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Chapter 22: c22



The Silent Wolf Bites its Prey

-West. The North. City of Twin Wolves-

Of the seven northern legions six were present. The seventh had been directed to deal with what was the disease in the form of Bolton. Hariric had given orders to that legion and especially to its commander. His orders were to catch all the noble commanders and kill every last one of the soldiers. None would be left alive. He wanted to send a message across the North.

Hariric growled. He should be more upset but he wasn't. Actually if something was more than excited. It was the moment. It was time to put the seven kingdoms in their place. For years many have thought of the north as the weakest of the seven kingdoms. He frowned at said thing since if there was an absolute truth that could be said it is that the North was always strong. It was only the damn conquest that would end up weakening them for what it was.

Rhaegar targaryen. Right now he was possibly raping his sister for whatever reason. Why else would he take his sister? use her as a hostage? Yeah. But he had also heard of his fascination with a stupid prophecy that only fire and ice together could save the world. Hariric grimaced. prophecies. The bane of any existence. Honestly, in Hariric's mind, just thinking about a prophecy made him consider humans as wastes of time.

But Rhaegar targaryen had made a mistake. A colossal mistake if Hariric had to say so. To begin with, the first mistake he had made was thinking that he would somehow get away with it. He had nothing against his children. But he himself was going to suffer tremendously once he got his hands on him. And not a soul would dare to think in the slightest that they can face him.

Glancing at each of his commanders, he nodded. With Tykren in what he was cared for he had passed ned in command of his legion. As his second in command everyone respected him immediately. Everyone knew that despite the fact that Ned had grown up in the valley, the truth is that he was still a northerner. None believed in honor. Honor is nice but all northerners believed that an action was worth a thousand words and that making sure to send the right message to the lords of all the kingdoms was perfectly fine.

Getting to what the twin wolves were had been an excellent thing and news. Truth be told, everyone agreed. Provisions were being assembled. He was lucky that the North had its reserves very well kept thanks to its cold boxes that were basically capable of keeping food better. Gods, whoever said that alchemy wasn't a decent enough magical gift deserved a good kick in the ass.

Each of the commanders got into position. They all respected him. Not only for having shaped the North. Because he was the North. They all recognized. The first to do and the last to take. Thanks to all his actions, the north could feed itself. Thanks to his actions the North was seeing an explosion in population. And what is more important they could send to shit what was the actions of the people with simplicity and simplicity.

Before them was a map of what the south was. each route. Every way. Every ambush position. Each of the northern lords killed for these maps including northern maps. But this map was useful to be able to inform. The map showed what was the image of various armies planning to form up and advance. Each commander stared at the maps specifically and many of them wondered what his lord had in mind.

''gentlemen, this map shows us all the scenarios we have. To begin I must point out that the royal navy, the Seagull port navy and the Dominion navy have already set sail for what is to launch an invasion their orders are to subdue the ports of the North in order to launch an attack against our lands...or what say I don't feel like allowing it''. Hariric showed what the papers with the image of the fleets were. The domain's fleet numbered four hundred ships. Half of them came from Redweyne house alone. The rest were from the other houses in the domain. From what was to the east, the royal fleet of a hundred ships plus the fleet of the Valyrian lords of about fifty ships and the seagull port fleet with another fifty ships could be seen.

''my lord I don't want to offend but is it possible that our two fleets are able to face the southern fleets. I mean, I don't want to offend but we only have a hundred warships on each side. They practically outnumber us." The Frigates were the warships of the north. Quick, well armed and well prepared they could be. Lord Willem Dustin was certainly concerned that such an attack would do them harm. But Hariric had an amused look that only spoke of trouble.

''Our two hundred frigates are enough. The royal fleet and the fleet of the Valyrian lords will have to anchor in the Gabiota port to obtain food. Whereas the small fleet of the three sisters has been naturally dealt with by our preemptive strikes." And he had the letters signed with the royal seal that talked about how the three sisters thought of all things to attack the North for its resources more than anything.

