Jeor
Benjen looked up from his porridge and smiled as Steve walked over to them, weaving through the tables. "Was wondering if you were going to ever come down and join us."
"We saved you a spot," Mance said, nodding towards an empty chair. "Not that it isn't that hard to find one at this table."
Jeor let out a huff at that, breaking off a hunk of dark brown bread and chomping down on it without even adding a bit of butter. The high table meant for the Lord Commander and the heads of the major divisions of Night's Watch was usually rather crowded during meal times, due to the limited number of seats and the desire of many to gain one of the seats that were granted through the Lord Commander's permission. While not as bad as it was in many lordly homes, even in the North, there was still a benefit to being invited to sit at the Lord Commander's table. More than once Jeor had entertained suggestions from recruits and Black Brothers who had sat and broken bread with him. Some never got anywhere, like the one lad who had suggested asking for female criminals to be allowed to join the Watch to serve as 'bed warmers'. Others he had actually implemented, such as selling any weirwood weapons that were taken from Wildling raiders; while it was a crime against the Gods to harm a heartstree its fallen branches were fair game and more than one wildling had made a bow or staff from the white wood. Those fetched a pretty stag or two… and it was better than destroying them.
But today it seemed as if his table were infected with Grayscale from the way the men of Castle Black avoided it. Thorne had come in to see Mance and Ygritte eating with him and Benjen and growled that his stomach was in pain and he'd rather return to his room. Marsh had merely glared at Jeor like he thought a cold look could get him to go against his decision to treat with the Free Folk and made a great show of taking his bowl and walking to one of the low tables; honestly if Ygritte hadn't decided to kick her feet up onto his chair Jeor was sure Marsh would have tried to take that with him.
Yarwyck wasn't that happy to be eating with Mance and Ygritte but the First Builder wasn't one to disobey. He would complain but in the end he'd go along with what Jeor wanted and on that morning Jeor wanted to eat with the Free Folk and thus Yarwyck did the same.
The only one that didn't have a problem with their breakfast companions was Maester Aemon. Indeed he and Mance had been having a rather animated conversation about Mance's marriage when Steve had shown up. Apparently Mance's wife, a Free Folk woman named Dalla, had remained with her sister Val due to her being with child and Mance wanting to be sure that they truly would be allowed through the Wall before bringing her to the castle; while Jeor had promised her safety he had agreed that there were some within the Night's Watch who wouldn't think anything of killing her as her child would be seen as the product of treachery.
"Do you even need to eat?" Ygritte asked as Steve sat down next to Benjen, twisting her body to speak to him while still stubbornly keeping her fur boots on Marsh's chair.
"Are you going to keep your feet there the entire meal?" Benjen asked her.
"Why not? Best use this chair has ever had." She banged her feet against it several times and Jeor saw Marsh wince like she was actually kicking him. "And answer the question, Rogers: do you even need to eat?"
"I honestly don't know," Steve admitted as he picked up a spoon and dug into his porridge. "I never considered not trying. It would be like trying not to breathe. I suppose I may not need to but I don't see why I should try."
"Would save time," Ygritte argued. "Wouldn't need to eat… wouldn't need to shit… could spend all your time standing on the wall freezing your balls off."
"He's already ice cold," Maester Aemon said with a smile. "Could he really freeze them off?"
Ygritte opened her mouth only to stop it shut before returning to her meal, unable to argue that point.
"You've been spending a lot of time up on the Wall," Jeor said softly. "Is there something I should be concerned about? An attack?"
"No, nothing of the sort," Steve assured him.
Jeor though shot him a look. "If there is something that is going to happen I need to know about it, Steve."
"Everything is fine," the Other said before taking a spoonful of his porridge.
"Steve-" Jeor said, growing frustrated. He knew that Steve was used to being the Lord Captain of the Knights of the Dawn. That to him this was his home still and that he was its lord and master. But the men gathered in the hall hadn't sworn their vows to him; they'd pledge themselves to the Night's Watch and thus Jeor. They were his responsibility and if Steve was hiding something that might harm them he needed to know.
But before he could say as much Steve sighed and shook his head. "I like being on top of the Wall."
"…no one likes being on top of the Wall," Jeor argued. "The view is breathtaking… for a few minutes. But then the height gets to you and you realize just how far up you are."
