The Chronicles of Valyria,
Book 1 Resurrection
Chapter 2
Eddard Stark froze when he heard Rhaegar's words, was his sister really here, was she so close? His question was answered when a flap of the pavilion's walls was opened and Lyanna entered, she was flanked by two armored behemoths, both well 7 feet tall, and wore a beautiful gown, in red and white. To his surprise he noticed that her belly was swollen and he realized she was pregnant.
He jumped up and his chair fell onto the ground with a crash while he stormed at Rhaegar yelling, "YOU BASTARD, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY LITLLE SISTER." But before he could reach Rhaegar, he saw something from the corner of his eye and turned just in time to see a fist colliding with his face, and he was slammed to the ground.
"You may be my brother Ned, but if you ever try to hurt my husband again I will kick your ass all the way back to Winterfell."
To the astonishment of most of the people present in the pavilion, Ned jumped up laughing and hugged his sister tightly, "Oh Lya, you haven't changed a bit. We were all so worried about you."
Lya smiled a gentle smile when Ned finally released her, before she turned saddened and said, "I missed you too Ned, and Benjen also. I'm so, so sorry about what happened to father and Brandon. I never meant for it to happen, and neither did Rhaegar. He was furious when we heard about it. You mustn't blame him Ned, he plans to overthrow Aerys as soon as we return to the capital."
At this Ned looked surprised at Rhaegar who nodded solemnly and said, "It is the truth Lord Eddard, that man may still be my sire, but he is no longer the man I called, father. My father died in the dungeons of Duskendale and the mad man that sits upon the iron throne is nothing but an empty shell."
All three lords looked surprised at Rhaegar's harsh words about the king but only Jon Arryn spoke. "My prince, I believe I speak for all three of us, when I say that we have been lied to by Robert Baratheon, about the circumstances concerning your supposed kidnapping of Lady Lyanna. I myself would like to know the true reasoning behind all this."
Both Eddard and Hoster agreed with this while Rhaegar and the four men all sat down at the table again, Ser Barristan and Ser Jonothor brought in a fifth chair in which Lyanna sat down, between Rhaegar and Eddard.
It was Lyanna who told the story while Rhaegar placed his hand on hers and gave her moral support throughout the ordeal.
"It all began at the great tourney of Harrenhal, when Rhaegar crowned me as queen of love and beauty. The night before the final joust, I was wandering in the gardens of Harrenhal when I heard Rhaegar and Princess Elia talking. I didn't want to intrude on them but curiosity drove me on.
I heard them talk about their son, Aegon, who died during birth." At this the three lords looked up surprised but didn't speak when Lyanna raised her hand to stall their comments.
"Prince Aegon died during birth, but to hide this from the public, and to protect Elia from the madness of Aerys, they presented an orphan boy, which Lord Varys, the mast of whispers, had found in an orphanage, as Prince Aegon Targaryan.
However, the complications that arose when she was giving birth, damaged Elia's already frail health even more and the maesters have told them that, should she try to get another child, then both the child and she will not live to see it be born.
Elia was telling Rhaegar that he should find himself a new wife, one of good health and one he would love, since she and Rhaegar share a close friendship, but it is not love that binds them. When Rhaegar heard that, he admitted to Elia that there was one amongst the many ladies whom he had met at the tourney. There was one whom he had fallen head over heels for but he was afraid that she would never see him in the same light.
When Elia asked who it was, I was shocked to hear Rhaegar say my name and in my shock I lost my balance and fell into the clearing in which they stood. Rhaegar immediately recognized me and blushed when he realized that I had heard everything. I have to admit that I rather liked the idea of becoming Rhaegar's wife, though the life at the capital did not seem so enticing to me.
We spoke for many hours that evening and well into the night, before Rhaegar told me that, if I would be agreeable, he would request my father for my hand in marriage. Elia would remain his wife but because the law has never been revoked, it is allowed for the crown prince, or the king, to have more than one wife.
I agreed, I knew of my betrothal to Robert Baratheon, father had told me about it before we went to Harrenhal, and I had met Robert. When I first saw him he was drunk, and came stumbling out of a whorehouse before he struck down a pair of young girls because they were laughing at him.
