Chapter 163

"Oi Bolton. You never told us why we're going Beyond the wall in the first place." Smalljon Umber said. He was surprised that the man had remained silent so far. Umbers were not known for their patience "Father wanted me to bring a giant tribe back home. Do you think we'll find any giants in the North this time."

"I'm afraid not." He replied "The gaints in my lands are the last of their kind. Or so I've been told. It's possible that there are a few giants scattered throughout in the lands North of the Wall that live in seclusion but I wouldn't count on it."

"They why're we going beyond the Wall?" Smalljon asked, looking a little less excited after his revelation.

He turned his head and pinned the man with a gaze "Tell me Smalljon. Why did Bran the Builder built the Wall?"

Smalljon looked confused at his question.

"Didn't he built it to keep the fucking wildings away?" Smalljon said, looking unsure of himself.

"Yes. The Free Folk were such a large threat that he had no choice but to built a 700 foot tall and 300 miles long Ice Wall to keep them away." He said, trying to keep the sarcasm out of his voice "No Smalljon. To be fair, the Free Folk didn't even exist when Bran the Builder built the Wall. At that point in time, all the First Men lived together along with the Children of the Forest and the Giants. But after the Wall was built, a fair few of the First Men chose to live on it's other side for one reason or another along with the giants and the Children of the Forest. All the Free Folk we know to this day were descended from those First men."

"Why do you keep calling them Free Folk. They're wildlings. Plain and simple." Smalljon said with a frown.

"The rest of the kingdoms in Westeros also look down upon the men of the North. They call us savages, barbarians, heathens and worse." He said "At least most of them do. But the few who've seen us fight in battles change their opinions of us quite quickly. They think of us as hardy people who have survived and thrived in a land as barren and as cold as the North" he said.

"But the truth of the matter is that the people who live beyond the Wall live in far worse condition than we ourselves ever did. Plus, they don't have the protection of a Castle either. They have to fight day and night to fill their belly with food and keep their families safe. You might hate them for your century long enmity. I will not begrudge you that. But you must also accept that the Free Folk have a strength to them. A strength that we've forgotten about after living luxuriously for so many years in our castles."

His words were met by silence and they walked that way for a few minutes. Then Smalljon spoke once again.

"You still didn't answer my question. Why are we going on this expedition?" Smalljon asked.

"And you didn't answer my question either." He pointed out "Why was the Wall built?" he asked loudly "Come on. Who can tell me. Why the Wall built in the first place?"

Nobody answered and he let out a sigh before he turned to Jon Snow.

"You want to join the Nights Watch. Don't you Jon Snow?" he asked.

"Erm… Yes." The boy replied.

"Tell me Jon. Do you know the vow of Night's Watch?" he asked.

"no."

"Well, listen carefully then because I'll only say it once." He said.

"Night gathers, and now my watch begins. It shall not end until my death. I shall take no wife, hold no lands, father no children. I shall wear no crowns and win no glory. I shall live and die at my post. I am the sword in the darkness. I am the watcher of the walls. I am the shield that guards the realms of the men. I pledge my life and honor to the Night's Watch, for this night and all the nights to come."

A silence followed after he spoke the vow of the Night's Watch.

"Damn… How do know their vow?" Theon asked and he shrugged.

"I read about it once before in a book about the Night's Watch. And I might not have the magic of their the wargs, the greenseer or Bran the Builder but I don't forget a thing once I've read or heard it from someone."

And that was true as well. With the help of Occlumency, he was able to perfectly recall anything that might have happened anytime in his life.

Dumbledore was so good at Occlumency that he was even able to bring out and see the memories of his childhood with Grindlewald and Arianne in the Pensieve. Something happened almost a century ago.

He might still not be as good as Dumbledore was but he was close enough.

"But we're getting away from the topic. I was trying to make a point here." He said "Notice how the the vow does not say that the Night's Watch was made to guard the realm of the North or the 7 kingdoms. No. It guards the realm of the Men.

And it was not built to fight the Wildlings. The Nights Watch is a sword against the darkness. And it guards the realm of the men. What do you understand from that?" he asked.

The silence following his questions was palpable.

Only the sound made by the hooves of the horses and the slight rustle of clothes due to the cold wind could be heard.

Clip clop clip clop clip clop

"The Wall was built after the long night." A female voice said and he turned to see Meera Reed and Jojen Reed coming forward on their horses "It was built to… defend against the White Walkers."

He heard the sharp intake of more than a few heirs. And the silence that followed Meera Reed's words had a deafening quality to it.

Then all of a sudden Theon Greyjoy burst out in laughter. "HAHAHAA! What? Next you're going to say that the wall was built to protect us from grumpkins and snarks."

He burst into laughter once again but nobody laughed at his joke. Some even glared at him and his laughter died a pitiful death after a few moments.

"That's… impossible." Robb said after a long moment, his voice so soft that it was barely audible to any of them "The White Walkers have been gone from the lands for thousands of years."

"Gone Robb. Gone. Not killed nor dead nor murdered. The Last hero, whoever he was, chased the White Walkers back where they came from. All the books and tomes I've read claims this. None of them said that the last hero killed the White Walkers."

"You're joking…" Harrion Karstark said "You're a madman."

"Mind your tongue boy." Varko said from where he was silently following the group from behind "Disrespect Lord Bolton again and you'll find yourself short of a tongue."

Harrion gulped at being threatened by the greatest swordsman in the 7 kingdoms (though the title now probably belonged to him, thanks to the body enhancement ritual) and nodded silently "My apologies Lord Bolton. I did not meant to insult you."

"It's alright Harrion. You're frightened at the prospect of White Walkers returning back. I understand that. Everyone here is frightened. Even the squid who doesn't even truly understand the weight behind the term 'White Walker'. So for all our sake. Let's hope that I 'am' a madman chasing after legends. Because if I'm not…"

He left it at that and silence returned in the group.