Chapter Thirty Two: Encroaching Struggles

Another turn of the moon elapsed.

Then, one day in the early morning, a small party of thirteen approached Moat Cailin from the south. The group was composed of a dozen men and one woman. Lord Gregor Clegane himself greeted them at the gate, as he had been expecting them.

The men were evidently crannogmen. They were relatively short, especially when compared to the average Northmen. They wore hooded cloaks that draped their shoulders like shrouds, and instead of swords, they carried tridents and nets.

The woman was taller than any of her twelve male companions. Gregor knew why; she was no crannogwoman.

She was clad in a cloak as well. The hood was drawn up so that it concealed her face in shadow. While they were outside, neither she nor the twelve men removed their hoods.

Gregor bade them welcome to the moat, and he escorted them up to his solar.

Once they were there, the thirteen new arrivals pulled back their hoods and revealed their faces.

The Mountain's attention immediately went to the woman.

She had changed.

For one thing, she was taller and more curvaceous. But those changes were natural. Some of the others were not.

Her hair was dyed blond. Her once grey irises were now hazel. Her cheeks were dotted with freckles. Her face had somehow been molded so that it appeared smaller.

Only her dearest friends and her immediate family would recognize her up close. Anyone else would have not the faintest inkling that she was a wolf in sheep's clothing.

But she was still a wolf. A brown-haired, grey-eyed, pale-skinned, long-faced wolf. One day, she would appear as such again.

Those changes to her complexion were all reversible; none of them were permanent. For the present, however, they would have to remain. That was the only way to keep her safe. And the only way to keep the one she loved most in the world safe and nearby at the same time.

The present situation had been the result of Ashara Dayne's ingenious thinking.

When she saw how desperately Lyanna Stark yearned for her son, Lady Ashara had devised an elaborate plan to bring her and Jon together. This plan would not involve revealing to the world that Lyanna was still alive or exposing Jon's true identity.

Strictly speaking, the concept was simple. Lyanna would travel to Moat Cailin in disguise under the pretense of a commoner looking for work. Subsequently, Eddard Stark would send his "bastard" nephew to Moat Cailin to be fostered by House Clegane.

Gregor's job was to have Jon serve as his squire, and to have Lyanna serve as a maid. To be precise, she would be Jon's personal maid.

Changing Lyanna's appearance and giving her a new identity had been the easy part. The hard part had been to convince Lord Eddard to collaborate with them. That was not only hard, but also rather time-consuming.

Since Greywater Watch had no rookery, the only means to communicate with House Reed was through riders. Lord Howland had had Lady Ashara's plan delivered to Winterfell just a few weeks after its inception. The message had been written in a type of riddle-based code, just in case it was somehow intercepted by another party.

At first, Lord Eddard had refused to even entertain considering this plan, for fear of what could happen to his sister or her son if they were discovered. Although he had dispatched that response very soon, it had taken the rider a few more weeks to return to Greywater Watch.

This was why it had taken seven years to bring Ashara's scheme to fruition. Most of that time was spent exchanging pieces of a written argument between Lord Eddard and Princess Lyanna. He was determined not to accept that extremely risky plan; she was equally determined to persuade him to accept it.

Lyanna ultimately won the argument when she pleaded to her brother to hear her as a fellow parent. She pointed out that if Eddard was somehow separated from Robb, Sansa, Arya, or Bran, he would do everything in his power to reunite with them, even at great personal risk. When Ned was unable to deny any of that, he finally gave in.

Fortunately, Jon Snow himself did not protest when he first learned of this proposal. As a matter of fact, he was ecstatic at the thought of going to Moat Cailin and meeting the famous Lord Gregor Clegane. Gregor's deeds were well-known at Winterfell, especially by the children, highborn or otherwise. As it happened, Robb and Arya Stark were apparently a little jealous that their cousin would be the first of them who got to meet the Mountain.

Gregor Clegane had not been informed of this matter until after Eddard had conceded to his sister's request. That was the day when that one rider arrived with that fateful letter.

After getting over his initial shock over Lyanna's coming to Moat Cailin, Gregor was quick to go along with Ashara Dayne's ploy. He almost wished he had thought of it first. He felt he could have; he had to admit it was very meticulously and cleverly devised.

He was pleased with the notion of having Jon Snow as his squire. Willas Tyrell had been his squire since the tourney at Lannisport, but while he had performed his duties superbly, he had celebrated his eighteenth nameday that year. He was getting a little too old to continue squiring. As the future lord to a Great House, he had an image of dignity and respectability to uphold in his adulthood.

