Chapter 42 Chapter 41: Jon

The ground was covered with pine needles and wind-blown leaves, like a carpet of brown-green, but soaked by rain. The fallen leaves creaked underfoot.Standing tall are bare oaks, towering sentinel trees and patches of soldier pines.Another ancient round tower stood on a hill, empty inside, and the walls were covered with a thick layer of green moss, almost reaching the top of the tower. "Who made these stone things?" Ygritte asked him. "The king?" "No, it was built by the people who lived here." "What happened to them?" "Dead, or gone. 'Brandon's Gift' has been farmed for thousands of years, but with the dwindling Legion of the Night's Watch, there are no men left to plow, bee, or grow orchards, so many fields and The halls are re-occupied by the wilderness. There were villages and manors in the 'New Grant' where the taxation supported the black brethren, and provided food and clothing with goods or labor. But most of these are gone."

"They are fools to leave such a fine castle," Ygritte commented. "It's just a tower. A certain little lord once lived here with his family and warriors who were loyal to him. When raiders came, a beacon would be lit to call the police. A real castle, such as the tower of Winterfell, has three towers like this. times higher." She seemed to think he was making up a story. "How could it have been built so high without a giant holding up the stone?" Legend has it that Brandon the Builder built Winterfell with the help of giants, but Jon doesn't want to complicate matters. "One could build castles much taller than that. There's a tower in Oldtown that's the tallest building in the world, taller than the Great Wall." He saw she didn't believe it.If I could show her Winterfell... pick her a flower in the glass garden, feast with her in the great hall, show her the stone statue of the king sitting on the throne.We can bathe in hot springs, caress under the heart tree, and let the old gods watch over us.

Sweet dreams...but Winterfell was never for him to show.It belonged to his brother, the King in the North.His surname is Snow, not Stark.Bastard, Oathbreaker, Chameleon... "Maybe we could come back here someday, and live in that tower," she said. "Would you like to, Jon Snow? Later?" after.The word pierced his heart like a spear.After the war.after the conquest.After the savages broke through the Great Wall... Father had talked about promoting new lords and placing them in the abandoned manor as a barrier against wildlings.The plan would require the Night's Watch to give up a large portion of the grant, but Uncle Bunyan believed Lord Lord Mormont could be persuaded as long as the new lords paid taxes to Castle Black instead of Winterfell. "But that is the dream of spring," said Duke Eddard, "and winter is coming, and even the promise of land will not attract people to go north."

If winter comes and goes quickly, and spring follows, I may be chosen to occupy one of these towers in my father's name.However, Duke Ed died, and Uncle Bunyan disappeared, and the barrier they imagined would never be realized again. "This belongs to the Night's Watch," Jon said. She snorted. "Nobody lives here." "They were driven off by raiders." "Then they are cowards. If you want to keep the land, you should stay and fight." "Maybe they're tired of fighting. Tired of bolting every night, wondering if Rattleshirt and his like will break in and take their wives. Tired of harvesting or whatever possessions you might have. Moving to raiders." It will be more comfortable outside the reach." If the Great Wall falls, the entire northern border will be harassed by raiders.

"You know nothing, Jon Snow. We only rob daughters, not wives. Besides, you are the real robbers. You occupy the whole world, and then build the Great Wall to keep the free folk out." "Really?" Jon would sometimes forget that she was a complete savage, and every time, her words and deeds would take the initiative to remind him, "What do you mean?" "The gods created the world for mankind to share. Yet the so-called kings came with crowns and steel swords, claiming that it was all theirs. 'This is my tree,' they said, 'you cannot eat the apples on it.' This It's my river, you can't fish here. It's my forest, you can't come and hunt. These are my lands, my waters, my castles, my women, take your hands off, or Hugh Blame me for chopping it up. Kneel down to me, of course, and I might let you sniff it. You call us thieves, but thieves must at least be quick, resourceful, and brave. He who kneels only kneels."

"Hama and bag of bones do not raid for fish or apples. They take swords and axes, spices and silks and furs, every coin and ring and jeweled cup they can find, wine in summer, Steal meat in winter, and women in any season, and take them across the Great Wall." "So what? I'd rather be stolen by a strong man than be married to a coward by my father." "That's what you say, but how do you know whether the other party is good or bad? What if someone you hate steals it?" "To steal me, he must be quick, quick-witted and brave. Then his son will be strong and wise. Why should I hate such a man."

