6 months before the death of Jon Arryn

Stann

Stann did not want to go on the ranging. He did not want to be at Castle Black. He did not want to be anywhere near this frozen wasteland the people of the North called home. Stann was a Reachman. Well, not quite. He would be thirteen in nine days, three days after the ranging was due to depart Castle Black.

Like almost everyone here, quite possibly everyone below the age of thirty, Stann had not chosen to be a man of the Night's Watch of his own volition. But events in the Reach had conspired to send him here, and Stann had had the choice of a probably short life in the Night's Watch or a guaranteed shorter one ending in a back alley of Highgarden. Who would not choose to live, even if it was only for a short time longer?

"I heard you're going on the ranging, Snowhopper" a friendly voice said, as Manfred Waters sat down beside him. Many of the men of the Watch, especially those from below the Neck, had taken to calling Stann Snowhopper, because they said he moved as quickly over snow as a grasshopper over grass in the south. "Tell me, Snowhopper, is this true?"

"Aye, Man, it is" Stann replied. "I'm to go north of the Wall in six days, along with a company of eleven others, to see if we can find a trace of the missing Rangers."

Manfred drained his mug of ale, or what passed for ale around Castle Black, and took a long swallow before responding.

"Three rangers go north on a ranging three months ago. They don't come back. And they're just now sending a party out to search for signs of them? Seems like something that should have been done weeks ago."

Turning to his plate, Manfred cut into his meat. No one was particularly interested in what kind of meat it was. Better to not ask and imagine it came from some animal the Seven had designed to be eaten.

"They don't normally send out search parties for missing Rangers at all" Man said, when he was done chewing. "If a party doesn't come back, it probably means the Wildlings got them. Or the weather."

Manfred would be one to know: Stann didn't know exactly how long Man had been a member of the Night's Watch, but Man had told him he'd been on the Wall since before the mothers of most of the men of the Watch had taken a ride on the land carrack, whatever that meant. In Stann's case, Man figured he was here before Stann's grandmother had ridden the ship. Regardless, Manfred was one of a dying breed of men: those who had volunteered to be here.

"So why are we riding out, if not to find Royce and his men?"

"Probably to see what old Mance is up to. Same reason every ranging happens, even if Stark and Mormont say different."

"Mance Rayder? The King-Beyond-the-Wall?"

"Aye. Old Mance really did good for himself out there. It's a pity we're on opposite sides now. We had quite a few mugs of ale, the two of us."

"You knew Mance Rayder?" Stann asked in amazement.

"He lived at the Shadowtower for almost forty years; he was a man of the Night's Watch for thirty. Mance was even considered for Lord Commander once upon a time."

"Mance Rayder, the Lord Commander?"

"Aye. I voted for him, figured he'd do good for the Watch. But he didn't even manage to get more votes than the Halfhand, and the Halfhand was protesting his nomination every step of the way."

"Stann" a voice that was all too familiar to Stann called. "It's time to spar."

"Got to go" Stann whispered to Manfred.

"I'll finish my second mug on my own" Manfred smiled. "Gives me time to think about the old days."

Stann quickly got outside to face his least favorite person on this earth, save his father: Micah. Micah wasn't much older than Stann, seventeen at most, but Micah was huge. He was tall where Stann was short, wide where Stann was narrow, thick where Stann was thin. Micah had been sent to the wall after he killed a man, whereas Stann had been born to the wrong mother.

Micah tossed him a sword, but didn't wait for him to be ready before attacking. Micah led with a heavy overhead strike, all of his weight behind the blow. Stann barely managed to raise his blade above his head before the blow came down. The impact of turned Stann's arms to water, and it was all he could do not to drop the sword. Micah followed with another two handed power blow that ripped Stann's sword away. Micah finished the fight by punching Stann in the head, driving him into the ground.

Stann saw his life flash before his eyes as he collided with the earth below him. He tried to push himself up but failed the first time. Embarrassed, Stann tried to push himself up again. Again, he failed. Finally, Stann managed to pick himself up.

"Pick up your sword, runt" Micah said.

Shaking, Stann picked up his sword. He hadn't yet straightened up when Micah brought his practice sword down on Stann, driving him back into the dirt.

"If I were a Wilding you would be dead" Micah said. "I hope you're not guarding my back next week."

A loud smack sounded and Stann saw a practice sword connect with back of Micah's head. Micah fell to the ground holding his head.

"Wildlings do not wait for you to be ready before they attack you" said First Ranger Benjen Stark. "That is why you need your Brothers to guard your back. And you, Micah, what you are doing is destroying any trust your Brothers have for you. You are alienating the only people who will stand between you and a Wildling spear. Now get up."

Micah hesitantly complied.

"Pick up your sword"

Micah attacked. In the blink of an eye he was flight on his back.

"Again" the First Ranger commanded.

Micah went down before he could even get back to his feet.

"Get up" Benjen said.

This time Benjen let Micah get up.

Micah attacked, but Benjen stepped away from the blow. Micah overcommitted and stumbled past Benjen, who tapped him on his back and danced away.

Micah spun and tried again, with even poorer results. A third try finally ended with Micah on the ground again and unarmed.

"How does this make you feel?" Benjen asked him, before sheathing his sword. He walked over and clapped Stann on the back.

"Find some work to do" he told Stann, before heading back up to the Lord Commander's office. Stopping, he turned around and yelled back down, "We leave in six days. Whatever problems you have with each other, work them out by then."