Disclaimer: I own nothing in this story.
Author's Note: This story is cross-posted on AO3, and SB under the same name. I hope you enjoy what I've written and thank you for reading!
A Tale of Weal and Woe (A Song of Ice and Fire and Chaos Seeds Crossover)
Prologue
Somewhere in Sothoryos, 298 AC…
"Unghhh…" Petere woke with a groan.
His vision was blurred, his mouth dry, and he was nursing a massive headache.
"What happened?" he hoarsely muttered.
Piece by piece, his memory came back, and he moaned in part despair and relief. He and Lyseon, a Fiery Hand warrior part of their once numerous party, had fled from one of the many man-eating creatures on the continent when they sped through a small clearing. His last memory was of the ground suddenly giving way and the sensation of falling.
Gingerly, Petere began to push himself upright, nearly fainting from the pain. Looking up, the rays of sunlight reaching down into the earth sent daggers through his mind and he grunted while quickly looking away. Rubbing his temple, Petere slowly began to survey his surroundings and his gaze landed on the still form of his friend.
Stumbling over loose dirt and rubble, Petere landed gracelessly next to his companion's body and frantically began to shake him.
"Wake up, Lys! You can't leave me here alone," he finished in a half sob and whisper.
As he continued looking over Lyseon's body he noticed an unnatural angle to his friend's neck and slumped in defeat.
'Whoever named this section of the world the Green Hell hadn't done this place justice', he thought bitterly.
Rising to his feet once more, Petere noticed something strange in the darkest corner of the hole. A small, primitive entryway sat nestled in the gloom. Made up of a slab of stone laid horizontally across two vertical slabs of stone, it looked like nothing more than the entrance to the home of some half-mad barbarian.
Looking up once more and judging that he would not be able to climb out, he clenched his hands before half-heartedly murmuring, "R'hllor give me strength."
Getting down on hands and knees, he began to make his way through the entryway and into a tunnel that seemed to plunge into the Earth. Driven on through impending madness and despair, Petere redoubled his efforts and after some time could see a faint light up ahead. His thoughts becoming clearer at the sight of possible salvation, he continued at a more measured pace.
Clearing the final distance, he saw a near identical entryway to the one he passed through earlier. Crawling under it, he had room to stand once more, and while doing so looked around in awe.
Instead of leading outside, the tunnel led into a massive dome like structure hundreds of meters high with a circular hole at the top allowing sunlight in. The sunlight pierced the gloom in the center of the room but otherwise left the ancient structure in darkness. In the middle, a lone pedestal the height of a man stood proudly with an object lain atop it. With equal parts trepidation and excitement, Petere began walking forward. As he got closer and closer, his nervousness fell away, replaced by reverence.
'That necklace, that must be what the High Priest sent us here for!' he naively thought.
Tentatively, he reached out to touch the gem-studded necklace that was utterly infused with magic power. As soon as it touched his finger, Petere felt a presence slide into his mind and shuffle through his memories. Horrified, he began to panic before he felt a divine presence infuse his very being.
"Peace, my slave," it projected along with a few images.
Those words and the image of a giant red being surrounded by flames and shadows could belong to no other than R'hllor, the one true God!
Ecstatic to be addressed by such divinity Petere reverentially murmured, "I am not worthy, Great R'hllor."
"In that you are wrong, my slave," the God responded. "You alone, acolyte, out of hundreds of my followers made it here to this Sanctum. Will you allow this item's power to suffuse you so that you can do My will?"
"Yes, Great R'hllor!" Petere responded.
"Will you allow this relic to change you so that you can better serve me?"
"Yes, Great R'hllor!" Petere said once more.
"Will you act as the herald of your people to usher in a new world?"
"Yes, Great R'hllor!" Petere fervently shouted for the last time.
"Thrice heard and witnessed," the Being said with a grin in its voice.
Petere smiled with tears running down his face.
'All of the pain and suffering it took to get here was just a test I passed,' he thought with joy.
That was the last thought in Petere's existence. For the next moment, the Divine Regalia of Supreme Translocation merged with his spirit and released the energy equivalent of a hundred atomic bombs. The earth wept, the sky screamed, and the oceans boiled, and at the end of it all, Planetos was ripped from its unstable orbit and integrated into the Land.
The Light Court, Moments After Translocation…
"Heh…" The Crone rasped as she moved for the first time in millennia.
Long ago, at the moment just prior to her imprisonment, she had created items of power and left them on worlds that once amused her. It appeared as if one had finally been found. The Crone grinned in triumph.
'Time to see how the Great Jailer handles this one,' she thought in undisguised glee.
