Andrew
The Lord of Riverrun was a big man; tall and broad even in that age. His face was hard and his hair and beard had gone grey. Lord Hoster Tully looked worn and tired, battered by battle and haggard from strain. His neck was bandaged where he had taken a wound. His breastplate was scratched and dented from battle, his blue-and-red cloak stained by blood and smoke. He waited for Andrew at the yard of his castle. His lords waited with him and his guards as well. From the sandstone walls of the castle, soldiers and servants shouted down his name, and his father's, and "Winterfell!" King Eddard was well known in Riverrun but his son was not. He was pretty much sure that most of them was here only to see if he was real, to see if the Legend of the Born King was indeed true.
From every rampart waved the banner of House Tully: a leaping trout, silver, against a rippling blue-and-red field. Lord Hoster was flanked by his son and heir. Ser Edmure Tully was a stocky young man with a shaggy head of auburn hair and a fiery beard. At his side stood the Lord Tytos Blackwood, a hard pike of a man with close-cropped salt-and-pepper whiskers and a hook nose. His bright yellow armor was inlaid with jet in elaborate vine-and-leaf patterns, and a cloak sewn from raven feathers draped his thin shoulders. It had been Lord Tytos who led the sortie that broke the back of Garlan Tyrell's shieldwall.
Andrew cantered past the smallfolk and guards gathered to see him as he rode down his column on his way back inside Riverrun. The Greatjon flanked him on the right while Karstark followed him on the right. Ser Beric and his brotherhood followed him next and then his bannermen. Behind them came the men who'd put the castle under siege a week ago, all bound in chains and barred in the wagons.
"Lord Hoster," Andrew said. He dismounted and his men all followed after him.
"King Andrew," Lord Hoster replied.
Three men quickly came and took the horses away. When Ghost bounded out beside him, one of them dropped the reigns of his horse and lurched back, stumbling and sitting down abruptly in the yard. The horse whinnied and reared. The others laughed, and the man got a sheepish look on his face. Andrew quickly caught the reigns and calmed down the horse, rubbing its long neck. He gave the reigns up to the man when he got up and patted him on the back, smiling.
"Thank you for coming to our rescue, my lord," the Lord of Riverrun said. "Riverrun is in your debt."
Andrew smiled at the man. "There's no need for that, my lord," he replied. "My father always said that we find true friends in our battlefield. So thank you for declaring for me."
Hoster Tully had forsaken Rhaegar the moment the tales of his arrival had started to spread from Winterfell. And it was for that reason the King on the Iron Throne had the Riverlands burned. He was the reason they were being held up in siege the first place and Andrew had not wanted to leave them to the Targaryen mercy. His father had never left an ally behind, so he shall not do so as well.
"I heard that Lord Arryn was already here, my Lord," Andrew continued while his men started bringing in the prisoners they had taken in the battle.
"Jon Arryn is here, yes," Hoster Tully replied. "We've sent boats to ferry them across the river to Riverrun. They will be here soon."
Andrew nodded.
The Lord of Riverrun eyed him once again, a surprised look passing over his hard features. "I didn't know your father as well as I knew your uncle or grandfather," he said, "but you do resemble him a lot."
"I hear that a lot," Andrew chuckled. "And I've brought some of your bannermen who couldn't make it in time to Riverrun when you called your banners." He turned around towards the men who had followed him. "Lord Jason and Ser Stevron," Andrew called and the two men stepped forward and bowed their heads to their liege lord.
"My lord," said Lord Jason Mallister, "we tried to come as soon as we got your letter. But the journey wasn't an easy one."
"Let that go, Jason," Lord Tully said with a smile. "You're here now. That's all that matters now."
Lord Tully's smile quickly faded when he saw Ser Stevron Frey. "Ser Stevron," he said curtly. "I do not see your Lord father here."
It was more of a statement than a question. Andrew watched as Ser Stevron looked at him for any support and then turned away to face Lord Hoster while Andrew nodded.
"The fighting days of my father is done, my lord," Stevron Frey said to Hoster Tully. "But he's sent his men with his grace under my command."
"Well, at least you came," Hoster Tully said.
"Do you have any word on Lord Robert?" Andrew asked.
Lord Hoster shook his head, frowning. "We have had no bird from Storm's End after the fall of Griffin's Roost," he said. "He would already be on his way here, I'm sure."
Andrew nodded wondering if that was the truth of it. He did not know where Robert or his army was or if they were even coming North. He just hoped that nothing bad has happened to them. The Targaryen dragons still circled the sky and as long as they did so, none of his friends and allies are safe.
