Fosterage I

- 274 AC -

- Bear Island -

(Leman POV)

Finally, I reached Bear Island. The beautiful but remote island contains old gnarled oaks, tall pines, flowering thornbushes, moss-covered grey stones, and steep hills with streams. It is a remote island in the north that is home to House Mormont. It lies within the Bay of Ice, north of Deepwood Motte and south of the Frozen Shore.

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To think that Father sent me to be fostered here ... I don't understand what he was thinking. Well, I do understand what he was thinking. He probably thought that my character would fit perfectly and he wants to strengthen the connection he has with the other northern Houses. 

I guess, there are worse houses to be fostered in. The Mormonts are supposed to be similar to me, now that I think about it. They are fiercely loyal to House Stark and they don't care about the petty problems of the South and politics. They enjoy fighting and respect strength. I was welcomed by the heads of House Mormont.

"Welcome to Bear Island, young Stark.", a tall man says, "I'm Jeor Mormont the head of House Mormont and this is my son, Jorah Mormont. Here we have my sister Maege Mormont and her daughter, Dacey."

"Leman's the name. Well met.", I say and look around at all the people standing here. 

Jeor Mormont is a strong and tall man with a gruff demeanour that might intimidate many young men and women. But I'm not just a normal young man. I am not intimidated ... at all. I can tell that he might appear hard and unfriendly, but that's what living on Bear Island does to a normal man. His sister Maege Mormont on the other hand is a short, stout black-haired woman. She seems just as if not more fierce than her brother. She seems to be a very willful woman ... good. I like that.

Finally, we have the two young ones. Jorah Mormont is 19 name days old right now. He looks to be of rather average size, compared to his father and aunt. But he is probably going to grow into a strong man soon. However, that is all I have to say about this one. Nothing special at all. Dacey Mormont on the other hand ... well she was 4 right now, but she has a strong gaze and will surely become a formidable warrior lady in the future. She looks at me with interest and wariness that seems to come from all of the people on Bear Island. 

Jeor Mormont looks at me with a weird gaze. He seems to be unsure whether he should be offended about the lack of formality I showed him or whether he should laugh. I am not one for formality. But that doesn't mean I can't show him respect, should he prove worthy of it. 

"That's a strong gaze you have there boy. I like that. Come, since my brother has fallen into silence, I shall show you around. Come, Dacey, let's show this wolf and his cubs around.", Maege Mormont says with a booming voice. 

The wolves who I met three years ago when I entered the Wolfswood for the first time, have grown up and have had a litter of their own under my protection. Two of their cubs have been following me around no matter what I do or say. Their mothers seem to be fine with it since I am a part of their pack anyway. I don't know how that happened, but it just seems to be logical for me. Might be those wolf genes affecting my mind or something. 

"Ah, right you do that Maege. Leman, I expect you in the yard after my sister has shown you around.", Jeor says to me and I nod. 

.

"And this is your room. It's nothing special and probably much smaller than what you had in Winterfell, but it is what it is.", Maege says to me. As I enter the room, my wolf cubs notice the change in my aura as we enter my new turf and home. They howl immaturly and jump on the bed getting familiar with everything. 

"It is more than enough. I usually sleep in the Wolfswood anyway, so this is perfectly fine.", I tell them. 

"You sleep in the Wolfswood? Where and why do you do that? Is that where you met the wolves?", Dacey seems interested in that story. She hasn't spoken much during the tour but now she is interested. 

"Aye, I met their parents three years ago, when I entered the Wolfswood for the first time. Since then, I have been part of their pack. These two are part of the litter of their parents, whom I met back then."

"What are their names?", Dacey asks me and Maege also seems interested. 

"The white one is Freki and the black one is Geri.", I tell them. I named these two wolves after the two from Warhammer 40k. Fitting, since they have bonded to me on a very deep level. This connection we share is not Warging or something like that, but it doesn't matter. They will be affected by my growth and will probably gain many boons from it. What those are, I do not know. 

"Those are powerful names you chose, young Leman. I can tell you will fit right in here. Now come, put your bag somewhere and follow us to the yard. It seems my brother wants to test your mettle. That's the way we do things on Bear Island. We are all bears. And if you want to fit in, you will have to share at least some of our values. I know that you will do perfectly though.", Maege says. 

