Time passes quickly but Tobirama does not experience it fully, he has only brief flashes of lucidity and control in his new body. Flashes of his new mother, a beautiful dark haired woman with blue eyes, a man with brown hair, grey eyes and a long face, a grey haired lady with a soothing voice and a very loud energetic boy with the same face as the man. As time rolls on, there are more and more moments like these, that last longer each time. He learns the language very quickly as if he already knows it and is merely remembering it, from there learning that the boy, Brandon, is his older brother, the man, Rickard, is his father, that the older woman was his nursemaid, and that his mothers name is Lyarra, but most importantly, his new name, Eddard.
It is at the start of his fourth year that he finally gains full control of his new body, fortunately it also allows him to remember most of what has been occurring while he hasn't been in control. This helps immensely in the following weeks, enabling him to know all he needs to so as not to draw undue attention, this new family has been very caring and he does not wish to alienate or scare them by acting completely out of character. Fortunately it appears he has been a been quiet and serious child anyway, that while energetic when playing with his brother, is normally quite calm and content amuse himself without drawing attention. This suites him, as it at is similar enough to his personality of his previous life so he does not have change anything overmuch from the way he would conduct himself, though playing with his older brother is a challenge. In the next few weeks he begins to familiarize himself with his new home, a very large castle that is called Winterfell, exploring as much as he can in his spare time. There are many places to note, the Great hall, his father's solar, the kitchens, the library and he learns of more that he has yet to find. This exploration is mostly halted when he learns that his mother is pregnant, the dangers of childbirth are very familiar to him, his previous mother died giving birth. He starts to seek her out more as he does not wish to lose her without truly ever knowing her.
This proves to be an excellent decision, beyond the obvious advantage of spending time with her, as Lyarra Stark is a strong-willed, intelligent woman, who manages the castle household very well. She is firm but fair when adjudicating disputes between workers, pointing out to him how to spot liars, what sort of punishment is effective and how much can be borne without causing problems. How to manage the castle accounts, what supplies are needed and the amount, how to convince, cajole, suggest and order tasks to be done and who to talk to so they are done, all excellent insights into the people of this new world. As her pregnancy develops and she has passed her duties on to the steward, a young man by the name of Vayon Poole, she told him stories and the history of their family and the North, the domain his father ruled over. Stories of the First Men and how they came to Westeros across the Arm of Dorne into the Reach, lead by Garth Greenhand and his sons Garth the Gardener, Durran Godsgrief and many more. But the most interesting was Brandon of the Bloody Blade, who lead the fight with the giants and the Children of the Forest, and earned his name by killing so many of them at the Blue lake that it later became know as the Red Lake. Eventually a peace was formed when the leaders of the First Men and the Children of the Forest met on the Gods Eye and made the Pact, whereupon the Children would retain the standing forests and the First men would settle the open areas, also as a sign of goodwill the First Men converted to following the Old Gods, the religion of the Children.
The story of the Long Night and how the White Walkers came down from the far north bringing eternal winter with them, of how Brandon the Builder, a descendant on Brandon the Bloody Blade, formed and lead a great alliance of men, giants and the children to fight them. After a great battle in which he slew the leader of the white walkers, breaking their power and defeating them driving them back to the frozen north, bringing spring to the world. Knowing they were not completely destroyed he began building a great wall with the help of the giants and the children, 700 feet high and 300 miles long ranging from the Bay of Seals in the east to the Bay of Ice in the west. How he came back to the site of his great victory and raised a great castle, again with the help of giants and the children, calling it Winterfell as it was the place where Winter fell, naming himself the King of Winter, founding House Stark taking the direwolf as its symbol and choosing the words "Winter is coming" as a warning to all. Brandon then went on to build Moat Cailin the Key to the North, Stormsend the seat of the Durrandons and the Hightower in Oldtown as well as many more.
