Sage or Warrior.
Eddard Stark was a tired man, he was not even thirty but he felt twice as aggravated by a position and a wife that shouldn't be his.
It should have been Brandon who ruled Winterfell and he should always have been her husband Catelyn Tully. Ned in his youth had desired none of this, he had no ambitions for the throne and his brother's wife all he had desired was a quiet life alongside his Ashara.
Alongside the woman he loved he would have been satisfied with being a mere second son, a marginal note in his brother's story. But Brandon was dead and it was up to him to pick up the pieces of the mess that had followed his disappearance.
So now it was he who had to deal with the tirade of what must have been his brother's wife.
"I want him out of here" screamed Catelyn her face even redder than her hair, the woman had been going on for more than five minutes but her fury hadn't calmed down in the slightest.
After the confrontation with the child, the noblewoman immediately ran to her husband, like a child who hides behind his parent's legs when he is wronged, he took refuge with whoever he believed to be more powerful.
Eddard considered himself fortunate that even in her hysteria his wife had been lucid enough to leave the children in the care of the nurse and prevent such innocent creatures from witnessing such a squalid spectacle.
"It's my blood" Ned simply repeats for the umpteenth time
"I don't care, he humiliated me in front of everyone, he dared to humiliate me I will not accept such behavior in my home"
"I know exactly what he did," Ned's voice got louder
"Rumors travel fast especially when it comes to my wife trying to antagonize a six year old to no avail" the northern lord's gray eyes narrowed as he scrutinized his wife
"I haven't done anything wrong," the woman immediately defended herself, sensing a veiled accusation in her husband's tone
"We both know what you've done Catelyn, your actions are not as subtle as you think" at this the woman had the decency to blush
"not to mention that I am lord of this castle there is nothing that goes on in here that I am unaware of"
"Are you making me spy?" asked Lady Tully mortified, a clear shadow of pain on her face at what she believed to be a betrayal on her husband's part.
"None of that. Some servants approached me expressing doubts about how my wife their lady treats one of my heirs"
It was the pure truth of Catelyn's behavior towards Jon had raised more than a few eyebrows, the child may have been a bastard still had Stark blood in my veins and had been accepted and recognized by his own Lord father.
Jon may bear Snow as his surname but for most of Winterfell he was a Stark and that a southern woman treated him as abjectly as Catelyn did was not well regarded, arousing more than a few complaints from the more traditionalist of the castle's inhabitants.
"I treat him as befits someone of his ilk. Indeed it must be considered luck in my father's court he would not even be allowed to live within the walls of the castle".
The woman realized she was wrong when she caught a flash of anger in her husband's eyes for his words, all the sweetness disappeared from the lord's face leaving room only for a cold expressionless mask
"But this is not your father's court and above all it is not the south the rules that apply there do not apply to my kingdom" the man's words were absolute while proclaiming his dominion.
"It's a risk for our children" desperate the woman tries to find a foothold
"Jon would never hurt his brothers, I would even dare to say that he puts their safety before his own"
"maybe not a threat to their lives but to their position and upbringing certainly." Catelyn wasn't going to back down ready to defend her belief so she blurts out her best argument.
"Jon has no desire to become a lord and even more would never dream of stealing that same position from his brother" was not the first time the two had that particular conversation, with the woman trying to call the thief bastard while the man defended his son's principles.
"As regards their education I dare say it is the complete opposite Master Luwin tells me that thanks to Jon's assistance both Sansa and Robb are not only doing well in their studies but are actually far ahead of their peers. " Eddard refrained from adding that again according to the good master he had nothing more to teach Jon and that the boy could very well already be forging his own chains if he were a student of the Citadel .
Jon a six-year-old boy was eligible to be recognized as one of the most learned and learned men in all the kingdoms. Catelyn should never have found out this detail the woman's paranoia would only worsen if she were to know this information.
"Their education concerns not only the subjects taught by the teachers but also those deriving from their position. It is not suitable for a nobleman to get so close to activities carried out by the populace otherwise they will not respect him."
"I agree that respect from the common people is the basis of a nobleman's power. But I don't think that carrying out activities as trivial as cooking or hoeing are a reason why people think less of us, on the contrary, these actions make us more popular in the eyes of many" it was a truth that Eddard had recently come to discover thanks to the growing fame that his sons had created for themselves. So he couldn't blame his wife for not knowing about it.
"You talk about respect but your bastard didn't show me any today" the lady spat
"Jon will be punished for this I assure you" well aware of what had happened today Ned had to take a step back, as a general he knew very well that sometimes you had to lose a battle to win the war.
"But I won't send him away" the man hurried to add seeing the look of triumph on the woman's face
"You always defend him no matter if he steals from your coffers or offends your wife"
"For the offense I already told you that Jon will be punished. As for the theft charges, I don't know anything," Edduard said, clearly confused by his wife's latest criticisms of his bastard.
