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Jon knocked on the door of his father’s solar. He didn’t know why he had been summoned by his father. Maybe Uncle Benjen had spoken to him about Jon’s desire to join the Night’s Watch. He hoped his father had called him here to give him his blessing. The door opened and Ser Rodrick walked out. He clapped Jon on the back smiling all the while. 

“Saw your spar with the Kingslayer. You truly showed him what northerners are made of.”

“I lost.” Jon said dejectedly.

“Aye but it took everything the Kingslayer had for him to defeat you. He underestimated you at the beginning, aye, but soon realised that he can’t hold back if he wanted to win. That's more than any 14 year old can claim. And you are still young you will become stronger and better with age the Kingslayer is as good as he will ever be. Take heart in that lad”

Ser Rodrick left and Jon had a smile on his face for the first time in days. Actually ever since Bran fell from that tower.

“Enter” His father’s voice called from inside.

Jon did as he was bid. His father was sitting behind his large ironwood desk. The desk was filled with raven scrolls, parchments and ledgers. The fire was going on in the hearth and Ice was sitting proudly at its place over it. Father was frowning looking at a ledger but a warm smile graced his face when looked up and his eyes landed on him. 

“Let’s take a walk.” His father said.

He got up from his place and left through the door without waiting for an answer,Jon followed after not knowing where they were going. His father was silent as they went through Winterfell's courtyard. No that wasn’t his father, that was the stern and just Lord Stark, Warden Of The North. Men got out of the way and bowed with murmurs of My Lord as they went through and entered the godswood. He saw the look in their eyes and it wasn’t fear and nervousness but respect, love and reverence. His father turned to him when they reached the heart tree. 

“Benjen told me of your desire to join the Night’s Watch. May I ask what pushed you to a decision like that? To leave us all behind. It’s a big decision for a boy your age to make.”

“There is honor at the Wall. I can find a place there, I have none here.” Jon said defensively. He didn’t understand why his father would try to stop him. What would a bastard do at Winterfell, the wall was the place for such people.

“There is honor at the Wall, aye. But so is in serving your family. Winter is Coming and in winter the lone wolf dies but the pack survives. You belong at Winterfell. I have always told you, Jon, you  are my son and as such you will always have a place at Winterfell.”

Did he belong at Winterfell? Not like Robb did, no he belonged in the corners, in the shadows, out of attention where no one can see the shame of Eddard Stark, the dark spot on his otherwise impeccable honor. He studied and played with him but had to be hidden away whenever someone important came to visit. He can spar with the Kingslayer when challenged but had to hide his face during the feast. And now when he finally had the chance to redeem himself, to earn some honor and rise above his bastardy, he was being denied that as well. He couldn’t help but be angry at father at the moment. He knew he had given Jon a better life than any bastard could hope for, but right now he was denying him the only decent life Jon could have and that was cruel of him. But before he could voice any of his thoughts his father spoke again.

“Ask anyone at Winterfell and they would call Robb’s twin. Arya will call you her favourite brother. Bran and Rickon basically worship you and Robb. You are everything they aspire to be. Don’t doubt your place at Winterfell Jon.” 

It felt like his father could read his thoughts and was answering his doubts before he could even voice them.

“Bran hasn’t woken up and Catelyn hasn’t left his side. I have to leave for King’s Landing and Robb will have the responsibility of ruling Winterfell and The North. You don’t only belong here, you are needed here. Robb needs his brother at his side, Rickon needs his elder brothers with him. I wouldn’t command you to stay but I will request you to consider everything before making a decision of such magnitude. Lord Tyrion is going to visit the Wall. Escort him there, see the Night’s Watch as a volunteer and then make the decision for yourself when you come of age. If you are going to take the black then delaying it by a couple of years won’t make that much of a difference.” 

Jon thought that was fair and so he agreed.

“I would do as you suggest father” 

His father gently laid a hand on his shoulder, “Good, I knew you would understand. You are the best swordsman I have seen since my duel with Arthur Dayne. The wall needs men, aye, but swordsmen of that skill are needed more at Winterfell.” 

“The King did say you’ve got fat.” Jon said, now trying to lighten the mood. 

His father chuckled and in that moment he looked his age. Normally the weight of his responsibilities made him look much older than he actually was. 

“Aye and the King would know a thing or two about being fat. He also has the best eye in the continent for warriors and he couldn’t stop talking about you after your display against the Kingslayer. He was very dejected when Ser Barristan told him that he can’t just dismiss a Kingsguard to admit another or you will be wearing a white cloak right now.”  

“White doesn’t suit me very much. Let it be Ghost’s color.” They walked out of the Godswood and went to their separate duties with Jon heading to Mikken’s workshop. Wall or not he still had a gift for Arya.

The Wall wasn’t what he had expected. He hoped to find a proud brotherhood with men united by honor and their duty to the realm. What he found instead was a dumping ground for the misfits of the realm, an order filled with rapers and theives who just wanted to escape their punishment. Men who didn’t have anyone back home, who weren’t wanted by anyone back home and Jon was anything but. It wasn’t all bad and he knew not everyone on the Wall was like that. He had even made some friends and learned their stories of getting to the wall. He sympathized with Grenn and Pyp, they were good men with good hearts who got fucked over by life. He got along well with Edd. He had formed sort of a companionship with Tyrion Lannister ,the dwarf wasn’t a bad man, was funny and was the only palatable Lannister Jon had met. His best friend during all of this became Samwell Tarly. He pitied the boy. They were of close age but had vastly different parents or more accurately fathers. Jon’s father treated his bastard better than Randyll Tarly treated his firstborn and heir. Even Lady Stark, though always cold to him, had never  threatened his life. Jon couldn’t understand how a man could do that to his own son. The good news in all of this had been that Bran had finally woken up but even that wasn’t untainted by bad news. Bran would never walk again and that really broke Jon’s heart. The boy wanted to be a knight his whole life and now wouldn’t even be able to walk let alone fight. He asked Tyrion to tell him that Jon would be back soon and to give him his best wishes. He would have returned with Tyrion’s party but he had already given his word that he would stay at the Wall until his friends swear their vows. He also needed to help train the recruits as apparently Ser Alliser was only interested in yelling at them and degrading them. When he arrived at the Wall he never thought that the man he would hate the most at the Wall would be a knight. He had a personal vendetta against Jon and played a big role in Jon’s decision to not join the Night’s Watch. His grievance came from the fact that he fought for the Targaryens in the rebellion and was defeated by Lord Stark. Jon didn’t fully understand his grudge as there were people on the Wall with more reason to hate him but were nothing but polite to him. Maester Aemon and Lord Commander Mormont had nothing but respect for Lord Stark and one of them was a Targaryen and another’s son was almost beheaded by Lord Stark. So Jon had decided to stay and help the recruits and get them in shape until his friends took their vows and then he would return to Winterfell to help Robb and cheer up Bran. 

Things weren’t going at all how he expected. When he woke up yesterday morning he was supposed to accompany his friends north of the Wall and then prepare for his return to Winterfell with Sam who had finally agreed not to take the black and go to Winterfell with Jon to try and find a place there. But then Ghost had found the dead Night’s Watch brothers and now he was sitting at his desk looking at maps of lands beyond the Wall to try and figure out how to find his uncle. Sam had decided to join him and Jon found out that he could be very persuasive. He looked up from the map and his eyes landed on his new sword, Longclaw, the ancestral sword of House Mormont. Lord Commander Mormont had given him the sword this evening after getting it fitted with the white wolf pommel. He still shuddered when he thought about the creature he killed to earn the sword. He had only heard about it in Old Nan’s stories, wights and white walkers. He would think it was all a nightmare if he didn’t have the burn on his left hand and the sword on his desk. That was all the more reason to try and find his uncle. He was still out there with these things and Jon had to get to him.

He saw the gate of Castle Black rise in front of him and disappointment hit him once again. He had failed in his task to look for his uncle. He and Sam had tried everything but they couldn’t find him. They searched the Haunted Forest, Frostfangs, went to the fist of the first men but they couldn’t find Uncle Benjen. Jon looked at the horn hanging from his belt. When Ghost had started to stir up at The Fist of The First Men Jon thought he had found something about Uncle Benjen. He was disappointed to see that it was just a horn and a few dragonglass daggers. He had decided to keep them as they were wrapped in the cloak of a black brother, the horn also reminded him of another story of Old Nan’s. The Horn Of Joramun, Jon would have dismissed it as just a story months ago but after seeing what he saw in the Lord Commander’s office he wasn’t very confident about that. When they could think for nothing else they also tried Jon’s insane plan of getting caught by Wildlings to try and find out if the Wildlings know anything about Uncle Benjen. That hadn’t turned up any new information either and the wildling party that caught them didn’t know about any wildlings seeing Benjen Stark in moons. He got Ghost to kill the wildlings at night and he and Sam were gone by the morning. After that they decided to return and started on their way back. He crossed the tunnel and entered Castle Black’s courtyard. He saw his friends but didn’t like the looks they were giving him, there was something about it that made him uncomfortable. Before he could ask what was going on he was informed that the Lord Commander was waiting for him in his solar. He didn't miss the smirk Ser Alliser had on his way there and that only served in making him more uncomfortable. 

