Winterfell. Westeros, AC 263.

"Lord Stark! She has given you a second son" Maester Tulit told the lord of Winterfell the news, it had been a full day since his lady wife went into labor, Rikard had spent that time wringing his hands while pacing up and down his solar trying to calm himself, he was worried for his wife as this particular birth was more difficult than her first two children. After hearing the news he bolted out of the room and nearly knocked over the Maester, he shouted and screamed at anyone who obstructed his way to his wife's birthing bed, when he finally reached it he took deep breaths to calm himself and carefully opened the door, inside he saw the lady of Winterfell holding a small bundle clothes in her arms, peeking out from them was the round face a pair of eyes, they were grey and seemed to dart from face to face until he focused on Rikard's, she then pushed aside the cloth that covered his head and revealed a tuff of pitch black hair, it was unusual for a newborn to have a full head of hair but Rickard took it as a sign of the boy's health, the baby sticks out his tiny hand as if to reach his father and Rikon obliged "My lord, he hasn't cried yet but he seems healthy enough" the Maester said after catching up to Rickard and approached him with an assuring hand.

"He is perfect!" Rickard beamed at the new member of the family as he held him in his hands and pressed the baby's face to his own and whispered "Eddard, that's what we'll call you, that is your name" then with a booming voice he declared "Welcome! Eddard of house Stark!"

Rickard gathered the rest of his family and the servants within winterfell's hall the following morning, they all gasped at their new little lord, his full head of black hair and grey eyes made him instantaneously recognizable as a Stark, the servants all fawned over the baby giving compliments and praises for the new Stark, while all this was happening Eddard did not cry but merely observed the people around him glancing at faces and furniture as if trying to memorize every detail of his new home, his lack of out-cry and overall calm demeanor made some of the servants think the baby was ill or weak maybe even simple, that notion would just as quickly die when they saw his piercing grey eyes on them, he studied their faces and expressions as if he already knew what they were thinking, Brandon took him from their mother's arms and held him up while Lyana looked at their new brother with gleaming eyes as they took turns holding him, the rest of the day was spent with Eddard sleeping and the young Starks arguing about who would be his keeper.

Iron Boughe Fortress. Northern Edge of Essos, AC 288.

Khal Khoro had been raiding the nouthern most villages of Essos for months now, he and his 10,000 riders had met little resistance from any of the neighboring cities and was now heading west, he had been bribed by the masters of astapor to destroy a newly built city where the ruins of Vaes Leisi had been, he had been told that the city had many beautiful girls of fair skin and black hair that the masters were keen on adding to their stock, as well as a treasure trove which the new occupants used to pay for rebuilding the city, as the new inhabitants did not use slaves, so now Khal Khoro was riding closer to this new city that had sprung up from the ruins of the city of filth, he had 50 scouts ride ahead to survey the area to have a better idea of his enemy, although Khals were expected to be fearless, Khoro did not become a Khal to 20,000 Dothraki by being stupid or egnorant, many khals had called him weak or cawordly for his 'precautions' but they are long dead now, iether by stupidity or wrecklessness, Khal Khoro had bigger plans for his Khlassar, and he would need far more than 10,000 screamers to defeat Khal Drogo, after that he would raid every city that stood in his way and amass enough slaves and Riders to finaly counquere all of Essos, and then perhaps he would be known as 'the stalion that mounts the world' cementing his legacy forever, but first he had to distroy this new city, perhaps after he raids and rapes it's people he would rename it Vaes Toki for rebuilding on a conquired city, that thought brought a chukle to Khoro as he finished mounting a girl he had captured.

It was noon and the sun was at its hottest and highest, Khoro was now waiting for his scouts to come back from surveying the landscape to create a strategy to employ and for any weaknesses the new city had that they could exploit, he had been told the name of the new city is Iron Boughe but the people in the villages near the castle call it Silver town, it would not matter though as he had his own name for it after he was done, the scouts were lead by his childhood friend and blood rider kursa, kursa knew what to look for in a scouting mission and how to stay unseen, he and Kursa swore a blood oath that they would conquer Essos together and share in the spoils as both owed the other their lives and all their success thus far, but it had been weeks already and still no news of his friend or any of the riders that accompanied him, this was not the first time kursa was late and Khoro knew it would not be the last, but something felt wrong this time, like a chill or an ache that warned the Khal that something was about to happen that he did not intend, it gnawed at him and kept him from sleeping or eating.

BBWWOOAAAAH!, BBWWOOAAAAH! BBWWOOAAAAH!

An unbelievably deafening sound of horn blasts reverberated around the nearby mountains and hills, rattling the Dothraki camp into attention, and action.

BBWWOOAAAAH!, BBWWOOAAAAH! BBWWOOAAAAH!

Orders were shouted, men were whipped into formation, half raped women ran for safety, slaves were flogged out of the way as the Dothraki scrambled to their horses and weapons, horses trampled and neighed as they were being mounted and lead to the front of the camp

BBWWOOAAAAH!, BBWWOOAAAAH! BBWWOOAAAAH!

Khal Khoro and his blood riders assembled at the front of the army, others raced to beside him to form a single wall of mounted warriors, he had trained his kalassar to be able to respond and react quickly if they're attacked or ambushed in the night, and within a few moments his entire army was now behind him ready to fight.

