Chapter 20
Hi you all how you doing? I hope well. Frist of all I wish to apologize for the long wait. I have had a lot of trouble with this chapter than all this shit in the world happen. I will be the first to admit I am OCD when it comes to my patters and when those patters are messed with, I am become shaken. This is not help when I am still expected to work during this troubled time. Still I am better now and writing again. With that said on with the question and answers.
Shadowkragg I am happy you and most others like that I didn't have Lelouch be there for his father's final moments. I thought it be more powerful to have him left out of it. Kind of like another regret he has on his shoulders to go along with so many others. As for Shirley she plays a bigger role in the upcoming chapters, so she won't be gone long.
Janne Rolfe Jalandoni I am happy you liked how Robert died in chapter 18. I was going to give him a last moment with Ned but I felt it was more in his character to die on the battlefield.
chimera629 that was a last-minute edit really. I mean last last minute. I just felt like I couldn't let Lelouch just get away with coldly telling his brother whats what with out a strong reaction from Robb.
Home of the Brave sadly Lelouch doesn't cut loose this chapter. I what to show the rest of the worlds reaction to what has happen before we get to that. But don't worry he will get his revenge soon enough.
InfinityMask Jaime will never forget what he has done. I have not chosen if he lives or dies yet because I like him but we will see. Still don't know what to do with Ice. And your right there is no one holding Lelouch back anymore.
azrael09876 I thought of a final message but chose not to give one. I think all that need to be said between them was said in life. Ned knew Lelouch loved him and Lelouch knew Ned loved him and that was all they needed.
Kylnee I didn't like it to much to be honest. The moive was disappointing and could have been so much better.
Nagato21 I have a ruff outline of what to do with the Tyrells still working things out in my head. Thing will kind of follow the canon for a bit long then it's off the map completely.
Hadrian Eveningshade spoiler it won't last even close to as long as it did in canon. I have tried to think of ways to make it last longer but couldn't.
Command Unit we will see other shortly. Hopefully.
TehStorm the Lannisters will survive a bit longer but that is do to other things happening.
Spike-2416 so many hopes and wishes that I had thought of or did. Sadly I can't turn back and added things now and to late to add things without making myself confused.
SomePervyGuy we will see Sir Barristan Selmy in the next chapter or the chapter after that. He follows much the same road as the canon do to not being able to think of anything better. Where is Tyrion? Euron was my biggest regret of all. So many uses for him and I killed him off right at the start. I add a few things from A song of Ice and Fire here and their but I am saving most of that for my other story. So many things left to do however and will add as I feel is needed.
Dark Potter all I can say is though Lelouch knows who Jon is really still his little brother and while he is not above using his siblings in battle and politics he is not so quick to turn them to puppets. They are family and he wishes for their happiness above all. So, unless he has to he won't make them do anything they do not wish or are ill suited to do.
Guest lets just say a lot will change for the Kingdom. Somethings that most will not expect to happen.
sure I don't care there are many thing I don't like about this story and have thought about dropping it many time. In fact, I am working on a new story that I am hoping does a better job of coving things like that. Sadly despite my inporved skill level I still lack in many areas. Can anyone say ghost writer need lol. Anyways thanks for the review and I love reviews like yours most.
Guest Talisa is not so much trying to influence Robb as help him out of his brother's shadow. You don't have a brother like Lelouch and don't feel inferior or like your good enough. I don't care who you are that would shake anyone.
Ikasuki my betas have come and gone. It is why some chapters read better than others. Now I just do the best I can with what I have.
XaeroXD I have back off GEASS do to not knowing how to no make it even more overpowering than it is. But I have some thoughts, so we have to wait and see.
Joseph Sage. Ser Barristan Selmy, Sandor and Melisandra all make showing in the up coming two chapters.
With all those reviews answered on with the story. And please stay safe all of you and I hope what ever God you worship keeps you safe during these troubled times.
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-Dorne 300AC-
Sitting in the Water Gardens with a letter that he just read in his hands Prince Doran thought about recent events. It was no surprise that out of everyone it was he who got the news first that Lord Eddard Stark had passed away and that his son Lelouch Stark had declared war on the Westerlands. His alliance with the North made sure that he got some of the reports from the spies under Lelouch's control so as to make sure that when war was officially declared he would be ready to move. The question remained however was Dorne ready to move.
Despite what his brother thought Doran was not so sure of this answer. Sure, Oberyn was ready to go to war and had been for a long time but as a whole Dorne wasn't. There men were trained, and equipment was ready, but this assassination of the king and his hand came out of nowhere and left the whole of the kingdom on the back foot. This was all together not a bad thing for Doran seeing as it let him keep his brother in check and gave him a reason not to march out right away. Doran of course knew he would have to send out Dorne's army out sooner or later or risk losing credibility, but it would give him time to take care of some things first.
Frist came securing the border between Dorne and the Reach. Mace Tyrell was no military man despite what he claimed to be, but his mother was a very smart opportunist. If she saw a weakness and believed that she could take advantage of it, she would persuade her dimwitted son in that direction. And despite Lord Tyrell not being as savvy as he liked to claim didn't mean that the Reach didn't have any competent military commanders. His brother may have been confident that they could easily beat any army that was sent at them, but he was not so sure. That was why he would make sure the border was secured before committing any troops to the war.
His reasoning for not marching right away had somewhat placated Oberyn but Doran could see his young brother thought he was being too cautious. Maybe he was but then the war had not really started yet. As it always did war and politics proved to go hand in hand. It had been well over a month now that Lord Eddard Stark had been killed and in all that time only skirmishes had taken place so far. This was not unexpected seeing as the death of King Robert and Lord Eddard was such a surprise but both there were other things that was keeping the war from escalating.
One of with was that the riverlords were not gathering their men as fast as they should be. Most of the lords in the Northern part of the Riverlands were ready to march with in a few weeks but the ones closer to the Westerlands were taking their time from what information Doran was able to get. No doubt it was because Tywin Lannister had already bought them off. How young Robb was going to deal with these traitors he didn't know but they would have to be dealt with before a civil war broke out between the riverlords.
Yet despite the problems young Robb was having Lord Lannister was not having an easy time of it himself. According to the reports he was getting from his spies inside the Westerlands Lord Tywin was having trouble gathering his own men as well. The reports stated that a number of fires had broken out in several granaries around the Westerlands along with many of their mines collapsing as well. This put a large restraint on how quickly men could be gathered. If you couldn't feed them or pay them than men wouldn't fight for you no matter who you were. Of course, none except the smartest of the lords knew that Lelouch was behind all this by having his spies sabotage their ability to make war and none knew how to stop it. Until they did find away to stop it the army of the Westerlands would remain trap in their own lands.
Those problems however were not his. His would remain with the Reach and how they would side politically. With no ships of their own to transport their army safely to the Westerlands or the North the Dorne army would need to march through the Reach to join the war effort in the Riverlands. The only way that was going to happen was if Mace Tyrell gave permission for the army to pass, joined the war against the Westerlands or if Dorne declared war on the Reach. None of which was going to happen at this time.
As it stood the Reach was somewhat neutral at this time with only a small chance that they would back House Lannister. And the only way they would back the Lannisters was if something happen to Renly Baratheon who they were clearly supporting right now. Why were they supporting Lord Renly's claim to the Iron Throne right now he didn't really know? But it was a foolish move befitting a foolish man. What they should have done was sit back and wait to see who Lelouch was going to support. Then move to do the same seeing as whichever way he went the Riverlands, the North and Dorne would go as well. As for the Vale they had made it clear that they wanted to deal with the Lannisters the same way the North did. By all accounts Lord Arryn in a rare show of anger declared war on the Lannisters with little thought on the matter.
