I believe that this chapter can run concurrent with 'GOT Catelyn VIII', when she and the Blackfish unite with Robb at Moat Caillin. We have an Olyvar POV, as we watch the young Lord of the Vale wait for the rest of his army to amass. Enjoy.
Disclaimer: I do not own nor do I claim any ideas, places, or characters from the 'A Song of Ice and Fire' series. Cheers
He stood at the opening of his tent, overlooking the vast fields that would lead them into the Riverlands. It felt like a lifetime ago since he had traversed the Kingsroad back down to King's Landing with his uncle and cousins. He had admired the beauty of the rivers that ran through the appropriately named region, but now detested them after being informed of the obstacles they would pose.
Damnit all. It had been a week since Olyvar had called his bannermen to the defense of his grandfather's lands, and they had only assembled less than half of the near sixteen thousand that Lord Royce had estimated would join them, encamped at the base of a mountain off of the high road to avoid being detected just yet. Both men, as well as the rest of his commanders, knew that they could not face Tywin Lannister with such a small force.
"My Lord." Lord Royce approached him, flanked by his son Andar, another commander in Olyvar's army. "The Hunters have arrived. They have brought a thousand foot soldiers, and two thousand archers."
"Good, we will need them." Olyvar had heard how the Hunters had the best archers the Vale could offer. If they were going to compete with Tywin Lannister, they would need to have the range advantage. It was his first time going to war, and although he had commanders such as Yohn Royce, Olyvar still felt nervous.
"You seem troubled, my lord." Yohn said with a hint of concern. "Does the issue that occurred back at the Eyrie still plague you?"
"It's more than that, but yes that's one of the principal things that have haunted my thoughts as of late." By the time of his arrival, the Eyrie was in a great deal of turmoil. His mother had rejected the calls from his uncle Edmure, something which the Blackfish had been none too pleased with. When he saw her, she was sitting in his chair, Robert on her knee as she was entertaining a number of lords who were vying to be her suitor. It had angered him to see that his mother was more concerned with finding another husband than to defend her family.
"Was I too brash, Lord Royce? Were my words too full of venom?"
"From the words your lady aunt, Maester Colemon and the Blackfish spoke of regarding the occurrences in the Vale during your absence, you were justified in your actions." Olyvar thought back when his mother had tried to greet him with pretty words, only to become hostile and defensive when he had chastised her for not defending her family. When he informed her that he had overturned her ruling and called his men to arms, she had attempted to regain control by asserting that Olyvar was not well and told the guards take him to his quarters. The guards, however, did not answer her call when Olyvar threw them a daring gaze.
He was angered by his mother's ridiculous actions, but what had infuriated him was when his younger brother Robert began reaching for his mother's breast. To his shock and outrage, his mother openly fed the boy in front of everyone, no shame on her face or in her voice as she explain herself. My Sweetrobin must eat. Yes, there you go sweetling. From there, Olyvar could not remember all of what he had said, but remembered that he demanded his mother be separated from Robert and held in her apartment until he returned to the Eyrie.
Mother?! The screams of his brother haunted his memory of the ordeal, as Lysa Arryn cursed Olyvar for separating them. Then, the shaking began. Robert's little body began to slip out of his control as he shook harder and harder on his own, unresponsive to Olyvar's pleas for him to calm down. Eventually, Maester Colemon had taken him to his own chambers, giving him a particular medicine that helped control the shaking.
"The business in the Vale will be sorted out upon my return." Olyvar drove the memory from the front of his mind, running his hand through his hair. "That is not our primary concern at the moment. The Lannisters have an advantage on us. They are organized, and they have hostages." The first letter had come from King's Landing, addressed to his mother instead of himself. Another slight. In it, it stated a revelation that changed their present situation. King Robert was dead, succeeded by Joffrey with Cersei ruling as Queen Regent. The next letter had come a few days later, in which it declared his uncle, Lord Eddard, a traitor, and that the Starks, Arryns and Tullys were commanded to tip their banners and swear fealty to Joffrey.
