The Night's Watch

> "***Night gathers, and now my watch begins. It shall not end until my death.***
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> ***I shall take no wife, hold no lands, father no children. I shall wear no crowns and win no glory.***
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> ***I shall live and die at my post. I am the sword in the darkness. I am the watcher on the walls.***
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> ***I am the fire that burns against the cold, the light that brings the dawn, the horn that wakes the sleepers, the shield that guards the realms of men.***
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> ***I pledge my life and honor to the Night's Watch, for this night and all the nights to come."***
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### **Structure**

The Night's Watch consists of three orders: Rangers, Builders, and Stewards. All of them are subject to the Lord Commander and each of the three orders is led by its own officer, called First Ranger, First Builder, and First Steward, respectively. These officers are appointed by the Lord Commander.

* **Rangers**: Although all brothers of the Watch stand watch on the Wall, the rangers are the main fighting force, adept at surviving in the wilderness and tasked with scouting and patrolling the Haunted Forest beyond the Wall. They actively defend the Wall and ride out to face the Watch's enemies, including the lawless wildlings as well as the mysterious, inhuman Others. One blast of a sentry's horn represents returning brothers, while two blasts are used for wildlings and three blasts for Others.

* **Builders**: The builders are responsible for maintaining the Wall, the castles, and the equipment. They provide masons, carpenters, miners, and woodsmen.

* **Stewards**: The stewards are the largest of the three orders. The stewards are responsible for an assortment of critical functions, providing vital day-to-day services. They hunt and farm, tend horses, gather firewood, cook meals, make clothing, maintain weapons, and conduct trade with the south, bringing back to the Wall all of the supplies needed by the Night’s Watch. Like other members of the Watch, the stewards must be ready to fight at a moment’s notice, and all have received at least basic combat training.

Among the stewards, those with skill in sums or reading or writing might be given specialized tasks as well. Few enough are literate, but the Watch has a purpose for every man. Stewards also serve as attendants and squires for the high officers of the Watch, such as the Lord Commander. In short, the entire administration of the Night’s Watch is in the hands of the Stewards.

### **Fortresses**

#### Westwatch-by-the-Bridge

*The westernmost castle. It is located on the other side of the Gorge, near the Bridge of Skulls.*

#### Shadow Tower

*It lies near the mountains at the far end of the Wall.*

#### Sentinel Strand

*The next castle along the Wall, heading east*.

#### Stonedoor

*The next castle to be found along the Wall*.

#### Icemark

*Is on the verge of becoming abandoned by the Night's Watch.*

#### The Nightfort

*It is the only castle along the Wall where the steps up the side of the Wall are carved into the ice. It was the first castle on the Wall, and is the largest.*

#### Snowgate

*A castle along the Wall, next in line heading eastward.*

#### Castle Black

*The main headquarter's of the Night's Watch. It is situated near the center of the Wall, at the northern end of the kingsroad. The village of Mole's Town is located half a league to the south along the kingsroad.*

#### Oakenshield

*The next castle along the Wall heading east.*

#### Woodswatch-by-the-Pool

*On the verge of being abandoned due to structural failures.*

#### Eastwatch-by-the-Sea

*The easternmost castle along the Wall, located on a grey, windswept shore by the Bay of Seals. Some wildlings trade with the Night's Watch there. The Night's Watch keeps several galleys at Eastwatch, including larger vessels capable of crossing the Narrow Sea and lean fighting vessels. The galleys patrol the Bay of Seals in part to catch smugglers who trade weapons to the wildlings.*

### **The Gift**

The Gift is a tract of land measuring twenty-five leagues southward from the Wall that the Night's Watch received from King Brandon Stark of the North. The Watch farms the Gift, and towns and villages that are located within the Gift support the Night's Watch with their taxes, rendered by goods and labor.