Chapter 63: Rallying the West

301 AC

Jon

He looked at the fields around him from on top his black destrier. They made quick progress along the Goldroad, only slowing down to attack more and more of the lands of the Reach in their way. The Goldroad ran through the Northern parts of the Reach and he had gotten very clear orders from Robb. Everything to the south of the road was to be sacked at their leisure, while all keeps and holdfasts to the north were to be captured and garrisoned with as little damage as possible.

For a while, he had doubted his orders, but it had come more and more clear as he snaked through the lands. Robb was planning to expand the Riverlands up until the Goldroad. That's why he didn't want any damage done to these lands. At the same time, he still wanted the Reach damaged as much as possible and to get as much loot as they could take. That had to be achieved on the southside of the road.

The latter was going exceedingly well. His troops were penetrating the Northmarch up to eighty miles deep. They were sacking small holdfasts of knightly houses every single day and many more villages as well. It was true what they said about the Reach, they had a very large population and an abundance of knightly houses. Luckily, this also meant an abundance of loot.

Robb had put him in charge of the army and he had first marched it to Stoney Sept, after which it had snaked on the west side of the Blackwater until they reached the Goldroad. From there they followed Robb's orders, capture the northside and raid the southside.

By now, most of their job in the Reach was done, as he could start to see the mountains of the Westerlands looming in the distance. Then the real campaign would start. He would march to Deep Den. It would open their gates and he would gather his forces there and rally the Westerlanders against Tywin. From there on, he would slowly march towards Casterly Rock, defeating any forces sent against him while linking up with more and more of the local rebels.

He had been utterly surprised when Robb had called him into Riverrun's solar to tell him he would have to lead the campaign. Everyone had expected a last showdown between Robb and Tywin, but his brother had waved the thought away.

"Tywin is almost done and we greatly outnumber him. I can't afford to be stuck in monthlong games of cat and mouse or sieges in the Westerlands. The Riverlands are in shambles, half of its keeps damaged, its food stores empty and almost half of its smallfolk killed or slowly starving. Victors will need to be rewarded, lands have to change hands and justice has to be spoken. King's Landing needs to be dealt with, as well as the successions of Houses Hayford, Stokeworth and Rosby. Other houses will need to be Iooked at too, not to speak of what to do with the traitors and their lands. I am needed here in the Riverlands, but I trust you to avenge father and finish the job Jon. I know you can do it."

He had doubted if the lords would want to follow him after his Targaryen displays in the Stormlands, but it hadn't been a problem. Mostly because many of those doubting him, especially those of the Stormlands and the Vale, weren't here.

He had departed with sixteen thousand men. Five thousand Northern veterans had followed him. Another five thousand came from the Vale houses most sympathetic to them, under the command of Ser Andar Royce. Lord Harrold had also gone back to the Vale to start ruling. Another three thousand five hundred Riverlanders had joined them and when he captured land on the northside of the Goldroad they were ordered to garrison the places. Another thousand had joined from the former Crownlands on search for loot and plunder. Lastly, there were fifteen hundred Westerlanders.

That last contingent existed of men they had held captive from several battles, as well as some volunteers that had ridden out to meet them. They had been placed under the command of their respective lords, under the oath all would pay their ransoms when the war was over. Of course, Robb had not been so stupid as to only allow an oath. They had all signed documents too. Breaking their promise would plummet any credibility the house had.

The plan Robb had made was ingenious. It captured the lands from the Reach to use once negotiations with House Tyrell started. It also severely ravaged thousands of square miles of lands in the Northmarch. This would further weaken the Reach and lengthen its process to recover but would also specifically weaken its border with the Riverlands, thereby protecting their border significantly. He had also tasked Jon with making sure that it was known the Westerlords had joined in the sacking and pillaging. This way, no friendship would easily be established between the Reach and Westerlands after the war.

The raiding deep into Reach territory had already yielded many rewards. Over ten thousand livestock had been captured and send north to Stoney Sept. Parts of it would be slaughtered to feed the new population and help them settle in without starving, while the rest was to be handed out to new farmers to settle the deserted lands and quickly reestablish those areas. Hundreds of thousands of dragons worth of wines, tapestries, trinkets and other things had been captured and were constantly being send north to Riverrun. Not to speak about the amount of armor, weapons and horses they had captured. He had sent some north, while other parts had been shared across the army.

