Editing Night's Watch (section)

===The Gift ===
The [[Gift]], consisting of Brandon's Gift and the New Gift, is land south of the Wall. Twenty-five leagues were given by a Brandon of [[House Stark]], commonly believed to have been [[Bran the Builder]], to the Night's Watch for their sustenance. For years the Watch farmed the Gift, but as their numbers dwindled there were fewer hands to plow the fields, tend the bees and plant the orchards, so the wild reclaimed much of the area. Wishing to restore the Night's Watch and reward its loyal service in defense of the realm, Queen [[Alysanne Targaryen]], wife of King [[Jaehaerys I Targaryen|Jaehaerys the Conciliator]], doubled the extent of the Gift. Towns and villages that were located within the New Gift supported the Night's Watch with their taxes, rendered by goods and labor. In time, the New Gift lost population as people moved south, into the mountains or into the [[House Umber|Umber]] lands east of the [[kingsroad]] to avoid wildling raids, further reducing the support structure for the Night's Watch and the Wall.{{Ref|ASOS|40}}

The nearest point of civilization to Castle Black is [[Mole's Town]], a subterranean village in the Gift whose brothel is frequently patronized by brothers of the Night's Watch.{{ref|AGOT|70}} [[Queenscrown]] is an example of an abandoned holdfast in the Gift.{{ref|ASOS|41}}