29

Chapter 29: Battle of AzanulbizarSummary:

Jon and company learn the forging techniques of the dwarves and the Orcs march upon the Dimrill Dale. All the while Sansa and Arya continue their Journey to middle-earth, and Rhaenys come to know the truth of her heart

Notes:

Please leave a comment I hope you enjoy the chapter

I know the chapter focuses heavily on Sansa and Arya but I needed their arrival out of the way

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

A week had passed since Sansa had escaped from King's Landing and had remained in her cabin without leaving it since she was sick, sick with fear and dizziness ... She couldn't keep anything in her stomach, and it even cost her sleep because she was afraid that Littlefinger would try something with her although she knew that if he had wanted it, he could have taken her from the first night. He knows that her marriage was not consummated, so he must need her to remain a virgin for some of his schemes, but she was afraid to dream; for the first three days, Sansa tried to search for Nienna, but instead, she was greeted by the sight of Joffrey clasping his hands around his neck, tearing the skin at his throat, and dying with pieces of pie on his lips and wine stains on his doublet. And the wind howling through the rigging reminded him of the hideous high-pitched sound he'd made trying to breathe. Sometimes she also dreamed of Tyrion, the husband she left to his fate.

In all that time when she visited, Sansa would ask Littlefinger for news about Tyrion.

"He didn't do anything wrong; he always treated me well," he once said to Littlefinger when he went to see her in her cabin to inquire about her health.

"Indeed, he did not kill Joffrey, but you cannot say that his hands were clean. Did you know that he had another wife before you? "

"Yes, he told me."

"He also told you that when he got bored with it, he gave her to his father's guard? Perhaps he would have done the same to you when he had grown tired of the marriage. So don't shed a tear for the Imp, my lady." Baelish said with a rueful smirk

"No, I will not, but I will not believe in anything you tell me, Petyr Baelish, now I know who you really are, and you will not deceive me again I know that somehow, I will escape you I know I know that I will meet my sister too and together we will travel to find our brother Jon, and he will protect us and if the gods are good and give me the opportunity I'll ask him to get rid of you," Sansa thought with some hope.

"I understand, my Lord, you are right," Sansa said in a courteous tone and began a new embroidery, she worked late into the night, and when fatigue overcame her, she decided to sleep.

Sansa didn't know how long she had slept, but she woke up when she felt the cold wooden floor on her face, the boat was rocking violently, and for once, Sansa decided to leave her cabin ... and immediately wished she hadn't.

The sky was flashing, and a deluge like arrows; the ocean was restless and ferocious, each wave hit the galley with such force that it seemed the ship would capsize under the strain. Sansa tried to take a step, but she tripped and fell through the water; at that moment, she felt someone's hands holding her helping her stand up.

"You are fine, my Lady" Sansa wiped the water from her face and realized that it was Ser Lothor Brune.

"Yes, thank you, Ser; where is Lord Baelish?" Sansa asked.

"In his cabin, he would not go out with this storm... You should do the same, come back," He said, concerned.

"Thank you, Ser ... Watch out!" Sansa shouted to warn the knight when one of the sailors drew his scimitar and ran for the lifeboat, which caused the knight to lose sight of Sansa to chase the thief; he tried to escape by throwing himself into one of the boats, but at that moment the ship was hit by a great wave, and the blow was so decisive that Sansa fell to the ground and due to the humidity and how soaked she was, she slid smoothly to the other end where she hit her head and was somewhat stunned by the blow.

He started to stand up while listening to Ser Lothor Brune's distant voice when the ship received another blow, and this time Sansa could not help it. He fell over the rail just into the boat that the thief of the sword of Ser Lothor tried to use; at that moment, the ropes broke, and Sansa fell into the sea where she felt the cold water all over her body, but the boat resisted and began to move away from the galley that was still being attacked by the sea.

A terrified Sansa screamed and watched helplessly before fainting from the pain of the blow as from terror as she left the ship and was carried into the darkness of night by the inclement storm in the middle of the ocean.

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When Sansa woke up, the sun was already almost at its peak, at the beginning of the morning disoriented without understanding what had happened, for a moment she believed that she was still in King's Landing and then in Littlefinger's boat but when her vision cleared realized that it was not so.

She was stranded at sea with no signs of the galley or land insight; as she contemplated her situation, Sansa put a hand to her mouth and began to cry.

... oh, my gods ... How did I end up like this? ... I have no idea what to do now ... I'm going to die here ... Lost at sea ...

Sansa cried again, she cried so much that she soon felt a terrible thirst, there she realized that the boat was not empty, but that it had various seeds and bread ... As well as many jars of water ... And an oar.