The atmosphere in Lord  Commander’s solar was heavy. Jon didn’t like the pained expression that crossed his face when he saw Jon.

“There has been some news about your family Snow.” The Lord Commander said and the tone of his voice made a million bad things cross through Jon’s mind but nothing could have prepared Jon for what he said next. Lord Commander broke the news and Jon’s world came crumbling down.

Jon didn’t know what happened next, everything was a blur. He knew the Lord Commander said some things but he didn’t catch anything other than tidbits. His father was dead, killed by the Lannisters, his sisters were taken hostage. Robb was fighting a war in the south, he was a king now. Bran and Rickon were all alone in Winterfell and when all of this was happening Jon wasn’t with his family. He wasn’t with him when Robb needed him the most. He didn’t do what his father asked of him. And now Theon had betrayed Robb, the Ironborn were invading The North and Bran had to deal with it. No. He wouldn’t let Bran shoulder this burden alone, he will leave for Winterfell at first light and assist Bran in repelling the Ironborn and defend The North. Maybe then Robb would forgive him, accept him in his service and they can avenge their father together. He needed to hurry and get the preparations down to reach Winterfell fast. He was also angry beyond measure, he wanted to hit something, break something, kill somebody. All these things were going on in his mind when he heard that unwelcome voice.

“A traitor will always be a traitor. Even to his usurper friend.” 

He turned around and sure enough there he was, Alliser Thorne, smirking like this was the best day of his life. Jon moved before he could think what he was going to do. He drew his sword and advanced, Longclaw ready to taste Ser Alliser’s blood but before he could do anything Sam was there stopping from doing something he may end up regretting. Jon did stop but then Sam did something that shocked Jon and made him proud. He turned around and punched Ser Alliser straight on the jaw, sending him sprawling on the ground spitting blood. Thankfully Lord Commander Mormont intervened before things could escalate further and sent them all to their tasks. Jon cried that night away from watching eyes and pitiful grazes holding on to Ghost he cried and cried and when the morning sun graced the horizon he was ready and their journey to Winterfell began.

Jon had been pushing at a relentless pace since they left Castle Black. They had taken a detour to Last Hearth to buy more horses so they could maintain a fast pace by changing horses at fixed intervals. There they heard about the attack on Torrhen’s Square and the force Ser Rodrik was leading to help the castle and decided to continue their journey instead of spending a day at Last Hearth as they previously planned since with Ser Rodrick gone Bran and Rickon would be truly alone and he needed to be there with them. He decided not to camp on the 11th day of their journey hoping to reach Winterfell by night. When he arrived at Winterfell what he saw stopped him in his tracks. There were men trying to scale the walls of Winterfell. Jon couldn’t understand who these men were, as they were too little in number to pose any threat to Winterfell even with its diminished defenses and no bandit group will ever attempt to target a castle like Winterfell. Jon felt something tugging at him and found Ghost trying to lead him somewhere when he looked down. He and Sam followed silently and reached a corner , Jon looked around and he saw at least 50 men ready for battle. They were definitely Ironborn and they were very out of their element. It wasn’t a particularly cold night but he could see all them shivering, all but one, Theon Greyjoy. The man grew up here and was obviously more comfortable in the northern weather. Jon realised the plan then, Theon wanted to lure Ser Rodrick away and take Winterfell by stealth. Jon donned his armor consisting of an arming jacket, chainmail going down to his knees, brigandine, leg protections, gauntlets, vambrace, pauldrons and a helmet. He felt a stab of pain in his heart as the memory of father promising to get him and Robb full plate once they had stopped growing came to his mind. That and a load of other things would never happen now for him or for Bran and Rickon. He and Robb would have to be the ones to commission Rickon’s first armor. He was brought back to reality when he heard the sound of the gates opening. He saw that the Ironborn were already entering the castle. He got on his horse and charged, Ghost following after him. The direwolf was already as big as a warhorse but a lot stronger and a good bit faster. He was about a year and a half old and would keep growing in size for another half a year and in strength for years after that if the books at Winterfell’s library were to be believed. He crashed into the Ironborn from the rear and before they even knew what was happening 5 of them were dead, 3 by Jon’s sword and 2 by Ghost. Jon moved through the Ironborn like a hot knife through butter. His sword was a blur in the air, too fast for the Ironborn to even see let alone parry and riposte. He knew he was heavily outnumbered but he didn’t have to win alone; he only had to hold them off long enough for the castle’s defenders to rally and come to their aid. He was mounted, better armored, had valyrian steel capable of cutting through the Ironborn’s chainmail and he intended to make full use of those advantages. Some of the defenders were already joining the fight with the rest on the way. It would take time for all of them to arrive as some of them no doubt were off duty and sleeping. From the corner of his eye he saw some of the Ironborn breaking from the main fight and going towards the family wing, he quickly finished off the man he was fighting. He left Ghost to aid the defenders and went towards the family wing cutting through everyone who tried to stop him, his brothers needed him.

Bran was startled awake by the sounds outside. Rickon had requested to sleep with him that night and now was holding tightly onto him clearly terrified. There was a fight going on outside and Bran could only hope they would win. He tried to calm Rickon while all the while praying to the gods that he wouldn’t come to regret his decision of sending Ser Rodrik to Torrhen’s Square. The sounds of steel clashing continued for what felt like hours until he heard people trying to break down the door of his room. This wasn’t the lord’s chamber so the door wasn’t that strong, he could see Osha grabbing a hold of her spear, getting ready for a fight, he hoped the Reeds were safe in the guest wing. The door held better than they expected until it didn’t and fell down giving way to at least a dozen armed men. Osha was on them in a heartbeat trying her best to hold them at the door but there were too many of them for her. He could feel Rickon shaking beside him and he accepted that he was going to die tonight. He prayed to the gods to show him mercy, to help his brothers and to keep them and his sisters safe. But before the men could overwhelm Osha there was a shout from the hallway and a man fell upon the attackers. He took on all of them alone and it still looked like an unfair fight for the attackers. Even from where he was on his bed he could see the steel the man was wielding, could see the ripples on the sword and the dark grey color, valyrian steel. He wondered who this man was, wielding a sword like that, there was no one in Winterfell and his father had taken Ice with him when he went south. Before too long the fight was over and the attackers lay dead. Their mysterious saviour approached them, sheathing his sword. It was then Bran saw the pommel on his sword, a white wolf with red eyes, it reminded him of Jon’s direwolf Ghost. Osha was still on guard and so was Rickon, still holding onto him, clearly shaken up by the carnage that just unfolded in front of them. 

“Who are you?” Rickon asked, his voice small and shaky. Bran could see the tears welling up in his eyes. 

He already had a suspicion based on the pommel and those were proven correct when the man lifted up his visor and the familiar face of Jon was under it. Despite his suspicions Bran was still surprised, they hadn’t heard anything about Jon since the start of the year. The last thing he had heard was that Jon had gone beyond the Wall to look for their uncle Benjen and he just assumed that he had taken the black like he was planning to do before Bran’s fall. Bran really hoped that Jon hadn’t deserted to help them as he did not have the heart to punish him. Rickon evidently wasn’t facing such a conundrum as he just ran and jumped into Jon’s arms yelling his name. Jon had the biggest smile that Bran had ever seen on his face as he caught and held Rickon there whispering soothing things into his ears. Osha was also relaxed now and the spear was gone from her hands. Rickon's attention shifted from Jon as Ghost came into the room stained red and he went to greet the direwolf. Jon then turned to him and took a step forward but to Bran’s astonishment instead of hugging him he just went on a knee, head bowed.

“Winterfell is yours, Your Grace.” 

Bran just rolled his eyes and threw a pillow at him. Jon smiled affectionately, getting up and finally hugging him. He could see Rickon was still laughing and was relieved that the night ended with Rickon laughing as it could have gone a lot worse.

