War of the Usurper VIII

(3rd Person POV)

The war was continuing without Petyr's help or intervention. He was not rushing to help Storm's End. It had to be an act made in the 'last possible' moment. He was going to be the saviour of Storm's End. The one who gave them food in the last moment, before they started to eat one another. Davos Seaworth, the smuggler was already a part of his group. Petyr had stopped him before he could go ahead and deliver onions to Storm's End. He told him that it wasn't the time yet and that he was working on a plan to help them. 

The plan had been created the moment Petyr thought about it. His military might was far stronger than anyone in the Seven Kingdoms and his navy was by far the most powerful. But he didn't want to reveal everything like that. He would grow 'gradually' in the eyes of the Kingdom and increase his worth like that. When Robert f*cks the Kingdom into monetary ruin, Petyr will tell him and then make sure that he will be a key player in the War of the Five Kings. 

"Did you understand everything, Ser Davos?", Petyr asks the older man. 

The duo was a strange sight. Davos for all his years and experience as a smuggler and a husband and father, worked for the much younger man. 6 and 10 name days had Petyr seen as of yet and still he was the Lord and Davos the mere smuggler. Although, he might not be that for much longer. Petyr had ideas on what to do with Davos, should Stannis Baratheon not knight him or offer him the job as his right-hand man. 

"I did, my Lord. But I already told you that I'm not a knight.", Davos says. 

"Meh, if not now then soon. Alright. You know the plan and you know what your role in those plans is. No matter what you do, do NOT stop and continue forward. There will be death, but that is to be expected. So you simply concentrate on your task. Leave everything else to me."

"Very well, my Lord. I shall do what you asked. It's just a bit unusual for me to travel with such a large vessel when I am supposed to be smuggling something."

"I suppose you aren't really smuggling something in the usual sense. Anyway, leave now and don't worry about any larger ships stopping you, I'll take care of that."

"I understand."

Davos boarded the rather large ship and left Baelish Keep's Harbour. Petyr watched as he left for a while. As he was thinking, Dalran Ryser walked up to him. 

"We are ready, my Lord. Would you like to leave now?", he asks. 

"Aye, let's do that. It has been a while since I sailed like this. Especially a full journey."

"You were busy, my Lord. These months were filled with intrigue and political plays on your part. And then there was the matter of food supplies. You had a lot to do, maybe this might grant you some respite."

"It doesn't matter. I enjoy what I do far too much to see it as work. But some time off is a good idea. Time that we show some Redwynes how to do battle at sea. Those pathetic idiots. I saw Mace Tyrell and his bannermen, such as Paxter Redwyne and Lord Mathis Rowan, feast within sight of the walls of Storm's End. Such embarrassing sods are asking to be kicked in the nuts."

"Aye, my Lord. Their arrogance and negligence will make them be surprised and lose a decisive battle."

"They sure will."

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Petyr boarded one of his newest ships. It was built after the Santísima Trinidad a 4,950 tons Spanish first-rate ship with 140 guns. She was the heaviest-armed ship in the world when rebuilt, and bore the most guns of any ship of the line outfitted in the Age of Sail. 

[Picture]

Petyr wanted to recreate the large vessel of the 18th century. He replaced the canons with ballistas and polybolos, once again. It wasn't time for guns and cannons just yet. Naturally, he changed the Spanish flag and added his own changed House Sigil. His current Sigil came to him when thinking about what to do about it. The head of the Titan of Braavos was stupid and not something that stood for him. So he changed it and almost changed his last name to Moriarty as well. But that wasn't as easily changed, so he didn't do it. 

His new House words were: Did you miss me? 

Petyr thought it was hilarious for some reason, although he wasn't sure why and kept them. No one would understand them until they tried to plot against him or tried to fight him for something. Whenever they thought they had won or defeated him, he would return and crush them in full force. He would manipulate them left and right and be 20 steps ahead of all of them. So yes, the words would eventually make sense. 

They boarded the large vessel and a second smaller one followed them. Their goal? 

Stormbreaker Bay, where they would attack the Redwyne blockade in one fell swoop and allow Davos to bring all the food to Storm's End. Afterwards, they will leave again, to make it seem like a surprise attack and not appear as too powerful. The longboats in this world can't hold a candle to the large and powerful ships Petyr can create, so launching a surprise attack on them will crush them easily. 

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The war had been going on. The Battle of the Trident had taken place and Petyr was present there to observe everything. After Petyr left, Lords Jon Arryn and Eddard Stark married the daughters of Lord Hoster Tully. Around that time, Robert announced his claim for the Iron Throne and led the combined Arryn, Baratheon, Stark, and Tully host of rebels. It was all within Petyr's expectations.

After Crown Prince Rhaegar Targaryen returned from Dorne, he took command of the royalist army, something Petyr couldn't understand the King would allow. King Aerys gracelessly reminded the Martells that Princess Elia was in his power and dispatched her uncle, Prince Lewyn Martell of the Kingsguard, to assume command of ten thousand Dornishmen marching up the Kingsroad, and joined them to Rhaegar's royalist army en route to the Trident. The Martells were furious with Aerys. Petyr's spy in Sunspear and the Water Gardens had reported Oberyn Martell's anger and Doran's decision to hold back when sending their soldiers. 

How stupid that was. Petyr was appalled at the many mistakes made during this war. But the two biggest ones, apart from the Battle of the Trident, were made by Mace Tyrell and Doran Martell. For the siege of Storm's End, Mace Tyrell could have sent 3/4th or even more men to fight for the loyalists. This would have boosted their numbers a lot. Doran Martell acted like a pouty child and chose to withhold almost half of his total men that Dorne could rally and also caused the Battle of the Trident to go as it did. Those are tens of thousands of men missing at the Battle of the Trident. 

