Chapter 33: Hearing about the capital
299 AC
Robb
It had almost been too easy, hadn't it? He thought, as he walked inside the hall of the Golden Tooth with his loyal honor guard behind him. He admired the ceiling decorations. Intricate designs of gold and sky blue covered the ceiling and ran down the golden painted pillars.
The wealth of House Lefford was on clear display and in front of him stood Lady Alysanne Lefford. Even though she was flanked by two of his own guards and was a prisoner in all but name, she still held her head high and looked as dignified as ever. He did have to admire her for that.
Ser Brynden's plan had worked out exactly as they had hoped. Ser Humfrey Lefford had run into their trap with seven hundred and fifty men. His army was formed up of some five hundred survivors of the battle of Riverrun and their petty nobles, as well as two hundred fifty Lefford men.
The battle had been as brutal as it had been quick. Five thousand horsemen had charged at them from all sides and the battle had been over in minutes. Still, Ser Humfrey, one of his brothers and three hundred of his men had died by then. The rest surrendered after they saw their leader fall. His losses were minimal twenty-nine dead and thirty-one severely wounded. A small but complete victory and the reason he stood here.
His men had mercilessly hunted for survivors and none had escaped with word to the Golden Tooth. When his men had arrived late the next day, the Leffords were completely shocked. When Houses Piper and Vance arrived with fifteen hundred men from the east three days after that, their fate had been sealed.
As most of the forces inside the castle weren't actually men of House Lefford, it hadn't been too difficult to sneak in messages to the scattered remnants of the many western houses. Arrows with written messages, riders that shouted proposals at the guards on the walls, one spy that snuck into the castle and worked from the inside, … they tried everything and it payed off.
After only two weeks of sieging, clashes inside were heard and the eastern gate was hastily opened by a combination of men from House Prester and some lower knightly houses. They were led by Ser Forley Prester's fourteen-year-old nephew Garrison. All the boy asked of him after Piper men had rushed in and defeated the scattered Lefford host was that he, his uncle and their men would be allowed to go home to Feastfires in peace. He promised to remain there and never to take up arms against them anymore.
The three knightly houses, one sworn to the Marbrands and the other two to the Sarsfields asked for much the same. All were from families that his men had captured and they just wanted to go home to put things in order while their families were safe.
The forces of all those houses in total numbered less than fifty men. If you added the other prisoners of their families, you maybe reached a hundred at most. It would not hurt his war effort and might even erode the Lannisters' hold over the Westerlands more if he let them go. He gave them their word that they would be free to go to their homes and could buy their relatives at very low ransoms, to which they accepted.
The only one that had made him pause was Ser Forley Prester, as he was a capable enough commander to rally the scattered western forces in time. However, with the Golden Tooth effectively in his control that didn't matter too much. The Westerlanders would not be able to move into the Riverlands without it and he would garrison it strongly. The Presters themselves had also lost most of their men. Of all the men that had rallied either at Oxcross or Riverrun, barely a hundred survived. Without forces of his own, it would be difficult for him to get the lords who did to obey. Still, the possible message that House Prester pulled themselves out of the war would be of far greater impact than anything else and he had to risk it.
He stopped in front of the Lady Lefford and nodded his head in polite greeting. She ignored him, until Grey Wind and Ghost walked in jovially and stopped next to him and Jon. The direwolves, just like their master, had been too late to partake in the battle for the keep. The battle in question had actually been nothing more than a few skirmishes between Vance and Piper men and the scattered garrison inside of the castle walls.
Still, their loyal companions had already been allowed to celebrate their victory. They had each been gifted with a crippled horse from the Lefford stables. Some men had tried to flee and both horse and rider had paid the price.
When Lady Alysanne saw the direwolves, her mask finally cracked. She became white in the face and anxious.
He stepped forward. "Good to finally meet you, Lady Alysanne. I am King Robb Stark, and this is my brother Jon Snow. Behind me are some of my loyal companions. Smalljon Umber, Dacey Mormont, Robin Flint and Domeric Bolton are all heirs of their respective houses. Also present are Ser Lucas Blackwood, Ser Benfrey and Olyvar Frey and Lord Karyl Vance. Finally, to my left are Harrion and Torrhen Karstark, my brothers-in-law." He said, as he pointed to each of his companions.