Yet, all that was just the prelude to his campaign in the Westerlands. Randyll Tarly and his forces had been called back to Highgarden to link up with the Tyrell forces there and help drive the Ironborn from their lands. This meant the whole north of the Reach was completely undefended. Its garrisons had been depleted by the civil war and its population centers damaged. This left the rich fields, villages and towns of the Northmarch ripe for the taking.

It also helped satiate the army. Once they arrived in the Westerlands, the raiding would have to stop to not alienate their allies. Only specific lands of ardent Tywin loyalists could be damaged, but even then they would have to show restraint as Willem would want to distribute those semi-intact to loyal knights in his household. Under the impulse of Lord Roland Crakehall, Willem had started to create a household guard out of the former soldiers and knights of his father's retinue. All had been loyal to Ser Kevan and not Tywin and it showed in their protection of his son.

The relations between them and their allies were improving rapidly, as he started giving them enticing targets to raid and treated them like equals when holding council. Some of the Westerlords were slowly turning around when treating with him and the other lords of his brother's kingdom, while the Valemen and especially Ser Andar were quickly becoming friends. The Royce heir had always supported Robb in father's memory, but after receiving back his family's ancestral Valyrian steel sword things had been different. The knight was openly seen drinking with the Greatjon or his sons, he trained his swordplay against Harrion or even Dacey and Lady Maege and had asked for Lord Brynden Blackwood to accompany him in attacks. He had to admit Ser Andar was a good man, commander and fighter. He often brought his own targets to him to discuss and never failed to deliver.

It was the first time since Oxcross the morale of an army had been so high. The lands around them were open for the taking, no enemy armies in a three-hundred-mile radius, provisions and supply were outstanding, … the only negative was the winter weather, but he had ensured ample tents, blankets and boots for the whole army.

What also helped morale were the constant reports the Riverlanders got from their homes. Much of their forces had stayed home and were rebuilding their homes. Villages were slowly repopulated, food stores restocked and keeps repared. Continuous strings of messages from all over telling about the slow replenishment of the lands helped to keep smiles on his men's faces. It also helped with cohesion, as Robb had ordered many contingents of Northern soldiers to cut wood and help rebuild villages, towns and keeps all over the Riverlands. The help seemed to be appreciated and men from both regions were growing towards each other, highborn and lowborn alike.

Other Northern contingents were placed as large garrisons, helping to keep parts of the Riverlands free from brigands and riots. The largest were located at the Twins, King's Landing and of course beneath the walls of Riverrun. Osric Karstark also remained in command of the Golden Tooth. He would give it back to House Lefford after Tywin was defeated. Even so, Lady Lefford had been allowed back to her home to start preparing to take up the mantle as head of House Lefford and deal with her remaining rebellious cousins.

He had also heard voices of Northmen wishing to stay in the South. Mostly lowborn men with nothing real to come home to. Some older men or third or fourth sons that didn't wish to strain their families' food supply for winter if they would go back home. Even a handful of nephews and cousins from noble families had voiced the sentiment. Robb had been made aware of it and was probably planning something for it.

After a while, he reached the camp his vanguard was setting up for the night. He entered the large command tent, his tent, and took immediate advantage of the bottle of arbor red stalled out on the table. He looked over a few documents a messenger brought him, before he called Lord Westerling and Ser Andar to him. Ser Andar was the undisputed commander of the Vale forces, while Lord Westerling was at least the nominal commander of those from the West.

They went over the lands captured and garrisoned on the northside of the Goldroad and spoke of the progress the raiding was making. For now, only eight thousand men were in the actual camp, while almost as much were scattered around in raiding parties ranging from three hundred to a thousand men.

They were penetrating deep into enemy territory and they had just received word that the Greatjon had captured another town of three thousand inhabitants. He had sacked the town until nothing of value had been left, burned down the holdfast of the knightly house the town belonged to and destroyed the wooden walls in certain areas to make its defenses unusable in the future. Similar reports had been received over the last ten days from the Karstark, Mormont, Manderly, Blackwood, Mallister, Brune, Melcolm, Tollet and Waynwood contingents. Small towns, large villages, rich farmsteads, … nothing was safe. It was agreed both Lord Gawen and Ser Andar would take their respective contingents from the road on the morrow for a last attack south. In the meantime, he would march on three holdfasts to the north of the road.

They would all meet back in sixteen days where the Goldroad entered the Western mountains. He wanted most of the army together when they marched towards Deep Den. From then on, playtime was over and the real work would begin.

