Chapter 23: 23. The Wall
Four Months Later...
Winterfell was getting colder day by day. It had been four months since Stannon had discussed about his soap-making business, and things were going well.
But while things in the North were going well, the situation in King's Landing was still uncertain. Jon Arryn had returned to the capital and as expected he didn't recommend Middlefinger for the position of Master of coin. However Petyr hadn't yet been arrested. Maybe the old man was looking for stronger proof before making his move. Stannon didn't know. All he knew was that, according to the information he had obtained from Ned, Robert had called his brother, Stannis Baratheon, to King's Landing, most likely to give him the position. Stannon had no problem with that—Stannis was a serious and honest man who wouldn't let the royal treasury be drained by greedy hands.
But what really made Stannon think was Melisandre, the Red Priestess. He didn't know if she had already arrived in Stannis' court or if she was still on her way and would arrive just like she did after Robert's death which he definitely wouldn't let happen.
But If she was involved, things could get complicated. Melisandre believed Stannis was Azor Ahai reborn, a prophesied hero. She might see this new position as a sign of his destiny and push him toward claiming the throne sooner than expected.
Stannon sighed, leaning on the wooden railing of Winterfell's walls. He was already changing the timeline, and he didn't know what effects it would have. If Stannis was being pulled into the capital earlier than before—what else had changed? And what problems would follow?
For now, all he could do was prepare. Winter was coming, and so were the storms of war.
Stannon sighed as he moved towards the window and peeked out of it.
As a transmigrator, Stannon knew a lot about the history and geography of the Seven Kingdoms, and the Wall had always fascinated him. It was something he had looked forward to visiting. Yet, with all the hectic schedule of training he had taken on, he had almost forgotten about it. The thought of seeing the Wall again in real life sparked his curiosity and excitement.
He had already discussed this with Ned and after a bit of convincing Ned had agreed to let Stannon visit the wall.
With Ned's permission, Stannon had already made his preparations. He packed lightly, bringing only the essentials, and took Ghostwing, his raven, with him. Ghostwing had been a loyal companion, and Stannon trusted the bird's keen eyes to help him on the journey.
The trip to the Wall was long and boring. Stannon traveled by horse, with Ghostwing flying ahead and returning to report back. Their destination was Castle Black, the base of the Night's Watch, where Stannon hoped to learn more about the Wall and what lay beyond it.
When they finally arrived, Stannon stood in awe of the Wall. It stretched high into the sky, made of ice, and the wind howled fiercely around them. The Wall felt ancient, almost alive, and Stannon felt an odd pull toward it, a sense that something deeper lay within its massive structure.
Ghostwing flew ahead to scout, and Stannon walked along the base of the Wall. The cold air whipped around him, and the sound of wolves howling faintly in the distance added to the eerie atmosphere.
As Stannon approached the Wall, he couldn't help but imagine how awesome it would feel to fly like Ghostwing. The raven had the freedom to soar through the skies, to see the world from above, to escape any danger with just a few powerful strokes of his wings. If Stannon were ever in a situation he couldn't solve, he could just fly off—nothing could touch him.
'Only if I could copy that ability,' Stannon clicked his tounge as uptil now he had used the system on many birds but still he was not able to get any ability related to flying.
He envied the birds freedom, its ability to fly far and wide, without a care in the world.
Suddenly , Stannon felt a strange sensation—a subtle shift in the air. Suddenly, his vision blurred, and he felt as if he was no longer himself.
For a brief moment, he was somewhere else. His surroundings were dark, and he felt like he was being pulled by some force. The next thing he knew, he was no longer human. He was inside the body of Ghostwing.
Confused and alarmed, Stannon tried to make sense of what was happening. He could feel the raven's wings spread, the wind ruffling through its feathers, its sharp eyes scanning the vast landscape below. The world from the raven's perspective was vast, and Stannon could sense every minute detail—the air currents, the subtle shifts in the world beneath him.
As the raven's mind began to fade, Stannon found himself back in his own body, standing at the base of the Wall. He gasped for breath, his heart racing as he tried to process what had just happened. His hands shook, and his mind was reeling.
"I… I warged," he whispered, his voice shaky. He had often seen in the show, the ability being used by Bran to warg—but he had never experienced it until now and it felt hella creepy and uncomfortable.
Just then a system notification panel appeared before his eyes asking him whether he wanted to register the ability on his system ability slot or not.
Stannon shut the notification down without making any decision as all the ability slots were full and he had to upgrade the system in order to get a new slot. But that didn't matter as he could still use the ability without it being registered and can add whenever he wanted to the system slots, just the quick upgrade option would not be available to him.
He pulled himself together and remembered the feeling of being able to fly in the sky which felt both terrifying and exhilarating. The raw connection with Ghostwing had been overwhelming, but Stannon knew one thing that this would definitely help him a lot in the coming future.
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