Chapter 2: Winterfell part 3

Their journey out of the forest, or as Lord Stark had referred to the 'wolfswood', was for the larger part uneventful. Save of course for the morning after Lord Stark and his men had come across Nox and Jon. That morning before they could depart, Lord Stark had requested a demonstration of whatever weapon he'd used to fight and the kill the wildlings the day prior. Seeing no reason not too, Nox revealed his single bladed lightsaber, the memento from his ancestor Lord Kallig that he always carried on him.

To say that Lord Stark and his men had been unimpressed and confused by the slightly curved lightsaber hilt he pulled out from within his robes would be an understatement. But those feelings were replaced immediately with wonder and fear the moment he activated his lightsaber, producing the blood-red blade. Those feelings were only exacerbated when Nox had then demonstrated the sheer power of the lightsaber as he cut down a tree nearly two feet in diameter with a single swing.

The demonstration unfortunately had the unattended consequence of making the Northmen more than slightly wary of him. Something that he didn't need. Not if he wanted to rebuild his powerbase and make a name for himself. So, to begin earning the trust of Lord Stark and his men, Nox had voluntarily surrendered his lightsaber to the Warden of the North. Of course, he didn't mention the fact that he still had over a dozen more lightsabers and saber staffs hidden in the bag he was carrying. He needed to earn the trust of these men if he was going to rebuild his powerbase, but he wasn't stupid enough to leave himself unarmed in the presence of those who were still unsure of him. He'd also decided to forgo his mask for the time being. He needed to be Nox, not Darth Nox, if he intended to win these men over at the start.

After two days of navigating the forest, they finally made their way out of the trees and into an open field where, amazingly enough, Lord Stark had previously ordered another few of his men to remain camped with their horses for the ride back to Winterfell. Lord Stark had, of course, apologized for not having a horse for him and offered to have him ride double with one of the small guardsmen. But Nox had declined, stating that he'd be able to keep pace much to the disbelief of everyone. After nearly a full day at a slight trot, Nox almost found the men of the North's expressions amusing as he not only managed to keep pace, but at some parts of their trek he was the one making the pace, not the horses.

His amusement however was cut abruptly short the moment the seat of House Stark, Winterfell, came into view.

To say that Nox was struck speechless was an understatement. Nox had traversed most of the known galaxy. He'd seen some of the most beautiful and amazing architectural marvels in the known galaxy. But Winterfell, the castle – no, the small city within a fortress – was a true sight to behold. One that would make even the most pompous of Alderaanian nobles green with envy. Especially when taken in with the fading light of the evening sun.

The first most notable thing about the fortress were the two sets of walls that served as the primary defense for the interior. The first of the two grey-granite walls reached nearly eighty-feet high on a low estimate, with the secondary wall behind it reaching even higher. The only access point he could spot on the north side of the fortress was large gatehouse structure built into the outer wall. As they passed through the gatehouse, Nox's amazement grew as he noticed that there was an actual moat that separated the two walls.

'Incredible,' he thought as he followed the horses across the two drawbridges that connected the outer wall to the interior wall and into the castle ward proper. 'To an army on foot, Winterfell is neigh unbreachable. The moment any army approached, they can raise the drawbridges connecting the two walls, effectively making it so that even if they could take the guard house, they would not be able to cross the expanse between the two walls. The only way would be to scale the walls, not an easy task. And even if you managed to claim the outer wall, the wooden bridges that connect the two walls up top look to be collapsible. Meaning the attackers would be stuck on the outer wall with no protection from the defenders on the second, more elevated wall. The only feasible way for an attacking army to gain access to the inner wards would be if they could fly. Not a hard task for the Empire or the Republic, but given the apparent technological placement of this world, it is doubtful they have any form of aircraft available to them.'

Once they'd passed by the inner wall, Nox was struck with his second surprise. The space within the fortress was…warm, far warmer than should've been possible. The tall walls certainly did a number in preventing cold winds from reaching the interior of the fortress, but that alone could not account for the sudden increase in temperature. Reaching out with the Force, he quickly found the answer for the warmth. 'A natural hot spring,' he thought, more than slightly surprised as he felt further into the very walls of the inner most buildings and felt something unusual for a society of this technological level. 'Interesting. They've managed to channel the warm water from the underground hot springs into the very walls themselves using a crude sort of plumbing. And they managed to do so without sacrificing structural integrity of the buildings. Simply amazing.'

But the one thing that truly awed Nox about the fortress of Winterfell was what he saw when he looked at it with the Force. It was almost as if the Force had been used and integrated into the very construction of every building and every wall within the confines of the walls. The entirety of Winterfell was positively radiating with the Force. In all his travels, he'd only ever encountered such a phenomenon four times before. The Force temples on Korriban, Dromund Kass, Yavin 4 and Tython. But unlike those four; which were steeped heavily in either the Dark or Light side of the Force, Winterfell was almost…neutral in regard to the Force as both the Dark side and the Light side of the Force flowed through it.

