Game of Thrones: The Legend of Jon Arctic - ASOIAF/GOT [Book - 1]

Chapter 180 - The Southern Army Marches North.

[Chapter Size: 3100 Words.]

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Thrid Person POV

Essos, 296 AC.

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"We are all ready, commander..." A man dressed in an animal-hide cloak, clearly a nobleman due to the quality of his garments and evidently not accustomed to the northern cold, spoke in front of the commander.

"Very well..." The commander replied as his gaze drifted outside the tent, towards the immense northern wall.

All the southern forces, numbering over 15,000 men, had been gathering at the Wall for moons, traveling primarily by ships to the north. Every house that sent its men remained stationed at the Wall, awaiting the final order to proceed beyond it.

Two moons had passed since they began organizing and waiting for everyone to be ready, alongside the awaited orders from the South. Two weeks ago, the commander had received a letter from the king's own hand, granting permission to continue their expedition on a mission to uncover everything about Artica. Hence, they had sent so many men, with the sole exceptions being Dorne and the North itself, which this command viewed as a band of cowards.

"You may go... I'll be heading to speak with the Lord Commander of the Wall." He spoke as the first nobleman exited the tent.

Edric Westerling, the younger brother of Gawen Westerling, had ended up as the most prominent noble from the western houses to command this small army. He left his tent, mounted a horse, and headed towards Castle Black with several men accompanying him.

They soon passed through the entire camp, made up of thousands of men trying to keep warm. Even though they were not yet in the harsher cold beyond the Wall, the conditions were unbearable, and Edric sensed the inefficiency of the men, most of whom had never been to the North, much less this far north. It made him lament not having northern warriors, but Lord Stark seemed resolute in defying the king's orders.

He reached the walls of Castle Black, which stood before the Wall. As they approached the enormous gate guarded by Night's Watchmen, the guards, upon seeing the approaching group and their banner, swiftly opened the gate.

The Night's Watch could not complain about having so many men near their gate, as these past two moons had seen a generous supply of resources brought by the visitors to the order. Now, they needed the Watch's assistance. It was peculiar, but any aid was welcome, even if it was rare for the Watch to be of use to the King of Westeros.

Upon entering the courtyard, Lord Commander Mormont approached, accompanied by the new maester of the Castle, Maester Harrion. Harrion seemed to despise being there but had no choice but to obey his superiors when they sent him to the far end of the continent. At least he was not in the Citadel, where Jon had committed the massacre and looted the maesters' order, something that terrified him, knowing that this monster could very well be his neighbor.

"Lord Edric Westerling," Mormont greeted, approaching as Edric dismounted, acknowledging him with a rough, hardened voice like one used to living in the North.

"Lord Commander Mormont," Edric nodded in return and continued, "You must already know why I'm here. We'll be holding a meeting to decide everything one last time," Edric stated.

Mormont nodded as he entered the castle and ascended to his solar, along with Edric and the maester. They were now seated around the table, with Jeor facing the southern nobleman.

"So, everything is ready, then?" Mormont inquired.

"Yes. We intend to leave tomorrow. Will you be able to open the Wall's gate for us?" Edric asked.