A Warmth in the Snow (ASOIAF x LOTM)

[Daario]

His breath came out in painful, white puffs, each intake of air feeling like swallowing shards of ice. Wyr ran. His lungs burned with a frozen fire, and the muscles in his legs screamed in protest, a symphony of agony muted only by the rush of blood in his ears. But he had to keep running. To stop meant death, and after death, came something far worse. Behind him, among the shadows of the gnarled weirwood trees, the wights moved. They didn't run; they didn't need to. They just kept coming, tireless, an inevitable tide of silence and cold.


Pain, Wyr's whole body ached from the wounds that were everywhere.


The night was utterly silent, a silence that could only be found in the heart of the deepest winter north of the Wall. There was no blizzard to hide his tracks, no howling wind to drown out the sound of his desperate footsteps. Only an endless expanse of white under a cold, indifferent, star-strewn sky. The snow covered everything like a clean, cruel white shroud, hiding the rocks and roots ready to twist his ankle. This was the land of the Thenns, or at least what used to be their land. Now, it was just another graveyard marked by silence.


Wyr had watched his village perish, swallowed by a winter that came with blue eyes and frozen hands. He saw Orick, the hunter with the crooked spear who boasted he could take down a mammoth alone, torn apart by the very children he had helped birth. He saw Lara, the girl who braided her hair with raven feathers, rise from her death, her skin bruised blue like ice, and the eyes that were once full of laughter now two chips of vacant sapphire. They looked at him, not with hatred, but with a horrifying absence, a cold emptiness that invited Wyr to join their silent ranks. That gaze would be forever seared into his mind, a ghost that would haunt him even in his final moments.


And now, he was alone. The last free man of his clan.


A root, hidden like a snake beneath the snow, caught his foot. The world turned upside down in a painful vortex of white and black. Wyr tumbled down a steep slope, his body bouncing off ice-covered rocks and frozen tree stumps. Pain exploded in his shoulder, followed by a wet crack that made him nauseous. He finally came to a stop at the bottom of a small hollow, lying face down in a deep snowdrift. The air was forced out of his bruised lungs. He tried to move, tried to scream, but his body refused to obey. All that came out was a weak groan that froze on his lips.


From here, lying helpless, he could hear them. The sound, that soft scrape of dry bone on snow, the rustle of frozen leather clothes. And beneath it, a bone-chilling hum, the cold breath of a hundred corpses that no longer needed air. They were getting closer.


With the last vestiges of his strength, Wyr turned onto his back, gasping from the sharp pain in his ribs. He stared up at the stars, the same constellations his mother had looked at when she told him tales of legends. Is this the end? he thought, a cold despair creeping into his heart, colder than the snow soaking his back. He remembered his mother's face, wrinkled with laughter and hardened by hardship, smelling of woodsmoke and frozen berries. He remembered his friends, sharing game around a fire, their laughter echoing in the cold night. They were all gone. Dead, or worse than dead. And he could do nothing. He could only run.


As the first shadow fell over him, Wyr closed his eyes. He could feel their cold, an aura of frozen decay that made the hair on his arms stand on end. Only a few steps away now. His heart hammered against his broken rib cage, a frantic war drum against the encroaching silence. He wasn't ready to die. A hot tear escaped from the corner of his eye, freezing on his temple in an instant.


A figure stood over him, blocking out the starlight. Wyr felt a piercing cold seep through his skin as a hand made of ice and bone reached for his face.


Then, something changed.


Warmth.


It started as a strange, almost unreal sensation. A gentle warmth touched his frozen cheek, like the first ray of morning sun after a long winter's night. The warmth grew, becoming stronger, pushing back the deathly chill. It was a living warmth, like sitting by a hearth, like embracing a living body. It was a warmth that could melt snow.


Then there was a scream.


Not a human scream. It was a high-pitched shriek that tore through the night's silence, the sound of nails scraping on a tombstone, the sound of a glacier shattering into a million pieces. It was a painful sound, one that made Wyr's ears ring and his teeth chatter.


Wyr opened his eyes.


