The wooden sword was heavy in his small hands. At now five years old body, Jon Snow had little of the strength of a grown warrior. Ser Rodrik had left him with a few words of correction, and though the old knight's footsteps faded, Jon did not stop. yet he swung the blade with a determination that belied his age. Again and again, the dull thwack of wood striking against a training post echoed through the yard, each swing sloppy but persistent. His breath came out in sharp huffs, his arms trembling, yet he refused to stop.
Jon knew what the system had shown him in the morning—it wasn't a gift that would hand him victory easily. It wasn't about numbers rising overnight, not yet. It was about skill, practice, form. And so he forced himself to swing, to step, to correct his balance when his feet tangled.
If I can't do even this… then how will I ever survive here?
The sun crawled slowly across the sky. His hands blistered, his palms raw, but he clenched his teeth and kept at it. A memory flashed in his mind, not of Westeros but of Earth—himself in front of a glowing screen, tapping away, safe in a world where death was distant and stories were fiction. Here, those stories were alive. Here, the Starks were his family, the Wall was real, and dragons waited far away with a girl named Daenerys in his thoughts, the one he yearned to meet.
He feels in Story Daenerys & Joh can have a better ending and he really liked her in previous life.
By the time the sun began to dip, painting the sky in orange, Jon finally dropped the wooden sword.
[Ding! Basic Swordsmanship progression: 16% → 22% → 26%]
His arms screamed in pain, but deep down. he felt a small sense of progress. He wasn't stronger. He wasn't faster. But he had lasted the day.
The servants lit no torches yet—Winterfell's life slowed as the sun went down. In this world, night meant rest. Jon washed quickly and made his way to the hall where the family gathered for dinner.
It was a simple affair. Bread, meat, stew and ale for the adults. Jon ate quietly, his head bent, as the hum of conversation rose and fell around him. He felt the weight of his position—bastard, always on the edge of things.
Robb, a boy only a little older, leaned across the bench with a grin.
"Jon, why didn't you come play with us today? We were racing through the yard."
Jon managed a smile, though it felt thin. "I was practicing."
Robb frowned. "Practicing? You're only five. You've got years before Ser Rodrik even lets us hold real swords."
"I know," Jon said softly. "But… I don't want to waste time."
Robb gave him a strange look, half-confused, half-amused, before shrugging and turning back to chatter With Sansa. Jon kept eating in silence.
Then Lord Eddard Stark's steady voice cut through the room.
"And what did you do today, Jon?"
The question startled him. Ned rarely singled him out during dinner. For a moment, Jon hesitated, his spoon hovering above the stew.
'I can't tell him anything about the future. No one would believe me. No one could.
'
"I practiced in the yard," Jon answered carefully. "Sword swings. Balance."
Ned studied him for a long moment, those grey Stark eyes calm but heavy with something else.
Jon couldn't place it—a weight, a shadow. A man who had seen honor discarded and blood spilled, but still carried both in silence.
"Discipline is good," Ned said at last. "But do not forget to rest, Jon. Even the strongest steel needs tempering."
Jon bowed his head. "Yes, my lord."
Catelyn shifted at the far side of the table. She did not speak, but her lips pressed thin, her hand tightening on the wooden spoon as if the words themselves soured her food. The message was clear enough. Jon kept his eyes on his plate, shoulders low.
Dinner ended soon after. The torches sputtered low, shadows stretching across stone walls. One by one, family and servants filed out, until Jon found himself walking alone through the cold corridors toward his small chamber.
The room was dark but familiar. He shut the door, leaned against it, and exhaled slowly. The mask slipped, and the thoughts he had buried all day rose up.
'I can't survive this world if I stay the same as I was on Earth. I'm not Robb. I'm not Arya. I can't fight like them. I'm not meant for killing.'
The thought twisted in his chest. Images came unbidden—blood, screams, the horror of war. Just imagining it made his stomach knot.
'Even with the system, I couldn't do it. Driving a sword into someone's heart? No. I'd break before I could strike.'
