The Prince on the Wall

Meanwhile at Castle Black

"How are you feeling, Lord Commander?" Jon asked as he brought the elderly knight his breakfast, stale bread with burnt bacon and two boiled eggs, much fancier than what Jon and the rest of the Watch got for their breakfast.

"How am I feeling? A dead man tried to kill me. How well could I be?" Mormont replied grumpily as he scratched his beard. "What of you, Snow? You had quite a burn on that hand of yours."

"It's healing" Jon said as he flexed his bandaged fingers for the Lord Commander to see. He had burned himself more badly than he knew throwing the lamp at Othor and some of the burning oil had spilled all over his right hand. At the time he'd felt nothing; unfortunately the pain had come after. Maester Aemon had given him milk of the poppy to help him sleep but the feverish dreams it had caused was even worse than the burning agony. He wondered if he should tell someone about the dreams he had or risk being ridiculed for it. But the dream had felt too real, too detailed, too nightmarish to be even considered dreams. He initially believed that it was the prophetic dragon dreams that many of his Targaryen ancestors had but then he realised that the dreams contained nothing related to dragons at all.

It was all just a flash of images; his fight with dead Othor, a cave beneath a large weirwood tree, a flaming sword in the darkness and a baby upon an altar of ice with the same eyes as Othor. Maester Aemon and Samwell had warned him of the side effects of the milk of the poppy, that it could induce fever dreams that can turn sone weakminded people into madness. But he can't shake the feeling that they meant something.

"Maester Aemon says it will be scarred but it should be as good as it was before." Jon said instead.

"Good..." Mormont said as he placed a large sword on the table between them. "Here. You'll be ready for this then. I thought of having a dragon's head carved into the pommel instead but I would be dead if not for that wolf of yours so..."

"My lord?" Jon hesitated, unsure of Mormont's intentions as he eyed the sword curiously. It's pommel was simple, a snarling wolf's head crudely carved from stone with two red garnets for eyes. At Mormont's urging, he took the sword clumsily with his left hand and inspected it. It was a bastard sword; nearly a foot longer than the standard longswords that he was used to and yet it was lighter than any blades he had wielded before. "This is valyrian steel!"

"It is," the Old Bear told him. “It was my father’s sword, and his father’s before him. The Mormonts have carried it for five centuries. I wielded it in my day and passed it on to my son, Jorah, when I took the black but... He brought dishonor to my House but he had the grace to leave the sword behind when he fled into exile."

"My lord, I cannot... This belongs to House Mormont." Jon's voice trailed off as he remembered meeting Lady Maege Mormont on Bear Island on one of his uncle's procession throughout the North. Surely the sword rightfully belonged to her and her daughters, all of them better warriors than Jon.

“A sword’s small payment for a life,” Mormont concluded. “Take it, I’ll hear no more of it, is that understood?”

"Yes, my lord." Jon said with a humble bow as he took the sword and prepared to take his leave but then he suddenly remembered what he had wanted to ask the Lord Commander.

"My lord," Jon said shyly. "During breakfast, I have overheard the rangers talking. They say that there is still no sign of my uncle."

Mormont nodded and turned towards the flame, “It's not the first time that your uncle has gone missing. He always finds his way back but... Othor and Jafer Flowers were part of his party and they returned as monsters. Im not sure if I should be relieved or worried that we have not seen Benjen yet. Which is why I am going to look for him, myself."

"My lord?"

"You heard me, Snow, or whoever you want to be called." Lord Commander Mormont said somberly. "The cold winds are rising. Rangers from the Shadow Tower have found whole villages abandoned, and at night Ser Denys Mallister says they see fires in the mountains, that burn from dusk till dawn. Qorin Halfhand took a captive in the depths of the Gorge, and the man swears on his life that Mance Rayder is massing all his people in some new secret stronghold he’s found in the Frostfangs. Outside Eastwatch, Cotter Pyke's men discovered four blue-eyed corpses, unlike us, they were wise enough to burn them. Do you think your uncle Benjen was the only ranger we’ve lost this past year?"

"No" Jon said, knowing that there had been more. Many more.

“I will not sit here meekly and wait for the snows and the ice winds. Your lord uncle has sent us forty-five of his best hunters and trackers to aid us find his brother. We must know what is happening. This time the Night’s Watch will ride in ****, against the King-beyond-the-Wall, the Others, and anything else that may be out there. And I will command them myself." Mormont said fiercely as he stood up and looked down upon Jon. "By custom, the Lord Commander’s steward is his squire as well . . . but I also promised your mother and brother that you will not set a foot beyond the Wall so you'll be returning to King's Landing on the morrow."

Jon opened his mouth to argue but Mormont silenced him with an icy stare. "The hand your wolf tore from Othor's corpse is still wriggling like some possessed thing. You will take it and throw it at the feet of your royal brother and hopefully it will spur him and his Small Council to action." Mormont said. Jon nearly smiled at that as it finally meant that he was to leave this dreaded place and return home but his smile quickly faded. He suddenly remembered the visions. A flaming sword in the darkness, a three-eyed crow calling for him to go North, a girl with hair as red as fire...

He needed answers more than he wanted to return home. Besides, ranging beyond the Wall and fighting wildlings couldn't be any worse than cleaning latrines and cooking for the rest of the Watch.

"My lord, Othor's hand and a letter written by my own hand will be more than enough to convince His Grace of the dire situation we are in." Jon said, "I do not want to go beyond the Wall but I have the feeling that this is what I am supposed to do, this is the right thing to do. You need every fighter you can get and Ghost can also tell when these dead things are near so you'll need him too."

"So you want me to provoke the wrath of King's Landing and Winterfell?" Mormont asked as he stared at Jon before he snorted and his lips twisted into a proud smile. "Good, now go make sure your wolf is well-fed, we ride tomorrow."