Chapter 45: The Battle of the God's Eye

300 AC

Robb

He was sitting in the Tully solar alone, leaning backwards against the oaken chair that had belonged to his late grandfather. As he looked outside of the window, he could see it was a sunny autumn day. It was rather cold for the Riverlands, but he preferred it that way. It made him feel more at home.

The last weeks had been difficult for him. On one hand, he had been stuck here, not being able to do anything. On the other hand, he had needed to prepare for everything that may or may not happen with them stuck here. Trenches had been dug, troops had been trained and battle plans had been made for an enemy that had never come.

All that had come were the messages of more of his vassals' keeps falling, often viciously sacked and burned afterwards. Although he understood them, it had still been tiring to have to keep the Riverlords in check day by day. He was beginning to understand what an ungrateful job it was to rule these divided lands. What a strain it must have taken on his grandfather.

Yet, he had managed to do so for now. He was still here, all of his lords were too. Many of them had threatened to leave the army and go back to their homes, but none ever did.

Even if no one got out, that didn't mean nothing got in. He looked once again upon the thick stack of letters he had received in the past weeks. Sometimes it felt as if the time stood still here in Riverrun, but then he remembered those letters and it seemed as if time had accelerated tenfold.

So much had happened, so much had changed. Most notable had been the news of the Twins. The Freys had fallen and Lord Walder and his heirs were dead. The male line of Ser Stevron dying out, as many other Frey lines had. The new heir of the Twins was of little consequence. Emmon Frey and his brood were Lannisters in all but name, none of them would ever rule anything in the Riverlands.

The stories he had heard about the Twins had given him nightmares. The people were already calling it the "Rape of the Twins". If the stories were true, it wasn't far from the truth. The tale was quickly becoming his Castamere and he didn't like it one bit. Be that as it may, Lord Robett hadn't actually disobeyed any direct order of his. All those he had wanted spared were alive and hadn't been touched, yet he hadn't thought the fate of the others would have been quite so gruesome.

It wasn't only the Freys either. The Erenfords and Haighs had tried to ambush Glover's force. So after they took the Twins, forces had been dispatched to do the same to those smaller houses. Their keeps had been almost undefended, after almost all of their men had been lost during the failed ambush. The repetition of the horror on a smaller scale with those two houses only served to greaten the effect the story had.

He had always known there would be revenge. He had even welcomed the party of riders, who had come two days ago. They had brought with them the heads of Lord Walder and his two great-grandsons and heirs Ser Edwyn and Ser Petyr. This had greatly lifted morale among his soldiers. He had had the heads set on a pike above the gatehouse as a message for everyone to see.

Those stories still haunted him, but most of his men didn't have that issue. Even his friends didn't care. Harry and Torr had been glad in a way apparently. They said their father would never have died if they could have followed their original battle plan without the betrayals of the Freys. Smalljon's only comment had been that they would have to make sure no bastards were born of it, as he did not want House Frey to have any more members.

To them this felt like honest revenge and others seemed to agree with this. Ser Wylis Manderly had even pointed out how it could politically work in his favor. No one would dare to betray him now, while enemy houses would be more willing to surrender in the future if they knew this could await them when they resisted. He had also mentioned that, although what happened at the Twins would be connected to his reign, he couldn't be personally blamed or praised for it. That dubious honor would go to Lord Robett.

To punish the loyal lord, who had followed his every order and brought his army their revenge would drive his army to mutiny. So, there was nothing he could do, except to try and live with it. All he could do was make sure it never happened. That said, he would still have to punish House Frey and get rid of most of those family members. Too many possible claimants that needed to be dealt with were still running around. If he didn't want the next five generations of his house to be faced with constant rebellions and uprisings in that region, he had to take care of them.

There had also been some very good news. Lord Royce had managed to follow up his victory and capture Gulltown. The enemy army was broken, and by now the pieces had all but surrendered. Multiple new houses had joined their cause and the reinforced army would soon march on the few remaining enemies in the Vale. Lord Royce had reassured him again that his cousin Robert Stone would be sent to the Wall and would not he executed. Aunt Lysa would most likely be forced to join the Silent Sisters. She had brought that on herself sadly.

More good news had arrived yesterday. Lord Tarly had finally been seen marching in south-west direction with thirty thousand Reachmen. This left Tywin alone and vulnerable.

The army was already preparing. They would leave in two days. If everything went well, he would again have just over twenty thousand men. If you added to them the two thousand or so reinforcements with which Lord Glover would be marching, they again had an impressive force. He would for once outnumber the Lannisters, a peculiar feeling which he had decided he quite liked.

Tarly's departure was of course the result of many other things happening in Westeros. The ironman had attacked the Arbor and had taken many of the small Islands around it. They used it as bases to attack keeps, villages and shipment on either sound of the Whispering Sound. The Arbor proper had had the worst of it. Euron Geyjoys force had sacked Ryamsport and taken Vinetown and Starfish Harbor for their own. These had formerly been the bases of the Redwyne Fleet, a serious statement.

