Robb and Jon were met by a merry atmosphere in the Great Hall as they entered, the former making his way down the path of tables towards the raised platform while the latter followed after.
Some seemed to notice him and signalled for others, but the two Stark boys ignored them as they stepped onto the raised platform.
"Father, Mother, foolish siblings of mine," Robb greeted jokingly, Eddard giving a subtle smirk while Catelyn just had an exasperated smile at her son's antics.
That smile soon faded as she noticed Jon, who bowed his head while Robb sat down next to a grumbling Arya.
"Lord Stark, Lady Stark."
"Jon," Eddard greeted with a slightly confused gaze as he continued, "What brings you to our table? An urgent matter?"
"Of sorts, yes," Jon replied, taking a deep breath before looking at his father with a determined stare. "Lord Stark, I would like to accept the offer of fostering made by Lord Manderly."
"Are you certain? Do you not need more time to think upon this?"
"I thought I did, but Robb has enlightened me upon what my other options are and I have decided that this is perfect."
"Very well. I shall have Maester Luwin send a letter to Lord Manderly on the morrow."
"Thank you, father. Lady Stark."
"Jon," Catelyn spoke curtly, watching as Jon turned and walked before turning to her husband. Eddard caught her look and let out a soft sigh, already dreading the conversation later.
Jon himself was unaware of his father's conflict as he made his way to the guard's table, sitting down as Rodrik entered and sat down next to him.
"You were at the main table?"
"Yes."
"For?"
"To inform my father of a decision I needed to make."
"Ah, and you feel you've made the correct one?"
"After talking to Robb, I believe so," Jon replied, pleased as Rodrik just gave a gruff nod and started eating.
"Good, because what's the first thing I taught you?"
"Hesitate and you will die," Both Jon and the guards near them spoke softly in unison, Jon hiding his smirk as the Master-At-Arms gave a pleased nod.
"Exactly. Now, eat ya lazy bastards. We all got a night of patrol ahead of us. Well, except for the little lord here," Jon just shook his head as Rodrik patted his shoulder, though his smile didn't fade as the guards chuckled and went back to talking.
He could always count on the guards and Ser Rodrik to lighten the mood.
'Now, I just hope Father doesn't get too much slack for me. Lady Stark didn't seem too pleased.'
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"And why not Robb? Or Brandon or Rickon?" Eddard forced himself not to pinch the bridge of his nose as he stared at Catelyn pacing in the room.
"Cat-"
"Both of the latter two are the correct age for fostering. Granted, Rickon is a little young, but Brandon is perfect."
"Cat, I-"
"And why him? Why would Lord Manderly want him of all people?"
"Because he's a Stark."
"He's a Snow!" she countered, to which Eddard stared at her before letting out a frustrated sigh.
"Well, he is also still my son and thus, he will be going for the fostering."
"And like always, you always do what pleases you and not what the two of us decide together."
"What I am deciding on is the future of my son, a son you do not even want here so I expected you to be overjoyed that Jon is leaving."
"I am, but I am more upset that you are giving him these opportunities and not your more worthy children."
"They will have their chances. Now, leave, please. I need to draft a letter to Lord Manderly on Jon's behalf."
"Very well. Goodnight, Lord Stark," Eddard just watched as his wife stormed out of the room, not surprised to see Rodrik walk in moments later with a slight smirk on his usual stern face.
"The lady did not look pleased."
"This thing with Jon is upsetting her more than I realized."
"What thing, if I may ask, my lord?"
"You are always allowed to ask, Rodrik," The Lord of House Stark replied and Rodrik gave a nod, "It's in regards to Jon and Lord Manderly offering to foster him."
"You believe it to be a true offer?"
"I do. Wylan Manderly is one of the biggest supporters standing behind House Stark," Eddard replied as he sat down. "If it had been Lady Barbrey or Lord Bolton, I may have thought thought twice before even mentioning it to Jon."
"That would have been better. Doing so may have given either of them chance to poison his mind."
"I do not believe Lady Barbrey nor Lord Bolton would try and poison his mind."
"And yet, you do not want Jon to go to either of them," Rodrik replied and Eddard smirked.
