Building an Empire in Game of Thrones (REWORKED VERSION)-Chapter 94: Free Folk No More

At Castle Black, Eonwe stared down at the army of Wildlings below the wall. He was already informed several days ago about the Wildlings marching on the wall due to the threat of the Night King. He tried to negotiate with them, but they refused and simply stated that they were going South beyond the wall whether he liked it or not.

The defenses along the wall were already set up, so all Eonwe did was wait until this very moment when they arrived. Standing next to him was Maester Aemon and Jon Snow.

Jon had been caught attempting to sneak past the wall alongside a group of wildlings sent to scout the Southern part of the wall and report back. However, in the process, the group was caught, and it was revealed that Jon was a member of the Night's Watch during the time when Lord Commander Mormont took a Night's Watch party North.

Eonwe was already aware of this information as Jon had been closely followed by Shadowhand agents. As a result, he knew everything that Jon had done. "Joined us just to get information? You Traitor!" was what Ygritte had stated before Jon was taken by the Imperials. Ygritte and the other Wildlings were allowed to return to Mance so that they could die alongside the rest. Jon never expected for Castle Black to have been taken by the Imperials or to see them have such a strong hold on things at the wall. He also didn't expect for them to help him escape the Wildlings, yet here he was standing right next to Eonwe.

Jon's loyalty was still in question, but it seems that Eonwe didn't care much about such things... yet. Below the wall, Mance watched as tens of thousands of his people marched through the snow and towards Castle Black. The only problem now was how they would breach the wall itself. But he planned for this month in advance and ordered his men to start gathering wood for siege equipment to breach the gate.

They were going to breach the wall one way or another. Above the wall, Eonwe and several other commanders looked down as the Wildlings marched closer. "Send the warning," he said turning to Jon. "You may not be on our side, but we're rather familiar with your new friends. Once they are wiped out, I shall be thorough with you. Until then, play both sides as much as you think it will benefit you." He gave a nod to one of the soldiers, who sounded the horn that signaled danger. The men of the Night's Watch heard the signal fearfully, knowing what was happening.

The warning came, and Mance ignored it. He'd been waiting for the Imperials to test his resolve, and his only choice was to prove it. "Make ready," he shouted. "For your lives! For your children!"

Discontent rumbled through the wildling ranks. Many didn't want to risk more death. Others refused to bend. "There are more dead things on our backs than men in black. The Night King comes with thousands," yelled Tormund Giantsbane, Mance's second. He spoke without care for the Imperials on the wall. "Are you so stubborn you'll let them kill us like sheep?"

Some in the wildling forces started to turn around, moving back the way they'd come, hoping to retreat into the wild and wait out the Night's Watch, the Night King, and the dangers of the land.

But others pressed forward, not willing to leave their brothers and families. "Cowards," shouted another, unable to make up his mind. "Your fear will kill us all before a spear ever does." Around him, clansmen from the West and clansmen from the East argued and fumbled at their weapons. Eonwe saw this uncertainty and gave the order to attack immediately.

With a gesture, the soldiers of the Imperial Union unleashed the fury of aerial combat, with Wyverns and Valkyries dropping out of the sky. They rained death on the Wildlings, scattering their ranks and sowing pandemonium. Cries rippled through the horde as the Wildlings tried to grab their weapons and look up at the same time.

From the walls, the sound of cannons echoed, and flame geysers shot up from the ground. Old men, women, and children fell alongside warriors as the Imperials struck hard and fast. Anything that moved once the first round of attacks landed was soon a blackened corpse.

From his vantage, Eonwe could already see what it would be called: a slaughter. He motioned to one of the commanders to intensify the attacks. "Show them no quarter," he said. "Let them know the cost of defiance." From the ground, one of the Wyvern riders reported to Eonwe. "There are some running north, my lord. Do we pursue?" Eonwe shook his head. "Not yet. Let them think they have a chance to survive. We'll hunt them later." Switching his attention to the Wildlings trying to surrender, he then commanded, "Capture them. If they resist, bind them."

The Wildlings continued to run in all directions as the main portion of the force was obliterated before their eyes. Ygritte saw the devastation and grabbed Mance by the arm before retreating with the other survivors. "We have to go," Ygritte pulled on Mance's arm. Mance shook his head. "We have to force their hand. They can't kill us all so soon. They have to let us through."

Ygritte had spent years with the scouts they'd sent to learn about the Watch and the rest of the South. She knew the Imperials and their ways more than the other Wildlings. She shouted to Mance, "You know who they are. We'll die before surrendering. And we won't survive giving in. If they won't let us through, then we run and burn whatever we leave behind. That's the Free Folk way!" she screamed, even as she watched the black-eyed riders carve through their kin. She dragged him north, slipping through a chaos of bodies and smoke.

