Invitation from the Three-Eyed Crow

Hoo--

Space inverted, time flowed backward.

After a bout of dizziness, Garon hunched over, gasping for air.

He clutched his pounding heart, his red eyes scanning the surroundings with vigilance.

Within his field of vision, floating green motes of light rippled silently, resembling a green meadow from a fairy tale.

"Where is this place?"

"What just happened?"

"A crow?"

"Could it be the Three-Eyed Crow?"

Seeing no one around, a flurry of questions raced through Garon's mind.

Once his breathing steadied, he straightened his back and couldn't help but take a step forward.

Crack--

A sound like shattering glass echoed from beneath his feet.

Garon was startled, instinctively looking down.

The vast Winterfell lay scattered beneath his feet like a mirror shattered into pieces.

Each shard continuously played a different scene.

There was Ned praying in the Godswood, Jon speaking with Ser Rodrik, and Sansa whispering intimately with her friends.

On one of the shards, the scene of his recent meeting with Catelyn was playing.

Garon's mind shook, his gaze inevitably drawn to it.

At the same time, his red eyes began to glow faintly, and an invisible magic connected to the shard through some unknown channel.

The image on the mirror suddenly shifted to Catelyn's perspective and began to rewind.

Garon did not notice the anomaly in his own eyes, keeping his gaze locked firmly on the rewinding scene.

Until a familiar figure appeared--

Theon Greyjoy.

He was reporting something to Catelyn, and after a few words, Catelyn's expression turned exceptionally grim.

Watching this scene, the doubts in Garon's heart finally found an answer.

He realized with a start, whispering, "So it was you--Theon Greyjoy!"

Garon's expression turned indifferent, his eyes overflowing with killing intent, "It seems I must deal with you first!"

The moment Garon made his decision, the green light floating in the space gathered like birds returning to their nests, forming a sentence in the common tongue before his eyes.

"Tonight... Godswood... meeting!"

The next moment.

Garon's vision went black, and he was ripped out of the space.

"Hoo..."

After the same bout of dizziness, Garon stumbled back two steps, his body leaning involuntarily against the castle wall.

The cold wall made Garon feel the reality of the outside world; he realized he had returned.

Garon gasped for air, having no time to check his own body, and quickly looked up, wanting to find the crow from before.

But the wooden perch where the crow had landed was empty.

Clearly, it had already flown away.

"Was that scene just now an illusion?"

"A magical illusion of the Three-Eyed Crow?"

Garon's thoughts were a tangled mess, his heart filled with shock and uncertainty.

Appearing in Winterfell, and with a warg-like affinity for crows, it was hard for Garon not to associate this with the Three-Eyed Crow hiding north of The Wall.

"The last Greenseer, the Three-Eyed Crow, Bloodraven, Brynden Rivers..."

Various titles for the Three-Eyed Crow flashed through Garon's mind, and he muttered to himself, "Why would he come for me?"

"I haven't even had the chance to do anything yet."

Although he had long anticipated that he would one day cross paths with the Three-Eyed Crow, it was certainly not supposed to be now.

"Could it be because I intercepted Sansa, and it discovered something?"

Thinking of how a Greenseer could foresee the future, Garon felt a jolt of alarm, "Could the Three-Eyed Crow have foreseen a massive change in the future?"

"But... why did it make me see the conversation between Theon and Catelyn?"

"And why would it invite me to a meeting in the Godswood tonight?"

Too many questions entangled Garon, leaving him unable to find a clear path to resolve his problems for the moment.

"The main question now is, should I go to the Godswood tonight?"

Garon furrowed his brows tightly, silently weighing the pros and cons in his heart.

Since crossing over, he had never seen magic, nor did he know how to resist it.

Not to mention that the spellcaster was the last Greenseer.

But after thinking it over, Garon realized that whether he went or not, he could not escape the surveillance of the Three-Eyed Crow.

The North, after all, was the territory of the Old Gods, the absolute home turf of the Greenseer!

"Fine, since I can't hide from it anyway, I'll go tonight and see what it's all about!"

Just as Garon made up his mind, a familiar voice reached his ears from afar.

"Lord Garon!"

Garon looked up blankly and followed the sound.

He saw Jon Snow striding toward him, his face full of smiles.

"Jon?"

"Why are you here?"

Once Jon stood before him, Garon, having regained his senses, couldn't help but ask.

Jon explained, "Robb asked me to come. He was dragged away by Lady Catelyn, so he asked me to continue showing you around Winterfell."

Garon suddenly understood.

"Actually, there's no need to trouble yourself; I can look around on my own."

Garon's mind was a mess, and he subconsciously wanted to send Jon away so he could quietly think about the meeting tonight.

But Jon insisted, "That won't do, I've already promised Robb!"

Hearing this, Garon had no choice but to agree.

He temporarily set aside the chaotic information in his mind and walked alongside Jon Snow through the castle.

"Lord Garon, is there anywhere you'd like to go?"

"Let's go to the First Keep. I heard there is the tallest watchtower in Winterfell there, from which one can overlook the entire castle."

Garon mentioned a location at random, then realized something and laughed.

"Jon, you can just call me Garon. There's no need for us to be so formal!"

Jon smiled and agreed, as he also wanted to grow closer to Garon.

"You must mean the Broken Tower. It is indeed the highest point in Winterfell."

"However, it was struck by lightning over a hundred years ago, causing the interior to collapse, so it has been abandoned."

"Usually, only Bran goes to that place."

Listening to Jon's introduction, Garon immediately thought of Bran's achievement of having climbed all over Winterfell before the age of ten.

His skilled wall-climbing technique was something even the top rock-climbing experts of his past life would be ashamed of at that age.

Garon feigned confusion and asked, "Why would Bran go to such a place?"

"He's so young, wouldn't it be dangerous?"

Jon explained as he led the way.

"Because Bran is good at climbing walls, he has climbed every stone wall in Winterfell."

"Lord Ned once tried to discipline him by making him go to the Godswood to repent."

"The next day, he actually ended up sleeping in the highest tree."

Speaking of Bran's amusing stories, Jon's face blossomed with a smile; it was clear he and Bran were very close.

Garon also chuckled in agreement.

"By the way..." Jon glanced at Garon and asked cautiously, "When I was coming over, I heard Lady Catelyn seemed to have some issues with you. Is there some misunderstanding between you two?"

He remembered the words Catelyn used to reprimand Robb in the kitchen and felt a bit worried for this friend he had just made.

However, noticing Garon's inquisitive gaze, he quickly added.

"Garon, don't misunderstand, I'm not trying to pry into you and Lady Catelyn..."

But before he could finish, Garon interrupted him softly and indifferently.

"It's nothing, perhaps Lady Catelyn just doesn't like me!"

Jon's footsteps paused for a moment, and he said in surprise, "Doesn't like you?"

"But you are about to be betrothed to Sansa!"

Garon shrugged his shoulders, feigning a helpless look, and said, "Who knows? Perhaps only the Old Gods know Lady Catelyn's mind!"

"Oh, wait, I mean the Seven!"

He gave Jon a mischievous look, and Jon understood.

The two men, both disliked by Catelyn, couldn't help but burst into laughter.