The aforementioned fleet was making its way around Dorne as we speak. News of a naval battle was to be expected, although it would probably take a while still. The distance was still great and both would most likely scout their opponent first. Even more interesting had been the news about the Iron Fleet. They had been seen passing Lys and going east, no one knew where to. Was their division amongst the ironborn?

Be that as it may, the ironborn wouldn't have their strongest ships in the coming naval campaign against the Reach, something he quite liked. Both destroying each other would be ideal, although he'd rather see the Redwynes win than the Greyjoys.

Tarly could also have moved south for another reason. Reports had come of the Golden Company attacking the Stormlands. What those sellswords were doing there, nobody knew. The Blackfyres were all dead to his knowledge, so it made no sense. Although, he had once thought the same could said of male Targaryens and now he had one sleeping in the room next to him.

The sellswords seemed to be led by a man named Jon Connington, a Stormlord who had been friends with Rhaegar. He had fled during the Rebellion and many had thought him dead, but apparently not. They had taken multiple castles in the Stormlands, but for now didn't really seem like a threat. Their forces seemed scattered and too few to inflict serious damage for now.

Besides, most of the Stormlords had pledged themselves to Tommen after the dead of Stannis Baratheon so another mess for the Lannisters to clean up wasn't entirely a bad thing. The more of their troops scattered around, the easier they were to defeat.

Finally, there had also been news from the North. He had received a letter from Alaric, one of his wife's cousins. He had arrived at the Wall with three hundred troops, as asked, and now he sent back a report.

The Wildlings who had been scattered on their side of the Wall had been dealt with successfully. They had done some damage to the area, although Brandon's Gift had already been highly depopulated before that. Most had been scattered in smaller raiding groups of a few hundred or even a few dozens. That way they been able to take care of them one by one with minimal losses.

The main Wildling army had also undertaken a next attack on the Wall. His troops had managed to hold them off, together with a few Night Watch members sent from the other castles. The losses had been heavy on both sides. Hother Umber had died in the fighting, as well as many nobles from the clans.

Of the once three thousand strong force, less than half seemed to remain in fighting condition. Alaric's reinforcements had also lost around a third of their troops and the army was weak, he wrote. The good thing was that over two thousand Skagosi were on their way to Eastwatch. They would be ferried over in smaller contingents by the Night's Watch small navy.

Alaric's letter had also mentioned something else that troubled him. Apparently, his grandfather had started to behave differently in Karhold after Lord Rickard died. He had seemingly started to make small decisions which he had no authority over without Harrion's approval. Nothing major had happened, but the indirect challenge to his brother-in-law's authority was still worrisome.

All of this had kept him here in this solar far too much. He had spent hours thinking about the hundreds of questions and uncertainties that presented itself.

What would the possible consequences of either an ironborn or a Redwyne victory be? How could he help to better contain the Wildling threat, now and in the future? When would the Vale troops be able to march? He thought about what Tarly's march would mean for the civil war that was brewing in the Reach. Who would he side with? Would it be his liege, Lord Willas Tyrell, or his wife's kin, House Florent?

Most of all, he thought about Tywin Lannister and how to finally beat him. He couldn't prepare better than he already had. He knew everything of his army, from the amount of arrows in stock to the size of the future baggage train. He had spent a lot of hours bowed over his maps. He could honestly say that he knew every possible battleground from Riverrun to King's Landing and the advantages or disadvantages they all held.

Still, he looked again. The next time the two of them met on the battlefield, he would crush his army and open the road to King's Landing. He would finish this damned war and go back to see his daughter grow up.

His plans had been made and ravens had flown to possible allies. Now all they could do was march and hopefully end this.


(Eighteen days later)

He had finally done it. He had managed catch up to the Lannister army near the God's Eye River. Two weeks of chasing each other and having constant skirmishes finally bore fruit. His gamble had paid off. He had sent his uncle with three hundred light horsemen ahead to block any potential crossings of the river and they had managed to do so.

This had given him the opportunity to finally catch up with his enemy's forces. By the time he was close, a quarter of the Lannister force had actually made it across the river. Yet, it was too late for the whole force to get across. Tywin Lannister had had two choices. Either he abandoned part of his army and all of his baggage train, or he pulled his forces back from across the river and faced him in battle.

The Old Lion had apparently chosen the latter and he was glad for it. He would finally get a chance to end this. He had pushed his army a lot, but his twenty-two thousand men were still eager and ready to fight. They outnumbered the fifteen thousand strong enemy force significantly, but that was not their biggest advantage.

Among Tywin's army was a core of around eleven thousand Westerlanders, elite and hardened troops who had been with since his invasion of the Riverlands. Their skill was great and their discipline a thing to envy, although their morale had probably taken a few hits during the campaign. Yet, he knew they would hold. The other part of the army he wasn't so sure about.

