The situation changed so rapidly that it completely exceeded Aegor's expectations.
Whispering in Daenerys's ear to cut off any possibility of her accepting the Reach's surrender, then respectfully seeing her off as she mounted her dragon… This was supposed to be just another peaceful day in The Gift. But as Aegor walked back from the Dragon Landing Field toward the Inner Keep of the Town, before he had even entered, Melisandre hurried toward him with small, urgent steps. The moment she saw him, she asked where the Queen had gone. After he answered honestly, the witch—usually calm and composed—suddenly changed color. She accused him hysterically, then turned and rushed back to her room in a panic, without even answering his questions about what had happened.
At first, Aegor thought the so-called divine priestess had lost her mind due to overuse of magic and was simply acting erratically. But facts soon proved otherwise. After dinner, as darkness fell, the highest level alerts came one after another from Eastwatch-by-the-Sea and the Great Canyon. The final battle that The Gift had waited for over ten months had suddenly erupted less than five hours after the Queen flew off on her dragon. Given the time needed for travel and preparation, it was almost certain: the enemy had begun their movements the very moment Daenerys departed.
The Gift's defense plan was immediately set in motion. The industrial district was shut down, workshops cleared, key personnel evacuated into the Inner Keep. The ordinary people of The Gift, including the giants who had resettled beyond the Wall, dragged their belongings and, under the organized command of the defenders, funneled through the various gates and were arranged in designated zones within the Wall.
The plan had never included any intention of fighting in the open field. Once the evacuation was complete and the gates sealed, every man and woman capable of bearing arms was equipped with Dragonglass. After that, all that remained was the long, agonizing wait, and silent prayers that the Wall's defenders could hold the enemy at bay, or that the walls of Crown Town would prove tall and strong enough.
---
Unlike the common folk who could only wait and accept their fate, those in command positions had to find ways to understand the unfolding battle and respond accordingly. Although war had begun, the Night King had not—or perhaps did not want to—cut off the enemy's communications. Information from the front lines continued pouring into the command desk via messenger ravens. The command center at the heart of the Inner Keep bustled with constant activity.
The situation at Eastwatch-by-the-Sea was more or less as expected. The freezing of the Bay of Seals had been one of the scenarios accounted for in the defense plan. Aside from a sudden and violent ice storm—so intense it felt like the gods had sneezed—everything else played out according to prediction.
But what occurred at the Great Canyon, or more precisely at Ice Bay, was a different matter entirely.
"Ice Canyon Port was attacked by the Iron Fleet. Due to initial command errors, the landing port was briefly breached and the fortress compromised. Over two hundred casualties reported, and internal facilities and supplies have sustained major damage… The Northern Fleet has lost one warship, another heavily damaged, with only the Running Wolf remaining relatively intact."
"What, the Iron Fleet? Why would they, of all times, choose to harass Ice Canyon Port the same day the White Walkers attacked?"
"They say Euron is mad. Could it be he planned with the Night King to strike from both ends, wipe out the Night's Watch, and then rule over the remnants of humanity?"
"Stop it. If the Night King had the capacity or interest in negotiating with humans, wouldn't it be easier for him to send someone to our Commander and offer terms? Why go through the trouble of dragging in pirates from a crumbling island as allies?"
The officers in the room had begun to argue. Aegor, meanwhile, carefully reread the battle report from Ice Canyon Port.
The Ironborn had been hostile toward the North for two years now. Euron discovering the Northern Fleet's hidden port at Ice Bay and leading a show of force to harass it was within reason. But launching an actual attack on the same day, even at the same hour, that the Night King unleashed his offensive? Could that really be dismissed as coincidence?
He certainly didn't think so.
In the past, Aegor might have reluctantly chalked it up to bad luck. But now, knowing that true gods existed in the world, he quickly arrived at a theory few would believe if spoken aloud.
Melisandre had once claimed that the Drowned God was a servant of the Cold God. At the time, he had thought it was typical religious posturing—one faith elevating its own deity while denigrating others. But now, it seemed there may have been some truth to it.
Euron's role in this final battle was likely the counterpart to his own: Aegor was a pawn of the Lord of Light, and Euron a pawn of the Cold God.
Of course, the Ironborn likely hadn't consciously chosen to become traitors to mankind. They probably didn't even believe in the existence of White Walkers or the undead army. But by planting the idea of "tonight is an auspicious night to strike" deep in Euron's mind, the Cold God had effectively used them—living people turned against other living people—right when the Night King crossed the Great Gorge. A flanking maneuver at just the right time.
The result of this brilliant play was devastating: Ice Canyon Port's inability to provide reinforcements and supplies to the nearby front line caused the western portion of the Great Canyon to begin collapsing within just half an hour of the battle's onset. That, in turn, caused the entire defensive line to perform below expectations. Expectations set, of course, by Aegor himself.
But there was no use pondering coincidence now. What mattered was how the Night's Watch should respond to the movements of the two enemy armies.
He tapped the table, cutting off the argument in the room. "Enough. Check the raven cages and all letters again. I want the casualty numbers for the Great Gorge defense line, and a full report on the enemy's movements along the Wall."
...
Unlike the long-range ravens used for communication with the industrial sectors in the South, the ravens trained for communication between Crown Town and the Wall outposts were specially trained to fly back and forth around the clock. This allowed for frequent updates every one or two hours. With multiple ravens assigned to each outpost, messengers arrived at the command center one after another, keeping Aegor—who had initially planned to inspect the outer defenses—stuck in the war room all night. He didn't mind, but the poor birds flying nonstop were truly overworked.
