10 5.000 years of treachery over

The North; the twelfth moon of 97 AC

Ragnar PoV

The immense lands surrounding Winterfell were beautiful, especially on the surroundings of the Kingsroad.

The summer snow created a shallow snowy carpet on the grounds of the North, making the whole region brighter as the sun hit the white snow. The ancient forests filled with old trees contrasted nicely with the landscape, giving The North the cleanest air. The Skagossi; rode through the newly improved Kingsroad with enthusiasm, with wagons carrying many goods, among them barrels of the newly invented Silver Wine, a drink made for northerners. Silver Wine was made with potatoes and disliked like the brandy; it was strong, and a single sip would warm the body. Perfect for a worker on a snowy day; perfect for a lord on a busy day.

The Skagossi convoy had forty men and four giants, the men rode on unicorns, and the giants rode on mammoths; Ragnar and Dacey rode on mammoths in the front with his children. Lyanna and Björn sat on Ragnar's mammoth and calmly listened as he hummed a song; Dacey and Lynara rode on a second mammoth; Lynara held a yellow book in her hands as Dacey guided the surprisingly amiable Mammoth. On the Skies, Snowstorm, Midstinul, and Frostwing flew in circles as they accompanied and guarded the convoy.

Björn held on to the mammoth enthusiastically as he observed this new environment, often asking questions about something he saw or something he would like to see; Lyanna was the exact opposite; she sat closer to Ragnar and hugged him as she kept her head rested on him, she would ask a question here and there, but most of the time she just kept quiet and observant. Ragnar was keeping a closer eye on Lyanna; she was too shy for her own good, and she strongly disliked being touched by anyone other than him, her mother, brother, and sister; which caused trouble as whenever a maid tried to bath her, she would either cry her eyes out or more recently slap the maid, and that was a problem as Lyanna was his daughter, which meant she was strong. Little Lyanna had the strength of two men currently; taking a slap as strong as a hit from two-man could potentially kill a maid, which was why Dacey and Ragnar alternated in taking care of the little one, something Ragnar appreciated wholeheartedly.

"papa… sing Dragonborn! Please?" Lyanna asked, her small and delicate voice making Ragnar smile fondly at her, which the little girl shyly returned.

" Sing or hum it?" Ragnar asked, and Lyanna just hummed in response, to which Ragnar slowly nodded as he began humming, "The Dragonborn song." which caused Björn to do the same but a bit off-tune and rushed.

" I love you, papa," Lyanna said, and Ragnar couldn't help but smile

" Really? I love you too, little one." Ragnar answered

" I love you too, papa!" Björn said, and Ragnar ruffled the boy's hair affectionately

" And I, you, my boy," Ragnar said, and Björn giggled

" I love papa… papa is not loud," Lyanna said absentmindedly, and Ragnar looked at her but said nothing.

That statement was indeed true, most of the time at least. Ragnar wasn't a loud person, primarily due to the necessity of keeping his Thu'um in check. Ragnar's voice was deep and reverberating but not loud most of the time, something Dacey pointed out multiple times.

" So you don't like loud noises?" Ragnar asked, and Lyanna looked at him confused before nodding

" It hurt my ear… but dragon noise is nice when not close," Lyanna said, and Ragnar nodded

" Oh?" Björn said, confused and… hurt? Ragnar couldn't precisely place the emotion on his son's face, but his little face held a determined look after a few seconds.

"Sorry, I loud all time," Björn whispered, and Ragnar, for a moment, felt he was the proudest father of all time. " I loud no more," Björn whispered, nodding with all seriousness of a three-year-old.

Ragnar chuckled and hugged his two youngest closer, much to the twins' mutual enjoyment.

Ragnar looked at Dacey with a "we need to talk" expression on his face and got a nod as an answer.

Ragnar then singled to a guard nearby to come closer

" We will ride for five more hours; after that, we will set a camp and rest till the morrow. We have four more days of riding till we get to Winterfell." Ragnar said, and the guard nodded

The Skagossi convoy rode through the north without any problems; not many bandits were stupid enough to attack a Lord's convoy, less so a convoy with 40 men, four giants, and six mammoths. Ragnar enjoyed the whole trip and used the time to teach his twins little magic tricks and a few songs. Lyanna loved the whole quiet atmosphere of the journey, and Björn loved the idea of riding through a new land with his fantastic dad, amazing mom, and annoying but lovely sisters.

