Editing Will (section)

==History==
Will had been a [[poacher]] before joining the [[Night's Watch]], hunting in [[House Mallister]]'s woods. After Lord Mallister's freeriders caught him skinning a buck, Will choose to taking the black instead of losing a hand.{{Ref|AGOT|Prologue}}

During his first ranging, a scared Will remembered old stories he had heard about the lands [[beyond the Wall]]. At the start of ''[[A Song of Ice and Fire]]'', however, he has already been in the Night's Watch for four years and is a veteran of a hundred rangings. Will's stealth and hunting experience proved useful for scouting as a ranger.{{Ref|AGOT|Prologue}}

Shortly before the series starts, Will, [[Gared]], and Ser [[Waymar Royce]] were sent ranging into the [[haunted forest]] by [[Jeor Mormont]], [[Lord Commander of the Night's Watch]], in search of a band of [[free folk|wildling]] raiders. Jeor gave the command to Waymar, although he was the least experienced of the three, whereas Jeor counted Gared and Will among his best men. However, Waymar felt it was his due to have a command because he was a [[knight]], and the Lord Commander accepted because he did not want to offend Waymar's father, Lord [[Yohn Royce]].{{Ref|AGOT|21}}