Early morning, the day after the three vanguard detachments of the Night's Watch marched north.
The weather was uncooperative. Snow fell heavily from the clouds, fine white crystals drifting between sky and earth, veiling the distance in a hazy mist.
The vanguard troops, who had already departed from the three major fortresses, were cautiously and slowly pushing north through the snow, following the plan long set by the supreme command. They were tasked with clearing paths in the Haunted Forest wide enough for the main army, identifying suitable sites for forward bases, and scouting enemy activity. They were taking on twice the danger to ensure that the main force, soon to follow, would avoid ambush and remain within support range.
To make the expedition appear genuine, all pre-war preparations had been carried out with full effort. Even the expedition publicly declared by Aegor was meticulously and prudently arranged. It was not only believable, it was executable. In other words, if Aegor suddenly received definite news that White Walkers still existed Beyond the Wall, and on a whim chose to change his plan and lead a true expedition, this military operation could indeed be carried out.
Of course, such hypotheticals need not be discussed in depth. Putting aside the fact that the White Walkers had temporarily vanished with the deaths of the old and new Night Kings and the retreat of the cold god, even if some remained, unless they had rallied a hundred thousand wights and were ready to invade again, Aegor would still proceed with the southern campaign.
The hesitant, old-guard Night's Watch members had to be exiled Beyond the Wall to neutralize the threat they posed. But at present, there were no White Walkers or Wildlings left in the North. Wouldn't that exile then amount to a long, meaningless patrol?
No. Even for this group of temporarily exiled personnel, Aegor had made additional arrangements to ensure their value would be fully utilized and that the food and supplies sent north by the Logistics Department would not go to waste.
The three vanguard detachments were not comprised solely of the Night's Watch. Each team included a small number of selected youths from the New Gift tribes. These youths had previously been sent to Crown Town as hostages and had excelled in their studies of language, mathematics, and geography.
In addition to the inevitable failure of the "White Walker search" mission, the vanguard troops had another critical task. Through reconnaissance, they were to revise the geography and hydrology based on old maps, correcting errors and changes, and filling in blank areas. By combining ranger experience with the surveying knowledge of the academy youths, they were to produce a final result: a new map of the lands Beyond the Wall.
Aegor could not force the tribes who wanted to return north to stay in the Gift, potentially planting seeds of unrest. At the same time, he was unwilling to see the Night's Watch's subordinate population of forty thousand shrink further or regress into the threat once known as "Wildlings."
So he conceived a bold idea that neither the Night's Watch nor the rulers of the North had considered in thousands of years: to incorporate the Haunted Forest into his jurisdiction.
And the three vanguard detachments, dispatched north to ensure the smooth execution of the southern campaign, became the first step toward realizing this vision.
The plan to expand the territory northward was just a side move, a habitual preparation for future contingencies. For now, Aegor's priority was to ensure the Queen's rightful claim to the Seven Kingdoms through the southern campaign.
---
The main army had assembled outside Crown Town's walls. According to the official plan, Aegor would lead them north to Castle Black in one day. Then, the following morning, they would proceed through the tunnel, advancing quickly along the cleared paths and markers left by the vanguard, trailing by roughly a dozen miles.
With more preparation time and a need for logistical support beyond just warriors, the scale of the Gift army gathered outside Crown Town for the expedition exceeded that of the previous pursuit of the White Walkers who had fled south. And this time, it was not an all-male force.
Hundreds of thousands of veteran and new soldiers who had come from all corners of the Gift, having participated in the recapture of Deepwood Motte, the surrender at Caitlin Bay, and even fought bloody battles against the Ironborn at Ice Canyon Port and the wights in and around the Gift's capital, had gathered in the square outside the small town. They waited restlessly for the Lord Commander to preside over the "Expedition Mobilization Assembly."
They did not wait long. Under thousands of gazes, Aegor, wearing a light black robe, appeared on time, flanked by a squad of soldiers. He exited through Crown Town's main gate, passed through the assembled troops under escort, and ascended the temporary high platform erected at the front.
A few snowflakes were blown onto his face by the wind, melting into droplets that he wiped away. Aegor looked up at the gray-white sky and frowned slightly. After a long spell of clear weather, it had chosen this day, the day of the southern campaign's departure, to snow. Even if he did not believe in superstitions or omens, he still found it displeasing.
He did not know if or when the snow would intensify, so he dared not waste time. Once he stood firmly, he turned to face the more than five thousand soldiers below who were about to depart. Taking a deep breath, he began to speak loudly.
"Gift warriors, I am pleased to be standing here with you all, still intact after so many storms and trials. Everyone knows what we are going to do today, so without further ado, allow me to first salute every one of you, brave warriors who, after witnessing the terror of the enemy, are still willing to stand up and join this battle."