The heir to Highgarden would continue serving on Gregor's secret council, but Jon Snow would replace him as the Mountain's squire.

Meanwhile, the arrangement between Lyanna and Jon had been very specifically detailed: she would be his maid and nothing more. To protect him, she would not tell him who she was or how she was related to him. Even if he swore he would never tell anyone else, she could not risk anyone else finding out the truth. Of course, Varys already knew the truth, and he would continue to keep it secret, but the Spider was not the only person in Westeros with spies.

Despite these conditions, Lyanna had no intention of withholding the truth from Jon forever. All that mattered was that she was close to him; that was all she wanted. Plus, with this arrangement, he would at least be familiar with her, and it would be a whole lot easier for him to grasp the truth when she finally came forward to him.

Jon Snow arrived at Moat Cailin later that same day. He was escorted there by a score of his uncle's men-at-arms. Gregor welcomed him at the northern gate and showed him to his room.

Jon's quarters were in the middle of the Lord's Tower. Gregor and Dacey's bedchamber was located five floors above him. Vallory was still in the nursery on the floor below her parents' room, whilst Rickard and Alyver shared a room on the next highest floor.

The Lord's Tower was typically reserved for House Clegane and their most prominent retainers. Despite being labelled a bastard, Jon Snow was still recognized as the son of a Stark. Due to that and the fact that he was Gregor's new squire, he was given a private room in the Lord's Tower.

Lyanna was in Jon's room when he and Lord Gregor got there. When she finally saw her son after eleven years of estrangement, she was awed. He had grown so much. He looked so much like her (before she had modified her appearance, at any rate).

She felt an overwhelming desire to rush forward and embrace her son. For his sake and hers, she did not. She merely greeted him with a smile, a light dip of her head, and a practiced muttering of "m'lord."

He thanked her for making him feel welcome and proceeded to get settled.

Gregor decided to leave them alone for a time. He figured he may as well let them bond, even if they could only do so as master and servant.

He walked away from that bedroom with a deep-seated feeling of relief. So far, Lady Ashara's scheme had been executed perfectly and without any unexpected complications. As long as Lyanna could keep up this mummer's farce as a maid, there would be no need for Gregor to worry that she or Jon would ever be placed in grave danger.

A couple months after Rhaegar Targaryen's second wife and third child arrived at Moat Cailin, Gregor had his next name day. That year, he turned nine and twenty years old. Nine and twenty. He had never lived to that age in his first life.

Gregory Welch had been twenty-eight years and seven months old when that terrorist suspect shot him in the back. He had served the Central Intelligence Agency faithfully for six of those years, and he had accomplished many great deeds in the span of those six years.

Gregor Clegane was still proud of what he had managed to do as a federal agent of the United States. Be that as it may, he was far prouder of what he had achieved as a Westerosi.

Gregory Welch may have done a fantastic job of protecting his country, but his occupation had left him with very little time for personal life. Because of that, he had never known the joys of having a family of his own. He had never married. He had never had children. He had even been single at the time of his death.

Gregor Clegane was able to execute his duty to the Seven Kingdoms and start a family at the same time. He had been married for eight years, and he was a father of three. Dacey, Rickard, Alyver, and Vallory meant more to him than anything else in either world. They were his primary source of everyday inspiration; they motivated him to continue working towards making Westeros a better place for all.

On the subject of bettering Westeros, Gregor had been contemplating various ways he could use his knowledge from his first life to benefit the Seven Kingdoms. He had already enhanced the architectural aspect by introducing cement and concrete, and he had invested gunpowder in the wartime effort.

During the Great Summer, he wondered how else he could enrich Westeros' culture. Then it dawned on him: why not do so through speech?

CIA Agents were often encouraged to learn a second language. Gregory Welch could speak three. Apart from English, he was fluent in both Spanish and Italian. He had learned both in college. They proved especially useful in his assignments that involved investigating drug cartels and the mafia.

Obviously, no one spoke Spanish or Italian in this world. As such, there had been no opportunity for Gregor to use either of them. All the same, he could still remember how to read, write, and speak in both without error.

That gave him a distinct advantage. He could use both languages as a secret code. All he had to do was sort out his most trustworthy allies and teach them one or both dialects. Then he would be able to communicate with them without risk of being overheard.