BBWWOOAAAAH!, BBWWOOAAAAH! BBWWOOAAAAH!

The horn had stopped and the only thing that could be heard was his riders yelling and chanting as they were restlessly anticipating a fight, but then a new sound came to their ears and slowly became louder and closer, silence spreads throughout the Kalasar, their attention now focused on the sound and its singular origin, Khal Khoro knew what the noise was and surveyed the horizon for it, he saw a single solid mass of men (from what Khoro could tell) only 3,000 or so glittering in the noon day sun marching towards with tall rectangular shields that bore an upside down red man with his limbs outstretched, they walked in a single unified motion, but to the khal's confusion they carried no spears, only shields, his riders started laughing at the sight of shiny and unarmed men on foot slowly marching towards them as the Dothraki viewed men who do not ride as lesser and should be trampled into dust or enslaved, but Khoro did not laugh as he remembers the stories told of the unsullied and of how they slaughtered Khal Temmo and all his sons as they foolishly rode head on without any strategy.

[Raugas! Take your men down the right flank] Khoro shouted and his blood rider obeyed, [Breggol! Take your men up the left flank and surround them] the other blood rider also rode away to accomplish his command, it was at that moment that Khal Khoro raised his arakh and then yelled with all his fury [THESE SHEEP THINK THEY CAN CONTEND WITH DOTHRAKI!] the army of riders all shout in unison [CUT THEM DOWN!, AND THEN WE'LL TAKE THE CITY!]

And so the infamous yelps and screams of the Dothraki echo about the surrounding mountains as the ground shakes at 10,000 mounted screamers came rushing into the defending army, they got closer and Khoro's heart started to pound faster awakening his body for battle, they were a few yards now so close he could taste their blood in his mouth, a few feet now and he could make out their faces his heart heart raced even faster, then he saw the expression on the defenders' faces and it made his eyes bulge in shock, they all had perfectly calm and focused expressions on their faces [don't they know who I am?] Khoro though, then he sees them move in one single fluid motion lock there shields and give way to the Dothraki creating a gap between their formation that the horses instinctively veer to avoiding a head on collision, as he moves through rows of soldiers he sees the gleam of long shiny blades slipping past the defenders' shields, all Khoro heard next was bones cracking and his horse' gurgling scream, he felt himself slowdown and come to a stop even though he did not command his horse, he looks to his men and sees his riders being tossed of their horses and dismembered by short swords that seem to cut through their arakhs, leathers and bones with ease, the ones behind them were stopped by the bodies of the first line of Dothraki that are now starting to pile up, Khoro looked back at the defenders and saw a great stream of mounted soldiers with long swords gushing out over the hill like a mighty torrent of glittering water (from what he can tell, 10,000 horsemen all armed and armored), he realized then it was all a trap for him and his riders, then he felt pain in his chest and then in his spine, he looked down and saw shiny steel sink deeper into his chest while blood spells out in red jets, the pain explodes within Khoro's body and floods his senses as he let out a shameful and cowardly scream, he looks up and sees the soldier that kicked his lemp body of the blade the soldier's blade, [don't they know who I am?] was all that came to Khoro mind before he feels himself lifted up and tossed aside as if he were trash while he hears the screams of his army indicating their impending death, and with them his ambition, the defending army then lock theirs shields and push forward to butcher the rest of the Dothraki.

Elsewhere Raugas did not know of his Khal's failure and continued his assault, as he reached the back of the defending army he saw another line of glittering soldiers on horseback galloping towards them at an incredible speed, Raugas had never seen an animal run as fast as the ones that were carrying soldiers with shiny armor in their direction, in a snap decision he gives the order to meet them head on as he knows that if they were to turn and run they would be picked off by the defenders, he and his men's only choice is to fight for survival, as the two armies were about to collide Raugas readied himself and raised his arakh for combat, but before he could bring it down on the opposing rider he suddenly lost control of his limbs and felt as if he were flying, then he looked down and saw his body and the bodies of his company ride ahead of him with fountains of blood shooting out from where their heads should be, then Raugas felt cold and tired as he closed his eyes for the last time.

Breggol finally realised that it was all a trap and order the surrender, some argued against it but most had seen how easily the defender had been cutting them down like they were cutting tall grass, The now bolstered contingent of soldiers that approached them were only there to draw them to an attack and after they separated to surround them the mounted forces rushed in and mowed them down like they were sheep, their arahks were completely useless against their iron shirted soldiers, whose swords seem to cut through horse and man alike with ease, now he was leading what was left of the kalasar towards the defending army to drop their cut breads in surrender, Breggol was the first to cut his bread with his arakh, he was to throw it at the defenders feet and be allowed to leave with the remaining army, but as he cut his bread he saw the defenders once again shuffle sideways creating gaps between the tight formation, from the gaps men with bows pass through and replace the front row of soldiers, before Breggol could react to the new formation felt a sharp pain in his stomach, then another in his jaw and another in his chest and another and another, he furiously turned his horse only for the beast to collapse from under him, he looked back at his men and saw they were being slaughtered by mounted forces of the defenders who seem to have completely surrounded them, viciously killing the rest of the kalasar and leaving none alive, Breggol looked up and saw the sky was clear and bright, the sun was directly over him and he though, [this is a good death] with the last moments of Breggol's life he could hear a chanting in the air, it was in a language he did not understand.

