Synopsis: Three Rangers of the Nights Watch, Will, Gared and Ser Waymar Royce, head into the Haunted Forest north of the Wall in pursuit of a band of wildling raiders. They encounter some startling circumstances only to find the wildlings dead and that a sudden cold has drifted upon them. Unbeknownst to them, but known to us, the Watch's ancient and supernatural enemy has re-appeared after fading into myth and legend.
What do we learn?
Here we are first introduced to the world of GRRM's Song of Ice and Fire. Its an interesting chapter as unlike most of the series its told from the POV of one of the smallfolk, Westeros's least powerful people and the equivalent of medieval peasants in this setting. However as anyone familiar with this series it should be quickly apparent that any character we meet in the prologue has a poor chance of surviving. It's a shame too since having more characters who can convey the perspective of the smallfolk would be wonderful.
Moving on though we get both an interesting look at the dynamics of power in Westeros and the workings of the Night's Watch. This is our first look at an eventual long look into this very unique and strange order of men guarding the end of the world. What we see is something that is both surprising and sadly predictable.
First though let me outline the disparity that we can already see from the prologue in the mission of the Night's Watch. Founded as an order of guardians and sentinels to keep back the ancient threat of the Others who had come down from the far north in an attempt to destroy all life in an eternal winter, they man a truly massive fortification that straddles the North at its narrowest point. Though the Night's Watch was founded to keep out the Others these mythical beasts have vanished into myth and now the Watch spends its time worrying about wildling raiders from beyond the Wall. It is in the act of pursuing a band of said raiders that we see the three protagonists of this prologue.
Two men are smallfolk, while their leader is an illustrious knight from the south who carries himself as though he were on the tourney grounds. There is a stark difference presented between the knight and the men he commands. The knight is dressed in finery and armor with castle forged steel at his side while his companions have weapons which seem in disrepair and have only inferior cloaks which do less to keep the cold out. Despite the knights lack of experience he is given command over two men who are veterans of the Wall and leads them into a very unsavory situation. This outlines the social reality of Westeros very well I find, despite the fact this young and upstart lord is clearly inexperienced compared to the men he is leading he is still given command simply because of his noble heritage, and this is in an organization like the Night's Watch, where rank isn't supposed to matter.
However, for all that we do see that Royce is sincere to his commitment to the realm. He bravely faces down the Others and even cries out in the name of his King, showing he truly believes in what he is doing defending the realm. It's a small, yet interesting detail that I noticed and felt it was worth commenting upon as it shows there is some unity behind King Robert and his reign.
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| Credit to Jon Neimeister |
However, there is still another important disparity to highlight. One of the rangers is a criminal forced to the Wall by the crimes he has committed, another is a man who was adopted into the Watch as a boy to escape life beyond the Wall, and the third is a knight who has joined the Watch as a position of honor and prestige. This shows us that clearly something is rotten at the wall when there are men who are not here by choice and foreshadows the fact that the Wall has turned into a sort of penal colony rather than a sort of illustrious position for men to serve at with honor. More on that in another post however.
The final thing we can take from the prologue here is that all is not well in Westeros. Creatures which were nothing but tales told by mothers to frighten their children have come back and they have proven their ability to kill with both the cold, and their bare hands. Not only that but they have powerful magics on their side which can reanimate the dead to do their bidding.
Reading this passage gave me chills (no pun intended) and it also gives us a maddeningly rare view inside the metaphysical plot and greater epic fantasy elements of A Song of Ice and Fire (there's a reason some people call it wish fulfillment). This is a sort of grand dramatic irony to the readers who are the first to know that all the old stories that the characters will be talking about are true and that the Others really have returned to Westeros and are making their way south.
This is something which has frustrated and intrigued readers ever since the story began back in 1996. The prologue raised many questions; What are the Others? What do they want? What are their goals? Why do they take so long to assault the Wall?
Of course these questions aren't all easily answered and we may never know everything about the Others, but I'm sure we'll be seeing more of them in the Winds of Winter and onwards.
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| Credit to John Piacio |
Well that's all for the prologue, we'll be on to Bran and the fate of one of our erstwhile Night's Watchmen next time!
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