Winterfell is not a city, but a castle. Its purpose is similar to the Red Keep in King's Landing, serving only to provide lodging and protection for the Lord, and does not undertake various city functions, nor does the creature called 'citizen' exist. Legend has it that it was built by 'Brandon the Builder' with the help of Giants. As a noble family castle, Winterfell can be considered impressive, but compared to another structure built by the same person—the Wall—it is insignificant in terms of both area and grandeur.
Excluding the surrounding villages and the Winter Town that is temporarily abandoned in the summer, the area of Winterfell enclosed by high Walls is less than a hundred acres, and a little less than half of that is the Godswood. The residents who live permanently within the Walls, besides the retainers, subordinates, servants, and their families who serve the Stark, are only a standing army of hundreds, the largest in the North apart from the Night's Watch.
As a Ranger who had stood guard on the Wall and killed White Walkers in the Haunted Forest, there was little in this world that could faze Aegon. His initial thought upon seeing Winterfell was not shock or admiration, but a slight surprise: the political center of the North, the home of many important characters in A Song of Ice and Fire, was actually so small. No wonder receiving a King could cause such a rush!
However, thinking about it later, if he subconsciously compared what he saw to the Wall, perhaps there would be no building in this world that could be called 'large'.
It was getting late, and full of thoughts, Aegon followed Benjen through the gates of Winterfell and entered.
"Welcome home, Lord Benjen." The guard, who had followed the Stark for many years, naturally recognized the Lord's brother. He eagerly took the First Ranger's horse reins. "I will immediately arrange your lodging and bath."
"No need. Where is my brother?"
"Lord Eddard just finished receiving the King. He is probably busy in the main keep now... I'm not sure."
"The King has arrived?" Benjen frowned. "Damn it, I was clearly two days early... Thankfully I haven't missed the welcome feast. Go about your business, I'll go see him myself."
"Yes, Lord."
Winterfell was crowded with people at this moment. The usually spacious training yard was full of horses, carriages, chests, and busy servants and retainers. Robert Baratheon's journey to the North brought hundreds of retainers and guards, while the Queen and Princess brought even more luggage and belongings... A large number of people could not be accommodated within Winterfell and had to be diverted to the towns outside the castle to be properly settled. At this moment, the castle gate was bustling with people coming and going. Benjen led Aegon, familiar with the paths, through the castle's high and low corridors and alleys, and soon arrived at the main keep which served as the Stark family residence... After greeting them, he entered and within moments found the Lord of Winterfell, who was hiding in his study, stealing a moment of leisure from his busy schedule.
"Benjen!" Eddard Stark was giving instructions to his servants about guest arrangements. Seeing his brother, a genuine smile bloomed on his face. He stood up, waved the servants away, walked towards his brother, and gave him a big hug. "How is it, life on the Wall... still as hard?"
"I'm used to it." Benjen patted his brother's arm and released him. "But some things have happened North of the Wall recently, which I believe are necessary to inform the Warden of the North."
"Hmm, about the Wildlings... I've heard about it in letters. But you wouldn't know how much effort I spent dealing with that fellow Robert today. That guy is as fat as a pig now." The Lord of Winterfell complained bitterly to his brother with a wry smile. He had dark brown hair and a long face carved from the same mold as Benjen's. Even with a smile, his expression carried an air of authority that commanded respect without anger. He was the first person Aegon had met since transmigrating who truly had the demeanor of a ruler. "Can we talk about it after the welcome feast tonight?"
"No, now. What I need to talk to you about immediately is more important than the welcome feast, the King, the Queen, or anything else in the world." Benjen Stark shook his head seriously, turning back to beckon Aegon, who was standing by the door. "This is a Ranger under my command. He will tell you what happened."
Seeing his brother's solemn expression, Eddard also put away his smile and turned to look at Aegon. "Hello... friend, what should I call you?"
For a common soldier to be treated so politely by a noble who is a Lord of the land, this situation could only happen in the North. Aegon knew that the other party's friendliness was mostly directed at the black cloak he wore. "Lord Eddard can call me Aegon. I am not from Westeros and do not have the kind of surname common among the people of the Seven Kingdoms."
"The Conqueror's namesake yet not from Westeros?" Eddard was hearing about the existence of a foreign Night's Watch member for the first time. He looked at Aegon with curious eyes, then looked at Benjen with a questioning gaze.
"Aegon is from some unheard-of continent west of Westeros." The other Stark shrugged and introduced him. "He encountered White Walkers while on patrol North of the Wall with Waymar Royce and escaped back to the Wall to warn us."
"White Walkers?"
...
Eddard's face sank, and his eyes when looking at Aegon again were filled with suspicion.
He did not believe in the existence of White Walkers. In his opinion, Waymar Royce's disappearance was most likely due to a Wildling ambush. And the missing man's father, Jon Royce, as the most important bannerman of his foster father and brother-in-law Jon Arryn, had visited Winterfell on his way to send his son North to join the Black Cloaks. His words and actions all conveyed the hope that he, the Lord of the North, would take good care of his son... Although the disappearance of a Night's Watch Ranger could not be blamed on him, the Lord of Winterfell, it still made Eddard feel uncomfortable. He always had the mistaken feeling that he 'couldn't explain it to the child's father'.
