This chapter comes in the night after the meeting between Stannis and Renly, before 'ACOK: Catelyn III'. 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

Darkness had crept over the field, the grounds illuminated by the torches set up throughout the camp. Olyvar stood alone atop of a small hill, silently observing the movement throughout his men. His best commanders were rallying their forces for battle, attempting to raise the courage of their Valemen. Fat chance at doing so. Olyvar thought. They know we're outnumbered.

It was five-and-twenty thousand against fifty thousand, possibly even more than that. Half of Renly's projected army was preparing for them, with the reserves likely rallying to meet them. Olyvar couldn't find fault in his men for being afraid against such odds. But they would have to stand fast, at least for tomorrow. After that, he could only hope that they retreated north fast enough to be out of Renly's reach, yet not far enough away for Renly to abandon the chase.

"Lord Arryn." Olyvar turned to the sight of a man dressed in Baratheon garb approaching him. "King Stannis wishes to speak with you." Olyvar nodded and followed the man to the base of the walls that surrounded the great Baratheon Keep. Olyvar had never visited Storm's End before, but had been fascinated learning about it from his mentor. It was quite impressive, though he felt the Eyrie still provided better natural defenses.

As he entered the tent, he saw Stannis sitting at his desk, scribbling frantically on a piece of parchment. What's so important that you aren't rallying your men? But Olyvar's attention was soon drawn to the mysterious red woman he had seen earlier in the day, who was looking intensely into the flames of a fire that was lit to warm the tent. Autumn had come, and the days in the south had become as brisk as the mornings in the north had been.

"Sit." Stannis commanded, prompting Olyvar to take the seat on the other side of the desk.

"Well, you're quite cheery for a man who is about to fight against long odds." Olyvar's jests, as usual, did not break the cold exterior of Stannis Baratheon. Olyvar mostly made them to keep himself sane, as he knew how difficult it was to get past Stannis' personality. "Two to one. Would have been ten to one if I hadn't gotten here."

"Your observations are noted." Stannis said through gritted teeth as he continued working. Olyvar frowned and continued to observe the tent. The red woman had not moved from her spot, still looking into the flames, as if something was going to reveal itself. As his head continued turning, he spotted a large flag hanging behind Stannis, recognizing it as the one the red woman had held during the meeting with Renly. It possessed the Baratheon stag, but surrounding it was red fire.

` "That sigil, it's quite different from the one I saw at Dragonstone." When Stannis looked up, Olyvar pointed behind him to the flaming stag. "When did you decide to douse the stag in fire?"

"King Stannis has been chosen by the Lord of Light, R'hllor." Olvyar's head turned as the red woman looked from her flames and into his eyes. "He recognizes the true power of the one true god of the world."

"R'hl…What now?" The name sounded foreign to him, difficult for his tongue to speak. "Lord of Light? What is this?" He looked over to Stannis. "Who is this woman?"

"One would think that I have taught you better about using your courtesies." Stannis stood up and approached the mysterious woman. "Olyvar, this is Lady Melisandre. Priestess of R'hllor."

"You must forgive me, I've never heard of him." Olyvar rose from his chair and remembered back to Renly saying something about Stannis having a new god. This must be what Renly was talking about at the parlay. "Lord Olyvar Arryn, my lady." He gave a gracious bow as to not disrespect Stannis' advisor.

"The young lord Arryn. King Stannis has told me much about you. Your loyalty, at least to your king, is quite remarkable." The woman's voice had an air of mystery to it, something which made Olyvar uncomfortable. He prided himself in knowing people, or at the very least attempting to. She, however, was one of the rare ones he could not read. She's Littlefinger in a much more attractive form. "Your dedication to these false gods, however, is slightly troubling."

"Forgive me, Lady Melisandre. But I feel my faith has little to do with my loyalty." He looked at Stannis as he spoke. "I hope that is recognized."

"It certainly is. But these false idols that you and much of Westeros hold are just that, false. Embracing the Lord of Light will only help illuminate the way for you in this war."