(A month later)

They had finally left the Western mountains four days ago and were closing in on Lannisport. He had been surprised when he heard the news of how Tywin had divided his forces and holed himself up in Casterly Rock and Lannisport. In doing so, he avoided every possibility for a pitched battle and forced them into long sieges. To siege Casterly Rock was no small thing. The Lannister fortress had never fallen to an enemy army before in its thousands of years of existence.

However, the closer he got the more he understood. All the lands they had passed through since leaving the mountains had been ravaged of everything needed to sustain an army. The food stores were empty, the wells were poisoned and the best towns to seek shelter in were put to the torch. All across the Western plain tens of thousands of refugees scrambled for the resources he would need to gather to feed his ever-growing army.

They had left with sixteen thousand men. Throughout their campaign in the Reach they had lost some five hundred men, while another thousand were garrisoned in the conquered areas. Ever since they had reached Deep Den, more and more Westerlanders had joined their forces. Sometimes in small groups, other times by the hundreds. The Westerlander continent had grown to three thousand five hundred men and they were still expecting troops from Houses Crakehall, Kenning, Prester and Marbrand to join them in the next week or so. This would bring his forces close to twenty thousand in number.

If you took into account Tywin never managed to raise over seven thousand men since returning home, it was clear avoiding battle might be a smart move. His enemy's plan was clear. Hole up in Lannisport and Casterly Rock until we slowly starve in front of their walls and our alliance implodes on itself due to infighting fueled by the lack of resources.

It wasn't a bad plan, but he had already tried to anticipate on it. He had sent word to Osric in the Golden Tooth to prepare for another supply chain to be organized from Riverrun directly to Casterly Rock. The garrisons in the conquered areas along the Goldroad were also tasked to bring some of the captured food supply towards Deep Den to follow him through the mountains. The local lords were also petitioned to prepare additional shipments for their forces. He didn't know if it would be enough, but it would help at the very least.

Just before nightfall, they finally reached the ancient home of House Lannister. The fortress built into the lone enormous rock did indeed seem impregnable and Lannisport's walls in the distance seemed almost as imposing. When he got closer to the Lion's Mouth, it suddenly opened. He rode back in shock, shouting at his men to prepare for a possible sally out. Yet, only a lone rider appeared from the gates, which quickly shut behind him.

The rider rode up to him and handed him a letter sealed in wax decorated by the sigil of the Lannister lion. He opened the letter quickly and read it in silence.

"To Rhaegar's bastard and my rebellious lords and nephews,

I wish you good luck in trying to attack my seat. It has never fallen before, nor will it fall now. We readily await your arrival and look forward with glee on the prospect of littering our grounds with the bodies of rebels and savages.

To any of my fellow countrymen, if any of you see finally see the light and wish to rid yourself of the savages' presence, I will grant you full amnesty on the condition you attack the enemy and their food supplies for me.

Tywin Lannister,

Lord of Casterly Rock, Shield of Lannisport and Warden of the West

He annoyingly looked at the words. Even on the brink of destruction, the man still seemed to be arrogant to the bone. No matter, he would get his due sooner or later. He simply ripped the letter into a thousand pieces and spit on it, in full view of the messenger. It was more of an answer the Old Lion ever deserved. After that, he let the rider go back to where he came from. It had no use for any of his allies to hear these words. Better to avoid any temptation at betrayal.

As he helped his men to set up camp and organized their defensive plans in the event of a sally out, he saw how stupid it had been of him to think he could do that. In the span of three hours, twenty more of those letters were delivered to all parts of his army. It didn't take long for a few of them to full into the hands of his allies and word quickly spread around camp.

Tywin would wait for everything to fall apart, while encouraging dissent from his high and dry place in the Rock. It might work, he realized when he finally fell down on his bed for the night.

The next day he stood up and immediately called for a meeting with all lords and commanders. The current state of the Westerlands was assessed.

The north of the Westerlands were still in complete disarray, even as Houses Marbrand, Westerling, Sarsfield and Prester had done their best over the last few months to bring some sense of order to the place. The chaos had resulted in tens of thousands of refugees coming towards Lannisport. Apparently, Tywin had shut them all out to force him to choose between letting them die and risk alienating the Western lords or to risk his supplies.

The center of the Westerlands had been ravaged by Tywin himself, leaving nothing for him or his men. Only in the east and south, in the lands of Houses Crakehall, Lydden, Serret and Payne supplies were available. Yet, the road wasn't safe, as Tywin still had many sympathizers among the knightly houses everywhere. Even more disturbingly, he had sent raiding parties to those lands while they were in the Reach and had weakened their ability to supply the army.

