Chapter 30: Angering a giant
Robb
He hated the waiting much more than the pain from the wound. The wound was severe but recovery was good, as his arm and shoulder were healing well. He was now able to move freely around the castle, although he still fatigued quickly. Even with the good progress, practicing in the yard or campaigning was still a long way off and he hated it.
The troops were getting more and more restless. Sending the Dustin, Bolton and Ryswell troops on raids had helped for a while but soon the same problems erupted. Men started fighting amongst each other out of boredom and were losing their edge. The biggest problems that had erupted had included Frey men, although his Northmen were also on edge.
He already sent out two groups of a hundred and fifty Freys to raid the countryside close to the Crag. Black Walder had gone north, to the yet untouched lands of Westerling that bordered House Banefort. He was tasked in raiding the area, with his focus on the Banefort border. He would also need to gather intelligence on the state of that Westerlander house. His force was too small to threaten any towns, so he would be attacking defenseless fishing, farming and mining villages mostly.
The same went for Ser Raymund Frey. He was to scour the land beneath the Pendric Hills between the Crag and Castamere for anything they might have missed. He also had to take out one or two knightly houses that lived in the area. They had close connections to the Spicers and he wanted them gone for it.
All in all, he didn't let the Freys get far. He wanted to keep them close so he could keep an eye out on what they did. He was almost certain that Black Walder would commit atrocities, but he had done all he could to limit it to a minimum.
He also didn't want to split off his force more than he already had. Of the over six thousand men that he had taken west, some six hundred had either died or been wounded so severely that they couldn't fight anymore. Of the remaining men only two thousand remained with him now. This was not enough for comfort.
It would change soon. The army would soon march to Castamere, were it would branch in two. He and a garrison force would go on to Ashemark. He would reunite with Os and take control there. They would take with them all the spoils of their campaign. He would take inventory of all they had and start planning a way to transport everything to the Riverlands. Lady Mormont had already brought most of the raided cattle and some small loot to Riverrun and was on her way back to Ashemark, but all the other plunder was still in the west with them.
At Castamere the force would be joined by the forces under Galbart Glover and Harry. This would swell the numbers of the army considerably. He would take their spoils with him as well. On the road, the main force would be joined by the Greatjon before laying siege to Sarsfield. Even with the garrisons he left and the Ryswells, Boltons and Dustins still raiding, the army should number around four thousand men.
That should be more than enough to take Sarsfield. If they did get news that Tywin broke through, the army would pull back and regroup with all other forces at Ashemark.
He was really annoyed that he wouldn't be able to lead the army himself. However, the army couldn't wait on him anymore. He was not fit enough to march at a high pace or to siege a castle, let alone fight for one. He would already slow the march on the way to Castamere, after that someone else would have to lead.
He had thought about who to send for a while, but his mind had drifted towards Jon every time. His brother would lead, with the Greatjon, Harry, Ser Brynden and Lord Galbart as his sub-commanders. The Northerners would accept it, he knew. The Riverlanders would be harder. He would get all of them to heel, just the Freys would be a problem.
Even with their losses, they still numbered around seven hundred men. That was a very considerable amount of his men. One hundred and fifty of them would remain here to garrison the crag under Ser Rhaegar Frey. They would be taking almost anything of value from here, so it was more of an empty title. The chance also was that if Black Walder angered the Baneforts too much, he would need to hold them off in their revenge.
They had restored, restocked and fortified the Crag in advance. One hundred and fifty prepared men would be able to hold off the Baneforts for a while. The raiding Freys would rejoin him on the march, although he secretively hoped Ser Rhaegar was going to keep many of his kinsmen here.
He sat at the desk that had been previously owned by Lord Westerling when the novice, who was filling in as Maester, walked in with letters. Both were clearly sent on from Riverrun and they came from the North.
He read the first one, a letter written by Lord Hornwood. It was sent from Torrhen's Square where he mentioned that an ironborn force had been laying siege. The ironborn were smashed and two thirds of their number killed or captured. Good, some justice for the Tallharts after Benfred's death.