High on the Wall, Jon turned away and sought the faces of Maester Aemon and Samwell. The horror of the moment made him sick, but Eonwe didn't even blink. "We'll collect the survivors tonight. In the morning, we'll begin to relocate them." He glanced at Jon. "You will help with that." Jon nodded.

Hours later, the frozen ground at the foot of the Wall was covered in scorched earth, twisted corpses, and shattered sleds. The Wildlings who survived threw down their weapons at the first sight of Valkyries landing. A few thousand were corralled and led away in chains to holding camps for "screening." Hundreds more never stopped fleeing.

The next day, Eonwe rode through the aftermath. The air stank of burnt hair and flesh. A surviving band of Thenn warriors, bloodied and limping, was dragged before him. Their leader spat at his feet, all teeth and wild hate. Eonwe crouched, smiling. "I hope your death is worth the pride of it." He signaled a soldier who moved in and finished the job.

On the fringes, he saw Cleyvus, Rollo, and the Vikings loading prisoners onto sleds. The Wildlings who hadn't escaped north would be brought south in stages, with a promise of food and warmth if they obeyed. Eonwe intended to make them know the difference between submission and strength, just as the Emperor demanded.

Back at Castle Black, Sam sat by Maester Aemon's side in the new war room. Jon followed them, eyes still wide with shock. "More than half of them died," he said softly. "They had women. Children. Everything we have."

"They are the Free Folk," Aemon answered. "A people who could have been us, had things gone differently."

"Then why not help them?" Jon asked. Before his anger could rise, he recalled who was in charge. "Why not let them through?"

"They did not want to be helped," Eonwe answered. "They wanted to live by their own rules. And to let things go their way would have given them what they have never had: power." Jon shook his head. "Mance said—"

"A King always says what he must to survive." Eonwe stared at Jon observing his reactions. "You might find, if you last, that sometimes kindness preserves nothing but misery, and cruelty restores a form of hope. I trust you understand why things happened as they have." Jon stared at the table. A hollow ache gnawed at him as he remembered the kind faces among the Free Folk, the children running and laughing behind crude snow walls, the women teasing men as they woven crude nets for the coming spring.

They were more than just savages. But nobody at Castle Black spoke of them in those terms. "I do," he said at last. "I do understand." Eonwe straightened, planting a hand on Jon's shoulder. "Good. The world is changing, Jon Snow. The Night King is drawing near. For now, take comfort in the fact that you are alive."

With that Eonwe finally left Jon to his thoughts. He knew how much time time Jon had spent with the Free Folk which made his opinion of them become even stronger. That combined with his character made him see things in an unrealistic way.

But now that the battle was over and the Wildlings and their army was practically dismantled. All they had to do now was a little cleanup operation and then start preparing for the Night King and his army.

———

Further South, Lords quickly replied to the message sent out by Maximus. They didn't want to risk their land nor their lives in a pointless war so they sent messages stating their submission. After Tywin lost and was now a prisoner, various small lords of the Westerlands didn't waste too much time to reply back to the letter. However, some of the bigger houses still wanted to try and resist claiming their ancient heritage and such. ƒrēenovelkiss.com

Maximus already began positioning his armies at key areas surrounding the crownlands and Westerlands, preparing for the series of Sieges that they would have to do. In Kingslanding, terror and uncertainty reigned. The Red Keep's ordinary rhythm of paranoia and plotting was now replaced with genuine panic, as nobles, servants, and merchants all considered the meaning of dragons circling overhead and Imperial Legions setting up camps all around them.

Cersei paced the Red Keep; Joffrey alternated between trembling and declaring himself ready to cut down a thousand wyverns personally. Tyrion continued to plot his way out of the city in fear of what was going to happen.

He could try to leave the city secretly, but Joffrey had already put it on lockdown and in response to the dragon attack that happened a few days ago. He would either have to create a scenario where he would go and negotiate with the Imperial Union and then secretly desert to their side or try to escape with Bran and his other men. With Bran being the Commander of the Gold cloaks, he had a lot of ways he could sneak out.

By the bridge leading to the Kingswood, the Joffrey's Royal Army had already set up their defenses which included their Scorpions (anti-dragon weapons) and Trebuchets. Their were 25,000 men holding this position, while the other 35,000 were stationed in Harrenhal defending the Northern and Westernfront. Compared to the amount of men that the Imperial Union was bringing over, the Royal Army was simply outmatched and would be defeated sooner rather than later.

They didn't know about the other Elite forces that the Imperium had, some of which would make their strength known in the near future.

A/N: Empire map still coming just have been busy. Expect it next Chapter.