''My lord, might that not bring House Arryn squarely into what this war is all about? It is well known by now that Lord Arryn likes us all over the North. That he wants Ned Stark to become Lord of the North. He could use this war as an excuse so he can jump right into the war and attack us my lord." Commander Cerwyn was obviously nervous about what he was. If the so called knights joined this they would possibly go on a rear attack.

''House Arryn already has intentions. They are actually about to launch as a form of attack from our rear. They are gathering men these days so they can assault us from behind when we come to meet Rhaegar's forces.'' Hariric growled, the old man thought he could just attack him. He would be sure to send it in pieces. Judging by the looks the members of the commanders had, they couldn't understand Lord Jon Arryn's reasons.

''Why would Lord Arryn do such a thing? That is to say, does he know or is he aware that very possibly by getting into this war he would see himself as a lap dog? If he does it too, what can we expect from the Tully house in this regard? Those two are very close in their plans. Rickon couldn't see the point in getting into this war for no reason. The Lord Arryn had nothing to gain from all this.

''Lord Arryn is planning to try to use this to save Ned from the wrath of the king's justice by turning the North over to be punished. In return Ned will marry Catlyn Tully and at the same time this will result in the north giving up several of its secrets of how we are capable of all our products.'' Hariric shrugged. The spy had taken note of everything he said. He even had a copy of the letter from the prince and the man in which they both discussed the future.

''so the rat of the skies simply thinks that we will just let it be like that, don't you have the intention of allowing it, no hariric? Let him get away with his plans to rob the north? Those Andal bastards are always looking for ways to screw everyone else over.'' Jon scoffed. He had always had a dislike for the Arryns. The Umbers would never forget what was essentially the Arryn way. They were together with the Tyrell house the defenders of the faith so it is natural that they did not get along.

''I have no intention of allowing the Arryns to come. In addition to attacking and destroying Gabiota port courtesy of the Orient fleet, I intend to sabotage the roads along which the armies of the valley will go. If the roads are sabotaged they won't be able to get there.'' Hariric felt nothing less than a sense of satisfaction knowing that he would be screwing Jon Arryn big time.

''They could try to argue in the future that they want some kind of compensation my lord. If the army doesn't leave Arryn lands they can make it look like the North actually made an unprovoked attack of any kind my lord.'' Willem looked at his lord, undecided as to what he might have in mind about it.

''It's one thing they will do. Once I have eliminated rhaegar they will try by all means to make us look guilty. Responsible for damages and much more. What if we are guilty? What if we attack them without provocation. That kind of things. It doesn't bother me too much what they have in mind. Just what they think they could get away with if we let them advance to attack us.'' Because the harsh reality is that if the Arryn army attacked them from the rear then they would be badly hurt. It was better to be effective and finish them off efficiently.

''If that is your decision, my lord, we will support you in their will in this regard to deal with them when the occasion arises. Although if they are unable to move forward, how will a message be sent about it? They might think it's like a stupid act that nothing happens to them.'' Rickon let it be known about the possibility that they sold that what happened was by divine act. That the gods themselves had gotten into it. Then Hariric had a dark smile on his face.

''Because as long as they're stuck on those roads our advance units advance. Our wolf commandos are going to attack them. They will make them bleed. They will make them suffer. And each and every last one of those idiots will know perfectly well through this that they should never fuck with the North.'' It was the best kind of message if he had to say it. Attacks that are unpredictable and do damage intelligently.

''the wolf commandos my lord but won't they call it an act of dishonour? The armies of the valley call themselves the great knights. All before they are just and honorable. They could try to make it look like they are actually being attacked without honor.'' Alec knew his lord cared little for honor but he knew many would think otherwise.

''honor? The moment they decided to defend a fucking fucking rapist they condemned themselves. I don't give a shit what they think about it or what they believe anyway. If they want to come talk about honor then they could have done the honorable thing and stayed out of the way.'' Saying and talking about honor when they were basically collaborating with a mad man and a kidnapper.

None of the gentlemen present could deny the truth. Honor was a very nice excuse. Where was his honor while the mad king ruled with tyranny doing whatever he wanted to the people just because he thought they were potential traitors? Where was her honor while the prince kidnapped a young woman to take her away and do with her as he pleased? Honor is a beautiful thing to talk about. But if they really stood up for honor they wouldn't get in his way.

