Growing Pains

Growing Pains 

The green stem slowly rose, gently swaying under Hadrians gaze. The plant got taller and taller as he watched, until finally the bulb on its head started too slowly open. After what seemed like hours, the blue of the rose petals was revealed, showing the famous Northern flower in all its beauty. 

Harry collapsed onto his back with a gasp. Sweat was pouring down his face and with a tiredness that goes beyond the body. 

“You’re still using pure power.”  

The comment was unwelcome. Harry made sure Leaf knew it by sending her the best glare he could manage under the circumstances. 

He must not have been intimidating enough under these circumstances, as she only responded with a small twitch of his lips. 

Harry decided it wasn't worth arguing, so he ignored her and slowly made his way back into a sitting position.  

After a few minutes when he was feeling slightly more rested, he turned back to the Child of the Forest. 

Understanding her cue to continue, she spoke. “I've told you before my lord. Life isn't simple.  You have to coax the plant to grow. Slowly and gently. You have to guide it. Encourage it. The plant wants to grow, you should just help it along. What you are doing is commanding it.” 

Her face took on a slightly amazed look when she continued. “Honestly, I am amazed you can get the plant to grow at all with the way you are going about it. I didn't think such a thing was possible.” A briefly contemplative look came across her face. “It must be because you are so powerful. I don't think it would be possible for anyone else.” 

Harry sighed. He knew this was going to take a lot of effort to learn going into these lessons. Still, he expected to make more progress after a month. The hardest part of this magic was the change in mindset that was required. In his last life, he was taught for years to have an iron control over his magic. To guide every part of the process. To let it more or less run wild with only general nudges, as was required for the nature magic of the Children, was a change that was taking some time to get used to.  

Occlumency wasn't much help either. As that entire discipline required him to have complete control over his mind, so trying to use that was counterproductive. 

Still, he had made some progress. 

Harry sighed and stood. Moving closer to the Weirwood tree before slumping with his back against it.  

Harry wiped the sweat from his forehead with his shirt before speaking. “I think that's enough about that. Let's move on to runes. “ 

Leaf pursed her lips slightly. “Very well. Last time we spoke about the Som rune.  You learnt about how that rune relates to water. About how it doesn't just signify water, but more specifically how water always flows. About how water is never still. How it is always in a state of change.” 

Harry nodded. The actual lesson had more complexities in it, as First men Runes, as Harry was starting to learn, were never as simple as meaning one thing. They always had a deeper more complex meaning that could relate to a lot of different subjects at once. While the runes he knew of before he was reborn were similar, these runes were more primal. They each had a lot more possible meanings.  

Harry was beginning to suspect that the true difficulty with using these runes was going to be narrowing down what he wanted the runes to do. The issue with that was that each rune in the scheme that he would use, also had multiple meanings, making it difficult. 

Another issue was that these runes weren't very well researched. The laws that governed them wasn't very well defined like back in his old world, where wizards researched exactly how runes worked for thousands of years.  

The Children weren't very useful in this aspect either. Most of them were only interested in nature. They never spent time researching how exactly it worked. Most of their knowledge came through pure experience. 

Harry already knew he would be spending a lot of time figuring out exactly what the laws regarding this runic language were. While he is sure his previous experience would be helpful, he knew each runic language had its own laws. With things only getting more complex when multiple languages were used. 

He tried using Latin to make a basic runic scheme that would only light up, but it only worked as long as he pushed a tremendous amount of power through it and stopped when he did. It also ended up giving him a migraine when he tried, so he quickly shelved that idea, for now. 

His leading theory was that it was because that language had no history in this world, so there was no way for the magic of the world to recognize what it was supposed to do. It's partly the same reason why Latin was used in most spells in the Wizarding World. The language was ancient enough to craft an impression into magic itself.  

Magic was almost sentient. It could learn, it could adapt, but it took centuries to millennia for that to happen, with thousands to millions of people driving the change.  

So unless he wanted to power every scheme he had with nothing but his personal power as opposed to the magic of this world, whilst giving himself truly terrible headaches, he would have to adapt. 

Leafs continued her lecture. “Today we will be learning about Mur. The Old Tongue word for stone. There are many deeper meanings of the word but we will focus only a few for now. Mur also means solid, unyielding or strength. It was generally carved onto homes or onto armor to give them extra durability. The biggest issue I've found when using this rune is that because it means unchanging, it is almost impossible to change the effect of the rune once it has been carved. It's even more difficult to remove the rune from anything it is carved on unless you totally destroy the object, or use the rune for water which completely destroys the rune. This is also one of the greatest aspects of the rune. If you add it onto the end of the scheme, it will make the scheme take on this property. Meaning that while the scheme can no longer be changed, it will last a long time. Be warned however. Since the word for water is the opposite of this rune, natural water will weaken the effect and destroy it completely given enough time. This is why there aren't many ruins left from when runecraft was more popular. The rain literally washed them away.” 