After pondering on the issue extensively, Gregor decided he would teach Spanish to the officers of the Legion without Banners, and he would teach Italian to his family members and closest allies.

Unsurprisingly, everyone who was made aware of one or both of those languages was stunned. They were under the impression that Gregor had composed those languages on his own. Luckily, he managed to convince them otherwise. He claimed that he had discovered a set of scrolls aboard Euron Greyjoy's vessel, and that these "scrolls" had been plundered from two long-gone civilizations from beyond Essos. The scrolls contained an extensive catalogue of those kingdoms' respective languages, as well as a comprehensive manual of how to translate both of them to the Common Tongue.

To properly "preserve" the languages, he claimed to have taken sole custody of those scrolls, and he would honor the memory of the ancient civilizations by reviving their languages and utilizing them as secret codes. His retainers and subordinates had been in high favor of that idea.

Ever since the start of the Great Summer, Gregor had been teaching Spanish to hundreds of people and Italian to dozens. After five years, most of them could speak them rather well. None of them had fully mastered either language, but they showed tremendous promise. As such, there was definite hope that some of them would manage to master Spanish, Italian, or both.

While he educated his family, friends, and allies, Gregor Clegane considered learning yet another language. That would be quite useful if he ever had need to sail across the Narrow Sea. After looking over his options, he concluded that High Valyrian seemed to be the most ideal.

Thus, Gregor made it his goal to learn the old dialect of the Targaryens. That objective proved to be challenging, but doable all the same. His progress learning High Valyrain was gradual; it was far harder to understand than Italian or Spanish. Fortunately, Maester Kennick and a few of the more cultured Legionnaires were able to guide and assist him.

Despite all this time focused on language skills, Gregor did not spend the entirety of his day developing new forms of communication with others. In fact, that only occupied a minor part of his typical day. The rest involved training with swords, conversing with his lieutenants, more covert meetings to discuss the fate of Westeros, and similar topics.

One of these topics was the main relationships throughout the nine regions of Westeros, especially the ones that involved his family.

A few more months after Gregor celebrated his twenty-ninth nameday, he received a raven from Casterly Rock. It brought news of a certain wedding. This wedding was significant in that it made Gregor kin to the Great House of the Westerlands.

Earlier that week, Tyrion Lannister and Ellyn Clegane had been joined together in the sept of Casterly Rock. Their betrothal had lasted a full five years, as they had decided to wait until Ellyn turned eight and ten.

Normally, Tywin Lannister would have had the two of them joined as soon as possible. However, due to certain circumstances, he had allowed them that half-decade wait.

Ever since Ellyn returned Brightroar to House Lannister and Gregor convinced Jaime to retake his place as the heir to Casterly Rock, Lord Tywin had been much more thoughtful and amenable of the Cleganes. Gregor was still certain the Lion Lord would use Ellyn as a political hostage, but at least now, he would treat her with some amount of kindness. As harsh, unforgiving, and immoral as Tywin could be, he did not become cruel without provocation. Long as Ellyn behaved – and Gregor had little doubt she would – she was in no danger.

Gregor wished he could have attended his sister's wedding, but his duties in the North impeded his availability. Sandor managed to attend, though. In fact, he was the one who sent the letter. He provided his brother with a lengthy account of what had happened.

The cloaking part had been an interesting spectacle. By now, Ellyn was over six feet tall, whereas Tyrion was slightly closer to four than five. In order for him to drape his house cloak around her shoulders, she had to kneel down in a relaxed pose. Luckily, she had done that willingly and happily, much to Tyrion's relief. She had spared him a great deal of embarrassment, which he was grateful for.

The feast had been seven courses long with an occasional minstrel playing a few songs. Unsurprisingly, "The Rains of Castamere" had been a recurrent number. Only Tywin Lannister would play such a song at a wedding feast.

At Tyrion's insistence, they had skipped over the bedding ceremony. Gregor was pleased by that. He did not like the thought of a bunch of strange men publicly stripping his sister down and then groping and fondling her while they carried her to be bedded by her husband.

According to what Sandor told him, Ellyn was now tall and strong enough that she could lift almost any man she faced. With that in mind, Tyrion would be no challenge.

While the bedding ceremony had been called off, the bedding itself had not. Sandor could verify that; he and Obara had the misfortune of being given the guest bedroom right next to the bedding chamber. He had heard everything – everything –that went on in the adjoining room. Even he and Obara had never been THAT loud. Worse yet, Obara seemed engrossed in listening.

