Chapter Three: Discovering Yourself

A/N: Did not expect the amount of viewers on this story! I appreciate all the support!

Jon POV

Six Months Later

It had been a hell of a past six months. News had come and news had been sent out between the army and Winterfell. Robb had won every battle, capturing the Kingslayer having been a fantastic maneuver, and had marched to Harrenhal, which he took with no losses. It seemed that only a skeleton crew manned the castle, the rest having fled with their lady due to fear of the approaching army no doubt. Though this was all good news, they were still losing the war. The simple fact was that Tywin could outspend them all ten-to-one, and still had more men than Robb. As long as Robb was careful, however, it was still possible to bleed Tywin until winter came.

In Jon's opinion, winter could change everything. He was here, ensuring food and supplies were stockpiled in preparation of winter, and with recent events they should have plenty barring unforeseen circumstances. He was sending supplies to the army consistently. In his opinion, the northmen were far more used to the cold and would survive and function better in winter, especially as the South would still be far warmer than their home. The southerners would suffer horribly though, and Tywin could not keep his legendary army in conditions they could not stand. Nobody had asked his opinion though, and he was here, not there.

Jon had changed significantly. He had drilled with the King of the Gods daily, for many hours at a time, and had learned what his powers were and how to control them. True to his word, Jon had ensured everyone in the North knew who and how to pray for the Old Gods. True to his word, Zeus had ensured that Jon's power grew so that he was perhaps at the power level of a middling minor god or a particularly powerful demigod. He had powers, and still that never ceased to amaze him, and each god and goddess took time to meet and teach him.

From Ares, his father, he inherited natural battle instincts and occasional invulnerability in battle, some small battle magic, and insane amounts of stamina. His mother Aphrodite had given him his handsome godly looks, his charm, charmspeak on some occasion though it took much out of him, and all the skills needed to instinctively understand how to be a better lover. From Hera he received all the knowledge he would ever need to run a good marriage and home. Hestia granted him some fire immunity and the ability to summon food in small amounts and to start fires magically. Hermes, the messenger god, gave him his speed and the ability to speak to snakes, not that any existed in the North above the Neck.

Hephaestus, god of smithing, gave him the ability to instinctively know how to smith nearly anything, along with gifting him a set of armor that was tied to a ring he would twist to make the armor appear and fit to his form perfectly while being nearly indestructible and light enough to move easily. He also made a gold coin that would transform into any weapon with a mere thought except a bow. It would return to his pocket after a minute any time it was lost or thrown.

Apollo had given him knowledge of medicine and healing far beyond what was known to most healers, including some small healing magic. Artemis, his sister, hated men but gave him the ability to shoot a bow and arrow perfectly, along with a bow that magically created its own arrows made of some kind of godly golden steel as he pulled the string. Dionysus, god of wine, had given the ability to turn any liquid near him to wine upon command.

The biggest gifts came from the three major gods of old. Zeus, ruler of the skies and king of the gods, Poseidon, ruler of the seas and all water, and Hades, god of the Underworld and Darkness. Zeus had gifted him with some small control over the skies and lightening, but his biggest gift was immense strength far beyond what was logical for his size. He could easily overpower the Mountain given a chance. Poseidon granted him the ability to breathe underwater, to communicate with sea life, and to control all water to some extent, including staying dry if he so chose. Hades, almost best of all in Jon's opinion, gave him the ability to speak to the dead though this took much energy, to summon riches from the ground if they exist nearby, and most importantly to do something called shadow travel. He could basically teleport using the shadows, but this made him pass out near every time a mere hour or two after he did so.

All this was amazing, and he trained for months on how to use each power, as well as on matters of combat. You would think he was undefeatable, and you would be wrong. He still did not have immortality, so anything that could kill anyone, would still kill him, and as a godling he would fade rather than die normally. Zeus did help in other ways as well, taking Winterfell as an example. Zeus had told him how to build up his people in ways that had not been thought of previously in recent times.

Originally, he used his new powers over water to heat the water moving through the walls, in order to make the castles warmer. Then he used his powers to conjure food, bits at a time day by day, until their food stores were completely full, including their wine. These two actions alone earned him legendary status among his people and family, but then he took it a step further. Public heated bathhouses were built for the public, including an enchantment to help clean and revitalize them. He then built glass houses to grow fruit and vegetables in, eliminating the need to import such things. This saved them in coin, in turn, and that helped in its own way as well. Following this, he learned the secret of how to make glass from Zeus and started a guild specifically dedicated to this task.

