Chapter 266 Wolf’s Dream

The Great Wall is too cold.

Jon Snow thought.

When he first came to the Great Wall of Despair, he didn't feel the way he did now.

As a native of the North who grew up in Winterfell.

Every cell in Jon Snow's body is accustomed to being with the cold.

Although from the time of his birth, that wrong spring, until his father Eddard Stark went south, it was theoretically summer for all of Westeros.

But summer is also divided into regions.

The summer in Dorne may heat people to death, but the summer in the north has something called "summer snow".

Yes, it snows in the North in the summer, Jon Snow has known it since he was a child.

He chose to become a Night Watchman because his inner sense of honor called him, and there was another thing he knew very well.

Although his father, Eddard Stark, who has returned to the embrace of the gods, is the Duke of Winterfell, Robb Stark, who is now besieged in Harrenhal and resists resolutely with the remaining troops in the north, is His own brother.

But...he has always been an illegitimate child who cannot stand on the stage.

He is an illegitimate son who can only sit with soldiers during family dinners and cannot sit at the long table.

He is an illegitimate child that everyone despises, and no one with even a modicum of fame is willing to be friends with.

He is an illegitimate son who does not deserve to have a family name and can only take the ubiquitous snowflake as his last name, which symbolizes humility and bitterness.

Jon Snow understands.

Therefore, he chose to become a night watchman. At least here, few people use their last name to make things happen.

We all knelt down in front of the weirwood and swore to the old and new gods that they would never betray each other.

Jon Snow desperately wanted to gain respect, but in the entire Seven Kingdoms, the endless and extremely strict aristocratic system left him unable to find even a breath of space.

So, the illegitimate son from the north came to the Great Wall and stayed there for two years.

And now, he really felt what the Stark family said in their clan language:

"Winter is coming!"

After Clay led his troops outside the fortress and defeated the savage army in one fell swoop, an increasingly heavy snowstorm began to fall across the entire outside the fortress.

At first, it was just an ordinary snowstorm that was acceptable to the people on Castle Black and the night watch. However, as time went by, the blizzard showed no signs of weakening and instead intensified.

Jon Snow can no longer remember the last time he came from the gates of Castle Black to the north of the Great Wall. When was it? Was it before Sam had a bad cold? Or was it Edd who mocked Ser Alliser and got beaten?

He couldn't remember it at all.

Because since a long time ago, his job every day has been to constantly clear the snow that is pressed down on the entire Castle Black.

This is the duty of the Night's Watch, because too much snow will crush the few functioning buildings in Castle Black and make the top of the Great Wall difficult to pass.

If the snow accumulates for too long and changes from soft fresh snow to a hard snow shell, by then the Night's Watch will be trapped in Castle Black and lose contact with other fortresses.

Therefore, the night watchmen threw away their swords and picked up shovels and began to clear the snow.

However, no matter how diligent they are in cleaning, thick snow will still appear in front of them early the next morning, which is frustrating and despairing.

After a while, no one will do this kind of thing that is bound to be unrewarding.

For the longest period of time, the night watchmen did not see the sun for thirteen days.

In the end, even Lord Commander Mormont, who had originally given the order, gave up on clearing the snow.

Everyone was huddled in the Black Castle, lighting firewood, gathering together with dull eyes, listening to the cold wind whistling outside the windows, and no longer interested in talking or training.

Commander Mormont realized something was wrong, so he immediately used the best-trained raven to contact Winterfell, hoping that Winterfell would send people to support Castle Black.

But Catelyn Tully, who was in a daze every day because her son Bran Stark was completely comatose, ignored the letter at all and just handed it to Maester Luwin, signaling his refusal.

There are no more soldiers in the North that can be mobilized north, and Catelyn Tully and Maester Luwin know it.

Therefore, they can only do nothing to help.

…

Although there are endless blizzards, it is obvious that the night is much more difficult than the day.

The sun still stubbornly transports its meager heat to the ground, allowing humans to have some ability to move. However, at night, no one dares to release themselves outdoors.

Unless he doesn't want a certain part of himself.

Jon Snow stayed at the bottom of the command tower, setting up a simple bed next to the fireplace, covered with thick, lifeless animal skin blankets, and huddled on the sheets as cold as iron.

Every night was a torment for him, because the current temperature made it impossible for him to fall asleep smoothly.

But today seemed to be an exception. With his body trembling slightly, Jon Snow quickly fell into a deep sleep.

…

"Where am I?"

Sitting up suddenly from the snow, Jon Snow wiped off the snow residue on his face with his right hand wearing a black glove.

Subconsciously, he touched the dagger at his waist, but found nothing.

