Chapter 471

Surviving the Cataclysm.

Amid the fervent post-war reconstruction efforts, preparations for the next battle were proceeding in an orderly and intense fashion.

The Gift, being a young and fragile territory, lacked its own culture. Beyond the Night's Watch’s storied history and the recent breathtaking war, there was little to boast about. This lack of heritage often leads to weaker cohesion among communities. Fortunately, the Gift had other advantages to compensate for its shortcomings.

Here, there were no tangled webs of entrenched interests or sprawling factions. The minor frictions among tribes had long been quelled by the rule of law and the common threat they all faced. In the face of humanity’s ultimate enemy, everyone became brothers and comrades. With a clear direction and unified goal, resistance was minimal, negligible even. Now, under the command of the Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, all the resources of this land were mobilized toward a single purpose.

After “an extensive and meticulous search,” the Watch’s spokesperson regretfully announced: based on the rangers’ findings, the remnants of the White Walkers who escaped the Battle of the Long Lake had retreated Beyond the Wall through hidden paths, slipping past the breaches in the gorge defenses.

To avenge their fallen brothers, to reclaim the vast, fertile lands Beyond the Wall and make them habitable once more, and to ensure the survival of humanity for generations to come, the Night's Watch Command officially transformed rumors into a battle plan: next month, an elite force would march Beyond the Wall, hunting down the last of the enemy and erasing them from existence—a fitting conclusion to this grand war!

Sworn black brothers, fervent followers of the Red God, former wildlings yearning for freedom Beyond the Wall, and warriors of the Gift eager to prove themselves but denied the chance to slay White Walkers before—all of them had hearts pounding with excitement at the prospect of this epic campaign. Yet few realized the preparations for the extinction of the White Walkers—dragon glass weapons, obsidian-laden bombs—could just as easily be turned southward with a change in purpose. The experimental weapons now shattering flesh and stone with terrifying efficiency far surpassed what was needed to fight the dead.

Beneath the excitement and fervor, an undercurrent began to stir.

…

Years ago, Aegor had used a few scraps of paper in King’s Landing to sow rumors, provoke a rebellion in the Vale, and drive out Littlefinger. Not only had he achieved his goals beyond expectations, but he’d done so alone, leaving no trail.

Now, he sought to ignite another unreasonable war—a war to “repay the Queen’s grace” and give the Night's Watch an excuse to abandon neutrality. However, it wasn’t enough for the people of the Gift to simply lack opposition. While making material preparations, Aegor needed something more—a psychological spark that would rally the Gift’s inhabitants to fully support a southern campaign.

The Stark women had already begun their escorted journey back to Winterfell. Dozens of “lightbringer” children, emissaries of goodwill, were spreading word across the Seven Kingdoms. Yet, beyond these gestures, Aegor once again turned to his sharpest tool: rumors.

No one could endlessly spread rumors, steer public opinion, and remain unnoticed. As a man of high status now under constant scrutiny, Aegor could no longer directly engage in such “dirty work.” Thus, he had invested in building his own media and propaganda apparatus. It was this invisible “Night's Watch Propaganda Department” that kept the idea of a northern expedition alive in the minds of the Gift’s people long before the command made it official.

While testing public sentiment and conducting strategic deception outwardly, this move was also a trial run for the propaganda department, proving its organizational readiness and operational effectiveness. Confident in its success, Aegor wielded this invisible weapon, aiming its intangible edge at his enemies.

Silently, a new rumor began to spread—just as the buzz about the northern expedition had before. It whispered that the king on the Iron Throne and his southern nobles, who had never ventured north of the Neck, were secretly plotting against the Gift. Even as the Gift’s people protected them, they were allegedly planning to force the mountain clans back to their caves and expel all wildlings from within the Wall once the northern expedition was complete.

…

The Gift’s residents, still recovering from the war, did not expect gratitude or rewards from faceless southern nobles. But the idea of betrayal? That was unbearable. The wildlings, though many cared little for southern lands, would not tolerate being driven out like dogs.

Soon, anger spread outward from New Crown Town like wildfire.

Aegor watched patiently as the rumor took root and grew. When it threatened to spiral out of control, he would step in, quelling it and reaping its full benefits. What began as a campaign Beyond the Wall would become a southern invasion of the Seven Kingdoms, and no one would dare question its logic.

…

Macro-level propaganda was crucial, but so was careful political maneuvering.

Asha Greyjoy was not the only one to visit Aegor’s office for negotiations. Over the following days, he met with leaders of various factions in the Gift, subtly laying groundwork. He did not openly declare his true intentions but ensured no one capable of influencing events would oppose him—or, better yet, would support him in the coming storm.

To loyal mountain clans, Aegor reaffirmed their contracts and promised a place in the Gift. To wildlings willing to settle, he guaranteed their new status as Gift residents. To those who yearned for freedom Beyond the Wall, he offered a peaceful separation once the region was secure, even providing resources to help them start anew.

Internally, he reassured conservative Night's Watch members of their continued neutrality and focus on defending the Wall. For neutrals uninterested in war, he promised no forced conscription. Only those with ambition, ability, and value received whispers of his plans, along with promises of rewards to prepare them for the battles ahead.

The wealth, lands, and titles of southern nobles who would soon fall in the power game were already being written into Aegor’s ledgers, ready to fund his alliances and ambitions.

…

Another busy day ended. Seated behind his desk, sipping hot soup, Aegor listened to reports.

“New Crown Town is abuzz with the rumor. People are already gathering outside the inner keep, demanding your response. Guards dispersed them for now, but the sentiment is spreading. I estimate it’ll take one to two weeks to reach the entire Gift. The propaganda department could accelerate it, but that would risk exposing our hand…”

“No, let it spread naturally.” Aegor smirked. “Keep it under control, though. Issue a semi-official statement under your name, just enough to lower the heat but not extinguish it before the time is ripe.”

“Understood.”

The report shifted to Asha’s requests for supplies, personnel, and poison-making assistance. Aegor approved it all, calculating the costs with deliberate precision. If she sought to assassinate her uncle, so be it; such alliances and transactions were part of the game.

Finally, a suspicious messenger claiming to carry an urgent missive from Winterfell was detained. Aegor leaned back in thought, weighing whether to meet this unknown figure or dismiss them entirely.

…