Beyond the walls

Beyond the walls

Theon POV

To say that the Mountain was furious would be an understatement of a century. I could feel his bloodthirst from inside the walls of the castle. I could already imagine how the Mountain felt when he saw his camp burning. At least it forced him to retreat for today.

"Do you think we will get reinforcements soon?" Ser Willis asked.

"I wouldn't get my hopes up," I replied.

"I have to wonder what is happening beyond these walls," Thoros commented. "How could a couple of thousand men do whatever they wanted in foreign lands?"

"We not far away from crownlands," Anguy said. "It is common in marches to send a group of people ahead to flank your enemies. At least, that is what I heard."

"Don't overthink it," I told them. "It is simple. The Riverlands are facing Lord Tywin. Lord Tywin sent this group to rescue his son and capture the Harrenhal. He believes that the kingslayer will lead a second army from Crownlands to capture Riverrun."

"That supposed to be simple?" Jalabhar asked. "A second army from Crownlands? Where are they?"

"We are not the only enemies of the Lannisters," I answered.

"Still, why do you sound like it should be common knowledge?" Jalabhar asked.

"It isn't?" Everyone looked like I was some weirdo. "Common guys, think. It is just logical thinking."

"Well, you are the only lord there," Thoros joked. "Our apologies for not being well educated, my lord."

"If you stopped drinking, maybe you would start thinking," I responded, taking the bottle of wine out of his hands. "The Riverlands are occupied with fighting the Westerlands. I have sent riders to see if any lords haven't joined the fight or have left some men behind. If gods are good, we might get reinforcements soon."

"And if gods aren't good?" Ser Willis asked.

"Then we will need to depend on ourselves. Don't lose hope. If Lannisters had won, they would be coming there, and the Mountain wouldn't need to rush anywhere and would just wait for his lord."

"But you just said we shouldn't get our hopes up," Anguy complained.

"Did I?" I asked. "Common Anguy, it was a long time ago. Keep up with the times. Now let's go. We need to prepare for tomorrow."

"Argh, I don't understand you," Anguy grumbled. "Is every lord so unreasonable?"

Not wanting to argue with him, I left first. It was true that it would be great to know the situation beyond these walls. Good thing we have someone who should know.

…

The dungeons were dark and damp. It was pretty chilly there too, and sometimes a breeze would come from nowhere and set the hair on my arms straight up. I would go mad staying there for even a couple of days.

"Well, look at you, lord Brax," I greeted the prisoner by banging the gates of his cell. "The mighty lord of the Westerlands, coming to save his lord's son. Look how close you are. The Kingslayer should be there somewhere."

"You damn bastard. You lied to me. You tricked me," Lord Brax breathed heavily in anger.

"Oh, I am so sorry," I laughed at his misery. "What are you, a child? Stop crying and grow up. Do you think I don't know why Tywin sent the Mountain there? There is only one reason he would send his most ferocious dog. Killing children and women is what the Mountain came there for. Have you no honor, lord Brax?"

"Honor? Honor? How dare you speak to me like this, you dammed…." He didn't finish his angry shout as he started to cough.

"Don't overdo yourself, Lord Brax," I said in the kindest tone. "Well, it isn't like I care if you die or not."

"What do you want?" He asked after calming down.

"Oh, I just wanted to make fun of you. You probably won't believe me, but there is no jester in the castle. I know, I know. How could there not be one? Everyone has one. It is so dull. Killing you wersterlanders has become quite boring. You die just so quickly."

"Laugh, boy, while you can."

"What do you mean, while I can? It is not like there will be anyone who will stop me."

"You a fool, boy. The Riverlands are already defeated. Edmure Tully is captured," Lord Brax laughed this time.

"And yet it was only you and the Mountain who came?" I asked. "Does Tywin value something more than his son? Or maybe it is because he has to face the North now?"

"Robb Stark is stuck at the Twins. Lord Tywin will crush him," Lord Brax said proudly.