She nodded in acknowledgment, without taking her eyes of Grey Wind. "The castle is ours. It will be garrisoned by Lord Vance and his men here, while my army leaves for Riverrun. You will accompany us there, where you will be treated according to your station as the head of a lordly house as powerful as House Lefford is. Do you have any requests of me? You can speak freely."
Lady Alysanne looked at him. It was clear she had expected this, but she seemed glad as he mentioned that she would be treated according to her station. She looked him in the eye and spoke clearly. "As a matter of fact, I do King Robb. It seems you acknowledge me as head of House Lefford, for which I am glad. Sadly, not everyone does. Many of my distant cousins are eying my seat as we speak. The loss of my keep will only embolden them. I only ask you take them with you as well and keep them somewhere far away from other Westerlander Houses. The North would do perfectly, I assume?"
He looked the young woman over. It was clear she was afraid for her place and her father's legacy. However, he didn't see what could be gained from such a proposal and he voiced as much. "Of course, we recognize your position Lady Lefford but I do not see what benefit your proposal could bring us. Wouldn't internal squabbles be exactly the thing we are after in the Westerlands?"
"It might on the short term, yes." She said evenly, trying not to look at the direwolves. "In the long term, not so much I am afraid. Whether you win or lose this war, it would be to your benefit and especially to the benefit of Houses Vance and Piper to have a friendly and cooperative House Lefford on its border, would it not? If my distant kin manage to capture my seat you will find longtime enemies, I'm afraid. From your not so subtle messages these past weeks, I learned Ser Humfrey and his brother Ser Benfrey are dead. Well, I can assure you Ser Melwyn won't forgive you for the death of his two elder brothers, nor will their daughters I'm afraid."
He let that information sink in. If that man came to power, he did imagine future strife would be unavoidable. He looked at Lord Karyl Vance and saw him look at the lady in front of him with interest. He took him apart for a moment and asked him what he thought about it. Hearing that the Riverlord greatly supported the possibility for future peace, he turned back to Lady Alysanne.
"I accept your offer, my lady. It will be my pleasure to host you at my uncles keep. In the meantime, your cousins will equally enjoy their hospitable stay at let's say … the Twins for now?" He replied respectfully.
At the mention of the seat of House Frey the woman in front of him actually laughed. She bowed slightly right after and was then peacefully escorted out of the room by one of his guards.
(Ten days later)
He rode into Riverrun with a thousand men at his back and more loot than they knew what to do with. He had decided to split his army into five equal parts under the respective commands of himself, Harry, the Greatjon, Lord Glover and Lord Deddings. This way each group could safely accompany a great amount of baggage trains carrying loot and prisoners. They hadn't fought this hard for it to be stolen by some foolhardy knight with a hundred, armed, peasants at his back.
Funnily enough those five baggage trains weren't enough to carry all of it at once because they couldn't find enough carts to actually transport everything at the same time. As such, Lord Deddings would go back back and forth between the Golden Tooth and Ashemark another two times with his force so everything was at the Riverlander border. From there, carts could easily go back and forth to Riverrun until everything was safe.
He already planned to transport at least some of it to Seaguard, as he didn't want to put all his eggs in one basket. The moment Moat Cailin was freed, half of it would be on its way North.
Osric and some of the Karstark and Stark men had been left in Ashemark to garrison it as it was the most important link in their string of western conquests. He had also been tasked with regularly scouting all the way up to Lannisport to report on possible troop movements or reinforcements from the Reach.
He arrived and greeted his uncle Edmure cordially. They loudly celebrated his victory at the Fords, as he, Jon and Ser Brynden cringed internally at the stupidity of the damn battle.
After their pleasantries the four of them went inside of the Tully solar. Immediately they all became serious.
"Why didn't you just stay in Riverrun as we asked Edmure? Why did you have to play the hero and hold Tywin at the Fords." The Blackfish asked the question they had all been wondering.
"What do you mean? I defeated the Old Lion. I punched him on the nose, defeated some of his best troops and send him packing." Edmure boasted, not understanding the stupidity of the whole thing.
"If you had let him pass, we would have let him chase us up and down the coast of the Westerlands until Stannis Baratheon took King's Landing and put Joffrey's and Cersei's heads on pikes. After that even Tywin would have had to sue for peace." He responded tiredly.
Edmure looked at him in complete surprise. "Instead, he has now killed the damn bastard and allied himself to a bunch of flowers, tens of thousands of them I may add." Ser Brynden picked in.