Dacey used the trip to get closer to her eldest daughter by braiding her hair every morning, helping her with some ideas for her training at arms, and teaching her things about The Old Gods and The North as a whole. Dacey told stories about Theon, The hungry wolf; Bran, the builder; Jon Stark, the slaverbane; Domeric Bolton, The Andalskinner; Jeon Mormont, the old bear of Bear Island and many others. Lynara listened to the stories and, as a personal challenge, chose to take a lesson from each tale, something Ragnar approved when Dacey informed him of such; Lynara, other than listening to her mother's stories, used the free time provided by the journey, as a way to study magic, something she loved.

It didn't take long till the Skagossi convoy arrived in Wintertown; Benjen Stark proved to be as much of a taskmaster as Ragnar believed him to be, with fields of potatoes, radish, lettuce, and clover layered out in the Altmeri four-filed crop rotation, with wardstones all around it, proved how much Lord Stark used his mage. The once scarcely populated Wintertown now housed a good number of people, between 10.000 and 17.000 if Ragnar were to guess. Protection runes were carved at the Walls of Winterfell, powered by one focal point, probably Wintefell's Heart tree, if Ragnar were to guess.

Winterfell looked newly repaired, with new glass gardens, new concrete pathways connecting places to places, and reformed buildings, such as a bigger stable and kennels.

Ragnar saw many different banners around Wintertown, mostly vassals to House Stark vassals; in Winterfell, however, he saw most of the sigils of those sworn directly to House Stark.

The people of Wintertown looked at the Skagossi convoy with curiosity and sometimes fear, which vanished as soon as they saw an extremely excited Björn Dovahkiin bouncing on top of a 10-ton, 14 ft tall mammoth as if Winterfell was the most exciting thing ever. Only to be renewed when they saw giants riding mammoths in the convoy's rear, carrying war hammers bigger than a person, and multiplied when they heard the Dragons roaring in the skies above.

The Skagossi convoy stopped just before Winterfell, choosing to build their camp near the mighty fortress's walls.

Ragnar dismounted his mammoth, taking Lyanna and Björn with him. He stretched his legs as he waited for the Winterfell entourage to come to him and offer bread and salt

" Now, set the camp up; we shouldn't stay too long in Winterfell; no more than two weeks. Once the camp is up, prepare to take the Silver Wine barrels inside the castle. With that done, you can all enjoy yourselves." Ragnar began, then he turned to the giants

" Mag, Wun, Wag and Tun… If you need anything, send for me. You are allowed to roam Wintertown; just be careful with the children." Ragnar said in the old tongue to the giants, that nodded and began setting a camp for themselves.

Ragnar, Dacey, the children, and four guards walked to the gates of Winterfell, where Benjen Stark waited for him with the Stark household and a few nobles, such as Lords Glover, Umber, Mormont, and Dustin.

" Lord Dovahkiin!" Benjen Stark said as he offered his arm to Ragnar, who clasped it with his and gave a half hug to Benjen.

" Lord Stark… Winterfell looks different. I see you've been giving work to the mage I sent you." Ragnar began humorously

" A Blessing from the Old Gods, these mages are! Every day, I wake up and thank the Old Gods for bringing you to me; a vassal like you is rarely seen." Lord Stark began, " I offer you bread and salt, my friend." Lord Stark said as a servant walked with a bowl filled with salt and a piece of bread; Ragnar got the bread, salted it, and ate it

" Aye! Ragnar, introduce me to the new members of your family." Lord Stark asked as he looked at the twins

" Aye. This little one right here is Lyanna Dovahkiin," Ragnar said as he showed Lyanna, who waved at Lord Stark before burring her head on Ragnar's right leg, much to the Lord's amusement.

