A/n: This Chapter may seem a little abrupt, but I will try my best to make sure the transition is not confusing for you guys.

| Game of Thrones world, Year 300AC |

"Father, may I have a word?" Ra asked as he quickly entered Luxarion’s private quarters, his heavy footsteps revealing his clear haste.

The golden eyed custodian paused abruptly at the threshold when he saw his father and Rhaella Targaryen resting comfortably in each other’s warm arms.

"Pardon me, my lady. I sincerely apologize for the intrusion," Ra added with a polite, awkward cough and an apologetic expression painted across his face.

Luxarion and Rhaella had gotten married about two years ago.

Although every single custodian was genuinely happy for their father and wholeheartedly approved of their loving relationship, the ancient beings were still incredibly reluctant to call a woman who was significantly younger than them their mother.

"There is no need to apologize, Ra. Though I truly hope everyone is safe, as it is exceedingly rare to see you walking in such haste," Rhaella answered with a clear hint of surprise and underlying worry in her soft voice.

"I gave Eddard Stark a specific memento before I departed for home. A magical talisman that would alert me if he were ever placed in mortal danger," Ra started to explain his sudden presence, but he was quietly interrupted by his father.

"And it seems the mortal lord is in grave danger. I did sense the signal and I personally investigated its origins, only to find Lord Stark currently rotting beneath the Red Keep," Luxarion spoke for the very first time in the conversation, his ancient voice steady and calm.

"I must help him, father. He is a good friend," Ra pleaded.

"You know who is arriving, son. How can I possibly welcome our lords without my eldest by my side," Luxarion countered with deep reluctance.

The great gold dragon had been meeting with Aaric within the dreamlands for quite some time, and he fully knew their Lord and his family would be arriving to their world at any given moment.

Luxarion had joyfully told his children and the Astral Senate, who had then announced the monumental news further across the realm.

This grand revelation had caused a massively festive atmosphere to bloom throughout all of Nightshade as the ecstatic people actively prepared for the long awaited arrival of their true rulers and gods.

People from all over Nightshade, hailing from every single remote settlement and hidden village, had been on a dedicated pilgrimage for the past half a moon.

They were currently camping in massive, tents throughout the capital city of Nightshade, eagerly awaiting the grand castle doors to open and properly welcome the Hawthorne family.

Luxarion let out a heavy sigh and looked up toward the ceiling in deep thought before quietly chuckling at his own words.

The ancient dragon fully knew his Lord would definitely want Ra to be out saving an honorable man rather than standing rigidly at a formal ceremony.

"On second thought," Luxarion muttered softly before snapping his fingers and instantly teleporting Ra away from the room.

The custodian blinked his golden eyes and suddenly found himself standing in complete, darkness as a sickening, foul smell permeated the stagnant air all around him.

A confident grin tugged at the corners of his lips as he closed his eyes and channeled a surge of raw magic into a necklace hanging around his neck.

The magic caused his full, imposing battle armor to instantly materialize and lock securely onto his body.

He then raised his armored right hand directly in front of him and firmly closed his fist. Glowing runes etched deep into his steel gauntlets shimmered brightly with arcane energy, and his heavy halberd was summoned directly into his waiting hand.

"I truly love my wife," Ra muttered into the darkness with a fond chuckle.

Elia had become quite adept at intricate runework over the peaceful years they spent together.

With the enthusiastic help of the goblins from their village, the Dornish princess had significantly helped with making the custodians’ armors vastly better and far more convenient for sudden battles.

"Who is there?" a weak, raspy voice rose from the suffocating darkness, perfectly guiding Ra toward the specific person he was there to save.

"Why am I not surprised at all to find you down here?" Ra quipped lightly as he walked over and stood directly in front of Ned’s dank cell.

He reached out, grabbing the thick iron bars of the cell with his gauntlets, and effortlessly broke the solid metal apart to free the exhausted Lord of Winterfell trapped inside.

"Come on, my friend," Ra muttered gently as he stepped inside the filthy cell.

He carefully helped Ned get up from the cold stone ground and firmly supported the injured man’s heavy weight with his own armored body.

"Ra? Thank the old gods. They have my daughters, Ra. They have my girls," Ned said in a thoroughly broken, desperate voice.

The northern lord winced violently and took in a sharp, hissing breath of pain because of his heavily infected leg.

"We will find them, Ned," Ra promised in a soothing mutter.

The custodian reached down and took a small brass lamp from a bottomless pouch resting securely on his belt.

Since they were still enveloped in complete darkness, Ned was entirely unable to see where the strange lamp had suddenly come from.

The custodian channeled a tiny fraction of his magic into the brass vessel, and a small, warm flame instantly came to life at its edge, illuminating the horrific, dark cells.

"Sit down for a moment. We must properly treat this terrible wound before we do anything else," Ra muttered firmly.

He gently guided the Lord of Winterfell back down onto a slightly cleaner area of the stone floor.

"My girls, Ra. Just let me be and go find them," Ned pleaded desperately as Ra carefully placed him on the ground.

The custodian completely ignored the request and simply handed the injured man a glass flask filled with a recovery potion before moving down toward his injured leg to apply some healing crushed herbs directly over the infection.

Ned took huge, greedy gulps of the thick potion, completely ignoring its atrocious, bitter taste.

The magical potion started its miraculous work immediately. Some healthy color finally returned to the silent wolf’s pale cheeks, and the constant, blinding pain he had been suffering through for days instantly lessened to a dull ache.