Endless joy lit up Catelyn's face as she finally found a flaw in her husband's armor, and a distinct chance to rid herself of what had become the greatest plague of her life.
"Your dear bastard admitted to gifting Sansa his favorite dress. Being a man you may not be aware that that suit is a piece of art that our daughter received as a gift for her birthday. At first I thought it was a gift from some noble gentleman considering its value but if what the boy said is true then he is a thief unable to afford to pay for such a delicacy or he is a liar seeking attention" the woman she was triumphantly certain that she had finally won there was no way the boy would emerge unscathed
"The blue one?" the lord asked still confused
"Exactly" a smug smile began to appear on her face, perhaps she would not have been able to send the boy away but not even with the protection of her father could she have escaped this blow unscathed.
Ned's uproarious laugh made the woman jump, in all their years of marriage Catelyn could count on the fingers of one hand the times she'd heard her husband laugh like that. The silent wolf had never been known for his sense of humor
"It's really a gift from Jon," the Stark laughed
"So he stole to afford it" Catelyn couldn't have hoped for better with a theft charge on her side she was sure to deal a serious blow to the cheeky brat
"He didn't steal" replies the man still half choked with laughter , a giggle that was starting to get on the woman's nerves.
At first Catelyn had thought her husband's out-of-character laughter was a clear sign that her nerves had finally snapped at the evidence she'd presented against her beloved bastard.
But now that laugh that had seemed like a sign of her imminent victory sent cold shivers down her spine
"That dress will cost at least ten golden dragons, you mean you gave all that money to a child?" the woman no longer even tries to hide her displeasure and her accusation in her voice for what she now believed was her husband's blatant favoritism towards her illegitimate child over her own.
"Jon only receives an allowance of five silver deer a month much less than Robb who gets twenty" seeing the woman still ready to retort he hastened to add
"And before you accuse him of stealing them from Robb I personally checked our son's finances and everything is in order and no one else has complained of theft of any magnitude" in what now seemed like a cycle the woman collapsed after the loss of his umpteenth weapon against the bastard
"When Jon said he made Sansa's dress he meant it literally, having bought the fabrics with his fabric savings and sewed the dress himself."
His wife had once again underestimated Jon and as always she had been burned, it was a mistake Ned might have understood the first few times.
the fact was that common sense should have agreed with the woman, her unfounded deductions were the most logical and obvious but all this seemed not to work on Jon.
Rules and common sense beliefs bent and shattered, every action taken by the bastard of Winterfell seemed to defy common sense in what had by now become a constant for everyone but Catelyn.
The Tully woman was so blinded by the hatred she felt for the child that although she feared him for his extraordinary abilities, she did not think him capable of all his feats.
Lady Stark could not get beyond the child's bastard status, making her unable to accept and notice the changes she was making, until she realized the true abilities of what she considered her enemy the woman would always be defeated.
Dejected, the woman felt tears come to her eyes, even her last card had been played in vain, burned even before leaving her hand, but the worst thing was not having lost but that for the umpteenth time her husband had turned against her against remaining faithfully by the side of the bastard he hated so much.
"Catelyn please, I'm not asking you to love Jon like he's your own son. I only ask you to treat him civilly, stop with this useless conflict it will lead to nothing if not suffering" even if victorious from the umpteenth battle Ned did not gloat, he asked in a sincere voice for a much needed peace to put some order and serenity in his family .
The man was sure that if this feud between his wife and his nephew continued in the end not only would the woman come out more and more humiliated and defeated but in the long run the whole family would also suffer.
"You talk about peace and harmony husband but let me remind you the words of your home Winter is coming so let's prepare for the worst" the wounded woman spit
"You say your bastard doesn't want power but that's not the real problem" a wicked smile begins to appear on the lady's lips
"How many today see Jon as a simple bastard and how many will see him tomorrow?" each word was spoken slowly and clearly so as not only to be clearer but also to hurt better
"However, those who see Ned Stark's son raised in Winterfell together with his real born brothers see a child who at six years old is already capable of extraordinary feats. They also see a child who will inherit your seat if anything ever happens to your other children. I wonder if you will cry for our children then or will you always stand by your beloved bastard's side." A sick smile now adorned the woman's face as she described a macabre future.
"Is that bitch Ashara's bastard worth all this?" the woman asked angrily
"Catelyn" Ned's voice was heavy now his wife had finally managed to hit him
"I am just stating the facts husband." The first tears began to flow from Tully's eyes.
The woman was aware that with these words of hers she was making herself scorched by playing with Ned's pain and fears. But anger and humiliation at what she thought was a betrayal on her husband's part had made her momentarily oblivious to the consequences of her actions.
