31 The Old Lion Moves

Things had not been going well for the Old Lion. As soon as he had set out with his force of near forty thousand men he had been confident. Despite being one of the wealthiest kingdoms in Westeros, the Riverlands military power was one of the weakest. However, they had very strong allies in the North and with the riches of the Riverland at their disposal Tywin knew that he would have a great deal of trouble in facing the Northern army.

Especially when one considers that the Riverlands, despite having a weak military had a number of skilled commanders, just like the North did. Compare that to his own commanders, Tywin knew he was at a disadvantage in that aspect.

So, he had marched into the Riverlands, intent on subjugating the kingdom before the North had chance to link up with them. However, his plans were foiled by the two biggest threats in the Riverlands, Lord Tytos Blackwood a master of defensive warfare and Lord Jason Mallister, arguably one of the few truly great military commanders in Westeros.

They despite having only two thousand men in total, managed to keep his son occupied long enough for the Northern army to arrive at the Twins. Then came the biggest threat in the war, the Young Wolf.

The boy had outsmarted and outmanoeuvred him at every turn. His son captured and the host destroyed, Tywin had attempted to halt the boys progress by settling himself at Harrenhall, only for that plan to backfire. While most of the boys forces were stationed along the Ford, ensuring that no matter where Tywin attacked, he'd be soon surrounded and killed unless he went south and that meant sacrificing the advantageous position he had here at Harrenhall.

All the while the boy marched west, wiping out the host Tywin had hoped would twist the tide of the war back in his favour before launching an invasion into the Westerlands. Already having conquered the castles of Golden Tooth, Ashemark and Hornvale while laying siege to Sarsfield and the Crag.

At the same time, Lord Mallister had marched retaking the Riverlands and uniting them under the new King in the North and Trident.

The Greyjoy Invasion had been something Tywin had once again, hoped would at least weaken the unstoppable force that was Robb Stark, only for it to slow the boy down only temporarily. Somehow there had been enough forces left in the North to hold off the Ironborn and now Jason Mallister was marching to give aid.

Thinks we're not looking good.

And what made it worse was the fact that Robb was not the only participant in this war that were enemies of House Lannister. That threat, Stannis Baratheon was now marching on Kings Landing with a force of thirty thousand strong.

This put Tywin in a very difficult situation, that was something he and all the lords gathered in the war room at Harrenhall knew. Each of them looking to Tywin Lannister for orders as a young servant boy moved around refilling the empty cups on the table.

'If I march south, the Stark boy will be able to redeploy his troops putting us at a greater disadvantage. But if I do not, then Kings Landing will surely fall.' This was the crux of the matter; Tywin was stuck deciding to either abandon or potentially lose the war against the Young Wolf. Or lose Kings Landing and everything he had worked so hard for to Stannis.

At the end of the day, despite his hesitation, Tywin could only make one choice.

The legacy of House Lannister was worth more than anything.

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'So, you've been driven to this point of desperation. Looks like the King was right.' Brynden thought with a grim smile on his face, months of waiting had finally bore fruit and now they could finally start bringing this war to its final stages.

"Have the centre collapse in." He ordered and the battlefield before him shifted. The centre of the one-thousand-man front line slowly started shifting backwards giving ground to the one thousand Lannister detachment force that had struck them nought an hour ago. It was a small force and Brynden had been wary to commit more than an equal number to the engagement in case it turned out to be a trap.

However, it seemed the additional five thousand men he had in reserve were not necessary.

As his centre moved back, the flanks remained firm and it started to take the shape almost similar to a bow. The enemy infantry also pushed in further as a result, funnelling themselves into the perfect position for Brynden's archers to aim upon.

"Loose!" Hundreds of arrows fell down upon the exposed Lannister forces and no doubt a few dozen of his own. But to Brynden they were acceptable losses in the grand scheme of things.

It took another four volleys before the Lannister force was routed, soldiers rushing out and being cut down on the way as they did. By the end of it, the once one thousand strong army had been reduced to barely three hundred men.

"Send riders to Lord Bracken and Blackwood, tell them to move towards Harrenhall." With that, Brynden started giving out additional orders to have his reserve force of five thousand men to move out.

This attack had been nothing more than a feint, a diversion to keep him occupied while the Old Lion made his move. No doubt south, to aid Kings Landing from the impending siege to come. And with it, Robb's plan would finally reach its ending cycle.