บท 106: The Invasion
"We are the Winter!" Brendan shouted standing at the bow of Black Betha, Commander Seaworth's flagship was now closing in on the south-east part of Harlaw Island between the castles of House Harlaw of Harridan Hill and House Myre of Harlaw.
"""The North Remembers!""" thousands of throats followed his lead and released their emotions to the degree where their shouts were even heard by Lady Dustin and the other people hidden in the cave.
Curiosity got the better of her, as she and all the rest under her insistence exited their hideout to see what was going on.
The group just managed to climb the cliff when with every step they took uphill the more the view before them expanded.
It was beautiful...
There are hundreds of them!" Rina said happily looking at the swarm of ships.
"About 18 000 to 20 000 men" Bryce gave his assessment and he was right.
14000 from the alliance army that moved via land with Lord Stark, 2000 Dustin men from the Oldstones and the rest of Brendan's 1st Legion with the injected new strength from the prospects taking place of the dead or wounded from the last battles.
Ship after ship got closer to the shore.
Her own coat of arms at the lead of the pack, with who she could swear was her son at the bow of it, she just felt it was him and no one could convince her otherwise.
She felt a lump in her throat as her shaking hands covered her trembling mouth.
Even now the chant "The North remembers" could be heard reaching them from such a far distance away.
"Look!" Anguy with his eyes could see the furthest and hearing him everyone look at the shore of the town where the landing party was supposed to disembark.
Rows of Ironborn archers gathered at the beach, there were hundreds of them as a dark cloud of arrows covered the sky making the sun actually dim a moment later.
"No!" Barbrey shouted and walked closer to the cliff only for Rina to stop her.
"My Lady, look!" she pointed at the fleet.
Sails with different colors mixed with each other creating a beautiful sight that would be difficult to forget for anyone who witnessed it.
The Mormont green, Umber red, Karstark black, Forrester black and white, Glenmore dark red, Ryswell bronze, Hornwoods orange and of course... Her son's yellow...
Heavy horn sounded, and as soon as it did 34 of her own house ships joined the one in the lead, gaining speed, and passing all the other ones creating what looked like a yellow tip of an arrow from so far away.
They split the water like a knife, men abord had their shields up as the first salvo of arrows made a clinking sound when impacting their defense.
Then, she had the same feeling as before, in front of her eyes one man went out from the wall of shields, looked at the shore where the Ironmen observed the incoming fleet.
Brendan could feel their fear intensify.
He wasn't calm like in the other battles, he was exited, anxious, bloodthirsty...
"Raaaaaaaaaaaaaagggghhhhh!" Lord Dustin gave a beasty roar, his right hand holding Blackfyre smashed his armour chest piece and the sound of metal clashing travelled on the surface of water far and wide.
Tears dripped down his mother's eyes when she heard her son.
Even if it was just a battlecry, it was still filled with pain and anger everyone could feel inside of it.
The men and women from the 1st Invicta Legion knew best how much their Lord suffered.
Their blood boiled, their hands trembled, their breathing hastened and eyes got red either from feeling the boys pain or from the fury that demanded revenge.
They could barely hold themselves back in place, but soon reached their limit and their throats roared as well.
Their shouts combined forming a waive, almost pushing the defenders back.
Soon after the whole fleet joined, each person felt like their companions did, and even far away the people heard the monstrous sound.
Barbrey just watched and quietly sobbed.
Soon the Dustin's started shooting, one Scorpion bolt after another flew from the ships cutting through the air and impaling the Ironborn archers in batches.
Blood started to mix with the sea water, men shouted and screamed feeling immeasurable pain, the beachhead turned red from blood and guts spilling on it.
One after another they lost their courage seeing their impaled, suffering and dying companions and started to slowly step back from fear.
One started running, then the second, third, tenth, hundredth, soon after like a broken dam there was just panic and chaos amidst their ranks.
Lady Dustin wanted to go there now, wanted to see her son and be finally free from this hell.
"To arms!" Sandor shouted surprising the rest.
They reacted immediately.
Anguy released arrow after arrow, Bryce and Sandor held the front, the Rangers flanked the Ironborn patrol and finished the unwelcomed guests one by one without any losses.
"We need to leave my Lady!" Bryce held her hand as they retreated back to the cave, it was still not the right time.
