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Post by Snowglobe18 on Aug 27, 2017 9:23:59 GMT -7
Katherine wished that she could help out more than she was, sure having her men train Jon's freed up his time and put it to something else but in the end were they going to be when the wildlings did actually attack? She wasn't sure because the attacks could be anything from now til next month, it depended on when they felt like attacking the wall and getting into the south but the day that happened it would be like seven hells had opened up and let out everything that was in it. No one would be safe and not even the Kings in their castles or the Lords with their lands, it would all burn and there was a part of her that thought maybe it should, maybe Westeros should burn. She cleared her throat, her breath coming out in the air from where it was so cold. The wind blowing her dark hair around and she cuddled more into her cloak. The one thing that Robb had really right was giving her this cloak because if she was going to be staying here for a couple or so more days then she was going to be needing this a lot more. He had once said to her that he wasn't in this war so that people could sing songs of his name but to go home. Katherine wondered would she ever go home? Would she ever set foot in Winterfell again now that the Bolton's had taken it after they killed Robb? To the people down south they were the Warden's of the North. But they didn't seem to get that she was still in the game, not for the throne. That was the last thing she wanted.. No she was in the game to make sure the Frey's paid a heavy price for what they had done. Katherine never went to Robb Stark to fall in love with him; she had gone to ask for his protection, to ask for his safety especially when she knew the real reason why Ned had been executed. He might not have told the Lannisters that there was another person who knew what they were doing. But she had and they married and sometimes she wondered if they should've especially if Walder Frey killed him because Robb broke an oath. She pushed that thought away and moved towards the hall. -.- Meanwhile in King's Landing She hated sitting in on these meetings, there was just something boring about listening to the old man talk and was now starting to wonder why the old fool was still alive and then started to think of all the ways he could be killed. Then her attention was turned to Varys talking. "A raven came from the wall, Lord Commander Snow is asking for help and says that he's going to be needing more men" Cersei raised an eyebrow "A bastard leads the Night's Watch now? That is a surprise" she said sarcastically and took a drink of wine. "Doesn't that boy understand that we're at war or does he not care?" she huffed out and put the glass back on the table. It seemed like everyone needed something from them but whether they actually got it was another matter. "The Night's Watch doesn't take sides, Your Grace, I'm sure he has written to everyone in the seven Kingdoms for something" Cersei sighed and then tilted her head to the side. "Speaking of war has anyone found my traitorous sister yet? I thought she would be dead by now along with that brat that she's carrying" "Well we know she won't try her luck at Winterfell, Roose Bolton's bastard son is the new owner of the castle" Cersei raised an eyebrow. "Ah, yes, the Bolton's," she muttered. When she had heard that Robb Stark had been killed at the Twins there had been some sort of relief from her to know that they had got rid of one problem but knew there were so many others to go. Katherine had left in the night after Cersei had taken the throne and hadn't been heard of until there was news that she had married the Stark boy. She had turned on her own blood and was with the enemy now. Cersei had made it her mission to make sure that Katherine was punished and now that her husband was dead there wasn't many places for her to run too. "Robb Stark's bannermen" she said and looked around at the people sitting at the table. "They were always on our side, Your Grace" Cersei wasn't sure if she believed that but they had killed Robb Stark and now held Winterfell, she wasn't sure if there were anywhere else Katerina could run but she sure was hiding somewhere she just needed to know where that was. She stood up "This meeting is over" she said and looked at the table and made her way towards the door "The next time we have a meeting I want to hear that Katerina is dead and her head is going to be delivered back to me so I can put it up next to Ned Stark's especially when she loved that family so well" "And the request from Jon Snow?" asked Varys. Cersei thought about it for a moment as she walked towards the door. "No" she said and looked over at him. "We won't be sending anything to that bastard" she walked out the chamber.
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Post by Ray on Aug 27, 2017 18:09:58 GMT -7
"The best chance we can hope for is an organized defense," Jon says over Othell's frustrated huffs, his fear plain in the shaking of his hands around his cup of mead. "We can't rely on getting any more men, we can't run, and we can't seal ourselves off from the North. We need stronger barricades, sharp blades, and plan."
"How can we plan if we don't know when they'll attack? How they'll attack?" Allister asks, his voice smooth like butter like he's close to catching Jon in a trap. "Wildlings are unpredictable. They don't fight like normal men." Jon parts his lips to respond.
