Blood and Winter
Chapter IX
Taking a deep breath, Lord Tytos Blackwood urged his horse on forward, following behind hisQ marching infantry. Behind him, Wylis Manderly and his archers followed after them, all the while Tytos remained firm faced. His gaze looking over the field towards the Lannister right flank under the command of Kevan Lannister, fourteen thousand men in total.
As he urged his horse on forwards, Tytos looked up to the sky to see that the sun was high, a few clouds in sight and he smiled. 'I am glad that the weather is not against us. We are already outnumbered as it is.'
Much like they had expected, the moment he moved his flank forwards, the Lannister's did the same. "Father, they've got a few detachments pulling further ahead of the rest of the army." His third son, Hoster Blackwood said urgently, but Tytos didn't panic, instead turning to count the detachments.
Five in total and only a few hundred men in each.
"Don't worry, Hos." He replied calmly, then looking to his eldest son, Brynden who was at the front of the infantry. Already the young man was giving out commands to the front ranks of his infantry, they shifting and moving in preparation to meet the charging Lannisters, even a few archers rushing forwards into the ranks. "Your brother, is more than capable of dealing with them."
-X- Line Break -X-
"Get ready!" Brynden shouted as the small cavalry detachment rushed towards him across the fields. They were few in number, but they weren't Lannisters, from their clothing he'd wager that they were Sellswords.
Before him, his front ranks were formed entirely of shield men who each stood firm, spears held in one hand. The enemy growing closer, targeting the front ranks of the left flank in five points. The centre, the far left, the far right and a point just left and right of the centre.
"Now!" He shouted and the shield men, crouched down allowing the archers that had been hidden amongst the front ranks of the infantry to release their arrows. The suddenness of the tactics caught the cavalry off-guard, they having expected to clash against a shield formation, arrows embedding into the horses and riders of the front runners. This caused disruption in the ranks of the cavalrymen, just as the tactic intended to do. "Cave in!" His command was echoed by the commanders under him.
And the front formation shifted, the targeted areas of the Lannister cavalry shifting backwards to form a U-like shape that funnelled mounted soldiers into it. Spears thrust forwards, piercing into riders and horses while Brynden's men closed ranks. Pushing in on the enemy cavalry and pushing them back out.
-X- Line Break -X-
Hearing the horn blown from the command base at the top of the hill, Rodrik nodded his head to his young squire, Gared Tuttle. Here the boy blew the horn in his hands and as the sun began to set on the first day, the right flank pulled back its soldiers.
It hadn't been an easy fight, unlike Lord Blackwood and Kevan Lannister, Addam Marbrand had been younger and desired accomplishments, Gregor also knew that he wasn't as skilled a defensive tactician as Lord Blackwood. As a result, their battle had been more pitched and while both him and Addam had kept the bulk of their forces back while only engaging in small skirmishes, it had by no means been easy.
At the head of one detachment his son, Rodrik Forrester rode towards him. His armour was bloody and he had few nicks and cuts to his armour showing that despite small, the skirmishes hadn't been simple.
"My son, are you alright?" Gregor asked and Rodrik smiled.
"I'm fine, father." He answered. "The enemy outnumbered us, aye, but they lacked proper armour. Sellswords I imagine."
Gregor nodded his head. "He's using them as a probing force." He noted with a narrowed eyes. "Young he may be, but Ser Marbrand is no fool. Tomorrow, I imagine things will become more difficult."
"It's strange." Rodrik said, turning to look back at the enemy left flank. "Every battle we've been ends in a few hours, nearly a day at most. But now we're looking at a battle that is going to last nearly two days."
"Every battle we've been has capitalised upon the speed of our movement and the reputation we've built up. Nearly half the enemy force is made up of those who haven't heard or don't care about us. We don't have the element of surprise nor do we have superior numbers. We're at an insurmountable disadvantage."
"I would have thought that Tywin would order a mass assault upon our lines like Robb predicted. Why is he doing these probing attacks? Surely he doesn't have the food to last much longer?" Rodrik asked and Gregor remained silent, having no answer to that question.
-X- Line Break -X-
Sitting down on his wooden chair, Robb looked out over the map, displaying a more in depth look at the lands surrounding the Antlers. Numerous wooden cut-outs displaying soldier formations and total numbers. Infantry displayed with square pieces, cavalrymen with triangular and archers in circles
Around him, were numerous members of his personal guard, including Ser Brienne of Tarth, Ser Garlan Tyrell, Dacey Mormont, Smalljon Umber and Patrek Mallister. In front of him were three riders dispatched from the centre and the two flanks. Each delivering reports of casualties, injuries and projected enemy losses as well.
For the first day of conflict, things looked good.
Overall, their total losses added up to around five hundred with a further one thousand injured. Around a third of that number would need to be taken back to the Antlers to be healed. The remainder would be fine to remain at camp and heal for a day before being allowed to be dispatched to the front lines once more.
Total enemy losses amounted to around three times that number, most of them being a result of Brynden Blackwoods excellent skill in utilising his father's defensive formation. Even Robb couldn't deny that breaching the formation would be incredibly difficult, not impossible, but difficult.
Kevan Lannister's probing tactic was a smart one, utilising experienced, but expendable soldiers such as the Sellswords in order to try and find weaknesses in an enemy's defensive formation. However, Lord Blackwood's formation was flexible and more than capable of dealing with these probing attacks. While a good tactic, Kevan Lannister had fallen into one of the many traps hidden within the defensive formation of Lord Blackwood and his son, Brynden had utilised those traps perfectly.
Nearly every single probing force had been almost entirely annihilated.
As for Gregor Forrester, his battle had been more pitched with large amounts of injuries and deaths. His son, Rodrik had fought hard, leading a single detachment to force four enemy units to retreat back to the Lannister main army of the left flank. The day hadn't been easy on any front, but it was nowhere near as bad as what Robb had expected.
"I thought the Old Lion would attack us in force?" Smalljon grumbled having expected a fight today and was disgruntled to not get the chance.
"You'll get your chance eventually, Smalljon." Dacey shot back from the side. "Tywin's going to run out of food eventually so he'll need to beat us and raid the Riverlands and even the Reach before that happens otherwise his army is going to splinter."