"WHEN IN DOUBT!" a loud and imposing voice cut through the noise.

"SEND THE BOYS OUT!" thousands of soldiers roared out their answer.

"WHEN IN DOUBT!" the voice shouted again even louder than before.

"SEND THE BOYS OUT!" answered the army, Beggol did not understand what they were shouting, sadly he thought, [I don't think they even knew who we were].

Winterfell, Master's bedchamber. 281 AC

The lord of winterfell was sleeping in his bed as he always did since becoming the lord, beside him was Lyrra the lady of winterfell and mother of his children, they were in each other's arms sharing the warmth of their company, all was silent and safe as the sun steadily rose from the west and bathed the land with it's golden grace, Rikcard woke first and began to stir in his place as he shed the stillness of sleep, the first thing he saw was his wife's face mere centimeters away from his, Rickard and Lyrra's marriage was more for convenience rather than love, but over time they had built a life together that rivaled the tales of old, they had built it together brick by brick for 20 years and counting, he kissed her forehead and wished this moment never ended, as if to mock him for such a notion, he heard footsteps outside the room and a knock on the door.

"My lord Rickard" the lord of Winterfell recognized the voice, it's from one of the soldiers that served house Stark "there is a group of 20 men accompanying a boy at the eastern gate, his claiming to be your son!"

Rickard immediately rose from the bed and put on his clothes and kissed his wife again, he did not wake her so she may slumber further, should the boy be a fraud, he did not want his wife to see him execute the boy for lying to a lord, he opened the door quietly and signaled for the soldier to keep his voice down, the soldier nodded in response and the two men silently headed to the eastern gate, as Rickard came closer he hears the shuffling and murmuring of people outside, when they reached the door to the eastern bailey he sees a mass of people surrounding a group of men guarding a large carriage filled to the brim with creates, barrels and sacks, at the front of the carriage stood a lone boy with black hair tied at the back with the sides cut short, the boy had his back to Rickard he was wearing a green cape with an image of a blue rose inside a circle of interweaving thorns, as if hearing his arrival the boy turns to face Rickard, he'd grown taller and thinner, he looked almost gaunt, black hair had began to pepper his jaw and upper lip, but he did not appear worn or weak from his journey home, he walked towards the Lord of Winterfell wearily as the people around the boy parted and bowed to him as he approached Rickard, at long last, Rickard finally came face to face with his prodigal son.

"My Lord Stark" the boy said, bending his knee "I've come bringing gifts and-" he was cut short by the sound of approaching hoofbeats.

"NED!" A shouting girl cut through the calm and pulled everyone from pensively watching the reunion, before anyone could stop her, Lyanna Stark had jumped off her horse and into Ned's waiting arms, Lyanna's stunt would have knocked a lesser man on his back, but Eddard easily absorbed her momentum and brought her into a loving embrace.

"NED!" another voice rang out from somewhere, the crowd turned to look, and saw the heir of winterfell charge at his brother as if to catch Eddard, thinking he would disappear again, he engulfed both his siblings into a tight suffocating hug, while Lyanna started to shed tears of joy from finally seeing her long lost brother.

Ned had been gone for over 5 years and 3 months accompanied by Willis, Howland Reed and Roose Bolton, he journeyed across Essos to learn from every culture he encountered, along the way the three of them founded their own sellsword company "the Horde" Much to the ire of his father.

"That's enough" Rikard said and turned to walk back to the keep "come with me to my solar"

Riverlands, 297 AC

King Robert was riding ahead of his entourage, his massive black stead thundering across the glade like the winds of a storm as he enjoyed the brief moments where he felt like he did when he was young and in his prime, the years of whoring, drinking and feasting had taken its toll on Robert, and so did the realm he ruled. he had been traveling for near a 2 months now, after his foster father Jon Arryn Lord of the Eiry, Lord paramount of the east and the hand of the king had died, it had been a long journey from king's landing to the northern border but he needed to make amends with his one-time foster brother, Eddard Stark the king in the north, as a boy Ned was hailed as a once in a melania genius that the old gods gifted house Stark for their honor and fairness in ruling the North, or at least that's what the smallfolk said about him, when he wasn't inventing or reading he was practicing the sword and horse riding, they would have been like brothers if Robert acted better while they were being fostered at the Vale, during that time Robert made no effort to hide his consumptive ways, even fathering a bastard daughter at age 12, meanwhile Ned seethed in anger over the taunts and insults Robert cast his way, thinking them to be witty banter never realising that Ned saw them differently, it was while Robert was visiting Winterfell to be introduced to his betrothed Lyanna Stark that it finally reached a fever pitch.

