A boy of ten walked through the silent grounds of the Godswood of Winterfell. This Godswood has stood untouched for ten thousand years, with three acres of old-packed earth and close-together trees that create a dense canopy. The castle was built around this Godswood, where generations of Starks worshipped the old gods before the Old Weirwood tree with a carved face crying tears of crimson sap. This place had always fascinated the boy. His siblings did not share this fascination of his. The boy couldn't explain what it was that drew him to it. Was it the music of the insects, the calmness of nature or just the pull he felt towards the old gods? Whatever it was, he would always come here, sit under the Weirwood tree and stare into the black pool right before the Weirwood Tree.
But today it felt different as if he was not alone. The usual music of the insects was absent, replaced by the unsettling calls of crows. These crows watched him, their beady eyes taking in every movement that the boy made. It unnerved the boy but he pushed on. If nothing else, the boy was not known to be a craven.
He took his usual spot under the Weirwood Tree and stared into the pool of undisturbed black water. His grey eyes stared at his reflection and jumped when he saw on the reflection a pair of large gold and green eyes opening over his shoulders, slitted like a cat's.
"I will not harm you," the creature said, the size of a child but the boy knew it was anything but one. For one they had nut-brown skin dappled like a deer's with paler spots, and large ears.
"What are you," the boy asked, heart, pounding from the scare he received.
"We are… we are what your friends" as he said those words, more eyes of gold and green appeared in the darkness of the forest, but none of them ventured into the light. "We are the Children of the Forest."
"Children of the Forest?" the boy asked in shock. He had heard stories of their kind, from the old woman who they all lovingly referred to as Old Nan. But in her stories, there were many more, unlike now when he could count the numbers in one hand. "Is this all of you?" the boy asked.
"No," the one that spoke to him shook their head, "only a few of us have passed through the wall to come meet you. There are more of us beyond the wall, with another friend. One like you."
"Like me?" the boy asked softly.
"The Last Greenseer" the creature answered. "Most of him has gone into the tree ... He has lived beyond his mortal span, and yet he lingers. For us, for you, for the realms of men. Only a little strength remains in his flesh. He has a thousand eyes and one, but there is much to watch. And he wants to show you."
The creature extended their hand and the boy noticed them holding a bowl in their three four-fingered hands that had black talons instead of nails. The bowl had a dozen faces carved on it, like the one on the heart tree. And inside it was a white paste that had red veins, like the sap of the Weirwood Tree, or maybe it was blood.
"Drink this. It will awaken and enhance your gifts. It will allow you to meet him, through the trees" the creature said. The boy looked at the creature and then stared at the bowl of paste in silence.
"Why is your mother so dead set on us getting pretty for the King?" Jon asked.
"It's for the Queen, I bet" answered Theon. "I hear she's a sleek bit of mink" the Ironborn grinned.
Cregan let out a soft snort under his breath. Theon wasn't wrong, the Queen was considered a strikingly beautiful woman, with golden hair, emerald green eyes, fair skin and a slender, graceful figure.
"Don't let her or anyone close to her hear you say those words now" Cregan warned Theon in a playful tone, "especially her twin. None of them would appreciate the comment."
"I'm just calling her attractive" the young man rolled his eyes at his longtime friend.
The barber patted Cregan on the shoulder and pushed him back on his feet. The young man rolled his shoulders before pushing Jon to replace him on the bench. "Go on, Tommy, sheer this one good. He's never met a girl he likes more than his hair" the boys laughed while Jon rolled his eyes.
He could see them, the royal party as it approached Winterfell. There were hundreds of men, maybe even a thousand, not all were soldiers of course. He watched Bran excitedly run down the wall they were on, jumping from one platform to the other. His eyes went back to the approaching party before closing his eyes.
Cregan opened his eyes in the Godswood, pulling his hand back from the Weirwood Heart Tree. "And so it begins" he murmured under his breath before walking away from the tree and out of the woods to join his family.
The men at arms came in through the gates first, the sigil of House Baratheon of Kingslanding fluttering proudly in the wind, followed by men flying the sigil of House Lannister.
"Where's Arya?" Lady Stark asked, frantically looking around for her younger daughter, "Sansa, where is your sister?" she asked her eldest, who gave a small shrug. And as if on cue, Arya came rushing to them, stopped by their father to remove the helm from her head. She stood between Sansa and Bran, pushing the latter to make room for her.
