Disclaimer: I don't own A Song of Ice and Fire. I am still waiting for the next book like everyone else...
raw666: The Tyrells have always had a lot of luck in their history, starting from the very beginning when Aegon the Conqueror named them Lord Paramount of the Reach for the simple fact they weren't on the Field of Fire when the dragons roasted the Gardeners.
Their performance since then has been under-average shall we say. Will they survive? The odds are not in their favour, but Highgarden is for the moment undamaged and their food reserves are untouched, which is a big advantage compared to other devastated kingdoms.
X59: In my opinion, the neglect of the Reach coastal defences was a gradual process over the last three centuries, which increased over the last fifty years as there was no major Ironborn attack. Worse, the Reach navy repulsed a minor attack led by Quellon Greyjoy in Robert's Rebellion, which gave them an inflated idea of their defensive strategy.
The Ironborn aren't the brightest minds of the word, but don't forget the Reach had Mace Tyrell and some of his friends in command for the last twenty years. Mace is more intelligent than Balon, but that isn't saying much...
Master of Dragons God: You're welcome.
Guest(s): I'm doing the best I can with a chapter every three days...
Revan3363: Glad you like my story.
Paul: The "Big Walder case" is easy to explain: by the time an accord with Riveerrun had been negotiated, the War of the Eight Kings had begun and Walder was still at the Twins when Robb Stark came with his army. At that moment, sending him to foster at Winterfell seemed a more prestigious choice (not to mention that with Edmure prisoner, it was a clear signal to the Tullys that they'd better be careful ).
I have no intention to involve Aegon "Bloodborn" Frey into the mix. It would upset the plans I have for Harrenhal...
There will be no great Lannister-Stark alliance to fight the White Walkers. This chapter is going to tell you why. The Vale and Dorne are currently very agitated , as each have their own hotheads who want to intervene in the conflict before the war is over and they are excluded from the spoils. As it, the first chapters they will appear will be in theory the chapters 39 and 40. Normally.
M-Silver: Margaery never went to King's Landing in this story, as Loras being prisoner at Storm's End prevented an official alliance between Houses Lannister and Tyrell. For the moment her value in a political marriage is greatly reduced as everyone in Westeros is busy fighting a war...
The Hound or the Kraken ?
The Invasion of the Westerlands Part III
"Steal the rich! Feed the poor! "Unofficial war cry of the Brotherhood of the Hound.
"Cersei Lannister has just lost us the war. Again. "Ser Daven Lannister, 300AC.
"The Rock has fallen. The Kraken has defeated the Lion! "Captain Harrek Harlaw, 300AC.
A miracle. In the last months of the year 300AC, that was the only thing the lords of the Westerlands had left to hope. Their lands had been devastated. Their castles were burnt, in ruins, or occupied by the enemy. Despite this, some optimistic strategists have developed in recent years views that the Lannister position, while quite difficult, could be still reversed. After all, before the Battle of Mud and Fire, the fortresses of Banefort, Casterly Rock, Deep Den, Silverhill, Hornvale and the Golden Tooth were still resisting to the Karstark invading force. But a more accurate appreciation of the strategic situation revealed the weakness of these arguments. Of these six strongholds, three knew their lords had perished on the battlefield (Lord Brax, Lord Lydden and Lord Lefford) and one was prisoner at Riverrun (Lord Banefort). Of the two lords having avoided death or capture, Lord Tywin Lannister would not survive the Battle of the Four Armies and Lord Serret was made prisoner in the rout that followed the disaster at Bronzegate. As a direct consequence of these deaths, there was no grand counterattack to defeat the Karstark force, no matter its (relative) small size. It was common knowledge that after the First Battle of King's Landing, the Western lords weren't openly contemplating treason, but most were more and more doubting the war could have the outcome they wanted. And the Karstark victories at Sarsfield, Cornfield and Crakehall did nothing to change this opinion. To be fair, it was quite extraordinary there was no noble willing to rise in such a desperate hour and defy the Lannisters. But Tywin Lannister had done a thorough job with the Reynes and the Tarbecks: the men who had survived the Lannisters purges in Aerys's era had transmitted the fear and terror they felt to their descendants. But what could have been a massive advantage in terms of loyalty began to backfire while Tywin Lannister started the campaign which led to his tragic battle at Bronzegate against Stannis Baratheon. With thousands of homeless peasants searching a home and no lords or knights in sight, curious alliances formed. Near Sarsfield, thousands of westerners smallfolk rallied to the Karstark cause, making the population of the area explode. Some Essossi sellswords also began their own reign over the Westerlands population in places like the Crag or Crakehall. But in the end, there were overshadowed by a new contender in the southern Westerlands.
