3 Chapter 3

The moment when I accepted the task from the Old Gods to save the Seven Kingdoms, along with the words in the wind, "Thank you..." I also received an advance payment, so to speak.

Received a Gift from the Old Gods

Talent: Greenseer

A Greenseer is an extremely powerful warg/skinchanger that can inhabit not only animals, but also weirwoods. And to see through these weirwoods not only the past, the present, but also the future. My gift was a very good bonus, called the possibility of dividing consciousness during the universe. The whole advantage was that when I moved in with animals, I could maintain control not only over the body where I moved in, but also my own body too.

Along with my talent, knowledge about the universe came to me, in order to be able to inhabit animals without obstacles, you need to have a strong empirical and mental connection with the animal. This connection works both ways, and this connection also changes a person. Wolves are the hardest to deal with because their influence on humans is even stronger.

But it is also possible to forcibly move in, but if the person being moved in has a strong will, then the chance of success decreases. In general, it is easier to use a violent method to control crows, as Brynden Rivers once did.

I decided to start testing these abilities with skinchanges, since according to the knowledge I received, moving into a weirwood is a much harder task than moving into animals.

The selection of animals in the vicinity of Winterfell was quite decent, ranging from dogs to crows. My opinion stopped at the latter because of these wonderful animals, because in this world these birds had incredible skills. For example, the raven of Jeor Mormont, according to rumors, he can pronounce words, and according to legends in ancient times, the Children of the Forest could teach them to speak whole sentences and thus deliver letters over very long distances. But at the present time, maesters can only send a message through letters.

In addition, there is a high probability that Brynden Rivers acquired such a creepy spy network at one time thanks to the crows. From those years, there was a statement about the question about "How many eyes does a Bloody Raven have? One thousand and one." And of course weirwoods, although rare in the south, they are still available. And according to rumors, the godswoods there are no more than a part of the decor, or a luxury item.

Having found the necessary animal, I proceeded directly to the settlement. The first thing to do was to concentrate most of the magical powers on dividing your mind. The main danger was the possibility of forgetting oneself, for this you must always leave an anchor on your body when you move in.

If someone had been nearby, they would not have seen anything strange, since my gift, unlike ordinary possession, does not have the usual white pupils or loss of control over my own body.

It was a very strange feeling to see oneself from a third person, and it was even more strange to feel two bodies. But it wasn't something unpleasant or difficult to do. I felt that my strength would be enough for about 5-10 crows, the main part of the expenditure was spent not on maintaining control, but on settling in.

Controlling the crow's body was a very interesting activity, for lack of better words, this is the most accurate description. The main focus in the so-called "auto" mode was on the main body, whereas the crow's point of view was something like peripheral vision, however, all the details from the crow's point of view were very clear. But thanks to a different point of view, I was able to create a more accurate and complete picture of what was happening around me. According to my assumptions, I will definitely be able to read documents in the body of a crow, which is a clear plus.

I thought it would be very difficult to fly in the body of a crow, but surprisingly the instincts of the body helped and it was as easy to fly in as it is for a human to breathe and run. To see Winterfell and its surroundings from a bird's eye view is a magnificent sight. Wintertown was sparsely populated, the Wolf Forest beckoned, and the whole area seemed to be in the palm of your hand.

After a couple of flights, I swooped down to the crow, and returned part of my consciousness back. It took an order of magnitude lower magical powers to return than during the invasion.

My path now lay towards the crypt, as I was able to verify the existence of magic in this castle. And the crypt of the Starks, according to my feelings, created the impression of something strong and cold. Which was manifested even against the background of other crypts and graves/mounds.

The entrance to the crypt of Winterfell was located in the oldest part of the castle, next to the First Stronghold, it is a long-abandoned round tower with stone gargoyles, squat in appearance, but actually taller than it seems. Once this tower was the most important in Winterfell, built according to rumors by the First People.

Beyond the entrance to the crypt was the crypt itself, cold and dark, containing several levels that are connected by a spiral staircase with narrow and winding steps. One floor contains a long line of granite pillars between which the dead Starks are buried. Many Kings of Winter and after the Lords of the North are buried here, almost all Kings and Lords are here with rare exceptions, as an example of Brandon Stark, nicknamed the Shipwright.

According to tradition, iron long swords rest on the knees of every lord, it is rumored that these swords hold the souls of the deceased Starks. The underground vaults are larger than Winterfell itself, and the ancient Starks are buried in deeper and darker levels. The deepest level has partially collapsed.

I already understand why this place was not the most pleasant in the castle, it felt like hundreds of dead people were staring at you. Having plucked up the courage, I decided to go lower, with each step my sense of Magic grew. And in an instant, the usual cold was replaced by a fierce frost. And a vague silhouette of a man appeared in front of me, Stark's features were discernible in him, with the usual dark hair, the same color beard and gray eyes, where the wisdom of generations was stored.

"It's not a bad magic gift, which is to be expected from the heir of two bloodlines, the child of Ice and Fire. Yes, and as I see it, the blessing of our gods is also available, but even this is not enough."

"Not enough for what?" "And who are you?" I asked, really puzzled.

