Silver Stag

Northern Plans

[Winterfell - Main Hall]

Jon stood at the high table. Sansa and Davos sat at his sides. She and Jon had agreed to work collectively once Bran told them he couldn't be a Lord of a castle because he was the Three-Eyed Raven. Whatever that meant.

Brienne, Podrick, Tormund, Petyr Baelish, Yohn Royce, Lyanna Mormont, Robett Glover, and the lords of the northern houses were in attendance. Theon was absent as he knew the resentment many Northerners held towards him and the Ironborn.

"I want every northern maester to scour their records for any mention of dragonglass. Dragonglass kills white walkers. It's more valuable to us now than gold. We need to find it, we need to mine it, we need to make weapons from it. Everyone aged ten to sixty will drill dai;y with spears, pikes, bow and arrow."

"It's about time we taught these boys of summr how to fight." Robett Glover said, causing the northern lords to laugh.

"Not just the boys." Jon said, drawing eyes to himself, including Brienne. "We can't defend the North if only half the population is fighting."

Robett stands. "You expect me to put a spear in my granddaughter's hand?"

Lyanna stood. "I don't plan on knitting by the fire while men fight for me. I might be small, Lord Glover, and I might be a girl, but I am every bit as much a Northerner as you."

"Indeed you are, my lady. No one has questioned-"

"And I don't need your permission to defend the North."

Davos smiled and Lyanna turned to Jon. "We'll begin training every man, woman, boy, and girl, on Bear Island."

The men pound their tables and shout in agreement. Robbed nodded at Lyanna and they both sat.

"While we're preparing for attack, we need to shore up our defenses. The only thing standing between us and the Army of the Dead is the Wall and the Wall hasn't been properly manned in centuries. I'm not the leader of the Free Folk." Jon looked at Tormund who looked back at him. "But if we're going to survive this winter together..."

Tormund grunted as he stood."You want us to man the castles for you?"

The men murmured.

"Last time we saw the Night King was at Hardhome. The closest castle to Hardhome is Eastwatch-by-the-Sea."

"Then that's where I'll go. Looks like we're the Night's Watch now." Tormund sat.

"If they breach the wall, the first two castles in their path are Last Hearth and Karhold."

Yohn stood. "The Umbers and the Karstarks betrayed the North. Their castles should be torn down with not a stone left standing."

"The castles committed no crimes. And we need every fortress we have for the war to come. We should give the Last Hearth and Karhold to new families, loyal families who supported us against Ramsay." Sansa said.

"Aye!" The crowd chorused in approval.

Yohn sat.

"The Umbers and the Karstarks have fought beside the Starks for centuries. They've kept faith for generation after generation." Jon noted.

"And then they broke faith." Sansa interjected.

"I'm not going to strip these families of their ancestral homes because of the crimes of a few reckless sons."

"So there's no punishment for treason and no reward for loyalty?"

The hall went silent.

"The punishment for treason is death. Smalljon Umber died on the field of battle. Harald Karstark died on the field of battle."

"They died fighting for Ramsay. Give the castles to the families of the men who died fighting for you."

The men chattered and pounded the tables.

"When I was Lord Commander of the Night's Watch I executed men who betrayed me. I executed men who refused to follow orders. My father alwys said, "The man who passes the sentence should swing the sword," and I have tried to live by those words. The sins of our mothers and fathers are not ours to bear. I will not punish a son for his father's sins, and I will not take a family home away from a family it has belonged to for centuries. That is my decision, and my decision is final." Jon stared at Sansa who looked away.

Since his resurrection, he'd felt changed. Like there was some kind of darkness inside him. He was more paranoid and easier to anger.

He had to do this, if only to prove to himself, he had not lost the part of his soul that made him worthy of people following and admiring him.

He had thought Sansa would have had more empathy considering how their family castle had been stolen from them. First by someone they had considered a friend and brother. Then by the family who betrayed and murdered their brother.

Jon addressed the hall.

"Ned Umber."

Ned Umber, a boy, stood.

"Alys Karstark."

Alys Karstark, a young woman, stood. They approached the high table at his request.

This was nearly all that was left of two Northern noble houses; children forced to become the head of their Houses due to the actions of their families.

"For centuries, our families fought side by side on the battlefield. I ask you to pledge your loyalty once again to House Stark, to serve as our bannermen and come to our aid whenever called upon."

Ned and Alys unsheathed their swords and kneeled.

"Stand."

Ned and Alys stood.

"Yesterday's wars don't matter anymore. The North needs to band together, all the living north. Will you stand beside me, Ned and Alys, now and alwys?"

"Now and alwys!" They chanted.

The men cheered and pounded the tables.

[Winterfell - Walkway]

Jon walked briskly along the walkway and Sansa followed him.

"You are my sister, but I am just as much acting Lord of Winterfell as you are its Lady."

"Will you start wearing a crown? They wished to crown you king."

"When you question my decisions in front of the other lords and ladies, you undermine me."

"So I can't question your decisions anymore?"

"Of course you can, but-"

"Joffrey nevr let anyone question his authority. You think he was a good king?"

Jon stopped walking. Sansa walked past him, then stopped and turned to face him.

"Do you think I'm Joffrey?"

"You're as far from Joffrey as anyone I've evr met."

"Thank you." He stared out at the yard below.

"You're good at this, you know."

"At what?"

"At ruling."

Jon sighed. "No."

"You are. You are. They respect you, they really do, but you have to-"

Jon chuckled.

"Why are you laughing?"

He continued walking and Sansa followed.

"What did father used to say? Everything before the word "but" is horse shit."

"He nevr said that to me."

"No. No, he nevr cursed in front of his girls."

"Because he was trying to protect us. He nevr wanted us to see how dirty the world really is, but Father couldn't protect me and neither can you. Stop trying."

"All right, I'll stop trying to protect you and you stop trying to undermine me."

"I'm not trying to undermine you." She grabbed Jon's arm and spun him to face her. "You have to be smarter than father. You need to be smarter than Robb. I loved them, I miss them, but they made stupid mistakes, and they both lost their lives for it."

"And how should I be smarter? By listening to you?"

"Would that be so terrible?"

Maestar Wolkan approached. "A raven from King's Landing, My Lord." He handed a bound note to Jon, then bowed before leaving.

Jon unraveled the note. "Cersei of House Lannister, First of Her Name, Queen of the Andals and the First Men, Protector of the Seven Kingdoms-"

"What does she want? How is she Queen?"

"Come to King's Landing. Bend the knee or suffer the fate of all traitors."

"You've been so consumed with the enemy to the north, you've forgotten about the one to the south."

"I'm consumed with the Night King because I've seen him. And believe me, you'd think of little else if you had, too."

"We still have a wall between us and the Night King. There's nothing between us and Cersei."

"There's a thousand miles between us and Cersei. Winter is here. The Lannisters are a southern army. They've nevr ranged this far north."

"You're the military man, but I know her. If you're her enemy, she'll nevr stop until she's destroyed you. Everyone who's crossed her, she's found a way to murder."

"You almost sound as if you admire her."

"I learned a great deal from her."

Jon was sure she had. But Southern tactics would not work the same way in the North. The people were polar opposites, with the selection of a spare few.

The North was full of honourable men and women, while the South was full of ambitious, scheming ones.

They would not beat the South at their own game. Which is why they had to remain true to their morals and fight with everything they had.