The worst part of the letter was that it was in Sansa's handwriting.
Does she love Joffrey so much that she would betray her family? Olyvar attempted to drive the thoughts out of his head. No, you fool. She's a hostage. She's being used. "Lord Arryn." Yohn's voice drew his thoughts away from Sansa. "We have to discuss what your thoughts are on our current strategy."
"What do you mean?" Olyvar asked, a bit of annoyance in his voice. "We are gathering our forces, going to fight Tywin and liberate the lands of my grandfather."
"And when Stannis finally calls upon you, as he said he would?" Yohn raised an eyebrow. "We are still a ways from King's Landing, my lord. And dealing with the Lannisters in the Riverlands will prove time consuming."
"Stannis can make due with the Stormlands until we expel the lions from the home of my grandfather. We must lift the siege of Riverrun and make sure the Lannisters don't take further control. Is there any word from Robb?" He had kept constant ravens with his cousin on their respective positions. Robb's last letter had come just south of Winterfell, stating that he was marching for Moat Caillin, a fort just above the Neck.
"None, my lord. But your aunt said that when she reached the fort she would make sure to inform you of the North's plan."
"If the maps are right, there's no way they cross the Trident anywhere but the Twins. Walder Frey's domain." Olyvar knew that his voice reflected his mistrust in the old man. Ancient and even more toothless than his own father had been, the stories of Walder Frey's reliability, or lack of, had not gone unheard by his ears.
"Aye, he's not an easy man to negotiate with, that one." Andar voiced his own mistrust of the Lord of the Twins. "Gods know what he will demand of them. Him and his damn tolls."
"Regardless of what Lord Stark does, we must act once our full forces arrive." Yohn declared. The Vale had been experiencing inclement weather since the ravens were sent, and that in combination with the mountain paths throughout the Vale made it difficult for the lords to arrive with their soldiers in a timely matter. Without the weather, all of the houses would have likely made it by now. "I suggest we send scouts forward, and attempt to take the Ruby Ford should the enemy be on the western side of the Trident. It would prevent Tywin Lannister's forces from crossing in the south, keeping them on the western half of the Trident."
"We will have to speak with all of the lords when they arrive." Olyvar knew that it was a sound strategy that his general had advised him of, and that the rest of the Vale lords would approve of it. What he was more concerned about was convincing them that they were going to war in the name of Stannis Baratheon. Olyvar knew that Stannis was not the most popular man in all of Westeros, and convincing them of his claim being rightful would be difficult. "Any word from the Eyrie?"
"Maester Colemon has assumed the regency and is working alongside Lord Nestor just as we planned. Colemon has also taken over guardianship of your younger brother, and is attempting to cure whatever ails the boy." Olyvar nodded to Yohn before returning his gaze to the fields. He would have liked to send Robert to either Stannis or to Winterfell, but both were ruled out as options. Winterfell was too cold for Robert now, and Olyvar would not risk his younger brother's abduction whilst sailing to Dragonstone.
"Any word about my mother?"
"Nothing for you ears to hear or your eyes to see, my young lord." Olyvar hung his head as he heard the words come from Yohn Royce's mouth. He felt the man put his hand on Olyvar's shoulder. "I'm sorry, my lord."
"Lord Arryn!" A shout came from the back of their tent, and as Olyvar turned he saw that a young soldier was rushing up to them. "Lord Arryn! House Belmore has come to your aid. They have brought four thousand men! Lord Belmore seeks an audience."
"Wonderful. Go back and send him then." Lord Belmore was a man that his father had spoken highly of. Olyvar was excited to finally meet the Lord of Strongsong, whose relative, Ser Marwyn, was the captain of the guards at the Eyrie. Moments later, a fat man of average height approached them. On his armor was the sigil of House Belmore, six bells on a purple field. Olyvar could only assume this was Lord Belmore himself.
