Mance Rayder

You drift in an out of consciousness through the journey, with constant pain in your left arm. As you finally awaken for more than a minute, you begin to notice your surroundings.

You can smell smoke, meat and mead, you can hear the crackle of flame and the clash of steel, and you see the camps in the corners of your vision.

“W..where am I?” You say, to no one in particular. Your voice is hoarse and your throat is sore.

The woman in white quickly walks over to you.

“Quiet, crow. You’re to meet Mance Rayder, he’ll decide what to do with you.”

“Who are you?”

“I said quiet, crow.” She leaves without answering you.

It’s only a few more minutes until you arrive at the tent of Mance Rayder. One of the wildlings in the group that brought you here pushes you off the sled, sending spikes of pain through your broken arm.

It’s clear the wildlings don’t expect you to rise on your own, so you grit your teeth and make an effort to spite them. Somehow, you climb back to your feet.

“I’ll see the King-beyond-the-Wall now.” You say, trying to put more confidence into your voice than you feel.

They open the tent for you, and you enter. In the room are a few people. Only one is a woman. A tall man is sat, talking to earless man standing. Drinking on the floor is a man with a bushy head and beard of hair.

“Which one of you is Rayder?” You say, announcing your presence with little regard for respect. Your life is probably forfeit already.

“I am.” The tall man answers. “Now, who are you?”

“Harrin Brune, Knight of Brownhollow, Ranger of the Night’s Watch.” You answer him nonchalantly. “Or at least I was, until I fell from a mountain.”

An interested smile plays on Rayder’s lips. “Really? This wouldn’t happen to have anything to do with the ranging that recently left the Wall, would it?”

“You expect me to answer your questions? I’m a dead man walking, Rayder, I won’t betray the Watch with the last breaths I take.”

“That’s awfully honourable of you, Ser. Tell me why you joined the Watch, surely that’s not betraying your brothers in black.”

“I was falsely accused of ****.” You say begrudgingly. “The wife of a knight brought me into her bed, the knight caught us, she named it ****.”

“Interesting. I could do with a man of your loyalty. Surely you don’t want to spend your life alone, defending the Wall for a crime you didn’t commit.”

“How can I trust you? You’re an oath breaker too. I know you were a brother too.”

“That’s true, but it’s a story for another time. I left for a reason. I left to be free. You could be free too, Harrin. Embrace the culture of the Free Folk.”