In the letter, he formerly asked him to legitimize his bastard son Larence Snow as Larence Hornwood. The boy himself was stuck in Deepwood Motte for now, but Lord Hornwood intended for him to be raised as his heir after the war. On the march, he had already spoken to Galbart about the boy and everything seemed alright with him. He would grant Lord Hornwood the honor, hopefully it could stabilize House Hornwood for future generations. The Gods knew Lord Halys and his family deserved it.
Then he opened the other letter, sent from Winterfell and the content shocked him. Theon attacked his home and his family? Luckily the attack was repelled, but his sister was wounded. Moreover, Lyanna Mormont was severely wounded and Allara Umber had died. How could this happen? Theon?
He quickly called the guard to bring Jon, Dacey Mormont, Smalljon Umber and Ser Wendel Manderly to him. It all concerned their families and they should know the news first.
When all men had arrived, he handed them the letter. The anger on their faces became visible after each one had been given the letter. The last one to read it was the Smalljon. After reading about his sister, the giant man screamed and roared like the sigil of his house.
At one point he took out his greatsword and cut some nice oak wooden cut cabinet of Lord Westerling to pieces. Ser Robin Flint, who had been on duty in front of his door, stormed in with his sword in hand and tried to subdue their friend. The Smalljon just threw him across the room. The unchained giant indeed.
It took all of them combined, combining both talking and restraining him, to calm him down enough to talk. "We will make them pay, Umber. I promise you. We will make them all pay." Dacey vowed.
"Oh, I will do more than that Dacey. I will scour their islands until there is nothing left except rocks and bones. I will burn their villages, take their women and put salt on their fields. I will kill every one of those ironborn, even if it costs me my life. I will make their islands uninhabitable for generations and the horror stories about them enough to keep men away from those islands for a thousand years. This and more I swear by the Old Gods." His giant friend said menacingly, as he stared in front of him with hard eyes.
They were all taken aback by this. You didn't swear lightly by the Old Gods, everyone knew this. There was no way back for their friend now. He tried to reach him another way for now. "Umber, there are no ironborn here. If there were, I would give them to you. There are only Lannisters here. Keep your vengeance and your anger for the right time. The ironborn's time will come, I promise you but now there is not much we can do."
His friend looked down on him. "You promise we will have our vengeance?" He asked.
"Aye, I do. First of all, we will throw those ironborn from our coasts and into the sea to their false god. After that and when we have dealt with the Lannisters, their time will come. They have created problems for far too long." He vowed.
His friend nodded. "Aye, there are no ironborn here now and we'll never get across to their islands without a strong fleet. They will have to wait, for now. However, my vengeance must still be sated. These Westerlanders have killed enough of my friends as it is, so they'll do. I ask permission to gather the two hundred Umber men stationed here and go raid some Westerlander villages, Your Grace. I need to blow off some steam."
"Good idea, Umber! Me and the hundred men from Bear Island under my control will join you." Dacey immediately added.
He looked over to his friends and saw the pain and the hurt written all over their faces. Allara was dead, Lyanna could as well have been. Could he really forbid them this? Besides knowing the Smalljon, would he listen? Was this worth taking the risk of creating a rift between them? He couldn't allow them to challenge his command, but would this be a good cause to fight them on it?
He stood there, silently looking at his friends for a few seconds. "I will allow it, under certain conditions." He responded carefully, after the moment's silence. The Smalljon led a low grunt in response but he said nothing.
"You may go, together. On the condition you go where I want you to go and you promise to be in Castamere eight days from now." He explained sharply.
Both nodded to him. "There is a small knightly house, House Lovat, on the coast some twenty-five miles west from Castamere. Domeric stated that they have tried multiple times to disrupt communications from his and Lord Glover's men. They have killed numerous of our outriders and even unsuccessfully attacked Lord Glover's rear with some of their allies. I want you to take their holdfast and burn it to the ground to show all local houses what happens when they defy us. Take any member of the family you find captive and bring them with you to Castamere. After burning the holdfast, raid their lands as long as you want as long as you get to the meeting in time." He stated, adding the part at the end sharply.
Both of them nodded and left the room. He heard Smalljon snarl to Dacey. "We depart at first light, Mormont. Don't be late."
"Was that smart, Robb?" Jon asked him, breaking his silence for the first time since he had read the letter.
