A character with whom I was able to quickly identify and with who has survived the first four epic novels of George R R Martin’s Fire and Ice series of books is Jon Snow, the assumed to be the son born to another woman than his wife of Lord Eddard Stark of Winterfell, a courageous man who had helped to make Robert Baratheon King of Westeros, once seven Kingdoms, a land similar but on a greater scale than the British islands and during a time of European middle ages.
I say assumed because at the time of writing with four books read and three seasons of TV productions completed, I am not sure if the questioning about his father has been raised and certainly he does not know about his mother and with his assumed father behead by the next King Joffrey, the promise of being told appears to have ended. What is known is that Eddard brought the child to be cared for by his wife following the tragic death of his sister Lyanna Stark and once betrothed of Robert Baratheon, who adored her. She was known for being headstrong, spirited, and beautiful; Eddard's daughter Ayra is often compared to Lyanna for their similar personality and appearance The novels present Lyanna as a trigger for Robert's Rebellion fifteen years before the series; however, the characters remember details differently. According to Daenerys Targaryen, my first character of choice to write about their progress. Prince Rhaegar Targaryen crowned Lyanna as his queen of love and beauty at a tournament, passing over his wife of the house of Martell and he "later stole her away from her betrothed, repeatedly raping her and when the family protested, the King Aerys II Targaryen horrifically executed Lyanna's father and brother Brandon, the older brother of Eddard. A civil war named Robert's Rebellion ensued that eventually ended at the Trident where Robert killed Rhaegar who according to Daenerys died for the woman he loved.
Shortly afterwards, Eddard went to rescue Lyanna from the Tower of Joy in Dorne. He found her dying "in a bed of blood" and her last words were "Promise me, Ned. She was buried in the crypt of Winterfell, though the crypt was usually reserved for the Kings and Lords of Winterfell. When King Robert comes to Winterfell to ask Eddard to become his chief adviser and organiser, his Hand, he visits the tomb of his once beloved.
In the books, as was the case in the UK until perhaps the past decade a child born outside of state recognised marriage is branded and treated as different, such individuals tend to feel themselves as an outsider and second class citizens especially as they grow up and away from the security and protection of those that rear them. In this instance although Jon was brought up within the family of three sons, Robb, Brandon(Bran) and Rickon and two daughters Sansa and Ayra aged nine when the story commences and was closest of the children. I can identify with Jon in part because of my own background circumstances and also because he became self reliant quickly and held to the ideals and standards of his assumed father.
When the story begins Jon is aged 14 the same age as Robb with both adolescents already trained warriors. Early in the first book Jon is given one of direwolf pups found on a hunting expedition, choosing the albino of the litter, named Ghost, also an outsider, and the creature becomes a close companion especially when Jon accompanies his uncle Benjen, the youngest and only surviving brother of Lord Eddiard, back to the Nights Watch to become a member.
The Nights Watch is a brotherhood of men sworn to protect the seven Kingdoms from the Wildings and other more mythological creatures -the White Walkers, not seen for thousands of years who inhabit the land North of the Wall, a wall of sold ice before rock on top of which are a number of forts and castle, nineteen in total, with three manned with any size of force and from which expeditions occasionally set out to find what is happening among the hostile peoples in such inhospitable lands akin to a mountainous Artic. Benjen goes on one pf these expeditions and never returns believed killed, leaving Jon on his own. The biggest fort manned with 600 men when the epic tale begins is Castle Black.
The Watch has continued for thousands of years said to number eight millennium. The officers of the Nights Watch are often the sons of the great houses in the seven Kingdoms but the force is supplemented by thieves and cut throats forced under threat of the alternative to take the oath of allegiance and of celibacy. This is because few in the various Kingdoms except those in the North regard the Wildings as a serious threat and therefore did not see the need for maintaining a strong Nights Watch force.
It is through the involvement of on that we learn something of the structure of the Watch with the Rangers, such as Uncle Benjen, men who patrol the Haunted Forest and who are the specialist fighters. The Builders are those who maintain the forts and the wall while stewards keep the place running everything from the provision of clothing, the heating to farming, storage and cooking the meals and looking after the weapons.
All the functions are coordinated and led by the Lord Commander who is elected by all the membership with anyone able to stand although tradition has tended to appoint a Ranger. However after Jon has saved the life of the Commander is appointed the man’s personal; steward there is talk that he is being favovoured and grommed for leadership. However when he gains news of the murder of his father he decides to leave and go to their side but is brought back by his friends for his declared AWL.
When the Commander becomes concerned about the loss of men on expeditions and reports that the wildings are gathering and moving south he organises a major expedition which he leads and Jon joins and is then sent with a small scouting party and when they encounter the wildings he is ordered by the party leader to appear to betray the Watch and join them to find out what they are up to and is forced to kill the man when he is captured so there is no one to vindicate his position.
At one point he takes a young female wilding lookout captive and who is called kissed by fire because of her red hair, and is also referred as spearhead another name for warrior. Because he had captured Ygritte she is regarded by other wildings as his wife and eventually on their travel south the two have sex and become emotionally attached, although she repeatedly chides him with the expression “you know nothing Jon Snow” and this applies to all aspects of life but not his sexual performance during which he naturally behaves in ways which impress her despite beginning to recount her catalogue of past experience. He learns that the wildings are planing to invade the Seven Kingdoms to escape from the Others- the White walkers who have risen and is then forced to help an advance party make their way up the wall. He has to leave Ghost who he urges to return to Castle Rock and give the alarm.
