Chapter 68 - Taking Leadership of Camp 03.
[Chapter Size: 2100 Words.]
Third Person POV.
Westeros.
...
...
At this moment, every place was already full, and the only sound was the crackling of fires throughout the camp, while gossip and comments grew quieter, not wanting to miss the conclusion of this meeting.
The entire camp seemed to have gathered there, and there was no more space for anyone. It wasn't a large enough place to hold more than 150,000 people.
Among the first rows, which had a privileged view of what was about to happen, Val stood with Della by her side, observing the situation carefully. While Della seemed a bit worried, Val kept her eyes fixed on Jon, who remained calm among the leaders.
There were eight leaders in the camp representing all the tribes, including Mance. Among these leaders, three clearly favored Jon — Tormund, Mag, and Karsi. Meanwhile, Styr, Rattleshirt, and Sixskins showed visible antipathy. Harma and Mance appeared more neutral.
But even the two who seemed neutral couldn't ignore the tense atmosphere building there.
"Will he be alright?" — a little farther away, Daenerys approached Ygritte, asking in a low voice, her eyes shining with concern.
"I hope so. If any of those idiots try something, I'll shoot an arrow at them before they can lift a blade against Jon..." Ygritte murmured, her gaze serious.
Lucis, who was also with Daenerys and the tribe, looked around. "Where's my brother?" — Lucis couldn't help but ask, searching for him. She hadn't seen her brother all night. She asked some of the men in the tribe, but they all shook their heads negatively.
'Clearly, he would be here to see Jon and cheer for him...' Lucis thought, and that worried her.
At the center of everyone's attention, the leaders stared at each other. Each one seemed to have a different stance on the situation. Tormund appeared unconcerned, even with a look of irony toward the others. Karsi kept a serious expression, while Mag remained neutral.
Styr also kept a serious look, but his eyes were like daggers pointed at Jon. Sixskins seemed to try to remain neutral, not even looking directly at Jon. Rattleshirt, however, was the most blatant, glaring at Jon with disgust, as if he wanted to kill him. Yet there was something more in his gaze — a touch of fear that Jon noticed immediately, even that man knew Jon was not someone easy to face after what he had heard.
Harma observed each of the leaders without showing favoritism. Mance, however, wasn't just looking at the leaders; his gaze swept through the crowd surrounding them. He was analyzing the situation.
After a moment of silence, Mance took a deep breath, swallowed hard, and decided to begin.
"Well… Let's start." He said, his firm voice echoing through the circle of spectators as everyone turned their attention to him.
Mance's gaze shifted from the crowd, focusing on the leaders in front of him. "I summoned you all here because some things have changed in the camp since I left for Winterfell." He announced.
Everyone present silently agreed, knowing it to be true.
"I've realized something… Perhaps I don't hold as much authority as I did when I left this place." Mance continued, with honesty.
"You're among the Free Folk, I'm not surprised by that, we're quite straightforward." Tormund spoke, seeing Jon raise an eyebrow. "We're a people who make direct decisions… with words, or even with blades."
Then Mance went on. "Anyway, I've been challenged to give up the camp's leadership. And the one who made that challenge was Jon Snow." He declared openly, keeping everyone alert.
The mention of Jon's name caused a wave of murmurs in the crowd, something that everyone deep down already knew. Still, many started whispering to one another, wondering what would happen next.
"And now we're going to let a southerner lead us, Mance? I followed you, not a kneeler." Rattleshirt spat on the ground in disgust, directing it at Mance himself.
"He's not a kneeler, he wasn't here before he reached the North." Tormund commented.
"Do you really believe that?" Styr said.
"He has a weapon that could kill us all. Do you think he couldn't use it? Then explain why he's living among us instead of simply attacking?" Karsi remarked.
"He is frustrated. I feel anger and jealousy in him," Jon said calmly, looking at both Styr and Rattleshirt with an amused expression.
Both of them growled, but Jon decided to take the lead in the discussion. After all, he wanted to command the camp, so there was no time to waste.
His gaze left the leaders and turned toward everyone around them, and Mance did not stop him.
"You know me as Jon Snow," he began. "I'm a stranger who appeared here a few moons ago, and I admit I had a certain perception of you at first. I killed two entire groups of you when we met. After all, they called me a southerner and attacked me," Jon said without fear, as the tribes exchanged glances. Jon's voice was much louder than any other voice they had ever heard before, echoing across the camp, surprising both the leaders nearby and the entire camp — something common for someone with the legendary Thu'um ability.
"But I ended up entering this camp just to see how you lived on this side of the Wall. I had no intentions, only to stay for a while and then head south. After all, I have a personal war against the people on the other side of the Wall," Jon said, pausing briefly.
"Then I saw the threat that lies in these lands. I saw and fought the White Walkers alongside you, guaranteeing a few victories. I realized that if you truly stay here, everyone will die. Correct?" Jon asked as he stared at the front rows.
He could see Val and Della among some familiar faces on one side, while on the other side stood Daenerys, Lucis, and Ygritte, along with many others he knew.
Everyone listened to his words in silence. The leaders said nothing, although a few made grimaces. No one interrupted his speech. Meanwhile, the Free Folk began to murmur among themselves, whether in the common tongue or the old language known to some.
