Aside from Arya’s dissatisfaction at not being able to see the massive weirwood tree rumored to lie at the bottom of the well, the Northern inspection group’s visit to the Nightfort could be considered a success. However, after resting there for two days and nights, the true challenge lay ahead.
Their next stop would take them to villages and strongholds inhabited by the "wildlings," or rather, the newly settled free folk of the Gift.
Emotionally, Aegor wished he could simpl...
Castle Black’s leadership insisted on avoiding bloodshed, while the small delegation from Eastwatch—barely two or three dozen men—was woefully outmatched. In the end, the conservative officers reluctantly agreed to try one last thing: sending a trusted messenger to inform Robb Stark of what was happening at the Wall. If the Night’s Watch could no longer control a certain logistics officer, perhaps an external force could.
The plan was simple and direct. The execution, however, ...
Cotter Pyke opened his eyes.
The sky outside was still dim. Through the glass and curtains, the room remained cloaked in darkness. The faint light was far from enough to wake someone naturally. Even considering the weather, it was surely still early.
He blinked in confusion. Why was he awake?
The Eastwatch delegation had come to Castle Black to participate in the election. Their task was simply to garner votes and gather intelligence on their opponents—there was no need fo...
2025-01-29 10:02:51 +0000 UTC View PostAt this very moment, back at Castle Black, a mere dozen miles away, three of the Night’s Watch’s highest-ranking officers sat fuming in silence, awaiting Robb Stark’s response to Jaime Lannister’s actions that morning. Meanwhile, Cotter Pyke had packed his belongings and was ready to leave for Eastwatch at first light.
None of them could have guessed that before the morning’s confrontation had even reached the Warden of the North’s ears, Aegor, the man they’d sought to re...
Aegor had never personally sailed across the Narrow Sea, but he had heard plenty about its treacherous weather and harsh conditions. Moreover, the journey from Braavos to the Gift was far longer than a mere crossing of the Narrow Sea. Even if the ships successfully braved the storm-ridden waters of the northern Narrow Sea, they still had to navigate the vast Shivering Sea, hugging the eastern coast of the North for over a thousand miles before reaching Eastwatch-by-the-Sea, the easternmost po...
2025-01-28 23:20:19 +0000 UTC View PostThe commotion at Castle Black that morning had been significant. Although Aegor intercepted the complaint letter, rumors could not be completely concealed from the Lord of the North. Since Robb Stark was bound to learn about it eventually, Aegor's priority was to seize the initiative and ensure Robb heard the story from him first. By controlling the narrative, he could shape its aftermath to be either advantageous or, at the very least, harmless to himself.
Aegor understood the power o...
Aegor approached the massive weirwood cautiously, extending a gloved hand to touch its surface.
At first glance, it wasn’t immediately obvious this was a weirwood. Torgenhen Flint’s confident declaration that it was the largest heart tree in the Seven Kingdoms relied entirely on the massive carved face adorning its pale surface—because only followers of the Old Gods would carve faces into weirwoods. The sapling growing aboveground in the kitchen further supported this idea, leavi...
Earl Karstark volunteered to be the first northern noble to descend into the well, and Robb Stark cautiously followed, carefully stepping onto the stone protrusions along the wall. After descending a few steps, Robb suddenly looked back as if remembering something. "Ser Rodrik, keep an eye on Arya and don’t let her come down."
"As you command, my lord."
"What? Why not?" Arya stomped in frustration. Ever since taking on the mantle of family leadership, Robb Stark had grown far ...
The attitude of the northern lords towards the New Gift settlement plan was critical, but at least for today, Aegor did not need to be overly concerned. Long Night Castle was not part of the New Gift initiative; its reactivation had been decided before the wildling surrender and had the unanimous approval of the Night's Watch leadership.
The reason Aegor chose Long Night Castle as the first stop after leaving Castle Black wasn’t due to the number of former wildlings living there, or ...
Such a major event, yet the final key figure to appear took so long to arrive—not out of arrogance, but because of frailty. Maester Aemon, who had served under countless Lord Commanders and had grown so old that even Denys Mallister considered himself a junior in comparison, had been in declining health since Mormont’s death. Months of election turmoil had drained him to the point where he could no longer even walk. Despite the chaos at Castle Black dragging on for hours, he only now arri...