Sandor was glad they had not brought Tyta and Mors with them to the Rock. Still, the Hound had gotten no sleep that night. Apparently, neither did Tyrion or Ellyn.

When he encountered Tyrion and Ellyn at breakfast the following morning, they seemed rather smitten with each other. Evidently, she had been looking forward to and enjoyed the previous night just as much as Tyrion had. It must have helped that Ellyn had spent much of the last five years travelling between Clegane's Keep and Casterly Rock. That had enabled her and Tyrion to get much closer to each other.

In any case, Gregor was pleased to discover that his sister was now happily married. He knew Tyrion would do everything within his power to keep her safe from everything and everyone who could ever mean her harm, including his lord father.

Alas, the joyous period following Ellyn's wedding did not last as long as Gregor hoped it would. Not a fortnight later, another raven reached Moat Cailin. This one's words were as dark as its wings.

Lord Tarrence Clegane's palsy had gotten consistently worse over the course of the past five years. It had encompassed his legs as well as his arms, and it had continued to spread throughout more of his body. At the start of that same year, it had reached his head.

Just the other day, he had suffered what Gregor would have called a cerebral hemorrhage in his first life. In this universe, it was simply referred to as bleeding of the brain.

Whatever one called it, it was what finally killed Lord Tarrence Clegane.

Even after reading the letter four times, Gregor could not believe it. His father was dead.

A short memorial service had been held for Lord Tarrence. It was a private affair; only the Cleganes of Clegane's Keep had been in attendance. Tyrion had come as a sign of respect for his wife and his late father-by-law. Lady Daliah had been quite appreciative of that act of kindheartedness.

Gregor was the only member of his family that had been unable to attend. His mother and siblings did not fault him for being unavailable, but he still felt guilty for not being able to help lay his father down to rest.

After the funeral, Sandor had renewed House Clegane's oath of fealty to Lord Tywin and King Robert. He was no longer the heir to Clegane's Keep; he was now the lord of it.

Like his family in the south, Gregor mourned deeply for his father. However, he could not afford to lament on his death for too long. Or, at least, he could not make it the sole occupier of his thoughts. Much work remained to be done to prepare Westeros for the Long Night. That was still the Mountain's primary responsibility.

By this point in time, around ten thousand wildlings had been brought south of the Wall. Every four months, more of them arrived in the Seven Kingdoms.

The wildlings were no longer confined to the North. Using his connections throughout Westeros, Gregor had managed to arrange for many of them to locate to other parts of the Seven Kingdoms.

Some of the more aggressive wildlings had settled in parts of the Vale. They got along rather well with the mountain clans of the region.

Some of the more peaceable wildlings had settled in parts of the Riverlands. They mostly resided along the Trident. Under Lord Stevron's command, House Frey had been very accommodating of the Free Folk.

Some of the more prolific wildlings had settled in parts of the Reach. They had shared their farming and hunting techniques with a great number of the natives, which enabled the locals to be even more productive than before.

It required great deal of time, patience, coercion, initiative, debate, and tolerance, but Gregor finally managed to establish some form of lasting peace between the Free Folk and the inhabitants of the Seven Kingdoms.

Every now and then, there were still a few isolated incidents between the wildlings and a certain lord. Gregor took charge of mediating in those disputes. Usually, he managed to offer a solution that most of the involved parties were content with. Of course, he could never please everyone, but what mattered was that the conflict was always put down without any lasting damage.

There were still over ninety thousand wildlings in the lands north of the Wall. Of those, Mance Rayder had sway over perhaps thirty or forty thousand. Fortunately, he was continuously working towards winning over more of them. With every new party that was successfully sent south, more of the Free Folk were induced to join Mance's cause.

Gregor would leave the burden of bringing the wildlings to the Seven Kingdoms up to Mance. The Mountain's job in that regard would only be to care for and monitor the Free Folk once they were there.

Relations between the Free Folk and the residents of the Seven Kingdoms gradually improved overtime. By the latter half of 294 A.C., they were more or less stable.

That was when Gregor decided it would be most ideal to tell the public the true reason for bringing the Free Folk into their domain. He sent a message to each of the King and each of the Lords Paramount with the suggestion that they break the news, and each of them wrote back their agreement.

At the end of 294 A.C., news of the Long Night was announced throughout the realm.

