The top of the wall is studded with catapults, cranes, and trebuchets, but they are immobile. Rangers patrol the lands beyond the Wall. However, over time forest has crept back closer to abandoned castles. The builders of the Night's Watch permit the forest to come no closer than half a mile to the Wall. The manned castles are Castle Black, the largest-maintained castle, located at the northern end of the kingsroad and held by nearly six hundred Brothers, the Shadow Tower, the westernmost of the occupied castles, garrisoned by two hundred men of the Night's Watch, and Eastwatch-by-the-Sea, the port of the Night's Watch with the smallest garrison, located at the eastern end of the Wall. Only three castles currently remain in use, though sometimes a larger force is sent to one of the abandoned castles for a fortnight or a moon's turn. The Nightfort was the first to be abandoned, in the reign of King Jaehaerys I Targaryen. Over the last three hundred years, as the manpower of the Watch has dropped, most of these castles have been abandoned Old Nan refers to them as "ghost castles". The Night's Watch raised nineteen castles to guard the hundred leagues of the Wall, although they never manned more than seventeen at one time. While Benjen Stark, the First Ranger, believes the Wall is the largest structure built by man, others say the Hightower in Oldtown is even taller, and that the Wall can allegedly be seen from the tower's top. Cells chiseled from the ice at the foot of the Wall are used as storerooms or prisons. They are sealed with ice and stone wherever castles have been abandoned or in times of danger. Tunnels have been cut through the Wall at each castle of the Night's Watch. The Wall sparkles from melting ice on sunny days, with rivulets of water being compared to weeping. The Wall shines blue and crystalline in sunlight, glimmers palely in moonlight, and glows pink and purple at dawn. Windblown dirt covers the Wall like film, and it often appears pale grey or dull white. Led by Othell Yarwyck, the First Builder, the builders of the Watch monitor and repair the Wall. The Wall is straight like a sword from Castle Black to Eastwatch-by-the-Sea, but runs like a snake between Castle Black and the Shadow Tower. According to myth, there are old spells woven into the Wall, to strengthen it and keep creatures of a magical nature such as the Others from passing it.
The top is wider in man places than the kingsroad, and crushed stone is spread on walkways to aid with footing. The top is wide enough for a dozen mounted knights to ride abreast and it is thicker at the base. It appears grey or blue depending on the weather and time of day. It is made of solid ice, stone, and earth, and can be seen for miles round. The Wall stretches for three hundred miles and is approximately seven hundred feet tall. The Wall by Sabin Boykinov © Fantasy Flight Games
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