Chapter 313: Three Fires Upon Taking Office (Part I)
The cremation was over.
Egger had originally intended to wait until Maester Aemon's ashes were collected before proceeding to the next step, but it would take another ten minutes or so for the pyre to cool enough to touch. Continuing the moment of silence seemed unnecessary, yet standing there in a daze was too awkward. On a whim, he decided to make a slight adjustment to the schedule and utilize this gap.
"Never has a Night's Watchman faced the crisis we face today!" Egger's loud opening quickly brought silence to the courtyard of Castle Black. He paused for emphasis and repeated: "Never!"
The men soon realized this was Egger's inaugural speech. They lifted their heads, Gazing up at the new Lord Commander to see what sort of grand words he would weave.
"The Night's Watch was established after the Battle for the Dawn. Our purpose is to be the first to stand and stop our natural enemies whenever they reappear to attempt the extinction of humanity. No one expected—that this wait would last thousands of years. Not until today, when we have declined to the point of near-disappearance, have we—the very people who were about to witness the Black Brothers become a footnote in history—encountered this godsdamned second coming of the Others!"
Countless Watchmen had grumbled these exact thoughts in their hearts. Hearing the Lord Commander voice them publicly instantly bridged the psychological distance between him and many of the soldiers.
"This time, we have no Children of the Forest as allies to weave magic, nor a legendary hero like Azor Ahai to lead us in a head-on decisive battle against demons and monsters." He raised his hand high, pointing to the Wall behind him. "But unlike our predecessors who fought the Others in the Battle for the Dawn—today, you have this 700-foot ice wall; and me, a new Lord Commander of the Night's Watch!"
"Beyond the Wall, the Haunted Forest, the Frostfangs, the Frozen Shore, and the Land of Always Winter have completely fallen under the control of the wights. Endless, uncountable dead are eyeing the Seven Kingdoms under the leadership of the Others. And inside the Wall, the kings and lords of the south are still fighting tooth and nail over an Iron Chair, too busy to look elsewhere. At this very juncture, the guardians of the Wall have consecutively lost great and honorable brothers like Benjen Stark, Jeor Mormont, and Maester Aemon... We even spent months barely resolving our differences to end the election and pick a commander to lead the coming war."
"Next, we face over a dozen ancient fortresses in need of reconstruction, vast stretches of ice wall that haven't been properly repaired or cleared in decades, and tens of thousands of New Gift residents whom we struggle even to feed... If Commander Mormont were still alive, he would likely frown and declare: 'The situation is not optimistic.' But I will not use the flowery rhetoric of nobles to paint a picture of peace and hide the truth. I must tell you honestly: the darkest hour has arrived!"
Egger suddenly raised his volume. The long list of discouraging facts was merely the buildup for this final turn: "But we will not cower! We shall fight to the end! We shall fight the enemy at the Gorge, we shall fight the enemy in the Shivering Sea and the Bay of Seals, we shall fight a bloody war at any cost atop the ice wall and within the fortresses to stop them from stepping over the Wall!"
"Even if, by some chance, this strongest defense is breached, we shall continue to fight the enemy in the Gift, the North, and even among the mountains, rivers, marshes, and fields of the Riverlands and the Crownlands. As long as we hold onto our faith and stand united, we shall build another wall out of flesh and blood—until we fight to the last man, or drive those damn ghostly things back to where they came from!"
Before his transmigration, he had hated long-winded, bureaucratic reports and speeches. At his own inauguration, he had already planned to limit the time spent on empty talk. Furthermore, Maester Aemon's ashes were still exposed to the elements while the snow fell, and he couldn't delay... After a brief pause, he quickly moved to conclude his speech.
"We are isolated and without help. Even by optimistic estimates, a few thousand of us must protect the tens of millions in Westeros and the Seven Kingdoms behind us... Never in human history has a war required so few to protect so many of their kin—how unfair! But we will still fight to the end without hesitation. Why? Because we are the Night's Watch! We are—the sword in the darkness, the watcher on the walls. We are—the fire that burns against the cold, the light that brings the dawn, the horn that wakes the sleepers, the shield that guards the realms of men!"
He ended with the second half of the Night's Watch oath, intending to trigger a collective response. His planted confidants in the crowd were the first to begin chanting the oath, followed by his supporters, and then the neutrals... More and more Watchmen joined the familiar recitation. By the final line, everyone in the fortress was roaring at the top of their lungs: "I pledge my life and honor to the Night's Watch, for this night and all the nights to come!"
No one disrupted or interrupted the speech. However, Egger felt the atmosphere hadn't quite reached his expectations. The black spot in his vision caused by the intense light had not yet faded, preventing him from seeing the soldiers' expressions clearly. Under the influence of his own nerves, he couldn't help but feel a hallucination: that many of them weren't listening to him, but were instead staring at the weapon on his hip, waiting for him to draw it again and wave that light-sword to reinforce his words.
Although the volume of the roar suggested the performance was adequate, he couldn't help but feel more resentment toward Melisandre's meddling.
But that no longer mattered. A stirring speech can temporarily ignite passion, but the Others weren't going to storm the gates tonight. The outcome of a long war was ultimately determined by the quality of soldiers, equipment, and logistics.
And most of that rested on his shoulders as the decision-maker.
The speech concluded, and Egger ordered men to collect Maester Aemon's ashes. Once the site was cleared, he began to publicly announce the immediate changes he would make to the Night's Watch.
The first point: A significant increase in stipends for all Watchmen. Different roles and tasks would see different increases, ranging from two to five times the previous amount.