The winter rose they called her, she was more warrior than lady and had a ferocity in her that'd give the Dothraki a run for their money, she was everything he had ever wanted, so much so that he visited the brothels to relieve himself, something Ned found to be disrespectful, it did not help that Robert bragged about being the luckiest man in the seven kingdoms while still in the brothels, after that Ned had left the Eiry in anger for Robert had dishonored and forsaken his betrothed, Robert had argued that he was still 12 and did not know better, but Ned still held that Robert had slighted Lyana with his actions and by extension his family, Robert did not see Ned until they had rebelled against the Targaryens for their crimes against the Starks and the abduction of his betrothed (as lord Rickard did not call off the marriage), the mad king was truly mad when he killed the lord paramount of the north and his heir, all because they demanded justice and the return of Lyanna, Ned sailed Directly from Bravos to white harbor with a sellsword army, "The company of the rose", they also brought with them two third of the northern army and came down the Neck like a flood, Ned's army was so massive and so angry the ground itself quivered beneath their feet as they assembled their full force, they ignored the twins entirely and headed straight for the ruby ford as to attack the capital directly, it was a sight to behold, 60,000 soldiers marching as as singular mass of iron and ire, all of them fiercely loyal to house Stark, they were practically foaming at the mouth, vengeanceful against the mad king and prince Rhaegar, robert still remembers the deep sound of war drums could be heard for miles as Ned used them to keep so many men walking at the same pace, as blaring horns, shouting men and clanking steel filled the air from dusk to dawn, Jon Cunnington was smart enough to know a lost battle when he saw one, so he abandoned his pursuit of Robert and ran back to his prince like a whipped dog.

Then Robert remembered how Ned had found him that day in the Stoney Sept, in a Brothel, naked and between two whores, the disgust was clear on Ned's face, after that he took his army and continued to march to King's Landing refusing to wait for Robert or join Forces.

Now Robert needed the aid of the Northern king, not only was he 6 million in debt there was also the threat of the targaryens from the east and the Martells from the south, not to mention the recent death of his hand had put the Iron bank on edge since it was Jon Arryn who often negotiated with them as well as being the official debtor, a war was coming, he could feel it on the wind, a war Robert needed to win, so his sent a raven to winterfell, asking to meet with him and discuss terms of an alliance, if there was any common ground Robert and Ned had left , it was their shared hatred for the Targaryens.

The Neck

"Your Grace, the door to the Neck is just up ahead" ser Boris had said as he caught up to him as he was scouting ahead, he rode beside his king as the landmark had become visible, soon they were passing through the border that separated the river lands from the North, it consisted of two twinty foot tall statues of Crannogmen facing south, one was holding a spear over his head with his right hand while his left was outstretched in a typical spear throwing position as if to hurl it at an attacking enemy, the other was similarly positioned except he had a sword over his head both were atop stone pedestals with white stone tablets that had written statement on them for any traveler that may pass, "ahead is the hidden leaf village, food, water, cart or wagon repairs and accommodations are available" on the pedestal of the sword wielding Crannogman it reads "ahead is Green harbour, food, water, ship or boat repair and seas travel to essos are available", the statues marked the base of a twenty meter wide stone slab that formed the base of the stone bridge that allowed limited travel through the Neck.

"I wonder if he is still mad at me?" Robert had said more to himself than ser Boris beside him.

"King Eddard or Lord Howland?" ser Boris asked thinking the question was directed at him

"Both" Robert grumbled as he trotted forward passing the stone sentries that had been erected to mark the border between the River lands and the Neck, "as if the big fuck-off swamp wasn't enough of an indication" Robert though.

Tall and thick mangroves trunks obscure any view of the surroundings as they provided ample shade with their overreaching branches and overgrown leaves, the wide stone bridge was called the 'Serpent's back' and it was designed to funnel all who pass it into vulnerable positions, below was the infamous swamp that drowned the first men and ate the Andals, the bridge was built with one of Ned's many inventions that he made when he was but a boy, he called it 'concrete' although the rest of the kingdoms called it 'soft stone', it had been refined over the years by the 'school of the Owl' that Ned had established to improve his ideas and concepts, the bricks were laid out like scales on a snake not only for aesthetics but also to direct rainwater into the swamp below preventing it from pooling at the center, it was wide enough to accommodate 30 men walking shoulder to shoulder but provided no cover if they were to come under attack, the railing only comes up to your hip and the bridge itself was elevated 40 feet above sea level so as to remain dry even during high tide and out of reach of the numerous deadly creatures that flounder just beneath the surface of the swamp, it also curved and twisted around tightly knit bundles of mangrove trees to hide defenders and hinder attackers, as they travel further into the Neck a faint smell of cooked food, fresh spices and the sounds of people barking to attract customers and selling their wares reached the royal party, as they get closer the voices die down and replaced by the distinctive marching sound of battle formation, they eventually reach the origin of the noise, which is a massive harbour now cleared of any foot traffic by 300 crannogmen who wear dark green hooded cloaks over black leather armor, they were armed with black steel compound bows with iron wood grips, strapped to their backs were quivers that seemed to bloom like flowers with all the arrows inside them, their faces are obscured by mask that only covers their mouths and noses, they formed two columns on either side of the main road, each having two lines of men creating a barrier for the king and his traveling party to pass unobstructed, at the center is an unarmed man on a brown pony, his attire is a similarly green tunic but with a silver snake badge on the right breast of his tunic.

