So, this is unexpected, let me give you guys a quick explanation, you all deserve it for butting up with my shitty upload schedule.

Life is shitty, as is the plague. I got it, I survived and am starting to feel better, I have however lost interest in a lot of my previous writings. This may sound bad, and it kinda is, but this is a new start for me. I have many new ideas and plot bunnies, a lot of which have a lot of potential and are to be added to one of the 3 stories I am currently writing.

So, this story is going to replace GOS as a spiritual successor, just without the whole Gamer angle. So, expect fire, blood, magic and epic, I won't spoil much.

Enjoy,

….

Jon wandered the forest alone, melancholy was a feeling he was intimately familiar with. As he walked the sounds of the birds and the wind through the leaves were his only companion. The silence was overbearing yet comforting. Like a stuffy blanket over his mind, warm but suffocating, just him alone with his thoughts and they alone with him.

Anything was better than the looks off disgust and anger that filled his days. Even the sparring ground, one off the few places where he could truly let loose was now taken over with the looks.

And why, why would they treat a man to such terrible looks? Was it something he did? No of course not, he always kept his manners and always did his chores few as they were.

Was it something about his appearance? He did not think so, for he was tall for his age almost eclipsing his father at only ten and four. His long black hair was pulled into an intricate braid, curtesy of his oldest sister and his scruffy beard was regularly shaven.

Was it something he wore? Again, it was not as while his clothes may be old and he would only rarely get new ones, they were all in good condition and unstained.

No, it was because he was born a Bastard. The son of a noble outside of wedlock, the fruit of an affair.

He shook his head as he continued to move forward. The search parties would not set out for another few hours and this was not the first time he had disappeared into the near endless forests of the Wolfswood.

The day had started well enough, he thought with an early wakeup at the rise of the sun. A filling breakfast of fish, bread and bacon followed by watered down ale. He had his normal run around the Godswood, followed by an hour spent together with Arya dedicated to training her in the basics of swordplay, then he went to the training ground.

He had just finished a spar with Robb when she appeared. A dress of blue and red, her face contracted into that all too familiar look of contempt and anger. It would be an ugly look for anyone but on her it was worse. She was of course the mother of his brother and sisters, Lady Cuntlyne as he called her in the privacy of his mind.

He had smiled like he always did after beating Robb, and the look strengthened in intensity.

He had to get away from there, not just from the looks but out of the castle, away from it all. Which is how he found himself in this position, looking around for any sign of civilization. The forests sounds in his ears and the breeze of the northern summer washing over his skin.

He wandered for what felt like hours before he found something. A simple stone pillar coated in the droppings of birds and moss. He searched around for what it marked but found nothing except more trees.

He wandered for some time before he heard it.

'Jon...'

It was like a whisper at the back off his mind, something calling out his name in the darkness of the forest, breaching the quiet. A pin brick of light in an endless abyss.

Wait quiet, that couldn't be right. The forest was always filled with the sounds of birds, small animals and the wind in the leaves. Something was wrong here.

'Find me Jon...'

There it was again, this time however he would swear it sounded closer, coming from his right. He turned towards where he heard the sound from, the forest appeared to get darker and thicker.

His body moved without his command, the forest seemed older here. As if the trees had been alive for thousands of years. Ironwood trees grew here tall and strong, he saw oaks thicker than the walls of Winterfell and he even passed a few Weirwoods, there branches long and growing wildly however none had the faces of the Godstree of Winterfell.

'Find me...'

The voice continued to speak to him, feeling closer even though he somehow knew that it wasn't speaking like a normal human. He could feel something, something he could not place, a feeling of being surrounded by something so much older and stronger than yourself. So much stronger that a mind has trouble comprehending it.

He came upon a circle of stones, despite the wild and massive trees around it untouched by nature, the stone black and oily. There was a hole in the ground here, with a staircase going down.

'Go down Jon... I am waiting...'

He shook his head, he shouldn't be here, this was wrong. His mind was clouded, and he couldn't think straight. He calmed down, he really had no choice here. No exit out of the forest, and nothing to do.

Adventure it was then, he jumped down the large steps down in the pit. Despite his first look into the darkness it wasn't very deep. Just a dozen foot but the oily black of the stone made it seem like an endless abyss.

A door stood before him made of stone the same as all around it, carved with runes Jon was unable to translate. He shook off the feeling of awe at the size of it, a solid hunk of stone that seemed immovable.

'Open it Jon, I beg you...'

The voice was becoming clearer, it was clearly female, youthful but with a hint of power. Should he continue? If he opened the door what would happen?

'I beg you Jon, please…'

He pushed against the massive stones, despite their size they moved under his arms sliding aside with a groan and crunch. A musty scent assaulted his nose, stale air mixed with death and decay. Torches lit themselves as he moved inside, red and orange fire showering black stone in blood red. Ancient runes like scratches and claw marks glowed and shifted under the torchlight.

