4 Hours of GoT Lore: White Walkers, Watchers & the Long Night | ASOIAF ASMR Fantasy Bedtime Stories

hello my dear adventurers it's Fox welcome back to another evening of shared stories and Adventures do you ever get the sense creeping up on you during these cold nights that winter is coming that's right tonight we're going to talk about the white walkers the long night and the Legendary Heroes who fought against it from Westeros to the mysterious continent of os the legend takes on different names hidden behind prophecies and stories as old as the lands themselves we'll also cover some early history to understand how it all started discuss the Night's Watch The Starks of

Winterfell and some interesting myths that the maesters of the Citadel still debate then we'll finish it off with some readings from my favorite chapters about the topic and if you'd like a way to support the channel consider checking out my patreon but now it's time to curl up grab a mug of something warm trust me you're going to need it and get started with the adventure before we can talk about the long night the others or the wall that stands as Humanity's last line of defense we've got a first look back way back to a

time when the world was still young untamed and so full of magic this was the age of Heroes and it's where a lot of the big names and stories we hear about in Westeros got their start it all kicked off when the first men showed up thousands of years ago somewhere between 10 to 12,000 depending on who you are askk they crossed over from the continent of os into Westeros using a land bridge called the arm of dawn now these weren't delicate settlers they were tough stubborn and brought over bronze weapons horses and a serious

sense of ownership wherever they went but when the first men arrived Westeros wasn't empty the land was already home to the children of the forest who were a mysterious race that had been living there for thousands of years before any human ever set foot on the continent in a Clash of Kings maest Luen describes them like this they were a people of the Dawn small of stature but great of heart with eyes like like pools of Shadow and hair the color of autumn leaves the children of the forest didn't make castles or cities they lived

in harmony with the woods blending into the trees or settling in caves and Hidden Forest Villages as Clans they used obsidian also known as Dragon glass for their weapons and they carved faces into the weirwood trees believing those trees connected them to their gods based on that description it might be easy to think they were just a passive childlike race but that wasn't the case at all actually they were very powerful they had magic real magic they could communicate with animals see Visions through their green seers who had the gift of green sight and tap

into something ancient and unexplainable in the world so when the first men started cutting down their sacred weirwood trees and carving up the land the children fought back with everything they had they used magic obsidian and their knowledge of the area while the first men countered with sheer stubbornness and brutality eventually after centuries of fighting both sides realized this war was getting them nowhere so they struck a deal called The Pact it happened on the aisle of faces right in the middle of the Gods ey Lake the first men promised to stop cutting down weirwoods

and to respect the forests while the children agreed to let the humans keep the lands they'd already taken it was the start of a new way of life the first men took on the children's Faith worshiping the old gods and adopted the weirwood trees as their new sacred symbols to this day families like the Starks of Winterfell still follow those old traditions loads of Heroes got their start during this time like bran the Builder and the heads of various houses which we know about today had established their lineage and kingdoms back then all over Westeros

for a while things seemed good the first men and the children kept their peace the old gods were worshiped and Humanity built strongholds and traditions that would stand for thousands of years but in the Deep Frozen North something was changing the way old Nan tells it in a Game of Thrones she says a shadow came over the world men froze and women screamed and children wept and the others came riding on pale dead horses and the dead walked behind them this was the period of time known as the long night and it's one of the

oldest stories in the world of A Song of Ice and Fire it's pretty hard to tell where history ends and myth begins especially when different regions and cultures had different versions of this Legend which we'll get into soon but every everyone agrees on at least this one thing it was the darkest time humanity has ever faced across the world from the Frozen north of Westeros to the shadowed cities of os people still tell Tales of that endless winter that lasted a generation long enough for children to be born grow old and die without ever seeing

the Sun the others or white walkers in the common tongue were tall and pale creatures that came from the land of always winter which is way way to the north of Westeros even though old Nan describes them as cold dead things George RR Martin said they aren't actually dead they're just a different form of life they're supposed to be strange and beautiful inhuman and elegant but dangerous the way they move is unnatural since they Glide across snow without leaving Footprints wherever they showed up an intense cold followed and white Mists would form around them now

some stories say the cold arrives with them While others suggest they only come when the world is already Frozen there's no definite answer yet which is the case with lots of things that the maesters debate and study the others had weapons unlike anything wielded by the men of Westeros their swords were thin crystalline and impossibly sharp able to slice through metal armor and chain mail with basically no effort when their blades clashed with steel it sounded like a sharp high-pitched whale like a wounded animal crying out fire reacts strangely to these weapons as well producing

a screech when it comes into contact with them according to George RR Martin the swords are made of ice but not our regular ice they can do things with it that are Beyond human understanding besides their weapons the others could raise the dead corpses animated by their magic became whites empty husks that did their bidding burning the dead was the only guaranteed way to prevent a corpse from being reanimated whites weren't limited to humans they could raise a bunch of creatures like horses bears direwolves and mammoths in some stories the others rode on giant ice

spiders the wildlings believed that the others could smell the warmth of life and that they hated every creature with hot blood in its veins in some really messed up stories the wildlings would kidnap women from throughout the Seven Kingdoms to the South and give them over to the others and they would bear half human children during the long night later on some would get really desperate and start treating the others like Gods a really awful wildling called crter would sacrifice his sons leaving them out as offerings for the others as a way to make sure

he's protected from them and their whites but the red Priestess melisandra thinks that the white walkers are the cold Children of the great other an evil God of Darkness fighting a war against RoR the Lord of Light with everything you've just learned about them it makes sense that the white walkers were able to so easily terrorize the first men of the north it seemed like they were just absolutely Unstoppable at least until the last hero came along his name has been lost to time but the stories say he set out in search of the children

of the forest hoping their ancient magic and weapons could help them out he started traveling with some Companions and he even had a horse and a dog but the cold and the others claimed them all one by one his sword froze and broke his horse died and eventually he was left on his own he was chased through the snow by giant ice spiders and other icy Terrors but Against All Odds he actually did find the children of the forest and managed to get them to join the fight with their dragon glass and old knowledge Humanity

finally had the tools to fight back the last stand against the others became known as the battle for the dawn the remaining first men and the children of the forest managed to push back the others and they retreated to the far north back to the lands of always winter the humans knew this wasn't a total Victory they just delayed the threat not wiped it out so in the aftermath the survivors built the wall Tyrion Lannister says the wall is 100 leagues long and 700 ft High a Marvel they call it a wonder of the world

but the real Wonder is what lies Beyond it's a literal physical barrier against the return of the others but the children of the forest also used magic to fortify it as well so it's more than just ice stone and Earth to guard this structure the knights watch was created an ancient sworn Brotherhood that swore over to stand vigil on the wall and defend the Realms of men from the threats Beyond but all of this is westerosi Legend and history this version of the long Knight and the last hero is all stuff that came from the

north over in the east in the continent of os there's a similar but distinctly different version of events that's tied to it own myths and heroes so let's talk about the ancient empire of Y across the narrow sea Beyond even the shadowed lands and the bones mountain range was a massive Golden Empire in terms of cultural inspiration it's sort of like a fantasy Imperial China huge palaces Dragon motifs and thousands of years of Rich history at its height the empire was ruled by God Emperors who claimed descent from Celestial beings and its wealth and power

were unmatched by the time of A Song of Ice and Fire the Empire is still significant but it's really a shadow of its former self its golden age had long since past and its history is basically myth and half remembered stories Yeti remembers the long night as a time when the sky went dark for a generation and the sun vanished behind thick clouds of Ash and smoke demons and monsters walk the earth during this time in Yeti's version of the story predictably there's also a hero there's actually very little info on this one though and

the only snippet referencing this version specifically was a legend claiming that disaster during the long night was only averted by the Deeds of a woman with a monkey's tail but what makes ye's version of the long night special is the connection to an even earlier event the fall of the great Empire Empire of the Dawn the Emperors during that time were supposedly descended from The Lion of Night and the Maiden made of light these two deities symbolize night and day Shadow and light and their children ruled the world in an age of peace and abundance

but with each successive ruler their reign was shorter and more troubled as mankind got more greedy and corrupt with each generation the final ruler of this Empire was the amethyst Empress who was unrightfully usurped by her younger brother the Bloodstone Emperor he's said to have been a cruel and tyrannical ruler who practiced dark magic and necromancy among other forbidden Arts he denounced the true God gods and instead worshiped a black stone that fell from the sky and so the Bloodstone Emperor's actions offended the gods and as punishment the long night descended upon the world this

version of events poses a pretty interesting question was the long night sent as a consequence of Mankind's actions or was it just a cosmic disaster but before we get too philosophical there's one more version worth talking about there's a city called asai located at the edge of the Known World deep in the shadow lands the city is built from Black Stone maybe even the same kind of black stone that the blood Emperor worshiped even though it's a really huge city ashai is almost empty there's no kids no animals and no kind of decent folk even

the river flowing through the city the ash River glows with a black toxic light the city is a hub for Sorcerers Shadow binders and red priests where they can practice horrible magic and conduct sick rituals freely many secrets about the world's ancient history including the dragons are said to be buried in its libraries the people of asai have their own story about the long night it centers around aor a high who is surprise surprise another legendary hero who fought against the darkness after a deep sacrifice according to Legend he needed to forge a powerful sword

lightbringer to defeat the darkness he tried to make it three times on the first attempt he tempered the blade in water but it shattered on the second attempt he tempered it by driving it into the Heart of a Lion but it broke again on the third attempt after working on it for a 100 days and nights it was time to temper the sword so he called his beloved wife Nissa Nissa and asked her to Bear the final sacrifice she agreed and azorah high drove the sword into her chest her soul her life and her love

was said to have poured into the steel and the sword blazed with light this final try created lightbringer the sword that would drive back the Shadows Melisandre in a Clash of King says there will come a day after a long summer when the stars bleed and the cold breath of Darkness Falls heavy on the world in the this dread hour a warrior shall draw from the fire a burning sword and that sword shall be lightbringer she's one of the followers of RoR the Lord of Light I mentioned earlier who believe that azorah high will return

reborn as the prince that was promised and he'll fight against the darkness once again melisandra initially thinks that Stannis barathan is a Zora High reborn later her Focus shifts to Jon Snow but now we have lots more context than we did a few years ago and if you take into consideration the new details added in House of the Dragon recently and the things George RR Martin has said it's becoming more and more possible that Daenerys Targaryen also fits the prophecy just as a side note and a personal tidbit I've always believed that she'd be the

prince or princess rather that was promised so I really hope this pans out if we ever get the Winds of Winter with that being said though the ambiguity of the prophecy is intentional George RR Martin has often said that prophecies in his world are meant to be unreliable open to interpretation and often misleading so whether aor High The Last Hero and the yei hero are all the same figure or whether there really were three separate events of the long night that took place across the continents is not exactly known let's go back to the north

in Westeros for a bit to talk more about the knight's watch so like we talked about the knight's watch was formed to guard the wall from the threat of the white walkers initially it was a really prestigious order a noble houses would send their younger Sons to serve seeing it as an honorable calling but over time as the threat of the others started to fade the purpose of the knight's watch and the quality of its members started to change for most of the actual recorded history the watch mostly dealt with wildlings or free folk who

