Version 2.0
"There always seems to be more of them," Jon comments next to Brandon. Looking upon the smothering remains of battle. They had been fighting incessantly for God's know how long, as they started to lose track of days when all they could see was night.
"These White Walkers just seem to keep on coming and never-ending," Brandon says.
"Think we are making progress?" Jocelyn asks.
Brandon looks around observing the carcass of the battle, stretched across the horizon, burning bodies of both wights and humans. The snow-covered field was burdened with blood and limbs as men prayed for their fallen friends, hopeful of their souls now resting in peace.
Survivors tirelessly piled the fallen, forming pyres that reached toward the starlit sky, with the air heavy with the acrid scent of burning flesh, as the heat gave respite from the numbing cold that clung to the battlefield.
The remains of wights, carelessly thrown onto open bonfires. The fallen White Walkers were either consigned to the flames or kept as grisly trophies for the men to banter over their victories and reminders of friends. Darkened patches, tainted by blood and ice from spilled ice spiders lay not far from them.
As the pyres crackled and smoked, Brandon smiled "We are alive aren't we." He says turning towards Jocelyn.
Amidst the silent snow-covered expanse, Brandon surveyed the depleted ranks of his men. The war against the White Walkers seemed to be an endless grind, as their forces were slowly being pushed back. The lack of proper weapons was evident – obsidian was a precious commodity, and many were forced to rely on fire as their primary means of defence. While effective against wights, it proved woefully inadequate against the White Walkers. As for the Others, they had only seen occasional sitings of them as they watched the battlefields.
The Long Night continued its insidious spread, coasting further down the land. Mountains once untouched by the encroaching darkness were now veiled in the inky blackness of night, it reaches spreading across the oceans to further lands.
/
Returning to Harmond's house, the mood was tense as Harmond slammed his fist against the table before looking at the meager goods obtained from the Red King – far less than what was promised, again. Despite Harmond's offers of valuable goods, the Red King seemed to always come up with an excuse or reason for not giving as much.
"That fucking Red King, when I see him again, I'm going to wring out his neck and snap it like a fucking twig." Harmond bellowed.
As Harmond started to vent and bellow proverbial steam. Hother entered the house returning from his battle.
"Nothing from the Red King?" He asked getting a deadpan stare back. "Figured as much. You'd figure everyone fighting for the living would bring us together. Fucks sake."
"We can't deal with that now." Brandon cut in before it became another rant. "We deal with what we have. We got more weapons from Jonos Flint and the children of the forest, distribute them between you, and then we head out and hunt."
"Alright them. Let's fuck up the dead. Haha." Harmond says as he smiles and laughs again.
/
In the harsh and unyielding winter, Brandon and his companions continued to fight against the White Walkers. The battleground shifted sometimes gaining ground, and sometimes losing it, but always being ground down.
They continued the fight despite the continued obstinance of the Red Kings. Even in their dire need, their requests for support fell on deaf ears. Even when the situation started to deteriorate faster and quicker than anticipated.
The Glover King had called for aid. An army led by one of the Others had descended upon their western lands, turning the once vibrant woods into a frigid nightmare. The Others extended the reach of their Long Night, not confining it solely to the mountains now passing down the mountains. With darkness upon the expansive bay to the west, the temperatures dropped methodically before they then froze the entire, now aptly named Bay of Ice.
With the lands of the far North connected with the lower lands, the others marched across the ice bridge as spotted by the Warg Kings scouts and wargs. They were fast moving and quickly passing over the bridge as it would take them no longer than a week to reach them when they did not need to rest.
Faced with the urgent new threat Brandon swiftly assumed command. He dispatched messengers to the Warg King, Fisher King, Greenwood King, Ryder King, Glover, and Barrow King requesting that they combine their obsidian resources to forge a united army. It was at this moment when their lands were now threatened that the Warg King revealed that they had too found a vein of obsidian and were 'willing' to help their allies. Their armies united before moving their forces to the island in the middle of the ice bridge where they would fight.
Recognizing the need for additional support, Brandon swiftly dispatched a message to Elder Oak, asking for aid in the impending battle against the Others. In his response Elder Oak, he said that the help was already on its way from wargs, to foods and even their wood dancers.
Turning to Harmond and Hother, Brandon outlined their role. They were to hold the line and draw the attention of the Others, preventing their advance into the mountains and the vital obsidian mining operations. The success of this defensive stance was paramount to ensuring a steady supply of obsidian by drawing relieving the pressure on the flint king. Time was of the essence, and they had to hold on.