Chapter 25

Future Sight and Ironborn

Harrenhal

"For the North!"

The cry rang out through the northern ranks. Men surged forward, charging into certain death as they stormed Harrenhal itself. Something that Clive had told Robb would be needed was something he had not expected. Joshua Rosfield, once again, took the field from afar. That was another thing Robb did not like about this arrangement they had made. He didn't have real power, not like that boy did. And certainly not like Lady Warrick.

Some of the men thought themselves only in her presence to try to catch her eye but alas it was not to be. Robb wasn't blind. Even if you told him that Clive and Jill were betrothed, he would have said it wasn't needed, he knew those two were meant for each other. The way they interacted, how he pretended to be just a simple guard to her, they couldn't lie very well where their hearts were concerned.

As he and his men stormed the gates, he took one last look at the once mighty walls of Harrenhal, blown away by a barrage of fire and ice…the work of the Gods according to the men. How two of these great and powerful beings could pulverize and batter the enemy fortifications so quickly and not only give his men a way in but also demoralize the enemy…Robb truly did not have the power in this army, not with them around.

Riverrun

Five days before the battle of Harrenhal everything was set for Robb's rise amongst the legends of the North. Jaime Lannister was in a cell, disgraced and beaten by the Young Wolf of the North. He was no threat to anyone now and so long as they had him in their custody, Tywin would not dare to attack them. He would risk Tyrion Lannister or any other member of his family but never Jaime. Jaime was his prized child, his chosen heir…and he was vulnerable as their prisoner. When Clive had finished his interrogation of their prisoner he met with Robb, Ned, and some of the lords in the command tent outside.

"What did you learn Clive?" Robb was the first to speak, eager to get back out there now that he was sort of on a roll "What did the Lannister say?"

"Peace, Lord Stark," Clive says carefully, paying respects to the Northerners own ways given his status as a foreigner "Jaime Lannister confessed to having sent fifteen thousand men to Harrenhal. Stafford Lannister leads them, and his lord father Lord Tywin was last reported to have been heading for Wayfarer's Rest with less than a thousand. Once Jaime's troops arrive, Tywin will have enough men to properly defend that choke point into the west, but he will be unable to attack Riverrun again."

"You've been right so far Clive; what do you suggest we do?" Clive shoots his uncle a grateful look at the praise.

"Harrenhal, my lords, that is the best point to attack for now."

"Harrenhal?" the Greatjon asks with his booming voice "You want us to send our men down there to besiege that fortress? That bloody castle can withstand the combined might of two kingdoms, maybe more!"

"It had to be burned by Aegon the Conqueror just to subjugate it during the Conquest," Roose points out "That wont be an easy task to complete without a dragon."

"True Lord Bolton," Cid says, smirk in place "But perhaps we'll get some good fortune for a change…who knows, might even be Eikonic."

Clive closes his eyes, doing his best to not introduce the palm of his hand to the back of Cid's head. The older man was losing his appeal now that they were stuck with each other for a war. Being outlaws, potential criminals to most of the kingdoms in Valisthea…that was all one adventure he could handle with Cid. Being war veterans serving together in proximity for extended periods of time? Clive wished he had just let Ochu eat him instead of frying the overzealous plant.

"Must you do that at every opportunity Cid?"

"What? It's fun, and it keeps you out of the line of fire, doesn't it?"

Clive just groans "Cid's ramblings aside…Harrenhal is not impenetrable. It's a fortress…aye…but it is not invincible."

"Easy for you to say foreigner, but the fact remains that we don't have the men to take it."

"But we do, actually," Clive hesitates to smirk at Lord Bolton. Dealing with Cid was bad enough, but he and Clive together was just cruel, even he had to admit it. "The North has at most forty-five thousand troops it could deploy. If we keep a large enough presence here in Riverrun…say fifteen thousand here, we could send a host numbering around thirty thousand to Harrenhal to remove the Lannister's from the castle."

"Well, we already sent the she-bears south with the Lady Warrick," Greatjon says, arms crossed as he looks at the map "And that was fifteen thousand men…we can't be sending more men south, or we'd be caught undermanned here."

