11 The Wall - 287 AC

Author's note: Hi guys! 3.45k words today:)

We get a few POV's from after the rituals and we see just how they have affected Aegon in the eyes of others and in his general quests.

He will be a damn beast, when he grows up.

Quick info, I will be doing two chapters more for the years 288 and 289, before something else happens.

Anyway, enjoy the chapter!

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The Shadow Tower, The Wall - 287 AC

POV | Ser Denys Mallister - Commander of The Shadow Tower

He had joined The Night's Watch many years ago now. He had lived a glorious life, and he wanted to get away from any suspicions of whether he wanted to steal his nephew's castle.

He had become a Knight at the tender age of eight and ten, and unhorsed men like Randyll Tarly and Alester Florent at two and twenty name days. An accomplishment that made him well known among many a high born. An accomplishment that forced him away from his family.

He was more gifted than his brother and nephew and many started talking. The issue was that Denys was always a man of honour, and the insinuation that he would take what was his brother's by right, made him choose The Night's Watch. Here he could die doing what he loved and was best at. Fighting. Something he had done for 20 years since.

He had always been good at it, and he thought himself fairly talented. For the first time in his considerably long and accomplished life, he realized how wrong he was. 'Did I join The Night's Watch too early? Should I have travelled more to see what was out there?'

For the first time in 20 years, he questioned his decision of joining The Watch as early as he had. 'How is this boy only 7, almost 8 name days?'

Jon Snow had made Ser Denys Mallister question his entire life.

The way he whirled around a trained Knight's attacks. The look in his eyes as if he knew every single move he was going to use before he ever had the chance to utilize them. It was chilling. 'Is this how it feels to grow old?'

The boy had been talented since the day he arrived with the Ranger, Benjen Stark, but the growth spurts his fighting abilities had received were unfathomable. 'The boy should train to become a Kingsguard, not a mere watchman. If he even mentions taking the vow, I will break his legs and send him back to Winterfell. We need men, but monster like this boy leave legends that last for millennia. Who knows, he might even mention me if a Maester ever asks who trained him.'

He had trained him for almost three moons with the help of Mance Rayder, one of the only men the young boy spoke with here.

He had thought it a waste of time at first but considering how tall and strong looking the boy was, he had decided to give the boy a chance. He did not regret it. His 20 at The Shadow Tower might have given him tonnes of experience, but his sword techniques as well as his ability to fight smaller and more nimble opponents had been neglected.

That did not mean that Denys lost his battles against the boy. 'Maybe a few times when he caught me by surprise.'

The boy had been a bit too head strong and impatient in his fighting style, but it had been beaten out of him by the much more cautious and calculating fighter that he and Mance were. 'If I tried to beat the boy in endurance, I would lose. He is a freak of nature that just keeps on going. Pain doesn't even faze him anymore.'

What was even more surprising was when the boy pulled out a spear instead of his short sword. The weapon was obviously made by a wildling, and according to the boy, it was something he took from a wildling killed by his cousin. A boy of 8 name days. 'What does Lord Stark even feed his boys? Winter Kings indeed.'

The boy got slightly impatient again, and Denys bashed him with his shield. It almost knocked him over, but in an insane display of acrobatics, the boy flipped and dropped into a slight crouch before he exploded forward and managed to catch Denys in the side.

'The spear is slightly awkward for him because of the size, but he wields it admirably. If he decides to use poison, he could kill most men. He is dangerously good at attacking and retreating immediately after, and you cannot kill someone you cannot hit.'

"It's enough for now, Jon. You have surpassed my expectations, and I am happy to send you of with your uncle to Castle Black. The three best blades of The Watch are there, and Master Aemon has forgotten more about history than most men know. It will serve your purpose better than what you could achieve here."

The boy nodded, smiling: "Thank you, Commander Mallister, it has been a pleasure to train with you and your men. Thank you allowing me to spar with you, the experience has been invaluable."

Ser Denys laughed at that: "The pleasure was all mine, and I must thank you for showing up my men, they needed the kick up their arses so they can improve in the future." He looked fondly at the young man before him. He might be a boy in age, but his demeanour was that of a young man.