His uncle estimated that Tywin had some four thousand men serving under him that were either made up of sellswords or Crownlanders who had all but been coerced into his army all those months ago. If he could break the line, those would be the first to go and he was counting on it.

He felt very confident in his ability to win this battle, yet he wouldn't take any risk. He had halted and waited for three hours, less than three miles from the enemy. It had served multiple purposes. Firstly, his army had been tired from the forced match. He wanted them to regain part of their strength before giving battle. Secondly, it gave him the benefit of confusing the enemy. By now they would have been waiting on him for hours. They would start to ponder if he would still attack today, maybe they would rethink not crossing the bridge or even outright attack him. Both were foolish and he would welcome either mistake. Thirdly and most importantly, he had another surprise up his sleeve. The longer he waited, the more chance he had that his plan actually came to fruition. He would use the Lannisters own methods against them.

That was still a while away, however. For now, his forces started to line up on the field in front of them. Their enemy already present on the other side of it. His plan was quite simple. He would use his advantage in numbers together with the terrain. He had strengthened both his flanks and they would push and envelop the enemy from the sides. From then on, the center would push the Lannisters into the river. They would have nowhere to go, except for the small bridge that would never be able to take them all.

If all went well, it would be a complete slaughter. He would welcome it. This elite Westerlander force had brought uncountable amounts of grief on the Riverlands. They sacked Stoney Sept, Stone Hedge, Harrenhall, Maidenpool, Pinkmaiden and many other holdfasts. They had killed thousands upon thousands of Riverlanders themselves, while tens of thousands had died of starvation and banditry due to their actions. Even more had become homeless and fled north.

All of them deserved to pay for it, even if they were only following orders. He waited upon the hill, overlooking the battlefield from on top of his white destrier. The horse had been a new addition that his brother had brought him. The beast was majestic, it had apparently belonged to some Reachlord and been wounded after Atranta.

Lord Edmure's horse breeders had been able to restore him to strength and Jon and had bought him for him as a gift. Many commented what a sight it made, as he sat upon the white warhorse in his grey armor. Flanked by Grey Wind and with his white cloak, made out of fur from Northern hares, flowing in the air, he apparently looked like the embodiment of the Kings of Winter of old. He needed to admit, the play upon his house colors looked amazing and he thanked Jon profusely for it.

Ice hung from the right side of the warhorse, as he himself held a spear in his hand. He also had a shorter sword at his hip, more appropriate for fighting on horseback. His shield was currently in the hands of his squire, Olyvar Frey. Many had wanted him to dismiss his friend, on the basis of his name alone. He had refused them all. Olyvar had saved his life from his own kinsmen. There was no one better and more loyal for the position.

As he looked around, his army seemed ready. It had once again assembled in three blocks, as he liked it. He looked around to see if the standards of the respective commanders were in place.

On the left he saw the white sunburst on a black field high in the sky. Harrion would do as well as his father, he knew. Lord Robett Glover had been appointed as his second-in-command. The older, ruthless man would be a good addition to his brother-in-laws young talent and energy.

In the center, the roaring giant of House Umber stood in front of the line. The Greatjon always led from the front and he never disappointed when it came to warfare. He himself had chosen his brother Rodrik and Lord Flint to serve directly under him and he had agreed. He didn't have to learn the Umber lord anything about chosing his battle commanders.

On the right were the Riverlanders, under his uncle Edmure's command. His uncle was by far his weakest commander, yet he couldn't refuse him the position due to his rank. Luckily, the new Lord Tully had learned a lot from this war and would do decently on the job. His friend Ser Ronald Vance, the heir to Atranta, had been appointed as his second. The knight showed great promise and the death of his younger brothers gave him an energy and determination few could rival.

Two cavalry forces had assembled on both sides. One under the command of the new Lord Bolton, the other under his brother. To his surprise, none of the Riverlanders had even uttered a word about serving under 'a bastard'. It really showed how far they had come and how Jon had won over the men in the army. He was glad for it, as there was no one he trusted more.

The archers in front were still under the command of Lord Deddings. The Riverlord was almost of an age with his late father but showed the energy of a man ten years his junior. He had been in great spirts for the last two weeks.

When asked why, he had simply answered that revenge would soon be his. All remembered the story of how the Lannisters had killed his pregnant wife and daughter and none could blame the man for those feelings. All he cared for was if he would do his job. In response to that concern, the Riverlord had just smiled and said. "My archers will shoot so many arrows into their army, their knights will look like a group of dead porcupines."

He himself had once again taken control of the reserve cavalry. Lady Mormont was one again leading the reserve infantry, seeing as she had done a great job at Atranta. He trusted all of his commanders. Victory would soon be in their grasp.