"Which is why we won't be taking any chances my Lord," Clive exchanges a quick look with those assembled "I suggest that we send another fifteen thousand men south to Harrenhal, with the men we have here Tywin won't think to strike without a larger army and if he does…we'll be ready for him."

"Clive is right," Ned says after a moment watching his lords try to come up with an argument "Robb, you will lead the host to Harrenhal and take command. Roose, Rickard, you and your men shall accompany him and assist in the siege."

Rickard Karstark was a man Clive would rather not know he was related to no matter how distant it may be. The man was a fierce fighter, fierce as any other lord in the North, but he also harbored great greed behind those warriors' eyes of his. From what he had been told Rickard had been trying for years to get a betrothal to go through between his daughter Alys and Robb Stark. Something that neither party would agree to at this rate it seems.

As for Roose Bolton…Clive trusted him just as much as he trusted the Ironborn. The man was fierce, a good commander, and above all else…tricky. Cid and Cody agreed that Roose Bolton was a man they should not underestimate, but he was also one they needed on their side too. "We'll see the Young Wolf safe to Harrenhal, you have my word, Ned."

"Good, success at Harrenhal will see us to a swift victory if we can hold it." Ned says with a serious look "Holding that castle will mean no one in the South can march up the Kingsroad north without our say so. We hold those armies there; we can put the Lannister's out of commission in short order and win the war."

"Not exactly…"

All eyes turned to Cid. "And why is that Ser Cid?"

"Well, it just seems to me that we hold all the cards in this game of thrones here," Cid gestures to the map "Tywin is here, licking his wounds and awaiting reinforcements. If the Old Lion knows that we have his son then he wont dare make a move against us, thus keeping his forces here waiting for the moment when we move on or lose our hostage, Jaime Lannister. Like this, we have effectively cut off all attacks from the West, we don't have to worry about the North or the East with the Vale being neutral in this war…which just leaves the South. The last enemy for us on the mainland but not by sea…we'll need a fleet."

"And just what do you want us to do about the Reach?" Theon scoffs "We only need the ships if we want to fight Stannis, and the Reach isn't a problem seeing as they are fighting the Lannister's."

"Ah but you see Theon, that's the beauty of this problem. It is not so obvious," Cid points to Dragonstone "Not a single bit of information has been spread about Stannis joining with Robert, which means that he himself is either neutral at best or at worst is against his brother's rule. As for Renly, there's been no word of Tyrell forces marching on Harrenhal to aid in its reclamation from the Lannister's."

"Which means that Renly is also against Robert," Ned sighs, hand slowly running down his face "It's a war of Four Kings."

Cid and Clive share a look, Robb catching the hints of apprehension on Clive's face as Cid continues "In a manner of speaking, yes, it is."

"Suggestions then?"

"Let Lord Robb take his host to Harrenhal, we could send a small group to Seagard to see about making a fleet of some form for us to get around the coast with." Cid shrugs "Other than that, I'd say my plans are used up."

Clive rolls his eyes "And just who are you going to send to Seagard to oversee construction of a fleet? No one here is experienced with the workings of a navy.

"Not all of us Clive…" Cid gives him a pointed look before his eyes move to the unlucky volunteer "Congratulations Theon, you get to be in charge of something now."

"Absolutely not!" Clive slams his fist onto the table "Are you completely mad Cid!?"

"Heh, mad? Hardly. A little unhinged? Only if you ask my oldest girl. …come to think of it, she also thinks me mad, oh well."

"I see no reason to send someone else," Ned says after a moment thinking "But we will send trusted men to keep an eye on him as his escorts. Volunteers?"

"Lord Stark," Cody steps up "I nominate Sir Hunter, Wrecker, and Colt. They'll keep Theon out of trouble."

"Very well then, if that is all? We have preparations to make."

Harrenhal

Robb pulls his sword free of a Lannister knight, the body falling over, the battle had been won; or rather it would be won. Northmen held the castle itself though their enemy tried to flee out the west gate. Robb didn't need to give the command to pursue, Rickard Karstark had seen to their cavalry personally and led the charge. As he inspected the damage, all the blood and the bodies, Robb could feel the fatigue from the battle weighing on him as he trudged through the carnage.