= = = Wester part of Harlaws Island = = =
"Hold the line!" Brienne shouted mobilizing her men she was leading to battle.
The things she saw on Old Wyk changed the naive Damme to a seasoned warrior, and how could it not, when each of her mistakes was potentially leading her men to their death.
She saw a lot of blood and gore, she released her thoughts that used to glorify the war. Now she knew, there was no glory here.
Only death, smell of rotting bodies being eater by worms, and shit when the bowels of the dead men couldn't held its content.
"Left flank!" powerful voice accompanied by the sound of horn and drums finally made her breath a sigh of relief.
Ser Hightower arrived.
She and the 3000 of her men were the first ones to land on the beach between House Harlaw of the Tower of Glimmering and House Stonetree of Harlaw.
They were to secure and keep the landing site at all costs defending the place until the rest of the army reached the beach.
Captain Dale and his fleet did a magnificent job supporting her and her men with the scorpions from the distance, but some desperate Ironborn units still managed to get through and charged at her and her men.
Brienne no longer turn her head like before whenever she saw death and maimed bodies.
It wasn't anything new anymore.
From the 13 000 men they left Neverwinter with, they landed on Harlaw Island with about 10 500 with the wounded or dead primarily from the guards units and not the Legion.
2500 men lost, some were the new friends she drank, laughed and ate with only for them to die in the siege of the next castle on their way the next day.
There were positive sides of their invasion too.
Clearing the gold and treasures of each taken castle, cleansing the lands of Ironborn, releasing the Thralls and Salt wives among the high population of slaves kidnapped from all the lands in Ironborn's reach.
Her own new squires being two 12 name days old sisters released from slavery just as some Iron scum tried to have some good time with them.
This time she managed to come before the deed happened, but that was not always the case and it was these moments when they did not that haunted her in her dreams.
'Soon... soon all of it will be over...' she thought to herself.
"Hold the wall!" it was time to come back to reality.
= = = Lord Rodrik Harlaw. Ten Towers. = = =
"How the fuck is this possible?" the calmness that the man usually boasted about was nowhere to be seen.
Dark circles below his eyes confirmed the lack of sleet since some pests snuck up to his castle and rescued that bitch.
He couldn't count the heads of his guards now decorating his walls.
She was supposed to be his pass out of this shit hole and now it's all gone! Gone!
The men that stood in front of their Lord looked at the floor, simply not daring to raise their heads afraid it might just roll to the ground the next moment if they did, as it was quite common nowadays.
"All my ships at the bottom of the bay! My two sons with them! Where did the Dustin's get that fleet from?! You all said there is no danger no matter how many soldiers they have with the number of ships they had! I asked you again and again and now what?!" he threw at them the cup filled with the strongest wine he had at his disposal as this was the only thing allowing him to sleep for a little bit.
"My Lord w-we..." one of his trusted men wanted to calm his liege anger.
"We what you incompetent bastard!" Rodrik the reader shouted breathing heavily and stumbling on his feet.
"Fix it! Fix all of it!" he dropped on his throne and closed his eyes for a moment when the doors slammed open loudly before any of the men managed to turn back and leave.
"Fix what you bastard!" Gwynesse Harlaw stormed into the room pointing fingers at her younger brother. "You sentenced us all with your actions! I was supposed to lead our House to glory and not someone as spineless as you! And look at where are we now!?" she came closer to her brother and shouted to his face before her eyes bulged and her body was electrified with shock and pain.
Her gaze looked at her brothers' empty, red eyes, her hand reached to her hart feeling the dagger plunged into it as she lifelessly fell to the cold ground with disbelief in her eyes.
"My Lord! M-my Lord!" a messenger broke the tension and shock from the gathered men, not even seeing the bleeding body at Lord Harlaw feet, from the look of it the man came from House Harlaw of Harridan Hill and just as he entered with the help of the guards he stumbled inside bleeding and coughing.
"The Northmen... t-the Nor..th..m.en..." he died at the entrance just like that, but the message he was trying to convey was clearly received.
Some of the men were afraid, some prepared themselves for their last stand at the side of their Lord, some were secretly planning their escape.
Only Lord Harlaw didn't react more than usual.
"The Winter has come..." his whisper filled the silent room reaching all the men and bringing with it a freezing chill to their spines.
"The Winter has come..." he slumped in his throne almost lifelessly staring into nothingness.
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