The two biggest secrets he had learned however, was how to craft obsidian and Valyrian weapons, and how to command and train men. He had paid for tons of materials needed and began the smiths on building weaponry and armor out of the materials. He also took the militia he had built and upped their training. He gave them a workout regimen they had to follow daily, as idle soldiers were poor soldiers. Then he taught them better maneuvers he learned from his father, Ares, such as the improving the phalanx, shield walls, and multiple weapon combat. He set up a chain of command within the militia as well.

He planned to take the militia, and equip them with the obsidian as a dagger, and in full Valyrian plate armor with Valyrian spears, swords, and arrows. The plate armor would be layered with fur to keep them warm as well. At this time, he could not have afforded to do this with the entire army, it was logistically a nightmare as far as materials went. They had iron, copper, and silver mines in the North in various areas, but mining and then making the materials were near impossible. Zeus had told him that with the gods becoming more active, the earth itself would produce never-endingly, but that even if the mines did not run dry before opening up elsewhere (something that blew his mind to understand-the earth was alive and some sort of primordial goddess and changed according to her whims), they would not be able to quickly produce such things in any quick amount of time. Doing this for an army would take years, but a militia of perhaps what was now almost 3,000 men was far easier and much more possible.

Jon did plan over time to begin stockpiling such suits of armor and weapons so that when the army returned, they could be outfitted and trained alongside the militiamen. When he had finished with the militia, he began using them to build up roads in the North, using stone that they bought with the excess riches they had saved from not importing food and such. They made stone roads in place of every major road in the North, then built inns every ten miles. Each inn was then given an addition on the side of it hosting a garrison of ten soldiers of the militia that protected the inn and patrolled the roads in each direction for five miles each day in return for free living and free food and drink.

The garrison also doubled over as bounty stations. Bounty hunters would collect outlaws in the North, South, East, or West, and bring them to the nearest bounty station. They would receive their reward, and the soldiers would send a couple men to escort the outlaw to the nearest garrison to them, and so on until they dropped him off to the place in which the crime had been committed. Out of the inns, Winterfell would receive ten percent of their profits and supplies. Ten percent of the bounties were also split evenly between the soldiers of the garrison in question, and Winterfell. Taxes were given a ten percent increase across the North in order to pay for the new roads as well, which caused some grumbling. Jon had quickly eased this by allowing this to be paid in both coin and supplies as needed.

This had all been of enormous help to the North, and even more so after he began sending smiths and builders to each major city, village, and castle in the North in order to invoke all of the changes in those places as well, courtesy of Winterfell, though naturally he had them build everything a little smaller everywhere else in order to showcase Winterfell's prominence in the region. This all made for a healthier, happier, hardier, stronger, and richer economy and population in the North. They were well protected too, as leaving men in each place only brought him from near 3,000 men to having roughly 2,000 men in the militia.

Jon was proud of his accomplishments, but day by day he began to feel as though something was missing, his family aside of course. He wanted a wife. He had spent time daily with whores, drinking, gambling, and feasting when possible, but it had dwindled to just Ros, and even then only on occasion. No, he wanted a beautiful wife, a good marriage, with a good home. Perhaps a castle where he could continue his work in peace. He wanted love as strong as his adoptive parents. He knew he would get a bride someday, as a second son now that he was officially recognized, but he also knew it was usually the father who set up such a marriage, though the son did occasionally have some small say.

Jon sighed and stopped reminiscing, getting up to go about his day and wondering if any news had yet arrived from Robb.

Ice King-Same Day-North of the Wall

The world had changed, though not too much from when he last awoke 8,000 years ago. When he had awoke last, his master had entered his mind with a goal of killing all who served the old gods, then to take over the country of Westeros and prepare for his master's return. They had been so close, but the old gods had been powerful and had sent powerful champions who had managed to stop them.

Now he could sense, through his master's mind, that the world had weakened. Few, if any, heroes remained to stop them. It was time. He shifted on his throne made of ice and watched as his brothers animated as well, moving from their statue-like appearance. Twelve in total they were, vessels for the Titans who would inhabit them someday. Standing at 7 and a half foot tall, he was taller than they. The ice king they called him, though he had forgotten his true name long ago. They stood at 7 foot tall each, still a whole foot taller than most men.

