Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Game of Thrones.
AN: This chapter takes place immediately following Chapter 13.
As we reach a year from the series finale, I'll just say, this story is going to end really different from the show. Really different.
AN 2: Musical Parings for this Chapter
Part 1: "Boss 2" from Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn
Part 2: "Bearer of Hope" from Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn
Part 3: "Forth Eorlingas" from The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
The Song of Builders
By Jojobevco
Chapter 14
When You Don't Have to Worry About a VFX Budget
Part 1: Prepare for Battle!
Builder McLaggen's Room
Fist of the First Men
Lands Beyond the Wall
Cormac's head throbbed as he was thrust into consciousness by the sound of drums. As he blinked a few times, he realized he was hearing the Fist's war drums. He shook his head and the sounds cleared. The drums were urging the Fist's soldiers to their posts. Then he could hear the bells ringing, indicating battle was expected in the next 15 minutes. Finally, the sound of the gong shot adrenaline through his system.
The Others, the gong sounded only for The Others.
Cormac jumped out of bed as his door was unceremoniously opened by Lieutenant Gilly. He quickly walked over and threw his armor cupboard open, speaking to Gilly as he went, "Report."
"Initial count is approximately 4,000 wrights headed for the Fist, led by two White Walkers."
Cormac nodded, "Our strength?"
"About 500, 300 foot, 100 archers, and 100 cavalry."
Cormac nodded, by all accounts, the Builders had massively overextended themselves. Between the forces occupying Qarth and those at Dragonstone, the Fist's reserves had been drawn to the bone.
As she was speaking Cormac had finished putting on his magic-enhanced Valyrian chainmail and was grabbing his battle robes, "Composition?"
"All Home Guard Regiment, but 200 foot and the cavalry are from the Urban Battalion, while the archers are from the Praetorian Battalion. The last hundred men compose the Juggernaut Company. All are drawing additional dragonglass and Valyrian weapons from the armory now."
Cormac buttoned his robes, nodding. He could work with this. The 1,300 men of the Home Guard Regiment of the Army of the Builders comprised a varied skill set meant to suit the daily needs and siege defenses of the Fist and the City of the Builders. The Urban Battalion was all present. They were the day-to-day law enforcement officials around the city, mostly responsible for light peacekeeping and traffic control. In this situation, they would be mostly useless. Most of the Praetorian Battalion, the elite units responsible for city defense, had been deployed elsewhere, leaving only the archery company. The Juggernaut Company was a major boon in that they were one of the few companies in the Army who were specifically trained and equipped for fighting the Others.
As he shoved a few things in his pocket, he turned to Gilly, "Order 100 foot from the Urbans to manage the evacuations, while the other hundred guard the entrances to the city outside the Fist. They're closed, but backup would be good. Have the cavalry assemble at the main sally port. Order the Juggernauts and archers to meet me on the roof. You will take command of the tower, while Colonel Ygritte joins me on the roof."
Gilly questioned, "What about the Urban Battalion commander?"
"He's going to be busy commanding the evacuation, therefore you will take the cavalry."
Gilly bowed and left. Cormac left after her, walking quickly past the soldiers who were drawing arms from the armory. He reached the observation balcony and looked out at the army below, shivering at the cold despite the climate charms on his robe. Cormac drew his wand and shot off two Patronus. One flew toward the Frostfangs, the other flew south. He now just needed to hold out until reinforcements arrived. Cormac allowed himself a brief smile, this was going to be fun.
Cormac turned around and backtracked through the Fist, following the line of archers moving toward the roof. He ran past them, shoving them aside until he arrived at a staircase leading up to a metal hatch. He climbed the stairs, pushing others aside, until he was standing next to Colonel Ygritte, she had traded her wildling outfit for a full plate armor set, that rippled with the telltale signs of Valyrian Steel.
"Ready, Colonel?"
She shook her head, "Not really. I can take almost any man in the known world in one-on-one combat but fighting the dead; that is beyond me."
"Not today it isn't." He released the latch on the hatch and opened it, stepping out to be met by swords from members of the Night's Watch. He held out his hands in the universal gesture of peace "Woah, I'm alive, not dead, put the swords down!"
Jeor Mormont, the 997th Lord Commander of the Night's Watch walked over and looked down into the hatch, "Who are you?"
