Until this point in our retelling of A Song of Ice and Fire, we have neglected to mention one
of the key players in this tale. To remedy this, we will now detail the trials and tribulations
of Jon Snow. The bastard son of Eddard Stark was raised in acrimony, always feeling apart
from those who were supposed to be his siblings and instilled with a firm belief that unless he
were to depart from Winterfell, his life would be an unfulfilled one. This upbringing would inspire
this child born in the dying embers of Robert’s Rebellion to become his own man and in doing so,
forge a path for himself which may yet have immense implications for Westeros and its people.
At the conclusion of the rebellion against the Mad King, when all was said and done, Robert Baratheon
sat on the Iron Throne, forever altering the course of the history of the Seven Kingdoms.
Of all the dramatic twists in that seminal war, perhaps the most surprising was that Eddard Stark,
the noblest man in the realm, had besmirched the very honour he held so dear by way of siring
a bastard son. Following the defeat of the Mad King and the death of his sister Lyanna,
Ned made his way back to his ancestral seat of Winterfell,
bringing with him not only his retinue but also the bastard son he had named Jon.
This drew a frosty reception from his wife, Catelyn, and this animosity was only
furthered by the patriarch of the Stark family’s abject refusal to speak of the boy's parentage.
Jon was raised amongst the Stark children, with Ned displaying a fierce protectiveness
towards the boy, ensuring that he received an education befitting a true scion of House Stark.
As a result, the bastard grew close with his trueborn siblings Robb and Arya, yet less so
with Sansa, who treated him with disdain as her mother did. This relatively comfortable
existence was soon to change with a portent of the coming of Winter, which was encountered when
the Stark retinue returned from the execution of a deserter of the Night’s Watch. During their home
journey to Winterfell, the party discovered a dead Direwolf who had left a litter of pups. Upon Jon’s
suggestion, the pups were not executed but instead given to each of the Stark children to raise.
Jon received the runt of the litter: an albino pup whom he named Ghost.
Due to his bastard status, Jon was deemed unworthy to sit with his trueborn siblings at the feast,
welcoming King Robert to the North. During the festivities, he spoke with Benjen Stark,
the First Ranger of the Night’s Watch. Here, Jon set his heart upon joining the brotherhood,
fully aware that his prospects as a bastard were limited even despite the kindness his father has
displayed throughout the years. This process was hastened by Ned’s acceptance of the title
of Hand of the King, which necessitated that he head toward King's Landing.
Catelyn was unwilling to keep Jon in Winterfell in her husband's absence, and Ned could not
bring his bastard to court. Therefore, it was agreed that he would go North to the Wall.
This arrangement pleased Catelyn, as due to the vows Jon would have to take with the watch,
he would be unable to sire sons who would challenge her own offspring’s claim to Winterfell.
Jon’s dreams of joining a brotherhood of likeminded, stalwart guardians of civilization
were soon dispelled when, upon arriving at the wall, he discovered that the Night’s Watch
of old had been fundamentally altered into an unrecognizable tapestry of criminals and exiles.
Initially, Jon allowed his resentment of his current station to bleed into how he
treated fellow recruits, resulting in a confrontation between them.
Only after a conversation with the armourer of Castle Black, Donal Noye, Jon realized he had
treated the others in much the same way he had once been treated due to his status as a bastard.
After this, Jon won the respect of his fellow recruits by displaying the characteristics of
a great leader, mentor and, most importantly, friend. However, his popularity also won him
the undying hatred of the master-at-arms Ser Alliser Thorne. Jon’s closest friend at the Wall
was Samwell Tarly, a rotund man most unsuited to the rigours of the Black and who could only
take his vows due to Jon convincing Maester Aemon to take him as his personal steward.
Following the end of the training period among the recruits, Jon believed he had proven himself
to be a worthy candidate for the rangers. Thus, he was shocked and dismayed when Lord Commander
Mormont named him his personal steward. This fury was somewhat tempered when Samwell informed Jon
was being intentionally kept close at the Lord Commander’s side to groom him for a leadership
position. Jon and Sam decided to take their vows before a set of weirwood threes North of the Wall.
