Lord Renly Baratheon

They had marched from Storm's End, some eight thousand strong, the men had assembled surprisingly quickly, considering the time it had taken him to ride from the capital to Storm's End. Yet when he had arrived, he'd found the lords of the Stormlands marshalling toward him. He supposed it helped that Viserys Targaryen hadn't seemingly moved from Massey's Hook that he had remained at Stonedance, supposedly waiting for them to come to him. Renly was deeply suspicious of that, and so had stuck his men in the gap between them. He'd called for a council and was relieved that his nephew had allowed Loras to come with him. He had forgotten how much he despised his own bannermen. The King had also sent Tommen with him as his squire, no doubt as a preparation for when Renly eventually croaked it.

Renly took a look around the tent and saw burly men, who looked as though they wanted to eat him, they did not seem happy with him. He took a breath and then said. "We know that Viserys Targaryen sits in Stonedance with his Unsullied and the traitors who have decided to side with him. In total his support is somewhere near eleven thousand men, no more, no less. However, he has the terrain on his side, the hook is notoriously difficult to fight in and we risk being bogged down in marshes and other such terrain. Consequently, I would hear your views on what we should do next, my lords." Renly finished and looked around, nobody spoke for a moment though there were some lords glowering at him including Galladon Tarth, Lord of Tarth who had brought his daughter Brienne the Maid with him, she was his heir, and Renly was half tempted to marry her to bring her inheritance into the fold and to perhaps spite his nephew.

It was Lord Grandison, who had fought for the Targaryens during the rebellion, before bending the knee to Robert, who spoke. "My lord, I do not think we should directly engage with Viserys Targaryen's host. Yes he has the unsullied, but that is not what I am concerned about. I believe that there are elements at play here that might come and bite us in the rear if we are not careful. For example, there are only eight thousand men here, despite the Warden titles having been activated. The marcher lords with the exception of my lord of Blackhaven here have not come, they have remained in their own holdfasts. One must wonder at that, one must also consider that perhaps there might be some sort of trap being laid here."

Lord Dondarrion, who was married to Allyria Dayne, which was a shame considering how handsome he was, spoke up then. "I agree with Lord Grandison, the lords of the marches are not ones who would normally ignore the chance to fight, and yet that is what they have done. You have gotten more support from the lords of the Rainwood including those who had previously supported your brother Stannis's pretentions to the Stormlands. Consequently, I think one must take into consideration the belief that they are likely going to be considering siding with Viserys Targaryen. Therefore I would advise sending in a small host to bait Viserys Targaryen out of Stonedance, directly challenge his pride and he will risk losing face before the Lords of Stonedance and Sharp Point if he refuses to engage."

"And who will command this vanguard?" Renly asked, though he already knew who he would give the 'honour' of commanding such a thing. Ser Jon Penrose a proud man and the heir to Parchments, spoke up then.

"I will, my lord, if it suits you. I believe that the men of Parchments are best suited for this sort of fighting. We know the best within which we can strike hard and fast. The land will need to be burned, and the King has given you leave to engage as best as you think possible."

This was good, Renly despised Ser Jon, the man was an opportunist who had supported Stannis when he had petitioned Robert for Storm's End, arguing that as a child Renly could not keep control of so many rowdy lords. Then there had been the time when he had switched to siding with Renly when the question of the border dispute with Mistwood had emerged, and Renly out of favour with Ser Cortnay had agreed to lend his ear to Penrose. Nobody else seemed to oppose the man's volunteering of himself therefore Renly said. "Very well, my lord, you may command the vanguard. Make sure to not engage directly. The Unsullied are well known for their defensive capabilities."

Penrose bowed his head, and then Lord Mertyns spoke up. "My lord, I believe then that if the goal is to lure Viserys Targaryen here, then it would make the most sense to have archers ready. We have the best archers in the realm and should be able to deal a hefty blow to whatever men or eunuchs Targaryen brings."

"I agree." Lord Grandison said. "I think that we cannot allow them to simply come within a mile of our camp. Otherwise then they will try and shoulder their way through. We have the best archers in the realm. We would be foolish to let such an advantage go by. We must therefore ensure that everything is as we think it should be."

Renly nodded. "Very well, I shall give you leave to organise this, my lords." He got up and made to leave the tent when a messenger hurried in, panting heavily and covered in sweat.

"My lord, they are here." The messenger said.