Up above, hundreds of miles away, the world of Planetos was pressed against an unyielding, ephemeral barrier. Unable to pass through, the world began to deform against the barrier until the sound of a Key being turned against a lock was heard throughout the Land. Immortals from both the Light and the Dark Courts rejoiced and tried to escape their prison but were immediately rebuffed. The planet, however, passed through the unseen barrier, and, appearing as a speck next to the Land itself, was roughly pulled into the larger planet's gravity well. Planetos rocketed toward the surface before landing in the Beckoning Sea, just southeast of the River Peninsula. If not for the leftover energy from the Divine Regalia, the world would have been torn asunder. But the Crone had calculated for everything. At the moment of impact, a flash lit the landscape and the continents and their inhabitants were preserved. And where once there was naught but the Sea, now there were four more minor continents. The Crone sighed in weariness. She did not truly think that her small trick would open the way out of the Land, but when she heard that Key turn, she had given into hope once more. Truly, the Jailer was a cruel sort.
"Oh well," she said. "At least it was an interesting distraction," she mused before becoming still once more…
Winterfell, Moments After Translocation, Sanren 4, 15,367 ABG…
Eddard Stark, Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North was outside on the training grounds when it happened. It started as a rumble and then the animals began to scream. Men soon joined the wailing chorus as the air itself seemed to jostle them to and fro and many fell to the ground. And then there was silence, an unnatural silence. Eddard looked up and immediately wished he hadn't. Where once the sky was grey and cloudy, now there was utter darkness. A black that seemed unending and began to tear at his sanity. Eddard quickly looked away and back at his men, all of whom were staring at the not-sky in horror.
"Look at the ground, men!" He barked out.
The conditioning imprinted on them by learning under Ser Rodrik showed itself and they all obeyed instinctively.
"Father!" Said a boy's voice from the walkway above. "Father, look," said Bran as he pointed at the sky in awe.
Trusting his son, Eddard looked where he was pointing and his heart nearly stopped. The darkness gave way to a gargantuan shining orb. One they were getting closer to. Eddard's eyes went wide as the orb covered the entirety of the sky and then they stopped. A grinding, grating sound was heard and Eddard covered his ears in agony as he fell to the ground. Then there was the sensation of falling as if from a great distance and afterwards darkness.
Eddard awoke to the sounds of men running in armor and the voice of Ser Rodrik bellowing out orders.
"Jory, take a hundred men and sweep Winter town and get all of the off-duty guards off their asses and up to the armory to get kitted out. While you're down there, do what you can to prevent any riots from breaking out. Ragnar, I want all the Starks with at least two personal guards. Move, damnit!"
Eddard stifled a groan as he pushed himself up off the ground. He flexed and moved different limbs and once satisfied turned to Ser Rodrik.
"Rodrik, report."
"My Lord! It's been two minutes since we landed. I've sent out guards to check for casualties and help as needed. I've also sent a troop to Winter town under Jory to get all of those off-duty up here to help. Your family is under guard and is being moved to the Great Hall now."
"Well done as always, Rodrik," Eddard replied stoically. "Do we have any idea what happened?"
Rodrik grimaced and said, "Those of us who were awake as we landed received a message, my Lord."
"A message? What kind of message?" Eddard asked in confusion.
"An unnatural kind," said Rodrik in response. "You should be able to see it for yourself, my Lord. Just focus on wanting to see it," Rodrik finished wearily.
Dubious, Eddard focused on wanting to see a message, though of what and from whom he had no idea. Unfortunately, it worked.
WELCOME! The Land was made from countless planets at its origin, but yours is the first in any AGE to be integrated after its foundation. REJOICE! As intrepid pioneers, all denizens of the once-world Planetos have won +250 Fame Points! Total Fame Points: 250.
"Is there anything else, Rodrik?" Eddard asked in bewilderment.
"Yes, my Lord." Rodrik said hesitantly. "I asked after one of my sergeant's status a minute ago and something similar but different from the message popped up right before my eyes. Since then, I've been able to pull it back up by just thinking the word 'status', my Lord."
'Very odd', Eddard thought as he tried to understand the repercussions of such tidings.
Clearing his mind of all his worries and concerns he focused on the word 'status'. His vision was overtaken by oddly colored paper separated into grids. Grunting at the surprise, he pushed his hand through the paper and it disappeared. Calling the word status again in his mind, he took a closer look at the paper.
Name: ?
Level: 1, 0%
Age: 35
Race: Human
Alignment: Neutral
Languages: Andalos 'Common Tongue'
Reputation: Level 1 "Who are you again?"
