I don't feel as if it was properly explained in the last chapter and since there were so many questions about it I'm going to elaborate on why Cersei being guilty of incest does not cost Tommen his throne. Essentially, everyone with power in the capital wants Tommen to remain on the throne for their own benefit. Tommen (Through his mother's manipulations) was the one who gave the faith militant the power to act and a new King would certainly try to revoke that so the High Sparrow wants him on the throne. The Tyrells want him on the throne for the obvious reason of Margaery being his Queen and him being easily manipulated. The Martells might try to dispose of him and crown Myrcella if that was possible but framing only Tommen as illegitimate would be difficult and for the time being, Myrcella is his heir since he has no children of his own. The Stormlanders know that they will never have a Baratheon by blood on the throne if they dispose of Tommen so they accept that having someone whose name is Baratheon is better than a Targaryen or whatever. The Riverlands are ruled by Walder Frey (Or Baelish in the books) and they need the Lannisters supporting them to maintain their power. The Boltons hold the North for now and a new king would likely be less friendly towards them so they stay beholden to Tommen. Tommen has made no effort to stop the raids by the Iron Islands or stop them from crowning their own Kings so why would they try to remove him without the support base to crown one of their own in his place. Lord Baelish might try something but he would be alone with only one Kingdom so he could do very little to force him out on his own. Removing Tommen has become easier for the later but right now, the time is not right for him to be disposed of so everyone important wants to let him keep his crown for the time being.

I hope that clears a few things up, now on to the chapter.

Ser Davos Seaworth was now Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, never in a million years would he have imagined this turn of events. When he had decided to join the Night's Watch after being nominated on the first night of the choosing, he had no expectation that he would be chosen. He had just wanted to help Jon and knew this was where he could do the most.

Then Jon had spoken out on his behalf that first night and he had been the leading vote-getter for most the time since. Jon hadn't spoken for him after that night and he had slowly lost the support of a good portion of the Targaryen loyalists as doubt set in about who he now claimed to be. He had gathered men of his own to vote for him with his own opinions and charisma so he hadn't really lost much ground but Jon had decided that it had been long enough and he was ready to progress his plans so he ended the choosing prematurely.

His decision or well maybe Sansa's decision to light him on fire had a vast majority of the Night's Watch bowing down to Jon and declaring him their King. That had led to Davos regaining all the Targaryen loyalists' allegiance in the choosing as he was their King's chosen candidate. More importantly, that had led to Ser Denner Frostfinger losing his entire support base as even those who hadn't bowed had still been cowed enough to not risk the Dragon's wrath by supporting a man who confessed to being a bystander to regicide. It was a dishonorable way to become Lord Commander but honor never won wars so Davos could really not care less.

Ser Davos was even less certain now than ever before that he was the right man for the role of Lord Commander. He could hardly even read and write even less and now he was Lord Commander at a castle without a Maester. He needed to find a well-educated steward immediately or else his term as Lord Commander would be a very ineffectual one. He wondered what Jon was thinking when he decided to send Sam to study at the Citadel instead of just request a new Maester, that was something that Davos would rectify immediately.

There was a knock on the door to his new office and Davos rose himself to go and let whoever was outside in, the small things he would have to do until he had his own steward were certainly an oddity.

The rightful king, Jon Targaryen as he assumed he now finally wanted to be called stood outside his door. "Lord Commander," Jon greeted him with a small smile and a slight dip of his head.

"Your Grace," Davos returned with a much deeper bow as he stepped aside to give his king entrance.

Jon grimaced. "I suppose I have to get used to that now." He said with a slight laugh.

"I'm sure it is an adjustment, Your Grace." Davos chuckled back.

Jon entered and walked towards the desk that had once been his own. Ser Davos closed the door and turned to face his king. "I need the permission of the Lord Commander to send out ravens." He said bluntly.

"Of course, you have no need to ask, Your Grace." Davos agreed immediately. "May I ask what for though?" Davos asked hesitantly, his curiosity getting the best of him.

