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The North Remembers is an A Song of Ice and Fire Continuation Fic written by Silver Raven Star, intended to be the direct sequel to the events which happened after A Feast for Crows and A Dance with Dragons. It is now complete.

The future of Westeros, and that of the Great Houses and their Kingdoms, hangs in the balance as the long winter starts its descent into the continent with the invasion of the Others. The game of thrones is now currently battled between House Lannister, which has suffered heavy losses from the War of the Five Kings and the ineptitude of Cersei's mad rule, and the rejuvenated Targaryen cause led by Aegon VI. In the North, Stannis Baratheon leads his men in the harsh winter against the turncoat Roose Bolton and his treacherous Frey allies, while relations between the Wall and the Wildlings have quickly fallen into ruin. Meanwhile, Tyrion Lannister has arrived in Meereen, unknowing of Daenerys's current predicament, and in the city of Braavos Arya struggles to abandon her identity as a Stark.

The North Remembers is for the most part centered on the viewpoints of the Stark family and that of their allies. At just over 600k words, it is a bit shorter than the first two books in the series.


This fanfic provides examples of:

  • 0% Approval Rating:
    • Cersei, who keeps digging herself into a deeper and deeper hole, to the point that even Ser Loras and Margaery feel sorry for her.
    • House Lannister in general by this point, especially after the unlawful executions of the Westerlings. This action was so widely loathed, that even the Westerlanders rise up in rebellion.
  • Action Girl:
    • Alysane Mormont. She even becomes the first woman to say the Night's Watch oath just so she can fight off the wights!
    • Brienne, Arya and Asha, as they were from the books. Sansa gets a moment when she counters Ser Shadrich's attempts to rape her with a knife to his neck.
    • It can be argued Arya is a Deconstruction of this. Her becoming a Badass assassin was due to the all the tragedies that have piled on since her father's death, to the point she was willing to cast off her identity just to escape it all. Later, as Arya's memories slowly begin to resurface, she comes to the conclusion that all the people she killed in the hopes of easing her trauma have left her feeling incredibly empty inside as this passage indicates.
    She hadn't been able to murder her way to peace, or bleed her way to vengeance. She hadn't been able to destroy herself to sanity.
  • Adaptation Decay: In-universe example, the play Arya watches in Braavos in the beginning is a historical adaptation of the events in King's Landing that led to Ned Stark's death and the War of the Five Kings. "Cersei" and "Tywin" are both Card Carrying Villains, "Jaime" is the comic-relief, and "Ned Stark" is a chauvinist who believes the problems of Cersei's control stem from the fact that she is a woman. The play ends with "Robb Stark" avenging his father and destroying the Lannisters.
  • And Then John Was a Zombie: The Great Other, Jon Snow, who is also, coincidentally, The Prince Who Was Promised.
  • Anti Anti Christ: The Prince that was Promised, also known as Jon Snow and the Great Other, is fortunately, not on the Others' side (he still remembers who he is), as he wants Sam to kill him after he's settled his business with Ramsay.
  • Anguished Declaration of Love: Bran gives one to Meera before she sacrifices her life energy for his sake, completing his transformation into a Greenseer.
  • Anyone Can Die: Especially for House Lannister by this point, which is lampshaded by Sandor Clegane. The Freys also take this up to eleven, bordering on Humiliation Conga.
  • Apologetic Attacker: Jaime, upon killing Qyburn as he attempts to escape from the White Sword Tower, tells him that it was Nothing Personal. Slightly subverted in the fact that he never really cared for the guy.
  • Arranged Marriage:
    • In order to win back the Iron Islands from her Evil Uncle Euron Crows-Eye, Asha agrees to Ser Justin's marriage proposal and offers it to Stannis Baratheon should he hope to win over the Ironborn. He accepts, though reluctantly at first.
    • Lady Maege Mormont and Lord Galbart Glover plan this for Jeyne Westerling once Jon Snow is legitimized by Robb's will, after she finally managed to make it to Greywater Watch. It doesn't go through after getting word of his 'death'.
    • Sansa also intends to annul her marriage with Tyrion and resume her previous wedding arrangement with Willas Tyrell in order to gain Tyrell support at reclaiming the North.
  • Arc Words: "The North Remembers."
  • Ascended Extra: Many of the characters who originally didn't have POV chapters themselves are now given an expanded role.