"That's not necessarily true." Sam speaks up, cutting Jon off. He holds on finger in the air, an almost satisfied yet nervous smile filling his lips. "Obert Castwell, the eight-hundred and fifty-first lord commander of the Night's Watch, documented the fighting techniques of the wildlings quite extensively. And while it's been some years-"
"Yes. Some years." Allister snaps back, lip curling up in thinly veiled disgust. "The wildlings do not follow the restrictions of some book, they're animals. Each one of them just as wild as the next. Look at Lord Snow's pet," Allister says, turning his beady eyes back on Jon. Jon lip twitches. "Goes where it wants to go, eats what it wants to eat, shits where it wants to shit, like it's a bloody high lord and we're all just the poor bastards who have to clean up after it. And where is it right now?" Allister waves a hand towards the rest of the empty room. Jon does not look. "Not here. Probably north of the wall, laughing with Mance Rayder about how we all let the enemy right into our camp."
"The wildlings," Jon says, his voice sharp and loud, cutting Allister's bitching off to get back to the subject, "Will try to climb the wall using pickaxes and spiked boots. They'll come with mammoths and giants to break down the gate in the tunnel. They'll have bows and axes and knives but they won't have steel. And I know this," he says, raising his voice again before Allister dares interrupt him, "Because of my pet, as you so like to call him. He's provided more useful information in a month, than you have in the six years I've been at Castle Black, and he does not complain nearly half as much as you do. So before you think of opening your mouth to spew insults, perhaps do your duties as First Ranger so I don't have to find a man north of the wall to do them for you."
A tense moment of silences descends upon the wall, Allister sitting and fuming in his chair, trying to find the courage somewhere in him to yell back at his Lord Commander. And then, words laced thickly with anger, he replies slowly, "Yes, Lord Command-"
But Jon cuts him off again before he can finish, "I want all remaining rangers on top of the wall with bows. Drop pitch onto the mammoths when they try to ram the gate. Once and if the wildlings begin climbing the wall, use the scythe at the halfway point. Understood?"
"Yes." Allister almost hisses.
"Othell, have your men create spikes at the base of the wall. That might deter some of the wildlings from climbing." Jon says, pushing himself to his feet.
"Aye, Lord Commander." Othell says, quietly at first, before clearing his throat and repeating it louder.
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Post by Snowglobe18 on Aug 27, 2017 18:45:23 GMT -7
Katherine remembered what Jon had said the night before about how he had sent ravens out to everyone but there was something in her that said he wouldn't get a response. If she knew Cersei and she did, she would make sure that everything revolved around her, this war had been something that she had started and now it seemed as if in the end it would be her downfall. No one would sing songs about the stupid girl who had started a war by chopping off Ned Stark's head.
If she wasn't Katherine's sister then she might actually mistake her for being a Lannister. They were cold and cunning and knew how to play Cersei and that stupid girl had played right into their hands. The Seven Kingdoms all belonged to a Lannister and one who didn't know a thing about war. Katherine was learning but not learning as fast as she could she would admit to that. Soon she would be heading south herself and marching on House Frey but it seemed like right now there was trouble here.
As much as it pained Katherine she knew she couldn't help Jon as much as she wanted too. She needed her men to go to the Twins and rip Walder Frey's head from his body after watching everything he loved so much be ripped away from him. Even if she did wish that Jon wouls March south with her, he had his vows and his men here.
Katherine sighed out a breath and watched as it came out before she slowly opened the door to the hall. It was there that she felt the tension more than she ever had. A meeting was going on "I'm sorry I didn't know this was.." she stopped and cleared her throat "I'll just leave you to it" she muttered and bit on her lip. She knew her presence here was causing Jon some backlash as well as the wildlings coming this way. It was one of the reasons why she had offered her men to train his so that she could at least pay back something and it would give him more time for planning rather than worrying about the men not being trained.
But now she was starting to wish she hadn't opened that door because she could feel the tension riding on her back like it was her that they were sticking their words in too.
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Post by Ray on Aug 27, 2017 19:33:38 GMT -7
Everyone glances upwards when the door to the great hall suddenly swings open, watching as Katherine steps in in just as much surprise as the men seated at the tables. Sam gives her a small sympathetic smile, but everyone else tries their best to relax a little.
"No need to apologize, your Grace." Jon calls out to her, willing himself to exhale a slow, calming breath. "It's an open meeting. We're...just discussing plans for the possible wildling attack." He explains.
