Dispelling doubts

Lynn pushed open the banquet hall's heavy oak doors.

A wave of heat washed over him, thick with the smells of roast meat fat, spilled ale, and sweat, mingling with lute music and raucous voices.

The hall was as bright as day.

Hundreds of tallow candles burned in the antler chandeliers, casting flickering light.

Flames roared in the hearths, their glow making the lords' drink-flushed faces look even more ferocious.

King Robert was already blind drunk.

With an arm around a buxom serving girl, he slurred boasts of his youthful valor on the Trident.

Queen Cersei watched coldly, a trace of icy mockery on her lips.

Beside her sat Catelyn, who showed little interest.

Lynn's gaze swept swiftly over the crowd.

He soon found the men he sought beside a hearth on one side of the hall.

Ned Stark and Benjen Stark.

The brothers had not joined in the revelry.

They simply stood in the shadows, talking quietly.

Ned's face bore unmistakable exhaustion and worry.

As for Benjen, the First Ranger...

Even in the warm hall, he still carried a chill that seemed to come from the Wall itself.

Lynn walked straight through the noisy crowd toward them.

"My lord."

Lynn spoke softly.

Benjen turned, his hawk-sharp eyes lingering on Lynn for a moment.

"I was just telling Ned about you."

Benjen's voice was gentle.

He turned to his elder brother.

"Ned, this lad isn't a deserter."

Ned Stark remained silent.

Conflicting emotions filled his gray eyes.

He watched Lynn, as though waiting for an explanation.

"The men at the Wall all say he fled to escape punishment."

Benjen continued, his voice carrying the rasp peculiar to men of the North.

"But I saw him fighting Wildlings for his life."

"He was lying in the snow, with three dead Wildlings beside him."

"No coward could have done that."

Ned nodded.

"Not long ago, he fought bandits for his life. He killed six single-handedly. He's a fine lad indeed."

Benjen turned his gaze to Ned.

"Ned."

"On my way back from leading this patrol, I found something in the Haunted Forest."

"Something... that shouldn't exist."

Even amid the noise of the banquet, Benjen deliberately kept his voice low.

"White Walkers."

Those words made Ned's pupils contract sharply.

He snapped his gaze toward Lynn.

Lynn's prophecy. Benjen's testimony.

At that moment, they aligned perfectly.

It was no longer mere nonsense from Lynn.

It was a warning from beyond the Wall.

For a moment, Ned's breath caught.

He remembered that morning.

He remembered laying the Valyrian greatsword called Ice against this young man's neck.

The cold edge had already broken the skin.

A little more pressure, and a head would have rolled into the snow.

Just as he had executed other deserters, he would have killed this crow who had brought him an ominous prophecy with his own hands.

But in the end, he had hesitated.

Now it seemed that hesitation had saved this young man's life.

Perhaps it had saved the entire North as well.

Ned's doubts were finally dispelled completely.

An indescribable emotion welled up from deep within him.

It was not simply trust.

It was relief.

Relief that anger and prejudice had not blinded him.

Relief that he had ultimately chosen to believe in that one-in-ten-thousand possibility.

The taut line of Ned's jaw slowly eased.

As he watched Lynn, the scrutiny and suspicion faded from his gray eyes.

All that remained was a deep, complicated look that bordered on approval.

"The Night's Watch does need warriors like you."

Ned finally spoke, his voice low and firm.

"But right now, the North needs you more."

Those words exploded like thunder in Lynn's mind.

He was no longer a prisoner who had to be sent back to the Wall.

He was no longer a deserter who had to trade prophecies for survival.

With those words, Ned Stark had given him a new identity.

One of their own, acknowledged by the Warden of the North and permitted to stay.

Benjen looked at his elder brother.

"Ned, the Night's Watch has its rules..."

Ned understood what Benjen meant.

He did not shy away from it.

"I know this goes against your rules."

"If anyone who commits a crime can join the Night's Watch, then break his vows and leave, that makes a mockery of those vows. What rules would we have left?"

"But Lynn has a prophecy from the Old Gods, and I need his help."

"Benjen, if he's right and turmoil is certain to come to the North, the safety of the entire North will be at stake."

"If the North falls, who will supply the Night's Watch? Those southern lords?"

Benjen gave Ned a surprised look.

He had never seen Ned like this before.

The elder brother he remembered had always been unbending in his principles.

They had not seen each other for a few months, and he had changed considerably.

At least Benjen thought it was a good thing.

House Stark needed more flexible minds, not a herd of stubborn mules.

Indeed, most of the Night's Watch's supplies came from House Stark.

If House Stark was finished, the Night's Watch would naturally be finished too.

They would rise or fall together.

Benjen smiled and nodded, offering no objection.

"I'll explain this to the Lord Commander."

"You are my elder brother, after all, and he understands what's at stake. Lord Commander Mormont will agree."

After a moment's hesitation, Ned spoke again.

"If he can't leave the Night's Watch, have him go south as a member of the Watch. That wouldn't count as breaking his vows."

Benjen said with a smile.

"Then I'll release Lynn from the Night's Watch for now. If the Lord Commander objects strongly, we can fall back on that."

Ned relaxed.

"Good. That's what we'll do."

Ned looked at Lynn again, as though waiting for an answer.

"I understand, my lord."

Lynn lowered his eyes, hiding the gleam that flashed through them.

Benjen clapped Lynn hard on the shoulder.

"Do a good job, lad."

"Don't disgrace the Night's Watch."

With that, Benjen raised his cup and drained it.

"I don't belong at this feast. I'll talk to you about Jon tomorrow."

"I'm going to spend a while in the crypts."

Benjen gave Ned a nod, then turned and left the banquet.

Only Ned and Lynn remained beside the hearth.

The flames crackled, casting their shadows onto the stone wall behind them.

"The king wants me to go south to King's Landing and take Jon Arryn's place."

There was a trace of exhaustion in Ned's voice.

He was not asking for advice, merely stating a fact.

"You'll agree."

Lynn spoke calmly.

Ned showed no surprise.

He watched Lynn, then suddenly asked.

"You said before that all of this was the beginning of a tragedy."

"What else did you see?"

Lynn raised his head and met Ned's gaze.

He knew the real show was only just beginning.