During this time, Ghost returned with the hand of Jafer Flowers. This led the Brothers of the
Night's Watch to their fallen companions, Jafer and Othor, who were brought back to Castle Black.
That same night, the two corpses arose as wights and came within a hair’s breadth of
taking the Lord Commander’s life had it not been for Jon’s timely intervention.
As a reward for his valiant efforts, Jon was awarded Longclaw: a Valyrain Steel bastard sword
and treasured heirloom of the Mormont family. In recognition of House Stark's blood that ran
through his veins, Jon had the Mormont bear's head pommel replaced with that of a dire wolf.
Jon’s heart was torn when news reached Castle Black that Robb Stark had called his banners and
marched South. Despite the counsel of Maester Aemon, who was revealed to be a Targaryen,
Jon still decided to abandon his vows despite the death penalty which came with it and ride
South to join his brother. He was swayed from this course of action when his friends
among the Watch pursued him and convinced him to return to the Brotherhood. The following morning,
the Lord Commander berated the young bastard and, properly chastised, Jon fully committed to the
Night's Watch. This would come at a pivotal point, serving as a crossroads for the watch. Benjen
Stark had gone missing in the interim, which in conjunction with other ill tidings from Beyond
the Wall, made Jeor Mormont certain of only one true path forward. The Nights Watch would lead a
ranging North in a show of force that had not been seen in generations and discover for themselves
if the casualties could be attributed to the wildlings alone or something even more sinister.
The great ranging began with all preparations having been made, yet the initial portents
left an uncertain picture for the party. The two-hundred-strong company from Castle Black,
supplemented by a further one hundred rangers from the Shadow Tower, were encountered by nought
more than silence. The wildling villages they rode past, including Whitetree, were abandoned.
Only at Craster’s Keep were they informed of a new King Beyond the Wall who had united the
fiercely independent wildlings in the Frostfangs. This man was not unknown to the Night's Watch,
for it was none other than the former ranger Mance Rayder, who had even visited Winterfell during
Jon’s youth. This news, though disheartening, did not alter the conviction of the Lord Commander,
who ordered that his men continue onwards towards the Fist of the First Men.
Upon their arrival at the fist, the Night’s Watch discovered that the defences were in a state of
disrepair. Jeor quickly ordered renovations to the site to defend against any oncoming assault,
regardless of the foe which marched out to meet them. The breaches in the low ringwall were
filled in with timber, while an additional set of timber stakes were set up. In addition, the
slopes surrounding the hill were outfitted with caltrops. Meanwhile, while following his direwolf,
Jon came across an old mound which Ghost dug up, uncovering dragon glass weapons and an old warhorn
wrapped in a Night’s Watch cloak, which Jon distributes among his brothers. Not long after,
the hundred men of the Shadow Tower led by the living legend Qhorin Halfhand arrived at the fist.
Qhorin reported that they had been waylaid by a wildling scouting party commanded by
Alfyn Crowkiller. Fortunately, they prevented the Wildlings from reporting the encounter to Mance,
the ensuing skirmish had come at a relatively high cost, as four brothers lay slain and a further
dozen wounded. A wildling prisoner Qhorin took during the battle subsequently informed the Lord
Commander that Mance was currently searching for a form of magic capable of bringing down the wall.
The Halfhand subsequently selected Jon to be among the three scouting parties to assess the mountain
passes. The other two were commanded by Jarmen Buckwell and Thoren Smallwood, respectively.
Following the ascent up the treacherous mountains, Qhorin’s party ambushed several
wildling sentries in the Skirling Pass. Jon killed the first sentry with little difficulty,
however, his blade was stayed when he discovered his second target was a woman.
Rather than execute her on sight, he took the distinctly fiery-haired wildling as a captive. As
they continued their trek through arduous terrain, Qhorin ordered Jon to execute the wildling sentry.