"Maybe not, but it wasn't worth the risk. Besides, House Lovat has been a small thorn in my side anyway and it is close to Castamere. Better for them to have a useful outlet for their anger." At this explanation, Jon nodded. He was clearly still shaken by the news of Arya's and Nymeria's wounds.
"The Smalljon exaggerated, but he is right on one thing Your Grace. Something needs to be done about the ironborn. Attacking Winterfell at night … even the ironborn of old that ruled from Bear Island to the Arbor were never that bold." Ser Wendel stated.
He nodded in respond. "Something will be done. At this very moment, the clans are moving to throw them out of Glover lands and the force around Torrhen's Square has been decisively beaten back. The Ryswells and Tallharts are working on expanding the defenses on their coasts and the Dustins and Mormonts are also taking precautions. The only weak link for now is the Stony Shore, but it will be taken care of. The real nut we need to crack is Moat Cailin, the others will be thrown back from our shores soon enough." Ser Wendel nodded somewhat pleased at his response. He too seemed angry. His niece Wylla was fine, but she had been in danger when that should never have happened.
He ended the meeting for now and asked Jon to stay with him. They had the road from Castamere to Sarsfield and so much more to plan together.
(Four days later)
He sat at the dark oaken desk of Lord Westerling and thought once more about the strategy of the war. Grey Wind was out hunting for a last time, as he knew his companion wanted to be with him on the march. Ever since he had been wounded, the direwolf seemed to be even more protective than before.
They were on the verge of leaving towards Castamere. Most likely they would depart tomorrow. This wasn't made easy though, as news from elsewhere kept coming in. News had come from Dom two days ago that he had rounded the straits of Fair Isle and was raiding within 25 miles of Kayce. He assured him that he had appointed many outriders and would not be surprised by House Kenning or one of their vassals.
Domeric intended to measure House Kenning's remaining strength and resolve. If they were to attack them later, the news would come in handy. For now, it seemed that the house was weak. Maybe not all too surprising, as a few Kenning banners had been seen at Oxcross.
They had also received news from the Vale over the past few days. Fighting there had finally erupted, after what seemed like a phase of war where everybody had prepared their troops. The first fighting seemed to happen all over the Vale.
House Royce had fought minor border skirmishes with House Grafton, as the latter sought a way to leave their territory to link up with its allies. House Royce seemed to have had the better of the engagements, as House Grafton still seemed contained to Gulltown. However, they had used their fleet to attack small ports loyal to the Royces and as such kept things in balance.
The Lynderlys had also clashed with House Coldwater. Here the latter had been soundly beaten, although the Lynderlys were unable to march on Coldwater Burn. Still, their allies were hard pressed and lacked allies in the region. The Belmores were marching to help them, but they had to pass through Corbray lands to do so. The Corbrays seemed to be playing both sides and passing through their lands without angering them seemed to be a difficult task.
The Templetons had ambushed the Breakstones on their way to reinforce the Eyrie. Ser Edmund Breakstone had died and most his force was destroyed. Ser Symond Templeton had marched on and united with Houses Hunter and Waynwood. Together they had laid siege to the Gates of the Moon and had cut off the Eyrie. This was great news, as House Arryn hadn't been able to fully mobilize their forces yet. As such, most were trapped in their sieged castles while the remainder was being picked off one by one by the besieging force.
Still an Arryn force was gathering at the Bloody Gate, intent on breaking the siege of the Eyrie. Lord Yohn mentioned that it was comprised of parts of the Arryn levy, together with troops from House Egen. Although it was growing, Bronze Yohn assured him they didn't have the men to break the siege for now.
More to the south, House Waxley had marched north from Wickenden to try and link up with either the Arryns or Graftons. They had been blocked by House Redfort and a contingent of House Royce in doing so. No battle had happened yet, but House Waxley seemed successfully pinned in the Bay of Crabs for the moment.
All in all, it seemed the war in the Vale was going well for them. If the Royces managed to draw out and defeat House Grafton, none of his aunt's allies would be strong enough to challenge Lord Yohn.
He would keep following the war in the Vale, but for now there was nothing he could do to help them. He had his own battles to fight in the west. Everything was running as planned. Provisions had been planned and soldiers had already broken up parts of the camp. Even that fool Ser Rhaegar Frey seemed pleased with his appointment as castellan of the Crag.