There, standing a few paces from him, was a person. His clothes were strange, unlike anything Wyr had ever seen. Not the thick hides or layered furs worn by the Free Folk. It was neatly cut cloth, dark in color, perhaps more suited for a southerner who knelt before a king. A strange hat sat on his head, and over his eyes, a thin, transparent object glinted like a shard of ice in the starlight, held by a thin chain.


And in front of Wyr, where the wight had been about to touch him, the stranger was raising his right hand. Light. A blinding, pure light erupted from his palm, drowning all shadows. The small hollow was bathed in a light so bright that night turned into a blinding day. The snow around the stranger hissed and evaporated into mist.


With eyes wide with horror and awe, Wyr watched the Others, the Others burn. They didn't burn like wood or flesh. They burned from the inside out. A holy, golden fire consumed them, and their screams reached a crescendo. The first head exploded into a cloud of glowing ash that swirled in a sudden wind. Then the arms, torso, and legs followed, disintegrating into glittering particles of dust before they could touch the ground. Their blue eyes, which had shone with a frozen malice, flickered and went out like dying stars.


In a matter of seconds, it was all over. Their luminous ash danced in the air for a moment, like fireflies in a long-forgotten summer, before fading into nothingness.


Nothing was left. Not even a blackened bone or the smell of burnt flesh. Only silence, the fading warmth, and the stranger standing motionless in the middle of it all.


Wyr could only stare, his breath caught in his sore throat, his mind blank with the wonder and horror of what he had just witnessed.


The blinding light receded, drawing back into its source like a tide pulling away from the shore. The darkness of night returned, but it felt less menacing now, as if the power just unleashed had cleansed the air of its evil chill. For a moment, Wyr could see the source of the light clearly: a brooch pinned to the man's leather glove, shaped like an intricate sun. It shimmered with residual light, warm and golden, before vanishing. It didn't fall, nor was it put away. It simply seemed to be carried away by the wind and disappeared.


After the miracle ended, the man looked at him.


Those eyes were as deep and cold as the snow, a dark brown color, while his straight black hair framed an expressionless face. There was no relief in his eyes, no pity, just a calm, sharp assessment that made Wyr feel as though his soul was being laid bare. Then, the man made a small gesture with his now-empty hand. From thin air, from nothingness itself, a wooden staff appeared in his grasp. The staff looked ordinary, made of smooth wood with no carvings or adornments, but its sudden appearance was another miracle that made Wyr gasp in horror. With a newfound burst of energy, he tried to crawl backward in the snow, his breath catching in his throat. After being saved, will I be killed? The thought flashed through his mind, a bitter, ironic fear. The old gods were often cruel in their jests.


However, the man showed no malicious intent. He stepped closer, his strange, thin shoes barely leaving a mark on the snow. With a gentle, deliberate motion, he tapped the tip of the wooden staff on Wyr's injured shoulder. Wyr flinched, anticipating pain or a deadly blow. Instead, a wave of soothing warmth flowed from the point of contact, spreading through his body like warm water. The sharp pain in his shoulder subsided to a dull throb, then vanished completely.


Wyr watched in amazement as he felt his broken bone shift and knit back together with a soft crack. He raised a trembling hand to his face, where he knew there was a deep, bleeding gash. Beneath his fingertips, he could feel the skin knitting together, closing on its own, leaving behind a smooth surface as if the wound had never been there.


"Are you all right?" the man asked. His voice was flat, devoid of emotion, and the words were spoken with a strange, crisp accent, unlike the rough growls of the Free Folk. As he spoke, the staff in his hand began to fade, turning transparent before disappearing completely, dissolving back into the nothingness from which it came.


"Yes... yes! Yes!" Wyr managed to reply, his voice hoarse with disbelief. He pushed himself to his feet, his legs feeling steady beneath him, his body whole and strong. He was still dazed, his mind reeling as it tried to comprehend the impossible chain of events.


"We should get out of here," the man said. It wasn't a request; it was a command spoken with a quiet, undeniable authority. "You lead the way."


