The Wildlings were descendants of the Night's Watch's rangers, and their goal was to exterminate the Others no matter what, while the Black Brothers guarded the Wall. Before the Thirteenth Lord Commander, members of the Watch were allowed to wed, and thus many of the families lived beyond the Wall, and tribes had formed over the centuries. By the time the Others were completely exterminated, the men and women living beyond the Wall had drifted apart from the Night's Watch, whose members were now required to sever ties with their families. Their origins were slowly forgotten as time passed, and enmity began to arise.