Chapter 200: No Such Things as White Walkers
Castle Black, the Wall
POV of Lord Commander Jeor Mormont
Smalljon's eyes burned with anger after the report, and he pushed the steward aside and ran out of the room, not caring about the pain he felt in his arm as he did that.
The others quickly followed him to another dungeon room, where the Wight had been kept until now.
A crowd of men had gathered outside the dungeon door. Smalljon pushed them aside and entered the room that was overcome by the stench of smoke wafting off from the burnt, rotten meat of the dead, which had stopped moving after being burnt.
On the other side of the room, he could see a man wildly fighting against two others who were holding him off with a lot of effort.
Lord Mormont entered the room and recoiled at the stench before he took a look at the situation and then moved toward Jaremy Rykker.
"Why?" he said through gritted teeth. "Why did you burn the Wight?"
Jaremy stopped fighting the two brothers and gave the Lord Commander a maniacal smile.
"It was a travesty against the living. Against the seven that are one. I killed it to purge the sin from this world. For the gods themselves favored me with this holy task."
"It was our only solid evidence for the White Walkers, you fool!" Lord Commander said, and Jaremy let out a cold, harsh laugh.
"No… no, no such things as White Walkers. They can't exist. They don't exist. Those fuckers are lying. THOSE FUCKERS ARE LYING!!! NO SUCH THINGS AS WHITE WALKERS!!! NO SUCH…"
A punch knocked him out of his senses.
The Lord Commander looked at Smalljon, who looked like he wanted to punch the unconscious man a few more times and was barely holding himself off from doing so.
Lord Commander looked at the two brothers holding the unconscious man and ordered, "Take him to the Courtyard and assemble everyone in the castle." Then he turned to another one of the brothers, "Go to my steward. Tell him to bring my sword."
The men left the room, and Lord Commander stared at the dead Wight while Lord Greatjon Umber and Lord Rickard Karstark did the same.
"Do you think anyone in the South will know the difference between a burnt wight and a burnt human carcass?" Harrison Karstark asked.
Would they be able to tell the difference between a burned Wight corpse and a burned human corpse? Of course not.
Jeor knew exactly what Harrion Karstark was asking.
How would they now convince the Southern Lords that the White Walkers had returned?
The Lord Commander knew that even with Wight alive, it would be impossible to convince all the Northern Lords. Despite everything, some would remain skeptical.
But convincing the vast majority wasn't tricky. Most importantly, many of the lords' heirs had seen and fought with White Walkers and Wights firsthand.
Especially after Robb and Jon's testimony, Lord Stark had no choice but to believe them. And once Lord Stark believed them, convincing the rest of the Northern Lords wouldn't be too difficult. Even if they weren't convinced, they still had to obey Lord Stark's orders.
The real challenge was convincing the Southern Lords that the White Walkers had returned. Otherwise, trying to resist the White Walkers with only the North's resources and men was like fighting a war that had already been lost.
Jeor wasn't sure they could triumph over the White Walkers even with the resources of all Westeros. But then, at least, they would have a chance.
And their most important trump card to convince the Lords in the South was now gone. Yes, the Ice Sword was still there, but many Lords wouldn't believe the White Walkers just by looking at a sword.
And Jeor himself was the biggest culprit for this.
He'd taken the Wight and the Ice Sword from Lord Bolton to keep them safe, with all the big talk of responsibility. And now, one of the things he'd promised to keep safe had been destroyed on his watch.
At this moment, Jeor honestly didn't know what to do or how to face the other lords, especially Lord Bolton.
He had failed in his responsibilities as Lord Commander and had broken his promise to Lord Bolton.
Jeor couldn't remember a more embarrassing day in his life than today.
But unfortunately, there was no way to undo what had happened. So, he had to do what he could now.
First, he had executed the culprit they had caught after publicly reading the person's crimes, so when news of what had happened spread, it would be accurate.
Second, he needed to send words to Lord Bolton. Frankly, he didn't have the courage to look Lord Bolton in the face, and Lord Bolton had told them not to bother him unless necessary.
But this wasn't something Jeor could avoid, and he had no doubt Lord Bolton would find the news necessary, even if he didn't like it.
Third, he needed to increase the Ice Sword's protection. If anything were to happen to the Ice Sword after the Wight's burning, Jeor wasn't sure he could escape Lord Bolton's wrath.
Frankly, he couldn't blame Lord Bolton in such a situation. If he'd spent three months beyond the Wall trying to prove a danger no one believed, and then someone had caused the evidence he'd brought back to be destroyed, he couldn't imagine what he'd do.
If Lord Bolton challenged him to a duel of honor and sent Varko to face him, he was in no position to object.
Why would anyone want to destroy their evidence? Could the White Walkers' existence truly drive people mad?
He could understand his men's fear. It wasn't as if he wasn't afraid himself. But going mad and destroying their evidence? He hadn't really considered that a possibility.
And now he had to face the consequences.
Jeor finally raised his head from his thoughts and set to work.
He had much to do, and above all, he had to find a way to explain to the lords he had invited to Castle Black that the Wight they had come to see was no longer here.
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Next Chapters' Name:
Ch.201: Self-Criticism
Ch.202: All the Lords Reached the Wall