CHAPTER 20:

Four years ago.

Jon expected trouble in integrating the Wildlings and the remains of the Watch, and he was, alas, not wrong. The Watch was suspicious of the Wildings, and expected them to turn on them when they got what they wanted; the Wildings considered the Watch a bunch of ungrateful Southrons. So Jon tended to keep them apart unless absolutely necessary.

He made an exception for Ser Denys Mallister, whom he greatly respected. The Wildlings, despite their disdain for the Watch, felt the same way, and treated him politely, to Jon's great relief. When Jon explained his full intentions to the Lord Commander, he was surprised to note a flash of enthusiasm.

"I like that idea!" he exclaimed, happily. Jon realized that presiding over the complete decline of the Watch had been a miserable experience for the last Lord Commander, and the prospect of a genuine future for his men energized him. And through him, the remains of his command. He told Jon that that the remaining hardcore criminals had deserted the Watch in the aftermath of the War against the White Walkers. What was left were career men, unfortunates, and people with no other visible choice. But he assured Jon that they would be worthwhile members of any community.

Jon took him at his word, and mapped out in detail his plans for the Wall, the Gift, and the Queen's Gift. They would start in the East with Eastwatch-by-the Sea. All that was left of it now was a heap of crumbling stones, but Jon felt that even that circumstance had an upside; it would allow them to rebuild it properly, and to their current needs. "It needs to be built for trade, but also for defense," Jon said. "We'll expand the Harbour and the warehouses, but also make sure the castle itself is fortified and can be defended."

"Will that be its only function?" Ser Denys asked, his brow furrowed.

"No," said Jon. "The most important thing that the Watch did at Eastwatch was to police piracy in the area. Cotter Pyke can resume command of it once it's rebuilt. Ships will be provided for that purpose, as well as for trade. We've recruited the Skagosi to our side as well."

Ser Denys gasped. "The Skagosi?" The Watch had fought an ongoing battle with the Skagosi.

"None other," said Jon with a smile. "It won't be easy, but I believe that they're now willing to stop their less interesting habits, and fall in with us."

"Why would they do that?" the Lord Commander asked.

"We've jettisoned their priests, for one thing, and made a deal with their landed Houses, for another. They're tired of their reputation."

"That would certainly reduce the piracy," Ser Denys said, tapping the tips of his thin fingers on the table.

"Not as much as you would think," Jon said. "Hardhome is now attracting attention from Essosi pirates and some brigands from the Six Kingdoms as well. The Ibbenese are also making threatening noises. They don't like competition, to say the least of it. We want to keep all of these people away from the Far North and out of our shipping lanes. I think the best way to do that is to have armed escorts, and that's where the Watch comes in."

Ser Denys' eyebrows went up. He looked intigued, to Jon's relief.

"We'll retain the Watch as an organization," Jon explained, "but its aims will be different. Also its rules."

"How so?" Ser Denys wanted to know.

"It will guard and police the people of the Far North and the old Watch lands. You will remain Lord Commander of the Watch, but celibacy will not be required of brothers. In fact, we will encourage the men to marry if possible. We want service in the Watch to be an honourable and respected profession, one that can have families that remain Watchmen for generations, and are proud of it. They will be properly paid, and their families will be cared for if they die, or are injured."

Ser Denys looked startled. "Where will we be stationed?" he asked Jon.

"Eastwatch-by-the-sea for one," Jon said. "Castle Black for another, and the Shadow Tower, for the third. Those three castles are just to start, mind you. We intend to revive all the Wall castles eventually. They will serve as outposts at first, but I'm hoping that they will become villages, and then towns."

"And the Wall itself, will you tear it down?"

"No, not at all. We'll repair it, and then it will become a road. A dozen mounted knights can travel the top of it side-by-side, or so I was always told. Why not take advantage of that? It means safe travel for traders and citizens. That's important because the tribes of the Frostfangs are cannibals, and will have to be brought to heel. That's only one danger, but if we secure the Wall, we'll have control of trade, and we'll be able to control those Wildlings, Northerners and other people who won't obey the law."

"The Wall was built by magic," Ser Denys pointed out. "How will we repair it?"

"Leave that to me," Jon said.

Ser Denys regarded Jon doubtfully. "These plans are so very ambitious," he said, delicately. Jon knew that what he really thought was that the plans were actually batshit crazy, but he was entirely too polite to say so.

"They are that," Jon agreed, "and perhaps too ambitious, I'll admit. We'll never be able to do everything. But it's better to have too much ambition than too little, don't you agree?"

Ser Denys did agree, though again doubtfully. But he was enticed by the idea of the Watch assuming a new role instead of dying out, as Jon had hoped he would be. They began to draw up a new charter for the Watch, in which, in exchange for its lands, and the payment of its debts, each member would be granted lands of their own in the vicinity of the Wall castle of their choice, and the equipment and monies to help start their own holdfasts. They would be allowed to marry, and their lands would go to their wives or children at their deaths. If they had neither, however, the lands would revert to the Watch, unless their next-of-kin was a Watchman. If the Watch requested their services, they would be obliged to provide them, but the amount of time would be time-limited except in emergencies. If they were uninterested in farming, then they would serve full-time as rangers, builders, sailors or administrators, with wages and housing for themselves and their families.

