4 Chapter 4 - Adventures in the North 01.
[Chapter Size: 4523Words]
Third Person POV.
North, Somewhere Unknown, 289, At the Same Instant.
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Jon choked on the sight; he feared for his life along with his new friend. How could an eight-year-old not fear giant wolves appearing before him? He was already taking a few steps backward, ready to run and try to save his life and the life of Caraxes, a name he gave to the eagle in homage to one of the fiercest dragons he read about in history books during the Dance, over 150 years ago. Since there were no more dragons, it was up to Caraxes to dominate the skies now; hence the dragon name for the bird. (Note: I'm trying to simulate an 8-year-old here; I know it's impossible, but I'm trying to make it as childlike as possible within my knowledge).
The wolves sensed his fear and opened their mouths, not in a growl, but in a sad, grunting sound, seeming somewhat disappointed with his fear. They also stuck their tongues out while 4 tails swayed simultaneously? He found the situation strange because he expected to be attacked and devoured immediately. He quickly pushed away some of his fear that was clouding his judgment and tried not to run, as the wolves stood still; they were the size of warhorses!
Jon then acted with his magic to see what the wolves felt about him as both groups stared at each other. To his surprise, the giant wolves let him establish a connection without any resistance. In the forest, he tried with some ordinary wolves, crows, and squirrels, but no animal wanted to form a connection with him without resistance. Now, these 4 animals, who were terribly more powerful than any he had ever encountered, let him easily link his mind with all the wolves simultaneously.
When he saw what the wolves were feeling, he was even more surprised because it was curiosity, hope, and even a feeling of happiness? It was as if these 4 giant beings were already looking for someone, specifically him. He, no longer retreating, looked directly into the 4 pairs of eyes. Caraxes, perched on his shoulder, still held onto his fear, even sensing the human friend becoming calmer.
Jon tried to calm his feathered friend and used his mental powers to feel the wolves and their memories, as he did with Caraxes once. He saw that they were living beyond the Wall in a pack of 20 wolves. But more than 2 moons ago, they suddenly separated from that pack, with no other wolf protesting their departure. The 2 couples ran at high speed to the south, passing through forests, mountains, and wildling villages. Until one day, they spotted the great Wall. As if these 4 wolves already had knowledge, they ran to a specific corner of the Wall, passing by any watchman without being seen. When they reached the ice wall, they ended up in a crack near the west coast, big enough for a man to pass through the broken ice. Then, the 4 went through one by one, with a little difficulty due to their size, and shortly after, the giant wolves entered the North, continuing their journey to the south.
Their journey involved going through forests and continuing south while eating during their time in the forests, hunting animals here and there. Jon knew that something was guiding the wolves; they came specifically to find him. Maybe the plan was for the boy to see them for the first time in that sacred clearing. But the strange thing was that this started 2 moons ago. 'So the gods were already planning this for him while he was still in Winterfell?' he wondered.
Jon couldn't help but feel odd about the situation; he could only imagine when the gods had already planned this for him. Now, even with the protests of the trembling Caraxes, he walked slowly toward the wolves, still a bit cautious in his movements, trying to detect any hostile behavior from the wolves with his attentive gaze. He walked based on what he felt from the 4 creatures; the wolves had gleams of happiness in their eyes and began to walk slowly toward him as well. Now, with less than a meter between them, the horse-sized wolves looked at him with curiosity. Caraxes was still protesting the situation and the foolishness of his human friend; Jon, still looking at the wolves, despite them being huge in front of him while he was a little over 1 meter tall, tried something after his caution had diminished. The wolves still looked at him expectantly, with no sign of trying to attack him.
The boy then reached out his hand and closed his eyes as a sign of creating a connection and friendship. It took a few seconds until he felt his hand becoming moist with the rough touch of tongues. He opened his eyes in surprise and saw the wolves licking his hand in another gesture of friendship. A big smile appeared on the boy's face; there were four huge heads vying for his hand as if it was tasty and pleasurable to remember. Pulling his hands out of reach of the tongues and reaching for one of their heads, he saw the wolf close its eyes in pleasure with the sudden affection.
