Disclaimer: Game of Thrones belongs to G.R.R. Martin and Eragon belongs to Christopher Paolini

Chapter One

Jon Snow stood wrapped in his thick cloak to ward of the Northern airs bite as he looked towards his father Eddard Stark, who was sentencing a lad from the Nights Watch.

"Don't look away," He told his younger brother Bran who was gazing at the scene before them with a stiff back and clenched jaw. "Father will know if you do," Were Jon's final words before Ice was raised in the air and swung down without hesitation to end the deserter's life forever.

"You did well," Jon patted Bran on the shoulder as he walked back to the horses.

The King's Justice, enforced by the Warden of the North Jon's father and his ancestors before him although they served under a different King, it was not Jon's first execution he had been to, he was present at many over the years be they for bandits, thieves, rapers, murderers or even the rare Wilding that made it south of The Wall. As Jon rounded up Robb's horse and his own he heard his father speaking to Bran.

"You understand why I did it?" Ned's tone was stern but also curious to see if his son knew the meaning behind what had just occurred.

Bran fiddled with his horses saddle straps as he said, "Jon said he was a deserter.

"But do you know why I had to kill him?" Ned replied placing emphasis on himself as Bran looked up at him.

"Our way's the old way," was Bran's short reply in answer of his father who nodded.

Jon watched on as his father explained for his brother's benefit, "The man who passes the sentence, should swing the sword."

Now that the seriousness of the situation had passed Bran's natural curiosity shone through as he eagerly asked, "Is it true he saw the white walkers?"

As Ned frowned in thought he dismissed Bran's concerns, "The white walkers have been gone for thousands of years."

Not to be deterred Bran quickly replied, "So he was lying?"

As Jon watched on he saw his father quickly glance towards him out of the corner of his eye before looking back to Bran, "A mad man sees what he sees."

This was the end of the conversation as Ned mounted his horse with the rest of his men and Bran clambered into his saddle before riding back in the direction of Winterfell with Ned in the lead.

As the Stark company traveled back towards Winterfell, Jon road up besides his father, "Do you think there's any truth to what the deserter said about the white walkers?"

Looking over at Jon before turning back to the path he replied, "Nothing is certain beyond The Wall, the white walkers have been gone for thousands of years aye, but winter is coming and it does us well to be prepared, I will send a raven north to Castle Black to Lord Commander Mormont about the boy and ask for a report about any occurrences that happened beyond the wall."

Nodding at his father's words Jon said, "Aye perhaps Uncle Benjen will deliver the news personally."

Ned looked back over at Jon as a smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth, "Aye, perhaps my brother may even come to regale you with tales from his Rangings beyond The Wall."

Jon felt his ears heat up slightly as his father saw through his plan to see Uncle Benjen again, "Lord Stark, I apologise, it was not my intent to bring Uncle Benjen away from his duties."

Frowning in sadness as Jon clammed up and retreated back to calling him Lord Stark, Ned watched as Jon fixed his eyes determinedly forward refusing to look at him. Ned cursed in his head for the thousandth time that Cat had created this side to Jon as he got older.

"Jon, I know you are set on joining the Brothers of the Watch and if that is what you desire I won't stand in the way of your decision," Ned road besides Jon as he kept his face blank, an all too common sight this past year, ever since Jon turned ten and four, "But you will always have a place at Winterfell, you carry my families blood son, you have other options available to you."

Jon glanced over at his father before looking ahead as Theon road up to join them at the front, "I will keep it in mind Lord Stark."

Ned frowned, resigned to let Jon make up his own mind hoping Jon would choose something else for his life, not that there was not any honour in joining the Night's Watch but he had a feeling that's not what Jon's mother wanted for her son.

Jon cantered ahead slightly before dismounting soon followed by the rest of the party as he approached a large dead stag with its guts spilling from a large wound on its belly.

"What is it?" he asked his father as he, Ned and Theon approached the dead beast.

"Mountain lion?" Theon asked towards Ned, who was already shaking his head.

Kneeling down to examine the corpse, Ned replied "There are no mountain lions in these woods."