"Beautiful." Nox mumbled to himself as he walked side by side with Lord Stark as he guided his horse through the many buildings that made up the inner workings of Winterfell before passing through yet another gated wall within the fortress and into a large courtyard.

As they entered the courtyard, Nox felt himself once again awed at what he sensed. Directly across from him was what could only be the primary keep within Winterfell. The keep stood twice as tall as any of the other buildings in the immediately vicinity. Attached to the keep was large hall which he could only assume to be some sort of dining hall as he could only sense a scant few living bodies within.

Frowning at the observation, he stretched out with his senses again and felt completely puzzled. Despite the massive size of Winterfell, the fortress and the small little settlement that laid outside its walls were sparsely populated. 'Most peculiar.' Nox mused. 'So much space wasted. An opportunity…perhaps. There is room for growth. But there must be a reason why so few populate such a place as this. I'll just need to figure out what that reason is before I can begin working on changing it.'

Refocusing himself on the here and now, Nox straightened himself to his full height as the horses he was walking beside began to slow to a stop. As he righted his senses, he became aware of the line of people standing just before the entrance to the main keep. 'Lord Stark's family and servants no doubt,' he thought as he began running through the three lines of people spread out before them.

The rear most line was made up of servants to House Stark, small folk that'd been granted the honor and privilege of working for a Great House. Their thoughts and emotions almost screaming out that they were pleased that their Lord had returned. A few however were not just ordinary servants. The second line contained only three men. But those three were as different from one another as possible. Two of the men he could tell had keen intellects. But one, the one with a chain around his shoulders, was the more learned of the two. The third man however, while maybe not as intellectual as his counterparts, was martially trained. And well trained if the manner he held himself was any tell.

Then there was the front line of four; one grown woman and three children. 'Lord Stark's wife and children.' Nox thought as he immediately felt the connection between the three younglings and the man he'd chosen for follow for the time being. Lord Stark's wife was definitely a sight to behold. Long red hair, high cheekbones, fair skin and sharp blue eyes. But her beauty was immediately tainted for Nox the moment he sensed the maelstrom of emotions billowing within her. Sith embraced emotion, passion. But this woman…there was no pattern, no organization no path for her emotions. Love, anger, faith, fear, relief, disdain, hope, self-criticism…but most of all was the immense feeling of jealousy. An emotion that was only amplified as she laid eyes on young Jon. 'An enigma to be certain, one to keep an eye on.'

But as Nox shifted his attention to the children of Lord Stark, he felt himself smile despite himself. All three, to one degree or another, were Force sensitive. The youngest girl was the most powerful of the three with the eldest being a close second and lastly was the middle child. None were as powerful as young Jon, but each were easily strong enough to pass the Trials of Korriban had they been born in the Empire. 'So many Force sensitive children born into a single family.' Nox thought, the wheels in his mind turning at near the speed of light. 'Had this been the Empire, Lord and Lady Stark would've been elevated to the ranks of the highest nobility for being able to bring such powerful individuals to life. But none of them are trained…not even in the basics of the Force. Perfect.' If Nox hadn't already made up his mind to use Winterfell to rebuild his powerbase, seeing the children of Lord Stark cemented the idea in his mind. Four Force-sensitive, untrained children. The prospect was simply too great to ignore. 'Now…to find a means to keep myself here.'

Keeping himself in the back, Nox observed Lord Stark and his family carefully as the Warden of the North dismounted his horse with Jon and greeted his family. True to what he'd sensed earlier, the woman in the lead greeted her husband warmly and with love. But the moment her eyes laid of Jon those emotions evaporated quicker than a puddle of water on Tatooine. Replaced with the overwhelming sense of jealousy and self-criticism. The children however were completely different. They greeted their father and Jon with equal enthusiasm. Especially the young girl who waddled up to Jon and immediately demanded to be picked up.

"-found him several days walk into the wolfswood," he heard Lord Stark say as he forced his attention away from the reuniting children and their quietly disapproving mother to Lord Stark as he addressed the three men in the second line. "He would've been done in if not for the actions of our newest companion here."

"I merely acted as any other would have, Lord Stark," Nox stated calmly, stepping forward and giving the Lord of Winterfell a slight bow.

"Aye, but you did." Lord Stark nodded as he proceeded to introduce Nox to the line of people. "Alim Nox, this is my wife Lady Catelyn Stark of House Tully."

"A pleasure, my Lady." Nox replied, bowing slightly and pressing a light kiss to the back of her offered hand, even if the act turned his stomach somewhat as her whirlwind of emotion nearly threatened to overwhelm him.

