The Battle of the Fords:

Company of the Rose Camp:

The Company of the Rose had made their main camp deep in the Riverlands. While the first wave under the command of Cullen Rostark had headed north to help rid the North of the Ironborn, the rest of the Company had sailed to Saltpans which was still under control of the Riverlords. The town had been small so it did not attract much attention at first though refugees had fled due to fears of Lannister Raiding parties. The force of nearly 5000 soldiers then moved deeper into the Riverlands to throw off Lannister scouts suggesting they were heading for Riverrun but instead they headed to the town of Fairmarket which was slightly further north. This was part of the upcoming plan to hit the Lannisters from behind when they marched west along the Red Fork of the Trident.

The forces here were led by one of the Company's best military strategists, a man called Galmar Stone-Fist. He was a tall man of northern descent from the Northern Mountain tribes and possible from the Umbers since he had a fierce beard that covered half his face and a very gruff voice that had a no nonsense attitude. He was also a proud northern and possible one of the most hostile people to anything from the south; he was a skilled battle commander and a tactician having dealt with enemies in Essos so he was the right man to lead the armies in Joseph's absence. He had a selected group of followers who could have helped him become Commander of the Company but he was a loyal man to Joseph and was never interested in leading. He had gathered these people in a tent to plan their attack, all wore the same clothing with was armour that seemed to be made from bear skin with the head used as a hood and the claws used of the gloves.

"So, what do the scouts say Frorkmar?" Galmar asked

The man was known as Frorkmar Battle-Torn, one of Galmar's best men and leader of the Scouts. "The Lannister Host is marching west along the Red Fork. We've also intercepted some Scouts and it seems that they're unaware that we're behind that army now, they believed that we are already at Riverrun."

"Good." Galmar smiled "We can use that to hit them from behind when we get the signal. King Robb has already alerted me that he along with the Riverlords are preparing an ambush, when they give the signal, we'll strike them from behind and maybe even capture Tywin Lannister himself. We capture him then we can use it to force the rest of the south to recognise northern independence although I am concerned about keeping the Riverlands as territory, we will be vulnerable from three sides making it hard to defend." He then had another question "What about the Kingslayer?"

"Yrsarald found a scout who claims he had seen the Kingslayer being escorted by a woman." Frorkmar replied "He went to intercept them, he should be back soon." Then almost as soon as he finished saying that, a horn was blown once signalling the return of scouts "Speaking of which, that might be him now."

The two of them went outside and indeed saw Yrsarald had returned with his scouting group with two prisoners tied up. One was a woman and the other a man. "Lieutenant Galmar." Yrsarald greeted "I have brought two valuable prisoners, Jaime Lannister the Kingslayer and Brianne of Tarth, sworn sword of Lady Catelyn."

"Good, confine both of them to the cells and keep a close eye on them at all times." Galmar ordered "We cannot inform King Robb of this yet otherwise we will expose ourselves to the Lannister army and our plan with be in jeopardy." He then looked at Frorkmar "Keep tailing the Lannister army and when we get an idea of where they're going to cross, inform me and we'll set up our attack on the rear."

"Understood." Frorkmar replied

...

At Riverrun, Robb and his Bannermen were making plans for the upcoming battle. They knew that Tywin was marching west along the Red Fork but thanks to Robb sending misinformation, he had led Tywin to believe that he was still in the Westerlands raiding. He had left Greatjon Umber to lead the forces back in the Westerlands while he took Rickard Karstark and several other lords back into the Riverlands using a different goat trail to avoid the risk of the ruse being discovered. He had rejoined his uncle Edmure Tully, leader of the Riverland forces and Brynden Tully who were both in the process of planning the ambush.

Edmure Tully was Catelyn Tully's brother while Brynden was her uncle. Edmure was determined to prove himself as earlier in the war; he had been captured while trying to defend the Riverlands when Tywin had first invaded allowing his armies to plunder his lands. He was also the regent since his father Hoster was bedridden with poor health and he may not last much longer. Brynden was Hoster's brother but the two had fallen out over Brynden's decision not to marry and he was seen as the black sheep of the family which led to his nickname as the Blackfish. He had been serving Lysa in the Vale but had returned when the war began to defend his family.

