After leaving the heart tree their journey back was uneventful.
They spent one more day crossing the Haunted Forest and finally reached the base of the Wall.
Passing through the long dark tunnel beneath the Wall's foundation the oppressive watchful feeling from the depths of the unfamiliar forest finally lifted.
The heavy sense of being in alien territory vanished.
Ethan immediately felt a rush of relief—yet at the same moment a quiet melancholy settled over him because the ambient magic in the air had grown even thinner.
He gently patted the chain dangling behind his saddle confirming the precious bottle of heart tree sap was still safely tucked inside.
The small reassurance brought him great peace of mind and confidence.
Back at Castle Black he said farewell to Chief Ranger Benjen stabled Lightning and the other horses then carried his gear into his room in Hardin's Tower removed his armor and finally allowed himself a proper rest.
Ah—even the cold straw mattress felt like paradise at that moment.
But he had barely lain down when a young man in black hurried in from outside the tower and said respectfully:
"Captain Ethan—Lord Commander Mormont requests your immediate presence."
Presumably this concerned the disaster that had befallen the patrol in the Haunted Forest.
Ethan replied:
"All right—right away."
He quickly changed into clean clothes followed the young brother into the Lord Commander's Tower and entered a spacious hall.
In the center of the hall stood a long rectangular wooden table.
At its head sat an elderly man whose face was as hard and weathered as granite—bald with a thick grey beard hanging to his chest.
His hands were clasped tightly together.
On either side of the table sat several older black brothers—some solemn some murmuring in low voices—all clearly focused on the coming conversation.
After the young brother announced Ethan's arrival the old man at the head of the table spoke:
"Captain Ethan—please be seated."
Once Ethan sat the old man continued:
"I am Jeor Mormont—current Lord Commander of the Night's Watch.
Benjen Stark has described what happened to your patrol in the Haunted Forest and brought back a head as proof."
The old man pointed to the pale withered head placed in the center of the table.
"But this proof is not entirely convincing.
Some of the brothers still have doubts.
Benjen Stark is a capable First Ranger and I personally trust his account—but the deaths of six rangers beyond the Wall are not so great a loss that the Night's Watch cannot bear it.
It is a loss that can be quietly accepted.
Benjen's report states you healed his wound with a mysterious spell.
Would you demonstrate it for us?"
Ethan frowned.
"The grace of the Sun God is not a circus trick…
The mana spent here might one day save a brave man in battle."
Old Bear nodded.
"I understand your concern.
It is indeed a pity to waste such power on a display."
Then he rolled up his sleeve drew a dagger and drew a long cut along the inside of his forearm.
Bright red blood welled and ran freely across the table.
"But this demonstration concerns the future of the Night's Watch.
It is very important to us."
Every eye in the room turned to Ethan.
Seeing the blood pooling on the wood Ethan understood this was Old Bear's sincerity—he could not refuse.
He gently placed his hand over the Lord Commander's wound.
A flash of golden light—and the torn flesh closed completely without a scar.
Old Bear wiped the blood and grime from his arm with a cloth clenched his fist and exclaimed:
"Though the process was painful this is truly a remarkable ability.
Captain Ethan—can you teach us this spell?"
Ethan shook his head.
"This is a gift from the Sun God.
Only the most devout followers of An'she can receive it."
"The Sun God An'she—from where does this god come?"
Commander Mormont muttered then turned toward the shadows behind him.
"Maester Aemon—have you ever heard of this deity?"
A frail aged voice answered from the back:
"I have never heard of the Sun God An'she…
As for gods with similar domains I know only of R'hllor the Red God who wields light and fire—but the priests of R'hllor have never shown such power.
Perhaps this is a newly arisen young god."
The maester addressed Ethan:
"Young man—are there many followers of the Sun God?"
"Many in my homeland—but I have met none on this continent."
The men of the Night's Watch were either northerners who followed the Old Gods or southerners who followed the Seven.
Converting an entire order for the sake of a magical spell clearly lay beyond the authority of the brothers present.