"Stuck at the Twins, you say? Hahahahahah."

"What are you laughing about now, boy," Lord Brax looked at me like I had gone mad.

"Oh, nothing, just how you are screwed."

"What? What do you mean?"

"Soon, you will find out. Now, rest. While you can."

I left afterward, stuck at the Twins, eh. Robb might be young, but he isn't a fool. He knows how vital the Riverlands are in this war. No, Robb isn't stuck at the Twins. He wants everyone to think that he is. He wouldn't be wasting this time on pointless endeavors.

The war started unexpectedly. Neither Tywin nor Edmure could have amassed many men in this short time. Edmure probably had more men as this was their homeland. That is why he would face Tywin straight away.

Even though he might have lost, Tywin Should have lost many of his men too. Otherwise, he would have sent more men to take down Harrenhal. Not just for his son but because it had an excellent value as a strategic position. He knows that Riverrun won't fall fast enough, so why would he concentrate on it?

In the end, Tywin isn't in a good position. He doesn't have enough men, and other lords probably are holding him down. Even if he has Edmure as his captive, everyone knows that the Kingslayer is captured too. So, he won't dare to do anything to Edmure.

The information wasn't enough to know what was going on clearly, but if Tywin underestimates Robb, he will be defeated. Robb had found another way to reach Tywin or gather more men within the Riverlands. I could be wrong, and I might have too much faith in Robb. Still, I felt that this faith wasn't misplaced.

I should get more information later. It was so easy to rile up the man. Were all the Westerland's lords so proud? Probably, thinking they are better because their lands are more prosperous. Or was it because their lord had immense political power? In the end, it doesn't matter. No gold or power will save them when they bleed to my feet. When the illusion of power breaks, they will only beg for mercy.

…

I was on the walls when I saw the movement of the enemy. The sun hasn't risen fully. They are desperate, or maybe angry, maybe frustrated. Well, it didn't matter, they were coming, and I felt that today would be a long day. I rang the bell, waking everyone up and preparing for the battle.

"What are your orders, my lord?" Ser Willis came to me first.

"Everyone needs to be on the walls. The enemy is coming in full force," I told him. "Order women and children to prepare arrows and oil jars."

"There is no oil left," Ser Willis told me.

"What?"

"You used it all yesterday."

"Shit, and I threw it around like it was water. Tell them to boil water. We will need everything we got to survive today."

"As you wish."

"If the Mountain breaks in, I want you to kill the Kingslayer. I won't let them have a victory so easily."

"Very well," Ser Willis sighed and left.

I had won a couple of days of rest. The Mountain took those days to rebuild his camp and prepare for another battle. His men might have lost some morale, but the fear of the Mountain will not let them give up. And today was such a nice day too.

…

The day was long indeed. In a couple of hours, the Mountain's men were at the walls. Before long, they were on the walls. My arrows ran out fast. No matter how many I shot down, there was always someone to take their place.

"Lord Theon, the battering ram is at the gates."

One of the guardsmen informed. Looking at the gates, I saw it too. It was already hitting the gates. I had no idea how long it would take to break the gates, but I knew I had to stop it somehow.

"Lord Theon, a siege tower is coming our way."

Another guardsman informed me. I turned and immediately saw a siege tower rolling towards us. We are fucked. I had not thought that they could build siege engines so quickly. I guess they did not waste the time I won for ourselves. At least they didn't build trebuchets. Or all would be over for us.

"Fire arrows, shoot fire arrows at the siege tower," I yelled. "Pour the boiling water on the battering ram, and shoot the men down."

I didn't have time to take them down, even if I knew how to do it. There were men still climbing the ladders that I had to kill. They should have one and a half thousand men at most, but from my point of view, there was no end to them.

…

The sun was at its peak when I sustained my first serious injury. Someone managed to cut me deeply in the shoulder. Letting out an angry roar, I cut him down with my bastard sword. Blood ran to my left hand. It was hard to lift my sword. Even if I didn't feel much pain or tiredness, there was only so much my body could take.

