Interlude 1: Letters from The North

As the beginning of the third century after the conquest continued on, two letters, sealed with the direwolf of House Stark, made their way from one end of the continent to another. One letter made its way to Dragonstone where upon reading it Stannis Baratheon flew into such a rage that Ser Davos Seaworth, a witness to these events, stated that "The grinding of Lord Stannis' teeth could be heard so clearly that all present feared that they would shatter." On the other side of the Blackwater Bay, Tywin Lannister merely scoffed at the words on the parchment while claiming them to be "nothing but bravado by a bastard in an attempt to save his house's dignity."

Not only would his words be proven to be false, but they would constantly be repeated in the North as a mockery to the Lord; for by the end of Aemon Stark's regency, known as Jon Snow at the time, the Lannisters would be impoverished, severely in debt, and facing the threat of extinction.

~An excerpt from Wolves of Winter by Maester Samwell Tarly

Dragonstone

To King Stannis Baratheon,

In light of House Baratheon's transgressions against House Stark and the North, I, Jon Snow, son of Eddard Stark, and Regent of King Rickon Stark do hereby proclaim the North's secession from the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros.

When King Robert Baratheon, your brother, came to the North to bequeath the position of Hand of the King to Lord Stark and ask him for his daughter's hand in marriage for his non-existent son, Lord Stark accepted those honors in the name of their friendships and to protect him from the circling Lannisters in King's Landing. That action would later result in his death.

However, make no mistake, Lord Stark did not die due to his honor but to the negligence of King Robert, the treachery of the Lannsiters and your willingness to simply watch events unfold around the realm while hoarding valuable information in Dragonstone.

Where were you, my Lord, when Lord Arryn promptly succumbed to an unknown illness with no prior warning? You fled to Dragonstone with your household and all your effects.

Where were you, my Lord, when word spread throughout the realm that King Robert marched North to Winterfell to make Lord Stark his Hand? You stayed in Dragonstone, stewing in your indignity with knowledge of the Lannisters' treachery lodged in your mind.

Where were you, my Lord, when Lord Stark was assaulted and nearly killed in King's Landing by the Kingslayer? You stayed on Dragonstone still stewing in your indignity and perceived slights with no thoughts to aid nor warn Lord Stark and King Robert of the Lannisters' treachery.

Where were you, my Lord, when Robb Stark, a mere lord of 10 and 7 at the time, rallied his bannermen in an effort to save Lord Stark and his sisters from the hands of the Lannisters? You were still on Dragonstone.

Where were, my Lord, when Robb Stark continuously handed the Lannisters defeat on the battlefield? You were at Storm's End committing kinslaying with the most fel of magic.

And yet still you expect House Stark and the North to bend the knee to you and proclaim you King? You, who keeps the company of religious zealots willing to happily burn "heretics"? You, who willingly watched in silence as the Lannisters committed treason and killed our Lord? You, who is willing to become a kinslayer through the fel magic of a shadowbinder from Asshai? You, who knows nothing of the Wall or the wolfswood or the barrows of the First Men? The Others take you, your fire priestess, and your Iron Throne.

House Stark and the North shall never bend the knee again. It was the dragons we first bent to, and the dragons are dead. We bent the knee to Robert Baratheon for his friendship with Lord Stark, and now both are dead.

From henceforth the North is its own kingdom under the rule of one king. We know no king, but the King in the North whose name is Stark, The King of Winter, Rickon Stark.

May your god bless you in the wars to come.

Regent of the king, Jon Snow.

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King's Landing

To Tywin Lannister,

Our houses are far past the point of civility towards one another, and as such I shall dispense with the courtesies and pleasantries one would normally put in these letters.

As such, let me begin by telling you that the hatred I feel for you and the disdain I hold towards your "Legacy" cannot be put into mere words. A set of incestuous twins dumber than they realize, a boy who's cruelty rivals the Mad King's, and a dwarf of a son whose heart has become so black with hatred that when news of your demise at his hands reaches the North I will not be surprised. Truly you are the standard from which all rulers should base their legacies upon.

In light of House Lannister's transgressions against House Stark and the North, all members of House Lannister, whether trueborn, cousins, by marriage, or bastards are hereby banned from ever coming north of The Neck. Any member of House Lannister caught north of The Neck will be summarily executed if caught, and anyone who brings the head of a Lannister to Winterfell shall be given 1,000 gold dragons for their trouble.

Henceforth there shall be a blood feud between House Stark and House Lannister. We may have retreated back North, but our agents remain south and they shall wreak havoc upon your house.

Winter is Coming.

Regent of the King, Jon Snow.

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AN: A short interlude before we get to see Aemon's plans put to action throughout the South. I also put the mc's CYOA choices as an auxiliary chapter.