Toregg the Tall

Toregg the Tall is the eldest son of Tormund Giantsbane, the legendary wildling leader known as the Mead-King of Ruddy Hall, Husband to Bears, and Father of Hosts. Where Tormund is barrel-chested and garrulous, Toregg is lean and towering, overtopping his father by a full foot. He is a warrior in his prime, and his father's trust in him is absolute; Tormund dispatches him as his voice and his strong right arm whenever speed and authority are required.

Role in the Negotiations with the Night's Watch

When Jon Snow meets Tormund beyond the Wall to negotiate the terms under which the free folk will be allowed to pass through the Wall, Toregg is present as a witness and a guard. He stands beside his father during the tense parley, a silent but unmistakable reminder of the fighting strength the wildlings still possess. After the agreement is struck, Tormund sends Toregg back to the wildling camp to hasten the column. "Ride back to the camp and get them moving," Tormund commands. "The sick ones and the weak ones, the slugabeds and cravens, get them on their bloody feet. Set their bloody tents afire if you must. The gate must close at nightfall." Toregg obeys without question, galloping off to enforce his father's will.

Leadership Among the Free Folk

Toregg's authority among the free folk is considerable. He is the one who leads the rear guard, a dozen mounted warriors who are the last to leave the haunted forest, ensuring that no stragglers are left behind to fall prey to the Others or the wights that stalk the woods. Tormund describes these men as "my worst" with a gap-toothed smile, but the jest only underscores their ferocity: every man of them has killed a crow. Toregg commands this dangerous company, a sign that his father trusts him with the most perilous duty of the retreat.

Alliance with Jon Snow

After the free folk are settled south of the Wall, Toregg becomes one of the wildling leaders who answer Jon Snow's call to march against Ramsay Bolton. When Jon reads Ramsay's letter—a taunting threat that boasts of Stannis's defeat, the capture of Mance Rayder, and the murder of the six spearwives—and asks for volunteers to ride south with him, Toregg is among the first to rise. He stands with Soren Shieldbreaker, the Wanderer, Brogg, Harle the Huntsman, Harle the Handsome, Ygon Oldfather, Blind Doss, and the Great Walrus, a roar of assent that shakes the Shieldhall. His presence in that company marks him as one of the core warriors who will carry the fight to the Bastard of Bolton.