"That's uh, kind of complicated. We're not dead though, so that makes us not your enemy."
One of the men holding a sword looks at them, "You're fucking wildlings, living in a cave or something."
Ygritte rolled her eyes, "Yes, we're Wildlings, wearing Valyrian Steel armor and carrying Valyrian Steel swords that are each worth more than your entire fucking armory."
Slowly, the members of the Night's Watch followed their Lord Commander and lowered their swords. Cormac and Ygritte stepped out. Cormac drew his wand and pointed it across the summit of the Fist.
"To answer your question, Lord Commander, I am Cormac McLaggen, the Travelling Builder, commander of the Fist and Builder of the Wall."
Cormac waived his wand and the snow and rock flowed away to reveal a series of battlements hewn into the rock. He turned back to the hatch, "Archers, to your marks!"
As archers flowed out of the hatch and formed up toward the north side of the Fist, Commander Mormont looked like he could be knocked over with a feather.
"Builder of the Wall? You're a myth."
Cormac slapped Mormont, hard, "Last time I checked, myths can't slap people. Get your head on straight, Lord Commander!"
As the last of the Archers formed up, a loud 'ka-thunk' sound started coming from the stairs. It got louder and louder, before the tip of a Valyrian steel spear came out, followed by the tip of a very large torch. It was soon followed by a pair of hands and a set of forearms that would put Gregor Clegane to shame. Soon it was followed by a head and a body.
The man in question was over six foot tall and very broad. The armor he was wearing looked like it would have weighted hundreds of pounds, but he moved with the speed and grace of wearing silk pajamas.
Once they could see the man clearly, it was obvious that he was not a giant, or a half-giant, had such people existed in this world. Just a somewhat large man wearing multiple interlocking layers of Valyrian steel armor. It made him appear as if he were two men across.
The Juggernaut Company, officially, was the result of the dedicated work and innovation of Lord Builders Potter and McLaggen following an inspection tour of Builder facilities in Essos. Unofficially, it was the result of a two-week bender after Robert's Rebellion. The trip involved an Unsullied revolt, a few Golden Company elephants, some weight reduction charms, a visit to Braavos, and copious amounts of alcohol. It also involved paying off the city of Braavos with a restoration of the Titan after they, well, decapitated the statue.
Juggernaut soldiers were covered by layers of Valyrian Steel plate with integrated runes that made it incredibly easy for the soldier to move while wearing the armor, but next to impossible for anyone else to move the soldier. They also made the armor impenetrable to attacks by Wights. The soldiers moved into position, ten rows of ten each, at the entrance to the roof. They planted their spears and torches, which fused with the rock and the first two lines drew their dual swords. They then waited.
The Same Time
The Beach
World's End Redoubt and Resort
Gogossos, Isle of Tears, Sotohoryos
Tyrion smiled as they finished their appetizer of fried crab cakes. So far, as awkward as this dinner was, at least the conversation was more engaging than most people he spoke with.
"Why do they call this World's End?"
Tyrion scratched his chin, "What do you mean?"
Sansa gestured to the large forest, barely visible on the horizon. "There is a whole other continent right there, it seems a little pretentious to call this place the World's End."
"Well, 'The End of Builder's Influence and Permanent Structures', just doesn't have the same ring to it."
She shrugged, "True, so why did they stop here?"
Tyrion smiled, took a drink of wine, as he prepared to spin the history into an engaging tale when he heard the bells come from the high tower of the redoubt. Sansa looked behind him toward the Fort and Tyrion turned around. He could see people running about carrying all manner of blankets and reclining chairs inside from the beach and the pool area.
"That can't be good."
Tyrion shook his head, "No, it certainly can't."
They quickly set their napkins on the table and ran back toward the redoubt.
Part 2: For the Builders!
Back at the Fist
On the north side of the roof, Cormac was about to start ordering the archers to fire as Colonel Ygritte drew his attention, "My Lord, there's someone down there! Someone living!"
Cormac drew his spyglass and aimed it where Ygritte was pointing, when he saw the face, he gasped, "Sam?!"
Wasting no time, Cormac turned to Ygritte, "Have the archers give cover fire!" He then pulled a Firebolt from his coat pocket. It magically expanded to full size as he pulled. He hopped on and lifted off, taking a moment to steady himself in the winter winds and diving down to the ice sheet surrounding The Fist. He saw Sam, hiding behind an ice bank, and next to him, a naked White Walker.
