Robb I.
The rough stone walls of Moat Cailin carried the approaching sounds of the Northern Lords into the audience hall of the gatehouse tower, gloomy even by torchlight. A deep growl, which stopped abruptly as the Greatjon thundered his fleshy fist on the table, "What do you think of obeying Lord Stark's order to the council of war so late?" Theon put on his trademark smile and Greywind lifted his head, curious about the sudden noise. "All right, Lord Umber, sit down again"
Lord Stark, a title his father deserves, but as strange as it sounded to his ears, the situation calls for a Lord, one who keeps his Bannermen under control. I must not let my insecurity show, not in front of my lords. He had earned her respect for the time being, but now he had to make sure he didn't lose it again. "Now that Lords Glover and Tallhart have joined us, the question is how we can solve the problem" he said in a cool voice as he spread out a map made of lamb skin on the large stone table. As his lords and ladies bent over the map, he continued. "According to the reports, Jaime Lannister is marching with his army of about fifteen thousand men towards Riverrun, where the river lords are regrouping after their defeat at the Golden Tooth. Lord Tywin, meanwhile, marches up the King's Road to Harrenhal, taking all the castles in the vicinity on the way." He looked up, "How do we go about it?"
A jumble of voices flooded the room, discussing and arguing. Robb had sunk back into his chair by now, he would listen to the suggestions of his followers before he decided anything. Father would have done the same. At the thought of his father, Sansa's letter came back to his mind. There wasn't a word from Arya in it, he reluctantly thought about what that could mean. He was snapped out of his thoughts as Greatjon rose from his seat and silence returned to the hall. "I say, let's march to meet the old lion and show him what it means, winter is here! I say we use the river against him and crush these southern hypocrites like Lord Stark and King Robert did all those years ago!"
Some agreed loudly, others spoke out against it, but Roose Bolton just stood there staring straight into Robbs soul with his lifeless eyes. The Lord of Dreadfort provided Robbs heaviest cavalry, his best infantry, and spread fear and terror in the armies of the enemy, thanks to their reputation for flaying prisoners alive. "My lords, if I may remind you, Lord Tywin Lannister is an experienced commander, and he has the Greater Army, even if we manage to wear down his army completely, we will still have Jaime Lannister to deal with, and his veterans.
"I agree" Lord RickardKarstark said, "Instead, we should try to bypass Lord Tywin and come to the aid of Riverrun aganinst the Kingslayer. Then the river lords will join us against Lord Tywin." Once again, discussions filled the room, and the hitherto silent Lord Bolton approached Robb "My lord, perhaps it would be best not to make a decision for the time being" Lord Bolton spoke softly, forcing Robb to silence his Lords. "Silence, i want to hear what Lord Bolton has to say." "Lord Stannis will lay claim to the crown sooner or later, then the Lannisters will have to retreat to defend Kings-landing. Until then, we can move into the neck and wait until our chances improve. The Lannisters are smart enough not to go into the swamp." "So you're saying we should hide in the mud and wait for the Baratheons to move their asses? Bah! We are Northmen, not swamp devils!" Robb replied in a calm voice, "We are, but no one here will ever see the North again if we make mistakes now." He declared just before the voices of his lords died away.
Astonished at this, he looked up and, to his surprise, discovered his mother, accompanied by Ser Wendel Manderly and a knight unknown to him. "Mother," he said, surprised. As much as he was glad to see her, he also knew that overhasty feelings would show him weak. He hoped she would know too, so he waited. "You've grown a beard." She said. He had hoped a beard would give him more authority "Yes," he just said as he touched the stubble on his chin. "It makes you look like my brother Edmure." She continued, while Robb rocked nervously in his place. The Norsemen used the time to pay their respects to their lady, starting with Greywind and Ser Helman Tallhart. Theon was the last of them.
