Morse stepped forward to lead the newly formed battlefield medical team.
Soon afterward the other free folk also expressed their willingness to follow Ethan and formally join the Silver Hand.
In the harsh lands beyond the Wall changing chieftains was commonplace.
The "freedom" of the free folk mainly manifested in their right to choose their own leader—unlike the smallfolk south of the Wall who were bound from birth to the local lord in lifelong fealty they could never escape.
Yet precisely because of this same freedom the free folk had always found it difficult to organize into a powerful unified force—which was why they had never managed to breach the Wall and graze their herds in the richer south for thousands of years.
But it also meant they experienced far less rigid class oppression than the commoners below the Wall.
Most importantly Ethan did not demand they kneel and swear lifelong oaths to him as the legendary southern lords did nor did he require vows to the Old Gods or the Sun God.
He simply wrote a straightforward contract on parchment had Ashley prick his finger and press a bloody print as signature—and that was it.
Their day-to-day lives changed very little from what they had known on the far side of the Wall.
So when the Silver Hand officially marched out of Wisteria Village the company had gained twenty-three new members.
For the free folk it meant giving up three years of absolute freedom.
For Ethan it brought a host of new management challenges.
The Silver Hand had existed for less than two months and previously numbered only twenty-four fighting men.
This sudden influx more than doubled its size.
If the relationship between old hands and newcomers was not handled carefully the whole outfit could easily fracture.
One simple solution would have been to organize the free folk into separate squads and let them manage themselves—greatly reducing administrative headaches.
But Ethan was unwilling to do that.
He genuinely wanted to absorb these free folk into the Silver Hand—not merely attach them as nominal auxiliaries.
If they could not be truly integrated he would never feel safe letting them bear arms and fight in his name.
In the end they would only serve as disposable cannon fodder rather than strengthening the company's real combat power.
To achieve full integration Ethan called a full assembly the very night the free folk officially joined.
Every officer every mountain-clan warrior and every free folk recruit was required to attend.
At this meeting Ethan carried out a thorough reorganization of personnel.
Conrad stepped down as First Squad captain and became full-time vice-captain.
He would continue to oversee all training and act as field commander whenever Ethan was unavailable.
Vitaly formerly vice-captain of First Squad was promoted to captain.
Keeley a reliable warrior from First Squad took over as his vice-captain.
Philip remained captain of Second Squad but Kevin stepped down as vice-captain—replaced by Jon Snow.
Ethan then created a brand-new Third Combat Squad with Kevin as captain and Cain (a steady mountain-clan warrior) as vice-captain.
To balance fighting strength he transferred selected men from First and Second Squads into the new Third Squad while filling the resulting vacancies with free-folk recruits.
Combat effectiveness could be raised through better training and equipment distribution—but building genuine unity and deep camaraderie among the men required time.
Although this redistribution temporarily weakened First and Second Squads it successfully mixed mountain clans and free folk accelerating their integration into a single cohesive force.
To prevent any repeat of the tragedy that had nearly cost Thorn his life while looting Ethan added a dedicated "cook" (quartermaster / looter / support) position to each combat squad.
The cook's sole responsibility during and after battle was collecting spoils managing logistics and supporting the fighting line.
After reorganization each of the three "Swan Formation" squads now stood at eleven men—totaling thirty-three combat troops.
Counting support personnel the Silver Hand's overall strength reached forty-seven.
Ethan then formally established a Scout Squad under Eddie's direct command—five men strong.
Eddie hand-picked five riders who were skilled with bow quick-witted and excellent horsemen from the remaining pool.
Juan—Conrad's brother-in-law—had shown no special talent for combat since joining despite being one of Ethan's earliest followers.
He had therefore never received an officer position.
Before becoming a mercenary however Juan had spent several years apprenticed to a village carpenter and mastered most of the trade even if he never finished the formal apprenticeship.
Ethan therefore removed him from the combat roster and created a dedicated Craftsman Squad with Juan as its leader.
The squad's responsibility was repair maintenance and production of tools weapons armor wagons and other equipment throughout the company.
Juan selected two agile reliable men to join him.
Finally Ethan appointed one warrior with an excellent memory and clear speaking voice to replace Jon as company messenger.
After all assignments six people remained unplaced.
This was not because Ethan refused to find roles for them—he simply could not identify suitable positions.
The six were spearwomen—female wildling warriors who had chosen to live and die by the spear rather than accept traditional subservience to men.
They earned their survival through skill at arms just like any male raider.
