WILOW-Ch.311: To Go or Not to Go
Godwoods, Winterfell
POV of Eddard Stark
"You're saying that Bran is a Greenseer now?" Eddard Stark asked Leaf who had made herself comfortable under the Heart Tree.
That the meeting was taking place in Godswood instead of his Solar said a lot about the culture of the Children of the Forest.
"Yes, Lord Stark. Do you doubt my words?"
He opened his mouth but then closed it and shook his head, "No."
He did not think that Leaf would lie about something so important while sitting under a Heart Tree.
The Heart Tree was one of the most sacred objects to the Children of Forest, and not one of them would ever lie in the presence of a Heart Tree.
Even to Northerners who worshipped Old Gods like the Children of Forest, the Godwoods were sacred ground, and it was wrong for them to shed blood, lie, or commit dishonorable acts there.
"How did you find out about… Bran being a Greenseer." Jon asked with a slight frown.
Before Leaf could answer, Bran spoke up, "Is the Greenseer the Three-Eyed Raven real?"
He frowned at Bran's question, and Leaf nodded. "He goes by many names. Three-Eyed Raven is one of them."
"What's a Three-Eyed Raven?" Robb asked, looking just as confused as he felt.
Bran remained silent for a long moment, squirming under their gazes before he spoke, "A crow that I met in my dreams… when I was still in a coma. He helped me fly."
The confusion in his heart grew. There were so many questions in his mind, and he did not even know where to start.
"Why did you not tell us about this Three-Eyed Raven, Bran?" Robb asked.
Bran squirmed in the wheelchair and said, "I… I thought it was all just a dream."
"Dreams can be pretty real for people like us, boy," Briar said as she sat beside her large six-legged lizard, which was snoring loudly behind her, and Leaf nodded as well.
"Without proper guidance, it is hard for people to differentiate between Green Dreams and normal dreams."
"Is that why you're here?" Robb asked, "To guide him."
Leaf shook her head.
"No. I'm here to take him to Lord Bloodraven. The Three-Eyed Raven and the last Greenseer on Earth." Leaf said, but then she added. "At least it was the last one. Until a new Greenseer appeared." And as she finished, she looked toward Bran.
But even though Leaf's words implied Bran as the newly appeared Greenseer, the person she was actually talking about was Domeric. Moreover, Domeric had not only become a Greenseer but had also received the blessing of the Old Gods.
For Leaf and the other Children of the Forest, Domeric had become not only a Greenseer but also their leader.
But Leaf had no intention of speaking of these things, and Eddard Stark had no way of knowing them.
"Where does this… Lord Bloodraven lives."
'And wasn't that a morbid name?' he thought.
"Does he live in Dreadfort as well?" he asked.
"No." Leaf shook her head, "He lives under a Heart Tree beyond the Wall."
He frowned at that. "You want me to send Bran North of the Wall?"
Leaf gave a nod.
"Absolutely not." He replied and got up from the stone he had been sitting on, "I'm not going to send him there when the White Walkers might be roaming those lands."
Leaf wasn't affected by his anger and simply nodded. "You want to protect your children, Lord Stark. And that is commendable. But the Long Night is coming. And the presence of a Greenseer might mean the difference between everyone's life and death."
"But isn't this Lord Bloodraven a Greenseer as well?" Robb asked.
"Lord Bloodraven is more than 120 years old." Leaf said, "He has already lived past the age of a normal human with the help of the Heart Tree. But I'm afraid he can only extend his life so far. This is the only chance Bran has of learning about his heritage."
He did not know what to say to that.
On one hand, he wanted to protect his boy.
On the other hand, if she was right and the presence of a Greenseer could indeed change the tide of the Battle against the White Walkers, then by protecting his son, he might be dooming the whole North.
"I'll go," Bran said before he could come up with a reply.
He stared at his son, feeling proud and worried. The resolute expression on his face already told him that Bran won't back down on this, and he could understand.
Bran had wanted to be a knight and join the Kingsguard ever since he was a boy. Losing his legs robbed him of that, and he had been depressed ever since.
Becoming the next Greenseer and protecting the whole world would give him the purpose that he had lost, along with his legs.
After a long moment of silence, he finally nodded, "Are you sure about this, Bran? This is not a decision you can come back from."
Bran nodded decisively, and Eddard turned to Leaf.
"How are you going to send him up North?" Because without his legs, Bran couldn't travel on his own. And the White Walkers began to roam the lands beyond the Wall, so those lands were more dangerous than ever.
"He'll come to Dreadfort. From there, he'll be escorted by our Wargs and Skinchangers to beyond the Wall, where he'll meet up with Lord Bolton, who'll escort him the rest of the way." Briar said.
He nodded. Lord Bolton's Wargs and Skinchangers were powerful, and Lord Bolton himself was one of those who knew best what was beyond the Wall.
"There's one last thing," then Briar added.
"Go on," he said.
"A message from Lord Bolton. He said that after Bloodraven was finished with Bran, he would bring him to Dreadfort and keep his promise to Lady Stark," she said.
"What promise? I don't know about that." He said.
"I'm sorry, but I don't know either. If you want to know, you'll have to ask Lord Bolton or Lady Stark. But since it's something Lady Stark has allowed, I don't think it's a bad thing." Briar.
"I see. I received Lord Bolton's message. I'll send an owl to Catelyn later and find out the details of the situation." He said, and Briar just nodded.
With that, the decision was made.
Two days later, Bran left Winterfell for Dreadfort.
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Next Chapters' Name:
Ch.312: Travel Companions
Ch.313: Sibling Reunion
Ch.314: Tourney and Conspiracy