Chapter 13: Chapter 12

"You're the Herald of the Old Gods?" Lady Catelyn looked me up and down, confused.

"What does that mean?"

"I would be happy to explain it to you, Lord Stark, Lady Catelyn, and I'm sure you have a fair few questions, but as I said, you must have a little patience. First there is something much more important that I must do, before Lord Stark throws me in the cells beneath Winterfell to rot." I joked.

Ned Stark sighed and shook his head. 

"And what is that?"

I lifted the snow white pup in my hands and smiled.

"To grant him the blessing of the old gods. This child is sickly and weak, the runt of the litter. If left alone he is bound to die sooner than later. He must be blessed under the shade of a heart tree so that he may grow strong and wise, a worthy companion to Lord Stark." 

Ned Stark looked at me with surprise, not expecting me to ask for this. I knew it too. Anyone else in my situation would have asked for a pardon, or money or status or something more predictable.

But it was by keeping them on their toes about what went on in my mind that I will be able to keep my head and gain influence. Besides, I need an excuse to enter the Godswood before Stark and make a deal with the old gods anyway so this was like killing two birds with one stone. 

"Very well."

"Thank you Lord Stark. But there is one condition to the ritual. None but me must observe it. No sounds may disturb it. I can only do the ritual alone. So if you would oblige my request..."

Ned Stark thought for a moment and eyed me with suspicion. 

"How long will it take?" He asked.

"No more than half an hour." I answered, "And if you are worried, you can always post guards around the periphery of the Godswood." I added with a shrug.

I already called him out on his thoughts so if only out of stubbornness, and to keep face, he was less likely to actually do it. 

Like how a child being told not to eat all of the sweets will deliberately leave one sweet in the box out of spite. 

"There won't be any need for that."

[You know people a bit too well. It's creepy.] 

I'll take that as a compliment. I grinned as I walked across the keep to the Godswood. 

It was relatively easy to find. I could sense a larger than average mystery permeating throughout it, spreading out from within. All I had to do was follow the scent. 

Following close behind me however, were Robb and Jon, no doubt instructed to stand guard outside in case I tried something.

Ned Stark wasn't the best at scheming but he was by no means dumb. He was a lord after all. No way he'd leave me unsupervised. Let's just hope their reverence for their gods keeps them outside. 

As I came to the center of the Godswood grove, I spotted it. By a serene little pond at the center of the pristine patch of wilderness stood a majestic heart tree. White and smooth of bark, a bleeding face carved into its trunk, surrounded by the falling autumn leaves amidst a shower of twinkling light drizzling down from the canopy that reflected beautifully across the surface of the pond, giving the whole place an ethereal feeling, like something out of a fairy tale.

"Do you feel the mystery in the air?" I asked.

[Yes, like sweet, fresh water to a parched soul.]

Poetic aren't we today?

[I am a very cultured ring. Thank you very much.] It acted up.

I laughed softly at its antics and sat down by the heart tree, scratching the little puppy's fur as it yipped happily, licking my hand.

Such a cute little guy!

[Are you going to play with the puppy all day or are we going to do it?]

"Yes, yes. I know. I just have a weakness for soft, fluffy things." I pet it's tiny, little head. 

"Alright. Let's begin. But first I must know, three things."

[Ask away. I'm a captive audience anyways.]

"Oh don't be such a drama queen. I'll learn fast and then let you go. You have my word."

[Your word, so far as I can see from here isn't worth shit. You've been lying out of your ass to the Starks all this time.] The ring huffed. 

"Yeah, because they can't read my mind. You can. So cooperate, will you?"

[Fine.]

"Thank you. Now can you feel any divinity here?"

[The old gods? No. If there is any divine presence here, it's well hidden. Or dormant. I'm leaning towards the latter.]

"Or it's what they want you to think." 

[Could be. Or you're being paranoid.]

"I suppose. Looks like all that caution was for nothing. 