Without thinking, Wyr nodded. He started walking, leading the way from the bloodless massacre, his feet moving automatically while his mind raced. Where to? He didn't know where he wanted to go. His village was gone. His clan was wiped out. He was a ghost in his own land. As they walked in silence, Wyr glanced at the man beside him. His clothes, thin and form-fitting trousers, were clothes for a southern summer, not for surviving the endless winter north of the Wall. Yet, the man seemed to feel no cold at all. No vapor escaped his lips, and he didn't shiver. It was as if winter itself was afraid to touch him.


And his power... Wyr didn't even know what to call it. Magic? The word felt thin and inadequate. Wyr had met a warg once, but they certainly couldn't do this.


This was more like the whispers around a campfire, a blinding light that could turn the undead to dust. Wyr's world was made of real things: steel, stone, flesh, and blood. What he had just seen did not belong in that world. He had never heard of the southerners, the kneelers, being able to do this; they were known for their great cities and their kings. Not for men who could command light and heal broken bones with the wave of a stick.


They finally reached a crevice in the side of a rocky hill, a shallow cave Wyr had found a few days ago when he first fled. It was pitch black inside, a thick, oppressive darkness. Wyr stopped at the entrance, unsure how they would make a fire without tinder. But once again, the man showed his magic. He raised his hand, and a bronze lantern appeared from thin air, hanging from his fingers. A small flame flickered within it, and with a blink, it flared to life, casting a steady, warm light that illuminated the entire cave.


Wyr could only stare, his shadow dancing on the stone wall behind him, as he tried to comprehend the nature of his savior, a man who brought daylight and summer into the heart of the coldest, darkest night.


Silence settled over them, heavy and filled with unspoken questions. Wyr, his body still thrumming with the afterglow of the healing magic, swallowed hard. In the face of such power, silence felt more dangerous than the howl of a snow-wolf. He was a Free Folk; they didn't bow, nor did they beg. They took what they wanted and fought what they hated. Yet, this man before him had turned wights to dust with a wave of his hand and set his broken bones with a touch. The old rules felt invalid.


"Thank you for saving me... sorry," Wyr said, the words feeling foreign and clumsy on his tongue, like small stones being forced from his throat. But before this man, something primal in him, a sense of fear, of respect, or perhaps both, demanded civility. "But who are you?"


The man just looked at him, and the cave seemed to shrink under the intensity of his gaze. His dark brown eyes didn't reflect the lantern's light; instead, they seemed to absorb it, drawing Wyr into a quiet, unfathomable darkness. It felt as if a whole night passed in that silence. Wyr felt the hair on his arms stand up, but not from the cold.


Finally, the man spoke, his voice breaking the silence like ice cracking on a frozen lake. "Gehrman Sparrow. Why were you out there alone? Where are the others?"


Gehrman Sparrow. The name lacked the rhythm or growl of Free Folk names. It sounded smooth and sharp, like a southerner's name. Wyr nodded in his mind, trying to commit the name to his shaken memory. He took a deep breath. "I wasn't really alone," he answered, his voice trembling slightly as the memory returned with full force. A flash of his friend Orick's empty blue eyes crossed his mind. "The ones with me... they're part of the Others now." He paused, letting the weight of the words hang between them. "The rest moved south, days ago. They were going to join Mance Rayder."


"Mance Rayder?" Gehrman Sparrow repeated the name, not as an inquisitive question, but more like a scholar encountering a new term to be classified.


"He's the King-Beyond-the-Wall," Wyr explained. "He's leading many clans now. Because the Others are coming, we all have to unite. Move south, past the Wall, before it's too late." He looked at Gehrman sharply, his desperate curiosity finally overcoming his fear. "But I was left behind. And you, who are you, Gehrman Sparrow? You're not one of the usual kneelers."


The man showed no change in expression. His face was a mask of calm porcelain. "I am a missionary of a God," he said, each word spoken with cold precision. "'He' is The Fool, the mysterious ruler above the gray fog."