"Ah, I know. Just can't stand being stuck doing anything."
As this happened, Robb remained silent, studying the enemy formation on the map in front of him in thought. Smalljon's grumblings were something Robb shared, he had expected a large assault today, the small skirmishes he had thought were the lead up to a mass assault on all fronts and had prepared accordingly, but that hadn't happened.
Tywin had instead remained firm, only moving his forces to match Robb's own, their centres both remained where they were, unmoving besides the initial skirmish. Most of the fighting had been on the flanks with equally small skirmishes.
But nothing had happened beyond that.
So, the question remained, why was he being so cautious? His food supplies would probably last another few days, at most a week if rationed tightly. Even then, his army would be discontent and may have many of his Sellswords and Golden Company soldiers leaving. They fought for money, but a man needed to live long before he could spend it.
And a man would find living in a battle on an empty stomach very difficult.
So that raised the question on what game Tywin was playing because it wasn't the one Robb had expected.
-X- Line Break -X-
As the sun began to set on the second day, the Lannister army once again only sent small detachments which frustrated Robb to no end. Tywin was defying all his expectations and he couldn't figure out why.
Why was Tywin being so cautious?
Why was he being so slow in his attacks?
Why was he not attacking as he had expected?
All these questions and more whirled through his mind as he attempted to figure out an answer to the conundrum that was Tywin Lannisters odd movements. But the answer eluded him and the more he seemed to search for an answer the more confusing it became.
"Call for them to pullback." Robb ordered, Ser Perwyn Frey blowing the horn once more, a horn echoed by the Stark forces in the flanks. And as soon as the horn rang, both the Lannister and Stark forces began to withdraw.
And so, the second day of the Battle of the Antlers ended, the third day was yet to come.
-X- Line Break -X-
Sitting comfortably, Tywin listened to the reports on casualties taken. Already their losses amounted to just under six thousand in the second day, the Stark losses only around a thousand. Most of their losses were amongst the Sellswords which caused some discontent amongst them.
But he had given them extra rations to at least satiate their anger somewhat.
"Lord Tywin, there's a letter, from Lord Baelish." A messenger informed, entering into the tent accompanied by two guards. Tywin indicated for the man to step forward, taking the letter and then dismissing the messenger.
For a few moments, the tent was filled with silence as Tywin read through the contents of the letter. And as he did, Tywin while not smiling, the look on his face could only be described as pleased. "Send riders to Ser Addam and Ser Kevan, they're to pull back the Sellswords and send in the Smallfolk, same tactics."
There were nods of their heads and movement, Tywin reaching out to drink wine from his cup. With the news he had, it meant that victory over the Young Wolf was not far away.
And with the Young Wolf out of the way, all that would remain would be minor inconveniences. The Reach with no connection to the monarchy would abandon the northern forces and a more favourable match could be arranged between Margaery and Joffrey.
All the while he could use this to his advantage, slowly squeezing the Tyrell's dry of all their worth while stripping them of what little power they had remaining. When it was done, from the ashes of this war, House Lannister would rise to become the most powerful House on Westerosi history, surpassing even the Targaryens.
Just as it should be.
-X- Line Break -X-
"Is it wise, father?" Brynden asked, watching as the Lannister army moved towards them. Unlike the elites, it wasn't disciplined and orderly like the Lannister elites they had been fighting since the start of war. Nor was it confident and cocky like Sellswords had been in the beginning before the losses. No, this was, unsure, undisciplined and they wore limited armour.
More so than the Sellswords of Essos who seemed to wear only chainmail as well as thick leather, possibly a few pauldrons and breastplates here and there.
No, these were more than likely the Smallfolk that had been conscripted into the Lannister forces. "Have trust in your brother, these smaller forces should be easier to deal with than the Sellswords. They only have the minimum amount of training, Hoster will be fine."
"I know, I just worry about, Hos." Brynden muttered. "This is his first battle."
"Have faith in him." Lord Blackwood answered.
-X- Line Break -X-
"Shield wall!" Hoster shouted and the front rows of men moved forwards, shields interlocking as the soldiers tensed their bodies in preparation. Rows upon rows of shields, slid along one another forming a large shield that the Lannisters charged towards. Their numbers were large and more two thousand men were charging towards the Stark forces. "Brace!"
As the command was given the second row of Stark soldiers rushed forwards, crouching their legs lower as they pushed against their compatriots in front.
It was in that moment the enemy forces struck the shield wall with a battle cry.
Hoster's men let out grunts of strained effort, pushed back as a result of the Lannister forces even as they tried to hold firm. Swords and spears and even shields struck the shield wall as the Smallfolk attempted to break through the wall and strike those holding the shields up.
"Third ranks, form up!" Hoster cried another row of soldiers marching forwards. "Spears!" Each of them gripped their spears in two hands and poised them at the backs of their comrades. "Open!"
As a result of his order, men in the shield wall stepped to the side, opening numerous gaps along it and funnelling the enemy through them. Caught off-guard by the sudden lack of resistance, they couldn't stop themselves from stumbling into the enemy formation, directly into the waiting spears of third ranks of soldiers.
It was a slaughter.
Unused and unexperienced in a command position he maybe, but Hoster Blackwood was a boy of noble birth. As the third born son of the Blackwood family, he was never expected to be given any land of his own and Hoster was fine with that. Despite being given basic lessons in what was expected of an heir, just as a preparation for the worst-case scenario, Hoster was mainly trained to be one of the future Lord of Raventree Hall's closest confidantes. He was meant to be a member of his inner council and he'd always had a fascination for his father's stories of Roberts Rebellion and the Greyjoys Rebellion.
He had spent a great deal of his time studying military and while unexperienced in war, he was more than a match for the Smallfolk's assault.
And it showed, they were slaughtered and after only this brief clash, were scattered and retreated. They had been conscripted into this army for food, but their heart wasn't in it and that lack of morale, that lack of discipline made them easy pickings for the experienced and battle-hardened Stark forces.
Watching from his horse, Hoster didn't smile nor did he frown.
Victory was his, he knew that much, but he was too close.
