Warning: I do not own A Song of Ice and Fire, nor this Story.

This story deserves to be available for readers to read. This Story was removed, it deserved to be available, Original Author is Blackwolf2019 as i don't own this story or its work.

Comments and everything below is from the OA.

Chapter 6: Call to the North

Hope you all enjoy! Feel free tae comment as always! And if anyone got any bad comments from some randomer I'm sorry about that. He was doing that on my other story as well

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Maege Mormont

Maege listened intently to Howland Reed as he read the missive received from Deepwood Motte. Ravens in the North were trained to go into the Neck, but never specifically to Greywater Watch. Nobody knew where it was. Lords rarely sent their ravens, believing the ravens never found their destination. So, when Howland Reed said a raven had come, she had been surprised. The small Crannogman simply said that"the Crannogmen know how to find the ravens."The Ravens usually brought dark words in these times, this was different. Galbert Glover was leaning forward in his chair, clearly happy at the words. Deepwood Motte, his home, had been liberated. And his brother's wife freed. Maege was glad the Motte had been freed of the Squids which had plagued Bear Island and the North for millennia, if it was true. But that wasn't what had truly gotten her happy. No, what had gotten Maege's blood pumping was the fact that war had been openly declared on the Boltons and Jon Snow was marching to Winterfell.We know no King but the King in the North whose name is Stark.The King in the North's heir was on the warpath. If the raven was true at least.It could be a trap by the Boltons.It worried her, but it didn't feel like something Roose Bolton would write.

"Is it truly Jon Snow's words?" Galbert asked hesitantly. He clearly didn't want it to be a lie or it would mean the Motte was in Bolton hands.

Howland Reed was still looking at the missive, his face deep in thought.

"It is Lord Glover. The words are Jon's. Look at how he signed it."

Lord Reed put the missive on the desk. Maege looked straight to the bottom.

Jon Snow, Son of Brandon Stark.

Howland didn't give the two of them time to think on the words. "Only myself and Ned Stark knew that he was Brandon's. The only way anyone would know that is if Ned told him before the lad went to the wall. It's him."

Brandon's bastard. It still changes nothing. We all should have known that it was horseshit that Ned could have a bastard of his own.

"Then the words are true. Jon Snow's marching against the Boltons." Galbert stated with a smile.

"And it's about bloody time!" Maege practically bellowed, hand almost grabbing her mace. She could avenge her Dacey, avenge her fellow Northmen and avenge her King.

Howland nodded at the two, "Aye, it is. The Mummer's Farce is over. It is about time they were given to the Heart Tree at Winterfell, their entrails on the branches."

Maege was amused. Howland Reed was usually a quiet man and a kind one. Having met him in the rebellion and her time in the Neck. To hear the small man, speak of hanging Bolton's entrails to the trees with venom in his voice was not something to be taken lightly, at least for the Boltons and Freys. That's what amused her.

"So, what's our plan here? Do we march for Winterfell with our army? He added at the bottom that he would be at Torrhen's Square first." Galbert asked

Seven Thousand men of the Northern army. That was what Robb Stark had given Maege and Galbert control of to take Moat Cailin from the North before the Red Wedding. If they hadn't been sent ahead, Robb's Three Thousand Five Hundred would not have been outnumbered by the Bolton forces and the Freys. The rest of the Northern army was scattered in the Riverlands like the Riverland army was.

Maege shook her head, "No, our forces are large but it will take too long to reach the square or Winterfell, at least all of them anyway."

Galbert nodded, "But a small force of our army could join up with him though in time for the battle, shore up whatever forces he has. Say a thousand."

"I'll send some of my own forces with that group. We rarely leave the neck but ourtalentsshould be useful." Howland offered with a small smile.

"I'll lead those forces up. I want to fight with the man that freed my home." Galbert declared.

Maege turned to the Glover. "I'll lead that force Glover! I want vengeance for my Dacey!"

Before a row could start on who would join up with Jon, Howland intervened, "Galbert, I'd rather you stay and lead the other Six Thousand, you've had more experience leading larger forces from what I've heard."

Galbert turned back to Reed, "What are you thinking up Reed?"

Howland kept his small smile, "I don't want any Freys or Lannisters marching North once Jon takes back the North. I say we take Moat Cailin from the Boltons. I've been targeting their scouts and hunters since they took it from the Iron Born."

Maege grinned at the two, "And if any Freys or Lannisters come North, they'll die like the Andals did last time."