After the Night King's army crossed the Great Canyon and captured Canyon Watch, they paused. For a time, some wondered if they were heading directly for Crown Town—or bypassing Night's Watch fortresses entirely to strike the North. Thankfully, that nightmare scenario did not come to pass. When the ravens destined for Shadow Tower circled once and returned to their nests, the command center determined that the enemy had begun their assault on Shadow Tower.
That, at least, was good news. It proved that Greenseer Bran's words were true: the White Walkers could not simply bypass the Wall to attack the South, rendering the entire Gift's defense plan meaningless.
Still, although the attack came late, the battle ended quickly. In just over an hour, Shadow Tower, the most fortified post on the Wall's western end—and the one Aegor had hoped would hold through the night—was engulfed in flames. Colin the Disfigured, tasked with destroying the stairs, had retreated to Sentinel Tower and reported the full battle and the reasons for Shadow Tower's rapid fall via raven.
This was the first comprehensive military report on a direct engagement between human defenders and the army of the dead led by White Walkers. Its significance was immense. As Aegor and his war council studied the enemy's new tactics and capabilities with grave expressions, news of Eastwatch-by-the-Sea's unexpected and overwhelming victory arrived.
"Now that's interesting. Shadow Tower's defenses should be just as strong, if not stronger, than Eastwatch's. How could the results be so different?"
"Good. One post was lost, one held out. By comparing both reports, we can identify patterns. Learn from the outcomes, prepare for what's next."
That struck a chord with Aegor. At his command, the entire room shifted focus. The Night's Watch's best minds gathered and began analyzing the two battle reports for every detail they could extract.
...
First came the numbers. At Eastwatch, they could now provide a relatively accurate estimate: ten to twenty thousand wights, led by two White Walkers. The force that crossed the Great Canyon, however, could only be guessed. Colin's judgment: "More than fifty thousand." Even after the Night's Watch absorbed over thirty thousand Wildlings, the enemy still had such numbers. The thought alone was terrifying.
Next came tactical differences. The wights now showed signs of intelligent command. No longer did they simply swarm blindly. They surrounded, feigned, focused attacks on weak gates, infiltrated fortresses, and targeted key positions. The White Walkers, too, revealed two previously unknown abilities: extinguishing wildfire and resisting Dragonglass.
These developments rendered parts of the current defense plan obsolete, though not unexpectedly so. They merely confirmed what many had long suspected—that the White Walkers were intelligent. They had learned from past skirmishes and adapted.
Finally, the reason behind Eastwatch's success. It was well past midnight, technically the next day, when someone finally remembered: a fleet loyal to the Queen had arrived earlier that day, bringing a group tasked with retrieving books. No one had expected that a few dozen newcomers would shift the tide of war in the Night's Watch's favor on the very first day.
After reconstructing the White Walker hunt at Eastwatch as faithfully as possible from the reports, Aegor realized he had made a small, fatal oversight.
Having fought White Walkers up close, he had subconsciously assumed everyone could recognize them and locate them in a crowd. But the truth was, most had only seen them from afar—if at all. When these magical beings blended into a sea of wights, and made no move to reveal themselves, it was entirely possible for someone armed with divine weapons to miss them entirely.
Ordinary men without magic needed guidance from extraordinary individuals like Moqorro, Melisandre, or Greenseer Bran to locate the true enemy and land critical, decisive blows. And in all of the Gift, only those three possessed that ability. Not even a fourth.
"Send ravens to every outpost along the Wall. Relay everything we've learned. Instruct all Commanders to seal their gates and draw up new contingency plans in case wildfire fails again." Aegor began issuing new orders based on this hard-won intelligence. "Also, extend formal thanks to Master Moqorro for his contributions, and request that he travel immediately to Nightfort to oversee the defense of the most critical fortress along the Wall."
Of the three extraordinary beings currently in the Gift, Crown Town had two, while Nightfort—source of the Wall's magic—had none. Crown Town was home to nearly half of The Gift's civilians. It couldn't be left unguarded, but it was still necessary to send Moqorro to plug the magical gap at Nightfort.
"Yes, my lord!"
"Yam, gather a team. Dismantle non-essential structures in the Industrial Area and use the materials to reinforce and block several gates. I want those entrances stronger than the walls themselves."
The enemy may use siege weapons to target weak spots. So, the solution was to eliminate the weak spots.
"Understood!"
"Humfrey, find Master Mort and Lady Melisandre. Reopen a foundry in the Industrial Area. Melt down some of the Dragonsteel Arrowheads and recast them into shrapnel charges, two explosive shells. They'll be used to assassinate the Night King."
Aegor had originally seen the Dragonglass Bombs as their trump card. But the enemy had adapted. Now, even Dragonglass Bombs had lost effectiveness. Dragonsteel Arrows still worked, having killed two White Walkers, but what if the Night King found a way to resist them too? The best bet was to quickly forge a new weapon: a Dragonsteel Bomb disguised to resemble its ineffective predecessor. Perhaps it would succeed precisely because the enemy underestimated it.
"Right away."
"For the rest of you, continue processing battle reports if assigned. If not, draft a new section of the defense plan. Title it: 'When Crown Town suffers wildfire failure and Wall breaches, how to rapidly mobilize reserves to retake the Wall and seal the breach.' I'll help revise it when I return." Aegor stood and walked toward the door. "As for me, I'm off to speak with Bran Stark. Let's see what other useful insights the Greenseer has to offer."
The Greenseer's abilities are far more than just passive visions. With the enemy at the gates, it's time to extract everything he has to give.
(To be continued.)
◇◇◇
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)