Luwin
He watched the boy prepare to go to the wall. The one who glowed with golden light, and healed his charge. Mycah was different to say the least in Luwin's opinion. It was difficult to get a feel for what the boy really was. He'd emptied the library for any hint of what the boy was. Nothing came of his search and the boy remained an enigma. Oddly enough Lady Stark favored the boy.
"Mother why can't I go with him?" Arya asked.
"Because it's dangerous and too cold for you." Catelyn said.
The boy was arming himself with anything he could find. Clearly, he expected trouble. Luwin didn't doubt the boy's words. The mechanisms within the hand were too fine. There was no scarring from tampering. As unlikely as it seemed, perhaps the easiest solution was in the impossible boy. Luwin didn't want to believe it but to a learned mind it made sense. With enough of those tiny creatures working together perhaps they could convert a corpse into a puppet. To what end. What was the end goal?
"I'll be quick Arya, unless something happens. Once your uncle and brother are back, we can figure out a plan." Mycah assured.
"That's what you said about healing Bran and we're still here." Arya argued.
"That was different. Healing is difficult, especially if you do it right. This is courier work Arya. I'll be there and back in no time." Mycah looked around conspiratorially. "Besides Septa Mordane isn't here to give you lessons. I'm sure you can do anything you want today with your new strength."
The girl gasped. Luwin felt a headache coming along at the shear satisfaction in the young lady's eyes. It seemed Mycah had learned how Arya worked. He didn't know if that was a good thing or not after Lord Rob's offer. By all accounts Mycah was the baseborn son of a butcher. That wasn't the case obviously. Luwin was curious how Lady Stark would react when she found out.
"Arya you should eat something." Mycah started as he put a set of Rob's old boots on.
"Why, I'm not hungry?" Arya said. Mycah looked to the Lady and then himself.
"I know you're not and you won't be again." Mycah took a bite out of a piece of jerky. "Your body is changing Arya. You don't feel that you need food but you do. Those who don't eat at all waste away. They won't heal properly." That made sense. No matter how this magic changed the body food was needed. To not feel hunger at all didn't feel right to him.
"Arya go to the kitchen and have them fix you a meal." Lady Stark ordered. The little Lady grumbled and stormed off.
Rob
He was swamped and he knew it. Despite his brother's recovery his mother was preparing to take a ship to king's landing of all places. It would have been better to let Mycah go but his mother refused. Mycah had other duties and she would do her part. He'd rather she did her part as lady of winterfell.
Theon crept into the lord's study looking around carefully. He shut the door quietly behind him to ensure no one noticed him. The guards outside paid Theon no mind. It was time to talk. His friend paced around the study for a moment getting his nerve.
"Rob, he terrifies me." Theon said.
"That doesn't sound like you Theon. What has he done to make you turn craven?" Rob asked as he continued to write his letter to lord Roose.
"It's not craven to fear the unknown. He doesn't move naturally. He's a thing that acts human. Why are you calling your bannermen and going to war at his word?" Rob looked up from his writing at Theon then back to the box. A gift from an unknown.
Rob remembered the rotting hand. He'd have thought nothing of it before Mycah cut it open. When he saw the inside. The sparking blue light, the way it evaporated, and the cold. Rob knew an enemy when he saw one. Leaving his brother and uncle to face such a threat unprepared, wasn't going to happen. When the lone wolf dies the pack survives. This was the calling of the pack.
"We have a enemy beyond the wall that even gave him pause. Whatever he is, he is human and he saved my brother." Rob looked up at Theon and his friend took a step back. Rob shook his head. "Go to winter town Theon. Fuck a whore clear and your head. I need you to have my back." Rob said.
Theon slowly nodded his head and left the room. Rob shook his head again. This was to be his first test as lord of Winterfell. He wasn't going to lose his nerve.
Mycah
Thousands of feet in the air the wall was easy to find. It was an imposing structure. The fact it was built 8000 years ago was even more impressive. It was one of a kind. As a testament to the victory over the others it was unbelievable. After fighting against certain extinction Bran, the Builder built this wall. Even tired from a war he still had this kind of strength. It was an impressive work of magic.
He closed his eyes and willed his senses outward. Intricate, imposing, and enduring described the wall well enough. It was a system crafted by a magic alien to all he knew. There were designs and pieces of the program that bewildered him. It was truly the enchantment of a master.
Despite the complexity of the structure, there were parts that he could identify. It had a power source, an alternator, and pathways to transfer power. The alternator was the easiest part to identify. It turned consciousness power into ice. Magic energy to ice was a simple trick for even the most primitive of alternators. There were places in the enchantment that acted as a reservoir. These deep reservoirs remained dormant until parts of the wall melted. It was a repairing function.
Mycah flew across the wall counting hundreds of reservoirs. The number of reservoirs wasn't an issue. He couldn't detect where the magic came from.
Aura empowered his eyes as he looked deeper. He gasped and lost control of his flight for a second. Mycah smashed into the wall shattering ice from the wall. New lines of the enchantment lit up. They drew from the reservoir to refill a pattern. Ice began to fill in the missing pieces on the wall. It was self-repairing.
He flew down from the wall and approached a black brother. "Boy what are you doing out here. Have you come to join the watch?" The man laughed.
