Children of the Weirwoods by Wups

Chapter 1 - Wups 

Following the execution of the Night's Watch deserter and the discovery of the direwolves, things get complicated as the next generation of Starks appear beneath the weirwood trees. Their presence brings secrets from the past, present and future to light.

The time traveling generation from 30 years in the future decide to aid their family survive the game of thrones without the casualties the family suffered in their timeline.

Mix of show and book canon, primarily books with minor changes.

Notes:

Warning for those who dislike OCs this fic is decently heavy on them. There are 20 or so time traveling children, though for the most part they are background or support characters. None of them will be POV characters or are super over powered beyond their knowledge of their past or now present.

I ended up deleting my first fic because I included a original character that I wasn't happy with and was too woven in to simply remove, my goal is to avoid that again. As someone who dislikes OCs excluding the rare few, I have no clue why I tend to write stories with them.

Basically I wanted to cover all the good juicy drama that comes with time travel and other moments that won't happen in canon.

I apologize before hand but the names of some of the time travelers might be confusing because of the similarity to main canon characters' names. But hey, Westeros has a horrible habit of that.

Hope you enjoy.

Also: this story has a spoiler-free appendix so if you want a detailed rundown on characters and other things, check it out. Most of the information is mentioned in story but this puts it all in one place.

Obligatory disclaimer that all content from Game of Thrones or ASOIAF belongs to HBO and GRM.

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Chapter 1: Ned I

Whetting and cleaning Ice in the presence of his gods had become a routine after an execution. The air was chilly yet not cold, the heat of the black pool made the area a sanctuary on the cool days in the North. The peaceful setting made his mind focus on the why and not the what. 

Executing a man was never something Ned could enjoy, it was horrifying that some did take enjoyment from the act. He never thought it possible until that day in the throne room but his best friend was one of those people. It certainly wasn't justice, it definitely shouldn't have been rewarded and yet it was. The event had caused such a distance between the two brothers by choice. 

The soft snapping of twigs and leaves brought his attention to his wife. Ned always liked seeing Cat here, her red hair and pale skin made her akin to the weirwood though she never felt comfortable in the Godswood. She approached with a raven's words heavy in hand and with a grave face that told him its words were nothing good. "Ned."

He lifted his head away from his task and toward her. "Catelyn. Where are the children?" It was what he always asked. They were what matter most. He hoped they never have to go through what he did and lose their siblings.

Seated with her cloak on the forest floor she looked into the dark waters. "In the kitchen, arguing about names for the wolf pups. Arya is already in love, and Sansa is charmed and gracious, but Rickon is not quite sure."

They talked for some time about the kids, the execution, the direwolves and even the Others but that wasn't what she came for. She'd came to deliver the raven's words. "You did not come here to tell me crib tales. I know how little you like this place. What is it, my lady?"

She took his hand and made to speak but was cut off by the normally still pitch black pool turning white with bubbles as the water trashed and lightly splashed them. Scrambling backwards they watched transfixed as the odd event continued.

An arm emerged from the depths, white as snow. More and more appeared and reached for one another or the edge. As the figures start to rise from the waters Ned raised his blade. His first instinct is to attack but the sight of red hair stopped him cold, it was the same shade as his eldest daughter's.

"What in seven hells?" Ned believed the words came from the white clad woman with Sansa's hair. The stranger coughed as she recovered on her arms and knees from whatever just happened. 

More and more bodies came from the pool, men, women, even a child younger than Arya. Heads of reds, browns, black, and silver-gold hair emerged. They all appeared weakened from the water but some were still armed. Unnaturally the water seemed adverse to lingering in their clothes leaving them drier than Ned and Cat.

Flipping over onto her back the woman in white groaned. With her head up, Ned could see a circlet of iron swords upon her head. "Whose fault is this?" Despite the question, she had a target she was directing it at. 

