Chapter #20: Oaths & Letters
Ren
The days at The Wall were long and cold, and even training became boring as Ren had shown his skill and beaten everyone at Castle Black. Newcomer or veteran ranger, Ren had faced and beat them all. Even Ser Alliser Throne had tried to defeat the Otherworlder and failed like the rest. Lord Commander Mormont continued to ask Ren to join the Watch and was respectfully rejected each time.
Ren had no interest in swearing himself to the so called guardians of the realm. He disliked their rules and resented that all crimes could be washed away if someone was to join the Night's Watch. Criminals, murderers, rapers, and thieves avoiding punishment, taken from the dungeons of major cities and towns. Nobles avoiding scandal, orphans, and other social outcasts such as Jon Snow, a noble bastard. These were the kind of men and boys that manned The Wall, honour seemed lacking to Ren, save for those few who had arrived willingly. Mormont and Snow to name a couple.
He had taken up training with the newer recruits of which Jon also did. Jon had been trained by a Master-at-arms and after talking to Donal had come away with a new attitude. That was back before the large boy showed up, Samwell, but even Jon couldn't help him use a sword adequately.
Samwell was lucky though, having Jon looking out for him and the friends Jon had made too. Grenn and Pypar had been slower to warm to the large man, but now they broke their fasts together and talked openly. Ren had taken a liking to Samwell too, a boy who loved to read and gather knowledge. Ren was a good student at Beacon and had often spent much time with Sam and the old maester, Aemon the blind.
It was the morning of which the new recruits would be sorted into their roles and said their vows. Ren had gotten up and dressed, his black cloak wrapped around him like every other man of the Watch, only he wasn't one. Though none now openly challenged him to take it off, he knew there were cold eyes constantly upon him.
"Can I still not convince you to take our vows?" Came the gruff voice belonging to the Lord Commander. Ren half turned and waited for the Old Bear to meet him before they strode side by side towards the sept, an old and cold building to pray to the Seven.
"I'm afraid not, my lord. I have no interest in the vows, yet I will remain here until I have a good reason to leave. I will help the Watch however I can, but I will not join it." Ren said for the fifth time that week.
"Pity, the Watch could use more skilled and educated men such as yourself." The old bear said, sounding disappointed that he could not sway the young man.
"There are plenty in this new batch, Samwell and Jon for a certainty." Ren responded, giving his honest view. He could see their use and a few others too. They stopped before they entered the sept and Mormont put a hand on his shoulder.
"I was hoping to give these to a man of the Night's Watch." He reached inside his cloak and pulled out two daggers, blades hidden within the scabbards. "Donal finished them a couple of days ago."
Ren took the daggers and pulled one out. The blade was longer than even a large knife, but thicker, stronger, sharp on both edges too. He sheathed it and gave a bow to the Lord Commander.
"Thank you, my lord. I shall make good use of these should the time come." Ren said, though he had never needed to kill anyone and from what he knew of the Watch they only killed rarely.
"There is one more thing too. A letter came in the night, Maester Aemon cannot read but it bears the Stark sigil that sealed the wax." Sealed, meaning you've opened it and read the contents.
"The Starks have written a letter to me? I don't know anyone down there." Ren told him truthfully.
"Apparently you do." He withdrew the letter and handed it to Ren who looked at the direwolf sigil melted into red wax. "Read it after the names have been read, you can decide what to do after that." Mormont said as he strode into the Sept.
Ren near opened it the moment Mormont was gone, but after being gifted two new blades he decided to honour the Old Bear's request. He filtered into the sept and stood alongside the wall. He fastened his new belt around his waist, showing those around him that he had been given newly forged steel. But no one said a word as Mormont stood before the alter.
"You came to us as outlaws, poachers, rapers, debtors, killers, and thieves. You came to us as children. You came to us alone, in chains, with neither friend nor honour. Some of you bear the names of proud houses, others have only bastard names or no names at all. None of that matters now, it is past. On the Wall we are one house, one family."
Mormont's speech went on and on, explaining what it meant to be a man of the Watch. How their crimes were washed away, how they were sworn for the duration of their lives however long or short they might be, to defend the realms of men. They were to forget their old families, loved ones, children if they had any. Ren knew this was impossible, one of the reasons he disliked the vows the men were made to swear and sometimes, unfairly keep.
Their only loyalty was to the Watch, they would never take a girl to their beds or start a family. They would live to serve the realm and nothing more. Ren was told how much honour there was in the Night's Watch, but he couldn't see it behind all the criminals that filled the ranks. Perhaps a thousand years ago it was still considered an honour. But not anymore.