The morning arrived and Winterfell was buzzing. Last night was scary but it also served to lift the confidence of the residents as a win was a win and any day that involved killing some Ironborn was a good day, Theon had been captured alive and Bran had decided to keep him a prisoner in his old room. He and Bran talked throughout the night catching up on everything. He also met the Reed children. Jojen who was near Rickon’s age and though Meera was Sansa’s age she reminded him a lot of Arya. Jon took charge of Winterfell’s defences and Sam started to help Bran with Winterfell's ledgers, taking note of everything they had and needed to get for the impending campaign against the Ironborn. Jon didn’t know who was going to lead it but he knew that a campaign to rid The North of Ironborn was inevitable. Moat Cailin and Sea Dragon Point had fallen and needed to be reclaimed as soon as possible. He decided to send an order with Bran’s seal to all the lands nearby Winterfell to send all the men of fighting age to Winterfell. A lot of them weren’t soldiers and would need to be trained at Winterfell for the future. Jon knew that The North could field an army of 40000. 20000 had gone with Robb leaving 20000 in The North but it would take time to gather them all so they would have to rely on the men they could gather quickly for The North’s defence. Going through the ledgers Sam had told him that by scraping the barrel, they could gather about 10000 more untrained men without crippling The North. He intended to assemble the untrained ones at Winterfell so they can be turned into proper soldiers as they would need every fighting man in the ongoing war in the south and increasing The North’s strength from 40000 to 50000 would be very helpful.

It took about a week to gather the men from the lands around Winterfell, some of them soldiers but most of them untrained as most of the soldiers had left with Ser Rodrik when he went to the rescue of Torrhen’s square. Jon had already started on their training, he had also summoned blacksmiths and apprentices as training new men also meant arming them. It took a little more than a fortnight for Ser Rodrik to return. He thanked Jon on his return for saving Winterfell and for saving him from blaming himself forever in case the worst had happened. He also thanked Sam personally for saving his daughter after meeting with her. Jon was still surprised by what Sam had done on that night, he had already shown some courage when he punched Ser Alliser at Castle Black but killing three Ironborn with a makeshift stone sling to keep them from raping Beth was something Jon never expected Sam would do. He then went on to praise Lady Meera for her bravery, the girl had joined the fight and killed 5 Ironborn, Jon had also been impressed by that which was why he had agreed to take her on as his squire while he was training the new men at Winterfell. They decided to meet in the Lord’s solar to discuss their paths for the future after Ser Rodrik had taken a bath and gotten some food. They were doing that presently when there was a knock on the door. Maester Luwin entered with a raven after Bran bid him entry.

“A raven from His Grace King Robb, My Prince.”

Bran took the raven bearing the direwolf of House Stark and unsealed it, a smile graced his face as he finished reading it and looked at Jon. 

“Robb heard of the attack on Winterfell and of your return. He is happy that you are back and safe. He wants you to take command of North’s forces and liberate The North from the Ironborn in his name. As long as he is in the south he has named you ‘Warden Of The North’.” 

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“Warden of The North” Jon couldn't understand what Robb was thinking, giving him such a title. This kind of title was for nobles like Leobald Tallhart, Cley Cerwyn, Wendel Manderly to name a few. If he wanted someone he could trust blindly to put Bran’s and House Stark's interests before their own he could have given it to Ser Rodrick who was a veteran of Ninepenny Kings, Robert’s Rebellion and the Ironborn Rebellion. Most importantly he had fought the Ironborn before. Why was Robb picking him ahead of all these men was beyond him. Bran’s voice broke him out of his thoughts. 

 “He says he knows he can trust you and has complete faith in your capabilities as he had seen them first hand during practice and lessons with father. He said that he knows rather than believes that you are the best man in The North for this task.”

 Jon was still conflicted, he looked to Ser Rodrick 

 “Surely you are better suited for this.” 

 Ser Rodrick just smiled and clapped him on the back. “Your King has put his faith in you lad, no doubt against great opposition. It’s your duty to prove him right.” 

 There it was duty. Everyone knew that was all that was needed to get Jon to do something or even Robb for that matter. They were raised by Lord Eddard Stark, most honourable man in the Seven Kingdoms. Duty was something almost sacred to them. And now Jon had two reasons to accept the position no matter how sceptical he was. First as Ser Rodrick said duty, second his promise to father. He had told him that he would be there for his family, that he would assist Robb and be the guide Bran and Rickon needed. His Lord father was gone now and it still hurt whenever he thought about it, he wondered if it would ever stop hurting but he was gone. The promise remained though and Eddard Stark didn't raise an oathbreaker. It was his and Robb’s responsibility to take care of their siblings and Jon wasn't going to run away from his duties.

 “Alright.” He said “ Let's get some rest. We have a lot to discuss in the morning.” If he was to do this he would do it right.

Despite it being Jon who suggested that they should get some rest there wasn’t any for him. 

Currently he was sitting at his desk staring at the map of The North and thinking what would be the best way to conduct his campaign to repel the Ironborn. He looked at the pieces around the map. Balon Greyjoy had sent the entire Iron Fleet and 15000 men. Victarion Greyjoy was at Moat Cailin with 8000 men, Asha Greyjoy at Sea Dragon Point with 5000 and Aeron Greyjoy and Dagmer Cleftjaw were raiding the Stoney Shore with about 3000. These weren't exact numbers as obviously all of them would have suffered casualties during this time but he can't make his plans based on assumptions. He would have to work with what he got from Theon. Jon was able to summon about 7500 men as he couldn't ask the lords on the west coast to send him their men. The majority of his force was made up of Stark, Tallhart and Cerwyn men with some men from Manderlys, Lockes, Flints and Hornwoods making up the rest. He was thinking all this when there was a knock at his door. He wondered who was calling for him so late in the night as he opened the door.

“Lady Meera, you didn't have to come all this way, you could’ve sent for me.” He said a bit surprised that she was here at this hour. It wasn’t actually a long way as Bran had completely refused to let Jon stay in his old room and set him up in the family wing instead. 

“I am supposed to be your squire, not the other way around. I heard about your new title, I assumed you would be awake thinking how to fight the Ironborn so I came to learn.” Meera said with a bit of exasperation. Jon had agreed to make her his squire but he hadn’t actually asked her for anything. He wasn’t comfortable ordering around a lady but it seemed she was determined when she said she wanted to learn about war. She was a decent warrior and had the potential to become a great one. He was a bit sceptical because he didn’t know how her father would react with him teaching her. His father held Lord Reed in high regard and Jon didn’t want to upset him.

“Are you sure your father would be okay with this? He sent you here to be a companion to the Stark kids, would he approve of you learning combat?” 

“Who do you think taught me how to fight? My father is completely fine with me learning combat. Most ladies of the Neck learn combat and hunting. My father wouldn’t mind me learning combat neither would he mind me being your squire, he held Lord Stark in high regard.” She said, sounding a bit annoyed now. She had already explained this to him the first time so her being annoyed made sense and Jon relented. 

“Can you bring Sam? I need to talk about some things with him.” If she was determined to give it her all. She deserved to be taken and treated seriously and Jon was going to do that. 

Meera went to get Sam and Jon started to stare at his maps again. He needed to take on the Ironborn separately. If they managed to join forces it would be a lot harder to defeat them as they would outnumber him almost 2 to 1. After leaving a garrison of 500 at Winterfell he would have about 7500 men, 250 of them cavalry. That was his advantage as the Ironborn lacked cavalry and discipline for land combat. If he can engage them in a pitched battle he can sweep them with a cavalry charge. He would have to break their line first as he did not have enough cavalry to pose any threat to organized infantry. Most of Stark cavalry went south with Robb and the Ryswells and Dustins were under threat from the Ironborn so there wasn’t much help from them. He didn't believe that the Dustins were actually under threat from the Ironborn as Barrowtown was well fortified but he didn't have the time to deal with them right now. He would have to tell Robb about Lady Dustin and the Boltons as they hadn’t sent any men either. He would do that after the mission against the Ironborn was done, right now he had a campaign to lead. He kept looking at the maps and a plan started to take shape in his mind. That was when Meera arrived with Sam. 

“Sam, what are the conditions of Winterfell’s stores?” He asked. Sam had found a home in the ledgers and Winterfell’s books. The library was burnt by the assassin that was sent for Bran but fortunately Maester Luwin was in the process of annual cleaning and the library had no books at the time. So the books were safe and there was nothing Sam loved more than books. He still didn’t believe that it was Tyrion who sent the assassin, the dwarf was too smart to send someone so inexperienced for that, but that was in the past now, a war had started and winning it was the only thing that mattered. 

 “The stores are in great condition. There is enough food and there is still about a couple of years of summer left so more harvests would eventually come.”