The stories continued on following the history of the Starks, how they slowly over thousands of years united the North into one Kingdom under them. How they defeated the many petty kings and forced them to bend the knee and swear fealty, the Warg kings of the Wolfswood, the Red kings of the Weeping water, the Fisher kings on the Stoney Shore, the Barrowkings of the Barrowlands and the Marshkings of the Neck. How they won Bear island in a wrestling match from the Ironborn and awarded it to House Mormont, how they then drove the Ironborn from Cape Kracken. How after having their lands raided along the Bite, they drove the raiders into the sea and raised the Wolf's Den at the mouth of the White Knife to protect it. The conquering of the Skagosi to stop their raids and bring them into the North to make their rule complete.
One day after finishing the story for the day she took him the the Godswood to teach him about the Old Gods, it was a large grove of trees inside the walls of the castle with many pools of water that were filled from the hot springs under the castle. The Heart tree at the center was gnarled and enormous with the face carved weeping red sap, it presence felt so ancient he could easily believe it was over 8000 years old, it had a pool of water in front of it, so deep it was pitch black in colour . As they approached it, Lyarra began to explain what the Old Gods hold as anathema, incest, kinslaying, slavery and the cutting down of wierwoods, how the law of guestright was considered sacred and that violation would result in the entire House being cursed. She then knelt before the heart tree, gesturing for him to follow suite, and explained how placing a hand on the face would allow the gods to hear your prayer. As he laid a hand on the face to pray with his mother for the safe birth of his sibling-to-be, there was flash of the endless ocean in the void and the words spoken to him in that place. He resolved himself to embrace his new life and protect his new family, from then on choosing to think of himself as Tobirama Senju no longer, to fully embrace his new life as Eddard Stark. As he did so he felt something stir inside him, a new foreign energy inside him where his chakra used to be. It felt like a wild animal, cold and completely untamed, when he reached down into himself and grasped it, as if it had never been controlled or channeled before. Abruptly it surged and broke out of his hold, causing his concentration to snap and him to draw a deep breath in shock. As he waited for his mother to finish her prayer, he sat back on his haunches and considered his new power, it would be a lifetime's work to fully master it. He doubted that the methods of improving chakra control would be applicable, the energy was just to different but he would find a way, though meditation would no doubt be key. As he walked back to the great keep with his mother he smiled slightly in anticipation, this would be an excellent challenge.
So time passed again, Eddard, as he had resolved to think of himself as, split his days between accompanying his mother, playing with his brother although this was lessened after a time as Brandon, now seven, began his weapons training so had less time to play, occasionally visiting the heart tree, exploring the rest of the Winterfell and meditating on his new power. Soon his sister was born and was named Lyanna, she had the same grey eyes and brown hair that most of the family had. Of course she stole his heart the moment he laid eyes on her and he swore to keep her safe. His fifth year brought the first winter he was aware of, although he had apparently been born in one, the temperatures dropped considerably and snow fell until it was meters deep. He wondered how anyone could survive such weather but his father explain how the people would store away a portion of all the harvests of summer and autumn in a great vault in Winterfell and other castles so they would have enough to survive. How many of the smallfolk of the surrounding areas would relocate to Wintertown, so as not to freeze and starve. How the glass gardens in Winterfell would continue to produce food so if need be they could send it to any who required it, how they and Winterfell itself was heated by piping water from the hot springs that the castle was built on all throughout its walls. As winter continued he spent more time meditating, getting more in tune with the energy inside him. He eventually managed to use it to slightly increase the acuteness of his senses, a small achievement but one that shows he is making progress.
