Torrehn Pov
Toady started just like any other day, wake up, break My fast, see to my lady wife and Children Needs, Deal with smallfolk problems, see to the Lords' Taxes, though there might be the Odd reports of Wildlings or Ironborn attacks, Damn Harren and His House to all the Hells in the world, if I Had it in my hands I would end the thieving IronCunts to the last Man woman and Child and Be done with their Evils, but it wasn't Just The Ironborn and their Newly subdued Lords in the Riverlands to the south, Oh No, it was also the Fucking Valemen Raids on the south Through The Sisters, I don't Know why my ancestors haven't Done Shit about the cesspool of Piracy and Evil, I also have to Deal with my Bannermen acting like children, Spoilet Ones at that, as if they aren't Northerners but Damn Flowers From The Reach and that Grated on my Nerves the Most!
Pov End
As Torrehn finished His work in the Solar he went to get Some Air in the Godswood and to clear his Head, As he was about to sit down on the Rock by the pond closest to the Heart tree a Raven descended upon him and Not only that but it held a message to it's Leg and then it proceeded to offer him the letter, he Quizzically Took the letter and read, The more He read the Deeper he Scowled till his face had an utterly furious Look, Five Minutes later the occupants of Winterfell Would hear The king Howl With Anger And Fury.
" Brandon! Prepare the Men! We March for War!!!" The Lord's BaseBorn Brother Brandon Snow would look Questionablly towards His Brother , whom he would only shake his head.
Three Days later, 2380 Men were standing before the gates of Winterfell, Ready before Their King and Prepared to March, King Torrehn and his Heir, Brandon Snow and Winterfell's Master at Arms were on Horses infront of Their Army, Consisting of 100 Archers, 130 Cavalry, 200 Winterfell Guards And the rest Being either Sellswords, Hunters or the occasional smallfolk levies looking for quick Gain and Nothing to lose as speearmen and infantry.
" Eastward! March!!! For The North and Winterfell!!!" Roared Torrehn Stark and was rewarded with a roar from His Army, The Pooles and Cassels would Join with 100 Each while He Got News That Umber Came with 2000 infantry, The Karstarks 1500 with Quarter Being Cavalry the Other quarter Being Archers and the Rest infantry, The Flints Of Widow's watch Gathered 1200 With Half Being Archers and a sixth Being Light Armored Cavalry, The Most Surprising was The Manderlys of White Harbor who dedicated 2000 Men to Bring Justice to their Cousins and Branch, 100 Being Heavily Armoured Knights 300 Cavalry twice as that Archers that went by land with half of the Archers and the infantry boarding 10 War Galleys to Block the Mouth of the Weeping Water , that would help them block the sea route and prevent food from the Damn Boltons, The Mere Idea that the Boltons kept to their .... practices caused great amounts of Anger and Disturbed him to no End but what Frightened Him The Most was The Person Who exposed them to the world, all the while keeping the Boltons in the Dark, by the Gods He Even Named Traitors in his own home that he didn't know off, Even Ones from The Reach! He Gritted His teeth and set his sights East as he thought ' Not this Time! Not anymore!'