"Prepare and bury our dead!" he orders "No man shall be left out at nightfall…Lannister's too, there's no honor in desecrating a dead enemy."

The men around him bowed their heads, moving to work in short order. He needed to rest. His hands were shaking from the cold as he passed a chunk of ice in the courtyard. How something so far south could still be so cold without the need for physical touch…just what were these beings that came to their aid?

Robb made his way into the great hall, Hall of a Hundred Hearths, they called it, big enough to fit an army of men should the need arise. There was no army in this hall today, just a few scattered bodies and the proud warrior-women that took them.

"All hail Robb Stark, the Young Wolf of Winterfell." Robb found himself smiling as he heard the teasing tone of the voice singing his praises.

"All hail Arya Stark, the she-wolf of Winterfell," he smiles as his youngest sister stands proudly with the she-bears of House Mormont "I thought Father said you should remain behind when the fighting starts?"

Arya rolls her eyes "Not like I could leave the fighting to you, surely you'd screw something up."

The Mormont women laugh watching the two sibling's bickering. Old Maege sits at the head table, her daughter Dacey by her side mace in hand, her greying hair giving away the only weakness she has as she studies Robb carefully. "Gracing us with your presence my lord? I thought you had wandered off to a brothel to exhaust yourself in."

Robb winces as those old eyes of hers bore into him "I am not like my namesake Lady Mormont; I won't partake in that tradition if I can help it."

"Help it he says," she laughs "Any boy your age would be more than happy to do just that. What brings you here? You look more like your father than you realize pup."

"The things we saw as we charged the gate…what were they?"

"How should I know? I may be old, but I am not so old as to know everything in life."

Robb sighs, eyes cast upward to the ceiling of the hall "What strange times we live in."

Outside the castle walls, out in the fields Daven Lannister rode with his men in retreat. He had begged with his father to retreat once those…those things showed up. A woman of ice and a flaming bird…Tywin would never believe it but unlike the late Stafford Lannister, Daven did not care if Tywin respected him or not. Someone had to get word back…somehow. He would see his men to the Gold Road to the south, if they could make it there, they could make a hasty retreat to Casterly Rock and avoid having to deal with any more battles. Hopefully, this gamble will pay off. The losses they suffered in the battle were many. The loss of his own father, skewered on the lance of a northerner as he tried to mount his horse, would weigh on him until wars end. He would not rest until his father was avenged. On that many men would die to try and prove wrong.

"Come on lads!" he cries "Keep moving if you want to live!" his barked orders get the men to move, the group of four hundred struggling to keep ahead of any pursuers.

As the Lannister army was in retreat, Joshua and Jill stood atop a hill watching Lord Karstark's men return from their 'hunting of lions'. The battle was over nearly as quick as it had started and for all it was worth the castle suffered just minor damage compared to the destruction that Joshua could have rained down upon them. The Phoenix wasn't however a destruction focused Eikon unlike Titan and Bahamut, nor was Shiva made for combat against such defenses like Ramuh and Garuda could be. Both were far more defensive in nature, whether it be because Shiva lacked the raw power or because Joshua was still very much the boy that he had been at Phoenix Gate. Neither would be levelling castles for a while yet.

"You think he'll do it?"

Jill purses her lips. Joshua was Archduke even without the ceremony…but the boy still voiced questions with the innocence of the child she once knew. "Clive won't take the throne unless he is out of options. Much as we both think he will do well to rule…that just isn't who he is at heart. But he will do it, only a matter of time."

"Time is something that we don't really have," Joshua looks down at his hands "No curse here in Westeros…but for how long? And even then, should we win this war then Westeros needs a king, and none can rule…none but him."

"Clive will take it, your grace," Thorn speaks up in his rival's defense "But it will take a lot to get him to agree to that idea. And who knows how his mind works."