In her desperation of victory the lady had gone so far as to admit that Jon was better than her own children, that her husband's offspring with another woman was superior to her own. Her own mouth had dared to utter unspeakable fears and insecurities that tormented her had come out all out of jealousy of a dead woman.
The accusation that the bastard had leveled at her a few hours earlier was proving more and more true by the second.
"I wonder if you would have said the same things if Jon had been the son of Brandon or Peter" spat the Lord angrily demonstrating that the wild blood that had possessed his older brother and sister also ran through his veins.
Catelyn couldn't believe her ears, never before had her husband turned on her in anger or malice. Ned Stark to her had always been a man who bore slow anger in silence who weighed his every action with cool rationality.
Even when angry the silent wolf resembled a snowstorm, cold and deadly. But now his rage was more like a raging flame eager to burn everything to the ground.
Catelyn couldn't bear it she couldn't handle her husband's angry looks and words, no matter that she was the one who sought out and brought that fire upon herself.
With a wail and tears streaming down her cheeks, Catelyn fled, too scared to face the consequences of her actions.
With a weary sigh Ned dropped into his chair, with his wife gone all the fury that had propelled his sails had left him, leaving him even more tired than before.
If at the beginning of his conversation with Catelyn the man felt as if he were twice his age now he felt more than a centenary, his throat and brain were asking for a little alcohol to drown out any fatigue and sorrow.
But with a will that would have dwarfed lesser men the lord refrained from this easy escape instead simply dropped his head back and allowed himself the luxury of closing his eyes for a moment.
Ned knew he'd been too hard on Catelyn his wife hadn't fully recovered from giving birth to baby Arya a few weeks ago and was still prone to emotional outbursts whether it was tantrums or otherwise.
But her last blow had hurt him more than he thought possible. The disappearance of Ashara and their stillborn daughter still haunted Ned's sleepless nights unbeknownst to his wife. Images of a small nameless grave lost in the desert haunted her dreams.
A daughter without a name and a beloved without a ring that had cost him his sister's madness. In Ned's mind there was no doubt of all the people who had participated in Robert's rebellion it was the one who had lost the most: the family he had had and the family he might have had.
That's why he clung so tightly to any blood ties he had left. But that didn't change the fact that Catelyn was at least partially right.
Had his nephew merely been gifted or able, Ned would have been able to allay Catelyn's fears and worries.
But Jon wasn't just talented. Both Rhaegar and Lyanna had been considered prodigies in their time, geniuses born once every thousand years. Both skilled in both mind and arm, they too paled before their exceptional son.
At just six years of age Jon was not only able to beat grown men in duels he was also capable of academic feats that made even the most erudite of men pale.
Myth has it that every time a new Targaryen is born, the gods toss a coin in the air, and the world holds its breath waiting to see which side he lands on, whether it's madness or greatness.
For Ned there was no doubt which side his nephew's coin had fallen on, the question was whether it would be the greatness of a warrior or that of a sage that would accompany Jon in the future.
the world with him would know another Jaehaerys or Daemon, this the Lord of Winterfell could not predict.
This was not the life she had wanted for her nephew, when many moons ago she had raised him from her sister's dying arms she had hoped for a simpler and happier life for the child.
But the dragon's blood that coursed in his veins seemed to be too strong for the child to live a mediocre yet peaceful life.
Too much was the radiance that the boy's talents emanated the world would not leave him alone in his little corner of the world, his wife was right about that.
In fact, the Blackfyre rebellions had begun because some of the great Lords had desired a warrior on the throne rather than a scholar. Jon's situation was even more peculiar in that he was not only a warrior but also a scholar . There was a distinct possibility that he would become the greatest lord the Seven Kingdoms had ever had.
His were abilities that once revealed could no longer conceal the bannermen and Lords of all realms would spare no expense to make his power theirs or crush it before it threatened them.
And all this without even knowing the child's claim to the Iron Throne.
The process had already begun, already a small but vocal minority of Winterfell saw Jon as a more suitable heir than Robb, the horrific future his wife had described was still far away but not far-fetched and it was up to him to prevent it from happening.
Catelyn was right the baby needed to leave, both for Jon's own safety and that of his other children. The problem would be where to send it.
The south was excluded, Ned didn't trust the various southern courts where smiles and poisons went hand in hand. Not to mention, the south was not only where the contempt for bastards was strongest but also where King Robert's power was most prominent.
While his friend, the current ruler of the Seven Kingdoms, did not know of Jon's true identity, the man's hatred of the Targaryens was legendary, even the slightest inkling of the child's true identity would be enough to unleash a fury worthy of the king. of his house.
The north would have been a much safer choice, within the confines of his fiefdom Ned was sure he could keep his nephew safe.
The difficulty lay in choosing which bishop to give the important task. In fact, contrary to what his wife and most of the south believed, court intrigues existed in the north too.
