All eyes were on Jon Snow.
Jon's chest rose and fell slightly; he felt the complex gazes intertwined upon him.
There was anticipation, scrutiny, pleading, and confusion.
He first glanced at Lord Commander Jeor Mormont.
The old man's wrinkled face showed an unspeakable weariness.
Then he swept his gaze over the staunch traditionalists, arms crossed and faces full of hostility, their eyes as cold as the northern wind.
Finally, his gaze fell upon Lynn.
Lynn wasn't looking at him, just standing calmly as if everything had nothing to do with him.
But Jon knew Lynn was waiting.
Waiting for him to make a decision befitting a Stark.
Jon Snow raised his hand.
His movement was slow but incredibly firm.
"I agree."
His voice instantly stirred up a thousand waves.
"Jon! Are you mad?"
A traditionalist steward cried out.
Jon ignored him, meeting everyone's gaze as he spoke, word by word.
"I am also a Ranger."
"I have seen with my own eyes the burnt villages in the Haunted Forest, I have seen with my own eyes the bodies frozen like blocks of ice."
"I have also fought with the Free Folk; they are brave, but only to survive."
Jon's voice echoed in the silent hall.
"My father, Ned Stark, once taught me that the Night's Watch's duty is to guard the peace of all Westeros, to be a sturdy shield against the darkness."
"Now, darkness has fallen."
"Our true enemies are not the Free Folk, who are flesh and blood like us, who cry and laugh."
"But the monsters lurking in the Land of Always Winter, waiting to devour all living things."
His gaze swept over everyone present.
In his grey eyes, a flame burned, identical to Lynn's.
"It is hard to let go of hatred."
"But if we cling to hatred, all of us will die."
"I choose to fight for the living."
"I choose to trust Lynn."
After he finished speaking, the room fell silent.
Ygritte stared blankly at this "crow," as young as Lynn.
He said, fight for the living.
This sentence, like a ray of light, shone into her heart, which had long been enveloped by hatred and cold.
She suddenly felt that there were still good people south of The Wall.
Hearing Jon's choice, Jeor Mormont let out a long sigh of relief, as if a great weight had been lifted.
"Twenty-six votes in favor, twenty-five against."
"The resolution passes."
"From now on, peace talks with the King-Beyond-the-Wall are the highest directive of the Night's Watch."
"Any who defy shall be treated as traitors!"
The faces of the opposing Night's Watchmen turned incredibly grim, but they could not utter another word.
The resolution was set… the meeting ended, and the people dispersed.
In the Lord Commander's Tower, only Lynn, Jon, Benjen, and Mormont remained.
And Ygritte, who had been an outsider from beginning to end.
"Since it's decided, how do we get there?"
Benjen broke the silence first.
"Riding… that big fellow to fly over?"
His gaze instinctively turned to the window.
Winter was napping in the courtyard, three massive heads resting on her forelegs, and one head, without a paw, could only rest on a hay bale.
The hot air she exhaled melted the surrounding snow.
"No."
Lynn rejected the suggestion without hesitation.
"Why?" Jon asked, puzzled.
"Riding Winter there would make Mance Rayder truly take us seriously, and the success rate of the peace talks would be higher."
"That dragon is our trump card, but it's not the card to play now."
Lynn's eyes deepened.
"You've forgotten, beyond The Wall there isn't just one King-Beyond-the-Wall, but another King."
The Night King.
As this name was uttered, the temperature in the room seemed to drop by several degrees.
"I have a premonition."
Lynn said slowly.
"That fellow has been watching us."
"It's waiting, waiting for an opportunity."
"A living dragon is an irresistible temptation for it."
"Once Winter flies over The Wall, it's like delivering the fattest piece of meat right to its mouth."
"I cannot take that risk."
Lynn's words silenced everyone.
They had all witnessed the terror of the Others.
But they could not even imagine what a doomsday-like scene it would be if a dragon were turned into an undead creature.
"Then we…"
"We walk."
Lynn's tone carried an unyielding strength.
"Jon and I, plus a few of the most elite Rangers."
