04 Night's Watch.pdf - Chaos Bleeds

CHapter 3: beyond the WallSurvivalThe free folk are hunters and gatherers, having little use for agriculturein their frozen homeland. Most tribes have a few staple beasts theyhunt and follow through the migratory season, the most common beingelk, deer, and moose. Most tribes hunt other non-migratory species likebears or wild boars when they are available, but such prey cannot consistentlysupport a free folk tribe. Those tribes along the coasts make useof kayaks and canoes to hunt whales, narwhals, and other such aquaticbeasts. A single kill on such hunts can feed an entire tribe for weeks, inaddition to producing a wealth of other resources like whale bone andambergris. The landlocked tribes usually hunt on foot but some tribesuse horses when hunting larger herd animals, usually taking down theirprey with bow and arrow, but sometimes forcing them to stampede offof cliff edges. All free folk tribes do their best to use every part of aslain creature, turning bones into tools, skins into clothes, tendons andligaments to bowstrings and cord, and eating virtually every other partof the creature.While the people of the south believe that everyone north of theWall is a savage cannibal, in fact only a small percentage of the freefolk engage in cannibalism outside of the direst of circumstances.While most free folk would certainly consider cannibalism if it wasthe only option for survival, they think the practice is extremely unpleasantand something to be avoided unless all other means havebeen exhausted. Every winter there are stories of hunting parties ortribes trapped by ice and storms that have to resort to cannibalism,and there are rarely repercussions for doing so. Only the cannibalclans of the Ice River regularly practice cannibalism when it is notstrictly necessary, but to them it is a practice that has strong ceremonialand spiritual aspects. The cannibal clans only feast on those theydefeat in battle and their ferocity in combat is fearsome even amongthe violent people of the free folk. Why should only the crows partakein the battlefield’s harvest?Religion & MysticismThe free folk worship the spirits of nature their First Men ancestorsworshiped and godswoods are common throughout the lands north ofthe Wall. Some of these godswoods are of an age and scale that dwarfsanything to the south, such as the weirwood in the village of Whitetreethat has a mouth large enough for a sheep to be placed in it. The freefolk have a much more informal relationship with their faith than thepeople to the south—largely due to their higher exposure to supernaturalelements such as wargs, giants, and the Others. To the free folks theOld Gods are all around them every day, so why bother with organizedworship?Among the free folk there are few religious leaders; while many tribeshave wise men or women skilled in herbs, healing, and the legends ofthe north, few have what could be called a shaman or septa. Some tribesdo have more religious aspects to them, such as the Thenn tribes whosee their leader, the Magnar, as a god, but to most free folk the idea ofreligion seems something of a waste of time. The gods do not need offeringsor buildings built in their name, they only need respect and tosee their children be strong and thrive. All the pomp and circumstanceput into worshiping the strange gods of Westeros are seen by the freefolk as simply another way the people to the south give up control overtheir lives.While there are few religious leaders among the free folk, some tribesdo have mystics in their ranks in the form of wargs and skinchangers.Such individuals are highly respected and feared, but they are not automaticallyaccorded any sort of leadership position. Even among the freefolk those who can touch the spirits of beasts are seen as being differentand dangerous, placing them outside the normal tribal society. Whilethey are dangerous they are also useful, and skinchangers are nearly alwaysinvolved in the defense of their tribe. They are treated with respect,even if they are not treated warmly.Unlike the folk south of the Wall, the free folk have never dismissedthe Others as mere folklore. While the Long Night does not come oftenenough to the lands guarded by the Wall to keep their memoriesfresh, the white cold comes often enough to give the tribes long memories.The free folk know of the Others and accept their presence as partof the way of the world. Some tribes try to fight the Others while othersflee them, but all know the Others are a threat older than history thatthey cannot defeat long term. Now that they are awake, and in numbersgreater than the once-a-generation or so of previous years, thereis cause for fear. Whole tribes have been lost to the Others and theirwight minions, starting in the north at the Land of Always Winter andmoving south.This has driven the free folk to the south and encouraged them tojoin the forces of Mance Rayder, who has organized his army specificallyto save the free folk from the Others. Unfortunately, while thefree folk know of the Others and treat them as real threats instead of76