"How many killed or captured?" Asked Mace of the runner as he gathered with most of his Lords at Ashford. They were there to deal with Robert Baratheon who had just smashed some of his rebellious Lords at Summerhall and had continued chasing them, smashing them as they tried to join forces, he had then returned to Storms end and was now marching through the reach to try and unite his forces with Starks and Arryns.

"Around 20,000 M'lord, Lord Tarly was killed after leading his household guards in a counter charge on the flanking force, Lord Florent and Beesbury were captured and we've also learned that both Brightwater Keep and Honeyholt have fallen to the Dornish and Torrentine forces." The rider said.

"That many!" Exclaimed Mace a little green at the thought of the slaughter.

"Yes m'lord, the Cataphracts completely encircled the force and they had nowhere to go, anyone that didn't surrender was killed without a second thought, Prince Lewyn led a force to chase those that escaped all the way to Dustonburry before he fell back, only three thousand survived to fight another day ad they are garrisoned in Highgarden as we speak." The rider said and Mace nodded at him and the man nearly sprinted out of there.

"The dishonorable savages, what type of men chase's down beaten men!" cursed Lord Rowan disgustedly and Mace nodded in agreement.

"It's the logical thing to do." Said Lyndon Beesbury, heir to Honeyholt and known as a brilliant warrior, sent instead of his father who was now captive of the Daynes and Martells. "They have what? 70,000 men? That might be enough to beat us but it would absolutely destroy their ability to wage war, they need to be smart about who and how they fight and that is certainly smart." The young knight said.

"Enough, it will do us no good to argue about dead men, we need to beat the Stormlanders before we can deal with the Daynes and Martells." Mace said.

"Do we?" Asked the young knight incredulously "We have 60,000 men, Lord Robert has at most half that, if he was smart he would move north and crush whatever meager forces the crownlands can raise before uniting with the Vale and North, why should he even bother fighting us, I say we march south and fight the Daynes, we might lose but we have more of a chance of winning then we would if we fought them after losing thousands against the Stormlanders."

"Enough! I am your liege lord! You will do as I say!" Mace said and the young Knight just glared at him, by now joined by many other lords who seemed to agree with him. "We will crush Baratheon and gain glory in battle before we crush the Daynes and Martells and show the strength of the Reach." Announced Mace happily.

"Mace you fool the boy is right, Ayden Dayne is the most dangerous man in the eight kingdoms if we leave him alone on our borders we will have no borders by the time we are done with Robert." His mother said and he looked annoyed at her for making him look like a fool in front of his lords.

"Fine, inform the king that we are marching south to fight the Daynes." Mace said.

Rhaegar had returned from the tower hidden deep in the Kingswood where he was keeping his she wolf caged with Ser Oswell Whent and Arthur, it was unfortunate that he needed the girl and her screams had made him feel distinctly uncomfortable as he held her down but there was nothing he could do, he needed the third head of the dragon and the girl would have the honor of bearing the son of Ice and Fire as the prophecy old him, regardless of how much she fought.

Shaking those thoughts from his head he smiled softly at the letters he had received from the West and the Riverlands. Tywin wanted two things, Cersei was to be his wife, his marriage with Elia was to be dissolved and his children declared bastards, a necessary sacrifice, along with that Jamie was to be released from his vows, something Rhaegar was happy to do, in fact he had also recommended a match between Jamie and one of Hoster Tully's daughters to bring them to his side and after two days of convincing his father they had managed to seal the alliance and now the combined strength of the Crownlands, the Reach, the West and the Riverlands stood against the Rebels, Mace Tyrell was marching to battle the Daynes and Martells, he knew they would lose that battle but hopefully the oaf of Highgarden could take enough southerners with them that they could no longer pose a threat to him or is family, leaving him to crush the other rebels, yes he would win this war and his son would be born a prince of the realm, and would return the dragons

as the prophecy promised him, he was sure of it.

A hill overlooking the town of Dustonbury, just south of Highgarden

"He's marching on us." Lewyn said as the lords gathered once more, they had gathered all the strength they could, some 75,000 men to face the remainder of the Reach, 60,000 men, they would win but Ayden knew they would take losses, losses he couldn't afford to take.

"I see… Send a raven to Jayden Lott, tell him to burn the west coast from the Shield Islands to Seagard, ships seized and then burned, livestock slaughtered and cities and towns looted and burned, standard rules apply, Rapist and child killers lose their heads no questions asked, any who slaughtered someone not in self defense is to be giving the option of the black or a lost sword arm and a year in prison, the men know the rules they've stood since the my name sake built the fleet." Ayden said, outlining the rules more for the benefit of the Dornish Lords who might have otherwise thought him a monster. "We will hold position here, our men will rest for two days and then we will drill them to the high heavens before the battle, our men are bloodied and experienced but it will benefit us greatly if we can get all of them fighting as more than just a large blob of men who are fresh of the fields and turn them into professional soldiers, I would guess we have a moon or so to accomplish that." Ayden said with that presence that came so naturally to him when he was in command, something Lewyn and all men of war who saw him in action could respect, Ayden had been given complete control of the army with Doran giving his consent and as such Lewyn was forced to follow him, not that he or the dornish lords minded at all, a more brilliant strategist Lewyn was yet to meet.

