118 Order within Chaos
Driving his horse forwards, Aegon swung his blade around, cutting through the thin armour of an Unsullied whose back was turned to him. Following closely behind, a small section of what remained of his cavalry began to move also. Never once stopping their momentum or giving time for them to be surrounded, if they did, regaining such momentum would be impossible.
Even as spears were thrust towards him, he desperately parried them to one side, leaning back and almost unhorsing himself in an attempt to avoid them. Aegon couldn't allow himself or his men to stop moving forwards because that would mean failure.
For his plan to work, he could not stop, nor provide a concise location that his enemies could know about. It had to be kept secret, hidden and lost within the madness and chaos of the battlefield right until the very last moment. At which point, it would be too late to stop him. That was the only way to gain victory this day, but there were still many steps to be taken before such an event could come to pass.
Many things he still needed to do in order to succeed.
"Your Grace, the Stark vanguard is closing in on our flank." Harry Strickland warned, Aegon smiling. He never once turned to look, constantly keeping his gaze forwards, sword in constant motion whether that to be cut down his foes or to block their strikes.
'So he's finally making a move?' He thought to himself. 'Good, now it's time to begin.'
He knew that he was outnumbered, had known the moment he gave the order for his soldiers to depart from Kings Landing and launched an invasion upon the Riverlands. Aegon had known there was a possibility that someday, he would have to face the large force that had been marching for Kings Landing. It was something he knew was a certainty when he failed to secure Margaery Tyrell and the Stark heir growing inside of her.
That is why he had prepared many ways to possibly try and combat such a large force. Doing so had not been easy and many he knew would be impossible to pull off and were not viable in any way.
It was the lack of tactics he had available to him, especially with Dragons against him, that Aegon had hoped to avoid a head-on conflict entirely. Using speed and manoeuvrability to lead Daenerys and Robb into conflict with one another. To learn the weaknesses of the victor from their clash against the fallen foe.
Yet that plan had failed, now he was facing off against the two, his army fully committed to the large scale conflict that saw all attempts at formation and organisation, impossible. However, Robb Stark had provided him with everything he needed to make that change.
"Ser Harry, Ser Jon, break off and make your way towards the entry point of the Stark vanguard. One of you south and one north of it, rally men to your side and form a rock that cannot be dislodged." The two men didn't hesitate, not in the middle of such a conflict. A moment of hesitation could lose them the only chance they had at changing the tide of the battle.
Even if they had questions, they could wait afterwards.
Right now, it was do or die.
"Raise a flag, give the signal to Oberyn to form a rallying point at his location." He ordered, gripping the reigns of his horse anxiously as he looked to see the Dragons circling overhead. Right now they didn't know where he was, but that was fine, for this to work, giving away his location needed to be done.
Not exactly what he had planned initially, but this was the deciding factor of the battle and he would seize it.
As Aegon continued to ride throughout the battlefield, at three separate points, members of the Dornish army and the Golden Company began to converge, just as the Stark Vanguard struck the side. They carried on through, the momentum allowing Daenerys soldiers to regain some semblance and follow them.
It was as this was happening, that Aegon began to seize the moment. "Raise the banners, let them know our location." Aegon's words sent a ripple across those who heard it, unsure of whether he was being serious or not. Yet Aegon never turned back, continuing to urge his steed on farther and faster, muscles tensing as he swung his horse around with great speed.
He was serious and they realised it instantly.
Yet he never once looked back at them.
As the Stark vanguard pushed in, gathering more soldiers to rally behind it, directly in front of them, a Targaryen banner was raised.
-X- Line Break -X-
"Ser, a Targaryen banner has been raised!" An aide shouted out urgently, Ser Barristan quickly scouring the battlefield for such a sight. It was not easy and he almost missed it, yet after a few moments it was almost impossible to ignore its existence.
The battlefield, once chaotic and impossible to tell foe from ally began to shift and change. It was almost like looking upon water as it flowed around rocks, three separate points, standing firm and directing the flow of soldiers around it. Rallying points that acted as sturdy rocks, any attempt to break them apart fell apart as a wave of soldiers carried them along.
A wave led by Aegon Targaryen, the dragon banner flowing behind him. His cavalry charge cut a path throughout the battlefield, arcing around in circles. Behind him, both allies and soldiers followed, Dornish and Golden Company joining his charge as Stark and Targaryen soldiers gave chase.
All the while those not caught in the wave formed separate ones of their own.
There was a structure here, formation, yet it was equally as chaotic. But this was not something that just happened to form because of luck, no Ser Barristan could tell instantly that this was by design. The fixed rallying points served as barriers that stopped any attempts to disrupt the Targaryen charge. All the while, Aegon led a rush that created a rippling wave throughout the battlefield.
In a single instance, nearly forty thousand men went from being caught in an uncontrollable, chaotic clash to dancing to the tune of Aegon Targaryen. 'How?' Ser Barristan wondered in bewilderment, barely able to understand how things had so suddenly turned against them.
What was once an equal clash was beginning to turn into a one-sided slaughter.
From the beginning, Ser Barristan had known he was outmatched in comparison to Robb Stark. But he had thought that perhaps, he held a chance at defeating Aegon Targaryen through the difference in their experience.
Yet in this single instance, everything had changed.
Ser Barristan realised at that moment that he was simply a spectator in this battle. Someone only to watch the show unfold, unable to change a thing. Tens of thousands of men were giving their lives, yet the only one who mattered was the young commander that was controlling it. And now, the only one who stood a chance was the young man who had proven himself time and time again.
This was no longer a clash between tens of thousands of men.
But a clash between a Black Dragon and Grey Direwolf, everything else was secondary.
