04 Night's Watch.pdf - Chaos Bleeds

Chapter 2: The Wall & the GiftBrothers of the Shadow TowerBelow are some of the brothers of the Night’s Watch mentionedin A Song of Ice and Fire.BBBBBBBBCommander: Ser Denys MallisterRangers: Blane, Squire Dalbridge, Ebben, and StonesnakeStewards: Wallace MasseyOthers: Maester Mullinnot cellars, though. Rather, the sub-levels of the Tower are more a warrenof tunnels leading to and from a series of defensive balconies and sentryposts cut from the natural rock of the cliff. In ones, twos, and threes, themen of the Shadow Tower man these niches, hidden from the eyes of thewildlings daring enough to try the Gorge. They don’t attack, though. Theywatch and report. When raiding parties pass, the Watch turns out a squadto intercept them as they climb out of the Gorge on the south side of theWall. Sometimes they catch the raiders, sometimes they don’t. More andmore have been trying risking the passage in the last few years. More andmore slip past. There simply aren’t enough men to stop them all.The castle was built to house three thousand men, but only two hundredlive there now. Ser Denys runs the Shadow Tower as a Lord doeshis house, tightly and with care. Those buildings that are not in use havebeen shut up and sealed. His men live in just one of the five great stonebarracks that circle the common hall and the commander’s tower.The tower and barracks sit above the rest of the castle complex ona shelf of rock. Below stands a large armory, three stables (only oneof which—the smallest of the three—remains in operation), a sept, abrewery, a bell tower and rookery. Doors open into the cliff face belowthe barracks at irregular intervals, each letting in on tunnels and storeroomscut into the rock. The doors are uniformly stout and strong, andeach cunningly concealed.Ser Denys oversees his command as a lord might oversee his manor.The commander expects the highest standards of discipline and protocolof his men. The chain of command is paramount—each man of theShadow Tower is expected to treat his superiors with respect and hissubordinates with honor. As a result, the atmosphere around the castleis unusually courtly for an outpost of the Night’s Watch.Over his many years as commander of the Shadow Tower, Ser DenysMallister has carefully molded the force of men under him to match hisideals and values. Of the three castles in operation, the Shadow Towerhas, by far, the highest ratio of nobles to lowborn men on the Wall.Some say Ser Denys has forsaken the Watch’s egalitarian tradition. SerDenys thinks he rules his men as a lord, they say, rather than leadingthem as a commander. For many years the grumbling was somethingheard only in other castles, but as the commander grows old, discontenthas crept into the lower ranks of his own men. When the old man’s timecomes, the noble men who have found comfort in his command maywell find themselves facing a radically different future.Brothers of Shadow TowerThe Shadow Tower is sparsely populated, and seems nearly abandoneddue to its large size. Only a few hundred men dwell here, but that is allthat is needed thanks to the cunning defenses of the Tower.The men of the Shadow Tower work closely together in well-plannedpatrols, taking advantage of the vantage points carved into the very rockof the Gorge to prevent wildlings from using it as an avenue of infiltrationinto the Seven Kingdoms. With a single horn-blast, the forcesof the Shadow Tower are brought to bear against any of the Free Folkfoolish enough to make the assay, raining death down on them fromabove, while a patrol of black brothers waits at the end of the Gorge tofinish off those who manage to escape death outright.Ser Denys Mallister“Might I offer you a cup of wine? Your lady mother is a Florent,I recall. One day I must tell you about the time I unhorsed both ofyour grandfathers in the same tourney.”–Ser Denys Mallister, A Storm of SwordsIn an age when few of the Night’s Watch take the Black by choice, SerDenys Mallister is one of a dying breed: a knight, and noble born, whoswore an oath to stand the Wall until his dying breath.HistoryThe Mallisters have held Seagard for near three hundred years, eversince Aegon the Conqueror burned Black Harren in his castle anddrove the Iron Men out of the Riverlands and back to their hard, grayislands. To House Tully Aegon granted Riverrun and dominion over thelands about the Trident, to Mallister the Cape of Eagles and the chargeof guarding that coast against the Ironmen’s reaving.Ser Denys Mallister was born beneath the great bell in the BoomingTower at Seagard, forged and hung there to give warning should theIronmen come again to pillage and burn as of old. Ever did the reaverslurk, the menace to the West, the villains across the water. They were thebogeymen of his youth and the ancient enemy of his House.With his elder brother as heir to their father’s title, Denys was sent toHarrenhal to squire for one of the lesser Whents. He took his vows as aknight upon his eighteenth name day and by the age of 22, he becamea tourney champion. He rode with the host against the Band of Nineduring the War of the Ninepenny Kings.In the peace that followed, Ser Denys gained considerable glory onthe tourney field, but little else. When his brother ascended to theirfamily seat upon the death of their father, Denys chose to take the black.The Mallisters had long been bred for vigilance. For Ser Denys it wassmall difference turning his eyes northward rather than west.Noble blood and a knight’s training afforded Ser Denys a commandupon taking his vows and a swift rise thereafter. He has proved a competent,if uninspiring commander. For over thirty years he has held theShadow Tower for the Watch. In that time he has stood for two choosingsof Lord Commander and twice seen other men chosen over him.He knows full well that the next choosing will likely be his last. He hasgrown old on the Wall and one day soon, his watch will end.PersonalitySer Denys is proud of his heritage and bloodline, and he puts greatstock in courtesy and chivalry. He leads the men of the Shadow Toweras a lord might the men of his keep and he demands the respect due54