... That man who stole his sword from Ser Lothor ... He planned his escape for a long time ... He prepared for this ... And now I am in his place ... And I don't know what to do ...

After taking a sip from one of the water skins and eating some bread, Sansa decided to start rowing forward because she did not know which direction to take, only that she would die if she stayed there, so she decided to take a risk and look for solid ground.

Sansa was falling into a routine, rowing all day without stopping and resting for a few hours, but she knew that she could not do that forever because despite rationing her supplies, they were running out; she had already been drifting for three days, and the bread had run out, She only had a few seeds and flasks of water left, causing her to drink so little that the dryness in her throat was agony not to mention she reeked of sweat and salt.

But she was still rowing, determined not to die alone in the sea, the only constant was two things ... An eagle that seemed to always follow her and at night Sansa observed the night sky, at the top of the sky there was a shining star, its light was purer and brighter than the rest, Sansa did not understand why but it felt as if that mysterious star will watch over everything on earth.

... I'm going crazy, during the day I swear that eagle follows me ... And during the night I feel like that star is guiding me towards salvation... I don't know if I can honestly do this. I feel as if the gods are playing a cruel joke ... Lady Nienna, if you're genuine, then... Help me ... Please ...

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She had already spent a week in the open sea. Nothing was happening, she was already fed up with the sea and all the space in blue in front of her, her throat burned next to her lips parched by thirst to the point where Sansa had to She drank salty water to support herself, her stomach was growling for food she was sure it would look ragged. Her own stench disturbed her; she also felt that the sun was burning her skin, her only protection was the cloak she used at night to stave off the chill of the sea, but the heat of the sun made using it suffocating and finally, her arms ached from always rowing for days on end.

The only thing that keeps her clinging to life is the words of that woman named Nienna.

... You must be strong; you must resist and cling to life no matter how tempting it is to surrender to death because, with death, we cannot interfere ...

"I still don't understand your words, my lady... I tried ... I really tried ... But I can't take it anymore ... I can't ..." Sansa muttered, losing consciousness but not before noticing the beautiful ship in the distance. It was sailing proudly through the sea towards her; she saw a swan of great size. The water rippled on either side of the white breast beneath its curving neck. Its beak shone like burnished gold, and its eyes glinted like jet set in yellow stones; its enormous white wings were half lifted. A music came down the river as it drew nearer, and suddenly she perceived that it was a ship, wrought and carved with skill in the likeness of a bird.

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Sansa did not know where she was or what was happening around her, but she began to have strange dreams or visions, shadows, and voices that held her, and then she felt how her skin received the touch of water as well as she felt a stream of water down her throat and Indecipherable murmurs were heard but she did not understand them. Then everything went dark again.

Finally, she felt her consciousness began to return to her; she was in a very soft bed; with great difficulty, she opened her eyes and realized that she did not feel the scorching sun burning her skin or her cloak Suffocating her; she was instead wearing a simple white nightgown and was laying on the most comfortable bed she had ever slept in and was covered by a delicate silk blanket. It was then she began to take stock of her new surroundings.

It was in a finely furnished but simple room, a bed, a table with two chairs and a small wardrobe with a mirror; it also had a window and feeling a mixture of fear and curiosity, Sansa stood up and looked around.

This was not the cabin she had in Littlefinger's galley, it was more modest, but it had an air of tranquillity.

... Where am I? ... This does not seem to belong to a noble ... Am I on a merchant ship? ...

Instantly Sansa flinched, knowing that if they recognized her, they could take her back to King's Landing, where Queen Cersei would make her share Tyrion's fate.

Despite her fear, Sansa walked in front of the mirror and was saddened when she saw her reflection, she had spent a lot of time under the sun, and her skin was showing the effects ... She had burns on her face and shoulders, with a morbid curiosity Sansa touched her shoulder right and bit back a groan of pain.

It was then that he heard the door to his cabin open. Sansa quickly turned to the door and held her breath when she saw the most beautiful woman she had ever seen; she had perfect white skin, black eyes that shone Like opals and beautiful silver hair that seemed to radiate the light of the moon; she also had a simple but beautiful aquamarine dress; however, the most extraordinary thing was her ears ... They were pointed.

"I see that you are better, my girl; the fact that you got up is the proof," He said with a soft voice and offered her a jewelled waterskin. Sansa felt self-conscious.

"Where am I? ... Where are you taking me? ... I ... I am Sansa Stark from Winterfell ... My family can," Sansa tried to say frantically until she remembered that her family was scattered to the winds.

"No one will save me, it seems," she thought sadly, but the woman gently approached and placed her fingers on her lips.

