13 Star School

Jon kept his back straight and his posture domineering. It was important to contrast himself from the recruits. The difference actually instilled a sense of trust and deference. All the while he psyched himself up.

He remembered how his master broke and rebuilt him. While these men weren't going to be trained quite so brutally as he was subjected to, it wouldn't be easy.

They were the sons of farmers, baker, and poorer merchants. Most hadn't picked up a sword in their life and none could read more than a few words. That too would change with the help of Maester Luwin and Promestein. If they survived six weeks of hell with him.

There was time aplenty before the ship was fixed and he needed to squire for Jaime in king's landing. Promestein claimed it could take her three to six months to fix the ship.

They lacked the facilities to create the fine machinery required for ship repairs. She worked tirelessly to create factories and even started her own business. Maester Luwin had helped her begin communications with the arch maesters of old town. Coin had begun flowing into her purse in exchange for copied tomes. That coin also went into this venture.

"I still don't think we should pay them. How do we know if they are loyal to us or the gold if we pay them?" Robb asked. Jon glared his brother into silence. Even Robb looked taken aback by the ferocity in Jon's eyes.

"Loyalty can't fill a man's belly. Your brother seems to understand that." Tyrion snarked. Jon gave the imp another glare into silence.

Then he turned his glare to Promestein who wisely held her tongue. He nodded then turned the men. To call them that was charitable. His father and the king hid in one of the towers watching him, but they weren't the only ones.

He remembered some of the oath his master gave to him when Jon was officially taken as an apprentice but that was private. Even that he suspected was a bastardized version of the oath his own master gave to his. Perhaps it's a tradition to add an addition to the oath.

Tyrion, Robb, Theon, and Promestein straightened and raised their right hand to the heavens. After multiple rehearsals this was found to be the best way to start. Jon knew he didn't fit the role right. He wasn't tall enough and his voice didn't have the deep pitch a commander needed. Still, he'd do his job and make warriors from these boys.

Jon sucked in a breath and new he had to begin. "I swear by the old gods and new to train these recruits to the best of my ability, to teach them the morals for which we stand, the tactics needed to survive in this world, and to impart on them a desire to seek excellence in everything they do." Jon kept his oath short but sweet.

After the initial oath was said and a bit of silence settled, he turned around. Jon kept his right hand up for a moment before lowering it. When he did the others lowered their hands as well. He looked the boys over and felt them with his ki sense. They had potential, some more than others, it was his job to bring it out of them.

Robb and Theon took two years of training to grow strong enough to fly confidently.

In those two year he'd taught them what he could about ki control but neither really got it. Jon wasn't able to teach them properly both were heirs to great houses while Jon was just a bastard. He lacked the authority to truly teach them. As a result, they were flying humans that could fling a few pathetic blasts but nothing to write home about. This time it would be different, these were his men.

Jon narrowed his eyes and yelled in a booming voice. "Backs straight, eyes forward, and hands to your sides. When I speak, you will shut your mouths and listen." After some talk with Promestein about other military ranks Jon gained some perspective. They weren't a military not really, these were farm boys, and Jon was just a bastard. Even with Theon, Robb, and Tyrion giving their group some legitimacy they needed their own formal ranking. So, he'd take the military terms of sellswords and militaries of Promestein's homeworld. "I am Instructor Snow, behind me is Instructor Promestein, Tyrion, and Robb. While we are of equal rank, I am your direct officer, if you have a complaint you may come to me. From this day onward you time are all recruits of the Star School of Martial Prowess. From this day forward you are recruits but someday I hope all of you will be fighters." Jon closed his eyes for a moment as Hodor wheeled in a massive boulder on a cart.

He'd come up with the names and ranks from a few words from his master. Those who became proficient martial artists and fought against powerful foes were referred to as fighters by the kais. Most kais thought of such fighters as toys and often traded them. Jon would treat his fighters differently.

"What's the rock for?" One of the boys broke rank and asked. Jon frowned and approached the boy.