Gregor could not predict how every person in Westeros would react, but he could imagine how they would take the news. As it happened, the average person's actual reaction was not very different from the expected reaction. There was shock. There was disbelief. There was terror. There was fear. There was skepticism. Most of all, there was fanaticism.

Many had refused to believe that the Others were actually going to return to the world.

There were a few individuals who suspected that this announcement was merely a ploy designed by the Mountain and the Great Families to ensure the smallfolk's loyalty. Then the wildlings claimed that they believed in the credibility of the announcement. The Free Folk had no reason to mislead them in this regard, so the theory that the announcement was a hoax had died very quickly.

Once its credibility was generally accepted by all, there was nationwide panic. Many wished to fortify themselves in their homes or relocate to someplace further south. There were several who even considered sailing across the Narrow Sea. At one point, the people were so frantic that they nearly turned on each other.

Luckily, under the guidance of Lord Gregor Clegane, King Robert Baratheon, and the other eight Lords Paramount, the country was saved from a tumultuous wave of chaos. Ironically, the Free Folk proved to be quite useful in that process. They were able to assure the smallfolk, the landed knights, and the noble lords alike that they all have excellent chances of surviving the Long Night. Their prior experience north of the Wall provided ample credits to those claims.

That reassurance was what primarily enabled Gregor, the King, and the Great Lords to restore peace and order throughout the realm. In turn, relations between the Free Folk and the Seven Kingdoms took a sharp turn for the better.

Indeed, now that there was a form of lasting peace between the two civilizations, everyone could focus properly on taking additional measures to prepare against the Long Night.

For the last five years, Lord Stannis Baratheon had seen to the mining of dragonglass on Dragonstone. Several crates of the compound had been transported to the Wall to be forged into daggers, swords, arrowheads, and spearheads.

Already, Lord Stannis had provided the Night's Watch with enough dragonglass to properly arm each and every one of the black brothers.

That in itself said something, as the Watch was about five times larger than it had been during Greyjoy's Rebellion. It had grown from six hundred in number to approximately three thousand.

The King had followed Gregor's recommendation of providing certain incentives in effort to convince more people to enlist in the Watch. As a result, men from all over the country had voluntarily taken the black for the sake of their loved ones. With some convincing from Gregor Clegane, Jeor Mormont, and Mance Rayder, many of the wildlings were persuaded to join the Watch, too. There were even a handful of Essosi who joined their ranks.

With all these new black brothers, the Watch was able to reopen several of their abandoned fortresses. Castle Black, Eastwatch-by-the-Sea, and the Shadow Tower were no longer the only occupied castles along the Wall. Now Westwatch-by-the-Bridge, Greyguard, Icemark, Deep Lake, Greenguard, Long Barrow, Oakenshield, and Sable Hall were adequately manned and defended, as well.

The Torches, Rimegate, Stonedoor, Woodswatch-by-the-Pool, Sentinel Stand, Hoarfrost Hill, Queensgate, and the Nightfort were still closed, but it was hoped that they would be reopened by 300 A.C. Based on the Watch's projected rate of recruits, that could very well be the case.

Supplying the Wall with weapons and men was just one of the.

Trade agreements had been established between Westeros and Essos. In the event that the Seven Kingdoms ran out of food during the next winter, they would have to ensure more provisions were brought in from across the Narrow Sea. It would not do for them to survive the onslaught of White Walkers just for them to perish of starvation.

Furthermore, the bonds between the nine regions of Westeros continued to grow stronger, mainly through marriage. It seemed that every other month, a landed knight, minor lord, or noble lord from was getting wed to a highborn lady from another part of the country.

There was one match in particular that surprised even Gregor.

After some long, ponderous meditation, Tywin Lannister had decided to setup a match between Jaime and a highborn lady from outside the Westerlands. That alone may have astonished many. What really stunned Gregor was who Lord Tywin chose for his heir. He had selected Lynesse Hightower.

Since all the daughters of the current Great Lords were too young for Jaime, Tywin had to resort to picking a woman from a noble house. Gregor could understand why he chose a woman from the Reach, and why he chose that specific house, but why Lynesse?

Then again, of Lord Leyton Hightower's six daughters, the only other one who was still unwed was Malora, but she was likely too old for Jaime. Plus, she still carried the moniker Mad Malora, and considering what Jaime had done to the last person who had been labeled "Mad" by others… just the thought was disconcerting.

