Aegor was busy—very busy.
Enough was enough. Arya pestering him had been one thing; their relationship was so close that he couldn’t even figure out how to properly turn her away without creating a rift. But now Asha Greyjoy, a former battlefield enemy and the North’s public foe, had taken to demanding things of him? What kind of nonsense was this?
Maybe he’d been too generous with her.
As he walked, listening to his guards recount what had transpired in his absen...
Aegor rarely found his own imagination amusing, but he couldn't help smiling as he pictured Arya awkwardly stammering while trying to convince her fiancé to join the Night’s Watch—or scheming elaborate ways to facilitate her future husband’s infidelity with her sister.
He had given her the ideas she wanted, but once she tried to act on them, she would quickly discover that reality was far more complicated than she anticipated.
...
There had been far nobler individu...
So, under what circumstances can a betrothal be canceled in Westeros?
Aegor had never thought about it before. Theoretically, someone like him—who wasn’t supposed to marry or have children—shouldn’t need to consider such trivial matters unrelated to the grander game. Yet here he was, pondering such nonsense before even shedding his Night’s Watch status. He knew embarrassingly little about marriage laws in the world of ice and fire. Fortunately, whether out of her friendly rap...
The process of overthinking is always the most painful. Once Aegor made up his mind, he felt significantly lighter, forcing himself to shake off the emotional weight of Roose Bolton’s earlier insinuations and focus on the work at hand.
Against the backdrop of preparing for the White Walkers, that wasn’t particularly hard to do.
Aegor’s initial goal for this trip was to secure 30,000 to 50,000 gold dragons. But he quickly realized he wasn’t the first Lord Commander to ask...
Aegor was startled.
It wasn’t the content of Roose Bolton’s words or the audacity of the man’s insinuations that unnerved him. What truly shocked him was their current location.
They weren’t in a secret chamber at Crown's Rest or the Dreadfort, where they could freely discuss treasonous and dangerous topics. They were standing on the walls of Deepwood Motte, the Glover stronghold that was temporarily serving as the Northern army’s command center.
Just months ear...
Westeros had no construction conglomerates or engineering companies—no organizations or professions dedicated to infrastructure development.
The Northern lords, entrenched in their ancestral castles for generations, were masters of frugality. They made do with repairs, stretching their resources year after year. Naturally, none of them volunteered to undertake the hassle of building a new outpost—a task they had no experience with, which would likely incur significant losses.
Aegor had neither the tools nor the means to measure mystical phenomena like the "magic density within the Wall" or the "concentration of the Cold God's energy in the air." Naturally, this meant he couldn’t precisely calculate when the White Walkers would finally overcome their aversion to the Wall and launch an all-out assault.
In theory, every day could be the last before the White Walkers attacked. The Gift was already in a state of maximum war preparedness, with everyone’s inge...
Arya’s prolonged stay at Crown's Rest wasn’t just because of her mischievous refusal to return home. Another key factor was that her temporary guardian, Ser Rodrik Cassel, was enjoying his time in the Gift. Treated as an honored guest, he had fine food, drink, and the occasional opportunity to oversee the training of Crown's Rest’s recruits. His days were leisurely yet fulfilling, much like an employee left behind while their boss went on a business trip—there was no urgency to return...
2025-01-29 12:20:55 +0000 UTC View PostThe arrival of reinforcements shifted the tide slightly, but the North still held the upper hand.
Even Euron Greyjoy, with his madness steeped in shade of the evening, could see the truth: no amount of treasure plundered across the Narrow Sea or magical artifacts scavenged from the ruins of Valyria could bridge the massive gap in strength between the North and the Iron Islands. If he wanted to win this war, his only chance lay in seizing the opportunity to eliminate Robb Stark in this ...
The strategy of passive defense proposed by Roose Bolton struck a critical weakness in Euron Greyjoy’s plans. It was clear to anyone with a sharp eye: if this tactic were fully implemented, the Ironborn would lose their ability to attack the North effectively. They wouldn’t be able to significantly weaken King Stannis’s most important ally before the end of winter.
Determined to disrupt this strategy, the new ruler of the Iron Islands resolved to take action and throw his enemies...