"My lord may I suggest my men be put to use, we could harras the Reach forces as they move, clear every field within distance of the road of it's produce, stop any scouts form gaining information, stop any other smaller forces from meeting up with the host and generally wreak havoc on their war effort." Yuri, Lord Commander of the Cataphracts and a man Lewyn had grown to highly respect for his prowess in battle, loyalty to his lord and most of all the respect he showed to the men under him often going out of his way to help even the newest of cataphracts.

"I agree, what about you my lords?" Ayden asked them.

"I agree with the Lord Commander's idea, it would greatly weaken the Tyrell force and allow us more time to better train the men." Lewyn agreed.

"Perhaps some of the Cataphracts could stay behind, they would be invaluable to the training of the men." Suggested Lord Uller, a veteran commander of the last Blackfyre rebellion and a witness of the cataphract charge that broke the golden company on the stepstones.

"Aye, a sound idea." Agreed old Lord Blackmont who was in his twilight years and would soon pass on his titles to his daughter.

"Then it's decided, Yuri you will stay behind and help me drill these men along with the companion cataphracts, three units will bleed the Tyrells as we have in the past, two will go out raiding and burning with the same rules as the sailors leaving just the companion cataphracts to drill the men." A unit was a thousand men which were further divided into groups of a hundred called stacks. Ayden got nods of agreement and after further details they left to tell their commanders the plan.

Tywin grit his teeth as another report of his lands being ravaged came through, the Torrentine navy led by the now infamous Jayden Lott or the Iron eagle as he was called, named for his houses sigil of a white sea eagle on a black field and his Iron grip that he maintained while leading the largest fleet on the continent. The Lott heir had sunk the fleet of the Reach and shield Islands before setting their sights on the coast of the reach, burning and looting trading outposts and settlements, destroying ever Reach, Western, Riverland or Crown Land ship they found before they had blacked the mouth of the Mander, further crippling the economy of the Reach, after he and the Tullys joined the war Ayden Dayne had sent his friend on a mission to burn the western coast, a mission that the ever faithful and competent Lotts did with their trademark ruthless efficiency maintaining full control of his men in the process. Rapists and child killers were killed in full view of the fleet, those who killed innocents were sent to the wall or lost a hand and a year of their life and by the time the Mander was blocked any man who was capable or wanted to do any of those thing was either dead or too well disciplined to. His brother, Kevan had led the Lannister and Mallister fleet to try and deal with them but it was a hopeless endeavour, the combined fleet of the West and Riverlands nothing more than an annoyance to the famed fleet of the Torrentine. The Ironborn, apparently not wanting to be left out had joined the torrentine in their mission of crippling the war effort and were doing it with much less honor then the Dayne men.

Nonetheless it angered him greatly that there was nothing he could do, if he wanted to have his blood on the throne then a few small folk dying was a price he was willing to pay. Now he had to join his 45,000 men with the 20,000 of the Riverlands to face the now united forces of the North and Vale, Eddard Stark having crushed the army led by Lord Frey when Eddard refused to marry one of his blood to the old Lord. He knew that Rhaegar was also gathering the 15,000 men of the crownlands to join them soon, Tywin knew that if they wanted to win this war then they needed to beat them before Robert could join forces with the Vale

AN- Smaller chapter I know with no real battles but it sets the stage for them. How will Ayden and Lewyn fare against the Reach? Where exactly is Robert Baratheon? Will Tywin and Hoster beat the Vale and North? Or will things not go according to plan for the Bald Lannister.

Reviews.

QCoffee chapter 8 . Nov 7

The Author notes with the foreshadowing, feels foreboding for some reason. Thanks for the update!

Well I would say you were right, the Lions and Fish have joined the scrap as foreshadowed, thanks for the support.

ATP chapter 8 . Nov 7

Nice from that - Dorne and Torrentine replaced ,nobody need them.

And i never liked ,she could die as hostage instead of Ellia.

If Robert still get Cersei,Lannister would lost.

As Littlefinger would say, "My Lady, I'm a bit confused" Thanks for the compliment I think… Are you saying that Dorne and the Torrentine should go? If so then what's the point of the story? And who could die instead of Elia? Maybe you mean Cersei or something, anyway appreciate the support.

Also I think someone else left a review because I got a notification but it isn't there when I check, I think the sites broken so sorry If i haven't replied to yours, hopefully I will next time.