Despite his duty, Jon’s blade stayed once more, for he could not bring himself to kill an unarmed
woman. Instead, Jon let her go free. In her parting words, the woman promised Jon that Mance
would welcome him among the free folk should he ever defect from the Night’s watch to join them.
That night, Jon dreamt through the eyes of Ghost and, in doing so, laid eyes upon the massive
host that Mance had assembled against the Watch. Thousands of Wildings, supplemented by giants and
mammoths, were shown to him, only for his vision to be cut short when an eagle attacked Ghost.
Jon informed the group of what he saw. Surprised, the watchmen supposed that the young bastard was
a warg, an unusual talent in the current age. The situation turned from bad to worse when
the Night’s Watch came across a wounded Ghost and spotted the Eagle had attacked the hound
flying overhead. This caused Qhorin to decide to return to the Fist with all haste. The wildings
remained in hot pursuit, and to delay them, Qhorin ordered Dalbridge, a veteran ranger
of the Shadow Tower, to buy them as much time as possible in a desperate rearguard action.
The Halfhand further ordered Ebben and Stonesnake, the other company members, to make their way to
the Fist as quickly as possible to inform the Lord Commander of what they had seen.
This left Qhorin alone with Jon, with the former ordering the latter to
join the Wildings and to do what was required to win their trust.
Although Dalbridge fought with the true ferocity of a member of the Night's Watch,
it was not long before the wildling party with Rattleshirt at their head came upon the pair.
Jon immediately yielded to their superior numbers and renounced his loyalties to the
watch, which drew the feigned disdain of his companion. Nevertheless, further proof would
be required of the bastard’s loyalty before the wildlings could accept him among their number.
To that end, Rattleshirt demanded that Jon slay the Halfhand. A duel ensued, and Jon was initially
hard-pressed against the wily Shadow Tower veteran. Ghost intervened, mauling the warrior,
and with a sufficient show put on, Qhorin allowed the younger man to bring an end to his watch.
Although Rattleshirt was disappointed by the intervention of the direwolf,
he kept his word and brought Jon back to their camp to meet the King Beyond the Wall.
To ensure that Qhorin’s sacrifice was not in vain, Jon would have to set aside his honour and vows
for his imminent meeting with the unifier of the Wildings, an act which would not come easily to
any scion of House Stark. Yet in this instance, Jon was, fortunately, able to achieve what his
father could not and set aside his principles even momentarily for the sake of his brothers.
Although Jon initially did not recognize the true King Beyond the Wall, believing Tormund or Styr
to be Mance, he quickly regained his footing and addressed the man who presented himself
as nought more than a bard. Now addressing the true King, Jon feigned anger at those who raised
him for his apparent poor treatment due to his illegitimate parentage. As a result, Mance Rayder
could empathize with the young man and perhaps see something of himself in the boy who seemed
intent on setting aside the Black. Furthermore, Mance allowed Jon to be privy to his plans,
which would not be limited to the Night’s Watch’s destruction and the Wall’s storming. Rather the
King Beyond the Wall wished to invade the Seven Kingdoms and in doing so carve out a dominion
for his people, free from the infighting and harsh conditions which had long engulfed the far North.
However, a greater reason pushed Mance desperately to unite the disparate far North,
for the Long Night was approaching, and the denizens of the dark, icy depths of the Land
of Always Winter were rising once more. This was a fact that those who dwelled within Westeros’
Seven Kingdoms remained blissfully unaware of, including the brothers of the Nights Watch,
despite the initial reasoning behind their order’s founding. These beings of myth and
legend would soon become a stark reality for those camped upon the Fist of the First Men,
bringing a premature end to the great ranging. However, this is a story for another day,
and the next few videos in this series will detail the disastrous ambush upon the Fist of
the First Men and Jon’s time among the Wildlings culminating in his return to the land of his
birth and the desperate decisions which would be forced upon him as a result, but in the meantime,
we are planning to cover the battles of many other fantasy, sci-fi, and space opera universes,
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