"That's true," Steve admitted. "When I first joined I thought about crawling on my belly towards the edge, just so there was no risk of me tripping."
Jeor scoffed at that. "A lot of the lads do that." He huffed. "Fuck, I almost did that till I realized how foolish it'd be for an old man to be wiggling like a newborn on top of the fucking thing."
"Lan-" Steve began before catching himself, grimacing in embarrassment.
"The winds are cold and strong up there too… you have to dress in extra layers just to survive. And while it is the quickest way to get to the different castles no one likes traveling along it. Can't get horses up there so in the past they'd use sled dogs but even then there was a risk of them slipping. Hard to fucking maintain it too… hauling up gravel to give you something to actually walk on… I only assign the boys freshly come in or those that can't pull their weight anyplace else up there. Or those that pissed me off."
Steve nodded. "No one liked being up there. I told Brandon that he made it far too big but he said it was all about intimidation. 'Thanos sees that and he's going to think twice', that's what he told me. And even if he wasn't startled by it then the height would throw a lot of his plans aside and force him to be bolder."" He smiled slightly. "Bucky said he was trying to compensate for something."
Jeor nodded at that and bit back a smile at the way Benjen was hunching over his bowl, doing his best to not let them know he was hanging on every word about his most famous ancestor. "Then why do you like being up on the Wall then?"
"It hasn't changed," Steve said softly, stirring his porridge idly. "I go up there and I don't have to think about how much the world has moved on since I closed my eyes in that ice. The Seven Kingdoms united under one King, or at least they were. This war, as horrible as it is to say, feels a bit like what I'm used to… though we didn't have Seven kingdoms but hundreds. The Starks didn't truly rule the North; they were just the ones that had the most sway. Enough family ties with the other royal houses that their kings swore fealty to them and didn't side with the Dustins or the Boltons. Durran's line is now the Baratheons. My family… the Lannisters of Castlerly Rock. Who tell stories about my father being a cunning trickster who swindled the Casterlys of their castle. Who take such delight in having a song sung about the brutal slaughter of women and children-"
Steve snapped his spoon in half.
"I'm sorry…" Jeor said. "I told the men not to-"
"Tell me?" Steve asked with a slight smile. "I know. They were loyal to you, Jeor. You can be assured of that. They refused to say a word to me when I asked. But I am good at listening and people don't notice me… when I want them to not notice me, that is. The War of the Five Crowns is still going on and the new recruits that came from King's Landing are telling a lot of tales. Old and New." He pressed his head against his shoulders, tense and stern as he glared at his porridge before eating it with the broken spoon. "My brother's family. Tywin Lannister is King Casterly come again… as hateful and spiteful as that monster; all he is missing is his lust. And Cersei Lannister… she is Ratsel Casterly reborn. A vain and vile creature that harms all others. Jaime Lannister…" Steve's face screwed up at that. "I'm undecided on him."
"The Kingslayer? Why?"
"My father was a Kingslayer in his own way," Steve said. "The Casterlys died out because of his actions and he swore oaths to them. Honor is a wonderful thing, Jeor… but only when it is given to the right people. Never forget that Craster pledged himself to Thanos… one could argue he has great honor to be loyal to his master."
Jeor scowled at that. "I suppose… but I don't like thinking the Kingslayer has honor. Not when he broke his vows and wasn't punished."
"Perhaps he chose his own punishment. One we can't understand." Steve shook his head. "And Tyrion Lannister… the Little Lion. As bright as my father from what I'm told but a drunk and whorer of the worst kind. My father was a little man but he loved my mother dearly and when she died he never found another to replace her." He shook his head. "My family."
He was silent for several moments, just eating his food.
"This isn't even the castle I was Lord Captain of," he said. "Castle Black wasn't even built when the Knights of the Dawn battled Thanos. I don't even know if that castle still exists. Maester Aemon had never heard of Dawnbreak when I asked him about it. This is just… a foreign place. No comfort." He looked up. "But the Wall? The Wall has never changed."
"I… never considered that," Jeor said softly.
"Why should you?" Steve asked.
"I-"
The doors to the hall slammed open and young Grenn came rushing in, panting and huffing as he hurried past the tables and made his way towards the Lord's table.