He took a deep breath, while looking up at the sky. "This one's for you father. For you and all the brave men that lost their lives in this war. Today we try to end this." He looked back at the army and gave his signal. Soon, the horns blared the marching signal. Twenty-two thousand men immediately came into action as he himself urged his horse slowly forward.

Not long after, they were in range of the enemy force and archers started shooting at both sides. His archer core was larger than that of the enemy and they had the same amount of experience by now. As such, he was glad to let this continue for as long as possible.

The Lannisters also seemed to realize this, as trumpets were heard from the other side of the field. Seeing the enemy infantry lines move forward with such discipline was a sight to behold. Although he had his doubts about the Old Lion's so-called tactical prowess, his leadership was still an incredible feat.

He waited until the Lannisters had crossed almost half the distance, while being peppered with arrows, before giving another order. The hornblows, that signaled for the archers to pull back, were quickly followed up with the order for his infantry to charge. He looked proudly on the sight as thousands of men started running at the enemy within mere seconds.

The standard of House Umber soon disappeared in the fighting, as the center clashed with the enemy pike line. His flanks also engaged the Lannister's spearwalls and men-at-arms. Before any order could be given, both cavalry flanks at the sides started moving. He smirked, both Dom and Jon knew what they were doing. They quickly tied down much of the heavy Lannister cavalry on the flanks, as his infantry pushed theirs hard.

With both armies equally matched, he simply had to wait for his plan to unfold. He didn't have to wait long. Soon a messenger ran up towards him. "Your Grace, banners have been spotted across the river. Another force is preparing to cross the bridge."

"What do their banners display?" He asked calmly.

"They seem to be from Cracklaw's Point, Your Grace. The bear paw of House Brune was seen among them." The messenger replied. Some of the men around him looked uneasy at that, enemy reinforcements were never a good thing. They looked even more uneasy, as he just smiled in response.

At last, Ser Wendel Manderly asked him why he was smiling. "Because I have been in contact with the houses of Cracklaw Point. They will not reinforce the Lannisters, they'll attack their rear when ready."

Now most of the eyes of his battle guard almost popped out of their sockets. "You had this planned all along?" Owen Norrey exclaimed in surprise.

"Aye, I did. I thought taking a page out of Tywin's book would be fitting after Atranta. I told the main commanders this morning, so they'll know what to expect. I won't leave this battle to chance friends. I want the Lannister army broken." He responded calmly, but his voice steeled at the last words. He thought about his father and all the friends he had lost. He would lose no more if he could help it.

His friends all grinned grimly, as they realized what was about to happen. All seemed to prepare themselves in their own way, clearly trusting his judgement.

He sent orders to Lady Mormont to join the right flank, as he rallied the cavalry and rode to the left. Domeric's force was stuck in a fierce cavalry fight against the enemy horse and he decided to reinforce them. Grey Wind charged in first, taking down two riders from House Serret. After his loyal direwolf, fifteen hundred riders charged in. The impact was immense, and his forces quickly took the upper hand.

The fighting still proved tough. One knight from an unknown house charged at him, but the presence of Grey spooked the knight's horse. After that it wasn't difficult to break through his defenses because of it. His lance quickly found its way into the man's upper leg and a few quick flashes of his sword finished the man off.

After that, a rider from House Payne attacked him. They had exchanged more than a few blows, as they circled around each other. When one of his guards attacked the man from the other side, he saw his change. The man deflected Robin Flint's blow with his shield, but this left his side open. A nasty cut connected and severely wounded the man and Flint's axe finished the rest.

He tried to not get into the thick of the fighting this time, as he had to watch how the battle unfolded. After a while, he saw what he had been hoping for. Tywin and his reserve cavalry charged toward him, leaving his archer line and rear completely exposed.

He immediately shouted at some of cavalry to reform and he managed to get hundreds of them in line. They lined up and rode out to break the charge of the Westerlander knights, a thing Grey Wind was particularly good at. Yet, the charge was halfhearted as a big portion of the enemy reserve suddenly stopped in their tracks.

He couldn't worry about that yet, as he to deflect a mace on his shield and redirect a lance aimed at his head. He exchanged sword blows with a knight sworn to House Moreland and received a small wound on his left arm from a mounted soldier wearing the red of House Lannister.

Grey Wind darted around him, biting of the legs of enemy horses and killing of their riders afterwards. Suddenly the enemy tried to disengage. He managed to hit a retreating outrider with a killing blow on the back of his head, but the other ones successfully pulled back. His guard quickly pulled around him, as he looked at what was happening to the battle and grinned.

In the distance he could see how the enemy archer line was scattered, while Lady Mormont had managed to break the enemy left that consisted of mostly Crownlanders. Before his eyes, he saw how his right enveloped the enemy center, while the houses of Cracklaw Point charged the rear of the enemy right.

