AN: As always, thanks for the support and a special thanks to those who took the time to review. I ended up splitting this chapter and shifting a POV to chapter 28 that I was very happy with but threw off the timeline for this chapter. At the end of this chapter Jon finds himself with many options open to him, if you have preferences about those options please let me know. Also, I made a Reddit profile (errobotter), if you want to chat about the story there. I'm considering posting stats for earlier chapters there since scrolling through that text block on a profile here seems like it would be terrible. As always, the stats for the current chapter are on my profile, if you are interesed. Enough of all that. I hope you enjoy the newest chapter.
Jon and Ygritte continued their journey north, with Ghost acting as an advance scout of sorts, but they had yet to catch up to the Free Folk. Their travel had been rather smooth after Ghost had found them since his presence was sufficient to ward off the more traditional predators that called the Wolfswood home.
It had been a long day for Jon and he was ready to make camp for the approaching night. In the span of a day he had got back to Winterfell, overcome the curse that threatened Bran, found tentative evidence that Cersei Lannister was behind Bran's fall, learned of his Targaryen heritage, fought against Theon, Yohan and the Kingslayer before escaping with Ygritte and reunited with Ghost.
He was ready to go to sleep and wake up to the prospect of a new, hopefully less hectic, day. We're still in the Wolfswood, despite the progress that we've made since Ghost caught up to us. Jon mused as a warm breeze swept through. It's good that we still have the warmth of the summer and that the breeze has not yet turned cold. We had to cross the stream to break our scent trail that we were leaving but I pity the man with wet boots on a cold winter day. Warm or cold, wet boots are a consequence that I'm willing to bear knowing that our scent trail will not be so easily tracked now.
"Ygritte," Jon called out to get the girl's attention. "Keep an eye out for a place for us to make camp. It's been a long day and we should rest up for another day of traveling tomorrow."
His Free Folk traveling companion who had been kissed by fire looked at him and threw her hair over her shoulder before responding, "Aye, Jon Snow. Are you so eager for us to lie down together? Go ahead and admit it, after all, your body will tell me the truth of it when we're all nice and close."
Jon let out an exasperated sigh as his cheeks flushed. "I'll take that to mean that you're going to be on the lookout for a place that we can sleep."
Nonplussed, Ygritte bounced away from Jon as the two continued walking down the stream's shore. After a period of traveling in an easy silence, Ygritte stopped and pointed out a small clearing in the Wolfswood that looked like it would provide an unobstructed view of the sky while being relatively obscured from view by thick foliage that would make it difficult for them to be surprised by a visitor from the Wolfswood without advance notice.
Nodding in approval at the location that Ygritte found, Jon walked towards the clearing and it proved to be a decent location to make camp. While it is very scenic, it would have been more ideal to find a cave or a spot that offered better protection. I'm sure that Ghost will be able to deter any beasts that would threaten us over night but, if we are being pursued by men then we would benefit from having better cover.
Ygritte was not one to stand on ceremony. She dropped down onto the grass and pulled off her boots before reclining back with her weight on her arms in a way that pushed her chest forward towards Jon who had grabbed a log and pulled it over to use as a basic stool when he sat down. "Does it feel real to you yet, Jon Snow? You left your fancy castle and have taken the first steps towards being free."
Shifting his gaze from the sky to make eye contact with Ygritte, Jon replied, "That's a big question, Ygritte. In a way, it's always felt real. I hate that, by leaving, I likely brought shame on Lord Stark but I need time to come to terms with learning of my mother and father. Wait a minute; you were injured by Theon, weren't you? Are you ok?"
The reminder of her injury caused Ygritte to grimace. "I'm fine. He was able to hit my shoulder with an arrow but the Children saw to it that the arrow only scratched me shoulder." She sat up from her reclined position and wound her arm in a circle which displayed a noticeable hitch before the rotation was completed. "I know that I said that I didn't want you using your magic on me but I wouldn't turn you down if you knew some kind of magic that would heal up me shoulder. I don't want it bothering me the next time we're forced to fight and I have to use draw my bow."