There was even a large group of giants standing at a distance, looking over the Free Folk.
"He can lead us!" someone shouted.
"Jon Snow can use his beast to bring down the Wall!"
People began shouting in the middle of the gathering, believing that this would be the solution for crossing the Wall. But Jon wasn't done yet.
"Certainly, bringing down the Wall wouldn't be difficult with Winter," he said.
At the very moment Jon mentioned the dragon's name, a roar erupted from the darkness.
ROOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRR
The sound seemed to shake the entire camp as if the dragon had heard Jon from afar and understood his words. Everyone screamed in fear and backed away, even as Jon raised an eyebrow, looking toward the dragon in the distance.
With a sigh, Jon turned back to the crowd, wanting to continue, ignoring Winter's protest.
"But there is something you must know. Going south of the Wall is more than just crossing it and facing the Night's Watch… The battles have only begun, and we won't only be dealing with the army of the dead on this side of the Wall," Jon said as everyone refocused their attention on him.
"The South will never allow the Free Folk to live in peace until they see the true enemy beyond the Wall. And no one will believe us, even if we bring proof. It will take years to get any response from them," he said, looking around at everyone.
"Then let's take them down too!"
"We'll fight and defeat them!"
The crowd exclaimed loudly, but Jon shook his head.
"Defeating the southern army is not as simple as you think…" Jon said, making everyone fall silent.
"Are you saying we're weaker than the southerners?!" Styr growled at Jon.
The Dragonborn ignored the man and turned to the crowds, seeing the same questioning looks in their eyes.
"Don't misunderstand me. The Free Folk are strong when it comes to individual combat. But against trained armies and armored cavalry, it will be a disaster. We'll be defeated, as it would break any formation on the battlefield. Unfortunately, you haven't been trained for that kind of war," Jon explained.
"Then we'll die fighting, it's better than becoming a corpse!" some shouted immediately.
"You're right about that," Jon interrupted before more people could agree with the sentiment, acknowledging that they had a point. "But do we really need to die?" he asked, looking at everyone, falling silent as they stared back at him.
"If we can fight? I know I'm asking a lot here, but if you want to survive in the South, you'll have to take your own place and show the southerners that they must respect us. After all, we'll also have to deal with the White Walkers, and I don't think the Wall will hold them for much longer," Jon said.
"What do you mean by that?" Sixskins, standing next to his wolf, asked, speaking to Jon for the first time. All the leaders turned their gaze toward him, even Mance, who already knew what Jon would say, understanding how difficult it would be to convince the Free Folk with these ideas.
"I want to lead you, but not just that. I want us to build an army in the next few moons. I will train all of you so that we can fight against the South, and we'll strike first to claim a position in the Seven Kingdoms," Jon said to everyone as they exchanged uncertain glances.
"You want us to fight in the South?! For you? Do you expect us to kneel to you as well? Do you want to be the king of the South?!" Rattleshirt exclaimed. Even Harma, who had remained neutral, now looked at Jon with disapproval.
"And do you want to wait for the South to come for you? To be slaughtered like animals?" Jon responded sharply to the man.
"I think he's right about that. The kneelers won't leave us in peace… and if he's telling the truth, maybe attacking is the best way to survive there," Tormund admitted, his tone more serious, showing that he too knew how to think strategically.
"I don't want to take leadership of this camp without saying certain things first," Jon said again before pausing, making everyone look at him in complete silence, waiting for his next words.
"I am not just Jon Snow, but also Daemon Targaryen, heir to all the southern kingdoms, which belong to me by birthright," he revealed to the Free Folk for the first time, leaving everyone stunned by the revelation.
"You're the king of the South?!" Tormund exclaimed, also surprised, not knowing this information. The other leaders had equally stunned expressions — Karsi, Styr, Sixskins, Harma, Rattleshirt. Mag seemed somewhat confused, while Mance remained calm, already aware of this from their conversation in Winterfell. Della looked at Val, surprised, while Val nodded, confirming she already knew this from Jon.
"If you fight by my side, we'll conquer the South, and I'll reward everyone with a worthy life in the southern lands. That's why I want to become your leader, and I'll be fair in my goals. That's why I'm revealing this now," Jon exclaimed to the crowd.
"You want to conquer the South with the Free Folk? Isn't that asking too much?!" Harma spoke up.
"Yes, that's exactly what I want," Jon admitted, for that was indeed his goal. "If you truly want to live safely in those lands, we'll have to fight. I intend to prove that by marching across the entire South, all the way to King's Landing, where the current King of Westeros lives. We'll take his head, along with all those I plan to destroy. I'll turn the Free Folk into an army that will fight the kneelers in a brutal way, and we won't lose to the northern army or to anyone," Jon declared.
He was talking about creating a bloodbath, and many there would die, but that was the solution. If they didn't bleed for a place in the South, they would never earn respect there. The best way for the Seven Kingdoms to respect them was to march to King's Landing and cut off the king's head.
-------------Nexts Chapters ----------------
Chapter 73 - The Threat is Coming
Chapter 78 - Secrets.
Chapter 88 - The werewolf appears in King's Landing.
Chapter 97 - The Terror of Encountering a Werewolf.
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