Chapter 4; The Fire of Riverrun
Prince Rhaegar fully recovered from his wounds in about a fortnight. During that time various news had arrived. The first had been the failure to capture Jon Arryn, who had managed to cross the Bloody Gate, although of the three troops that the lord of the valley had managed to regroup, about two thirds were captured or executed, leaving approximately a thousand soldiers, although it was said that the horsemen did not number two hundred. So Lord Darry and Sir Axell placed the fortress under siege, awaiting reinforcements from the crown, although by the time they managed to surround the castle, Lord Arryn had abandoned the fortress to take refuge in the Eyrie, a place that was certainly impregnable. . There were rumors that he was trying to make a new levy, probably the largest in the history of the Valley. Well, to the problem of losing the battle was added the danger that the Valley ran because of the mountain clans. Added to this were even more serious problems such as the rapid decomposition of the power of House Arryn, since no one doubted that the war was lost. And no one wanted to be the target of Aerys's fury.
Another important news was the entry into the war of Tywin Lannister, who, after learning of Rhaegar's victory, had gathered his army and apparently they were ready to enter the Riverlands. Most likely to obtain some favor from the crown, crushing weak areas. And news had already been heard about the burning of Acorn Keep, as a preamble to their attack on Riverrun. But news also arrived from King's Landing, where King Aerys had ordered that all rebels be exterminated without exception, and that the prisoners be executed as soon as possible with all possible fire. Because Rhaegar could not publicly contradict the king's order, at least not for the duration of the war, Lord Frey claimed that the northerners were his prisoners, not the crown's, and that he had even received orders from the king to do so. end. Rhaegar thanked him for the gesture, and even said that "unfortunately all the prisoners were in the hands of Lord Frey, so it is not my responsibility to give them any punishment." That ended with the custody of not only the prisoners of the Vale and the Lands. from the rivers.
Naturally, Lord Walder freed all the lowborn prisoners, to honor the benevolence of Prince Rhaegar, something that earned him a little more favor with the prince. However, he later secretly wrote to the king, asking for all the flasks of Valyrian fire that he could send him to "treat" the prisoners.
But soon, the royal army, with the addition of three thousand soldiers from House Frey, headed towards Riverrun. The rest of his army was safeguarding the crossing, and guarding the high-born prisoners. As for the trip, it was relatively peaceful, although at a slower pace, due to the transport of the war machines. Lord Walder, given his age, was offered a carriage. However, instead, he decided to march with his troops, leading a caravan of oxen with provisions for the army, which he himself had brought from the crossing, to the surprise of the entire army, to which he angrily responded "I am a old, but not useless"
By the time they sighted the Tully fortress in the distance, it was already surrounded by the Lannister army. There must have been close to twenty thousand, although most likely a considerable part were peasants with barely any training, in case the urgency of the moment had given it to them. They were beginning to build several catapults and cut down trees to build wooden bridges, but most likely they were imitating the example of the Tyrells, a fortress that apparently had not surrendered, and in which a young Stannis Baratheon was still defending Storm's End. , now as his lord, something he would do until death.
When the two armies met, Lord Frey hastened to mount his horse, and ride alongside Prince Rhaegar and Sir Barristan, as they went to meet Lord Tywin.
The lion received the prince with his usual serious countenance, and in the company of his main standard bearers. And following protocol, he bowed to Prince Rhaegar, followed by his vassals.
"My prince, I celebrate your victory over the rebels," said Tywin Lannister. "In a short time we will end the war."
"Thank you for your help my lord, he expected no less from you," Rhaegar said politely, but he knew that the man was only supporting the winning side. He knew him very well, practically since before he could walk.
"True…" said Lord Frey, taking a step forward, leaning on his staff. "It is a pity that you were not in the battle of the Trident… otherwise my not-so-glorious house would not have been decisive… but what are you going to do?" …they are logistical problems"
No one doubted that Lord Frey's words were an insult to the old lion's careerism. Rhaegar found it somewhat amusing, but the rest waited for Lord Tywin's reaction, who was as grim as ever. But he seemed more furious.
"Thank you for your understanding," he said in his monotone.
"You don't have to give them to me, you are here with us and you are going to be of great use to the crown with the capture of Riverrun," he said in a kinder tone.
"My forces are preparing for the assault, we are building catapults with which to demolish the walls, but the complicated part is in the construction of barges. The moat is large and my soldiers are exposed to the shot of their archers, and to the fire."
"You are right," said Lord Frey, "but continue with the barges… I'll take care of the fire," he said, surprising those present.
Riverrun was not a particularly large castle, but it had the advantage of being surrounded by a large moat. After several conversations, it was decided that the attack had to be carried out under cover of night. According to various rumors, Riverrun had two years' supplies, and perhaps Lord Tully hoped to find honorable terms of surrender, one that would not lead to him being burned alive in the throne room to the laughter of the mad king. Unfortunately Lord Frey could not afford to leave Tully alive, he was the guardian of the Riverlands, but almost all the lords were either prisoners, killed in battle or put on the run. If he wanted to consolidate his position he had to make the Tully house disappear.
He then retreated to the rear, and over the next few days he let Lord Tywin take the initiative; several barges had already been built and an assault across the harbor was likely, but at a high price. For his part, Lord Frey decided to develop "new machinery" due to the surprise of his supporters that leather was used. But after three weeks, and the bringing of the cauldrons that he had ordered to be brought from the crossing especially for the occasion. The first floating balloons in the seven kingdoms were made available. They were barely a dozen, but they would soon see tactical skill. And even if they were technically limited, with the wealth of a lord, the success of the Montgolfier brothers could be replicated.