  • Asshole Victim: Walder, Roose, Ramsay, Qyburn, and Cersei among others.
    • Special mention goes to Randyll Tarly. Just in case we've forgotten what a piece of shit he is, he one again tells Brienne a that she would benefit from a "good hard raping." If anyone deserves to be the first victim of Aegon's dragons, it's him. Karma is swift.
  • Attempted Rape: As what's expected for so many people in this Crapsack World, Ser Shadrich tries to get his way with poor Sansa after he kidnaps her from the Gates of the Moon. Unlike the previous cases however, Sansa kills him.
    • Also, Cersei tries to rape Jaime. He's in such bad shape he can barely fight her off
  • The Atoner: Theon gradually becomes this.
  • Back from the Dead: Jon Snow is revived by Melisandre after his soul enters into Ghost's body, who she kills in order to bring him back. He doesn't turn out like Lady Stoneheart, but more in the lines of Coldhands.
  • Badass Creed: Brienne gives one to Sansa Stark, after finally locating her, and pledges her sword in her service:
    Brienne:"I, Brienne daughter of Selwyn, do swear in the sight of the Seven and of my fellow men, to serve in thought, word, and deed, night and day, in sight and out of it, until my lady release me or death receive me, Sansa daughter of Eddard and Catelyn, by the grace of the gods Lady of Winterfell and Queen in the North. To you will I bear body, chattels, and earthly worship, and I will keep faith and loyalty to you above all others. On my soul I make this oath, and may I be damned if I break it. I swear it by earth and iron. I swear it by ice and fire."
  • Berserk Button: Lady Stoneheart is cold and emotionless, to the point of being dead figuratively and literally. But when Littlefinger attempts to reason with her about the Red Wedding, about how only Robb was supposed to be killed and her to be spared at the massacre, she completely loses her shit and nearly kills him before being stopped by Sansa.
  • Big Bad Ensemble: Cersei, Ramsay and the Great Other/ Jon Snow.
  • Bittersweet Ending: At a very high cost the Others are finally vanquished. Dany's rule produces a fragile but standing peace over Westeros despite rebellions and intrigue from the various Houses, and the Starks at last take back what is rightfully theirs.
  • Bread, Eggs, Milk, Squick: After the siege of Meeren, Tyrion notes how spectacular the stars are, shinning over a wrecked city that reeks of rotten flesh and corpses are hanging from the walls.
  • But Now I Must Go: Jon Snow heads north after the Others are defeated to watch for their possible return.
  • Butt-Monkey:
    • Edmure Tully. As usual, nothing goes right for him.
    • Also Tommen Baratheon. On top of being verbally and physically abused by Cersei and manipulated by everyone else, the last we see of him has both his mother and biological father disregarding him and leaving him alone in the sewers of King's Landing. Then Randyll Tarly tells us that he was found down there dead, having probably drowned in the sewage. We can only pray George R.R. Martin doesn't go this far.
    • Nothing good happens for Jaime Lannister in this story, aside from making love to Brienne and going out in a blaze of glory.
    • Davos Seaworth is attacked by cannibals, wounded and infected by the Others, and horrifically tortured by Ramsay Bolton. Oh, and Stannis' Heroic Sacrifice basically means everything he went through was All for Nothing, including the deaths of half of his sons.
  • Calling the Old Man Out: Ramsay, apparently incredulous at his father's stern words for torturing vassals, calls him out on his hypocrisy when he himself killed Robb Stark for personal gain. He then promptly gets a punch in the face.
  • Cold-Blooded Torture: In an attempt to extort information about the three missing Freys (who were baked into pies), Wyman Manderly is subjected to some good old classic torture by Ramsay Bolton, who starts by pulling out some of his teeth. Roose Bolton calls him out on this behavior, which leads to the above...
  • Coming of Age Story: Sansa's story arc. As one reviewer put it, she's "growing in leaps and bounds."
  • Continuation Fic
  • Crusading Widow: Edmure, who after hearing of Roslin's death along with their unborn child, turns into a deeply bitter person who feels he has nothing left to live for in life.
  • Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Samwell. The nickname "Sam the Slayer" only becomes more apt, as he kills Euron Greyjoy and the Great Other.
  • Cue the Sun: The sun breaks over the ruins of Castle Black after the destruction of the Great Other, signifying the end of the Long Night.
