Jon heard a jaunty tune being played on a flute as he moved closer and closer to the Godswood. It was early morning and he hadn't expected anyone to be up this early. Usually, he was the first to wake up in Winterfell because he usually did his morning runs as early as possible. Mostly he started off the day with a small prayer to the Old Gods and then he would go for his morning run and combat training. Being a member of the Wicca religion in his previous life he was predisposed to the faith of Old Gods as some aspects of it are very similar. Some of the old records that he had found in the archives of Winterfell mentioned several rituals that the First Men performed based on cycles of Moon and position of the Sun. Most of those practices have died out even in the North and almost all of them involved enhancing the warging abilities that were gifted by the Old Gods. But the most interesting piece of magic that he had learned from the ancient scrolls were the runic methodology behind constructing protective wards. It was something that he was very much interested in because of the wards that the Children of Forest weaved around the Wall to keep out all necromantic magic. Obviously, it was falling apart but Jon was researching the art as best as he could considering the language barrier that exists. He had already tried the art using magic circle constructs based on his knowledge of Wicca but that was a dead end. So he was on a quest for learning the written form of Old Tongue which was far more difficult seeing as very few people know about it. Only Old Nan has any type of knowledge in the subject and her knowledge only extends to speaking the Old Tongue not its written format.

Even still he had managed to unearth several small scale rituals that are dedicated to improving one's connection with the earth. While he didn't have any teachers to understand the meaning behind individual symbols of Old Tongue he could certainly feel that he was understanding little snippets day by day as he practised the rituals. For example, there was this ritual that is designed to establish a connection between one's personal magic with that of the song of the earth. The ritual involved in the process is a two-part process. The first half of the ritual is done at early fawn when the Sun was just rising over the horizon banishing the darkness of the night. This first phase invoked the emergence of energy from the earth and the ritual is designed to take a portion of the energy that the earth unleashes into one's body. For the rest of the day, this energy will spread across the body mingling with the internal magic in the recipient's blood. The second phase of the ritual commences at Twilight. In this half, the ritual absorbs the magical energy that was mingling within the blood back to earth. This last part completes the cycle of exchange thereby enriching the blood with nature magic. The end result of this ritual is an innate connection to the natural world and the elements that govern it. A single ritual won't do much to establish this connection rather it takes many attempts to even get a feel of the song of the earth. He had only started doing this ritual for the last six months and the obvious advantage he received was the increase in awareness.

With someone present inside the Godswood, his plans for the ritual has to be abandoned. He didn't need any rumours to float around that he was doing magical rituals. Even still he was curious who was present inside the Godswood at this hour. He found the answer to his query as he observed dark figure kneeling before a Weirwood tree playing the flute. The most interesting bit was that the ground around the figure was glowing an eerie green with carved runes. This was the first time that he was witnessing someone else performing a ritual and one that he had never come across. There were mentions of drums being used in a ritual but he had never quite deciphered the full scroll yet. But here it was being performed and that too with a flute no less. He decided to wait until the ritual ended to confront whoever that was doing this. Several minutes later small glimpses of light began to appear in the sky and Jon could finally see just who it was.

His eyes raked the form of Dacey Mormont who have picked up the pace in her tune and ended the note in a high pitch. The carved runes lit up a bright green and disappeared altogether from the ground. He decided this was the time to show himself.

"I have never heard of a ritual being performed via a flute. It seems your house has been keeping several secrets lady Mormont." said Jon as he walked into the clearing standing right behind Dacey startling the heiress of Bear Islands but she never showed it as she rose up from the ground

"There are no secrets Jon Snow. We just remember better than others in the North and don't address me as lady Mormont. Lady Mormont is my mother. Just call me Dacey." She said as she fastened her flute to her hips and dusted herself

"I see. I never knew that other instruments than drums could be used for rituals like these. You were performing the cleansing ritual weren't you?" Jon asked curiously

"My..my…You do know some of the intricate ancient rituals. Don't tell me you have practised one before?" Dacey prodded

"I regularly use the earthsinger ritual and I noticed you dodged my question." Jon gave her a look

"I just wanted to make sure you were not queasy with the old traditions. To answer your question yes I was using a cleansing ritual." Dacey admitted which made Jon all the more interested

"But why use a cleansing ritual and I do admit I am ignorant of the art in many aspects. The only rituals I know is the earthsinger and warding rituals. Even then I am a novice in them both." Jon admitted looking curiously at Dacey

Dacey observed Jon silently for a while mulling over something in her mind but eventually caved in.

"Members of House Mormont have skinchanging skills. It is something that has been hereditarily passed down in our house. You do know what Skinchanging is don't you?" Dacey asked curiously

"Hey, I am ignorant of many things but I am not that much ignorant." Jon huffed making Dacey let out a peal of tinkling laughter but she quickly continued with her explanation

"As you know Skinchanging allows a person to occupy the body of an animal or if they are powerful greenseers then they could even control another human being. The more complex the animal more difficult it is for the warging to take place smoothly. But what many of them don't know is that warging itself is inherently dangerous to the skinchanger. Every time a warg exerts his/her will upon another living being a piece of that being's consciousness is imprinted upon our blood. This is why we Mormonts prefer warging with bears as our earliest ancestors have always preferred the Bears and this instinct has been passed down from generation to generation. The Winter Kings of old have always preferred Direwolfs for similar reasons. This ritual is used to cleanse the bestial instincts from the blood to retain the sense of self lest the warg loses themselves from continuous skinchanging."

Jon was silent for some time thinking over the information Dacey provided. In all his research

he had never come across any sort of warnings in the scrolls regarding the instability caused by warging. Then again he can't understand half the stuff in those scrolls.

