The sound of sword clashing rung across the yard. Men gathered, circling the two that fought. The talons of the raven came at the grey dragon hard, and the dragon dodged and blocked them with ease. When the fangs of the dragon came in hard, the raven expertly dodged. The men, wolves, the silver fists, the flayed, the white sunburst, the roaring giants and the bears all watched, eager to know just how good their king was in battle. And so far they liked what they saw. Their Lords and Ladies watched from afar, each of them looking with varying expressions of pleasure. One of them was louder than the rest, but all felt the same thing. The end of the clash came when the raven's talons fell and the dragon's fangs stopped right at his neck.
"You've gotten better" Brynden commented, a pleased look on his face.
"I should be, with how much I've been pushed these couple of weeks" Jon muttered, a flushed look and a grin on his face. Till now both Jon and Brynden had been taking it easy. But that did not mean that they were slacking in any way. Till now the aim was for Jon to get used to his body, grow with it and slowly get his old skills back. He remembered all he learned, it was always a matter of getting his body adjusted to them. But now, they were going further, polishing the skills he'd remastered, learning new things.
Jon pulled his sword back from Brynden's neck and sheathed it, the raven picking his up and putting it back in his sheath. The dragon's eyes met the alpha of the wolves and they shared a smile.
"Breakfast has been served, your Grace" Ned Stark informed the young King and Jon nodded his head. The men parted when Jon made his way to The Great Hall with Brynden at his heels. They bowed to him and wished him a good morning. Jon wished them back with a smile, internally feeling a little awkward. These same men not too long ago saw him as their equal and treated him as such. Now they bowed to him. It felt a little surreal to him.
The Lord's Solar
Breakfast had been a quiet affair. The Stark family was joined by the Lords, Ladies and Master that had arrived at sunrise. Their men were gathered outside the castle, a majority of their armies. Deepwood Motte, The Dreadfort, Karhold and The Last Hearth had come while the plan for the rest was to gather at Moat Cailin and fortify it in case anyone dared to attack before their march down South could begin. They had all answered Jon's call.
"Ravens from Claw Isle, Stonedance and Driftmark" Maester Luwin began once Jon had urged him to speak. "Their Lords write that their ancestors were the first to lend Aegon the Conqueror support when he began his conquest. They are of Valyrian descent like their ancestors and they swear allegiance to House Targaryen that is kin to them" the master handed the ravens to Jon, who read it and then passed it to the rest of the nobles in the room.
"Any other houses from the Crownlands?" Daenerys asked, her voice gentle. The fealty of these houses had made her feel hopeful that more houses would flock to The Targaryen Banner once it flew. But the hope was dashed when the maester shook his head.
"They are too close and not as strong to openly rebel as these three, I fear Princess" Roose Bolton spoke in his usual quiet tone.
"Any word from The Night's Watch?" Jon questioned and the Maester shook his head. "I see," the King mumbled softly. He motioned for Maester Luwin to sit and looked to Brynden to begin his report. Jon always kept the old Maester close. He was a wise man and his input, when it came, was always welcomed by him.
"The Lannister men at the capital and the remaining crownland men are being stationed around the capital and are preparing to defend any attacks from Renly or Stannis. The Lannister men from Casterly Rock have sent most of its number to back the capital while a smaller but significant fraction are still harassing The Riverlands. Tywin Lannister has left the Riverlands men under the command of his son while he rides for the capital. He has been elected Hand of King and was summoned by Joffrey."
"Not a surprise" spoke Rickard Karstark, "the man is a tactical genius and served as Hand to Aerys himself once."
"Aye," Jon muttered softly, "what of the two Baratheon forces?" the King questioned.
"Renly's forces at the moment sit still and hold tourneys and feasts in The Reach. The Tyrell Forces and The Stormland forces back him, making his army the strongest amongst our enemies."
"So he's just sitting on his ass and holding feasts and tourneys? No attacks or anything?" The Greatjon asked, surprise colouring his face.
"He's making his way slowly down the rose road, but that is what he is doing yes" Brynden nodded his head. "They have blocked passage for any food that would be making way to Kingslanding."