"Calm down, my little one ... You have nothing to fear, no one on this ship looks for your evil or your suffering, you should not worry, you are safe now," The Maiden said with such kindness that Sansa wanted to believe her but her experience with Queen Cersei, Ser Dontos and Littlefinger kept her suspicious.

"Who are you, my Lady?" Sansa asked after calming down.

"My name is Darana. I belong to the Teleri Clan," The woman said with a smile.

"Clan of the Teleri?" Sansa asked, confused.

"Yes, but it seems to me that explanations can wait; you look very undernourished, you are in the bones ... Are you hungry?" The woman asked.

Sansa was going to say no, but her stomach betrayed her to her shame, and the mysterious woman Darana giggled that seemed like a song.

"Wait a few moments, I'll go get you something to eat" Sansa just nodded and waited for her mysterious hostess to bring food, and when she returned, she did it accompanied by two men very similar to her, perfect, beautiful, and with strange, pointed ears.

They brought her various seafood dishes, splendidly seasoned fish, crab, clam sandwiches, and a pitcher of cool and refreshing wine; Sansa had never tasted anything this delicious.

To her shame, Winterfell's eldest daughter ate her fill as she had almost died of starvation just a day ago and while she did not forget her table manners, hunger and the opportunity to try the food after more than a week made her forget to worry. About her figure.

"You were about to die from thirst and hunger; if it weren't for that eagle sent by Súlimo that was flying over you, we would never have seen you," Darana said, staring at Sansa.

"Súlimo?" Sansa asked curiously.

"The Lord of the Breath of Arda, the Elder King ... It was he who ordered us to seek you and together with Lord Ulmo the Master of the Depths who guided our ship to you ... They allowed us to find you at sea."

Sansa was utterly lost by Darana's comments, Súlimo? Ulmo? She didn't understand the meaning of those names, but at that moment she remembered her conversation with Nienna in her dream, and she mentioned that the someone they called "The Elder King" had called Jon to a place called Middle Earth, and he would take care of her and her sister Arya until they were both reunited with their brother.

"Who is the Elder King? Why is he doing this for my sister and me?" Sansa asked, confused.

"The Greater King, I mean the King of Arda, the King of the Valar ... To Manwë," Darana said, surprised that Sansa will ask for the identity of the King of the Valar but seeing her expression of confusion, she sighed, knowing that the girl did not know the history of the world.

"You better rest, my girl; it seems that it is not time for you to know the history of the world," Darana said, standing up.

"The history of the world?" Asked a confused Sansa.

"It's a story for another time," Darana said, standing up indicating the servants who had remained silent to clear the plates.

"Where are you taking me?" Sansa asked fearfully since she didn't know where they were going.

"I don't know" was the woman's response to a surprised Sansa.

"What do you mean you don't know?" Asked an incredulous Sansa.

"We do not know anything about these seas ... This ship is guided by the will of Lord Ulmo; this is how we found you, my girl, and we still have to find one more girl according to the orders of the Valar."

... One more girl? ... ARYA! ...

After that, Darana left the room, leaving an excited Sansa with the possibility of reuniting with her sister.

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It had been five days since Sansa woke up on the Teleri ship, and in that time, she had stayed in her cabin; Darana was very kind and got her needles and threads to knit; Sansa entertained herself knitting since she was afraid of venturing on deck and tumbling into the ocean again despite Darana's words that that would not happen. However, despite her fear of leaving the cabin due to her experience during Littlefinger's galley, she decided not to waste this opportunity, and on the fifth day, she ventured onto the day; the sun hit her squarely, but this time she could feel the sea breeze on her face which she found relaxing along with the sound of the waves and she took a look at the sailors, the vast majority had silver hair, they were tall, beautiful and stocky in addition to having those strange ears.

"I see you finally decided to join us on deck," Darana said, smiling when she saw Sansa come out of the cabin for the first time.

Sansa blushed and nodded.

"I spent too much time locked up ... I was about to leave," She said with a shy smile.

"I'm glad you think like that; now that you're here, it's time for you to meet the captain," Darana said, taking her by the arm and leading her with a group of sailors where one of them, but whose hair was a bright golden colour.

Seeing them approaching, the sailors stared at her.

Darana began to speak in a language that Sansa did not know, and the captain answered her at the end, the sailor gave Sansa one last look that she could not interpret, and Darana pushed her away.

"I apologize; my brother does not like your people ... to the point where he refuses to speak in a language that you understand," Darana said sadly.

"Your brother? Is the captain your brother?" Sansa asked, surprised.

"Yes, he is one of our best sailors; our King Olwë was entrusted with the mission of preparing a crew of sailors to take two human girls to Middle Earth."

