No Time for Rest
Year 846
Ehrmich District
The appearance of the Caraxes outside of the Scout Regiment's base causes no small amount of panic as the officers present scramble to equip themselves for combat. The dragon has grown well in the six years he has spent in Westeros, now standing as big as the headquarters of the Scout Regiment and looking more ferocious than any Titan.
The officers have never seen such a massive creature and beyond a Titan they cannot think of what else it can be. As the officers scramble out of the headquarters, ODM Gear equipped and ready to face the beast, Erwin's voice can be heard shouting from the rooftop.
"Stand down!" commands Erwin, confusing the soldiers as they fearfully look between the dragon and their commander.
"That is not a Titan, it is a classified experimental weapon to be used against the Titans." Erwin says. "Return to your stations and never mention this to anyone outside of this mansion."
The soldiers seem to let out a collective sigh of relief before obediently returning inside to see to their responsibilities, not noticing the man standing underneath the dragon nor the direwolf lounging at his feet, and the raven flying overhead.
Awaiting Erwin's arrival, Aemon makes himself comfortable on Caraxes' scales, unbothered by the extreme heat emanating from the dragon, as it protectively coils its serpentine body around his bonded.
As Aemon closes his eyes, a ping draws his attention to the Dimensional Chat Group screen that appears before.
{Prerequisite Mission: Unfinished Business - Accomplished
Mission Description: As a failed Prince That Was Promised, you were unable to save your world and those you love from the Others. While this may seem like a non-issue now, the psychological trauma of such a failure will make itself known to you at the worst possible time. Deal with it before it becomes a problem.
Mission Directive: Save a version of your world from the Others.
Success Requirements:
The Others must either be destroyed or repelled back to the Land of Always Winter (Complete)
Ensure the success and prosperity of the alternate selves of your loved ones (Complete)
Hidden/Bonus Objectives:
Defeat The Others using only the resources available to The North. (Complete)
Turn King Robb Stark's fledgling Kingdom into a Nation with the foundations and potential to last generations. (Complete)
Conquer the Seven Kingdoms.
Face The Others with an army consisting of all Seven Kingdoms.
Failure Requirements:
Death
Death of all you love
Rewards:
The Chat officially opens
1x [Base Ticket]
[Permanent World Travel Gate: Planetos]
Bonus Rewards:
1x Rare/High Tier Gacha Ticket
Hammer of Brandon "The Builder" Stark
All Rewards Placed in Dimensional Chat Group Inventory}
[Congratulations on Accomplishing the Prerequisite Mission]
[The Dimensional Chat Group will officially open now]
[Dimensional Chat Group Status: Open]
[Randomizing number of invitations for the first round]
[Randomizing theme of first round of invitations]
[Round One Invitation Theme: The Chosen One]
[Round One Invitations: 6; 4 Chosen Ones, 2 Outliers]
[Invitations Sent]
[Awaiting Responses]
Seeing the system prompts Aemon cannot help but slightly smile and admit that the prerequisite mission was cathartic. Seeing Arya alive and well has been a balm to his soul, and helping guide his younger brothers and sisters has greatly alleviated some of his guilt for failing them against the Others.
The thought of the Others greatly sours his mood, bringing a frown to his face. They had never completely puzzled out the origins or motives of the Others before Euron Greyjoy sabotaged the diplomatic council with the hope of ending their temporary peace. Aemon had not given their origins much thought afterwards for the entire world was embroiled in a war for survival.
Now that he has time to think of them however, Aemon feels that there is more to them than he has ever considered, much more. This feeling has only increased after the Body Purifying Pill and the ritual in the godswood, for after those events he feels an untapped potential within his body and unfathomable amount of power in his blood waiting to be called upon.
"Oh. My. God. Is that your dragon? He's sooo big now!" shrieks Hange as she sprints out of the headquarters, shaking Aemon from his thoughts. "How is he so big? What does he eat? Can he burn down buildings yet? How fast can he fly? Would he let me pet him?" Hange rambles.
Watching the mad woman approach, Aemon can sense Caraxes' smug satisfaction at her fawning of him.
"This is how a dragon must be treated." the dragon communicates through their bond.
With a roll of his eyes, Aemon stands from his position and makes his way towards the exasperated Levi and Erwin, Ghost following in tow.
"You're wolf got bigger too." Hange observes as she looks up at Ghost with wide eyes before caressing his fur. "His fur is sooo clean, and soft. And his claws are so sharp, like his fangs. And his jaw is so big I could probably fit my head in his mouth." Hange rattles off, touching near everyplace on Ghost's body, drawing the direwolf's ire.
"Behave." Aemon commands as Ghost silently snarls at Hange.
Hearing Aemon's words, Ghost sends him a baleful glare before turning around and escaping into the forest near the headquarters.
"Nooo, come back. I'm not finished with my observations." Hange whines.
"Enough, you mad woman. You're giving me a headache." Levi says as he and Erwin reach the group.
