Fanfic / Wayward Wolf

Wayward Wolf is a crossover of The Witcher and George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire. Written by ekrolo2 and can be found on the Spacebattles Forum.

About a year after the events of Wild Hunt and Hearts of Stone while on a contract to slay a Katakan menacing a village in northern Sodden, Geralt is thrown through a portal to the Westeros during the reign of Aerys II. Geralt soon finds himself a guest in the Red Keep and needing to carefully navigate the Decadent Court of the Mad King long enough for Ciri and Yennefer to retrieve him.

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Tropes included in Wayward Wolf, Beware of unmarked Spoilers of Witcher 3 and A Song of Ice and Fire:

• Absurdly Sharp Blade: Geralt’s Witcher Blades by Hatori and Dawn.
• Adaptation Expansion: The Others' motivations of exterminating all life and bringing the Long Night are their attempts to reclaim what is originally their home world. According to Howland Reed, the Others were the original inhabitants of Westeros and the world was always in an endless ice age until the climate grew warmer. From the beginning they came into conflict with the Aen Elle, and eventually the Children of the Forest and humanity. As the world grew more warmer, humans gradually supplanted the Children and the Others as the dominant race. The Others has since viewed humans and all life as invaders who are driving their species into extinction, and that destroying them and turning the world colder again is the only way to ensure their survival.
• The Atoner: In chapter 25, Pycelle kneels before Harrenhal's heart tree alongside Jaime, confessing his sins and failings before vowing repentance and steeling himself to rejoin the fight against Harren the Black.
• Awful Truth: Between Geralt and the Kingsguard knights, Jaime's illusions about the honor and glory of knighthood are shaken before Geralt helps him get to the realization about the institution he comes to in canon.
• Break the Haughty: Tywin tasked Geralt to be Jaime’s combat instructor for the sake of not only sharpening his marital prowess, but also to curb his arrogance and foolishness. After a rough start, Jaime eventually begun to learn from Geralt in earnest.
• Brought Down to Normal: Harren the Black loses his wraith powers thanks to Pycelle's powerful incantations and being stabbed with a weirwood branch. After being struck by Geralt's Quen and literally disarmed by Arthur, he is finally killed off by being impale with a weirwood branch by Jaime.
• Character Development: Jamie ends up getting an early dose of this in contrast to the rude awakening he got in canon. While he initially showed disgust in Geralt’s Combat Pragmatist nature, upon finding out how outmatched he is and learning about the harsh realities of combat, the arrogance he was known for has been heavily tempered, especially after with their efforts to banish Harren the Black and is more willing to incorporate Geralt’s teachings into his fighting style, becoming a more noble hero in the process as well as a more proficient swordsman. This has the side effect of causing Jaime to rebuff Cersei’s advances towards him instead of happily indulging in it like in canon, stemming from learning what incest can do to one’s offspring as well as not wanting to disappoint Geralt.
  • Pycelle, of all people, also undergoes an arc of development himself. Once a cowardly man, upon seeing how hard Geralt and co. were fighting Harren the Black, coupled with his physical limitations partly because of his age, inspires him to be more courageous, vowing repentance before Harrenhal's heart tree in earnest and playing a huge part in wearing down Harren to the point where the others were able to land a blow and kill him for good. Due to his efforts, he was deemed worthy to be knighted by Oswell and Arthur. He even volunteers to physically train himself so he doesn't become The Load to his newfound circle of friends, becoming a nobler hero in the process.
• Combat Pragmatist: To Jaime's initial disgust, Geralt is this. To his surprise, Sers Barristan and Lewyn are also this. Before long, the young Lannister takes to the witcher's lessons to turn him into this as well.
• Commonality Connection: Varys confronts Geralt about the latter's use of Axii on Wenda the White Faun, and that leads to a conversation about their mutual dislike of magic. Geralt gets curious as to why Varys is that way and asks a question.
  Geralt: How old were you when you were changed because of magic?
  Varys: ... Ten years old.
  Geralt: So was I.
• Cool Sword: Geralt’s rune enhanced witcher swords and the house Dayne ancestral sword, Dawn.
