18 Chapter 18 - The Wall
[ Year 279 BC ]
A few years passed, since the incident in the cave, we continued to clear all the north of bandits, and after a few months they started to spread rumors, that it was a group of kids that were hunting them, all were killed with extreme brutality, with heads stuck on stakes, Bandits tied to trees with their backs exposed, and all over the place of these massacres was a banner of a tree that looked like a Weirwood, on a black background, nobody knew the meaning of that symbol, so they associated it with the Old Gods, because of the tree that looks very much like the Weirwood.
With this, they began to call us the Scourge of the Gods, as if we were sent by them to rid the North of criminals and protect its believers from abuse and assassination.
A few days ago I sent a letter to my father, using the raven of the Umbers, asking if he would give me permission for a quick trip north of the wall, and today the answer came, my father authorized me, only if I avoided contact with the savages, I accepted easily, for, it was not my intention to come into conflict with them.
After thanking Lord Umber for his hospitality, who was very receptive after learning of our deeds, and became incredibly close to Sigurd, calling him to body fights and hunting, we headed for the Wall.
And seeing the huge monstrosity in front of me it was easily acceptable to be one of the nine man-made wonders of Lomas Longstride
The Wall stretches for three hundred kilometers and is approximately two hundred meters high, it is made of solid ice, stone and earth, and can be seen from miles away, it looks gray or blue depending on the weather and time of day.
The top is wide enough for a dozen mounted knights to ride side by side, and is thicker at the base, according to myth, there are ancient spells woven into the Wall, to strengthen it and keep creatures of a magical nature like the Others unable to pass through.
The Wall is straight as a sword from Castle Black to Atalaialeste of the Sea, but runs like a snake between Castle Black and the Dark Tower, builders of the Watch monitor and repair the Wall.
Wind-blown dirt covers the wall like a film, and often appears pale gray or matte white, the Wall glows blue and crystal clear in sunlight, glows pale in moonlight, and glows pink and purple at dawn, glows with melting ice on sunny days, with streams of water being compared to weeping.
We arrive at the entrance of Castle Black, which is currently the main fortress of the Night's Watch, after a few seconds the gate opens, revealing some men dressed in black.
"Who are you? And what do you want with the Night's Watch, this is not an orphanage" Spoke the man.
"I am Arthur Snow, son of Rickard Stark, and it is best to show respect, remember, one of my ancestors was Osric Stark, he was chosen as Lord Commander at the age of ten, I have a letter from my father to Lord Commander Qorgyle" I spoke.
"Come in" spoke the man.
After passing through the gate, we saw several towers, and some other buildings, the whole place was ancient looking, in the central courtyard some men were doing their sword practice.
"Come, I will take you to the commander's tower" spoke the man, going towards a stone tower.
"Wait here, I'll go alone," I told the group.
Entering the tower door, we climbed a staircase towards the manor house.
*Toc*Toc*
"Who is it?" A voice asked
"It's me sir, Ebert" spoke the man.
"Come in Ebert"
"Wait here" spoke Ebert to us.
After a few seconds inside the room, Ebert comes out and says to us:
"Come in, the Lord Commander is waiting for you" he spoke.
"Thank you" I thanked the man.
After entering the room I found a man sitting at a table full of papers.
The man had a wide whitish mustache, he had white hair, although not much, as baldness was present, the man had a stern appearance.
"Commander Qorqyle, it is my pleasure, I am Arthur Snow, son of Rickard Stark, I come here today to ask you to let me pass through the wall, here in this letter is my father's permission, allowing me to go beyond the wall." I spoke, as I handed the letter to Qorqyle.
Without even looking at the contents of the letter, Qorqyle threw it into a wastebasket beside his desk.
"I don't authorize it, your father may be the Protector of the north, but he doesn't say anything here, I'm the one who runs this place, and I don't authorize your passage, I don't want to be held responsible for your stupid deaths, come back when you become an adult, maybe then I'll allow it." Spoke the man.
After looking at the man for a few seconds, I took a deep breath.
"I understand, I apologize for the inconvenience, I will be leaving" I spoke, as I turned around heading towards the exit.
When Qorqyle looked at my back and saw the symbol of a tree stamped on my black cloak, he arched his eyebrows.