Harry nodded, fascinated. So runes were still subject to nature and its laws to some degree as water can carve through rock given enough time. 

Leaf bent over and drew a few lines in the sand. “This is the rune.” 

Harry only needed a glance to memorize it before he started asking what was on his mind. “How did this knowledge disappear from mortal lives? I know that the Faith could have gotten rid of them in the South, but even the men of the North and beyond The Wall know very little of runes. The crannogmen know the most and even their knowledge is basic.” 

Harry saw the Child of the Forest hesitate slightly before answering. “You’re right. The Faith did most of the work in the South. My people were the ones who removed the knowledge in the North. It took a millennium, but we mostly succeeded. The crannogmen were left mostly alone during this time as they were not interested in spreading this knowledge and because they stay the truest to the teachings we gave mankind after the first Pact we forged with them. Even then, much of their knowledge has been lost.” 

Harry struggled to contain his anger. After a few moments he succeeded and asked the important question. “Why?” 

She sighed and her shoulder slumped. “My lord, mankind has ruined this world. Before your kind came along, there was nature covering everything. My people were plentiful and powerful and happy. Magic was strong! The things we could do with our gifts back then....” 

She looked into the distance forlornly. “Our abilities now pale in comparison of what we used to be able to do. “ 

She looked into his eyes. “Then, mankind came. Your kind started this war by slaughtering our people. We tried to make peace, it didn't work. So, we fought and we won. But more came. We won again! But still more came. You! Just! Kept! Coming! We destroyed the arm of what you call Dorne, thinking it would stop you. But still you came. Your kind breeds so fast, that for us with such long lives, it was like there was never an end to your numbers. Eventually we were pushed back. “ 

She took a deep breath before continuing. “But mankind wasn't happy with that. You started hunting magical creatures for sport. Griffins. Magical birds. Pegasi....and countless other creatures. Men were responsible for the death of them all. While some may still live in hard-to-reach places, we haven't seen them for millennia. When mankind started mastering magic, things became even worse. Men started hunting even young Ice Dragons when they were young, so as to use them for rituals or for powerful potions. Others even dared chop down Weirwood trees for the power of their wood. Never second guessing the impacts they were having on the world. For thousands of years, we were hopeless. Mankind performed more and more cruelty with magic, staining it. After the War for the Dawn we had some hope that mankind would finally listen and work to help us protect what was left. But even that didn't last long before they went back to their old ways in search of more power. So, my people made a choice. We decided that mankind was unworthy of this gift. We started actively hunting those who were more knowledgeable of magic and destroying what knowledge they had. We were still more knowledgeable than mankind in magical arts and we worked very slowly, so it wasn't too difficult. By the time the Andals came and the survivors of my kind fled North, mankind was far weaker in magic. Once my people were safe, we used the next few invasions to completely erase whatever knowledge remained.” 

His shoulders slumped and he released a sigh. “I want to be angry. I really do. But I can understand. “ 

The wizards in his last life hid magic instead of using it to help muggles, and the people of this world were a lot more violent than they were. 

He looked up. “Why are you teaching me then? Because you swore yourself to me?” 

She shook her head. “Truthfully, it's because we hope...we pray... that you can save what's left. Magic...it strengthens in your presence.” She trailed off with a tone of awe. 

Harry nodded slightly. “I'll do my best.” 

Leaf abruptly looked at him with a deadly seriousness. “Then let's make sure you know as much as possible.” 

Line break--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

It was the next day that Harry finally got a piece of news he was almost anxiously waiting for. 

“So Benjens finally back?” His uncle asked. 

Harry allowed a smile to break out over his face and answered. “According to Lord Manderly, the trading voyage was very successful.” 

Ned smiled. “So what now?” 

He hummed. “Now, he will bring the things I personally asked for back to Winterfell where I will decide the best ways to make use of them. Meanwhile, the rest will be going to Kingslanding with Lord Manderly when he goes to speak to the King. From there, he will sell what he can and make his way to the Reach and then the Westerlands to sell the rest. ” 

Harry smiled. “Then he will make his way back and start preparing for the next voyage.” 

Ned looked slightly hesitant. “Will Benjen be going on that one?” 