After a moment of considering, Jon stood and moved to Ygritte before squatting next to her. "I may know something that could help," Jon started but his words fell short as Ygritte's hand on the uninjured shoulder slipped under the neck of her furs on the opposite shoulder allowing her to pull her furs down and slip her shoulder through the opening she created, exposing the skin of her back. Her skin was just as smooth and milky as Jon expected. However the smooth, alabaster plane was marred by an angry red gash that drew his focus. "Ygritte, this is more than just a scratch."
"I've seen arrows fly straight through men's eyes and arrowheads shatter when they hit bones," Ygritte countered while gritting her teeth. "Compared to wounds like that, it's just a scratch. I doubt those southern ladies would have scars like this is like to leave. Is that what you want, Jon Snow? Do you think less of a woman with scars that told of her own battles?"
"We all have scars of some sort, Ygritte." Jon assured her while calling upon his Restoration magic to cast Heal. The magic created a golden light that caused Ygritte's skin to glow as the wound knitted itself together. "The only reason that I would care that you have a scar is that it would mean that, at some point, you had been hurt in such a way that would leave a scar. I don't want to see you hurt."
"That's good," Ygritte moaned as Jon's magic sealed the wound and returned her skin to its natural coloration. "I heard the other women speak of men with magic hands but I don't think any of the hands that they spoke of could compare to yours right now."
As she spoke, Ygritte reached back with the hand that she had used to pull her furs down and demonstrated her flexibility as she was able to run her fingers along the plane of her back that had previously been rent by the arrow that had hit her. "I may have to take back what I said about the twat's magic being more useful than what you can do." Ygritte repeated the motion that had caused her pain before by rolling her shoulder and the crooked smile that she gave Jon seemed to indicate the pain that she had previously experienced was gone. "Actually, I may just have to keep you, after all."
Jon would have rolled his eyes if they had not been focused intently on the curve of her breast and the stiff point of her nipple that had become visible to him when she tested her shoulder's flexibility. It took considerable control to shift his gaze from the sight. Ygritte is already talking as if she has decided that we should act the part of man and wife. If she caught me staring, then I would never hear the end of it. Jon cleared his throat causing Ygritte to open her eyes and turn to look at him. "Does everything feel alright? It's been a while since I've used that type of magic."
Her fiery hair, alit by the last rays of sunlight, lacked the heat that could be found in her eyes as she looked upon Jon. "I showed you my back, when wounded, and even made it easy for you to pull my furs from me. Yet, instead of taking advantage of my weakness, you chose to help me. Yes, everything is feeling alright. At this point, you could use those magic hands on me wherever you'd like."
Sitting back and kicking out his legs, Jon took a place next to Ygritte. "That's a very generous offer," Jon would be lying if he claimed that he wasn't tempted. "I'm not sure that I'll be able to think of much else with your words in mind."
Ygritte nudged her bare shoulder against Jon as she placed her hand high on his thigh. "We can easily replace the words with memories, Jon Snow. We are free. We could share this clearing and live together, just the two of us, with the most important thing to us being me and you. All I would ask, if you'd make me yours, is that you don't betray me, Jon Snow."
The hand brushing his thigh, and moving precariously close to his hardened member, almost robbed him of his sense. "Ygritte, maybe someday that will be possible but not here, not now."
Jon rebelled against the base instincts of his body and gently caught the roving wrist that was so eagerly seeking him out. "I will do everything possible to keep you safe, and to help Mance with his mission, but there are other people that I have responsibilities to before I can consider being together with anyone in that way. In truth, I hadn't truly considered that I would ever have the chance to do such a thing since I had promised myself that I would not bring another bastard into the world. I may not be a bastard, which will take some getting used to, but, even though I hate to say it, that still holds true for someone that has become as important to me as you."
Ygritte's face fell briefly before her eyes narrowed as she quickly pulled her furs back over her shoulder and lied down on her back before turning on her side so that her back was to him before saying, "You know nothing, Jon Snow."
He winced at Ygritte's shift in tone. Obviously, that was not the answer she wanted to hear but I hoped that she would understand why I can't promise myself to her in the way that she is asking me, right now. I already gave my word that I would help Arachne. Those two don't get along as it is, I don't want to consider how taking that step with Ygritte would cause Arachne to react.
