Silence filled the great hall.
The torches along the stone walls crackled softly, their light dancing across the map spread across the long table.
Corvyn stared at the marker his father had moved.
Winterfell.
Even in the North, few names carried more weight.
Ser Halric leaned over the table.
"You're certain?"
Lord Edrick Ravaryn nodded once.
"Scouts reported Bolton forces gathering near the Dreadfort two weeks ago."
He tapped another marker placed near the eastern forests.
"Last night confirmed it."
Halric frowned.
"That was more than a scouting force in the Wolfswood."
"It was meant to silence us," Edrick replied.
Corvyn's jaw tightened.
"So they knew we would discover them."
Edrick looked at his son.
"They suspected."
He folded his hands behind his back.
"The Boltons have always preferred removing problems before those problems can speak."
Halric snorted.
"Then they failed."
"Yes," Edrick said quietly.
His eyes moved toward the ravens' cage standing in the corner of the hall.
"And now they will regret it."
Corvyn followed his gaze.
Inside the cage, several black ravens shifted restlessly on their wooden perches.
"Messages," Corvyn said.
Edrick nodded.
"Ravens must fly before sunset."
Halric crossed his arms.
"To Winterfell?"
"To Winterfell first," Edrick said.
He moved another marker on the map.
"Then to every Northern lord within two hundred leagues."
Corvyn looked over the map carefully.
Karhold.
White Harbor.
Last Hearth.
If Bolton armies truly marched south…
The entire North would soon feel it.
Halric leaned back slightly.
"So we warn them."
Edrick's expression hardened.
"And we prepare."
One of the officers beside the table spoke.
"My lord… if the Boltons march in strength, Ravenhold may be directly in their path."
Edrick nodded calmly.
"I know."
Corvyn studied his father carefully.
"You expected this."
Edrick met his gaze.
"For years."
Halric raised an eyebrow.
"That long?"
"The Boltons have never truly forgotten the old wars," Edrick said.
Corvyn looked again at the map.
The marker beside Ravenhold suddenly seemed very small.
Very vulnerable.
"Then what do we do?" he asked.
Edrick walked slowly around the table.
He stopped beside the raven cage and opened its door.
One of the birds flapped its wings impatiently.
"We do what our house has always done."
He gently lifted the raven onto his arm.
"We watch."
Another bird called loudly from the cage.
"We wait."
Edrick tied a small scroll to the raven's leg.
Then he walked toward the open window overlooking the courtyard.
"And when the moment comes…"
He released the bird into the sky.
The raven vanished into the cold northern wind.
Edrick watched it go.
"…we strike."