Jote feels the corner of her mouth twitch as she catches the look Jill gives Thorn. The Rosarian knight coughs, trying to think up a correction to his previous statement as a smile graces Joshua's face. "Indeed…we should head for the great hall; Robb will be looking for us by now I suspect."

"You're right…at the very least, we don't have to put up with Theon while we are here."

"Ah, but you mean to say that you don't have to keep holding my brother back from killing him." Joshua teases her, earning a light slap to the shoulder that sends him laughing down the hill.

Dragonstone

"Are we sure this is the proper course of action?"

Melisandre stood by the hearth in Stannis solar as he and his lords discussed what their next course of action would be. Following the last vision that she saw from the flames the red woman had poured over every tome she had in her possession. Every ritual and spell, every story and every theory she could find from her predecessors and past. Not one of her fellow worshippers of R'hllor could ever claim to have done such extensive research.

"There is no other course of action," she says, eyes on the fire "The ritual must be performed if we are to control the beast."

"And how do we know it will do as you say it will?" Davos Seaworth, ever the unconvinced of Stannis trusted men "How do we know it will work, that this beast even exists?"

Melisandre is quiet as she watches the flames. Stannis keeps an attentive eye on her as she sees what she needs to see. "Ser Davos," she says without turning away "You shall go to Oldtown and see for yourself what it is we are fighting against, what it is that we need to control. You will do this, and you will forever be changed by it."

"I don't take orders from you," he growls, fists clenched "I only take orders from my king, Lord Stannis…if you wish it, I will do it, but I still hold to my belief that this may be folly your grace."

"See it done Davos," Stannis turns his attention back to the map "What else do you see my lady?"

"It is clearer now…a trial awaits us if we do this, a deceiver and…a rock…no…I see a mountain and a boulder…the earth will shake and fires will rage," she smiles "We will win the war your grace, but we must act swiftly."

Davos fights the urge to roll his eyes. Stannis seems pleased with what he is hearing, an earlier message from Renly long since forgotten "How long do we have until you can have everything ready?"

"Two months," she says "The ritual will take time to prepare properly, and I will need to be certain it is correct before proceeding, lest we weaken or enrage the beast and lose all hope. Ser Davos can leave for Oldtown before then and return before we begin."

Davos huffs while Stannis agrees with her assessment. If his liege lord believed this woman so readily…he could have his thoughts, but he dares not voice them too often lest he earn Stannis' ire. "I'll have my ship prepared then; we'll be able to leave whenever you give the order."

Stannis nods his head, eyes locked on Kings Landing "It all comes down to what Robert does when we march on the capital. No force in Westeros could withstand us with the beast in our control, no army will march against it…so a king will fall before he can rise up properly."

Kings Landing

Robert sits on the throne, body mostly sore from endless days spent training with Ser Barristan in the yard. Before him is a smiling Littlefinger with two guards behind him and a man dressed all in black like one of the Night's Watch. He and Barristan exchange a cautious look "Out with-it Baelish, is this the man you were so eager for me to meet with?"

"In truth your grace, he is someone that man led me to," Petyr smiles, stepping to the side "This is the answer you have been looking for your grace."

"Speak," Robert motions the man to step forward "If you are everything Lord Baelish has been talking up…you may just be worth your price and then some."

"Thank you, your grace," the man bows. His voice is unnerving, soft and yet heavy, firm and yet it felt suffocating being in his presence. "As I am sure you know, I am commander of a sellsword company. While most of my men are engaged elsewhere in other contracts, I do have special cases that are much closer to support you."

"A sellsword company? And yet only a few men are all you can spare?" Robert's eyes narrow dangerously "Why should I listen to you any further?"

"Because I am an honest man. When one of my men offered our services to the Tyrells, the price was one million gold dragons…they refused us."

"Ha! I can see why, one million dragons for one company…it's ridiculous!"

"Quite." Barristan felt a chill run down his body, hand moving for his sword as the man spoke "He then went to the Lannister's and offered our usual services, doubled, at half the price we offered the Tyrells. They too refused us."

"And just what would you offer me for your services? It seems like you are all talk thus far."

