That massive white shadow spanning earth and sky felt like a sigh dropped by the Creator into the mortal realm.
The Wall.
It stood there silently, dividing the entire world into two.
On one side lay the Seven Kingdoms,
possessing civilization and green lands.
On the other side lay the Lands of Always Winter.
There were wildlings there, along with the White Walkers rumored to have vanished.
Arya's small mouth formed an O shape.
Those grey eyes reflected the pale light radiating from the ice wall.
This was more magnificent and breathtaking than any story she had ever heard.
Jon reined in his horse.
He tilted his head back, staring blankly at the cliff of ice and snow.
This was the place he was about to spend his whole life guarding.
That wavering caused by Yoren's prisoners seemed at this moment smoothed away by this grand miracle.
Tyrion Lannister stopped reading.
He narrowed those eyes of mismatched sizes, inspecting the greatest creation in human history.
For the first time, his face showed pure, unadulterated awe.
Only Lynn wore a calm expression.
He looked at that familiar outline.
In his memory, the shock his predecessor felt upon first seeing the Wall still seemed to linger in his body.
Yet now, this wall in his eyes was no longer the end of the world.
Instead, it was a new starting point.
The procession slowly approached Castle Black.
Compared to the majesty of the Wall itself, that fortress built at the foot of the Wall appeared small and crude.
The black timber and stone structures, set against the backdrop of pristine snow, looked like ugly patches.
As they passed through that deep, gloomy tunnel chiseled into the ice wall, a bone-chilling cold surged from all directions.
The sound of hooves echoed in the narrow space.
When the light reappeared, they were already inside the courtyard of Castle Black.
The courtyard was muddy, mixed with melted snow and horse manure.
Dozens of Night's Watch brothers in black were carrying out their daily drills and labor.
Their appearance caused the entire courtyard to fall instantly silent.
Everyone's movements stopped.
Gaze after gaze swept straight over.
It was not because of Benjen Stark, the First Ranger.
Neither was it because of Arya, a rare female presence.
Much less was it because of Tyrion's conspicuous dwarf stature.
Their gazes bypassed everyone else, staring fixedly at a single person.
Lynn.
A strange, hostile atmosphere began to fill the air.
"It's him."
"That deserter."
"How dare he even come back?"
Whispers buzzed like gnats.
A tall, thin man with a mean-spirited face put down the training longsword in his hand and walked over slowly.
It was Sir Alliser Thorne.
The master-at-arms of Castle Black.
His gaze pierced straight at Lynn.
"A deserter has actually come back alive."
"Lord Stark didn't send you on your way?"
Thorne's voice was sharp and mean, filled with thinly veiled malice.
"And Benjen, why are you still bringing House Stark's guards with you?"
"What?"
"Does Lord Ned Stark want to use his guards to replace us of the Night's Watch?"
The brothers behind him also wore expressions of sneering contempt.
In their eyes, Lynn was a disgrace.
A coward who had forsaken his vows and ought to have been beheaded.
Now, this coward had returned alive.
Lynn did not speak.
He merely sat calmly on his horse, looking down at Alliser Thorne before him.
Those one hundred elite northern cavalrymen also simultaneously placed their hands on the hilts of their waist swords.
These elites obeyed Lynn's orders.
This was Lord Stark's personal instruction.
Now that Lynn was being insulted, they naturally needed to draw their swords in response.
A chilling murderous intent instantly spread.
The temperature in the courtyard seemed to drop by several more degrees.
Thorne's expression shifted slightly.
The rabble behind him also involuntarily took a step back.
"Enough, Alliser."
Benjen Stark spurred his horse forward, his voice deep and forceful.
"Lynn came back with me."
"If you have any issues, go talk to the Lord Commander."
The First Ranger's authority caused the sneer on Thorne's face to freeze.
He snorted coldly and grudgingly cleared the path.
Yet those venomous eyes never once left Lynn's back.
The Lord Commander's chambers were simple and tidy.
The fire in the fireplace drove away a bit of the chill.
"Old Bear" Jeor Mormont was sitting behind the desk, turning over parchment case files.
His hair was entirely white, and his beard was thick.
