29 Field of fire

Field of fire

Theon POV

The rain of arrows and rocks from trebuchets continued to fall on us. One tower was already destroyed, and it would be only a matter of time till other towers fell too. Still, I could only concentrate on the three siege towers getting closer to our walls.

"Notch, draw, loose," It was the ninth time I yelled the order. "Burn these towers."

Somehow, maybe because the wind was on our side this time, scores and scores of fire arrows hit the towers. The fire from the arrows spread through the wooden structures, and the siege towers became big bonfires. Yet I still couldn't let my guard down, as the rocks still fell upon us, and while we were concentrating on the towers, the Lannister men were putting ladders to our walls.

"Thoros," I yelled. "Bring Kevan Lannister and his children out."

"What are you going to do?"

"Tie them to the towers on the wall. Let's see how they will try to hit us with their rocks then."

It was cruel, but I started to hate trebuchets the most. We had plenty of knights to defend and push back the Lannister men from climbing our walls. So, finally, I brought us to a standstill once again. The Lannister were stuck, hiding behind destroyed and crumbling siege towers as everyone who tried to get close was shot down.

Soon enough, Thoros came back with Kevan Lannister and his sons. I could feel hatred towards me from Tywin when he saw them tied to the towers he tried to bring down. The rain of rocks stopped, and my men again filled the towers on the wall.

I didn't stop shooting down the Lannister men, even if they didn't rush at us anymore, but hid. I don't know how many I killed and how many arrows I fired, but as the sun was setting, my hand was bleeding, and I could hear the creaking of my bow. Seeing my bloody hand, Jalabhar stopped me and changed my torn gloves with new ones.

Hundreds if not thousands of bodies lay on the ground outside our walls. The Lannister men have probably lost a lot of morale today. They were close, yet the closer they got, the faster they died.

"We won," Men cried out on the walls as the sun set over the horizon.

I didn't celebrate with them, for I didn't believe that Tywin would give up. No, he sacrificed too much today. No one knew when a day with a thick fog and wind blowing at us would come again. He had to take Golden Tooth or retreat. It would hit his reputation hard if he had to run away from us. Losing to the couple of hundred men would put Tywin's leadership in question.

"Anguy, Jalabhar," I called out to my friends. "Both of you take fifty men and keep watch on the walls."

"You fear a night attack?"

"Yes, with so many covers, there is no way Tywin won't use them. He will start another attack once the darkness falls."

"The men are tired. I don't think many will be able to fight the whole night," Lord Blackwood said.

"Then they better rest while they can," I told him. "Prepare more barrels."

"We used all the empty ones already," Lord Darry informed me.

"Then start emptying others."

"They are filled with grain, wine, and other substances."

"It doesn't matter. Spill them out. We must worry about how to survive the night, not what we eat and drink tomorrow," I dismissed their arguments. "Fill the barrels with oil, not fully, but enough that when they roll, they will leave a trail on the ground."

With my orders said, the men dispersed. Some started to rest while others worked to prepare for another attack. I, meanwhile, bandaged my hand and took a new longbow and quivers of arrows. I put the arrows on the ground next to me and lighted torches along the wall.

It didn't take long for the sun to set fully, and darkness fell quickly too. Clouds covered the moon and stars, and with each moment, it became harder and harder to see beyond the walls. Tywin will use this darkness to launch an attack. He is mistaken if he thinks he can surprise me and catch me unprepared.

"The barrels with oil are prepared," Thoros informed me.

"Once you hear them moving to us, drop the barrels."

"Will it stop them?"

"There are hundreds of bodies on the ground," I said. "And look at the ladders dropped by them. With the help of oil, they will burn."

"Oh," Thoros understood what I meant to do.

"Theon, we can't see anything," Anguy said.

"Then try to hear. Shoot some fire arrows. Maybe it will show you something."

"And if there is nothing, we will be wasting arrows."

"We have more arrows than we would ever need. Use what we have. Waste everything we have. We cannot let the Lannister take the castle from us."

Anguy left to do as I said. I tried to watch the dark field before me, but there was nothing for me to see. I could only hear the fire burning from the torches. It would be nice if the Lannisters went to sleep and prepared to fight another day, but I knew that wasn't true. They put too much effort into today to give up.

"Jalabhar," I called to my first friend. "I will take a quick nap. Watch over me."