''Now we will go to our advance. Once we cross the wolves we will find ourselves in nothing more and nothing less than hostile territory. It is not the threat of the valley that we must take into account. No. The threat is born in the form of the twins which are the point from which a new threat will try to hit us.'' Hariric spoke with a calm tone of voice. Not really caring about a mentioned threat in the slightest.

''my lord, are you saying that the lord of the rivers is really siding with the lord of the dragons? We should then pay him a nice visit to let him know how we feel about them attacking us.'' Jon was furious. You could see the monstrous muscles of the northern giant tense up. It was no secret of his contempt for Tully House.

''No. Lord Tully is posing as a man who advocates conversation and dialogue. He wants all the houses to stop the violence and start discussing what has happened in a civilized way. He's actually using it as an excuse not to get in the middle of all this… but his followers aren't the same.'' Hariric scoffed. Lord Tully was only trying to save his own skin as if the north won he was aware that an attack on them could be seen as a reason to launch an invasion.

''The little fish is unable to hold the leash of its subordinates. Let me guess the fucking freys have been sold to the highest bidder to be able to get their fucking hands on us. I always knew we shouldn't do anything but wipe them off the fucking map.'' Alec growled. The Frey word was the same as wet paper. Dealing with the Freys was one of the stupidest things since for some reason they thought they could get away with it.

''No. It is not. He is thinking of covering both sides of the war. He calls for peace and for trying to negotiate. To prevent this from turning into a bloodbath somehow. On the other hand, by letting many of his standard-bearers stand up, some would say that he supports the crown and therefore that means that he is supporting royalty. That's how shitty the guy is.'' It was the most logical. But in Hariric's mind it was a joke.

''Ned. As my brother I am tasking you to defeat the enemy forces that will come for the twins. The forces are not only the river houses that have allied with the crown. But the espionage report a total of twenty thousand men from the western lands''. Everyone was stunned at his words. He couldn't say that he really blamed them about it. From what he could tell everyone thought he would go to another commander.

''My lord, Ned's forces will be outnumbered three to one. The military forces of the Western lands will possibly be led by one of the Lord Lannister's brothers who are some capable commanders. And there will be some more than competent men actually among the enemy forces made up of the fighters of the riverlands. Leaving another legion would be smart, my lord. Willem looked worriedly at ned. The young man showed no fear. He was a northerner. But he could see that he himself didn't know how to react to it.

''Unfortunately, even with our tactics we have not been able to reduce the enemy army much. Robert Baratheon returned to the lands of the Storm where he is at war with Jon Connington. We will still face at least half the forces of the domain which number fifty thousand men along with the forces of Dorne. The forces of the crown lands. I will need all the legions necessary. But he trusted my brother. Some would call it arrogant. He did not believe in the same. His sister was far from useless in his opinion.

''brother…if you really trust me so much I won't let you down. I will march with my legion to put us in the best position to await the force''. Ned could see his brother's trust in him. It was a confidence born of knowing his abilities. He wasn't sending him to his death. No. He was asking her to take care of being able to decimate the enemy armies that would come after them.

''I'm counting on you to be able to do this. I know it is not an easy task. Only an idiot would come to think that it is a simple and easy thing to do. But I trust you. I know you are capable. But the most important. Our enemies don't know shit about fighting and are hoping for surprise. Sink them without pity and compassion.'' He knew that some of the commanders were looking at him curiously at the fact that he had selected his brother. He could really understand.

''I will only capture the lords. They won't be hard to see. After all they are southerners. They stay behind. It will be easy to reach them. Mercilessly. I will do this brother for the North. Ned nodded to his brother in agreement. He was about to earn the reputation of a man who would kill thirty thousand men. That he would lack mercy, was that bad?

''Go check on your legions and make your preparations. Need one more thing. Once your battle is over, return to the Twin Wolves and ensure the presence of all those captured. I don't know if the sabotage and the wolves of war will stop the lords of the valley but I want you away just in case.'' The truth is that he trusted. Between those two factors we had to add the mountain clans.