His eyes traced the silhouette of Ygritte's body; her trim waist looked particularly inviting when lying on her side as a captivating valley between the rise of her shoulder and the curve of her hips. Maybe I should take her up on her offer. Maybe one day I will be able to accept that I am not the bastard that I was brought up to believe… Maybe someday there could be a marriage, a babe, a family…
Jon shook his head. There is so much to be done before I can consider settling down in such a manner.
HP +20
SP +50
MP +50
Speech +400
Restoration: Heal +2,000
Mance Rayder was a man on a mission. He had a vision and was willing to take steps that others would immediately dismiss because he knew that, in the end, it would come down to those that were human against the inhuman Cold Ones and their thralls. To further his goals, he had taken a Free Folk party further south than he had ever heard tale of those that would be branded as Wildlings venturing before, into the very heart of the "north," into Winterfell.
While his men knew the true north far better than the men of the "north," it could also be said that the men of the "north" would know their land better than his men. Despite these facts, the flash of light that had swept through the land had given Mance an advantage that had allowed him to find the most direct path to find the missing Jon Snow. When he focused intently on a destination, a spectral path would appear before him and that path would take him to the destination that he had focused upon without fail. It was like a he gained a form of clairvoyance that was unique to him and him, alone.
I can only lament that I did not find this ability earlier. Mance considered how much easier it would have been to expand the Free Folk's ranks if he could locate the other tribes without the amount of trial and error that exposed him and his men to the elements. There are still plenty of tribes that I need to find. Although, after finding them, there's still the matter of convincing them that they will be better off if they join the Free Folk than they would be if they choose to stick to their old ways.
Before discovering his clairvoyance, he hoped that the journey south would have a positive outcome, despite the myriad of negative outcomes that could occur. When we originally set out on this journey southward, I hoped to gain an understanding of the Lord of Winterfell. Of all the southern Houses, the name that was spoken of most frequently by members of the Night's Watch was Stark. If I could've convinced the Lord of Winterfell that the threat of the dead and the Cold Ones was for true then we could've gained a powerful ally and better positioned ourselves to survive the Long Winter, a winter that will be here sooner than any of us would like to admit.
Mance was feeling mixed emotions about the results of his journey. The flash of light had presented a unique opportunity to ingratiate the Free Folk to the Lord of Winterfell as his bastard born son had disappeared shortly after it swept through Winterfell. We had a tremendous opportunity to gain the lord's favor by assisting the lad in returning to Winterfell. He had already proven himself willing to put himself in danger to stand with the Free Folk. Though, green lads are often willing to face dangers when doing so could gain them the favor of a pretty girl. The lad proved to be a friend of the Free Folk, twice over, when he saved Ygritte and again when he sent word that our cover had been blown. However, the boy would not be the one responsible for sending men and provisions to reinforce our position or granting the Free Folk a place in the "north," that power was held by the Lord of Winterfell.
Moving amongst the camp that the Free Folk had established, Mance greeted his companions and did his best to keep spirits high. Like any other Free Folk camp, it could be broken down quickly or abandoned completely, should the need arise. Despite the quick, forced, departure from Winterfell, the Free Folk remained in high spirits. Though a longer stay could have allowed the minstrels and the artisans to gain more coin, we had already exceeded the amount of time that was originally agreed upon and the coin that was earned could be tremendously helpful in the future if we find a partner willing to trade equipment or food.
It had been a day since Mance and the Free Folk had left Winterfell. While they had not seen or heard of any of the signs that a party was riding them down, Mance was still aware of the possibility that should they rest at any individual place too long that it could be the difference between successfully making their way north of the wall and either finding themselves in the gallows or on the block. I must have faith that Ygritte will be able to make her way back to the Free Folk. I'm confident that Jon will, at the very least, come for the other girl. If I'm right then he will also do his best to aid Ygritte in her journey and keep her safe from the things south of the wall that she isn't yet prepared to handle.
When he reached the center of the camp, Mance made an announcement to the camp, "Alright you lot. We've rested here long enough. If we keep to the pace that we've set, we will be able to reach the crossing point in the coming days to get back to the north. Get on your feet, break camp and let's cover some distance today."
