[Chapter Size: 2600 Words.]
Third Person POV.
Monte Cailin.
...
...
Monte Cailin was very different from how Daemon had left it when he departed.
There was no longer so much mess; Stannis' own men had cleaned everything that had been left after Reed's men rescued the last hostages of the war.
But Ramsey Bolton's body was still outside the castle, although they had to remove it from the entrance because of the stench. When they passed by the camp of the men from the Stormlands, they saw his flesh already rotting, with vultures still finishing eating him. It was a body that should have been removed long ago, but since it was the king himself who had done that, anyone who came here kept the body and poured some herb-infused liquids over it to preserve it a little longer and keep vultures and other animals away from the smell.
In the end, the Bolton bastard had become a bizarre, fully reddened creature, without skin, displayed as a war trophy and a reminder of what the king himself could do.
In the next days at the castle, they began discussing which groups would be sent to each front and what the best strategy would be. While Daemon spoke before his men, he said he would send a group, once they reached the Riverlands, to attack the West from both sides, while another part would go to King's Landing.
In the attack on the West, there would be men coming from the sea after sacking Pyke, advancing toward the West, where the kingdom — lacking the Lannister army, which was stationed in King's Landing — found itself in a difficult situation, having to deal only with Daemon's army without an adequate force of their own.
Daemon knew he could not place too much of the free folk's strength into going to Pyke, so he assigned at least half of the Northerners to sail to the Iron Islands, leaving the other half under the command of House Stark and the other Northern lords.
Lord Tallhart and Lord Glover would be going to Pyke, leading the five thousand Northerners. Daemon also placed Tormund with three thousand free folk, believing that fighting against the ironborn would be a good opportunity for him to command the free folk, as he had already done in the West.
He was already somewhat accustomed to the Northerners and the free folk, so it was wise to place him there. Stannis, however, would not be smart to send to Pyke, so Daemon directed him straight to the South.
Stannis also made an agreement with Daemon and the Starks after receiving the offer to leave his wife and daughter in Winterfell, where they would be safer than continuing to travel through war. The former queen, Selyse Baratheon, and former princess, Shireen, were sent to the Stark stronghold to stay with the pregnant queen, and the Stark children who were there would remain in the place, all protected.
Daemon spent most of the day in meetings with the men, devising strategies and analyzing where each of Westeros' key pieces lay, now divided into three factions:
First, the Northern and free folk alliance, together with the Baratheons of the Stormlands.
The Lannisters on the other side still maintained control of the Crownlands, with their army stationed before King's Landing and leaving the West untouched.
And the third faction, about which Daemon continued to learn more. He discovered that the one who helped the Tyrells escape King's Landing was Varys, who seemed highly interested in that faction composed of the Golden Company and some mercenary groups hired in Essos, joining forces with the Tyrells and the Dornish, while Daemon was still trying to gather more information about them.
This would not be a four-sided war as before, but three. Three claimants to the throne, with the only kingdom not yet involved being the Vale, once again remaining silent. Daemon knew Littlefinger was behind Sansa's disappearance, and it was very likely he had taken her hostage and brought her to the Vale. For that reason, he sent ravens to arrive in the coming days, investigating through his other eyes.
Besides the meetings, while they spoke about the South, they also discussed the North. They had already brought the undead creature in the military company, the one they had captured, to the South.
When it was shown to Stannis, he was surprised upon seeing the monster and quickly accepted the war in the North. He already had some information from the witch herself, and the reports of the great army of the free folk circulated throughout the area.
The reason for conquering Westeros was now clear to everyone: they were going to conquer the Seven Kingdoms for the war at the Wall more than for Daemon's own claim, though one did not disconnect from the other.
Daemon made it clear that now they would have to gather all the kingdoms, putting all necessary resources into helping the North, whether with food or financially. Daemon had the support of the Iron Bank, whose representatives were returning to White Harbor before heading back to Braavos.
There was no doubt they would receive support in the face of the threat, but it would still be insufficient.