He looked over a map from the Westerlands, for what seemed like the hundredth time, to check if his strategy was sound.
As he was studying the valley between Sarsfield and Lannisport, he was disturbed by a knock on the door. "The novice is here with another letter, Your Grace." His guard called out.
"Let him in." He called back. The young novice walked in and handed him the letter. The young man still wasn't used to his new role, although he performed it adequately.
The letter was from Riverrun. He thanked the novice and waited for him to leave before opening it. He read through it. The news they had all feared had come. Uncle Edmure had tried to stop the Lannister army, at the fords as uncle Brynden predicted. He seemed to have succeeded.
He read the letter again, more slowly this time.
To King Robb
Tywin Lannister tried to march west to stop you in your campaign. I have rallied the Riverlords and successfully managed to stop them at the Fords.
The Lannisters initially probed our defenses along the length of the line. Three days later they attacked across multiple points. In the fighting, we managed to capture Ser Lyle Crakeha as well as Ser Herrock Kenning.
The Lannisters suffered heavy losses along the whole line, although the heaviest fighting happened at Stone Mill. Lord Tywin had sent two of his veteran sellsword companies across the river there, supported by Westerlanders mostly of Houses Lefford and Serret. The sellswords managed to gain the west bank for a time, before the reserves and I managed to beat them back.
Lord Lefford drowned in the fighting, as one of the sellsword companies was almost entirely destroyed. Another company lost its commander in the fighting upstream. Ser Robert Brax also died in the fighting.
In the end our losses were less than a thousand, dead and wounded included. Most of these fell at Stone Mill. The Lannisters probably suffered close to four thousand. About half of those would be sellswords Tywin brought over from Essos.
The Lannisters army was last seen marching south-east. I do not think they will try to cross again. This leaves you free in your campaign in the west.
Your uncle,
Ser Edmure Tully, heir to Riverrun.
He sighed again. They had prepared for this outcome beforehand, but still it angered him. He had ordered Edmure to stay put and defend Riverrun. Now he had done the opposite. He had not been able to tell his uncle about his plan to lure Lord Tywin west, as he couldn't risk the raven falling into enemy hands and spoiling his plans and positioning.
Still, he had expected his uncle to obey his command, until he got Lord Rickard's letter that was. If only he had known about Lord Renly's death and Lord Stannis' march before he went west, then he could have informed Edmure and King's Landing might fall in the next few weeks. It still might, and he sincerely hoped Lord Stannis managed to pull it off. He would hope, Lord Stannis was a great commander after all.
Still they would have to make the best of it. It gave them free rein in the west at least. Maybe they could pull of threatening Lannisport after all.
He stood up and walked to the door. He opened it and asked one of his guards to gather all his commanders. They would need to be told this as soon as possible. The army would leave on the morrow. They missed their opportunity to catch Lord Tywin, they couldn't miss any more time now. They had to do as much damage in the west as possible, maybe they could start testing the vassals' loyalties to the Lannisters.
They had been marching for a few days and would be arriving at the ruins of Castamere in an hour. He was seated in a wheelhouse, as he could only endure to ride for a few hours a day with his wound. He hated the damn thing, even though he always had one of his friends to keep him company.
He had begrudgingly placed himself in the wheelhouse again at midday and would change to his horse soon. He wanted to have the strength to ride into the camp at Castamere, as some of his men hadn't seen him since before his wound and it wouldn't do show weakness so soon.
He talked with Torr about their families and his brother-in-law was clearly happy to see his brother again. He had missed Harry too, if he was honest. The man was the closest thing that he would ever have to a protective older brother and he knew he could always count on him. Even when he was a boy and had done something wrong, or when he was fooling around with Alys, he could always count on Harry to help him and keep his secrets.
Half an hour later, he was helped onto his horse by his men. He rode on for the remainder of the journey. Next to him rode his brother and Ser Brynden. Lord Rickard had thought him the value of appearance very quickly. It was important for the troops to see him and the commanders that he valued as strong and united.
They rode into the camp as a sign of strength. His crown was held proudly on his head. His brother rode very clearly on his right side, with Ser Brynden as his representative of the Riverlands on the left. His message screamed unity in his family and between the North and the Riverlands and he hoped it would make another impression on his men. To finish the picture, they were flanked by Grey Wind and Ghost. Behind them rode nobles of most Northern families, as well as Houses Blackwood, Frey and Deddings.