"Lord Commander!" he said, gasping for air. "Cotter Pyke has arrived… you must meet with him!"
Jeor nodded and rose. "Probably just upset that I summoned him. He so does hate feeling like he is a dog being called."
"It's…it's not that!" Green said quickly. "He's brought men… they are taking the castle!"
"…WHAT?!" Jeor said as the Black Brothers stopped eating and looked towards Jeor, who in turn was staring at Grenn in shock. "Taking the castle?!"
"He claims you've been captured!" Grenn exclaimed. "He's searching for you! Capturing the recruits! He says they are wildlings in disguise!"
Benjen rose. "What in the Seven Hells?"
Jeor was already striding towards the door, ready to put an end to the madness before swords were drawn and blood was-
"Get your fucking hands off me!"
-spilled.
"Damn it all the hell, they had to run into Thorne!" Jeor groused as he broke into a run, the sounds of chairs scraping on the stone floor and men leaping to their feet filling the air behind him. Jeor wasn't deluded enough though to think for a second that the men were rushing to save Allister though; half of them were coming to ensure that others didn't die and the rest probably just wanted to see the hated yardmaster get gutted by Pyke and his men.
Sure enough when Jeor burst out of the dining hall two black brothers from Eastwatch-By-The-Sea were fighting with Thorne. Other men were engaged in their own battles and he spotted at least one person lying on the ground, clutching at a wound on his belly. The clanging of swords filled the air as did the screams and accusations and Jeor grit his teeth as he stared at the madness. Thorne was holding his own against the two Eastwatch brothers but it wouldn't be long before he began to flounder; even if he bested the two there were at least a dozen more that were tense and ready to leap in and take on the knight, to make their claim that it was their sword that had cut down one of the most reviled men in the modern history of the Night's Watch.
"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS!?" Jeor bellowed at the top of his lungs, causing all to pause. Thorne looked ready to try and take advantage of the sudden lull to get in another attack but Jeor shot him a dark look and in the end the man sheathed his sword with a dark and hateful scowl. "I will have answers!" he roared as he stomped down the stairs, Benjen and Steve right behind him, the later throwing up his hood to hide his face.
Cotter Pyke regarded him with cold eyes but that wasn't much of a difference from the norm. Cotter had always been a fierce man with close dark eyes and a pox-scarred face who could suddenly lunge into battle at a moment's notice. He was violent and angry and the men he led were the same; Eastwatch wasn't known for its builders or its hospitality. Its rangers were the ones Jeor sent out when a truly troublesome group of wildlings made a problem of themselves. Benjen and the men he commanded? They were the ones he sent out when he needed a lay of the land or to make deals with the wildlings to get them to aid them or provide information. Eastwatch? That's who he sent when he needed to scour the earth.
"Jeor," Cotter said gruffly, looking at him only briefly before glancing up the tower windows and the high walkways. It took him a few moments to realize that Cotter was scanning for archers that might take a shot at him and he felt a chill run down his spine that the man felt so unsafe in Castle Black. What was going on?
"Cotter," he said with a nod, holding out his hand. But Cotter was slow to take it and when he did it was the most fleeting of clasps… and the Commander of Eastwatch had his other hand firmly wrapped around the hilt of his sword. "Mind explaining what this is all about?"
"Can't be too careful. Odd things going on. Speaking of how is Maege? Her daughter Lyanna training yet?"
Jeor saw the question for what it was. "No but I imagine being so young prevents that. Dacey though will take her under her wing soon."
Cotter seemed to breathe a bit easier at that; had Jeor been held prisoner he would have answered wrong and thus altered the man that he wasn't at liberty to speak freely. "I'm glad to hear that."
"More glad than I was to hear you ask it. Such things aren't your usual style."
The men of Eastwatch began to sheathe their swords and step away from the Black Brothers of Castle Black they'd been standing guard over; Jeor's men glared at them but Jeor merely cleared his throat and they decided to just stand up and not leap to their feet with weapons ready. Cotter was still tense but at the very least he didn't look ready to launch himself at someone and rip their ears off with his bare teeth.
"Extreme times, Lord Commander, extreme times."
"What the hell brought this on?" Jeor asked. "I asked you to come."
