RoWE - Chapter 35
Chapter 35: A Great Man
Benjen left, and Aeg eagerly exited the room to find Tyrion.
From beginning to end, Tyrion Lannister had almost always been the one offering help. But Aeg was a self-aware person. He had used half-truths and half-lies to pique the other's interest and leave an impression, which was intentional and could be considered a successful and impressive performance. But from the other providing a feasible plan to leave the Wall, to just now, when they chatted for a few moments and he suddenly ran off to ask the Lord Commander for him and succeeded. This wasn't because of his own incredible eloquence or the other's simple-mindedness to be played around by him.
The truth was: Tyrion's intelligence and emotional intelligence were high enough to discern from a brief chat that Aeg didn't want to join the patrol and was willing to fulfill his wish.
Sometimes, Aeg couldn't help but wonder if the other was intrigued by the lies he had fabricated, wanting to get more information and stories from him, or if he genuinely, purely. just wanted to help him, a hapless soul in trouble?
The other's motives were not important. What mattered was that Tyrion had indeed extended a helping hand to him. This act of kindness in his time of need could very well save his life and completely change his future destiny, and such a huge favor could probably only be repaid with a lifetime of friendship and loyalty.
But a lifetime of friendship and loyalty couldn't entirely replace a personal thank you. Aeg stepped out of the door and looked around, quickly finding his target. In the Castle Black, filled with adult men in black, finding a dwarf was all too easy.
"Tyrion, thank you. I knew you would succeed!"
"Of course, who do you think I am? When the Lannister Imp wants to do something, who dares to stop him?" Tyrion boasted, "But I only realized how poor the Starks really are."
"What do you mean?"
"Convincing the Lord Commander and Maester Aemon didn't take much effort, but Benjen Stark wanted to 'discuss' the matter of support with me in the end." The dwarf couldn't help but laugh, "I was prepared to be fleeced, ready to borrow some money from my brother back in King's Landing to settle this, but his price made me almost laugh out loud."
"Was it very little?"
"Not very little, a few months' worth of my pocket money, slightly less than what I had initially planned to give them, but his solemn expression, thinking he was asking for a lot, amused me." Tyrion shrugged, "I played along and 'was shocked by his price,' and after some haggling with the chief steward and builder he called over, I successfully. Huh?"
A few months' worth of pocket money? Two or three months was a few months, and eight or nine months was also a few months. How much exactly was it? Either Tyrion was pretending to be richer than he was, or the Lannister family was truly wealthy to such an extent. But no matter what, for someone with personal net assets of less than one gold dragon, it was certainly a huge sum. Aeg was waiting for the rest of the story, but the dwarf suddenly made a shushing gesture and signaled for him to follow.
In Castle Black, where a shout could be heard by everyone, what could possibly require such secrecy? Aeg was full of doubts but followed anyway.
They crossed the training ground in the middle of Castle Black and arrived at the armory, where they found Jon.
And a group of new recruits.
It was easy to guess what had happened: a group of young men who had been beaten by Jon on the training ground had ganged up to corner him inside, planning to teach the bastard a lesson, but they were interrupted by Tyrion, who had just walked out of the Lord Commander's room, and the latter "happened" to sympathize most with bastards and unlucky people, so he chased after them. Aeg remembered this plot, just not the exact timing.
Seeing the recruits standing around Jon in a semi-circle, he frowned, stepped aside, and gestured with his head, "Out."
It was unclear whether it was his "veteran" authority or Tyrion's identity as the Queen's brother that intimidated the recruits, but the young men grumbled under their breath, left Jon alone, and cautiously exited the room past Aeg.
"What's wrong?" he asked. He had originally intended to thank Tyrion and discuss the timing of his departure from the Wall, but with Jon present, it was inappropriate to rub salt in his wounds.
"It's nothing." Jon turned away, continuing to tidy up his practice gear, sniffling to keep the tears from his eyes. He took off his armor, leather jacket, and sweat-soaked woolen shirt, and put on his everyday coarse black tunic. Suddenly, he longed for Winterfell, for his brothers and sisters. even for Sansa, who was not close to him.
No one had told him what the Night's Watch was really like. Only the Lannister dwarf and Aeg had briefly mentioned some of the truth to him. But at the time, his mind was filled with thoughts of killing the legendary human enemies like the rangers in front of him, fighting side by side with other Night's Watch brothers to repel the tens of thousands of wildlings, and proving through his military exploits that he was no less than any legitimate son. But here, even survival was so difficult.