Jon frowned but answered anyway. "The Lord Commander is theoretically in charge of all outgoing messages from Castle Black, it's not a rule actually practiced but it is still common courtesy to ask." He ran a hand through his hair and hesitantly answered the question part of Davos's statement. "I'm sending letters to all the Lords of the Northern Houses asking for their allegiance in my quest to take back the north and reclaim the Iron Throne for my House."

Davos nodded in understanding. "It's finally time then, Your Grace?"

Jon sighed. "Unfortunately, it has to be after my sister's rash actions. I'm making my move now whether we are ready to or not since the news of my heritage being leaked means enemies will soon be at our door."

Davos nodded and fell silent. "Any advice for the new Lord Commander from the previous one?"

Jon laughed. "That's not something I ever expected you to say. Assume that if you do something your brothers don't like that they will kill you for it." Jon joked. "Keep your distance from your enemies."

Davos frowned at the poor advice, it must be hard for Jon to think back on his time as Lord Commander after being betrayed and murdered. "When do you leave?" He asked changing the subject in an attempt to salvage the conversation.

Jon sighed. "We leave at first light tomorrow. We'll march south with the wildlings to retake the North. Unfortunately, I can't afford to stay any longer we have to strike quickly before the Boltons and Lannisters realize what I'm planning. I wish I could be here for Thorne's execution but I have no say in the matter."

Davos fell silent for a moment. "I hate to ask this but is there any chance you could leave some wildlings here to man the wall? We're seriously undermanned and we need to have men stationed at all of the castles if we're to aptly defend it from the Others when they march on the wall." That was the intention when Jon had let the wildlings settle the gift, their warriors were supposed to help defend the wall.

Jon shook his head. "No. I need all the men we can get right now, even with all of the wildlings our fighting force is less than half of that which we expect the Boltons to have." Davos was not surprised by the refusal but he had hoped that Jon could spare at least one-hundred men for him. "I will, however, promise that when we defeat the Boltons army I'll send all prisoners that have no value as hostages up to help defend the wall. So expect a massive influx of men in the coming months."

Davos nodded his agreement with Jon's offer that he really had no choice but to accept. "I wish you good fortune in the wars to come, Your Grace."

They fell silent once more before Davos spoke once again. "Do you happen to know of any stewards who are literate? I'm afraid my reading and writing skills are rather subpar for a Lord Commander."

Jon laughed aloud. "Bowen Marsh would be the obvious choice but for obvious reasons, he's not a plausible choice. Sam is at the Citadel so he's not really an option either. Satin is somewhat-literate but I'm afraid there is not much else currently available at Castle Black."

Davos nodded and decided to send for Satin as soon as Jon left. "Why did you send Sam to the Citadel instead of just requesting a new Maester?" He didn't speak it aloud but he wondered if it was just Jon showing favoritism to his close friend.

"I needed someone who believed in the Others existence to research how we can defeat them." Jon hesitated and seemed to war with himself about if he should expand on his answer but eventually sighed and expanded on his answer. "I sent Sam and Gilly with Mance's babe to the citadel to protect the child from the red witch in case she decided that she needed to sacrifice him for his King's Blood. Perhaps, if I hadn't done so, Shireen wouldn't have been sacrificed and I would still be dead."

Davos pushed away the conflicting emotions on how he wished that the baby had died instead of Shireen, the child was innocent, they didn't deserve to die and without Shireen's sacrifice Jon would be dead and they would all die when the Others came and the seven kingdoms were unprepared. Perhaps, Shireen would have been taken captive by the Boltons and they would be torturing her right now. Davos shook his head. He couldn't dwell on what if's. He definitely did need a new Maester, however, and he resolved to request one immediately.

Jon turned and headed back for the door then paused. "In a few weeks, Ser Jorah Mormont will arrive at Castle Black on behalf of my aunt, Queen Daenerys Targaryen in order to treat with me. Inform him and him only that I am at the Dreadfort and to head there in order to negotiate with me. Provide him a fresh mount and food for his journey if needed."

Davos wanted to ask how Jon knew that Queen Daenerys was sending someone to treat with him and how he knew who specifically that was but Davos had served under Stannis long enough to know it was not his place to question the King. "I will do so, Your Grace." Davos agreed

Jon smiled. "Thank you, Lord Commander. I will leave you to your business, I'm sure you have lots to do now that you're Lord Commander and I have letters to send." Davos bowed and Jon left without another word.