"You really wanted to find me, didn't you?" The boy couldn't help but ask. There was no response in human language, but the wolves made small noises, perhaps confirming these questions, and he couldn't help but laugh at that. He soon became more comfortable with these beautiful creatures and began to pet the rest of the heads, which in turn enjoyed the touch of the small, skinny human who was half their size. He was genuinely happy with his new companions after linking their warg powers, starting to laugh with glee at the sight of gigantic wolves. Jon even wondered what Arya or his father would say if they saw such creatures at that moment.
If anyone could see this scene, happening in front of the forest, they might witness a 3.6 feet tall child playing and laughing surrounded by four 6.6 feet tall wolves, where they seemed more like puppies as they wagged their tails and played with the child than terrible beasts that would kill any man. They would basically wonder if they were dreaming and spit blood because it was a sight that anyone in this world would find surreal.
Some time later, Jon resumed the journey again, but with a larger party than initially, as he was now riding a large, pitch-black wolf, finding it the most beautiful of the four. Not that the others were ugly; on the contrary, they were the most beautiful creatures he had ever seen. The black one, he named Shadow, where he rode on its four-legged creature while Caraxes rested on his shoulder, calmer than when he saw the wolves. The other three followed alongside and behind, looking like guards and protecting the boy from any danger. The boy noticed that one of the females, the dark gray one called Blackarrow, had been pregnant with Shadow for some time. He was surprised when he could feel the lives inside her. When he noticed this, he felt that he should help the mother and these little wolves survive. The other wolf couple was composed of a grayish-green wolf that Jon named Grass and the reddish-yellowish she-wolf he called Sun. The journey became much more comfortable now, as he was using the wolves as mounts. Not that the wolves minded; they took pleasure in helping this human boy.
In a vast expanse of uncultivated land, a peculiar group continued their journey peacefully, a group that if someone saw, they wouldn't even notice the child on top of one of the wolves, as everyone would run in the opposite direction trying to save their lives.
Jon still didn't know where he was or in which direction he was going; the few mountains and forests in the landscape were not familiar, and knowing that the wolves had descended far south, he knew he magically moved away from Winterfell to the extreme south without knowing where. He realized he needed a map to go north first; that's where the Old Gods showed his next destination, the place he was already heading when he left Winterfell.
Jon spent the days traveling with the wolves; the forest he exited was still close along the way, making him wonder if it was the Wolfwoods. He continued through the expanse of pasture, avoiding the woods, only sending the wolves to hunt for their food a few times during the day. He also tested his magic during the last few days; he could command and give instructions to the wolves, no matter how far he was from them when they hunted for their food. He could heal, create trees and plants with seeds after planting, and make any plant life bloom at a surreal speed. He could even create and strengthen plants not cultivated in the North; he could even place some here, but he was sure they would die after some time, affected by the climate. He would have to replenish his energy in them to survive, something that was not possible, as he had to go north. Another thing he noticed was that he had some other magic besides warg and forest magic; he could create a small flame in his hand, nothing capable of killing a man, but it helped him create a fire at night while camping. He had other gifts he could explore, but he would only know with time.
He wondered what people would say about his abilities. He had never heard or read of anyone who could do this, whether in the era of heroes or in stories that most found a bit absurd when it came to the magic of the Children of the Forest or the Long Night with White Walkers. He wondered if they would call him a miracle? Or blessed? Perhaps more likely a demon and a spawn of evil, as his family might see him after witnessing these powers? Did they feel fear, envy, anger? Would his father still love him? Lady Catelyn would never allow him to live with these gifts, of that he was sure. He was already known as a bastard thief in Winterfell; witnessing these powers would only worsen the situation, but he truly brushed aside all these thoughts. He knew who truly gave him these abilities; he believed in his gods, and it was they who blessed him with such gifts, he had no doubt about it. So he wouldn't care about anyone calling him a sinner for using dark magic.
