"Why are they burning the forest?"
"What else can fire be used for?" Aegor gritted his teeth. "It gives light and heat, it burns, and it glows. They could be using fire to stop the wights, or they might be using it as a signal for those who have crossed the Wall. All things considered, Mance Rayder may be using the flames as a signal to launch a full-scale assault, while also creating a barrier to prevent the wights from attacking his rear when he strikes the Wall."
Just my luck, why did I arrive at exactly this moment?
If it hadn't taken him more than ten days to go west and retrieve Jaime, he would have arrived at Castle Black earlier and had time to plan a strategy against the wildlings. On the other hand, if he hadn't met Arya's kin while traveling north from the Neck, and hadn't pushed so hard to rid himself of that clingy little apprentice, even arriving a day or two later would have meant missing the initial wave of the assault.
In short, whether earlier or later, he could have either avoided this dangerous battle or faced it with more preparation. Instead, he showed up at the worst possible moment, with no time to plan, forced straight into the fray.
…
"A general assault? What do we do then?!"
After spending a year at the Wall, Jon Snow was no longer the unsure boy he once was. But now that someone older and seemingly wiser was at his side, he instinctively leaned toward relying on Aegor's judgment.
"What else can we do? We hold the line. Keep your eyes on the outer Wall!" Aegor barked at the Night's Watch brothers standing atop the Wall. "Let's go down and organize the defenses. And remember, if anything starts moving near the Wall, don't hesitate. Blow the horn twice!"
…
"I understand. Don't worry."
"Let's move."
Aegor was a sworn brother of the Night's Watch and an officer. He might be afraid of dying, but he wouldn't shirk his duty. Since he had arrived at such a critical moment, he might as well step forward.
He and Jon entered the iron cage and gave the signal to descend. With a groaning creak from the lift, they were back on the ground just minutes after climbing the Wall.
"Sam! Find the steward and craftsmen. Open the armory and distribute all weapons and armor to everyone, including the stewards and the craftsmen!" Jon called out to the gathered Night's Watch brothers in the Castle Black courtyard. "Edd, ride to Mole's Town and get the villagers to shelter here. If anyone plans to strike Castle Black, they'll likely slaughter Mole's Town first!"
(Aegor noticed with some relief that Jon had earned the trust and loyalty of many brothers.)
Without the ranging expedition, Jon wouldn't have had a chance to blend in with the Free Folk, nor escape and warn the Watch before Mance Rayder's assault. Mole's Town and Castle Black would have been caught completely off guard. But because of him, Castle Black was well-armed and reinforced with the fifty elite men who had come north with Jaime…
In the original timeline, Castle Black withstood the first assault from Mance with little more than a hundred men, holding out long enough for Stannis to arrive. Now there were over three hundred men. They would hold. His priority was to survive, and make sure this world wasn't worse off because of him.
"Have Maester Aemon send a warning raven. Go find Ser Jaime Lannister and have his men stay in armor, ready to fight!" Aegor turned to the men who had traveled north with him. "Move the two barrels of wildfire I brought from Queenscrown up to the Wall, and handle them with care!"
Castle Black erupted into motion. Brothers spilled out from the towers, collecting weapons and forming up. With the Rangers still away, Castle Black's defense now rested in the hands of stewards, craftsmen, and newly arrived recruits—not even sworn brothers yet.
---
As the sky darkened, the stewards brought forth every bit of equipment they had—double-bladed axes, sharp daggers, longswords, maces, spiked hammers, studded leather, and chainmail. Tywin Lannister had not expected the gear he donated to be used so soon. The black-armored stewards looked more like elite soldiers than servants.
The Night's Watch brothers stood in the courtyard, murmuring. To the north, the fire in the haunted forest grew fiercer, lighting up a sky that should have been black as ink. Even from the ground, you could see the blaze without climbing the Wall.
"Are you sure the wildlings will attack tonight, Aegor?" Bowen Marsh asked. "Maybe they're just burning out an area to set up camp."