Lord Hornwood Pov
Losing one your Son's is gut wrenching and can set A Man on a Dark Path, But To Know That His Son Died By Treason committed by his own second Son Had Hurt the Most, The Sight of His Son's Corpse had bleed the mercy out of his heart, On the First Day he set Back to Hornwood ancestral Home he forbade all News out, but it still seeped to the Servants and he thank the Gods For that Raven, he Managed to intercept all News out and silence or jail the Spies, Boltons, The mere mention of the Name makes his Mind Cloudy and his Heart a Raging storm of wrath and anger and he Can't Help but clench his teeth bleed his fists and then try to reel his thoughts in, 'Soon', He would repeat over and over, Every Day, Till he was Given the Ascent to March, Many Villages in His lands Held ears to the Flayed Fuck, he Made it clear how he Felt about them by practicing the Bloody Eagle on ALL of them, of the 26 Villages North to him 9 Held Spies and Bandits that the fucker sent them to his lands to make fun of him, to belittle and kill his sons and people but not anymore, he would be the one Doing The Killing, At the beginning he had doubts, Greenseers?! Perhaps Next they'd bring Grumpkins and Snarks to Fight the Boltons but he bit his tongue once he knew Lords Flint, Manderly, Umber and Karstark were on this as well the king, He should have knew it was the truth as no animal would behave like his horse did that day, That Great Moose, it's great Body was littered with Arrows and yet once it saw him it Guided him to his Foolish Son's Body and then it pointed with its bloody horns to the Bolton Spawn Viciously Carved Neck, that memory gave him a great sense of Glee, then the Moose Slumped Down and Died to it's Wounds, it was felled with 6 Arrows and had a deep gash on its side, That alone should have made him belive but he was still too caught by his second Son's death, The Letters that came Next had Instructions that claimed to be from the King, so he had to obey, in half a week time he was on his borders with Bolton Land.
" I'm coming to ya, ya Flayed Fuck!"
Pov End
I have managed to stabilize Wylla and had been Given a desk and Rolls of parchment and Maps near the Heart tree and had the Ravens in the Forests around congregating Around Ramsgate,To Veiw The DreadFort and intercept all messengers and Ravens to it, it was a Daunting task I would like to Never be a part of Ever Again, Barely sleeping, keeping watch, eating , making reports to six Armies and watching out for ambushes and 'wildlings-Bandit' Camps, The Flayed Lord had around 3000 Men acting like that on the extension of his borders and they grew acclaimed and used to the lands over the years.
The Flints Had the Easiest Task So far because they share borders with only Southeastern part of the Bolton lands and thus lesser Camps, their men cut through Bolton Bandits and Managed to Kill them All in many cases while the prisoners would all be sent to the Night watch, So far of 320 Enemies they Managed to imprison 109 Men while those too injured or those Refused to surrender were all put to the Sword, I have Kept Ravens with the Six Lords at all times, using them i would Show on Map these Camps or sites of ambushes, as well as anyone on Boltons land that shared in this type of work.
The Fastest Group was The Hornwoods Cause they were Mobilized faster than the Rest with the Stark Host coming second only due to the large swaths of land they had to Cover, King Torrehn was an efficient Man that Had his people's best interest at heart and was wroth at their plight but he still wouldn't the let Boltons Go, so I had to intervene on behalf of the people as no amounts of punishment would fit their Crimes, The only path i see to get passed this, is the complete destruction of House Bolton.
Lucky for our side the Boltons trusted None with their lands so the Had only one lowly House, a cadet Branch if you may that was situated at the North Bank of the Weeping Water River and Barely Had Any power, They were Just a Buffer Against the Skaggs and Pirates, This was Robert Hornwood Maiden Mother House, They were The Boltons of Weeping Water, Thankfully, Their Lands are the last to be Needed for us to be secured, thank God for bloton paranoia.
The Starks Leaving the Boltons alive is also abit of reverse psychology to the people of the North, 'If we the Starks Died, It would be the big Bad and Horrible Boltons Ruling you, so it's Much better that we the Benevolent Starks Rule than the More Competent Lord, like Say the Manderlys', Only Perhaps the Foolish Ned Stark Didn't see it that way, but his ancestors? They were cunning and had intelligence in spades.
I did many things in my stay here from scouting the North to training my warging and Greensight Magic Regularly.
I also worked Tirelessly and Trained both Body and Mind To the Limits, I was warging to the Citadel and Finishing Books and scrolls in Days that would take Normal Humans Months, I had Ranked Myself a beginner in Healing, Higher mysteries, Astrology, Economy, War and tactics, Management, Herbology, Alchemy, Animal Husbandry and Architecture, my time was spent either sharpening my mind or Body, I can be present at any lesson at any point in time, I have found that powers gained from the jump is easier to use than those gained throughout the jump, Example, Greensight and Warging comes to me naturally than Say blood Magic I learned last week, The magic system of this world is created to do one thing and that is To hurt, one way or another you either have to use it bring Harm Or you harm yourself, this world's magic is also big about Equivalent exchange, ironically.