That made it three Great Houses against one who at this point in time had zero allies save for a few riverlords. Riverlords that if Doran had guessed right Robb Tully would deal with in good time. They may call the young man the lesser wolf of the North but only those who were to foolish to see how dangerous the young man really was. He may indeed be the lesser accomplished twin, but he was with little doubt in Doran's mind the equal of his father.
The only thing that was truly holding back the three houses of Stark, Tully and Arryn from bringing down the hammer on the Westerlands was the division between the two Baratheon brothers. Lord Arryn despite his anger at the Lannisters had made it clear that he would not march fully to war till the matter between the two brothers was settled. A matter that seemed more and more likely to only be resolved with blood.
As it stood Lord Arryn was completely behind Stannis claim to the Iron throne. It was a position mirrored by young Robb who was making all the decisions for House Tully seeing as Lord Hoster Tully was at this point completely bedridden. It was only Lelouch who had yet to make his support known and was the one that truly mattered. Whoever it was that he supported would bring along both his brother's support as well as his own seeing as neither him nor his bannermen cared who was to be the next king.
With that said if Lelouch took Stannis side than Robb would follow as would Dorne and the Vale. And such an army would make short work of the summer knights of Lord Tyrell and Renly. However, if Lelouch took Renly side instead of Stannis, his brother would still take his side and so would Dorne. He would most likely lose support from the Vale, but he would gain the support of the Stormlands and the Reach which would in that case make short work of Lord Stannis by their sheer numbers.
As for the Westerlands well they were not in a position to do much of anything. All Lord Tywin could do was try and mount an attack on the Riverlands and hope for a quick victory otherwise he was looking at the complete destruction of his house. Maybe he could use all that gold of his to buy some sellswords and try to make an alliance with the Iron Born but both of those were unreliable at best.
Giving a sigh Doran decides to stop thinking about the what ifs for the time being and instead turns his thoughts to happier things. His niece Shirley would be back in a few more weeks and he was looking forward to seeing her once more. He may never have shown it on the outside, but he did miss the girl dearly and regretted not being there on her wedding day. The only thing he wished was that her return didn't come under such bad conditions. Shaking his head, Doran reminds himself it didn't matter why she was coming home only that she was and that he better get ready to throw her a party. If he didn't give her one his lovely niece would be very upset, and an upset Shirley was a dangerous thing to have.
-Westerlands a few weeks later-
Sitting in his private tent Tywin Lannister looked over some maps with his brother Kevan and thought this war with the Starks couldn't have gotten off to a worst start. Because King Robert's assassination had come out of nowhere, he was not ready to fight a war. And who's fault was that? Why his own foolish daughter of course. He was no fool, he would never say it out loud, but it was clear as day that she was the one responsible for that pathetically planned yet successful assassination. Truly he was ashamed of his daughter for her shortsightedness. He didn't begrudge her for the assassination only in the way she had planned it.
If she had only thought a head a bit and taken Eddard Stark alive than he wouldn't have to worry about House Lannister possibly losing this war. He didn't what to admit it, but the odds were not in their favor and her shortsightedness may have cost them everything. Alive they could have made Lord Eddard sign a confession or something stating that he had plotted to steal the throne for himself or something along those lines. It wouldn't have stopped the war with the North or the Riverlands but it may have stop the Vale from joining them at the least. But of course, Tywin doubted it even crossed his child's mind to try to take him alive or that Lord Eddard maybe able to deliver what could be the real fatal blow to their house before he died. To think that the honorable and in Tywin's opinion naïve Eddard Stark would think to send copies of the Lineages and Histories of the Great Houses of the Seven Kingdoms to all the lords of the land was surprising.
It was a master blow that was worthy of a master politician which Tywin didn't think Lord Eddard was. Clearly, he had underestimated the man and was paying for it. For even now Tywin's knew his own bannermen were wondering why they were fighting on behalf of who many of them believed to be a bastard. Though none of them asked that question out loud in front of him do to being afraid of him. The problem laid in that many of them had a copy of the original book and knew the truth for what it was, and it was a truth that he had known all along. People forget that in his childhood he was friends with Steffon Baratheon and had met many of the man's cousins. So, it didn't pass his notice that the Baratheon blood ran strong in that family and no matter who they had children with they almost always looked like a Baratheon.
Unlike his grandchildren who did not. He didn't know who their real father was but at the same time he didn't wish to know. Maybe it was a cousin or the bastard child of one of his kinsmen, whoever it was he better be dead. For that person owed Tywin, a great debt for what he had done, and it was a debt Tywin planned to collect if he found the person alive. But first he needed to keep young Robb Stark Tully at bay. Something that was far easier said than done.
Young Robb Stark had already proven himself to be just as much a wolf as Lord Lelouch or Eddard Stark was so far. Which was not a surprise really to Tywin. He may not have paid too much attention to the so-called lesser wolf of the North, but he didn't need to. Tywin may not have liked them or even really respected the Stark family but knew he be hard pressed to name a weak one. And Lord Robb was not one of those few weak ones. A fact that was shown by how soon he called his bannermen to war after his father passed away.
However, he was only the acting lord of the Riverlands not its lord so many of the lesser lords didn't answer his call to arms at first. That was mostly because he had bribed those lords to not fight against him but instead fight for him. It was a good move by all accounts, but Robb start seem to have known about the bribery before those lords could betray him and that was when the young wolf showed its teeth. Before he could gather his own men, Lord Robb marched on all the houses near the Red Fork and gave them a choice. Join his brother and him against House Lannister or die. It was a threat that at first some of the houses didn't believe till Lord Robb proved he meant it by wiping out 3 minor houses. After Lord Robb had done that almost all but the houses closest to his own join Lord Robb in the war against him.
This news came as a complete shock to Tywin seeing as he never thought the young man could do something like that but at the same time, he felt some respect for young Robb. His actions were the exact same ones he would have taken if their roles had been reversed and could respect them in away. Tywin just wished the young man didn't take those actions for they put him in a more difficult position. There were still a few houses that were still willing to betray House Tully and would slow down Lord Robb for a time, but it wouldn't be for long.
That was why Tywin was so thank for towards the Baratheon brothers and their infighting. Because of them the Black Wolf and Lord Arryn couldn't bring their armies to bare against him. This left only 10,000 men from the Northern Army that Robb Tully could call on for help. Which was not nearly enough to conquer the Westerlands if he managed to beat him in battle. He was somewhat worried about the Northern fleet that he knew very little about but felt sure that it was not big enough to do anything to him. Especially if his talks with the Iron Born worked out as he hoped they would.
Overall, he should have time to sure up the defenses of the Westerlands and make a attempt at taking the Riverlands before the matter with the Baratheon brothers could be resolved. The only thing left to do was make the plans and of course send some men to help secure King's Landing.
"Kevan how many men can we spare to send to King's Landing?" Tywin asks his brother as he keeps looking at the map.
Taking a moment to think over his brother's question Kevan says, "I will say 10,000 men if we move now. Lord Tully holds the Northern part of the Red Fork and is slowly pushing. Seeing as we told all our allies in the Riverlands to retreat to Wayfarer's Rest it will only be a matter of time before he controls everything from Riverrun to Blackwater Rush. That will close the Gold Road to us till we are able to beat him back."