"But … but because of my victory you had free reign and managed to take the Crag, Sarsfield, Stackspear and the Golden Tooth. Look at the amount of loot you have with you. Wasn't that victory enough?" Edmure tried to defend himself.
"What, those pieces of scraps? That's not even fifteen percent of the loot nephew. We are now effectively richer than House Lannister. Still that doesn't make up for your foolishness. The war could have been over by now." Ser Brynden retorded.
"Not even fifteen percent? That's, that's a fortune …" Edmure whispered.
"Aye, it is. We did well in the Westerlands, still this war should have been over by now." Jon added. The difference between this and his confrontation with his uncle three years ago was night and day. Jon had gained both confidence and experience and he was not afraid to talk to high ranking nobles anymore, not even Tullys. The fact Ser Brynden had actually started to appreciate him since he saw him deal with the Sarsfields had gone a long way in that.
Edmure immediately snarled at Jon. "You dare speak to me like that? Who even let you in here. This is my solar and I will not have you speak to me this way!"
Before anyone could do anything, he walked forward until he was close enough to his uncle. "First of all, this is not your solar it's grandfather's. As long as he lives, it's not yours. Secondly, I did. Jon is one of my most trusted advisors and a proven battle commander. You spoke so highly about the capture of Sarsfield and Stackspear? Well Jon took the first one and made the second one possible while I was wounded and stuck in Ashemark. Thirdly and most importantly, if you ever speak to my brother that way again, I will put uncle Brynden in control of all the Riverlander forces and force you to marry a Frey to make up for your stupidity at the Fords. Are we clear?"
He saw how his uncle swallowed heavily and nodded. It was clear he had adequately cowed his uncle. If you had to deal with the Greatjon and Black Walder on a daily basis, his uncle wasn't so scary. "Good, then we can continue this conversation. You still owe me one though, uncle. Might be that I need you married to gain allies soon, but it won't be a Frey I promise." He continued with a wink, as he backed off. His brother looked at him in shock while Ser Brynden nodded supportively. His eyes said it all, good that you put my stupid nephew in his place Robb. This could have taken forever otherwise. He also laughed at the last notion, as uncle Edmure's face became white as he though of himself with a possible Frey bride.
"Speaking of Stannis Baratheon. What the actual fuck happened in King's Landing?" He asked, still annoyed at that news.
"I will inform you of all. First, I want to ask you why you had me cut of the Kingslayers hand. It was cruel and dishonorable to do so, and I did not like it." His uncle asked.
He understood the Tully heir's reasoning, so he only sighed. "We discovered a plot. Tywin Lannister was plotting with Lady Westerling and her brother to put her daughter in my bed. This way the Old Lion wanted to put a strain on my alliance with House Karstark and start unraveling the Northern unity my father worked so hard for. The Westerling children were innocent so we have them with us as honored hostages. Lady Westerling, her brother and Maester were dealt with accordingly. Tywin needed to be sent a message. If he was willing to do this, it wouldn't be long before assassinations or abductions would take place upon me, you or other members of our family. I don't want this to become another Dance of Dragons and he had to realize how far I would go if he tried something like that."
His uncle Edmure nodded. It was clear he understood it but he didn't like it. Well, that was the world they lived in. He didn't like it either to be perfectly honest, but it had to be done.
"Now will you please tell me what happened at King's Landing?" Ser Brynden asked with exhaustion in his voice.
"I'll do you one better." Edmure Tully grinned. "I'll present you with an eyewitness of everything that has happened there the last year." An Eyewitness?
His uncle called for his guards to bring somebody and they waited until a man in his twenties arrived. He was of average height, had long brown hair and was of a stocky build. The man clearly was a warrior, although he curiously didn't wear a sword.
The soldier in front of bowed slightly in respect but remained silent. "I'm afraid I don't have the pleasure of knowing your name?" He inquired towards the man.
"My name is Ser Corlys Menning, Your Grace." The man said. It was short but not meant unrespectfully.
"Do I know House Menning from somewhere, good Ser?" He asked the knight in front of him.
"I don't suppose so, Your Grace. I've been a hedge knight, same as my father and his father before him. After my father and his brothers made some money, they bought some property on the good side of the city. Me, my brothers, uncles and cousins remained there ever since, when we weren't serving some lord or the other that is. We were all home for the Hand's tourney at the time as most of us wanted to compete. Still, I don't think we ever did something special enough that it might have caught the eye of a Stark, Your Grace."