"Our scouts had said that Tywin is marching with his army along the Red Fork." Brynden informed everyone.

"If he intends to reach the Riverlands then he will need to cross the river." Edmure stated "We can't defend all the river crossings at once otherwise we'll spread our forces too thin."

"Tywin still has 20,000 men with him including the Mountain and other powerful lords." Robb added "How many do we have?"

"Our forces consist of 8000 foot, 3000 horses and 5000 that you've brought back from the Westerlands your Grace." Brynden stated

"Plus the 5000 men led by Galmar at Fairmarket." Joseph added "One problem that we have is to try and strike with both our forces but we cannot inform Galmar where otherwise the Lannisters may learn about them. If Tywin goes after Galmar's force, they'll stand no chance even if Galmar is a skilled leader."

"If we're going to win this war then we need to think like Tywin." Tytos said "Get into his mindset, what would you do if you were Tywin Lannister"

"And how would you do that?" Rickard scoffed

Tytos just smirked "I am of Lannister descent and I know Tywin, I've met him although he would probably kill me if he ever saw me again. I never did like him, not after what he did to my family. Remember he is a man who would not hesitate to kill people to send a message. He's ruthless but also proud; in other conflicts he's not faced a situation like this. Everything he may have learnt from past conflicts is useless, before he always had more men, now he's facing with an army about the same size and a bigger conflict. He wants to cross quickly and get back home to protect his own lands. If he is threatened then he will send the Mountain to hunt them down, maybe we can use that. Have a small force attack him somewhere and then guide him to where we want him to go. The question is where would be the best place to ambush him."

"The Westerland forces have high quality armour but that makes it heavy." Brynden stated "If we can get him to cross a river at a shallow area, we could use the heaviness to make it difficult for them to cross, maybe even drown a few, heavy armour makes it difficult to get back up."

"I know a ford when the river is shallow; it's one of the crossing areas of the river where people can cross without using the roads. Tywin probably already knows of it, it's where he crossed when he went to Harrenhal leaving Jaime to attack Riverrun." Edmure stated

"It will be an ideal place for him to cross." Robb said "We'll set up camp nearby, no torches though; we cannot let him know that we're here."

...

Marching in a long line, the Lannister army walked along a path alongside the Red Fork. Tywin wanted to get his army back home to stop the Starks raiding his home. He was concerned about Stannis Baratheon preparing to attack the city but thanks to Petyr Baelish, they now had the Tyrell army on their side so the city was safe for now as Mace Tyrell along with Randyll Tarly, one of the best commanders living and the man who defeated Robert Baratheon in his only defeat at the Battle of Ashford, was leading over 100,000 men to King's Landing to protect the city. Because they had been camped near the Crownlands since they were following Renly before his death, the army was close enough but he knew that it was risky. Stannis may have taken the city before the Tyrell army arrived but he could not think about that, he needed to concentrate on his plan. To get back home he needed to cross the Red Fork and head further south into the Riverlands and then cross back home into the Westerlands. With the northern army in the north, crossing at the Golden Tooth was not an option plus Riverrun was in the way so he needed to cross as far as he could from the castle but he knew where. The ford that he had used during his initial invasion was suitable to cross as long as it wasn't guarded; even so, he probably had twice as many men as what the Riverlords could gather so he was feeling confident.

Tywin was leading his men alongside his brother Kevan along with his best commanders, Addam Marbrand and Leo Lefford. Ser Harys Swyft was also among them but he was not a great commander and many saw him as a weak willed yes-man who felt powerful because his daughter was Kevan's wife which was his only real achievement. Kevan looked at the surrounding area as they road.

"Brother, I don't like this to be honest." Kevan admitted "Several patrols have gone missing; this also seems like the best place for an ambush."

"I can see that Kevan." Tywin replied "But we have to get back home, King's Landing will be fine with the Tyrell army going to help. Stannis is still gathering his forces from the Stormlands and Robb is still in the northern Riverlands. Beside there is still this brotherhood without Banners outlaw group. They have been targeting our patrols before so maybe it's just them attacking our patrols."

"I can lead some men to hunt them down?" Gregor Clegane growled eager for blood.