"Let's put that behind us and move on to why I called you here tonight. What do you think of Jon's progress in the yard?"
"The full explanation?"
"Yes," Eddard replied, folding his hands on the table as Rodrik nodded and cleared his throat.
"Very well. Let's start at the beginning. Jon's shieldwork, jousting and horseback-riding is above average. He's better than most, but he needs a bit more work and the other two beat him fairly quickly."
"That's to be expected. Robb and Theon always have had more lessons in horse-riding."
"Agreed. Now, onto his tactics and archery. He is very good, better than Robb even."
"But not Theon?" Eddard asked and Rodrik scoffed as he crossed his arms.
"Not in the slightest. Theon has a skill with archery that's seen once in a generation. However, the same could be said for Jon's swordsmanship. The boy...well, to put it blunt, the boy has incredible potential."
"How skilled are we talking?"
"With experience, I could see him becoming one of the greatest in Westeros," Rodrik replied with a sure nod, "though, I would find it hard to believe that he could rival the likes of Jaime Lannister or Arthur Dayne."
The name of the Kingslayter drew a frown to Eddard's face, though he didn't disagree with the man at the comparison of two of the greatest swordsmen in their country's history.
Still, the fact that Rodrik believed that Jon could rise to those heights put his heart at ease, the man's frown fading ever so slightly as a smirk took its place.
"That's good. Then, Lord Manderly will have no complaints when Jon finally leaves."
"I can think of someone that will."
"Let's not bring Arya into this. I dread when Jon or I have to break the news to her."
"I do not pity you, my lord," Rodrik spoke with a snort, leaving the room as Eddard waved his dismissal with a smirk.
Well, now he had to craft a letter and then hope that his beloved lady wife does not try and kick him out of the bed.
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2)Familiar Creation:
This is arguably the most important aspect of being a Blood Mage. There will be times when you won't be able to find fresh blood and aether as you may be hiding away or in exile.
During such a time is when your familiar comes in handy as you can use their own blood as a substitute until such a time that you come into contact with humans once again.
Now, making one is quite easy as you simply need to place the animal of choice in the magic circle shown below and perform the ritual at a full moon.
Of course, the circle needs to be made from your own blood and the animal itself needs to be biting onto your flesh so as to form the spiritual and metaphysical connection between you and your familiar.
Jon closed the journal with a snap as he looked down, feeling a bit lightheaded from the amount of blood he had drained from his body.
His eyes focused on the pentagram drawn on the ground, smirking at the sight of Ghost lying happily on the snow in the centre of it.
A week has passed since he had given his answer to his lord father and since then, life has been dull. Other than reading the journal and training every day with Ser Rodrik, he didn't have much else to do.
Well, that's a bit of a lie. He has also been playing and training Ghost as well, which is how he got the direwolf to sit still in the centre of the pentagram without him trying to dig into the snow.
"Okay, Ghost. Are you ready?" he asked and was not surprised to see the direwolf pup looking back at him silently. "Of course you are. In any case, here we go."
Jon partially unsheathed his sword as he knelt next to Ghost, casting a breathtaking scene of moonlight shining down onto man and his best friend as he slit his palm open.
"Okay, bite," With no hesitation, Ghost did as he was commanded, Jon wincing ever so slightly at the flash of pain that came from the bite.
"Lord of the darkness, Blood of the shadows. Unravel the knots that push us away and ensure that these two souls are able to perceive each other," Jon chanted, ignoring the burning pain increasing with every passing second as Ghost bit down harder.
The direwolf pup noticed the pain flash across Jon's face and wanted to let go, but he then looked at Jon's eyes and paused at him shaking his head.
"No, don't let go. Keep biti-!" Jon's eyes widened as an ominous red glow enveloped his irises, his every breath burning his throat as he felt his heart beat pounding in his ears.
For the next minute, he found himself low to the ground, the taste of fresh yet cold blood filling his mouth as he stared up at his own body.
'Is that...me?' he thought, letting out a gasp as the vision ended and he fell onto his back.
A sensation of panic and fear took his heart with a firm grasp and yet, despite that, he could not get himself to care as he felt his mind growing faint.
