Tinkering With Life (GoT SI)

Sansa couldn't contain her excitement as she and Jeyne left the healing class, their footsteps echoing through Winterfell's stone corridors.

Sansa thought back to when her father had first told her about the class. She'd been eager to join, but a little nervous too. Septa Mordane's warnings about displeasing the gods had made her hesitate. And what if she wasn't any good at it?

But from the very first lesson with Freya, Sansa had been captivated. It wasn't the mystical experience she'd half-expected, but learning about the human body fascinated her in ways she never imagined.

Today's class with El, though - that was something else entirely.

"Did you see how adorable those little platelets were?" Jeyne gushed, her eyes sparkling.

"I know, it was incredible!" Sansa agreed, a smile playing on her lips. "I can't wait for the next lesson. Do you think we'll see more of the play?"

"I hope so," Jeyne replied. As they rounded a corner, she lowered her voice conspiratorially. "Do you think we'll learn to do magic like that someday?"

Sansa shrugged, her mind still buzzing with everything they'd learned. "I don't know, but I can't wait to find out what else they'll teach us!"

Sansa nodded eagerly.

Their discussion continued, and Sansa realized how foolish her earlier fears now seemed. How could something that helped people be wrong? El's magic wasn't the dark sorcery from Old Nan's tales - it was about healing and teaching others to do the same.

As they neared the castle, a commotion caught their attention. Her brothers and Arya were huddled in the courtyard, small furry bundles squirming in their arms. Their mother stood nearby, her face a mix of exasperation and concern as she spoke in hushed tones with their father.

Curious, Sansa approached her siblings. 

Bran looked up, grinning, and held out a tiny ball of gray fur. "Look, Sansa! Father's letting us keep them."

Sansa gasped as she took the pup, its warm weight settling in her arms. It yawned, revealing tiny pink gums, and blinked up at her with golden eyes. "What are they?" she asked, though she already knew the answer.

"Direwolf pups," Jon explained, cradling a white one. "We found them in the woods. Their mother was dead."

She could hear her mother's voice . "Ned, are you sure this is wise? Direwolves are not pets."

Fathers reply was firm but gentle. "The direwolf is the sigil of our house, Cat. These pups were meant for the children."

As Sansa stroked her pup's soft fur, she felt a connection she couldn't explain. It was as if the tiny creature belonged with her.

"What will you name yours?" Arya asked, her own pup playfully nipping at her fingers.

Sansa looked down at the little wolf, its trusting eyes meeting hers. "Lady," she said softly. "I'll call her Lady."

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I descended the winding stone steps into the underground cavern.

Bioluminescent fungi clung to the walls, casting an eerie glow that barely illuminated my path.

I had gone through a phase where I tested out what I could make glow. 

As it turns out, almost anything.

I entered the main chamber and saw Vaylara's spectral form shimmered near our experimental setup.

"Any updates on the egg?" I asked, approaching the complex array of magical symbols and instruments, much of which remained a mystery to me.

Vaylara turned, her ethereal features unreadable. "Surprisingly stable. Everything is working as intended, for now."

I nodded "When do you think it will hatch?"

She sighed, "I'm still unsure. This is uncharted territory, even for me. It's a miracle it hasn't blown up in our faces yet."

"Just asking a question. No need to get testy." 

I paused. "Actually, there's something important I need to discuss with you."

Vaylara's form shifted, her attention fully on me now. "I'm listening," she said, her tone carrying a hint of curiosity.

I took a deep breath, "White Walkers. What do you know about them?"

Vaylara's eyes narrowed, a flicker of something - surprise? concern? - passing across her face. 

"...Why do you ask?"

"I am pretty sure that they're going to attack the Wall in the next five years or so," I said, without beating around the bush

"What?!" Vaylara exclaimed, her form flickering with agitation. "How do you know this?"

I waved a hand dismissively. "How doesn't really matter at the moment. The point is, they've been on the move recently. I'm planning on scouting the threat myself, maybe even capturing a wight so I can convince Ned to let the wildlings move south of the Wall for a bit. If nothing else, it'll decrease the potential recruits for the Night King's army."

I fixed her with a serious look. "You definitely know a lot more than I do about this. So spill."

Vaylara was quiet for a moment, gathering her thoughts. "All I know is from the records of what happened the last time the Long Night started," she began. 

"When the Children of the Forest felt threatened by men cutting down their forests, they created a being made of ice capable of fighting their battles for them."

"Not very smart of them," I muttered.

