The Night's Watch

The Night's Watch is a military order dedicated to holding the Wall, the immense fortification on the northern border of the Seven Kingdoms, defending the realms of men from what lies beyond the Wall. The order's foundation dates back to the Age of Heroes, at the time when the Others were pushed back. The men of Night's Watch wear only black, and they are known as black brothers. Recruits who join the Watch are said to take the black.

## Organization

### Structure

The Night's Watch consists of three orders: rangers, builders, and stewards. All are subject to the Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, and each of the three orders is led by its own officer, the First Ranger, the First Builder, and the Lord Steward, respectively. These officers are appointed by the lord commander.

* 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 bring supplies needed by the Night's Watch from the South. 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.

* Builders are responsible for tending to and maintaining the Wall and its castles. The order provides masons, carpenters, miners, and woodsmen to this end.

* 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 wildlings and legendary Others.

Recruiters for the Night's Watch are called wandering crows. The organization also includes septons, maesters, and, at Eastwatch-by-the-Sea, sailors. Because brothers come from throughout the Seven Kingdoms or even Essos, there is an unspoken pact to not discuss politics or former loyalties.

One blast of a sentry's horn represents returning rangers, while two are used for wildlings and three for Others. Two long blasts followed by a short one are used as a call to mount horses.

### Leadership

The Lord Commander of the Night's Watch is the final authority and oversees the entire order. Any man of the Night's Watch can be nominated to be the lord commander. A lord commander serves in office until the day he dies, when a replacement is elected by the men of the Watch.

The majority of the officers and leadership of the Watch are pulled from the upper crust of Westerosi society. A noble or knighted man is almost guaranteed a position as an officer in the Watch, but there are several powerful and influential brothers that are of common blood as well, such as the senior rangers. The Watch, as a meritocracy, is one of the few places in feudal Westeros where a common man can rise high and even gain command over knights and lords, rising as far as Lord Commander of the Night's Watch.

### Recruitment

Those who come voluntarily are free to leave during any time of their training, but no man may leave after he has said vows. Any deserters are sentenced to death. After taking the vows, the men of the Watch cannot own any land, marry, or father children. Men are also encouraged to sever any ties left with their families, if they are lucky enough to have one.

Men of the Night's Watch are garbed all in black, a tradition that earned them the nickname "crows",  particularly among the free folk, who often call them "black crows." While some use this name derogatorily, many in the Night's Watch have adopted the term for their own use.  They are also called the "black brothers", and in song they have been called the "black knights of the Wall."

### Vows

When recruits are considered ready to take the black, they say their vows either in a sept or before a heart tree. The vows are as follows:

*Night gathers, and now my watch begins. It shall not end until my death. I shall take no wife, hold no lands, father no children. I shall wear no crowns and win no glory. I shall live and die at my post. I am the sword in the darkness. I am the watcher on the walls. 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. I pledge my life and honor to the Night's Watch, for this night and all the nights to come.*

Brothers of the Night's Watch serve for life.  It is customary to finish a black brother's eulogy with the words, "And now his watch is ended." Castle Black contains a lichyard, and knights can be laid to rest in ancient tombs near the lichyard or burned on a pyre.

### Military Strength

During Aegon's Failed Conquest, the Wall had ten-thousand men, and it's numbers have declined, but not by much. There roughly 8000 men manning the Wall.

## Possessions

The Night's Watch raised nineteen castles to guard the hundred leagues of the Wall, although they have never manned more than seventeen at one time. Today only eight of them are maintained. The castles themselves are closer to garrisons, composed mostly of barracks, stables, storehouses, towers and out-buildings, as they have no walls of their own (other than the Wall itself). They were purposefully built this way so the Watch could man only the Wall itself and focus on threats from the north. The Night's Watch feared no attack from the south because of their vow not to take part in the wars of the Seven Kingdoms.

The castles that are currently manned are:

* The Shadow Tower
* Greyguard
* Icemark
* The Nightfort
* Castle Black
* Long Barrow
* The Torches
* Eastwatch-by-the-Sea

The Night's Watch employs a small fleet at Eastwatch-by-the-Sea.