2025-01-28 23:18:47 +0000 UTC View Post"Yohn, stop this madness!" The Master Builder, typically reserved and careful with his words, bellowed for the first time since appearing on the scene.
"You think I'm the one being reckless?" Yohn Royce roared back. "The Kingslayer acted without orders, disobeyed his superiors, and now I'm the one upholding the discipline of the Night's Watch! Your indulgence in his lawless behavior is dragging the entire order into chaos!"
Not everyone shared Yohn Royce's personal vendetta agai...
Cotter Pyke charged at the Kingslayer, his right arm raised high to deliver a downward strike. A low, guttural roar escaped his lips, like a tiger descending from the mountains.
It was a simple, unadorned move, but one that had seen great success in his years with the Night’s Watch. At least three novice wildling raiders had frozen in fear under the forceful arc of this very swing, their skulls split open by the first blow before they ever saw a second.
The argument had delaye...
With the blade pointed at him, Jaime showed no sign of tension. Wearing a faintly amused smile, he kept his gaze locked on Cotter Pyke as his hand moved to his waist...gripping the exquisite steel sword forged by Lannisport's finest smith. Slowly, he drew the blade, the scrape of metal against the sheath’s mouth producing a subtle rasp that, despite its quietness, sent a shiver through many of those present.
The Kingslayer’s movements were deceptively slow yet fluid, and in a singl...
For the first time in history, the Night's Watch election for Lord Commander concluded with a one-man-one-vote system. As the voting results from other strongholds were delivered to Castle Black via ravens, the final tallies revealed a shift that had been quietly brewing.
The brief pause in voting—intended to give the Watch’s brothers time to reflect and clear their minds—had reduced the emotional sway over the results, which became evident in Castle Black. Aegor’s votes at the...
After the election was halted for several days, the voting supervisors appointed by Robb Stark finally reached the various castles along the Wall. They began implementing the new one-man-one-vote electoral system.
This was nothing short of a decisive victory for the reformists. Shadow Tower had 236 eligible voters among the Night's Watch, while Eastwatch had 205. Even if not a single one of these votes went to Aegor, he wouldn’t lose anything. On the contrary, if even one voter absta...
Do we have a grudge or something?
Aegor nearly blurted it out.
The one who had spoken was a Karstark, someone Aegor barely knew. Meeting the man’s gaze, Aegor couldn’t tell if the words came from thoughtless bluntness or carried some hidden intent.
Despite the irritation simmering inside him, Aegor managed a polite smile and shook his head. “I don’t have much of an opinion.”
Robb chuckled. “No need to hold back. Sharing your perspective isn’t meddling...
Everyone’s eyes turned to Aegor.
As the Chief Logistics Officer, he had been sent south by Lord Commander Mormont and spent long periods away from the Wall. This made it difficult for him to connect with the black brothers on a personal level. The moment Mormont fell, Aegor found himself at a disadvantage. Yet, what he lost in familiarity, he gained in opportunity. His time away had not been limited to planting the financial seed of the Night’s Watch in King’s Landing. He had rai...
When one party is resolute and immune to persuasion, and the other lacks the leverage to sway them, negotiations lose their challenge and excitement—often resulting in one-sided agreements with little meaning.
Aegor had experienced this once before, during his negotiations with Margaery Tyrell over the price of technology transfers. Now, thousands of miles away at the Wall, he found himself in a similar situation while dealing with another influential woman.
This time, however...
It wasn’t just Aegor and Melisandre exhausting themselves over the election of the new Lord Commander. In the Long Spear Tower, temporary quarters for the Shadow Tower delegation, Ser Denys Mallister had barely dismissed a few aides and begun his quiet contemplation when he too received an uninvited guest—or rather, two.
“Cotter Pyke. Lord Royce.” The old knight’s polite smile did little to mask his disdain as he watched his longtime rival and Yohn Royce push through the door...
"Increase the number of voters? Surely you’re not suggesting extending voting rights to the Gift. We’re electing the Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch, not the King of the Gift. Voting is a privilege reserved for sworn brothers of the Watch," Melisandre remarked.
"Not that extreme," Aegor chuckled and shook his head. "Even if everyone agreed, I wouldn’t dare. Do that, and Mance Rayder, the former King-Beyond-the-Wall, would undoubtedly win. No, we’ll bend the rules just a l...