Taking a moment to think this over Tywin says, "See to it that those 10,000 men are sent and start hiring some of the better sellswords men to make up the numbers we will be losing. I would prefer that we didn't deplete our forces or have to hire sellswords, but we can't afford to lose King's Landing."
So long as they held King's Landing, they held the rights to the Seven Kingdoms but with how few men of arms were there it would not take too big a force to take it. It could have known that such a small number of men from the Northern Army could cause so much damage before they were killed off. Over half the guards in the castle died rooting them out and before they could the enemy had set half the castle on fire. Still 10.000 men should be enough to hold off any enemy till he could deal with Robb Tully. Still there was a nagging feeling in the back of his head that told him his foolish daughter would do something stupid with his men.
"Also send Tyrion with them as their commander." He adds. He may have hated his deformed son, but Tywin was willing to admit that his youngest son was smarter than his older siblings and he would need that intelligence to rein them in and hold the capital.
"I will see to it brother." Kevan says to his older brother.
Just than a knock at the tent is heard and a voice calls out. "Milord word from our scouts."
"Come in" Tywin commands.
The man who walks in the tent is Lord Quenten Banefort one of Tywin most loyal bannermen. He bows to his lord and says, "Milord our scouts have just reported seeing banners of the Northern Army being spotted at Riverrun."
Looking at the man calmly Tywin says, "So they have finally made their move. Kevan see to it that those men get to King's Landing as quickly as possible and watch out for those wolves that are still in our land. As for you Lord Quenten go and ready the men. Whereever it is that Lord Tully's men are headed we will be there to meet them."
"Yes milord." Both men say and leave the tent.
When both men leave Tywin turns back to his maps and thinks to himself that he needed to win this first engagement. He had already lost all the small skirmishes between his men and young Robb's so far and needed a victory to bring morale up and show his bannermen that they could win this war.
-The Reach, Highgarden-
Euphie was angry, no screw that she was downright pissed. What was her father and grandmother thinking taking sides with Renly Baratheon? It was the worst move that they could make at this point in time, yet they tossed their lot in with the youngest Baratheon brother without even thinking about the consequences of their actions. She had told them that they should have waited till it was known which side Lelouch Stark would take yet they didn't feel the need to do so. Even though he had four of the Great Houses that he could call to arms they still thought they could win if Lelouch sided with Stannis Baratheon somehow.
Granted she may not have known a lot about war, but she highly doubted the Reach could stand the might of such a force none the less beat it. With Dorne at their back and Lelouch at their front they would be fighting on two fronts if Lelouch took Lord Stannis's side. The Reach maybe able to call up 100,000 men to fight for them but that hardly mattered seeing as Lelouch had a professional army of an unknown number. Sending peasant soldiers to take on a professional fighting force who lived and breathe for war was a disaster waiting to happen.
Of course, her father had assured her that they had nothing to worry about and that with their numbers they could easily win and that she should leave the fighting to the men. Foolish man, did he really believe that Lelouch only had 25,000 men in the Northern Army. No matter what the reports said, or their spies said she didn't believe that even for a moment. No, she would wager that the number was closer to 40,000 men. Then there was also the Northern Navy that they knew absolutely nothing about. They didn't know what type of ships they had or how many, and yet her father would still say not to worry. What was known however and what all of the lords of the Reach were ignoring was that every ship the Iron Born sent to the North was lost. That was not a good sign as far as Euphie was concerned. The Iron Born were masters of the sea and knew how to use their ships better than any in the Seven Kingdoms and yet their ships were going missing whenever the entered Northern waters. That spoke volumes of how strong the Northern Navy most likely was.
The worst news however was about Diana. When this all started her grandmother told her father to seize Diana and all her family's holdings so as to keep her in the Reach. Her grandmother's suspicions that Diana was a spy may have gone away for the most part, but she had seen this as a chance to control Lord Andre by holding his sister hostage. It was well known that John Andre doted on his sister and even after their rise to nobility let her retain the same freedoms that she enjoyed before. In her grandmother's mind if she held Diana than she could demand that Lord Andre not support Lelouch Stark which would cut off a big part of the gold Lelouch could spend on a war against them if it came to it. However, it seemed that Diana had read her grandmother's mind if her friends' letter was anything to go by.
By the time her grandmother had made her move Diana was already long gone along with all the gold, silver and copper that her holdings had. It would seem that no sooner did Robert die than Diana knew it was time to leave the Reach. It was the only way to explain how she had moved so much money in such little time. Euphie had always known Diana was a smart woman and the thought that her grandmother may have not only lost her a good friend but made a dangerous enemy was worrisome. But in the letter, Diana had left behind for her told her she held no grudge against her or her family for attempting to hold her hostage. Euphie could only hope that was true.
There was some good news, however. Her friend Lady Shirley Stark had sent a letter informing her that she had return to Dorne. It would seem with tensions as high as they were in the North Lelouch felt the need to get Princess Myrcella away from the North as quickly as possible. According to her friend's letter people were demanding revenge on House Lannister and even though Lelouch had already declared war on them the people were still calling for immediate action to be taken. It didn't take a genius to figure out what they meant by that. There was only one Lannister in the North who they could take their fury out on and it seemed Lelouch wouldn't have anything to do with it. So, he had sent Princess Myrcella along with Shirley to Dorne for her protection.
It was a good move for both Lelouch and for the Reach. In this move Lelouch had shown the whole of the kingdom that even though the Lannisters had wronged him he would not take his revenge out on an innocent child. And it was good for the Reach because if worst came to worst Euphie was sure she could use her friendship with Shirley to make peace with Lelouch. How would she do that she was not sure yet, but it was something she could think of at a later date if worst came to worst. For now, she would have to sit and watch as the war played out. She just prayed that her sister and brother would be alright.
-Great Hall of Winterfell-
Sitting down in front of his noblemen inside the Great Hall Lelouch watched as they argued over which of the Baratheon brother they should support. At first It was somewhat amusing to watch, but that amusement quickly turned to an annoyance. It really didn't matter who they supported or didn't support seeing as neither one was in Lelouch's opinion better than the other. Neither of the two were fit to be a king and if they took the time to think about it, they would realize that. As different as they both seemed to be from Robert, they were all too much alike.
Stannis was a soldier through and through just like Robert was and like him belonged in charge of an army not a kingdom. His cold and serious personality was perfectly fit to lead men in battle for he could except sacrificing his men in battle and commanding them on to victory. But in a king his personality was poorly suited. Sure, a king needed to be cold when making serious decisions, but he also needed to be warm and approachable when dealing with his subjects. Common people would question the decisions made by their king unlike a soldier who was trained not to. This went especially for the nobility who if they didn't agree with a decision you made, would try and disobey it. That is why it was important to have the ability to twist your words around and convince people that your way was the right way. It was a ability Stannis didn't have however and could never learn. He was too rigid and unbendable to make compromises. And worst yet to prone to make decisions based on his own honor or what he perceived as his honor.
Lelouch could just see him having a very short reign do to all the enemies he would make. Yet for all his faults Lelouch still had a high opinion of the man. Stannis military ability was nothing to look down upon and in away may have been even better than his brother Robert. After all there were not that many who could hold out during a siege for over a year with little food and water. Just keeping the men disciplined during a siege was hard to enough but doing under the conditions Stannis faced was a true achievement. Now Lelouch was completely confident that he and his brothers could beat Stannis in a war, but it would not be an easy one to win. It was funny in a way that if Stannis just had a bit more of a personality and was able to convince a few more noble houses to fight for him he could easily beat his younger brother and his allies. Especially seeing as Lord Tyrell left his greatest general Lord Randyll Tarly behind at the Reach.