At any rate, Jaime Lannister and Lynesse Hightower were wed near the start of 295 A.C. Their wedding was much grander than the one between Tyrion and Ellyn, but the bride and groom were notably less taken with each other this time. Indeed, there was little love between the Kingslayer and the Oldtown girl. He had only married at the insistence of his lord father, and she was more interested in the benefits that she could gain from this union.

Fortunately, Jaime was not as exploitable or easy to coerce as Lord Jorah Mormont would have been. He kept his wife finely clothed, sheltered, and provided for, but he did not go out of his way to please her. He encouraged her to count her blessings and cherish each one.

Whatever the case, this marriage could not have been any worse that Jaime fucking his sister.

Additionally, Gregor had little doubt that House Lannister would not suffer the same fate as House Mormont had in the original universe. He was gladdened by the knowledge that Jaime was more assertive than the man who was supposed to have been Lynesse's husband original. Of course, Lord Jorah was by no means a pushover, but he had been hopelessly misled in his failed attempts to appease Lynesse.

It was quite fortunate that he had fallen in love with Nymeria Martell in this universe. The Dornishwoman was nowhere near as demanding as the Reachwoman, and she was far easier to please. In fact, all she ever asked of her lord husband was that he let her fight alongside him in everything. Having seen her in battle and knowing what she was capable of, Lord Jorah coincided to that simple request.

Although House Mormont's honor had been spared, there were still some quarrels from the original universe that required Gregor's mediation.

The biggest example of these disputes came about in 296 A.C., when House Whitehill of Highpoint threatened to go to war with House Forrester of Ironrath. This had been precipitated by how Asher Forrester had lain with Gwyn Whitehill and claimed her maidenhead. Even though she had gone to Asher's bed willingly, her father Lord Ludd had been quick to call it rape.

The Forresters were sworn to Deepwood Motte, and the Whitehills were sworn to the Dreadfort. However, neither Galbart Glover nor Roose Bolton were eager to get involved in this matter. Even Lord Eddard Stark himself would not intervene. All of them were just allowing the two houses to resolve the conflict amongst themselves.

Lord Gregor Clegane, however, was more than willing to intercede. He, Dacey, and a whole platoon of Legionnaires made for the wolfswood as soon as they heard of Lord Whitehill's threat to declare war.

They arrived at Ironrath just in time. Lord Ludd was there; he had been "negotiating" with the Forresters. He had given Lord Gregor Forrester an ultimatum: either banish Asher from Westeros, or he would rally his forces and march on Ironrath.

Fortunately, Gregor Clegane stepped in before Lord Forrester had to make his decision. That was when he took over the talks, and the negotiating went much more smoothly from there.

Lord Gregor Forrester and his kin were gracious hosts, just as Gregor expected them to be.

Meanwhile, Lord Ludd Whitehill was every bit as pompous, irritating, unpleasant, obstinate, and insufferably rude as he had been in the video game.

Of course, Gregor was not limited to a set of dialogue options like in the game. That was very fortunate, as he thought most of those options were pathetically submissive, especially when compared to what he would have preferred to have said in the Forresters' position.

Truthfully, Gregor had not cared very much for the video game to begin with. He had been a bit of a casual gamer in his first life. Most of his experiences involved products by Bethesda, Valve, Ubisoft, and Electronic Arts. He had played a few Telltale games, as well. He thoroughly enjoyed their Walking Dead and Wolf Among Us games. But he despised their Game of Thrones game.

One reviewer had called it "a masochist's wet dream." While Gregor felt that was an accurate description, he preferred to call it "a torturous, unrewarding heap of fuck-trash."

But that was just his opinion. Season 2 of the game was rumored to be in development. Alas, he had not lived long enough to see it released. Even so, He was certain it could not have been any worse than the first game, especially since House Whitehill had lost the protection of House Bolton at the end of Season 6 in the show. They were all but doomed to fall.

Aside from that, Gregor had to admit that for all its numerous flaws, Season 1 of the game did have its redeeming moments. Mainly stabbing Britt to death and kicking him off the Wall, beating and blinding Gryff Whitehill, shoving a longsword through Harys' mouth, and beheading Ludd Whitehill.

Sitting at the meeting table across from Ludd, Gregor would have loved to behead him for real. He had the means, the opportunity, and the privilege to do so. He could do it just as stoically and emotionlessly as that cunt Ramsay had murdered Ethan Forrester.

All he had to do was approach Ludd, draw Summit, swing it through the air, and then his ugly melon of a head would roll across the ground. Later, when Ned Stark wished to know what happened, the Mountain could just claim that Lord Whitehill posed a direct threat to the security of Westeros, and he had merely eliminated that threat accordingly.

