"So, you brought back two broken swords just to prove that you and Gared were not deserters, but heroes who killed White Walkers?" After listening to Aegon's full account of the patrol to the North, Commander Mormont stared at Aegon with a serious expression, as if trying to find evidence of his lies on his face and in his eyes.
Aegon took a breath: "I won't claim to be a hero, because ten days ago I did flee from the battle site, neither rescuing Ser Waymar Royce nor bringing back his body. But I believe that returning to the Wall to deliver the important warning of their appearance is more important and meaningful than fighting the White Walkers to the death and being killed."
"Dragonglass can indeed kill White Walkers, as many legends record." Maester Aemon, who was already blind, fumbled with the self-made Dragonglass dagger Aegon had handed over, clearly quite interested in his statement: "If I remember correctly, you are a foreigner who has only recently started learning the language of Westeros. How could you be so familiar with these legends?"
"There are similar legends circulating in my hometown. In the past, I always treated them as myths, until by chance I came here and saw the Wall..."
***
The wight ridden by the White Walker still had oats hanging on it as horse feed. After killing the White Walker, Aegon found his startled and fleeing horse a few hundred meters away. After feeding it all the oats and resting for a while, Aegon led the horse, carrying the severely injured Gared, back to the Wall.
Now, he sat in the meeting room, warmed by the fireplace to feel like spring, and for the first time communicated face-to-face with so many important figures of the Night's Watch. In the entire year since he was forced to join the Night's Watch, he had tried every means to attract the attention of these high-ranking Night's Watch officers.
Now he finally got his wish, but it was as a suspect of desertion being interrogated: "Maester Aemon, you are a learned man, so you should understand a principle - if legends from various places have similar records about something that happened a long time ago, then that event is very likely to be true. White Walkers do exist, and they have returned now."
The blind old man nodded. Although he didn't know exactly what had happened, at least the latter half of the Night's Watch soldier in front of him made sense.
"Hmph, in my opinion, it's just to avoid punishment, deliberately creating a wound, and then finding something to break the sword, so as to create the illusion of having gone through a fierce battle," sneered Ser Alliser Thorne, the Night's Watch new recruit instructor, standing to the side. "This fellow was slippery during training, always slacking off whenever he got a chance. Can he kill a White Walker? Even if this thing really exists?"
Aegon did not refute. The new recruit instructor was certainly not deliberately targeting him. As a testing engineer who worked in technology before crossing over, although he was not completely powerless, he was probably more "pampered" than many nobles in this world, let alone the low-born Night's Watch soldiers. When he first came to the Wall, he truly found it difficult to accept such high-intensity training and had slacked off quite a bit. Although he eventually passed the training, he undoubtedly left a bad impression on Ser Alliser Thorne.
Speaking of which, this noble who was forced to join the Night's Watch because the Targaryen Dynasty he supported was overthrown was a cynical, harsh, and unsympathetic person. Few soldiers in the Night's Watch liked the tone of his voice and his contemptuous attitude. Even if Aegon had trained honestly and even desperately, he would not have gained his favor.
"Ser Alliser, have you seen broken swords?"
"More than the good swords you've seen."
"Then please look at the breaks on these two broken swords I brought back." Although the new recruit instructor was his superior, he was now a Ranger, and his fate was not in Ser Alliser's hands.
Aegon did not intend to be polite with him: "The swords of the Night's Watch are made of steel, and the characteristic of steel is toughness. It is not as brittle as glass or ice. No matter how much force or speed you use to break a steel sword, there will inevitably be deformation at the break.
But the breaks on these two broken swords are not like that. I deliberately brought back all the fragments and both halves. If the Lords piece them together, they will find that these fragments can perfectly reassemble a complete steel sword. Without careful observation, you can't even see where it broke."
Commander Mormont raised his eyebrows and, as instructed, pieced the broken sword together. Just as Aegon said, except for a few small missing pieces that flew off at the break of the blade and could not be found, the entire sword was still straight and sharp, and it was almost impossible to tell that it had been broken into two halves and a pile of fragments.
"How could this be?" The Commander followed up with the question.
Low temperature reduces the bonding force between metal atoms, increasing rigidity or brittleness. Simply put, the colder it is, the less it can withstand stress and deformation... Of course, this explanation could not be given to these "ancient people" who had not studied physics. Moreover, in this damned magical world, who can guarantee that what they know is everything?