Close enough to see everything and despite the sense of victory and triumph rising within him, Hoster forced down the urge to be sick as he watched men getting pierced by spears. Hoster knew now why his father and brother said that war wasn't glorious.
There was nothing glorious about killing someone.
-X- Line Break -X-
Looking over his shoulder, Lord Blackwood looked to see a flag being raised on the command base. The hierarchy of armies on this scale and the giving of commands could be quite difficult. As a result, the commander-in-chief, which in this case was Robb Stark, gave overall preceding commands. After that, it was the commanders over the main forces, which where himself, Lord Karstark and Lord Forrester would then make decisions on how to best carry out the orders given by the commander-in-chief.
There were separate, individual units, such as the cavalry contingents under Lord Marq Piper and Ser Brynden Blackfish. But they operated under a similar mandate as himself, given commands by Robb which they carried out through their own decisions and means.
"A full attack?" Brynden noted in confusion. "I thought, his grace wanted us to avoid a wide-scale confrontation due to our difference in numbers."
"Yes, but that was with the belief that Tywin would be launching a full assault of his own. That's no the longer the case. Tywin's playing a different game, one none of us expected. His grace is trying to find a solution to that problem and this must be it." Tytos answered his son. "Forward, march!"
With his order given, over six thousand men under his command marched forwards. "What's the plan, father?"
"Switch out with your brother, give him command of the left flank, you take the centre, we march forward and see how Kevan Lannister reacts." As he said this, he kept his gaze locked upon the fields to his left, a dozen meters in front of him. 'So that's your plan, your grace.' He concluded as his son rode ahead of him to the front lines. 'You intend for us to force Tywin into action.'
Despite coming to this conclusion, Tytos still had his concerns.
His losses were minimal, numbering only a few hundred and while they had dealt a great deal of damage to the Lannister force, they still numbered over twelve thousand. An all-out offensive where nearly half his force was comprised of archers was not something that Tytos wanted to be doing. Especially considering his strengths lay in defensive tactics.
"Bring up, Ser Manderly." He called.
While he may not be as skilled in offensive warfare as he was defensive warfare, he recognised that part. Wylis Manderly was equally as skilled in offensive warfare so Tytos knew it would be best to have aid in this endeavour.
-X- Line Break -X-
'What is your plan?' Tywin wondered, watching as both the Stark's right and left flanks began marching forwards. The enemy right flank was making quicker progress than the left, but both sides didn't seem to be showing any signs of stopping. "Give the order for Ser Keven and Ser Addam to march forwards to meet the enemy flanks."
But Tywin recognised that if the flanks got any closer, he would be at a huge disadvantage. The enemy would have more room upon which to manoeuvre their troops and while Tywin could pull back his forces to widen the distance between them, he knew that Robb Stark wouldn't give him that chance.
Tywin watched as the enemy flanks continuing to march forwards and realises that the Young Wolf has grown impatient. He also realises that much like his commanders point out, he can't allow the enemy flanks to get any closer and gave the order for both flanks to engage. The moment he even attempted to put some distance between them would be met with a chase and that momentum would carry on until eventually he was driven off the field of battle.
He needed to meet the enemy flanks before they got any closer and limited the range of movement his troops had.
The question in his mind was what Robb Stark planned, Tywin would begrudgingly admit that Robb Stark was deserving of respect. This situation that House Lannister was in was because they had all underestimated him, Tywin would not make the same mistake twice. Robb should have expected Tywin to move to meet him, so what was his plan?
And as Tywin stood in his camp, he watched as both his flanks moved forwards.
Almost as if reflecting the Stark movements, Ser Addam Marbrand moved his forces forwards quicker, the front runners of both armies clashing already. As for Ser Kevan, he was moving cautiously, having not yet engaged the enemy forces.
-X- Line Break -X-
Again, and again, Willas' cane tapped against the stone ground, the noise echoing down the corridor. Turning down a corridor, he entered onto the main corridor where he found two guards standing before the large wooden doors leading to Robb Starks solar.
Both pushed open the door allowing him inside where he found his sister overviewing the dealings of the kingdom that Robb had built. With the lands of the North, the Riverlands, the Westerlands and the Reach under his control, either by conquest or by negotiation. There was a vast amount of food required, as well as wood, stone and other raw materials that could be used to rebuild houses and other aspects.
With the war still raging and Robb currently engaging Tywin Lannister at the Antlers, as the new Queen of this kingdom, Margaery had taken on the other responsibilities with the help of himself and Olenna. Already, despite the war, she was implementing a number of new jobs that included farming, mining, fishing and other important jobs that couldn't be filled with the current manpower shortage.
However, it was necessary.
With Robb's army already fully amassed and the sheer size of his kingdom, especially with all the problems that were taking place, he had a number of serious problems. Edmure Tully was doing excellently in supplying food and overseeing the implementation of fishing once more in the Riverlands. This gave more food with quite a lot being supplied up North and to the Antlers.
But they also had to gather raw materials, the reason behind it hadn't been something that Margaery had liked hearing. The possibility of Robb losing was something she had refused to believe, which had been a curious thing for him and Olenna.
They hadn't forced Robb Stark into a marriage with Margaery at the time considering Robb's chances of victory were high and their choices limited. The plan had been for Margaery to seduce Robb and then subtly manipulate him to increase the Tyrell's power, not to fall in love. But it seemed that things hadn't gone exactly to planned, just like many things in this war.
However, if Robb lost then the Riverlands would be open once more to invasion from the Lannisters. Willas had doubts on Robb's victory considering the size of Tywin's host, yet he didn't doubt that they would be drastically reduced in size as a result of this battle.
If Robb did lose, then the Riverlands needed their castles repaired in preparation to face them. The garrisons had already been increased as a result of recruiting from the Smallfolk, it was why Robb hadn't in turn drawn additional forces from the Riverlands. He too was preparing for the possibility that he might lose.
"You looked tired, Margaery." Willas said, taking note of her appearance. To the normal person, she would appear just as beautiful as always, clad in the Stark colours she looked very much like a Queen. But to him, as her brother, he could recognise the subtle signs. "You should rest, properly. Remember, you don't only have yourself to worry about."
