(3rd Person POV)
On the grounds of Winterfell, one could see two boys sparring with one another. Eddard smiles lightly as Benjen tries to deal any damage to him. He grunts and breathes heavily as he swings the wooden sword around. Ned simply blocks the attacks with his small shield, which Rodrik gave them. After a while, Ned decides to teach his younger brother some correct forms of how to defend himself. With a small but efficient move, he parries Benjen's sword away and hits his shield, forcing his brother to go on the defensive. Ned doesn't use all his strength, as he has found out he could kill grown men easily if he did. He uses two wide swings to hit Benjen's shield and then does a forward stab, pushing his brother into the mud.
"Give him another go, Ned." Rodrik Cassel says. Ned nods his head and goes to help Benjen stand up again. He doesn't like the muddy ground which is present all around and wants to get hard stone ground here when he's older. He had already told his father, but he wouldn't have any of it. He says it would cost too much. Eddard already has many ideas on how to change and improve Winterfell. These small things would make life more efficient, but his father usually brushes him off brusquely. Rickard Stark is a hard man, a true Northerner, and a good husband and father, but he is incapable of thinking beyond the current time and customs. He is not capable of innovation and progress. Ned has not challenged his father and will convince him in due time. He was patient, very much so.
"Keep your shield up, Benjen. No matter what happens. It will save your life one day."
"Yes, Ned."
The two go at it again, repeating the process. At that moment, their 'duel' is interrupted by Lyanna riding onto the yard and around the two. The She-Wolf, as Lyanna is known, is going at it again, doing 'un-lady-like' things and messing with the boys.
"Lyanna!" Benjen complains about his older sister. She is always the wild one, the She-wolf is a name well suited for her. Brandon was the first to do so and Ned agrees, not thinking less of his sister, only feeling more pride in her.
"Would you get out of here? We're sparring," Benjen complains but isn't taken seriously by his elder sister. Lyanna shuffles his hair and smiles.
"Who will you spar with once Ned's off to the Eyrie?" she asks. Brenjen makes a face and shakes his head.
"I don't know."
"What about him?" Lyanna asks. Ned follows her line of vision and shakes his head.
"I don't think that will help much. He looks like a stick," Ned's voice is cool and deep for his age. Brandon has started to call him the 'Silent or the Quiet Wolf'. Ned likes that name; it suits him, and he had to agree. He was aware that he was different from the first moments he opened his eyes in this world. He could still remember it like it was yesterday, much like he can remember everything he experienced. His strength was beyond anything a boy of 7 name days should have, and his intellect was the same. But that wasn't the only thing he knew to be special about him.
"Huh? Are we looking at the same person? Wylis is huge," Lyanna looks at Ned, confused and then shakes her head.
"I see. You mean Wylis. Indeed, he would be an ideal partner for Benjen," Ned nods.
"Wylis, come here!"
"But he's got giant's blood," Benjen complains, fearing the pain he may experience should he have to fight against the large boy.
"And you've got training. Imagine a real battle; if you train hard now and suffer, you will live your life as a champion. Only the winners can tell the stories; remember that. And remember what I told you, Benjen. Fear makes the wolf bigger than he is. Just because Wylis is big doesn't make him a great swordsman. Be still, observe."
"I know, deep rivers run quiet. You told me."
"That's Good. Then show me what you have learned." Ned nods his head and crosses his arms.
Wylis takes his stance before Benjen when Nan's voice is heard.
"You leave the fightin' to the little Lords, Wylis. Come along now, no place for you."
Nan, generally referred to as Old Nan, is a servant woman at Winterfell and usually takes care of the children. Before she can walk off with Wylis, though, Ned appears in front of her.
"Nan, I would appreciate it if you didn't do that. Benjen needs the training, and it doesn't hurt Wylis to train, either. He is a gentle soul and must learn how to protect himself."
"He will never fight 'cause he's a stable boy."
"I don't care about that. He is alive, and in this world, only the strong hold such privilege."
"Young Lord, I really don't think-"
"Don't worry about it. I'll handle Father. You won't get punished."
"But-"
"..."
Nan looks at Eddard and into his eyes. They have always scared her senseless, together with his strange connection to ravens and crows. She has been telling Lord Rickard Stark and Lady Lyarra about it to no avail. Too proud are they of their children, and Eddard, while quiet and seemingly distant, is their precious son. All the arguments she has and the words she wants to say are lost as if they are absorbed into the abyss which are Eddard's eyes.
"V-very well, Lord Ned. Bu-t not too long, he has work to do."
"Thank you, Nan. Let's go, Wylis, show us what you can do."
.
.
From above, Lord Rickard Stark and his wife, Lady Lyarra Stark, watch all of this happen. Rickard Stark has a long, stern face and quiet dignity. He has a very small smile as he watches his children interact and train together. Lyarra also smiles, and her smile grows even bigger when she hears Ned's words to Nan. She found her second oldest child's dismissal for birth status refreshing. The disregard for status in general and his willingness to interact with everyone, as long as they were giving it their all, as he called it, was something she hadn't witnessed to date. Rickard tried to change his son's behaviour at first. Not as much as he maybe should have, but a bit. Eddard's reaction to the realm's belief of 'proper' was a flat 'No'.