"I am a massive fool, Ra. A great, blind fool," Ned muttered angrily through tightly clenched fists.

"Hey. Look at me," Ra prompted the broken man, placing a firm, unyielding hand solidly upon his shaking shoulder. "We will find your daughters and we will get out of this cursed keep together." He added the words with absolute conviction and confidence.

"Though, for that to happen, I truly need you to stop this right now, Ned. Take a hold of yourself," the custodian urged strongly.

The northern man took a deep, shuddering breath before offering a stiff nod filled with newfound resolve.

He placed a steady hand firmly on the damp stone wall behind him for basic support and pushed himself back up to his feet with a heavy grunt.

They steadily moved together toward the locked entrance of the black cells.

Ned held the glowing brass lamp in his free hand for visibility while Ra kept his massive halberd raised, ready to attack anything that stood in their path.

When they finally reached the heavy wooden door, Ra turned his helmeted head toward Ned and offered a quick nod.

The Lord of Winterfell stopped leaning on the custodian and turned to use the stone wall for support instead.

Ra smoothly placed one of his armored legs right before the other and took a calming breath before violently kicking the reinforced iron door directly in front of them.

A deafening, booming noise reverberated heavily all around them as the massive door was brutally ripped straight from its iron hinges.

It struck the opposite wall with terrifying momentum, creating more than enough raw kinetic force to instantly crush and kill the startled Lannister guards stationed just outside the cells.

Ra bent down and easily pulled a sharp wooden spear from one of the dead guards, handing the weapon to Ned so the injured lord could use it as a walking cane as they began to move up the winding stone stairs.

The echoing sound of the shattered door had created more than enough noise for enemy soldiers to come pouring frantically down the steps.

However, there were two separate paths leading to the upper floors, and there were thankfully fewer soldiers stationed on the specific stairs they had chosen to take.

The custodian ruthlessly carved a bloody, terrifying path right through the armored soldiers as they moved swiftly toward Sansa’s chambers to free her.

"She must be trapped right in there," Ned whispered urgently.

He and Ra were currently hiding quietly behind a stone corner, while Ned pointed a shaking finger directly toward a specific room heavily guarded by a dozen armed Lannister men.

"Stay right here," Ra muttered softly.

The custodian crouched down low before suddenly running full force straight toward the guarded room.

He effortlessly carved his halberd through the terrified soldiers as if their thick steel plate armor were simply made of parchment.

Ra then grabbed the heavy iron lock on the thick wooden door and violently ripped it free before throwing the door open.

Inside, he found two young girls huddled tightly on the large bed, hugging each other and sobbing uncontrollably in sheer terror.

One of the young girls possessed bright auburn hair and deep blue eyes, telling Ra instantly that she was the one he was here to rescue.

The custodian smoothly took off his golden helm before moving slowly toward the frightened girls with cautious, nonthreatening steps.

"You may not remember me, sweet child. But we have met before. You were only of one name day when I last left the North," Ra started speaking in a remarkably soothing, gentle voice, but he was suddenly interrupted by Sansa.

"Ser Ra?" the Stark girl asked, her blue eyes widening in pure shock, and the towering custodian offered a warm nod.

"Ra, the knight of legends?" the other frightened girl, Jeyne Poole, asked out loud as well, wiping the fresh tears from her pale face.

"Father!" Sansa screamed in pure joy.

Ned had finally reached the open room by this point, and the young girl instantly ran up to him, throwing her arms around his neck and hugging her father fiercely as hot tears streamed rapidly down her flushed cheeks.

"Oh, my sweet girl. We do not have much time to linger here, sweetling. Where is your sister?" Ned asked Sansa frantically, his eyes darting around the room as Ra was busy helping Jeyne up from the soft bed and warmly comforting the shaking girl.

"She escaped, father. When the gold cloaks first came and when you were taken away," the Stark girl muttered in a remarkably low, trembling voice.

Ned and Ra exchanged a meaningful, heavy look before offering a solid nod of understanding to one another.

Ned securely held onto Sansa’s arm to keep her close, while Ra gently guided Jeyne forward, and the group of four walked rapidly through the maze of the castle as fast as they physically could.

By now, the gold cloaks were fully aware there was a massive disturbance happening within the royal castle, so they were flooding into the corridors and courtyards in incredibly large numbers.

The group of four had only managed to reach the outer yards of the Red Keep when they suddenly found themselves entirely surrounded by armed men closing in from all possible sides.

Ra clicked his tongue in mild annoyance.

He could have easily just teleported their entire group completely out of the hostile castle by now if he had already found Arya.

However, he quickly formulated a new plan in his mind.

He thought he could just teleport the current group away to a safe distance and then simply come back to the castle to find Arya all by himself.

Even a fully trained army of a thousand would not be a real problem for him if he did not have to protect innocent lives at the exact same time.

He was just about to enact that exact plan when a new, unfamiliar voice suddenly interrupted the tense standoff.

"Are you looking for her, by any chance?"

The voice belonged to a young boy with pitch black hair and black eyes.

The stranger was wearing an immaculate brown and black three piece suit, and standing right by his side was a familiar, fierce looking grey eyed girl.

The strange boy stood not too far away from their cornered group, wearing an incredibly easy, relaxed smile on his face as if the three dozen armed men surrounding them all were of absolutely no threat to him whatsoever.

Ra stiffened instantly as his golden eyes widened under his helm. His dragon blood surged in recognition and reverence to the person in front of him.

"My prince," the powerful custodian whispered in awe before falling straight down onto one knee in absolute, unwavering devotion.