Chapter 24
Robert Baratheon was an excellent military commander and had learned the craft of war at the heel of King Aerys himself, along with the King's three children. However, the man would face quite a challenge when he would face Daemon Blackfyre, on the island of Grey Gallows at the climax of the Last Blackfyre rebellion.
Many have debated over the boisterous Lord's strategy and its merits and demerits, and it is agreed that the strategy made by the Lord of Storm's End was quite sound. Yet the strategy employed by his opponent was simply better.
The Golden Company would begin dismounting from their central ships and would take heavy damage by a bombardment of arrows and boulders from the Royal army at Robert Baratheon's back. And as the Baratheon lord would assemble his heavy cavalry and order them to mount a charge to decimate the enemy forces, Daemon Blackfyre would strike.
Using the last stashes of Wildfyre available to him, the man would bombard the cavalry with the highly volatile material, decimating them in a storm of raging green flames. The man would then have the ships docked at the flanks begin their dismounting, and the Golden Companies cavalry would dismount and begin a charge of their own, while Daemon Blackfyre himself led the soldiers from the front, attacking the Royal army from three fronts.
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DAEMON BALCKYFYRE-Varys
He watched as the projectiles landed, and lit up immediately and a massive firestorm rippled through the heavy cavalry headed for his men.
A lone shout from the Baratheon lord did little for his men as the wildfire rampaged through their rank and file, burning them, as they all shrieked and cried for help.
"Have the cavalry begin their dismount! We are going to decimate them in one fell swoop," he ordered his second in command, who picked up the horn from his side and blew it twice, giving the signal to the ships at the side to begin their dismounting.
He then turned away and began to walk out of the ship, as he put on his helmet. The men were already lined up and parted to make way for him as he walked to the front, strapped in full armor. The ground shook with the trodding of horses from their sides as the cavalry assembled on their flanks.
He stopped and turned to face the men of the Golden Company, his eyes glanced up, and he found her sister standing there on the deck of the ship looking at them. Their eyes met, and she gave him a nod.
"IT IS TIME FOR US TO TAKE WHAT WAS RIGHTFULLY OURS! FOR YEARS WE HAVE LIVED IN EXILE AS THESE PRETENDERS RULED OUR LANDS!" he shouted and saw the men begin to nod at his words. The Golden Company had its roots laid in Westeros, and many of them still yearend for their homes and their lands.
"BUT NO MORE! TODAY WE SHALL TAKE WHAT'S OURS!" he said as he turned to face the raging fire which was dying down mounted his horse, and took out his sword from the scabbard, and spoke their House Words.
"MEN! LET US SHOW THEM OUR MIGHT! OUR ENEMIES ARE MANY...." And the men behind him finished the words.
"....OUR EQUALS NONE!!!!" and with that roar, he pulled on the reins of his horse, as the cavalry by their side, rode hard as well, moving in an arc-like fashion as they aimed for the flanks of the Targaryen army.
The fire made his horse nervous, yet he held onto the reins and closed his eyes as he rode through the fire, crushing many whimpering men behind him. And as he emerged from the flames, he found the Targaryen army standing there, with their shields up and ready and he was impressed by the discipline in their ranks that even seeing such a disturbing sight hadn't broken their spirits.
He looked straight ahead, and his eyes landed on the commander of the army, Robert Baratheon stood there behind two walls of shields, clad in castle-forged armor, with his signature Warhammer in his hand.
"FIRE!!!" he heard him shout, and a massive volley of arrows was fired upon them, he leaned forward, and felt a number of arrows whizz past him, with some even hitting his armor and making him hiss in pain. Some of his men fell behind him, many succumbing to the barrage of arrows, yet they were now just some meters away from their enemy.
"SPEARS!" he heard Baratheon shout, and men at the front poked out their spears, lining them up as they got ready to face his charge. He pushed himself up, and stood on his horse, and just as his horse crashed into the wall of spears in front of him. He pushed himself off of it, jumping into the air, his sword drawn above him as he brought it down at the Baratheon lord, who brought up his shield in a hurry to block his attack.
