Chapter 17: Planning for a war

298 AC

Bran

He had been at Riverrun for over four months now. 'I love it here' he thought once more when he looked outside his window at the Tumblestone first thing in the morning.

He put on his clothes quickly before running into the courtyard. His friends had already gathered there, minutes before. His best friend first and foremost was Alyn Blackwood, the fifth son of Lord Tytos. In one of their first lessons they had learned that they were some very distant cousins, as apparently his great-great-grandmother Melantha had been a Blackwood. This drew them together and now they did almost everything together.

Next up you had Lyman Darry, the heir to House Darry. Just like Alyn, he was of the same age as him. Lyman was really funny and knew a lot about Riverlander history, which was interesting.

Last, but not least you had Myles Mooton, second born son of Lord William Mooton and named after his famous uncle. Myles was one year older than them, but as he was somewhat timid that didn't show too much.

They had a lot of fun together. Every morning they went out to train together under the watchful eye of Ser Desmond Grell. All four of them were making steady progress and they were all around the same skill level, so that made for some pretty interesting sparring matches every day.

Afterwards they normally broke their fast and went to their first lesson with Maester Vyman together. This could be about a number of topics, like economics or house sigils but he liked history and stories the most.

Then they would normally have their middaymeal with the Tully family, after which they had a few hours free before their second lesson. He had less free time than the other boys, as his uncle Ser Brynden or sometimes his grandfather Hoster made time for him each day to talk to him and teach him additional things.

He loved Ser Brynden and, although he was quite weak and spent all of his days in his bed now, he liked his grandfather as well. His uncle Edmure was very busy being groomed by both of them, so they spent less time together, but he was also always nice to him.

He looked upon his friends and Ser Desmond gestured for him to pick up a wooden sword and spar with Lyman, and so he did. Ser Desmond had been telling him to swing harder for months when he arrived, but only after he had gotten the news of his father's injury and Jory's death had he gotten it right. Every swing he took, he tried to add a little bit of the anger he felt about it in it. Not too much, as not too swing wildly, but just that little edge.

Ser Desmond seemed pleased with his progress at least and his father had written him a letter over a week ago that he was fine and recovering. So, he didn't have to worry so much now. It still sucked, and he often thought of his family. His mother had promised to visit with his sisters after a year, but that didn't seem likely now. His father's situation in King's Landing, and Sansa going North, would make it so they would be less likely to come south anytime soon.

Luckily, he still had family here, his uncles and grandfather were here to take care of him. Besides Alyn was also a little bit family, wasn't he? He also wrote a lot of letters to his siblings everywhere, even Jon, so that made him miss them less.

He was so caught up in his own thoughts that he didn't see Lyman's next swing in time, and it caught him right on the left arm. He hissed in pain, as the blow would leave a nasty bruise.

"Brandon Stark, you stop dreaming now! Dreaming in a fight gets you killed, do you understand?" Ser Desmond shouted.

He nodded apologetically "Yes, Ser Desmond."

The man looked him sternly in the eye, before looking at this arm. "It isn't too bad but go to the Maester anyway. He can put an ointment on it, to soften the pain." He said. "It won't take all of it away but let the remainder of the pain be a memory of why you shouldn't dream when fighting."

He nodded profusely and ran up towards the Maester's Turret. He ran up the dozens of stairs before halting when he came to the door. The door wasn't quite shut, and he could hear voices inside. His curiosity got the better of him and he listened a little before entering.

"This is grave news, Vyman. We'll have to prepare for war. Prepare for the messages to call the banners to be written, but don't sent them yet. I'll talk with Hoster and Edmure first, but this is our only logical way of acting." He heard a voice say, concern audible in his voice. He recognized the voice as his uncle Brynden and was surprised as the man always seemed so calm and collected before.

"War, Ser Brynden? Is there no other way? Are you sure?" another voice asked with shock. He also recognizes this one, it belongs to Maester Vyman.

