Chapter 1: The Woes of Winter
3th day of the 9th moon 289 AC,,Winterfell,The North.
General POV
At the training courtyard of Winterfell,two young boys could be seen waving wooden swords at each other,on the terrace above,close to the Great Keep stood a man watching them spar with small smile on his lips and nostalgic eyes that seemed to recall things long since past.
Besides the sparring boys was another boy with dark brown hair and Stark grey eyes and an elderly man with white hair and equally white large side-whiskers observing them.A few feet away from the small clearing made for the little Lords,there were around fifty Stark men-at-arms practicing as well,though unlike the boys,however,they sparred with blunt steel swords and were in their armors,in the shooting range between the Armory and the Guest House,archers can be seen shooting at strawmen.The boys were obviously a bit tired,although this training session has only been going on for an hour,rotating as always so that each one of the youngsters can fight and get some rest in between,but it was their second one for the day.Three hours after their dinner and the lesson's in their numbers and letters,they were back in the courtyard,swinging their wooden swords once more,a strict and rigorous training regime worthy of the 'Three Sons of Stark',as they come to be known in The North.
Affectionately dubbed so by GreatJon Umber,the proud Lord of Last Hearth during a harvest feast in Winterfell a few years back when the Lord was too deep in his cups and saw the boys mingling with other northern heirs.He named them thus much to the ire of Catelyn Stark,who could barely suffer the boy to participate in the feast,let alone be grouped together with her own sons within a single sentence,but The GreatJon Umber was so loud the boys were stuck with that moniker ever since.
Called thus with adoration by smallfolk and nobles alike,the 'Three Sons of Stark' quickly grew rather popular with visiting Lords and Ladies due to the brothers dignified and social conduct with other young heirs,impressed even with the bastard,the people of the castle and Winter Town watching the young boys grow everyday,grew to love the little 'Sons of Stark' as well,causing Lady Catelyn to frown every time someone named them like that within her hearing,but there was simply nothing she could do to stop people from referring to the children that way.
If the Lord of Last Hearth knew he incurred the ire of his Liege Lord's Lady-wife,he didn't show it but it's unlikely he would have cared even if he knew of Lady Stark's displeasure at him.He was a proud Lord of The North and spoke his mind as he saw fit,when he saw fit.Never mind who was listening or taking offense,often willing to suffer a bit politically if it meant speaking his piece,ironically this made him rather well liked by his fellow Lords.
All Lady Catelyn could do to the Umber Lord is glare at him from time-to-time,while the giant of a man remained blissfully unaware.But her treatment of Jon Snow went from willfully ignorant to confrontational and quarrelsome.
Ser Rodrick:"Keep your feet moving Robb,do not fall into his pace,once you do,you are a dead man.Do not let anyone else dictate the fight."stated the master-at-arms of Winterfell.
The redheaded blue eyed boy stepped backwards and went for an large overhead slash,the other boy quickly discerning what he was trying to do promptly turned side ways before lightly stepping back,with a dull sound his opponent's sword hit the ground,leaning in closer the boy placed his shield strategically at the sword wrist of the other boy,before simply raising his sword at the back of his neck,with a visible smirk even through his helmet directed at his already sullen looking brother,before quietly stating with an deliberately bored tone that was sure to infuriate his twin.
Ivar:"Yield?"
His opponent gritted his teeth and his sullen expression gave way to a resigned one before sighing,he dropped his sword and shield and raised his arms in surrender.
Robb:"i Yield."replied the boy with a helpless smile on his face.
The elderly man at the side approached the boys while shaking his head disapprovingly at the redhead.
Ser Rodrick"Lad,how many times do i have to tell you,such fancy moves with the blade without the right timing will get you killed,and why is your shield not participating in the fight?t's not a chain that prevent's you from using your arm.I tell you one thing,you do the other,it's as if you don't even want to learn to fight."said the men while looking at the the small boy with a stern expression on his face.
Robb's face nearly turned the color of his hair,embarrassed he turned to face the knight his head bowing a little."I am sorry,Ser Rodrick,i just got so angry at Ivar smirking while fighting me,so i just wanted to ring his head a little"replied the boy with an apologetic tone of voice.