"I didn't think I'd see you here, my lady." He said on his knees. "I didn't intend to come here either." She replied "Until I went ashore at White Harbour and Lord Wyman told me that Robb had called the banners. You know his son, Ser Wylis," she said, and he stepped forward and bowed as low as he could, before Catelyn continued, "And my uncle, Ser Brynden Tully, who has stepped from my sister's service into mine." "Blackfish" Robb greeted his great-uncle. The Blackfish was a war veteran and good strategist, and in the current state of affairs, good planning is all that can keep his rebellion alive. "Thank you for joining us, Ser. And you Ser Wyman, I'm glad to have you here." He said Eventually.
"Is Ser Rodrik with you, too, Mother?" The Old Knight was the one who had taught him and his brothers everything about fighting with sword and lance that he knows today. He missed him, just like his brothers. If only Jon were here. "Ser Rodrik is on his way north from White harbour. I have appointed him castellan, and have ordered Winterfell to hold until we return. Maester Luwin is a wise man, but inexperienced in the art of war." Let's hope that his skills are not put to the test. "Do not be afraid of this question, Lady Stark." The Greatjon said with his deep bass, unknowingly answering to Robbs concerns as well, "We'll soon push our swords into Tyrion Lannister's bunghole, forgive me for my words, and then we'll go on to the red keep to free Ned."
"My Lady, a question, if it is permitted." Lord Bolton's low voice silenced the Grand Jon as well. "They hear you held the dwarf captive, did you bring him to us? We would have a good use for such a hostage." "I had Tyrion Lannister in my custody, but not anymore." Robb noticed that the words were difficult to utter, her shame intensified by the ensuing chorus of dismay. "I was no happier than you, the gods thought it appropriate to free him, with some help from my fool of a sister." Even though this news was not really pleasant, Robb hardly believed that the Lannisters would trade 3 of their hostages for a dwarf. But to know that even one of them is safe would be enough for the time being. Catelyn raised her hand "We will no doubt have time for all this later, but the journey has tired me, I would first speak to my son alone. You will forgive me, my lords."
One by one, they left the audience hall. His mother took a horn from the table and filled it with beer before sitting down in front of him. "Edmure was sixteen when he let his first sideburns grow." "I'll be sixteen soon enough." He said, knowing what is coming next. "And now you're fifteen, fifteen and you're leading an army into battle. Can you understand my worries, Robb?" She always worries so much, His gaze hardened, "There was no one else there." "Nobody?" she replied, "Tell me, who were these men I saw just now? Roose Bolton, Rickard Karstark, the Glovers, the Greatjon, Helman Talhart, you could have put any of them in charge. The gods have mercy on us, you could even have sent Theon, even if I hadn't chosen him." "They are not Starks." He insisted. "They're men, Robb, experienced in battle. It's not been a year since you fought with wooden swords." Robb got angry, but his anger quickly evaporated. She may even be right.
"Do you want... Will you send me back to Winterfell?" He asked depressed. She sighed, "I should do it. You should never have set off. But I don't dare, not anymore. You have progressed too far. One day these lords will see you as a liege. If I now push you away, like a child who has to go to bed without dinner, they will remember it and laugh about it over wine. The day will come when it will be necessary for them to respect you, even fear you a little. Laughter is poison for fear. I don't want to do that to you, no matter how much I wish you were safe." That was all he could hope for.
"I owe you a debt of gratitude, mother." He said as piously as possible, but the relief was clearly audible. She reached out to him and stroked his hair. "You're my firstborn, Robb. I only have to look at you to remember the day you came into this world, red faced and screaming." Gods, what would my lords think if they saw me now? He got up and walked over to the fireplace, Geywind rubbed his head against his leg, he was his protector, and yet a feeling of insecurity surrounded him. "You know... from father?" "Yes." This did not surprise him, in all 7 kingdoms, the lie about Eddart Stark's betrayal is going around. Cursed Lannisters.