"Yes Maester, I'm sure. First, they attack my niece's husband and now they capture him for treason, while they crown their puppet on the throne. The Lannisters have gone too far this time. Multiple good knights and lords have been killed or captured in this plot. The Lannisters won't stop now and I know my nephew Robb and his bannermen will never stand for this. House Tully cannot stand idle while the Lannisters attack our kin." His uncle said with determination.

In shock he realized they were talking about Robb and his father. That must mean his father was captured, but how? Why? Treason? What is this? Without thinking he stormed into the room. "What happened to my father?" he demanded to know.

Both men looked at him in surprise and his uncle had his hand up his blade in a split second. The moment their eyes met, he saw his uncle's soften. He loosened his hand from his sword and went to one knee, just in front of him.

"Bran, there has been grave news from King's Landing. The King is dead. Apparently, your father, or so the Lannisters tell, rebelled against his son Joffrey and he has been captured together with Lords Dondarrion and Dayne. It seems Ser Rolland Storm and Ser Robar Royce were also involved somehow. Whatever the case, your father has been captured and the Lannisters are demanding my brother and his son to go to Riverrun and pay homage to the new King Joffrey." His uncle said, trying to honestly explain the situation.

He looked at his uncle in shock. "Who – Who are those men? The Daynes are from Dorne but I have never heard of Dondarrion or Ser Rolland. And … and Ser Robar Royce? I knew a Waymar Royce once, he went to the Night's Watch and was accompanied by his father Bronzen Yohn. I don't know Robar, who is he? Who are they? What happened?" he started to stammer. He felt totally confused and didn't know what was happening and it scared him.

Before he could say more, his uncle grabbed him and pulled him in a hug. "Shush now Bran, I'll tell you everything you want to know, and more, but you have to calm down first." After a few moments he gathered his thoughts and pulled back a little. He still felt his uncle's hand on his shoulders as he looked into the Tully eyes, that were so like his own. He nodded timidly at his uncle and the man understood his queue to explain.

"Lord Dondarrion is a lord from the Marches in the Stormlands, Ser Rolland Storm is the bastard brother of another Marcher Lord, Lord Bryce Caron. They were both good and honorable men that were very loyal to King Robert. I am quite sure the Lannisters are trying to eliminate King Robert's loyal followers, so they can control his son's rule." He started to explain.

"I don't know why Lord Dayne was there, but considering he should be a boy, it could be for a whole lot of reasons. Ser Robar Royce was the second son of Lord Yohn Royce, Bronzen Yohn as you call him. He was the elder brother of Ser Waymar, who you've seen on his way to the Night's Watch last year. As for what happened? As I've said I think the Lannisters are trying to eliminate the former King's supporters, now that he's dead. Died of a hunting accident apparently, who knows the truth of that." His uncle scoffed.

"The most important thing is that your father has been captured and is being held in King's Landing. I know for a fact your brother and your father's bannermen will not stand for this. So, it quite likely that, if the Lannisters don't let go of your father, we will have a war. I don't know what you heard, but I was discussing House Tully's side in the war." Ser Brynden finished.

"And? What of House Tully's side of the war?" he asked, scared that they wouldn't help his brother and his father.

His uncle looked at him piercingly, before saying "What are House Tully's words, Bran?"

Without thinking he immediately responded "Family, Duty, Honor!"

His uncle smiled at his enthusiasm and responded seriously. "There you have your answer, Bran. Your brother and father are family. Besides that, they are our allies and so it our duty to assist them, we are honor bound to do so."

"So, you will fight to get my father back?" he asked hopefully.

"I personally will, yes. Nothing and no one can keep me from doing so. However, I will need to convince my brother and nephew first before the whole might of House Tully will join. My brother and his son love your mother though, so I wouldn't worry much about it." He smiled.

"Okay!" He smiled thinking, that with a famous knight like Ser Brynden and all the troops of the Riverlands, they could never lose.