Jon was on him in a flash. "What did you say recruit?" He was a short squat boy no older than eleven or twelve. His shaggy blonde hair curled in horrid knots. "Did you just volunteer to try your hand at punching the rock recruit?" The boy blanched at seeing the massive boulder. Hodor's cart finally split apart and the ropes that held the stone in place snapped.

"Hodor," the stable hand yelled at the sight of his ruined cart. The rock fell hard digging a deep trench in the ground.

"Did I stutter recruit?" The boy quickly shook his head flinging matted head from side to side. "Then hit the fucking rock." Jon bellowed at the boy. "What's your name boy?" Jon asked.

"Phill Mill Ser," Jon growled.

"What is my name recruit Mill?" Jon bellowed. The boy's eyes widened more frightened than ever.

"In instructor Snow, my name is Phil Phill Mill." The recruit said with a stammer.

"Wrong your name is recruit Mill until you quit or become a fighter. Now go over there and punch the fucking rock." The boy turned and began walking. He raced over to the boulder and froze at the sight of it. "Do any of you recruits want to punch the rock instead of recruit Mill?" The boys and even some of those in their late teens didn't say a word. Jon scanned over the crowd and felt more furious than his act allowed. With a sucked in breath, he roared at the crowd. "Then I hope the lot of you are well rested and dressed for the weather. We're going on an adventure. The lot of you are going to march with me until dawn if no one volunteers."

One of the larger boys threw his right hand up. "I volunteer Instructor Snow."

"Good I need eight more of you. Come on are the lot of you too cowardly to punch a damn rock. Or did the thought of an adventurous march all the way to the wall excite you." Eight more boys joined in and he directed them. He taught them how to breath, how to stand, and how to throw a punch. It wouldn't do a damn thing against a boulder this early but that wasn't the point.

"The rest of you better practice while you watch. This is one of the tests to become a fighter." Each one punched the rock, and one even broke his hand. Bleeding knuckles were shared all around and each boy looked at him with murder in their eyes. Jon considered that a victory. "You ten go to Instructor Promestein for your hands." Three of the boys had already passed out from maintaining attention too long.

Jon raised his hand and punched through the stone. The boulder exploded into powder and tossed the remains across the ground. Many of the boys gasped at the sudden strike.

He looked at each and the boys. The rock hadn't been hard to shattered. By his estimate the lot of them should be able to reach that level in six to eight weeks. The next few days would be hell on earth for them.

…

A week had gone by as he bullied and poked at them. Every day he ran them near to death wearing weights while at night he taught them the finer points of ki control. This wasn't about teaching them martial arts, how to read, or engineering. No before they could even begin to learn they needed to be broken.

"Why are we plowing a field?" One of the boys demanded while Jon stood on one of the plows. Tyrion golloped up on horseback waving the release forms in full display.

"If you don't want to continue just sign this form and you can return home to your farm recruit Rye." Tyrion said. The boy stabbed a finger at Tyrion but thought better of calling him an imp. Jon ran the one who did last all night with ghost chasing him.

Of the 130 recruits only 12 had quit so far. They signed the release forms took the coin they were owed and returned home. Jon had warned them that they'd never be allowed to rejoin but they left anyway. Jon leapt off the plow and let the boy continue his work.

"Your showing has my sister and lady Catelyn concerned." Tyrion said. Jon nodded his head at the boys working hard and prepared to see to those who were hardly working.

"I can't help that; our world needs a strong force to keep the peace when I'm not around." Jon said.

"My brother will be disappointed. He was excited that you agreed to become his squire. I've rarely seen him pick up a pen instead of a sword, but he did for you. You could have joined the kings guard, but that doesn't concern you. It never did. All of this is meaningless, what did Instructor Promestein call you?" Tyrion asked.

"Great one, I haven't heard the term used before to describe what I am." Jon shook his head. "I still plan to squire for him, but I'll never wear the white. My liege lord is higher than any king or even the gods of a single world." Jon said.

"My father always said that if the gods exist then they have no care for us. That's why their gods." Jon shook his head.

