Fourth Month of 282 A.C. Riverrun
Lord Rickard Stark
It was strange if he thought about it, for so long he had looked forward to coming down to Riverrun for the union between his house and House Tully. Yet whenever he had pictured the wedding he had always seen Brandon and his smiling face there standing in the sept waiting for his bride to be to come, it had also been a time of peace. He had never thought that Ned, his quiet son, the boy who reminded him a lot of himself would be there marrying in Brandon's place, and it felt some how odd and yet also natural. He had observed them over the few days they had been in Riverrun and his second son and Catelyn Tully seemed to get on, the girl certainly was dutiful. Their marriage had happened two days ago, and it had been a somewhat joyous occasion, or rather as joyous as such a thing in war time could be. He and Jon Arryn and Hoster Tully had all sat and watched with some amusement as the younger men amongst them took full part in the bedding ceremony. His son had done his duty and as such Rickard was confident a child would come from the union.
As of right now though, there were more important matters to attend to. A war council had been convened, and Rickard along with his son and heir, and two most powerful bannermen were in attendance alongside Lord Jon Arryn and his most powerful bannermen and Lord Hoster and his two bannermen who had made the journey for the marriage. Hoster Tully was speaking and it was clear the matter was serious. "Whilst most of my bannermen have remembered whom their first vow is to, it would appear some of them are closer to the dragons than to their own people. The Mootons, the Goodbrooks, the Darrys, the Smallwoods and a score of other lesser lords have all declare for the Targaryens and are mustering together to try and bring some sort of opposition to us."
That was somewhat of a problem. "And where are they mustering my lord?" Rickard asked. "How many men do they have and is it enough to cause significant trouble for our plans?"
Lord Hoster was silent for a moment before he said. "They have managed to raise around 15,000 men together and it does seem that they are heading towards the Stoney Sept where King Robert is currently recuperating and seeing to his wounds. It would appear they mean to join up with Lord Connington's host of crownlords as they advance forward."
Rickard considered this for a long moment and then said. "Hmm, if Robert is indeed in the Stoney Sept then we have a problem, it does seem that we might have to divide the forces into three and hit the town from separate angles. After all Connington himself is a green boy and would be more eager to prove himself to the Targaryens than to use his actual brain. This could give us a large chance to sneak up on him."
Lord Hoster considers this for a moment and then says. "You are suggesting we use King Robert as bait in order to lure Connington towards making a mistake that could cost him the battle and the war? It could be risky considering what we know of Robert and his forwardness, but I do believe it could work."
Rickard nods and then Jon Arryn speaks, the man who had recently wed Lysa Tully, says. "It is a risky move, but it would work. Robert is someone who would want to fight in the forefront of it all. Though, there is the issue of what would happen should something go wrong with Robert it might be something that could destabilize the fighting, and the effort. After all he is the king we have chosen and as such we must ensure he is protected."
Rickard nods. "Aye that would make sense, I would suggest the north enter into the Stoney Sept first as the main attack point. Connington will be looking out for some sort of danger, and it is better for us if we go into it full throttle."
Lord Bracken speaks then. "And why the northmen and not our own Riverlords? Are you suggesting that we cannot actively do the same thing?"
Rickard holds his hands up placatingly. "I am not suggesting anything of the sort. All I am saying is that, having the northern host enter the town first, we can cause the distraction and allow the rest of the army to enter and rout the rest of Connington's host. My men know what to do to cause distractions and they have been itching for a fight for a long time and I am merely asking for this to happen."
Lord Bracken goes to protest and Hoster raises his hand and says. "It seems a reasonable suggestion, and something that could very well help us weaken his already fractious army. An army made up of traitors from various kingdoms something would break inside of them seeing the army of the north descending down on them."
There is a lot of murmuring at that and then Rickard speaks once more. "Now that is settled, what is this business with Robert naming himself king? I had not thought that we were going to go with declaring Robert king until after the final battle whenever that might be."
There is some more murmuring at that and then Jon Arryn speaks. "I must admit that I was the one who mentioned it to him. After all, with Aerys showing his true colours and burning men left, right and centre. And with Rhaegar having shown just how unreliable he can be by running off with your daughter the Lady Lyanna, none of us are sure just how true a king he can be. And of course with Rhaegar's children being little more than babes, and Aerys' other son being something of a child himself, it seemed the most logical option to tell Robert about the intentions we had as a backup for some time. And as such he has gone ahead and done the deed himself. He has won victories at Summerhall and something of a victory at Ashford. The realm is already taking note."
Rickard nods. "Aye that does indeed make sense. Still there is a long way to go from here to King's Landing. And we must find Rhaegar Targaryen."
There is a lot of murmurs of agreement there and then Lord Wyman Manderly speaks. "This is all well and good, my lords but until we have a definite plan of attack for the coming battle we are going to be like a fish out of water, gasping for air and unsure of ourselves."