At this words, Margaery's hands moved to her stomach, the smile on her face at seeing her brother, momentarily twisting into a frown. Olenna herself looked, her face giving nothing away on what she thought on the matter.
"I'm well aware, dear brother." She answered. "What news do you have?"
"A number of letters." Willas answered, frowning slightly. "Lord Mallister reports that Lord Vance has taken Flint's Finger and Lord Bracken has taken Castle Cerwyn."
"Thats good news at least." Olenna stated. "And what else?"
"In summary, Lord Greatjon Umber is dead. Out of the Wildling horde, Lord Stark estimates that only a quarter are warriors. But there are Giants amongst them." Both Olenna and Margaery showed varying measures of surprise at this news. Giants were believed to be extinct, to now be faced with news that they still existed was shocking. "This is something he stakes his word upon. However, that is not the end of the news. Stannis Baratheon is at the Wall."
Both went silent at this news, Willas providing them time to come to terms with this. Though by the looks on both their faces, they recognised just how precarious things were.
"Lord Stark has evacuated men west of the Northern Mountains to Mormont Keep and everyone east, to Karhold. Lord Mallister says that this will keep the Boltons, the Dustins and Stannis in a state of temporary immovability." Willas continued, providing some good news at least. "This provides Lord Mallister freedom to move and he's already begun making moves against the Ironborn and the Boltons."
"If, Lady Stark and the Princes are not in Winterfell," Margaery began. "Then where are they? Is there any news on whether they've been found yet?"
"No one knows." Willas answered simply.
"And the King?" Olenna spoke up.
"Engaged Tywin Lannister three days ago." Willas informed. "He reports that they have only engaged in small skirmishes over the previous two days, each one ending in their victory. It was today that they engaged in full force on the flanks ending in a draw on both sides. Victory is still in sight."
The comforting words did nothing to calm, Margaery's words.
"Inform him of the child." Olenna said.
"Mother!" Margaery exclaimed in shock.
"What? It is good news, is it not?" The Queen of Thorns posed.
Willas nodded his head. "Dear sister, I understand your wish to not distract the King, but this news could be very well be the thing that provides extra morale to the men. Their loyalty to Robb is undeniable, but they fight not only for the King, for their families, but the dynasty that he represents. Knowledge of an heir will make them fight harder and make them more secure that this dynasty will have an heir upon which they can follow should Robb...lose his life. Send him a letter, I know you wished to tell him when he returned, but you must tell him."
Margaery remained silent.
She knew what Willas was saying was true, but she hadn't told Robb because part of her hoped by that not doing so and waiting for him to return would mean that he would do so. Part of her fear that by telling him, he wouldn't come back and would die on battle. That he would take risks for victory and risking his own life knowing that his dynasty was secured.
She hadn't said anything believing that by not doing so, he would come back alive.
-X- Line Break -X-
Once again, Robb watched from the hill as the left and right flanks engaged against their respective enemy flanks. And once again, Robb found himself frowning in thought as he watched the enemy centre and the vast majority of the enemy flanks not engage his own men. Tywin was stubbornly refusing to engage in a proper pitched battle which irritated Robb to no end.
He had prepared and planned for a long, bloody battle.
All his plans and careful considerations had been for such a battle and now he was finding the Old Lion stubbornly refusing to do just that. Considering the fact that his food supplies must be running dangerously short, Robb knew that Tywin would have to eventually engage him in a battle before he run the risk of running out of food.
While the first day and even the second, Robb could understand Tywin's cautious and light skirmishes. He had thought that Tywin had simply being trying to find weaknesses in his defences, but Robb was getting frustrated with the lack of action from the Lannisters.
He had wanted the Lannister's to be the ones making the move and allow him and his army to direct that flow. Now he was the one being forced to make the first moves, already a number of traps he had prepared had been abandoned. What was even worse was that the Golden Company and the Lannister elites had not even made a move, still remaining out of the conflict, most of the fighting so far had been done between the Smallfolk and the Sellswords.
Their numbers alone nearly rivalled Robb's own.
Twenty-five thousand in total and while from reports, Tytos Blackwood and Rodrick Forrester had reduced their forces by thirteen thousand over the course of these four days. That was a sizeable number, but there was an equally sizeable number left remaining and perhaps most frightening of all was that they were getting better.
The Smallfolk, the Sellswords, they were growing more experienced with every battle.
But the question still remained, what was Tywin Lannister doing?
'The first two days I could understand, he was probing our formations for weaknesses. But he should have more than enough information, Rodrik and Tytos are smart men, they've already created a number of openings for you to exploit, so why haven't you taken the bait?' Robb wondered, thinking back to yesterday when he told both Tytos and Rodrik to create openings to lure the enemy in.
But nothing had come of it.
'You're planning something, I know you are, but what? Your food is running low, and you have no access to additional supplies from which to draw upon. No wealth to buy anymore, so what are you waiting for? Reinforcements?' That last part made Robb pause, his eyes slowly widening in shock.
Practically every nation was involved in this war so far. Most of the North, Crownlands, Westerlands and all of the Riverlands and Reach had sworn fealty to him. Those few Crownland lords that had not were remaining neutral, those in the Westerlands were being subjugated by Randal Tarly. Those in the North were being kept tied down by the situation up there, as were the Ironborn. Stannis' location was unknown to him, but he had a pretty strong feeling that he wouldn't ally with the Lannisters.
That only left one possible option.
"Ser Perwyn."
"Yes, your grace." The fifteenth son of Walder Frey, rushed forwards.
"Gather some riders, go North, watch the High Road and the Bloody Gate." Perwyn bowed at the orders, running off to gather some men and horses.
Meanwhile, Garlan moved up to his side. "You think the Vale have joined the Lannisters?"
"I suspect that they have, it is the only answer I can find that would explain Tywin's actions. He's waiting for reinforcements from the Vale." Robb said.
"And when they arrive, we'll be caught between a host of over forty thousand men from the south and forty thousand men from the north." Garlan frowned at the news. "If it's the truth that's not good news, Robb. We could lose everything we've worked so hard for."
Robb nodded his head. "I know." He turned back to look at Tywin's army. "That's why we need to force Tywin to come to us."
"By doing what?"