"I'm afraid not. I've come on orders from Lord Stark. I have a letter for your Lord Commander." Mycah said.
"Do you boy? Why would lord Stark send you instead of a raven?" The black brother asked.
"I have a second job beyond the wall." Mycah said.
"What business do you have beyond the wall son? I see your well-armed but it's dangerous. Perhaps you should give us the letter first." Mycah handed over the letter.
"Seven hells, it's the lord's seal." One of the guards said.
"Let me see. How do you know it's the lord's seal?" The other guard asked.
"How do you not? It's a direwolf, who doesn't know what house Stark's seal looks like?" Mycah stood there waiting for the two men to stop arguing.
"Come on, are you the son of a lord? You aren't wearing a sigil." One of the guards said.
"I'm just a butcher's son. Nothing lordly about me guys." Mycah said.
"Aye, well come on then let's get this to the lord commander. Jensen you stay while I walk him up. I'll bring you back something warm on my way. Anything for you boy. It must have been a long journey from Winterfell to the wall. Did you leave just after snow?" The man asked.
"Why aren't you with anyone?" The guard asked.
"I came here alone, I'm here to investigate something for Lord Stark." Mycah said.
"That doesn't make sense. But I'm not fool enough to aske too many questions. You have Lord Stark's seal that is enough." The guard said.
Mycah made his way slowly through castle black. He didn't feel the heat or the cold as he made his way through. His aura kept him warm. That's the way it was. Men took a look at him gawking like fools. Some he approved of enough to indoctrinate them into the legion. Others he'd rather do without. A few just looked on curious while others coveted his weapons. Seeing the worth of his fellow man wasn't his job before. He was a pilot and a 2nd lieutenant before his first death. By the time of his death he had other duties.
They took him to the lord commander's study. There a man wearing a bear coat was busy writing something. He didn't seem so different than other commanders Mycah had known. None were willing to withdraw from their task at the appearance of a younger man either. He no longer felt contempt for being ignored. Instead he busied himself looking around the office.
Near the man's side was a sword with a bear claw attached to it. His sight pierced the veil quickly. The souls within this weapon were different than the dagger. They were joined as one and shouted their name. "We ArE LONGCLAW." The Valerian sword shouted. The voices were uniform and much stronger than the dagger.
Masamune strapped to his shoulder seethed in its sheath. It wanted him to draw it. The blade wanted to slice apart the Longclaw.
"I see you admiring my blade. Are you a thief lad? Did you steel a loaf of bread from a lord?" He asked. "Is that how you obtained the rest of your weapons?" Mycah felt his eyes begin to glow golden at the slight. The lord commander gripped his sword but didn't draw it.
"Sorry my lord, I don't do well with accusation. I didn't mean to frighten you. I have a letter from Lord Rob Stark." He placed the letter on the lord commander's desk.
The man quickly opened the letter and read it quickly.
Lord Commander
I Rob Stark ask that you return my brother and uncle to Winterfell. My brother should never have been forced to join the watch and my uncle's experience is required. The northern army is planning an expedition beyond the wall.
Rob Stark acting Lord of Winterfell
"Please send both Jon and Lord Stark south at your first opportunity. Now I must finish my assignment. Will you order a black brother to guide me north of the wall?" Mycah said.
"What are you lad?" The lord commander asked.
"I'm just a butcher's son." Mycah said.
The lord commander nodded his head as if it explained everything. Maybe it did in a way. He would get anymore answers than that. The wall was covered in dormant nanites. The magic of the wall deactivated them when the black brothers returned. Or that was his hypothesis.
"Ask for Allister Thorn he'll guide you lad. Will you be alright out there? You are but a boy by my eyes." He nodded. He knew seeing his eyes glow was enough for the lord commander. There was no need to show off and be amazing. A hint of being more than a normal twelve-year-old was enough for the cautious old bear.
"There is news that monsters exist beyond the wall. I'm going to capture one and take it south of the wall. Lord Stark will gather his bannermen and I'll present them proof. What happens after that is out of my hands." Mycah said.
"Benjen my first ranger has already set out for the ranging. You'll have to catch up to them. I can send a few men with you but not many. Do you think these monsters will go after him? Is that why you want him and Jon back in Winterfell?" The Lord Commander asked.
"This wall copies what the Starks do naturally. The plague that the monster's use becomes dormant in their presence. This wall protects the realms of men from a disease with a mind of its own. A disease that wants to destroy mankind. When the men die infected, they get up and keep moving. When men survive infected, the plague will give them dreams, visions, and instructions. It wants beyond the wall Lord Commander; it wants to invade the realms of men." Mycah said.
"What of you? Unless you're another of Stark's bastards you aren't immune to this plague."
"I'm complicated, the plague as it is now isn't an issue. If it captures Benjen and figures out how to solve its weakness." Fear covered the lord commanders face. "The wall won't matter. Before you know it, you'll open the doors for it willingly."
"That doesn't have to happen. I'll be quick. We'll get Bejen behind the wall, get the proof to the Northern army, and form a plan. I think I've given you enough news for today Lord Commander. Another time, I'll come and we can discuss my theories." Inert didn't mean destroyed. That's how the hand reached Winterfell. The wall could only do so much.