“What about the coffers? Wars cost money. How much do we have?”

“Winterfell’s coffers have 6 million dragons including the incomes of this year. The income will decrease the next year due to the war so my estimate is about 300,000 dragons will be the income next year.” 

Jon was shocked. He had always thought that the Starks were poor compared to the southerners and it reflected in their lifestyle. No fancy silks or expensive wines, just enough to live a good life and to project the image of proud lords and wardens of the north. Sam identified the look on his face and told him to ask what was bothering him. 

“I always thought we were poor. Lord Stark was always prudent with money, never tolerating any waste, it projected the image of someone who didn’t have much of it. Six million is a lot of money. If the reduced income is 300,000 what was the normal income of House Stark.”

“The income of House Stark has been steadily increasing since the time of Ninepenny Kings and the speed increased a bit in your father’s rule as he concentrated on finishing the projects of Lord Rickard and built more networks to connect parts of The North to each other increasing trade activity. The alliances he had with The Vale, Riverlands and The Throne allowed him to focus more on those developments instead of caring about food for the winter like the Starks of old. The regular income would have been 500,000 but that was after paying taxes to the throne. 300,000 sounds high as there are no taxes to pay. 6,000,000 is a lot, but most of the southern houses still have more. The Tyrells would have about 12,000,000 and I would be surprised if the Lannisters have less than 15,000,000. And the war would be expensive,I did the calculations you asked and your army would cost about 60,000 for a year. Robb’s army costs 200,000 in a year. You don’t have much cavalry so that reduces the maintenance by a lot as warhorses are very expensive to maintain." 

Well that certainly puts it in perspective. He knew wars were expensive but this was the first real experience and now he understood why his father despised wars despite being one of the most celebrated commanders in Westeros. He would have to be very prudent with money as there was no point in winning a war if The North didn’t have any money to sustain itself afterwards. 

“How much of those costs are directly on House Stark? I know other houses would contribute a bit towards their own forces but the bulk of the cost would still be ours to bear.” 

“House Stark is their liege and most of the cost of wars will be theirs to bear that is sure. In your army House Stark will have to spend 50,000 dragons a year, in Robb’s army House Stark spent around 160,000. That surprised me a bit. The contributions from other houses towards their own forces is a bit higher than it would be in the south.”

“The northern lords are a fickle lot. They are fierce, loyal but most importantly they are proud. Most of them are just trying to outdo each other. It works in your favor if you can keep them in line. Gods know father had a bunch of headaches dealing with them and that was during peace times. He told us to show strength if we want respect as the northern lords value that the most but you also have to be just and fair and merciful when required. It is a very delicate balance and I am looking forward to sitting on the side watching Robb trying his best not to tear his hair out in frustration.” 

“Have you thought about how you are going to conduct this campaign? We need Moat Cailin as our route to the south is cut off as long as the Ironborn control it. King Robb is going to need connection to The North if he wants to win.” Meera said definitely trying to steer the conversation back to topic. 

“What is your opinion about Bran? How has he handled The North till now and will he be able to handle it efficiently with Maester Luwin without you?” He asked Sam 

“He has done great and he learns quickly. Where administration is concerned I think he can do it well with Maester Luwin on his side. Why do you ask? Do you have something for me? You know I wouldn’t be much use in an army.”

“ ‘Infantry wins battles, logistics wins wars.’ That was the first thing father taught me and Robb about war when we were eight. The Ironborn are seriously lacking in the second department and I want to make sure I don’t make any mistakes there. No matter how good your army is you can't win if your soldiers are starving. Father taught me and Robb all about war including logistics and I can handle arranging the supplies and setting up of supply lines but you are much better at numbers than me and numbers are very important for managing an army. I want you to stay with me during the campaign for recordkeeping and management. Your job will be to make sure we are well stocked, have everything we need from food to medical supplies and to oversee the payments for everything. I will set up the Supply Depots and the lines you will make sure they are running smoothly.” 

Sam was a bit surprised by that. He had been told his entire life by his father that he was useless in war and as such unfit to be the heir to Horn Hill. Jon was putting a big responsibility in his hands. He was right in saying that logistics make or break any military campaign and thus he was basically betting the success of his campaign on Sam. He thought then how similar the oldest Stark brothers were. They didn’t hesitate in taking risks with people they trusted. Jon was conflicted about being named ‘Warden Of The North’ despite being a bastard and here he was placing the most important part of his campaign in the hands of a son of a Reach lord who was allied with the Lannisters. He would have to do his best and make sure nothing goes wrong as they both would be under high scrutiny and even minor mistakes would be highly criticised by people who think they don’t deserve their positions and only got them by luck.

“I won’t disappoint. What is your plan?” Sam asked.

“We will gather the men here and then move to Tumbledown Tower. From there we will advance on Deepwood. It will take about 2 weeks to gather the men here. We are expecting about 7500 men but the actual number will only be known when they get here.”

“I will detail the plan later. Right now there is something else on my mind… I am thinking about training the women to fight.”

“A moment ago you were hesitating in teaching me and now you want to conscript the women in the army. You move fast.” Meera said, sounding surprised.

“Not mandatory but voluntary” Jon clarified 

“Sam, you know how I got my sword, what I fought. We have to prepare for it and I think we should start now.” 

“What are you talking about?” Meera asked, sounding a bit concerned.

“White Walkers. I fought a wight, a dead Night’s Watch brother who came back and tried to kill Lord Commander Mormont. The long night is coming, I don’t know when but it is and we have to be prepared.” 

She did not look surprised which confused Jon, he had expected for people to look at him like he was crazy. 

“My brother had dreamt about it. His dreams also played a role in us coming here.”

“Green dreams! I read about it in a few books here.” Sam sounded weirdly excited at that. 

“I also read about warging in the Stark family. Have you ever seen the world through your wolf’s eyes?” Sam asked, still sounding weirdly excited.

Jon was about to deny it but then he remembered the dreams. The dreams where he would be in Ghost, the hunger that he would feel sometimes for raw meat and blood. 

“Can you explain?” He asked Sam 

“There was this story about ‘Kings Of Winter’ defeating the 'Warg King’ and marrying his daughters. There are stories about magic being in Stark Blood since the Age Of Heroes and after marrying the daughters of the Warg King they got very strong warging abilities. That is why only Starks are able to form bonds with direwolves as direwolves are also magical creatures. So do you ever see the world through Ghost?” 

“I sometimes have dreams where I am Ghost. Running around the woods chasing prey, hunting. I used to wake up with a metallic taste every time he would start eating but more recently that has stopped. I still wake up with a metallic taste but I don’t wake up as soon as he starts eating, I sleep through that.”

“It means you are getting better. You should practice it when you are awake, it may help us in the war.”  

“I will try whenever I get time but don’t tell anyone else. We don’t know how people will react to this. I will talk to Bran and Rickon myself and see if they are also having dreams. I remember how confused I was, having someone to talk to might help them.” 

“Now, how are you going to convince the northern lords for women in the army?” Meera asked

“I am thinking of starting with the women of Bear Island. After we have cleared the west coast I will write to Lady Alysanne about sending women over 15 who volunteer to Winterfell to train with the rest of recruits of the northern army. If anyone is opposed to women of Bear Island serving in the army we will tell them to discuss it with Lady Maege.” That drew a chuckle from Meera while Sam looked a bit confused. 

“You will understand when you get to meet her.” Jon said, looking at Sam.

“I will send some letters to minor lords of lands under Starks and the Mountain Clans telling them the same thing before we leave for our campaign. I will have to start looking for capable women to train them. It would make more sense to also have women in the command structure instead of just having them serve as soldiers. It will take some time before we can convince other houses but that is in the future.” 

“Now the plan for the campaign. We need to take on the Ironborn separately. First we will target Asha Greyjoy and cut off the escape of their forces on the west coast. Then we will take on Aeron Greyjoy and Dagmer Cleftjaw who are on the Stony Shore moving north and then we will take on Victarion Greyjoy at Moat Cailin.”

“Isn’t Moat Cailin more important to us and the army in the south? Shouldn’t we focus on it first?” Meera asked and Sam looked like he also had the same question. 

“Moat Cailin is more important but if we move on it first we will be leaving the central north undefended and more importantly we will be leaving ourselves open to a force 7000 strong in the rear. We need to clear the west coast and secure our rear. So that when we face Victarion we don’t get any surprises as Moat Cailin is easier to take from the north but it is still Moat Cailin. We will end up losing a lot of men if we have to storm it.” 