"I would appreciate…." Jon trailed off uncertainly as he saw Dacey starting at him with a fascinating look as if he was some kind of an animal caged in a zoo with an 'endangered species' tag

"You have the most beautiful eyes that I have ever seen. Are those violet or purple?" Dacey asked as she moved closer to get a better look as the first light has yet to properly set in

"Purple-violet perhaps?" Dacey murmured

"Is there even a colour like that?" asked Jon with a laugh mindful that it was becoming a tad uncomfortable as Dacey continued to stare into his eyes. Thankfully, she quickly pulled back and Jon let out a breath that he didn't know he was holding.

"Sorry about that. I have never seen a colour like that unless of course…" Dacey mumbled something that was not audible to Jon but he had an idea so he changed the subject

"So you know the Old Tongue right?"

"Yes."

"Then do you mind teaching me the language. I know to speak but reading the symbols is an uphill battle."

"I will be happy to teach you, Jon." Dacey happily replied thinking that would be a better way to bond. Already she was liking how this was going so far.

"Thanks."

"Don't let me keep you from the Earthsinger ritual. You are already late as it is." saying that, Dacey walked out of the Godswood leaving Jon alone

He didn't waste any time as he quickly carved out runes around the ground in a circle. After that was complete he knelt and began to pray silently to the Old Gods and touched the Weirwood tree with his bare hands. Unlike previous times instead of feeling a surge of energy entering his body, he felt like he was being sucked in by the tree. The next thing he knew he was standing inside a dimly lit cave surrounded by giant roots and wooden planks. At the very centre of the cave, he saw Brynden Rivers sitting on a throne made of tangled roots. He was missing an eye and the one that remains was of glowing red colour. His skin was as pale as snow and white hair grew out from his head long enough to reach the floor. The man was wearing rotten clothes but Jon could distinguish the black leather material and the remains of a black clock that was commonly found in the brothers of Night's Watch. Weirwood roots surround the man and had grown through his body, including his leg and his empty eye socket. Frankly, Jon couldn't understand how his body even functioned and the only answer he had was magic. This was not the first time he had seen Brynden but even now it was nigh impossible to maintain his composure.

"Next week you would be leaving for Essos. With you, on the other side of the Narrow Sea, there will be limits to our contact. I won't be able to have extended conversations nor could I always help you. Are you prepared to do what must be done?" Brynden asked and the sound was something that Jon hasn't adjusted to yet. It almost felt like Brynden was just moving his mouth but the sound was coming from somewhere else

"If I plant a few Weirwood trees in Braavos won't your reach expand?" Jon enquired

"Yes, but it will take time. Have you secured Lightbringer?" Brynden asked his red eye swivelled in his head and seems to focus to the side

"Yes, I have secured it inside the scabbard that Most delivered. Speaking of Lightbringer I had a vision when I drank that paste." Seeing that he had the interest of Brynden Jon quickly resumed

"I saw a man and a woman beneath a Weirwood tree creating the Lightbringer. The woman seems to have sacrificed her immortality to create the sword. Do you know anything about this?"

"I know many things young Targaryen. What do you know about the first Empire of Dawn?" Brynden asked

"Only that it was an empire that spanned a large portion of far east Essos and it was the first wide-spanning human settlement in the history of our world." Jon answered uncertainly

"You are correct. The empire if Dawn was formed under the leadership of children of gods. But due to greed and arrogance, the generations that came after the establishment of the empire turned on the gods and destroyed much of their faith. It was during this time a black stone of unknown origin struck the continent of Essos. It was the remains of a Dark God and soon the deity's influence spread corrupting men. Civil war broke out and the empire of Dawn collapsed and from the remnants of that broken empire came a woman who found herself in Westeros where men coexisted with Children of Forest. Her name was Nissa Nissa and she was a descendant of the royal family. She was the only one that had retained her immortality but she gave it away when she realised a portion of the dark god's essence had struck the continent of Westeros and breathed new life to the White Walkers."

"New life?" Jon asked curiously

"The White Walkers existed long before the arrival of the Dark One but they were mindless constructs formed out of the magic woven by the Children to fight the First Men. When the fighting between men and Children stopped the Walkers were sent away to the far North. Unfortunately, tragedy struck in the form of black stone and the Walkers were resurrected. This time they had their own will and their power was overwhelming. The creation surpassed the creator and began targeting the Children of Forest along with anything that had warm blood. The Children and First Men joined forces and together they fought and beat back the Others with some aid as you obviously noticed."

"I would like to know more about the woman in my vision."

"You will but it has to be on your own. Your own greensight is awakening and the answers you seek will come to you naturally."

"That's fair I guess. What about the swords you gave me. I know one of them is Dark Sister. What about the other one with a dragonbone hilt and curved blade?"

"Ah, that is Stormcrown, the Valyrian Steel blade wielded by Sandoq the Shadow. He was a pit fighter in Lys and at the end of his days, he stood guard for King Aegon III. The dragon egg, on the other hand, is my own personal egg gifted to me by my father. The Children had kept the egg safe all these years and now it is in your hands. I think you know what you must do with it?"

"I know."

"Good but be careful and never trust the grey rats. Never expose yourself until you are ready. Even if your family is in danger don't rush to Westeros if you haven't gathered the necessary power for an invasion. Keep in mind that the war between men is not the war that matters. The Kingdom of men will fall and rise like the waves in an ocean. If we lose the fight at the Wall there won't be anything left to fight again." Brynden warned

"I know Brynden. That just means I have to work harder to get what I want before Westeros erupts in a civil war." said Jon and he found himself before the Weirwood tree in the Godswood of Winterfell. There were a lot of plans to be put in motion once he landed in Braavos but that could all start from right here as well. With that thought, Jon began shaving off small pieces of branches from the Weirwood tree.