Tywin shook his head "No I need your men here Clegane." He ordered "I need your cruelty and ruthlessness to poke fear in the enemy, you've developed a reputation here and I need that. People tremble at the name and sight of you, we can use that."

"What about this Company of the Rose?" Kevan asked

Marbrand scoffed "They're sellswords, loyal only to gold, we have gold, and maybe we can get them to turn."

Tywin shook his head, he had heard about the Company of the Rose "I doubt it with these Sellswords, they're descended from Northerns who rejected kneeling to the Targaryens, and they want an independent north and will fight for it. They won't turn on their dream that they can still fight for. The Golden Company have lost their cause to place a Blackfyre on the Iron Throne since all the Blackfryes are dead. The northern idea of independence won't go away. But right now, our priority is to get home, gather a new army and crush the northern army"

"The Golden Tooth is still holding." Leo said "Even if the king in the north makes it back to the Riverlands the way he came, we can get to the Golden Tooth and try and block him in along that trail."

"He may be long gone by then." Kevan replied "But we may be able to crush him once we've gathered the army from Casterly Rock and launch a two pronged attack on the Riverlands once King's Landing is safe from Stannis with help from the Tyrell army."

"Indeed." Tywin agreed "We should be at the River cross in a few days then it's only another few day's march back home."

...

Eventually, Tywin and his army of nearly 22,000 men arrived at the river crossing. To make the crossing quicker, Tywin had split his army up to cross at two different points, Kevan would cross at one point while Tywin would lead the second to cross at a place called the Stone Mill. This Mill was a settlement build around a lumber mill that used the river to turn a water wheel to help create timber. At the start of the war, the Lannisters had seized the mill and used the timber produced here to help build the siege weapons that were used at Riverrun and Harrenhal. After the northern forces defeated the Lannisters during the Battles of the Whispering Wood and the Camps, the Lannisters had burnt the mill and abandoned the crossing to make it useless to the Riverlords. Because the Mill was still a strategic location, there may be Rivermen here which is why Gregor was sent to attack here and as it was further along the river than the other crossings, the other crossings would be used as a diversion.

On the other side of the river, Tywin could see the Riverlords had made camp and had set up camp outside the old mill. There would be no surprise attack this time but he probably had nearly as many men as what the enemy had and with Gregor charging in with the calvery, it would break through their defences and the archers would first strike from the river first to soften them up. Tywin ordered his troops to get into position. The archers had a few rows while the calvery lined up behind them. This included Gregor Clegane, Amory Lorch, Leo Lefford and Lyle Crakehall.

The Riverlords on the other side of the river led by Edmure Tully had also arranged themselves in a defensive formation. Edmure had known that the Stone Mill would be an ideal place for the Lannisters to cross which is why he had set up base. Brynden was leading the other forces looking for where the Lannisters could also cross. Robb was with his own calvery in the forest in hiding waiting to strike. He watched as the Lannister archers got into place and ordered shields to be ready. When the archers fired their first round, he ordered shields to be ready. The first wave of arrows struck the shields but the and soon wave after wave of arrows was being fired at them from across the river. This endless attack caused the shield wall to distract them as the calvery began to move. They then charged as the archers carried on firing their arrows. Because the Rivermen were concentrated on the archers, they were unprepared as the Calvery charged across the very shallow water on the river and slammed right into the shield wall. The unprepared Rivermen were unable to hold the shield wall and the wall broke apart, this caused the fight to change into a free for all. But Edmure had a plan, he wanted to draw more Lannisters across the river and fight them on their own lands since now the archers had stopped firing to avoid tripping their own troops. The Rivermen had already learnt about the dangers of the mountain, one on one combat with him would have resulted in death but attacking him in numbers would weaken him. His men were also not invincible. Amory Lorch, a man who was a cruel and loved to inflict pain and suffering was a terrible fighter in combat. He was in the front lines because he had angered Tywin earlier and now it was biting him back since now he was one of the first people to cross the river and was quickly set upon by the Rivermen. Lorch barely had time to fight before he was speared through the chest.

The first group of Rivermen took heavy casualties and began to pull back and more Lannister men began crossing the river to try and overrun them, exactly what Edmure wanted. He blew his war horn which was the signal.