I Had Been Observing the World through the Dream, I Can see someone peeking through from the southwest, I would bet it to be in Oldtown, either They Be the Citadel or one of the Hightowers, There was also a woman's shade peeking at me from the South, Which I think is Visnea Targaryen, How I knew it was her? It's because she has a Dragon's Shade protecting her Mind and the Violet eyes of a Valyrian, she was also said to be a sorceress that was taught by her father, with the Targaryens being a Valyrian House it's Normal for them to have a Glass Candle, Though the most surprising is the tide of the sea I see sometimes with Fish and tentacles Rising from it which I later learned it to be Harren the Black, he was an old Sorcerer, Versed in Both Blood Magic and sacrifice magic, No wonder his people Thrived under him as well as the tales about his castle being Cursed because it is!!!.
I have been Sending Nightmares About Lions, Stags And Giant Hands of Green To Him That strangle and kill his family Before His Eyes, I had Also used the chance to send visions to Every hedge witch or wizard to come North by helping them avoid Seven Fanatics or Lords they somehow Angered, in this month I have learned More Things than my Entire lives, The plants here differ from my old world though there are some similarities, wheat, parley, berries, Oak Etc...
Also I have come to Find that there Currently Three greenseers in Westeros, Two in the North one if then obviously is being me and third beyond the Wall, I haven't interacted with either and they both seem apprehensive of me, especially the latter, I would investigate more later.
Turning My attention to the Weirwood I Dive through the Stream and Appear infront of The Stark Host, They Have Gone through alot to be Honest, the Flayed man had plans for Just these situations but those have been Foiled by yours truly, I dive through the Minds of Those Raven Above and Observe the lands Ahead, A small Lumber Village is there with a population of nearly 3000 and a small band of 40 Men playing Bandit but are Actually Boltons Men at arms, I Used the Raven on Torrehn's Shoulder to give the sign to Village and Be Careful, Plus i Tap him Three Times which mean Bandits and point with its wing to the Murder of Crows in one direction and Tap 4 Times , the Man Narrow his eyes and then Just Nods and declares what I Said, Many levies joined him on the way as the Flayed Lords aren't the nicest of people, everyone has a deep rooted hatred for them and for a good reason, His Troops Swelling to Over Fourty One Hundred.
He has His Troops Into a line with the Armoured Soldiers carrying Shields at the Front with Archer Close Second, I continue to Harass the Patrols of Bandits with Crows and declare their Locations to the Troops, The Stark Troops take a different and a smarter route and began to move Discreetly, through shadows and Bushes with the Hunters and Archers at the front and those Numbered over a three Hundred, One Archer Sees an Armed Man trying to Shoo away a crow that Continues to Cawk around him while his fellow is laughing his ass off, Fifteen Archers let loose their Arrows and all of them Hitting the Two unsuspecting Men and Causing them to fall Down dead Silently, their Deaths Covered by the The Sounds of Crows all over the Wood, This wasn't Their First Kills and it wouldn't be the last, The Archers signal for the levies to Advance till they Reach a Bigger patrols party, They Also down them the same way and then they Happened upon a Cave, a small unsuspecting Thing if not for the Smoke coming out of it, Here The Troops Forgo any notions of previous caution and advanced more Quickly, They could hear screams and laughter on the inside, they already know what to expect, They attack without a sound and pour to the cave with Rage Silently surprising the Guards and catching them with their pants Down, Literally in Some cases, Their Numbers Gave them Advantage and the lack of preparations of the other side is to their benfit as well, What they find inside wasn't pretty, Never was, Abused women, Provisions, weapons And Crates of Silver and Gold plus the occasional Trinket, the fight goes on for five minutes till they managed to capture the leader Alive, if barely, After some torture they kill him,
The Dead Bandit are deprived off any dignity and stacked one on top of each other naked and torched, Their Clothes, weapons and Coin Going To Any of luck to have killed'em First, Brandon Snow Hated these Sights, the Women Some of them Little Girls were under the mercy of these beasts for not too long and yet most were dead in the eyes, many chose death while some would be returned home a broken shell of their past, he made note to give some of the silver as compensations, not that it would Do anything but hopefully give them a chance for better futures, he turned his head to the men and Barked order to regroup with his brother's host.
