Chapter Text
“Today on Wild Westeros, we travel north. Far north, to the very edge of civilization where the lands are cold, vast, and dangerous.”
The episode opened with the show’s iconic theme music, a driving beat and low tones highlighting the natural majesty of the landscapes being shown on screen. For the first time in the show’s five year run, however, the picturesque views sweeping across the screen were those of the Northern Territories, and the music had been altered to reflect as much. Instead of the bass and snare drums popular in Kings Landing and the rest of Westeros Proper, the beat was being kept by bodhram drums. The pace was faster - more aggressive - than the theme song typically was. And instead of an orchestra, the melody was played by a talharpa, an instrument rarely seen below the Wall but prolific in the City Within the Valley of the Thenn, accompanied by several flutes.
As the narrator - Maester Marwyn of Oldtown, who had narrated Wild Westeros for all five of the show's seasons - delivered the episode’s introduction, views of the Haunted Forest, the Valley of the Thenn, and the Frostfangs flashed across the screen.
“Here in the Northern Territories, where the human population is small and settlements are few and far between, there are few laws governing men, and even fewer governing the land. What was once an untouched wilderness has been diminished by a century of unchecked logging and fur trading practices. But now, several groups and communities have been established to help protect and save the dwindling wildlife populations. On this episode, we introduce the Northern Conservation Coalition. Our camera crew will accompanany members of the NCC as they work to establish protections and provide care for the animals of the north so that you can join in exploring Wild Westeros.”
As the theme song came to an end, the headquarters for the Northern Conservation Coalition were shown on screen.
The view was less than impressive, especially underwhelming after the pictures of the steep, snow-peaked Frostfang Mountain Range which had just faded from view. A squat, windowless building with gray metal siding and dotted spots of rust was shown. If not for the letters “NCC” haphazardly painted on the side of the building, it would be indistinguishable from a warehouse. The building was ugly in the pristine white of the surrounding snowy landscape, a forest of cedar, spruce, pine, and hemlock rising in the background.
Despite the bleak setting, the NCC seemed lively. There were a number of vehicles parked to the side of the building, and the camera followed people dressed in puffy winter clothes and thick boots as they loaded supplies into the worn vehicles.
“Today,” the narrator explained, “is the first day of spring. The harshest storms of winter have passed, the days are growing longer, and the air is growing warmer. Any time now, the spring rains will begin to fall. And when the rains come, the snow will melt and the Valley of the Thenn will flood. But before then, in the days between the last winter storm and the first rain, there’s much work to be done.”
If the façade of the building was ugly, the man who was next pictured on the screen was even uglier. He had bulging eyes and sunken cheeks, and the glare he had fixed upon the camera was fierce, but his scowl was fiercer. A knit hat with a ragged hem was pulled over his ears, and his skin was reddened by cold and wind.
“Orell Eagleye,” the narrator introduced, “was born in the Haunted Forest, and he lived there until a logging company forced him from his land and saw his home destroyed. Besides displacing Eagleye, the move also saw hundreds of animals displaced as well, and the man became a staunch wildlife activist. Now, he’s one of the founding members of the newly accredited Northern Conservation Coalition.”
Orell Eagleye’s glare didn’t diminish as he began to speak. His manner was just as gruff as his appearance, and his accent was so thick, his words were accompanied by subtitles at the bottom of the screen even though the man was speaking the Common Tongue.
“I've been workin’ t' protect the wilds ‘round here for decades. Mostly alone. Then I met up with Mance Rayder, and he said I need help, and I need money. So he starts introducin’ me ‘round. Then I hook up with Laboda Freethenn, and he gets us an in at Thenn Regional so we can actually provide a bit o' care for some creatures. Then Mance brings in Jon Snow. It was Snow's idea t' make the Coalition a formal thing and get us fundin' and accreditation.”
The picture cut away as the camera began traversing the inner halls of the NCC. The inside of the building didn’t look much better than the outside, even with the checkered linoleum floors cleaned and polished and with fresh paint on the walls.
A voice-over of the narrator began speaking again. Viewers found Maester Marwyn's calm, soothing voice and clear diction a relief after enduring Eagleye’s thick accent and accusing glare.
The reason for the building's bleak appearance became apparent as the narrator explained, "Accreditation is the process of establishing a not-for-profit organization meant for the betterment of a community, which then receives funding from the Westrosi government. It’s a lengthy, time-consuming, complicated process. The accreditation of the Northern Conservation Coalition is especially remarkable because of the NCC’s location.
"The Northern Territories, ostensibly part of the Westerosi realm, is a land largely beyond the purview of the Westerosi government. The NCC is only the third organization in the Northern Territories to receive accreditation, along with the Night’s Watch, responsible for preserving what remains of the great ice wall, and the Northern Meteorology Service, the organization responsible for tracking weather and storm systems throughout the Territories.
