Jaime

Ser Jaime led a tiny cavalry force up the River Road. Ser Kevan's scouts had been tracking Lefford movements all this time. Jaime knew they'd reach the assigned point by dusk. That was perfect.

Just over half the distance to Sarsfield, Jaime and his collection of sworn swords saw the Lefford force. They were waving the Golden Tooth sigil with the smiling sun on the upper corner. From here, Jaime could see three trebuchets, a dozen catapults, and six scorpions. He could only imagine what force Lord Serrett was bringing from the south and he hoped Ser Devan was doing his best to destroy them.

It seemed like the Alliance of Gold and Silver had no intention of capturing the Rock. They'd rather leave it in pieces and award the ruins to the first House that needed a reward for their service. If Ser Devan was able to burn the siege equipment the Serretts were carrying from Silverhill, then there was no reason they might survive.

Ser Jaime held up his sword in his golden hand, "This is it!" he said, "We make it back to the Rock in one piece, and we'll feast a gilded sturgeon each!"

The sweet sound of steel being drawn was music to his ears. Ser Jaime led the charge down the Road as the Lefford army suddenly realized they were going to have to play the defensive.

As expected, the Lefford cavalry was able to match the Lannister force two-to-one. Jaime felt they were lucky enough. He told the men to make the Leffords angry, but not to worry too much about killing them. There was already a weapon that will kill them available.

When the two met, Jaime led his forces to parry the Lefford blows and pass straight through them. In his recent reading, Jaime found that Westerosi knights were trained to ride past their opponents as in a jousting competition. Dothraki screamers, on the other hand, were taught to ride down their opponent and crush him underfoot if he didn't move out of the way. Jaime realized that might be useful in a battle, but he was all too happy to have Westerosi knights that knew how to ride past their opponent.

The failure to engage confused the Lefford cavalry. They tried to immediately turn and pursue Jaime and his knights as they approached the greater part of the Lefford army. Lefford archers immediately gathered to knock their arrows. When they volleyed into the oncoming Lannister charge, the Lefford cavalry had finally caught up. Jaime turned and saw some of his knights fall, but the Lefford force panicked and forgot that the greater part of the approaching cavalry battle was made up of their own men.

When Jaime's force was finally close enough, they clashed with any swordsmen they saw, forcing the Lefford cavalry to pursue them on the outskirts of the army. Jaime wondered why he hadn't made them carry torches like Ser Daven's force, they could maybe torch a trebuchet or two.

But that wasn't their intention. Jaime cut a few necks and stabbed a few knights. He wasn't sure how many men he killed, but he wasn't trying to count. He pulled up the horn with his shield hand and let the sound fly. A pair of arrows flew on either side of his head, and Jaime turned to ride down the River Road once more. His knights followed in a pitched retreat back to the Rock. The Lefford cavalry turned in hot pursuit.

Jaime remembered reading how the Dothraki had a word for riding a horse so hard, it killed the beast. He wouldn't even try to pronounce it. All he really learned from that book was that if he won the war, he needed to raise an army on the Dothraki model.

A few of his horsemen turned in their saddles and loosed arrows into the Lefford cavalry, taunting them into continuous pursuit. A few of them landed. But the majority had their intended effect: to piss off the knights of Golden Tooth. They continued their pursuit, trying as hard as they could to catch up.

Jaime had no intention of killing his horse. He'd still need it before the siege was over. But they were almost at the assigned point on the River Road. They were so close… after they passed it, they could let the horses have a breather. But not before. Not before.

The sky turned from orange to purple and the stars were coming out in droves. Jaime looked on either side of the road for the markers that indicated the location. There should be a single torch lit on either side. There should be…

Ah! There! Jaime blew the horn one more time and his men kicked their horses for one last burst of energy. They rode harder and faster than they ever had because no one wanted to be caught past that line…

Jaime blew the horn a second time, and when they approached the line, he sounded it a third time. Just as the Lannister cavalry passed the line a metallic roar was heard and dirt and iron flew into the air as a boom chain, a tenth of the size of any used for ships in a harbor erupted out of the dirt via a pair of mechanism resembling scorpions. The chain, and the ground they stood on was soaked in wildfire, which ignited from those same mechanisms on either side of the Road. Three more chains exploded out of the soil and were lit. The Lefford cavalry was suddenly trapped in a box made of iron and wildfire. The Lannister cavalry stopped and watched the green flames devour the Lefford men.

The wildfire was so bright, Jaime had to turn away and let them adjust before he could stare right into it. Even then, the sound of screaming men burning alive wasn't a particularly pretty sound to hear. The wildfire was bright enough to be seen for miles, especially on such a high hill. The larger portion of the Lefford army would surely be able to see it from such a distance. They would come upon the crest of this hill by morning and see that the road to Casterly Rock was paved with dead men and wildfire.

Ser Jaime led his forces back to the Rock. He noticed a few of them back at the Rock that he didn't recognize. He interviewed the men who came up with fabricated stories about showing up to Casterly Rock's call late for the battle. Jaime realized, without questioning it that they were Lefford knights who saw the chain and the wildfire, and instead of pursuing a losing army, chose the side of the Lannisters.

Jaime smiled and let them continue to pretend they were on the winning side all along. He liked where this was going and went to check the defenses.

Ser Daven returned with around two-thirds of his men. Most were wounded in some way. Even his cousin had an arrow sticking out of his thigh. Jaime called the healers over who went right to work removing the arrow and applying healing herbs

"How was it?" Jaime asked.

"Oh cos," Daven said behind a gurgle of wine, "It was fantastic. The singers will write songs for years." He brushed hair out of his face as it started to matt against his forehead from the night's sweat.

"What's the damage?"

"Us or them?"

Jaime wasn't sure which side of the news he preferred, "Them."

"We torched four trebuchets, a catapult, and eight scorpions. We headed right for them before trying to kill the men. Let me tell you Ser Goldenhand, we torched every last machine. They're going to besiege the rock with swords and spears. How's that for a victory?"