With a sigh,the elderly knight slightly shook his head."He provokes you into attacking him like that,it's a simple but effective strategy,and while anger can give you a momentary boost in strength,it also make your movements somewhat predictable,be in control of your emotions,do not give in to battle lust,you will only tire yourself faster and get into trouble.And don't forget,it you have a shield but not use it,it is a chain on your arm.Your body and the weapons you use must coordinate."replied Ser Rodrick to the youngster.
"Yes,Ser Rodrick.I will try to do better from now on."said the boy to the elderly man with determination,a glance at him and one can see that he really meant it.
'That's what you always say,and yet it's the same old,same old almost every time.'Thought Rodrick,looking at the redhead's confident gaze.'Perhaps it's because it is his twin brother whose provocation he can't ignore that he keeps making the same mistakes,he doesn't have the same problem with his bastard brother or the guards he spares with,though'reasoned the knight,before turning to his other charge.
"You did well for the most part,but you are too cavalier with your shield,if Robb had chosen to use his own at that time or draw a dagger,you would have been in trouble,provoking your opponent into attacking you in rage at the courtyard is not bad,but will not work in the heat of battle,or against an experienced enemy who can control his temper and at the end i noticed you were relaxing a bit too much."Said the knight while looking at the boy.
"That was deliberate in order to provoke Robb into anger,i knew i had him the moment his sword went up in the air."Ivar explained himself to the knight with the brazen confidence of an Ironborn telling stories to baby Ironborn children of his glory days.
"There is no "i knew" in a fight boy,anything can happen when you are in a fight.The reason why we train like this,is for you to engrave the training into your bones so you are able to respond when needed to do so,and for that to happen you can't let your guard down,even an instant of distraction can cost you dearly,that's a lesson many learn way too late,by experience,no less."The knight chastised the boy,not at all impressed with his thinking.
"Ser Rodrick is right,children.You must be careful and on your guard,always .Robb you need to lift your shield up,or it's your head that will ring .Ivar you need to remain on your guard until the very end."From above them came the stern voice of the boy's father,Eddard Stark,Lord of Winterfell and Warden of The North.
"Yes father"replied the boys in chorus.
"That's enough for today,go wash yourself and prepare for supper."Ordered their father.
The boys nodded,put away their wooden swords on the rack and quickly went towards the bathhouse beneath the Great Keep to freshen up,Jon who had finished sparring earlier,joining them.Ser Rodrick went up on the terrace,and walked next to the Lord of Winterfell.
"Each one of them has talent and the hard-working determination to see that talent bloom."said Ser Rodrick to his liege Lord."But Ivar...He is a cut above them both.In all my years training men,i have never seen someone with so much raw talent.His feet positioning,his ability to calm his breathing,the way he spins the sword,he even knows how to inflate the opponent's temper...he does all that almost entirely on instinct,on the way it 'feels right' to him,there is no other way to describe it,my Lord.It is frightening how much at ease he is with a weapon in hand.The way he runs circles around his brothers one would think they are peasant boys who had never held a training sword,and not young lord's who are being trained in the masterly arts.If there is one negative thing i can say is that is that his bad habit will stunt his growth,mainly that,he is entirely too eager to try new and untested moves all too often."
The knight stopped talking for a moment,mulling over his words,before opening his mouth and speaking again to his lord who was listening to him in contemplative silence.
"While that is no great flaw,and in fact can be advantage sometimes,those times are not now,he should be repeating the basics until they are a second nature before branching on other skills.Him trying new moves every spar will affect him in a real fight if he decides to get experimental midway through battle.I have seen a few men who had similar disposition as the boy.They will try new moves in battle,they will succeed,they will try once more,they will win again,and when an opponent arrives that can counter them,they will freeze,for they have grown overconfident and failed to plan what happens if they are repelled,men like that tend to die young."Said the elderly knight while the other men still kept his silence,only the softly tapping finger on the wooden fence any indication that he was paying attention to the conversation.The knight then continued once more.
