Seventh Moon of 229 A.L, The Neck
Ser Alyn Longwaters
Drudgery and boredom often made men think of home when they were at war, that was something his father Ser Jon Waters often used to say, and it was something that Alyn was beginning to think did truly ring true now. He had been gone from King's Landing for nearly four moons now and not a day had gone by where he had not thought about his wife, or his children or even his father, aunt or grandmother. Alyn loved his wife Elaena deeply and he loved their two girls something fierce as well, he also loved his father Ser Jon the famous bastard son of Alyn Velaryon and Elaena Targaryen as well and remembered with some great fondness the nights spent in the Driftmark and at the Red Keep being regaled with tales of his father and grandfather's adventures during the course of their lives. His aunt and grandmother often joined in during such tales and brought much and more to them as well, all in all Alyn did have to admit that he had had a very good childhood, a safe one as well and he did deeply hope to be there to ensure that his own girls had a similarly safe childhood.
Of course being tasked with leading the army of the crownlands to war had proven somewhat more challenging, especially considering that it was now winter. Along the march to the north Alyn had stopped off at Riverrun where he had met with Lords Tully, Blackwood, Piper, Bracken and even Prince Aerion and they had discussed how they would be best served attacking the north and completing the task they had been given. The news that Lord Tully had given him had been dire indeed, Lord Mallister was dead, Walder Frey had been given a bloody nose and his brother was a prisoner, the Freys had lost more than half their men to the bog devils and the Cranongmen were not looking like they would give up though they themselves had lost half their numbers to an attack by Brandon Blacksnow. Once their discussions had ended they had decided upon a course of action Prince Aerion had volunteered to lead a probing force to tempt the cranongmen into action and once the fighting there had begun then more fighting would begin. As it was Alyn found himself waiting for that to happen, mounted on horseback, Lord Massey, Lord Bar Emmon and Ser Gareth Dalt of the Kingsguard by his side. "The prince is taking too long to bring the bog devils to where our archers could hit them. What is he doing?" Alyn fumed aloud.
Lord Bar Emmon looked at him a moment and then said. "What Prince Aerion does best, he is probably screaming at them that he is blood of the dragon and they must bow to him. I would not be surprised if half his host is already dead. The other half soon will be. Why did we allow the man to lead the probing host?"
Alyn sighed and said. "Because his grace was most insistent on doing so, and one has learnt never to deny a prince of the blood whatever it is they wish. Besides, he has fought in wars before, surely he cannot be as hopeless as we all think he is?" Alyn fervently prayed that he was correct.
Lord Massey spoke then his voice was soft and quiet. "Prince Aerion will do what must be done and nothing more. That much we all know is true. There is no point in worrying otherwise. He will deal with the Cranongmen how he sees fit, and if he has his wits about him he will stick to the plan. Otherwise we shall be seeing some very angry riverlords on our heels very soon."
Alyn was about to reply when the sound of hooves reached him, and soon enough the banner of House Targaryen came flapping into their line of sight. Alyn straightened up then and drew his sword out into the air, as they waited for the men to come closer he could see the bog devils chasing after them riding lizard lions, once they came into firing distance, Alyn raised his sword up into the air and then brought it down. At once, the arrows came whizzing into the air, some connected and killed the bog devils where they were running, and some caused enough chaos, for Alyn and his men to lead the charge through the neck.
The skirmishes lasted well into the night, fighting swinging and hacking and slashing, Alyn killed his fair share of men during the three skirmishes that took place before the sun went down. Prince Aerion was not seen, but Alyn found he cared little about the Prince. When the sun went down the bog devils withdrew and Lord Tully and Blackwood joined them to speak of the day's events. "They gave us a long hard battle." Lord Brynden Tully said. "They gave as good as they got, we lost more than half of our men to the swamps and to their trickery."
"Do you know what happened to Prince Aerion my lord?" Alyn asked. "The man was supposed to return at nightfall but none have seen him since the battle began."
It was Lord Bracken who spoke then his voice hoarse. "The fool went and got himself killed. Chasing after some bog devil who refused to do anything but fight."
Alyn was silent for a moment and then said. "Word shall need to be sent to King's Landing once all is said and done." A moment's silence then the lords nodded. In the morning they put that behind them, and marched for Moat Cailin, the bog devils did not bother them as they marched, but soon enough battle began once more. Arrows reigned fire down upon him and his men, and though Alyn's archers gave as good as they got, Alyn knew that most likely they would not win. As the gates of Moat Cailin howled open, and men came streaming out, Alyn drew his sword and began hacking and slashing at the men who came in his way.
On the fighting went, the tide of battle meaning Alyn gave as many blows as he got, and soon enough the whole of the land in front of the Moat was bathed red in blood. From what his men had told him during some of the brief lulls in battle what cranongmen had fled during the earlier battles had returned and were now picking of his men one by one. The tide of battle brought him before a man who looked like Artos Stark, and must have been Brandon Blacksnow, a fierce warrior. Alyn met the man in a clash of steel, swinging and hacking and swinging and hacking, on it went, on and on, swinging and hacking , swinging and hacking. On and on they fought, breaking each other down to size, until, Alyn felt the blade pierce his armour, and his vision went dark as blood came spurting out of his chest. On the fourth day of the seventh month of the 229th year after Aegon's Landing Ser Alyn Longwaters died and with him the hosts of the Crownlands and Riverlands were either killed or died trying to flee.