Davos sighed and sat at his desk. He too had letters to send informing all of the Lord Paramounts of the Kingdoms that he was now the 999th Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, he was sure that Stannis's hand being Lord Commander was sure to go over swimmingly in the capital.

Ser Davos looked down at all the builders in the watch with some disgust. The builders were a miniscule portion of the Night's Watch with only eight and thirty members. Davos understood why there were so few when they previously only needed to maintain three castles until Jon made it four but now with Davos wanting to restore all of the castles along the wall to defend it when the time came, he needed probably ten times as many builders. Hopefully, Jon would win his war quickly so he could send more people to defend the wall.

"Thank you, all for coming," Davos said in greeting as he stood up and addressed all of the builders he had called together. "The builders are maybe the most essential part of the watch and in recent years they've been largely neglected and fallen to the wayside. I mean to change that."

"Undoubtedly this order is understaffed and with the previous first builder being on death's row for his treason, we are without any chain of command in this order. I'm afraid that I do not know enough to fairly appoint a new first builder in Yarwyck's place. Which is why I propose that amongst the other members of your order, you choose his successor yourself."

The room did not reply for a long while so Davos encouraged them. "Any volunteers?"

An older and stout man stood up. "I would like to be the first builder." He declared pompously.

A man with a wooden leg laughed. "Can it, Kegs. You can barely even follow instructions. Yet alone give them."

Kegs rounded on him. "And who is Boot? You?" He sneered. "You can't even work properly. You're just a glorified steward."

The man Davos supposed must be named Boot smiled. "No, not me. The only choice for first builder is Othell Yarwyck. Despite his treason we need him. He is literate and has experience commanding us, the rest of us would be ineffectual leaders of the order. He knows more of the state of the wall than any of us. We just do what we are told, he figures out what needs to be done."

Davos frowned surely they couldn't really want to follow the man who had killed their previous Lord Commander, someone who they had just bowed down to only yesterday. Apparently Davos wasn't the only one with that train of thought. "He killed our Lord Commander, he killed our King." Halder protested vehemently.

"He is no king of mine." Someone spat and there were a few cheers in agreement at that statement. Evidentally, their decision to kneel had been one borne out of fear but now that Jon was gone, they were no longer afraid of speaking against him. The worst part was as the Night's Watch swore no part in the wars of man, Davos could not chastise them for their disrespect.

"It's still treason," Another man argued back. "He was our Lord Commander."

"It is." Boot acknowledged with a slight dip of his head. "Regardless, of what he did in the past, we have to put the watch first and we need Yarwyck."

They were getting nowhere in choosing a first builder, perhaps he would talk to some of them in private and choose the first builder himself if this persisters. Davos cleared his throat loudly and redirected their attention back towards him. "It appears we will not yet choose the first builder today, regardless we still have things we need to discuss."

"The Night's Watch only has men posted at four garrisons currently, with the Others fast approaching we need to have the entire wall defended. To do that, we need builders to repair the damages done to them and make them inhabitable. We also need builders to work on siege weapons to place along the wall in case of an attack from the North or South."

A burly man that Davos did not recognize laughed at that. "Even if it only took one man to do each task, we still would not have enough builders to restore all of the castles. This is why an outsider should have never been made Lord Commander."

Davos frowned slightly. "I'm aware of that Ser. I do not mean to restore all of the castles at once, we do not have the men to do so. I need to know which ones are the closest to inhabitable so we can prioritize those spots. We do need more builders which is why in the coming days, I plan to transfer stewards into the order of builders for the time being." Davos knew that was likely a controversial opinion, once your order was chosen it was supposed to be for life but Davos had to bend and even break the rules in order to survive the winter.

"Who here is familiar with the status of the other castles and which ones are the closest to functionable?" Davos asked once more.

The builders were silent for a moment before once again Boot spoke for them. "Othell Yarwyck might know."

Davos resisted the urge to groan at Boot's stubborn loyalty to a traitor. "Anyone else?"

