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A Muralha é uma gigantesca muralha de mais de 200 metros de altura, feita gelo, que se estende por quase 500km na fronteira norte dos Sete Reinos, separando-os das terras selvagens de além; considerada uma das 9 Maravilhas Feitas Pelo Homem. A Muralha é mantida e defendida pelos Irmãos Juramentados da Patrulha da Noite, que patrulham e guardam os castelos, da cadeia montanhosa Colmilhos de Gelo a oeste, à Baía das Focas a leste.

História

A Muralha, supostamente, foi criada a mais de 8 mil anos antes dos tempos atuais por Brandon, o Construtor, após a Longa Noite, para defender os reinos dos homens dos selvagens e dos Outros. Com aproximadamente 500km de comprimento, e 200 metros de altura, a Muralha e protegida pela Patrulha da Noite e, segundo alguns, por antigos feitiços e magia.[1] Brandon, supostamente, posicionou onde fosse possível as fundações da construção.[2] Diversas menções nos livros sugerem que a Muralha fora muito menor na época de seu construtor, tendo sido erguida pelos construtores da Patrulha, que carregaram enormes blocos de gelo dos lagos congelados da Floresta Assombrada e os arrastaram para o sul para tornar a Muralha mais alta, erguendo-a no decorrer dos séculos até o tamanho atual. Entretanto, por conta de seus números severamente diminuídos, a Patrulha limita-se à manutenção, atualmente. Um total de 19 fortalezas foram construídas ao longo da Muralha, mas apenas 3, a Torre Sombria, Castelo Negro e Atalaialeste do Mar estão ocupadas no período descrito pelos livros.

Descrição

The Wall stretches for 300 miles and is approximately 700 feet tall, It is made of solid ice and stone, and can be seen for miles round. It appears grey or blue depending on the weather and time of day. The top is wide enough for a dozen mounted knights to ride abreast and it is thicker at the base.[3] According to myth, there are old spells woven into it, to strengthen it and keep creatures of a magical nature such as the Others from passing it. [2]

The Wall is straight from Castle Black to Eastwatch-by-the-sea, but runs like a snake between Castle Black and the Shadow Tower.[2]

The Wall has no gates anywhere, simply a few tunnels cut through it that are secured by heavy iron bars and massive chains that must be unlocked.[4] They are sealed with ice and stone wherever castles have been abandoned or in times of danger. [5]

Defesas

The Night's Watch permits the forest to come no closer than half a mile to the Wall. However, over time the places where abandoned Castles stand, the forest has crept back closer.[6] The top of the wall is studded with catapults and cranes.[3] The galleys of Eastwatch patrol the Bay of Seals in part to catch smugglers who bypass the wall through the sea and trade weapons to the wildlings[7] and to the west the mountains and deep river Gorge, make the terrain impassable for all but small groups of raiders.

Castelos

The Night's Watch raised nineteen castles to guard the hundred leagues of the Wall, however they had never manned more than seventeen at one time. Over the last three hundred years, as the manpower of the Watch has dropped, most of these castles have been abandoned; "the ghost castles" as some have come to call them.[5] During the event of A Game of Thrones only three castles remain in use.[6]


Before the current phase of the Conflict beyond the wall, only three castles remain in use, though sometimes a larger force will be sent to one of the abandoned castles for a fortnight or a moon's turn as well, which was suggested by the First Ranger, Benjen Stark. The manned castles are:

  • Castelo Negro, The largest maintained castle, located at the northern end of Estrada do Rei and is held by nearly six hundred Brothers.
  • Torre Sombria, Most western outpost of the watch, it's garrisoned by two hundred men of the Night's Watch
  • Atalaialeste do Mar, Port town of the Night's Watch and has the smallest standing garrison of the Night's Watch.


Após Jon Snow ter se tornado o 998º Lorde Comandante, ele começa a executar um plano de ocupar todos castelos. Os castelos ocupados são:

Os outros castelos, ainda não ocupados, são: Archotes, Atalaiabosque da Lagoa, Atalaiaoeste da Ponta, Bosque de Sentinela, Colina da Geadalva e Portão da Geada.

Táticas

The Wall provides a tremendous tactical advantage to its defenders, enabling a small group to hold off a much larger force. Defenders are generally beyond the range of bow shot or catapult and in turn rely on archery, catapult and dropped objects to deter an assault. In particular, barrels containing rocks frozen in ice are effective in disbursing a mass charge.[8]

Attackers must rely on one of two tactics, a direct assault on one of the few well-defended gates, or scaling the Wall in small groups and attacking a gate from the rear. The gates have been designed with features such as murder holes and limited access that make them difficult to force. In an extreme case, gates can be filled with rock and ice, thus becoming as impervious as any other part of the wall. Scaling the Wall involves similar difficulties, as Jon Snow discovered when he feigned allegiance to the Wilding cause and joined an infiltration team.

A team of determined climbers can reach the top, but only if undetected by defenders, who can easily knock them off with dropped objects or archery. The Wall is thought to "defend itself", disgorging sheets of its own ice as it did to Jarl on his ascent.[2]

Segundo a lenda, a Muralha é vulnerável ao Berrante de Joramun.

Referências