Chapter 245

The militia from Queensgate and Shadow Tower quickly arrived at Castle Black. Under the forceful "maintenance of order" imposed by over a thousand soldiers, the thousands of wildlings temporarily stationed outside Castle Black were coerced into compliance. After a series of procedures, they officially became new denizens of the Gift.

Nearly every wildling who had recently crossed the Wall had lost friends or family to the wights. Naturally, this cold, hostile treatment left them seething with resentment and cursing the Night's Watch. However, the wildlings never had much goodwill for the Watch to begin with, so this added insult hardly derailed Aegor's plans. In an era with such limited productivity, it was impossible for rulers to satisfy every subject. To focus resources on critical objectives, the best approach was moderate oppression—just enough to keep the populace's discontent below a dangerous threshold.

In this regard, the Gift had an inherent advantage. The ruling class of the Gift—the Night's Watch—was a military organization, creating an unusually high "military-to-civilian ratio." Furthermore, the new denizens of the Gift were accustomed to hardship. These factors raised the "threshold of tolerance" in this micro-society far above that of any other region.

…

In the end, nearly thirty thousand wildlings were fully resettled within the Gift. One-third were placed in nine ruined keeps deemed too dilapidated to be reactivated by Mormont's orders; they were explicitly forbidden from building walls. Another third were stationed around the ten operational keeps, living outside the walls and under constant military surveillance. The remaining third were scattered across the heart of the Gift, spread out in a wide area centered on Queenscrown.

The ordinary new denizens were relatively easy to manage, but the most troublesome group was the hundred or so giants. Though they and their mammoths were docile vegetarians, their tempers could be formidable when provoked. To accommodate them, Aegor designated a plot of land near Queenscrown—not too close, not too far—where water and grass were abundant, providing ample resources for their mammoths.

…

The wildlings had been admitted. Now came the challenge of managing them.

Aegor's first project for the new denizens of the Gift was road construction.

The adage "To get rich, build roads first" remained an unshakable truth. While prosperity was not the immediate goal, the principle applied nonetheless. Without adequate infrastructure, nothing could move forward.

Roadwork wasn't an urgent necessity for the Gift, but Aegor was eager to give these newly settled outsiders something to do. It provided a legitimate way to feed them, occupied their minds from scheming, and instilled the importance of "money."

Those who accepted the work were issued simple tools and led to designated routes. They cleared weeds, moved stones, dug and leveled soil, and compacted the ground until the roads were visibly distinct from the surrounding wilderness. The roads had to be wide enough for two horses to ride abreast—a relatively high standard given the Gift's sparse population and harsh conditions.

Pay was distributed daily. Though the work was grueling, each laborer earned a sum equivalent to several days’ worth of food. With this "high wage," one person could feed their entire family. Thanks to the Night's Watch's ample supplies, the power of money quickly took hold. Initially, recruiting workers was difficult, but soon, droves of wildlings arrived early each day, waiting for tasks to be assigned.

…

At the same time, trouble brewed at Eastwatch. Bran Stark and the Reed siblings had attempted to sneak beyond the Wall but were caught and detained at the castle. They were to remain there until Winterfell sent someone to retrieve them.

Bran, being a noble and disabled, was placed under strict watch by Mormont's orders. However, Meera and Jojen Reed, along with Hodor, were granted freedom of movement. During her activities near Eastwatch, Meera was harassed by wildlings who had been settled nearby under the supervision of the Flint clan. She was nearly dragged off to be raped.

Among the wildlings, marriage customs were bizarre. They believed a true man strengthened his clan by raiding other tribes and "stealing" women to bear his children. Clearly, these particular offenders mistook Meera for a woman from a southern tribe and attempted to "claim" her.

Such barbaric practices had been strictly outlawed under the Night's Watch's new laws, and only wildlings who agreed to these laws were allowed through the Wall. Yet, within days of being admitted, some of the new denizens couldn’t restrain themselves. While Meera and Bran were not of great significance, Meera was still a noblewoman—the daughter of Lord Howland Reed, a key bannerman of Winterfell. Any harm befalling her on the Night’s Watch's lands could not be ignored.

When Aegor refused to personally handle the matter, Lord Commander Jeor Mormont decided to intervene himself. He apprehended the culprits and punished them while escorting Bran and the Reeds back to Castle Black for their safety.

…

Aegor’s plan to use money to secure the wildlings' compliance progressed smoothly. Two weeks after thirty thousand wildlings crossed the Wall, Aegor announced a second major project: recruiting a thousand wildlings to join a supply caravan heading south into the North to secure winter aid from northern lords.

The pay for this task was twice that of roadwork.

Wildlings flocked to Queenscrown, camping outside its walls as they waited for the caravan to set off.

This war to drive the Ironborn from the North wasn’t something Aegor intended to leave entirely to the wildlings. Of the two thousand fighters he planned to raise, the other half would come from the mountain clans, who he trusted far more.

Yet, just as the caravan began to assemble and preparations neared completion, disastrous news arrived: Jeor Mormont, who had gone to investigate Meera's near-abduction, was ambushed while pursuing the offenders. A stone hurled by a rioter struck his head, knocking him unconscious. He was rushed back to Castle Black, but despite their efforts, he succumbed to his injuries.

The Lord Commander of the Night's Watch had been killed—by the very wildlings he had let through the Wall.