Nonetheless, Gregor was still determined not to make any unnecessary enemies. In addition to that, since Gwyn Whitehill was a reasonable person, Gregor was certain one of her brothers had to be somewhat reasonable, as well. Obviously Gryff was not. Karl was already long dead, and Ebbert was studying to become a maester. Hopefully Torrhen was more decent than his father and younger brother.

When Ludd was finished ranting about how Asher had "dishonored" his daughter, Lord Gregor Forrester had his chance to defend his son. The Mountain listened attentively to both men, but the Lord of Ironrath was plainly the more rational of the two.

To avoid confusion, only the Lord of Ironrath was called "Gregor." The Lord of Moat Cailin was simply referred to as "The Mountain" when both men were in the same room.

Lord Forrester revealed that Asher was willing to marry Gwyn to lay any questions of honor to rest. Asher was there, and he confirmed his father's claims; he was not opposed to wedding Gwyn. Gwyn herself had attended, as well, and she did not protest Lord Gregor Forrester's proposal. She actually seemed in favor of it.

Apparently, Lord Whitehill thought his family was too good to be associated with a member of House Forrester in that way. He would only be content with Asher being deported from the Seven Kingdoms or with Forrester blood on his blade.

The Mountain would allow him neither.

As the King's Master of Order, the Mountain's authority superseded that of either lord. As such, he decreed that no one would be banished and no one would declare war on another house without his consent. He was, however, partial to Lord Forrester's proposal of wedding Asher to Gwyn.

Asher and Gwyn themselves were delighted by that prospect, and Lord Forrester was pleased to consider any course of action that did not involve bloodshed.

Ludd was the only individual there who disapproved of that suggestion. He seemed adamant that unless Asher was sent away, he would march against House Forrester.

Now it was the Mountain's turn to give Ludd an ultimatum: he could either accept his proposal of marrying Gwyn to Asher, or he could go ahead with his declaration of war. But if he chose the latter, the Mountain informed him that the Legion without Banners would join the fighting on the Forresters' side.

The Mountain felt a type of vicious satisfaction at watching the smug grin on Ludd Whitehill's face be hastily replaced by a horrified grimace. Lord Gregor Forrester seemed just as startled as Ludd, but when he grasped the fact that the Mountain was on his side, a grin came across his face. As for Asher, he merely smirked. Gywn looked nearly as nervous as her father.

Ultimately, Ludd Whitehill grudgingly agreed to Lord Gregor Clegane's terms, much to Asher and Gwyn's delight and Lord Forrester's relief. However, he refused to have any part in financing the wedding. The Mountain was content with that. Since the proposal had been his, he offered to pay for it out of his own pocket. That was quite doable, as Moat Cailin's treasury was practically overflowing with gold.

Three weeks later, Asher Forrester and Gwyn Whitehill were married before the heart tree of Ironrath. Galbart Glover, master of Deepwood Motte, conducted the ceremony. Ludd had elected not attend, so Torrhen Whitehill came in his father's place to give Gwyn away. He did not seem averse in any way to the concept of his sister marrying a Forrester.

That was a sign that the Mountain had not been overly optimistic about Ludd Whitehill's thirdborn son.

The Mountain and the top officers of the Legion without Banners had been invited to the wedding, and the Mountain had gladly accepted.

When Asher and Gywn took their vows before the heart tree, no one there could question that they meant every word they said. They were smitten with one another.

During the feast, Lord Gregor Forrester raised two different toasts. The first was to this grand step that was being taken to repair the old rivalry between House Forrester and House Whitehill. Indeed, Gregor Clegane felt they were a regular Romeo and Juliet. Hopefully, they would not have the same ending as Romeo and Juliet (even though it was in this world, where people literally dropped dead all the time).

The second toast was to Lord Gregor Clegane and the Legion without Banners. The Mountain was surprised to be singled out in such a way, but he said nothing when the Lord of Ironrath made this announcement. Lord Gregor Forrester declared that he and his owned the Mountain a great debt, as without him the union between Asher and Gwyn would never have been possible.

The Mountain humbly accepted that honor, and he did not deny the truth of Lord Gregor's allegation.

Immediately after the feast, Asher and Gwyn retreated to the bedchamber. Although there were no bedding ceremonies in the North, one look at the lustful gaze exchanged between the bride and groom, and there was little doubt that their marriage would be very much consummated that very night.