The subject of the woman's focus was a boy near Sansa's age. On his back the child waved his arms indignantly. "Why must this be my fault?" 

All the newcomers turned their heads to shoot the lad a disbelieving look. Some even scoffed or chuckled. "Yes, one of us would manage to suddenly transport us into the Godswood. We just love sorcery," voiced one of the women very sarcastically.

"Alright, this may be my fault but not everything is! Besides I didn't try to do this." It was a very very weak rebuttal. With the boy's arms spread wide, the boy's dark hair was visible to Ned.

Another feminine voice spoke up with sass, "And what was it that you were trying to accomplish exactly? I was in Dorne, now I'm in Winterfell with only the silks on my person! It is cold here!" This woman had yet to leave the heat of the pool. Her Rhoynar coloring corroborated her claims.

Excluding sorcery, Ned had little idea how these people had arrived in the pool especially if they weren't in Winterfell. Magic had long since left the world but like the direwolves perhaps it returned. It was impossible for them to have gotten here otherwise, he had been by the pool for near an hour.

"I was trying to make the gardens more fertile doing what the Greenhand did." Did the boy not know Garth Greenhand was just a myth or story?

Another sarcastic voice spoke Ned's thoughts aloud, "Mayhaps, the Reach is just naturally fertile because it has an ideal climate for plants. And you are aware that he is said to have done so by deflowering maidens?" With the woman speaking up Ned was able to identify her as the sole silver-gold haired individual among the group.

Scoffing, "Of course I knew that. What else did you think I use to power the spell?" The words were spoken confidently. Was the dark haired youth really suggesting he already dishonored a maiden and so proudly?

Quickly sitting up the first woman looked utterly aghast at the boy. "Ned!" Her shout caused both Eddard and Cat to flinch but neither were the woman's attention. "You are only two and ten! Mother will surely punish you for dishonoring whomever you did and to do so while in my castle!"

"Three," the boy corrected. He wasn't referring to his age as that was clearly incorrect.

"Three?" the woman with Sansa's hair color confusedly echoed before a look of horror appeared on her face. "You didn't! Don't tell me you deflowered three girls."

A curt nod and a smug smirk was the boy's first response. "Possibly. If it makes you happy, they lefted satisfied," was his second.

Giving an exasperated scream into her hands, the white wearing woman dropped onto her back. "You are doing chores for the rest of the year!"

That broke away the boy's confidence. "That is way too long! I just accomplished an impressive feat of magic!" Poor lad had ten remaining moons of punishment in store for him, as it was just the start of the third moon of the year.

A chorus of yips pulled everyone's attention from the boy to Ned's children and Theon arriving with their direwolves. The group was led by Jon's white wolf. While his children froze at the sight of their father's drawn blade and the unknowns by the pool, the silent wolf had no such fear.

All three parties were silent for a moment or two in apprehension before giggles broke out from the youngest girl from the pool. Smiling widely as she sat holding the white wolf to her chest as it licked at her face. "Ah! Stop it baby Ghosty!" she exclaimed. Her red hair waved as she squirmed to avoid the wolf as her vibrant violet eyes sparkled with mirth.

"Snow, it looks like your pup favors a little girl over you." Theon said the biting remark with a smirk.

The slight curl of his upper lip in annoyance and the narrowing of his eyes was the only sign of acknowledgement Jon gave to his father's ward.

Robb, ever the mediator between the two, put an end to it, "Not the time Theon."

When the girl stood and walked over to Jon with the wolf in her extended arms, everyone watched. "Here is the puppy back Jael!"

Jon accepted the wolf silently and gave the girl an intrigued look before speaking to her. "Jon, my name is Jon."

She stood straighter at the name and bounced on her toes. "I'm Robyn. My father used to be called Jon, we call my brother that now. Jael is also my brother, you look like him." 