I didn't wait for his answer, as I dropped to the ground and closed my eyes. When I opened them again, I was lying on the tree branch, not on the walls. Looking around me, I soon found the camp of Lannister men. Quickly I climbed off the tree, I went to the camp. I found it was mostly empty.

Not wasting time, I ran towards Golden Tooth. My tiny legs ran fast until I arrived at the bottom of the hill, where Golden Tooth stood. It was dark, and only a few torches lit them, but it was enough to see them. Thousands of men were standing and waiting for something. Curious, I passed them, and not long after, I saw what their plan was.

Men in dark cloaks crawled on the ground with ladders on their backs. Smart, slowly without a sound, they moved up the hill. We would not see them until they were at our walls. I have to give some credit to Tywin. He was no fool and knew some trickery. Too bad he had to fight against me.

I ran through the men trying to crawl towards the castle and arrived at their first line. They had already come to the middle of the hill. I could only imagine what they felt when they had to crawl over their comrades' dead bodies riddled with arrows. Well, they will have to suffer more.

I closed my eyes and was on the wall when I opened them. Standing up, I took my bow and then an arrow. It would take at least twenty minutes for them to reach the walls, So I decided to wait ten minutes for them to get closer.

"You already up? You didn't sleep for more than five minutes," Jalabhar commented.

"I was only resting my eyes," I said. "Wake everyone asleep and tell everyone else to prepare."

"Prepare for what?"

"For a show."

Jalabhar looked weirdly at me, and I laughed, finding something funny. After what I will do next, I knew my name would be cursed for generations, and there won't be a Theon in the Westerlands for thousands of years. Yet somehow, that thought made me laugh.

"I think we've been in this castle too long, my friend. With each day, you become madder."

Maybe he was right, and perhaps we stayed there for too long. Where has my dream of exploration gone, I wonder. It was not the time to think about it, so I put the thought aside. When everyone gathered to the walls, I looked for Thoros.

"Thoros, did you prepare the barrels?"

"They are prepared. They are carried there as we speak."

"Good, make some holes into the barrels, so the oil would leak out as they roll," I ordered. "Tell me, Thoros, how many battles have we fought so far?"

"The first would be against the Kingslayer, then against the Mountain, the third would be you taking this castle, and forth would be defending it against Kevan Lannister. It is the fifth battle we fight now."

"We fought together for a long time," I commented and walked closer to the edge of the wall.

It didn't take a long time for everything to be prepared. I looked down to the ground under the walls. The ten minutes I gave myself were over, and it was time for the world to know my name. I wonder how many families will curse it.

"You, crawling on the ground, over your friends' dead bodies. You think I can't see you, I see everything, and you can't hide from me," I yelled with all my strength so that everyone would hear me. "Come at me, like knights you should be. Come and avenge your friends that died at my arrows. Come at me and take my head if you not craven beasts."

I drew my arrow. I let it catch fire from the nearby torch and aimed. Once I shot the arrow in the sky, everyone looked at it as it descended. Everyone on the walls understood me once they heard a scream of the pain of someone as the arrow fell.

"What are you waiting for," I yelled at my men. "Notch, draw, loose."

Everyone listened to me, and hundreds of arrows soon descended upon the men beneath the walls. I did the right thing to wait for them to get closer. The Lannister men didn't retreat. They quickly stood up and ran towards the walls. Maybe they had some confidence being so close to us. I wanted to ask them when they would learn?

"Drop the barrels."

Dozens of barrels fell onto the men, knocking them back. Screams of agony could once again be heard. Those who will survive will never be able to sleep without nightmares haunting them. I didn't feel bad about it. This is how this world worked.

"Notch fire arrows," I yelled, and everyone did as I said. "Draw, aim at those closest to the wall. Loose."

Fire descended on the poor men who thought they could beat me. This time it was not over when the arrows hit them and the ground around them. The oil that had spread all around lit up. The fire consumed everything and everyone. It didn't leave anything untouched. The second field of fire descended on the Lannister men.

"Why are you running?" I yelled, even if I didn't know if my voice could be heard over the screaming. "Don't you want me, come and take me. I am right there. Don't you want me dead? Are you afraid?" I asked, laughing loudly. "It seems that the Kraken is a mightier beast than a lion even on the land."

The fire spread quickly, burning dead bodies. The fire lit the dark night, and everything beyond the wall was burning. The field turned into fire, and those who weren't consumed by it tried to run from it.