Chapter 9
Eddard Stark POV
That night, Eddard simply couldn't find any sleep. The events of the day weighted too heavily on his mind. Since the discussion in his solar, it has kept his mind occupied through the feast. But what else was he supposed to do?
He had learned how big the world truly was and how small he was in comparison. What was a man supposed to do with the information that there was a portal on Skagos that allowed one to travel to other worlds, if you survived it?
But apparently his own ancestor and founder of his house had done that. The father of Brandon, the builder himself. Sirius Stark, no Black. Their family had been called black in a different world.
Their banner was probably originally a black dog that had been changed to a direwolf over time. Though that was just a guess on Harry's part, because Sirius could turn into a black dog.
The fact that magic was real was another shocking revelation. But he had seen it with his own eyes. He had seen the boy produce light on his hand, change his chair into a cat, and do other unbelivable feats.
Apparently they even had magic in their blood too, but it was somehow asleep. Which was less shocking than the existence of magic itself. There have always been stories about the feats of past Starks.
It was now clear that Brandon the Builder had built Winterfell and the Wall with magic that he had learned from his father.
And then there was the boy Harry; he was family. They were distantly related to each other, with a difference of 8,000 years. Such a long time, but even after all that time, they resemble each other.
The time between the arrival of their ancestor Sirius and the boy Harry, who had followed his godfather, his only remaining family, through the Portal between Worlds, was disheartening.
What is he supposed to do with all that? Magic? Different Worlds? And a boy for whom the Starks were the closest still-living family in this world. There was a lot he had to think through.
Then there were the events on Skagos. A place that had fallen into complete savagery since their rebellion a hundred years ago. Where the strong ruled and even fed on the weak,.
There were stories of the smallfolk during a particularly harsh winter who resolved to commit canibalism because they had no other choice but to survive. But a whole island that followed that practice, not out of need, was a completely different thing.
It was impressive that Harry managed to rally the smallfolk on Skagos behind himself, even with his magic, and overthrow the houses that were enforcing their rule over these people.
As far as he could tell, that was the truth. The men Harry had with him were telling a similar story, and the rumors existing about Skagos were also in accordance with it.
Everything the lad said he had either proofed or there were signs that there was truth to them.
Harry also seemed to be a decent lad.
"What are you thinking about, my love?" Cat asked from beside him where she was lying on their bed. She had probably noticed how distracted he had been all day.
He stayed silent for a moment, considering what he should tell her. In truth, he didn't really want to lie to his wife, but the topic of magic was complicated. She was very devout to the Seven, who didn't look on the Old Gods very well, less even the topic of magic.
"Harry Potter." He said that and left it that way.
"Hmm… Harry. He seemed like a good young man. He is only three to four years older than Robb and has already had to fight in a war. I can't believe someone like him is from a place with rumors like Skagos." She said it with a hint of sympathy.
"The rumors are true. They are the reasons why he rebelled against his liege lords. He didn't want to watch his people any longer. These houses had the sick belief that by consuming another man, they would gain his powers." He stated it quietly.
"That is horrible!" Cat said with a pale face, "Did he ever..."
"No. He didn't." Ned stated firmly that that was one fact he was certain about: "He actually has stark blood in him. Did you notice how some features resemble our children? He is descended from a distant bloodline related to House Stark. But not the Main Line." This wasn't a lie.
"He has stark blood? That's why his face resembles yours. She realized, "What are you planning to do, love?"
"I think I have to write a letter to Robert. Getting Skagos back into the North is too good to pass on. Especially since he managed to cleanse out the worst of them during his rebellion." Ned said it honestly. It was the best thing he could do in that situation. "Hopefully we will get a reply soon enough. I plan to host him until then."
"That's wise. What about his family? Does he have parents?" Cat asked in curiosity.
"No, they are dead." Ned shook his head. "They actually died when he was a child. He grew up as an orphan. He had a harsh life, and that forged him into the man he is today."
———
Harry Potter POV
It's been a few days since he and his man arrived in Winterfell. Lord Stark has accepted him as Lord of Skagos and wrote a letter to his close friend King Robert in order to make it official.
Based on the size of his territory, this makes him one of the greater lords in the North. Although his land was probably the poorest developed with the lowest population density, killing a third of the population made it not much better. And the North was already one of the poorest kingdoms among these seven kingdoms.
He couldn't confirm it yet with his own eyes, but the library in Winterfell showed a clear picture. Harry spent a lot of time in there. The Library was one of the oldest and biggest in the world, containing copies of works from millennia ago.
One thing it didn't contain were the books Sirius had left with his descendants that he mentioned in his letter. But if they were still around, Harry would find them. He would often spend time exploring the castle when he wasn't in the library or hanging out with the Stark Children.
"Haaah! Take that!" Shouted Robb as he slashed his wooden training sword at him.
"You need to do better than that if you want to hit me, Robb!" he replied as he blocked the attack with his own sword.
Right now, he was in the training yard of Winterfell, where he was sparring and alternating with the other boys while the other children were cheering them on.
For only being 12 years old, the age where his past self had to fight a basilisk with nothing more than a sword, these boys were far better than him.
The only reason he could beat them was because of the skill essences he had drank. By killing the scum that signed his contract, he received a multitude of skill essences from different masters.
Obviously, he had used the highest masteries for himself, like riding Mastery, sword mastery, bow mastery, and so on. He wasn't really a fan of Melee Combat, but it didn't hurt to know it. Especially if he hadn't learned it himself.
But these boys were really strong for their age. This must be the difference between someone growing up in a medieval world with different values and someone of the modern day and age.
[ Name: Robb Stark Gender: Male
Occupation: Noble
Level: 21
Age: 12 Race: Human (First Men/Magical)
HP: 240 MP: 105
STR: 26 VIT: 23
INT: 19 WIS: 14
DEX: 27 CHA: 21
LCK: 16
Reputation: 14 (liked)
Description: Robb Stark is the eldest son of Eddard Stark and Catelyn Tully and is the heir of House Stark to Winterfell and the North. He is named after King Robert. The boy loves his family dearly and has a close friendship with his bastard brother. ]
Another addition from Meeting the Starks was the reputation and affection system. It was an indicator of what a person was thinking of him and whether they were his friend or foe.
According to his Observe Skill, the different stages went like this from worst to best: Hostile - Hated - Disliked - Neutral - Liked - Respected/Loved - Honored/Devoted.
Based on the sexual preference of the person, he either had a reputation or an affection entry. The only difference is the names of the last two stages.
His charismatic skills had helped to leave a good impression on House Stark; he was even certain that the eldest daughter had a small crush on him.
Although he had no interest in little ten-year-old girls, but it didn't hurt, since she would certainly grow up to be a beauty.
With his last slash, Harry managed to disarm Robb. "I surrender!" The boy said it with a small pout.
"Good Match!" Harry replied.
"Indeed, well fought, you two." The deep voice of Eddard Stark came from the balcony before he fixed his gaze on Harry. "Please join me in my solar. A Raven from King's Landing just arrived."
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