(Disclaimer: I do not own A Song of Ice and Fire nor its characters. Those all belong to George R. R. Martin, aside from my OC.)

(Anya Waynwood POV, The Eyrie)

I didn't know what to feel about this, it had been a sennight since all the Lords of the Vale had sworn their oaths to Lord Mudd. He was young as expected, no older than Eddard Stark, yet he had a far more noticeable difference aura about him.

He was a handsome young man, about 20 name days if she guessed correctly, with striking brown eyes, and well-combed brown hair. He had Aemma's jawline and nose, yet at the same time, he had that intimidating aura that John Mudd was known for.

It was well known that House Mudd had frequently intermarried with both the Maroon and Scarlet Dynasties of Yi Ti and would've been declared emperors after the fall of the Scarlet emperors, had a majority of their men not perished at the same time.

I suppose that was also a good reason for why many house's sought their hand, outside of their looks, while personally aggrieved that my cousin had been skipped over, it would've been foolish to attempt to contest it, not when a majority of the vale had supported his claim.

"Vance, Vypren, Darry, Goodbrook, Lychester, Mooton, Ryger, and Frey, are all likely to oppose us one way or another" Marking down their seats on the map, Yohn noted them all down.

"Why would Vance and Vypren attempt to oppose us" The confusion on Benedar Belmore's face was unsurprising, the man's cluelessness was only outpaced by his greed.

"Pride probably, some foolishness from bygone days that no longer matter." was Lorimas Mudd's response.

Admittedly, he was right, the river lords weren't the most reasonable people even at the best of times, tending to be headstrong and quarrelsome at the best of times.

"The Frey's must be brought low, we cannot allow them to get away with their treachery" This time it was Ser Symond Templeton who piped up, his cold blue eyes were tearing holes into the mark that marked the twins.

"Aye, Symond's right, we lost many a good man, to those up jumped rabble" Yohan nodded.

"They aren't going anywhere, best we secure the rest of the Riverlands first lest we get surrounded, the North will keep them busy for us." Lorimas pointed out.

While seeking vengeance for his brother, Symond seemed to agree with Lorimas, though that didn't stop him from continuing to tear holes into the twins.

If looks could kill, then she wouldn't be surprised if every member of house Frey keeled over dead at this moment, and Symond wasn't the only one.

"What of House Tully, I doubt they'd just stand there as we cut through their vassals" stated old Horton in a rather worried tone.

"They barely have enough men to keep their lands safe, let alone aid their vassals, not to mention if the rumors are true, they have their issues to deal with" the Young Lord finally spoke up.

"Rumors My Lord" Belmore was the first to respond.

"Aye, it seems the Freys have been planning to betray the rebels for quite a while, having managed to poison young Edmure, it was only recently my spymaster found out"

The looks of shock and anger on everyone's faces were evident, especially on Symond's face, no doubt preparing to curse House Frey for their lack of honor.

Even I couldn't hide my surprise at that, as this changed everything, it meant that if the possibility was unlikely before, now the River Lords couldn't unite under one banner.

I watched as my new Liege and his primary advisors looked over a map of Westeros, preparing strategies and battle plans for a new campaign. On one hand, most of the people present were wary to step out of the vale after such a devastating blow at the trident. On the other hand, this was the best time to make gains, as most of the key players were either holed up in their keeps or too weakened to put much resistance.

Still, wars were a very chaotic setting and if the seven wished so, then my cousin could still rise, all I had to do was simply wait and hope for the best.

...

(Benjen Stark POV, Moat Cailin)

Lord of Winterfell, it was a position I never expected to hold, yet here I am staring at the ruins of what was once and mighty seat, great blocks of black basalt lay scattered about, half sunken as if the ground was swallowing it under.

Amidst these ruins, grief largely clouded my mind, I couldn't help but blame Lya for it. I love her, but gods be damned, I couldn't help but hate my sister and myself at this very moment, not when her actions cost my family so much.

I shouldn't have helped her sneak out, should've informed Father immediately about her plans and eventually, I had, yet it was already too late.

Father burned, Bran, choking himself to death trying to save him, Ned was slaughtered and butchered by frey men, and only the gods knew if Lya was even still alive.

Was this what Brandon the Burner felt, when his father never came back, I didn't have a fleet to burn, but I sure felt like it. With the situation as it is, it's unlikely I'll ever have one, my dreams of sailing had long since turned to ash.

I had hoped to join the night's watch, atoning for my sins, for the mistakes I made, but with ned gone, House Stark needed me to survive, even if it was only me at this moment.

"You alright there Lad" It was his father-in-law and wasn't that an odd thing to stay, the concern in his voice was obvious to all. He placed a hand on my shoulder, trying to reassure me.

"Aye, I'll be fine, just needed some time to think"

I'd wed Bethany Ryswell, after what remained of the men of the north had returned, with both her husband slain and her son dead from the sickness, the Dreadfort was now hers.

Combined with House Ryswell's significant holdings and their marriage ties to House Dustin, she was the only logical choice I had if I wanted to maintain the balance of power under Stark control.

It wasn't a marriage of love, but I'd developed some affection after she stood by me as we grieved for those we lost.

"When I saw Roger slain right in front of me, I was anguished, if it wasn't for Rickard and Roose, I would've probably gotten myself killed trying to cut through his killers" There was a distant your mournful tilt to his words.

"I understand what you're going through Lad, we lost a lot of good men in the trident, Mark my words the fries and those blasted lizards will have their due" Removing his arm from my shoulder, the old man then left with those parting words.

…

While most of the northern lords had agreed on vengeance against House Frey, hence why they were currently preparing to besiege the twins, there was a divide on what to do next.

As to what to do with the Targaryen there was a division on whether we should continue the war, most of the lords within the east led by Rickard Karstark and Wyman Manderly sought to just return to the north after dealing with the Freys. Those from the West led by Willam Dustin and Rodrick Ryswell sought to continue the war, forcing me to mediate between them.

This had been a heated debate ongoing for quite a while now as the levies gathered and would've led to blows had a messenger not arrived to inform us of rather troubling news.

Erlend Mudd had been named as Lord of the Vale thanks to the blood claim from his mother. If that wasn't enough, Wyman had managed to gather knowledge that he planned to invade the Riverlands, which halted any plans we might have had south of the twins.

Much to my dismay, now arguments were being started on whether we should link up with the Mudd or avoid going south altogether.