Olly and the Act of Killing
Why did I have to kill them [the Indonesian Communists]? I had to kill... My conscience told me they had to be killed.
Anwar Congo, former right-wing paramilitary leader, The Act of Killing (2013)
"Killing is not so easy as the innocent believe."
J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2007)
I decided to write this short story after watching the last episode of Game of Thrones Season 5. As with many other fans, I was shocked and horrified at the supposed killing of Jon Snow, Lord-Commander of the Night's Watch. This one-chapter short story is intended to humanize Olly. Lots of fans have decided to hate Olly so I felt that I needed to give his point of view.
I imagine Olly as a deeply conflicted and traumatised young man as opposed to a hate-driven murderer. My hunch is that he was probably manipulated into going along with the killing by the older Black Brothers, particularly Alliser Thorne. Olly, Jon Snow, and all other recognisable Game of Thrones characters rightfully belong to George R.R. Martin and HBO. As always, feel free to read and review but keep comments respectfully.
The Act of Killing
"You can do it," whispered Alliser Thorne "Come on, do it for your family and for the Watch."
Olly struggled to muster the strength and the will to walk up the creaky wooden stairs to Jon Snow's chamber. Part of him felt angry and hateful towards Jon for giving refuge and shelter to the Wildlings, the very people who had murdered his father Guymon, his mother Nancy, his little sister Lucy, and his baby brother Tom. Olly had barely survived that fateful attack on his village by the Wildlings. He could still remember seeing his parents being butchered before his very eyes. He could still hear the wails of his little sister being permanently silenced by a quick slit across her throat. Olly could still feel the cold blade of the Thenn warrior Styr across his soft neck.
He also remembered every one of Styr's words. "I'm going to eat your dead Mama and I'm going to eat your dead Papa. Go tell the Crows at Castle Black." These final words rang deep in Olly's mind as did the events of that fateful day. Olly still had recurring nightmares of the slaughter of his family and village. He was the sole survivor of the massacre at the village of Oamaru. Now, Jon Snow as Lord Commander of the Night's Watch had made peace with the Wildlings, the very people who had murdered his entire family and destroyed his home. Despite all the hatred that he had towards the Wildlings and their "protector", part of him questioned whether he was doing the right thing.
Olly worked as Jon's steward and the man had become like a big brother to him. During the Battle of Castle Black, he had personally saved Jon's life by killing the female Wildling called Ygritte before she could lose her arrows into Jon. Olly could not understand why a Black Brother like Jon could have so much affection for a Wildling. For all his flaws, Jon had been a fair and just master to work under. He had never mistreated or laid a hand against Olly. Besides giving him sword-fighting lessons, Jon had even begun to teach him how to read and write in his spare time.
Jon had called for the Night's Watch and the Wildlings to put aside their differences in order to confront the White Walkers, powerful ice demons from the Land of Always Winter. Eons ago, the White Walkers had descended on Westeros like a great avalanche, wrapping the land in a dark cold night for an entire generation and turning the dead into hordes of mindless wrights. Eight thousands ago, the First Men and the Children of the Forest had joined forces to drive back these demons. To protect the realms of Man, they had constructed a great wall of ice. The Night's Watch had been founded to defend the Wall from the White Walkers and the Wildlings, the descendants of those who had been left behind on the "wrong side" of the Wall.
Olly had never met a White Walker before but he had heard whispers of these powerful ice demons. Ordinary metal blades shattered upon making contact with them. Worst of all, these White Walkers were capable of raising undead men, women, children, and beasts as monstrous wrights. There had been whispers of a "great massacre" at Hardhome among the Black Brothers at the mess hall. Did Jon Snow actually encounter White Walkers or was this some elaborate plot to hide his plan to flood the North with hordes of Wildlings? Alliser Thorne had been banging on continuously behind Lord Snow's back about Wildlings ravishing and pillaging the countryside around the Gift. According to Thorne, Snow was a double-agent working in cahoots with the Wildlings to invade and conquer the North.
Upon exiting the wooden staircase, Olly walked across the creaking floorboard. Olly felt himself grip and turn the rusty door handle. With a deep whine, the door swept open and Olly found himself staring into Jon Snow's study. The Lord Commander had been reading a pile of letters under the glare of half a dozen candles. Olly could feel the embracing warmth and heat of the fireplace. Before Jon could open his mouth, Olly proceeded with his part of the plan.
"Lord Commander," announced Olly calmly "It's one of the Wildlings you brought back. He says he knows your Uncle Benjen. Says he's still alive."
Upon hearing that, Jon Snow rose from his study. Olly saw Jon's eyes briefly glimmer with hope and excitement. Alliser and the others had told him that Jon Snow had been close to his uncle Benjen Stark, the First Ranger who had disappeared on a ranging mission beyond the Wall more than a year ago.
"Are you sure he's talking about Benjen?," asked Jon. Part of Olly felt bad about having to lie to the man who had sheltered and mentored him.
"Said he was First Ranger," replied Olly. Jon Snow got up and ran out of the door. "Says he knows where to find him."
Olly followed Jon as the Lord Commander descended down the creaking staircase. Below them, Alliser Thorne was waiting. Olly saw Thorne's eyes glimmer with malice and jubilation.
"The man says he saw your uncle at Hardhome at the last full moon," said Thorne in a gruff, business-like voice. Olly knew that the Lord Commander did not get on well with his First Ranger. It had been something to do with Jon's father Ned Stark, whose attempt to overthrow Robert Baratheon's "son" Joffrey had thrown the Seven Kingdoms into a state of war and ruin.
"Could be lying," replied Jon as he walked beside Thorne. The First Ranger was a few inches taller than his Lord Commander.
"Could be," said Thorne "Only one way to find out."
