Chapter 474: The League of the Righteous

News of Viserys's second coronation in King's Landing, where he was titled Viserys Targaryen the First, swiftly spread across the southern lands of Westeros with the flight of ravens.

Some cheered and raised their cups to wish him a long life, while others cursed him, even wishing him to stumble and die.

In the Vale, led by Jon Royce, the Count of Runestone, a coalition was formed against the Iron Throne, calling themselves the 'League of the Righteous.'

The slogan of the League of the Righteous was to maintain the dignity of the nobles, the normal order of the state, and not allow Viserys to take away their sacred and inviolable rights.

A few months earlier, Count Jon Royce had led the knights of the Vale in a wide flanking maneuver to attack the Dothraki from behind at the Battle of Riverrun, only to suffer a defeat.

Balerion's dragonfire scorched both banks of Riverrun, creating a wildfire, and the Vale knights suffered heavy losses, retreating eastward.

Even old Jon himself narrowly escaped death on the battlefield. Balerion's dragonfire landed not far from him, reducing his warhorse to ashes. Thanks to his ancestral bronze armor, the old count escaped death and returned to the Vale under the protection of his guards.

However, Jon Royce, having escaped death and returned to the Vale, was not cowed by the surging dragonfire. Instead, he became even more determined to raise the banner of resistance against Viserys.

Perhaps it was their brief conversation at the Twins that strengthened his resolve to resist, or perhaps there were other reasons. He had seen the wounded appearance of a dragon and believed that dragons were not entirely invincible.

So he gathered Lady Anya Waynwood of Ironoaks, old Lord Eon of Longbow Hall, Lord Benedar Belmore of Strongsong, Ser Symond Templeton of Ninestars, and the heir to Redfort, Michel Redfort, among others.

Michel's father, Horton Redfort, had been captured alive after the Battle of Riverrun and was now imprisoned in King's Landing.

Michel Redfort was the youngest son of Lord Horton and squire to Ser Lyn Corbray. He should not have bypassed his brothers to become the heir to Redfort.

However, Jon Royce's daughter Ysilla, who bore some resemblance to him, took a fancy to the handsome and skilled young swordsman.

So, Count Royce forced Michel to marry his youngest daughter, and the two were wed in the shortest time. Simultaneously, the Royce family used their influence to help Michel defeat his brothers and secure the position of heir.

The League of the Righteous gathered troops to seal off the Vale, calling on more nobles to join the resistance, seeking fairness and justice, and refusing to allow the power of family rule to slip from their hands.

They refused to acknowledge that Viserys had ascended the Iron Throne, tearing up letters from King's Landing and denouncing Viserys as the true invader of the Seven Kingdoms.

They completely forgot who had helped them repel the White Walkers. Without Viserys, they might have become walking corpses by now.

The current Defender of the Vale, Warden of the East, and Duke of the Eyrie, Robert Arryn, is merely an infant still nursing.

His mother, Lady Lysa Tully, is but a woman, and they, a widow and an orphan, naturally lack the strength to organize resistance against a tyrant. Moreover, her family has already bent the knee, and the Vale nobles fear that Lysa might also surrender to Viserys.

So the nobles of the 'League of the Righteous,' with a small guard, came to the Eyrie, and under the banner of 'justice,' took the unsuspecting city by surprise, opening the gates, and the army flooded in, taking complete control of this center of power in the Vale.

Little Lord Robert and his mother fell into the hands of the League of the Righteous, including the former Master of Coin of the Baratheon dynasty, Petyr Baelish, who was a guest in the Eyrie.

After his mission to Pentos and return, Petyr had received great praise from Queen Regent Cersei. After Jon Arryn's assassination, Cersei allowed him to escort the widowed Lady Arryn and her orphaned child back to the Eyrie from King's Landing.

Petyr then stayed in the Eyrie, comforting the young widow.

However, the unpredictable and inscrutable turn of events brought disaster from the sky, though the Vale's noble coalition did not overly trouble Littlefinger.

He resided in the Eyrie with relative freedom, attending some meetings and having a seat, as he was nominally a member of the Vale and the Baratheon dynasty's Master of Coin, considered one of their own.

Even if there were some whispered rumors about Littlefinger's unclear relationship with Lady Lysa, the affairs between nobles often had that flavor.

Now, many nobles in the League of the Righteous and beyond in the Vale were interested in the attractive widow, Lysa.

After all, whoever won Lysa's heart and married her could become the father of the Lord of the Vale, the actual controller of the Vale.

Thus, Lady Lysa Tully's situation in the Eyrie was very delicate and equally dangerous.

Compared to the changing winds in the Vale, where the weak ruled the strong, the situation was different elsewhere.

After Jon Arryn's death, the Vale was left without a successor, and the remaining Vale families could even band together to defecate on their lord's neck.

In the Westerlands, Tywin Lannister, who had escaped from the Battle of Riverrun, still firmly controlled the region.

After all, the dragon's fire had not yet reached Casterly Rock, but Tywin Lannister's 'Rains of Castamere' could ring at his doorstep at any time.

However, Tywin Lannister had not been idle during this time, nor had he resigned himself to waiting for death. Hearing of the events in Riverrun, he ordered all Westerlands vassals to send their families to Casterly Rock.

Lord Tywin claimed it was to better protect everyone's families, fully committing to the war.

But everyone knew the real reason, and yet no one dared to resist, obediently complying.

Tywin then began to frequently move the Westerlands' troops, setting up checkpoints at important junctions, building defensive lines, and establishing watchtowers along the coast to strengthen defenses, striving to make the Westerlands an iron bucket against Viserys's future attacks.

On the diplomatic front, Tywin actively sent envoys to contact the Vale's League of the Righteous, the Tyrell family in the Reach, and Renly in the Stormlands, hoping to form an alliance to jointly face the aggressive Viserys.

In the end, except for the unclear situation with Renly, the other two parties responded positively.