His eyes shifted toward the wooden sword leaning against the wall. And slowly, an idea began to form.
'But maybe… I don't have to kill as myself. If I bond with an animal—if I warg—I could find survival in instinct. An animal doesn't hesitate. It doesn't drown in guilt. It hunts, it kills, it survives. If I could share that… maybe I wouldn't lose my mind in this place.'
The thought gave him a strange comfort. Not victory. Not glory. But survival.
'Which animal, though? A wolf? A hawk? Even a dog could sharpen my instincts. If I can connect with one, I can build something. I can be more than just a frightened boy with a bastard's name.'
He sat on the bed, staring out the narrow window at the falling snow. The night pressed in heavy, but the idea burned inside him.
And then, the familiar chime rang in his mind.
A panel flickered faintly into view.
Ding!
System Update:
New Task Triggered
Path of the Warg
Objective: Find and bond with an animal.
Reward: Unlock Warg (Dormant) skill.
Another panel flickered in his vision, faint yet clear.
Ding!
[System Progress Log]
Training Hours Completed: 1 day
Sword Practice: 'Basic Swordsmanship' skill progression: 12% → 26%
+20 XP
Endurance: Slight increase in pain tolerance
Skill Tree Available: [Swordsmanship Basics], [Survival Instinct],
Jon lay back on the furs, staring at the glowing text until it slowly faded from view. His arms throbbed, his palms stung from the practice sword, but his heart beat faster with something new—hope.
A small gain, nothing grand. No miracle strength, no sudden mastery. Just a fraction stronger, a little more enduring. Yet Jon found himself smiling faintly. In the long winters, it was the small fires that kept you alive.
But strength of the arm was not enough. He thought of Lord Eddard's calm judgment, of Robb's easy laughter that could rally men, and of the lords who whispered in shadows. A lord needed more than a sword. He needed to listen, to command, to endure schemes as sharp as any blade.
If I am to survive, Jon thought, I must learn more than fighting. Politics. Leadership. How to guide, not just swing steel.
The brazier's flames flickered low, shadows reaching across the stone walls of Winterfell. His breath misted in the cold air as his mind turned forward. Tomorrow, I'll make plans. Training, yes—but also how to learn what it means to lead. I'll need both sword and mind if I am to stand in the battles ahead.
Sleep pulled at his tired body, and as his eyes closed, the silence of the keep seemed to whisper.
Jon dreamed.
He dreamed of a silver-haired girl with dragons soaring against the sky. He dreamed of wolves running through endless forests, their eyes gleaming red in the dark. He dreamed of thrones made of swords and shadows, of voices calling his name from places he had never walked.
And in that dream, he felt the weight of eyes that were not his own—watching, waiting.
The boy who carried two worlds within him dreamed of Sky and Forest, of fire and frost, and of paths that stretched into futures yet unwritten.
STATUS
Name: Jon Snow (Aegon Targaryen)
Age: 5
Title: Bastard of Winterfell
Mother: Lyanna Stark (Hidden)
Status: Stable
Condition: Cold, Slight Fatigue
XP: 210 → 250
Level: 1
Attributes: (Locked — progression by growth only)
(Average adult 10, Max 40) (due to bloodlines and magic in this world)
Strength: 3
Endurance: 3 → 3.1
Agility: 4
Intelligence: 7
Perception: 6
Charisma: 5
Talents:
Warg (Dormant)
Stark Bloodline
Targaryen Bloodline
Dragon Affinity (Dormant)
Skills:
Basic Swordsmanship (Level 1 ) (Progression 12% → 26%)+
Observation (Passive) (Level 1 → Level 2) +
Language: Westerosi Common (Fluent, Level 7 )+
System Modules:
Training
Quests
Path of the Warg
Objective: Find and bond with an animal.
Reward: Unlock Warg (Dormant) skill. (started)
Skill Tree 1) Swordsmanship unlocked.
Note:- New modules will be added as you progress