He shook his head. “No, Benjen will be going to Sea Dragon Point. I only wanted him to go now so that he would get some experience with sailing. Now that he has that, he will be overseeing the construction of his castle and the building of a fleet.” 

Ned exhaled. “Its going to take a while before any significant progress is made.” 

The smirk fell off Hadrian's face. “Years.” He agreed. “The Lannister's should be handling most of the Ironborn, so at least the fleet construction shouldn't have too many issues from them.” 

He received a short nod. “Aye, there is that.” 

After a moment his uncle continued. “What will Lord Manderly tell the King?” 

Harry leant back into his seat. “The truth. They have bent the knee. They take years or decades to make children. I am going to be using the Giants in a few construction projects that I'm starting in the North. If the issues with the Faith gets fixed I will have no issue sending some Giants to the Stormlands, but I will not kill them when they are part of our culture and they have bent the knee.” 

Ned looked at him blankly. “You don't expect the King to fix the issues with the Faith, do you?” 

Harry released a short laugh. “No.” 

Ned frowned. “And if he commands you to kill them?” 

A grim look came onto his face. “Thats not happening uncle.” Harry doesn't give a shit what the Kings says. Bringing magic back was more important than listening to the idiot on the throne.  

Ned winced. “Do you understand what you are saying? You can't disobey the king. That could mean war?” 

Harry snorted. ”Robert better hope not.” 

Ned looked tired. “Hadrian...The other Kingdoms outnumber us. By a very large amount.” 

Honestly Harry was tempted to smile slightly at his uncle's naivety. “The North has never been conquered uncle. We bowed to dragons. Not men. Besides, you assume we will be facing every Kingdom.” 

Harry got a frown in response. “If the King calls his banners, they will respond.” 

He shook his head. Sometimes his uncle could be very blind. “Uncle, how hard do you believe it would be to turn the Kingdoms against each other?” 

Ned looked slightly pale and vaguely sick. “How would you do that?” 

Harry fought off a smirk, knowing Ned wouldn't take it well. “A moon ago, I had some of the Children send a few birds to Kingslanding. To find out what they can. They've already found out some interesting things.” 

Very interesting things indeed. Such as the fact the Kings children weren't his own. Harry almost didn't believe it when he was first told they were Jamie Lannisters. But after it was confirmed, he couldn't help but laugh.  

The Lannisters just gave him the perfect way to get the everyone off his back in case the King turned against him. A few letters and the realm would break into complete chaos. 

“What did you find?”Neds voice sounded hoarse.  

Harry frowned. “I'm not going to tell you uncle, because I know you will want to act on the information. Know that I won't use it unless it is necessary.” He meant it too. As long as the King didn't do anything stupid, he would be happy to keep the information to himself. But if a war started, he would make sure the North came out on top. 

“Necessary?” The word was barely a whisper. Harry knew he had to be gentle here. His uncle was still extremely loyal to Robert, no matter what Harry did to try and persuade him otherwise. Still, he knew that Ned would always be more loyal to his family. 

“Not unless he declares war against us. I will do everything I can to prevent a war. But you must understand uncle, my duty is to the North and its people. I will do everything in my power to make it stronger. To make it so our people no longer starve during winter.” 

Ned grit his teeth. “I understand.” 

He exhaled slowly. “Good. Now let's talk about you.” 

Harry could see his uncle force himself to relax. “Me?” 

He nodded. “Aye. Now that we have some gold coming in, it's time to begin the next stage in my plans.” 

Harry saw the surprise on his uncles face. “Shouldn't we first finish one of your projects before beginning another?” 

Harry nodded. “Ideally, we would. Unfortunately, each of those projects are likely to take years before I could consider them complete. I don't have that kind of time. So we are going to multitask. That means a few more projects are going to be started in the next few years.” 

Ned nodded reluctantly. “So what do you need me to do?” 

Harry smirked. “Travel down to the neck and start overseeing the reconstruction of Moat Cailin.” 

Ned looked stunned. “Truly?” 

He laughed. “No need to sound so shocked uncle. I told you years ago that it would be your seat, did I not?” 

His uncle nodded. “Aye, you did. I just thought there would be more important things to spend the gold on for now.” 

Harry smiled. “Aye, there are other things that will need gold in the years to come, but Moat Cailin is arguable the most important. By the time I die, I want the North to be a fortress, uncle. I want the idea of ever marching on us to be suicidal. This is more important than ever, as with the return of the Children and Giants, I foresee there will probably be Faith Militant armies trying to march on us long after we are both dead.” 

Unless I do something about the Faith. He silently thought to himself. 

