WILOW-Ch.321: Calling for the Banners
Dragonstone Castle, Crownlands
POV of Stannis Baratheon
"My lord. A letter from King's Landing." The maester said and passed the letter to Stannis.
He checked the letter for any sign of tampering before he opened it and read through its contents, his face contorted in anger the further he read.
"What does the letter say, my lord?" Ser Davos Seaworth, one of his most trusted advisers, asked.
He took a deep breath and looked out of the balcony at the sea and at the ships being readied in the harbor.
"We're late, Ser Davos." He said and crushed the paper in his hand, "My brother is dead. Poisoned most likely. And Joffrey Waters has been declared the King."
When addressing Joffrey, he used Waters rather than the Baratheon surname because that was the surname he deserved.
As a bastard, he had no right to bear the noble Baratheon surname.
Like all other bastards born in Crownlands, he was to be called Waters. And not only him, but Cersei and Jamie Lannister's other two bastards were to be called Waters as well.
Joffrey Waters, Myrcella Waters, and Tommen Waters. Those were the names they truly deserved.
Ser Davos remained quiet for a long moment. It was not every day that you heard about the death of your King.
"What are we going to do now, my lord?" Ser Davos asked.
"When my brother asked me to hold Storms End no matter what, I held it… for an entire year… against an army 100 times larger than my own. I held it because it was my duty. When my brother asked me to build a Fleet and go after the remaining Targaryens, I did. And when I failed, and my brother exiled me to Dragonstone, I accepted that as well. Because my brother was the King, and it was my duty to serve him," He said.
Then he turned and looked at Ser Davos. "My brother died, with no legitimate children of his own. By the law of the Seven Kingdoms, I am the rightful King of Westeros. And I'll take what is mine."
"I take it that I should call for the banners?" Ser Davos asked.
"Yes." He said, "Do that, Ser Davos. I'll write a letter to the Lords in the Seven Kingdoms. To see if they take their oaths as seriously as I do."
Ser Davos nodded and left.
Once Ser Davos left the room, he turned around and looked at the view of the sea once again.
He controlled the shaking of his hands and took a few deep breaths to calm himself down.
People might not expect it because of the hard front he puts out, but he was slightly scared of the future.
He had the Royal Fleet, but it was nothing compared to the Redwyne Fleet or the Bolton Fleet. And all the banners under his command won't give him even ten thousand men.
Even with all his military experience, it was very likely that he might lose this war.
But such hurdles had never stopped him before, and it wasn't going to stop him now.
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Winterfell Castle, Stark Lands
POV of Robb Stark
"What does it say, father?" Robb asked once his father finished reading the letter from Lord Stannis Baratheon.
His father rubbed his chin for a moment, lost in his own thoughts, before he gathered himself and put the letter down on the table.
"Lord Stannis confirmed the words that the anonymous letter from King's Landing and the letter from Lord Renly said." His father said.
"So…" he looked awkwardly at Jon, "The Queen and his brother…" he felt nausea wash over him at the mere thought of doing that with his sister.
Father remained silent, and they waited for him to speak.
"If what Lord Renly and the anonymous letter say is true, and my daughter is really being held hostage by the Queen…" His father got up from his chair and pinned them with his icy gaze. "…then we'll go South. But not alone."
His father looked at Maester Luwin and said, "Send out the owls. Call for the banners."
Maester Luwin nodded and quickly left the room to write the letters.
His father sat down on his chair, and there was silence once again.
"We're going to war." He said, and his father nodded.
"Who are we going to support, father?" Jon asked.
"If the Queen's children really are illegitimate, then the crown goes to Lord Stannis." His father. "But…"
"But Renly Baratheon has our mother." He said.
His father nodded upon hearing that. "We'll not give our support to Lord Stannis. Not now. Not until we're able to rescue your mother or your sister."
"We should have never sent Sansa to King's Landing." The words came out of his mouth before he could stop himself.
His brother looked shocked, but instead of reprimanding him, his father merely looked tired.
"Father couldn't have disobeyed a direct order from the King, you know that, Robb," Jon said.
He wanted to argue against that. He knew that Sansa loved Lord Bolton, and a marriage with Lord Bolton would be more beneficial for the North than a marriage with that arrogant Prince.
Not to mention that by breaking the betrothal, they'd made sure that Lord Bolton wouldn't marry another Stark. Not that he would have forced Arya to marry him, but it was the principle of the matter.
"We cannot send all our forces down South." He said, "If we lose this war, then the North will be undefended. We also cannot rule out the possibility that the Iron Islanders might raid the west coast. They could try to take advantage of the situation while the Northern armies are in the South."
His father nodded.
"Isn't Lord Bolton still at the lands beyond the Wall?" Jon asked, and all of them froze for a moment.
As of now, House Bolton was the most powerful house in the North. Not only that, but Lord Bolton also had giants, wargs, and skinchangers under his command.
Not to mention his troops, who are better equipped and better trained than any other army in the North.
Without Lord Bolton, they would have to contact the regent of Dreadfort, Lady Barbrey Dustin, and they all knew she didn't like the Starks and would send the fewest men possible for this campaign.
Without the army of Lord Bolton, the Northern campaign wouldn't have had the edge required to win the war.
They might still win it, but the casualties would be tremendous.
"He is." His father said, "But thanks to Lord Bolton, the situation in the North is already far better than it was a decade ago. Even without his presence, the North will be able to muster up a larger army this time. I've also heard that recently, Lady Barbrey Dustin and Lord Bolton's envoy have been touring other northern lords, telling them that the King's children are illegitimate and that they should prepare for war. If even a few of the lords heed this warning, the North will most likely assemble its largest army ever."
"What? Why didn't Lord Bolton tell us this before?" Jon asked.
"According to what the Lord who relayed this to me was told, Lord Bolton had no evidence to support his claims. He only knew that Lord Stannis was aware of the situation. Therefore, he didn't want to relay unconfirmed information to me. The reason he told the other lords was so that they wouldn't be caught unprepared in an event of war." His father said, but Robb could tell from his father's tone that he didn't really believe the excuse.
"Having him would have still been better." He said. Not only because Lord Bolton would have brought his army with him. But also because Lord Bolton was a great commander and had some of the greatest warriors under him.
Varko, Raksa, Ygritte, Walton, Bronn…
"That is true. But we'll make do with what we have." His father said, and he let the matter drop, nodding.
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Surnames given to bastards in different regions of Westeros:
Crownlands : Waters
Dorne : Sand
Iron Islands : Pyke
North : Snow
Reach : Flowers
Riverlands : Rivers
Stormlands : Storm
Vale of Arryn : Stone
Westerlands : Hill
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Next Chapters' Name:
Ch.322: Sending Men to the Campaign
Ch.323: A Lone White Walker
Ch.324: A... Normal Baby and the Northern Army