The Night's Watch is a very special military organization, as old as the Wall itself. It existed when the North was still an independent kingdom, serving as an independent organization. The king, aside from exiling criminals and providing supplies, generally did not interfere with their internal operations, except when catching runaway members of the Night's Watch. The invasions of the Andals, the conquest by Aegon, and Robert's Rebellion did not change its nature.
The organization also controls the land south of the Wall. The first 25 miles were gifted by the King of the North during the Wall's construction and are called the Gift. The next 25 miles were given by Queen Alyssa Targaryen of the Targaryen dynasty and are referred to as the New Gift. Together, they make up a vast area of land 50 miles wide, the same length as the Wall. The towns and villages in this region pay taxes to the Night's Watch through goods or labor, which also helps solve some of the supply issues for the Watch.
The election of the Lord Commander has always been done by vote within the Night's Watch. With their duties as witnesses complete, Wright and Robb had no further opinions on how Benjen would handle the Night's Watch, so they stepped outside to talk.
"Is there a way to breed the little white spiders?" To distinguish them from the warhorse-sized ice spiders, Wright referred to the palm-sized spiders as "little white spiders."
"I had the brothers breed worms first. There's a forest covered in deep snow in the Gift. If you dig holes in the forest and place the worms on the tree roots, they can feed on the sap. After they become adults and can reproduce again, I tried incubating the spider eggs, but they froze again," Robb explained without blindly experimenting.
Wright: "You're in charge of this. It could become another source of income for Winterfell."
Robb shook his head. "Winterfell won't work, nor will other parts of the North. These little white spiders are a species that originated near the Wall. I had some men take the spider eggs south of the Wall. They turned black and spoiled in less than thirty miles."
Wright: "That's possible. They are a species specifically bred underground by the ice spiders of the Wall. They might only be able to survive near the Wall."
The two continued talking until the noise from the ongoing argument in the hall grew louder. Wright and Robb re-entered.
At that moment, Benjen was standing with one leg on a chair and the other on a table, shouting at Janos Slynt. Janos, not backing down, slapped the table forcefully and argued back, his face red with anger.
"One slaps the table, the other puts up a leg. Why don't you just use your words?" Wright cast a Master-level Group Harmony spell, and the hall immediately quieted.
The other members of the Night's Watch in the hall were all flushed and angry, but none drew their swords. Instead, they rolled up their sleeves, clearly ready to fight. Benjen Stark had been the First Ranger for many years and came from a powerful family, but his attempt to sentence nearly half of the men in the hall all at once lacked the necessary authority. If he forced it, it would likely lead to rebellion.
"As a witness, I don't care how you handle internal issues in the Night's Watch, but there will be no physical violence! You call each other brothers, but I'm not your brother. Anyone who fights here, I'll throw them out to feed to the dragon," Wright said casually as he sat back down, putting his feet up on the table.
"The Night's Watch is supposed to support each other. If you have a problem, speak calmly. Since the argument is endless, Commander Benjen, Janos, Lord Wright here has years of experience managing armies and has even served as acting Hand of the King. He can offer advice. As the heir of the North, I can also be an impartial witness," Robb said as he dragged a table and chair forward, placing Janos in front of Benjen.
Encouraged by his supporters, Janos sat in the chair. Robb, Wright, Benjen, Commander of Eastwatch-Cotter Pyke, and Commander of Shadow Tower-Denys Mallister all sat facing him. Robb's arrangement of seats, seemingly impartial, actually placed Janos in the seat typically reserved for noble criminals awaiting judgment. But the corrupt and inattentive Janos didn't realize this and simply nodded gratefully at Robb.
"Commander Benjen, how do you intend to deal with them?" Robb asked.
Benjen replied, "According to the vows and laws, members of the Night's Watch cannot marry or have children. If they're found with a woman, they should have their organs cut off."
"What kind of vow and law are you talking about?" Janos shouted. "Our vows and laws talk about women, not about female vampires!"
"Exactly!" The Night's Watch members in the hall chimed in together.
Robb: "Maester, bring the Kingdom's Code."
After Maester Aemon's death, the new Maester at the Black Castle was named Cans, in his forties, bald. Upon hearing Robb's request, he signaled two of the Night's Watch to run to the Rookery.
A short time later, the three returned, carrying a stack of thick books.