The legion commanders left. Each with things in mind. All agreed. Ned was not the first commander but if his lord trusted him it was clear that the trust was not without reason. His lord was rarely wrong. He made little mistakes. negligible errors. But despite making such mistakes he made a real effort to ensure that his lords were the least affected.

In fact, as had been verified by courtesy of the North, things were neither more nor less than the northerners, rarely if ever they faced numbers that were inferior to them. Always outnumbered. But this time they had a disciplined army. The strength of mind and body as his lord liked to say. They had been preparing for years.

Hariric was thinking. As a brother he disliked sending his brother on a complicated mission. It's true. The North had a better team. Better armor. Best swords. Best horses. Best in everything. But he was outnumbered. Three to one. The only good news is that most of the southern lords really didn't know what it meant to fight. They did not know the true meaning of what combat was and would take the rear.

He decided to trust his brother. He has hope in him and his achievements. That's what he had. Just in case he was tempted to leave one more legion and move on but they were outnumbered. Fifty thousand against what was waiting for them down there was no joke. Although the armies of the south were called the armies of the flowers, he preferred to be wary. Yet that made him think of Dorne. Oh yeah. He would make sure Dorne paid for it. He loved his wife. And he respected Elia Martell. But if those ruling idiots thought they could get away with this bullshit they would soon learn what a big mistake it was to think that way.

-Lands of the Rivers. The Twins-

Tygett Lannister did not agree with his brother's plan. In the least. He felt it was idiotic to go to war for anything. But his brother was determined to do it for several reasons. The first was so that the crown would be firmly in his debt. He wanted to get his son back as a royal guard and make Cersei his wife. He knew that his plan was to blackmail Rhaegar into agreeing whether he wanted to or not.

Another of his brother's reasons is that he wanted above all else to attack the North and do it so much damage. The North had been flourishing for a long time. If he grew much more he might be able to become independent which was not good. As former hand of the king he had access to many things including taxes. The North paid in taxes only for trade. He wanted to change that and this war was the best opportunity for it.

And the last thing is that his brother had set his eyes on the rich territories of the North. He obviously wanted to exploit them on his behalf and he thought he could demand it. Hence this plan. But Tygett didn't feel good about that idea. His sister could be failing in all this. He could be walking right into the worst shit storm in centuries and Lord Stark would be determined if he succeeded in his campaign to see them reduced to mere memory.

He had sent him with twenty thousand men gathered from all the vassal houses while he marched with forty thousand to the capital and from there to join the prince's forces to launch an attack with all their might. His would be victory. But tygett thought it was a visible tactic. Everyone knew about Tywin lannister. His sister had made a name for herself. And he could remember the words of his brother gerion from him. What he said about the man he met. There was little chance of scaring his brother but Gerion was afraid of hariric.

Tygett knew a lot more. He knew that his brother Tywin felt threatened. The Lannister house had a unique way of earning money in the form of the resources of their land. The north not only had untouched resources for a long time but on top of that they had the brutal advantage of making more and more profits. Tygett knew that his brother had killed herself because he wanted to steal said businesses from the Stark house. But every opportunity to take something away from House Stark ended in the worst possible way.

They had thought at times that they could take advantage. kidnap someone marry someone Those ideas were nice. But Hariric Stark was making changes in the north. The university of Isengard that he was leaving the citadel in the dust. The officers' academy thus making it so that there is no need for there to be people who are welcomed. That and much more if you stopped to think about it were reasons why his brother was so upset by the fact that the North was flourishing.

So hence the support for the war. But he was not comfortable with it. He saw next to him a young gentleman. He was young. His brother had the most veterans actually. That was bad because it meant that in essence he was alone with inexperienced fighters while he had a powerful force. Once again he was only supposed to serve as a tool to cut off any possibility of advancement. Next to him was Lord Darry of the riverlands and Walder Frey or called Walder the black who was the best commander of the house frey.

The truth is that siding with the scum Frey made him less than funny. In his opinion his brother should have worked hard to break his sister's marriage alliance a long time ago but things were as they were and unfortunately things had not turned out well. However, he supposed that his brother had reached an agreement with Frey. He just hoped the bastard didn't blackmail them for any more shit.