The Moment they entered the Village I kept Good eye on the happenings while also observing the rest, The Hornwoods Many a time almost fell to a trap or an ambushe if not for my oversight, Lord Hornwood wasn't totally up there so I had to use Stark to Reign him Down, it worked somewhat, The Umber- Karstark Troops were Camped between Last River and the Lonely Hills and waiting to combine with The Stark Forces that have Crossed the White Knife River and are a Three Day March From the Lonely Hills and Two days From Hornwoods whom have Taken All Enemy Territory to the South and Closing in on the DreadFort, while the Flints Managed to Camp at the southern Bank of the Weeping Water River mouth and Waiting for the Manderly ships, Said Ships Passed Widowswatch Two days ago and are expected to reach the River in Half A day, It was Miracle that I managed to Hold the information from The Boltons Till Now and Even if they know now, it was already over, The Stage is devoid of any piece that may help them turn the situation around , it was Game over, So I has already Established the field to my advantage So when the News Reached him today it didn't make much Difference, I had already changed tactics and had half the Umber contingent Join the karstarks in securing the Entire North Bank of the River while the Other Half would Join the Starks, The Flints Would Advance along the Southern Bank Till they Meet Up with the Hornwoods and Manderlys, whom have Joind the the Hornwoods Alongs the White knife Southern Borders while Chasing Stragglers, The Starks Have Thrown Caution to the wind once they were informed of the Boltons Getting wind of them but they were already Mostly Done, The Rest were left For the Vanguard to finish, which was lead by Brandon Snow, who will be Joined By the Cerwyns And Dustins who Manged to scrape 300 levies and 50 Guards each.
Pov Ratatouille???!
It was A small Creature reviled by many for good reasons, it Ran swiftly between Guards Silently till it Managed to get in small hole that it barely fit in, It Squeaked and gnawed at stone and mortar alike and with it's brethren Joining, the Efforts intensified, They Kept digging and scratching at the wall, Usually if they were from different Breeds they would have fought the others away but not this time, they Had somehow a purpose, A goal, they Had this Goal for many days ,many Died out of starvation but not for long, the dead were dragged away while they continued to dig till they reached it, Their Goal, Food.
Four Days Later.
The Hornwood, Stark, Umber, Flint and Manderly Forces have Entered the Twon Closest to the DreadFort and its people were Judged by Torrehn with those Guilty Being Sentenced to either death or the wall, Many were Crying For Mercy but today they would Get None, The Ones to Excute the most heinous offenders were the lords themselves, As it was practiced across the North For Millennias.
The King Got wind that Lord Bolton Had Holed Himself in his castle and preparing for a Siege, if Not for Rats eating His Entire Supplies During the Night of the First Day, He Had Many Guards And Servants Excuted for this as the Provisions that would have him sit comfortably in his castle for six months were now down to one month if he used them frugally.
The Next day He was informed that the Well have been poisoned by the same Rats that plight Him, He Had No choice but to Surrender but he Would Have To Draw the siege out So he can Negotiate with at least abit of power,' Damn that fool of A Son!', for The Nth Time He Cursed the Boy, Their House continued as they were Because they were Secretive, Not by galvanizing Acroos the Continent Killing Lords and Commoners Alike, losses of Commoners Might have been tolerated, But a High Lord's Heir?!,Never would such slights be Forgotten and This Type of affairs are what starts a Blood Feud like those of the Blackwoods and Brackens, Or Those As Grave as The Marsh Lords Of The Stormlands and The Dornish.
