Chapter 3

It appeared to be an unremarkable day for Jon, who was sparring with his half-brother Robb under supervision of Master-at-Arms Rodrik Cassel. At least until one of the direwolf pups started to bark frantically.

It did not take long before most of the other direwolves joined in, making everyone in the courtyard stop what they were doing and wonder what was happening. Only his faithful companion Ghost remained silent, although he seemed to be extremely distressed and was staring towards the west.

Jon then tried to look for what seemed to be disturbing the young wolves, which didn't take too long to find. Towards the west, some kind of bird was flying above the Wolfswood. However, this bird was unlike any he had ever seen. For one, it seemed larger and flew faster than even a falcon during a dive. Additionally, it had a uniform grey color and had an unusual form. When it was almost above the keep, it suddenly started to change direction and continued flying in a circular pattern over their heads. While it was doing that, they heard a rumbling noise originating from above, almost certainly from the so called bird.

In the meantime, guards all around the keep were startled and started to reach for their weapons. He saw his father walking out of the keep, looking alert for any danger with his Valyrian great sword Ice in his hand:. "Ser Rodrik, where is this noise coming from, are we under attack?!".

The master at arms pointed upward and said: "I don't know my Lord, there seems to be some kind of dragon flying above us!"

Jon wasn't sure it was a dragon, as it didn't look at all like the few sketches from the books he had read or the stories he had heard. However, he also didn't know anything else it could be.

"If it is indeed a dragon, and it wants to attack us, then we are doomed in any case. Go to the armory immediately and see if we have any scorpions left over from the time of the Dance!" Lord Stark ordered.

Jon then looked back up and saw that the supposed dragon had stopped flying in circles over Winterfell. Instead, it started to fly back towards the west, and took its rumbling noise with it. Once the rumbling noise was gone, silence remained in the courtyard, only interrupted by the occasional bark of an agitated direwolf pup.

At least until Lord Stark finally ordered: "Someone fetch master Luwin, ask him to bring along all books we have on dragons or any other giant flying creatures, and bring him to my solar. Robb and Jon, come with me!" He then walked back into the keep, clearly expecting Robb and Jon to follow him.

Jon first checked up on Ghost, his direwolf pup, who was less agitated now that the dragon had gone. After concluding that his pup was indeed fine, he ran after his father, followed by his companion.

On the way, he saw his half-sister Sansa comforting her own direwolf Lady. He didn't know why anyone would give a dangerous apex predator such an innocent sounding name, but he had to agree that Lady was the most gentle and well behaved pup of the litter. This was in contrast to Shaggydog, the wolf of his little brother Rickon, whom he could still hear barking even now the danger has passed.

He then almost ran into his other trueborn sister Arya, who was definitely not coming from her lessons with Septa Mordane. From the tree leaves and mud stains on her clothes, he concluded she must have been climbing trees in the godswood, probably with her brother Bran.

"Hey Jon, did you see the dragon?!" she asked enthusiastically, "It was enormous and made a lot of noise and flew extremely fast!"

"Yes, I saw it too little sister, although I am not sure whether it really was a dragon. It seemed somehow different from what old Nan told in her stories."

"What other creatures are so big and can fly then?!" Arya replied unamused. "I hope it comes back, I would really like to ride one someday!"

Jon thought a dragon was far more likely to burn them to a crisp instead of letting them ride it, but decided to drop the subject. As Jon didn't want his father to wait for him, he quickly excused himself and continued onward to his father's solar.

He arrived to the sight of his Lord father writing letters. They seemed to be addressed to Lord Glover of Deepwood Motte, Lord Tallhart of Torrhen's square and Lord Ryswell of the Rills. When he finished the last letter, his Lord father sighed put his seal to all three of them.

"This was already going to be a tiring week, with Robert's party arriving in 5 days. Now I not only have to deal with housing the king's party for a month, but also find out what in the name of the gods that flying creature was!"

Jon's father then seemed to have an idea and spoke to his brother: "So, Robb, to prepare you for your duties in the future, I want to know your opinion on this situation. What do you think that happened, and what we should do in response?"

Robb, surprised by his father asking for his opinion, thought on the questions for a few moments before answering: "Well, father, the easiest explanation I can think of is that it was some wild dragon or other creature who was either travelling or searching for some easy prey. I only got a few glances from it though, as I was looking out for my distressed direwolf.

