Chapter 135: The Lord of the North

The letter reached the Gannon estate on the fifth day.

Duke Aegis Von Gannon was in his study when Corvan brought it in. Sir Gareth Varus was standing by the window, and the two of them had been going through the winter muster rolls for most of the morning.

Corvan had been the head steward of House Gannon for thirty years.

There were perhaps four things in the world that would make him interrupt the Duke without knocking.

This was one of them.

"Your Grace. This came by hand."

Aegis looked up.

"From where?"

"The man did not say, Your Grace, and he is already gone. He came through the kitchen yard and was not seen by anyone at the gate."

Aegis took the letter.

He looked at the seal first.

It was the plain northern pattern used by the Wall for official correspondence.

Then he looked at the name written on the front.

He stopped.

Gareth noticed immediately.

He had served Aegis for years and had learned to recognize the very small changes in the Duke’s expression that most people never noticed.

Something had just happened to his face.

"Your Grace?"

Aegis did not answer.

He turned the letter over, broke the seal, and read it standing up.

It was two pages long.

It began:

To the Lord of the North.

It did not begin with Father.

It did not begin with Your Grace, which would at least have been the proper form.

It addressed the man who held that study as the holder of an office.

The words were written in the flat, practical register of one officer writing to another.

The first page gave him the situation.

Numbers.

Sources.

Dates.

The Far-Watch’s confirmation.

The name of the party leader who had brought the report in.

It did not editorialize anywhere.

It did not exaggerate or try to frighten him.

The second page was the request.

It was four sentences long.

I am asking the Lord of the North for men to defend the North. I am not asking as your son, because I know I have no standing to ask you for a legion, and I will not put you in the position of refusing one.

The Wall of the North has eleven thousand people on it, and it will not hold what is coming with eleven thousand. If it falls, the horde crosses the Riven, and the first thing standing in its road is everything our house has spent hundreds of years building.

I have written to the Crown, and I do not expect the Crown to answer in time.

So I am writing a request for you. I hope you can respond as the Lord of the North for your subjects.

And underneath it was the signature.

Encrid Gannon.

Strategist of the Wall of the North.

Not House Gannon.

Not the Fourth Son of Duke Aegis Von Gannon.

Just Encrid Gannon of the Wall.

Aegis read the entire letter.

Then he placed it on the desk.

He squared it against the edge with two fingers and stood looking at it for a long time.

Gareth later estimated that it was close to a full minute.

Nobody in the room spoke.

"Corvan."

"Your Grace."

"How long has the boy been at that Wall?"

"A year and eight months, Your Grace."

"And in that time, how many letters has this house received from him?"

Corvan did not need to check.

"Nine, Your Grace."

"Nine?"

"Eight were reports."

Corvan looked at the letter.

"This is the ninth."

Aegis nodded.

"And how many of them asked me for anything?"

"None, Your Grace."

The Duke remained silent.

Then he picked up the letter again.

He looked at the signature.

He read it one more time.

Then he turned toward Gareth.

"Sir Gareth."

"Your Grace."

"Take the Third Legion of the White Griffin north to the Wall."

Gareth straightened.

"All of it. Full field establishment, remounts, and every physician in this house who can sit a horse."

Aegis spoke in exactly the same tone he had used while discussing the winter muster rolls.

"You will march as fast as possible. You will not stop south of the Riven for any reason."

Gareth was already moving toward the door.

"Under whose command at the far end?"

"The Lord Commander commands the Wall."

Aegis looked back at the letter.

"You will place yourself and the Third Legion under Ulrich Vance. You will take his orders as you would take mine."

He paused.

"Vance is a serious man. He will not waste you."

Gareth nodded.

"If he is not in command when you arrive, find out who is holding the command and support them."

Sir Gareth stopped.

He had not expected that.

He had no idea why the Duke had mentioned the possibility of Ulrich Vance no longer being in command.

But he had learned long ago not to question Aegis when the Duke spoke in that tone.

"And the Crown’s position, Your Grace?"

Aegis looked at him.

"A ducal legion crossing the Riven without instruction will be called-"

"I know precisely what it will be called," Aegis said.

His voice did not rise.

"And I know by whom."

He walked toward the window.

"Three houses have been waiting years for a Gannon column to cross that river."

Gareth remained silent.

"Let them say it."

Aegis looked north, though there was no way to see the Wall from there.

"I have spent my life being careful about the north."

He looked down at Encrid’s letter.

"I find that I am finished with it."

Gareth stood at the door.

"Is there anything else, Your Grace?"

The Duke did not answer immediately.

He looked at the letter for another moment.

Then he spoke.

"Yes."

Gareth waited.

"One thing."

Aegis turned toward him.

"It is not an order I am going to write down."

Gareth’s expression hardened.

"Say it, and it is done."

Aegis looked at his son’s name on the letter.

"Keep my son alive no matter what."

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