"Watch the battle, Garlan." Robb ordered. "I'm giving you command."
Garlan bowed as Robb headed back into his tent where Grey Wind, Nymeria and her wolf pack remained. Sitting down in the chair, he turned to Brienne, Patrek and Olyvar. "Don't let anyone disturb me, I need time to think."
The three bowed their heads giving the replies, "yes, your grace."
-X- Line Break -X-
Perhaps the first thing that seemed to break him from the haze of sleep was the sound of rushed armoured footsteps. Then it was the sound of men shouting indistinguishable orders that due to his sleep ridden mind, he couldn't quite understand what they were saying. But he could hear it, the sound he had grown so familiar with in recent days.
The sound of battle.
At first, he thought it was all in his mind, but that changed very soon. "My lord!" Jerking awake from his sleep upon the cot in his tent, Tywin watched as a messenger burst into his tent, bowing low in apology for the disturbance. "We're under attack!"
This caught Tywin off-guard, but then again, he should have expected this. "Robb Stark is commencing a night attack. Strange of him." Tywin muttered, rising out of bed. 'Then again, I should have expected him to grow desperate after denying him what he wants.'
"Where is he attacking?"
"Here, my lord! The camp!" This jerked Tywin into action, he not even fully armoured, bursting past the men and out into the open air to see men rushing towards the right flank of the camp. Right there, a mere dozen meters away from him sat Robb Stark upon his horse. His personal guard where there, protecting the Stark King who viewed the area around him with a calm, analytical gaze. Orders burst from his mouth every now and then, disrupting every attempt the defenders tried to force the Stark forces away.
And Tywin froze, temporarily flatfooted and unsure on what to do from here. His initial thought was to recall troops from the centre, but he hesitated. Part of him questioned whether that was Robb wanted, that this night ambush was all a means to cause disarray amongst his troops at the front so that the Stark army could descend upon them and crush them.
What Tywin did not know, was that this hesitation, this doubt would cost him an early victory.
-X- Line Break -X-
Swinging his sword down, Robb cut into a man's neck before turning to his left and thrusting his sword into another man. Grey Wind bound across the ground, biting into another Lannister soldier that rushed towards Robb with a spear. All around him battle raged, his eyes panning across the battlefield and taking it all in with a calm gaze.
The sight of men dying was one he had become used to in recent years.
They had struck in the night, Robb coming with his full, five hundred reserve force and descending upon the Lannister command base. The night had covered their movements and they descended upon them fast and hard, the Lannister's hadn't known what was happening till they were already on them.
Now they were scrambling.
It was a risk; Robb knew that much.
While the flanks would remain where they were considering their close proximity to his own flanks, but the centre was still able to pull their forces back. There was a risk in this tactic and one that could very well result in his death if Tywin pulled the centre back to reinforce the camp. However, Robb had no choice but to make this decision.
He needed to force Tywin into making a serious move before the Vale reinforcements arrived otherwise, he'd lose everything he'd worked so hard for. Robb needed to take risks and this was one of them.
"Robb, we're being pushed back!" Garlan grunted, swinging his blade round and cutting through one man.
"It's because they've realised, the King is here." Dacey smashed her hammer down upon a soldier's head, it denting the armour of the helmet and knocking him unconscious. "It wasn't wise to come here, Robb."
"I had no choice." Robb shot back, cutting down another opponent. "We need to make us a target that Tywin can't afford to ignore."
"Even so, putting yourself out here so openly is dangerous." Garlan continued.
"It's all for one purpose, Garlan." He eased his brother-in-law, looking to the distance where he noticed the largest tent and for the first time since this campaign began, saw the sold Lion with his own eyes. He was older that Robb had expected, he didn't fit the image that Robb had built up in his mind. The rumours of his tactical skills were inaccurate, Robb had realised that much early on, he was no better or worse than the likes of Gregor Forrest, Greatjon Umber, Jonos Bracken. He certainly wasn't a military commander like himself, Jason Mallister and Randall Tarly.
The man he was seeing though, despite not being the commander that he was rumoured to be, was still imposing. Even now, not even properly armoured, Tywin still cut an imposing figure. There was a reason he demanded respect.
But that changed when a fire broke out a little way away.
And as the Old Lion and the defenders looked in that direction, Robb saw a momentary flash of panic cross Tywin Lannister's face.
"Smalljon did it!" Olyvar exclaimed with a laugh.
Robb smirked; this is what this whole thing had been leading up to. One singular plan that could have cost them everything, but could give them everything in turn. "Fall back!" Robb shouted, a horn sounding as Robb circled his horse around, urging it to gallop away. Behind him, his personal guard along with the survivors of his reserves followed after him.
The plan had been twofold, Robb would lead the charge with over three quarters of his reserve forces, attacking the larger, Lannister reserve force number nearly five times their own. The initial charge caught them all off-guard, Robb having used Grey Wind to scout out for the weakest point in the enemy defences before launching a full assault upon that point.
They had ridden through swathes of enemy lines, destroying tents and killing those inside of them, nearly seven hundred men were killed in the initial charge before they recovered. Even when they did recover things remained relatively equal, Robb still holding the overall advantage.
The Lannisters where disorganised and leaderless, all caught by surprise from the sudden rain, just like those at Oxcross and as a result, Robb and his men managed to keep them at bay. And in response, more and more of the enemy forces came to face them, drawing troops from other areas of the camp till the other side was almost entirely exposed. Just as Robb had predicted and that's just what he had planned for.
Because mere moments ago, Smalljon had led a small group, attacking them from the other side in what could be seen as a pincer manoeuvre. But that was a simple cover for the real aim of Smalljon's task.
Their aim had been the one thing Tywin needed most to wait for the Vale reinforcements.
Food.
-X- Line Break -X-
"It was a risky manoeuvre last night, Robb." Garlan muttered from beside him, both stood overlooking the battle commencing on either flank. Unlike the previous day's battles, this one was on a much larger scale.
With his food stores burnt as a result of the ambush upon his camps, Tywin had done what Robb had prepared for from the very beginning.
A mass assault.