Back with Tywin, he watched as his men charged across the river. It seemed that the Rivermen camp here was small, they would overrun the camp and quickly destroy it before carry on before reinforcements could be sent. But then he heard the horn blow and looked to see where it had come from. When he saw that it was Edmure Tully, he began to worry, Edmure had been careless in the past but would he make the same error again. Then he heard the thundering of hoofs and watched as Horsemen emerged from the woods, when he saw the Stark Banner, he gasped in horror.

"It's a trap!" Tywin gasped, Robb Stark had returned home from the Westerlands with his force. He had intended to lure him into the Riverlands and ambush him. "Get back across the River!" But the Mountain didn't seem to care, in fact the sight of Stark Banners only made him smile, he saw an opportunity to end the enemy king once and for all. Tywin growled in annoyance, his best weapon had now become a liability. "We need to leave now, get to Kevan and return to Harrenhal!" But then another horn blew, Tywin looked back and saw an army on the hill behind him, when he saw the blue rose on the banner, he realised just how much of a fool he had been and how overconfident he was, the Company of the Rose had been behind him the whole time, they were attacking him in the rear. He grabbed his squire Wilhelm Lannister, his nephew and one of the sons of his brother Kevan. "Get to your father boy, tell him what has happened here and tell him to retreat. I'll meet up with him as soon as I can."

"Yes my lord." Wilhelm replied and then ran off as fast as he could with the message.

The Stark Calvery charged from the forests, past the Rivermen and towards the River striking the Lannister Calvery with heavy force since they had time to pick up speed. Leo Lefford was knocked from his horse and trampled on. The weight of his armour combined with his injured made it difficult to push himself up and because he had landed face down into the waters even with how shallow they were, he just couldn't get up and soon he had drowned.

Galmar led the company forces down the hill before the Lannister archers had a chance to get into position to fire arrows, the Company forces smashed through the lightly defended archers and the Lannister infantry had no time to prepare a defence. Soon it was a free for all on both sides of the river. Stark and Tully infantry facing against Lannister Calvery on one side and Lannister infantry facing Company Calvery on the other side. The battle hardened Company calvery could take out the Lannister infantry with ease and even Tywin was struggling in this fight. He ordered a retreat but it was hard to hear anything over the sounds of swords clashing.

On the far side of the river, Robb Stark took out another Lannister soldier until his horse was speared by a spear causing it to fall to the ground. Robb managed to roll to avoid getting crushed, he soon saw who had thrown the spear, it was the biggest man he had ever seen both in size and strength. He was covered head to toe in thick black armour and he could carry a massive two handed sword in one hand. It was the Mountain, a ruthless and cruel warrior known throughout the lands. He may be an anointed knight but he did everything a knight was not suppose to do. He had been responsible for raiding the Riverlands at the start of the war including burning towns and raping girls including one of Lord Jonas Bracken's daughters. He was someone who the Riverlords wanted dead. He had also been the one who raped and murdered Elia Martell, the wife of Rhaegar Targaryen and Robb's father had wanted him dead ever since then for that crime as well as the fact that Gregor had smashed Elia's baby son as well.

"Look at that!" The Mountain sneered "A lost little puppy, not much of a king are you."

Robb was not scared of him "And you are a wanted criminal and a murderer, you will pay for the crimes you have committed."

"All's fair in war." Gregor sneered

"Raping and pillaging is criminal, I may have raided but I never allowed my men to murder innocent villages and rape girls!" Robb hissed "Face me."

Gregor waved his sword around "I'll be seen as a man who slew a king when I'm done with you." Gregor and Robb soon began fighting each other. Edmure saw this and was worried for his nephew's safety but there was not much he could do since he was now in a fight with Lyle Crakehall.