" Greetings there, little one." Lord Stark said as he laughed, which caused Lyanna to twitch from the loud laugh. Ragnar's hands glowed orange as he touched Lyanna's head; the modified muffle spell washed over the little girl's body, who, after a few seconds, realized the noises weren't as loud as before and looked up at Ragnar's face who had a small smile on his face; he little moist eyes went wide before she affectionately hugged Ragnar's legs with all the strength she could muster, which hurt Ragnar a bit. Lord Stark saw the whole exchange and gave Ragnar a questioning look, to which Ragnar replied with a soundless "later."

" And This big strong boy right here is Bjorn Dovahkiin," Ragnar said, and Bjorn puffed his chest at being called strong and looked at Lord Stark confidently.

" Aye! This one will be a warrior! If you get as big as your father, the north will have another great warrior capable of inspiring allies and putting fear in the enemy's hearts." Lord Stark said, and Björn nodded

" This one, I believe you know; Lynara Dovahkiin, rider of Frostwing, my firstborn. The pride of House Dovahkiin." Ragnar said as he presented Lynara, who curtsied and smiled at Lord Stark

" Aye… this one I know. She is the one that might one day rule the North alongside my son." Lord Stark said, and Ragnar nodded. Lynara knew about the whole betrothal issue and was quite indifferent to it. She showed no interest or aversion; she knew she could deny the marriage should Rickon Stark be an insufferable person, and that "power" gave her peace of mind.

" Then there's my beautiful lady wife, Dacey Dovahkiin, rider of Snowstorm," Ragnar said, and Lord Stark approached and kissed Dacey's hand

" Aye… Let me introduce you to my family, my friend." Lord Stark began as he showed an eight-name-days-old boy " My heir, Rickon Stark," Lord said, and the boy nodded at Ragnar before saying, " my lord."

" My second son, Bennard." Lord Stark said as he showed a three or four-name-days-old boy who just looked at Ragnar curiously, which made the Dovahkiin chuckle, " and the one you met last time you been to Winterfell, My Lady wife, Lysa Stark, neé Locke." Lord Stark said, and Ragnar bowed his head at the mother of two as the Nord custom demanded.

" Before we enter Winterfell, let me introduce you to Lords Rodrick Dustin." Lord Stark began as he showed Lord Dustin. Ragnar clasped hands with him in a tight grip, and both smiled when they let go

" Lord Dustin, well met!" Ragnar said as he laughed

" Well met, Lord Dovahkiin, the builder reborn!" Lord Dustin joked

" Lord Mors Umber," Lord Stark said as he showed a big man, probably 6'6 feet tall. Ragnar clasped hands with the man in a tight grip, tighter than usual, as Lord Umber tired to do the same

" Aye!! Finally, a worthy opponent, our wrestling match will be more than legendary!" Lord Umber said, and Ragnar laughed loudly, causing the ground to shake slightly.

" Well met, Lord Umber!" Ragnar said

" Lord Beor Mormont," Lord Stark said, and Ragnar clasped hands with the Lord of Bear Island, an aged man but as strong as Lord Umber himself

" I like this one… I have met few men like you in my lifetime… or none at all. Well met, Winter Dragon." Lord Mormont said, and Ragnar nodded

" Well met, Lord Mormont. The tales about your exploits against the reavers are venerable!" Ragnar said as she tipped his head to the old hero of bear island

" And finally, Lord Anton Glover!" Lord Stark said, and Ragnar clasped hands with the man; out of the four lords Lord Stark introduced, Lord Glover was the least impressive, but that didn't mean the man was idle. Lord Stark introduced Ragnar to his most loyal bannerman and local heroes, as respected throughout the North as Ragnar himself. For different reasons but respected nonetheless. Ragnar was respected throughout The North for bringing food and work to the eastern parts of the north, for gaining the New Gift again, for being a Northern dragon rider, a protector against a future Maegor should one arise, for ending piracy on the eastern parts of The North, and for being a strong warrior. However, the last one was mainly because the Skagossi merchant told stories about Ragnar's regular spars with Wun Wun, the giant's leader, and his prowess with both the sword and battle axes. Lords Dustin, Mormont, and Umber were respected for being strong warriors and defenders against wildlings and/or Ironborn reavers.