Liv north of the wall even though they're obviously not inherently evil or monstrous the wildlings are seen as Lawless Savages Raiders and a threat to the supposedly civilized settled lands of the north the men who joined the Night's Watch took lifelong vows of sacrifice discipline and Duty they gave up all personal Ambitions any family ties and pretty much any chance at a normal life to serve the watch there's three roles or jobs when it comes to the kind of service the members do the Rangers are the Scouts and Frontline Fighters they're the ones who actually

cross the wall and Patrol or deal with threats beyond the builders take care of the infrastructure of the wall and all the various forts built along its length and then there's the stewards which Jon Snow starts off as they handle the day-to-day running of the Night's Watch kind of like the ad side of it they cook meals manage supplies and tend to the Ravens who carry messages at the head of the knight's watch is the Lord Commander an elected leader chosen by the brothers who manages the alliances and limited resources of the watch the organization

initially had 19 castles along the entirety of the wall but the main stronghold was called Castle black which was at the very center obviously this would take a lot of manpower to maintain and defend but over thousands of years when the threat of the white walkers didn't seem so real anymore this stopped being feasible Nobles stopped sending enough of their sons and instead Exiles criminals and outcasts made up the bulk of the knight's Watchmen and only three castles were manned out of the 19 most people straight up stop believing in the white walkers dismissing it

as myth or Superstition or even just stories to scare kids before we move on from the Night's Watch there's an interesting story I want to share according to Legend there was an unnamed man who served as the 13th Lord commander of the knight's watch he's known only as the knight's King but don't confuse that with the Knight King from the show who actually does not exist in the books which is why I didn't really talk about him but anyways the knight's king lived during the age of her Heroes not long after the wall was built

and while serving the watch he fell in love with a woman he saw from the top of the wall she had cold pale white skin and eyes like bright blue stars the knight's King chased and found her and when he gave her his love he gave away his soul too he brought her back back to the night fort which was one of the castles along the wall he said she was his Queen and he became a king using dark magic he somehow Twisted the brothers of the knight's watch to his will and reigned for 13

years with his so-called corpse queen during this time he did terrible things like sacrifice children to the others among atrocities that were since wiped from history the king in the north at the time called Brandon the breaker teamed up with the King beyond the wall and took down the knight's King his name was stricken and forbidden but when old Nan would tell this story to Bran Stark of Winterfell she'd always say that he was a dark again though this story is just a legend but figured it was interesting enough to mention and honestly a little

creepy speaking of creepy though since we're on the subject of the night fought there's an old old gate down there it's called the black gate in the night for's kitchens you can find a well that goes deep into the Earth Earth there's a weirwood tree that's grown through the floor and if you keep going down the spiral steps of the well you'll come to the base weirwoods in case you don't remember are the trees that the children of the forest would carve faces into the black gate itself is made of the glowing white weirwood the

surface has an old withered face carved into it with deep lines and blind white eyes that don't seem like they've ever seen anything when someone gets close to the gate the eyes snap open and the face actually speaks asking the visitor to identify themselves but it doesn't let just anyone through only someone who recites a part of the Night's Watch vow can pass and when they do the mouth of the face stretches wide really wide until it becomes this huge gaping opening the black gate is as old as the wall itself probably built using the

same kind of ancient magic that the children wo into the wall when it was being made let's finish off the Lord d by speaking a bit about the Starks the Starks of Winterfell are one of the oldest noble families in Westeros and their connection to the long night runs deep in fact their entire identity their hous words their traditions and even their lineage is shaped by that ancient catastrophe just think of their motto winter is coming coming while the other houses to the South have catchphrases that are meant to be bold and proud or some

kind of branding almost the Stark motto is a literal reminder of the return of an old threat and another long night the founder of house Stark was bran the Builder who was around in the age of Heroes he's credited with building both Winterfell and the wall after the long night ended now bran is one of those semi mythical figures where it's hard to tell exactly how much is true and what's just Legend but the important thing is this the Starks claim their lineage goes all the way back to the guy who built the single greatest

defense against the others and the Starks have been tied to this defense ever since the Fortress of Winterfell was built to endure harsh endless Winters the natural Hot Springs under the castle keep its walls relatively warm even in the coldest Seasons but here's where things get extra interesting the CPS under Winterfell are massive they stretch deep down fill fill with stone statues of dead Stark Lords holding iron swords across their laps and the iron swords aren't just there for decoration they're believed to keep the dead Spirits at rest but why would the Starks worry about

that in the first place what exactly are they trying to keep sealed in those CPS there's theories that the crypts of Winterfell hold something significant ific like maybe an ancient secret about the long night or something tied to the others and it's not hard to see why people think that the CPS are mentioned repeatedly throughout the books and characters describe them as cold and filled with a strange presence the Starks are one of the few remaining houses with pure first men blood the majority of the Southern houses have got the mixed blood of the first

men and the andal who came later I've got other videos that go more in depth about the andal coming over to Westeros but the reason this matters is because the first men had a deep connection to the children of the forest and their magic a lot of Stark children seem to inherit abilities that are tied to this magic warging which is the ability to enter the minds of animals is incredibly rare among humans but it pops up frequently in the Stark family Bran Stark is the most powerful example of this but Jon Snow Arya and

Rick and Stark also show hints of it and then there's green seeing where you can see through weirwood trees and even catch glimpses of the past and future Bran Stark doesn't just become a regular green Seer he becomes the three-eyed Crow and ends up having knowledge and power that stretches back thousands of years if you're curious about warging and green seers check out my video about magic and sorcery in Westeros so yeah there's something in the Stark blood line something tied to the old gods and the kind of magic that shaped the world during the

long night but that's where we'll end tonight's law dive and now I'm going to read a few chapters from The Game of Thrones book including the prologue the bits where old Nan tells bran about the long night and Samuel T's creepy running with the others thanks for listening and remember winter is coming prog we should start back gared urged as the woods began to grow dark around them the wildlings are dead do the dead frighten you sir wear Roy asked with just the hint of a smile gared did not rise to the bait he was

an old man past 50 and he had seen the lordlings come and go dead is dead he said we have no business with the dead are they dead Roy asked softly what proof have we will saw them Garett said if he says they are dead that's proof enough for me will had known they would drag him into the quarrel sooner or later he wished it had been later rather than sooner my mother told me the dead men sing no songs he put in my wet nurse said the same thing will Roy replied never believe anything

you hear at a woman's chest there are things to be learned even from the dead his voice echoed too loud in the Twilight Forest we have a long ride before us gared pointed out eight days maybe nine and night is falling sir wear Roy glanced at the sky with disinterest it does that every day about this time are you unmanned by the dark gared will could see the tightness around ged's mouth the barely suppressed anger in his eyes Under the thick black hood of his cloak GED had spent 40 years in the Night's Watch man

and boy and he was not accustomed to being made light of yet it was more than that under the wounded Pride will could sense something else in the older man you could taste it a nervous tension that came perilous close to fear will shared his unease he had been four years on the wall the first time he had been sent beyond all the old stories had come rushing back and his bowels had turned to water he had laughed about it afterward he was a veteran of aund ranging by now and the endless dark Wilderness that

the southron called the haunted forest had no no more Terrors for him until tonight something was different tonight there was an edge to this darkness that made his hackles rise nine days they had been riding north and Northwest and then North again farther and farther from the wall hard on the track of a band of wildling Raiders each day had been worse than the the day that had come before it today was the worst of all a cold wind was blowing out of the North and it made the trees rustle like living things all day

Willard felt as though something were watching him something cold and implacable that loved him not GED had felt it too will wanted nothing so much as to ride hellbent for the safety of the wall but that was not a feeling to share with your commander especially not a commander like this one so wear Roy was the youngest son of an ancient house with too many heirs he was a handsome youth of 18 graye and graceful and slender as a knife mounted on his huge black Des rria the Knight towered above will and gared on their

smaller garens he wore black leather boots black Woolen pants black mol skin gloves and a fine Supple coat of gleaming black ring mail over layers of black wool and boiled leather sir wear had been a sworn brother of the knight's watch for less than half a year but no one could say he had not prepared preped for his vocation at least in so far as his wardrobe was concerned his cloak was his crowning Glory Sable thick and black and soft as Sin Betty killed them all himself he did gared told the barracks over wine twisted

their little heads off a mighty warrior they had all shared the laugh it is hard to take orders from a man you laughed at in your cups will reflected as he sat shivering at top his Garen gared must have felt the same Mormon said as we should track them and we did gared said they're dead they shallan trouble us no no more there's hard riding before us I don't like this weather if it snows we could be a fortnight getting back and snows the best we can hope for ever seen an ice storm my Lord

the lordling seemed not to hear him he studied the deepening Twilight in that half boor half distracted way he had will had ridden with the Knight long enough to understand that it was best not to interrupt him when he looked like that tell me again what you saw will all the details leave nothing out will had been a hunter before he joined the knight's watch well a poacher in truth malister Free Riders had caught him red-handed in the Mal's own Woods skinning one of the Mal's own bucks and it had been a choice of putting

on the black or losing a hand no one could move through the woods as silent as will and it had not taken the black Brothers long to discover his talent the camp is 2 miles farther on over that Ridge hard beside a stream will said I got close as I dared there's 8 of them men and women both no children I could see they put up a lean to against The Rock The Snows pretty well covered it now but I could still make it out no fire burning but the fire pit was still plain as

day no one moving I watched a long time no living man ever lay so still did you see any blood well no will admitted did you see any weapons some swords a few bows one man had an axe heavy looking double-bladed a cruel piece of iron it was on the ground beside him right by his hand did you make note of the position of the bodies will Shrugged a couple are sitting up against The Rock most of them on the ground Fallen like or sleeping Roy suggested Fallen will insisted there's one woman up in Ironwood

half hid in the branches a far eyes he smiled thinly I took care she never saw me when I got closer I saw that she wasn't moving neither despite himself he shivered you have a chill Roy asked some will mut the wind my Lord the young Knight turned back to his grizzled manat arms Frost fallen leaves whispered past them and Roy's dester moved restlessly what do you think might have killed these men Garett sir wear asked casually He adjusted the drape of his long Sable cloak it was the cold gared said with iron certainty I

saw men freeze last winter and the one before when I was half a boy everyone talks about snows 40t deep and how the ice wind comes howling out of the north but the real enemy is the cold it steals up on you quieter than will and at first you shiver and your teeth chatter and you stamp your feet and dream of mold wine and nice hot fires it burns it does nothing burns like the cold but only for a while then it gets inside you and starts to fill you up and after a while you

don't have the strength to fight it it's easier just to sit down or go to sleep they say you don't feel any pain toward the end first you go weak and drowsy and everything starts to fade and then it's like sinking into a sea of warm milk peaceful like such eloquence gared sir wear observed I never suspected you had it in you I've had the cold in me too Lord Ling gared pulled back his hood giving sir wear a good long look at the stumps where his ears had been two ears three toes and the

little finger off my left hand I got off light we found my brother Frozen at his watch with a smile on his face sir wear Shrugged you ought dress more warmly gared gared glared at the lordling the scars around his ear holes flushed red with anger where maester Eman had cut the ears away we'll see how warm you can dress when the winter comes he pulled up his hood and hunched over his Garin silent and Sullen if gared said it was the cold will began have you drawn any watches this past week will yes my

Lord there never was a week when he did not draw a dozen bloody watches what was the man driving at and how did you find the wall weeping will said frowning he saw it clear enough now that the lordling had pointed it out they couldn't have froze not if the wall was weeping it wasn't cold enough Roy nodded bright lad we've had a few light frosts this past week and a quick flurry of snow now and then but surely no cold Fierce enough to kill eight grown men men clad in fur and leather let me

remind you with shelter near at hand and the means of making fire the night's smile was sh will lead us there I would see these dead men for myself and then there was nothing to be done for it the order had been given and honor bound them to obey will went in front his Shaggy little Garin picking the way carefully through the undergrowth a light snow had fallen the night before and there were stones and roots and hidden sinks lying just under its crust waiting for the careless and the unwary sir wear Roy came next

his great black destria snorting impatiently the warhorse was the wrong mount for ranging but try and tell that to the lordling gared brought up the rear the old man at Arms muttered to himself as he rode Twilight deepened the cloudless sky turned a deep purple the color of an old bruise then faded to Black the Stars began to come out a half moon Rose will was grateful for the light we can make a better Pace than this surely Roy said when the moon was full risen not with this horse will said fear had made him

insolent perhaps my Lord would care to take the lead sir wear Roy did not Dain to replace by somewhere off in the wood a wolf howled will pulled his Garen over beneath an ancient gnarled Ironwood and dismounted why are you stopping sir wear asked best go the rest of the way on foot my lord it's just over that Ridge Roy paused a moment staring off into the distance his face reflective a cold wind whispered through the trees his great Sable cloak stirred behind like something half alive there's something wrong here gared muttered the young Knight

gave him a disdainful smile is there can't you feel it gared asked listen to The Darkness will could feel it four years in the Night's Watch and he had never been so afraid what was it wind trees rustling a wolf which sound is it that unms you so gared when gared did not answer Roy slid gracefully from his saddle he tied the destria securely to a lwh hanging limb well away from the other horses and Drew his long sword from its sheath jewels glittered in its Hilt and the Moonlight ran down The Shining steel it

was a splendid weapon Castle forged a new made from the look of it will doubted it had ever been swung in Anger the Bree press close here will warned that sword will tangle you up my Lord better a knife if I need instruction I will ask for it the young lord said GED stay here guard the horses gared dismounted we need a fire I'll see to it how big a fool are you old man if there are enemies in this wood a fire is the last thing we want there's some enemies a fire will keep

away gared said bears and direwolves and and other things sir wear's mouth became a hard line no fire ged's Hood shadowed his face but will could see the hard glitter in his eyes as he stared at the night for a moment he was afraid the older man would go for his sword it was a short ugly thing its grip discolored by sweat its Edge nicked from hard use but will would not have given an iron Bob for the lordlings life if gared pulled it from its Scabbard finally gared looked down no fire he muttered low

under his breath Roy took it for acquiescence and turned away lead on he said to will will threaded their way through a Thicket then started up the slope to the low Ridge where where he had found his Vantage Point under a sentinel tree under the thin crust of snow the ground was damp and muddy slick footing with rocks and hidden roots to trip you up Will made no sound as he climbed behind him he heard the soft metallic Slither of the lordlings ringmail the rustle of leaves and muttered curses as reaching branches grabbed at his