"Now it's my time to ask questions, Bran. Why are you here?" the Blackfish asked him sternly.

"Ser Desmond send me towards the Maester to take a look at a nasty bruise I got in training. I heard you talk when I was at the door and so I listened a little before storming in." He admitted, as he looked at his feet.

Ser Brynden put his right index finger under his chin and gently lifted his head until their eyes met. "I was going to tell you all of this anyway, Bran. You don't have to eavesdrop, it's not a good trait. People don't appreciate it."

"I know, I'm sorry." He said as he looked down again.

"Now come here, nephew. You look like you could use a hug." His uncle said as he was caught in a big hug. The hug felt really nice and he put his head on his uncle's shoulder. It was almost as nice as the one's Robb or his father gave him back home.

They stayed like that for a few moments, before his uncle slowly pulled away. "Now you'll have to excuse me nephew. I have to talk to my other nephew and convince him of his damn duty to help your brother." He said with a smile as he winked at him.

He smiled back and nodded at him. "Maester Vyman, I propose that you first take a look at young Bran here, before going to work on what I asked you. Edmure and I will be here soon, I imagine."

The Maester nodded and called him over to look at his arm.


It had been a few days since all the ravens had flown out. Ser Brynden had explained that most were on their way towards their bannermen, to call them to arms. Others were sent to the Eyrie and to Winterfell, asking them for assistance and promising them to stand together against the Lannisters.

Already rumors were going around the castle that the Lannisters were amassing an army behind the Golden Tooth. He didn't know if they were true, but it seemed really quick if it was.

He decided to clear his mind and go climb a little. He started to climb the sandstone walls at the keep. By now, he knew them almost as well as he did those of Winterfell. He knew that on his way to the top, he would have to climb past the Lord's solar and would eventually reach the top of the keep. From there, he could climb up and take the stairs down. The faces of the guards on top were really funny to see as he climbed up, out of nowhere.

After climbing for about ten minutes, he reached the balcony of the lord's solar. He decided to hold on to the beams of the balcony. To catch his breath before continuing. That was when he heard voices. It seemed like both his uncles were having an argument.

"You can't leave Houses Piper and Vance to defend the pass alone, they'll be slaughtered!" his uncle Brynden shouted out.

"I trust Mark and Karyl and their fathers to defend the pass from the Lannister's uncle. They are capable and valiant. They won't let us down!" his uncle Edmure responded.

"Oh, Edmure! I never doubted their abilities. Clement Piper and Lord Vance are good man and capable soldiers, they just don't have the men! Together they can raise forty-five hundred men at most and that will take some time. What are they going to do if the Lannisters spill from the Tooth with ten thousand men? Or twenty thousand? They won't stand a chance, no matter how valiant they fight!" Ser Brynden called out.

At this, he decided to look inside the solar. He placed his left foot on the support corbel of the balcony and swung his body around, so he could easily hold himself on the nicely worked stone railing, decorated with fishes. From here on out, he had a good view of a part of the solar and he saw a few men standing around a table with maps on it.

"Do you really think the Lannisters could field so much troops, so quick? His uncle Edmure asked, clearly surprised.

"It is possible. I wouldn't put it past Tywin to have been quietly amassing troops since he got word of the Kingslayer's flight. If he started raising his levy then, he could have easily amassed and armed thousands of men already. If you count on the fact that they are still not making any signs of marching out, this could swell a lot more in the coming weeks. So, by the time Lords Vance and Piper are ready, I think it is safe to say the Lannisters will have over thirty thousand men ready." Ser Brynden replied.

They were talking about the war and the troop movements of the armies, he realized. It seems the rumors in the castle were right.

"You think they will be coming down from the Golden Tooth with thirty thousand men?" Edmure asked, shock all over his face.

