Conflict beyond the Wall

Template:Conjecture

Conflict beyond the Wall

" When dead men and worse come hunting for us in the night, you think it matters who sits on the Iron Throne?"

―Jeor Mormont to Jon Snow

The Conflict Beyond the Wall is an ongoing conflict taking place beyond the Wall; the mightiest and oldest defensive structure constructed by men. Its main purpose was to shield the realms of men against the return of the White Walkers, a supernatural race of evil beings who emerged during the Long Night. Since then, the Night's Watch has stood guard for about 8,000 years, defending Westeros from threats from Beyond the Wall. During that time, its initial task has generally been forgotten and instead they have been guarding against the human Free Folk who hold the lands beyond. Occasionally forming raiding parties, the wildlings consistently try to cross the Wall into the richer and warmer lands to the south or to escape the growing and moving terror of the Far North.

The main events of this three-sided conflict that take place in the far North of the Seven Kingdoms and thus unknown or considered unimportant to the majority of its population, especially with the War of the Five Kings ravaging through the country. It is not surprising that this war has not been given an official name in the books. However, this conflict seems to be the corner stone that would determine the fate of the whole continent.

History

Background

Before the time of Aegon I Targaryen conquered Westeros, the Night's Watch boasted nineteen castles along the hundred leagues of the Wall, accounting over ten thousand men at arms with Castle Black quartering five thousand fighting men with all their horses, servants, and equipment. But its manpower has dwindled during the last 300 years to the point that the Watch has only managed to sustain three castles; Castle Black, located in the middle of the Wall with about six hundred men, the Shadow Tower at the far west of the Wall overlooking the mountains, with about two hundred men, and the coastal Eastwatch, on the shores of the Shivering Sea, with even fewer men. A bare third of them are fighting men.

997th Lord Commander of the Night's Watch Jeor Mormont is deeply concerned by the declining power of the Watch, and the rising threat of the wildlings beyond the Wall, whose raids have increased on the people south of the Wall in recent years. He tries to make it more difficult for the wildlings to know their comings and goings by using a more random system, varying the number of patrols and the days of their departure. Sometimes sending a larger force to one of the abandoned castles for a fortnight or a moon's turn as well.

The Great Ranging

After reports of wildlings amassing, rumors of White Walkers being sighted, the disappearance of several rangers, including First Ranger Benjen Stark, and the appearance of wights, the Night's Watch rode a force of nearly 300 men north of the Wall in a Great Ranging led by Lord Commander Jeor Mormont himself. The purpose of the ranging was to investigate various rumors: those concerning the wildings, who, while normally unorganized, were flocking to the call of the mysterious King-Beyond-the-Wall Mance Rayder; and those concerning the recurrence of mythical White Walkers.

While trekking north the ranging party reached Craster's Keep, who confirmed the existence of a vast wildling army amassing in the Frostfang Mountains, prepared to strike the Wall. Mormont then resolved to march north to attack the wildling host before it could reach the Wall.

His army then erected a base of operations at the Fist of the First Men, an ancient hill-fort. While on the Fist, the party of Mormont was reinforced by a group of rangers led by Qhorin Halfhand, a legendary ranger, who proposed to mount a scouting operation into wildling territory to gather information about the enemy. Jon Snow, until then personal steward to the Lord Commander, volunteered to go with them.

However, this mission ended badly when Jon walked into a wildling trap and was captured. Later on, Qhorin was also taken prisoner. Realizing a last minute opportunity, Qhorin ordered Jon to kill him to prove his loyalty to the wildling cause, and so to infiltrate their ranks to gather info for the Watch. Because of his killing of Qhorin and his relation with the wildling girl Ygritte, Jon was accepted into wildling ranks. Meanwhile on the Fist of the First Men, his brothers of the Watch discovered a hidden cache of mysterious Dragonglass.

Battle at the Fist of the First Men

Expecting the return of the scouting mission of Qhorin Halfhand, the base of the Night's Watch was beset by an army of wights, led by the legendary White Walkers. This was the first confrontation between men and White Walkers in thousands of years.

The Watch suffered massive casualties and had to abandon its position. Most of its fighting strength was depleted, and the dead men were later reanimated as more wights for the undead army. Lord Commander Mormont managed to retreat south, but many of his survivors were injured, starving and thoroughly shaken.

Mutiny at Craster's Keep

The ragged remains of the Night's Watch army eventually arrived back at Craster's Keep, where the tensions between host and his guests became increasingly hostile. When Craster refused them food and offered to finish the injured, he was goaded into a rage by the ranger Karl and then stabbed through the throat. Mormont was unable to control the ensuing chaos and was stabbed in the back by the disgruntled Rast. With the Lord Commander dead, the surviving brothers of the Watch started fighting amongst themselves. In the aftermath only a handful of loyal brothers made their way back to Castle Black, while the Mutineers settled in at Craster's Keep, turning it even more into a house of horrors.

