Being a ruler is not an easy task, especially when governing a place like the Gift, which has a complex population structure and countless problems in every aspect. Except for the Night's Watch Industry employees recruited by Aegor from the South, who remain relatively loyal to him, nearly all the current residents of the Gift harbor grievances against him.
Among the Night's Watch and the original Grey Area citizens, many still strongly oppose Aegor's settlement plan. They believe that admitting Wildlings into the Gift is unreasonable, for it not only brings instability to the Gift and the North but also dilutes the welfare and living standards that "their own people" should enjoy, without considering that these benefits come not from the Gift itself but from the Night's Watch Industry. Furthermore, his decision to relocate the Night's Watch headquarters from Castle Black to Crowntown earned him several unflattering nicknames, such as "The Commander Who Does Not Guard the Wall" and "The Commander Who Dares Not Return to Castle Black."
As for the Mountain Clans, who were once invited to help defend the Wall, they generally cooperated and followed Aegor's commands and arrangements, but privately they too complained. Aside from the "basic sustenance" and a stone fortress Aegor had promised, the Wildlings, who had been their former enemies, were granted almost the same treatment as them as soon as they entered the Gift. This so-called "fairness" in legal status and wages greatly diminished their sense of superiority and was seen as a new kind of "unfairness" to them.
As for the people of the New Gift, who make up the majority and hail from dozens of tribes, their problems are even greater. The more intelligent among them have gradually begun to realize that Aegor's willingness to accept them is driven by his desire for cheap labor. While settling in one place under the protection and support of the Night's Watch offers a safer and more stable life, working for resources is far more tedious and arduous than herding, gathering, and hunting Beyond the Wall. They are dissatisfied with being forced to become "kneelers" and angered by the constant interference in their tribal affairs. Some even miss the old and infirm who were willingly sacrificed by Mance Rayder in order to pass the Wall, and they have begun to place blame on the former King-Beyond-the-Wall who had led them to escape the White Walkers.
In short, Asha Greyjoy is far from the only one who, after being well-fed, seeks to cause trouble. Human nature is never satisfied. In this regard, the Gift, Beyond the Wall, and the rest of the world are all the same.
Although the overall happiness of the Gift's residents remains low, thanks to the diligent supply efforts of the Logistics Department and the deterrence of the Night's Watch armed forces, this small society has not yet reached the "red line" of unrest. Aegor has come to deeply realize how unrealistic it is to expect rapid support from the people without cheats or massive wealth, merely by exuding kingly charisma and implementing a few reforms, as so often depicted in stories.
His approach is to remain clear-headed at all times. The Gift's reality dictates that he cannot satisfy everyone or win their affection. He does not crave what he cannot obtain. For now, he is the player, and everyone in the Gift is a piece on the board. He must first win the game against the White Walkers before he can think of anything else.
---
Surveyors from the Construction Department had already explored the coast where the Great Canyon empties into the Bay of Ice and had selected a location for a port stronghold. Aegor had not intended to inspect it before construction began, but with the first generation of Dragonglass Bombs ready for testing at any time, he changed his plans. Taking advantage of the time before the artisans from the North gathered in Winterfell and he traveled there, he decided to make a quick trip himself, walking the newly opened patrol route along the edge of the Great Canyon. If possible, he would also quickly select a testing ground for the new thermal weapons.
This was his first journey heading west and returning to the Wall after being elected Lord Commander of the Night's Watch and completing the succession ceremony. After passing through Castle Black, he traveled west along the base of the Wall, stayed the night at the Shadow Tower, held a cordial discussion with Denys Mallister about the current state of the Night's Watch and its future direction, and then set out again the next morning. Accompanied by Colin the Disfigured, the Shadow Tower's deputy commander, he passed Westwatch-by-the-Bridge and set foot for the first time in the lands west of the Wall, the only place Beyond the Wall not separated from Sennett by the great barrier of ice.
Aegor had to admit that the Great Canyon was different from what he had imagined. Before seeing it with his own eyes, his mental image was closer to the aerial views of the East African Rift Valley he had once seen online in his past life: a crack formed by tectonic movement slicing through endless plains, stretching to the horizon, as if split by a god's axe, deep and sheer, an impassable trench.
But in reality? The Great Canyon was not formed by plates shifting. It was originally a rift or depression between two peaks of the southern Frostfangs. Erosion by the Milkwater River gradually deepened the riverbed, causing the unsupported slopes of rock to collapse continuously, forming sheer cliffs. A river flowed below, while treacherous steep slopes rose on both sides. The true appearance of the Great Canyon reminded Aegor more of the Three Gorges carved by the Yangtze River in his past life.