"Hail King Robert of the house Baratheon!" the man raises his right open hand and his voice so all may hear, "First of his name, King of the Andals and the Rhoynar, lord of the six Kingdoms and the Protector of the realms",

"HAIL KING ROBERT!" The Crannogmen shout as they raise their bows in unison and stump their feet to salute Robert.

"I am Edwyne of house Blackadder, son of Edmyne, Mayor and war-boss of the Hidden Leaf village, Lord Howland has been expecting you, your Grace, I shall lead you to Greenguard castle" he turns his pony in one smooth motion to face the assembled men "COMPANY!, REED LOCK FORMATION!" Rammel shouted making some of Roberts Entourage flinch, the Crannogmen then make a 180 degree turn in unison in acknowledgement of the order and start marching forward in a steady pace, the Cronnogmen create a barrier so as to keep the gathering crowd out of the street, Robert trots forward followed by his guards and family.

"Follow me your Grace" Edwyne escorts Robert through the harbour.

"The rumors hold some truth" Tyrion rides forward beside his Brother to get a better look at the displays, Varys had said again and again that the spymaster of the Northern prevented his little birds from acquiring any information on them, some birds never return while others were bribed to change sides "the Crannogmen have become organized and disciplined, much like the Northern Legions"

"Aye" ser Jaime tries to hide his astonishment at the well trained and well equipped soldiers of the Neck who match their pace with the entourage perfectly, he notice that each soldier had different designs on their masks, some were styled to look like snarling animal mouths and flaring noses, others had bearded face or femenin lips, some even flower in their mouths or floral carvings, but the majority of them had blank masks devoid of any markings "it makes our venture that much more vital" he absently remarked.

"Lord Edwyn?" Tyrion speaks up from his post beside ser jaime "I can't help but notice the lack of any odor associated with fish markets in the air"

"The fish are kept fresh with ice harvested from further up north" rammel turns to direct his answers to the 'Imp' "the shopkeepers are required to clean their stools every night and the village stewards are paid to clean the harbour every night as part of their duties"

"What else do these stewards do" Robert spoke now in his booming voice "beside cleaning your village"

"policing and patrolling the Neck, Currently your grace, they are escorting us to Greenguard castle" Edwyne answered as Robert and his party looked to their side at the men marching beside them surprised that well-trained soldiers would be used for such a lowly task as cleaning. "their main duty is to maintain order in the village and defend it if the need arises, King Eddard has commanded that every child be made ready to serve the North, so after they finish learning their numbers, letters and military training they become stewards for three years and then they can either join the Northern Legions or stay and become Crannogmen"

"Why would you need to train even children?" ser Tyrion had stopped admiring the efficiency of the Crannogmen marching beside them "surely they are too young to be concerned about such matters"

"It's mostly done to occupy them ser" Edwyne pointed to a group of children playing with wooden swords and shields across the harbour "gives them some direction and purpose while preparing them", Edwyne's voice turns to steel "should the worst happen"

"Smart" Tyrion spoke from where he was, "what about the girls, what training do they have?"

"My lord" Edwyne smirked at the Imp "have you not noticed that some of the stewards are women?"

Once again the party look at the Crannogmen keeping pace with them, as they look closer they see that some of the soldiers have vaguely femenin figures and other have bulging chest, but all move in unison, "if you're wondering how to tell which are stewards and which are Crannogmen, your grace, it's their masks, the ones that have carvings are Crannogmen while the ones that have none are Stewarts"

They pass deeper into the Neck and find themselves in an area where the mangroves were taller than the buildings were bigger, they gawk at the scope of the 'Village' from their vantage point, the royal company got a better lay out of the village that the mangrove canopy had previously obscured, huge stone walls create ample foundation for the houses, while the walls themselves are painted with thick black tar, each individual city block was the size of a hectare of land that accommodates a multitude of buildings within them, they were dotted all around the Neck in a uniformed grid, each rising 50 feet from the swamp and are connected to each other via wooden bridges made of massive interlocking logs, white walls surround the buildings themselves and a black steel gates allowed entry into the blocks, the base of the white walls were lined with a skirt made of steel spikes, every spike was as thin as finger and as long as an arm, all of which are pointed down at the swamp below, from afar it looks as if they were a maim of quills around the buildings of the Village.

"They are called stone Crannogs your Grace, or city blocks" Edwyne says as he notices the king eyeing the numerous structure built across the swamp "it was King Eddard's idea to build with the intention of preventing invasion from the sea to the east and from the Riverlands to the south" Rammel diverts the gathering attention of the royal party with his finger to a nearby city block "if the enemy attacks from the swamp itself they'll find that scaling the stone bases are quite hazardous" Edwyne chuckles a bit, earning a raised eyebrow from the southerners, "the gaps in the stones have sharpened dragon glass wedge between them while the black tar hides them perfectly and keeps the surface of the Crannogs nice and slippery" they look closer and confirm Edwyne's claim, jagged long shards coat the surface of the masonry and point outward in all directions perfectly camouflaged by the tar "if they somehow get past the tar, the glass and the spikes and reach the concrete walls, they'll find murder holes and arrow slits, while the walls themselves are as smooth as a baby's cheeks and as hard as granite so there is no way to use climbing spikes, that is if they live long enough to use them" then Edwyne directs their attention to the wooden bridges, "if one city block is compromised then the adjacent city blocks can simply lock the gates and burn the bridge that connects them, isolating the attacker in a single block and then we can pick them off one by one with bows and blow darts"

"This 'Village' is big enough to be a city" Roberts boomed once again shaking his party out of their amazement "why is it still called a village?"

