Chapter 148: The Captives of Whitetree

Beyond the Wall, a land of ice and snow.

Riding on his warhorse, with the direwolf banner fluttering overhead, flanked by the broken chain giant banner of House Umber and the white sunburst banner of House Karstark, as well as the crossed battle-axes and rusted crown banner of Lady Barbrey of Barrowton, Eddard rode at the front of the column, with the Old Bear, Benjen, and Greatjon Umber riding by his side.

The direwolves Summer and Sun-walker guarded Eddard's left and right.

The skinchanger's eagle continued to circle in the sky; Lareza, Jon, Robb, and Helen all attempted to shoot it down with bows and arrows, but the eagle remained far out of range, and after that, the people had no choice but to curse, and no one tried to shoot the eagle again.

Eddard realized that the land north of the Wall was, like the North, fertile black soil, but the climate here was colder than in the North; even in summer, the ground was always covered with a layer of snow, a climate that made this land unsuitable for growing crops.

However, there were forests everywhere beyond the Wall, with the Haunted Forest stretching all the way to the sea, covering an area about as large as the Wolfswood. The forest could provide large amounts of furs, meat, wild fruits, timber, and amber, and there were fish to be caught in the rivers and streams beyond the Wall.

The wildlings beyond the Wall relied more on the gifts of nature for their food, with the forests and rivers providing them with game, fish, and wild fruits; perhaps for this reason, the wildlings believed in the Old Gods, worshipping those nameless deities that belonged to the stones, forests, streams, and rivers.

The Old Gods were the shared faith of the people of the North and the wildlings, and Eddard hoped to make good use of this to bring the kingdom of the wildlings into the territory of the North and make the wildlings the subjects of Winterfell.

Once Eddard succeeded in crushing the wildling army, the North would gain vast lands beyond the Wall and the wildling population.

The North was vast and sparsely populated, with much of the land around Winterfell still lying fallow; even if Eddard annexed the lands beyond the Wall, he would have neither the time nor the energy to develop them. It was the wildling population that attracted Eddard.

Among them were the Hardfoot, the people of the Frozen Shore, giants, cave dwellers, the Night Runners, and even skinchangers; if he could make these wildling tribes submit, Eddard would gain a fresh force of wildlings and a large amount of labor.

War is a double-edged sword; win, and you soar to the heavens, pursued by thousands; lose, and you fall into the abyss, reviled by all.

When the Rock King of Skagos and the Iron Bitch Helene Pyke incited the rock-born tribes to rebel, Eddard did not hesitate, leading the Northern Army in a heavy strike that crushed the Rock King and captured the Iron Bitch, causing Eddard's personal prestige in the North to rise rapidly; Eddard struck while the iron was hot, introducing the Salt Ban, launching major construction projects, and promoting military colonies, policies that all received the support of the Northern lords and vassals.

Eddard had no doubt that if he had been routed from Skagos with the Northern Army and left the rock-born rebellion to fester, the various policies of Winterfell would never have received the cooperation of the Northern lords.

Only by demonstrating strength could one convince the vassals and the people.

Now that he had arrived beyond the Wall, in the territory of Mance Rayder, the King-Beyond-the-Wall, Eddard was in desperate need of a victory.

Although Eddard craved victory, war always carried risks, and Eddard had to consider the risk of defeat.

Once the North was defeated, Mance Rayder would tear open the defenses of the Wall, and the wildling army would destroy the fortresses on the Wall; by then, not only would the Night's Watch on the Wall suffer a catastrophe, but the food reserves in the ice storehouses of the Wall that Eddard had worked so hard to build would also fall into the hands of Mance Rayder and the wildling army.

The wildlings in the east would break through the blockade of Eastwatch, cross the Seal Bay in boats, and swarm onto Skagos, at which point the Rock King Samro, who had long been colluding with Mance Rayder, would seize the opportunity to retake Abyss Keep, kill those rock-born tribal leaders loyal to Winterfell, unite with the wildlings to occupy Skagos, and rely on Skagos to launch endless attacks on the North.