Cormac blinked, "What the fuck?" Did the Walkers forget their clothing or something?
Cormac swung in a 180 degree turn to put him facing toward the Fist with the Walker on this right and Sam on his left. As he did this, he drew his sword. He tried to ignore the army of Wights behind him. Cormac started parrying the thrusts of the spear of the Walker on horseback. He shouted behind him to Sam, "Get on!"
Sam darted toward him, "Dickon, what are you doing here?! Is that a broomstick?"
Cormac parried again, slicing off the horse's head, forcing the Walker to ground level, "Later, now get on in front of me! It's like riding a horse."
The moment Sam's leg was over the side of the Firebolt he accelerated forward, seconds later, he could feel the head and flashes of smoke as wildfire filled arrows exploded among the front line of Wights behind him. Cormac did some quick math in his head and, handing his sword to Sam, tapped his mirror commlink, "McLaggen to Gilly, open the sally port! Now!"
As the Sally Port started to open McLaggen grabbed his sword back. He pulled in front of the port and stopped, shoving his brother off the broom as Gilly ran out to pull him back inside. Cormac pulled hard on his broom, pushing it to a 90 degree climb as he soared up the Fist, settling back down on the roof as he saw the sally port close behind him. He then chucked at the phrasing of everything he did.
Cormac looked Ygritte, who was commanding the archers with a clear beat.
"Archers, ready!"
The Archers removed an arrow from their quivers.
"Light!"
They flicked their lighters, creating a small flame and lighting a small string past the fletching of the dragonglass tipped arrow. A sizzling sound went through the fletching.
"Knock and Draw!" The Archers did so.
"Loose!" One hundred arrows rained down on the thousands of wrights below. Some of them struck, some of them didn't, regardless, 30 seconds after, "Light!" a hundred green explosions, one foot in diameter, exploded among the wrights, lighting two dozen on fire, as several others were hit by shrapnel of dragonglass.
As this repeated several times in succession, Cormac looked around at the Juggernaut Company who were calmly waiting for the wrights to clamber up the hill.
The Same Time
World's End Redoubt and Resort
Gogossos, Isle of Tears, Sotohoryos
Tyrion and Sansa had run back to the redoubt to find a young lieutenant in command of the skeletal forces stationed there. Twenty soldiers and ten archers were all that were stationed out of the two hundred that were usually posted to Gogossos. On the resort side, most of the staff had been called up to the army. This left two chamber maids, a chef, a waiter, and an apprentice blacksmith who doubled as the caretaker. Suffice it to say, when hundreds of evacuees from the Fist started pouring through the floo connection, the staff and soldiers were overwhelmed.
Tyrion quickly moved the soldiers into some sense of order, having them keep the evacuees in an orderly line and start registering the evacuees and assign them rooms. Having resolved the immediate situation, Tyrion walked back to the kitchen. Inside he found Sansa assisting the elderly chef with dinner for thousands of evacuees as she shouted directions over her shoulder to the chamber maids and caretaker who were reopening the shuttered resort. As he walked back to the lobby he smiled slightly at the orderly line of evacuees, each with an identical small satchel containing their most important belongings. While just weeks ago, the smallfolk of King's Landing had been screaming and running in panic during a siege, the citizens of the Fist were calm. They had faith in the Builders and regular training on the sort of emergencies that occur when you live in a warzone.
Back at the Fist
It was night. After six hours of fighting, it was showing its toll. The movements of the Juggernaut Company which were initially powerful and exact; had become ever so slower and weaker. Half of the archers had been pulled off archery duty to provide the others on the roof with food and first aid.
That decision came after Cormac McLaggen, found himself engaging in his favorite pastime, cursing Harry Potter. Ygritte, after having two of the Urban Battalion run up a third barrel of arrows, had handed a piece of parchment to Builder McLaggen. If Cormac was reading Harry's chicken scratch right, the other forty-seven barrels of fireglass arrows had been transferred to Iceland Redoubt for 'health and safety.' Never mind that they had been in one of the most secure rooms in the known world to begin with.
He sighed, "Fuck, this is not going how I would have hoped."
Ygritte questioned, "Sir?"