Gregor Clegane and his Legionnaires returned to Moat Cailin later that night. On the ride back, Gregor wondered how long it would be before Asher and Gwyn became parents. He guessed not too much time would pass before they had their first child. After all, it seemed just about everyone else was having babes these days. More of them, in some cases.

For instance, Lady Catelyn Stark gave her lord husband a third son in early 295 A.C. He was named Rickon, a variant of Rickard, after Lord Eddard's late father.

That same year, Lysa Arryn gave birth to her third child, a daughter named Donella.

In the final month of 295, A.C. Nymeria Mormont gave Lord Jorah another daughter named Alys.

In the first month of 296 A.C., Dacey had her and Gregor's fourth child. This one was a boy they named Larys.

Later that same year, Obara Clegane gave Sandor a second son named Dermot, and Nymeria birthed her and Jorah's third girl, whom they named Bessa.

Queen Cersei Baratheon had her final child, a son whom she and Robert named Tommen, in 297 A.C. Like his elder brother and sisters, he possessed black hair and blue eyes.

For the latter half of the Great Summer, House Lannister was as busy as any other family.

For each year following her marriage to Jaime, Lynesse Lannister birthed one child. All three were girls, whom she and Jaime named Merian, Eryn, and Selina.

Gregor could imagine that Tywin Lannister was at least a little furious that his firstborn son still did not have a male heir after three attempts. Jaime probably did not care which gender his children were, and Lynesse was most likely indifferent one way or another.

In early 298 A.C., Tyrion and Ellyn were blessed with their first child. They had a healthy baby boy named Duncan. Like all children of Clegane descent, he was larger than normal at birth. Fortunately, Ellyn had a far easier time birthing her son than Dacey or Obara had birthing their own children. At first, Tyrion had simply been overjoyed that his son had not been born a dwarf. After that relief set in, he was happy just to have a child of his own.

Gregor was ecstatic for both his sister and Tyrion. They were two of the best people he knew; they deserved to find happiness with each other and with their newborn son.

Near the start of 299 A.C., Dacey had her and Gregor's fifth and final child. They had another boy, and they decided to call him Torrhen after the King who Knelt.

Shortly before Torrhen Clegane entered the world, Gregor received news from across the Narrow Sea.

Lord Monford Velaryon and Ser Davos Seaworth's forces had finally caught up with Viserys and Daenerys Targaryen. They had intercepted the Mad King's two younger children in Pentos. They were staying at the estate of Illyrio Mopatis.

Magister Illyrio had the means to keep the Targaryen children in and the Westerosi soldiers out indefinitely. Fortunately, Lord Varys had apprised him of the Royal Army's intentions beforehand. When the Magister was assured that the prince and princess would not be harmed, he allowed Lord Monford, Ser Davos, and a fraction of their forces entrance to his home.

They had spent the next week explaining their presence in Essos. They revealed that although they had been ordered to locate the Targaryens, they were not going to force them to travel anywhere with them. Essentially, Viserys and Daenerys could continue to travel as they had before. But there were a couple of conditions. Firstly, they could not come to Westeros just yet, and secondly, they had to have a large, heavily-armed Westerosi escort with them everywhere they went. King Robert had been very adamant on both of those terms.

At the end of the week, Lord Monford and Ser Davos sent back a thorough report of their first encounter with the Targaryen children. Basically, Viserys Targaryen had been exceptionally difficult to work with, but Daenerys Targaryen was more than willing to hear them out. The prince was clearly the Mad King's son; the princess was not-so clearly the Mad King's daughter. In any case, the Royal Fleet had successfully established contact with the Targaryen children.

Lord Monford, Ser Davos, and the majority of their ships were back in the Seven Kingdoms by year's end. They left behind a company of one hundred men – made up of warriors from all over Westeros – to protect, guard, and supervise Viserys and Daenerys' activities at all times. Naturally, Viserys had protested, but he had little choice but to comply with Robert's orders. Daenerys, on the other hand, welcomed the Westerosi soldiers. From her point of view, they would be able to protect her from everything, including her brother.

Once more, Gregor was pleased. So far, all his measures and objectives to prepare Westeros for its darkest hour were coming along very nicely. Nearly everything had gone according to plan. At this rate, Westeros would very soon be fully prepared against any type of threat to its balance of harmony. He managed to achieve this goal in the middle of 299 A.C.

That was fortunate indeed, as winter was coming.