"Wait!" Spoke the man.
Halting my steps, I turned to the Lord Commander.
"Anything else sir?" I asked with slight irritation in my voice.
"That symbol on your back, are you the Scourge of the Gods?" Asked the man.
"Yes, we are" I spoke infatuating the 'we'.
"Ahahahahahaha, why didn't you say so before" said the man laughing, as he stood up and walked to a table behind his desk, the table had a few jugs, of possibly alcoholic beverages.
"Would you like some Vodka?, That drink helps to warm you up, Ahahaha" said Qorqyle.
"No, thanks." I spoke.
"Everyone here in Castle Black is a fan of your accomplishments, we thought Scourge was a being, half man and half wolf, but he is only a child, Hahahahahaha" spoke Qorqyle, with amusement.
"I will allow you to leave beyond the wall, as a thank you for your deeds, but you will be accompanied by some Rangers." Said Qorqyle.
"Agreed." I spoke.
"You will leave tomorrow morning, today you will be guests of the patrol, Hahahahaha." Spoke Qorqyle.
'And I thought you were a serious guy'
"Come on, I'll let the members know" spoke Qorqyle, placing the glass of vodka on his desk and heading for the door.
"By the way, remind me to thank your father for those drinks, it helps a lot to keep us warm, and to sterilize the wounds, Meistre Aemon, was elated when he learned of its effectiveness." He spoke.
"No need to thank me, I will ask my father to send a few barrels of Vodka for you, it is the least we can do, after all, it is you who protect the kingdom of men" I spoke with a smile.
"Hahahahaha, I like you kid" Qorqyle said with a smile as he put his arms around my shoulders.
.....
After arriving at the courtyard I left the group, I saw Sigurd training one along with the patrol men, in fact he was slaughtering the patrol guys.
"Sir commander, you won't believe it, they are the Scourge of the Gods" spoke a man.
"Hahahaha, I know." Said Qorqyle laughing.
"MEN, TODAY WE WILL FIGHT AND DRINK WITH THE SCOURGES OF THE GODS!!!" Shouted the Lord Commander.
"ISSO!!!!!" Shouted all the men of the patrol.
'I think these men were in need of a party, I can't imagine how dull it must be to live trapped in these walls.' I thought.
"Commander Qorqyle, may I make another request?" I asked.
"Of course" spoke Qorqyle.
"Would you give me permission to access the Black Castle library, I understand it encompasses drawings of the faces in the Weirwood, the language of the forest children and scrolls of Valyria."
"I give permission, I will have a man escort you to Maester Aemon's room, from there he will take you to the vaults in the basement, where the library is." Spoke Qorqyle.
"Thank you, sir."
After spending some time with the patrol people, I asked them to take me to Maester Aemon.
The Maester Aemon, stood above the nursery, which is the nesting place of the crows of Castle Black, in a sturdy wooden keep.
After knocking on the door, an ancient voice came up.
"Come in."
Entering the room, I am faced with Maester Aemon, the Maester of Black Castle, Aemon is bald, wrinkled and shrunken, his blind eyes are cloudy and white as milk, he has a thin, fleshless neck.
Aemon always wears his meister chain, which includes links of gold , iron , lead , silver , pewter and other metals, showing his prowess in various arts, the meister walks with a sloe cane.
"Maester Aemon, very pleased to meet you"
"The pleasure is mine, sir...?"
"Arthur Snow, son of Rickard Stark" I spoke.
"I see, a bastard from the north, come boy, come closer, let me see what you look like" spoke the maester.
Approaching the maester, he held up his wrinkled old hands, and began to feel my face, eyes, mouth, nose, etc.
"A pretty boy, tell me boy, what can this old man do for you?" He asked.
"I want to read some books from the library, I have heard stories that his collection is very rich." I spoke.
"Indeed, it is a rich collection, tell me, do you like to read?" Maester asked.
"I love it sir" I spoke.
"Why?" asked Maester curiously.
"Reading is an inexhaustible source of pleasure, but, incredible as it may seem, almost all do not feel this thirst." I spoke.
"Well said." Said Aemon smiling
"Come, I'll walk you to the library."