Nox didn't mind that the Lady of Winterfell didn't deem him worthy of a reply. As far as he could tell, she was merely an obstacle that he would have to navigate around carefully as he worked to integrate himself into House Stark. 'It wouldn't be fun if there wasn't a challenge involved.'

"These are my children; my eldest and heir, Robb Stark. And my daughters, Sansa and Arya." Lord Stark continued when it became apparent that Lady Stark had already dismissed Nox from her presence.

"An honor to meet you as well. Your brother Jon has had nothing but good things to say about the three of you," Nox greeted the children kindly all the while ignoring the spike of hatred emanating from Lady Stark at the mere mention of Jon.

The eldest girl did a curtsey, which was mildly amusing and clumsy coming from the young girl. Robb and Arya however both merely stared up at him in wonder. Interestingly, it was the youngest of them who asked the most obvious question. "Why you…wear dat?"

"Arya!" Lady Stark snapped, turning sharply towards her youngest child.

Chuckling, Nox reached up and touched the cloth over his eyes. "I wear this because my eyes do not work as yours do, my Lady. For a time, I left them uncovered, but after a while, I decided that I like this better, makes me look more dashing, no? And it's a lot easier to catch others off guard if they simply assume I'm just another blind man that can't take three steps without tripping over his own two feet."

Amusement trickled off the four children as they all smiled up at him. 'Good, first impressions are the most importantly. And these children…they are the key. I can sense it through the Force.'

"Come, children," Lady Stark cut in sharply. "It is late, and you need your rest. You can speak to your Lord Father again on the marrow."

Righting himself, Nox watched as Lady Stark rounded up her children and led them back into the keep. 'Well…at least the children find me amusing. Or at the very least intriguing. This Lady Stark will be an issue. But I faced greater challenges than a scorned and hateful wife during my rise to the Dark Council. She won't be a problem. More a nuisance than anything else.'

"Forgive my wife…Lord Nox." Lord Stark said as he watched his wife retreat into the keep, leaving Jon behind to catch up as she kept her three children in front of her. "The hour is late, and it has been a trying experience for all of us since Jon disappeared days ago."

Nox doubted that it was Jon's disappearance that caused the Lady Stark's foul mood. More than likely it was his return that did that. But he wasn't about the call the Warden of the North on it. "Of course, my Lord, I understand completely. And no offense is taken."

Nodding, Lord Stark turned to the three men behind him. "This is Maester Luwin, Winterfell's Master at Arms Ser Rodrik Cassel and my Stewart Vayon Poole. Vayon, see to it that Lord Nox here is assigned a room in the guest quarters for the time being."

"Of course, my Lord." Vayon Poole said, bowing slightly before holding a hand towards the side building next to the keep. "Lord Nox, if you will please follow me, I will have one of the servants prepare a room for you."

"Of course, Stewart Poole." Nox nodded before turning back to Lord Stark once again, "Lord Stark, I look forward to offering House Stark and the North whatever assistance I can in the future."

After receiving a curt nod of dismissal, Nox turned and followed the steward away from Lord Stark and towards what he could only assume were the guest quarters. It irked him in no uncertain terms to be dismissed so easily, but for now he took it in stride. 'Soon, soon enough, I will place my mark upon this world. But for now, I must be patient. Lord Stark isn't a bad man. In fact, he is quite the opposite, almost sickly good. He'd make a fine Jedi…but even Jedi can be corrupted. I just need to work at it. Slowly, to be sure. But nothing worth having is easy. If nothing else…this will be fun.'

It wasn't until the sun had fully dropped below the horizon that Lord Stark was able to find measure of peace as he entered his personal solar and sat down in the Lord's seat. Despite only being absent for a sennight, there had been dozens of issued that he'd needed to see to before he could rest. Master Mikken needed more metal. Ravens that required immediate answering. Shipments of grain that needed to be overseen and counted as the recent count was low. And dozens of other matters that required the Lord's attention that'd been neglected during his absence.

'And to think, all of those were easy compared to what is about to come.' He thought sullenly as he bent over his desk and began leafing through the numerous stacks of parchment that'd been left behind by Maester Luwin. 'It will not be long until Cat and the others arrive. And whatever peace I've managed to find will be gone.'

True to his prediction, he'd only managed to get through two of the less serious ravens that'd been left to him before Cat made her way into his solar with Maester Luwin, Ser Rodrik, and Vayon close behind. Letting out the breath he didn't even realize he was holding, Ned set down the message from Rickard Karstark and gave his attention to his closest advisors. 'At least Cat decided not to do this in public this time.' "I assume this is about my decision regarding Lord Nox, is it not?"