He found himself sitting on an endless snowfield, with a large black forest in front of him.

This must be the Haunted Forest, Jon Snow was sure.

For a qualified Night's Watch Ranger, the Haunted Forest is even more familiar to them than the Great Wall.

After all, I have to deal with this forest every day.

He shook his head covered with short black hair to prevent the snow on it from melting and flowing to his scalp, which would easily make him catch a cold.

Night watchmen who have lived on the Great Wall all year round know that this was told to them by their uncle Benjen Stark.

He couldn't remember why he was here.

Looking back, the towering Great Wall of Ice was right behind him.

Jon Snow was surprised to find that the snowstorm that had become a part of his life had disappeared, and the orange-red sunshine was shining on him, giving him a long-lost warm feeling.

Although this is just his illusion.

He didn't know how he got here, but he had a vague feeling about what he was going to do.

He wants to find his own Ghost.

That pure white direwolf.

So, following the feeling in his heart, Jon Snow walked towards the location of the Haunted Forest.

He had no weapons, but how could a night watcher not have a sharp weapon at his side?

So he broke off the bare branches of a sentinel tree and cut off all the twigs on a sharp stone.

Jon Snow had a simple stick in his hand, which gave him some comfort.

He relied on the Great Wall of Despair behind him as a reference, and vaguely felt that he was actually walking towards the northwest.

The light animal skin boots made a crunching sound when stepped on the soft snow.

After walking for an unknown amount of time, Jon Snow realized that he had lost his sense of direction and time.

But that's not important. I don't know why. He knows exactly what he is here for and his destination.

Sure enough, in the next second, he saw a smart white shadow in the black ghost forest.

"Bai Ling!"

Jon Snow shouted.

That's his wolf, that's right!

he thinks.

But I don’t know why the previously docile direwolf only stopped and looked back at him after hearing his call this time, and then continued running northwest without looking back.

Jon Snow didn't know what was going on. He knew that his wolf had to keep up with him.

So, holding a short stick, he finally looked back at the shadowy Great Wall behind him, and then chased his wolf.

The white direwolf seemed to understand that its master's speed could not be compared with its own, so its speed was not too fast and it always maintained a speed that Jon Snow could keep up with.

One wolf and one man chased each other in the dark woods for who knows how long, but they didn't feel tired.

Finally, Jon Snow saw his wolf and stopped in front of a sudden hill.

Then, at the bottom of the mountain, there was a cave entrance that was only about half a person's height, lingering.

The scarlet eyes of the white direwolf reflected his master's appearance, and there was a humanized look of anxiety in them.

Unfortunately, Jon Snow doesn't have that good eyesight and he couldn't see this clearly.

He finally breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that the naughty direwolf finally stopped running away.

I thought to myself that I must take my wolf back to the Great Wall and lock it up. Hmm... I'll starve it and see if it still runs around in the future.

He took three steps at a time and arrived in front of the familiar direwolf. He put the short stick in his hand on his belt. Jon Snow just wanted to lean down and rub this guy's furry head.

However, the direwolf, which had always been obedient, grabbed hold of his glove and kept pulling back without any effort, as if it wanted to take Jon Snow somewhere.

He was a little dumbfounded, his wolf had never been like this before.

Jon Snow has always felt that his white wolf was the most spiritual among the wolves of the Stark family.

When he saw his wolf biting his hand and using its legs continuously, he knew what it meant.

So, he raised his head and looked at the "little devil" Tyrion in front of him with doubtful eyes. Only the "little devil" Tyrion could stand and walk into the cave.

"Do you want me to come in?"

Jon Snow asked, looking at his wolf.

The one who answered him was his own wolf nodding very seriously.

For some reason, Jon Snow didn't think there was anything wrong with this action that only humans could perform.

Glancing at the direwolf who wouldn't give up until he went in, Jon Snow smiled helplessly, and his curiosity was satisfied.

For no apparent reason, there was a faint smell of fresh vegetation coming out of this dark cave.

Jon Snow didn't know if he really smelled it, but that was the feeling anyway.

He lowered his body and climbed into the cave with his head lowered.

It's strange. From the outside, it seems like a place where you can't see anything inside. However, when Jon Snow came in, he realized that it was not dark inside.

A faint glimmer of light emanated from a strange ball-shaped plant on the wall, like candles that were not very bright.

The road beneath him, at first, was the cold stone wall that Jon Snow knew and hated. Now, he felt like he was climbing up and down the branches of a big tree.

The strange fragrance became stronger and stronger, and Jon Snow felt like he was crawling downwards.

What will be the place ahead?

he was asking himself.