Hey guys! Sorry for the wait, I've been busy and lazy and it isn't a great combination. Apologies! Once again, thanks a lot for all the reviews, the favourites, and, this time, particularly the follows; one more and this is past the 100 followers boundary, and equal to the highest number of followers on any story of mine here, which is phenomenal. So thanks a lot for the great support, and I hope you enjoy the chapter!

(A lot of new characters introduced here; I apologise for the confusion it may create, but I had to fill the time waiting for the raven from White Harbour and it makes too much sense not to have it happen... But there are a lot not new faces. Be warned!)


It was to be a week and three days before a raven came.

After the culmination of the meeting on the day in which Kennet reached Widow's Watch, a raven had been sent to White Harbour, stating that there had been little news nor business there of late, and one particular layabout merchantmen had chosen to remain at the place with his holds full, roaming the nearby countryside like some kind of lax Lord with his recently arrived son.

They took no chances regarding the corrupt Maester Theomore.

There was no reply to that raven, but there needn't have been. Best not waste the birds.

The Stone Maiden, having both sold and brought goods, departed two days after, Patrek waving a cheery farewell. Kennet had spent those two days mainly speaking with his parents, better getting to know his mother and learning more of his father's life, helping to bridge the surprisingly small divide that had formed between them upon the revealing of all that had been kept from Kennet for so long.

He had also discovered, on the first day, that Robin Flint had not been his only sibling, or half sibling. There were two half-siblings of his, a half-sister and a half-brother, Kara and Theo, fifteen and thirteen, respectively.

Kara was a rebellious, determined, and fiery girl, who refused to allow him to take the place of her big brother, "Whether in the line of succession or in my heart."

Kennet on his third attempt managed to placate her, with the words, "I claim not any place in the line of succession of Widow's Watch, when you have had yours for your whole life, and I have known nowt of even the possibility. I have always accepted a lower lot in life than some, and I can continue as such. As for your brother, the dead cannot be replaced in one's heart, and I would not attempt to do so, though I would have some place, if I could with your permission, with the family I have never known. I swear the truth of these words mine by the gods."

From then, she held a grudging acknowledgement and respect for him, which he supposed would be the best she could give while still grieving her older brother.

Theo was an energetic child. It was said that he took after his father, with his lighter hair colour and enthusiasm for fighting and hunting. He had taken to Kennet relatively well, upon witnessing a sparring match between he and Ser Mandon, and hearing that he'd been a soldier under King Robb.

The boy himself had some skill with a blade, but his footwork needed improvement. When Kennet was speaking with his parents, Ser Mandon could usually be found coaching the lad, and if Theo was elsewhere, the knight took to sparring with the soldiers who were being equipped and trained in Widow's Watch's large courtyard, training them and helping to prepare them for the fighting.

"It is good that the men of the region who will fight as soldiers are being trained now," Kennet stated to Tristan and Lady Lynessa, on his second day at Widow's Watch. "Many of the men who rode beside me, alongside the Young Wolf, had received little-to-no training, and I suspect many of those we faced were the same; drafted for combat with weapons put in their hands."

"We aren't merely equipping the men here," stated Lynessa Flint. "We intend to train them to the level that they are each worth three or four of the men who rode south alongside you."

"How can you be sure that they are?" Kennet had inquired.

"They are told that the test they must pass to end their training is to defeat four untrained men with the same equipment. If they do so, they have passed the test and will receive no more training unless they especially wish it, in which case, they take one-on-one lessons from then on, with the intention of becoming a core group of stronger fighters to more closely guard the leaders of the troops." Kennet's mother was grittily determined, he saw, to produce a force of men that would strike fear into those that had killed her son and her King.

Kennet thought for a few seconds, quietly. Then he asked, "How many men willing to fight remain under Widow's Watch's banners still?"

"There are five hundred, trained and training, both here and in the barracks, which is a mile north of here on the coast. Likely a thousand to a thousand five hundred more untrained would answer our call."

Kennet nodded at Lynessa's answer, before his father said slowly, "I think I know what you're getting at, Kennet..." He left a pause, waiting for his son to continue, which he did.

"If accommodation can be found, could not the men being trained now, or at least those who are further along, begin to train those who are untrained, mayhaps with an instructor guiding a few of those doing the training? And those who wish to train more once the shorter course is completed must also train those who are untrained, while furthering their own progress?"

There would be any number of logistical problems, particularly with Winter near-upon them, but the benefits of a well-trained and organised group of soldiers could more than enough to compensate, if utilised well.

"A possibility," admitted Tristan, "but also a drain on our resources. Finding, or building suitable accommodation, would be just the tip of the spear; and would take more time. Furnishing and staffing such accommodation, as well as the losses that the businesses - farms and fishing vessels, whose men we would be dragging away for this training - would sustain would only weaken the region's monetary strength, which is already waning due to the drains of war and the quantities of weapons that need to be made by the blacksmiths; not to mention the cost of feeding and paying these men."

"It could be done," Lady Lynessa stated. "Accommodation need not be another barracks. Were the soldiers to become used to comfort they would be of less use than if they knew well the workings of a tent. Cloths can be produced with wool, wood chopped from the trees of the surrounding lands. We needs must utilise these resources if we are to manage this task and have a strong, well-trained force to free the North again."

"Were such a programme to be implemented," Kennet pondered, "it would need to happen fast, if it were to have a major impact on the training of the troops and thus on the war effort. Having some troops at least deemed ready to move within one to two weeks could significantly assist in fighting the Ironborn, along the coast and at Moat Cailin both. How long does it take to train one soldier to the correct level?"