Still, better to be safe than sorry. I would do the same thing again if given the chance. Besides, I have already messed up their plans more than enough. If they choose to kill me now, it'll take them a hell of an effort to bring things back on track, if they even can. 

And if they try to go after me, I'll just derail the whole plot prematurely by killing Jon Snow. 

"Second question. Can you access the mystery here?" I asked. 

[Yes. But it's power is so small, I can't do much with it.]

"Good thing you don't have to do much with it then." I said, stashing the pup between my crossed legs as I pulled out a grenade from my bag. 

The one grenade Hedge had given me in case of emergency. It was also why I was so confident in escaping this place if I needed to. 

Now sure, I could have used it earlier to scare the riders, had I retreated into the tower when I first spotted them. But I had better plans for it.

Why waste it on threatening mere mortals when I could use it to threaten gods?

I grinned evilly as I firmly grasped the safety lever and decisively pulled out the pin.

[Are you really going to do this, you crazy bastard?]

"What do you think?" 

The ring sighed in defeat and grumpily muttered.

[I'm stuck with an idiot.] 

"Now, now. Don't be so harsh on yourself." I replied with a smug grin. 

[I hate you.]

"Love you too. Now can we proceed with the plan?"

[Go on.]

"Can you feel the magical network inside the weirwood tree?"

[Faintly. Why? Want me to connect to it?]

I nodded and put my hand, the one with the ring, to the trunk.

A wave of power surged within the ring, shining faintly like the blip of a distant supernova and mystery actualized, forming a bridge between me and the network inside the tree.  

In an instant my perception exploded, as my consciousness was rocketed across the roots and magical foundation that spread out across the entirety of the North and I could feel everything the weirwood felt, see everything it saw, taste the cold, barren earth and the musty water it drew upon. And then, faintly in the distance, I felt a dormant divinity.

Like a beehive, buzzing yet silent, the cogs of a spiritual machine guided by an unseen hand. Thousands upon thousands of spirits squirming about in the fabric of the world itself. 

The old gods. The coalescence of all the souls of the children of the forest that ever lived and ever died, becoming a part of the world itself.

The gods of the stone, tree and river indeed. They were practically a world spirit at this point. If they had a few more million souls.... I could see the possibilities of using them as a World Will under my command. They would make a great battery for my interdimensional barrier when I set up my base in this world.

Besides, I'm sure a little bit of deicide will allow me to guide the requisite amount of souls into them in due time. 

Yes. That seems like a plan in the making. 

Reaching out to them, I gave them a little greeting only to be ignored.

Not out of arrogance or spite but something else. 

It was less of a 'fuck off' and more of a 'five more minutes, mama' vibe. 

I sighed in relief. 

Thankfully, it seems they are indeed dormant. Spent and tired. I could sense the wear and drudge within them, seeping into the magic they put out. 

I smiled. 

Looks like I really was overthinking it. 

There was no need to worry about them. 

Hedge must have known about this when he put me here. 

[And you had such little faith in him.]

Yeah. I feel like an asshole. Well, at least some good came out of this. I don't have to watch my back against the old gods anymore, and I can focus on the other gods better. 

Disconnecting from them, I began pulling away from the weirwood network, when I felt something else probe at me. Thanks to my psychic branding though, it couldn't find me, and so it stumbled about carelessly, like a hand swatting about in the dark. It was easy for me to dodge it as I traced it back to its source.

Far in the North, beyond the wall. 

Bloodraven!

Great. I was about to go looking for him anyway.

"Hello there, Bloodraven." I greeted the man startling him.

His senses faltered, flailing about urgently as he tried to find out my location. But it was useless. 

"Stop fretting. You won't be able to find me no matter how hard you try." I chuckled.

"Who are you?" He asked, fear in his voice, "What do you want?" 

"Who I am, matters not. What I want is your compliance." I sent him an image of the cubs and then of the grenade in my hand.

A tacit warning of what would happen should he try something funny. 

"Unless you think you can send another direwolf across the wall?" 