I felt a burning sensation, clutching my left hand at the blade of my sword to block another attack from one of the Mountain's men. The blood flowing through my sword ignited. The flame scared everyone near me. Using this moment, I pushed the Lannister men off the wall and roused the guardsmen to their feet.

I didn't know how long I had fought, but I could still feel the sun scorching me. The walls still belonged to us. The siege tower had not arrived before it burned to ash. Still, the enemies didn't stop climbing, but I could see that our forces were getting smaller and smaller.

"The gates, the gates are broken," Someone yelled out.

"Defend the walls," I yelled and pushed past everyone.

I didn't bother climbing down the wall to the gates. I grabbed a ladder by the wall and pushed it to the battering ram with myself on it. It was a mistake, but it somehow worked when I landed on a group of men—almost crushing them. Swinging my flaming sword, they backed away from me. It bought some crucial moments for Ser Willis to get to the gates.

"Defend the gates."

Ser Willis' voice was hard and tired. I soon joined him in blocking the gates. It was a fight of desperation. We knew it was over. Still, none of us gave up. The men held their shields and swung their swords. Soon my red and orange flaming sword joined another green-tinted fire sword.

The men were too scared to get near the fire. But I could only hold my sword with my right hand. I couldn't lift my left arm anymore. When I ordered Ser Willis to retreat to the castle, I saw the black shadow riding towards us, pushing everyone else out of his way.

I pushed Thoros back and held my sword to protect myself with everything I got as a massive sword hit me. The hit broke my sword and threw me a few meters back. I rolled on the ground for a few moments before getting up. I quickly realized I couldn't get up. I could see through the red blood flowing over my eyes, a setting sun. It was a long day.

The Mountain came, and everyone fell to him. It wasn't long before he rode to me. Ser Willis came to my rescue, cutting down the Mountain's horse. With little time he bought, I tried to crawl away. But after a few meters, I gave up.

The Mountain was on his feet and fighting Ser Willis. Ser Willis stood his ground better than most, but it wasn't long before he was cut down. After ser Willis fell to the ground, the Mountain walked toward me. It felt like he alone was an army. Standing before me, he blocked the sun. Lifting his sword, he was ready to finish me.

A fire sword pierced through the Mountain's shoulder, and he dropped his sword next to me, almost crushing me. Thoros tried to fight the Mountain but was thrown away by him. And once again, he turned to me. He was pretty angry at me, I would say.

He took me by my throat and lifted me in the air. I felt as if my throat was getting crushed. Still, I showed no pain and smiled at him. The fool, he thinks he can kill me so easily. Taking my Valyrian knife, I thrust it at the visor of his helm. With a painful scream, he dropped me to the ground.

I could only hope that at least I took an eye from the bastard. I couldn't stop laughing, even when I knew how fucked up I was. There will be songs about how a Greyjoy took an eye off the Mountain. The Mountain ripped the knife off this helm and threw it. I laughed, even more when I saw an eyeball at the blade's tip.

The Mountain was furious at my laughter as he charged at me. But he had to stop when we both heard a horn blowing. I couldn't see what was happening, but the Mountain's men were retreating. The Mountain turned back at me and was about to come toward me again when Thoros stood in front of me. With an angry snarl, the Mountain turned around and fled too.

"Do I need to revive you once again, Theon?" Thoros laughed weakly as he fell next to me.

"What going on?" I asked. I couldn't even turn my head to see what was happening.

"We won," Thoros laughed until he started to cough. "A white sun in the black has saved us."

"A white sun? Are you drunk, Thoros?"

"Is a black banner of the white sun," Thoros explained with heavy breathing. "Damn you, Theon. You owe me a barrel of wine for taking a hit from the mountain."

A white sun? Karstark? I didn't have the strength to think of anything else. It seems that the gods were on my side this time.