Chapter 17 - Slippery Slope

Edit: Originally I wrote Mern possessing Thornbite as a magical heirloom sword of House Gardener, and gifting Dawn to Brandyll Tarly as recognition for his contribution to the Siege of Starfall. Decided to change it to Brandyll getting Heartsbane and Mern claiming Dawn for himself.

Chapter XVII: Slippery Slope

2 BC

Red Mountains

The Red Mountains were witness to a scene of brutal carnage, the sunset bathing the entire mountain range in crimson.

All throughout the mountain pass, Reachmen and Dornishmen were locked in brutal combat as nobles barked commands and steel clashed against steel. Formations were disorganised with cohesion between units increasingly lost amidst the din of combat, and Dornish cavalry tried their hardest harassing heavily armoured Reach knights with bow and arrow and javelin.

Sadly, Dornish javelins were not as accurate as they would have liked, and their short recurve bows lacked the penetration power needed to pierce through thick steel plate. Worse for the Dornish, they were outnumbered over five to one, making the battle a foregone conclusion.

"Rragh!"

Like his countrymen, this one Reach nobleman, clad in fine armour and wielding a massive morningstar, bashed his way through Dornish phalaxes and bathed himself in crimson red. Such was his valour that many Dornishmen quickly shied away from this intrepid warrior, which availed them not as knights ran them down.

"Don't let them escape!" The young nobleman ordered.

"By your command, Lord Tarly!"

Brandyll Tarly, the latest heir-apparent of his ancient house proud of its martial traditions, struggled to maintain his form in combat despite his guts and energy. Yet his fearsomeness and sheer strength more than made up for his inexperience in battle, a lifesaver that prevented him from being consumed swiftly in the chaos of battle.

Amidst this chaos, King Mern IX rode forth and rallied his troops, all enthusiastically shedding Dornish blood in retribution for centuries of cruel raids and monstrous deeds to their kinsmen.

"Slaughter them all!" Mern ordered, "For those slain by their hands!"

"For the unjustly slain!" His troops chorused.

"Damn it, retreat, retreat!" Cried the Dornish commander, running as if the Archdemons of the Seven Hells were nipping at his heels.

As the Dornish retreated the Reachmen cheered, some enthusiastically kicking and spitting on the corpses of their slain foes and relishing in the stench of heathen blood.

"Ha, run you cowards!"

"That's what ye get!"

Mern turned to his soldiers and raised his family heirloom sword, Thornbite, up to the sky, and his troops cheered louder in jubilation.

"My brothers!" He cried with jubilation, eyes shining brilliantly while caked in blood, "This day marks a glorious victory over our enemies - the first of a hundred! From this day forward, we shall score victory after victory and put the fear of the Seven in the hearts of these deranged heathens! This day, the Dornish shall lament ever rousing the full might of the Reach! Today, we dig their graves!"

And the Reachmen let out another jubilant roar, banging their swords on their shields and thumping their boots.

"Mern! Mern! Mern!"

After that rousing speech, the Reachmen were busy preparing for a relaxing night. The levies had taken their share of the loot and gathered the bodies to be burnt - friend and foe alike. While the Faith frowned on cremation of the dead, Mern gave a direct order that all corpses in the field were to be burned to prevent the spread of disease; they could not afford to take the bodies back for burial, and the mountains were too treacherous and narrow to simply leave corpses, lest they attract pests and carrion birds.

With that gruesome business done, the Reachmen spent the night drinking and feasting around burning campfires, boasting about their feats in battle and the Dornish blood spilled in battle. Noble and Smallfolk alike celebrated late into the night, some even composing ill-tuned songs in remembrance.

Mern personally approached Brandyll Tarly as he drank his ale in one corner, content to relish in his privacy.

"Brandyll," Mern called out.

Shocked, Brandyll hastily stood up and moved to curtsey, but a smiling Mern held a forestalling hand.

"Easy, dispense with the formalities," Mern reassured, "I just want to talk with you for a while."

"I-If that is your wish, Your Grace," Brandyll nodded.

Mern took his seat next to Brandyll on a log, and both took sips of their tankards.

"How's your first battle?" Asked Mern.

"...Exhilarating… and terrifying," Brandyll answered, hands trembling, "I never thought I could feel such excitement and thrill in battle, killing and slaughtering all who tried to kill me. And yet… now that I've time to think on it, I'm scared. I… I'm scared of losing my comrades, I'm scared of dying, I'm scared of losing this war - losing any battle."

Mern simply patted Brandyll on his back.

