| Fight at the Fist | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 The Battle of the Fist of the First Men - by zippo514 © | |||||||||||||||||
| Conflict | Conflict beyond the Wall | ||||||||||||||||
| Date | 299 AC | ||||||||||||||||
| Place | Fist of the First Men | ||||||||||||||||
| Result | Others victory | ||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
The fight at the Fist[1] is a lopsided loss for the Night's Watch. Taking place on the Fist of the First Men in the lands beyond the Wall, the Night's Watch is unable to defend against the wights sent against them.
Background
[edit]Jeor Mormont, Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, leads three hundred men on an expedition beyond the Wall, with two hundred men from Castle Black and the rest from the Shadow Tower, in search of the wildlings and, if possible, to discover the whereabouts of Benjen Stark. Finding neither, Lord Commander Mormont choses the Fist of the First Men, an ancient ringfort, as his base of operations while he sends out scouting parties in search of information.[2]
From the Fist, Jeor hopes to stop any march on the Wall. He strengthens their defenses with spikes and pits, caltrops scattered on the slopes, and a ring of watchers around the camp and along the river to warn of any approach.[2]
When the men arrive at the Fist they make camp. Dywen feels that it smells cold, while Jon Snow thinks it smells like death.[2]
Battle
[edit]Lord Commander Mormont plans to lead the great ranging away from the Fist of the First Men to attack Mance Rayder's unsuspecting host as it makes its way along the Milkwater. Meanwhile, Chett leads a conspiracy to assassinate Jeor and some of his officers and then desert the Night's Watch. Before the plotters can act, however, a sentry blows his horn three times to warn of the approach of Others.[3]
The black brothers grab their bows and spears and run to defend the ringwall. Samwell Tarly asks Chett to help him with the ravens, but Chett runs off. Sam is able to write brief messages warning of an attack on the First, sending one raven back to Castle Black and one to the Shadow Tower.[1]
The Watch are attacked by hundreds of wights, both human and animal. Blane has bowmen shoot against the attackers, some of which are crawling, but their arrows are ineffective. Lord Commander Mormont has the Watch switch to fire arrows in response, with Thoren Smallwood sending the next volley, and the reserve of the Watch arm themselves with torches. Defenders claim to spot a giant or a bear among the attackers.[1]
Wights pass the ringwall and fight inside the camp, so warhorns are blown to call the Watch to horse. Sam has written a series of messages describing the battle as it proceeds, but out of fear he forgets to attach these new messages when he releases the remaining ravens from their cages. Sam sees a Shadow Tower impale a wight with a spear, but the wight then twists the defender's head around. Ser Ottyn Wythers is kicked in the head by a riderless horse, and the fire arrows fail to slow down the wights.[1]
Thoren wants to send the reserves against the wights, but Jeor instead calls for the riders to form a wedge to lead a retreat down the south face and then east. Thoren rides against a bear which approaches, but the dead animal takes off his head. Jeor leads the flying spearhead down the hillside through the horde of wights, with some of the black brothers and their horses pulled down and slain. One man yanks Sam from his saddle and claims his horse, but the youth is rescued by Eddison Tollett.[1]
Aftermath
[edit]Led by Lord Commander Mormont, some sixty men fight free of the Fist and head on a grim march back to Craster's Keep.[4] Sam, Small Paul, and Grenn fall behind, and they are attacked by an Other riding Mawney's horse. The Other kills Paul, but is in turn slain when Sam stabs it in the throat with a dragonglass dagger.[1]
Forty-four men reach the safety of Craster's, but four soon die of their wounds, including Bannen. Those who disbelieve Samwell's story of him having killed an Other mock him as "Sam the Slayer", though the Lord Commander is interested in the usage of dragonglass. Several survivors accuse Craster of hoarding food, and Craster and Jeor are both slain in the ensuing mutiny at Craster's Keep.[4]
Jon sees the aftermath of the battle when Mance's host passes the Fist of the First Men. Jon sees numerous dead garrons along the south slope of the hill. Mance's men find between one hundred and two hundred dead horses in the vicinity, but no bodies of men. Mance tasks Varamyr with scouting with his wolves, and the King-Beyond-the-Wall orders the Lord of Bones to double the patrols and arm the men with torch and flint.[5]
At Dragonstone, Maester Pylos shows different letters to Lord Davos Seaworth while teaching the former smuggler how to read. One of them is an old letter from Maester Aemon at Castle Black, who, having received Sam's ravens, feared that Lord Commander Mormont was slain with all his strength when they came under attack in the haunted forest.[6] Davos later reads the letter to Stannis Baratheon,[7] inspiring the king to head north to aid the Watch.[8][9]
Quotes
[edit]Jon: The Old Bear commanded. This place was high and strong, and he made it stronger. He dug pits and planted stakes, laid up food and water. He was ready for ...
Mance: ... me? Aye, he was. Had I been fool enough to storm this hill, I might have lost five men for every crow I slew and still counted myself lucky. But when the dead walk, walls and stakes and swords mean nothing.[5]—Jon Snow and Mance Rayder
Hundreds had died on the Fist, they had died all around him, and more had died after, he'd seen them.[1]
—thoughts of Samwell Tarly
—thoughts of Samwell Tarly
Sam, would you wake me, please? I am having this terrible nightmare.[1]
—thoughts of Samwell Tarly
Mance: You saw the Fist of the First Men. You know what happened there. You know what we are facing.
Jon: The Others ...[8]—Mance Rayder to Jon Snow
References
[edit]- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 A Storm of Swords, Chapter 18, Samwell I.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 A Clash of Kings, Chapter 34, Jon IV.
- ↑ A Storm of Swords, Prologue.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 A Storm of Swords, Chapter 33, Samwell II.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 A Storm of Swords, Chapter 15, Jon II.
- ↑ A Storm of Swords, Chapter 54, Davos V.
- ↑ A Storm of Swords, Chapter 63, Davos VI.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 A Storm of Swords, Chapter 73, Jon X.
- ↑ A Storm of Swords, Chapter 75, Samwell IV.