It wouldn't be easy to take either Lannisport or Casterly Rock, but the former seemed the more plausible target for now. It was defended by its formidable city guard, as well as between three and four thousand soldiers of the Lannister armies. Its gates would be reinforced, its stores overflowing and its towers filled to the brim with arrows and other projectiles to throw at them. Assaulting those mighty defenses might bring disaster for their army. For now, they could only start a siege.

They were in the process of encircling the city and tomorrow would begin with the construction of ladders, rams and siege towers. In truth, there was not much else to do. He would try to sneak messages into the city to encourage the troops present to betray Tywin, but success there was far from guaranteed.

They discussed their supply lines and agreed to fortify certain strongpoints between Deep Den and the Golden Tooth and their camp to ensure the safe arrival of their supplies. They also looked on the map which houses were still openly following Tywin. In the next few days, squadrons would be sent out to deal with those holdfasts. None of Tywin's allies could be left alive to attack their supplies.

Before dawn, a messenger had arrived with a small continent of men from House Sarsfield. It brought news from Riverrun about the Reach. Robb had sent a letter accompanying it that it was important and should be discussed with the lords.

He looked upon the letter and couldn't believe his eyes. The great clash between the Reach and the ironborn had finally happened. He looked upon the faces of his brother's vassals and allies.

"It seems a great battle has taken place beneath the walls of Oldtown. Euron Greyjoy apparently disembarked a force a few weeks ago and burned much of the area around the city. In the meantime, he was probing the city's defenses from both land and sea. On what seemed like a usual day for them, they were suddenly surprised by the Hightowers as they sallied out against them. The Greyjoy king turned his troops around and they were quickly getting the better off the Hightowers, until Randyll Tarly showed up with thousands of horsemen to attack them in the rear." He looked up from the pages and saw equal shock in the eyes of the men all around him.

"Half the ironborn force was destroyed in the charge, but Euron and over a thousand reavers managed to retreat towards the bay while the rest scattered. Their retreat to the Arbor was cut off by the Redwyne fleet, who finally sailed into the Straits. Apparently, it isn't clear what happened there, as sources mention a battle in a sea of blood and even the presence of a huge kraken arising from the deep to drag down Redwyne ships to its home." He heard many whispers at that. "Kraken's are nothing more than a fairy tale.", some said. Others mentioned that, "if the direwolves on House Stark's sigil are real why not the krakens of the sigil of House Greyjoy?"

He decided to put an end to these kinds of conversations before they got out of hand. "Whatever the truth of it may be, what we do know is that Lord Horas Redwyne sailed into the Straits with almost two hundred warships and seven hundred converted merchant ships of all sizes. There he was met by some five hundred ironborn longships. In the end, over three quarters of the Redwyne fleet were sunken to the bottom of the ocean, including Lord Horas. His twin brother and heir managed to save some thirty warships and retreat eastwards with many other ships scattering in all directions."

"The ironborn defeated the Redwyne fleet?" Lord Serret asked in shock.

"Aye, it seems like it. Although, it is mentioned that over half the ironborn ships were also destroyed in the battle." He replied.

This led to a huge shockwave amongst the lords. The talks weren't held in whispers now, as lords almost shouted above one another. After defeating the Redwyne fleet, the only fleet to oppose the ironborn from Bear Island to the Stepstones was the Lannister one docked in the harbors of Lannisport now. Western lords were already debating what to do and how to protect their coastal holdings.

He held up his hand and spoke loudly. "That wasn't the end of it, it seems. While the Redwyne fleet failed to defeat their ironborn counterparts, it did succeed in cutting of the ironborn presence on land completely. Lord Randyll Tarly chased King Euron Greyjoy and his reavers down towards the ruins of Blackcrown, where he defeated the ironborn king. Euron Greyjoy was slain, after he himself mortally wounded Lord Peake and two of his sons. Almost all of his reavers were slaughtered during the clash."

Now all just looked at him in silenced shock. "The pirate king is dead?" Lord Crakehall asked. He nodded in response. "What does that mean?" Lord Roland continued asking.