"The problem is,he feels that he knows his basic stances well enough,and while performing them for a short while within the safety of his father's castle,before discarding them for new skills is not a problem,if he should freeze in a fight he won't have anything to fall back on,because those simple basic stances will not feel like a part of him,for he has never repeated them twice and knowing and performing are two entirely different things when in stressful situation a sword is swinging your way.I plan to begin work on that front soon,slowly and surely correcting his flaws,but for a talent like his,all progress he will make by learning in such ways will be minimal."The knight gestured with his hands to illustrate his point,all the while continuing to speak.
"For he will always feel out of place and that doing something his mind knows,repeatedly with his body,is a moot point.What he needs far more than training is a real experience with danger in order to truly come into his own,when he is a man grown of course.While every man becomes better and better with each encounter with death,and continued accumulated experience,the difference for Ivar would be twice as much."Stated the experienced master-at-arms of Winterfell.
"Until such time comes,he will be a decent swordsman,not a good one and certainly not a great one.And while Robb and Jon are a bit behind him now,once their bodies have started to get more and more comfortable with weapons,they will catch up to him,and before long surpass him in the training yard"Finally concluded the knight,reporting to his Lord on the status of his son.
"You have spoken a great deal about Ivar's progress,but you have said almost nothing about Robb's and Jon's.How do they truly fare and what's the best course for their future training?"After a short moment of reorganizing his thought's,the father of the boys in question asked from the knight.
"I have not said much,because there is in truth,not much to say,apart from some small observation's here and there and other's i believe you already suspect.The way they are continuing is the right way for them,trial and error,before the right way becomes a habit,before a deliberate action.It's just a matter of time "Answered Rodrick to the Lord,before expanding a bit on the other boys.
"Robb's problem's are coordination and adaptability,he is too rigid at times.His movement tracking ability is excellent,although his body can't follow his wishes at the moment,but that will be gone before long.His body will catch up to his senses."The knight nodded,more to himself,than to the men he was reporting to.
"Another problem is that once he has convinced himself a move is the right way,he refuses to perform it any other way 'if it works once it will work twice' sort of mentality.Even if i tell him,he must be more fluid in his movements,and not close the door to other skills,he just agrees with me to my face,and then turns around and does it his way behind my back,sometimes he is way too happy to do it in front of my face as well."Ser Rodrick shook his head lightly with an amused expression on his face,while Lord Stark had small smile on his face.
"Does he believe i will not notice,does he simply not care or does he in his mind actually do it a different way.That stubborn child is going to take a lot of work to correct his preferences for his form staying absolutely the same,time and time again,not to mention his ability to somehow completely forget the shield in his arm and just swat his sword without lifting his shield an inch.Honestly,one twin only want's to try new things,the other is so set in the old ones,that even if they are wrong he refuses to change them.They are as different as night and day those two,from their looks to their personality,and yet somehow they still manage to have a lot in common.It's a real mystery,my Lord."The previously amused expression on the knight's face combined with a helpless chuckle.The other man next to him chuckled a bit as well before turning back in his usual light smile.
"Jon?."Asked Eddard about the last one.
"Jon is the most balanced of them,by far,my lord.The lad keeps true to the basic stances,but is willing to try new moves when all else fails,he is the easiest one to instruct,there is nothing else to add on his account,he is already doing all the right things,pretty much the only thing he has to do,is grow out of the boy's body and into a mans and the arrows will form a line on their own.That's about it when it comes to their training,my Lord."Replied the elderly knight.
Eddard was once again thoughtful for a moment before worry formed up in his mind.
"What about Robb's state of mind?For a while now Ivar has been besting them both more often than not,while i am not that worried Jon will take this to heart to seriously,i am worried that Robb will begin to fester a resentment toward's his brother,out of embarrassment as the older son and heir."Eddard begin tapping his finger's against the fence a bit more restlessly now.
