Capítulo 41: Chapter 41: Alliance
After the meeting was over many Lords had a smile on their faces, the meeting was highly productive considering Aiden was able to give an accurate picture of what was going on in each territory.
Aiden would be leaving that night to visit Riverrun, Seagard, Harrenhal, and Highgarden to provide bracelets to the Lords of each place which will allow instant communication between the houses, giving them a huge advantage over Robert. He would also be heading to Kings Landing to get Myrcella and Tommen out of danger from Robert's fury.
This will accomplish various things, not only will it protect two innocent children, it will drive a wedge between Dorne and Robert since Dorne would find out about the children of Robert being bastards, it will also damage the Lannisters as well. The icing on top will be that Robert would be thrown into a fury that would damage his own side even more than it currently is.
War wasn't always about who had the numbers, who held the better position, or even who had the bigger stick. It was about keeping calm. A calm mind can see what was needed to be done, if you got flustered when things didn't go your way, you can easily make bad decisions. The fog of war has caused many armies, that on paper held the numbers and advantage, to be defeated by much smaller and less equipped enemy forces.
The idea was to infuriate Robert into making irrational decisions, rather than imprison Cercei and Joffrey, Robert would kill them which will turn Tywin against him, even if the infidelity of the Queen could be proven. Tywin will have no choice but to choose to either to take the throne himself, or back Stannis or Renly Baratheon.
This will have the throne in turmoil, basically it would have two seperate civil wars at the same time. This will allow the North to take advantage of the infighting between Stormlands, Crownlands and Westerlands to the fullest.
They could begin their own harrassment into the south by sending one batch of soldiers into Riverlands and another to the Reach, not only would they be able to establish a supply route for food from both lands, they could assist in making trouble for the other lands to weaken them further.
This tactic would also give Dorne a chance to rethink it's previous decision, the main goal was to turn Dorne into the Vale, neutral, since both realms were extremely difficult to attack with an army.
The Vale was a mountainous area, full of hostile mountain tribes and dangerous shadowcats. Plus the pathways between the mountains were treacherous and narrow, so a large army would have to walk in long narrow columns, that is not what you want to be forced into.
Just look at what happened to the Roman legions led by Varus at the massacre in the Teutoberg forest. Varus had 20 thousand soldiers, who not only heavily outnumbered their germanic enemy but was also better equiped and trained. However due to having to move in a long thin column thru the forest, the germanic forces were able to attack the column at various places, causing confusion within the Romans line.
Communication along such a long column is difficult, so when the rear was attacked, the front just kept marching to their doom, without even knowing they were systematically being wiped out.
Then Dorne was a whole other animal, fresh water was sparce in Dorne, it was mainly a large desert. So any marches into Dorne would require any invasion force to have to not only carry enough supplies, but would also need a consistant supply chain maintained to replish food and water to the army.
The Dornish knew this, that was why they didn't fight like a typical army. When Aegon tried to conquer Dorne with three dragons, the Dornish hid away from their cities, never fighting their forces head on. Instead they used guerilla tactics, focusing on Aegons supply routes as he burned their empty cities to the ground with his dragons.
So basically both realms were costly to attack, the Vale being the easier of the two since fresh water and food was at least abundant, reducing the need for relying on supply routes.
Aiden, accompanied by Flamebird, flew to the Riverlands first, setting up teleportation and communication hubs for Riverrun, Seagard, and Harrenhal. Then proceeded to Highgarden to do the same.
His arrival at Highgarden caused a large commotion, not only because he had a dragon with him, but also because he arrived thru the air, completely bypassing its defenses and showing up basically unannounced.
Aiden had seen Olenna Tyrell sitting within her gardens when he flew over, she was studying a map with Willas Tyrell, her grandson, that showed an estimation of the locations of Westerlands, Stormlands and Dornish forces. Olenna may not have been the best military strategist, but she did have keen insight in strategy itself.