“Now, it is getting very late. We really should get some rest as we have a lot to do tomorrow. I will detail the entire plan with numbers, troop movements, routes and commanders later with Bran and Ser Rodrik present” Jon said in a tone that brooked no dissent. It wasn’t gonna work on Sam he knew, but it would work on Meera. He and Sam stayed up talking for some time after she left but eventually decided that they should also get some sleep.

Jon was woken up in the morning by Ghost lying on his chest. He would have to find a way to get Ghost to understand that he was not a small pup anymore and he shouldn’t be sleeping on his chest. He washed his face and hands, dressed up and went out to get some training in arms before breaking his fast. He felt a change around Winterfell. He couldn’t put his finger on it but something had changed. Then it hit him the news of his appointment as ‘Warden Of The North’ would have spread around Winterfell over the night. The servants, the guards and everyone around Winterfell had a different look on their faces. Most of them looked happy for Jon, Old Nan looked proud and Maester Luwin looked like he hadn’t stopped smiling since last night. But those weren’t the only people in Winterfell, Leobald Tallhart and Cley Cerwyn were also there and they did not look happy with his title, clearly thinking that a bastard wasn’t fit for such an honor and more importantly that they would have to follow his commands now. 

He decided to focus on his training and think about these problems later. He was going through his regular motions when someone called his name. He turned around and saw Cley Cerwyn ready with a tourney sword. 

“Care for a spar, My Lord” That was new but Jon thought it wouldn’t be good to call the Warden Of The North by his name bastard or not. 

This was clearly an attempt to show him his place but it was fine by Jon as the yard and sword didn’t care about your last name or status of birth, it only cared about your skill and the only swordsman in The North who can even come close to Jon was currently in the south fighting a war. 

Jon accepted the spar and they entered the yard. They circled each other some time then Cley attacked. Jon decided to hang back initially and take a measure of the boy in front of him. They were close in age and perhaps that was the reason he was the one who challenged Jon instead of Lord Leobald. It wasn’t that Lord Leobald was old but the man was clearly over forty. Cley was young and fast and fairly talented but Jon was just better. Jon saw his opportunity and moved in with a thrust but it was parried and Cley riposted with an overhead strike but Jon was quick to recover and parried it. He retaliated with a slash to Cerwyn’s right side which was easy to block but that was the trap and Cley fell for it, he moved his sword right to defend against the slash which never came. Instead of going through with the slash Jon twisted his wrist slightly inwards while moving his arm in and up. When his hand was at the level of his shoulder he extended his arm while opening his wrist and his sword was at Cerwyn’s throat. There was surprise on his face but then there was something in his eyes that made Jon believe he might just be able to do this successfully, in Cerwyn’s eye he saw respect. The scene was broken by the sound of someone clapping and Jon looked in the direction of the sound to see an excited Rickon running up to him. 

“You have to teach me how to do that.” Rickon said excitedly 

He was just around the age when he would have started with his training. Jon and Robb started younger at five but Rickon being the youngest was allowed to be a child for a bit longer. But as the saying went, war made men out of boys.

“I will but you will have to learn the basics first. Have you broken your fast?” 

“No. I was coming to you to tell you that Bran wants us to break our fast together.” 

“Then we shouldn’t keep his grace waiting any longer.” Jon said, already walking with Rickon on his side.

“He really hates it when you call him Your Grace you know.” 

“Why do you think I do it? That irritated look on his face whenever I say it is too good to miss.” 

Rickon just laughed instead of saying anything. 

“How do you think Robb will react?” Rickon asked, mirth clear in his voice 

“He hated it whenever I called him My Lord, he might just threaten me with the wall to stop me.”  Jon said with an amused smile. 

They reached the private dining hall and Bran was there waiting for them. 

“Sorry to keep you waiting, Your Grace” Jon could hear Rickon snickering beside him but his eyes were focused on Bran’s face and the look on his face reminded him of Robb and that only made Jon smile wider. 

“I will have you spend a night in the dungeons if you don’t stop doing that.” Bran said dryly without any actual anger, just plain resignation. 

“That is quite harsh punishment for keeping you waiting don’t you think, Your Grace” Rickon said and that made Jon break out in laughter and he could see that Bran also had a laugh on his lips. They would need to do this more often as this was a good way to start the day. 

They broke their fast after they calmed down. Jon had bacon, blood sausages with some bread and eggs with a drink of ale. Rickon and Bran got milk despite their protests and then they went to their respective duties. 

This was the final meeting before they left for their campaign. They were in the Lord’s solar, Jon, Bran, Sam, Meera, Ser Rodrik and Maester Luwin were present. This wasn’t a war council as that would have all the high ranking nobles of the army present. This was a private meeting of Jon’s inner circle where they discussed things before the war council and even things they didn’t want to discuss in the war council. 

“Do we have a final tally on the men?” Jon asked, looking at Sam.

“We have 7800 men, 7550 infantry and 250 cavalry.” Sam said, looking at the parchments in his hands. 

“That is more than we expected.” Bran said from his position behind the large desk. He had wanted Jon to take that seat but he had rejected taking the seat directly in front of Bran instead.

“The mountain clans sent more men than we were expecting.” Ser Rodrik said from his position at Jon’s right shoulder. 

“I will leave Leobald Tallhart at Winterfell to train the recruits. Ser Wendel Manderly will also be here in some days to help with Winterfell’s defences, he sent the cavalry ahead of him”

While Cley Cerwyn had started to respect Jon and was responding well to his leadership, Leobald Tallhart still wasn’t completely onboard with Jon being the one in command.  Jon would have to deal with it but he didn’t want unruly subordinates in a campaign where speed was paramount so he had decided to leave him behind and take his son with him instead who was younger and didn’t have any problems with Jon calling the shots. It was easy to sell that, as Brandon Tallhart would also be gaining experience so it wasn’t a bad deal. Ser Wendel was travelling to Winterfell as a company of 250 cavalry didn’t really need him commanding it. He had decided to place them under command of Jon perhaps as a way to assess his skills. Jon didn’t have any complaints, he gained cavalry and wouldn’t have to deal with another noble without having any idea how they would respond to him. 

“Ser Rodrik you will take 1000 men and ride to Sea Dragon Point bypassing Crofter’s Village. The castle and the port with it are important and we will block Ironborn’s escape if we take it as all their ships on the west coast are docked there. Reports say Asha Greyjoy is moving along the shore towards Deepwood Motte, the castle is at alert but they lack the ability to stop a force 4700 strong for too long. I will take the rest of my force and move swiftly towards Deepwood,the supply depot at Tumbledown will take a couple days to be set up and from there we will have a clear path and a supply chain to Deepwood. The Ironborn move slow in The North if we are quick enough we might catch Asha’s forces during march and take her unawares. She will retreat to Sea Dragon Point only to find that it has fallen to the northerners and then we will be the hammer and you the anvil.” 

“If we have to face her in a battle then we might even get a surrender right there and then Aeron Greyjoy and Dagmer Cleftjaw will be all we will have to worry about. Once we have dealt with these three then we will think about how to take back Moat Cailin.” Jon finished.

“Isn’t 1000 men a bit more than required, to take Sea Dragon Point. She has only left a Garrison of about 150.” Meera asked from her position on Jon’s left shoulder. 

“It is but we don’t have time for drawn out sieges and negotiations. Ser Rodrik will have to storm the castle and it is a strong one. It also controls the port which is inaccessible from the outside so a siege would be impossible without ships as they can fish for food.” 

“Ser Rodrik, make sure the Ironborn ships are unharmed. Most of them are crewed by thralls and if we can convince them to work for a salary we will gain a fleet for The North which will be very helpful in coming times.” 

“Sam, where are we on supplies and provisions?” 

“The supplies are all prepared and ready to move with the army on the morrow.” 

“Great, so that will be all. We will leave for our respective missions tomorrow and liberate The North.” There were nods of agreement and the room cleared out leaving only Bran and Jon. They sat there in silence for some time, steeling themselves for the farewell that was to come. Last time Bran hadn’t woken up so there was no actual farewell but there would be this time. 

“I have something for you.” Jon said without preamble. Bran looked at him curious

“I will be back in some time, wait here.” Jon said and left in a hurry. 

He returned to the room with the gift he had commissioned from Mikken and the craftsmen at Winterfell. Rickon was also there now and Jon thought that was good as he can give both of them their gifts together. 

“I had it commissioned based on Sam’s design.” Jon said, presenting the wheeled chair. It looked like the most obvious thing once made but still nobody had done it before. He saw Bran’s eyes light up and it warmed his heart. It had been some time since he had seen such excitement in his eyes. He helped Bran into the chair and showed him how to use it. Rickon, also looked happy for Bran, Jon gave him the wooden sword he had commissioned, modelled after Longclaw adjusted for Rickon’s size and his happiness just multiplied. He looked at Jon, eyes alight with excitement. 