"While i have noticed nothing of the sort when i spent time with them or when i am observing them.Between morning and after dinner practice and with their lessons from Maester Luwin,the two of you spend more time with them than me,have you noticed anything of that type of behavior in the courtyard?"Asked Eddard with a bit of worry in his eyes at the possible conflict between his two sons.'If such a thing is even remotely possible best to nip it in the bud,rather than let it grow stronger'thought Eddard while his eyes turned resolute,as a different course of action was being contemplated behind them,the one his father choose preemptively,without there even being any cause for worry.
Ser Rodrick shook his head without hesitation,before he spoke with absolute confidence in his young charges."None whatsoever my Lord,rest assured,i feared the same for a while,but my worries were put to rest almost immediately.While Ivar is incredibly taunting during the spars,and has no qualms about bragging of his victories over his brother's,it's always in a teasing tone,never,not once in a mocking one,one meant to annoy them rather than degrade them.Thank's to that Jon has grown a rather thick skin over the past year since their training began,as i am sure you have noticed,my Lord."Said Ser Rodrick the last part rather quietly.
Ned did notice.After the harvest feast three years ago,his Lady-Wife's behavior towards Jon had become worse still,more direct and harsh than before,where it used to be more of ignoring or simply not acknowledging his existence for the most part,it was now about making it clear to him he doesn't belong in Winterfell,and for a time it seemed to work,half a year after the feast,the boy had become more quite,broody and solemn,smiling less frequently,more like him if he had to be honest.
'Had it not been for Robb and Ivar,he could have lost his smile entirely,the gods were kind in giving me two boys,who could pull him out of the pit.'Ned thought bitterly,before shaking darker thought's away from his mind.
After a year of the boys continuing to remain as close as they have always been Jon had become a little more like his previous self,and when they finally put away the play pretend and started training for real,Jon had started to reclaim the confidence all children had,the one he was beginning to lose.He changed yet again,tempering himself to become more indifferent to mockery,his state of mind become stronger every day,something that Ned both admired and lamented at the same time.
'Bastards grow faster that trueborn children' Eddard scoffed internally at the bitter truth of that statement.'It's quite amazing really,that a boy as young as him has managed to ignore the harsh reality of the world,without becoming a heartless person,something many grown men fail to do,without even much help from the grown-ups around him,or precisely because it was without their help that he managed to do so.Catelyn's hatred shielded him in a way that my care could not,that much was true.For the most part,that was my intent,yet i wonder if there was perhaps an easier way,a way that i in all my anger and fear i simply didn't see,so i took the one that was laid in front of me?Such thought's are irrelevant now,i guess,what's done is done,he will be the bastard of Winterfell and no one will know the truth.'Eddard contemplated these thought's for a mere moment before motioning for Rodrick to continue,the knight nodded and returned back to the topic at hand.
"As i mentioned,i had the same worry about Robb's state of mind for the same reasons as you,my Lord,but after overhearing Robb muttering to himself about how he was going to defeat Ivar five spars in a row with a resolute tone,i had relaxed a little.Robb's not as weak willed as we might have thought him.He is willing to put the hard work in order to get what he want's,and honestly,the boys bond is just way to strong,no such hostility exists between them,instead they use each other as friendly rival's to surpass."The knight smiled fondly for a bit before continuing.
"I also heard from Jon,they are somewhat equal in their letter's and numbers,in fact Robb's doing better than them in there."Said Rodrick to his Lord.
"Maester Luwin reported as much too."Eddard replied.
Rodrick nodded,before remembering one more piece of information,and quickly adding it up.
"He is also a better rider than them,in fact,Ivar is decidedly behind,considering his initial fear of horses,but he is getting better,he will catch up to them before long.That's as much as i can say so far,Lord Stark."Finally the elderly knight finished the report on the progress on all three children,before smiling a bit at a memory of his youth when he was training the current Lord Stark and his younger brother,long ago.Feeling a bit old now,he chuckled,Eddard raised an inquisitive eyebrow at the elderly knight,who then said.
"They are growing strong,those boys.They will be grown men before you know it."Rodrick explained,though he left to mentioned he felt the same way when his former charge returned from The Eyrie to raise his banners,a men grown and strong.