Halder shuffled his feet and his boots scraped the floor making a horrible screech. "Yarwyck is a traitor and deserves to die but he is the only one aware of the conditions of all the castles. That was his job as first builder not ours."

Davos sighed. "Satin!" He addressed his new steward. "Go the Ice cells and request for Othell Yarwyck to be brought here." He would not forgive Yarwyck's transgressions but he would use his knowledge to do his duty."

It was only a few minutes later that Yarwyck was escorted in to see them. His arms were bound in fetters and it was clear that he was still a prisoner despite them needing his expertise.

"Othell Yarwyck." Davos greeted him coldly as Yarwyck took a seat at the table closest to Davos.

"Ser Davos," Yarwyck said plainly. "I never imagined you would be the next Lord Commander."

Davos chuckled slightly in spite of himself. "Neither did I." He regained his bearings and immediately got to business. "I hear you're the only one who knows the conditions of the other castles and what it would take to repair them."

"I am." Yarwyck conceded.

"Which castles would take the least effort to restore?"

Yarwyck hesitated, debating on if he should try to leverage the knowledge to save his life before shaking his head and responding. "Greyguard is not far from being inhabitable. Queens Gate is also not far from being usable. On the eastern side of the wall, I would say that Long Barrow is closest to being functionable although it would still take considerably more work than Queens Gate and Greyguard."

Davos nodded. Queensgate was not at all a priority as it was the closest castle west from Castle Black but Greyguard and Long Barrow were a good distance from the other manned castles and would make it much easier to defend the wall when the time came. With the Nightfort already playing a similar role on the western side of the wall, Long Barrow had to be the priority. "How many men would it take to restore Long Barrow within a moon?" He asked aloud.

Yarwyck froze and wiggled his fingers as he thought about it. "Probably all of us and even then I'm not sure it's all that feasible." He answered honestly. "We don't have enough builders in order to restore the castle at an accelerated pace and it is a few day ride from here and we'll need to move supplies back and forth. I'm also the only one who knows the extent of the damage there and even then it's been a year since I last assessed it and the wildlings have raided the wall since so I couldn't say if it's still in the same condition."

Davos sighed internally. It appeared that they might really need Othell Yarwyck after all. Could he really forgive him for killing his Lord Commander and King? Would he ever feel safe if he let someone who already killed his Lord Commander off the hook? Would it encourage more people to undermine him? The answer to all of those questions was unfortunately yes. He needed the experience Yarwyck had as first builder more than he needed to avenge the Lord Commander. He was positive that Edd would hate him for this and regret nominating him but Davos had to do what was best for the watch not himself or anyone else, not even his King. Still, he could punish Yarwyck. He needed him alive, but that didn't stop him from punishing him at all.

"Tell me, Yarwyck, what hand do you hold a sword with?" Davos asked quietly.

Othell Yarwyck blinked owlishly not understand why he was asking such a question but still answered it. "My right m' lord."

Davos stood, unsheathed his new sword, and brought it down on Yarwyck's right wrist that was resting on the table.

Yarwyck screamed in pain and cursed Davos's name. Davos ignored him and spoke softly but menacingly to him. "It appears the Night's Watch still has need of your services so I can not take your head for your treason. This time, you only lose your hand for your treason but do anything to betray the watch ever again and it will be your head that winds up on a spike."

Yarwyck glared at him but dipped his head. "Thank you, for your mercy, m' lord." He hissed through gritted teeth as he tried to refrain from screaming out in pain.

Davos turned back towards his steward, Satin. "Take him to get medical assistance, it wouldn't do for him to die now. We need him."

Satin nodded and hauled Yarwyck up by his non-injured arm as he dragged him out of the room.

Ser Davos turned back towards the other builders who were looking at him differently. Some were angered but whether that was over his maiming of Yarwyck or him sparing Yarwyck's life, it was hard for Davos to say. Others looked impressed by how he handled it and a few more looked sick when they took in the sight of the severed hand lying on the table Yarwyck had been at.

