|3rd POV|
Something is happening in the north, and Eddard Stark knows about it. Food starts to flow from within the North, and he knows how it is causing this. The Tallhart family has produced food and they are spreading it across the North.
"Tell me about this Rice, Maester Luwin."
Eddard looks at the old Maester next to him.
"I don't know much about this rice, my lord. I know that this plant comes from Yi Ti, and they grow in a swamp or at least a place with a lot of water."
"Can we grow them here?"
"Sadly not, my lord. The land around Winterfell is hard, and we need to create an artificial river from the White Knife River to make the land soft enough to plant rice."
"I see."
Eddard releases a sigh. It is a shame that he cannot plant that rice on his land, but at least he can buy it cheaper than the one coming from the Southern Region of Westeros. Even buying from Reach is more expensive than buying from Tallhart's house.
"Any news from Tallhart, Luwin?"
"Hmmm, it is more of a rumor rather than news, my lord."
"Oh? Tell me more."
"There is a rumor that Lord Howland will go to Torrhen's Square with her daughter with him."
Hearing that word, Eddard already knows what his friend wants to do.
"I see. So he wants to marry his daughter to Lewis Tallhart, huh?"
Eddard already knows about his friend Helman's oldest child. He knows about his voyage to Braavos and Pentos to do business, which is when he brings Rice seeds back to Westeros. He single-handedly brings wealth to his house and raises his house among the ranks of nobles in the North.
Combining their history and loyalty to the House of Stark, Eddard is happy for them and will support their rise in power. He also likes how they will soon join the house with another loyal house like Reed.
Eddard might be honorable, but he also knows that noble houses do not like Stark, and they are flocking together under the house of Bolton. If they are the ones rising, he will think about something to make sure they do not betray him and rebel against his family.
"Should we send a gift, my lord?"
"Hmmm? No. Not yet. Let's send gifts when they get engaged or get married. Sending a gift while still in a negotiation stage is not good."
"Of course, my lord."
"However, send a letter to Helman and ask him to send his son here. I want my son to learn how to do business from him. Ask him to come here for my daughter's birthday."
"Of course, my lord."
Eddard wants to see Lewis for himself and see what kind of person he is.
=||=
On the other side of the North, Lord Howland Reed arrives at Torrhen's Square alongside his daughter. Other than coming here for an alliance between his house and the Tallhart house, he comes here after receiving a green dream.
A green dream is the ability to see the future through a dream. In his dream, Howland sees a giant green tree protecting the wolf pack after they get separated because of the Mad Lion's plan. Howland can see the wolf alpha die, but the tree saves his pups from a fate worse than death.
There are only two houses with a symbol of trees on their banner. The first one is the House of Stane in Skagoos, while the other is the House of Tallhart. House of Stane has a symbol of a tree if there are no leaves on the tree, while the one in his dream has leaves that protect the wolf pup from the sun and roots that protect them from the incoming lion.
That leaves him House Tallhart.
If only for the first dream, Howland would not move and rather try to protect his lord. However, another dream came; this time, it was the sight of the green tree standing in front of thousands of White Walkers with green magic in his hands. However, he cannot do this without the knowledge of the magic of the land. Someone needs to teach him, and that is when he sees a giant Lizard-Lion teaching the green tree about green magic.
He does not know if he can help his friend overcome his fate, but he will try his hardest to prevent Eddard's death by teaching the Green Tree how to use magic.
Howland shakes his head as the two of them arrive in front of the gate. The guard in front of the gate walks forward and says.
"Welcome to Torrhen's Square, Lord Reed. Lord Tallhart is waiting for you in the castle. Let me take you there."
"Thank you."
Howland and his daughter, Meera Reed, follow the guard to the castle. Howland tells his guard to go and search for an inn for them to stay in while he and his daughter have a talk with Lord Tallhart.
A few minutes later, they arrive inside Lord's office, where Howland can see Helman Tallhart and his son Lewis Tallhart waiting for them. However, as he enters the room, he immediately thinks he is wrong. He thinks that Helman will be helping the Stark survive the incoming problem, but as he gets inside the room, he knows Lewis is the Green Tree in his dream, not his father.
As people who are close to nature and magic, Howland and Meera can feel the roaring magic coming from Lewis. Lewis did not know that his magic continued to grow even though he had not trained them because of the Soul Talent perk from the catalog. The only thing that holds him back is his knowledge of magic. He has yet to learn anything, and it bothers him.
However, looking at the man in front of him, Lewis knows that Howland can teach him some kind of magic as he knows that Reed's family has a knowledge of magic. Lewis cannot help but feel excited at the prospect of learning magic.
It has been more than a year since he arrived in this place, and he is only increasing his family's wealth and training his body and swordsmanship every day. He wants to learn magic before considering exploring the land north of the Wall.
"Howland, please take a seat. You must be tired and hungry. Let's finish the talk first before we go to the feast."
"Of course, my friend. The reason why I come here is to ask about marriage between our two houses."
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