Once the vows were said there was no turning back, as desertion meant death, execution by the Night's watch if caught or by the next lord that happened upon them. It was an easy choice Tyrion had told him. Life or death, a man could still find honour at the Watch, somehow.
"Do any of you keep to the old gods?" Mormont's voice rang out. Ren had learned that the Faith of the Seven was the dominant faith on Westeros, yet others still lingered and prayed to the old gods, them being the next largest following.
"I do, my lord." Jon said as he stood from his bench.
"I expect you will want to say your words before a heart tree, as your uncle did?" Mormont questioned. Ren had met Benjen Stark a couple of times, spoken briefly once but didn't know much of the man.
"Yes, my lord." Jon said plainly.
"Castle black had no need of a godswood. Beyond the Wall the haunted forest stands as it stood in the Dawn Age, long before the Andals brought the Seven across the narrow sea. You will find a grove of weirwoods half a league from this spot, and mayhap your gods as well." Mormont told him and everyone else. I have to go with him, see what is on the other side of this great wall.
"My lord." The voice was soft and timid, one that Ren and apparently Jon recognised immediately. "Might I… go as well? To say my words at this heart tree?" The fat boy Samwell asked.
"Does house Tarly keep the old gods too?" Mormont questioned.
"No, my lord. I was named in the light of the Seven at the sept on Horn Hill, as my father was and his father back for a thousand years." Samwell told them all.
"Why would you forsake the gods of your father and your house?" said a bewildered Jaremy Rykker.
"The Night's Watch is my House now. The Seven have never answered my prayers. Perhaps the old gods will." Sam said with a small smile. Well said Sam. Ren found himself thinking, and no one could argue against such words.
Sam took his seat again with Pyp whispering to him. Then Mormont began reading out where each of the men would be going. There were only three options, builders, stewards, or rangers. Ren had figured out where Jon and Sam were going, but as the names were called, Jon was said to go to the stewards, something that surprised Ren. It is not my place to speak out. He reminded himself.
"Your firsts will instruct you in your duties. May all the gods preserve you, brothers." The Lord Commander favoured them with a half-bow and took his leave.
Ren left the rundown sept with the rest of them, being one of the first out the door. His destination was the Tower of the Guards where he ascended the stairway all the way to the top. Once there he reached into his cloak and pulled out the letter that Mormont had given him before he welcomed their new brothers to the order.
The seal had been broken, that much was clear even before he had been handed it. The Lord Commander had wanted to see what was inside, as was his right as the commander. Still, it agitated Ren a little, messages were supposed to be private and one could get in trouble for opening mail or letters meant for someone else, at least on his world of Remnant.
Unrolling the letter, he readied himself to find out just who it was that knows who he is.
Hello there Ren, before I start I just want you to know that it is Weiss Schnee who is writing to you. If you need proof, Jaune called me the Ice Queen and I often called Ruby a dolt. The people of this world do not have either an aura or a semblance and are far less advanced that we on Remnant. Further proof will require us to meet in person. I am not too far away in the castle of Winterfell, home of House Stark. A man, dwarf, passed through here and revealed that you were at The Wall. I have many doubts that is even truly you, the dwarf could have been lying to try and get my favour. Perhaps if you reply you can tell me something that no one of this world will know, something that I failed to mention earlier.
Ren, I wondered what I should do since finding out you were also of this world. I wanted to rush to you, but someone also made an attempt on a child's life here at Winterfell. Twice in fact. One attempt was when he was recovering from a fall and the other more recently was when he was out with his brother and their wolves. The boy is Brandon Stark, and with him being threatened I feel as though I should remain with the Starks at least a while longer to help protect him. I hope to see you soon, I know it might sound strange from me, the Schnee heiress who is often harsh and critical, but I need a friend, now more than ever.
I shall keep you updated on what goes on down here and if I find anyone else we might know. So long as you can provide proof enough that you are indeed my friend, Lie Ren. If not then this will be the only time you hear from me.
PS. Tell Jon Snow that his brothers miss him and that he better be improving with his swordsmanship.
Your friend,
Weiss Schnee.
The letter ended with a symbol that Weiss had on her clothing and her family had on all its products. The Schnee family emblem. Ren held the letter before him, a feeling of relief, joy, and finally sadness washed over him as he blinked away a few tears. Weiss and he were never really that close, but their teams were like siblings. They ate together and sat together in class. Ruby and Jaune were their leaders and often spent time together planning out team exercises.
Weiss was his friend and one that he was glad to have. She was intelligent and skilled; her control of Dust was most impressive too. Sure she was a bit strict, but that came from her family. The Schnees were a wealthy and powerful family, controlling a large majority of all the Dust sales on Remnant.
