a mammoth and they were not easy prey. The mammoth staggered and an over eager spider went for its eyes, a tilt of its giant head and the spider was impaled on its tusk.

The other giant spiders learnt from that mistake and retreated and watched the mammoth as it entered its death throes. A few minutes later and it stopped kicking. The spiders moved towards it slowly, poking it a few times before try to drag it away.

Then my almost nonexistent stealth abilities failed me. Taking a step back to retreat, I stepped on a broken branch. It was so cliché that I stoped in shock to stare at the branch in bewilderment.

The giant ice spiders all froze as one, they didn't even look at my position but I knew they were aware of my presence. A gust of snow and soul chilling wind blew and blocked my vision for a second. That was all it took for them to disappear.

With the sudden drop in temperature, I moved into a low stance dropping the hunting spear as I used my left hand to grip the sheathe to steady it while my right lay on the hilt of dark sister at my waist ready to unsheathe it.

I could feel myself burn up, as whatever passive enchantment that lay in my blood fought against the effects of the cold. Keen eyes searched around futilely for the slightest sign of the giant spiders.

Two arrows struck out from above me to slam into the snow a few meters from me… a dying screech made me look close to discover it was one of the giant spiders that seemed to camouflage perfectly in the snowy terrain.

The remaining hidden spiders left their stealthy approach and charged me so fast that their legs didn't seem to sink into the snow. I let out a breath of air and waited for the first spider to reach me.

The first one reached me in seconds, a few meters away I pivoted to the side as dark sister blurred out of its sheathe.

It kept up its momentum for a few steps before realizing it left half its head behind before dropping.

The second came at me from the side, all speed and grace as it danced away from my swings, the fight was hard as my experience at fighting eight legged creatures were none existent, it was made harder as the third and forth came at me from behind and the left side as well forgetting about Ygritte.

She punished them for that, loosing three arrows into the one behind and slamming it into the ground with the force of the blow. The third spider changed direction and tried to charge the tree Ygritte was on.

I kicked the spider that was focused on me away before sheathing my sword and kicking my hunting spear up into my waiting hands, a split second later the spider was impaled and stuck halfway up the tree. The last spider jumped at my exposed back but I had not forgotten about it.

Spinning with the same movement, I raised my left arm and let the giant spider bite into the vambrace just as its whole weight slammed into me and tried to trip me. But the giant spider was far lighter than me even with its momentum.

Continuing my spin and ignoring the furrows it was digging into my breastplate with its barbed legs. I slammed it into another tree hard enough stun it and shatter its exoskeleton, before ripping out a dagger from the small of my back and drilling its sharp edge into soft underbelly, repeatedly.

Soft thuds behind me let me know of Ygritte's arrival "You have the worst luck brother" she japed as she walked up to me.

I turned to her and smiled even though I could see the worry in her eyes as she looked at where the spider's fangs managed to pierce through the vambrace with one of its fangs still lodged in.

"it's alright Ygritte, I've been bitten by worse". my smile turns to frown as I try to walk up to her and I stagger to a knee. Heart beating hard and lungs heaving as I try to draw in breath.

"It's poisoned" Ygritte gasped out with a as she rushed to me. I could tell my body was already fighting the poison, as I could feel my blood boil below my skin.

I tried to get to my feet again, but it seemed like whatever my body was doing to counter the poison, it was not doing it fast enough as my vision began to blur. I could feel Ygritte grab hold of me before plunging something sharp into my forearm and making an incision from my elbow to my wrist.

As I bleed out the poisoned blood, I could feel my vision clear up, using my other hand to wipe sweat soaked brows. I looked at the arm Ygritte was forcing blood out off in something close to shock as I noticed the colour was black blue.

A few mins later I felt like I had lost something, a sudden ache in my chest like I had a second heart that was just drained as the blood transited from a blue black to a vibrant shade of red that sizzled like acid as it dropped and melted the snow.

The sharp and familiar pain of a bone needle drew my attention back to my arm as I watched Ygritte stitch the incision on my arm close with practiced grace before wrapping the forearm in bandages.

"how do you feel" she asked as she looked up at me, "better than I was a few minutes ago".

"poisons don't drain out that fast and neither do poisoned people recover in minutes brother" she said as she looked me in the eyes softly.

Before I could give an excuse, she continues "I worry for you Angrod". "you keep secrets, bear strange knowledge and speak with even stranger people. Now you recover faster and bleed red that feels like liquid fire"

Words failed me as I look at her and try to figure out how much to tell her.

Her features hardened once more as she made an internal decision. "I would have words with this Bloodraven when we get back" Oh boy.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Our return to Hardhome was quick, the archers at the watchtowers looked us over before signally for the gates to be open, we were met first by Morald, my sister's pet project had a frown on his face as he saw my injuries.

"you guys are the first group that left the walls to come back at all" I frowned as I heard him, it didn't take a genius to figure out what other scouting teams and hunters might have fallen afoul off.

"Giant ice spiders the size of a dierwolf, like the tales spoke of" Ygritte replied. The sigh the boy let out made him sound older than he was. "It only gets worse doesn't it"

"It matters not, gather up the elite hunters, we will scour our surroundings, bring back who we can, burn who we can't and hunt down any of them close to Hardhome. I must leave you now brother, I have to restock on my arrows".