"Awww, but Levi—" Hange begins to say before being interrupted.
"—That's enough Hange." commands Erwin before turning to Aemon. "Welcome back." he says as he observes Aemon, expecting to find some drastic changes similar to Carxes and Ghost's growth.
After properly observing Aemon for a few moments Erwin nods and looks at the dragon lounging behind him.
As the commander's eyes sweep over him Caraxes' eyes open and he stares at Erwin. When Erwin does not cower before him he bares his teeth at him in a silent snarl. When even that does not phase the commander Caraxes snorts in amusement, releasing a plume of smoke in the process before returning to his rest.
"You have been promoted from "puny creature" to "feeble human" in his mind." Aemon tells Erwin with a smirk.
"And you? How does he see you?" asks Hange with a grin.
"We are equals, he and I. Two souls bound in an intimate bond beyond even mine own comprehension." Aemon replies as he regards his dragon with a fond smile, missing Levi's glare.
"We could have used you and your dragon two months ago." says Levi.
"Levi." warns Erwin, only to be stopped by Hange.
"250,000 civilians needlessly died because you and your overgrown lizard were doing god knows what. Now you return like some kind of conquering hero expecting headpats?" says Levi with a frustrated glare.
"I don't expect anything from you, dwarf. What your commander and I have is a partnership, I give you my military expertise and I receive a position of command within the Scout's Regiment until the Titan threat is no more. A mutually beneficial arrangement that I intend to see to the very end." Aemon replies as he and Levi glare at one another.
"I'll hold you to that." Levi says as he retreats.
"You seem tired." observes Erwin as the tension in the air recedes.
"Nobles and politics can be exhausting." Aemon replies.
"Well you can rest today, but tomorrow the Scout's Regiment training under you will begin." Erwin says.
"Not me." Aemon corrects with a grin. "I will introduce her on the morrow, but her situation is more or less the same as mine own."
"Someone from another world!?" exclaims Hange as she lunges at Aemon, her face mere centimeters from his.
"Aye. She has extensive experience facing the weapons of the outside." Aemon replies as he takes a few steps back. "That is all that I will tell you, if she wishes to tell you more it is up to her." Aemon ads as they make their way inside the headquarters before separating and going in different directions.
Entering his room Aemon is pleasantly surprised to find it quite clean. No doubt he can thank Levi and his squad for its upkeep.
Removing his Stark cloak from his shoulders, Aemon fondly admires the stitches where Sansa has sown the crimson mantle of his Lionheart armor to the inside of the cloak, paying homage to both of his Houses, the Starks and the Targaryens.
Placing the cloak on the back of his chair, something he would not have been to do previously had Sansa not made the cloak much lighter, Aemon takes out the [Star Wars ARC Trooper Training Manual] card and tears it. As the light from the card disappears Aemon is left with a massive manual detailing the extensive training that every batch of ARC Trooper must go through to graduate.
The manual details the training of various clone trooper classes, including the first generation Null Class trained by the Mandalorian Kal Skirata, the Alpha Class trained by Jango Fett himself, and the graduates of the Clone Commander Training Program.
As he leafs through the pages of the manual, Aemon realizes that manual is not as useless as he feared. Much of the training can be used without any of the advanced technology from the Star Wars universe. The parts of the training that require technology are the weapons training; those can be reworked for the more primitive WWI forms of weapons that this world uses.
Of course much of the training will need to be scaled down so as not to kill any of the trainees, they are not super soldier clones after all; but even the basics of it will benefit the Scout's Regiment in ways this world will have never seen before.
Aemon is willing to wager that the Titan shifters will be no threat to the likes of Levi's squad while the average soldier of the Scout's Regiment will easily adapt and eliminate abnormal titans by the end of their training.
Satisfied with the manual, Aemon summons the [Character Summon: Balalaika] card from his inventory and tears it open.
As the light from the card disappears, Aemon finds himself face to face with Sofiya Pavlovna Irinovskaya, also known as Balalaika.
She is a tall, blonde haired, blue-eyed woman with visible scars on the right side of her face, neck, and right bosom. Her hair is very long, going down to the base of her spine, and done up in a huge ponytail. She wears a wine-colored skirt suit with black stockings and black 1-inch heels, her nails are long, and painted pink, a lighter color compared to her rose-colored lipstick. Under her left eye is a mole, and draped over her shoulders is a Russian military coat with a rank insignia of a Soviet Army captain.
"I have to say, I did not expect a pretty boy." remarks the woman in perfect Eldian, something Aemon makes sure to mentally note, as she leans into his chest, grabs his face with her right hand, turning it for her to better observe.
"Pretty you may be, but you're no stranger to combat." she says as she looks down at his worn and faded sword belt before letting go of Aemon and standing straight.
"I can say the same of you." Aemon replies as he sits in his chair and crosses his legs.
"Pretty's not the word I'd use." Balalaika says as she reaches into her pocket and pulls out a pack of thin cigars and a lighter.