He nodded at that, as he mulled over the situation in his head. "Please, take a seat. I hear you were an eyewitness of what happened at King's Landing the last year. Would you care tell me?" He asked patiently.
The man nodded and sat down on the chair that was offered to him. "Well, it happens that it all starts with the arrival of your lordly father, Your Grace. The city was restless after the death of the former Hand of the King but much quieted down when he arrived. I happened to see Lord Stark three times, although I never had the pleasure to speak with him. Life was good under his short reign. He ruled justly and didn't raise taxes for the sake of it." He answered, at the end he looked at his brother. "As I recall, the lad next to you looks a lot like him."
He smiled sadly, as he looked to Jon. "Aye, he does. That's my brother Jon Snow, Ser."
The knight bowed his head respectfully, the same he had done towards him before. "Good to make your acquaintance, Prince Snow." He couldn't stop his laugh at that, as Jon turned red.
"Just Jon is fine, Ser. Lord Snow if you must. I leave the royal titles for my siblings born on the right side of the sheets." Jon quickly responded, eager to never hear those words again.
"Very well, Lord Snow." The man agreed, as he bowed again. "As I said, I saw your father three times. Once when he entered the city with King Robert, another time at the tourney in the stands with your sister and the third time when he sadly met his end at the hands of that vile monster."
Now this peaked his attention. "You were there when it happened? Did you see anything odd? What happened there?" His brother asked in rapid succession.
"I sure was. The queen and her advisors smugly said he wanted to confess. What he confessed shocked everyone, them most of all. After that chaos erupted and the false king shouted for his head like a madman. Your father seemed … resigned to his fate. By then he would have known of your march south and it seems he felt good with that." The knight responded.
He and Jon looked at each other. Father knew they had been coming for him. Moreover, he trusted that they would make things right, with or without him.
"While the whole crowd erupted and started charging the royal box. Your father was dragged to the execution block. He once again screamed the fact that blonde prick was born of incest and then he … went to his Gods. By that time men were already dying on the barricades and fighting between the city watch and Lannister guards and the people had started in earnest. Two of my cousins and I joined in as well, I must admit. The Lannisters were completely surprised and dozens of their guards died there that day. They fled to the Red Keep, all the while fighting off attacks from every direction. Multiple nobles died in this attack, even a Lannister got killed. Tyrek Lannister, who was Tywin's own nephew. Two knights of the kingsguard also died, Ser Preston Greenfield and Ser Boros Blount."
He mentally wrote that last pieces of information down. They had known a Lannister had died, not which one. This only left Tywin's and Kevan's lines alive of Lord Tytos descendants, an interesting thing to know. The death of two Kingsguard was also very noteworthy. They were supposedly some of the best fighters in Westeros, he liked them better dead than alive.
"The next days the city was in complete chaos. Goldcloaks were hunted and those that weren't caught deserted by the dozens." Ser Corlys continued. "After three days the city was divided into multiple groups. The Lannisters and City Watch managed to control one third of the city under the guidance of the imp, all arreas around the Red Keep were safely under their control. The other parts were divided among different groups who often fought each other. My uncle was a commander in one of those groups and I fought alongside him. My cousin's husband died there fighting another group, while my youngest brother died against a Lannister incursion a few days later."
"Over the span of the following weeks the Lannisters slowly took control over around half the city, while the other half was divided amongst the three remaining groups. This remained the situation until an army of around four thousand men arrived. They carried the banners of House Crakehall, Rykker, Stokeworth, Chelsted and Rosby. The imp let them in through a gate he controlled and in a span of two days they managed to take back control over the whole city. The rebels had one major victory though, as another Lannister bit the dust in the fighting. They said the newly knighted Ser Lancel Lannister charged into the fighting without care of his life and was only carried out of the fray when he was already dead."
"In response, the army cracked down massively on the city. Hundreds of rebels died, among them the three leaders of the groups and another cousin of mine. Many civilians also died, some parts of the city were razed and I imagine thousands of innocents died those two faithful days. Most rebels dispersed instead of fighting to the death however and so did we. After that the factions among the rebels all but disappeared, as the survivors once more conspired against the Lannisters together." This explained a lot of the information they had received over the past months, but why didn't that force return to join Lord Tywin after this?