Willas Tyrell was an intelligent man as well, although he had a crippled leg, which happened due to his father Mace Tyrell forcing him to join a tournament when he was a little too young and was injured from being thrown off his horse, he enjoyed reading and learning. So he and Olenna along with a few military men were seeing if they could prolong the war even further.
Rather than waste time in landing outside the main gate of Highgarden, then going thru the normal procedures to meet with the Tyrells, Aiden just flew down directly.
Olenna and the several men were discussing options, as they studied the map and moved various pieces representing the various forces, a sudden shadow that covered the map drew their attention then a sudden voice startled them.
"Your information is a little outdated." Aiden stated as he floated in the air with his arms crossed.
When they spun their heads and saw Aiden floating in the air, a small golden dragon flying next to him, his red cape billowing in the wind, a few men let out a high pitched scream. This brought a contingent of guards to come pilling into the gardens with weapons drawn.
Seeing this, Flamebird instant grew to a large size and let out a roar that shook the castle walls. She was always quick to action, and brandishing a weapon against her was tantamount to challenging her. This roar terrified the men even farther.
Aiden and Olenna both raised a hand to gesture each side to stop, Olenna was shocked more than scared, although she was terrified by the large dragon which magically went from the size of a house cat to something that rivaled a whale, she had recognized Aiden's suit.
"You know boy, if I didn't know better, I'd think you were trying to put this old woman into an early grave, you must enjoy scaring people to death." Olenna stated as she observed him and his dragon.
Then Olenna turned to the others and stated, "Leave us. I have been looking forward to this meeting for some time. Do not allow anyone to disturb us until I say otherwise."
As the garden cleared of everyone except Olenna, Aiden slowly floated down to the ground, approached the table with the map and began to move the pieces on the board to reflect what he has seen on his trip to Highgarden.
Olenna waited until Aiden finished moving the pieces into place, her eyes widened after she observed the locations of each force.
"This is accurate?" Olenna asked.
"It is. I saw it with my own eyes. Tywin is trying to lead you into Old Oak, but his true goal is..."
Olenna cut in with the answer before Aiden could finish, "Goldengrove! Makes since, if he can take Goldengrove, than his army would have a direct route to funnel his men from Silverhill all the way to here."
The Mander river was a large river that snaked thru much of the Reach, it fed into the Sunset Sea and forked northeast all the way into the Westerlands, while the other fork went northwest and up thru the reach towards the Crownlands where it forked off multiple times.
There were many towns and villages along the river, allowing the easy transportation of food and trade to be shipped quickly and efficiently all thru the reach. It was why they were so successful at growing and selling food.
"Currently you don't need to worry about Renly, in fact he will probably come seeking an alliance soon with the Reach, the Baratheon brothers are feuding a little right now. I won't tell you how to run your lands but I do suggest not entering into a alliance, things are going to go very badly soon for the brothers. I am here to offer a temporary alliance, as well as setting up trade for food for Riverlands and North." Aiden explained, which made Olenna squint her eyes.
"Temporary alliance? What do you mean by this?" Olenna questioned.
"Well I already know what you are after, I don't hold the power to agree to any marriage between your house and the Targaryens. However," Aiden stated as he then pulled out several bracelets then continued, "I am here to get you in contact with those that do, as well as giving your people a safe haven in case of emergency. This bracelet will put you in touch with those that do; Stark, Whent, Mallister, Tully and Targaryen. Also this bracelet can grant access to my city if you allow me to set up the device to do so, preferably somewhere secure and away from prying eyes."
While Aiden and Olenna's discussion was going on, Tywin Lannister was sitting within his solar with Gawen Westerling, Lord of the Crag and Damon Marbrand, Lord of Ashemark. They would be leading the assault on Goldengrove.
Gawen Westerling was a loyal and honorable man, though many felt he had more honor than he did sense due to his choice in wife, Lady Sybell Spicer. Although she was a beautiful woman, she was not of noble birth, her family were just wealthy merchants.