When the opportunity arises he break free and it is Ygritte who fires arrows and wounds him, but he suspects that her aim was not as true as she was capable. He survives and returns to Castle Black when he plays a leading role in organising its defence, against he superior force of the Wildings leader Mance Rayder’s overwhelming superior numbers and during one lull he discovers that Ygritte has been killed but no by one of his arrows.
When Jon first joins the Watch he befriends Samwell - Sam the first child of Lord Randyll Tarly and his wife Melessa Florent. Lord Randyll, who was regarded as one of the finest military commanders in the Seven Kingdoms and who is disappointed when the son becomes a large boy and shows no enthusiasm or ability as a warrior. Sam is kind hearted and caring and every effort to toughen him fails. When at the fourth attempt another son is born who meets father’s expectations, Sam is ordered to renounce the family name and join the Nights Watch.
Dam is mocked and bullied (with the approval of the Master at arms) for his size, timid nature and hopelessness bearing arms. It is Jon who intervenes and subsequently persuades the leadership that Sam should become a Steward with responsibility for looking after the Ravens, effective carrier pigeons used throughout the Kingdom as a postal service and also the library. In gratitude Sam is one fo those who persuades Jon to remain with the Watch when Lord Stark, his father is executed.
In the second volume Sam goes with Jon in the great expedition North of the Wall where they visit a former Member of the Watch (Craster) for information about Benjen Stark and other developments, Craster has build himself a home (Craster’s Keep) and a following, and nineteen wives, many his daughters and where it is rightly believed he kills off his sons seeing them as a threat. One the wives is Gilly who is pregnant.
It is in the third and fourth books that Sam comes to the fore in ways which are natural to him and also surprising. The TV production changes the time sequence and the second season concludes as Sam is separated from his colleagues and experiences the coming of the Others and with the Commander a small group survive using a raven to warn Castle Black what is happening. When a friend who helped Sam survive the trek back is attacked and killed Sam reacts instinctively and kills the creature using a dragonglass dagger (a volcanic rook substance) found by Jon’s Direwolf and the Wight walker dies instantly, revealing a way to kill them and earning Sam the title of Sam the Slayer. He and another manage to get back to Craster’s Keep where there is mutiny and the Commander and Craster are killed in the fighting. Samwell takes up with Gilly and her newborn child and attempts to make it back to Castle Black.
On their way Sam is again force to fight, this time Wights, not to be confused with the white walkers- the Others as the Wights are the undead created by the Others and Sam then encounters the younger half brother of Jon, Bran Stark and his accompanying band the subject of a writing later and who continue on a separate way and Sam mentions that he knows Jon and his Direwolf but is uncertain if both have survived the battles.
Sam eventually gets Gill and her child to the comparative safety of Castle Black, I say comparative safety because he finds that there has been a dramatic development with the defeat of the wildings and their leader.
Jon, despite his brave return to warn the Watch and organising the defence of the castle is accused of treachery having been reported as joining the enemy by other returning Watch officers. When his fate is in the balance the Watch is saved by the arrival of the army of King Stannis Baratheon, the brother of former King Robert and whose story will be the subject of my next writing. Stannis makes John an offer which I will leave at the moment as it spoils other aspects of the story to unfold and which also proves the impossibility of trying to write separate accounts of the story of the main characters without revealing key aspects of their individual storylines.
While Jon considers the offer, Stannis has been exerting pressure on the Watch to elect a new Commander. Anyone can put up and all the Watch vote and the voting continues until someone has the required majority which means that unless candidates pull out he voting can continue for months.
This is where Sam has a crucial role to play having explained that he has protected Gilly, that the child is not his and that he has broken his oath of celibacy, he has gained in standing because of now being Sam the Slayer, He is used as a broker by Stannis between the two main contenders pretending that if they do not drop out and chose a new compromise candidate Stannis will appoint the other to the position. As a consequence of this Jon finds himself elected the new Commander of the Watch. His Direwolf also finds his way home.
The TV series ended with Jon shot by Ygritte making his way back. I chose Jon for my second writing because while the various characters have been fighting each other south of the Wall trying to gain control of all the lands of the seven former kingdom, they face a greater danger which threatens them all, a threat greater than that posed by Daenerys, her three dragons and the army of the unsullied and freed slaves across the water, where as I said in the first piece she had decided to consolidate her position and manage the welfare of the citizens of the three cities she has taken on her travels westward. I have also focussed on Jon because in other development steps had been taken to legitimise him, as had Stannis which Jon had turned down to become head the Nights Watch with the responsibility of protecting all the Kingdoms from the forces the other side of Wall. Perhaps he will survive where others have not.
Despite the oath of celibacy broken under orders because of his role spying on the Wilding enemy, one also suspects that he will marry and who knows could that be Daenerys who I also believe will survive and have an increasingly major role in the future of the seven Kingdoms, but as I shall report nothing can be foretold without reading the books nor is anyone safe.
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