Regardless of Benjen Stark's original reason for joining the Night's Watch, Aegon had to admit: he was indeed a dedicated First Ranger. This lean and strong man learned through a raven that the King was expected to arrive in the North in three weeks, and the journey from Castle Black back to Winterfell would take no more than two weeks. So, he busied himself with defense patrol arrangements at the Night's Watch base for a few more days before preparing to set off. Fortunately, this allowed him to wait for Will to escape back to The Wall and provide testimony consistent with Aegon's, thus changing his mind and temporarily deciding to take Aegon with him to Winterfell to report to the Warden of the North.
Aegon was somewhat relieved that not everyone sought comfort in every possible way like he did. If he were the First Ranger and received a summons from his brother, the Lord of Winterfell, he would probably pack his bags and head South that same day. Compared to the Wall, even Winterfell, which Southerners universally considered cold and gloomy, was absolutely a paradise on earth.
There were always people in the world who were nobler than one could imagine. Aegon would never dare to judge a gentleman with the heart of a villain just because he couldn't understand it. He admired Benjen Stark's sense of honor and dedication, but he was neither born nor raised here, nor did he have a brother serving as the Warden of the North. Like a soldier conscripted by a certain party during the KMT-CCP Civil War, he had no sense of belonging to this world, this Kingdom—threatening to cut off his hand to force him to swear an oath, and then expecting him to live and die here? Excuse me, Aegon was just an ordinary person, not noble or selfless. Even if the oath were ten times more magnificent and inspiring, he refused to accept such a fate.
Even without selfishness, Aegon believed that with the amount of knowledge he possessed and his understanding of this world, anywhere in this world would absolutely allow him to contribute more than being confined to The Wall fighting White Walkers.
Opportunity is only for the prepared. For this trip to Winterfell, Will, who had hidden in a tree and watched the entire process of Waymar Royce being killed by a White Walker, was originally a more suitable candidate. But Benjen chose him without much thought. The reasons for this were, firstly, Will's state was not suitable for travel, and secondly, it was probably because the former was simply not presentable. Compared to the timid, accented, and occasionally stuttering demeanor of a poacher, Aegon, who was articulate and clear-minded, was clearly more suitable for reporting the situation to the Lord of Winterfell.
Moreover, he vaguely heard that Will seemed to have been scared out of his wits by the White Walkers and was somewhat neurotic.
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He and Benjen set off in the afternoon. To save time, they would travel along the King's Road, through the Wolfswood directly to Winterfell. They would neither pass by Last Hearth nor visit Deepwood Motte. So, just like when patrolling beyond The Wall, they brought enough food and drink for both of them. The only difference was that, for convenience of travel, each person brought two horses.
Fine snow was falling from the sky. In the midst of utter silence, the two rode their horses out of the gate of Castle Black. Although the road beneath their feet was called the King's Road and was indeed an extension of the King's Road, it was actually not much wider than a forest path. The true King's Road started from King's Landing and ended at Winterfell; the part further North was merely a formal extension.
Heading South in silence, they quickly approached Mole's Town. Reaching the top of a gentle slope, Aegon couldn't help but glance back.
Castle Black is located on the South side of The Wall, and the sunlight it receives is basically unaffected by the high Wall, while the color of the ice itself is not conspicuous. For the Night's Watch, it's not difficult to ignore the existence of The Wall in daily life. To protect his neck and also being used to it, Aegon had learned to ignore this incomparably tall Ice Wall beside him after living in Castle Black for a few months.
But the Wall does not disappear just because you don't look at it. It stands there, as if it has existed since the dawn of creation, and will continue to guard the North until the end of the world.
Now, after leaving for a few miles, the entire outline of The Wall became visible. The colossal object that originally reached the sky and filled the entire field of vision gradually turned into a grey-blue screen stretching across the northern horizon, extending continuously in both directions, east and west, to the edge of the visible world, until it disappeared into the distant grey-white cold mist.
Only from a distance could one more intuitively feel its greatness—this was the largest structure built by humans in the Ice and Fire World, and the second tallest man-made object on the Westeros Continent. From here, the towers and huts of the Night's Watch outposts looked like toy blocks scattered in the snow at the foot of The Wall; and the Black Cloaks moving about were like busy ants among the blocks.
