Lannister Blood

25 - The Longest Night

As the wights breach the first barricade, it's difficult to see our foe in the darkness to take aim from above. The Dothraki are forced to ride on either side as the enemy overpowers them down the center. The retreat allows the wights to make a break for the first trench, the one where Brienne and Tormund's flanks are at the ready. They're able to cut them down with the help of the trench, but soon the dead are crawling on top of each other, like flaying insects, in order to reach their prey. They bite, they stab, they claw, they strangle. They use any method of violence to kill the living. The swarm itself reminds me of the Lands of Always Winter. I had never seen anything so terrifying... until now.

         "Draw!" I yell to the archers.

         The arrows are dipped in oil and lit aflame. The archers, including myself and Arya, nock their arrows.

         "Aim high!" I tell them. "Don't let them break the formation!"

         We move our aim against the blistering wind.

         "Fire!"

         A shower of flaming arrows rain down on the enemy, right in front of our troops. The fall allows us to gain the upper hand, but it only lasts for a few moments. Stark and Vale armor alike clash among the dead and it's difficult to decipher which of our people has already fallen. I order more arrows to be readied, and they're released in the same manner as before. The right flank is forced to fall back and they retract the planks as they go.

The Unsullied come to assist and it's astounding to see them in action. I've heard the stories of their military tactics, but this is something else entirely. Even in the face of this uncertain foe, they cut down wight after wight with a terrifying ease. They are strong and ferocious with every swing of their swords. It is not their strength that hinders them, but their numbers. The dead come in unnatural waves through the darkness.

The archers light up the dead with more arrows, giving the Unsullied army the upper hand, but it still doesn't slow the retreat that Grey Worm is forced to sound. We immediately get more arrows ready and fire as quickly as possible with dead-on precision as our allies retreat. They're past the last trench now and it's time for the signal to be given to the sky to light the trench. But before Ser Davos even makes his attempt, I know it's in vain. The clouds are too thick, the wind is too harsh.

"Light the trench!" I shout, releasing another arrow.

The arrow hits the wood of the trench but fizzles out almost instantly. With the amount of wind and the little power from the flame, it's useless. Still, we continue to fire at the trench.

I shake my head. "It's no use."

"We need something bigger," Arya says.

"Or more powerful."

And I see her, the Red Woman, walking out of the safety of the walls. A flash of a vision comes before my eyes and I see a sword followed by the trench being lighted in a burst of flame. The whispering in my mind starts and I feel drawn from my post.

"Protect the barrier!" I order. "Protect the retreat!"

I sling my bow onto my back and turn towards the stairs before Arya grabs my arm.

"What are you doing?"

"Someone has to get that trench lit," I say.

Arya motions to the many men trying and failing to light the trench, being attacked by the dead before they even get a chance.

"We need dragon fire!" she says.

I wrench my arm from her. "Keep the command. I'll be back when I can. That's an order!"