"Othell Yarwyck will remain first builder for the time being. All of you, are to prepare to head to Long Barrow to restore the castle so we can restock it with men once it is complete. You are not to leave yet as once I meet with the Stewards you will have new recruits to transfer into your order. If anyone overhears Yarwyck or anyone else planning to betray the Night's Watch you are to send word to me immediately.

"Yarwyck will remain first builder due to his understanding of the endeavor but Boot is in charge of any disciplinary issues while you are away from an occupied castle.

"Thank you, Lord Commander." Boot replied with a slight nod to show he accepted the responsibility.

"You are dismissed," Davos declared, and immediately the men all stood up. "Go and carry out your assignments with haste."

Davos watched them leave until he was alone in the room. Davos sighed in relief, that one was finally over now all that was left was to meet with the other two orders. Surely, they couldn't go much worse, right?

The meeting with the Stewards was surprisingly pleasant. A number of them had been eager to be reassigned to the builders and he ended up having too many volunteers. He had re-assigned almost one-hundred men from the largest order and had ended up sending a smaller contingent of men to Greyguard to repair that castle along with the much larger group that would head down to Long Barrow led by Othell Yarwyck.

Illiteracy was a serious issue among the members of the Night's Watch at the present time. The complete lack of literate members almost made Ser Davos pardon Bowen Marsh as well but he didn't need him like he did Yarwyck, Marsh just made life easier for him. Literacy was not a requirement they needed all of their men to meet it just made things simpler and quicker, as long as every castle had at least one literate steward they could theoretically function, and while they were lacking they weren't in that dire of straits yet.

The stewards had always been the largest order in the Night's Watch and that had not changed even after Davos's aggressive re-assignments. They just now had 200 members compared to 150 builders and rangers, rather than the 300+ they had previously.

The meeting with the Rangers had gone smoothly enough as he gave them their new assignments. The frequency and locations the Rangers went to had dropped drastically as right now defending the wall was more important than exploring an abandoned wasteland, bereft of all human life with the Free Folk now being south of the wall. Without Dragon Glass or Valyrian Steel, it was foolhardy to engage the wights or the Others so they mostly had to leave them alone, just spying on their actions from a somewhat safe distance.

Davos had re-assigned many of the literate rangers to the stewards and builders, something that none of them were very happy about but it needed to be done. He had also taken a significant portion of the rangers and given them the job of training all the members in combat as everyone needed to be proficient when the Others marched on the wall. He also set a portion of them to training with aiming and reloading ballistas as he assumed they would play a crucial part in their defense of the wall.

Suffice to say not very many people were happy with him. Oddly enough, Ser Denner had supported his decisions and because of that they were accepted fairly easily. Hence why he had asked Ser Denner to stay behind, he had thought Ser Denner would be difficult to work with and he would need to reassign him to another castle to keep him from plotting his demise or at least not stopping a mutiny as he had with Jon.

"Ser Denner," Davos said in greeting once they were alone and gestured for him to take the seat across from him.

"You wanted to speak to me, Lord Commander?" Ser Denner said as he did as Davos had bidded.

Davos nodded. "I did. I was surprised to see you supporting the reshuffling of the watch and the lack of…" Davos trailed off not wanting to seem rude.

"You expected me to oppose and undermine you because I let King Jon die." Ser Denner concluded.

"I did," Davos admitted.

Ser Denner sighed audibly. "I didn't let the king die for personal reasons, I did it for the watch. I didn't think you were what's best for the watch for the same reason I didn't think the King was the best choice. Through no fault of your own, you will find few allies outside of the wall. You were hand to Stannis that makes it hard for you to find allies in the capital and from the Crown. The King was believed to be the son of a traitor and the brother of a usurper."

Davos nodded in understanding but raised an eyebrow. "So what changed?"

"King Jon decided not to stay dead and proclaimed himself as a Targaryen in such a public manner." Ser Denner chuckled. "After that display, King Tommen is extremely unlikely to send us any aid since we harbored King Jon for so long unless we delivered his head on a spike and even then he might just grow a new one."

"Aid from King Tommen is impossible now so we might as well hedge our bets on King Jon and pray he wins the throne so we can survive the winter. I've always been willing to do what it takes in order for the world to survive the coming winter, just what it takes has now shifted with Jon Waters proclaiming himself as the Targaryen heir."