"I explained the whole hierarchy of gods to my father and then convinced him it was a myth I read in a Yitish tomb from our library. We haven't spoken since I shattered the boulder. I suspect he's quite angry with me." Jon said.

"Why did you shatter the boulder and what do the gods want from you? Instructor Promestein is here because of them." Tyrion said.

"I don't know what they want only what they told me." Jon said.

Tyrion gripped Jon's shoulder from horseback. "Its good that you know the difference. I've never met a priest who did."

"I was ordered to end war on worlds who have fought for too long. To fulfill that task, I was trained by a god." Jon waved his hand across the field. "It was similar to this."

Jon wanted to protect the world in his absence. Sure, exposing his strength might not have been the best move but hiding it had its own problems. He only exposed the strength to shatter rock. Jon didn't expect them to extrapolate his full power from that showing.

When he trained under Master Zamasu, he'd worn hundreds of kilograms worth of training gear in high gravity. Kais had a habit of referencing weight by the standards of a fighter's home planet. A few hundred kilos under 10x his home world's gravity were around three to four metric tons. That was another system of measurement he had to get used to. Was he doing these recruits a disservice by having them train unweighted? Well, he'd let them have a few more days to grow used to the routine before adding weight. Some were beginning to touch their ki.

He doubted they understood it like he had. In a few days his master efficiently drilled a foundation of ki control into him. Jon's regurgitation of his master's words and techniques were pitiful in comparison but even he a pale shadow gained results. He had to be more lenient even with Promestein's healing magic.

Robb galloped behind him on a sturdy blue roan. Its face was black as night while its coat had been more silver than blue since it was a yearling. He remembers his brother throwing a fit when the stallion's coat began changing. There hadn't been a thing anyone could do about it. Jon shook off the pleasant memory as Robb glared at the men. Each had stood to attention when they saw Robb. Jon's brother stood up straighter before nodding to the men. Together the recruits returned to their plowing.

"You weren't quite so mean when you trained Theon and I." Robb said.

"You and Theon were more talented by far." Jon said. He turned to Tyrion and winked.

"Would you have rather been subjected to this?" Tyrion said and waved his hand to the field. Another rider on beautiful blood bay barreled through forcing two dozen recruits out of the way. The hound a large man wearing a snarling wolf followed closely on a dun.

"Dog why don't you leap off your beast and join the recruits. I'm sure they'd like to see how a westerland warrior plows a field. I saw the way you dominated the recruits. Was that your first taste of real power Bastard?" Joffrey said and turned up his nose.

"Its how I was taught my prince. With any luck a few of them will become instructors and do the same." Jon replied. Robb's head snapped to the side staring at Jon. Disbelief colored his features until Jon met the man's eyes.

"It was sloppy. My prince is right, it was obvious this was your first time." The hound growled. "You nearly made that one piss himself." The large man shook his head before speaking up again. "Good job not declaring them soldier's of the north. The queen would have had the imp's head for paying northern soldiers with Lannister gold." The hound chuckled.

"How did you break the stone? Was it a trick?" The prince asked.

Jon snatched a fly out of the air and held it gently between his fingers. The poor creature's wings beat rapidly. He'd done it so smoothly a mere centimeter from the prince's head. Everyone froze while Jon released the fly. Tyrion looked surprised while Joffrey only snorted. Robb's eyes were different. Jon turned and smiled at his brother.

"It could have been." Jon said.

"Let's go my prince, even if your uncle is one of the instructors, we shouldn't leave the recruits at attention for so long." The hound said. Joffrey looked around noticing all the men standing up straight as board posts. Each waited for permission to return to their assignment or be ordered to a new position.

"Why don't the gold cloaks do this for me? I'm their prince." Joffrey asked.

"Nephew, it is a difference of etiquette. These recruits are to be fighters and fighters stand at attention for martial strength, seniority, and authority."

"I will say this at least they aren't knights. What code of honor must a fighter uphold?" The hound groused.