"They called me Brandon the Builder, and you are my descendant and this world is waiting for the next Long Night, Others are waking up in the north, besides, dark forces are waking up in the East. And in order to survive the coming difficulties, you need to be fully prepared. For your coming here has awakened magic, and they will all flock to you."

"And how can I trust everything that is said?" I asked, genuinely puzzled.

To which he only grinned and touching my head with his hand, I was not afraid of what he would suggest to me or otherwise affect my mind. But even I was not ready for what he showed, I saw how he built the Wall, how the struggle against the Others and the dead was going on. And I believed in his words...

But all this, to put it mildly, discouraged me, because I thought that apart from Others and the dead, there were no special problems....Yes, I believed this guy because after he told me his name, I got another one

I said succinctly.

The man, looking at me calmly, continued:

"As you know, it will be very difficult for you to do this alone, and in order to help you and all the living, I was able to convince most of the Dead Kings of Winter to help. But as you know, we dead can't provide more help than advice."

"Then how do you talk to me?" I asked.

"It became possible when you came down here with awakened magic, not all the dead can talk or wander through these halls. The gods are probably still on our side, as I was able to gather all the magic of the crypt to give you the following instructions. I would like to give all possible help right away, but my descendants said that you have to prove your competence. One of the representatives of the Age of Heroes replied.

"Heh...It never just happens, what should I do?"

"First, it is necessary to strengthen the family's power in the North, it is necessary to eliminate the Red Kings. Secondly, you need to find the Horn of Winter."

"The Red Kings are the Boltons, but what is the Horn of Winter?"

"A very powerful artifact, which in the wrong hands can contribute to Others."

Received a task From The Kings Of Winter

-Destroy the Red Kings and Find the Horn of Winter-

Term:---

Tasks: To consign the Bolton House to oblivion

Find the Horn of Joramun

Reward: Legendary Item

Penalty: The probability of death of all living things in the Seven Kingdoms will increase

-Accept/Refuse-

And I have no choice....Sighing heavily, he said:

"It seems that I initially had no choice, I accept your conditions."

The man just nodded and disappeared right in front of my eyes. Meanwhile, I came out of the crypt with heavy thoughts. Since there are an order of magnitude more problems. And only now I realized that I was not speaking in a Common or Andalese language, but in the ancient language of the First People, and this Brandon the Builder is really a powerful man, since even in the form of a ghost he was able to give knowledge about this language with runes...

As soon as I left the crypt and went to the library, Robb and Theon noticed me. After talking with them for a couple of minutes and referring to business, I was able to jump off the games. In the library, I was looking for information about the Horn of Winter, I decided to look in myths and legends. Indeed, in them I found information about Joramun, the King-Behind-the-Wall who lived 8,000 years ago, a couple hundred years after the creation of the Wall. According to legend, he was in league with the then King of Winter, in a battle against the King of the Night, and defeated him.

The King of the Night was the lord commander of the Night Watch, who, according to legends, renounced everything and, marrying Another, began to make sacrifices to them. This individual ruled for 13 years, but then the King of Winter entered into a combat alliance with Joramun, and were able to put these Rulers of the Night into oblivion.

I would hardly believe in these myths if it weren't for Brandon the Builder, but there is not much choice. So according to these legends, Joramun had a magic Horn, according to him, it was able to destroy the Wall. If this Horn can really break the Wall, then the place of the battle with the Others will depend on the success of the search for the Horn.

Without a Wall, there will be an order of magnitude more problems, and apparently, you will have to look behind the Wall, and the boundaries of the search also leave much to be desired, this is not taking into account the Wildlings, giants, Night Watch and Others with the Dead scurrying there....That's disgusting!

Considering all this, the simplest part of this task is the destruction of the Boltons, at the moment this family consists of the head of the House Roose Bolton, his heir Domeric and the bastard Ramsey. Yes, I still included Ramsey in this list because it will be easier to get rid of this rabid dog.

"So we have the Boltons..." I said, looking for information on this family.

Still, the Internet is a great force, and now, while searching for information in the library, I was becoming more and more convinced of this.

A couple of hours later, I had some superficial information about the Boltons...This is one of the strongest and most powerful houses in the North. The skinned, skinless man on their coat of arms is a reminder of the ancient custom of the Boltons to skin their enemies alive.

The Bolton domain lies between the Last River to the north and the Ram's Head Hills to the south, thus bordering the lands of the Ambers and Hornwoods. Once they were Kings, and even being in the position of vassals of the Starks rebelled many times, I honestly do not understand why this family was not cut out at the root...Like the same Greystarks, some were destroyed and these were not. Given the rumors that are circulating about their ancestral castle Dreadfort, their existence is even more unclear.

According to rumors, there are torture chambers and skinning people in their dungeons, against the background of my knowledge about Roose and his preferences related to old customs...I wouldn't be surprised if they really have these chambers full of people.

But in order to implement these plans, it is still necessary to increase my own powers, in particular my magical abilities, because this is my greatest advantage over them.

Having decided on an approximate course, I went further to my room in order to practice magic.

"Oh, business is business...."