Chapter 2: First Flight
Night fell on King's Landing like a curtain drawn across a stage, and I was already three levels deep in the Red Keep's servants' quarters when the real chaos began.
The scorpions had done their work beautifully. Every ten minutes, fresh screaming echoed through the castle's stone walls as another courtier discovered an unwelcome visitor in their chambers. The entire keep was in lockdown while guards searched for "saboteurs" and "Stark loyalists," which meant the corridors were crawling with Lannister soldiers.
Perfect cover for a servant to move unseen.
I pressed myself against the wall as another patrol passed, their footsteps echoing off the stones. My dying body had stabilized enough to function, but I still felt like I was operating on borrowed time. The system had patched the worst of it, but the original owner of this flesh had been sick for weeks.
[Current Status: Stabilized Servant]
[HP: 45/100 - Recommend rest and proper nutrition]
[Next System Tutorial Available: Appa Summoning Protocol]
[Location Analysis: Optimal summoning site identified]
The "optimal summoning site" turned out to be an abandoned courtyard in the Red Keep's eastern section, where broken statues stood like sentinels and weeds grew through cracked flagstones. It was isolated enough that nobody would stumble across me, but close enough to the main keep that I could reach it through the servants' passages.
I slipped through a doorway hidden behind a tapestry depicting Robert's Rebellion, emerging into moonlight and cool night air. The courtyard was larger than I'd expected, easily fifty feet across, with high walls on all sides and only one obvious entrance.
Time to test whether this was all an elaborate hallucination.
"System," I whispered, feeling foolish. "How does this summoning thing work?"
[Appa Summoning Tutorial Initiated]
[Creature Type: Flying Bison, Avatar Universe Integration]
[Summon Duration: 8 hours maximum]
[Cooldown: 168 hours (7 days)]
[Range: Continental (can travel anywhere in Westeros/Essos)]
[Warning: Creature is MASSIVE. Ensure adequate space.]
[Activation: Think 'Summon Appa' with clear intent]
Continental range. Eight hours. A week between uses.
Either I was about to summon a giant flying bison in the middle of King's Landing, or I was having the most elaborate mental breakdown in history.
"Summon Appa," I thought, focusing on the image of the beloved creature from Avatar: The Last Airbender.
The air shimmered.
Reality folded.
And then twenty feet of flying bison materialized in the courtyard with a sound like distant thunder.
Appa was magnificent. White fur so thick it looked like clouds, six powerful legs ending in massive paws, and a flat beaver-like tail that could probably level a building. His eyes were kind but ancient, looking at me with an intelligence that went far beyond animal cunning.
He made a low, rumbling sound that might have been greeting or question.
"Holy shit," I breathed, then caught myself. "Sorry. I mean... hello, Appa."
The bison's response was a gentle snort that ruffled my hair from twenty feet away. He lowered his massive head toward me, and I reached out tentatively to touch the soft fur of his snout.
[First Contact Successful]
[Appa recognizes you as primary handler]
[Flying Tutorial Available]
[Warning: No saddle or harness provided - recommend holding on tight]
No saddle. Of course.
I'd seen Aang fly bareback plenty of times in the show, but cartoon physics were different from reality. Still, if this was going to work, I needed to trust the system that had brought me here.
"Can you kneel down, buddy?" I asked. "I need to climb up."
Appa settled onto his belly with surprising grace for something his size, bringing his back within reach. I grabbed handfuls of thick fur and hauled myself up, my servant's body protesting every movement. The climb felt like scaling a small mountain.
The view from Appa's back was breathtaking. I could see across the entire Red Keep, out over Blackwater Bay to where ships bobbed at anchor like toys. The city sprawled in all directions, a maze of lights and shadows that stretched to the horizon.
"Okay," I said, trying to keep my voice steady. "Let's see if this actually works. Can you... fly?"
Appa's answer was to surge to his feet and launch himself into the air.
I barely managed to grab his fur before I would have been thrown clear. The ground fell away beneath us with terrifying speed, and suddenly we were soaring above the Red Keep's towers, wind whipping through my hair and the lights of King's Landing spread out below like scattered jewels.
Flying on Appa was nothing like the gentle glides I'd seen in the show. This was raw power, controlled flight that defied every law of physics I'd ever learned. The bison moved through the air like he was swimming through an invisible ocean, his massive tail acting as both rudder and propulsion.
"This is impossible," I shouted over the wind. "This is completely impossible!"
Appa made a sound that might have been laughter.
[Flight Mastery Tutorial: Basic Navigation]
[Directional Commands: Verbal or pressure cues]
[Speed Control: Trust Appa's judgment]
[Landing Sites: Anywhere large enough for 20-foot creature]
[Advanced Maneuvers: Available after 10 hours flight time]
We flew north first, following the kingsroad as it wound through the countryside. From this height, I could see the aftermath of Ned's execution—refugees streaming away from the capital, carrying whatever they could manage. Some were probably Stark loyalists fleeing before they could be arrested. Others were just common folk who knew that regime changes meant trouble for everyone.
But I had a different destination in mind.
"Dragonstone," I called out, pointing northeast. "Can you find Dragonstone?"
Appa banked smoothly toward the sea, his massive wings beating slowly as we gained altitude. The island of Dragonstone was barely visible in the distance, but the bison seemed to know exactly where he was going.