long sword and tugged on his Splendid Sable cloak the great Sentinel was right there at the top of the ridge where will had known it would be its lowest branches a bare foot off the ground will slid in underneath flat on his belly in the snow and the mud and looked down on the empty clearing below his heart stopped in his chest for a moment he dared not breathe Moonlight Shone down on the clearing the ashes of the fire pit the snow covered leant to the great Rock the little half Frozen stream everything was just

as it had been a few hours ago they were gone all the bodies were gone Gods he heard behind him a sword slashed at a branch as Sir wear Roy gained the ridge he stood there beside the Sentinel long sword in hand his cloak billowing behind him as the wind came up outlined nobly against the stars for all to see get down will whispered urgently ly something's wrong Roy did not move he looked down at the empty clearing and laughed your dead men seem to have moved Camp will Will's voice abandoned him he groped for

words that did not come it was not possible his eyes swept back back and forth over the abandoned campsite stopped on the axxe a huge double-bladed battle axe still lying where he had seen it last untouched a valuable weapon on your feet will so wear commanded there's no one here I won't have you hiding under a bush reluct reluctantly will obeyed sir wear looked him over with open disapproval I am not going back to Castle black a failure on my first ranging we will find these men he glanced around up the tree be quick about

it look for a fire will turned away wordless there was no use to argue the wind was moving it cut right through him he went to the tree a vaulting gray green Sentinel and began to climb soon his hands were sticky with sap and he was lost among the needles fear filled his gut like a meal he could not digest he whispered a prayer to the nameless gods of the wood and slipped his Dirk free of its sheath he put it between his teeth to keep both hands free for climbing the taste of cold iron

in his mouth gave him Comfort down below the lordling called out suddenly who goes there will heard uncertainty in the challenge he stopped climbing he listened he watched the woods gave answer the rustle of leaves the icy Rush of the stream a distant hoot of a snow owl the others made no sound will saw movement from the corner of his eye pale shapes gliding Through the Wood he turned turned his head glimpsed a white shadow in the darkness then it was gone branches stirred gently in the wind scratching at one another with wooden fingers will

opened his mouth to call down a warning and the words seemed to freeze in his throat perhaps he was wrong perhaps it had only been a bird a reflection on the snow some trick of the Moonlight what had he seen after all will where are you sir wear called up can you see anything he was turning in a slow Circle suddenly wary his sword in hand he must have felt them as will felt them there was nothing to see answer me why is it so cold it was cold shivering will clung more tightly to his

perch his face pressed hard against the trunk of the Sentinel he could feel the Sweet Sticky sap on his cheek a shadow emerged from the Dark of the wood it stood in front of Rey tall it was and gaunt and hard as old bones with flesh pale as milk its armor seemed to change color as it moved here it was white as newf fallen snow they're black as Shadow everywhere dappled with the Deep gray green of the trees the patterns ran like Moonlight on water with every step it took will'll heard the breath go out

of Sir wear Roy in a long hiss come no farther the lordling warned his voice cracked like a boy he threw the long Sable cloak back over his shoulders to free his arms for battle and took his sword in both hands the wind had stopped it was very cold the other slid forward on silent feet in its hand was a long sword like none that will had ever seen no human metal had gone into the forging of that blade it was alive with moonlight translucent A Shard of Crystal so thin that it seemed almost to

vanish when seen Edge on there was a faint blue Shimmer to the thing a ghost light that played around its edges and somehow will knew it was sharper than any razor sir wear met him bravely dance with me then he lifted his sword High over his head defiant his hands trembled from the weight of it or perhaps from the cold yet in that moment will thought he was a boy no longer but a man of the knight's watch the other halted will saw its eyes blue deeper and Bluer Than any human eyes a blue that

burned like ice they fixed on the long sword trembling on high watched the Moonlight running running cold along the metal for a heartbeat he dared to hope they emerged silently from the Shadows twins to the first three of them four five sir wear may have felt the cold that came with them but he never saw them never heard them will had to call out it was his duty and his death if he did he shivered and hugged the tree and kept the silence the pale sword came shivering through the air sir wear met it with

steel when the blades met there was no ring of metal on metal only a high thin sound at the edge of hearing like an animal screaming in pain Roy checked a second blow and a third then fell back a step another Flurry of Blows and he fell back again behind him to right to left all around him the Watchers stood patient faceless silent the shifting patterns of their delicate armor making them all but invisible in the would yet they made no move to interfere again and again the swords met until will wanted to cover his

ears against the strange anguished Keening of their Clash so wear was panting from the effort now his breath steaming in the Moonlight his blade was white with frost the others danced with p pale blue light then Roy's Parry came a beat too late the pale sword bit through the ringmail beneath his arm the young Lord cried out in pain blood welled between the Rings it steamed in the cold and the droplets seemed red as fire where they touched the snow sir wear's fingers brushed his side his mol skin glove came away soaked with red the

other said something in a language that will did not know his voice was like the cracking of ice on a winter Lake and the words were mocking sir wear Rey found his Fury for Robert he shouted and he came up snarling lifting the frost covered long sword with both hands and Swinging it around in a flat sidearm slash with all his weight behind it the other's Parry was almost lazy when the blades touched the steel shattered a scream echoed through the forest night and the long sword shivered into aund brittle pieces the shards scattering like

a rain of needles Roy went to his knees shrieking and covered his eyes blood welled between his fingers the Watchers moved forward together as if some signal had been given swords Rose and fell all in a deathly silence it was cold Butchery the pale blades sliced through ringmail as if it were silk will closed his eyes far beneath him he heard their voices and laughter sharp as icicles when he found the courage to look again a long time had passed and the ridge below was empty he stayed in the tree scarce daring to breathe while

the moon crept slowly across the black Sky finally his muscles cramping and his fingers numb with cold he climbed down Royce's body lay face down in the snow one arm outflung the thick Sable cloak had been slashed in a dozen places lying dead like that you saw how young he was a boy he found what was left of the sword a few feet away way the end splintered and twisted like a tree struck by lightning will knelt looked around weily and snatched it up the Broken Sword would be his proof gared would know what to

make of it and if not him then surely that old bare Mormont or maester Amon would gared still be waiting with the horses he had to hurry Will Rose so wear Roy stood over him his fine clothes were a tatter his face a ruin a Shard from his sword transfixed the blind white pupil of his left eye the right eye was open the pupil burned blue it sore the Broken Sword fell from nerveless fingers will closed his eyes to pray long elegant hands brushed his cheek then tightened around his throat they were gloved in the

finest mol skin and sticky with blood yet the touch was icy cold chapter 17 it seemed as though he had been falling for years fly a voice whispered in the darkness but bran did not know how to fly so all he could do was fall maest Luen made a little boy of clay baked him till he was hard and brittle dressed him in Bran's clothes and flung him off a roof Brown remembered the way he shattered but I never fall he said falling the ground was so far below him he could barely make it out

through the gray Mists that Whirled around him but he could feel how fast he was falling and he knew what was waiting for him down there even in dreams you could not fall forever he would wake up in the instant before he hit the ground he knew you always woke up in the instant before you hit the ground and if you don't The Voice asked the ground was closer now still far far away a thousand miles away but closer than it had been it was cold here in the darkness there was no sun no stars

only the ground below coming up to smash him and the gray Mists and the whispering voice he wanted to cry not cry fly I can't fly bran said I can't I can't how do you know have you ever tried the voice was high and thin bran looked around to see where it was coming from a crow was spiraling down with him just Out Of Reach following him as he fell help me he said I'm trying the crow replied say got any corn bran reached into his pocket as the darkness spun dizzily around him when he

pulled his hand out golden kernels slid from between his fingers into the air they fell with him the crow landed on his hand and began to eat are you really a crow bran asked are you really falling the crow asked back it's just a dream bran said is it asked the crow I'll wake up when I hit the ground bran told the bird you'll die when you hit the ground the crow said it went back to eating corn bran looked down he could see mountains now their peaks white with snow and the silver th R

of rivers in Dark Woods he closed his eyes and began to cry that won't do any good the crow said I told you the answer is flying not crying how hard can it be I'm doing it the crow took to the air and flapped around Bran's hand you have wings bran pointed out maybe you do too bran felt along his shoulders groping for feathers there are different kinds of wings the crow said bran was staring at his arms his legs he was so skinny just skin stretched tort over bones had he always been so thin

he tried to remember a face swam up at him out of the gray Mist shining with light golden the things I do for love it said bran screamed the crow took to the air cing not that it shrieked at him forget that you do not need it now put it aside put it away it landed on Bran's shoulder and pecked at him and The Shining golden face was gone bran was falling faster than ever the gray Mists howled around him as he plunged toward the earth below what are you doing to me he asked the

crow tearful teaching you how to fly I can't fly you're flying tight now I'm falling every flight begins with a fall the crow said look down I'm afraid look down bran looked down and felt his insides turned to water the ground was rushing up at him now the whole world was spread out below him a tapestry of white and brown and green he could see everything so clearly that for a moment he forgot to be afraid he could see the whole realm and everyone in it he saw Winterfell as the Eagles see it the tall

towers looking Squat and stubby from above the castle walls just lyed in the dirt he saw maesta luin on his balcony studying the sky through a polished bronze tube and frowning as he made notes in a book he saw his brother Rob taller and stronger than he remembered him practicing sword play in the yard with Real Steel in his hand he saw Hodor the simple giant from The Stables carrying an anvil to mickens Forge hefting it onto his shoulder as easily as another man might heft a bail of hay at the heart of the godswood

the great white weirwood brooded over Its Reflection In the black pool its leaves rustling in a chill wind when it felt bran watching it lifted its eyes from The Still Waters and stared back at him knowingly he looked East and saw a galley racing across the Waters of the bite he saw his mother sitting alone in a cabin looking at a bloodstained knife on a table in front of her as the rowers pulled at their OES and Sir rodri leaned across a rail shaking and heaving a storm was gathering ahead of them a vast dark

roaring lashed by lightning but somehow they could not see it he looked South and saw the great blue green Rush of the Trident he saw his father pleading with the King his face etched with grief he saw Sansa crying herself to sleep at night and he saw Arya watching in silence and holding her Secrets hard in her heart there were Shadows all around them one Shadow was dark as Ash with the terrible face of a hound another was armored like the sun golden and beautiful over them both loomed a giant in armor Made of Stone

but when he opened his visor there was nothing inside but darkness and thick black blood he lifted his eyes and saw clear across the narrow sea to the free cities and the green doth sea and Beyond to Vias doth under its Mountain to the fabled lands of the Jade sea to asai by the shadow where dragons stirred beneath the sunrise finally he looked North he saw the wall shining like blue crystal and his bastard brother John sleeping alone in a cold bed his skin growing pale and hard as the memory of all warmth fled from

him and he looked past the wall past endless forests cloaked in snow past the Frozen Shore and the great blue white rivers of ice and the dead Plains where nothing grew or lived North and North and North he looked to the curtain of light at the end of the world and then beyond that curtain he looked deep into the heart of Winter and then he cried out afraid and the heat of his tears burned on his cheeks now you know the crow whispered as it sat on his shoulder now you know why you must live

why bran said not understanding falling falling because winter is coming bran looked at the crow on his shoulder and the crow looked back it had three eyes and the third eye was full of a terrible knowledge bran looked down there was nothing below him now but snow and cold and death a frozen Wasteland where Jagged blue white SP fires of ice waited to embrace him they flew up at him like Spears he saw the bones of a thousand other dreamers impaled upon their points he was desperately afraid can a man still be brave if he's

afraid he heard his own voice saying small and far away and his father's voice replied to him that is the only time a man can be brave now bran the crow urged choose fly or die death reached for him screaming bran spread his arms and flew Wings unseen drank the wind and filled and pulled him upward the Terrible needles of ice receded below him the sky opened up above bran sword it was better than climbing it was better than anything the world grew small beneath him I'm flying he cried out in Delight I've noticed said

the three-eyed Crow it took to the air flapping its wings in his face slowing him blinding him he faltered in the air as its pinions beat against his cheeks its beak stabbed at him fiercely and bran felt a sudden blinding pain in the middle of his forehead between his eyes what are you doing he shrieked the crow opened its beak and C at him a shrill scream of fear and the gray Mist shuddered and swirled around him and ripped away like a veil and he saw that the crow was really a woman a serving woman

with long black hair and he knew her from somewhere from Winterfell yes that was it he remembered her now and then he realized that he was in Winterfell in a bed high in some chilly Tower room and the blackhaired woman dropped a basin of water to shatter on the floor and ran down the steps shouting he's awake he's awake he's awake bran touched his forehead between his eyes the place where the crow had pecked him was still burning but there was nothing there no blood no wound he felt weak and dizzy he tried to get

out of bed but nothing happened and then there was movement beside the bed and something landed lightly on his legs he felt nothing a pair of yellow eyes looked into his own own shining like the sun the window was open and it was cold in the room but the warmth that came off the wolf enfolded him like a hot bath his pup bran realized or was it he was so big now he reached out to pet him his hand trembling like a leaf when his brother Rob burst into the room breathless from his Dash up