  • Defector from Decadence: Addam Marbrand effectively leaves the Lannisters after Cersei ordered the executions of the Westerling family, offering his services to Wylis Manderly to help overthrow the Boltons control of the North and prepare for the onslaught of the Others.
  • Dead Guy Junior:
    • Edmure plans to name his child Robb if it turns out to be a boy, to spite the Lannisters and Freys for what they put his family through. Too bad Roslin dies before it can happen. Jeyne, on the other hand is able to name her newborn son Robb, nicknaming him Robbie.
    • Two of Willas and Sansa's children are named Eddard and Catelyn.
    • The son of Daenerys and Tyrion is named Rhaegar.
  • Deadpan Snarker: Tyrion, to the point even his chapters' narration is sarcastic.
  • Despair Event Horizon:
    • After Bran completes his transformation into a Greenseer and becomes the three-eyed crow, he nearly loses it in his viewpoint chapter after realizing who died for his sake.
    • Melisandre goes through one after losing her powers.
  • Died in Your Arms Tonight:
    • After a Heroic Sacrifice to blow the dragon horn, Jorah dies in Dany's arms.
    • Likewise, Jamie dies peacefully in Brienne's arms after making amends with Tyrion. All things considered, the heroes get the best deaths.
  • Digging Yourself Deeper: See Berserk Button and YMMV for how Littlefinger does this when he comes face to face with Lady Stoneheart aka Catelyn Stark.
  • Double Standard Rape: Female on Male: Averted. There's a reason Cersei's attempted rape of Jaime is on located on the Nightmare Fuel page.
  • Dragon Rider: Tyrion and Jon Snow become this, riding on the backs of Viserion and Rhaegal respectively.
  • Drunk with Power: Jon Snow once he gets Lightbringer.
  • Due to the Dead: An evil variant of this happens with Roose Bolton, whose body is mutilated after the destruction of Winterfell. Ramsay, being who he is, starts licking the blood from the massive rip on his neck and then pees on it.
  • Dying as Yourself: Surprisingly averted after Samwell stabs Jon Snow in the heart (who is possessed by Great Other). Jon becomes himself again as he whispers "Oh, Sam" before collapsing. It seems as if Jon is killed for good, but he is soon reborn, not as an undead monstrosity like he was before, but truly alive once more (with the added benefit of immortality). Naturally, Sam is very happy to see that he didn't kill his best friend after all.
  • Fingore: Davos ends up losing all of his fingers to Ramsay during his imprisonment at the Dreadfort. This nearly leads to him crossing the Despair Event Horizon because not only can he never sail again, he ends up believing that Stannis would, at this point, consider him to be a nuisance. He's wrong about that. Fortunately, he gets better after Jon creates glass fingers for him, and they become flesh following the sounding of the Horn of Dawn.
  • Fourth-Date Marriage: Sansa and Willas get married the same day they meet. Of course, the marriage is for political, not personal, reasons.
  • From Cataclysm to Myth: Arya notes that this will happen to Braavos after watching it sink into the ocean.
    “Men will sing of the sunken city [...] one day," Arya thought, her mind bizarrely, perfectly clear. "Of its beauty [...] Of how it was a great civilization before it vanished forever to the bottom of the sea, and became a memory, a myth.”
  • Gambit Pile Up: Just like the books, everyone's plans keep crashing together in the strangest ways.
  • Giant Wall of Watery Doom: A massive tidal wave destroys Braavos following the collapse of the Wall. This somehow makes it all the way to Meereen.
  • God Save Us from the Queen!: Cersei, who at this point in time has suffered a massive Villainous Breakdown from the last book and has been dubbed "The Mad King with teats" (by Jeyne Westerling, of all people). Even being under arrest hasn't stopped her from executing the Westerling family and Roslin Frey.
  • Go Out with a Smile:
    • Jorah Mormont, dying by the wounds inflicted to him by Daario, blows the Valyrian horn to free the dragons from Victarion's control. He sees Daenerys running to his side and smiles, happy to have been in her service.
    • In Chapter 106, after having made amends with his brother and finally redeemed himself in the eyes of history, Jaime peacefully succumbs to his wounds with a smile on his face.
  • Grand Finale: This story as a whole is this for A Song of Ice and Fire, complete with a "Save the World" Climax where Jon Snow, reborn as Azor Ahai, flies on the back of Rhaegal with Val to stop the Others.
