The Northern Dragon

CH 16: FIRE IS POWER

In the deepest parts of the north beyond the Wall, Jon Snow had left his old comrades in the expeditionary base at the Fist of the First Men and gone with a small party led by Qhorin Halfhand, a legend of the Night's Watch, to scout for the wildlings in the Frostfangs mountain range.

After a couple of hours of walking through the snowy mountains, the pure white direwolf began walking further and further away from the humans. Not halting even with Jon calling it.

"There goes your pet." taunted the Halfhand, passing by the bastard while letting out a long sigh. His words not sounding too pleasant to Jon, "He's not a pet."

"No, you're right, he's not." agreed Qhorin surprisingly, only to add two more sentences that weren't too pleasing either, "You can't tame a wild thing. You can't trust a wild thing."

"Ghost is different." pressed Jon. To the six Stark children, their direwolf companions were second to only one another and nothing like some pets they found in the wild. Ghost, which was always with him, was more like a best friend than anything else.

However, the Halfhand's way of thinking was nothing like his, "So you think. Wild creatures have their own rules, their own reasons. And you'll never know them. Now the wildlings we're looking for sleep during the day and hunt at night."

"I thought you said you couldn't know wild things." retorted the Snow, to what the older Night's Watchman fired back slightly mockingly, "I said you can't. They find a nice cave to hide in while the sun's up and do their killing when it's dark."

"We could do the same." suggested Jon.

The Halfhand disagreeing instantly, "No, we couldn't. This is their country. They know where to walk, where not to walk. I've lost good men who fell into a crevasse they didn't see until they were in it."

"My father always said I'm from the North." muttered the Snow, only receiving a laugh from the man. Giving him a sideways glance, Jon spoke, "I wasn't joking."

"Look around, boy. This look like home to you? You start thinking you know this place, it'll kill you. You understand me?" the Halfhand was experienced enough to understand the type of mindset Jon had so even before the teen could answer, the older man did, "No, you don't. We're at war. We've always been at war. It's never going to end cause we're not fighting an enemy. We're fighting the North and it's not going anywhere. The Watch has given you a great gift. You only have one thing to give in return... your life."

"I'll gladly give my life." stated Jon bluntly.

But that wasn't what Qhorin wanted from him or any other of the new boys. His rough hand grabbing Jon's collar and pulling him closer, "I don't want you to be glad about it. I want you to curse and fight until your heart's done pumping. And know this, boy, your death will be a gift for them south of the Wall. They'll never know what you've done. They'll never know how you died. They won't even know your damn name, but they'll be alive because some nameless bastard north of the Wall gave his life for theirs. Now, do you understand me?"

"I do."

Sighing tiredly, Halfhand let him go and walked away, "You're even dumber than you look. It's just words, boy, to keep us a little warmer in the night, make us feel like we've got a purpose. Haha. Come on. We've got to find these goat fuckers before night falls and they find us."

Jon Snow stared at the back of his new brothers before glancing back to where Ghost was, the direwolf trotting on the opposite direction as them without a sign of it turning back.

Four vipers sat together within a room by the garden, the white curtains by the outdoor entrance flowing the wind that passed into the chamber. Inside was a table, two long seats by the sides and a head seat at the front opposite to the outdoor entrance.