the tower steps the direwolf was licking Bran's face bran looked up calmly his name is Summer he said chapter 24 in the yard below ricken ran with the Wolves bran watched from his window seat wherever the boy went grey wind was there first loping ahead to cut him off until ricken saw him screamed in delight and went pelting off in another Direction Shaggy Dog ran at his heels spinning and snapping if the other wolves came too close his fur had darkened until he was all black and his eyes were green fire bran summer came last

he was silver and smoke with eyes of yellow gold that saw all there was to see smaller than grey wind and more wary bran thought he was the smartest of the litter he could hear his brother's breathless laughter as ricken dashed across the hard-packed Earth on little baby legs his eyes stung he wanted to be down there laughing and running angry at the thought bran knuckled away the tears before they could fall his eighth name day had come and gone he was almost a man grown now too old to cry it was just a lie

he said bitterly remembering the Crow from his dream I can't fly I can't even run crows are all liars old Nan agreed from the chair where she sat doing her needle work I know a story about a crow I don't want any more stories bran snapped his voice petulant he had liked old Nan and her stories once before but it was different now they left her with him all day now to watch over him and clean him and keep him from being lonely but she just made it worse I hate your stupid Stories the old

woman smiled at him toothless my stories no my little Lord not mine the stories are before me and after me before you too she was a very ugly old woman bran thought spitefully shrunken and wrinkled almost blind too weak to climb stairs with only a few wisps of white hair left to cover a mtled pink scalp no one really knew how old she was but his father said she'd been called Old Nan even when he was a boy she was the oldest person in Winterfell for certain maybe the oldest person in the Seven Kingdoms Nan

had come to the castle as a wet nurse for a Brandon Stark whose mother had died birthing him he had been an older brother of Lord Rickard Bran's grandfather or perhaps a younger brother or a brother to Lord ricard's father sometimes old Nan told it one way and sometimes another in all the stories the little boy died at three of a summer chill but old Nan stayed on at Winterfell with her own children she had lost both her sons to the war when King Robert on the throne and her grandson was killed on the walls

of Pike during Balon greyjoy's Rebellion her daughters had long ago married and moved away and died all that was left of her own blood was Hodor the simple-minded giant who worked in the Stables but old Nan just lived on and on doing her needle work and telling her stories I don't care whose stories they are bran told her I hate them he didn't want stories and he didn't want old Nan he wanted his mother and father he wanted to go running with Summer loping beside him he wanted to climb the broken Tower and feed corn

to the C crows he wanted to ride his Pony again with his brothers he wanted it to be the way it had been before I know a story about a boy who hated stories old Nan said with her stupid little smile her needles moving all the while click click click until bran was ready to scream at her it would never be the way it had been he knew the crow had tricked him into flying but when he woke up he was broken and the world was changed they had all left him his father and his

mother and his sisters and even his bastard brother John his father had promised he would ride a real horse to King's Landing but they'd Gone without him maester Luen had sent a bird after Lord edid with a message and another to mother and a third to John on the wall but there had been no answers oftimes the birds are Lost Child the maester had told him there's many a mile and many a hawk between here and King's Landing the message may not have reached them yet to bran it felt as if they had all died

while he had slept or perhaps bran had died and they had forgotten him Jory and sir rodri and Von P had gone too and hullen and Harwin and fat Tom and a quarter of the Guard only Rob and baby ricken were still here and Rob was changed he was robbed the Lord now or trying to be he wore a real sword and never smiled his days were spent drilling the guard and practicing his sword play making the yard ring with the sound of Steel as bran watched forly from his window at night he closeted himself

with maester luin talking or going over account books sometimes he would ride out with halis Mullen and be gone for days at a time visiting distant hold fasts whenever he was away more than a day ricken would cry and ask bran if Rob was ever coming back even when he was home at Winterfell Rob the Lord seemed to have more time for halis Mullen and Theon Greyjoy than he ever did for his brothers I could tell tell you the story about Brandon the Builder old Nan said that was always your favorite thousands and thousands of

years ago Brandon the Builder had raised Winterfell and some said the wall brand new the story but it had never been his favorite maybe one of the other brandons had liked that story sometimes Nan would talk to him as if he were her Brandon the baby she had nursed all those years ago and sometimes she confused him with his uncle Brandon who was killed by the Mad King before bran was even born she had lived so long mother had told him once that all the Brandon Starks had become one person in her head that's not

my favorite he said my favorites were the scary ones he heard some sort of commotion outside and turned back to the window ricken was running across the yard toward the Gat house the Wolves following him but the tower faced the wrong way for bran to see what was happening he smashed a fist on his thigh in frustration and felt nothing oh My Sweet Summer child old Nan said quietly what do you know of fear fear is for the winter my little Lord when the Snows fall 100 ft deep and the ice wind comes howling out

of the North fear is for the long night when the sun hides its face for years at a time and little children are born and live and die all in darkness while the dire wolves grow gaunt and hungry and the white walkers move through the woods you mean the others bran said querulously the others old Nan agreed thousands and thousands of years ago a winter fell that was cold and hard and endless beyond all memory of man there came a night that lasted a generation and Kings shivered and died in their castles even as the

swine herds in their HS women smothered their children rather than see them starve and cried and felt their tears freeze on their cheeks her voice and her needles fell silent and she glanced up at bran with pale filmy eyes and asked so child this is the sort of story you like well bran said reluctantly yes only old Nan nodded in that Darkness the others came for the first time she said as her needles went click click click they were cold things dead things that hated iron and fire and the touch of the Sun and every

creature with hot blood in its veins they swept over hold fasts and cities and kingdoms felled Heroes and armies by the score riding their pale dead horses and leading hosts of the lame all the swords of men could not stay their advance and even maidens and suckling babes found no pity in them they hunted the maids through Frozen forests and fed their dead servants on the Flesh of human children her voice had dropped very low almost to a whisper and bran found himself leaning forward to listen now these were the days before the andal came

and long before the women fled across the narrow Sea from the cities of the roin and the hundred kingdoms of those times were the kingdoms of the first men who had taken these lands from the children of the forest yet here and there in the fastness of the woods the children still lived in their wooden cities and Hollow Hills and the faces in the trees kept watch so as cold and death filled the Earth The Last Hero determined to seek out the children in the hopes that their ancient Magics could win back what the armies

of men had lost he set out into the dead lands with a sword a horse a dog and a dozen companions for years he searched until he despaired of ever finding the Children of the forest in their secret cities one by one his friends died and his horse and finally even his dog and his sword froze so hard the blade snapped when he tried to use it and the others smelled the hot blood in him and came silent on his Trail stalking him with packs of pale white spiders big as hounds the door opened with

a bang and Bran's heart leapt up into his mouth in sudden fear but it was only maester Luen with Hodor looming in the stairway behind him Hodor the stable boy announced as was his custom smiling hugely at them all maest Luen was not smiling we have visitors he announced and your presence is required bran I'm listening to a story now bran complained stories wait my little Lord and when you come back to them why there they are old Nan said visitors are not so patient and oftentimes they bring stories of their own who is it

bran asked maest Luen Ty Lannister and some men of the night's watch with word from your brother John Rob is meeting with them now Hodor will you help bran down to the hall Hodor Hodor agreed happily he ducked to get his great Shaggy head under the door Hodor was nearly 7t tall it was hard to believe that he was the same blood as old Nan bran wondered if he would shrivel up as small as his great grandmother when he was old it did not seem likely even if Hodor lived to be a thousand Hodor lifted

bran as easy as if he were a bale of hay and cradled him against his massive chest he always smelled faintly of horses but it was not a bad smell his arms were thick with muscle and matted with brown hair Hodor he said again Theon Greyjoy had once commented that Hodor did not know much but no one could doubt that he knew his name old Nan had cackled like a hen when bran told her that and confessed that hodor's real name was Walder no one knew where Hodor had come from she said but when he

started saying it they started calling him by it it was the only word he had they left old Nan in the tower room with her needles and her memories Hoda hummed tunelessly as he carried bran down the steps and through the gallery with maester Luen following behind behind hurrying to keep up with the stable boy's long strides Rob was seated in Father's High seat wearing ringmail and boiled leather and the stern face of Rob the Lord Theon Greyjoy and halis Mullen stood behind him a dozen Guardsmen lined the gray stone walls beneath tall narrow windows

in the center of the room the dwarf stood with his servants and four strangers in the black of the Night's Watch bran could sense the anger in the hall the moment that Hodor carried him through the doors Any Man of the Night's Watch is welcome here at Winterfell for as long as he wishes to stay Rob was saying with the voice of Rob the Lord his sword was across his knees the steel bear for all the world to see even bran knew what it meant to greet a guest with an uned sword Any Man of

the Nights Watch the dwarf repeated but not me do I take your meaning boy Rob stood and pointed at the little man with his sword I am the Lord here while my mother and father are away Lannister I am not your boy if you are a lord you might learn a Lord's courtesy the little man replied ignoring the sword point in his face your bastard brother has all your father's Graces it would seem John bran gasped out from Hoda's arms the dwarf turned to look at him so it is true the boy lives I could

scarce believe it you Starks are hard to kill you Lannisters had best remember that Rob said lowering his sword Hodor bring my brother here Hodor odor said and he trotted forward smiling and set bran in the high seat of the Stars where the Lords of Winterfell had sat since the days when they called themselves the kings in the north the seat was cold stone polished Smooth by countless bottoms the carved heads of direwolves snarled on the ends of its massive arms bran clasp them as he sat his useless legs dangling the great seat made him

feel half a baby Rob put a hand on his shoulder you said you had business with bran well here he is Lannister bran was uncomfortably aware of Tyrion Lannister's eyes one was black and one was was green and both were looking at him studying him weighing him I am told you were quite the Climer bran the little man said at last tell me how is it you happen to fall that day I never bran insisted he never fell never never never the child does not remember anything of the fall or the climb that came before

it said maest Luen gently curious said Tyrion Lannister my brother is not here to answer questions Lannister Rob said curtly do your business and be on your way I have a gift for you the dwarf said to bran do you like to ride boy maester Luen came forward my Lord the child has lost the use of his legs he cannot sit a horse nonsense said Lannister with the right horse and the right saddle even a can ride the word was a knife through Bran's heart he felt tears come unbidden to his eyes I'm not a

then I am not a dwarf the dwarf said with a Twist of his mouth my father will rejoice to hear it grey Joy laughed what sort of horse and saddle are you suggesting maester Luen asked a smart horse lanister replied the boy cannot use his legs to command the animal so you must shape the horse to the rider teach it to respond to the Reigns to the voice I would begin with an unbroken yelding with no old training to be unlearned he drew a rolled paper from his belt give this to your Saddler he will

provide the rest maester Luen took the paper from the dwarf's hand curious as a small gray squirrel he unrolled it studied it I see you draw nicely my Lord yes this ought to work I should have thought of this myself it came easier to me ma it is not terribly unlike my own Saddles will I truly be able to ride bran asked he wanted to believe them but he was afraid perhaps it was just another lie the crow had promised him that he could fly you will the dwarf told him and I swear to you

boy on Horseback you will be as tall as any of them Rob Stark seemed puzzled is this some trap Lannister what's bran to you why should you want to help him your brother John asked it of me and I have a tender spot in my heart for cripples and bastards and broken things Tyrion Lannister placed a hand over his heart and grinned the door to the yard flew open sunlight came streaming across the hall as ricken burst in breathless the dire wolves were with him the boy stopped by the door wide-eyed but the Wolves came

on their eyes found Lannister or perhaps they caught his scent summer began to growl first grey wind picked it up they padded toward the little man one from the right and one from the left the wolves do not like your smell Lannister Theon Greyjoy commented perhaps it's time I took my leave Tyrion said he took a step backward and Shaggy Dog came out of the Shadows behind him snarling Lannister recoiled and summer lunged at him from the other side he reeled away unsteady on his feet and gray wind snapped at his arm teeth ripping at

his sleeve and tearing loose a scrap of cloth no bran shouted from the high seat as Lannister's men reached for their Steel summer here summer to me the direwolf heard the voice glanced at bran and again at Lannister he crept backward away from the little man and settled down below Bran's dangling feet Rob had been holding his breath he let it out with a sigh and called gry wind his direwolf moved to him Swift and Silent now there was only Shaggy Dog rumbling at the small man his eyes burning like green fire ricken call him

bran shouted to his baby brother and ricken remembered himself and screamed home Shaggy home now the black wolf gave Lannister one final snarl and bounded off to ricken who hugged him tightly around the neck Tyrion Lannister undid his scarf mopped at his brow and said in a flat voice how interesting are you well my Lord asked one of his men his sword in hand he glanced nervously at the direwolves as he spoke my sleeve is torn and my breaches are unaccountably damp but nothing was harmed save my dignity even Rob looked shaken the Wolves I