So, it was indeed lucky for Renly his brother didn't have a personality and as it stood could beat him with the sheer amount of men he had. With or without Randyll Tarly with the numbers he had Renly could just send waves of men at his brother and watch as his lines broke against them. This time it was sheer luck for Stannis that his younger brother was a peaceful man at heart and didn't have it in him to toss away lives like that.
It was for that reason that Lelouch could honestly say he liked Renly Baratheon and even thought the man could make a good king during a more peaceful time. But this was not a peaceful time and Lelouch was not going to help the man become king if he had to babysit him. The war that was happening now was nothing compared to what was to come and Renly was to frivolous and easily led astray by others. He was also a bit of a coward which would be fine if they didn't live during a time were cowardness on the battlefield was seen as a weakness. And of course, there was the fact that Renly was also a closet homosexual. Lelouch had known about Renly's taste in sex sense the moment he had met the man. It was kind of hard to miss seeing as Lelouch had caught Renly looking at him with the same eyes his wife gave him more than once during their brief meetings. Unlike most Lelouch didn't really care about this however, seeing as his own sister Sansa was homosexual as well or at the very least bi-sexual. But that didn't mean others wouldn't have a big problem with it and that went especially for the Faith of the Seven.
He often found it funny that despite how different this world seemed from his old one they were in fact a lot alike. For example, just like with many of the religions of his old world the Faith of the Seven hated homosexuality with a passion for no logical reason. Especially now during what was this world high middle ages. Also like during the middle ages of his own world homosexuality between women was not really seen as that big a sin or even really recognized at all. Sure, it was looked down upon but like with his old world it was generally ignored or not believed to have happened all that often. But treatment towards male homosexuality was far worse and could get even a king deeply in trouble. And that was saying nothing about how bad it could be for the common man.
The Old Gods on the other hand didn't really say anything about it. It was the reason why Lelouch never said anything to his sister about being careful about her relationship with Diana. Sure, it was still looked down upon but mostly no one really cared or thought to much about homosexuality. To most what happened in the privacy of one's bedroom was none of their concern. They had more important things to worry about then who was fucking who. Like what would happen if they didn't have enough food for the winter or if the food spoiled. Compared to that homosexuality just didn't matter.
So even if it came out that Renly was a homosexual Lelouch could still support him with no trouble. But Renly wasn't just trying to be king of the North. No, he wanted to be king of the whole Seven Kingdoms and that was just not going to happen. If Renly became king with or without Lelouch's support, it would only be a matter of time before it was found out that he was a homosexual and forced to abdicate the throne. Now Renly could of course overcome that by showing some teeth, but the man frankly didn't have any. Renly would allow himself to be pulled down by lesser men with lesser thoughts in the name of peace and that was why Lelouch honestly hoped to spare his life in the end. Stannis would have to die, that went without saying but Lelouch really did hope he wouldn't have to kill Renly when this act was done.
As his thoughts on the two brothers concluded Lelouch hears a loud voice call out for him to be King in the North. He had to stop himself from laughing out loud when he heard this and thought that they were all so predictable. But still the show had just begone and Lelouch had to play his part. So, standing up Lelouch raises his hands in the air and says, "Hold, hold my good men."
Looking at their young lord who was calling for their attention each man sits down and becomes quiet. They held such respect for their young lord that none would dare to speak when he called for their attention. Even the mountain clans who were always hard pressed to show respect towards anyone became quiet. For like the lords of the North they two had become rich and powerful in the wake of what Lelouch had done for them.
"Lord Umber in many ways I agree with you. Why should we bend the knee to a Southern king once more? We are rich, we are powerful, and we are well fed." Lelouch says as he looks at the GreatJon stomach which has gotten even greater sense they last saw him. All eyes follow his and all laugh in good humor as Greatjon sticks out his gut with pride.
When the laughing dies down Lelouch continues, "But who do we owe that to? Who let us go our own way and build up our economy and our military power?"
Seeing that none where going to answer him Lelouch says, "I will tell you who. The man who my father called brother and who I proudly called uncle. King Robert has done much for the North. First, he called his bannermen without thought when my aunt Lyanna was kidnap and my uncle Brandon and grandfather were murdered by the mad king and his son. Then he allowed us to go up our own way and build up our infrastructure without question or additional taxes. And even went so far as to tell those who were trying to force us to share what we had discovered to fuck off. He didn't need to do that. He could have easily commanded us to share our knowledge but didn't because he loved my father and loved the North. For that reason, I will not support breaking away from the kingdom and say we do the honorable thing and bring Lord Stannis and Lord Renly to heel before they try and kill each other."
The lords of the North nod their heads at this and even the stubborn Greatjon who would still prefer to break away from the Seven Kingdoms had to agree with what Lelouch says. If they broke away, they would be shitting on the legacy and deeds of a good and honorable man who had done so much for the North. That was something they knew in their hearts they couldn't stand the thought of doing.
"My lord how do you propose to bring them to heel? It is clear from what John Andre's spies have reported that the two brothers are dead set on fighting each other over the crown. "Lord Alix Moss asks.
Looking at the man Lelouch says, "Good question Lord Moss. It is true from the reports given to us about Lord Renly and Lord Stannis they are both dead set on being king of the Seven Kingdoms. With that said I have been in contact with Lord Arryn and my brother and have come up with a plan. We have agreed that we will make it clear to Lord Renly that we fully support Lord Stannis's claim to the Iron Throne and any hostile move against his elder brother will mean war against the North, the Vale and the Riverlands. On the other hand, if Lord Stannis makes an aggressive move against Renly than it will be, he who has war against us. In this way we can guarantee there will be peace between these two brothers."
An arousing show of support of this plan is immediately heard all around. It showed once more how important it was to be a great orator and not just a great warrior. Any fool can hold a sword to a person's throat and make them do as you tell them to. It was far harder to convince them with just words to follow you, but it was also far more effective in the long run.
When the lords calm down Lelouch dismisses the lords. Some would go and join the army while others would go back to their lands and start gathering supplies and training the levies in case they are needed. As for Lelouch he was headed towards his office to relax for a bit.
"Well done my lord. Truly an inspiring speech. I dare say you almost had me fooled in to believing that you would really support Stannis's claim to the Iron Throne." John Andre says in Japanese as he joins his lord in his walk towards his office.
"Hardly inspiring John. I was simply keeping things from moving too far too fast. By appealing to their sense of honor and duty they will be placated in not declaring our independence from the Seven Kingdoms. An independence that many of them have been wanting more sense the North has become so rich." Lelouch says to his spy master.
"It will also show them that you tried to do the right thing before everything fell apart." John says to his lord.
Smiling just a bit Lelouch says, "Not only them John but to Lord Arryn and the rest of the lords of the Vale as well. That way when I announce the North's independence from the kingdom, they will be more likely to accept it and maybe even join us in breaking away."
"That will be help by the fact that your father had made you help them grow as well. They owe a debt of gratitude to your father and will no doubt feel obligated to support you so long as you don't directly go against Lord Stannis or Lord Arryn." Jon says to his lord. His lord had always meant to help the Vale in some way or the other in improving their lives but never meant to go as far as he did. No it was his father that made sure that Lelouch gave the Vale just as much help as the Riverlands when it came to land development and every lord in the Vale knew that.
Giving a light hum Lelouch says, "Indeed a wise move by my father. Still we must be careful that we set in motion our plan carefully least we rouse Lord Arryn's suspicions. The man already does not trust me and has been watching for any deception from me for a long time now."