Both the left and right flanks had come under heavy pressure and for the first time, the Lannister elites began to move. Much like always, Ser Kevan Lannister had sent in the Sellswords and Smallfolk first. However, in the third wave that crashed against the defensive formations of Tytos Blackwoods forces, sprinkled amongst the weaker and less experienced forces, the elites were sprinkled in amongst it.
However, much like Robb had expected, while the sudden appearance of the elites had caught the left flank off-guard at first, pushing them back momentarily. Lord Blackwood had recovered and held them back and despite the bloody battle still taking place, the left flank was holding and stalemating the Lannister push.
Things were similar, but entirely different on the right flank.
Ser Addam Marbrand had shown from the beginning that he was not as cautious as Ser Kevan. He had sent only a single wave of Sellswords at Gregor Forrester and then followed it up with a wave of Lannister elites and by the movement of his troops, Robb was expecting a third wave to come soon.
As for the centre?
Well considering the positions of the left and right flank, moving the centre at this moment in time would be suicide.
"But it worked." He answered.
Garlan sighed, expecting that to have been the answer. "You know I may accept that answer, but my sister on the other hand...she may be a little more difficult to convince." Robb despite the truth of this, chuckled.
"That's why we won't tell Margaery, will we?" Garlan chuckled along with him.
"No, we will not. Though she will find out eventually." Looking behind them, both saw commotion, the large, muscular and scarred man trying to push his way through the guards.
"And by that point, we will have ended the war and the risks would have been worth it." Robb countered. "Let him through." Turning around, Robb watched as Ser Brienne and Smalljon kept close to him just in case. "Sandor Clegane, what can I do for you."
Sandor looked at the various people gathering around. Garlan, Dacey and even Grey Wind Nymeria had formed up beside Robb. In circle around him was Patrek Mallister, Eddard Karstark, Lucas Blackwood, Emmon Coy, Robar Royce, Olyvar, Daryn Hornwood, Donnel Locke and Wendel Manderly. "Heard my brothers here." Sandor grunted out.
"Yeah, he's here." Robb replied. "Why?"
"Want him dead." Sandor spat out.
No one denied this answer, they having expected this considering the mark his brother left behind on his face. It was then that Daryn leaned over to whisper in his ear, there was silence, everyone looking to the two, Robb eventually raising a finger to Sandor. Turning around, Robb watched as the cavalry on both flanks began to move.
"Prepare the flags." He waited, watching as the Lannister cavalry closed in on the sides of both Gregor and Tytos' flanks. "Wait." Robb leaned forward slightly, watching as the cavalries smashed into his flanks, pressuring them from all sides. "Now!"
Flags were raised and for the time in the battle of the Antlers, Robb's cavalry made a move.
-X- Line Break -X-
Seeing the flag raised, Lord Marq Piper unsheathed his blade raising it into the air and copying his actions, thousands of men unsheathed their own blades. Jabbing his heels into the side of his steed, Marq urged his horse on followed by thousands more riders.
They arced round and came upon the Lannisters stuck in the middle of battle.
Now they were scrambling in an attempt to withdraw, but that was the thing, they were stuck. When the enemy cavalry had struck Gregor Forrester and his men, they had cut through them with ease. But that had been Gregor's plan from the beginning and had used this to his advantage to surround them, by having the flank cave in to pull the cavalry in further.
The Lannister cavalry was stuck in the centre of a battle with no room to manoeuvre except one, the exit that led directly to the Lord Piper's cavalry.
With a war-cry, Marq and his cavalry smashed into the enemy cavalry once again turning the tide of the battle in their favour once more. Addam Marbrand watched this with grit teeth, he'd led his cavalry into a cleverly disguised trap and now he was stuck between a rock and a hard place.
"My lord, what do we do?" Lord Swyft asked, cutting down a Riverlander.
Addam's gaze looked around. "We're going to have to cut our way through. Rally on me!" He ordered, urging his horse on forwards.
-X- Line Break -X-
"Garlan, take command." Robb ordered, watching the Lannister cavalry being swallowed up on both flanks. The reason he had kept Ser Brynden and Lord Piper back for so long was all for this reason, to take out the Lannister cavalry in one fell swoop. Even if there were survivors after this battle they would be so drastically reduced in size that they wouldn't be a threat any longer.
Tywin's lack of food forced him to speed up his schedule and attack in full-force much sooner than the Old Lion would have liked. Robb had already realised that Tywin's plan was to keep him busy with small skirmishes till reinforcements from Vale came, then Robb would be dealing with two forces possibly over forty thousand in strength. If they had cavalry on top of that then certain defeat would turn into complete evisceration.
Without the cavalry, one of the biggest threats in the Lannister army were dealt with. The act of removing his food forced Tywin to act in a way he didn't want to and now that had forced him to lose one of the greatest assets to his army.
'He's going to be stuck now.' Robb thought with a growing smile. 'Desperate for food to feed his army, but cautious of losing too many men before the Valemen arrive.' Turning back to Sandor, Robb took note of the frustration in his countenance. "You'll have to forgive me, Ser Sandor, things are constantly requiring my attention. But Tywin should be too busy trying to solve his current predicament to actually try anything else."
Robb nodded his head to Garlan, wordlessly giving him command of the army while he dealt with the current predicament.
"So, you want to kill your brother, the Mountain?" Robb hummed in thought. "I'm not one to deny a person revenge and while I believe I can trust that you are telling me the truth about wanting your brother dead, there are other things I can't trust."
As soon as he said that, Sandor grunted out angrily, gripping the pouch hanging from his side and chucking it at Robb. The action had caused more than a few of his personal guard to grip their weapons anxiously, but they didn't fully unsheathe their blades upon seeing it was a harmless action. Robb meanwhile held the pouch in his hand, taking note of it being lighter than when first given to him as a reward.
"Take it, I'll pay you back what I owe, just give me my brother." Robb chuckled, chucking the pouch back to Sandor.
"Keep it, that was your reward for the information you provided us." Sandor's face twisted into a snarl, believing this to be a rejection. "However, your oath would be more than enough. Can't promise you that in battle you will get the chance to kill your brother. But he's part of the centre force and hasn't made his appearance since the first day. Swear an oath of loyalty to me, become a member of my Kingsguard when this over and I'll put you in the centre force and if he's captured alive, I'll make sure that you get to kill him however you wish."