Rickard looks at his old friend and smiles slightly, a rare occurrence. He speaks first as well. "Well seeing as we have all agreed that my men and I shall lead the first assault into the Stoney Sept, I do believe that splitting the northern host into two parts one attacking from the Father's gate, and another part commanded by my heir Eddard coming in from the Mother's gate. We shall enter and tie the noose around Connington's host."
Hoster nods and says. "Then I and my men shall form the men entering in from the Warrior and the Maiden's gates. And we shall tighten the noose.
Jon Arryn speaks then. "And I and my own men shall form the men entering in from Smith and Crone gate. And finish off Connington and his men. There is one other concern that I have, and that is the issue of the Stormlands. Since Robert has headed to the Stoney Sept, he has left the Stormlands vulnerable to attack, and with his son missing Mace Tyrell has nothing stopping him from going completely mad and raiding and burning the Stormlands. There are limited men left in the Stormlands, but we can ill afford to send more men to aid them."
Rickard nods at this and says. "There is not much more we can do to aid them as you have acknowledged Lord Arryn. They will need to fend for themselves until such time as we know more about what we can do, and until we have sorted out the Targaryens. I do not think Mace Tyrell will do anything too rash, after all he is still unsure of where his son is and as such would not want to risk the chance of losing his son."
There are mutterings of agreement at this and then Lord Hoster speaks. "Aye, that does sound reasonable. Now there has been a lot of discussion today. Let us rest and ride out tomorrow."
The meeting comes to an end but before they go to sleep that night Rickard finds himself speaking to his son. "So tell me son, how are you finding your bride?"
His son is silent for a long moment and then says. "Catelyn is a good woman, father. And she is also very smart and intelligent."
"So I take it that you like her then?" Rickard asks somewhat amused.
His son blushes for a moment and then says. "Yes father."
Rickard nods and then they depart and go to sleep, the next day they depart off for the Stoney Sept. Rickard knows that no matter what happens in this battle, the war will be decided one way or another, he does hope that it will end in their favour as he wishes to see his daughter again and he wants answer from the prince who took her. They ride along in silence each man within the army knowing their role and what must happen today. He merely nods at Ned when they come to the outline of the town, and as they go their separate ways, there is a pounding in his heart, and he remembers the previous times he had fought in war. The Ironsmith rebellion, and the nerves that had filtered through, the war of the ninepenny kings where he had clashed swords with the monster known as Maelys Blackfyre, and now this. Something would happen and he was determined to ensure that they came out on top during this battle.
They burst through the father's gate, and soon enough they come through and fight the enemy coming from everywhere. His sword cleaves through one man then another, and another. The fighting begins swelling, he barks a command and the men under it swerve to the side and allow the royalist army to smash themselves to pieces against the pikes and spears of the mountain clans. This happens some three or four times, as more and more men from the crownlands screaming in their death throes, going through it again and again. Until, they wizen up and move away from the pikemen and towards the mounted men. Rickard sensing the change barks another command and soon they are forming up into a crescent formation, and they begin hammering down on the enemy.
Again and again the pass is made, and again and again they manage to break the lines of the enemy. The lords of the crownlands are breaking hard and fast, soon enough they will definitely come to a grinding halt sooner or later. The sound of horns being blown tell him that his son has managed to break the host on his side of the town, and so he keeps pushing his men all the harder, and soon enough the crownlanders he and his men are facing come to a shuddering halt and soon end up being culled. More and more horns are sounding showing that more of the army have entered the town and have broken the remenants of the enemy army. The sun is beginning to set as the enemy throws down their swords and spears and as such when it comes to it they hold a meeting in the hall of Ser Tom Hardy, the knight himself having been slain during the fighting. Robert Baratheon, the man they have all named as king speaks. "My lords I thank you for coming to my aid, it was most helpful and has aided in reducing the royalists chances of victory. We have broken through their ranks and slaughtered many of their generals and commanders. Jon Connington was captured and is being questioned as we speak."
Rickard nods. "This is all good tidings. But we have suffered some severe losses, Lord Hoster himself is fighting for life, and as such we might need to wait for him to get better before we decide what our next move is going to be. We can be assured that Aerys will send the knights of the Kingsguard to gather what is left of Connington's host. As such there are still some trouble makers left within our reach that must be dealt with."
There is silence for a moment and then Jon Arryn speaks. "Aye, that will most definitely be something that we need to consider and look at. Especially as none of our sources had informed us as to Prince Rhaegar's location. Sooner or later, we shall need to make a more loud noise as to that."
Rickard nods and says. "Indeed. But first there is a lot we must do. We must first confirm our vows to the king."
Jon Arryn nods and gets down on one knee and unsheathes his sword. "I Jon Arryn, Lord of the Eyrie and Lord of the Vale do hereby swear my allegiance to you Robert Baratheon Lord of Storm's End, and do recognise you as King of Westeros."
Rickard follows suit and does the same as do the other lords gathered and soon enough cries of King Robert are all through the hall and the castle and the town. Robert Baratheon for better or for worse is their king now, meaning that Lyanna could very soon be the queen.