"I'll lead them to Moat Cailin then." Galbert said happily.

"Should I bring the will?" Maege asked.

The two lords shook their heads, Galbert answering, "Best it stays here until after the battle. No point risking it getting lost if you're ambushed before getting there."

Maege snarled and clipped his head hard. The Glover grunted. "Remember Glover, Bear Islanders are worth Ten mainlanders. And Mormont women are worth a hundred."

The Glover glared, then smirked.

"Leave it for now anyway. I'll bring it North after the battle. I'd like to have words with the lad." Howland said, face returning to a solemn one.

A rare thing when Howland Reed leaves the Neck.

Galbert looked at her with a smirk, grabbing one of the cups on Howland's desk, "To the King in the North then?"

Howland smiled, pouring drink into the cups, "Aye, to the King in the North."

Maege grinned, "The King in the North!"

Davos

Bring me my Liege Lord and I'll declare Stannis my King.Those had been Manderly's last words to Ser Davos before heading to Winterfell. The Lord of White harbour had given the man a small ship with a crew to bring the young Rickon Stark and his Direwolf to the North's mainland. There were no banners marking their loyalties, a simple merchant ship to the world and nothing more. The journey to Skagos on the Bay of Seals had been a simple one. It may have been icy but Davos had sailed under worse conditions. He'd manage to sail safely into Skagos, with its very rocky shore, with a couple of shipwrecks adorning the shoreline, and the great volcano, surrounded by woods. It had been simple for Davos getting there. Getting the Stark though, on an island of rumoured cannibals, that was the challenge Davos worried about.

Davos and three crew members had worked their way through the woods, aiming to find the villages. They had heard that there were coastal settlements as well but where they had landed was on the much rockier side of the island, a way to keep the ship hidden in case of the worst. It taken little over a week going through the forest before found people. Well, the Skagosi found them. A large group of them had surrounded them in the forest without them even knowing. Davos had done the only sensible thing and put his hands above his head before the Crewmen got any ideas. Davos wasn't much use in a fight, with a hand missing fingers down to the joints. That aside, he was a smuggler long before he was a Seaworth. The whole point of being a smuggler was to net get caught, or be able to talk his way out of it.They could have killed us without us every knowing,Davos thought hopefully as the group of Skagosi, covered in animal furs and simple armours approached them. The crewmen followed his lead on the matte, raising their arms slowly as the Skagosi took their weapons and began to put chains on them, including Davos.

The Group had been brought to a large settlement in the woods, the buildings were largely wooden, but some of the larger ones had been built with Stone. Davos and the group were met with wary stares from villagers, watching them. Davos had seen that stare before on his travels on the sea. He'd even seen it from the Lords and Ladies of the Southern Courts.We're outsiders here.Davos wasn't a particularly pious man but he prayed that his life would not end today, as he was brought into the long hall, brought in front of whoever was in charge of the settlement. The hall was warm, with a fire in the centre and tables to each side, filled with men and women, all carrying swords and axes on their person, some made of material as black as night. They all looked rough to Davos.They make the dangerous ones from Flea Bottom look like children,Davos thought to himself with a small smile. At the front was an older man, sitting on a simple chair with a drink in hand. He looked as rough as the rest of them, but with grey hair and a missing eye. It didn't take anything from his intimidating stature and a scowl. The man spoke with a deep, guttural voice,

"Are you with the black brothers the Magnars found on the shore mainlander?"

Davos shook his head, speaking with his own Flea Bottom accent, something else thought to be guttural,

"No milord, I'm not with the black brothers."

The Skagosi gave him an amused look before returning to a scowl, "You're here on your own business then. Not theirs."

"Aye. I'm here on behalf of Lord Manderly." Davos said confidently. He doubted the Skagosi knew who Stannis was, but a Northern house they might. And he doubted the group would like any lies. The stares were unnervingly penetrating.

The Skagosi kept his scowl, "The Manderly sent you to Skagos. We don't talk to them much, our Northern brothers. Why?"

"He asked me to return a lad back to the mainland. He has a wolf with him. I'm to bring him home."

That started muttering in the group. They knew there was a lad with a wolf on the island.At least Manderly was right, the lad didn't die at Winterfell.

"You want The Rickon then mainlander. So do the Black Brothers." The leader of the Skagosi group stated.

Davos wondered how the Black Brothers knew about Rickon. At least the Skagosi knew.