"It is a funny story you grace" Edwyne chuckled and smiled broadly as he recounts his memory "Before the 'Serpent's pass' was completed 'Green harbour' was established to attract trade from Essos and bring some income into the Neck, although it was never meant to be permanent, several houses were built to accommodate the merchants that came from essos, as it grew, it would be known as 'the Hidden Leaf village', a particularly grateful stone mason from essos carved the name of the settlement into a very large boulder that had been protruding from the swamp near the sea and it greets all who enter the from the green harbour, it serves us still even after the 'Serpent's pass' was finished and the 'village' has only grown in size over the years"

"That doesn't answer the question" ser Jaime spoke again, his pompous voice carried across the swamp.

"That's the last part of this story ser Jaime, since the stone mason carved it into such a large boulder and with such skill, it was easier to simply keep the name rather than ruin his work by changing the word 'Village' to 'City', it is less accurate now more than ever since he completion of Greenguard castle" they all chuckled at that.

"I must ask lord Blackadder" Tyrion rides up to their guide and voices his curiosity "wasn't the seat of house Reed, Greywater watch, a floating fortress?"

"Yes Lord Lannister, but for my Lord's unquestionable loyalty to the North and services to House Stark, my king awarded him and his house generously by making him Overlord of the Neck and Cape Kraken" Edwyne puffs up his chest as he recounted the deeds of his liege lord.

The royal procession move through the cleared streets and over wooden bridges smoothly, the people that they encounter all show respect by bowing to the king and his companions, however the mood of the village is muted as the people do not cheer or make marry, only showing the bare minimum amount of interest at the king and his people.

"Forgive the people your Grace" Edwyne said as he rides beside the king and explains the situation, "it is not you whom they have ire against"

"Who then?" Jaime speaks from Edwyne's other side "may I ask"

"They hate the Lannisters for what they did at King's Landing, most of the new citizens of the Hidden Leaf Village are former inhabitants of King's landing" Edwyne replays, as Jaime and Tyrion ride close enough to hear their guide "here your word is your life, and though no man here will dare to harm you or your people so long as you have the King Stark's protection, they will never forget that it was Lord Tywin who sacked the city, under the pretense that he would protect it"

"And the Stark's word is absolute?" Jaime said from behind the king.

"Yes, ser Jaime" Edwyne looks back at the golden haired man with a blank expression "king Eddard's word, especially"

"How is Lord Reed?" Robert asked in a softer voice that he hadn't used when the Crannogmen started escorting them to the castle.

"To speak truthful, my lord is angry that king Eddard is hosting you" Edwyne answered planely "but have no fear, Lord Reed won't break guest rights"

"Even if he wasn't the one to grant it?" Jaime asked with a smirk.

"The king's word is absolute, the king's word is law" Edwyne spoke with steel in his voice.

As Edwyne explains the state of the many house under house Reed, they are interrupted by the site of a massive castle at the center of a large clearing, they pass the final stone crannog to arrive at the bridge that connected the Castle to the last city bloke, it was wider than 'the Lionlizard's back' and was completely straight, rectangular stone masonry paved the way and thick stone railing keep anyone from falling.

"Behold your Grace" Edwyne said as he pointed to a large building that stood in the middle of a stone Crannog that was four times as large as a city Blocks, dwarfing all other buildings that the king's party had seen thus far "Greenguard Castle"

The Bridge to the castle was 300 feet long and supported by four separate foundations that were also covered with tar and Dragon glass, then Edwyne blew a hunting horn to signal their arrival, the castle had high walls that were tall enough to hide the first two floors and were adorned with banners of all the houses in the Neck, each with a plaque beneath that stated their name, the first and largest of them featured the lion lizard of House Reed, smaller ones depicted the three Green Leaves of house Greengood, the five bullrushes of house March, the white Crane of house Crayn, the blue and red Sparrow of house Carrow, the tree with a song bird of house Brook, the Black Serpent of house Blackadder, the red hand of house Redd, the Stone fist of house Cliff, the white flower on a field of black of house Bogg, the black crab of house Crabbe, the snarling severed hound's head of house Goyle, the jackal biting a dagger of house Jackyll, the golden frog setting on a dart of house Blackfoot and Finally the stone heart of house Stoneheart.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, my lord Edwyne but" Tyrion speak up to garner theirs escorts attention, "weren't there only five houses in the Neck, Reed, March, Greengood, Bogg and "I've never seen some of those banners"

"They're new additions to the Neck, my lord" Edwyne answered proudly "when the company of the rose rejoined there Northern its brothers, new house were founded as the old ones already had heirs, just as my father was once a Reed now we are Blackadders"

the massive gates creaked open and the royal party entered, it lead to a massive clearing that was flanked by uniformed soldiers all of which were now assembled in front and above the walls where they were garrisoned, the inside opened up to a large orchard of apples, lemons, oranges and a multitude of southern flowers that filled the castle's first bailey, the castle itself was five stories tall, each level had a roof stretching four feet outward to prevent enemies from climbing further up the castle if the dragon glass caked walls weren't enough to deter them, the royal family was in awe of the site that they beheld within Greenguard, then their eyes fell unto a short figure standing in the middle of a forty foot tall twenty foot wide four foot thick gate made from iron wood, beside him were four children to his left, two boys and two girls, to his immediate right was a tall woman with green eyes and long pitch black straight hair that reaches her hips she wore a wool indigo cloak, the man whose shoulder she rested her hand on was a few inches shorter than her wearing a green cloak as did the first boy and both girls, the second boy wore dark blue.