I know he is your best friend, and nearly a brother to you Ned, but you must understand, that from that moment on I knew three things. I knew that he would never be faithful to me, I knew he could never make me happy, and I knew that I would hate him for as long as I would live if I married him.
The next morning, before the final joust, Rhaegar requested a meeting with father and me. Together the three of us walked through the gardens and Rhaegar explained the situation. Father understood and when I gave my reasons for not wanting to marry Robert, he gave us his blessing and promised to annul the marriage contract between me and Robert.
Unknown to us, someone overheard it because on the way back to Winterfell, after the tourney was over, Robert rode up to us and he threatened father, that if he would not marry me, he would make sure no one could.
Worried by this father sent a raven to Rhaegar informing him of Roberts threats and to warn him to be on his guard around the man. After a few messages to and from, Rhaegar and father agreed that it would be best if we were married in secret, so Robert couldn't make good on his threats.
So last year, on my sixteenth name day, Rhaegar came to Winterfell accompanied by the septon of Dragonstone and we married that evening. We said our vows before the Old Gods and the New, below the weirwood tree at Winterfell. Only father, Brandon, the septon and Lord Commander Gerold Hightower were present.
The next morning, we received word that Robert Baratheon had come by Moat Cailin just two days prior and was swiftly riding towards Winterfell with 500 riders. We decided to flee to Dragonstone, rather than to await his wrath and in the dark of night we left Winterfell behind us and rode south to White Harbor, where part of the royal fleet was anchored and we would be safe.
When we reached White Harbor, Admiral Velaryon notified us that Robert had learned about our marriage and was hot on our heels. All this happened when you were still at Starfall with the Lady Ashara, so from our family, only I, father and Brandon were aware of this.
While Robert was chasing after us, father and Brandon went to King's Landing, to petition Aerys, to order Robert to stand down. They did not know that Rhaegar had not told Aerys about our intent to get married, so when they told Aerys, the mad king thought they tried to manipulate him and he ordered them both executed.
The rest is well known to you all. Robert used it as an excuse to rise in full rebellion and he drew your three great houses into the war he started just because I refused to marry him. All of the Seven Kingdoms are at war, because he got turned down by the woman he professes to love.
Only half the storm lords have joined him here, as Stannis refused to follow him and is holding Storms End in Rhaegar's name, against the other storm lords who are besieging it.
Lord Tyrell was send with the armies of the Reach to protect King's landing, but unfortunately, his army was smashed by Lord Tywin Lannister, who is, as we speak, marching on the capitol."
By now the three lords were ashen faced and silent, until Eddard stood up, reached over his shoulder, and drew Ice, the ancestral, Valyrian steel great sword of House Stark. He walked over to where Rhaegar was seated and aimed the great sword at him.
"Not a single Northman will ever again, bow for the mad king, but we will fight for you." He knelt before Rhaegar, presented him with Ice and said, "The North is under your command, King Rhaegar Targaryan."
He was closely followed by both Jon and Hoster who likewise presented their swords to Rhaegar and all three said, "Hail King Rhaegar, first of his name, King ofthe Andals, the Rhoynar and the First Men, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms and Protector of the Realm."
The present members of the Kingsguard immediately followed their example and they all knelt and proclaimed Rhaegar the true King of Westeros. Aurora and Gabrielle didn't bow, proclaim Rhaegar as their king, or even remove their helmets, but they were very pleased with the proceedings. Rhaegar would certainly prove to be a much more capable king than Aerys had ever been.
Rhaegar was honestly a bit overwhelmed by the response. He had hoped for a truce at most, maybe even peace, but not this. He stood up from his chair, with Lyanna at his side and said, "I am deeply honored by the trust you all place in me and I swear, by The Old Gods and the New, that I will do my utmost best to earn this trust you all place in me."
He motioned for the three lords and the Kingsguards to rise, and said, "Now we have a battle to win, and after Robert has been defeated, we will march on King's Landing with all possible haste."
At these words Aurora and Gabrielle stepped forward and removed their helmets, showing their faces to the three lords. To say they were surprised was an understatement, because though their breastplates subtly showed it, they had not expected the two armored behemoths to be women.
"It will be my pleasure to challenge Robert to a trial by combat and beat the shit out of him, while you prepare everything for a quick march to the capitol. Robert will know that he won't stand a chance against our combined armies, when the Northmen, the Knights of the Vale, and the River Lords all turn their back on him, and he'll seize this opportunity to have a chance at still winning this fight."
