43 A Strong North

Winterfell, The North, Third Moon of 279 AC

Lyanna Stark, at one and ten-name days, was one of the liveliest girls in the North. She, like her eldest brother, had the so-called Wolfsblood; she wasn't like those southern ladies, mindless and powerless. No, she was a fierce warrior, one that would one day be able to challenge the greatest warriors in the realm and win, or so she thought.

One of the things she liked to do the most was riding horses; in one of her strides through Wintertown, she passed by a couple of new faces talking with some locals; according to Willys, the giant stable boy, all coming from the Boltonlands. They were talking about how House Bolton was wiped out, something she was privy to, but what caught her by surprise was what one of the men said.

" Then a giant white dragon made of Ice came down from the sky and destroyed the Dreadfort! Not with fire but with Ice." One of the other men, a farmer, snorted and said

" oye fucker, stop telling lies! There ain't no such thing as Ice dragons! Y'a be lying too much" The newcomer looked offended by the farmer's jab

" I ain't telling no lies; that is true, if ya don't believe me go there and check yourself! It's all frozen and shit!" The talk kept going on and on about the happenings on the Dreadfort; some claimed that Lord Dovahkiin rode on the Dragon back to Skagos and how he was honorable and fair to call for the head of a Lord over the death and rape of an innocent woman.

Lyanna didn't know what to make of the information she had just heard, but it was exciting, if nothing else

" Willys, do you believe in this Dragon talk? Father told me about House Dovahkiin training some second and third sons in-" Lyanna said and stopped herself to look around to see if she was being watched " magic," she almost whispered.

" I ain't sure, m'lady. I heard this talk about Dragons 5 times from different people; that gotta mean something, right?" Willys replied (Willys is Hodor if you don't remember)

" Yes… yes. I can't wait to see Benjen again! He would teach me everything he's learned!" Lyanna said, excited by the prospect of learning magic and swordplay from one who was taught by the best out there; it was all the better because this "apprentice" was her brother!

"If ya say so, m'lady," Willys replied as he kept walking beside Lyanna and her horse.

" Let's get back to Winterfell; I must talk to Father," Lyanna replied

Rickard Stark POV

Rickard Stark was, in general, a happy man. He had fathered four children, all good people in the making; his influence over the North was incomparable, his friends were loyal, and his Land was thriving; much of that was due to his decision to make Ragnar Dovahkiin the high-lord of Skagos. Rickard didn't know if the man was a gift from the gods to the North and its peoples, but he felt inclined to believe so. The man was loyal; he could feel it in his bones; he was the kind of man that would die before breaking an oath. The man brought prosperity to his land and the lands surrounding his; Winterhold, Skagos' capital, became the greatest trade hub of the North, suppressing by far Whiteharbour; the city was beautiful and well maintained. Having a city like Winterhold paying taxes and bringing trade to The North was a boon so grand that it allowed House Stark to start some plans long discarded by his ancestors due to the fear of starving The North should winter come earlier or harsher than usual, some of these plans were scouting the mountains on Winterfell's land for ores and other useful stuff. The North, as a civilization, was 8.000 years old; the plans were always there, but no one ever tried to act on them, mainly because winter was always coming and with it the necessity to abandon everything and try to secure food. The one Lord who almost acted on those plans was Torrhen Stark, The King who knelt; Torrhen Stark and King Aegon, the conqueror, almost agreed on an arrangement where the Iron Throne would finance the expenses for such a venture in exchange for 20% of everything found in those mountains. Still, it didn't happen as the time coincided with Queen Rhaenys being killed in Dorne, and after that, the realm needed gold to fight the Dornish.

Now House Stark had enough gold to pay for the plans by itself, and there would still be money left to prepare the North for a long winter. House Stark and some Houses of the North decreased the amount of grain they bought from the south; some houses like Umber, Karstark, and Manderlyn just outright ceased to buy anything from the south and instead began taking their business to Ragnar Dovahkiin, who provided them his cold-resistant vegetables/grains that could be grown on Winter by an EXTREMELY lower price if compared to the Reach, all kinds of seafood and whale meat/goods. Overall, House Dovahkiin's vegetables/grains, which were now being farmed all around the eastern side of The North, made The North cut by almost half the amount of food needed from the south, which made Rickard overjoyed. Ragnar Dovahkiin was responsible for all that, and Rickard had told his other bannerman about it many times. Still, the last "accomplishment" the man had was something he could never thank him enough for; he wiped out the Bolton line, a foul House always a thorn in House Stark's side. The North would grow richer and richer as time passed, and people would have a better life. The future was promising for House Stark and the North, oh and there were the Ice Dragons that would eventually come to House Stark through a marriage

"Come in," said Lord Stark after he heard a knock on his study

"My Lord, a raven just arrived from Winterhold." Maester Walys said as he came through the door, looking rather distraught.

"Let me have it then," Rickard answered as he extended his hand to get the scroll.

As Rickard read the letter, he couldn't shake the feeling that something big would happen soon.

" So Lord Dovahkiin's brought giants and mammoths from beyond the wall and was summoned to Kingslanding at the King's command… he got Benjen a Direwolf. Impressive."

Before Master Walys could answer, a very excited Lyanna Stark walked through the door and said

" Father, is it true that Lord Dovahkiin has a Dragon?"