"King Robert of house Baratheon" the man spoke up in a regal voice "I must ask before I allow you to pass the Neck" the man's eyes turn grave "are you here to do my king or this kingdom harm?"

"No!" Robert shouted his reply.

"Then I Howland of house Reed, Lord of Greenguard, Warden of the Neck, welcome you" he bows to Robert as does his companions.

Bowls of salt and fish were brought to the guests and pitchers of cold water were given to wash it all down, with the ritual complete, the king and his party were under guest rights and would suffer no harm unless they did so first.

Immediately the soldiers that watched over the Lord of the Neck relaxed and returned to their duties elsewhere, the royal procession was then led into the castle where they would be accommodated and feasted.

Greenguard castle was unlike any south of the Neck, the first floor was made of black granite and the roofs were twenty feet high, the interlocking stones weighing several tons that held up the second floor were as thick as tree trunks, the king, his family and all the king's guard were feasted that night within the castle, strewn and strapped to the walls were many trophies that adorn the walls of the feasting hall of Greenguard, different types of skulls, antlers, dragon teeth as well as helmets, armor, and swords lined the walls and rafters, proof of of Lord Reeds many adventures with the King in the North, one particular sword catches their eyes, a sword that every boy whoever wanted to be a knight had only heard of, it was once wielded by the greatest swordmaster in the history of westeros, until Howland Reed took it from him at the tower of joy. Dawn was set above the high table for all to see.

Mud crabs, shrimp, lobster, several types of fish, roasted chicken, pig, beef and lamb were served, wine, beer, grog, vodka, gin and whiskey (another of Ned's inventions) flowed like rivers and were served by beautiful maidens, all the southerners even queen Catelyn who was cold and gloomy the whole trip was now laughing drunk as she was entertained by lord Edmyne Blackadder who seemed to be wholly immune to alcohol, because of this the king's antics went unnoticed by her, even ser Jaimie and Tyrion laughed at Blackadder's jokes and witty comments, Lord Reed kept silent, smiling politely and commenting when prompted, it was only whispered among the spymasters of the kingdoms that Reed hated Robert, but no one knew why or if it were even true, the lord of the Neck rarely spoke ill of anyone or, the host was kind and generous to all who would come to his land which is why so many merchants and masons came to the Neck, even now he accommodated the minor southern lords who came with the king, seeing that they were all fed and comfortable, soon the mood turned from pleasantry to partying as the guest got deeper into their cups.

Winterfell, training yard. 281 AC

The sound of clanging metal and loud grunts reverberated about the walls of the mighty castle Winterfell, however, while the sound of swords clashing was made by two people, the grunts and labored breathing originate from only one of them, Lyanna was now gawking at his younger brother, she had never seen him move the way he did now, meanwhile Brandon stark was on his back heel as Ned rained blows upon him with surprising accuracy, every time Brandon raised his guard to block Ned's attack his brother would change angle at the last moment and strike with the pummel of the sword instead of the blade bypassing his Brandon's guard and each time Brandon attacked, Ned would wait at the very last moment to sidestep and then counter-attacked, at the beginning of the fight Brandon had charge in with full force in an attempt to overpower his younger and smaller brother with his size and strength as he did every other encounter in the training yard, but Ned would now back up and wait out for an opening to interrupt Brandon's rhythm, this would leave Brandon struggling to keep a guard up while regaining his balance, after half an hour of exertion it became abundantly clear who had won the fight, soon staying upright had become a chore for the heir of winterfell, even the workers and stable hands who stopped to watch the match, could see that Ned was winning,

"Stop!" Rickard said with a stern expression and his arms crossed, he had not seen such a one-sided fight ever being in favor of the younger and weaker son, at least not the son he remembered, the years he spent in Essos had made Ned vastly more skilled than the heir to Winterfell by a wide margin, "That's enough, well done Ned" he said trying to keep the venom out of his voice.

"Thank you father" Ned spoke with a solemn face along with his distinctive black eyes, he was now breathing somewhat heavily, but there were no beads of sweat on his face or shaking from his hands

"Gods Ned" Brandon propped himself up with the blunt training sword as he started to breathe the fire out his lungs, he was not tired as he had training matches longer than this, he was however sore in his joints where Ned had focused his attacks to injure Brandon's joints and weak points making exert himself harder as fought through the pain, after trying and failing to land a single honest blow on Ned for more than half an hour Brandon was now hiding his condition, with little success, all he had to show for his efforts was a red mark that would turn into a bruise on Ned's cheek, which both Brandon and Rikard knew wasn't because of Ned's lack of skill "who taught you to fight like that?"