"You don't understand. The threat we face is greater than-"

"I know about the white walkers. I know about your plans. And I know what you are after. And trust me, Bloodraven, I can give you so much more. Even eternal life. That is, if you submit to me."

There was silence in the line for a moment and I thought he was about to cut the connection. But then, he spoke again. 

"Are you a god?"

"To you, I might as well be." I replied.

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"A sorcerer then." His voice gained a bit more confidence. 

"Greater than you have ever seen." I cut him down, "And far younger. Tell me, do you truly have the time? After I have thrown this rock in the calm waters, disturbed your carefully laid plans, taken the cub from Jon Snow? There is little in the way of what you can do anymore. 

But I am nothing but fair. I can help you stop the undead tides. And I can wipe out the white walkers once and for all. I can give the children of the forest a safe haven across the wall. All for a price. So tell me Bloodraven, do you really have a choice?" I grinned as he floundered about in his mind. I could hear the chatter of the children behind him, arguing over my offer till one voice prevailed. 

"What do you want?" He asked.

"What was that? I couldn't hear you~" 

He sighed.

"What do you want, my lord?" 

"There you go. Wasn't so hard, was it?" I smiled. 

"I want you to do something for me. I want you to help me dive into my mind, and divulge a secret hidden within." I said, not worried about getting possessed. Hedge did tell me the psychic branding gave me a one time get-out-of-mind-control free card. When was a better time to use it than now? 

But just to be safe... 

"And remember, if you warg into me... "

"Yes. The wildfire contraption in your hands will kill the cub." Bloodraven admitted with a defeated sigh. 

"Glad we're on the same page." 

[You're a madman, you know that?] 

"And don't you forget it." I laughed, as I felt Bloodraven reach into my mind. 

.

"I don't trust this man, Ned. Who knows what he wants, what he could do! If he doesn't even know to respect your lordship, if he is truly so rude .... This man..." Catelyn Stark paced worriedly across the balcony overlooking the Godswood. 

"Cat, I don't trust him. But he has given me no choice but to err on the side of safety. He knows too much. Things too secret for anyone to know. What other explanation is there?" Ned grabbed her hand, rubbing it softly to calm her down. 

"He could be a faceless man. Or a sorcerer. I hear they have all sorts of predictive magics." 

"If he was a sorcerer, why wouldn't he use his sorcery to bind us in oath? Or ensbare our minds with his magic. And doesn't sorcery require blood and sacrifice? He... " 

Just then it struck him. 

"He did kill a horse .... "

"Yes. He must have used it for-"

"No, Cat. No, that cannot be. He was surrounded by our best men. No one heard him chant or draw symbols or burn the animal in mystical flames like in Old Nan's tales."

"Those are stories, Ned. What if they are exaggerated? We both know the sky isn't the eye of a giant or the moon an egg." 

"I have seen the iron islanders' rituals, Cat. They need to chant. And.... I want to believe he isn't a sorcerer, because if he is... It does not bode well for us." He looked down at his children playing with the direwolf cubs they had just gotten. 

Catelyn followed his gaze and her eyes softened as a smike bloomed on her face.

"Direwolves aren't pets." She sighed. 

"Then we just have to be careful with them." Ned kissed her hand, and she blushed. He did so love her blushes. And while he wouldn't have been so brazen with his affection at any other time, the events of the day had certainly put things into perspective. 

Then suddenly something clicked for Catelyn as her eyes widened. 

"Wait, didn't he take your cub into the Godswood? And ask to be unseen and unheard? What if-" 

Ned Stark realized it too, as soon as she spoke and fear spiked in his heart. 

He had been too shaken by the news of his mentor's death before to notice but now....

He grabbed his sword and stormed down the stairs as he called out to Jon and Robb.

"Jon, Robb, follow me into the Godswoo-"

Just then, he saw him. The herald walking out of the forest, glowing lines wreathed across his skin, shining faintly. And he froze in place. 

It was too late. He was too late. 