He rode through the camp and everywhere his soldiers shouted praises and encouragement, while others bent the knee deeply. Shouts of "The Young Wolf", "The North" and "Stark" were everywhere. "Winterfell", "The Blackfish" and even "The White Wolf" were heard to a lesser extent. The last one made him smile, his brother deserved the praise. It would also make his command easier.
He reached the center of the camp, where he saw that a big grey tent with the running direwolf on it had already been erected. In front of it was an open square where most of his commanders stood waiting for him. As he got from his horse with a little subtle help from Jon and Grey Wind, all went down to one knee.
He saw Harry, Dacey, Smalljon and Lord Glover. However, there were many more. Lord Flint had joined Lord Galbart on his raid, as a Tallhart cousin and their cavalry commander had joined Harry. Behind them, many more of their lower vassals went to their knee as well.
He quickly asked them all to stand up. He hugged Harry and saw how he had a small scar on his left arm. His brother-in-law saw him looking and smiled. "Courtesy of some Westerlander knight, a cousin to Lord Hamell. All I can say is that Lord Hamell is a cousin short now." The last part was added with a mean grin, but he was just glad Harry was fine.
Dacey and the Smalljon greeted him next. "I feared you wouldn't make it on time." He simply said. "We promised we'd be here, didn't we?" The Smalljon grinned, but he looked tired. "You look tired, Umber. What happened?"
"Nothing much, Your Grace. We got a little too carried away on the task you gave us, that's all. Rode halfway through the night to get here on time. We only arrived just this morning." The heir to Last Hearth said matter-of-factly. He nodded, having expected this after his antics last time he saw him. He obeyed his orders and seemed to have calmed down, that was the most important thing.
"How about that task I gave you?" He asked, coming to the matter at hand.
"House Lovat's keep is no more, Your Grace. Their lands were still burning when we left the place yesterday. Their women and children have been taken captive and have been put together with the other prisoners, over there at the entrance of the old mines." The heir to Last Hearth explained, as he pointed to the mine entrance." We left an adequate message for any to find who dare look for them. I don't expect any more problems in that area with the few other remaining houses, Your Grace." Smalljon replied, clearly still angry but proud of his achievement.
It was clear that he had made the house pay for their defiance in a savage way. He had to remind himself, friend or no, this was the heir of House Umber he was speaking to. The House from Last Hearth was fiercely loyal to him and his family and he had nothing to fear from them, but still rumors persisted about them partaking in the ritual of the first night. There were also gruesome stories about the punishments they inflicted on captured wildlings, although none explicitly forbidden by his father the stories were still gruesome.
The Karstarks were much the same. He knew Lord Rickard and Harry had tried to shield him from the most gruesome incidents but that hadn't always been possible. He still remembered how Lord Rickard had dealt justice to a band of wildlings that had raided the north of the Karstark's lands. He had just been fourteen at the time. The five remaining men had been beheaded, as the law prescribed. Their heads had roled in the name of his father and King Robert. It was what the Lord of House Karstark had done after that, that had shocked him.
He had chopped the heads of the wildlings that had died in the fight and hung all their headless bodies from trees along his border to discourage any more raids. He could still see the entrails hang from their bodies as they swayed in the wind. When he had protested, Lord Rickard had said nothing. They had taken a two-day detour to a village that had been burned out by that wildling warband.
The gruesome sight of it had made his stomach empty. Then Lord Rickard had come up to him and put a hand on his shoulder. "Hard lands create hard people, young Robb. If we did not hang them as a warning, another band could come in next week. Their friends would do this again and again, until we caught them or chased them back to the wall as well. Sometimes it is necessary to be as hard and cruel as your enemies to protect your own people. I hope you understand now."
It was this advice that rang in his head when he looked up into the eyes of his giant friend. He kept his gaze for a while and simply asked. "What happened to the men of House Lovat? It's knight and his brothers and cousins?"
"Sadly, none survived the fighting, Your Grace." His friend said, small defiance in his eyes. He knew that the Umber heir was lying, and his friend knew that he knew. They just locked eyes for a moment, until he said. "That's a pity. At least they can't bother any of our men anymore. We will need the communication lines to the Crag to remain open."