"You asked me to come and treat with wildlings," he looked up and scowled and Jeor turned to see that Mance and Ygritte had emerged from the hall, causing Cotter to tense once more. "Who are here."
"For good reason," Jeor said. "I will explain when the others arrive but things have changed."
"You need to begin explaining now," Cotter said.
"Watch your tone," Thorne snarled, finally moving to stand next to Jeor and Benjen; the yardmaster might utterly disagree with Jeor but he hatred for Cotter Pyke meant he was never going to take his side in any feud. And thus that meant he would stand with Jeor even if it made the man sick to his stomach to do so.
"Not with this. Not after all that has happened. I have dead men I buried, good men that I called friend, and they deserve answers. Even if they won't hear them."
A chill went down Jeor's spine at that. 'They might very well hear if you buried them,' he thought and he made a mental note that the very first change he'd have to make to the Night's Watch was how they dealt with their dead. 'Burn them all,' the Mad King screamed in his head and Jeor couldn't help but wonder… what if Aerys had seen something the rest of them hadn't? Something that drove his wits from him all but in a single fact that the dead must always be burned? Did the legends say that the Targaryens were sometimes blessed with visions, such as seeing The Doom?
'Gods… what if he saw this?'
"What happened, Cotter?" Benjen asked.
Cotter looked at him and huffed but finally nodded. Cotter didn't like many people and respected far less but Benjen was one that he wouldn't begrudge. Even with his noble birth Cotter knew that Benjen had more than earned the title of First Ranger, having put in more days beyond the Wall than all but a scant few. And had come back far more healthy and whole than many men did. While other men would have been annoyed by Cotter turning away from them to speak to their subordinates Jeor just wanted answers at this point; he would sit through a fucking puppet show if it meant understanding what had led to Pyke and what looked to be nearly half of the strength of Eastwatch storming Castle Black in attempt to liberate it.
"Happened a few weeks back. Dark night… very dark. Never seen a night that dark before and I pray I never see one like that again. Wasn't right, you hear me? Wasn't right at all. I was just beginning to eat a late supper… it was some bird, can't remember what. Not seagull as I remember the taste of those… can't forget the taste of those."
"Better than pigeon," Steve said.
Cotter blinked at that before laughing. "Aye, you ain't talkin' about what them rich lads eat on their wedding days. You mean the filthy kind you catch with corn." He nodded. "Yeah… they taste like shit and the bones seem to always shatter and get in the meat."
"Gets in your teeth too."
"Would you ladies like to head down to the kitchens to discuss our meal?" Thorne taunted and Cotter glowered at him before looking back to Steve and giving him a nod of respect.
"Point is," Cotter finally said, " I was just picking into a bird that was better than pigeon but not as good as gull when one of the guards came runnin' up. Seems two of my lads who'd gone out ranging had finally returned. They were a few days late but I didn't think anything much of it at the time because sometimes a ranger is late. You know what that's like Benjen… from what I hear you were mighty late getting back to Castle Black."
"I was," Benjen said without elaborating further.
Cotter nodded. "That is happening a lot, I've noticed. Men are getting delayed. Got eight so far that haven't come back on time, at least not when I left. I assume that might have something to do with why you summoned us here to treat with their filth?" Cotter nodded towards Mance and Ygritte. "The fucking savages can't be trusted."
"Way you crows turned on each other you were acting far more like us!" Ygritte cried down at him and Jeor shut his eyes, wishing the damn girl would shut her mouth for once.
Cotter's face grew red and he took a step forward but Steve held out a hand. "Finish your tale, deal with that later," he said, much to Jeor's surprise; Steve had been rather protective of Ygritte but it seemed in this case she wasn't going to have him protecting her from a battle.
The Commander of Eastwatch nodded at that. "Aye, you're right. Plenty of time to teach her manners later." That would be a lesson Jeor would pay money to see… it would be a fucking wagon wreck to be sure. "We bring the men in, have plates of food and warm tankards ready to get some heat back in their bones. They come into the mess hall… then draw swords and begin stabbing anyone that made the mistake of getting close. They take out six men before we finally are on them and we lose another two to injuries cutting them down."
