The scent of pine and cold earth filled Cregan's nostrils as he slipped beyond the walls of Winterfell. The godswood, vast and ancient, loomed before him, its snowy canopy filtering pale sunlight into silver shards. He felt drawn here since waking, as if something had whispered his name on the wind.
Not the system—not this time.
He reached the heart tree and knelt. The crimson leaves whispered in the breeze, and for a heartbeat, he felt the gaze of something old.
[Simulation Ready]
Begin Simulation?
"Yes."
Choose a Simulation:
Attempt a Warg Initiation through dreamwalking.
Seek knowledge of the old gods via ancestral memory.
Spy on the Bolton guests using animal senses.
He selected the third.
[Simulation Running...]
You close your eyes and surrender. You feel your mind slip, untethering from flesh, drifting like a feather on wind. The godswood fades. Vision returns—from above. From the eyes of a raven.
You see yourself, small beneath the heart tree.
Then flight. You soar across the yard, past guards and stables, until you perch near the guest tower. The window is cracked.
Inside: the woman. She speaks in Valyrian, the words harsh and fluid. The younger Bolton nods. They hold a scroll bearing a dragon seal—but it's faded, old.
You cannot hear it all. But one phrase reaches you:
"The wolf blood must wake. The tomb is a key."
[Simulation Complete]
Skill Gained: Basic Warg Insight Knowledge Gained: The guests are searching for something tied to House Stark's bloodline and the crypts.
Trait Gained: Raven Empathy – You can more easily connect with birds during future simulations or attempts.
Accept? "Accept."
He woke with blood on his lip and snow on his lashes.
And the sense that his name had been spoken by the trees.