Did his father know the true circumstances of the Wall's garrison? As the Warden of the North, he must have known, but when Jon proposed joining the Night's Watch to his father, Lord Stark had agreed without any hesitation or dissuasion, which made Jon even more heartbroken.
Was the past kindness just a facade, and beneath that mask, did his father actually despise him?
"No wonder." Jon said in a muffled voice, trying to hide his grievance, "No wonder you're trying to leave here by any means. This place. it's so cold."
"Yes, it's cold." Is it just cold? It's also bitter and treacherous. Aeg found it amusing. No matter how mature or strong the boy in front of him seemed, he was still just a child: "You have to look at it from another angle. I happened to meet a kind-hearted big shot and got the chance to leave here, and once summoned, I have to return immediately; as for you, as long as you quit before taking the oath, you can return to Winterfell anytime, and you never have to come back."
Jon didn't respond. In theory, he could return anytime, and it was impossible not to be tempted. But now, the father who used to protect him had left the North for King's Landing to serve as Hand of the King, and Winterfell was now under the control of Lady Stark. Catelyn Tully's attitude toward him, the bastard, could almost be described as hatred. Going back might mean better food and a warmer place to stay, but it might not be as comfortable as staying at the Wall.
He had come to the Wall and would never return to Winterfell. To put it nicely, this was valuing honor over pleasure; to put it harshly, it was suffering for the sake of pride. Like Tyrion, who had just been fleeced in the Lord Commander's office, Jon would also choose pride.
"If you choose to stick it out, you'll have to think about how to fit in here." Aeg understood the dilemma Jon was in and sympathized with him. Seeing that he wasn't speaking, he continued, "Becoming a member of the Night's Watch means you'll have to spend your life here, and that life may be long or short, but it's all in your own hands. If you're still thinking of using the martial skills you learned from Ser Rodrik to bully the children of farmers, blacksmiths, miners, or even orphans, and venting your disappointment with the Night's Watch on your fellow recruits, sooner or later, a brother will stab you in the back when you're not looking."
"I watched you spar with those recruits this morning." Tyrion also approached, "That wasn't practice. If you had been using a real sword, they would have been dead several times over. You humiliated them without mercy. I remember you decided to join the Night's Watch after hearing Aeg's stories about the White Walkers and the wildling armies. Do you really think it's something to be proud of, beating these people who have never even touched a real weapon?"
Jon blushed. He had indeed felt proud of his victories.
"He's a smart guy, he knows what he needs to know. He's just going through a rough patch and is temporarily off-balance." Aeg didn't intend to mimic Tyrion's sharp tongue and mock everyone. The dwarf wasn't afraid of offending people, but Aeg couldn't afford to. Facing a potential protagonist, he was willing to put in some effort to show some kindness: "Jon, let's be frank. We both know you chose this path because you wanted to do something big, but have you ever thought that if the Wall was a place where you could do something big and comfortable, how could it possibly be short of people?"
"I…" Jon was speechless. What Aeg said made sense. He always made sense, but what Jon needed now was comfort!
"In my hometown, there's an old saying. Before Heaven assigns a great mission to someone, it will first torment his heart, exhaust his body, and make things go against his wishes, so that he becomes stronger and more capable."
Aeg quoted the famous ancient Chinese proverb "Heaven bestows a great responsibility upon a great man, first it will exhaust his mind, labor his muscles, and make things go against his wishes." It was a bit challenging to say this in the language of Westeros, and although the life of the Night's Watch was tough, starvation was not an issue, so he conveniently omitted the latter half of the saying: "Doing something big won't be smooth sailing, but as long as you get through the hardships, there will definitely be rewards."
The boy interrupted him, unconvinced, "That's easy for you to say. Why don't you stay and suffer with me?"
"I'm not a bastard." Aeg shrugged, stepping into the role of a noble's only son: "I'm an only child. I don't need to do something big to prove anything. As long as I can return home safely, I can naturally inherit the family business. But you can't. I don't discriminate against bastards, Jon. Your birth was your father's fault, but the world is just that cruel. You have to pay for your father's mistakes." Because he was already dead, Aeg softened his tone. He wasn't there to lecture the boy: "If you really feel lost, how about this, let me show you the way."
Jon looked up at Aeg, waiting for the rest.
"What do you think is the greatest glory that the Night's Watch can achieve?"
"To be loyal to our duties and keep the North and the Seven Kingdoms safe."
"No, what you're talking about is just the basic mission that a qualified member of the Night's Watch should fulfill." Aeg shook his head and unapologetically negated the bastard's answer: "The greatest achievement of the Night's Watch is to eliminate the Night's Watch legion and tear down the Wall."
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