“The Northern Conservation Coalition was accredited a mere five months before our crew’s arrival. Accreditation means that the NCC operates according to the exacting standards set by the Westerosi Wildlife Commission, and the organization provides information to the Commission regarding wildlife in the Northern Territories. In return, the NCC receives steady, substantial income. Although the NCC has been in operation for over a decade, this is the first time the organization has had a headquarters, a rescue and recovery center, and the ability to hire full-time staff. The facilities may seem simplistic - especially in comparison to the Oldtown Aquarium or the Westerland Lion Reserve. However, both of those organizations have been in operation for decades, whereas this facility has only been in operation for mere weeks and has yet to open it's doors to any animals or guests.”
While the narrator spoke, viewers were treated to views of gray halls, sparsely decorated rooms, and areas void of animal or human life alike. There was no art or decoration on the walls. Instead, there were sporadic posters reminding people about the facility's rules and regulations, as well as frequent reminders for people to wash their hands and wear gloves while handling animals.
When the camera focused on a person again, it was a woman. She had long orangeish-red hair and green eyes spaced far apart. She wasn’t conventionally pretty, but compared to the mean-faced Orell Eagleye, she was gorgeous. It was the mischievous tilt of her lips which made her compelling, though.
At the bottom of the screen, the name Ygritte Fletcher, Assistant Director flashed across the screen as the young woman began to speak.
“You've got bad timing,” she announced, clearly talking to the camera crew as opposed to the viewer. “We were supposed t' release an animal into a new enclosure today, sure. But with the snow melting, we’ve found some leaky spots in the roof, and water's coming in. The rains’re going t' start any day now, and we need t' make sure the building doesn’t flood. Most o' the team is going t' stay here to shore up the building, but you're going t' be following Sverolf and me t' Thenn Regional for a look at how we spend most o' our days.”
A montage began to play showing the red-headed woman, Ygritte, and two other big, burly men get into an old, beat-up, all-terrain vehicle and begin driving through the streets of the city. People watching didn't think much of the "city" showing on the screen. There were a few blocks of large aprartment buildings and businesses, but most of it seemed to be timber dwelling set into the forest.
The narrator explained, “The City Within the Valley of the Thenn, known as Thenn City to those in Westeros Proper and simply as the City by the inhabitants of the Northern Territory, suffers from a lack of healthcare, for humans and for animals alike. For context: Lannisport, located in the Westerlands, has a population of just over 200,000 people. In Lannisport, there are 208 hospitals and primary care practices, and there are 21 animal hospitals with licensed veterinarians. In Thenn City, which also has a population of around 200,000 people, there are only 50 hospitals and primary care practices, and there are only three licensed veterinary practices.”
An image of the inside of a vehicle appeared, Ygritte in the passenger seat and turned to address the camera located in the back., “The licensed vets we have here in the city only work with companion animals like cats and dogs. Our vet at the NCC is Jon Snow. He’s the only vet in all the Northern Territories trained t' work with wild animals. But he’s also one o' the few vets that can work with food animals - farm animals and livestock, that is. Snow doesn’t live in the city. He’s only on site at the NCC fer a few days every couple o' weeks. And we’re lucky t' see that much o' him. He’s out in the middle o' nowhere even by our standards, and getting here from there isn’t easy. He’s supposed t' be here now - we tried t' schedule it so he’d be here special for you. But the journey’s long and he’s in high demand.”
A faint voice from off camera, a member of the film crew who wasn't wearing a mic, asked, “So we’re… Going to spend our day at the human medical center?”
Ygritte gave a low hum of confirmation, and a sardonic smile twisted her lips as she explained, “We might have a few vets here in the CIty who work on companion animals, but they’re booked solid for months out. None o' the vets from your fancy schools like t' come this way. When it comes t' animal emergencies, the vets we've got take what work they can, but there’s just as many they have t' turn away. And the folks that get turned away? They take their animals t' the human hospital, instead. It doesn't help that most folks around here don’t know about the NCC, yet. We’re still gettin set up and haven’t had the chance t' let the community know we’re here t' help with their pets or the wild ones in the area. We like t' keep an eye on the emergency room at Thenn Regional for anyone coming in after scuffles with the wild ones so we can call headquarters and have someone try t' track the animal down and capture it before it can do more damage, or before someone can hurt them.”
“Are there… often animal attacks, in the area?”
“This time o' the year? Not many. But we’re gearin up for loads o' them in the comeing weeks. It might not seem it t' you, but this weather we’re having now? It’s warm compared to the winter months. Animals are coming out o' hiding, leaving their hybernation dens, wandering about and looking for snacks - and then the rains start. The city floods, the forest floods, and the plains to the west o' the City become a sea. The animals start looking for safe, dry places, and they start making their ways into people’s homes. It happens at the beginning o' winter, too, when the first rains begin. But it’s worse this time o' year, when they’re grouchy after their winter naps and haven’t had proper meals in months.”
