Luwin I

The shouting of a giants cut his reading. Even after ten years, the magnificent creatures amazed him. Slowly, he approached the window of his tower - the old stone structure where Queen Alysane Targaryen had once rested, now given back to the North by King Robert and the Watch. Maester Luwin often wondered if the King would have been so kind to please Lord Eddard Stark if he had known the kind of creatures he would settle there. It had been over ten years now. Concerned about increased wildling raids, Lord Stark had called upon his banners and, leaving his wife with her newborn daughter Sansa, rode north of the Wall to disperse them. The North still spoke of what they've found and did there. And when it was over, Lord Eddard Stark named a wildling skinchanger Lord and introduced giants and skinchangers to the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros for the first time in millenniums. And now a direwolf was training with the giants and wargs serving Lord Borroq.

A raven flew just below the roaring boar of House Twoskins banner, right into Maester Luwin's chamber. Fearful, the Maester proceeded to open the letter. The common folk of the south used to claim "Dark wings, dark words" and the saying was beginning to stick in the cold lands surrounding Queenscrown. Maester Luwin wasn't inclined to believe such portents but, truth to be told, news coming from the south were turning worse every time.

The letter almost fell from his hand when he finished reading "Young Robb..." he muttered, remembering the boy he had pulled from his mother's womb in the days before he accompanied Lady Catelyn to Winterfell, and well before Lord Eddard Stark returned from Beyond the Wall and assigned with the task of civilizing Borroq Twoskins.

He descended slowly into the courtyard, only to be pestered by young Lyanna Mormont "I saw a raven, I saw a raven!" exclaimed the child "Maester Luwin, does it have news from Lord Ned?" Maester Luwin sadly shook his head and, giving a wide berth to the large bear cage, walked to the spot where Lord Twoskins.

Jon Snow gave him a courteous greeting, but such fineries were lost in the Lord of Queenscrown "Old man, the girl says she saw a raven. Any news on Magnar?"

"My Lord, the word in common tongue is Lord. And yes, there are words about Lord Eddard" He saw Jon Snow putting Ghost aside and listening to every word. The kid was supposed to join the Night's Watch, but Benjen Stark believed the way he behaved with his direwolf meant he was a warg and let him in Queenscrown, so he would join the Watch as a fully trained warg instead of just a boy. Maester Luwin doubted Jon would ever join the Watch after this "Eddard Stark was arrested on charges of treason. Robb Stark is calling his banners, my Lord"

To none' surprise, Lord Boroq Twoskins spat on the floor "And why should I care what that kid orders from his castle? It was Ned Stark who I chose to follow" Maester Luwin had expected that and brazed himself for the rant about the Free-Folk that was sure to follow, but Jon Snow surprised him
"My Lord" said the boy "Don't you complain how the Stark doesn't let you and your people plunder into other lord's lands? And how the Magnar of Winterfell beheaded the men who captured that Umber girl?"

"So what?"

"So my brother is giving you the chance to do every single one of those things. You just have to march along him and do them on Lannister soil" answered Jon with a triumphant smile.

"Har!" laughed the Lord of Queenscrown "Lyanna, we're going south. You'll finally be meeting the Starks you love so much! Mikken!" He shouted at the armory "Pray your stuff works as you say! Everyone else! Pass the word! We're leaving south!"

"The girl, My lord, she's just nine" complained Maester Luwin

"She changes her skin into a fucking bear, Old Man! And she does it better than most of the rabble the Magnar put me to train. She's coming. Ler Lum! Pass the word through your kin. You lot are coming south as well!"

It only took two days for the men of Queenscrown to be ready to march south. Maester Luwin saw them leave from his tower. With a garrison composed mostly of former wildlings who surrendered to Eddard Stark ten years ago, some adventurous spirits and men escaping from cruel lords, they counted less than 500 men. 300 hundred were men-at-arms, a figure which included 100 spearwives. Fifty were heavy lancers, not fully trained by southron standards. But thirty were giants of both sexes, armored by the thickest plate armor Westeros ever forged, and twelve were wargs in various states of training. Hawks, shadowcats, wolves, direwolves, boars and one vicious armored bear controlled by a nine years old little girl marched with them.

Leagues and leagues south of Queenscrown, Tywin Lannister had Riverrun under siege, expecting a green boy waging a war he could understand. Maester Luwin grabbed his valyrian steel link, the reason why Eddard Stark assigned him to a holdfast dedicated to wargs, giants and the old wisdom of the Children of the Forest. Tywin Lannister had called upon him all the power in the North, and Maester Luwin had learnt that power was not something a master of arms in a southron fortress could teach about.