Total chaos erupted and in an instant the whole enemy army was surrounded. Looking back towards the enemy reserve, he saw the Old Lion and looked into his eyes. The Lannister lord looked back at him, clearly realizing the battle was lost.

As he grinned victoriously, the Lannister patriarch suddenly started to shout orders. To his shock the cavalry group started turning away from the battlefield. "He's fleeing," he realized. "He's leaving his whole army to die here."

"No!", he screamed. "Men to me!" He shouted. He gathered hundreds of cavalrymen around him and rode to where Domeric's detachment had just beaten the enemy flank. "Riders of the North with me! Tywin Lannister is escaping!" He shouted.

Soon, hundreds more joined his charge, as they started to pursue the Lannisters. Looking around him, he estimated he had some two thousand riders with him. Tywin probably had around the same. He pushed his men and horses in hot pursuit and they quickly rode further away from the battlefield.

They managed to strike down some stragglers, but the main cavalry force eluded them. They chased after them for at least a mile, until the Lannister cavalry tried to form up on a hill in front of him. His own men slowed down, looking to him for a command. His anger and drive to capture Tywin were quickly taking over, he wanted to catch that man and end this once and for all. He was about to order his men to charge when Torr violently pulled his shoulder back.

"What are you doing?" His friend screamed at him. He looked at him in surprise. "Killing Tywin Lannister, what are you doing?"

"Making sure you're not killed! Look at that hill Robb, he's waiting for you! Look behind us, we are too far away from the main line. Their horses are fresher than ours and it's the elite heavy cavalry of the Lannisters, we will be slaughtered." His friend screamed, clearly concerned.

"If we let him go this war still won't be over. We can end it all now." He responded grimly, turning back towards his enemy.

"Killing you could still win the war for them! Gods be damned, think Redstark! My brother didn't die to protect you only for you to throw away your life and cause for nothing more than stupid revenge! Their army is broken. They're done, let him go! The way to King's Landing lies open and there is nothing he can do about it." Torr screamed. The mention of Edd made him pause. He owed it to him not to throw away his life, that was true.

Suddenly Domeric raced towards him. "Robb, what the hell are you doing? Get out of here! Tywin's going to charge us." He screamed.

He looked around and saw that he was right, the Lannisters were slowly riding down the hill. He had to make one of the most difficult decisions in his life, give up on Tywin or risk everything. In the end, he knew his friends were right.

"Turn around men! We have won the battle, let's go sack their camp instead." His men roared in support of this. Being promised easy loot was a lot better than taking a Lannister heavy cavalry charge head one.

He turned his horse and rode away, looking behind him to see the Lannisters quickly stopped their pursuit. A few minutes later, they rode back onto the battlefield. What he saw there surprised him. He had expected the battle to be long over, yet what he saw was that some two thousand Lannister heavy infantry and pikes were still holding out.

Amongst them stood a single Lannister banner. Ser Kevan … Tywin left his own brother here to die. He was just about to charge his men in, when he saw the proud Lannister lion go down. Soon, it was all over and the Lannisters surrendered.

Not much later, he found himself in his command tent, surrounded by his lords. Most of them were very familiar face, but a few, the Lords of Cracklaw Point, were new additions to the council. All of those had just sworn fealty to him on very generous terms in front of the army. He had offered them an amazing deal by raven a few weeks earlier, and it had won him the day with minimal casualties. It had been more than worth it.

All of Houses of Cracklaw Point would be freed from the nominal overlordship that House Celtigar claimed over them. They would be exempted from taxes in his kingdom for fifty years. Although the latter was an extreme clause, the poor lands didn't bring in much anyway. Some of the houses would get some lands of the upper Crownland lords. All of them were promised again the same prestige their houses had enjoyed under the dragons. They would never be looked down upon anymore. He had insisted that their First Men heritage would be a boon among his people, instead of the curse it had proven to be with many Southerners. They would also be their own separate entity, falling under no other house than the Starks.

After this generous offer, they had quickly flocked to his banner and his plot had worked perfectly. Tywin Lannister had expected them to join his ranks and had left his rear right open. Still, the victory felt foul in his mouth without the capture of Lord Tywin.

"My lords, we have scored another victory, but this war is far from over. Lord Tywin has escaped with a little over two thousand elite horseman. He will most likely retreat across the Goldroad into the Westerlands. There, some of his cousins are already trying to rebuild an army. This won't be the end of the Lannisters." He said, still more than a little annoyed that the patriarch of House Lannister got away.

All of his lords looked at him in disbelief. "You can't be serious, Your Grace? We just destroyed the Lannister army completely." Ser Wylis Manderly exclaimed.

