Crimes against humanity.
Although more than five thousand people were present, all but one of them had never heard such a phrase. Yet the combination of the three simple words—"crimes," "against," and "humanity"—carried an infectious power similar to the idea of "gold circulation." Anyone, regardless of culture or education, could understand its meaning at a glance. The phrase immediately ignited the emotions of everyone gathered for the oath ceremony.
Aegor watched with satisfaction as the crowd below muttered the new term he had introduced into this world. Slowly, they began to feel a shared hatred toward the enemy. He vaguely recalled the scene from a month ago, when he had also assembled an army here to march south in pursuit of the White Walkers. Back then, nearly every face was filled with helplessness and reluctance. They only agreed because they knew the battle was unavoidable. But now, before he had even announced the target of the campaign, the soldiers were already rubbing their fists, eager to tear their enemies apart.
Anger and hatred are always the strongest subjective motivators. Aegor deliberately stirred these emotions, allowing them to brew and intensify. At the right moment, he removed the weight suppressing them and lit a spark to let the fire burn freely. In this emotional blaze, even the most rational calls for peace or anti-war sentiment would be drowned beneath the noble banner of "for humanity," reduced to ashes.
The atmosphere was perfect, but Aegor remained clear-headed. Emotions are fleeting. Once the army had marched for several days across the freezing snowfields, at least half of the soldiers would lose their enthusiasm and long to retreat. Therefore, in addition to a reason for war, Aegor also needed a source of hope to sustain the army's morale and fighting spirit.
"I believe more than a few people here are thinking, 'What does all this have to do with me? The threat of the White Walkers has vanished. Let me return Beyond the Wall and live as a Free Folk, never again dealing with the Southern expedition and those who commit crimes against humanity. Who cares what they do?'" Aegor raised his hand to signal the officers below to calm the restless soldiers. He added fuel to the fire without restraint. "You are absolutely right. After years of risking our lives fighting the wights and White Walkers, with the war finally won after great hardship, shouldn't we get a moment's peace? I won't condemn this way of thinking. But I must ask those who believe it. After surrendering and fleeing south to survive the White Walkers, then happily returning Beyond the Wall the moment their threat recedes to become Free Folk once again, without the right to cross the Wall, hunted like rats if you dare to step south of it, is that what you call freedom?"
"No. Living Beyond the Wall with no one to govern you is not freedom. That is savagery. True freedom means waking up each day without fearing hunger or cold, and going to sleep at night without fearing you won't wake up. It means walking through the tunnel beneath the Wall to escape the summer heat, enjoying the cool wind Beyond the Wall, then riding south along the Kingsroad to bask in sunlight and warmth. It means being able to enter any village or town in the world with your head held high, without fear of drawn swords or threats to your life. That is real, dignified freedom."
"We are born as humans, not beasts content with mere survival. We must have space to live, basic respect, and enough wealth to enjoy life. These are the things that every warrior who once stood beside me and fought against humanity's natural enemy deserves. My duties as Lord Commander of the Night's Watch and master of the Wall have ended. But my responsibility as the leader who united us all, whom you trust and rely upon, is far from over. As long as even one person among you has yet to be acknowledged or respected by the people of the Seven Kingdoms, or lacks a place to call home, I will not rest. Bring them up."
This last sentence was shouted at the guards who had accompanied him from the city gates. As instructed, they had carried several large box-like objects covered with black cloth from the inner fort. The objects appeared bulky but were not heavy. Even the guards did not know what they contained. Now, as the boxes were brought onto the high platform at Aegor's signal, the mystery was revealed.
Aegor walked over to one of the boxes and pulled off the black cloth. The ravens inside, startled by the sudden exposure to light, stirred restlessly, flapping their wings and cawing loudly.
The collective anger toward the outside had been successfully ignited. The noble goal had been declared. Now, these well-fed black birds would bring the final climax to this grand performance.
Under the gaze of thousands of excited and curious eyes below the platform, Aegor boldly pulled open the wooden door of the first raven cage.
"In the name of crimes against humanity, the Night's Watch declares war on the Riverlands and the Vale. These two kingdoms were once allies of the North and maintained close relations with the Gift, yet when the Wall was in direst need of support, they stood by idly and betrayed our trust."
More than a dozen strong ravens flapped their wings and soared into the sky, carrying letters tied to their legs. The sight was both stirring and natural. However, only a few among those present knew the truth. The letters the ravens carried were not war declarations, as most assumed.
Aegor had gone to great lengths to implement strict wartime information control. To ensure the success of his first surprise attack, he certainly would not be so foolish as to send dozens of ravens with premature war declarations, giving the enemy advance warning.
In truth, the letters contained only identical political declarations, urging the Seven Kingdoms to pledge allegiance to the rightful monarch, Daenerys Targaryen, in his capacity as Lord Commander of the Night's Watch.
The news that the Night's Watch supported the Dragon Queen had already spread on both sides of the Narrow Sea. Such letters were practically meaningless to most of the Seven Kingdoms' lords and would likely be treated the same as the countless ignored pleas for help previously sent by the Night's Watch. Lords would glance at them and toss them aside.
Aegor deliberately wasted valuable messenger bird capacity to release these ravens publicly, using them only as a theatrical device to mark the first bold act of a southern expedition destined to be etched into history.
The first wave of ravens swiftly flew southward and vanished into the swirling snow. Before the people could react, Aegor opened the second raven cage.
"In the name of crimes against humanity, the Night's Watch declares war on the Reach and Dorne. These two kingdoms are far removed from the front lines and always assume others will take the brunt if the sky falls. They accept protection yet shirk all responsibility. Truly shameless."
Another cluster of black shapes darted into the sky. If the soldiers present knew that the population of the Reach alone was hundreds of times greater than that of the Gift, they would likely not be so excited. Fortunately, in this age without census records, the average person only knew that the Reach had a large population, but not how large. With no frame of reference, there was little fear.
The logistics officers were no different, and the people of the New Gift were even more at ease. In their eyes, the Seven Kingdoms south of the Wall were probably just seven very large tribes. No matter how fearsome, they could not possibly be worse than wights and the dead. Amusingly, while their reasoning was entirely flawed, their conclusion was correct.
Those gathered for the oath ceremony leaned in closely, exhaling cold breaths in excitement and awe at their Lord Commander's impassioned declarations. Yet they all instinctively lowered their voices, not daring to speak too loudly, lest they miss even a word of this thrilling, spine-tingling event.
"In the name of crimes against humanity, the Night's Watch declares war on the Stormlands and the Crownlands. House Baratheon took the Iron Throne through rebellion, yet dares to call itself the rightful ruler of the Seven Kingdoms. When the people of the realm faced an unprecedented crisis, they remained aloof. The false king's true face is now fully revealed."
As this final denunciation of Stannis as a false king fell, the third raven cage was opened. At the same moment the last group of ravens took flight, amid countless faces filled with anticipation and hunger for more, Aegor brought this Oath Ceremony for the Expedition, which had long deviated from its original purpose, to a close.
"Today, we do not go Beyond the Wall. Our expedition lies in another direction. The nobles of the South see us as a threat? Then let us become that threat. They deny the existence of the White Walkers, claiming we invented it. Then we must drag them from their castles and thrones, send them Beyond the Wall, and let them feel cold and fear for themselves." With a sweeping gesture, he roared the final words until his voice went hoarse. "March south along the Kingsroad. Our destination, the entire world."
(To be continued.)