Renly was about to reply when he heard a horn sound and he swore. "TO arms." He yelled, grabbing his sword, as others did the same. The sound of hooves became clearer. The battle had found them. How they had not heard this, he did not know.

Lord Eddard Stark

The wildlings were rabid now, they were not human, they came and they charged. The fires were running low, the bodies were burning but getting up again, so that they had to pour oil over them and then use what little resources they had to get things burning. Ned watched all of this and sighed. They were clearly just the vanguard. The giants had been felled easily enough, but they'd not known how to burn them with the resources they had and so the beasts had gotten up and started battering at the wall. The thing had shaken but thankfully it had stood the test of time. Ned could feel the hours he'd not slept ticking through his body, he needed a rest, but he couldn't well rest when the wall might come down at any moment. By the gods was he tired.

"Get the fire ready." He barked, it had started snowing at some point, when he was not quite sure, but he knew things could only get worse. So long as these fuckers were out there, things would be rough. Robb, his first born was commanding a unit down near the third gate, barking orders his direwolf there serving as protection. So far there had been no breaches into their side of the wall. But they were running out of tools to make fire, and for a way to ensure the security of the wall. He was getting slightly worried. And he knew Benjen was as well. His brother was barking orders elsewhere. They were all holding the wall as best as they could. They hadn't lost any men since the wildlings had dared attempt their first breach of the wall, which was a relief.

The wall shook and somewhere a giant roared. "Pour it all down. Give no quarter." Ned roared in response, he saw the men pour the pitchers down emptying it of all its content knowing that there would be little the wildlings and the giants could do. The oil landed on them, and then the flames from torches were thrown down, they caught and the giants screamed in pain. These were great beasts of legend, and Ned knew that in some aspect he should feel sorry for them. Gods alone knew that they were the last of their kind and that they did not deserve the painful death they were receiving, but at the same time they were threatening the normal order of things and that could not be allowed. Ned steeled himself. He nodded to the archers, who lit their arrows and fired. The sky came to life with fires burning across the spectrum of the ground. The ground beneath his feet shook, but this time not from giants but something else. The wall shook again, and he heard a scream. He turned and saw someone fall.

"Pull back. Secure the gates." Ned roared, hurrying toward the lift, he made his way down and the lift progressed down the ground shook and the lift shook also. There was something on the other side causing this, what it was, he did not know, and it was worrying him. The lift reached the bottom he got out and found Benjen hurrying toward him. "What is it?" He asked his brother.

His brother hesitated then said. "I don't know but I've just had to burn some twelve men." The ground shook again causing them both to look at one another.

Robb soon joined them, he was sweating and covered in snow. "I think there's something happening. The wildlings have stopped, but I'm not sure what." The ground shook once more, and Ned grabbed his son by the arm to stop him falling over.

The wall creaked, and they looked up, sheets of ice were falling off it. "That's never happened before." Benjen said.

"We need to get the men off of there." Ned said. His brother nodded and the command was passed around, ensuring that the men dressed in black and the grey of House Stark were taken off the wall, as more sheets started falling down, as it started cascading into different pieces of flint. "What the hell is happening?"

The answer came as more and more sheets of ice fell. They saw cracks appear in a structure that had not fallen in eight thousand years. But the thing did not fall, the cracks simply appeared. The roaring of giants came once more and Ned steeled himself for a battle, but this time there was nothing more than a roar. A horn sounded, that seemed to be like the dancing of a shrine. It was something more than that though, it sounded like a song that Ned had heard before. It continued for some time and then suddenly stopped. Ned stared at the wall, and saw something strange happen. The patterns on it changed, he'd never noticed there being any patterns on the wall before. He simply looked at it and saw the swirls and the change, then there was a pale blue face staring at him. Its eyes were cold as well, and Ned suspected that this was what death looked like. The thing looked at him and then it spoke.

Its voice was like bones crunching. "We are coming for you. We are here to reclaim our destiny. None shall stand before us. Know that when we come, your lives shall end and the new age of winter shall begin. We are death, and we are light. Nothing can stand before us." The thing held up a head, and Ned nearly threw up, that was Jeor Mormont's head. "This thing stood before us and died. Know that this shall happen to you." The image disappeared. Ned turned to his brother, who was staring at the wall as if he'd just seen a ghost. "Was that?"

"Yes." Benjen said.