7 Chapter 7: The Old Lion

Catelyn worried for her husband. It has been months and word of Ironborn rebellion was hard to come by as most of the battles were now fought in the sea. Not to mention, all news has to travel through the Neck and make it all the way to Winterfell. She had of course kept in touch with her father and he had kept her appraised of what was going on in the south.

Usually, her father would not have done so but circumstances have changed. She was not the one to start their correspondence through ravens. It was her father who took the first step and it was evident why very quickly. Her father's enquiries were almost always focused on her Harrion.

Her second son's gift in forging Valyrian Steel has lit a fire among many nobles of the South. Not a day goes by where Winterfell was not hounded by ravens carrying offers of betrothals for her son.

Of course, she was proud as any mother would. She was keenly aware of just how gifted her son was but she was also aware of just how much danger her son was in. She knew that all the attention her son was garnering would spell doom. The lords of Westeros were easily offended and it'd only take a simple misunderstanding to offend someone. That offence would later transition into enmity. And she could ill afford the enmity of Southern lords while her husband was away fighting a war in the South.

Therefore, a better part of her day was spent carefully answering ravens from lords across the Seven Kingdoms. It didn't help that she was always tired and angry with a babe growing in her belly. Maester Luwin was a great help but the old Maester was already busy as it is burdened with many duties.

As if that was not enough, she had to worry about Winterfell's security as well. Harrion's magical powers have attracted Northerners from all over the land to flock towards Winterfell. She had to increase the security of the castle and have men regularly patrol all entrances so that nothing bad happens. She would have rested easy if it wasn't for her son's stubborn wanderings around the castle.

No matter how much she tried she could not keep Harrion confined to his room. The boy would always find a way to escape the room and wander around the castle especially near the First Keep and the Godswood.

For some reason, her son had taken to visit the Godswood regularly. She doubted this happened because Harrion suddenly became an Old Gods devotee. It was something else but she didn't have the courage to investigate the matter. The Godswood always gave her ill feelings and so she remained ignorant of her son's newfound interest. Harrion had so far not informed her of his interest when she asked which made her drop the matter for now. When Ned returned, she'd ask him to keep an eye on Harrion's activities in the Godswood. The last thing she'd need is for Harrion to do something with the Godswood and attract the ire of faithful Northerners.

Letting out a sigh, Catelyn brought her attention back to writing a response to her father's latest raven. Her father wanted Harrion to squire for Edmure. While she loved her father and brother dearly, she was not ready to let go of one of her babies. So, her answer was a resounding no. She'd have screamed that answer on her father's face if he was physically present.

Did he think her so stupid that she'd fail to discern her father's true intentions?

Over her dead body would she let anyone make a puppet out of her children. She'd have some words with her uncle if her father was going to persist in attempting to foster Harrion in Riverrun. If there was someone she could trust to truly care for her son and teach him all that is to be a knight then her uncle Brynden would be the man she'd choose. She dearly loved Edmure but he was hardly someone of knightly renown.

Either way, the final decision would be with Ned. Perhaps, Ned also had some plans for her children that he had not shared with her. As someone who fostered at the Vale under Jon Arryn Ned would know more about the matter than she ever could. So, she'd defer to her husband on this matter.

A knock on the door to her chamber shook her out of her thoughts. "Come in."

The door was pushed opened and Catelyn's nearly screamed when she saw the person.

"My lady, it is I, Septa Mordane."

Catelyn had the urge to call the guards but seeing as two guards were standing behind the supposed Septa Mordane she was somewhat mollified. But, that doesn't mean she was going to allow this…this…abomination to enter her chambers.

"Stay where you are. Guards, what is the meaning of this? Who is this...woman?" Catelyn shouted at the guards standing behind the...creature? And what a wile creature this was? With red horns protruding from its bald head with skin – the colour of blood!

"My lady, this is Septa Mordane." one of the guards accompanying the creature claimed.

"What trickery is this? This is not Septa Mordane." Catelyn screamed at the guards wondering why they were behaving like simpletons.

'Couldn't they see the creature with their eyes?' she thought eyeing the creature with apprehension.

"My lady, I'm Septa Mordane." the creature claimed.

Seeing the earnest look on the faces of the guards she took a closer look at the creature. It was then she noticed several similarities. If the red skin and large bullish horns could be kept aside the creature looked remarkably similar to Septa Mordane.

"What happened? How is this possible?"

"It's all because of your son." Septa Mordane claimed, bursting into tears.

As the Septa began narrating what happened Catelyn felt pain flaring across her forehead.

'Oh, Harrion. What have you done?'

Catelyn walked through the Great Keep with purposeful long strides with Septa Mordane right behind her. As she strode out of the keep she could feel many eyes follow her and she unconsciously tucked in her woollen cloak around her body for comfort. The sun was nearly out of the sky which had placed the castle under the cover of a long shadow.