It was a testament to the relationships that he had built with the group that had accompanied him south of the Wall that his declaration was not met with grumbles or outright challenges from the Free Folk. It's been my life's work, after leaving the Night's Watch, to bring the handful of tribes together that have united, to this point. We've come far and yet we still have a long way to go. Even if it takes years, I will not give up on my goal of finding and convincing as many of the other tribes as possible to join the alliance of men against a merciless tyrant that would seek to rule over everyone.
To a casual observer, Cersei Lannister looked the part of a dutiful wife as she stood beside her husband in Ned Stark's solar while he spoke with the Stark lord, the man who would be taking the place of Jon Arryn as Hand of the King.
"This is a matter of the north," Ned Stark declared in an unwavering tone. "Jon is of the north. Theon is my ward. It is only right that the trial take place in the north."
"I asked you to be my hand to help me rule the kingdom." Her oaf of a husband at least had the presence of mind to object to his friend. "Of the north, he may be but we rule the kingdom from King's Landing not Winterfell. We are already granting the boy leniency by allowing a trial in the first place. Bastards have faced harsher penalties without such grace for less in other kingdoms."
"That may be the case but we are not in those kingdoms. We are in the north." Lord Stark objected. "Robert, you asked me to be your hand because you want me to give you counsel. If you want my counsel, you should allow the realm to handle the matter as is custom."
"Treachery is not a matter that is to be allowed throughout any of the kingdoms," Cersei interjected before taking a sip of her wine. "The results of your bastards could cause damage to any and all kingdoms within striking distance of the Iron Born and their ships."
"We must hear all sides of the story before declaring one party to be guilty." Lord Stark was unmoved by Cersei's interjection. "It does us no good to speculate. When Theon was taken from the Iron Islands, it was with the assurance that his life would be protected, aye. His life has been protected. The Iron Islanders are a hard folk. I admit, they could take offense to the fact that he was injured and use that as an excuse to raid our lands but it's also possible that they would dismiss the fact that the boy was injured, not by blade or while trying to pay the Iron Price for plunder, by his own bowstring."
"I've heard enough from both of you." The king smashed his hand down on Lord Stark's desk. "Two weeks, Ned. We'll give your bastard two weeks to return to Winterfell and tell us his side of the tale. If he fails to present himself then that's that. We ride for King's Landing and a bounty will be put on his head. He will be found eventually and brought to King's Landing for sentencing. I'll hear no more of it."
After his words, the king made his way to the door and pulled it open, allowing Cersei to exit before closing it and leaving Ned Stark to his thoughts in the solar.
Cersei was irritated. Sure, she had been irritated since they had left King's Landing destined for the northern wasteland but her constant irritation grew due to her husband's recent proclamation. His presence was already an irritant to her but allowing the honorable Ned Stark to sway his judgment threatened to make her physically ill.
Why it was necessary for them to delay their return to King's Landing in the hopes that Ned Stark's bastard would return to present himself for a trial, rather than ordering him to be caught and sent to King's Landing was beyond her understanding. However, she wasn't going to allow this to distract her.
The Stark boy that had seen her with Jaime had survived the fall. Though he had not woken up yet, there was no telling when he would wake and what he would remember if or when he did. No, she needed to find a way to ensure his silence, permanently. To do that, she needed to remove herself from her husband's presence. Fortunately the oaf was lumbering off with purpose, likely to eat, drink, whore or potentially all three.
Slipping through the corridors of Winterfell, Cersei sought out the only man in the castle worth a damn, by her estimation, Jaime Lannister. Her brother Jaime was the only man worthy of her body since Rhaegar Targaryen married that Dornish snake, abducted the Stark whore and got himself killed by her slob of a husband. He was the man that helped her to bring three perfect children into the world, not the slovenly king that she was forced to call husband.
Eventually, she found him in the training yard proving that no northern barbarian could hope to match his skill with a sword. She loved seeing him like this, when he was in his element. It almost comparable to the sight of him when he was plunging into her, the thought sent a tingle to her nether regions as she imagined him doing so after painting the training yard red with the blood of the northern dogs.