He clenched his fist, anger and grief ran through him. "Lord Manderly told me when I landed in White Harbor. Do you have any news from your sisters?" his mother demanded to know. "A letter came." Robb said as he stroked Greywind's soft fur. "One to you, too, but he came to Winterfell with mine." He came back to the table, rummaged through letters and papers until he pulled out a crumpled parchment, Sansa's letter. "She wrote me this letter, I didn't think to bring you yours." Robb watched his mother smooth out the paper and start reading. The further down her eyes wandered, the more worry he saw flashes in her. "This is Cersei's letter, not your sister's." She finally said. "The real message lies in what Sansa doesn't say. All that, how nice and friendly the Lannisters treat them... I know how a threat sounds, even if it is whispered. They have Sansa as a hostage and want to keep her."
"There is not a word from Arya." He remarked. "No," Catelyn answered. Robb, dismayed, turned the letter back at the fire. "I was hoping... if you still had the imp, an exchange of hostages..." He took the queen's letter and crumpled it up, and not for the first time. I wrote to Aunt Lysa and asked for help. Did she summon Lord Arryn's allies, do you know that? Are the Knights of the Vale coming to join us?" If the Vale commits to their cause, it would be possible to pincer Lord Tywin and destroy him before focusing on the Kingslayer. "Only one." She said depressed. "The best of them, my uncle... but Brynden Blackfish was a Tully before. My sister will not move behind her blood gate." That hit him hard, he had placed great hopes in his family. Now everything is up to me, a boy who seems to have tought he could take on the likes of Tywin Lannister.
"Mother, what should we do? I've called this whole army together, eighteen thousand men, but I'm not, I'm not sure..." He was again only a child who, in view of his responsibilities, implored his mother's advice. "Why are you so afraid, Robb?" she asked him softly. "I..." he turned away, the tear on his cheek. "If we march... even if we win... the Lannisters have Sansa and father. You're going to kill them, aren't they?" "They want to trick us into thinking it." "You mean they're lying?" he asked incredulously. To him, as much as he hoped otherwise, all this sounded like the only truth the Lannisters ever spoke.
"I don't know, Robb. All I know is that you have no other choice. If you ride to King's Landing and swear allegiance to them, you'll never be let go. If you turn around and ride home to Winterfell, your lords will lose all respect for you. Some may even defect to the Lannisters. Then the queen, since she has so much less to fear, can do whatever she wants with her prisoners. Our greatest hope, our only true hope, is to beat the enemy on the field. If you succeed in capturing Lord Tywin or the Kingslayer, then a deal would be very possible. But that's not the crux of the matter. As long as you have enough power to fear you, Ned and Sansa should be safe. Cersei is smart enough to know that she might need them to make peace if the battle turns against them."
"What if the battle doesn't turn against them?" he asked, still uncertain: "What if the battle turns against us?" She took his hand. "Robb, I don't want to embellish the truth. If you lose, there's no hope for all of us. They say there's nothing but stone in the heart of Casterly Rock. Think of the fate of Rhaegar's children." Fear flared up in him again, but he also took strength from her words, "Then I won't lose." He promised her and himself. "Tell me what you know about the battle in the Riverlands." His mother finally asked. He told her about the past Battle of the Gold Tooth, the situation in Quickwater, Lord Tywin's army, and the force led by Lord Dondaarion that his father had sent. How he was defeated and his message to Holand Reet, which Lord Bolton would like to take advantage of, even if it would lead to the extinction of her Tully allies.
"If we want to prevent that, we have to march south and receive them." He said. "Riverrun could withstand a siege long enough, you're safe here." "Yes, but our supplies are running low and only the crannogmen really know how to find food in these swamps. Hence Lord Bolton's suggestion to stay in the neck. Wo would not starve, but the swamp holds other dangers and there is the danger of desertion. After all, this army consists largely of peasants. In addition, there is a risk that if the Baratheons lose, we will be even worse off than we are now. So if we don't want to go back north, then we have to march."
Robb may not have been so experienced in the art of war, but he knew how to listen and learn from it, he was proud of that. "Marching is all well and good," she said, "but where, and for what purpose? What do you want to do?" He went on by explaining to her the plans of his other lords, the Grand Jon, who wants to go against Lord Tywin. From the Glauers, the suggestions to circumvent Lord Tywin and go against the Kingslayer, but also by exposing his doubts.
