A Dance with Dragons-Chapter 39

Jon VIII
	A Dance with Dragons chapter
POV	Jon Snow
Place	Castle Black
Page	514 UK HC (Other versions)
Chapter chronology (All)
	Jon VII; ↑
	↓; Jon IX

Jon Snow sends Val to find Tormund Giantsbane and offer him and his followers shelter south of the Wall. Jon then meets with officers of the Night's Watch who disagree with his decisions.

Synopsis

Jon sends Val north into the haunted forest to find Tormund Giantsbane and offer him and his followers shelter south of the Wall. Jon explains that Val's lover Jarl had been killed by the Wall, not by him. Val reveals that she has given the milk name Monster to the son of Gilly and Craster, and she advises Jon to keep the child away from Melisandre. Val says she will return the first night of the full moon.

Dolorous Edd brings Jon his dinner in the new Lord Commander's chambers behind the armory of Castle Black. Bowen Marsh, Septon Cellador, and Othell Yarwyck talk to Jon with various complaints; they disapprove of Leathers as Castle Black's master-at-arms, Satin as Jon's steward, and Jon's decision to negotiate with Tormund and allow him and his men through the Wall. They are also nervous about the fact Jon is keeping two corpses in the ice cells, and react with outrage and horror when Jon reveals he is waiting for them to rise, ignoring Jon's argument that the Watch knows next to nothing about the wights or their masters, and need to learn more if they are to defeat them.

Overlooking the officers' protests, Jon tells them of a large group of wildlings making for Hardhome on the eastern coast of the lands beyond the Wall, following the woods witch Mother Mole who claims they will find ships there to bring them across the narrow sea.^{[N 1]} Jon fears they will die there, but when he gets only indifference from the others at the prospect of thousands of dead wildlings, Jon finally loses patience. Angrily asking if they do not realize the truth or are just ignoring it, Jon points out that if they do nothing, the wildlings at Hardhome will die in their thousands, and when they are dead, in time they will rise up again with blue eyes and cold hands, and the Others will have thousands more wights under their control to send at the Wall.

Character list

Appearing: Cellador Half-blind garron Bowen Marsh Mormont's raven Mully Jon Snow Eddison Tollett Val Othell Yarwyck	Mentioned: Aemon Stannis Baratheon Jack Bulwer Craster Dalla Dalla's boy Axell Florent Selyse Florent Ghost Gilly Hodor Iron Emmett Jarl Leathers Melisandre Monster Jeor Mormont Mother Mole Old Nan Othor Cotter Pyke Mance Rayder Satin Arya Stark Benjen Stark Eddard Stark Samwell Tarly Tormund Wun Weg Wun Dar Wun Ygritte

Mentions

Events:	Houses: House Stark
Places: Castle Black Eastwatch-by-the-Sea Hardhome Haunted forest Mole's Town Narrow sea Nightfort Oldtown Shadow Tower Shivering Sea Wall	Terms: Common Tongue Crone Demons Direwolf First Builder Free folk Ghosts Ghouls Giants Ice cell Lord Commander of the Night's Watch Moon Night's Watch Old Tongue Others Queen's Hand Rangers Septa Septon Soldier pine Southron Wights Woods witch

Notes

↑ And it does happen, although not necessarily to the extent or in the way that Mother Mole hoped or meant, in Chapter 45 (The Blind Girl). Mother Mole's convocations may have been mentioned in the Prologue as well.

External links

A Read of Ice and Fire: A Dance with Dragons, Part 23 Analyses and summary of the chapter by Leigh Butler.

[1] And it does happen, although not necessarily to the extent or in the way that Mother Mole hoped or meant, in Chapter 45 (The Blind Girl). Mother Mole's convocations may have been mentioned in the Prologue as well.

[N 1]