John nods his head at this knowing full well that he would have to keep his wits about him when dealing with that man. Of all the people in the known world John had never guessed for a moment that it would be Lord Arryn that would break his spy codes. He was ashamed to say he had underestimated the old man do to never having to deal with him when he was Hand of the King. Lord Arryn was just so busy trying to keep Robert in check and keeping the kingdom going that the man never had time to look into John's spies. So, he had easily forgotten that the man had been playing this game for a lot longer than almost anyone else. John had really gotten lucky that when the old man had cracked his code it was to messages that had no value whatsoever.
Still it gave John a good scare and had taught him a valuable lesson on not underestimating a man just because he seemed to be clueless. Do to how busy Lord Arryn was with King Robert the man despite his position had kind of faded into the background which made John all but dismiss him. But once Lord Arryn had left his position as Hand of the King, he had shown why he was able to keep the kingdom going for so long under the horrible rule of King Robert. To say the man was intelligent and cunning was really saying to little. The man had played this game under the Mad King and had survived were others had not for a reason. And John would never forget that again and he would do better at keeping the man in the dark. That however was proving to be far harder than he had thought
"I will remain vigilant my lord but what should be done if the man finds out too much.?" John asks his lord.
"Make sure you do. Lord Arryn was like a father to mine and I would hate to have to dispose of him. If it can be helped, I want to see the man die peacefully in his bed. But if that is not possible Robin will make a good enough replacement." Lelouch says as he enters his office.
"Of course, my lord." Andre says switching back to the common tongue and then starts to think about his lord's cousin.
Robin Arryn was a remarkably unimpressive boy overall if you asked John. Spoiled by his mother from birth till her unfortunate passing the boy had many bad habits like throwing temper tantrums when ever he didn't get his way. He was also slow of mind and was prone to moments of great depression now that his mother was not around to spoil him or tell him how strong he was. Fortunately, Lord Arryn had curved many of the boy's bad habits already, but sadly the boy was still shaping up to be a halfwit. But a useful halfwit to his lord who the young boy admired and looked up to. It was no secret that the boy loved to hear about his cousin's accomplishments and wanted nothing more than to be just like them. So, if his father died than it would be easy to get the boy to do what they wanted so long as they made it seem like he was accomplishing something by doing so.
"Tell me the latest reports we are getting from our spies in the Westerlands." Lelouch orders.
Breaking away from his thoughts John says, "The reports that have come in says that your brother has made his move and is headed towards the Golden Tooth with a host of 20,000 men of the Riverlands. To help support him Lieutenant Commander Smalljon has joined him with 7,000 of the men of the 10,000 that were sent to the Twins. On the other hand, do to Lord Lannister's bribes he has bought the loyalty of Lord Piper, Lord Vance and a host of other smaller lords."
"I see and what of the other lords of the Riverlands?" Lelouch asks.
"They seem to have gotten the message your brother sent when he exterminated those 3 minor houses. Most have taken his side with only a few hold outs who are still trying to keep out of the fighting or have sent only a token force." Andre tells his lord.
Thinking for a bit about what to do with those lords that are not immediately siding with his brother Lelouch says, "We will deal with those traitors who have not even sent a small force of men to fight for my brother at a later date. As for those who have we will show mercy to them but like all the other river lords they too will learn that I will not stand fence sitters. You are either with me and mine or against us. There will be no in between."
"Yes milord." John says to him.
He knew what his lord meant by dealing with the lords who haven't sent any men. He was going to wipe them out and replace them with more agreeable people. An emotional choice to be sure but one that John knew his lord couldn't help but make. It was unlike his lord to let his emotions get the best of him but as hard as he knew Lord Lelouch tried to hide it a burning rage was hidden deep within just waiting to be let out. These river lord just happen to be the ones who would suffer from his anger first when he got a hold of them.
"How many men will Robb be facing?" Lelouch asks his spymaster.
"From the reports I am getting I would say somewhere around 30,000 to 40,000 men. Two thirds of whom are from the Riverlands, the rest are Lord Lannister's men." John says.
"So, my brother will most likely be outnumbered. Nothing he can't handle on his own." Lelouch states with complete confidence.
"You have great confidence in your younger brother my lord." John says with a smile on his face.
"Confident? Hardly, there are few in the kingdom who could take my brother on in battle. The rest of the kingdom my not know it do to him having to live in my shadow, but Robb is a genius tactician. Anybody who is not Tywin Lannister, Randyll Tarly or Stannis Baratheon will find it next to impossible to beat him on the battlefield. And even it one of those three did face him in battle they would still most likely lose. That especially goes for Tywin Lannister who unlike Lord Tarly and Stannis is not really a military commander so much as a politician. Robb however is a military man through and through and would have been the next Commander of the Northern Army if my uncle had not died." Lelouch says to him
Robb and Tywin may have not met on the battlefield yet but ever sense his father was killed Lelouch had sent in a couple of units of the Wolf Packs to fight under his brother's command. And by all reports Robb had used them to devastating effect. His brother had for all intents and purposes cut off Lord Lannister's supplies by burning down any and all villages that the Wolf Packs could find. It was a tactic that not only slowed Tywin down but also made the people of the Westerlands less willing to leave their homes knowing full well that at any time they could be burned down by Robb's men. Of course, Robb gave the order to not harm the smallfolk of these villages, however.
But he didn't do this out of pity or some sense of honor but because by leaving the people alive he made it so the fighting men of Lord Lannister's army had to make a choice. Stay home and take care of their families or go to war and fight over something that didn't really affect them. The choice for most of these men was obvious. This of course made it so that Lord Lannister had to make them go and by doing so he was once more seen as the great villain of this story instead of Robb.
"Still milord are you sure you don't wish to join him on the battlefield or at least send some cannons?" John asks of him.
Lelouch laughs a bit and says, "There is no need for me to steal my brother's glory. As for the cannons they are not yet destine to appear on the battlefield. All the pieces have yet to show up on the board and until than we will hide them away."
"Yes milord." Andre says.
-Hardhome-
As Jon stood on the walls of Hardhome he couldn't help but feel both a great anger and sadness at the news of his father's death. Anger at his brother Lelouch for not finding away to keep their father alive and sadness at not being by his father's side when he took his last breath. To think his father's last words would be to make sure that he knew he loved him hurt beyond belief. Did his father think that Jon didn't already no that or had doubts about it? What he wouldn't have give to have been by his side and let him know that he already knew that.
Worst yet was that not only could he not do that, but he couldn't even be there to try and comfort his siblings on the day they buried him with their ancestors. Despite his anger, sadness and want he knew that he still had a duty here to fulfill and could not leave till it was done. If he did, he would just bring shame to his father's name. So, he could not just leave to go join in the fight against the Lannisters and would have to depend on his brothers to get revenge for their father. In that he had nothing to worry about.
For now, all he could do was try and bring this matter with the wildlings to a close and get the fuck out of here and hope it would not be too late to join them. In this he had some luck seeing as the army of wildlings that were camp inside the haunted forest had finally chosen their target. And their choice of target was Hardhome itself. A poor choice indeed seeing as it was probably more difficult to take as it stood than the Wall was. Of course, they had no way of knowing that seeing as Hardhome's trump card was the cannon. A weapon that they had no idea even existed.
Twenty-three cannons lined the walls of Hardhome, and they were no long the style ones that Lelouch had made years ago. No all of his old style linstock firing cannons had be replace with the more effective and expensive gunlock. Jon didn't fully understand the workings of the gunlock but according to his brother they were far easier to use and would improve his cannons rate of fire. He was also told that each one of his cannons cost the same amount it would take to make 3 of the older style cannons so it was best not to lose any of them.