"Remember to be a boy, Jon. No matter why Lord Stark decided you needed to train yourself here, you are still young. Act old when you are, you have plenty of time to be old and not enough to be young." His large face stretched into a grin, and he was happy to see the boy taking his words into consideration.

"Also, take your damn cats with you, I almost shat myself when the shadowcat snuck up on me yesternight." The boy laughed at that, before he thanked him once more and left with his entourage of pets.

Ser Denys looked at the boy with a fond expression. 'Maybe I should have married when I had the chance?'

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POV | Aegon Targaryen

Aegon left the sparring yard with a slight skip in his steps. 'I won't be killing any Knights in plate anytime soon, but they won't touch me either.'

The 55 lbs of armour they usually wore, was enough to make them slower than him. Especially since Aegon only used leathers for protection. 'They would wound me badly if they ever got close enough though.' That was something he still had to work on.

Aegon had grown two inches to 4'9" since the hunt that went wrong, and most of it was due to the rituals he had just finished. Rituals that gave him an unreal advantage in combat. Goat's Grace had increased his speed by at least 4 mph. Absolutely unnatural for his age, but that was what happened when you dabbled in rituals, and Aegon loved it, he was 75% of the fastest man in the 21st century of the Earth.

So, whilst Aegon was only as tall as a crannog man, he was insanely fast, with a top speed of 20.84 mph, a speed that was only complimented by his currently small stature.

He looked around the area one last time to make sure he had not missed anything magical with his Mage Sight, and he was happy to see that he had managed to snag anything of value. A single book in The Old Tongue with a magic emitting rune on the back and a knife engraved with runes as well. Things he would need to study.

He looked at his companions and he could feel their current excitement. They loved travelling, and even if Hel and Fenris could play fight with each other, they were starting to grow bored.

They had even both taken to sneak up on and frighten anyone who had looked wrong at Aegon. The prank Hel had played on Ser Denys was mild in comparison to what she had done with some of those who had planned to attack Aegon. They had learned their lesson quick enough.

'Then again, waking up to the roar of a shadowcat only to see menacing blue eyes and a maw of razor-sharp teeth about to rip your throat out, would make most men see sense.'

He was also very happy with his mage sight. It had allowed him to see that his Freya was actually evolving. She had grown from the size of a house cat to a large lynx in three months. A grey, beautiful lynx of 60 lbs with emerald-green eyes. 'She is not done growing either. Whatever she intended when she invoked the ritual must be insane. Did she envision a lioness maybe? A Tiger or a cheetah could be possible as well.'

The best part of his mage sight was that he could somewhat see different creatures' lifespan. Something which had relieved him greatly when he realized that Freya would live a long life. As long as his own.

He looked at her with extreme fondness. 'She invoked a life bond. A one-sided one. She lives for as long as I do, and I if I die early, she dies with me.' He almost cried at the amount of trust she had in him. Almost. Definitely. 'It was just a bit of dust; I didn't tear up.'

Fenris was the biggest puzzle though. He was not a shadowcat. He was also not a wolf. Hel was young. Too young to be the young creature's mother. He had only found out after his connection with her got stronger. 'I asked her to reprimand her son and she almost laughed. It was a chaff at least.' The wolves had wanted to kill the young Fenris, and she just decided to save him.

'Hel is more of a goddess of salvation than death, but with the future we have in store, it will change.'

Fenris was large. At slightly more than three months, he was almost as large as Hel, and he was still growing. 'I need to look up all feline and canine species, even long forgotten legends. With his magical nature, he might just be some sort of mythical creature. Hel is good at hiding in shadows, and with our bond she has become even better, but the way Fenris almost disappears in them… It is magical.'

Hugin and Munin were the only ones he had not asked to stay with him. They were out on recognisance missions. He had used them as scouts, but with his new senses, they honesty could not help him much within a distance of 5-10 miles. That is why he had sent them out to scout different castles and spy on Lord Bolton, Ramsay Snow, Barbrey Dustin, and Lord Glover. With orders to kill Ramsay if he is found out to be psychotic.