The knight answered his question before he could even voice it. "Although the uprising was quelled officially, the situation remained tense. Guards on their rounds disappeared from time to time. My family and I laid low, as we waited for what would happen. After a while the tensions grew as food got scarcer. Even my family, who is wealthier than most civilians, started to have difficulties. More and more guards started disappearing and King Joffrey answered this by killing whole groups of civilians in response. The situation grew more and more dangerous, although the Lannisters remained firmly in control of the city. "
The man licked his lips and accepted a cup of ale from my uncle Edmure. He drank deeply and continued. "That all changed when King Stannis arrived. The whole city rebelled then, men like my family jumped out of their hiding spots and took to the streets. My uncle was one of the instigators now and we all followed him devotedly. The Baratheon fleet was destroyed by wildfire due to some scheme from the imp. Thousands are said to have died but I only saw a great green flash, as for a moment the whole sky lighted up."
He had heard rumors of this at the Golden Tooth, but he had never been sure. With the whole Baratheon fleet destroyed. They were effectively out of the game as they couldn't even threaten anyone from Dragonstone anymore.
"Still, King Stannis attacked. The imp and the Crakehalls send multiple sorties out of the gate and it seemed they would manage to stop the Baratheons but then the people's army arrived. All those in hiding managed to rile up thousands of hungry and angry people. Few had forgotten the sack that had taken place when the Targaryens fell and they all remembered the lion banner there. We first fell upon one of the armories of the city watch. After many of the common people had been armored, we attacked multiple gates." The knight carried on with his tale.
"We quickly took control over the Mud's Gate. We also trapped the imp and many of his men at the King's Gate. The Baratheon army flowed into the city and almost managed to capture the shit Joffrey himself, although he escaped but not before killing Ser Osmund Kettleback the new member of the Kingsguard. The remnants of the city watch quickly threw down their weapons and fled and a lot of the Crownlanders surrendered on sight. Still the King's Gate resisted. Sandor Clegane and Tyrion Lannister had just let a sortie outside the walls when we arrived. They perished there against King Stannis' army, together with Ser Meryn Trant of the Kingsguard."
What? The imp dead? That was amazing news. Despite his stature, the man was nothing short of a genius. He had managed to destroy Stannis' entire fleet with thousands of his soldiers on board without casualties. Besides that, he was a Lannister and Lord Tywin's own son. He had actually quite liked the dwarf when he came to Winterfell, although he wouldn't morn another dead Lannister.
It was clear his family thought the same, but he still nodded to the man to carry on.
"The Crakehalls and many Crownland nobles tried a fighting retreat towards the Red Keep, but they were slowly whittled down until no one was left. I heard both Lyle and Burton Crakehall died in the fighting there, as well as Lord Renfred Rykker and Ser Balman Byrch. The latter was married to the Stokeworth heir, or so I'm told." The knight shrugged, clearly not caring for the death of one noble or another.
"The latter things all happened around the same time. By now, King Stannis army entered by the thousands and together we, together with his vanguard, started hunting the remaining soldiers in the city. Most were slain or forced to surrender, only a few hundred managed to flee to the Red Keep. It looked like a glorious victory for House Baratheon, until at that moment Tywin Lannister and the damned flowers arrived." The hedge knight swore, and it looked like he wanted to spit after their names dirtied his mouth.
"Around seven thousand men of the Baratheon force were still outside the city, waiting to get through the gate. Most had been reserves or the forces assaulting the King's Gate. Not all of them had been able to get inside because the King's Gate had only just fallen. Those remaining were quickly smashed against the walls. King Stannis quickly tried to organize his men on the inside. He led them back to the gates to try and defend them. The King's Gate was closed on time and a hasty defense was put up as the Tyrells used the Baratheon's ladders and ropes to climb the wall while the remainder of the Stormland forces on the outside were butchered all around them. I myself found myself on those walls and we repelled many a Reachmen attack. Still it wasn't to be." The man sighed, looking far older than he should at his age now.
"I later heard that a vassal of King Stannis, who had been among the reserves, forced the Mud Gate to stay open, as he and his men fled through it from the outside. This happened because the enemy force had been led by a man on a horse, wearing the armor of Renly Baratheon. The outside forces of King Stannis all panicked and their disorganized lines were smashed to pieces. The enemy poured through the gate, although they paid heavily for every step they made into the city. The king took his elite forces towards there and many rebels freely joined him. He managed to halt the Tyrell advance in the streets for hours and the fight there turned into a bloodbath for both sides." The story progressed, as the knight in front of them took another sip of ale.