The name Clegane was a particularly hated one in the War of the Eight Kings. The name of Gregor 'the Mountain' Clegane inspired sheer terror, and with good reason. Riverlands, Westerlands, Crownlands, and Stormlands: all these areas had seen firsthand what this monster could do in the service of his master, Lord Tywin Lannister. At the head of the Mountain's Men, Gregor Clegane was the figure of how low humanity could descend when it had no values of any kind. The monster died in the aftermath of the failed Stormlands Campaign (in a truly horrible fashion), but before any raven could bring these welcome news to Clegane Keep, the younger brother of Gregor reappeared in the Westerlands. Sandor 'the Hound' Clegane was not a knight , and the last time everyone had seen him , the man who had been a Kingsguard had escaped King's Landing just before Tywin Lannister and Randyll Tarly saved the day . In the massacres and thousands of deaths which followed, the ultimate fate of the Hound had been largely forgotten, even if House Lannister as a whole took time to declare Sandor Clegane an outlaw and a coward, putting a (relative) large recompense of fifty dragons for whoever managed to bring back his head. With all the sellswords present in Westeros by the beginning of 300AC, surely many men would be willing to hunt a disgraced warrior. But all acts had unintended consequences. Instead of making Sandor Clegane a prey among the smallfolk of the Westerlands, it made him a hero of sorts. After the cruel and disastrous governance of the Mountain, the inhabitants living near Clegane Keep would have been ready to cheer anyone short of the Stranger. They were delighted to rally to a lonely Hound's cause. Reliable accounts are scarce to what happened next, but a few fortnights later, Sandor Clegane began to attack the keeps near the Clegane lands. Nearly undefended, guarded by knights too old or too young, the homes of many Knightly Houses were captured, their food reserves given to the starving common folk. Gold, silver, copper, and bronze, steel: all metals of value were taken, to buy and trade more food with the rare merchants still travelling across the Seven Kingdoms. Without any army to hunt these outlaws, the great lords dismissed the landed knights bringing the news of the defeats suffered. Losing a few keeps was sad, but with the Northern troops ravaging the heart of the West, other priorities had to be taken care of before going to take the bandits. This state of affair lasted long enough for Sandor Clegane and his outlaws to gather a redoubtable band and assault Silverhill, seat of House Serret. And the outlaws won, seizing vast quantities of grain, livestock but also silver and gold. Tion Serret, heir of House Serret, was captured along with many knights of his House. Taking inspiration of the Kingswood Brotherhood during the reign of Aerys II, the Hound and his lieutenants branded with a dog mark all the Serret household men on their backside. Tion Serret and his guards were then freed, the castle of Silverhill almost empty (some said half the women turned outlaws) humiliated but alive. The legend of the Hound was on the rise and since then many outlaws adopted his war cry of "Steal the rich! Feed the poor! " . House Lydden and Brax, when they learnt of these news, promised formidable sums for the head of Sandor Clegane, but in pure loss. The popularity of what everyone called the Brotherhood of the Hound never ceased to grow, and it had also unpleasant repercussions for the Paramountcy of the Westerlands.
Losing against a Stark army was one thing for the lords sworn to the Lannister. Be the witness of the complete collapse of Westerosi feudal power over your own lands was an even worse proposition. Even then, the monumental influence wielded by the Lannisters of Casterly Rock would have probably survived. But once again Cersei Lannister had to destroy her own power base. Immediately after the first messenger reported to the capital the defeat at Bronzegate, the Queen-Regent sent ravens to the Westerlands, ordering the mustering of an even bigger army than the one Tywin Lannister had led to war in 298AC. No further information was given, but the lords which received the messages didn't need it. The Western lords had just been told the army they had built their hopes upon was no longer a factor in the conflict. Many ravens being intercepted, the Riverlords and their noble prisoners were also aware of it. The treasons and defections could begin. To their deep sorrow, many Knightly and Noble Houses realised they had waited too long. Neither Edmure Tully, Rickard Karstark or the other senior commanders of King Robb Stark were really in the mood to restore order in the Westerlands. Some changes of allegiance were accepted, but it was usually those who had something still to offer at the table of negotiations. The new Lord Tytos Brax was liberated from his jail to rule as the lord of Hornvale (his father having died at the Second Battle of Riverrun) and Lady Alysanne Lefford surrendered the Golden Tooth. This last act was a monumental disaster on the Lannisters part: 1700 soldiers, including Ser Forley Prester, were taken prisoner and the supplies constraints upon the Northern forces stationed in the Westerlands eased considerably overnight. It didn't stop there: Edmure Tully soon married Alysanne Lefford; a clear sign House Lefford had definitely broken their allegiance to Casterly Rock. By the time Tywin Lannister was roasted in the Red Keep by an explosion of wildfire , the Banefort and Deep Den were the only bannersmen of the Lannisters still in nominal control of their lands (although Deep Den was encircled by forces stationed in Brax lands ). The reign of the Lions was shattered, but the real threat had not yet landed.