Aside from the meetings, Daemon spent time with Ygritte and Val, especially when they shared his bed every night. Then came the meals, and they always followed him.
He also trained Lafy for most of his free time, as his squire, instructing the boy on what to do, how to recognize banners, and how to behave before the lords.
The boy was respected for being the king's squire, but he also received somewhat cold looks, both from Northerners and from Stannis' people, for the king had chosen a boy from the free folk — nothing less than the brother of one of his lovers — to take the position of squire when he could have been forging new alliances. But for Daemon, this was already an alliance.
No one had the courage to complain before the king. They would follow Daemon's orders and respect him, as well as those under his protection, one way or another.
On the last day at Moat Cailin, all the groups were separating. Lady Baratheon and Shireen left the castle with a Baratheon escort, returning to Winterfell, while the camps around Moat Cailin began to break apart.
All the ships were already prepared in Dustin territory, which connected to the sea. Around eight thousand men were assigned to the forty-four captured ships, plus eighteen ships the North managed to gather on that side.
Lord Tallhart and Lord Glover were getting ready, and there would also be the Dustin men who would go with them to attack Pyke.
Daemon went to see them personally. They would not only be the key to defeating the ironborn but also the spear at the rear of the kingdom to conquer the West. While the army advanced through the Riverlands, with the Lion's Gate still blocking the entrance of such a large force into the West, they would already be causing chaos with the number of men who would disembark after the fall of Pyke on the western shores.
The ironborn were no longer a major threat; they could be easily destroyed.
"My lords," Daemon called. "Here are all the plans we discussed in our meetings."
Daemon spoke as he took a large scroll and placed it in Lord Tallhart's hands.
"Your Majesty, we thank you," Lord Tallhart said, while Lord Glover also nodded beside him. It was a bit frustrating that the young man was leading such an important part of the North and he was there only to assist, but he could not complain much. After all, the Tallharts fought beside Daemon to free the North, while the Glovers stayed inside the castle. He could not demand much from the king at this moment.
At the same time, the two lords before him couldn't help but be impressed by the information contained within that scroll. Everything they discussed, Daemon had taken the trouble to write down himself later so that nothing would be forgotten. There were siege strategies for the island, how they would dock more effectively, a perfect map of Pyke and the islands, showing where the main defensive forts were and how they could avoid ambushes. Daemon had studied all the ironborn through the eyes of the birds he sent to Pyke.
Hearing that in the meeting had left them stunned. He even stated, more or less, the number of ironborn currently in Pyke: at most about six thousand, while Asha had left the men on the Iron Islands behind and also moved south. It seemed she was going to join the Tyrells and the Dornish with the Golden Company, leaving her father behind, who was not at all pleased. Balon was furious with what had happened in the North, and Daemon amused himself imagining his screams and demands for explanations from his daughter about how they had simply lost half of their entire army in an instant with the arrival of the wildlings from beyond the Wall.
Given the failed attack, Balon lost much support and ended up having many of his ships redirected to aid Asha, who left Pyke at that time, leaving her father even more weakened, with the confirmation that she no longer wished to be involved with the Northerners, considering them too weak and isolated, refusing to accept her father's leadership and seeking allies on her own.
She had even warned her father when she said Pyke would soon be attacked and that they could not deal with a damned dragon from the North, even less with the enraged Northerners. Balon still stomped his foot, refusing to believe her words, calling it an insult and claiming she was safe, giant dragon or not, flying above them.
Now, all old Balon hoped for was that things would calm down so he could think about how to handle everything. He had no idea that, soon, Pyke would be burned with white flames. He was close to the fourth faction, but due to the power it currently held, no one considered him a king anymore, only a poor fool who would fall with time.
"I think this is a waste of time." A voice came from the side as Lord Glover made a grimace. Lord Tallhart already seemed accustomed to the humor of the red-haired wildling, while Tormund approached, mocking Daemon's scrolls.
"Tormund, you look like a fool if you don't use the information. I taught you to read the enemy, not just attack him believing everything is solved with shouting and blood." Daemon mocked Tormund, and seeing the king's displeased look, the wildling raised his hands.