The conversation came to a stop as the vehicle pulled into a medical center - a massive, modern thing, somewhat incongruous next to the other buildings and architecture in the area. Viewers were glad to see that it looked like a proper hospital, at least.
The narrator took over once again as the cameras followed members of the NCC while they left their vehicle and began making their way into the hospital.
“Although the NCC is primarily organized and operated by Orell Eagleye, the Coalition is in fact a joint partnership between Eagleye, the veterinarian Jon Snow, and Laboda Freethenn, Director of the Thenn Regional Medical Center. Ultimately, the NCC hopes to recruit a veterinarian dedicated solely to working with the Coalition, but even then, the NCC’s equipment is extremely limited, and the NCC will require ontinued use of Thenn Regional’s resources in order to perform various forms of testing and treatment for the animals in their care.
“Limited resources in the area means the NCC is limited in their ability to provide assistance, but members of the NCC have dedicated themselves to providing whatever assistance they can. And today, Ygritte and her cohorts have a lot of work ahead of them.”
Reviews for Wild Westeros’ first episode covering the NCC were… abysmal.
The producers of Wild Westeros had done everything they could to make the organization and its employees seem relatable and sympathetic, but…
Orell Eagleye proved to be short-tempered and impatient towards his own staff in the few short clips showing their efforts to make repairs to the NCC's facilities. And he was somehow even worse when the camera was pointed directly at him. Viewers found him extremely offputting, and there were instantly questions about whether or not the man could be trusted to maintain the NCC and appropriately handle the money the organization received from the Westerosi government.
Laboda Freethenn wasn’t much better, proving to be territorial in regards to Thenn Regional and displeased to have a camera crew comprised of southerners wandering his halls. He delivered not one, but two insults to the Prime Minister of Westeros, Rhaegar Targaryen, despite the fact that it had been a different Targaryen, Aerys, to cut off financial support to the Northern Territories before imposing a steep trade tax on the region decades before.
People liked Ygritte Fletcher, at first. Right until it came time for the woman to remove several dozen porcupine needles from a dog which had been brought in to Thenn Regional after the veterinary clinics in the area didn't have the space or manpower to provide treatment for the animal.
In Ygritte's defense, Thenn Regional’s anesthesiologists didn't have the training or means to safely sedate animals. They provided a topical numbing agent for the NCC to use on the animal, but it was clear from the dog’s whimpering and cries that the numbing spray hadn’t done half as much as it needed to.
The main complaint, though, was that there hadn’t been a single wild animal featured on the first episode of Wild Westeros.
The second episode of Wild Westeros wasn't much better than the first. In fact, many viewed the episode and its outcome as far worse than the first.
In the second episode, the spring rains began and Orell's fears in regard to flooding in the NCC's facilities were proven valid. The Coalition had to put off releasing an animal into its new enclosure yet again as the NCC members scrambled to stop the leaking and drain water from the facility. The day was saved when Orell made a call to a man named Mance Rayder, and Mance Rayder called in a favor to some workmen who showed up at the NCC with pumps and the means of repairing the weak points in the building's roof.
In this episode, members of the NCC didn't even make it to Thenn Regional to help out with companion animals in the area. Instead, they got their first call in regard to capturing and relocating a wild lynx which had found its way into someone’s toolshed.
Members of the NCC became excited - it was the first time in several weeks they had been contacted in regard to assisting with a wild animal. The film crew followed as Ygritte and her team gathered supplies and set out to perform the capture. And viewers became excited, as well.
Lynx didn’t appear south of the wall’s remains, although many people had seen pictures of the feline animals. Viewers were excited to watch how members of the NCC captured and handled the animal, and they were eager to study a lynx’s behavior and learn something about the animal beyond they’re cute.
It was therefore a massive disappointment when the NCC's team arrived at the location to find the lynx gone.
It was horrifying when Ygritte explained: They weren’t the only people who had been called in regards to the lynx. There were dozens of “animal rescues” which people in the city could call in regards to removing wild animals from their property. The issue, Ygritte explained, was that only one in twenty of those rescues were legitimate. Only one in twenty actually released the animals they were called to assist with . The other nineteen were, in fact, poachers, eager for an easy catch and some easy money.
When the NCC's team arrived at the ramshackle house and made their way to the tool shed out back where the lynx was reportedly sheltering, they entered the outbuilding to find nothing more than a bloodstained floor.
The lynx had been killed for its fur.
The NCC’s second episode of Wild Westeros didn’t feature any animals, not even a companion animal. Instead, viewers were heartbroken by the fate if a lynx, and otherwise cameras followed around a foul-tempered Orell and several of his employees as they worked to make repairs to the NCC's roof.
Viewers wondered why the NCC was getting money from the Westerosi government and why a camera crew was following the organization at all.
People started getting angry.