Vol. 1 Chapter 8 - Gi and Kimono (2)

Year: 297 A.C

Location: Lord Eddard's Study

PovLordEddard

"He moves like a shadow-cat, I watched his steps, he does not touch the ground, there are no footprints when he walks upon snow…. He was armored whilst doing this, no less…." Rodrick continued saying, speaking on the unnaturalness of the silent steps, stepped by my new found kin named Wulf….

"He will need to be watched, have Jory shadow him for now, until he has proven himself an enemy he will be welcome here…. Luwin, what of the tomes you have searched through this far? Have you found anything relating to any martial-arts, that of like to what Wulf spoke of?" I said, stopping Roderick from continuing on about what he was speaking of since he started speaking, before asking Luwin about the tomes he has had around a little over an hour to look through….

"There is not much I have made my way reading through so far, I shall need to consult with Old-Nan, much of the older tomes are in the runes of the First-Men…." Maester Luwin said, replying he would need to speak with the oldest woman around who was proficient in the old-tongue….

"Alright, let's go about our business, I should head on back now…." I told the two men, ending our little session…. I then rose from my chair and began my stalk through the cold stone-halls of Winter-Fell, the castle that has housed the members of my family, for well over a thousand years now….

Where Winter-Fell, back in the Age of Heroes and all the old stories of the legends during those times, back when there were hundreds of petty-kingdoms, dotting the map of Westeros all warring one another, in a endless cycle until there were only seven kingdoms left, after Aegon's Conquest….

I can already hear the family making a raucous inside the main-hall, Arya shouting "C'mon, Wulf! Let us make our way to the training-grounds!"

To which the gentle-seeming man replied, "Lead the way, Winter-Princess Arya! Do you like the loose-fit of the gi? It makes it an excellent outfit for maneuvering around and having plenty of room to move your limbs…." Asking Arya how she likes her seemingly simple but still exotic-looking outfit, that I am seeing for the first time….

"I do, I feel like I can really move around in this!" Arya replied, filled with the most excitement I've seen her experiencing in a long time, hard to remember when the last time she was so happy and not so broody and rebellious….

"Wulf, Do you mind if I join you two?" I asked, after saying the giant-man's name….

"It would honor me, Lord Eddard" Wulf replied, as we exited the castle through an large doorway, leading out into the courtyard that is used as a training-ground, for my house-guards and my children to train their martial-arms upon….

"Let's make a flat stage, here!" Wulf was saying, then at the last word he shouted whilst stomping his right-foot hard, flat upon the earthen-soil causing a flat, large, and rectangular-stage to rise up as if he used magic, the stage rising up from the soil to form a perfectly-flat and smooth hardened-soil stage….

"By the gods! Was that magic?" I could not help but shout, asking in disbelief at what I just witnessed….

"You can call it that, but it's not blood-magic or whatever you call that mockery they practice over in Essos and the 'Free-Cities, I am using what is called the 'mana that is present and surrounding us, within the airs, coming off the soils and waters, flowing around us at all times…. Earth, Fire, Water, Wind, the four main-elements of 'mana or magic…." Wulf explained, whiles performing different styles of martial-arts or dance-like movements….

Short and precise, hard-stepped or punching movements, causing earth and soil to move or float around in the air, to collide and bounce off one another and flying around like magic from the legends or stories for children told by elders around a warm hearth….

Switching to slow and graceful, steady and peaceful swaying-movements, causing spheres or tendrils of water to float and whip around, moving along with his hands or feet-movements….

Followed by flexible, aggressive, and direct attacking punches or kicks, sending out balls or torrents of fire, flying straight from his punches, or in wide-horizontal blade-like slices burning through the air as he kicked, raising the surrounding temperature of the training-grounds….

Finally Wulf, started making swift and erratic, rapid-movements, punching and kicking stirring and whipping up wild gusts of wind and fast-moving air…. Stirring and whipping around causing little dust and leaf-twisters, to form and travel around the grounds, for a moment before dissipating into nothingness and calm, leaving all the dust and leaves to drop and fall, falling-flat on the ground once more as Wulf ended his performance, with a warriors salute and bow, bowing as he clasped his hands around his forearms….

"That was all a little demonstration of the different forms and branches of Elemental Martial-Arts, the form of unarmed-combat I've received tutelage in since the age of five years of age…. Something I believe all of your descendants can accomplish, if they dedicate some time everyday to practice in the arts and train themselves seriously…." Wulf stated, shocking me to my core, wondering if it truly possible….

"My children can possibly do this? Is that, what you just told me?" I asked Wulf, asking to make sure I heard him correctly….

"Yes Lord Stark, I can sense magic already flowing in their blood, ever sense they each bonded with their dire-wolf pups…. They will start having the Warg-Dreams, for the first time soon…. I believe Bran has already had his first dream, visiting and Skin-Changing with his pup even though he has not even met his pup until earlier today, while his pup was still in it's mother's womb, that is how powerful his Warg-Blood and his talent in Skin-Changing is…. He has the inherent-power and talent required to become a Green-Seer, which is a Skin-Changer that is one in a million chance of being born among Skin-Changers, that is how powerful and important they are…." Wulf replied, telling me all this hard to believe things, that just sound like the stories in books, not real….

"I know it's hard to believe, unfortunately that doesn't make it suddenly not a fact anymore…. Winter is coming, Lord Eddard the pack must make ready to winter the storm ahead of us all…." Wulf said, continuing almost as if he read my mind….