"Fine, I remember: always study your enemy, always think of the best strategy, think about the terrain, the number of men involved, and try to gain an advantage. Don't let yourself be ambushed and always look for a way to surprise them." Tormund recited the words Daemon had taught him over a year. Despite sounding a bit mocking, he still kept respect.
Daemon merely sighed. He didn't put five thousand free folk because of the strategy they needed to follow. Instead, he placed five thousand Northerners and three thousand free folk, while Tormund would lead fewer men, and Tallhart, with Glover's support, would hold a better position.
"You fought beside the Tallharts. Keep doing the same, and I'll let you command this time. I want you to listen to him, understood?" Daemon said.
"All right, all right," Tormund shrugged. "But don't ask me to do anything besides killing an enemy," he said, looking at the young lord, who swallowed hard. The lord of Torrhen's Square himself had heard much about Tormund's wild way in the West, where he simply slaughtered the ironborn every time he found their camps. There was almost no strategy.
"Either way, I will also be there. I just want you to arrive first," Daemon added, offering support. Since he would be in the air, he could not lead the men directly and would leave that to the two northern lords at the front, while the free folk would follow Tormund and even Daemon on the dragon, since they trusted no one else.
"Leave it to us, Your Majesty. We will not disappoint you."
"That's good. Then, good luck with that."
Daemon turned around. A few wolves passed by him, and he merely brushed them lightly as they followed. They would also accompany the two northern lords, precisely to listen and observe how everything was going. They would not even have the right to keep the wolves from invading the meetings.
And this was also the reason Daemon was already so familiar with the enemy's numbers and data; the strategies and even the maps he had made of the ironborn were no longer such a surprise once the reason behind his knowledge became known, with rumors spreading that he held the powers of the First Men — which was not bad, given that he was already a powerful sorcerer who could even transform into a wolf. Knowing he also possessed ancient Northern magic, as a warg, made both the free folk and the Northerners even more satisfied with Daemon representing their old blood.
Daemon then went to where Stannis was with his family. They all stared at him as he approached. "They will be safe in Winterfell," Daemon said, looking at Lady Baratheon, who flinched slightly.
The woman seemed unable to forget that she was no longer a queen. She was quite arrogant with most men who tried to deal with her, and she still appeared to mourn the red witch. Although, in front of Daemon, she seemed to restrain herself, but there was still that displeased look. Daemon amused himself with that before she received a warning look from Stannis to keep her from confronting him.
"Can you really help me as you did with Bran Stark?" The small voice came from the girl beside her mother, sounding timid as Daemon smiled at Shireen.
"Of course I can. I will send some potions myself, ones I intend to make with herbs I gathered and bought to use for your greyscale," Daemon said calmly, and she felt very happy to hear that. Hearing that the king personally saved Bran and made him walk again, she held hope that he could manage all her scars.
"Anyway, good luck on your journey. I sent a letter to my wife and she will certainly take care of you," Daemon informed.
Stannis thanked him, and Daemon left the area, finding the rest of the Northerners preparing to depart. Val and Ygritte were also waiting for him, while a young man with the appearance of a squire, but bearing the Targaryen symbol on his chest, stood between them.
"Lafy, prepare my horse. We're going to start riding south," he asked the squire, and the boy ran off to the stables to fetch the best horse, the one that belonged to the king.
"Finally some action. I was already tired of staying in Winterfell," Ygritte laughed.
"I don't think we'll have open-field battles that easily. Most of the South will fear us and hide behind castles, so don't get too excited, Ygritte," Daemon shrugged, making her huff.
"But that won't stop you from cracking open castles the way you did in the North, right?" Val suggested with a small smile.
Daemon returned the smile. "Of course. I'll be helping both here and in the Iron Islands. But there's still room for some fun."
Daemon moved forward, accompanied by them, to begin the final preparations and have one last meeting with the leaders who would accompany him to the Twins.
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