After lord and Lady Stark stared at the ball of flame for a few minutes Woden decided to cut the aging off and end the spell.
"Whatevere you need will be provided as long as it is not human sacrifice."Lord Stark said as he stared directly into Woden's luminous red eyes.
Woden thought for a few seconds and replied. "How about this, I would like to have one of the unused towers to myself. As for the sacrifice... what if I used prisoners that chose death instead of the wall."
Lord Stark looked livid but could not refuse the thought process of waste not want not. But he was honorable and couldn't think of a reason to agree. Then again when he was growing up as a child he was told to give what the wise men wanted or face the consequences.
He was at an impasse, it was becoming more and more common since he became the lord of Winterfell. He was constantly having an inner conflict with himself, because of the previous lord Stark sending him to foster south. So instead of learning primarily northern culture he learned the culture af the Vale.
"We will talk of this later when I have had the time to think of it some more, but you can have the old tower." Lord Stark replied.
"That is all I ask, my lord" Woden bowed.
"On your way out please send for the Maester." Lord Stark dismissed Woden.
Over the next month Woden continued his routine of studying anything he could get his hands on.
But on one strange morning before his hand could touch his plate a ring with a black stone on his finger started glowing.
Lord Stark looked curiously at it while Lady Stark started to shift away with baby Robb and baby Jon.
"If you don't mind my asking nephew but what does that mean." Lord Stark asked.
"Not at all, My lord. This ring is made out of silver and has a Dragon glass stone that lights up when near poison. It seems that someone has tried to poison my food. Luckily I had foreseen this outcome and made this counter measure." Woden replied with a glint in his eye and a smirk on his face.
Lord Stark looked outraged, "Who dares!" He bellowed. Causing the guards to barge in. "Bring me all who had access to our food and Woden can you make more of those rings and if so can they be used by normal people."
"Yes, my lord. They do not require the person who wears them to do anything or be anything it works off the ambient magic in the air to work. Additionally they don't require a sacrifice to work and only needs the materials and some herbs." Woden responded.
"Good I want one made for every family member." Lord Stark ordered.
"It will be done my lord, but I was wondering if I could train under the local blacksmith to improve both my design and with some of my other spell work." Woden respectfully replied.
"Yes that makes sense." Lord Stark said.
But the lady Stark looked both upset and a little happy at the prospect of wearing the ring. Upset because it was witchcraft and happy because it would protect them from poison. But they couldn't discuss anything anymore because the people who were involved with the food were brought in.
"Someone has tried to poison my nephew's food." As he said this all but one of the servants looked terrified, as they knew the little lordling was a practioner of magic.
The one who looked like he could care less was a new servant, brought in on the recommendation of the Maester.
Woden looked directly at the servant and ordered," tell me your name" with cold glare.
"George, milord" answered the now terrified and named servant.
"Tell me George, what is the punishment for poisoning a noble's food." George looked terrified.
"I didn't know what was in the bottle, milord. The Mqester told me you were sick and needed medicine." George said fearfully.
"And add the charges of defaming a member of the court with slander." Woden turned to his uncle and asked. "Seeing as how he tried to kill me can I have him?"
Lord Stark stared at his nephew in amazement at how quickly he got a confession. "Aye, he was after you life so he is yours."
"Grand, can you read and write." Woden asked George. At his nod woden ordered for George to be taken into the cells.
"If you don't mind me asking nephew but what is to happen to him." Ned asked a little concerned.
"Nothing much, if my experiment goes right just his hands." Woden started and Ned visibly relaxed a bit.
Later when Woden walked into the house of his master he found her laying on the ground unmoving. For a second he felt sorrow then he moved the body outside to burn in the ritual that his master showed him. So that she couldn't be brought back as a spirit or undead.
While doing this he noticed a strange discoloration of her lips and a tiny amount of blood around her face. He immediately realized this was a type of poison and wrote down the effects to investigate later.
Afterwards he left to get some man power to move all his masters stuff in his tower. As he was going through his master's thing Woden spotted her staff and her familiar which was the crow he saw six months ago.
The staff was made out of weirwood tree and a Dragon glass moon shape ontop. It was about 6 feet tall (or 2 meters) Woden decided he would use it until he fashioned one for himself.
The crow cawed at him and he immediately felt the strongest warg bond he had felt in his life. Woden also decided to keep the annoying bird too.
As he was waking back with staff in hand and crow on his shoulder he fel something missing from his gear but put it at the back of his mind. When he arrived at the castle lord Stark greeted him with a smile and asked.
"How was your lesson"
"Didn't have one today. Master perished and is among the ancestors." Woden felt sad for tiniest second then, felt nothing anymore besides curiosity.
Ned Stark hearing this felt sad for his nephew.
"I need men to help me move her supplies and tomes to the tower. I will be needing my prisoner for the spell I will be doing on the next full moon. I need to prepare his hand to receive the magic before the process starts." Woden stated.
"Aye, l will prepare the men." Ned replied
With that woden walked away with his staff clicking as he went and the crow in the sky following him. Wherever he went that day the small folk bowed to him in fear and awe. As he looked like the embodiment of the stories they were told of as kids by their old nans.