The key difference between a gorge and a rift valley is that its sides are not flat plains. The northern edge is the southern slope of one mountain range, while the southern edge is the northern slope of another. When Aegor first ordered patrols, the path the Night's Watch had to follow was a narrow trail clinging to the mountainside, uneven and dangerous, where a single misstep could send a man tumbling to his death.
What Aegor saw today, however, was a path already trodden and cleared by dozens of patrols.
Horses were useless here, and all walked on foot. Aegor occasionally leaned out to peer down the cliffs, relieved to see that the Frostfangs' rock was not as hard as that of Wushan. The slopes were not perfectly vertical but jagged and covered in vegetation, so even a fall would not necessarily send someone plunging straight to the bottom.
Even so, it was still nearly impossible to climb. Aegor remembered the first time he encountered the White Walkers three years ago. After abandoning Waymar Royce and fleeing, the two terrified young recruits had discussed their future at the foot of the Wall. Gared had suggested going west, skirting the Wall, crossing the Great Canyon, and escaping to the South. If the White Walkers had not chased them, Aegor might almost have agreed.
Now, seeing the Great Canyon with his own eyes, he was thankful he had not fled with Gared. The Milkwater's flow was far weaker than the Yangtze's, so crossing the river itself would have been easy, but climbing the cliffs? Impossible.
No wonder Mance Rayder preferred to assault the Wall rather than go around it. For the living, this was as much a natural barrier as the Wall itself.
"Is there no better path?"
"If you mean the road to the planned military port at the mouth of the canyon, then yes. A few miles south of here, after we cross this mountain, there is a main road leading to the Gift. The Mountain Clans trampled it out along the Bay of Ice coast," Colin the Disfigured shrugged. "But the order you gave, my lord, was to 'patrol the south side of the Great Canyon.' If we took that road, we wouldn't see the situation inside the canyon. Wouldn't that be like patrolling the base of the Wall without watching for climbers?"
Aegor nodded. It was good to know there was a main road. Building a new mountain road here to allow large forces to reach the canyon's mouth would take at least half a year.
"I see how the Great Canyon can guard against the Wildlings." One worry eased, another arose. "But White Walkers and wights are not afraid of falling. If they force their way across despite the steep cliffs, even if patrols spot them, it will be difficult to summon reinforcements in time."
The Wall is an immense barrier of ice reinforced by giant weirwood trees. Its top forms a straight road ten yards wide, better than most roads in the Seven Kingdoms, and even cavalry can ride upon it. When patrols spot climbers, they can signal with horns or fires, allowing nearby castles to send reinforcements swiftly. Defenders enjoy the high vantage of the Wall and its immense terrain advantage.
The Great Canyon, however, was different. To pass through it, one must descend the cliffs, cross the river, and climb up again. Crossing is as difficult as scaling the Wall itself, yet the southern path is so narrow and slow that even if patrols raised an alarm, defenders from the Shadow Tower, Westwatch-by-the-Bridge, or the planned stronghold at the canyon's mouth would struggle to arrive before the enemy crossed.
Would patrols serve only as early warnings?
"My lord, your concern is valid, but the situation is not that dire. Westwatch is more than twenty leagues from the Bay of Ice, but only ten leagues of that distance are as treacherous as this section. Near the canyon's mouth where it meets the sea, the Milkwater widens, and the path on the southern side becomes easier."
"Even if it is easier, it is still a mountain road," Aegor sighed, frowning. "It seems we must establish a midway station along the Great Canyon, stockpiling wildfire and Dragonglass arrows to prepare for sudden attacks."
"That would certainly be the safest," Colin agreed. Though opposed to allowing Wildlings into the Gift, he had no doubts about Aegor's seriousness. For thousands of years, the Night's Watch had been shrinking, its castles abandoned one by one. Yet since this man had appeared, not only were the nineteen strongholds being reoccupied, but as Lord Commander he was even founding new ones, deciding boldly and acting without hesitation. It was difficult not to admire such decisiveness. "But perhaps the situation is not so grim as you imagine. Our patrols have discovered something interesting."
"Interesting? I am not in the mood for tales."
"This is no tale," Colin shook his head. "When the Nightfort was reoccupied last year, we discovered a glowing weirwood beneath the Wall, leading to speculation that the Wall's magic comes from weirwoods. Coincidentally, we have now found that the slopes and floor of the Great Canyon contain the largest weirwood forest in all of Westeros."
(To be continued.)
***
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