Avoiding all the curious looks she aimed straight for the Courtyard where she found her children surrounded by many of the guards and servants of the castle. Just as she reached her destination bright balls of light flew high into the air before bursting apart in a shower of sparks. The gathered crowd burst into applause and excited chatter. Once again several more bright globes of light began to spring up and burst apart in the sky.

Getting over the shock at the spectacle she found her children as the guards made way for her. Right at the centre of the crowd were Harrion, Robb and Sansa. Jon Snow was also there but she paid no attention to the boy. Just as Septa Mordane warned her there were four stones glowing with symbols carved all around its surface.

Everything that she meant to do and was prepared to do fled the moment she took in the excited and happy eyes of other children. Not just her children but all the others standings around her children. Little Sansa was clapping away, her eyes firmly trained on the sky as multiple colours sprout up in the sky. Robb was looking far too proud and happy jumping around in excitement whenever the stones on the ground would spit out bright globes of light. Even her husband's bastard looked quite happy not to mention all the adults were looking to the sky with radiant smiles.

She had lived long enough among the Northerners to know how rare they smiled. The North is a harsh place and the people living here always had far rough conditions to live in compared to the South. So, she knew just how rare it was for a Northerner to smile. Even her husband looked cold and disinterested most of the time and he was the Lord of all the North.

"Look at this my lady. Your child is being possessed by a demon. This is witchcraft and Harrion is possessed by a demonic spirit from the depths of Seven Hells. Something must be done."

The Septa whispered into her ears startling Catelyn.

She looked at her Harrion catching his eyes. Her eyes locked into his grey eyes, so similar to her husband who was far away fighting on a distant battlefield. Out of her three children, only Harrion retained the Stark look. In a way, Harrion remained a living monument of her marriage more so than Robb or Sansa.

Looking into her second son's bright grey eyes she could see curiosity shining in them. At that moment she realized her son was waiting patiently to see how she'd react. She was reminded of Maester Luwin's words that Harrion was far too intelligent for his age. Her son could deduce what was happening and he obviously knew she was here because of the altercation between him and the Septa.

The Septa had tried to intervene to prevent Harrion from teaching Sansa and Robb magic. According to the Septa she claimed Harrion was teaching her other children to draw runes, the magical language Harrion was using to perform magic. The Septa had tried to drag away Sansa but Harrion had stepped in. This had caused the Septa to accuse Harrion of committing a sin in the eyes of the Seven.

The guards accompanying the Septa had so far corroborated the story. The next bit was where the guards and the Septa's explanation left her flummoxed.

Harrion had somehow conjured up a stick from thin air and supposedly jabbed in the Septa's direction. Whatever the case, the end result was the Septa's changed demonic appearance. She didn't understand how that happened but it has happened somehow. The only plausible explanation before her was magic.

"My lady, your other children will have to be kept away from the demon's influence. It cannot be allowed to live with your children else it will corrupt their souls."

The Septa whispered into her ears and once again Catelyn found herself observing Harrion who had yet to look away from her eyes.

When their gazes locked she was suddenly reminded of a conversation they had not too long ago.

"If your God tells you that someone has sinned just because of the circumstances of their birth, which they had no control over, then that God is evil. Those who believe such nonsense are ill in their minds and people like them are those who commit the worst of sins. The sin of willful ignorance and blind hatred!"

Those words were spoken by her son and those words echoed inside her mind.

"My lady, you must order the guards to take away the demon…"

Catelyn surged forward and struck the Septa right across her face with all the strength she could muster.

"You dare call my son a demon! Know your place you shrivelled old coot."

"Lady Stark! You…you cannot…how dare you?" The Septa mumbled incoherently on the ground nursing her swollen cheek.

"You dare order me to lock up my son! Take this filth into the dungeons. Come morning she will be hung for daring to slander and plot treachery against House Stark."

Catelyn's order was met with actual cheers and approving comments from the gathered crowd. She was truly stumped on how the crowd reacted. She had thought many would oppose her or at least request her to reconsider, not this outright happiness. This goes to show just how much the people of Winterfell despised the Septa and how ignorant she was to the whole matter.

"Good riddance to bad rubbish, I say. That hypocrite was strutting around the castle like she had the key to the secrets of the world."

That comment came from none other than her son Harrion.

"You troublemaker!" Catelyn rounded on her son and caught his earlobe between her fingers. "Just what is it that you are doing? Why are you always getting into trouble? Let me see whether I can't instil some discipline into you."

Catelyn dragged her son away after the guards dragged a screaming Septa Mordane from the courtyard. She just hoped her husband would return as soon as possible. She needed to have some word with her husband about Harrion's future.

