3 Chapter 3

In this world, offering mercy was viewed as a weakness. Instead, the suspect had to voluntarily surrender, or his life was forfeit.

Overtime, Gregor formed his own platoon of men-at-arms. Some of them, he easily recognized. Polliver. Dunsen. Rafford the Sweetling. Eggon. Tobbot. Chiswyck. Even Shitmouth and the Tickler were among them.

Most of them lived in the towns adjoining Clegane's Keep. The majority of them were natives of the Westerlands.

All of them were at least a few years older than Gregor. Yet they all looked up to him (both literally and figuratively), and they respected his authority and his orders without question.

Their biggest defect was their notable lack of intelligence. By himself, Gregor was smarter than the lot of them combined.

But interestingly, being so stupid also made them rather impressionable. It turned out that most of the Mountain's men were not actually cruel and sadistic by nature.

Almost all of them must have been that way because they had so devoutly followed the original Gregor's actions and temperament by example.

Never one to waste a resource, Gregor decided to take advantage of how dim-witted his men-at-arms were. He laid out the fundamental guidelines of his squad.

Mainly, they could be summarized in four points: no harming the innocent, no using excessive force, no showing too much leniency, and no allowing crimes to go unpunished.

To his good fortune, nearly all of his men seemed to understand and accept those rules without question. Anyone who could not comply with them was dismissed from the unit.

Normally, Gregor would have felt guilty for being so manipulative. Then he remembered what these men could have been capable of under less favorable guidance. So he quickly set his mind at ease.

Amazingly, a few of The Mountain's Men were actually capable of exhibiting compassion and empathy. Like Gregor, they could be merciless towards the guilty, but tender towards the innocent.

That gave Gregor hope that he really could instill some form of positive change in Westeros.

During his travels throughout the Westerlands, Gregor had the opportunity to become acquainted with members of many of the region's noble houses.

He actually managed to make a few friends along the way. Chiefly among them were Forley Prester, Flement Brax, Addam Marbrand, Lyle Crakehall, and Jaime Lannister himself.

The six of them became a tight circle of friends. Whenever Gregor was not with his men-at-arms, he was almost always in the company of one or more of those men.

Gregor was unable to prevent Jaime from entering the Kingsguard. As Gregor knew, the only reason Jaime ever wished to join the Kingsguard was because Lord Tywin was so certain that Mad King Aerys would choose Cersei as Rhaegar's bride.

Even after Aerys refused the betrothal, the idea of naming Jaime to the Kingsguard had not died.

This time, the Mad King planned to appoint Jaime to that position with the sole intention of depriving Tywin Lannister of his heir.

In response, Tywin had resigned his office as Hand of the King.

Gregor had his fifteenth name day in 280 A.C. That was the year before the infamous tourney at Harrenhal. It was also the year the tourney was announced.

Rhaegar Targaryen had gone to Casterly Rock to invite Lord Tywin personally. Frustrated by the upcoming loss of his heir, Tywin refused.

Jaime, however, was looking forward to go. It was at the tourney that he would be knighted and added to the Kingsguard.

Gregor had been at Casterly Rock when Rhaegar arrived. He had the pleasure of meeting the Crown Prince in person.

As a reward for all his hard work with keeping the peace in the Westerlands, Rhaegar himself knighted the Mountain, making him Ser Gregor Clegane of Clegane's Keep.

Although Lord Walter Whent was hosting the tourney at Harrenhal, Gregor knew that the tourney was actually Rhaegar's idea.

He also knew that Rhaegar was plotting to remove his insane father from power, and that the tourney was just an excuse for him to speak privately with the great lords in the realm.

What really concerned Gregor was the scandal that would result from the tourney. He doubted he would be able to prevent it, but he had to try, all the same.

Gregor was not about to invite himself to the tourney at Harrenhal. One did not request an invitation from a royal.

So this may have been his only opportunity to speak with Rhaegar. He used his time and chose his words carefully.

Basically, he advised the prince to be careful, and to consider all the possible repercussions of all his actions.