"You are right of course, it is too weak of a word to do you justice; but unfortunately for you I am no poet nor a bard so it will have to do." Aemon responds.
"Not a poet or bard my fine ass." she mutters before offering him a cigar.
Hesitantly, Aemon accepts it.
"Never smoked before?" Balalaika asks when Aemon studies the thin cigar.
"Not in this lifetime." he absently comments, making Balalaika stop short before she can take a drag.
"So we're finally going to address the situation." she comments in between drags.
"What do you want?" Aemon asks as he ignites a thin flame on his index finger and makes use of it to light his cigar.
"I was promised power, control, and a worthy leader." Balalaika says.
"I can give you the first two, but the last one is a decision you will have to ascertain for yourself; Am I a worthy leader to follow?" Aemon replies as he takes his first drag from the cigar.
It produces a strong scent and taste, Aemon can see the appeal of it.
"If you prove to be anything but worthy I'll kill you." Balalaika casually says, causing Aemon to smile in amusement.
"Welcome to the team." he says as one of the many Hassans appears behind him with a vial of Super-Soldier Serum in hand.
…
…
…
"As Revy would say, 'these Eldians are so fucked'." Balalaika comments after thoroughly reading all of Aemon's notes on their current world. Of course the notes do not include anything on the future events to yet take place.
"Which is why they will receive additional training from you using this." Aemon says as he hands her the ARC Trooper Manual. "Make changes as you see fit." he adds as Balalaika begins to wordlessly study the manual.
As Aemon thinks on what to make of his free time, the Dimensional Chat Group screen appears before him.
[The Song of Ice and Fire has entered the Dimensional Chat Group
The Hobbit has entered the Dimensional Chat Group
The Chosen One has entered the Dimensional Chat Group
The Son of Poseidon has entered the Dimensional Chat Group
The Star of Terra has entered the Dimensional Chat Group
The Scientist has entered the Dimensional Chat Group
The Best Friend has entered the Dimensional Chat Group]
[Error!Error!Error!]
[The Best Friend is in perilous danger and may not survive]
[It is advised for the Admin to enter their dimension and save them]
[Does the Admin wish to enter The Shadowhunters Dimension?]
Looking at the DCG notifications Aemon is appalled at how quickly the situation has escalated. From the members entering the chat to one of them being in perilous danger, barely one minute has passed. Now the system is advising him to enter the dimension to save them.
Reading the name of the dimension, Aemon realizes that he vaguely recognises the dimension as one of the first YA fantasy series he has ever read; the second series in truth. He remembers it fondly but much of the details are lost to him for he was quite young when he read them. He also remembers that it had a tv show adaptation, but by that time he had already been completely enamored by anime.
Regardless, that world is a dangerous one where every supernatural being will be above the Night King's caliber without taking their magic into account. As such preparations will have to be made.
Reaching into his inventory, Aemon grabs one of the crates that once held the iceburst stones, but now holds his reforged armor.
After wearing the black uniform of the Night's Watch, he dons his new armor. It has been remade in the forge of Winterfell using the spellbinding techniques of the metal-workers of Qohor. Quenched and tempered with his blood, his reforged armor possesses a very dark tint to it, making it gray and black.
The design itself is a direct copy of Celebrimbor's armor from Shadow of Mordor. A fitting choice, Aemon thinks to himself. Stylish without neglecting functionality.
Once the last piece of armor is in place he ties his sword belt around his waist, placing The Builder's hammer where he would normally place his dragonglass dagger.
As a final preparation he tears his [Rare/High Tier Gacha Ticket] hoping for something to help him slay Greater Demons. When the light from the ticket completely disappears Aemon holds a black recurve bow in hands.
He smiles when a golden arrow forms as he draws the bow for he recognises it. It is The Epirus Bow from the movie Immortals. A bow that can kill gods and titans and should theoretically be powerful enough to return even Lilith, the Queen and Mother of Demons, to Edom, the deepest yet also only one of the many demon realms of hell.
"Going to war?" asks Balalaika.
"I just may." replies Aemon as he calls Huginn and Ghost to him through their bonds while instructing Caraxes to behave during his absence.
"If I do not return in time, introduce yourself to Commander Erwin and proceed as planned." Aemon tells her.
Nodding, Balalaika returns to her reading.
As he awaits Ghost and Huginn's arrival Aemon practices drawing the bow before slowly releasing so as not to let the arrow fly.
By the time Ghost and Huginn enter through the already opened door Aemon has already acclimated himself to the strength required to draw the bow.
Petting Ghost's soft fur, Aemon accepts the system's proposal to enter The Shadowhunters Dimension.
...
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Author's Note: Here's the latest chapter. I know some of you guys are disappointed that there wasn't any chatting in the DCG, but I promise that it will happen in 2 chapters. I want to do the chat well and not rush into it, especially since I'll be juggling multiple different personalities. If you choose to stick with the story, thank you for your support.