Eastwatch stands as the easternmost castle on the Wall, perched on a windswept beach at the edge of the Bay of Seals. It's home to the Night's Watch fleet, a collection of large and small ships anchored along the coast. Theon counted them repeatedly: eleven. Just eleven ships for the entire Night's Watch—far fewer than the Iron Islands possessed.
He mused that capturing Eastwatch would be simple for the Ironborn. But there was nothing here but ice, snow, and relentless wind. Theon glanced at the vast, white expanse of sky and land beyond the Wall. Only a fool, an Ironborn with saltwater for brains, would ever covet this desolate place.
He pulled himself tighter, sitting by the steel brazier. His longbow and spear lay beside him. Even with the flames, the biting wind, laced with snowflakes, made it impossible for Theon to feel truly warm. Damn it, he thought, why was I so obsessed with taking Winterfell in the first place? Theon's original aim had been to forge an alliance between the North and the Iron Islands. When he'd set out from the Riverlands, he'd happily imagined a future where he, like Robb, would reign as a king over his own lands.
On the ship, he'd spent hours contemplating how to win over his father, whom he hadn't seen in years, and how Robb would surely admire him when he arrived with the Iron Fleet as a liberator. But his return to Pyke was met with scorn. His father and the other Ironborn didn't embrace him; they even mocked him for acting like a woman.
In Winterfell, he'd been called an adopted son, but in truth, he was a hostage. Those arrogant Starks had never truly treated him well. Theon had expected a warm welcome home after ten years away, but all he found was cynicism. And now, clad in black, he had sworn an oath: no wife, no children, no crown, no glory. Yet, they still mocked him, a failed usurper like his father Balon.
He found himself among common horse thieves and rapists, standing guard on the Wall like any other brother, battered by the cold wind. Thankfully, the Night's Watch stationed at Eastwatch included some men from the Iron Islands.
Carter Pike, Commander of Eastwatch
Carter Pike had small eyes, a broken nose, and a forehead as sharp as a spear point. His face was scarred from measles, and the sparse, unkempt beard he'd grown to hide it did little good. As the garrison captain of Eastwatch, he commanded two hundred Night's Watchmen. Theon's skill in combat had earned him a good deal of respect from Carter.
Carter Pike had told him that the Night's Watch no longer cared about his past identity. Whatever he had been, whatever he had done, the moment he donned the black, he had said goodbye to it all. But Carter also warned Theon that the Night's Watch would never tolerate traitors or deserters.
He had received a raven from Castle Black, a call for support. Carter had dispatched Janos Slynt and his men, leaving Theon behind. Good, he thought, I wouldn't want to go with that double-chinned bastard anyway. Janos might consider himself a noble, but Theon knew he was merely a butcher's son.
Janos Slynt, once the commander of the King's Landing City Watch, claimed to be the Lord of Harrenhal. Yet Theon knew Harrenhal had been burned to ruins by Aegon the Conqueror long ago, and was now said to be cursed and haunted. Janos and his company also took a wildling named Rattleshirt with them. The wildling wore bone armor and a broken giant's skull for a helmet. He claimed to have witnessed Cole kill Qhorin and betray the Night's Watch.
Theon thought of the Stark bastard. The letter from Castle Black stated that it was Cole who had brought news of the wildlings' impending attack. Would Cole truly betray his oath? Theon knew the boy. He was like his father.
Echoes of the Past
The supporting party marched west along the Wall. Theon knew they wouldn't go easy on Cole. The Night's Watch tolerated no betrayal. He remembered Lord Eddard executing a deserter with his greatsword, Ice. Theon wondered if Lord Eddard would personally execute his own son for oath-breaking.
As Eddard's adopted son, Theon had once served as the Duke's swordsman and had even held Ice. The sword was lighter than he'd imagined. Theon had quietly drawn it once; the Valyrian steel blade was thin, light, and beautifully crafted, its sharpness unmatched by any other material. He was captivated by it and longed to own such a sword, but he was no Stark, and the Greyjoys had no such heirloom.
He'd encountered another Valyrian sword, not a greatsword, but one better suited for fighting, in the hands of a young man from the Night's Watch. Yet this man wasn't truly of the Watch, seeming more like a knight. Robb had taken him on as a castle cook. Theon had secretly bribed the chief chef to make things difficult for the boy and several other cooks as well.
Theon's mind drifted to the battle outside Winterfell. He'd heard that the boy had prospered in the south, even becoming Stannis's son-in-law. Just yesterday in the hall, Quincy had sung "White Bird Among the Crows," a song the bards had woven for Cole.
Theon hadn't told them that Cole, who the singer claimed was invincible in the Whispering Wood, had almost been killed by one of his arrows. In truth, Theon hadn't recognized him then; he'd only wanted to save Robb with his bow. He had, in fact, saved both Robb and Bran. He had saved the Starks.
The Approaching Cold
A gust of cold wind swept through, making the flames in the steel brazier flicker, sending sparks and ash into the air. Theon shivered. Even if the wildlings didn't kill him, this weather surely would. Though he had grown up in the North, he had never felt such cold. The maester had said this was the coming of winter. His memories of the last winter were hazy.
The brothers of the Night's Watch spoke of the arrival of the Long Night. Memories of the last Long Night on the Wall were a thousand years old, recorded in scarce books with only a few sentences. Theon didn't believe in the Long Night or the White Walkers. They were just scary stories told by wet nurses in Winterfell, tricks used by savages to frighten people, nothing more than clever acrobatics.
He had to stand and walk around, or he'd surely freeze to death on the Wall.
Woo!
A single, loud horn blast.
Is a brother of the Night's Watch returning? Theon looked toward the tower.
Woo-hoo!!
Two blasts? The savages were coming.
Theon quickly grabbed his longbow and spear and ran towards the sound of the horn. He saw the black brothers pouring out of Eastwatch's tower. Theon sprinted east, towards where the horn had sounded.
"What's wrong? What happened?" he asked a brother. "Where are the savages?"
The man shook his head and pointed. A dark sea stretched before them, long, narrow shadows cutting through the fog. Then, a ship's keel broke through the white mist and came into Theon's view. The first thing he saw was a black flag with a golden border, its emblem a white bird spitting flames.