Once he had dispatched with the riff-raff that sought to test their mettle against the best sword in Westeros, Cersei caught his eye and beckoned for him to join her. His long strides allowed him to close the distance quickly. Gods, that's what a man should smell like, Cersei thought as he drew close enough for her to take in his scent. "Good showing, brother. Come with me, I have urgent royal business to discuss with you."
The pair made their way through the Lannister and Baratheon camp, destined for Cersei's wheelhouse. Upon reaching the wheelhouse, Jaime opened the door and offered a supporting hand to allow Cersei to enter before he climbed in, closed the door and set the bolt to lock the door. The moment that the door was locked, Cersei grabbed Jaime's collar and pulled his face to hers before capturing his lips in a brief, passionate kiss before pulling away to pour herself a glass of wine and taking a seat on her lounge.
"Gods, I long for the day when we can do that openly without care for the sheep," Cersei sighed in exasperation despite the smile on her face. "We are to stay here for the next fortnight waiting on Stark's bastard to stand trial. It will be necessary to find a new place to vent our frustrations since we can hardly go back to the tower."
Jaime nodded. "I will find a place where I can take care of you properly. After sparring with the bastard, I had hoped to find a challenge amongst his training partners. Alas, it seems that he managed to become a decent swordsman despite the quality of his training partners rather than because of it."
"I grow weary of hearing of the bastard. It's bad enough that we have to stay in this wasteland for longer, still. It is the other Stark boy that I wish to discuss." Cersei took another drink of her wine as she watched an understanding look spread across Jaime's face. "No one can know, Jaime. If the boy had any good sense then he would have done us all a favor by just dying when he hit the ground. Since it seems that these northerners only know how to disappoint, we will have to take the steps to ensure that the boy is never able to speak of what he saw."
Was that reluctance in Jaime's expression? Cersei queried internally. Surely, he must understand why the boy must die.
"The things I do for love," Jaime answered in precisely the way that she hoped despite whatever reservations he may have had about the matter. "I'm sure that there are many men that would be willing to earn the Lannister's favor and coin in Winter Town. If we are to spend the next fortnight here then I am sure that I can find a desperate man that would risk the anger of the Starks, if he was caught, to improve his fortune beyond whatever constitutes dreams among these barbarians."
"Will you go tomorrow?" Cersei didn't want to risk the boy waking up and telling their hosts what he had saw before his fall. "Time is of the essence; the boy could wake up any day now. I would have him silenced before he could become a threat."
Since Ygritte was still not talking to him, Jon took the opportunity to do something that had been on his mind for a while now; he brushed a finger against the Ring causing the menu to appear as a four pointed star appeared in front of him, unsupported yet unwavering. Things have been moving so quickly since I got the Ring that I haven't had many chances to check to see if anything that was originally hidden has been unlocked.
When he tapped the point labeled skills and nineteen different points of light seemed to rise up from the menu as it dropped to the floor. Before he could check on the options that were previously blocked by question marks, he received a notification.
You have gained natural perks for some of your skills. In some instances, a natural perk can be more potent than system perks for your skills. If you wish to obtain system perks for any skill that has developed a natural perks, the natural perk(s) will be deleted. Choose wisely.
Level Up!
Jon saw that he had 120 points to distribute between HP, SP and MP. Currently his stats were sitting at 200, 400 and 400 for each of the stats, respectively. HP has not been an issue, so far, Jon thought. I'll put 20 points towards HP and 50 points towards both SP and MP. SP and MP have both been crucial, to this point, being able to battle or cast magic longer will only help me in the end.
Rather, than letting himself be overwhelmed by all of the options spread out in a panorama around him, Jon decided to approach the skill trees alphabetically. By this approach, the first skill tree was Alchemy. Alchemy was a skill that he had not had many opportunities to practice. Of the skills that he had leveled, it was his second lowest leveled skill at level 7.
The skill had been visible when Jon first opened the skill menu but he had not attempted to look further into the skill and the possible perks, at that point in time. Based on his level he could use up to 2 of his 22 available Perk Points to allow him to make poisons and potions that would he created either 20% or 40% more effective while opening up other perks further along the skill tree.