"Boy, war's like that," He softly pointed out, "In war, you always have to steel yourself for losing any of your comrades, and at times we cannot predict in advance what may come. This war, we're fighting to ensure the Dornish cannot threaten the Reach in any manner ever again, and we're going to lose more and more men before we attain victory, you understand me?"

"Yes, Your Grace," Brandyll nodded.

"Tell me, do you regret enlisting for this war?" Asked Mern.

Brandyll fervently shook his head.

"No, Your Grace. I do not," Brandyll affirmed, "I wish I was a talented strategist or an accomplished knight or something, but… I'm not. I'm just a fresh recruit, trying to live up to the family name. All I want is to do my part for the Reach, no more."

Mern smiled and patted him again, "You know, most Reachmen nobles don't have your humility or your ability to recognise their own faults. Most times, the youngsters are arrogant and boastful and love to indulge themselves in any glories they achieve."

One prime example was Theo Tyrell, son of Harlan Tyrell, his father busy managing affairs in Highgarden while his son boasted and caroused and spewed all manner of stories on battle glories now and to come. His face was wasted and his eyes half-awake, his mouth slurring and his body dangerously tipping over.

Mern shook his head, "Such people tend to die early if they are not lucky."

Brandyll silently nodded at Mern's words.

"We'll have many more battles to fight, and then there will come the time to consolidate our conquests, during which swords and martial valour take second place to bureaucratic talents," He continued, "Though Westerosi nobility prize their martial talent or intrigue capacity, they often forget that administrative talents are equally important to keeping a Kingdom functioning, and it falls to the bureaucrats to ensure mundane work is done; ensuring smooth tax collection, organisation of the lord's levies, implementing the lord's policies and so on."

"And I will have to do so, one day?" Brandyll asked, "Father always said that us Tarlys are warriors and should remain such, that coin-counting and law-keeping are beneath us."

"Ignore him; he's one of those ignorant types," Mern waved off, "Focus on what your life experience teaches you, not your peers or your family."

Brandyll nodded again, and Mern smiled and said, "Enjoy the rest of the night; we have a long campaign ahead of us."

"I will, Your Grace," Brandyll smiled.

IIOII

Starfall

The castle of Starfall, the crown jewel of the Torrentine Valley and seat of power of House Dayne since the Age of Heroes, was ablaze and casting an orange glow upon the disturbed waters of the ancient river.

The Reachmen brought forth close to 100,000 troops for their invasion of Dorne, and despite the valiant efforts of the Red Mountain Dornish they were quickly overwhelmed by sheer force of numbers and momentum both on land and at sea.

Though House Dayne had the sense to hire mercenary ships from the Stepstones and Essos in general, the Reach fielded a strong standing navy with experience in fighting Ironborn pirates and Westerlander fleets. In a head-on clash, it became clear who was the direct winner.

With Starfall now surrounded, it was decided that the castle would be besieged and the engineers put to work building trebuchets using the surrounding forests for materials, while other parts of the army moved northward to assault the other Red Mountain Houses and prevent them from reinforcing House Dayne. Thus did Brandyll prove his talent as a siege engineer, organising a double-layered formation to box in the Dayne army and keep out any potential reinforcements.

Slightly over half a month passed as engineers processed timber and assembled the trebuchets, with caravans bringing in the stone needed as ammunition. Once the batteries were set up, the bombardment began.

While Starfall had trebuchets to fire back against the Reach navy blockading the island, the Reach army triumphed through sheer numbers; stones crashed against the walls of Starfall every hour day or night, and many Dayne trebuchets were smashed to pieces amidst the bombardment.

Nearly two days of bombardment later, galleys docked at the ports and unloaded legions of troops who swiftly stormed the castle, the gates smashed to pieces and the beleaguered garrison lasting a scant few minutes.

The eldest sons were killed, and the women who resisted were slain in self-defence. Thus, House Dayne ceased to exist, and Brandyll Tarly was rewarded generously with wealth and glory for his contributions in the Siege of Starfall, and recognised as a worthy heir of House Tarly and its heirloom two-handed sword, Heartsbane. Dawn, on the other hand, was claimed by King Mern XI himself as a mark of prestige, being the most ancient weapon first forged and wielded by the First Men, and House Gardener as descended from the First Men would catapult itself to greater heights while House Dayne faded to obscurity. The irony was never lost on anyone, celebrated by the Reachmen and lamented by the Dornish.