• Cruel and Unusual Death: Aerys (in keeping with his later life proclivities) has Wenda the White Fawn burned on a wildfire pyre. Thankfully, Geralt, who cannot stomach watching Wenda’s slow and agonizing death, discreetly put a spell on her that render her unconscious, giving her last moments to die painlessly.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: Geralt completely dismantles the Kingswood Brotherhood when he encounters them accosting Princess Elia and her escort.
• Despair Event Horizon: Rheagar is left in horrified despair to learn that the Others have returned to Westeros. He soon gets better when Elia encourages him to become a better king to lead the Seven Kingdoms against the Others and driven by his desire to build a better future for his baby daughter Rhaenys.
• Dies Differently in Adaptation: King Aerys succumbs to a heart attack (due to a combination of refusing to eat, drink and sleep for days, his increasing frustrations with the slow preparation for Harrenhal and being terrified by a defiant Tywin) and falls on the swords of the Iron Throne.
• Driven to Suicide: A young Euron Greyjoy is rendered blind and mad from witnessing the curse-breaking at Harrenhal, and throws himself off from Pyke's battlements.
• Dreaming of Things to Come: Rheagar is featured having a prophetic dream of himself wandering a Kings Landing reduced to a wintry wasteland.
  • Septon Meribald also has visions of the North and the inevitable return of the Others.
• Easily Forgiven: Averted. Queen Rhaella doesn't forgive Arthur, Oswell and the Kingsguard in general for their inactions and toleration with the rapes and abuses inflicted on her by Aerys. But she does give credit to Arthur and Oswell for admitting of their failures to protect her. She would have punished them severely if she wanted to, but she acknowledged that the Seven Kingdoms needs their service in the coming war against the Others.
• Enemy Mine: Neither Tywin nor Geralt like each other, but they have a mutual dislike of Aerys and the former even gave him advice on how to survive in the Mad King's court. Tywin also has enough trust in Geralt that he tasks him with tutoring Jaime in sharpening both his swordsmanship and curbing his recklessness.
• Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: When Geralt tells Aerys’ court about the dragons of his world, including a story about a kind dragon who was trying to establish peace and harmony between humans, elves, and dwarves, Aerys very contemptuously sneers at the Witcher’s dragons for having “scruples” and ranting that dragons are supposed to be mindless engines of destruction who completely obeys at their master’s command to lay waste on their enemies. Geralt mentally note that despite Aerys' boasts of how powerful Valyrian dragons are, he is blind to the obvious fact that the Valyrian dragons are extinct while the so-called "scrupulous" dragons are alive and thriving.
• For Want Of A Nail: With Geralt’s arrival before the start of the official canon, much has changed.
  • With Tywin tasking Geralt to train Jaime, not only are his negative qualities more curbed, but upon learning how inbreeding can cause genetic defects and fear of disappointing Geralt causes him to rebuff Cersei’s advances.
  • Since Geralt brought along Arthur, Pycelle, Oswell and Jaime to put down Harren the Black for good, Jaime doesn't gain the infamous moniker of Kingslayer, as Aerys instead dies by a heart attack. This doesn't put a negative reputation on Tywin's eldest son, allowing him to be viewed more in a positive light due to being a huge player in killing Harren the Black. This would normally inflate his ego, if it wasn't from the Character Development he received from training under Geralt, coupled with coming out of a supernatural battle by the skin of his teeth. As a result, he becomes more of a Knight in Shining Armor that he aspires to be, something that wouldn't happen to the canon Jaime until he lost his hand and even then, he’s more of a Knight in Sour Armor since he didn’t have Geralt to temper his recklessness earlier in his life which caused reality to metaphorically (and even literally) beat the lessons Geralt instilled to him in this story.
• Haunted Castle: Oswell Whent encourages an investigation of his house's seat, Harrenhal. His suspicions are proven correct.
• Impeded Communication: Following the curse-breaking at Harrenhal, all animals (except for cats for some reason) throughout Westeros are left very spooked by the events. The ravens who survived the curse-breaking refused to fly, thus causing a breakdown in communication across the Seven Kingdoms. This temporarily prevents everyone from learning the news of the curse-breaking and King Aerys' untimely death.
• Irony:
  • Geralt, a man who's well-known for his cynicism and wouldn't look out of place in the world of Westeros (monster-hunting and mutations aside), brings positive change to the people around him, causing them to face their flaws and seek to improve upon them.
