Training

Corvin sat in his chambers, his little brother Lucas on his lap as he read him a book about the history of House Blackwood.

Although not the extent of himself, Lucas was a very smart kid. At the time it honestly surprised Corvin as although he was mentally an adult and from another world, his brother wasn't(he checked).

Corvin decided that his brother's intelligence be put to use, and coupled with the fact that he was a naturally curious kid, he was currently reading him a book.

"So House Blackwood once ruled as Kings?" Lucas inquired, looking up to Corvin.

Corvin smiled at his brother's curiosity. 'Kids will be kids,' he thought.

"There was a time when we once ruled the Riverlands, but those days are long gone. We were severely weakened by a war between ourselves and the Brackens, so when Aegon landed on Westeros and the Tully's joined the Targaryen's to defeat Harren Hoare(the guy who Harrenhall was named after), they were granted control over the Riverlands." Corvin said in a neutral tone, but it was very annoying to him.

If only House Bracken didn't exist. He grew to love his house in the short amount of time here, but one thing he hated about it was this petty feud with the Brackens.

"Well if we ruled once before, can't we do it again?" Lucas asked innocently.

Corvin took a moment to think about it, "We could, but we cant be saying anything along those lines out loud."

"Why?"

"We would be seen as traitors if we did. House Tully has ruled the Riverlands for over 300 years, so no one would directly challenge their claim. Houses like Frey and Darry have a united hatred for the Tully's, but they can't do anything. House Tully simply has too many allies, both inside and outside the Riverlands. They have marriage alliances with the Starks and Arryns, and were also rewarded greatly for the Rebellion." Corvin explained.

"So what if they have allies, we will beat them ourselves!" He thrusted his fist into the air with a smile, eliciting a chuckle from Corvin.

After teaching his brother more about the history of House Blackwood he had some free time for himself. He made his way into the Godswood, which in his opinion was the most quiet and peaceful place on earth.

Since the Godswood at Raventree Hall held significant meaning, and to prevent any enemy houses(Bracken) from destroying the Weirwood tree, only members of house Blackwood and friends were allowed here.

And since his father and mother were always busy, Corvin was the only one who visited the Godswood anymore, which was something he was grateful for.

This essentially made it the perfect place to train, and to avoid looking like a weirdo talking to thin air, when it was in fact his teacher.

"Faster!" Brynden demanded, his projection watching Corvin from the other side who was running for his life.

"huff…huff…Fuck…you…" Corvin said through panted breaths as his legs turned into jelly and dropped to the floor.

By the old gods he was only 4, his body couldn't take it.

As he laid on the ground gasping for air, Brynden's projection strode over to him with an indecipherable look.

"Do you know the most important quality to a fighter?"

Corvin shook his head, already preparing for his mentor's speech.

"Stamina." At Corvin's confused look, he explained.

"When you're in the heat of battle, surrounded by bodies both alive and dead alike, your body screaming at you and your heavy hot armour weighing you down, it's extremely tiring. It's something that is often overlooked, but if you don't have Stamina how can you lead your armies and fight? It doesn't matter if you have the strength of the mountain, the skill of Barristan Selmy, or the speed of Jaime Lannister…if you don't have stamina you will tire yourself out, dying by the hands of an opponent who does have the energy to kill you. Do you understand?"

Corvin nodded, his eyes bright with understanding.

"So get up then. If you want to live, get up!"

Corvin's spirit was now reinvigorated with determination, and he did as he was told without so much as a complaint. After getting his legs readjusted, he began running again.

After another 10 minutes, Corvin sat on the floor panting for air as he massaged his legs. He perked his head up as Brynden walked over to him.

"Well done, you did a good job."

"Yeah, no thanks to you. Your little speech made me realise that I can't rest. Time is limited, the White Walkers will come soon, and I can't have the realm undivided when they do come. I don't plan on following Lord Tully in the war of 5 kings for a number of reasons, especially when our side will lose, so I need to do something before then."

Brynden chuckled, "Don't think too far ahead. For now, you should focus on the present and continue training."

"Continue training?" Corvin couldn't believe his ears. He was already exhausted!

"Of course, although your body is spent, your mind still needs a workout. When I first met you, you were training with your Raven's, what was the specific reason?" Brynden questioned.

"I plan to establish an information network across Westeros. I will sell information and gain each of the houses trust by playing all sides."

Brynden nodded, "That's smart. Before I became what I am, I often used my Ravens to spy on the enemy, it helped me greatly. If you control information, you control the world…the possibilities are endless..."

Corvin chuckled, "That's why I'm so keen on it, but the problem is the distance. The further I travel away from my physical body, the weaker the connection gets."

"Hmmm…" Brynden's fingers touched his chin, thinking of something.

"For now we will train with your skinchanging powers. The more you skinchange, the easier it will get. Also, you need to establish a connection with the Ravens you are using, a proper one."

"What do you mean? "

"I mean taking it out with you, petting it, giving it good food, lots of rest. Stuff like that will increase the personal bond between yourself and the animal and make it easier to travel the large distances you need to cover."

"If I do that, would that mean I could actually do it?"

"It would take lots of effort and hard work, but it would be possible." Brynden looked at Corvin with a piercing gaze, "Are you prepared to go the extra distance?"

Corvin just laughed, "There's no need to try and convince me old man, I've already made up my mind. Let's get to work."

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Question: Do you think Robb deserved his fate? In my opinion he did, although he was a good commander he completely failed at every other aspect in the war.

He wasted numerous resources keeping prisoners, never listened to any of his commanders advice, executed Lord Karstark(which was stupid), and betrayed his promise, married for love and forced Edmure to marry instead.

To put it simply, he was a bit of a dick, and he had what was coming too him when Roose betrayed him, a commander who genuinely tried to help Robb, but was shrugged off at every turn.

He was the king who lost the north because of his stupidity.