The weeks-long blizzard had finally ceased, but Robb Stark felt no relief—Euron Greyjoy’s Ironborn were far more troublesome than he had anticipated.
As soon as word reached the Wall, Robb had ridden south to Deepwood Motte. The arrival of the Warden of the North greatly bolstered the morale of the western coastline’s nobles and commoners. Northern forces, trudging through the snow, hastily regrouped and launched several counterattacks even before full assembly, managing to score...
If the protagonist weren’t Tywin, Aegor would have thought he was hearing the story of another transmigrator. Without the interference of a foolish daughter and a contemptible sister, these two Lannister men had somehow accomplished a groundbreaking, far-reaching feat together.
Such a bold and forward-thinking move—was this something the old lion had always planned, or had Tyrion, influenced by Aegor’s own actions, inadvertently inspired it and passed the idea along to his father...
The two quickly understood why Arya had run.
The Stark soldiers “arresting” their own lady dashed past them like a gust of wind. This felt so out of place to Nina that she almost forgot what she’d been saying. “Arya… wasn’t she always close to you, my lord? Why are you driving her away?”
“She was close, yes. But you need to understand—getting too involved with a noble’s child can be such a headache,” Aegor explained with a faint smile. He truly liked Arya, ...
"Aegor!" Nina's voice barely concealed her surprise as she turned, but her formal greeting was cut short when he strode forward with a broad smile, wrapping her in a bear hug before planting a kiss on her cheek.
"Stop that... so many people are watching," she whispered, flustered, her face already flushed.
"And who dares to comment?" Aegor declared, his grin unyielding as he glanced around. The workers at the unloading docks quickly busied themselves, pretending not to notice.
Aegor had many plans, but the foremost priority was clear: holding back the invasion of the White Walkers. Everything else hinged on that goal.
Melisandre had confirmed that she could sense the magic within the Wall—magic that Aegor surmised originated from the massive weirwoods growing at its base, their roots entwined with the ancient ice. This magic was what kept the White Walkers and their army of the dead at bay, preventing them from launching a full-scale assault. However, the ...
At the very edge of the outer city, separated by a two-meter-high wall from other districts, was the industrial zone—an independent and self-contained area. Here, a sprawling mass of towering, earth-constructed kilns and furnaces filled the landscape, dominating the view.
Aegor came from a modern world with highly advanced civilization and intricate societal divisions of labor. Though his previous work had touched on metallurgy, he had little direct knowledge of the foundational proc...
Crown's Rest, now the central hub of resources, population, and activity in the Gift, was changing every day. Compared to when Aegor last left it, the place was almost unrecognizable.
The most noticeable change was the emergence of the "outer city."
----
The name “Crown's Rest” in the Common Tongue originally referred to the tower where Queen Alysanne Targaryen had stayed during her visit to the Gift. Over time, the name had been expanded to include the small village...
Just like the cyclical nature of progress in civilization, all stories seem to encounter their share of twists and turns. The sudden death of Jeor Mormont had stalled the Night’s Watch on the frontlines of this life-and-death war for months. If there was any silver lining, it was that nearly all factions during the election process had maintained a baseline of restraint and a sense of the greater good. “Humanity’s march forward may not have advanced, but at least it didn’t regress int...
2025-01-29 12:17:39 +0000 UTC View PostCotter Pyke and Yohn Royce were difficult to deal with, no doubt, but with the tunnel at Eastwatch sealed off from the lands beyond the Wall and with Aegor's cautious—or perhaps cowardly—approach to managing them, the chances of them causing real trouble were slim. If it came down to it, Aegor could simply end them—tearing off the façade of civility and outright executing them.
After all, in the past two years, men of far higher birth and rank had been struck down like flies. It...
Aegor had summoned them.
Cotter Pyke knew there was no avoiding this, so with a grim resolve, he brought Yohn Royce to face the new Lord Commander. He had words to say, just as he assumed Aegor did. But as the two approached within a few paces, they were stopped by Aegor’s men.
----
“Surrender our weapons?” Cotter’s eyes widened in disbelief. “I’m a brother of the Night’s Watch, standing in Castle Black, and you’re asking me to hand over my weapon? On what...
The cremation was over.