At the same time, Ser Barristan Selmy and Ser Jonothor Darry of the Kingsguard were sent to rally the scattered forces of Lord Connington. These two members of the Kingsguard were the reason, why Petyr was even present during the Battle of the Trident. He wanted to copy their swordsmanship mid-fight. Barristan Selmy was probably the second strongest swordsman of the realm. The letter sent to Lord Tywin Lannister was received, but no answer was given yet. The old lion was smart, Petyr knew and he also understood his thought process. He would not act before he understood which side was the winning party. 

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Two massive armies met each other at the Trident. 

The army of the rebels consisted of forces from the North, the Vale, though a few houses had remained loyal to the Targaryens earlier in the war, like the Graftons. The Riverlands also supported the rebels now, naturally after marrying both daughters to two of the three leaders. Although the Riverlords were deeply divided during the war so far. House Tully and many subject lords, including House Mallister, took the side of the rebels, while other houses, such as Houses Darry, Goodbrook, Mooton, and Ryger, some with personal ties to the Targaryens, took up the royal cause. House Frey, the largest of the houses sworn to House Tully, was slow to gather their levies. Petyr still saw some use in House Frey, but as soon as that was no longer the case, they would disappear.

Finally, the Stormlands. Though Robert Baratheon was the Lord of Storm's End and a central figure of the rebellion, most of the Stormlords were trapped in the south, and badly bloodied by Ashford and the siege of Storm's End. As such, their contribution north of the Stormlands appears to have been limited.

On the side of the royalists, there were a bit over 40'000 men. 30'000 from the Crownlands, Reach, Riverlands, Stormlands, and Vale and 10'000 Dornishmen led by Ser Lewyn Martell. 

The Targaryen host had forty thousand men, with at most a tenth of them knights. The rest were archers, free-riders, and foot soldiers consisting of spearmen and pikemen. The royalists were more numerous, but the rebels were more battle-hardened. This suddenly mattered greatly, because Mace Tyrell and Doran Martell were idiots and didn't send more men to commit fully. The result spoke for itself. 

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The battle took place at the crossing of the Trident that would later be known as the ruby ford. Petyr observed everything from a hidden place and almost groaned when he saw what happened at the very start of the battle. Rhaegar tried to cross the river. The battle was almost fully decided then and there. The higher number of men, the royalists had, were quickly taken care of because they had to walk through the river. The final mistake that sealed the rebellion for the rebels. Robert Baratheon used his booming voice to command during the fighting and his tactical mind to position his men correctly and favourably. 

The Dornishmen, under the command of Prince Lewyn Martell, threatened Robert's left flank. But they didn't manage to do considerable damage because Ser Lyn Corbray, picking up his wounded father's sword, Lady Forlorn, led a charge and broke the Dornishmen. During the charge, Lyn killed the already-injured Lewyn Martell and caused a lot of confusion and disarray amongst the Dornish forces. 

Petyr watched as during the battle, Ser Barristan Selmy killed several men using his impressive swrodsmanship and Lord Jason Mallister slew three of Rhaegar Targaryen's bannermen. He copied their skills of course. Unknown to all, he had already become the most skilled swordsman and also one of the strongest men in Westeros. But that would stay hidden for a very long time if it was revealed at all. 

Though many great lords and knights either lost their lives or made names for themselves in the fighting, the battle was decided when Robert and Rhaegar met in single combat on horseback in the stream. The battle was well fought and it could honestly have gone to either of them, but Robert eventually crushed Rhaegar's chest with a blow of his Warhammer. The blow was so hard that the rubies adorning Rhaegar's armour were shattered free to litter the river, giving the ruby Ford its name. Leaderless, the royal army broke and fled back to King's Landing.

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The rebellion was all but won at this point and all it took was for Petyr to appear as the saviour of Storm's End. He of course 'hadn't heard' about the result of the Battle of the Trident. So his 'commitment' to the rebellion's cause and his saving Storm's End during the siege, would paint him in a glorious picture. Not as grand as Robert of course, but that wasn't his goal anyway. 

They sailed down south on the Narrow Sea, passed Gulltown, Dragonstone, Stonedance and eventually reached the island of Tarth. Davos had taken a smaller vessel, one that was used for trade. It was faster than the big warship Petyr and Dalran were using. Dalran had one of another line of ships, Petyr was creating. He had added many different designs to his repertoire of vessels to use. Some of them were ridiculous, but fun to use nonetheless. Right now, Dalran was using a nimble ship that looked like a pirate ship. 

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Davos stayed back for a moment and allowed our two ships to advance. We saw three long boats waiting in and around Shipbreaker Bay. They had to move away from the storms when they arrived, but right now, the waters were rather calm. None of the three ships suspected anything, a grave mistake on their part. They would have been defeated either way, but now, they would be decimated. 

Petyr and Dalran commandeered their vessels towards the first Redwyne ship. Both of them on one side. As soon as the ship was between them, one word was uttered.

"Fire!" "Fire!"

Both ships fired their ballistas and polybolos at the Redwyne ship, causing untold destruction. 

*Boom*

*Krack*

There were no explosions, but the tips of the powerful ballistas were on fire when they shot them at the ship. A tiny bit of Wildfyre to get the ship burning was enough. Loud shouting and screams were heard from the Redwyne ship, but there was no helping them. All of them would die. If they manage to jump into the sea, they would still have to swim a long way to shore. And in Shipbreaker Bay, they would probably not manage to do that. 

Now, only two ships were left. This was going to be easy.