"I like what you plan on doing and it's not too dissimilar from what I would have done as Lord Commander, the defense of the wall should be our first priority above all else right now. My methods would have been a bit different but it is a smart decision to re-assign members to areas of higher priority especially the rangers having a much lesser role without the wildlings.

Davos nodded in acceptance with the logical reasoning and came to a decision. "You're a good commander, Ser Denner. I plan to name you castellan of Long Barrow once it is inhabitable."

"I'm honored Lord Commander Davos." Ser Denner said gratefully before chuckling again. "I'm surprised I'm not being put in a noose for my part in King Jon's demise."

Davos frowned slightly. "While you and all the other men who participated in the mutiny do probably deserve death for your treason we, unfortunately, cannot afford to execute a dozen men for it. The watch has to come first before avenging the King."

Ser Denner nodded in agreement. "I'm presuming that only Yarwyck, Marsh and Thorne are being executed for the crime then?"

Davos shook his head in regret. "Unfortunately we need Yarwyck too much to execute him. He lost a hand for his crime but will keep his life. Ser Alliser Thorne and Bowen Marsh will be hung tonight."

Ser Denner was taken aback. "I'm impressed, Ser Davos. I thought your loyalty to the King would win out over the good of the watch. It's the right decision to spare him, the same one I would have made. You have my support, Lord Commander."

Davos did not trust Ser Denner and probably never would but he appreciated the support all the same. He let the unspoken he would also spare Thorne and Marsh bit stay unsaid. He needed allies within the watch, garrisoning the other castles and if Ser Denner was willing to respect and encourage others to accept his decisions then he would gladly take the help. Despite the disastrous showing on the final night of the choosing, Ser Denner was well respected and oft-listened to amongst the watch, and with KingJon gone he would gain a following again as fear of him no longer acted as a deterrent. If Ser Denner was truly an ally then he would be a massive boon and help to quell an uprising against him like there was against Jon.

"I'd argue that loyalty to King Jon is what is best for the watch and the realm." Davos countered calmly. "He knows the threat we are dealing with and has already sworn to send all prisoners he captures to the Wall. With him on the throne we can actually survive the winter."

Ser Denner nodded. "True. We better pray that he wins then."

"Aye." Davos agreed easily. They certainly had better pray for that or else it wouldn't just be the end of the Night's Watch but life itself.

The time had finally arrived and Davos would admit he wished it hadn't. He was about to execute Ser Alliser Thorne and Bowen Marsh for their treason. Davos understood that they both deserved death for killing his King and was glad that they would die but he would admit that he wasn't entirely comfortable executing them himself. He had never enjoyed watching executions when he served with Stannis and he had never served as an executioner before. Still, he had to be the one to do it or else he would never gain the respect of the men who he now called his brothers. As unpleasant as it might feel, it was necessary.

"Brothers!" He called out to the crowd of all the men who served in the Night's Watch that had flocked in the courtyard to witness the executions. "We stand here today because five of our own brothers have committed treason! We are here because they chose to murder their Lord Commander that they were sworn to serve. We all stand here as witnesses for the execution of our brothers Bowen Marsh and Ser Alliser Thorne."

Ser Davos walked towards the platform that held Bowen Marsh who was visibly trembling at the thought of his pending execution. "Bowen Marsh," He addressed the sniveling coward. "Have you any last words, now is the time."

Bowen Marsh whimpered pathetically. "Please Lord Command, have mercy. I made a mistake. I can still serve you- I can still serve the watch. Please don't kill me," He begged. "You spared Yarwyck, surely you can spare me as well. I can still be useful. I wasn't even the one-"

Davos snarled and kicked the box out from underneath him, tired of hearing him winge. The noose tightened around his neck and the traitor hung suspended over the ground, flopping weakly as he tried to prevent the end. His face was purple by the time his body finally gave out.

He then turned to Ser Alliser Thorne and stood in front of the box that he stood on, which prevented him from death for a short time. "Ser Alliser Thorne," He greeted with some anger in his voice. "Have you any last words, this is the time."