Thorne gestured for Jon towards a gathering of men who had congregated at front of a wooden cross beside a wooden staircase. Everything was going to plan and Olly knew that it was not going to end well for the Lord Commander. Instead of a Wildling prisoner, Jon would find a sign inscribed with the word "Traitor." The trap had all been Alliser Thorne's idea.
During Jon's absence at Hardhome, the First Ranger and several like-minded Black Brothers had hatched a plan to eliminate the "troublesome" Lord Commander once and for all. Thorne had claimed that Jon was a traitor whose "alliance" with the Wildlings would bring the Night's Watch to ruin. Allowing the Wildlings to settle in the North was tantamount to opening the Seven Kingdoms to invasion. Worst of all, Jon Snow had admitted to sleeping with the Wildling woman Ygritte. Therefore, in Thorne's reasoning, Snow was not only a traitor but an oath breaker.
Olly had initially been unwilling to go along with Thorne's plan. What Thorne was advocating was little more than mutiny. Worse, he would be killing the man who had been like a mentor to him. However, Alliser had convinced Olly that killing Snow would save many more villages and families from being ravished and butchered by hordes of Wildlings. Think of how many more families you could save, said Thorne. What we are doing is upholding the Night's Watch vow. You did not survive for nothing. In the end, the death throes of his parents, siblings, and neighbours had helped Olly what would otherwise have been an unpalatable decision.
Jon entered the gathering. Moments later, Olly heard Thorne say grimly: "For the Watch."
This was soon followed by the sound of a blade slashing through flesh and bone. From a distance, Olly watched as the other Black Brothers took turns at stabbing their Lord Commander while invoking the name of their Order. For all the wrongs that Jon Snow had wrought on his fellow Black Brothers, Olly found no joy and triumph in watching his mentor being attacked. He also felt a deep sense of shame and guilt for luring his leader to his death using trickery. Jon did not seem to respond or fight back. Perhaps, he had been too overcome by the shock of seeing his fellow Brothers turning their blades on him.
To his embarrassment, Olly felt tears streaming down his cheeks. Why was he weeping for the man who had betrayed the Night's Watch? The so-called Wildling lover?
"Let the lad have a turn," shouted one of the Night's Watchmen. Several Black Brothers murmured in agreement. The crowd parted and a red-haired Ironborn bloke named Fred led Olly towards Jon.
"Come on, you can do it," whispered Thorne, who was wiping the blood of his blade with an old rag.
Jon was still alive but had fallen on his knees. There were numerous cuts and lacerations on his leather vest. Dark red blood was flowing from his open wounds onto the white snow. The Lord Commander's face was a contorted mask of agony, shock, and despair. Deep down, Olly felt guilt for leading Jon into this trap but he thought that it had to be done. For the good of the Night's Watch and for the good of the realm.
Olly tried to maintain his composure and did his best to stop his eyes from tearing up. He tried to avoid making eye contact with Jon but found that he could not escape the stare of the dying Lord Commander.
"Olly," gasped Jon. Was he asking for mercy? Or was he begging for forgiveness? Olly brushed those thoughts aside and made the resolve to continue with their plan. As the victim of Wildling incursions, his Black Brothers had saved the final blow for him. Reflecting on the death throes of his parents and siblings, Olly closed his eyes as he made the final blow.
"For the Watch," he cried as he plunged the dagger with all his strength into Jon's body.
The dagger slammed into Jon like a battering ram. Olly felt tears trickling down his cheeks and the stick, warm blood on his hands. When he opened his eyes, the Lord Commander had fallen to the ground on his back. His face was a frozen masked of shock, fear, and despair.. A puddle of dark red blood was forming on the right corner of Jon's body. This should have been Olly's moment of victory but all he felt was a deep vortex of shame and guilt. Olly found himself unable to turn away from the corpse of his former Lord Commander.
Suddenly, Olly felt a firm pat on the back.
"It's alright, it's over Olly," said Thorne "You have done your duty."
Olly tried to move but felt that his stomach was full of butterflies. Alliser Thorne guided Olly away from Jon Snow's body towards his chambers. The rest of the Black Brothers moved away from their fallen Lord Commander. For all of Jon's folly and treachery in opening up Castle Black to the Wildlings, it was no light task to kill one's commander. What they did was not just murder but was also an act of mutiny.
It seemed to take forever for them to reach Thorne's chambers at the First Ranger's lodge. After arriving, Thorne sat Olly on a chair and handed him a chalice of wine. Olly felt the bittersweet taste of wine flowing down his mouth and throat.
"There, there," whispered Thorne gently "It was painful but it had to be done for the good of the Night's Watch."
"But I feel so sick," stammered Olly
"It's never easy to take a man's life the first time," said Thorne "But, it's not so difficult after that."
"Who will take over the Night's Watch," asked Olly
"Enough for one night," replied Thorne "We'll deal with that matter tomorrow."
As Olly relaxed in his chair, he reflected on the events that had transpired that night. He struggled to justify his actions but found he could not. While the Wildlings had wronged him and his fellow Black Brothers, not all of them were savages and barbarians. There were women, children, infants, and old folks. He had befriended a young Wildling girl and found that she was not like the monsters who had pillaged his village. They were just fellow men who happened to be born on the wrong side of the Wall.
Jon Snow's actions seemed like a slap in the face of Olly's family who had perished at the hands of Wildling raiders. But reflecting on Jon's death, he realized that the man had been a visionary who had the courage to bring together two enemy forces in order to deal with a new threat. Olly realized too late that he and his fellow Black Brothers had been too short-sighted and too consumed by their past grievances and prejudices to grab a new opportunity that might end the centuries-long conflict between the inhabitants of the North and the Wildlings. Instead of protecting the Night's Watch and the realm, their actions had condemned both to danger and perhaps extinction.
The End
By Andrew Lim