A man ran across the yard and stopped before them. "Lord Arryn is coming, my lord."
Hoster Tully nodded. "Lord Jon Arryn is here," he told Andrew. "Would you accompany me in receiving him, my Lord?"
"Of course," Andrew said at once. "Lead the way."
The northmen and the riverlords joined after that as Andrew and Lord Hoster walked together before them. Past friendships grew back and the day filled with laughter and tales of old battles and new.
"Here this way, your grace." Lord Hoster escorted him from the yard and across a hallway. As they pushed through a door between two guardsmen in fish-crest helms, the Lord of Riverrun asked, "When I heard word of you from the North, I had thought it to be a jape. Even now that you're standing before me, I could scarce believe my eyes. How did you escape from the dragon's claws?"
Andrew looked at him with a sad smile. "This life is given to us by our parents, isn't it? In my case, they gave life for me twice, even at the cost of their own."
Lord Hoster's look was somber. "We tried so hard to get the bodies back," he said. "Rhaegar would never have any of it."
A blind rage filled him as he heard it again. His father would never have condemned even his bitter enemy to such fate. "And he shall pay for it," he said. "I will make him pay for it."
They climbed the spiral stair in silence.
The keep was three-sided as well, like Riverrun itself. They crossed the lower bailey and down the water stair which brought them to the river. Boats large and small were tied up all around the stairs, secured to iron rings set in the stone.
They waited there for a moment and a few boats soon came around the corner, crossing the Tumblestone. They came closer slowly, the oars of the small boats cutting the water gracefully.
Andrew could see the people on the boat as they came closer. Lord Jon Arryn sat in the bow with a young man who seemed to be his son and heir. He easily recognized Lord Arryn though. With his white hair and beard salted grey, the Lord of the Eyrie still looked strong and proud. His very bearing commanded respect. His hand was resting on his sword on his lap as the rowers pulled at their oars. Ser Brynden Tully was with him along with Lord Yohn Royce. He remembered all of them from his childhood, all of them friends and allies of his father.
They shot down the Tumblestone. The strong current pushed them past the looming WheelTower. The splash and rumble of the great waterwheel echoed the sound of the oars splashing and creaking. The banners of House Arryn flew from the tip of the lances the guards in the stern of the boats.
Below the WheelTower, they made a wide turn and knifed through the churning water. The oarsmen put their backs into it. The boats passed under the wide arch of the Water Gate and came into the full view of Andrew and his companions. He heard the creak of heavy chains as the Tully men winched the great iron portcullis upward. It rose slowly as the boats approached, and Andrew saw that the lower half of it was red with rust. The bottom foot dripped brown mud on the men on the boats as they passed underneath, the barbed spikes mere inches above the heads of the guardsmen who stood on the boat.
They passed beneath the arch and under the walls. Slowly the oarsmen brought the boats to the stairs and the men started to climb out.
Andrew walked down the steps along with Lord Hoster to welcome them.
"Lord Arryn, it's always good to see you my lord," Hoster Tully said and embraced the man. Andrew let the old friends make their greetings and waited.
"Thank you for riding to our rescue," the Lord of Riverrun said when they pulled away.
"It is my duty to help my friends and family Lord Hoster," Jon Arryn said and then eyed Andrew near Hoster Tully. Arryn froze at once and then looked at him with wide eyes. "Ned," he murmured hoarsely but then got his senses back. "Forgive me, my Lord, but you do look like your father a lot."
Andrew smiled at the man and extended his arm out but Lord Arryn hugged him fiercely. "I hope you remember me, Andrew," he said when they pulled away. "You were only a little boy in your mother's arms when I last saw you."
"I remember you very well, Lord Arryn," Andrew said at once. "You were like a father to my father and you brought gifts for me every time you came to Winterfell." He meant what he said. He remembered most of the men. Men who were friends of his father. He'd seen most of them when he had been a little boy, but he couldn't remember all of them. Those who had been a family to Eddard Stark, he remembered them very well.
Lord Arryn smiled sadly and placed his hand on his shoulder. He had deep blue eyes and shoulder length hair which had turned white. "You don't know how much it gladdens me to see that you're alive," Jon Arryn said. "That some part of Ned is still alive."
Andrew idly remembered the words of Maester Walys. The old maester had told him how his mother had saved him for a purpose. Perhaps this is why I'm here now, even after the deaths of his mother and father. Perhaps this is why Queen Ashara had saved him. Maybe he is here to take on their legacy. He still had their memory and the family they had left for him. Despite everything happened, Andrew Stark hadn't lost his family like he had thought.