His gaze fell on Ygritte.
"She will lead the way."
"Huh?" Ygritte was stunned.
"You have such a monster as a mount, yet you want to walk on foot like us?"
"Are you southerners all crazy?"
She couldn't understand.
In her eyes, Lynn, possessing a dragon, was like a god.
Why would a god descend from its pedestal to walk with mortals?
"You don't understand anything; just follow the arrangements."
Lynn didn't explain further.
He looked at Lord Commander Mormont.
"Lord Mormont, I need you to prepare some things for me."
"The best leather armor, and plenty of dragonglass weapons."
...Night fell.
In Castle Black's smithy, the forge fire burned red-hot.
The blacksmiths, bare-chested, placed a glowing steel ingot on the anvil.
They swung their heavy hammers, striking it again and again.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Sparks flew.
Jon and Lynn stood by, watching silently.
He watched the blacksmiths' fluid yet powerful movements, watching the ordinary iron gradually take shape under their hammers, becoming sharp short swords.
"You seem to have changed a lot," Jon said softly.
"You too," Lynn replied without looking up.
"No longer the bastard who just sulked in a corner."
Jon gave a wry smile.
"I just… want to do something right."
He paused, a hint of worry in his voice.
"Lynn, are you really confident?"
"Mance Rayder is, after all, a traitor to the Night's Watch; he's not an easy man to talk to."
"No confidence," Lynn said truthfully.
The blacksmith finally stopped his work.
He threw the now-shaped short sword into the water, producing a "sizzle" sound.
"But someone has to do it."
Lynn turned around, looking at Jon's worried face.
"Remember, Jon."
"We are not going to beg for peace this time, but to give peace."
"We are the strong, the givers."
"Straighten your back, and show the demeanor befitting House Stark."
"We are not going to negotiate with the Free Folk, but to pacify them."
"If they don't agree, then it's war!"
"My dragon will destroy all challengers!"
Lynn's words instantly changed Jon's expression.
Yes, they had a dragon.
They had power enough to crush everything.
They were going to offer the Free Folk a way to live.
The shift in mindset dispelled much of Jon's unease… The next morning.
A small team gathered at the tunnel entrance leading beyond The Wall.
Lynn, Jon, and three of the most elite Rangers personally selected by Benjen.
And Ygritte, clad in black leather armor, sandwiched in the middle of the group.
Behind her back was the elm longbow she never parted with, and her quiver at her waist was full of arrows.
Although still guarded as a captive, her movements were much freer.
Unlike when she arrived, her hands were not bound with rope.
"Take these."
Lynn distributed several weapons, forged overnight and inlaid with dragonglass at the tips, to everyone.
"These things can kill those monsters; you must protect them well and not lose them," Lynn said succinctly.
Everyone carefully put away their weapons.
"Lynn!"
A clear female voice came from behind.
Princess Myrcella came running over.
Behind her followed Lord Commander Mormont, his expression complex.
"Where are you going?"
Princess Myrcella looked up, her emerald eyes full of worry.
Winter also sensed the farewell, rising from the courtyard.
Her massive body obscured the morning sun, and her three dragon heads gathered close, letting out uneasy growls.
"Going out to do something, I'll be back soon."
Lynn ruffled Princess Myrcella's hair.
He then patted Winter's largest dragon head, soothing her in Valyrian.
"Take good care of Princess Myrcella."
"And, listen to Lord Mormont, no more tearing down houses."
Winter let out a wronged whimper, rubbing her head against Lynn's chest as if promising.
"Let's go."
Lynn said no more, turning and leading the way into the deep, dark tunnel.
This tunnel ran through The Wall, and with every step, an echo could be heard.
Ygritte walked in the middle of the group.
She looked back.
In the sunlight, the ice-blue dragon was watching them depart with an almost sorrowful gaze.
This man… what kind of person was he, exactly?
When the heavy iron gate slowly closed behind them, emitting a final roar, the entire world was left with only endless white and silence.
The biting cold wind whipped snow into their faces, and ahead lay a vast, endless expanse of white: the Haunted Forest.
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