  • Guile Hero: Sansa Stark.
  • Handicapped Badass: Jaime, despite both losing his sword hand and being inflicted with a grievous wound courtesy of the Brotherhood manages to kill three of the Kingsguard while trying to stop the Westerlings execution, and later on manages to hold his own against Ser Robert Strong AKA Gregor Clegane.
  • Heroic Sacrifice:
    • The Reeds sacrifice their life energy for Bran in order to complete his transformation into a greenseer.
    • Jon Connington kills both himself and Varys in order to save Aegon and awaken the dragons.
    • Stannis blows the Horn of Dawn knowing it will mean his death.
  • His Story Repeats Itself:
    • Once again, Jaime kills a monarch to save King's Landing from being burned with wildfire.
    • Also, Bloodraven had to sacrifice his loved ones in order to become the three-eyed crow and this is what eventually happens to poor Bran.
  • Humans Are Special: Seeminly, the most powerful magic is the human heart, at least according to the Children of the Forest.
  • "I Know You're in There Somewhere" Fight: In Samwell's final chapter, he is forced to fight the Great Other at ruins of Castle Black, who has completely possessed the body of Jon Snow. This is emotionally painful as he is forced to fulfill his promise to kill his best friend.
  • Improbable Infant Survival: Zig-zagged. Poor, poor Shireen Baratheon, Robert Arryn, Tommen Baratheon, Rollam and Elenya Westerling are all child characters who die, but Robbie Stark managed to survive his birth despite the contraceptives Jeyne had unknowingly used. Double Subverted with Myrcella Baratheon, who's Not Quite Dead.
  • Interrupted Suicide: Edmure is on the verge of committing suicide while at Casterly Rock in his first chapter, until he is interrupted by a maidservant sent by Addam Marbrand, who knows about the fake Jeyne Westerling Jaime had seen at Riverrun.
  • I Surrender, Suckers: In the climactic fight between Jamie and Cersei, when Jamie has Cersei in a choke hold, she pretends to apologize and concede, promoting him to loosen his grip. Then at her first opportunity, she stabs him, resulting in a Backstab Backfire as he disarms her and chokes her to death.
  • It Has Been an Honor: Stannis' final speech to his men before blowing the Horn of Dawn
    "Serve no usurpers or madmen. Do justice and live rightly. Burn a nightfire for me. And remember. Remember always."
  • Jade-Colored Glasses: Jeyne Westerling. Compare her chapters in A Storm of Swords to the ones here (in which she's a POV character) and see how she's changed from being an innocent, Wide-Eyed Idealist into a bitter, cynical girl shrewd enough to know how exactly the Northmen would treat her if they knew that Robb's trueborn brothers were alive. Galbart Glover tries to assure Jeyne that whatever resentment the northerners may have held for her disappeared after the Red Wedding, although Jeyne's suspicions are proven true when Glover essentially declares her crippled son to be an unperson
  • Karmic Death:
    • Ramsay gets his courtesy of Theon.
    • It is Jaime, not Tyrion as she often suspected, who finally kills Cersei.
    • Littlefinger, the man who had betrayed Ned Stark and had him killed so that he could finally claim Catelyn, is killed by Lady Stoneheart in a rather gruesome fashion.
  • Kill It with Fire:
    • Khal Jhaqo really should have known better than to try to capture Daenerys when Drogon was still flying about.
    • Randyll Tarly, when Aegon's dragons descend on King's Landing.
  • Killed Offscreen:
    • Garlan Tyrell in chapter 107.
    • Possibly the fate of poor Hodor.
  • Laser-Guided Karma:
    • Walder Frey is stricken with an apoplexy and immediately dies upon hearing that his daughter Roslin was executed along with the Westerlings at King's Landing.
    • Roose Bolton is stabbed in the neck by Ramsay while he wasn't looking, just as Stannis begins his assault on Winterfell.
  • Lie to the Beholder: How Stannis tricks Ramsay into thinking that he actually killed him, by snapping Melisandre's bracelet onto Arnolf Karstark, transforming him as well as binding his thoughts and tongue to prevent him from revealing his plans.
  • The Lost Lenore:
    • Robb for Jeyne, who she continues to mourn throughout the story.
    • Meera, for Bran after she dies and he becomes the new three-eyed crow.