"And butting our heads together like competing juvenile rams," Maester Aemon rasps, his chin held high but his eyes seeing nothing, "As headstrong men concerned for their brothers often do." Jon looks to the old man, and a small fond little smile tugs at just one edge of his mouth. Even still, even as ill as he has become, Maester Aemon is a calming presence in the face of sure death. Every time Jon has thought of abandoning his post or doing something foolish or has been in need of just one word to help make up his mind, Aemon has always been there as a guiding hand. And for a boy with very little family left, Aemon is like the grandfather Jon never had. "I don't believe we've had the pleasure." Aemon continues, turning slightly in his chair towards Katherine's voice.
"Maester Aemon, this is Katherine Stark, Queen in the North." Sam introduces for him. At the table, Allister titters bitterly, and Jon looks to him momentarily out of annoyance. "I'm Sam, Samwell Tarly." He adds on a little quieter, lifting a hand in a slight wave.
"It's good to meet a Queen of the North. I've met far too many Kings in my time. A lady is a nice change in my old age." Aemon bobs his head a little.
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Post by Snowglobe18 on Aug 27, 2017 20:10:37 GMT -7
Katherine looks over when she hears Jon call out to her and slowly she starts to turn back into the room. She slides her gloves off underneath her cloak before moving towards the table. "So just being men then" she said with a soft smile. There had been many times when Robb had butted heads with his bannermen, sadly it happened a lot more towards the end than she cared to admit. Sadly the King in the North and his bannermen didn't always see eye to eye and when they did it was pretty much too late especially when he had rode off to the Twins and never came back again. But she kept all of that information to herself because it wouldn't be useful here.
Even from here she could see that Maester Aemon couldn't see but that didn't mean he couldn't hear her and he had turned towards her voice. She was going to say what her name was but Sam had beat her to it. So this was the person who had put Jon's name forward for Lord Commander. There was a part of her that was grateful because she was sure that if anyone else was the Lord of these men then she would be turned away, even if they never turned people away.
Katherine gave Sam a soft smile and made a mental note of the names. "Sometimes Maester Queen's came be just as bad as Kings but hopefully I won't be as bad" she said softly but there was a part of her that wouldn't want to be anyway as bad as her sister. Cersei was making quite a name for herself, just because she had been in Robb's camp that didn't mean she didn't hear things and she knew that her sister was going to make sure that her head was on a spike next to Ned but for now she had managed to stay alive. Even if sometimes she would wonder if her own bannermen would turn on her like they had Robb. But Katherine couldn't think that way because if she did then she wouldn't be able to trust anyone ever again and for some people that could be acceptable but for her, if she wanted to take the fight to the Frey's then she would need to trust her men. Trust that they wouldn't put a knife in her like they had her husband.
Her eyes slid towards Jon and she gave him a soft smile before looking away.
"If there is any other way my men can help out then don't be afraid to ask" she gave a nod of her head before slowly turning towards the door.
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Post by Ray on Aug 27, 2017 23:27:35 GMT -7
"Your men could quit their jousting in the courtyard and join the actual fight," Allister calls out across the room to Katherine as he begins to turn away once more. After a short purposeful second, he finally adds, "Your Grace."
"Katherine has her own wars to fight," Jon replies, trying his hardest not to lose his temper for the second time that day. But he keeps his voice even, calm, and he slowly turns his eyes on Allister and presses a tight fist to the surface of the table as he stands among the seated men. "And even if we had her men, it would do nothing to stop the tide of wildlings at our door. It would just be more bodies to burn. We need to focus on defenses." He repeats, pounding his fist lightly upon the wood for emphasis on his final words. "Without our defenses, even the Lannister army could not save us."
"Aye, but how long will our defenses last, do you think?" Aemon speaks, and Jon lifts his dark eyes to the old man's face. "If we were King's Landing or even Winterfell, we could withstand the wildling army for months until the clans got bored and moved on. But we are not. We are the small remnant of what Castle Black once was. Our arrows will run short, our food will travel further south, our fires will go cold. And all within a month's time." Jon presses his mouth flat. But Aemon is not finished. "We must rally for a truce with Mance Rayder."
Davos and Jon share a look, the former silently reminding him of their earlier discussion with just a simple arch of a gray brow.
"Are you bleeding mad?" Allister snarls, disgust capturing his entire face.
"Lord Commanders and Kings of the Free Folk have worked together before in dire times," Aemon continues, unafraid of Allister's rage. "And this is dire indeed. Offer farming lands just to the south of us, give them the freedom they seek, and they just might fight for us rather than against us."