“Can I come with you?” The moment turned just a bit somber, Jon had started to teach him the basics of swordfighting during this time and didn’t want to disappoint him but he was still too young for this. 

“Next time. Right now I need you to stay here and protect Winterfell and Bran” 

Rickon looked a bit dejected but agreed and left to practice with his new sword. Jon hugged Bran tightly. He realised Bran was crying when he felt wetness on his shoulder. He pulled back just enough to look him in the eye. 

“What happened?”

“Father also left and he didn't return.” Bran said, his voice small and weak.

“I will, I promise. Be safe, take care of yourself and Winterfell, alright.”

“I will. You take care too and don't do anything foolish. You are brave but father always said that bravery and carelessness have very little separating them.”

“He told you that too. What did you do?”

“Nothing. He said that during one of the stories he used to tell us.”

“Me and Robb weren't that lucky. We were ten namedays, on our first hunt and tried to take down a boar by ourselves. Father intervened just at the right time or the boar would have gotten both of us. He was very angry and even more scared. He didn't say anything on our way back but then called us down to the crypts. We thought we would be punished but he just told us to sit there. We took one lap each and he told the story of an old King of Winter who died because he rushed into battle without thinking and how his son had to take control and fix his mistakes. That was when he told us that quote.” Jon realised he was the one whose eyes were wet now and tried his best to hide it but was unsuccessful. 

“You miss him don't you.” Bran asked, looking sad. 

“A lot. But we have his memories and his teachings to follow. We will make him proud. Now let's get you to your room. It's getting late. Tomorrow I leave for war and you handle all of Winterfell.”

Jon pushed Bran’s chair out the solar and once they reached his room he bent and pressed a kiss to his brow.

“Sleep well.” 

“You too”

The morning came and Jon was woken up by Ghost who was accompanied by an excited Rickon. 

“Bran told me to get you. He has a gift for you. We got it together.” Jon was only allowed to wash his face and get dressed and even then he had to hurry as Rickon was very impatient. 

 They went to Lord’s solar and Bran was already there. He saw there was something covered with a cloth on the desk. His face lit up seeing Jon. 

“I put the order with help from Ser Rodrik the day he returned.” Bran said while lifting the cloth. 

It was plate armor, Mikken’s work. The armor was one of the best Jon had seen, well polished and shiny. The pauldrons had spikes and the helmet was in the shape of a wolf’s head. The breastplate had a direwolf engraved on the right breast painted in white with red eyes. Jon gave a grateful and amused smile. 

“Meera is going to hate you. I will put her to work shining this.” The drew a laugh from Rickon and a suppressed snicker from Bran. They hugged and Jon left with the armor to find Meera so that he could get dressed. 

They were in Winterfell’s courtyard. Ser Rodrick had already left with his men. Jon’s men were outside and this was the final farewell. Sam and Meera were in the yard waiting and he was kneeling in front of Bran and Rickon hugging them the final time before leaving. There were some tears and heartfelt words and then he got up and nodded to them and turned to leave. He got on his horse Ghost on his side, Sam on his right, Meera on his left and urged his horse forward. He saw Sam was trying to cover something up on his right hand. He could vaguely see the hints of a cloth that looked like a ladies favor. He couldn’t clearly see the sigil embroidered on it but it was a black cloth with small white figures embroidered on it which looked like dots from where he was sitting as Sam was doing a good job covering it. He would ask Sam about this lady when this campaign against the Ironborn was successful and they were celebrating. He turned back while crossing the gate to give his brothers a final look, waved to them and then turned ahead. He rode to the head of his army and signalled the march. The campaign to liberate The North from Ironborn had begun.

Chapter Text

Tumbledown Tower was a post in the Wolfswood made to regulate poachers and thieves in the woods. It doubled as a temporary resting place for the nobility of Winterfell and their guests for hunting trips. It wasn’t the best place for an army camp but they didn’t need to stay here for a long time. The road from the tower to Deepwood was made primarily for transporting wood, game and furs for trade. Lord Rickard had started the construction and father had finished it. The path was wide enough for wagons but Jon had opted for carts instead, for manoeuvrability and speed. He was ready to move on the morrow. The supply depot was set, he would start the march tomorrow with enough supplies for a week and the rest would be delivered from the tower as needed. He had sent a 100 men party ahead yesterday to clear vegetation from the side of the road so that there isn’t any problem in moving with carts. Deepwood was about 250 miles away from Tumbledown Tower and Jon was hoping to reach it on the ninth day at 35 mpd including a day of rest. Asha had started to move towards Deepwood about a week ago but she had to cover a longer distance and there wasn’t a clear road from Sea Dragon Point to Deepwood Motte forcing her to move through narrow forest paths. This gave Jon hope of catching her mid march. He hoped Ser Rodrik would succeed in his mission. He had told him to bypass Crofter’s Village so that news didn’t travel that a party of 1000 men were moving away from the main army. Jon’s force would take the attention and Ser Rodrik can sneak through the Wolfswood without any warning to Aeron’s forces to reinforce Sea Dragon Point allowing him to take it. Jon looked at the map again, tomorrow the campaign will really begin, and he wasn’t sure if he was ready for it. This was what he had prepared for his whole life but now that it was really here he wasn’t sure, he wished father was here or Robb. Robb would be ready, he always knew what to do. He was raised for this but he had to handle the war in the south and had trusted Jon with winning The North and he had to prove he deserved that trust. 

The march towards Deepwood started the next morning. Jon was marching with 6000 men as he had decided to leave 800 men behind to guard the supply depot and the supply lines. Sam would stay behind to manage the supplies and their movement. Jon looked in the direction of Deepwood and sent a silent prayer to the gods to bless him in this mission and to guide him to success.

Rodrik reached Sea Dragon point on the 19th day. He looked towards the castle and saw that the defenders hadn’t spent any time enhancing the defence of the castle. There weren’t any trenches outside the wall which was the first step in the defence of any castle. They aren’t expecting an attack, he thought. With two Ironborn forces pillaging The North and Victarion holding Moat Cailin they thought they were safe from any attacks. The garrison of 150 wasn’t enough for the castle. It wasn’t a very big castle and had one wall 25 feet tall for defence but with 150 men they would have to focus their entire force on the point of assault to defend the castle and that was what Rodrik would use to his benefit. There was no moon that night and he decided to use the darkness to his advantage. He was in his war tent hidden from the defenders behind the cover of forest detailing his plan to his fellow commander Lord Beren Tallhart. Jon had asked him to take the boy under his wing as a favor to appease the boy’s father but Rodrik knew the truth. The succession of House Hornwood was to be decided as Lord Halys Hornwood and his heir had died in the war south. Lady Donella was past her childbearing age and since Benfred Tallhart had died Eddara Tallhart was the heir presumptive of House Tallhart. Everyone was expecting her to marry her cousin Brandon leaving his younger brother Beren to be the favourite candidate to inherit Hornwood lands through their mother Berena Hornwood sister of Lord Halys Hornwood. Lady Donella had shown interest in Rodrik during the harvest feast and Prince Brandon had told Jon about that. So they came up with the arrangement to put Beren under his wing so he can eventually foster him after marrying Lady Donella. He had made it clear that he had no interest in marrying at his age but they had somehow roped his Beth in their scheme. It was in these moments he was reminded how young these boys still were, shouldering the burden of an entire kingdom. He was proud of the fact that he had played a role in raising them and he was sure Lord Eddard would be as well. He never thought he would outlive Lord Eddard or Jory but that was life. He owed it to him to guide these boys to the best of his ability and he would do all he could but it didn’t look like these boys needed any guidance when it came to war. Jon looked like Lord Eddard reborn whenever he was looking at the maps and his plans proved that he had learnt everything he was taught and the stories from the south proved so had King Robb. He looked up from the map and spoke

“I will mount an assault on the castle from the east with 750 men. They would concentrate their forces to defend against mine. Lord Beren, you will approach the castle under the cover of darkness from the south and climb the walls with the rest 250 men after the fighting starts in earnest. You will attack them from the inside while my men are assaulting the castle. They will be overwhelmed and the castle will fall before sunrise.” 

“Excellent plan My Lord.” 

“Pick the best climbers and get your men in position. We move after nightfall and remember to stay hidden. Our chances are best if they think my force is the only one they need to worry about.”

“As you say My Lord” The boy said and left the tent to do as commanded.

