(Luwin): Joining the Night's Watch, or taking the black,
is a singular honor for any northerner.
For it was in the North, some 8,000 years ago,
that the First Men drove back the white walkers,
erected the Wall,
and established the sworn brotherhood
that would guard the realm and its people from the dangers beyond.
Regrettably, the Night's Watch no longer commands the widespread respect
and admiration it once did.
While House Stark and other houses in the northern regions
continue to recognize its vital importance
to the safety and stability of the realm,
this view is not shared by the powerful houses
of the southern kingdoms, or their subjects.
Most regard the Watch as a misguided, obsolete order
made up of useless outcasts.
Admittedly, the current Night's Watch is a shadow of its former glory.
Their numbers have dwindled to less than a thousand.
Of the 19 castles along the Wall,
only three are functional -
the Shadow Tower, Castle Black, and Eastwatch-by-the-Sea.
And the Watch's mandate of adding to the Wall
has been abandoned entirely.
There are barely enough resources to maintain it.
Recruiting officers - known as wandering crows -
scour the dungeons and slums of the realm
in hope of finding men to fill the ranks.
While there is still the occasional high-born volunteer,
the newest recruits are almost entirely made up of lowly criminals -
thieves, rapists and murderers -
sentenced to the Wall as punishment for their crimes.
The decline of this once-fabled order is troubling,
as the danger it guards against is all too real.
While the white walkers haven't been seen or heard from in ages,
and may very well be the stuff of myth,
barbarian tribes that dwell beyond the Wall -
known as wildlings -
have been a menace to the North and its people for generations.
At certain points in history, the disparate wildling tribes
have united behind a single leader -
a king beyond the Wall -
and attempted large-scale attacks against the Realm.
But, thanks to the resourceful and courageous men of the Night's Watch,
these so-called kings were soundly defeated.
While many have lost faith in the Night's Watch,
the people of the North are steadfast in their belief
that the Black Brothers will answer the call of duty.
But with winter coming,
diminished numbers, and a lack of widespread support,
will they be ready?