"No, I think they will make a two-pronged attack. One from the Golden Tooth and one from the Goldroad, at least that's what I would do. So maybe half of that would be coming down from there." The famous Blackfish answered, and he started to realize how he got his reputation. His uncle was telling horrible truths but stayed calm and collected under all of it. He wanted to know more and so he moved forward a little, but that was a big mistake.

The movement made him slip a little on the smooth sandstone. He collected himself easily, years of experience climbing had though him a lot. The only problem was that he had had to make a big movement to keep his balance, a movement that hadn't gone unnoticed.

"It seems we have a visitor." Ser Brynden said and with those words he felt all of his breath leave his body. A mere second later his uncle was towering above him. "Do you need a hand, Bran?"

He swallowed deeply and nodded while taking the man's hand and climbing on the balcony. As he walked into the room, he saw his uncle Edmure, Ser Desmond and Ser Robin Ryger standing around the table. All looked at him in shock, all except for his uncle Brynden next to him.

"How, how did Bran get here?" Edmure asked Ser Brynden.

"He climbed up here, I suppose. He was holding onto the balcony while listening in on our conversation." The Blackfish answered matter-of-factly, with a small smirk on his face.

"Climbed? But … but we are over forty feet high! You can't climb that." Ser Robin said, and the other two men easily agreed.

"Oh, this boy can. His mother told me all about it." His uncle sniggered. "When I was in Winterfell, I once stopped him from climbing a tower that was twice as high as the keep here. I think he can manage this."

"You knew that I was planning to go climbing back then?" he asked surprised, not being able to keep his mouth shut.

At this the whole room looked at him. "Well, I had a pretty good idea and you just confirmed it, young Brandon." Ser Brynden laughed aloud.

"I suppose, you have done this more than once already?" Ser Robin Ryger suddenly asked.

He nodded, a little ashamed, as he looked at his feet.

The man scoffed, "Well, that explains those weird briefings with the guards on top of the keep lately."

"Anyway, I think we should go back to business. Bran here is completely unhurt, except for maybe his pride that he was caught. So, I think that we don't need to keep going over this, we have a war to plan." His Blackfish uncle said.

All the men in the room nodded, but uncle Edmure kept looking at him very suspiciously. "I have a request for you all, men." His uncle Brynden continued. "I would like Bran to be able to stay here and learn from these discussions. He has heard the majority of this conversation already, I think. This way we can make him promise to not tell the whole castle.

Edmure looked shocked. "Uncle, the boy is eight years old, you can't be serious?"

"I am, that boy is the son of Eddard Stark one of the best generals I've seen in my lifetime. Besides that, he is also the grandson of your father who isn't so bad either. I'll think he'll get the hang of it quickly." The man said, as he suddenly looked at him whilst saying those last words.

He beamed inside with pride but managed to keep his mouth shut for now. He still looked up to his uncle with a smile, the man looked down and smiled back.

"Still, uncle. The boy is far too young. He might not even understand everything." Edmure argued.

Ser Brynden looked at him then. "Bran, I want you to tell us everything you heard from us, hanging from the balcony. Tell it in your own words, so we know you understand it."

He looked questioningly at his uncle, afraid to do something wrong. "Go on", the man replied as he gave him a nudge on the shoulder.

He looked across the room and said "Well the Lannisters are amassing their troops and you were discussing how to stop them. Uncle Edmure wants to order Lord Vance and Lord Piper to hold the pass from the Golden Tooth, but Uncle Brynden doesn't like the idea very much. Uncle Brynden then told that he expects the Lannisters to have a lot more troops than uncle Edmure expected and that's why he thinks the plan is bad. Thirty thousand by the time they attack, or something." He said, as the men around him looked at him in shock.

"Oh, and uncle Brynden also thinks the Lannisters will attack from the Goldroad and the Golden Tooth, not just the latter only. Maester Vyrman has taught me the maps of the Riverlands, so I know where those are." With this he walked over to the map and pointed his finger at the Tooth and then the Goldroad.