That weathered face was deeply etched with the traces of time.
A raven perched on his shoulder.
It tilted its head, sizing up the two incoming men with its pitch-black bead-like eyes.
"Benjen."
Lord Commander Mormont raised his head, his voice raspy like aged wine.
His gaze passed over Benjen and landed on Lynn.
That look was sharp and heavy.
"Why has he come back?"
"Why didn't he die on the chopping block in Winterfell?"
Benjen Stark briefly and concisely recounted the sequence of events.
From the White Walkers, the guidance of the Old Gods, Bran's fall from the window, and the assassination in the library, all the way to Ned Stark's request.
Lord Commander Mormont merely listened quietly.
In the room, only the crackle of burning wood in the fireplace remained.
When Benjen finished speaking, Lord Commander Mormont fell silent for a long time.
He slowly stood up, walked to the window, and gazed at the endless ice wall outside.
"Ned wants him released from the Night's Watch?"
No joy or anger could be detected in Lord Commander Mormont's voice.
"He saved the Stark children, and this is the reward Ned owes him."
Benjen added.
"A reward?"
Lord Commander Mormont turned around.
"Benjen, you are a man of the Night's Watch as well."
"Have you forgotten our vows?"
"Night gathers, and now my watch begins. It shall not end until my death."
"I shall take no wife, hold no lands, breed no children."
"I shall wear no crowns and win no glory."
"I shall live and die at my post."
"I am the sword in the darkness. I am the watcher on the walls."
"I am the fire that burns against the cold, the light that brings the dawn, the horn that wakes the sleepers, the shield that guards the realms of men."
"I pledge my life and honor to the Night's Watch, for this night and all the nights to come."
Every single word of his seemed chiseled out of ice and snow, cold and resolute.
Benjen's expression grew somewhat unsightly.
He knew the Lord Commander was not wrong.
The vows were the foundation upon which the Night's Watch existed.
Once shaken, the entire order would fall apart.
Finding a backdoor for Lynn obviously was not going to be that easy.
"However, My Lord..."
"There are no howevers."
Mormont cut him off.
He walked back to the desk and sat down once more.
"Lord Stark is the Hand of the King, but he is not the Lord Commander of the Night's Watch."
"Even though Lord Stark is the Warden of the North."
"But here, my word is law."
The atmosphere in the room grew heavy to the extreme.
Lynn stood there all the while, uttering not a single word.
He knew this was the "Old Bear" making his stance clear.
This was something he had to do.
Rules were rules.
No one was permitted to trample upon them.
Yet Ned Stark was, after all, the Warden of the North.
Nor could Mormont afford to completely disregard Ned's face.
The provisions of Castle Black came mostly from the Seven Kingdoms.
And Ned was merciful, always giving more than the other Wardens.
Lynn had a clear idea in his mind.
Sure enough.
Mormont let out a sigh.
That sound carried a trace of helplessness and exhaustion.
"However..."
He looked at Lynn, a flash of complex emotion crossing those sharp eyes.
"Since LordLord values you so much, keeping you here at the Wall is indeed letting your talents go to waste."
Mormont's fingers tapped lightly against the desktop.
"How about this."
"You remain a member of the Night's Watch, and your vows are still valid."
"Yet your post for the watch is not at the Wall."
"Isn't Lord Stark heading to King's Landing?"
"You will go with him."
"However, you must remember that you are still a brother of the Night's Watch."
"That way, it neither violates your vows nor counts as... failing to repay Lord Stark's favor."
An expression of relief appeared on Benjen's face.
This was a method that satisfied both sides.
Lynn lowered his gaze, concealing the sharp glint that flashed across his eyes.
He knew.
The "Old Bear" was far shrewder than he let on.
This was hardly the best of both worlds.
He was clearly tossing the "controversy" that Lynn represented right back into Ned Stark's hands.
In name, he was still a member of the Night's Watch.
In reality, though, he was already free.
"As you command, my lord commander."
Lynn bowed slightly.
Mormont continued.
"However, I agree that the views of the other men of the Night's Watch matter too."
"After all, my word isn't the only one that counts here."
"You'll have to find a way to convince them yourself."
Before you continue