''things are going well. Our scouts informed us that the northern army has advanced correctly along the royal road and is advancing without any problem to reach the trident. If everything goes according to plan, they will arrive at the trident in three days, which is excellent because by then the prince's forces should already be there.'' Tygett nodded to himself. A pincer movement was always the best way to win.

''Those wolves have proven to be the most idiots for not realizing what it is that they have been deceived. They must have confused what is clearly Lord Tully's decision with him not wanting to get into this pointless fight. Walder laughed viciously. There was nothing better. In recent times the northern lords had grown too arrogant. It was time to teach them a very valuable lesson.

''Lord Stark may lack military skills but you can't go wrong with the fact that he was possibly just thinking that like any other house the ruler would have complete control of his subordinates if you think about it. It's not a stupid thing to think about.'' Tygett didn't like bloody Frey just because of how he expressed himself.

''Please Lord Stark has what he deserves. To think that they believe they have the slightest right to demand in some way. The damned father went to the capital and demanded the return of his daughter. If Prince Rhaegar has his daughter he has to prove it and he just stood there like he thought he had the authority on it.'' Lord Darry was annoyed that Lord Stark would be so bold.

''And if he's telling the truth, huh? What if she's not lying? What if we really are getting into something that it was the Targaryens themselves who started all this? From what we know, it could be possible that the Targaryen house had something to do with all this and Hariric Stark is just being one more brother who wants to recover his sister from what is a kidnapping. Tygett knew that mad devotion was not the best of things.

''Does it even matter that it is so? Does it matter that a bitch from the North has been stolen? If I think things have to be one way, it is that the Stark should have willingly accepted that he should drink that the woman should open her legs. Like all Frey for Walder things were simple and simple. Women only served as reproductive tools, no more, no less, and if the Stark woman was so against her destiny as far as he was concerned, he didn't give a damn.

''be careful. If this goes wrong and the Stark somehow smells this, you'll want mercy on your house. Hariric Stark does not seem to me one of those men of compassion or mercy for those who offend him and everyone knows that he loves his brothers more than any lord can love his family. In fact it was fear. Hariric Stark had managed to be able to have spies in every house in the seven kingdoms.

''They don't have a chance. The forces of a single kingdom face off against the kingdom with more men and fighters from the seven kingdoms. It also faces the force of another kingdom such as the West. And so are the forces of Dorne. Not to mention the crown lands. House Stark faces a threat in which they are outnumbered. Their chances of winning are low.'' Lord Darry shook his head.

''underestimating the enemy is the most idiotic thing a commander could do. Hariric Stark may not be a sublime tactician from what we know but possibly his army has some of the best advisors and they might know things about us. Underestimating the enemy was the most idiotic thing a person could do. In Tygett's own personal opinion to underestimate the power and potential of Hariric Stark was utter ridiculousness.

''from what you say, then we should tremble in fear before the so-called power of House Stark, seriously Lannister? I thought you Lannisters were made of the tougher masses and therefore you are more capable of doing some things rather than having to put up with people in the slightest.'' Walder scoffed about it. The very idea of ​​being afraid of House Stark seemed stupid to him.

''It's that attitude that will make this operation a complete failure if I have to say so. The possibilities that the Stark house has not evolved as a house in these times seems to me one of the most idiotic things. And Frey are at least one of the houses that can be said to have a proper lineage while your house is only powerful because it is the house that has no less than a lot of money for a bridge." It was not a good thing, nor was it a good way to treat an old house.

''I suppose we could do what Lord Lannister means. The truth is that underestimating the enemy seems stupid. It would be in our best interest not to leave in any way the possibility of being harmed by some kind of ruse. After all, the savages could be capable of anything if threatened.'' The Lord Darry looked practically unresponsive and walked away.

Walder walked away without any problem. In his opinion, worrying about House Stark was completely stupid if he had to say so himself. House Stark was not as strong as before. The dragons had taken care of ripping out their fangs and what is more important, House Stark had completely lost any chance to grow. True, the current Lord Stark might be able to bring back what is essentially the name, but the Northerners just needed a little touch.