„… I'm not sure..." he said when he had finished. "Be sure" he got back. "Or go home and pick up your wooden sword again. You can't afford to show indecision in front of men like Roose Bolton or Rickard Karstark. Make no mistake, Robb they're your followers, not your friends. You have made yourself a commander, command." Command, it was like a permission he had been waiting for all his life, the thing he was prepared for.
"As you say, mother." "I ask you again, What do you intend to do?" He didn't need to hear more. He pulled the old Map towards him across the table, drew his dagger and placed it on it as a weight for the ends, preventing them from rolling up. "All plans have advantages, but... look, let's say we try to get around Lord Tywin's army, we risk getting between him and the Kingslayer, and if we attack... by all accounts, he has more men than me and far more armored horses. I'm not saying we cant win against him, in fact I'm already working on a Battle Plan. The Greatjon says we just have to take advantage of the terrain and catch him with his pants in the back of his knees, but it seems to me that a man who has fought as many battles as Tywin Lannister is probably not so easily surprised, and as soon as Ser Jaimie, if we beat Tywin, receives news of his father's defeat, he will take care of our remains."
"Good," replied Catelyn, "And what next?" "I would leave a squad here that holds Moat Cailin, archers mostly and march over the dam with the rest, while the majority of our riders cross the Green Fork at the twins." He pointed to the map. "If Lord Tywin receives news that we are marching south, he will come north to face our main army, which will give the riders the opportunity to quickly get to Riverrun on the west bank." "You would put a river between the two parts of your army." "And between Ser Jaimie and Lord Tywin." As soon as he had emphasized it again, he smiled.
"There is no way to cross the Red Arm, not north of the Ruby Ford, where Robert won the crown for himself. First again with the twins up here, and Lord Frey watches over this bridge. He's your father's follower, isn't he?" "He is," she admitted, "but my father never trusted him, and neither should you." He promised. "What do you think?" "Which part do you want to command?"
"Originally I wanted to lead the horses as father would have done, but after you brought us the blackfish, I intend to make him commander of the cavalry. He knows the area and has the necessary experience." She nodded in agreement, then he continued, "So in the meantime I am marching with the main army against Lord Tywin. A win is not necessary in my plan, but... if we beat in, it paves the way for us to the south. And besides, I can personally watch over the majority of my lords and Men, i wont risk loosing two thirds of my Army while not being in command myself."
For a moment he stood unmoved, bent over the map and pondering. If we win... that won't stop this boy from murdering my family, unless... He sat down, took paper and pen in his hand and wrote. Meanwhile, his mother looked at him confusedly: "What are you writing?". "I'll give the orders right away, but first I have to write a letter to the Lannisters." "Even if we capture both the Kingslayer and Lord Tywin, that won't stop Joffrey from executing father and my sisters. Not as long as they don't fear us." "I already said that," Catelyn replied "What are you going to write?"
His eyes hardened and he took a deep breath as he looked at her. "I will write that as soon as father or Sansa were to be harmed by a hair, I would have to kill every Lannister... with the exception of women and children. Every officer, every general will suffer the same fate as they will die, but it is in the hands of the Lannisters. Then they will know that I don't play games." She understood immediately, it was written on her face. The voice is hoarse: "I'm sure Lord Bolton won't object." Robb added. "I agree with you on that, but are you sure you want to do that? I pray for the gods that our family will be fine, but if they are not, and you are faced with killing all these men, do you have the strenght to do it? It is better not to make threaths at all instead of not fullfilling them." Catelyn remarked.
"I hope we will never find out, but if the moment comes, i wont hesitate." Robb replied. "I'll also put together an escort to escort you back to Winterfell." "I'm not going to Winterfell." Her answer surprised him. "It could be that my father is dying behind the walls of Riverrun. My brother is surrounded by enemies. I have to go to them."