"I wasn't sure before… but I am now."
Aegor didn't offer further explanation. His eyes were fixed on the south—Mole's Town was only a few miles away. Soon, Edd returned on horseback, yelling from a distance, "Free Folk! They're attacking Mole's Town! We must go to help!"
The vegetables the Watch ate came from Mole's Town. Many brothers even had lovers there. News of the attack caused an immediate uproar.
"How many of them are there?"
"How could I dare get close? I saw from a distance—at least hundreds…"
"Who cares? They're just a bunch of savages!"
"Let's go meet them head-on!"
"Silence!" Jon shouted, trying to calm the uproar. "Our duty is to guard the Wall. We can't abandon Castle Black!"
"They're butchering our friends, and we're supposed to hide here like cowards?"
"Our duty is the Wall!"
"You're just the Lord Commander's steward, Jon Snow. Stop acting like you command us!" someone shouted. "Mormont isn't dead yet, and even if he were, you wouldn't be the next Lord Commander! If we can't even protect Mole's Town, how are we supposed to protect the Wall?"
"Yes, I'm only the Lord Commander's steward," Jon replied loudly, "and you're a craftsman. Why don't we hear what the First Steward, First Builder, and First Ranger think?" He turned to Aegor.
"We can't leave Castle Black," Aegor said, inwardly praising Jon's poise, though his face remained stern. "But we can saddle every horse and send out riders to scout. If villagers escape from Mole's Town, we'll shelter them. Bowen, Othell, do you disagree?"
"I agree."
"Guarding the Wall comes first."
Even though most brothers had nearly forgotten him, Aegor was still the First Steward, appointed by Lord Commander Mormont. That title alone gave his words weight. With the First Builder and the acting steward supporting him, his command became final.
Woo, woo...
Someone was about to protest when two horn blasts from the top of the Wall silenced the courtyard. Aegor tensed and issued a swift order. "As planned, I'll lead a group to man the Wall. The rest stay below to defend Castle Black from any climbers. Remember—if they want to seize the abandoned tower, kitchens, hall, or stables, let them. We only hold the gate!"
…
Mance had chosen to attack from both above and below. In this situation, the top of the Wall was far safer than the ground, where wildling elites might launch surprise attacks. Aegor didn't have much to spare, so the fewer losses the better. Taking the safer position was not cowardice—it was strategy, both for self-preservation and for the men under his command.
Atop the Wall, the Night's Watchmen raised steel basins with long poles and lit fires within them. The wind slashed at the flames, scattering orange light across the ice. Arrows, crossbows, spears, and bolts were lined up along the battlements, alongside piles of stones and barrels filled with pitch and lamp oil. These had been prepared ahead of time and now offered a crucial sense of security.
Thanks to the Watch's renewed support and effective leadership, they had all the tools they needed—except enough men.
Aegor looked down, and soon understood a third purpose behind Mance's fires. With the roaring blaze miles off as a backdrop, the forest's edge beneath the Wall became cloaked in unnatural shadow. The Free Folk's camp was buried in darkness, a sea of black where only the occasional flickering spark could be seen.
At that moment, the cleared stretch of snow between the forest and the Wall revealed its value. Hundreds of yards wide and stripped of all cover, it gave the wildlings no place to hide. These "free folk" had no snow camouflage. As they poured from the forest, their colorful clothes and armor gave them away immediately, even a blind man could spot them now.
Ooooooo…
The horns sounded again, but this time not from the Night's Watch. A horde of wildlings burst from the haunted forest like a flood of ants. More than a dozen horns echoed all at once, mixed with flutes and drums of varying tone, utterly disorganized and overwhelming through sheer noise.
Amid the chaos, mammoths and giants emerged. From the Wall, they stood out clearly among the masses, giants striding ahead on massive legs, charging forward at speed.
The King-Beyond-the-Wall's first direct assault on the Seven Kingdoms had begun.
(To be continued.)
***
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