"Maybe he never showers and stinks like a bear." "Then I'd push him into the river, or throw buckets of water on him. Men shouldn't smell like flowers anyway." "What's wrong with flowers?" "Nothing—for the bees. For bed, I want it." Ygritte reached up and hooked the front folds of his breeches. Jon took her by the wrist. "What if the guy who stole you was a drunk?" he insisted. "What if he was brutal?" He squeezed for emphasis. "What if he's stronger than you and likes to beat you hard?" "Then I'll cut his throat while he's asleep. You don't understand anything, Jon Snow." Ygritte writhed like an eel, freeing him.

I get it, you're a total savage at heart.It's easy to forget that when they're laughing and kissing together.But then one of them would say something, do something, and he would suddenly remember that there was a wall between their worlds. "A man either takes a woman or gets a dagger," Ygritte told him. "Every girl is taught by her mother when she is a child." She raised her chin defiantly, shaking her thick red hair. "And one cannot own the land, any more than the sea and the sky. You who kneel think you can, and Mance will let you know otherwise."

The words were heroic and proud, but hollow.Jon glanced back to make sure the Magnar couldn't hear him.Erok, Big Boil, and Ma Shengdan followed a few yards behind, but paid no attention.The big boil was complaining about his ass. "Ygritte," he said under his breath, "Mance cannot win this war." "He can!" she insisted. "You know nothing, Jon Snow. You never saw the free folk go to war!" Whether the free folk fight like heroes or demons depends on who you talk to, but it's the same thing at the end of the day.With reckless courage, they fought for glory. "I don't doubt your bravery in the slightest, but war requires discipline, and there is no rule without rules. Mance will eventually fail like the former King Beyond the Wall, and when he fails, you will die! You will all die."

Ygritte looked so angry that he thought she was going to hit him. "All of us," she said, "and you too. You're not a crow now, Jon Snow. I swore you weren't, so you better not be." She pushed him against the edge of a tree behind. Trunks, right in the middle of this ragged queue, kissed desperately, lips pressed together.Jon heard Grigg the Goat urging, and others laughed, but he ignored it and kissed her back.When they parted at last, Ygritte flushed. "You are mine," she said softly. "Mine, as I am yours. If you are to die, let it be with you. All men are mortal, Jon Snow, but first they must live well."

