"When I last scouted the movements of the dead, they had finished gathering about a dozen miles north of Black Castle. But instead of advancing towards the Wall, they split into two groups, heading east and west respectively. The group moving towards the Bay of Seals numbered five or six thousand, led by three White Walkers. They are currently lurking in the Haunted Forest outside the three strongholds of Beacon Tower, Green Guard, and Eastwatch-by-the-Sea. As for the group heading towards the Great Canyon, they are spread out everywhere, making it difficult to count. Because the Night King is leading them, I could not get close enough to scout, so the details are unclear."
Five or six thousand could be counted, so how many exactly was "difficult to count"? Aegor felt a chill run down his spine. This was even after he had taken in over thirty thousand Wildlings. Without that, the enemy would have thirty thousand more, while his side would have thirty thousand less.
He felt a heaviness in his heart, kept silent, and quietly waited for the rest.
"One can judge without much thought that they are searching for a way to cross the Wall, while waiting for the power that sustains their existence to reach its peak... so they can launch a decisive battle at the most advantageous time." Bran's words began to falter, his sentences breaking apart, as if those few consecutive lines had exhausted his strength. "I don't mean to flatter you, but the biggest reason the dead have not attacked the Seven Kingdoms until now is the series of preparations made by the Commander. Whether it is the airtight defenses along the Wall, the large-scale ice clearing in the Bay of Seals, or the patrols along the banks of the Great Canyon... the Night's Watch has sealed off every path for the enemy. Sometimes I can't help but wonder, maybe you truly are the Prince sent by prophecy to deal with the White Walkers."
"Thank you. I am no Prince. I just prioritize caution, think from the enemy's perspective, and then plug every loophole I can find." He could not deny it. Everyone appreciates having their hard work acknowledged, but Aegor would not be carried away and forget the main business. "Bran, I will not force you to risk danger by tracking the Night King's exact location, but I hope you can answer a few questions I have about the enemy. After all, knowing yourself and knowing your enemy is the key to victory in every battle. First, are the White Walkers and the dead afraid of water? Can they swim or walk across the seabed to reach us?"
"That is indeed a question worth considering." Bran nodded. "I can give you a clear answer, but it must be explained separately. First, White Walkers are afraid of water. Although they are transformed from living men, years of being permeated by ice magic gradually shed their physical bodies. They rely more and more on pure magic to sustain their forms, growing stronger as the process continues. A mature White Walker's body is merely a shape, entirely supported by magic. Just as humans must consume food to generate stable heat, and will die if their body temperature is too low or too high, White Walkers also have an optimal temperature range for maintaining their existence. That range is extremely low for humans. If they encounter water, a small amount will trap them in ice, limiting their mobility. If it is a large amount, like being thrown into the sea, they will, like humans freezing to death, 'burn to death' from losing their 'normal temperature'."
So that was how it worked. Did this mean White Walkers could be captured alive using water? Aegor considered the possibility but realized it was not realistic. With the divine power of a White Walker, strong enough to slay a dragon, even if a bucket of water froze them, they would break free at once. Only by flooding them instantly with tons of water could one freeze a White Walker, and that was difficult with current means.
His thoughts shifted, and he asked about a more likely scenario. "Why don't they cast spells on the shore to freeze the Bay of Seals and walk across?"
"They are White Walkers, not gods." Bran rolled his eyes. For the first time since Aegor entered the room, he looked like a child. "You have a powerful Red Priestess beside you. When she wants a hot bath, does she jump into cold water and use magic to boil it? In this world, where energy is thin, magic is precious. Compared to ordinary men, White Walkers are indeed incredibly powerful, but against the forces of nature, they are ants."
"So, the White Walkers do not have that ability?"
"I am not one of them, I cannot speak for them." Bran shook his head. "But what I can confirm is that maintaining their bodies and their cold consumes most of the White Walkers' power. If they wanted to freeze a passage across the Bay of Seals strong enough to withstand destruction from the Night's Watch above, they might need to sacrifice a dozen White Walkers to fill it."
That thought eased Aegor slightly. "Then, what about the wights? They do not have low body temperature. What if the White Walkers drive them to wade across?"
"In theory it is possible, but practically unlikely. First, wights cannot stray far from the White Walkers who control them, certainly not across the Wall. I will explain why later. Second, the Night's Watch has encountered White Walkers many times by now. Have you studied why they fear fire?"