"ARGHHHHH!" he shouted, as his sword cut through the shield, yet the armor on his hand stopped his blade, though he did hear Baratheon hiss in pain, before the giant of a man tried to hit him with his Warhammer.
By then the battle had already begun, both of them were surrounded by men screaming and shouting, as the ground was flooded with blood and guts, the brown sand getting dyed scarlet as their two armies clashed with each other.
He jumped back, and the warhmmaer whizzed past his face, and he tried to move in and strike at the man but Robert Baratheon wasn't just massive in size, but the gods had blessed him with inhuman agility as well, as the man suddenly brought down his Warhammer at him forcing him to jump back once more.
The hammer struck the ground, and he felt the very ground shake, and he knew that he couldn't let that hammer hit him for one strike from that, would end his life. He kicked the man's hand, yet he didn't let go of his hammer, and he tried to aim a slash at the man's head but Robert Baratheon quickly moved his head, and his sword found itself cutting through the antlers coming off of his helmet.
And then he was forced to drop down as the hammer passed where his head had been moments ago, and he tried to strike at the man's legs, yet Baratheon simply stepped back, and then suddenly kicked the sand with his foot.
"AGHH!" he screamed in pain as the sand got into his eyes, and he jumped back quickly and tried to wipe his eyes. He saw a Baratheon heading for him, his Warhammer raised and ready to strike, when suddenly one of the Golden Company captains intervened, trying to attack the man. Robert traded blows with the man, yet the man had underestimated Baratheon's might, and one strike from the man caved in the man's chest. Ending his life.
"AHHH!" the man vomited blood and collapsed in an instant, but by then his vision had cleared up and he began to move forward and picked up a handful of sand from the ground and threw it at the giant Baratheon. And as his vision was blurred Baratheon began to swing his hammer randomly, and he knew that he had to strike now.
So, he picked up his sword and rushed forward and tried to slash away at the man's neck, and in his excitement, he didn't see the hammer-headed straight for his side. The hammer struck first, forcing his slash to go wide, and his sword cut through his shoulder.
"AGHHH!"
"AGHHH!"
They both screamed in pain, as he held his side, and blood gushed out of the man's shoulder. And just as he was about to fall, he shouted.
"He is down. KILL HIM!" he shouted and saw one of the captains rush towards the man and raise his sword to cut down the man. Yet just as the man was about to bring down his sword, a glimmer of white and silver appeared in front of him, and cut him down with one slash, cleaving his body in two.
"Robert! Robert!" he heard the man shout as he reached for the man and began to command the men around him, to carry away the man.
And as he got back to his feet, he recognized the man in white armor. It was one of the Kingsguard, the only one present here.
Benjen Stark. He saw the man look to his sides, cutting down two of his men, as the men behind him carried away the injured Baratheon lord. The man looked around and when his eyes landed on him, he heard him shout.
"Retreat! Pull back to the boats!" and as he ordered the treat, he rushed forward to try and kill him, he struggled to his feet, though before the man could reach him, other members of the Golden Company stepped up and stopped the man in his tracks. The man struck down a few of them, but when he saw four people still surrounding him, he saw her grunt as he began to pull back with the rest of the army.
"WE WON!!"
"THE DAY IS OURS!!!!" he heard the men shout as they gave chase to the retreating army, though he looked to the side, and found the bodies of his men strewn across the ground.
They had won, but at what cost.
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EDMURE TULLY
The newly enthroned lord of Riverrun walked towards his solar. The atmosphere in the castle was tense with the rising tensions with the Royal Family. The shadow of his father's death still loomed over the castle, and his sudden death had taken him by surprise. Lord Hoster Tully wasn't perhaps the most accomplished lord amongst his peers, but the man had always done right by his people.
The lords of Riverlands had respected the man, and now, with his demise, the mantle of the Lord Paramount of the Trident had fallen onto him. Edmure had always tried to live up to the expectations placed on him, to make his father proud.
Edmure had grown up fairly religious and was a devout follower of the Seven, and the rising tensions among the followers of the Old Gods and the followers of the Seven had been a headache for his father, who had grown frail and weak. And so he had decided to step up, to relieve the pressure from his father. And so he had called the leader of these devout followers, and had begun negotiating with him.