It wasn't worth it. The most important thing was that he had spared the women and the children. If something had happened to them then he couldn't have let it slide this easily.
Still, he was surprised to see something in his friend's eyes. It was almost like a sort of newfound respect. As if his friend now acknowledged that he could make the hard choices. When he thought back on it, he had seen the same in his eyes and those of some other commanders when he had decided to send Lord Tywin Ser Jaime's sword hand. "Honor is a good thing for peacetimes, but in war it is only victory and survival that counts." Lord Rickard used to say.
He disliked all of it and he knew his father would too, but he believed it to be necessary nonetheless.
He looked over to Dacey and saw much the same expressions on her face, as he had in Smalljon's. The wild she-bear of Bear Island had obviously partaken in whatever it was they had done together. "Welcome back, Dacey." He greeted her and she smiled back.
Then he went on to greet Lord Galbart. "Greetings, Lord Glover. How did your expedition go?"
"Very well, Your Grace. I'm glad to be back with the army. We started to have difficulty transporting all the loot and prisoners we caught." He smiled, although he could see the smile didn't reach his eyes. The man was probably worried sick about his home being under siege. Still, he performed his job loyally and adequately, and he wouldn't forget that.
"Great to hear that. I would love to hear all the details of your adventures soon." He responded. Lord Glover just bowed his head in recognition of his answer.
He went on to greet the other commanders and minor lords. He knew how important it was for them to be acknowledged by him, as they normally didn't deal with House Stark directly.
After greeting everyone, he addressed his commanders once more. "I propose we all meet in my tent in two hours. This may give the men that came with me the time to start setting up camp. We will discuss all details of what happened and the coming plan there."
The meeting had gone by in a blur. Together with the Westerlings and some of their knightly houses that had been captured, they now apparently transported two hundred and sixty-three prisoners. They were comprised of thirty-seven knights, fourteen other men, eighty-nine women and one hundred and twenty-one children.
The most notable were five heads of landed knightly houses, seventeen heirs and Ser Raynald, the heir of the lordly House Westerling. In total they had, mostly through wives and pages they had found in the keeps, members of forty-one knightly houses and four lordly houses, although two of the latter were only cousins.
All in all, they had captured the soft underbelly of the lower nobility of the Westerlands. Even if they couldn't sway the big lords, they might be able to sway the smaller houses into desertion.
Still, the captives were all relatively low on the noble ladder. The good thing about it was that what they had now could create total anarchy in some parts of the west for years. They had successfully taken the majority of the nobles in about a fifth of the Westerlands, although they failed to gain any great names. To create shockwaves in Casterly Rock, they had to capture more castles and members of bigger families.
His lords had accepted his plan for Sarsfield, they had also accepted Jon in command. The army would rest here for five more days, as he went through the loot and how to transport it to Ashemark. After that they would split.
Both Harry and Lord Galbart had done an excellent job. Together they had broken any resistance along the Straits of Fair Isle. They had taken almost everyone and everything of value there and opened the way for Dom to go even further. One or two small silver mines were even hit. The total amount of loot, together with that of the Frey incursions and their own capture of The Crag were staggering. Thinking he still had to add the loot House Umber had already stashed away in Ashemark made him stagger. Only then did he realize how the Bolton and Ryswell raids could still bring in more.
They also heard troubling news while they stayed there. It seemed the Greatjon had heard the news of the death of his daughter too. His reaction had been even harsher than his son's one was. Stories trickled in of how two entire villages were wiped off the map. Men, women and children were allegedly put to the sword without quarter. Besides that, he seemed to have wiped out a knightly house sworn to House Sarsfield as well.
The Lord of Last Hearth had sent a message ahead, but it only said that he was already raiding the lands of House Sarsfield and would scout the area for possible relief forces. He would join the main force on the march to the castle.
He had discussed it at length with Jon. They had come to the conclusion that there was nothing they could do for now. The Greatjon would be reprimanded behind closed doors when Robb rejoined the army. In the meantime, Jon would make sure it didn't happen again.
He tried to put the thoughts about those people to bed and threw himself on the task of finding a new way to bring the loot back to Riverrun the coming weeks. If they took the small trail they had come by, it could take weeks to transport it all. There had to be a better way.
