BLACK WOLF - GoT [s1 - s4]

009 - screw jeor mormont

"hard work always pays off, not instantly but eventually." - unknown
——

A week passed since Aloy and Jon left Winterfell for good. The air grew thinner, grass grew shorter and shorter, and villages were smaller than the ones down South. Silence bestowed the now group of six, the seventh left to rot in the forest miles away. A gust of wind howled through the air, pushing Aloy's hair into her face, sprinkles of snow dusted the top of her head and shoulders.
Iron Arrow whinnied, shaking her head and snapping her tail. The poor mare hated the cold. Aloy gave her a motivational pat.

"We are getting close." Uncle Benjen practically cheered. He took the lead, his stallion falling into a paced trot.

Aloy flexed her backbone, sitting up straighter in an attempt to see the magnificent structure. The snow caked the ground under them. The rivers frozen over in the distance. Uncle Benjen pulled his horse to a stop, a smiling peeling back on his dirt-covered face.

    "Welcome."

    The travellers bore witness to the greatest construction in all of mankind. A colossal border between the living and the dead. Seven hundred feet tall and stretching three hundred miles of pure ice and snow. Aloy's breathing ceased, admiring deeply of what she ordered herself to protect.
Uncle Benjen glanced over at his niece and nephew. The shock on both of their faces giving him a gleeful feeling. For once he forgot about possibly agreeing to their deaths.
    The Wall held secrets within its splintered wooden walls.

    "It's beautiful." Aloy beamed, her eyes twinkling with a sick sense of adoration.

    Uncle Benjen clicked his horse into a walk, allowing the group to stare for a few more minutes. Aloy, too eager to admire any longer, urged Iron Arrow into a relaxed canter.

"Slow down, Little Wolf." Uncle Benjen advised. He summarized the role of a father now that Ned was out of reach in the South.

    The Wall fortress grew terrifyingly vast. An ancient building with history stretching back to the very first families. It was covered in snow and ice, creaking under the pressure of men and horses. Aloy attracted the attention of two guards stationed above the main gate. They shot her deadly looks, perplexed from a woman riding so far up North.

Uncle Benjen caught up with his avid niece, peering up towards the two guards. "Open the gates."

Aloy waited impatiently, her presence leaving the guards deliberating the entrance of such a circus. In the end, the guards opened the gates. The double wood doors screamed in pain, the rusted hinges whining. Uncle Benjen took the lead, striding in with confidence.
Aloy kept her eyes straight ahead. The men soon swarmed the new arrivals, jeering and mocking them. Iron Arrow chuffed, letting out a wild neigh to warn the aggressive males away from her rider.
    Uncle Benjen, pursued closely by Jon, flanked both sides of Aloy. She dismounted carefully, the men surrounded the group, leaving them vulnerable in the middle of the compound.