'W-What...is this?' he thought as he struggled to breathe, staring at Ghost who stood over his chest while whining softly. Snow fell onto his face and the chill felt comforting, enough to make him doze off as darkness took his vision.
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Heavy breathing filled his ears, his vision sharp despite the eerie darkness of the night that he ran through.
Every step of his felt light and his breath was silent, his target struggling to get away as she tripped and fell over a tree root.
Before she could rise, he was already in front of her, his hands pinning her wrists down while his canines dug into her neck.
The sweet nectar of Aether filled his mouth and brought euphoric pleasure to his mind as he drained the life essence from her. The woman struggled and tried to push him away, but he pulled back with a gasp, staring down at the dazed look in her eyes.
As her gaze met his, he felt his mind latching onto memories that never were, observing the life of a young woman that has not laid with any man.
"You will forget," he whispered, running off before she could come to her senses.
His instincts urged at him to turn, to drain every bit of life that he could, but he forced himself to run until he finally reached the brilliant whispers of Winterfell's godswood.
The trees and leaves whispered to him as he knelt down beside his familiar, who stared back with slow blinks as the young lord fell forward and let sleep take him away.
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Jon awoke with a gasp, flying to his feet and looking at his surroundings.
'What...what was that?' he thought as he looked around, staring at Ghost who was lying next to him. The pup stirred from his sleep, giving slow blinks before their eyes met.
"Ghost, are you well?" he asked, picking up the direwolf pup and smiling as Ghost let out a low whine while snuggling into his body. "I guess that's a somewhat okay, then."
Despite the soothing atmosphere the clearing in front of the godswood had, Jon couldn't help but wonder what that vision was as he made his way back to his room.
The taste of blood was just so...real and it was like he was there, though he himself knew that he would never forcefully take the blood of a woman.
Every time he has done so in the past was only when he could make it look like some rough play during sex, but this...this was a primal hunger for flesh.
'Perhaps, it was a possible future like the one from before. Yes, that is most likely the case,' the young lord easily made his way through the courtyard, placing Ghost next to Grey Wind who stood outside the sparring area.
In it was Theon was Robb, the latter easily holding the former at bay as Robb expertly dismantled his every move with a smile.
"Come now, Theon! Why are you making it so easy?" Robb asked with a grin as he deflected a sword strike with his shield, twisting and smacking Theon's leg.
The Greyjoy just grumbled as he swung his sword low, but what he didn't expect was Robb to parry it with a spin while delivering a backhand with his shield.
Even Jon winced as Theon fell backwards, struggling to sit up straight while looking a bit dizzy.
"Oh, we'll get some ice on that and it'll be good," Rodrik spoke with a grin, to which Robb gave an apologetic smile as he helped Theon to his feet.
"Anyway, Snow! Get your arse in here!" Jon sighed as he walked forward, taking the sword and shield that Theon struggled to hand over while standing on his feet.
Putting on the shield, he tightened the buckles around his left arm and tossed the wooden sword to his right, swinging it around to get his mind centered.
"Like always, first blood or first to yield. Begin!" Robb crossed the distance with heavy steps, Jon clenching his fist before his eyes widened as the world came into clarity.
Every cell in his body felt as if it was lit into overdrive as he watched Robb approach, staring transfixed at the blood pumping in the veins visible on Robb's arms.
As Robb tried to push forward with a shield bash, Jon raised his and to everyone's surprise, the Snow bashed down and knocked Robb's arm with it.
At the same time, he lifted a foot and kicked Robb in the chest, continuing with the stomp as he pushed his half-brother into the dirt.
Robb raised his blade as Jon did the same, slapping Robb's to the side while letting the tip of his own sword rest against his throat.
As the battle finished and the clarity of the world faded, Jon finally noticed his own heavy breathing, both him and Robb staring wide-eyed at each other.
"...Well, I'll be."
A/N: And we end it here~! Five chapters of set-up and build-up along with a showcase of Jon's new capabilities.
Next chapter, we move on and officially start deviating from canon.
As always, read, enjoy, review and until the next one...
Ba-Bye~!