He spent the next few days doing just that, until finally he had to bid his brother goodbye. He himself would leave in the wheelhouse with a few hundred men, the loot and the prisoners. Jon would take the rest to Sarsfield with him. Their goodbye was short but meaningful. Not everything needed to be said out loud for it to be understood.
When the vanguard had passed out of sight, all that was heard was Grey Wind's howling goodbye. He might have imagined it but somehow, he seemed to feel Ghost's silent reply. It was both sad and anxious, as well as full of resolve. Ironically, he thought, that was very similar to how Jon himself was feeling.
This is it for this chapter.
We finally leave the Crag and Jon marches on Sarsfield. The magnitude of the raiding they have done is also shown. As the Stark army stayed in the area for a long time, with multiple bands raiding in the vicinity, it managed to attack most of the small holdfasts. Although a lot of them would have surrendered without a fight.
They effectively captured almost the whole lower part of the ruling class and are transporting them away. Together with the damage they did to the smallfolk and the supplies and goods they took, you can imagine this part of the Westerlands to look like the Southern Riverlands in the books, maybe even worse. Marauding bands everywhere, refugees fleeing entire areas, deserters and cronies terrorizing everyone, …
I want to show the devastation a war can do, hopefully I did a good job so far. The raiding here is more extensive and harsher than in canon. This is in part due to the fact that Oxcross was a lot more devastating for the Westerlands. The presence of other characters (like Jon, Domeric Bolton, Torrhen Karstark and Roose Ryswell) and extra Dustin/Ryswell cavalry also play a part.
There is also Robb's fostering with the Karstarks that plays up. He is his father's son, so he doesn't like any of it, but he understands the necessity of the horror of war in his world now. With this mindset, he comes a lot closer to the Winter Kings of old, instead of the ideas of his father. A mindset he thinks may be needed for the North to have a shot at independence.
News from the Vale also arrives, as the area descends into chaos.
Thank you for your support!
Fannic
Reviews:
- Greatazuredragon: Thank you! Yeah, I lost myself a bit in fleshing it out. :D
However, some of the names will come back again throughout the story from now on. I wanted their foundation to be solid, just as I have done with the Karstarks at the start. Now if the names come back, you can always reread it if questions arise. The Dustin inheritance will be a thing later on and I love involving minor characters and I just introduced 5 of them in the army alone. ;-)
- Kingmanaena: Thank you for the continued support!
- TheNiemand: Glad to see you back! The sellswords are highly skilled and very expensive, so he's throwing them in the most difficult confrontations.
The distant kin will be clear in the long run, for now they are just new characters to explore.
- Iacopo Passerini: Thank you! Robb still won't harm innocents if he can help it. Maybe that can still happen if Tywin keeps plotting! ;-)
- George Christian810: I never said hate. I just don't understand how you can say things like "I'm out" and then give (constructive) criticism. It is kind of counter intuitive to me. Although if you have come to like the story, I of course welcome that.
As stated, the same ironborn did the swimming and climbing under Martin. He knows his universe better than we ever could, so I can't change that. For the guards not seeing them, I have written a lengthy response under reviews to Time Parad0x.
Leather armor is definitely a thing for naval units, as mail makes you sink much more easily. The ironborn are naval warriors above all.
Thank you for the response on this chapter. Robb is married yes, but he has slept with his wife maybe 5 times and seen her like that only for a few days. He has never had another girl try something with him and maybe he likes Jeyne a little, or at least he respects her for helping him heal. He still is a 15 year old boy who had sex only a few times in his life and has now had months without, can you blame him for being a little awkward?
- Fahri Uchiha: The plot was never gone! Oh and his hand isn't threatened, it's gone! :P
- Supremus85: Thank you!
- Anindhitania238: Naive in what way? The fact that he was skittish around Jeyne or something else? Keep in mind that he is still only 15 years old, he isn't perfect. No one is.
I corrected the mistake about Lyarra and Branda immediately after your review. Thank you for pointing it out, that should never have happened!
- Jordan Uzumaki: It has hopefully become clear this chapter that Robb's education was completely different here than canon. He is still the same boy/man, but he has learned to put his feelings aside to make hard and sometimes gruesome choices. Some people, like Tywin, only understand strength and power. Robb has to show he has more power than Tywin and the only thing the Old Lion cares about is his son and legacy.