"Of the once proud and disciplined force of twenty-five thousand, now only two thousand and a handful of garrisons remain. All of the Crownlander nobles still loyal to Tommen have been captured and their houses will surrender. The way to King's Landing is open. Maybe even equally important is the number of noble prisoners we captured. We have members of all Western houses in our custody, for most of them that includes the lord or heir. We have broken the might of the West here today. Tywin can train as many peasant boys as he wants. He will never be able to replenish these troops, nor will he be able to protect King's Landing from our wrath. With the Tyrells gone, we have all but won the war here on the field." The Manderly heir countered his views.

He looked at Ser Wylis and thought about his words. It was true he wouldn't be able to find any more heavy cavalry to replenish this force. In addition, he knew that replenishing his elite archers or pikemen would cost Tywin at least a year. Maybe Ser Wylis was right. Besides it was true that King's Landing lay open to them. They would rest here for a while before marching towards it.

"You mentioned noble captives? Who do we have?" He asked calmly, trying to get a hold on the situation again.

"Everybody, the whole Westerlands!" The Greatjon laughed. Most of his nobles joined in, as they apparently had no other way to describe it. As much as he liked the enthusiasm, the lack of actual information irked him.

Luckily, he could always count on Ser Brynden to help. "I have arranged for a list to be made, Your Grace. Do you wish me to read it to you?"

He smiled towards his great-uncle. "Please, uncle." He motioned for him to continue.

"We have captured Lords Jason Sarsfield, Tytos Broom, Damon Hamell, Robin Moreland, Lewys Lydden, Lymond Serret and the new Lord Alyn Stackspear, late Lord Selmond's second son. Both the old Lord Stackspear and his heir died in the fighting." The Tully knight started. He immediately interrupted him. "We captured all of them today?"

"Yes, Your Grace. In my opinion the most important of them are Lords Lydden and Serret. Both of their lands are vast and wealthy and have been free from harm during the war. I believe it is there that Lord Tywin will try to recruit more troops once he arrives in the Westerlands. The same goes for another prisoner we captured, Ser Cedric Payne. He is the heir to House Payne and will be as valuable as both of the two aforementioned lords, I believe."

"What do you propose? You want to get them on our side?" He asked his most experienced commander.

"Yes, Your Grace. If at all possible, I would. Tywin has lost both of the armies he sent out one and a half years' ago. He has lost both of his sons and now his last remaining brother and most loyal commander. He will have lost the respect and loyalty of most of his nobles by now. Maybe more important is the fact that, without an army, they won't fear him as much anymore. If you combine that with the fact that we have already taken some of their families' prisoner and the threat the ironborn pose for other's lands, I think a lot of them will defect or at least declare neutrality after some negotiations." The Tully knight explained.

He had also been wondering about the enemy's morale, as his uncle knew. Maybe this could be the point when the lords of the Westerlands finally abandoned Tywin. He looked towards all the lords present. "Do you think they would turn on him? Will civil war break out in the Westerlands?"

"I don't know, Your Grace. If they depose him who would they raise as lord? None of the lords will give it to any of the others. A Lannister has always ruled those lands, only a Lannister will be able to unite them." Lord Jonos Bracken mentioned.

"I agree, Your Grace." Lord Karyl Vance spoke up. "His succession is unclear, to say the least. His most logical heir is Tommen, but the boy is already king and will soon be threatened by us in King's Landing. Cersei's situation is much the same. The daughter Myrcella is in Dorne for the moment, pleading her case would be nearly impossible."

"The other possible heirs are Willem and Martyn Lannister, Kevan's two remaining sons. The problem is that both of them are in our custody. That only leaves Kevan's young daughter, Genna Lannister's Frey children or a few distant Lannister cousins to content with Tywin. However, Genna Lannister is firmly loyal to her brother and is in control of Casterly Rock. She controls her small niece and most of the Lannister cousins have either died in the war or are still very loyal and of no significance. I don't think the Westerlords will be able to rally behind anyone, because there is no one to rally behind."

"Aye, it's true. Besides, who will gather the remaining lords? Many of them have died, most of the others are in our custody. Those that remain have family members that have been taken captive. All remaining Western commanders are now in our custody, with the capture of Lords Lydden, Serrret and Ser Addam Marbrand. Tywin will use the lack of challengers to try and unite all the inexperienced boys into a new army. Best we can do is to try to deter them to stay out of the conflict for now, like we did with House Prester." Harry added.

Most of his lords agreed to that and he nodded. "I will speak to some of the captured lords and nobles. However, I think it is more important now to focus on King's Landing. If the capital were to fall, together with Tommen Waters and Cersei Lannister, the Westerlords will be much easier to persuade to drop Tywin. Until then, there is nothing we can do. We don't have the men to both capture the city and invade the Westerlands at the same time, so turning the lords isn't our priority for now. We let the army rest here for three days, after that we march to take the head of Cersei Lannister."

This was met roaring approval from his lords, especially the Northern ones. Since the death of Joffrey and Tyrion, most put the blame of his father's death on her. All were eager to avenge their former liege lord. He would gladly give them that satisfaction.