"HAHAHA" his uncle Brynden roared with laughter. "He showed you nephew!" he said as he put his hand on uncle Edmure's shoulder. The latter was still looking at him a mixture of shock and amusement on his face. Finally, he said "Alright, we'll let him stay. He has to swear to not say a word to anyone, however. He'll also have to stay quiet. We can't have him interrupt this constantly.

At this his uncle nodded and so he swore on his family that he would never tell anyone. He stood next to Ser Brynden, as the man put a hand on his shoulder. He didn't look at him though, as the discussion started once more.

"You expect the Lannisters to do something from the Goldroad? Edmure asked Ser Brynden.

"Yes, I would do it like that. We are going to amass our strength here at Riverrun, he said as he pointed to the castle on the map. He knows that and it makes the whole of the Riverlands vulnerable from here at the Mummer's ford," he said as he pointed to some point between Stony Sept and Pinkmaiden. "to here." He said as his finger moved towards Harrenhall.

"What can we do about it?" uncle Edmure asked.

"Not much, except for letting all those lords man their castles themselves. However, that would mean that we wouldn't have enough levies to defend against the attack coming from the Tooth though, so they would just pick us off one by one." Ser Desmond Grell replied.

"So, we'll just give up on Pinkmaiden, Stoney Sept, Wayfarer's Rest, Stone Hedge and Harrenhall now? You can't be serious!" his uncle Edmure exclaimed.

"No, we don't. Not really at least. Pinkmaiden and Wayfarer's Rest will need to be given up temporarily. If we can hold the army from the Tooth here at Riverrun, we can turn it around and march on the second one and protect the other castles. In any case Harrenhall can't fall. It would mean that Casterly Rock and King's Landing are connected, and we can't let that happen." Ser Brynden responded.

Edmure nodded at that. "You are sure the Pipers and Vances won't be able to halt the Lannisters for a time, while we amass more forces here?"

"Absolutely positive." The Blackfish responded.

"Okay, then we'll do it your way for now. We'll pull back the Pipers and the Vances towards here. We'll give them the opportunity to save their families and household and bring them with them, if they want. All the other lords will amass here in Riverrun as planned and we'll defeat the Lannisters here when they arrive." Edmure said. As the heir, he acted instead of grandfather Hoster, he knew. His grandfather was too weak to attend the meeting and so Edmure took it upon himself to lead.

"I will also call upon Stony Sept to double its guards. That way the Lannisters may not want to siege the city and we can spare the people from the war. This will be all for today, I will call upon you when I know more." Edmure said.

Ser Desmond and Ser Robin left and just as he was about to leave with Ser Brynden, his uncle Edmure called out to him. "Bran?"

"Yes, uncle?" he asked. "Not a word to anyone, understood?"

He nodded heavily and left the room.


(Four weeks Later)

He was sitting silently on the top of the keep with Alyn and Lyman. They looked on the fields to the south and west of Riverrun. Where once there had been grassy plains or fields of wheat, now there was an army. Rows of tents were scattered all over the fields and banners in many different colors flew from them.

The army in question grew larger everyday now. Over ten thousand men had gathered beneath the walls of Riverrun. These were the troops of Houses Tully, Piper, Ryger, the two Vances and Blackwood and Bracken. From House Tully new levies were arriving and being armed every day still, but it had slowed down to only a dozen men a day now. The big arrivals of troops now came only from their bannermen, big and small. Many more would be arriving in the next month.

Ser Brynden had told him that House Tully, in contrast to House Stark, wasn't the strongest House in its region. The Blackwoods, Brackens, Mallisters and Freys all had much bigger levies than the Tullys. The latter two still hadn't arrived, but the first two had around similar strength of that of the Tully levy in the field, maybe a little more. When he pointed that out to his uncle, the men had scoffed that "they left too many men at home to protect their keeps and livestock".

