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"So it was an ambush" Brandon muttered under his breath.
"But... that didn't look like a Wildling" Lyanna pointed out with a frown. To her, it didn't even look human.
[The scene shifts to Will, who hears a man crying out. The three horses stampede past him. He turns and sees someone standing very still in the distance. The figure turns it's the child who had been suspended in the tree, now with glowing blue eyes. WILL turns and runs.]
"But-" Theon struggles to find the words to speak.
"That child was dead" Yara said and her brother threw her a look. "You saw it and so did I Theon."
"I don't think anyone's missed it" Theon muttered, noting the look of concentration on everyone's faces.
[Gared is also fleeing, and we hear strange growls and catch glimpses of the creature. Both terrified rangers stop some distance apart, to catch their breath. Will sees a creature behead Gared. Will sinks to his knees and the creature tosses Gared's head to him.]
A stunned silence descended on the people watching, none of them quite believing what they'd just seen. Those terrifying blue eyes, the body of ice and the sword it wielded. Only one thing known to them was anything like that.
"This proves it" Tyrion downed the rest of his wine and raised the cup to the air. "This is a fucking nightmare!"
"Ay, but I don't think it's one of those things your mind makes up," Rickard Stark said somberly.
"So what? You say that the fucking White Walkers are back and we're supposed to fight them for our survival?" Tyrion laughed a mocking laugh, downing another cup of wine. His cup had refilled on its own and he was not complaining.
"Yes" It was Rhaegar this time who spoke and all eyes turned to him, he looked pale and his eyes were wide and fearful.
"Something you would like to share with the rest of us, Prince?" Oberyn spat ignoring the hit from Elia beside him. She might have allowed for the Prince to have a second wife, but he was not about to forgive the insult he threw at House Martell. Nor is he willing to forgive her murder. He was simply not the kind of man to forgive and forget.
Rhaegar met Oberyn's stare, then he met Elia's. Elia gave him a small nod and the man exhaled deeply.
"A secret has been passed from Aegon I Targaryen, a secret that gets passed down from father to son, from King to heir. Aegon spoke of it to his wives Rhaenys and Visenya and his sons Aenys and Maegor. Aenys passed the words to his son Aegon the Uncrowned and Jaehaerys I heard it Aenys passed the words to his son Aegon the Uncrowned and Jaehaerys I heard it from Queen Visenya before her demise. The secret was seemingly lost because of the Dance."
"And yet you know it?" questioned Doran Martell. "Did you dream it again perhaps?"
"No, I'm not so special" the man shook his head. "I found it inscribed on Rhaenys' dagger."
"Rhaenys' dagger?" Varys inquired.
"Yes. It's a Valyrian Steel dagger with a dragon bone hilt."
"Joffrey has a dagger like that" Tommen Baratheon pointed out.
"It was one of the things Robert inherited after he became King" Stannis explained, eyeing his older brother who looked worse for wear. Stannis had never seen his brother so... lifeless. The energy seemed to have been drained from him. His eyes shifted to Lyanna, who was looking at him. She did not look repentant in the slightest.
"Perhaps it's the very same" Rhaegar muttered, ignorant of Stannis' thoughts.
"But anyways, hold the blade to the flames and the words will appear on it, transcribed by pyromancers themselves. It spoke of a prophecy, but the exact words were found after I was able to get my hands on Aenys' journal. He kept one after the realm began to spit upon him for marrying his son to his daughter."
"And what are these words on the dagger and the journal?" Tyrion questioned. It was one thing to believe in make beliefs and fairytales, but if they can be backed by facts... Well, Tyrion would have to reconsider many things.
"On the dagger it is written in High Valyrian, 'Hen ñuha ānogar, māzigon Kivio Dārilaros se zýhon kessa sagon Väedar Suvio Perzo'-"
"From my blood, come The Prince That Was Promised and his will be the Song of Ice and Fire" Tyrion translated.
"You speak High Valyrian?" Jaime raised a brow.
"I had the Maester teach me when I was young. A dwarf can't do much more than learn or perform. And as a Lannister dwarf, learning was the only thing I could do."
"Yes, that," Rhaegar said. "In Aenys' journal, he speaks of fearing that the prophecy of his father would be lost someday, which was why he wrote it down. He wrote that Aegon had seen a great Winter coming down from the far North, that would cover the world in darkness. He adds that after Visenya and Aegon studied this scenario in the libraries of the Citadel, they came to the conclusion that Aegon dreamt of White Walkers."
People digested the information in silence, what they learned from Rhaegar, what the true reason behind the conquest of Aegon the Conqueror was. It put a lot more context into the man's actions, Aegon I Targaryen's, who killed if he had to kill and accepted fealty so easily. He was trying to save as much manpower as possible, they all realized.
"The prophecy was also why I decided to take a second wife" Rhaegar added after pausing to let the people digest the facts. "Elia is perfect in every way as a wife, a Queen and a mother. However, her health did not allow her to have a child after Aegon. I believed that the dragon must have three heads and that three Targaryens would lead the charge against the White Walkers. It was after I discussed with Elia that we both decided to take on another wife, not just me but us."
"So all of this was for some damned prophecy?" Robert suddenly found the strength to speak. "There was no love in your marriage to Lyanna! You married her to get a child out of her!"
"No" Rhaegar said plain and bold. "Elia and I taking on a wife had everything to do with the prophecy. Me choosing Lyanna had nothing to do with it. Lyanna and I met in the Tourney of Harrenhal and our connection was instant. We wrote letters, confided in each other and shared our woes. Even Elia joined me in writing to her. I chose Lyanna because much like my love for Elia, I loved her."
"And I loved him" Lyanna added with a look at Robert. "He told me about the Prophecy and gave me the choice to return home or marry him. I chose to marry him."
"You married him?" Robert whispered, once more the fight being knocked out of him.
"I did, in the ways of Old Valyria. Like he had married Elia. It was a shame that I couldn't marry her in the same way before all hell broke loose."
The woman in question smiled.
"Women could marry each other in Valyria?" Sansa asked, looking unsure of how she should take that.
"Only if they both marry a man first. They must share a husband before they can share each other" Elia explained. "I wrote to Rhaegar, who I knew would be in Darry to marry Lyanna, warning him of what had happened with Lord Stark and his son Brandon. I advised him to go into hiding with Lyanna until matters settled down. It was why they were in Dorne, to begin with. Alas, the matter did not settle and here we all stand."