Everything about those that came from the pool screamed something imperceptible at Ned but he could not quite put all the information together. The known names all triggered suspicion in him. Ned, Robyn, a Jon or two. The hair and eyes too: reds, browns, black and that silver-gold, blues, greys, black, and violet. Their mysterious entrance, their previous locations, the wolf's reaction, their appearances. Half of them looked like they could be his own children if a bit too old.

Kneeling next to the girl Jon gave her one of his rare smiles. "How about you introduce your group. You have us on guard, the Godswood is not public."

Tilting her head like one of the wolf pups she countered, "But this is our home."

"Robyn!" The quick call of the girl's name from the woman in white was just too late to prevent the words from being heard. 

It was time for answers, Ned stepped forward between the two groups. The Warden of the North looked at the woman in her now visible grey eyes. "Explain," he commanded.

After a long exhale, she stood with her hands on her hips ready to quickly unsheath her own blade. Her impassive face made her long face all the more evident. The stare down between the grey eyes lasted a few moments before she used her voice. "You are Lord Eddard Stark, correct?"

The question took Eddard a bit off guard and if anything it made him more suspicious. "Yes," he answered when he recovered.

"Then perhaps this would be best done in private away from your children." The woman's eyes were no longer on the elder Ned but his children.

Ned thought about sending them away but he doubted it would come to blows especially with the child behind him. Doing so would also require him to answer his children's questions at a later time. "They'll remain. Whatever you have to say they may hear."

"If you say so." She shot him a foreign smirk. "I'll start by introducing myself; I am Sauna Stark" Halting her words for a few gasps that the revelation drew. "These are half of my siblings. This is Jonnel, the second eldest of our mother's children." An arm extended to point to the subject of her words.

This Jon or Jonnel at first glance looked more like Eddard than his counterpart. Jonnel and the Lord of Winterfell had the exact same coloring right down to the shade. Beyond the coloring however the young man shared few facial features with Ned though the same could be said of Jon Snow. Jonnel gave Eddard a sheepish smile and a shrug before his sister moved on to their other siblings. The man's hand rested on the white pumble of his blade.

"Next the triplets, Cailin, Minisa and Sara Stark."

 Cailin, named after the stronghold. The young woman had Catelyn's coloring; a slightly darker red of hair and the Tully blue eyes. She was almost a copy of the Tully but with sharper features, a more elegant built and about as tall as Ned.

With brown hair, Minisa was perhaps in inch short of her redheaded triplet sister. Her eyes were the same dark grey as Brandon and Lyanna's and had the long face to complete the Stark look. In fact the woman looked hauntingly similar to Lyanna or his faded memory of his sister. She only gave Ned half her attention as mindlessly glided her feet over the now still water of the pool.

The final triplet Sara was the sarcastic silver-blonde from earlier. Despite remaining on the ground she was noticeably far smaller than either of her sisters, though still taller than the average woman. She watched everyone with perceptive grey eyes which unnerved Ned even though he shared the color. 

"The reason we are here: Brynnard or as we call him Ned. I apologize you have to share a name with him."

The youth just smiled wider at the extra comment. "Greetings, old man." He smirked at the clench of the elder Ned's jaw which was identical to his own. His brown hair was darker than that of his siblings' but his eyes shared the Tully blue. 

"And you have met the youngest: Robyn."

At her reintroduction the girl gave a curtsy just as perfect as Sansa's before returning to her bubbly but timid state. Somehow she had convinced Jon to relinquish his wolf to her care again. 

"Cassana, our cousin."

Taller, broader, curvier, and more muscular than the other women and men of the group was the black haired woman. Cassana stared at Ned's children with eyes of blue lightning. A war hammer in her lap and a white cloak on her shoulders. Her appearance practically screamed: Baratheon.

"Then that leaves our shivering Dornish half-siblings: Daena, Baelor, and Myriah."