  • Luke, You Are My Father:
    • Tyrion, who after putting together the pieces about Penny's past and that of her mother, realizes that she is his daughter.
    • Jon Snow's parents are revealed to be Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark.
  • Madonna-Whore Complex: Cersei is unimpressed with the hypocrisy of the Faith of the Seven regarding mothers.
    If one was to be a legitimate wise woman, one had to be as old as the hills, with white hair and withered teats. That way there was no danger of beauty, of sexuality, of damning the souls of those poor blameless men led astray into sin as a result of your shameful mortal flesh. Cersei had concluded long ago that it was impossible for a women to be accepted as both beautiful and strong, or even as either one. If beautiful, she was a slut. If strong, she was a bitch.
  • Mama Bear: Jeyne, when defending her son against the wights.
  • Manipulative Bitch: Tyene Sand. Cersei is such a Horrible Judge of Character by this point that she apparently convinced herself that Tyene is her only friend. When Jaime kills her to prevent any further plans of hers with Tommen's life at risk, she freaks out.
  • Mix-and-Match Man: Robert Strong is revealed to be a combination of Gregor Clegane's body...and Robb Stark's head
  • Motive Rant: Cersei gives one to Jaime in chapter 101 as she prepares to burn down King's Landing with wildfire.
  • Never Found the Body: Myrcella Baratheon was allegedly killed because they learned the truth about Ser Robert Strong. Yet when Arianne demands to know the details of how it had happened from her father, he's strangely quiet about it.
  • Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Granted, it had to be done in order to eventually defeat the Others, but Jon Snow blowing the Horn of Winter and bringing down the Wall came at a heavy cost, allowing the Others to freely travel south and cause mayhem and death throughout Westeros. Additionally, it caused a tsunami which destroyed the city Braavos and wrecked havoc throughout the world.
  • Nice Guy: Ser Addam Marbrand, companion and close brother-in-arms to Jaime Lannister. He's chivalrous, courteous, and hardly loses his temper even when things don't go off as planned. He turns out to be one of the few people who acknowledges the impending winter and invasion of the Others as a serious threat to the Seven Kingdoms, and makes the decision to turn the Lannister fleet against House Bolton because of their universally despised control. He even continues to treats Jeyne with respect after seeing her crippled son, knowing well that he's all that she has left.
  • No Immortal Inertia: Melisandre appears as her true age following the destruction of the temple of the R'hllor in Asshai.
  • "Not So Different" Remark: Jon muses that humans and the Others are this, as while men deem the Others to be ruthless killers, men have also waged brutal wars, including genocidal ones like the Andal invasion, and that many praised lords and heroes wielded the power to kill those they disliked.
  • Not Quite Dead: Despite being widely believed to have been killed by Obara Sand, Myrcella in fact survived the attack and was smuggled to Highgarden. One of her companions had died instead and people mistook her for the princess.
  • Oh, Crap!: Sansa and company's reaction to being spotted by Robert Strong/Gregor Clegane while trying to sneak into the Red Keep
  • Only Sane Man: Addam Marbrand, again. Willas Tyrell, apart from his grandmother, seems to be this for the Tyrell family, and would rather live a peaceful life with his family instead of playing in the game of thrones.
  • Original Flavor
  • Our Zombies Are Different: Drinking the blood of an Other apparently enables the drinker to become an Other themselves as opposed to a wight, Theon learns this to his horror after Ramsay arises from doing the same.
  • Papa Wolf: Tyrion, upon learning that Penny is his daughter. During Dany's stopover at Valyria, Penny is taken ill due to the smoke and ash in the air, with Tyrion warning Dany that he will not forgive her if Penny's condition becomes worse as a result of her sojourn.
  • Pay Evil unto Evil: The Rivermen are absolutely merciless towards the Lannisters at the siege of Casterly Rock, in revenge for everything that's happened to them during and after the War of the Five Kings. Wylis Manderly also plans to do the same for House Bolton, and it's all but certain that they will eventually go after the Twins.
  • Perfectly Arranged Marriage:
    • Asha goes ahead with her marriage to Justin Massey despite Stannis having died and thus no longer any reason to swear fealty, having been impressed by Massey's bravery during the war.
    • Sansa and Willas' marriage proves to be a lasting and fruitful one, while making their families into close allies.