" Well met, Lord Glover… I've heard about the trap you used against those disgusting reavers; a good Ironborn is a dead Ironborn." Ragnar said, and Lord Glover nodded

" For the north and to the north, Winter Dragon." Lord Glover said

" Aye!" Ragnar, Lord Stark, Lord Mormont, and Umber said simultaneously.

" Let us get inside, Lord Dovahkiin; supper is almost ready, but we got ale and wine to fill hundreds of barrels; it's almost flooding out its storage…." Lord Stark started jokingly, and Ragnar smiled " It might last us for two days, perhaps three, if Lord Umber suddenly gets tired and decides to retire early," Lord Stark said, and Lord Umber let out a powerful belly laugh

" Two days it is!" Lord Umber said

Ragnar bent down, scooped Lyanna and Björn up, and looked at Dacey, who had a hand on Lynara's shoulders

" Let us go, my love?" Ragnar asked, and Dacey nodded

Winterfell, The North; the Twelfth moon of 97 AC

Time skip two days

Ragnar POV

The ancient halls of Winterfell were as enigmatic as one would think; the dark grey walls that had seen 8.000 years of history and thousands of generations were as strong as the walls of Frostfall. Bran, the builder, was as much a legend as one could be; the complexity of these heated walls, both magically and not, was at least revolutionary. Ragnar had seen few buildings as impressive as Winterfell and fewer with an as complex "inner" magic layout; Winterfell had small amounts of magic in it, less than that of a recently "awakened" mage, but it was so complexly built, with so much care and some much ingenuity that that little amount of magic was capable of making the walls more durable and spread the heat from the hot springs in the ground to the whole castle.

As he entered the Great Keep of Winterfell, Ragnar couldn't help but feel gleeful about this day. Today was the day he would, with the help of his fellow Northern lords, cast the Maester out of the North. No longer the Hightower pawn-spies would have a place in The North. No longer would magic suffer under the so-called "learned men of the south."

The quadrennial harvest festival report began as expected, with Lords giving reports on their lands, how bad or good their harvest was, bringing big or small issues to the Lord of Winterfell, as well as reporting on their roads constructions. Lord Stark would call a Lord up who would report in front of everyone; no important details were asked as the Northern Lords didn't like meddling too much

" Lord Dovahkiin of Skagos," Lord Stark said, and Ragnar got up, his 7'2 height towering over the overall tall northern lords

" Lord Dovahkiin, before you begin your report. I must ask you a question. Your house has been crucial in food production for The North; with autumn here, we must know if the food production will stop when winter eventually comes." Lord Stark asked, his face grim as he expected a negative answer

" Nay, my Lord. House Dovahkiin's food production will continue the same during Winter, as will every other industry in Skagos, as should happen with all other Lords." Ragnar said, and Lord Stark let out a relieved sight; some Lords were protesting about the last part of what Ragnar said.

" Not all Lords are as rich as your Lord Dovahkiin, and not all of us have giants to do the heavy work. How do you expect us to keep our harvest or other crafts and trades?" Lord Bolton said monotonously, his voice as emotionless as his pale eyes.

" Well… I don't know about House Bolton, but every other Lord in the North who built roads would be able to keep the trade in their territories up." Ragnar said calmly, and Lord Bolton's eyes narrowed " House Dovahkiin will sell salt to any house in the North; your mages will be able to enchant this salt to last longer and melt snow quicker than usual. If one throws the enchanted salt at the roads, they should keep the roads free of snow for six to eight moons." Ragnar said, and the Lords went silent before cheering loudly. Ragnar thought their cheer reasonable; the most significant problem in winter wasn't the cold itself, but the amount of snow in the ground that didn't allow people to go from one place to another; it didn't allow people to trade within the North, and it made hunting near impossible, however with clear roads trade would be allowed to prosper, trading of lumber, wool, meat would help the North during Winter tremendously.