"Be careful Ygritte, you won't have a meat shield as good as I'm outside the gates of Hardhome" I japed to lighten the mood.

"I won't make the same mistakes I made last time brother, send some of the children of the forest that are herbalists and healers my way would you" waving me off she headed for the armory with Morald trailing behind her.

I went to the weirwood grove in Hardhome to clear my head and gather my thoughts, the particular weirwood tree I favored was an ancient one, having survived the burning of Hardhome ages past and fed well on the split bloods of its former inhabitants and sacrifices freely given, it had grown huge and tall with gnarled roots as thick as a child.

Hundred of crows perched on the tree eyeing anybody that walked up, with three weirwood faces on the tree that cried red. It gave the grove a foreboding presence.

I sat beneath the tree and rested while the vitna stood a few paces away. Yorwick had a frown and an annoyed look in his blue eyes ever since they saw me, it seemed like my injury pained him more than it did me.

I rested my back against the tree and tried my best to relax. I had just drifted off to sleep I heard a voice that I had not heard for the past few weeks.

"Angrod" My eyes snapped open as my hand moved automatically to dark sister.

"Snowylocks" I replied with a smile as I saw the white-haired child of the forest. Her nut dark skin seemed pale and she had heavy bags under her usually bright yellow eyes.

"Three claws" I replied with a nod to the frowning child of the forest that trailed behind Snowylocks.

"we must speak Angrod" I nodded and waited for her to continue as she sat on a root, while three claws stood behind her.

"I will tell you something of our history. We were old when this world was young, when the stars fell and split this world into different lands we watched and shaped our homes out of trees.

When the dragon blooded roamed this world like it was theirs to rule, conquering and subjugating their fellows, they dared not come this far north knowing that we could steal their weaker willed beasts from under them"

When magic was a roaring fire could be harnessed by those with sufficient will and the right blood. We sat and watched as men played with what they knew not.

Once a generation, our kind are blessed with one or two that could swim through the tides of fate and even change it if they were powerful enough. Humans call them green seers

But they are not fated to live as long as the rest of us, some see it a curse other a blessing, so when their times come, we entombed them in the most ancient wierwood groves, and they join their fellows, in communion deep within the earth watching over us and preserving our most ancient knowledge."

My eyes widened in surprise as I read between the lines and realized what she wasn't saying, The Old Gods were basically an amalgamation of all the greenseers that ever lived.

Bright red leaves began to fall and I noticed shadows at the edges of my vision, less light seemed to enter the grove as whispers in a tongue older than man seemed to come with the wind. I slowly got to my feet.

She continued engrossed in her own story "When the sundering came and the cycle started coming to an end, we feared not, knowing our knowledge was persevered and we were ready to wait for the next cycle.

Then man ran to this continent and we welcomed them, they feasted and dined with us but forgot our kindness after only a few generations. Like they are known to do.

They burnt down our groves the moment our powers began to wane. so,\ we fought, used whatever pitiful workings of magic we still could, but yet we were loosing. We could not afford to lose as much as you could. so we made mistakes"

she says with a drawn sigh, and we paid dearly for it. "men burnt down thousand of trees killing our most ancient ones and costing us whatever secrets they kept, songs to shape the trees, sunder the earth, bindings and wards to stop creatures so old even the giants forget them.

Rituals and Potions that could change a man from a beast, back to man and Potions could make the flesh as hard as bark and regrow limbs lost…" she looked lost in her memories, even three claws had a forlorn look on his face.

"we were killing the old gods…" I said in a whisper drawing the attention of Snowylocks and whatever was with us. My words seemed to agitate it as the crows above started flying above us clouding the skies with dark feathers.

Yorwick and the three other vitna stood back to back as moving shadows prowled around them, things so full of hatred and spite it could be felt, yet the vitna were wise to not draw blade, only standing back to back and staring at the coming darkness with hard eyes, these were not green warriors, they have fought wights and lived to tell the tales.

"Yes…. Now the ones that survived are awake, but they are a shade of their former selves driven by hatred and spite, but bloodraven has blunted their anger and sharpened it into something useful. But aid of magics that were freely given ages past won't be given again. A blood tithe must be paid, mundane blood or dragon's blood" she said with a pointed look "it matters not"

"But there is power in the blood, the boons you shall get would depend on the blood tithe given."

With a blink I noticed our surroundings were back to normal, the moving shadows were still once more, unbidden whispers silent and the murders of crows that blocked the skies missing save for a three eyed crow that stood and observed us from the peak of the tree.

The vitna still looked around cautiously, there is no such thing as being overly cautious this far north.

"I must rest now Angrod, the old gods have chosen me as their representative thou I do not posses the capabilities of the greenseers, it weakens me to communicate with them."

"I see" I reply "I shall think about, what has been spoken today, rest well Snowylocks you need it". With a nod she walked away, three claws surprisingly stayed behind.

"Things are changing Angrod, somethings better left asleep are stirring, be careful" with a final nod he follows Snowylocks.

When it rains it pours.

THE THING BOUT THE OLD GODS IS BASICALLY MY HEAD CANON AND AND I FEEL LIKE THE REASON DRAGON LORDS NEVER CONQURED WESTROS WAS BECAUSE THEY WHERE WARY OF THE COTF.

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