"A G-god?" Wyr stammered. The word itself was startling enough. He knew of the old gods, the nameless spirits that resided in the weirwood trees and the frozen streams. He had heard of the Seven gods the southerners worshipped, gods with names and faces. But this... this was different. Remembering the devastating light and the healing touch, Wyr couldn't just dismiss it. It was possible this man was indeed speaking the truth. But the name... "The Fool"? It sounded like a jest, a name a child would give a dog.


"Were you sent by him to save us, Gehrman?" Wyr asked, his voice little more than a whisper. He was trying to understand, trying to find a sliver of hope in the darkness his life had become. "But, sorry, I've never heard his name."


Gehrman looked at him again, and this time Wyr felt as if the man could see the doubt and confusion churning inside him. "Of course you've never heard of him," he said with a small, almost imperceptible nod. "I come from a land very, very far away. And my Lord has only just awakened from his long slumber. 'He' sent me here because he knew something evil was stirring in this land."


Something evil. The Others. Wyr's heart felt as heavy as a millstone. So many had died. Villages vanished under the snow, proud clans wiped out overnight. Fire was the only answer they had, and often, it wasn't enough. Now, before him stood someone who was the fire itself.


A sudden impulse, born of desperation and a newfound flicker of hope, seized Wyr. He had to do something. He couldn't just be a victim to be saved. "Do you need my help, Gehrman?" He looked the man deep in the eyes, trying to convey his earnestness and his strength, the only things he had left. "Maybe there's something I can do, however small."


For the first time, Wyr saw a flicker of interest in those dark eyes. Gehrman nodded. "You can be my guide. I'm new to this land and don't know much."


A smile, the first in what felt like a lifetime, stretched Wyr's chapped lips. "I'll do it." And he meant it. He would lead this strange man through every pass and peak in his land if it meant having a chance to avenge his fallen friends. He would be his eyes and ears, show him where the wights were hiding, and then he would watch as Gehrman Sparrow burned them all from this world.


As his silent oath hardened in his heart, his stomach betrayed him.


Grrrrrrrwl.


The sound was deafeningly loud in the quiet cave, an embarrassing rumble from his empty innards. Wyr felt heat creep up his neck and burn his cheeks. He quickly ducked his head, hoping the shadows could hide his shame. Gehrman might have healed his wounds and restored his strength, but his magic hadn't filled his empty stomach. It had been more than a day since he'd had a bite of dried meat.


"What would you like to eat?"


The question was so unexpected, so normal, that Wyr looked up in surprise. Gehrman's expression hadn't changed a bit. He asked about food with the same detached calm he had discussed gods and monsters.


"Huh?" Wyr stared, bewildered. Gehrman carried no pack, no provision bag, nothing. But then he remembered the staff and the lantern that had appeared from thin air. The old rules didn't apply.


"May I?" Wyr asked hesitantly, feeling like a child asking for a treat. He tried to think of the best meal he had ever eaten, an impossible luxury. "I'd like meat. Hot, roasted meat. Warm water. And... some fruit, if possible."


Gehrman nodded as if the request were the simplest thing in the world. "Your wish is granted."


He then snapped his fingers.


The sound of the snap was sharp and dry in the cave air. For a moment, nothing happened. Then, right before Wyr's eyes, the air in the center of the cave shimmered and blurred, like the air above a bonfire. From that shimmer, a solid object emerged. First its legs, made of dark wood carved with strange patterns Wyr had never seen, then its smooth, gleaming surface. A table. A beautiful table, finer than anything he had ever imagined existed in the world.


Before Wyr could even process the table's appearance, other objects began to materialize on it. Plates made of clean white ceramic, not rough wood. Gleaming silver goblets. And in the center, on the largest platter, was a massive cut of roasted meat, its skin crisp and golden brown, still sizzling and steaming. Beside it was a bowl of brightly colored fruits—red apples, purple berries, and yellow pears, looking so fresh they might have just been picked from a tree. A large pitcher gave off a fragrant steam, promising warm water.


The aroma of it all hit Wyr like a tidal wave. The savory smell of roasted meat, the sweet scent of fruit, the clean smell of steam. It was the scent of life, of abundance, of safety. His mouth instantly filled with saliva, and he swallowed hard, his eyes fixed on the impossible feast before him.