"I offer you our services, in full, without payment until the war is won for you." The man kneels "If that is not to your liking, by all means, refuse us your grace."

"Are you joking?" Robert scowls "I find myself in the impossible position of having enemies all around from what I hear. Lord Varys tells me that my brothers both have turned their back on me and declared themselves to be king! My own countrymen have joined with Renly and the Reach…the Lannister's try to seat a bastard born of incest on the throne, and now the only ones loyal to me are either neutral or trapped in their own battles. Of course, I'll accept the offer, because either we lose, or you help me crush my enemy's skulls with my hammer!"

"You will not regret it; you have my word on that."

"Tell me sellsword, when can we expect the first of your men to arrive?"

"My name is Raven, your grace, and you can expect an associate to be along within two months' time. As for the rest…I have my own spymaster travelling the realms, one man watching the Lannister's and Tyrells along the Ocean Road waiting for the right time to strike while another is with the Ironborn."

"Those cunts? Why would you work with them?"

"Who said we were working together?" Raven smirks under his hood "I simply have him there to…take care of a few things. They pay the price, and we do as we please."

"Then I believe we have an agreement," Robert smiles, the first genuine smile he has sported since the Rebellion, since the Battle of the Trident "Baelish! See to it the appropriate funds are gathered for our friend here should it be required. We have a war to win."

Pyke, Iron Islands

Balon Greyjoy smiles as he inspects the map. All the men he had at his command, their fleets ready and willing, and he had all that was needed to invade Westeros. All except for one thing: Theon Greyjoy. Without his last surviving son and heir, this raid would not matter if his line were to die out suddenly. The raven had arrived from King Robert declaring some foreigners as having a reward for their capture, one of which was described as the betrothed of the king himself. Wherever she was, Balon would find the perfect bride and mother of his legacy, but he would need her before the raids began.

"The time is almost here," he mutters to himself as his eyes glare at Winterfell "Soon those bloody wolves will know their precious pack is nothing before the might of the kraken."

Balon motions a messenger to come closer "Send word to the captains, whatever they need for the raids they can have within reason…one month is all they get before we begin. Now go, go boy! Away with you!"

The messenger runs from the room, leaving the old King of the Iron Islands to grin as he looks the maps over once more. With aide from sellswords he could see more loot taken as prize for his rule and his people. He'd have everything that he wants and worry not for the wants of beggar kings and conquered peoples.

AN: Bit shorter than normal I think…or shorter than I would like. But considering that Chapter 26 is next…and that is the currently, as of this moment, final chapter before the BIG first 'season' or Arc, finale…yeah. I will accept this and the next one being shorter. Granted, 26 is not started yet…but as of this being posted, it's done. I know that we have also spent a lot of time focused on mostly just our Northern/Rosarian 'Alliance' but make no mistake, we will be branching out more in the future for the war perspectives. And another new character is introduced, this time in the form of...well...that would be spoilers. Can't be giving out my own works secrets just yet...make of that what you will, we have reviews to get to now…

Drakon45: …I can't tell what I did to get this as a joke comment, nor do I know if there is a joke…maybe I'm overworking myself on this? Idk. But hey, I'll take it I guess.

Mxm124: This is actually what I was building up to. Months of planning this entire opening engagement out, trying to figure out just where the best route to go was. And it hit me…Cid was the perfect response. Though in early drafts Shiva was to make an appearance, they would rotate locations and Eikons just so their enemies might suspect that some places were haunted by a spirit or a God. Cid was to be near the Vale, Joshua would be Riverrun and Jill was to be a sort of 'northern witch'. But…those plans changed…in that chapter anyway.

Guest: One of these days you will say something that isn't just a one-word response.

Jebest4781: Who else but Cid and his apprentice could open up a war for us in a dramatic fashion? Sadly Tywin being humbled is not permanent…oh there are plans but just be prepared.

Guest 2: ...at this point idk if it's the same guy doing one word responses and they just forgot or if all guests are just checking reviews and then doing this on purpose as a big joke.

Hakuryukou79: I won't spoil who shows up where that hasn't appeared yet...but just know they are coming, and we are only just beginning.