Chapter 28: Brynden Rivers

The journey was long and tiring for all but the Bolton men, they were constantly on guard against attacks, making movement slow and tedious.

They had to plan their camps according to what was easily defensible, they were considering themselves to be in enemy territory, so they couldn't just ride all day and just stop to make camp anywhere.

Some days they could only travel eight to ten hours, since if they continued on they would be in a bad position, the camp they set up would be in a disadvantageous area. It was easier to hang back, make camp early so they could pass the areas that would have their camp easily seen and at a disadvantage to be set up.

They could also use these times to hunt for provisions that can last a few days during those extended areas of travel. Aiden had been gathering information during the night, he even notice a large Direwolf that was following the group, it stuck to the mountains and woods as it followed them.

One night he went to deal with the wolf, he thought it was stalking them, however when he went to kill it a sudden mental flash happened as he looked into its eyes, stopping him in his tracks.

He realized he had been wrong, he felt the bond to Ned that the wolf shared, it was what Aiden had felt different about Ned back before the tournament.

Aiden was summoned into a mental mindscape, this wolf was connected to not only Ned but to the Old Gods. Aiden received images of what would've been, he had unknowingly chaged the fate of this world.

Originally this wolf would've died, a sign to Ned from the Old Gods to warn him of his impending doom.

This wolf was supposed to die by being impailed by the antlers of a stag to warn Ned of his death by Baratheon hands before the king arrived to make him his Hand of the King.

A warning Ned neither took note of, or heeded which led to him being killed by Joffrey Baratheon after Robert was killed by a boar. But Aiden had changed that when he rescued Lyanna and the Kingsguard at the Tower of Joy.

Aiden received a message from the Old Gods thru the Direwolf, they asked him to come to the Isle of Faces, they wished to parley with him. They warned him of dangers in the north.

Aiden pet the Direwolf, and decided to see what these Old Gods had to say. He knew there was more to it than just a talk, he felt the Old Gods also wanted him to deal with something on the island.

So he flew high into the air to get a birds eye view to look for the location of this Isle of Faces. When he noticed a round lake with an island in the middle, he knew that was the place. He then flew down to the island.

As soon as his feet touched the ground, a surge of information flooded his mind. Images of the continent's history played out in his mind.

The Isle of Faces was a sacred ground for the Old Gods. It was where the Greenseers and Children of the Forest had used a powerful spell called "the hammer of waters" to break the Arm of Dorne which was a land bridge that connected Westeros to Essos. They wanted to stop the flow of the humans to Westeros.

Although the spell didn't fully destroy the Arm of Dorne as they had wanted, it did however break the connection to Essos. Thus turning the Arm of Dorne into the Stepstones and Broken Arm. Unfortunately for them the First Men already had a foothold in Westeros, so it was done too late.

There was good that came from their use of the spell, when the First Men saw what the Greenseers and Children of the Forest were capable of, they sued for peace. The Children and First Men signed the peace treaty on the island.

Before signing the treaty the Children carved faces on every tree on the island, they wanted the Old Gods to witness and oversee the signing of the treaty, thus the island became known as the Isle of Faces due to all the Heart Trees on the island, and the lake was named God's Eye.

The peace lasted for thousands of years, and the First Men began to adopt the customs of the Old Gods, worshipping the Heart Trees even to the present day. They respected Weirwood Trees and no longer cut them down.

It wasn't until the Andol invasion when war once again erupted in the land, the Children of the Forest and Giants were pushed North as the Andols fought against the Children and non-human beings. They chopped down and burned every Heart Tree and Weirwood tree they found.

Aiden felt the pain and sorrow, as he brushed against the trees. Then Aiden felt an evil he recognized, he noticed a large raven perched on a branch. He recognized the bird from all those years ago, however this one was much larger, when the bird saw Aiden it quickly tried to fly away.

Aiden didn't plan to let such an evil escape this time, he was alone now, Flamebird had stayed at the camp to watch over the men, so Aiden dashed forward and caught the raven with three eyes.

With a squeeze he crushed the bird, the moment he did, a scream full of pain, hate and ruthlessness filled Aiden's mind. He once again saw an old decrepit man trapped within white roots within his mind.

A shockwave of magical energy erupted from from the bird, similar to the shockwave caused by a massive bomb exploding, Aiden was flooded with images of what was going on.

His eyes began to glow red from anger, he now knew what was happening to magic within the land.

Brynden Rivers was using dark magic to steal away the magic of the Old Gods and Westeros, he was sacrificing warg children to remain alive for hundred of years. It was why the Old Gods had cursed him, trapping him north begond the wall, or at least one of the reasons.

But this didn't end the man's ambition to not only be immortal, he wanted to rule the land as his father did, Aegon the Unworthy.

The Three Eyed Raven portrayed himself as a force for good, but really he was far from it, he had plans to snatch Bran Starks body since he too was a Greenseer.

In the original timeline, when Bran Stark was crowned king of Westeros, that wasn't Bran that was crowned. Brynden Rivers had taken over Bran body, he killed Bran's soul which is why his demeanor had completely changed after the Night Kings defeat.

Sansa and Jon had thought his change was due to all the losses he witnessed, but that wasn't the case, while Bran was using his powers in that final battle to distract the Night King, Brynden made his move.

He had planned it all from the start, which is why he had Bran brought to him by the Children he had tricked to work for him, he acted like he was training Bran to take his place, but he was actually training Bran so the he could take the place of Bran.

Aiden saw even now, Leaf and her fellow Children that were holed up with Brynden, helping to hide him from the Night King, Leaf was the one who created the Night King, they had gathered wildling babes that had magic in their blood to feed to the old man.