"So they plan to starve The Capital out" Jon muttered, his chin resting on his hands. "And if he's holding feasts and tourneys, I assume he's been recruiting knights that take part in his army?"
"And garnering the favours from Houses in The Reach" Brynden added. "He's making his own Kingsguard in honour of The Seven. He calls them his rainbow guard. Ser Loras Tyrell is commander."
"Expected, his sister is Renly's queen" Ned stated. But little did he know the real reason for such an appointment, other than for skill of course.
"And what of Stannis?" Lady Maege Mormont questioned.
"He's declared his own kingship on Dragonstone and declared Joffrey, Myrcella and Tommen as bastards of incest from Cersei and Jaime. He has the smallest army, standing at about two thousand men from House Florent. He has also hired the help of the pirate lord Salladhor Saan for his cause. The man brings a fleet of thirty ships with him."
"Our priority would be to free The Riverlands" Jon declared right as Brynden finished his reports. "They are our kin through Lady Stark and they have suffered long enough. Let the men know that we march for The Riverlands before noon. Maester Luwin, send a raven to Moat Cailin and let them know of our plans."
"At once your Grace" Maester Luwin bowed before leaving.
"How has the training of our men gone?" Jon asked.
"I'd say they have gotten better at working as a unit in formations over brute strength. Especially the men that came from the capital. They were a little too eager about joining this battle against Joffrey. They did not like the royal family much" Lord Stark explained, something mimicked by the others present. It was an order that Jon gave the last time they had all gathered at Winterfell when Jon had declared his claim for the throne.
"My host of Long Bowmen have a long way to go still. But we have some good men in there that have been spurring the rest to move forward" Brynden added. Jon gave him a nod in acknowledgement. The Long Bowmen was another idea that Brynden had and Jon had told him to go through with it. Theon and Anguy were two that learned fast, and their smug attitude grated the rest enough for them to try and silence the two.
"With the three houses from The Crownlands pledging to us, it allows us to leave a little more back home to defend when we aren't here" Jon stated. "How many men in total do we have?"
"The North has fifty thousand men ready for war" Brynden answered. "The Houses Celtigar, Massey and Velaryon bring with them three thousand men. Which brings our number to fifty-three thousand strong."
"Does this number include the Skaagos?" Jon asked and Brynden shook his head. "Good. That's a strong number we have. We will march with forty-five thousand of our men and leave the rest to defend our lands. Especially our shores in case The Ironborn get any ideas."
"Your worry is unfounded, your Grace" Robb spoke for the first time in the meeting. "Send Theon to sit with his father and he'll bring the Ironborn to our side."
"No" Jon's blunt refusal surprised Robb so much that he stumbled in his seat. "Balon Greyjoy is not a man that will want to side with us, let alone bend the knee to me. No, he's a man who remembers the insults he felt in the last rebellion and a man who follows the old way of The Greyjoy. He will be of no use to us."
"Surely you're exaggerating" Robb's tone was not something liked by the others present barring Brynden. A look from Ned made Robb aware that he was talking to his King at the moment. "What I mean your Grace is that Theon is his last surviving son. Surely he would reconsider for him."
"Balon Greyjoy is not Ned Stark, Robb" Jon told him simply. "That man will not kneel no matter who asks him to" Jon spoke and Robb dipped his head. The tone meant that Jon would not argue with him any longer. "Dismissed then, prepare your men for battle my Lords, Lady and Master. We ride today."
"I had hoped that more of the crownlands would pledge to us," Daenerys said once the room had been emptied barring Jon and her. "That The Tyrells at the least would remember that it was House Targaryen who put them as Wardens of The South."
"I had hoped as much" Jon sighed, moving over to his seated aunt and gently rubbing her shoulders. "I had hoped that with my declaration and your show of support, they'd flock to our side. But it seems we've underestimated their ambitions. We'll just have to remind them of their place."
"With Fire and Blood?" Daenerys asked with an odd glint in her eyes.
"With Fire and Blood" Jon confirmed, a hard look in his eyes.