Robb used his smaller build to his advantage, Gregor may be strong but he was slow and he swung with too much power causing him to over swing at times and bury his sword into the ground. Robb was able to dodge and strike with his sword but Gregor's heavy armour often protected him from Robb's swings which just bounced off. Eventually Robb's luck ran out and he was hit on the side but because of Gregor's carelessness, he struck with the flat edge instead of the sharp blade, if he had, he may have cleaved Robb in two ending his life. The flat side of Gregor's blade still hurt and Robb was knocked back to the ground. Gregor stood above him and raised his sword ready to strike. Then he was hit in the back of the head by a sword which bounced off but still managed to turn his attention elsewhere. Robb saw that it was Joseph Rostark; he had come to the rescue. Joseph managed to pull a dagger out and stabbed Gregor in one of his eyes which was not protected. With a few bashes, he knocked Gregor's helmet off. Gregor swung but with a knife in one eye, he could not see or think properly. Joseph duck to the side and slashed Gregor's leg knocking him to his knee. He grabbed the knife from Gregor's eye and stabbed his shoulder near his neck, Gregor's flesh was so thick that it took Joseph many stabs to do any eventually bring the mountain down. To ensure that the job was finished, Joseph pulled his head up and with a few cuts, he sawed the Mountain's head off his shoulders and held it high in the air.

When the Mountain fell, the entire Lannister forces lost heart and tried to run. The Company of the Rose blocked their forces from escaping but managed to break through. Tywin Lannister managed to escape and flee, Galmar ordered his men not to give chase as there was little point, they had dealt a severe blow to them and now the lions were fleeing with their tail between their legs. Edmure managed to force Lyle Crakehall to surrender and he was added to the list of valuable prisoners.

Joseph dropped the Mountain's head and went over to Robb who was groaning "Are you alright your Grace?" he asked

"I'm fine but I took a hit back there." Robb groaned

"Just hold on, I'll get you to a healer." Joseph replied and he picked Robb up and supported him.

...

After the battle was over, the forces all returned to Riverrun which included Galmar and his Company Forces who revealed that they had already recaptured the Kingslayer as well as his escort. Robb ordered Jaime to be prepared for transportation; he was not taking any chances again. Robb ordered Galmar to take Jaime Lannister to Winterfell and then return with Astrid, he wanted her back here. As for now Brianne of Tarth would remain here under watch, she had only been obeying orders but still, it had been unwise of her to do so without knowing the reality of the situation. As for the other prisoners, Robb ordered Lyle Crakehall to be imprisoned in Riverrun, he was not as valuable but he was a skilled knight. Also captured were Wilhelm and Martyn Lannister, twin sons of Kevan Lannister as well as Tion Frey, son of Genna Frey nee Lannister.

Wilhelm had managed to get a message to his father who was crossing a different path but they too were ambushed by Brynden Tully. That Lannister force hadn't taken as much causality as Tywin's but Wilhelm had been one of the people captured as the Lannisters tried to flee. All three boys were only squires but they would sow fears in the Lannister camp, not with Tywin but with his siblings who loved their children.

As for the Mountain's head, Robb ordered in paraded around the Riverlands to show that the person they feared the most was dead and justice had been served. The rest of his body had been stripped of its armour which would be melted down to make new armour and the body left to rot, after everything he had done, he did not deserve a properly funeral. It was a different story for Leo Lefford whose body was returned to his daughter and the new lady of the Golden Tooth, Alysanne Lefford.

Robb had taken a serious wound in the fight, it was not life threatening but it still hurt. Robb was brought back to his tent where Talisa was waiting for him.

"How are you?" she asked

"How am I?" Robb laughed "I've just fought in a major battle and taken a serious wound in a fight with a man twice my size. Maybe I am a bit of a fool, if it wasn't for Joseph, I would be dead."

"I'm sorry, it was a stupid question." Talisa apologized as she got some water out.

"Don't be sorry." Robb smiled "It was an innocent question, I want to be a good king and lead my men but now even with the arrival of the Company of the Rose, everything seems to be in doubt even with this victory we won today and the fact that we recovered the escaped prisoner. I want to be a good king but I was never raised to be a king. Most kings are raised as princes; I was raised to be lord of Winterfell."

Talisa laughed "I was raised to be a proper little lady, to play the harp and to dance the latest steps and recite Valyrian poetry."

Robb laughed "Except for the last bit, that was how my sisters were raised although Arya resisted it all the way. She still would now." As Talisa began to sew the wound Robb had taken, he wheezed a bit but then said "How did you go from reciting Valyrian poetry to sawing off men's feet and healing wounds."

