6 Canon, What Canon?

(Erlend POV, Summerswind Manor)

'A fair warning most of the canon information will be useless' I should've paid more attention to that comment, especially considering the identity of my mother, since I'm pretty sure there was no Aemma alive during this particular era.

My mother being who she is, meant my uncle was none other than the poor schmuck Jon Arryn, who had to rule 7 kingdoms that wanted to tear themselves apart, while the actual king drank and whored himself to an early grave.

No, that didn't make me heir the vale, since my cousin Denys and his Son came before me, as my mother was the younger twin to Aly's, poor Elbert got burned alive by King Scab, which surprised me since you'd think his advisors would have enough sense to advise him not to kill the then Heir to the Vale. There was still the question about Harrold, though it was likely my claim would be considered stronger than his due to my bloodline having far more prestige which meant a lot to the nobility.

The rebellion had essentially already been kickstarted, thank's to Lyanna's folly and Rhaeger's prophecy-addled mind, protecting Eddard and Robert played a key role in Jon's decision, but most people seemed to ignore the fact that my cousin also got killed.

Last I checked everything was going smoothly though what was troubling was the fact that both Lysa and Catelyn remained unwed. What both my network and the shadow wardens could find, basically showed that Brynden 'the blackfish' had convinced his brother against immediately marrying his girls off, instead going with a betrothal.

This was in case things go tits up and Catelyn could serve as Edmure's regent and prevent someone like walder frey from getting to power. This meant there would either be no Robb or he would be younger, I was still hoping there was some timeline bullshit in play that will fix it by making him Sansa's twin since a lot of my current plans relied heavily on the War of 5 Kings still kicking off.

Stannis was another interesting change because apparently, he married Lady Jeyne Swann, daughter of Lord Gulian. The Mannis got some rizz, since not only was he less broody but far more charismatic considering he charmed and wed the older Lady Swann. Not having the shadow of his brother over him, did him good, as he played a key role in stopping her would've abduction from the Kingswood Brotherhood.

Thankfully Mace was still an oaf, and the reach was still sitting on their asses. Poor Randyll and Paxter had to reign in the fat flower, as unlike in the prime timeline Stannis was better prepared since Storm's End was better supplied and garrisoned than expected. The onion knight still made his debut, though he kept his joints with the Young Stag being more grateful due to his wife being pregnant.

The north remained largely the same, excluding the lack of marriage for Eddard's hand, giving them more time to prepare and head south, as there was no delay in his return to the north. Though there were some mutterings about Bolton treachery, which was frankly the norm.

Uncle Jon had sent a letter at the beginning requesting my aid should the Sistermen get any ideas, which wasn't all shocking. The rulers of the three sisters had never been all that loyal to the Arryn's and were a primary reason for much of the conflicts that occurred with the north outside of the obvious andal vs first men issues.

Dorne, well they didn't have much of a choice, either they complied and joined up with the Targaryen's or they lost their princess and her kids to being cooked to the fire. Though they sure took their time when preparing.

Far more troubling news was that while Rhaella was pregnant, like in the prime timeline she was sent to the Dragonstone. Viserys did not follow which worried me, for one he'd likely be more influenced by the mad king and I wasn't sure if he'd ever be sent to Dragonstone.

For this reason, several of my shadow wardens made up a part of Elia's household, prepared to step in should things get dicey, if young Griff was an actual Blackfyre, I wanted to make sure I had the real Aegon safe, to counter that bullshit. I was hoping to have one of my kids marry him, which would secure my descendant's future positions as rulers of the Riverlands.

As of now, my forces were presently about 21,000 strong, divided into 7 banners, each made up of 3,000 well-trained and bloodied men. My fleet had been drastically sized up to about 150 ships, thanks to the devastating blow dealt to blasted pirates that had been harassing our shores. A joint operation between my fleet and the Braavosi fleet managed to round up the pirates and shatter them, with the recoverable ships being divided between House Mudd and Braavos to be refitted and joined.

As I sat within my solar, contemplating the events that had been happening these past few years, I couldn't help but shake my head at the changes that were made. I knew that there was barely any hope that my plans would remain unchanged, there were far too many variables that had been altered or simply destroyed.

Wanting to move my thoughts, I laid my eyes upon a beautiful blade that stood proudly on a pedestal.

Ardent, the ancestral sword of House Mudd, a sabre, forged from the ore left behind a falling star, and one of the primary reasons I preferred to wield one-handed swords. Forged only a century before the second golden era, many in my house saw this sword as a sign of changing fortunes and they were right.

Next to it on another pedestal lay a gorgeous circlet, engraved with various moments of House Mudd's history, from our time as kings, merchant princes, generals, dragonslayers, and even lovers. This circlet was made from the same meteorite as Ardent, although it has never been worn by any of the Mudds as a reminder of our past, there is hope that it will eventually be placed upon a Mudd's head.

A crown fit for a king, my uncle used to say, yet House Mudd had no king, not yet anyways.

As I pondered the circlet and the sabre, a knock could be heard from the door, before I could answer it, I felt a ringing sound, a clear ring could be felt within my head, a clear sign one of my imprints had witnessed something significant, as I bare witness to its message and panic set in, all I could think was…

'Well shit, there goes any hope of maintaining the timeline…'