"My brothers and I joined the fighting in those streets, as the King's Gate was holding well enough without our help. At one point the 'Ghost of King Renly' charged towards a group of men in the streets with a bodyguard of well-armed knights. They broke through, partly because of the chaos that erupted around the story of the ghost. The king acted swiftly and he and some of his finest knights confronted the knights as he rallied men to his position. A long and hard fight erupted, and I joined in at the end. Many fine knights and lordlings died on both sides there, although I don't know all their names. Finally, the 'Ghost' was brought down by three of King Stannis' finest knights. He quickly grabbed the man's head and showed to all that it was not his brother but rather Ser Garlan Tyrell who had been in the armor. This revitalized the men and we fought on until dark in those streets."
"Once in a while we were pushed back a bit, but we always managed to reorganize in a way the enemy was halted once more. This went on until nightfall. At that point, the enemy broke through on the walls and soon the King's Gate fell, and the enemy army marched into the city. The whole night was filled with fighting all over and resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of innocent civilians. Our forces were slowly but surely pushed back, but we made them pay for every corner or alley. in the fighting there, I lost my two remaining brothers, one after the other. One of my uncles and two of my cousins were said to have died in the fighting around the King's Gate." The man told them sadly. He took his time before continuing once more.
"I fought through the night until I was separated from the main force with a few men at the rise of dawn. We fought ourselves a way through and I ran home, as I saw the battle was lost. There I saw a handful of Lannister men terrorizing the neighborhood and my uncle and I managed to dispatch of them. I promised my uncle to spirit my two young nieces outside the city and carrying them, I ran to the Dragon's Gate. The gate was smashed open and undefended as hundreds, if not thousands, of refugees were fleeing the city in a steady stream. From there we kept walking for weeks until we were finally picked up by Ser Edmure's men."
He looked at the knight in front of him. "I'm sorry for your loss and I thank you very much for the story. Do you know anything of what happened to King Stannis?" He asked.
"Some refugees I met on the road said they saw him surrounded at the ruins of the Dragonpit. He seems to have made a last stand there with a few hundred of his followers. At the same time Flea Bottom seems to have gone up in flames. Many of its inhabitants either dying or fleeing the city. If I needed to estimate I would guess at least some tens of thousands of citizens left the city. Together with the deaths, the city should be depopulating heavily by now."
He looked at the man with a painful expression. Tens of thousands must have died in the fighting. Thousands of soldiers of both sides, together with an unknown amount of rebels. If this Ser Corlys spoke the truth, thousands upon thousands of those would have died as well. The destruction of the city would maybe have taken even more lives than the fighting did. His hands went to his hair and he pulled at it in pure powerlessness. All those people died and for what? An ugly iron chair and a crown?
He swore at that moment, while he looked into the knight's eyes that he would destroy that chair and make it a memory of the distant past. Too many had died for it, in the past and present. It was time it ended. These damned Southrons could fight for the shattered remnants after he was done if they wished.
"Did your nieces get here safely with you?" Jon asked the hedge knight.
"Yes, they did. They reside with me in the castle now. Ser Edmure has been very generous." The man nodded and the gratitude was clear to see.
"I noticed you're not wearing a weapon?" He inquired on his turn.
"I … took it from him. It looked safer to me as he still came from King's Landing." His uncle replied at that.
He nodded, understanding the reasoning. Still this man didn't deserve that, he had paid too much to the Lannisters to have his loyalty questioned like that.
"You there, guardsman." He pointed to a Tully guard standing at the door. The man stepped forward dutifully. "Bring this man his sword back." The guard bowed his head and immediately left without saying a word.
The knight in front of him looked at him in wonder. After a while he spoke. "You and your family have suffered more from the Lannisters than even any of us. I will not have your loyalty questioned. I will give you a choice. Your first option is that you may leave this place on the morrow with two new horses, new clothes and enough food and drink to last you and your nieces for weeks. You can settle anywhere in the Riverlands and you won't be bothered anymore as you have fought enough. The second is that you swear yourself to me. In time I promise you some small lands to settle down upon and call your own with your remaining family. There you will be able to live in peace together when this war finally ends."