  • Plot Device: The Horn of Dawn, as its name implies, is revealed to be the only thing that can bring the dawn. Additionally, there's the real Lightbringer, the Red Sword of Heroes, which twice ends up being wielded by a monster (Ramsey and the Great Other), both of which killed by that very sword.
  • Prophecy Twist: In-universe. Cersei believed that the valonqar would be Tyrion, but she finally realizes that Maggy was refering to Jamie as he is strangling her to death.
  • Redemption Equals Death: Jamie, despite his mortal wounds from fighting Cersei, manages to cling onto life during the battle against the Others. It's only after he sees Tyrion and apologizes to him for what happened to Tysha that he lets go of his hold on life and dies.
  • Rewarded as a Traitor Deserves: In a very twisted manner of justice, Edmure realizes that the Karmic Death of Walder Frey after receiving news about the execution of his daughter Roslin by Cersei Lannister was nothing short of irony, when he had previously betrayed the Starks and Tullys to gain Tywin's favor. He takes his demise well salted, as he would have to rejoice in his wife's death as well.
  • Reasonable Authority Figure:
    • Dany. Her destruction of the Iron Throne cements her pledge that the new Targaryen dynasty will not be one of absolute rule but that of equals among the Westerosi houses.
    • Aegon proves to be a wise and just ruler during the brief time he sits on the Iron Throne, despite his illegitimacy. He does nothing to obstruct Sansa, rather, he agrees to Sansa's request to annul her marriage to Tyrion and allows her to marry into House Tyrell. This would have never happened during the previous regime. He then shows mercy to Jamie for killing his purported grandfather, but wisely kicks him out of the Kingsgaurd and allows him to live at Casterly Rock (though things end up going a bit differently). Finally, his act of selfless honesty to admit his illegitimacy openly to Daenerys further proves his willingness to put the realm before himself. Had he remained seated on the Iron Throne in peacetime, he wouldn't make a bad king.
  • Sacrificial Lamb: The Reeds are forced to sacrifice their life energy in order to increase Bran's powers as a greenseer.
  • Sadistic Choice:
    • Aegon is forced to choose between his morality to making horrific, but pragmatic decisions to gain back his birthright. In both cases, he chooses to be pragmatic, executing the Westerlings and Roslin, and later choosing to sacrifice Jon Connington... In the case of the latter though, he calls it off at the last minute
    • Varys offers Jaime one during the Targaryen siege of King's Landing, offering him and Tommen safe passage out of the city and an guarantee of safety, which would allow him to finally settle down in peace with Brienne, in exchange for renouncing Tommen's claim to the throne.
  • Stupid Evil: Oh sure Littlefinger, go ahead and weasel your way out of your undead and crazed former love's gaze by mentioning the Red Wedding. Don't forget to tell her that the whole thing was intended for Robb to be killed and for her to be ransomed back into your loving arms. Oh she might be offended, "Family Duty Honor" and all that, but she still loves you, right? This works as well as you would expect.
  • Succession Crisis:
    • After the demise of Sweetrobin, one happens in the Vale. The lords never truly cared about the boy and are now squabbling over who will become the next Warden of the East now that Harry the Heir was brutally injured during a raid by the Mountain Clans. This leads to Petyr Baelish becoming the next in line to succeed.
    • Subverted in Chapter 103. Minutes after Randyll Tarly states that Tommen died without an heir, Aegon swoops in and takes over King's Landing, without even knowing his rival had died.
    • Daenerys averts this with Tyrion at the cost of the lives of her dragons.
  • Samus Is a Girl: Alleras turns out to be Sarella Sand, one of the Sand Snakes.
  • Sarcasm Failure: Jaime experiences this when he encounters Lady Stoneheart.
  • Self-Made Orphan: During the attack on Winterfell, Ramsay finally loses it and kills Roose Bolton like how he always wanted to, with his flaying knife. Also counts as a Karmic Death, considering that Roose had backstabbed Robb the same way. Fat Walda (Ramsay's step-mother) is also stoned to death after she was led to believe that Ramsay would let her go.
  • Shout-Out: Apparently, Sam has read The Lord of the Rings. Funnily enough, Sam is inspired by Samwise Gamgee.
    Sam shut his stinging eyes and remembered a story he'd once read, of mighty eagles coming to pluck fallen heroes from a fiery mountain.