Apparently, all the lords had done so, as the Vances of Wayfarer's Rest and Pipers didn't bring anything close to the forty-five hundred men like Ser Brynden had said. He guessed it was just over half of that. Ser Brynden explained that it was a common thing in the history of the Riverlands. None of the lords trusted each other good enough to gather full levies. Besides that, the Riverlands had seen a lot of fighting in Robert's Rebellion and the population hadn't completely recovered yet in some parts.

It had been fun meeting Alyn's father, Lord Tytos. He was very kind towards him and even arranged for him join them in prayer a few days ago. Lord Tytos had arrived with his second son Lucas, Alyn's elder brother. Alyn had explaind that his eldest brother Ser Brynden was governing Raventree Hall, while his brother Hoster wasn't much of a fighter. The others, like Alyn were too young to fight.

Only one of his sons accompanied Lord Tytos but that didn't mean there wasn't an abundance of Blackwoods in Riverrun now. Alyn's father came with his two brothers, one of his nephews and four of his cousins and even some of their sons. It had been really nice to see Alyn's big family and he had felt a little stronger as all of them had gathered under the slender weirwood tree of Riverrun.

Lord Tytos had talked to him about his father, said they were friends from the Rebellion. When he had sheepishly pointed out that they were very distant kin, through his father's great-grandmother, the man had laughed and slapped him softly on the shoulder. He said that "it was a true honor to be counted as kin by a Stark". He had gone on that "he was happy his son had such a good friend and that if he were to ever want for something after the war, that a son of Eddard Stark and a grandson of Hoster Tully would always be welcome in his home".

Lyman's father hadn't arrived yet. Ser Raymun Darry had by sheer chance escaped the fate of his father, as he had left King's Landing a few days prior to the capture. As such he had been on the road when the ravens with the news and the question to gather his forces had come. As such the Darrys were slow to rally their forces and were expected to only arrive in a few weeks.

It wouldn't make much of a difference Lyman had stated sadly. The Darrys had lost half their land, all their wealth and most of their power after the Rebellion. Their remaining lands had been severely damaged by the Tullys and hadn't fully recovered yet. Because of these reasons, the Darrys would only be able to rally a few hundred men from their own lands and would have no money to hire additional sellswords or freeriders.

Lyman had said that his House would recover, given time. If their lands healed, they would be able to muster over a thousand men again. In addition, the lands they had left were fertile. They would replenish their coffers again in time. Ser Raymun had been busy doing so for over a decade now. He had told his son that if they continued their current course of action, their house's power would be restored at the latest when Lyman became a father of his own.

Lyman had come here to mend the rift between House Darry and House Tully, and he had secretly told him that his father hoped that a (small) portion of their lands could be returned to them through his stay here.

Ser Raymun wouldn't only come with less levy. He would also come without the big family the Blackwoods had. Ser Raymun's brothers had all died in the battle of the Trident. Of the male line, only Lyman and his father remained. They do have multiple Frey cousins through the female line, but Lyman thinks little of them.

His thoughts on the Houses of his two friends were interrupted by the sound of a lot of men entering the courtyard out of the keep. To his surprise, he saw his uncle Brynden shout at all the men around him to saddle up and gather others. He looked at his friends, looked down again and without saying a word he rushed down the stairs of the keep.

When he arrived in the courtyard, he saw his uncle run towards the stables and he followed him immediately. In the stables he finally caught up to him, as he was saddling his horse. A beautiful black destrier, that served to augment his status as 'Blackfish' he knew.

"Uncle, where are you going?" he called, out of breath from his race down the stairs and over the courtyard.

"Bran, I didn't expect to see you here. Why are you so out of breath?" Ser Brynden asked with a weird look on his face.

"I was … looking at the army with Alyn and … Lyman and I … saw you preparing to leave so I … rushed down." He panted.

A small smile came to the man's face as he kneeled down to his height. "Shhh, catch your breath first." He said.