"I had hoped that the White Walkers would have just retreated once they realized a Builder was present. The fact that they are willing to commit with such a small force tells me that they knew we were here. They are testing us. They want to see what we will do. That implies an intelligence they had not shown previously."
Ygritte, almost hesitantly responded, "Sir, I've seen the Battle for the Dawn. Can you just…" she vaguely waved her hand.
Cormac shook his head, "Eight-thousand years ago, when we used fiendfyre, there wasn't a city under this rock. Nor was it our military headquarters. We would win the battle only to lose the city. We're not doing that."
Ygritte nodded grimly, "Yes, sir."
Cormac looked at her as he looked toward the horizon, "Have hope, trust in my plan, Colonel."
"Of course, sir, what is the plan?"
"Hold the line."
Cormac could tell what Ygritte was thinking without legilimency, 'that's not much of a plan.'
Cormac looked down at the hoard of about 3,000 wights which were now on the ramp leading up to the roof and gathered around the base of the tower. He flicked open his pocket watch and glanced down before turning to the Juggernaut Company, "Juggernauts, rotate!"
The Juggernauts conducted an exacting maneuver, sort of like a ballet. With a few careful rotations, the man at the front had rotated to the rear for rest while the next man in line moved to the front. Being a Juggernaut was mostly psychological. With the runes built into the armor, no number of Wights can move the armor. Instead, it would only move when the wearer wanted it to. Hence, the hardest part was learning to not fear a hoard of angry ice creatures and to not move when charged. The actual fighting was rather straightforward, just carve through the Wights with minimal and exacting movements.
Cormac reached out his hand and swept about twenty former Wights off the ramp and into the sea of Wights below. As he did, he noted a new problem.
The torches had dimmed, a lot. Those torches were planted by the Juggernauts to kill and Wights that tried to jump over them. While they would never go out, instead of being massive flames, they were now low blue globes. Suddenly, a spear with an icy tip flew into the formation, spearing one man through and throwing a second man back with a dent in his Valyrian steel armor.
Ygritte's hand went to her mouth as her other went to her sword hilt. Cormac shouted, "Archers, reform behind the Juggernauts!"
As they rushed to reform, Cormac ran into the lines of the company, pulling the man with the crushed armor back further onto the roof. A Juggernaut had pulled the deceased man back. Once he did, he attempted to pull the spear out. Before he could completely close his hand around it, he stepped back, screaming, tearing the glove from his hand to reveal it was almost entirely black and frost bitten. Ygritte had ran forward drawing her sword and stabbed the deceased man at a close angle to the spear. Hopefully, it would be enough to keep him from resurrecting. She looked around, Builder McLaggen was nowhere to be seen. Ygritte turned to the archers, "Archers, Ready!"
At the same time, Cormac was flying over the roof of the fist. He had seen the Walker amid the masses, just in time to swerve to avoid a spear headed for his broom. Cormac drew his wand and fired a bolt of fire at the Walker, who moved his horse to the side to avoid it. The bolt then killed about five wights. Cormac knew he could not close with Walker, so he was left targeting him at a distance and trying to kill him in such a way that he didn't blow out half the Fist. He was about to make a move and looked around him, seeing a slight shimmer on the horizon. Cormac immediately hit his mirror commlink, "Lieutenant Gilly. Prepare to sally!"
He could hear Gilly breath in and out before calmly answering, "Yes, sir."
Ygritte's response was slightly less calm, "Sir!?"
Cormac ground his teeth, "We need a distraction, the cavalry is it."
"They'll be outnumbered thirty to one! It's a death sentence!"
"I can do math, Colonel. Their forces will be thrown off balance and we can press the attack."
"We are holding them, sir, we don't need to do this."
Another spear was thrown by the Walker toward the Juggernaut Company. Cormac reached out with his magic and pulled. He managed to slow it just enough that it dented one man's armor. As he was pulled back by his fellow Juggernauts, the Wights surged. They were repelled back by the rest of the company and the few that got through were burned by the Night's Watch.
"You were saying, Colonel?"
"Sir, we have sustained some losses, but throwing more troops onto the field isn't going to improve the situation."
Cormac was quickly loosing his patience, "I believe it will, Colonel, that will be all." He tapped his mirror commlink to cut the connection.
A chime indicated Ygritte had reopened it, "Sir, please."