" The Mages can also help with farming during winter, which would be helpful for Lord Umber and any other Lords with lands on what used to be the New Gift. Wardstone and general farming knowledge. My Lords, you have had the mages for one year, and your lives have only improved; in this one year, there was no death by childbirth among the Northern noble's houses, and, according to your own reports, an increase of 50% in your harvests, and an overall better life condition…. This winter will probably be the easiest one of your lives till now." Ragnar said, and all Lords cheered loudly at that

" Very, well. Lord Dovahkiin, you may begin your report." Lord Stark said, a slight smile on his face.

" Skagos farmlands are as prosperous as ever; this harvest was especially plentiful, according to my own research; it's mainly due to the new combination of crops in our crop rotation. We planted a diverse field of Wood Sorrels and Black medic last harvest on our fourth field; it seems it works better than clover… by a large margin. The fishing in the bay of seals will stop during winter; my fishing ships will go up north to fish near Hardhome or in the middle of the shivering sea. The fish will repopulate during winter; I recommend all lords on the eastern shores do the same. The Seals, however, are in a state of overpopulation since the killer whales are avoiding the bay of seals due to my ships hunting them like the plague. House Dovahkiin will hunt seals during this winter, a new reliable source of food for the North. Lords Karstark, Bolton, Flint, and Umber should be able to make use of this new food source. The Whaling will continue, but like the fishing, we will have to go make some changes. During winter, we only hunt Leviathans. The Winter will help the other whales to repopulate properly…." Ragnar began his report and went on and on. Once Ragnar was done with his report, Ragnar saw Lords Umber, Karstark, and Flint making a sign to him as if asking to talk later

The harvest report continued until Lord Reed, the last one, finished his report. Lord Stark stood up and began

" In my many years as Lord of Winterfell, I have never seen The North as prepared for Winter as this time. The roads and mages… both brought to us by Lord Dovahkiin, both a revolution in our lives, in our North. It gladdens me to know I will not have to spend a lot of hard-gained Northern gold in the Reach, buying their trashy grains. It gladdens me to know the North will only grow as time passes and more so that even with all that, we will never become as prickly as the southerners. These changes wouldn't work if the southerners were in our place. Life in the north will keep getting better, but we will have to work as hard as we always have to achieve and maintain that… hard work breeds hard people. Our hard work will be the same, but our rewards will be far greater." Lord Stark began, and the Lords, save Lord Bolton, were almost excitedly shaking. " The Old Gods have blessed the North by sending Lord Dovahkiin to us, by making him a Northerner! Raise your mugs and horns, my lords. To Lord Dovahkiin's! To the Winter Dragon! And above all that, TO THE FUCKING NORTH!" Lord Stark shouted, and all Lords raised their horns in the air and began shouting

" TO THE NORTH!!"

"WINTER DRAGON!!"

Ragnar was surprised but raised his horn in the air and shouted

" TO THE NORTH" Ragnar's voice was louder than everybody else's, the ground shook, and the air inside the Great Keep was filled with retrained power.

Ragnar got up from his chair, and Lord Stark asked all to be silent; after a few minutes to get everyone quiet, Lord Stark motioned for Ragnar to speak.

" My Lords, Lord Stark. I bring forward a grave problem, a problem that transformed the prosperous North of the age of heroes and the first 2.000 years of existence into the barren Lands it was before I brought magic back to the Land. For 5.000 years, the North has had spies and sabotagers among our courts; they made us turn against magic and The Children of The Forrest; they made us turn against the magic of the old gods through years and years of manipulation. For thousands of years, they had been among us, killing the magic-gifted individuals among our people, using subtle manipulation tactics and coordinated sabotage; they instigated wars that killed the wargs, skinchangers, and giants… they hate magic and surely would find a way to kill the Mages eventually and would find a way to make the north turn against my family in the future to kill the new birthplace of magic in Westeros… had I not been aware of them, that is. Have you ever wondered why your ancestors settle in the North? When magic was strong in the North, the North could feed itself, much like the Vale of Arryn." Ragnar began, " The Maester are spies for House Hightower. The Maesters think they are the only ones who can decide how the future should go; magic has no place in the World the Maesters were building. All Houses with magical blood also haven't. House Stark, House Umber, House Karstark, and House Reed, among others, in their eyes, you are only a nuisance" Ragnar stopped to see if the Lords were buying the truth about the Maesters; fortunately, they seemed to be. Some let out shouts of pure hate