For Lord Darry things were simple. He was a faithful follower of the faith of the seven. For as long as he could remember he could easily tell that he had never had any problem saying that as long as the dogs stayed in the cold wasteland he was fine. Now they came and demanded as if they thought they had the right to do so. He infuriated him. The dogs deserved death for it. And especially in recent times.

Tygett felt nervous. His brother's opinion of Lord Stark spoke of an intelligent person. While some might say that Lord Tully was trying to do anyone with half a brain he would have been suspicious. But Lord Stark immediately believed that things were being done right. That meant in a nutshell that Lord Stark did not mistrust a kingdom that had taken advantage of them in every possible way over the past few centuries. That was strange to imagine with how the young man had been described.

Tygett had reason to think so. The reason? Unbeknownst to him, a soldier of the wolves was seeing everything through a bird that he had taken under control. After seeing that he had typed a quick message to the owl he carried with him and gave the signal for Lord Eddad's legion to advance. It was time to do some cleaning in what was the garbage.

-Northern Legion Under the command of Ned-

The northern soldiers showed in Ned's humble opinion their superiority over the southern forces if he had to say so. They had made a camp when they got away from the main force where they hid well and then followed the Lannister soldiers at a decent pace. His spy agents had kept reporting on them at all times. They had taken a place to rest. Unfortunately for them they did not have the soldier's supplements. It was an elixir produced in the north that allowed greater physical performance.

Ned was not feeling kind at the moment and had ordered the five thousand foot soldiers to split up to attack. It would be a merciless attack. Except for the officers of the enemy army, no one else could be left alive in this regard. So he put on the helmet. It's true. It was night and therefore the chances of seeing were low. But his brother had designed something else. Something that was going to end up biting them in the ass. He gave the signal and immediately the cavalry charged. Before the soldiers had time two thousand horsemen passed through the entire camp, throwing spheres of fire. Much better than throwing torches.

But for Ned everything was simple. Surrounded by his most faithful subordinates, he advanced. A group tried to intercept him and the difference in ability was quickly seen when ned himself decapitated or ran through them. His armor, shield, and sword were all made of Valyrian steel, giving him a ridiculous advantage over his opponents. He didn't care what any idiot might think.

Ned understood. He understood his brother. In war there is no glory, he always told her. He saw it. The ease with which his men were killing the soldiers. His archers had killed the sentinels before they had a chance to warn so the horsemen made a hasty pace. They were without armor and only with swords. Quickly his foot soldiers were doing an efficient job. They weren't possibly getting off scot-free. But Eddard was actually satisfied knowing that he was being able to bring justice to his family.

''I'm glad to know you had the common sense to know it was a bad idea to throw yourself into a losing battle. His life is valuable and the north intends to negotiate. They will be taken to our cages where they will spend the night comfortably. Tomorrow we will discuss many things.'' Ned was unaffected by the looks of some of the lords. Besides the Darry house there were other houses. But the one who stood out was Walder Frey. The man looked murderous and took out a mace to attack him. Before anyone could see his hand was on the ground and Ned was looking at him coldly.

''Someone seal that wound. My brother won't be happy to know that he died without seeing the show. If any of them resist, cut off their eggs at least. That will teach them not to have the bright idea of ​​thinking that they can screw us in any way.'' Ned was upset by the stupidity. He quickly saw a soldier arrive and pour the orb of fire into his sword to cauterize the wound. He didn't feel any problem but the truth is that he thought it was stupid. The northern soldiers proved to be professionals and took the people in command of this force although the last one was Tygett Lannister who was looking as if he couldn't believe what had happened to Lord Stark.

''I warned everyone that this would be a problem. That you were more ready than could be expected from a kingdom and that we would possibly pay for it with our lives. Nobody believed me. I must say that your brother is clearly superior to what military skills are too it seems." Lannister looked at Stark. The Lannister would admit that he had respect.

''we will speak in the morning at breakfast lord lannister. Don't worry about his men. Each and every last one of them will be treated as the enemies they are to the North.'' Ned felt that this was what he had to do. When word gets out about how the North didn't take prisoners more people in the future you'll get a pretty decent idea of ​​how stupid the idea of ​​trying to fuck with the North was.