A defeat would bring disaster to the North and the Night's Watch, so Eddard had to be careful and cautious in order to win the final victory of the war.

The first battle took place at Whitetree.

Whitetree was one of the wildling villages closest to the Wall; when Fellan and Jeremy Ryker led hundreds of scout cavalry into the village, they shot and killed the two wildling men standing guard at the village entrance, and the two hundred or so old, weak, women, and children in the village had no choice but to surrender.

These wildlings were escorted before Eddard, and Eddard discovered that these people were all old men, women, and children, wearing fur coats that reeked of raw meat and dirty woolen clothes, and they were driven to the village entrance.

The heart tree at the village entrance was a weirwood, with a human face carved into it using animal blood, its scarlet eyes watching the crowd. The Rangers and the soldiers of Winterfell drove the wildling captives before Eddard. A spearwife was kicked to the ground by a Ranger, some wildling children were crying, the old men watched all this blankly, and a few infants who had just learned to walk were wailing.

"Do not be so rough!" Eddard shouted, "These people have already surrendered."

A fat spearwife glared at Eddard, "You damn crow, stop your hypocrisy here; we will not surrender. Mance Rayder, Varamyr Sixskins, and Tormund Giantsbane will kill you all."

The Old Bear Mormont said, "Wildling woman, Lord Eddard is not a member of the Night's Watch; he is the Duke of the North, Eddard Stark of House Stark!"

The fat spearwife squinted at Eddard's direwolf emblem, "You are the legendary Lord Direwolf? You shouldn't have brought troops to Whitetree to plunder."

Eddard said coldly, "I am not plundering; on the contrary, it is the wildling raiders who keep crossing the Wall, abducting women and children, and burning and killing. Mance Rayder has even declared himself king, gathered a wildling army, and attacked the Wall; the North and the Night's Watch have only been forced to send troops to suppress them."

A wildling girl of about ten years old stepped forward, "Wolf King, Mance Rayder did gather the Free Folk, and the able-bodied men in the village have all followed him to the Frostfangs, but we are innocent; we did not participate in Mance Rayder's rebellion."

A skinny boy of about twelve clenched his fists, "Harma the Doghead will put all your heads on lances; your heads will hang with the dog heads, just wait and see if you don't believe it!"

Greatjon Umber kicked the insolent boy to the ground, and a white-bearded wildling old man tried to rush up but was knocked to the ground by the soldiers of Winterfell.

After a long while, the wildlings finally quieted down.

Eddard stood before the heart tree, "I believe that you Free Folk have nothing to do with Mance Rayder's rebellion. However, the war has already broken out, and the young men in your village have all followed Mance Rayder to war; you old, weak, women, and children have no way to protect yourselves, so I will send people to escort you to settle in the North, south of the Wall."

The wildlings exchanged suspicious glances, and even the Old Bear Mormont, Benjen, and the others were greatly surprised.

The Old Bear Mormont leaned into Eddard's ear and whispered, "Duke Eddard, the able-bodied men of Whitetree have all gone to war, and these people are either the husbands of these spearwives or the fathers or brothers of these wildling children. If you relocate these wildlings to the North, won't it cause a rebellion?"

Benjen echoed, "Indeed, Eddard, do not underestimate these spearwives; spearwives kill without blinking, and these wildling children will be a threat to the North when they grow up. Don't forget Mance Rayder."

"Mance Rayder was a wildling orphan; the Rangers of the Shadow Tower patrolling beyond the Wall found Mance Rayder and brought him back to the Shadow Tower. Under the care of his brothers in the Night's Watch, Mance Rayder grew up to become a proud Ranger, but after he came of age, he not only broke his vows but has now become the King-Beyond-the-Wall, an enemy of the kingdom."

