Chapter 56

Eastwatch-by-the-Sea
After the Feast of the Fallen

“Repeat after me, and all of your crimes and sins will be forgiven and atoned. These vows, taken in the name of whichever Gods you revere, be they the Old Gods of the Forest, the Seven, or the Drowned God, will induct all of you into the most solemn and heroic fraternity, the Brotherhood of the Night’s Watch,” Cotter Pyke spoke to the former Lannister guards now in custody at the Wall.

“Hear my words and bear witness to my vow. Night gathers, and now my watch begins. It shall not end until my death. I shall take no wife, hold no lands, father no children. I shall wear no crowns and win no glory. I shall live and die at my post. I am the sword in the darkness. I am the watcher on the walls. I am the shield that guards the realms of men. I pledge my life and honor to the Night’s Watch, for this night and all the nights to come. In the name of the Warrior, I consecrate my life to this vow and this duty, this war against the Dead. May the Mother show me mercy, the Smith give me strength, the Father judge my righteous cause, and the Stranger greet me as a friend at the hour of my death,” the Lannister prisoners chanted together, being still firm in the Faith of the Seven.

With that, the prisoners were no longer in the custody of the Ironborn and their Bottomless Queen, but were full and equal members of that ancient order of warriors known as the Night’s Watch. They were crows. They had taken the black. There was no House Lannister left to serve, anyway, other than Lord Tyrion, who had turned his back on the Lannister cause when he slew Lord Tywin Lannister with his crossbow and bolts. Now they would fight, not for House Lannister and the Westerlands, but for all of Westeros, all of the realms of men. Their past fealty would never be held against them again. Any atrocities that they had committed during the recent wars could and would be absolved.

They were welcome, too, because Cotter Pyke certainly needed all of the men that he could get to man the ramparts of Eastwatch-by-the-Sea. This was driven home yet again that night, when just after supper, the Iron Fleet began preparing to depart for now. What Yara intended next was unknown to most, but to her, it made perfect sense. She would clear the Dead out of Skagos and Skane, cutting the Night King and his fleet off from their newest stronghold and base from which to strike. She wanted to catch them napping, of course. Time would tell if it worked or not, but Yara Greyjoy just had to attempt it, to take the war back to the enemy.

Her ships were barely out of sight, with the cold, gray dawn, when the sails of the Dead fleet arrived again and began to assail them again. Cotter Pyke fought bravely enough, as did all of the troops, mostly ex-Lannister bannermen, but the still weakened Theon Greyjoy insisted upon fighting now that his sister was no longer there to fuss. In spite of all warnings not to do this, Theon led the way and fought the Dead ruthlessly, driving them back several times. The men of the Night’s Watch, old and new, took courage from Theon’s example and didn’t yield at all to the foe. The Dead were ruthlessly cut down by the fierce defenders of Eastwatch-by-the-Sea.