It wasn't the most important change, but Egger chose to announce it first because it was the most tangible and the easiest way to win hearts.
Stipends were essentially pocket money. The Night's Watch provided food, housing, and gear, so theoretically, there should be no other expenses. But humans have needs beyond survival, and stipends existed to satisfy them.
The Watch had no fixed source of income, so the stipend was equivalent to only a few coins a day—hardly anything. An ordinary rank-and-file soldier usually had to save for weeks to do anything he wanted—like going to a village in the Gift to trade for eggs, meat, or cheese to give himself a treat; or finding a woman in the burrows of Mole's Town to satisfy biological instincts; or saving up for something big, like a new cloak, new boots, or a better weapon.
The obsidian Egger had used to make his dagger—the one that had ultimately achieved miracles—had cost him three months of saved stipends. To get his friend at Eastwatch to watch for such cargo on incoming ships, he had spent another two weeks of stipends buying him dinner.
Precisely because the base was so low, although "2 to 5 times" sounded staggering, the actual pressure on the Night's Watch industries was not immense.
Theoretically, once a man joined the Watch, guarding the Wall became his duty; even without a penny, he had to perform it. But now that the Gift Settlement Plan was in effect, a strange problem had begun to emerge: while the wildlings had surrendered almost all their property to become New Gift residents, if they were strong and smart enough—and had a bit of luck finding work in Queenscrown—their disposable income quickly exceeded that of an average Watchman. With proper management, the life of a New Gift resident could soon be much more comfortable than that of a Crow!
Egger was a Watchman. If he allowed this to continue, he would soon be labeled a traitor to his own kind. People don't worry about scarcity as much as they worry about inequality. If his subordinates felt the system was unfair, it could lead to severe consequences.
The second point: Structural changes.
The internal conflict of the Night's Watch had reached an unprecedented level of intensity due to his rise as a dark horse. Although the comprehensive strength of Queenscrown now exceeded the combined power of Castle Black, the Shadow Tower, and Eastwatch, the Watch was like a critically ill patient who couldn't withstand aggressive treatment, especially with the Others potentially attacking at any moment.
Egger didn't dare risk a major purge of personnel to consolidate his rule.
Since he had already agreed not to change the commanders of the Shadow Tower and Eastwatch, Egger went a step further: he wouldn't replace a single mid-to-high-level officer in the entire Night's Watch. Instead, he would use a different method—administering medicine gently to dilute the power of the old guard:
He would create a vast number of new positions!
Egger publicly announced that the 16 newly reopened fortresses were officially elevated to the same status as the Shadow Tower and Eastwatch. He established positions for Fort Commanders, First Rangers, Stewards, Builders, and Logistics Officers—and announced the list of appointees on the spot.
Doubtless, these newly selected officers—his supporters and confidants—were currently "generals without armies." But Egger planned to gradually increase the manpower of the Night's Watch to around two thousand. The new recruits would be funneled into these reopened forts, eventually equipping each with 50 to 100 Watchmen. Combined with the Mountain Clans and New Gift residents living within them, his control over the Watch would be unshakable.
By not touching the positions of the old guard nor taking away their existing soldiers, he gave no one a reason to object. Even if the old-timers saw that Egger was diluting their influence within the Watch, they were helpless. It was a classic open scheme.
The third point: Relocation of headquarters.
Egger officially announced that, effective immediately, Queenscrown would become the headquarters of the Night's Watch and the center of the Gift—the official residence and office of the Lord Commander.
This change naturally led to a supplementary one: Castle Black was downgraded to an "ordinary fortress," equal in rank to the Shadow Tower, Eastwatch, and the 16 reopened forts. Consequently, a position for a Fort Commander at Castle Black became vacant. Egger appointed Jon Snow to the post.
With these arrangements, Egger likely wouldn't be able to escape the label of cronyism. It didn't sound like a compliment, but the logic was simple: in these chaotic times, if you don't promote your confidants, do you promote strangers or enemies? Only a fool would risk losing control over their own power just to gain a reputation for fairness.
The questioning voice appeared immediately: "The Lord Commander doesn't hold Castle Black, but hides in Queenscrown instead? If you aren't even at the Wall, how can you lead us in defending it?"
This was entirely within Egger's expectations, and he had his rebuttal ready: "By that logic, if we don't go north of the Wall to engage the Others in hand-to-hand combat but hide behind the ice wall instead, is that not also an act of cowardice? I am a logistics man by trade. I believe that only a strong Gift can support this war to defend humanity. By taking up residence in Queenscrown, I am building that solid foundation. Jon Snow possesses both courage and wisdom. He may lack experience, but with the assistance of three seasoned senior officers, I am perfectly comfortable entrusting Castle Black to him!"
Queenscrown was not King's Landing, after all; it was only a day's journey from the Wall. It wasn't exactly "hiding far from the front lines." While many soldiers were unaccustomed to the change, they didn't strongly oppose it. Furthermore... according to the laws of the Night's Watch, the Lord Commander does not need to consider the reactions of his subordinates when issuing orders.
Without further words to the doubters, Egger continued his rhythm: "The changes affecting everyone are limited to these three points for now. The future of all humanity rests on our shoulders. No matter what the road ahead holds, I am honored to fight alongside you all on this journey. Disperse!"
The mass of black-clad men slowly scattered with expressions of satisfaction, excitement, or doubt. Egger turned around and took a breath: "Go. Bring me Cotter Pyke and Yohn Royce."
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