"I've had fuckin' enough of this," Allister hisses, sharply rising to his feet. His chair scrapes harshly across the stone floor as he shoves it backwards, and his feet pound as he makes way for the door. Jon lets him leave. He has no use for his rage.
"He has a point, Jon, you know that." Davos continues on, once the door to the hall has slammed shut once more. "Othell. Thoughts?"
The First Builder takes a moment to down the rest of his drink, mead leaking into his black beard, and sets the empty tankard back down after he has finished. Sucking in a breath, he looks as if he wants to respond, but halts and shakes his head instead. "I know I don't want to die." He finally speaks.
Jon sighs heavily, lifting a hand to pinch at the bridge of his nose. "That's enough for today." He mutters, letting his hand fall heavily back to his side. "Work on defenses. We'll figure out the rest later."
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Post by Snowglobe18 on Aug 28, 2017 6:31:50 GMT -7
Katherine heard a voice pointed right at her and she closed her eyes when her back was turned and took a deep breath, it was like he was trying to undermine her. Like he was looking down on her even if she was higher than him. That had been the first time ever that she had put station above anyone else. She cleared her throat, opened her eyes and then turned to look back at the man who had sarcastically added on 'your grace' but before she could really say anything Jon had spoke and even from here she could pretty much feel the anger coming from him.
This Allister man really wasn't making life easy for Jon right now. It seemed like he had done nothing but complained about everything since Katherine had got here, maybe he was always like that. Jon might've spoken but that didn't stop her from adding something to it. "At least my men are doing something, the only thing I have seen you do is complain like a bloody woman" she said and watched Allister, the look of anger in her own eyes.
In the late night conversation that they had had the night before Katherine had told Jon that she would love to help if she really could but she needed her men to march on the Twins. But if they were there when the wildlings attacked then she would make sure that her men helped out, it would add numbers to Jon's men but it wouldn't be enough to do everything. The wildlings still would out number them either way.
Katherine had every intention of leaving but she watched Allister's outburst and moved out the way before he could knock into her as he moved out the door. She jumped a little when the door shut and then sighed under her breath. It seemed like he was a fire waiting to explode, and it was making her wonder how a man like him could even be in the Night's Watch and he must hate the fact that Jon had become Lord Commander over him. Katherine would never tell anyone of the council that Jon had given her the night before but if there was talk then she would just say that she had talked to him about her men helping out wherever she could. It pained her to know that she couldn't help especially when they were already here but maybe training the men that was already here was a start.
Her eyes fell on Jon and watched as he said that the meeting was over and her heart went out to him. Katherine might be a Queen and without a lot of things from the north but it seemed like Jon had the harder job of the two especially when he was trying to keep the rest of the country safe and his men at the same time and the attack from the wildlings would make his job a whole lot harder. He had admitted that he had only a hundred men to fight off ten thousand wildlings and for the first time she knew that there were other things that were at stake and she stepped forward towards the tables and bit on her lip for a moment.
Katherine then said something "My men will stand with you, we're not many and definitely not as many as say my sister has or anyone else for that matter especially when most of my husband's bannermen died with him at the Twins but what I do have I will offer in service to help you" she looked at Jon. She knew more than anyone that she had her own war to fight but at the moment it didn't seem like she would be going anywhere and she couldn't stand by while the rest of Westeros didn't help out. Katherine didn't have much but what she did have she was going to offer to help him plus her men seemed to want to fight and maybe if this happened then it would calm them down for a moment or it will gear them up to take on the Frey's either way she was going to offer her help and really it was down to Jon on whether he would take that help. He would be a fool to pass up that opportunity but she couldn't make him do something that he didn't want too.
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Post by Ray on Aug 28, 2017 10:59:13 GMT -7
Othell is already making his way to the door, no doubt in search of more mead to calm his shaking hands, and Sam is beginning to help Maester Aemon from his seat when Katherine halts them all. But no one is more surprised than Jon, who lifts his brown eyes to Katherine's face as all of his jumbled apprehension and anger flood from him only to be replaced by this -- a strange mix of relief and regret.