"Aye, we all are," said Lord Yohn Royce. "Your father was a good man, your grace. Your mother as well. We haven't forgotten them."
"Thank you, my lord," Andrew said. He looked at the man and nodded once. Lord Yohn was wearing his broze armour engraved with runes. His mother once told him that the armour protected the wearer from getting hurt. Andrew remembered asking her for a similar armour then. Smiling, Ashara Dayne had promised him to get him one. He grew sad as the memory crept in.
Beside him Lord Hoster embraced his brother and grandson. "I feared you would not come, Brynden," he told Brynden Tully.
"Black fish or no, I am still a Tully," Brynden Tully said, smiling. He had a craggy face, deeply lined and windburnt beneath a shock of stiff grey hair, but Andrew could still see the great knight his father had told him about.
"I ought to never forget that." Lord Hoster then eyed at his grandson and laughed. "Robert," he said. "You have made your grandfather proud."
"I'm pleased to have done so my lord," Robert Arryn said.
"I watched it all from my balcony," Hoster Tully smiled. "The fires, the waves of steel and everything."
"We had some help."
"Of course," Tully said. "I did see King Andrew and his men as well."
Andrew nodded. He then turned towards Lord Arryn. "So Lord Arryn, do any of my men ride with you to Riverrun?" He asked. "I sent part of my army to hold the Crossroads Ford for you."
"Aye, they ride with us," Lord Jon said. "We found them in the Crossroads fighting the Targaryens for the command of the Trident. Though by the Seven we arrived in time to help them. They are riding with my knights across the river as we speak, your Grace."
Andrew nodded wondering if his men were all safe, more importantly if his friend Asher was safe. Andrew Stark had lost a lot in his life and he was not willing to lose his friend as well. He hoped Asher was safe.
"Perhaps we ought to take the conversation inside, my lords," Lord Hoster suggested.
Andrew wanted to wait for his men to finally get back to him. But he knew that there were more pressing matters at hand to discuss about. The war was still not over and there might a dragon prowling nearby. He could get back to them once they reach Riverrun.
He nodded. Hoster Tully lead the way and Lord Jon Arryn fell in beside him. Andrew followed them as they walked back to the castle. As they left the Water Stair most of the ships had already made it to the stairs and the lords of the Vale started to sought out their friends from the North and the Riverlands.
"I did not see Tyrell anywhere last night," said Lord Jon Arryn as they passed through the guards at the door guarding Hoster Tully's solar. "Did we manage to catch him?"
Lord Hoster's solar was triangular as well, with a stone balcony that jutted out to the east like the prow of some great sandstone ship. From there the lord of the castle could look down on his walls and battlements, and beyond, to where the waters met.
The brazier in Lord Tully's solar filled the room with a ruddy heat. Lord Hoster called for a guard. "Wine for His grace and Lord Arryn." The guard bowed and left to do the bidding of his lord.
"Garlan Tyrell has been given a cell in the dungeons," Hoster Tully turned to Lord Arryn. "He would be settling in his new rooms as of now."
"Good," Lord Arryn said. "He might make a valuable hostage." He placed his helm on the table before him and pushed his fingers through his hair where the weight of the steel had crushed it down. "We've heard word of Oldtown on our way here. Lord Leyton has declared for his granddaughter's family."
"Lord Leyton?" Andrew asked surprised. He had almost forgotten about the family he had at Oldtown. His mother's family. Lord Leyton Hightower was his mother's grandfather and his mother had told him a lot of stories about her mother and Oldtown.
Andrew hadn't even known if Lord Leyton was alive. He was glad to know that he was alive though. And he had declared for him, for a grandson he barely knew. The thought made him smile, knowing that his family had not been forgotten. As always though the graver thoughts crept in. "Has there been a battle in Oldtown?"
"Aye," Lord Arryn admitted. "The Royal fleet is no more, thanks to the Hightowers. Rhaegar actually got what he served your father in Starfall."
The royal fleet is destroyed. That might give them the edge in the war. Without a fleet to defend his seas, Andrew could effectively use his own fleet to strike deep at Dragonstone or King's Landing itself. He might want to send a letter to Lord Manderly to take the entire northern fleet to the seas, along with the Quiet Wolf and the Lady of the Stars. The loss of the royal fleet would serve him well.