'Humans should not be judged by the height they have risen, but from the depth they have climbed,' he told his father. In Eddard's eyes, it was not birth that made a person who he was, but what a person did with their life. What was special about a Lannister who profited from the gold mines they possessed and the money earned through that money? It was easy and nothing special. But if a man or woman has to start at the bottom and is willing to climb the mountain that is life, then he or she is worth his attention.
Rickard, in some way, agreed with his son on the matter and let it be. He was ambitious and wanted what was best for House Stark, which he still did. But after 7 years of observing Eddard, he knew better than to try and change his Quiet Wolf. The North believed in the Old Gods and were more lenient in that regard, so a bastard wasn't that big of a deal, at least in his opinion, and the Faith of the Seven could suck it.
"7 ..."
"What?"
"It is hard to believe that he has already seen 7 name days," Rickard says.
"That is hard to believe. He was never the babe Brandon, Lyanna or Benjen were. I feel like I was cheated of his childhood already. And he's going away already."
"The Eyrie will be good for him. Jon Arryn will teach him, or try to teach him, at least. Either way, it will help our House in the future."
"Isn't the Baratheon boy also there?"
"Aye, he is. Robert Baratheon, son to Steffon Baratheon and heir to Storm's End. He will be a powerful ally to Eddard in the future. Together with the possible marriage options for Brandon and Eddard, House Stark will prosper in the coming years."
"What about the changes Ned proposed? Are you considering them?"
"I admit that at first, I didn't put much thought into his words and considered them to be the words of a child. But then I remembered that our son is anything but ordinary."
"No, he is not," Lyarra agrees. She has a reminiscent look on her face, thinking about the first time she held her precious boy in her hands. Unlike any other of her children and most likely any other child in the 7 Kingdoms, Eddard didn't cry. It was as if he opened his eyes in this world, a man grown, and only his stature ever truly changed. In a sense, Lyarra is right in her assumption.
Almost 8 years ago, on the day Eddard Stark was conceived, something extraordinary happened. Something that would shake the very foundations of Westeros and change the fate of many people in the years to come. A remarkable and mighty soul somehow appeared from the void of nothingness and fused with the one that inhabited the zygote that would become Eddard. This soul was different from other souls. While it was a quasi-human soul, it seemed partially made up of pure psionic energy. It was dark and far more powerful than other human souls should be in this world. The original name of this soul was Corvus Corax, and it came from a very grim, dark future that was enormously chaotic and bleak for humanity.
No one could say how it arrived here, but it was here to stay, fused with the comparatively meek soul that would have become the original Eddard Stark.
The effects and changes of this occurrence were seen all over the young boy's life. No matter what had happened to the previous Corvus Corax, no memories of his life remained, yet the changes in Eddard's personality and appearance were visible. Eddard Stark was supposed to have a long face and long brown hair. His eyes would have been dark grey, which reflected his moods, turning soft as fog or hard as stone. His stature would have been less handsome and shorter than his elder brother, Brandon. That would surely change. The current Eddard had alabaster skin, raven-black hair, and solid shadow eyes. It was these eyes that scared Nan so much and which appeared to pull all people in. They are like two black holes that swallow you whole.
Eddard, now, like the Primarch he used to be, is an extraordinary genius. Each Primarch possesses intelligence far above what any unaugmented person and even most Space Marines are capable of achieving, and they are each masters in their own respective fields of combat, being considered the greatest generals humanity has ever produced. Corvus Corax is an expert combatant, brilliant military leader, and tactician with an almost unrivalled mastery over stealth. Eddard, unlike his canon counterpart, has developed a scientific mindset. Driven to experiment and improve, he has asked his father to change certain things, understanding that his ideas would be considered 'unconventional', to put it mildly. But his father's refusal won't stop him. He is driven to keep trying despite repeated failure, and it would prove to be his greatest asset, his unbreakable will to push forward and do what the world either won't or can't accept.
Eddard, in the world of A Song of Ice and Fire, was called the 'Quiet Wolf.' The current Eddard already gained that name from his brother Brandon, for he was even more silent and only seemed alive when he was with his family. That's why Rickard Stark dismissed Nan's accusations of Eddard being scary since he wasn't to his family, and that's all that counted in the Northerner's mind. In a way, Eddard was the perfect child and son to have for any man in Westeros. He never complained, never refused his father's wishes and orders and performed no matter how unlikely or impossible a task may seem. He was strong, intelligent, and a true monster in combat and all things physical. Maester Luwin had nothing but praise to sing of the young man, and if there was anything to be sad about, it was that Eddard wasn't born first. Nevertheless, Rickard was assured that his House's next generation would surely see a prosperous few decades.