Hearing the words "Middle Earth," Sansa's eyes widened as she remembered her dream with Nienna and how she and Arya would meet Jon there.

"It's like Nienna said in my dream," Sansa muttered without noticing the shocked look Darana gave her.

"Did you meet Lady Nienna ... One of the Avatar?" Darana said clearly, surprised, but with her words, all the sailors stopped their activities, and now they looked at Sansa with amazement and veneration.

"I ... I dreamed of her ... But she told me that I would meet my sister and that we both travelled to Middle Earth to meet my brother ... whom according to Lady Nienna, was summoned by the elder King to meet a glorious destiny and that he would take care of us until my sister and I were reunited with my brother "Sansa said nervously relating her encounter with The Lady of Sadness.

At the end of her story, the sailors conversed amongst themselves and gazed at her with respect and bowed.

"I apologize for my discourtesy; I did not know that she had such a noble lineage as to speak with one of the Valar and that his brother had the honour of meeting the High King," The captain of the ship said, now bowing.

"No ... Don't worry," Sansa said self-consciously.

"My name is Nerven, the captain of this ship in addition to Darana's brother, and from now on, I promise to protect you and your sister we are still looking for until we take you to the Gray Havens," Said the captain now introduced.

"The Gray Havens?" Sansa asked.

"It is a place where those of our people who live in Middle-earth can reach the Undying Lands ... Aman, as your people call it."

"What do you mean by that of your people and my people? ... You are not human ... Are you?" Sansa asked, totally confused but sure of her last words.

"No ... We are elves ... The Quendi ... The Elder Sons of Iluvatar," Darana said solemnly.

"Elves? Ilúvatar?" Asked the eldest daughter of Ned Stark and Catelyn Tully, totally confused.

"It seems to me, sister, that it is time for you to have that conversation," Captain Nerven said.

"It would seem so, brother ... Come, Sansa, we must talk," Darana said with a seriousness that Sansa had never heard.

But at that moment, they heard the elf in the Raven's nest, and they all headed to starboard and could see a very distant ship, but that was slowly approaching.

"On that ship is your sister Lady Sansa," Captain Nerven said.

"Is Arya on that boat? ... So many things have happened ... So much that I want to tell her ... So much for what I want to ask her forgiveness for", Sansa thought with some sadness.

"Sister. you and Lady Sansa go back to the cabin ... We will board that ship and bring Lady Sansa's sister."

"Arya, My sister's name is Arya. And she may not be so willing to listen to you; she is just a girl, but she knows how to use a knife, so please be careful," Sansa said worriedly, but the captain only nodded and began to order his men.

"Come, Sansa, our conversation will have to wait," Darana said.

"What are they going to do?" Asked a fearful Sansa.

"I'm afraid they will board the ship to get your sister back, but don't fret My Lady, my companions are mighty warriors and sailors and are more than able to deal with any threat we may face so far from home," Darana said

Darana took her by the hand and gently led her to her cabin, and there they both waited for what seemed like hours; and at a particular moment, many screams could be heard, and Sansa began to get nervous at the thought that someone could get hurt, especially Arya if he really is on that ship.

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The first thing Arya heard were the screams of the sailors; she had stayed in her cabin all day because she was fed up with the superstitious knife ears being afraid of her, and therefore she decided to stay in her cabin until they reached Braavos, which according to the captain would be late in the day, in all that time she had thought about everything she had lost since leaving Winterfell with her Father and Sansa, the loss of Nymeria and the execution of her father that would haunt her the rest of her life, along with the deaths of the friends she had made on her journey and the faces of those she had killed.

The only good thing in all that horrible trip was that she could see her brother Jon for the first time in many years when they were at King's Landing while he was with the Tyrells, Arya wanted to go find her brother after the death of her father, but he had left the city long before.

And with Sansa still with the Lannisters, Arya had to start her own journey, a journey of death and blood; she also made friends, but they had not abandoned her like Gendry who stayed with The Brotherhood, or they were dead because of the Lannisters, and for Unfortunately that includes her own family, the Hound Sandor Clegane had decided to take her with her brother Robb and her mother in Riverrun. Still, they only arrived in time to see Uncle Edmure's wedding; alas, the day of beauty was turned into a waking nightmare she had wanted to go north to take revenge. Still, the Hound had decided to abscond with the youngest Stark sister; despite being furious with him now she understands that he did it to save her life, partly because of that she did not dare to kill him, the only thing Arya had was a Braavosi coin and a promise from Jaqen H'ghar, now he just had to get to him.