XXXXXX

Work was progressing at a fast pace but not fast enough in Tywin's opinion. The Ironborn attack has crippled Lannisport. His fleet lay broken and burnt at the bottom of the sea. He had invested a lot of gold in building up a strong fleet and all that work was gone in a moment because of the Greyjoys.

He had built the fleet with the Reach and Dorne in mind. The Iron Islands was also an enemy he hoped to crush in the near future but before his fleet could achieve the necessary strength it was burned down. If it wasn't for the fact that most of the sailors and captains perished with the fleet he'd have hanged them for being criminally negligent. As it is, he lost a lot of gold in building up the fleet and he intends to reclaim what was owed by the Ironborn at the end of this war.

To that effect, work was afoot on restoring the ports of Lannisport. With the Ironborn beaten back to the sea by the concentrated efforts of the Lannister army and some enthusiastic help from the combined Stormland and Crownland armies, the need for a functioning port became all the more relevant. This war was not going to end with just beating back the Ironborn. An invasion of the Iron Islands was imminent.

The invasion of the Iron Islands required a large fleet and thankfully the Redwyne fleet, as well as the Royal Fleet, was sailing towards Lannisport. But, to facilitate their troops to board those ships the wreckage surrounding the waters of Lannisport has to be removed. Not to mention the damages done to the ports have to be reversed in a speedy manner.

The good news was that work was progressing and the Ironborn were being beaten back on almost all fronts. The Westerlands has almost completely thrown off the Ironborn to the seas and the same goes for the Riverlands. Thanks to the timely arrival of those sturdy Northerners the Riverlords were quickly able to throw off the Ironborn without incurring many losses.

Standing atop a hill overlooking the city of Lannisport his eyes couldn't help but trace the long line of tents rising up on the outskirts of the city. At the very centre, he could make out the grey direwolf banners of House Stark.

"So, Lord Stark refused to take up your offer to stay in the Rock?" asked Gerion.

Tywin could feel a hint of mocking tone from his younger brother but he chose to ignore that. It has always been Gerion's purview to make a joke or tease him from time to time. He dealt with that by totally ignoring those attempts and instead focused on the important matters. Among his four siblings, Gerion was the wildest and free-spirited. Anything he could say to reprimand his younger brother would only embolden the fool.

"We extended the courtesy to house him in the Rock. It is not our fault the man preferred to stay with his fellow lords." said Kevan, defending his brother.

"I heard the King has been spending much of his time with the Warden of the North. Should we be worried?" asked Tygett, gruffly.

"It is only natural. Eddard Stark and Robert Baratheon were fostered at the Vale. With this rebellion threatening to split the kingdoms the old alliances have to be strengthened lest the Targaryen loyalists think us weak." said Kevan.

"I wouldn't worry too much. Hoster Tully and Jon Arryn are prepared to knock down any Targaryen loyalists. I'm rather interested in rumours about Lord Stark's suit of armour made of Valyrian Steel." said Gerion, looking keenly towards the Stark camp.

For once, Tywin agreed with his younger brother's assessment. Not even the famed pureborn of Volantis could claim to own a full suit of armour made of Valyrian Steel. Even the Targaryens never owned anything like that and they were one of the forty ruling families of the Valyrian Freehold.

"Rumour has it Lord Stark's second son forged the armour and two swords with Valyrian Steel." said Kevan, eyeing Tywin's firm gaze on the Northern camp.

"Probably these are lies made up by superstitious smallfolk." Tygett dismissed his two brothers with a negligent wave of his hand.

"There is no smoke without fire. What do you think Tywin?" asked Kevan.

"We are one of the richest houses in Westeros and yet we do not possess a Valyrian Steel sword. Even dirt poor houses like Mormonts possess a Valyrian Steel blade. This cannot stand." said Tywin before turning on Gerion. "I'm assigning you to oversee the needs of the Northmen. While you treat with our guests you shall learn of the truth behind these rumours."

"How do you propose I do that? Lord Stark is not exactly fond of our family." said Gerion, frowning at Tywin.

"You do what you do best. Just as you befriended the King through wine do the same with those rowdy Northerners. Their tongues will be loose once their belly is filled with the finest wines." said Tywin, directing his gaze back to the Northern camp.

He had no idea whether there was any truth to these rumours. If there was some truth then he would ensure House Lannister benefit in some way. It was frankly a ridiculous rumour, to begin with. House Stark could not claim any descent from Valyrians so he doubted their claim. Even so, there have been several rumours behind House Stark and they were an old house dating back thousands of years. He'd not believe such rumours without proper inquiries. After all, the Game always threw in some wild pieces from time to time.

Last time, it was Lyanna Stark who ended up dismantling the entire Targaryen dynasty. He was curious to see whether another Stark could become a centrepiece in the Game.

AN:

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