Any woman good enough to hold a place as a spearwoman in a wildling war-band was unquestionably a formidable fighter—and their survival against the Silver Hand proved they also possessed considerable cunning.
Unfortunately all of Ethan's officers were south-of-the-Wall commoners who struggled to grasp the value of women "fighting with spears."
As a result not one spearwoman had been selected for any position.
After the full reorganization these six women found themselves with nowhere to go and began grumbling among themselves.
As fresh recruits they were unfamiliar with the new officers and had no channel to voice their concerns directly.
The free-folk warriors they knew were ordinary soldiers without authority to advocate for them.
Among the six only Martha—the woman who had once stopped Ethan to beg him to save her brother Morse—had ever spoken directly to the commander.
So after the assembly the women chose Martha as their representative.
She came to Ethan's tent requesting either to be allowed into the combat ranks or—at minimum—to form their own separate fighting squad.
Looking at the girl—timid yet fiercely stubborn—Ethan felt caught in a genuine dilemma.
He held no sexist prejudice.
He knew from his homeland's history that women could become outstanding commanders and that these spearwomen truly were excellent fighters.
Yet in practical terms the Silver Hand emphasized collective formation strength over individual prowess.
Future equipment and tactical doctrine would be built around male average physique and power.
No matter how skilled these six women were as individuals integrating them into the existing squad system would be difficult.
Moreover the potential complications of men and women eating sleeping and campaigning together could seriously damage unit cohesion and fighting efficiency.
Ethan tried to explain these difficulties to Martha but she neither understood nor cared.
She stated firmly:
"Captain—we can make our own gear.
We can study the tactics you teach.
But you cannot stop us from going to the battlefield!
Since you agreed to let us join the Silver Hand then we are warriors—not dolls you keep for protection!
We want to fight!"
Ethan scratched his head thought for a long while then asked:
"Since you all claim to be skilled fighters does that mean you are very strong?"
"Of course!" Martha answered proudly.
"At least stronger than ordinary women!"
Ethan clapped his hands delighted.
"Excellent!
If you want to fight I will give you the chance.
But not every battle is decided the instant swords clash."
He then proposed:
"I will create a new unit for you—the Battlefield Medical Team."
Martha's eyes filled with confusion.
"Battlefield medical team?
What does that mean?"
Ethan explained:
"The battlefield medical team's job is to rescue wounded warriors from the fighting recover them and keep them alive.
Although none of my men were killed or seriously wounded in the Wisteria Village battle that luck will not last forever.
In the future the Silver Hand will face larger more complex engagements—casualties are inevitable.
Even though I can call upon the Sun God's grace I must wait until the fighting stops and the area is secure before I can treat the wounded.
Therefore I need a group of careful brave people who—on the brutal battlefield—can provide emergency first aid move the injured to safety and keep them breathing until I have time to reach them.
Every member of this medical team must also possess enough self-defense skill so that our fighting men are not distracted trying to protect you during combat."
This time it was Martha's turn to be puzzled.
She scratched her head.
"Caring for the wounded?
We do that often enough—but how can that be considered fighting?"
Ethan replied in mild surprise:
"How can it *not* be fighting?
Your brother Morse and the others battle mortal enemies who can be killed.
The battlefield medical team must fight Death itself—an immortal enemy.
That is a far greater fiercer battle.
In my homeland the women who rush across killing fields to find the wounded and bring them the hope of life are called Valkyries—'the Valkyries of An'she.'"
Hearing the title "Valkyries of An'she" Martha remembered the golden radiance that had enveloped her brother that night.
She felt Ethan's words made sense.
After all he was a great wizard who had used Light magic to save two dying men.
If he called them Valkyries then they must be Valkyries.
So Martha said:
"I'll go back and discuss it with the sisters.
So—what exactly does the battlefield medical team do?"
This question exposed a genuine gap in Ethan's knowledge.
On Earth battlefield medicine was a vast complex discipline spanning many fields—not something one could master from reading a few novels.
Ethan had never even studied proper medical texts—he found them incomprehensible and considered them a waste of time.
If he had any relevant reference at all it was only the American film *Hacksaw Ridge*.
The main impression the movie's battlefield-medicine scenes had left was: find the wounded then inject morphine.
"But where do we find morphine in this world?"
Ethan muttered to himself but did not voice the thought aloud.
He turned back to Martha and said:
"Hm… battlefield first aid basically means locating wounded soldiers stopping their bleeding cleaning wounds and so on.
I'm not entirely clear on the precise details myself—so I'm leaving that as your first assignment.
Before we return to Winterfell you and your sisters must put together a practical operating procedure and explain it to me.