"Ahhh, so this is the young Lord Arryn." The man sounded amused as he took Olyvar in. "You look like what I would expect your father would look like as a youthful man. Little bit of that Tully coloring, but you certainly have his eyes."
"Lord Belmore. I thank you for answering my call. We are in desperate need of manpower."
The fat man gave a nod, stroking his greyish-red beard. "May we sit, young lord? I am most tired after the journey." Olyvar nodded, and all four men sat around a table that Olyvar had set up in his tent. "Shame that it had to come to this. War engulfing the realm once again. Terrible, terrible." The man reached for a cup and poured himself a bit of wine. "So, have we a plan?"
"We believe attempting to take the Ruby Ford before Lannister forces cross is our most effective strategy." Lord Royce addressed Belmore with the strategy." Should we establish ourselves on the banks of the ford, we can prevent Tywin Lannister from crossing and wreak havoc on the opposite side of the Trident. Should he try to cross, he will have to deal with archers the entire time."
"Indeed. I suppose the Blackfish has informed us of this key crossing?"
"My uncle was able to procure a map from the Eyrie." Olyvar remembered that Brynden Tully had not taken longer than half an hour before returning with a complete strategic map of the Riverlands. "He has opted to return to the North with my aunt and regroup with my cousin, Robb Stark, at Moat Caillin. From there, they will drive down south. Our mutual goal is to liberate Riverrun and drive Lord Tywin back west before turning attention to King's Landing."
"And what, my lord, will prevent Joffrey from raising his own army and sending it to attack our back whilst we deal with his grandfather?" Lord Belmore looked upon Olyvar with curiosity. "Surely we cannot leave the rear open."
"With the knowledge of Joffrey's illegitimacy, the Stormlands will rally to King Stannis. From there, we have King's Landing and the Lannisters surrounded. Mace Tyrell will join our side once he sees that we have superior numbers. From there, we remove Joffrey from power, and place Stannis on the Iron Throne."
"This is a good plan. Very well thought out. But I must ask, Lord Arryn." Belmone leaned in towards Olyvar, speaking with a grim tone. "Have you ever considered what might happen if the Stormlords declare for Renly in place of Stannis?"
Olyvar was dumbstruck by the suggestion. Never once had he considered anything of the sort. He knew Renly to be an ambitious man, yes, but he figured that he too would rally to Stannis' causes, especially with Stannis lacking a male heir. Renly would likely be chosen to serve that purpose until Stannis conceived a son.
"I doubt the Stormlands will declare for Renly Baratheon when they see that the North, Vale, and Riverlands have all declared for Dragonstone." Lord Royce said smugly. Olyvar was glad that he answered, for he could not find an answer to Lord Belmore's question. "Once we gather all of our forces, we will have the most powerful army in Westeros."
"Indeed. It's likely when news spreads that we are declaring for Stannis, the Stormlords will be sure to support him as well. Gods know what he will do to them if they betray him." Likely throw them off the cliff at Storm's End. Olyvar thought to himself grimly, believing it to be a high possibility.
The men continued discussing battle plans, Olyvar simply observing and voicing his opinions whenever asked for them. He was new to war, but not to strategy. The games of cyvasse with Tyrion had helped to teach him that, but he also understood that it had simply been a board game, where in war his playing pieces were the lives of men who had answered his call willingly. He could not make any horrendous mistakes, or men would die. His uncle and cousins would die. He would die.
Lost in the discussions of war and strategy was the fact that today was his fourteenth nameday.
A/N: I know, I know, I deprived you of the actual confrontation between Lysa and Olyvar. Have faith in me though, the major confrontation between the two will come in time. For now, I wanted to focus on the preparations being made. And I believe that his chapter has answered every question that had previously been posed in the last batch of reviews.
Also, Happy Nameday Olyvar Arryn. :)