After talking with Maester Luwin, I searched the streets and alleys for smooth stones by the roadside. I returned to my room. I put the little birds on the table, then lined their nest with rags I had picked up from the kitchen.
I picked up a few stones and cast fire magic on them. When they began to feel hot, I placed them beneath and around the nest to keep the birds warm until I found a better solution.
I dug up some worms; while I was out, I found two large stone slabs. One was half the size of the other, and I set them aside. Then I went somewhere with damp soil and dug up a bucket of worms. It took me about an hour to gather everything.
When I returned to my room, I found it in chaos. The two little birds were crying with all their might. I took half a handful of worms and mashed them in the mortar I had bought.
Then I flattened a small piece of wood to a width of one centimeter and used it as a spoon to feed the chicks until they stopped begging.
Once the room was quiet again, I put the stone slabs I had brought on the table. I cast some earth magic on them, changing their shape slightly into a broad bowl, then placed the nest inside so it would not shift or get damaged when the birds moved around in it. After that, I began heating the larger slab until it was scalding hot.
Then I placed the other, smaller bowl-shaped slab on top to keep it warm. This was not a direct heat source, so it would be comfortable for the birds. Now all I had to do was heat it, feed them, and clean up shit for a month or two. This would be fun, right?
I knew this was too much work for two stupid birds. But their parents had died right in front of me, leaving them orphaned. I just wanted to do this, felt I had to do this. They were alone in this world, with no one to lean on when they were tired or afraid. I just felt I had to do it. I did not know. Maybe I was being ridiculous.
Four weeks had passed since I began looking after them. They were fully feathered now, so I did not need to give them as much warmth, but I still added some heat to the slab. Oh, right, I had named them. One had some white feathers that started at the top of its head and extended down near its beak in a V shape. Its plumage was a deep, dark blue.
It was a little smaller than its sibling, so I treated it as the little sister. It was female; I could not tell at all, but the maester said it was female, while the larger one was male. So they were a big brother and a little sister. His name was Erebus. The little sister was called Bo. Erebus's coloring was a little different; he was as black as night. They had one thing in common: Erebus also had some white feathers.
But his white feathers were at the joints of his folded wings. Erebus was a bit of a bastard. He always tried to bite me or anything that came near him. Bo was more docile; she would not attack unless you poked her.
I decided to use them for my familiar-binding training as well. I believed I would have enough mana to establish a bond within a month or two, and the ravens would be able to fly by then or earlier.
Raising them really was a challenge. Because they needed feeding every hour until sunset, I had spent an entire month running around. All that endless running had raised my speed to 1.4.
"I think I can hold out for another month, but if you still haven't learned to fly by then, I'll probably cook and eat you, Erebus. But I'll keep Bo. She's a good girl. She doesn't bite Daddy. Right, good girl?" I stroked Bo with my finger.
Snap... Ah!!
"Bad girl!!"
I was in the Godswood. Another two weeks had passed, and the ravens were beginning to learn to fly, but they could only stay airborne for a few seconds before landing on their feathered asses. Those two weeks had been a nightmare. All the training and running had almost exhausted me. If they did not learn to fly soon, I would have to take a break and suspend my training.
While meditating, I felt my mana rise from 29.8 to 30 and opened my eyes. Almost an hour had passed. I had to head back. I got up and started walking back. As I walked, I looked around, identifying the herbs and weeds I saw.
I had been spending more time in the library lately to give my body some rest. There, I had found a compilation of herbs from the North. From that book, I learned that almost all the herbs from Earth had the same names here. Of course, there were plenty I did not recognize, too. There was always something new to learn.
It had been an exhausting day. The day was beginning to end. The sunlight turned from bright yellow to orange, blocked by Winterfell's thirty-meter-high walls and casting enormous shadows across them.
I walked into my room and collapsed onto the bed in exhaustion. Something felt strange. I had not heard any cries for food when I came in. I got up and looked at the tabletop. The nest was empty. I looked around the room; they were not here. I went to the window to check whether the shutters were locked. They were. I heard a caw and turned around. This could not be real.
"You little murderous bastards!!!" These two bastards-I did not know how they had gotten in, but they had opened the birdcage and eaten the little bird named Blue. That was why they were not asking for food. They were both full.