don't know why they did that no doubt they mistook me for dinner Lannister bowed stiffly to bran I thank you for calling them off young sir I promise you they would have found me quite indigestible and now I will be leaving truly a moment my Lord maest Luen said he moved to Rob and they huddled close together Whispering bran tried to hear what they were saying but their voices were too low Rob Stark finally sheathed his sword I I may have been Hasty with you he said you've done bran a kindness and well Rob composed

himself with an effort the hospitality of Winterfell is yours if you wish it Lannister spare me your false courtesies boy you do not love me and you do not want me here I saw an in outside your walls in the winter town I'll find a Bed there and both of us will sleep easier for a few coppers I may even find a comely wench to warm the sheets for me he spoke to one of the black Brothers an old man with a twisted back and a tangled beard yuran we go south at Daybreak you will

find me on the road no doubt with that he made his exit struggling across the hall on his short legs past ricken and out the door his Men followed the four of the knight's watch remained Rob turned to them uncertainly I have had rooms prepared and you'll find No Lack of hot water to wash off the dust of the road I hope you will honor us at table tonight he spoke the words so awkwardly that even bran took note it was a speech he had learned not words from the heart but the black Brothers thanked

him all the same summer followed them up the tower steps as Hodor carried bran back to his bed old Nan was asleep in her chair Hodor said Hodor gathered up his great grandmother and carried her off snoring softly while bran lay thinking Rob had promised that he could Feast with the knight's watch in the Great Hall summer he called the wolf bounded up on the bed bran hugged him so hard he could feel the hot breath on his cheek I can ride now he whispered to his friend we can go hunting in the woods soon

wait and see after a time he slept in his dream he was climbing again pulling himself up an ancient windowless Tower his fingers forcing themselves between blackened Stones his feet scrabbling for purchase higher and higher he climbed through the clouds and into the night sky and still the tower Rose before him when he paused to look down his head SW swam dizzily and he felt his fingers slipping bran cried out and clung for dear life the Earth Was A Thousand Miles beneath him and he could not fly he could not fly he waited until his

heart had stopped pounding until he could breathe and he began to climb again there was no way to go but up far above him outlined against a vast Pale Moon he thought he could see the shapes of gargoyles his arms were sore and aching but he dared not rest he forced himself to climb faster the Gargoyles watched him Ascend their eyes glowed red as hot coals in a brasia perhaps once they had been lions but now they were twisted and grotesque bran could hear them whispering to each other in soft Stone voices terrible to hear

he must not listen he told himself he must not hear so long as he did not hear them he was safe but when the Gargoyles pulled themselves loose from the stone and padded down the side of the tower to where bran clung he knew knew he was not safe after all I didn't hear he wept as they came closer and closer I didn't I didn't he woke gasping lost in darkness and saw a vast Shadow looming over him I didn't hear he whispered trembling in fear but then the shadow said Hodor and lit the candle

by the bedside and Brans sigh with relief Hodor washed the sweat from him with a warm damp cloth and dressed him with deaft and gentle hands when it was time he carried him down to the great hall where a long trestle table had been set up near the fire the Lord seat at the head of the table had been left empty but Rob sat to the right of it with bran across from him they ate suckling pig that night and pigeon pie and turnips soaking in butter and afterward the cook had promised Honeycombs summer snatched

table scraps from Bran's hand while grey wind and Shaggy Dog fought over a bone in the corner winterfell's dogs would not come near the hall now bran had found that strange at first but he was growing used to it yuran was senior among the black brothers so the steward had seated him between Rob and maester luin the old man had a sour smell as if he had not washed in a long time he ripped at the meat with his teeth cracked the ribs to suck out the marrow from the bones and Shrugged At The Mention

Of Jon Snow sir Alisa's Bane he grunted and two of his companions shared a laugh that bran did not understand but when Rob asked for news of their Uncle benjin the black Brothers grew ominously quiet what is it bran asked yuran wiped his fingers ERS on his vest there's hard news my lords and a cruel way to pay you for your meat and me but the man as asks the question must bear the answer Stark's gone one of the other men said the old bear sent him out to look for wear Roy and he's late

returning my Lord too long yuran said said most like he's dead my uncle is not dead Rob Stark said loudly anger in his tones he rose from the bench and laid his hand on the hilt of his sword do you hear me my uncle is not dead his voice rang against the stone walls and bran was suddenly afraid old sour smelling yuran looked up at Rob unimpressed whatever you say my Lord he said he sucked at a piece of meat between his teeth the youngest of the black Brothers shifted uncomfortably in his seat there's not

a man on the wall knows the haunted forest better than benjin Stark he'll find his way back well said yuran maybe he will and maybe he won't good men have gone into those woods before and never come out all bran could think of was old Nan's story of the others and the last hero hounded through the white Woods by dead men and spiders big as hounds he was afraid for a moment until he remembered how that story ended the children will help him he blurted the children of the forest the and Greyjoy sniggered and maest

Luen said bran the children of the forest have been dead and gone for thousands of years all that is left of them are the faces in the tree down here might be that's true maester guran said but up past the wall who's to say up there a man can't always tell what's alive and what's dead that night after the plates had been cleared Rob carried bran up to bed himself self gray wind led the way and summer came close behind his brother was strong for his age and bran was as light as a bundle of

rags but the stairs were Steep and dark and Rob was breathing hard by the time they reached the top he put bran into bed covered him with blankets and blew out the candle for a Time Rob sat beside him in the dark bran wanted to talk to him but he did not know what to say we'll find a horse for you I promise Rob whispered at last are they ever coming back bran asked him yes Rob said with such hope in his voice that bran knew he was hearing his brother and not just Rob the

Lord mother will be home soon maybe we can ride out to meet her when she comes wouldn't that surprise her to see you a horse even in the dark room bran could feel his brother's smile and afterward we'll ride North to see the wall we won't even tell John we're coming will just be there one day you and me it will be an adventure an adventure bran repeated wistfully he heard his brother SOB the room was so dark he could not see the tears on Rob's face so he reached out and found his hand their

fingers twined together chapter 66 the oldest were men grown 17 and 18 years from the day of their naming one was past 20 most were younger 16 or less bran watched them from the balcony of maester leen's turret listening to them Grunt and strain and curse as they swung their staves and wooden swords the yard was alive to the Clack of wood on wood punctuated all too often by thwacks and yows of pain when a blow struck leather or flesh sir rodri stroe among the boys face rening beneath his white whiskers muttering at them one

and all brown had never seen the old Knight look so fierce no he kept saying no no no they don't fight very well bran said dubiously he scratched summer idly behind the ears as the direwolf tore at a haunch of meat bones crunched between his teeth for a certainty maester Luen agreed with a deep sigh the maester was peering through his big mirish lens tube measuring shadows and noting the position of the Comet that hung low in the morning Sky yet given time sir rodri has the truth of it we need men to walk the

walls your lord father took the cream of his guard to King's Landing and your brother took the rest along with all the likely Lads for leagues around many will not come back to us and we must needs find the men to take their places bran stared resentfully at the sweating boys below if I still had my legs I could beat them all he remember remembered the last time he'd held a sword in his hand when the king had come to Winterfell it was only a wooden sword yet he'd knocked Prince tommen down half a hundred

times sir rodri should teach me to use a poax if I had a poax with a big long haft Hodor could be my legs we could be a KN together I think that unlikely maest Luen said bran when a man fights his arms and legs and thoughts must be as one below in the yard sir rodri was yelling you fight like a goose he pecks you and you Peck him harder panny block the blow Goose fighting will not suffice if those were real swords the first PEC would take your arm off one of the other

boys laughed and the old Knight rounded on him you laugh you now that is Gall you fight like a hedgehog there was a knight once who couldn't see bran said stubbornly as Sir rodri went on below old Nan told me about him he had a long staff with blades at both ends and he could spin it in his hands and chop two men at once simeon's star eyes Luen said as he marked numbers in a book when he lost his eyes he put Star Sapphires in the empty sockets or so the singers claim bran that

is only a story like the tales of Flor And The Fool a fable from the age of Heroes the maester tsed you must put these dreams aside they will only Break Your Heart The Mention Of Dreams reminded him I dreamed about the crow again last night the one with three eyes he flew into my bed chamber and told me to come with him so I did we went down to the crys father was there and we talked he was sad and why was that Luen peered through his tube it was something to do about John

I think the dream had been deeply disturbing more so than any of the other Crow dreams Hodor won't go down into the Crips the maester had only been half listening bran could tell he lifted his eye from the tube blinking Hodor won't go down into the Crips when I woke I told him to take me down to see if father was truly there at first he didn't know what I was saying but I got him to the steps by telling him to go here and go there only then he wouldn't go down he just stood

on the top step and said Hodor like he was scared of the dark but I had a torch it made me so mad I almost gave him a SWAT in the head like old Nan is always doing he saw the way the maester was frowning and hurriedly added I didn't though good hoder is a man not a mule to be beaten in the dream I flew down with the crow but I can't do that when I'm awake bran explained why would you want to go down to the Crips I told you to look for father

the maester tugged at the chain around his neck as he often did when he was uncomfortable bran Sweet Child one day Lord edit will sit Below in stone beside his father and his father's father and all the Starks back to the old kings in the north but that will not be for many years Gods be good your father is a prisoner of the queen in King's Landing you will not find him in the Crips he was there last night I talked to him stubborn boy the maester sighed setting his book aside would you like to

go see I can't Hoda won't go and the steps are too narrow and twisty for dancer I believe I can solve that difficulty in place of Hodor the wildling woman OSHA was summoned she was tall and tough and uncomplaining when willing to go wherever she was commanded I live my life beyond the wall a hole in the ground won't fret me none my lords she said summer come bran called as she lifted him in wiry strong arms the direwolf left his bone and followed as osar carried bran across the yard and down the spiral steps

to the cold Vault Under the Earth maesta Luen went ahead with a torch bran did not even M too badly that she carried him in her arms and not on her back sir rodri had ordered OSHA's chain struck off since she had served faithfully and well since she had been at Winterfell she still wore the heavy iron shackles around her ankles a sign that she was not yet wholly trusting Ed but they did not hinder her sure strides down the steps bran could not recall the last time he had been in the Crips it had

been before for certain when he was little he used to play down here with Rob and John and his sisters he wished they were here now the Vault might not have seemed so dark and scary summer stalked out in the echoing Gloom then stopped lifted his head and sniffed the chill dead air he Beed his teeth and crept backward eyes glowing golden in the light of the maer's torch even Oar hard as old iron seemed uncomfortable Grim folk by the look of of them she said as she eyed the long row of granite Starks on

their Stone Thrones they were the kings of winter bran whispered somehow it felt wrong to talk too loudly in this place OSHA smiled Winter's got no King if you'd seen it you'd know that summer boy they were the kings in the north for thousands of years maester Luen said lifting the torch high so the light Shone on the stone faces some were hairy and bearded Shaggy men Fierce as the wolves that crouched by their feet others were shaved clean their features gaunt and sharp edged as the iron long swords across their laps Hard Men for

a hard time come he stroe briskly down the Vault past the procession of stone pillars and the endless carved figures a tongue of flame trailed back from the upraised torch as he went the Vault was cavernous longer than winter fell itself and John had told him once that there were other levels underneath vaults even deeper and darker where the older Kings were buried it would not do to lose the Light Summer refused to move from the steps even when OSHA followed the torch bran in her arms do you recall your history bran the maester said

as they walked tell OSHA who they were and what they did if you can he looked at the passing faces and the tales came back to him the maester had told him the stories and old Nan had made them come alive that one is John Stark when the sea Raiders landed in the East he drove them out and built the castle at White Harbor his son was rickord Stark not my father's father but another rickord he took the neck away from the marsh King and married his daughter Theon Starks the real thin one with the

long hair and the skinny beard they called him the Hungry Wolf because he was always at War that's a Brandon the tall one with the dreamy face he was Brandon the ship right because he loved the sea his tomb is empty he tried to sail west across the sunset sea and was never seen again his son was Brandon the burner because he put the torch to all his father's ship in grief there's rodri Stark who won Bear Island in a wrestling match and gave it to the Mormons and that's torhan Stark the king who knelt

he was the last king in the North and the first Lord of Winterfell after he yielded to Aon the Conqueror oh there he's crean Stark he fought with Prince Amos once and the Dragon Knight said he'd never faced a finer swordsman they were almost at the end now and bran felt a sadness creeping over him and there's my grandfather Lord Rickard who was beheaded by Mad King Aris his daughter lyanna and his son Brandon are in the tombs beside him not not me another Brandon my father's brother they're not supposed to have statues that's only

for the Lords and the Kings but my father loved them so much he had them done the maid's a fair one OSHA said Robert was betrothed to marry her but Prince rhaegar carried her off and kidnapped her explained Robert fought a war to win her back he killed ragar on the Trident with his hammer but lyan died and he never got her back at all a sad tale said OSHA but those empty holes are sadder Lord Edd's tomb for when his time comes maester Luen said is this where you saw your father in your dream