He passed down stair after stair, for what felt like hours he moved down and down. He came upon a carving at the bottom, a tunnel covered in intricate images of men and beasts.

'My captors, guardians and wardens long since gone but still haunting me...'

The voice was becoming clearer, as if she was speaking to him from across a room. Her voice enchanted him, ethereal and ancient, yet youthful and strong. The tunnels story was lost to him as he moved through it, its images passed by with nary a glance.

A dozen statues of armored men holding weapons of stone stood before the door, large and simple yet they exuded an aura of power, Jon looked at the sight in apprehension.

'A door of stone to block out Men and Mer... what a simple idea... open it Jon...'

He looked at it once more, not seeing a handle or lever he had no idea on how to open it. He put his hands on the stone in an attempt to push it, he was surprised when the stone didn't just stay put but instead moved back.

As he continued pushing, he felt the stone move to the side, rolling on its own into the wall beside it. The chamber that it had hidden was large and cavernous, lit only by the dim lights of torches and strange glowing mushrooms.

'Find me Jon... Claim my power...'

His eyes fell upon a platform in the back of the cavern, a raised potion of stone, with two stairs heading up. A larger wall stood behind it carved with ancient runes, and a small table of black metal stood center of it all. Something was on it, he noted, and he would swear it flashed silver for a second.

He moved forward, eyes never leaving the object as he advanced. He came up the stairs, and came to stand before the altar, for no other word could describe it. An obelisk like table of black metal decorated with gold and silver, upon it lay a small ring, silver and undecorated save for an empty slot.

'It's beautiful isn't it.'

The voice surprised him this time, as a shade of silver appeared in his vision, he turned towards it, hand on his dagger.

'My prison and the only reason I yet live.'

She continued as if she barely registered his movement and the threat it implied.

'I know not what I did to be imprisoned here, yet I know it was well deserved.'

She turned to look at him and he took in her form, a skin of silver smooth and unmarked. Eyes of glowing blue filled with emotion and sorrow. Hair colored pure white, long and with not one lock out of place. She was curved, tall and beautiful.

She was not human.

That much was clear to him, her ears were long and pointed. Her pose spoke of power, hidden muscle and incredible strength. Her body was beyond graceful and even the smallest movement made it clear that he was not even close to her in power. He felt like a mouse next to a lion, like he was next to something so much more powerful then him that there was simply no comparison.

'I have spent centuries here, maybe even millennia, I think I have repented for my crimes, at least I hope so...'

She moved closer to him; she was taller than him he noted surprised. Few men stood above him these days, and the Lady Mormont was the only woman to still eclipse him, until now.

'Claim my ring, bind its power to you...'

The ring began to glow, its grey surface becoming clearer, shining with a silver light.

'I only ask that you help me remember, remember my life and the deeds that led me here, broken and scattered, robbed of memory and person.'

He reached out for the ring, deep within him he knew he should doubt her. Something seemed wrong, but he pushed those thoughts away, he had come this far, no choice but to go further and see this through to the end, whatever it may be.

His fingers circled the ring its glowing silver warm to the touch, and the woman stepped closer to him. He slid it onto his left index finger and felt a rush of power. A fleeing near indescribable, as if fire ran through his veins, as if his very soul wished to scream in ecstasy.

'Thank you, Jon. I think I have yet to introduce myself.'

The woman appeared beside him, she smiled gently at him. Her hand touched his back, he could feel not the pressure of her hand and could not see it, yet he knew it was there.

'I am unsure what my name was before my imprisonment, but I have been referring to myself as Alessia.'

"I would introduce myself, but I think you already know my name."

'There is no need for such speaking between us Jon. Simply speak to me in your mind, reach to the presence you feel and speak.'

'How? Like this?'

'Exactly Jon, I am sorry for reading your mind before, but I had to guide you here somehow.'

She looked abashed, ashamed even. He found that he was a bit offended at the fact that she had somehow read his mind. His thoughts were one of the few things that truly were his alone, the idea of someone else hear or seeing them seemed wrong, but he choose to not dwell on it further.

'How long have you been here?'

'Time becomes meaningless after how long I have been here, I could not say how long it has been, hundreds of years at least, most likely thousands.'

'Why where you placed here?'

'My memories have long faded, knowledge floats around in my head but I do not know how I know what I know. It is hard to explain, for instance I know how to make a fire, yet I do not know how I know how to make fire.'

'As if you remember the knowledge in a lesson, but not the lesson itself?'

'Exactly! It is so nice to talk to someone.'

She sounded happy to Jon, a big difference compared to the dour and sad voice she spoke with a little while ago, he found this far nicer.

'We should talk further when we are somewhere other than here.'