It was only after a few days of walking in the vast expanses of land that he spotted the sign of civilization for the first time since he woke up in that forest alone, something that happened two weeks ago when the mysterious snowstorm caught them. Jon noticed that the place was a medium-sized farm. He had ventured out of Winterfell a few times to see some places outside the castle with his father and brother Robb. All inhabitants not concentrated in the cities of the North try to cultivate on the lands leased from the local fiefdom. So the sight from 2 kilometers away was familiar to him; there were other farms farther away, from what he noticed, but he would try to contact this one that was closer now.
Jon looked at the farm in the distance and diverted his gaze to the four companions by his side, who whimpered in response to his gaze as if they already knew what he had in mind.
"Sorry, my friends, but can we stay apart for a few days?" He asked sadly, clearly not wanting to part from the wolves; they were his protectors and friendly companions in the last few days. But Jon had no idea how the people of the North would react to his wolves. His first thought was how he himself reacted when he saw them, becoming scared and trying to escape, something he only didn't do because he could feel the lack of hostility from the other side, and he knew that this behavior wasn't even the worst reaction someone could have, and Jon fears that his new companions might get hurt or turn a contact into a bloodbath. So, with no choice, he dismissed his wolves, who headed toward a forest to stay for a few days. They were not willing, as they wanted to stay to protect him, but he knew that his new human master was right about it through their mental link. He walked to the farm he spotted from afar after letting the wolves return to the woods and slowly approached, trying not to scare the people when he saw a group working in the field. The last thing he wanted was to be killed by scared adult farmers wondering how a child appeared out of nowhere on their lands.
When he got closer to the group, he saw them better working in the field. It was a poor sight in a way, which he was seeing, actually, this was the reality of the entire North. He might not have seen much north of Winterfell, but he still knew through books and lessons from Maester Luwin with the help of hearing many farmers seeking audience in Winterfell's halls.
Everything he heard and read proved true in the farm fields. He noticed how most of the crop did not survive the North's climate or the plagues that attacked their planting. He didn't need his powers to see this, not to mention the predators that came from the nearby forest. He deduced that only 20% of the field was recoverable in the last harvest because everyone was clearing the dead grain to open the land and plant a new batch, continuing the cycle until the end of summer and before winter. His heart weighed heavy; Jon considered Winterfell a hole that he began to hate his life there, yet he couldn't deny that it was one of the best places to survive in the North, especially for a bastard. And that some people live a thousand times worse than he, despite being a bastard.
He approached the farmers who were focused on their tasks, there were adults, teenagers, and some children working in the field. Jon continued to approach until a teenager among the group noticed the unknown Stark-looking boy with a green circle around his eyes approaching.
"Father! A strange child is coming over there," the teenager said loud enough to catch everyone's attention, and they all turned their heads to where he had pointed with his finger to see Jon approaching.
The group was on alert at first; everyone found it strange for this boy to appear out of nowhere, and a farm dog had warned them. A man stepped out of the group cautiously, going to meet Jon.
"Child! I don't know you, who are you?" The supposed father of the teenager said in a rough Northern accent, showing a curious tone, not fear. He seemed to be around 30 years old, and as an adult, should he feel afraid of a child who only carried a strange green bag on his back? But the man found the boy too beautiful to be just ordinary, more beautiful than anyone he had ever seen in his life, even more beautiful than his daughters. He could only tell that this boy was the son of a great house, probably lost, maybe the son of his own lord here. He was trying to be friendly and maintain respect to avoid any retaliation, from whichever house this child came. It was a problem for a commoner to deal with a noble in the wrong way, even in the North, where things were better in the commoner-noble relationship.
