Chapter 49 – "The Quiet Rebellion"
King's Landing had never felt so tense. Though the Dragonpit had been scrubbed clean, the blood of the Mountain seemed to stain the stones still. The echoes of the crowd's chants — "Bloody Wolf! Bloody Wolf!" — rang in the minds of many. Yet the aftermath of Cregan Stark's savage victory did not inspire unity. It split the realm wider.
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The Lions' Fury
Lord Tywin Lannister was livid.
"The North has overstepped its place," he growled during a private council with Robert and Jon Arryn. "Their army should be marched out of the capital immediately. And if they do not leave, House Lannister will cut off its loans. Let the Iron Bank see if it wants to risk a realm ruled by northern wolves."
Jon Arryn looked grim, but Robert seemed too drunk to care. Still, Tywin's words held weight. With much of the crown's gold borrowed from the Rock, his threats were not hollow.
"They humiliated us," Cersei seethed. "That savage butchered Gregor like an animal and made a mockery of our house. If they are not sent home, it will be seen as weakness."
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The Northern Pride
In their camps outside the city, the Northern lords were united as they hadn't been in decades.
Ale barrels were cracked open. Men danced around fires. Toasts were raised to the Bloody Wolf.
"To Lord Cregan!" "To the man who killed the mountain with two blades and no fear!" "To the North!"
Even the stoic Ned Stark was uncharacteristically grim. His silence said more than words — disappointment, anger, and resolve all brewing beneath that cold northern composure.
Lord Manderly, heavy and red-faced with pride, said, "The South will never respect us, my lord. Even now they whisper insults behind their silks."
Karstark added, "We should return to the North. Close our gates. Let them rot in their decadence."
Cregan nodded slowly. "Let them miss our steel."
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Isolation Begins
The decision was unanimous. The North would retreat.
All trade with the South — grain, lumber, ore — would be restricted. More importantly, the rare blacksteel Cregan supplied to smiths across Westeros was cut off.
"Our strength belongs to the North and Essos," he declared. "No more gifts for ungrateful lions."
Lord Glover and Tallhart began organizing merchants. Trade routes shifted toward White Harbor and eastern ports. In Essos, the Company of the Rose and other allies continued buying blacksteel in bulk.
Tywin tried retaliation — pressuring merchants, tightening food shipments, and freezing credit lines. But he found the North, long dismissed as cold and barren, was far more self-sufficient than he believed. Their winter stores were deep, their alliances abroad stronger than expected.
And they had one another.
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The Hound's Defiance
Inside the Red Keep, Joffrey's rage knew no bounds.
"Bring me the wolf's head!" he shrieked. "Send Sandor! He insulted my family"
Cersei hesitated, but the boy was prince
Sandor Clegane stood by the hall's pillars, half-shadowed. He spat on the stone floor.
"Fuck you," he said calmly.
Joffrey blinked. "What did you say?"
"I said fuck you and fuck the Lannisters," Sandor repeated, stepping forward. "Gregor was no brother of mine. He murdered and raped and you all called him knight. That Stark bastard did what none of you had the spine to do."
Sandor turned to leave, his burnt face expressionless. "I'm not dying for this court of vipers. I'm heading North. Might be the only place left that makes sense."
"You would swear to that savage?" Cersei spat.
"Better a savage with honor," he growled, "than a queen who breeds madness."
With that, the Hound disappeared from King's Landing, riding north on a black courser, seeking the Bloody Wolf.
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A Dornish Proposal
Far in the southern sands of Sunspear, Prince Oberyn Martell returned, invigorated.
He recounted every detail of the fight, describing Cregan Stark with the awe of a warrior. "He speaks the Old Tongue. Fights like a demon. There's fire in that cold blood."
Doran Martell, as always, listened with patience.
"I have a proposal," Oberyn said. "Let us tie Dorne to the North."
Doran raised an eyebrow. "Through marriage?"
Oberyn grinned. "I offer one of my daughters — Tyene,Obara, or Nymeria. Let the Stark have a Dornish women."
Doran frowned. "They are bastards. He is trueborn. It may be seen as an insult."
"Then let them be paramours, not wives. Alliances don't only flow through altar stones."
Doran considered. "It would link fire and frost... and spread our influence further than ever before."
He nodded slowly. "Go north. Speak with Eddard Stark and his son. See if the wolf howls for sand."
Oberyn bowed.
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In the Winds of the North
As Oberyn prepared to travel, and Sandor rode ever closer to Frosthall, the winds carried whispers across the realm.
The North is rising. The Bloody Wolf is more than a name. And the lions no longer roar as loud.
The storm was far from over.
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