As to what to do in response, I think we should probably repair the scorpions or make new ones. While I'm afraid they're unlikely to work against real dragons, they will at least give us a fighting chance if we're going to be attacked. What's even more important is that we should inform our bannerman of the threat and advise them to do the same."

Jon mostly agreed with his trueborn brother. However, something didn't sit well with him. It must have showed on his face, because his father asked him: "Jon, you seem like you have something to add, please share it with us!"

Reluctantly , Jon answered: "Father, I saw the creature arrive and leave. It both came from and went towards the exact same direction in the west. And when it flew above us, it flew in perfect circles above our keep. Like Robb, I thought it just a wild creature at first. However, I just realized that this behavior is completely unlike any kind of wild creature I know. If I had to guess something, I would say that it was scouting us."

Lord Eddard Stark sighed again "What you said, Jon, is also what I fear is the case. It seemed indeed far too controlled to be a wild beast. However, I have not heard of any realm or individual with such creatures under their command since the death of the last Targaryen dragon. My hope is that this is a single resurfaced dragon under the control of someone of Valyrian descent. While that would be bad, it at least means we know what we're dealing with.

What I'm most afraid of, is that it a scout from an advanced empire beyond the sunset sea. If that's the case, then we might soon face an invasion of the North by that realm. Unfortunately, nothing is known about anything further west than Lonely Light, so if they're truly from there, we won't know anything about them at all. However, it might also very well be the case that they are not an invasion force at all, but a group of explorers from an empire trying to peacefully find new trading opportunities. Therefore, we should not assume they're invaders if the masters of the flying creature are truly from beyond the sunset sea."

Lord Stark then grabbed a map and laid it out over his desk. The map, which was the most detailed one in the possession of Jon's father, showed the whole North with most of the larger settlements marked down.

"We know that the dragon came from the West. Since the death of House Fisher, we unfortunately do not have any large settlements in that area anymore and no keep that houses ravens to the northwest of the Ryswell seat. An invasion force could land anywhere between the Rills and Deepwood Motte and we would not hear of it for weeks. If this flying creature is truly a scout of an invasion force, they probably have landed in the West already, as there is no point in ranging so far inland otherwise."

Robb and Jon both looked shocked after their father's long and depressing assessment of the situation. Being the first one to recover, Robb asked his father: "But it could also be a single dragon rider right? Where could he have come from?"

Lord Stark, expecting the question, answered Jon's brother: "If the dragon was controlled by one man only, my best guess would be that he was someone from the far North, beyond the Wall. There are many tales of mythical creatures beyond the Wall like the giants and the children of the forest, so a Dragon or another flying beast would not be out of place there. Additionally, the Targaryen bastard Brynden Rivers went missing in that area years ago, so the dragon rider could very well be one of his descendants who managed to hatch a dragon egg.

A more ominous possibility is that a wildling managed to tame some previously unknown magical creature living beyond the Wall. If others manage to do the same, I'm certain that we will have a new king beyond the Wall attacking us within a few years, although this time with a large advantage over us."

Once the brothers had some time to contemplate the situation, his Lord father asked Robb: "So Robb, now we have determined the most likely sources of the flying creature, what do you think would be the best way to respond to it?"

After some time spend in thought, Robb answered: "I think we should inform all the Lords with a keep in the west of this creature and ask them to keep us informed of any sightings on their part. We should ask them to send a group of riders to the west so we can either find the hideout of the dragon rider, or the landing place of the outsiders.

What's even more important is that we should warn our western bannerman of the possibility of an attack and ask them to make scorpions or other such weapons. Just in case the creature came from beyond the wall, we also need to send a message to the Night's Watch asking whether they have seen such a creature or any signs that indicate a new king beyond the Wall has risen."

Lord Stark nodded at this, "Well said Robb. The only important part you missed is that I'll also have to send a rider to the King's party in the south, informing them of the possible threat. Robb, Jon, you did well today, you are now dismissed."

Both brothers took their leave then, still uncertain about the nature of the new threat to the North. Little did they know that most of their questions would be answered tomorrow, just to be replaced with more and weirder ones.

AN: As always, thanks everyone who reviewed, followed or favourited my story! Sorry that this chapter is rather short, the next one will be larger.

Edit 1 (25-08-2021): I improved the dialogue in this chapter somewhat.