The Kingdom's Code was a massive book, bound in cowhide. Each page was longer than an arm, made from carefully crafted sheep parchment. Each book was about as thick as a fist. Because the parchment was so thick, the Kingdom's Code had eight volumes due to the many legal texts.
Robb, Benjen, Janos, and the Maester began flipping through the Code, cross-checking laws regarding adultery, immorality, and any laws related to men and women.
Low-level mages could become high-level mages through hard work, but Wright had always taught his students to rely on their wits. To avoid seeing his hard work go to waste, Wright had introduced law courses at the King's Landing Magic School. Although the legal texts were tedious, Robb, Jon, and Ashara had lost quite a few hairs when they studied them.
Wright could recite the entire Kingdom's Code, but now it was Robb, the heir of the North, who was trying to win over people's hearts. Wright leaned back, resting his hands behind his head, and lazily watched his student at work. Eddard and Catelyn's political skills were mediocre, but with the help of many advisors, Robb would learn how to handle politics—one of the benefits of having parents alive.
"You see! Do you see clearly now! The law states that having relations with a prostitute without paying is a crime, but is a vampire a human?" Janos shouted, pointing at the legal text in the book.
"There's a clause for that." Benjen, too, noticed the loophole in the law.
"Uncle Benjen, I think if the law and oath don't say anything about it, then it's innocent. If you think it's wrong later, you can add it to the Night's Watch regulations," Robb whispered, turning to him.
Benjen, being the second son of his family, had not received any education on inheritance. He thought the Night's Watch members should be punished, but now, hearing Robb's words, he was reluctant to announce their innocence.
Robb took out the frozen small white spider eggs and worms from under the table. "I've been researching this recently, Uncle Benjen should know about it. These spiders can only live near the Wall, and I'll give them to you."
Benjen was surprised. He had heard Robb mention that the silk produced by these spiders was very valuable. "Give them to me?"
"Yes, they are given to you by House Stark and Lord Wright! You will organize the Night's Watch to breed them, and the silk can be sold to Winterfell, or exchanged for resources," Robb explained.
At this point, Benjen understood. Robb was using the small white spiders to win favor.
Soon after, Benjen made a ruling. The Night's Watch members who had relations with female vampires had not broken their oath or violated the kingdom's law. They were innocent! The hall erupted in cheers, and Janos' faction looked at Robb with gratitude.
Wright smiled as he heard the verdict. There were always loopholes in the law. Back in his original world, there were experts who dealt with such matters. He remembered how laws only criminalized female rape victims. It wasn't until seven years before his transmigration that the law was amended to recognize male rape as a crime.
Benjen then announced that the Night's Watch would begin breeding the small white spiders, which could bring great resources to the Watch. The hall erupted in cheers again. When people heard that they were a gift from House Stark and Lord Wright, they realized Benjen's position as the new Commander was secure.
Wright made another request to Benjen, asking him to search for the wildlings beyond the Wall, tell them about how well those who reached Tyrosh had been doing, and encourage them to send more wildlings to Tyrosh.
Having finished inspecting the Wall, Wright no longer intended to venture beyond it. The vast, desolate snowfields outside couldn't possibly hide any White Walkers, so as long as the Wall stood, they were safe.
Wright and Odahviing returned to Winterfell, where word of the White Walkers and vampires had already reached all the Northern lords, who were on their way to Winterfell. Wright stayed in Winterfell, waiting for the convoy led by Robb.
Eddard and Catelyn stood by the bedroom window, looking out at the dragon head that was even bigger than the arrow towers on the wall, and the five figures standing on the wall. Not just the two of them, but people from all over the castle were watching.
"Odahviing, it's about to begin! If you feel something's wrong, stop immediately!"
Wright stood on the castle wall in the shirt Eddard had given him, preparing to try a new magic. He had begged Odahviing for a long time, and after much persuasion, it had agreed to try. The Three-Eyed Raven magic, which was classified as nature magic, was something Odahviing simply disliked for no other reason.
The two Direwolves sat obediently on the castle wall, not daring to move. Rickon petted the furry dog's head, counting how many scales were on Odahviing's chin. Bran, still like a child, was measuring the length of the dragon's horns with his fingers.
It had been many years since Wright had contacted the Three-Eyed Raven. When he was with Bran, he had tried several times to contact the Three-Eyed Raven through him, but had failed. Bran had said that he still learned magic in his dreams every week, so Wright knew the Three-Eyed Raven wasn't dead, but his magical abilities and bodily functions were deteriorating. Perhaps he was experiencing his own death.
