Secrets Underground

Well, this chapter will begin explaining the secret from House Forrester I have been teasing you about. One thing I should probably mention before we begin, however, is that, at least for the purposes of this fic, I am subscribing to the theory that became popularized through the Game of Thrones Telltale game that the species of Ironwood trees in the Wolfswood and near Forrester lands, in particular, is way tougher and more resistant than real-world ironwood. Some suspect those trees have a degree of magical properties if less than the weirwoods themselves.

Anyway, just wanted to clarify that point because I will be doing something that. Now with that out of the way, I hope you like this chapter. It's a bit shorter side compared to my last few chapters but I am gonna be extra busy starting later today until possibly the weekend so I wanted to get this one out fast enough for your reading pleasure. Have fun!

Read, enjoy, and review!

Ironrath: The North

Sansa Stark waited for Val to return with Spring, the last known Child of the Forrest so that Lord Rodrik could start explaining their big family secret. Until then, she and the others kept looking around in silence examining their surroundings from within the Crypt of Ironrath.

It wasn't nearly as large as the Crypt of Winterfell, which was to be expected, since the Forresters raised their extraordinary wooden castle around 1500 years prior, compared to the 8,000 years since Winterfell was founded. Moreover, they managed to save some space due to the fact that the family tradition of their house was to burn their dead in an ironwood pile and then store their ashes in their mausoleum; with statues resembling their likeness in life carrying the urns in their sculpted hands.

The new warg's eyes found stared a plaque in front of one of those statues while she waited.

"Thorren the Bold, Lord of Ironrath," She read aloud, her words slow as she analyzed them. "Reclaimed our ancestral river valley from House Whitehill. Died at year 280 After Aegon's Conquest in the Battle of the Trident."

Sansa stared at the date, feeling melancholic. That was the year Robb and Jon were both born. Two men that brought a lot of joy to her life, in different ways.

"Shame that so many others were only given gifts of **** and sorrow that bloody year," She said to herself with a sigh. "Yet now Robb is dead as well, and we still don't even know where his desecrated body is."

The thought made her wonder what she would say to Robb if they managed to bring him back to life at some point. The betrayal at the Red Wedding and the **** of his wife and unborn son must have shocked him with grief and horror before being murdered himself. Something like that was bound to leave emotional scars inside his mind if they could pull him back to their world. But if they did, after how broken he must have felt when his life was cut short, would he thank them for reviving him or curse them for interrupting his afterlife, especially if she hadn't given birth to enough children by then to also bring back the wife he loved? That would **** him to wait for her while being **** to dwell on all the terrible things that happened as a direct result of him losing the war.

Sansa grimaced. "He could easily end up feeling like he failed the people that were counting on him. All of this could make most people fall into despair."

Then there was the fact that even though he designated their bastard sibling as his heir and legitimized him to show he was serious, Robb's potential resurrection could arguably make for a very complicated mess when it came to deciding who should wear the crown of the North and the Trident. After all, the laws of succession were not exactly designed to contemplate the possibility of previous kings returning to life after passing on the throne to their heir.

And then there were her fears. Specifically, her dread that he would become beyond disgusted at her for wanting to marry her Jon and to bear his children. Ascension to godhood aside, it was still **** after all. But she just couldn't help herself. She had fallen hard for her half-brother and she knew the feeling was mutual. She wasn't going back out even if he hated the idea.

But the unpleasant mental image made the redhead sigh, realizing she could only hope Robb will be able to understand one day.

Eventually, the door to the crypt opened, the wind blowing a bit of snow inside while Princess Val walked in; the only Child of the Forrest among them following close behind.

She gave a slight nod of her light green head to Lord Rodrik. "You called, Lord Forrester?"

"I did," He said in agreement. "Like I have told the others here, there is a significant family secret that the Lords of my House have kept for nearly 2 and a half centuries. And I believe it could help us in the coming battle."

And with that, he motioned for the group to follow him to another statue deeper into the ruins. Sansa examined it as they got closer. Assuming the sculpture reflected his actual height, the man was considerably tall in life, towering over her at a little over 6 feet. She read the headstone then and noticed that the message was longer.

"Gerik the Craftsman," She muttered with a raised eyebrow. "Lord of Ironrath. Lead the vanguard of Northern warriors in the reconquest of Sable Hall from the Night Watch mutineers at the 50th year after Aegon's Conquest. Responsible for great innovations in ironwood craftsmanship. Died in his sleep on the year 67 after Aegon's Conquest."

The others exchanged glances before Lyanna Mormont finally found her voice. "He was the Lord of House Forrester around the time your family secret started," The ruler of Bear Island noted. "I take it had something to do with these "great innovations" mentioned on the plaque?"

"Indeed," Rodrik said with an absentminded nod.

Then he turned to look at his sister Mira, who still seemed more than a little confused. "He the ancestor of ours that figured out how to make Ironwood burn fast and efficiently, compared to the methods we had before. Useful in many ways, since the trees we have in our lands are so tough they have spawned countless legends about them but what exactly is so secretive about the Craftsman and his work?"

Her eldest brother took a deep breath and moved towards the statue. Before long, Rodrik's hands found the sculpture's chest, which was artistically designed so as to resemble plate armor. Then, the Lord of Ironrath opened his palm and they saw a very thin key within. Soon, he placed it between the seeming gaps on the plate of the statue, and a loud click echoed across the crypt. That was apparently Asher's cue to get closer, which he did and joined Rodrik in pushing the statue back into the mausoleum.