He unsheathed his sword as he prepared for the worst, and his sons rushed to his side, swords drawn in unison, their eyes fixated upon the herald's glowing figure. 

And they waited and watched with trepidation as he took each step towards them with grace.

This might just turn into the fight of their lives.

.

I floated in an dark abyss, bottomless and fathomless. All around me silent waters churned without a hint of movement. An odd concept to grasp yet somehow it came to me as natural as breathing. Pressure bore down upon me like a divine hammer, sinking me ever further, crushing me from all sides in an everlasting torture. Something stalked in the dark, it's gaze locked onto my very soul. 

I knew all of this should terrify. The pain I felt, should madden me. Rightly so. And yet, as I floated down, weightless, thoughtless, I felt at peace with everything. Even the pressure felt like nothing more than an afterthought. 

A curiosity bubbled up within me. I turned and looked around. But the gaze that looked into me, was never found. 

For eons I sank, further and further, and every moment felt like the first and the last, breathless, bloodless, dead, light ever escaping my listless eyes.

A voice whispered in my ears, and the silence began to buzz. Then it burst into a chorus of howls and gushing waters, pumping hearts beating like war drums. And the voice called again. 

And I knew what I had to do. I knew what I wanted to know. And just like that, the world shattered into a thousand pieces of glass, melting away into wisps, breath found it's way to my lungs again.

I awoke with a start. 

Hwahh!

I did it.

[You did it.] The ring said with incredulity.

I looked down at my arms, glowing lines shimmering within, and smiled.

I did it!

[Yes, yes. Now put the pin back in the grenade before you blow us both to kingdom come!]

The ring's voice in my head doused me with a cold shower as I realized I was still holding the grenade in a vice grip.

Shit. Right. 

I pulled out the pin from my pocket and put it right back in before letting out a sigh of relief. 

I looked down at my arms again and giggled like a four year old and kissed the little puppy on the head.

My magic circuits are activated.

Viva la magic baby!

.

I skipped happily across the Godswood looking down at my magic circuits glowing, thrumming coursing with power. Mystery curled around me, every breath I took felt magical and I couldn't help but smile wide in glee.

[Who would have thought your trigger was 'sinking into a dark, bottomless ocean in complete serenity'.]

Right? It doesn't even make any sense?

Perhaps it's because of the limbo I floated through between life and death, during my rebirth?  

[Or it could have something to do with your origin.]

Or that. Yes. But I'm not too keen on poking that sleeping bear. 

The origin.

Origin is the starting point that defines one's existence and directs one's actions throughout life. It is the driving force that comes from within the Root that has managed to stream out of the Source and take on material form. The form it can take on at times is that of a human being, and all humans match their actions to be in harmony with the driving force that originated them from the moment they enter into the world.

These actions are more along the lines of an inherent compulsion that could be called a person's instinct rather than a conscious decision. If a person becomes awakened to their Origin, it becomes nearly impossible to stray from their Origin if it's even possible in the first place. It becomes an impulsive behavior one would follow as though it were an absolute order. And that was something I couldn't afford. 

I mean sure, origins are overpowered. People who align themselves to their origins can express such extreme power through magecraft that it defies all logic and bends reality to their will.

Just look at Shirou. His origin of 'Sword' made even a failure like him into someone who could go toe to toe with Gilgamesh. Goddamn Gilgamesh. 

It's that broken. But the price to pay us just as severe. Shirou barely avoided becoming one with his origin and even then, only because of Avalon's influence in his body. 

I have none of that. If I tried awakening to my origin I don't think I can come back in one piece.

Besides, I like my free will. I like it a lot. I would rather not turn into a husk of a person, enslaved to the core concept of my soul.

In the distance I saw the entrance to the Godswood and the soldiers standing around, swords drawn.

Wait, what? 

____________________

A cookie for anyone who can guess what MC's origin is.

Also, long chappy!

3300 words!

Anyways, thanks for reading.

Tell me how you liked or didn't like today's chapter.

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Also....

See ya later, bye~

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