"Aye,they are"replied Eddard with a thin smile on his lips."They are eight years old now,how time flies.It feels like it was only yesterday that they were but babes and yet,here they are learning how to swing a sword."said the Eddard with a sigh.
"True enough,my Lord,before long you will be marrying them and your daughters too.Now,that's a day a father looks forward to,hahaha."chuckled Ser Rodrick,japing with the Lord of Winterfell who only now seemed to realize that his children will not be children forever.
"Haha,indeed,the days are coming where they will no longer be children but men grown.We are growing old,my friend."replied Eddard to the man who taught him and his brothers to fight,and was now teaching the next generation of Starks.
"There is nothing to be done about it,my Lord.It's only..."Ser Rodrick was interrupted by a soldier approaching,upon reaching them he bowed,before looking at Lord Eddard and spoke with his thick northern accent.
"Begging your pardon my Lord,the patrol guards have captured a deserter from the night's watch."The man said in a solemn tone.
Eddard's previously happy mood instantly soured,'This is one of my Lordly duties i really don't like'Ned thought,internally sighing,while his outer expression remained a mask of stone and ice,betraying nothing.'But the law is the law,there is no other way around it'.
"I will have the lads prepare the horses my Lord."Said Ser Rodrick,his own mood also souring,although somewhat less than his Lords.
Eddard looked at the sky before shaking his head."No"said the Lord with an authoritative voice before turning to his master-at-arms,and speaking again."It will be night before long,we will leave it for tomorrow,on the morning."Said Eddard,before turning to the soldier and ordering."Put him in a cell and tell him he has the night to make peace with his gods,bring him something to eat as well."Ordered the Lord with a tone of finality to his words.
"As you command."replied the man,bowing to his Lord before swiftly turning around and leaving to carry on with his orders.
"Nasty business."Spoke Rodrick to Eddard Stark."Just a moon ago,Lord Karstark executed two deserters,half a moon before that,Lord Umber dealt with the same,and now it's our turn.I have a feeling more men are deserting The Night's Watch than joining it.Although there are some greybeards,thirdborn or bastard sons of noble Houses from The North joining the Watch willingly,the vast majority that take the black still remain prisoners form the dungeons around Westeros,seeking escape from be it the hangman or the knife,rather than in the name of defense of the realm."said Rodrick to his Lord,who remained in contemplative silence while they were watching the people bellow busy themselves with their work.
"With The Wall defended by unreliable men of ill-sort,there might be some tough times ahead,my Lord.I fear such drop in strength will embolden more frequent wildling raid's into our land's."Said Rodrick with visible worry in his eyes,thinking about the most northern land's that will suffer under the rage of the wildlings.
"i agree."Nodded Eddard toward's the elderly knight."We should look into strengthening The Watch,be it with men or supplies.The Watch is in a decline not seen before in the history of the order,but now is simply not the time."Spoke in a grave and helpless tone the Lord of Winterfell,feeling rather annoyed at the situation he found himself in.
"The Gods were good.We had just a short three-year winter,but the frost still claimed many lives all across The North.We could not properly prepare our larders after the Rebellion,and lost much of the farmer levies to the war.I thank the Gods we at least had some food to send to the mountain Houses.They reported they didn't loose as many men as they expected to the cold winds,on the other hand the Umber's and Karstark's suffered wildling raids during the winter.Both Houses lost some men but they held well,still.The Reed's said their swamp froze as expected,but they still lost men."Spoke Eddard, his grip tightening on the wooden fence of the terrace.
"Sea Dragon Point,the fishing villages of The Stony Shore,the Rills and the Mormont's were well prepared for winter but they lost smallfolk to Ironborn raiders,even though they will never admit to be Ironborn.On that account,my complaint's to Robert and Jon Arryn fell on deaf ears.They can't trial with no proof,they say,as if my word of honor is wind and my dead smallfolk grumpkins."Said Eddard,with no small amount of helplessness and disappointment towards his foster father and brother.
The truth is he understood the need of proof when in it came to leveling accusations against another Great House,but that still made it hard ale to swallow,with his banner-men's complaint's,he wished they have captured at least one Ironborn ship,that will have helped their case more than the anger that now burned within them toward's the Ironborn.