"Ha!" Wright let out a loud roar. Unlike the magic from the Elder Scrolls system, this magic felt completely new to him. Wright closed his eyes, carefully experiencing it.
Smells—first, he smelled the manure from horses and dogs in Winterfell, then the fresh scent of snow and the sulfur smell from the dragon.
He stuck out his tongue to test, and these smells seemed to physically stick to his mouth and tongue. Wright quickly closed his mouth.
Sounds—he could hear the heartbeat and breathing of the two people and one dog nearby. He also heard a deep, drum-like sound, which was the heartbeat of the dragon.
His body felt the wind, and while he had only been able to sense the direction of the wind before, now he could tell every snowflake mixed in with it.
His senses were heightened. In his mind, he could piece together all these sensations and even outline the entire shape of Winterfell with his eyes closed.
Opening his eyes, Wright looked around.
"Master Wright, your eyes are like the dragon's!" Rickon shouted loudly as he stood in front of Wright.
Wright's eyes transformed into those of Odahviing, their orange-red hue resembling flames, with his pupils tightening under the sunlight into a narrow black slit.
"Is this the world you see, Odahviing?" Wright muttered softly to himself, now in an enhanced connection state where the dragon could still hear him.
"Your vision is strange too." Odahviing said, turning his head toward the snow-covered forest in the distance.
The world Wright saw changed completely. The trees in the city, no longer green, were now covered in snow, and the thick blanket of snow outside couldn't hide the wild rabbits digging holes beneath. The air was filled with wisps of white, slowly being absorbed by his body. Dragons don't eat vegetation, are color-blind, and possess thermal vision, seeing the magic radiating through the air.
Odahviing, too, had gained Wright's vision, his sight now tinged with green. Compared to Odahviing, Wright gained a far greater benefit from this magic.
"I will call it dragon perception; Skinchangers really are something else." After experiencing it, Wright dispelled the magic.
Being able to see the magic in the air would make studying new spells much easier, especially with large-scale magic and arrays.
Inside the castle:
"Wright's magic experiment is over? Nothing happened at all?" Caitlyn asked, disappointed, seeing no fire, no light, nor electricity.
"Some magic doesn't show any immediate effects," said Eddard, though he didn't quite understand it himself, not wanting to appear ignorant in front of his wife.
Caitlyn turned back to look at Eddard, a smirk curling at the corner of her mouth. "When did you become a mage?"
Eddard responded awkwardly, "Uh... I'm not a mage, but I am the father of six mages!"
"I haven't seen Sansa for a while," Caitlyn changed the subject, avoiding mentioning Ashara and Jon.
Eddard replied, "Didn't Wright tell you? Sansa's studying under Tyene now. By next year, she'll be a senior magician."
"Next year Sansa will be sixteen and come of age. I need to find her a good husband."
"Yeah, we've already received quite a few marriage proposals from noble families. I've been putting them off."
Eddard now understood that in the Baratheon dynasty, once someone became a magician, they attained a transcendent status, making old customs a bit outdated when it came to magicians.
"But she's a girl, she'll need to marry eventually!" Caitlyn insisted on her stance.
Eddard didn't reply, thinking about his eldest daughter, Ashara, who was still unmarried. He wondered if she had someone in mind or if her status as a bastard made others look down on her. Then there was Jon, who had become the Commander of the City Guard. Finding a suitable woman for him should be easy.
"Wright's back. I'll go talk to him about something," Eddard quickly said, eager to avoid more conversations about Ashara and Jon, knowing it would only lead to another argument with Caitlyn.
The lords continued arriving at Winterfell, and a makeshift high platform was set up outside the city walls, with an iron cage beside it, prepared to hold the Others. Beneath Winterfell lay vast crypts, and if the Others entered the city, the Stark ancestors would rise from their graves. Wright definitely didn't want to disturb their family tomb.
Most of the northern lords were people Wright had never met before. Southerners often called them uncouth, as they still followed the Old Gods and preserved traditions from thousands of years ago, unlike the south, where the Faith of the Seven prevailed.
After a few cups of wine, Wright was soon chatting and laughing with them, especially about the recent events at the Black Castle. The conversation naturally centered around the beautiful female vampire.
A few more days passed, and Robb's convoy finally arrived back in Winterfell.