Chapter 14: The Direwolf
In the world Aeg came from, the progress of civilization presented a typical spiral upward trend, although accompanied by many twists, stagnations, and even regressions, the overall trajectory showed a clear upward trend. But in the world of Westeros, the situation was not the same.
Social development requires productivity, and in the absence of technological advancement, productivity is largely derived from the population. To sustain the population, resources are needed, and the irregular climate of the world of ice and fire makes resources extremely scarce. The continuous wars for resources make the production of resources even less guaranteed. A long summer is manageable, but a slightly longer winter can cause a terrifying regression in civilization. Caught in this "need for people, yet human life is cheap; underdeveloped, and even less able to develop" vicious circle, the social and human development levels in the world of ice and fire are seriously inconsistent with its long history, which becomes understandable.
Aeg couldn't guess how much water there was in the so-called "tens of thousands of years" of history since the Dawn Age, but he was clear that in this world, still in the era of feudal lords, and in the North with the sparsest population, armies were not something that could be mustered at the snap of a finger.
"I will contact the lords and have each family contribute proportionally to gather a few hundred men to send to the Wall for support." Eddard Stark knew his brother well and was close to him. He knew Benjen was not intentionally offending him and did not get angry. Instead, he sighed and shook his head. "It's the busy farming season now, don't expect me to provide many hands, but you can give me a list of supplies, and I'll see what I can do."
"The king, give me a chance to meet him, I'll talk to him."
"When I talked to Robert in the crypts today, I already conveyed the message that the Wall needs support, but unfortunately. he's not in the mood to deal with these things right now. The situation in King's Landing is tense, and he came here to ask for my help."
"If anything happens to the Wall, the North will be the first to suffer. By then, even if you help Robert fortify King's Landing, it will be of no use." Benjen said stiffly, now calming down. "Consider the pros and cons yourself. By the way, conventional supplies are not in urgent shortage and can be planned for in the long term, but there is one uncommon thing that I really need you to collect as soon as possible. obsidian. It can be bought on the market, but as a decorative item, it's expensive and rare. What the Night's Watch needs now is a large and cheap supply of obsidian."
"I read in a book that Dragonstone has a huge reserve of obsidian mines." Aeg interjected at the right time, "If we can figure out how to mine it, it should be more than enough."
"I'll write to Stannis to negotiate this matter and have him provide you with convenience." Eddard scoffed at the idea of obsidian countering White Walkers, but he had already turned down a bunch of requests from his brother and couldn't keep saying no. He looked out the window: "It's getting late. You two go take a bath and change your clothes, get ready for the banquet. Robert is an old friend, but he's also the king. If you neglect him because you're familiar with him, even if he doesn't mind, it could still give others a handle."
The two Night's Watchmen bid farewell to the Lord of Winterfell and left the room. Aeg followed Benjen to their lodgings. Although the Chief Ranger had sworn allegiance to the Night's Watch, he was, after all, a genuine Stark, and the room he had lived in since childhood was naturally reserved for him. To Aeg's surprise, Benjen had also secured a small room for him inside Winterfell.
Logically, with the castle crowded, a mere Night's Watch soldier, an insignificant character, would be lucky to snag a bunk in a village inn outside the castle, let alone enjoy lodgings inside Winterfell like a bunch of knights and ladies. But Aeg vaguely felt that this arrangement, rather than being a favor, might have more to do with preventing him from escaping.
His mind was swirling with thoughts when they encountered a young man.
"Uncle Benjen!"
"Jon." The Chief Ranger's troubled face showed a hint of a smile. "You've grown taller."
The young man was lean, with a long face and dark brown hair just like Benjen's. Aeg couldn't recognize this young man, who looked quite different from his image in the TV series, but from their greeting, he had already discerned the identity of the person before him, known to outsiders as Eddard Stark's bastard son, but in reality, the son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark, Jon Snow.
More than his special identity, something else beside him caught Aeg's attention: a small, all-white wolf with red eyes was curiously looking up at him.
What's going on?! Because of my presence, knowing the plot, neither Gared nor Will crossed the Wall to escape. So, the original scene at the beginning of the plot where a Night's Watch deserter is executed would not have happened. Then the plot where the Stark children find a dead direwolf on their way back to Winterfell from the execution site naturally wouldn't exist either. So how did this damn little direwolf end up in Jon Snow's hands?
"If I'm not mistaken, the little creature beside you is a direwolf, right?" Benjen Stark also noticed the wolf and asked warily, "There shouldn't be any south of the Wall. Where did it come from?"
"Villagers found its dead mother on a small path outside Winterfell. Jory went to investigate and brought back a litter of pups, six in total."
The Stark uncle and nephew chatted casually, while Aeg's heart was churning with turbulent waves the little wolf, though small and cute, and not making any threatening moves towards him. Its appearance raised doubts about something: Could his presence in the world of Game of Thrones actually influence the story?
Because of his interference, Gared, who would have been a deserter and beheaded, was caught by White Walkers and injured in battle, and Will, hiding in a tree, escaped unscathed without being killed by the reanimated Waymar Royce. This led the time traveler to conclude that he could influence the progression of the plot.
Therefore, even though he was chosen by Benjen Stark to be the guide for the next reconnaissance beyond the Wall, Aeg still harbored a glimmer of hope: the Night King's army of the dead had not yet formed, but the Night's Watch had already accepted Maester Aemon's suggestion to start collecting obsidian through various channels. If he could bring enough dragonglass daggers, arrowheads, and even Valyrian steel weapons before the next patrol beyond the Wall. perhaps he could change the initial momentum of the war between the living and the dead, gaining an advantage from the start and greatly reducing the threat of the White Walkers?
Under the influence of this mindset, although Aeg's desire to escape was firm, it was not strong enough to the point of having to flee at all costs. His plan was to take this opportunity to slip away from Winterfell if possible, and if there was no good opportunity, he would never take the risk of being beheaded.
However, the appearance of the little direwolf made Aeg nervous: in this world where magic truly exists, if one were to say that there is some mysterious force in the universe that prevents the plot from changing too much, it doesn't seem impossible. His actions had already caused changes in the plot, but to put it bluntly, both Gared and Will were insignificant characters: of humble birth, without any astonishing skills, and constrained by their Night's Watch identity, making it difficult for them to leave the Wall. Their survival or death had a minimal impact on the overall plot of Game of Thrones.
But Benjen Stark was undoubtedly one of the important characters. If that hypothetical force really existed, was he destined to go missing on the next patrol beyond the Wall and be turned into a wight? If that were true, how confident could he be of surviving and escaping while following him to the front lines of the war between the living and the dead?
Thinking even worse, according to the settings of some online novels he had read, having altered the plot, he had already "exposed" himself. The unknown entity that controlled the fate of humans in this world might already be planning to deliberately kill him off.
He needed to be more vigilant in finding a way to escape.
"What are you thinking about? Let's go." Benjen Stark had finished his reunion chat with Jon and patted Aeg to bring him back to reality from his thoughts: "Go take a bath and change your clothes. You're also attending the banquet."
"Me too?"
"Of course, not to mention that right now, you and I are the only Night's Watchmen in Winterfell. Even if the entire legion were here, they would be treated as guests." Benjen, who had just said goodbye to his nephew, still had a hint of a warm smile on his face, obviously feeling a bit more relaxed: "Enjoy it. Only in the North can the Night's Watch receive any respect."