If you cannot explain it clearly from now on you'll be limited to laundry and cooking duty for the other squads.
Remember—I will not release you and I will not keep you for nothing."
Martha bit her lip then nodded firmly.
"I'll persuade the sisters to accept your terms."
With that she left the tent.
After seeing the woman off Ethan finally let out a long breath of relief.
The Silver Hand now possessed the basic skeleton of a true standing company.
When more recruits were added in the future the force could expand rapidly simply by promoting outstanding soldiers from within to fill new officer positions.
But the more officers there were the higher Ethan's payroll would climb.
Since founding the Silver Hand he had already spent nearly thirty gold dragons while earning only fifteen—a net loss of fifteen.
Fortunately he still had some savings—but he could not afford to relax.
Ethan planned to seek larger more lucrative contracts after returning to Winterfell to recover his costs.
More importantly now that he had a core of loyal troops as backing he could begin implementing several more profitable ideas without fear they would be easily stolen.
These men would also become the solid foundation for realizing his greater ambitions.
Having suddenly absorbed more than twenty free folk Ethan remained somewhat concerned about potential indigestion.
To prevent the newcomers from clashing with the environment or their new comrades after reaching Winterfell town Ethan deliberately slowed the return march.
They broke camp at sunrise halted at midday for integration drills and team-building.
To guard against possible bullying of new recruits by veterans or mountain clans ganging up on free folk Ethan made a point of randomly joining different squads for every meal—quietly suppressing any bad habits.
Yet he soon discovered that integration between old and new members was proceeding far faster than he had expected.
After private conversations with officers such as Vitaly and Fibert Ethan finally understood why.
Eddie had recruited mountain clans from the Wolfswood for him while Ethan himself had recruited free folk from beyond the Wall.
Although the two groups lived in different regions they actually shared many deep similarities:
First both inhabited resource-scarce borderlands.
Second both existed on the fringes of the King in the North's effective rule—or at least were never fully integrated into his system.
Third both were descendants of the First Men sharing the same ancient blood faith and remarkably similar speech.
If one had to draw distinctions the differences were as subtle as those between people from two neighboring provinces.
After joining the Silver Hand they suddenly enjoyed regular meals hot soup full bellies of hard bread and smoked meat—a standard of living far above the precarious existence they had known at home.
They were content.
As warriors the knowledge that they could join the Silver Hand and—if wounded—receive healing from their commander Ethan meant that as long as they were not killed outright on the field they were almost guaranteed to survive.
Could any better place exist?
Therefore everyone treasured the opportunity.
During this period Ethan also noticed an interesting phenomenon:
Somehow his eldest disciple Kevin had quietly replaced Lennar as the most popular figure during the leisure hours between supper and lights-out.
Since being appointed captain of Third Squad Kevin could finally train his men exactly as he wished.
He therefore used every spare moment to pass on the "An'she Faith doctrines" he had learned from Ethan.
Other squads hearing the lessons grew curious and began coming to listen.
It is important to remember that northerners worshipped the Old Gods—but the Old Gods were never the true ancestral faith of the First Men.
All descendants of the First Men knew the Old Gods originally belonged to the children of the forest and that the entire people only adopted that faith after the Pact was made with the children.
The Old Gods had no priesthood no systematic doctrine no formal rites—they were a very primitive belief scarcely worthy of being called a religion.
The reason the Old Gods' faith had endured so long in the North was entirely political: rejection of the Andal Seven by every northern noble—including the King in the North—helped preserve national identity and control over the smallfolk.
Now the An'she faith—with its core doctrines of liberty equality and fraternity—was arriving accompanied by publicly witnessed miracles.
The faith of both mountain clans and free folk in the Old Gods began to waver.
Spreading the An'she teachings within the Silver Hand had always been one of Ethan's long-term goals.
But he worried that preaching personally would involve concepts too abstract for ordinary warriors to grasp so he left the task to Kevin and observed from the side.
Every night after Kevin finished teaching Ethan would review the sermon's successes and failures with him and answer any difficult questions the warriors had raised that Kevin could not handle.
To attract more listeners Ethan even used his own coin to sweeten attendance:
every warrior who participated in Kevin's lessons received extra rations—an additional piece of jerky or an extra measure of ale.
In this way both veteran mountain clansmen and newly joined free folk gradually came to accept their new shared identity:
they were not merely warriors of the Silver Hand—they were warriors of the Sun God.
This emerging sense of belonging not only strengthened unit cohesion but also laid a firm foundation for the future spread of the An'she faith throughout the company.
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