JON XIII
He was lucky that his horse dropped him to the ground when the explosion happened. Had he stayed on him he might have ended being crushed under the weight of the animal. All around, mounts got mad and the few men on horse who were not thrown down or didn't find themselves under their mount struggled like hell to keep control of it.
A strong gust of wind, then heat, and finally the earth projected by the explosion fell upon them. Jon raised his arms to protect his head from debris. At the same time, he shot glances all around. Most of the men around him were incapacitated in some way or another by the sudden outburst of fire. The wall of fire at the north of his position rose. Where it came from, Jon had no idea, but he was sure of one thing: he couldn't stay here and do nothing.
He cut the closest enemy he could spot before the man could react, then a second who barely managed to block his first blow before he was impaled by the second. Press forward. They had to press forward on Stannis' forces. Retreat was no longer an option with the green flames behind them.
"Forward, men! Forward!" He killed one more man who was coming at him. "Forward!"
He shouted the word every time he could, hoping this would bring the others to do the same. A southern knight tried to hack his head, but Jon ducked his sword just in time. All around him chaos ruled the land. Sometimes he wasn't even sure he was fighting foes or allies. Ghost remained close to him, causing his own share of deaths. Parries, blows, blocks, faints succeeded each other, sometimes accompanied by fists and kicks. Jon blocked an attack directed toward his head, then deflected his opponent's sword before hitting him by the side, making him stumble to the ground where he could finish him with one final blow in the throat. Another man with few armor was killed by a simple slash across the chest. Ghost jumped on someone who tried to attack him in the back.
Then a knight on his horse tried again to chop his head. Instead, Jon's blade cut through his leg, then went through his chest by the side of his guts. The man with the burning heart on his armor fell, freeing his mount for Jon to use it and keep fighting from an advantageous position.
When he mounted the horse, he realized they were surrounded. The banners of the enemy were all around them. There were friendly banners far away on their left flank, separated from them by the enemies, but they were alone. They needed to press forward, but Jon didn't see how to regroup the men. They were fighting on three sides at the same time. The Greatjon and his son fought savagely, sparing no man who came near them. Galbart Glover wasn't far either, still on his horse.
Something caught Jon's attention. Further into enemy ranks, Gregor Forrester fought, surrounded by men from the other side. And his horse fell, not far from the stake where the burned figure of Rodrik Forrester laid.
Without thinking further, Jon urged his mount forward through the crowd of men who quickly turned to be only Stannis' men. Some withdrew, fearing Ghost who followed him. When he arrived to the location where he last saw Lord Forrester, he found him pinned on the ground, about to be finished by a sword hanging over his body. Jon was too far to intervene. Ghost was too far as well, but in no time he was on the man, reducing his throat to shreds. Mira's father used the opportunity to get back on his feet and resume the fight. Jon was there by this moment, dealing with the enemy as well. Two men, one with a horse, and a direwolf fighting amidst a sea of burning hearts. Soldiers with the fist of House Glover soon joined them, the Lord of Deepwood Motte at their head. A new balance of forces was settled, for now. Lord Glover approached Jon as he dealt with another knight.
"We must retreat. We won't hold longer."
"We cannot, we're surrounded," Jon shouted back.
"No, we have a way out."
He pointed to the northeast. Jon saw at this moment that there was a thin line of banners from river and northern lords, a corridor close to the line of fire that led out of it, without burning hearts to close it. Robb's banner was there. His brother must have sent all their forces to break the enemy's maneuver and give them a way out. Jon rapidly glanced around. It only took an instant to realize they had no chance of piercing Stannis's defenses. Retreat was indeed their only option.
He saw Lord Gregor, still fighting on his feet near the stake. The body of his son was all black. Anything that could be alive in Rodrik Forrester's body was gone.
"My lord." It was hard for Jon to approach the Lord of Ironrath enough so that he may hear him, but he did. "My lord, we must leave, or we will die."
Jon had to kill an infantryman who ran at him, then he finished a second one. In the meantime, Gregor Forrester looked at the remains of his son. When a third soldier tried to take on Jon, the Lord of Ironrath ended his life with a blow through the neck, right before another man pierced his own leg with his sword, getting a scream out of the lord. Jon repelled the soldier before he could end Lord Gregor's life and kept others at bay while Mira's father climbed onto his horse. Then they rode away from this sector, far from the enemy while other Northerners fought to keep them at bay.
Riding at full speed with two people in the midst of battle was far from ideal. Jon struggled to bring Gregor Forrester to safety. He went through the corridor his brother created, getting out of the trap Stannis Baratheon set for them.
"It's alright, my boy. I can do the rest on my feet. Go back to fight, there are others who need you."
Jon hesitated, but the look Lord Forrester sent forced him to obey. Heading back for the melee, he engaged the first enemy he came upon.
Jon saw their troops slowly retreating from the trap, escaping through the route Robb created. But many remained behind, holding the assailants to let their comrades get through the exit. Many fell, and many others escaped just in time. With their men within trap either dead or escaped, the trap disappeared to leave two armies fighting each other with all their forces, a barrier of flames still burning next to them. The fighting finally broke up when Stannis' troops retreated on their own and Robb chose to not force a counterattack.
In the evening, the camp was filled with screams and cries, of men injured, dead or dying. Jon wandered to the sections where the people of House Glover and their bannermen usually were. There were as many injured people as those still fit to fight. He found the Forresters among them, but Lord Gregor wasn't there. Anyway, he wasn't looking for him, at least not officially. He told Robb he would fetch Lord Glover because he thought he might see how Mira's father fared, but the priority was still to bring the Lord of Deepwood Motte to the command tent. They had to decide what to do after such a disaster.
A man finally indicated a corner between two tents. Jon found the two lords he was looking for. Galbart Glover was patting the shoulder of his friend. Jon knew that Gregor Forrester once was his squire. He earned such a position after defeating Lord Galbart in duel, which he said he would gladly lose again.
"Lord Glover. The king is requesting your presence. There's a war council."
"I'm coming." He turned to his friend. "Stay strong, Gregor. Your men need you."
As Lord Glover left his friend, Jon addressed him. "Lord Gregor, I'm sorry for Rodrik."
"Thank you, Jon."
All life seemed to have left his eyes. As they walked to the command pavilion, Jon asked Galbart Glover how the Lord of Ironrath was.
"He just watched his son burn alive. It would be very hard for anybody."
They arrived at their destination. The other lords were almost all there. Robb was just as dirty and miserable as Jon was. He approached close enough to whisper.
"How many men have we lost?" He feared the answer, and he almost regretted asking when Robb replied.
"Ten thousand. Half the men we had."
A lot of short chapters, but that amount to a sizeable section. Robb and Stannis are two great military commanders and any clash between them would be huge. I hope I delivered. Though I recognize I have kept a lot in store for future battles. The war is far from over.
Please review
Next chapter : Margaery