A few moments later, he asked him "Are you good?" and he nodded in reply.

"A lot of news has come in today. Lord Tywin has apparently come up from the Goldroad with twenty thousand troops two days ago. He is planning to march into the belly of the Riverlands unopposed. At the same time Jaime Lannister has come down from the Golden Tooth with fifteen thousand men unopposed and is storming towards here at high speed. He had apparently scouted the area well and knew what to expect." His uncle started to explain, intensely looking at him if he understood.

"They will be here in a few days. In the meantime, Edmure has refused me command of the forces, saying he wants to lead the forces himself to show the Riverlords he is a worthy heir to Hoster as he defeats the Kingslayer. Utter madness, if you ask me. The Lannisters outnumber us three to two and they have prepared and drilled a lot longer than we have."

"Subsequently, he refused me command of any other meaningful position and refuses to decide on a good plan to hinder Lord Tywin's march. The only good command he offered was to give Lord Tytos the rearguard but all the other commands he gave to his inexperienced friends." He continued.

"He keeps insisting that a lot more of our bannermen like the Mallisters, Freys, Lychesters, Smallwoods, Darrys and others will be here on time for the battle. If all of them do, even with the reduced numbers they always bring, we would outnumber the Lannisters. The thing is that half of those lords, like the Freys, Lychesters and Darrys haven't left their keeps yet. So, it is utter folly." His uncle explained, anger and emotion clear in his voice.

Shock hit him, as he heard Ser Brynden speak like that. He had never seen the man rave like that and it was clear that he was concerned about uncle Edmure and the war. "So, what are you going to do uncle?" he asked scared.

"There is nothing for me to do here. Edmure won't listen to me and he refused me any position in which I can have an influence on the battle. I have asked Edmure permission to gather six hundred riders from our own House and House Bracken so I can harass Lord Tywin's supply lines. He has allowed me only five hundred, but it'll do." Ser Brynden said with sadness in his voice.

"I'll hit their supply convoys, attack their column at night and destroy the garrisons they leave behind in conquered castles. I plan to slow Lord Tywin's march as much as I can until your father's army arrives here. We have had word from your brother, he has called the banners and plans to march soon. We have already sent a raven today with the news that the fighting will soon begin. I plan to join your countrymen when they enter the Riverlands. It'll be weeks before that happens though, so I know what to do until then." He said, some form of fighting spirit returning to his voice.

He didn't like that his uncle was leaving. His grandfather slept more and more now and uncle Edmure was, although kind, always busy. Uncle Brynden was the only one that regularly spent time with, except for his friends. "Can I come with you?" he asked pleadingly, not wanting to see his idol leave.

His uncle smiled sadly at him. "No, Bran you cannot. You are still too small. If there is another war in a few years, and I really hope there won't be one, you can accompany me as my squire or as a knight. Now you need to stay here and listen to Hoster and Edmure. Do you understand?"

He nodded sadly and subsequently tackled his uncle to the ground with a huge hug. At this the man laughed and hugged him back. After a while he stood up and pulled him to his feet. He climbed on his horse and rode into the courtyard. Looking around and seeing that all the men that were in the keep were waiting, he turned his horse once more towards him. "Family, duty and honor, Bran. Never forget it. Even if Winter has come, it's still family first, then duty and lastly honor." With this he turned his horse and spurred it through the gates. Three dozen riders following him.

He ran up on the castle walls and looked as the group of riders made its way towards the army. He stood there, silently watching, until he saw a much larger group of horsemen leave the encampment an hour later. He followed the group with his eyes for a long time, until they were almost out of sight. He then left the battlements and walked across the courtyard back to the keep.

He went towards the Great Hall to eat and saw it filled with men, but he knew none of them. He looked around, and although he was surrounded by dozens of people, he had never felt so alone.


This is all for this chapter!

A totally different view on the war in the Riverlands and much has changed from canon.