After he read that part believe him, he didn't wish to lose them. Lelouch had a saying if you break it, or lose it, you bought it. And Jon didn't know about anyone else, but he didn't have the gold to pay for one cannon none the less 23 of them. Sure, he was from a noble house but Lelouch would never let him use family money for being careless. The improvement of the cannons however was well worth the risk of losing them. Everything his brother had told him in the letter when he sent them was true. Not only was firing them easier but training new gunners for the cannons was as well. Just one member of a cannon's crew was worth his weight in gold so losing one hurt no matter what his position was. With the knowledge that he could replace one of them just a bit more quickly than in the past was a big comfort.
The only thing he had a problem with was the sheer amount of favoritism that his older brother was displaying with this one act. He appreciated that Lelouch loved him enough to make sure he had the best equipment available, but still when Smalljon was in command of Hardhome he had to make do with what was available. Jon didn't and got the best of everything no matter what. Seven hells he had even sent a letter to Bear Island to find out if they had gotten any gunlock cannons and was informed that they didn't. If it was not for the fact that their father had died, and he wanted to get home as soon as possible he would have sent a letter of complaint to his brother.
But the fact was that for once in his life he was happy for his brother's blatant favoritism for it work in his favor for once. His goal was to bring the wildlings to heel and get the majority of them out of the Far North as soon as possible. Failing that he would have to go with option number 2 which was the horrible act of killing and burning as many of them as possible before he was to abandon Hardhome and retreat back pass the Wall. That was a plan he really didn't wish to go with, but neither he nor his brother thought they could hold Hardhome when the Others made their move. So, they needed to exploit this lack of action by the Others for as long as it presented itself. Even if that meant committing genocide against the people that were here.
The sheer numbers the White Walkers could bring to bear was unknown to them at this time but his brother Lelouch was guessing it was in the hundreds of thousands. That was the best-case scenario however with the worst being in the millions. That wouldn't excuse him or his brother for what he may have to do but he hoped that future generations wouldn't judge them to harshly. That is if there was a future generation.
-The Riverlands-
Marching with his army of some 27,000 men at arms Robb was thinking about how the war had been going so far. When he had returned from the North to the Riverlands after the burial of his father Robb had tossed himself right in to making plans on how to make the Lannister's pay for their crimes. His first thought at the time was to call up all his grandfather's bannermen and march straight towards King's Landing and kill that little shit stain Joffrey and his whore of a mother but that would have left him vulnerable to attack from the west. A vulnerability that he was sure Tywin Lannister would not have missed taking advantage of. So, he had tossed out that poorly constructed plan after he had calmed down some and came up with a new one.
Because of how poorly planned the assassination of both King Robert and his father was the Lannisters had no time to take advantage of the chaos that followed it. This despite the tragedy of losing his father had been a gods send for Robb seeing as he couldn't count on his grandfather's bannermen to support his war against the Lannisters right out the gate. His brother had said it best to him when he said the Riverlands was full of petty lords who like to fight over the smallest of things and had little loyalty to each other. This was proven when Alphonse Corbet had bought him proof that many of the lords closer to the Westerlands had planned to betray House Tully once his grandfather had passed away.
He didn't like the idea of having to butcher his grandfather's bannermen, but the evidence had left him little choice in the matter. So, he had proceeded to call his bannermen and those who didn't answer his call right away he counted amongst the traitors and moved to deal with them right away. Robb was lucky that it only took the complete annihilation of three minor houses for the others to get the message. Still what he did to the families of those houses would haunt him for the rest of his life but still the actions were necessary. He wished it wasn't, but it was. The lords of the Riverlands just didn't have it in them to do the right thing when it came time to do it.
It didn't completely work out however and more than a few houses had drop pretending to be loyal. Those that were too far away from Riverrun for him to deal with like House Piper and House Vance of Wayfarer's Rest had seemed to quickly ran to the Lannister's side. Which was fine seeing as it was better to know who your enemy was than to not. He would deal with them soon enough.
With that thought aside Robb started to think about how the war was going so far as a whole. Needless to say, not much had happened so far besides the small skirmishes between his men and Lord Lannister's. Skirmishes that his men had won of course. Then there were the small units of the Wolf Packs that he had sent in to the Westerlands to harass the enemy and attack their supply lines as much as possible. Now he had no idea how that was going but from what his scouts had told him the enemy armies of the Westerlands were not moving very quickly so it was safe to say it was going well.
He just wished that he knew what was happening with those units right now. In war casualties were inevitable Robb knew this but still he had a special bond with the Wolf Packs seeing as he was part of one himself. Even now members of his old unit were out there in the Westerlands fighting to delay the Lannister armies as much as possible. They would most likely die doing it, but they knew that when they volunteered to go behind enemy lines. It's what made them so honorable and heroic in his opinion. What he wouldn't give to be with them right now in the mud and the blood.
Looking up from his thoughts Robb sees Theon riding towards him with a smile on his face. When his good friend stops in front of him, he says. "Milord you were right Lord Piper, Lord Vance and a host of other smaller lords have tossed their lot in with the Lannisters. They are currently camp some miles outside of Wayfarer's Rest waiting for backup from the Lannisters."
Looking at his best friend and brother-in-arms Robb says, "So my brothers intelligence was right they have betrayed us. This is disappointing, I was hoping they would hold to their sworn oaths."
"Indeed, it is but it was expected. When your father had stopped all trade with the Westerlands they were hurt the most financially out of all the houses of the Riverlands. When you consider they were quickly becoming one of the richest houses in the kingdom before that, well its somewhat understandable that they would harbor ill feelings towards your family." Theon says with a carefree look on his face. He didn't really care why they betrayed them he was just pointing out the reason for the betrayal.
With a frown on his face Robb says, "True but that is still no excuse to become an oath breaker. At least his kin are not supporting him. If they did, we have a big problem on our hands."
Nodding his head at this Theon says, "Yes that would have been a problem but sense House Vances of Atranta is on our side remember to show mercy to House Vance of Wayfarer's Rest when we beat them. Say what you will about the relationship between the two houses, but they are still family, so their bonds run deep."
Robb already knew that, but having it said to him out loud was still very much appreciated. "Do we know how many men they have in total?"
"From what I could see around 20,000 from the river lords who have betrayed us and an additional 15,000 from the westerlands."
"So, about what we had guessed. That is good, we can work with those numbers." Robb says.
"Unless Lord Lannister sends reinforcements." Theon comments.
With a knowing smile on his lips Robb hands Theon a scroll and says, "We won't have to worry about that."
Taking the scroll Theon opens it and quickly reads it and smiles, "It seems our old hard ass of a captain has not lost his touch."
Laughing a bit at Theon's choice of words for their old captain Robb remembers that the two of them never did get along well. You could call it a clash of personalities what with Erreg Snow's no-nonsense attitude and Theon's more laid back one. They naturally didn't like each other but at the same time had a mutual respect for each other as well. This was because both men were highly skilled at what they did and had saved each other's lives on more than one occasion.
"I can't help but agree with you there. Who in their right mind would sneak into an enemy encampment and burn their supplies while in enemy territory and get away with it?" Robb asks shaking his head at the thought of pulling something like that off.
Giving a laugh Theon says, "Better question is my friend who in their right mind would go with him? Gods I hope he lives long enough so he can tell us all about it."