What should I write to her about? Shall I head south immediately? He wondered, but then thought back to his gifts. Two brand new blades hung from his sides, gifts from the Lord Commander. He respected the man enough and didn't want to appear ungrateful. I could simply return the daggers… no. No I should at least serve for a time. Pay him back for the gift.
He took his time to think about his options as he looked south from the tower he remained in. Winterfell was a castle to the south where Jon Snow had grew up in. Snow… She wrote like she knew him. Ren descended the tower this time and made for Master Aemon's room where he politely requested that he have paper, ink and a quill so that he could write back his friend.
Aemon was happy to lend him the items he required but asked for something Ren thought was simple enough. He was to ask Weiss to ask the Lord of Winterfell if there were any resources and/or manpower that he could send north to assist the Night's Watch. Ren promised to include the request in his letter to Weiss and wrote it. Sealed with the Night's Watch seal, he handed it to Maester Aemon who had Sam help him get to the ravens and send it south.
Once they returned Ren requested that he go beyond The Wall with Sam, Jon, and whoever else was making the trip to the weirwoods. Aemon told him that it was up to the Lord Commander and the firsts that were going beyond. Ren figured they would allow him to go with them, a fighter as good as him would help greatly if they were set upon, as unlikely as it was.
It was late afternoon when they all set out. They passed through the only gate at Castle Black, a narrow tunnel that was cut through the ice centuries, thousands of years ago. It twisted and turned and had three iron barred gates with arrow slits before they reached the final gate that Bowen Marsh unlocked. As they all mounted their horses, Jon whistled for Ghost, his white direwolf with red eyes. He didn't stick around long before racing across the weed-choked field and vanishing amongst the forest.
As they entered, Ren thought about the Emerald Forest near Beacon and looked back at The Wall. He smiled to himself as he recalled Ozpin's test. He launched them all from the top of a cliff after giving instructions once, that way he wouldn't have to answer any questions. Listen to what is spoken, and then ask if you can.
The sun was already beginning to sink below the trees when the party stumbled upon the weirwood trees. Their leaves and sap were ruby-red, while the bark on their wide trunks and wood were bone white. All weirwoods had faces carved into their trunks and it appeared as though they were weeping.
There were nine of them in the hidden grove, nine weirwoods with their tears frozen ruby red. Ren dismounted and walked closer, slowly. He did not know what these trees could do, if they could do anything.
"This is a sacred place; we will not defile it." Bowen Marsh ordered.
"They're watching us." Sam commented as he looked about the strange faces. It feels that way true enough.
"Yes, the old gods." Jon replied softly, going before the greatest of the nine and kneeling in the snow. Ren returned to stand by the rangers, keeping silent as the two boys said their vows. Ren understood what it meant, at least parts of it anyway.
"Hear my words and bear witness to my vow." They began in sync. Night gathers, and now my watch begins. It shall not end until my death. I shall take no wife, hold no lands, father no children. I shall wear no crowns and win no glory. I shall live and die at my post. I am the sword in the darkness. I am the watcher on the walls. I am the fire that burns against the cold, the light that brings the dawn, the horn that wakes the sleepers, the shield that guards the realms of men. I pledge my life and honour to the Night's Watch, for this night and all the nights to come." Jon and Sam were almost perfectly timed throughout the entire oath, and when they finished it was Bowen Marsh who broke the silence.
"You knelt as boys. Rise now, as men of the Night's Watch." He commanded.
Jon helped Sam to his feet and the two friends embraced one another. Ren smiled and let the men of the Watch congratulate their new members. All save for one of the elder men.
"Best we head back. Dark's falling and there's something in the smell o' the night I mislike." Dywen said.
Ren remounted before the rest of them, but his horse spooked as Ghost returned from the shadows. Ren managed to rein the horse in and calm the beast. Ghost's white fur made him blend in very well in these conditions. He looked like the trees. White and red, mobile and… His eyes narrowed as he realised the direwolf was carrying something.
"What's he got there Snow?" Bowen asked.
"To me Ghost." Jon knelt down once more and reached for whatever the direwolf had but snatched his hand back as Ghost went to drop the object in it.
"Gods be good, that's a hand." One of the men breathed.
Ren didn't know who said it, but silence fell upon the group as they stared at the limb. Where did he get that… who did he get it from? Ren found himself wondering, his pink eyes scanning the forest as he activated his aura. The defence that none of the brothers had, a shield that was invisible and very protective from blade and bullet.
What?! A second chapter so soon & Ren's POV out of nowhere? I hope you guys enjoyed, even though it was pretty short. Just glad to be building up to some interesting points in the story.