Night Gathers, and Now My Watch Begins

Our first glimpse into the world of Westeros is North of the Wall. We are introduced to three Nights Watch Rangers, in the process of tracking a group of wildling raiders. The Rangers are led by Ser Waymar Royce, the third son of Lord Yohn Royce of Runestone. Through the eyes of Will, we learn that being sent to the Night's Watch may be used as a means of punishment. Will was arrested for poaching, and Ser Waymar is a third son, unlikely to gain lands or titles.

Much of the chapter is dedicated to showing the way that Ser Waymar, the "lordling" is viewed by his common born brothers in arms. Gared and Will despise Ser Waymar, and chafe at taking orders from him due to his relative lack of service on the wall, age, and attitude. Ser Waymar is overconfident, cocky, and unwilling to listen to Gared, the older and more experienced man. Ser Waymar's confidence, and his refusal to "fail on his first ranging" in the end is what leads to his death and the death of his men. He bravely faces off against a White Walker before being killed and resurrected as a vengeful wight. Indeed, it is Ser Waymar who Benjen Stark is searching for when he goes missing on his ranging.

The chapter serves as a strong introduction. We're headed to a world where the stories you hear "at a woman's teat" in the words of Ser Waymar Royce, are about to come true.

What's more interesting to me, more than anything that happens in this specific chapter, with its three soon to be dead main characters, is how Ser Waymar's failed ranging affects the way Jon Snow is treated when he arrives at the Wall.

As noted frequently in the series, the Night's Watch was once considered a noble calling. Much ink is committed to reinforcing the fact that the Night's Watch has changed from a group of knights and lords dedicated to saving the kingdom to a group of malcontents and rapists living bitter and miserable lives on the Wall. Ser Waymar Royce, as a son of Bronze Yohn Royce, the second most powerful Lord in the Vale, is a big catch for the Night's Watch and a glowing exception. His coming does the Watch great honor, and they are in his father's debt. As a result, they make him a ranger and give him command of a ranging within six months of being on the Wall. Contrast that with the treatment Jon Snow gets when he arrives and you see that what happens here serves as an important lesson for the Watch.

Jon Snow, despite being from a more powerful and prestigious House than Ser Waymar, is trained with the regular recruits when he first arrives. When he asks his uncle Benjen to go ranging, he is immediately shot down. Furthermore, the need for men who can read and write means that Jon is placed with the stewards, not with the rangers, like Ser Waymar, which is directly against his wishes.

Since we see Ser Waymar primarily through the eyes or Gared and Will, we see his arrogance and condescension. We don't get the benefit of seeing Jon through the eyes of Grenn or Rast, so we don't see exactly how he comes off initially. But we do see that he is feared by the recruits and disdained by the long-serving brothers. Going through training "with the boys" helps prepare Jon for the entirety of the life ahead of him, a benefit Ser Waymar didn't have.