"Yes," his voice was vague, "you have to live well first." She grinned at that, showing Jon the crooked teeth, which he kind of liked now.You're a savage at heart, he thought again, with a feeling of despondency in his chest, opening and closing the hand on the sword.If Ygritte knew what he was thinking, what would she do? If she sat down and told her that she was still Eddard Stark's son and a man of the Night's Watch, would she betray him? Hope not, but dare not take the risk.The lives of too many depended on him, trying to get to Castle Black before the Magnar... assuming he could find a way to escape. They made their way south through Greyguard, a keep that had been abandoned for two hundred years, and the great stone steps had collapsed more than a century ago, and even so the descent was easier than the climb.From here, Stey led his team deep into the Grant to avoid encountering patrols of the Night's Watch.Grig the goat led the way, bypassing the few remaining villages.On the way, there was no trace of civilization, except for some round towers scattered here and there, reaching up to the sky like stone fingers.Traversing cold, wet hills and windswept plains, unwatched and undetected. Whatever you are asked to do, do not disobey, do as the Halfhand bid, march with them, dine with them, fight with them, until the time comes.He rode countless leagues with them, and now he walked, shared salt and bread with them, and shared a bed with Ygritte, but he was still not trusted.The Thenns watched day and night for any treachery.He couldn't get away, but before long it was too late. Fight with them, Colin had said before he died in Longclaw .Even if I take the life of a brother, I will be lost, I will cross the Great Wall forever, and I will never come back. Magnar called him after each day's march to ask sharp, shrewd questions about Castle Black, to learn about the garrison and its fortifications.Jon lied to him where he dared to lie, and sometimes pretended not to know, but Greg the goat and Erok were there, and they knew enough to put Jon on his guard.Lies that are too obvious will reveal intent. The truth is terrible.Apart from the Wall itself, Castle Black had no defenses, not even wooden palisades or earth embankments.The so-called "castles" are nothing more than wooden towers and stone towers, two-thirds of which have collapsed and been damaged.As for the defenders, Xiong Lao took away two hundred people when he attacked.Is anyone back? Jon has no way of knowing.There are about four hundred people left in the city, mostly artisans and stewards, not rangers. The Thenns were stoic warriors, more disciplined than the average wildling—no doubt why Mance had chosen them.In contrast, the defenders of Castle Black include the blind Maester Aemon, the half-blind steward Clydas who tends him, the one-armed Donal Noye, the drunken Septon Celedar, and the deaf Dick Follard. , Three-Finger Harb, old Ser Vinton Stow, and Hodder, Todd, Pyp, Abbate, and other boys who trained with Jon, and their commander was fat Bursar, the red-faced Bowen Marsh, who acted as castellan in the absence of Lord Commander Mormont.The melancholy Eddie nicknamed Marsh "Old Pomegranate" just like "Old Bear" with Mormont. "Someday you'll find that he's the one you need most when you're fighting the enemy squarely on the battlefield," Eddie said in his usual dark voice, "and he'll help you count the numbers. Then The guy is a living abacus." . If Mag had brought out his surprise attack on Castle Black, there would have been a bloodbath, and the boys would have died in their beds in their sleep before they knew it.Jon had to warn them, but how? He was never sent out to forage or hunt, nor was he allowed to stand alone.He also worries about Ygritte.He can't take her away, but if he keeps her, will Magnar hold her responsible for his betrayal? Two hearts that already beat as one... They shared a blanket every night, and they always fell asleep with her head on her chest, her red hair rubbing against her chin.Her body odor became a part of him.Her crooked teeth, the feeling of her breasts in your hand, the taste in her mouth... It was his joy, but also his helplessness.For countless nights, lying beside Ygritte's warm body, he wondered, no matter who his biological mother was, his father must have felt the same way? Ygritte set a trap, and Mance Rayder took me push in. Living with the wildlings every day, he found it more and more difficult to fulfill the responsibilities that must be fulfilled.He has to find ways to betray these people who get along day and night, and once he finds a way, they will die because of it.He cannot accept their friendship any more than he should accept Ygritte's love.Yet...the Thenns spoke the Old Tongue and rarely spoke to Jon, but the Raiders of Jarl, the mighty men who scaled the Wall of Ice, were different.Reluctantly at first, but gradually he begins to get to know these people: the lean and quiet Ellok, the gregarious goat Greg, the boys Kurt and Porgy, the rope-maker Dan.Worst of all was Dale, a horse-faced boy about Jon's age who would dream about the wildling girl he was going to steal. "She was lucky to be born with a kiss of fire like your Ygritte." Jon had to hold back his mouth.He didn't want to know about Del's girl, he didn't want to know about Porgy's mother, he didn't want to know about Henk "Helm"'s hometown by the sea, he didn't want to know about Greg's desire to visit the green men on the Isle of Faces, and he didn't want to know how a