'Is it so uncomfortable here Jon?'

'I-I didn't mea-'

'Jon I was joking! Yes, we should talk more later, and I would be happy to leave my prison thank you.'

He smiled warily, he was not at all used to talking to women, much less ghost women. He looked around, the cavern again. He now noted the massive columns that held up the smooth ceiling, so far up that the torch and candlelight barely reached it.

Behind the platform stood two massive statues of black stone, a glint caught his eye as he looked at them. They have gemstones for eyes, he realized.

'You can take them if you want.' Alessia said as she stood behind him following his gaze, 'They are rubies, never know when you could use them.'

'How do I get up there, those statues must be thirty feet tall. I've never climbed something that tall.'

'You climb Jon, I will assist you.'

He approached the massive monoliths of black stone wearily, noting the few handholds he could see, he was a decent climber himself, the best in Winterfell until he thought Bran how to. He grabbed his first hand hold, a crack in the leg, then another, then the knee hauling himself up.

He realized a second to late he had put more force then he wanted into his pull, it propelled him beyond his planed grip and sent him scrambling to grab on. In his panic a glimpse of silver caught his eye, he grabbed for it and found his hand in a crack he had not seen before the start of his climb.

'What was that?'

'I did say I would help, didn't I?' he could hear the smile in her voice, 'All I am doing is enhancing your own instincts and reflexes.'

'Thank you I suppose.'

Her musical laugh was his answer, he shook his head and focused on the climb again. It became easier after he got to the chest, and he made good time to the head. Getting the gems out of their sockets was fairly easy, he pried his knife into them, and the gems popped out into his hands.

Each of the gems was a ruby of fairly large size nothing truly mind boggling, he had seen larger gems on some of the jewelers most expensive pieces. They would be worth a fair amount of coin if nothing else.

The climb to the top of the second statue was easier, it had more cracks and the statues arms where still attached so he could use them to stand on as he pulled himself to its shoulders. The left eye gem popped out without problem, but the right one was cracked into several pieces the size of his pinkie nail. He still took it with him.

'So I suppose its back the way I came in?'

'Yes unfortunately, there are no shortcuts in a prison.'

He sighed as he began his walk, only now noting how truly massive the halls and caverns of this place where. The ever-burning torches made his feel uneasy, something fire always did, like he could lose himself in it if he looked too long.

It felt like hours later when he finally saw the skies again, coming out into the dark stone pit.

'It's so beautiful.' Alessia's voice came as her see trough silver form walked past him, looking around herself in wonder, 'Better than I imagined. Grass green, the skies blue and the trees taller than anything'

'You should wait until you see Winterfell then, a castle grander and taller than any in the north surrounded by a town all around it. The chimneys burning in the dark make it seem like something out of a fairytale.'

'I would love it I think, do you know the way?'

He looked at her sheepishly and she smiled back at him.

'Not really no...'

'Well I might be able to help.'

She raised her right hand to his head brushing past his cheek to rest it on his temple, she made a face as she concentrated, and her eyes began to glow. She pulled her hand back, glowing in silver light, before throwing the light to the ground.

He looked on in fascination as a trail began to form, a trickle of silver across the ground, heading through the grass and around boulders and trees.

'Wow.'

'A simple spell but it takes a lot of concentration when one does not know where it is they want to go.'

'So, this heads for Winterfell?'

'Indeed, you may want to hurry however, the sun is getting low.'

He cursed as he began to follow the trail it passed through the forest clearly, following it was easy despite the branches and root closing off large parts of the forest the path avoided them all. He ran at a slow but steady pace though the forest, he looked around for anything to tell him where exactly he was but found nothing.

Yet he kept following the path as it curved past and around the trees and bushes, it was several hours later that he first saw the smoke of chimneys floating up to the clouds. He cleared another tree root with a hurdle jump, and it came into view.

Grey towers toped by wooden constructs stood sentry over massive walls patrolled by guards. Its keep towered over all of it, inside it. He could see the red leaves from here, peeking just above the walls.

The Wintertown stood stout and strong below it, a hive of human movement through shops and houses. He had always liked Wintertown, it was the one place where he could talk to people without them looking down on him.

'It's beautiful...'

'Yes, it is. Though Lord Stark should really get the forward tower repaired, I've heard the servants have begun to refer to it as the broken tower.'

It earned him an annoyed look from the woman as she appeared before him in a flash of silver, a hand resting under her chin and one on her hip.

'Jon I understand that its your home and you've seen it hundreds of times before, but for me its special.'

'Sorry...'

'Apology accepted Jon, let's go in.'

….

Soooo how you like it?

I plan on interacting with you guys a lot more this time around, I am a bit of an introvert so putting myself out their like this is gonna be a whole new experience.

Anyway, follow, favorite, review all that jazz

Tombstone signing off.