22 Chapter 22

As Winterfell prepared the feast, back at Casterly Rock Tywin sat at his desk and reviewed some reports from his various spies.

He had been trying since the rebellion to get his hooks into the north and things are finally looking up.

He has finally brokered a deal with two houses in the North. House Bolton and House Dustin.

House Dustin being a recent addition. Barbrey Dustin, the current head of House Dustin and widow to Ser William Dustin had grown to hate the Starks, mainly Ned Stark due to him only bringing back Williams stead and not his body from the Tower of Joy, she took it as a slight.

Since then she has been working in the shadows with Roose Bolton, agreeing to secretly come under House Bolton as the Warden of the North with the goal of destroying the Lord Stark.

Tywin was aware of her playing many angles to the game, she had even sent Harwood Stout to Pentos after being approached by Varys' birds to aid the Targaryen siblings. In return they would destroy the Starks when they retake the Iron Throne.

Barbrey had provided Tywin with important information he was using to subtly fund a few houses to try to spread chaos in the north.

Tywin wasn't fearful of Cyrus alone, in his mind one man is easy to handle but even with the two houses the others weren't easy at all. They were extremely loyal, especially since they had shared some technology and farming practices with the lords increasing its wealth and population.

Many people over the years have seen the growth of the north, and since history always seems to repeat itself people always go where the gold is. In times past the norths imports far exceeded exports not due to not enough resources but due to population.

But with additional roads that branched off the Kingsroad being built connecting the major settlements and ruling houses caused a shift in economic power again.

Even if they didn't release anything new just having reliable easy transport routes everything can move faster. Caravans and travelers would no longer lose their way or be delayed due to no need to continue to track your position. Just follow the road.

Tywin was looking for new revenue for his family for a few years due to the gold mines being almost empty, they only had a couple of years before they could no longer pull gold from their mines. Unless he found a new viable resource the Lannisters would fall fast.

He knew of the vast untapped wealth in the north and he wanted and needed a piece of that wealth, he would do what it takes. He too was playing from different angles just as Barbrey, this way if he can't get what he wanted thru marriage to a Stark he would fund their enemy and just marry them after the conquest was over. He was planning to marry Marcella to Robb and Joffrey with Sansa and possibly Tommen to Arya, if he could secure even one of those marriage agreements it would give the needed resources to keep the family on top financially. As for Cyrus, well he was too dangerous to be left alive, accidents happen all the time.

As Tywin planned his family's ascension to the top, north beyond the wall Mance Rayder was trying to keep the seven tribes he had united from killing themselves.

He was the King Beyond the Wall, even though it may sound nice it wasn't. None of the tribes spoke the same language and none of them liked each other, in fact most were sworn enemies. The Thenns, a cannibalistic tribe who were the most advanced and best equipped of the Free Folk, and most disciplined, hated the Hornfoots. The Hornfoots called so due to never wearing shoes and their feet were black and tough like leather hated the Ice-river clan who was another cannibalistic tribe. Then the cave people, all 6 other tribes hated them.

But what brought them together was the threat of the Others. Attacks have been increasing, whole settlements were wiped out in minutes. Every man, woman and child was butchered, and the worst part was the Others toyed with people. Stalked them, letting them run to a nearby settlement then destroy that one.

It was purposeful, that's what had Mance worried the most. Due to this tactic it was making things harder in adding groups together. No one knew which group was the tracked group. It showed a very human like intelligence and cunning, thats why they were rushing south. Their plan was to gather at Hardhome which was an abandoned fishing village near the coast. They could use it as a staging point to either attack the wall or sail to Skagos since it wasn't that far from the village, this would give them two routes of escape and not allow themselves to be surrounded.

He had been trying to get the giant tribes to get him in contact with the silver haired mage so he could hopefully help get them south of the wall without a fight. Many beyond the wall knew of the mage, even though he hadnt been seen or heard in a long time.

It wasn't until the tribes came together that they found out who the mage was from the giants. Many of the Free Folk after finding out he was from south of the wall instantly hated the kneeler, which caused many issues with the giants due they respected him.

Mance, instead of seeing it as a fault saw it as a blessing. He knew who the Starks were, he was a First Ranger for the Night's Watch and served for a long time before deserting to live amongst his people. He knew that if they could get the Stark mage to help them, they could get south of the wall without fighting and was much safer than the trek to Skagos.

Even Tormund Giantsbane, Mances secound in command wanted to find the mage but for a different reason. The giants spoke of his battle prowess and that he bested many giants in physical combat. Tormund was also known for battling and besting giants, one of the few humans to do so. He was looking to battle the Stark mage, he wanted to prove he was better.

Mance had hoped they had more time to gather as many as possible, the more the better, but not long ago the attacks not only increased but its tactics did as well. Less survivors.

Feeling something amiss he had been pushing the large horde south as fast as possible. If they allowed themselves to be surrounded on all sides it was over but following the coastline wouldn't be an option either due to time. It would take too long to follow the coast, it would keep them fighting in one direction but if they took too long they would be overwhelmed.

They already had many skirmishes with the Others, successfully fighting them off each time but it also dwindled them greatly. It would take 5 to 20 deaths before killing even one depending on which tribes were at the front.

So Mance opted for the quickest but most dangerous route, with no other viable options they marched the most direct route to Hardhome possible picking up survivors along the way. The more they saved today the less undead they would have to fight tomorrow.

Dispatching all the green seers, wargs and skin changers he could to track not only the Others but any settlements with the living. Burning any bodies they came across or had to kill.

It would be a long grueling march south over dangerous grounds and plenty of unknowns, but the alternative was much worse and they all knew it.

Fear was the mold that held the massive army together despite their history against each other. Many who guarded the wall and were south of the wall believed Mance had used their hate of 'kneelers' to become king beyond the wall along with his skills as a fighter, since he was considered one of the best Rangers the Night's Watch had seen in ages.

Although it was true that he had become a King or Chief of a tribe not long after he deserted the 'Crows' but that was all he was, just a leader of a small tribe of Free Folk in the beginning. But once all the clans started to become aware of the Others it changed everything. In the beginning they disregarded survivors screaming of the dead destroying their settlements, many believed them mad.

That went on for years, Mance along with many clan heads or chieftains received reports of the massacres but for the longest it was mostly the Thenns and Ice-river clans that were attacked due to they were usually much farther north of the wall.

Those reports were thought false, just an excuse for the ones who were trying to join their clan or group, hoping it would give sympathy increasing their odds of being accepted.

But as the years had past and more and more people evacuated the far north unlike the others, those stories painted a horrific picture to Mance.

He grew up with the Watch and learned from those Nobles who volunteered their service for the Honor it once held, he learned from Maesters and scholars of war. Unlike the others after so many of the same reports and him realizing no deviation in those claims even with so many differing peoples.

Eventually he began having vivid nightmares that felt eerily detailed and real, at first he had put it off as due to consistent reports and his mind just wanting to picture what he was hearing. But then his tribe was attacked and he lost everything, his wife and children, what saved him alone were those dreams. It had all happened just as his dream showed, he tried to save his family the best he could but sadly he was unable to.

That night during his escape to safety the King Beyond the Wall was born from the ashes of his home, he used his talents and knowledge to gather the tribes. Strength in numbers, get south of the wall and join the other living to fight the dead. It was the only way. It was what the Wall was built to fight.