Beginning

Flags flapped in the whistling wind.

Men stood firm, breathing evenly as they stood side by side to one another. Rows upon rows, thousands upon thousands of men each standing side by side as they stared ahead of them.

And each of them listened to the clinking of metal and sound of armoured footsteps in the distance.

Atop the hill stationed behind the thousands of men laid out in formation beneath him, Robb stood at his command base, surrounded by his personal guards and others as he looked into the distance. And there, he saw the flag with a golden lion upon a red background. Then as the flag rose higher and higher into the air, men clad in gold and red armour were seen marching up the Kingsroad.

'So, you're finally here, Tywin.' Robb thought, clenching his fist around the handle of his blade. 'Good, let us get this over with.'

"What are your orders, your grace?" Ser Garlan asked.

Robb looked down at the formation of his army in thought. His formation, for now, was simple, he didn't know what formation his enemy would arrive in nor did he have a feel for Tywin's tactics. They hadn't engaged in battle at all and while he had predicted that Tywin would abandon Harrenhall and move south to liberate Kings Landing.

But that was entirely different.

This would be the first battle between him, and Tywin and he needed to be careful. So, he had positioned his army in a traditional formation that was standard for many armies. His force consisted of near thirty thousand men.

He had five hundred men, each mounted on horses kindly gifted by the various houses of the Crownlands stationed at his base as reserves. His eight thousand strong cavalry was split in two, half under the command of Ser Brynden Blackfish on the left side of the hill, the remainder on the right under the command of Lord Marq Piper.

His infantry numbered fifteen thousand in total.

Six thousand were stationed under the command of Lord Rickard Karstark in the centre. Behind them, two thousand archers were stationed under the command of Lady Maege Mormont.

To the right, five thousand infantrymen were station under the command of Lord Gregor Forrester with one thousand archers under the command of Lord Galbart Glover.

To the left, four thousand men under the command of Lord Tytos Blackwood with Wylis Manderly having three thousand archers under his command.

And as Tywin and his army marched forwards, Robb remained calm.

"Your grace?" Ser Garlan asked once more.

"Remain calm, Garlan," Robb replied. "Let Tywin come to us. We're in no rush to fight him, it's he who will have to make the first move. He'll run out of food long before we will, if he chooses to wait then that is his decision. He will be forced to make the first move and we will be ready. Send a message to all commanders, do not engage unless given the command."

Hesitant, Garlan bowed his head.

'Now, what will you do, Lannister?' Robb wondered.

-X- Line Break -X-

"The Young Wolf has already prepared for us." Lord Roland Crakehall noted as the Lannister army came to a halt upon the fields. They had expected this of course and after coming within a few miles of the Antlers had shifted into battle formations and marched all the way here in formation just preparing for them. "I suggest we wait, my lord."

"I agree, my lord." Lord Myatt spoke up. "We don't know what traps the Young Wolf has prepared for us. It would be best to check for traps just in case."

Tywin was silent momentarily, staring across the field towards the Stark army, almost as if looking directly at Robb Stark. "Send in the vanguard." He eventually answered, shocking his fellow commanders.

"W-what, but my lord?" Lord Yarwyck muttered.

Even as his lords scrambled to understand what was happening and why Tywin had given such a command. The soldiers of his command base raised a flag into the air and a thousand strong vanguard broke off from the centre force, moving forwards towards the enemy army.

"Lord Tywin, please reconsider this course of action." Lord Myatt begged. "The Young Wolf will have surely prepared traps, if we're not careful we could lose vast swaths of our army before the main battle even begins."

"The vanguard is comprised mostly of Smallfolk. Over a third of our army is comprised of them. They are expendable." Tywin callously spoke.

And he said no more.

As soon as he silently watched the vanguard charge, they too went silent, unsure of what else to say and too afraid to say it.

-X- Line Break -X-

"What is Lord Karstark doing?!" Ser Brienne asked from his side, but Robb didn't answer, continuing to watch the two thousand men led by Lord Slate intercept the one thousand strong vanguard of the Lannisters.

He could understand why sending two thousand men to deal with one thousand was not the smartest decision in most cases. But the person leading the Lannister vanguard was the Mountain That Rides. That man had proved in the Battle of Stony Septs that his presence alone could inspire men, either out of fear or awe to fight harder. Sending two thousand men was a safe decision and one Robb Stark wholeheartedly agreed with.

"I want the flanks moving forwards. I want a rider dispatched to Lord Karstark informing him that the centre is to remain where it is." Robb ordered firmly, never tearing his gaze away from the Lannister army. Even as the vanguard forces clashed in the centre of the field between their two armies and the two flanks of his army moved forwards, he never once took his gaze off them.

And just like he expected, the Lannisters flanked marched forwards in response to his own.

Seeing this, Robb allowed a smirk to come across his face. 'That's it, Old Lion. Roar to the world like all lions do and walk into the wolfs den.'