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Ch-35: Bears on Ice

Gobin's eyes, cold and unyielding, scanned the approaching enemy forces. With a grim determination, he drew his sword, the blade glinting in the pale light. Pointing it menacingly towards the encroaching horde, he bellowed, "Charge!"

In that electrifying moment, fifteen figures on their mighty bear mounts surged forward as a single entity, their minds consumed by a singular thought: Kill!

"Damn it all!"

"Look at those monsters!"

The wildlings, confronted with the sight of these colossal behemoths bearing down on them, felt their resolve falter. Momentum wavered, and the charge stuttered into a hasty retreat. The war cries that once resonated with unity had now crumbled, leaving behind shattered morale and a dwindling army.

Their morale, their leaders and their large army, were all gone in just two days. Tonight, they should be here, celebrating their victory and eating fresh meat but they were abandoned by their old gods.

Desperation fuelled their escape, as they fled, attempting to forge a path through the treacherous Frostfangs mountains to reach distant wildling settlements.

But Gobin and his unyielding warriors, filled with a thirst for vengeance, pursued relentlessly, reaping a symphony of death that reverberated for hours beneath the cloak of darkness.

"Keep the chase! Kill them all!" Gobin's orders rang out, inciting his warriors to embrace their newfound purpose. No longer mere soldiers, they had transformed into bloodthirsty avengers, the mightiest of all under Gobin's leadership.

While the clash of steel and the screams of the dying echoed in the frozen expanse, most wildlings sought refuge in flight, vanishing into the obsidian night or concealing themselves within the snow-laden landscape.

They understood the battle was lost, a sombre realization that left them with no recourse but to turn on their own kind in a desperate bid for survival.

Across the horizon, Gobin's force gradually yielded to his command, withdrawing from the relentless pursuit. "Back to the posts!" His authoritative decree signalled a hard-earned respite, a momentary reprieve from the relentless cycle of violence.

Finally, fatigue conquered their fervour, and Gobin's men settled into their outpost, where they could finally rest without the fear of death dancing above their heads.

Their metamorphosis from mere soldiers to indomitable warriors had been forged in the crucible of war, a transformation that Gobin himself had yet to fully comprehend.

Three days elapsed, the sun still cloaked beneath the horizon, as the Bear Island army led by Lady Maege and her companions arrived at the scene. However, their mood was heavy. They were dead bodies all around. Broken bones, frozen blood and the smell of rotting corpses made them fear the worst. Plus, they could see the broken wall at a distance.

Lady Maege felt a stone pressing on her chest and she exchanged a grim look with Ser Stephon and Great Walrus.

“If our men are dead, then whoever is inside those walls must die too. Keep the men ready!”

She commanded and then unsheathed her sword before riding her sledge towards the outpost. Stephon and Walrus also followed her, and their blades were also shining in the darkness.

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However, before the tense army could reach the broken walls, dogs started barking one after another. This startled the sleeping men behind the broken walls.

“Who goes there?”

Gobin, who was awoken by his dogs asked loudly from the distance. These three days, they had been clearing the dead and trying to calm their livestock all day. They were tired beyond words. Thankfully, without any possible enemy, they could get a nice sleep and to guard, they simply chained the dogs at some distance. They were better watchmen than humans in any scenario.

"It's your death!" Lady Maege's thunderous proclamation reverberated a declaration that resonated with the vengeance she sought. A triumphant cheer erupted from her ranks, but her words seemed to catch Gobin's men off guard, their initial shock soon giving way to laughter.

Gobin issued a brief order, his voice filled with relief and happiness.

"Prepare yourselves, you lazy sods! Lady Maege has arrived! Grab your weapons yourselves and follow me!" Urgency gripped the defenders as weapons were hastily gathered, and they surged forth, emerging from the broken walls like shadows birthed from the night.

With the dawn sun casting its feeble glow, Gobin and his warriors charged, riding their bears with a determination that mirrored Lady Maege's. Their paths converged, merging the triumphant glow of sunrise with the steadfast resolve of the defenders.

Lady Maege's heart swelled with awe and disbelief as she witnessed the miraculous sight—a seemingly unscathed host of warriors emerging from the heart of darkness, their figures illuminated by the burgeoning light.

“Ha ha ha….Ser Stephon!” Gobin jumped from his bear in a happy mood and the man with the thick beard was as happy as a child meeting his lost parents. Stephon who came in front to meet the enemy was also crazy with the happiness.

“Gobin! You cunts are alive. You all are alive!” Stephone couldn’t conceal his joy and tightly hugged Gobin before shouting out loud and patting him on his back. As Lady Maege reached the dancing duo, Gobin and his men became serious and took a knee.

Gobin's voice held a weight that bespoke the gravity of their struggle.

> "My Lady, I present to you the entirety of the Bay of Ice. The wildlings are no more; only the people of Bear Island remain."

A jubilant smile graced Lady Maege's lips as she patted his shoulders and brought them up. The war was won, history inscribed in blood and ice, and the Bay of Ice stood united under her banner. A wellspring of pride surged within her, washing away the doubts and fears that had plagued her heart.

“Good. Good. Good….. You all will be awarded, and your names shall be recorded and your war will be taught to our kids. They will know, how our fifteen men fought an army of five hundred and yet remained victorious.

You made your stand here and your stand will allow them to reach higher.”

“Aye…aye!” – the crowd kept shouting and thumping their shields with their swords to show their happiness.

Two weeks later, Lady Maege departed alongside Gobin and the original warriors, leaving Ser Stephon and Great Walrus to oversee the establishment of a more formidable outpost.

Many of the men under Great Walrus were very happy and secretly thanked their chief for his wise decision. They had previously fought these cannibal monsters, but they could never win a decisive victory.

Yet a mere handful of the soldiers under Bear Island did the unthinkable. They were fortunate to never face this kind of enemy and instead join them.

Before, these wildings thought that their chief bend the knee because of fertile land but now, they knew the truth. He had seen these soldiers fighting and he knew they were of no match. It was their own weakness first that made Great Walrus take a knee.

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While Bear Island was busy encroaching the Bay of Ice, the wildings villages around the Wall had a great headache. Their scouts alerted them about the coming river clans and these river clans were hell-bent on fighting a war with them.

Hence, after a series of debates and internal struggles, all the men from these villages picked up whatever weapon they had and marched towards the Frostfangs to fight a war.

If they lose the war, some of the men would rush back with the news and then the women and kids will have enough time to move someplace else. This was the only way.

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The war between Bear Island and River Clan was fought on the icy grounds of Bay of Ice and beyond the reach of the wall or the men of night’s watch and hence they had no idea about the movements of the wildings.

So, five weeks later (at present time) ….

Qhorin was leading a team and they were watching a large group of wilding men marching towards the Frostfangs closer to their own castle, the Shadow Tower.

“What in the world of shit snow are these wildings doing?” Qhorin spoke to himself while moving his band of scouts towards their own castle and sending one rider back to Castle Black.