Thoren Smallwood, wearing ring armor over his black woolen clothes, which bore the acorn emblem of House Smallwood, had always been a hawk within the Night's Watch, and he said gruffly, "Lord Eddard, Benjen and Commander Mormont are right; if you bring these wildling children and women to the North, they will surely be a disaster in the future. You should execute them and leave their corpses here to feed the crows as a warning to Mance Rayder."

Eddard said calmly, "We are here to suppress a rebellion, not to slaughter the innocent. In war, attacking the heart is paramount; the wildlings dream of the warm lands south of the Wall, and if we relocate these wildlings to the North, Mance Rayder's subordinates will lose heart when they hear the news."

Sir Ottyn Yarwyck approached; he was a thin, small old man, and his leather armor bore the grey squirrel emblem of House Yarwyck; his family came from the Reach, and he always loved to brag about a nephew who served as a guard for Lady Margaery Tyrell of Highgarden.

Because the Old Bear Mormont was advanced in age, the Black Brothers often discussed the candidate for the next Lord Commander of the Night's Watch behind his back, and this Ottyn Yarwyck was a popular candidate, with popularity no less than that of Benjen, Qhorin Halfhand, Shadow Tower Commander Denys Mallister, or Eastwatch Commander Cotter Pyke.

Sir Ottyn Yarwyck's temper was just like his family's squirrel emblem: cautious, good-tempered, polite to everyone, and soft-spoken; as soon as he heard that Eddard wanted to bring the wildling captives south of the Wall, he immediately objected in a low voice.

"Duke Eddard, the Night's Watch is the shield that guards the kingdom, yet now you want to bring wildling captives south of the Wall. Have you thought about the risks involved? The fortresses of the Night's Watch have the Wall at their backs, but the southern side has no defensive fortifications at all; if the wildlings rebel and capture the fortresses of the Night's Watch, wouldn't Mance Rayder be able to easily break through the Wall?"

Eddard nodded, "Sir Ottyn, I have fully anticipated the risks you mentioned; rest assured, I will properly settle the wildlings and will never give them the opportunity to attack villages, let alone let them attack the Wall. You wouldn't want me to execute all these innocent wildlings, would you?"

The Old Bear shook his head and sighed, "Lord Eddard, I do not approve of slaughtering the innocent, nor do I approve of letting wildlings pass through the Wall. If you must settle the wildlings, it cannot be in the Gift, otherwise I will have no way to answer to the Black Brothers, nor to King Robert on the Iron Throne."

Mentioning the Iron Throne, Sir Ottyn Yarwyck seemed to see an acorn as a squirrel would, and he quickly seized upon this point.

"Duke Eddard, the wildlings are enemies of the Seven Kingdoms; to allow wildling captives to enter the Seven Kingdoms, you should send a raven to King's Landing to ask for the opinions of King Robert and the Hand of the King, Jon Arryn. Otherwise, the royal court at King's Landing might blame the Night's Watch, and the Black Brothers should not have to take the fall for this."

Eddard smiled, "Sir Ottyn, the Hand of the King, Jon Arryn, is my foster father; I was once his ward at the Eyrie, and his wife, Lysa, is the sister of my wife, Catelyn; Jon Arryn and I are brothers-in-law. As for King Robert, he is my brother, and our friendship is known throughout the Seven Kingdoms; I believe they will support my decision."

"King's Landing is simply too far from beyond the Wall, separated by more than half of Westeros; if I send a raven to King's Landing to ask for the King's instructions, who knows when the raven from King's Landing will return. Therefore, there is no need to ask the King or the Hand of the King."

In fact, Eddard believed that the royal court at King's Landing would not care about the war between the wildlings and the North at all, just as King's Landing had not cared about the rock-born rebellion before.

Eddard turned to the Old Bear Mormont, "I will settle the wildlings in the territory of Winterfell. After the wildling captives cross the Wall, they will be transported directly to the territory of Winterfell to be settled."

Having finally convinced the commander of the Night's Watch, Eddard pointed his finger at the heart tree and turned to the hundreds of wildlings.