Part 3: For the Fist!
Inside the Sally Port
Gilly shouted, "Riders up!"
Quickly, the 100 mounted soldiers of the Urban Cohort checked their reins and saddles before mounting their horses.
Samwell Tarly turned to her, "Where are you going?"
Gilly walked toward her own horse as she pointed to the door, "To ride out and meet the enemy."
Sam grabbed her harm, "Why? It's not safe out there! Certainly not for-"
"For what? Hmm."
Sam stopped, "Well for anyone to be honest."
"Steward Tarly, I appreciate your concern, but I have a responsibility. I need your help though," she pointed at the lever that would open the doors, "I need you to pull that when I tell you, and then reverse it once we're outside. You'll be quite safe in here."
Gilly heard her name over the mirror commlink, "Lieutenant Gilly."
"Yes, sir?"
"What is your first oath?"
Gilly's heart dropped into her stomach, did he know her doubts? Did he not believe she would do her duty?
Gilly remembered the day she graudated from the Military Academy. It was the proudest day of her life and that of her mother-wife and sister-wives. It was the culmination of years of reflection and an accomplishment that showed she had moved out of Craster's shadow. She lived that oath, and now, she would die for it.
"Sir, I swear to observe and obey the Honored Builders in all things."
"Are you ready?"
As she reached for her saddle, another hand reached it first. She looked over her shoulder, at a face she knew well. The hand then signaled for Gilly to step back. She grinned and said, "Oh, yes, sir!"
On the Roof
Prior to today, Colonel Ygritte had never questioned the order of a Builder. Up until moments ago, it would have been unthinkable. Although, her previous orders had made sense. This whole battle left her scratching her head.
There were so many ways around this. There were thousands of soldiers that could help. Portkeys that could have brought thousands here at a time. What was McLaggen thinking? She had overheard Builder Potter muttering about him being a glory hog. Was he sacrificing his soldiers for glory? Why would he do that?
Builder McLaggen spoke in her ear, "Colonel, what did I say the Walkers were doing?"
"They were testing us?"
"And what are we doing?"
She quoted his previous order, "Holding the line. Defending our capital."
The Wights surged again, and were held back, barely by the combined forces of the Juggernauts.
"I told you to trust my plan. I told you to have hope. To quote an old mentor, Hope can be found, even in the darkest of places, if one only remembers the light."
A new voice spoke, "It was happiness, Cormac. He said happiness."
"So, sue me! I paraphrased. Sally, now!"
The gates opened and a hundred horses dashed out, striking the column of Wights in the rear. But the gates did not close behind them. Instead, men followed, hundreds of them, no thousands. The Praetorian Battalion had returned! As Ygritte looked to the head of the battle, instead of Gilly leading them, it was Builder-General Dumbledore! He slashed through the wrights with a sword in one hand a whip of flame in the other
Suddenly, she saw a shimmer on the edge of the horizon and then a light, as bright as the sun.
She shielded her eyes and shimmer faded, instead she saw cavalry. A lot of cavalry. If she had to guess, it was probably 20,000 riders and their horses. She drew her spyglass and looked out, seeing the Builder Potter and General Giantsbane at the head.
Giantsbane roared over the mirror commlink, "Men of the Builders! Charge! Fuck them into the Fist!"
As they charged, she turned back toward the juggernauts, The naked White Walker had gotten closer. Suddenly, his horse's legs broke, cracking together and he fell to the side. A flash of dark obsidian flew through the night from what she realized was Builder McLaggen on a broom. The Walker shattered like an ice sculpture. Hundreds of wights collapsed around him. With the wave of the Builder's hand they were swept onto the ground below.
Cormac spoke again, "Colonel, we haven't fought the army of the dead in 8,000 years. We needed to see how they did, and how our army did. Just as they tested us, we tested them, and we tested you, our army. I think it went rather well."
The cavalry charge reached the wights, who had no place to go. They were crushed between the mounted riders and the walls of the fist. They started to crumble, they melted like snow on a fire.
Later, as Ygritte stood on the roof, directing the aftermath, her heart was heavy. She had failed, she knew nothing. Ygritte had forgotten the one lesson she had learned since birth. The one that had been hammered into her head. The one lesson she had fought in the name of. Trust the Builders.
AN: Please Review, thanks to those who have!