The night fell and Rodrik signalled the assault. His men charged the eastern gate with ladders and grappling hooks. He wasn’t using all his force so he can reduce his losses. He just wanted to draw out the fighting to give Beren enough time to scale the walls and take the castle from inside. He saw his men trying to climb the walls and noted that the Ironborn were completely unprepared for an assault. They weren’t dropping any hot oil or water. There wasn’t a moat in front of the castle so his men didn’t face that problem. The darkness allowed his men to get close to the castle without being detected by the watch towers and the weather worked in their favour as the light rain masked the sound of their approach but it wasn’t strong enough to make assaulting the castle more difficult. Even with all these factors helping him, it was still a castle with walls 25 feet high and it wasn’t going to be easy to take it and he knew he was going to lose a lot of men in Beren didn’t arrive as fast as possible. Some men were on the walls now but many more were falling to arrows and the ones on the walls were falling to Ironborn axes. He sent the rest of his forces to assault and hoped Beren would do his part soon enough. 

Beren was waiting in his spot with his men waiting for the time to move. He had to start moving slowly when Ser Rodrik’s forces were close to the castle but the light rain and the darkness made it impossible for him to know the position of Ser Rodrik’s forces and only when the assault had started did the sounds reach him. He sent his fastest runner to scout the southern walls and started moving slowly towards it. He stopped a fair distance away from the walls and waited for the scout to return. He couldn’t try to climb the walls with defenders still on the wall. 1000 men were more than enough to take the castle with a garrison of 150 men but they would have lost more than half of their men on a full frontal assault. The plan to split their forces was good but it had a very narrow margin of error. 150 men weren’t enough to hold this castle against 1000 men but it was just enough to repel them with forces split and if they failed this time they would have even less men to take the castle and would have no other choice but to commit to a full frontal assault. The scout returned and told him the walls were clear and that the defenders had left presumably  for the eastern gate to fight Ser Rodrik’s men. He told his men to move forward and some time later they were at the base of the southern wall. He and his men started climbing the walls with ladders and grappling hooks. He was the first man on the walls and looked around. He could see that all the Ironborn were focused on fighting at the Eastern Gate and no one was paying attention to this side. He waited for more of his men to get on the walls and then started to climb down. Once he was on the land with about 50 men he sent them to clear the area of any lingering Ironborn. They returned by the time all his men had descended the castle. He decided first to take the keep and leave some there so that the Ironborn can’t retreat there and hold them against a chokepoint. He went towards the keep, his men following him in tight formation. The keep wasn’t difficult to take, there were only 5 Ironborn there which were quickly killed. He left fifty men to hold the keep against any Ironborn trying to retreat and moved towards the Eastern Gate with the rest 200. 

The Eastern Gate was a bloodbath. Northern men were falling to Ironborn axes and Ironborn were falling to Northern maces and hammers. Benfred and his men fell on the Ironborn from the rear and the battle quickly turned in favour of the northmen. There were less than a hundred Ironborn remaining when he arrived and his men made quick work of them. The Ironborn fought to the last man and were all killed. Beren saw Ser Rodrick on the wall and went to greet him. Ser Rodrick acknowledged him with a nod, he looked like a warrior from the stories, sword in hand slick with blood drenched in sweat and enemies’ blood. 

“I was starting to wonder where you were?” Ser Rodrick said

“The rain masked your advance. We didn't know until the attack had begun.” Beren clarified, not wanting to upset the man. 

“Form up the men, we will need to take the inner keep. It will be a bloody matter.” 

“I took the inner keep before coming here and left some men to hold it. The castle is completely ours.”

“Good work lad! You saved us a lot of trouble” Ser Rodrick looked relieved.

“Let us get the men in order and settled. Then we will get some rest. We will count the dead and injured in the morning. Right now let us just get the injured some help.” Ser Rodrick ordered and went to carry out the tasks.

By the evening of next day they had cleared out the castle and were meeting in what must have been the lord’s solar. Sea Dragon point was under the Starks and was governed by a masterly house whose heirs died in the wars and the master was killed by the Ironborn. So now the Maester was the only member of the previous governance left. Someone will probably be appointed as the Master after the end of the war. Maybe a hero of the war will even be appointed as a lord.” 

“How many men did we lose?” Ser Rodrick asked.

“250 men died and 150 are injured.” Beren replied.

“What are the conditions of the injured Maester?” Ser Rodrick asked, looking towards the maester.

“50 are seriously injured and will require some 6 to 8 weeks to recover. Rest have minor injuries and will be up and running in 3 to 5 days.” Maester Tom replied.

“What are our orders?”  Beren asked.

“Lord Jon has commanded us to hold the castle. If Asha Greyjoy is successful in retreating in an orderly fashion she will come up against the castle. We will block her and Lord Jon’s forces will crush her against the castle.” Ser Rodrick replied. 

“Maester take care of the injured. Lord Beren take some men and prepare the defences. I want a moat dug and guards on schedule keeping eyes in all directions. Also appoint some watch parties to scout the areas surrounding the castle. I don’t want any surprises.”

A week passed like that and they were in the same solar discussing the condition of men and supplies. 

“Is there any news about Lord Jon and his success against Asha Greyjoy’s forces?” Beren asked.

“There aren't any ravens yet. We should stay put until there is any news.” Ser Rodrick replied.

“Isn’t it worrying that there are no ravens? There should be some news.”  Beren wondered

“There should be, but we can’t do anything about it from here. All we can do is stay put.”

There was a knock on the door and Ser Rodrick bid the man entry. 

The man in charge of outriders,a man named William he believed entered.

“We spotted Ironborn forces approaching mi lord. They are half a day’s ride away.”

“It seems Lord Jon defeated Asha Greyjoy and is giving her chase. Prepare the men. We will crush them between us” Ser Rodrick ordered.

“We did not spot any Northerners mi lord.” William announced.

There was a flicker of surprise on Ser Rodrick’s face but it was quickly hidden behind the mask of a calm and collected commander.  

“He must have been held back by something. We will have to hold the castle until he arrives. What are the conditions of the defenses?” 

“The moat is dug and the injured men are recovered and ready.” Beren replied.

“Call back all the scouting parties. Prepare the men. The Ironborn will not lay siege. They will storm the castle. Get the supplies ready, put watchers on every wall and get ready for battle” 

Jon was in his tent when the outrider returned. He didn’t need to wait for him to explain to know what was happening. He had scouted the enemy lines himself as Ghost last night. He was disheartened to find out that Asha Greyjoy had beaten him. But she hadn't beaten him by a lot and that was the good thing. She didn’t have the time to form defensive lines or raise palisades. Jon had thought long and hard about the best course of action and the only thing he could think of was a pitched battle. The terrain was favourable to them and he could make use of that. He had a plan and he was confident it would work. He sent Meera to call his subordinates Brandon Tallhart and Cley Cerwyn so he could detail the plan to them. 

“My Lord” Both of them said entering the tent.

“Take seat My Lords” 

Both of them took seats at the table across from Jon while Meera took her place standing just behind him.

“Tomorrow is a big day. I will have a parley with Asha but I am afraid it will come to battle. Lord Cerwyn you will accompany me to the parley. We have less than an hour of sunlight left. Lord Brandon you will take our cavalry and travel separate from the main army after the sun goes down. My wolf will show you the way. You will wait after the battle starts and once she commits her reserves you will lead the cavalry and  the castle defenders and sweep the Ironborn from the rear. Deepwood isn’t a very big castle but it would have at least 150 horses and they would be ready to carry out a sortie once they see that we are here. Lord Brandon you will lead them along with your cousin Larence Snow. Wait until she commits her reserves and stay hidden as horses won’t  do shit if you are outnumbered 10 to 1. She won’t send out scouts as she will be seeing about 6000 men directly in front of her that will help you to stay hidden.”

“Any questions?” He asked, looking at them. 

“What if she doesn’t commit her reserves and decides to retreat instead?” Brandon Tallhart asked.

“She won’t. We will be the ones losing ground.”  He saw the look of surprise on their faces but continued onward. 

“Feigned retreat. I will retreat slowly towards our reserves and once she decides to put her reserves in the battle to try and break us our reserves will also enter the field while you and the castle defenders will lead a charge at their rear.” 

“You will be on the frontlines, My Lord?” Both of them asked at the same time.

“This is a tricky strategy with very little margin of error. If our lines are even a little incoherent during the retreat they will crush and rout us even before you can come in, I have to be there to command the slow retreat. Lord Cerwyn you will be commanding the reserves and advance on my signal and not a moment before.” He said trying his best to channel the lord voice he had seen his father use numerous times and from the look on their faces it looked like it worked. There was still doubt in their minds he could see that but they weren’t going to argue and follow his orders and for now that was enough. The doubt will go away after success and he hoped they would be successful. 