bran yes the memory made him shiver he looked around the Vault uneasily the hairs on the back of his neck bristling had he heard a noise was there someone here maest Luen stepped toward the open Seiler torch in hand hand as you see he's not here nor will he be for many a year dreams are only dreams child he thrust his arm into the Blackness inside the tomb as into the mouth of some great Beast do you see it's quite empt the darkness sprang at him snarling bran saw eyes like green fire a flash of

teeth fur as black as the pit around them maest luin yelled and threw up his hands the torch went flying from his fingers carmed off the Stone Face of Brandon Stark and tumbled to the statue's feet the Flames licking up his legs in the drunken shifting torch light they saw Luen struggling with the direwolf beating at his muzzle with one hand while the Jaws closed on the other summer bran screamed and summer came shooting from the dimness behind them a leaping Shadow he slammed into Shaggy Dog and knocked him back and the two direwolves rolled

over and over in a tangle of of gray and black fur snapping and biting at each other while maesta Luen struggled to his knees his arm torn and bloody osar propped bran up against Lord Ricker's Stone Wolf as she hurried to assist the maester in the light of the guttering torch Shadow wolves 20 ft tall fought on the wall and roof Shaggy a small voice called when bran looked up his little brother was standing in the mouth of Father's tomb with one final snap at Summer's face Shaggy Dog broke off and bounded to Rick's side

you let my father be ricken warned Luen you let him be rickon bran said softly father's not here yes he is I saw him tears glistened on Rick's face I saw him last night in your dream ricken nodded you leave him you leave him be he's coming home now like he promised he's coming home bran had never seen maesta Luen took so uncertain before blood dripped down his arm where Shaggy Dog had shredded the wool of his sleeve and the flesh beneath OSHA the torch he said biting through his pain and she snatched it up

before it went out soot stains blackened both legs of his uncle's likeness that that Beast Luen went on is supposed to be chained up in the kennels ricken pattered Shaggy dog's muzzle damp with blood I let him loose he doesn't like chains he licked at his fingers ricken bran said would you like to come with me no I like it here it's dark here and cold I'm not afraid I have to wait for father you can wait with me bran said we'll wait together you and me and our wolves both of the direwolves were licking

wounds now and would bear close watching bran the maester said firmly I know you mean well but Shaggy Dog is too wild to run loose I'm the third man he's Savaged give him the freedom of the castle and it's only a question of time before he kills someone the truth is hard but the wolf has to be chained or he hesitated or killed bran thought but what he said was he was not made for chains we will wait in your tower all of us that is quite impossible maester Luen said OSHA grin the boy the

lordling here as I recall she handed Luen back his torch and scooped bran up into her arms again the maer's tower it is will you come ricken his brother nodded if Shaggy comes too he said running after osar and bran and there was nothing maester Luen could do but follow keeping a wary eye on the wolves maester luan's turret was so cluttered that it seemed to bran a wonder that he ever found anything tottering piles of books covered tables and chairs rows of stoppered jars lined the shelves candle stubs and puddles of dried wax dotted

the furniture the bronze myish lens tube sat on a tripod by the Terrace door St St charts hung from the walls Shadow Maps lay scattered among the rushes papers quills and pots of inks were everywhere and all of it was spotted with droppings from the Ravens in the rafters their strident quirks drifted down from above as oshar washed and cleaned and bandaged the maer's wounds under luan's tur instruction this is folly the small gray man said while she dabbed at the wolf bites with a stinging ointment I agree that it is odd that both you

boys dream the same dream yet when you stop to consider it it's only natural you miss your lord father and you know that he is a captive Fear Can fever a man's mind and give him queer thoughts ricken is too young to comprehend I'm four now ricken said he was peeking through the lens tube at the Gargoyles on the first keep the dire wolves sat on opposite sides of the large round room licking their wounds and Goring on Bones too young and ooh seven hells that burns no don't stop more too young as I say

but you bran you're old enough to know that dreams are only dreams some are some aren't OSHA poured pale red fire milk into a long gash Luan gasped the children of the forest could tell you a thing or two about dreaming tears were streaming down the maer's face yet he shook his head doggedly the children live only in dreams now dead and gone enough that's enough now the bandages pads and then wrap and make it tight I'll be bleeding old Nan says the children knew the songs of the trees that they could fly like birds

and swim like fish and talk to the animals bran said she says that they made music so beautiful that it made you cry like a little baby just to hear it and all this they did with magic ma lean said distracted I wish they were here now a spell would heal my arm less painfully and they could talk to Shaggy Dog and tell him not to bite he gave the big black wolf an angry glance out of the corner of his eye take a lesson bran the man who trusts in spells is jeweling with a

glass sword as the children did here let me show you something he stood abruptly crossed the room and returned with a green jar in his good hand have a look at these he said as he pulled the stopper and shook out a handful of shiny black arroe heads bran picked one up it's made of glass curious ricken drifted closer to appearer over the table Dragon glass OSHA named it as she sat down beside Luen bandaging in hand obsidian maest Luen insisted holding out his wounded arm forged in the fires of the Gods far below the

Earth the children of the forest hunted with that thousands of years ago the children worked no metal in place of male they wore long shirts of woven leaves and bound their legs in bark so they seemed to melt into the wood in place of Swords They Carried Blades of obsidian and still do OSHA placed soft pads over the bites on the maer's forearm and bound them tight with long strips of linen bran held the Arrow Head Up close the black glass was slick and shiny he thought it beautiful can I keep one as you wish

the maester said I want one too rickens said I want four I'm four Luen made him count them out careful they're still sharp don't cut yourself tell me about the children bran said it was important what do you wish to know everything maesta Luen tugged at his chain collar where it chafed against his neck they were people of the Dawn age the very first before Kings and kingdoms he said in those days there were no castles or hold fasts no cities not so much as a market town to be found between here and the Sea

of dawn there were no men at all only the children of the forest dwelt in the lands We Now call the Seven Kingdoms they were a people dark and beautiful small of stature No taller than children even when grown to manhood they lived in the depths of the wood in caves and crannogs and secret tree towns slight as they were the children were quick and graceful male and female hunted together with weirwood bows and flying snares their gods were the gods of the forest stream and stone the old gods whose names are secret their wise

men were called green seers and carved strange faces in the weirwoods to keep watch on the woods how long the children reigned here or where they came from no man can know but some 12,000 years ago the first men appeared from the East crossing the broken arm of dawn before it was broken they came with bronze swords and great leav Shields riding horses no horse had ever been seen on this side of the narrow sea no doubt the children were as frightened by the horses as the first men were by the faces in the trees

as the first men carved out hold fasts and Farms they cut down the faces and gave them to the fire horror struck the children went to war the old songs say that the green seers used dark magics to make the Seas rise and sweep away the land shattering the arm but it was too late to close the door the wars went on until the Earth ran red with blood of men and children both but more children than men for men were bigger and stronger and wood and stone and obsidian make a poor match for bronze

finally the wise of both races prevailed and the Chiefs and heroes of the first men met the green seers and wood dancers amidst the wewood Groves of a small island in the great lake called Gods ey there they forged the pack the first men were given the coastlands the high plains and bright Meadows the mountains and bogs but the Deep Woods were to remain forever the children's and no more weirwoods were to be put to the axe anywhere in the realm so the gods might might bear witness to the signing every tree on the island

was given a face and afterward the sacred order of green men was formed to keep watch over the aisle of faces the pack began 4,000 years of friendship between men and children in time the first men even put aside the gods they had brought with them and took up the worship of the secret gods of the wood the signing of the pack ended the dawn age and began the age of Heroes Bran's fist curled around the shiny black Arrow Head but the children of the forest are all gone now you said here they are said

OSHA as she bit off the of the last bandage with her teeth north of the wall things are different that's where the children went and the Giants and the other old races maest Luen sighed Woman by rights you ought to be dead or in Chains the Starks have treated you more gently than you deserve it is unkind to repay them for their kind kindness by filling the boys heads with Folly tell me where they went bran said I want to know me too Rick and echoed oh very well Luen muttered so long as the kingdoms

of the first men held sway The Pact endured all through the the age of Heroes and the long night and the birth of the Seven Kingdoms yet finally there came a Time many centuries later when other peoples crossed the narrow sea the andal were the first a race of tall fair-haired Warriors who came with steel and fire and the seven-pointed star of the new Gods painted on their chests the wars lasted hundreds of years but in the end the six souan kingdoms all fell before them only here where the king in the north threw back

every Army that tried to cross the neck did the rule of the first men endure the andal burnt out the weirwood Groves hacked down the faces slaughtered the children where they found them and everywhere proclaimed the Triumph of the seven over the old gods so the children fled North summer began to howl maest Luen broke off startled when Shaggy Dog bounded to his feet and added his voice to his brothers dread clutched at Bran's heart it's coming he whispered with the certainty of Despair he had known it since last night he realized since the crow

had led him down into the crypts to say farewell he had known it but he had not believed he had wanted maest Luen to be right the crow he thought the three-eyed Crow the howling stopped as suddenly as it had begun summer padded across the tower floor to Shaggy Dog and began to lick at a mat of bloody fur on the back of his brother's neck from the window came a flutter of wings a raven landed on the gry stone sill opened its beak and gave a harsh rockus rattle of d dress ricken began to

cry his arrow heads fell from his hand one by one and clattered on the floor bran pulled him close and hugged him maester Luen stared at the black bird as if it were a scorpion with feathers he Rose slow as a sleepwalker and moved to the window when he whistled The Raven and hopped onto his bandaged forearm there was dried blood on its wings a hawk Luen murmured perhaps an owl poor thing a wonder it got through he took the letter from its leg bran found himself shivering as the maester unrolled the paper what is

it he said said holding his brother all the harder you know what it is boy OSHA said not unkindly she put her hand on his head ma Luen looked up at them numbly a small gray man with blood on the sleeve of his gray wool robe and tears in his bright gray eyes my lords he said to the sons in a voice has gone horse and shrunken we we shall need to find a stone Carver who knew his likeness well sobbing Sam took another step this is the last one the very last I can't go

on I can't but his feet moved again while one and then the other they took a step and then another and he thought they're not my feet they're someone else's someone else is walking it can't be me when he looked down he could see them stumbling through the snow shapeless things and clumsy his boots had been black he seemed to remember but the snow had caked around them and now they were misshapen white balls like two club feet made of ice it would not stop the snow the drifts were up past his knees and a

crust covered his lower legs like a pair of white Greaves his steps were dragging lurching the heavy pack he carried made him looked like some monstrous Hunchback and he was tired so tired I can't go on mother have mercy I can't every fourth or fifth step he had to reach down and tug up his sword belt he had lost the sword on the fist but the Scabbard still weighed down the belt he did have two knives the dragon glass dagger Jon had given him and the steel one he cut his meat with all that weight

dragged heavy and his belly was so big and round that if he forgot to tug the belt slipped right off and Tangled round his ankles no matter how tight he cinched it he had tried belting it above his belly once but then it came almost to his armpits Gren had laughed himself sick at the sight of it and dolorous Ed had said I knew a man once who wore his sword on a chain around around his neck like that one day he stumbled and the hilt went up his nose Sam was stumbling himself there were

rocks beneath the snow and the roots of trees and sometimes deep holes in the frozen ground black Bernard had stepped in one and broken his ankle 3 days past or maybe four or he did not know how long it had been truly the Lord Commander had put Bernar on a horse after that sobbing Sam took another step it felt more like he was falling down than walking falling endlessly but never hitting the ground just falling forward and forward I have to stop it hurts too much I'm so cold and tired I need to sleep just

a little sleep beside a fire and a bite to eat that isn't Frozen but if he stopped he died he knew that they all knew that the few who were left they had been 50 when they fled the fist maybe more but some had wandered off in the snow a few wounded had bled to death and sometimes Sam heard shouts behind him from the rear guard and once an awful scream when he heard that he had run 20 yards or 30 as fast and as far as he could his half Frozen feet kicking up the

snow he would be running still if his legs were stronger they are behind us they are still behind us they are taking us one by one sobbing Sam took another step he had been cold so long he was forgetting what it was like to feel warm he wore three pairs of Hose two layers of small clothes beneath a double Lamb's wool tunic and over that a thick quilted coat that padded him against the cold steel of his chain mail over the horberg he had a loose sir coat over that a triple thick cloak with a

bone bu button that fastened tight under his chins its Hood flopped forward over his forehead heavy firm mitts covered his hands over thin wool and leather gloves a scarf was wrapped snugly about the lower half of his face and he had a tight fitting fleece lined cap to pull down over his ears beneath the hood and still the cold was in him his feet especially he couldn't even feel them now but only yesterday they had hurt so bad he could hardly bear to stand on them let alone walk every step made him want to scream