​​Raid on Craster's Keep​

The mutineers of the Night's Watch were eventually dealt with and eliminated in an expedition led by Jon Snow, to prevent any information about the weakness of the defenses of the Night's Watch leaking to Mance Rayder's approaching army. With this, the death of Lord Commander Mormont was avenged and Craster's Keep was burned to the ground in the aftermath.

Sack of Mole's Town​

Weeks after having climbed the Wall, Tormund's warband, including Ygritte, was joined by Styr and his Thenn raiders, and started to raid towns in the Gift, eventually reaching Mole's Town, a small village close to Castle Black. The wildlings killed everyone in sight.

​Battle of Castle Black

Mance Rayder led a siege against the grievously-undermanned Castle Black, signaling the attack by starting a massive conflagration north of the Wall. His attack was two-fold: his main army, composed of wildlings, giants, and mammoths, attacked the north side of the Wall while the smaller garrison that had climbed the Wall launched a surprise attack on Castle Black's southern entrance. Despite being hopelessly outnumbered, the men of the Night's Watch managed to repel the initial invasion, and the small wildling garrison attacking from the south was nearly wiped out, resulting in the deaths of both Styr and Ygritte, and Tormund being taken a prisoner of the Night's Watch. Although the initial invasion was repelled, Castle Black's garrison took a significant number of casualties, Grenn and Pypar among them. Mance was simply testing Castle Black's defenses and plans to launch a much larger counterattack. In hopes of preventing this from happening, Jon Snow decided to venture north of the Wall and assassinate Mance Rayder, in hopes that his death would unravel the unity amongst the wildling clans and end the war.

While Jon was treating with Mance Rayder the following morning, hundreds of mounted knights led by Stannis Baratheon arrive, taking the wildling army by surprise. The wildling camps were quickly overrun, scattering thousand of wildlings into the wilderness while the majority were rounded up and captured by Stannis's troops. Stannis then took up residence in Castle Black alongside his court and the Night's Watch.

Massacre at Hardhome

Jon Snow and Tormund Giantsbane, along with other members of the Night's and the Free Folk, arrived at the ruined wildling settlement of Hardhome to convince the rest of the Wildlings to join them in the upcoming war against the White Walkers and their armies of Wights. Insisting on never being an ally with a Crow, The Lord of Bones insulted Tormund for being at the side of Jon Snow, causing Tormund to beat his former ally to death with his own axe.

They gathered in the Townshall to discuss an alliance between the Free Folk and the Night's Watch but many of the Wildlings did not trust Jon Snow. Having not seen Mance Rayder since he was taken prisoner at The Wall, the Wildlings questioned his whereabouts. Snow informed them of his death, and of the fact that he was the one who shot him with an arrow. This angers the group and they moved in to kill him, yet Tormund spoke for him, stating that Rayder was about to be burned at the stake as a vicious message from Stannis Baratheon and Snow defied Stannis by ending his life quickly instead of humiliating him by making him scream. Some leaders were convinced, such as Karsi, but others like the Thenn warrior Loboda were not.

Just as many of the Free Folk gathered to set sail to the Wall, the sounds of a storm were heard. Recognizing this as the sign of approaching White Walkers, Loboda ordered the gates of Hardhome to be shut, abandoning many of the Free Folk to their fate. Suddenly, the screams of the people shut outside the walls of Hardhome fell silent. A moment later, a large host of undead wights started breaking through the gates and climbing over the walls. Jon, Tormund, Loboda and Karsi fought alongside the others to give as many people an opportunity to make it to their ships as possible. On top of a hill overlooking Hardhome, multiple White Walkers mounted on undead horses were overlooking the battle, including the Night's King. Realizing the need for dragonglass, Jon and Loboda went to the townhall, which was on fire. A White Walker warrior confronted the two. While Loboda confronted the threat, Jon Snow went for the dragonglass. Loboda was quickly killed as his axe shattered immediately upon contacting the White Walker's weapon.

Jon Snow just managed to grab a dragonglass dagger but was tossed aside by the White Walker and tried to fight back with any weapon he picked up but ended up shattered in contact. When Jon retrieved Longclaw, both he and the White Walker were surprised to see that the sword didn't shatter. Seizing the opportunity, Jon slayed the White Walker which immediately shattered to pieces after being touched by Longclaw, indicating Valyrian steel to be another weakness of the White Walkers like dragonglass. Karsi fought off multiple wights before she was confronted by a pack of undead children. Frozen by the horror, she was unable to resist as she was mauled to death. The Night's King screamed as another large host of wights jumped from the hills. Momentarily thinking the wights did not survive the fall, Jon and Edd fled for their lives as the wights start rising up. Shielded by the giant Wun Wun who wielded a burning log as a club before walking into the sea with them, they managed to get to the last remaining boat to make it to their ship. To their horror, as they rowed back to the fleet, the Night's King raised his arms as the slain wildlings rose up as undead wights in their growing army, including Karsi.

See also

• Conflict beyond the Wall on A Wiki of Ice and Fire (MAJOR spoilers from the books)

Template:ConflictBeyondTheWall