If this were in the world Aegon came from, it would definitely become a top tourist attraction—take a leave, bring a loved one, leave the restless and fast-paced city, come to the northernmost point of the world to feel the cold wind and play in the snow, stand on top of The Wall and overlook the vast Haunted Forest, "feel the baptism of nature," "purify the dusty soul"… Not only would it be full of gimmicks, but it would also add something to boast about.
But the existence of White Walkers instantly changed the style of The Wall. This was a military structure for human resistance against extinction, this was the frontline of a life-and-death war, and there were few places in the world more dangerous than here. If nothing unexpected happened, this trip to Winterfell would be his last chance to escape before participating in the next patrol. If possible, he hoped he would never return to this place in his life.
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"Aegon." While he was lost in thought, Benjen Stark beside him spoke: "You are an outsider, and I know you are resentful about being inexplicably forced to serve on The Wall, but I must kindly remind you, you must not have any thoughts of escaping. Countless people have proven with their lives that the price of being a deserter is quite heavy."
"I understand, I have no intention of escaping." Aegon's thoughts were suddenly exposed, and he felt a chill in his heart. He quickly turned back and declared: "I have sworn a sacred oath, and I will inevitably watch until the end of my life. The place I come from has customs and culture very different from Westeros, but the attitude towards promises is equally serious."
"That would be best." Benjen nodded, not continuing the topic. "My brother, Eddard Stark, is a typical Northerner who doesn't adhere to strict formalities. But no matter what, he is still the Warden of the North and the Lord of Winterfell. Furthermore, the blood of the First Men flows in our Stark family, and our heritage is quite ancient… So, there are some basic courtesies and taboos that I'll take some time to briefly explain to you now. You must remember them well. Although forgetting won't cost you your head, it's still somewhat impolite."
"Okay." Aegon nodded solemnly, took a final look at The Wall with complex emotions, turned his head, and temporarily cast it out of his mind, preparing to listen carefully.
...
They traveled during the day and rested at night. After passing Mole's Town and Crown Town and moving away from the Night's Watch's sphere of influence, the road beneath their horses' hooves gradually widened, and people along the way became more common.
The ruler of the North granted a large area of land North of the Wolfswood to the Night's Watch, allowing the latter to collect taxes and grain from these lands to maintain operations. However, with the weakening and shrinking of the Black Cloaks, incidents of Wildlings crossing The Wall to raid the residents of The Gift became increasingly frequent.
This led to a large number of residents of The Gift migrating South. They fled the Night's Watch, who were unable to protect them, and settled and rooted themselves within the protection of other Northern Lords. To this day, apart from a small area right next to the three main Night's Watch outposts where villagers still live, The Gift has become almost a no-man's-land.
But dramatically, the formation of the no-man's-land actually made the North safer—this area and the Wall formed a double safeguard. Few Wildlings were willing to risk crossing the Ice Wall and then trek through the uninhabited Gift on an empty stomach to raid villagers living under the protection of powerful families like Umber and Karstark.
With the reduced gains from raiding across The Wall, naturally, no Wildlings bothered with this thankless task… The most direct feeling this brought to the Northern Lords was that Wildling intrusions had decreased. Most lords attributed this to the Night's Watch, and thus voluntarily provided grain and clothing, resulting in a happy outcome for both sides.
Aegon and Benjen Stark's journey South to Winterfell went very smoothly. Apart from occasionally encountering a group of suspicious people who might have been Wildlings fleeing South, they didn't encounter any other incidents. And even this group quickly disappeared into the dense forest after seeing Benjen and Aegon's Black Cloaks. The First Ranger was not as young and impetuous as Waymar Royce, and wanting to avoid unnecessary trouble, he also chose to let them go.
The road continued to widen, stone bridges crossed rushing currents, farms formed settlements around stone Walls and wooden beams, and other travelers and merchants began to appear on the road. After sunset, they finally no longer had to camp in the wilderness. Two weeks later, they arrived at their destination exactly at the time Benjen had predicted.
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