Aegor had originally planned to wait until Maester Aemon’s ashes had cooled enough to be gathered before proceeding, but it would take at least another ten minutes for the embers to lose their heat. Continuing the silence felt unnecessary, while standing around awkwardly seemed even worse. A sudden idea struck him, and he decided to make an impromptu adjustment to the schedule, using this lull to his advantage.
----
“Never before has the Night...
Aegor stared at the blazing pyre, his thoughts drifting.
The fact that Cotter Pyke had remained at Castle Black surprised him. On the bright side, it meant the shipments of grain from across the sea were less likely to meet with “accidents” at Eastwatch-by-the-Sea. On the other hand, it also meant Aegor might have to honor his previous promise to create a deputy commander position for Denys Mallister, consulting him on any changes to the Night’s Watch laws moving forward.
...
“Out with the old, in with the new?”
The Maester of Castle Black lay serenely on his funeral pyre, his peaceful expression suggesting he felt no pain when he passed. Aegor, the newly elected Lord Commander, consoled himself with this thought. Having only just been chosen, he hadn’t even delivered an inaugural speech, let alone prepared for the passing of Maester Aemon. To make matters worse, factions from all corners were present, their agendas weighing heavily in the air.
The "Giant’s Nest" had no intention of preparing food or drink to entertain the Northern inspection party, nor would the hurried nobles and soldiers have had the patience to enjoy such hospitality even if it were offered. True to form, they mounted their horses and departed within minutes of Robb bidding farewell to the giant leader. Weeks of inspections came to a close as the Northern contingent, several hundred strong, vanished into the swirling snow, their sights set on the distant battl...
2025-01-29 12:15:43 +0000 UTC View PostWhen the Wildling army, accompanied by giants, crossed the Wall into the Gift, the Night’s Watch, after careful deliberation, settled the giants in a forest by the riverside, several dozen miles northwest of Oakenshield. Coincidentally, this location was just south of Ice Mark, making it a convenient stop for the Northern lords during their inspection tour. It didn’t require backtracking, saving time and effort.
Driven by urgency to protect their homes, the Northern lords packed up...
For the first time since becoming the Chief Logistics Officer, Aegor sincerely apologized to someone. In that fleeting moment, he even felt a sense of camaraderie with Dennis Mallister. Unfortunately, that sentiment didn’t last twelve hours.
At dawn the following day, Robb Stark summoned Aegor and the Northern lords to announce the grim news: the Ironborn had launched another invasion of the Northern coastline.
Ice Mark lacked messenger ravens, so it wasn’t hard to deduce ho...
The logistics corps' influence extended over every newly occupied fortress.
Long before Denys Mallister had finished gathering intelligence from Rickard Karstark, Aegor had already received word from his informants: another Night’s Watch officer had arrived at Ice Mark.
However, he neither cared much about it nor knew that the visitor was none other than the Commander of Shadow Tower himself. And he certainly hadn't expected—that the man would come looking for him so soon.
... 2025-01-29 12:14:44 +0000 UTC View PostRobb felt like he had been outmaneuvered, but he couldn’t figure out how it had happened.
His original plan was straightforward: question Aegor about his recent actions, expecting the man to dodge, deflect, and try to weasel his way out of trouble, as Karstark had predicted. When that inevitably happened, Robb would cut him off, issue a stern reprimand, and make it clear that his behavior would not be tolerated.
If Aegor continued to obfuscate or showed no genuine remorse, Rob...
“What kind of trouble did you cause this time, Master?!”
Arya burst into Aegor’s room, dragging him by the arm, breathless and clearly agitated. Despite her youth, she could tell from her brother’s and the Northern lords’ tone that they were highly displeased with her mentor’s secret maneuvers. This was no minor matter and not something to take lightly.
After spending a few minutes recounting the heated discussions she had overheard, Aegor frowned, his sharp instinct...
The newly settled Gift folk had little in the way of stored resources, but fortunately, the logistics department had delivered food and cooks in advance. There was no shortage of provisions, and the reunion of the Umber father and daughter greatly eased the tension of Northern nobles sharing space with those they still thought of as “wildlings.” The welcoming feast at Ice Mark was simple but not shabby—not exactly warm, but certainly not disrespectful. At the very least, nothing had gon...
2025-01-29 12:11:11 +0000 UTC View Post