After exchanging glances with the others Old Bear said to Ethan:
"Captain Ethan—thank you for your selfless aid to the Night's Watch."
He then instructed a black brother seated at the far end of the table:
"Jerome—please escort Captain Ethan to supper on my behalf."
As Ethan left the hall Benjen gave him an apologetic glance.
Ethan knew this was an apology for the Night's Watch summoning him for questioning.
No matter—Ethan wasn't too bothered.
After all the effects of the Light spell were so good it didn't even leave a scar.
In this situation he could only do what Old Bear had done.
After leaving the Lord Commander's Tower Jerome led Ethan to the common hall and personally brought him a hearty meal.
Once the two sat facing each other Jerome asked bluntly:
"Captain Ethan—do you think it's possible for me to receive the blessing of the Sun God?"
"You? Forgive my directness—but are you a follower of the Seven or the Old Gods?"
Jerome replied:
"I come from Duskendale in the Crownlands.
Earl Rykker of Duskendale is my uncle—so naturally I follow the Seven."
Ethan considered his words carefully before answering:
"The teachings of the Sun God and the doctrines of the Seven do not conflict.
However there are some differences in certain fundamental principles…"
Then while eating Ethan briefly explained the An'she faith doctrines he had taught Kevin.
After listening Jerome Rykker frowned.
"Captain Ethan—how can knights and lords be equal to ignorant smallfolk?
This is truly unacceptable."
Ethan however was somewhat puzzled.
"Among you black brothers there are noble knights commoners and even criminals.
Aren't you all equal?"
Jerome shook his head.
"That's different.
Joining the Night's Watch is an honorable and noble calling.
The Seven and the Old Gods witness our oath.
When we don the black we surrender all worldly rights and obligations.
But south of the Wall the differences between men are no less than those between men and dogs."
Ethan shrugged and nodded in agreement.
"I see.
What you say makes sense.
The Night's Watch is the bulwark of the Seven Kingdoms—so naturally it stands apart from other places."
Yet even a fool could hear the perfunctory tone in his voice.
So Jerome dropped the subject of the Sun God and subtly expressed his disdain for the An'she faith's lack of hierarchy and discipline.
Thus in a slightly awkward atmosphere Ethan finished his meal.
Back in Hardin's Tower Kevin was already waiting in his room using a rag to polish his teacher's armor while the little bear cub he had brought back from the Haunted Forest buried its head in a large bowl munching dinner.
"Teacher—you're back!"
Ethan sat on the bed and asked with concern:
"Yes I'm back.
How have you been these past few days?"
Kevin wiped grime from Ethan's armor.
"I've done my best to help the black brothers these past few days—just like you did before you left.
They said if I'm willing to join the Night's Watch they can clothe me in black right away."
Ethan smiled.
"You'd look quite good in black."
Kevin set down the rag and answered seriously:
"No Teacher.
Spreading the teachings of the An'she faith is a far greater mission.
In the two weeks I've been here I've met many people.
Though they come from different places and have different pasts almost none of them are truly evil.
Debtors… serfs… young male prostitutes… barbers convicted of theft…
Most were sent here by their lords on personal whims and trumped-up charges.
I cannot say they were entirely innocent—but compared to being sent to the Wall to die it was clearly unjust."
Ethan set aside his smile and spoke solemnly:
"Yes.
An ordinary person asks only two things of a ruler: fair taxes and fair justice.
Yet on our journey we have seen very few lords who can provide either.
Liberty equality and fraternity are the core doctrines of the An'she faith—the essence of which lies in the sun's fair and selfless love for all things in the world…"
On this topic Ethan spoke briefly to his student explaining his philosophy.
After finishing the day's lesson he suddenly realized he hadn't seen Lennar or Tyrion Lannister since returning from the forest.
He asked:
"Where are Lennar and Tyrion Lannister?
I haven't seen them all day."
"They went to Mole's Town and said they'd be back tomorrow."
Ethan nodded then asked:
"Did Tyrion tell you when we're heading south back to Winterfell?"