"Legend says that White Walkers use ice magic, and the steel sword was frozen and cracked," Aegon used an explanation that fit the local customs. "I can't know the specific reason, but I can guarantee that no matter who the Lords find, or what method they use, they will not be able to break the same steel sword into this state... The Commander can show the broken sword to the Chief Craftsman, the Chief Officer, or Donal the Blacksmith at Castle Black. If anyone can reproduce a similar break in a steel sword, feel free to treat me as a deserter."
***
Donal Noye: The one-armed blacksmith at Castle Black, formerly a private blacksmith and soldier of House Baratheon, who joined the Black Cloaks after losing an arm during the Siege of Storm's End. Before that, he followed Stannis Baratheon on campaigns in The South and the North, traveling throughout the Seven Kingdoms, eating delicacies, tasting women from various places, and fighting hundreds of battles, large and small. It is said that the warhammer Robert used to kill Rhaegar Targaryen on the River Trident was forged by him. In the original plot, during the Wildlings' attack on Castle Black, he fought and died in the tunnel beneath the Wall against the Giant King, "Strong Magnar," and can be considered a legendary figure.
Excluding the fact that he had just killed a White Walker, there was nothing particularly noteworthy about Aegon's past, but he had worked in materials testing before crossing over, and his former office was next to a large number of metal performance testing equipment, including impact testing machines. When it came to blacksmithing, he couldn't compare to Donal the Blacksmith, but when it came to theoretical knowledge of metal materials, all the blacksmiths in this world combined were not his match.
To get a steel sword into this state, it would require a low-temperature environment of at least minus two hundred degrees Celsius. Such conditions, even in the modern world before Aegon crossed over, could only be provided by very expensive equipment. It's easy for a medieval-level blacksmith to create temperatures of two hundred or even two thousand degrees above zero, but below zero? It would be easier to catch a White Walker and have it demonstrate breaking a steel sword...
Aegon's firm expression and confident demeanor infected the Night's Watch officers sitting behind the long table. They were all from extraordinary backgrounds, but Aegon was not some country bumpkin from a remote corner... He was a Night's Watch soldier. These noble lords in front of him might be able to decide his life or death, but they shouldn't expect to intimidate him with their so-called "nobility."
"I sent someone to examine the wound on Gared's chest," Maester Aemon broke the silence. "It's very strange. The wound was caused by a sharp object, but it shows typical symptoms of severe frostbite, and it's confined to a very small area inside and outside the wound... It took several people half a day to cut away all the necrotic tissue. I don't know if Donal can break a steel sword like this, but I know I can't create such a wound."
Among the three who had a say, one had already begun to believe him. Aegon showed no change in expression, but he was greatly relieved in his heart: No matter the era or the place, learned and insightful people are always easier to communicate with. His life was likely saved.
The Commander glanced at the silent First Ranger next to him: "Benjen, this is your man, what do you think?"
The leader of all the Rangers and the only member of the Stark family in the Night's Watch raised his head. This lean but sharp-witted man had been examining the evidence Aegon brought back all along. Now that the Commander had asked him, he knew it was time for him to speak.
"We are the Night's Watch, guarding the northernmost part of the Kingdom," the brother of the Warden of the North spoke. "But regarding the vast unknown territory North of the Wall, we actually don't know much more than the people in The South... I haven't seen White Walkers, but I dare not assert that this thing doesn't exist. Seeing is believing. In a few days, I will personally lead elite Rangers to the North to search for Ser Waymar Royce and the White Walkers Aegon mentioned. As for now..."
Under Aegon's intense gaze, Benjen paused before delivering his verdict: "The most important thing right now is to first inform Ser Waymar Royce's family of his disappearance and try to give them an explanation. As for Aegon, he will be confined first. The next time I patrol the North, I will have you lead the way. Whether what you said is true or false will be up to you to prove through your own efforts."
...
As expected, he had to lead the way, just as Gared had guessed.
Aegon secretly admired the veteran's divine prediction. He was helped up by two Black Cloaks and led out of the meeting room. Before leaving, he heard the last words from Maester Aemon and Benjen Stark:
"Before you lead people to the North, there's something you need to do. A raven brought news that the Hand of the King is dead, and the King is on his way to the North. Lord Eddard requires you to take some time to return to Winterfell and greet him together."
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