2nd Month of 300 A.C. Somewhere Beyond the Wall
Lord Robb Stark
The wildlings had been defeated, many of their number had been reduced to dust by the power of the horn, well the horns, the Horn of Joramun, and what Robb had since learned was called the Horn of Fire. Seeing the two horns working together and seeing their power, had terrified Robb, it had given him an indication of there being something more to this world than what he had already seen, and he was not quite sure what to make of that. Dragons he could deal with, they were something he had grown up hearing about, but horns that could turn people into dust, that was something he was not sure of. And then there were the giants and their mammoths. Giants! The memories of those great beasts lumbering towards him and his men was terrifying, it took most of his willpower not to flinch every time he thought of them, and what had become of them. Only a few of the giants and their great beasts had survived, a similar story to the wildlings, and the destruction had been something quite terrifying, the wall had not come down, but Robb knew it was shaking, had felt it shake when the horns had sounded.
Mance Rayder had been captured, and brought before Robb and the commanders of the Watch, the man had had some very interesting things to say. The reasoning behind his venture toward the Wall, his uniting of the clans had all been told, and the reasoning behind it all was something that if he were being honest with himself, Robb was still having difficulty believing. White Walkers and the Great Other, things from fairy tales, tales that Old Nan had told him as a bairn, apparently were true, and they were coming for them all, bringing with them ice and death. Robb had thought someone like Ser Alliser Thorne would laugh and dismiss those tales, but the look in the man's eyes when he had heard Mance speak had been one of fear. It seemed that the brothers of the Watch had long suspected something like this would happen, once they had sent Mance back to his cage, they had discussed it at length, and the tales had come thick and fast then. Tales of Black Brothers sent out on voyages, never to return, of a scouting mission gone wrong, of dead things in the water, all things that had made Robb stay up late into the night, unsure of whether or not he wanted to go to bed or not.
Eventually, a course of action had been decided. They would go north, to see what was out there, if there were any wildlings who had fled the great battle at the Wall, then they would be given a choice, to come south for shelter or die at the hands of the horns. Mance Rayder had been brought along with them, considering how well he knew the lands beyond the wall, he was bound and chained to a horse, but the horn was slung across his back, apparently now he and Robb were the only two who could sound the horns and do their damage. Robb had not been sure what to make of their venture out beyond the wall, but he had gone, as had half of his men, the other half remaining under the command of Lord Umber, whilst some three hundred Black Brothers had ridden out under the command of their Lord Commander and Ser Alliser Thorne, to make sure things remained cordially. An interesting party was theirs, and it was one Robb had his doubts about, but for now he had put those doubts aside. He had no choice, he had to do that, if he wished to live.
They had long since crossed into the Haunted Forest, the village of Whitetree abandoned behind them, remnants of the people who had lived there showing in the abandoned huts and burned out fires turned to ash in the ground. They had ridden past Craster's Keep and found it abandoned, the man, apparently a savage even by wildling standards, had disappeared, his women with him. Mance had called that an ominous thing, if Craster had fled, something was clearly going on. They were approaching the Fist, and Robb could see the tension that was beginning to fill some of the men, Black Brothers who had survived the expedition to the Fist the first time round, were no doubt having their memories play horrific images before them. Robb looked at the trees and the land surrounding the fist, and he saw only death and desolation. The signs of a battle long since fought were present amongst the ruins of the once forest, as they came to the Fist, the party stopped moving, and Robb looked out to see why. The Fist of the First Men, a ruined ring fort sat atop a slight hill was before them, there were bodies, many bodies at the foot of the hill and scattered atop the hill as well. Robb gave the command for his men to make funeral pyres for the bodies on that hill, and to burn them to make sure they did not rise from death. The horror stories he had heard, etched still so clearly in his head.
"Look at that Stark, that is what is coming for us." A voice at his side says, breaking his train of thought, he turns and looks to see Mance Rayder by his side, his hands tied, but his presence steady on the horse he is mounted on.
"Why are they coming?" he asks, not for the first time.
Rayder laughs. "Damned if I know Stark. Who knows what those beasts want, other than death and destruction."
"How many of them have you seen?" he asks.
Rayder looks at him straight in the eye, a haunted look in his eyes. "I have seen many of them, but I am not sure if you mean the wights or the actual walkers."
"Both." Robb replies.
Rayder looks even more haunted when Robb looks at him then. "I have seen more wights than I care to remember Stark. They are not people, but they use their bodies to try and overwhelm you. Only fire can deal with them, only fire and steel. You cannot lose your edge when you are fighting them, for if you do, they will use that against you."
