Chapter 1 Woolsheep

Looking back at it, the modern world was quite nice. There was plenty of entertainment, no shortage of food and little to no danger when walking the populate areas.

While there were exceptions in the modern world, in general it was better than the medieval shit hole called Westeros. Or the world of a song of fire and ice.

If they had the chance to insert themselves into the story, people imagined themselves to be close to the story, influencing it as much as possible and saving people left and right.

But as someone who now lives in this very world, a young boy had to snort at the assumption. It was hard to influence anyone. He wasn't eloquent, nor popular and held little to no power aside from the occasional nagging and tantrum he could throw as a kid. Or at least he would have held little to no power.

His family served one of the noble houses as a vassal. They had common ancestors a few generations back then. Nevertheless his family wasn't rich, nor powerful and even the noble house they branched from belonged to the less important. Even they served another bigger lord that hadn't had the surname of Stark.

His family name was Woolsheep. A combination of wool and sheep. Their family originated from the Woolfields, a noble house that served under the Manderlys and had barely any influence in the story.

…

"Schaf, stop diddling around and get me something to eat." Yelled a female voice.

Turning around, the young boy faced the source of the command. It was a young female, highly pregnant. Her brunette curls and her soft definitions made her look motherly.

"Yes mother." Replied Schaf without a single second of hesitation. He knew what awaited him if he wasn't fast enough. It certainly wasn't anything good.

Dashing into the kitchen, Schaf took a decent sized chunk of bread, some dried meat and a dried fruit with him before presenting it to his mother who immediately snatched the items from his hands.

Instead of waiting by her side, Schaf slowly but surely distanced himself from her. If she ignored him, it was good. Since he was "unruly" in the past by disagreeing with her, her image of him certainly wasn't the best.

While he had hoped for a loving family, this time it seemed that lady fortune didn't favor him.

'It doesn't matter.' Thought Schaf inside his head. If everything came into fruition, then it wouldn't be long before he as a child ruled over the large fief his family owned. While sparsely populated, it was quite large, just like every fief of the north.

…

Stillborn. His supposed brother died like every sibling before. The only difference was that the woman died alongside her child.

Quietly Schaf and his father stood next to the burning pile of wood. Both stayed silent. There were no sobbing sound nor tears. Only the crackling of the firewood that occasionally echoed in the opening of her future resting place.

Woolsheep had no catacombs. Nor any family grave in which they were buried in. Instead the place where she would be buried was next to a large oak. A clearing that looked beautiful with flowers and lush green grass.

Schaf looked at the burning pile of wood. His eyes showed desolation, loneliness and acceptance.

'I had hoped for at least one sibling. But it seems I am not blessed.'

It was as if Lord Woolsheep could feel the thoughts of his firstborn and only son. Turning towards him in a unique moment of kindness and parenthood.

"It seems all that is left is you and me son. We have to be strong. For both our family and your mother."

Suppressing an ironic grin from escaping, Schaf turned towards his father.

"Indeed father. It is time to be strong."

They both looked deep into the eyes of each other.

"Men, get him."

The childish voice sounded alongside the crackling fire that burned the body of his mother and his dead sibling.

Turning around, the young boy slowly walked away as the men that formerly served his father now had their weapons drawn against him.

"What are you doing?"

Clear confusion in his voice as the man tried to compute the current event. Was this supposed to be joke?

"Corban? Arrel? Snap out of it. This is not the time for jokes."

One by one the cold steel swords began to draw closer to Lord Woolsheep.

The confusion quickly turned into pleading as realization dawned to him that somehow his loyal guards and administration staff didn't listened to him anymore.

"Please, Schaf. Stop this. You are my son. We are family."

But upon seeing his pleading had no effect on Schaf who slowly but surely walked away, desperation overwhelmed his as steel penetrated his soft and fleshy body.

"I CURSE! DEMONSPAWN! I NEVER SHOULD HAVE… "The last words were abruptly stopped as a sword pierce through his throat. The man tried to continue his cursing but all that came out was the gurgling of someone choking on their blood.

Nothing pretty to look nor hear.

"Throw him into the flames." Commanded Schaf before turning towards the men that now stood around him.

"What do you think is going to happen once people hear that Lord Woolsheep has died?"

An elderly man stepped forward. Albeit not a Maester nor anyone that has aspired to become one, he knew how to read and write. Added to the human relationships he had in the region and a little bit of ambition it was enough to function as the administrative leader of a small northern fief.

"Nothing. The outside regards your family as nothing but petty lords who were once connected to the Woolfields. While your grandfather and your uncles were highly looked upon due to having fought and died in the war, your father was of little importance."