## History

### The Long Night

The Night's Watch is one of the oldest orders in the Seven Kingdoms, as it survived the fall of the kingdoms of the First Men, the Andal invasion, and Aegon's Failed Conquest. It was founded over eight thousand years ago, at the end of the Long Night. Under cover of an endless night that lasted for a generation, the Others invaded from the Lands of Always Winter, laying waste to much of Westeros. The Others were finally defeated by the Night's Watch at the Battle for the Dawn, which is recalled in "The Night That Ended".The Wall was allegedly built by Bran the Builder in order to protect the Seven Kingdoms, with the brothers of the Night's Watch choosing their own Lord Commander since that time. During the Age of Heroes it was also recorded that the children of the forest gave the Night's Watch a hundred obsidian daggers every year.

Other than the corrupting of the thirteenth Lord Commander, the so-called Night's King, further attacks by the Others never came, however. Instead, the most frequent attacks came from the wildlings, sometimes led by their Kings-Beyond-the-Wall, and their constant attempts at raiding in the north. Little by little, the Night's Watch forgot that its main mission was not the fight against the wildlings, but against the Others.

### Hundred Kingdoms

The Night's Watch built nineteen castles along the hundred leagues of the Wall. At the zenith of its power, the Watch had seventeen of the castles manned, with at least ten thousand men between them. Castle Black alone once quartered five thousand fighting men with all their horses, servants, and equipment.The highborn of the north have traditionally considered it an honor to serve on the Wall. Many younger sons of northern houses, low in the line of succession, gladly took the black. Shields of nobles from the Hundred Kingdoms of Westeros were proudly displayed in the Shieldhall at Castle Black.

Six kings were sent to the Wall after Nymeria's War and the unification of Dorne by House Martell.

### Aegon's Attempt

The Seven Kingdoms of Westeros were invaded by the Targaryens during Aegon's Failed Conquest. Although Lord Commander Hoare was the brother of King Harren the Black, the lord commander maintained the neutrality of the ten thousand black brothers under his command, even when Harren died during the burning of Harrenhal.

## Lord Commanders

### Recent Lord Commanders

**Lord Commander Bryce Webber** (260AA to 298AA) - Ser Bryce Webber was the brother of the Lord Webber and the 998th Lord-Commander of the Night’s Watch. Sent to the Wall for sleeping with his brother’s wife, Bryce proved a capable ranger and an honourable man. Bryce was most notable for his defence of the Wall against a wildling horde, defeating them in the Battle of Hadrin's Fall. Some years later, Bryce was found dead in his chambers, seemingly poisoned, and sparking what would become The War on the Wall.

### Past Lord Commanders

Lord-Commander Sunglass **(61AA to 72AA) -**

Baelor Sunglass was born the youngest child of five. From a young age, Baelor was reminded that he \*was\* the youngest. He got the least amount of attention and always felt out of place. It was no surprise to his family when, at the age of five-and-ten, Baelor voluntarily went to the wall. Baelor was quite the strange sight at the wall. His skills were strange to see at the wall, having trained under a master-at-arms, and his appearance only alienated the boy further. Despite his foreign looks, Sunglass soon proved himself to be of use at the Wall. As a ranger, Baelor managed to kill and capture *many* wildlings, often leading raids on small wildling settlements as he got older.