Ser Corlys looked at him in shock. He didn't say anything for a long time, but he waited patiently. The moment the guard entered the room with his sword, the man pulled it out. Immediately Jon and multiple of his guards pulled their own swords out, but the hedge knight ignored them and went on one knee.
"I offer my services to King Robb Stark. I will shield your back and keep your counsel and give my life for yours if need be. I swear it by the Old Gods and the New." The knight said, with a firmness and seriousness he hadn't heard from him yet.
He knew the oath though, as he had performed it many times before. " I vow that you shall always have a place by my hearth, and meat and mead at my table. I pledge to ask no service of you that might bring you dishonor. I swear it by the Old Gods and the New." He answered in what his younger siblings would have called his "lord's voice" in the past. "Arise now Ser Corlys." He finished as he looked at the knight.
The man did so and looked at him with nothing short of devotion in his eyes. This took him aback a bit, but he didn't let it bother him. "Report yourself to my brother in the morning. He will assign you to your duties. For now, go spend the day with your nieces, you deserved it good Ser."
The knight bowed very low before leaving the room. He couldn't do much for the man's late family but at least he could help the remainder of it. Judging by his devotion, the man would serve him well and he could always use good men.
This is it for this chapter.
Robb takes the Golden Tooth and his policy of taking prisoners in the west is starting to pay off. He also starts working on improving his relationship with some of its noble houses, most notably the Leffords and Presters here. Maybe this might pay off in the future?
Robb confronts Edmure about the Fords and in return he does so about Jaime's hand.
We also finally get the story of what has been happening in King's Landing. Ser Corlys will be a very minor character for now as part of Robb's extended retinue.
I know a lot of you will be shocked, but this is still Asoiaf. No characters are safe, not even fan favorites. I am one of the biggest fans of Tyrion out there, but he couldn't survive this. Yes, sadly Bronn, Podrick, ... also die with him. Three dead Lannisters isn't nothing but Ser Garlan and King Stannis' death might have a lot more impact than theirs though. Still, Jon, Robb, ... could all still die. Same thing for characters I explored more in my fic here like all the Karstarks, Wendel Manderly, Domeric Bolton, the Umbers, Halys Hornwood, ... no one is safe with GRRM and they won't be with me either.
Another thing of note: Many many more nobles died there in this timeline. It would not be sensical for a hedge knight/rebel to know of all these deaths so he doesn't. Still, many men sworn to Stannis that are with him at the Wall in the books die here, the others surrendered and are captured. Many Reachmen and some Westermen also die in the fighting. Many of its houses will be affected by these losses. Especially in the Reach, as it has men fighting on both sides of the conflict (House Florent, both Fossoways and Houses Varner, Willum and Mullendore have all joined Stannis in canon.)
Although not specified, some 10k men from the Tyrell force die, some on the outside of the city but most inside of the streets of King's Landing or on the walls. This due to the defenses on the wall the Baratheon's have and the zeal they and the rebels fight with. You have to add to that most of the 4k Westerland/Crownland forces and 1k city watch defending the city, as well as some sellswords and parts of Tywin's army. Somewhere between 15-17k casualties in total.
Stannis' forces lose over 20k men, almost all cavalry and many of them knight or highborn. Most of his fleet is still destroyed as in canon, but here next to none of his troops are saved and brought to Dragonstone by Salladhor Sean. All those men would have been in the city by then. The population of King's Landing is decimated like never before.
This is one of the main reasons I couldn't show a Lannister POV, although there are others still.
Thank you for your support!
Reviews:
- Raw666: It also has the largest army because it has the highest population. Much more importantly: it has the food to raise, sustain and suply huge armies. A thing quite uncommon in medieval settings. That said, the Reach isn't without its dangers. The Florents and some of their minor allies are basically in rebellion, they lost 10k men here in the battle, many among them nobles and Ser Garlan (their golden flower commander) and their Lannister allies are tricky to deal with and depleted.
Willas can still raise at least 10k men around Highgarden so the Riverlands would need to bring a sizeable army to be able to achieve anything. I won't spoil if they do or not.
- Force Smuggler: First of all, thank you for being my 500th review!
Moat Cailin is still a very tough nut to crack. Robb will look at his options now, an attack on the Reach will be considered.