In the dim crypt, time seemed to stand still, but in truth, it was growing late, and the window for voting at Castle Black was closing rapidly.
Over two hundred votes remained uncast. Should the decision not be made before supper, these votes would be marked as abstentions—and if that happened, Yohn Royce might surpass the "two-thirds majority" threshold with over 500 votes, securing the position of Lord Commander in a way that left no room for contest.
Aegor had no intention ...
"Such eloquence, Lord Chief Logistics Officer. You’ve truly made me reconsider myself today." Despite being humiliated in front of everyone, Ser Denys Mallister maintained his composure. His face did not redden, and his tone remained steady. "You believe that unprecedented crises demand reform. I, on the other hand, believe that it is precisely because we face such dire circumstances that we must exercise caution."
He paused before continuing, "An 'incompetent leader,' as you put it,...
Over eighty percent of the Night’s Watch at Castle Black had already gathered, and the hall was growing more crowded by the minute. Among the familiar or vaguely recognizable faces of the Watch’s soldiers, Aegor also spotted the long-absent Red Priestess Melisandre and the followers who had accompanied her. Even the aged Maester Aemon, now so frail he could hardly walk, shuffled into the hall with the aid of Samwell Tarly.
Aegor scanned the room, a faint, almost imperceptible smile...
The return of the Chief Logistics Officer after two months was like a storm crashing into Castle Black. He arrived with his sleeves rolled up, radiating an air of confrontation, and summoned the brothers to witness whatever drama was about to unfold. News of his entrance spread like wildfire across the towers and under the rooftops. Whether in the middle of voting, eating, or simply milling about, the black-clad brothers abandoned their tasks to converge upon the election hall.
Time wa...
The stretch of the King's Road running through the Gift, from the southern boundary of the new settlement to Castle Black, had long since been repaired, widened, and reinforced. The straight, sturdy road was regularly patrolled and maintained, ensuring that even the heavy snowfalls couldn’t bury or obscure it. The dark, frozen surface stood out starkly against the surrounding white plains, like a black line drawn by the gods themselves, leading inexorably to the Wall.
“The travel t...
The wind howled outside the window, another day just like any other. Samwell Tarly got dressed, pulled on his boots, and stepped out of his room. He glanced up at the gray, overcast sky, thick with clouds, suppressing the urge to crawl back into his warm bed for just a bit more sleep. Instead, he forced himself toward the hall where the election was taking place.
Castle Black was devoid of color; even the faces of its brothers appeared pale, the black of their uniforms washing out any ...
"We’ve all been played by that bastard!" Yohn Royce fumed as he gathered the other exiled Vale lords sent to the Wall alongside him. His voice was thick with rage and frustration. "He declared he wouldn’t participate in the election and left Castle Black. Everyone thought he was bowing to reality, that he was a clever man who knew when to back down. But we were all wrong. He hasn’t given up at all. Instead, while we were busy fighting over the election, he slipped south to the North to ...
2025-01-28 23:13:30 +0000 UTC View PostRobb had long noticed—Aegor had an uncanny ability to effortlessly utter seemingly profound and logical statements. Instead of analyzing the intricacies of his logic, Robb found himself more interested in the details of the "civilizing" aspect Aegor mentioned. His instincts as the newly appointed Warden of the North told him this was an important governance tool, one worth mastering.
"Ah, that’s a bit unfortunate. Crown's Rest was only completed recently, and while its basic ‘sus...
North of the Neck, aside from White Harbor, Robb and the hundred Winterfell guards accompanying him had never encountered a place as bustling as this.
The wooden houses were occupied by employees of the Night’s Watch logistics division, who worked in an orderly fashion to receive visitors, selling only grain, clothing, and essential supplies. Each entrance was guarded by at least four armed men to maintain order. Due to strict official pricing on key resources, transactions, despite ...
By trading "wildling grain for wildling labor," an audacious and borderline immoral tactic, Aegor had achieved what countless Lord Commanders of the Night’s Watch had only dreamed of for generations. Along the Wall and in the Gift, he had completed a series of remarkable projects: reopening abandoned castles, repairing roads, and transforming the ruins of Crown's Rest into a thriving new settlement.
But the wildlings’ grain was not infinite. To keep the resettlement program alive u...