He subtly suggested to Rhaegar that he not do anything impulsive before, during, or after – especially after – the tourney.

Unlike his paranoid father, the Crown Prince was not one to ignore words of caution. He willingly listened to the Mountain's counsel.

However, Gregor's anxiety was not hard to notice. During their conversation, Rhaegar ask the younger man if there was a reason why he seemed so restless.

Gregor claimed he was merely concerned for the prince's welfare. He pointed out that anything could happen at the tourney, especially since all the great houses would be represented.

Ultimately, Rhaegar just gave Gregor his assurance that he would be mindful of his actions, and that he would do nothing hasty or irrational. Gregor saw no reason to mistrust the Crown Prince, so he took him at his word.

Alas, Rhaegar's word turned out to be insufficient.

Soon enough, the year 281 A.C. arrived. The weather of that year was erratic. At first, it appeared as though the current winter would end.

But just when the snows seemed to completely recede, the temperature dropped substantially. For that reason, it was known as the Year of the False Spring.

The tourney of Harrenhal was held, and it happened exactly as it was supposed to. Rhaegar Targaryen ended up naming Lady Lyanna Stark his Queen of Love and Beauty over his wife, Princess Elia Martell.

Everyone in the Seven Kingdoms was reveling in that bit of gossip for months after the tourney ended.

The year after the Year of the False Spring, the already fragile balance of Westeros was finally shattered by a tragic chain of events:

Lyanna Stark being supposedly abducted from Winterfell by Prince Rhaegar Targaryen and three of the Kingsguard.

Brandon Stark riding all the way to King's Landing, publicly demanding for Rhaegar's head. Brandon's arrest and subsequent murder (or execution, as some called it), along with that of his father, Lord Rickard Stark.

The Mad King demanding the heads of Eddard Stark and Robert Baratheon from their mentor, Lord Jon Arryn. Lord Arryn's refusal to comply and calling of his banners.

The country was officially at war then.

The Vale, the North, the Riverlans, and the Stormlands (save for House Connington) were all in open rebellion against the crown.

The Crownlands could only rely on support from the Reach and Dorne. The Iron Islands and the Westerlands stayed out of the fighting.

The Iron Islands' neutrality was no surprise; the Ironborn cared little for the politics of the Seven Kingdoms. The Westerlords' refusal to choose a side was a little more astonishing.

The Westerlords knew that their liege lord was merely bidding his time and waiting for the opportune mount to call his banners.

He would not do so until he could determine with absolutely certainty which side would be the victorious one.

Some may have called that a craven's tactic. Lord Tywin Lannister cared not; this course of action would ensure his peoples' survival.

So while the rest of the realm bled, the Westerlands stayed whole.

There were some houses who would have been content to join either side, but out of fear for what Lord Tywin would do to them, they stayed home.

If it had been up to him, Gregor would have sided with the rebels without question. Still, he was hoping to avoid losing favor with Lord Tywin.

Lord Tywin kept the Westerlands neutral throughout almost the entire Rebellion.

It was not until the Battle of the Trident, when Robert Baratheon killed Rhaegar Targaryen in single combat, that he finally called his own banners.

The Westerlords were quickly and deftly assembled. In his father's place, Gregor himself commanded the soldiers of House Clegane.

Including his contingent of men-at-arms, there were less than a hundred men, but each and every one of them was fierce, hardened, and loyal to the bone.

As the Westerlords began the long march to King's Landing, Gregor became increasingly worried. The most atrocious thing the original Gregor had ever done took place during the Sack of King's Landing.

Even though Gregor would never do that horrible thing now, he had no reassurance that someone else would not do it in his stead.

His own men, he could trust not to harm Princess Elia and her children. But they were less than a hundred men among twelve thousand. Their numbers were far too few to protect the royal family.

This was the first occasion where all of Gregor's planning paid off. The solution to this dilemma could be found through a means other than fighting. All he had to do was search for a certain spider.

If the spider proved to be elusive or stubborn, Gregor would just have to rely on himself to rescue Princess Elia and her children. One way or another, he was determined to get them out of that shithole of a city.