Chapter 90
BENJEN STARK
He had known that such a day would come.
They had all known this at the Wall. Many had wondered why the builder and their ancestors had built such a monumental structure, wondering if it really was just intended to keep away the wildlings.
He had wondered this as well, until he had learned of the truth. And a bleak, and troubling day that had been as he confronted the Old Bear in this very fortress, and asked him of the truth.
And now the entire realm knew of it.
And so did the ten thousand or so men gathered in front of him. They stood shoulder to shoulder. Their thick black furs, covering every inch of the ground, as Benjen looked down from the platform, as he saw exactly what the Night's Watch was built for.
He saw the brotherhood.
"Today, we ride to our deaths," Benjen did not have the heart to lie to them, as the crowd in front of him shuddered at his words.
"We are flesh and blood. We are Brothers of the Night Watch. We come from the North, the South, the East, the West, and even beyond the Seas, and yet we are brothers. Brothers of the Night Watch. In front of that tree, we vowed to leave our lands, and wives and gold as he pledged our life to a cause we did not even understand, but a few years ago," and it had been but a few years since they had learned of the truth. They had learned of the true enemy coming for them all.
"But now we do! We now understand the meaning of those vows," and the vows pledged them as the guardians of humanity.
"The enemy we face will not care for your family or your gold. It cares only for death. It only cares for victory," and it was an enemy that was coming for them all.
"Today we fight not for ourselves. We fight for the millions that live beyond these lands. We fight for the world. We fight for the living," and with that, he raised his blade and screamed at the men.
"I am the Sword in the Darkness," and they all followed suit, as they took out their blades, and renewed their vows for one last time, as they prepared themselves to ride for certain death.
"I am the Watcher on the Walls. I am the Fire that burns against the cold," and the entire fortress shook with the vows of the Night's Watch. Vows that joined them together, farmer, lord, master, and King in a bond of brotherhood that valued no crown or gold.
"I am the Horn that wakes the Sleepers, the Light brings the Dawn, the Shield that guards the realm of men," and his men chorused together, and he realised for the first time in his life, why it was tradition for a Stark to man the Wall.
"I pledge my life and honor to the Night's Watch. For this night," and he felt his throat dry up from the shouting, as he took in a deep breath and muttered the last of his vows.
"And all the Nights to come," and so the men were ready, as Benjen thrust his blade into the ground.
"We ride forth in an hour," and with that, he turned away and walked into his solar as two figures followed after him. Jon, with his young, worried face, along with the next Lord Commander Donal Noye.
"The armies will be here in a day," Jon whispered as they came into his solar.
"You can wait, and let your men join up with the armies," and multiple armies rode to the Wall. His brother, Eddard, had gathered a host of fifteen thousand, and five thousand of it was already on its way to the North under the leadership of Rodrik Casell as Eddard tried to gather some more men before riding himself.
The King had long stationed half of his armies at the Iron Islands, which had begun moving as well. One battalion stationed at the Bear Islands was already on its way, while the rest were said to be around two days' journey away from the Wall.
Years of preparation had meant that the fortresses along the wall were filled with weapons and food. The Wall was as ready as one could hope for, and yet Benjen knew that he could not wait.
"That is exactly why we cannot wait," he answered, softly as he turned to his nephew.
"The Night King does not know of the armies that gather to fight him. The Free Folk have spent years surviving in the true North, avoiding the undead armies lest they add to their numbers. If we let him and his undead army turn even half of the Free Folk into his army, then we will lose the very advantage we have spent years trying to cultivate," and Cregan Stark had not planned for a swift war against the Night King and its armies.
The King had the habit of thinking in decades and centuries, not in days or moons.
Cregan Stark thought in years and decades, if not centuries. The walls, the fortresses, the weapons at his hip, the furs at his back, all of this was the result of years upon years of work, and that was how Cregan planned on fighting this war as well.
Not through one swift strike, even though he was prepared for it.
But through years of arduous and painful campaign.
"He plans on deprieving this Night King of an army," Benjen added as he looked up at Jon, and told him of his brother's plans.
"He wants to make him desperate, he wants to fight this war here. From within these Halls," and that was his plan.
"He armed the Free Folk with Dragonglass, making sure that the undead would not be able to add them to their army without risking their own numbers. He gave them wildfire, and wood to burn their dead so that he could deprieve the Night King of an army," and so he had struck an accord with the Free Folk, breaking years upon years of tradition.
"That is why I must go. For everyone there knows that we ride to certain death, and unless I ride with them, no man will have the heart to march to their own demise," and Jon's face shifted at that.
"There has to be another way," and Benjen chuckled as he took a sip of the finest Arbor he had.
"There is not," and he motioned for the empty chairs.
"Come sit," and with that, he poured some of the Arbor for him.
"We haven't had much time to talk, you and me," he added, as his nephew refused to sip his wine.
"Perhaps it is time we change that," and it was not as if he had anything to do in this hour.
"Donal," he turned towards his successor, and the man nodded.
"I will take care of the preparations," and the retired smith walked out of the room, leaving him alone with Jon, who had yet to come to terms with his death.
He was a stubborn one, Benjen noticed.
"You are just like your mother," he added, as those eyes looked up at him.
"She was a stubborn one, just like you," he added, and even now, thinking of Lyanna brought back much pain and regret.