Jeor had been mentally preparing for that. He'd just know that was where the story was going. What bothered him even more was that there were enough parallels to what he had gone through that had led to the Great Ranging. Two brothers returned. Thinking little of it. A sudden attack. The only difference was that his had returned to him dead…
"We finally get to examining them and Maester Henryk is very quick to inform us that the men aren't members of the Night's Watch. I admit I didn't follow all he was saying but he pointed out things like the teeth being worn down and the condition of the bones… it doesn't matter they were wildlings." He suddenly stepped forward and jabbed a finger at Mance and Ygritte. "They captured two of my men, killed them, stripped them of their clothing and pretended to be Brothers in order to kill us! And it just so happens when you manage to trick your way into being here?" He shook his head and already some of Cotter's men were drawing their weapons. "No… no… I don't know what your fucking plan is but you are going to answer my questions now!"
"They had nothing to do with this," Jeor said quickly before Ygritte could say something to make the situation worse.
"The fuck they don't-"
"The wildlings didn't say a word, did they?" Steve asked, cutting Cotter off.
"What?"
"When they attacked. They never said a word, right?"
"No… didn't utter a peep. They just began hacking away."
"Did they speak to the guards when they arrived?"
Cotter frowned, brow furrowing as he tried to piece together what Steve was getting out. Jeor looked and Benjen and saw his eyes widen as he realized what Steve was getting at. Jeor felt the ice once more trickling down his spine.
"Didn't bother to ask…"
Jeor looked at Steve. "Could they do that? All the ones we faced-"
"The Court wants to spread fear. Snarling and snapping teeth does that. But it doesn't mean they can't be silent… often times they are right before they attack. You've heard how much noise they make when they are racing after you… do you think you wouldn't notice if they were doing that while stalking about hunting you?" He shook his head. "They can be quiet."
"But how did they not notice?" Benjen asked.
Steve shrugged. "Easy enough." He gestured at the dead Black Brother, the one that had been sliced open through the gut. "Clean up his clothes and one could make him look alive. Silent but alive. Only the blue eyes would give him away. A fresh corpse that hasn't rotten with the death marks hidden? You wouldn't notice until it was too late. The Court and the White Order just prefer rot because it adds more terror."
"…the fuck are you talking about?" Cotter asked and Thorne was looking just as confused.
"Those weren't Free Folk," Jeor said with a shake of his head. "Or they had been in life."
"In life?" Cotter asked while Thorne, for his part, slowly turned and looked at Steve. He had heard about what was coming and had been scoffing at it, even in the face of Steve's powers… but that didn't mean he was so pigheaded he didn't deny the possibility. "The dead don't walk!"
"They do," Steve said. "The Others… they did this."
And with that he pulled down his hood.
"…fucking hell," Cotter whispered as he looked upon Steve's pale blue-white skin, crystal-like hair, and nearly glowing blue eyes. "What… what are-"
"I am one of your nightmares, Cotter Pyke. The whispered enemy of all men. The Ice Lords, the White Walkers, the Others." He leaned forward. "They're real." He pulled back turning to look towards the Wall, lips pressed together in contemplation. "This was the Commander."
"Red Skull?" Benjen asked. Steve shot him a look and the Ranger shrugged. "It's a good name."
"Fuck right it is!" Ygritte cheered and Jeor just looked to the heavens, asking for strength.
"It was him," Steve continued. "It fits his style of battle well. He likes plots like that. Wheels within wheels. He must have known we were heading to the Wall and what better way to sow discontent than to have us at each other's throats."
"You want me to believe," Cotter said with a scoff, "that those were fucking wights?"
Thorne glared at him. "This one's a fucking Other!"
"He has pale skin and his hairs a bit different. I'm sure there are people in Essos that look like that. I've seen men with skin as black as coal and with hair so curly they look like ebony sheep. Don't make him an Other and doesn't make those men wights." The rest of Cotter's men muttered and grumbled in agreement and Jeor could see there were some of his own lads who were beginning to nod themselves.
"Idiots," Jeor grumbled. That was how it always was: provide someone with proof and they would still demand more! It didn't matter what he said if they couldn't see it they wouldn't believe it. And they'd then only believe a part of it. The likes of Thorne might accept that Steve was an Other but only because he was right there in front of him. But claim there were wights risen by the others and…
Jeor slowly looked down at the corpse on the ground.
"Show them."