Ser Alliser had not taken his imprisonment after Jon's resurrection well. He was gaunt and forlorn. His face looked like it had aged a hundred years in the last month. Davos felt no pity for the man, he deserved to suffer after killing his Lord Commander and King.

Ser Alliser swallowed audibly, a sound he was sure that everyone heard in the courtyard. "I conspired against and killed my Lord Commander." He spoke loud enough that everyone else could hear him speak. "I committed treason of the highest order. I not only killed my commanding officer but my King."

"Long live King Jon of House Targaryen. I killed him but the dragon rose up from the ashes. I killed my King and for that I choose death." Ser Alliser said resolutely

Then, to everyone's surprise, Ser Alliser jumped backward off of the crate holding him, choosing to hang himself now rather than wait for Davos to do it. Davos watched dispassionately as he hung there suspended in the air, twitching, and flailing before finally the lack of air got to him and his movements ceased.

Davos turned away from them and looked over to Satin. "Take them down and burn their bodies," He said quietly before stepping back inside, and away from the silent crowd staring at him.

"Lord Commander," Satin said as he entered the office that Ser Davos now called his own after being elected as Lord Commander almost three weeks ago. "There is a man here searching for King Jon. He claims he was sent as an envoy by Daenerys Targaryen."

Davos blinked. He had forgotten about the envoy that Jon had claimed his aunt would be sending three weeks ago. A Ser Jorah Mormont, he had thought the envoy had been closer to the Castle if Jon knew who exactly it was already. Somehow Jon had sources in Meereen where Queen Daenerys was rumored to be with her dragons in order to know so far in advance who she was sending or perhaps he had just guessed who it would be but he had sounded so certain that Davos doubted it was the latter.

"Is it Ser Jorah Mormont?" Davos asked curiously. He would see the man either way but he would only inform him of Jon's plans if he was who Jon claimed he would be.

"He only introduced himself as Jorah." Satin replied with a quirked eyebrow in askance that Davos ignored.

"Send him in to see me," Davos ordered and Satin left the room without another word uttered back to him.

Satin soon re-emerged with an older gentleman with a burly build and a thick black beard with very little hair on the top of his head. He carried a longsword on his hip with a pair of daggers laced on the other one. A former slaver Davos knew, he had been banished from the North but Daenerys Targaryen had apparently pardoned him and Jon planned on honoring her pardon for whatever reason.

"You are Lord Commander of the Night's Watch?" The man that Davos assumed was Ser Jorah Mormont asked as his eyes appraised his form.

"I am, Lord Davos Seaworth." Davos confirmed and gestured for the man to take his seat across from him.

"I am here on behalf of Her Grace, Queen Daenerys Targaryen to meet with her nephew, Prince Jon Targaryen." The man told him as he ignored the seat that Ser Davos had offered him.

Davos did not reply to his request. "You are Ser Jorah Mormont?" Davos asked the man.

He blinked in surprise and lightly shook his head. "I was."

Davos frowned slightly at the past tense address but figured that his Queen had just given him a new name or something. "King Jon told me to expect your arrival before he left three weeks ago." He made sure to put extra emphasis on the word King. Even if Jon was a bastard he was still the only Targaryen male with a claim to the throne and well it was unfair, a female had never inherited the throne and that would work in Jon's favor in his campaign.

Jorah's jaw dropped. "Prince Jon knew I was coming?" He asked in disbelief.

Davos nodded. "He did. The King told me to tell you and you alone that he was marching on the Dreadfort and that you could rendezvous with him there to discuss terms. He too is interested in an alliance with his aunt."

Ser Jorah nodded and stuck out his hand "It appears that I must leave then, I have a mission to carry out. It was a pleasure to meet you, Lord Commander."

Davos stuck out his own hand and took Ser Jorah's meaty palm in his grip. "Nightfall is almost here, you're welcome to stay for the night and set out in the morning." That was what his King had ordered after all. Davos didn't like the man but he would not forget his necessities.

Ser Jorah smiled. "Are you sure? I wouldn't want to infringe on your hospitality."

