Trials and Tribulations of the Oathkeeper

Chapter 127: Stormborn

—At Winterfell—

The Northern armies were mobilizing in force; upon receiving a raven from King's Landing, Robb summoned his bannermen to Winterfell for the long march south to join the war. The Targaryens had returned to Westeros, the same family who brutally murdered his grandfather and uncle unjustly. The Young Wolf was among the first to heed the call to arms from his brother-in-law and moved as quickly as he could. "My decision is final, Maester Luwin. Daenerys Targaryen is here to reclaim the Iron Throne and the Seven Kingdoms. The North is one of those seven kingdoms," he argued. "My father would never have sent men off to die while he huddled like a craven behind the walls of Winterfell. If His Grace summons me to go to war, then I'll go to war – but not alone. My sister is still in King's Landing along with her children, and if this message is to be believed, Dragonstone is not too far from the capital if the Targaryens choose to attack it now. Should the south fall, the North will be next."

"But what of the additional conscripts we've acquired as per the King's decree?" inquired Theon. "With the entire bloody Seven Kingdoms incorporating more than half a million troops, we have more men than the Targaryens and outnumber them greatly—"

"Do not get overconfident, Theon. Victory in battle is not always won through superior numbers. The Last Storm, Field of Fire, Tumbleton, the Trident, Blackwater Bay... remember them well."

"Lemme come with you," Rickon complained. "I'm your brother. I can ride as a squire, a bannerman—"

Robb cut him off. "No, Rickon, you're not going with me. You're too young," he firmly quieted his youngest brother from protesting again. Shaggydog was near as wild as Rickon was once he cried and screamed, throwing such a childish tantrum before the Lord of Winterfell brought him to bay before watching from afar as more of his troops—men and women alike—departing through the castle's courtyard.

In front, Dacey was leading the Mormont troops as well as tending to her sister Lyanna. "Now listen, Lyanna, the people of Bear Island are in your care while I'm gone," she told her. "And should any mainlander step outside their boundaries, particularly the men, remind them who exactly walks the walk—not talk the talk."

The Little Bear grumbled knowing she wasn't going with her sisters, but huffed proudly and stood tall with pride. "Oh, I believe they'll learn one way or another, sister. You just wait. We'll show the men and the boys not to mess with us."

"Good," she nodded. "'Here we stand.'"

"'Here we stand.'"

Lyanna stood in the courtyard as she watched her sisters Dacey and Alysane riding off to battle, leaving her as the only Mormont in Winterfell. She brushed aside a scout's request to tend to Bear Island, always brazenly reminding them that she would be staying here as per her Lady's request. "We know no Warden but the Warden of the North, whose name is Stark," she told them. Greatjon Umber rode off with his marauders, leaving his grandson and heir Ned behind.

Talisa had her 3-year-old son Eddard by the hand. The young half-Northmen, half-Volantene heir to Winterfell and the entire North grew a few inches taller—still standing at 3 feet 4 inches tall. She had her guards help Robb ready for the long trek down south for war—having to remain behind to raise their child and help keep the peace in his absence. Robb and Talisa shared a brief kiss before he bent to one knee to speak to his son.

"I'll send letters whenever I can, Eddard, but if you don't hear from me, don't be scared," he told him. "Be good to your mother and wait until I return."

Eddard might be young, but the child was old enough to know something was amiss. Although somewhat scared at the prospect of not seeing his father again, he sheepishly coming up to Robb from behind his mother's silk dress. "Daddy?" he squeaked.