It was a very cold night. The icy breeze came from the mountains, making Jon's black hair fly with elegance and fury. The night breath touched his skin, causing him to shiver. He remained there, contemplating the nightly beauty of the wall, watching the icy immensity before him, while his mind drifted into random daydreams on various subjects.

His thoughts were torn between the offer to legitimize him, to make him the Lord of his family's ancestral home. If he accepted, he would finally have a true name, defy the rejection he had faced since childhood, and claim the place that had never fully felt like his. The hard-faced king from the south would even offer him his daughter—you—as a wife.

But to rule, he would have to leave the Watch, abandon his sworn brothers, and turn his back on the old gods.