Some of the Alchemy perks seem downright broken to Jon as he reviewed the perks on the skill was a perk which would allow him to choose between HP, SP and MP and make potions 50% more effective when it comes to buffering or restoring stat points. There are several other perks on the tree that are very interesting but I imagine that I would have to unlock the earlier perks to gain access to them.
Elemental Oil would let Jon create a pool of oil imbued with the powers of one of the Destructive elements that would explode and cause an explosion of that element. Pure Mixture would remove any negative effects from potions. Witchmaster would provide a 50% chance of a random side effect whenever any potions were consumed.
I don't know that I'll level up Alchemy to 20, 40, 70 or 80 so it may not be the best investment of perk points. Plus the Alchemist and Potioneer's Instinct perks that I've acquired naturally seem to be pretty strong compared to the system perks based on the skill level.
The next skill, Alteration, was originally hidden when Jon explored this portion of the menu and it had proven useful to Jon already in his journeys. He had been able to Warg into Ghost and use Transfiguration on Arachne to conceal features that would have caused her a great deal of problems.
Since he was level 10, he could invest Perk Points into the Alteration Mastery perk to cast Alteration magic for 35% or 50% less along with making his Alteration spells last 0.5% or 1% longer, depending on how many Perk Points he invested.
On the skill tree, Jon saw a number of perks that would reduce damage to the point of impermeability if he was not wearing armor. There was a perk that would allow him transmute an enemy into gold ore with the weight varying based on his Alteration level and the level of his enemy. There were miscellaneous perks further down the line that would allow him to cast Alteration spells of a certain level without draining SP, create spellblades, decrease the SP cost for magic from other schools, teleport between places or call forth a magical pillar that would empower his spells while taking him out of reach of melee attacks.
Woah, Jon was stunned. I knew that Alteration was a useful magic but these perks are much better than I would have suspected. If those are the perks that are available for Alteration then I can only imagine what will be available for the other skills. Mayhap I could conjure up a winter storm that would make the one conjured by Yohan seem like a summer breeze by comparison. Let's see what else there is on the other skill trees.
Up next was Archery. At level 11, it was one of his higher leveled skills. Since obtaining the Ring, he had come upon the Overdraw and Tracking Shot natural perks. He could spend two Perk Points to get Archery Mastery which seemed like a direct improvement as it would make bows and crossbows deal 50% more damage, which was a 20% improvement, while also increasing damage for critical strikes with bows and crossbows by 2% more damage per level of Archery for each critical hit.
Beyond that, the skill tree offered perks that would increase damage from bashing with a bow, allow him to slow time when aiming, help him find the weak spots in armored opponents to strike with his arrows for increased damage or to forge and use arrows that stagger, immolate, freeze or shock his enemies.
There are still many options left to review but, if investing in Archery will allow me to slow time when aiming shots, it seems like an easy choice. Level 20 is still a ways off but the Archery Mastery perk would be more effective than the Overdraw perk while providing additional benefits and opening up the later perks that are further along the skill tree.
The next skill, alphabetically, was Block. Block was one of Jon's higher skills at level 12. The Fundamental Defense perk that he had acquired naturally was superior to Block Master empowered by a single Perk Point but fell short of that system perk when empowered by two Perk Points by 20%. However, the skill tree offered perks to improve the amount of damage blocked based on timing, deflect arrows, open windows for fierce counters, mitigate the burn, freeze and shock effects caused by Destruction spells, reduce damage from Destruction spells by 50% potentially to 0% and increase bash power or restore SP by successfully blocking.
Though the initial perk is weaker than the natural perk that I unlocked, there are quite a few system perks that could be extremely welcome down the line. It's just a shame that the interesting perks aren't available until the skill reaches level 30. So far, I've earned 275,100 Experience in Block to reach level 12. If the amount of skill required to level doubles with each skill level then I don't want to think how much Experience would be required to reach level 30, let alone the levels beyond that.