"War is breaking out beyond the Wall, and Mance Rayder cannot save you, but I can. Before the heart tree, I promise you that as long as you obey the laws of the kingdom after crossing the Wall, you can become the subjects of Winterfell, using your labor to earn a warm hearth, fertile farmland, and a wooden house, and survive the long winter together with Winterfell."

Eddard fully expected these wildlings to be satisfied with these terms, but to his surprise, the wildlings either looked at him with disdain, kept cursing, or remained coldly silent.

No one stepped forward to respond to Eddard, and the situation was somewhat awkward.

"Do you not want to go to the warm south? Do you want your descendants to spend their whole lives in this land of ice and snow, tortured by cold, poverty, and disease, with one generation repeating the tragedy of the previous one?"

A bald wildling old man said, "Wolf King, you speak well, but I have heard these words before on the shores of Seal Bay. Some slave traders from Tyrosh, Lys, and Myr also used to lure the Free Folk like this, saying that if we went to the warm south, the seasons would always be green and we would be able to eat our fill at every meal."

"And what was the result? We heard that these slave traders sold the male Free Folk into slavery, either to row ships in Volantis or to dig mines for slave owners, and the women were sold to the brothels of Lys and Tyrosh. They survived, but they lost their freedom; what meaning is there in that?"

A short, wiry spearwife shouted, "Exactly, the Wolf King wants us to kneel in exchange for bread and a hearth; that is a dream!"

A young Wildling girl who looked like Arya raised her fist high, "The Free Folk never kneel!"

"Despise the kneelers of the South!"

"Death to the kneelers!"

Thoren Smallwood let out a harsh laugh, "Duke Eddard, look at what your mercy has bought you? This is just a group of uncivilized savages who know nothing but pillaging and killing. For enemies like these, death is the greatest gift."

Eddard pinched his lips and whistled, and the Direwolves Night-walker and Sunshine immediately darted out.

The Wildlings fell silent instantly, their faces filled with fear.

Eddard gave a light hum, "Free Folk, I have never asked you to kneel, only to obey the law. I am giving you a chance to settle in the North; if you miss it, you will never be able to beg for it in your entire life."

The Wildling woman Osha stepped out of the ranks, raising her voice.

"I am Osha; some villagers might know me, as I often passed through Whitetree. I am a spearwife, and even more so a raider. I have had contact with Mance Rayder, I have drunk with Tormund Giantsbane, I am well-acquainted with Harma, and besides that, I have slept with the Crows of the Night's Watch and have even had contact with the Others."

At the mention of the Others, the faces of the Wildlings were filled with fear.

"The army of the Others is marching south from the Land of Always Winter. That old man Mance Rayder has no way to resist the Others, and Duke Eddard cannot do it Beyond the Wall either, unless we hold The Wall."

"I am a captive of Duke Eddard. He could have killed me, but he forgave me. I have never knelt; I work in the kitchens of Winterfell, I eat and dress well every day, and I even have several little lovers. Life is very pleasant."

"I am looking for my family. I hope my brother and my nephews can all go to the warm North to settle down so they can survive and their descendants can live better lives. Free Folk, shivering to death when the Others and the Long Night arrive, only to turn into blue-eyed Wights—that kind of freedom is not worth having!"

The Wildlings exchanged suspicious glances.

A plump woman held a baby, with two children under five years old following behind her.

"My name is Mensa. My husband was killed by Free Folk from another village. I must survive with my children. I am willing to go to the North to serve House Stark as a servant, as long as the Wolf King is willing to feed my children."

This was the first Wildling to surrender to Eddard, and Eddard placed his hand on Mensa's shoulder.

"Mensa, I swear to the gods that your children will have their own farmland and houses in the territory of Winterfell. As long as they are loyal to Winterfell, Winterfell will protect them."

Mensa took the lead, followed by several spearwives with their children, then white-haired elders and gaunt youths. They swore before the Heart Tree that they were willing to pledge loyalty to Winterfell in exchange for the right to survive in the North.

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(End of this chapter)