The heir to the Iron Throne was the first of the royal family to enter, atop his white horse and followed by his personal guard. The prince was a tall lad, with curly blonde hair. He had deep green eyes and pouty lips. All Lannister and no Baratheon, Cregan found him to be girl-like in looks. His sister on the other hand did not seem to agree, swooning at the sight of him. He settled for a stoic stare at the Prince that made the boy turn away stiffly.
The Queen's carriage came in next, followed by the King who made Cregan's father blink in shock. Lord Eddard Stark had always described his friend to have a warrior's build, tall and muscled. But the man before him was anything but that. This man was fat, red-faced and with a wild and thick beard that certainly hid a double chin.
All went to their knees once the King entered, and the man looked at them all stoically. He got off his horse and made his way to Lord Stark, motioning him to stand. All else followed his example.
"Your Grace" the Lord of Winterfell bowed his head.
"You've got fat" King Robert, after a moment of silence said. Cregan held back a smirk, instead studying his father's face. His father met the King's eyes, looked at his belly and raised an eyebrow. They both broke the silence with a laugh, embracing as if brothers who had not seen one another in a long time.
"Cat!" the King moved to Cregan's mother, after parting from his father. The Lady of Winterfell smiled, greeting him respectfully as she was hugged as well. "Nine years…" the King moved back to his old friend, "Why haven't I seen you? Where the hell have you been?"
"Guarding the North for you, Your Grace" the Lord of Winterfell answered with a smile, "Winterfell is yours."
"What have we here?" the man moved to the person standing next to Ned Stark, his eldest Cregan. "You must be Cregan" the man held out his arm and Cregan shook it firmly. "Gods you're the spitting image of your grandfather, anybody tell you that?"
"Only those that remember him, your Grace" Cregan smiled.
One after the other the King moved through the Stark children having an encouraging word for every child.
"That's Jaime Lannister, the Queen's twin brother" Arya spoke softly to Sansa.
"Would you please shut up?" the older girl murmured.
"Sansa" Cregan gave his sister a side-eye look that made her purse her lips and look at her feet.
The Queen approached them next, Lord Stark kissing the back of her hand with a smile as a greeting. Those that knew him, they would be able to tell how much the smile was forced. It was no secret that Ned Stark did not like the Lannisters. Lady Stark bowed her head in greeting as well.
"Take me to your Crypt, I want to pay my respects," the King said to his friend.
"We've been riding for a month, my love" the Queen argued gently, "surely the dead can wait."
"Ned" the King called stubbornly. Chastised the Queen stepped away, Lord Stark giving her a respectful bow before following the King. Lady Stark led the Queen and her children away, to their chambers so they could rest.
Cregan stepped back and sunk away from the crowd, avoiding the masses and making his way to the Godswood. He did not like crowds much, all that noise always made him feel uneasy. In contrast, the silence of the Godswood always kept him calm and focused.
He touched the body of the Weirwood and breathed easily. It was as if multiple points of view were opened to him. He saw his father with the King in the Crypts, he saw his mother returning from leading the Queen to her Chambers. He saw Arya and Bran off doing whatever while Sansa was gushing over Joffrey with Jeyne Poole. Theon went to watch the Queen's handmaidens from afar and the Kingslayer was looking for his brother,m who at this moment was having his cock sucked by a beautiful redhead. The only one left was Jon, who was standing behind him.
"May I help you, brother?" Cregan turned around to face Jon, who looked slightly surprised at being spoken to. "Or are you here just to sulk?"
"I…" Jon shook his head with a small smile, letting the expression fall so he could adopt a more serious one. "I wanted to talk to you about something. It's important.
Cregan nodded to him, sitting down on the stone slab and inviting Jon to sit with him. It had been like this for the longest time, in their relationship. Cregan was the older brother who all the other Stark children came to if they wanted to talk to him about something, get a suggestion or maybe an idea towards a problem that was troubling them.
"I want to join the Night's Watch," Jon said right away. The boy knew Cregan did not like beating around the bush with any matter.
"I see" the heir to Winterfell hummed, "is there a reason why?"
"Do you even have to ask?" Jon's face morphed into one of outrage, but his voice was still hushed. "One day you'll be the Lord of Winterfell. Sansa and Arya will marry high lords and be a wife to someone. Bran and Rickon will have land of their own to rule. What about me? What will a bastard like me have? The Night's Watch is an ancient establishment where even men like me can find glory. I can climb the ranks and be a man of nice standing there."