Steve turned to him. "What?"
"Show them." He nodded towards the man, one of Cotters he now realized. "Raise him as a wight."
"…no."
Jeor looked at him. "They need to see that this is real."
"Then we'll find a wight and bring it back."
"You can do it right here."
"No," Steve said more forcefully.
"They have to-"
"I SAID NO."
Everyone leaned back. Steve didn't scream or bellow the words but the utter force he put into that statement, along with how his eyes BLAZED with cold blue light, made them all shift from him. Even his appearance seemed to change, with his skin taking on a far more sapphire coloring and his hair looking like carved ice.
And then Steve blinked and he was himself again.
"Cotter doesn't believe that a Black Brother would kill another. Swears it impossible. Would you command Benjen to kill Allister in order to show that Cotter was wrong?" Steve shook his head in disgust. "No… I won't do it. I will never do that."
"I… I'm sorry," Jeor said.
Steve let out a huff and suddenly Mance and Ygritte were there, the former placing a hand on his shoulder for comfort while Ygritte just stood there. She didn't hug him or press herself to him like a maiden might her lord husband but she still made herself available to Steve in that moment and Jeor could tell that he was grateful for that.
"I'm sorry," Steve whispered. "But I swore I'd never do that. It is easy for me to forget what I am… to believe I am still just a man. But if I ever did that… there would be no way to deny it. Steve Rogers would be truly dead then."
Jeor swallowed. "I'll never asked again."
"Thank you."
"Yeah yeah, he can't do it because it isn't fucking possible!" Cotter complains. "The Others aren't real and wights aren't real and-"
Steve raised his hand.
Every torch in Castle Black goes out.
Winds whip around them.
Ice instantly forms on the ground as hail appears despite there being no clouds only moments ago. It is so thick that Cotter let's out a yelp when he couldn't even move, his boots frozen and refusing to budge.
And it wasn't missed that there are circles of protection all around the training yard. Jeor, Benjen, Ygritree and Mance were unaffected. Thorne practically threw himself in Benjen's arms to keep himself safe. Marsh was trapped but old Maester Aemon merely looked about, confused before shuffling his feet, completely untouched by it all.
Steve finally lowered his hand though the ice remained and Jeor knew it was going to take a lot of work to light the fires ahead and hack the men free.
But the message was clear all the same.
"That," Jeor finally said, "is an Other who doesn't want to use his powers to harm or hurt." He leaned in towards Cotter. "Care to guess what the damage would have been like if it were one that didn't care? Or even worse… the Night's King?"
Cotter swallowed at that. "No… I think I understand well." He looked towards Steve and to Jeor's surprise the commander of Eastwatch actually smirked. "Fucking glad you're on our side."
"And I'm glad you're on ours, considering how you were able to almost take the castle," Steve said. "We're going to need that when the time comes."
"Hold up now," Thorne said, because of course he had to speak up; Jeor had never known Thorne to be unable to resist sticking his nose into any conversation. For a man who acted like everything was utterly beneath him he had a horrible habit of wanting to be involved. "I still don't get why this Other… what did you call him?"
"The Red Skull," Jeor stated. "And the title isn't just for japes."
"Right. Why would this Red Skull send wildlings dressed as Black Brothers to Eastwatch? And why have them attack so recklessly. He lost all elements of surprise."
"Because he wasn't looking for a surprise," Steve told him bluntly. "He was looking to get us at each other's throats."
"What do you mean?" Cotter asked.
Jeor sighed. "The council I've called… you have to see that there can't be any fracturing among any of us." He gestured at Mance and Ygritte. "There are one hundred thousand wildlings beyond the Wall that have pledged themselves to Mance here."
"The King-Beyond-The-Wall," Cotter spat.
"Not by choice did I take that title," mance said, choosing to say no more. Thankfully the former Black Brother understood that sometimes it was better to let others speak.
"The Others form their army by raising the dead. Now think for a moment what will happen."
Cotter jaw clenched as he ground his teeth together. Jeor made no move to speak, knowing that the combative man needed to work this out himself. It was the only way for him to understand that what Jeor wanted to do was their only option.
"Every one of them that dies is an enemy we have to fight."
