Divergence

Still wearing his armor and dirty from the long battle that had just taken place, he sat with poor posture, a sign of exhaustion, not fully leaning against the backrest. With one hand, he held his sword, the tip of which rested on the ground like a cane, while with the other, he played with what appeared to be a bone he had torn from one of the White Walkers during the battle in the North. He stared intently, waiting for the doors of the hall to be thrown open. Some of his companions were with him, but they hid in the shadows cast by the enormous pillars of that chamber. They already knew what was about to happen—he had said something to them in the North, at Winterfell, while they fought to protect the kingdom.

He wasn’t impatient, but calm, having already thought through every word he was about to say, like the continuous, repetitive movement he made with that piece of bone he played with in his hand.

One of the doors opened, allowing a warrior of the kingdom to enter, his gleaming armor contrasting with the one the king wore. Some of those present stepped into the light, emerging from the shadows that had concealed them.

"Congratulations, we've done a good job."

Two days earlier, while Vangark, along with Lady Brissy and Diavola, transported the "alts" to the outskirts of Winterfell and set up camps for each of the members who would defend those lands, Diavola informed the king that Arthurion would not be able to attend that day, but Paco would be there for a while to command his army. Vangark had planned to attack with two alliances: one led by Gen, and the other by the kingdom’s alliance, xNx, each with a single rally leader—Uriel the Great for the first, and Arthurion for the second. He wasn't planning to lead rallies unless necessary, for example, if the cavalry couldn't be taken down quickly or if they had to fight the T5 archers, who were always tough to beat. Moreover, from experience, he knew that the Night King emulated the stats of the strongest in the kingdom, and from their reports, the Night King had stats similar to the king’s. Therefore, Vangark would have to be in "farmer mode" so that the enemy wouldn't boost its stats.

At first, he said nothing, thinking of a solution to the problem of who could replace Arthurion. He initially considered Vanette, but the infantry was too slow to march, and since they would be sheltered in a hive and wouldn’t break bubbles to avoid being invaded, it had to be another cavalry. THE WICH was the answer—it had to be him. As soon as he finished setting up the camps, he returned to King’s Landing and informed him that he would be the other rally leader. The newly appointed leader accepted, though not entirely convinced.

On the day of the battle, when everyone was in position and waiting for the king’s instructions to form the two groups, Vangark solved it in what he considered the easiest way: the members of K29 in what had been their former alliance, GeN, and him with the members of K276 in xNx. Once this was settled, he saw Paco and Arthurion's army positioning themselves between the two small hives and beginning to attack the Night King.

At first, Vangark didn’t give it much thought, but THE WICH’s first attack didn’t go as expected. His companion’s rally size and some stats caused the king to decide to become the other rally leader. This allowed the enemy to adopt Vangark’s stats, and Uriel’s hits weren’t as effective as they had been at first. But as time passed, he realized that those who were supposed to be there for only a short while had been with them for over two hours, and each of Arthurion’s hits was much stronger than what Uriel or the king himself could deliver.

His companions and he saw the damage—if his rally had more people, each hit would undoubtedly be more powerful. Nonetheless, they were able to defeat the Night King in a time that no one present had ever managed before. On the way back to King’s Landing, their faces weren’t filled with complete joy, especially the king’s, who walked seriously without saying much.

The king stood up and let the bone he had been playing with fall down the stairs, and without looking directly at him, he responded:

“I won’t stop mentioning our dissatisfaction. You were the only ones who didn’t leave your alliance when all of us did.”

Leaving their guilds during those days meant losing chests for several hours and also being unable to claim treasures for a day.

After listening to his companion’s excuses, which he didn’t find convincing, Vangark turned his gaze and indicated:

“Remember that every member here fights for the other and fights for the kingdom.”

Upon hearing this, his companions became more visible in the hall, affirming what the king had said. The king only thought that this was the second similar situation to arise in such a short time, and confronting his alliance and kingdom companion in front of everyone was also a signal to remind all those present of the reason they had left their kingdoms and come to K276—to fight alongside people who had their backs, something they didn’t have in their old home, and to obtain rewards that were often denied to them because of others' selfishness.

The discussion between the two escalated, something Vangark had anticipated, and he had to measure each word carefully, maintaining calm and composure. If he got too heated, it could anger his companion even more, and the discussion could take a different path, potentially leading to both him and Arthurion leaving the kingdom, something he certainly didn’t want to happen, as he would be left as the only member of his alliance in those lands, and that would make him lose certain advantages.

With each of Paco’s words, Vangark searched for the right ones to be firm yet keep the situation under control, as what bothered the accused most was being exposed in front of everyone. But that was the message the king wanted to send—not to show favoritism to anyone. He had brought everyone who had come, and all had agreed to the rules. If he didn’t handle it now, it would become unmanageable later, and those who had stayed with him all along—THE WICH, Boca, and Chayle—would likely prefer to return to their small group of four.

After a few tense minutes, and seeing that what affected Paco most was being reprimanded in front of everyone, Vangark found the words to calm the situation and put an end to the discussion.

“You may be right, but you spoke for everyone here. I’ll take your words for next time, but I hope you take mine too.”

After glancing to the side, acknowledging each of those present in the hall,“I accept them,” he replied, and they shook hands. There were no more words; none were needed. It was what each of them wanted to hear, finally, to put an end to it. The king didn’t return to the throne; he went to rest. Undoubtedly, he would have preferred to be fighting an enemy than having these kinds of discussions with those who make up the kingdom. Looking at the crown now in his hands, he wondered if this would happen again. He didn’t want to reach the point of asking someone to leave the kingdom. He had done it with other alliances before, but this was different—these were people he had invited. He still doubted whether confronting Paco that way had been the right thing to do, but for him, it was the only way to ensure everyone remembered why they had come to this kingdom and didn’t forget it.

Fortunately, when Arthurion returned after a few days and everyone’s spirits had improved, the conversation was more cordial, and they finally put the matter to rest. Now, they had to focus on the next kingdom war that was approaching."