Then a shout came from one of the tables, "He wants to give him to the Flayers Crowl!"

"He'll kill The Stark and his Direwolf!"

"The flayers will put their skin on the floors!"

"Send him and the others to Cannibal's Cave!"

The shouts were angry ones. This lot were clearly wanting to protect the boy.A loyal lot for a group that doesn't speak with the mainland much.It was the only thought that went through his head, trying not to think of what Cannibal's Cave meant.

Davos decided to brave and shout before the lot decided he was a threat.I probably am for just being here.

"I'm not here for the Boltons! Manderly wants him so he can drive the bastards out of the North!"

The group kept shouting, it had moved to Liar now.

The older Skagosi leader, Crowl from what he heard, stood up, bringing the hall to silence, "We'll bring the mainlander to the Magnars at the shore! He can join the black brothers they have there and see what they really want with the Rickon! Send word to the Stanes as well! We move on the morn!"

The group of Skagosi started to grumble at the command but all seemed in agreement at least.I'm going to live for now at least,Davos thought, some air escaping from his lungs as they brought him out of the hall and into a small hut, with guards at the front.

This gathering to see the mainlanders was a lot larger than the one in the woods. Davos and his crew, along with a large number of the Skagosi from the settlement, had come to a coastal town. It was a lot less elaborate or built up than White Harbour but it was still large. The town was the Home of the Magnars according to the Skagosi that he'd talked with. Out on the coast, Davos could see a collection of ships anchored out there. Davos couldn't see the sails but he guessed they'd be black. The brothers had sent about half their fleet, Davos could tell. He'd seen the full fleet when he was at Eastwatch. Most of those ships they couldn't use. Not enough men.They must have been on a skeleton crew,Davos realised. It was always riskier, operating a ship with less men in case of pirates or a savage sea, but it could be done. Davos had done it enough times.

Davos and his crewmen had been brought to the centre of the town, surrounded by growing numbers of Skagosi, all looking straight at them. They had been placed to one of the Black Brothers, Cotter Pyke, the captain at Eastwatch and commander of the castle. They waited silently as the Skagosi gradually filled up the centre of the town. Davos and his crew had been unbound, much like Pyke.We don't have the numbers or the skill to escape if we tried.

Davos watched as three men and three women entered the clearing in the town, one of them being The Crowl. He guessed these were the Lords and Ladies of Skagos, or chiefs. He wasn't sure what their titles were besidesThe.They weren't the ones to bring silence to the large crowd that surrounded them. It was a howl, and a damn vicious one at that. Davos didn't know where the howl came from, but he had an idea what it was.The Direwolf is here.Davos watched as the crowd parted again, with a massive black wolf walking through them. Its teeth were bare and it was snarling. It was almost as big as a horse. To its side were a woman and a boy, both dressed in furs. The woman was slender with dark brown hair and crooked teeth. And there was the lad, with messy brownish red hair and light blue eyes, almost grey, face almost a snarl like his wolf.Rickon Stark.The boy looked young, no more than Nine by now if Davos remembered his dates right. For a boy though, he looked hardened, almost as savage as his wolf. Davos could see two knives strapped to the lad's side. One of bone and the other of black Dragon Glass. The three joined the chiefs, with the Direwolf staring right at him with big yellow eyes.

I'm fucked.That was Davos' first thought.I'm fucked and I'm probably going to be food.That was his second thought.

It was the Crowl that first spoke, almost to everyone, but his eye on the boy.

"These people have been looking for you The Rickon. The man I brought, missing a few fingers, says he's here for the Manderly."

It was the woman who spoke first, with a similar accent to the Northmen he had met, albeit a little thicker, "You met him once little Prince at the Harvest Feast."

She spoke softly to him, it reminded him of his wife. She had always been like that with the young.A nice thought to have if it all goes wrong, thinking of my wife on Cape Wrath with our sons Stannis and Steffon.

The young Stark looked deep in thought then nodded, his accent mixed, between Northmen and Skagosi "Aye, The Fat one with a bigger smile."

Davos had to hold back a laugh at that. Manderly had been intimidating when he put him in the Wolf's Den but to hear him reduced to that was a funny one.

It was one of the other chiefs who spoke, "And the one in Black claims to be here on your brother's orders."

"Which one? The one that marched South? He's dead. Bran? Gone so North I can't see him anymore."

It was the woman who spoke again "You have another Little Prince. Bran told us both of him. He joined the crows with his white wolf."