He thought long and hard on that, as he quickly reread the words in front of him. "Well, it seems the Reach has lost the remainder of their naval forces. After the fleet on the Shield Islands and the Hightower fleet, the Redwyne fleet has now also been largely destroyed. This will set Willas Tyrell back decades and might even prevent him from retaking the Arbor or the Shield Islands in the near future. At the same time, the ironborn lost their king and the vast majority of their mainland forces. After the losses taken in the North and elsewhere in the Reach, I don't expect them to have the forces anymore to seriously threaten any major keeps. They will be forced to stick to simple raiding for a while."

He reread the passage were the ironborn king was killed and continued. "Their succession is once again thrown into question and it seems House Greyjoy has serious problems. Unlike last time, all brothers of Balon are now dead. We know Daenerys Targaryen burned Victarion alive after stealing two of her dragons, while Euron has now perished beneath Oldtown. Their last brother Aeron has been reported missing for many months now, ever since Euron took the throne. The only clear heirs are Theon and Asha. However, both are safely locked away in the dungeons of Winterfell. Without them, it is likely a succession war will start for the control of House Greyjoy."

"A succession war between who?" Lord Brynden Blackwood asked. Luckily, he had studied House Greyjoy's family tree intensely after what Theon had done to Arya. Both he and Robb had been burning with vengeance and they had wanted to know who to kill in response. A thing they had also done with House Lannister after father's death. The latter had helped them form a clear understanding of politics in the Westerlands and had indirectly helped turn many of its lords, maybe this information now could also help them.

"That remains unclear. Euron is said to have had multiple bastard sons, yet they would have most likely been at his side during the battle. If any one of them survived, he could lay claim to his crown. There are also a few more distant Greyjoy lines that could try to usurp the main line for control of Pyke. You also have to take into account that we are talking about ironborn. Any of the lords might think them better than a distant or locked up Greyjoy and try to claim the Iron Isles for himself." He answered to the best of his abilities.

"So, what you are saying is that the ironborn's cause will collapse into civil war?" Ser Cedric Payne questioned.

"Aye, it most likely will in my opinion." He replied.

No one said a word until the Greatjon started laughing so hard he doubled down and tears were forming in his eyes.

"What in the name of the Seven?" Lord Brax shouted angrily towards him, many sharing the sentiment as they didn't understand the Greatjons actions.

"Lord Umber, care to explain why you seem to have so much fun?" He asked, an eyebrow raised.

"Well," the main started, wiping away a tear from his eyes. "It seems to me that both cunts just destroyed each other. The Reach has received additional damage to the area around Oldtown and has lost some of its ground forces. More importantly, Willas Tyrell lost his cousin and the majority of the man's fleet and wealth. If that won't force the bloody Reachmen to the negotiation table after our little raiding campaign I don't know what ever will. In return for their victory, the fucking ironborn got a civil war and are back to killing each other instead of us better men. Good riddance if you ask me. All I hope is that enough of them remain on their rocks in the sea for me to satiate my thirst for revenge over my daughter once I get there."

He tried to look at it from that perspective and he had to agree there was some cynical irony there that he could appreciate. He smiled softly and nodded in agreement with the giant lord. "Aye, it does help us when two of our enemies destroy each other so thoroughly."

"So, what do we do now?" Ser Gareth Clifton asked, fearful as his lands were vulnerable and closest and to the Iron Isles.

"Why do we have to do anything?" Harrion interrupted. "Let the fuckers kill themselves and we can clean up the pieces later when we got rid of Tywin. They lost thousands of men in the North and even more down in the Reach. If we let them kill each other for a few months, it won't matter if anyone wins or not. There won't be enough men left to oppose us, united or not."

Ser Gareth seemed to see the merit in that and seemed happy at the prospect of less ironborn. "What about the Reach?" Ser Wylis Manderly asked. "With the ironborn threat gone they could move north and attack our garrisons and cut of our supplies from the Goldroad.

He thought about that and had to agree with the heir to White Harbor. "I will immediately write to His Grace to fortify the area and send additional troops over there." All agreed with that, but not all seemed content that it was enough. "Will it be enough? Shouldn't we move past of our forces back to defend the entrance to the Riverlands?" Ser Ronald Vance asked.

"I don't think Tyrell or Tarly will come north just yet." Lord Timotty Flint countered. He was the late Lord Flint's eldest son and had expertly taken over his father's mantle since he perished at the hands of the Unsullied.

"Why not?" The heir to Atranta asked him.