But the man also noticed something magical, those eyes, they were mature and unreal eyes, and those green circles stood out like a lighthouse on a dark night in the child's appearance. Seeing this strange child coming from the direction of the Wolfwoods, who had a bag of leaves on his back, he began to think of the legends of his land, like the stories of the Children of the Forest, stories he told his children as his parents once did to him, and the parents of his parents and so forth since the First Men inhabited the North.
He choked at this moment... the words rushed out of his mouth hurriedly, as he was surprised and believing in his mental theories, even before the boy could answer his previous question, he exclaimed.
"Yo...you are a Child of the Forest?" He said trembling and drew even more attention from everyone.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
Jon looked strangely at him after hearing that. He knew the legend, but someone asking if he was one of them was very strange...
"No, sir, I am not one of them..." A silence followed after that.
"Forget my younger brother here. I think he drank too much yesterday. What's your name, brat, and why did you show up here alone?" said another adult appearing beside the first. He looked to be in his forties, standing next to the first.
The man, at first, was farther away, so he didn't notice, but now he went next to his brother, also saw some strange signs. He noticed a strange bag made of leaves, his magical eyes. He began to believe that his brother wasn't so affected by alcohol. But before he could even comment on anything, the boy answered one of his questions, at least.
"I am lost and wanted to gather some information about where I am. Actually, I wanted a map to know which direction to follow." Jon said somewhat embarrassed about being lost, something that made him forget to answer the first question. So, once again, another silence followed the group's interaction.
"And how can you be lost, boy? Where are your parents, and you didn't answer your name?" said the same forty-year-old after snapping out of his stupor, thinking that the strange boy couldn't really be a Child of the Forest. Even his voice sounded a bit angry and impatient. The boy appeared out of nowhere, saying he didn't know where he was and wanted to ask for a map to know where to go, but no explanation? This smelled like trouble, apparently.
"My name is JON SNOW." Jon practically shouted his name for being a little nervous in the face of the man's anger and continued, "I was on my way to the North, in the Glovers' region, when a snowstorm hit us, and I ended up in the forest two weeks ago." Jon simply spat out the truth. Did he have a better story? No, so he just said what happened.
The entire group looked strangely at all this. Everyone thought how this boy was blatantly lying in front of everyone. To begin with, it was surreal because to reach Glover's territory takes 4 weeks of travel, and he seemed to be alone here. There's no way an 8 namedays old child could survive alone in the North for 2 weeks, as he claims, or 4 weeks lost, thinking it was half that time due to having no sense of it.
Everyone noticed that he was a Snow, a bastard from some lord. Was he expelled from his home by his family? The two adults present had this in their minds after forgetting the possibility of this child being a Child of the Forest. The younger children in the group were curious about the Snow surname because they didn't yet know about bastards.
"Aunt, this is strange. I've seen maps of the North, and what this child is saying is impossible. He's lying..." said a young man who looked around 18 namedays to the older man, the one who asked the last question.
"Jon, there are some bandits in the region. How does a child say he survived two weeks and apparently alone? Can you tell me where you came from before arriving here?" said the younger adult, trying to be friendlier with the lost child.
Jon pointed in the direction of the forest where he woke up and came from, saying, "I came from that direction, and I'm not alone; I come with my companion." Shortly after these words, everyone on the scene heard a bird trying to scream and apparently failing miserably a few times in this attempt. Their gazes followed upward, with everyone looking in its direction, then they saw the white wings with blue stripes the size of a raven. Caraxes was in the sky flying awkwardly, having one of his first flights, and landed with a little difficulty on Jon's shoulder as soon as the boy called him through the mental link he shares with his winged familiar.
Jon noticed how the bird had its own personality. He practically now screamed to signal his arrival and wanting to dominate his territory among humans for his little master. Caraxes opened his wings and tried to emit the most dominant sound he could, but obviously failed in the process. The little bird was still young and couldn't fully develop his vocal cords.