"I see you've thought this through" Cregan put an arm around Jon's neck and brought his head close to Cregan's chest. "I'll tell you the current state of the Watch, one that father has not told us for some reason. It is no longer the establishment as the legends say it was. Right now it is overrun by thieves, rapists and all other kinds of criminals and people unwanted by the realm. You'll find every kind of person there, except for the honourable and noble ones. That is not a place I would be willing to send my brother."
"Cregan-"
"Besides, I have plans for you" the younger man pulled away from Cregan and looked at him questioningly. "Tell me what you know about Sea Dragon Point."
"Sea Dragon Point?" Jon asked with palpable confusion. "It was ruled by the Warg Kings and the Children of the Forest once upon a time before they were conquered by the Stark Kings of Old."
"And their stronghold still remains there, in ruins. It mostly contains hills and bogs and an apparent Weirwood Circle as well. A Godswood if you will. There's Salmon in the rivers, clams along the shore and colonies of seals and otters in the lakes. It is also densely populated by Pine Forests, good for building ships. Through the years the Ironborn have raided and held the place, but it is part of The North. I want to populate that place, and build a harbour there as well as a fleet. The North had no naval strength since Brandon the Burner set fire to the fleet of his father, Brandon the Shipwright. House Manderly and White Harbor have restored some of it but I want to grow it further."
"What does this have to do with me?" Jon asked, earning himself a roll of the eyes from Cregan.
"I think it's obvious" he drawled. "Sea Dragon Point, I will name you Lord of it. Be it when I become Lord of Winterfell or sooner, you will be a Lord and you will have places of honour. Unless you want someplace else, maybe Moat Cailin? It's another stronghold of the First Men at the Neck. It is by far one of the most important strongholds though, in ruins, it still holds a vantage point. It's surrounded by bogs and trails. The lands are good for some crops, but mostly the revenue would come from say tolls taken from travellers and traders. It's an important place and people will come in and out of the North through it. Like House Frey exacting a toll, there would bring you a good fortune."
"I'm not sure what to say" Jon muttered, clearly overwhelmed by the declaration. Cregan could see he was not dreaming of such plans, let alone expecting them. He gave Jon a comforting smile.
"You will have your own Lands to rule over and make a name for yourself. Never doubt that your brother won't be there to look after you. Understood?"
"Aye," Jon smiled, getting to his feet. "I'll leave you to your prayers" the young man muttered and walked away, happier than he was when he came to him.
"Sea Dragon Point is an important place for us" Cregan heard a childlike raspy voice, "you can't just decide to give it away."
"I'm well aware of that, Leaf" grey eyes turned around and met golden green ones, "you will have your Weirwood grove. My brother will get the ruined Stronghold once it's been restored. I promised you that you will have a home on this side of the Wall, and I plan on keeping my promise."
Leaf's gaze did not waver as she stared Cregan down, but eventually, she looked away with a small smirk. "Jon Snow… he's got the gift as well. Like your other siblings."
"Eventually he will know of your existence as well. When that happens I would ask your help in helping him awaken those abilities as you helped me with mine. Help them all."
"We will. The Wargs and we were once friends. It wouldn't be so bad to renew that friendship" she said, before jumping back into the Heart Tree. Cregan returned to the Weirwood Tree and once more saw the multiple points of view when he touched its body. He chose to see a specific one.
In a land far from the North, a young woman stood on the balcony, staring blankly out at the scenery. A lot of things went through her mind as she watched the people go about their day, looking small from where she stood.
"Daenerys!" someone called and the girl turned. "There is my bride to be," the man said as the girl, Daenerys, walked back into the room. "Look" he approached her with a smile, a beautiful dress in his hands, "a gift from Illyrio."
The girl looked at the fabric, felt it and could agree that it was quite exquisite. But it nagged her still, the gift. "We've been his guests for over a year and he's never asked us for anything."
"lllyrio is no fool," her brother said. "He knows I won't forget my friends when I come into my throne." He placed the dress aside and studied his sister. "You still slouch" he murmured softly, hands pushing her hair back and gently touching her neck. "Let me see" he whispered, slowly his hands drifting down. But before he could do what he intended, a sharp caw startled him, and he hissed when talons slashed at his face.
"Blasted bird! I'll have you roasted for this" he swore before storming out of the room. The bird settled on Daenerys' shoulder, purring softly when she scratched under its beak.
"Thank you" she murmured softly.