Thornbite, a high-quality castle-forged steel longsword that Mern wielded since his coming of age, had seen many battles by his side and saved his hide through thick and thin. He held a special connection to Thornbite despite Dawn being the inherently superior weapon, and thus he kept it by his side alongside Dawn.

Jaron Redwyne, Lord of his house and master of the Reach's strongest navy, strode through the ruined halls of Starfall accompanying King Mern, Theo Tyrell and Brandyll Tarly towards the war room, where they would discuss their next move.

"I must say, Starfall is surprisingly sturdy and well-designed," Jaron remarked, "Too bad these vermin waste their lives with all manner of debaucherous acts, unlike us chivalrous and honourable Reachmen."

"What do you expect, Lord Jaron? They're Dornishmen; licentiousness, dishonour and dishonesty are their tools of the trade," Theo waved off dismissively, and both shared a mirthful laugh.

"They are stubborn, and they will stubbornly resist to the end, Theo," Brandyll pointed out.

"Then let them; it does not change the fact their time is at an end," Theo smiled back.

"As you say," Brandyll relented.

Once they reached the war room, they peered over a map of all of Dorne, looted from the archives of Starfall and marked with countless tokens on its surface.

"We have subdued several houses already, including Manwoody, Fowler and now House Dayne," Mern began, "Now we need only crush the remaining Houses and secure the Boneway, and that means getting rid of House Wyl."

Theo spat to the side, "Wyl, a house that should never exist. I daresay none shall protest or even pity the extermination of House Wyl."

"And it is necessary," Mern nodded to their surprise, "If we leave them be, they will only be trouble for us down the road. The other houses are another matter but Wyl must be exterminated before the campaign can progress."

"...Exterminating a house is no simple matter," Brandyll admitted, "And yet I must agree on this."

Everyone else nodded in affirmation.

"Once we secure the Red Mountains, we must spend at least half a year consolidating our gains before we move further inland, and the harsh Dornish heat will be one of our greatest enemies to contend with," Mern finished.

"Might I ask, Your Grace, how long will we need to conquer the rest of the Red Mountains?" Jaron asked.

"Around four months, maybe slightly longer," Mern answered, "Even with our numerical advantage, the Dornish can simply hole up in their castles in a vain attempt to prolong the war, House Wyl especially with their access to their special cavern network; it's the reason why House Wyl is persistently capable of surviving even the most disastrous of sieges."

"I beg your pardon for interrupting, Your Grace, but how do you know about this cavern network?" Theo questioned, "No one else knew of this up until now."

"That's because I only just received some crucial information from the most unlikely source," Mern declared.

"Who?" Jaron asked cautiously.

"Arin Rada."

Pregnant silence followed, all the inner council gobsmacked speechless as their eyes and mouths were wide open.

Then Brandyll broke the silence by asking, "Why in the Seven Hells would he give you that sort of information? Surely he would instead leak information to House Wyl in the hopes that both of you weaken each other? Surely this is not some imposter trying to masquerade as him?"

"That is possible," Mern admitted, "I suspected the same, until I opened a letter he personally penned to me."

"What did it say?" Theo asked.

"It went like this: 'To King Mern Gardner IX of the Reach, I shall say this straight: I will not tolerate the continued existence of House Wyl any longer. Historical baggage and recent history has shown House Wyl to be completely unrepentant and a source of trouble if left alive, and so I must trouble you to exterminate House Wyl on my behalf. I know you are suspicious and rightly so, but my reason is this: I do not care what means I use, and if I have to hand you an advantage, so be it. Signed, Arin Rada, Lord of Ny-Tahor.'"

Mern chuckled mirthfully as he finished his recitation, "That bloody Arin, casually saying such words as if his pride is nonexistent. Then again, I think that's exactly why he's so successful."

"But Your Grace, is this not a trap?" Jaron hastily inquired, "You never know what schemes these Dornishmen are conceiving! For all I know, this could be-"

"Jaron," Mern said, "That is enough."

"I… Yes, Your Grace," Jaron hastily apologised and bowed.

"That being said, I must also question if this is a ruse, Your Grace," Brandyll added, "Jaron has reason to be suspicious."

"I know," Mern nodded, "And yet, even if this is a trap, I might as well go forward with it; we have to deal with House Wyl one way or another, and we have a map of the cavern network under Castle Wyl. If it is fake, it is fake, and we just need to adapt from there."

"And… if it is real?" Theo questioned.

This time, Mern's lips curled into a deep frown.

"Then this means Arin Rada truly does not care for pride or image, and that makes him a most terrifying enemy."

All shuddered at Mern's words.