**Lord Commander Rolland I Lannister**

**Lord-Commander Danyl “Dany” Snow** (72AA to 101AA) -

Born a bastard of House Reed, Dany Snow was raised at Greywatcher Watch. From a young age he experienced what the Crannogmen called “Green dreams” which often left him seizing in his bed. When it came time to pick his weapon in the yard, young Dany was drawn to a weirwood bow. He became an expert marksman. At the age of ten-and-four, Dany had a particularly violent dream. In it he saw ice and fire, black and pale blue. When he awoke in the morn, he packed his things and departed for The Wall, not saying a word to any of his kin. Weeks later he arrived and enlisted in the Night’s Watch. He arrived on the day Baelor Sunglass was named Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch. Dany went on to join the Ranger’s, even rising to the rank of First Ranger. During his lifetime he lead numerous ranging. One such one leading to his famous injury. Whilst covering the escape for his fellow Black Brothers Dany’s mouth was pierced by an arrow. Part of his tongue was cut off and his cheeks were left as holes in the side of his mouth, exposing his teeth beneath the twisted and pierced flesh. This injury left it hard for the young man to speak. But his actions spoke louder. In 72AA Dany was named as the 992nd Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch. He would go on to lead the watch for nearly 3 decades. In 101AA Dany went North on a ranging, many Black Brothers whispering that his Green Dreams had returned, more violent than ever, beckoning him North, further than anyone had ever gone. Whether or not these rumors are true is still unknown as Dany and the men he went with never returned.

**Lord-Commander Farman** (224AA to 260AA) -

Ser Davith Farman was the third son of Lord Farman, and the 997th Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch. Exiled to the wall after a spat with a Ruttigar scion turned foul, Davith quickly became known for his quick wits and even quicker feet. Ser Davith served as a ranger for three years, rising to Lord-Commander after the death of Lord-Commander XXX in 224 AC. Not even a year after gaining his new post, troubling news came from beyond the Wall. Word spread of a new king of the free-folk,, Raymun Redbeard. Content to let the wildlings come to the Watch, Lord-Commander Farman sent out parties of rangers to keep tabs on their location. Learning of their intent to scale the wall, Davith crafted a devious plan. Allowing Raymun’s army to establish a toehold and lay down their ladders seemingly unnoticed, the Night’s Watch laid in wait. As the wildlings began their ascent, the Black Brothers launched their assault; The Slaughter at Woodswatch had begun. With nowhere to run and not ready for battle, the free-folk at the base of the Wall were cut down like wheat at harvest as they attempted to scramble up the Wall to escape the battle below. Atop the ice, a small force of cavalry rode from the east, routing those who had led the way for their comrades below. Over a thousand wildlings still clinging to the Wall, the Night’s Watch saved their arrows for the those near the top and those still at the bottom. Trapped with nowhere to go, the free-folk held onto the wall for as long as they could. Eventually, they began to drop. Their bodies hit the ground below, splattering on the snow like drops of rain. After nearly two weeks, the last wildling lost his grip, and the Night’s Watch went back to their keeps. Redbeard’s remains were not found among the dead, though that concerned Davith little. If he had been among those trapped on the Wall, there was little hope of identifying him among the broken remains. Given the nickname “the Patient,” the rest of Ser Davith’s tenure as Lord-Commander was relatively uneventful. Some thirty four years after his crowning achievement in 226 A.C., Ser Davith Farman passed away in his sleep.

**The Thirteenth Lord Commander of the Night's Watch:** The Night's King.

## Notable Members

* Domeric Thorne, Current Lord-Commander.
* Bryce Webber, Thorne's predecessor.
* Gyles Blackmont, known as 'the King on the Wall'.
* Damon Kenning, the current First Ranger of the Night's Watch.
* Quentyn Blackmont, the current First Builder of the Night's Watch.
* Beric Trant, the current First Steward of the Night's Watch.
* Rickard Locke, the Commander of Greyguard.
* Sylas Shallowgrave, famously betrayed his vows to help Hadrin Stormaxe raise a Wildling host.
* Willem Star, the bastard of Starfall. Escaped into the night not three days after Gyles Blackmont declared himself King on the Wall.
* Mathos Stone
* Symon Bone, new recruit and bastard of the Greenbelt.
* Aurane
* Jack Star, the bastard of Thorntree.
* Maldon Storm
* Triston Gardener
* Eddard Flint, Ranger of the Night's Watch
* Alyn Forrester
* Ronnel Dondarrion
* Stannis Blackwood, Current Commander of Eastwatch