The godswood was silent.
Not the peaceful quiet of morning snow, but the kind of silence that listens back.
Cregan stepped beneath the ancient canopy of the weirwood grove, the red leaves shifting gently in the windless air. The heart tree loomed before him, its carved face solemn, eyes weeping sap like blood. And beneath its roots, the snow was gone—melted by something not born of fire.
[Simulation Ready]
Choose a Simulation:
Attempt a blood communion with the heart tree.
Trace the roots for signs of buried relics.
Meditate to access echo-memories of past Stark rituals.
He chose the first.
[Simulation Running...]
You kneel before the heart tree and press your wounded palm to its roots. Your blood sinks into the bark, and something stirs. A low thrum courses up your spine. The tree speaks—not in words, but in feeling.
You see visions:
Rickon Stark as a boy, weeping over a direwolf pup, swearing he'll never lose again.
A woman with silver-blonde hair kneeling at this very spot, eyes glowing, chanting in a tongue you can almost understand.
The same chained boy—but older, screaming beneath a canopy of red leaves as snow turns to ash around him.
Then—
You.
Kneeling before the tree. But older. Stronger. A sword of shadow and frost across your knees.
You are not alone.
The woman stands behind you. One hand on your shoulder. The other holding the coin.
She says: "Now it begins."
And the heart tree opens its eyes.
[Simulation Complete]
Knowledge Gained:
The woman is not just a seer; she is a key to the prophecy.
The godswood is more than sacred ground—it is a door, and the Stark bloodline is the lock.
Your destiny is entangled with hers, and with the sword beneath Winterfell.
Trait Gained: Blood-Root Bond – Your connection to the old gods strengthens. In godswoods, you gain visions more easily and with deeper clarity.
Accept outcome? "Accept."
His body collapsed forward, hand still pressed to the roots. But the pain in his chest was not fear—it was awe.
When he finally stood, he knew he wasn't alone.
The woman stood by the tree, just like in the vision. But this was real.
"You saw it too," she said, voice low.
He nodded slowly.
She held out the coin.
"Keep it. It belongs to the pact. And so do you."
Cregan took it with a trembling hand.
And somewhere, deep beneath Winterfell, something began to wake.