On the Wall

The Prologue of the novel introduces the out-kingdom northern wilderness beyond the Wall, an ancient 700 foot high, 300 mile-long barrier of ice and magic fortifying the Seven Kingdoms, manned by the Brotherhood of the Night's Watch. In the lawless lands north of the Wall, a small patrol of Rangers from the Night's Watch encounter the Others; with all except a single survivor killed. Jon Snow, the bastard son of Lord Eddard and despised by Catelyn, is inspired by his uncle Benjen Stark, the First Ranger of the Night's Watch, to join the Brotherhood and go to the Wall.

At the Wall, Jon unites the recruits against their harsh instructor, and protects cowardly but good-natured Samwell Tarly. Jon hopes that his combat skills will earn him assignment to the Rangers, the military arm of the Brotherhood. Instead he is assigned as steward to the Lord Commander of the Watch, Jeor Mormont. He arranges for his friend Sam to be made steward to elderly Maester Aemon. Meanwhile, Benjen Stark leads a small party of Rangers on patrol beyond the Wall but fails to return. Nearly six months later, the dead bodies of two of the rangers from Benjen's party are recovered from beyond the Wall, and their corpses re-animate as wights in the night. Undeterred by sword wounds, they kill six men while Jon and his direwolf Ghost save Lord Commander Mormont by destroying a wight. For saving his life, Mormont presents Jon with the Valyrian-steel bastard sword "Longclaw", an heirloom of the Lord Commander's house. Jon's friends then give him a pommel for the sword in the shape of a white direwolf's head, representing both House Stark and Jon's direwolf, Ghost.

When word of his father's execution reaches Jon, he attempts to desert the Night's Watch and join his half-brother Robb's war against the Lannisters. His friends among the Brotherhood convince him to return. Mormont convinces Jon that his place is with his new brothers, and that the war for the throne does not compare to the evil that winter is about to bring upon them from the north.