“Right now I want you to set up sentries and scouts so we are prepared if they try to attack us unawares at night. That will be all My Lords.”  He dismissed the meeting and they went to carry their tasks.

After they left the tent Jon looked at his hands lifting the right one and noticed the slight tremor.

“You afraid?” Meera asked

He didn’t answer, just nodded.

“Good.” She stated.

He gave her a questioning look.

“It means you are not stupid.” 

He gave a nod understanding her point.

“You will also be accompanying me at the parley and later at the battle. You will be the flag bearer for the parley.”

“Not during the battle?”

“I can use that spear of yours on the battlefield fighting on our side. Someone else can take care of the flag during the battle. Now get some sleep. Tomorrow will be a long day.” 

They approached the Ironborn with the white flag of parley and the direwolf of House Stark on his side. He was wearing chainmail and a doublet with a white direwolf on his right breast. His sword strapped on his back with the white wolf pommel peeking over his right shoulder. They stopped in the middle and waited for the Ironborn. They could see them approaching. Asha Greyjoy was at the front flanked by the kraken of House Greyjoy and the white flag on either side being followed by at least a dozen guards. She was wearing a leather jerkin over chainmail and had two axes strapped to both her hips. She stopped a few paces from them and gave a short nod of acknowledgement which he returned. 

“Lady Asha.” He said, addressing her directly.

“Lord Jon, It’s Princess Asha.” She replied.

“I would be inclined to call you that if you had taken the alliance my brother offered you and weren’t invading The North this very moment.” 

“Those decisions rest with my father, I follow him. We are here now and the only thing that matters is what we do from here. You called for a parley. What do you want?” 

“Surrender. You can’t win here, I have 6000 men. There is no need for unnecessary bloodshed. You will be sent to Winterfell under a protected escort, your men will be sent to work the fields they have looted and burnt and the release of you and your brother can be negotiated after a peace is achieved with your father.” 

“My brother? So the rumours are true you have Theon.” 

“I do. You can avoid the bloodshed and save the lives of your men if you surrender. Think about it.” 

“We both know what is going to happen here, My Lord. If you want to get to Deepwood you will have to fight.” 

“I gave you a chance. You made your choice.” 

“She is smarter than I thought.” Jon stated while Meera helped him into his armor. 

“What do you mean?” Meera asked 

“She is bleeding us. Even if she doesn't win today she will still deal us important losses and we still have to fight two more Ironborn forces. Every one of our men she kills is a man less Aeron or Victarion Greyjoy will have to fight.” 

“Is that worth her life though?”

“She knows that the chances of her dying today are very low. She is too important of a hostage for us to kill her.”

“Why didn’t you say any of this with Lord Cerwyn present?”

“He and other lords need to follow the orders and they have to be confident of our strength to do that perfectly. I can’t show any doubt as it can be perceived as weakness.” 

“Why tell me?”

“You are my squire. It’s my responsibility to teach you how to conduct a war and you can’t conduct a war if you can’t read it. These are the subtle things generals won’t express freely but are always thinking in the back of their mind. If you can read it too, it will place you above any one else in a war council” 

“Any questions before we head out for battle.” 

“Why ask for a parley then? Can’t that be perceived as a weakness?” 

“It can be. I am sure some will see it that way but you have to draw the line between projecting strength and authority and being bullheaded. If a parley succeeds, we avoid battle and save lives and that will always be more important than looking strong by fighting an avoidable battle. You have to compensate for that elsewhere so that people don’t think they can walk over you. You should listen to advisors but they need to know that your word is final.” 

“How did you do that? Establish that finality I mean.” 

“By separating the Tallhart siblings and keeping Leobald Tallhart at Winterfell. They definitely expected they would be together. I put it like it was an honor but Leobald got the message. He wasn’t very appreciative of my authority and tried to undermine it a couple of times by approaching Bran directly and now he knows what that means. But Leobald is an experienced man, sending him to Torrhen’s square would have been a waste, at Winterfell he is useful and the lesson is learned. It also gives Lady Eddara Tallhart some time to govern her lands independently with her mother so that the people know that she is their lady. With Lord Tallhart and his heir dead I want to avoid any chance of a power grab no matter how unlikely.”

“Sounds exhausting.”

“It is. You will learn it in time. Now let's go, we have a battle to win.” 

The men were ready and formed up. She was in the frontlines with Jon and the battle looked ready to start. The Ironborn were formed up but there wasn’t any sign of Asha Greyjoy meaning she had decided to stay back and command the reserves as was the norm. Jon's personal sigil, a snarling white direwolf head with red eyes, was visible on their side with the grey direwolf of House Stark.  Asha will definitely commit everything to break them now as capturing or killing Jon will be a major blow. Jon signaled the advance and soon both the armies started moving towards each other. Their move was slower keeping in line with Jon’s plan to stick close to their reserves while not giving it away. The armies met and fighting began in the earnest. 

War was nothing like the stories and songs. All she could see around her was death, all she could smell was blood, piss and shit, all she could hear was cries of men. She drove her spear forward catching the man in front of her in his gut, dodged the swing of the axe of a man in her right, used her net to stop his next swing while her spear found purchase in his shoulder. She twisted it and pulled it out and left the man on the ground to bleed to death. She looked around to assess the battle and she noticed she had drifted away from Jon during the fight but could still see him. He was shouting commands everywhere and she could hear him despite all the noise of the battlefield. He was also continuing to fight and maybe it was the valyrian steel but his swings looked ridiculously fast like he wasn’t tired at all while her arms were already feeling a bit heavier.  She looked around more and saw that the northern line was holding while looking like they were slowly losing ground. A horn sounded in the field and the Ironborn started fighting more fiercely. She had lost the count of men she had killed and it looked like it wasn’t ending anytime soon. She looked ahead and saw the Asha Greyjoy’s and other banners approaching. The plan had worked, Asha Greyjoy’s reserves were joining the battle but then she realised the northern reserves were not moving. The rest of the Ironborn joined the fray and then she heard another horn go off twice. A horn was blown twice in reply and she looked behind her to see the northern reserves moving in. She heard a single horn and remembered that it was the signal for advance and started to move forward giving one final push realising that the end of the battle was near. She looked for Jon and for the first time since the battle began she saw something worthy of songs. She realised he was fighting subdued for the plan earlier, now that they were  advancing he was going all out or so she thought. She followed the direction of his advance and saw that he was moving straight towards the banners of Asha Greyjoy, cutting anyone who stood between him and her. She started clearing out her own surroundings and started to move toward him, if he was going to the center of enemy lines he may need some help. She reached him and he looked at her with a proud smile and they started moving towards Asha when they heard another horn go off and the telltale sound of a cavalry charge. It appears Brandon Tallhart and Larence Snow had arrived and the IronBorn were caught completely off guard on their rear and were getting swept by the northern heavy cavalry. The shock of cavalry gave them the opening to get to Asha and they wasted no time getting there. She was being guarded by nine guards who attacked them immediately. She went up against three while Jon took on the rest. She understood Jon's insistence on training against multiple foes when it saved her life while facing three good fighters simultaneously. She parried a swing from the man in front of her, trapped the hand of the man on the right with her net while her spear dug into the gut of the man on her left. She pulled back her spear, driving its handle on the jaw of the man on the right while she ditched her net and retrieved her dagger which she threw straight towards the man on her front. It went straight into his left eye and the man went to the ground. She twirled her spear and drove its point through the neck of the man on her right. She looked to Jon to go and help him but saw him thrust his sword through the throat of the sixth man killing him and moving towards Asha. Asha was wielding dual axes and she was obviously very good with them but was nowhere near Jon on skill level and it showed. She moved forward with a huge right swing but Jon easily dodged it and smashed her head with the pommel of his sword sending her down to the ground. His sword was at her neck before she could get up and he thundered,

“This is the final chance Asha. Lay down your weapons or I will cut down every single Ironborn on this field today” 

There was some hesitance on her face but she raised her hands without too much delay. Jon allowed her to stand but his sword never left her throat. She stood up hands in the air and slowly reached toward the only weapon she had. She unlatched the dirk on her left hip still in its sheath and dropped it to the ground. Any Ironborn nearby who saw her started dropping their weapons while the herald sounded the surrender And Ironborn across the field started dropping their weapons. Meera released a sigh of relief. Asha Greyjoy had surrendered, their first battle was over, they were victorious.