An ancient order sworn to guard the Wall, the colossal ice fortification that separates the Seven Kingdoms from the wilderness beyond. Brothers of the Watch take vows of celibacy and service for life, forsaking all claims and allegiances. Once a noble calling, the Watch has dwindled to a skeleton force of criminals, bastards, and the unwanted.

The peoples who live beyond the Wall, in the vast frozen wilderness the Night's Watch was built to guard against. The Free Folk reject the authority of the Iron Throne and the feudal structures of the Seven Kingdoms, bowing to no lord. They are not a single people but many clans and tribes united only by their freedom and their growing fear of what stirs in the far north.