Chapter 8 — Goldeyes
105 A.C.
POV — Barthogan
We entered the forest soon after organizing ourselves.
The air inside was colder and denser, heavy with moisture and the scent of earth. The canopy filtered the sunlight, casting long, irregular shadows over the ground covered in leaves and roots.
We ended up splitting up in a natural, but smart way.
Huginn went with Magnus in one direction, flying low, sometimes landing on branches to better observe the path. My father ended up going alone with him, since he was the most experienced and already familiar with that region.
I stayed with Clea, while Muninn moved ahead silently, serving as our eyes and ears. I had never truly hunted before—only a few times with Crester—but for the most part, my focus had always been on using Thief rather than actually hunting. So it made sense for me to go with Clea and Muninn.
In the first few hours, we found nothing.
The forest felt far too quiet.
Muninn guided our steps with small adjustments in direction, flying a few meters ahead, landing, observing… then moving on again. Clea kept her spear firm in her hands, senses sharp. I felt my heart beating faster with every step.
Then, after some time, Muninn stopped.
He didn't caw.
Didn't move.
He simply stared straight ahead—and I felt a light mental nudge, that subtle warning my bonds used when they wanted to get my attention.
Following his guidance, we advanced carefully—and then we saw them.
A pack of six giant wolves. All of them looked adult; there were no pups or young ones. A shame.
They were hunting a uapiti—a large, powerful female that ran with difficulty through the trees, while her calf struggled to keep up, clearly falling behind. The chase had started recently. The calf was still alive… but it wouldn't last long.
Seeing the uapiti calf gave me an idea.
A giant deer as a mount would be extremely interesting: fast, strong, agile among trees and snow—and even more enhanced by my powers, especially since it was young.
The wolves were colossal.
Nearly the size of horses. Much larger than any direwolf I remembered seeing on forums in my past life. Their movements were coordinated and precise. They took turns, forcing the prey to exhaust itself—a brutal, textbook war of attrition.
My stomach twisted.
There was the opportunity.
I activated Huginn, who was with Magnus, and sent the mental message with urgency:
FOUND THEM. GIANT WOLVES. SIX. CHASING A UAPITI.
At the same time, I made a quick decision.
— Muninn… warn them — I murmured.
Muninn opened his beak and began to caw loudly, again and again, the sound echoing through the forest.
The wolves immediately went on alert.
The female and the uapiti calf kept running, completely ignoring our presence. I wouldn't stop them. The calf could still be saved—and bonded—later.
The problem now were the wolves.
They broke off the chase and began to spread out, forming a slow, calculated encirclement around us.
Six giant wolves.
Fighting here would be suicide.
Clea would probably not survive.
I… might survive, but not whole.
I closed my eyes.
This time, I didn't seek a bond.
I didn't want to bind myself to any of them.
My consciousness plunged into the mental world.
Everything slowed down.
The wolves, Clea, the falling leaves… everything moved as if submerged in thick water. I did what I always did.
I imagined the golden thread emerging from my body.
I split it.
Two threads.
Pushed harder.
Three.
I felt the wolves react. Something in them sensed the change.
— Maybe I'm doing something I'll regret for the rest of my life… — I thought, while my hands, in the real world, tightened around the tomahawk handles.
My body moved with absurd fluidity, while everything else seemed unbearably slow.
Maybe this is the transparent world…
Or something beyond it.
Something fused with my warg abilities.
Something that only exists because my genes are changing along with my bonds.
By the end of the thought, there were six threads.
They stretched outward and began to wrap completely around the giant wolves.
The threads grew, intertwined, covering their bodies.
In the mental world, the wolves looked like cloth dolls embroidered in gold.
I poured my will into the threads.
Tranquility.
Calm.
Understanding.
Promises of food.
Peace.
Absence of hostility.
Affection.
I did not let the threads sink into their bodies.
If I had, they would have become bonds.
I didn't know if I could manage that with all six at once. Probably not.
Maybe I could have done it with the alpha.
But I didn't know what would come next.
Most likely a battle—perhaps less bloody—until the alpha ordered a retreat.
But I didn't want to waste bonds.
I wanted the strongest one.
And that would only come from a pup… or a young one.
There were none here.
The wolves froze.
All except one.
The largest.
The alpha.
He didn't advance, but he didn't retreat either. Through the thread, I felt curiosity… irritation… and something close to challenge.
A rival.
I changed strategy.
Into the thread linked to the alpha, I pressed dominance.
Strength.
Suppression.
My will against his.
It worked.
The wolf stopped completely.
I then began to retract the golden threads.
One by one.
Until only golden collars remained around each wolf's neck.
Through them, I sent a single message:
I am an ally.
We share this territory.
Light began to filter through the leaves.
My mental world dissolved.
I opened my eyes.