The soldiers stared at him expressionlessly, hearts filled with silent disdain. Who had "bravely stood up"? It was mandatory participation. Why sugarcoat it?
"By tradition, I should now reiterate our reason for fighting the White Walkers, emphasize that we fight not for others but for our own descendants, then ramble on until, whether or not you understand or agree, I self-righteously declare the expedition begun."
Aegor scanned the crowd. As expected, morale was not high. But that did not matter. His next words would surely seize their full attention.
"But today, I will not do that. Instead, I want to talk about some rumors that have recently spread in the Gift. Many of you have likely heard the news: that after this expedition, the kings and nobles in the South plan to settle scores with us, to force the Mountain Clans back into the hills, and drive the New Gift people back Beyond the Wall."
A single stone stirred up a thousand ripples. Aegor's sudden shift in topic caused a wave of reaction. The bored expressions of the nearest soldiers vanished. Even those farther away, whose hearing was muffled by the snow, soon learned what was said through whispers and murmurs. One by one, tens of thousands of eyes turned, as if commanded by a spell, to stare fixedly at the man on the platform.
Under their gaze, Aegor took a breath, raised his voice, and continued the unexpected "pre-battle mobilization."
"Everyone is angry. I understand, and I must apologize for the supreme command's silence regarding this rumor. But beyond that, I ask for your understanding. As the Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, responsible for all of the Gift, I cannot confront kings and nobles in anger based on hearsay. I must investigate the source and truth of such news before responding.
During this time, while you were all angry and confused, I have not been idle. Now, I regret to inform you all. This rumor is very likely not groundless."
Of course it wasn't groundless. He had been the one who spread it. This announcement, when parsed by strict grammar, said as much as it didn't. But expecting the Gift's illiterate warriors, most of whom lacked any training in logic, to distinguish between "very likely not groundless" and "confirmed true" was too much.
Aegor deliberately used this awkward phrasing instead of directly lying and claiming "the news is confirmed" because it achieved the same effect without giving anyone grounds to accuse him. If challenged in the future for deceiving his soldiers, he could rightfully retort that he had never stated the rumor was true. He had been just as misled.
With a thunderous boom, the weight of his words finally settled in. What Aegor had thrown into the waters was not a pebble but a depth charge. Compared to the tidal wave it unleashed, the previous ripples were insignificant.
The square instantly erupted. The shouts and roars of thousands of warriors and logistics personnel echoed so loudly that even the townsfolk inside Crown Town's walls could hear them clearly.
Some called to kill all the nobles in the South. Others demanded that the New Gift people stop dealing with the Southerners and return north. Many were simply bewildered, unsure how to respond. Even Aegor's personally trained officers were stunned by the sudden revelation, which had never been mentioned before. After a few moments, they recalled their duties and began moving through the ranks, shouting to maintain order.
"The Gift and the Wall are the first line of defense for all humanity. We built it with time and effort, shed blood and sweat to fulfill our duty and earn our place. Even though our mission is complete and our conscience clear, we have not slackened. We have planned this unprecedented expedition Beyond the Wall, aiming to eradicate the enemy entirely and give every soul in Westeros a safe home."
Having now shifted the focus of anger and placed himself firmly on the side of the Gift's people, Aegor paused, waiting until the uproar settled before continuing.
"I once naively believed that the enemy lay in the North, Beyond the Wall. That peace would follow if we destroyed them.
But now, looking back, I am chilled to the bone to discover that those I believed to be our allies, our solid backing, are staring at my back with bloodshot eyes."
"When we faced the White Walkers, isolated and desperate, when we needed support the most, those damned kings and nobles of the South were busy clawing at each other over a meaningless iron chair. Today, we stand here, on land watered with our blood and flesh.
Yet those who hid in warmth and safety, who never killed a wight or saw a White Walker's finger, now deny our place in the Seven Kingdoms. After enjoying our protection, they seek to strip us of it. While we march to war, they want to sneak in and steal our right to share in the victory."
"The White Walkers are the natural enemies of mankind, the source of the crisis we just endured. But it was the inaction, obstruction, and selfish schemes of those villains behind us that turned a war we should have easily won into a brutal and bitter struggle.
Wights, monsters, and ancient gods are hateful, but at least they are not our kind. The worst are those who look like us, who share our blood and flesh, yet put their interests above all else. Those who thrive on internal strife and disregard humanity's survival are the true traitors."
Aegor's expression twisted slightly with fury, and his voice rose to a roar.
"Their disgraceful pettiness, their foolish selfishness, their efforts to weaken us from within, are more dangerous than the White Walkers themselves. They are the greatest threat to every living soul beneath the sky.
Today, I stand here and declare, on this land we live upon, that every noble who did not contribute to this war is guilty. Guilty of committing crimes against humanity."
(To be continued.)