The sword of the first Other is made of inhumanly-sharp translucent crystal. When more Others appear among the trees, Will considers calling out a warning, but decides not to do so, as it would require him to reveal his position. Will notes that Waymar, in that moment, is no longer a boy, but truly a man of the Night's Watch. Waymar nervously commands it to come no further and prepares himself for battle, challenging the Other to "dance" with him. (art by Jon Neimeister)Īn Other emerges from the woods: tall, gaunt, and white, dappled with a gray-green shimmer. Waymar calls to Will with unease in his voice as he turns in a circle with his sword drawn, and asks about the sudden cold, which Will also feels. He is about to call down a warning, but stops, unsure. Will thinks he sees a white shadow moving below, but is not sure. Below him, Waymar challenges an unseen foe. Will reluctantly climbs a nearby sentinel tree. Determined to find the wildlings and make his first ranging a success, Waymar orders Will to climb a tree and look for a fire. Will warns Waymar to get down, but Waymar just laughs. Waymar, walking upright, reaches the top of the ridge and stands in plain sight. When Will reaches his previous vantage point, he sees that the bodies are gone. Will and Waymar climb up the ridge, Waymar much noisier than Will. Will fears that Waymar's insolence will provoke Gared into drawing his sword, but Gared eventually acquiesces and no fire is lit. When Gared suggests starting a fire, Waymar sardonically orders him not to. Both Will and Gared sense something is wrong, but Waymar mocks them again and commands Gared to stay behind to guard the horses. With night falling, the rangers ride back to the wildling camp. He asks Will to lead them to the dead wildlings.
Gared suggests the wildlings must have been killed by the cold, but Waymar points out that the weather has not been cold enough to freeze men like that. There was also a woman up in a tree, but she did not move either.
Waymar suggests they might have been sleeping, but Will insists they are dead. They were lying on the ground as if dead, but no blood was visible. Their lean-to was covered by snow, they had no fire, and none of the wildlings moved the entire time he was watching. Will explains that he saw the wildlings' encampment. Waymar, a noble born youth of eighteen, however, has the command, and after making light of Gared's fears asks Will again for the details of what he saw. Gared, an older man who has been in the Night's Watch for decades, is uneasy, and insists that they turn back to the Wall they have eight or nine days of travel ahead of them, which can turn into a fortnight if it snows. Will has reported on wildlings that he found, claiming they are all dead. Gared, Will, and Ser Waymar Royce, three rangers from the Night's Watch, are tracking a band of wildling raiders in the haunted forest. Three rangers of the Night's Watch are tracking a group of wildling raiders beyond the Wall, and encounter the Others, who had not been seen for eight thousand years.
0 kommentar(er)