"Your Grace, If I may? There are still other important captives that haven't been discussed." The Blackfish spoke up.

"Oh, of course. Please continue, uncle." He responded.

"As before mentioned by Lord Karstark, Ser Addam Marbrand was also captured. The heir to Ashemark is a distant cousin of Tywin through his mother's side and in my opinion the best remaining commander in the Westerlands, more so than Tywin at least. We have also captured Ser Gareth Clifton. He is the head of a knightly house, but more importantly is the fact that he leads the troops of his brother-in-law Lord Farman. Two more important landed knights were captured Ser Jon Bettley and Ser Tybolt Heatherspoon. Other notable nobles from the Westerlands are Ser Philip Foote, Ser Podrick Ferren and Ser Lambert Turnberry." Ser Brynden explained.

"That concludes the Westerlands, but we have also captured nobles from the Crownlands. Lords Buckwell, Mallery, Chelsted and Chressy have been captured. As well as the heirs of Houses Edgerton and Rollingford. All of those were forced to fight for Tywin and I believe they will quickly turn their cloaks if we give them the ability to do so. Notable casualties were Lord Rykker and Ser Gwayne Byrch, heir to his house." His great-uncle finished his list.

"Good, many of the Crownlanders turning their cloaks will plummet the morale of the remaining defenders in King's Landing. Maybe it'll even give us some men inside the capital. I will speak to all of them individually tomorrow." He said, as he scratched Grey Wind behind his ears.

"Our losses?" He asked Lord Umber.

"Minimal, less than a thousand in total. No one of note really, at most some distant cousins of lesser families or sons of small masterly houses." The giant lord responded matter-of-factly.

"Good, anything else?"

"What do we do with the captured soldiers, Your Grace? Six thousand levies and men-at-arms have surrendered. They have no gold to their names to buy their freedom and are too large of a group to set free." Ser Donnel Locke asked.

"Separate the Crownlander troops from the others. Keep those in custody but give them food and water. If I manage to turn their lords tomorrow, they will most likely join our force. Hang all Essosi sellswords and give the Westerosi ones the choice between the same fate or the Wall. Those that accept will need to be send to the Twins to prepare for their march north." He responded immediately, having though of this beforehand.

"And the Westerlanders? The sellswords and Crowlanders consist of only two thousand five hundred of the prisoners." Ser Donnel asked once more.

He thought about that. Many of those would be battle-hardened veterans. Releasing three thousand of those, would just strengthen Tywin's army in time. "Release all troops belonging to the houses whose keeps and lands we captured in the northern and eastern Westerlands, as a gesture to them. It might make them turn quicker when the time comes. Those troops will arrive home to complete chaos and will be no use to the Lannisters anyway. Cut of the sword hands of all troops directly sworn to Casterly Rock or Lannisport, before releasing them as well as a message to anyone what happens when they take up arms against the North or Riverlands. This might deter Tywin's capability to recruit outside of his family's territories. Spread the others out over the Riverlands and keep them detained for now."

The Locke heir nodded, as he wrote his orders down. He also voiced a concern. "It will be as you ask, Your Grace. However, those orders will take up serious manpower. Especially challenging will be making sure that those that are released don't go plunder in the region and of course the transportation of the remaining prisoners."

That was true. "Lords Piper and Vance?" He called out and both Riverlords immediately turned towards him. "Yes, Your Grace."

"You and your men are to guide the released prisoners towards the Golden Tooth. Together with its castellan Osric Karstark, you will release them after they passed the fortress. Afterwards you will return with your men to King's Landing, but you are allowed to send a small retinue to recapture your homes. I expect them to be fully abandoned by the time your men get there." He said to them. The prospect of reclaiming their homes should be more than enough to balance out the possibility of missing out on capturing the enemy capital.

"Ser Donnel, you and your men will coordinate with the surrounding Riverlords and Lord Edmure on how to distribute the remaining Westerlander prisoners. I expect most transports to leave at the same time the army does. All convoys will immediately report back to the main army after finishing their task." He ordered the Northern heir, who was a dozen years his elder.

"Now, I would like to finish this meeting. I heard we liberated a lot of Arbor gold wines from the Lannisters and intend to sample them at once." He laughed and all of his nobles joined in with many asking to accompany him. Maybe this victory was a very sweet thing after all and at least he would soon have Cersei's head to satiate his thirst for vengeance.


This is it for this chapter!

Robb hears a lot of news from the war. He hears about the 'Rape of the Twins', the Fall of Gulltown, the departure of Lord Tarly and the Reach army, what the ironborn are up to, Young Griff/(F)Aegon arriving in the Stormlands and the situation at the Wall.