"She would have been so proud to see what you have made of yourself," and she would have loved him dearly, and had she been alive, she would have sat there while trying to stop him as well, just like her son.
"Really?" he asked, doubt lingering in that gaze.
"Ned's told you about her, hasn't he?" he asked, and Jon nodded.
"He has, but he didn't have much to say since he was being fostered away..." and he had not really thought of that.
"I see, well then let me tell you about her. Your mother was as a fiesty and troublesome woman..."
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JON STARK
The Sun had begun to set, and the light of the day was just beginning to vanish as a cloud of Black cloaks stood at the horizon, armed and ready, as the man beside him informed him of the approaching hoard of wildlings.
"They are here," spoke the man, and the entire fortress was on edge, as the new Lord Commander began shouting his command.
"Men at the ready. I want archers ready to shoot at a moment's notice. Keep an eye on the hoard, and make sure that none of the dead dare step foot in these Halls," and the castle shouted aye, at its commander's call, and Jon watched as a swarm appeared from the edge of the Hill.
It was as if a storm had come, as wildings all rode down the Hill in a hoard, as chains began to be pulled, and he heard the sound of rustic metal grating as the doors of the Wall were opened all at once.
The ten thousand crows seemed like nothing in comparison to the near hundred thousand free folk that came for the Wall, and Jon's eyes widened as he spotted several large figures within that group.
"Are thos..."
"Giants," answered Val, and she had come to stand beside him, and the Wildling Princess was looking at it all unfold with the same curiosity and dread as him.
"I had thought they were dead," and she shrugged.
"Not all of them. Not yet," she added, and to think that he would get to see creatures the old Nan had told them about in her stories. It was both lucky and tragic in a way, and silence hung in the air as the swarm walked past the ten thousand crows and headed for the Wall, as everyone waited with baited breath for the enemy.
Hours passed in silence as the Free Folk began to cross the gates. They were immediately led to their pre-assigned lands, and already tents had been built for the women and the children in Molls Town and the New Gift, while the men were all led to the fortresses, as Jon simply stood there and watched it all unfold in front of his eyes.
And just as half the swarm had walked through those gates, a cold breeze tore through the air and brought with it a chill that hit his very bones, as Jon spoke up on instinct.
"He is here," and this time it was the enemy he spoke of, and just as the last light of the Sun set, he watched another swarm appear from atop the hill, one which moved without any cohesion or unity.
It was a swarm in truth, one that was made up of animals and men with no flesh on their bones. One that stormed forward, as shrills and screams filled the air.
He saw his uncle and his men gather together, and just as the swarm was a few yards from them, it split as if trying to bypass them, and attack the hoard from the sides.
"NOW!" the Lord Commander shouted, and the guards that stood beside the wall followed the command, and began to pull on chains, and Jon watched as large, massive steel crosses were torn from the ground, as men and giants pulled on massive iron chains, as the one-armed Smith brought down his hand.
"FIRE!" and arrows laced with fire were shot forward just as the swarm was about to hit those steel traps, and yet the arrows landed first, and the steel lit on fire in the blink of an eye.
"AHHHHH!" "SCREEEECH!"
Screams and screeches filled the air, as the very ground lit up on fire, as his uncle began to retreat a few paces, and as the whites realised the futility of their plan, they focused on the centre once more, as they tried to break through their ranks. But just as they were about to pounce on the Crows, they pulled onto ropes and chains of their own and uncovered a large trench hidden in the ground, and the dead fell into the cove by the doves.
"So many traps," Val whispered, and Jon had been surprised upon learning of them all as well.
"We had years to plan and prepare," he answered, using the words of his uncle.
And initially, they had lied to everyone, making them believe that the traps they were preparing were for the Free Folk, and yet now those very traps were being used to protect them.
The spikes, and the furrows, and the pykes did not stop the dead who continued to rush forward, even as the trench devoured them by the hundreds, those that survived were killed by arrows. Yet the trench was limited, and the swarm endless, and just the trench piled up with bodies, the swarm found its bearings as it came upon his uncle and his men, whose shout for resistance cur through the air.
"FOR THE LIVING!" and with that steel met bones and screams and wails filled the area, and he watched as the Night's Watch crashed into the swarm of undead, and soon enough a storm of wildlings rode froth as well and the battlefield became a mixture of white and black, as the Night's Watch fought together with their sworn enemies, as it tried to buy time for its dead.
Minutes turned into hours, and Jon watched them fall one by one. He watched the ground turn red, as they bled one after another, and it was around dawn that the last of the men fell, as the castle drew in a breath of grief, as horns were blown as their allies came to their aid.
Yet that would change nothing.
Benjen Stark was dead, his body a part of the pile of corpses which separated them from the wall, as Dolan Noye gave his orders.
"They are in," he said, and he saw Val's face fill with relief, as she nodded.
"Close the gates," she added as Nolan Doye screamed his commands.
"Close the gates! CLOSE THE GATES!" and chains were pulled, and metal began to move, as they rained down arrows on the swarm of the dead, and as the warmth of celebration and victory began to settle into the Castle, one of the men screamed suddenly.
"It's here," he whispered, and Jon frowned.
"What?" he asked, turning towards the man who had come running towards Nolan.
"The Night King...." but the monster had not come alone, as a sea of blue and white came behind the Night.
"...and his armies!"
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