Next up was Conjuration. It was a mid-tier skill for Jon at level 10. Though he had learned to conjure a ball of light, he had not yet unlocked any natural perks for the skill. Like with Conjuration, he could reduce MP spell cost and increase the duration of Conjuration spells with one or two Perk Point immediately by investing in Conjuration Mastery. Additionally, there were perks that would allow him to conjure skeletons, elemental beings, animal spirits, demons and command them, conjure weapons that could be used in the same way as their counterparts in the physical realm, trap enemy souls in gems or dismiss other's conjurations.
Conjuration seems really powerful. Jon was forced to admit. I don't know how likely it is that I would find myself in battle against conjured enemies but it seems like it could have been effective in the battle that I read about in the tale Mannimarco: King of Worms. If Mance's reason for attempting to unite the Wilding tribes is true then I think that I'll have to invest Perk Points into Conjuration.
It seemed that all magic skills offer the same initial perk option for two Perk Points. Destruction was the next skill and it offered a variant of the same initial perk as Alteration and Conjuration called Destruction Mastery. The skill was tied with Two-Handed as his second highest level skill at 13. Destruction also offers perks that can increase damage from elemental spells while reducing their cost, cast runes imbued with the power of Destruction magic, saturate the air with Destruction magic to cause area of effect damage or supercharge spells based on the Destruction elements.
It may be worth getting the Destruction Mastery perk to decrease SP cost for Destruction spells though the perks further down the line seem like they could be overkill when Flames, Frost or Sparks are already sufficient to kill a man if they are wielded with the proper intent.
The next skill was one that Jon had the least Experience with, out of the skills that he had leveled so far, Enchanting. He had only accumulated 500 Experience and the skill was sitting at a paltry level 3. Unsurprisingly, he had not yet unlocked any natural perks. The skill tree offered many perks and some were pretty interesting. There was the standard Mastery perk along with perks that would grant the ability to use scrolls and staffs in battle, enchant weapons and armor to be more effective, sacrifice enchantments for a quick HP boost, combine the use of enchanted staffs and weapons to hold the most tenacious of adversaries at bay for a time or place up to three enchantments on a weapon or piece of armor.
Being able to enchant weapons and armor for me and my allies could be the advantage that is needed to tip the scales in our favor against enemies. Though, I don't know how many opportunities I will have to practice Enchanting while traveling with the Free Folk.
Heavy Armor was next and it was a Skill that Jon had not yet gained any experience. If I haven't leveled this skill yet then I think it is safe to say that it will not be essential to my growth. I'm going to skip this one since it doesn't make sense to consider adding perks to a skill based on a type of armor that I don't have.
Illusion was the next skill and it had also proven to be useful to Jon in several different situations. Despite the fact that he had not unlocked a natural perk for the skill, it was still at level 12. Of course there was the standard base perk available, Illusion Mastery, but there were also perks that allowed for Illusion magic to be cast on sleeping foes, affecting the mentality of those within a certain range of the caster in positive or negative ways, improved night vision, silent casting magic for all Schools of Magic, the ability to cast mind-altering spells on those that would normally resist them and the ability to feast upon the minds of those affected by a Fear spell or absorb 25 MP per second from those within the radius of one bearing the Imposing Presence perk.
Being able to cast silently seems like it would be a tremendous advantage. The prospect of affecting a man's mentality is something that could be extremely useful. Lord Stark often praised Robert Baratheon's ability to raise the morale of those that fought for him while planting seeds of fear in those that would oppose him.
Light Armor was the next skill and it was another skill that was around the middle of the pack, at level 10, since Jon did his best to avoid getting hit. However, he had experience with Light Armor, unlike Heavy Armor, since the armor that he regularly wore fell into this category. Jon imagined that Heavy Armor would have similar perks as he looked through the skill tree and saw perks that, when wearing Light Armor, would increase damage dealt by Jon when not armed, decrease damage from enemy attacks, prevent staggering and damage from power attacks, increase SP and HP regeneration and decrease speed penalties from wearing armor.
I won't be going into battle without armor, if I can help it. It seems that the armor of the north is generally Light Armor, so it could be worth at least unlocking the Light Armor Mastery perk. Agile Defender is a decent natural perk but two Perk Points towards Light Armor Mastery would be more effective. Additionally, I think it's a good idea to open the skill tree to gain access to the many other perks that could keep me safe. I don't want to commit to any perks yet but this skill seems like one that I will need to revisit when distributing Perk Points later.