moose drove " fingers and feet" up the tree.He didn't want to hear Big Boil talking about boils on his ass, or how much ale Stone Thumb could drink, or Kurt's little brother begging him not to die like Jarl.Kurt himself was no more than fourteen years old, but he had already stolen a wife for himself, and had a child about to be born. "Maybe he'll be born in a castle somewhere," the boy boasted, "like a lord, in a castle!" He was fascinated by the "castle" he saw, which were really just watchtowers. Jon didn't know where Ghost was now.Had he gone to Castle Black, or wandered the woods with the wolves? He couldn't sense the direwolf's presence, not even in his dreams, and it made him feel like a part of himself was cut off.Even with Ygritte by his side, he felt alone.He didn't want to die alone. That afternoon, the trees thinned, and they set off eastward along the gently rolling plains.The grass grows to waist height, and the wild wheat sways gently in the wind.The day was warm and bright for most of the day, however, by sunset, dark clouds were pressing in from the west and quickly engulfed the orange sun, and Lane reckoned a major storm was imminent.His mother was a witch of the woods, and the raiders believed he had a gift for weather forecasting. "There's a village nearby," Grigg the Goat told Magna, "two or three miles from here. We can spend the night there." Stey agreed at once. By the time we reached that place, it was already dark and the storm was raging.The village, by the lake, was abandoned a long time ago, all the houses have fallen down, even the small wooden inn is half down.In the past, the traveler must have been very relieved to see it, but now this roofless ruin does not make people happy at all.We have no shelter here, Jon thought despondently.Every time the lightning flashes, you can see a round stone tower standing on the small island in the middle of the lake, but you can't pass without a boat. Erok and Dale tiptoed out to scout the ruins, the latter returning almost immediately.Sidi immediately stopped the queue and sent a dozen Thenns with spears in their hands to trot forward.At this time Jon also found out: the flickering fire reflected the chimney of the inn red.We are not the only visitors.Fear wrapped itself around his heart like a snake.He heard a neigh, then a cry.March with them, dine with them, fight with them, Colin bids... The battle is over as soon as it begins. "Only one," Ellok reported back, "an old man and a horse." Magnar yelled orders in the Old Tongue, and twenty Thenns spread out and surrounded the village, while the rest of his men patrolled the houses, making sure that no one was hiding in the weeds or the piles of stones.Raiders huddled together in the roofless inn, jostling each other toward the fireplace.There seemed to be more smoke than heat from the broken branch the old man had used to light the fire, but even a little warmth was comforting on a stormy night like this.Two Thenns pushed the old man to the ground and searched his belongings, another led his horse, and three were rummaging through his saddlebags. Jon walked away.A rotten apple crumbles underfoot.Stey would kill him.Magnar had declared in Greyguard Castle that anyone who kneeled down would be executed immediately to ensure that they could not call the police.March with them, dine with them, fight with them.Does that mean you have to watch helplessly as they slit the throats of innocent old people? At the edge of the village, Jon came face to face with a guard that Styr had arranged for.The Thenn murmured something in the Old Tongue, and pointed at the inn with the point of his spear.Go back to where you belong, Jon guessed.but where do i belong He made his way to the lake, found a dry place beside a sloping earthen wall that belonged to a crumbling cottage, much of it in collapse, and sat staring blankly at the rain-beaten surface of the lake.It was here that Ygritte found him. "I know the name of this place," he said, as she sat beside him. "Look at the top of the tower next time there is lightning, and tell me what you see." "Well, if you like," she answered, and then went on, "Some Thenns heard noises there, which seemed to be shouts from within." "It's probably thunder." "They said it was a shout. Maybe there was a ghost." The stronghold stood black in the storm, and the rock island on which it stood, with the rain lashing the lake, did look a little spooky and haunted. "We could go over and see," he suggested, "we're wet enough that it can't be any worse." "Swimming? Swimming in a storm?" she laughed back. "Trying to undress me, Jon Snow?" "Need to lie to you for that?" he replied mischievously. "Or can't you paddle at all?" Jon was a good swimmer himself, learned as a child in the wide moat of Winterfell. Ygritte punched his arm. "You don't understand anything, Jon Snow. I'm half a fish, and you'll understand." "Half a fish, half a goat, half a horse... half of yours is too much, Ygritte." He shook his head. "We don't need to swim. walk over." She stepped back and stared at him. "Walking on water? What kind of Southern witchcraft is that?" "It's not a witch—" just as he opened his mouth, a huge bolt of lightning fell from the sky and hit the lake.In an instant, the world was as bright as noon.The thunder burst, and Ygritte screamed and covered her ears. "Did you see that?" Jon asked, now that the voice had rolled into the distance, and the night was dark again, "see clearly?" "Yellow," she said, "you mean this? Some of the