"A few men from Bravos, others from Qohor, but mostly I had learned from fighting Dothraki" Ned put his sword back and put away the padding he used for armor "they never told me their names, only what everyone else called them"

Hed adopted this form of speaking where he would hide his true intent with sarcasm and innuendo or jokes and complements, Ned was originally sent by his father to be fostered by Jon Arryn in the Vale with the heir to Storm's end, after a year Ned returned to Winterfell with Robert, Rickard found out Ned hated Robert with a passion, his rage only grew further when Rickard informed Ned that he was betrothing Lyanna to Robert, for the rest of Ned's visit he refused to listen to Rickard's reasoning, that it would create a strong alliance between the Stormlands and The North, Ned openly demanded he not go through with the Betrothal as Ned saw Robert to be dishonorable, but Rickard would not listen and announced the Betrothal of Lyanna to Robert to make it official, that would be the last time Rickard would have sway over Ned, after the visit as Ned was sent to white harbour so he could be shipped to gulltown to return to the Eiry, he and Willis (who was to be his personal guard as the boy showed such skill with an axe against Robert's war hammer) ran away from their escorts with from the Bolton heir and headed for the Neck, there Ned and his friends met up Howland Reed and the four of them stowed away on a passing merchant's ship and traveled all the way to Bravos, to avoid disrespecting the paramount of the east and savaging relation with Storm lands, Rickard sent Brandon to be fostered in the Eyrie along with the heir to Storm's End, Robert Baratheon, none of the men Rickard ordered to find his son found him, after 2 years he had all but given up, then news of his son finally reached him, Lord Manderly whom in a letter said that three boys accompanied by a tall young man had been seen in Bravos, they crossed the Dothraki sea and the red waste to the city of Qarth, the detail that caught Rickard's attention was that the boys were all westorosi and fit the description of his son and his companions perfectly, in some of the stories they were in the fighting pits of Mereen, other rumors say they're heading to Asshai, but all of them had been second hand knowledge as none of the merchants who told Lord Manderly had ever seen the three with their own eyes and those that did were not merchants and therefore did not personally travel to the north, this went on for years and soon these stories overshadowed by another story, an unbeatable sellsword company that were butchering Dothraki Khalasars and other sellsword companies were spreading across the seven Kingdoms, 'the company of the rose', the descendants of northerners who disagreed with the last Winter king Tohren Stark and chose exile rather than be ruled by a Targaryan, they were always moving and never staying in one place as they were in such high demand from various cities of Essos, so much so that they divided their forces to deal with specific problems, and the rumors of his son had been drowned out by the growing legend of the 'flower men', much to Rickard's dismay, he did not understand why his son would leave without permission from him, though he and Ned had grown apart it was not like him to do so without thinking, he was a kind father to Ned and allowed him to do as he pleased within the boundaries of reason and respect, at first Rickard though that Ned (being the second born) wanted to prove a point or forces his hand, but after traveling for such a long distance from the North Rickard no longer thought that was the reason.

"Where is Willes, Roose and Howland?" Rickard kept a stern look on his face, he had woken up this morning and thought it would be the same as all the other days before it, except it was the day his son came home, gaunt but muscular, a foot taller than he remembered and…. unescorted "I forgot to ask, why aren't they with you?"

"Howl and Roose headed back to their homes to be with their families" Ned said calmly and clearly betraying no emotion, he knew his Father was angry with him "Will went with Roose to hide from mine"

"And you?" Rickard said, daring Eddard to speak out of turn so as to give Rickard a reason to scold him "are you staying?"

"Are you staying long enough for the tourney at Harrenhal?" Lyana japed from where she stood awestruck at his brother's performance, she was trying to lighten the mood as she knew her father was livid about Ned's actions "it's going to be the largest the kingdoms have ever seen" Lyanna flung herself into Ned's arms attempting to hug the breath out of him not content with the one she gave him earlier.

"Aye" Brandon was done catching his breath and putting his swords away, he also noticed the tension that was building "you should at least speak with Robert, he has been worried about you"

"No" Need did not hesitate to ignore his sibling and answer his father for he knew if he showed fear his father would see it as weakness "I will return to Essos within a month and return to rose company"

"Why?" Rickard growled out through his teeth, "is that what you want, to waste your life in a foreign country and leave your kin behind?" he shouted, his rage was now on full display for all in the training yard to see.

"Father you have Brandon and Benjin" Ned was still calm, not allowing his father to intimidate him "your line is secured, you don't need me here?"

"SO BE IT!, DIE AS ANOTHER NAMELESS CUR AMONG NAMELESS BARBARIANS IN SOME BATTLEFIELD FOR ALL I CARE!, I AM DONE CONCERNING MYSELF WITH YOU" Rickard stormed off not looking back to see Brandon and Lyanna flinch at his wrath, as well as the others who heard and frantically turned away as their lord walk past them.

"Whatever your plan is Ned" Brandon said as he patted his brother's shoulder, they're as skinny as he remembered but now they're solid as stone "I'll always love you, no matter what, little brother"

"Me too" Lyanna looked at him from where she sat.

"Thank you"