And bellow the floor it had been standing earlier was a stairway that led in the darkness below.

"The answers are down there," Rodrik claimed while grabbing a torch from the nearby wall.

There was a long moment of silence as Sansa's group stared at the entrance to the secret tunnel. Then, she noticed Spring tilt her head while looking down the stairs. She seemed puzzled.

"Is that...singing?" The magical creature said very slowly, her tone hard to read.

Sansa exchanged a glance with Val at that.

"I don't hear anything," The Princess of the Free Folk responded.

Most of the rest shook their heads as well but Rodrik only sighed. "From what I have read, you may be right," He said while looking at the surviving member of the elder race. "Please follow me, I will start to explain on the way.

Then he started making his way down with Asher and his future wife close behind. Spring took a moment more to stare at the stairway as she bit her bottom lip but then she advanced as well. By then, Sansa was getting increasingly curious so she moved forward, and in no time the rest went straight ahead.

Soon, the Lord of Ironrath started speaking, his voice echoing through the walls. "These tunnels were originally made to safeguard the Gerik Forrester's discovery," He began. "But over time, they served other roles. The most important one during the Whitehill Siege being the fact that, well...it takes a very, very long time for crops to rot in the area this pathway will lead, so, the last few Lords of Ironrath made a point of storing and preserving food down her more and more over time, in case of crisis."

Turning back to see the reactions of the others, Sansa noticed that Elsera Snow was frowning deeply and her brother Josera soon exchanged a look with her. "Well, that explains how your bannermen didn't starve during such a long siege," She said in a ponderous voice. "But preventing enormous quantities of food from rotting for years without spices or salt...that would take a considerable amount of power."

Then she sniffed. "Which I can certainly sense in the lingering magics in the air. By the Gods, now that's a strong scent! But it seems...entwined with something I can't detect well."

"I believe I can," Josera remarked, his eyes wide. "It smells remarkably similar to the ambient magic that the Children of the Forrest used to encompass the North Grove so long ago. But like you, there is something there I can't place.

Sansa's interest kept peaking with every step but she heard nothing from Spring in front of her, her head still tilted as if trying to find the source of the songs she herself could not hear. The Lady of Winterfell in exile wasn't sure what to make of that.

Suddenly, Elsera gasped loudly and the redhead saw shock and recognition in her gaze. "Rodrik," She said, her tone baffled. "Why am sensing a constant flow of blood magic sacrifice...and from the very same source no less?"

Almost simultaneously, the group halted in their tracks at such a proclamation, starting to feel a little wary. Rodrik sighed even more deeply this time. "It will be much easier if I show you. Don't worry, we are almost there and I will tell you all I know."

And with that, he moved ahead. The idea of stumbling into an underground chamber that reeked of blood magic didn't seem particularly appealing to the rest of them all of the sudden but Asher pushed through after they hesitated, with Gwyn Whitehill following as they held hands.

That did it for Sansa. She didn't know exactly what was going on but was certain that the second oldest Forrester wouldn't put his loving betrothed in any deliberate danger now that they were finally reunited and free to pursue their relationship. Or his sister Mira, by that matter, who seemed as clueless as they were.

"Let's go," The Lady of Winterfell in exile urged with a confident tone. "I have a feeling this will be interesting."

So she walked ahead until the end of the stairs, entering an underground chamber. And when her eyes followed the glow of light, her jaw dropped.

Near the center of the chamber was a Weirwood tree...and it was covered in blue flames.

By the time the others reached her there, she barely noticed their gasps as she simply kept staring at the flame that somehow didn't seem to damage the tree yet covered its trunk like a ring in the shape of a heart. The upper holes between the branches were covered by a fog of smoke although some sections were encased in shadows, barely noticeable from her position by Rodrik's torch. Eventually, his voice snapped Sansa out of her wonderment.

"I present to you, the Burning Weirwood of House Forrester," The Lord of Ironrath announced. "It has been on fire since the days of the Royal Progress, when King Jaeherys the Conciliator and Good Queen Alyssane journeyed North. And when its rare combination of Greenseer and Blood Magics was unwittingly mixed with the flames of the dragon Silverwing, it created something new."

Rodrik inhaled deeply while staring straight at the last of the Children of the Forrest. "But when I came here last, the flaming leaves whispered the name Spring in my ears...because of this and so much more, I believe we are now standing in the presence of a wakened Old God. And it wants to speak with you."

And just like that, Sansa noticed the blue flames started to burn brighter.

A/N: Well, that happened XD

Hope this chapter got you intrigued for more. As I said, I will be busy for the next few days but I am really looking forward to writing the next ones after plotting this for a while so, I will certainly try to make time as soon as I am able. Until then, feel free to leave a comment down below.

Finally, I will try but since I am not entirely sure that I will be able to post a new chapter tomorrow, so just in case, happy 11th month anniversary of the story :D

We are approaching the full-year guys. And while I will be busy this next month I will certainly do my best to ensure we get something special for the full year anniversary on August 7. On that note, feel free to leave requests. Can't promise I will be able to include them within the next month if the scenarios were plans I already have outlined for much later but you may get lucky.

Later!