  • Slouch of Villainy: After sacking Casterly Rock and Lannisport, looting its treasures and its gold while killing every man-at-arms there, Aurane Waters proudly sits himself down on the Lannister family seat and drinks from a chalice of wine he just so happened to chance upon.
  • Surprise Pregnancy: Jeyne is shocked to hear from Jyana Reed about the truth of her supposed pregnancy, despite not having her moon blood since the Red Wedding.
  • Sword over Head: Arya refuses to kill the Summer Maid as her last act of defiance against the Faceless Men.
  • Taking You with Me: In chapter 97, Jon Connington sets himself on fire and tackles Varys.
  • There Is No Kill Like Overkill: Roose Bolton is stabbed in the neck by a knife, dragged through into his spine, mutilated by scattering debris, and ultimately peed on as final insult. His lady wife follows suit, bordering on Cruel and Unusual Death when the killer drives a jagged rock into her mouth and beats her with it, before finally choking her with his knee.
  • This Is Unforgivable!: After finding out that Ramsay removed Davos' remaining fingers, Stannis vows to make the former suffer.
    Stannis: "Ramsay Bolton will pay, will pay and pay dearly. I will rip apart the Dreadfort until no stone stands upon another, until the flayed man is nothing more than a memory, until the name of Bolton is only uttered as a curse and a vengeance upon these lands, on this, you have my word."
  • Title Drop: The phrase "The North Remembers" appears a few times throughout the story. It is thought by Sansa, Davos, and Jon, and it is said by Brienne and Addam Marbrand, then Davos later on. Oddly enough, the phrase "winds of winter" pops up several times, which is interesting, considering the book that this fic is serving as a stand-in for.
  • Together in Death: Connington is greeted by a vision of Rhaegar as he lies dying.
  • Took a Level in Badass:
    • It seems as though in every chapter she narrates in, Sansa becomes more and more of a badass. From killing Shadrich, to leading the Brotherhood without Banners back to the Vale and getting her hand burned to enlist the Burned Men!
    • Also Jaime. See Handicapped Badass.
  • Villainous Breakdown:
    • Littlefinger. After five long books of meticulous, continental-wide planning and political manipulation, he finally starts losing his cool when the Burned Men attack the Gates of the Moon. Which culminates in him coming face-to-face with his former love, Lady Stoneheart.
    • Cersei becomes crazier in each of her viewpoint chapters as everything falls apart for House Lannister. She wasn't entirely sane in the beginning either.
  • Well-Intentioned Extremist: Varys, who is willing to do such things as arranging the Westerling family's deaths in order to draw support for Aegon's claim to the throne and sacrifice Jon Connington to awaken the mummer's dragons at Dragonstone in order to unite the Seven Kingdoms in preparation for the Others invasion.
    Varys: "I may lie in everything else, but I do not lie in this. I am the only one, have always been the only one, working to save the realm"
  • What the Hell, Hero?: Jaime Lannister calls out on the Brotherhood Without Banners for their utter hypocrisy and desire for seeing him dead, thinking that he's the source of all of their problems. Also counts as a Call-Back to Sandor's earlier speech to the Brotherhood before his trial.
  • Wham Episode: Many:
    • Chapter 39. After five long books, the Others finally attack the Wall.
    • Chapter 42. With a little manipulation from Varys, Cersei has Roslin Frey and the Westerlings executed, despite Jaime's best efforts. This action causes many noble houses to defect from the Lannisters to the Targaryens
    • Chapter 53. The Wall collapses
    • Chapter 54. Ramsay kills both his father and Mance Rayder, taking the real Lightbringer from the latter, and has Winterfell leveled via niter explosion.
    • Chapter 77. Bran completes his transformation into the Three Eyed Crow
    • Chapter 78. Euron sacks Oldtown in service to the Great Other. Sam is able to drive dragonglass into him only to be reborn as an Other. Sarella buys time for Sam to escape, presumably dying in the process.
    • Chapter 85. Sansa's plan is put into motion as the Brotherhood and Burned Men attack the Gates of the Moon during her trial. Cue Littlefinger and Villainous Breakdown as he stares face to face with Lady Stoneheart.
    • Chapter 86. Braavos is destroyed by a massive tidal wave just as Arya escapes along with Ser Justin and the Summer Maid back to Westeros.
    • Chapter 95. Theon finally gets his revenge on Ramsay.