By the time winter ends Eddard is seven namedays old and it is time to start his weapons training, though he has been practicing his taijustu katas in private. A Ser Rodrik Cassel, a barrowknight from a masterly house sworn to house Stark, had just taken up the role of master-at-arms and was a tough but engaging instructor well versed in nearly all the weapons used in combat. Ser Rodrik started him out with a wooden replica of a long sword, the most common variant, taught him the correct grip, how to draw and how to stand. Then made him practice them relentlessly for a moon or two until he was allowed to begin sparring against him. During these first spars it became clear to him, even though he had expected no differently, that fighting in Westeros is very different than the his previous experience, as there is no ninjustu or genjustu or chakra the fighting is based a lot more on strength, endurance than the speed and deception, thought they had their places. Though admittedly he made a better showing of himself in the spars than expected as his secret exercise and some of his previous kenjustu experience seemed to translate to this new style, allowing him to do well enough in avoiding and parrying Ser Rodrik's blows that he received compliments from both him and his father who had been watching from a walkway above the yard.
As spring advanced towards summer his mother had conceived again and his arms training continued and he also began to receive lessons in deportment, arithmetic and politics, which covered the noble houses of the realms and its history, from maester Walys Flowers. Walys was a somewhat bitter man from the Reach, who in his lessons consistently subtly emphasized the superiority of the south, the Faith of the Seven and the chivalry of the Reach in particular. When he continued this theme by carefully disparaging the First men culture by referring to them as barbarians and little better than wildlings, Eddard became curious as to why. So he discreetly began to look into the maester and carefully observe his actions in the castle. From various overheard converstions and a careful search of the maesters belongings, he learnt that Walys was a son of a hightower lady and an Archmaester of the Citadel, he had not managed to forge as many links in his chain as was expected and was sent to Winterfell as a form of punishment. He had also observed him in Winterfells library surreptitiously editing and even sometimes damaging books that upon later inspection mostly seemed to reference First men cultural achievements in history, the Children of the forest and magic such as wargs or greenseers.
After some consideration, he went to his father's solar to inform him of his discoveries, Rickard sitting at his desk, listened stoically as he stood in front of him and explained what had occured in his lessons and then his investigation. When Eddard was finished, his father smiled at him and beckoned him to come around the desk then pulled him up on his lap and quietly congratulated him on a thorough job, then went on to explain how the order of the maesters consider themselves to be the arbiters of all knowledge, how they hated magic as it did not fit their worldview and that only they should decide what everyone should know. How they controlled the main communication network of Westeros, the ravens, which meant there were maesters in every castle that served as trusted advisers to the many lords, thus how the maesters had a large amount of indirect power over the seven kingdoms. He then explained that yes it was a small insult that a man like Walys had been sent serve a Lord Paramount, one of the seven most powerful lords in the kingdoms, but that it actually suited him somewhat as the maester was easy to manipulate and steer into what he wanted done. Still skeptical Eddard questioned his father about the removal of knowledge from the library and in reply was graced with a small chuckle and Rickard standing them up, telling him he had something to show him. His father walked them over to a tapestry hanging on the wall on the backside of where the door would open to, behind the tapestry stood a small door, after being unlocked by his father opened upon to a large dusty room filled with shelves and many piles of books. This he was told was the Lord of Winterfells personal library, that only he or his family was allowed to access, that though it was unorganised contained journals of many of the past kings and lords Stark as well as a number of the books containing knowledge proscribed by the citadel. That many were added after they were noted to have a maesters interest. After thanking his father for sharing this with him and setting his mind at ease, his father made him swear to never tell anyone about this without his permission then told him to run off and play with his siblings. As he was about to leave he turned and asked his father if perhaps he could organise and study the books in the room in his spare time so as to learn what he could, his father agreed but warned him it would have to come after everything else he was expected to do.
As summer began his days continued to be a mix of training, bonding with his siblings, slow progress with his meditation and organisation of the Lords library, as he had taken to calling it in his head. His father announced the Harvest festival would be taking place soon, a large gathering of all the Northern lords to discuss business, settle problems, compete in the various competitions and generally make merry. He also announced that at the end of the festival Brandon would be leaving to foster with Lord Dustin in the Barrowlands, Lord Dustin was an old war companion of his and had a son around the same age as Brandon, it also seemed a few other lads would be sent there as well. This seemed to galvanise his unborn sibling into action as the birthing process began almost immediately after this, it was a long hard labour for my mother. Though his new sibling, Benjen, was born safely, the birth left his mother weakened and suffering from bouts of sickness.