The standing two had a white streak in their curling black hair and all three had some of the darkest eyes Ned had ever seen. Though they were tan, none had the olive skin of the Rhoynar blood. Baelor, the male was the only one of the three who looked to be able to handle the chill of the North as the younger girl shivered constantly even under a cloak and the elder sister remained in the pool.

Robb took a step forward, " How are you Starks?" The heir to Winterfell asked the question many were wondering. 

Being the leader and eldest Sauna was looked upon for the answer but she simply contemplated her response with an impassive face. She was saved or betrayed once again by her youngest sibling. 

"Mother is a Stark and we got her name so it didn't go away. It is an old name and the saying doesn't work without the name Stark. They got Kepa's name." Robyn pointed to the Dornish trio. 

There were no male lines that Eddard could think of other than his cousins once removed and Ned was head of the house. Yet according to the maester's records: the lines of the twins Brandon and Benjen died before having any issue. "Name your grandfather." Unless they were very distant cousins then their answer should allow him to figure out their line.

"Are you sure you want the squid here? You may regret it." Sauna's warning was cautious and genuine. 

"I thought squids were only in the seas?" The little girl's confused question was mostly ignored.

Ned again thought over sending Theon away but so long as his children are here the lad will learn the information anyway. If he sent the whole group away he'd simply be pestered for the information himself. It wasn't like the knowledge of their lineage would be as dangerous as Jon's. "He can stay." Eddard saw that his words relaxed the Greyjoy's stiff shoulders.

"You." Sauna's answer was short and just as confusing as ever.

Pulling back his head slightly and scrunching his brows, Ned was both confused and annoyed by the woman's crypticness. "Me what? Give me an actual answer."

Crossing her arms over her scale like chest piece Sauna gave a frustrated huff. "You, Lord Eddard Stark are our grandfather. Well technically not to those three." The words were impossible to be true but they were said with confidence and as if fact.

Catelyn who had been quiet this whole time was the first one to voice the absurdity of the claim. "That is not possible, the ages don't work. Ned would have been what ten when you were born. How could he have had a daughter old enough to have a child in that time?"

"You are not wrong but that doesn't mean it isn't the truth. We just discovered instantaneous transportation to the Godwood pool is possible and I previously thought that to be impossible. But apparently magic has little regards for both the impossible and time." Ned's alleged eldest granddaughter was just as tired of this mess as he was.

One word of her response caught Eddard's attention. "Time? That doesn't change the fact that I've only coupled with one wom-" Shit.

"What?" The confused single word question was echoed in the group of his children and behind him: Cat.

If Ned had time he may have been able to come up with an explanation without revealing his great lie or at least pray for guidance but he had no such time. Both Jon and Catelyn's eyes were locked on him expecting answers that both had long sought. Lucky for Ned his alleged granddaughter came to his rescue though the inquiries were unlikely to be dropped.

"Yes time. My party and I appear to have traveled to the past. I assure you I have yet to have been born." The absolute madness of Sauna's claims got the attention of even Cat and Jon.

If Ned hadn't already accepted the possibility of magic reemerging in the world with the return of the direwolves and the group's sudden appearance in the pool then he would have called her insane. 

Arya had a wide grin as she asked, "You are Sansa's, aren't you?" The young she-wolf was probably excited by the possibility of annoying the elder girl and Cat with the fact that the possible daughter carried a blade.

Taken aback by her sister's question Sansa shot Arya a quick glare but turned back to her potential children with hopeful eyes.

A long whistle drew attention to the ward. "Damn Sansa, you must have been a busy woman." Theon motioned his head in the direction of the likely time travelers before he was shoved by Jon.

Robb quickly understood the Greyjoy's ill mannered implication and shouldered the ward even farther away from Sansa. "Gods Theon! That is my sister!" 

Sauna regained the focus of everyone with a single clap. "Aunt Arya is correct." She smiled at her young mother.

The mother of the travelers glowed with happiness and a near blinding smile. A blush still remained on Sansa's face from her sister's initial question. "You wear a circlet, are you a princess? Does that mean I am queen in the future?" 