Aurora's words were well received but Lord Jon asked, "Begging your pardon my lady, but do you really think you can defeat Robert? He is one of the strongest warriors in the Seven Kingdoms and I know of only three men who would have a chance against him, Prince Rhaegar, Ser Arthur Dayne, and the Mountain, one of Tywin Lannister's banner men."
With a confident grin on her face aurora replied, "Believe me my lord, the fight will be decided before I even deal the first blow."
The confidence in her voice and her expression were enough to reassure him and soon after, the whole group left the pavilion and headed back towards the crossing of the Trident. When they all mounted their horses, Rhaegar on a beautiful black stallion and Lyanna next to him on a spirited white mare, Aurora took a small black horn from her belt and handed it to Rhaegar, "Blow this horn when it is time for me to arrive, we'll make it a spectacle no one will ever forget."
Rhaegar had a knowing grin on his face, as he knew from the memories Aurora had given him that it would indeed be a sight to behold.
As a group the eleven riders, Rhaegar, Lyanna, Eddard, Jon, Hoster, and the six Kingsguards, made their way down from between the ranks of the loyalist army and approached the crossing where Robert stood waiting for them.
When Robert saw that Lyanna was with them and the anger on the faces of Eddard, Jon and Hoster, he knew he had lost but he decided to try one last attempt. He shouted across the crossing, "Lyanna, my love, are you alright? Don't worry, I'll free you from that monster soon enough."
"BE SILENT," Lyanna roared across the crossing and she caught the attention of everyone on both sides of the crossing. "Don't ever try to call me 'your love' again or I will gut you where you stand, you monster.
You started this war because I chose Rhaegar above you. You are responsible for thousands of deaths, just because I refused to marry you. How could you even think that I would want to marry you. You're nothing but a drunken, whore-mongering, murderous egoist, who cares about nothing but himself."
Robert seemed to slink away under the murderous gaze of Lyanna and when Eddard rode forward, followed by Jon and Hoster his last hope vanished. Eddard stood up in his stirrups and yelled, "MEN OF THE NORTH, HEAR MY WORDS. My sister married Rhaegar because she loves him, Robert has lied to us all. From this day on, we fight for the rightful king of Westeros, King Rhaegar, we will follow him to King's Landing, where he will depose the mad king and take his rightful place on the Iron Throne."
At his words the 30,000 Northmen all bend the knee and lowered their weapons, when Jon and Hoster spoke much of the same, the men from the Vale and the Riverlands did the same. The Stormlanders seemed confused, on one hand they were still loyal to Robert, but they all knew that if they fought, they would all die.
Rhaegar was the next to speak and he said, "I have a proposal for you, Lord Robert Baratheon, if you can defeat my champion in a trial by combat, you will be allowed to return home to Storms End and live the rest of your life in peace. But if you lose, you will surrender and accept the punishment for your treason."
As expected Robert jumped on the chance to win his freedom and loudly stated, "I ACCEPT. Present your champion."
At his words Rhaegar motioned for everyone to clear the crossing before he grabbed the horn Aurora had given him. Putting the small black horn to his lips he blew it. The sound the horn made reminded everyone off the roar of some savage and wild beast from the old legends, but to everyone's surprise, they heard a similar roar in answer.
From the trees behind the loyalist lines appeared the shape of a truly massive beast of war. A magnificent silver and sapphire blue dragon rose from the woods and approached the two armies on the riverbanks. On both sides men cowered beneath their shields, or fled the field, and when the dragon landed in the middle of the crossing, the ground shook from the impact of the many tons of muscle and armor of this winged bringer of destruction.
To the surprise of almost everyone, they could see a person sitting on a saddle on the dragon's back. The figure slid to one side of the saddle and jumped the thirty or so feet down. With a large SPLASH, the figure landed in the river and with a motion of its hand, the rider sent the dragon away and the mighty beast walked up the banks of the loyalist army and lay down behind Rhaegar and his companions.
Aurora removed her helmet and smirked at the dumbstruck form of Robert Baratheon. "What, have you never seen a dragon before?"