was that yesterday he could not remember he had not slept since the fist not once since the horn had blown unless it was while he was walking could a man walk while he was sleeping Sam did not know or else he had forgotten sobbing he took another step the snow swirled down around him sometimes it fell from a white sky and sometimes from a black but that was all that remained of day and night he wore it on his shoulders like a second cloak and it piled up high high at top the pack he carried

and made it even heavier and harder to Bear the small of his back hurt abominably as if someone had shoved a knife in there and was wiggling it back and forth with every step his shoulders were in agony from the weight of the male he would have given most anything to take it off but he was afraid to anyway he would have needed to remove his cloak and cirat to get at it and then the cold would have him if only I was Stronger he wasn't though and it was no good wishing Sam was weak

and fat so very fat he could hardly bear his own weight the male was much too much for him it felt as though it was rubbing his shoulders Raw despite the layers of cloth and quilt between the steel and skin the only thing he could do was cry and when he cried the tears froze on his cheeks sobbing he took another step the crust was broken where he set his feet otherwise he did not think he could have moved at all off to the left and right half seen through the silent trees torches turned to

vague orange halos in the falling snow when he turned his head he could see them slipping silent Through the Wood bobbing up and down and back and forth the old Bear's Ring of Fire he reminded himself and woe to him who leaves it as he walked it seemed as if he were chasing the Torches ahead of him but they had legs as well longer and stronger than his so he could never catch them yesterday he begged for them to let him be one of the torch bearers even if it meant walking outside of the column

with the darkness pressing close he wanted the fire dreamed of the fire if I had the fire I would would not be cold but someone reminded him that he'd had a torch at the start but he dropped it in the snow and snuffed the fire out Sam didn't remember dropping any torch was it Ed who reminded him about the torch or Gren he couldn't remember that either fat and weak and useless even my wit bits are freezing now he took another step he had wrapped his scarf over his nose and mouth but it was covered

with snot now and so stiff he feared it must be frozen to his face even breathing was hard and the air was so cold it hurt to swallow it mother have mercy he muttered in a hushed husky voice beneath the Frozen mask mother have mercy mother have mercy mother have mercy with each prayer he took another step dragging his legs through the snow mother have mercy mother have mercy mother have mercy his own mother was a Thousand Leagues South safe with his sisters and his little brother dickon in the the keep at hornhill she can't

hear me no more than the mother above the mother was merciful all the septons agreed but the seven had no power beyond the wall this was where the old gods ruled the nameless gods of the trees and the Wolves and the Snows Mercy he whispered then to whatever might be listening old gods or new or demons too oh Mercy Mercy Me Mercy Me Maslin screamed for Mercy why had he suddenly remembered that it was nothing he wanted to remember the man had stumbled backward dropping his sword pleading yielding even yanking off his thick black glove

and thrusting it up before him as if it were a gauntlet he was still shrieking for quarter as the white lifted him in the air by the throat and near ripped the head off him the dead have no mercy left in them and the others no I mustn't think of that don't think don't remember just walk just walk just walk sobbing he took another step a root beneath the crust caught his toe and Sam tripped and fell heavily to one knee so hard he bit his tongue he could taste the blood in his mouth warmer

than anything he had tasted since the fist this is the end he thought now that he had fallen he could not seem to find the strength to rise again he groped for a tree branch and clutched it tight trying to pull himself back to his feet but his stiff legs would not support him the male was too heavy and he was too fat besides and too weak and too tired back on your feet piggy someone growled as he went past but Sam paid him no mind I'll just lie down in the snow and close my

eyes it wouldn't be so bad dying here he couldn't possibly be any colder and after a little while he wouldn't be able to feel the ache in his lower back or the terrible pain in his shoulders no more than he could feel his feet I won't be the first to die they can't say I was hundreds had died on the fist they had died all around him and more had died after he'd seen them shivering Sam released his grip on the tree and eased himself down in the snow it was cold and wet he knew

but he could scarcely feel it through all his clothing he stared Upward at the pale white sky as snowflakes drifted down upon his stomach and his chest and his eyelids the snow will cover me like a thick white blanket it will be warm under the snow and if they speak of me they'll have to say I died a man of the Night's Watch I did I did I did my duty no one can say I forswore myself I'm fat and I'm weak and I'm Craven but I did my duty the Ravens had been his responsibility

that was why they had brought him along he hadn't wanted to go he told them so he told them all what a big coward he was but maester Aon was very old and blind besides so that they had to send Sam to tend to the Ravens the Lord Commander had given him his orders when they made their camp on the fist you're no fighter we both know that boy if it happens that we're attacked don't go trying to prove otherwise you'll just get in the way you're to send a message and don't come running to

ask what the letter should say write it out yourself and send one bird to Castle black and another to the shadow Tower the old bear pointed a gloved finger right in Sam's face I don't care if you're so scared you foul your breaches and I don't care if a thousand wildlings are coming over the walls howling for your blood you get those birds off or I swear I'll hunt you through all seven hells and make you damn sorry that you didn't and Mormon's own Raven had bobbed its head up and down and croaked sorry sorry

sorry Sam was sorry sorry he hadn't been braver or stronger or good with swords that he hadn't been a better son to his father and a better brother to dickon and the girls he was sorry to die too but better men had died on the fist good men and true not squeaking fat boys like him at least he would not have the old bear hunting him through hell though I got the birds off I did that right at least he had written out the messages ahead of time short messages and simple telling of an attack

on the Fist of the first men and then he had tucked them away Safe in His parchment pouch hoping he would never need to send them when the horns blew Sam had been sleeping he thought he was dreaming them at first but when he opened his eyes snow was falling on the camp and the black brothers were all grabbing bows and Spears and running toward the ring wall Chad was the only one nearby maest amon's old Steward with the face full of boils and the Big W on his neck Sam had never seen so much

fear on a man's face as he saw on Chads when when that third blast came moaning through the trees help me get the birds off he pleaded but the other Steward had turned and run off dagger in hand he has the dogs to care for Sam remembered probably the Lord Commander had given him some orders as well his fingers had been so stiff and clumsy in the gloves and he was shaking from fear and cold but he found the parchment pouch and dug out the messages he'd written the Ravens were shrieking furiously and when he

opened the castle black cage one of them flew right in his face two more escaped before Sam could catch one and when he did it pecked him through his glove drawing blood yet somehow he held on long enough to attach the little roll of parchment the warhorn had fallen silent by then but the fist rang with shouted commands and the clatter of Steel fly Sam called as he tossed The Raven into the air the birds in the shadow Tower cage were screaming and fluttering about so madly that he was afraid to open the door but

he made himself do it anyway this time he caught the first Raven that tried to escape a moment later it was claing its way up through the falling snow bearing word of the attack his duty done he finished dressing with Clumsy frightened fingers donning his cap and Sir coat and hooded cloak and buckling on his sword belt buckling it real tight so it wouldn't fall down then he found his pack and stuffed all his things inside spare small clothes and dry socks the dragon glass arrow heads and spearhead Jon had given him and the old

horn too his parchments inks and quills the maps he'd been drawing and a rockard garlic sausage he'd been saving since the wall he tied it all up and shouldered the pack onto his back the Lord Commander said I wasn't to rush to the ring wall he recalled but he said I shouldn't come running to him either Sam took a deep breath and realized that he did not know what to do next he remembered turning in a circle lost the fear growing inside him as it always did there were dogs barking and horses trumpeting but the

snow muffled the sounds and made them seem far away Sam could see nothing Beyond three yards not even the Torches burning along the low stone wall that ringed the crown of the Hill could the Torches have gone out that was too scary to think about the horn blew Thrice long three long blasts means others the white walkers of the wood the cold Shadows the monsters of the tals that made him squeak and tremble as a boy riding their giant ice spiders hungry for blood awkwardly he drew his sword and ploted heavily through the snow holding

it a dog ran past barking and he saw some of the men from the shadow Tower big bearded men with long axes and 8ot Spears he felt safer for their company so he followed them to the wall when he saw the Torches still burning a top ring of stones a shudder of relief went through him the black Brothers stood with swords and Spears in hand watching the snow fall waiting sir malador lock went by on his horse wearing a snow speckled Helm Sam stood well back behind the others looking for Gren or dollarus Ed if

I have to die let me die beside my friends he remembered thinking but all the men around him Were Strangers Shadow Tower men under the command of the Ranger named Blaine here they come he heard a brother say Notch said Blaine and 20 black arrows were pulled from as many Quivers and notched to as many bow strings Gods be good there's hundreds a voice said softly draw Blain said and then hold Sam could not see and did not want to see the men of the Knight's watch stood behind their torches waiting with arrows pulled back

to their ears as something came up that dark slippery slope through the snow hold Blaine said again hold hold and then loose the arrows whispered as they flew a ragged cheer went up from the men along the ring wall but it died quickly they're not stopping my Lord a man said to Blain and another shouted more look there coming from the trees and yet another said gods have mercy they's crawling they's almost here they's on us Sam had been backing away by then shaking like the last leaf on the tree when the wind kicks up

as much from cold as from Fear it had been very cold that night even colder than now the snow feels almost warm I feel better now a little rest was all I needed maybe in a little while I'll be strong enough to walk again in a little while a horse stepped past his head a Shaggy gray Beast with snow in its man and Hooves crusted with ice Sam watched it come and watched it go another appeared from out of the falling snow with a man in Black leading it when he saw Sam in his path

he cursed him and led the horse around I wish I had a horse he thought if I had a horse I could keep going I could sit and even sleep some in the saddle most of their mounts had been lost at the fist though and those that remained carried their food their torches and they wounded Sam wasn't wounded only fat and weak and the greatest Craven in the Seven Kingdoms he was such a coward Lord Randall his father had always said so and he had been right Sam was his Heir but he had never been

worthy so his father had sent him away to the wall his little brother dickon would inherit the tarly lands and castle and the great sword heart's Bane that the Lords of hornhill had borne so proudly for centuries he wondered whether dickon would shed a tear for his brother who died in the snow somewhere off Beyond the Edge of the World why should he a coward's not worth weeping over he had heard his father tell his mother as much half a hundred times the old bear knew it too fire arrows the Lord Commander roared that night

on the Feld F when he appeared suddenly arride his horse give them flame it was then he noticed Sam there quaking tar get out of here your place is with the Ravens I I got the messages away good on mormont's shoulder his own Raven echoed good good the Lord Commander looked huge in fur and male behind his black Iron visor his eyes were Fierce you're in the way here go back to your cages if I need to send another message I don't want to have to find you first see that the birds are ready he

did not wait for a response but turned his his horse and trotted around the ring shouting fire give them fire Sam did not need to be told twice he went back to the birds as fast as his fat legs could carry him I should write the message ahead of time he thought so we can get the birds away as fast as need be it took him longer than it should have to light his little fire to warm the Frozen ink he sat beside it on a rock with quill and parchment and wrote his messages attacked

amidst snow and cold but we've thrown them back with fire arrows he wrote as he heard Thoren Smallwood's voice ring out with a command of Notch draw loose the flight of arrows made a sound as sweet as a mother's prayer burn you dead bastards burn dwin sang out cackling the brothers cheered and cursed all safe he wrote We remain on the Fist of the first men Sam hoped they were better archers than him he put that note aside and found another blank parchment still fighting on the fist amidst heavy snow he wrote when someone shouted

they're still coming result uncertain Spears someone said it might have been sir malador but Sam could not swear to it whites attacked us on the fist in snow he wrote but we drove them off with fire he turned his head through the drifting snow all he could see was the huge fire at the center of the camp with mounted men moving restlessly around it the reserve he knew ready to ride down anything that breached the ring wall they had armed themselves with torches in place of swords and were lighting them in the Flames whites all

around us he wrote when he heard the shouts from the North Face coming up from north and south at once Spears and swords don't stop them only fire loose loose loose a voice screamed in the night and another shouted bloody huge and a third voice said a Giant and a fourth insisted a bear a bear a horse shrieked and the hounds began to ba and there was so much shouting that Sam couldn't make out the voices anymore he wrote faster note after note dead wildlings and a giant or maybe a bear on us all around

he heard the crash of Steel on wood which could only mean one thing whites over the ring wall fighting inside the camp a dozen mounted Brothers pounded past him toward the East wall burning Brands streaming flames in each Rider's hand Lord Commander Mormont is meeting them with fire we've won we're winning we're holding our own we're cutting our way free and retreating for the wall we're trapped on the fist hard pressed one of the Shadow Tower men came staggering out of the darkness to fall at Sam's feet he crawled within a foot of the fire

before he died lost Sam wrote the battle's lost we're all lost why must he remember the fight at the fist he didn't want to remember not that he tried to make himself remember his mother or his little sister tala or that girl Jilly at ca's keep someone was shaking him by the shoulder get up a voice said Sam you can't go to sleep here get up and keep walking I wasn't asleep I was remembering go away he said his words frosting in the cold air I'm well I want to rest get up gr's voice harsh