"Because we didn't either. When the ironborn attacked the North, they left many garrisons and forces scattered over the western side and Moat Cailin. We first consolidated the areas they abandoned and then marched against those still left. Only after that, our forces marched against the Vale or Wildlings. Willas will do much the same. He will throw the scattered ironborn off the mainland and will reestablish his control and that of his grandfather in the south of the kingdom. After that, he will either look to retake the Arbor and the Shield Islands or attack the Goldroad, but not sooner. Even then, I would personally try the former."

"Why's that? He could significantly hurt are war here in the Westerlands by cutting it sooner." Lord Lydden spoke up.

"Aye, he could, but what would he gain from that? In his best scenario, we move part of our army here to link up with His Grace's forces in the Riverlands to attack them. We have over fifteen thousand men left for the king there to rally before any serious damage is done. In the end they would have to face King Robb, who is a military genius. All that probably with an inferior force in both experience and numbers, while most of our men have rested in the Riverlands and they have sped across the Reach. Randyll Tarly is good, but he is not stupid. That is not an engagement you seek for yourself. Better to get rid of the ironborn and come north in strength to negotiate a better deal with us."

"And risk facing a united army of the Vale, North, Riverlands and Westerlands under King Robb in a few months?" Ser Roland Waynwood asked.

"In negotiations? Aye! Better that than to stand there while everybody knows you don't even control your entire kingdom." The new Lord of Flint's Finger shrugged.

"I agree with Timotty here!" The Greatjon shouted, as he slapped the man on the back while Smalljon showed his support as well. House Umber and House Flint had been great friends under the late lord. It seemed that friendship carried over to the next generation.

"I am inclined to follow your reasoning as well, Lord Flint." He finally spoke up. "Yet, I will write to Robb nonetheless. Maybe additional reinforcements will further discourage them from moving north towards our supply line. Lord Timotty nodded in acknowledgment and all others seemed placated.

"This will be all for today, my lords. A city awaits our capture."

(Six days later)

He had done it. He had actually done it. He had captured Lannisport in a week's time. He still couldn't believe the plan had worked. Three days ago, he had noticed the sigil of House Swyft on guards patrolling the walls on the western side of the city. A plan had formed in his head then. He had had Willem write a letter to his grandfather detailing his complete amnesty and council position, as well as "his grandson's eternal gratitude for him and his uncles and cousins". All he had to do is open a gate to the city.

It had apparently been enticing enough, not surprising with twelve thousand men camped outside the city and more than seven thousand a little further before Casterly Rock.

Ser Harys had opened a western gate in the middle of the night and hundreds of his men had entered it before any alarm had even been raised. What had followed had been a fierce struggle at night through the streets. When the night fell away for the day, the enemy finally saw what they were up against. Over half his force had entered the city and more and more were pouring in. An hour after dawn, the last of the lords had surrendered his troops.

The only holdouts had been some of the local houses of Lannisport, almost all cadet branches of House Lannister. Their fortified houses and small keeps in the city were easily stormed in the two hours that followed. Houses Lannister of Lannisport, Lantell, Lannett and Lanny had all been taken into custody. He was already pressuring King Willem to send all able-bodied men of these houses to the Wall. The less Lannisters, cadet branch or otherwise, the better. It was time someone starting severely culling this God's forsaken family.

It was now midday and he rode into the city next to King Willem in a show of strength. In front of them in the central square stood Ser Harys Swyft. He went to his knee at the sight of his grandson. "Your Grace, the city is yours." He spoke up.

Willem simply jumped from his horse and walked over to the knight of Cornfield. He pulled him up and hugged him. "It's good to see you grandfather. I have need of your council." The smile the elder knight bore on his face was true and genuine, that much was clear. He must really care for his grandson. Good, it will help their cause.

All along the town, guards in Lannister red took command of the city's most important buildings, while other Westerlander guards went to the walls in a show of force. The message to the locals was clear. We are one of you, we are the real Westerlanders. We have freed your city.

After all that had happened, Willem was welcomed with unsure applause by the citizens of the city. They all hated Tywin by now, with forced conscriptions, soldiers coming back without their swordhands, if they came back at all, extra taxes and the refusal to open the gates to the refugees. After he had made the city a battlefield, he had lost the last support. Yet, the welcome wasn't wholehearted and he was the reason why. He, Ghost and his few guards stuck out against the sea of red and all knew what it meant. Still, no shouts of complaint were made, Ghost's silent snarl probably had something to do with that.