"Please wait a moment, if I'm not mistaken, you were one of the three Rangers Waymar Royce took North of the Wall. If White Walkers killed your officer, why did they let you and the other man return?" Eddard's attitude quickly changed, becoming aggressive. "According to the rules and regulations of the Night's Watch, how should deserters be dealt with?"
"It wasn't that the White Walkers let us return, but that we escaped after enduring countless hardships." Aegon tried hard to ignore the intimidating light of doubt in the eyes of the Warden of the North, understanding that even a slight show of timidity at this moment could lead to terrible consequences. "Furthermore, as we approached the Wall, I and the other Ranger worked together and killed a pursuing White Walker."
"Where is the body?"
"The White Walker's body evaporated after death, leaving no remains," Aegon explained, knowing this sounded like a flimsy excuse, so without waiting for the other party to respond, he quickly added, "But I have other evidence."
"Oh?" The highest Lord of the North glanced at his brother, let out a barely perceptible breath through his nostrils with slight force, turned towards the table he used for handling political affairs, and sat down in the chair on the other side. "Show it to me."
...
Benjen stood aside and said no more, while Aegon, as if he had rehearsed it, quickly placed his bag on the chair opposite Eddard Stark and began his performance.
He had brought all the broken swords and Dragonglass daggers to Winterfell. Three of the broken swords were each contained in a sturdy, puncture-resistant leather pouch. Aegon took them out one by one, placed them on the table, and pieced them back together into their original form... Waymar Royce's sword was shattered so badly that it took Aegon a while to piece it together. The Lord of Winterfell frowned but still waited patiently for him to finish everything before asking, "Three broken swords, and a black dagger. What is the meaning of this?"
"Three broken swords, from three Rangers who fought the White Walkers head-on. Among them, Waymar Royce fought bravely to his death; Gared is slowly recovering at Castle Black from severe injuries; only I, by chance, am still alive and well." Aegon spoke at a steady pace, listing the evidence on the table as if they were treasures, introducing them to the First Lord of the North. "And this small black thing is the Dragonglass dagger that ultimately killed the White Walker."
"So, the swords of three people who fought the 'White Walkers' are all broken?" Eddard rested his chin on his clasped hands. He knew his brother; Benjen was not someone easily fooled. If this Night's Watch member before him was just a simple deserter, he would never have brought him here. So he decided to listen to the rest of the explanation. "But how do I know these swords weren't broken by you?"
"Please look at the broken edges of these swords, Lord." Aegon pointed them out for Duke Stark to observe. "Can you see that the damage suffered by these three swords is somewhat different from normal circumstances?"
"I've never seen a sword shatter like this. How was it done?" Eddard Stark took a moment to realize the problem. He had been through many battles and had certainly seen many broken swords, but he had never seen a weapon shatter. He picked up a small piece of Waymar's shattered sword from the table with a puzzled expression, examined it in his hand for a moment, and even tapped it. He finally determined that it was real steel.
"Frozen and cracked," Aegon uttered a rather attention-grabbing phrase. "More specifically, I believe it was the ice magic present on the White Walkers' weapons that shattered the steel swords. The weapons they use look like solidified ice, but the standard Night's Watch steel swords broke instantly upon contact."
Then, Aegon repeated the explanation he had previously used when facing Commander Jeor Mormont and Maester Aemon, having refined it. This time, having had enough rest and good food and drink, his physical and mental state were fully recovered. Both the clarity and understandability of the narrative and the moderate pace and tone, as well as the persuasiveness, were far superior to the previous time.
After explaining the reason for the steel swords shattering, he briefly modified and informed the other party of the process of escaping the large group of White Walkers and the coincidental counter-kill of the pursuer. Eddard Stark listened patiently throughout, and only after the Night's Watch member finished his prepared speech did he lower the hand supporting his chin and look thoughtfully at his brother standing nearby.
***
Benjen Stark and Eddard's eyes met. Benjen understood that his brother still didn't quite believe in the existence of White Walkers. He was helpless about this, as he himself was only inferring that Aegon's words were true based on speculation, and could not in good conscience say he had seen it with his own eyes.
"Shadow Tower has also submitted suspicious White Walker sighting reports, and Rangers from Castle Black and Eastwatch-by-the-Sea all claim to have found a large number of Wildlings migrating collectively. Many villages are empty, looking very much like they are avoiding something..." The First Ranger made one last effort. "A series of signs indicate that the Night's Watch is facing an unprecedented challenge, and you know what the Night's Watch is like now, I don't need to tell you. We need assistance now."
"I will notify my subordinates. You can go to the cells later to pick people..."
"The Night's Watch needs supplies and troops now, not a few scumbags or recruits!" Benjen interrupted his brother directly. "Let a bunch of criminals with only basic training defend the Seven Kingdoms? It's barely holding on even without problems, let alone the current critical situation. I specifically brought someone here this time, not just to do the same thing as a Crow!"
The room fell silent. Lord Eddard, who had been interrupted, sat quietly, fiddling with the Dragonglass dagger Aegon had handed over, and thinking with his head down.
—