Tygett knew his battle had been doomed. How had his scouts not seen such an army? Ten thousand men could not hide without more was practically impossible. Never in his mind did he stop to think that his men simply didn't have a chance because they never watched the rear. Being outmatched by that factor alone. It was a play that Eddard was counting on, confident that the Southerners would be incapable of thinking for a moment that they were somehow outmatched.

Ned watched as the prisoners were led away. He didn't have any emotion on his face. But what he felt was sorrow. Seeing the thirty thousand men who had died. There had been no mercy on the part of the Northern army. As his brother liked to say, morality was one of the important pieces that drive the war machine. Destroy this piece and you will surely have the chance to have your enemies defeated.

Ned's firm belief in his brother was also what made him realize why he had to do the next part of the plan. Some would call them ruthless and brutal. He didn't care how he looked. All he cared about was sending the right message about it that he would make sure everyone in the south understood that they could never, ever compete with them.

With a single gesture he left. The bodies of each man were being burned. He knew that the north would be cursed because of this. People would talk about them badly. But whose fault was it more than the lords? And he knew his brother. He knew him well enough to know that he would sell the image that it was the different lords of the south who were responsible for what is the death of each person here.

-Next morning-

''As I think you must already know, they are not in a position to score one more victory. I am here to inform you that you are to be taken to the North where you will be held as captives until this war is completely over and negotiations can be made with each of your houses on the matter for what is your safe delivery.'' Ned was eating quietly. It was a simple breakfast. If the soldiers saw his commander eating lavishly while they were sick they could get more than a little angry.

''The north has no chance. They may have beaten us but right now the North must be suffering the cruel fate of facing the powerful army of the South and much more.'' Only Lord Darry of the Rivers was there. He was the only one who should be there anyway. The man clearly looked overly satisfied. Yeah. He might think that they were safe but he firmly believed that his lordship and all the great lords assembled would be able to defeat the army of the North.

''If you mean the southern armies, we are very aware of everything. We are aware of the plan for the valley army's forty thousand cavalry to charge us from behind. But that's not going to happen. As we speak his progress has been halted. It's the bad thing about living where they live if I have to say so.'' Mr. Darry's look was at least in Ned's mind amused.

''If you are referring to the invasions organized by the different fleets from both the West and the East, we are more than aware of them and have already taken the appropriate measures to deal with them. Just the fact that you thought you could get away with it in that way makes me laugh.'' Ned could see the even paler look of fear beginning to appear in Mr. Darry's eyes.

''the only force left are the forces formed by the Dominion lord who are being punished by our advance party with the intention of reducing their numbers. The land of the crown. And those of Dorne. Those will be the only forces that will truly come to the Targaryen prince's aid." There was nothing but coldness like the edge of winter itself in Ned's words.

''What about my brother's strength? Tywin brings out the best that he has to offer the West. I have no doubt that by uniting that combined army with the military forces that would belong to the prince, the chances would be rather in favor of his majesty. Tygett had to know. How had they done it? They had planned so far in advance. They had known every move they made.

''I have no doubt that Tywin Lannister thought of joining forces with House Targaryen…but it is also possible that an unknown factor made him move against it. It is very possible that Lord Tywin Lannister is moving right now in the direction of the capital so that in case of defeat he will be able to make himself seen as a war tool. Ned could see the wide eyes of the two men.

''That doesn't make sense. Why would Tywin do such a thing? Why send his brother to launch an attack from the rear if he himself is thinking of launching an attack on what is the capital? That would make him antagonistic to the iron throne.'' Lord Darry couldn't believe what he was hearing. It didn't make sense in his mind nor did he have any reason to believe it but he could tell it was something that scared him. Lord Stark was so calm as he spoke.

''I don't care if it makes sense or not. What matters to me is to make things clear. There you have the cards. I have nothing else to attend to except sending a proper message not to fuck with House Stark.'' With her final words said she left without giving them a chance to say more before focusing on what was the twins' castle.

And only moments later the castle exploded. She felt sorry for everyone who lived there but at the same time he felt no sympathy. Not after the letter from the freys to the crown.


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