Chapter 164: Shapeshifters, Giant Eagles, and the Green Seer

On the Fist of the First Men, a nurse cleaned the wounds on Varamyr Sixskins' face and skillfully applied bandages.

The Old Bear looked somewhat uneasy as he watched the shadowcat, snow bear, and wild wolves beside Varamyr.

"Lord Eddard, this Varamyr is too dangerous. If he were to suddenly control his beasts to attack you..."

"He has already sworn his oath before the heart tree, alongside Mance Rayder, Tormund, the Goat, and other leaders," Eddard told Theon. "Besides, he has also sent two foster sons."

The Old Bear remained worried. "At the very least, Varamyr should be separated from his beasts. Just imagine, if Varamyr manipulated his beasts to attack, who could stop him?"

Eddard smiled and said, "I will be careful and keep my guard up."

The Old Bear was not a Sixskins; he had no idea that if Varamyr wanted to use his beasts to attack, he could have done so long ago. For a Sixskins, controlling beasts to attack is a matter of an instant.

Eddard did not separate Varamyr from his animals because he himself was a Sixskins. Eddard understood that the power of a Sixskins comes from the ancient Old Gods, and that a Sixskins values the oaths sworn before the heart tree above all else. Since Varamyr could follow Mance Rayder, he could naturally follow Eddard as well.

Many Sixskins, including Varamyr, had surrendered to Eddard, such as Tigris who rode a saber-toothed tiger, Samantha who rode a terrorbird, Gisella the Goat Girl, Jeyne the Cat Girl, Daron who controlled a cerberus, Orell who controlled an eagle, Borroq who rode a giant boar, and Eagle King McCain who possessed three birds of prey.

It was impossible for Eddard to separate all these Sixskins from their animals. These Sixskins were all Wildling leaders with large numbers of followers; without their animals, they would have no prestige and no power.

Varamyr's snow bear had been scorched by wildfire during the Great War, though fortunately, it was only some fur that was damaged. This snow bear, over four meters tall, now lay quietly on the ground while Ygritte cleaned its wounds with medical alcohol.

Eddard cast an approving look at Ygritte. "Other nurses don't dare to get close to the snow bear, yet you are not afraid."

Ygritte laughed. "Lord Eddard, I am no delicate flower from the south. I am a spearwife; I fear nothing. What is a bear to me? When I was little, I often hunted big bears with my brother."

Eddard asked curiously, "Where is your brother?"

"He is dead," Ygritte said gloomily. "We were fighting another tribe, and his arm was scratched. At first, it was just a tiny wound, and my brother didn't think much of it, but a few days later, he died of a high fever. If I had learned the nurse's craft back then and had medical alcohol to disinfect it, my brother surely could have lived."

Beyond the Wall is a land of bitter cold; cold, hunger, endless wars between tribes, and disease could take a person's life at any moment. Ygritte's parents, brothers, and sisters had all died.

Perhaps it was precisely because of this that Ygritte loved making friends, and she soon hit it off with Jon, Robb, and Domeric.

"Lord Eddard, you cut off the head of the Weeper and won the hearts of many spearwives and Wildling girls. That pervert, the Weeper, I don't know how many girls he raped or how many women's eyes he gouged out to soak in wine. I know several girls who died at the hands of the Weeper."

"In the past, many spearwives begged Mance Rayder to execute the Weeper, but that old man Mance thought the Weeper was like a cat that could catch mice but loved to steal fish, so he couldn't bear to kill him. Now that Lord Eddard has executed the Weeper, the women beyond the Wall have truly felt justice."

Eddard smiled. "Believe me, once we reach the North, the lives of the Free Folk will only get better."

Ygritte suddenly became excited. "Lord Eddard, I request to go to Winterfell to serve as a servant, just like Osha. The kitchen or the stables would be fine; I could even join the guard. Many men cannot beat me, and I am a skilled archer."

Eddard frowned. "Why do you want to serve in Winterfell?"

"Because of your bastard," Ygritte said, tossing her fire-red hair. "Jon Snow captured me, but he is a little thing who knows nothing. I want to go to Winterfell so I can teach him many things."

"I will arrange a position for you in Winterfell." Having received Eddard's assurance, Ygritte was as happy as a little girl.

Eddard walked up to Varamyr, with the direwolves Grey Wind and Summer following at his side. Varamyr's three wild wolves and the shadowcat all lowered their heads in submission.