"An oath?" Sandor questioned and Robb nodded his head.
The Mountain was a serious threat that was being underused by the Tywin. If he was in command, Robb would have been deploying him at the right and left flanks, switching him between the two and just letting the Mountain do what he does best; killing. Robb was cautious that letting such a man go unchecked could result in devastating losses.
Sandor just so happened to possibly a tool Robb could use to mitigate the damage that the Mountain could do.
"Yes. An oath. Swear it and your brothers yours to kill."
-X- Line Break -X-
The battle yesterday had resulted in a decisive victory for the Starks by almost wiping out the Lannister cavalry, but they had suffered heavy losses in doing so. On both flanks, Robb's forces had managed to push the Lannisters back now they were a mere mile out from the enemy camp.
Looking to his left where Sandor Clegane stood, Rickard Karstark warily studied the man. He cut an imposing figure, almost as large as the Greatjon and his son, possibly just as large. It was difficult to tell without comparing them properly. But Rickard would not deny that with the burn mark upon his face, the Hound came across as more dangerous.
His gaze travelled towards the left and right flanks to see that neither of them were moving. With the victory scored yesterday coming at a heavy cost for both sides, they weren't moving. Now it was their turn to make a move and as the flags raised for the beginning of the day, Lord Karstark rode in front of his army accompanied by his son, Harrion and Sandor Clegane. The centre force moved out after him and as soon as they made it a few meters, the Lannister centre also began to move in response.
They didn't move forward, they couldn't considering where the flanks were positioned. From what Rickard was seeing, they were instead shifting their formations as to better accommodate for a battle.
"Sandor, orders from King Robb, you're to take command of the vanguard, let you duke it out with your brother." Rickard said, the man grunting in agreement. "Take a thousand men, deal a blow to the Lannisters and sow disruption amongst their ranks."
As Sandor rode ahead, one thousand men following after him, Harrion turned to his father. "Do you trust him?"
"Not in the slightest." Rickard answered with a frown. "But I trust the Kings decision."
And so, the sixth day of the Battle of the Antlers began.
-X- Line Break -X-
Sitting quietly in his tent, Robb looked upon the map in thought. Much like the past day, Robb had remained silently locked away in the tent in attempt to figure out a way to deal with the Vale reinforcements marching south.
Perwyn Frey had arrived at the camp bearing news of the Vale reinforcements only a small time after the battle in the centre had begun. Sandor Clegane had been making steady progress, though was in danger of being surrounded when the Mountain led men to attack them from behind. Even so, Rickard Karstark was watching closely and Robb had faith that a warrior of Sandor's calibre would continue to fight long enough for Rickard to make his move.
Unfortunately, he wouldn't be able to oversee it, Robb passing command once again over to his trusted friend and brother-in-law, Garlan while he spoke with Perwyn in privacy. There the truth of the Vale reinforcements struck him, forty thousand in total.
That number was near equal to the Lannister force at the beginning and Robb didn't have a big a force as he did before. He had over twenty-nine thousand men at the start of the battle, now considering injuries on top of that, he had at most eighteen thousand men at the end of today. Luckily the Lannisters only had twenty thousand remaining.
Even if he was to bring a few of the lesser injured men bolstering his ranks to around twenty thousand, he would still be outnumbered three-to-one once the Vale linked up with the Lannisters. And considering they were at the least, two days march from here, Robb had spent the remainder of the day within his tent planning out every scenario in his head. The Vale had already passed the Bloody Gate by the time Perwyn arrived.
With an army that size, Robb would wager it would take them two days and if that was the case the by this point, they would be at the Ruby Ford, possibly at Darry. If so, then retreating north was out of the question, it would lead them directly into the Vale troops and Tywin wouldn't simply stand there and do nothing. A commander that didn't pursue a retreating enemy was a foolish one and Tywin was anything but foolish.
His next option was to call for the Redwyne Fleet under the command of Lord Paxter Redwyne. With over two hundred warships bolstered by the Lannister fleet captured at Lannisport, it was a very large force, the largest fleet in Westeros. From what he was aware it was being put to use in creating a blockade around Casterly Rock. But considering that according to Randall Tarly the seat of House Lannister was going to fall sometime soon. His idea was to call the fleet and head east get the ships and travel away to a more secure location.
But that had problems in of itself, mostly that it would take weeks for the fleet to arrive and would mean holding off a force of sixty thousand men while trapped between them and the ocean. It was suicide in layman's terms.
So was the retreat west.
It would mean breaking through the Lannister army, and then retreating across the Gods Eye all the while being pursued by the Lannisters after already suffering heavy losses just breaking through them. Getting across the river would leave them exposed to the Lannister's even further, incurring even higher losses and would leave them exposed to possible Vale cavalry looping around west of Harrenhal and cutting them off.
He was well and truly struck on all fronts and the only way he could foresee any possible chance of survival was cutting straight through the Lannister's but then the question was raised of what next? Did he continue south to Stokeworth, Hayford or Rosby Bridge. Each of their lords had secretly sent envoys swearing fealty to him so he could split his force into three and send them there to wait for Randall Tarly to finish in the Westerlands. Tywin wouldn't be able to move considering how close Robb and his host would be camped to Kings Landing.
And as he thought this, mind whirled even faster.
'Thats it.' Robb breathlessly laughed, looking at the map in a new light. "Fetch me the commanders!" He shouted, already hearing the bustling and movement outside, Robb meanwhile reaching out and moving the pieces in accordance to the plan forming in his mind. It was risky and crazy, but if it worked, he could snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
"Your grace." The tent flap opened and in came a Ser Brienne, a letter in her hand. "News, from Riverrun."
"Riverrun?" Robb questioned, taking the letter while Brienne looked at the positioning of the troops.
"Your grace, a question?" As he ripped open the letter, Robb hummed, wordlessly asking her to ask away. "Why did you not send the Crannogmen to check if Lady Stark and the Princes where in Winterfell?"
"It's not as simple as that?" His gaze flickered over the beginning of the letter, a simple report from Willas about the situation in the North and explaining that they had moved from Harrenhal to Riverrun upon receiving news from Perwyn about the Vale reinforcements moving south. Robb made a reminder to reward Perwyn richly for that forethought.