The Preacher, they had called him, was a thin and short man, with bright blue eyes. He was a man of inquired intellect and had the Seven's blessing. Edmure had ordered the man to calm down the preachers. The man had hoped for permission to build more sects so his people could preach safely, and sway away those with sinister minds towards a more peaceful approach.
He was a good man, a devout follower of the Seven, and yet The Crown failed to see that. The Royal Family had been growing more and more estranged from the Gods, and now they had begun to target those who did the Gods' work. They had staged an attack on Lord Eddard Stark, and had written to him about banning the Seven's work.
Edmure had been conflicted, and had sought advice from his friend the Preacher. The man hadn't asked for his support and had told him to just be neutral in the conflict, saying that the Seven would understand him not being able to support their cause in the open.
He had followed the man's advice and had written to the Crown about his stance. Yet the Crown had replied with a strongly worded letter, threatening him with severe consequences.
The nerve! Maybe Preacher was right. The Royal Family had truly forsaken the Seven and had fallen prey to the scientific heathens. The sad part was that his own wife didn't even support him in his endeavor, and had tried to keep him away from the righteous path. Yet he knew he was right. He was simply assisting the Seven in their work, helping spread the true word of God in his lands.
There was a knock on the door of his solar, and he looked up and spoke after a moment.
"Come in," already aware of who was on the side of the door, the guards had informed him about the arrival of his friend and the door opened and walked in one of the most devout followers of the Seven he had seen.
The Preacher, walked in with a serene smile on his face, and Edmure felt his heart light up as he saw the man.
"May the Seven bless you for eternity, it is good to see you Lord Edmure," greeted the man, and Edmure nodded.
"May the Seven bless you, as well. Have a seat, we have much to discuss," he began, and the man sat down opposite to him. Edmure didn't make small talk and picked up the Royal missisve and moved it towards the man.
"I received a reply from the Crown about my earlier position. The Crown isn't happy with me and has called me a traitor and has asked my bannermen to ignore my words, and raise their men to retaliate against you and your men," said Edmure, in a saddened and angry tone.
"That is troubling news, my lord. But it was expected," replied his devout friend with a sigh and Edmure leaned back into his chair.
"House Motton and House Blackwood are already raising levies going against my command, and other houses are following suit as well," he added, Rosalin's house had also raised their levies and had ignored his command. It seemed to him, that they had all forgotten just who was their liege lord.
"The Crown has threatened to strip me of position as Lord paramount. You were right about them, it seems that the Royal family has truly forgotten their duties to the gods above and have fallen astray," said Edmure sadly.
"The devils surround us and corrupt us, my lord. And when one is as powerful as the Royal family, the devil's words sound ever so sweeter and make one forget that they are here on this Earth only to serve the Gods above," said Preacher.
"Indeed," said Edmure.
"I know that you are troubled my lord, but the Seven will not abandon you, I shall pray for you and your house. And as for your bannermen I am sure that there will be those among them who haven't gone astray yet, and will try and lead their lords towards the right path," assured the Preacher.
"The Crown has called its men and plans to come to the Riverlands. If I don't open my halls to them, they will lay siege to my castle," added Edmure looking at the man.
"I want you to assure me that you and your men had no connection to the attack on Lord Stark and have no idea where he is at the moment?" said Edmure, and his friend nodded.
"I swear on the Seven, my lord, we had nothing to do with this. We are peaceful preachers who wish to spread the word of the Seven across the world. I swear on the Seven above, my lord. The Crown is trying to frame us," the Preacher assured him. Edmure nodded.
"Ok, then I shall write once more to the Crown telling them of your innocence. Perhaps we could have the Prince meet you and your men so you could talk to him directly," said Edmure, a plan forming in his head.
"Of course, my lord. The Seven will bless you for your devotion to the faith," said his friend, and Edmure motioned for him to leave, knowing that his actions would not sit right with his wife.
Why couldn't she just understand that he was doing the Seven's work. Well. May the Seven show her the right way.
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