Lock Picking was another skill that Jon was not really interested in exploring further. If he had to employ the skill, he would do so but, like Pickpicking, it was not a skill that he would actively pursue. That being said, it was no surprise that the skill had only reached level 7 with no natural perks.
One-Handed was next and it was the skill that Jon had leveled the most, to date, reaching level 16 with the natural perks for Armsman and Dual-wield. A second perk point to the One-Handed Mastery perk would give him an additional 15% damage to One-Hand combat. Additionally there were perks to reduce the SP cost and increase the damage of power attacks, increase the damage dealt by daggers, axes and swords while causing additional bleed damage, increase the damage of mace attacks while reducing the foe's armor rating, increase the speed of dual-wield attack and use he attacks to build battle rage and increase damage output, encourage allies to increase the damage they deal, increase damage output based on combo length and eventually gain a perk that would grant a permanent +1% bonus to one-handed damage whenever at least 4 humanoid opponents are defeated in a single battle at level 100.
There is no doubt that I will spend Perk Points for the One-Handed system perks. The only other skills that are close to the next round of system perks, at level 20, are Two-Handed and Destruction. Getting the Disciplined Fighter perk at level 20 to decrease the amount of SP required for One-Handed strikes seems as obvious as the sun rising in the East and setting in the West.
Pickpocket was another skill that Jon had not gained any experience. He would not be using Perk points for this skill.
Restoration was a whole other matter, in terms of the skill's worthiness. It was also in that middle range, in terms of level, at level 11. Unlike some of the other skills around this level, it had not yet developed any natural perks despite Jon learning two spells, Magic Ward and Heal. As with the other skills, there was a base system perk, Restoration Mastery, that would allow him to increase the efficacy while decreasing the MP cost but there were also perks that passively restored MP, increase the effectiveness of Restoration spells depending on HP levels, deal damage against undead enemies, use wards to prevent magic from being cast, grant blessings to allies or deal damage to enemies at random with range and accumulate ambient life force from the environment and releases it in periodic bursts to automatically heal every 30 seconds while in battle.
Restoration magic has proven to be advantageous. Jon did not have to think far to find an example of the utility for the skill. I will certainly pursue the perks available on this skill tree.
Smithing was very much like Enchanting. Though Jon had leveled the skill further, to level 8, the Natural perks were not better than what he could achieve by adding two Perk Points to the basic perk on the skill tree.
If I am going to help Mance accomplish his goal then the Free Folk will need better armor to have an advantage against their enemies. I think this skill is worth investing the perk points though, at this point, the prospect of bringing a single skill to level 20 is daunting. I am level 23 with over 4 million Experience; it seems like skills take less Experience to level but I imagine that it would take over 1 million Experience to get a skill to level 20.
The Sneak skill offered many advantages but it was another skill that was on the lower end of the skills that Jon had leveled at level 8. While the perks on the skill tree were interesting and could definitely be useful, Jon had inherited too much of Lord Stark's honor to truly consider developing abilities that would allow him to more successfully strike at his enemies backs.
Speech was a skill that had caught Jon's interest. So far, he had been able to get the skill to level 9, which was among the lower leveled skills, but he had been able to unlock a few natural perks, Taunt, Negotiation and Command. The system perks were increasing intimidation, singing or dancing to encourage allies, discourage enemies of create income, bribe guards, get better deals at shops, speak with entities that would normally not respond to human speech, cause earthquakes or hurricanes with his voice, barter stolen goods and increase the offensive and defensive capabilities of allies.
I think that the Speech perks will be very helpful in the future. Father, er, Lord Stark had emphasized the importance of using words before resorting to swords but I had never truly though that I would be in a position to move people with my words. This is another skill that I will have to invest Perk Points into so I can unlock perks down the line on the skill tree.
The Two-Handed skill tree was very similar to the One-Handed skill tree. As the skill was tied for the second highest leveled skill with a skill tree, at level 13, Jon was sure that investing points into the tree would be worthwhile. Though investing in the Two-Handed skill was less important if he invested his perk points into the One-Handed skill.