On the Third Day They Managed To Kill Many Rats But it was as if the Damn Creatures would Spawn in Days, The Food and Water More Securely protected and Rationed, he would Turn this around, His House was anything but Adaptable But in His current Days he would be bled Dry and left Bare but they would Come Back Even if it took His House a thousand years, They would become the Kings of the North and their Enemies Would curse the Day they Stood Against them but for Now he would play Cordial with them and let them lower their Guard.
The Stark Camp
The Spirits Were High in the Camps, The Men resting Were elated, Rarely Have Ever been Such An easy war, They were Moving from Victory to another, Barely any losses and thanks To their Numbers And Informant, Any death, Lords Umber , Karstark and Flint were Smug about this prospect, any chance to bleed another Lord is welcome, especially if it is a generally well Disliked one like Bolton, Hornwood was as wrathful as he was since this war started, Snow was Gleeful at the losses of The Boltons, Blood Runs Thick and a hatred that spans Millennias are bound to cause such animosity but it was Torrehn Stark That was Frowning deeply as he read the Latest missive from their Mysterious Aid Detailing the Patrol of Guards and Provisions, It's says that he managed to lower their Rations by more than two thirds and had poisoned a well, he was Frowning because None of those Victories actually belongs to Troops of The North But To This.... Karold Snow, A Greenseer, He Knew about those but they were Rare and Hardly any were Born in House Stark in the Last Two Millennias alone, He Knew the Reeds Boosted The Greatest Numbers of Greenseers of Westeros But they Were Small in Numbers to begin with, The Crannogmen Were The Most secretive Folk within the North, They had their ways that are preserved since the days of the Marsh King, Their Magics to this Day infused within Greywater watch, The Moving, Floating Castle, He was Pensieve because Shit were Never supposed to be easy, especially a war against a Vassal as strong as the Boltons, Now he was proven wrong Yet Again with The missive in his hands it was Quite Detailed and to the Point as If it was Made by a Maester, The Numbers are Aligned as well of what he came to know about the Boltons so that makes them quite authentic, The Boy was playing at something, He knew it, probably he wanted the lands of the Boltons Or Perhaps a Daughter so he can tie himself to His family and then scheme his way to become king, The Entire Campaign he was plagued by such thoughts, Till he received Today's Letter, The Boy's price was Quite low To Be Honest a trade Exemption on All his Trades and as far as he Knew He Had none in the North so the Boy was asking for nothing In Reality, So He Granted Him That, An Exemption of any trade made from the North and Half for those From out of the North, this has Set his heart at ease, Plus the 10000 Gold Coins, also the ability to Forbid an act across the North if it was reasonable, He also Consented to that.
Now he will wait and See will happen Next and Just as he was about to Inform his Lords of the Terms a Guard walks in and Bows .
" My King ,Mi'lords, The Enemy is Surrendering, They Raised the White Flags on top instead of their own Banners!" The Man Said with Glee, to which the lords Roared in joy while the king sighing as if a burden was lifted from his chest, The Only one not satisfied with this development was Old Hornwood," My king, if I may be bold, I was the one Harmed the Most by House Bolton I demand blood to spilled from them, he killed my Heirs, Twice!" The Man Snarled the last bit and Not for the Nth Time did ge curse the Boltons for this, the Rest of the lords he could deal with but old Hornwood wanted but he would deal with him later, He went out of the Tent and Strode to His Horse along his brother After wearing back His Armor and Sword and was followed by the Lords in the Army, The Men Followed their King Atop his Horse, He was Tall and Proud, Wearing His Ancestors Crown of iron with Sword pointing upwards, He Scowled at the sight of the Man who Caused much pain and Troubles, The Man was Obviously Not in the least bit Apologetic about that, judging by the amused Look he Sent to old Hornwood that made said man fume, as he was about to Intervene, He Noticed The Bolton Lord's Horse change, it's Eyes white for a moment till he realized too late and screamed.
"Don't!!!"
TBC