A part of him wants to argue. To remind her of why she's really here, why she needs her army, why her men wouldn't make it out of this alive....but the words just don't find their way out. In the end, it would all be for naught. His men, his chosen leaders, have all just heard Katherine swear her own to the cause, an offer that Jon would be a damned fool to refuse. More than a fool. He'd be willfully sealing the death of the Night's Watch if he told her no. And word of that would quickly spread through the ranks, making the lingering temptation to throw down their arms and abandon their posts much sweeter. But it's more than that. It's more than what would happen if he said no. It's what would happen if he said yes. Katherine has nearly a thousand men, all with military training, all who have lived and fought in the North. A thousand men from the south would not be as fortuitous as the men camped outside of his gate right now, and she's just given them to him. They could hold the wall for months against the tide.
So he clenches his jaw, looks to Katherine with resigned acceptance. And nods.
Sam leans towards Maester Aemon and quietly whispers Jon's decision. Aemon smiles, but faintly.
"Have your commanders meet me at the carriage." Jon says, though a little guiltily. "If they're going to help us defend the wall, they should know what they're fighting for."
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Post by Snowglobe18 on Aug 28, 2017 11:49:20 GMT -7
Katherine stood there waiting for him to yell or to do something. She knew what she was giving up but Lord Frey wasn't going anywhere and at the moment neither was she so offering her men to him was the next best offer, training might help or it might not but could she really leave this place and let them fight on their own knowing that this place could be destroyed? The answer to that was no. Like she said there wasn't many of her men, it wasn't as much as he needed from the other houses but they had to face the truth and accept that they weren't going to help out. No one in the south was going to help but they expected the Night's Watch to keep them safe but wouldn't help out when the Night's Watch was in trouble.
And that trouble was getting closer and closer all the time.
Plus she was sure that if it was Robb standing here instead of her then he would do everything he could to help out Jon and the Night's Watch.
Finally Jon nodded but she could see the clenching of his jaw and wondered if there was anything he really wanted to say to her but knew he couldn't in front of Sam and Maester Aemon. Her eyes caught on Sam whispering to Maester Aemon but she slowly moved back to look at Jon when he spoke and she nodded. She opened her mouth to say something but guessed it was better to just leave it and she slowly turned away, her dark hair spinning around after her and then laying back against her cloak before moving to the door and pulling it open. Katherine gave Jon a last look before she moved out of the hall and into the cold, putting her gloves back on so that they would keep her hands warm.
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Post by Ray on Aug 28, 2017 12:20:13 GMT -7
The room begins to empty shortly after Katherine leaves the great hall - Othell quietly disappearing out into the snowdrift as Sam helps Maester Aemon back to his quarters. But Davos lingers behind with Jon for just a moment, rising slowly to his feet and turning to face the raven-haired man still standing at the table. "Try not to look so disappointed, lad," he says, drawing Jon's attention, "We need the men."
"I know," Jon replies.
"And I think your brother would want them to fight for a better cause than revenge." Davos adds on without a moment's hesitation. Jon looks to him, lips parting slightly, but Davos is already turning for the door to leave Jon with that final thought. But all it does is leave a worse taste at the back of Jon's mouth. He stands there for a moment longer, dark eyes lowering to the table and a slow breath falling from his lips. Maybe Davos is right. Maybe Katherine is right.
So why does he feel so guilty?
He picks up his coat, and heads out into the cold.
With winter rapidly approaching, the days grow shorter and shorter all the time. Even now, barely halfway through the day, the light is already beginning to wane. There's pink growing on the horizon towards the west, shrouded only by a thickening grey fog, and Jon stares at it as he waits by the lift up the side of the wall for Katherine's commanders. He blows warm air into his gloved palms before shrugging his shoulders deeper inside his cloak, a chill sweeping through the camp.
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Post by Snowglobe18 on Aug 28, 2017 12:54:51 GMT -7
After Katherine had left the hall she had gone straight to William to see if he could get all the commanders together because she had something for them to do. There was something in her that made sure she kept to promise, the Night's Watch was in dire need of more men and she had the men that they needed. The men have been wanting a fight for a while and now she was going to be giving them one. No it wasn't against Walder Frey but at the moment this is all she could really give them and afterwards if she had men left then she would take them to the Twins and create seven hells for the Frey's but for now she was going to help the very people that was giving them shelter and protection.
How could she help them? How could she not help him?