They were slightly faster and stronger than most men too, though not all and not by much. They could see perfectly in the dark, felt no cold, could influence the cold to a degree, and could reanimate the dead. Some magic they could use also, though nothing extreme unless their master was in control of them. Fire could harm them, but it could not kill them. The only thing that could was obsidian and valyrian steel, or celestial weapons, three things that had surely been forgotten over time. If all else failed however, their master assured them that he had several more tricks up his sleeve as well.

Soon they would see. Soon they would march forth. The ice king and his brethren left their wintry abode and strode forth, raising all the dead of the far north as they went.

Jon-Two nights later

Though the war was going well for the moment, and his training and preparation of the North had been going fantastically, there would of course come a moment that would bring the mood down a notch, though it should have been a joyous occasion. His brother Bran had awoke, and when he did, he said only a few words before falling back asleep.

"It was Ser Jaime…Jaime Lannister." He had said before falling back asleep. Jon, Catelyn Stark, and Ser Rodrick had been nearby and had heard him.

"We must send news to Robb! We must have the Kingslayer's head over this injustice!" Catelyn had said immediately, standing and moving to the door.

"No!" Jon had rebuked strongly. "We cannot do this. We need the Kingslayer in exchange for Father, Sansa, and Arya. If we kill the Kingslayer who knows what they will do."

"Jon, move." Catelyn had said, beyond reason. "I will have justice for my son and we will rescue the girls and Ned from that rats nest they call a capital by force!"

"No, my lady. We mustn't. I am angry as well, but this will solve nothing."

She slapped him, as hard as she could. His head turned slightly from the force of the blow, but he kept his emotions in check though his eyes turned cold.

"Hit me if you must, my lady, but you know I am right." Jon said to her sadly. Catelyn looked at him angrily for a moment, then she collapsed, sobbing. Slowly, Jon reached out and put a hand on her shoulder gently in comfort. It took a while, five or ten minutes he did not know though it felt and eternity, and finally she stood back up to face him.

"I am sorry." She said. "We must write to Robb to inform him at least so he may decide what to do. Will you write the letter? I-I do not trust myself."

"Aye, I will write the letter. You must stay here with Bran in case he awakes or needs anything. If he wakes, question him and find out what you can, then tell me and I shall include any news of import in the letter." Jon replied.

That had been hours ago. Since then, they had found out that Ser Jaime had for sure pushed Bran, and why. He had been fucking his own sister, the Queen, Cersei Lannister. The crime of incest, though not a crime under the Targaryens or of Children of the Gods, was now a huge crime if you were not of either descent. Leaving that aside, the king would have been furious. The entire story was corroborated when Jon and Maester Luwin went to the broken tower and found one of the queen's hairs on the floor there, along with what were frozen preserves of semen found with Jon's magic.

Jon knew this was going to be an enormous issue, but fortunately it was not his issue per se. He had simply dutifully written all news of import, along with his evidence to such, and sent it via raven to Robb. As their leader, it was up to Robb to decide how to proceed. In the meantime, he would simply continue to build up the North, and hope things turned out well.

Robb-2 months later

He felt old, tired. It felt like he had been at war for ages, yet in reality it was coming up to a year now. He still had not freed his father or sisters, and despite winning battle after battle against the legendary Lannister armies, Tywin was always able to pay for more and more men and their training. News had reached him of what his brother Jon had done to the North and the militia he had created, but he wasn't sure how much to believe and none of it was of any use to him now, though he admitted it saved him much headache with Jon sending him good amounts of coin and supplies, safely escorted from castle to castle by their most trusted men.

The only problem he was having now was Tywin could afford more men, supplies, and resupply on gold as needed since he had the sea at his back at Casterly Rock. He needed to cut Tywin's supply off, and he was running short on men, something that was not easily replaced, coin or no. He could buy sellswords, but they would take a while to reach him, if they arrived at all and did not simply take their coin and turn their backs. Some men he could get from the North, but most able-bodied men had already come with him. Lord Walder Frey, Lord of the Crossings and the man whose daughter Robb was to marry according to their agreement, had such men but he was very prickly, and they could waste a month or more between the trip and negotiations for such men.

Robb needed a miracle; this he could admit to himself. While they could seemingly continuously defeat his men in the field or holed up in their castles, he knew they could not win the war ultimately unless he figured out a way to solve the crisis of cutting off Tywin's supply. If Tywin chose to bleed them out by throwing sellswords at them continually until their numbers dwindled to a manageable amount, or perhaps wait until he could bribe Robb's men into betraying him or even simply releasing the Kingslayer, Robb and those loyal to him would lose. Gods only knew what would become of his father and sisters then.