First of all, the Pipers and Vances aren't defeated, so their keeps aren't unprotected and easy prey to sack for the Mountain.

Secondly, a lot more of their troops made it alive to Riverrun.

Thirdly, Jaime marches on Riverrun unopposed and will arrive much sooner than in canon. As such even more of the Riverlords haven't joined yet than in canon and Edmure's force is (due to the Pipers and Vances coming and Ser Brynden leaving) only a little stronger than it was in the books.

Fourthly and most importantly, little Bran just saw his idol ride away and has his heart broken, while he is stuck in Riverrun. Oh, and Ser Brynden will slow down Tywin considerably in doing so.

Thank you all for following this stoy!

Fannic


Reviews:

First of all, I'm surprised with all the people saying not much has changed from canon. 38/70 of the chapters in A Game of Thrones and 46/70 chapters in A Clash of Kings are POV's by Arya, Jon, Sansa, Bran, Catelyn or Theon. All of those lives are heavily changed by what I've written, especially Jon, Bran, Arya and Theon. The Starks and Tullys have a very different position than in canon and look a lot better.

I always planned for the War of Five Kings to happen, as visible in the preview text of this story. A lot of things have happened, but I hate deus ex machina fabrications of writers. So yes, most changes will start small and will roll from there. Most of the small changes in the first sixteen chapters will have a very big impact. Most of those changes will only be felt deep into the war, however.

For those that want to see change, next chapter will also be an early big one as we will return to the North with Robb. How will everything change for him, now that he has much better relations with a few Northern Houses? I really look forward to picking the fruits of the labor of my earliest fostering chapters with Robb, so stay tuned.


Reviews:

- George Cristian810: I'm sad to hear this but thank you for reading.

- Kuman: Yes they were! Considering one became a Kingsguard under Renly and the other is a trusted veteran under Stannis it seemed appropriate. i actually thought of more Kingsguard dying but if you think about it, they are the last line of defense for the Royal Family. It's not their job to cut as much men down, it's their job to protect and as such at least some of them will hold back at all time. Just imagine all four of them go on a rampage but Ser Robar gets trough the line to Joffrey haha. In that perspective it makes sense, not all were involved at all time. They only fight in number when the Royal family is in the fight (The Trident) or when their is no one else (Tower of Joy).

Yeah Bronze Yohn is a beast (and Robar's probable teacher), although he is getting old ... Still he will have a big role to play in this story, but it will take a while for him to resurface.

- Kingmanaena: Ned has too many flaws to catch a break in the south. Besides, Robert has let his court be rotten to the core and just dumps it all on Ned, it's very sad to see but he doesn't have a change.

- Force Smuggler: Yes, a writer too finally! I had planned for the King's Landing arc to be a lot less words/chapters but it was necessary for the story to do it like this.

- 0sef: Ned is just not cut out of the wood needed to survive King's Landing and he will never be. Especially not in this line of story here, however he was much stronger now and made his defeat in King's Landing a lot less severe for his House. The North is strong and knit together. All his children (except Bran?) are safe and Robb is loved in the North. He did amazing with his characteristics.

- Qwerty48: I hope you're not actually dying! Here is your quick chapter though.

- Osterreicher97: Cersei understands, but she think daddy will fight/buy his way out of this. She also (like in canon) thinks the North is done for without Ned. Even Tywin sees Robb as an inexperienced little boy.

- Supremus85: True, but most of his time was spent marching and planning, not training. Anyway, thank you!

- Miguelgiuliano: He just doesn't get King's Landing. He was much more intelligent here. He didn't trust Littlefinger, kept his troops close and sought allies ... but it wasn't enough. Cersei is too rich and the Lannister have gathered too much power over the years for Ned to undo in a few months. The fact is also that Littlefinger and Varys are playing their own games and no one understands them, that includes Ned.

- Anja Quickert9: Thank you for following the story!