"I'm sure, the King insisted that I provide you with a fresh mount and food for your journey if you need any of it, this should fall under that umbrella and even if it didn't, I would still insist. We have more than enough room for you to stay." Davos smiled, completely unsincere, and let go of Ser Jorah's sweaty palm.

Ser Jorah finally took the seat that was offered to him. "How did Prince Jon know that I was coming? Why would he vouch for a former slaver?" He asked in clear confusion.

Davos wondered the same himself. "I couldn't say. You'll have to ask him yourself when you see him, I only do as he had commanded of me."

Ser Jorah fell silent for a moment. "My father was Lord Commander when I was last in Westeros. Did you serve under him? Do you know how he died?"

Ser Davos chuckled. "I'm afraid not, I've only been in the watch for a month myself."

Ser Jorah stared at him. "Surely, you jape. How were you ever chosen as Lord Commander?"

Ser Davos chuckled once more. "King Jon was lit on fire at the choosing so everyone threw their support behind his candidate."

Ser Jorah leaned forward. "The rumors are true? He really is unburnt? He really died and came back?"

Davos smiled softly. "Aye. He did. I could hardly believe it when I first saw it myself. We thought he had woken up as a wight when he woke up in his funeral pyre but he was still himself somehow alive and unburnt after being dead for seven days."

"How did that happen?" Ser Jorah pressed.

Davos sighed and glanced out the window. "Lord Stannis Baratheon had a red priestess that helped him in his quest to claim the throne. When he marched south of her to take Winterfell from the Bolton's, his priestess convinced him that a great sacrifice would be needed to win the battle." Davos clenched his jaw and balled his one good hand into a fist. "He sacrificed his own daughter, the Princess Shireen." Davos tried to keep calm but he couldn't stop his anger from coming across in his words.

"Stannis lost that battle and the red witch fled back here to Castle Black. When King Jon was murdered in a mutiny she attempted to bring him back using some of her blood magic. We had thought she failed but when he was bound to his funeral pyre, he rose up out of it alive even after seven days spent dead. He burnt the bitch alive for her murder of the Princess Shireen."

Jorah nodded breathlessly. "Only death can pay for life." He whispered to himself.

Davos nodded in agreement. "That is what Jon said the moment he found out who brought him back."

Ser Jorah nodded before changing the subject once more. "So, tell me about Prince Jon? I've been sent to get a measure of who he is."

Davos smiled and began to tell Ser Jorah about the best man he knew.

There are a total of nine builders listed on the ASOIAF wiki, two of whom are dead. None of those members come from a noble house and as such are likely illiterate considering the time period. There are thirty-five stewards and sixty-four rangers. The builders are clearly undermanned and with the complete lack of wildlings beyond the wall they are probably the most important order. In the past maybe the priority was venturing beyond the wall was a priority but the only thing that is out there still are the Others and their army. Seeing as how they can't kill the Others, sending anything more than the occasional scout to track their movements is a suicide mission. The watch has to focus on holding the wall when the Others march on them with their army. Hence the priority on rebuilding the wall from Davos.

The Stewards are largely a luxury for the ones ill-suited for combat and the Rangers don't have to be half that size when they only serve as scouts and hunters now. Davos re-assigns a number of men to bolster the weakest and most important unit since he understands that if even one spot in the wall is unmanned they could easily fall.

Davos leaving Yarwyck alive is a terrible choice he's forced to make but he has to prioritize the watch over his loyalty to Jon. As the First Builder he's going to have knowledge of techniques and have experience teaching his craft. When there are over a hundred transfers that has to be prioritized. They need maximum competency above all else as not just their lives are at stake but every life in all of Westeros.

Writing executions sucks but this one needed to happen. Ser Alliser was a staunch Targaryen loyalist and finding out he murdered the last male Targaryen was always going to have a huge effect on him. He already felt slightly guilty for betraying his Lord Commander since he holds the Night's Watch in such esteem and treats his vows seriously. Finding out that the same Lord Commander he killed was also his King is probably enough for him to become suicidal.

The next update will be on Friday and it'll be Jon's POV as he marches south to take the Dreadfort.