Smile dropping at the last inquiry Sauna replied, "The main line of Starks were given an honor similar to the Martells. The siblings and children of the Lord or Lady Stark of Winterfell hold the title of prince or princess. So yes, I am a princess." The woman avoided her mother's final question.

"Wait! If you have the title that means either you or Sansa are the ruler of Winterfell. For that to happen..." Robb's words died in his throat but they all knew what he was referencing. For Sansa or one of her children to become Lord or Lady of Winterfell, all the male Starks would have to die first including Robb and excluding Benjen.

A familiar sad look and mournful nod was the princess' response. Those melancholic eyes and frown were what made Ned realize the woman's father, they were the same features that haunted the Lord near daily in the halls of his keep. The look inherited from Sauna's other grandfather. 

One half of Eddard was completely disgusted that two of his children would do such a thing even if they were cousins in truth. The other half almost supported the pairing, he knew his nephew was a far better man than any Sansa might have married otherwise. Another part of him, the guilty conscious and the tiny ambitious part felt that if things had gone right or had Ned put the boy on the throne his daughter might have married Jon anyway. She would have been the princess or queen she always wanted to be.

When his granddaughter from the future spoke her voice was sorrowful, "We have only ever met three of you."

Everyone from the present time realized what that meant. Sansa was the only one of the three confirmed and only two of the eight remaining lived to see their family. Ned, Robb, Bran and Rickon were essentially confirmed dead in the near future.

"Who?" The word was barely able to be understood past the break in Cat's voice. 

Giving a glance to each of the potential survivors before closing her eyes Sauna took a deep breath. "Mother obviously, Rickon and… Jon." If she had her eyes open she may have seen everyone try to swallow the lump in their throats. "Although I can not remember, I have also technically met Arya, Bran, and Theon but I am the only one."

Despite knowing the great likelihood he was dead in his granddaughter's future, it was a horrible truth to learn he and Cat never so much as got to meet any of their grandchildren. Their family was of great health, what could cause such death in their family?

The others were not able to control their emotions as well as the lord. Tears rolled down over Cat's high cheekbones and gathered in Sansa's eyes. The boys old enough to understand all had a haunted look realizing the only way the others would not see their nieces and nephews was because of the barrier of death.

This time it was Ned who sought answers, "How?"

Gathering her strength again, Sauna took a deep breath before speaking. "Seven years of war and the worst winter since the Long Night. The death of Jon Arryn started everything but yours was the first major death that initiated war. No kingdom was without great losses, the population of Westeros was more than halved, Essos was worse." The speech caused many gasps but Cat's was the first and most notable.

What kind of war could half a population in just seven years? Jon Arryn's death, the man was old but healthy, these events could happen anytime from the present to ten or twenty years into the future.

His attention was pulled back to reality just like his arm was tugged by Catelyn. "Ned," it was barely above a whisper as she passed him the raven's words she originally intended to give him. 

Unrolling the message and he gave it a quick read, Ned couldn't help but feel weak in the knees. Jon Arryn was dead. His father figure was dead and Robert was riding towards Winterfell. If his granddaughter spoke true then war and death was on the horizon. He needed to know more of the future if he was to save his family. "Jon Arryn is dead. The king rides for Winterfell." His voice was emotionless and his words caused both fear and excitement in his children but the time travelers only held worry in their eyes. 

It was the silver haired woman who spoke up to break the silent chaos, "Mother never told us this happened in her past so our presence has already changed the future. We might as well go all out and give this reality a better future. I'd prefer if the library didn't burn this time." Sara answered Ned's silent plee. 

"Must you really be worried about your precious books right now?" Little Ned asked rhetorically.

Taking offense on behalf of her books, Sara looked genuinely hurt. "I'll have you know there are one of a kind tomes on many topics in there that have been lost to time."