  • Jaime Lannister is vilified as Kingslayer after killing Aerys. In this story, he also killed a king by landing the final blow that led Harren the Black to his demise but is instead celebrated as a hero. It's justified as one is a normal (albeit crazed) man while the other is a supernatural entity.
• Knighting: In chapter 26, Arthur makes good on his promise to knight both Jaime and Pycelle. Geralt opts to skip out on the honor as he'd already been knighted twice over.
• Last Disrespects: Aerys' funeral is publicly treated with courtesy. But when held in private, Tywin and Rheagar cursed the dead king. Rheagar swear to have his father's corpse to rot away rather than being cremated as according to Valyrian customs.
• Lighter and Softer: Subversion. For Geralt, Westeros at first seemed to be a better place, where people treat him surprisingly well and grateful, without the usual Fantastic Racism. Then, he meets the Mad King...
  • Overall, it’s a bit of a zigzagged trope. Considering the setting Geralt ended up in, it’s not that different from his home world since it’s filled with poverty, politics and manipulation. However, with the revelation that the Others are coming back as well as Geralt’s expedition to banish Harren the Black allowing the major powers to be aware of the supernatural forces in play, it at least gives a chance for everyone to unite against an enemy that’s out to get them, with Geralt being the leading expertise in such matters.
• The Magic Comes Back: Magic comes back to the world way much earlier due to Ciri creating a Conjunction in Westeros a year ago.
• Magnetic Hero: Even within the Decadent Court of King Aerys, Geralt is able to draw people to him because of his capacity for kindness despite the bleakness of the world he’s in along with his cynicism. His efforts in leading his Hanse to banish Harren the Black causes Arthur and Oswell to try and attempt to kill Aerys because of his madness and to spare the realm of more suffering though it wasn’t necessary since he died during their quest, Pycelle to be more active in body and mind to try and learn about the supernatural as well as be more useful in spite of his age, not to mention his willingness to train Jaime despite the rough start causes the Young Lion to be live up to the Knight in Shining Armor that he aspires to be, curbing much of his arrogance and being more mature in the process, helping that he participated in a battle that’s supernatural in nature. Even Tywin, despite his dislike of Geralt, was willing to assist him in helping him survive the tumultuous environment of the Red Keep and is willing to handsomely reward him in his efforts in training his son.
• My Master, Right or Wrong: Barristan still retains his loyalty to Aerys even after his death. He gets real upset over Arthur's criticisms of Aerys and even defends Aerys' actions in front of Rhaella's presence. But Barristan gets called out by Arthur to finally realize that Aerys was never a good king.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: As revealed by Howland Reed to Geralt, Ciri's battle to end the White Frost caused another, smaller Conjunction to occur, opening windows to hundreds of different worlds in the process which include Westeros - specifically in the far north, and returning magic to the land and awakening the Others just a year prior to Geralt's arrival.
• Normal Fish in a Tiny Pond: In spite of all his fame and feats, Geralt is FAR from the heavyweights in his own universe. On Planetos, though, his Signs, understanding of magic and alchemy and experience as witcher make him a pretty powerful wizard.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: When Aerys arrests Tywin, has him brought before him, and threatens to wipe out the Lannisters, Tywin laughs. He then proceeds to gloat over how even tied up and seemingly helpless, he still terrifies Aerys, and even if Aerys does wipe out the Lannisters, he will spend the rest of his life afraid that he might have missed one. Aerys’s fear causes his heart to give out.
• Our Liches Are Different: Harren the Black turns out to be this.
• Outside-Context Problem: Geralt is the walking definition of this, coming from a land where the supernatural is more overt, being a Master Swordsman who can put many of the Kingsguard to shame and while his usage of Signs is rudimentary at best, the fact that magic’s prominence in the world is heavily reduced makes him out to be a powerful wizard. Even his alchemical knowledge, while not necessarily lacking, doesn’t live up to the true scholars of his world yet he knows enough that it makes a significant difference.
• Prophetic Fallacy: In one of Rheagar's dreams of wintry doom he encounters a white wolf with red eyes naturally he believes the dream-vision to be referring to Geralt, the white-haired witcher with a red-eyed wolf-head medallion, when in truth it is referring to Ghost, the dire wolf of the third child he is destined to have.
