Chapter 336

Aegor needed a testing ground to conduct practical experiments and refine his explosives. His original plan had been to have Nina locate a suitable site outside the Gift. After all, while the Iron Bank had only stationed eight observers across the Wall and Crown's Rest, their loan agreement technically granted them the right to move freely within Night’s Watch territories.

Driven by a sense of secrecy that he couldn’t yet fully explain, Aegor wanted to monopolize this trump card—gunpowder weaponry—for as long as possible. And that required airtight confidentiality.

The Ironborn raids on the North gave him an idea. He couldn’t bar outsiders from approaching the 19 keeps along the Wall or Crown's Rest, but Icecanyon Port was a secret naval base constructed for the North. He had every reason to secure it heavily and explicitly prohibit unauthorized access.

To outsiders, he would claim the need to protect the North’s military secrets to justify restricting access to the Bay of Ice. Internally, he would use the development of "White Walker-killer" wildfire weapons as a cover for the explosions. By maintaining strict control over the technical staff and confining them to the site, he could ensure that even if gunpowder’s existence leaked, the critical technical details would remain undisclosed for as long as possible.

The testing ground would be established in the mountains east of the port, far enough inland that no Ironborn raid or land-based assault would accidentally uncover this vital research facility.

...

Beyond the testing ground, there was another reason Aegor had personally made this trip—certain shadowy plans that couldn’t be put into writing. He needed to deliver them in person to the commander he had chosen for Icecanyon Port. The funds he’d managed to secure from the Northern lords, even with Roose Bolton’s unexpected 10,000 gold dragons, fell far short of expectations. To compensate, Aegor had Robb Stark’s promise to "cover the port’s construction expenses."

Advancing military technology was a bottomless pit that could devour any amount of money. Aegor resolved to exploit Robb’s commitment for all it was worth.

Since it was a reimbursement, it wouldn’t be an open check. Even without receipts, he needed plausible expenses. With craftsmen and technicians brought in from outside the Gift, Aegor decided to inflate the costs under two categories: weapons expenditures and garrison wages.

Weapons Expenditures:
The North’s navy would use the aged, stabilized wildfire Aegor had transported from King’s Landing as weapons against the Iron Fleet. Though less effective against White Walkers than freshly distilled liquid wildfire, these volatile materials were still far superior to regular oils. Aegor planned to “recycle” them by equipping the North’s navy with them and including detailed instructions for their use in incendiary bombs.

These materials had cost Aegor nothing but labor to extract from the Alchemists’ Guild’s forgotten stores in King’s Landing. Selling them to the North at a "reasonable price" meant pure profit for him.

Garrison Wages:
Aegor intended to turn Icecanyon Port into the largest Night’s Watch outpost after Crown's Rest, with hundreds of staff and over a thousand guards. While the numbers were real, the personnel wouldn’t be trained soldiers but rather temporary recruits from the mountain clans and new Gift settlers. Icecanyon Port would serve as a training base where these recruits would undergo drills while doubling as the port’s guards.

Here was the key: on the reimbursement forms, these trainees would be listed as “soldiers,” complete with wages. Since they were port guards, their wages would fall under reimbursable expenses. By setting the cost slightly below what the North paid its own soldiers and inflating the number of recruits, Aegor could squeeze out an extra few dozen or even hundreds of gold dragons each month.

In effect, the North would end up subsidizing the military training of the Gift’s population. The money saved in the Gift’s budget translated to more funds for Aegor’s military innovations.

...

Under the looming threat of the White Walkers, arming the population was just the beginning. Training and equipping the Gift’s residents had been on Aegor’s agenda from the moment he opened the gates to the wildlings. He had deliberately delayed starting the program, however, to allow for a transitional period.

Had he begun compulsory training as soon as the wildlings arrived, forcing the last remaining able-bodied men of each clan to leave their families and report to Night’s Watch camps, it would likely have incited rebellion. Half the clans might have risen in revolt, fleeing south to raid the North and turning the Neck into a war zone.

But now the situation was different. Months of earning their keep through labor had ingrained a sense of routine in the wildlings. The systematic erosion of clan leaders’ authority had been underway for some time, and the bloody suppression of the Thule tribe had served as a stark warning. Meanwhile, the logistics department had provided incentives and support to win over the remaining tribes. With this dual approach, no leader dared openly resist Aegor’s plans, even if they harbored private grievances.

If turning the wildlings into the Gift’s settlers was like boiling frogs in warm water, Aegor estimated that they were already seven to eight-tenths cooked. The White Walker threat meant he could wait no longer. It was time to train them, not fret over potential backlash.

Aegor’s goal was simple: to ensure that over half the Gift’s adult population could achieve the following:Basic Discipline: Understand and obey simple Common Tongue commands.Physical Fitness: Develop sufficient strength and endurance.Weapon Familiarity: Learn to handle standardized weapons, including dragonglass and incendiary devices.

These would be the "Three Basics." The aim wasn’t to forge elite soldiers out of every settler—doing so would be impractical, and even if achieved, it might threaten Crown's Rest’s dominance.

The focus on physical conditioning and weapons training was obvious. Years of battling the White Walkers and a bloody assault on the Wall had left the wildlings depleted, with only the malnourished and fearful surviving. The logistics department had been providing ample resources to restore their strength, while the rugged canyon patrol routes served as natural obstacle courses. With enough food and consistent training, even the weakest among them could be rebuilt into a serviceable force.

Discipline was equally critical. While it didn’t guarantee battlefield prowess, it significantly improved a unit’s resilience and ability to follow orders under pressure. An undisciplined force might break at the sight of a single death—or even just the appearance of a White Walker—turning into a panicked mob. In such cases, the "reinforcements" could become a liability instead of an asset.

Aegor’s standards were modest: as long as the new and old settlers could roughly follow plans and avoid chaos during the final battle, it would suffice. The actual strategy to defeat the White Walkers and win the war would remain his responsibility as their leader.

Everything was being set into motion, piece by piece. Now, all that remained was the ultimate challenge ahead.