He did not care much for Lord Ryswell, since he was mainly a person who cared for personal prestige and power, and he already knew that the man's loyalty would lie with his nephew, Domeric Bolton.

He cared more for Lady Dustin and Lord Bolton since they had personal and familial vendettas against House Stark. Lady Dustin's was new, and Lord Bolton's was thousands of years old. The three houses of Bolton, Ryswell and Dustin also had around 12-15k men they could field for a war, and whilst it might not be important as long as The North was allied with King Robert and Lord Tully, it was still a major security issue if it was not handled correctly.

Lord Glover was also an issue since he was known to be an extremely arrogant Lord, who could potentially sway other lords with his almost childishly derogatory barbs. He was a man who sometimes lacked a sense of fear because he was confident in the power he wielded as a lord, and that lack of fear meant that he did not mind saying things out loud that could potentially harm Aegon's conquest. Besides, at full force House Glover could field around 3k soldiers, so their force was considerable as well.

Aegon generally needed a better understanding of the different Lords, and what better way than using his two loyal raven friends? With his extremely strong bond, he could warg into them from hundreds of miles away and reach as far as The Neck with them. With his growing strength he might even reach as far as Dorne one day.

1001 eyes would not be a bad goal. Knowledge is a power all by itself and Aegon wanted it.

Even more than he wanted to leave for Castle Black. 'At least both are within reach. I'll just start catching as many ravens as possible now and allow Hugin and Munin to command them. Lord Commanders of my Raven Corps. They will love that title.'

"Jon!" a loud shout was heard from behind him.

"Uncle! You're back!" Aegon responded, before he rushed towards him and crushed the much taller man in a hug. He had been slightly afraid that his uncle had been killed during his ranging, so he was extremely happy and relieved to see him again.

"Aye, and we have to leave for Castle Black immediately, so I hope you have packed!"

He had packed, of course. His black and red 'bag of holding' was attached to his waist, and his larger equipment was by his saddle bags.

"I am ready, just let me say my farewells to Mance, Lord Mallister and Maester Mullin."

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North of The Wall, 287 AC

POV | Benjen Stark

They had travelled for just slightly more than 50 miles since they left The Shadow Tower and they had 50 more to go. Everything was going fine until his nephew stopped his horse, turned head slightly to the left, and took a deep breath through his nose. He even did it just as Benjen was telling him about Maester Aemon.

That would have been almost fine, if he did not immediately set his horse into a fierce gallop, with a small shout of apology and an "I'll be back in a second."

"Like hell you will, you little twat, you will get yourself killed." Benjen followed after him as swiftly as he could, and the ranger of The Night's Watch was very impressed by his nephew's horsemanship.

'Brandon or Lyanna?'

It was a question he had asked himself since he saw his nephew for the first time seven years ago.

He ducked under a low-hanging branch and proceeded to swerve around a tree. He was not as graceful as his nephew or his siblings, but his lack of talent was made up for with sheer experience and knowledge of the terrain.

'His talents could be attributed to all four different combinations of parent. Brandon and Ashara and you have the looks and the talent. Rhaegar and Lyanna and you have the exact same.'

"Hold on, Jon! Where are you going?!"

"We're close, we need to save my new companion!"

'Companion? Please for the love of all The Old Gods, let it not be a bear, ice spider or a mammoth.'

They quickly arrived in a clearing, where a lone wolf was playing with its prey. A coal black owl, with a few grey feathers and almost glowing yellow eyes.

His nephew gave a cold command. "Fenris. Finish him." Benjen felt a chill on his back at the slight killing intent he felt from his nephew. The aura was not impressive in comparison to some of the men he had met, himself included, but it was not something he had ever seen from a kid of almost 8 name days.

The monstrous canine shot through the clearing at a pace that did not allow for the wolf to defend itself. It tackled the wolf, before its maw of glittering teeth ripped the throat out of the wolf faster than Benjen would have thought possible.

His nephew jumped off his horse and pulled the injured owl into his hands. "Hey, friend." His voice had turned much gentler now. "I'm here to help you, do you think you can trust me to do that?" The owl visibly relaxed and it seemed as if it answered him with a hoot. The chill from before disappeared entirely and an aura of kindness and calm seemed to emanate from Jon.