The flight took less than an hour, but it felt like minutes. Time moved differently up here, suspended between sea and sky with only the stars for company. The system had been right about the continental range—at this speed, we could reach anywhere in Westeros before dawn.
Dragonstone appeared ahead of us like something from a fever dream. The castle was built in the shape of dragons, its towers and walls carved to look like sleeping beasts. In the moonlight, it almost seemed alive, as if it might wake and take flight itself.
The island was deserted. Stannis Baratheon had taken his forces north to press his claim to the throne, leaving only a skeleton crew to maintain the castle. Perfect for what I had in mind.
Appa landed in the courtyard with surprising gentleness, settling onto the black stone without damaging anything. I slid down from his back, my legs shaking from the flight and the adrenaline.
"Good boy," I said, patting his flank. "Now comes the hard part."
[Supply Cache Creation Tutorial Activated]
[Recommended: Portable foods, tools, weapons, information]
[Cache Preservation: System will maintain contents]
[Marking System: Use Avatar symbols for identification]
[Security: Hidden from casual observation]
I had work to do.
The Red Keep's kitchens had been my first stop before the summoning, and I'd filled the system's newly unlocked inventory with everything I could carry. Twenty slots of compressed space, each one capable of holding more than should have been physically possible.
I unloaded dried fruits, hard cheese, salt pork, and travel bread—enough to keep someone fed for weeks. Medical supplies lifted from the castle's stores: willow bark for pain, herbs for infection, clean bandages. A few weapons I'd "borrowed" from the armory: good steel daggers, a short sword, a crossbow with quarrels.
But most importantly, I cached information.
I carved symbols into pieces of leather and bark—symbols that would mean nothing to anyone else, but would remind me of crucial plot points. The Red Wedding's date and location. The Purple Wedding's timeline. The Night King's eventual route south. Daenerys's progression across Slaver's Bay.
Everything I could remember about the wars to come.
I hid the caches throughout Dragonstone's ancient halls, marking each location with symbols inspired by Avatar's air nomad culture. Swirling patterns that looked decorative but would guide me back to each hiding spot.
[Inventory Management Unlocked]
[Current Capacity: 20 slots]
[Compression Ratio: Variable based on item type]
[Cache Creation: 5/5 optimal sites established]
[Recall Accuracy: 100% with proper marking]
The work took hours, but Appa waited patiently in the courtyard, occasionally making soft sounds that might have been encouragement. As dawn approached, I made my final preparations.
Dragonstone would be my backup base. A place to retreat if things went wrong in the capital, a secure location to plan larger operations. The Targaryens had built it to last, and its isolation made it perfect for someone who needed to stay hidden.
But more than that, it was a statement. A declaration that I wasn't just going to survive in this world—I was going to build something in it.
[Time Remaining: 47 minutes]
[Return Journey Recommended]
[Landing Site: Suggest Red Keep courtyard]
[Next Available Summon: 6 days, 23 hours, 47 minutes]
The flight back to King's Landing passed in contemplative silence. Below us, the world was waking up—smoke rising from chimneys, ships moving in the harbor, the endless cycle of life continuing despite yesterday's tragedy.
Ned Stark was dead, but his children were scattered to the winds. Arya was with Yoren, heading north toward safety. Sansa was trapped in the capital, playing a deadly game she didn't understand yet. Bran and Rickon were in Winterfell, protected by loyal men but vulnerable to the chaos coming their way.
And Jon Snow was at the Wall, about to become Lord Commander and face threats he couldn't imagine.
I had work to do.
Appa landed in the same courtyard where we'd started, the eastern light already beginning to creep across the walls. The bison looked tired but satisfied, like a job well done.
"Thank you," I said, meaning it. "I'll see you again soon."
He made one last rumbling sound, nuzzled my shoulder gently with his massive head, and then simply... faded. Like mist dissipating in sunlight, until nothing remained but empty air and the scent of clouds.
[Summon Complete]
[Appa dismissed to holding dimension]
[Cooldown period initiated]
[New Skills Unlocked: Cache Creation, Flight Navigation]
[Warning: Multiple servants reported missing from night shift]
I looked down at my clothes—still the brown wool of a castle servant, but now wrinkled and stained from the night's adventures. To anyone who asked, I'd been sick in my quarters, too ill to work the night shift. A perfectly reasonable excuse that would explain my absence.
But as I made my way back through the servants' passages toward the kitchens, I noticed something that made my blood run cold.
Little birds.
Varys's child spies were everywhere, more than there had been yesterday. They moved through the castle like shadows, paying attention to everything and everyone. The Spider had noticed irregularities in his web, and he was investigating.
[Reputation Alert: Varys Suspicion +3]
[Current Standing: "Interesting Anomaly"]
[Recommendation: Maintain low profile]
[Counter-Intelligence Options: Available at Level 5]
The game had changed overnight. Yesterday, I'd been just another dying servant in a castle full of them. Now I was someone with capabilities that didn't match my station, someone who'd been in the right place at the right time to cause chaos.
Varys would be watching.
But as I slipped back into the servants' quarters and began planning my next move, I felt a grim satisfaction. The Spider thought he was hunting me, but he had no idea what he was really dealing with.
I wasn't just some sellsword or spy with delusions of grandeur.
I was someone who knew how this story ended.
And I was going to change every damn page of it.
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