We exit my room and walk towards the yard, where Jeor is already waiting for me with two wooden swords in hand. Jorah is standing at the side with his arms crossed. He seems to be wary of me. I can smell anxiousness, which could be connected to his father or mine. He probably wants to appear as a strong and powerful heir of House Mormont but is anxious about making mistakes. He doesn't seem to fit into this house, from what I have seen in this short time. Dacey is already more of a bear than he is. 

"Good, you're here. Here on Bear Island, we pride ourselves on our strength. Our house words are: Here we stand. We don't run, we don't cower, we stand and we fight. No matter what it is, an enemy, the weather, or change, we stand and don't flee. To do that, we train ourselves from a young age. You have now seen 6 name days and are already much taller than what I'd expect from a boy of 10 name days. You move like a warrior, which is perfect. I am here to see your strength and your skill in any weapon of your choice. But to start, we shall see you use the sword.", Jeor says and throws me one of the wooden training swords. 

I catch it and wait for him to continue. But he doesn't say another word and simply observes my stance. I don't have any, as despite my stance not existing, I am not open in the slightest. I have a talent for fighting that eclipses anything this world has ever seen. I am like a freight truck compared to them. It will increase to become more ridiculous until I am going to be like a jumbo jet or something like that. But I still need to grow some more. I wonder how tall I will become. 

Jeor attacks suddenly and I defend the attack. I don't block it but deflect since he has more strength than I do. That's right, but not that much. I am barely 7 years old and already this powerful. I can see my progress speeding up as I fight and train. I'll be a monster in the future. 

*Clang*

*Cling*

*Clang*

I block and deflect all his attacks and keep moving using my dexterity and nimbleness to stay out of reach or move into his guard to throw his rhythm off. It doesn't always take much to win a battle using swords. Especially if they are as long as the ones many northerners use. This fight is equal to child play and it is only challenging since I am not tall enough and strong enough yet to contend with the Bear. 

As our wooden blades clash against one another, I can feel the surprise and awe of the people watching. It is simply outrageous for a 6-year-old child to do this. Gradually, Jeor Mormont is using more force but only gradually since he can't believe what he is witnessing. As the fight gets harder, I feel something wake inside me. There is something primal that I feel awakening. It is like an old memory that comes up. My entire body is refusing to lose.

My aura or presence changes suddenly and if you could see it, you would see that it explodes out of me spreading through the surroundings. Everyone freezes suddenly, even Jeor. But I don't care about fair play. This is a fight and while I would never kill him in a spar, since he hasn't done anything to deserve it, I still take advantage of this 'deer in headlights' moment and attack. 

I swing my wooden sword at the old bear and strike him four times in quick succession, hitting his wrist that holds the sword, his knees and his shoulder. 

*Bam*

*Bam*

*Bam*

*Bam*

The wooden sword drops to the ground and the pain wakes him up. But the surprise hasn't left his face ... or anyone for that matter. I lower my sword and look at him. I wait for him to say something and after a moment he finally does. 

"That ... was ... Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha ...", he starts to say something but then starts laughing out of nowhere. His laughter is genuine and is joined by others also starting to laugh. Maege is also laughing loudly and many others are as well. Dacey and Jorah are not laughing though as they are far too surprised about what just happened. The 4 name day old Dacey probably had her world views shattered right now. 

"What an impressive display of skill, young Leman. To think that you were not only this strong but also skilled with a blade at your age. You will become a true monster this world has never seen, I am sure. Allow me to truly welcome you to Bear Island. We will have a blast, I'm sure.", Jeor says after finally stopping to laugh. 

"Thank you. I'm sure I'll like it as well."

.

.

(Jeor POV)

Leman Stark ... what a man that is. And what a man he will become. 

To think that my little demonstration and test turned into a show of dominance the like I have never seen is just ... unbelievable. I was putting more pressure on him during our spar and was about to end it when his aura suddenly changed. The world became a different and primal place in Leman's presence. It reminded me of my youth when I was sailing with my father and we got into the most dangerous and powerful storm I have ever experienced. I felt like we were sailing to our doom.

The news of a boy of 6 name days besting me in a spar, will spread far and wide in no time. Everyone will know that Lord Jeor Mormont was bested by Leman Stark. No one will believe it however as it is simply impossible. I will send a raven to Winterfell and explain what happened. I am sure not even Rickard Stark will believe what his son did. 

With a Stark like Leman, I am sure that the North will be in secure hands. I am going to make sure he is taught right about our values and the importance of unity and loyalty. He will become a beacon of House Stark and with him by his side, Brandon Stark will surely rule without problems from the south.