Various lords gathered for the festival, most large, bearded men that were very loud and fond of drinking, they were completely different to the lords of his previous life, these men would not shy away from work or a fight and there were many. Fights in the great hall while drinking, in the sparring yard and then in the melee, no one died though much damage was done and afterwards though he was expecting feuds to have started, the lords actually seemed fonder of each other. Interspersed with all the drinking and fighting, his father would take single or small groups of lords into his solar, they would stay in there for a time the emerge most with satisfaction evident on their faces, the rest with blank faces that gave nothing away. When the festival ended, Brandon packed up and fare-welled from the courtyard, it was a tearful affair as both his mother and Lyanna did not want him to leave but in the end his father and Lord Dustin managed to get them on their way. Fortunately the Barrowlands are close enough that Brandon would be able to visit regularly, this fact had placated Lyanna enough to make her release Brandon's leg.
After his brothers departure Eddard makes a considered effort to play more with his younger siblings in an attempt minimise his absence, taking her on adventures all over the castle and as things settle down he continues on with his tasks and projects. At the end of his eighth year he has made considerable progress in sorting the Lords library though he is only a quarter done, having found a small number of entries in journals of past kings specifying the location of metal deposits and other untapped resources which he passes on to his father to ascertain if there is any worth to them. He also finds a number of marriage contracts, the majority just basic acknowledgements of the agreed upon terms mostly for marriages to their bannermen, however a small number pertain to marriages made to southern houses with terms dealing with the difference of religion and customs, that as far as he could tell were a way of protecting the Starks belief in the Old Gods. He brought them out and gave them to his father to read through, who asked him to wait. When he was finished he remarked it was an excellent find and would be useful very soon, his father then asked if he understood why he sent Brandon to fostered. Though he had his suspicions where this was going, he replied in the negative and his father explained it was a way to cultivate closer relations, another way to anchor alliances than marriage and for the fostered child to gain a varied education. Rickard then went on to talk about Lord Jon Arryn, a man he had fought with during the Ninepenny war, who was the Lord Paramount of the Vale and a very educated and respected leader. Who was due to start fostering Robert Baratheon the heir to the Paramountcy of the Stormlands soon, then asked what thought asked for his thoughts. Eddard understood then that he would be soon fostering with Jon Arryn and replied saying it was a good opportunity to create some lasting beneficial relationships. His father, pleased, then explained that he would be leaving to foster there when he turned 10 and he expected him to do well, listen to Jon and learn as much as he can.
When the time came for his departure, saying goodbye to his energetic sister, young brother and sickly mother was very difficult, he had come to love them as much like the family they were. His father with a group of men-at-arms rode with him to White Harbour, after his father told him he was proud of him and knew he would do well, he embarked of on a ship to Gulltown, with a smaller group of men-at-arms lead by Martyn Cassel, the younger brother of the Master-at-arms Ser Rodrick Cassel. The journey, though rough on the ocean was uneventful, at Gulltown he was met by Nestor Royce, a knight in the service of Lord Arryn, who escorted him and his guards high up into the mountains to the Eyrie, the seat of House Arryn. It was an intimidating sight as the rode into the courtyard, a castle impossible to siege as it it is positioned on top of a mountain, he was met by its an older man and a young boy, Jon Arryn and Robert Baratheon. As he bowed to Lord Arryn he resolved to wring every benefit he could from this fostering, for himself and his new family.
A/N I may skip over the time in the vale completely and just show parts of it in flashbacks, with this chapter consider the prologue section done, I will try to move into to more normal conversations and such from here on out. I limited the power available by design as I wanted to make it not a complete OP situation at the start, though by the end, well who knows. Anyway its not perfect I know but hope its enjoyable anyway.