Katherine bit down on her lip and watched as her commanders moved over to where the carriage was and for a moment she wished that she could go up and see just what they were fighting for, to see the other side of the wall and look out onto the North. But she wasn't sure if it was best for her to actually go up with them especially when no doubt it was slippery. There were some others that took over from the men who were going up and she sighed. Just as she did sigh there was a sharp pain in her side and she cleared her throat and looked down before taking breaths. She was aching that was all, maybe worried about what was going to happen once the wildlings actually came to the wall but right now that worry wasn't for her. She couldn't worry about things like this even if she generally was.
William walked over to where Jon was waiting and then looked upwards but it was shrouded in mist and the ever coming darkness. "Are we going up?" he asked and looked down at Lord Commander Snow. There was just something magical about the wall and having not seen what was passed it, even though he knew what was north of the wall, there was something quite exciting about going up. Thankfully these men were from the North so it meant that they were used to the stories of the white walkers and the wildlings but it was different when it came to actually seeing anything. It seemed like all the men were ready for a fight, Queen Katherine had promised them another one but at the moment this was the only one they were going to get and if it helped out the Night's Watch then he was down for that fight.
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Post by Ray on Aug 28, 2017 13:31:38 GMT -7
Katherine's second-in-command approaches, a glint of what could only be excitement residing in his eyes. Jon remembers feeling the same way the first time he stood in front of the steel gate to the carriage. Remembers his heart pounding in his chest and the adrenaline rushing in his veins. The wall is a daunting thing, its height far surpassing any tower Jon has ever seen or heard of, but to stand upon the very top...to look down as the rest of the world unfolds before your very eyes...there is nothing like it. Even now, years after he stood atop the wall for the very first time, Jon will look out across the snow fields and mountains and forests ranging as far as the eye can see, and forget how to breathe.
"We are," he replies with a small smile. "I don't believe any man should risk his life without knowing why. And here," he says as he pulls open the metal gate to the carriage, letting Katherine's man step in first, "You have to see it to know."
Jon steps in after him, and gives a nod towards the man standing by the crank. The carriage gives a small lurch as it begins its ascent, but gradually lifts from the platform into the sky. The higher they rise, the smaller Castle Black looks below. The journey upwards is long, and Jon watches as the sky continues to darken quicker and quicker by the time they reach the top. From here, Westeros appears like one long valley, green and gray and lonely. Jon pushes open the gate once more and steps out onto the ice, salt spread across the pathways giving them the traction they need to walk forward.
"Careful not to slip," Jon instructs, moving forward with practiced ease.
A few brothers move back and forth, lugging barrels of pitch and lighting fires as night quickly approaches. Or something resembling night. It can't be more than early afternoon, but a dark shroud has spread across the wall. Jon pays it no mind, his father's words echoing at the back of his thoughts.
"The wall has stood here for thousands of years, but you're a Northman. So I won't waste your time with stories you've no doubt heard since you were a child," Jon tells him, glancing briefly back over his shoulder towards the man. "What I want you to see is what lies beyond the wall. What the wildlings have learned to survive during all that time. What drives them south." He steps towards the edge as the passageways open up, looking out over the sudden drop...and the north that spreads beyond. Unlike Westeros, unlike the south, the north is a wild thing covered in vast, dense forests, sharp mountain peaks, and pure white snow. Here, there are no glimpses of small villages or cleared lands where a Lord's castle might stand. Nothing has tamed this place. Nothing ever will. It's beautiful, with the red glow of the sunset shining a light upon even the darkest corners.
Jon gives the man a moment to look, before he breaks the silence. "The view is enough to make you fall in love with it," he says, looking out rather than at him. "But it's a dangerous place, a hard place. There are things in those woods and those mountains and those fields of ice that will kill you before you can draw your sword and fight. Bears the size of mammoths, wildlings who will sooner eat you then let your body go to waste, and..." His words cut short when he allows himself to truly look at the scene before him, not for its beauty. Not for the purpose of storytelling. But to truly see. And it's only then that he notices the flicker of the red light. The way it sits not at the horizon, behind the cliffs, behind the hills, but only at the crest of the forest a handful of miles from them. The smell of smoke drifting on the air.
"Fire..." Jon mutters, the pieces placing themselves together in his head. He whirls around, and his voice breaks out in a sharp yell. "Fire!"
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Post by Snowglobe18 on Aug 28, 2017 14:06:14 GMT -7
William was a grown man but that didn't mean he wasn't a little excited to see what was on the other side of this wall. He had heard stories but he wasn't sure anyone could actually describe what it looked like on the other side. Queen Katherine had asked him whether or not he had ever considered joining the Night's Watch and he had given her his answer but if he got to see the view from the wall everyday then he might just sign himself up to become a brother.