• Positive Friend Influence: Ironically enough, Geralt is this. Despite his cynicism from his long-lived life as a Witcher, he brings out the best qualities of those who get to know him better. Even within the Decadent Court he found himself in, Geralt inspires people to change themselves for the better.
• Religion is Magic: Septon Meribald possesses magic that could heal people and animals. Meribald believes that his magic comes through his faith in the Seven.
• Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: Following the successful banishment of Harren the Black, Arthur and Oswell contemplate their oaths and vow to end Aerys before his madness can do more damage to the realm. This becomes unnecessary when Aerys unwittingly causes his own death on the Iron Throne.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Geralt contemplates fleeing the Red Keep after meeting Aerys. However, Tywin pointed it out to him that escaping would not work out in the long term as he is in a strange and unfamiliar land that he has less information about and no reliable allies and friends that he could depend on for help to escape from Aerys’ grasp.
• Silver Bullet: Aside from Geralt's silver sword and Dawn, weirwood branches can function as this for the supernatural.
• Spared By Adaptation: Simon Toyne of the Kingswood Brotherhood is sent to the Wall instead of dying in battle. Inverted with Ulmer who's killed in battle by Geralt.
• Sympathy for the Devil: Even though Geralt dislikes Tywin, he felt really awful for explaining about dwarves to Aerys and prompting the Mad King to cruelly mock Tywin about his son Tyrion.
• Throw the Dog a Bone: For all the trouble in brings, Geralt coming to Westeros qualifies at this. He doesn't need to deal with the discrimination of being a Witcher unlike in his old world as people actually appreciate the skills he brings to the table and treat him as a worthy ally to have. Everyone views his unique physical features (such as his cat eyes) as more of a unique quirk than something to be afraid of, allowing him to integrate easier. This is in spite of walking into the Decadent Court of the Mad King himself.
• Trapped in Another World: Once Geralt realizes he’s in a wholly different world after going through the portal he acknowledges to himself that he’ll need to wait for rescue from Ciri and Yennefer.
• True Companions: Unsurprisingly, Geralt’s network of allies even within the Decadent Court of the Mad King is slowly starting to increase in number, so far consisting of Orwell, Arthur, Pycelle and even Jaime.
• Wham Line: Howland Reed came to inform Geralt and his friends that not only the Others are coming to threaten the world decades earlier than in canon but also the death of King Aerys.
  Howland: I don’t believe the king’s madness will present a problem.
  Pycelle: He has been restored to his former self?
  Howland: King Aerys is dead.
• What the Hell, Hero?: After Arthur and Oswell regretfully expressed to Queen Rhaella of their failures to protect her from the late King Aerys' rapes and abuses, Rhaella very coldly called out on the entire Kingsguard the reason why they didn't do anything to save her is because they feared the repercussions from Aerys. Rhaella then terminated her reliance on the Kingsguard's so-called protection and ordered them to stay away from her.
  Rhaella: When Aerys was taken prisoner, a brave knight, a hero sneaked into a castle, killed his captors, and rescued him as if it were a tale from the books. And yet, no one ever came to save me. When I was the one beaten and cornered and helpless, you all just... went away somewhere and pretended not to notice... Just to protect your own hides.
  • Barristan also gets chewed out by Arthur for standing up to defend King Aerys' actions even in Rhaella's presence. After hearing Arthur's words, Barristan apologizes to Arthur and Oswell. But Arthur replies to Barristan that the person whom he should be apologizing to is Rhaella.
    Barristan: What has come over you two?! Do you even realize what you risked by doing that back there?
    Arthur: What has come over us? What has come over us? You have the nerve to question our sanity after you had the audacity to defend Aerys Targaryen back there? You know as well as Oswell and I that what Aerys did was vile, despicable, and wrong. If you had true courage, you would go back to the queen and apologize to her on your hands and knees.
    Barristan: King Aerys was-
    Arthur: A monster! A monster who would have brought destruction upon us all. Tell me, Ser, how long would you have stood by and allowed him to do as he pleased? Until he tried to hatch dragon eggs at Harrenhal? Or perhaps after he raped his own wife to death when his latest scheme failed?! Or maybe...Not even then.
• You Remind Me of X: Aerys II and Tywin remind Geralt of Radovid and Emhyr respectively.

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