Alliser Thorne's knees heavily slammed into the snow, making a muffled thud.
This sound was like a signal.
Everyone in the courtyard watched the scene before them with expressions of seeing a ghost.
They had expected Thorne to rage, deny everything, or even draw his sword and fight to the death.
But they never imagined that this man, who always wore the title "Ser" on his lips and was arrogant beyond measure, would simply kneel!
Did he... admit it?
Admit to Linn's accusation, which sounded preposterous but struck right at the core of the matter?
Was he truly a dog of the Targaryen?
Did he intend to use the Others' invasion to let the wolf into the house and help the Targaryen restore their rule?
This thought sent a chill down the spine of every Nights Watch member present.
If this was true, then Alliser Thorne was not simply hiring someone for murder.
He was a traitor to the realm!
He was a betrayal of the entire Nights Watch, the North, and even the Seven Kingdoms!
"Thorne..."
Jeor Mormont's voice revealed a sense of powerlessness.
He looked at Thorne, who was kneeling on the ground like a puddle of mud, his ancient eyes filled with bitter disappointment and rage.
He could tolerate Thorne's sharp tongue and his pig-headed arrogance.
But he absolutely could not tolerate a Nights Watch brother, a black brother who had sworn an oath until death, harboring treasonous intent!
"Look up, look at me!"
Mormont took a deep breath and roared.
Thorne's body trembled violently, and he slowly raised his head.
The face that had once been etched with pride and bitterness was now only ash gray.
"Is what Linn said true?"
Every word Jeor Mormont spoke seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth.
Thorne's lips moved.
He wanted to deny it, but when his eyes met Linn's calm gaze, which seemed to see through everything.
All the lies clogged in his throat.
He knew that any defense was futile in front of this man.
He felt like a prisoner stripped bare, all his secrets exposed nakedly under the sun.
This feeling terrified him more than death itself.
"I..."
Thorne only managed one word before he could no longer make a sound.
His silence was the best answer.
"Bastard!"
Mormont could no longer suppress his fury and fiercely drew the longsword from his waist.
He walked step by step toward Thorne, the tip of his sword carving a cold mark in the snow.
"Have you forgotten your oath?"
"The Long Night is coming, and now my watch begins. It shall not end until my death!"
"I shall wear no crowns and win no glory!"
"I shall live and die at my post!"
Mormont's voice echoed in the silent courtyard, full of grief and disappointment.
"You faithless traitor!"
"You have stained the honor of the Nights Watch!"
"You... are unworthy to wear these black clothes!"
Mormont raised the longsword high in his hand, the cold blade aimed at Thorne's neck.
"No! lord commander! Stop!"
Thorne finally broke down, scrambling backward on his hands and knees, and a foul stench spread from beneath him.
"I was wrong! I was momentarily confused! Please, give me another chance!"
"A chance?"
Mormont sneered.
"Did you give Linn a chance when you sent men to kill him?"
"Attempting to overthrow the realm and betraying your oath—your crimes are unforgivable!"
The longsword whistled as it swept down!
Just then.
"Wait, Lord Commander."
A calm voice stopped Mormont's movement.
It was Linn.
Mormont turned his head, looking at Linn in confusion.
"Linn, he is a traitor, do not plead for him!"
"My Lord."
Linn walked up to Mormont and bowed slightly.
"According to the ancient laws of the North, and the traditions of the Nights Watch."
"He who passes the sentence should swing the sword."
The courtyard fell silent once more.
Everyone understood what Linn meant.
He was not pleading for mercy.
He was demanding the right to execute the sentence himself!
Mormont looked at Linn's calm eyes, and he understood.
Linn wanted to use Thorne's blood, Thorne's head, to declare to everyone who held the undisputed authority at Castle Black!
This was very Northern.
And very... Stark.
Since he intended to support Linn's rise to power.
This was an excellent opportunity to establish authority.
Since Linn had this intention, Mormont nodded, then slowly sheathed his sword.
He looked at Thorne, who was now so terrified he had soiled himself, his eyes filled only with disgust.
"Linn, then you do it."
"For the sake of his past efforts, make it quick and spare him suffering!"
Linn nodded and walked up to Thorne.
"Alliser Thorne."
Linn's judgment rang out, clearly reaching everyone's ears.
"You betrayed your oath, murdered a sworn brother, and intended treason."
"I, Linn, acting on behalf of the Nine Hundred Ninety-Seventh lord commander of the Nights Watch, Jeor Mormont, hereby pronounce sentence."
"I sentence you to..."
"Death!"
Thorne's body went limp, and he completely fainted.
Linn paid him no mind, slowly drawing longclaw from his waist.
The valyrian steel blade shimmered with a layer of eerie red light beneath the gray sky.
He did not look at Thorne on the ground, his gaze sweeping over every Nights Watch brother present.
At this moment, they all lowered their heads, daring not to meet Linn's gaze, their eyes filled only with awe.
Linn raised the sword.
He remembered the words Ned Stark had spoken on the execution block at Winterfell.
"If you would take a man's life, you owe it to him to look into his eyes and hear his last words."
Linn walked up to the unconscious Thorne and poked his face with the scabbard.
"Wake up, noble Ser Thorne, you are not dead yet."
Thorne slowly woke up, and when he saw the longsword raised high in Linn's hand, his pupils contracted sharply.
"Tell me, why did you want to kill me?"
Linn asked calmly.
Thorne knew he was going to die, and hatred filled his eyes.
"I hate you! I wish I could tear you limb from limb!"
He shrieked:
"You damned deserter, you are the shame of the entire Nights Watch!"
"Very well."
Linn nodded, wasting no more words.
The hand rose, the sword fell.
A head was cleanly severed, rolling a few times in the snow before stopping.
The hateful eyes were still wide open, reflecting the gray Northern sky and the figure standing there with the sword.