They travelled up and he watched as Castle Black and the rest of the men training got smaller and smaller as they rose up in the carriage. It was definitely a lot colder up here which was something he can't say he had experience before. When they got to the top he walked out of the carriage being careful not to slip but when he saw that view, that beautiful view from here it was clear to see that no one had got the idea of what it looked like right because there was no words to ever describe it.
Jon had started speaking and he did have to admit that there was a huge bit of him that was in love right now because he has never seen anything beautiful. The Lord Commader spoke and he just listened and kept his eyes forward but when Jon said that there was fire he could feel himself get ready for battle right there and then but they would need the others to get ready. "Shall we sound the alarm?" He asked and looked over at Jon.
Meanwhile on the ground Katherine was sure that the pain was getting worse. She had watched Jon and William move up in the carriage before she had headed inside and stripped herself of her cloak and gloves before she started taking deep breathes in and out but this literally had come out of nowhere but in the back of her mind she knew what it could mean and if it was true then she prayed that no one attacked tonight because there was going to be one extra person here and she was sure that it would please Allister.
It would seem that the youngest Stark wanted to be born and nothing was going to stop that from happening.
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Post by Ray on Aug 28, 2017 14:35:26 GMT -7
"Sound the horn!" Jon yells, his body turning towards the brother of the Night's Watch stationed beside the massive instrument. The man leaps to his feet, "The wildlings are coming!" In two long bellows, the horn echoes on either side of the wall, it's sound penetrating through the growing fog down to Castle Black and into the woods of the North. The noise is bone-shaking at this height and this close, but Jon can scarcely hear it over the thundering of his own heart in his chest.
Gods. Not now. Not today. But the fire rages beyond, spreading through the trees in wild frenzy, casting billows of black smoke into an already grey sky. Snow and ash pelt his face. In the distance, he can hear echoing cries.
"Man your stations, prepare yourselves!" Jon continues, not allowing himself to be stricken with fear. Not here. He's lived too long, survived too much, to let the wildling army scare him before the fight has begun. The men upon the wall begin shouting orders back and forth, as they practiced, lighting the torches upon the tops of their stations and arming themselves with bows and rolling the barrels of pitch to their designated ramps with more urgency. Jon turns upon William, the fire reflecting in the dark pools of his eyes. "Commander, return to Castle Black. Protect the Queen and rally your men. We'll need them soon enough." He orders before giving him a reassuring squeeze on his arm.
Jon releases him and turns back to the scene ahead, closing his eyes against the snow storm that begins to swirl harder around them. The horn blows twice more, warning the men below yet again. And then he sees movement, something rushing in the trees, and Jon steels himself for what's to come.
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Post by Snowglobe18 on Aug 28, 2017 14:54:57 GMT -7
The horn seemed to echo right through William but he kept his eyes on the fire. It was a good thing they came up here because there was no way in seven hells that they would've seen it from down below but someone would've sounded the alarm and it would've been heard down on the ground.
Jon gave him an order and he nodded once before he moved back to the carriage, he got in and then suddenly he was being taken back down to the ground. He had to protect Katherine and rally his men. He could pretty much feel the tension from here even though he was a long way from the ground. His heart was pounding hard in his chest and he thought about the battle that was going to happen from now. It was going to give them something to sedate the side that wanted Walder Frey's head on a pike. It was going to give them some peace for a bit knowing that they had a fight and it would also at the same time get them going for the next one. The one they wanted to march south for.
Once on the ground he rallied the men in the courtyard and even looked up to see that more were running in the gates with their weapons. Another of the men gave him a grin as if this was the fight he had been waiting for. But he didn't hold that grin for long because he went to find someone else, someone who was more important than him or any of the other men. He walked to her quarters but didn't knock because this was important and he saw her in pain and the only thing he could really think is... Not now.
Katherine heard the horns and felt it go right through her but then again so did the pain right now. This was the last thing she needed and the last thing Jon needed too because the wildlings were attacking and Katherine was having her child. She swallowed hard and closed her eyes against the pain but it didn't go away.
She only opened her eyes when someone walked into her room and saw that it was William and the look on his face said the same exact thing that she had been thinking. But it couldn't be helped now no matter what they wanted. There was only one person she knew who could help her. The only person who they spare.
"Find Samwell Tarly and bring him here" she said and that was an order and then watched as William moved out the door and shutting it behind him.
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