5 Chapter 5 - Buried Truths

Chapter 5 – Buried Truths

Later that day Lord Stark summoned Jon to his solar.

"You are actually the lawful son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark, named Aegon Targaryen, as such, you are the rightful heir to the Iron Throne." Ned told with a slight guilt in eyes.

"I named you Jon following Lyanna's death to conceal your real identity from Robert Baratheon, as Lyanna believed Robert would kill you if he found out you were a Targaryen;

So now that you know about your mother, and I get it, you must be angry at me for all these years hiding it from you and lying-in front of your face."

"It's ok Uncle, I do realize the situation you were in at that time when you lost your family one after another and just wanted to protect me." he looked at him and told him honestly what he thought.

'I am no longer Alexander, I'm Aegon Targaryen.'

'This world is real and I'm real and what I felt all those years were real.'

Unlike in the show how Jon was treated.

In reality no one calls him a bastard, or at least not in front of him. And most of it got to do with his talent in swordsmanship, tactics and other fields.

And as a ten-year-old, he showed everyone his management skills in trade and commerce around Winterfell and the surrounding small towns and villages.

"I was definitely going to tell you Jon, about your mother. But before that I want you freed from any political harm;

I thought that if you being a Targaryen heir were to reveal, will only be used as a political tool for other.

And that is to say if you survive all the assassination, poisons and backstabbing from a great number of Targaryen haters."

"A few years ago, before you shown me your talents, I even dared to think that it would not matter once you join Castle Black. Therefore, you would be safe from Robert's wrath just as Maester Aemon."

Looking at him in a questioning way Jon asked "Do you really think in future, that if I were to joined the Night's Watch Robert Baratheon will let me live and the Stark unpunished uncle;

Look at the Realm uncle, the usurper is whoring away all the wealth in the kingdom and the Lions have their fangs wrapped around the Stag. The king is nothing more than a puppet to the Lannister's."

Well while the Lannister's are notoriously wealthy, they don't actually have any real money.

They got their wealth from the gold mine underneath Casterly Rock, which by the way have already dried out for years, but lent all of their wealth to the Iron Throne during Robert's reign.

And the fat king even took a loan of three million Golden Dragons from the Iron Bank in Essos.

"Aye, Robert Baratheon was a 'good enough king'. He was not cruel or a tyrant. The realm was in peace barring the Greyjoy Rebellion three or so years ago." Ned said as he looked at Jon and asked "So, what is it that you want Jon? Do you also want to sit in the Iron Throne?"

Standing up and walking to the nearby window and looking through the beautiful sunset in the winter landscape, "Jon Snow… I was infamously known as Ned Stark's bastard"

"As it turns out, not one part of my identity is true. Not my legitimacy at birth" turned and looked at my uncle's face "Not who my father is and now not even my name."

"So, you want what is rightfully yours? But the consequences are that Westeros will bleed again by going into another war."

"You got it wrong uncle, even if I want to fight with the Baratheon's for the crown the odds are currently against me. I will wait for the right time."

"What I want right now is a land of my own. I want Moat Cailin and the lands surrounding the ruined towers. And I also want your permission to build a harbor on my land. It will be in the south east side facing the Three Sisters." Jon said as he requested it from his uncle.

Moat Cailin is subjected to the rule of Stark, so it will be easier for Ned to transfer it to Jon and no need to take lands off of any lords.

"Moat Cailin… Mhm." Ned thought that even though it's under the stark's the place has not been permanently manned for centuries and it is still a vital defense for the North from any invasion from the south.

And rebuilding it and giving it to Jon, the defenses of the north will be stronger and he also has trust in Jon.

His managing skill and knowledge is as equal to Maester Luwin and far more mature than Rob or any child his age.

"If you want it, I will give it to you and allow you to also build a harbor. And even 30,000 Golden Dragons from the Stark's treasury as a Loan. But it will be hard managing and rebuilding the castle and the lands, are you sure?"

Ned said with a little bit of concern in the speech. Even though he knew this brat would change the region to its former glory.

Hearing Ned's approval of granting the Moat, Jon was overjoyed with a smile and thinking half of the work is done "Thanks Uncle, you don't have to worry about that. I will manage it well".

Even though Jon has a mountain of wealth, who would say no to extra money.

Later we talked about a few minor details until a servant came to tell us that the dinner was ready.

…

In the hall Ned notified everyone that he is giving Jon Moat Cailin and the lands surrounding it.

Although it came as a sudden surprise to everyone in the hall, no one opposed the idea. They all know his capability and are looking forward to what kind of a lord he will be.

Robb was one of the happiest from hearing his father giving Jon a castle and appointing him a lord. He always wanted people to respect Jon and not be labelled as a bastard born by the other Lords.

Only one who was a bit surprised was Theon Greyjoy who thought ``how could the Stark give castle and Lord title to a 'Bastard', but in the end he didn't voice out this thought and buried them deep within.

He knows first hand of Jon's strength and wits throughout the years of his stay in Winterfell.

…

After the meal Jon went to his room and planned his next steps.

'Now I'm a Lord in the north with a land of my own. The rebuilding of the Moat will take time, mainly the new harbor that I want to build from scratch.'

'Although I have a sea of gold in my inventory from the past five years, taking too much will raise unwanted questions of the source of the gold.'

'That's why starting a trading company will be the best cover in the front if anyone asks, even my uncle.

I can't and will not reveal my farm and other hidden cards so early in the game, even though my uncle can keep his mouth shut. But others can't and the walls have ears.'

'With everything sorted out with my uncle it was about time I entered the political pool and officially joined the game.

To kick it off let's start with the House Manderly of White Harbor and firmly and slowly spread my roots in White Harbor.'

'My harbor city will take a while to build and White Harbor is the largest trade port in the north as of now, with thousands of merchants coming in and out.'

For the past few years, he has been taking little amounts of food and disturbing it through his merchant network.

As of now Jon can't just pull-out tons of food from the farm, even though he can.

It will definitely raise too many questions and unwanted eyes early in the game. So, he decided to use White Harbor as a port to bring in food and other supplies through the ships from Essos as a cover.

It's only a temporary plan and as soon as the Moat is rebuilt, the main task is to use the soil in the farm to re-fertilize the surrounding land for farming.

And with a few tricks with the Restoration and Alteration Magic, he can even bring up the ground water source to help heal the land to be fertile for future farming.

Through these five years he hasn't just been sitting around and farming.

Instead, he's been training and getting used to all the magic and mainly getting used to his overwhelming Magicka reserves in his body gradually.

...