His eagle, in over two weeks, grew monstrously. From an animal that Jon covered in the palm of his hand, it became the size of a raven, 5 times larger than when he first met the little one. And the changes don't stop there. The eagle changed its personality from fearful to a brave and dominant bird in any territory. And it had a strange responsibility to protect Jon now. Maybe she felt indebted to the boy since he saved her life from certain death and fed her every time she needed, giving much tastier food than her parents brought. This helped in growth, of course, this was done unnaturally, thanks to Jon's magic, which strengthened the eagle. She was getting stronger every day in leaps and bounds.
Jon already imagined his friend the size of a horse in the future, maybe even larger, to fly on top of if possible. As a cub still, besides failing, it almost looked like a chick chirping, but that didn't undermine his confidence. The group of farmers could only look with a complex expression on their faces, adults reformulating their theories about Children of the Forest and the child in front of them really being one. Teenagers still didn't believe in that bird in front of them, and children looked with envy at a boy like them but who had an animal as a companion like that little bird. But there was something they all shared equally in their minds: that this bird was the most beautiful creature they had ever seen in front of them.
Everyone opened a smile to Jon, less cautious now. Who would be cautious with a child when this young bird seemed to try to protect him?
"Little Jon, we are in a territory north of my lord, near Torrhen's Square. And where you pointed was the direction of the Wolfwoods and the west coast, which would be impossible for you to be in for your last 2 weeks when you yourself said you were in Glover's territories. We are 4 weeks from Glover's castle, Moot to the north." said the man in his thirties while still looking at Caraxes with a silly smile.
Jon paled for a moment. For him, who had some awareness of the northern map, he was speechless now. He was in the North when the storm caught him, and now he was 4 weeks from that point. He still wondered how the gods could make a snow-wrapped child teleport to the southwest of the North?
The boy understood the looks of disbelief in the group when he said he was at the Glovers. Now, "Does that mean it will be about 2 moons to reach the Wall?" He said to himself, but it was loud enough for the group to hear. The adults were even more perplexed. An 8-day-old child with the goal of going to the Wall? The place where criminals are sent? What is happening to the world?
They choked just thinking about it. He claimed to be a Snow, but who in the North would send a bastard child to the Wall when he's just a child? The first adult to speak with Jon felt sorry for the child and decided to talk to him now, maybe feed him with some of what he has on his farm. They were poor, but not beasts who would deny food to a lost child.
"Little Jon, you must be hungry. Unfortunately, a map of the North is something our families don't have the luxury of having. The only way to get one is by buying it in our lord's city for a few silver stags, which is an absurd amount for anyone not noble, and even more for a child. But I don't think it's right to leave a child alone in the North heading towards the Wall. Where is your family?"
Jon was somewhat reluctant. "I'm sorry, sirs, but I prefer not to say..." The boy spoke honestly. He is heading to the Wall. If they find out he's a Stark bastard, they'll send him to Winterfell, something he doesn't want at the moment. He intends to head north only with his companions.
The adults found this suspicious, but they didn't insist much on Jon's reasons now, even though he's a child wanting to go to the Wall.
"So how about you spend the night here? I have some food and a free room in our house." said the 30 namedays man. "By the way, you're at Icehill Farm. My name is Lucas Pik, this is my older brother, Dult Pik. Behind us are our children, while our wives and daughters are working in the kitchen for the evening meal. How about joining us?" He added.
Jon ended up nodding a bit embarrassed. He was glad they didn't ask more questions about which house he was a Snow, so he decided to get to know these families because he needed information and money for the map. He didn't want to alert anyone from his family or the noble houses in the region about his whereabouts so that someone could alert his father. Jon, for the first time, experienced freedom without any difficulty, thanks to his protective animals for any danger and powers that wouldn't let him go hungry. He wouldn't want to go back to Winterfell.
No one could interfere in his journey imposed by the Old Gods, and he couldn't just explain that a tree asked him to go to the Wall. He followed the man while observing his plantations. Suddenly, he smiled. He already had some idea of how to make some money and help these families...
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