"Thank you for the offer, but I'm not exactly interested in turning away from my faith." He responded curtly to the priestess. Truth be told, Olyvar had little love for the Seven. He always identified more with the old gods of the North than the predominant faith of the Seven Kingdoms. But he knew religion was more of a political tool than it was to express faith, and so chose to keep to the Seven publicly. "What would my men think of me?"

"Their opinions should not matter. They are only heretics following a false religion. When your king wins the Iron Throne, all will bask in the light of R'hllor."

"Fascinating. I suppose we will see." He said with finality before turning to Stannis. "So, have you a plan for dealing with Renly?"

"Renly has been given until the dawn to approach me. Should he not, he will be destroyed with haste." Stannis said simply and firmly.

"Yes, but how? Have you a strategy, or possibly an assassin in their camp?" Olyvar raised his brow in inquiry. He realized that killing Renly Baratheon was a possibility to winning the coming battle before it even began, but he didn't expect Stannis to go to the lengths of hiring an assassin to do the trick.

"Gold will not do in obtaining a proper assassin." It was Melisandre that answered him, drawing an annoyed look from his face. I don't remember questioning you. But he kept silent as she approached the flame again, her eyes focused as she looked into the fire. "Lord Renly's sins will be punished by a power higher than that of man."

He gave a look towards Stannis, who only returned it with his own icy gaze. Olyvar quickly changed the subject. "That sword you have, the one that shone so bright. How did you make it do that?"

"He did nothing. Lightbringer is the sword of Azor Ahai, the hero who saved the world from the Long Night." Melisandre answered for Stannis once more. Olyvar had heard the story before, the night where the Others had been fought back by the first men and the children of the forest. "King Stannis is the legendary hero reborn, and as such the sword has chosen him."

Olyvar looked at Stannis incredulously. "You realize how mad this sounds, don't you?" He never took his lord to be one for mysticism, yet now he had a foreign witch as council. Was he that desperate to win this war?

"If you are done debating theology, we have strategy to discuss." You never answered me, Stannis. "As I said, Renly will be dealt with. His pride will likely not allow him to bend his knees, and such he shall pay the price for his treasons. You should have your lords focus on sieging Storm's End."

"Wish you would have told me earlier. I just called on them to prepare the men for battle." Olyvar procured a map, placing it before Stannis. "I do have a plan, if you were curious. We can lead Renly up the Kingsroad. From there-"

"I have given no such order." Stannis said firmly, causing Olyvar to give him an annoyed look. "You will prepare your men to siege Storm's End. Do not worry about the battle, for there will be none."

"There won't be one? Tell that to Renly and his fifty thousand. Or will your new god provide an extra thirty thousand to our cause?" Olyvar asked with a mix of sarcasm and mocking. "Whatever your plan is, I hope it works. But it can't hurt to have our men ready for battle instead of siege. It was you who taught me to prepare for all possibilities." He rolled up the map and went for the opening to the tent. "Should you need me, I will be amongst my men."

Olyvar stormed out of the tent in search of Bronze Yohn, pondering the exchange that had just occurred. That woman is in his ear. Olyvar was worried by how much her words were influencing Stannis, making him believe he was the reincarnation of a legendary hero. It was madness to him, something he felt was below Stannis to resort to.

He was also troubled by his king's lack of faith in disclosing his plan to deal with Renly. Stannis had said that Renly would be dealt with, but how? Olyvar would have liked to attack the camp in the dark, but knowing that his aunt was Renly's guest, he dared not risk injure her accidentally. He didn't care if Renly or the Reach thought poor of him for a sneak attack, it was war after all. But wounding his aunt was a possibility Olyvar did not want to risk happening.

As he assessed his options, he knew that he would have to prepare for actual battle. Stannis was too stubborn to retreat, and Renly too proud to kneel. Unless his king's supposed plan succeeded, Olyvar felt that the fields surrounding the great Baratheon keep would be painted as red as the dawn, and feared that most of the paint would come from the bodies of his men.

A/N: Not the most confrontational first meeting, but I hope you guys can feel the tension. I feel that Olyvar would be ignorant of the true power that Melisandre holds over Stannis (he's still not aware about the burning of the Seven at Dragonstone) at the moment. But he, like Davos, will eventually learn.

Hope you guys and gals enjoyed the chapter, reviews are always welcome. Have a good day!