The Sorcerer’s War

The warhorns of Castle Black had barely finished echoing when the gates groaned open, allowing Benjen Stark to ride through the frostbitten air. The rangers and brothers of the Night's Watch watched in silence, their breath misting as they gathered around. It had been moons since Benjen disappeared beyond the Wall. Most thought him dead.

But here he was—alive. Barely.

Harry studied him as he dismounted. There was something unnatural about the way Benjen moved, like he carried the weight of something dark beneath his skin. His hands were gloved, his hood drawn tight. He looked at Jon first.

"Uncle," Jon breathed.

Benjen gave a small nod. "No time for reunions. We must speak." His sharp gaze turned to Harry. "All of us."

The urgency in his voice sent a chill down Harry's spine.

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A Shadow That Walks

Inside the Lord Commander's chamber, the fire crackled, but it did little to warm the room.

"I was taken," Benjen said, unwrapping the scarf around his neck. His voice was hoarse, his skin pale as death. "By them."

Jon tensed. "The White Walkers."

Benjen nodded. "They did not kill me. Not fully. They…" He exhaled shakily. "They tried to make me one of them."

The room fell into heavy silence.

"They drove an ice blade through my heart," he continued, pulling back his sleeve to reveal blackened veins stretching up his arm. "I felt the cold claiming me, my soul being torn away." His eyes flickered with something—pain, perhaps. Fear. "But I was saved."

Harry leaned forward. "By who?"

Benjen's lips pressed into a thin line. "The Children of the Forest."

Mormont's chair creaked as he shifted. "They are dead. Extinct."

Benjen shook his head. "No. They are few, but they remain. They fight the darkness in ways we do not understand. And they know what's coming."

He turned to Harry.

"And they know you."

Harry felt a ripple of unease. "Me?"

Benjen nodded. "They called you 'The Flame Beyond the Veil.' The one who carries fire where there is none."

Harry frowned. "What does that mean?"

Benjen's face was grim. "They believe you are the key to stopping the Long Night."

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The War That Has Already Begun

Outside, the sky darkened as the first snowfall of the evening began to fall. The Wall loomed, ancient and unbroken, but the men gathered in Castle Black could feel the weight of an unseen force pressing against them.

"They are moving," Benjen continued. "The dead do not march as men do. They move with the storm."

Harry shivered. He remembered the White Walker he had faced—the way it had resisted his fire. He had fought monsters before, but nothing like this.

"They fear fire," he said slowly. "But that one… it resisted my flames."

Benjen nodded. "Some will. The greater Walkers, the ones who command the dead, are not as easily burned."

Jon clenched his fists. "Then how do we stop them?"

Benjen reached into his cloak and pulled out something wrapped in thick cloth. He placed it on the table and unwrapped it.

A dagger.

Its blade was dark glass, shimmering faintly even in the dim candlelight.

"Dragonglass," Sam murmured.

Benjen nodded. "And Valyrian steel. Those are the only weapons that can truly kill them."

Mormont exhaled heavily. "Then we don't have enough. Not nearly enough."

Harry's mind was racing. "Dragonstone," he said suddenly. "Daenerys Targaryen is there. She has dragons. And if the legends are true, Dragonstone has a mountain of dragonglass beneath it."

Mormont frowned. "The South is in chaos. The lords are too busy fighting for thrones."

"Then we make them listen," Jon said firmly. "We send a message to Winterfell, Dragonstone, and beyond. If the White Walkers march south, there will be no throne left to fight for."

Harry nodded. "And if they won't listen, we'll have to find our own way."

Benjen stood, his expression unreadable. "Then you must hurry. The dead do not wait for kings."

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Beyond the Wall

That night, as the fires burned low, Harry found himself staring beyond the Wall, into the endless dark. The wind howled through the frozen wasteland, carrying whispers he could almost understand.

Jon joined him, pulling his cloak tighter.

"Are you afraid?" Jon asked.

Harry exhaled. "Yes."

Jon nodded. "Me too."

Harry looked at the dark sky, the stars barely visible beyond the thick clouds. "The Children of the Forest called me 'The Flame Beyond the Veil.' I don't know what that means. But I can feel something pulling at me."

Jon was silent for a moment. "Maybe you were brought here for a reason."

Harry chuckled softly. "Fate, huh?"

Jon smirked. "Something like that."

The two stood in silence. The war was no longer just coming.

It was already here.

And soon, the Wall would not be enough to stop it.!