STATS
Health: 100
Mana: 100
Stamina: 110
ATTRIBUTES
Strength: 10
Agility: 10
Dexterity: 10
Constitution: 10
Endurance: 11
Intelligence: 10
Wisdom: 10
Charisma: 15
Luck: 10
RESISTANCES
None
SKILLS
Beast Bonding: 1, 0, 77
Blood Magic: 1, 0, 81
ABILITIES
Legacy of the Winter Kings: +10% Endurance, +5% Constitution, +5 Charisma
Wolf's Blood: +10 skill levels to Beast Bonding when taming wolves (Grants skill Beast Bonding and spell Tame)
MARKS
None
Eddard wasn't sure what he was supposed to do with this information. He took a deep breath and swiped the page away with his hand.
"What is done is done," he said more for his own benefit than Ser Rodrik's.
"I'll join you and the men momentarily, Ser Rodrik. I need to see my family first."
"Of course, my Lord. I'll join you," Rodrik responded.
Eddard just nodded as he walked toward the great hall. Along the way he noticed that the stables looked unsteady while most of the structures built from stone fortunately looked unchanged. He winced as he thought of all the wooden buildings in Winter town.
"Rodrik, send a couple men to escort the master builder and his family up to the castle. We can't afford losing him if there are any riots."
"It will be done, my Lord," Rodrik said evenly.
As he approached the doors, many of the castle workers were looking around uncertainly, unsure what they were supposed to be doing. As they noticed him, they all bobbed their heads mumbling "milord." Eddard nodded back easily, appearing to them composed and unruffled by what many were already calling the Calamity. His certainty seemed to snap the workers out of some delirium as they rushed off to do whatever they were supposed to be doing. Opening the door, Eddard walked inside and heard his daughter's voice.
"And we came in like a meteor! What if the people who live here think we're all made of sky-metal?" Arya asked playfully.
"Arya, stop being silly. If you're going to do nothing but spout nonsense, you might as well just keep working with Jeyne and me. We've already got a… a skill in sewing," Sansa finished hesitantly.
Before Arya could shout abuse at her elder sister, Eddard made his presence known.
"Father!" Robb, his eldest son said. "What's been happening? The guards just brought us here and can't tell us anything."
"Peace, my son. I'll tell you what little I know when everyone is here. Where is your mother and Rickon?" Eddard asked his children.
His children all looked to Jon, his bastard son, who avoided his eyes and said, "Lady Stark refused to come down without Rickon, father. I was playing with him when this happened. Lady Stark came in and ordered the guards to barricade his room."
Eddard sighed and gestured to the nearest guard. "Torrhen, escort my lady wife and son here."
"Yes, milord," he said before rushing off.
Eddard looked over his children again and noticed Bran staring off into nothing. "Bran, are you alright?" he asked worriedly.
His son was the first to notice the change in the sky from earlier and if he had been staring too long into that black nothingness beforehand, who knows what could have been done to him.
Fortunately, for his own sanity, Bran responded quickly. "I'm looking over my status, father," he replied matter-of-factly.
"How do you know about your status?" Eddard asked bewildered.
He himself had only been told minutes ago.
"I heard the guards talking about how all of their status' are the same and so asked how I could see mine. Did I do something wrong?" Bran asked with mounting concern on his face.
"Not at all," Eddard smiled warmly. Deciding to humor his seven-year-old son, he asked, "Have you found anything interesting?"
Bran nodded his head up and down emphatically as his eyes went wide. "Yes, father. All the attributes have stuff to help explain if you focus on them. I'm not sure what all of it means though."
Deciding to look for himself, Eddard pulled his status back up and focused in on each of the attributes.
Strength –Improves damage with melee weapons or thrown weapons. Each point increases carrying capacity by 10kg. Affects anything that requires brawn, i.e. climbing, wrestling, and intimidation. Other unknown effects to be discovered.
Agility –Improves accuracy with ranged or thrown weapons. Determines movement speed. Determines dodge. Determines balance. Affects ability to move without being detected. Other unknown effects to be discovered.
Dexterity –Determines attack speed. Improves damage with ranged weapons. Improves reflexes. Improves accuracy of melee weapons. Other unknown effects to be discovered.
Constitution –Determines Health. Each point increases Health by 10 points. Affects resistance to poison, illness, extreme temp, etc. Affects stamina regeneration. Other unknown effects to be discovered.
Endurance –Determines Stamina. Each point increases Stamina by 10 points. Affects ability to perform physical exertions at peak efficiency e.g. holding one's breath. Affects ability to ignore certain ill effects e.g. disease, starvation, dehydration, etc. Other unknown effects to be discovered.
Intelligence –Determines Mana. Each point increases Mana by 10 points. Affects resistance to mental attacks. Affects effectiveness of certain skills. Reasoning improved. Increasing will provide small improvement of base intellect. Other unknown effects to be discovered.