stones standing on top are yellow." "We call those stones 'Battlements.' Long ago, they were painted gold. This is called 'Crown Town.'" The tower on the other side of the lake changed back to its gloomy appearance, and its dim shadow was faintly visible. "There was a queen there?" Ygritte asked. "A queen stayed there one night." Old Nan told the story, but Maester Luwin confirmed the gist of it. "Queen Alysanne is the wife of King Jaehaerys the 'Arbiter', also known as the 'Century King' because he reigned for many decades. But he was young when he sat on the Iron Throne and loved to travel The whole land. One day, he brought the queen, six dragons and half of the courtiers to Winterfell, and discussed state affairs with the guardians of the north. Queen Alysanne felt bored, so she flew to the north on her dragon 'Silver Wing' Look at the Wall. This village was one of the places she passed through. After she left, the people painted the top of the fort gold to make it look like the golden crown she wore the night she spent with them." "I've never seen a dragon." "Nobody ever saw it. The last dragon died over a hundred years ago. This was before that." "You said her name was Queen Alysanne?" "People call her 'Good Alysanne'. There is a castle 'Queen's Gate' on the Great Wall named after her. It used to be called 'Blizzard Gate'." "If she is so kind, she should bring down the Great Wall." No, he thought, the Wall protects the whole kingdom from the White Walkers... and you, dear ones. "A friend of mine dreamed of dragons. He was a dwarf, and he told me—" "Jon Snow!" A frowning Thenn appeared above, "Song, the Magnar wants it." Jon thought this was the man who found him outside the cave the night before climbing the ice wall, but he couldn't be sure.He got to his feet, and Ygritte followed closely - something that had always displeased Styr.However, every time he asked her to leave, she would always answer: She is a free woman, not a kneeler, she can come and leave whenever she wants. They found the Magnar standing under a tree growing from the floor of the inn hall, and the captive kneeling before the hearth, surrounded by a circle of Thenns with drawn wooden spears and bronze swords.Seeing Jon approaching, Si Di didn't speak.Water trickled down the walls, rain pattered on the last leaves still attached to the trees, and smoke swirled from the fire. "He must die," said Stymagna. "You do it, Crow." The old man did not speak.He just stood among the wildlings and looked at Jon.In the rain and smoke, he couldn't see Jon's black clothes clearly just by the light of the fire and the sheepskin cloak he was wearing.Can he see clearly? Jon drew Longclaw.Rain washed the Valyrian steel sword, and the flames reflected a dull orange light along the blade.A small fire was kindled, but it cost the old man his life.He remembered what Qhorin Halfhand had said in the Gap of Wind: Fire is the source of life and the way of death.Yet that was the Frostfang, the lawless wild beyond the Wall; here was the Grant, protected by the Night's Watch and Winterfell.People can make fire at will without dying from it. "Why are you hesitating?" Sidi said, "Hurry up!" Even at this juncture the prisoner did not speak.He can say "forgive me" or "You've taken my horse, my money and my food, let me live!" or "No, please, I didn't do you any harm thing!"...he has a thousand other sayings, or crying, or calling out to the gods of faith.But no words could save him, perhaps because he understood this, the old man shut his mouth and looked at Jon with condemnation and accusation. No matter what you are asked to do, you are not allowed to disobey, and do everything.March with them, dine with them.Fight with them...but the old man in front of him didn't resist.He just had bad luck.Who was he? Where was he from? Where was he going on that poor hunchback... none of it mattered to the Wildling. He was an old man, Jon told himself, fifty, maybe sixty, outlived most people.But the Thenns will kill him, and nothing I say or do will save him.The long claws seemed to be heavier than lead, making it difficult to lift.The man continued to stare at him, eyes like big, dark wells.I will fall into this well and drown.Magna was watching him too, and he could almost smell suspicion.This person is bound to die, so what does it matter if I kill him? It only needs to be a sharp knife and use all the strength of the whole body.Longclaws are Valyrian steel.Same as "ice".Jon remembered another execution: deserters on their knees, heads rolling off, bright blood on the snow... Father's sword, Father's words, Father's face... "Do it, Jon Snow," Ygritte urged, "you must do it, and prove that you are not a crow, but a member of the free folk." "Kill an old man by the fire?" "Auriel is also by the fire, but you killed him very quickly." Her eyes were determined and serious. "You were going to kill me too—even though I was sleeping—until you found out I was a woman." "That's different, you are warriors... you are watchers." "Yes, you crows don't want people to find out, and we are the same now. Same! Kill him quickly." He turned his back to the old man, "No." Magnar stepped forward, tall, grim, and malicious. "I said yes. I am the commanding palace." "You command the Thenns," Jon told him, "not the free folk." "I see no free folk, only crows and crow's wives." "I'm not the crow's wife!" Ygritte drew her dagger, took three quick steps, grabbed the old man's hair, threw his head back, and slit his throat from ear to ear.Even