"There are only two sides now," Benjen said. "The Living and the Dead. We kill one of theirs and that is that. But they kill one of ours…"
"They join their ranks," Cotter grunted. "Fuck, we have to let them through, don't we?"
"We do," Jeor said. "We let them onto the Gift. We work out how to live with them-"
"To survive with you lot," Ygritte muttered darkly.
"-and we fight back against the monsters we thought were merely tales."
Cotter spat at that. "Fucking hell Jeor you ask a lot."
"It's that or death. The Night's King is offering that."
Cotter opened his mouth to respond only for a horn blast to fill the air.
The another.
"Wildlings," Thorne growled.
"Free Folk," Steve reminded him. "Come to discuss the War."
"Then let's not keep them waiting," Jeor said with a huff, stomping towards the tunnel with the others following fast behind. There was no need for them to come and honestly it was going to make more problems as they'd just clog up the tunnel and make it take longer to get back but Jeor knew it would be useless to ask them to turn back. Jeor had to go, of course, as it would be seen as utterly disrespectful if he didn't and it was so odd to think about respecting the Free Folk. Steve came because he was the one man that could truly bridge the gap between the two… and keep everyone from killing each other if things spiraled out of control. Mance was on the same level as Jeor, needing to come because of his place amongst his people. Benjen and Ygritte weren't going to let either Jeor or Mance go alone so that was that. Cotter and Thorne would get mad if they weren't allowed to come, thinking Jeor honored the Free Folk over them and that just led to an avalanche of people who wanted to be there and make sure things went smoothly… or at least make sure Jeor wasn't stabbed in the back.
Reaching the gate took far longer than most would have suspected. It had startled Jeor the first time he'd walked it, both on top and through the tunnels. When one saw the Wall the height was the only thing that captured the mind. The thing was monstrously huge, towering over all. Next was the length; Maester Aemon had once told him that all the maps got it wrong because the wall wasn't straight it actually dipped down with the curve of the earth. But the width… no one considered the width. Jeor himself had envisioned the top of the wall as being like a battlement. Turn your head one way and you saw the training yard. Look the opposite way and there was the Haunted Forest.
In reality you got to the top of the wall and there was 300 feet of ice stretching out before you, so that it felt like you were walking along a frozen lake. He'd seen recruits get confused and think they'd gotten spun around when they first laid eyes on it. And the tunnels… the tunnels just went on and on and on. 300 feet was a lot when you were walking along the top of it. It was an eternity when you had nothing to stare at but the tunnel. Recruits… history said more than one had gone mad just trying to walk through the tunnel, crying and sobbing and begging to go back because they believed the tunnel would never end and they'd be trapped forever like the legends said happened to men when tunnels collapsed.
It took them about 8 minutes to make their way to the gate and the entire time no one said a word. The Wall demanded respect and no one, not even the most flippant of their party, dared insult the Wall by cracking japes.
They finally reached the Gate and Jeor gave a slight nod to the guards who quickly opened it, though he could tell that was the last thing they wanted to do.
"I know it goes against everything we taught you but they aren't our enemy," he told the lad kindly.
"R-right, Lord Commander," the young man said before opening the Gate.
Jeor stepped out into the clear strip of dirt and snow that divided the Wall from the Haunted Forest. In centuries past, when the Watch had been at its full strength, the command had been for the forest to be cut back by four times the width of the Wall, so that the Free Folk would never be able to approach without any of the Watchers noticing. But now they could barely have enough men stand watch within spitting distance of Castle Black, let alone have a man 30 feet from another, all along the entire length. And they didn't have the men to do it even if the drive had been there. Thus the desire to fight against the growth of the Haunted Forest had died away and the trees had begun to spring up once more.
'Can actually see where the old forest starts and the new one begins,' he thought to himself as he walked towards the gathering of Free Folk that were waiting for him near the edge of the forest.
It only took seconds for him to know that something had gone terribly wrong. The Free Folk were in poor shape, what exposed skin they showed wrapped in makeshift bandages. Their numbers were smaller too from what Jeor had expected from a gathering of all the leaders of all the tribes of the Free Folk. There were less there than the entire makeup of the Free Folk Camp Mance had taken them too.
"What happened?" Mance asked, stepping forward, concern dripping from his words.