Wisdom –Determines Mana regeneration. Affects magical resistance. Determines perception. Increasing will provide small improvement of mental fortitude. Other unknown effects to be discovered.
Charisma –Determines the likelihood other will like you or want to interact with you. A higher score may open certain quests that would otherwise be locked. Other unknown effects to be discovered.
Luck –It will affect you in a million different ways… or not. But as the man said, "I'd rather be lucky than ugly."
That was rather a lot to take in. Did this mean that at present he could carry 100kg? Was he always more charismatic than others? He didn't think so, but if it was something passed down through the family then it would explain how the Starks had managed to rule the North for over 8,000 years. But that wasn't even the biggest shock. The paper seemed to imply that one could somehow increase their attributes. If his army were twice as strong and fast as others, who would dare challenge the North again? The problem, however, became immediately apparent. They were a new people in an old world. If his people didn't improve, and improve quickly, they were likely to be subjugated by some foreign power. This would not happen, he vowed.
"Ser Rodrik, you'll have to develop a training regimen to increase attributes," he said grimly.
For the first time all day, Eddard saw his master-at-arms smile.
"With pleasure, my Lord," he said, eyes gleaming. "Will you and the young lord be joining us?"
"Tomorrow morning," Eddard said. "There is yet much work to be done."
As he finished speaking, the doors to the great hall flew open.
"Ned!" His wife of 17 years, Catelyn, exclaimed as she walked hand-in-hand with their three-year-old son, Rickon.
Catelyn looked as if she were visibly restraining herself from rushing into his arms. As usual, though, her hold on her child and her decorum as a Lady of the realm won out.
"Forgive me, my Lord. Do we have any news?" She asked as she collected herself.
In answer, a dry cough rang out near the door where Maester Lewin was holding onto a book and several writing implements.
"I'm afraid I have bad news, my Lord," Lewin said. "I attempted to contact the Citadel for answers, but the ravens seem confused and return immediately after being let out of their cage. I tested ravens from other holdfasts throughout the North and the result was the same. Our communications have been compromised."
"Perhaps they just need to be retrained," Eddard suggested.
"I believe you may be right, my Lord, and I will begin doing so soon, however the process will take years, I'm afraid," the Maester said apologetically.
"It is not your fault Lewin, we will just have to make do." Eddard then looked over his family. "That goes for all of us. The dangers here are unknown and so you will be escorted by guards at all times." Arya and Bran looked at him in despair. "This is not up for debate. Have all of you looked at your status?" He asked.
This time, Arya and Bran nodded eagerly, Jon, Rob, and Sansa cautiously, and Catelyn murderously.
"It stinks of sorcery, Ned. There is a reason the Seven tell us not to tolerate magic in our lives. No doubt this whole situation came about from someone messing with something they shouldn't have," Catelyn said imperiously.
"I won't argue about the how and why, my love, but I will use every means at my disposal to see our people safe, magic included," he said gently.
Catelyn just nodded stiffly and tightened her grip on Rickon's hand. "Will there be anything else, my Lord?" she asked coldly.
"Only this: if we are to survive, we must adapt. I will not see this family go the way of Amber and Frost. Practice your skills and do what you reasonably can," he said while looking at Arya, "to gain new ones."
His children all nodded eagerly, except for Sansa who looked at her mother, ducked her head, and then nodded meekly.
"Good, off with you then. Jon, Rob, I'll see you in the training yard tomorrow." He nodded toward his family once more before turning and looking at Ser Rodrik and Maester Lewin, "With me," he ordered.
They exited the hall and passed by the small sept he had built for his wife when she first came to the north. Not for the first time, he wondered if he had made a mistake in ordering its construction.
"Maester, write up a summons for all the lords and masters of the North. I want them all to be here within six weeks."
Shifting his attention to his master-at-arms, he said, "Ser Rodrik, I have no idea what the men will face out there. Send ten mounted men with each summons."
Rodrik hesitated but nodded. "That's over half of our mounted force, my Lord, but it will be done."
"It will take me the rest of the day to write the summons, but starting tomorrow I would like some time to study the status pages of those with… unique abilities. I assume you know what I am speaking of my Lord," the Maester said cautiously.
Eddard just raised his brow at the Maester but nodded in acceptance. Finding and utilizing those with inherent advantages only made sense.
The rest of the day passed in a blur. The Maester begged off early on while Eddard and the rest of the guard first secured Winterfell and then went to help where they could in Winter town. The damage was bad but not as horrible as he feared. A dozen of the worst built structures had fallen and ten people had been killed with dozens more wounded. None of the people seemed to blame him but there was still an undercurrent of discontent. Eventually, darkness began to fall, and he retreated to the Great Keep.
As he entered his chambers, he noticed his wife was already abed. He slipped under the covers and immediately fell asleep.