But when they were ready, he paused his pace, and even became somewhat idle, waiting for the Valyrian fire to be brought to him. When more than a thousand vials arrived, from the pyromancer Rossart, along with a royal entourage, Lord Frey was delighted. Like Greek fire, Valyrian fire was easy to transport by dividing its components, which were relatively easy to mix.
That caught the attention of the prince, to whom he secretly explained the plan in his tent. And although at first he was a little alarmed, he ended up giving his permission to use it, due to the curiosity he had. And he even accepted the request that Sir Barristan be on one of the balloons with the aim of saving Lady Cathelyn, alluding that it would be easier to control the guardian of the north, with his wife and son alive.
Two days later, after preparations, and having made a rigorous selection. In the middle of the night each balloon rose into the air to everyone's astonishment.
"How did you come up with that prodigy?" the prince asked him in astonishment.
"Thinking of ways to secure the Green Fork, trade is the basis of our wealth," said Lord Walder.
Prince Rhaegar laughed, and Lord Frey laughed with him. But it was Lord Tywin who frowned when he saw a rival to his prestige and influence. In any case, the secrets of manufacturing were well kept, and unless they had similar engineering knowledge at the beginning of the 19th century, they would not have much success.
But the balloons rose slightly illuminated, entering the vicinity of the Tully farm. With anxious silence, everyone waited for the fire. Once Sir Barristan slid across a rope, the first thing heard was a pouring, as tar poured everywhere he stood. With great care, he put a piece of paper into the wooden barrels, in which was the Valyrian fire, and with all his strength he threw them into the castle. And the fire broke out with all its power, driven by the tar that spread throughout the fortress. The first round had already been devastating, but the second would be deadly.
The central tower was being consumed by flames, in the distance you could hear the screams of horror from the Tully garrison, but also from the servants and other courtiers. Soon it would extend into the great hall. That was a deadly mousetrap, everywhere you could see soldiers in flames, servants trying to jump into the water. Some, the luckiest ones, managed to swim there, and under the cover of night they escaped from the royal army, at least most of them. The green fire had cooked little Edmure, while the flames engulfed the Black Fish. Hoster Tully was burned to death in the great hall, along with most of his advisors.
The sound of the fire burning was joined by the sound of a canoe, when covered in blood that was not his, a man rowed with strength after having killed more than twenty soldiers. He was accompanied by a woman and her son, a baby of one or two months at most. Yes, that was Barristan the brave.
Then the royal army burst into cheers, and by dawn Riverrun was nothing more than a smoking ruin, a much smaller version of Harrenhall.
A fortnight later, the lords of the region were summoned to Harrenhall. There were the Blackwoods, the Whents, the Brackens, the Darrys, the Vances and other lords. That meeting had been called by Prince Rhaegar, under his word of honor that their lives would be spared.
There the prince officially named Lord Frey lord of the Riverlands, and of course gave him all the Tully possessions.
"Your Excellency," said Lord Walder, kneeling, "you move me with your generosity, and I humbly and heartbrokenly accept this honor."
"Rapist!" shouted one of the Balckwoods, who had been taken prisoner in the battle, pointing accusingly at the prince. "What did you do to Lady Lyanna!" he shouted earning a punch from the guards.
"I have never abused any woman!" Rhaegar roared harshly. "And I'm sick of these lies that say I kidnapped that girl! Lady Lyanna followed me and my entourage once we left this fortress. When I became aware of her presence, she was already halfway to Oldtown, as she wanted to consult some archives from the citadel. The poor girl was not in love with me, she simply wanted to escape her engagement to Robert Baratheon, who that same night had been drunk and fornicating with whores. I wanted to send her back to her family, but when she was going to do so, my father had executed her father and her brother, and also ordered the extermination of all the Starks, so I hid her in the Tower of Joy. . "I tried to think of a solution to the conflict, but it was too late."
"What proof do you have for what you say?" asked another man who appeared to be from the Vance house.
But then Lord Walder intervened.
"If the prince were his father, instead of talking and being pardoned, you would be burning with your families" thundered the now new guardian of the region.
That calmed the lords a little. They couldn't deny that evidence.
"I know you don't like me," Lord Walder began, "but I love this land as much as any of you. I live in my castle, from the tolls, right. But I live in peace and enjoying the prosperity of peace. That's what we all want, peace and prosperity. Lord Hoster brought war into our lives, when no one had done us any harm. "He burned towns under the protection of lords who refused to obey him."
"He was our liege lord," a Mallister spoke, to which Lord Walder nodded.
"Yeah. True, House Tully was the guardian of the Riverlands, but who gave the Tullys that honor? Aegon Targaryen. And breaking an oath of almost three centuries, by marrying his two daughters to an old man and the second son of Lord Rickard, seems to me a total lack of shame. It's true that I only fought one battle, but it was the one that decided everything. Tell me, now that you have listened to the prince, has the rebellion been just? Is our region more prosperous? open your eyes! There is no one here who has not lost a father, a son, a brother or all three at the same time in this madness... don't you want to rebuild the Riverlands by my side? Good, but I will not tolerate any insult to the prince, so you are already kneeling before him begging for forgiveness, or I myself will take you before the king, and may the seven have mercy on your souls" bellowed the lord of the crossing in a dark tone.
Finally, the rivermen bowed to their new liege lord, and begged Prince Rhaegar for forgiveness.
At the end of the day he asked him to accompany him to the capital to celebrate the victory.
"I have certain changes planned…I will call a council…something I should have done a long time ago"
"Yes…you can count on me…there are things that needed to be addressed"
It was time to go to the capital.