The raven on the snow stared fixedly at Lynn with his pitch-black eyes, filled with resentment and humiliation.
He struggled, trying to flap his wings again, but the weakness rising from the depths of his soul left him unable to perform even the simplest movement.
He had lost.
[You win, young man.]
An old, weary thought echoed in Lynn's mind.
The voice held none of its former arrogance or authority, only the weakness of someone forced to compromise.
[Name your terms.]
"My terms have been clear from the start."
Lynn crouched down and looked into those eyes, brimming with conflicting emotions.
"Harmonic Magic. Nature Magic."
"Give me their complete inheritances."
The Three-Eyed Raven sent him a thought.
[These two forms of magic are the deepest secrets of the Old Gods and the Children of the Forest. Their power is rooted in blood and faith. They cannot simply be copied like a book and passed on in full to an outsider.]
[Even if I were willing, you could not learn them. Forcing the knowledge into you would only burst your soul with the sheer volume of information and leave you an idiot.]
That certainly sounded high-minded.
Lynn sneered inwardly.
Of course he knew how demanding the transmission of such ancient magic was.
Otherwise, Westeros would have been crawling with Greenseers and Skinchangers.
But that certainly did not mean there was no way!
The old monster was still playing games with him!
"Is that so?"
Lynn's voice betrayed neither anger nor pleasure.
"In that case, our deal ends here."
"I'll go to your cave myself and invite those Children of the Forest out, one by one. I'm sure that with a little encouragement from me, they'll find some way to teach me."
[Wait!]
The Three-Eyed Raven's thoughts instantly turned urgent.
He had