The warg they had met at the camp growled at him. "You fucker, you-"
Rahne Wolfsbane suddenly stepped forward, in her giant wolf form, and Jeor heard Benjen roar at the Brothers to sheathe their swords. She was tense, teeth clenched together, and when she backhanded the other man and sent him tumbling to the ground she didn't even bother to look at him, instead staring right at Mance.
"Oh, ya know," she said, her voice deep and guttural, hiding the fact that in human form she was a short little woman, "we were feasting in one of our hidden castles that all the Southerns think we have when we decided it would be a mite enjoyable to toss ourselves off the roof. See what happened." She let out a snort. "What the fuck do ya think, happened, Mance? We were fucking ambushed!"
"By your lot!" Varamyr shouted, getting to his feet. "I knew we couldn't trust you Crows-"
"Would you shut your fucking mouth?" Rahne snarled. "Not in the fucking mood for ya ta open your gob and spout out shite that smells worse than yar arse!" She rolled her eyes in frustration. "These fuckers, Mance… ya leave me with these fuckers? We're goin' south, aye? Then I get a fuckin' castle for having to keep this lot alive. They wanted ta climb the Wall and attack ya, like the old plan, because they fell for the Others trick." She jabbed her finger at him. "A fucking castle. A nice one where I can sit on me ass and watch the crops grow and never deal with this lot again!"
"You were attack?" Steve asked, wanting clarification. "By wights dressed like Free Folk?"
"We were," a spear wife called out. "They came in the middle of the night, dressed like us. Wasn't like most wights… no rot on these ones. It was only when they were close enough and you could see them blue eyes of theirs that we realized what they were."
"By then it was too late," Rahne snapped. "They captured 15 of ours and killed twice that many before we could do a damn thing. Lost Byrmull and Tilla and Rumlow and… fuck!" She lashed out with her paw, kicking at a tree stump and taken out a massive chunk out of it. Tormund, who had been in the back of the group, suddenly rushed forward and wrapped his arms around his sister, wrestling her to the ground.
"This isn't good," Steve muttered.
"What was your first fuckin' clue?" Ygritte asked.
Steve ignored her. "If the Commander is taking people that means he's experimenting again."
"Experimenting?" Cotter asked.
"Yes," Steve said. "My creation… it was an experiment to create a better Other. To make the Court stronger by making the human host as powerful as it could be when it was forced to house the soul of a Titan. It was only my luck that their thrall was on the side of the living, giving his life to give me control rather than allow the Other to take over my body." Steve shook his head. "But that wasn't the end of them trying out new things. The Commander in particular… he likes experimenting on the living, to try and make them better servants."
"We're not leaving them there, right?" Benjen asked sternly.
"No," Steve said grimly. "We aren't."
"I hope you know where to look," Mance stated, "because the lands beyond the Wall are vast."
"I don't," Steve said. "But I know who does."
The trip back through the tunnels was far quicker, as all of them were driven by Steve pace. That and Rahne Wolfsbane, who remained in her 12 foot tall wolf form, taking up the rear; she had no problem snapping at someone if they began to flag. Soon they burst out of the tunnels and after Steve barked a question and Jeor supplied the answer they were off again, this time to the Ice Cells.
Steve didn't even bother to wait for someone to open the cell, choosing instead to rip the door open, causing wood to scream as the lock was shattered. He tossed the barrier away before striding in, eyes blazing blue as he once more fully tapped into the power of the Others.
"You worship the Court?" Steve said coldly before locking his fingers on Crastor's shoulder. "Then worship me." The traitor to the living whimpered and whined before bowing his head, unable to meet Steve's gaze. "Where. Is. The. Commander."
Crastor only lasted 10 seconds before he bleated out about an abandoned castle, built a thousand years ago by the Night's Watch. It had been like the Fist of the First Men, only grander, when the First Men had held far more ambition and the Free Folk led by one with greater vision. But like all things connected to the watch it had crumbled… and the Commander had been more than happy to claim it as his own.
Dawnbreak.
Steve's castle.
So it was that a day later, when he had originally hoped to meeting with the Night's Watch command and the Free Folk to plan on a path to peace, Jeor Mormont mounted his horse, checked his sword, and gave a nod to the party of fifty one men, led by Steve Rogers, before they galloped into the Haunted Forest.