" The Maesters are powerful; they are in every castle, they have the ears of every Lord in the Realm, even the King… although King Jaehaerys might be wary of them already. They are the ones who treats the sick; they are the ones who say how a person died; they control the only known source of communication outside of sending a man on horseback. They are the perfect assassins; if they are the ones to treat the sick, who would question them if they say someone died from natural causes? They could poison a Lord and say the Lord dies of natural causes or a strong disease… who would question them?" Ragnar said

" Bastards them all! But you have no proof against them, do you? That is why you haven't asked me to declare war on House Hightower, The Citadel, and all Maesters." Lord Stark asked before the shouts became louder and angrier

" But I do have proof… the ravens they been trying to send to the Citadell and the ones they were to receive asking about the North and some rumors and let out…. 687 messages sent and 976 messages received, all of them telling secrets of the north and telling about all houses plans to the future and suggestions on how to stop us from succeeding," Ragnar said, and the pandemonium began, one thing was a baseless accusation that made sense, other was an accusation that made sense and had proofs. The Northern lords were pissed beyond measurement. The North didn't play games, and they hated being paws of others. The North was out for blood, out for vengeance.

" Let us be realists here, my lords. I am as angry as all of you, as mad as you, but we cannot simply cast the Maesters aside… who will send the ravens? Who will cure our sick? Who will advise us in matters we are ignorant of? We depend on them too much… I suggest we "convince" them to change their loyalty to where their oaths demand it to be and make them train a northerner as their future successors," Lord Bolton said, and Ragnar would agree the man's plan was extremely efficient. Boltons might be cunts and sadistic fuckers, but they were historically loyal to The North itself, not any House, but the North and its culture. Like when they bend their knee in exchange for House Starks' help in defending the North against the Andals.

" The sick will be treated by the ones who have been treating them this last year. The ones to advise you in matters you are ignorant of will be those who have been advising you this last year. The Mages! I've trained them in all fields. Were they Maesters, all mages would have 18 links…. farming, blacksmith, Warcraft, mathematics, and many others. I've trained the mages to substitute for the Maesters… they are better than the Maesters at everything; their field of knowledge is deep and more reliable. Take healing as an example; how many death by childbirth have we had this year? None! And how many births? 238. The Mages advised you to call your vassals pregnant women, masterly houses, and sometimes even master at arms! No woman died, and no baby died!" Ragnar said, and the room went silent at the declaration; many didn't pay attention when Ragnar mentioned in his report about the mages the zero childbirth rate, but now it was beginning to down in them; their daughters would not die bringing their grandchildren to the world, their wives would not die bringing their children to the world.

" What about the ravens, Lord Dovahkiin…." Lord Stark asked, and Ragnar smiled

" Fuck the ravens… I've spent moons and moons trying to figure out a bird as intelligent and reliable as a raven. I found none." Ragnar began, " But I am the greatest mage of all time; I can enchant a rock to be so hard that no Valyrian steel would be able to scratch it… I have enchanted Owls' eggs and created a new kind of magical bird, Magical Owls, which can deliver a message to anyone in the world just as long as they are provided with a name. Secret messages would be forever secrets as the Owls would deliver the message directly to the person addressed, without a Maesters checking every single message anyone gets. The mages are ready for the task, and so are the Owls. Let us get rid of the Maesters and send them back to the Hightowers… if we kill them now, the Targaryen will have a reason to meddle with our affairs. Let us avoid bloodshed for now and simplify shit in everything they did! Let us make the north a magical land, the exact thing the Maesters fear… killing all of them is neigh impossible; even if we destroy the Citadel, there would be thousands of them around, but killing their goals is possible and extremely beneficial to us!" Ragnar spoke, and the Lords listened; Lord Stark grinned and nodded his head… the Maesters' greatest fear would become real. The North would become a magical nation, a magical land of magical beings and things.

Two moons later, the news about The North sending all Maesters back to the Citadel shook the whole of the realm.

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A/N: A small little chapter for y'all guys

Any thoughts?

Thank you for your support!