Arya remained practising her Water Dance until she heard screams and sounds of swords, and for a moment, she wanted to go see what happened but decided that it was better to wait with her sword in hand. Until the door of his cabin was opened with a bang and she saw the strangest men she had seen in her life, they were tall, with pointed ears and strong in body as soon as they saw her, they were surprised, and for a few moments, they remained still.

Then she attacked them, trying to skewer them with a needle but with a speed that she had never seen they dodged her attack and knocked her down, tied her legs and hands behind her back, and carried her as if she weighed nothing while Arya screamed in rage and outrage only for her captors to finish humiliating her by gagging her.

They started walking with Arya writhing and trying to escape when they reached the deck, she was confused; she expected to see blood and corpses everywhere, but instead, all the sailors were gagged or unconscious, and none of them seemed dead; Arya then realized that this was not looting.

They were coming for her.

Then the girl saw the ship where her captors came from, and her eyes widened when she saw the most beautiful ship she had ever seen; it was silver blue with a swan-shaped prow, and its white sails shone like pure silver.

Arya stared spellbound at the ship and didn't realize that they were leading her towards it until she was already halfway across the board that served as bridges between the two ships, then she gave one last look at the ship heading to Braavos, The Maiden of the Titan that was supposed to lead her to become part of the "Faceless Men" and now they were taking her to an unknown place.

It was there when Arya tried to escape again, but the ropes were too strong, and in vain, she tried to get them to loosen her although that meant the risk of falling into the water it was all useless, they took her to the beautiful boat without problems while she observed one of her captors free the captain of the ship and threaten him and his crew with a gesture of his gaze and with the knife so that they will not try anything.

She could only watch helplessly as The Maiden of the Titan moved further and further away from her as she wondered what she would do now or where this ship would take her; Arya knew that she could not kill them as she knew nothing about navigation. However, if she was left alone on the ship, she would die, so she decided to wait; most likely, they will take her back to King's Landing; maybe she can make one last attempt to kill Cersei, Meryn Trant, and Ilyn Payne.

Arya just wanted to cry in frustration as she knew that neither the captain nor the crew would do anything to help her, so the only thing she could do was to glare at her captors and when they found they were far enough away from The Maiden of the Titan one of them stared at her and sent a reproachful look at her crew.

"Why is she bound and gagged?" the captain asked his men with annoyance.

"She tried to attack us with his sword, sir, and when we subdued her, she began to scream so loud that it hurt our ears," Said one of them, nervous.

The one who looked like the leader just gave them a reproachful look and approached her to remove the gag, quickly withdrawing his hand before Arya could bite him.

"I apologize for my men; they are insulting, my people are not used to dealing with children, do not worry my Lady is safe now; we will take her to a place where she will be safe and happy," Said the stranger.

"Who are you?" Ned Stark's daughter asked suspiciously.

"We are emissaries of powers beyond your understanding, powers that want you to live safely and happily, so they sent us to look for you ... And your sister Sansa."

Arya did not understand anything of what that stranger said to her, but upon hearing her sister's name, Arya's eyes widened in surprise, and if she hadn't been bound, she would have gotten up.

"Sansa? Is she here?" Asking without being able to contain her excitement, it had been more than a year since she saw her older sister; even though they parted on the worst terms when they last saw each other, Arya would gladly go to the most boring knitting lesson if that meant he could see Sansa again.

"She is here in one of our cabins, If you like, I can take you to her," Said the captain of the ship with kindness, and Arya nodded frantically, the strange man approached her, and with a knife, he cut her ties and helped her to stand.

"Follow me, Lady Arya."

"I'm not a Lady," she mumbled in annoyance.

"Then I am not a sailor," The captain of that mysterious ship replied with some amusement.

Arya always walked behind him but on guard even though he knew she was unarmed, and after a few minutes, they reached a cabin; that stranger knocked and opened the door, and they were greeted by a dazzling woman with silver hair who smiled and allowed them to pass.

The stranger stepped aside, and Arya saw one more person who was in the cabin; it had been more than a year, but the colour of her hair was unmistakable, her skin was more tanned apparently from being so long in the sun, and she was slightly taller than she remembered, the girl raised her face and seeing her blue eyes, her mother's eyes, Arya had no doubts about her identity.

"ARYA!"

"SANSA!"

Both sisters ran to each other, and with tears in their eyes, they hugged with all their strength, remaining like this for several minutes, but neither of them wished to be parted from the other, and so the Elves left them in peace.

After several minutes, the Stark sisters finally let go and laughed while looking at each other through tears.

"You're horrendous," Said a happy Sansa.

"And you got a tan," Arya replied.

They both started laughing as they continued to stare at each other with tears in their eyes.