"That he will Theon, that he will. But for now, we most increase our pace. There is no telling how long it will take for Lord Lannister to resupply and if we can I would like to be able to take the Golden Tooth as well as Wayfarer's Rest." Robb says.
Nodding his head Theon says, "Easier said than done milord. The Golden Tooth will not fall easily. Even if we can kill most of them men we are marching towards. Unlike the Twins they don't have a portcullis for a gate and are high in the hills. If your brother had given use a few of those things than I wouldn't be so worried, but I believe we will have to settle for Wayfare's Rest alone."
"No faith in me or our army Theon?" Robb asks in good natural.
"Faith has nothing to do with it. This army is made up of mostly conscripted farmers who have never even seen a battle before. Let's face it if this was the Northern Army, I wouldn't worry too much but it's not. We can't hope to take the Golden Tooth as is. Even with the 7,000 men we have from the Northern Army we still won't be strong enough to take the Golden Tooth." Theon says with a frown.
Theon had done his best with retraining the men of Riverrun. Really, he had but at the end of the day there was only so much ground he could cover with them. The men of the castle and the surrounding lands were to set in their ways, and he was lucky enough to be able to teach them how to hold a pike correctly and march in single lines. As for the knights well, he had worst luck with those fools and was forced to settle with using them as simple shock cavalry and little more. Any advanced maneuvers like the Flying Wedge or diamond formation were little more than a dream. Once the initial charge was over, they would be left to their own whims. Lucky enough the enemy from what they knew was mostly the same way.
"I concede your point Theon. We are just going to have to make do with what we have. If we can take Wayfarer's Rest that will be enough." Robb says as he keeps riding forward.
After riding for a couple more hours in silence a scout rides towards him and then stops. "Milord the army of traitors is on the move."
Looking at the scout Robb asks, "Where are they headed?"
"Towards the hills near Stone Mill milord." The scout says.
"I see, thank you my good man now go and rest you have done your job well. Theon give the order for the pace to be increased. We must beat them to those hills." Robb says to his friend.
"Right away milord." Theon says in a professional voice before giving the order to increase the marching speed.
(Same time with the Northern Army)
Marching with the men of the Northern Army Lieutenant Commander Smalljon Umber hears the signal for the marching speed to be increased and smiles at it. It was about fucking time he thought to himself. He had been itching for a real fight for some time now and crushing those traitorous fucks earlier was not nearly enough for him. They hardly put up a fight for gods sake before they dropped to their knees and begged for mercy. Mercy that Smalljon was surprise to say they didn't get from Lord Robb Stark Tully.
He had his doubts about the young man he would freely admit that, but could he really be blamed for that. Before the so-called lesser wolf of the North became heir to House Tully he had mostly lived in the shadow of his older brother. Sure, Smalljon knew young Robb was a great fighter, after all you had to be if you wanted to get into the Wolf Pack, but he was never allowed to see the young man's service record. That was above even his pay grade so far as the Warden of the North and Commander of the Northern Army were concerned. But any doubts he had about Lord Tully were quickly wiped away with what he did to those traitors. Any man who could crucify another man to a piece of wood up in the air than make said man watch as his family was hanged one by one was a man to fear. And in these trying times fear was what you needed to use to survive.
It still sent shivers down Smalljon's back just thinking about it. That was no way for a man to die but a message needed to be sent to all would be traitors and sent in the cruelest of ways. Some would no doubt question Lord Tully's actions and wonder if they were needed but Smalljon respected the young man for them. He wasn't afraid of him like he was of Lord Lelouch, but young Robb had proven if given the reason he could and would be just as cruel as his older brother. A trait that Smalljon believed any good lord needed.
With that thought gone Smalljon turns his attention to the battle that was about to take place. The importance of it could not be any clearer to him or anyone with half a brain. They had to win for three reasons, one being that it would eliminate any more would be traitors, two they would have taken a very important strategic location and three it would be a huge dent in the morale of Tywin Lannister's men. Of those three however one stood above the others and that was hurting the morale of the enemy's men. If your men didn't believe you could win a war than you would lose. It was only when they believed that you could win or would win down the line that they would be willing to walk through hell for you.
That was why he and 7,000 men were here. To make sure that Lord Robb did indeed win this upcoming battle. After the braking of the Twins in less than a day all the lords of Westeros were afraid that the Northern Army could do the same to any of their castles. A reasonable fear seeing as the Twins was thought to be one of the most impenetrable castles in the land. Just the fact that the Northern Army in such a small number would be marching with the army of the Riverlands would make any lord pause. And that was for good reason for they did have a way to break any castle and it was all due to a new invention from the Academy.
The invention was simply called the boom-stick and was a fairly simple concept. Take some black powder and a tube shape object that is sealed from one end, pour the black powder into the tube and then seal it from the other end with a fuse attached to it, light the fuse and watch it go boom. There was more to it he was sure, but he didn't feel he needed to know the details on how the thing was made. He only needed to know how to use it and in what way.
According to the manual he got from the Academy the use of the boom-stick was fairly straight forward. There were two ways to use it. One was digging a tunnel right under a wall and packing it with boom-sticks than lighting it. That should bring down the said wall from the explosion. Of course, that also took a lot of boom-sticks. The and he the manual that he got on the boom-sticks all you had to do was dig a tunnel towards a wall. Pack said boom sticks under the wall light and watch the wall come done. just took the boom-stick placed it against a door or gate lite the fuse and boom door or gate open. How many you need dependent on the what the gate or door was made from as well as how trick it was but with enough boom stick it should work. You could even take a boom-stick and throw it in to a room full of soldiers to some effect. It may not kill everyone in the room but the sound of going off would bring a man to his knees non the less. He and his men had about 300 sticks with them which should be enough to blow open any gate. At least he hopes that was the case.
-Hours later-
"Pikes to the center, archers to the back and make ready to fire." Robb yells out as he looks down at the enemy army wondering if they would take to the field against him or turn back.
If Robb was the enemy leader he would choose to attack seeing as he had superior numbers and better equipment from what he could see. Despite not having the high ground having almost twice the number of men from what he had would lead Robb to believe that any commander would be willing to take the chance. And from who they were moving it would seem that Robb had guessed right.
Taking a spyglass from his saddlebag Robb looks at the enemy formation. Their heavy infantry was in the front with their light infantry stationed at the back so as to protect their archers. An unimaginative formation to be sure but a good one seeing as their archers would be of little use. The enemy cavalry was of course placed on both flanks much like his own with the only difference being that his was more lightly armored. But that was nothing to worry about seeing as the enemy cavalry had to ride up hill and lose a lot of speed during any charge they may attempt. The only thing of concern was in the quality of the infantry. The Northern Army he was sure would hold the line till the time was right, but he would be lying if he said he was not worried about his own men or those of his banner men.
Word had long sense reached him that Lord Lannister had commanded that all the fighting men of the Westerlands be trained for war. So, it was highly possible that they would not only have high quality equipment but would also be well trained in how to use that equipment. It was a worst-case scenario for Robb, but he would just have to wait for the two armies to clash before he found out if he was out matched.
When the Westerland army finally crashes into his, it's like watching a great wave hitting a solid rock. Spear meet shield and flesh as men scream at one another in both pain and fury. One side trying to push forward as the other tries to push them back and all along arrows fly across the sky. And like Robb had thought the center was not holding.
"Hold your ground men! Do not retreat!" Yells Lord Tytos Blackwood as he watches the men slowly give ground to the enemy.