Satisfied with the answer, Schaf looked up into the sky with a pondering gaze. The light blue, the occasional white clouds and the shining sun made him squint.

'What for a wonderful summer day.' Thought Schaf ironically. 'Perfect for sitting under a tree and daydream about getting reborn in a fictional world where he could rescue the heroes and punish the villains.'

He admitted having foolish dreams upon realizing where he found himself at. Dreaming of rescuing everyone and becoming the protagonist of the world.

Especially once his golden finger, or otherwise known as ability that someone out there gave to him appeared.

It wasn't much but certainly enough to kill his own father and take over the fief his family owned.

But using that to alter the course of history? At a point where mighty beings such as dragons, dire wolves and living corpses appeared?

'Not possible. Only if there was a way to increase the amount of men under my command. Then and only then could I see myself influence much more than my humble fief.'

Shaking his head, Schaf looked at the burning wooden stake for one last time before mentally commanding one of his commanders to follow him. The other should look over the funeral and bury the ashes in the designated hole.

A quick glance at his two commanders, the elderly man and a tall and muscular brute, immediately showed Schaf who he needed for his upcoming administrative plans.

…

Sitting in the chambers of his dead father left a bitter taste in Schaf's mouth. Nevertheless it was quite comfortable with a desk made of oak, plenty of books in the shelves and a soft chair where his noble behind could sit for days.

"When does the next harvest start?"

Schaf turned towards the elderly man for answers. Living in a castle as a young boy restricted the news concerning the outside world. Especially about smallfolk as his parents didn't worried about the troubles and worries of the smallfolk.

"Soon. In a couple weeks the crops should be ready." Replied the elderly man. "Afterwards the smallfolk should have plenty of time to do your biddings."

This was perfect. It would provide plenty of time for Schaf to go around inspecting his fief. While there existed maps, drawn by his ancestors, they weren't detailed enough for what he had planned.

"Good. I will rest for today." Stated Schaf. "But you, you should go to Woolsheep town and ask for any family heirloom you can find. Tell them that I want to exchange anything that caught my eye for one Gold Dragon."

Schaf could have simply stated his desire with a mental command. But while it was efficient to do so, it felt weird.

Nodding at the command, the elderly man excused himself with a slight bow. The sound of footsteps distanced themselves as Schaf was left along in the chambers of his small keep.

For moment Schaf lost himself in the moment. Having removed his father meant there was no close family anymore.

Sure, he had distant family in all of the noble houses. But who would care about a young boy? Perhaps someone would get jealous or greedy over his fief and use some random excuse to steal it.

Wouldn't be the first time in noble history and wouldn't be the last time.

Sighing, Schaf stood up and gathered a single sheet of parchment as well as a small bottle of ink and a feather. It was best to write down his goals for the coming year.

While he could always do nothing, he wanted to improve his current living situation and this required a plan.

Something that was always helpful was money. While the coffers of house Woolsheep weren't filled to the brim, for a petty house they possessed a decent sum of roughly 300 Gold Dragons.

But while this amount sounded impressive, it wasn't. It only equaled to a few dozen war horses or a dozen fully equipped cavalry in peaceful times.

This didn't include the training, the maintenance or the logistic cost of gathering these items.

So there was no way that Schaf could circumvent the necessity of money. And he already had a good idea on how he would achieve that.

After gathering enough money, everything had to be upgraded. From the road, to keep Woolsheep and to the tools of his servants.

For the roads he had thought about copying the roman pathways. They were sturdy, stood against the test of time and while there certainly were better ways, he wasn't keen on finding them. At least not in the near future. As the saying goes, if there is nothing better to use, then use it.

Keep Woolsheep was another story. He had absolutely no idea on how to upgrade a keep. A specialist had to be hired. But to be honest, the foundation already stood and so the upgrades were mainly maintenance and repair. Expanding it wouldn't become an issue until he had gathered enough money for his other projects.

For tools he already had plenty of ideas for plows and harnesses for draft animals. While he was no specialist, one of his former friends was a huge fan of traditional farming and thus he learned it while helping out.

The memories of him tinkering with his friend put a small smile on his lips. If there was any way on thanking him across worlds, he certainly would have. As the knowledge he had gained was worth heaps of gold.

There were more plans inside his mind, but for now he had to find something that he could do immediately. The nearby sea could always be made into an opportunity.

Whether it was fishing for food, transport or trade. The sea opened many possibilities. Yet the lady of the sea had a temper that was hard to decipher.

It took Schaf a while to to come to a decision. He would inspect his fief for any natural harbor and if there existed one, he would immediately try to build a sailing ship.

A caravel should be possible even without a small shipyard. Especially since he knew the blueprint by heart.

As Woolsheep lied next to the sea, it would be a waste not use it.