"Are your wounds feeling better?"

Varamyr revealed a rugged smile. "It is but a small wound, Lord Eddard."

The beasts controlled by the Sixskins Varamyr were more terrifying than the last—a snow bear over four meters tall, three wild wolves, and a fierce shadowcat—yet he himself was gaunt and small, with an aged face.

South of the Wall, Sixskins were merely legends. Now, Eddard possessed a large number of Sixskins, enough to form a "Sixskins Legion."

In the future, once war breaks out in the North, Eddard can lead these Sixskins to the battlefield. The beasts can spread fear, and the birds can be used for reconnaissance and hunting ravens; Eddard will hold the advantage in the war against the southern nobles.

Eddard was curious about how Maester Aemon at Castle Black, Maester Luwin at Winterfell, and the Archmaesters of the Citadel's Conclave would react if they saw the Sixskins. The maesters of the Citadel generally believed that Sixskins were just legends, like the Children of the Forest and giants, extinct in the world of men.

The Citadel had opened special occult courses to study magic and mysterious powers. If the Citadel knew there were so many Sixskins in the North, they would likely send maesters specifically to study them. Eddard did not want to share the secrets of the Sixskins with the Citadel.

Eddard was considering building a Winter Wolf Academy in Winterfell. This would be the North's own Citadel. The Winter Wolf Academy would have a Department of Magic, and when the time came, he would let Varamyr and Eagle King McCain be professors. Tsk tsk, with Sixskins as professors, our Winter Wolf Academy would have more prestige than the Citadel.

The wight girl in the box kept slamming against the crate, her icy blue eyes radiating the cold light of death.

The little wight was restrained. If taken south for exhibition, it would surely earn a lot of money. When a corpse is resurrected into a wight by the Others, the decay stops. She was still a cute little girl, with long golden hair and a layer of white frost covering her face.

A spearwife recognized that this little girl was named Wheat while she was alive. Half a year ago, Wheat was still a lively little girl living by the Milkwater with her family; now, she had turned into a wight.

However, Eddard suspected that those scratched or bitten by wights might turn into wights themselves. Therefore, it was possible for a single wight to cause an entire city to turn. At the thought of this, goosebumps rose all over Eddard's body. He wondered whether he should take Wheat south or burn her to let her soul find peace.

If Wheat were brought to Winterfell, the people of the Seven Kingdoms would soon know about wights and the Others. However, would the nobles of the South help the North deal with the Others? Once the Citadel heard that Winterfell had such a magical creature as a wight, they might send maesters to declare it a great discovery and a subject worthy of study.

The southern nobles would see this as a threat to the Seven Kingdoms, but no one would reach out to help, because the Others beyond the Wall were separated from the Seven Kingdoms by the Wall and the North. The southern nobles would continue to live their lives of song, dance, and debauchery.

Unless the Wall fell and the North was overrun with wights, the nobles south of the Neck would not care about the threat of the Others at all.

Some conspirators might even see the Others as an opportunity to weaken the North's strength. Eddard had no doubt that the likes of Tywin, Varys, and Littlefinger would do exactly that.

Mance Rayder walked to Eddard's side, interrupting his thoughts. "Lord Eddard, Michu, the leader of the Giant Eagle Tribe, has arrived."

Eddard subconsciously looked around. "Where is he?"

The surrounding Wildlings and Winterfell cavalry all let out a shriek as a black shadow streaked across the sky.

A giant eagle soared through the air with a wingspan of over twenty meters. Domeric, Theon, Jon, and Robb were all stunned; the Old Bear, Qhorin Halfhand, and Benjen stood frozen in place, and even some of the Wildlings were seeing a giant eagle for the first time.

Domeric stared fixedly at the giant eagle. "In the Vale of Arryn, there are legends of Winged Knights. Many children in the Vale love this story, which says the Winged Knight had a giant eagle as a mount. However, the giant eagles of the Vale have long been extinct. I never expected to see one beyond the Wall."

Theon muttered, "The monsters from Old Nan's stories are all coming out. This really is a collection of all things strange and ancient!"

The giant eagle landed on the ground, and Michu flipped down. He wore a fur coat and an eagle-feather cloak, with long brown hair draped over his shoulders. He was tall and slender, with a hooked nose and delicate features; he was only in his twenties.

Eddard was surprised to find that the giant eagle stood over six meters tall, its sharp talons like grappling hooks that could easily grasp a warhorse and disembowel both horse and rider.