The fighting had only been going on for what he could guess was an hour and already the men he was charged with leading were buckling. It was a shameful display and angered him deeply. He was told by his lord that the Lannister's had been training their men for battle sense last year, but he didn't think it would matter much. How wrong he now realized he was.
On top of the hill with Robb, Theon watches as the center of their army is pushed back and says, "Well you called it Robb. Our center is just no match for the Westerland's men.
Giving a sigh Robb says, "Yes I can see that. How are our flanks doing?"
"The Northern Army is holding strong like we expected and is slowly pushing the enemy back. As for our own men they are doing about the same." Theon says.
"Then we are truly fortunate that Lord Lefford decided to place the Westerland's men at the center instead of the flanks. If he had done otherwise this battle would have been much harder to win. Go join your men Theon and wait for the signal. "Robb says as he rides away to go join his cavalry
Bowing his head at the now retreating back of his friend Theon smiles and then goes to do as he is ordered. When he arrives at his station he hops down from his horse and puts his helmet on. Making his way slow to the front he can't help but smile even more. He had long gotten over wanting to be a great warrior or wining renown but the thought of killing traitorous dogs made him extremely happy.
When Robb reaches his cavalry unit he looks down and sees his loyal companion and direwolf Grey Wind sit down waiting for him. Taking a moment to look at the wolf Robb admire Grey Wind. Though not nearly as big as Fenrir, Grey Wind was in his opinion the biggest, fastest and smartest one of his other siblings. And with his custom-made leather armor that Robb's good sister Shirley had made for him Grey Wind looked even more fearsome than he did before.
"Are you ready boy. Ready to fight with me on this bloody battlefield?" Robb asks the wolf.
Grey Wind just looks at Robb for a moment before he lifts his head and gives a loud howl.
Smiling at this Robb picks up the horn at his side and blows the signal for the cavalry to charge.
Down below Lord Leo Lefford who was put in charge of the army by his lord due to Ser Jaime not being able to leave King's Landing due to the injuries he suffered there looked on in great satisfaction. The center was folding quickly and though his two flanks were being pushed back a bit it was only a matter of time before he won the day. It would be a grand gift to give his lord when he arrived from Oxcross were he was held up. He knew he was not his lord's first choice or his second for that matter so being able to give him good news would no doubt higher his standing and earn him a grand reward. But really it wasn't that hard to beat a boy who was still wet behind the ears. He didn't care if the boy was part of some Northern unit that killed bandits. Leading men on the battlefield was a man's job and not one for boy's just away from their mother's tit. Which was proven to him as he watched the boy send out his cavalry to attack when he should be reinforcing his center. Giving his own cavalry the signal to attack Lord Lefford just sat back and watched on sure of victory.
When the two cavalries meet in battle Robb wastes little time cutting down men left and right. Though not the best on a horse Robb has had adequate training on one and had improved with his good sisters help who was a talented rider in her own right. With his lighter armored horse, he was able to move around the enemy far easier and able to attack from a multitude of angles unlike his heavier armored opponents. It was why he wanted to arrive at the hill first in the first place. Heavy cavalry was only as good as the momentum they were able to build up during their initial charge. If you took that away than you would find that light cavalry could fight them evenly if you didn't take them on in a straight fight. It was a lesson that the enemy cavalry was learning very quickly much to their sorrow.
After cutting down another enemy soldier with his Valyrian steel long sword that he named Cold Wind Robb looks around him and sees both his men are holding their own. When he spots Gray Wind leap and tackle a enemy rider from his horse he looks at the rider by his side. "Raise the flag." He orders the man.
Back on top of the hill a lone soldier who was standing on a wooden tower watching his lord do battle through a spyglass spots a red flag being risen. Once he sees the flag he immediately looks down at the men on the ground and says, "Raise the green flags."
On the left flank of the battlefield were the Northern Army was station Smalljon was taking a short breather from being on the front line when he hears one of his men yell out. "Lieutenant Commander the green flag is up."
Hearing this Smalljon gives a bloodthirsty grin and stands up picking up his Valyrian steel war axe that he named simply Big Red due to its red color. He stood up and said "Well it's about fucking time. I was getting tired of playing games with these fuckers. Blow the horn boy and let's finish this."
Doing as his commander had told him the man takes the horn and blows on it as Smalljon shouts out. "All men forward. Rip these southern cunts apart."
A loud roar follows the order and all at once the Northern Army seems to come alive and pushes forward and starts to butcher the men in front of them. Screams of pain and terror are heard coming from the rivermen who had betrayed their lord as they are skewered like pigs. Which each thrust of the spear another traitor is killed and soon the enemy falls apart and turns to run.
Rejoining his men at the front Smalljon thinks to himself that young Robb was right. Once the enemy saw that the Northern Army was stationed on the left, they would send their weakest men in great numbers to hold them off. Not knowing or wanting to believe that they could rip such a group of men apart at their leisure. "Well they were learning now," He says out loud as he slams his shield into the face of an enemy before bringing his war axe down for the killing blow.
On the right flank Theon was having a slower go of it. As soon as he heard that the green flag had been risen, he ordered all his men to push forward. But they were not the Northern Army and were having some trouble but not much. For each man he lost the enemy lost 3 or four do the enemies inferior training with the pike. It was only a matter of time before the right flank fell and it should be just in time to save the center from braking apart itself. And like a seer's prediction he watches from the front as the first of the enemy turns and runs which is quickly followed by the rest.
"Alright men half of you with me. We are attacking the enemy's center. The rest keep pushing forward." Theon yells out.
Watching all this from behind his men Lord Lefford can't help but think he has been tossed into a nightmare. What was once a sure victory is quickly turning in to a full-on rout and he has no idea what to do.
"Milord the left flank has broken, and the men are starting to run, and the right is giving more and more ground and soon the center will be surrounded." A man yell to him.
"Where….where is our cavalry. We must send them to push back the enemy." Lord Lefford says.
"They are still fighting Lord Tully's milord." One man says.
"How in the Seven Hells are they still fighting. They outnumber the fish's cavalry easily." Lord Lefford yells at the man.
"Milord the Northern Army and the right flank have just sent men to attack our center. And the enemy archers are quickly moving forward to take advantage. If we don't do something soon, they will be boxed in and slaughter." A knight says to him.
"Gods dammit." Lord Lefford yells out in anger at both himself and those weak rivermen. He had overestimated them. He should have known that they wouldn't be able to hold the Northern Army off. Still they were so close to victory.
"Ahhh sound the retreat. Get our men out of there and call back our cavalry to cover them." Lord Lefford commands.
"Right away milord but what about Lord Piper, Vance and the other riverlords?" Asks one of his knights.
"Leave them. If this battle is any indication than they will be of no use to our lord in the upcoming battles." Lord Lefford says before he turns to quit the field.
Else where's on the battlefield Robb hears a horn that is not one of his own and sees that the Westerlands' cavalry start to break off their attack.
"Milord the enemy cavalry is turning tail. Should we give chase." A man asks right by his side.
"No, we too will break off the attack. Unless I have missed my guess, our army has broken the enemy's flanks and put them to retreat. The enemy cavalry will no doubt move defend the retreat and if we chase, we will lose the advantage of the hill giving them the chance to counterattack with their still superior numbers. So, sound the horn this battle is over." Robb says.
"Yes milord." The man says than blows the horn and signals they are returning to the main body of the army. This battle was indeed over but their work was not yet done.
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And end.
So what you think. Leave a review at the end of this chapter. I have a lot of questions on the battle itself more than anything and feel a little underwhelmed and in truth have been working on it sense the beginning of February and still am not a fan.