Robb nods, seeing the wisdom in what the man is saying and then he asks. "And what of the White Walkers?"
At this Rayder looks simply terrified, his eyes wide his hands beginning to shake. "They are like nothing I have ever seen before. They are beautiful things, terrible, but beautiful. And they are powerful, so very powerful. I know of nothing that can stop them, not truly."
Robb runs a hand over Ice, which is slung over his back and says. "I am sure there must be something that can destroy them. We would not be fighting something unstoppable, otherwise they would have come south by now."
Mance Rayder seems to shake his head then. "I do not think you truly understand the gravity of what it is we are seeing before us, Stark. There is something more powerful than anything ever seen on this world before, and you think they can be defeated."
"They were beaten once before; they can be beaten again." Robb points out.
Before Rayder can respond, Robb sees one of his men calling out to him, and so he pushes his horse forward and stops at the foot of the hill, seeing the man he asks. "What is it?"
The man gestures before them. "My lord, the bodies…. they've…. they've gone."
For a moment Robb thinks the man is joking and then he looks around him, and sees that in fact no, the man is actually being quite serious. "What about on top of the hill?"
"The same thing happened atop the hill my lord. I do not know where the bodies have gone, but they have gone." The man states.
Robb looks around and then decides to move his horse up the hill, and so he begins the steady march up, his men following behind him, as he gets to the top, he sees the men there looking around looking lost. "What happened here?" he asks.
One of the men, Dorren, Robb thinks the man is called, speaks. "I am not sure m'lord, but we got here and were about to make the pyres and then the bodies just disappeared, they faded away, and there was nothing we could do."
"Have you looked around everywhere, searched every possible place?" Robb asks, trying to keep the desperation from his voice.
"We have m'lord, but we've found nothing." Dorren replies.
Robb nods, acknowledging this whilst also trying to desperately think of what they should do next, they cannot leave the Fist, not yet, there are things they need to have answered, and there are plans they need to stick to, but they can't remain here for too long. Eventually he says. "Very well, fan out, I want this entire area searched, make sure there is nothing that can spring up on us unannounced." He sees Dorren bow his head before hurrying off to get that done. Robb waits a moment before moving his horse over to where the brothers of the Watch are. "Was it like this when you got here?" he asks them.
"Aye, it was peaceful." The Lord Commander replies.
"What of the bodies, were there bodies here when you came here last?" Robb asks his impatience and nervousness beginning to show.
"Oh no, there were no bodies, not until much later." The Lord Commander replies in that simple manner of his.
Robb huffs, debating whether to ask another question, when Martyn Cassel appears at his side, his expression concerned. "What is it Martyn?" Robb asks, his worry beginning to grow.
"Men… coming this way, quickly, Karstark men. I think." Martyn replies.
Sure enough as he looks to where Martyn is gesturing, Robb sees men bearing the White Sun of Karstark on their armour and flying that flag, hurrying toward them, as they get closer, Robb sees something trailing them in the shadows, he is not sure what it is, but he knows it cannot be good. He watches with something akin to horror as the thing closes in on the Karstark men and appears to swallow them whole. "What the….?" He trails off.
It is only Mance Rayder who seems to know what that is. "They are here." The man replies, fear coating his voice.
Robb looks at the man and asks. "The White Walkers?"
"No, their servants." Rayder replies.
Robb looks back to where the Karstark men had been, and sees a slowly advancing mass of bones and flesh coming toward them with a slow gait. He looks and looks and then begins barking orders. "Light torches, get flames ready. Archers, prepare to fire." He looks for Theon and sees his friend at the head of the bands of archers, drawing an arrow and lighting it in flame, he feels himself counting down the seconds as the dead things begin getting closer, and then he barks out the command. "Fire." Arrows fly into the sky, and some land on their intended targets, whilst others soar harmlessly over, whilst others stop the wights in their tracks.
The sight of the flames licking and burning away the immediate threat causes the men to cheer, but there is an air of suspense about them all, as if they are waiting for something else to happen, some other dark thing to emerge forth from the flames and destroy them. Sure enough, a howl comes from somewhere to their right, and more dead things come charging toward them, this time a figure leading them. Robb feels as though his breath has been sucked from his lungs as he looks at the thing leading them, it is pale, blue, and vividly beautiful, it looks as if it might cut with a look, and in that instance, he thinks he knows what the thing is, and in that moment he knows that fire won't stop it.