He tricked them into thinking it was necessary to keep the Night King sealed, so even though the Children didn't like doing such a task, they thought it was right since if the Night King awoke all the living would be in danger.

Typical sacrificing the few to save many mentality. They had detected the decrease in magic each time Brynden devoured the babes, which he explained as the magic going to strengthen the seal to keep the Night King at bay.

In reality it was going to Brynden himself, he did this for multiple reasons. It would give him more power as well as extending his life, it also would stop dragons from being born in the future.

He had also foreseen the future at a young age including the birth of Bran Stark and was building the power necessary to perform the ritual to steal Bran's body and finally escape his foreseen imprisonment.

Many didn't know but all three Blackfyre Rebellions were orchestrated by him. He worked from the shadows, using blood rituals to increase his power, full well knowing that it would lead to him being cursed for a long period of time.

But he also knew that if he planned it right, it wouldn't be permanent, and in the end he would become King of all the realm. It was why he had killed Aenys Blackfyre who had put forth a strong claim to the throne after Maekar I Targaryen died with no definitive heir to the throne.

Brynden as Hand of the King offered Aenys Guest Rights during the Great Council, so he could present his claim in person, however as soon as he entered the capital he was seized and executed by Bryden.

Aegon V Targaryen then became king and had Brynden arrested and ordered him to be executed for breaking the word of the Iron Throne.

Rather than accept the execution he joined Aemon Targaryen to take the black. He knew if he didn't do so, it would've changed the course of the future since Aegon V wouldn't have become king should he allowed Aenys to speak at the council.

If that happened the the Mad King would've never came to power, thus Roberts Rebellion would've never happened and Bran Stark not be born. Bran was the first Greenseer born after Brynden.

Greenseers were extremely rare, not only could they perceive past, present and future thru their dreams, they could dreamwalk, warg into animals and some of the more powerful ones into humans, they also had the ability to control nature and plants.

It was Greenseers who flooded the Neck in an attempt to stop the Andols from coming into the North. They tried to mimic what was done when they broke the Arm of Dorne all those years ago. Seperate the North from the south completely.

This is why they were so rare, they were one of the most powerful beings within this world. Only one in a thousand wargs and skinchangers were born as greenseers.

They really didn't need teachers, they could use their powers to look into the past and learn from others, they could even influence people thru dreams. Bran Stark was to be the most powerful Greenseer born in the modern era, this was why Brynden wanted his body.

The Starks came from a very powerful bloodline, they actually had the most magical potential of any others, even the Children of the Forest. This was all due to Bran the Builder.

The first Stark King had conquered the North, when he did he forcable wed all the wives and daughters of the conquered kings that held magic. He then bred his own children together, to mix the magic thoroughly into his decendants.

He then built the Wall, Winterfell and Moat Cailin, he then made it a rule that there always had to be a Stark in Winterfell, the magic within their blood fed magic to the structures.

It was why the wall fell so easily, when Ramsey Snow took Winterfell, the magic that helped to protect the Wall was weakened greatly, they hadn't been able to retake Winterfell in time for the magic to rebuild and strengthen.

Even though magic did have a surge after Daenerys had brought three dragons back into the world, allowing more magic to be in the air, it would've taken a few years for the Wall to have recovered.

Aiden couldn't believe what he had seen, he saw a time branch that showed an army of undead. It unsettled him to see what was coming, he looked at the dead raven within his hand.

'Fuck, how am I supposed to stop this mad man, and protect Ned and Robb? He's going to kill hundreds of babes to try to recover, I just killed his oldest familiar, releasing a lot of the magic he had sealed within himself. I can't let that happen. I can't leave Ned and the others.'

Aiden's frustration built, he saw what Brynden had done to babes, the literal draining of of their life force and magic, it is extremely painful and torturous to the person being sacrificed. The screams of pain and terror the young children had when he initiated the ritual reverberated within his mind.

Aiden shook in anger and frustration, he needed to do something now with the old monster beyond the wall, both of them.

What Brynden didn't realize was what he was doing was taboo for a reason, it currupted the world by messing with the natural order of things. Death is a part of life, without death there is no life. Life feeds off Death.

When you eat a plant or animal, you are feeding off death. Before becoming your meal, that plant or animal was alive, also feeding off death. Without death, life can not thrive.

Aiden knew this, it was why he didn't bring back his grandmother Rhaella. Sure he could be selfish and use his power to bring her back, but that would pull her from where she was now, with her loved ones that died before her.

All those stillborn babes she had previously, she can now meet each one, love them, cherish them, get to know them. To save someone before death was very different than resurrecting someone.

It was something Sho had admonished to him, playing with the cycle of life and death can have serious consequences, the Night King is a perfect example.

When mortals gain immortality it will eventually drive them mad. Death gives life meaning, it makes the good times better, if you knew no one would die then you wouldn't cherish the time with your loved ones, you wouldn't cherish anything but material possessions.

Aiden's frustration built higher as he tried to think of a solution, right as he almost bubbled over in anger, his body shook rapidly, his body began to phase and turn ethereal. A figure matching Aiden's appearance stepped out, and looked around.

When it saw the other Aiden it looked shocked, as did the other. They looked at each other then they both smiled. It took Aiden a bit to get accustomed to this feeling, it was strange receiving twice the information all at once. He had created a clone that wasn't exactly a clone, it was another him, he could see through it's eyes, hear thru its ears, feel thru its skin.

"Well that solves everything. Hahaha." They both said together at the same time.

"Alright guess I need to practice this some before I do anything else."

Both sat down and meditated, thanks to his divinities it didn't take very long for him to develop parallel thought. He used the same logic as dual wielding swords, once he had a handle on the ability both Aiden's flew off.

One went north the other back south.