The rest of the day was spent seeing to a lot of decorum, while Willem toured the city. They also spoke together to the lords, who had surrendered, and he managed to force Willem into sending the men from the cadet branches to the Wall. Their underaged children would be 'fostered' in Casterly Rock. A clever idea by Lord Westerling, who of course wanted to secure his daughter's place as Queen and her future progeny after that.

After a meeting with their commanders, where they discussed their losses which had only been around six hundred men, he ordered many of them to prepare to move most of the camp. Initially seven thousand five hundred men had opposed Casterly Rock with twelve thousand surrounding Lannisport. Now, that would change. Sixteen thousand would oppose Casterly Rock, with three thousand Westerlanders taking their place inside the city.

Everything had gone insanely quickly that day. They were already planning Willem's official coronation in the Sept of Lannisport with all the lords of the West present. It had been Ser Harys idea and he had immediately started to portray Willem as "the prince of the city". It seemed to work on the people, so he let it be. He had more important things to do.

Equally as important as the fall of the city, had been the fall of its stores to his army. He had negotiated with King Willem and together they had decided half would be emptied to feed the forces, while the other half would be reserved for the local population to make sure they wouldn't starve. Tywin had stocked the stores for a siege lasting two years, they still had more than enough. He would spend a small part to feed the refugees to both strengthen Willem's and his own image.

He would not conquer these lands simply to let them think of him and his friends as savages. He had to diminish anti-Northern sentiment as much as possible, if he wanted peace to hold for the next thirty to forty years. The campaign in the Reach had done wonders with much of the nobility. Those that had only recently joined were quickly being won over by how he had captured Lannisport and his treatment of Ser Harys and the other lords that had surrendered as well as the local population. He had stopped his men from doing any substantial looting, it had frustrated some of them but it had won him the benefit of the doubt from much of the local people.

Now he would continue sieging Casterly Rock for however long it would take. It would probably take many months if he was honest. Because of that, he would have time to start setting up Willem's reign from Lannisport. He would facilitate that the seven miles of lands would be handed over to Robb's units. He would see to it that the freed lords paid their ransoms, Willem included. He would overlook the preparations of the coronation and the marriage of Willem, which would take place in the Sept here in a few weeks or so. Jeyne had come with them to the Westerlands, albeit only in the rearguard. She was now staying in Deep Den, as an army camp was no place for a future queen, and would soon be brought over. He would allow the Westerlords full autonomy on all of it, as long as he was kept in the loop the whole time. He would bring a clear message, transparency and goodwill would bring them autonomy.

He would also see to it that Willem immediately forbade the Faith Militant, as they were already springing up all over the kingdom. Lord Westerling had even mentioned that they could repay the Iron Bank with the valuables they found in the vaults of Lannisport. The sudden belief in victory was immense, and both the city and army were positively buzzing.

Yet, he knew it wasn't over yet. As long as Tywin lived, he would never be able to rest. So, he would soon see him dead. He would avenge father and ensure the future safety of his siblings and their children and grandchildren. Maybe, just maybe of his own children and grandchildren too. For the first time he really started to believe in Robb's plan for him. He started to hope for a keep, a wife, children, … a family of his own. A place to be himself, not part Stark and part Targaryen, but fully himself. A place to build his own legacy and fuse the best of both lineages. A chance to go north and built himself a home.

This is it for this chapter!

I know this probably wasn't what many of you expected. Many probably hoped for a lengthy campaign between Robb and Tywin, but it would make no sense except for Robb's emotional satisfaction. Robb is too smart to let that stand in the way of him building his kingdom and caring for his people.

Every day that the lands aren't set in order, dozens of innocent smallfolk die of hunger and sickness. Unrest is brewing, while many houses are on the brink of extinction. Robb needs to take care of that before chaos erupts after their common enemy is gone. This is what he will try to do next chapter. The man Robb is means that he would always put that in front of his revenge, that is what he was thought by Eddard. Besides, in Robb's mind Jon has just as much reason for vengeance so he would be satisfied with him trying to claim it anyway.

Jon is more than capable to lead the army. You see him conquering a part of the Reach and sacking and burning an even larger part. Finally, the (Southern) Riverlands get avenged for what the Reach did to them before Atranta. Many of the stolen food and livestock is ironically also used to rebuild the areas the Reachmen burned.

Jon manages to rally the Westerlords and capture Lannisport due to the betrayal of Ser Harys Swyft, Willem's maternal grandfather. He will start to help Willem to build up his kingdom, as well as ensure the peace treaty is respected. He will also start a PR campaign to get rid of (most of) the anti-Northern sentiment created when they invaded the Westerlands the first time.