His uncle looked contemplative. “Is there anything in specific you want for Moat Cailin?” 

He didn't need to even think of an answer as this was a question he had asked himself for years. “The South of the castle must be as defensible as you can make it, however the North can't have walls that are over twenty feet high and must have only average defenses. The castle needs to be able to be conquered from the North in case an enemy ever takes it. That way it can be taken back. “ Left unsaid was that House Stark could take the castle should the inhabitants ever go against them. It wouldn't do to have it be so structurally defensible that his uncle's line could rebel and retreat behind their walls to safety, making taking the castle a tremendous task. The Moat is too important a castle for that. Especially when they would be able to get supplies from the South in the event of a siege. If some of his future plans worked out, the castle would only get more valuable in the coming centuries. 

Judging by the look on his uncle's face, he understood what Harry wasn't saying. While he didn't seem like he liked it, the acceptance he showed meant that he understood Harry would have to take steps to make sure House Stark couldn't be threatened. 

Harry took a breath before continuing. “Other than that, you need to start thinking of a House name. The only requirement I have is that Stark not be in the name at all. I want to end that particular tradition.” That should help prevent any repeats of the Greystarks and hopefully prevent his uncle's line from getting too uppity about themselves, like the Karstarks sometimes do. 

His uncle opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by a knock on the door.  

Harry gave his uncle a look to let him know they would be continuing this conversation later and then called out. “Come in.” 

The door was pushed open and Maester Luwin entered, holding a piece of parchment and looking a bit upset. He bowed before speaking. “My Lord, a letter came from Lady Maege Mormont.” 

He furrowed his brows in confusion. “What happened?” 

Luwin grimaced. “According to Lady Mormont, Lord Jorah was caught selling slaves.” 

Harry kept his face blank, but his mind was racing. “Why would he do such a thing?” He asked, although he already had an inkling of what was going on. 

Harry noticed the Maester wince slightly as Harry unintentionally leaked a bit of anger in his voice.  

Luwin was used to Hadrian though and didn't let it affect him for long. “My Lord, she said her nephew was spending gold like water for his new Hightower wife. She suspects that he was doing it to fund her lifestyle.” 

Harry ground his teeth. “And the gold I was sending to build a port?” 

Luwin sighed. “Lady Mormont suspects that he was using much of that gold on Lady Lyness as the port has slowed down construction considerably since Jorah took over once he came back from the war. Originally, she assumed that Lord Hightower was funding much of her lifestyle, but now that doesn't seem to be the case. Lord Jorah was still keeping some of the construction of the port going, in an effort to not look suspicious, so there has been some progress. Just not nearly as much as there should have been. Lady Maege offers her apologies in the letter, stating she should have kept a closer eye on the project. Instead of leaving it completely in her nephews' hands like Lord Jorah insisted on.” 

Harry lost it. His face was perfectly blank as he engaged occlumency to the highest levels he could. His mind, however, was running as fast as it could. 

Fucker! Absolute idiot! With a proper military port and trade on the Western coast, Bear Island was going to turn into a prosperous land! He just had to do his job for a few more years! But no! He had to ruin it for everyone!  

As the silence stretched on for over a minute, both the Maester and his uncle seemed to become more and more nervous. 

Eventually, when Harry felt like he had calmed down slightly, he spoke again. “What has been done with Jorah Mormont?” 

Luwin looked even more uncomfortable now if it were possible. “Lady Mormont wrote that he escaped with Lynessa Hightower.” 

Harry sighed and pinched the bridge on his nose. So now Harry doesn't even have anyone to punish. This is going to ruin the Mormonts reputation in the North. Not only was Jorah stealing a large amount of coin from House Stark, but he also engaged in slavery, one of the worst crimes a follower of the Old Gods could commit. 

This was going to make it more difficult to continue his plans for a Military Port to be built on the island. A lot of the Lords are sure to grumble that they don't deserve the honor. 

Still, he needed to be sure everything in the letter was true before he made any decisions. Harry didn't really doubt Maege Mormont, she always seemed like an incredibly honest and loyal woman, but he had to make absolutely sure. He couldn't just take her letter as proof without an investigation. 

He looked up at his uncle. “I need you to go to Bear Island uncle, Moat Cailin can wait a bit longer. Inspect the port and see how much has been done. Inspect the books and see how much gold has been stolen. One of the new tax collectors that have been trained will accompany you. I also need you to find out if everything Maege said is true, and if it was only Jorah involved in these crimes. Afterwards you will bring Maege back to Winterfell where I will decide what happens next.” 

Ned nodded with a somber look. “It will be done, nephew.”