'Reignited,rather.We have never been friends,and now this.If the current state of affairs go on,it won't be long before they demand a war with the Iron Islands,worse yet,that they will be within their rights to do so,unlike Robert in the distant capital,i can't just close my eyes to their sufferings as their Liege Lord.And it's not just the Houses on the western coast that thirst for Ironborn blood.Lord Manderly being ordered to hold the majority of his men in The North during the Rebellion,to deal with the sistermen,who taking advantage of the war,began to raid the eastern coast,was perceived by him as a sign of distrust from me.He has mentioned many times now his desire to begin building a Stark fleet,after the rebellion,the Ironborn raids have only increased those calls.But i fear such course of action will ruffle a lot of feathers down south,we haven't had a fleet for 800 years ,why make one now?The Southrons at court will clamor that we are planning a rebellion.'Thought Ned bitterly,while pinching the bridge of his nose,remembering his rashness during the Rebellion in dealing with some of the Houses as a new and unprepared Warden of The North.
Rodrick,seeing his Lord's contemplative expression,remained silent,watching the men-at-arms tidying up the training courtyard before heading toward's the Guard's Hall to freshen up as well.Eddard Stark remained still deep in his thought's.
'Then there is GreatJon Umber..Every time we meet in private,he will complain about the King's high taxes and his inability to address the Ironborn incursions into our lands.The way he is complaining one will think it's his lands the Ironborn specifically target,even though he was never remotely near them,to the raiders fortune.'
(I will rather pay "King's Sit On My Ass"tax to you,Ned,also we need a fleet in the Bay of Seals.We can start small,just a 100 ships.).The Umber Lord had told him after the Winter's end feast,looking eagerly and expectantly at him without breaking his gaze,all the while the Lord of Winterfell was looking at him as if he was a madman.
'What does he expect me to do about the King's tax?We also can't just build a fleet,where before we had none,unless we risk discord with the Iron Throne,surely he knows that much.'Briefly thought the Warden of The North,worried about the desires of the two of his principle banner-men,before speaking once more.
"The eastern coasts fared much better when it come to winter readiness,they didn't lose much.But we still don't exactly have the resources to help the Watch as much as i want to.We need at least a few years,to regain our own strength,before we aid them properly,until then the help will be the bare minimum."Concluded the Lord of Winterfell,his eyes expressing his helplessness.
"At any case,with the arrival of the summer,the wildling raid's will get less and less,after all they have their own way of survival north of The Wall."Said Eddard.
"You are right,my Lord.This short winter was a blessing,the only think we can do now is wait."Agreed the elderly knight.
"I am going to my solar,there are a few things i want to look over,i will see you shortly for supper,Ser Rodrick."Eddard nodded to the knight,before walking away.
"My Lord."Rodrick bowed at his Lord,and once he was disappeared into the keep,he left to see to his duties,as well.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Mahesvara98
Mahesvara98 Some fact's and the timeline for this story.
Robert's Rebbelion-beggining of 280AC
Ned and Catelyn's one night stand marriage-10th moon 280AC
Robb-Ivar born-7th Moon 281 AC,location Winterfel,where Catelyn was moved in the event that Riverrun suffer a siege.
Ivar is named by Benjen,for an old Stark king,it's a Stark name that means "Fearless wolf" in the old tongue.Robb is named by Catelyn as otl.
The Rebbelion ended for the Starks in the 10th moon of 282AC,when Ned reurned North,with Jon.
The sack of King's Landing happened-9th moon 282AC Shortly before that,freshly pregnant Rhaellla was send to Dragonstone.
Daenerys is born-8th moon 283AC
Jon's age is ambiguous,due to him being a rather big baby people assume he is only a few moons younger than the other boys.
Sansa-285AC,Arya-288AC,Bran-290AC,Joffrey-283AC,Myrcella-285AC,Tommen-290AC,Theon-280AC,Margaery-281AC
Not sure yet if there will be Rickon.
I hope you like it ;)
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