"Under normal circumstances, a month for the best results and most are able to fight well enough," Tristan's mother told him. "Along with more experience and training on the road, we would expect most to hold fast in a battle. However, currently, there are around two hundred men currently training who have been doing so for a month, and a hundred for more, counting the trainers, and another two hundred or so have been training for a week. If we intensify the training, both groups of two hundred might be ready in two weeks. The hundred more experienced can remain and train the potential new trainees, if we follow this plan."

"Say we have one thousand five hundred men here to train, though?" Tristan asked. "Fifteen men to one trainer is not reasonable for good individual tutelage."

"Groups of five hundred at a time, then?" Kennet asked. "With a hundred of each five hundred remaining to assist the training of the next five hundred, as well as to guard Widow's Watch from possible assault of the Boltons via the Hornwood lands, down or past the Broken Branch?"

Lynessa frowned. "The Boltons have better things to do than attack us. Already we have lost several hundreds, likely over a thousand men, and my son the Lord. The Boltons want the whole North, but if they are to get it, they shouldn't want to waste time on us. But I doubt they remember that the last harvests before Winter sets in are beginning to be brought in, and if they do, they know not that we withheld this many initially for fear of low yields of grain."

"There is the chance of an attack by sea, then," Kennet said.

"Our enemies could throw themselves against the cliffs for days. Attacking us from the sea is like attacking the Eyrie. We would be better than prepared for that with the customary garrison of one hundred, without keeping three hundreds from fighting in a vital force." Lynessa Flint narrowed her eyes. "You don't think the Boltons will attack. You just want to-"

"To protect you. Both of you." Kennet glanced from his mother to his father, and back and forth again. He found understanding and love on both their faces, but a sadness on his mother's and a wry smile on his father's.

"Kennet," Tristan grinned, "we can take care of ourselves. As can you. I hope we can trust each other in this."

Kennet smiled, surprised at the gentle teasing of his sentimental wishes.

"It isn't that he's doubting us," Lynessa told Tristan, before looking back to Kennet. "You've only just found me, only just reunited with your father. You want to be sure that we are well protected in case what you are trying to do goes amiss."

Kennet nodded, sheepishly.

"No need to worry, Kennet. We are quite safe as it is, and your suggestions will only help us remain so."

He had nodded again, and shortly excused himself, passing Ser Mandon training Theo Flint in the courtyard when he had exited the keep. The two didn't notice him, so Kennet went on, searching for the oldest of his full siblings.

Following the death of Lady Lynessa's official husband in the Greyjoy rebellion, she and Tristan had reunited. Two years later, their first daughter had been born, a beauty and covertly rebellious as their mother had been in her youth, but with more of their father's serious nature, and his stature. Her name, taken from an old Skaagosi name of a Queen, who had married into the Stark line as a part of the treaty that had seen the people of Skaagos become a part of the North, was Iseult. She was eleven.

She and Kennet had spoken a few times the previous day, both with and without their parents, telling stories of their childhoods, Kennet learning about his mother and Widow's Watch, Iseult learning of Karhold, and more of her father, though she also had him tell of where he'd been, both North and South. He made sure to be careful not to speak of his task when talking of, for example, the Wall, for it had been agreed that such things would be best revealed to the young ones when news came of the King.

Kennet had three more full siblings, all male; the youngest, Bryndon, named for his and his father's ancestor Lord Bryndon, who had supposedly tamed a shadowcat, had been born but a month past; his imminent arrival had kept their mother from the Winterfell harvest festival.

Kennet knew not what to make of one so young, and awkwardly kept his distance when he could.

His other brothers, seven years old and eight years old, were fighting each other near-constantly. Dann, the elder, who was named not after, but acknowledging Danny Flint, was thinner and taller, often using his leverage to get the better of his younger brother, named Arnet after Lady Lynessa's father. However, Arnet was strong for his size and age, and Kennet thought that Dann was a little too close to his brother for comfort in skill level.

He would interact a little with them on the third and fourth days, wrestling a bit, but they were happier left to their own devices and he recognised that.

He spent most of the remainder of the second day in Iseult's company, speaking on a variety of topics including the North, the gods, history, and the dragons; discussions that continued over the course of the next five days, developing repeated jokes and deepening discussions, leaving Kennet decidedly impressed by the ten-year-old's mental capabilities.

During the next four days, he assisted Ser Mandon in training both recruits and Theo, as well as discussing strategies with his mother and father. It was decided eventually that the four hundred troops, when they were ready in a week or so's time, would have to take and hold Moat Cailin, against both Bolton and Greyjoy forces, from both north and south; they would be told to expect five hundred reinforcements in between two and three weeks, and another five hundred after the same interval, and another after them. Manderly reinforcements, and other Northern reinforcements, would be welcomed, if they came; though they would have other tasks first.

The Flint troops would move through Hornwood lands, and if asked, would state that they were defending the North from it's enemies, but not say where they were heading, in case of spies.

A message was being sent by ship to Patrek Stonefrost, who would convey the movement to Lord Manderly so that The Lord would not be alarmed.

The troops would not carry banners of the Flints of Widow's Watch, but the Direwolf of Stark; a warning to the Boltons that they were no Wardens of the North. They had no loyalty of it's men, and the Red Wedding would not be forgiven. Would never, could never, even, be forgiven.

Atrocities would be remembered and avenged.

The North did not forget it's losses. The North had more respect than that.

The North would avenge the North with an icy fury, and woe and death to any Bolton or Frey that got in it's way.

Late on Kennet's tenth day at Widow's Watch, or early on the eleventh, the raven arrived from White Harbour. He was called immediately to his parents' solar.

Mormonts rallying the mountain clans. Umbers acknowledge claim and recommendations, 150 men leaving to the wall in a week's time. Riders have rallied men and helped drive the Ironborn from several coastal villages. Message received from Stonefrost. Momentum swings to our favour. Now is the time.

Retrieve our King.