and husky he loomed over Sam his blacks crusty with snow there's no resting the old bed said you'll die Gren he smiled no truly I'm good here you just go on I'll catch you after I've rested a bit longer you won't Green's thick brown beard was frozen all around his mouth it made him look like some old man you'll freeze or the others will get you Sam get up the night before they left the wall pipper teased Gren the way he did Sam remembered smiling and saying how Gren was a good choice for the ranging

since he was too stupid to be terrified Gren hotly denied it until he realized what he was saying he was stocky and thick necked and strong sir Alisa Thorne had called him orox the same way he called Sam sir Piggy and John Lord snow but he had always treated Sam nice enough that was only because of John though if it weren't for John none of them would have liked me and now JN was gone lost in the skirling pass with Corin half hand most likely dead Sam would have cried for him but those tears would

only freeze as well and he could scarcely keep his eyes open now a tall brother with a torch stopped beside them and for a wonderful moment Sam felt the warmth on his face leave him the man said to Gren if they can't walk they're done save your strength for yourself Gren he'll get up Gren replied he only needs a hand the man moved on taking the Blessed warmth with him Gren tried to pull Sam to his feet that hurts he complained stop it Gren you're hurting my arm stop it you're too bloody heavy Gren jammed

his hands into Sam's armpits gave a grunt and hauled him upright but the moment he let go the fat boy sat back down in the snow Gren kicked him a solid thump that cracked the crust of snow around his Boot and sent it flying everywhere get up he kicked him again get up and walk you have to walk Sam fell over sideways curling up into a tight ball to protect himself from the kicks he hardly felt them through all his wool and leather and mail but even so they hurt I thought Gren was my friend

you shouldn't kick your friends why won't they let me be I just need to rest that's all to rest and sleep some and maybe die a little if you take the torch I can take the fat boy suddenly he was jerked up into the cold air away from his sweet soft snow he was floating there was an arm under his knees and another one under his back Sam raised his head and blinked a face loomed close a broad brutal face with a flat nose and small dark eyes and a Thicket of coarse Brown beard he

had seen the face before but it took him a moment to remember Paul small pole melting ice ran down into his eyes from the heat of the torch can you carry him he heard Gren ask I carried a calf once was heavier than him I carried him down to his mother so he could get a drink of milk Sam's head bobbed up and down with every step that small Paul took stop it he muttered put me down I'm not a baby I'm a man of the Night's Watch he sobbed just let me die be quiet

Sam said Gren save your strength think about your sisters and brother your favorite foods sing a song if you like aloud in your head Sam knew a h hundred songs but when he tried to think of one he couldn't the words had all gone from his head he sobbed again and said I don't know any songs Gren I did know some but now I don't yes you do said Gren how about The Bear and the Maiden Fair everybody knows that one a bear there was a bear a bear all black and brown and covered with

hair no not that one Sam pleaded the bear that had come up the fist had no hair left on its rotted flesh he didn't want to think about bears no songs please Gren think about your Ravens then they were never mine they were the Lord Lord commanders Ravens the Ravens of the Night's Watch they belong to Castle black and the shadow Tower small Paul frowned Chad said I could have the old Bear's Raven the one that talks I saved food for it and everything he shook his head I forgot though I left the food where

I hid it he ploted onward pale white breath coming from his mouth with every step then suddenly said could I have one of your Ravens just the one I'd never let lar eat it they're gone said Sam I'm sorry so sorry they're flying back to the wall now he had set the Birds free when he'd heard the warhorns sound once more calling the watch to horse two short blasts and a long one that was the call to mount up but there was no reason to mount unless to abandon the Fist and that meant the battle

was lost the fear bit him so strong then that it was all Sam could do to open the cages only as he wed watched the last Raven flap up into the snowstorm did he realize that he had forgotten to send any of the messages he'd written no he'd squealed oh no oh no the snow fell and the horns blew ahoo ahoo they cried to horse to horse to horse Sam saw two Ravens perched on a rock and ran after them but the birds flapped off lazily through the swirling snow in opposite directions he chased one

his breath puffing out his nose in thick white clouds stumbled and found himself 10t from the ring wall after that he remembered the Dead coming over the stones with arrows in their faces and through their throats some were all in ringmail and some were almost naked wildings most of them but a few wore faded blacks he remembered one of the Shadow Tower men shoving his spear through a white pale soft belly and out his back and how the things staggered right up the shaft and reached out his black hands and twisted the brother's head around

until blood came out his mouth that was when his bladder let go the first time he was almost sure he did not remember running but he must have because the next he knew he was near the fire half a camp away with old sir ought in Withers and some archers sir oton was on his knees in the snow staring at the chaos around them until a riderless horse came by and kicked him in the face The Archers paid him no mind they were loosing fire arrows at shadows in the dark Sam saw one white hit

saw the flames in Gulf it but there were a dozen more behind it and a huge pale shape that must have been the bear and soon enough The Bowman had no arrows and then Sam found himself on a horse it wasn't his own horse and he never recalled mounting up either maybe it was the horse that had smashed sir Ron's face in the horns were still blowing so he kicked the horse and turned him toward the sound in the midst of Carnage and chaos and blowing snow he found dollarus Ed sitting on his Garin with

a plain black Banner on a spear Sam Ed said when he saw him would you wake me please I'm having this terrible nightmare more men were mounting up every moment the war horns called them back aoo aoo they're over the West Wall my Lord Thoren Smallwood screamed at the old bear as he fought to control his horse I'll send reserves no Mormont had to Bellow at the top of his lungs to be heard over the horns call them back we have to cut our way out he stood in his stirrups his black cloak snapping in

the wind the Fire shining off his armor spearhead he roared form wedge we ride my Lord the South slopes crawling with them the others are too steep more mon said we have his Garen screamed and reared and almost threw him as the bear came staggering through the snow Sam pissed himself all over again I didn't think I had any more left inside me the bear was dead pale and rotting its fur and skin all sloughed off and half its right arm burned to Bone yet still it came on only its eyes lived bright blue just

as John said they Shone like frozen Stars Thoren Smallwood charged his long sword shining all orange and red from the light of the fire his swing near took the Bear's head off and then the bear took his ride the Lord Commander shouted Wheeling they were at the gallop by the time they reached the ring Sam had always been too frightened to jump a horse before but when the low stone wall loomed up before him he knew he had no choice he kicked and closed his eyes and whimpered and the Garin took him over somehow somehow

the Garin took him over the rider to his right Came Crashing Down in a tangle of Steel and leather and screaming horse flesh and then the whites were swarming over him and the wedge was closing up they plunged down the hillside at a run through clutching black hands and burning blue eyes and blowing snow horses stumbled and rolled men were swept from their saddles torches spun through the air axes and swords hacked at dead flesh and Samuel tar sobbed clutching desperately to his horse with a strength he never knew he had he was in the

middle of the flying spearhead with Brothers on either side and before and behind him as well a dog ran with them for a ways bounding down the snowy slope slope and In and Out Among the horses but it could not keep up the whites stood there ground and were ridden down and Trampled Under hoof even as they fell they clutched at swords and stups and the legs of passing horses Sam saw one claw open a garin's belly with its right hand while it clung to the saddle with its left suddenly the trees were all about

them and Sam was splashing through a frozen stream with the sounds of Slaughter dwindling behind he turned breathless with relief until a man in Black leapt from the brush and yanked him out of the saddle who he was Sam never saw he was up in an instant and Galloping away the next when he tried to run after the horse his feet Tangled l in a root and he fell hard on his face and lay weeping like a baby until dollarus Ed found him there that was his last coherent memory of the Fist of the first

men later hours later he stood shivering among the other survivors half mounted and half a foot they were miles from the fist by then though Sam did not remember how dwin had led down five pack horses heavy laden with food and oil and torches and three had made it this far the old bear made them redistribute the loads so the loss of any one horse in its Provisions would not be such a catastrophe he took garens from the healthy men and gave them to the wounded organized the Walkers and set torches to guard their flanks

and rear all I need do is walk Sam told himself as he took that first step toward home but before an hour was gone he had begun to struggle and to lag they were lagging now as well he saw he remembered pip saying once how small Paul was the strongest man in the watch he must be to carry me yet even so the snow was growing deeper the ground more treacherous and Paul's strides had begun to shorten more Horsemen passed wounded men who looked at Sam with dull incurious eyes some torch bearers went by as

well you're falling behind one told them the next agreed no one's like to wait for you Paul leave the pig for the dead men he promised I could have a bird small Paul said even though Sam hadn't not truly they aren't mine to give I want me a bird that talks and eats corn from my hand bloody fool the torch man said then he was gone it was a while after when Gren stopped suddenly We're Alone he said in aoar voice I can't see the other torches was that the rear guard small Paul had no

answer for him the big man gave a grunt and sank to his knees his arms trembled as he lay Sam gently in the snow I can't carry you no more I would but I can't he shivered violently the Wind sighed Through the Trees driving a fine spray of snow into their faces the cold was so bitter that Sam felt naked he looked for the other torches but they were gone every one of them there was only the one Gren carried the Flames rising from it like pale orange silks he could see through them to the

black beyond that torch will burn out soon he thought and we are all alone without food or friends or fire but that was wrong they weren't alone at all the lower branches of the great Green Sentinel shed their burden of snow with a soft wet plop Gren spun thrusting out his torch who goes there a horse's head emerged from the darkness Sam felt a moment's relief until he saw the horse hor frost covered it like a Sheen of Frozen sweat and a nest of stiff black entrails dragged from its open belly on its back was

a rider pale as ice Sam made a whimper sound deep in his throat he was so scared he might have pissed himself all over again but the cold was in him a cold so Savage that his bladder felt frozen solid the other slid gracefully from the saddle to stand upon the Snow sword slim it was and milky white its armor rippled and shifted as it moved and its feet did not break the crust of the new Fall Fallen snow small Paul unslung the long halfed axe strapped across his back why' you hurt that horse that

was M's horse Sam groped for the hilt of his sword but the Scabbard was empty he had lost it on the fist he remembered too late get away Gren took a step thrusting the torch out before him away or you burn he poked at it with the Flames the other's sword gleamed with a faint blue glow it moved toward Gren lightning quick slashing when the ice blue blade brushed the Flames a screech stabbed Sam's ears sharp as a needle the head of the torch tumbled sideways to vanish beneath a deep drift of snow the fire

snuffed out at once and all Gren held was a short wooden stick he flung it at the other cursing as small Paul charged in with his axe the fear that filled Sam then was worse than any fear he had ever felt before and Samuel tarly knew every kind of fear mother have mercy he wept forgetting the old gods in his Terror father protect me his fingers found his dagger and he filled his hand with that the whites had been slow clumsy things but the other was light as snow on the wind it slid away from

Paul's axe armor Rippling and its Crystal Sword twisted and spun and slipped between the iron rings of Paul's male through leather and wool and Bone and flesh it came out his back with a hiss and Sam heard Paul say oh as he lost the ax impaled his blood smoking around the sword the big man tried to reach his killer with his hands and almost had before he fell the weight of him tore the strange pale sword from the others grip do it now stop crying and fight you B B fight Craven it was his father

he heard it was Alisa Thorn it was his brother dickon and the boy rast Craven Craven Craven he giggled hysterically wondering if they would make a white of him a huge fat white white always tripping over its own dead feet do it Sam was that John now johon was dead you can do it you can just do it and then he was stumbling forward falling more than running really closing his eyes and shoving the dagger blindly out before him with both hands he heard a crack like the sound ice makes when it breaks beneath a

man's foot and then a screech so shrill and sharp that he went staggering backward with his hands over his muffled ears and fell hard on his ass when he opened his eyes the other's armor was running down its legs in rivulets as pale blue blood hissed and steamed around the black dragon glass dagger in its throat it reached down with two bone white hands to pull out the knife but where its fingers touched the obsidian they smoked Sam rolled onto his side eyes wide as the other shrank and puddled dissolving away in 20 heartbeats its

flesh was gone swirling away in a fine white Mist beneath were bones like milk glass pale and sh shiny and they were melting too finally only the dragon glass dagger remained wreathed in Steam as if it were alive and sweating Gren bent to scoop it up and flung it down again at once mother that's cold obsidian Sam struggled to his knees Dragon glass they call it Dragon Glass Dragon glass he giggled and cried and doubled over to heave his courage out onto the snow Gren pulled Sam to his feet checked small Paul for a pulse

and closed his eyes then snatched up the dagger again this time he was able to hold it you keep it Sam said you're not Craven like me so Craven you killed another Gren pointed with the knife look there through the trees Dawn Sam Dawn that must be East if we head that way we should catch [Music] Mormont if you say Sam kicked his left foot against a tree to knock off all the snow then the right I'll try grimacing he took a step I'll try hard and then another for for for for for for for

for for for e for for for for for for for for e for for for