Ebrose
He was up late this evening, studying one of the older books in the Night's Watch library, as usual. Reading the old journals of previous captains and rangers had become his sole nocturnal hobby as his days were filled with advising the King and the Lord Commander. This evening was no different. The dim light above him was just bright enough to let him read in peace, until a frantic knock at his door broke his concentration. A young soldier awaited him, panting. The King and Lord Commander requested his presence topside. An odd request, Ebrose thought – he hadn't left the safety of the underground base since their arrival at the urging of the Lord Commander. After all, he was the last Maester anyone was aware of.
He hurried behind the soldier as they brushed past concerned individuals in the hallways, making his way towards the narrow stairwell that lead to the back rooms of the Night's Watch museum. As they reached the top of the stairs, he saw that the thick, steel door was open, and a number of watchmen stood guard around it. The back rooms of the facility were stocked with memorabilia for tourists, protecting the secret entrance. He followed the young man out into the gift shop and then out of the front doors into the blistering cold winds.
There, he found the Lord Commander with a group of officers, staring up high. He turned his gaze up and froze. There, sitting at the top of the wall, was the unmistakable silhouette of a dragon. His jaw plummeted to its lowest possible position. His eyes, in contrast, grew to their largest. His old heart began to pump as quickly as it was able. Before he could regain his composure, Lagberius turned to him and grimaced. He took one last look at the majestic beast before walking over to Ebrose and grabbing him by the arm, squeezing through the thick coat until he felt pressure from the man himself. Ebrose looked at him and began to stammer.
"Th-that's... that's..." was all he managed before Lagberius nodded at him.
"A dragon," the Lord Commander finished for him. Ebrose clutched at the Lord Commander's black cloak.
"How?" he asked. Lagberius shook his head.
"That's why you're here," he answered. "To make sense of this." He turned his gaze back to the top of the wall, where the dragon stretched out and began to rest its head. Ebrose gained enough composure to take a few steps forward.
"When?" he asked. The Lord Commander stepped forward to join him.
"A few minutes ago," he replied. "One of our satellites tracked it as it crossed the narrow sea. We thought it was a plane or a drone until it landed here just now."
"How could you possibly mistake that for a plane?" Ebrose scoffed. Lagberius frowned.
"It's not like we see dragons every day," he spat. "In my line of work, we take the most likely scenarios first." Ebrose took another step forward. All of the men outside were focused on the now slumbering beast. He pointed towards the modern elevator and turned towards the Lord Commander.
"Does it work?" he asked. The man chuckled.
"Fearless, aren't you?" he japed. "Yes, it works, but it needs to be powered and the heaters have to kick on to prevent icing."
"How long?" Ebrose urged. Lagberius shrugged.
"Depends on the ice," he offered. "A few minutes? An hour? It hasn't been used in almost a year, so we'd need to do a safety test and we'll likely find a number of issues that need addressed." Ebrose turned to him with a maniacal grin.
"See to it, please," he continued. Lagberius lowered his gaze to him.
"Two things," the Lord Commander started, raising his fingers to a V-shape. "First, turning this on also turns on the safety lights," the Lord Commander explained. "We'll be broadcasting our position. Second," he lowered his hand and looked up at the dragon. "You'll probably die – that is, unless we scare it away first."
"The risk must be taken," he hissed. "I... I have an idea."
"What idea could you possibly have?" Lagberius grumbled. "What if that thing turns its attention to us?"
"You and your men can stay inside," he replied, turning back to the beast. "I am happy to face it alone," he trailed off. Lagberius closed his eyes in thought.
"If you die," he finally began after a minute in his own head. "We lose the last maester in Westeros."
"I worked with another maester," Ebrose explained, never taking his gaze from the dark shape atop the wall. "Seneschal Meadows. He was certain that dragons still flew in old Valyria. This vindicates him," he concluded.
"And so, what? The Valyrian subduction zone is volatile, dangerous and off-limits – yes – but we've sent expeditions, satellites, spy planes and we've never seen any evidence of anything like this," the Lord Commander balked. "What good does it do now to know that at least one survives? That we expended all of that effort for nothing? I think our current situation is evidence enough of that."
"Meadows studied every text relating to dragons that existed in the world," he reasoned. "He was certain that dragons not only existed, but of how they behaved." Lagberius stared at him, unimpressed. Ebrose sighed. "He was certain they possess an intellect similar to our own – perhaps even greater."
"Preposterous."
"Maybe," he agreed. "But I have to know." Lagberius sighed next before turning to one of the other soldiers.
"Do it," he ordered. The young man nodded, fear etched across his face, before he scampered off to obey the command. Ebrose turned back to the dragon and smiled, half crazed. Moments later, flood lights suddenly flashed to life around the courtyard. The elevator lit up like a glass candle. An audible hum filled the air as the heaters kicked on to thaw the ice that had built up on the outside of the tower. The dragon didn't stir. He wrapped his coat tightly around him as a snow flurry rushed past their group. Shortly thereafter, the soldier returned and approached the Lord Commander.
"It's back online, sir," he reported. "The heaters are working, but it's throwing error codes. It's saying it needs the technician's key before we can operate it. The last technical check has expired," the young man concluded. Lagberius grunted in approval.
"Are the sensors detecting any ice?"
"Within acceptable parameters, sir," the soldier reported.
"Fetch my keyring from my office," he commanded. "I'll bypass the check with the master key."
"Sir!" the young man saluted and sprinted away. Lagberius turned back to Ebrose.
"I cannot promise your safety, maester," he reminded him as he gestured towards the canopy-covered entrance to the elevator.
"I understand," he agreed as he approached the doors. A few moments later, the young soldier reappeared with a massive keyring. Lagberius took it and dismissed him, searching through the collection of keys until he found the correct match. He slid it into a small, unmarked keyhole under the control panel, causing the doors to open with a shudder. The lights inside were bright with a small monitor above the only two floor buttons – GROUND and TOP. The monitor, rather than displaying the usual tourist-friendly video of the Wall, now displayed an error message. He looked at Lagberius, who inserted the key into the panel inside. The screen flashed a message indicating that the safety protocols were being bypassed. The doors slid shut and the Lord Commander pressed the TOP button. The elevator lurched to life and the two men began riding to the top of the wall.