- George Christian810: Thank you! No, he will not change the succession laws. I don't see any reason why he would do so. He was raised by the conservative Lord Rickard Karstark and House Stark's own laws are even more strict with brothers (de facto) succeeding before daughters. If Robb were to die now, Brandon would probably be crowned with Jon, Catelyn or powerful lord as his protector. Eddara would be engaged to Rickon or Bran himself to keep the Karstarks in line and deny the possibility of civil war.
Yes and no … officially they would, but this is Hother Umber you are speaking about. Who knows, maybe he'll just cut all their throats on the spot himself and hang their bodies from the branches of weirwood trees. Still, highborn prisoners would be taken with more care if not to offend Robb.
Thank you! I liked how the scene with the Greatjon turned out. Your addition could have worked as well.
The Tyrells have thrown their lot in with the Lannisters for power and their blood on the throne, we'll see where it gets them.
- Kingmaneana: Thank you! Here you have a lot more information on what the Lannisters and their forces have been up to. I hope you are happy with it. Theon will play a part the chapter after the next, I think.
- Iacopo Passerini: Thank you so much! Robb left the west for now but fighting will soon erupt once more.
Yes, it is a pity. However, neither Stannis nor Renly would have accepted their independence so maybe it's for the best. They did ally with half the Vale, so that means a lot.
Robb's next moves are carefully thought out, you'll have to see what happens next.
- Warberserk: Here you see what the Lannisters have been up to. Tywin now is busy with keeping the Tyrells in check, trying to put King's Landing back in order and planning the war. He would also have to deal with the Margeary/Joffrey marriage.
- Greatazuredragon: Ramsay is his last weapon in the North. Letting go of that would show weakness AND weaken his position in the North to a point where he can't really do anything anymore over there.
- Wolf's Pizza: It slowly is for now. Maybe, if he survives ... ;-)
Thank you! I will make sure to put some family scenes in between the coming brutal/tactical fights.
I think this answers all your questions about the battle of the Blackwater?
Selyse/Davos/Melisandre/Shireen will all be cleared up but it wil take many chapters for that to occur. For now the focus stays upon the ironborn and the Tyrell/Lannisters while also mentioning the Vale fighting.
Many tactical moves, some cunning, are planned. What and where I won't spoil.
The war is going far better, but Robb is still heavily outnumbered by Tyrells/Lannisters now while his retreat to Moat Cailin is still cut off. So, he's still deciding who the winning horse will be and how much he can get from either.
I can't spoil Jon's future yet, although it is mostly decided (not every detail though). Just want to add Harrenhall, Moat Cailin, The Stony Shore and even others are also possible to give away.
The spin-off story is actually a nice idea. 3-5 chapters of Tywin raging/crying about Cersei/Joffrey/Jaime's stupidity would be fun to write. All the while Kevan just becomes more and more depressed ... At this point, his eldest son is dead and his other two sons are captured. Send some thoughts and prayers to Ser Kevan Lannister everyone.
- Sozin's Flame: Thank you!
- Wolflord456: Davos is still alive as the wildfire accident happens the same way as is canon and he is picked up after surviving the same way. However most of the other Storm/Crownlanders aren't. Melisandre's position is a lot trickier … Melisandre said Stannis was a reborn hero destined to save the world, but he is actually quite dead now. Some won't accept that. More on that later.
- Guest1: I hope Stannis' death makes more sense now? I've been planning this for a long time and it completely changes the Lannister power dynamic with Tyrion, Lancel and many Westerlander nobles deaths. A lot of Tyrells and their bannermen also die, although they couldn't all be mentioned here as that would make no sense.
- Guest2: Thank you!
- Guest3: Thanks! Yes, Catelyn really needed this. She will devote herself to the little girl a way to avoid missing Ned and Robb.
Do you understand why Stannis died here? Due to the implications of Ned's execution, the situation and battle is totally different. I don't think Stannis would have ever yielded, as the throne was his by right.
Shireen is his heir. Although (almost) all of Stannis' supporters are dead now. It's much worse for them than in canon. All of the Stormlands and Crownlands will (at least nominally) bent the knee to Joffrey. Shireen has no way to threaten King's Landing again at this point but she still has her name.
War between Robb and the Lannisters/Tyrells will soon erupt. He won't be able to capture Garlan anymore but maybe Mace or Loras could be a target.
Thank you! It's quite a unique thing for a Bolton and a Stark and they realize it.