Standing up Ned nodded at Jory Cassel and they drew their swords and led the party off the path following a trail of blood spattered around the clearing which followed through torn up branches and shrubbery.

As Jon and the rest of the party followed behind Ned and Jory they heard a muffled thump and a crack. Looking at each other before heading in the direction the noise came from, they soon found the culprit behind the death of the stag behind them on the path.

Looking upon the scene before them in shock Theon was the first to speak up, "It's a freak!" Theon's tone was one of disgust even as he looked up past Lord Stark and at Jon who had picked up one of the five pups.

"It's a dire wolf," Ned corrected, his tone reproachful of Theon's callousness towards the symbol of his house.

Sharing a look with Rodrick, Ned pulled the stag's antler from the chest of the dire wolf with a squelch, "Tough old beast."

Robb was quick to interject, "There are no dire wolves south of The Wall."

"No," Jon replied as he approached Bran with one of the pups, "There are five. Do you want to hold it?" Bran took the pup from Jon and scratched between the pup's ears who proceeded to lick his face causing Jon to snicker at him.

Pulling the pup away from his face Bran asked his father, "Where will they go? There mother's dead."

Jon watched on as Rodrick advised Ned about letting the dire wolves remain south of The Wall.

"Better a quick death," Was Ned's answer as he stood up and Theon pulled his dagger from his belt, "They won't last long without their mother."

Approaching Bran Theon held a hand out, "Right, give it here."

"No!" Bran yelled tucking the pup back into his chest and turning away from Theon, Jon stepped to Bran's side glaring at Theon.

"Put away your blade," Robb's stern voice cut through the clearing hoping to defuse the tension between Jon and Theon.

Switching his glare from Jon to Robb, Theon replied, "I take orders from your father not you."

Hearing this Bran beseeched their father, "Please father."

Ned's face was grim as he frowned sadly at Bran, "I'm sorry Bran."

Jon looked down towards the pups still trying to suckle from their mother before a spark of inspiration flashed through his mind causing his eyes to widen, "Lord Stark, there are five pups, one for each of the Stark Children." Ned turned back to look at Jon at these words, Jon couldn't tell what his father was thinking as he looked at him with a sad look in his eye before it was gone, " The dire wolf is the sigil of your house. You were meant to have them."

Jon watched as Bran held his breath, waiting for their father's answer. Seeing a spark of pride enter his father's eye before it was gone and he gave them all a fixed look, "You will train them yourselves, you'll feed them yourselves," Bran's face lit up with joy as he shared a joyous look with Jon who smiled happily back at him, "And if they die, you will bury them yourselves."

Watching Theon put his blade away and climb out of the hollow, Jon turned back to the pups picking another up for Bran and giving the other three to Robb who grinned happily at his two brothers.

Bran looked up from the pups to see Jon staring at them who looked sad and happy at the same time confusing him, "What about you?" he asked Jon who shook his head at him.

"I'm not a Stark," he gesture ahead of him, "Get on."

Walking at the back of the group out of the hollow, Jon was hit by a small glare of light causing him to wince and close his eyes as he stopped to look around for its cause.

Surveying the edge of the hollow Jon noticed, buried beneath a small mountain of dead leaves beneath the hollow of a tree, a white vein which had caused the reflection of light to hit him, running along an icy blue stone.

Crouching over to the base of the tree, Jon pulled out the large stone to find a perfectly smooth oval shaped stone with a light blue colouring, so pale it looked like the ice that grew down the edges of the roofs back at Winterfell in the snow.

Stepping out of the hollow Jon almost ran into Bran who had stopped to wait for him, looking up from where his gaze had been transfixed on the stone, Jon asked, "What is it Bran?"

Bran looked up from the stone at Jon, "What's that? Is it a gemstone of some sort?"

Jon looked back at the stone as he rotated the large object, turning it in his hands as he traced the white veins around its edges, "I'm not sure Bran. I'll ask father when we get back to Winterfell."

With that, Jon wrapped the large stone in the folds of his cloak, out of sight of anyone else, especially Theon, who Jon just knew wouldn't think twice about taking the stone from a bastard.