BRAN WATCHED FROM THE EDGE OF A CLIFF AS THE MEMORY BELOW HIM CAME INTO FOCUS.
A group of imps dragged a man, bound and gagged, into the woods. He squirmed and grumbled until they released him. He stood to his full height, which is well above the small frames of the Children, but the power the small women held is clear. He had lost his shirt along the way but he seemed to be beyond caring.
The lanky, brown haired man looked around the area frantically as if he were trying to find someone. "Where is she? You said she'd be here."
The four Children only stared, but a new part of the vision seemingly appeared out of nowhere.
"One of our powers, Bran, is that we can manipulate memories." The three eyed Raven says, nearly sending the young boy over the edge. "What you see is something I had hoped would remain in secret but to ensure our future I feel you should learn."
The scene continues, though, now there is a woman bound to a Great Weirwood tree. Her mouth is gagged, there are tears rolling down her cheeks and her clothes are ripped in certain spots. She looked as though she had just been pulled along the Forrest floor like the man had, but with less care— if you can drag someone bound and gagged with care.
"Mina" the young man called out, breaking into a sprint towards the hysterical woman. "What have you done to her? Why did you take her?"
Bran looked on from the cliff, squinting his eyes to try and get a better look at the two people. Thanks to the young man's back, he didn't see much of anything.
The gag was removed and the man cradled the woman's face. "Brandon!" The woman cried. "Get out of here! You have to get out!"
"Not without you Mina. Father nearly tore down the castle looking for you." He says, "If I were to go home empty handed he'd have my head on a spike."
Brandon turns to the Imps. "Release her at once, by order of King Greenhand."
"Your father has no power here, boy" One of them sneers. "You'd best remember that."
"You swore you'd release her." Brandon says.
"We swore no such thing." One of them snapped.
"King Greenhand?" Bran says in confusion. "Maester Luwin taught me about him. He was the original Brandon Stark's father when the first of men came about. The first King of the North."
The Three Eyed Raven released a breath, bracing himself for the events that were about to unfold. "Aye, Brandon Stark, a great builder from the first men."
"This is Brandon the Builder?" Bran asks incredulously. "So this happened centuries ago? Isn't that Leaf?"
Maester Luwin and Old Nan had told stories of the first men and how they rose to power. They spoke about a man thought to have magical powers, a king of the North said to have built the very wall used separate Westeros from the darkness farther north. Brandon the Builder was said to be a legend. So much so that the Stark's kept his first name alive for centuries onward.
"He said it has to be you two" Leaf says, stepping forward. "His actions demand consequences."
"What actions could a child have done to warrant such treatment?" Brandon asks, absolutely appalled by what is happening. "I demand to know who has spread lies so treacherous that you kidnapped a child from her home."
"That is no child, boy!" An Imp points to 'Mina', who remained helpless and bound to the tree. "This abomination is a great evil made to destroy everything in its path. We're doing you a favor, one you don't deserve."
Brandon moved liked lightening. He had turned on his heel and made a run for the Imp who continuously belittled him and spoke ill about his family. His fingers were a hair away from the rough skin of her rough bark-like neck. Yet before he could grab her, two of the small women grabbed his arms and pushed him back into another tree. The bark pressed into his back, reminding him of his missing shirt, as he thrashed against their hold. Leaf moved to the woman, pressing the gag back into her mouth to silence her once again.
With Brandon restrained against the tree and Leaf moving back to the other Imps, Bran and The Raven could see the face of the woman. Bran's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets as Marina's familiar face came into focus.
"This can't be right." He says quickly, "What kind of lesson are you trying to teach me? That's Marina there, right across from one of my ancestors."
He couldn't wrap his head around it. He grew up with Marina. She protected him and cared for him for as long as he could remember. She never spoke about her family because she said she couldn't remember anything before Winterfell, but now Bran had the sneaking suspicion that is because she purposely tried to hide it.
The Raven didn't say a word.
"Release a once! You promised me safe passage to my sister!"
"And we have delivered just as we promised." The imp snarled, tying a fresh gag around his mouth and silencing his cries. The child-like creature skipped back over to the other three, straight past Leaf who stared at him.
"He said it had to be you two, but nature can't have such an imbalance of power. One can't live without the other." Leaf turned to one of her companions. "Get her ready for the ritual."
"Who are they talking about?" Bran asks, turning to the Raven, who had now closed his eyes.
The old man looked grim and not at all confused like Bran has felt the entire time he entered the memory.
"When I first learned of my abilities I wasn't always as level-headed as I am today. I've made a lot of mistakes during my time in this world." The Raven's words are cryptic, and not helpful to the young boy trying to understand what is happening.
Bran turned back to the scene.
Leaf stood from the group of children, armed with what looked to be a poorly sharpened blade. When positioned at the right angle it caught the light and gave off a glint, appearing sharper than it probably was. Regardless, Leaf stepped in front of Brandon. His brown eyes were frantically looking from the child in front of him to his sister. The silent pleading and longing in them spoke the words his mouth couldn't say. He was helpless as Leaf slowly pressed the object into his chest.
His muffled screams echoed off of the thick trees of the forest, but no one heard him. Once the blade was pressed into his sternum, Leaf back away to see her work come to fruition. His brown eyes, that were once pleading and threatening to spill tears, now turned to an icy blue filled with unsolicited anger. His body went completely still as if he were at peace with his death.