Ser Denys brought in the remaining senior men of the Watch for consultation. No one liked everything set out in the new charter; and so some changes were made. Eventually, however, the remaining members of the Night's Watch declared themselves independant of the Six Kingdoms and of the North, and agreed to join the Far North (The word 'Wildling' was not mentioned.) The Watch would still be elective, but the election of Lord Commanders had to be approved by the Free Folk.

This last rider caused more trouble than any other. Neither the Watch nor the Wildings trusted each other yet, and perhaps never would; but Jon was hopeful. Finally they agreed that more than half of the Free Folk had to approve, and the new Charter was signed. Jon breathed a sigh of relief.

They started on Eastwatch-by-the-Sea the next day. Cotter Pyke was delighted to be back in his old command, and had a host of suggestions, many of them very good ones. Jon thought that the Watch had become so hidebound that it had wasted the abilities of men such as Pyke, and resolved to give him a chance to shine. He seized the opportunity.

Jon and Tormund were pleased by Pyke's enthusiasm. He produced detailed plans for the building of a new Eastwatch. (Jon later discovered that he had them drawn up a decade earlier in the hope that the Watch would replace the old castle, but in vain.) Like Hardhome, he wanted the Harbour enclosed, to protect it from raiders. He also wanted watchtowers situated several miles south of Eastwatch, to allow for quick notice of trouble. He wanted round towers, instead of the old-fashioned square ones. Jon and Tormund had recruited a master builder from Essos, an older man named Helder Mahone, who was skilled in the latest building techniques. He and Cotter Pyke excitedly tossed ideas around. Once they got started, the work went quicker than anyone had expected. The design impressed everyone, and Jon and Tormund decided to retain Mahone for the renovations to Castle Black. Once the building of Eastwatch was underway, the plans for Castle Black were next.

Mahone cast a shrewd eye over Castle Black, and soon the sound of pickhammers echoed in the cold air. He also looked over the state of the Kingsroad, and warned Ser Denys and Jon it needed to be upgraded, and soon, or it might deteriorate beyond repair. But Jon knew that meant an agreement with Sansa about the section that ran through the North, and that far he was not prepared to go, or at least not just yet. The Kingsroad had been important for trade, true, but it also granted safe passage to armies.

Jon was surprised to discover from Ser Denys that the remaining Night's Watch had arranged for a number of women, recruited from the South, to travel to White Harbour. The object was matrimony.

"I didn't think they'd have any luck at that," he commented to Tormund. "Most Southrons don't want to go North under any circumstances." Tormund shrugged, but Ser Denys said seriously, "I wrote to my elder sister, who married in the Vale, and told her our circumstances. There's a lot of widows and orphans in the Vale; in every part of the South, in fact, given the number of wars we've suffered. She contacted my younger sister, who lives in the Stormlands, as well, and they've both spread the word. We've had a considerable response from people who want or need a new start. The Far North is better than starving to death in the Southern kingdoms."

So it was that a flotilla of ships from Hardhome set sail for White Harbour. They were greeted there on the docks by at least two hundred and fifty people, and not all of them women nor children. The Watch had its first voluntary recruits in literally years. Apparently the Lord Commander's sisters had also spread the word that celibacy was no longer required, families were welcome, and that wages would be paid, which led to a upsurge in interest.

The men turned out to be the type the Watch used to attract, Jon thought. Solid men whom war had rendered homeless or landless, or both, by bad luck, not fecklessness. Men with wives and children. There were also widows with and without children, looking to attract a husband. Single women had also answered the call, more than the remaining Night's Watch could manage, but Jon was mindful that men still outnumbered women in Hardhome, and by a considerable degree.

"You are all most welcome," he told them. "We plan to take you to Eastwatch-by-the-sea, further up the coast, a Watch castle which we are rebuilding. The men of the Night's Watch will be there waiting for us."

Jarl was in charge of the flotilla, and he made sure that they made good time to Eastwatch. Jon could see relief in the eyes of the recruits when the castle came into view. Though still being finished, it was an impressive sight. The watchtowers that Cotter Pyke had insisted upon had been built, and had done their job; the men of the Watch were waiting for them in the Harbour, dressed as formally as possible.

The Lord Commander was front and centre. He stepped forward, and Jon went to greet him, whispering the good news in his ear as he did.

He smiled. "I understand that as well as brides for our men, we have some new recruits for the Watch," he said. "I bid you welcome to the lands of the Far North, brothers, and hope you will prosper here."

They dined that night in the finished Great Hall. Helder Mahone, intrigued by Jon's tales of Winterfell, and how it was heated, had experimented with hot water, and great tiled stoves. The room was pleasantly warm, and lit by several great fireplaces.

Tormund and Jon sat watching the company. At first, their interactions with the Watchmen were cautious. As the night wore on, they mingled more readily.

"Look at that!" Tormund chortled, digging his elbow in Jon's ribs.

Jon saw that Ser Denys was seated beside a grey-haired, but still comely woman, talking with great animation, while she smiled and nodded.

"The old devil!" said Tormund. "How old is he, anyway?"

"Obviously not too old," Jon said, amused. "I'll take it as a good omen."