I had heard that ravens could solve simple problems and puzzles, but I had not expected them to be able to open a latch. It seemed I had been very wrong about that. I took them out of the cage and secured the murder scene. Erebus spread his wings and cawed at me. Was this little bastard challenging me? I looked inside the cage. It was horrifying.
Blue and white feathers were everywhere, with almost nothing left. Poor Blue, I would miss you a little. To be honest, I had never treated it as a pet; it was just a tool for training my magic. But once I was done with it, I would not have killed it. I would have given it to someone else.
I cleaned up and threw away the cage, since I no longer needed it. I took Bo in my hands and began casting the familiar-binding spell. As always, it was a slow process.
The process was like building a bridge with tiny bricks, one after another. If the other side did not reach out to you, you had to spend more mana.
Bo was a little resistant, but not very. He was still a wild bird, even though I had been feeding him for six or seven weeks.
At least he was not fighting the bond. I was almost drained, with only one or two points of mana left. It felt as though I could touch him with my fingertips, but I was not quite there. I focused again and pushed with my remaining mana. I knew it would work.
The very second I spent my last bit of mana, everything turned white, and I saw a face as large as I was, but my eyes had not focused yet.
I closed my eyes again and took a deep breath, trying to calm down and focus. When I opened my eyes again, I saw a gigantic raven.
It was Bo, as large as I was. That face was hers. Wait. Was she as big as I was, or was I now as small as she was?
Ugh, my head hurt. Either way, it felt strange. I looked at her, and she looked at me. When I tilted my head to one side, he did the same. I raised my arm, and he raised his wing.
I could feel her. She was curious about me, this room, and the light seeping in around the shutters. She was curious about everything. I could feel that bottomless yearning for flight and freedom.
When I woke, I saw light slipping through the small gaps between the shutters. I got up, opened them, and looked outside.
The sun was east of the castle. When I had returned to my room, the sun had already set. I had tried to establish a familiar bond and succeeded. Yes, I could feel it now. I could feel Bo.
That meant I had been unconscious for at least twelve hours. It must have been because I had exhausted my mana.
Now that I had a familiar companion, what could I do with him? I was really curious.
It was unfair to Erebus, but I could not take him out yet. I merely thought about it, and Bo looked at me and cawed. A few seconds later, she began flying clumsily and landed on my shoulder.
Erebus was cawing at us as I went out. I headed toward the Godswood. I felt it was the perfect training spot in the castle if you wanted to be alone.
Yes, most people went there to pray to the Old Gods, but they only went near that redwood tree, while I always went to the far end of the woods near the castle walls.
With elemental magic, spells instinctively appeared in my mind when I contemplated it. I still did not know what language I used to cast them.
I placed Bo on a rock and focused on the bond between us. It was like a two-way street. I could feel her, and she could feel me. I could give her orders, but it felt as though she was free to choose whether to follow them.
She could refuse or resist orders she did not want to obey. It also depended on our wills, because mine was stronger. She could not refuse my orders very much. If I seized the rope connecting us, I could make her do what I wanted, but it would damage the rope, and it might even break.
If I treated her well, our bond would grow stronger. If I forced her to do things she did not want to do, it would weaken. I was beginning to understand this bond now. I was also beginning to grasp its magical applications. I could use my magic to sense where my familiar was. If I could strengthen it to reach several kilometers, it would make a good scouting spell.
The bond gave me a buff, and now I could make use of it. My eyesight had improved. It felt as though I could see twice as far. This time, I tried something else.
I sent my consciousness through the bond, opened my eyes, and thought, God, this is so strange.
This was the first time in this life that I had seen my own face. It felt bizarre. I had jet-black hair that looked like a bird's nest. No wonder. I never combed my hair; I did not even own a comb.
I ought to start taking better care of myself. My eyes were silver, and my face was pale.
My eyes were open, and I was blinking, but it was as though I was sleepwalking. To be precise, nobody was home. I began flapping my wings and tried to take flight. It felt very natural.
I could feel that Bo's wings were weak and tired quickly. So I landed on a branch. I could even feel her consciousness. She was beginning to feel uncomfortable, so I ended the connection. Everything went black, and I returned to my own body.