"Of course. The bodies of wights are filled with a special, flammable corpse oil."
"Exactly. But have you ever wondered why the enemy would leave themselves such a weakness?"
Yes, why?
Being questioned like this, Aegor's mind flooded with conspiracy theories. Could it be a trap? When the Night's Watch believed wights feared fire, would they suddenly become immune in the final battle, rendering wildfire useless and annihilating mankind?
If that were true, the enemy's strength would rise by an order of magnitude. In that case, they would simply march forward, and even all Seven Kingdoms united would not stand against them. There would be no need for conspiracy.
"I suppose the corpse oil is like blood to humans, an indispensable component. Even if it is a weakness, they cannot abandon it?"
"You guessed correctly. Corpse oil has at least three functions. First, it stores the ice magic cast by the White Walker who awakened the wight, the key difference between it and a normal corpse. Second, it acts as a medium, allowing the wight to draw magic from the air and sustain its existence. Third, it serves as a lubricant for muscles and bones, while also slowing decay and drying of the wight's body." Bran's words came in broken bursts, panting, his body weakened after his journey beyond the Wall. "It is irreplaceable. A wight without corpse oil moves stiffly and is fragile. Although it would no longer fear fire, it could then be killed by swords, clubs, and even standing a few steps away from the White Walker might cause it to collapse."
So corpse oil was vital to wights. Aegor had previously worried about facing wights immune to fire, but now he realized that was unnecessary.
"But this only explains why wights fear fire. What I am most concerned about is whether wights fear water. Could it be that corpse oil dissolves in water?"
"No, wights are not afraid of water. What they fear is ice." Bran shook his head with a half-smile. "I know this seems counter-intuitive. How can wights, controlled by ice magic, fear ice? Even I had to observe for a while before I understood. The reason lies in a mistake of naming. The Long Night, when the White Walkers first appeared, left the impression of bitter cold, so the chroniclers named their power 'ice magic'. But in truth, cold is only a favorable condition and side effect of that magic, not its purpose. Ice is simply frozen water. Because the White Walkers bring cold and freezing with them, people assumed there was a causal link, but that is not the case."
The boy drew a deep breath before continuing. "A more accurate term for their power would be 'cold magic' or necromancy. Ice formed from water looks suited to their power, but in fact it is a poor carrier of magic. You should have experience with this. Whether it is the bodies of White Walkers or the weapons they wield that look like ice, they are in fact entirely different substances. After wights cross water, the water itself does not affect them. But the ice formed in low temperatures not only hinders their movements, it interferes with necromancy itself, making it extremely difficult for White Walkers to control them. Worse, ice magic cannot be used to dispel ice. This is why White Walkers will never drive wights to wade around the Wall."
Aegor sat quietly in his chair, digesting the secrets of the White Walkers that the Greenseer revealed.
The first thing he grasped was Bran's remark that he "should have experience." The Greenseer had clearly traced back his desperate battle with a White Walker in the Haunted Forest. He recalled that moment three years ago, the details Bran meant him to remember. The sword that looked like ice shattered when it struck him. The White Walker's milky body, once slain, dissolved in a way that defied the properties of ice. It did not melt into water, but boiled and vanished, leaving nothing but a chill behind.
It was less like water and more like a gas with a high freezing point, sublimating rapidly when heated.
A theory that fit observations could either be the truth or a carefully crafted lie. Since the Greenseer had no reason to deceive the Night's Watch about the enemy, this was most likely the truth.
Bran looked at Aegor in thought and reminded him, "I don't know what the Commander is thinking, but please do not grow careless or underestimate the enemy. Do not reduce the garrison at Eastwatch-by-the-Sea. One force of nature may counter another. White Walkers cannot freeze the Bay of Seals, but Winter can."
Aegor nodded. Even without the reminder, he would not take such risks. The Night's Watch did not lack manpower at present.
"Understood. The deployment at the Bay of Seals will remain as it is." After leaning on his knees and thinking for a moment, he raised his second concern. "The Builder raised the Wall seven hundred feet high. So why did it stop abruptly at the Great Canyon, instead of extending west to Ice Bay, leaving a gap?"
(To be continued.)
***
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