'That is impressive charisma for a man so young. He is a born leader.'

"Good boy, we'll fix you up fast, and then you can join us. Fenris, Hel and Freya will make sure, no one ever touches you again."

The owl relaxed even more, and Jon climbed up his horse again.

"Jon, can you please explain why you need to rush all this way to find and help an owl?" Benjen was slightly exasperated at his nephew's antics, but immensely relieved that it was just an owl he was bringing with him.

"I am a warg."

Benjen almost choked on his spit right then and there.

"Sorry, what?"

"I am a warg. Like the Stark Kings of old. Have you never heard Old Nan's stories of The Warg King?" Jon asked him in an amused tone. 'Little shit.'

"Have you told anyone before?" He needed to make sure he had not done something stupid. He was too young to understand the implications of his apparent powers.

"No, and I am only telling you because I am absolutely certain that there is no one within 6 miles of our location to hear it. It's not exactly something others would look favourably upon; besides it gives me an edge if no one knows I can spy on them with my animals." Jon gave Benjen a smile that seemed too old for his age.

He was glad to be wrong about his nephew's understanding of his own powers. "It does make sense now that I think about it. A shadowcat and whatever species Fenris is, should not be as tame as they are with you."

Jon nodded, "You are right about that. If I had not trained with Hugin, Munin and Freya, then I would not have been able to establish a connection with Hel. Fenris was a pup though, so that is still debatable."

"You seem to know a lot about the ability?" He tried phrasing the sentence in a slightly questioning tone.

"Of course, I've read every single book in the library at Winterfell, and many of the stories were about the era of the Warg Kings. I have also trained the ability for more than two years."

Benjen nodded, impressed. He knew his nephew was studious, but the library at Winterfell was massive, and he reckoned that most Maester's had not read as much in their lives.

"That does explain a lot, including the fact that you're incredibly eloquent for your age. Do you know If Robb can warg as well?" He knew the two were inseparable, and if anyone would have spotted a potential talent in Robb, then it would be Jon.

"Aye, Robb, Sansa, Little Arya, You and Uncle Ned."

Benjen looked at him gobsmacked. 'Me?'

"Yes, you are too." Jon smiled

"Wait, did I say that out loud?"

"No, but your face asked for you." Jon laughed now.

"How do you know that I can? I've never experienced it."

"I just do; besides, you've never had an animal companion to learn it with. You need a solid relationship with your first companion before it becomes easier to use."

Benjen went into deep thought at that. It would make his ranging immensely easier if he could just set camp and have a raven travel around. He would finish so much faster and with no fear of his own life. The more he thought of it, the better an idea it seemed.

"Can you teach me?"

"Of course."

"Thank you…"

"Wait, Uncle Ned? Did he tell you? No don't answer that, it's not my right."

Jon looked at him funny. "You're my uncle, I do not mind you knowing. No matter why you decided to punish yourself for something that happened when you were still a kid."

Benjen was shocked still at that. No one knew of his folly. Not even his brother. Both his brothers were generally bad at reading people, it was him and Lyanna who had that gift. He had never said that he felt guilty out loud, and the only one who would have been able to guess it without him saying anything, was his fiercely wild and kind, elder sister.

He whispered, "Lyanna," and Jon nodded with a sad smile on his lips.

"Yes."

"Why did Ned tell you now?"

They rode side by side, at a slow speed and Jon or Aegon started telling him a tale that for some would have been best left forgotten. For Benjen, it was closure.

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Author's note: Rituals are overpowered, but then again, why shouldn't a young Homo Superior be able to contest a middle aging Homo Sapiens?

We get a bit of info on the guild Benjen feels that caused him to join the Night's Watch. He doesn't give us an exact answer, but it seems like Aegon has him figured out. Have you?

Aegon finally got a new friend as well! A Harbinger of Death! He is a boy, btw.

I am considering the following names:

Mimir (Norse God of Guidance)

Anubis (Egyptian mythology, Protector of The Underworld and God of the Dead)

Charon (Greek mythology, Ferryman of dead souls)

Any recommendations:

See you on Wednesday!