"Indeed," Vaylara agreed. "They did too good of a job and lost control. Now the White Walkers have only one goal: to eradicate all life on the planet and bring forth an eternal winter."

She went on to explain how Bran the Builder, along with the Children of the Forest and the champion of light, rallied the kingdoms to build the Wall. "But there's been no record of them actually defeating the Night King," she finished. "Just pushing him back to the Land of Always Winter."

I leaned forward, my curiosity piqued. "Tell me more about his magic."

Vaylara's face darkened, her voice dropping to a near whisper. "His necromancy is formidable, but that's not the real threat to you at least. When he's near, his domain is absolute. No other magic can penetrate it. And if what you're saying is true, I shudder to think how powerful he's become over the last 8,000 years."

"So, you're saying I can't just summon hellfire and be done with it?"

"The hellfire might work on his army," Vaylara conceded, "but against him? I doubt it. He's a being forged from ice. Your fleshcrafting would be useless, even if you could touch him. In the end, your magic might only serve to help you flee."

We delved into potential weaknesses - Valyrian steel, dragonglass - but Vaylara remained skeptical about their effectiveness against the Night King himself. And it wasn't like I had any Valyrian steel lying around anyway. I had some dragonglass, so I could test that out at least.

A grin spread across my face. "So, fancy joining me on this little adventure?"

Vaylara's eyes narrowed. "That depends. What's your brilliant plan if the Night King shows up during your little adventure?"

I shrugged, "Run for the hills?"

"You don't really need to worry anyway; I will not be running off in search of the Night King. I will mostly be getting my hands on a wight, mabe talk to some wildlings, see what they know, even meet a child of the forest if we are lucky"

She sighed in exasperation. "Fine. I'll come with you. I need to keep you from getting yourself killed at least until you fulfill your deal."

"Excellent," I beamed. "We leave tomorrow. I've got some preparations to make."

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Not gonna lie, but that conversation made me a little nervous.

The time for messing around was over. There was one main issue in this world that I needed to address, and it was time to investigate it properly.

And as much as I would have liked to deal with it by myself ASAP, I wasn't really sure I could. Sure, the show made it look easy, but very few things in life ever were.

My greatest weakness and limitation at the moment was my own mind. The little show I'd put on for the students had finally made me realize this. It was time to upgrade my brain.

I had a good idea of how to achieve it; I just hadn't tested it out yet. I wanted to be alone for it. No one could really help me if I messed up anyway.

I made my way to my room, lay down, and closed my eyes. Calming myself, I thought, 'Relax, you've practiced this before.'

Making my thoughts faster was easy enough. It kind of made me feel stupid for not doing it already, but I wanted to take it a step further.

I pictured my mind palace and slowly compartmentalized parts of the neurons in my brain that were barely being used, rearranging them.

It took a moment, and then, as if a switch had been flipped, I felt it happen.

It was weird.

I could legitimately talk to myself now, not just voice out my thoughts in my mind.

'How's it going?' one part of me asked.

'Pretty good. What do you want to do now?' the other replied.

'Do you think two is good enough, or should we keep going?'

'The scans show everything working well so far, no neuron degradation. But I suggest we get used to one voice in your head first for some time before we jump to four. It's not like it takes long to do it now that we know how.'

'Makes sense. But I am not going to be running two threads all the time. You're right, one is enough for now. I just need someone to brainstorm with now.'

'OK, division of labor?'

'We don't need permanent division. Attack/defense makes more sense considering where we're going. If things start going south, we're both working on defense.'

'Fair enough. Speaking of defense. I can already see one big problem.'

'I know. All the redundancy means nothing now that we have one giant magic heart as a lynchpin for everything to fall apart.'

'Glad you know the problem. Any ideas?'

'Not really. Creating this one was a hit and miss anyway. I highly doubt it will work another time. Just make sure to protect it adequately.'

'OK, now in case the Night King does show up, what are we gonna do?'

'I had hoped to have my dragon ready by then, but that is not happening.'

'As much as I'd like to take Fenrir with me, I don't think it's a good idea to leave Freya alone, and Skitter is not going to be back anytime soon.'

'You thinking what I'm thinking?'

'Lovecraft?'

'Yep.'

'Don't you think jumping to create eldritch horrors, just because we are a little nervous, is overreacting a bit?'

'Spoilsport.'

'I am already starting to regret this.'

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A/N: If you wish to read ahead you can find 8 more chapters on my Pa treon