Chapter Seven: Death and Rebirth

There's no struggle; death comes cleanly. This is the world's most authentic side. Violence is the bond that maintains social stability, so killing is truly nothing surprising.

Perhaps only the purest hearts can feel fear. The horses nearby neighed, and people stood up, but they were quickly calmed by the skilled rider. "Let's go," muttered Duke Eddard. Although the kingdom's laws had been executed, it was evidently not something that brought him joy. The silent group turned their horses' heads and rode in the direction they came.

Kray overheard Duke Eddard quietly talking to his youngest son, Bran, who had witnessed the execution for the first time. At this moment, Eddard Stark removed the solemn mask that belonged to the guardian of the North and began to play the role of a gentle father.

He had just instructed the captain of the guards, a man loyal to House Mandrake, to take two guards and go into the wolf woods to obtain the tender bark of sentinel trees for himself. Although the captain didn't understand the young lord's intentions, he still resolutely carried out the order. When Duke Eddard ordered the return, the three men on three horses left the main force and headed into the boundless wolf woods.

The sound of hooves slowly moved forward, seemingly reflecting the master's truly unhappy mood. Kray was indeed annoyed. He knew that it was the year 298 of the Conquest, but he never expected the execution of Night's Watch deserter to happen so quickly.

Originally, in his plan for this visit to Winterfell, he intended to investigate the relationship between the weirwood trees, known as fish beams by the people of the North, and the ancient faith of the Old Gods rooted in the land north of the Neck for thousands of years.

In the godswood of White Harbor, there was a small, low weirwood tree. Kray did feel a bit of power flowing into his body when he touched it, and his magic pool also slightly surged.

Kray believed that when he got permission to touch the oldest weirwood tree in Winterfell, his magic pool would surely receive enough replenishment. However, now the plan had to be overturned. Kray was well aware that the occurrence of this execution meant that Jon Arryn, the Hand of the King in King's Landing, had undoubtedly died from the poison of Petyr Baelish's little finger. King Robert Baratheon, overthrowing the Targaryen dynasty, must now be marching with his court on the King's Road towards Winterfell.

Now Kray was undoubtedly a minor character, unable to influence Duke Eddard's decisions. Once they headed south with the wolves, the outcome of the War of the Five Kings would be inevitable when unguarded stags and ice wolves were bitten through the throat by lions.

The people of the North value honor above all else. If Robb Stark led the army south, Kray could not avoid participating. However, thinking about the nobles captured in the war and the Stark family that died in the blood-red wedding betrayed by the Freys, Kray shuddered at the thought. He was not a god, and since he was in this game of power, most of the time, he was swept along by the larger forces, leaving him little time for decisive actions...

Already galloping far away, Jon and Robb, the two brothers, stood on a low hill at this moment, shouting loudly to the team, "Father, Bran, come and see what we've found!"

In the deathly silence, Kray saw the entangled bodies by the bridge. The huge wolf, surprisingly large, was impaled through the throat by the antlers while tearing apart the stag. The sight, highly sensitive to the family emblem, made everyone in the Winterfell party too afraid to speak.

The people of the North believe in the gods, so they also fear the gods. In this symbolic and obvious bloody scene, everyone felt fear, except for Kray.

Kray arrived late, and the five wolf pups had already been brought out, huddled in the arms of Bran and his brothers.

"This is a bad omen, being born with death," Kray overheard someone murmuring. Seon Greyjoy wore a cynical smile, drew his sword from his waist, and said to his nominal brother Bran, "Bran, those things won't live long. Toss them over to me!" Kray never liked Seon, especially his constantly annoying smile. In his current state of irritation, Kray blurted out without thinking, "It's none of your damn business!"

The previously quiet bridge now became so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. All eyes turned to Kray, and Seon hesitated for a moment, then became angry and embarrassed. The glaring blade pointed at Kray's horse's head.

Probably miscalculating the force, the sword tip actually pierced the cheek of Kray's mount. The horse, startled, suddenly stood upright, catching Kray off guard and sending him flying.

Somewhat embarrassed, rolling on the ground for half a turn, Kray stabilized himself. He looked at Seon Greyjoy, who was grinning silently, and a raging anger surged within him. Kray's hand, accustomed to no insults, had already reached for the discarded longsword on the side.

Seeing the young lord being thrown off the horse, the Mandrake family guards around instinctively reached for the hilts of their swords, but in the presence of Eddard Stark, they didn't have the courage to draw their swords.

"Say that again, Mandrake lad!" Seeing no one speaking, Seon became even more arrogant. Just as he was about to say something nasty again, a sharp half-sword flashed with a cold light, whistling towards his face.

Sir Rodrik, who had just prepared to step forward to stop Seon, instinctively blocked it with his sword. There was a crisp impact sound, and the elderly knight stepped back two steps, holding only a broken sword in his hand. Meanwhile, the longsword thrown by Kray with all his might was now swaying in the empty space in front of Seon's legs.

"Stop!" Duke Eddard Stark shouted angrily, kicking his adopted son to the ground. The guards of Winterfell lifted the now pale-faced and somewhat incontinent Seon away from the scene.

Duke Eddard Stark glanced at the broken sword in Sir Rodrik's hand, and with a peculiar look, he surveyed the now calm Kray. Instead of questioning why he drew his sword, he asked, "Mandrake, why did you say that?"

Seeing that Duke Eddard Stark showed no intention of probing further, Kray breathed a sigh of relief. He replied on impulse, "It's just the corpses of wolves and deer; why make trouble with the surviving wolves?"

"That's an Icewolf; they've never appeared south of the Wall," Robb interjected.

"I know. If that's the case, what I want to do most now is pull out the teeth of the Icewolf, find a lion, stick the lion's eyes with the teeth, and then throw the lion's body into the sewers of Casterly Rock." Kray shrugged.

This incident ended in Duke Eddard Stark's extremely rare laughter. He instructed his children to personally raise these young Icewolves. Oh yes, and the white wolf that belonged to Jon. He never mentioned Kray and Seon's altercation again.

On the way back, bathed in the friendly gazes of Winterfell's people, Kray noticed that riding beside him, Robb kept involuntarily moving his teeth, seemingly testing their sharpness...