    • Chapter 97. Jon Connington reveals to Aegon that he is descended from the Blackfyre line, not the Targaryens. He then burns himself and Varys alive, awakening two of the mummer's dragons at Dragonstone and under Aegon's control
    • Chapter 99. Sandor duels Robert Strong and the latter's true identity is revealed to be none other than Robb Stark (Specifically, Robb's head grafted to Gregor Clegane's body.)
    • Chapter 100. Jon is revealed to be the Great Other, upon which he extracts a promise from Sam to kill him after the Others are defeated.
    • Chapter 101. Jaime kills Cersei to prevent her from destroying King's Landing. Shortly after that, dragons swoop down on the city.
    • Chapter 106. The Others attack King's Landing right as Dany finally returns to the city and orders the Iron Throne to be destroyed while she and Aegon's forces manage to repel the invaders, but Jaime dies in the process.
    • Chapter 108. Stannis blows the Horn of Dawn and dies to give Jon a chance at stopping the Others for good. Davos encounters Gendry in White Harbor and declares him the heir of House Baratheon.
    • Chapter 109. Sam fulfills his promise to Jon and strikes him down with Lightbringer before the Great Other can truly take over. To Sam's surprise, Jon lives, no longer under the Others influence. Jon declares that he will stay in the far North to keep the Others from rising again and gives Sam a lift on the back of Rhaegal to return to Oldtown and rebuild the Citadel as the Long Night finally comes to an end.
  • Wham Line: Jon revealing the truth about the Great Other — it's him.
    Jon: "There is no hope of defeating this army unless the Great Other dies as well..."
  • "Where Are They Now?" Epilogue: The epilogue takes place nearly 30 years after the end of the War of Dawn.
    • Sansa has Winterfell rebuilt with the Tyrells' support and installs Rickon while acting as regent. Rickon however, proves to be uncontrollable due to his bond with Shaggydog and ultimately is allowed to abdicate and roam free in the wild. Sansa takes over as de facto Queen of the North.
    • Arya slowly regains bits of her memory as the years go by, though she never fully recovers. Despite an offer of marriage from Gendry, she refuses to take a husband, preferring her freedom.
    • Dany and Tyrion agree to a political marriage, managing to produce one heir. The queen's dragons die on the same day their son is born, which weakens Targaryen authority over the other Great Houses.
    • The regions of Westeros all find rulers — Asha Greyjoy to the Iron Islands, Edmure Tully to the Riverlands, Harrold Hardyng to the Vale, Aegon and Arianne Martell (now married) to Dorne, Myrcella to the Westerlands, and Gendry to Storm's End.
    • Jeyne Westerling and Addam Marbrand marry and raise Little Robbie with all their love and support. Robbie eventually leaves North to join his uncle Bran and succeed him as the Three Eyed Crow
    • Brienne remains at Sansa's side, serving in her Queensguard.
    • Sam becomes the new Grand Maester of the rebuilt Citadel and writes a treatise on the properties of magic.
    • Jon continues to stand vigil over the far North and marries Val.
    • Willas Tyrell and Sansa Stark's marriage produces four children, one of whom is killed during a rebellion. Willas breaks his leg again some thirty years later and passes. With their eldest son acting as Lord of Highgarden, Sansa decides to abdicate and pass on her title to her eldest daughter Catelyn, crowning her as Queen of the North as the story concludes.
    • Sandor shows up at Catelyn's coronation decades after he and Sansa parted ways at King's Landing, much to her shock. Old, grizzled, and missing an eye, he offers to escort the "little bird".
  • A World Half Full: Oddly enough, Westeros becomes this in this fic. Though many have died thus far and the Wall has collapsed, events are in motion to unite the other Houses in preparation for the Others invasion, Ramsay, Roose and Walder have finally received their comeuppance, and the Starks, who have been Westeros' Cosmic Plaything since the whole affair started, are in a position to reclaim their lost glory. The original setting of George R. R. Martin is far closer to World Half Empty. Lampshaded by Sansa in Chapter 103.
    There had to be some way, even in the smallest measure, to put back together what had been torn asunder.
  • Wild Child: Rickon, who somehow became separated from Osha. When he is found, he doesn't even remember that he's a Stark.
  • Would Hurt a Child: Obara Sand certainly would, and would gladly suffer the consequences for doing so.


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