Ned looked at Lynn.
What he wanted?
What did he want?
"My army of dead men is simply too large. Keeping them all to myself serves little purpose."
"But if I spread them out, every house will become dependent on me because of this power."
Lynn spoke softly, yet his words sent a shudder through Ned.
"They will no longer depend on me merely for food, but for the power I give them to rebuild their homes and withstand what lies ahead."
"It is a chain stronger than blood ties or oaths."
"It will bind the entire North firmly to my war chariot."
"We will no longer be merely allies, my lord."
Lynn turned back, his gaze settling on Ned's stunned face.
"We will become a single whole."
"One will, one voice, one future."
Ned finally understood.
Looking at his fine, impossibly young son-in-law, he felt admiration stir for the first time.
This was no longer political maneuvering.
This was the creation of an entirely new order.
An order with Lynn as its absolute center, one that tolerated no betrayal.
As long as Lynn lived, as long as he could control this Army of the Undead, the North could never fracture.
Should any lord harbor disloyal thoughts, Lynn needed only a single thought to turn the "laborers" inside that lord's castle into murderous butchers.
It was just as effective as holding a blade to their throats.
"Every household is already singing your praises. Your standing is higher than mine, and I am the Warden of the North. You have no need to do this."
Ned struggled to get the words out.
"No."
Lynn shook his head.
"What I want goes far beyond that."
Lynn offered no further explanation. He turned and walked into the tower's shadows, leaving Ned alone in