When one thinks about Casterly Rock, it is often to describe it as a Rock or an incredible stronghold. Before the Eight King's War, the natural defences of the Lannister castle had been enough to deter any aggressor. For good reasons. Any army suicidal to attack the Rock had to first neutralise Lannisport, and then had to take the forts guarding the only entrance inside. Even if all of these exploits were achieved, the Lannisters had still the possibility of bleeding tunnel by tunnel the attacking force, knowing the terrain and all the subtleties of the maze built hundreds of years ago. Casterly Rock was invulnerable. Or so it was thought. In reality, the situation was not that great. Ser Daven Lannister was a good commander, but his forces were by now mostly remnants of the remnants of the levies. Skirmishes and ambushes took their toll, as the Essossi sellswords and the Karstark cavalry did their best to burn the granaries of the villages feeding Lannisport and Casterly Rock. Not counting the smallfolk, servants, women and children, they were less than 200 household guards at any given time in this period inside the Rock, and most of them were by far crippled or unable to ride to war for a reason or another. Most of the elite troops were garrisoned in Lannisport or patrolling the coast, hunting bandits and sellswords. After all the Rock was invulnerable, right? The correct expression was "it should have been". But in 289AC, when the First Greyjoy Rebellion began , Lord Tywin Lannister had the ruthless idea to send all the Ironborn prisoners in the entrails of Casterly Rock, were they were exploited, mining and working without pay to add more wealth to the already legendary fortune of House Lannister. And when the Rebellion ended, most of these prisoners were sent back home (minus the dead). And they talked. Tywin Lannister had just given some of his worst enemies the knowledge to directly strike against the symbol of his wealth and power. In reality, with a port inside it and the fleet of Lannisport, attacking by sea was almost as suicidal as attacking by land. Except the fleet at Lannisport was right now destroyed , most of the sailors inside the Rock's harbour had been sent to other duties, and the Iron fleet had been seen attacking the Reach. The wharfs, docks and shipyards were almost empty of anything, and only a few soldiers and servants were working there.
The attack came without warning in the middle of the night. Asha Greyjoy and the captains following her had timed their plan almost perfectly; the few Lannister guards on duty in the harbour died without managing to sound the alarm. The Kraken force, in large part recruited from the island of Harlaw, followed the plan and rapidly rushed into the tunnels. Surprise didn't last, as even at night there were many servants or guards executing their duties in Casterly Rock. But the Ironborn were halfway to the Golden Gallery when finally the defenders realised they had a problem. A big one. By the time resistance began to be more organised and coherent, the Lion's Mouth had fallen to Asha Greyjoy. Ser Daven Lannister, rushing from Lannisport with all available troops, saw his reinforcements literally massacred by the scorpions and the ballista the Lannisters had built to protect their fortress. The gates were closed, and the Lannisport rescuers were powerless to help their cousins and families inside. The resistance inside the Rock lasted three days, but in the end the outcome was never in doubt. Casterly Rock, the invincible fortress, had fallen.
Asha Greyjoy elevated herself as Lady of Casterly Rock immediately and then began to take several measures. The smallfolk and the servants were spared, provided they were ready to swear their allegiance to the new mistress of the stronghold. The Lannisters over the age of 13 present were executed (when they had not perished in the battle), with only the bastards of the House being spared. This was the day House Lannister died.
For all his commanding abilities, Ser Daven Lannister was forced to order a retreat outside the range of the Rock's siege engines. It was the only move possible. To be fair, there were not any good options by this point, but the less than 4 000 men under his command had had enough of Lannister rule. Mutinies spread through the ranks, and Lannister commanders found their troops in open revolt. The arrival of a Volantene sellsword company named the Tiger's Fangs on the battlefield put a bloody end to the history of the Lions. Lannisport was partially sacked by the mercenaries, before a sally out of the Rock from the Ironborn destroyed the Volantenes and the survivors of House Lannister. Asha Greyjoy had triumphed. Ravens were sent to the Riverlands, trumpeting the change in leadership. Messengers were sent south to give the news to the King in the North. The conflict had taken a new unexpected turn, especially for the Lannister survivors of the Battle of the Four Armies...