With her left hand she threw her helmet at Ser Barristan who caught it. Turning back to Robert she grasped the great battle axe in both hands and snarled. "Now it's between you and me, Lord Oath-breaker. Win past me and you'll win your freedom."
Without another word, Robert donned his helmet, raised his war hammer with a single hand and charged his horse forward. Aurora easily ducked beneath the wild blow of the war hammer while simultaneously slamming the flat side of her battle axe into Robert chest.
The lord of Storm's End was thrown from his horse by the inhuman strength behind the blow and crashed into the rushing waters of the trident. Spitting out water through the slits in his helmet, he rose above the water and raised his war hammer again before charging at Aurora.
Aurora smiled at him and stuck the top spike of her battle axe into the river bed before stepping forward and facing Robert bare handed.
Robert aimed a very powerful blow at her head but without even flinching, she grabbed the handle of the hammer with her left hand and stopped the blow before it could land. Before Robert realized what had happened, Aurora hit him square in the chest with her armored right hand. The spikes on her knuckles pierced his breastplate and the force of the blow bent the heavy steel.
Robert was again thrown off his feet and when he resurfaced, Aurora threw his war hammer at him and mocked, "You are gonna have to try harder than this, Lord Oath-breaker."
To the amazement of all witnesses, she continued to beat him down with ease, before giving him back his weapon and mocking him to try again. She was just playing with him.
After five minutes Robert was panting and throwing increasingly reckless blows at Aurora which she kept avoiding, or blocking with her bare hands.
When she finally got tired of her little game, Aurora punched him once more, this time underneath his chin, sending his helmet flying and causing Robert to crash down into the river for the eleventh time. She simply raised one of her armored legs and placed the foot on the chest of the Lord of Storm's End and kept him under.
It took less than a minute for Robert to stop struggling and Aurora finally lifted her foot. With one hand she grabbed Robert by the front neck of his armor and dragged him to the surface, before pulling him to the shore, picking up her axe on the way. She dropped him at Rhaegar's feet and stated dryly, "I think he has had enough. He's still alive, but if you want to keep him that way before he is executed, I suggest you get a maester to look at him."
She viciously kicked Robert in the side, again denting his armor and causing him to spew out a large amount of water before starting to cough. At a sign from Rhaegar, Ser Oswell Whent and Ser Jonothor Darry picked the fallen lord up and dragged him away to the loyalist encampment.
Rhaegar turned his attention to the Stormlanders and said, "Men of the Stormlands, your lord has fallen and you are on your own. Lay down you weapons and you will be allowed to return home, to your families. All those who resist will be fed to her." Those last words he aimed at Gabrielle who lazily lifted her head and breathed out a single puff of smoke, but it was enough.
The men from the Stormlands threw down their weapons and they were led back to their camp by the Dornish troops under command of Prince Lewyn, while the Northmen, the River Lords and the Knights of the Vale hastened to pack up their camps and join the rest of the royalist troops marching back to King's Landing.
Lord Tywin Lannister was seated on his white stallion and looked out over his marching troops, they were only a few hours' march away from King's Landing and already his men were eager for plunder.
Tywin knew he had made the right choice when he thought out his plan to bring down the Targaryans and put the easily controllable fool Robert Baratheon on the throne. Once Robert had smashed Rhaegar's weak forces at the trident, he would march south to King's Landing, and be crowned king.
When Robert was securely on the throne, Robert would marry Cersei and Tywin would finally see his long harbored dream come true, to have a King with Lannister blood on the Iron Throne.
It had been relatively easy to break the forces of the Reach. Lord Mace was a fool with not a single brain cell capable of thinking out strategies of war. When his host had attacked their camp two nights ago, the fat fool had been the first to flee. Ser Amory Lorch had reported seeing him racing back to Highgarden with his entire household behind him.
Overall, the 'lords of weeds and wine', as Tywin liked to call them mockingly, proved to be a bunch of incompetent fools. Their knights may be high on the list of honor and chivalry, but honor doesn't win battles. And their chivalry vanished quickly once his crossbowmen started shooting their fancy horses, leaving them on the ground to be trampled in the mud.
The only one who had proven an effective opponent was Lord Randyll Tarly. The Lord of Horn Hill had managed to keep his men together and fight a strategic withdrawal, leaving the field with most of his 18,000 men alive, though a fair number of them wounded, while cutting down nearly 3200 of Tywin's own men.
