Everyone's eyes were fixed on Jon Snow.
Jon's chest rose and fell slightly as he felt the tangled, complicated gazes upon him.
There was hope, scrutiny, pleading, and bewilderment.
First, he glanced at Lord Commander Jeor Mormont.
An indescribable weariness lay on the old man's deeply lined face.
Then he looked over the Traditionalists, their arms folded and their faces hostile, their eyes as cold as the winds of the North.
Finally, his gaze settled on Lynn.
Lynn was not looking at him. He simply stood there calmly, as though none of this concerned him.
But Jon knew Lynn was waiting.
Waiting for him to make the decision a Stark should make.
Jon Snow raised his hand.
The movement was slow, yet utterly resolute.
"I agree."
His voice instantly unleashed an uproar.
"Jon! Have you lost your mind?"
A Steward among the Traditionalists cried out involuntarily.
Jon ignored him. Facing everyone's stares, he spoke each word distinctly.
"I am a Ranger, too."
"I have seen the burned villages in the Haunted Forest with my own eyes. I have seen the corpses frozen solid as blocks of ice."
"I have fought Wildlings, too. They are fierce, but they are only trying to survive."
Jon's voice echoed through the silent hall.
"My father, Ned Stark, taught me that the duty of the Night's Watch is to safeguard the peace of all Westeros, to be a stout shield against the darkness."
"Now that darkness has come."
"Our true enemies are not the Free Folk, who are flesh and blood like us, who laugh and cry just as we do."
"They are the monsters lurking in the Lands of Always Winter, waiting to devour every living thing."
His gaze swept over everyone present.
In his gray eyes burned a flame just like the one