At that moment, my vision was different from anything that existed in A Song of Ice and Fire. It was extremely sharp. I saw everything: tiny insects on the trees, beetles fighting on a nearby trunk, the faint rustle of grass and leaves. I could see every single hair on the wolves in front of me.
If Clea looked directly into my eyes, she would see they were different.
Too golden.
With a dark halo.
And slit pupils, small at the center—almost like a falcon's.
(Similar to Mihawk's, but with the central pupil shaped like a narrow slit.)
Image of the eyes here :)
— Barth… what's happening? — Clea asked softly, spear in hand, eyes locked on the wolves. — They stopped… are they your bonds? Six at once? Is that even possible? Are you okay?
There was disbelief in her voice.
And a spark of pride.
— Sigh… I don't even know what I did — I replied, my voice trembling. — But for now, it worked. Don't attack them. Just… stay alert.
My head spun.
Do these threads consume something?
Does mana even exist in ASOIAF?
Is this absurd perception of the world connected to that?
I'm completely exhausted…
The wolves didn't immediately break the encirclement, but they no longer looked at me as prey.
They practically ignored Clea.
— What am I supposed to do with you… — I murmured.
I approached the gray wolf, the alpha.
He was massive.
I was around five foot three.
He was slightly taller than me.
The wolf didn't growl.
He simply took one step forward.
I fully closed the other bonds—the ten percent with Thief, the attention on Huginn. Everything.
I focused solely on him.
I sent calming words through the thread.
— Easy, boy. We're friends. If you need food… we'll help.
Before I realized it, my hand was already stroking the wolf's head.
— That's it… that's it.
I smiled faintly.
— Your pack is pretty big, huh? Is it just these?
— Achoo.
The wolf sneezed.
— …I'll take that as you not understanding — I murmured.
Clea watched the scene in absolute silence.
— By the gods… — she whispered.
— Friend… can you have your family pull back a little?
— Humm…
The wolf let out a low whine.
He stepped away from me, turned around, and began to retreat. One by one, the others followed him, heading in the opposite direction from where the uapitis had fled.
— That's not exactly what I meant… — I murmured, closing my eyes.
When I opened them, the world was normal again.
I could no longer see every detail, nor everything in slow motion.
— Sigh…
— Follow them, Muninn. Calmly.
When they were no longer visible, I watched through Muninn's eyes.
They really were leaving.
— Whew… — I exhaled. — I don't know how much longer I could've held that.
My legs gave out.
I fell sitting… then lay back on the ground, arms and legs spread.
— Are you okay, Barth?! — Clea knelt beside me.
— I'm tired, Mom… — I answered weakly. — I can't move a single muscle. I think it'll take a full day to recover… I might pass out at any moment.
I activated Huginn.
I saw Magnus moving through the forest, following the raven.
— WAIT! — I croaked through him. The voice came out rough, but far more fluent than Huginn usually spoke.
Magnus stopped.
— …Boy?
— THE WOLVES ARE CLOSE… LET'S DETOUR… MOVE FAST!
I cut the bond and returned to my body.
— Mom… Dad will be here soon… — I murmured.
And then, I sank into the world of dreams.
I found myself in my mental space.
This time, I was being stared at by my bonds.
All of them had eyes completely different from anything I had ever seen—yet, at the same time, strangely familiar.
Breu was enormous, as always. His spiral tusks—actually teeth, fangs—were white like ivory. Looking more closely, I noticed that another tusk was growing.
— I knew it was possible for narwhals to grow both tusks… but yours are only emerging now? — I murmured. — Once again, I'm influencing you.
I studied Breu carefully. It had been weeks since I last saw him in person.
He was a little over eight meters long.
Three meters of left tusk.
The right one was still under seventy centimeters.
His body was black, very dark—like all my bonds.
The golden eyes were unique.
When I got closer, I saw my own eyes reflected in his—and they were identical.
His eyes have always mirrored mine.
Does that mean my eyes are like this now?
— Probably…
— You really are unique…
I turned my gaze to Thief.
He was large—a huge black owl, golden eyes just like Breu's, which only confirmed my hypothesis. And maybe a bit taller.
Muninn and Huginn were the same as always, except for their eyes, which mirrored mine.
I searched the mental space for any other creature.
Nothing.
I examined each bond again. Nothing seemed different except the eyes—and Breu, whose second tusk continued to develop.
— Could this be related to me exhausting myself? — I thought. — Maybe it's forcing both me and them to push beyond our… genetic limits.
I need to study this better.
I need to wake up.
But how do I do that?
I closed my eyes.
A few seconds later, I opened them instinctively.
I was lying, exhausted, beneath a tree. Clea and Magnus were beside me, apparently eating near a small fire.
I sat up with difficulty.
— Was I out for long? — I asked, looking at them with my golden eyes… still different, and probably like this forever.