The Kingslayer was another issue. He had received Jon's letter, and it took every bit of counsel and restraint for him to not immediately behead the man. He thought to use his crime by releasing the information to the other Lords and Ladies of the realm but thought perhaps it was not time for this yet. Besides, unless proven in front of the King, or confessed to by Ser Jaime or Cersei themselves, few would believe such a thing. Jon had counselled releasing the information to all, and claiming Jaime had confessed to such a crime, and threatening or torturing Jaime into writing a letter to this effect, but such a dishonorable thing came hard to Robb and so he denied it. This war would be won honorably, as it should be, and he would speak to Jon about his harsh measures when he had the chance.

A letter had been written back to Jon, thanking him for the information, but he had not sent it yet. It lay in his tent on a table. At present, he was in the war tent where he held war councils. He was staring at the map trying to figure out what he could do to stop the supplies coming from the sea. The Tyrells had not budged, Stannis and Renly have made claims on the throne and were at open war with the Lannisters, already marching on the capital, and the Vale was silent. He was out of options, as everyone else had already taken a side and given all they could. Theon had mentioned already how the Lannisters….Theon.

That was it! Enemies they had been before, but surely returning their lost son and heir would smooth things over, especially if he offered a chest of gold and silver, and their home as its own sovereign area to govern as they wished. The Greyjoys had been put down in rebellion by both Robert and his father once, and Theon taken from them before he was raised as Robb's brother. Fitting then, that they should achieve what they desired by helping the son of that same man who had put down their rebellion, by attacking Casterly Rock and forming a blockade as he pushed the Lannisters back into their lands and they ran out of supplies.

He was sure they'd agree, he just had to write the letters and inform Theon along with sending a party of guardsmen with him. He would write a letter to Jon as well, to update him on his plan. Finally, everything may work out!

Jon-one week later

Jon had received Robb's letter that morning. He had read it aloud to his advisors and his mother, the relevant sections at least, and had listened to them discuss it. By the end he had merely shook his head and went about his day as they all did. Personally, he did not agree with it, sending Theon back to his people. Theon was a decent man, so long as he was properly influenced, but was too weak-willed to stand up to his father, a man who sought to be king. He had simply moved on though, it was not his place to question it, and it would do no good if he did. When Robb set his mind to something, it was stuck, and he had far more concerns at the moment than a possible refusal to help from Balon Greyjoy.

Winter was fast approaching. He could feel it getting colder month by month and now week by week. He had done what he could to prepare the town, and to check their supplies. The Winterfell Lords, and the Winter Kings before them, had never been poor, but they had been frugal spenders. This had both helped and harmed the North. Frugal spending encouraged less tourism and thus less coin being spent in the North itself, along with more broken-down castles and such, but it also meant they had near half a million gold dragons now to use for preparations, war, and winter.

Supplies were good, but by no means full. No matter what Jon did, despite his abilities, his investments into the castles, cities, and villages of the north, and in spite of his improvements to the army and supply stock, running a war meant Winterfell was short on supply. Of course, short for a great castle meant far less than it did in other areas, but the duties of a Great Lord were to be able to house and feed his people in times of duress. Because of the supplies he had been sending to the army if all of the North sought refuge in Winterfell now, they would only be able to feed everyone for a month on severely reduced rations.

His options were few. He had already sent good men with coin to purchase supplies from the east, but that would take time and luck for them to make it back over the seas. Poseidon had just enough power back that he agreed to try to see them safely over his domain. As far as the quicker answers, he had none. Taxes would be due soon and no doubt some would be paid in supplies, but there was a war on and no house that had food would be willing to trade when there were even less of a guarantee of safe delivery than usual.

The only good news he really had at this moment from his end of things was from the smiths. They had recently moved on to crafting different sizes of Valyrian armor and different kinds of Valyrian weapons for the army, It would take quite some time to outfit them all, but the fact that they had begun the work was heartening. Truthfully the only delay in that area now stemmed from the few workers they had in the mines, therefore reducing the amount of materials they could bring in at a time, yet with the other smiths and miners gone with the army it seemed to be just the right amount to keep everyone productive full time. Soon though, winter would be upon them, and the mines would have to be shut down until it passed. Winter was always hard on everyone, and Winter was coming.