Ninth Month of 229 A.L.: Tyrosh
Ser Aegor Rivers
The sound of steel on steel as the men fought and trained was music to his ears. This was what he was, a warrior born and bred. He was not meant for the floweriness of court, nor the intrigues of King's Landing though he could play the game as well as any of his trueborn brethren and certainly as well as that snake Bloodraven. He preferred battle where one knew what was what. Though it seemed the gods had conspired to keep him away from his goal, his pledge to Daemon, his loyalty to his brother, had been a source of great pride and pain during his life. The previous rebellions had seen his over confidence exposed, the first one they should have won had it not been for the kinslayer they would be in King's Landing and the Targaryens would be dead and rotting, or at least the falseborn's line would be. The second rebellion, well it had not been a rebellion itself, the boy Daemon had named for himself had left without Aegor's permission trying to bring glory to his name, he had failed and when he had been assassinated Aegor had shed no tears and had happily named Haegon the new King. Haegon had been everything Daemon had been, a warrior, charming and capable, that beyond a doubt. But they had lost when Aegor's own army had been smashed by Donnor Stark on the banks of the Hook, that had cost them and now Haegon was dead and it was now his son by Daella Targaryen Baelon who held the crown.
Baelon Blackfyre, the son of Haegon and Daella, the grandson of Maekar Targaryen, oh how that thought made Aegor laugh, he could imagine his nephew grating his teeth thinking about it. That the girl had died the way she had was unfortunate, he had come to like her in his own way, but still Baelon seemed to have the best of both his parents in him. He was brilliant with all weapons but Blackfyre especially, and he had his mother's charm and niceness, a skill that had won him many friends and admirers and from what he could tell many a woman, even though he was but thirteen years old. Aegor was proud of the lad and thought he would most definitely make a great warrior and perhaps even a great King when the time came. Of course they needed to know how things stood in Westeros before their plans were finalized. Which was why he had called a meeting of the generals, these were men who were hardened by a hundred battles and whose loyalty was to the boy who sat to Aegor's right. Ser Jon Storm bastard cousin of Lord Baratheon, Ser Loren Hill bastard son of the current Lord of Casterly Rock. Ser Dermont Reyne the golden lion, Ser Morris Peake, and finally Ser Rodrik Stout a northman who fought better than anyone Aegor had ever seen even Daemon. "Well Sers, we are here, the Archon of Tyrosh has been so kind as to give us news from Westeros. It seems that the north has fallen into civil war following the deaths of Willam and Artos Stark. Their brothers Donnor, Brandon and Errold have all declared themselves the rightful lords of Winterfell and as such have divided the northern houses between them. There have been many battles between their factions and so far it appears Donnor Stark is winning though his brother Brandon still has most of his strength intact. The throne has also responded to this, by sending a host under Ser Alyn Longwaters to attack Moat Cailin, Alyn was killed and his men were as well. Lord Tully was killed and his riverlords fled south again, though their numbers were greatly reduced. This chaos could be what we need to give us a chance to take Westeros."
Ser Jon smart as ever asked. "I take it you mean to use the chaos in the north to seek an alliance with whomever it is that might have command over half of Westeros as the end of it all my lord?"
Aegor nodded. "Aye allying with the Lord of Winterfell whoever that might be at the end of this conflict, I do believe is now our only chance of getting the true king on the throne. The Targaryens have the support of the other great houses, and our support base is weak. But should we get the support of the Lord of Winterfell and the north, then we have 45,000 men there waiting for us should we call on them."
Ser Loren spoke then. "Allying with Donnor Stark might seem a smart move now, considering he is the one who holds most of the north in his pocket now."
Aegor was about to speak when Ser Rodrik spoke. "Allying with Donnor would be nothing but counterproductive sers. Donnor wants nothing to do with the Iron Throne, I can guarantee you that once we give him help he will use it and then kill us all as he declares himself King in the North. No, declaring for Donnor will give us nothing, besides the man broke our host the last time we invaded, allying with him would grate on too many nerves. Errold is a green boy who is too arrogant to see what advantages we could bring him he will demand more than is just and fair."
"So whom do you suggest we ally with?" Aegor asked.
Stout was silent a moment before he said. "Brandon Stark my lord. The man is practical and pragmatic, he will bend on issues if he thinks they will benefit his subjects and family. Offer him support to take Winterfell and the North and he will help you place King Baelon on the throne. Offer him terms and he will consider and accept."
Aegor was silent a moment and then he said. "Very well, if you think Brandon Stark would be the right man for this then I shall go with your advice. I shall send terms to him, our aid in taking Winterfell and the north in return for his aid in taking the throne for Baelon. Once he sits in Winterfell, we shall discuss fairer trade deals and more incentive for the north to become rich."
Ser Rodrik nods and Aegor has the terms sent out that very day, hopefully this should go well and he can finally return home, to Shiera and to the loves he had thought beyond him.