Kevin answered:
"Lord Tyrion came to see me a couple of days ago.
He told me to tell you that as long as you return from beyond the Wall you can set out for Winterfell at any time."
After Kevin left Ethan lay on the long-unused straw bed hands folded behind his head quietly reflecting on the events of the past few days.
The battle in the Haunted Forest though dangerous had been nothing to him—just a minor incident.
The heart tree sap while exciting had also been expected.
With White Walkers in the world how could there be no magic?
And if magic existed there must be a way to replenish it.
What truly kept him tossing and turning at night were a few words Jerome Rykker had spoken during dinner that day.
Even a Night's Watchman like Jerome—who had chosen the wrong side in a war been stripped of secular rights banished to the edge of civilization and left with only a knightly title—still clung fiercely to hierarchy.
What then of the lords knights and garrison commanders in the North and South?
Would they simply stand by while a religion preaching "liberty equality and fraternity" spread among their smallfolk?
A quick glance at the history of powerful religions on Earth showed that aside from their inconspicuous early stages once these forces gained influence they almost invariably led to bloodshed.
The only difference was whether the victims were their own people or heretics.
If he rashly proselytized among the common folk he might ignite a religious war before the White Walker crisis even fully erupted in the North.
The thought sent a chill through Ethan.
Could *he* be the one to spark the war in the South?
He did not want to drag ordinary people into this lightly.
In Ethan's view—at least under Lord Eddard's rule—the lives of smallfolk in the North were relatively stable and he had no right to push them into the abyss of war.
But neither could he simply refrain from spreading the faith.
The power of the Sun God An'she—or rather the power of Light—was an extremely potent force.
Though he had not yet found a way to let others wield the Light Ethan was certain that one day the method would appear before him.
Even a mortal martial art like the Flying Sword Style could influence the course of a nation's history—how much chaos could the power of Light unleash?
Ethan did not dare imagine.
This tremendous force had to be restrained by a noble faith—otherwise it would become only another source of disorder.
Therefore establishing the An'she faith and forging its doctrines into a scabbard to bind the power of Light was imperative.
After much thought Ethan decided to begin by promoting the doctrines of the An'she faith within his own mercenary company.
The company was a relatively closed environment; as long as he did not harm the lords' subjects he would naturally avoid arousing their interest or hostility.
When members of the company eventually left the group they would naturally become seeds of the Sun God's faith taking root among the people.
This was the best strategy Ethan could devise at this stage.
The following day at noon Ethan met Lord Tyrion Lannister in the hall—the dwarf's eyelids swollen.
Seeing his appearance Ethan teased:
"Oh Lord Tyrion—it looks like you've had quite a rough time.
Don't you need to take better care of yourself?"
Tyrion laughed and replied:
"Ha—I originally thought that in a remote place like the Wall the brothels would only offer a bunch of ugly ducklings—but I didn't expect the quality to be so high."
Ethan wasn't very interested in such matters so he asked:
"When are we leaving?
Kevin told me you've already finished your business here."
"Yes—I'm still waiting for you so we can travel back together.
To be honest if you hadn't returned soon I might have left on my own—at most leaving you a farewell letter full of apologies."
"Believe me—I'd only use your letter to wipe my ass."
Tyrion set down his spoon wiped his mouth and stood.
"Then let's go bid farewell to Old Bear today and leave as early as tomorrow.
You can start packing your gear."
That night Tyrion's servant Maurice came to Hardin's Tower to inform Ethan of their departure the next day.
The following morning Ethan Kevin and Lennar packed their belongings and waited early in Castle Black's training yard.
Then they saw Benjen Stark and his nephew Jon Snow approaching.
Ethan asked puzzled:
"What—are you two coming back to Winterfell with me as well?
🪽✨🪽✨🪽✨🪽✨🪽✨🪽✨🪽✨🪽
Read Extra Chapter Visit My Patreon
I have only 1 tier
19$ Tier – Access to 40 advance chapters
patreon.com/Lempil
patreon.com/Lempil