The Giant Eagle Tribe lived in a valley called Giant Eagle Territory north of the Frostfangs. They were distant relatives of Eagle King McCain's Eagle Tribe, but they had always been at odds. The Giant Eagle Tribe were friends with the Giant Tribe.

When Mance Rayder gathered the Wildling army to prepare to attack the Wall, he had sent people to Giant Eagle Territory many times to invite Michu to bring the giant eagles south to assist in the battle, but Michu had never responded to Mance's call. Mance felt somewhat fortunate; otherwise, the giant eagles surely could have caused heavy casualties to the Northern cavalry and Rangers.

Michu said, "Lord Eddard, the wights north of our territory are appearing more and more frequently. Many tribal warriors have turned into blue-eyed monsters after death, and the Others have even used cursed arrows of darkness to shoot down our giant eagles. We do not wish to leave our homeland, but we cannot stop the Others and the winter, so we can only request protection from Lord Eddard."

Eddard patted Michu on the shoulder. "The Others are the mortal enemies of all mankind. The people of the Giant Eagle Tribe will become a part of the North. How many people and how many giant eagles do you have left?"

Michu said gloomily, "Less than a thousand people, and fewer than twenty giant eagles, many of which are still chicks. However, fortunately, we still have some giant eagle eggs. The necromancer Ogbeta once tried to steal the eagle eggs, but I drove him away."

Ogbeta again. This ghost-like sorcerer had appeared at Craster's Keep and Mance's camp.

Mance said worriedly, "Lord Eddard, the horn I found is indeed not the true Horn of Winter. If this Ogbeta gets his hands on the Horn of Winter, wouldn't the Wall be in danger? The Others would not hesitate to blow the Horn of Winter and cause the Wall to collapse."

There is indeed that risk. The Wall is the northern barrier protecting the North and even the Seven Kingdoms; the Horn of Winter must be found as soon as possible.

Michu swore his allegiance to Eddard before the heart tree. He sent a younger brother as a foster son to Winterfell and gifted Eddard an eagle egg.

In an age without dragons, giant eagles even had the chance to become the masters of the sky.

The twenty-plus giant eagles of the Giant Eagle Tribe circled above the Fist of the First Men, while tens of thousands of Wildlings marched toward the south.

Among them were the Hardfoot walking barefoot on the snow, the Cave Dweller with faces painted in green dye, the Night Runners with moon patterns painted on their faces, the Riverman wearing furs covered in ice and snow, giants riding mammoths, the Thenn wearing bronze scale armor, and the Frozen Shore people riding in bone chariots.

Tens of thousands of flea-ridden Wildlings, Eddard's Wildling army.

Because there were so many Wildlings, as far as the eye could see, the procession extended to the end of the southern horizon.

The land Beyond the Wall, north of The Wall, was incorporated into the territory of the North; from then on, the domain of Winterfell would stretch from the Neck in the south to the Land of Always Winter in the north, with the land Beyond the Wall becoming Winterfell's backyard.

According to Mance Rayder's estimate, there would be at least 120,000 Wildlings following Eddard south; these Wildlings would become the subjects of Winterfell, and the population of Winterfell would surge.

Eddard would select the elite among the Wildlings to form a Wildling army. The forges of Winterfell were crafting armor and weapons every day, the armory was well-stocked, and Eddard would arm the Wildlings with armor and swords.

In times of peace, the Wildlings would farm on the estates, and in times of war, the Wildling army would resist the enemy together with the Northern Army.

With Winterfell suddenly gaining over a hundred thousand people, the food problem would be a challenge, but fortunately, Winterfell had sufficient grain reserves; Lord Wyman of White Harbor had purchased a large amount of grain for Winterfell from the south and Essos, filling the granaries, and many grain ships were still at sea, heading toward White Harbor.

The Wildlings would join the Stark Estate in their entirety, becoming tenant farmers of Winterfell; it was still summer, so Eddard could take the Wildlings to open up many estates, as Winterfell had plenty of uncultivated wilderness, all of which was fertile black soil.

The Wildlings were accustomed to slash-and-burn agriculture, and their farming was very backward, but they were a hardworking and brave group; Eddard believed that the Wildlings would become skilled at farming, and after training by Winterfell, some Wildlings would even have the potential to become craftsmen. Eddard also planned to build several new cities in the territory to settle the Wildlings.

