Beck

Beck stood in the grass, watching the snowflakes fall gently around him. He looked around frantically to find Lance standing next to him, doing the same. They looked at each other, bewildered, before scanning about. The area was a flurry of activity, with men hauling stones and even giants dragging massive, hewn stone blocks together in a long line, stretching for miles in either direction. There must have been thousands of men working along this line, with dozens of giants and even smaller, green children running about.

"What the hell is this?" Lance spat, his head swiveling about enough to make even Beck feel ill.

"The Wall," a voice came from behind. They turned and saw the man in his black, feathered robe standing with them.

"You must be this Raven I've heard so much about," Beck surmised, peering at the blank face of their new companion.

"I am," he answered simply. Lance approached him and reached out, grasping his arm gently. The Raven looked down where Lance had touched him, then looked up at him. His expression didn't change. Beck couldn't tell if he was shocked or annoyed by it, but the Raven simply raised his head to look over them towards the construction site. Beck turned to look in time to see a giant pushing his stone block into place next to another. A group of men then raised a log wall between them and began pouring in barrels of water, filling the gaps. Some of the water leaked from the sides, between the logs, but the gaps were quickly plugged by the small, green children carrying wooden buckets filled with a grayish-green slop that resembled concrete.

"They're building it," Beck realized. "This is the construction of the Wall."

"It is," the Raven confirmed. Lance took a few steps forward.

"Giants," he murmured, shaking his head in amazement. He turned to Beck and pointed at them. "Giants," he said again.

"Giants," Beck agreed. "Looks like the Lord Commander's stories were true." He turned to the Raven. "Why are we seeing this?" The Raven simply pointed at a spot where a small, green girl was praying on the stone. Beck looked and saw an imperceptible change, as if the rock – once a block of every shade of gray – suddenly had a life of its own.

"Watch legends say that the Wall was made with magic," he mused. "But I suppose the giants helped." Lance looked at the Raven.

"So, the Wall is magic?" his partner asked. The Raven nodded.

"The same magic that made me," the cloaked man confirmed. "And made them too," he added. "Some call it divinity and worship it, believing it to be the actions of gods. Others call it magic, calling themselves sorcerers and wielding it to their own end. The truth is that most people never encounter it until it's far too late," he explained, wistfully staring as a pair of giants lifted a massive block on top of two others. "It will take them hundreds of years to finish building – that sheer will is magical."

As the men watched, they spotted a group of men on horseback, riding along the wall at a casual pace, observing the construction. Two of them rode in front of the rest; One with blackened leather armor and wrapped in furs with a thick, brown beard – the other nearly the same size in a black cloak and clean shaven save for his long sideburns that came down to his jaw. They shared a conversation as they rode, out of earshot of the observing rangers who watched them ride up. Beck pointed at them and turned to the Raven.

"Bran the Builder," he announced. The Raven nodded.

"It is," he replied.

"Who is the other one?" Lance asked, never taking his eyes from the men as they rode past.

"The first Lord Commander," the Raven answered. "His younger brother."

"Unbelievable," Lance gasped, chuckling slightly. He grinned big and looked at Beck, who couldn't help but to join in. The group rode by, stopping occasionally to chat with one of the workers before moving down the line. Beck and Lance watched eagerly before Lance began walking towards the construction. Beck looked at the Raven, who nodded in approval.

"Check it out," Lance shouted as he turned around, pointing at the land around them. "This is where they built Castle Black, isn't it?" He didn't wait for an answer before turning and resuming his inspection of the construction. Beck stepped forward as well, his gaze following beyond the fledgling wall and into the forest beyond.

It was there that something caught his eye. He approached the gap in the wall where, he reasoned, they'd build the tunnel, and stood gazing into the distance. The trees were far away – much further than he ever knew – but he saw the unmistakable silhouette of a mounted individual. They were too distant to make out any details, but he saw the flowing, silvery hair dancing in the wind. He felt his heart begin to race as he focused. The rider was motionless. Lance didn't appear to notice as he walked between a giant's legs, gleefully laughing as he did. Beck wanted to call out to him, but the Raven stepped forward to join him before he could.

"So, you've seen her," the Raven observed, staring ahead with him.

"Is that her her?" Beck asked, swallowing. The Raven cocked his head slightly.

"Yes," he answered. "And no."

"What do you mean?" Beck questioned, his voice betraying the frustration at the non-answer. The Raven didn't seem to notice or care about it.

"She isn't the first," the Raven explained. "She won't be the last. The first one was defeated. That's why they're building this Wall," he turned to the construction to see Lance approaching them, now noticing the distant rider. "They just finished fighting them only a few years ago," he went on. Beck frowned and looked over at him.

"If they defeated them, why are they still here?" he asked. Lance looked over as well, as if Beck had asked the best question he'd ever heard. The Raven frowned, the first sign of emotion they'd seen from him.

"Magic," he answered without explaining. He turned and began walking away. Beck turned to follow him.

"Bran the Builder built the Wall – we all learn this when we join," he called after the Raven, causing him to stop and turn back to the two rangers. "His brother was the first Lord Commander – okay, thank you for sharing that. It's nice to know it definitively," he went on, stepping closer and closer to the mythical being. "But we aren't scientists or historians or professors – we're soldiers. We don't operate without orders or intel," he challenged. The Raven grimaced slightly.

Before they could speak again, they were standing on the top of the Wall, facing the frozen north. The Raven stood with them, and dozens of Watchmen moved about. The Wall looked well-manned and well-supplied, though the weapons and armor the men carried were primitive. It felt colder than before. The two rangers watched as the ancient brothers moved about furiously, obviously preparing for something. Some carried bows, others had javelins. Down below, a single rider exited the tunnel and began riding towards the trees. There, they saw her again – sitting atop her horse with silver hair waving in the wind.

"What's happened?" Beck asked, deeply concerned about the sudden change of surroundings. The Raven motioned towards the rider.

"He's the thirteenth Lord Commander of the Night's Watch," the Raven informed them. Beck looked down at the rider.

"I don't know who he is," he admitted. "I haven't studied that far back."

"No one knows who he is in your time," the Raven reassured him. "His name was struck from the books because of what he's about to do." The rangers watched as he made his way towards the other figure.

"What's he going to do?" Lance asked. The Raven looked at him and frowned gently.

"He's going to trade his honor for the promise of power," the Raven told him. "And he's going to fall victim to lust." Lance snapped his head over to the Raven, confusion painted on his face.

"What does that even mean?" he whined. The Raven closed his eyes.