Thank you for all your continued support!

Fannic

Reviews:

- Rebfan90: Thank you!

- Finkarhu: You're welcome!

- CadetMarshal: You'll be happy to know that there is more to come next chapter! You see some of the aftermath of it here with Ser Andar and Jon. You're welcome!

- George Christian810: No. That would create decades, maybe centuries of unrest.

First of all, the local population would have other customs and another religion then the leaders. That means families like the Umbers can either convert on a large scale (like that is going to happen lol) or face peasant uprising after Faith uprising.

Secondly, you could never get all males from all families. Dozens would escape to the courts in the Reach and create a constant power dynamic of future wars with the Reach. They will also hire sellsword groups and simply invade from all over. They tried this in parts of England in the 15th century. The results were the wars of the roses, constant rebellions, the loss of almost all French holdings, complete instability and it culminated in everything Henry VIII did. Take into account the English only did a fraction of the extreme measures you ask for. Last time this successfully happened was in 1066 (also England) under William the Conqueror, but this also led to wars between Normandy and England and only worked because William moved there and this succes story thus includes civil war, as well as many revolts.

Thirdly, that is just a cultural no no in Westeros. It would paint Robb as a dictator unseen for his time. All Riverlords and Crownlanders would fear he could do the same to them and he will find himself with a knife to his throat in his sleep in less than a decade. Even the Blackwoods and Tullys would soon rebel against him.

Fourthly, it would destroy the dynamic of his kingdom. His Southern border (with the Reach) would become way too long and non-defensible. The majority religion of his smallfolk would become the Seven overnight. This would pressure all future Starks to convert or face major uprisings/rival Seven-believing claimants.

It would just create all out chaos.

The Dornish did get off easy. That was the point. They aren't worth it and Robb is tired off war. They are no threat to him ever and the Stormlands for a while. Besides, weakening Dorne too much would strengthen the Reach as they don't need to bother with the border too much.

- Alek Sands: For now, the kingdom is exhausted. They have lost tens of thousands of soldiers, thousands of tons of food, a lot of material damage, trading and military fleets, … They can't risk another civil war. However, what the next generation will do, who's to say … for now? ;-)

More on the Iron Islands later, but you have an interesting take.

- Greatazuredragon: The final campaign against Tywin is well underway now. Thank you very much!

- MasterOfDragonsGod: You're welcome!

- Poly19hum: Thank you!

- Cliff West: Tywin's situation doesn't look so good right now. It'll be a while before we hear more detailed info from the Wall.

- Foxy-Floof: Yes, but you could call it the irony of life. The hand that overextends itself often gets cut off. Sadly, most of those died here as they were pulled down together with the Lannisters …

Thank you! There will be a large epilogue with multiple chapters time jumping to show future events, so it's not finished yet.

- Force Smuggler: No, but it could be much worse. They were effectively given complete self-determination of their country, whilst many feared occupation or outright annexation. In the end, some will hate Robb but most will be glad they personally got off this easily. House Lannister has harsh terms, yet the individual lords aren't hit too much.

- Angeluszuko-z: His actions are finally starting to catch up to him.

- Kuman: You forget that they also lost over 3 million golden dragons they were owed by the Iron Throne. That is a huge part of their reserves. Tywin also had to rebuild his fleet and raise 6 armies in 15-years-time that costs a fortune (1. Robert's Rebellion 2. Greyjoy Rebellion 3. His force at Deep Den 4. Jaime's force at the Golden Tooth 5. Stafford's force at Oxcross 6. He at Casterly Rock now) The Lannisters are very rich and will replenish through trade and their mines, but their reserves are empty now. With empty reserves they need to pay 1.2M to Robb and 136 to the Iron Bank, not impossible but far from easy.

You are right about the inflation. As such Robb will have to spend a big part of it in Essos. The fact the debt needs to be paid in increments will also help against inflation. No, a lot of the loot and ransoms will go to the lords and Robb will hand out many other rewards (like he already did to Manderly, Locke and Flints of Widowswatch) but most of that will go to House Stark to use in a centralized matter (e.g. built castles to protect the Riverlands etc. more on that later)

- Tellemicus Sundance: I whole heartedly agree! His monikers will change over the years too. If he lives for another 40 years, he'll probably be called the "Old Wolf" or something. However, great suggestion and I'll be sure to include it somewhere.

- Wawo20: Thank you!

- Guest: Thank you for the suggestion.