Jon stepped forward his feet hovering over the mud and frozen tilled soil. "They honor their mandate, their charter, and the realm they live within in that order." The hound snorted.

"Good luck with that without the Lannister's gold they won't follow your orders for long." The hound said.

"Then it's a good thing one of the founding members is a Lannister then isn't it. I've had enough of your mouth now take my nephew and leave or I'll have you flogged." Tyrion said.

Jon patted the blond furred neck of the hound's dun quarter horse. The horse shivered and shook as its bones rattled. Even the hound shook in his armor from a few pats. Even through the eye slits in the man's armor Jon could see surprise in the man's eyes. Suddenly, Jon's shattering of the boulder didn't seem like a trick. Jon could see the realization come over the man. What would a blow like that do to a horse?

When the hound and the prince were out of ear shot Tyrion spoke. "My purse might last until I reach king's landing. After that I fear a letter to my father from my sweet sister will have my coin restricted." Tyrion said.

"Then we will find a trade to fund our Star school of martial arts." Jon turned his head to the side. "We could try our hand at farming. The north is vast and once fully trained a fighter should be able to sew hundreds of leagues of fields a day." Tyrion turned sharply to him.

"Are you suggesting we mercenary their services as farmers? Watch as the star school does the work of a thousand farmers. We'd see thousands our of jobs displaced and begging." Tyrion said.

"We'd see them in Promestein's factories working less hours for more pay. She's profitable but a long way from fixing the ship. More manpower will be needed in the future. For now, our factories are little more than hovels and our shipyard is a shanty town forming around the crater." Jon said.

Tyrion began rubbing his temples. "Your god said this was the only way to reach planet Barbari and end their eternal war. Are there really other worlds out there?" Tyrion asked.

Jon stared up at the blue sky. "There are an uncountable number." Jon said.

…

Greenseer Jon

He'd followed roots less traveled. Very few greenseers saw the point in visiting branches best left undisturbed. It could have something to do with power. Jon was stronger than any greenseer before him. While some could whisper through the weirwood and slightly alter events or give dreams to men and tip the scales of decisions, Jon could act directly. His ki empowered his greensight beyond imagining and his otherworld body could be very physical. Still there were some limitations.

After 24 hours in a single timeline, he was kicked out. Soon after his conversation with Tyrion he made his way to Sansa. Before he could say a word, he felt the world itself reject him. Jon didn't know if he could go back or if the world would retain his changes. A new root diverged from the whole. He touched it and felt his changes. While it was a new timeline and Jon could peer into it, he could do nothing more.

He followed the root back to the whole. It too was just a branch off of a larger timeline. Which was just another root connected to the main. Jon followed the main root until he found something interesting. It was a root unlike the others. Crimson sap leaked from it as if it were bleeding. Many of the roots shied away from the branching timeline. He'd have to use his time sparingly this time. His interactions should be kept to a minimum.

Jon shot down into the timeline and felt the fire within him roar to life. He shot across a world sunken beneath the waves. From the Dorne all the way to the wall the ocean had risen to reclaim the lands. Only the mountains of the Erie remained above the waves.

He held himself back from enterin the world in full. Instead, he backtracked to the divergent point. From the roots he witnesses a great ritual. Men and Dragon's fought bitterly while a red ship with black sails led the battle. Jon could sense something a complex spell had begun. As he watched a great force pushed at him.

Ships burned under dragon fire and men dove into the sea. All the while vast bolts shot from the ships impacting the dragons. Jon could sense their blood fill the water and sorcerers began to chant. This was it Jon realized this was the divergent point.

A one eyed ironborn wheeled a scorpion aimed at the greatest of the dragons. Chachung! Jon heard the bolt fire even through the cries of dying men. At once Jon saw the timline split. In one the bolt skewered Daenerys and in another it missed.

Jon followed the timeline where it hits. The ocean churned and power emerged from the pirate. Jon felt a sudden and massive awakening of God ki. In moments the pirate powered up beyond Jon. With that Jon stepped back from fight.