Brynnard seemed to perk up at that. "Do you think there is any on greenseeing or magic?"

"If there are any we are hiding them until you mature." Sauna cut in to put an end to her siblings' squabbles. "Ignore them. We'll give you advice from our future but with every change that happens the less valuable our information is. Though it helps we know all the players of the game and what they desire."

Sansa was the first to seek answers from her future daughter, "Who is my husband? Is it the prince? I've heard he is very handsome." The girl completely overlooked the upcoming war for the identity of the father of her children.

A loud groan emanated from Sauna as she gave her siblings a look before placing her face in her hands. She looked as annoyed at her mother as everyone else excluding Catelyn. "No, if you are referring to Prince Joffrey. He isn't even legitimate."

Those who were not shocked into silence exclaimed variations of "What?"

"To summarize, the royal children are bastards of incest between the queen and her eldest brother. She regularly cuckholds the king with other men, not that Robert Baratheon is any better." The princess' words were spoken so nonchalantly that it made the revelation all the more surprising. "Joffrey is also well on his way to becoming the next Aerys."

Ned could scarcely believe it, he knew the Lannisters were cruel but he never expected Tywin to allow the next Mad King to come from his line. How had Ned never heard of the boy's temperament? How could Robert and Jon allow such behavior? The incest was somehow less surprising, the Lannister narcissism would make that appealing to the Kingslayer and the queen.

Ever the sweet naive girl Sansa questioned the validity of her daughter's claim. "That can't be true, I've heard he is very gallant and courteous. The realm would know if he was cruel. Handsome princes can't be evil." Her argument was reasonable and understandable until her final sentence.

"And yet you believe Prince Rhaegar to be, do you not?" Ned's granddaughter had no regard for the way her wording and comparison perturbed him. "People lie, people put on mummer's shows, people hide things they are ashamed of, people manipulate. That direwolf you hold doesn't live in my future because you lied to the king, Grandfather, and yourself, though you didn't have much choice but to lie. In the future you call your younger self stupid but in reality you are simply naive, very very naive." Throughout the rant Sauna's icy exterior seemed to melt as the fire underneath revealed itself. It took a single look at the shocked look in her youthful mother's eyes to put the flame out. "Apologies." Guilt replaced the passionate annoyance.

"Lady?" muttered Sansa as she looked at the direwolf within her embrace. She looked both insulted and on the verge of tears. 

No one spoke as they watched the scene, even Arya who normally might take enjoyment at her sister being the subject of a rant in her place. While some in the group seemed to silently agree with the rant, others glared at the woman for her lack of tact. Jon was the only one who acted to give comfort to the dejected girl by placing a hand behind his alleged half-sister's shoulder.

Leaning into the comforting hand, Sansa hid her face in her wolf's fur. Not only was she insulted by her future daughter but told her actions got her new companion killed.

Before today Ned never would have seen the two so close. However today he wasn't looking at the two as siblings but a potential match and his mind so quickly envisioned the two grown. The two despite their circumstances had just enough similarities and differences to work, though Ned had a bad record at matchmaking. 

Robyn gasped as she looked at the two together. The youngest girl had been distracted the entirety of the conversation with her father's wolf. "Muña? Kepa?" she asked before attaching herself to Jon's side. 

Jon looked more confused than anyone but just settled for rubbing both girls' backs.

"Father." The quiet word from Robyn had everyone already aware grimacing and those who didn't reeling. 

Sansa peaked out from behind her wolf with wide wet eyes and a slack jaw. Her eyes flicker between her future children but mainly between Robyn and Jon before taking a step away, nearly knocking Arya over in the process.

The girl made a step in Sansa's direction and again called, "Muña!" No one needed to know the language to infer the word ment mother.

"Ned." Cat's voice was as threatening as it was demanding. "Explain. Now."

Gulping, Ned realized that his nearly five and ten year old omission had finally returned to bite him in the rear.