Viserys put on a suitably confused expression. "The Long Night? Winter? But it's summer right now. The maesters say the seasons won't change for a long time."
"Appearances are always deceptive. Beyond the North, winter is waking." Bloodraven's voice grew urgent. "You must go north, beyond the Wall. There, you can gain the power to fight the darkness."
"Beyond the Wall?" Viserys shook his head violently, like a frightened child. "No! What's out there besides savage wildlings, man-eating giants, and cold that can freeze your bones until they crack? I'm not going to a hellhole like that. I want to stay here and learn proper swordsmanship from Ser Barristan Selmy, then become a great knight."
"Swordsmanship?" Bloodraven sounded mocking. "How can swordsmanship fight winter? What you need is a more ancient power. The legacy of the Greenseers can grant you knowledge of all things. Though I cannot see through you, I acknowledge your bloodline. I believe you should inherit this power and its responsibilities."
Here it comes. Something stirred in Viserys's heart, but he merely blinked in confusion. "A Greenseer? That sounds like some kind of forest witchcraft. I worship the Seven. How could I learn something belonging to the Old Gods?"
"This is magic, child," Bloodraven explained patiently. "One of the most ancient powers. It allows you to see through the eyes of weirwoods, to slip your consciousness into the dreams of birds and beasts and wander with them, and even to catch fragmented reflections of the past and future cast upon the river of time."
Viserys pretended to be swayed. "Magic? Like our Targaryen ancestors riding dragons? Can I really learn it?"
"Dragons are the magic of blood and fire, the ultimate expression of destruction and rebirth. Greenseers wield the magic of roots and earth, the eternity of perception and memory. But trace them to their origins, and both spring from the same mysterious source."
The third eye of the raven on Bloodraven's shoulder suddenly lit up. "Close your eyes and feel this forest. Do not look with your eyes. Feel it with your heart. Sense everything here with the tendrils of your soul."
Viserys closed his eyes as instructed, but remained intensely wary. Rather than opening himself completely to Bloodraven's guidance, he tried to sense and draw upon the power deep within his soul-the power of a soul from another world.
At first, he felt only darkness. But as he concentrated and tried to summon his soul's deep-seated ability to sense energy, the world around him began to reveal itself in a new form:
The enormous weirwood was no longer merely a tree. It became a deep, warm mass of red and white light, seemingly filled with countless faint whispers and sighs.
Those were memories accumulated over thousands of years; the warm snow beneath his feet appeared as a cold, almost transparent mass of blue light, like the deathly aura of all things extinguished. Even the air held countless tiny, vibrant green motes drifting through it-the purest energy radiated by life itself.
"I... think I can see some colors..." he said softly. This time, it was not entirely an act. The wondrous sight had genuinely stunned him.
A flicker of surprise crossed Bloodraven's red eye. "Faster than I imagined. Now, try to catch those green lights with your mind."
Viserys tried once more to reach out to the green motes. At first, they scattered like a startled school of fish, but when he held his breath and focused, they slowly began to gather around him again. A cool stream of awareness flowed through his mind, and he faintly heard birds calling in the distance-not through his ears, but directly inside his head.
"Very good." A trace of weariness entered Bloodraven's voice. "But this is only the beginning. To truly master this power, you still need to..."
"Roll my eyes back?" Viserys suddenly opened his eyes and interrupted, his face full of innocent curiosity. "I've heard wizards have to roll their eyes back when they cast spells. They turn their eyeballs all the way back until only the whites show. It looks incredibly stupid."
Bloodraven was visibly thrown by the abrupt remark. Even the raven on his shoulder nearly lost its footing. He opened his good eye and fixed Viserys with a hard stare.
"What nonsense are you talking about!" Bloodraven's voice rang with offended anger.
Angry already? Looks like this old monster hasn't quite mastered keeping his temper.
Viserys stopped fooling around and once again reached out with his consciousness to the motes in the air. I'll call them elements for now. He merged his consciousness with the elements and extended it toward the nearest weirwood.
In an instant, a vast, tangled flood of information poured into his mind: a snow-covered forest, blurred figures dancing beside an enormous bonfire, the Wall towering into the clouds and radiating cold blue light... Countless fragmented images crowded into his consciousness. He let out a muffled groan, his face deathly pale, and hurriedly severed the connection.
Still, he knew he had gained an initial understanding of magic. He had even used greensight.
"You..." For the first time, shock appeared in Bloodraven's red eye. "Just now, you..."
Before he could finish, Viserys clutched his head and groaned with exaggerated theatrics. "My head hurts! There are so many voices shouting! I don't want to learn anymore!"
Bloodraven stared hard at him, the red light in his single eye flickering wildly. After a long silence, he spoke slowly. "Your gift is extraordinary. But this power requires guidance, or it will turn upon its wielder. You need the complete legacy. Go north..."
"I don't want to go north." Viserys behaved like a sulking child. "I've already got a bit of a feel for this magic. You're just a bastard exiled by your own house. What gives you the right to order me around?" Before his words had fully faded, Viserys used his newly learned ability to sever the connection from his end, leaving Bloodraven no time to react.
King's Landing, the Red Keep
Viserys bolted upright in bed. Outside the window, the sky was just beginning to lighten. He was drenched in cold sweat, and his temples still throbbed, but excitement burned in his pale violet eyes.
Ha! Not only am I all right, I've turned misfortune into a blessing and learned a little of a Greenseer's power. Now that I've grasped the method, I can slowly explore these abilities on my own, without going north to receive the memories of all those past Greenseers.
Viserys looked out the window, and the excitement born of his first glimpse into magic quickly cooled. A Greenseer? He remembered Bran Stark from the original story, sitting in a wheelchair at the end, his eyes vacant, saying "we" at every turn.
Was that even Bran anymore? Hadn't that old monster Bloodraven's thousands of years of memories long since pickled him through, turning him into a jar stuffed with stale history?
"A legacy?" Viserys's lips twisted into a faint sneer. Sounds nice, but isn't it just finding a young body to stuff your moldy old memories into so you can keep clinging to life?
Absorbing the five-year-old Viserys's memories had hardly burdened him; he was an adult, after all. But if the situation were reversed, and thousands of years of memories came flooding through him, how much of his own consciousness would remain? If I bear the name Viserys but think a Greenseer's thoughts, how is that any different from dying again?
Anyway, I've got what I wanted. That's enough.
As for those historical memories reeking of earth and weirwood, leave them to that fool from House Stark who longs for a "great mission."
He was quite happy with his life as it was, and with the thoughts in his head that belonged to Lin Feng. There was no need to rush into becoming someone else's vessel.
Besides, Bloodraven still held Dark Sister, the Valyrian steel sword passed down through House Targaryen.
When I launch my counterattack on Westeros someday, I'll have to find him first and take that sword back. For now, he can keep it safe for me.
Before you continue