- Force Smuggler: Yes! It was one of the sneakiest and best thought out plots in canon in my opinion. As we never saw any scenes in the Crag, I never saw it coming. Here with Robb's marriage, Jon's (and Ghost's) constant presence and the scenes it makes sense that it can be stopped.
- Time Parad0x: I have consulted you about this in PM, as our interaction will take up way too many words on my chapter. Just know that I appreciate all your (constructive) criticism and I take it into account.
- Kuman: Thank you! They can become useful advisors later on. Nepotism is the most logical thing in a hereditary society like this.
Jon is Robb's unofficial chief of staff for now. Ser Brynden (as he doesn't have many troops of his own) also serves an advisory and management function you could say. Still he is not going to start a whole bureaucracy. It wouldn't do for the times, as transport, authority and payment would be a long time problem. He also doesn't need them long term. You have to remember he still has a lot advisors who are spread around. Maester Luwin, Ser Rodrik, Hallis Mollen, even Jonelle Cassel are still around. Besides that he has numerous lords and nobles to create a council from after. Now he's just focusing on the war and he uses the people he can find in the present castles, but has loyal men like Jon or Ser Brynden or his friends control them.
- Cfp33pfc: They were in the Godswood like in canon and heavily outnumbered. They were confused and hid, until most of the fighting was over. It is probable that Rickon and Bran were warging them in their sleep and they would have been very scared and would have run from danger, as is a wolves first instinct. There never was a mama wolf? It died like in canon. The wolf that was with Ned in King's Landing was Lady and she got home with Sansa.
- Wolf's Pizza: Hopefully they will, although can you ever be sure with Tywin Lannister?
The Tyrell fate will be known soon enough.
The Vale is in an old fashioned civil war, those things take time and blood. We will see a lot more of them in the future. First in raven scrolls and letters, afterwards POV chapters but that is a long way of still.
Daenerys story, from AGOT to ADOD will be unchanged. It is unknown if she will ever get to Westeros in canon. I can only tell you that when we start discussing her here, she will be in Mereen the same as in canon. I hate the size mistakes that are made in the show and most fanfics. Her dragons will only be a few years old if she comes to Westeros. They will be magical and terrifying beasts, however they will be far from the size the Conqueror's dragons had.
I will finish this story, whatever and how long it takes! Very glad to see that you're so invested in it! :-)
- Osterreicher97: Yes, it didn't make sense with all the differences in the west. Thank you, so glad you like it. The ironborn have always been stupid to attack the North. Balon is an idiot who wants revenge. There is no serious loot in the North and they could never hold it. Just Balon being Balon.
- Poly19hum: I did enjoy it, thank you! Yes, the snow ball is starting to gain momentum and more and more changes will happen in quick succession now.
- Guest1: Wow
- Guest2: Thank you! I'm very glad some of you enjoy it! Yes, White Harbor is also an option for their line but it made less sense in my mind that they would stay under the radar there. Also the two brothers spreading all around the North is less likely and there aren't that many generations between them and Ned's generation. That said there could be some bastard descent there? An unnamed bastard of Beron, Donnor, William, Artos, Errold or Rodrik (or their sisters?). Another possibility is Artos' two sisters. Both are without issue on the family tree, but that is highly unlikely. Way too many females on the Stark family tree don't have any offspring. Some may have died young or in childbirth but still the ratio is extreme. It is possible they married lesser nobles from families GRRM just hasn't fleshed out yet and do have offspring.
As I follow GRRM as much as possible, for the sake of story, I will say there are female line Stark cousins in White Harbor but Roderick doesn't know of them as they don't descend from Artos here.
- Guest3: Yes, to be honest I am a little sceptical about the canon attack too. That doesn't mean I can just change it. I also think it makes more sense here. Not including the attack with Theon's extra reasons would feel forced.
You are right with the resistance to extra population used. However, the Greyjoys have kept many in reserve who are not part of their attacks to the North. You can see this when Euron attacks the Reach. Suddenly a lot of extra men are still available. So, the effects wouldn't take place for a while. They can still throw some men away from now.