"Nature demands a balance." One of the hissed.
"You do it, Leaf."
"Pass the blade"
Their words blended together in a frantic sentence, but a new blade was passed to Leaf nevertheless. The child walked to Mina just as she did with Brandon only moments ago, blade raised and ready.
"A wolf created with fire and a dragon destroyed by ice". Leaf pressed the blade to Mina's chest. "Nature demands a balance."
Unlike Brandon, Mina didn't thrash or shout into the air. Her face, streaked with tears, became blank. She stared at Leaf but it was as though she was seeing straight through her. A crown of red energy materialized on top of her mangled hair as a spiraled mark appeared on her wrist.
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Bran awoke with a start, desperately gasping for air, as if someone had just chocked the life from him. He nearly collided with Marina's forehead had she not moved away. The woman softly grabbed his face in her hands.
"Bran, you're okay. It was just a dream." She coos, trying to steady his breathing.
The young Stark let his forehead press against her shoulder for only a moment before he looked up again, though this time he looked right at Leaf.
"It was you" He mutters into the air. "You created the White Walkers."
"Bran, what are you talking about?"
"She knows exactly what I'm talking about." Bran says, looking behind him at the Raven who hasn't said a word. "They both do."
"We were being slaughtered while our sacred trees were cut down. They were our only connection to him. Without them we were powerless to find our enemies within our homes."
"So your plan was to take innocent children hostage and create a war between life and death?" Bran asks incredulously.
Leaf looked to the Raven for guidance but the older man still said nothing. He remained quiet and tucked under the branches of the trees. Bran follows her line of sight.
"They were talking about you, weren't they? You were the one that ordered Leaf to capture Mina and turn her into this. Don't you have anything to say?"
Marina frowns, looking between the three of them in confusion. She could see into people's minds whenever she wanted, especially when they were dreaming like Bran does when watching visions. However, she found that she couldn't do so in the cave. Her powers are rendered useless and so she is forced to be unequipped with the knowledge that her powers would have given her.
"Bran, what are you talking about?"
"It's their fault. The reason you can't remember anything before Winterfell is because they took away your memories. They turned your brother into the Night King. They turned you into this." The conviction in his voice was enough to quench any doubt that may have bubbled into her mind. "You had a brother. You had a family and he ordered them to take you away as a debt."
Tears appeared at the frontlines of Marina's eyes. She turned to Leaf, prepared for the worst but hoping for the best. "What did you do?"
"Your true lineage goes farther than the first men that your Maesters told you about during your studies. This life you live is but a consequence of my actions that I regret everyday." The Raven says, finally filling the room with his voice. "You're birth name is Mariana Seastar as mine is Brynden Rivers. Your mother and I were bastards, born from King Aegon the fourth and other noblewomen of the court."
"You're her uncle." Bran muttered. "You would have your own niece abducted and created as a weapon?"
The Raven remained impassive, and if Bran didn't know any better he would say that the older man shrugged his shoulders. "I told you I wasn't the man I am today when I became what I am. My mother had to fight for her place in the court and I had to fight for the respect and acknowledgement of my father. My sister created a child from the darkest parts of sorcery and suddenly I was forgotten."
"Jealousy!?" Bran exclaims.
"You wouldn't understand. I was feared and respected but that was taken away when her magic came about. My father threatened to have me stripped of my title when you came of age so I had to do something."
Marina's green eyes filled with tears as the truth picked apart her mentality, shattering the very beliefs she thought she understood. It had been them all along, everything that has lead to this moment was planned. Every word that slivered past their lips, every touch, every thought. Everything.
"I sent Shiera away, claiming that our father needed her somewhere else in the castle. While you slept in your room, I took the very knife my sister used to create you during her ritual to end your life. It was quick and you didn't even scream. I fled after that and here I am after all these years. The Gods looked to right my wrongdoings by reincarnating you as a Stark Direwolf, a Targaryen dragon's greatest enemy."
"How did you find her across the sea?"
"He had us plant his weirwood trees across Essos and Westeros. He settled in Westeros after fleeing Valyria so his eyes couldn't pass the sea. His magic is bound to Westeros now. The harsh winters of the north didn't allow for his trees to grow for some time." Leaf explains.
"Another game the Gods decided to play." The Raven sneers. "When I found you living your life with a new family, treated like royalty, I was so consumed with rage that I had Leaf capture you and bring you to me. I would kill you properly."
"You said that she would be the answer to the murders her people committed. You said--" Leaf begins. The feeling of betrayal feels like small needles pricking her skin.
"And she was, for a time. They both were, weren't they?" The Raven snaps. "I figured it would be better to make her feel the pain that I felt when I had to flee from my home, so the Great Builder of Winterfell, would be easy enough to use. I didn't expect for you to perform that retched ritual. Though I suppose in the end I will be favored."
The group was stunned into silence. Never had they heard someone consumed with so much greed and rage than the old man ensnared within the tree branches.
"You turned my brother into a monster." Marina mutters, her voice cracking despite trying to keep it steady.
"We didn't know that's what he had planned. We did what we did to protect ourselves from extinction." Leaf says.
"That still doesn't make it right!" Bran shouts.
"You killed me for power. Your own niece."
The Raven looked down at Marina, his dark empty eyes staring impassively. "And I'd do it all over again if I were given the chance."
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