when he died, the man did not make a sound. "You know nothing, Jon Snow!" she yelled at him, throwing the bloody knife at his feet. The Magnar had said something in the Old Tongue, perhaps to the Thenns to kill Jon on the spot, but the truth he would never know.Lightning suddenly fell, and a dazzling blue and white light hit the top of the tower in the middle of the lake.He could feel its blazing fury, and the thunder came, shaking the night. Death came roaring. The glare of the lightning blinded Jon, but in the split second before he heard the scream, he caught a glimpse of a galloping figure.The first Thenn died like an old man, blood gushing from a torn throat.Then the flash faded, the shadow turned, and with a growl, another fell in the darkness.There were curses, shouts and howls of pain.Jon saw Boil stagger backward, knocking three men over.It's Bai Ling, he thought wildly, Bai Ling jumping over the Wall to save me.Then, lightning turned night into day again, and he saw the wolf stepping on Del's chest, with black blood flowing from its mouth.gray.He is gray. Darkness came with the rumble of thunder.Wolves scuttled among the Thenns, stabbing with their spears.The old man's mare, maddened by the smell of slaughter, reared and kicked.With Longclaw still in hand, Jon Snow suddenly realized that there could be no better chance. While all attention was on the wolves, he chopped down the first, pushed the second away, and hacked at the third.In the frenzy, someone called his name, but it was impossible to tell whether it was Ygritte or Magnar.The Thenn struggling to control the horse didn't see him, and Longclaw was as light as a feather.He slashed at the opponent's calf with his sword, feeling the steel split the bone.The mare rushed out as the wildling fell, and Jon, grabbing the mane with his left hand, leaped onto her back.Caught by the ankle, he slashes down and sees Porgy's face disappear in a pool of blood.The horse stood upright, raised its legs and kicked fiercely, hitting a certain Thenn's temple, making a "click". Then the horses started running wildly.Jon didn't guide the direction, just leaned on his horse as hard as he could, and walked through the mud, rain and lightning.Wet grass slapped his face, and a spear flew past his ear.If the horse breaks a leg, they'll come after me and kill me, he thought, but the old gods are with him, and the horse is all right.Lightning streaked across the dark zenith, thunder rolled over the plain, and the shouts faded behind them. After midnight, the rain stopped, and Jon wandered alone in a sea of ​​tall black grass, his right thigh aching badly.He looked down and was surprised to see an arrow go into the back of his thigh.When did it happen? He grabbed the shaft of the arrow and pulled it, but the arrow was buried deep in the flesh, and the more he pulled, the more painful it became.He tried to recall the frenzy in the inn, but he could only remember the gray beast, lean and terrifying.It's too big to be an ordinary wolf.direwolf.It can only be so.He had never seen an animal that acted so fast.Like a gray wind... Has Robb gone back north? Jon shook his head.Can't find the answer, can't think... the wolf, the old man, Ygritte... all of this... He slid awkwardly off the mare's back, his injured leg giving way, and he had to swallow the scream.It will be painful.But the arrows had to be worked out, and it was no use waiting.So Jon took hold of the fletcher, took a deep breath, and pushed forward.He grunted, then cursed.It was so painful that I stopped halfway through.I'm bleeding like a slaughtered pig, he thought, but there was no choice but to go on.Reluctantly, he tried again...quickly and shudderingly stopped.Again.This time he yelled, and the arrow finally passed through the front of his thigh.Jon pushed back his blood-stained trousers to get a better grip, grimaced, and slowly pushed the shaft of the arrow through his leg.He didn't know why he didn't faint. Afterwards, clutching the "trophy," he lay on the ground, bleeding quietly.Too weak to walk.After a while, he realized that if he didn't force himself to move, he would probably bleed to death.So Jon crawled to the shallow stream where the mare was drinking water and washed his thighs in cold water, then tore a piece of cloth from his cloak and bound it tightly.He also washed the arrows, held them in his hands and observed them carefully.Are the feathers gray or white? Ygritte uses pale gray goose feathers for her arrows.Did she put the arrow? He couldn't blame her.I don't know if she is aiming at herself or at the mount.If that mare goes down, it's over for me. "It's a good thing the legs are in the middle," he murmured. He rested for a while and let the horses graze.It was good that it hadn't wandered too far, otherwise he would have been limping and dragging his injured leg and wouldn't have been able to catch up.With great difficulty, he pulled himself up and climbed onto the horse's back.How did I ride before, with no saddle, no stirrups, and a sword in my hand? This is another unanswerable question. There was a slight and dull thunder in the distance, but the dark clouds above had dispersed.Jon looked up and searched, found the ice dragon constellation, then turned his horse's head and headed north to the Great Wall and Castle Black.Knee on the old man's horse, a sharp pain in the thigh muscles made him twitch.Go home, he told himself.If so, why is my heart so empty? He rode until dawn, and the stars looked down like countless eyes.