Reading this, he placed it down momentarily to turn to face Brienne.
"The Crannogmen spend their lives living on floats, they constantly navigate the waters of the marshlands. The Twins sits over the Green Fork whose waters connect to the marshes and it's how food from the Riverlands is transported up to them." Robb continued. "The Crannogmen understand the river and you see, the Twins were still transporting in food, cutting off all connection by land only through river."
By the look on Brienne's face, she was beginning to understand how things were working.
"The Crannogmen's small size meant that they could hide in places that most never could. Getting them on a transport boat was easy. The main problem they faced was getting Lord Walder out without raising the alarms. One thing to be aware of, Brienne is that just because they're small, doesn't mean Crannogmen are weak. They're tactics are viewed as cowardly by many, but they're effective."
"I still don't understand why you couldn't send them."
Robb smiled. "A commander has to know when and where to use certain people and units. You wouldn't send archers to attack cavalry, just like you wouldn't send cavalry to attack a fully prepared and well-defended spear wall. Winterfell doesn't have a river to sneak in through, nor is Ramsey unaware of what the Crannogmen can do. In the south, they're rarely seen and therefore not properly understood. It's different in the North, we're aware of what they can do."
Seeing Brienne deep in thought, Robb turned back to the letter, continuing to read from the information about Willas evacuating everyone from Harrenhal and relocating to Riverrun. As he did, his eyes slowly began to widen in shock, a short laugh escaping his throat.
"Brienne, please fetch, Garlan for me." As Brienne left with a bow, Robb collapsed into his chair, occasional laughs still escaping him.
The battle between Robb and Tywin begins lasting nearly a week, Margaery is pregnant and the Vale are marching south with forty thousand men. Things are heating up and I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Hopefully I managed to capture just enough of the battle that it was fun without it being boring and repetitive.
I will admit fully, it's not one of my best works, but I've never really had to write a battle on this scale before. Let me know what you think and give me any advice on how I could possibly go about writing a battle on this scale again, that's a hint by the way of what may happen in the future.
So, let's take a look at army compositions.
Robb's Army (Total – 105,500 men.
- Antler's Army (King Robb Stark) – 18,000 men.
- Manders Army (Lord Mace Tyrell) – 40,000 men.
- Siege of Casterly Rock (Lord Randall Tarly) – 23,000 men.
- Siege of Flint's Finger (Lord Karyl Vance) – 2,000 men.
- Moat Cailin Army (Lord Jason Mallister) – 2,500 men.
- Siege of Castle Cerwyn (Lord Jonos Bracken) – 4,000 men.
- Mormont's Keep Army (Castellan Alysene Mormont) – 5,000 men.
- Karhold Army (Lord Jon Stark) – 5,000 men.
- Northern Reinforcements (N/A) – 6,000 men.
Tywin's Army (Total – 22,000 men).
- Antlers Army (Lord Tywin Lannister) – 20,000 men.
- ~Golden Company Reinforcements (N/A) – 2,000 men.
Dornish Army (Total – 20,000 men).
- Princes Pass Army (Prince Oberyn Martell) – 20,000 men.
Stannis' Army (Total – 20,000 men).
- Wall Army (King Stannis Baratheon) – 20,000 men.
Ramsey's Army (Total – 6,000 men).
- Winterfell Army (Lord Ramsey Bolton) – 4,000 men.
- Dreadfort Army (N/A) – 2,000 men.
Balon's Army (Total – 6,500 men).
- Ironrath Army (N/A) - 1,000 men.
- Torrhen's Square Army (Victarion Greyjoy) - 5,000 men.
- Stony Shores Army (Asha Greyjoy) - 500 men.
Mance Ryder's Army (Total - N/A).
- Beyond the Wall Army (King Mance Ryder) – N/A.
And now, onto the questions:
Peregrine Prince: Yep, I know that they're not oathbreakers, but right now they haven't given any oath. As for the smithing yea, I'm aware but I like to think that not every tribe is as developed as the others. And thank you, a lot are pissed off that the antagonists are so strong which is true for the Ironborn, I admit that much. But everything else is me trying keep them within the boundaries of what they've shown to be capable of.
Blackstriker94: I know that never made sense to me and while in the show it confirms she did, which is stupid in of itself considering her displeasure at Robert siring a single bastard. But to see her then running away with a married man who had two children simply because he was handsome and could play the harp well. To be honest, I'm not sure whether he abducted her or whether she ran away. One makes her the victim; another makes her a home-wrecking slut. But then again, I'm not sure what's going on with that.
My opinion is either, a sort of date rape situation where Rhaeger tricked Lyanna into meeting him. Or Jon is not actually the son of Rhaegar and Lyanna, but actually the son of Ashara. In the Books it said that Ashara danced with both Ned and Brandon and was dishonoured by a Stark so maybe Jon is a product of that. Though I am aware Barristan said she had a stillborn daughter, but who's to say he's telling the truth or was told the truth?
lakomadt: Pointless? Strange way to put it when there's so much more to the world of ASOIAF. The War of Five Kings is not the only big even in ASOIAF. The Lannisters and the White Walkers aren't the only major threats and hidden enemies in ASOIAF. Just because Ned isn't as prevalent in the War of Five Kings doesn't mean he won't be important later on.
0sef: Okay, like I said before, why do you think that the War of Five Kings is the only event in ASOIAF. Why do you think that the Lannisters and the White Walker's are the only threat in ASOIAF? There's so much more to this world than simply those two threats so to say that him not being as prevalent in the War of Five Kings doesn't take away from the changes he'll make later on.
Dscot: Thank you very much, glad you're enjoying what I'm doing. As for Jon, like he told Stannis, the Starks were Kings of Winter long before the Targaryens came to Westeros. Robb just like the old Starks, like the Targaryens and just like Robert, Robb has taken it by force.
Infinity Mask: They escaped, it was mentioned in one of Catelyn's povs around the time she was captured or afterwards. Can't quite remember and glad to see that you've figured out what's going on in the North. As for the Jester, I'd suggest looking up who Patchface is.
