04 Night's Watch.pdf - Chaos Bleeds

CHAPTER 1: The NIght’s Watchguard the Wall is so great, these recovered deserters face little in the wayof punishment and their moment of weakness is typically covered upand forgotten, assuming that the wayward brother did nothing to callattention to himself during his brief sojourn. A brother that commits atheft to further his flight, or murders a witness to his desertion, is alwaysdealt with in the harshest terms possible.Likewise, there is a time limit on a brother’s freedom from prosecution.The vast majority of deserters are recovered in the first night of theirflight and returned to the Wall before dawn, and this is precisely how themen of the Watch prefer it. Other than a few hours ride in darkness, thebrother has committed no great sin in the eyes of the brotherhood. Hisswift return prevents the population of the Watch from learning of hisflight, and thus the commanders are not required to make an example ofthe deserter. As a result there is often a race of sorts in play, as a deserter’scohort tries to bring him back to the fold before something happens thatforces the commanders to act upon the desertion.If a deserter manages to make it longer than an evening before beingreturned, he is still welcomed back without comment, so long ashis cohort has been able to keep the truth of his flight from coming tolight, and that the brother in question managed never to travel outsideof the Gift.Deserters who somehow manage to make it out of the Gift (a stunningfeat in the course of a full day, which, while not impossible, isalmost certain to cause the death of his horse) are forfeit. Once theyhave entered the rest of Westeros, the Night’s Watch must treat theirdesertion as a serious crime.None of these facts hold true for those who were sent to the Wall aspunishment for some other crime committed south of the Wall. Thoseonce-criminals who try to escape their vows are captured and executedas swiftly as possible. There is no grace period, and no hope of reconciliationand the oathbreaker is not allowed any chance to infect the othercriminals with the idea that their lot could in any way taste freedomaway from the Wall.Why Sworn BrothersDesert the WallWith all the reasons against it, and the harsh punishment awaiting thosewho manage to succeed, why do some brothers still break their oaths andabandon their brothers on the Wall? The most common assumption madeby those who have never served in the Far North is that the oathbreaker isa coward. While this is true in rare occasions, a great deal of effort is madeduring training to ensure that such weak character flaws are eliminated longbefore the brother swears his oath. Popular stories and ballads reinforce thisimage, as many of them portray deserters as men of low moral characterunwilling to defend their brothers and incapable of keeping their word.The most common reason for desertion is the simple culmination ofendless hours of extreme duress. A man of the Watch lives day after dayin the harshest and most inhospitable environment in Westeros. Forthose that venture into the Far North, the threat is great enough thatany who leave the safety of the Wall risk never returning. For those whoremain within the Wall’s safety, there is the constant threat of assault bythe wildlings without.Another contributing factor, more prevalent during a man’s trainingthan in the long years afterwards, is exhaustion. The Wall demandsmuch of those who serve it, and training often puts a recruit throughlong hours wherein many of a brother’s most important relationshipsare created and defined. The casual cruelty with which the Wall grindsup those who defend it can chip away at the will of even the most stoutheartedlad, and some are driven to flee the Watch in search of nothingmore or less precious than solitude and a kind word.Another factor, and the most understandable to some brothers despitethe explicit oath against it, is family loyalty. Though it often travels slowly,word comes regularly to the Wall from the south, and with it comes news ofthe latest squabbles and struggles of southern politics. It is not uncommonfor those who hear news of strife or war among their families to want tohead south and join them. It is, in any other circumstance, the same loyaltythat binds a man to the Watch that now drives him, however irrationally,to want to flee. While the commanders of the Night’s Watch understandsuch behavior—they expect it, and often station trusted brothers in the wayto talk sense to him—they cannot allow it to flourish, and punish it as theywould any other desertion should a man test his loyalties too far.Typical Behavior of DesertersThe men of the Night’s Watch, especially those who have survived longenough to rise positions of rank within the hierarchy, deal too often withthose who break their oaths and flee the Wall in the face of uncertaintyand death. This familiarity gives them a certain amount of experience inhandling these deserters and would-be oathbreakers. Despite all of theirthoughts of cleverness, most deserters follow similar patterns when theybreak with the Wall, and as a result their behavior can often be easilypredicted.Despite its harsh punishments, the Night’s Watch isn’t eager toline the Wall with the heads of deserters—knowing the likely paths20