Damon Marbrand was to be the lead commander while Gawen would be the second in command on the assault. Both men hailed from castles that wouldn't have much strategic losses if attacked and could still hold off an attack, but Tywin figured that the North would stay out of this war since they rarely involved themselves in the south's troubles unless summoned by the Iron Throne.
"You and your men will head to Silverhill, I already have several thousand men on their way there. We need Goldengrove, once we have Goldengrove it will give us free reign to not only assault Highgarden, but we will own that whole stretch of land allowing us to then take Red Lake and Old Oak. We will be able to take a big chunk of fertile lands from the Reach." Tywin explained his plans to the two men.
"Aye, House Rowan is one of the more powerful houses in the Reach. With them taken care of that will dramatically weaken the Reach's military strength. Are we taking Lord Mathis Rowins wife and daughters hostage?" Damon Marbrand asked, but the look he received from Tywin told him everything.
Tywin was known to be extremely brutal to his enemies, it didn't matter if they were nobles or commoners, he not only killed the entire families, he made them suffer terrible deaths. It was why he was so feared by all who were under him, as well as those not found in his territory, many lords didn't want to be enemies of the Lannisters because of Tywin.
Many had heard of the things he had done, even to his son Tyrion. After finding out Tyrion had secretly wed a commoner girl that he fell in love with, Tywin raped the girl in front of Tyrion, then had several of his men do the same after he finished. He claimed she was a whore and gave the girl a gold dragon, then annulled the marriage and sent the girl away. Tyrion was heartbroken and never saw his love again.
There were many instances of Tywin's brutality, he purposely did these acts because he believed it was better to be feared than loved. He was the main reason Rhaegar had such trouble gathering enough lords to depose his father, no one wanted to go against the Mad King while Tywin Lannister was his Hand.
"Make sure it's brutal. Then hang them naked over the main gates, this way Lord Rowan can see how his wife a daughters suffered when he tries to return to retake his castle. He will be angered, he will rush to take revenge, we will easily be able to route his forces since he will be too angry to mount a strong well planned assault."
Gawen Westerling could only shake his head at being ordered to do such a thing, but orders were orders and if he didn't follow them, the same fate could happen to his own wife and daughters.
"Aye, and if we are lucky he will bring Lord Crane and Lord Oakheart along with him. That will make taking Red Lake and Old Oak much easier when we defeat their forces. They will be tired from the march from Old Oak, Lord Roland Crakehall did a good job in luring them to Old Oak, so taking Goldengrove shouldn't be very difficult." Gawan replied.
"Once that is done and we have Goldengrove and have dealt with the defense against Lord Rowan, Gawan you will take several ships to sail south to faint an attack on Highgarden, but just make it look like you are attacking, so have just enough men to sail the ships no more. Damon you will head to Red Lake to take the castle, I want none of House Crane left alive. Roland already has orders to take Old Oak once Lord Rowan retreats back to Goldengrove." Tywin explained his plan.
This would allow his forces to roam unimpeded since any reinforcements would be sent to Highgarden rather than the other two places. As long as there were no heirs left then even after the war was over he would be able to keep those lands for himself, this was the main reason he wanted all the ruling family killed and not imprisoned.
He needed more land since his gold mines were running low, they only had about 15 to 20 years till they wouldn't have any more gold in their mines, so he wanted to get lands that were rich and fertile so they could have a diverse amount of goods.
Food was always needed in Dorne, North, Crownlands and Vale, not only that but Essos also purchased a lot of food. It was the reason the Tyrells were the second richest family in Westeros. They sold food and grain not only to most of Westeros but also to Tyrosh and Braavos as well as other cities in Essos.
After Tywin finished their meeting, both Lords left to prepare their men to leave first light. Aiden and Olenna also completed their discussion, to which she gave Aiden a letter to deliver to Lord Rowan to have his men immediately return to Goldengrove to await the attack.
So Aiden flew straight to Lord Rowan's camp, after delivering Olenna's letter, he began flying to Kings Landing. It was time to light the fuse that was Robert Baratheon. Although Aiden didn't like it, he knew it was necessary.
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