In addition, the Stony Shore, Sea Dragon Point, and the estuary of the Salt Spear were also under the direct administration of the Stark family; Eddard could settle the Wildlings in these areas to consolidate coastal defense.

Some Wildlings were still pouring in from the north to the Fist of the First Men, requesting food and the opportunity to live in the south. Eddard decided to stay one more night at the Fist of the First Men and break camp to leave tomorrow.

Eddard pillowed his head on the direwolves Night and Sun and entered dreamland.

This time he did not have a wolf dream, but instead dreamed that he was in a forest where every tree was a weirwood, and blood-red human faces were staring at him.

"Where is this?" No sooner had Eddard finished speaking than the world spun, the surrounding forest disappeared, and the pale weirwood turned into a pitch-black cave.

In the hollow of the weirwood sat an old man; he had only one eye, which was red, while the other eye was a hollow socket, with tree roots growing out of the socket. He was skin and bones and dressed in rags; he had already become one with the weirwood. Eddard saw the branches of the weirwood passing through his thighs and emerging from his shoulders, dark red leaves sprouting from the white hair on his head, roots growing out of his ears, and gray mushrooms crawling all over his forehead.

On his shoulder sat a three-eyed crow.

Eddard felt his stomach churn; he recognized this old man—he was the Green Seer, the three-eyed crow, the Bloodraven Duke Brynden Rivers.

The Green Seer could see things thousands of miles away through trees and could easily control birds and beasts.

This was a legendary old man, and without a doubt, the oldest person in the Seven Kingdoms.

The old man spoke, "Eddard Stark, I am the Green Seer, the three-eyed crow."

Eddard feigned surprise, "Are you the Old Gods?"

"The Green Seer is merely a servant of the gods, just like the Wood Dancers," the three-eyed crow said slowly. "Recently, through the weirwood, I have heard too many oaths from Wildling leaders to you. You are preparing to migrate the Wildlings to the North to resist the threat of the Undead together; truly a benevolent act."

Eddard put on a thoughtful expression, "I have heard that the Green Seer can see things thousands of miles away and can see the past and future through the mists of time. Can you help me find the Horn of Winter?"

The Green Seer shook his head weakly, "Finding the Horn of Winter will inevitably lead to it being used by mortals. Do not look at me as decrepit; I too once loved a brother, hated a brother, loved a woman, and participated in the game of thrones, the strife between the black dragon and the red dragon. I understand the desires of mortals all too well."

Eddard was somewhat worried, "But the Horn of Winter might fall into the hands of necromancers. What if the Undead get the Horn of Winter..."

"The Horn of Winter only has the power to destroy The Wall when the spiritual energy recovers," the Green Seer said indifferently. "Once the dragons died, magic in this land greatly waned, and sorcery requires a price. Even if the Undead obtained the Horn of Winter, it would be very difficult for them to use this horn to destroy The Wall."

Eddard looked at the surrounding cave, "Do you live in this cave? I can send cavalry to escort you to the North, south of The Wall."

"Thank you for your kindness, but I must stay here to monitor the Undead," the three-eyed crow said. "Eddard, you are a person with great foresight; you know to use obsidian and Dragon Steel to deal with the Undead, and you are also a warg."

"Your children all have the talent of a warg, and Bran is even more powerfully gifted. Eddard, I hope you make good use of this talent. I will grant you a more powerful warg talent, but how to master it is something you must study yourself."

"You may be drawn into the strife of the south in the future, but please remember, the threat to humanity and all living things is Beyond the Wall."

"In the future, if you have the chance to go to the Isle of Faces on the Gods Eye, remember to visit the Wood Dancer there for me and tell her that the threat of the Great Other is drawing near."

Eddard frowned, "Wood Dancer? So there are still Wood Dancers in this world..."

The world spun, the cave began to collapse, and the three-eyed crow and the weirwood began to shatter. Eddard woke up in his tent at the Fist of the First Men, drenched in sweat.

He smelled the taste of blood in his mouth; miles away, the direwolf Sun was tearing a large chunk of meat from the blood-soaked belly of a roe deer under the moonlight.

In an instant, Eddard tasted the cold flavor in his mouth; it was the direwolf Night, drinking cold stream water by the river miles away.

"I will grant you a more powerful warg talent." The words of the three-eyed crow echoed in Eddard's ears.

Now Eddard could control the direwolves without being distracted, and he revealed a triumphant smile.

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(End of chapter)