Only where in the south these were mitigated by courteous words steeped in puns and poison were things more direct in the north. Betrayals and plots were done with swords instead of daggers.
The wrong choice then would not only endanger Jon but could also incite the more rioters to raise their swords in revolt; so to avoid this Ned had to weigh his options carefully:
The Boltons were excluded even leaving aside the story of blood that bound them to the Stark house, their lord Roose was far too ambitious for his own good, the man masked it well but Ned knew for sure that the lord of Dreadfort dreamed of greatness of his Reds Kings ancestors. Trusting Jon to them would be too great a risk.
The Manderlys worshiped the new gods, sending a bastard to them might have been seen as an insult, something Ned couldn't afford as the lords of White Harbo were the only real naval and merchant force the North had.
The Umbers while loyal on paper had always considered themselves the northernmost of men placing their needs above those of all other northerners, they would have sold Jon to the highest bidder if it brought him any sort of satisfactory advantage.
For a moment the lord of Wintefell considered entrusting his nephew to those closest to Stark blood in the hope that they would protect him as if he were their own. It was only a fleeting thought the very blood that bound them made the Karstark too unpredictable.
The vast majority of the lords of Karhold resented being merely vassals of the Starks when they believed the blood of the first men ran as strongly in their veins as in those of the wolves. sending Jon to them might fuel those conditions, as well as spark a far greater ambition for the seat of Winterfell.
One by one Ned eliminated all the greatest of his vassals, perfectly loyal standard bearers who had and would have answered his call to war but for whom he could not entirely trust his bastard's safety.
In the end, the lord admitted, the only real viable choice was the Reeds. Howland was not only faithful to him but also to Lyanna proved it every day for more than six years by not revealing Jon's true identity to the world.
Howland had always been the logical and safest choice, he should have been first on Ned's list, yet the man had only considered the Crannogmen last.
The thing was, while Howland was his first pick it was also his furthest. The territories over which House Reed ruled were those further south of the vast expanse that was the north. The Neck was a land of swamps not plains and snowy mountains and Ned was perhaps sentimental but he wanted Jon to grow up in the same places that had marked the childhood of his mother and the other Starks.
But ultimately, no matter how strong her wishes, the safety and well-being of the child came first. Once the decision was made, all that was left was to implement it, while most of the arrangements could be made by letter Ned would have preferred to speak to his old friend in person to be sure.
Almost by chance, while he was looking for pen and paper to write the missive that would have summoned Howland before him, the gentleman's eyes noticed a letter with the bear's seal buried among the many papers that covered his desk .
It was a simple report from the lord of House Mormont on yet another repulsed ironborn raid, the letter itself not important but the seal on it gave the Lord some thought.
The Mormonts were a small but proud house, the lords of Bear Island were fierce fighters and cunning strategists forged in countless conflicts with the Greyjoys, stubbornness and pride coursing through their veins.
Their present lord especially was one of the ablest the house ever had, Jeor Mormont the old bear was a man who commanded awe and respect in most men.
Ned himself could only feel admiration for the man, under his command Bear Island had never suffered a defeat. Such were the man's abilities that the late Rickard Stark had considered naming him Shield of the Starks, a title not given for more than three hundred years.
The more Ned weighed on the old bear's successes the more he realized that the Mormonts were just as good as the Reeds to become his nephew's possible guardians.
An idea began to take hold in the mind of the lord of Winterfell, a joint assignment while rare was not unheard of:
the Reeds would have been perfect to look after Jon in the early years, their turf while poor was relatively peaceful with no worthy threats to worry about. Moreover Howland who had been a close friend of Lylliana could have told something about the woman to the poor boy who had never known his mother.
The Mormonts, on the other hand, would have been perfect for Jon's later education. Jeor would have been perfect for instilling in the child not only the traditions and values of a true northern man but also honor and respect .
The Reeds would nurture the sage in Jon while the Mormonts would fortify the warrior in the child.
Having made the decision, all that was left now was to send the letters and talk to the children to break the news. Needless to say, Ned wasn't looking forward to this particular conversation.
First of all, I would like to thank everyone for the appreciation received and the 300 followers despite the bad translation. I am aware of some difficulties in understanding due to my poor English and I am taking action, I have already contacted a native speaker and we are now reviewing past chapters. So a new translation of the first chapter should be out soon.
Speaking instead of this chapter we begin to see the relationship between Ned and Catelyn, the two I remember in this chapter have only been married for a few years and their relationship has the obstacle of Archer's presence much more prominent than that of the original Jon. Both are young d inexperienced full of insecurities and doubts not the seasoned characters that the canon has shown us that's why they can seem much more OC than they really are.
Hoping that you like my work, I greet you until the next chapter: Sage.