Rickon's eyes seemed to light up there for a moment, "You mean Da?"

"No little Prince, Jon. He left before we met. He just looks like him from what I'm told."

The lad doesn't remember his father's dead. And he thinks his half-brother is him.The thought made Davos sad, wondering if his youngest would think that of Devan who looked like him.

Rickon's face turned to a scowl, pointing his finger right at the black brother, "And you hurt him! You left him on the ice, covered in his blood! Crows killed my brother before he came back Magnar!"

Cotter Pyke's face went white at the lad's accusation. Davos would have called it a tantrum if it didn't sound as savage. The wolf was snarling as well, slowly approaching them, but focused on the black brother.

"I did nothing to Jon! I was in East Watch when that happened Boy! How could you know what happened?!"

The Direwolf was still approaching, snarl getting louder and louder. Davos was too focused to think on both of their words.

The Stark boy shouted louder, "I saw it in My Dreams! I saw the White Wolf fight them!"

One of the other women at the front turned to the lad, "Did you see him in your dreams lad?"

Rickon looked at Pyke deeply, then shook his head, clearly annoyed though, "No! Only Crows in Black!"

"Then it won't be him lad. If you saw the wolf fight them as well, they'll all be dead."

That seemed to calm the lad down at least. The wolf was next to them now, bared teeth and snarling and sniffing. It sniffed at the group for what seemed like an age before stopping, then returning to Rickon's side.

The Crowl raised an eyebrow, "A good sign for the lot of you. The last man the wolf didn't like died a slow death. Ripped apart like a cut of meat on a long winter's night."

The sentence didn't ease Davos' worries.

The Crowl kept talking to the group, "Davos wants you to go with him so Manderly can fight the Boltons."

The Magnar nodded, turning his head to the crow, "The Crow says similar. Speaks for The Rickon's brother. Tell us all what message you had."

Davos watched as Pyke took a relieved sigh, "Jon Snow told me to bring half of the fleet here and to bring his brother Rickon and your armies to the North. He wants his family back and for you to give the Boltons hell."

Davos could hear the Skagosi crowd start to speak amongst themselves. The chiefs looking at each other.

The Crowl spoke again, "The Rickon's brother wants us to fight on the mainland. A surprise. The Mainland thinks us as bad as the Squids."

Pyke shook his head, "Jon said in the missive that him and Rickon will let you have your ships back.To strengthen the might of the first men."

The chiefs were all looking to each other there. The sounds in the crowd sounded almost excited.

The Stane, who had been mostly quiet, finally raised his voice, "He trusts us? He doesn't think us scum like the Iron Born? He sees us as Northmen?"

Pyke spoke more calmly, "The missive he gave said you were loyal Stark men ever since they proved their might to you a century ago."

The Stane smiled, "The Jon understands then. I'll fight with him then."

The Crowl nodded his head, "I'll fight then, I'll fight with the Manderlys too. About time the North sees how Islanders fight!"

The Magnar looked to Rickon, "Do you want us to fight The Rickon?"

The woman who hadn't left the lad's sight bent down to Rickon, "Do you want to see Jon?"

Rickon nodded with a smile, "Aye, I want to see Jon Osha."

The Magnar shouted to the crowd, "Then We Fight!"

Davos felt relief. Rickon Stark was returning home, Manderly's words echoing in his head.The Mummer's Farce is almost done, bring me my Liege Lord and I will declare Stannis my King.The Manderlys will fight for Stannis now, and he has Jon Snow, Rickon Stark and Skagos behind him.Davos smiled as he was offered drink by the Skagosi. He wasn't sure if he'd earnt it yet though, not until Rickon was safely in the North. Davos drank as the massive wolf howled. They were going to take the North.

Hope you all enjoyed it. Went with the idea that a fair portion of the Northern army needed to be with Maege and Galbert for taking Moat Cailin on their side as well as the side Robb would have been on. The rest of the Northerners that went wae Robb are either dead from the war, Red Wedding or are Scattered. The Riverlands army is also scattered and had tae bend the knee tae Jamie like in the books. Also went wae the idea that Skagos when it rebelled a century ago did it in part tae test the Starks. It said at one point in the fiction they swore complete loyalty but were never called upon. Davos doesn't know what happened to Stannis yet but will very soon. Though he'll have the knowledge that Devan and Shireen are safe and alive.

The next chapter will be Val.