He uses the departure of the Reach forces to march on Tywin, forcing him to do battle after a two week chase across the Southern Riverlands. The decisive clash between Robb and Tywin has been building up for a while. Robb has been traumatized by the amount of soldiers and nobles he lost at Atranta and wants this battle to go as bloodless for him as possible. He hatches a plan where the Houses of Cracklaw Point join him, taking a play out of Tywin Lannister's playbook. The Westerlands army is completely obliterated due to the suprise attack in the back by two thousand Cracklaw troops and the overwhelming numbers Robb can field. Kevan Lannister dies in a heroic, but unsuccessful, last stand whilst Tywin escapes with two thousand elite heavy cavalry.

A big part of the army just surrenders and many prisoners are made. These need to be dealt with and this is discussed.

Robb slowly prepares to march on King's Landing.

Thank you all for the support! Especially with the last chapter.

Fannic


Reviews:

- Poly19hum: I'm really happy you like it! Reviews like that give a lot of motivation to keep writing.

- Jaimerey7000: Perwyn died protecting Olyvar in Atranta. Olyvar protected Robb and will not be punished. it's true Olyvar or Roslin could claim Rosby, more on that in the future. Sandor and Cynthea are with the Waynwoods in the Vale. Robb will definitely need to have a talk with the Lords of the Vale about their Frey relatives. The Vance Freys will be discussed with the Vance branch they belong too.

- Force Smuggler: I won't miss them either.

- Sid055: Thank you so much! I will keep the story going, don't worry!

- Iacopo Passerini: Thank you! I think the things are getting a lot tougher for the Lannisters after this chapter! Robett was working out his grief, anger and sheer boredom on the Freys; He also wanted to prove himself in a memorable way, I think that worked at least! :P

- Greatazuredragon: The men that died scaling the walls perhaps? ;-) Thank you!

- LordRhyolith: They got more than some. Their family tree is quickly being trimmed now.

- George Christian810: Yes, this was sadly the reality. I'll keep that in mind, thank you!

- HaywireEagle: Robb is really angry with the Freys. They lead to the dead of Lord Rickard, Lord Blackwood and many other loyal men he felt responsible for. I don't think he will mind as much as he would other houses. You also have to keep in mind that he has seen a lot more cruelty now. By the time this chapter takes place he will have seen the disaster and the destruction the Lannisters caused after Atranta in the Riverlands. All of that could have been prevented if the Freys hadn't turned so his anger will be great and his tolerance for torture/rape larger than before.

- Angeluszuko-z: Was it brutal enough?

- Manuel89000000: That's what fanfiction is for, to let you experience the things you had hoped would happen.

- Kuman: That was exactly my intend, yes. Thank you, I quickly changed it. Yes, they were loyal but very though and experienced fighters. Especially Rodrik could have made a big difference.

- Alfil94: Thank you so much! I appreciate it a lot! You're right, Robb won't do much. You can see here that Robb has even given Robb a position as a second-in-command. All houses will praise him for harshly dealing with Robett, even if he wanted to punish him he couldn't.

That would be a possibility for House Frey. I have another one in mind. Also keep in mind that there are a few family members who are not in the Riverlands at the moment. Emmon Frey's line is in Casterly Rock, some are in the Vale and some are in Braavos, one girl is married to a Wylde and is presumably in the Stormlands while two grandsons are in Braavos.

- Kingmanaena: Thank you!

- Freakdogsflare: Some were put upon the gatehouse of Riverrun to show the Riverlords the meaning of loyalty.

- Vastoisshin: Yes, it would! Sometimes these times are brutal, war almost always is.

- Mlkoolc86: Thank you so much! Yes, I stopped a few times in the middle of writing it thinking "would I really do this?" However, I believed this made sense.

- Greywinddoggy: Sadly, you are completely right. It had to be done, life isn't a fairytale. I don't think any Riverlanders would say anything in defense of the Freys. They lost a LOT because of them.

Parts of the loot will now be sent to the North, yes. Not all, some (a big part) Robb will want to use to rebuild the Riverlands after the war so that would stay in Riverrun. All the loot from the Freys will also be available and House Frey was very rich and plundered some more in the Westerlands as well.

- Wolflord456: Thank you! The army will get out, yes, but it won't pass anywhere near to King's Landing. It will be hundreds of miles away. In the meantime, parts of the Reach are rebelling against Willas and this will only increase because he is crippled and the last male of his house in the main line (Mace did have cousins with children although most of those are in Robb's captivity). Tarly's loyalty is in doubt, which means the big army is in doubt. Olenna knows this, attaching herself to Tarly now could be a fatal mistake.

BTW, do you think Cersei will allow Margaery to leave?

- Time Parad0x: Yes, it is. However, it was very undermanned (3-400 men instead of 3000 in canon). It was also taken with a night attack and a plan to draw the defenders from one side to the other. Walls are only as strong as the people manning them. A large castle without enough defenders is spread too thin to make good use of the formidable defenses.

- Guest: Thanks!