Talisa sighed "I may have mentioned a bit of my past." She said "I was raised as the daughter of a Magister from Volantis which meant I was raised in one of the centres of slavery, a taboo here in Westeros, one of the reasons I came here. When I was 12 my parents went to the wedding of a friend, these weddings would last for days. Me and my brother were board and it was the hottest day and we couldn't bear to be outside so we ran down to the River Rhoyne. Every child was there that day, naked as the day they were born and racing across the little islands. At one point I lost sight of my brother as I was talking to a friend. I called his name then screaming until I found him floating face down. My heart just stopped, I dragged him from the water onto the Riverbank where I screamed and shook him, I feared he was dead. Then a man ran over with a fish tattooed on his face."

"Was does that mean?" Robb asked

Talisa sighed "In Volantis all slaves have tattoos so you know what they are without having to talk to them. These tattoos mean different things, flies for dung cleaner, hammers for builders, tears for whores, drivers have wheels and slave soldiers have tiger stripes. A fish meant he was a slave on a fishing boat. This man pushed me out of the way, which could result in death for a slave, he then pushed on my brother's chest again and again until he spat out the water and cried but the man just held him. I decided two things that day, I would not waste my years planning dances and masquerades with other noble ladies and when I came of age I wanted to never live in a slaver city again." As she finished she finished stitching Robb's wound. "I'm sorry about that, I seemed to have blathered on."

"No, it's alright." Robb said "I've made a decision as well, I don't want to marry the Frey girl."

Talisa looked at him "I don't want you to marry that girl but you needed that bridge, I hope it's a very beautiful bridge." Before Talisa could say anything else, Robb pulled on onto his bed and they began kissing. The two of them began moving each other's clothes laughing at each other.

Unknown to both of them, outside, Joseph had heard everything and when he peeked in, he couldn't help but sigh "Young love, it can be a blessing or a curse." He said to himself "I only hope that this does not come to backfire. I hope the king will come to understand that actions have consequences."

Then he saw one of his men, Yrsarald approach him, this was the same man who had helped capture the Kingslayer "Commander, there's something the king must known, I've just returned from a scouting trip and picked up someone who the king must see."

"The king is busy with affairs right now." Joseph replied "We mustn't disturb him. Now who did you find."

"Someone who is claiming to be Arya Stark." Yrsarald replied, "We picked her and two others nearby, they're not soldiers as they're all too young but we don't know for certain who they are."

Joseph sighed "Take me to them, and then we'll take them to Lady Catelyn, she should be able to tell us if this really is Arya Stark."

Chapter End:

Well, here's is a chapter that mostly talks about the Battle of the Fords. This battle did happen in the show but it happens different from the books. In the books Tywin tries to cross the river while the Baratheon brothers are fighting to get back to the Westerlands while in the show, Edmure prevents the Mountain from crossing the Red Fork. I did a combination of both the book and show version even if this battle happened off screen. There will be a bit of a time skip in the next chapter as there is not much point writing about what happened right away since there would be little to write although we will see flashbacks. I think for this year I will concentrate on both this story as well as Mass Wars episode 2 but I will also be making plans on three other story ideas that I am currently developing.

The Dragon of Sothoryos: this will be a House of the Dragon/Elder Scrolls crossover set in the same universe as my Rise of the Divines story. It will follow the Aerys Targaryen brother of Viserys I and his daughter Macea as they go off adventuring and get caught up in the events leading up to the Dance of the Dragons as well as coming into contact with the unknown lands of Sothoryos and meet people who no one has ever met before. This will include elements from the Aldmeri Dominion story from Elder Scrolls Online which forms the basis of Sothoryos.

Untitled Game of Thrones Story: An alternate universe story, this one is set before Robert's rebellion and will be about a young wildling who journeys south of the wall where he becomes the sworn sword of Lady Lyanna Stark. The two will enter a romance and then prepare to build their own kingdom beyond the wall but will face threats both north and south of the wall.

Untitled Fallout New Vegas Story: This is one I've been thinking about for a while. It will evolve around a Courier who will have past connections with some of the factions that will be explored more as well as developing Caesar's Legion a bit more to make them more appealing for people.