"With the power of Oldtown behind us, we might keep Mace Tyrell and his reachmen busy in the Reach." Lord Jon's gaze turned towards Andrew's face. "Were you the one to attack Rhaegar in Braavos, Andrew?"
"It was me," Andrew admitted.
Jon Arryn frowned. "Did you know that you killed Tywin Lannister's son?"
Andrew knew that. He still remembered the Kingsguard knight he had fought that day in Braavos. He had been Joy's cousin. Joy had told him about the knight. Andrew remembered her telling him the name. Was it James... or Gwayne? Jaime, yes, it was Jaime, Jaime Lannister. "I never knew who that was when he fought me," Andrew said. Even if he had known who he were, it wouldn't have changed a thing though. But he left that unsaid.
Lord Jon sighed. "If Tywin Lannister knows that you killed his precious heir, I would not be so hopeful about getting his support further in the war."
"Won't he support us, Jon?" Hoster Tully asked. "He is tied to Robert Baratheon. If Lord Robert joins us then it brings Lord Tywin as well."
Jon Arryn frowned and walked across the room. "Tywin is not that kind of a man," he said. "I've wrote to him in a way... that would make him declare for us but I don't know for how long."
A servant brought the wine for them, serving them on a silver platter. Andrew took a cup. "I heard that there was a battle at Stoney Sept," he said sipping the wine.
Lord Hoster shrugged. "More like the battle of burning sept. Lord Tywin's forces tried to take Stoney Sept and block the way for Aegon Targaryen's forces from getting further into the Riverlands." Lord Hoster leaned forward and rested his hands on the table. "The battle was a bloody affair people say, men from both armies fighting from everywhere. It was only when the prince of Dragonstone arrived on his dragon and burned everything to the ground, the battle ended. Thanks to the Lannisters' intervention, we're not having a dragon flying over Riverrun."
"Tywin Lannister will keep the boy and his dragon busy," Jon Arryn said. "We only have to help him as long as Robert arrives."
"So what we wait until Lord Robert arrives?" Hoster Tully poured himself some wine from the flagon.
"Do you have a better idea, my lord?" Lord Arryn said. "We can't face the dragons on the field."
The dragons, thought Andrew. He knew that the beasts would be the biggest problem they would face. Sooner or later they would come to face against them and when that happens it would be nothing but blood and fire waiting for them. The thought sent a chill down his back. Andrew could still remember the destruction Jaehaerys' dragon had done to Winterfell. He had to take them out, somehow.
"Giving them time will give them the opportunity to regroup, Jon," said Hoster Tully. "We ought to strike them hard and fast, while they are still coping with their losses."
"And what do you propose we do when the Targaryens let loose their dragons? We ought to take them down, Hoster. If we could do that, then the war is good as done."
"Lord Arryn is right," said Andrew. "I have seen what those beasts can do. It's better to find a way to take them out of the skies before you march against them."
"But how to do it anyway?"
Jon Arryn frowned. "I don't know." He eyed deeply into his cup, looking at the red depths of the wine as if the answer was there. "But we will work out something."
We should, thought Andrew. And quickly as well. He didn't know how long they would be able to evade the dragons. Andrew doubted they could do it for so long. When they do, they should be prepared though.
A knock at the door interrupted them.
"Come in," Lord Hoster said and a guard opened the door and entered the solar.
"The rest of the Arryn army is here, my lord," the guard said.
"Very well," Lord Hoster said. "We'll be there."
The guard bowed and left.
"So we wait for Lord Robert here?" Tully asked after the guard left.
"Yes," Jon Arryn answered. "We keep the dragons busy and then link up with Robert. Once he is here, when get done with the wedding and make the further plans."
"The wedding?" Hoster Tully asked, confused.
Andrew know full well which wedding Lord Arryn was talking about. The thought of Joy pressed hard on his heart. He still dreamed of her, her beautiful face, her gleaming golden hair and the soft green eyes. Sometimes his dreams were so vivid that he felt her beside him. He could hear her voice, feel her touch and even her kisses and the warmth of her body until he wakes up in the dark, cold and alone.
He turned to see Jon Arryn eyeing him with his blue eyes. He could see the old man's sharp eyes searching his face for any doubt or disappointment that he might show there. "I'll honour my father's word," Andrew said at last. He was his father's son and he will honour his oaths.
"I know this might be hard for you," Lord Arryn said placing his hand on his shoulder, "but this marriage would help us greatly."
Andrew sighed and nodded.
"Very well then," Hoster Tully said. "Shall we go receive our friends?"
With that they left the solar to meet with the Knights of the Vale and Asher.