Tywin was still angry that the host from Horn Hill had managed to escape, because though they were barely a third of his own forces, they managed to constantly harass his supply lines. Just in the two days since the battle, he had lost 2000 men and 15 supply convoys. With the constant roadblocks they had been putting up it had taken them far longer to reach King's Landing than he would have liked, but their march was nearly at and end so he accepted the losses and just kept going forward.
A few hours later they had made camp before the walls of the capitol and Tywin had sent word to his son Jamie and his lackey Grand-Maester Pycell, to convince Aerys to open up the gates and let them in.
Just as Tywin was about to head to his tent to get some sleep before the gates opened, a runner came towards him. The man was taking ragged breaths while holding out a scroll to the old Lion. Tywin accepted the scroll and looked at the seal, it was a special one, only used by his spy amongst the host of Rhaegar. He broke the seal, opened the scroll and started to read,
To Lord Tywin Lannister.
I hope this letter finds you in a better situation than I find myself, my lord.
Rhaegar has received help, a dragon rider from Old Valyria has come to join the Targaryan cause and with her help Rhaegar has smashed Robert. The dragon rider brought the Lady Lyanna and with her help, Rhaegar convinced Eddard Stark, Jon Arryn and Hoster Tully to abandon the rebel cause and join him instead.
Robert has been publicly beaten in a trial by combat and is a prisoner waiting for execution. The Targaryan army, now more than 100,000 strong is marching to the capitol as we speak, I bid you my lord, flee, for the dragon is coming, with fire and blood.
Ever your loyal servant,
Bardos Lorch.
Tywin crumpled the scroll and scoffed, clearly his trust in the young nephew of Ser Amory had been misplaced. He was obviously captured and forced to spin a lie to make him flee in order to save the city. There was no way Robert could lose, and as for the supposed dragon rider, please the last dragon died over a hundred years ago.
However, a small part of his mind didn't feel completely comfortable, the part of the dragon rider was obviously a lie, but there was a minimum chance that Rhaegar had indeed beaten Robert, and if he did, then he was in grave danger, he needed to be ready to react on it as soon as possible.
He had received word that his new friends were only a few weeks away, they would prove to be a decisive factor if Robert proved uncontrollable. And besides, what could happen, by the time Rhaegar or Robert could reach the city, it would already have fallen and they would be long gone if it was Rhaegar who returned.
Turning to his tent, he called for his squire to gather the commanders and to have them meet him in his command tent. They would take the city now and plunder its wealth so he could afford to go into temporary exile if needed and still be able to do the things he always did.
As a further precaution he sent a raven back to Casterly Rock, telling Cersei to gather as much of the riches and loyal men of Casterly Rock and Lannisport as possible and take ship as soon as she could. She would be safe at sea as the Greyjoy's had been included in the plan, they would be allowed to raid or take The North when the Northmen had all marched south, leaving their lands undefended.
Ten minutes later Tywin enters his command pavilion to find all of his commanders already present and seated. Quickly taking his seat he explained the situation and concluded with the words, "So you see my lords, we have no choice but to take the city now, or to wait for further news which could come in the form of a Targaryan host, twice our size."
Ever the warmonger, the Mountain exclaimed, "Then what are we waiting for my lord. Let's take that city and be done with it, my men and I could use a little sport."
Tywin was both pleased and worried by the words of his favorite attack dog. Whilst the man was not to be counted amongst the brightest of his commanders, he certainly had a certain skill for butchery and warfare. However, this was not the time for brute force. If they just stormed the gates than the gold-cloaks would be waiting for them at the top and they lacked proper siege equipment to take the city by storm.
As they were contemplating a way to take the city without having to do so by storming it, a messenger arrived. The young man bowed before Tywin and spoke, "Lord Tywin Lannister, King Aerys is pleased to hear that you are still his loyal servant and he invites you to bring your men into the city so they can help defend the walls against the rebel forces that are marching against the city."
Tywin almost did not believe his own ears; could the mad king really be that mad. Or perhaps the news of the destruction of the Tyrell hosts hadn't made it to the city yet? Whatever the reason was, Tywin was glad. Taking the city would be a piece of cake now.
Turning to the Mountain, Tywin said, "Come with me Ser Gregor, I have a special job for you."
